"Have you heard any news about Dash or Devon? They haven't come to class, so all this is getting stranger and stranger." Miguel was very confused by the absence of his friends.
Hawk was also puzzled and said, "They might have gone partying; it often happens that beer bottles are passed around without counting, and you end up waking up in a house you don't know."
"They're not coming," Victor said, approaching the table where they were talking.
Miguel looked at Victor and asked, "Do you know something you can share with us?"
"The night before, someone sent Dash to be beaten. The most cowardly thing is that they did it unexpectedly, making it difficult for him to win the fight," Victor said, still very angry about how Dash had been attacked.
Hawk furrowed his brows; he couldn't believe that the Dash they knew had been beaten and asked, "How many were there?"
"They weren't teenagers; that's the problem. He was attacked by real gang members."
"Shall we visit him?" Miguel suggested it upon learning that Dash was injured.
Victor shook his head upon hearing that question and said, "It's not a good idea at all. I doubt he'd want us to see him in the state he's in."
After discussing the same topic, everyone went straight home, and in the afternoon, precisely everyone gathered in their respective dojos.
Being at Cobra Kai, Hawk was telling the rest of what had happened to Dash and said, "That's why you must be careful; don't go to any place if you receive a similar message."
"Did something happen?" At that moment, Kresse came out of the office and looked at the worried faces of his students, so he asked with some interest.
Hawk, who was the most loyal to this man, immediately said, "We heard that Dash was beaten by gang members; his condition is not pleasant, but they say he's not in danger."
"Hmm, a shame. Then we must consider that he'll be out of any competition or training for a few months." Kresse hid his smile well, knowing that he had gotten rid of an important piece that obstructed his path to the top.
But at that moment, just as the class was about to start, several cars stopped outside the dojo, and men in black suits got out.
"Is there something you need?" Kresse asked, taking a few steps forward.
Wayne, who was leading the group, said, "Mr. John Kresse, you are under arrest for organizing a murder attempt, extortion, and robbery against a minor. You have the right to remain silent; anything you say now can and will be used against you in a court of law."
The confident smile on Kresse's face disappeared completely upon hearing those words, so he quickly said, "There must be a condition; I have nothing to do with what they are mentioning."
"We recommend that you remain silent; we have enough evidence to determine that you are guilty of these crimes," whispered Maggie, putting handcuffs on Kresse, who resisted.
"You can't do this to me!" Kresse shouted as he was taken out of the dojo.
At that moment, Johnny appeared, and upon seeing Kresse being arrested, he approached. "What the hell is going on?"
Wayne looked at Johnny and said, "You must be the other sensei of this place; you should consider having better people around."
"What happened?"
"This man conspired with a group of gang members to murder a young man; we haven't figured out what his intentions were, but seeing his dojo, we believe it was to eliminate competition," Wayne said, smiling a bit and heading towards the car.
Miguel, who had come out, whispered, "I knew he was a bad man... I can't believe he was responsible for what happened to Dash."
"Tell me everything!" Johnny said, holding Miguel's shoulders.
...
In the middle of his room, Dash could feel the rays of light falling on his tired body as he tried to open his eyes. As he looked at the sun rising, he got up from the floor with difficulty and looked at his body in the large mirror.
"They really got me hard."
The sudden feeling of pain didn't surprise Dash, who was still recovering; it was as if he had been hit by a group of cyclists, and the pain still persisted.
"I thought it was a bad dream, but the pain is real."
Suddenly, Dash seemed to realize something and walked to the bathroom to wash his face, which had red bruises.
His body had traces of sutured cuts, torn skin, and large scrapes extending across his chest. Despite having trained his body to withstand blows, he was quite badly injured.
As he walked to the door of his room, he didn't forget to take a photo and send it to Devon, saying, "[A massage wouldn't hurt right now...]"
Devon: "[What are you doing standing up?]"
Dash, who read the message, smiled a bit and said, "I have to walk, or I'll be constipated, and a carnivore like me can't eat fast-digesting foods."