STRICTLY PROFESSIONAL


Act I: The Beginning of the End
Chapter 1: The New Partner


October 4, 8:15 am. HQ, Republic City.


Jinora Gyatso knew it was going to be a long day.

Nothing had gone right that morning. First, she had slept through her alarm, then spilled her tea on her blouse and had to change, had seemed to get every red light on her way to work, and was running fifteen minutes behind. Of all the days to be late. This was a horrible first impression to make.

It was relief when she finally turned down on Yangchen's Avenue, the great stone building that was her destination only down the street. To anyone else, it looked like a run-down, abandoned library. To her, or anyone else in the Raava Agency, it was the HQ of the biggest and most powerful spy agency in the world.

After going through the rigorous security checks, including voice recognition, thumb print, her key code and punching in her agent number (0102) she was finally allowed through the secret sliding doors (you had to know which bookcase was the door on the outside first), down silver hallways, and finally, into the core of the building.

As she stepped in the elevator, she could feel the excitement build. Commander Gyatso had been extremely reluctant to allow her into the field, and she had to do a lot of persuading, with Commander BeiFong's help and guidance, to let her join, despite how simple this mission was going to be. It was a quick flight to Varrick Enterprises to renew their company's contract with the Agency. Nothing to be nervous about, and there was a lack of any real danger. But Jinora couldn't help but feel nervous and excited. Finally, she was going to get a chance to spread her wings and be a real field agent, not just behind some desk in a stuffy office punching numbers.

Yet when she entered the room, her new partner still wasn't there. Instead it was only her father, sitting in a wheeled office chair, looking especially grave. "Agent Gyatso," he greeted.

"Commander Gyatso," she inclined her head. She was confused as to why her father looked so troubled. The mission was going to be as safe as a mission could be; she couldn't wait to start.

As soon as her partner got here, anyway. She wondered who'd they be. An older agent, more experienced. Someone to show her the ropes. A model agent, cool and collected. Maybe Agent 003, or, if she hoped, Agent 008, a family friend named Korra. "Are they...running late?"

Tenzin stood up, sighing. "There's been a slight change of plans… Your original partner has been relocated. Your new partner is coming in on a plane in a few hours."

That didn't sound like such a big deal. "Then what's the problem exactly, sir?"

"Your new partner is," Tenzin pinched the bridge of his nose as though the next few words were going to cause him deep pain. "It's Kai Fong."

"No." Kai Fong? Seriously? Cool and collected her butt. He was her new partner? Jinora's jaw dropped and she quickly shut it. "Commander, there must be some mistake."

"No mistake."

"Dad-"

"If I could change it I would, but it's beyond my power. If I could take you off the mission I'd do that as well, but alas… He's come back from recuperation. They think something small is the best way to ease him back into the field."

Jinora buried her face in her hands. This was going to be a very, very long day.


"Hey Agent Gyatso, how are things?" A dark skinned young woman grinned, leaning back on Jinora's desk and propping herself up on her elbows.

"I'm not in the mood Korra," said Jinora dryly. "And get off my desk."

"Ouch. Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed today." Korra didn't move, but she gave Jinora a concerned look. "What's wrong?"

"It's my stupid partner," Jinora grumbled. "Whoever I was supposed to get got relocated and now I'm stuck with Kai Fong."

"I worked with him once," Korra remembered. "He's not so bad."

"He's terrible at following orders," Jinora complained. "He's impulsive, and brash, and stupid, he doesn't listen…It's amazing he's being allowed back at all."

"Hey, but you're still going out on the field for the first time," Korra reminded her. "Don't let a partner ruin your first shot. Or is that why you're actually upset?"

"You know my father will take any excuse he gets to bring me straight back home and I'll be stuck here for the rest of my life," Jinora gestured to her desk, piled high with stacks of tedious and boring paperwork. "This mission has to go well."

"It will, you'll see." Korra ruffled her hair. "I'm heading out to Moscow tomorrow, so we'll see each other when we get back, yeah?"

Jinora smiled a little. "Course. See you in a week Korra."

She glanced at her clock. Her lunch break would be staring any moment, so she reached inside her purse for her wallet, intending on buying something in the food court, when the intercom crackled to life.

"Agent 0102, 0102, Agent Gyatso, please report to the front entrance. Thank you."

No time for lunch then. This day just kept getting better and better. Sighing, Jinora stowed her wallet back in her purse and slipped the strap onto her shoulder. Time to go meet her new partner, or at least that's what she assumed was happening. She had never actually met Kai Fong in person, but she had heard stories. Most notably, the one that had sent him into recuperation in the first place.

She found herself smoothing down her pencil skirt and hair. If they were going to be working together, than she might as well still try to make a good first impression. Jinora weaved in through the crowd of various agents, interns and associates, all prim and proper, dressed in crisp suits with neat hair.

So the young man with messy hair and a plain off-white t-shirt and ripped jeans caught her eye immediately. He was standing underneath the front entrance, with the grey haired and ever-stern Commander BeiFong, a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. A clunky grey watch was on his left wrist.

"Ah, Agent Gyatso," greeted Commander BeiFong, and she saw the man raise his eyebrows and frowned slightly. Yes, her father was a Commander, but she hated it when people treated her differently because of it. If they thought she got special privileges for it, they were sorely mistaken. "This is your new partner, Agent Kai Fong. Agent Fong, this is Jinora Gyatso."

She hated the way his green eyes studied her, as if assessing her - maybe how long she would actually last in the field, maybe if her daddy had gotten her this position, maybe - before his lips were tugged downwards slightly. "So, you're my new partner?"

She simply nodded. Unfortunately. Although he didn't seem particularly pleased by the partnership either. "Yup." She was glad when Commander BeiFong broke the silence that was quickly becoming awkward.

"Tomorrow you'll both be catching a plane at 11:00 o'clock sharp. You'll be visiting Varrick Enterprises late afternoon, and a hotel has already been booked for the night. The next morning, you'll take the 8:00 AM flight back here," she explained. "If all goes well-"

"Why wouldn't it?" said Kai, his voice sharp, almost accusatory. BeiFong threw him a pointed look. Jinora couldn't believe he'd just interrupted a Commander. Who did he think he was?

"As I was saying, if your missions continue to go well, then there's no reason to end the partnership prematurely," BeiFong continued, pursing her lips once she had finished. It didn't look like she was glad to have Kai back either.

"Lucky us," Jinora tried not to sound too sarcastic, but it slipped out before she could stop it. Unbelievably, Kai's lips twitched upwards. At least she hadn't made him mad, although maybe it would be better if they just ignored each other. That seemed to be the direction their partnership was headed in, anyway.

"Agent Fong, sleeping arrangements have been set up for the night at Kwong's Hotel, and Agent Gyatso, you may go home and prepare for tomorrow."

Jinora didn't have to be told twice. She merely gave Kai a quick nod, and then turned on her heel and left (not before grabbing a breakfast sandwich from the food court). She munched on it as she wanted for a cab, not quite sure of what to think. Kai seemed rude, if not arrogant, but at least it seemed that their partnership wasn't going to be torture.

She wondered if she'd still hold the same opinion after sitting next to him for a three hour flight. But, she reasoned, she'd move up through the rankings, and onto bigger and better things sooner rather than later. Unlike him, she knew how to take orders.


October 5th, 6:03 am, Jinora's Apartment, Downtown Republic City


After tossing and turning in bed for a few hours, Jinora knew there was no way she was getting back to sleep now. She had packed, and then repacked, double checking that she had everything, even though she wasn't bringing much to begin with: an extra change of clothes, a thick wad of twenty-dollar bills, a bag of toiletries, pyjamas, a secret compartment where her gun was stowed (although she had never used it outside of the practice shooting range) but wouldn't be detected by any of the airport's security checks, and a good book, in case she got bored on the flight. It had been easy enough to neatly pack it away into a knapsack, with her purse resting on top, and she was glad they were going to be able to skip the typical bag check and drop off.

As much as she was eager to get out onto the field, she was glad she wasn't starting with anything more dangerous; she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle it. She bet Kai was secretly glad too. His last mission had gone about as badly as a mission could go - his own fault, but still - and he had spent months recovering physically. If he was pitched back into the chaos that could come, Jinora wasn't sure he'd be able to handle it either.

She threw earbuds into her bag, hoping that they could block out the sound enough and she could get some sleep on the plane. It had taken a while for her to drift off as well, and she had a feeling she and Kai wouldn't be too chatty.

Jinora forced herself to eat, even though she didn't feel very hungry, her stomach bubbling with nerves. She nearly burned her toast out of distraction of everything that could go wrong on this mission - plane crash, car crash, Varrick being secretly evil and turning all his weapons them, Varrick not wanting to sign the deal, even if she knew all of them were getting more and more ridiculous.

Varrick wasn't evil, eccentric maybe, but not evil. His company had a long standing contract and agreement with the Raava Agency. She had met him once before, when he had visited the Agency to look at how "his babies" were being treated, and then laughed maniacally when he watched Agents practice with his guns in the firing range. He certainly wasn't a criminal mastermind, even if perhaps he wasn't all that sane.

After double checking she had everything she needed (again) and making sure her apartment was locked up and that her neighbour across the hall, a nice little old lady with a cat named Miyuki, would be collecting her newspapers, Jinora hailed a taxicab outside of her apartment building at 9 o'clock sharp.

It took half an hour to get to the airport, mostly due to the distance and not the traffic. Kai was already there at their designated meeting point at the front entrance. He was sitting next to his duffle bag, a hand in his hair. He looked tired, and irritable when she walked over to him.

"Can we go now?" he said, looking bored.

"How long have you been here?" she asked, as he got to his feet and grabbed his bag.

"A few hours. Couldn't sleep. So I walked around for a couple of hours and then figured I'd just wait." He shrugged. "Let's just get on the plane."

They waited in silence in the check bags line, other than Kai's occasional yawning. Jinora hoped he'd fall asleep on the plane, as they both needed to be alert and wide awake for their check on Varrick's company warehouses. Then, through the security checks (her gun and whatever Kai had made it through without being detected) and finally, onto the plane.

There were two-chair rows on either side of the plane with a three-seat middle row. Jinora was glad they were in the two seats along the right side of the plane, and merely raised her eyebrows when Kai waited for her to take the seat on the inside. Why he didn't want to be near the window, she wasn't sure, but didn't object.

An hour and a half later however, Jinora was ready to strangle him. She prided herself on usually being a pretty patient person (a result of growing up with her rambunctious younger siblings, Ikki and Meelo) but her new partner was getting on her last nerve. "Could you please stop tapping?" she hissed, for what felt like the hundred time.

"I can't help it," Kai shoved his hands into his jacket pockets again, but they could never seem to stay there. And then she'd hear the little taptaptap on their shared armrest, drilling into her skull despite her earbuds and ruining whatever chances she had of sleep.

"Well find a way," she snapped. "You're driving me crazy."

Kai grinned. "I drive lots of girls crazy."

Jinora narrowed her eyes at him before turning away with a huff, staring out the window. "I cannot believe this," she muttered, scowling. Her first mission ever, and she was stuck with him, not only on this plane for another god-forsaken hour and a half, but also for as long as their missions went well. Maybe she'd luck out and he'd mess up somehow and they wouldn't have to be partners anymore.

She stole a glance at him and saw him tiredly rub at his eyes. There was a scar running over the curve of his thumb, she noticed, and wondered briefly how he got it. On his last mission, perhaps, when everything had gone wrong? Was he nervous at all, going back into the field? He didn't seem to be, but appearances weren't always correct. Maybe the tapping was a sign he was nervous, or just restless. Or just trying (and succeeding) to aggravate her.

"What're you staring at?" he asked and she quickly looked away.

"Nothing, just zoned out." It came out more defensive than she meant it to.

Kai gave her an incredulous look. "Are you always going to be this grumpy?"

"Are you always going to be this annoying?"

"I'm not happy about this partnership either, you know," Kai frowned. "The last thing I wanted was to be stuck with a newbie."

"You're not a prize yourself," Jinora shot back. "I know what happened, on your last mission-"

Kai's eyes flashed as he glared fiercely at her. "No, you don't. So shut up and leave it, and me, alone. The sooner this is over, the better." Something in his tone - real anger? Or maybe even a little fear? - silenced her.

"Whatever." She crossed her arms over her chest. Kai didn't start tapping again - maybe he just didn't want to give her an excuse to start talking again, even if the last thing she wanted was to talk to him - and Jinora was grateful. And maybe just a little disappointed, somehow, but she quickly squashed that.

They had a job to do, and him of all people wasn't going to get in the way of it.


October 5, 3:15 pm. Outer Rim of Republic City, South.


Kai wouldn't stop bouncing his leg in the taxicab. Jinora did her best to ignore him by checking her phone, which was surprisingly effective. She saw she had a text message from her dad (Text me when you get there) and sent back a quick message, tacking on a smiley face at the end even if she wasn't smiling now. She was sure he was worried enough, with Kai being her partner.

She pocketed her phone and stared out the window, seeing a tall chain-link fence with a bright yellow sign with blinking letters reading VARRICK ENTERPRISES: NO TRESPASSING. The entire property was gated, devoid of much else for miles. Inside, she could see tall, wide set buildings made of brown bricks and slanted tiled roofs. A few workers and forklifts carrying large boxes were milling around, but that was about it. She couldn't believe how many warehouses they were though: over 20 at least, although, she reasoned, they were used for the development, building and storage of all of Varrick's weapons.

"We're here," the taxicab driver announced, pulling up outside the fence. They would have to enter a passcode to get through the gate.

"Thank you," Jinora handed him some money from the backseat, grabbed her bag and pushed the door open. She had almost gotten out of the car when she realized Kai hadn't moved. He didn't even to have seemed to realize they had stopped. "Uh," she paused, unsure of how to address him. Partner? Kai? Both seemed far too personal. She settled on, "Agent Fong." Simple, professional. No attachments established nor wanted. Perfect. "We've arrived."

Kai looked up at her, as though startled. "Oh. Right." He slung his duffle bag over his shoulder and climbed out of the car, Jinora getting out on the other side. She noticed he still seemed fidgety, even as the taxi began to drive away.

"Are you, uh..."

Jinora paused, searching for something to look at besides him. She settled on her sneakers, a faded blue covered in marker stripes from that time Rohan had gotten his hands on a box of markers and her sneakers. She had been upset when the markings wouldn't come off, but now she found it endearing. It made her think of home, not of her apartment, but her childhood home, of the apple orchard and the kitchen smelling like freshly baked cookies, a house that was always too loud but always full of laughter. She suddenly wondered if Kai had ever had a home like that. If he still did. Besides his bad rep sheet, she didn't know a single thing about him, other than the fact that he was incredibly annoying.

"Are you okay?" her voice was surprisingly quiet.

Suddenly Kai smiled that infuriating grin of his, as if she was stupid for asking such a question, and whatever pity she may or may not have been feeling evaporated. "Yeah," he stuck his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Jinora frowned. "No reason... Come on, let's just get this done."

A worker was waiting for them by the keypad in the gate and punched in the code, pushing the gate open for them. Jinora gave them an appreciative smile. "I'll take you straight to Varrick, he's in warehouse 2 at the moment."

Jinora wished she could put her bag down, but Kai wasn't showing any signs of fatigue and she had certainly gotten more sleep that she had, so she bit back her complaint and they both followed the worker into a warehouse with a big red number 2 painted above the doorway.

The first thing that hit her was the noise, all drilling and the loud hum of machinery and voices yelling out orders. One man with wavy, bushy hair held a megaphone up to his mouth, with a woman dressed in all green beside him, writing notes on a clipboard. The woman turned towards them slightly and perked up with a smile, tapping the man on the shoulder.

"Varrick!" she yelled above the noise. Jinora remembered her as Varrick's assistant. Zhi Lu? Zlu Hi? Something like that. "Varrick, the agents are here!"

"Oh, excellent!" Varrick's voice boomed through the megaphone right in their faces as he whirled around. Jinora winced. "Oh, sorry," Varrick flipped off the switch. "Always forget when I have this thing on. Zhu Li-" that was it! "-always says I love the sound of my own voice too much. So," he grinned at them. "What're you here for?"

"Just here to make sure everything's running smoothly," answered Jinora promptly.

"Ah, you must be the Commander's daughter? Good ol' Tenzin. Nice to see you again, Jinora." Varrick looked at Kai, his jovial expression shifting to one of thoughtfulness. "Say, do I know you?"

Kai, who had been looking around the warehouse, turned his attention to Varrick and gave a quick shake of his head. "I don't think so." For some reason Kai looked a little uncomfortable.

"No, I definitely do," Varrick stared at Kai intently and then snapped his fingers right in front of Jinora's nose; she stumbled backwards slightly, startled. "That's it! You came here once, got one of my best babies, guns I mean. A nice sleek hand gun, wasn't it? Reports said you were a real sharpshooter. Never missed a head shot. Whatever happened to that gun anyway?"

Now Kai really did look uncomfortable. It was a strange expression on him, and it made Jinora feel oddly uncomfortable as well. "The Agency confiscated, after..." After his last mission, Jinora realized.

Varrick frowned slightly. "Ah, heard about that. Terrible thing. But you're back on your feet, aren't you?" He went to clap Kai on the shoulder, but thought better of it as Kai flinched - just barely, Jinora almost didn't notice it, almost small enough to be missed, but not quite - and retracted his arm, instead slinging it around his assistant's shoulders. "Well, Zhu Li and I will be happy to show you around as our honoured guests this afternoon. Right this way."


Jinora stole glances at Kai throughout Varrick's long and tedious tour, but she still made sure to pay attention. She had never thought Kai had been a hit-man, a sniper. He had never struck her as such. Then again, he had never struck her as anything other than annoying. She wondered how long his kill list was.

"And here, in our last warehouse is where the most powerful bombs are stored," Varrick announced, spreading his arms wide. They were standing on a metal platform set high above so they could look down and see the ginormous stacks of crates full of bombs. Jinora shuffled uneasily from foot to foot, but committed the warehouse number, #24, to memory anyway. "A huge shipment is going out to the Agency later today, in fact."

"Is that it?" Kai asked, rather rudely, Jinora thought, frowning.

"Eager to leave m'boy?" Varrick's smile faltered. "We should at least have you in for coffee."

"Tired, is all," Kai shrugged. Jinora rolled her eyes. The thought of going back to the hotel and curling up and taking a nice long nap was extremely tempting, but she wasn't going to entertain the idea until their job was done, good and proper, and she certainly wasn't going to be rude.

"Coffee can help," Varrick continued, his grin back to its original size. "Just a cup or two."

Kai frowned a little. "I think it's a type of tired coffee can't fix."

Varrick looked at loss for what to say, so Jinora interjected, "We probably should be going. We're catching an early flight tomorrow."

"Alright then, if you're sure. Zhu Li, can you escort them out for me? I have some papers to sign here."

Zhu Li jotted something down on her clipboard. "Of course, sir." She gave Kai and Jinora a small smile. "Right this way please." She led them out of the warehouse, down the dirt road with more warehouses on either side, and back towards the chain link fence. "One of the company cars will be chosen for you to take back to the hotel. An employee will travel to pick it back up afterwards. I don't want to be a bad host and leave you alone, however..." she teetered back and forth on the balls of her shoes.

"Go ahead," Kai waved his hand dismissively. "We're just waiting for a car right?"

"Correct."

"Thank you for showing us around," Jinora said. Zhu Li nodded and smiled at them before turning around and walking back towards the warehouses.

Jinora checked her watch. It was nearly 6 o'clock and her stomach grumbled quietly. Hopefully they could pick up some food at the hotel. She wondered what type of food Kai liked. Then again, what did it matter? The silence between them was heavy, her thoughts drifting off to what Varrick had said. Jinora looked at Kai, her brow furrowing. "You never said you were a hit-man," she said slowly.

Kai rolled his eyes. "You never asked." Well, she supposed that was true. "And I wasn't, not really. Or at least, I never wanted to be, I..." He shook his head. "We're not talking about this."

"But-"

"It's not happening, so drop it."

His tone wasn't threatening, if anything it was quiet and almost friendly, but there was something in his eyes that made her shut her mouth. "Fine." Was this going to be their entire partnership, Jinora wondered: him having secrets and never sharing? Then again, was she much better?

"Our ride's here," Kai pointed to the black car pulling up to them. It looked like a small black car that could sit four people in total. The driver was a bald man in sunglasses, sitting on the side of the car closest to them. He climbed out of the car and they went to open the doors and finally put their bags down.

Before they could however, two things happened very quickly: behind them, the warehouses exploded simultaneously, and in front, a few inches from their heads, the driver pulled out two guns from his belt and poked them each in the back with the cold metal tip.