"I'll make you a deal – you fall in line, and do what I say, and I'll release your friends."
This was it – that horrible "either... or," the sadistic choice every hero eventually has to face. Unoriginal, but effective. So now it was her turn: either her duty as the Avatar to do the right thing, or her friends – her team, her support, her rescuers from despair.
Sentiment aside, there was only logical choice, right? She could hardly do any good for Republic City without her Team Avatar; Tarrlok knew this. She had come here specifically to get them back; why should she hesitate just because the price was so high? What would they think of her if they found out she had the opportunity to save them and did nothing?
What would they think...?
"You're under arrest! Arrest him and his brother!"
His threats to throw her in prison with them meant nothing to her. She had never in her life walked away from a fight; she certainly wouldn't do it now. Not when he had given her more motivation to fight than she had ever felt. He wouldn't get away with this! She wouldn't let him take them!
"Korra, listen to him! It's not worth it!"
"We'll be all right!"
She saw the unspoken reminder in their eyes.
It had been a good day of training. They had practiced defending against lightning attacks, with Asami and Mako alternating as the attacker. Asami had given the three Benders some basic but helpful instruction in hand-to-hand combat for when their Bending was blocked. Korra and Mako had whipped up some heavy smoke so they could get used to fighting without seeing their opponents, as the Equalists were fond of causing with their gas and smoke bombs.
Once the four took a break from the action to drink some cold glasses of Pema's lychee juice, the excitement and adrenaline from training wore off, allowing the gravity of their situation to take over again. They knew their only enemy – probably their most dangerous enemy – wasn't Amon and his followers. They knew how to handle the criminal Equalists and what to expect from them, but no one was sure what to expect from Tarrlok now that a clear line had been drawn between them. How would he respond if their own efforts against the Equalists continued to steal his precious spotlight?
"He's dangerous," Korra warned everyone. "He knows how to find weaknesses and prey on them to get people to do what he wants."
"He could turn the Council, the police, the whole city against us," Asami added.
"He won't stop trying to get to you," Mako said to Korra.
"I know," she replied with her eyes narrowed in hatred as she thought of that insufferable, confident grin Tarrlok always wore when addressing her.
"What do you think he'll try next?" Bolin asked before taking another gulp of his drink.
"I don't know, but I doubt he thinks sending me more new Satomobiles and gift baskets will convince me to listen to him," Korra answered, stroking Pabu, who had just climbed into her lap.
"If he knows he can't persuade you, the next step is to threaten you," said Asami.
Korra scoffed at the idea, as likely as it was. "Pfft – I'm not afraid of Tarrlok."
"Who said anything about him threatening you?" Mako asked ominously. "You're the Avatar. He'd probably pick a much easier target before going right after you."
"Funny you should mention that," the Avatar confessed. "Tenzin tried not to let me see, but it's been obvious that Tarrlok's been making things more and more difficult for him ever since I turned on him. I asked Tenzin if it was because of me, and he didn't deny it but told me not to worry. He said he'd rather deal with Tarrlok himself than see me involved with him in any way."
"But you don't expect Tarrlok to give up easily, do you?" Mako asked next.
"Nope, he'll just try harder," Korra replied, crossing her arms. And it was too easy to deduce who else he'd go after to get to her...
Asami was the first one to voice what everyone was thinking at that moment. "I'm not afraid of Tarrlok, either." She flexed her right fist and flashed a few crackles of lightning to emphasize her point. "Let him do his worst."
"Me, neither," Mako said firmly.
"Me, neither," Bolin added, pressing his fist into his palm.
Korra needed a minute to let the implications of what they were saying sink in before she could softly say, with her head bowed and eyes closed, "I... never wanted to ask you all to risk your lives for me..."
Bolin, who was sitting next to her, put his hand on her shoulder, and reminded her, "You didn't; we begged you to let us."
"Better we take the risk together than let you take it alone," Asami said comfortingly.
"We'll be fine," Mako tried to reassure her. "We're a team; we'll be looking out for each other every step of the way."
As Korra smiled at her friends' encouragement, but it faded quickly into a sigh. "Tarrlok will know that, you know. He could use you to get to me." She suddenly remembered why she had always pictured herself working alone before she left the South Pole. Weren't friends a liability? Weren't attachments an easy weakness? "He could use our friendship against me."
"Against any of us," Bolin added in a grave tone anyone rarely heard from him. Nobody contradicted him, though. Everyone in their circle had a strong bond with everyone else, whether familial, friendship, or something more. They cared about each other too much, and, thanks to Ikki, they were now all aware of it. There was no telling what each one would be willing to do to protect the others.
The four teenagers sat quietly for a moment. Mako and Asami held each other's hands, and Korra stroked Naga's head, grateful the polar bear dog had wandered over. Bolin was the first to speak: "We can't let that happen."
Everyone's head shot up, genuinely confused. Mako looked towards his brother and asked, "What can we do about it?"
"We need to make a pact," Bolin explained. "That if anything happens to any of us, we won't let Tarrlok or Amon or anyone else blackmail us."
This was intended primarily for his brother – it was this thought alone that kept Korra from reaching over and slugging her friend in the head. How could Bolin suggest such a thing? How could he expect any of them to agree to that? It was absurd. It was selfish. It was insulting. It was exactly what she wanted to ask everyone – that they would promise not to make any sacrifices for her, that they would protect themselves and the City first rather than give into any enemy's demands.
Korra looked over at Mako, who was in an intense staring contest with his brother. So he knew what Bolin was really asking as well – that when the time came, he would defy every first-born instinct and choose duty over his protecting his little brother. Neither said a word. The Earthbender didn't recant, didn't flinch under his intimidating gaze, didn't waiver.
Mako eventually turned to Korra. It did seem her job to object. And she would. She would refuse to take such a vow herself. But the rest of Team Avatar had to. She should have made that a condition from the start. She remained silent. Mako got the message.
The Firebender turned to Asami, and his firm defiance finally began to crumble. Korra knew he must be remembering the sacrifice she had made under the Sato mansion to protect all of them. Maybe he wasn't vain enough to know how much Asami cared about him, what lengths she would go to for him or their friends, but the worst case scenario had evidently occurred to him. His girlfriend took his hand again, and Korra could tell already that as much as they both hated to make such a promise themselves, they were silently begging the other to make it. Korra found she didn't mind if Mako agreed for Asami's sake; recent events had completely eradicated her petty, trivial jealousy. There was no room for such foolishness in their lives anymore.
Bolin followed the couple's lead and reached out and took Korra's hand. She tried to pull away, knowing what was coming next, but he held her fast. He must have anticipated her intentions. But she had grounds. She was the Avatar. It was her duty to protect the world, and that included these three who had vowed to help her do that. She had to be the exception. Her eyes desperately begged them to understand that. Mako's and Asami's only response was to, respectively, take Bolin's and Korra's free hands, making a complete circle. She would receive no back up from anybody.
If she didn't make the pact, it wouldn't happen at all. Each of them demanded it from the other three. There was no other solution. If they weren't united by a desire to dispense justice, protect the innocent, and restore balance and peace above all else, even protecting each other, they wouldn't succeed.
As the Avatar, it must be her duty to make the first move toward making it official. Korra indulged in one more sigh before knitting her brows, looking up, and saying firmly, "So we're agreed." It wasn't a question.
Bolin took over. "If Tarrlok or Amon or anyone ever kidnaps any of us or threatens to harm us, nobody gives into any demands."
Korra felt him squeeze her hand. "Agreed," she said and instinctively squeezed Asami's hand. When she also said, "Agreed," followed by Mako, Korra could almost feel the gesture going around the circle. The pact was sealed.
Bolin gave everyone a final word of warning. "We have a deal. No matter what happens in the future, remember our pact." He pointed to his brother at first but looked directly at Korra before he was done. A crazy thought occurred to her at that moment. She remembered defending Bolin during their first match of the tournament, going ballistic when the Buzzard Wasps knocked him out of the ring, and saving Mako from going down during the match against the Wolf Bats. She briefly wondered if Bolin had asked for this pact not for his brother but for her. Had her protective instincts made him fear for her the most? Crazy or not, it was a thought that made her determined not to let him down.
Remember our pact...
"I need your answer." Either... or...
Seven seconds were all Korra needed to decide what her friends would want. They would never want her to give into Tarrlok's demands for their sake. They would never forgive her for anything she did for him to pay for their release. There was no conflict between duty and friendship here; both drove her in the same direction.
"No. You might be able to manipulate Chief Saikhan into following you, but it won't work on me."
Whether history would judge her as cold, unfeeling, and selfish, or praise her defiance and courage, she didn't know. But one consolation later that night was that Tarrlok's... disappointment in her answer told her she made the right decision.