"Thanks for meeting with me." Corey Graves shook Cole's hand. As both men sat down in Cole's office, Graves added, "Please accept my condolences on your associate's death. I'm grateful you've taken the time for this meeting. Hopefully, we can come to some sort of compromise."

Cole silently nodded his thanks. "What are you suggesting?"

"My client will plead guilty to two counts of statutory rape and child pornography."

Cole coldly smiled. "Please don't waste my time. I have him charged on six counts of each offense, and he'll be found guilty on all charges."

Graves sighed. "I think we'd both like to avoid forcing these girls to testify in open court. You know what they'd face on cross examination. Hopefully, they've turned their lives around."

"Judge Carlyle gave me six months to finalize the charges," Cole pointed out. "We both know I'll have more than six counts on both charges by then. Minimum sentencing for the current counts would put your client in jail for 72 years on the rape charges and an additional 30 years on the pornography charges."

"Can you give me something to take back to my client?" Graves asked.

Cole thought for a few seconds. "Your client pleads guilty and allocates in Court to all charges as they currently stand. No Alford plea. I'll recommend 6 years per each count of the rape charges and 2.5 years per each count of the pornography charges. That's 51 years less whatever time off the Judge permits for good behavior…assuming Judge Carlyle agrees."

"At his age, that's still a life sentence," Graves pointed out.

Cole shrugged.

"Add a recommendation for mental health care for his sex addiction, and I'll take it to my client," Graves offered.

Cole shrugged a second time. "You make that recommendation to Judge Carlyle and see he agrees."

Graves slowly nodded. "Put it in writing and email it to me. I'll talk to my client."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Well…well…well…look what the cat dragged in," Jimmy chortled. "Glad to see you back…Jonathan."

Mox snarled at Jimmy who ducked behind his twin. "Mox," he growled.

"See ya later, Mox," Jey sang out as the twins left the dining room.

Roman looked up with a smile. "How was Japan?"

Mox poured himself some coffee and sat down at the table. "Japan is…incredible, Roman. Really incredible."

Roman nodded. "The pictures Alexa posted were beautiful. And the two of you looked really happy." 'And you looked more relaxed than I've seen you in years.'

Mox grinned and nodded.

"You heading into work?" Roman asked.

Mox shook his head. "I'm not going in until tomorrow. Alexa went in to her office just to catch up on things and then pick up some stuff from the grocery store." He paused. "I'm going to move in with Alexa until we find a bigger place. She owns her condo but said the market's pretty hot in that area. She doesn't think it'll be a problem to sell it." He met Roman's grey eyes. "But I'm not leaving…you or the others. I'll keep some stuff here, and I'll be here for dinner whenever Alexa's working late. We'll figure it out as we go."

Roman gently smiled. "Your wife is a better woman than mine. If I'd split my time this soon after getting married, she would've skinned me alive." His smile widened when Mox humorously snorted. "I told you that you have a place here for as long as you want it. That hasn't changed." He drained the last of his coffee.

"Did I miss anything while we were gone?" Mox asked.

"An assassination attempt on DA Cole," Roman answered. He chuckled at Mox's stunned expression. "It failed, but both the assassin and one of Cole's investigators were killed in the attempt."

"Authority behind it?"

Roman shrugged. "Unknown at this point. But the assassin was identified and has done work for the Authority in the past. Plus, there were hits he did in Mexico and Japan."

"Hey, Mox, the twins told me you were here." Jericho appeared in the doorway dressed in dark blue sweats. "We'll be in the gym whenever you're ready."

Mox nodded. "Give me ten minutes to change."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "You sparring with Jericho?"

Mox shook his head. "Jericho asked if I'd help teach Marko some self defense moves. He said there was no way Marko would hit a woman and Black scares him too much." He drank the last of his coffee and stood.

"So, where are you and Alexa looking to move?" Roman casually asked as he also stood.

Mox shrugged. "Ideally, somewhere between downtown and here. We haven't actually started looking. We just talked about it on the flight back."

Roman would've loved for Mox and Alexa to move into one of the cottages on his property. But that would've put Alexa in a very difficult position. So, he'd come up with another idea. "Can I make a suggestion?" Roman slowly smiled.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mox finished wrapping his fists and studied Marko from the corner of his eyes. 'Kid looks scared to death.' From the little he knew about Marko's childhood he could understand why.

"When I was a kid, my old man would hit me, kick me, beat me for no other reason that I was in the room with him," Mox slowly spoke. "I learned at a young age to just cover up and stay quiet until he got tired of beating on me." He flexed his wrists then tossed the tape out of the ring. "I learned to stay out of his way as much as possible and sleep with one eye open."

Marko listened with wide eyes as Mox faced him.

"First thing Roman's dad taught me about self-defense was that it's not about standing toe to toe and trading shots with somebody who may be bigger and stronger than you," Mox continued.

"It's not?" Marko looked confused.

"No, it's not." Mox saw Marko tense up when Jericho slid out of the ring. "It's about survival. You take whatever shots that gets you some space, then you turn and run. You stand and fight only when you've got no other choice."

"I've never hit anybody," Marko muttered, looking down at the ring mat.

"You're gonna hit somebody now." Mox motioned him to come forward. "Hit me." He saw Marko start to tremble. "I'm not gonna hit back." This time.

Marko glanced at Jericho then took a deep breath. He walked up to Mox and hit him in the gut. Then he slowly looked up at Mox who hadn't flinched or budged then quickly backed up out of Mox's striking range.

Mox slightly smiled. "Tell him what he did wrong, Jericho."

"First, you gave away what you were going to do by keeping your fists lowered," Jericho calmly explained. "Second, you didn't put all your weight and strength behind the punch. Third, you shouldn't have just stood there. If this had been a real fight, Mox would've been all over you. Fourth, hitting someone in the face is usually more effective than hitting them in the gut."

"Oh. He's…a lot taller than me."

Jericho chuckled. "Then bring him down to your size."

"I don't think I can," Marko mumbled.

Mox exchanged a glance with Jericho. "Told you this was a waste of my time," Mox curtly spoke. "I got no problem helping somebody that wants to learn. But this little kid…he's too scared to learn anything." He began unwrapping his left wrist.

Marko raised his head when he heard the words 'little kid'. He slowly rose to his feet. "I'm not a little kid," he quietly answered.

"Sure, you are," Mox snorted, not even looking at Marko. "You're a runt of a sniveling kid too fucking scared of your own shadow. You think you're worth something because you fool around with your little computers? You'll never be nothing more than a silly little boy cowering in the corner. Fucking Mama's boy."

Marko screeched and lunged across the ring at Mox.

Expecting it, Mox turned to face him…only to grunt in pain as Marko kicked him in the upper inner thigh.

Jericho smothered a laugh as Mox went to one knee. Marko hadn't kicked Mox's balls, but he'd come damn close.

Marko wildly swung his right fist, catching Mox just under the eye. He froze when Mox dazedly shook his head. "ohshitohshitohshit…." Marko quickly backed to a corner of the ring and sat on the mat, covering his head with his arms.

Jericho rolled in the ring, glancing at Mox who nodded to him. Then he went to sit next to Marko. "He's okay," Jericho quietly spoke. "You did great."

"Great?!" Marko looked up in confusion. "I hit him! I…kicked him!"

"Which is exactly what you're supposed to do," Mox pointed out as he sat down. "And you did it on instinct."

"My father would've beat me to death if I'd done that," Marko muttered.

"Well, he's not here," Jericho pointed out. "And if he should ever show up, it won't happen."

"I'm wish I didn't have to say those things to hurt you, Marko," Mox softly said. "But I had to push you out of your fears." He sighed. "Fact is, anybody you'd have to defend against is probably going to be bigger, stronger, and meaner than you. So, you're going to have to fight dirty."

"Forget about the stuff in the movies," Jericho added. "The people who survive are the ones who gouge somebody's eyes, kick their balls, use whatever they have as a weapon, and then run like hell. There are no rules in a street fight. When you get a little more comfortable, we'll work on two people ganging up on you so you'll know how to handle that."

"Oh, God," Marko groaned, shutting his eyes.

Mox crawled towards the corner and sat cross-legged across from him. "Marko, listen to me. When I was in prison, there was this guy…a lot like you. Afraid of everybody and everything. Didn't know how to defend himself. Like me, he got falsely accused and convicted. He'd never hurt anybody in his life."

"What happened to him?" Marko asked, opening his eyes.

"He got beat to death by another prisoner," Mox calmly answered. "I tried to stop it, but…he'd been beaten too badly by that point." He gently tapped Marko's knee. "I never want to see that happen again. I don't want to see it happen to you."

"There's a big world out there," Jericho gently added. "You can go to movies or concerts or even the libraries and museums. Grab a meal in a nice restaurant or some fast-food joint. But you need to know how to protect yourself."

Marko silently nodded.

Mox stood and held out a hand to the younger man.

Marko hesitated then took it, squeaking a little as Mox pulled him to his feet.

"If nothing else, swing that backpack as a weapon," Jericho laughed.

"I can do that?" Marko sputtered.

"Like Jericho said. No rules in a street fight," Mox nodded.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Malenko."

"Chief Malenko, this is Cameron Grimes."

Malenko leaned back in his chair. "Dr. Grimes, good to hear from you."

"Call me Cameron."

Malenko grinned at the cheery voice on the other end of the phone.

"We've done what we can with the video you sent us," Cameron explained. "We couldn't do much with the visual. At least not enough to see anyone other than the guy who got killed. We were able to make the speaker's voice less…robotic or electronic if you will. But I don't think it's enough to be able to identify anyone and make it stick in Court."

Malenko sighed. "Well, we knew it was a long shot," he admitted. "We appreciate your efforts."

"Well, if nothing else, it's given us some ideas to work on in that direction," Cameron chuckled. "To be honest, that's a part of CSI that we hadn't considered. So, with your permission, we'd like to keep that video. We might be able to do something in the future. Just not sure when that would be."

"Understood. Send the invoice to DA Cole," Malenko requested. "He's paying for it out of his budget."

"No need," Cameron laughed. "Paul said it was on the house since we couldn't really do anything with it. And it opens another opportunity for us."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Mox not here for dinner?" McIntyre asked as he sat down at the dining room table.

"He will be…off an on," Roman answered with a smirk. "I'm sure his bride would prefer him to be with her for a while."

"That'll wear off," Jimmy snorted.

"What will wear off?" Naomi asked as she and Zelina walked into the room.

The twins glanced at each other, a guilty look on both their faces. "Well…" Jimmy hesitantly began.

"MADRE DE DIOS! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!"

Zelina's angry voice saved Jimmy from trying to explain and stay out of trouble at the same time. Even Black looked a little confused as he stared at his wife.

"Oh my God," Naomi said as she rushed to where Zelina was pulling Marko to his feet. She watched as Zelina carefully touched the bruises on Marko's face taking care not to touch his blackened right eye. She slowly turned to look at the men sitting at the dining table. "Who. Did. This?" she angrily hissed.

Jericho had developed a sense of self-preservation early in his life. So, he had no problem throwing someone else under the bus. "Mox did it," he calmly answered as he poured gravy over his mashed potatoes.

"WHAT?!" Both women shrieked.

A brief smile flashed across Yuta's face when both twins covered their ears.

'What the fucking hell…who cares about the little twerp? Reigns needs to put these women in their place.' Batista gave both women a disparaging glare. He didn't realize both Black and McIntyre saw the disdain quickly flash across his face.

"Where's Mox?!" Zelina demanded.

"No…please…wait…" Marko held both hands up as he pleaded. "It wasn't his fault."

"Really?" Naomi raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

Marko nodded. "I need to learn…how to defend myself. Nobody ever taught me that I could do that. Jericho asked Mox to help."

"Oh, he did, did he?" Both Zelina and Naomi shot Jericho threatening looks.

Yuta heard the almost silent grunt of disapproval from Batista and made a decision. "If Mox isn't available, I can fill in," he offered with a smile at Marko. "I'm closer to your size, and I've been called a 'runt' more than once."

'I bet you have.' Batista silently snorted.

"We'll be doing it every two or three days," Jericho explained. "Tomorrow Marko's upgrading the security system at the Foundation."

'What a waste.' Batista reached for more roast beef.

"So, if we've got all that sorted out…" Roman pointedly nodded at the table.

"It's okay…really," Marko whispered to Zelina and Naomi.

After dinner, Roman returned to his office to get some more work done. He wasn't really surprised when Black, Jericho and McIntyre showed up a few minutes later. He was, however, surprised to see Yuta with them. "Gentlemen?" he asked as Yuta shut the office door. "Problems?"

"If Batista ever gives my wife that look of disdain again, there will be a problem," Black coldly promised. "A very serious one."

Roman silently nodded.

"Batista is already skimming money," McIntyre advised. "He's shorting the crews and telling them they have to advise businesses under our protection that the cost of protection is going up."

"How much?" Roman asked, remembering Mox's opinion of Batista. 'He's another Samoa Joe.'

"He's skimming about 10% and planning to increase protection by about 15%," McIntyre answered. "Most of which will almost certainly go into his pocket."

"He's also made contact with my crews," Yuta quietly spoke. "Told them it would be in their best interest to fall in with him. Bad things could happen if they don't." He darkly smiled. "And all the crew leaders told me about it today. They didn't like being threatened."

"Make sure they understand nothing is going to happen to them," Roman firmly ordered. "Tell them to play along for now, however. What's the feeling with Batista's crew leaders?"

McIntyre smiled. "Naomi gave them a way to contact me. They're not happy about being shorted. And they don't think they're going to see any of the increased protection money either."

"Jericho, monitor Batista's bank account. And do some discrete checking to see if he's opened accounts anywhere else." Roman leaned back in his chair. "McIntyre, tell them to play along and keep track of the additional money. I've got a call later with Dwayne to see what he's found out." His cold expression matched the one on Black's face. "I think this problem will be resolved very soon. One way or another."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"This is a nice neighborhood," Alexa commented as she carefully looked at the passing houses.

Mox nodded as he pulled his truck to the curb in front of one of the houses. "Okay, I probably should've brought this up before now but…" He put the truck in park and turned off the ignition.

"What is it?" Alexa asked as she took a look considering look at the house.

Mox took a deep breath. "When I started living with Roman's family, they lived closer to the inner city. A hell of a lot better neighborhood than I lived in, though. After Roman went off to college, Sika moved us to a better neighborhood. It wasn't until later that he moved out to where Roman now lives."

"This house?"

Mox nodded. "Roman would come back here during breaks from college. I was still living with Mom…Roman's mom and dad while I was in trade school. When Roman came home for good from college, Sika moved to where Roman is now; and I was out on my own. Roman inherited this house. He said he'd kept it in good shape and done a lot of remodeling. But he hadn't put it on the market yet because he didn't want to let go of it." He chuckled. "Sentimental sucker," he joked.

Alexa calmly waited, her blue eyes twinkling.

Mox sighed again. "When I mentioned we were going to look for a bigger place, he suggested we look at this one. The neighborhood's good and it's closer to your work and mine. I said we'd look at it, but if we bought it, it would be at market price." He licked his lips and glanced away. "I didn't think how buying this house from Roman would affect your reputation. So, if you don't…"

"Do you have the keys?" Alexa interrupted.

"Yeah," Mox slowly answered, turning his head to look at her.

"Then let's take a look." Alexa opened the truck's door and hopped out.

"Hope nobody calls the cops," Mox muttered under his breath as he joined her. He unlocked the door and stepped inside, followed by Alexa.

Mox turned on the lights and shut the door, automatically locking it. He turned around and silently studied the open living room. Memories flooded his mind as he remembered Sika sitting in his favorite chair, newspaper on his lap as he talked with Patricia who was in the kitchen fixing dinner. Mox closed his eyes and would've sworn he could smell the food cooking on the stove.

"Mox?"

Mox's eyes flew open. "Sorry…just remembering," he mumbled.

"Would it bother you to live here?" Alexa softly asked.

Mox thought for a few moments then shook his head. "Nah, the memories are good ones."

"I love the fireplace," Alexa grinned. "Hope it still works."

"Pretty sure it does," Mox nodded. "Probably should get it inspected, though." He glanced down at the floor. "This used to be carpeted."

"I think I'd like carpet," Alexa decided. "It would make it easier to sit in front of the fireplace."

Mox immediately banished the sudden image of Alexa stretched out on the floor in front of a roaring fire. "Yeah," he quickly agreed.

They walked through an open area that Alexa assumed would be a dining room and into the kitchen.

"Wow! Roman sure upgraded this room." Mox stared at the gleaming stainless-steel appliances in surprise.

"Double ovens!" Alexa squealed. "Good-sized island with storage." She nodded in approval. "Nice big refrigerator and freezer."

There was a good-sized laundry room and a half-bath next to a room as large as the living room.

"Sika's office," Mox remembered. "Roman's got the desk and end tables in his office. There was a couch and a ton of bookcases. I think Roman's probably got all those books in his bookcases." He glanced at his wife. "This would make a nice home office for you."

Alexa slowly nodded as she speculatively eyed the room.

Upstairs was a master bedroom with two large walk-in closets and an impressive master bath. Two smaller bedrooms were on the other side of the hallway with a jack-and-jill bathroom.

They climbed the stairs to the third floor which was an unfinished attic. Mox glanced around and said, "They used this for storage, but a lot of it was unused."

Alexa was staring out the window overlooking the large fenced-in backyard. "We could finish it and use it as a playroom for our kids when they can't get outside to the backyard."

"That wouldn't be hard…wait…what kids?"

"Well, I know we haven't discussed it," Alexa admitted. "The backyard is big enough to have swings, a picnic area, and room for them to play."

Mox walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I don't know about this. I didn't have a good example of good fatherhood," he muttered.

"Of course, you did," Alexa chuckled, turning in his arms. "Wasn't Sika a good father? Isn't Roman a good father?"

Mox sighed. "Yeah, both of them." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Give me a little time to get used to the idea, okay?" He looked past her at the backyard. "Swings and play area, huh?"

Alexa nodded and kissed Mox on the chin. "For when little Scott and little Autumn's friends come over." She walked towards the stairs.

"You've named them?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Juice Robinson threw a cocky grin at the other man. "What's so important that we have to meet in this back alley?"

"You wanna know where some of your girls have gone or don't you?"

"Okay…okay." Robinson held up both hands. "Where are they?"

"At that new place. The MDM Foundation."

Robinson's eyes narrowed behind his sunglasses. "How do you know that?"

"You know I have ways of finding out things like that."

"What do you want?" Robinson asked after a few seconds of thought.

"For now? Nothing. But you owe me. Understand?"

"Favor for a favor." Robinson nodded and walked away into the darkness.

The other man smiled when Robinson disappeared. If he knew Robinson like he thought he did, the fool would take a run at the Foundation itself bringing violence and chaos to their front door. Thay would damage the Foundation's reputation and possibly cripple or destroy Robinson's operation. He would have that Foundation nonsense put out of the picture and Robinson's trash eliminated…or his name wasn't Detective Jay Lethal.