2.

Shadow boxing takes on a new meaning when an actual shadow, one that is not your own, accompanies you to a boxing center, a boxing center you are visiting out of curiosity more than anything else.

During the summer of 1976, a six-year-old Michael Reilly often wandered the rather large family home after dark. If his father had known this then he most certainly would not have approved. With mum having recently passed away and with dad occupying himself any which way other than spending time with his son, these wanderings got the better of young Michael as did a shadow which often accompanied him.

The shadow too gained the boy access to locked rooms, within one of which the deeds to a boxing center were seen. Young Michael kinda understood what it was he had come across and Darkness made sure he did, just in case. Time moves on as it always does, the year which saw junior turn eighteen years of age also saw the passing of senior and in the Will not much at all was left to Michael Junior despite the fact his father had been a wealthy man.

Michael was left with the running of a corner public house, just the running and not the ownership. The ownership stayed with the estate of Michael senior so what that meant exactly was unclear to junior. Ninety percent of the profits of this public house would belong to Junior and the other ten percent would go to the very same boxing center Junior had seen the deeds to so many years earlier.

It was 1988 when eighteen-year-old Michael Junior took charge of a corner public house and eleven years later, it proved to be a place that took his dreams from him. During his early and mid-teens, Michael daydreamed of travelling the world and despite only turning twenty nine years of age in 1999, it proved to be a place he would rarely travel far from.

Also, in 1999 a young lady came to work with and alongside Michael. Her name was and is Greta Turner. She had been working with Michael a number of months when a night in particular came around where it was rather late by the time Michael and Greta finished up. Michael offered to give her a lift home despite the fact that his own apartment was right above the public house itself.

The offer came with a fifteen-minute wait for Michael had a couple of things he wanted to lock away before leaving the building. Greta kindly refused the offer. She didn't want to hang around and the walk home for her was something she had done often without a problem by this moment in time.

From the time his mother died, and perhaps even before that too, a shadow quite often accompanied Michael and it often informed or instructed him. Being only six years old and with dad rarely being around, Michael accepted this shadow as being something perfectly normal. The older he got the less often the shadow visited with him and the more he would realize that such a thing was not a common occurrence with other people.

The night a lift was offered however, the shadow strayed and followed Greta. She was quick to notice this shadow despite the late hour of night. Its movement was erratic to the point it was becoming frightening. That offer of a lift all of a sudden seemed quite appealing though unfortunately such a point had come where it was far too late to go back and accept. If she had known her coworker boss a bit better then she may have waited and now, still some ways away from home, Greta feared for her own safety.

A passerby noticing her discomfort offered aid, something under any other circumstance she would not accept. This passerby fellow soon had a change of heart deciding to take advantage of his situation and an attack of a pretty young lady gets underway. Escape came when Greta managed to reach for a pen and drives it into her assailant's neck, ending his life.

Six weeks pass and Greta is back at work, free from any official charges with it determined what she had done was done in self-defense, a little late too perhaps for she is pregnant as a result of that attack. A year or so prior to this, another young lady finding herself the victim of abuse and striving to move on, decides to make it her purpose to bring aid to women and young ladies whenever a situation may arise.

Yeah, Florence Reardon on her own personal mission pays a visit to Greta Turner in the place of her employment with the story of what occurred having become something newsworthy. Yeah, Greta's circumstances became known due to it resulting it a death and Florence growing her own foundation reaches out. With it not at all being so busy at the moment Florence arrives, Michael suggests to Greta to at least hear the visitor out before dismissing her or deciding to deal with her own situation on her own terms.

Indeed, as shadow had led a young Michael Reilly into locked rooms, it at around this point in time ... or rather a point just a few months prior Greta Turner's attack ... directs Michael to a boxing club his father once had the deeds to. Once inside this club, Michael sees that there are three training rings and within one of these rings there is a boy sparring, well two boys actually but one looks as if he easily has the better of the other.

'Sorry, can I help you?' a voice of an older gentleman speaks to Michael.

'Yeah, hello, my name is Michael Reilly ...'

'Seriously? Not a son of a Michael Reilly?'

'Yeah, you got it ...'

'Oh, I didn't know he had a son. Anyhow you are very welcome to look around and see how we do things here. As I'm sure you are aware, this club is still under ownership of your father's estate. My name is Sean and I, for quite some time now, have been running things around here ...'

The two men shake hands.

'That boy over there ...'

'Yeah, he is something else, isn't he? If he keeps going the way he is then he most definitely will be a future champion.'

'What is his name?'

'Paul ... Paul Malone. I'll introduce you if you like.'

'Sure, that would be great.'

As the two men walk towards the ring together Darkness decides that it is time to speak and when he does speak it will only be Michael who will be able to hear the words Darkness has to say.

'The boy ... the one you asked about ... Michael ... I want you to kill him.'

Michael looks at Darkness. He does not want to do what has been asked of him but when Darkness speaks, more precisely when Darkness gives a directive, it must be followed through with.

'Paul ... would you come down here for a moment?'

At this point in time Paul Malone is fourteen years of age and he does like to fight. Little does he know he really has some fight on his hands if he is to live long enough to see his fifteenth birthday.