VIOLATED

Tommy steps off the plane in Philadelphia not having brought any bags back from Europe he rushes through the airport to his truck, unlocking the vehicle with the key fab as he approaches. Immediately jumping in and starting the engine. Tommy is the type to let the truck warm up even in the summer months but not today.Rushing out of the parking lot and flying down 95 til he hits the Betsy Ross bridge ramp and takes it into Jersey. He rips through South Jersey rushing to get to the RMI office in Marlton. The closer he gets the harder his heart pounds. Palmyra, Pennsauken, Maple Shade he catches a stoplight that feels like it lasts an hour. Zipping through cars down Rt 73 Mount Laurel… and then Marlton. He was home free and once he reached the office he didn't know just exactly what he was going to find. A voicemail from Erin in the middle of the night had sent him scrambling. Leaving everything behind in Italy and catching the first flight possible back home.

Back in Italy Evan and Shawn have awakened to find Romeo missing, his bed unmade, his cane still leaning against the nightstand. Shawn pulls his phone out to call to find a text waiting. “Ran home i'll be back.” was all it said.

Tommy pulls his keys out of his pocket as he walks towards the glass office door. Grumbling to himself as he does. Tommy is miserable and exhausted, it shows on his face hidden under the worry.

He unlocks the door and pushes it open immediately calling out to Erin. “Hey where are you? It's me. DON'T SHOOT!”

“Me who!? She shouts from the end of the hall still out of site.

“It's Tommy.. Put the rifle down, I'm coming down the hall.” Romeo moves slowly down the hall towards his office knowing that's where Erin would be sitting behind the desk, The AR 15 he had gotten from Damien Michaels pointed at the door.

Erin can be heard sobbing as he walks down the hallway towards the cracked door. Tommy opens the door and rushes in grabbing the barrel of the rifle and pointing it down. She drops it but nothing happens, the safety still on. He grabs her and looks her over everything seemingly fine. “Where's Renee?” he asks in a panic.

“She wasn't here. I sent her to her parents house in PA after you called.She checked in when she got there.”

Tommy breathes a sigh of relief. “ Good move. Now sit down and tell me what happened” Tommy picks the rifle up off the desk and pulls the bolt back to clear the chamber looking into the barrel then pulling the rifle away from his face to inspect it further and realizing there is no magazine loaded into the rifle. He releases the bolt and checks the M204 attachment and as he does a grenade falls out of the chamber and his eyes grow wide. “This is what you were going to use? I guess no one was walking outta here not even you if they came back huh?”
He picks the grenade up off of the floor and sits on the edge of the desk as Erin starts to calm down and speak. “I was just working late. I had sent Renee home for the night and was following up on a lead and then I don't remember anything. I woke up vomiting at my desk Thursday morning and my clothes were torn. Tommy I wasn't even drinking. It's like I was drugged and…” Tears begin pouring down Erin's face. ”Tommy i was violated…”

Romeo stands up rushing around the desk and grabbing her, pulling her in close to his chest and embracing her tightly. Rage about to explode from within. His face bright red with anger. “Have you been to the hospital? Is everything okay? Are you hurt in any way?”

Erin sobs into Tommys chest “Yes. Thursday morning as soon after I came to. Tommy I checked the DVR there's nothing. The cameras roll, nothing is out of place, no one comes in, no one comes out it's like a ghost moved through here.”

“Enough is enough of this.” Tommy kisses Erin on the forehead. “I'll take care of this, I wont have you here alone any longer.

Tommy picks up the phone and scrolls through his contacts till he finds the one he was looking for. Tommy had given up on the grudge about the nickname after One Night Stand and tried to move on to greater things such as this man had. Tommy presses send and places the phone up to his ear. “Pick up, pick up, pick up.”

The phone picks up on the second ring. “Tommy Romeo you motherfucker, how the hell are you?”
“Not good, not good at all. I hope you can say something different for yourself.”
“Life’s good here in Utah buddy. Setup the wrestling school and the family is great. I’m mostly healed up from One Night Stand.” The warmth from the voice of Damien Michaels, aka The Chosen One, fades a bit as he realizes the seriousness of Romeo’s voice. “What’s going on Tommy?”

“Erin and I had decided after Cali we would stay involved in the business as well. We opened a management agency. Immediately brought on Blane and an old friend of mine from the UBW days. We set them up in this fed, the XWF and I decided to join them on the road and try to bring more talent in. Meanwhile Erin continued to keep tabs on the High Society they have one by one been picked off from inside prison.”
Tommy sighs loudly into the receiver. “The one thing these deaths all seem to have in common is a man known only as The Baphomet had visited them on the night. Then a couple weeks later someone going by the same name showed up in the XWF recruiting for a stable and calling it the Left Hand, and immediately coming after me and my employees and now last night someone broke into my offices and..... Assaulted Erin.”
The air is audibly sucked out from the other end of the line. “Jesus Tommy, how is Erin?”
“She’s okay.. very shaken up. “ Romeo growls, rage building inside. “ I need a favor. I can’t stay here. I have to go back on the road but I can’t leave Erin here alone. Our security system shows nothing. It makes no sense at all. I have no proof of anything, only suspicions.”

“Absolutely Tommy, I’ve got it. I can head out with a team, evaluate the situation, and get security established. If I can’t get a warm and fuzzy with her out there, she’s welcome out here with D. She’d love to have some non-testosterone type company.” Romeo hears TCO clicking away at a keyboard. “I’m not familiar with anyone called the ‘Left Hand’ though. Baphomet obviously has a lot of historical and cultural context...” His voice trails off as he considers the deaths of High Society members. “Who is still alive from High Society?”
Tommy groans having to say his name. “Danny.... and we are unsure of the location of Scarlett Rayne... she disappeared from her cell and no one has seen or heard from her since.”

“Is Danny accounted for?” TCO responds, the alarm in his voice all too evident and deserved in the case of one Danny Starr.

“He is... left in his cell to rot just as he deserves. Believe it or not as much as I hate him and wouldn’t put anything past him. This doesn’t feel like his doing.” Tommy slams his fist on the desk in front of him. “There is something much more ominous than anything Danny ever did.”

“Not sure I’ll ever stop watching my back with regards to Mr. Starr, but let’s deal with the immediate problem. I’m going to put a team of operators together and we’ll be to you in 12 hours. That should give you some peace of mind to continue doing what you need to do. I’ll do some digging with old intel buddies and see what I dig up about Baphomet and the Left Hand. I’ll also put a call into DOJ and make sure Danny is being treated with the appropriate precautions as a potential target or otherwise.”

“But I’ve got your back, Tommy. We’ll take care of Erin. What else do you need?”

Tommy takes a deep breath the weight of the world seemingly lifted from his shoulders. “I have another employee. Her name is Renee. I’ll make sure she is with Erin at all times. Just watch over them both please. That’s all I need Damien. I appreciate your assistance greatly.”

“You got it. Wheels up in a few hours. See you soon.”

“See you soon old friend.” Tommy hangs up the phone and lays his head on the desk exhausted.”

Erin places her hand on Tommys back. “I wont go to Utah. I won't abandon my work until we've cracked this, And you need to go back to Europe. I'll be fine here with Damian.”

“I know you will Erin and I'm glad you just said what you did.” Tommy clicks play on a clip of Lycana calling him out that Shawn had sent to him in his email. “It seems our friends want to play some more. “

Tommy stands up and kisses Erin then rushes past her. Walking into the back section of the building and into a shelved storage area. He reaches up to the top shelf and grabs the handle of a duffle bag ripping it off the shelf as he turns and heads for the door. The bag marked UBW swinging behind him as he heads back to the office. “Just wait for Damien here and tell him what happened, give him everything you have on the Left Hand. Tommy picks up the rifle slamming a magazine into it and racking the bolt back. Turning the safety off and sitting it back down on the desk. “No Grenades darling.” He grabs her and pulls her close, kissing her. “I love you Erin we're gonna see this through to the end one way or another.”

Erin stops Tommy before he can rush off to Montreal to meet Jenny “One more thing… you had a visitor stop by. Renee turned him away because none of us knew who he was but he said he needed to find you. He said his name was Oliver.

Romeo squints trying to think but doesnt recognize the name. “Did he say what he wanted?”

“No” Erin replies only that it was urgent that he contact you.

“Tell Damien when he gets here, have him look into this guy.” Tommy kisses Erin again softly and rushes out the door. “DON'T SHOOT DAMIEN WHEN HE GETS HERE!”