Prison Break 4
Tenzin ran down the hallway meticulously looking through each window hoping to see Lin's familiar face in one of the cells. He was beginning to lose faith that she was even being kept on the 4th floor when a chubby guard sauntered out of one of the cells, an Equalist glove in hand. He was obviously not important in the hierarchy of authority, but he was the enemy nonetheless. Tenzin readied himself to send the man flying down the hall in a whirlwind, but one look at Tenzin and the Equalist fled without even a second glance.
Tenzin shot forward to the door that the coward left open thinking that he was definitely in there for a specific reason. He quickly entered the hall and shut the door behind him so that he could not be followed. He turned around slowly to find that the hallway was more like a small room with a single cell. To his relief and dismay the former chief of police was leaned haphazardly against the wall with most of her body crumpled on the floor. Faint electric static popped from her direction and the rancid smell of burning hair and skin penetrated his senses as his brain rapidly sifted through the worst possible scenarios. Could she be unconscious? Dead? Did they electrocute her until she couldn't take it anymore?
A low groan came penetrated the silence and all of those terrible thoughts lifted.
"Lin!" He said in an urgent whisper and rushed to the cell door dropping to his knees to get down to her level.
"Tenzin…?" She said in a gravely, dehydrated voice as she brought her hand to her head and opened her eyes. As her vision cleared, she realized what was actually in front of her. "Tenzin. What are you – eugh" She reached out to touch the cell bars, but recoiled as her highly charged uniform elicited a zap that surged through her fingers.
"Lin, are you – what happened?"
"What are you – doing here? She asked, her voice wavering.
"Once I learned of your whereabouts, I couldn't – I mean I wouldn't just leave you here. I had to come."
"You put yourself and your whole family in danger." She scolded. "I am no threat to them now so I will be released – eventually. You all need to get out while you still have a chance…"
"No longer a threat?" He repeated after a moment of reflection. Lin just bowed her head, unwilling to look him in the eye. Tenzin shook his head but couldn't bring himself to say what he knew to be the inevitable. "Amon…"
"That monster took me back to the island for questioning. When I wouldn't talk – well, you know the rest…"
Tenzin's heart sunk deep into his chest as overwhelming sadness and gratitude filled his being. "Lin… What you did – for me – for my family… I can't even begin to –"
"Save your breath, Tenzin." She half-chuckled, "You know I didn't have a choice." Tenzin did not fight it. He understood what it meant have a duty to someone. "What about your wife and the baby?" She asked, "Have you found them yet?"
"Yes, Pema and the children are on the way to a safe house as we speak. I only hope that they made it safely…"
"You let them go alone?! Pema can't fight to save her life, let alone protect four inexperienced –"
"You said so yourself, I trained them well." He responded with a weak smile.
Lin returned the favor but then winced as she sat upright against the wall. "How about you get me out of here then?"
"Of – Of course. I – uh…" He fumbled with the keys, his trembling hands attempting to pick out one from the ring.
"Here." Lin beaconed and held out her hand. Not interested in wasting any more precious time, he did so right away and she handed him the correct one within seconds.
As Tenzin wriggled the key into the lock, Lin attempted to get to her feet. No matter how excruciating, she tried to hide her pain – as always… The cell door retracted into the wall and immediately he knelt down again to help.
"What did they do to you?"
"It's nothing." She said with a straining voice and waved him off, grabbing onto the bars for support.
"You – you can barely stand!"
Lin sighed. "After they locked me up in my own cell, I haven't exactly been the most – cooperative prisoner. They started using electrocution as a method to shut me up. Every hour on the hour I would receive one shock. The guard left right before you came in." She took another few steps beyond the bars, and then leaned against the wall to catch her breath.
Tenzin stood his mouth agape with horror. He knew that the Equalists were radical, but he did not think that they were this violent. He felt guilty and partially responsible for her misfortune. "Lin, I –"
"I'm fine. The effects just haven't worn off yet."
Tenzin hesitantly took her answer to heart. What good would arguing about her condition be to them? Lin would never admit that she needed help, especially from Tenzin. "Are you sure you don't need any help?"
Lin chuckled, "Come on, what do you take me for?" She stood up straight and stretched her back and then walked past him toward the door. "Let's go."
Tenzin shook his head and followed. Slowly, they peeked into the hallway only to find that it was empty.
"What's the plan?" Lin asked to Tenzin's surprise.
"Well, I helped the Pema and the children out through the fire escape. The coast is clear."
"No, I've already tried that. The roof is crawling with Equalists. If they see us, we'll be electrocuted right off the side of the building."
Tenzin shook off his initial reaction to that statement knowing that he did not need to dwell on worrying about his family at the moment. "Alright. You know this place better than I do."
"We'll take the West tunnel beneath the training room. It lets out near Dragon Flats Borough. We're headed to Old Mrs. Lang's, right?"
"Yes. Wait, how did you know that? And what tunnels?"
"I have my ways." Lin said as she motioned for him to follow her down the hallway. "As for the tunnels; there's a lot that you don't know about this building, Tenzin." They walked slowly, keeping close to the wall. "The training room is on the ground floor directly beneath us. Unfortunately, we'll need to pass through the reception area that leads to the interrogation rooms, the holding cells, and the main offices. It is likely that we will meet resistance."
They descended the stairs quietly but their steps echoed no matter how lightly they tread. As they reached the ground floor, Lin looked out into the hallway from behind the stairwell wall.
"Where are all the guards?" She asked herself aloud as she, again, gazed down an empty hallway.
"Everyone seemed to rush to the Equalist rally at the arena. Korra unmasked Amon as a waterbender and freed me and my children. We left straight away to come here."
"A waterbender?" Lin asked loudly in shock. "But how did –" Before she could finish her sentence, Tenzin pulled her behind the wall and covered her mouth with his right hand. His other hand gripped her shoulder and steadily held her in the shadows against the wall. Suddenly, two Equalists ran into the stairwell and ascended them with speed. When he was sure that they were gone, Tenzin lowered his hand and they both were able to breathe again. He looked in front of him and all at once he became aware of his position; his body had Lin pressed up against the wall and they were extraordinarily close to each other's faces.
Their hearts were pounding from the run-off adrenalin, but something about that heartbeat was familiar. It was almost electric.
Tenzin quickly backed away and cleared his throat. "S-Sorry – about that. I'll fill you in on everything later."
Lin tried to hide her bewildered expression behind a cool face; It may have been the exhaustion talking, but in that moment she definitely felt the remnants of that old flame between them flicker. She wondered for a split second if he felt it too and then brushed it off. This only made her feel angry. She punched him in the arm hard and pointed at his face. "Next time let me fight my own battles." She said spitefully and started down the hall without him.
Tenzin sighed loudly and followed, rubbing his sure-to-be bruised forearm along the way.
Tension rose as they arrived at the high-traffic reception area. Before they entered the room, Lin surveyed the situation. A small group of five was milling about at the entrance, but none were truly standing guard. Their intended sanctuary was only about 40 feet away in the hall on the other side of the room. "Try to sneak behind anything you can find. Our target is the third door on the other side."
"And if they see us?"
"They are not focused. We can take them."
"Lin… Do you really think that you can –?"
"I said, we can take them." She responded sternly with fury in her eyes.
Without speaking, the two of them began the slow trek toward the other side of the room, dodging behind columns, desks, and large potted plants to keep out of sight. Despite their stealth, Lin's cumbersome uniform proved to be too loud for this operation.
"Over there!" An Equalist yelled and motioned for his group to follow. Lin and Tenzin exchanged a glance, but before they could make any sort of plan, Lin sprinted right toward them.
"What are you doing?!" Tenzin yelled and held back behind a pillar.
At a certain point, Lin stopped in her tracks, got into a familiar position, and made a motion that elicited no effect. She hesitated and glanced at her hands, remembering that she no longer had the power of the earth at her fingertips. The Equalists were advancing far too quickly, but still she did not move. Tenzin jumped out from behind his safe-zone to help, but just as he was about to blast the closest aggressor through the window, Lin lifted her leg and drop-kicked him in the face. Not expecting that recovery, Tenzin smirked and began blowing the others back. Lin pulled out the metal cable from her uniform and held it in her hand just like she would have done if she could bend. She whipped it around and aimed at their ankles, causing four of them to fall to the floor.
One chi-blocker evaded the attack, pulled out a pair of electric cables and flung them toward Tenzin who was too preoccupied with the others to notice. Lin saw it though, and knowing the consequences, she ran and threw herself in front of him, allowing the cables to wrap around her like tentacles and course electricity through her being once more. She fell hard onto the floor in front of him, violently shaking from the high voltage.
Tenzin gasped and as anger rose inside of him, he stepped in front of Lin and channeled that aggression into a high velocity sideways tornado that funneled each individual out the front door along with a few pieces of furniture that would stall them longer.
After everyone was gone, he knelt down by her side and yanked the cables off her stiffened body. When would he stop owing her for saving his hide? She groaned the world spinning as she opened her eyes; she had not passed out that time and was sadly getting used to the sensation enough to present herself from giving in to it.
"Lin? Can you move your legs?" Tenzin asked softly.
"Course I can." Lin responded, her voice tight in her throat.
Tenzin lifted her to her feet and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "Lean on me. Let's go."
She did not object; it would be foolish to try and go on by herself.
The two of them lumbered over to the hall on the other side of the room. "Which door?" Tenzin asked urgently as they neared their destination.
"The – the double doors." She responded, breathing heavily.
As soon as they made it into the training room, Tenzin tenderly set Lin on the ground and leaned her on the side of a cushioned bench. He then went back immediately to lock the doors behind them and put a few metal rods through the handles so that no one could follow them in. As soon as he was done, a peaceful silence swept over them, only to be broken by their movements and sharp breathing; they were finally safe enough to rest.
"Just give me a few minutes and then we can leave." Lin said, feeling a mixture of sadness and resentment. She thought about how foolish she must have looked in the lobby when she tried to bend and how angry she was that her second home was crawling with the enemy. Innocent people were trapped in the building and there was nothing she could do to save them.
"You didn't have to do that, you know." Tenzin said, his own thoughts surfacing into speech.
"What?"
"Protect me." He said seriously.
Lin thought about it, but she could only think of a handful of logical reasons why she jumped out in front of him before. She couldn't deny that she felt a personal responsibility to protect him. She promised after all…
"I knew that I could handle being electrocuted. You, on the other hand, would have been out for much longer. In my – weakened state, I wouldn't have been able to carry you out."
Tenzin nodded and looked away. "Right. Of course… It was – only logical that you would do that."
Lin studied his saddened expression as she looked at him with soft eyes.
"Well, when you – care about someone," She said slowly, causing him to turn forward to face her. "That's what you do. You try to protect them…"
They stared at each other for a little too long trying to see the other's thoughts deep in their eyes. Lin was the one to look away. She cleared her throat and stood up slowly. "Come on, follow me."
Tenzin quickly lifted himself to his feet with a swirl of air and offered his arm. She didn't take it and walked right past him to a round circle imbedded into the floor.
"The tunnel is under here. It will take us a few blocks south of her shop but we can duck between buildings and run from there."
"Alright. How do we get in?" Tenzin asked, staring unconvincingly at the ground.
"That's the problem. Usually, I would just – metalbend it open, but…"
"I see… How do you suggest we open it then?" Tenzin asked attempting to steer clear of that topic for now.
"The metal's relatively thin. We can break it with enough force."
"Maybe I can be of assistance." A voice echoed from behind a large pile of equipment. Before they could react, a man stood up and walked out of the shadows.
Lin squinted across the darkened room but recognized the face immediately.
"Officer Chang?" Lin called, a relieved smile gracing her face. "It's good to see that someone eluded those thugs."
"Councilman Tenzin." He said and bowed low. "Chief Beifong."
"That title precedes me, Officer." She said with as much conviction she could muster as he approached them.
"With all due respect, resignation does not end loyalty."
Lin nodded, and then shook his hand to signify their comradeship.
"How did you escape? I thought everyone was shipped off to Amon when they overtook the station."
His eyes widened and at that moment he looked away with shame. "Well – I –"
"What is it Chang?" Lin asked with concern.
"When the Equalists infiltrated the station, everyone ran out to fight. I told them that it was a lost cause – that if they went they would be picked off for sure! That's when they gassed the building… I – fled for the training room because I knew that it had its own ventilation system. I – I thought that Signa and Fong were behind me, but..." Chang paused and shook his head. "I've been hiding in here alone ever since waiting for it all to blow over. I never even thought of using the tunneling system."
"Are you telling me, that you abandoned your fellow officers in their time of need?" Lin asked angrily.
"I – yes…" He sighed, horribly disappointed in himself.
"I trained you better than that, Chang. How dare you speak of loyalty, you disgraceful –"
"Lin!" Tenzin interrupted to no avail.
"– Worthless, good for nothing –"
"Lin, please." Tenzin said, trying again. "Just let the man help us."
"Y – yes. Anything for you Chief Beifong." He said and bowed again.
Lin's initial anger died down when she realized that she had no authority to lay him out like this anymore. "Very well." She said, her tone morphing into a frustrated-disappointed.
Chang stepped forward and opened the metal hatch with one motion. "I can't believe that Amon got you – of all people! I never thought that –"
Lin glared at him, her eyes piercing him like daggers. "That is because, unlike you, I have some self respect. Come on Tenzin, we're leaving." She sat on the edge of the dark hole and readied herself to climb down the ladder.
"Will you be accompanying us?" Tenzin asked calmly.
"Everything else can be opened by hand. We do not need him after this point." Lin interjected irately.
"There's no need to beat around the bush. I get the message."
Lin stepped down to the first rung of the ladder.
"I know that my decisions have been less than noble," Chang continued, "But I do intend to set things right. When the moment arises, I will find my colleagues and free them. I will –"
"You're a disgrace to the badge. At least show some respect and take it off like I did." Lin said and then descended into the darkness. "Come on!" She called from the depths.
Tenzin bid a final good luck to the former officer and followed Lin's lead. Just before Tenzin completely submerged himself into the darkness, he watched Chang reluctantly pull the badge off his chest.
It was pitch dark inside, not a single light bulb or even a crevice that allowed light to penetrate the blackness. Tenzin climbed down the straight metal ladder, clinging to the rungs for some semblance of security as he felt swallowed by the crushing claustrophobic darkness of that seemingly endless tube. Finally, his foot touched the flat surface of the floor.
"Lin?" He called out and reached to feel for the wall; he found Lin's face instead.
"Augh! You idiot!" She yelled and reciprocated by punching him in the stomach.
"It was – an accident." He said between breaths, having not expected to get the wind knocked out of him.
"Stop being such a baby and follow me."
"Not to be – insensitive, but how will you know where you're going without your bending?"
"Huh. Please." Lin huffed, "I memorized these tunnel patterns by the time I was 14."
"Right. And if I can't see, how am I supposed to follow you?"
"By utilizing a skill that you never really grasped."
"What's that?" He asked skeptically.
"Listening."
"That's not funny." He responded in an irritated tone.
"I wasn't laughing" She said and began walking. "Just follow the sound of my footsteps."
With a disgruntled sigh, he followed her just like he always did, except this time he had no choice. Being an airbender, he did not like being in small dark places, especially those without a proper airflow…
"So, why are there no lights down here?" He asked after a short while, unable to hide the nervousness in his voice.
"My mother designed these tunnels as a training exercise for new officers. Darkness causes anxiety and pressure. The tunnels help weed out the weaklings before they are able to join the team. They also make pretty handy emergency escapes."
"Mhm. Yes. That makes – complete sense." Tenzin gulped as he found himself looking around desperately for a single shred of light. Lin detected the way his voice changed and switched gears.
"Don't tell me you're scared, councilman." She teased, a mocking smile creeping onto her face.
"I am not. I am simply – concerned." He said, his voice cracking.
Lin chuckled, "After all these years you are still afraid of the dark. Come now, where's your sense of adventure."
"I think I have had enough adventure for one day. And I don't know what you are talking about. I was never afraid of the dark." He said defensively.
"Give me a break! Do you remember the day we found that cave on the west side of the island? I couldn't get you inside 5 feet before you ran out whining."
"I – I was worried that we would encounter some sort of animal." He stated unconvincingly. "No matter, I was only a child. Eight, maybe nine years old, right?"
"Fifteen." Lin said, stifling a laugh.
Tenzin rolled his eyes and let it go. "When I agreed to working together like old times, this isn't exactly what I had in mind." He grumbled.
"Nothing we ever did together were things that you had in mind." She said and laughed. "Just be quiet and walk."
For a few minutes he obeyed, but he just could not face this tunnel without the distraction of speech.
"Lin? How – how much longer do you think?" He asked trying to mask his obvious fear.
"We still have a while. At least another half hour on foot before we reach the exit." She left out the part about being thankful that he was allowing her to walk instead of run.
"Alright…" Tenzin trailed off, again allowing the confines of the situation to overwhelm him. "Lin?"
"Yes?"
"Would you mind – um if you don't want to I understand – but it would be a lot more helpful for me if we could –"
Lin sighed loudly. "Your point, Tenzin?"
"Can we – talk?" He asked carefully. "The darkness is – it's – it's difficult for me to –"
"I understand." She responded warmly. "How about you fill me in about the rally?"
And Tenzin did. He recalled every excruciating detail of how they were taken to the rally and what Korra said while they were there. He told her about how they were tied up and what Amon planned to do with them.
"I don't know what I would do if I lost my –" Tenzin cut himself off abruptly, forgetting how insensitive that statement would have been. After she did not respond, Tenzin sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to –"
"It's done." She said dismissively, leading them into yet another bout of not speaking. This time she was the one to break it. "Tenzin? Can I ask you a personal question?"
"Of course." He asked with concern.
"Well – a lot of things have – changed for me recently. I can't help but think about certain decisions that I made that led me to where I am today. Maybe if I did a few things differently – we wouldn't be walking in this tunnel right now…" She took a breath, preparing herself. "Do you have any – regrets?"
Tenzin thought for a minute wondering what she was hoping to get out of his answer. He decided to be honest instead of trying to say what she wanted to hear.
"I think that we all have times in our lives where things can go one of a few ways. Some people may make mistakes at those times, but that doesn't mean the outcome is regrettable. My father always told me that regret only gives us a reason to dwell on the past. It is more pertinent to focus on what is happening in the present."
"Spoken like a true politician." She responded without satisfaction from his answer.
"I am sorry that my answer is not favorable, but I have no regrets." He stated, and then paused before he continued.
"You don't regret your decisions that led to you and your children being captured? You don't regret allowing Tarlok manipulate the council?"
"I – Of course the outcomes were not auspicious, but I do not think that if I made a different decision, than the situation would be any better. The inevitable will happen no matter what you do to prevent it." Tenzin said, hoping that he explained himself well. When she said nothing, he continued with a question of his own, "Why? What do you regret?"
"Forget it." She said in a low voice.
"You can tell me." He said reassuringly.
"I can walk these tunnels for hours telling you things that I regret. It makes no difference…"
"We still have some time."
Lin sighed and shook her head, feeling a flow of words about to come out that she had been suppressing for years. "It can be as stupid as wishing I hadn't twisted my ankle when I was nine. If only I hadn't chosen to walk down the hill that day, it wouldn't have even happened. I could go on forever with the little things… The problem is that all those small decisions lead to those that I end up regretting the most. That day when my mom was killed, I could have been at work, by her side, but instead I took the afternoon off. That one decision changed my entire life."
"You can't blame yourself for –"
"I should have been there, Tenzin… I can't help but think that I have a problem being in the places I am needed most. I threw myself into my work, hoping to help people, gain respect and to live up to the legend that my mother was, but I neglected my personal life and I wasn't there for myself or the person I loved. Through a series of bad decisions that I also regret, I managed to lose the only person who actually cared about me. If I wasn't so career oriented, maybe things would have been different and I wouldn't have tried and failed to save your family, and then I wouldn't have lost my bending..." She stopped walking and shook her head. She was thankful that it was so dark because she was beginning to tear up. "I gave up my title to help the Avatar, only to realize that I left the force at the time when my officers and the city needed me most. I don't blame them for thinking that I am a failure… But that is beside the point. In one fell swoop, I lost the very thing that I fought all of these years to protect. I was doing good work, fighting the good fight… I thought that giving it all up would help me find my own way and allow me to be free from the destiny I was bound to fulfill since I was young, free from having to hide my personal life from the public... In doing so, I have lost more than I could even imagine…"
Tenzin didn't know what to say. This was the first time in over ten years that she talked extensively about her personal feelings. Even then, she kept her side of the conversation to a minimum. He reached out in the darkness and found her shoulder, then placed himself by her side. "I know you are hurting, and you have every right to be, but maybe now is not the best time to think about it. We have more important things to worry about right now."
Lin ignored his comment, wanting to finish her thought before the moment was gone. "You know, I was so angry with you for the longest time… I thought that if I stayed mad then maybe I wouldn't allow myself to feel pain." Lin spoke softly, almost as if she was talking aloud to herself. "I know now that even that was pointless… I let myself hold a grudge that made my personal life miserable and it was all because I didn't have the strength to let go. Even thought it all happened so long ago, I still haven't moved past it… Sometimes, I still wonder if –" Lin closed her eyes tightly and then sighed, "I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I suppose I had a lot of time to think in prison." Lin pulled away and began walking forward again, unable to fathom what she just said to him.
For a minute Tenzin followed her, but then he stopped in his tracks. By bringing up their relationship again, she set him over the emotional edge and he felt frustration overwhelm him. There was only so much he could say to show his sorrow, but how much worse was she going to make him feel? This is not what he needed right now. He was not in a right mind to feel guilty about causing Lin's problems and guilty about abandoning his wife and children when they needed him to be there. And surely, he did not need to feel any guiltier than he already did for caring about Lin more than he should while he allowed the most important people in his life to escape without protection. "Don't you think that I never thought about what life would be like if things had been different between us?" He asked heatedly, knowing where all of this spurred from.
Lin stopped as well and listened, his commanding voice echoing off the walls.
"I think that earlier this evening, we experienced a confusing moment that took us back to our past. I didn't want to think about it because I would be lying if I said that I did not feel it too." He said in a conflicted tone. Tenzin sighed loudly before he went on, feeling completely guilty now of allowing himself to give in to his better judgment. "No matter how – tempting it is to want for the past, it is gone. I – I love my wife, Lin."
"I know." She responded coolly.
"And I love my family." He continued, giving off how committed he was to that statement.
"And you should." Lin said convincingly.
"All of the decisions I have made led me to them and to where I am today. I suppose that the real reason I have no regrets is because I believe that the past is meant to be left behind because that is the nature of it! What is truly important is focusing on right now."
"I know that." Lin calmly as she felt his energy rise. He was tired of being reminded about how close they used to be – he was tired of giving in to nostalgia because there was no point or purpose, yet Lin constantly weighed on his better judgment.
"I do not believe that you do because instead of focusing on getting to where we need to go, or what we'll do if my family did not make it to the safe house, we are dwelling on feelings that diminished a long time ago!" Tenzin yelled, his voice filling the dark space around them.
After he spoke, a long silence followed where neither spoke nor neither dared to walk or even shuffle their feet. After what felt like an eternity, Lin cleared her throat and nodded to herself.
"You're right. How insensitive of me." Lin said coldly, unable to decide on a comeback that would more accurately represent how selfish he was being. "Come on, the sooner we get out of here, the better."