can you keep a secret??-tory nichols

iv. the moment of truth

"You gotta understand that Mogadishu in the 90s was a hellhole." Kreese explained to his overly eager students-Aisha, Hawk, and Isabella. Miguel was behind the three, stretching before practice began. "Warlords controlled whole swaths of the city. My team and I were charged with cleaning the place up."

"How many warlords did you kill?" Hawk questioned curiously.

"You keep track of every ant you stomp out?" Miguel seemed unsurprised in comparison to his friends.

"Badass." Hawk muttered, transfixed on his newest role model.

"They were outgunned, we were outmanned. I tell you...Rwanda was no joke."

"Don't you mean Somalia?" Miguel corrected, standing up behind Kreese. "Mogadishu is in Somalia. Rwanda's a whole other country."

"Of course, Somalia." Kreese nodded, agreeing with Miguel. "I've spent so much time in the sandbox, it all kinda bleeds together, you know?" He excused himself.

"Listen up!" Johnny yelled, announcing his presence in the dojo. "I see we've got some new recruits. Everybody, fall in. In neat rows and lines. Time to see what you're made of. Straighten up, ginger twins." Johnny told two of his students. Glancing through the rows, he noticed someone out of place. "Sorry, parents can't stay for class. It's an insurance thing."

"I'm not a dad." The other man spoke up shakily. "I...I am here to kick some ass, sir!"

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Oh, yeah, um, I sold you the mirror. We kinda bonded, talked about rock bands."

"Look, you're a little old." Johnny said rather gently for his normal demeanor. "This is a class for teenagers."

"Well, I...I can take them. I'm not afraid of kids, sir. And my mom, she doesn't charge me rent, so I just...I got a lot of cash to burn." He pulled out a few 20 dollar bills from his shirt pocket.

"Yeah." Johnny took the money out of his hands quickly. "We'll consider this a trial run. I thought my last group of recruits was pathetic. But if you do what I tell you to do, you'll at least have a chance of becoming a fighter. But to do that, you gotta fight. So, which one of you has the balls to take on the champ?" The dojo grew eerily silent. Returning students knew this was meant for the new kids, so they strategically kept their mouths shut. The new kids, however, were hushed into silence out of fear. They had seen Miguel kick ass at school, at the tournament, and now at the Valley demo. The silence continued for a while before one voice spoke up from the crowd.

"I'll take him on." The sea of students parted, revealing a strong, confident female at the other end.

"Oh, you will, huh?" Johnny smirked, looking the student up and down, viewing her potential through his own eyes.

"I saw your little demo at Valley Fest. You guys can put on a show. But can you actually fight?"

"That sounds like a challenge.

She smirked. "I like a challenge."

It's safe to say that Tory, as she was named, proved herself. There was a struggle, but she essentially kicked Miguel's ass. To everyone, it was badass, but it meant even more to Isabella. Her brother had been at the top of the food chain, but he had been knocked down a few pegs, thanks to this mystery girl.

XXX

"Ugh." Aisha rolled her eyes as she looked at a text on her phone.

"Let me guess. Dick pic?" Tory questioned.

"No." Aisha denied. "My mom wants me to go to the beach club with her."