The Serpent Queen

Fire and Ice | Part One

Opening the door to her bedroom, Phoebe walked out in a simple T-shirt and a pink Hawaiian style shirt sleeved shirt and loose but stretchy black gym running shorts. Underneath it she wore a bikini as she was heading to the beach with Hawk, Demetri, and Miguel later on.

Walking out into the hallway, her dad nearly bumped into her coming from his bedroom being completely distracted. He had his phone held up to his face, his finger scrolling through many pages of a document.

"Sorry, Phoebe. You alright?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Could be better." He walked by her in his suit and into the kitchen to make breakfast.

His daughter followed after him, confused. "What do you mean?"

George switched the electric kettle on to boil, "Johnny. His rap sheet has been made public online. He's had a run in with the law more than once before he got arrested that time when we first arrived here."

"Really? What's he done?" She asked eagerly with a sudden curiosity spike.

George looked unamused at her attitude, while putting a few slices of bread into the toaster. "Phoebe..."

"What?" She shrugged.

Sophie walked into the room dressed in her nurse's scrubs. "Morning."

"Morning." Phoebe and George said in unison.

"I'm still so angry with him showing up at the funeral. And what's worse is that he brought John Kreese for God's sake." He turned to his daughter. "Has he been at the dojo?"

"Kreese? Yeah he has."

"What?" George exclaimed.

"Yeah...he's been watching us train."

George's patience just disappeared, "That's it. I'm pulling you out. I don't want that man anywhere near you."

"Dad! No! That wasn't the deal. No negative influences have happened to me or Miguel."

"George." Sophie said. "Be reasonable."

"I am." He argued. "That deal was made before Kreese when I thought he was dead. Can't believe he would fake his death...again."

"Is that about the rap sheet? How did you even find out about it, George?" His wife asked making herself a cup of tea when the kettle finished boiling and then made her husband a cup of coffee.

"An email was sent to me. I checked it out and every student's parents are CC'ed in."

"Who sent the email?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know. But I'm sure it's a fake email address."

"Let me get this straight." Phoebe snatched hers dad's phone reading the email. "Someone send an email to all the parents of all the Cobras telling them about Johnny's many past arrests...?" She kept scrolling. "Jesus. It's all here. Dates, times, his extremely drunken mugshot." She glanced at Johnny's last charges. "Being drunk in public, aggravated assault, battery, intimidation, verbal assault and making rude gestures towards the police."

"Why would someone do that?" Sophie wondered. "Isn't it a breach of confidentiality?"

George buttered the slices of toast and began eating one, "It's made public on the California Department of Justice website, Soph. So no, it wouldn't be."

"What if it's to get the dojo shut down?" Phoebe piped up with her idea. "What parent wants their child taught karate by a man who's got many arrests like that."

Her mother nodded, "Good point. But your father has a point."

"No, he doesn't!" The teen glanced to her father and accused him. "Was this you?"