The day after Louis had agreed to help Riley be a good person, they met at the dojo, under the supervision of Stefan. Stefan, Louis's old mentor and martial arts teacher, was cautious around Riley. Louis could see it in the way the grandmaster martial artist looked at Louis's enemy-turned friend.
"This is going to be exciting!" said Ken, whipping out his notebook. "My martial arts documentary is going to be the talk of the documentary scene for years to come!"
Louis grunted in response, unable to shake the feeling that something was off. Riley's sudden change of heart still didn't sit well with him.
I agreed to help him, Louis thought, a little annoyed at himself, and I'll see it through to the end. I accept whatever consequences come my way.
All of them were in uniform. Louis was the only black belt among them, so he held back while Stefan took the three of them through a basic conditioning sequence. Louis had his own sequence to complete, and once he had finished it, he joined the main group.
"We will be continuing with the fundamentals," Stefan said.
Riley groaned audibly, drawing Stefan's attention.
"You wish to say something?" he asked patiently.
"When do we start fighting?" Riley asked.
Stefan held up a finger. "Patience, grasshopper," he said. "This is only your first lesson. There will be many more before you can piece together a proper fight."
Riley scowled in response.
Riley looked around at the others, as if expecting them to back him up. When nobody said anything, he turned to Stefan.
"You disagree?" Stefan asked in his calm manner.
"Isn't that what martial arts is?" Riley asked.
Louis winced. That had been one of his first questions when he was a new martial arts student. When you first started, all the exposure you had to go on was martial arts movies, and the special effects that made it look like it was all about the fight.
Stefan's face darkened. "If you wish only to fight," he said, "you are in the wrong place."
"I wish to be a better person," Riley said, mimicking Stefan's calm voice. "Isn't martial arts great or getting out aggression because you're only fighting?"
Stefan took a deep inhale.
This is going to be good, Louis thought, suppressing a smile.
"If you wish to fight," Stefan said, "then let's. Take your place," he pointed to a spot a few feet away from him. "The others may wish to watch and take note."
Riley looked up at him, dumbfounded. "What?" he asked.
Stefan smiled. "Stand there," he said. "This will give me a chance to see your current skill level. You clearly already have some background and knowledge of martial arts. Let me test you."
Riley looked at Louis, and Ken for help, but they all shied back. Slowly, Riley made his way to stand opposite Stefan, and stood in a defensive position.
Beside Louis, Ken produced his notebook and a pen, and was scribbling some notes. Louis looked over and caught the words "martial arts is about more than fighting."
Stefan slowly untied his belt and removed his jacket. Riley's eyes widened with fear and the color drained from his face when he saw how muscular Stefan was. The grand master had prominent abs and bulging biceps, perfectly conditioned from a lifetime of training.
"How did you get like that?" Riley asked, astounded.
Stefan shrugged with sculpted shoulders. "Persistence and dedication," he said. "Now, show me what you think you know."
Ignoring everything he had learned over the course of the day, Riley went in for the kill, and Stefan wiped the floor with him. Figuratively, and literally. There was a moment during the sequence where Riley ended up face down on the floor, and Stefan pulled him by the ankle, using him almost like a broom. Louis had to stop himself from laughing. It was almost as if Riley was getting karmic punishment for everything he had done.
Louis had to admit, there was something incredibly satisfying about watching Riley have the living daylights beaten out of him by a grandmaster martial artist. Louis lounged on the bleachers with Ken Stokes sitting next to him, both of them enjoying the show.
***
After being thoroughly thwarted by Stefan, Riley found himself in the locker room, nursing a bruised ego. He was sitting on a bench, his hands between his knees, as he recovered. Every part of him hurt. The forms Stefan had made him perform were basic at best.
"You're beginners," Stefan had told them.
But what did Stefan know? He was a black belt in multiple martial arts, sure, but what did he know about Riley Naysmith? Riley knew himself better than anyone, and he knew that he would be able to pull off some of the mose advanced techniques.
Well, Riley didn't care that he was a beginner. He had told Louis that he wanted to try to be a better person, and that process included learning some martial arts. That process also included getting in close with Louis, which would inevitably lead to getting close to his real target: Alex Ambrose. Riley had come close to taking over the business world when his sister, Kylie, had successfully gotten Alex into her bed. It was just unfortunate that Alex had seen through her deception.
How much longer am I going to have to keep this up? Riley thought, frustrated. This is worse than pretending to be dead again. Oh well, at least this time I'm learnng some valuable skills which will finally help me defeat Alex Ambrose.
Riley scratched his head and sat up a little bit straighter, but stopped when his shoulders protested. He had taken off the jacket from the uniform, and was just sitting there in his trousers and a white tank top. It felt good to not be weighted down by that heavy jacket, or constricted by the white belt.
Todrick Dangles, his faithful assistant, was pacing around the locker room like a lion in a cage. Occasionally, he would come to rest against the lockers, then push himself off again and keep pacing. Riley knew how he felt. This whole endeavor was going to take them much longer than they had initially planned.
Suddenly, Todrick came to a halt and closed his one good eye. Then, he opened his eye and turned to face Riley, a thoughtful scowl on his face.
"Are we sure that this is the proper course of action?" Todrick asked, tilting his head to one side.
Riley hesitated, thinking about the answer to that question. He had had his doubts lately, sure, but he wasn't sure how much longer he would be willing to wait for results.
"You know that old saying," Riley said, spreading his hands, "patience is a virtue? Maybe we be a little patient this time around. Wait and see what happens. Opportunity presents itself, and all that."
Todrick made a sound like, "hmph", then went back to pacing. He went to the sink an splashed some cold water on his face, taking care to avoid his eyepatch. A few scars from where Budge the cat had attacked him poked ou trom underneath. Riley grinned, suppressing a chuckle. It was both funny and lame that Todrick had lost his eye to a cat. Riley wiped the grin off his face when Todrick turned back to face him, leaning against the sink.
"What do you make of that Stefan guy?" he asked, crossing his arms.
Riley pursed his lips. "I don't like him." He shook his head. "Something about him bugs the living daylights out of me and I resent that he's the master we're learning from."
Todrick sighed with relief. His shoulders eased and he uncrossed his arms, and put his hands on his hips.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one," Todrick said, smiling. "Dude's a weirdo, and what's with that accent?"
Riley's eyes widened. "I know, right?" he asked, laughing. "Is he American? English? Dude, pick and accent and stick with it!"
Todrick threw back his head and laughed, as if it was the funniest thing he had ever heard in his life. Riley joined in, too. There was something about laughing behind someone's back that always made him feel better.
When they were done, they started to change back into their street wear. As Riley was pulling off his karate pants, a thought occurred to him, and he stood up straight, staring at the locker.
"Say, Todrick?" he asked, turning to face his friend.
Todrick poked his head through the neck hole of his t-shirt and said, "That's my name, don't wear it out!"
"Do you think if we can get to be really good at martial arts, we might be able to take Alex in a two to one fight?" he asked.
Todrick considered that. "No," he said. "Alex spent a really long time training to become a grand master."
Riley bit his lip and cursed silently. So much for that plan, he thought bitterly.
The two men got dressed in silence. Riley stewed in his frustration. Although he knew that this was a temporary setback, he figured that it shouldn't need to take so long. He didn't want to miss out on an opportunity to take out Alex once and for all.
Once they were dressed, they left the locker room and strode through the dojo. They were about to leave when suddenly Stefan blocked their path. Both Todrick and Riley jumped out of their skins when they saw him. Todrick yanked Riley so they were face to face.
"He just appeared out of nowhere!" Todrick hissed, his eyes wide with fright.
The two men turned back to Stefan, who had his arms crossed over his broad chest, and was looking at them with a suspicious look.
"Gentlemen," he said, offering a slight, respectful bow. "I want to thank you for sharing my dojo with me, and Louis and Ken, today. It has been an… enlightening experience." He narrowed his eyes at them. "Just know that the Screaming Eagle dojo is a place of peace, harmony, and above all, respect."
He stepped aside to let them pass. Riley and Todrick looked up at him for a moment, blinking in confusion, then they scrambled out of the dojo into the parking lot. Once they had legged it out of sight of the building, they turned to each other, each as confused and wide-eyed as the other.
"Well," Riley said, looking back in the direction of the dojo, "what the hell was that?"
Todrick followed his gaze. "I don't know," he said, shaking his head, "but that Stefan guy gives me the creeps. Let's just get out of here!"