Prologue

"So let me get this straight. Our source in London calls out for help because a non-entity of hers decided to walk out of her office, when our tame copper in the West Country tries to stop this guy the whole of that side of our company falls. ALL BECAUSE OF ONE GUY? Just who is he?" Marcus Anderson regarded the man quivering in front of him.

"Well you see sir, we're still investigating the -" Perkins said looking at his notes but Marcus banged his hand on his desk.

"I ASKED WHO HE WAS; I DON'T NEED TO KNOW ANYTHING ELSE." Marcus yelled.

"His name is Chris Beaker, lives in Kensington, London and works as a computer programmer." Perkins said and thus incurring the wrath of Marcus again.

"JUST WHAT DOES HE KNOW ABOUT US?" He demanded.

"W ... we don't know, it just seems that he walked into the situation and then it unravelled, when we spoke to Wilkinson she just babbled about being made to dig up her sister, her mind must have gone as she said it was all magic." Perkins gave a stuttering laugh.

"Humm." Was the unexpected response

"Sir? You heard what I said, she thought it was magic that had been used, she must have been mad." Perkins was completely bemused.

"Oh I heard you Perkins, now listen to me I want you to take out this Chris Beaker, make sure that nobody hears from him again, I don't want to hear anymore about him." Marcus said taking up a sheet of paper.

"Of course sir, certainly sir, you know you can rely on me sir, he's as good as dead." Perkins said backing away from the desk and making for the safety of the office door, he was stopped by Marcus's voice.

"Oh and Perkins, should you fail I'll send flowers to your family." Marcus said hearing the stuttered 'yes sir' and the closing of the door. Marcus pressed a button on his intercom.

"Yes Mr. Anderson?" The secretary responded.

"Sally, I'm writing a report for the next hour, I do not want to be disturbed." Marcus said.

"Certainly Mr Anderson, I'll ensure that nobody calls." She said

Marcus switched off the intercom and then started up a tape machine. "Right where shall I start," he said out loud and then the player began with "In the past few years I have brought this company up from the... " and it continued as Marcus closed his eyes and concentrated.

Outside the office Sally Randall - actually Police Detective Constable Sally Randall - listened at the door hearing Marcus Anderson's voice as it spoke. She had already made a note of the meeting between Perkins and Anderson and was going to pass it on later.

Inside the office it seemed that Marcus Anderson was sleeping, however his mind was fully active, to him he was inside a large domed room the walls were covered shelves and on the shelves were black book and yellow books, in a discarded pile there were torn white books. Marcus had found out that the Black Books were the more powerful spells, and he took comfort in this. He already decided to discard the useless White Books they held no interest to him. He didn't know where this library came from, but once he found that their secrets actually worked then he dedicated his life to using them to his advantage.

Only it didn't work out that way, he cast a spell to gain money, and a wallet appeared before him, when he opened it he found forged notes, so bad that even he could spot them, when he tried the same spell on one of his school mates, the notes were perfect. And so he discovered that when he tried to use a direct spell for his own benefit it wouldn't work as he wanted, but if he allowed someone else to profit and then demand a share for providing them with what they needed then he could get something from it.

And from that he built his empire, If you wanted information – how to break into a bank, what keys were needed for a particular safe deposit box, then Marcus Anderson could provide, at a cost. To cover for this Marcus started his own company, private detectives at first and then he expanded it. - Security consultants - CCTV providers - Armoured Cars - Computer security. You name it and the Anderson Corporation could cover it.

Oh there were setbacks, but for those there was Perkins and his ilk, people who could get their hands dirty and rely on the Corporation to bail them out when needed. The Anderson Corporation knew people and they knew others and so it was untouchable.

This was the company that Marcus Anderson had created, and one that would brook no interference from anyone, not even the minor ones such as Chris Beaker.

Marcus sat in a chair he'd created in his library and opened a Black Book, he shook his head with a laugh, 'And Perkins thinks magic is the stuff of mad men' he thought creating an image of Sally listening at his door and wiping her mind of Perkin's visit with a spell, anything she knew was now lost.