[center][h2]THE FOLLOWING FRIDAY…[/h2][/center]

Fiona and Kendra sat shoulder-to-shoulder on the sofa in Fiona’s living room, eyes fixed on the television. With neither of them scheduled to compete that weekend the two had the luxury of some time off. Kendra had flown to New York City to spend it with her ring partner. A sunny day of sightseeing and a fancy dinner topped with watching No Mercy Wrestling from a comfortable spot. No fans, no paparazzi, no upper management, just two friends enjoying the end of the week together. Set in Reno, Nevada, tonight’s show was the second week of the NMW Rubicon Gauntlet, marking the latter half of the championship tournament’s first round.

The show had opened with Silas Dane taking on Jordan Paxton. Paxton wrestled well but the villainous Dane’s experience and more fluid technique secured him the pinfall victory. The second bout - and the first of the women’s matchups - was Elina Zamora against Ash Weathers. Another tightly contested match, but it was Elina Zamora who claimed the win after crushing Ash Weathers with a flashy springboard moonsault and getting the three count.

As Elina stood tall in the ring, celebrating over her fallen opponent, Kendra nudged Fiona and joked that it was a shame Fiona couldn’t have witnessed that in person. An awkward silence followed instead of laughter. Fiona’s request to be allowed ringside tonight had been denied via a rather sharply worded email from Diana Deguara, the head producer unconvinced that the request was not some attempt by Fiona to influence any outcomes tonight. After Choi Minji’s interference the week before, which had seen Shin Choon-hee eliminated from the tournament, there was a slight lingering suspicion of both Fiona and Kendra among both management and a portion of the fans. - Mostly those upset by Shin Choon-hee’s defeat. 

“Sorry.” Kendra said with a nervous half-smile.