Shadow

by Jan Stryvant

  “So you knew the victim and that they had a child?” The DA asked looking a little surprised to Shadow. He noticed the judge was following this with interest as well.

  “I had never met the victim prior to that day, but for both professional and personal reasons I knew about them, their child, and their circumstances.”

  “I see, so what happened next?”

  “Shadow, Tomas, and Jimmy went in pursuit of the child; I took the victim with Thadieus to the hospital. As you know already the others searched for clues, evidence, and rendered aid to the other wounded that were found.”

  They asked her a few more questions as Shadow watched. Then it was Jimmy’s turn.

  Shadow watched Jimmy’s testimony with interest; they started off with the usual questions, when they got to why Jimmy went with them there was an objection and a brief conference at the bench. Apparently the DA agreed with the lawyers that Jimmy’s device was best kept secret. When questioning resumed it was with Jimmy’s part of the attack. Shadow was impressed at how deftly Jimmy dodged the questions without seeming to do so. He made only passing reference to the fight to get inside, but his details of Shadow’s fight was much more detailed.

  “So you were unable to help Shadow in his fight?”

  “No, Sir, there was some sort of force wall that neither I nor Tomas could get past. All we could do was watch.”

  “And what did you see?”

  “Well Shadow was in pretty bad shape, he’d already been wounded and until we got there and stopped it, there were others attacking him as well. But when the wall went up it was just him and the Dispatcher.”

  “And what shape was the Dispatcher in?”

  “He was fresh, Sir; he hadn’t been fighting until that point.”

  “And what happened as you watched?”

  “Well, Sir, to be honest, it was pretty nasty. He had the upper hand and was rather unmercifully beating Shadow to death.”

  “But Shadow did win the fight, did he not?”

  “Well, just when he was going to cut off Shadow’s head,” Shadow watched as Jimmy grimaced obviously reliving the scene, “Shadow changed into a cat and it threw off the Dispatcher, who missed his killing stroke, then Shadow got him by the head.”

  “And that was when Shadow killed him?”

  “Well, not right away, he emptied a pistol into Shadow’s body before he died.”

  “I see. Why didn’t Shadow subdue him instead of killing him?”

  “Well, you’d have to ask him, Sir, but I suspect having a broken arm and a broken leg and being half dead probably had something to do with it!” Jimmy said rather sarcastically.

  Shadow tried not to laugh as the judge reprimanded Jimmy.

  “So, what happened next?”

  “Well we ran over to Shadow, who was in pretty bad shape, to be honest I thought he was dying. He told us to get the child, so I did. When I got back after some argument with Tomas who wanted to stay, Tomas took the child and I did what I could to stop the bleeding. By the way, I was the one who partially stripped the body; I was using his clothing to bind Shadow’s wounds.”

  “Did anything else happen at that point?”

  “Other than him slipping into a coma? No. But I was sure he was dying at that point and well, he was pretty sure he was dying too. If help hadn’t arrived at that moment, he probably would have.”

  “So no last words?”

  “Oh, actually yes.”

  The DA looked at Jimmy. “And they were?”

  “Oh, he said ‘No regrets, saving innocents, worth it always’.”

  Shadow watched as they finished up with a few more unrelated questions. Then it was his turn. Tomas they were saving for last apparently.

  They went through his name and all of that stuff same as the last time he’d been at a hearing. Then they started in with the questions.

  “So how did you come to know the location and time of the next attack that day?” The DA asked.

  “I was given a tip by an anonymous source.”

  “That’s a lot of faith to put in a tip from someone you don’t know.”

  “Let me rephrase that, anonymous to you, but not to me.”

  “So a confidential source then?”

  “Yes.”

  “And so you rushed over to the scene of the crime?”

  “As fast as I could. But I wasn’t in time. The child had already been taken, and the victim was still conscious. She told me what had been said to her; it made it clear to me that the Dispatcher had evil plans for the child.”

  “So you decided to go after the child yourself?”

  “Wouldn’t you?” Shadow said looking into the DA’s eyes.

  “I think I’d want some help.”

  Shadow paused a moment, “I didn’t want to drag my wife or her friends into an ambush.”

  “An ambush?”

  “The target of the attack wasn’t the lady, it was the child. The Dispatcher wasn’t after her, he was after me. He didn’t kill her, so she could tell me what he said. I realized it as soon as I found her, he wanted to kill me. I was the one he was after, and he wanted to face me on his home turf, where he might have a chance of killing me. The entire thing was a setup.”

  The DA paused and looked at Shadow surprised. “Why would anyone go to all that trouble to kill you?”

  “Objection!” Shadow’s lawyers were on their feet and Shadow noticed that Tomas was talking to the government lawyer who then stood, but kept quiet.

  “Grounds?” The Judge asked.

  “Permission to approach the bench your honor?”

  “Granted.”

  Shadow’s attorneys, the team’s lawyer, and the DA all approached.

  “Your Honor,” the team’s lawyer began in a low voice that Shadow could only hear because he was sitting so close to the judge, “there is much that might be testified on at this point that the government, both city, and federal, would prefer to not be done in public, nor as a matter of record. The less known the better.”

  “Also, your Honor,” Shadow’s attorney Paul put in, in an equally low voice, “there are Fifth Amendment issues here, as well as already stipulated privacy agreements.”

  “I see,” said the judge and looked at Shadow, “this is only a hearing, you’re not under any compulsion to testify, you may step down if you wish.”

  “Your Honor, perhaps we could go someplace private, and I could answer the DA’s questions there?” Shadow said softly. “I’d rather not have all of this hanging over my head, and we both know the DA doesn’t exactly like me.”

  The Judge looked at the DA and back at Shadow.

  “Court will adjourn to my quarters to resolve certain issues,” the Judge said and banged his gavel. Everyone rose as he left the room, then Shadow got up to follow as the DA, the three lawyers, and Tomas left the room. He motioned to Shirley to join them, and she quickly got up and did so.

  When they got to the Judge’s chambers they gathered around his desk, sitting in the chairs that were already there. Shadow pulled Shirley into his lap and held on to her, he was nervous; he wasn’t sure where this was going suddenly. He needed her presence nice and close to help him stay calm.

  “Mister Shadow, not in my office, please,” The Judge said.

  “Your Honor,” Shirley piped up, “My husband is a bit on edge, trust me on this, you’d rather have me here right now.”

  “Fine, now what’s this all about?”

  “Your Honor, Sir,” Bert put in, “as the court stenographer is not here, can we assume that all of this is now off the record?”

  “Your Honor!” The DA objected, “This would highly prejudice any further case I might wish to make!”

  “You will not be making any cases here, George,” the government lawyer now spoke up.

  “Why not?”

  “Because he’ll get immunity ten seconds after you file the charges.”

  “What?”

  “Everyone be quiet!” The Judge said and am
azingly to Shadow they all shut up. He hadn’t realized judges had so much power.

  “Now, let’s start with you,” the Judge pointed at Shadow, “and the question that started this all. Why would the Dispatcher want to kill you?”

  “How much do you know about the underground?” Shadow asked.

  “A little.”

  “Are you familiar with the practice of fighting for advancement?”

  “Some, yes.”

  Shadow turned to the DA, “Are you?”

  “I’ve become aware of rumors about it.”

  “They’re not rumors. Who you kill affects your status, the more important and bigger the person you kill, the more important and bigger you become.”

  “And you’ve taken part in this practice?” The DA asked.

  “Unwillingly, I’ve never challenged anyone, but have been challenged many times. As you're not given the chance to refuse a challenge, and as they’re usually to the death, I’ve had to kill my fair share.” Shadow growled that part out. He wasn’t proud of it, he didn’t mind it, but he didn’t like recounting it to these people who’d never lived it and never would.

  “I stopped having to do that when Jin-Tao came after me and lost,” Shadow growled a bit more as he said ‘lost’, he could see the others were subconsciously moving away from him. “The Dispatcher was trying to move up as quickly as he could, but he didn’t want to kill anyone connected to one of the big gangs, the others would them view him with suspicion, and even he couldn’t take that many on at once. So he wanted someone who had killed someone important, someone who carried a lot of respect, was considered a tough nut to crack, but wasn’t tied in tight with everyone else, someone who people respected and feared, but wouldn’t miss.”

  “So he wanted you,” the Judge said.

  “Exactly.”

  “Wait a second,” the DA said, “Jin-Tao was only a lieutenant. That wouldn’t be enough to qualify you.”

  Shadow nodded, “No, it wouldn’t have. But I killed someone a lot more important than that.” Shadow looked around at all of them, “I killed Laughing Boy.”

  The silence lasted as it sunk in slowly; it was the DA who broke it first, “So that explains why we haven’t been able to track him. We thought he went to ground on us!”

  “He did!” Shadow laughed wryly, “Though when he came after me I suspect his goal was to have me end up in the ground and not the other way around.”

  “So you’re telling us that Laughing Boy tried to kill you, in a word challenged you, and that by your killing him, your status went way up in the underground.”

  Shadow nodded, “Exactly.”

  “But why would Laughing Boy come after you?” The DA asked, “You were not on his level, that makes no sense and sounds rather suspicious.”

  Shadow sighed and looked at Tomas who shrugged and then nodded. He looked then at the others in the room and decided. “Burt, Paul, and whoever you are,” he nodded to the Team’s lawyer. “Please leave the room.”

  “But, Mister Shadow, how can we represent you if we are not here?”

  “Yes, Shadow, this isn’t wise,” Paul added.

  “Some things one’s lawyers shouldn’t know. Please?”

  They looked dejected and nodded, then left. Tomas said something to the other lawyer who then left as well.

  “Anyone listening, Tomas?” Shadow asked.

  “Nope, we’re good.”

  “Great, now if you would explain this need for secrecy?” The Judge asked.

  “Laughing Boy came after me because he found out I’d been helping Tomas on the sly.” Shadow said. “He wanted to make an example of me. Sadly for him he became an example of what happens to people who try to kill me.”

  “What!?” The DA said. Shadow hadn’t seen someone that shocked since he killed Laughing Boy.

  “Shadow has been working with me for almost a decade, George,” Tomas said finally joining the conversation. “Remember that Fed super that almost died? Shadow here saved her. All those cops I’ve saved over the years? Shadow helped set that up. The kidnapped victims we’ve rescued? Hell, he never raped Fionna like people think he did, he saved her life. He’s provided me with a lot of help and inside information over the years.”

  “Well that explains why she hasn’t tried to slit his throat,” the DA said, “the rumor is that she has a love hate thing going on.”

  “Truth be told she and Centurion come over the house weekly for dinner,” Shirley said smiling. “Oh, and Shadow saved my life too, which is how we met and how we ended up mated.”

  Shadow watched as the DA shook his head, “I would never have guessed this in a million years.”

  “That’s why it has to be kept secret. Shadow still has connections that we want to preserve and neither him nor I want people to think that the team didn’t do those things are their own.”

  “But what about Circe?” The DA asked, “If you’re so good why are you running with her, why the ...” and he looked at Shirley.

  “I know about his daughter with Circe, don’t worry, George, I’m not bothered by it.

  “Okay, so why are you helping her?”

  Shadow sighed and grinned, “Well first off, I’m not exactly all that good. My views on the world aren’t exactly human ones, as for Circe, well she has powers over animals and guess what? I’m half animal so that gives her power over me. I can’t betray her, and within certain limits I have to help her. But,” Shadow looked at the DA and the Judge, “because I’m not a complete animal, there have been costs to her in this relationship as well. You’ll note her crimes have gotten less and less violent over the time I’ve been involved with her, I’ve even forced her to stop doing certain things altogether. From this point onward I daresay you’ll not hear her name very much at all anymore.”

  “Okay, but I’m still left with a few questions regarding this Dispatcher affair,” the DA said.

  “Sure, ask away.”

  “Why did you kill all of his henchmen?”

  “Because it was a trap and if I hadn’t there would have been no chance of survival for any of us, or the child. They knew he had the child anyway, so guilt by association, not to mention they’d helped him commit a number of murders.”

  “Why’d you maul his face so severely?”

  “Only way I could kill him. I had so many broken bones I couldn’t do much else at that point but bite.”

  “So you did mean to kill him?”

  “At that point, I really had no choice, I was dying after all.”

  “Would you have done this if it hadn’t been your child?”

  “Yes!” Shadow growled, “Most definitely.”

  The DA nodded and then sat back. “So what are we going to do out in the court room?”

  “Simple,” the Judge said. “I close the hearing. Tomas doesn’t need to testify, we heard what we needed to know, and you can end your vendetta of throwing Shadow in jail.”

  “Was I that obvious, your Honor?”

  “That rumor has been circulating for years, George.”

  “If it’s all the same to you,” Shadow said, “I’d appreciate it if you at least made the pretense of still being after me. Come up with how I pulled some legal trick or something or called in a favor from someone.”

  “Oh, I have an even better one than that,” the DA said, “I’m just going to quietly make it known that I didn’t have a case and you rubbed my nose in it.”

  “Alright, you can all go back to the courtroom, or go home; I’m going to go dismiss the case. Good day everyone,” the Judge said and they all filed out of his office.

  “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Shirley said with a smile and then kissed him.

  “Bad enough, I don’t know how you put up with it.”

  “Cause we get paid to,” Tomas laughed. “But they’re always willing to cut us a little slack and look the other way, if we don’t get too far out of line.”

  Shadow nodded. “Well I’m for home. Shirley?”
<
br />   “Yes, Hon, let’s.”

  # # # # #

  “So, quite a show there in court, wasn’t it?”

  Shadow was sitting in Bell’s, with Carl sitting across the booth from him. Cynthia was there as well, and so was Circe who was snuggled up rather close to him. Shadow was sure that the displays of affection passing between the two of them were making the others in the bar scratch their heads now that they all knew he was married to the Angel. Which was probably for the best.

  “You have no idea how much that sucked, Carl,” Shadow growled. “And it got worse in the private session.”

  “I have no idea why you even put up with it though.”

  “It’s the price of being married to the Angel,” Circe said.

  “Yeah, I have to at least appear to have my nose clean,” Shadow snickered.

  “Why even bother? What is your fascination with her?” Cynthia asked.

  “It’s personal,” Shadow replied.

  “And why do you even allow it?” Cynthia said to Circe.

  Circe laughed, “Do you honestly think I can control this furball? I gave up trying some time ago.”

  “But he’s sleeping with the enemy! Doesn’t that bother you?”

  Circe leered at Cynthia, “maybe I have plans for the Angel too, you know she is extremely hot looking and I do appreciate blondes.”

  Shadow snickered again at the shocked look on Cynthia’s face and the rather interested one that crossed Carl’s. “Down, Carl, keep it in your pants.”

  Carl looked at Circe and then at Shadow, Circe was a piece, that was for certain, and so was the Angel. “Shadow you are definitely a lucky cat.”

  “Look, Cynth,” Shadow said leaning back in the booth, “My goals, my plans, and my desires are not typical. I’m not really human after all. You all can do your thing, I will do mine. As long as you don’t cross me, we’re good. And as for how I manage my private life, well that’s private and not open for discussion. Now if you’ll excuse us, it’s time to call it a night.”

  “Alright, good night.”

  “Night.”

  Shadow got up and escorted Circe out of the bar, and caught a cab back to his old apartment. But rather than go inside they got in his car and headed back to his house, after he was sure they weren’t being followed.