“I’m going after Billy,” I told Marty. “You can’t stop me.”
The other students had all stopped sparring by now. They were watching us, totally confused.
“You’re not going anywhere, Hardy,” Marty growled. “What happens between Sensei Huang and that little twerp is none of your business.”
“What do you mean?” I demanded. “What’s going to happen between them? What is Huang gonna do to Billy?”
“To Billy?” Liz cried. “What do you mean?”
“Huang’s a bad guy,” I said, turning to face her. I raised my voice so the entire class could hear me. “He kicked Billy too hard on purpose. I think he may be hurting him right now.”
“Fine. Then let me go see what’s going on in the office.” I moved for the door.
Marty did a shiko tsuki. Luckily, I was expecting it. I ducked under the blow and turned on him with a punch of my own.
I connected, hitting hard. He barely even flinched. The guy was pure muscle—it was like hitting a cinderblock.
He attacked, the blows coming fast. Punches combined with kicks and other blocking moves I hadn’t even learned yet. I just kept blocking and ducking. I couldn’t even think about getting to the door yet—it took everything I had just to keep Marty from seriously hurting me.
Chaos broke out around us. One or two of the kids tried to grab Marty and pull him back, but he shook them off like drops of water.
I heard people shouting, but I tuned them out. I had to focus on Marty. His eyes never left my face, and they were filled with rage. He wasn’t about to stop until he’d pounded me into the ground.
“Chet, call the cops!” I yelled.
Marty flew at me, fists moving so fast I could barely see them.
“Why are you doing this?” I gasped as I tried to block his blows. “Huang’s a loser.”
“He pays you to be a bully?” I cried. “Why don’t you just work at McDonald’s and save yourself the trouble?”
“Sensei Huang is a great man,” Marty bellowed, stopping for a moment. “He changed my life! Before he gave me those herbs I was a total weakling. I got beat up every day. Now look at me!”
“Yeah, now you’re the jerk beating other people up,” I snapped.
“I don’t care,” he yelled. “I’m not going back to being a wimp.”
Something clicked in my brain. “You’re not working for money,” I said. “You do what Huang says and he gives you those pills.”
“I need them,” Marty growled. “I can’t afford to pay, so I work for them. There was no problem until you showed up. I knew you and your brother weren’t really here for classes. Why did you have to mess everything up?”
He charged me again, spinning and kicking. I ducked to one side, then the other. But I was already winded. He was way too strong and way too fast.
“You’re out of your mind,” I grunted. “Huang’s got you acting like a criminal.”
“I don’t care,” Marty said. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Including mugging Russell Olwell a month ago?” I asked. “And attacking my brother today?”
“You mugged Russ?” one of the other kids cried.
“He was a snitch,” Marty said with a sneer. “He found out what he was carrying and he threatened to rat on Huang. He deserved it.”
“You put him in the hospital,” I cried. “You’re a total thug.”
Two of the other kids grabbed Marty’s arms and tried to pull him away again. The rest of the class was just sort of huddled in the back of the room. They looked seriously freaked. No one knew what to do.
Marty roared like an animal and brought his arms together fast—slamming the two kids into each other. They both fell.
He stepped over them, coming for me, his face twisted with rage. “I will not let you ruin this for me,” he snarled. “I will not go back to being a loser!”
He jumped into the air, getting ready to kick. His foot came at my chest.
I didn’t know how to block it. I felt too tired to move. He was going to get me this time. I waited for the blow.
And that’s when Marty’s leg dropped. His jaw went slack. And he crumpled to the ground like a rag doll, unconscious.