Alexa winced at the bright sunlight coming through a nearby window. Groaning, she rolled to her left and slowly opened her eyes. As her vision cleared, she saw Regal sitting in a chair close to the bed.

"Good morning," Regal softly spoke. "Can you sit up? You really need to drink some water." He smiled as he took a bottle of water from the bedside table and held it out to her.

Alexa slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. She glanced down, surprised to see she was wearing the same clothes as…

Regal saw the confused then frightened look on her face. "Alexa, calm down. Take some of the water, and I'll explain. But you're fine." He waited until she had downed half the bottle and handed it back to him.

"Someone came up behind me," Alexa half-whispered. "In the parking lot."

"As we surmised," Regal calmly nodded. He folded his hands in his lap and paused for a moment. "You are familiar with the…assumptions of law enforcement regarding Mr. Reigns and his business."

Confused, Alexa nodded.

"The purpose of your kidnapping was to get Mr. Reigns into a position where he could be murdered." Regal held up a hand to forestall Alexa's interruption. "It didn't work. He's fine. Thanks to Mr. Moxley. They rescued you and called me. I brought you here. A physician friend of mine looked you over and pronounced you unharmed. You were kept drugged during the time you were kidnapped and spent yesterday afternoon onward basically sleeping it off."

"It's Wednesday?" Alexa asked.

Regal nodded. "When you didn't show up for work yesterday, I called Mr. Moxley to see if he'd heard from you. When we realized you were missing, the working theory was that it had to do with the upcoming trial in which Mr. Moxley is a witness." He paused and studied his fingernails. "Professional ethics would prohibit me from telling you that other witnesses have died or recanted their testimony." He impishly smiled. "Oops. Forgive me for that slip of the tongue. Must be the lack of sleep."

"So, you believed I was kidnapped to force Mox not to testify?" Alexa slowly reasoned.

Regal nodded. "That was the theory at the time. Mr. Reigns used his…resources to begin looking for you. The kidnapper, however, contacted him a few hours later." He again focused on his fingernails. "Apparently, this individual, for personal reasons, wanted Mr. Reigns dead. You were the bait to get him away from his associates. Mr. Reigns agreed to meet with your kidnapper…alone. Mr. Moxley, however, followed him; and you were rescued."

"And the kidnapper?" Alexa questioned.

Regal momentarily hesitated. "Mr. Moxley had to act in self-defense."

"Was he arrested?" Alexa demanded.

"Law enforcement wasn't notified," Regal calmly explained. "They wouldn't do anything for 24 hours regarding a missing adult." He quietly watched Alexa's face as she mentally reviewed his explanation. A sharp attorney, she soon realized what had been said and what had not been said. When she remained silent, Regal stood. "I haven't had breakfast yet. What would you like? I think something light for you."

"That's fine," Alexa absently nodded. Then she rubbed her face. "I need a shower and some clean clothes," she muttered.

"Two of Mr. Reigns' assistants dropped off some clothing of theirs this morning that they thought would fit," Regal explained. "Alone with some toiletries they said were yours to keep." When Alexa silently nodded, he pointed to a closed door on the other side of the room. "An en-suite bathroom is through that door. Come down when you're ready, and we'll see about breakfast."

"Thank you, William," Alexa half-smiled, then hesitantly added. "Has Mox called about me?"

"Not to me, but it's still somewhat early," William gently replied. "And he looked…unsettled yesterday. Mr. Reigns commented that it had been a hard couple of hours." When Alexa nodded, he quietly left the room.

Once Regal had left, Alexa looked around the room and saw her purse and briefcase sitting on the floor under the windowsill. She got out of bed and retrieved the purse. Digging into it, she pulled out her cell phone and turned it on. She was disappointed to find no messages from Mox so she dialed his number.

'Mox. Leave a message.'

Alexa bit her lip then quickly spoke. "Jon, it's Alexa. I'm awake and fine. Thanks to you and Mr. Reigns. Please call me later. I want to talk." She paused. "It's going to be okay."

Alexa disconnected the call and told herself there were good reasons why Mox hadn't called her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naomi gently knocked on the open door of Roman's office. "Am I interrupting?"

Roman glanced at Mox who sat slumped in a nearby chair. "Not at all," he answered. "Come on in."

Mox stood to allow Naomi to sit. "I'll see you later," he said over his shoulder as he walked out.

"How is he?" Naomi almost whispered as she down.

Roman hesitated, then leaned back in his chair. "Says he doesn't regret what he did…shooting Samoa Joe," he explained. "And I believe him. Joe would've killed me if Mox hadn't pulled the trigger." He idly tapped a forefinger on his desk. "But something else is bothering him." He sighed then smiled at Naomi. "Did you and Zelina bring Ricochet back?"

Naomi sadly nodded. "We made sure he got something to eat. He said he was going to shower then get some sleep. We promised to go back in a few hours and help him pack his things…and Ali's." She hesitated. "Zelina and I think we should go to Florida…make sure Ricochet's okay during that flight."

Roman nodded. "I'm going as well. Black and Jericho said they'd stay here. I'm concerned about the Authority making moves against us in the next week. Are the twins going?"

Naomi nodded. "I'm glad the planes aren't arriving until late tonight. There are already crowds moving into town for the Founders' Day Celebration."

Roman groaned. "I'd totally forgotten about that. Hopefully, they'll all be gone by the time the planes arrive around midnight."

Naomi hesitated, then quietly spoke. "Roman, none of this is your fault. You didn't do anything wrong." She wasn't reassured when Roman only silently nodded in response.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"And now a report from Community Park and our reporter, Wade Barrett." Charli Caruso happily smiled. "Wade, what's happening there?"

"This is Wade Barrett reporting from Community Park here in Davenport." The reporter widely smiled at the camera. "As you can see, Charli, people have crowded into the center of Community Park for the opening ceremonies for today's celebration." Wade paused for a few seconds while his cameraman panned the area around them.

"Vendors have been set up for several hours. And, as usual, the chili cook-off is expected to be one of the highlights of today. Two-time winner, Texas Chili Masters are determined to defend their crown." Barrett smirked then pointed to his left. "The parade route will begin at the west entrance to Community Park, wind through the downtown streets and end at the east entrance. In just a few minutes, city officials will officially begin the celebration. On the dais will be various members of City Council, some of our leading business owners, Mayor Paul Heyman and his challenger, Ms. Lacey Evans."

Barrett returned his attention to the camera. "By agreement, neither Mayor Heyman nor Ms. Evans will be making any speeches. They'll be saving that for their first debate next week. Mayor Heyman will only make a statement opening the day's celebration. And, I remind everyone, that fireworks will begin on the riverfront promptly at 10pm tonight."

Applause from the crowd caught Barrett's attention, and he turned to face the raised platform where individuals were taking their place. "As you can see, Charli, Mayor Heyman and others are taking their place."

Heyman genially waved to the crowd then courteously stepped to one side to allow Lacey to join him. "I'm looking forward to our debate next week on education, Ms. Evans."

"As am I, Mayor Heyman. I believe that's one issue on which we greatly agree." Lacey smiled as she waved to the crowd.

"Absolutely," Heyman widely grinned.

Suddenly, both Heyman and Lacey fell backwards onto the floor of the platform. The others on the platform looked confused and surprised. Then Chief of Police Malenko bounded up the stairs.

"Charli, something has happened," Barrett reported. "Both Ms. Evans and Mayor Heyman have…fallen…Chief Malenko is motioning for the EMTs in attendance to join them on the platform…other police officers are moving forward as well…"

Barrett began shouldering his way through the confused crowd until he was stopped by several police officers. While Barrett argued with them, his cameraman was able to catch a picture of both Heyman and Lacey lying on the platform surrounded by EMTs who were frantically working on them…as pools of blood slowly spread across the platform floor.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Five blocks away, two women moved away from adjoining windows. Silently, each broke down their M110 weapons and concealed them within backpacks. Shouldering the backpacks, they made their way down the stairs. Most businesses within the office building were closed for the Founders' Day Celebration so they didn't run into anyone until they exited the stairs onto the first floor.

Casually, the two left the building and merged into the foot traffic on the sidewalk. Easily blending into the crowd, one of the women appreciatively sniffed the air.

"That chili smells delicious," Ronda Rousey commented.

Shayna Bayzler shrugged. "Why not?"

The two assassins disappeared into the crowd who was unaware of the chaos erupting in Community Park.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A text from Roman brought everyone but Ricochet, Naomi, and Zelina hurrying to his office. They found Roman staring at the television on the wall.

"All we know at this time, Charli, is that both Mayor Paul Heyman and his challenger for the office of Mayor, Ms. Lacey Evans were both shot while standing on the platform behind me," Barrett was reporting. "The police have sealed off the area and are refusing comment. However, what we know for sure is that there were no gunshots heard which indicate some sort of silenced weapon was used. We managed to get one visual shot which, I warn our viewers, is extremely graphic."

The picture on the screen changed from Barrett's face to where EMTs were working on both victims. Large pools of blood surrounded both Heyman and Lacey.

"Jesus," Jimmy swore under his breath.

"Currently, members of City Council are under police protection," Barrett continued as the camera focused again on him. "There is no indication at this time as to the rest of the day's planned festivities. Chief of Police Dean Malenko refused comment at this time. Back to you, Charli."

"Thank you, Wade. This is the last video we have before the…incident occurred," Charli solemnly spoke.

They watched as Heyman and Lacey appeared together on the platform, smiling and waving to the crowd as they exchanged words. Then they suddenly collapsed.

"We'll continue our coverage after this message."

Roman muted the television and turned to the others.

"That was a professional hit," Aleister Black calmly spoke. "Two targets hit at practically the same second. That means two assassins. Mostly likely using an AR .308 or an M110 Sniper. With either of those weapons, they would be blocks away from the Park when they fired the shots. I doubt the cops have even begun to calculate the exact trajectory by now. Unless the shooters are incredibly sloppy, which I doubt, they left the area within minutes of firing those shots."

Mox wondered about Black's background, that he pulled that type of information out of his brain so easily. He also noticed that no one in the room looked really surprised.

"Put the word out to your contacts," Roman ordered. "Keep their ears open and report any rumors…or facts. But take no action unless directly ordered. Have them report to either Jericho or Black."

The twins silently looked at each other, then Jimmy nodded.

"We're staying," Jey said. "If this is some opening move by the Authority, Jericho and Black will need some backup." He sadly smiled. "Ali would understand."

Roman slowly nodded in agreement. "Thank you." He took a deep breath. "And since you're all here, there will be some reorganization because of what's happened. I'll be consulting with Dwayne about that. But if anyone has any problems, I expect to be told. I never want another Samoa Joe incident. Understood?" He was only partially relieved when everyone silently nodded. The seeds of doubt planted by Samoa Joe's treachery would take time to weed out.

He was startled when his office phone rang. Walking to his desk, Roman raised his eyebrows as he stared at the display screen. Motioning for everyone to remain silent, he answered the phone and put it on speaker.

"What do you want, Helmsley?"

"You saw what happened at Community Park?" Hunter demanded. "That wasn't our doing, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't yours either."

"It wasn't," Roman answered. "So, who was behind it?"

"Hell if I know," Hunter grunted. "As far as I'm concerned, that's Malenko's problem. I've ordered my people to stand down for the time being but keep their eyes and ears open."

"Agreed," Roman nodded. "My people will do the same." He half-smiled when Hunter disconnected the call.

"You believe him?" Jericho asked.

Roman shrugged. "We're not going to do anything different than we've planned." He eyed the others. "Keep an eye on his people as well."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mox sat on his bed, leaning against the headboard and starting at his phone. The earlier message from Alexa had been followed by two more each asking if he was okay and to call her.

He gently banged his head against the headboard as he thought. She'd been kidnapped as a means to kill Roman. If the Authority were behind the shootings today, then they were making a determined move on the Bloodline.

'It's going to be okay.' 'Please call me.' 'Are you okay?' 'Jon, please call me.'

Mox took a deep breath and dialed Alexa's number. He wasn't surprised when the phone barely rang before she answered.

"Jon, are you okay?"

Mox took another deep breath, then coldly replied. "I'm fine. That stuff out of your system?"

"Pretty much." Alexa frowned as she curled up in a chair. "Still kinda fatigued. Are…"

"You know what happened?"

Alexa gripped the phone tighter at the tone of his voice. "William explained some of it. I know enough to…"

"You were used to get Roman in a vulnerable position where he could be killed," Mox interrupted.

Alexa's blue eyes widened. "Are you saying this was my fault?"

"No." Mox kept his voice cold even as his fist pounded against his thigh. "I'm saying you were used. Next time you might not get off so lucky as to just get drugged."

"Jon…"

"Mox!" he snapped. "My name is Mox. Not Jon. And you and I are done." He heard Alexa take a sudden deep breath.

"Things are gonna get rough, and I don't need a distraction like you." Mox tried to find the words to make Alexa so mad she would be glad to see the end of their relationship. "It's been fun, but that's all it was," he mockingly added.

There was silence for a moment, then Alexa quietly spoke, "I don't believe you."

"Believe what you want, sweetheart," Mox snorted, clenching his fist. "Fact is, I'm moving on." He felt his heart pounding in his chest and slowly took in a deep breath. "And before you say anything else, you'd better remember the penalties for stalking and harassment. Good-bye."

Mox disconnected the call and forcibly unclenched his fist. He ignored the droplets of blood caused by his nails digging into the flesh of his palm. His phone buzzed with a message. He saw it was from Alexa and opened it before he could stop himself.

'I love you, Jon. I always will.'

Mox gutterly stifled a scream and curled into a ball on his bed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Regal silently slipped away from the room where Alexa sat quietly crying. He hadn't mean to eavesdrop; but when he heard Alexa's side of the conversation, he'd done so anyway. He was shaking his head by the time he closed the door to his bedroom.

He dialed Roman's phone and wasn't surprised by the weary tone of voice on the other end. "I'm sorry for disturbing you. I know you have a lot on your mind. And I certainly don't want to interject myself into anyone else's business, but I thought you should know that Mr. Moxley just broke up with Alexa."

"What the hell?!" Roman snapped. "Are you sure?"

"Oh, yes," Regal sighed. "She's sitting in my living room crying her eyes out even as we speak."

"Mox was frantic with worry over…fuck, William, he did this to protect her." Roman wearily rubbed his forehead.

"That's what I thought," Regal nodded. "And there's nothing that can be done about it, is there?"

"Not right now," Roman admitted. "Mox would just dig in his heels. He's a stubborn SOB when he wants to be." He sighed. "I'll give it a week or so before I mention her."

"Good luck with that," Regal solemnly replied. "With this trial coming up, he's going to need all the support he can get."

"Which is why I don't want to alienate him now," Roman agreed. "Thanks for the heads up." He disconnected the call and leaned back in his chair. Staring up at the ceiling, he once again consigned Samoa Joe to the hottest fires of hell.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to a special edition of the Barrett Report. I'm Wade Barrett." Barrett solemnly looked into the camera. "As has been previously confirmed, Mayor Paul Heyman and Ms. Lacey Evans were both assassinated earlier today. Mayor Heyman was pronounced dead at the scene in Community Park and Ms. Evans was pronounced dead at Sisters of Mercy Hospital."

He glanced at his notes then continued. "Chief of Police Dean Malenko issued a statement earlier that the investigation is in its earliest stages but will continue around the clock. He has called in assistance from the State Police and all leaves except emergency leaves for the Davenport PD have been cancelled."

"For those of you unfamiliar with the City Charter, it states that if the Mayor is unable to perform his or her duties, the President of the City Council will be sworn in as Mayor. In this unfortunate case, the President of the City Council will serve out the rest of the late Mayor Heyman's term. What this means for the upcoming election is unknown."

Barrett paused to take a drink of water, then continued. "Security is tight for the swearing in of our new Mayor with only those necessary in attendance. He will be sworn in by Acting District Attorney Adam Cole who has announced he will be running for the office of Prosecuting Attorney for Davenport. Again, according to the City Charter, the new Mayor will select someone to take his place on City Council for the remainder of his term. I can announce that will be Mr. Robert Roode who is the owner and manager of several fitness clubs in the Davenport area. He will be sworn in at a special meeting of City Council tomorrow morning."

Barrett's dark eyes flickered to his right then he returned his attention to the camera. "I've just been informed the swearing-in ceremony is about to begin."

Viewers saw the picture change to the Mayor's office where Adam Cole held out a small book.

"Per the request of the new Mayor, he will take the Oath of Office on a book containing the U.S. Constitution," Cole quietly spoke. "Are you ready, sir?"

The man facing him silently nodded. He raised his right hand and put his left on the book.

"Do you solemnly swear to uphold the laws of the city of Davenport, the state of Iowa, and the United States of America? To uphold justice for all and favoritism to no individual, entity, or political party? To fulfill your duties and obligations as Mayor of Davenport to the best of your ability? So help you God?" Cole solemnly intoned.

"I do," the man firmly replied.

Cole reached out and shook the new Mayor's hand. "Good luck, Mayor Lee."

Brodie Lee smiled, confidence in his dark eyes.

Just outside the city limits of Davenport, Shane McMahon reached for his phone and dialed a number. He muted the television as the call was answered.

"Dad? It's done."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few miles from City Hall, Seth sat on his couch with Nikki curled beside him as they watched the new Mayor take the Oath of Office.

"I talked with Alexa," Nikki suddenly said. "She said the boss broke up with her."

Seth frowned, then nodded. "He's wanting to protect her. Can't blame him for that."

Nikki looked up at him. "Do you think he'll change his mind?"

Seth hesitated, then carefully spoke. "We don't know everything that's happened," he pointed out. "I think everybody needs to let things settle down. Give it a little time."

Nikki didn't look convinced, but nodded. "I'm gonna call Alexa and check on her again."

Seth smiled and kissed her cheek. "You're a good friend. Go be that good friend."

Nikki smiled back and walked towards her bedroom. "Good-night, Seth."

"See you in the morning," Seth replied. He waited until the door had closed before pulling out his phone. He'd texted Mox a couple of times during the day only to finally receive a single answer of 'I'm fine.' A text to Roman had gotten him an answer to give Mox time.

Seth snorted. He could understand not pushing Mox right now, but he needed to make sure Mox understood the realities of life. He typed a text, read it, reworded it then nodded in satisfaction. He pressed send then proceeded to make sure the doors were locked before going to bed.

'I don't think you're 'fine' as you put it. But I understand you need space and time. Just remember I don't give up on my friends, so I'm not giving up on you or our friendship. Because our friendship is worth fighting for.'