Do you remember the day that changed your life? I do.
It was a cold, dry day in March. A bitter northerly wind was blowing strong - just the sort of day to snuggle up warm in the house and not venture out to the gym. A year, or even six months before, this is exactly what I would have done. But here I was, just out of the gym and walking back to my flat.
I heard running feet down a side street. Did I know that the sound heralded a major fork in my life? Of course not. I saw a young chap in his twenties running hard. Five men were following him and they got hold of him a good hundred yards from me. A quick punch and the young man was lying on the ground. Two guys picked him up and a third punched him hard in the stomach and he sagged. One of the guys ran past me - judging from the car keys he was twirling round his fingers, he was getting a car. Was this a kidnap attempt? I thought it was more than that. There was a certain viciousness in the way they were attacking the young man.
I should have kept my head down and quietly called the police on my mobile phone. But I knew that the police would not be able to arrive in time. By the time I finished my call, the men would have bundled the victim into their car and vanished. So I did something stupid.
I shouted out, "Hey! What's going on?"
The men ignored me after a quick look. I ran up to the guys and asked again, "What's going on here?"
The leader of the gang nodded his head and two of them broke away and came up to me. "Beat it!" growled one of them. The accent was not English. Odd, what one's mind picks up when it should have been concentrating on getting me out of there.
I had signed up with a personal trainer about five months ago while getting over a nasty breakup with my ex. Three months into my training, I discovered that he was a specialist in street fighting - don't ask! He had taught me a few tricks - the simplest: concentrate on their eyes, not on their hands.
Pretty soon the two gangsters were on the ground writhing with pain and I launched myself on the leader. He appeared to be a better fighter than the two I had just dispatched, but he was taken completely by surprise. I broke his arm before he could react.
I glared at the last guy and he just dropped the young man's hand and ran. The young man was pretty poorly but managed to stagger away with me until we came to a BMW M5. He stopped, fished out the keys from his pocket and handed them to me. I unlocked the car, bundled him inside it and ran around to the driver's side before burning rubber.
I just drove away without any thought of a destination. After a few minutes of random driving, I looked at the young man whose car I was driving. He saw me looking at him and smiled through his pain.
"Thanks!" he said.
"No problem," I replied as if dealing with violent gangsters was a daily occurrence for me.
"Do you want to go to a hospital?" I asked.
"No," he replied, "Nothing seems to be broken. Just take me home."
He gave me an address, not too far from where we had started. He patted his pockets and then turned to me, "Do you have a mobile? I've lost mine."
I gave him my mobile and he dialled somebody. When the phone was answered, he said something in a foreign tongue. The conversation carried on, with the party on the other side getting more and more excited - as I could hear.
He finally ended the conversation and turned to me.
"Can you drive around for about ten or fifteen minutes before reaching my place?"
"Sure, no problem," I said.
"My dad is sending some people round to make sure it is safe," he explained.
We reached his place about twenty minutes later. We had introduced ourselves by then. He was Johann, a 21 year old student at the LSE. I didn't live at such posh digs while I was a student, but then, I didn't drive a Beemer either. I had already told him that I had to go as soon as I dropped him because I was late for something else. As soon as we stopped, two guys came out a blacked-out Range Rover and Johann said, "Those are my dad's guys. Thanks again, very much. It would have been pretty bad if you hadn't turned up."
"No problem," I said again and we both got out of the car.
The two guys coming towards us looked pretty dangerous and I wondered who his dad was. I didn't say anything, however. I just shook hands with Johann and walked away.
A week went by and I slowly forgot the adventure. I worked out the last week of my notice period. I was looking forward to a break and doing up my flat before looking for a new contract. Did I tell you what I do for a living? I am a software engineer. Not the best programmer in the world, but I could design systems quite well and enjoyed talking to users, so I was never short of work or money (as long as I wasn't too extravagant!)
The mobile phone rang and the display said, "Private Number". I hate that - its mostly cold calling sales people who hide their Caller IDs.
"Hello," I said brusquely.
"Mike?" asked a voice I didn't recognize.
"Yes, who's that?"
"It's me, Johann. The guy you rescued."
"Hi!" I said, my voice warming with recognition. "How are you now?"
"Very well, thanks to you. Mike, I know it is short notice, but can you join my family for lunch on Sunday? My folks want to meet you."
I almost refused, but then I thought, "What the hell? I am not doing anything particularly important."
"That's very good of you, Johann. Are you sure you want me to come along? You don't have to invite me, you know."
"Oh! but I do want to invite you. Please come along."
"OK, what time and where?"
He gave me the address and hung up. It was in a Surrey village. I'd been meaning to get sat-nav fitted to my car for a while, and I decided this would be a good opportunity to try it out.
Sunday rolled along and I drove down to Headcombe. I didn't know what to expect, but Johann had mentioned 'folks', so I got a bunch of flowers for his mum and arrived just before noon. The sat-nav had worked perfectly. The weather was glorious, as only a bright Spring day in England can be. The grass was green, the daffodils were out, the birds were chirping and my heart slowly sloughed off the dreariness of winter. I had broken off with my girl friend of three years in November - no, let's be honest. She had dumped me and I later found out that she had slept with my best friend. I had thrown myself into work and spent my spare time at the gym, ignoring all my friends. I didn't have a family as I was an only child and my parents had passed away several years earlier. The Christmas just past was the loneliest since my parents had passed away.
Time heals all wounds, they say. I don't know about that but it had definitely dulled the pain and now the glorious weather, the wonders of technology and the prospect of meeting some new people was lifting my spirits up.
I followed the dulcet tones of the sat-nav guide and drove up to the entrance of Johann's parents house and gulped in disbelief. I couldn't see the house but the driveway curved off into the distance. There was a wrought iron gate, shut, and the walls round the garden seemed to cover a lot of area. I rolled down the window of my car and pressed a button on a pillar by the gate. A voice squawked out, I identified myself and the gates opened. The gravel drive was neatly swept and lawn was perfectly groomed. Trees dotted the landscape and I could see a pond in the distance. The house was an old pile with turrets and classical pillars. A young man guided me to the old stables which was now a car park. Johann's M5 was already there and I parked my car next to it. I grabbed the flowers and walked back to the house.
The door opened before I could knock and another young man in a dark suit stood before me. He was muscled and gave me a quick once-over with his eyes. He smiled and I noticed that the smile did not touch his eyes.
He said, "The family is in the Sun Room, sir. Please follow me."
I again wondered who Johann was.
As soon as I walked into the Sun room, which was basically a huge conservatory, Johann came smiling to me. He seemed to have recovered well, though there was still a faint bruise on his right cheek.
"Welcome, Mike!"
"Thanks," I said.
Behind him came an older man. I could tell that he was Johann's father - the family resemblance was clear. He didn't stop at shaking my hand. He hugged me tight before letting go of me.
"Thank you for saving my son, Mike. I am Aleksander."
"No problem, sir. I did what anybody would have done," I said deprecatingly.
"No. Very few people would have helped a stranger and put themselves in danger. I am really glad you were around to help Johann."
I was embarassed and didn't say anything. Aleksander's accent was strongly East European but his diction was precise. Behind him came an elegant woman in her late forties and I handed her the flowers. She smiled at me and she leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. "My mum," said Johann, proudly.
"And this is my sister, Chellie," he said, presenting the most beautiful girl I had every seen.
She was about five and a half feet in height. Slim, a curvy bust and a glorious honey coloured complexion and dark hair. Her lips were perfect, not too fat, not too thin and as she smiled, her cheeks dimpled slightly. I stammered in front of this goddess before being led to a chair by Johann.
I don't remember much of the lunch except that it was very good. A friendly banter showed the family's closeness. I was tongue-tied, sitting next to Chellie.
After lunch, Aleksander stood up and turned to me. "Mike, I want to take a walk. Please come with me."
I looked at Johann but he just smiled encouragingly. I got the impression that Aleksander's requests were really orders.
I left the room with Aleksander. We walked out into the garden and I could see a couple of bodyguards discreetly tailing us.
"Do you know who I am?" asked Alexksander.
I shook my head. "No. I was wondering," I said vaguely gesturing at the property.
