Circle of Fiends

Chapter 5

"Seth, man, if you keep interrogating everyone, they're going to think we're trying to be the next Fashion Police or something." Roman had spent most of the day with him, doing his best to keep Seth calm and focussed, but even his patience was starting to wear thin.

It had been three days since Becky had gone missing and there was still no sign of her, not even a hint. Monday Night RAW was almost starting and Seth had talked to almost everyone he could find, from camera operators to the make-up crew. "If Galina was missing—"

"If my wife were missing," Roman finished, steering his friend to the side to let an equipment cart go past them, "I would be at home and letting professionals deal with it, because that's what they're trained to do."

"Hunter doesn't want cops involved." Seth rubbed at his face. Between Joshy, Marek, and some other friends, he had managed the bare minimum of sleeping, showering, and eating, but every other waking moment had been devoted to finding Becky. "Said she's an adult, she's free to come and go as she pleases. . . ."

"She is," Roman agreed, "but she wouldn't pull this on you. She wouldn't do this to anyone. It's not her way." Pulling Seth into a hug, he took a deep breath. "You haven't told her family yet?"

Seth shook his head. "I don't want to worry them. There's nothing they can do from Ireland, anyway. But something's wrong." As comforting as Roman's hug was, Seth forced himself to step back. Wherever Becky was, she didn't have the luxury of hugging a friend. Just as he was about to suggest going back to the women's locker room to see if anyone else had shown up, Seth spotted a familiar face. "He'll know where Bray is."

Roman followed Seth's line of sight and groaned. "Strowman? Seriously? You know Braun's been in a mood lately, man." But Seth was already heading towards the big man, so Roman jogged to catch up. "Antagonizing him won't help. . . ."

Braun noticed the two men approaching and stopped, setting his bags down. "Hey, Roman. Hey, Seth. What's going on?"

"Where's Bray?" Seth demanded.

Roman shut his eyes and swore. "Great use of subtlety there, Rollins. . . ."

For his part, Braun just looked confused. "Bray? At home, far as I know. He was scheduled to be here tonight, but the baby's been sick for a few days so he said he was going to stick close to home to help Jojo out. Why?"

"Becky's missing," Seth said flatly. It wasn't news he was spreading widely, in part so it wouldn't leak. Hunter might not have wanted the cops involved, but headlines on the dirt sheets like 'RAW Women's Champion Reportedly Missing' wouldn't be great publicity for the company either. When any of the crew asked, Seth either made up a vague excuse or simply went on his way; his closest friends and most of hers already knew, and Charlotte looked as bereft as he felt.

It clearly wasn't the answer Braun had been expecting, and he blinked in surprise, taking a minute to reply when Roman shot him a quick warning look. "I'm . . . sorry to hear that, man. Have you talked to Hunter and the poli—"

"Where's Bray?" Seth took another step closer. It wouldn't be very intimidating to a man of Braun's stature, but he needed to make sure everyone knew he wasn't kidding around.

Braun glanced over at Roman, his look a mixture of confusion and call off your boy before he gets himself in trouble. "Like I said, Seth, as far as I know, he's at home with Jojo and his kids. I was supposed to visit this weekend, but something came up—"

"Convenient." Narrowing his eyes, Seth pointed at Braun's bag. "Call him. Now."

"What?" Braun gave up trying to reason with Seth and looked straight at Roman. "Reigns, what the hell is going on?"