Chapter 54: Standoff

Third Person POV:

Terry Silver approached his front door and opened it. Standing outside was a police officer.

"Mr. Silver, we need to talk." The officer says.

"Please, come in." Terry says. The officer sits on the couch.

"I'm not gonna get away with this. My fellow officers are breathing down my neck. It's only a matter of time before they find out I stole the mall security footage." The officer says.

"And you came to me, seeking help." Terry says.

"Exactly. I know for a fact that they're gonna find out. Is there any way you can use your resources to make my punishment not as harsh?" The officer says. Terry doesn't speak for a second.

"I actually have been planning something for a while. Are you familiar with Detective Alfonso?" Terry asks.

"Of course. What does he have to do with anything?" The officer asks.

"We're going to kill two birds with one stone. We'll get you off the hook, and ruin Detective Alfonso's life in the process." Terry says.

"How?" The officer asks.

"You know how he's in charge of the Turner case? He's been hunting Matthew Turner for a while now." Terry says.

"Yeah, so?" The officer asks.

"I actually know where Matthew's been hiding." Terry says.

"What? How? Where?" The officer asks while standing up.

"There's a guy I know who abandoned a property years ago. Matthew has been hiding there. It's actually really funny how he thinks he's safe." Terry says while chuckling.

"And you haven't told anyone? Why?" The officer asks.

"Because I knew I could use him. If Steve ever tried to get back into Cobra Kai again, I could threaten him by saying I'll turn his brother in to the police." Terry says.

"Steve Turner? I don't even want to know what's going on in your personal life. Besides, how is any of that gonna help me?" The officer asks. Terry smiles.

"How comfortable are you around fire?" Terry asks.

James's POV:

"Hey! What the hell is going on?!" I shout.

"None of your business. You better beat it or you're next." The guy says. The knife was dangerously close to Steve's throat. If I tried to attack this guy, Steve would be dead in an instant.

"James, just go." Steve says. I didn't know what to do. Should I really be risking my safety in order to protect my former bully?

"Whatever beef you have with Steve can be settled a different way." I say.

"Yeah? Or will I end up just getting my ass kicked again." The guy says. I try to choose my next words carefully.

"Why did Steve kick your ass?" I ask.

"It doesn't matter." The guy says.

"Whatever you're gonna do, just do it." Steve says to the guy.

"What the hell? Don't say that!" I shout.

"I…I realize now that there are only two ways to make up for everything I did: Turning myself in to the police, or dying. It's clear the universe wants me to do the latter. This is my karma." Steve says. Hearing those words come out of Steve's mouth made me feel something I didn't expect.

"You don't deserve to die. I know people who used to be gigantic assholes who changed for the better." I say. The guy then speaks up.

"Ha, you really expect this prick to change?" He asks.

"Yes." I say.

"What makes you say that?" The guy says.

"Because I changed. I hurt a lot of people when I was angry. I started to hate one of my own teammates becuase he wanted to figure out who he was. I hated the guy who taught Steve Miyagi-Do. I even started to bully a kid just because he wasn't in the same dojo as me. The point is, I did a lot of things to hurt these people. I myself don't think I've done enough to earn their forgiveness. But I know that people can change. I changed. My closest friends were some of my biggest enemies at a point in time. I'm friends with the guy who beat me up and robbed me on the first day I moved here. I'm friends with the guy who broke two of my ribs. If I can forgive them…then I can try my hardest to forget Steve. I…I think he can change. And I think you can change too." I say while pointing at the guy.

"What? Me?" The guy says.

"Yeah, what's your name?" I ask. The guy seems bewildered.

"Why the hell does it matter?" The guy asks.

"Because I want to know who I'm talking to." I say. The guy hesitates for a bit.

"Frank…Nelson." Frank says.

Third Person POV:

"Are you sure you're okay?" Brian asks.

"I'll be fine." Chase says. He had been forced to clean all the shit and blood on him. It took a while. The two boys leave the park and run into a few Miyagi-Fang students.

"Hey, what's up!" Chris says.

"Hey, you guys good?" Mitch asks.

"Not really. Cobra Kai is still giving us a hard time." Chase says.

"I understand that all too well." Nate says.

"Well hey, now that we're all together, they won't be able to take us down." Bert says. Suddenly, Brian tenses up.

"Woah, is something wrong?" Chris asks.

"That's him! That's the guy who beat the shit out of me and broke my finger!" Brian shouts. Standing in front of everyone, was Tristan.

"Hey! So you're the asshole who attacked Brian?!" Nate shouts.

"Look, you don't know who you're dealing with." Tristan says. Mitch laughs.

"It looks to me that we're dealing with one person who is outnumbered by six." Mitch says. Tristan rolls his eyes.

"Please, I'll kick all your asses in a heartbeat." Tristan says.

"Oh really? We'll see about that." Mitch says before charging at Tristan. Tristan delivers a right hook into Mitch's face. He falls over and hits his head on the sidewalk, knocking him out instantly. Everyone stares in shock.

"Anyone else?" Tristan asks. Bert and Nate charge at him. Bert attempts to punch Tristan but he ducks. He then kicks Nate in the chest, knocking him down before grabbing Bert and throwing him over his shoulder. Chris tries to swing at Tristan, but he ducks and then front kicks Chris in the face. Tristan then steps behind him, knees him in the back, kicks him in the back of the head, and sweeps his legs. Only Chase and Brian remained.

James's POV:

"See? You're not just some random guy. You have a future ahead of you. If you put the knife down, then we can just talk." I say.

"No. If I put the knife down, you two are just gonna jump me and call the police." Frank says.

"No, I promise we won't." I say.

"How do I know for sure?" Frank says.

"James, just let him do it. I deserve to die. I want to die." Steve says.

"For God's sake, no!" I shout. I then address Frank. "Do you realize the severity of this situation? If you you do something like this, there is no coming back." I say. This seems to get to him.

"Well, it's too late now." Frank says.

"No, it's never too late to stop. If you do this, it'll haunt for the rest of your life. I know a guy who accidentally killed another person." I say while thinking about Matthew and Nick. "The killer was haunted by the incident. He wanted to take it back but he couldn't. The victim's family was hurt and angry. I don't think you want to hurt that many people including yourself." I say as tears begin to fill my eyes.

"I…I…" Frank stutters.

"You can be a better person. Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?" I say.

"I…I wanted to be a musician. But that was before I was in and out of juvie all the time." Frank says.

"What's stopping you from pursuing your dreams?" I ask.

"I…I already ruined my life. I hurt the people closest to me, my family." Frank says.

"You still have time to make up for everything. Like I said, it's never too late to seek redemption." I say.

"I just don't know what to do." Frank confesses.

"I can help you." I say. Tears form in Frank's eyes as he finally lowers the knife. Steve collapses to his knees. Suddenly, Frank presses the knife against his own throat.

"I'm sorry." He says.

Third Person POV:

"Why the hell are you just attacking us for no reason?" Chase asks.

"No reason? You're teammates struck first." Tristan says. Chase and Tristan get in a fighting stance.

"You don't have to do this." Brian says.

"I'm not gonna just let this asshole walk away." Chase says. Chase then charges at Tristan. Tristan moves to the side to avoid Chase's front kick. Chase then tries to hit Tristan with a roundhouse kick. Tristan catches his leg and elbows him in the face. Tristan kicks Chase's other leg out from under him and he hits the ground. Tristan gets on top of him and bashes his head into the ground.

"Let go of him!" Brian shouts before pushing Tristan. Tristan responds by getting up and hitting Brian in the head with a roundhouse kick, sending him to the ground. Chase is able to get up and get back into a fighting stance.

"Come on!" Chase shouts. He tries to punch Tristan but he catches his arm. Tristan then headbutts Chase before elbowing him in the face. Blood, once again, begins to pour out of Chase's nose. Tristan punches Chase in the chest, causing him to stumble back. Chase tries to deliver a spinning back kick but Tristan catches his leg. This was the leg that held Chase's bad knee. Tristan elbows his knee as hard as possible causing Chase to hit the ground. He screams in pain. Brian gets back up and struggles to stay on his feet. Before he can even do anything, Tristan grabs his head and pulls it downwards so he can bash it into his knee. He knees Brian in the face twice before he grabs Brian's injured hand.

"Please don't!" Brian shouts. Tristan punches Brian's broken finger, causing him to scream in pain. Tristan then kicks Brian in the crouch and pushes him to the ground.

"Hey!" A voice shouts. Tristan turns around and locks eyes with Demetri.

"Great. You come to challenge me as well? You do realize I'll kick your ass like everyone else here." Tristan says. Demetri simply gets in a fighting stance. So does Tristan.

James's POV:

"No! Don't!" I shout.

"I won't go back to juvie again." Frank says.

"We won't call the police. Think about your family. How broken would they feel if they found out you died?" I ask.

"They don't care about me." Frank says.

"Trust me, they do. When my brother died, my family was broken for a long time. Whether you like it or not, they still care for you." I say.

"I…I hurt my parents...my sister…how can they still care?" Frank asks.

"Because I can tell you're a good person who's made mistakes. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's the truth. Please drop the knife. I promise, I'll help you get back on your feet." I say. Frank begins sobbing as he finally drops the knife. The mental toll of the whole situation finally sets in and I collapse to my knees. All three of us were breathing heavily.

"Why did you save me?" Steve asks.

"Because…I think everyone can redeem themselves. Even though I can't forgive you right now, I'm gonna try my hardest to forgive you one day." I say.

Third Person POV:

Matthew was lying on the ground, humming to himself. He didn't know what he was going to do with his life. Suddenly, a man enters the abandoned house. It was the corrupt cop.

"Hands where I can see them!" He shouts while aiming his gun at Matthew. Matthew quickly gets up and puts his hands in the air.

"Shit, shit shit!" Matthew shouts.

"Get in there." The officer orders while motioning to a bedroom.

"Okay, okay." Matthew mutters in defeat. Matthew enters the bedroom and looks behind him to see the officer shut the door. "Excuse me? What's going on?" Matthew asks. He hears some rusting from outside the door and then hears the officer walk away. "Hello?" Matthew asks. He approaches the door and tries to open it. He couldn't. "What the hell?" Matthew mutters to himself. This door was constructed to open towards the bedroom. The officer made a makeshift lock by tying one end of a piece of rope to the doorknob and the other end to an object further away from the door. Matthew tries to break the door down but to no avail. "Please let me out! I'm sorry for everything I did!" Matthew shouts. That's when he remembers the window on the other side of the bedroom. He approaches it and right when he's about to open it, the officer appears outside of it.

"Get back!" He says while pointing his gun at Matthew. Matthew puts his hands up and backs away. The officer opens the window and grabs something. It was a container that held gasoline. He begins pouring it through the window and into the room.

"What the hell are you doing?" Matthew asks in a panicked voice. That's when the officer pulls out a lighter.

"This isn't personal." The official says while lighting the lighter. Matthew finally realizes what's about to happen.

"No! Stop! Please!" Matthew shouts. The officer drops the lighter into the room and it goes up in flames. Matthew covers his face and backs up into the door. He begins coughing uncontrollably. He tries to open the door again but to no avail. He tries to look around the room to find something but can't find anything. He then collapses to his hands and knees.

"Not like this! Please!" Matthew screams. The officer then begins walking away, thinking about how Matthew was going to burn alive. He can hear Matthew's screams and tries his hardest not to get affected by them. The officer reminds himself that Matthew was a murderer and that he shouldn't feel sympathy for him.

Authors's Note: This is probably one of the darkest chapters I've written for this story. I really hope you enjoyed. What will the fallout be after what happened to Matthew? What is Terry Silver's plan? What will James and Steve do with Frank now that Frank let Steve go? How will the Demetri V.S Tristan fight play out?