Mako entered Lin's office just as the sun touched the horizon. Out her office window was a street consumed by disorder, and consummated by merriment. The radio on her desk had a tiny Shiro Shinobi inside, sharing his excitement.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Republic City is Na Sing Sei tonight! Our correspondents report that the dock party police responded to three hours ago has consumed the entire republic. And as I speak, I have just been handed a report from Omashu that the party has spread via high speed rail to the city's capitol. In fact, there are now naked women dancing in the room with me. One of them is trying to grind on me and asking for an autograph-"
Mako had stopped in the police chief's doorway. Chief Lin Beifong wasn't wearing a shirt. Her bra looked conspicuously like an extension of her uniform pants and boots, which were atop her table. She had a wine bottle at high salute to the picture of president Raiko above her doorway.
Behind Mako was an empty office. He supposed that he had the explanation for that now. This would not be the first party he'd been oblivious to. He glanced out the window, to the crowded streets below, then back at Lin, who was the wrong kind of drunk for the occasion.
"Funny how that happens," she grunted.
Mako supposed he was welcome to enter, and closed the door behind him.
"What?"
"Take a look-" she gestured out the window- "See how they all group together? There are the waterbenders. There are the earthbenders. There are the firebenders. If it's anything like a typical riot, they'll stay grouped like that."
"People like people who are like them," Mako reasoned.
He kept his eyes out the window. But as the sun adjusted lower, he realized that Lin was watching him in their reflections on the glass.
"'People like people who are like them,'" she mused, "And here we are."
She saluted with her bottle again, and chugged hard.
"You called me in here, Chief."
She came down to gargle, "Were you busy?"
"No."
"There you go," she pointed.
Mako nodded, "I'd like the Kuvira case, though. You haven't assigned anyone to it yet. Pretty unusual for something high-profile."
Lin nodded her agreement, then set the bottle down on her desk.
"I want her to escape," she grumbled.
Her undershirt and uniform were draped on her chair. She put the shirt on her face and stretched her back over the chair. Mako had seen that particular cat stretch too many times to mistake it. Lin had pushed her bra and breasts high, advertising a stomach without wrinkles. She had a better body than girls half her age. She had a reason to show off. Not really a right, though. Mako looked away and wondered how to escape. He thought about what she'd just said.
"You… You want Kuvira to escape? What? Why?"
"She either escapes from us, the White Lotus, or the Dai Li. But if she escapes from us, we get first dibs on killing her."
"Oh," he wondered.
"What?"
"Well, I thought… Being Chief and all..." he suggested.
Lin threw her shirt at him.
"Don't you Chief me. I have to retire before people start figuring out I'm old. At this point, it's just time for another notch on the belt."
"Uh… Look. Chief, I-"
Lin scowled him down.
"Lin," he corrected himself, "I want the Kuvira case."
Lin shook her head, and planted her arms on the desk. The jostle of the bottle and her breasts briefly reminded Mako that he was standing in a room with his drunk, half-naked boss.
"Too bad, Mako. No one's getting it."
Mako considered crossing his arms and legs. This would protect him from further advances, but it would also be a sign of weakness. He needed the case, and Lin Beifong could only be persuaded by a strong argument. He planted his arms on the table and leaned into her personal space. She spoke first.
"Whatever Su's put you up to, make it fresh."
"It's got nothing to do with your sister," Mako hissed, "I'm doing this for Bolin."
"And who do you think put him up to that? Suyin cried to Opal. Opal cried to your brother. He cried to you. And now you're crying to me."
"Alright, yeah. Bolin talked me up," Mako nodded, "but I still want the Kuvira case."
Lin blew bad air through floppy lips and waved Mako away. She stood from the table and dropped the drapes on one of her windows. The sun was almost gone anyways.
"I don't want to talk about Kuvira. Come on, Mako. It's a celebration. Neither of us are invited to a party. Let's make our own."
Mako often enjoyed being right. He'd broken cases by making connections that were almost holistic. This connection, he wished was wrong. No, it was wrong.
"Why'd you call me in here, Chief?"
"I'm lonely."
"Really, though," he hoped.
Lin nodded, also hopeful.
"I'm serious. I'm lonely."
"Those might be related," he quipped.
It was a nervous joke. He became more nervous when she gestured to the alcohol.
"That's why I'm drinking."
Mako looked at the door. Curling up under his desk was an option. He could go for a long walk and end up at Asami or Korra's, then maybe crash in a guest room and very sadly jack himself to their sounds of happiness. He could go back to his apartment and have an insane woman ride him while she demanded to be called the avatar. These options did not appeal to him. He wanted to spend all night on the Kuvira case.
"Well…" he decided, "If I don't have that case, I'm not busy."
He took the seat across from Lin, and accepted the alcohol as she pushed it his way.
"Gotta take what you can get," she mumbled.
It was a sad tone. Mako sipped the wine, then realized with a startled turn to the label that he was drinking something expensive. Chief Lin was in a particularly bad mood, and hiding it with hedonism.
"Something eating you, Chief?"
"You offering?"
"Ha, ha," implying, "but seriously."
"It's a lonely world, Mako."
She turned back from the window. The sun had just set behind her. On a closer examination, Mako could see that she had lines where a younger person wouldn't. There weren't many, and they weren't deal breakers. It was in his head, just like the obstacles he'd overcome to bend lightning. This task, he promised himself, would be less arduous.
He shook his head free of the thought. He wasn't doing anything with Lin. Maybe he'd been unattached too long, but he wasn't losing focus or getting desperate. Things had happened in his life, he told himself. Thinking back, he remembered exciting cases, and nothing more. It was all work. Asami and Korra had hugged him and called him friend. Otherwise, he'd been devoid of relationships.
He thought of Bolin and Opal, how they'd cultivated something great through adversity. He remembered losing Korra's interest in the best of times. Somewhere in his training as a firebender, he'd learned you can't un-burn things. He'd also learned to dual wield, and somehow ruined two dream relationships at once. At least Korra and Asami had each other.
He ran through all the female connections he had in his mind, realizing suddenly that in his entire circle of friends, he alone was alone- He and Lin. He finally looked up her body, and did not shy away from accepting his fate. Lin saw that she was being examined, and sighed, knowing what the result would be.
"Look, I know I'm a step down from The Avatar, and I could be Asami's mother, but that's your fuckup."
"Chief, I-"
"Don't. Chief. Me."
Mako had all the wrong cats chasing him. He wondered how Bolin became happy, remembered the Earth Empire, and briefly considered what the Fire nation must have been like for a hundred years.
"Lin, we're coworkers," he tried.
"I'm retiring."
"But… It would be awkward," he tried again.
"I'm gonna find a beautiful cliff to throw myself down, Mako. It won't be awkward for long."
The admission there, of suicide, reminded him of seeing Korra standing on the cliff face. He'd almost tackled her. It had felt like his world was going to pieces. For Lin, his heart beat double-time and he pointed aggressively from his chair.
"Chief! You- Lin, don't do that. There's nothing wrong with growing old."
"I don't have a family to take care of me, Mako. And I'm not going to curl up with Suyin and beg back into her circle. And I'm sure as hell not spending the rest of my days living in a swamp. There's nothing for me after the force."
She planted a hand on either of his shoulders.
"But I'd like to add some notches to my belt," she finished.
Mako didn't have an answer for that. He could leave, but then what? He'd step out the door and curl up on the cot under his desk, and Lin would curl up under hers. He had an apartment, but the girl stalking him there was worse company. The only good girls he'd met had run him over or came his way via Bolin. It wasn't like the old days. Lin was still in front of him, very timidly licking her lips.
"Damn it, Mako, take it or leave it! But don't leave me hanging here."
"I'm seeing someone right now," technically.
"Like that ever stopped you," she dismissed.
It hadn't when he'd needed it to. And he didn't really care for the girl getting Haiku's under his pillow every night. He never gave her a key, so that was still a mystery.
"Look, Mako, it's a party. Look outside. No rules tonight. See those people? Right there. They are fucking on my street. That's illegal. But I don't care. You heard the radio, right? It's Na Sing Sei night. You know, like Ba Sing Sei, with all the chaos, but Na, not Ba, because-"
"Lin."
He cut her nervous rambling short. His mind had settled, though not his gut. He'd entered this room seeking the Kuvira case, and he was leaving with it.
"Alright, Lin, look. You're my boss. I work for you. This is a professional relationship and doing stuff like this is unprofessional."
Lin had torn down the walls between them, exposing her tender sides. She'd expected to get hurt. That was the role of the alcohol. She pushed off of Mako's shoulders and knocked the bottle over. She tossed a gesture to the door.
"Just get out. I knew this was a mistake."
"No. I'll do it, I just want you to know I'm probably gonna regret it."
Mako returned the bottle upright and chugged what was left. Lin, in the silence, contemplated his input.
"So am I," she decided.
Mako came down to breathe, then tossed the bottle through the window. Lin pointed through the hole, her face contorting in authority.
"We'll blame it on Korra," he explained.
He held up a hand to stop the Chief's next objection.
"I want the Kuvira case," he bargained.
"You whore!"
Her arms crossed. Her vision diverted. In anyone else, he'd know it was a sign of disgust- that he'd bargained too hard. Lin was an earthbender- a metalbender. Looking away meant she couldn't face this head on. She wasn't certain about her answer.
"Lin. Chief!"
She broke, then nodded and undid her belt buckle.
"Fine! You're on it. Any other conditions?"
Mako breathed, tried to drink the alcohol on his breath. The one night he wanted to blackout…
"Yeah," he answered.
Mako leaned his chair back and switched off the lights.