John Cena's Arc

Chapter 9 of 12

Wednesday morning, Cena sat at the kitchen table in his house with a cup of coffee going cold. His shoulder ached from the match. The dedication was one day away. He was reading the arrest report the clerk had emailed him when his phone buzzed on the wood. It was Triple H. Cena put him on speaker. "Turn on the local feed," Triple H said. "Now." Cena pulled it up on his laptop. A reporter stood outside the county holding facility. The banner under her read: WWE SUSPENDS WALTER "GUNTHER" KELLER PENDING CRIMINAL REVIEW. She said the company had cut ties that morning. No return date. No statement from him. The pickaxe from the arena was in evidence. "He's out," Triple H said. "They released him from the roster. The bail hearing is at eleven." Cena set the coffee down. "He'll try to make it to the arch anyway." "Probably," Triple H said. "Bret's driving over. Stay put." Cena did not stay put. He drove to the arena. He found Gunther in the parking lot behind the building. Not in the holding cell. Out. Someone had already made bail. Gunther stood by a rented sedan in a dark jacket, no tie, the star pin still on his lapel. His hand was wrapped in white tape. He had come to find Triple H, not Cena. Triple H's cabin sat forty yards past the gate. Gunther saw Cena and turned toward him instead. "You brought this on me," Gunther said. His voice was flat. "The council. The company. All of it." "You brought a pickaxe to my match," Cena said. Gunther moved first. He swung with the taped hand, wide and fast. Cena stepped inside it and caught the arm. Gunther was strong, but the hand was hurt and the swing was angry, not planned. Cena turned him against the sedan and held him there. It was over in four seconds. Triple H came out of the cabin at a run. He had a phone already at his ear, calling it in. "Stay down," Triple H said to Gunther. His voice went quiet the way it did when something mattered. "You're done here." Gunther did not fight the hold. He looked at Cena from against the car door. "The stone was mine," he said. "It was never yours," Cena said. A sheriff's cruiser pulled in six minutes later. They put Gunther in the back seat. The bail was revoked before the car left the lot. The suspension from the company was already public. By noon, three outlets were running the story with his name. Cena stood in the parking lot with Triple H after the cruiser left. "Tomorrow at noon," Triple H said. "Front row." "Front row," Cena said. His shoulder hurt worse than it had that morning. The ceremony was fifteen hours away, and the man who had chased the stone for a year would not be there to see it.