Shadow

Chapter 22 - The Ripple Effect

'Leave? I'm sorry, have you lost your mind?'

Roger Marsh stood there in the middle of the suite with a perplexed expression on his face. Dumaka studied him; he was a short man, equipped with thick-rimmed glasses, his voice squeaky and aggravating. He looked like one of those men who still lived at home with his mother and did whatever his mother told him to do. Albeit that was the case with Roger, Dumaka, however, had usually aligned himself with people regardless of their stature or position in their personal lives. He believed in professionalism and good representation, but lately, his patience was wearing thin with this man and his demands, resulting in him finally packing his clothes in the bedroom and preparing to walk out. For good.

'I have had enough, Roger,' Dumaka said softly. 'This isn't right what we are doing; I use my power to tell people the truth, and you see that as entertainment and a way to make money. I, however, am against that.'

Roger scratched the top of his thinning hair and scoffed. His face creased as if he had digested something unnatural. 'We have two more shows. Two more nights. People are coming to see you. You know how many tickets we have sold?'

Dumaka zipped up his suitcase and set it down beside the bed. 'Tickets. Shows. Money. You can have it all, Roger. I don't want any part of it anymore.'

'You can't be serious!'

Dumaka picked up the suitcase and moved toward the front door of the suite but turned to look out the window in the main room, as if he was enthralled by something. He moved toward the window and saw the sun in its setting stages over the horizon.

'If only you knew what was happening...'

Roger stood behind him. 'Well, tell me. What the hell is the problem?'

Dumaka set both hands on the window and closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them again. 'Do you believe in monsters, Roger?'

'Monsters? Of course not.'

'You should. They exist.'

Roger sighed and shook his head in disdain. 'Look, man, I don't know what you're talking about, or what it is you're going through, but you better get with the program and fast. Do you want to throw your career away? You got a gift. Christ, you might as well put it to good use and make some goddamn money out of it. Make you rich.'

Dumaka faced him. 'Rich? That's what you've been doing, getting rich. I have been making you rich for a while doing exactly what you wanted me to do. You say what I have is a gift? No, my friend. It is anything but a gift. This is my curse, and because of my "gift", I have two good people out there right now, fighting for their very lives for the sake of humanity because of what I have told them. And what's worse is I can't do anything to help. You, the rich white man, will never have the intelligence or patience to understand. Now get out of my way.'

As Dumaka proceeded to leave, Roger forcefully turned him around. He had a constricted grip on his shoulder.

'You listen to me, nigg—'

'You watched your grandfather die, didn't you?' Dumaka implored.

Roger took his hand off Dumaka's shoulder and took a step back. 'W-What?'

'Ten years ago. You desired his money. You had too many gambling debts, and the only way you could pay it off was by getting the valuable cash that your grandfather had in his account. You stole his cards, hacked into his accounts and transferred the money. Once he realized what you had done, he threatened to call the police. So what did you do? You beat him until he suffered a heart attack, and you stood over him and watched as he took his last breaths.'