Larry frowned.
“It is?”
“A little.”
Larry immediately began fixing it.
Trent stepped closer.
“You deaf?”
Agrippa sighed.
“No.”
“Then answer me.”
“I did.”
The laughter from Trent's friends stopped.
Agrippa's voice had been calm.
That seemed to irritate Trent more than anger would have.
Trent stepped closer.
“You think you're tough?”
“No.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Because you look like you think you're tough.”
Agrippa looked at him.
“I look tired.”
One of the other men laughed.
Trent didn't.
He moved closer until he was standing directly in front of Agrippa.
Agrippa could smell the alcohol.
“Get up,” Trent said.
Agrippa didn't move.
“Why?”
“Because I told you to.”
Agrippa looked toward Larry.
The boy was still playing.
But now he was watching.
That changed everything.
Agrippa stood slowly.
Not aggressively.
Not dramatically.
He simply stood.
Trent smiled.
“That's better.”
Agrippa was taller than Trent had expected.
And broader.
But his old work shirt hung loosely from his shoulders, making him look more like a tired laborer than a fighter.
Trent reached out and shoved him.
Hard.
Agrippa didn't stumble.
He shifted one foot backward, absorbed the force, and remained upright.
Trent's smile disappeared.
Agrippa looked at him.
“Don't do that again.”
“Or what?”
Agrippa glanced toward Larry.
“Walk away.”
Trent laughed.
“You don't tell me what to do.”
He shoved Agrippa again.
This time, Agrippa caught his wrist.
The movement was so fast that Trent barely understood what had happened.
Agrippa rotated his body slightly and applied pressure.
Trent immediately dropped to one knee.
“What the—”
“I'm asking you politely,” Agrippa said quietly, “to leave.”
The other four men rushed forward.
Agrippa released Trent.
He stepped backward.
“Stop.”
They didn't.
Then Larry stood up.
“Dad?”
Agrippa's attention went instantly to his son.
“Stay behind the bench.”
The five young men suddenly understood something.
Agrippa wasn't afraid.
He wasn't trying to prove anything.
He was protecting his son.
And there was something in the way he moved that none of them could explain.
The man they had mistaken for an exhausted father had suddenly become completely still.
Balanced.
Focused.
Ready.
None of them knew why.
None of them knew what his ears, scarred eyebrow, old knee injury, and calm breathing really meant.
They had chosen the wrong father.
And they were about to discover just how wrong they had been.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The park had become strangely quiet.
A little girl near the swings stared at the group.
An elderly man walking his dog stopped on the path.
Even Larry seemed to understand that something serious was happening.
Agrippa kept his body between his son and the five young men.
“Listen carefully,” he said.
Trent rubbed his wrist.
“You think you scared me?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I think you're making a mistake.”
Trent laughed.
“You're surrounded.”
Agrippa looked around.
“I noticed.”
One of the men stepped forward.
His name was Cody.
He was shorter than Trent but heavier.
“Let's teach him some respect.”
Agrippa shook his head.
“Don't.”
Cody charged.
Agrippa moved.
There was no wild punch.
No dramatic swing.
He simply stepped aside.
Cody's momentum carried him past.
Agrippa placed one hand against his shoulder and guided him away.
Cody stumbled into the grass.
The others froze.
Trent stared.
“How did you—”
Agrippa raised one hand.
“Go home.”
Trent's face reddened.
“You're dead.”
“No.”
Agrippa's voice remained calm.
“You're embarrassed.”
That was the sentence that broke Trent's restraint.
He lunged.
Agrippa sidestepped and controlled his arm.
Trent found himself facing the ground.
Agrippa held him there for only a moment.
Then he released him.
“I'm not going to hurt you.”
Trent pushed himself up.
“You think this is over?”
“Yes.”
“You don't know who I am.”
“I don't need to.”
Trent looked toward his friends.
“Get him.”