by Roger Weston
“And why did you do that?”
“I wanted no part of his dark vision for humanity. I wanted to spread light in the world. I’d only been in Venezuela five months when the revolution broke out. I knew it was happening all over again—the very things that had driven me away from them. They were going to destroy Venezuela just like they had other countries. They bring down vulnerable governments and replace them with puppet leaders while they rob the country of all their minerals and resources. They promise fairness and equality while they impoverish entire populations. It’s a game to them, but I went to Venezuela to help the people. When I saw what was happening, I knew that I was the only person who really could help them, but I can’t do it alone. I need your help, Brandt. An entire country needs you.”
“What about the key? What was so important about it that they killed a man?”
“I don’t know exactly. They want to protect the vault of secrets.”
“The what?”
“It’s a secret vault on an island in the Caribbean.”
“And what do you think is in there that’s so important?”
“I was never allowed in there. It’s tradition, which they take very seriously. I think it’s something that could bring them all down.”
“You’re losing me.”
“Iguantola Island, Mr. Brandt. It’s a private island for a very exclusive club. That’s where the vault is.”
“Then the security must be intense.”
“It is, but Lawrence Robertson said you’re a man who can do anything.”
“And how is it you have a key to the vault?”
She looked shamefully down at her feet. Then she said, “I was close to Maroz. That’s why he hates me so much. That’s why he wouldn’t let me just walk away. I was a fool—an absolute fool.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You made a mistake, but you also had the courage to do the right thing. You left.”
“It’s not that simple. Children died because I left. Nothing will stop him. He burned down an orphanage. He’ll either get me back or kill me. You’re my last hope, Brandt.”
“There’s always hope.”
“I want to believe that, but look what he did to you.” She shook her head. “He’s ruined you, too. Maroz is above and beyond media attention. He rules the media. He is the general. He’s turned you into a viral sensation because he fears you. He’s a billionaire, part of a club so exclusive that ordinary people cannot even fathom the kind of lives they live. In Venezuela, I could support a family of seven for months for what he spends one night on hors d'oeuvres and champagne. To him, a celebrity is like an ant; ordinary people are far below that. The Immortals think they are an elite breed, and everywhere they look they see evidence of it. But the truth is that Maroz is no better than anyone. He is a violent drunk. That’s what he is. The night just before I left for Venezuela, he was drunk and ranting about how God is dead and if I went to Venezuela, he would target the country and not even God almighty could stop him. He hit me and knocked me down. He put a gun to my head and threatened me. Later, I found him drunk in his office, passed out on the floor with his face in a pool of puke and the key and the crystal globe in his hand. I took the key as insurance in case he made good on his threat.”
“I’m sorry for all you’ve been through.”
“Forget about me. Think of the children of Venezuela. They’re suffering far more than I ever did.”
Chuck was quiet as he drove through an intersection.
“What do you know about the Lancastria shipwreck? I know it was one of the worst shipwrecks of all time. Thousands of Britons were killed when Germans bombed her in World War II. I know Maroz is connected with an offshore corporation named Lancastria.”
“There was a black sheep on the Lancastria, a family member of the Immortals who had promised to expose the secrets.”
“What? You’re saying that the ship was sunken to silence one person?”
“That’s right. All family members of the Immortals know about this. It’s why they have so few defectors. They know that the Immortals will stop at nothing to kill a defector. There is no way to hide from them. They control governments and intelligence agencies from behind the scenes.”
Chuck shook his head.
“Now you’re starting to feel the oppressive weight of darkness, Brandt. I’ve felt it, too, but you said there’s always hope. There is, but we may find it in death. I’ve learned that light is more powerful than darkness. Nothing can touch the light.”
“I’ll try to remember that.”
“I hope so. The Immortals are the reason why so many bad things happen. Evil was never destroyed. Nazis and their collaborators were quietly recruited by the US to fight Communism. Evil cannot defeat evil, Mr. Brandt. It’s all a charade. Just like the Lancastria disaster. Because of high level traitors in the government, they were able to manipulate Churchill. That’s why he sealed the records of the shipwreck for a hundred years.”
“The records are sealed?”
“Yes.”
“And who was the black sheep?”
“A psychologist who’d planned a campaign of radical methods of induced mental breakdowns for use in concentration camps. But she suffered a crisis of conscience. The Immortals feared that her knowledge could subject Nazis to war crimes tribunals.”
“Radical methods of induced mental breakdowns?”
“Yes, but nothing very original. The Soviets had been doing it for years. Prisoners forced to listen to audios of their wives being attacked for their own deeds. Prisoners repeatedly almost frozen to death. Monitored by doctors to keep them alive. Brought out just before death. Based on methods of the Romanian communists. Things like that.”
Chuck was aghast. “I still can’t believe it. One woman! Nine thousand had to die just to silence her?”
“Don’t act so surprised. Nine thousand lives are nothing to those who killed millions.”
“But it was the Brits who sealed the records on the Lancastria for a hundred years.”
“I think they were pressured and manipulated from within. When you bring evil onboard, you’re going to face layers of problems.
“We’re talking about your old boss.”
“Yes, and I was caught up in the web of darkness and fear—fear of loneliness, fear of suffering, even fear of the light. Once I was saved, I could not live that way anymore. I made a clean break.”
“Not so clean,” Chuck said. “Very messy.”
“What am I supposed to do? I wasn’t trying to ruin my life and put others in danger. I was just trying to put my life back together.”
“That can be messy too, but you have to fight on—even to the point of death.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean nothing is easy, especially doing the right thing. Not easy.”
“So what am I supposed to do now?”
“You came to me for help. That’s a start. Now you help me visit justice upon Maroz. We’re gonna take a little trip.”
“What?”
“It’s time to pay Maroz a visit.”
“You mean the Caribbean?”
“I mean justice. No man escapes it. The cause-and-effect chain has to play out. It always does. Many fool themselves and think they slipped by, but nobody does—ever.”
“You don’t know what you’re going up against. This cause-and-effect chain leads to your certain death.”
“We all die sooner or later, Erica. The question is are you ready? Maroz doesn’t know yet what it’s like to have me breathing down his neck. He’s going to find out—very soon.”
Chuck threw the car into gear and released the brake, but jammed his foot down.
A man was jogging across the street. A car swerved to miss him. Another one skidded to a stop. Other cars did the same. One rear ended another.
The running man cut through a used car lot and headed for the south.
It was Hurst!
Chuck drove slowly out into traffic,
slowly like a stalking cat. He realized that the situation was just starting to heat up.
The End
Description of Book 9, Shadow Court, sequel to Shadow Lawyer
Available now!
Shadow Court: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 9)
Chuck Brandt has a million-dollar bounty on his head, but that’s just the beginning of his problems. A secret shadow court has called for his death—and their frightening agenda is changing the world.
Chuck must go after the legal power brokers who offered up blood prize for his life, but they are protected by CEREBRUS, a ruthless brotherhood of secret enforcers responsible for hundreds of deaths.
His quest for justice leads Chuck to the Caribbean and right into the path of a hurricane, but he could never have guessed what he would find on Iguantola Island.
Chuck is sometimes called world’s most elite assassin—an off-the-books contractor to the CIA and even more secretive agencies, but he was trying to live off the grid, helping hurting people and redeeming his regrettable life. All of that is now in jeopardy.
He must face adversity or be destroyed by an overwhelming enemy. He will face them. Eagerly. The reputation and skills that made him a target will serve him once more in the Caribbean. They wanted to mess with Brandt. Fine. Now they get to find out just who and what they have stirred up.
Start reading Episode 9: Available now!
Shadow Court: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 9)
***
Thank you for reading The Shadow Lawyer. I hope you enjoyed it! I am honored that you not only began the book but read it straight through to the end.
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Books by Roger Weston
The Brandt Series
VENGEANCE: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 0)
The Recruiter: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 1)
The Handler: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 2)
Rogue Op: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 3)
Rogue Op II: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 4)
American Op: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 5)
Global Tilt: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 6)
Vulcan Eye: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 7)
Shadow Lawyer: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 8)
Shadow Court: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 9)
The Doorman: A Chuck Brandt Thriller (The Brandt Series Book 10)
Coming soon: Book 11 in The Brandt Series
The Sands Series
GHOST SHIP: A Jake Sands Thriller (Book 1)
RELIC: A Jake Sands Thriller (Book 2)
THE TARGET: A Jake Sands Thriller (Book 3)
More Action-Filled Adventures by Roger Weston:
The Golden Catch: A Frank Murdock Action-Adventure
The Assassin's Wife: A Meg Coles Thriller
