Part 2 – Langley

After making a quick stop in Zurich to deposit Mako's gold, Mako and Korra boarded a U.S.-owned V.I.P. plane bound for Washington.

The plane was a replica of Air Force One complete with a meeting room and everything.

While in the air Korra handed Mako a suit to wear when in Washington.

The jacket was a triple-buttoned, notched lapel black jacket with double-vented tail, slanted pocket flaps, and a black diamond jacquard lining.

The shirt was a black microfiber shirt, and it came with a primetime red tie and vest that Mako easily put on.

The cufflinks were white and gold studs.

After sliding on the mirrored aviator sunglasses he found on the desk, and looking in the mirror he realized that Korra had somehow snuck a golden SEAL's pin onto the right lapel.

Once they arrived in Washington, Korra could see Mako was a little uneasy, he hadn't been back to the U.S. since he resigned from the Navy, but she didn't really blame him for resigning.

Nine years ago, Mako was a simple Navy Hostage Rescue officer until he was recruited to be part of a secret government project designed to create the ultimate soldier, a super-soldier if you would.

The project was successful beyond anything the government scientists had ever dreamed it could be, Mako was 75% faster than what they originally projected him to be, his strength increased by 80% which enabled him to lift five hundred and fifty pounds, his I.Q. jumped five points each day for three weeks enabling him to learn Systema, Dim-Mak, Krav Maga, and Judo within four months of training instead of years.

After being released from the project and growing from six foot two to six foot four, Mako was immediately instated into the Navy Special Warfare Development Group (SEAL Team 6), and quickly became the U.S.'s greatest weapon against terrorists, Mafia kingpins, Cartel leaders, genocidal military commanders, and the occasional psychopath with a nuclear bomb.

He served the U.S. proud for six years until he was twenty six, and then he discovered his profile listed him as an Expendable Asset.

It didn't take long for him to figure out that they still had the original research, and that if he died they could just start over, do the same thing with another soldier like him, and he'd be just another name on the memorial wall at Arlington plus another one of the four hundred thousand names lost in the sea of tombstones in the cemetery.

After learning of his value to his country, he resigned, and upon learning his mother was terminally ill with cancer he became a mercenary to raise money for her treatment which she had been responding well to.

Mako and Korra were greeted on the runway by a convoy of black Chevrolet Equinoxes with blacked-out windows, along with Capital Police and a Cadillac XTS limousine.

The person that stepped out was Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.

Mako shot into attention, and saluted the secretary who smiled, "Mr. Mako," Secretary Hagel said as held out his hand to Mako who shook it, "It's good to see you again."

"You to sir," Mako said, "Time has not been kind to me, but I can't say the same for you."

"I still want to know where you got your silver tongue," Secretary Hagel said as he ushered Mako and Korra into the limo.

As they were driving, Mako took his time to look out the window, and watched D.C. fly by the window.

"The City hasn't changed much hasn't it," Secretary Hagel asked as he looked at Mako, and saw him watch the families walk by, they couldn't see him because of the tinted windows, but he could see them.

"No," Mako said, "I'm a little surprised. Especially with the way things have been coming along."

"You're worried about your brother aren't you?" Korra asked.

"What brother wouldn't?" Mako asked.

"It wasn't my choice to send your brother in," Secretary Hagel said, "I opposed it but Tenzin acted on his own accord."

"I don't blame you sir," Mako said, "I blame myself, if I had been here I would have been the one they sent in, and he would be safe here," Mako reached behind him, and retrieved a glass of Maker's Mark Whiskey, "You don't mind do you?"

"Not at all." Secretary Hagel said.

Mako grabbed himself a glass, and poured himself a small drink.

"Cigar," Korra asked as she held out the kind of cigar Mako used to smoke.

"I don't smoke anymore," Mako said as he downed his drink, "I decided alcohol was enough."

The three arrived at the Pentagon within half an hour of arriving at the airport.

Once they arrived, everyone in the Pentagon that was checking in looked at Mako, and instantly knew who he was.

"The…" Secret Service Agent Michael Brown started before the clerk stopped him.

"I know who he is Agent Brown," the clerk said as he looked at Mako, "It's good to have you back sir."

"Thank you." Mako said.

The four passed right on through, and entered the main area of the Pentagon where many people started whispering when they saw him.

"It's Mako," Mako heard several people whisper.

As they were walking down the hall to the elevator, Mako noticed that his picture was on the Wall of Heroes, and he stopped to look at his picture.

"Never expected to see this did you?" Secretary Hagel asked.

"No sir," Mako said as he reached up, and gently brushed his finger across the Congressional Medal of Honor that was hanging around his portrait's neck.

"You still have it?" Korra asked.

"The medal," Mako asked, "I gave it to my mother."

"Come on," Korra said as she placed a hand on Mako's shoulder, "He's waiting."

Mako followed Secretary Hagel and Korra to the elevator.

Once they rode the elevator, they found themselves outside the door to the Nerve Center located five stories below the Pentagon.

"Go ahead," Secretary Hagel said as he pointed at the door.

Mako pressed on the intercom button, "Mako, Lieutenant Commander, 13-1-11-15." He said.

"Voice print and facial recognition confirmed," the automatic voice said, "Welcome back Commander. You've been gone for three years, five months, and twenty three days."

"Thanks," Mako said, "We're here to see Tenzin."

"Please," the voice said, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal the Nerve Center.

"Deja vu right?" Korra asked.

"Like most of D.C. this place hasn't changed," Mako said as he leaned over the railing, and looked down into the center.

One of the generals looked up, and instantly recognized Mako, "Well I'll be fucked," he said as he stood upright, "I never thought I'd see this day."

"Lieutenant Commander Mako's back," Navy Admiral Zuko said as everyone started clapping while Mako came down the stairs.

Several Navy Captains came up, and shook Mako's hand as he walked into the meeting room.

When he arrived in the meeting room, he found Senator Beifong and Tenzin waiting for him along with U.S. President Raiko.

"Mr. President sir," Mako said as he shot into attention.

"I see you stay up to date," President Raiko said as he put his hand on Mako's shoulder, and ushered him toward the table, "Please, sit," Mako sat at the table opposite Tenzin while Korra took her seat next to Mako, across the table from Senator Beifong, and President Raiko sat at the end, "Now down to business. Let be the first to apologize for your brother. We never knew what would happen when we sent him in."

"Is he ok?" Mako asked.

"Last we heard of him he was alive," President Raiko said, "He's being held as a political prisoner in a small cell somewhere in the mountains of Paneu."

"Any demands?" Mako asked.

"The new Prime Minister who calls himself Amon has made several serious demands that we can't meet," President Raiko said, "He wants us to turn over the location of the nuclear missile silos we have on the island. He also wants thirty billion in gold, enough munitions to support his army, and fifteen U.S. destroyers."

"All things the U.S. can't give," Mako said, "Thirty billion in gold is about two hundred and nine one million ounces, and you don't even have that much in Fort Knox."

"Exactly," President Raiko said, "And we don't have that many destroyers, plus we'd be giving away a valuable piece of property if we were to give away the location of our silos."

"Not to mention a chunk of America's national security," Mako said, "A functioning Nuke is worth fifty million on the black market, and twenty times that in ransom to a government."

"Exactly," President Raiko said, "Right now we're facing the greatest threat to our country's survival since The Cuban Missile Crisis. As of now we're at DEFCON Five but we're keeping it quiet from the public. If they find our silos we could be looking at DEFCON Three or higher."

"If we don't do anything there's the possibility the U.S. could get nuked by Amon launched from Paneu," Mako said, "But we do nuke the island we could be looking at a million people from all over the world dying in an instant, and an area Nuclear Fallout reaching as far the Nepalese/Russian border to the Southern Tip of Australia and from Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea to Mumbai in India."

"In a nutshell, yes," President Raiko said, "As of now we're gathering our forces in case this entire situation becomes hot. But we can't risk open conflict just yet."

"So what do you want me to do," Mako asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"We want you to go in," President Raiko said, "When you're on the island your objectives are simple: rescue your brother, disable the nukes, and if possible, terminate Amon."

"And by terminate you mean…" Mako said as he held out his index and middle finger like a gun, and waved it upwards like he had fired a gun.

"Yes," President Raiko said, "And we'd like a retinal and facial conformation-scan to show us that is Amon."

"He keeps his face hidden," Mako said, "How do we know if the man I kill is Amon at all?"

"There's little that escapes us," Tenzin said, "When the first days of the revolution were happening, we decided to gather Intel on Amon, and we managed to get several scans of his face with his mask off."

"How'd you accomplish that?" Mako asked.

"That's classified at this moment," Tenzin said, "Special Forces manual page…"

"One and forty six, paragraph two," Mako said, "Right under the coffee stain my instructor put on the paper during my training."

"You remember that your instructor left a coffee stain on the Special Forces manual you were reading?" Tenzin asked.

"How could I not," Mako said, "When I brought it up threw the coffee cup that made the stain at me."

"As I recall a coffee cup was used in the instructor's assault by one of his student." Senator Beifong said.

"Funny," Mako said, "I don't remember that."

"Of course you don't." Tenzin said.

"What's it going to cost us?" President Raiko asked.

"Rescuing by brother would be enough," Mako said, "But you want me to diffuse how many warheads, take on how many armed soldiers, and kill a bloodthirsty dictator that overthrew a government that his father ran?"

"Five nukes," Tenzin said, "Twenty thousand soldiers, and yes."

"Let's see," Mako said as he scratched his chin, "Gonna need expense money, bribe money, and money for putting the lives of a million plus people at risk if I'm caught, captured, or the nukes go off."

President Raiko pulled out a piece of paper, a pen, and placed it in front of Mako, "Name your price." He said.

"In gold, half now, half upon completion," Mako said as he wrote down his number, and handed it to Tenzin.

"Five million dollars?" Tenzin asked.

"You want one hundred and thirty pounds of gold right now?" Senator Beifong asked.

"Yes." Mako said.

"Hmm," President Raiko said, "I was expecting more," President Raiko pulled out his check book, and wrote out a check addressed to the U.S. Treasury, "Two million, five hundred thousand dollars U.S. to paid to one Commander Mako in ten ounce gold bars."

President Raiko handed the check to Senator Beifong who walked out the door to take it to the treasury.

"Commander sir?" Mako asked.

"You've been reinstated," President Raiko said, "And promoted, full Commander."

"We need you boots on the ground in twenty four hours," Tenzin said, "We can't risk another second."

"It's going to have to be twenty five hours," Mako said, "There's somewhere I have to be before I land on that island."

"Take your time," President Raiko said, "We'll see you when you're done."

Mako was given a new white U.S. Naval dress uniform so he could blend in with the Navy Sailors he would be joining on the ship heading into the pacific.

He was required to change into the naval uniform, and was given a few hours to pay a visit to someone he loved.

At 1350 hours, Mako and Korra arrived in San Francisco, and at 1406 hours, they arrived at a small house on Broderick Street.

"Haven't seen this place in a while have you?" Korra asked.

"No," Mako said as he removed his Navy Officer's cap, and walked up to the front door before knocking.

The person that answered the door was Mako's grandmother, Yin, "Can I help you?" She asked.

"Hi grandma." Mako said.

"Mako," Yin said as a smile graced her seventy five year old lips, she still had her lucky dentures with her, and then reached up to give her grandson a hug.

Mako reached around, and hugged his grandmother with his free-arm, "It's good to see you to." Mako said.

"What are you doing here?" Yin asked.

"I heard about Bolin," Mako said, "And I needed to see if everything was ok."

"Come on in," Yin said, "And bring your friend in to."

Mako, Korra, and Yin entered the house to see that nothing much had changed, besides the leather couches.

After climbing the stairs, they entered Mako's parents' bedroom to see his mother, Lin lying on the bed, and his father, San sitting on the bed talking to her, his uncle Chow, and his cousin Tu standing next to him.

Mako's father, San was an Army Ranger back in Panama, later Desert Storm, and then the U.S. invasion of Iraq before retiring and becoming a worker at the shipyards at the San Francisco docks where Mako fell in love with the water, and the Navy.

His uncle, Chow was a Navy Officer for twenty two years who served in the final days of El Salvador, Grenade, Panama, and Desert storm, then retired, and became a teacher down at the Navy Yards.

Tu was a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps currently stationed in Afghanistan but left to look after Lin.

"Bolin will be fine," San said as he put his hand on his wife's shoulder.

"I'm still scared," Lin said before looking up, and seeing Mako standing there dressed in a Naval Officer's uniform.

"Hi mom," Mako said as he placed his hat down on the table next to the entrance.

"Hello son," San said as he looked at his son with some minor disappointment, "I see you're still well, unlike your brother."

"Don't make the boy feel any worse San," Chow said, "He's probably still mad at himself for leaving."

"Maybe," Tu said, "What's up with the uniform?"

Mako signaled for Korra to step up beside him, "Everyone, this is Korra," Mako said as he put his hand on Korra's shoulder, "She's a representative of the Agency."

"What does the C.I.A. want with a rent a clown with a gun like you?" Tu asked.

"This rent a clown has been reinstated." Korra said.

"Korra," Mako snapped, "They asked me to go in," Mako walked over to his mother's side, and put his hand on her shoulder, "I'm gonna get him out. I promise."

"You can't," Lin said as she seized her son's arm, "They already have Bolin, I don't want the same thing happening to you."

"I'm too good for them," Mako said as he grabbed his mother's hand, "I'll be fine. I'm gonna get him out, I promise."

"Be careful," Lin said as she kissed her son on the forehead.

"Thanks mom," Mako said as he kissed his mother and stood up.

"Mako," San said as he seized his son by the bicep, "The man they're sending you in after is a psychopath. If you try to assassinate him..."

"Amon's not the reason I'm going in dad," Mako said as he looked at his father, "I'm going in for Bolin, Amon's a secondary objective."

"I know that tone son," San said, "That's the same tone you used when you got into that fist fight with Stan Mathews in High School over that girl."

"As I recall I won that fight," Mako said, "And came out without a scratch," Mako freed his arm from his father's grip, "I'll be fine."

"Son," San said before Mako walked out the door.

"Yes?" Mako asked.

San embraced his son, "Good luck son," he said, "Bring him home."

Mako wrapped his arms around his father, "I will," Mako said, "I will."

After Mako and Korra left, San watched as his son drove off toward the harbor, "You sure he'll be ok?" Lin asked.

"He's our son," San said as he looked at his wife, "And a super-soldier. If anyone can save our youngest son, it's our oldest son."

It's off to Paneu, hold on Bolin, your brother is on his way…