The city of Belholt was founded as a small farming community in the late 1800's. A village founded on wholesome ideals and traditions revolving around family and community; everybody was honest and trustworthy, not one person would ever consider betraying their neighbor for any reason. A small village it was, but a small village it would not remain. One of the founding families of Belholt was the McMahon family; and over the years the McMahon family stayed in Belholt, collecting their fortunes until the present time where the McMahon family ruled the now bustling city.
What Belholt once was is no more, the wholesome values and traditions run into the dirt by the greedy and power hungry McMahons. Belholt today is a haven for liars and thieves, organized crime running rampant across the city with the McMahons at the top of the food chain.
Vincent Kennedy McMahon, longstanding mayor of the city and the most corrupt politician anyone would ever meet. Not a soul was courageous enough to oppose him to run for office, most likely because anybody who ever tried mysteriously disappeared. The police were in his back pocket, seeing as his son in law was the commissioner, therefore nobody even looked into the disappearances. Everybody knew better than to stick their nose where it didn't belong, his daughter ensured that.
Stephanie McMahon Helmsley was the crime lord of the family. Despite not really needing it, she covered up her involvement in the crime world by her heavy involvement in the entertainment business. In addition to her talent agency, she also ran a series of gentlemen's clubs and an escort service on the side. Nothing happened in Belholt without her hearing about it, her husband's position as police commissioner and her clubs giving her all of the eyes and ears throughout the city that she could possibly need to keep her empire intact.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley had married his way into power. He was a man of many names, Triple H being the obvious one but he was also known as "The Game" and "The Cerebral Assassin." These monikers came from the fact that he knew how to get into somebody's head and he knew how to use that skill to play people like a game a chess. Marrying Stephanie was part of his game, which led to his position as police commissioner and he just so happened to fall in love with Stephanie on his road to power.
They were The Authority, and they ruled Belholt with an iron fist. All sex, gun, and drug trafficking was regulated by them, and nobody had managed to take over those markets. Their thugs walked the streets like they owned them, causing a great deal of discomfort to those who lived in the poorer districts of the city. Nobody who lived there left their home after the streetlights came on because everybody who lived there knew that they were safest in their homes after dark.
There were few crime lords who had moved to Belholt in an attempt to grow their empires, but The Authority's hold over their people made them almost impossible to buy. Those who were bought were killed shortly after, easily replaced by The Authority because there were plenty of "little guys" who wanted to make it in the big city.
There was one woman who was crazy enough to try to stop The Authority. She had grown up in Belholt, living a middle class life until she had been reeled in by Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley's talent agency. But not for her looks or modeling ability. This woman was book smart and street smart, and Stephanie hired her as a personal assistant. As much as she hated the McMahon family, she knew that her best way to bring them down was to earn their trust so she could use their secrets to destroy them from the inside out.
She knew that even considering plotting to bring them down was a death sentence, but she didn't care. She wasn't the only one who wanted them gone and she was going to quietly build a resistance because she knew exactly what streets were patrolled by The Authority's thugs and who wasn't on their watchlist and she met those men at a seedy looking tavern in the poorer part of town but nobody dared come in after dark except for her resistance.
There was a bare-knuckle fighter, an eccentric blonde with a tendency to lose his cool, a cool Samoan powerhouse, and his cousins who were twins. Those five men were like family to her, and she loved them dearly, but they weren't enough to help bring down the empire. Their families and the "regular" people who were against The Authority weren't enough. They needed one man, the one man who knew The Authority better than anyone.
The man who left Belholt almost a decade ago to better himself away from the influence of his family. The man who used to go out of his way to help those who had been put in danger by The Authority's growing power over the city. The man who was related to The Authority. The eldest child of Vince McMahon and Stephanie's older brother. The man who returned to Belholt today.
Shane McMahon.
She didn't know why he had decided to return. She had just gotten the email saying that he was returning and she'd be his new personal assistant rather than Stephanie's. As much as she loved snooping on the "Billion Dollar Princess", she was happy to work under Shane because it meant that she could figure out if he'd be willing to join the cause and make her life simpler.
From where she stood in his new office she could see the car pull up, Shane exiting and he looked up. Maybe he was looking at her or maybe he was admiring the large building she was standing in. But she had to admit that he was much more attractive in person and aged extremely well. She never would have thought that she'd appreciate a man keeping his hair natural despite greying, but salt and pepper looked nice from where she stood on the sixteenth floor.
Shane McMahon was not at all happy to be near his family again. The only reason he returned to Belholt was because a friend of his had told him just how bad things had gotten in the city. When a mother watches helplessly as her child is beaten in the middle of their living room because he didn't want to push drugs for The Authority, somebody had to step in and he knew it had to be him. Nobody else knew The Authority like he did and nobody else had the power and influence that he had gained in addition to the power and influence he had by birthright.
Stepping off the elevator and onto the sixteenth floor, he was greeted by the woman he assumed was his new personal assistant. The crisp white button down stood out against her tawny-beige complexion. Amber eyes held a mysterious air about them, especially when coupled with her smile. It didn't seem genuine, and made him feel as though she had already labeled him based on his relation to The Authority. He was going to have to break her of that opinion, because he was single and she was gorgeous but he didn't want her agreeing to date him because she feared his family.
"Mr. McMahon, it-"
"Just Shane, please." He cut her off, taking her extended hand in his and bringing it to his lips. "Mr. McMahon is my father and - between you and me - a giant asshole, so I'd rather not be compared."
"Right, Shane. You're extremely charming but I feel as though you should keep in mind that you're not here to charm me." She spoke curtly, turning on her four-inch heel to lead him down the hall. "Your job performance is my job security, brother to Ms. McMahon or not."
"I'm just here to help out. I have no clue what my roles are at the current moment."
"There's some paperwork on your desk that needs your attention, I suggest you start there." She stated, opening the door that had his name on it and leading him into the spacious office. "In addition to the paperwork, in your email is a google form that I would appreciate you filling out just so I know how to make your day flow smoothly from here on out for the duration of your time here."
"You know; you don't have to be so uptight." He teased, easing himself into the plush office chair as she looked to be considering his words. "I'm not my sister, nor am I going to tell her if you slouched a little bit. Just relax, and tell me your name please."
"Good posture is key to good health, for one." She argued, but her tone wasn't nearly as curt as it once was. "And my name is Veronica Meyers."
"Miss Meyers, I think-"
"Veronica, please." She corrected, feeling it was only fair that they be on a first name basis.
"Veronica," He murmured, almost testing her name as it left his lips. "I think I'm going to leave this paperwork for later, but I'll fill out your form. Once that's done can you show me around the building?"
"Of course."
