Chapter 35: Cobra in a Cage

"So, you're getting released today. How's it feel?" Steve asks.

"Unreal. I can't wait to eat real food." Aaron says.

"I wish you the best. Maybe we'll run into each other again sometime." Steve says.

"We will. One of the first things I'm doing after I get out of here is joining Cobra Kai. I'm sure you'll join me once you get released." Aaron says.

"That may be a while. I'm in here for assaulting three people, remember?" Steve points out.

"True, but I've got a feeling you'll be out of here sooner than you think." Aaron says. Suddenly, a group of five inmates approach Aaron.

"Hey, drug kid. It's been two weeks since you promised to give me the pills. Where are they?" The main kid asks.

"Dude, it's not gonna happen. I'm getting out of here today." Aaron says.

"So you were just bullshitting me? If you don't give me my pills, I'm gonna tell an officer about all the deals you've made in here." The kid says.

"Hey, back off." Steve says.

"And what are you gonna do?" The kid asks.

"Dude, I'm in here for assault. I broke a kids arm and another kid's kneecap. You really wanna challenge me?" Steve asks.

"It's not like he can do anything anyway. This guy's in here for public masturbation." Aaron says.

"Ha, seriously?" Steve asks while laughing. The kid looks furious.

"You better watch your back." The kid says while pointing at Aaron. The kid and his gang quickly walk away. Suddenly, a juvenile correction officer approaches Steve.

"Steve Turner, you'll need to come with me." The Officer says.

"What? Why?" Steve asks.

James's POV:

I see Demetri and Eli in front of the arcade and walk up to them.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I ask. However, they both look concerned.

"James, we heard what you did to the Cobras." Demetri says.

"What? Oh…" I say.

"Miguel also told us about that kid you beat up in the bathroom." Eli says.

"He had it coming. All of them had it coming. You guys should be thanking me for taking care of them." I say.

"James, you can't be aggressive like that. Remember how angry you got the day before the All Valley? You beat that guy almost half to death." Demetri says.

"That was different. He wasn't in Cobra Kai and I regret doing it. However, these people deserved what happened to them! Do you think they would've shown mercy to Chase, Anthony, or you guys?" I ask.

"James, I get what you're saying, but there's a difference between standing up for yourself and taking things too far. You didn't have to split a kid's head open with a rock to get revenge." Eli says.

"Is this the whole reason you invited me here? To lecture me?" I ask.

"No, we invited you here so you can cool off and spend some time with us." Demetri says.

"Okay, let's just drop all of this for now and have some fun." I say before entering the arcade.

Third Person POV:

Steve was escorted to a different section of juvie in handcuffs. The section he was going to was where police could come and interrogate people. Why the hell was he going there? When Steve stepped into one of the rooms, he saw Detective Alfonso sitting across the table.

"Steve Turner, have a seat." Detective Alfonso says while motioning to the seat across from him. Steve takes a seat.

"What do you want? You already questioned the shit out of me." Steve says.

"I'm not here to discuss your assault, I'm here to discuss another crime." Detective Alfonso says.

"I didn't do anything else." Steve says.

"Then tell me, what do you know about the death of James's brother?" Detective Alfonso asks. Steve immediately tenses up.

"I don't know anything about that." Steve says while looking away.

"I can tell you're lying." Detective Alfonso says.

"I didn't kill James's brother if that's what you're implying!" Steve shouts.

"Do you know who did?" Detective Alfonso asks. Steve looks at the ground sadly.

"No, I don't know anything." Steve says.

"You know who killed James's brother, don't you?" Detective Alfonso asks.

"No!" Steve shouts.

"Then why are you so defensive?" Deceive Alfonso asks.

"Because…because you're making me nervous." Steve says.

"Steve, if you tell us who killed James's brother, I can help you." Detective Alfonso says.

"I'm not gonna snitch on them!" Steve shouts. He suddenly realizes what he just said.

"So, you do know who did it." Detective Alfonso says. Steve realizes that this was all part of Detective Alfonso's plan.

"I'm not saying anything else." Steve says.

James's POV:

Demetri, Eli, and I have been having the time of our lives. We played so many games and I actually managed to get a higher score in Donkey Kong than both Demetri and Eli. Right now, we were sitting at a table, waiting for our pizza to arrive.

"Thanks for doing this for me. I really needed it." I say.

"Thanks for agreeing to come. It's nice not to focus on Cobra Kai for a change." Demetri says. Suddenly, I see something that catches my eye. When I realize that I'm staring, I look away.

"What is it?" Eli asks.

"It…it's nothing." I say while trying not to make eye contact with Eli.

"What's wrong? If it's Cobra Kai, you don't have to worry." Eli says.

"No, it's not that." I say. Eli was confused and tried looking in the direction I was looking. That's when he sees it.

"No way." Eli says.

"What is it?" Demetri asks. Eli begins laughing and I turn beet red.

"Dude, shut up." I say to Eli.

"How am I always out of the loop?" Demetri asks.

"James has his eyes on someone." Eli says. Demetri's eyes widen and he turns around to look at the girl James was staring at.

"Dude! You're making it too obvious!" James says.

"Sorry." Demetri says.

"So, what are you waiting for?" Eli asks.

"I'm not gonna just walk up to her. I don't even know her." I say.

"Then get to know her! You're just torturing yourself by sitting here." Eli says.

"No! I'm not making any sort of move!" I say.

"Look, we were just like you once. Now look at us, we're both in successful relationships." Eli says.

"Well, I'm not like you, okay? I'm…James Evans." I say defeatedly.

"Hey, don't cut yourself short. You don't know what you're capable of." Eli says. I pause for a moment before speaking.

"Okay, screw it. I'm gonna talk to her." I say while getting up.

Third Person POV:

"Steve, if you give me their name, I can help you get out of here." Detective Alfonso says.

"What are you talking about?" Steve asks.

"If you give me their name, we'll give you a reduced sentence." Detective Alfonso says.

"Are you serious?" Steve asks, surprised.

"Yes. The court is willing to reduce your sentence if you fully cooperate with the investigation into the death of James's brother." Detective Alfonso says.

"I…I don't know." Steve says.

"Listen to me, doing this could make up for what you did to James. You must feel some sort of guilt, right?" Detective Alfonso asks. Steve glares at him.

"Fine, but I'm doing this for myself, not for James." Steve says.

"Okay, that's fine with me." Detective Alfonso says.

"The person who got him killed…was my brother, Matthew." Steve says.

"How do you know this?" Detective Alfonso asks.

"He got drunk one night and rambled on about how he 'killed someone'. I questioned him about it and he told me everything." Steve says.

"And what did he tell you?" Detective Alfonso asks.

"He told me that he roofied a guy's soda. However, what he didn't expect was for this guy to leave the party soon after. This guy passed out at the wheel and crashed his car. It was pretty easy to connect the dots." Steve says.

"Thanks for your testimony. While that isn't enough evidence to arrest Matthew, you still provided valuable information. However, I'll need to look into this more before I can confirm your shorter sentence. If you're lying, I will find out." Detective Alfonso says.

Later…

Detective Alfonso leaves the juvenile detention center angry. It was never his idea to give Steve a shorter sentence. Now, that monster could be back on the streets sooner than he expected.

Later…

Aaron was getting anxious as time ticked by. He wanted to get out of this building as fast as possible. While thinking these thoughts, the aggressive kid returns with four of his gang members.

"You disrespected me." The kid says.

"Listen dude, don't be a little bitch about it, alright?" Aaron says. The kid glares at him and balls up his fist. Right as he's about to punch, Steve runs up to him and does a flying side kick right into his face. The kid collapses to the ground and so does Steve. However, Steve is able to quickly get back up.

"Who's next?" Steve asks. The other four gang members were terrified. It's clear that, unlike Aaron, they have never been in a real fight before. The first gang member runs up to Steve and tries to punch him. Steve catches the punch with one hand and then uses his free arm to elbow the gang member's arm. Steve then knees the gang member in the chest and then pushes him in the face. Steve finishes him with a roundhouse kick to the face. The next two gang members run at Steve at the same time. They both try to throw a punch, but Steve just steps out of the way. Steve delivers a round house kick to the second gang member's chest and then a front kick to the third gang member's face. Steve gets behind the second gang member and kicks him in the back, causing him to fly into the third gang member. They both fall over in pain. The final gang member looks terrified but charges at Steve nonetheless. Steve responds by charging at him and delivering a flying elbow to the face, knocking him out instantly. Steve notices that the main kid is starting to get up, so he walks over to him and knocks him out with a single right hook.

"Damm! That was awesome!" Aaron shouts in awe.

"Steve Turner is back, baby!" Steve shouts.

"What's got you in a good mood?" Aaron asks.

"I'm getting out of here soon." Steve says.

Later…

"Hey Chase, can we talk?" Emma asks.

"I knew it. I knew there had to be a reason you were acting so nice." Chase says.

"What? I'm usually not?" Emma asks jokingly.

"Yeah, you're pretty mean." Chase says. Emma responds by slightly slapping Chase's arm, causing him to laugh. Chase and Emma were sitting down at a park bench by the lake, just watching. Chase said he found it relaxing so Emma agreed to try it with him once.

"Seriously though, I need to tell you something important." Emma says.

"Sure, what is it?" Chase asks, curious.

"This may be a crazy idea, but I need you to trust me on this." Emma says.

"It's okay. I trust you." Chase says, now getting nervous.

"I have an idea…a plan that will prevent Cobra Kai from harassing you in the future." Emma says.

"Okay…go on." Chase says.

"I'm…I'm…I'm gonna join Cobra Kai." Emma says.

Author's Note: A lot of things happened in this chapter. Since I gave James a fight scene last chapter, it was only fair to give one to Steve as well. This is one of the first major wins Steve has gotten in terms of fighting. If what Steve said is true about how Matthew killed James's brother, then Steve will be released from juvie soon. With Aaron joining Cobra Kai, how will he and Chase interact? What do you think about Emma joining Cobra Kai?