"Right."
They finished lunch.
Agrippa didn't tell him about Trent.
He didn't tell anyone.
But trouble was moving closer.
That afternoon, Trent and his friends returned to Centennial Park.
They didn't find Agrippa.
They found Ellie and her mother.
Trent approached.
"Where's your friend?"
Ellie's mother immediately moved in front of her daughter.
"Please leave."
Trent smiled.
"We're just asking."
"I don't want you talking to my daughter."
"Relax."
"No."
Trent looked around.
"Where's Agrippa?"
"I don't know."
Trent's smile disappeared.
"You will."
Then he walked away.
Ellie's mother watched them leave.
She called Agrippa.
This time, she didn't sound worried.
She sounded frightened.
"They came back."
Agrippa closed his eyes.
"Where are you?"
"Home."
"Stay there."
"What?"
"Lock the doors."
She did.
Agrippa drove to her apartment.
When he arrived, he found her waiting behind the locked door.
Ellie was sitting on the couch.
She looked relieved.
"Mr. Agrippa!"
He smiled.
"Hey, castle builder."
She ran toward him.
He crouched carefully.
"How's the castle?"
"Better."
"Good."
Her mother watched him.
"Why are they doing this?"
Agrippa stood.
"I don't know."
"That's not true."
He looked at her.
"You know something."
Agrippa was silent.
She folded her arms.
"Who are you?"
It was a simple question.
But Agrippa knew what she really meant.
Who were you?
What did you do?
Why did those men look afraid after you touched one of them?
Why did you move like that?
Why did you look at the situation as though you'd seen it before?
Agrippa walked to the window.
He looked outside.
"I used to work security."
"Security?"
"Long time ago."
"Military?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, "Something like that."
Her expression changed.
"Something like that?"
Agrippa smiled sadly.
"There's no easy version."
She waited.
Finally he turned.
"I spent years working in places where people carried weapons."
Ellie's mother stared.
"Military?"
"Yes."
"What did you do?"
Agrippa looked toward Ellie.
"Nothing she needs to hear."
His voice was gentle.
That was enough.
She understood.
Agrippa had a past.
A serious one.
But he had no intention of turning it into a legend.
He didn't want admiration.
He didn't want fear.
He wanted peace.
That evening, however, his phone rang again.
Marcus.
"Boss?"
"What happened?"
"Someone broke into the community center."
Agrippa frowned.
"Anything stolen?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"They left a message."
Agrippa's expression hardened.
"What message?"
Marcus hesitated.
"They wrote your name on the wall."
Silence.
"Where?"
"Main hallway."
Agrippa closed his eyes.
Trent had found the wrong door.
But this was no longer about pride.
Someone was deliberately trying to draw him into a confrontation.
Agrippa understood the tactic.
He also understood the danger.
If he reacted emotionally, he would give them what they wanted.
So he didn't.
He drove to the community center.
The police were already there.
One officer showed him the wall.
AGRIPPA.
Written in black paint.
Beneath it were five simple words:
YOU SHOULD HAVE WALKED AWAY.
Agrippa stared at them.
The officer asked, "You know who did this?"
"Probably."
"Names?"
Agrippa nodded.
"Five men."
"Do you know them?"
"No."
"Can you identify them?"
"Yes."
The officer wrote something down.
"Then we'll need statements."
Agrippa agreed.
For the first time, he realized something important.
This wasn't random anymore.
And if the young men wanted to drag his past into the present, they were about to learn that Agrippa wasn't the only one who had changed.
Five Against One
Three nights later, Agrippa left work at nine.
The parking lot was nearly empty.
He walked toward his truck.
His knee hurt.
The streetlights flickered.
Then he heard footsteps.
One.
Two.
Five.
Agrippa stopped.
He didn't turn immediately.
"Evening," Trent called.
Agrippa closed his truck door.
"Go home."
Trent laughed.
"Still giving orders."
Agrippa turned.
All five stood near the entrance.
No alcohol this time.
That concerned him more.
They had planned this.
Mason stood slightly behind Trent.
Kyle and Jared were spread apart.
Blake looked nervous.
Agrippa noticed.
"Last chance," Agrippa said.
Trent stepped forward.
"You embarrassed me."
"No."
"You put me on my knees."
"You attacked me."
"Same thing."
Agrippa sighed.
"No."
Trent moved closer.
"You think because you're old, nobody will touch you?"
Agrippa looked at the others.
"You brought five people because you're afraid to face one."
Trent's face tightened.
Mason looked away.
Blake swallowed.
Agrippa continued.
"That's not strength."
Trent charged.
This time, Agrippa didn't wait.
He stepped off line.
Trent's momentum carried him forward.
Agrippa caught his shoulder and redirected him into the side of a parked vehicle.
Trent hit the metal with a loud bang.
Kyle rushed in.
Agrippa pivoted.
Kyle grabbed his shirt.
Agrippa trapped the arm, turned, and brought Kyle off balance.
Kyle fell.
Jared swung.
Agrippa ducked.
The punch missed.
Agrippa moved behind him and pushed him away.
"Stop."
But Mason attacked.
He was faster.
Better trained.
He threw a combination.
Agrippa blocked the first.