Chapter 4 - The Name from the Past
The bully who had lost the chain backed away first. His confident smile disappeared, replaced by nervous confusion. He stared at the bamboo fishing rod as if it had become a weapon in the old man's hands.
"Who are you?" he muttered.
The fisherman did not answer.
Across the shore, the elderly man who had been watching suddenly began walking toward the dock as quickly as his legs allowed. He wore an old park ranger jacket, faded by years of sun. His eyes never left the fisherman.
The tallest bully pushed himself up again, breathing heavily.
"No old man makes a fool of me."
He grabbed a broken wooden crate from beside the dock and raised it above his head.
Several people shouted for him to stop.
The fisherman only lowered his fishing rod.
His voice remained calm.
"Put it down."
The bully sneered and rushed forward.
In a blur, the fisherman stepped inside the attack before the crate could come down. One hand touched the bully's elbow, the other pressed against his chest. The young man's strength collapsed instantly. The crate fell from his hands and shattered on the dock.
Then the bully found himself pinned against a wooden post, unable to move.
The old fisherman was not squeezing hard.
That made it worse.
He was controlling him with almost no effort.
The former park ranger reached the dock and stopped at the edge, breathing hard.
"I knew it," he whispered.
The fisherman glanced at him.
The ranger's face turned pale with recognition.
"Captain Elias Reed."
The name spread through the people nearby like a sudden gust of wind.
One fisherman dropped his tackle box.
A woman covered her mouth.
Even the bullies went still.
The tallest bully swallowed.
"Captain?" he repeated.
The old fisherman slowly released him.
"That was a long time ago," Elias said.
May you like
But the ranger shook his head.
"Not long enough for people to forget what you did."
