Saikhan had been a captain in the Metalbending Police Force for twenty years, half of his life. He had started out by walking beats throughout the city, patrolling in squad cars while the airships hovered above, and had plowed through enough red tape to choke a platypus bear. All the while he had refined his earthbending and later metalbending under the watchful eye of his close friend Lin Beifong. He sighed at the thought of the Chief. He and Lin had… disagreements on how certain aspects of crime should be handled among other things.
He respected her immensely and he wouldn't be half the metalbender he was today if it wasn't for the tutorship she could spare. But she was to determined to nail every criminal she could find and refused to try to play nice with the Council. She wouldn't let big fish get away, even if it meant catching a lot smaller ones and refused to even try to strike deals with the local criminal elements despite the advantages it would bring. Even criminals had honor and they would turn in those among them who went too far. For the right price of course.
So unlike the Chief he made deals with local gangs, buying information, overlooking operations, and helping them out of trouble when he could. And unlike the Chief he attended the Council parties of his own free will, mingling with the nobles, politicians, and business men of the city with a smile on his face, making idle conversation and listening to their uninformed views and ideas on the security of Republic City. Lin would complain of the parties constantly often standing in a corner and glaring at anyone who dared to approach her. She claimed that she didn't need to be liked to do her job and that the upper class of the city did nothing but moan and complain and should let them do their work in peace.
He respectfully disagreed. Which is why he was currently waiting to be let into a meeting with Councilman Tarrlok.
Saikhan was idly staring at one of the many painting that decorated the marble hallways of City Hall in an attempt to not seem bored. It was the final moment of Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Ozai's deciding battle, the young Avatar sealing the Fire Lord's bending away forever. It was a nice piece he supposed, the glow from their eyes and mouths due to Avatar Aang's energybending was very well done, but he was more partial to landscapes.
"Councilman Tarrlok will see you now." The Council Page announced, poking his head out of councilman's office. Saikhan got up from the seat he was occupying and followed the Page, an older tiny man with a very high-pitched voice, into the Councilman's office. Tarrlok was standing behind his desk, his back to the elaborate waterfall decoration of Tui and La circling each other that glimmered in the light of the morning sun, and had a pleasant smile on his face when Saikhan entered the room. Saikhan removed his hat and shook his hand when they got close enough, Tarrlok walking to meet him half way.
"Ah Captain Saikhan, thank you for meeting me on such short notice," the Councilman greeted smoothly, "how are your wife and boys?"
"Fine Councilman and it's no problem." Saikhan replied taking a seat in front of Tarrlok's desk.
"Good, good." The Councilman said sitting down behind his desk. "Would you please leave us?" Tarrlok asked the Council Page.
"Of course sir." The Page bowed and quietly left the room. Tarrlok waited a second after the page had left before opening a desk drawer and pulling out a pack of cigarettes.
"Do you smoke Captain?" Tarrlok asked, offering the pack to Saikhan.
"No, but thank you Sir." Saikhan declined. Tarrlok merely put the pack away and lit his own with a match. He inhaled and let out a plume of smoke, Saikhan managed to resist coughing, and gazed out at Republic City.
"Tell me," Tarrlok asked after a moment, "how difficult would it be to arrange some additional security for the docks tonight? Without Chief Beifong finding out about it?"
Saikhan kept a straight face at the question, while his mind raced with possible implications and motives, "The Chief personally oversees all deployments and patrols in the city and she requires a constant stream of reports on their current activity, if any fail to report another will be sent to find out why." Saikhan explained, watching Tarrlok's eyes narrow. "But, while she will know eventually, I can pull strings so she doesn't find out right away." Tarrlok smiled.
"That will do." He tapped the ashes from his cigarette into the ash tray and opened another drawer pulling out a file. He removed a photo of a large ship bearing the symbol of the United Republic Navy on its side. "That is "The Unagi", do not let the name fool you it is no more fierce than any other freighter. It's cargo on the other hand…" He pulled another photo from the file, a picture of a large circular capsule with valves and pumps along the top.
"What is this?" Saikhan asked, studying the device for any discriminating marks. Tarrlok leaned forward and stippled his hands in front of his face.
"That is a capsule filled with poison gas."
Anguta adjusted his coat as he walked into the usual meeting spot for him and Li, it was getting close to winter and would begin snowing soon so the air was developing a nip to it and the sky was a grey overcast. The meeting place was another bar far more suppressed than the other, the few patrons sitting quietly to themselves while sipping their drinks. The owner, a bear of a man with a heavily scarred face, was idly cleaning a glass and giving Anguta the evil eye as he walked past him and into the back. He moved past the dilapidated bathroom and stopped in front of a barren wall in the hallway. He raised his hand and knocked three times in a synchronized pattern. A panel opened in the wall just above where his eyes fell and a pair of green eyes glared at him.
"What do you want?" A muffled voice demanded.
"I'm here to meet Li." He responded, taking off his hat so the guard could see his face clearly. The guard studied his face for a moment.
"Anguta." He gave no sign of recognizing the name. "…An?" Anguta tested.
"Oh An! Yeah Li said a guy by that name would show up, give me a second." The panel snapped shut and a series of clicks followed. Soon an entire doorway appeared as wall section slid open, the guard nodded his head and motioned towards the revealed hallway. "Come on in."
Anguta put his hat back on and walked past the guard, holding his hand out in front of him when the light of the bar shut out with the closing door and the hallway descended into darkness. He walked until his hand brushed up against a door and then he fumbled in the dark to find the handle then swung the door open and walked into the hidden gambling den.
The patrons and dealers all turned to look when the door opened and went back to their games when they realized he wasn't a cop. The air was thick with smoke and the clinking of glasses and chips; the space wasn't very large and held only a half-dozen tables and a few ill-gotten slot machines but it was packed nonetheless.
"An!" Li called out from a roulette table waving him over. Anguta walked over and stood next to Li, resting his hands on table, noting that one of the table legs was uneven when it tilted slightly, and watching the roulette wheel spin round and round. The ball landed on four black and Li cursed, his stack of chips on eighteen red disappearing thanks to the table dealer.
"Do me a favor, don't tell people to answer to your nickname for me." Anguta complained laying a twenty Yuan bill down, the smiling face of Founding Member Sokka disappearing and getting a pair of chips back. He placed both on five red. With the speed the wheel spun…
"Would you prefer if I told them to answer to Annie?" Li responded with a smile and placed another bet. The wheel spun round and round again and as it was slowing down Anguta pressed his hand down on the table slightly. The ball, formerly balancing between five red and twenty-four black teetered into five red and Anguta received a stack of chips, the dealer never noticing his small successful act of sabotage.
"You said you had stuff you had to talk to me about." Anguta resigned with a sigh. Li cursed again and collected his remaining chips, moving over to the exchange and collecting his depleted winnings.
"Yeah, there's been a bit of a change to the plan," Li said moving to door, "you're going to be a bit closer than before."
"How much closer?" Anguta asked narrowing his eyes as he followed Li into the dark hallway. Li remained silent until they emerged on the other side and exited the bar, none of the patrons looking up from their drinks as they left, they were used to people disappearing and reappearing from the back. When they got outside Li looked up at sky, watching a police airship cruise through a trio of skyscrapers, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.
"You're only going to be a couple blocks away." He said, blowing a plume of smoke into the air.
"What?" Anguta asked, grabbing Li's shoulder and looking him in the eye.
"Now now An don't get upset," Li said soothingly, "so it's a few blocks closer to the boat then you'd like. It's not like you're going to be in the middle of the heist, you've got everything else you want and need at the place I've set up."
"And when the police finally start investigating the docks their going to find that one of the nearby buildings had a rented room where a shady looking guy brought in radio equipment and suspicious documents." Anguta retorted angrily at the risk Li was taking; the job certainly didn't need any more.
"Now I take offense to that, I am the poster child of trustworthiness. And we won't have to worry about anyone seeing us. Well, no one that will talk to the cops anyway." Li answered, turning to face Anguta fully.
"What do you mean?" Anguta asked skeptically.
"I found you a nice abandoned warehouse to work out of. Hardly any elephant or spider rats too." Li said, gazing at the overcast clouds. Anguta rubbed his temples and sighed. "Oh don't get like that. So it's a bit dirty, if you didn't have such high tastes you wouldn't be five weeks behind on a rent you can't afford." Angutas' eyes narrowed.
"How do you know about that?" He demanded.
"I'm very good at finding out information." Li answered with a smile on his face. "I don't know why you put yourself with the trouble of living in a bender neighborhood. If you just stuck to The Poles like the rest of the Water Tribe off the boats you'd probably get a decent rate. And you wouldn't have to pay off the cops on top of the gangs for protection."
"I'd prefer not waking up in the middle of the night to find spider rats trying to eat me alive!" Anguta replied, the memories of his time spent living in The Poles, the name of the borough that immigrants from the Water Tribes were segregated to, itself separated between Northern and Southern tribe members, still fresh in his mind.
"They really do that? I always thought the 'Don't leave your baby alone because spider rats will swarm and eat them' thing was a myth." Li asked with a drag from his cigarette.
"Walk down an alleyway with a piece of freshly cooked meat and see how far you get." Anguta dared. "If you make it ten feet I'll be amazed."
"It doesn't have to be cooked Water Tribe meat does it? Because I don't know what your people do while cooking but the smell." Li said with a gagging sound escaping his throat. "I would have figured that alone would have kept the spider rats away." He checked his watch and stomped out his cigarette. "Come on we got to get going." Anguta grudgingly followed after him, walking down the sidewalk until they reached a small parking lot and Li moved to a satomobile.
"Since when do you own a satomobile?" Anguta asked curiously, satomobiles were common in Republic City but by no means cheap. Li opened the driver's side door and grinned.
"I said that this job would make enough to put you on easy street, this" he patted the hood "is what the down payment for my services got me. My clients our paying a hefty Yuan for the supplies in that ship." Anguta went around and got into the passenger side.
"And who are these wealthy clients of yours? I thought you said that it was a bunch of small time gangs that teamed up for this? Are they the same as that reliable source?" He asked as he buckled himself in. Li's smile disappeared and he glared at Anguta.
"Just stick to the plannin' An. You'll be better off that way." They remained silent the rest of the way there.
Bolin checked his watch for the twelfth time in half as many minutes. This was a bad idea, he shouldn't have agreed to this. He and Mako should have found another way to get the money. Spirits he should have told Mako. He checked his watch again, still a few minutes from the start of the job, and then looked around.
It was near midnight and there was roughly fifty of them, most representatives from various gangs glaring at each other, gathered into a large warehouse with three large trucks lined up ready to be boarded and as far as he knew he was one of the few benders apart of the heist. Bolin looked over to where his "partners" for the job were standing.
He hadn't expected for Hasook to be here but apparently he and his brother weren't the only ones to do less than reputable work on the Fire Ferrets. He and Hasook hadn't said anything to each other after he asked "Does your brother know you're here?" The argument that erupted had caused quite a stir, even getting the gang members to stop glaring at each other to watch them. And aside from an uncomfortable greeting he hadn't even said anything to his other partner. Not that he wouldn't mind getting to know her better…
She said her name was Hotaru and that was all the information she gave, and was she a looker. Her bright red hair was spiky and framed her face, with blue eyes seemed to shine in the dark warehouse, and that figure…
Needless to say he would have spent the evening flirting with her if he wasn't so spirits damned nervous.
"Alright listen up everybody!" Bolin turned his attention to the leader of this operation; some guy named Li that Shady Shin put him in contact with for the job. He was standing on top of a crate and motioning everyone to gather around him. "The Unagi docked a couple of hours ago exactly where it we thought it would and most of the crew has been let out on shore leave, the arrangements have been made so we get into the docks unnoticed but the ship itself will still be guarded by a skeleton crew." There was a chorus of grumbling.
"What? How the hell are we supposed to rob the damn thing if it's guarded by soldiers?" Hasook angrily asked, a number of people voicing similar feelings. Bolin started to get even more worried than before, how was he supposed to fight soldiers? There was no way this was going to work out. Li just smiled and kneeled down and turned on a radio resting at his feet.
"Because we have him." Li answered and sat next to the radio.
"Good evening everyone, I will be the one in charge of the assault and, if necessary, retreat." A voice spoke through the radio, Bolin and the others gave a confused look to each other.
"Um, Mr. Voice? Can I ask who you are or what your name is?" Bolin asked after an uncomfortable silence.
"My name is not important or necessary." The Voice gave a curt response.
"What the hell is this? How the hell are we supposed to trust this guy?" Hasook asked angrily, a few others shared his sentiment.
"You can trust him because I trust him. This isn't the first time I've worked with him and he's never let me down before. If anyone has a problem taking his or my orders than you can fuck off." Li stated, pointing towards the door. No one moved, the reward too big to pass up.
"I'm glad we've settled the matter, now this is what you're going to do."
Bolin sweated as he and his group sneaked through the docks, hugging the shadows cast by the street lamps as they neared The Unagi. He poked his head around a corner and saw the shadow of a patrolling guard on the ship; he whipped his head back and pressed himself into the wall they were hiding behind. Bolin took a steadying breath and hefted the portable radio closer to his body. Well, 'portable' was a loose term; it was really just a conventional radio, with a range of only a few dozen city blocks, with straps tied around it so it could be carried on your back and was heavy as hell. Great battery life though.
"Alright G-5 is in place." Bolin reported, holding the receiver to his ear. There was a moment of silence until their mysterious commander responded.
"Good, hold until other units report and then wait for the go ahead." The Voice commanded.
"Pfft, who the hell does this guy think he is? We've got names why the hell doesn't he use them?" Hasook complained.
"Quiet! We don't need to be making any more noise than necessary." Hotaru angrily chastised him. Hasook sneered at her and stuck a finger in her face.
"Hey you ain't the boss of me so get the hell off my back!" he retorted angrily. Hotaru looked like she was about to respond before Bolin intervened.
"OK time out, time out guys! I know this is a risky and stressful job, we all do, but we cannot be turning on each other now. If we don't work together then we're all going to at least end up in a United Republic prison." Bolin explained, trying to smooth things over. "Or were all going to be killed by some dudes who are trained and get paid to do so in the Trust Territories." Hasook and Hotaru glared at each other and gave simultaneous grunts of agreements and Bolin sighed in relief.
"All units are in position. Prepare for assault." The Voice commanded. Bolin gave a last-minute check over his equipment. The radio was firmly strapped onto his back and he pulled a dark cloth to serve as a mask over the lower half of his face the others doing the same behind him. 'OK, this is it.' He thought, 'No backing out now.'
"All units begin the assault." Their mysterious commander ordered. Bolin, Hasook and Hotaru rounded the corner and sprinted toward the Unagi, the other groups emerging from nearby shadows doing the same. Their group merged with another halfway, then he and their earthbender charged forward, bending the stone out of the pier and forcing it into the air, creating a ramp. They forced segment after segment until the ramp hanged in the air a short distance above The Unagi's deck. Without missing a beat Hasook, Hotaru, and the others ascended the ramp, Bolin and the other earthbender following after, before the soldiers on board could begin to counter the attack.
When Bolin reached the deck most of the surprised guards had been pushed back by the few benders of the group, the nonbenders using the opening to rush below deck to try to catch others off guard. Hotaru flung a pair of fireballs at a soldier, who dodged the first and sent a stream of water from under the grates that snaked around the ship for waterbenders at their feet to nullify the second. Hasook was throwing around torrents of water at his opponents, trying to force them out from behind cover of a steel crate. Bolin searched for an opening and narrowly dodged the hunk of circular earth aimed at his head. He found himself facing a large man in a Republic Navy uniform flinging discs of earth at him, forcing him to duck and weave around them.
'Those look just like Probending discs.' He thought, noticing that they even were dispensed from what looked like a similar rough mechanism built into ship before his musing got him a disc to the chest, sending him sprawling back nearly over the railings. The radio on his back pressing uncomfortably hard at the impact. 'And they feel just like them too.' He held his bruised chest and wished for the protective padding of his Fire Ferrets uniform. He gave a pained cough and tried to stand and caught sight of another disc heading for him. He brought his arm up to try to defend himself but a ball of fire destroyed it. Bolin looked to Hotaru who sent a stream of fire at his opponent, forcing him into the defensive. Her first opponent bent a bit of water into the air and froze it; launching the icicle at her, in response she kicked her leg into the air and sent a wave of fire at the projectile, vaporizing it.
Bolin used the opportunity to charge forward and crash into his opponent, sending the larger man sprawling back. He didn't give the man time to recover, bending the stash of discs at the soldier forcing him back farther and farther with each consecutive hit. Hotaru and Hasook were having some mixed results as they continued their assault, Hotaru gaining ground on her opponent as Hasook began to feel a bit overwhelmed as his opponents began to push back, flinging fireballs and icicles at him.
Bolin flung two discs at the soldier, the first dodged and the second hitting him in the stomach, he doubled over clutching his stomach and Bolin sent a third disc at him, crashing into the man's head. The soldier was knocked unconscious and crashed onto the deck; Bolin gave a triumphant cheer until an angry retort from Hotaru got him back into focus. He sent a pair of discs at Hotaru's opponent; the man destroyed the first with a slash of water and took the second to the shoulder. That was all Hotaru needed. She fired three quick bursts of flame, forcing him back against the wall of the ship, and dodged a stream of water he sent back at her. She pulled back her arms and unleashed a torrent of flames on him, engulfing him. After a few seconds of this she relented and the soldier slumped to his knees, clothing badly singed and hands burned from protecting his head, and finally crashed to the ground.
Beginning to feel the strain of exhaustion Bolin and Hotaru joined forces against Hasook's opponents, he having been forced back to the railing, and started intercepting the men's attacks at Hasook. Bolin sent a triad of discs at the soldier's legs while Hotaru sent a wave of fire, the discs crashed into the ground as they jumped back and were pummeled by the wave of fire that struck a moment later. Hasook sent a stream of water at the now exposed men and nailed one in the head; he fell back and crashed his head into the railing with a wet crack, the other dodged and sent another blast of fire at him. Bolin bent a disc of earth into the air above his arm and held it there, charging forward at the soldier dodging the blasts of flame that he sent at him. When he got within striking distance he launched the disc with an uppercut at the man and struck him in the jaw with enough force to launch him into the air.
And over the railings.
"NO!" Bolin cried as he grabbed the falling unconscious man's ankle and tried to haul him up. His hands began to slip and he started to teeter over the edge when two pairs of hands grabbed him and hauled him and the soldier back up. He sat down next to the unconscious soldier and pulled down his mask, gasping for breath.
"Damn Bolin." Hasook said, pulling down his own mask. "It would have been easier to let the bastard drown."
Bolin didn't respond and pulled out the receiver for the radio.
"This is G-5, the uh, front part of the ship is secure." There was a moment of silence until their leader responded.
"Good, secure any prisoners and then proceed below deck to assist." The voice commanded. Bolin and Hasook put their masks back on and Hotaru moved to begin gathering the soldiers together. Bolin hefted himself up, his bruised chest crying out and got to work.
Li hopped off the truck just as the ramps from inside the ship lowered down to the dock, his boys waving in the trucks as they backed up to begin loading their haul. He walked past the makeshift ramp of earth, making a mental note to have someone retract it back down, and up the ships ramp into the hold. He inhaled from his cigarette and smiled as he examined the stacks and stacks of crates filled with guns and ammunition, explosives, body armor, and field kits. He stomped out his cigarette, he wasn't going to take the chances of having an open flame next to some explosives, and started taking a tour.
The plan had gone off nearly flawlessly, with only a few injuries and one death, a poor bastard who took an icicle to the lung that bled out everywhere when the soldier who conjured the icicle got knocked out, and the police bands on the radios showed no signs of knowing about the heist. Li stuck his hands in his pockets and practically strutted, he was set for months thanks to this job, maybe a year if he was careful; hell he might go on vacation, get out of the city for a while. Some of the Preserved Sectors in the older Trust Territories were rather nice this time of year. He walked past a pair of men loading a crate of rifles onto a wheeled carrier and spotted a familiar head of red hair and a pair of very nice, round, large… blue eyes.
"Hotaru my dear, may I say that you look no less lovely in a layer of soot and blood than a lady of high-born elegance in a lovely silk gown?" He flirted with the red-headed firebender while her partner's eyes flicked between the two. He paid them no mind, he didn't even know their names; he knew one of them was recommended to him by Shady Shin and that the two apparently knew each other.
"Piss off Li." She growled and conjured a ball of fire in her hand to scare him off.
"Now now Hotaru no need to get upset, it was merely a compliment on something anyone with eyes could see." He was in too good of a mood to be perpetrated. "How are our gracious hosts feeling?" He peered around the corner to the pile of knocked out and tied up soldiers and sailors.
"They've been quiet for now, don't know how much longer they're gonna stay that way though." The green-eyed boy in the group said, casting a worried glance to the soldiers.
"Well if they even start to wake up give them a nice hard smack to the head, we don't need any more fighting this evening. I think we've had enough." They nodded their heads in agreement and Li walked away, casting a lasting glance at Hotaru's bountiful assets and earning a sneer from her in return. Chuckling he walked further into the hold, dodging the crates as they were unloaded he was stopped by a panting man who practically ran into him.
"Boss there's an airship heading this way!" he panted between breaths, tired from running from the deck all the way down into the hold. Li's eyebrows raised, his contact Officer Song had assured him that the docks would be clear tonight, the closest airship would be downtown, too far to actually notice any activity. "The guy on the radio says we should drop everything and run." Li furrowed his brow and then yelled out.
"Alright everyone pick up the pace, load what you can, and then get the trucks out of sight… and someone retract those damn earth ramps outside!" There was an increase in activity as everyone tried to get what they could and leave. He turned to the formerly panting man, still waiting for what he should tell An. "Tell him that we'll leave when we get what we came for. We barely got enough to cover the expenses as is." Li continued on his way to inspect a final part of the hold, which contained the true prize of the evening. He rounded the corner and caught sight of the capsule as it was being lowered slowly with a winch and pulley onto a carrier.
"Careful boys, get so much of a scratch on that thing and my clients will have all our balls on a spic." He warned as he stood in front of the large machine, its valves and pumps gleaming in the light of the hold. He didn't know what the Equalists wanted with this thing and he didn't want to know, all he knew was that they paid very generously to have him retrieve it as quietly as possible without leaving anything to tie back to them. Their money was good and that was all that mattered.
Whatever they wanted to do with what was inside that thing was their business.
Saikhan had grown accustomed to the near silent hum of the propellers on the airships that the Metalbending Police used. He had grown used to the feeling of flying through the air on metal wires that shot out above the uniforms wrists and the rushing of air past his face as he swung through air from line to line. Part of him missed those feelings of freedom, but most of him realized that he was getting too old to do so, so now he commanded from inside the airship as it made its way to The Unagi.
He had managed to acquire roughly five dozen men to aid him, most off duty officers that owed him favors, and had managed to acquire an airship and several patrol cars along with a couple of trucks. He doubted that he would need any of them, but if what councilman Tarrlok believed was true it would be better to patrol the docks than risk some group like the Equalists getting a hold of military grade poison gas. Spirits only knew what those fiends would use it for.
"Get in contact with The Unagi; I want to know if they've seen any suspicious activity. If they have any questions patch them through to me." The radioman nodded and changed to the frequency of The Unagi. He spent about a minute asking for acknowledgement before telling the captain that they were not answering.
"Move us to over The Unagi, something isn't right." The pilot acknowledged and steered the airship to the docks. Saikhan moved to the front of the airship and looked down below and he felt like he had been stabbed in the gut. There was a trio of trucks parked next to the ship and he could make out the shape of people rushing up and down the ramps of the ship.
"Fire the spotlight on them and give me the microphone." A beam of light cut through the night and landed right on the thieves and one of the officers handed him the microphone. "This is Captain Saikhan of the Metalbending Police Force! Drop all stolen cargo and put your hands in the air!" He only had to wait a second before they all dropped what they were carrying and bolted for the trucks, another before a ball of fire flew at the airship and the 'ping! ping!' sound of bullets striking metal. 'Alright have it your way.' He thought.
"Squads One and Two deploy and apprehend them." After a moment of consideration he added, "Lethal force is authorized."
"Yes Sir!" Came a chorus of responses as the floor opened in the airship and the men leaped down, skillfully dodging various elemental blasts from the benders. However a few of the nonbenders had decided to liberate some of the rifles and machine guns from the crates, their aim was terrible put they did manage to down one officer before they landed. While lethal force may not have been used before, it surely would be now.
While the metalbenders erected walls of earth to use for cover against the guns, the trucks started and the thieves piled in, dropping what they couldn't carry and leaving those who weren't fast enough. As the trucks peeled away those unlucky few, roughly a dozen or so, all nonbenders wielding at least pistols, fled back inside the hold of the ship.
"Orders Captain?" A radioman in Squad One asked from the ground.
"Carefully proceed into the ship and apprehend the remaining criminals, find any surviving crewman, and confirm whether the capsule is still among the cargo." Saikhan ordered calmly, "Squad Three and Four will pursue the trucks." There was another chorus of "Yes Sir!" followed by the remaining squads going after the trucks while those on the ground proceeded into The Unagi.
"Have the officers in the patrol cars and trucks erect walls to block all roads in and out of this district." Saikhan ordered, hoping to trap the criminals like elephant rats and eventually ferreting them out of any hole they may flee into. The radioman sent out the order and they waited until Squad's One and Two reported back.
"Captain," came over the radio a few minutes later, "the capsule is not among the ship's cargo, one of the criminals said that he saw it being loaded onto one of the trucks before we arrived. The crew is mostly unharmed but a few may have concussions." Saikhan mentally cursed but kept a straight face.
"Very well. Squad One, rejoin with the ship. Squad Two, stay here and guard the criminals until a truck can come around to take them away." The radioman inside the ship gave a dark "Certainly sir." Saikhan waited a moment and asked what squad that radioman was from.
"Squad Two sir." The ship radioman answered. Ah, they had been the ones to lose a man in the descent. He doubted that when the truck got here that the criminals would be in an unharmed condition. By the time Squad One was back inside the airship Squads Three and Four had reported that they managed to flatten the tires of one of the trucks, forcing it to crash, the capsule was not among its stolen cargo. The criminals inside had scattered and only a few had been apprehended or killed as they tried to escape. The two remaining trucks had split up, one continuing to head East into the city and the other swinging South sticking close to the waterside.
"Squad Four stay with captured criminals. Squad Three continue pursuing the truck heading East. We will move to intercept the truck heading South." Saikhan ordered easily, one of the trucks carried the capsule and he would find it, no matter what.
He would not let it fall into the hands of the Equalists.
Anguta cursed as he gathered up the maps and schematics off of the table he had used, the Pai Sho pieces he had used for markers scattering all over the floor. This was bad, very bad. The situation was no longer under his control and he had lost contact with several of his units, they had scattered to the winds at the first sign of trouble refusing to listen to his orders. And Li…
Anguta growled, Li had directly countered his order to immediately retreat when the lookout had spotted the airship approaching The Unagi saying he needed more time to load some special cargo onto one of the trucks. Anguta loaded the papers and zipped up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder and overturning the table that the radio was resting on smashing it to pieces, the cries of help from G-5 silenced. He had to make the room appear as desolate as when he arrived with Li hours ago, he couldn't leave any evidence he was here.
Anguta shut off the light and started to descend the rusting stairs from the foreman's office when warehouse doors exploded and a truck came barreling through, smashing through old crates and barrels. Its tires were flat and it swerved and slammed into the wall on its side, shaking the entire building and throwing dust into the air. Anguta threw up his arms to cover his face and protect it from flying debris. When the last of the debris had settled and the rusting stairs had stopped threatening to collapse he uncovered his head looked at the tuck. It matched the description Li gave him for the three they would be using in the heist. As he looked at it something strange happened, a collection of green lights gathered on top of the truck and condensed there, taking the shape of a person before fading away.
'What the…' he wondered to himself and finished descending the stairs, running to the truck. When he arrived Li, clutching a bleeding shoulder, fell from the driver's side of the truck and crashed to the ground.
"Li!" Anguta rushed over to him and helped him into a seated position against the truck. "What happened?" He asked, looking at his shoulder wound.
"The cops have fucking lost it An." He grunted as he tried to stand. "They fuckin' smashed the windshield with their wires and stabbed me, got some kind of spike or blade at the end of them." He got to a shaky stand and began to walk to the back of the truck, Anguta moved to help him. "I had some of the boys with me; they opened the back and tried shooting the cops following us. They just fuckin' flung them out of the truck with their wires, right out into the street at full speed like fuckin' dolls." They reached the back and Anguta opened the back doors all the way. "But I got away with the real prize."
Anguta looked at the strange contraption that was almost falling out of truck and tried to figure out what it could possibly do. "Li what is this?" He asked, turning to the bleeding man now leaning against the frame of the truck for support.
"Hell if I know, it's worth a shit ton of money I can tell you that much."
"Is this what you countermanded my orders for?" Anguta asked with angered realization. Li managed to stand to defend himself. He didn't get the chance as the capsule suddenly opened in brilliant display of light, the valves and pumps all around it hissing as it depressurized. Anguta and Li watched stunned as the capsule opened and a woman was revealed inside, her green hair flowing behind her and golden eyes connecting with Anguta's violet and for a moment he swore he saw recognition, her body confined in a straight jacket. The water surrounding her lost its shape and flowed out and she collapsed in a heap at the bottom of the capsule.
"What the, what is this? Li what the hell is going on?" Anguta demanded, moving to help the woman out of the truck.
"There was a broad in that thing?" Li said stunned or beginning to experience the effects of blood loss.
"No, the real capsule is filled with poison gas." The two swung around and came face to face with a squad of Metalbending Police officers. "And you're going to tell me where you hid it." The squad commander stated.
'They think we stole poison gas? But Li said that he didn't know what we stole, and all that was inside was the girl so maybe they don't really know what was inside the capsule either or we can talk our way out of this.' Anguta thought quickly. "We-"
"Quiet boy!" The commander barked at him and pointed to Li who was back to leaning against the truck. "You! You were the driver correct? I remember puncturing your shoulder. Where is the real capsule? When did you make the switch?" The commander demanded the answers from Li, who just stood there and gritted his teeth.
"I ain't gonna tell you shit, you killed my boys. They were good guys who just needed some money and you killed them like they were nothing, just flung them right out into the street and broke their necks!" Anguta tried to tell him to shut up when he was silenced again.
"They were criminals too lazy to find honest work and stole from a United Republic Navy vessel, in the process assaulting and wounding military personnel and killing an officer of the law." The commander sneered at Li. "The death sentence would have come down eventually on them, we merely sped it up."
Anguta looked to Li as the commander said this, his partners face turning redder with anger until he screamed out, "Fuck you, you son of a bitch!" and reached into his coat and pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the squad of metalbenders. Li had said that no metalbender was fast enough to stop a bullet and he was right. The firing of the bullet from the barrel happened at a speed too fast for the human mind to notice it, let alone for a metalbender to make the proper movements.
Li had been born and raised in the streets of Republic City, living in dingy bars and rough clubs for as long as he could remember, during those years he earned a decent reputation for being fast and accurate with a gun. While he had been fast on the draw his wounded shoulder had hampered his aim enough so that his first shot missed the commander's head and went over the shoulder of the man behind him.
This would have been fine if the bullet hadn't managed to strike a collection of barrels of fuel that had been stored in the warehouse illegally to avoid the storage fees. The bullet punched through the metal barrel and ignited it, in the moment that it took for Li to realize he missed and everyone else to realize he had fired at all the first barrel exploded and started a chain reaction that set off the other barrels in the warehouse.
The resulting explosion could be seen half way across the city.
Anguta hadn't even realized he had grabbed the girl until after he had ran from the burning and collapsing warehouse and stopped in a nearby alley. She had tripped, the heeled boots that the straight jacket somehow required caught on some rubble and she went crashing to the ground. He went to pull her up but collapsed against the alleyway wall holding his head.
'How, how can this be happening?' He was a fugitive. Those officers had seen his face, heard his voice. They knew he was associated with Li, that he was part of the heist. Oh spirits was Li even alive? There was so much fire and smoke, he just grabbed the first thing that felt like a person and ran. He heard the officers screaming after him so he knew they were alive, but not if they were wounded or not. He was going to have to leave Republic City, but where could he go? The United Republic represented every nation; he was practically a criminal in everyone now. He looked over to the girl, lying helplessly on the ground and anger boiled inside him.
"This is your fault isn't it! Who or what the hell are you! Why is this happening!" the girl gave no response, her mouth shut by the straight jacket, and looked at him with something close to pity. He turned his head away from her and sighed, it wouldn't do any good getting angry right now, not when he couldn't even get any answers. He moved to help the girl to her feet when the first gun shot rang out in the distance, then another and another. Soon the air was filled with the sound of gunshots and shouting.
'What the hell is going on?' Anguta thought as he moved to the mouth of the alleyway, guiding the girl with an arm on her shoulder. He peeked around the corner and saw a mob of people running down the street shouting and waving guns, throwing bricks and bottles, occasionally firing at an unknown enemy. 'Are the people rioting? Did the explosion set them off?' People living near the docks had never been on good terms with the police before and would rather turn to the local gangs, mostly consisting of people who had grown up there, for protection.
His answer came when a stream of flame set a man on fire and a uprooting of earth launched a woman into a nearby wall. The people scattered as the attacks became more frequent and a pair of police officers chased them down, killing members of the crowd as they went.
'No, this is a massacre.' Anguta realized with a dull horror. He knew that Metalbending Police was corrupt but this? What was important enough to justify this? They weren't even trying to subdue people, just cutting them down. He cast a glance at the girl next to him, but she only stared back at him. "Come on, we got to get out of here." He said as he guided the girl across the street.
Their trip through the docks was terrifying. They passed body after body, burned out satomobiles, burning buildings as the fire from the warehouse spread, they had to duck out of sight from passing officers riding the power lines, and the sound of gunfire increased as they got farther and farther into the city. They were walking over a pile of rubble into a warehouse when a man ran around the corner screaming and a wire with a blade at the end soared through the air and punctured his back. He tripped over his own feet and fell, the wire sticking out of his back. It took a few tugs but the blade slipped out and a blood stain spread around his back.
"Report!" a voice ordered out of sight but it was enough to raise the hairs on Anguta's neck. It was the squad commander's.
"Nothing but a few nonbending civilians sir." A younger voice answered, unfazed by the murder of said civilians. Anguta indicated to the girl to follow him back out the way they came, but slipped on some of the rubble causing some rocks to fall and clatter to the floor. There was a tense moment of silence before he heard the sound of retreating footsteps and gave a sigh of relief.
Then a pillar of rock launched him and the girl into the air.
He landed on his side with a crash and gasped out in pain, clutching his side and trying to get to his feet.
"Well, look who it is boys." Anguta turned to look at the grinning commander and his gathered men, their armor a little singed and dented but they no less worse for wear. "I have to hand it to you; I thoroughly believed you had given us the slip. We've had to deal with this little riot so we weren't able to track you down, but I never expected you to walk into the same room as us." He gave a cruel sounding laugh, motioned for his men to grab Anguta and the girl. They took the girl to the side and shoved him against the wall.
"You bastards, why? These people were unarmed!" he yelled angrily pointing at the piles of dead men, women, and children, none of them holding a weapon.
"They were sheltering rioters and refused to divulge information about their location or that of the capsule." He answered smoothly. "An example had to be set. Besides you nonbenders breed like elephant rats, their numbers will be back in no time." He gave a sneer and kicked the body of a young woman as if to prove his point.
"Stop it!" Anguta shouted, the officers getting into a fighting position and preparing to attack.
"Well boy as interesting as this has been unless you have any information on where your accomplice hid the poison gas capsule, and I'm guessing you don't," Anguta's gave no denial of this, "then will have to take your friend and work her over to see if she knows anything about the gas capsule. You on the other hand will have to be disposed of." Anguta heard this and reached into his coat to pull his revolver out. Only to have it fly out of his hand and twist and contort in the air, the captain using his bending to destroy the weapon.
"Ah, ah ah. I wouldn't be a very good officer if I fell for that again. But I'll tell you something, I'm going to make it quick for you." The commander said, smirking and readying to fire his wrist wire.
"NO! He mustn't die!" the girl cried out, her straight jacket loose enough to allow her to speak and jump out in front of Anguta. The commander's wire launched and plunged directly into her chest, puncturing her heart. She fell to her knees and the blade retracted from her heart, she let out a gasp and fell to the ground. Anguta watched shocked as a pool of blood spread out around her.
'She saved me? Why? She doesn't know me? I haven't done anything to deserve this.' He fell to his knees next to her and stared at her body.
"Hmm, a shame but she was not necessary to find the capsule, we'll find it once the people here have been brought to heel." The commander thought aloud. Anguta didn't hear him; he was lost in his own thoughts.
'I'm going to die. Li is probably dead, this girl is dead, and now I'm going to die and I haven't done a single thing with my life. I barely passed my coming of age rite in the Southern Water Tribe; my only jobs have been overseeing criminals in small time heists and gambling at Pai Sho, and I'm never going to see my family again.' The thought of his family, or rather one member of it brought him back a little. 'I'm never going to talk to Korra again. I'm never going to patiently listen to her try and explain how awesome Probending must be. I'm never going to secretly make fun of the White Lotus guards and teachers with her again. I'm never going to see her again.' Korra, his little sister who so strong with her bending, who was so sheltered, never leaving the compound that was her home for so long, everything she heard from the outside world censored or altered by the White Lotus. Even a year ago she would have been ecstatic to see him, just to hear what things were really like in the outside world, the White Lotus standing nearby glaring disapprovingly and their parents standing by and doing nothing to stop it.
Suddenly the girls hand shot up and gripped his arm and a jolt ran up to his head, everything around him changing. He was floating in the air, strings of energy trailing off into space connecting to his hands and feet, with strange patterns covering the world around him.
"You don't want it to end here do you?" the girls voice rang out all around him.
"What?" he asked stunned, the world changing again to a white abyss.
"You have a reason to live." Her voice rang out again.
'Is that the girl? That's impossible, she's dead.' He thought stunned.
"If I grant you the power to fight your enemies would you go on? I propose a deal." She said as the world changed again, this time into a horizon of a far-off planet, the sun growing brighter and brighter. "In exchange for these powers you must agree to make my one wish come true. Accept this contract and you accept its conditions. While living in the world of humans you will live unlike any other. A different providence, a different time, a different life." He was floating in the whiteness again. "The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude; the Element of Freedom will allow you to fight your enemies in a way they will never be prepared for. Are you prepared for this?" she questioned, and far off in the distance Anguta thought he could see a gathering of men and women in a strange looking metal temple, with strange angles and heights.
"YES! I hereby accept the terms of your contract!" He shouted into the abyss. Everything changed and he found himself back in the warehouse staring at the body of the girl. But now…
"Tell me," Anguta said, rising from the ground covering his left eye, "how should a man who sees nothing but cruelty, corruption, and incompetence from those who have sworn to lead and protect us die?"
"What was that? You some kind of radical from the Trust Territories or an Equalist?" the commander angrily asked, but took a step back when he saw the floor. The dust was starting to kick up around Anguta.
"Why not fire your wire blade into my heart too." He asked the dust starting to rise higher and faster, a wind starting to whip his and their clothes around. "Or have you finally realized;" the air now whipping the loose boards on the ceiling around and the men were backing away in fear, "the only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed!" Anguta removed his hand from over his eye and revealed the strange sigil in it.
"What, what is this!" the commander screamed as the winds began practically ripping the room apart, the walls shaking and threatening to collapse.
"I command you, all of you, DIE!" Anguta ordered with a harsh whisper, casting his new power out onto the men. The men twitched for a moment and then slumped their shoulders. And looked at the ground Then the commander began chuckling.
"Certainly sir!" His head shot up with a manic grin on his face to match the racing wind all around them, "Men ready yourselves!" they, with matching grins, pressed the blades against their necks. "NOW!" the commander cheered out, dragging his blade across his throat, spilling his blood down his chest, his men soon followed suit, all of them falling to the ground with manic grins on their faces. Anguta realized what had happened and stared shocked at the dead soldiers laying at his feet, the wind settling down to gentle breeze and then ceasing.
Then, Anguta smiled. And the world was changed forever.
Eight thousand five hundred and sixteen. That's how many words this Chapter took before this end note. That's over twice as much as Chapter 1 which before I split them up was supposed to end on Anguta getting Geass. I was honestly thinking that this chapter would be the same length as the first. Shows how much I know.
So that's the second chapter of The Element of Freedom and I am expecting to start updating this on a weekly basis now that my college courses have let out and I have another month before they start up again. But for now I'm tired and I hope you enjoyed it. Just like before review and tell me what I fucked because I'm pretty sure I messed up the terminology somewhere along the line.
Revised as of 1/20/13, see revision notes in "Revisions and Side Story: Gommu" chapter for specific revisions and information.
12-13-6-20-19-12-18 | 5-12-13-9-18 | 12-2-17-8-12-9-23 | 5-12-20-8 | 11-2-14-14-9 | 14-13 | 19-5-8-1
