Batista missed Miami. He missed the smell of wealth in South Beach. He missed watching the girls on the beach in their near-nothing bikinis. He missed the warm balmy breezes blowing off the Atlantic. He inwardly shuddered at the thought of spending a winter in Davenport.

Standing by the rail of Dwayne's yacht as it raced across the Atlantic, he adjusted his sunglasses as he raised his face to the rising sun and had to smile. Rey Fenix was tied up on one of the lower decks, and the little punk-assed bitch was going to get what he deserved. Batista hadn't begun his interrogation yet. Dwayne had said he could start that when they reached the deserted island he'd chosen. It was too difficult to erase all signs of blood on the yacht.

He heard someone approach and turned his head. "It's good to be back."

Dwayne chuckled and drained the last of his water from the bottle. "Winter is more comfortable here than in Iowa," he nodded. "Never understood how Roman stands it." He gave Batista a long look. "What's your assessment of Roman and his…leadership?"

Batista shrugged. "I wasn't there long enough to assess his overall leadership."

Dwayne barked a laugh and waited.

Batista smiled and sipped his champagne. "No assessment. But I do wonder about his attention to business overall."

Dwayne continued to patiently wait for an answer, his sunglass-covered eyes fixed on the eastern horizon.

"He's very invested in that MDM Foundation," Batista pointed out. "It's not a money-maker so there's a loss of income. In my opinion, he's lost some control of the street crews. They're not bringing in the money they should. I've started to correct that."

After a few moments, Dwayne shrugged. "The Foundation, from what I understand, is a long-term project. It won't be…profitable for several years."

"Money laundering?" Batista asked. He wasn't surprised when Dwayne shrugged a second time. "That new hotel and casino that he's building isn't going to see any profit for maybe five years…if then. It's not going to impact the Authority's casino or bring in high-rolling customers."

"So, what you're saying is that the two largest outlays of money will never be profitable?"

Batista refrained from smiling and silently nodded. "That's local to Davenport. Consider New Orleans."

"Priest seems to have things in hand there," Dwayne pointed out.

"The Authority lost their leader there…Toni Storm," Batista continued. "Priest should be hitting them hard right now. He's not, and the obvious conclusion is that Roman ordered him not to make any moves."

"Moving against the Authority now could create a war," Dwayne pointed out. "That always draws the attention of law enforcement. El Idolo would love to expand from Houston to New Orleans. And he's a remorseless bastard."

Batista shrugged. "Law enforcement can be bought off. And El Idolo's reputation may not equal his capabilities."

Dwayne hummed under his breath. "We'll be at the island in a couple of hours. Breakfast will be ready shortly." As he turned and walked away, he was aware of the smile on Batista's face. 'He's so predictable.'

Batista chuckled under his breath and drank the last of the champagne in his glass. 'Dwayne'll need a little more tempting, but I've planted the seeds. Sooner or later, he'll go after Roman's position…and I should be in charge of Miami.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Good morning, everyone. I'd like to introduce Batista's replacement. Shoto Umino from San Francisco." Roman introduced. "He took a red-eye from the West Coast and just arrived. He comes with Yugi Nagata's blessing as a personal favor." He saw the eyes of Yuta and Black momentarily widen. Nagata wasn't known for letting good people get away from him. Those who disappointed him just disappeared.

Shoto politely bowed even as his dark eyes flickered around the table. "I am honored."

Mox's ears perked. "You're from Japan?" he asked.

"Originally," Shoto nodded.

Mox grinned. "My wife and I spent our honeymoon there. We loved it."

Jericho sighed and moved his plate to Batista's empty spot. Yuta grinned and moved to Jericho's old spot. After a glance from his wife, Black silently followed her and moved down a spot as well.

Roman managed not to snicker as he nodded to the now empty spot next to Mox. "Shoto, this is my brother, Jon Moxley. Going to your right is Aleister Black, Zelina Vega, Wheeler Yuta, Chris Jericho, Marko, Buddy Matthews, Naomi Uso, Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, and Drew McIntyre."

Shoto politely nodded as he sat down.

"Let me know what foods you prefer, and I'll make sure they're provided," Roman said as he also sat down. "We have breakfast and dinner together unless something's come up. After breakfast, Naomi will take you to your home and you can settle in."

Shoto smiled at Naomi and nodded.

Roman grinned as Mox immediately began peppering Shoto with questions about Japan. The younger man soon relaxed and eagerly began answering Mox's questions then politely asking questions about Mox's honeymoon trip to Japan. Breakfast was almost over when Mox glanced at his watch and snorted.

"Crap! I'm gonna be late! See you guys tomorrow…or something." Mox stuffed a slice of bacon into his mouth as he got to his feet and ran for the back door.

"And that, Shoto, is my brother," Roman chuckled.

Jericho looked at Marko and quietly spoke, "Go on to the office. I'll meet you there later."

Marko silently nodded, smiling when Naomi patted his arm, and quickly left. McIntyre stood after Marko left the room and walked to where he could see the hallway. A few seconds later, he nodded to Roman and sat back down at the table.

"Mox is my brother but is not a member of the Bloodline," Roman explained. "Marko is a valued member of the IT team but otherwise not involved unless necessary. With very few exceptions on Mox's part, we do not discuss Bloodline business in front of them."

Shoto silently nodded in understanding.

"You're here to replace Batista in running part of the street crews," Roman continued. "Naomi used to run them but has been reassigned. Tomorrow, she'll go with you to introduce you to the crew leaders." He saw a momentary look of distaste on Shoto's face at the mention of Batista. "Do you know Batista?"

Shoto shrugged. "Only by reputation." He paused, then continued, "He arrived in San Francisco a few years ago. A man the Miami branch of the Bloodline had arrived in San Francisco who they wanted back. He was found, and Batista arrived to return him to Miami. Batista…disrespected Nagata-sama. It was Nagata-sama's respect for Dwayne Johnson that prevented retribution."

"Well, Batista isn't going to disrespect anyone again," Roman coldly responded. "He wasn't here for very long but was found to be skimming money from the street crews. So, you may encounter some resistance."

Shoto nodded. "Nagata-sama briefed me on what you had told him." He leaned back in his chair. "I have some thoughts on this matter, if I may speak?"

Roman silently nodded.

"The amount Batista stole is known?"

Roman again nodded.

"I would suggest returning that money to the street crews," Shoto proposed. "Along with the crew leaders, I would make contact with those businesses under our protection. I would apologize and promise things will be returned to normal. In addition, we would waive two months of protection." He looked at Roman. "Would the amount stolen be enough to cover these…expenses?"

Roman thought for a few seconds, then shook his head. "No, but you have permission to promise that this will be done. In addition, the crews will receive their normal compensation during these two months." He glanced at the others. "Any comments?" When no one spoke, he smiled, "Excellent proposal, Shoto." Then he nodded to Naomi. "Naomi will take you to your home. Get settled in, and we'll see you tomorrow at breakfast. After that, she'll take you to meet the crew leaders."

He wasn't surprised when Black and Jericho followed him to his office.

Jericho shut the door behind them as Black settled into his normal chair. "How did you get Nagata to let Shoto go?" he asked.

Roman slowly smiled. "As a personal favor?" he asked. He was rewarded when Black cocked his head to one side in disbelief.

"One of the Authority's top people in San Francisco developed a rivalry with Shoto that kept escalating," Roman explained. "Guy named Will Ospreay. It started to get some unwarranted attention from the SFPD. So, Nagata worked a deal with the San Francisco head of the Authority, Rick Rude, that Shoto and Ospreay would fight one-on-one."

"Shoto won?" Jericho guessed even as Black shook his head.

"Shoto lost," Roman answered. "But he showed Ospreay great respect after the fight which Ospreay returned. Their private war was over. Nagata told me that he had no concerns about Ospreay or Shoto going to war again. However, Nagata wasn't sure about Rude. Getting Shoto out of the way prevented Rude from making Shoto look like he was continuing the war." He paused then coldly smiled. "Nagata, in his informed opinion, believes Ospreay is going to try to take Rude's place. With Shoto out of the way, Rude's…removal is an internal Authority matter and with no connection with the Bloodline."

Black stared at the ceiling in thought. "If Ospreay is plotting against Rude and succeeds, he'll have internal problems to concentrate on as well as attention from the SFPD over Rude's disappearance."

"Nagata's conclusion as well."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Batista idly wondered if Dwayne had ever looked for buried treasure on the small island. 'Probably the last visitor was some pirate ship on the run from the British navy.' He pulled his attention back to the matter at hand as a man was dragged over to him.

Rey Fenix.

Dwayne stood behind Fenix with a slight smile on his face as Fenix struggled to break free from the rope binding his hands behind his back.

"Don't bother struggling," Batista chuckled. "It's not like you can run anywhere, now is it?"

Fenix glanced around, trying to find an ally.

Batista glanced over Fenix's shoulder to Dwayne. "What do you want to know?" Then he stiffened as he heard guns being cocked.

"Nothing." Dwayne pulled out a knife and cut the rope around Fenix's wrists.

"What the hell?" Batista snarled as he felt the muzzle of a gun against the back of his head. He glared at the man who wrenched his gun from his hand. Then he angrily stared at both Fenix and Dwayne. "Why?" he roughly demanded.

Dwayne shrugged as he stepped from behind Fenix. "Because you were stealing from the Bloodline. Both here and in Davenport. Not to mention forcing women to have sex with you…some of whom are members of the Bloodline and some who are under Bloodline protection…my protection! And that makes you nothing more than a filthy rapist." His gun was held loosely in his right hand.

"You set me up!" Batista roared.

Dwayne silently shrugged again.

Batista glanced at the men who surrounded him. "You don't even have the guts to do the job yourself!" he scoffed. "Got your boys here to do it for you."

Dwayne cocked his head to one side. "Wrong again." He raised his gun and fired a bullet into Batista's right kneecap.

"Son of a bitch!" Batista cursed as he fell to the sandy beach.

Dwayne fired a second bullet into Batista's left kneecap then a third into Batista's right hand. Then he slowly walked to stand over Batista. "Take those sunglasses off him" he ordered Fenix.

Grinning, Fenix ripped the sunglasses from Batista's face then stepped back.

"You're so stupid," Dwayne coldly spoke. "Did you even recognize the others here? Every one of them are people you've assaulted and stolen from. I don't have to order them to do anything to you. They, and many others, volunteered to bring you here. The women wanted to cut you into pieces while still alive. But I reserved the pleasure of doing this for myself." He slowly smiled. "Like I didn't know you were plotting to take me down." He shook his head in mock amusement. "You sorry piece of shit." He glanced at the other men. "Tie him down and get the saws."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"The attorneys have made contact with Juice and his crew."

Hunter leaned back in his chair with a satisfied smile.

"With the exception of two individuals," Lashley continued. "Both have only been with Juice for a couple of weeks and were kept out of any actual business. Those two are barely sixteen and are in protective custody with CPS."

Hunter shrugged. "If they don't know anything, they can't talk about anything. But monitor them just in case."

Lashley nodded.

"Did Robinson say why he pulled this damn-fool stunt?"

"To retrieve some of his girls hiding at the MDM who could tell the police more than we'd like them to know and to make a statement to be sure others understood the penalty of leaving."

Hunter tapped his forefinger on the table as he quickly thought. "Make sure Robinson knows the penalty of making that kind of a move without authorization." He coldly smiled. "And make sure it's not traced back to us."

Lashley silently nodded, knowing that would be easy to accomplish. Robinson wasn't one to make friends.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Seth looked up from the counter of the bookstore when the door opened. He stiffened when Austin grinned at him. Before either man could say anything, Kevin darted from behind the desk and growled at Austin.

"This must be the dog that bit Robinson," Austin grinned. "Good job, boy."

Kevin chuffed at him then looked at Seth as he was picked up.

"Be nice," Seth warned. "You don't want another lecture from Mitch, do you?"

Bayley snickered under her breath. The look on Kevin's face clearly stated "You're kidding me, right?" She walked over and took Kevin into her arms. "I've got some treats for him in the breakroom."

Kevin's ears perked up at the word 'treats'. Then he growled once more at Austin as if to warn him to mind his manners.

"Feisty little guy, ain't he?" Austin grinned.

Seth ignored the comment about his dog. "Can I help you find a book?"

"Nah. I just stopped by as a courtesy," Austin answered. "I've done as much here as I can for now, so I'm headin' back East."

When Seth remained silent, Austin added. "Still have some loose ends here so I'll be keeping an eye on Davenport." His cold blue eyes drilling into Seth's dark eyes. "You give my regards to Reigns and Moxley."

"Have a nice trip," Seth nonchalantly replied.

Austin smirked, then left the bookstore.

Seth waited until Austin had driven away, then grabbed his phone to send a text to Mox and Roman.

'Austin just here. Said he's heading back East but will keep an eye on Davenport. Said to give you both his regards. Oh, and Kevin growled at him. Bayley took him to the breakroom before he could try to bite Austin.'

Mox's reply was almost automatic. 'You should've let him.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The man sitting at one of the back tables at Texas Roadhouse irritably glanced at his phone. One of his pet peeves was being interrupted while eating. It tended to upset his digestion.

Casually glancing around the restaurant, he accessed the text message then slowly smiled.

'Tomorrow.'