PART 2 — THEY PICKED THE WRONG MOTHER
The bully's hand lunged toward the phone.
His fingers were inches away when a deep engine roar rolled through the park.
He stopped.
Everyone turned.
A large vehicle came to a sudden stop at the end of the walkway.
The doors opened.
A massive, heavily built man stepped out.
Dark sunglasses covered his eyes.
Several bodyguards followed close behind him.
The laughter disappeared.
The man didn't look at the gang.
He looked at his mother.
She was still beside the bench, tears running down her wrinkled face.
Then his eyes dropped to the ground.
The shattered guitar.
Broken wood.
Snapped strings.
Pieces of the instrument scattered across the stone pavement.
His jaw tightened.
The bully slowly straightened.
He looked at the enormous man.
Then at the bodyguards.
Then back at the elderly woman.
But instead of backing away, he forced a mocking grin onto his face.
He stepped forward.
The man remained completely still.
The bully shoved him hard in the chest.
Nothing happened.
The massive man didn't move.
The bully's grin disappeared.
He swung.
The punch came fast.
The man stepped aside.
His hand caught the bully's arm.
In one powerful movement, he twisted, pulled, and drove the bully down onto the grass beside the walkway.
The impact knocked the breath out of him.
The other thugs immediately rushed forward.
Two bodyguards stepped in.
One thug swung wildly.
The bodyguard blocked the punch, grabbed his arm, and forced him down.
Another thug charged from the side.
The second bodyguard stepped across his path and slammed him onto the ground.
The gang's laughter had completely vanished.
Now there were only desperate shouts and the sound of bodies hitting the grass.
One thug broke away and tried to move toward the grandmother.
The massive man immediately stepped between them.
The thug stopped.
He swung anyway.
The man caught the punch.
Then drove him backward with a powerful strike that sent him crashing onto the pavement.
The grandmother remained beside the bench.
She was still crying.
But now she was no longer alone.
The bully in the backwards snapback struggled back onto his feet.
He looked around.
His friends were down.
The bodyguards were standing.
The massive man was still in front of him.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared on his face.
But pride made him try one final attack.
He charged.
The massive man sidestepped him, seized him, and slammed him hard onto the ground.
The bully hit the grass and rolled onto his back.
He stared upward.
His chest heaved.
The man stood over him.
The bully finally understood.
He hadn't intimidated an old woman.
He had called the one man who would never stand by while anyone hurt his mother.
The other thugs slowly began dragging themselves upright.
They looked at one another.
Nobody laughed.
Nobody spoke.
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They were already thinking about getting out.
And the massive man took one slow step toward them.
