Beginnings 5

"Come in !" A voice shouted from inside the room.

As I entered the office and closed the door, I looked around the office. The office was a tidy room with cabinets and chairs neatly arranged here and there. The floor had wooden panels, and the walls were painted white. At the center of the room, a table was situated, behind which Matthew was seated.

"Oh, Nox! It's you! Nice to see you !" shouted Matthew in his usual loud and cheery tone.

"It's nice to see you too !" I replied.

"So? What brought you here. I don't expect you to pop in just to see a friend. " Matthew asked.

"I have some things that may interest you," I replied as I sat on the chair in front of Matthew's desk.

"Interest me?" Matthew replied confusedly; this time, his voice became a little quieter. He seemed to get the purpose of my visit.

I put the 6 files I had on the table. Matthew glanced at me and then took a file from the top of the pile.

"Oh hoo! This does interest me !" Matthew said as he finished reading the first file from the pile and went to pick up the second.

"This is evidence against John Vladson and his daughter, Marie Vladson. I must say I am very impressed, but I must ask, where did you obtain all this evidence?" Inquired Matthew as he flipped through the pages of the last file in the pile I had given him.

"That I cannot tell you, Matthew. Just believe me when I say that I didn't obtain them through any illegal means," I replied. It was a lie.

Those files were obtained only after breaking a myriad of laws like breaking and entering, tampering with evidence, hiding Marie's plan, and other things.

Replaying all the things I had done and been through, it was obvious that today was an eventful day, taking Marie's case, investigating the case, being captured in the warehouse, and breaking into the Mayor's house. I obviously can't forget the main highlight of the day, eating my delicious 5-star meal!

"You always do this Nox," Matthew said, letting out a loud sigh. "Anyways, with what you have given us, the Mayor won't breathe fresh air for quite a lot of time. To arrest a person like him, it's best that I go myself. I will take a team and leave for the Mayor's office right now; better to catch him while he is still asleep."

"Want me to accompany you?" I asked.

"You have done enough. If private detectives started to do all the work then the police station would just be a building where middle-aged dudes in blue shirts and black pants hang around." Matthew replied, giggling at his own joke.

"Plus, I think it would do you some good to take a shower as well as a little rest," he said, pointing at the mud on various parts of my skin and court. I examined my body and realized that dirt and leaves covered me.

"Well then! I better get leaving, Nox," said Matthew as he got up and left the office.

Exiting the office soon after him, I headed for my car. On my way out, I noticed Matthew was leading 8 other officers to the parking lot. Matthew was always quick to take action; that was one of the qualities that I admired about him. Could I ever become a person who could take quick decisions and actions?

Jumping in my car and heading straight for home was the obvious next thing to do. It was a relaxing ride as I drove, knowing I had finished and done all I could about a case. Even though my eyelids sometimes forced themselves shut, it wasn't a problem as the road was almost empty at this time of the night.

On reaching my apartment complex, I quickly parked my car and headed upstairs. My apartment building couldn't or wouldn't afford a simple elevator. So, climbing up six floors in my already drained body was exhausting.

In my apartment complex, there were two units on the floor. The house in front of mine belonged to some man in his early forties living with his wife and a child.

Opening my apartment, a sudden cloud of gloom came over me, seeing that no one was home to greet me. I suddenly reminisced about my mother. Whenever I came back home after playing outside as a child, she would always come and welcome me no matter what she was doing.

Shaking these thoughts away, I headed straight for the bedroom. After removing my shoes and putting my Inverness on a chair in the bedroom I fell on the bed, too fatigued to even take a bath.

The feeling of exhaustion finally decided to hit me with the bulk of its force. My eyelids shut themselves without me wanting them to, and my entire mind just went blank.

When I opened my eyes again after what seemed like a couple of seconds, I was taken aback to see that morning sunlight was already beaming through the window. I quickly glanced at the clock hanging on the wall in front of my bed. 11:00!? I had been asleep for an entire 7 hours !?

It was my policy to not sleep more than 5 hours on even the most tiring of days, but I guess that an exhausted body is stronger than a willful mind.

The first thing I smelled as soon I woke up was the smell of my own, stinky sweat. Deciding that it would be in my best interest to take a shower before doing anything else, I headed for the bathroom.

Taking a full body shower went on for way longer than it should have, as scrubbing the dirt and mud that had dried up on my skin was a tall task.

It finally felt like a lovely morning after taking a long bath. Deciding to take the day off, I wore a black tracksuit with white lines instead of my usual work clothes.

I sat on my desk and booted up my laptop to look at the news. Although it felt better to read the newspaper, the internet was, without doubt, the fastest way information and news spread.

I opened the hot news of the day, and the information about John Vladson's arrest covered the entire page. It was news about how the police arrested corrupt politician John Vladson with the help of evidence collected by an anonymous person. The politician would be judged at the court, which would take place at 11 in the morning.

Knowing that I had not been mentioned in the article was a relief. Like most people, at the beginning of my career, I too wanted to be as well known as possible, but soon after my name was printed alongside some cases regarding influential people, life quickly began to become challenging. People would come looking for revenge, and it would be a lot of work and a pain in the neck to take care of them. Also, experiencing some near-death situations made me opt to be more stealthy and discrete.

It was already 12:30, so the decision about the case probably might have already been announced. I opened up another article regarding John Vladson's case, and it read as follows:

'Mayor a criminal? Yes! Mayor judged of 4 frauds and 1 assassination! Mayor John Vladson judged to be imprisoned for life!'

I sighed out a breath of relief. "Good thing that I wouldn't see any more of John Vladson," I murmured to myself, thinking of all the work I had to do because of him.

It was also good that Marie wasn't mentioned in any articles. As Marie was young, it would probably hinder Marie's future growth plans and propositions; if it came to be known that she illegally consumed drugs sometimes. It would be best to punish her in secret so she left drugs and focused on her life. Matthew somehow knew this and didn't throw Marie's case to the media along with John Vladson's, even though it would give him more publicity if he arrested both the father and daughter.

Well, enough about work! It had been quite a while since I had last taken a day off. It wouldn't hurt to just relax for today. 'Nothing is more relaxing than fresh air' With this thought in my mind, I went up to the roof. The roof was 10 floors up, so the air was refreshing. The roof was nothing special, with a few potted plants, which someone in the apartment building tended to. A few chairs scattered around the roof, and a coffee table lay in a corner.

I took a seat on one of the chairs and closed my eyes. It was quite a pleasant experience. The fresh breeze softly touched my face every now and then, and the sun was covered in dark clouds, so it wasn't all that hot.

It probably would rain soon, but nothing stopped me from enjoying this breeze until then.

I thought about my parents; it was true when they said that the outside was a totally different experience from the inside the last time I saw them. What would have happened if I had gone camping with them that day? Just what happened to them? NO! I quickly shook off these hypothetical questions nobody could answer and focused on the things around me.

When I closed my eyes, I experienced how peaceful the world was. Unlike the bustling streets of City A, up here on the roof, in a neighborhood where nobody really lives, it was so peaceful that it couldn't be defined only by words.

My peace and calm were suddenly interrupted when the roof door abruptly opened with a loud bang. Jumping up on my feet, I looked towards the door.

16? No! 20! People were coming out of the door. Were these residents? If so, why hadn't I ever seen them around before?

"Hello, sir! May I ask who you are ?" I asked as politely as possible while giving them a stern look.

"Are you Nox Mill?" answered one of the men standing in the front of the crowd.

Had they come for me? Revenge? But for what? My name wasn't even mentioned in the article about John Vladson.

"What if I am?" I answered in a tone that was not as polite as before.

"We got some information that you are the one who provided evidence against Mr. Vladson. Is it true Mr. Mill?" asked the same man from before.

They were really here about the John Vladson case !? Someone in the police force might have leaked some information. I need to be more careful from now onwards.

By now, the goons had horizontally lined up in front of me, blocking the exit. They carried weapons such as metal baseball bats, wooden sticks, metal rods, and hammers. Some of the goons even had knives and machetes.

Evidently, these goons had no intention of leaving me alone, no matter what I said. The one who had talked to me seemed to be the leader. He looked around 30 years old and was about 5 feet with an average build, had fair skin, and short black hair. He wore a formal black suit with a purple shirt. The other goons mostly wore leather jackets and T-shirts.

I unintentionally let out a sigh. There were 23 people in total; 3 of them were standing guard on the stairs, most probably not to allow anyone upstairs.

"And what If it is?" I asked, readying my mind and muscles for a fight.

"Then we may have something to chat about!" Replied the leader, taking out a foldable knife from inside his pocket.