They Mocked the Homeless Veteran Until He Fought Back

A train thundered toward Riverside City.

Andrew Allen sat on a lower sleeper berth in a worn camouflage uniform, his dark hair messy enough to cover most of his face. With nothing better to do, he had struck up a conversation with two strangers in the neighboring berths and talked them into playing a card game.

“Three of a kind with a kicker!”

“Double jokers! And a straight! Ha! I’m out!”

Andrew slapped his last seven cards onto the small table and eagerly held out both hands to the other two players.

“Five bucks each. Pay up.”

The middle-aged man sitting across from him reeked of alcohol. Scowling, he pulled out a five-dollar bill and smacked it into Andrew’s palm.

“I’m done. You’ve already taken a hundred bucks off me!”

“I’m down more than twenty myself,” the other player muttered.

The second man was only eighteen or nineteen. He reluctantly handed Andrew another five-dollar bill.

“Just beginner’s luck,” Andrew said modestly as he gathered the cards with practiced ease.

He had never met either of them before. He had simply been bored during the long train ride, so he had introduced himself as though they were old friends and invited them to play.

The middle-aged man was Hank, a native of Southvale Province. He was traveling to Riverside City in Midland Province to visit his daughter.

The younger man was Rabara. His school was reopening after the holiday, which was why he had squeezed onto this overcrowded train.

“So, Andrew, what are you going to Riverside City for?” Hank asked.

He pulled out a bottle of whiskey, took a swig, and passed it over.

Andrew accepted it without hesitation and tipped the bottle back.

“To find work.”

Hank looked him up and down. “Dressed like that, I’m guessing manual labor?”

“What choice do I have?” Andrew said with a self-deprecating smile. “I’m almost thirty, I don’t have much education, and I don’t know anyone important. Even security companies think twice before hiring me.”

He brushed aside the hair covering most of his face, accidentally revealing a sharp, striking profile.

Rabara, who was seated beside him, caught a glimpse and grinned. “With a face like yours, you could probably make good money doing private escort work.”

“Get lost.” Andrew rolled his eyes. “I have standards. I’m never working as a male escort!”

Hank and Rabara looked at each other and burst out laughing.

“Um…”

A timid voice came from the upper berth.

“Could you please keep your voices down a little?”

“Oh, sorry. We got carried away,” Andrew said immediately.

He looked up and found himself staring at a delicate, pretty face.

The young woman appeared to be a college student. She wore no makeup, yet there was a clean, innocent beauty about her. The nervous expression in her eyes was enough to stir the protective instincts of all three men.

“We should be reaching Riverside City soon,” Andrew said after glancing out the window. “We’d better start getting our things together.”

He lay back down on his berth.

The young woman had been sleeping directly above him. Dressed simply, she climbed down with a packet of tissues clenched in one hand, lowered her head, and headed toward the restroom.

None of the three men paid much attention. Nature called, after all.

About fifteen minutes later, a commotion erupted farther down the carriage. Faint sobbing could be heard beneath the angry voices.

Andrew’s closed eyes snapped open.

For an instant, a cold, razor-sharp light flashed through them.

He sat up, stepped into the aisle, and forced his way toward the noise.

At the far end of the carriage, a middle-aged couple had seized the young woman by the arm.

“You little thief!” the man shouted viciously. “You’re already stealing wallets at your age?”

“I… I didn’t steal anything,” the young woman stammered, pale and helpless.

“You didn’t? Then what’s this?”

The man’s wife, a heavyset woman wearing a cheap fur coat, reached into the young woman’s jacket pocket and pulled out a wallet with practiced speed.

The moment the young woman saw it, all the color drained from her face. Tears gathered in her eyes.

“It wasn’t me. I don’t know how that wallet got into my pocket.”

“Still denying it?” the man snapped. “You stole my wallet!”

He tightened his grip on her arm and jabbed a finger toward her face as though her guilt had already been proven.

A crowd quickly formed around them. People began whispering and pointing at the young woman. Several passengers even pulled out their phones to record the scene.

Andrew frowned.

Standing just over six feet tall, he pushed through the crowd like a charging bull. His forceful manner drew several angry curses, but one sweep of his icy gaze immediately silenced them.

“What happened?”

Andrew stopped beside the young woman. The helplessness in her eyes made his expression soften.

“They said I stole their wallet, but I didn’t.”

The instant she saw him, the young woman could no longer hold back. Large tears rolled down her cheeks as all her fear and humiliation burst free.

Mistaking Andrew for a relative, the couple immediately grabbed at him as well.

“You’re with her, aren’t you?” the woman demanded. “Good. She stole my wallet. How are you going to compensate us?”

“Let go,” Andrew said coldly, glancing at the hands on his arm.

“Don’t try to act tough with me!” the man barked. “I can have both of you dragged to the police station!”

Despite his words, he instinctively released Andrew.

The moment he touched Andrew’s arm, he had felt muscles as hard as steel beneath the camouflage jacket. This man was clearly not someone he could easily intimidate.

Andrew ignored him and turned back to the young woman.

“It’s all right. I’m here now. No one is going to hurt you. Tell me exactly what happened.”

As though she had finally found someone she could rely on, the young woman quickly recounted the incident.

“I see.”

Once she finished, Andrew understood the situation immediately.

She had done nothing wrong. She had simply run into a pair of experienced extortionists.

Andrew turned to the couple.

“You claim she stole your wallet. What evidence do you have?”

“The wallet is the evidence!”

The heavyset woman held it up, then pointed at the surrounding passengers.

“They all saw me pull it out of her pocket!”

A faint smile tugged at Andrew’s lips. He swept his gaze across the crowd and raised his voice.

“Who can confirm their story? Step forward.”

Silence.

The passengers exchanged uneasy glances, but not one of them spoke.

Getting involved in someone else’s dispute was an easy way to invite trouble. Most people preferred to stay out of it.

“You see?” Andrew said with a smile, as though he had expected exactly this response. “No one can confirm what you said.”

“Damn it! Are you trying to weasel your way out of this?” the man snarled, finally dropping the act. “I’m telling you right now—if you don’t pay us a few thousand dollars, I’m calling the police!”

His true objective had slipped out before he could stop himself.

“Go ahead,” Andrew said calmly, folding his arms. “No one is stopping you. Of course, that depends on whether the police find her fingerprints on the wallet.”

The heavyset woman’s mouth opened, but no words came out. She clenched her teeth in frustration.

They had run this scam countless times. She had never expected to meet someone this difficult today.

The man stepped closer and grabbed Andrew by the collar, trying to pull him down to eye level. Andrew did not move an inch. Left with no choice, the shorter man rose onto his toes and lowered his voice.

“Listen, kid. I suggest you be smart. Pay us, and everyone walks away peacefully. Otherwise, once you get off this train, there’s no telling what kind of accident might happen to you.”

Andrew lowered his eyes and stared at him.

“I suggest you be smart too,” he replied. “My patience is limited. The fact that I’ve spoken this much is already the last courtesy you’re going to get from me.”

The threat in Andrew’s gaze was unmistakable.