"Good morning, Roman."

Roman smiled at the man on his computer screen. "Damian. Again, our condolences on Scarlett's death. Black and Jericho are sitting in on this call as well. What can we do for you?"

Damian hesitated for a moment then began. "As you know, Scarlett was…murdered at The Tarot Club by one of the patrons. The murder was recorded by the security cameras. The assassin escaped in the ensuing panic of patrons running out of the club. I'd like to play that now for you."

Roman nodded and motioned for the other two men to join him behind his desk to watch the recording.

Scarlett left the dais to speak with a woman at the bar. The woman's back was to the camera, and all they could see was that she had long red hair. They saw Scarlett's attention drawn to a crowd of people making their way past the bar to the front door. A man they recognized as Buddy Matthews also began walking from one of the tables towards Scarlett.

The attack happened quickly. The arm of one of the men in the group passing Scarlett swiftly moved towards her. Scarlett's expression didn't change as she slumped against the woman she'd been speaking with. People began screaming and running towards the door. The woman at the bar took a few steps away as Scarlett fell to the floor. Then she turned and ran for the door as well.

As the recording faded, Roman heard a deep growl from Black. He knew that Black had spent a lot of time within the New Orleans organization and had personally known Scarlett.

When Priest's face appeared, Roman calmly asked, "Do the police have this recording?"

"No. Mr. Matthews immediately ordered the disc it was recorded on to be removed from the recorder and to damage the recorder. As far as the police are concerned, Scarlett had reported the recorder malfunctioning to me and notified the staff. She was in the process of getting it either repaired or replaced." Priest wryly smiled. "The police were not happy about that."

Roman grunted. "Any better picture of the woman Scarlett was talking with?"

Priest nodded. "From a different camera angle." Seconds later, the face of an easily recognizable woman appeared.

"That's Becky Lynch," Roman immediately identified. "An enforcer for Helmsley." He glanced at the other two men. "She hasn't been seen in Davenport for a while."

"Think she's tied into Scarlett's murder?" Jericho asked.

Priest shook his head. "I personally questioned all the staff. The bartender was the closest witness. He said this woman, Lynch, looked extremely shocked when Scarlett was murdered. In addition, one of the dealers said that two people began shouting "Murder" and "She killed Scarlett" even though they weren't in a position to have seen the murder itself."

"Lynch was being set up." Jericho glanced at Roman. "Think Helmsley was behind it? Wanted to get rid of her?"

Black immediately shook his head. "If Helmsley wanted to get rid of her, he could've done that here; and she'd never be seen again."

Roman pondered both scenarios for a few seconds. "Have you identified the murderer?

A man's picture immediately appeared in the corner of the screen. "Jay White. Known as The Switchblade."

Roman heard Black's hiss and glanced up at him. "You know him?"

"Only by reputation," Black explained. "He only uses a switchblade and prefers to work alone. He's rumored to live somewhere in the Caribbean. Mostly likely, he has safehouses throughout the entire region."

"Any previous connection with the Authority?" Roman asked.

"Both he and Toni Storm, who leads the Authority here, did business in Europe," Priest reported.

"He's a member of the Authority? Or McMahon's old organization?" Jericho asked.

Both Black and Priest shook their heads.

"The Switchblade owes allegiance to nothing and to no one," Black firmly replied. "He works only for money, and his loyalty is solely to himself."

"Storm had been in The Tarot Club a few times," Priest added. "She was very dismissive of…the idea of what we provide. Scarlett ordered her banned from the club, and the two exchanged heated words. Afterwards we heard she'd vowed to rid New Orleans of our presence and increased security. But that was over six months ago and nothing happened."

Roman studied Priest for several seconds. "You have a theory."

Priest slowly nodded. "After making her threats, Storm realized attacking us would create a war that would damage everyone. And, while she wouldn't care about the damage to us, she couldn't explain the damage in New Orleans to Helmsley based on a personal vendetta." He paused, considering his words. "For whatever reason, Lynch was sent to New Orleans, I think Storm saw the perfect opportunity to eliminate Scarlett through The Switchblade. Lynch would be blamed, and Storm would profess her innocence. Since Helmsley would've sent Lynch to New Orleans, he would have to protect Storm in order to protect himself."

"A somewhat short-sighted strategy," Black coldly spoke up. "Helmsley would've theorized Storm sent Lynch to the club and would move against Storm when the investigation into Scarlett's death stalled out."

Priest obviously thought about it, then slowly nodded in agreement.

"Why have it done at The Tarot Club?" Jericho mused. "I understand it being a message, but didn't they consider the security cameras?"

Priest allowed himself a smile. "That's assuming they could see the cameras. They are very well camouflaged by the décor."

Jericho nodded in satisfaction.

"To sum up, we don't know why Lynch was sent to New Orleans, and it really doesn't matter," Roman slowly spoke. "Most likely, Damian is right in that Storm took Lynch's presence as an opportunity to eliminate Scarlett and brought in The Switchblade to do the deed. She probably figured there would be an immediate retaliation by the Bloodline which she would use to justify an open war." He nodded approvingly at Priest. "You fouled that up by keeping a tight rein on your people. Well done, Damian."

Priest silently nodded in acceptance of the praise.

"Would Storm think any retaliation would occur after Scarlett's funeral?" Jericho asked.

"Quite possibly," Priest admitted. "Although she's dismissive of how we conduct our business, once she realized we weren't immediately retaliating, that would be an obvious conclusion."

"So odds are The Switchblade is still in New Orleans," Jericho continued. "And coming after you."

Priest coldly smiled. "I hope he does."

"If he's still in New Orleans, would he and Storm be in the same place? She's possibly hiding him out?" Jericho theorized.

"Storm is a very arrogant woman," Priest explained. "I've managed to put a few people within her circle. Not anyone of status, of course. But she couldn't tell you what her maid looks like. Or the chef who travels with her between her known residences. Or the people who deliver the food to her chef for preparation of those meals. So far, The Switchblade hasn't been seen with her. But I hoping you're correct, Mr. Jericho." He met Roman's eyes. "I'm waiting to be advised if that happens."

Roman slowly rubbed his chin as he thought. By now, Helmsley knew about Scarlett's murder. Lynch mostly likely had escaped New Orleans and reported Storm had set her up to take the fall for the murder. Lynch was a valuable asset to Helmsley so, by now, he had her safely far away from New Orleans. Most likely, she'd changed her appearance. That vibrant red hair was too recognizable. But Helmsley had to realize there would be retaliation from the Bloodline for Scarlett's murder.

"You have authorization to eliminate Storm and the Switchblade," Roman spoke in a cold tone of voice. "By any means you deem necessary as long as there are no innocent casualties. Take no action against the Authority unless they retaliate for Storm. Advise me immediately if that happens."

"Thank you, Roman," Priest respectfully nodded his head. "I would ask one more thing from you. I'd like to transfer Scarlett's assistant, Buddy Matthews, to you. He was Scarlett's protector and believes he failed her. Although he realizes he could not have prevented her death even if he'd been standing next to her, his heart tells him otherwise."

Roman glanced at Black who nodded. "I know him. I will vouch for him."

"Why do you call him a protector?" Roman curiously asked.

Priest hesitated, again seeking the correct words. "Mr. Matthews has a strong protective streak. More than once, he has stepped into a situation to protect someone even at the risk of his own life." He smiled at the look in Roman's grey eyes. "He is not suicidal. But he thinks others will believe he failed Scarlett which he feels makes him a liability."

Roman thought for a moment, then nodded. "Send him to me when you feel it's appropriate. He'll be an asset here as a protector. One final concern. Who will you put into The Tarot Club?"

Jericho thought that was much nicer than asking who would take Scarlett's place.

"A young woman Scarlett mentored," Priest answered. "Scarlett, herself, felt she would be an excellent choice for The Tarot Club if necessary. Julia Hart."

"Keep me updated, Damian."

Priest nodded and broke the connection.

"I'll get Marko and bring him here if you have time for us. We have two things to report," Jericho said. When Roman nodded, he walked out of the office.

"Mr. Black, I'd like a full report on Julia Hart," Roman carefully spoke. "While I trust Damian, Scarlett's death could be affecting his judgement." He looked up at Black. "Do you know her?"

"Only by name," Black admitted. "I left New Orleans as she was beginning to move up in the organization. I'll have that report later today."

Roman nodded. He started to pull something up on his computer then looked up when he heard Marko squeak, "Sorry, Mr. Black." as he slid behind Jericho. Black merely looked at Jericho with a raised eyebrow and continued out of the office.

Roman smothered his smile as Jericho as Marko followed him into Roman's office. Jericho closed the door behind them as Marko quickly sat down. 'Yeah, gotta do something about that boy's self-confidence' Roman reminded himself, seeing Marko gripping some folders as though his life depended on them. "Gentlemen," he greeted.

"Sir," Marko quietly spoke.

"We've completed a check on the detectives from Des Moines. Gail Kim and Dolph Ziggler," Jericho began as Marko handed Roman one of the folders. "Very good arrest and conviction rates. Ziggler had some civilian complaints about abuse of authority and use of force while he was a patrolman. Kim had a few procedural complaints." He grinned. "William Regal filed an official complaint against them for attempting to violate Mox's rights when they questioned him about his parents and then accused him of abusing Marie. That resulted in another written reprimand in their files."

"Dirty?"

Jericho shrugged. "If so, they're a couple of the best at hiding it. I'd say they're more over-zealous than anything. Each successful arrest and conviction moves them up the ranks."

"What's the status of the Moxley murders?"

"Standstill on both of them," Jericho crisply answered. "We know the Authority was behind their reappearance. But the Des Moines cops haven't connected Leah to them, and the Davenport cops are still chasing Jack's alleged gambling debts."

Roman nodded in satisfaction. "And the other matter?"

Jericho grinned at Marko who quickly handed Roman a second folder. "As you know, neither we nor the Authority skimp on IT matters. Our systems are very similar in nature which is why we're both able to maintain our relative securities. Marko, however, had a couple of ideas."

Marko gulped and cleared his throat. "With Jericho's permission, I put out some feelers to hackers I know. Apparently, the Authority has contacted a few of them who are good at writing programs. But those programs aren't of any use without better technology that's being developed."

Roman silently nodded. "Do we have access to that technology?"

Jericho grinned. "In a round-about way. It's basically a race as to which of us gets it implemented first."

"And the new programs?"

"Working on it as we speak," Jericho assured him. "But the other idea of Marko's may give us a short-cut."

"Well…hackers try to keep informed as to what technology law enforcement has," Marko hesitantly explained. "I found out the City's contract for law enforcement equipment is going out for bid in a couple of months."

"One of my contacts in City Hall heard a rumor that 3C is going to be involved," Jericho added.

"That name sounds familiar," Roman mused.

Jericho nodded. "I'll forward a link to you about them and to their public website. They pride themselves on being on the cutting edge of technology. CSI. Equipment. IT. No guarantees, but I might get my hands on a copy of the actual Request for Bid document."

"If not, when the contract is signed, it'll be a public document," Marko added.

"And that will detail what equipment the City is purchasing," Roman nodded. "How does that help with cracking the Bloodline's IT?"

Jericho nodded at Marko.

"Instead of working somewhat blindly, we'll know what law enforcement is getting and then reverse engineer the programs," Marko said with increasing excitement. "It won't be exact, of course. Most of those programs are double coded. But, knowing the results, we could approximate the code to improve our systems ahead of the Bloodline."

Roman's eyes twinkled at Marko's enthusiasm then nodded. "Excellent reasoning, Marko. I'm very impressed."

Marko's eyes widened. "Really?" he blurted out.

"Yes. Really," Roman assured him with a straight face. "Jericho, keep tabs on the Moxley murder investigations. Advise me if there are any breakthroughs. Hopefully, they're both heading for the Cold Case files. Continue to monitor the City bidding process on that contract. Prepare to work as Marko has detailed as soon as you have anything."

Jericho nodded and stood.

Marko also got to his feet. "Uh, Mr. Reigns?"

"Yes, Marko."

Marko took a deep breath. "Thank you, Sir." He turned and practically ran to the closed door.

Jericho grinned as Marko quickly opened the door and ran down the hallway. "He'll come to a screeching halt once he sees Black in the office," he predicted.

Roman had no doubt about that.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I didn't expect a welcoming committee, Iceman."

Malenko half-smiled. "A Rattlesnake comes to my city, I show up at the airport."

Steve Austin laughed, and both men shook hands. As they walked through the airport, Austin's blue eyes twinkled. "Just like old times?"

Malenko nodded. "Just like old times."