Roman stopped Mox before he could leave the breakfast table. "This has to do with you as well," he smirked.
Mox suspiciously eyed him but sat back down without a comment.
"There's going to be some reorganization," Roman announced. "I've already spoken with the people involved. First, Zelina is going to be the manager of our new hotel." He was amused that everyone but Naomi looked at Black rather than Zelina. Naomi started to smile. "Zelina?"
"Thank you, Roman, for this reassignment. The reason is that I'm pregnant."
Naomi screamed, causing both twins to cover their ears. She jumped up and ran around the table to hug Zelina. Jericho grinned at Black and offered his congratulations. Both Mox and McIntyre smiled at Zelina.
"Well, that's part of the reason for the reassignment," Roman continued when everyone settled down. "Granted, the hotel will be a perfect place to offer Zelina somewhere to rest and take a break. But, in my opinion, a beautiful gracious hostess will better suit the ambiance we want for the hotel."
"Gracias," Zelina smiled.
Roman looked at Mox. "This is what involves you." He grinned at Mox's look of confusion and turned to Naomi. "Naomi will be the manager of the MDM Foundation. She will be in overall charge of ever aspect of running it. Seth and I discussed it, and we felt the kids would react better to a woman in charge than a man."
The twins looked at Naomi for a couple of seconds than enveloped her in a hug.
Jericho's blue eyes twinkled. "Makes sense. Noami's proven she can keep Jimmy and Jey in line so keeping a bunch of kids in line should be a piece of cake."
"Hey!" both twins said at the same time.
McIntyre burst out laughing.
"Mox?" Naomi asked.
Mox widely smiled. "Can't think of anyone better, Naomi. Thank you."
"Naomi, your head of security will be Buddy Matthews," Roman continued. "He's coming up from New Orleans with Priest's blessings. He'll be arriving soon after the funeral. Black knows him and can fill you in."
Mox had no idea what Roman was talking about. But the mention of a funeral and New Orleans had sobered the others. Zelina was crossing herself and murmured something under breath.
Roman drained the last of his coffee. "Zelina's place on the street will be taken by Wheeler Yuta from Pittsburgh. He comes with Jack Gallagher's blessing. He'll be here soon, and will work with Zelina on that transition. Naomi, your position on the street will be filled by Dave Batista, coming up from Miami with Dwayne's blessing. I'd like the transitions to be in effect by the time the Foundation opens."
There was silence for several moments as everyone considered the changes. Roman caught the look in McIntyre's eyes and saw the brief glance between Jericho and Black. "If anyone has anything to say about it, it'll have to wait until tomorrow." He glanced at Mox. "Mox, Seth Rollins, and I have appointments in an hour with a DOJ Investigator named Steve Austin."
"DOJ?" Jericho frowned. "About what?"
Roman shrugged. "Mox's involvement with the Ft. Madison trial is over so that's eliminated. What we know at this point is that Austin was involved to some degree in the DOJ case against Ric Flair. And that Austin partnered with Chief Malenko in the FBI." He coldly smiled. "I'm sure we'll have a better understanding later today. However, keep on your toes and your ears open. This may be the opening move of a DOJ investigation into the Bloodline." He looked at Jericho and Black. "Top priority. Find out everything you can about Austin and their case against Flair."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Good morning, Mayor Lee. I apologize for not taking your call earlier, but we were involved in some product testing." Paul Wight leaned back in his chair and grinned at Cameron.
"I quite understand," Brodie replied. "I presume you received my email with the items we wish to see demonstrated?"
"I did and passed that on to Cameron so he could start gathering the materials needed for the demonstrations." Wight grinned again when Cameron flashed him a thumbs up. "How is your schedule next week?"
"I'm not available for the time needed for the demonstrations on either Wednesday or Friday," Brodie answered, glancing at the calendar on his computer screen. "The Chiefs of both the Police and Fire Departments have conflicts on Tuesday and the FD Chief's anniversary is on Monday so he's committed elsewhere that day. Would Thursday be convenient for your group?"
Wight glanced around the room and received nods. "Thursday it is. We'll need access to the shooting range at the PD and the outside training areas at the FD."
"I've notified both Chiefs we would probably need them," Brodie admitted. "I'll contact them to make sure we have access on Thursday."
"Oh, one more thing. Can the PD arrange for us to use some of their dummies for the demonstrations? I presume they have some on hand for their training sessions. We'll be happy to replace them, but it'll be easier if we have them on hand at the site." He chuckled. "Besides, no one can claim we stacked the deck if we bring ours."
Brodie blinked. "I'll reach out to Chief Malenko and find out. If there's a problem, I'll get back to you."
"Oh, and tell Chief Malenko we'll need those dummies in different heights and body shapes if possible," Wight added. "We'll bring standard issue helmets since I'm sure he doesn't want to see his damaged. He can examine them thoroughly to make sure they haven't been modified."
"How long do you expect the demonstrations to take?" Brodie asked.
"Depends on how many variations your people want to see," Wight answered. "Cameron will be on the team as well as his assistant. My CFO and the head of our Legal Department will also be there."
"I look forward to meeting all of you," Brodie smiled. "I'll be in touch to confirm everything."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"They're all here with their attorney," Malenko quietly spoke. "Who's your target?"
Austin, who'd barely had five hours of sleep, grunted and finished his coffee. He stared down at the photos of Roman Reigns, Jon Moxley, and Seth Rollins. Then he jabbed his forefinger on one of the photos. "Him. I'll leave him to last. Let him stew a bit."
Malenko nodded. "Keep in mind your meeting with Helmsley is at 2pm."
"Oh, I'll make that meeting," Austin promised with a cold smile.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Mr. Moxley, thank you for agreeing to meet with me." Austin genially smiled as closed the door behind him. "I'm DOJ Investigator Steve Austin."
Mox silently nodded.
"You must be his attorney, Mr. Regal, right?"
"William Regal. I presume this interrogation is being filmed?"
Austin nodded as he sat down, placing a closed folder on the table.
"Good. I'll be requesting a copy," Regal politely advised him.
"No problem," Austin shrugged. "This shouldn't take long anyway." He looked at Mox. "Mr. Moxley, two undercover FBI agents were working here in Davenport before going elsewhere…also undercover. They've completed their assignments; and during debriefings both mentioned an incident here in Davenport where they claim they were assaulted by two men outside a business. Rollins Book Store."
"My client was questioned about that alleged incident by the Davenport PD," Regal pointed out.
Austin nodded and patted the folder in front of him. "I did some reading on that last night. Both agents were debriefed more than once. They independently recounted this incident. And while there were some minor inconsistencies, they weren't any cause of concern. One agent, however, changed his story throughout the debriefings. Not in any major way, but my boss wanted me to investigate and try to clear them up so it won't come back to damage his testimony in the case he was working on."
Mox glanced at Regal who kept his eyes on Austin.
"Now, Mr. Moxley, according to the agents' statements, they claim they were assaulted by Joe Seanoa and Jon Moxley outside Rollins Bookstore," Austin began. "When you and Mr. Seanoa were questioned, both of you denied being at the bookstore that night; and the two of you weren't involved in any altercation. Is that still your story?"
"Yes," Mox nodded.
Austin nodded. "The agents were working for a Michael Mizanin while they were in Davenport. Did you know him?"
"Not really," Mox answered. "We were in high school together, but we didn't run in the same crowd. Might've had a few classes with him, but maybe not. Been a lot of years since high school."
Austin grinned. "Yeah, I doubt I could remember many people from my high school days. Do you know the owner of the bookstore? Seth Rollins?"
"Yep," Mox smiled. "Him I remembered from high school. His uncle owned that bookstore and allowed local kids to come there and study in the back. But he and I weren't what you'd call friends at that point."
"You two keep in touch?"
Mox shook his head. "Seth got a scholarship to some college. I think in Missouri. Left and didn't come back until his uncle…well, great-uncle died. After high school, I was an apprentice at a local place that made hand-crafted furniture. Until I was falsely convicted of murder and sent to prison, that is. When I got out, I used part of the settlement money from the city to open the place back up. Seth found out the business was open again. His great-uncle had bought furniture from the original owner, and Seth wanted some for the Study Hall he was working to open."
"But you're friends now?"
Mox nodded. "Good friends. I stood up for him at his wedding, and he's going to stand up at mine. In fact, he met his wife through me. She's my office manager."
"What about Joe Seanoa? Do you know him?" Austin leaned back in his chair.
"Sorta," Mox admitted. "Since getting out of prison, I've been living in Roman Reigns' house. His parents took me in as a teenager when my father ran out on me ahead of some bookies holding his debt. Joe worked for Roman."
"The two of you alibied each other for this incident."
"Alleged incident," Regal interrupted.
Austin nodded in Regal's direction. "If you 'sorta' knew him, how did the two of you happen to be together that night?"
Mox sighed. "I'd just gotten out of prison and was at loose ends. Roman was attending the opening of this new casino here in town. I wanted to see how Davenport had changed and get something to eat. Joe and I went out and wound up at a place a friend of his owns…one of those places with miniature golf, batting cages, pinball machines and stuff like that. We killed some time there, ate some food and then drove around town. I wanted to see how things had changed."
"Your business is just a few blocks from Rollins Bookstore," Austin pointed out. "The bookstore is two blocks south and one block east."
"And your point?" Regal asked with a raised eyebrow.
Austin shrugged. "Seems like your client and Rollins would've crossed paths earlier."
"We didn't," Mox curtly spoke. "I was busy getting my business off the ground, and Rollins was dealing with his great uncle's death."
"Mr. Seanoa seems to have disappeared from Davenport," Austin remarked. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
Mox shrugged. "Just what Roman told me. He said Joe had come to him and said he'd gotten offered some great job in California and was going to take it."
"Mr. Seanoa never said anything to you about it?"
Mox shook his head. "I had the impression from Roman that it was one of those 'if you want the job, you take it now' kinda things."
Austin studied Mox for a few moments, then smiled. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Moxley. I'll have your statement transcribed, and someone will contact your attorney for you to come in and sign it." He looked at Regal. "You're also the attorney for Mr. Reigns and Mr. Rollins?" When Regal nodded, he stood. "Let me get the recording to a clerk for transcription. Then we can talk with one of them."
Regal's blue eyes barely narrowed as he stood and nudged Mox to stand. They followed Austin out into the hallway and watched as he walked down the hall. Then Regal turned to Mox. "Get out of here," he quietly ordered.
"What's wrong?" Mox hissed.
"I'd say he's going to question Mr. Reigns next," Regal subtly urged Mox to walk away. "He's targeting Mr. Rollins."
"Seth's not…he's never had to deal with stuff like this," Mox worriedly muttered.
Regal nodded. "I don't want you here in case he tries for some sort of conspiracy about this alleged event." He saw something in Mox's eyes and sighed. "We can all four discuss this later…away from this place. Now, did you drive here?"
Mox shook his head. "I came with Roman."
"Leave now. Call one of your friends or a cab," Regal softly ordered. "Go to your business and don't go anywhere by yourself. I'll contact you when we're done here."
