CHAPTER 33

"You're… you're the Cobra Kai sensei…" were the first words that Miguel managed to splutter as he finally got over his shock of seeing the man there. Silver smiled and nodded.

"I am. And you're Miguel Diaz." Silver replied. "I believe we need to have a chat."

Miguel shook his head.

"I'm really sorry. I'm pretty busy right now." Miguel murmured, not wanting to have to talk to this man at all and praying that he would get the hint and just walk away. But Miguel had no such luck, as the man seemed unfazed and not about to leave anytime soon. So even as Miguel turned around, Silver called out to him.

"Come on, I'm sure you can spare a minute. I swear this is an offer worth your while."

Miguel sighed and turned back to him.

"What can I do for, Mr. Silver?" Miguel asked. Silver took a deep breath.

"Well, I heard you weren't a member of any dojo right now. A free agent as it were. Well I wanted to bring you back to Cobra Kai."

Miguel scoffed in disbelief.

"You want to bring me back to Cobra Kai? Me? The guy who was the leader of the other side for nearly 6 months?" Miguel asked in shock.

"I do indeed." Silver nodded. "In fact, I don't just want to bring you back. Cobra Kai is entering a new generation, a new era so to speak. We're going to be recruiting new students, new senseis, opening new locations. But to be able to do that, we're going to need a strong foundation, a strong core. Which is why I want you to be the one to lead us into this new age."

"Why me?" Miguel snapped.

"Why, because you're a Cobra Kai All-Valley champion of course! And if I'm not mistaken, one of the best fighters in the Valley. Who better to lead the next charge of Cobra Kai than that?"

Miguel raised an eyebrow.

"Um… Tory. I won the tournament last year, she won it this year. So why not her?" He asked. Silver chuckled.

"I'm assuming you know this about me already, whether it be people told you or you read up about me or whatever, but before I returned to Cobra Kai this year, I was a businessman. And a damn good one too. I earned more money than I knew what to do with, every cent of it mine. And do you want to know how I did that? I was smart. I was calculated. I thought about every possible outcome in any situation before coming to a decision. It's no different here, Miguel. You're the obvious choice to be Cobra Kai's new leader, new face of the dojo. Not Tory."

"You still haven't told me why not Tory?" Miguel snapped, tired and bored of this roundabout tone Silver was using.

"Come on, think about it, Miguel! If you were in my shoes, who would you choose? One of the most famous fighters in the Valley. The 50th All-Valley champion. The one in all the papers regarding the school fight and his miraculous journey to walking and fighting again. The one who proved that even the dorkiest of dorks can rise up and stand up for themselves. Or… would you want a juvenile delinquent who really should be in juvie right now for repeated attempted murder, someone who has absolutely 0 sway within the Valley?"

"So that's just it? You want me to be the Cobra Kai recruitment poster?"

Silver shook his head.

"No, no, no. You misunderstand me. Bringing in students would only be a small part of your role within Cobra Kai. You'd get to go back to karate training, this time with the best equipment and senseis in the Valley, nay, in the entire country. We can make you number 1 again."

Miguel slowly leaned in so him and Silver were closer, as Miguel took in everything Silver said, his face still remaining stoic.

"Mr. Silver, let me get one thing straight, okay?" Miguel murmured lowly. "I am NOT a 'free agent' right now. I am out of this sick, twisted game completely. This war has nearly killed me multiple times. It's caused me and the people I love unspeakable pain and hardship, most of that suffering coming at the hands of your very dojo. Why on Earth would I ever want to join you?"

"Because, my dear boy, I'd be willing to pay you a handsome sum of money for your services."

This caused Miguel's ears to perk up ever so slightly. Money. The thing he needed most in the world right now. Silver was offering him that? But Miguel forced himself to shake his head.

"Listen to yourself right now Mr. Silver… you're seriously offering to pay me for me to whale on and beat the shit out of some of my closest friends. What the hell kind of person do you think I am?!"

Silver sighed and shook his head.

"Miguel, Miguel, Miguel. Once again, you misunderstand your job within the dojo. Might I suggest you staying quiet and I explain it all to you before you chime in?"

"Please, be my guest." Miguel remarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Silver nodded.

"So… let's start from the beginning. Recruiting… yes, we do want to use you, use your story to try and convince more people like you to join Cobra Kai. Other people who would normally be afraid to stand up for themselves and we give them the straight to do so and fight back against the bullies. I would have thought you of all people would encourage this. Now, does this mean causing mindless assaults against Miyagi-Do? No! That was never my endgame! That was never my goal! Hell, I was the one who suggested the no fighting until the tournament rule before this All-Valley! That was me, not Kreese! He was all for Cobra Kai going after you guys for the stunt you pulled at the baseball diamond and making each and every one of you pay. I convinced him not to. My only priority was, and still is, to make Cobra Kai as big as it deserves to be. Dominate the Valley, and eventually the entire city of Los Angeles. Hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of students will flock to our dojo to learn the way of the fist! However… if Miyagi-Do clearly instigate a fight with us, I do hope that if you deem the situation unsafe for any other member of your team, you will put them before your old Miyagi-Do friends and keep our team safe by any means necessary. That doesn't mean you go bloodthirstily aggressive for no reason against them. No, that means that if they start to bully a Cobra, or start to pick a fight with a smaller, weaker Cobra, as Cobra Kai's leader, you stand up for them. And for all of this, I promise to pay you a very generous sum indeed."

Miguel stared at Silver and chuckled.

"You know, that all sounds great actually." Miguel eventually remarked, taking Silver aback.

"R-r-really?" Silver stammered. Miguel nodded.

"Yeah! It'd be going back to the dojo, doing what I love and earning money. What's not to love?" He commented. "Oh, there's just one small problem with it though."

"Sure, what is it? We can get it sorted out ASAP. Whatever you want, just name it." Silver stated. Miguel fearlessly looked him right in the eye when he responded.

"Problem is I don't believe a fucking word that comes out of your mouth." Miguel murmured, before standing up straighter. "Have a good night, Mr. Silver."

With that, Miguel turned back around and began to walk away from the man.

"I know your mom's pregnant, Miguel!"

A voice suddenly rang through Miguel's ears, stopping him dead in his tracks. His jaw dropped in shock and he spun back around to see Silver still sitting at the table, smiling sincerely at him. Miguel rushed back over to him and practically threw himself into the booth so he was sitting opposite the elderly sensei.

"Now how the HELL do you know that?" Miguel snarled, worry about his mom and why such a dangerous man knew about the baby seeping into his voice.

Silver raised his hands in surrender.

"Calm down. Relax, Miguel. I was just at the pharmacy the other day, picking up my medication and I saw her buying prenatal vitamins. Now why would a woman be buying prenatal vitamins if she wasn't pregnant?"

"Um… it could be for a friend…" Miguel stammered. Silver raised an eyebrow.

"You really expect me to believe that?" Silver remarked. "So who's the father? Is it Johnny Lawrence? I heard the two of them were… an item."

Miguel's eyes narrowed and he squinted deeply into the man's eyes, trying to see whether he should trust the man and tell the truth, or steer clear at all costs. He decided to go with the former, and he nodded.

"Yeah. Johnny's the dad." He replied. Silver inhaled sharply and winced sympathetically at Miguel.

"Ooh. Two Reseda based parents… can't exactly be rolling around in money."

"They'll be just fine, without a hand-out from you." Miguel growled angrily at him. Who the fuck did this man think he was coming after his family's finances like this?! Silver noticed the harsh tone and shook his head.

"Look, Miguel, I swear to you I'm not trying to offend. I'm just trying to genuinely look out for your best interests. You know, with Keene in Miyagi-Do, getting all cuddly with his father, someone has to have your back in all this." Silver remarked, watching Miguel's face darken even further. "Do you have any idea how much raising a baby costs? There is SO MUCH to worry about, SO MUCH to pay for. Not only prenatal vitamins, though they aren't cheap at all. Hundreds of diapers; an expensive stroller; clothes that get grown out of every few months and need replacing; all those doctors visits for your mom while she's pregnant and the baby after it's born. Now add on top of that basic fees your mom pays like rent, utilities, all that lot. And that grandma of yours… she's not getting any younger. Sooner or later she's going to need medical help and medical assistance. It all adds up really quick."

"My mom… will be just fine." Miguel snarled.

"I know she will. But what about you, Miguel? Smart boy like you probably wants to go to college, right?"

Miguel decided to play along, and he nodded.

"Yeah, Stanford." He replied. Silver whistled.

"Wow. Great school." He commented. "Expensive school though, but a school after everything you've been through in the past few years, you deserve to go to! Do you know how much yearly tuition is in Stanford?"

Miguel nodded.

"Sure. It's like 60k a year." Miguel told him. Silver nodded and smiled at the teenager.

"Exactly. A hell of a lot of money for a family who are struggling to make ends meet with their new child to fork over." He remarked. "That is why this is my offer, plain and simple. 5000 dollars."

Miguel scoffed.

"You're going to offer me 5000 dollars to join you? That's barely a twelfth of just one year's tuition in an Ivy League school."

Silver shook his head, laughing.

"No, no, no! You misunderstand me, Miguel! I'm a well-off man. No kids to spoil or anything and I'm not going to live forever. I can afford to let go of some of the money I've made. I meant 5000 dollars a week."

Miguel's jaw practically hit the table in shock. He could feel his heart begin to pound and his ears start to ring. 5000 dollars a week. Just one week of that and he had already earned more than in two weeks working at this shitty diner. His mouth ran dry and his head spun just thinking about it.

"Just to put it in perspective, at 5000 dollars a week, if you stay with Cobra Kai for a year, that would earn you…"

"260 thousand dollars." Miguel replied, nearly passing out just thinking about the astronomical figure, a number higher than what many doctors and lawyers made. And he was being offered that much to do karate?!

"260 thousand would be enough for 4 years of college at an Ivy League school, as well as making this whole baby experience a lot more comfortable for your family. So what do you say, Miguel? Are you ready to return to your roots and relearn the way of the fist?"

At that moment, Miguel was ashamed that he actually had to stop for a moment and think. Should he join Cobra Kai? He was talking all about finally putting himself and his future first and this was, without a doubt, the best move for his future. However, the problem was he couldn't stop getting Johnny's face out of his head. How would the sensei who had done so much for him react when he heard Miguel had joined their mortal enemies? Same with Hawk, and Demetri, and Sam, and virtually everyone else he cared about in Miyagi-Do and Eagle-Fang. Miguel shook his head.

"I'm really sorry. I appreciate the offer but my answer's no. I don't want to have to turn on and fight my friends and risk hurting the people I love, and no amount of money is going to change that."

Silver sighed and nodded.

"I understand. You have loyalty. I respect that. That's part of the reason why I wanted to have you in Cobra Kai. We could use guys like you on our team." He said. Miguel apologised once more and prepared to turn away when Silver opened his mouth again. "Can I just leave you with one thought though?"

Miguel slowly turned around to face him again and nodded.

"Sure, what is it?"

Silver took a deep breath. This was it. The hail mary.

"Picture life 52 weeks from now. In a year, everyone in your class will have graduated. Everyone will be going off to do undoubtedly great things in life. How many of these people that you claim you can't hurt and so can't join Cobra Kai will you still see? I can tell you from experience that high school friendships end as soon as you leave those gates on graduation day. Everyone will all be scattered across the country, while you're still here, sweeping tables at this diner, hoping one day to earn enough to send yourself to college, but realising that you're far too old and it's far too late. Or you could join Cobra Kai and in 52 weeks, it'll be the exact same in the sense that everyone your age is splitting up for college. But in this scenario, you're going off to be doing great things too, better things even. Because you're special, Miguel. You're a once in a generation talent, not at karate in particular but just in life. You know what it means to fight for what you believe in, and how to pour blood, sweat and tears into your work. You have the opportunity to surpass everyone else your age. All you have to do is put yourself first for a chance…"

Miguel stared at him for several more moments, visibly torn. Did Silver have a point? Would the better move for his own future and his family's future truly be him joining Cobra Kai, for the pay stub if nothing else? A small voice deep within him uttered those words in his ear, and it took all the strength Miguel had to shake his head once again.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Silver. The answer's no."