CHAPTER 2: A SURPRISING BEATDOWN

"Hey! Assholes! I said leave her alone."

The robbers turned back to him, befuddlement but also amusement written on their faces.

“Oh, he’s still alive. Ready for another go, wonder boy?” The supposed head of the duo spoke up before leaving his accomplice with the near naked woman and stepping up to Zachary. 

“So, you think you can still fight me after the beating you just took? Well, it doesn’t matter cause after tonight, you won’t be able to take another one.” The robber smirked as he tossed his dagger from hand to hand.

About thirty seconds had passed by before the robber suddenly lunged at Zachary ready to take his head off with that dagger, but Zachary was notably quicker than he was before. He dodged every slash with ease and weaved so well that even the robber was shocked.

“You think you’re funny huh?” The man spoke again before rushing towards Zachary, now with evident murder in his eyes.

The man tried to strike again but Zachary parried the move by grabbing his hand and twisting it so that the dagger fell to the tarred ground with a clank. The man poured out curses from his mouth but couldn’t get out of the grip. Zachary squeezed tighter before pushing the man away from him and ducking low to the ground.

“The hell?” The second robber said as he missed his mark’s head by an inch.

Zachary, who had dodged the underhanded attack was also in shock at what he did. He didn’t know how but he could sense that something was about to hit him from the back, so he dodged. How could he be so nimble? Disregarding his newly acquired skill, Zachary stood in the middle of the two robbers and smirked before he gestured for them to come at him.

It was like a scene straight out of an action movie as the men rushed towards Zachary, but he spun around, just barely moving out of their grip. He bent low as he went around the head honcho and picked up the dagger that laid on the ground. 

The man with the bat ran forward and swung the bat at Zachary’s head but Zachary dodged the blow, grabbed the man by his shirt and sliced horizontally across his chest eliciting a pained groan and some blood but not enough to kill the man. Just scare him. 

“Take it.” The wounded one shouted to his partner, just before the bat switched hands.

The head robber, enraged by his partner's injury, swung his bat at Zachary's head. Zachary ducked and dodged the blow, then grabbed the bat from the man's hands. He used it to hit the man in the stomach, making him bend over and gasp for air. Zachary then smashed the bat on the man's skull, knocking him unconscious.

He turned to the second one and glared at him. On seeing that his partner was out cold, he stared at Zachary and began to beg for his life.

“Please. It was an honest mistake man. We didn’t mean to.” 

“You didn’t mean to try and rape a woman in front of me or beat me to death. Is that what you’re trying to say?” He questioned while walking slowly but menacingly toward the now kneeling criminal as he brought out the hidden dagger. The man squealed.

“I swear man. We didn’t mean for it to go on this long. I swear we won’t trouble you again. I won’t trouble you again.”

Zachary stepped forward, grabbed the conscious man by his collar and held the dagger to his throat. He decided to spare the men's lives since he wasn't a killer, but he wasn’t going to let them off without a warning.

He pulled away from the man and walked up to the other one who still laid on the ground helpless. Zachary kicked him hard in the ribs and waited for his eyes to open before speaking.

"Listen up, you scum. You're lucky I'm feeling merciful today. If you ever try to rob anyone again, I'll make sure you won't see the light of day. Now get out of here and don't come back."

The men struggled to get up after being thrown around like rag dolls, but Zachary’s warnings gave them the boost that they needed. Before they knew it, they were running away from the scene with their tails between their legs.

“Yeah, you better run.” Zachary shouted out after them before he tossed the blade in his hands to the floor and dusted himself off. He had just fought and won two armed men. How was that even possible with his run of the mill defense skill set?

Zachary stayed glued in place, pondering on what had just happened when the small moan of the woman he was trying to save reached his ears. He turned around and saw her still trying to get up from the ground, when he rushed to her side and helped her up. 

By this time, her clothes were already mangled and too torn to wear. The woman shrunk into herself feeling ashamed. Zachary turned away but proceeded to pull his jacket from his body and hand it over to the woman who took it without hesitation. He picked up her things from the ground and waited for her to cover up before he faced her again.

“Are you all right miss?” Zachary asked, handing her the purse.

“You saved me. You came out of nowhere and saved me without a second thought.”

Zachary scratched his head.

“It wasn’t much ma’am. Anyone in my shoes would have done the same thing.” He argued but the woman shook her head.

“No, they wouldn’t. Those men almost killed you. Anyone in their right state of mind would have run off when they noticed the robber's attention on me, but you did the complete opposite. You ran to my rescue.”

“Ma’am I...” Zachary began but was cut off when he felt someone crushing his bruised ribs. The woman had latched onto him, hugging him with all her might.

“Thank you. Thank you for what you did for me.”

Zachary stood in this awkward situation, not knowing if he should stand there like a statue or hug the woman back. Luckily for him, before he could make up his mind, the woman pulled back and smiled at him.

“I should reward you.”

Zachary shook his head. Although a reward would sound amazing at this point in his life, the woman said it herself. She was broke. Plus, he wasn’t sure he should take money from someone who was possibly traumatized at this point.

“I don’t need anything.”

“It’s fine. I know what you may be thinking and it’s true. I don’t have any money, but I do have a business opportunity for you.”

A job. Now, that was what caught Zachary’s ear. He let her continue.

“I am a cleaner, yes, but I’m a cleaner for one of the most powerful families in the state. The Moore’s. They have an opening for a bodyguard. A bodyguard to protect and watch over their oldest daughter.”

Zachary stilled. The Moore’s. As in Jessica Moore from West Brook College. As in the girl, he’s been trying to speak to for the past year? Zachary spaced out while the woman continued speaking but he came back when she had gotten to the important part.

“The interview is tomorrow and it’s a physical one but with the way I saw you take down those men, you might get the job. There’s a list of competitors but I can manage and get your name on it and the job pays a lot from what I’ve heard. What do you say? Let me help you get what you deserve. For your troubles.”

Zachary thought about it. He did need a job and if he could manage to win then he would be closer to the girl of his dreams. If he failed, then he might as well always live in her shadows but at that point what did he have to lose. He already wasn’t going to get the girl with how much he was worth, and the money he would earn wouldn’t be a bad thing too. 

“I’ll do it. I’ll go for the interview.”

The woman smiled at him, happy that he accepted. She brought out her hand for a handshake. Zachary didn’t hesitate to return it.

“My name is Hannah Cannes. What’s yours?”

“Zachary. Zachary Grayson.”