Chapter 2: The Element of Surprise

After a hard 15 hours of driving, Isaac saw on the horizon, the buildings of his old home. He wondered what had changed in the past 4 years. From what Kayla told him, Isaac knew that the Burning Suns had made it a much more dangerous place. The sun would go down, and normal people would go home, praying that they would make it through the next night.

Seeing a break in the fence on the side of the road, Isaac turned his car off the road, and onto the grass nearby. The sudden shaking of the car woke Kayla.

"Isaac, what's going on?" she asked, still groggy from the long sleep.

"It's 9pm at the moment, and if what you say is true, driving in would be a bad idea." Replied Isaac. Eventually he found a tree, planted on a spot with no grass surrounding it, and parked the car next to it.

"You may want to get out of the car" said Isaac. Kayla quickly scurried out of the car. They grabbed everything they needed and stood back. Isaac stomped on the ground, causing the earth beneath the car to drop down a few meters. He then pulled his right arm across his chest, pulling a layer of earth over the top. With the car hidden, Isaac turned to face the tyre tracks. Lifting both his palms, the loose dirt that showed the tyre tracks lifted into the air, before it was scattered. As long as there were no cameras on the road, nobody knew they were there.

"Where are we going?" asked Kayla.

"Do you remember before I left, I stopped coming to school?"

"Yeah"

"Well I found a waterbending teacher. He has been hiding from the Burning Suns for years, and he may be able to take us in for a little while." Explained Isaac.

Looking at the ground, Isaac closed his eyes, and then pushed his fists towards the ground in front of him. A small passage of earth was carved out into the ground in front of him. Beckoning Kayla to go in first, Isaac followed her into the passage, and then sealed entrance. Isaac walked ahead of Kayla, and then ignited a flame above his palm to light the way. After a few minutes of walking, Isaac heard running water. But from memory knew it was far from it. Eventually the tunnel opened up into the city sewers.

It took Isaac a while to find the hidden entrance to James' home. It had been so long since he visited the sewers that his memory had faded. Eventually though, they made it. Isaac waterbent the liquid away from the door, then froze it to hold it in place. He opened the door to the drainage chamber, then after firmly closing it once they were inside, melted the water.

Isaac opened the door into the main room. It hadn't changed much. Isaac could feel the presence of the water life every other time he had been around it. But something was off. The water was moving unnaturally. Raising his arms, Isaac lifted the pavement, and the earth that was under it around him, and heard ice shatter upon hitting it.

"You always said I was too cautious James. Who is the cautious one now?" yelled Isaac, lowering the earth barriers. Kayla was silent behind him, still unsure of what was going on.

"Isaac? I'm so sorry, I thought the Burning Suns had followed me again." Said James. He hadn't changed much. In fact, Isaac barely noticed a difference in his old teacher.

"Trust me, I know, you should see what we had to do to get here undetected." Said Isaac before he felt Kayla nudge him,"By the way, James this is Kayla, Kayla, this is James, my waterbending teacher."

"Speaking of waterbending, have you been practising?" Asked James. Isaac remained silent, only lifting his hand. 3 streams of water arose from the pot behind him. Suddenly they froze into icy spears, and before anyone could comprehend what was going on, they were through the head and torso of the training dummy.

"I will take that as a yes" laughed James.

"James, the reason I came to you first, was that we need a place to stay where we won't be found for a bit. We know that this place is hidden, and were wondering if we could stay here?" Asked Isaac.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. But I am warning you. It may be a little cramped." Said James.

Isaac looked around.

"How would you feel about some 'renovations'?" Asked Isaac, indicating the empty wall at the far end of the room.

"Would it be too much of a task?" asked James. He actually thought it was a great idea. He had found teaching Isaac to be so fulfilling, he was contemplating teaching an apprentice. The only thing that stopped him was the lack of room.

"No I would be done in about an hour. I could pretty much have an entire room made out of earth. The only thing I would need is a mattress for the room." Said Isaac.

"Leave that to me. I will leave in the morning, and get some mattresses."

"I will pay you back for them" said Isaac.

"Don't worry about it. I have other uses for the rooms when you two are done with them." Said James.

Isaac and Kayla slept on the floor that night. It was long after midnight by the time they got to sleep, but after a day of 15 hours driving, Isaac wasn't fussed. The next day, he woke up at about midday. James was nowhere to be found, and neither was Kayla. Isaac found a note on the floor next to him.

"Isaac, went to the surface with James. Though it is safe during the day, for the time being, stay underground. Though you have been gone for a long time, the Burning Suns have spies everywhere, and all it takes is one slip-up for your identity here to be known. Love Kayla. P.S. There is some food for you on the table in the corner."

Isaac walked over, and ate the breakfast Kayla left him, and then got started with the new rooms. First he cut out a doorway and from there the main room. Isaac admitted, though he enjoyed being a firebender, earthbending had so many more particle uses. Once he had carved out the actual room, he pulled a slab of earth out of the wall, big enough to be a single bed. Next he pulled a smaller block of earth out of the wall, and chiselled away parts of this to make a desk. Lastly was a chair, which he made in the same way as the desk. After an hour and a half of working, Isaac had finished the 2 identical rooms, when he received a text message from Kayla.

"Got some supplies. The mattresses have been delivered to the warehouse with the lift leading to the sewers. We will be there in about 20 minutes. If you are done, could you please meet us at the warehouse to carry the mattresses? "

Isaac had a look at his handiwork. When he was sure there was nothing left to do he replied;

"Sure, will be there"

Isaac awoke the next day at a more reasonable hour. He slept like a log on the home made bed. Kayla and James picked good mattresses. He got dressed, and headed to the surface, leaving Kayla a note to explain his absence.

After taking the lift up to the surface, Isaac spent the next hour walking, until he finally reached his destination. The headquarters of the police station. He walked over to the receptionist, and asked to speak to Sergeant Johnstone.

"If you are talking about Chief Inspector Johnstone, he is busy. I will pass on a message as soon as time allows it." said the receptionist.

"Tell him Isaac Reed wants to talk to him" said Isaac firmly, "I am pretty sure he will want to speak with me, and your job might be on the line if I leave here before that happens."

Tired of arguing with him, the receptionist picked up his phone.

"Hello, Chief Inspector? Sorry to bother you, but I have a young man here demanding to speak with you. He says his name is Isaac Reed." Said the receptionist. He hung up shortly after.

"The chief inspectors office is down the hall, 3rd door on your right." Said the receptionist.

Isaac walked in to Johnstone's office and to his surprise was greeted with a warm welcome. They began talking over what had happened over the past few years. Isaac found out that after Johnstone exposed Gibson as the traitor, his luck didn't seem to end. He was making progress with the Burning Suns case more than ever. This lead to a string of promotions.

"So why are you here? Are you going to help us finish off this pain in the neck?" asked Johnstone.

"Yes, but if you want my help, I need a copy of any information on the Burning Suns." Said Isaac.

After thinking long and hard Johnstone agreed.

"They may rule the city at the moment, but we have enough information on them to take them out of the picture for good, thanks to our informant on the inside. We just need the muscle to do it. That is where you come in." Said the sergeant.

"Good," said Isaac, "Because I am doing my first raid tomorrow night."