a/n:
Suspect
(dialogue) "Where were you last night?"
(genre) Suspense
element: water
words: nine hundred twenty nine
––––––
Night fell on Republic city and a moist layer of smog fell heavy and hazy, blearing out the harsh orange street lights. Snow mixed with soot to produce a dingy slush, rapidly solidifying into crystals.
In the twilight streets, a young man with a few straggly hairs on his upper lip walked stiffly, fingers tight around the wooden kali sticks in his pocket. The small hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He could feel eyes on him, and it was unnerving.
It had been like this for a few days now; every time he walked through the streets, he would have the slight sensation of being a trapped animal, but it was only during the day at first. Then one day, the eyes followed him into the night as well.
Lieu had started to carry a knife along with his wooden his kali sticks wherever he went, always carefully disguised in his loose pants. This district of republic city was extremely unsafe, housing the most brutally disputed turf between the Triple Threat Triad and the Agni Kais. Frequent wars were fought between the two, a very open secret that went unacknowledged by the police; for there were things that even Chief of Police Lin and her hoard of metal bending brutes couldn't manage.
Lieu would've been afraid of being robbed, save for the fact that he had nothing to his name except for a few measly coins from his job shelling mussel crabs down by the harbor, barely enough to buy two meals every day, and definitely not enough to pay rent on time.
Life was hard for a non-bender.
Lieu peered around suspiciously one last time before sneaking away into a dark alley. Perhaps he could find a makeshift bed with the feral owl cats for tonight.
The damned eyes were there again! Lieu couldn't take it! Somehow, this was different from the feeling he got right before someone tried to mug him. It was a bit more...insidious. Or clever. Damned he he knew.
For a moment, he allowed himself to believe that perhaps he had a secret admirer, before he remembered that he was scrawny, dirt poor, and a few hairs short of actually being able to grow proper facial hair.
Lieu rubbed his eyes tiredly as he walked to his job.
It was currently five in the morning, but despite the earliness, the streets were already buzzing. Street vendors set up food stands and shop owners cautiously wandered out to unlock their doors.
Lieu passed by a newspaper stand and squinted at the tiny print. He though he could pick up the words "murder" on the front title right above the picture of the filthy rich Hiroshi Sato, though he wasn't sure. Lieu had had to stop school when he was eleven and fend for himself after a triad killed his single mother. He was only about ten percent literate at this point.
Shrugging, the skinny young man continued on his way. It wasn't his business what happened among the elite. Though he was slightly happy. he read the title correctly, then it was good that the wealthy could finally suffer some of the pain that the non bending poor had to suffer daily in the slums.
By the time he arrived at the harbor, the eyes had disappeared.
Lieu swore he was getting more and more paranoid by the day.
That evening, while he was walking home, he felt a sudden impending sense of doom. It was odd; unlike the eyes he'd been feeling for the past few weeks, it was like a dark, heavy storm cloud rolling in, instead of a a cold sweat covering his skin. Lieu narrowed his eyes and pulled out a kali stick with his right hand while he unsheathed a knife with his left.
Let the enemy come if they must, but lieu wanted to show any Triad that he was armed and ready to fight if he had to.
Suddenly, the tips and edges of his knife rolled in on themselves.
Lieu gasped and dropped it, immediately whipping out his other Kali stick.
Spirits, had a Triad managed to pick up an metal bender as well?
Apparently not. A stream of water flew through the air and wrapped itself around Lieu's wrists, forcing him to drop his Kali sticks. More water snaked around his arms and legs, effectively straitjacketing him.
"Don't struggle." commanded the cold voice of a middle-aged police officer. Lieu stared ahead at him in slight panic. What happened? Why was he being charged for something?
"What did I do-"
"Where were you last night?" asked the police officer roughly.
Lieu didn't want to admit that he was homeless in an alley, fearing that he would be forced out of the city.
"I was...asleep in my apartment."
"Where is your apartment?" asked the police officer, eyes narrowed. Lieu internally chanted "shit" over and over in his head. There was a glint in the police officer's eyes that Lieu recognized as smug suspicion. He messed up.
"Uh..."
The water around his body tightened and he choked slightly.
"You're coming with me."
"What? What am I being charge for? Do I get a trial?"
The police officer remained silent.
"I demand an answer!"
"You're in no position to demand anything, you triad rat."
"I'm not a part of the Triad!"
"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say."
"But-mmf!" said Lieu as a piece of metal gagged his mouth. He wiggled and tried to get back on his feet, but the water wrapped even tighter as he was thrown into the back of a Satomobile. The moment his hideous tendrils moved away, the doors slammed shut.
The engine roared to life and Lieu slammed into the walls of the truck desperately. He was being arrested for nothing! This wasn't right!
Finally, Lieu heard an angry reprimand and felt a bit of ice sneak around the crown of his head and squeeze until he felt consciousness fade away...