The vehicle turned into the backend of a dilapidated strip mall. Quang parked in the rear end of the buildings, stopping right next to a dumpster. The only light in the area came from the flickering streetlight that stood adjacent to the red brick building. Plastered on the only window on this side of the building was a weathered poster that obscured whatever was inside.

“It looks closed,” Selene said as she squinted at the poster. Quang turned the car off and unbuckled his seatbelt, prompting Selene to do the same.

“That’s because it is. But that doesn’t mean no one’s in there.”

The pair stepped outside of Quang’s car and walked up to the brown security door. Selene got a closer look at the crooked poster. Even though it was old and yellowing, she could still make out what the faded words said.

“Isla Lucrecia School of Martial Arts,” she read aloud. A silhouette of a person in a karate gi doing a standing high kick took up most of the poster’s space while the bottom half contained details of the hours of operation.

“This is where me and Vic spent most of our childhood,” Quang said. He pulled one of the doors open and held it open for Selene.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile as she walked inside the studio. The ceiling lights were set to low but provided more than enough illumination to make everything visible. The length of the main area was that of a few cars and could be walked from one end to the other in a matter of seconds. Laid out across the center of the room was a long blue practice mat. Dangling on the walls were long vertical scrolls with Chinese characters and towards the front was a bamboo rack holding an assortment of melee weapons.

“So the guy just leaves the door to his studio open?” Selene asked as she continued to scan the room. The sudden reek of sweat hit her nostrils at once and made the muscles in her face tense up.

“Master Rodney doesn’t care,” Quang said as he stepped over a white robe that lay bunched up on the tile floor. He made his way to a wooden door on the side of the room and waved his hand for Selene to follow. Once she was at his side, he gave it a few knocks with the back of his hand.

“Hey Rodney!” Quang shouted. He stood with one hand on his hip and waited for the door to open. Both could hear a chair slide across the floor followed by a deep and low voice mumbling profanities. The door opened a crack, revealing just a sliver of the face of an older man with darker brown skin.

“I knew it had to be you,” the man said as he peered through crack at Quang. “Give me a second.” The door closed, followed by the sound of a chain sliding to the side. The entirety of the door opened, revealing the full body of the owner. His short gray hair still had plenty of curliness to it while his face had visible stubble. Both of his arms were crossed in front of his body; the slim green tank top he wore showed off the muscular frame that was uncharacteristic of a man his age. “It’s been a while, huh Quang?”

“A bit.” Quang gave the man a nod. He could see that Rodney was now looking at Selene.

“You couldn’t have waited for the place to be open before showing a new student around?”

“No, no. It’s not like that at all,” Quang said with a shake of his head.

“You’re talking about me?” Selene interrupted. Rodney kept his arms crossed, all while looking at her with one eye raised. “I already have plenty of training.” She pointed at herself with her thumb, smiling as she did so.

“Let me guess. You got a black belt in eight months? Before you were even in middle school, right?”

Selene’s expression soured. “No, actually. I’ve been practicing Hapkido and tonfas since I was just a girl. And if you must know, I was supposed to take a test to reach third Dan. Some personal things came up and I had to stop.”

“So you know your stuff then, huh?”

“I think she’s the real deal,” Quang said. “You should’ve seen her when the Union stopped by the restaurant.”

“Those clowns are still dogging you and your family?” Rodney remarked as he shifted his attention to Quang. “Hudson still leading them?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Apparently they’ve been harassing everybody,” Selene said.

“They don’t mess with me,” Rodney replied with a huff.

“Oh? And why is that?” Selene asked.

The two men looked at each other before looking back towards Selene. “Because they know better,” Rodney said, chuckling as he did so. “Hudson might be as smart as that hammer he lugs around, but at least he and his boys have the sense to know not to come around my studio and demanding money.”

“They tried it once,” Quang interjected. “And only once.”

“He didn’t try to suplex you through a table?” Selene asked facetiously. Quang took a step away from Rodney and diverted his eyes away. “Because that’s exactly what happened to your star pupil over here.”

“I never said he was my star pupil. Just a pupil.”

“Come on Rodney. It’s not like there was much competition. You were either scaring people away or telling them to get lost. Me and Vic were the only ones who stuck around.”

Rodney rolled his neck and put his hands on his hips. “It’s not my fault people are just looking to say that they have a blackbelt. I’m not wasting my time on someone that doesn’t want to learn. There are plenty of options if you want a blackbelt for the sake of having one. I’m here to teach martial arts, not hand out validation.”

“I guess that’s why you have all the time you want to watch reruns,” Quang remarked after glancing at the television in Rodney’s office. The studio owner reached behind him and shut the door before addressing the pair.

“Back to the topic at hand,” he said sternly, “If Hudson has been rolling with the same crew after all this time, numbers shouldn’t have mattered. The only one that has any semblance of fighting competence is Hudson. I’ve taught you how to escape holds like that. But more importantly, I taught you how to not get in that situation in the first place.”

“It’s hard to apply that kind of knowledge in the heat of the moment, you know?”

Rodney rolled his eyes. “It’s also hard to apply that kind of knowledge when you don’t practice on a regular basis,” the instructor reached over and gave Quang a quick smack on the back of the head.

“Hey,” Quang rubbed the point of impact. “Could you not?” He gestured with his eyes towards Selene.

“She already saw you get dropped through a table. Don’t know why you’re just now starting to worry about your image.”

“Well, besides the part where he broke the table with his back, Quang managed to hold his own,” Selene said. She gave Quang a pat on his back, making him raise his head and muster a grin even though she had struck his sore spot.

“I believe it. But things could have turned out a lot better if he had a bit of discipline. All that potential but you’d rather spend your free time playing video games.”

“I get it, Rodney,” Quang replied in an exasperated manner. “I’ve got a few faults that I need to work on. I understand that. I shouldn’t have ghosted you. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize. Clearly you’re the one that needs me if your body is being used to split tables in two.”

“Look. You can roast me any other time. But I came here this late to talk to you about something very important.”

“I was about to get to that. Gotta be important for you to show up after almost a year with no contact. And this late after closing time.”

Quang paused. Rodney’s stern expression started to give when he saw the concern on his former student’s face. “It’s about Vic,” Quang said lowly.

“Is he alright?” Rodney’s serious expression turned into one of worry.

“I was going to ask you that. Have you seen him recently?”

“Not since the beginning of this month. He just stopped showing up.”

“Dammit.” Quang tilted his head up and smacked a palm against his forehead. “Did he say anything about where he was going?”

“Nope. He just upped and left without a word.”

“At the exact same time that he stopped visiting the restaurant. Maybe Selene was right. Maybe something did happen to Vic.”

“He was acting a bit off the last few days that I saw him,” Rodney put a hand on his chin as he dug into his mind as he recalled the last time he had seen Vic. “Even by his standards.”

“Kinda quiet?”

Rodney nodded. “Yep. You know how Vic is when he puts his mind to something. He gets all silent and he’s dead-set on that one thing. Looking back I wish I had asked him what was on his mind.”

“He didn’t drop any hints, did he?”

“No,” Rodney said with a shake of his head. “Besides a lot of pacing around the area he didn’t do much of anything the last day he was here.”

“That’s what I was afraid to hear,” Quang sighed, kicking at the air in frustration. “I don’t know where to go now. Vic could be anywhere.” As Quang stared at the ground, he could feel a hand take hold of his shoulder.

“You know Vic just as well as I do. There’s no way he’s going to let the city get the best of him.”

“Yeah. You’re right. I’m just worried. He’s always getting into trouble. Who knows what he could have gotten himself into this time around?”

“I understand where you’re coming from. But Vic is a grown man. He makes his decisions and he’s got to live with them.” Rodney gave Quang a pat on the shoulder. The room became silent as Quang stared out the studio’s front window and into the faintly lit streets beyond.

“I guess you’re right Rodney. Sorry for bothering you at this hour.”

“Don’t sweat it. If I find out anything I’ll be sure to let you know.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

Rodney backed up, returning to his previously stoic pose with his arms crossed in front. Now, however, his irked look had shifted to one of understanding as his eyebrows no longer narrowed in on his former pupil. “Just know that you and your friend are welcome here anytime. But try not to let another year pass before your next visit, okay?”

“Of course.”

Rodney extended a hand that Quang shook without hesitation. Both men grinned before Rodney pulled his student in for an embrace and a pat on the back. “And you gotta do the same for me, understand? Let me know if you find him.”

“You’ll find out as soon as I do.”

As quickly as their embrace began, it had ended. Rodney opened the door to his office again and stepped inside. Quang moved towards the direction of the back exit but kept an on his former instructor.

“You two stay safe out there,” Rodney said with the upper half of his body sticking out of the partially opened door.

Quang nodded before exiting out the back with Selene.

“He was… interesting,” Selene remarked as she buckled herself into the passenger seat.

“Rodney? He takes some getting used to. A bit abrasive but a great guy once you know him.”

“I couldn’t imagine him being my instructor.”

“You’re not alone. It’s not very often he gets new students. Even rarer is when they stay.”

“Shocking.” Selene widened her eyes as she gave her belt strap a tug.

“But if you want results, you’re not going to find any place that’s better. Rodney has been training longer than both of us have been alive. Combined. I’m telling you, the man is the real deal. If you can look past the verbal abuse. And sometimes physical.”

“I think I’m good enough to get by,” Selene said as she leaned back onto the seat’s cushion.

“Am I dropping you off at your place now?” Quang asked as he looked in the rearview mirror.

“Sure.”

“Sorry it’s so late,” Quang put the car into reverse and began to drive out of the parking lot. “I know that getting to Rodney’s studio is a bit of a drive.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m probably off tomorrow anyway.”

Quang kept his eyes focused on traffic but heard what Selene had said. “Probably?”

“I’m sure Matt will call out like he usually does and my boss will just be begging for me to come in.”

“You said you work at the rec center, right?”

“Yeah. I’m a lifeguard.”

“Sounds exciting.”

Selene kept her gaze outside of the vehicle, watching the streetlights streak past. “It’s not. I just sit in the lifeguard chair for a few hours and yell at kids to stop running around the pool. And that’s if I’m working at all.”

“They’re not giving you any hours?”

“Two days a week. Three if I’m lucky,” Selene groaned and pressed the back of her head against her seat. “How I’m going to make ends meet this month I do not know.”

Quang took his eyes from the road to his passenger. Her head was tilted up, staring into the dingy and peeling ceiling of his car. It was obvious that she wasn’t focused on the tear in the soft material above her. “Maybe we can work something out for you at Pho 68?”

Selene shook her head. “No, no. Don’t worry about that. I don’t want to sound rude but I think you and your family already have enough to worry about.”

“I’m serious. Maybe we can find a way to start doing delivery. That way I could cook it while you…”

“Quang.” Selene looked towards the driver with tired eyes.

He stopped his thought.

“I appreciate the thought. I really do. But I can take care of myself. Worst case scenario I’ll just ask my parents for some help. Maybe even move back if I have to. But you and your family have a lot going on right now. You shouldn’t have to worry about me as well.”

Quang sighed, letting a bit of guilt show on his face. “Alright, if you’re sure. But don’t say I didn’t offer to help.”

Selene kept her gaze fixated on the passing cityscape from the passenger window. “Wouldn’t dare.”