Chapter 4: Saving a Neighbor

It was a blessing that his service pistol had already been returned to his unit. Had it been within arm's reach, he might have turned the weapon on himself in a moment of pure despair.

Brandon had never been one for alcohol; he preferred hitting the gym or practicing karate to blow off steam. As he sat drowning in his frustration, a commotion erupted from the unit right next door.

At first, Brandon tried to ignore it. But the noise quickly escalated into loud thuds, followed by the muffled sobs of a woman in distress.

That was the breaking point. Brandon loathed nothing more than seeing a woman abused. Stepping out of his room, he followed the sound of the confrontation.

The door to the neighboring unit stood ajar. Just inside, a man had his arm clamped tightly around a woman's neck in a brutal chokehold.

"What do you think you're doing, man? Let her go—you're going to suffocate her!" Brandon called out, his posture instantly reverting to that of an active officer.

A few neighbors had gathered in the hallway, but no one dared to step in or help the poor woman, who was turning pale under the grip of the muscular, rough-looking man.

"Mind your own damn business! Get lost!" the man snapped, glaring venomously at Brandon.

Taken aback by the outburst, Brandon noticed the woman was rapidly losing strength. Any further delay could prove fatal.

"I said, let her go," Brandon repeated, keeping his tone measured even as anger began to boil within him.

"You just don't know when to back off, do you?" The man released his grip, letting the woman slump to the ground as he took a few aggressive steps toward Brandon.

In a flash, a glint of steel appeared in his hand—a drawn hunting knife. Several onlookers gasped in terror, shouting warnings to Brandon.

Brandon didn't flinch. As the man lunged forward, swinging the blade, screams echoed from the victim and the surrounding crowd.

Brandon took a single calculated step back, letting the blade miss him by inches. Before the attacker could recover, Brandon delivered a devastating punch straight to the man's jaw. All the suppressed rage and betrayal he had been bottling up finally found its outlet.

He didn't stop at one strike. Brandon unleashed a relentless barrage of punches and kicks that completely overwhelmed the assailant. Blood poured from the man's face. Without a shred of mercy, Brandon snapped the tattooed arm holding the knife, causing the onlookers to shudder at the sheer brutal efficiency of his martial arts skills.

Brandon only halted his assault when two arms wrapped around his torso from behind.

"Stop, please... Stop! You're going to kill him if you keep going!" the woman sobbed, clinging tightly to Brandon's muscular frame.

The woman's plea slowly brought Brandon back from the brink. He checked his fury, leaving the assailant unconscious and bloodied on the porch.

One of the neighbors had already called the police. Shortly after Brandon managed to regain his composure, two patrol officers arrived on the scene, shocked to find a man lying unconscious in a pool of his own blood.

Their shock doubled when they recognized the perpetrator as Brandon—the former young police officer who had just been dishonorably discharged days prior.

After gathering brief statements from the witnesses, the officers loaded the injured assailant into their vehicle and secured the knife as evidence. They asked Brandon to pop by the station later to provide a formal statement.

As the crowd dispersed, the neighbors excitedly whispered about how Brandon had single-handedly dismantled the man, who was later identified as a notorious local thug attempting to extort the woman.

Moments later, Brandon was sitting inside the woman's unit.

Now that the adrenaline had faded, Brandon realized just how striking she was. She had fair, smooth skin and a delicate frame, standing only shoulder-high to him. The skin around her neck was still raw and red from the chokehold.

"You're safe now. The guy who attacked you is in police custody," Brandon said softly, reassuring her as she applied a cold compress to her bruised neck and cheek.

TO BE CONTINUED