Chapter 1:

The halls of Schmidt, Turner & Associates were already bustling at 9 a.m. that Monday. Emma Howland, Julian's energetic secretary, was sitting at her desk, already sipping her second cup of coffee and getting ready to answer the emails that had arrived. Emma had been working with Julian for a long time. She was a woman of not very tall stature, slightly ginger haired with pretty curls strolling through her back, her face was full of freckles and one eye of each color, one blue with shades of green and the other brown with shades of yellow, which gave her a peculiar charm. Her smile was impeccable and her personality quite energetic. This could be influenced by the many cups of coffee she drank a day, in ten years with the company, Emma never went a day without her coffee.

She was the typical example of a person who gave herself entirely to the work, but this was also influenced by the fact that she loved what she did and who she did it for. Emma never took a sick day, she always took too few vacations and had to be almost begged to go on vacation. She didn't have many private interests other than running and didn't have many friends either. The closest person in her life was Zoe, her sister, soon followed by Julian, her boss.

Emma and Julian's relationship was always exceptional, he couldn't see a life in which they didn't work together, as she not only mastered all his quirks and preferences, but also had an extraordinary ability to anticipate his needs before he even mentioned them. For example, he used to often lose his glasses, and Emma for some reason always knew where they were, she also always watered his plants when he would forget it and created a color system for his complicated schedule, so that he would waste less time when checking it. Julian loved to see how Emma did everything with such care and thoroughness.

Emma, for her part, found satisfaction in her work alongside Julian. She admired his work ethic, his intelligence, and his leadership ability. It was inspiring to witness his commitment to excellence and dedication to customers. However, on her part there was also a certain physical attraction to Julian, that she for various reasons had never let it show. One, it would be unprofessional, two they had a 15-year age difference, Emma had just turned 30. And three, among others, Julian had a beautiful family of two children and a wife. One of his sons, Niklas, was doing an internship at the firm and was in his third year of law school. He shared the same determined gaze as his father and was determined to prove himself as an independent man, who fights for what he wants, starting from the bottom. His daughter, Sarah, was still in school, but she would probably not follow the steps of her dads and brother. She liked a lot psychology and was inclined to go for it, once it was time for picking a career.

It wasn't hard to understand why Emma had a crush on Julian, she wasn't the only one. He had always been a magnet for women since his younger days, with his 1.90m, his light brown hair, which began with time to gain a gray hue, was always combed without a strand moving out of place. His glasses had a dark green acrylic frame, matching his eyes. His teeth although were not as spotless as Emma's, due to his smoking youth. But all of this didn't matter, since he only had eyes for one person, Pauline Schmidt, his college love. She is an anthropologist who had also created a solid career, despite having spent a few years at home taking care of the children. The perfect family, as they say.

A shrill sound of alarm echoed through the corridors of the building and everyone thought it was another test for emergencies, so they continued to work quietly in their places, until a tall man, brown hair and unkempt ran through the doors of our office without warning and put his hands in the air. As if to say that he didn't want to do anything wrong. The building's security guards arrived immediately after him and grabbed him by the arms. He was trembling nervously, and didn't look harmful, but he was completely beside himself.

"Please, someone needs to help me."

The man pleaded, his low voice covered in fear as he locked eyes with Emma, despair written on every expression line on his face.

"They're after me, I don't know where to go."

The office erupted in chaos as all the employees listened to what he had to say. The security guards already wanted to take him back, when Julian came out of his big room, with signs of concern on his face and said

"Let me hear what he has to say."

"Thank you, sir. I need legal defense, I'm being persecuted because of a job I did previously."

"And what makes you think you can run screaming into my office instead of calling and making an appointment like everyone else does?"

"Sir... I know maybe I'm asking too much, but... I don't have much left to lose."

Said the man swallowing his saliva dry.

"I'm being chased by the Mountain Climbers. I don't know if that name tells you anything, but I can cut the story short for your understanding. If I don't get out of here protected, I'll get out dead."

He said between pauses, caused by his ragged breathing. His cheeks were rosy and his eyes bulging, attentive and containing tears of despair, begging for mercy and human understanding.

Julian's heart raced when he heard that name, this guy could be a clue. He looked at Emma and she in response to him, a silent understanding occurred between the two of them.

"Well, in that case, let the man go." He told the security guards and went into his office.

Without hesitation, Emma led the man, still frightened, into Julian's office, closing the door behind them.

"Thank you for helping me, Sir. My name is Ian Berger."

"Nice to meet you, Julian Schmidt, partner and founder of this office. Feel free, tell me a little more about your case, with emphasis on how you got in touch with the Mountain Climbers organization. Emma will bring you a glass of water so that you can calm down."

Julian looked at Emma and made a gesture, she got the message and immediately brought the glass, resting it on the table in front of Ian, who thanked her. She left the room quietly, allowing the confidential conversation to flow within the spacious room.

"Sorry for the first impression I am causing you, Sir. I want to explain who I am, or was..."

The man looked down with sadness in his eyes.

"General manager of the multinational in circuit boards called GRI. Unfortunately I... I acted as I shouldn't have."

He laughed hopelessly.

"I was in dire need of money for family reasons and had no credibility in the bank, as my wife maxed out all my credit cards. I heard about this process of selling information and that it made a lot of money and fast. So I contacted the Mountain Climbers myself... Probably the stupidest decision of my life. We did business a few times and I actually made a lot of money, everything they promised me was true and all my financial problems were gone, so I didn't see the need to keep selling the information anymore. And that's when my problems began. Once you're in, you don't leave. I underestimated this fact, tried to argue with an informant of theirs and since then, they have been behind me. I haven't been going to work, because they would find me there, I'm locked inside the house all the time and I cry every day. My wife says I'm exaggerating, but I know now what they're capable of. I've seen things I wouldn't have liked to have seen. Soon I will surely lose my job and will no longer have a penny to eat, all my accounts have been frozen. There's no way out, and without my job I'm completely useless to them."

"I am very sorry for your situation. Maybe I can help you. What else can you tell me about this organization?"

Julian said with paper and pencil in hand, writing down the information he had already received.

In a strained voice, Ian explained how the criminal organization operated within the company, infiltrating each hierarchical level with cold, calculating precision, he was sure he wasn't the only one. The information was invaluable and shocked even Julian at the magnitude of the corruption that pervaded this company.

However, Julian felt that even though this information was good, Ian kept a lot more under lock and key. He knew that revealing everything at once could put not only his own life in danger, but also reduce his chances of being helped.

"That's all I can say for now..." Ian said with a serious look. "There's more, much more."

"I understand, Ian. Well, let's get to the point, you mentioned that all your accounts have been frozen, correct? This means that you can't afford to pay for our services first-hand... But I'm going to make you a proposal. I accept your case as a pro bono, if you sign a waiver saying that you will tell me absolutely everything you know about this organization, and I think you have better not hide cards up your sleeve."

"You have my word, Mr. Schmidt."

"And now to the facts, as far as I understand, only you and your wife, and now I, are aware of this situation. If we start processing your case, more people will become aware of it and a prison sentence would be likely at some point. In addition, there is a possibility that it will be made public. Would you agree with that?"

Ian snorted and thought for a few seconds, but the two in that room knew he had no other choice.

"Yes, Sir. I'm aware of the risks, but I don't see any alternative but to face it head-on."

With this, an alliance between the two had formed. Julian felt confident that this case had a lot of information to reveal.

"You're going to leave here today accompanied by the police and they're going to drop you off at home."

"Thank you so much for saving my life..."

Julian thanked him and watched as Ian walked out the door and was joined by Emma. His watchful eyes scanned the notes he made just now, capturing every detail of the newly made revelations about the Mountain Climbers and their criminal activities infiltrating the GRI. This gave him a lot of work to be done and that moved him forward, he needed to ponder about the possible strategies to deal with the situation. Swinging a pen between his fingers and biting the little skins on his lip, Julian thought about his next steps. He knew he needed to tread cautiously to protect not only Ian, but also himself and his employees. The offer to take on the case pro bono was risky, but he was willing to accept it in exchange for the valuable information Ian had to offer. If he succeeded in this case, he would succeed in the other. It would be like killing two birds with one stone.

Meanwhile, in the hallways of the office, Emma waited anxiously for news, aware that something big was about to happen. Although worried about the impending dangers, she trusted her boss. He always did everything masterfully. In Emma's eyes, nothing escaped Julian's wit and there was no challenge too great that he could not meet with his determination and intelligence. If anyone would be able to work on this case, it was him.