Alex pushed Sawyer's wheelchair down the hospital corridor and then outside. Although it was the middle of winter, the chapel would be warm and inviting, because it sat in the courtyard.
On the way, Sawyer asked softly, "Alex, who else is there in your family?"
"My family? Well, my parents are around, and I have a great-grandfather," Alex said contemplatively, feeling a little homesick. "A few days ago, I saw my mother, and she wanted to set me up with someone. You know how mothers are. But I already have someone special."
"Yes, it's hard for parents to not interfere with their children's lives." Sawyer glanced up at Alex, who was still pushing the wheelchair. "You must introduce me to your parents someday. I want to thank them for raising such a good son."
Alex nodded. "Okay, when they come to Baltimore, I'll take you to visit them."
"No, I should go to them," Sawyer said, and then waved his hand to change the subject. "I heard that you also know martial arts?"
"I know a few things," Alex said simply.
Sawyer went back to the topic of family. "You mentioned that your mother is happy. She must be proud of you. Do you remember much from your childhood?"
Alex's expression turned sad. "No, I have no memories of my childhood. My parents worked a lot, so I didn't see much of them."
"That must have been hard," Sawyer said. "Well, it's said that parents often reminisce with their grown children about their childhoods. Do they ever talk to you about it? Do your parents love you?"
"Not really." Alex shrugged. "It hurts. How can it not hurt?" It felt strange talking to Sawyer about these things. He hardly knew the man, yet Sawyer was asking him so many curious and personal questions.
"Oh, yes, how can it not hurt?" Sawyer mused. As he spoke, he raised his head slightly and looked at the quiet courtyard around them. Finally, he spoke again, "So, if you had an adoptive parent or a biological parent, which one would you be closer to? I mean, if you had been adopted, but met your biological parents, would you want to be close with them?" His gaze was intense and held a trace of eagerness as he waited for Alex's answer.
Alex was stunned, and then he laughed. "I have no idea. It's never come up. If I already have two parents, adoptive or not, they are the only ones I know. Even if I had been adopted, I don't know if I would ever meet my biological parents. Besides, I wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of my adoptive parents."
Both men were quiet after that. Very quiet.
The silence deepened and grew ominous. Soon, no sounds were heard at all, no rustling of leaves, or of laughter, or traffic. Alex sensed and smelled danger in the air, and he grew more alert.
"Something's wrong," he whispered to Sawyer. "Someone's here."
Sawyer had sensed trouble at the same moment as Alex. He flicked his wrist, and a dagger emerged from his sleeve, and he whirled it out into the courtyard. It struck the grass, not far to his right.
The grass parted, revealing the shadows of figures shifting back and forth.
Another dagger appeared in his hand and flashed out. It struck a masked woman who fell to the ground. Two knives fell out of her hands.
Sawyer didn't stop, and more daggers flew from his hand.
In front of them, a big tree trembled, and a man in gray clothes fell from one of the branches. He jumped to his feet and dodged to the side, but he was still half a beat too slow, and Sawyer dropped him with another dagger.
He waved his arm again, and four more daggers appeared in his hand. He aimed quickly and threw them outward. Four screams came from the far end of the courtyard, and four bodies slumped to the ground, groaning.
"Who are you?" one of the attackers asked, teeth gritted in pain.
Alex wondered the same thing. Who is this guy? What is this guy? His strength and skill are amazing!
A trace of scorn flashed in Sawyer's eyes as he stared at the fallen attackers and said, "I tell you now, whoever you are, anyone who dares to attack Alex will have me to answer to. Do you understand? Take that message back to whoever sent you. Be gone!"
The attackers rolled to their feet, glaring at him. They wanted to ridicule Sawyer's arrogance, but the strength of his attack had shocked them, and they knew he wasn't joking.
Alex's surprise hadn't faded, either. Sawyer's strength was beyond his imagination.
He hadn't even remotely expected that the man who had been near death only a week before, could now wield such powerful martial arts skills with only one hand.
Alex remembered what Maryann had said about Sawyer's skills. Twenty years ago, he had been a powerful member of the Rumble Club. Alex hadn't really taken her words seriously, but now, after seeing what Sawyer had just done, he was in awe of the man.
The attackers, all wounded but still alive, drifted off into the night.
The woman in the mask pulled out her phone and made a call. When the call was answered, she said, "Mr. Murdoch, the attack has failed. We had to retreat."
"How come you're still alive?" Steven's voice was cold.
The masked woman, crestfallen, replied in a whisper, "They attacked us before we could even get started. They figured out we were there, and we had to get away before we were killed."
"I see," said Steven. "So, the stories about Alex's abilities are true. His skills really are beyond my expectation."
The masked woman was confused. "Sir, it wasn't Alex who attacked us. It was Sawyer Landon. We thought he was paralyzed, but apparently, he has recovered and has regained his martial arts skills." She paused before going on. "He wanted us to pass on a message to you. Sawyer said that anyone who dares to go after Alex will have to answer to him."
"What?" Steven cried. "Why that arrogant little…" He trailed off angrily, unable to finish his sentence.
**
Back at the hospital, Alex helped Sawyer back to his room after the attack.
"Alex, I heard you took over the Woodside Clinic. Is that true?" Sawyer asked as he cleaned up his clothes and daggers. "Is business booming?"
"Unfortunately, no," Alex responded. "I've just taken over, and I don't have a single patient. I never intended to become a doctor."
Alex paused and then smiled before going on. "To put it bluntly, it's been a wild road. On the first day I went to the Woodside Clinic, I scared away eight doctors and more than thirty others."