Doctor Ryan and His Healing System

Chapter 24: Introducing Hunter, Stuart Halloway, and Louis Parkinson

When Mooney heard about the trouble that Ryan had gotten himself into with Hart, he began to worry. He wanted to help, so the first thing he did was call Den so that they could hash some ideas out between them.

Once Den had been brought up to speed, he ran his hands through his hair, sighed, and said, “I hate to say this, but I don’t think that Mr. Jones has a hope in Hell of beating Hart. He has no idea how cruel and heartless Hart is.”

Mooney nodded. He agreed with his son’s evaluation of the situation.

“We need to do what we can for Ryan,” Den said. “But now that Marcos has returned, he has to be our first priority.”

Mooney’s eyebrows furrowed. “What about our fighters?” he asked. “Are they ready?”

“They will be here soon,” Den replied sullenly.

Mooney sensed that there was something wrong with his son. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t get in touch with Ryan, so I don’t know whether or not he will come….”

Ever since Ryan had purchased Zack’s Ice Cream Shoppe, it had consumed all of his time. He had even quit his job at the hospital.

Mooney smiled and said, “It’s okay. I have faith in Mr. Jones. If or when we need him, he will come. I have known men like him all my li – ”

A large hatchet man barged into the room suddenly, cutting the old man’s words off mid-sentence. The man’s name was Hunter, and he was the strongest man in Edmonton. He was so powerful that he could lift large trucks. “Hunter…” Mooney smiled and said, “We have been expecting you.”

Hunter offered a hand to shake. “It is nice to meet you, Mr. Wood.”

As Hunter found himself a place to sit, a second man walked in. He knelt in front of Mooney and said, “My name Stuart Halloway. My sword is at your disposal, as am I.”

“It is so great to see you, Stuart,” said Mooney.

The next man to enter was Louis Parkinson, and his name proceeded him. He was the boss of an evil street gang. He nodded to Mooney and said, “Sorry to keep you waiting for so long, Mr. Wood.”

  “It’s not a problem.” Mooney smiled and said, “You guys sure know why I have called you here today. One of my sworn enemies is here. He is ready for the battle, so we must be as well.”

The three men nodded. They knew why they were there. They just didn’t know who their enemy was. “What is your enemy’s name?” Hunter asked.

“His name is Marcos,” Mooney replied.

The hatchet men had never heard this name before, so they did not have any idea how terrifying their enemy was. “Who is this guy?” Stuart asked. “He sounds like a chump. I’ve never heard of him…”

The reason that they didn’t know Marcos’ name was that he went by another name. The reason Mooney didn’t tell the hatchet men the other name was that he didn’t want to frighten them.

“I will tell you more about him later,” Mooney replied.

Hunter was about to ask him another question when they heard a strange sound. Immediately, they were on High Alert. So, when a grey-haired man walked toward them on thin air, they were not caught off guard.

Mooney stood proud and spoke his opponent’s name: “So, Marcos, you have returned…”  

Marcus gave Mooney a look of pure disgust. “Mooney,” he said. “Fate has plotted your demise. It comes quickly. Can you sense its approach?”

Mooney smirked and said, “Perhaps the reason that you can hear the sound so well is that death’s pale horse rides for you, not me.”

“Shall we go outside and see?” Marcos wondered.

The two men looked at each other with expressions of pure hate. They had both been hurt bitterly, and history had become so convoluted that they both thought that they were in the right and completely without fault. Of course, they were both wrong, and their ignorance was sure to rock the city.

Years ago, Marcos’ father had killed Mooney’s father. This made Mooney so angry that he killed Marcos’s father several days later. Mooney thought that he had done the right thing, but Marcos’ brother killed Mooney’s brother, and the back and forth continued to this day.  

The hatchet men stepped between the two rivals and faced Marcos. “Give it a rest, old man.” Hunter chuckled and said, “Do you really think you can hurt Mr. Wood when we are here to protect him?”

Hunter’s fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, and the anger coming from him was palpable. Marcos saw that he could not win this fight and he said, “Alright, then.”

Marcos left the way that he had come, and the hatchet men followed him. Once they were in the street, Hunter grabbed a car and threw it at Marcos. The Woods were shocked by Hunter’s power, but they were even more shocked when Marcos lifted his hand and froze the vehicle in mid-air.

Hunter looked Marcos in the eyes and said, “I didn’t know that you had so much power, but we are just getting started. By the time this is over, you might find yourself surprised by how many surprises we’ve got up our sleeves!”

As Hunter kept Marcos distracted, Louis drew a sword and slashed at Marcos’ head. Just as the sword was about to touch Marcos’ head, though, he caught the sword. He turned to Louis and said, “You are not a strong enough man. You should give up and run away while you can!”

Marcos then raised his right leg and kicked Louis in the chest. The kick was so hard that Louis slammed into a tree and slowly slid to the ground.

Louis knew now that he was no match for Marcos, but he was convinced that he could still play a role. Thus, he refused to give up. Just as he was getting to his feet, though,  Marcos rushed over and punched him in the head. Suddenly a stream of blood spurted out from his neck hole and his head flew across the yard.

Everyone gasped as they realized that they had bitten off more than they could chew.

Mooney was shocked. He had hired the best hatchet men that there were, but it turned out that even they were no match when it came to Marcos.

Marcos glared at Mooney. “You killed my father!” he shouted. “Prepare to die.”

After what he had just seen, Mooney was terrified. But if he had to die, he was resolved to die with honor. He let his hands fall to his sides and said, “I am here. Come and kill me.”

Marcos was a little disappointed to see that there was no fear on Mooney’s face. “Don’t you feel afraid?” he asked. “Don’t you know that I am going to kill you now?”

“Why would I feel afraid?” Mooney smiled. “Death comes to everyone. My father and mother wait for me in Heaven.”

Suddenly, Den stepped between them. He faced Marcos and said, “If you want my dad, you will have to go through me first!”

“No!” Mooney cried. “Let this end with me. Let your anger go and remember me with fondness.

Though Den knew that he could not beat Marcos, he would not give up. He roared as he rushed up to Marcos.

  Marcos laughed as he grabbed Den and threw him against the wall. His face struck the siding first, and blood began to gush out of his nose and mouth. Marcos walked towards Den, and when he got to the wall, he said, “How dare you challenge me, you little bastard?”

Mooney could not believe what he was seeing. “Please,” he begged. “My son is innocent in this. He was only trying to protect me. Come and kill me, and let this feud die with me. Please… Don’t hurt my son… My only son...”