Book V: Justice

Chapter 1: Equal and Exact

Notes: You could call this a continuation fic. It began as an idle thought after completing Book 4; Kuvira's fate was a thread left dangling. An idea soon followed: Kuvira put on trial for her actions, both in the former Earth Kingdom, as well as against the United Republic. It matured into legal procedural wrapped into a cloak and dagger mystery, something that would place Korra out of her element.

The process proved to be a pleasant surprise. The Original Character was an interesting challenge to write; her role, beyond providing the necessary skill set (we all love Korra and the gang, but I think we can agree they're not the kind of person you'd want to represent you in a legal battle), served as a lens to study the Korra and Kuvira's characters in the aftermath of the finale.

The clouds roiling over Republic City were the color of the exhaust of a badly tuned Satomobile engine. It was mid-morning and the first drops of rain were dripping overhead. Life continued as it always did in the city that never sleeps. Like clockwork, the great throngs of pedestrians, street merchants and jobbers pulled out their umbrellas and prepared for the deluge.

A woman walked briskly down a side street leading from the waterfront. She hugged her leather jacket tightly to her chest as the thunder rolled. It won't help, she thought bitterly. She'd lost her umbrella several weeks ago chasing a cold trail. The case had ended abruptly, and the pay had been lousy: a knuckle sandwhich courtesy of some Triad goons.

The sky opened up like a bursting dam. She was drenched in seconds, less than a block away from her destination. Cursing, she ran to the run-down block building. She stopped for a moment under the awning to admire the crumbling façade of the old brick building. She was sure it kept away the reputable clients. Because chasing after cheating spouses is my life's calling, apparently.

She shook off the excess water as best she could, scraping her shoes on the trail-beaten carpet in the entrance. Up two flights of stairs, and she was finally at the office. A worn shingle over the door labeled this dive "Enlai, Private Detective."

The door unlocked after a protracted struggle, as Enlai gritted her teeth in her wrestle with that damned intractable lock. When it finally opened, the woman stumbled in. "I swear," she grumbled, "if that slumlord doesn't bring in a locksmith soon so help me…"

Enlai uncoiled her scarf from around her neck. It soon found its home on a battered old coatrack, already missing a few pegs. Her wet leather jacket followed. It long ago had stopped keeping out the rain, so she began to peel off her damp black turtleneck. Enlai shivered as she stood exposed to the cold air, her bronze skin prickling with goosebumps.

Enlai began undoing her belt, eager to replace her mudcaked slacks for something war and dry, but a curt "ahem" from further in the office froze her in shock.

The invader stood by Enlai's bookshelf, evidently rifling through the Equalist literature to pass the time as she lay in wait. She had seen that smug grin repeated endlessly on the newsreels and propaganda posters. The Avatar, the Anathema, had invased what little she had left.

"I'm going to have to put a stop to the show before it goes any futher," laughed the Avatar.

"There wouldn't be a show if you weren't trespassing," hissed Enlai, "Go on, make yourself at home; heaven knows the police certainly do. Guess you all have nothing better to do than pick on washed up subversives."

"Beifong wasn't kidding when she said you were salty." The Avatar tossed the dog eared copy of Dialectical Spiritualism aside. "I've come here because I need a lawyer."

Enlai abruptly stopped rummaging for a new shirt and pair of trousers. "I'm pretty sure I heard you right," she said, "But would you mind repeating that?"

"I said I need a lawyer."

"Good one, Avatar. Did they send you all the way for that joke, or did you think of that one yourself?"

"It's not a joke, Enlai."

"Okay then. How about 'no'?"

"You haven't even heard why yet, and you're already saying no?"

"Afraid so. I don't care what sort of trouble you're in, I'm not going to aid the enemy of everything I've ever stood for. And even if I did lose my mind and wanted to help you, there's still that little fact of your counterrevolutionary friends having Equalists blacklisted in every profession. I've been disbarred, Avatar. I can't represent anyone."

"I'm not the one you're going to represent."

That intrigued her. In spite of her professed obstinacy, a part of her wanted to know so desperately what would cause the Avatar, of all people, to dig her out of this dive. "Fine, I'll bite," Enlai growled, "what's the case?"

"Kuvira."

"What?"

"You heard me. The Five Nations have decided they're going to have a tribunal to try Kuvira for her crimes, and punish her. They're already calling it the trial of the century."

Enlai remained skeptical. "What's it to me? The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend. As far as I'm concerned, Kuvira is the epitome of what's wrong with your system, the inevitable result of the old Bending regime in decay. Why wouldn't I want her punished?"

"I'm not asking you to win. Just to represent her. She's owed that right. If you agree to take the case, I can convince President Raiko to end your disbarment. Who knows, if you play your cards right, and I pull in a few favors, we might even get him to put an end to the blacklists."

"I'm hearing a lot of maybes. You want me to play my part in making your show trial seem fair, a courtesy that was denied to any of us. My answer is still no. Did you really think you could bribe me like that?"

"No, I thought that you of all people would stand up for justice when no one else will," the Avatar shouted. "I read your stuff, did my homework. You had a hatred for injustice in all its forms. Yeah, you got dealt a bad hand, I'm sorry. But are you going to sit here languishing and feeling sorry for yourself, or are you going to put your money where your mouth is?"

As much as Enlai hated to admit it, the Avatar was right. She hated more that it took the Avatar get through to her about this. She'd choked with bitter resentment for far too long already. Almost five years now. She didn't want to believe that she was that sore of a loser.

"Fine," she said after a long silence, "I'll do it. But only because, like you said, no one else will."

"Good, I'm not asking you to like me. We just need to work together."

"Huh?"

The Avatar nervously scratched at her head. "This is too big of a case for one person. I'll be your co-counsel on this because, well, like I said, no one else will."

"Last I checked, you're not a lawyer."

"Not yet I'm not. But I've been studying law though, and I'd like be able to practice one day."

Truthfully, Enlai didn't know what to say to that.

"It is the role of the Avatar to maintain Balance among peoples, spirits, nations, et cetera," the Avatar replied, as though she were paraphrasing some lecture she'd received. "Law is a huge part of that balance. Since we live under the rule of law, not the rule of men now, I should try to understand it as much as spirituality. Especially if it helps me resolve conflict without violence."

"Law is violence codified, Avatar."

"We're going to have to disagree on that. Still, Enlai, since we're working together, it would be better if you'd call me Korra. Besides, given the décor here, it appears that we're both born from the Southern Water Tribe."

"I'm going to have to refuse. We Equalists had forsaken our nations to become one with the world. Even my name, 'Enlai,' was a nom de guerre. It is my function, just like you are the Avatar. It would be for best if we didn't forget that."

"Korra did what?" Tenzin had asked that question so many times, he was sick of saying it. By all rights, he shouldn't be surprised anymore. Yet somehow, that young woman always managed to find new ways to shock him.

"She has been interfering with the trial process," the messenger repeated.

Tenzin sighed, hoping that President Raiko's aide would have the good sense to further explain. He didn't want to have a coronary in front of a low-level functionary. Though if Korra would just talk to him, he wouldn't have to fear the worst.

Tenzin took a deep breath. Visions of Korra springing Kuvira from prison danced in his head. It probably wasn't that bad, but this was the Avatar. She always marched to the beat of her own drum.

"Apparently the Avatar has been leaning on the president to ensure this tribunal is fair. The president has been mum about the incident, but the shop talk is that she threatened to back his election challenger if he didn't end the disbarment of a blacklisted lawyer."

"That's my Korra," said Tenzin, "Still no gift for subtlety. Still, I'm a bit confused. I had heard that the trial process had been moving smoothly. What would provoke her to take action like this?"

The functionary was stone-faced. "There appear to have been…discrepancies…in pre-trial procedure that were not considered significant enough to note in the Special Legal Commission's monthly report."

Tenzin reflexively cocked an eyebrow. "What sort of 'discrepancies'?"

The functionary cleared his throat. "There were some issues regarding the defendant's access to legal counsel."

"You mean she didn't have a lawyer, right?"

"I can neither confirm or deny that. The issue is being looked into. The president would like you to know he has appointed a special auditor to the Special Legal Commission to provide oversight to these issues."

It was perfect politispeak for "We know there is a problem, we have known, and we don't care." Tenzin had spent enough time wading through this sort of mess serving on the Council. He made his genuflections of courtesy to Raiko's toady. The functionary bowed and left Tenzin alone in his office.

Tenzin looked out his window to the glittering lights of the Republic City skyline. What has the girl gotten herself into now?

It was nice to have a decent meal, even if it meant the Avatar treating her. The mélange of meat broth and tea aromas behind the curtain of this little street stall made Enlai's mouth water. After spending the last month subsisting mostly on rice, pickles and boiled eggs, this was paradise.

Enlai tied her straight black hair into a pony tail while she waited for her bowl of tangmian. The Avatar chuckled as she twiddled her chopsticks.

"What's so funny? Can you blame me for not wanting to get my hair in my soup?"

"Oh it's nothing. Just that look on your face, like you're preparing for a match."

"Well…" Her piping hot tea arrived, sparing her from having to fill the awkward silence. She slowly sipped at the spiced black tea, watching the Avatar out of the corner of her eye. She didn't quite know if she felt safe. But she had nagging thoughts that she was being too hard on the Avatar. The Avatar had been nothing but just in word and deed to her; to treat Korra with the same suspicion as any other bender felt wrong. At the very least, she seemed to be the least bad of the bunch.

The Anathema is treating me to dinner, thought Enlai, After going to bat for me in front of the president, no less. We really have lost. It was a bitter pill; she'd sooner choke on it than swallow.

"You're awfully kind to your enemies, Avatar."

"You and I are not enemies, Enlai. We never were."

"Still, grabbing the president by the necktie and threatening to undo him was probably a bit much."

"It gets results though."

The food was more delicious than it had any right to be. It had been too long since Enlai had some decent fish. It reminded her of the home she'd left behind.

"So here's the part I don't get," Enlai said in between mouthfuls of noodles, "Why did it take digging up someone like me to find 'the Great Uniter' a lawyer?"

"You can't even say it without heaping scorn on her."

"I promise I'll be more respectful when I meet her, scout's honor. What, you're not convinced?"

"Let's just say I'll believe it when I see it." The Avatar idly twirled her noodles around her chopsticks. "But you're right: it reeks of foul play. I've done some digging myself. A lot of lawyers won't take it for personal reasons, which is not surprising. Kuvira isn't the most popular person in Republic City. But I've heard whispers of some group trying to pressure the more ambitious to steer clear."

"Sounds like someone wants to wrap this up with a nice little bow."

"Yeah. I still don't know who though."

"Anything like the man who shadowed us here?"

"What?"

"Calm down," sighed Enlai, "And whatever you do, don't look for him. Just act natural."

"How long has been following?"

Enlai made an exaggerated stretch, raising her arms high over her head as she leaned back in the high chair. Still there. "I first spotted him when we left my humble abode. I've spotted him intermittently since. My guess is he isn't alone."

"How come?"

"Even you would have noticed a single person constantly shadowing you. But a team switching in and out? That takes a special kind of professional paranoia."

The Avatar looked at her with suspicion.

"We all had different roles to play in the Equalists. I'm terrible at fighting, I have no skill with chi techniques, and I've got no patience for soapboxing. So I handled intelligence assets and gathered information."

"So you were a spy," said the Avatar.

Enlai nodded. She calmly finished her noodles while the Avatar twitched with nervous energy. Like all fighters, the Avatar's fight-or-flight response was well honed. After all, she had been honed to meet danger head on, not pretend she didn't notice it.

"Where you any good at it?"

"I wouldn't have made it as far as I did if I was bad at it. I can't say any more, or I'll incriminate myself."

"Fine. So what do we do about this."

"We're going to make a scene." A tabloid newspaper had been abandoned by the previous patron. Enlai picked up the wrinkled paper, brushing some errant noodles off it. "You're quite the celebrity, you know. A lot of juicy gossip printed in these pages about the nature of your relationship with Miss Asami Sato."

"Hey, you cut that out!"

"Don't get me wrong, she's a quite a catch," Enlai said, half smiling.

"My private life is none of your concern," hissed the Avatar.

"You wear your heart on your sleeve, Avatar. For what it's worth, please believe me when I say I'll never judge you for who you love."

The Avatar growled wordlessly. "Fine. I still don't see your point."

"A celebrity like you has to deal with nosy tabloid journalists all the time. I'm saying we use that."

"How?"

"Simple. Go get in his face and tell him what you just told me: who you're dating is none of his business. The bigger the scene, the better. He'll know we know he's following us, but he'll misjudge why. Spies work by being innocuous. By making him the center of attention, he cannot do his job."

"This better work."

"He's in that tea shop across the street. Short, a little pudgy, glasses. He's fiddling with his camera right now."

The Avatar turned to look for him. "There's a lot of people—wait, I think I see him. He's polishing his glasses with the fat end of his cravat right now."

Enlai gave a quick glance. "Yup, that's the one."

The Avatar quickly settled the tab. She stood, and stretched her muscles. Even as she cracked her joints, she moved without the slightest wasted effort. This was not the untamed force of nature that had squared off against Amon almost five years ago. She was a finely tuned instrument. Enlai was amazed; if she hadn't known better, she would have thought it was a completely different person.

The Avatar stormed across the crowded street. She sifted through the throngs of people unhindered. She had managed to startle the pudgy spy, slamming her hand onto his table. "Hey, what's the big idea, you pervert."

Across the street, Enlai heard his tinny voice mutter, "There must be some mistake miss."

"Then why have you been taking photos of me? Are they for your private collection, or are you selling 'em to some tabloid?

"I haven't, I swear!"

"Don't deny it, I saw you do it."

By now, every pair of eyes in the tea house was drawn to the spy. He seemed like a natural wallflower, well suited to a job that required blending in. His training seemed to abandon him when the spotlight fell on him. "It's all a misunderstanding."

Several men stood in the tea house. They approached the spy, all looking quite cross. "This is Avatar Korra," said a lean, battle-scarred fellow, "She's a hero. She doesn't deserve this from you. So either you're going to answer to the Avatar, or you're going to answer to us."

A feral grin flashed on Enlai's face. Checkmate.

The spy threw his table, splashing a pot of tea over the Avatar. He hopped out the open window, and bolted down the street. He showed a surprising level of agility as he sprinted away. He'd need every bit of it; three men had given chase. While Enlai knew better than anyone that flight does not imply guilt, most people assume it does.

Enlai finished her tea and joined the Avatar in the street. The Avatar's eyes were fixed on the retreating spy; her fists were clenched tightly. She began pacing like a hound at the end of its leash.

"Calm down, Avatar. You played that perfectly. But now that we've chased him off our tail, let's not spoil our victory by going to chase him down."

"I am calm," the Avatar replied, as though she were chanting a mantra. "Come on, we still have lots of work to do. You still have to meet your client."

Republic City's night life had begun had waned. Most had already made their way home, and were quietly tucked away in bed. In the empty streets, a lone figure walked in the shadows. He approached a pay phone. After depositing a few coins into the machine, he dialed quickly. "The Avatar gave us the slip. But we found out who she's working with. You're not going to believe this."

"..."

"Yes sir, we have a positive ID."

"…"

"The Avatar contacted a former Equalist. She goes by the nom de guerre 'Enlai'."

"…"

"Yes sir, we're working on uncovering her real identity. It might provide us some leverage."

"…"

"Ah, so you're already familiar with Enlai's dossier. The Avatar doesn't appear to know about her confederate's past activities beyond her public image. We think she approached Enlai because of her record as a trial lawyer."

"…"

"I don't have any evidence that Enlai was involved with those incidents. It is outside of her m.o. to engage in direct attacks or intimidation. I don't think she's involved with the group putting pressure on lawyers."

"…"

"Well it's too elaborate, for one. But we will continue to monitor them both."

"…"

"No sir, there will not be a repeat of tonight's incident."

"…"

"If anyone else was tailing the Avatar, they were probably spooked as well."

"…"

"I look forward to it, General."