This is an amateur, non-commercial story, which is not produced, approved of, or in any way sponsored by the holders of the trademarks/copyrights from which this workis derived, nor is it intended to infringe on the rights of these holders. And so it goes.

40 CAKES

"I don't understand," Pema stammered. She stared blankly at the young man grinning nastily from behind the pastry counter. "There must be some mistake, Master Tian…"

"There's no mistake." Tian smiled viciously. "You ordered forty cakes for your Winter Solstice party. I have them out back in the truck. As soon as you pay up, I'll be happy to deliver them to your soup kitchen."

Pema shook her head and gently extended an arm to keep an increasingly-angry Kai from doing something foolish. "I don't have that kind of money," she pleaded. "And your father always donated the cakes to us in the past…"

"That was then," Tian snapped. "This is now. Times have changed, lady."

"You had better show some respect to Mistress Pema," Kai growled, "or I'll be happy to teach you manners." Pema shook her head curtly at the young man, who reluctantly took a step back but continued to glower at the shop owner.

"Your father was a very kind man," Pema continued. "He was always happy to provide us with something for the children. He even told me that he'd made a provision for us in his will…"

"Well, he didn't," Tian laughed harshly. "I have it in my office and believe me, there's nothing about you airbenders in it."

Pema knew it was a losing battle, but she had to make one final effort. "It's the Winter Solstice. Surely you could find it in your heart…"

"No." Tian was clearly enjoying this. His employees, on the other hand, were keeping as far away from him as possible, their feelings on the subject clearly evident on their expressions. "If you have a complaint about how I run things, 'Mistress Pema', you can lodge a complaint with the old man. He's right over there." He jabbed a thumb toward a dark, dusty corner where a forlorn urn sat atop a battered little table. "I run things now, and what I say goes, got it?"

Pema hesitated. "I see," she finally said. "I'm afraid I can't pay for your work, so we'll be leaving now. Come along, Kai." She pivoted neatly and headed for the door.

"But…" Kai protested, but one look from Pema shut him up. He spared one furious glare at the still-grinning Tian before following her out the door.

Outside, Pema sighed and shook her head. "I can't believe this," she said quietly. "Jiang was always so generous and gracious to me. He'd be so upset about what his son is doing."

"I can't believe you're letting him get away with this!" Kai exploded. "He was laughing at us, ma'am! Let me go in there and wipe that nasty smirk off his face…"

"Kai, enough," Pema said firmly. "You're a part of the Air Nation. We don't believe in violence as a solution to our problems."

"Fine, I'll wipe that nasty smirk off his face non-violently," Kai growled. "If Master Tenzin were here…"

"If Master Tenzin were here, he'd be blustering and bellowing and his head would be turning red. And it wouldn't do a bit of good." Pema pointed out. "But Master Tenzin is on Air Temple Island, lying in bed with a horrible cold, which is why I brought you along, Kai. You're practically a part of the family now and I can count on you to act in a mature, measured manner, can't I?"

Kai sighed grumpily but nodded. "All right, Mistress Pema."

"Good. Then let's get Kuruk and head over to the soup kitchen. We can still have the Solstice party; we just won't have a dessert treat this year, that's all. It's no big deal." Pema hoped she sounded more optimistic than she felt at the moment. "Let's go." She led the still-seething Kai down the adjacent alleyway. Her faithful polar bear dog was waiting patiently for them, raising his huge head and wagging his tail joyously the instant he saw his mistress. "Well, let's be off…"

"Wait." Kai was staring at the nearby bakery truck, fully loaded and ready to go, just as Tian had said. A slow, deliciously evil smile spread across his lips. "You know…"

"Stealing is wrong," Pema said firmly. "It's against Air Nation principles."

"It's not theft," Kai pointed out reasonably. "Those were meant to be delivered to us. We'd be just taking delivery ourselves."

"No, Kai," Pema ordered.

"What's he going to do with them, anyway? They'll just go to waste. He'll have to throw them out. We'd be doing him a favor by taking them off his hands."

"Kai…" Pema repeated, her voice quavering ever so slightly.

"Think about those poor kids," Kai continued. "They eat all that delicious food in anticipation of dessert, only to find that the butthead baker reneged on us. Think of all those sad, forlorn faces…on Winter Solstice no less…"

"Kai, I said no, and that's my final word on the subject," Pema stated.

"No one's around," Kai pointed out reasonably. "It'd be easy…"

"Kai, that's theft, and not only is it against our principles, it's also against the law…"

"Only if you get caught."

Pema bit her lip. "Besides, Tian probably has the keys. We'd never be able to get it out of here without someone noticing."

"You don't need keys to start a car," Kai grinned. "And besides, did you see the expressions on his employees' faces? I doubt they'll sound the alarm."

"Can you hot-wire the engine?" Pema asked after a moment.

Kai looked positively indignant. "Ma'am. I was a homeless child without any real book learning, forced to live by my wits on the cruel, unforgiving streets of the Earth Kingdom. Of COURSE I can hotwire the engine!" He shook his head. "But that's not what I had in mind—too much noise. Get behind the wheel—I'll be back in a second." Before Pema could protest Kai slipped through the bakery's back door; he returned a few minutes later with a smile that meant nothing good. "Okay, let's go."

"So what do I do?" Pema asked as she slipped into the driver's seat.

"Put the truck in neutral. I'll stand back here and use airbending to keep the cakes in place." Kai jumped into the back of the truck. "Are you ready?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"Kuruk, give us a push! Come on, boy, you can do it?" Kai waved the polar bear dog forward, but Kuruk simply sat there and stared stupidly at him. "Uh, ma'am?"

"Kuruk, push!" Pema ordered, and with that the dog sprang into action, smacking into the truck head-first and sending it rolling down the alleyway. "That's my good boy!" she called. "Now, do it again…"

They left the truck behind the soup kitchen and hurried to the front door. Inside, Bolin and Pabu were entertaining the crowd on one side, while Korra and Opal gave airbending demonstrations on the other. As she hurried toward the kitchen, Pema spared a quick glance at her youngest son: Rohan was sitting there very quietly, watching Pabu's tricks intently while firmly holding little Kat's hand (much to her delight). The sight made her smile and slightly eased her troubled conscience.

Pema took a deep breath and stepped into the kitchen. "How are we doing?" she called out with forced casualness.

"Hey, Boss," Pema's right-hand-acolyte Ryoko waved from the stove. "Everything's looking good. Lunch is almost ready. All we need are some hands to set the tables and bring in those cakes you ordered." She spared a glance out the window. "Huh, there's the truck. Weird, I didn't hear it pull up."

"With all this noise, that's not surprising," Kai pointed out. "I'll get some volunteers from out there."

Pema gave the soup a quick taste test and nodded in approval. "This is perfect, Ryoko. I think everyone is going to have a great meal today. Let's make some room for those cakes in here, shall we?"

Back in the hall, Korra called for attention. "Hey kids!" she yelled. "Mistress Pema needs some helping hands to set the tables and get some yummy cakes off a truck! What do you say to that?"

"LET'S DO THIS!" An armada of children raced to the kitchen and set to work. In no time at all everything was ready to go. Korra herself lifted the huge pot of soup to the main table and started serving the crowd.

"This is wonderful," Pema smiled, though a slight pang of guilt still gnawed at her.

"It is," Ryoko agreed. "Just sad that the crowd never seems to get smaller each year, you know?" Pema nodded and motioned to a few acolytes to deliver more bread to the serving table.

"The cakes have been unloaded, ma'am," Kai announced. "If you'd like, I could tell the truck driver we're done. We don't want to keep him here too long, after all." He winked at Pema and breezed out the back door.

"Everything okay, Boss?" Ryoko asked, eyeing the older woman carefully.

"Of course, of course!" Pema declared. "Oh, I just remembered it's time for Kuruk's lunch. You did remember to stop at Feng's and get a bucket of fish scraps, right?"

"Yeah, and from the sound of things out there he's already found it. You stay here and I'll make sure he doesn't get the bucket stuck on his snout…again."

Lin Beifong sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "Which one of you wants to go first?"

"That truck is in MY parking spot!" President Raiko thundered. "I want it towed this instant, and I want this man cited for illegal parking!"

Tian was almost purple with outrage. "I didn't put it there! My truck was stolen this morning! I had a full load of desserts inside it, and they're gone! I've been robbed and…and look at this!" He pointed at the steering wheel. "Someone hot-wired it, and now it's damaged! I'll have to pay for this to be repaired! Why aren't you doing your job instead of standing there listening to this blowhard?"

"Chief Beifong, I demand you do something about this!" Raiko bellowed.

Lin sighed yet again and raised a hand for silence. "You said the truck was loaded?" she asked Tian.

"Yes! I had forty cakes in there, ready to be delivered as soon as I received payment!"

"Forty cakes?" Lin echoed.

"YES!"

She took a moment to consider the facts. "That's terrible," she finally said.

"You want to investigate the theft, fine!" Raiko declared. "But get a tow truck out here and move that wreck out of my parking spot first! I have a very expensive Satomobile and right now my driver is circling the block because he can't find anywhere to park it!"

"That's terrible," Lin nodded.

"Hey, Chief." Mako handed her a sheaf of papers. "I found this on the driver's seat. It looks like a will."

"You what?" Tian declared, the color draining from his face. "But how…?"

"Hmmm, I think you're right. Glad to see old Jiang left one." Lin proceeded to examine the document with extreme care, taking her own sweet time while the two men before her fumed further. "Huh, this is interesting." She leaned toward Mako and pointed at one particular paragraph. "It says here that every year the bakery is to donate forty cakes to the Air Nation Mission for their Winter Solstice party."

"Forty cakes?" Mako asked.

"That's what it says."

"How…" Tian sputtered. "How did that get there? It was locked inside my top desk drawer…"

"Wow," Mako nodded thoughtfully. "That was really thoughtful of Jiang. He was a really great guy, you know? When Bolin and I were kids living on the street, we knew if worst came to worst he'd give us something at the end of the day so we wouldn't go hungry."

Lin nodded. "The city's a lot poorer for his passing."

Mako glanced at Tian. "So those cakes were meant for the Solstice party today?"

"Well…yes…"

Mako shook his head. "But you said you were awaiting payment…"

"I…you see…"

"If you're demanding payment, then by definition you're not donating the cakes, am I right, Chief?"

Lin nodded sagely. "You're quite right, Mako."

"Those poor families," Mako said sadly. "They're going to miss out on those cakes because some unscrupulous individual defied his late, honored father's wishes and tried to squeeze Mistress Pema's soup kitchen for cash."

"That's terrible," Lin agreed.

"What about my parking space?" Raiko demanded, his face growing redder by the moment.

"I…wait! That's it!" Tian suddenly yelled. "Mistress Pema! I'll bet anything she stole my truck and made off with the cakes! You should go arrest her, not me! She's a thief!"

Lin's eyes narrowed. "Are you suggesting," she said very slowly, "that Mistress Pema, the wife of Master Tenzin, the mistress of Air Temple Island, a woman who has given so much time and effort to this city, a woman of impeccable honor and virtue, a close personal friend of mine, and who I might add owns a fully-grown polar bear dog that is utterly devoted to her and would probably devour anyone who might try to do her harm…are you suggesting that Mistress Pema might have stolen your truck and cakes?"

"No," Tian squeaked after a long pause.

"Good. You've got your truck, so cut your losses and get it out of here before he," she nodded toward an now-apoplectic Raiko, "has a stroke or orders me to arrest you for whatever comes to mind."

Pema was overseeing the final cleanup when Lin came through the door. "Another success, I take it?"

"Oh yes," Pema nodded. "Everyone had such a wonderful time. Korra, Opal and Bolin were enjoying themselves. I only wish Tenzin was feeling better. This party always means so much to him."

"Well, let's be honest," Lin pointed out. "Nobody wants to be around an airbender with a runny nose. By the way, when did we start celebrating the Winter Solstice with fireworks?"

"That was Varrick's donation," Pema explained. "He's of the firm belief that fireworks are perfect for every occasion."

"Why am I not surprised?" Lin sighed as she sat down beside Pema. "I had a hell of an interesting day."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Lin snorted softly. "That baker you guys go to every year for desserts? His truck was stolen and by the time we found it—in Raiko's private parking spot, no less—it had been completely cleaned out."

"Really?" Pema trembled slightly.

"Oh yeah." Lin smiled ruefully. "Forty cakes, gone just like that. And to make matters worse, I think they were meant to be delivered here for the party. Or so he said. He went on about non-payment or something, I don't know. Between his yelling and Raiko's whining I ended up with a headache."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Pema hoped her voice wasn't betraying her guilt.

"You know what the worst part was?" Lin continued. "Don't ask me how, but old Jiang's last will and testament was sitting on the front seat. Mako and I read it over—it very clearly stated that the bakery was to provide those cakes to you every year at no charge." She shook her head sadly. "But like I said, the truck was empty. What a shame."

"Yes, it is. Lin…"

"You know the funniest part about it?" Lin continued as if Pema hadn't spoken. "That idiot kid of Jiang's—the one who took over when his dad died? He had the gall to accuse you of stealing the things. Can you believe that?" She shook her head in disbelief. "I pointed out what a ridiculous accusation that was, of course."

Pema bit her lip and decided to come clean. "Lin…"

"Hey, what's that over there?" Lin pointed to a large try of cake slices. "Would you mind if I had one They look incredible."

"…help yourself," Pema suggested. "I'll get some tea for you, too."

"You know, that would be great. Nice to know someone came through for you after all." Lin stabbed at the slice with her fork and popped a piece into her mouth. She savored it for the longest time." Mmmm. Delicious."