Future Industries. 10 AM.
"Sato. As in Hiroshi Sato, inventor of the Satomobile, that Sato?" Lee asked. He was standing on the factory's floor with Asami and her father, Hiroshi.
"That's right. Now Asami tells me that you need a job. Are there any skills in particular that you excel that?" Hiroshi asked.
'Archery, free running, knife throwing, hand to hand combat. But I doubt he's looking for any of those skills.'
"I'm pretty good with a hammer or a wrench, you give me something to do and I'll do it," he said. Hiroshi gripped his chin in thought as he looked the young man over.
"Well you look strong enough, and Asami vouches for you. I'll give you a starting position here on the floor, with a starting salary. If you can handle yourself, we'll see where things go from there. You start tomorrow on the first shift." Lee smiled as he shook Hiroshi's hand.
"I'm just happy to get the chance to prove myself, Mr. Sato."
"Please, call me Hiroshi. We all have to start somewhere. Now if you'll both please excuse me, I have some business to attend to," Hiroshi said before he left his daughter and the young man to themselves. Lee waited until Hiroshi was out of sight before he turned to Asami.
"You know, if I had known that a Sato was the one that ran me over, I wouldn't have chosen Jin's Dojo as the place for a meal," he said.
"You're not gonna get mad cause I didn't tell you who I am are you? Cause if you are, just keep in mind that you still haven't told me your last name," Asami said. Lee gave her a small smile.
"Feilong. Lee Feilong. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Sato," he said as he held his hand out. Asami laughed as she shook his hand.
"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Feilong," she said.
"I've gotta go, I've got some chores I need to do. We should meet up somewhere later," Lee said. The Heiress' pale cheeks gained some color at that, and Lee instantly realized his poor choice in wording.
"And grab a drink or a bite to eat. As friends," he elaborated, his own cheeks gaining some color.
"Alright then, Quang's Cuisine for supper?"
"No, too fancy." Asami placed a finger over her lips in thought.
"Alright. Jin's then. This time I'll pay," she said. Lee grinned.
"Sounds like a plan to me."
Chang's Grill. A few weeks later.
Lee sat in a booth, reading a newspaper as he waited for the waitress to come and take his order. He eyes were focused on one particular article, regarding a man named Jan Chang. On the surface, Chang was a successful businessman and restaurant owner. But under all that, he was in fact Lightning Bolt Zolt's top accountant and money manager for the Triple Threat Triad.
Lee had spent the past few weeks learning the ins and outs of the Triad's money flow. Money earned from the street deals, extortion rackets, and other illegal activities on the streets were collected at Chang's various restaurants throughout the city before being brought here. Glancing up from the newspaper, the young vigilante spotted the man of the hour.
Jan was sitting in a large round booth on the other side of the room, speaking to a couple of men in business suits. He was middle aged, had a receding hairline, and a permanent scowl on his face. To the wandering eye, this would appear to be just another meeting. But the observant eye would take notice of the bodyguards standing around the booth, and the lack of patrons sitting anywhere near them.
Lee had made note of the guards' activities, and Jan's comings and goings. The Triple Threat Triad would be in a world of financial hurt without Jan. It wouldn't be enough to bring down the Triad, but it would be enough to severely weaken them. If the warehouse fire wasn't enough of a warning to the criminal underworld, this would be. Lee smirked to himself as he lowered the newspaper and took a sip of tea.
It was time for Jan Chang to meet the vigilante.
Later that evening.
"I don't care if the Dragon Flats is the poorest place in the city, and I really couldn't give a damn what the Agni Kais or the Red Monsoons are up to. Mr. Zolt expects everyone to pay in order to compensate for the loss of the lab. If you can't get the money, I'll find someone who can!"
"Yes, Mr. Chang," a triad member said before hurrying off. They were standing in the alley behind the restaurant. Today's business was just about done, and Jan was looking forward to going home for the night. One of his two bodyguards opened the door on a running Satomobile for him while the other stood guard.
Just as Jan sat down, the guard that had opened the door ached his back and cried out before he collapsed faced down, an arrow sticking out of the middle of his back. The remaining guard sent a couple bolts of fire in the direction the arrow had come from.
"Get Mr. Chang out of here," he said before he slammed the door closed. As he looked back up to resume his bending attack, the bodyguard took an arrow in the shoulder, causing him to collapse with a yelp of pain. Lee leapt from a fire escape and landed on the car's hood, sending an arrow through the windshield and into the driver.
Jumping up onto the cab, the vigilante used his foot to shatter the back window. Reaching inside, he grabbed Jan by the shirt collar and dragged him out through the shattered window, throwing him to the pavement. As the Triad money man began to sit up, Lee readied another arrow and held the bow sideways. He drew the arrow back in a threatening manner, aiming directly at Jan's heart.
"What do you want? I'll give you anything!" the Triad babbled. His tough mobster appearance was long gone, replaced by the trembling coward that now lay in the street. Lee cocked his head sideways slightly.
"You are going to go upstairs and empty your vault of all fifty thousand yuan stored inside, and then you are going to give it to me." Jan's face twisted in surprise.
"That's what this is about? A robbery? I thought you were some assassin here to kill me."
"I can still be an assassin if you don't get me that money. Now." Jan slowly got to his feet and led the way into the darkened restaurant with his hands raised. Lee followed close behind, his bow fully drawn and trained on the Triad member. They made their way through the kitchen, passing by a waitress and a cook that were finishing their closing routine.
The waitress let out a scream of terror as both she and the cook shrank back from the passing pair of men. Lee ignored them, confident that the hood and scarf combination was doing it's job of hiding his identity.
"Keep moving," Lee grunted, determined to get this over with.
"Hello, Police? Yes, it's an emergency! There's some crazy guy here with a hood and a bow..." Lee spun on his heel and released the arrow, cutting the wire connected to the phone and ending the waitress' call for help. Drawing another arrow, he took aim at the pair.
"Leave. Now." The man and the woman wasted no time, fleeing out the back door. Turning back, he aimed at Jan again.
"Move." Lee knew that he was now on the clock. The call to the police may have been cut short, but it had still made it through. No doubt this place would soon be swarming with cops, which meant he had to speed things up. He tapped the arrowhead into Jan's back, spurring the man to pick up the pace.
Jan's office was nicely decorated. A large globe sat in the corner, a massive oak desk rested in the heart of the room, and just behind the desk was the rectangular metal door of a vault, like that of a bank vault. Lee ignored the decorations and furnishings and focused solely on the vault door.
"Open it." Jan shuffled forward and hurried to carry out the command. After a few moments, the sound of the tumblers clicking into place filled the room, and the vault door slid open.
"You sure this is worth it? You're gonna have Lightning Bolt Zolt up your ass for the rest of your life just because you wanted to steal pocket change," Jan said as he stepped back, allowing the vigilante a view into the vault. Lee slowly let the arrow slide forward so that it had no risk of firing, but he still kept it nocked.
"Zolt already has a bounty on me. And there is more in this vault then just money," Lee replied. Jan's face scrunched up in confusion at that. But he didn't have enough time to work it out as Lee drove his fist home, knocking the Triad member out cold. Turning his attention back to the vault, he swung the door open all the way and looked over it's contents.
There was money here sure, but beyond that were several leather bound books. Ledgers, complete lists of every single financial action the Triad had ever taken. Money was one thing, but to Lee and his mission, these books were worth their weight in gold. Producing a duffel bag, he quickly filled it with the ledgers as well as enough money to pay his rent for a couple of months.
Sliding the bag on over his quiver, Lee became silent and still as he listened for sounds from the outside. Sure enough, he could hear the siren and deep thumps of a nearing police airship. Attaching a metal cable to the arrow he had nocked, Lee sprinted down the hallway and plowed headlong through a window, straight out into the open air six floors above the street.
Twisting through the air, the young vigilante drew the arrow back and let it fly, aiming at one of the many cables that crisscrossed between the buildings. Instantly the cable went taunt, and suddenly he wasn't falling toward the street, but swinging through the air. As he reached the top of his swing, Lee detached the cable and sailed through the air, landing with a roll on the roof of a passing train.
"Police! Stay where you are!" Lee suddenly found himself illuminated by the spotlight of a police airship. Drawing another arrow, he took aim and fired, shattering the spotlight in a shower of glass and sparks. The hiss of metalbenders firing their cables reached his ears, causing him to flip backwards. Sure enough, a small cluster of cables impaled the roof of the train car where he had been standing just a moment earlier.
Securing his bow over his shoulder, Lee let himself dangle over the side of the train car, hanging by the tips of his fingers. Pressing his feet against the side of the car, he scrunched his knees up into his chest and looked over his shoulder. He waited for a short heartbeat before he pushed off with all his might. Turning his body through the air, the vigilante was able to catch the metal railing of a fire escape on a nearby building.
He grunted once as his ribs slammed into the railing harder then he intended. No doubt he was going to have bruises later. Releasing his grip on the railing, Lee fell to the next landing on the floor below, and again to the one below it, repeating the process until he landed on the street. Rolling his arms from the strain, he quickly ducked into the dark shadows of an alleyway, watching as an airship passed overhead.
'They lost me after I jumped from the train. As long as I don't attract attention to myself I should be fine.'
Rather then step back out onto the street, Lee let himself sink further into the shadows. Before long, he was confident that he had lost the Police, and was on his way back to his apartment for some well earned rest.
Republic City Police Headquarters. The Next Morning.
Haya stepped into Lin Beifong's office, her hands stuffed into the pockets of her trench coat.
"...put three of my men in the hospital and stole business information worth millions of yuans! If you can't stop one man when what good are you?" Jan asked as he stood before Lin's desk. She stood to the side and waited for the two to finish their conversation.
"I have already brought all available resources to bear against this menace. Now if you'll excuse me, Mr. Chang I have another appointment." The businessman huffed before he turned and stormed past Haya and out of the office.
"You wanted to see me, Chief?" she asked after the door slammed closed.
"I did, Detective. Have a seat." Haya did as she was told and sat down across from the Chief of Police.
"Has there been a development in the case?"
"There has, but not one that you're going to like. You're off the case." Haya blinked and leaned back in shock, her face twisting with surprise and anger.
"But, mom, why? I'm the only one who's gotten even remotely close to catching The Blade. You can't take me off the case now!" Lin gave her daughter a pointed look, silencing her instantly.
"I'm taking you off the Blade case because I need your talents elsewhere," she said as she slid a file forward. Haya picked the file up and opened it, finding herself looking at an artist's sketch depicting a man wearing a hood and a face rap that covered everything but his eyes.
"The vigilante."
"He attacked Jan Chang last night. While I have no sympathy for that scumbag, the vigilante eluded two airships and thirty of Republic City's finest in the process," Lin said with a hint of irritation in her voice. Haya continued to look over the file while she listened to her mother.
From what she could gather, they knew almost nothing about the vigilante. They only knew what they could gather from eyewitness' and crime scenes, both of which wasn't much. He was young, probably in his late teens or early twenties, and he used arrows and knives forged from a highly refined metal, making his weapons immune to metalbenders.
"How does a Yuyan wannabe avoid two airships and thirty metalbenders?"
"As much as I'd hate to admit it, he's good. He's very good. He might actually BE a Yuyan Archer for all we know." Haya sighed as she sat the file back on the desk.
"I'll do my best Chief, but from what I've got here, it's not much to go on." Lin leaned forward across the desk.
"You do whatever is necessary to bring this man in to face justice," she said. Haya nodded as she stood and began to leave.
"Haya. You're the best detective I have. But you're also my only daughter. Don't do anything rash enough to get yourself killed."
"Don't worry, mom. I'll bring this guy in, I promise."
Lee's Apartment.
The aroma of boiling soup filled the small living space. Lee stirred the brown liquid with a wooden spoon before he brought a small sample to his lips for tasting.
"Needs a little more salt," he said to himself before he added the ingredient. A sharp rapping came from the apartment door, and Lee stirred the soup a few more times before he sat the spoon to the side. Turning around, he approached the door, but not before stopping to check if the broom closet was securely closed.
'I seriously need to get a better place to hide my gear.'
Confident that his secret was safe, Lee opened the door and, much to his surprise, found Asami waiting on the other side.
"Asami? What...how do you know where I live?" he asked. The Heiress gave him a pointed look as she held up a sheet of paper.
"The address is on your paperwork," she said. Lee blinked once.
"Oh right. Come on in," he said, standing back to allow her entrance. Asami entered the apartment and sat at the small table while Lee closed the door and returned to looking over the soup.
"So what can I do for you?" he asked.
"I haven't seen you outside of work for almost two weeks, I figured it was time to come check up on you, see how you were adapting to the city," the heiress replied.
"About as well as can be expected I guess. The Triads haven't been in the neighborhood for a while so there's that." Asami nodded at that. She couldn't help but notice a wanted poster that sat on the table, she had seen several of these pop up all over the past month. An artist's drawing of a man wearing a hood dominated the page, along with a list of crimes and a reward for his capture.
"You've taken an interest in that vigilante I see," she said. Lee shrugged as he put the finishing touches on the soup.
"Have you seen the reward money they're offering for that guy? I could get a place that doesn't have a bedroom, living room, dining room, and kitchen all in one room."
"Are you sure that capturing him is the right thing to do? I mean he's done a lot to stop the Triads."
"I heard he stole the Triple Treat's ledgers and sent all the Triad's money to the charities," he said.
"Exactly. Why would you want to stop someone like that?"
'Great. Your one and only friend in the city is a fan of your vigilante side.'
"But he's killed people, Asami, doesn't that bother you?" Asami sighed.
"My mother was killed when some triad members broke into our house when I was six years old. As far as I'm concerned, every Triad member that the vigilante has killed deserved it." Lee shot a glance toward the heiress.
"I'm sorry," he said. The two of them had never gone very deep into their pasts. But now, it seemed that it was time for that to change. Turning off the stove, Lee sat across from Asami and gazed at the wanted poster.
"Six years ago. My mother went to the bank to ask for a loan on a new house. Some Triad members tried to rob the place, but that botched the job and took a few hostages. When the cops kicked in the front door, they slit her throat and left her to bleed out." Asami covered her mouth in horror.
"That's horrible, I'm so sorry," she said. Lee waved her off and slid the wanted poster in between them.
"I understand the anger against the Triads, but I wouldn't go putting all your faith in this guy. He'll only disappoint you." Asami nodded.
"I know. Its just nice to have a symbol of hope for once in this city," she said. Lee snorted.
"I wouldn't go that far. But I can't deny that his actions are getting results. Now, enough about this depressing topic, are you ready to try Feilong's Swamp Surprise?"
Downtown Republic City. That evening.
'Note to self: less ghost pepper, more catgator'. Lee ran along the building rooftops, his hood up and his bow in his hand. Luckily for him, the buildings were close enough together that he could easily clear the distances between them with a running bound. Travel by rooftop wasn't his favorite mode of transportation, given the police airships, but it raised less questions from people he passed on the street and the occasional hobo living in an alley.
Tonight, he was trying to track down the remnants of the Triad's extortion racket. His wiping out the Triad finances had dealt the organization a terrible blow, but they were no where even close to being gone. Coming to a halt over an alleyway entrance, he looked over the edge and expected to find a few Triad members waiting to deliver cash to a pick up.
Instead, all he found was dead bodies.
It was a trio of Triad members, each one wearing the color of one of the three elements they represented. Nocking an arrow in caution, Lee jumped onto the building's fire escape and quickly made his way to street level.
Each one of the Triad members had died from a simple, percise strike from a bladed weapon. Whomever had taken these three out was a professional, and obviously highly trained and skilled. As Lee knelt to take a closer look at one of the bodies, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand erect. The vigilante's eyes narrowed, he wasn't alone in this alley.
Standing and turning on the spot, Lee let the nocked arrow fly at the figure that had just melted out of the shadows. To his surprise, and shock, the figure deflected the arrow off of the edge a short sword that had just appeared in his hand. In the blink of an eye, he had another arrow at the ready, aimed at the figure's heart.
"Amon wishes to speak with you," the figure said. His voice was horse and almost seemed to contain a hiss. Lee's eyes narrowed, but he refused to lower the bow.
"Why would the leader of the Equalists want to speak with me?" he asked. The figure cocked its head slightly.
"Amon wishes to speak with you," he said again. Lee slowly let the arrow slide forward before he finally lowered the bow.
"Alright, take me to him," he said. The figure turned to it's right and opened a door in the alley wall. With caution in his step and his fingers poised on his bow like a harp player, Lee followed the figure into the building. The dark, twisting hallways gave a haunting impression to the young man as he followed the figure deeper into the building.
Finally, they entered a large studio with towering windows on the far side of the room. Orange light from the city flowed in through the widows, lighting the room somewhat. Six figures wearing Equalist uniforms stood before the windows, facing him with their hands clasped behind their back, while a seventh one wearing a hood stood in the center, facing away from him.
"So, this is the infamous Vigilante Archer of Republic City, the Terror of the Triple Threat Triad," the central figure said as he slowly turned to face Lee. The Blade had stepped off to the side, retreating to the shadows in the corner of the room now that he was no longer needed.
"You must be Amon," Lee said, recognizing the mask from the posters he had seen around the city, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I have had my eye on you and your actions for some time now. You have done much good for the non benders of this city by fighting the Triads. We have the same fight, and I would like to personally extend an invitation to you to join the Equalists." Lee blinked in surprise before he cast a glance over his shoulder toward the figure in the corner.
"And your friend, the one that killed the Triads outside, who's he?"
"The Blade is merely an instrument of the Revolution. He keeps to the shadows, but imagine what can be accomplished if you, a symbol of hope for this city, was at the forefront of it all. Join us, and you will have the full support of the Equalists at your back to continue your fight." Lee felt his mouth go dry with temptation. He could only imagine what he could accomplish with a force like the Equalists at his back.
But then he remembered Asami's words, her thoughts on the Equalists. They were only concerned with the well being of non benders. Could he really bring himself to be like that? To hate every bender without discrimination?
"Well then, archer, what is your answer?" Lee remained silent as he unnocked his arrow and returned it to the quiver on his back.
"You will have your answer soon."
So, another chapter done. Will Haya be a friend or foe? Will Asami learn of Lee's secret? Will Lee join the Equalists? Drop a review and take a guess.