CHAPTER 193

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

The knock was so loud, it was almost deafening. Whoever it was behind the door, they clearly either had a bone to pick with him, or they urgently needed to see him for some reason. Marcos' first thought was that it was Sarah. That she had somehow managed to break free of her captors and had made it to his house. He was about to rush to open the door when he froze suddenly.

Common sense and superstitions kicked in, and he began to think… what if it wasn't Sarah? What if it was the people who had taken her? His dad? Silver? Sensei Kim? All of them knew exactly where he lived, and all of them were after him. Marcos had enemies targeting him from all angles, so he knew that he couldn't let himself fall into their hands so easily.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

As the banging on his front door continued, Marcos' amber eyes flickered around the room, until they landed on what he was searching for. The handgun had fallen to the ground at one point during his fit of rage, and Marcos spotted it on the ground, partially hidden under the sofa.

He picked it up and slowly headed for the door, checking the gun as he walked over. He had fired 3 bullets at the wall in anger, which meant that he still had 7 left to fire, one already ready in the chamber. His heart pounded rapidly as he moved closer and closer to the front door. This could be it, he thought to himself. If it was his father behind that door, this could be the moment he finally took the man out, ended the trail of carnage the man was leaving in his wake.

Just before he opened the door, Marcos thought to look through the peephole at who was standing on his front porch, so rudely slamming their hand against his front door with all of their strength. When he did, he let out a small sigh that was a mixture of relief and disappointment. Part of him was relieved that it wasn't his father. The other part of him, the fury-filled side that wanted to end his father's life, was slightly disappointed that his father continued to evade him.

Meanwhile, outside the apartment, two young men stood on the front porch, waiting for the door to open. One of them was a lot more uncertain about this than his step-brother beside him, so he shifted from foot to foot nervously.

"Are you sure about this?" Miguel asked. "I mean, why on Earth would he help us? He's Cobra Kai."

"He's my friend." Robby replied firmly. "Besides… We need all the help we can get right now. It's all hands on deck looking for Laura."

Suddenly, with a loud click, the front door was unlocked. However, it didn't swing open like the boys would've expected. It only opened by a fraction of an inch, as Marcos had kept the chain on the door to prevent it from opening fully. The two sides were able to stare at each other only through a small crack.

"Go away." Marcos snapped gruffly. He was in no mood to entertain right now, least of all two Miyagi-Dos. He might have been fine with Robby, but he didn't have a single nice thing to say about Miguel. Ever since his arrival in the Valley, he had automatically been the enemy to every single Miyagi-Do except Robby, and that included Miguel. Which was fine with Marcos. But that just meant that he had no interest in letting the Ecuadorian into his house.

"We need your help." Robby said. Marcos shook his head.

"Yeah well I've kind of got my own problems right now." Marcos stated, beginning to shut the door but Robby gently pushed it to keep it slightly open so that they could talk.

"Please, Marcos. It's my baby sister. She's been kidnapped."

After staring at them for a moment, realization began to set in, Marcos removed the chain from the door and opened it fully, allowing the two boys to walk inside. Robby and Miguel followed Marcos into the apartment, and their eyes widened slightly at the decrepit state of the small place. Smashed remnants covered every inch of the floor, and so the boys found themselves wading in broken wood, glass and plastic with every step.

"What happened in here?" Robby murmured. Miguel was about to ask the same thing when suddenly, his voice trailed off as he spotted the weapon in Marcos' hand.

"WHAT THE HELL?! Why do you have a gun?!" Miguel shouted in shock. Marcos shook his head.

"Like I told you. I'm dealing with my own shit right now." Marcos snapped.

"Put the gun down!" Miguel exclaimed, slightly panicked, knowing that Marcos' somewhat civil alliance with Robby didn't extend to him. Marcos merely scowled at him, keeping the gun firmly in his left hand.

"You realize that you're in my house right now, right? Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?" Marcos snapped.

"Marcos… who's the gun for?" Robby asked, extremely worried for Marcos, and the darkness that had seemed to have enveloped the teenager since the Taikai. For a moment, Marcos was about to tell Robby, but he decided not to. He didn't want to get them involved either if he could help it, for their own safety.

"None of your fucking business." Marcos shot back, though as he looked at the genuine concern on Robby's face, he sighed. "Look, it's not for you guys if that's what you're worried about."

"Good to know. But it wasn't us I was worried about actually." Robby replied. Although Robby didn't explicitly say it, Marcos knew exactly what he was implying, and he absolutely resented the implication. Robby was questioning whether Marcos had planned to turn the gun on himself after his devastating loss at the Taikai, and do the exact thing that his mother had, the thing that had scarred him and caused deep trauma that to this day, he hadn't gotten over.

Although Marcos wasn't planning on turning the gun on himself, he didn't respond to Robby's comment. Let him think what he wants to think, Marcos thought. At least it would keep far away from the truth, hopefully a safe distance away. But his silence at Robby's comment only elevated Robby's concern.

"You said that your sister was taken. What happened?" Marcos asked.

"We went out for dinner earlier tonight. All of us but my stepmom - Miguel's mom - and the baby. We came back to see Carmen unconscious and the baby gone."

"Do you know who knocked her out?" Marcos asked, a little too quickly, causing a little bit of suspicion amid the two stepbrothers.

"My dad." Miguel informed him. "He's a crook. He works for the cartel. Apparently he managed to get into the country from Mexico without being spotted by the authorities. In fact, according to the cops who were at our place, according to them and their database, my dad's still technically supposed to be in Mexico right now."

"But he's here?" Marcos asked. Miguel nodded.

"He's here." Miguel confirmed gravely. Another enemy, Marcos thought to himself. Another person involved in Silver's massive plot to wipe them all out of existence. His slightly pale face upon hearing this was also noticed by Miguel and Robby, whose curiosity and suspicion rose by the second.

"Look, I'm really sorry. That really sucks. But I'm not quite sure why you're here though. How does this concern me?" Marcos asked.

"Well… the first thing the police asked us when they questioned us was about any enemies that might want to hurt our family. Anyone who could be involved in this." Miguel said.

"I thought you said it was your dad." Marcos muttered, an edge starting to creep into his voice as he realized what Robby and Miguel were implying.

"It was. But that doesn't change the fact that somehow, the man managed to find exactly where we live. The police theorize that someone else was involved. Someone told him how to find us. An enemy, they think." Robby murmured. Although he knew that Marcos wasn't involved in this, the fact that he was a Cobra Kai couldn't be overlooked. The connections he had within the dojo couldn't be overlooked. The motive was surely there for anyone in Marcos' dojo to have done it, even if Robby didn't think Marcos himself had been involved.

"Come on! You really can't possibly think that I was involved in this!" Marcos exclaimed, looking at Robby. However, it wasn't Robby, but instead Miguel who responded.

"Is it really so outlandish to think that Cobra Kai's champion could be involved somehow, less than a few days after losing the final of the biggest competition in the world?" Miguel bluntly accused him, his words said with calmness, but definitely not being received that way by Marcos. The Cobra was silent for a while, trying to compose himself, before he looked at them and responded.

"You two need to go." Marcos snapped.

"You aren't… you aren't denying it." Miguel stammered, his eyebrow raised, glancing at Robby nervously. Could there actually be a chance that he was involved?

"Look, I didn't take your fucking sister, okay?! But I have my own shit to deal with right now, so you two need to leave. Now."

Miguel didn't move an inch though, gathering all of his courage to stand face to face with Marcos. He could tell that Marcos knew something. He was holding back information, or something even worse, and so the boy knew that whatever it was, he couldn't leave without it. Even if that meant overstaying his welcome in Marcos' home and risking a confrontation with the King Cobra.

"What? You don't believe me?!" Marcos scoffed, his head whipping from Miguel to Robby then back to Miguel again, scowling daggers at the former All-Valley champion. He had never liked Miguel. Even on opposing sides of the war, Robby and Marcos had always humanized each other. But Miguel… to Miguel, Marcos had been and always would be the enemy for as long as he donned the Cobra Kai gi. Things might have been as personal between them as they had been between the likes of Marcos and Hawk, but that didn't change the fact that there was no love lost between them.

"No. I don't." Miguel admitted honestly. "I don't trust you, and you haven't exactly been very convincing when you said you weren't part of this."

Marcos sighed. He knew that every second he spent playing this game with Miguel, the chances of him getting Sarah back alive and well decreased further and further. Debate raged on in his head whether or not to tell them about Sarah, especially given that it now also involved their baby sister too, but he still decided not too. He figured that if he did, he risked them going to the cops, and then if they did, Sarah would most definitely be a dead woman walking. He couldn't risk that. Not for anything or anyone.

"Look, I don't have time for this shit. It's time for you to leave!" Marcos demanded, his anger and frustration growing. Miguel still refused to leave though.

"No! I'm not leaving! I can see that you know something! And I'm not leaving until you tell us what you know!" Miguel shot back, authority seeping into his voice, authority that Marcos did not respect. He wasn't a Miyagi-Do. He didn't answer to Miguel. All Miguel was to him was the guy he had kicked the crap out of in his first week in the Valley, almost a year ago.

Marcos took half a step closer to Miguel, and watched as the Miyagi-Do curled his hands into fists, ready for a fight.

"Ooh… you fancy yourself as a big man, huh? Barging into my home; demanding information that I don't have; then threatening to fight me when I tell you that I don't have it."

"I know you're lying to us! This is about my sister! I am going to find out what you know, whatever it takes!" Miguel shouted. Rarely did he ever lose his cool and his temper like this anymore, but this time, it was different. He was extremely desperate. He knew that Marcos knew something. He could see it in the boy's eyes. And the fact that he was refusing to tell them what he knew only made Miguel more angry and suspicious. Every passing second decreased the chance that he'd be able to see his sister again, especially given that it seemed more and more likely that Cobra Kai had something to do with it.

Marcos, however, didn't take too kindly to these accusations being thrown at him and the refusal to leave by Miguel. He was dangerously close to losing his temper and attacking the Miyagi-Do until he left, but he forced himself not to. Not yet anyway.

"Listen up, Diaz. You have 5 seconds to turn your ass around and walk away before I put your ass right back in a coma where you fucking belong." Marcos snarled at him.

"Marcos! Miguel! Enough!" Robby shouted. Tempers were rising. Tension was palpable. The apartment was a ticking time bomb, about to explode in any second. As Marcos and Miguel shot verbal blows back and forth, Robby had remained silent, merely taking in the scene. It was only because he had done so that he realised that for some reason, Marcos and Miguel looked to be in very similar situations right now. They both had the same desperation in their voices, which was weird given that Marcos wasn't the one with a kidnapped loved one, right?

Robby's yell broke through to both Marcos and Miguel, the two of whom were barrelling towards a fight until Robby had stopped them. Robby turned to Marcos.

"Look, we're not here to accuse you of anything. But you are Cobra Kai's champion. We're only hear to ask if you've heard or seen anything that might be able to point us in the right direction. That's all we're asking."

There it was again. A flash of reluctance in Marcos' eyes, the look of someone who was withholding information. It was a combination of guilt and internal conflict, and both Robby and Miguel noticed it immediately. However, rather than yelling and a fight breaking out, Robby shot a look at Miguel to stop talking, and he then looked Marcos right in the eye as he spoke.

"Please, Marcos. Please. If you know something, please tell us. Whatever it is. No matter how big or small. This is our sister. Surely if roles were reversed and it was your loved one, you'd want to know anything you possibly could, right?"

This struck deep into Marcos. He was able to relate in a way that neither of the Miyagi-Dos could possibly imagine at that moment, as he himself had a loved one in enemy hands right now too. Sarah was still with them, and so Marcos knew that Robby was right: he would have demanded every scrap of knowledge that would lead to her whereabouts.

So taking a step back from Miguel, Marcos then pulled out his phone and began to play the voice messages that Sarah had left him, tossing the phone to Robby so him and Miguel could listen. The stepbrothers listened to all 3 and by the end, the teenagers had a better understanding than ever about what was going on.

Marcos wasn't the enemy. Cobra Kai wasn't the enemy. It was all Terry Silver, who was hell bent on setting the entire Valley on fire. He intended to wipe out every single Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai who had ever caused him any trouble, intending to leave nobody left alive by the time the war had ended. It started with the kidnappings of Sarah and Laura, but they knew that it was only going to get worse from here. War was coming. They knew that without a shadow of a doubt.

When Robby and Miguel were finished listening to the messages, Miguel walked back over to Marcos, handing him his phone and staring him right in the eye as he spoke again.

"I'm sorry." Miguel apologized quietly. "I thought that…"

"I know what you thought. And it's fine." Marcos murmured back. "You had no reason to believe otherwise. I'm sorry too, for losing my shit with you just now. I didn't mean that. It's just… you know. There's a lot on my mind right now."

"Marcos…" Robby slowly asked. "Who was it in that voicemail at the very end? Do you know the voice?"

Marcos clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth as he was forced to nod.

"My dad." Marcos replied. Robby and Miguel swallowed their shock as they stifled small gasps. They were beginning to see just how vast this network of enemies Silver had recruited was. He was recruiting people from different countries, even from behind bars, all to try and get his revenge on all of them.

"Is that who the gun was for?" Miguel asked. Although Marcos didn't reply, Robby and Miguel knew the answer. The Cobra looked down, fighting back tears, as he thought about just how fucked up the whole situation was. He forced his emotions to remain at bay - he needed to if he wanted to get through this war with Sarah still alive - but that was proving difficult as he was coming to realize just how hopeless this whole situation was.

Noticing Marcos' expression, Robby placed a hand of support on his shoulder.

"We're going to get them back." Robby stated, forcing confidence to seep into his voice, no matter how unlikely that was beginning to seem.

"I know." Marcos took a deep breath and nodded. "So what do we do now?"

As if on cue, all of a sudden, Marcos' phone rang and the Cobra picked it up, dropping it in shock as he saw the caller I.D, the phone leaping from his fingers as if it had burned him.

"You okay?" Miguel asked, taken aback by Marcos' reaction to receiving the call. "Who's calling?"

It took Marcos a few seconds to answer, still stunned in disbelief.

"Terry Silver…"