CHAPTER 32

"KREESE! You have a visitor!"

The echoing bark of the prison guard dragged Kreese out of his slumber, and the elderly inmate slowly rose to his feet. To say that Kreese was not doing well was an understatement. His physical health was fine: his fighting skills had gained him the respect of other inmates to the point where they thankfully just steered clear of him. It was mentally that he was broken. He was… defeated. Silver had bested him, and he had only himself to blame. He made a mistake he had made and seen made countless times before, walked right into Silver's trap. The feelings of being vanquished by the man had begun from the moment he was transported into these iron-wrought gates and had only amplified since. The irony was delicious: he had done plenty of horrible things in his life, but the thing that happened to sink his ship was something he didn't even do. And the very worst part… nobody believed him! Johnny hadn't come to see him since he was locked up, something Kreese was secretly miserable about. The only person who had been willing to come see him was Nichols, and even she hadn't believed that he was telling the truth. In her eyes, he had betrayed Cobra Kai, made a stupid decision that had left them all at Silver's mercy. She didn't believe the truth. That he would never in a million years leave his students in the way he had, and every fiber of his being was praying for a miracle that would get him out of jail and allow him to take back his dojo at all costs. This situation was his literal nightmare. Back when he was in 'Nam, whenever he found himself in a foxhole, all he needed to do was fight harder to get himself out. However, in this case, the harder he tried to fight the further away he'd be from getting out of here.

Needless to say, as Kreese heard that he had a visitor, he couldn't help but be taken aback in confusion. Who in the world was coming to see him? Kreese followed the guard for only his second visitation since he had been imprisoned, and he was lead into the visitation hall, over to the plastic telephone on the far corner of the room. Kreese was pushed into the seat by the guard and as the man looked up at who was on the other side of the plexi-glass, he did a double take. It was the man who had taken everything from him. The man who every night the past month, Kreese had dreamed about getting revenge on. It was none other than his former best friend who had stabbed him in the back… Terry Silver!

Grinning at him, Silver slowly picked up his plastic telephone and raised it to his ear.

"Hello, John." The man smirked at him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kreese growled furiously at him.

"Why, I'm just checking in of course. The two of us are, after all… old friends." Silver remarked.

"You have a lot of nerve coming down here, you slimy son of a bitch! I swear to God, I'm going to…"

"You're going to do what?" Silver interjected, perfectly relaxed as he watched Kreese get all worked up. "You going to smash through the glass and attack an innocent old man?"

"Innocent?! You're the reason I'm in here!" Kreese snarled. Silver chuckled.

"I beg to differ, John. I believe that you're the only reason you're in here. Talking about showing mercy at the tournament… you've gone soft, old man. I needed to intervene for the sake of the kids. I'm sure at some point, you'll understand. I just want the best for these kids. Park... Payne... Keene... Nichols…"

At the last name, Kreese's face darkened considerably, and Silver noticed.

"Ah, that name strike a chord? You worried about her? You know, I've never understood that relationship, if I'm being honest. Like what are you, her long-lost grandfather or something?"

"I am a sensei, who cares about his pupils." Kreese growled lowly, forcing himself to calm down.

"Hey, I care about my students too! In fact, I came all the way down here to tell you that you have no need to worry about Cobra Kai's future. I have another sensei and another dojo opening in the works as we speak! Soon, Cobra Kai will have the resources, fighters and senseis to obliterate Miyagi-Do and Eagle-Fang off the face of the Valley once and for all. And there's nothing your old student, Johnny Lawrence, or your new student, Tory Nichols, will be able to do to stop it."

Kreese felt his hands curl into fists upon listening to the subtle warning/threat that Silver was making towards them. His rage began to bubble up once again, preparing to erupt.

"Terry, if you lay a hand on either of them, I swear to…"

"Woah, woah, woah, take it easy! I'm not going to hurt either of them! Not physically at least. We don't have the manpower to take Miyagi-Do and Eagle-Fang on just yet, not while Johnny Lawrence has poached my two champions."

Kreese's eyes widened.

"Nichols and Keene are in Eagle-Fang karate?" He asked, shocked. Silver nodded gravely.

"Indeed. Johnny Lawrence poached my champions, and for that he needs to pay. But it won't be physical retribution. At least not yet. Because I know that I could beat that man half-to-death and he still wouldn't be affected one bit. No, I need to try something different."

As Silver uttered these words, he looked right at Kreese with his cold, unblinking, serpent-like eyes.

"I need to use one of the most useful Cobra Kai teachings we ever created." Silver continued. "Go for your enemy's weakness. It's like we always say… everyone has one. You have one. I have one - that's why you're in here. But most importantly… Johnny has one. I've learned exactly what that weakness is, and if I manage to get that weakness on my side and use it against him, Johnny Lawrence will have already lost even before he throws his first punch…"

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"So… where do we start? I'm sorry, I've never done anything like this before." Miguel murmured as him and Vanessa sat face to face.

"Um… I'll be honest with you, Miguel. I might have a deal with you that nothing you say to me I'll tell your parents, but I don't have that deal with your parents. Nor do I intend to make one, so I'll tell you honestly what they said to me about you."

Miguel sat up slightly in his chair, intrigued to hear this.

"What did they say?" Miguel asked.

"Well, they talked about how you just don't seem yourself. You don't seem happy apparently, and based on how exhausted you look right now, I feel like I'm inclined to believe them."

Miguel narrowed his eyes slightly. He really wasn't in the mood to have this conversation again. He felt like a broken record.

"Well, if you're going to use the exact words my parents used yesterday, I'll use the same words I used to reply. They say I've not been happy lately. Well what do I have to be happy about?"

"You want to expand on that a little?" Vanessa asked. Miguel shrugged.

"We lost the tournament. I lost my girlfriend. I've lost a lot of my friends. I lost my sensei, because he's now making up with his son which is honestly great for him, but it means that I'm going to have to stay away from him and Robby because you know, fuck Robby. I thought I had managed to find a father in Mexico, but then the bastard tried to kill me. My mom and Johnny are having a baby which, great as it is for them, basically flushed away any miniscule chance I had of being able to afford college. So I'm trying to work as much as I can to earn a little bit of money and am feeling a fair bit of stress from that. And oh yeah, the one thing that used to cheer me up when I was feeling down before - karate - has spat me out and tossed me aside. Not only do I not have time for it with my hectic work schedule, but even if I did have time, my only two options are Miyagi-Do with my ex-girlfriend and her dad, or Eagle-Fang with my mortal enemy and his dad. So with all that being said, I'll ask again… what do I have to be happy about?"

"You're alive." Vanessa pointed out. Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Not going to lie, that sounds like the literal bare minimum to be thankful for." Miguel laughed. Vanessa shrugged.

"Still. In the course of a year, you nearly died after being sent over a balcony. Then you're saying you nearly died again in Mexico, at the hands of your own father no less. I think being alive is something to be thankful for in your case, and when you're feeling low, you should remember that."

Miguel sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Great, I'm alive. Hallelujah. Kum ba yah." Miguel remarked, drily. Vanessa rolled her eyes at his sarcasm.

"And for the college stuff, I can help you look into various other routes that you can take rather than the traditional high school to four year college route."

"Oh yeah? Such as?" Miguel asked curiously.

"Well one of them if you want to earn money is a boy fit and strong like you could always take a gap year or two and enlist and deploy in the military. If you do that, they help pay for college. And it will give you a decent opportunity to earn some money."

Miguel couldn't help but crack up laughing.

"The military? You want me to join the Army? Have you met my mother? If I did that, I guarantee I get disowned." He remarked. Vanessa shrugged.

"Look, whatever it may be. I can bring you a list of possible post-high school life routes and we can go through them together." She said. "And as for the other stuff… you've been through a hell of a lot for a boy your age. You still are. No teenager should have to see nor go through the trauma you've been through. If you agree to continue to work with me on like a weekly basis, we can help you process the events and begin to work through the emotions and get through them. How does that sound?"

Miguel sucked in air sharply as he thought about it.

"Um… uh… no offense Vanessa, but I'm not sure I want, nor need weekly therapy. I'm not some rich, white, teenage girl who thinks their life is collapsing around their ears and yet talking to a therapist for an hour a week is going to fix it. I know what I have to do with my day; I just get on with my day and deal with it."

"You know Iron Man? His actor?" Vanessa asked. Miguel nodded.

"Robert Downey Jr. Sure, why?"

"He goes to therapy on a regular basis." She remarked. "Brad Pitt. Michael B. Jordan. Bruce Springsteen. It's not all teenage white girls."

Miguel nodded.

"Sure, but these guys have real issues. It's not just high school problems."

Vanessa chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

"Um… I don't know about you, but I'd consider being nearly killed and paralysed, only to be nearly killed by your own father a year later a pretty damn real issue." Vanessa remarked. "Besides, no issue is too small, Miguel. Therapy will help your life, Miguel. I guarantee it. You just have to trust me. I'm no slouch. I know what I'm doing."

Miguel stared at her for a few moments, the two locking eyes and Miguel trying to gauge whether or not he could trust her. Eventually, he looked down and sighed.

"You know what? Okay."

Vanessa smiled widely.

"Okay? Like you'll talk to me for an hour a week?" She asked. Miguel nodded, grinning faintly.

"Dr. Vanessa. Fix me!" He declared. Vanessa chuckled and shook her head.

"Unfortunately, that's not how therapy works. I can't just wave my wand and fix you."

"Whatever, just make me normal again!" Miguel exclaimed. Vanessa winced.

"Not a fan of that word." She remarked. Miguel groaned and rolled his eyes.

"I'm regretting this decision already." He commented jokingly. At that moment, the door to the apartment slowly opened as Johnny and Carmen walked inside. Immediately, Miguel and Vanessa got to their feet.

"Well, I guess that's all we have time for today, Miguel. It was really great talking to you." She stated. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, it actually was. Thank you so much for meeting with you." He said as he shook her hand, in the corner of his eye seeing his mom practically bursting with happiness and relief upon seeing this.

"Awesome. So same time, same place next week?" She asked. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah, that would be great." He murmured. Vanessa Larusso smiled at him, before turning towards the door. Carmen decided to walk her out, and so the two women exited the apartment together. As soon as they did, Carmen converged on the other woman.

"So… how did it go? What did he say?" Carmen asked her eagerly. Vanessa chuckled nervously and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Carmen. I can't tell you." She said. Carmen looked at her like she had just sprouted a third arm.

"Can't tell me? What do you mean you can't tell me? That's my son!" Carmen exclaimed. Vanessa nodded.

"Sure, but he's also my patient, and there's a confidentiality surrounding what comes out of my patient's mouth." Vanessa replied calmly. Carmen seemed pissed at this, but she hid it relatively well as she forced herself to stay calm. After all, she was getting this favor free of charge and given that Miguel had already agreed to meet with her next week, maybe it had actually gone well.

"Okay, I understand you can't tell me exactly what he said, but can you at least tell me how worried I should be about my son?" Carmen asked. Vanessa sighed.

"Look, all I'm going to say is relax a little. Miguel's a really great kid. He's just been really stressed about a lot of things, dealing with things that kids his age shouldn't have to be. He's in a lot of pain, and it's going to take some time for that pain to subside."

Carmen nodded.

"Right, well is there anything I can do?" She asked.

"Um… I don't know. Keep encouraging him to talk to me for an hour weekly, I guess." She replied, before remembering something. "Oh, there's something else you might be able to help with."

"What is it?" Carmen asked, eager to help her son. In a strange way, she didn't like this whole therapist business. She knew that it was the right call and she knew that it was even her who had recommended it, but at the same time, she felt so out of the loop, so helpless to help her baby boy for the first time in his life. This wasn't the easy parenting like in the past. You know, if you skin your knee, you get a bandage. These were mental wounds, ones that sliced just as deep, but Miguel had kept hidden from them to not worry them.

"I was thinking… I know that you probably know already so it isn't betraying his trust, that Miguel's relationship with Johnny's son is not exactly the best."

"With Robby? Yeah, you could say that again." Carmen laughed. Vanessa nodded.

"Well, understandably, with what happened between them in the school, in the tournaments, with their girlfriends, things aren't just going to heal between them on their own. And with the baby on the way, that rivalry and hatred they have for each other is a pretty large weight on Miguel's mind. So maybe try and help ease the tensions between them a little. You know, maybe a family dinner or two where they are forced to interact. It could begin to build a bridge for them to eventually bury their feud."

Carmen nodded, vowing to do just that, and Vanessa left moments later…

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Miguel also left, as he had managed to get put on the evening shift at the restaurant, not that he was angry about the more work as he was eager for the money. He quickly pedalled to the familiar diner and entered through the back entrance. It took him all of 10 minutes to put on his apron and prepare for his shift, and just as well too as his shift began in 5 minutes. Soon, it was time for Miguel to get to work and the traditional racist, offensive, yelling comment from his manager sent him hurrying into the restaurant, ready to take orders. Once again, the diner was pretty much empty, other than a man sitting exactly where Demetri had that morning.

Miguel walked over to him but as he looked at the man, no words managed to escape his mouth. It was like his throat had closed up and his mouth had run totally dry, the combination of the two preventing him from saying a word. He knew this man - he had never actually had a conversation with him, but just seeing him sent shivers down Miguel's spine as he saw him. Miguel couldn't help but gulp anxiously as he saw the man, but the man didn't replicate the reaction. Instead, he was perfectly at ease, smiling kindly at the teenager.

"I'm guessing you know who I am and what I do." The pony-tailed man remarked. "Miguel, can we talk?"