“Son,” he said calmly, “you really don’t want to do this.”

The warning only made Derek laugh harder.

“You hear that, guys? Santa thinks he’s dangerous!”

He stepped forward.

“What are you gonna do? Put me on the naughty list?”

Brett howled.

Jonah lowered his phone slightly.

Santa glanced toward the mall security guard standing near the escalators.

The guard had already started approaching.

“Enjoy your Christmas,” Santa told Derek. “Walk away.”

Derek’s grin disappeared.

He wasn’t accustomed to being dismissed.

Especially not in front of cameras.

“Don’t turn your back on me, old man.”

Santa stepped toward the overturned presents.

He wanted to put them back in place before the little girl got any more upset.

That was when Derek threw the punch.

A fast, powerful right hand aimed directly at the old man’s face.

Several spectators screamed.

But the punch never landed.

Santa shifted sideways.

Barely six inches.

Derek’s fist sliced through empty air.

His momentum carried him past the old man, forcing him to stumble forward before recovering his balance.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Brett stopped laughing.

Jonah stared at his phone screen.

Derek turned around.

His expression had changed.

“YOU THINK YOU CAN FIGHT ME, OLD MAN?”

Santa said nothing.

The young fighter charged.

This time he grabbed Santa’s coat with both hands, intending to drag him down in front of the crowd.

What happened next was so fast that most people couldn’t explain it afterward.

Santa caught Derek’s arm.

His hips shifted.

His weight turned.

And the muscular young fighter suddenly found himself flying over the old man’s side.

He landed on the padded Christmas carpet with a tremendous thud.

Wrapped presents jumped into the air.

A cardboard snowman toppled sideways.

The crowd erupted.

Derek lay on his back, staring at the ceiling.

His brain was still trying to understand how a man dressed like Santa Claus had just thrown him across the floor.

Santa stepped away.

“Are you hurt?”

Derek scrambled upright.

His face had turned bright red.

“YOU THINK THAT WAS FUNNY?”

“No,” Santa replied. “I don’t.”

The young fighter lunged again.