Moxley unconsciously took a deep breath as he unlocked the front door to the building he now owned.

"You'll need to fix that parking lot," Roman grinned. "There are potholes big enough to bury an elephant."

Mox groaned. "Enough, Roman. My head's already swimming." He opened the door and walked inside, followed by Roman, Ali and Jericho. He flipped a light switch to illuminate the room. "Front office and lobby," Mox recalled.

"Surprised the utilities are on," Ali commented, looking around.

"The realtor would've kept them on so he could show potential clients the building," Jericho mused, looking down at the dusty worn carpeting. He started a mental list of things to be done. He'd give it to Roman to pass to Mox. The new owner would probably take it better coming from Roman than him.

Ali waited until Roman and Mox had moved away before muttering to Jericho, "This is gonna take a lot of work just to get it clean."

Jericho masked a grin. "Sorta like Mox's motorcycle project."

Ali's dark eyes twinkled in agreement.

Mox opened a door. "This was Ben's office." He pointed to one wall. "He had a whiteboard with all the open projects on it. Showed the status of the project and deadlines. Called us in every morning to go over them." He stood lost in thought for a few moments.

"Gonna make your own office furniture?" Roman asked.

Mox nodded. "Look kinda bad if a custom furniture place bought their stuff from IKEA, wouldn't it?" he joked.

"Yeah," Roman nodded with a grin.

"By the way, can you call Rollins and set up a meeting?" Mox asked as he led their way out of the office. "Looks like he's gonna be my first paying client."

"Sure. No problem," Roman nodded.

Mox hesitated. "Probably should tell him about the cops still interested in me. Could change his mind."

"Up to him," Roman shrugged. Then he followed his brother around the empty building as Mox became more and more enthused about his plans.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alexa hesitated then knocked on William Regal's half-open door.

"Come in." Regal looked up as the door fully opened. "Alexa, what can I do for you?"

"I can come back if you're busy," Alexa offered, her fingers tapping against the doorknob.

"Not at all," Regal smiled. "Please. Sit down."

Alexa closed the door behind her and sat down across the desk from Regal. "I need your advice."

"Of course," Regal nodded and patiently waited.

Alexa thought for a few moments, then took a deep breath. "I'm aware of the professional ethical rules about attorneys having a sexual relationship with a client. Or rather, the prohibition against it."

Regal somberly nodded. "The rule is very clear. Except for a spouse or pre-existing relationship, there can be no sexual relationship between an attorney and his or her client. An attorney caught breaking that rule can be…and most likely will be disbarred."

Alexa nodded in agreement. "I wanted to ask your advice about dating a client where there is no sexual relationship. The rule seems…ambiguous about that."

Regal leaned back in his chair and folded his hands across his stomach. And patiently waited.

Alexa sighed. "Mr. Moxley asked me out on a date, and I agreed."

"Are you having second thoughts?" Regal calmly asked.

"No!" Alexa shook her head. "I'm looking forward to it. But…I've been handling legal matters for him and…and I don't want anything I've done or will do to come back on him." She met Regal's eyes. "You know the police still think he's involved in those murders."

Regal slowly nodded. "More likely, they see him as a way to go after Mr. Reigns," he pointed out. When Alexa nodded in agreement, he slowly continued, "I cannot advise you about your private life, nor will I. Except to remind you that law enforcement tried to prove various charges against the elder Mr. Reigns. I believe you met him a few times."

Alexa nodded.

"And when his son inherited the businesses, they turned their attention to him," Regal carefully spoke. "As his attorney, my job is to defend him just as I defended his father. What law enforcement think they know is a much different matter than what they can prove." When Alexa started to speak, he held up his hand. "Mr. Moxley is closely identified with Mr. Reigns. We both know how long they've been friends…family with each other. Any relationship you pursue with Mr. Moxley, platonic or otherwise, is going to bring you into the crosshairs of law enforcement and perhaps the Bar Association. Your actions must be above reproach. Not only for your sake, but for Mr. Moxley as well."

He leaned forward. "Now, you are correct that the rule is very ambiguous about a platonic relationship with a client. That very ambiguity can work both in your favor and against you. My advice, from a professional point of view, is that you do not represent Mr. Moxley or perform any legal work on his behalf. Best to be safe than sorry."

"I understand," Alexa quietly spoke.

"Alexa. If you wish to pursue a relationship with Mr. Moxley, you will need to protect both yourself and him," Regal gently pointed out. "And there's really no need to make a decision now. If your…platonic relationship grows into something more…physical, you can make that decision then." He saw the very moment Alexa made her decision.

"Better to be safe than sorry," she agreed. "As long as I'm seeing Mr. Moxley, I won't represent him."

"A wise decision," Regal somberly nodded. "Would you like me to speak with him about this? I can take the blame for this decision."

"No," Alexa smiled. "I'll tell him after I see how this date goes. It might be a moot point after all."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After showing off his new building, Ali and Mox waited until Ricochet showed up with Naomi to get Roman and Jericho. Naomi drove Jericho and Roman away while Mox, Ali and Ricochet drove to the Vo-Tech school to meet with the administrator.

"Come in. Please sit down. I'm always happy to meet with business owners willing to give our students an opportunity." Joey Mercury waved his hand towards a couple of chairs. "Would you like anything to drink?"

Ricochet and Ali shook their heads while Mox answered, "No, thanks."

Mercury nodded and sat behind his desk.

"I'm opening a custom furniture store," Mox began. "I apprenticed there some years ago. The original owner retired, and I decided to give owning the business a shot." He was pretty sure Mercury knew who he was, but the man didn't call him out on his abbreviated explanation. "I'm not sure how soon I'll be opening up. The place needs some work, and I need to order equipment. But I'm hoping to have it up and running pretty quickly."

Mercury nodded.

"The original owner taught me. I want to pass that onto others," Mox firmly spoke. "I know that working with your hands isn't valued as much as a big college degree, but there is a lot of value in it."

"I completely agree," Mercury nodded. "College isn't for everyone. And we try to instill that sense of pride in our students. I will say, however, that there's not much interest in carpentry or furniture making. But…" He got to his feet and walked to a file cabinet. He opened a drawer and searched for a few seconds before pulling out two files. He closed the cabinet drawer and returned to his desk.

"There are two students who expressed an interest in it. The best we could do was get a couple of shop teachers from local schools to come in to teach them." Mercury sighed. "But they couldn't devote much time for it. Both students are older adults." He opened one file.

"Zack Ryder is in his late twenties," he explained. "Did a stint in the Army right out of high school and, as he put it, quickly found out that reality was much different than playing a video game."

Despite himself, Ricochet snickered.

"Expressed an interest in carpentry as his grandfather had worked in that trade. He's substituted mechanics, but that's not where his heart lies." He opened the second file. "Brian Kendrick is in his late thirties. He admitted to being party-going screw up from his high school days until about eighteen months ago. That's when he was driving home drunk…again…and started to pass out. Before he passed out, he managed to pull the car over to the curb and park. That's when he realized he was at an elementary school at the end of the school day. As he told his counselor, he realized he probably would've blown through the stop sign and hit a child. He hasn't touched a drop since. Or anything else, for that matter."

"And he's interested in carpentry?" Mox asked.

Mercury nodded, closing both files. "He said he liked the idea of creating things. He's taking courses to be an electrician and fairly miserable although his work is excellent."

Mox thought for a moment. "I'd like to meet them if they're available."

Mercury nodded. "I'll have them brought to our conference room. Follow me."

They had settled into the conference room and waited about five minutes before there was a knock on the door. Mercury rose and opened it, ushering two men into the room.

"Zack. Brian. This is Mr. Jon Moxley. Mr. Moxley, this is Zack Ryder and Brian Kendrick."

Mox instantly knew they two of them recognized his name as he stood and shook hands with them.

When they all sat down, he explained about opening his business. "Now, I understand you still have courses to complete here to get whatever certifications you're working on. I really urge you to continue that. This business might crash and burn. Best you have something to fall back on." When they both slowly nodded, he continued, "I don't know if it's possible, but maybe you could also get some sort of certification for working in my business towards carpentry. It's not as specialized as woodworking; but again…it could come in useful in the future."

Mercury slowly nodded as he thought. "I think there might be a way to do that," he admitted. "Let me do some work on it, and I'll let you all know."

Mox nodded. "This isn't going to be some unpaid internship deal, either," he firmly spoke. "You're going to be paid real wages for the work you do…the hours you put in. We'll figure out a way to work around your coursework here although if Mr. Mercury can pull things off on his end, you might be able to spend more time working."

"I'm ready to go full time working for you," Kendrick firmly said. "I understand what you said about having a trade to fall back on. But, I hate what I'm doing. Mr. Mercury worked hard to find something that would interest me. But it just doesn't." He met Mox's eyes. "You're willing to risk your money on your business succeeding. I'm willing to risk my time and efforts for the same thing in order to do what makes me happy."

"I'm not as unhappy as Brian, but I'm with him," Zack agreed. "Your business is what I really want to be doing."

Mox carefully studied both men before speaking. "I don't know how quickly I can get the business up and running," he warned. "Like I told Mr. Mercury. The building needs some work, and I gotta get equipment installed." He looked at Mercury. "Could they test out early?"

Mercury tilted his head back and thought. "It's not unheard of," he admitted. "Especially if they have a job waiting on them. Again, let me work on it."

Mox nodded. "Okay, we'll all roll the dice together." He grinned when Zack and Kendrick smiled back. "Mr. Mercury, I'll let you know when I'll be opening. I still need to find someone to run the office."

"Ummm…I may know of someone…I mean I do know someone who's looking for a job like that," Zack hesitantly spoke. "My next-door neighbor ran an office and was good at it. She…uhh…she's looking for a job now."

"Oh?" Mox looked at Ali and Ricochet. "You guys got a pen and something to write on?"

Ali wanted to smile but didn't. He nodded and reached into his jacket, pulling out a small notebook and pen."

"Thanks." Mox began writing. "So why is she looking for a job if she's so good at what she was doing?"

"She wasn't happy with some things she was asked to do," Zack carefully explained. "Outside her job expectations. Right after that, there was some sort of reorganization, and her job was eliminated."

"Sounds like a real sweetheart," Mox grumbled. "Here's the address of the building and my phone number." He tore off two sheets of paper and pass one to each of the students then slid the pen and notebook towards them. "Write down your phone numbers. What time can you meet on Monday?"

"I'm done at 2:30," Kendrick said as he scribbled down his phone number.

Zack took the notebook and wrote down his number. "I'm out at 2."

"Okay, we'll meet at the building at 3:30," Mox decided, taking the notebook back. "If something changes on your end, call me. If something changes on my end, I'll call you." He tore off the paper with their phone numbers. "Gotta order business cards," he muttered as he wrote down his phone number and gave it to Mercury.

As they all stood, Mox gave the notebook and pen back to Ali, then looked at Zack. "Let your friend know to meet us at the building on Monday. By the way, what's her name?"

"Nikki Cross."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Seth Rollins looked up at Roman entered the bookstore. The man next to him looked around with open appreciation while the woman accompanying them chuckled.

"Told you this place is great." She linked an arm with him and they wandered off to look at the books on a nearby bookshelf.

"Hi, Seth. Got a few minutes?" Roman's eyes twinkled as he watched Jericho and Naomi for a few moments then turned to the man behind the counter.

"Sure. You got my message?" Seth asked.

Roman nodded and leaned against the counter. "The guy I told you about is my brother. Jon Moxley." He waited and watched Seth's expression. He was surprised when Seth slowly nodded.

"I remembered him. And you. From high school," Seth quietly spoke. "He saved me from a beating by a couple of bullies."

"Gallows and Anderson," Roman nodded.

"And probably you and he saved me from other beatings that year," Seth continued.

Roman's lips twitched. "Well, they were stubborn little bastards," he admitted. "Anyway, Mox is opening the old furniture store. Going to make hand-crafted furniture and asked me to set up a meeting with you. Probably to go over floor plans, get dimensions and whatever else is involved."

Seth eagerly nodded. "When?"

Roman shrugged. "Tomorrow morning. Say 10:30?"

"That's great," Seth grinned.

"You're sure? I know the cops asked you questions about Mox."

Seth's dark eyes widened. "How did…" He shook his head. "Never mind. I probably don't want to know."

Roman chuckled, then sobered. "Mox is my brother. If you're not committed to having him do this job, then we don't need to meet. The cops were here once. They could come back if Mox is around."

Seth met Roman's eyes and didn't flinch. "Want me to bring coffee tomorrow morning?"

Roman laughed. "Well, it probably would help Mox's disposition," he admitted.

Once in the car and heading home, he texted Mox. 'Talked with Rollins. Meeting set for 10:30 tomorrow morning. Warned him about cops maybe coming back. Didn't seem to faze him in the slightest. He's bringing coffee.'

He was almost home when Mox texted him back.

'Good. Coffee helps. I'll talk to him about it tomorrow morning.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"And now we go to our investigative reporter, Wade Barrett. Wade?" The attractive brunette smiled into the camera.

"Thank you, Charli." Wade glanced at his notes then began speaking. "Our city has been rocked with several murders and scandals recently. We've learned that a man, Jon Moxley, who was tried and found guilty of the murder of Davenport Daily's Renee Young was actually framed for that murder. An innocent man was sent to prison and served five years. His recent release means that a murderer has gotten away with that crime for five years. Even worse, a police detective and forensic scientist were the ones who framed him. A forensic scientist, who by the way, forged his credentials and managed to obtain employment with the police department. Every conviction obtained through the work and testimony of these two men, Jack Swagger and Zebulon Colter, is now cast into doubt. Then, these two men, while in police custody, were murdered. Allegedly by the police pharmacist, Io Shairi who then might have committed suicide."

He turned slightly to stare into another camera. "What do these all have in common? One man. Jon Moxley. Tried, convicted, and framed by Swagger and Colter who were in turn allegedly murdered by Shairi. I reached out to Mr. Moxley today to get his comments on the deaths of Swagger and Colter, but he refused comment. Surprising for a man framed by these individuals. I also contacted his attorneys who refused comment as well."

He looked back at the first camera. "In addition, a local realtor, Michael Mizanin was recently gunned down in his office. His funeral was today. This murder appeared unrelated to Jon Moxley. But I found out from an informant just before going on the air, that Jon Moxley just purchased a building that the late Mr. Mizanin was selling. One man. Connected to many murders. And he won't comment. Of course, everyone is innocent until proven guilty."

Barrett looked straight into the camera. "I'll continue to pursue this investigation. The people have a right to know. This is Wade Barrett for The Barrett Report. Back to you, Charli."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mox gave Roman a wary look. His brother was seething and ready to explode. "Ro…" He stopped when Roman held up a hand. He watched with widened eyes as Roman jumped to his feet and quickly walked into the hallway. "JERICHO!"

Mox winced as he heard footsteps running towards the living room. "Roman, don't do anything stupid."

Roman ignored Mox as Jericho skidded to a halt in front of him.

"Find out everything about Wade Barrett," Roman ordered through gritted teeth.

Jericho's blue eyes flickered to Mox then back to Roman. He quickly nodded. "On it," he promised, then walked away.

"Roman, stop," Mox urged.

"Stop? STOP?" Roman pointed at the television set. "He tried to tie you into multiple murders!"

Mox rubbed his face. "I know. I know. But you can't just go off half-cocked. Calm down!"

"I am calm," Roman growled. "I've got Jericho checking him out rather than finding the son-of-a-bitch and ramming my fist in his face."

"Uh-huh." Mox didn't look convinced.

"I'm going to change and go down to the gym." Roman spun on his heel and walked out of the room.

Mox flopped back onto the couch and rubbed his face again. He slowly pulled out his phone and stared at it. Barrett's broadcast could easily sink his business before it got off the ground. Rollins probably wouldn't want him to work on his project, and he couldn't blame him. Why bring that kind of heat down on his head? And Alexa…

Mox groaned as his phone quietly chimed with messages. He opened the app and saw the names of Zack Ryder and Brian Kendrick. "Well, it was nice while it lasted," he muttered. He opened Zack's message.

'May not be my place to say it, but Barrett's full of shit. I'm with you.'

Mox stared at the message for several seconds, then opened Kendrick's. His was more to the point.

'Fuck Barrett. See you Monday afternoon.'

He hesitated then texted both of them. 'Thanks. I appreciate it. See you both on Monday.' Then he dialed Alexa.

His name obviously came up on her phone display when she answered the call by saying, "I knew I should've kneed him in the balls when he asked about my 'relationship' with you! Barrett is a slimey…"

"Alexa!" Mox interrupted. "Look, I…"

"Don't you dare cancel our date," Alexa interrupted. "Not because of that slimebag Barrett!"

"You've got a reputation to…"

"I understand that and appreciate it," Alexa interrupted again. "But Barrett isn't going to determine who I date or don't date."

"Yeah, but…"

"If you cancel our date, I'll cry," Alexa interrupted yet again. "I'll be very very sad and cry. And then binge out on pastries and become horribly fat. And probably diabetic as well." She waited and was rewarded with a chuckle.

"Can't have that on my conscience." Mox rubbed his face again. "You sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay," Mox quietly said. "See you at 7." He sat staring at the phone after Alexa hung up. Then he looked up when he heard Roman's soft voice.

"Jon? Got a text from Seth Rollins."

"Yeah?" Mox stood and shoved his phone into his pocket.

"Yeah," Roman slightly grinned. "Confirming our meeting for tomorrow morning at the study hall."

"Why?" Mox knew he wasn't just questioning Seth's decision but Alexa, Zack, and Kendrick's decisions as well.

Roman walked to Mox and put his hands on his brother's shoulders. "I'm sorry I lost my temper. You were right about that. But not about finding out everything I can about Barrett. Somebody messes with you, they mess with me. And vice versa. Isn't that the way it's always been with us?"

"Doesn't explain Rollins," Mox silently nodded. 'Or the others.'

"Then we'll ask him."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"BLOODY FUCKING HELL!"

Regal was alone in his office, catching up on paperwork. Out of habit, he'd tuned in to the local news and caught Barrett's broadcast. He grabbed the phone on his desk and dialed a number. "Greg? I want a report on every phone call in and out of this office from everyone's phone. From start of business today until now. Identify the number of every call coming in and every call going out. And I want that data now." He nodded then added, "Very good. Send it to my personal email account. Thank you."

He hung up and forced himself to relax. He knew Barrett had been in the reception area earlier in the day trying to find out information on Moxley. Someone in his office had slipped information about Moxley's real estate purchase to Barrett. The paperwork hadn't even been filed at the courthouse so the leak hadn't come from there. It was possible the leak had come from the realtor or someone in his office, but Regal was betting someone in his office had betrayed the confidentiality of a client.

And that someone was going to pay.