Gifted Book 1

By Walter Strychowskyj

Wally, a lawyer has psychic abilities. His eyes are like a computer. Everything he sees is scanned into his unlimited memory. He can also scan other people's memories and read their minds just by touching them. Wally never forgets and has the ability to retrieve any information he wants. His grandparents taught Wally how to pray and meditate. Hi

• Language: English
• Publisher: LitPrime Solutions
• Release date: Oct 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9798887030821

Walter Strychowskyj

I was writing short stories as a hobby throughout high school and university. I graduated with a degree in Physical Education at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada. During the pandemic I expanded one of my short stories into a full length novel.

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© 2022 Walter Strychowskyj. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by LitPrime Solutions 11/28/2022

ISBN: 979-8-88703-081-4(sc)

ISBN: 979-8-88703-082-1(e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022919327

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by iStock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

About the Author

Chapter 1

Maria Kozak asked Danelo, Are you ready? We have to be at the airport in an hour. She, along with her parents, John and Donna, and her childhood sweetheart Danelo Klyn, was leaving their home. They are going to live in New York City.

They lived in a small Ukrainian village in the Carpathian Mountains. The village survived mostly by farming, hunting, and fishing. Some of the villagers made pottery and painted pictures to sell to tourists; the restaurants and pastry shops were very popular with the tourists. In the winter, the village received a lot of business from a nearby ski resort. The English language was taught in schools, so most of the villagers were fluent. That came in handy because most of the tourists spoke English.

Cossack dancing was also taught in schools. Many of the children joined dance ensembles from Lviv and performed in concert halls throughout Europe. Maria’s father was one of the many dance instructors in the village who taught the children. The activity was so popular that the village even had its concert hall. Cossack dancing is also a form of ancient martial arts. In medieval times Cossack warriors learned how to defend themselves in battle by learning how to dance. They constantly went to war against their enemies to protect their territory.

Maria’s family loaded their luggage in a taxi and left for the city of Kalush. There, a bus would take them to the airport in the city of Lviv.

Maria’s older brother Ivan, and his wife Lydia, lived in New York City. Their son Peter had stayed behind in the village when they left. He didn’t want to live in New York. The opportunity for Ivan and Lydia came when Michael Mills, a tourist, visited Ivan and Lydia’s restaurant. He owned a large restaurant corporation and was very impressed with the food and service that he received. He offered them the job of opening and managing one of his finest restaurants in New York City, on Spencer’s Way. Michael provided them with a nice apartment located just a block away from the restaurant that they would open and manage. Michael decided to call the restaurant Spencer’s Mill.

It had a large banquet hall to hold 600 people that could be rented out. The hall had a retractable wall to divide it into two smaller halls. Downstairs had a small room that held 50 people, which could be rented for meetings. Behind the restaurant was a wedding chapel for couples to get married and have their wedding at the restaurant. The restaurant was designed in a traditional style. The back wall had windows, so customers could look out and see the forest. There were 20 round solid oak tables, with six solid oak chairs.

On one side of the restaurant stood a new hotel, also called Spencer’s. On the other side was a parkette. It was beautifully landscaped with trees, flowers, and herbs, a sanctuary for birds and butterflies. There was a driveway located along the right side of the parkette leading to a locked gate. A sign placed on the gate said, Keep out, private property. Behind the entire length of the street was a forest and ravine with many trails for hiking. In the forest, there was private property, with a small house hidden amongst the trees and a lamp pole out in front. A fence surrounded the house to keep the hikers away. No one seemed to know who owned the house, but occasionally a car would drive up to the gate and would be allowed to enter.

Over the years Spencer’s Mill became the most popular restaurant in the upscale community. Ivan and Lydia were able to move out of the apartment and into their own beautiful house, located on a street next to the parkette beside Spencer’s Mill. The backyard faced the forest, and there was a good-sized storage shed and a large vegetable and flower garden.

Spencer’s Way ended in a court, with only five identical homes. Two on one side, where Ivan and Lydia lived, and three on the other side. At the end of the court, there was a dense forest. A 200-foot-long concrete tunnel road was cut into the forest. It led to a large open field where soccer and football were played. Parents would bring their chairs to watch their children play, and there was room for 20 cars to park.

A few years after they bought the house, Michael Mills turned 85 years old and decided to sell Spencer’s Mill to Lydia and Ivan. They happily took out a mortgage to purchase it. There was no mortgage on their house.

The apartment rent was still being paid, and Ivan and Lydia saw it as the perfect opportunity: Maria and her family needed a place to live. Ivan and Lydia wanted them to come because they were family, but also because they were naturopath doctors; Maria’s mother taught both her and Danelo the family trade. Ivan and Lydia were not happy with the medical care that they were getting from their family doctor and invited everyone to move to New York.

Maria was pregnant and wanted Danelo to come with her to New York. He had two older brothers, Pavlo and Gregory, who worked for the Russian KGB. Maria knew that they were nothing more than paid assassins. She gave Danelo a choice: come with her to New York and start a family, or stay and join his brothers. He chose America, and a new opportunity.

Stan Smith was the president of the New York School of Naturopaths, and he came from the same Ukrainian village as Maria’s family. Since they were naturopaths already, Stan arranged for them to take the exam for certification without enrolling in the school. Everyone passed the exam to become certified, with honors.

An empty storefront in a strip plaza, located across the street from Spencer’s Mill, became the Kozak Naturopathic Clinic. It didn’t take long for the clinic to get busy with regular clients, and several became good friends with Marie and her parents. Judy Grace was a judge, and her sister Joan Grace and Christine Kelly were both lawyers. Judy had black wavy hair and her sister had brown wavy hair. They exercised and watched their diet. Christine, a close family friend was a blonde. She also exercised and watched her diet. Joan Grace was divorced. She lived with her baby daughter Elizabeth in a nearby luxury townhouse complex. Christine Kelly, her husband, and their infant son Jeffrey lived in the same townhouse complex as Joan. Judy lived alone in a condo building located in the same townhouse complex. When she met the Kozaks her husband recently died of a heart attack. She had two sons in the military, stationed somewhere overseas.

Don Jordan, an FBI agent, was 6 feet tall and slender. He only weighed 160 pounds, and Maria wanted him to gain another 20 pounds. He doesn’t exercise but does watch his diet. Don suffered severe pain in his right shoulder, and the medication his doctor provided was very expensive and provided only temporary relief. Maria was able to relieve his pain completely in three weeks with herbal teas and massages.

Maria and her parents often have lunch with Judy, Joan, and Christine at Spencer’s Mill. Don Jordan also showed up for lunch to ask Maria for healthful advice.

Henry Wilson had a weak heart and severe arthritis in his wrists. His doctor told him that there was nothing that they could do for him. The medication his doctor prescribed made him feel like a zombie. Maria was able to relieve all the symptoms from the medication that Henry was taking. A good healthy diet and herbal remedies made Henry feel alive again.

Chapter 2

A few months after they came to America, Maria gave birth to a son. He weighed 5 ½ pounds. She named him Tommy. He took after his petite mother, who weighed 115 pounds, and was quite strong for her size. Danelo was 6’2", wide-framed, and weighed 230 pounds of solid muscle.

Everyone was happily working together at the naturopath clinic except Danelo, who was bored. He was looking for action and to make big money. Jason, a client, noticed how disinterested Danelo was. He came to the clinic because he wanted to kick his heroin addiction. Jason offered Danelo an opportunity to buy drugs from his distributor, to sell. He told Danelo to think about it and left him his phone number.

Danelo decided to leave Maria and Tommy and join Jason. He knew that Maria and her parents would not approve of his decision to join Jason and he would have to leave. Danelo called Jason, who was expecting the call and had an apartment ready for him to rent. One of the distributor’s buyers had recently left, and Danelo became his replacement. Jason and Danelo had assigned territories where they would distribute drugs. They bought mostly heroin and cocaine because they are the most profitable. They hired street kids to sell drugs to high schools and colleges. The street kids received 10% of the proceeds, while Jason and Danelo got 90%. Hired goons made sure that the street kids didn’t steal. Jason continued to see Maria because he was determined to kick his heroin addiction.

Danelo learned how easy it was to make money. He also knew that the big money was in being a distributor. Danelo and Jason buy drugs from Charles, their distributor, from his laundromat located in a plaza across the street from Spencer’s Mill. Charles lives alone in a luxury townhouse complex nearby. Danelo decided to become a distributor by killing Charles and taking over his laundry business.

Danelo called his brothers, Gregory and Pavlo. He wanted them to supply drugs to distribute. They both agreed to join him in New York. Luckily there were two apartments available in the same building where Danelo lived. He met his brothers at the airport. After a hugging session, he drove them to his apartment. Gregory, the older brother, was much taller than Pavlo. They were both in good physical health, having been trained in the Russian army.

Danelo explained the situation to his brothers. When I kill Charles to take over his territory, his drug source will be pissed off if we don’t do business with them. I’m sure I will be asked to pay a lot more money for the drugs than Charles.

Pavlo smiled. When the time comes, l will deal with his source.

Jason and Danelo, armed with his gun, went to see Charles to buy drugs. Jason did not know that Danelo was about to kill Charles. As soon as they entered the laundromat, Danelo shot Charles in the head. He grabbed his drugs and walked out slowly. Jason grabbed his drugs and ran out as fast as he could.

Danelo took over Charles’ laundromat business. He had Jason round up all the other buyers in Charles’ territory and introduced himself as their new distributor. The police suspected Danelo was responsible for Charles’s death but had no evidence to arrest him. Pavlo and Gregory provided the drugs for Danelo to distribute. They were ready to deal with Charles’ drug source.

Several days later, a motorcycle gang came to visit Danelo at his laundromat. There were six of them. The leader wore a horned Viking helmet and was massive, weighing well over 300 pounds. Tattoos covered his arms and a large filthy red beard covered his face. He got off his bike and approached Danelo. The other gang members sat on their bikes and pointed guns at Danelo.

The leader was holding a baseball bat. The name is Alvin, and who may you be?

Danelo answered. My name is Danelo please state your business?

Alvin shoved the end of his bat under Danelo’s chin and shook his