Beyond the Shadow

The cold, sterile air of the courtroom enveloped me, making my skin crawl. I sat rigidly in the defendant's chair, my eyes scanning the sea of faces before me. Some I recognised - the police officers who had arrested me, the prosecutor who had built the case against me, the SOMBRAS family. Others were strangers, their faces twisted in anger and hatred. I did not want to be told they were the family members of the deceased.

The judge's voice echoed in the courtroom, but I could barely register anything he said in my mind. I was too busy reliving the events that had led me here. From the pinnacle of success as head of security for the Sombras, to this...this abyss.

The judge's words finally pierced my reverie. "How do you plead, Mr. Alister?"

My eyes locked onto the judge's, my voice firm. "Not guilty."

A murmur rippled through the courtroom, a wave of gasps, disbelief and outrage. If eyes could kill, I'd be five feet underneath the ground, and the family members of the deceased all sent dagger stares at me.

The prosecutor sneered, her voice dripping with venom. "We have evidence, Mr. Alister. Evidence that links you directly to the murders and a whole lot of other things, terrible things."

My chest ached, a pain I'd grown accustomed to in the past few weeks.

I shot a glance at Mr Edmund, but his eyes were void of emotions. He knew everything, everything that had happened on that fateful night.

FLASHBACK TO 4TH OF JULY.

I used to be very religious, never missed a Sunday, prayed with my mom every night, cared about going to heaven, but today I couldn't care less about waking up in the morning with the thought of going to church. It's a cruel world. The only thing that gets me up in the morning is my job, working for the most dangerous and ruthless crime family in the world, THE SOMBRAS. If only my mom could see what I've turned into, maybe things would have turned out differently if death hadn't taken her away from me so early.

Mr Edmund Sombra is the head of the family and the head of Shadow enterprises, the biggest Pharmaceutical company in the world. Well, at least that's what it looks like upfront.

Behind the scenes, behind those smiles and endless charity donations, lies endless drug trafficking and money laundering schemes the world has ever seen.

Mr Edmund has 2 sons and a daughter, the daughter Hannah being the oldest from his late first wife, but sidelined by her step-brothers Andrew and Francis when it comes to the topic of who inherits the “family business”. Not that she ever wanted to. It was clear to everyone that she despises what her father and brothers stand for.

It's the 4th of July, Independence Day. Mr Edmund has a meeting with the president right after the Independence Day speech, and he's already seated in a meeting room right opposite the Oval Office. As the head of security, my job is to monitor everything and everyone behind the scenes. You would think the white house would be the safest place in the country, but I can't leave anything to chance. My life depends on his safety.

I stood right outside the door for exactly 45 minutes, my team standing face to face with the country's most powerful security agency. We kinda have the same job, they protect the President, and we protect the devil.

Mr Edmund came out with a smile on his face and proceeded to his car, and I entered behind him. The driver drove us straight to the mansion.

We got to his office, and he let out a huge sigh. It was obvious how much that meeting meant to his business.

"Get me coffee," he ordered in his crackly old voice, and his assistant ran out to get it.

Okay, something is wrong. He has this non-conscious habit where he asks for coffee when he's upset, but asks for tea when he's in a good mood. But well, my job isn't to ask questions.

"Everyone leave.." he barked. Aside from me, there were three other bodyguards as well as a man who had requested to see him.

We all turned to leave when he spoke out again, "Not you, Alister." I shot a glance at the other bodyguards, who had a sorry look on their faces.

Okay, what task had I failed to do this time? I cracked my brain for anything, but I can't seem to remember anything.

Just then, Andrew walked in. He has the worst timing I've ever seen in my life, but this time I appreciated it; at least the old man's attention was diverted away from me.

His father has always complained about his impulsive attitude, walks like he owns the place…I mean, he does, but not yet. Sometimes, I think he thinks with his brain in his anus. The only thing going on for him is looks, 6ft2, dark hair with a chip on his shoulder.

His twin Francis might share the same face as him, but is a lot laid back and calculative. They're opposites.

Andrew stormed in and walked straight to his father "I need to speak with you privately now!"

The chief took a sip of his coffee and gave him a stern look, which pushed him a bit. “Are you barking orders at me, boy? Have you forgotten who's seated in front of you?” The Chairman barked in anger. “If there's anything you have to say, say it right now or get out of my office," he added.

He bowed in fear,” Father, I ehm, I”

"Well? Did a cat catch your tongue? ” Mr Edmund shouted.

“You.. you told me I was supposed to escort you to the meeting, but when I came to your office, you had already left”. He managed to say, still shaken in fear.

The Chief took another sip of his coffee before replying, “What was the time I gave you?”

“ 9:00 am, sir”

“When did you get to my office?”

“9:15 am”, he replied again.

“Exactly, so I was supposed to be waiting for you, rather than you waiting for me. How does that sound in that thick skull of yours?”

"I'm sorry, sir."

The Chief was tough on everyone, but Andrew especially, as he was supposed to inherit everything.

He took a step back, he dared not raise his head, the Mr Edmund I know will probably throw the mug at him if he gets upset any further. "Get out of my office, and next time, book an appointment with my secretary before stepping into my office like you own the place." Without uttering a word, Andrew left the office, leaving just me and the Chairman.

It was weird standing there but weird is part of the job and for a moment there i almost felt sorry for the asshole, Almost.

"Do you think I'm a bad father, Alister?" Mr Edmund asked.

His question caught me off guard. I hesitated for a moment before responding, "I never really knew my father, sir. Just my mom."

“Well, we have that in common, come here”, he gestured with his hand as I stepped closer.

"Everything you see here, I built from the ground up all by myself. Just like you I never knew my father and my mother was a whore which sort of explains why my father was only a figment of my imagination” he said with a subtle smile.

"I'm sorry, sir," I said, unsure of how to respond to his sudden outburst.

"No, no, don't be sorry, Alister. She's dead now, but one thing I can assure you is I made her remaining days on earth worth every bit of it. I did every legal and illegal job I could find, from working as a cleaner to pushing some coke for Barons. I was a good kid by day and a crook by night."

I nodded, still trying to understand the point he was driving, from the looks of things, he's taking his time before he drops the big blow, which I'm certainly not prepared for."I'm sure she's proud of you, sir," I responded cautiously.

He sighed, his eyes clouding over with a mixture of frustration and disappointment. "My children don't understand the value of hard work," he said, shaking his head. "They were born with silver spoons in their mouths. Andrew's got energy, but no brains. Francis got smarts, but he's too laid-back. And Hannah...Hannah's perfect, but she's a woman. She can't inherit the family business." He said the last part, his voice slightly raised.

Okay, have had enough, can he just go straight to the point? Am I fired or not?

"Well, that's by the way," he said, flipping his hands. "I have a job for you, Alister. Is a tricky one, but you're the only one I can trust to get it done."

Finally!

" I'm up to any task, sir, just name it."

He smiled and walked to his desk, he picked up a file and handed it over to me, it was labeled Classified, “I am being played i can smell it. The meeting with the president was a bust, I'm a businessman. My proposal was full proof and the only way it could have fallen through was if foul play was involved”.

Walking back to his chair, “ I want you to go to our office in Columbia and fetch me the finance records directly from the manager's office there something doesn't smell right and i will get to the bottom of it, I know its not part of the job i pay you for so i'll surely reward you when you get back. But this has to be done discreetly, do you understand?"

" Yes, sir, consider it done."

“Excellent, your plane departs first thing tomorrow morning”.

"Tomorrow??"