Chapter 4: Questioning

"Me and a bunch of other officers heard something going on in the chief's office." Said Asher, as he drove the police car, with Isaac in the passenger seat, "We listened in, and honestly, you did the right thing, it was pure coincidence that Johnstone was the one who found out that Gibson was a traitor. He doesn't deserve to be the chief."

"Maybe one day the idiot will quit, and you will get his job." Laughed Isaac.

"I wouldn't want that. All he does is sits behind a desk and bosses people around. Where is the fun of that?" asked Asher.

"True, true." Isaac said, as he looked out the window. They had arrived at the prison. Asher drove up to the driveway, where in front of a tall gate, lined with barbed wire at the top. There was a man in a prison officer's uniform in a booth next to the car. Without saying a word, Asher pulled out his police ID, and showed it to the man, who opened the gate, no questions asked.

They made their way into the building, and navigated through their, until they found what they were looking for. A corridor, lined with cells on either side.

"Well look who we have, the police bitch!" said a familiar voice. Rolf, the one of the first criminals Isaac caught for the police, stood behind bars, in a cell to Isaac's right.

"So the other guy wasn't lying when he said that I had a reputation, was he Rolf?" asked Isaac.

Rolf attempted to spit on Isaac. This wasn't the first time people had done this. Isaac raised his hand, and stopped the saliva heading towards him. He froze it, and threw it into the Rolf's stomach.

"Without the bending, you are nothing." Laughed Rolf.

"Just like you are. Nothing." Isaac said.

"Fight me. Here and now. No fancy bending. Just fists!" yelled Rolf.

"We will question this one first." Isaac said to Asher, who was having a good laugh at the man. He called the guard over, who unlocked the cell. Isaac walked in, and the door closed behind him.

"I am just making sure that we have privacy." Said Isaac, as he lifted his hands. The concrete slab beneath the prison and the earth beneath that rose, blocking the barred wall between the cell and the hallway.

"I'm not telling you nothing!" said Rolf.

"I want to know what you know about Cobalt." Isaac asked, keeping calm, and trying to look as intimidating as possible.

"Are you deaf or just plain stupid? I told you, I'm not saying anything."

Isaac sighed. He didn't want to go to this extreme, but he had no choice.
"One of the perks of being a waterbender, is that you can bend water in any form. Lucky for us, the human body is made up of a lot of water." Said Isaac.

"Why the hell do you think I give a crap about water?" said Rolf.

"Do you know why I catch criminals for the police? Because I bent the water in some peoples bodies. Killed them in the most horrible ways. It was considered police brutality, and working for the police was the only way I could stay out of prison. I promised my wife I wouldn't do that again, and I want to keep that promise, but you aren't giving me much of an option." Said Isaac, continuing to keep a calm expression. Rolf was starting to show signs of fear. Just like Isaac planned.

"I wonder how it would feel to have all of the water ripped from your body? Or to have an invisible hand twist your head, until your neck snaps. Heck, I have even crushed every organ in a man's body one by one." Said Isaac, starting to show an evil grin.

"Okay, I will tell you. We never saw too much of Cobalt. Most of us have never seen him. To some he was just a legend. He would be in the isolation ward most of the time, more than in his actual cell. He would always blow up the walls with that damned lightning of his, and make an escape. That's why the prison guards are armed so much heavier than most. That was the only way to stop him."

"Then how did he escape?" asked Isaac.

"Nobody knows exactly. We can only guess. One morning a prison guard was found dead in the laundry room, and the bars to Cobalt's cell melted. Apparently, in the middle of the night, Cobalt heated the bars of his cell to the point that they melted, and walked out of there. Then when he found a guard, he killed them, dragged the body to the laundry room, took his clothes and ID, and then walked out of the prison before anyone guessed what was going on. I'm not surprised that they never found the empty cell. Cobalt has wounded a few of the guards that walked past his cell during their shift. Most guards try to avoid it." explained Rolf, scared at the thought of Cobalt.

"Was there anyone here who he was close to?" asked Isaac.

"J Young." Rolf explained quickly. "That was his nickname in high school. He has been here longer than most. Not many inmates know what the J stands for though. He is one of the few people Cobalt didn't try and kill. You and your father torturing him really broke him. You have made a bad enemy."

"That is enough information for now." Said Isaac.

"If anybody asks, I told you nothing. If you don't catch Cobalt, and he finds out I ratted out on him, he will kill me." Said Rolf.

"No promises" grunted Isaac, as he pulled his hands towards the ground. The stone and concrete wall between the cell and the hallway lowered into the earth with a crash, and the prison guard looked at Isaac, confused about what had just happened. He unlocked the door, and let Isaac out.

"I want to speak to the prisoner that the inmates call J Young." Asked Isaac.

10 minutes later, Isaac was in a cell with a man in his 50s, who was starting to go bald.

"So you want to know about Cobalt?" said the man.

"Yes, but I have one other question which is stopping me from going on until I ask it." said Isaac.

"What the J stands for?"

"Yes" laughed Isaac. Prison had obviously changed this man. The prison guard told him he was here for murder. J Young had obviously learnt his lesson, and wasn't the same man who walked in to this prison 20 years ago.

"Jordan. Jordan Young." He laughed.

"Anyway, I wanted to ask you some questions about Cobalt." Asked Isaac.

"I will answer your questions on one condition. Cobalt was a good kid. He told me about his childhood, and why he joined the Burning Suns. He is a good person deep down, and I think with the right help, he may be able to become a better person." Explained Jordan, "When you find him, I don't want you to kill him, I want you to turn him in to the authorities. So he can get the mental help he needs."

"I will try and do that. The truth is, I am the Avatar, and he is the only person who has stood a chance against me in the past few years. I will try and capture him and hand him over to the authorities, but not if it means, that he will hurt my family or kill me. I would rather kill him, than let him than risk my own skin to hand him over." Explained Isaac.

"I understand. I had a family back in the day. A wife and a son. My wife passed away from cancer, and I ended up making some bad decisions to support my son. I conducted an armed robbery on a service station, and killed the man working there. I was caught, and sent to prison. My son was put into foster care, but got involved with drugs. He overdosed 10 years ago." Explained Jordan, "If you can't hand Cobalt over to the authorities without him killing you or hurting your family, do what you must,"

"What can you tell me about Cobalt?" Isaac asked.

"His real name is Nick. Nick McInnes. When he was four, his mother passed away giving birth to his younger brother, who died in the process. After this, his father became depressed, and became an alcoholic. He became abusive, which is what caused Nick to find out that he was a firebender. One night when Nick was 17, his father came home drunk again. When he was out, Nick had hidden his alcohol, hoping that since he didn't have the money to buy more, he could stay sober for a few days. His dad came upstairs to where he slept, and bashed him. He would have killed him if Nick didn't kick off his bed, and accidentally set his father's shirt on fire." Explained Jordan.

"That is horrible." Said Isaac.

"It is. He ran away, and eventually joined the Burning Suns after years of living on the streets. After being the new blood there for 6 months, he ran into you. " said Jordan.

"I burnt him until he let us out"

"Yes. The police raided the building, and locked him in here. Since he was the new blood, he only got a 3 year sentence. But he kept attacking the guards, and trying to escape, and eventually his sentence was extended to life. In that time he would be training his firebending. The guards would try and stop him, but short of killing him there was nothing they could do. Then he escaped. When he did, he came to my cell, and offered to help me out. I said no, because I am out of here in a year with good behaviour. He left"

"Why did you and him get on so well?" asked Isaac.

"The truth is, he reminds me of my son. He has become like a son to me. That is why, if you can, I don't want you to kill him."

Isaac thought for a moment.

"Honestly, I hope I can go without killing him. I have killed before. It is a stain on my past. But when everything goes wrong, nobody knows what they will do."