Chapter 2 Truth and Lies

"Isaac?" said one of them. Isaac nodded, and he continued. "My name is Sergeant Johnstone, and this is Constable Gibson. We would like to speak to you about the incident in the alley off 42nd street last night. You're not in trouble, we just need to have a word with you."

"Wait, what incident?" asked Jennifer, with a concerned tone, "Isaac, what are they talking about?"

"Isaac was the victim of an attempted robbery last night." explained Constable Gibson.

"What? Did they hurt you?" shrieked a panicking Jennifer.

"No mom I'm fine, I fought him off. But how did you two find me?" asked Isaac.

"We keep track of all possible benders in our jurisdiction. That was quite a display of firebending you showed last night" said sergeant Johnstone.

"FIREBENDING? Isaac what is he talking about?" Jennifer was almost in tears.

Constable Gibson looked shocked. "You never knew he was a firebender? It never occurred to you that he may be one? He is his father's son after all…"

"What has Samuel got to do with this? Was he a firebender as well?"

Eventually it was all too much for Jennifer, and she burst into tears.

"I think we owe you an explanation, if you are in the dark to this degree." Admitted Johnstone, "Historians have come to the conclusion that 500 years ago, there were four nations. Water, Earth, Fire and Air. Each of these nations was home to non-benders like you and me, and benders like Isaac. Balance was kept between the nations by a figure known as the Avatar. Legend has it that the Avatar was the link between this world, and the supposed spirit world. They upon death, would be born again somewhere in the next nation in the cycle. They had the ability to bend the four elements."

"Is the history lesson necessary?" Asked Isaac. Johnstone ignored him and kept going.

"500 years ago, the avatar at the time disappeared, and the fire nation declared war on the rest of the world. After a century of war, the Avatar returned, and ended the war, and there was peace. But after that, a cult of firebenders who wanted to restart the war came into existence, known as the burning suns. Eventually, the war was forgotten, and the burning suns reason for existence was forgotten like the war. Now they are just a gang. They are ruthless, and will kill whoever gets in their way."

"Wait, if this burning suns gang is so dangerous, how come we have never heard of them?" asked Jennifer.

"Because if people found out that their streets are ruled by a pyromaniac gang, the city would go into chaos. Then there would be the vigilantes who will try and stop them, and get killed in the process. They have been inactive the past few years, so they have been easy to cover up."

"What has this got to do with Samuel?" said Jennifer.

"22 years ago, Samuel was approached by the burning suns, with an offer to join them. Samuel accepted and was a loyal member for 4 years. He met you Jennifer, and eventually you fell pregnant with Isaac. He came to the police, and explained his situation. He didn't want the gang to have anything to do with his family. It was impossible to leave the gang. In exchange for secrets about the burning suns, we had the three of you relocated. You were oblivious to this of course, Samuel told you he got a job interstate. Truth is, we pulled some strings, and got him a job, so he had an excuse for moving. Everything worked well for 5 years. Then we were approached by Samuel again. He said your safety was at risk, and he asked us to make him disappear. We moved him interstate, and never heard from him again"

"That was the night he caught me firebending" exclaimed Isaac.

"Well that explains it. With the exclusive nature of the burning suns, being firebender only, they will approach any firebender they can find. Samuel must have realised that if he was found, you would be found also, and forced into his old life." explained Gibson.

"I knew he had a criminal past, but I never knew it was to this extent. I thought it was just a robbery or two, not this" wept Jennifer.

Sergeant Johnstone checked his watch and continued to speak.

"We have already stayed too long, we should be back at the station giving a debrief by now. We just came here to let you know that though defending yourself like you did last night is ok, unnecessary public displays are not. Neither is breaking the law. We don't want people to panic, they are already scared after seeing the footage from last night on the news.. If you do, we will find you. If you don't, then you won't hear from us again. "

"Is that a threat?" asked Isaac.

"Not if you stay on the right side of the law. Good day Mrs. Reed, Isaac, sorry for the inconvenience"

The two police officers then stood up, and left.

Isaac went up to his room, and laid on his bed, thinking about what had happened. He was glad to know why his father left, but wondered, where was he now? Did he keep running, or was he caught? Would he be proud of Isaac? Isaac eventually fell asleep, and had no nightmares for the first time in months, after having such a full day.