“This is the dojo you were talking about?” Selene asked.

The pair were parked on the far end of the lot with Selene staring at the massive black sign secured above the center building of the shopping center. Contrasting with the area of Rodney’s studio, there wasn’t a single boarded up window and every light appeared to be in working condition. Written in jagged letters were the words “Dragon’s Bite” accompanied with a logo of an Eastern-style dragon clenching its jaw.

“Yeah. You can see the name right there.” Quang pointed to the signage, but Selene focused on him with an irked gaze instead.

“I get that. I just didn’t expect the area to be so…” Selene paused her thought as she looked out the window and stared at the shiny sports cars parked in front of the building.

“So nice?”

“That’s one way to put it.”

“As you can see, this place makes a lot of money. Those two cars you’re looking at probably belong to the owner and his lead instructor.”

“You know them?” Selene turned to look back at Quang again. He had cut off the ignition and leaned back in his seat.

“No. But I’ve heard of them. The owner makes a lot of money. In Isla Lucrecia, self-defense is an invaluable skill. People will drop a lot of cash if it means having peace of mind.”

“What’s wrong with that? He found a market and capitalized on it.”

“Here’s the thing,” Quang said as he cut his eyes in the direction of the dojo. “They’re not really teaching self-defense. Just some nonsense that the owner made up and passing it off as actual martial arts.”

“That can’t be good,” Selene replied with a hint of worry.

“It’s not. I hate to think how many people have gotten hurt because they thought they knew what they were doing in the wrong situation. And what makes matters worse is that the guy employs a legitimate martial artists as an instructor to make what he’s teaching seem legit.”

“A real scam then, huh?”

“You bet. Fátima is the lead instructor. She’s won herself a few Kendo championships. And all she’s doing is just reinforcing the dojo’s reputation.”

Selene crossed her arms, looking at the crimson sports car parked at the opposite side of the lot. “It’s messed up, sure. But do you really think anyone here knows about Vic?” She asked with her gaze fixed on the woman stepping out of the vehicle. Despite her distance, she could make out a few key features. Besides the long brown ponytail and tan complexion, she noticed that her white gi was tied around her waist, showing off a tight black top underneath and something blue wrapped around her neck. As she approached the dojo’s entrance, her bright pink leggings being visible caught Selene off-guard.

“It’s a start. Vic hates this place with a passion. Maybe he got into another fight. Or he stopped by to try and show off. Could be a number of things.”

Selene took a deep breath and shrugged her shoulders. “I guess it’s a start.”

Quang and Selene stood in front of the building, both gazing through the tinted windows in the front. Through the dark glass they could see a few dozen people of a multitude of shapes sizes in black karate uniforms stand on top of a mat, throwing unsynchronized punches as they returned to an idle stance. An instructor could be seen in the far end of the room, donning the same outfit as the others delivering a high kick to an invisible opponent before shouting at the class of at least two dozen strong. They repeated his motion, each at a different level of aptitude from one another. With everyone returning to their neutral stances, the instructor bowed towards his with the pupils returning the gesture and sitting crisscross on the floor.

“I don’t know Quang,” Selene said as she watched everyone move off the mat. “Looks like a normal class to me.”

“That’s how they get the new people. Teach them a couple of kicks and punches before moving on to the crazy stuff.”

“Crazy stuff?” Selene shifted her attention from the window to Quang.

“Yeah. Pressure points. Chi manipulation. Sounds absurd but you’d be surprised at how many people think there’s a secret technique that can actually kill someone pinching their kneecap.”

“Seems like they’ve been watching too many movies.”

Quang put his forehead against the window again. A larger and older gentleman moved into the spot where the previous instructor stood. His outfit was black like the rest but was adorned with a shiny red trim along the edges. He tightened his belt around his rotund waist and waved towards his students. Two other instructors accompanied him, one of them being the same woman that Selene watched enter the building.

“That’s him, Selene!” Quang said. Selene squinted to get a better view through the glass. “That’s the owner. Watch what he’s about to do.”

The owner faced one of the instructors; a younger man that looked to be roughly half his age and stood a head taller than him. The instructor took on a traditional karate stance, spreading his legs apart and putting one hand up between himself and the owner while the other hand was lowered and put into a fist. He threw a slow jab that the dojo’s owner easily deflected with one hand. His free hand opened wide, encompassing the instructor’s face completely. The owner said something to the class for a moment, still clutching onto the motionless instructor.

Then the younger man fell to the floor. Despite being on the other side of the window, Quang and Selene could hear the long and exasperated gasp that the class let out. Two other instructors rushed to the aide of the unconscious man, propping him up by the shoulders and giving his face and arms a series of gentle taps to revive him. All the while, the woman stood with arms crossed, staring at the spectacle as if she had seen it countless times before.

“That’s the kind of stuff they’re teaching here,” Quang said with disgust. He backed away from the window and moved towards the entrance. “Absolute nonsense. And people believe it.”

Selene followed, shaking her head as she did. “Why would anyone believe that?”

“I’m telling you. This place is almost like a cult.” Quang put one hand on the door’s handle before noticing that Selene was still staring through the window.

“Everything alright?” He asked. Selene moved away from the window and towards the front door, visibly perplexed.

“I think so. It’s just that one instructor. The woman.”

“Oh, Fátima?” Quang asked as he raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, her.”

“What about her?”

“I think she has my necklace.”

“Really? What makes you say that?” Quang said as he let go of the door.

“Because what she’s wearing looks exactly like it.” Selene said with a whisper. She took another look through the window to verify her theory but the woman in question had taken a seat on the floor and the upper part of her body was tucked away behind a magazine.

Quang placed his thumb and pointer finger across his chin as an idea dawned on him. “Maybe the Union has ties with this place,” he said aloud.

“Maybe. But what’s just as important is that I’ll be getting my necklace back!” Selene had become more perked, eagerly gallivanting to the door and placing her hand on the handles. Quang put one hand at the corner to stop it from opening, receiving a surprised look from Selene as he did so.

“What’s the matter now?”

“We have to be careful, Selene. Let’s think out our plan first.”

“You didn’t have one beforehand?”

Quang’s shoulders lifted as he performed a lazy shrug. “I did.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.”

“Elaborate.” Selene placed both hands on her hips.

“Step one… was to show up. Step two… hmm… ask some questions.”

“Brilliant.” Selene opened the door. “I’m going to get my necklace. Feel free to come inside and ask your questions if you want.” A metal bell rang as she stepped inside. Quang darted in behind her.