Reiko sighed as she went over the criminal's profile. A whole new day and back to work. She didn't really hate working, in fact, Reiko was known amongst her friends as a workaholic. Such a trait lived in her as she was constantly working to earn her keep and at the same time, she enjoys the action her job brings, and of course, she didn't really have anything else better to do to pass her time besides her other hobbies. Life was a mundane cycle that Reiko, her fellow co-workers and basically everyone in the world, had come to accept.

Despite their latest achievement, the Metalbending police were far from rejoicing. They had finally caught the notorious 'Red Fox' whose real name was Sigil Saibhir, Reiko observed, on the profile. At least that was one criminal down. And how many more to go? Oh, yeah. A whole squad of Equalists. The atmosphere was incredibly tensed at that moment at the Headquarters and every cop had extra duty. Mr. Gan Long was still under arrest and had been threatening to sue the police force after he was done with shouts of "My cabbages!". However, Reiko got wind that morning when she arrived that the old man had been released. Or it could've been just a rumour.

Just then, the door of the room opened and a fellow Metalbending cop entered, looking hot and flustered. Reiko raised an eyebrow. It was rare to see any member of the police force like that; they had been trained to stay calm and think straight in the face of danger. Usually, until they get electrocuted.

"What happened?" Reiko asked, not showing much interest.

"You'd never... guess... what happened," the officer panted.

"Don't you think that's pretty much why I just asked what happened?" Reiko turned to her co-worker. "What has happened that couldn't be worse than our current situation?"

The officer was finally able to catch his breath. "A group of us were sent out earlier... I mean, last night. Apparently, the chief and Councilman Tenzin got this piece of news from Avatar Korra. It concerns Hiroshi Sato."

That sparked Reiko's interest. "Hiroshi Sato? And wait, last night? There was a raid? Why didn't chief send for me?" Reiko remembered the previous night when she hadn't been able to sleep, her mind was constantly harping on the Equalists, and she had finally gave up trying and got some training done, which rendered her fatigued enough to be able to get a few hours of sleep.

"Well, chief thought you had enough for the day, so she didn't send for you," the officer responded. "Never mind that, back to Hiroshi Sato... well, he's the mastermind behind the Equalists' gadgets, not Mr. Gan Long."

Reiko was too stunned to say a word. She merely stared at the cop for a few moments, unable to speak. "What? But... but how? I mean, why?" she finally uttered, confused. Hiroshi Sato? The owner of Future Industries? It did make sense, but it also didn't. It was possible that Hiroshi Sato could've invented all those gadgets, which were nothing compared to Satomobiles. But he didn't seem like that sort of person! Just the other day he was at the Headquarters, relating what he witnessed when the Equalists attacked the probending arena. Reiko shook her head. The officer wouldn't lie. She had been working with the Metalbending police force for quite some time, and she knew that most criminals were first-rate actors.

"That's not the end," continued the officer, after he allowed the information to sink in. Reiko looked up and gave him a withering look. "There was a fight yesterday. Asami Sato turned against her father at the last minute. Bit of luck, that was. But a few of the cops were taken to Amon."

Reiko dropped Sigil Saibhir's profile in shock. "Good thing you weren't there, won't you say now, Reiko?" said the officer. "Only a few of them, but it's considered a great loss, especially in these dire times. Chief Saikhan said so."

"Chief Saikhan?" Reiko asked, something horrid forming in her mind, hoping 'Chief Saikhan' was just a slip of the tongue on the officer's part.

"Chief Bei Fong resigned."

#

Haizi gazed around the half-empty restaurant, miserably. The latest news had practically scared all citizens of Republic City into hiding. Not many benders dared venture further than their own doorstep, terrified of running into an Equalist, who could just chi-block them in a minute and without hesitation before shipping them off to Amon. For a long time, everyone had trusted Chief Bei Fong and looked up to her capabilities, as much as they had done with the previous chief, Toph, but not many trusted Chief Saikhan. Some who had had encounters with the aforementioned police officer didn't even like him. The Metalbending force wasn't the same without a Bei Fong, and the people had lost confidence in the police to protect them and took their own safety measures. Haizi's mother, being an earthbender, had even once decided to close down the restaurant till the war was over, but she wouldn't hear anything of it, and neither would her father. Hua was outnumbered two to one, so the restaurant stayed open.

Haizi walked to the kitchen, where her father was sitting on a chair in a corner, idling. The kitchen seemed so clean for once, without ingredients strewn all over the counters and the cutlery in various places. There was no smoke, no aroma, and the place was almost empty, save for Yonggan and another chef, who was as idle as Haizi's father. The latter gave her a weak smile as she entered the kitchen.

"Ah, Noodle. Are you hungry?" He got to his feet. "Would you like a bowl of noodles? At least it would give me something to do."

Haizi glanced around. "Where are the others?"

"They're afraid of the outdoors," Yonggan answered his daughter, sitting down again as Haizi shook her head at his offer. "Ironic, isn't it? Half of them are earthbenders and waterbenders."

"Maybe that's why they're staying indoors," Haizi said. "They're benders, so they're afraid of the Equalists." She sat down beside her father. "How long do you think this war will last?"

"Longer than it originally would, now that the chief's stepped down and they've put that useless Saikhan in her place. I mean, what does he actually know?"

Haizi stifled a giggle as she remembered that her father had once had an argument with Saikhan, in which Saikhan was actually wrong, but had kept insisting he was right. However, Haizi thought he was fine. So long as he protected the citizens of Republic City.

Yonggan began reading a copy of the newspaper. "Hey, check this out. Says here they managed to finally capture the Red Fox, Sigil Saibhir. This would originally be great news to me, but considering the current situation, what in the spirits' name are they doing hunting gown petty thieves? They've got bigger things to worry about!"

"I wouldn't call Sigil Saibhir a petty thief, dad," Haizi said, with a shudder. "But they probably got a report or something, or maybe someone else managed to apprehend him and turned him in to the police."

As Haizi left the kitchen, she noticed two potential customers enter, chatting. She recognised one of them, Shui Yao. He was not exactly a regular at the restaurant, but he had came enough times for Haizi to know him. From what she knew, he was nineteen and a waterbender. Wasn't he afraid, then? He usually sat and preferred to be alone, but at that time, he had brought along a friend, a woman Haizi didn't recognise, and her daughter, who seemed to be in her toddler years. For a moment, something tugged at Haizi's heart. Such a young child, innocent, probably a bender, and having to live among such conflict. Her mother seemed to be at ease, though. Perhaps they weren't benders.

Haizi went up to them and Shui Yao recognised her. "Hello there," he greeted. He noticed Haizi's gaze flicker over to the woman accompanying him. "Well, allow me to introduce Mari King, a friend of mine." He turned to the lady. "Mari, this is Haizi Lu, or as I've so often heard her father address her, Noodle."

Haizi laughed. "Nice to meet you," she said, as she shook hands with Mari King. It was custom for Haizi to interact as such with the customers, from whom she gathered information about the outside world, apart from newspapers and radio broadcasts, as she rarely went out, as there was much to do in the restaurant. Despite fewer customers, her parents disallowed her from wandering the streets. Haizi didn't think it was wise, either, since she wasn't much of a fighter. "Are you a bender?" she couldn't help asking Mari.

Mari smiled and nodded. "Yes, a waterbender. And so is my daughter, Nicole." The lady gestured at the little girl.

"You're not afraid of the Equalists?" Haizi asked.

Shui Yao and Mari exchanged glances. "There's really nothing to be afraid of," said Mari. "The Equalists don't attack benders for nothing. Besides, they've got better things to do." Mari's confident countenance changed to one of worry. "However, I think there might be a real all-out war very soon. That would be terrible, after everything Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko did to bring peace..."

Haizi took their orders and brought it to the kitchen before returning and taking a seat at the table, looking out for her mother, for the latter didn't really approve of her hanging out with customers.

"I can't believe Chief Bei Fong resigned. What's going to happen to the police force now without a good leader? We can only hope that this Saikhan is up to the Bei Fongs' standards," Mari remarked.

"Yeah, it's pretty hard to believe. I used to like and respect, even worship her a lot, but I'm not so sure now," said Haizi, who didn't like people who gave up easily.

"There has been some speculation," Shui Yao said, as the drinks (watermelon juice) arrived, served by Haizi's brother, Ye, who gave his sister a look as she was not working when she was supposed to. "Some say that the chief resigned because she could take it no longer. People who believe this are terribly disappointed by her actions, of course, but there is also something else. Something that sounds much more likely to be the real case. Some are saying that Lin gave up her job so she could go after Amon and defeat him, in her own way, meaning that she doesn't have to submit to the law."

"That sounds more likely," Haizi agreed. "It sounds more... Bei Fong."

Mari glanced at her daughter who was making small fountains in her mother's watermelon juice and entertaining herself. She sighed. "I can only hope that the real war stays away for as long as possible.

#

Sigil smirked to himself. You can never have too many friends.

If it wasn't for the shadow that fell over the cell as the figure passed outside the window, none would've heard her. Sigil got to his feet and tried to stay as calm as possible. He walked towards the bars where two Metalbending cops were guarding outside. They wouldn't even assign regular prison guards. He had gotten himself a special cell, isolated and well-guarded as they had been hunting him for some time. Sigil remembered the last time he was caught; he had managed to escape with words.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Sigil said, through the bars at the cops, who turned their heads a slight bit. It was obvious they were distracted, Sigil thought, and couldn't help wondering what had gone on that distracted them.

"No tricks or you'll regret it," snapped the first police officer, on the left.

"Aw, I just wanted to ask you a question," he said. "What's going on out there?"

"That's really none of your business," said the second cop.

"Well, you don't allow me to read the Republic City Times, so perhaps you could be my window to the outside world," Sigil went on. "What's got you all looking so distracted?"

The police officer whirled around and glared at the Red Fox, no longer able to stand the 17- year old non-bender. "Shut up. You don't want to be gagged, do you? We're already being very kind." With that, he turned back to face the front.

"Fine." Sigil turned and was about to return to the single bed in the cell where he spent most of his time if he wasn't training. "I miss the days when I was the best Equalist Amon ever had." He sighed.

The second cop turned. "What do you mean you were an Equalist?" he growled. "You didn't say nothing about that when we questioned you."

"One does not simply announce to people, especially the police, that one is an Equalist," said Sigil, simply. "I was one of the best, man, you should've seen me. I was almost promoted to the post of Lieutenant, but that guy got it instead."

The cop turned back to face the front.

"You know, I still haven't gotten over my anger towards Amon for kicking me off the team of Equalists just because I complained about not being promoted to Lieutenant."

"Serves you right."

"That's why I want to help you bring him down. I know a lot about his plans and defenses, more than you do," Sigil said.

The two cops exchanged glances. "Lies, all lies," one muttered and both turned to face the front once more.

"I can tell you who invented the Equalist gadgets! Hiroshi Sato did! I'm not kidding!" Sigil exclaimed. Of course he knew it was Hiroshi Sato, he overheard the cops' conversation just that morning, when they thought he was fast asleep. "That's actually why I'm so eager for news; I wanna know if he's been captured yet!"

The two cops turned slightly. "What else do you know?"

Sigil looked as if he was trying hard to remember. "Ah yes, a new type of weapon, though when I left the Equalists, the plan was only in its infancy, but I saw the original sketches. Large, tall robots, real killing machines they are! All sorts of weapons like lightning, and so on and so forth..." This information was from the Republic City Times the cops had been reading that morning outside his cell and the Red Fox had seen the article. "Have they unleashed those yet? Oh spirits, imagine the havoc they would wreck on Republic City!"

The two cops finally turned completely and glared at Sigil. "Tell us everything that you know, or be ready to face a fate worse than your current one!" threatened one of the cops.

Sigil continued relating stuff, what he knew, heard, saw and most of it were lies. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the dark figure drop silently to the ground and maneuvered the keys of Sigil's cell off the cop's uniform as the Red Fox kept them intrigued with lies, all of which were hurriedly scribbled in a notebook. The figure made it away with the keys and neither cop noticed. Sigil was surprised to see how tensed and distracted all of them were. Was the whole Equalist thing really making such a huge impact on the people, or was it just the police? Sigil had never really cared much about the Equalists, though he did follow up on some news and overhear people talking, especially the rich ones. He had even overheard Hiroshi Sato masterminding with Equalists over the phone once, when he had sneaked in to the Sato mansion to steal, but that was quite a period of time ago, even before Avatar Korra came to Republic City.

Once Sigil was finished, one of the cops hurried off to deliver the information to the chief, leaving only one cop behind to guard Sigil's cell. The Red Fox slowly climbed onto the bed and peered out the single window of the cell, where a bunch of metal keys hung and a smoke bomb. Sigil retrieved them and crept to the bars, where he released the smoke bomb.

The cop gave a shout, but the thick smoke was clouding his vision. Sigil jammed the key into the lock, successfully unlocking it. He hurried out, scampered down the corridor, meeting prison guards on the way, but he merely avoided their attacks and when he got close enough, stomps to the feet or he merely kicked them wherever he could. He had had to relinquish his weapons upon his arrival at the Headquarters. They chased him and tried to cut him off, and Sigil knew they knew his weakness; he could not fight for too long. And since he was unarmed...

Several water whips from an unknown source sent a few guards backwards. Sigil took the opportunity and sprinted down the corridor, heading for the emergency exit. He finally dashed out into the bright sunlight and ducked behind a bush a distance away where he stayed hidden. The guards and the cop hurried out and began combing the area for him, but assumed that he had ran off. It did occur to one of the guards to check the bushes, but it was dismissed as a waste of time.

"That wretched boy must've run off and hid himself. He wouldn't risk the bushes, I'm sure," said the cop. "You know, I was actually hoping he would make an escape of his own."

The guards stared at the cop incredulously. Sigil pricked up his ears.

"There were too many of us guarding him. And whatever for? There are so many criminals around Republic City. Right now, we have more important things to focus on, don't you think? Chief Saikhan needs as many as he can get to handle this Equalist situation..."

That had not been mentioned. Sigil was stunned for a moment. What happened to Chief Bei Fong? Despite his criminal career, Sigil actually liked Chief Bei Fong.

"Red Fox."

Sigil turned at the mention of his nickname. A distinct and familiar smell tickled his nostrils. Upon seeing who it was, he smiled. "You used waterbending."

"Yes, and you know I hardly ever use it. So where's my 'thank you'?"

Sigil laughed. "Thank you, Shadow Child."

Sorry for the late update! I was running out of ideas and studying for an upcoming examination...

To Lilly: Are you submitting your OC to this story? And also, I think your idea is nice, but I don't think I have time for another fanfiction right now (I can't even churn out frequent updates for this one!). I'm really sorry. Perhaps you should create an account and write it, I'll definitely read it!