Flesh Trade

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Korra or the Strain. Both are third party properties and trademarked. This is a not for profit venture. This story deals with topics of unseen privilege and human trafficking, if these topics bother you please turn back now.

Prologue

Lok Announcer: Welcome to Republic City! A shining jewel of the world and a showcase of all four cultures, the capital of the United Republics brings Earth Kingdom tradition, Air Nation Spirituality, Fire Nation luxury and Water tribe elegance. But most of all, See the Grand Xing Hotel, the largest and most luxurious hotel in the world! Rub shoulders with the who's who of Republic City. Book your tickets today!

The Pro-Bending team the Wolfbats basked in the bright flashes of the photographer's cameras. The three lads were young, strapping benders with looks that could make men and women alike weak in the knees. With the rise of radio and the newspaper these three boys and many like them had become the princes of this City's new celebrity worshipping culture. An entire industry had sprung up over the last twenty years dedicated to nothing but the going on of the rich and famous.

The captain of the team, a young mixed race water bender by the name of Tahno gave his best devilish smile as he shook hands with none other than lightning bolt Zolt; notorious gang leader of Republic city and a true master of public relations. The pair shook hands like old friends, giving the morning tabloids plenty of fuel for scandal, conspiracy and gossip.

As the Wolfbats and Zolt prepared to enter the black tie event at the Grand Xing hotel, bouncers kept back the press. The entrance might be the feeding ground of the paparazzi but inside was strictly invitations only. The ruling council of Republic City would be here as well as captains of industry and the City's religious leadership.

Tahno felt a deep satisfaction in his soul as the last of the camera flashes hit him and Zolt began to tell the journalists that question time was over. Better than sex, the thought of an entire city knocking down his door to know the handsome and sexy Captain Tahno filled him with white light and joy.

Next to him, his boyfriend Ming tried to hold his hand, but Tahno rebuffed him. Chiding his boyfriend gently, "Ming, not in public, please. People have to believe that we're available; it's what makes us a hot commodity." He truly did not mean to hurt Ming, he did not; and at this point Ming had gotten very good at hiding his hurt and disappointment from his boyfriend.

Cheerfully the third man on the team, Shaozu gave Ming a playful slap on the ass as the three handed in their coats at the lobby. "Don't feel too bad, Ming. The only thing the paparazzi hate is a taken man. And Tahno will make it up to you later," he started to laugh loudly at his own joke, semi-placating Ming.

As the three entered the ballroom, Shaozu broke off to try and get some married women to have sex with him. He just never felt alive unless he was wrecking another's relationship. As he started to make moves on the nearest MILF, Tahno whispered to Ming. "Remember to play it cool. Reporters only like men in relationships when they're cheating and I could never do that to you."

Straightening up, Ming really did begin to feel better. He gave Tahno a hit on the shoulder before heading off, "Well I guess I never could stay mad at you. Though I'll do everything I can tonight to make you jealous," he winked and strutted off.

Tahno had to remember to breathe, as the thought of Ming flirting with other men and women both served as a source of rage and a huge, huge turn on. Before he could get any further into the ballroom, he found himself ambushed by one Varrick, a hotshot industrialist from the Southern Water tribe and his overworked assistant Zhu-li.

"Hold it! Hold it!" shouted the overly animated and flamboyant Varrick, "Hold very still," the millionaire mogul cautioned the water bender.

Tahno wasn't the least bit worried but he was annoyed. "What do you want?" he asked the jumpy industrialist.

Varrick had his eyes focused on Tahno like lasers and he was crouching like he expected an invisible enemy to attack him that only he could see. "Stand very still, your life depends on it."

Suddenly, Zhu-li grabbed Tahno's shoulder. "Hey!" he protested. Just as he moved to push the lowly secretary woman off of him, Varrick lunged forward with a pair of tweezers and plucked a single hair from Tahno's scalp. "Ow, fuck!"

Varrick stepped back, ignoring Tahno's anger and admiring the new addition to his collection. He spoke to his assistant, "Zhu-li, isn't this the sexiest hair you've ever seen?"

The affirmation was instant, monotone and enthusiastic, "Yes sir. Sexiest hair I've ever seen."

Tahno jabbed a finger at the industrialist, "You're sick. If you ever lay a hand on me again there will be consequences." He narrowed his eyes and put on a smouldering look to try and intimidate Varrick but it had rather the opposite effect.

The animated mogul waved his hands in wild gestures, "Say-no-more, say-no-more. One hair is all I need to get off. I'll give you cab fair at the end of the night but this isn't love and you shouldn't miss me," He began to recede with Zhu-Li. "Don't play the jealous boyfriend! I hate that!"

Tahno watched Varrick walk off into the party and he rolled his eyes, "Where have you been spending your nights?"

"Tahno!" The call of his name shook him out of his disgust and he saw Lightning Bolt Zolt approaching with a distinguished guest.

"My boy," Zolt flashed his winning grin, almost as bright as the jewelry he was wearing. "I'd like you to meet someone, a good friend in the shipping business. This is Tomas Eichhorst and he and I go way back."

The man Tomas Eichhorst smiled at Tahno from under his fedora and black suit. He was an aging but healthy European man with thinning hair and small blue eyes. Eichhorst didn't say anything right away; he just kept smiling as if laughing at a joke only he was in on.

"I didn't know you had any foreign friends," Tahno asked the notorious gangster, "Is he Dutch?"

It was then that Eichhorst spoke, a light but oddly musical accent colouring his words. "Maybe, maybe not," He leaned in a bit and smiled a little wider, "If you're a water bender, why are you white?" he cheekily asked.

Tahno stiffened at the question but before he could shut the European down, Zolt laughed.

"Oh, didn't I say, Tahno; my boy Eichhorst is quite an edgy fellow. Shake his hand and you'd better check to see if your watch is still there," Zolt laughed, "Eh, Tomas, you cheapskate, gajin herpes spreader?" He laughed at his own crudeness and Eichhorst joined in enthusiasm.

The white man playfully pointed a finger at the gangster, "Better watch out, I'll be coming after your daughter and your wife at the same time."

Zolt chuckled before spotting one of his good friends on the city council, "Well I'll leave you two to get acquainted better. I've got other friends to entertain. Greetings, Councillor Tarlok!"

Thus Tahno was left with the still smiling European. As Zolt went to go schmooze with one of the least non-bender friendly councillors, Tahno gave Eichhorst a look up and down. "Do you always insult and threaten everyone you meet?"

Smile spreading a bit wider, Eichhorst took of his fedora and ran a hand through his grey/blonde hair. "I might come across as a bit theatrical but fundamentally I'm a good person inside." Replacing his cap upon his head, Eichhorst straightened his tie. "And to answer your earlier question, I'm from Yermanikos; it's a small country that was absorbed by the Dutch nearly a century ago. Culturally we're still distinct even though we obey the Orange throne."

Tahno smirked a bit as he and Eichhorst were handed glasses of sparkling wine by an approaching waiter. "I honestly thought you might be from Svalbard; you're pale enough for it."

Eichhorst nodded and took a sip of his wine, "But I'm not wearing any furs. My partner in the shipping business, Mikkelsen is from Svalbard; they tend to be taller than the Dutch or Yermaniki like myself. Though I'm glad that you didn't assume I was from either Texas or Manitoba; damned be those two countries."

Tahno laughed, "And to answer your earlier question my mother was half water tribe and the other half of me is earth Kingdom."

Draining his glass in a single gulp, Eichhorst was beside himself with glee. "Stubborn and flexible in one package. You are a remarkable young man, Herr Tahno. I've heard that you and your team were the youngest Pro-Bending champions in history. I've also heard many tales of your reputation as a heart breaker." His eyes narrowed a bit and one eyebrow rose just so slightly.

The pale water bender sipped his glass slowly, starting to get into the conversation with the white European. "I owe it all to the fans. I owe my success to my mother, the Spirits and my adoring fans. I worked hard to get here and used nothing but hard work. The groupies are just a perk, really."

"So the rumours of your cheating are groundless," he was still smiling but there was something a bit less friendly in that heavily accented voice; not to mention a hint of hunger.

Part of Tahno wanted to just leave right now and let the Yermaniki twist in the wind, but to do so would admit defeat; and he never backed down from a challenge. "Groundless rumours born of jealousy I'm sure. I'm the most honest man in pro-bending." For emphasis he tossed his head to show off his bouffant, sleek hair. "I wasn't handed anything in life. I earned and deserve everything I have."

Eichhorst straightened up and for once stopped smiling. He wore an expression of child like curiosity on his face that looked too large for lies or theatricality. "Do you really think that? Do any of us earn what we have?"

The Captain of the Wolfbats frowned. If he didn't know any better, it looked like the foreigner was trying to confess something. And he did not look forward to being this man's psychoanalyst so he was honest. "Yes, I honestly do believe that people have things because they deserve them. People who are poor or ugly are either lazy or they were lazy in a past life. When I say I worked to earn my keep, I mean it; I'm not just tooting my own horn."

Eichhorst pressed, like a child breathlessly taking in a parent's answers. "But how do you know that you deserve your lot in life; is there a way to know? How much of it is like an invisible bag pack we are born with?"

"Invisible bag pack!" Tahno laughed derisively. His sneering laughter seemed to greatly sadden Eichhorst and under his fedora he seemed to grow small and frightened. Frightened by what Tahno had no idea nor did he really care; the last thing he wanted was the man's life story.

Those empty blue eyes looked back at Tahno with hope joining the mixed emotions of sadness and curiosity. "But suppose we weren't dealt a good hand. What if we weren't who we were? What if you couldn't bend?"

Now Tahno was starting to get angry. Babysitting was not something he sighed up for with this party. He was here to turn heads and be noticed; not fetch this foreigner man child's blankie. "You think my life was easy? Try being the only mixed nation kid in the neighbourhood. And even if I hadn't been born with bending, I would have pulled up myself by my bootstraps and become someone great like Hiroshi Sato. Some people are just better, that's how it's always been."

One final time, this time there was resignation in his voice and acceptance on his face, "I came from a family of hunters, but I was never very good at it. I found other ways to prosper besides hunting, but I always wanted to be good at it." He sighed as he admitted, "Since I was never good at hunting I took to hitting women."

Tahno rolled his eyes, "Oh don't act all sad about that. Everybody knows that it takes two to make an argument. I won't judge you for what you've done; those bitches probably did something to make you hit them. I used to be with a very clingy girl before I met Ming and sometimes she just needed to be put in her place."

Without warning, Eichhorst burst into laughter. The child grew into a pale eyed and yellow toothed man with a lust for life and laughter. He was no longer a lost child but the life of the party. He spoke to Tahno with renewed cheer and joviality as he handed off his empty wine glass to a server. "That's the spirit! No apologies, no mercy; life is a party and I'll rest when I'm dead!" He laughed and stepped forward, closing the distance between the two of them and invading Tahno's much appreciated personal space.

The Yermaniki cocked his head and just looked over Tahno's beautiful features like he could see under his skin. "And what was that you said; something about being with Ming?" He clicked his tongue, "You don't mean your teammate Ming? Do you fuck before each match? I hear it's a great way to build up excess qi."

"It was a slip of the tongue," Tahno reigned in his emotions, "I'm not tied down to anyone. I can have anyone or anything I want. And also, you might want to take your big mouth somewhere else; before you get hurt."

The foreigner laughed, smoker's teeth clacking in delight. "I like you, boy; your beauty keeps me hungry." He looked like he might literally want to eat the Wolfbat, "Your passion makes me hard," he winked. "See you later, tschuss."

He walked off, and not a moment too soon. Tahno was going to need to take a long bath after meeting with that scumbag.

That was fun I know I have so many backlogged writing projects but my gut told me I had to write this and so I did.

The character Eichhorst is from a show called the strain and is played by the Phenomenal Richard Sammel. The charater of Eicchorst was one of the best villains I've seen in a long time and amazingly complex; so I decided to mix him up with a little real world Asian-European history and drop him into the world of Avatar.

And frankly I kind of like the idea that in the avatar world there's a bending Europe that's more or less a backwater hellhole.

So I hope you enjoyed this there will be two more chapters after this, each one more twisted than the last so prepare yourself

Ta

Master of the Boot