The emergency room floor is abuzz. Nurses and doctors flit from patient to patient and babies cry, doors open and slam shut, and there are occasional announcements on the PA. After a month, these sounds have become familiar to Korra.
Thirty days prior, Korra, who was studying as a registered nurse under healers of the water tribe, was transferred to Republic City after earning perfect scores on her exam. Waterbenders are fairly uncommon outside of either pole, not to mention in the city. They are low on skilled healers and Korra jumps at the chance to get on the plane and experience new surrounds and to meet new people.
Clad in blue scrubs and white sneakers she makes her way through the spotless linoleum entryway, her small feet tup, tup, tup ing across the floor. She maneuvers her way through the chaos of the emergency room floor to the clock in station and removes her employee ID from her pocket.
Behind her stands Mako, a doctor who has been on the floor only months longer than Korra and is still considered a rookie. He is young, but his exam scores in medical school don't reflect it. His intuition is impressive and he has garnered the respect of Dr. Katara, the head healer on the floor and the unofficial "boss".
As Korra clocks in she hears his familiar footfalls not far behind her and out of the corner of her eye she sees him dart into the OR. He is prepping for surgery.
Korra dreams of one day being invited into the operating room, though she knows that a nurse's place isn't there. She has other duties. Besides, there's not much a healer can do besides manage serious burns or clean wounds, and there are people with fewer responsibilities by Mako's side to fulfill that spot.
Korra admires Mako's confidence. Children are comfortable with him, as are the elderly or the afraid. He's charismatic but serious and seems to know exactly what to say or how to handle a given situation.
They have worked together only once, and only for the briefest of times. There was an accident with a metal bender in training who had nearly severed a finger and Korra, the only other person on the floor who wasn't busy attending to more serious cases, was recruited to stop the bleeding and clean the wound for Mako. He thanked her for her help and dismissed her immediately after taking his seat before the patient.
It wasn't long before Korra had developed a small crush on Mako that over time manifested into a pining, and eventually she found it hard to sleep at night or focus on her work as a result. She wanted little else but to be by his side, whether it be at the hospital or outside of work, but she knew that this would only ever be a fantasy. Mako was engaged and nurses and doctors rarely worked together.
Korra had met his fiancee once or twice but tried not to dwell on the memories. Her name was Asami and she was pretty. Her eyes were dark and striking and her hair reminded her of clouds; soft, and seeming to float around her head. Korra could hardly blame him for choosing her.
Korra sighed as she punched her card and replaced it into her pocket. Today was a double shift and sitting around and feeling sorry for herself wasn't going to pass the time. She stood by the nurse's station, keeping an eye out for the next patient she could claim.
"Getting antsy are we?" Pema asked. She was one of Korra's favorite nurses.
Korra smiled despite herself. "Just a little. Nothing interesting has happened lately." She folded her arms over her chest and leaned against the marble of the countertop. "Not that I want anyone to get hurt, but you know."
"I totally understand." Pema was filing paperwork. Every incoming patient required multiple forms and it occurred to Korra that maybe they had different interests. "Be careful what you wish for, though. Soon you'll find yourself swamped with so many patients you won't be able to handle the rush."
As if on cue a woman dressed in Earth Kingdom clothing burst through the door, carrying a small boy in her arms. His face was red and his eyes were swollen shut.
She ran up to the nurse's station and began to plead.
"Please," she was crying, "you have to help my son. He's been maced. He's struggling to breathe"
Korra jumped up and took the woman's son from her arms while Pema rose to comfort her.
When Korra was finished with the boy she laid him in a hospital bed, tucked him in, and did one final look-over on his face. The swelling had gone down considerably but the child's eyes were still slits, and they were watering terribly. She exited the room to get his mother, who jumped up when she approached her in the waiting room.
"You can go and see him now. He looks much better but because he's so small, the doctor wants to keep him overnight for observation. Alright?" The woman nods and heads down the hallway, turning into the room that Korra had just exited.
"That poor kid." Pema remarked as she sorted through papers. "There's been a lot of accidents like that lately."
Lately the world was rather chaotic. A fascist group known as the equalists had sprouted up and begun organizing marches in the major cities across the globe. It was one of the main reasons Korra was offered the job in Republic City in the first place.
In the last couple of weeks, the equalists had joined forces with a triad of gangs in Republic City, which was making things more difficult. Police forces and politicians were starting to show themselves as corrupt. There were scandals all over the news. Protests were turning violent and more often than not, innocent civilians were the ones being hurt. According to Pema, the woman's son was at bending practice when a group of "vigilante" equalists intruded on the session and attempted to seize the instructor.
"It's a shame, really. They give us all a bad-"
Pema is interrupted by the shrill that sounds when there is breaking news. Everyone in the room turns their attention to the TV and Pema grabs the nearby remote to turn up the volume. The anchorman's expression is grim as he reads from the teleprompter.
"We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this breaking news."
The room is quiet and everyone expects the worst. Mako comes out of the OR just down the hall, pulling his purple latex gloves off his hands. He crosses his arms and stares across the room. The hair on the back of Korra's neck and arms stand on end.
"Equalists have surrounded the City Building and police forces are unable to move in. It seems undercover operatives sabotaged the mission. There are 5 police casualties and one civilian is dead."
Pema gasps. The room is dead silent. Nobody dares move or make a sound lest they miss the rest of the report.
An aerial shot of the city building is thrown up on the screen. It is surrounded by thousands of people. Equalists in black uniforms form a ring around the building and in the center, at the stop of the steps, a young man in olive green dress, kneels with his hands behind his back.
Korra looks around the room and sees Mako has crept closer to the TV. He's gone pale and his eyes are wide. His mouth hangs open.
"They appear to have a hostage- the name of which is unknown."
Hushed whispers break out across the emergency room foyer. Women turn to embrace their husbands, children grab their mother's legs, and nurses and doctors begin heated discussions of the recent events. They argue back and forth about whether or not to prep for the influx of emergency patients or to stay and watch the rest of the broadcast. Mako shuts them up.
"Quite!" His voice which is usually so strong cracks and this is the first time Korra has ever seen him out of his element. Mako, who has performed countless bloody surgeries and raced to save lives- actually looks scared.
The room hushes and the speaker continues.
"A man who we presume to be the leader and orchestrator of this entire operation, has stepped forward."
The anchorman is quiet, as is the entire rest of the building it seems. There aren't even any sounds of traffic outside. Even the babies have stopped crying.
"Hello, Republic City." A masked figure speaks into a microphone and the aerial camera zooms in on him. The man whose hands are tied before him is just barely visible. His brown hair blows in the wind and a few strands can be seen at the bottom of the screen. Mako moves closer.
"Today we bring you a little performance." There is a pause. The masked man's head turns and takes the crowd in, making sure they are listening.
"Among you are benders and nonbenders, and even some of my own little friends who have helped to make this whole thing possible."
The camera cuts to a second aerial view and large portions of the crowd begin to murmur, looking around at those around them.
"Don't make any rash decisions, now. You wouldn't want to end up like our little demonstration here, would you?"
The speaker delivers a swift kick the lower back of his captive, who cries out in pain. Mako is now in front of Korra.
The crowd is hushed.
"You see," he begins "I've gathered you all here to make a point. I won't beat around the bush. That is exactly what this is. No deeper meaning."
The camera cuts back to the speaker.
"This young man before you doesn't know how to take orders. Tisk tisk. So ungrateful." The man shakes his head and taps a cattle prod against his gloved hand.
"You see, he graciously joined our warm little family. Of course, I'm a little new here, as you all know, so it was before my time with the triad, but that's no reason to be shy. I don't bite."
The figure laughs a deep, unnerving laugh and Korra feels a chill run up her spine.
"Oh no, I have something much worse in mind for him."
Suddenly the cattle prod is sparking and nobody has a chance to react. The move is swift. Mothers cover their children's eyes as the electric prod is shoved between the shoulder blades of the young man at the figure's feet. He cries out in pain and jerks. Unable to keep himself upright the victim of his torturers ministrations falls face first into the pavement and writhes until the onslaught ceases.
"The young man before you was a minion of the greater good. A bender, sadly, but a hard working, dedicated bender. It just seems as if my demands were just too much for him. He didn't know how to take orders from a real leader."
The man's foot lands squarely on the young man's back, who screams in agony. It is a sound unlike any that Korra has ever heard. The microphone picks up the cracking of the poor boy's spinal column and Korra covers her ears. Several of the nursers are crying, including Pema.
The camera pans down ever so slowly. "We… we have tried to avoid showing the victim's face. It's rather gruesome, but…" the anchorman's voice trails off and it is obvious that he is also deeply disturbed by this footage.
The camera moves lower, painfully slowly. All that is shown at first is the top of the boy's shoulders and the boot twisting and digging into his spine, and then it moves to the side, towards his face which is turned to the camera…
Mako bolts out of the emergency room, leaving his change of street clothes and his coat. Nobody stops him.
Korra is forced to look away and finally, the TV is shut off. All eyes turn to Pema, but she's gone. In her place is Katara, with the remote in her hand.