AN: Wow, does no one review this? I mean seriously! I got a few right in the beginning then nothing! If you're reading this then please review! I really like writing this story, but the reviews do actually get me writing in the first place, so please do. Anyway, not much too do with the main characters this chapter, or next actually. You'll need to put up with it though as they are needed to move the story forward.
Chapter Eight: Cross Hair
The blindfold came off, but it didn't help at all. The light shining into his eyes was too bright for him to see anything. The rock cuffs were still there and were even bended to something else, probably the back of the chair he was sitting on.
"Your papers checked out, but you are not authorized to be here as you know. Why did you come hear?" The voice was firm with its question and Dorian could only wonder what was going on. He'd seen Jericho send the messenger hawks off, so what was this all about?
"I should be authorized to be here. You should have received a letter from the High Chancellor of the Fire Nation a few days ago." Seriously, what was going on? He had a nagging suspicion that Blind Seer had something to do with it.
"We've received no letter from the Fire Nation for the past month. Certainly no letter explaining your presence here." His vision was slowly adjusting. He couldn't wait until it was better so he could see who he had to his hit list.
"The hawks might have been blown off course or something. I'd advise you too send a hawk to him about this as we should be authorized to be here." Dorian was getting a little worried now. Their window of opportunity for the instigation was small to begin with and now it was becoming nearly non-existent.
"We will. In the mean time, you'll be under guard."
"Look, we didn't get a lot of time here, so if you could get the message to him faster in any way, that'd be better." Dorian needed answers and he also had an appointment to keep with Blind Seer, so he had to get out of here as quickly as possible.
"Very well, but know that what we have that is faster than a hawk can be blown off course easier."
"I'd tell it to take the eastern current from here. A storm went through there on our way over, it didn't leave much so the wind should be easy there."
"But we're not you are we." Dorian couldn't see the sadistic grin, but he knew it was there, "Send one the usual route, is gimpy back yet?" Dorian could tell there was a nod and he groaned in annoyance. Why did everyone hate them so much?
A few minutes another man walked in and handed Dorian antagonizer a scroll.
He rolled it open and got a frown on his face, "Looks like your hawks did get blown off course. You're free to go." The rock cuffs came off and Dorian stood and noticed his legs were asleep.
"It was a pleasure having the conversation with you. One day maybe I can repay the favor." The man gulped as Dorian walked out. The threat wasn't lost on him.
Dorian rounded up the rest of his squad and left the city after dark. Right on schedule, a Blind Seer operative was waiting for them and motioned for the motioned for the to follow. Once they were out of sight of the city gate, a earthen platform was raised and they started to scream across the plains.
An hour later they came to a halt and were submerged through the earth and came to rest at the back of a tunnel that presumably led to the rest of the base. Once it widened into the first room they saw the cell's leader waiting for them.
"Welcome to my humble abode Captain?"
"Dorian and you would be?"
"Just call me Face. Now then, I noticed you had a little run in with customs. How far has Jericho slipped?" Dorian was amazed by how fast they started digging for information.
"He hasn't slipped the hawk got pulled of course. He's as sharp as ever." Dorian stopped when he heard hammering, and gave Koh a questioning look.
"We're expanding the base. New research lab." Dorian got a smile on his face. He could tell Koh was lying.
"Ming if we go see? I'm the researcher for Fallen Fire, that sort of thing interests me." He knew he was sticking his neck out by telling the researcher bit, but if he could shame them and get away with it Jericho would be quiet happy with him.
Koh hadn't given up yet though, "There's a lot of bending going on in there. You might get hurt, and then what kind of host would I be?"
"Didn't sound like bending to me. Sounded like steel being hammered." He had him on the ropes.
"Fine, you win. The avatar and a group his friends were and they left us with a parting gift." Dorian actually laughed.
He turned around and called out the orders, "One of you send a message to Jouku that he's got a lead. Send a message to Jericho as well. I'm assuming that our gracious host would give our colleague transportation here of course."
"Of course." Koh managed to get out past clenched teeth.
Rorin's boat gave a thud when its hull came down on the snow pier of the North Pole's harbor. He stepped out into the frigid air and had a short intake of breath. It was much colder here than he had thought. Yet there were people walking around with a single layer of clothes on! He sucked up the urge to go and put more clothes on and walked down to meet the reception party.
The harbor would have seemed friendly to most people, but the giant monument to those who fell during the Siege of the North seemed to want to beet Rorin and his men into the ground. The only part that didn't seem to hate them was the part of it that depicted Yue. Her eyes showed forgiveness and more than a little sadness
"We welcome our friends from the Fire Nation." Rorin almost gave a little huff of indignation. They'd sent a spokesman to see them where it was commonplace for the chief to come himself.
"We accept your greetings openly and warmly." Rorin kept the stiff formality to show that it wasn't lost on him. The Northern Water Tribe was supposed to be one of the most welcoming places on earth, yet he'd been sent someone from the old guard. The man obviously had the same problem the Earth Kingdom did: he held grudges that were passed down from generation to generation.
The formalities dragged on longer than Rorin would have liked, but they did and once he'd had an actual meeting with the chief he went to his room and dropped the hole under the carpet in it for the meeting with Maelstrom.
"You're late, mister." The man that Rorin assumed to be guarding the room slurred slightly and stumbled to open the door, dropping his bottle as he did.
Rorin ignored the man and walked through to a warmly lit room where the leader of Maelstrom was sitting, "You might want to consider rationing the booze."
"Keeps them complacent, and the only time they even think about disobeying the rules is when they're about to pass out anyway." The man was sitting in a chair of ice that was covered by furs. He was wearing a cloak that obscured most of his face, but you could still tell he was huge and stronger then a platypus-bear.
"Well, what's the plan for here then?" Rorin asked a little impatiently. Although the man seemed powerful, he also seemed to suffer from sloth.
"Not much of one. Once the instigation happens we'll move into the open and capture the city."
"Where will everyone be stationed prior to this?" Rorin was almost gawking in horror at how unprepared they were for taking over.
"We need some kind of targets so that we can take control quickly. We can't just take over forcibly!" Rorin was ready to let him have it now.
"Hold on. You don't know how things work here. This place is run far differently from the sauna you call home. Everything is far to close knit for anything like what you did before this. The way we do things is the best way to do things around here. Although the chief of the tribe may 'lead' it technically, he's mainly for international relations. If someone falls sick, the rest of the tribe steps in to fill in the gap. You can't take one part out because it's repaired immediately. We seem the way we do because this is the best way to go unnoticed, so don't think little of us."
Rorin was shocked into silence, and eventually the giant tossed him a necklace, "We're not completely unprepared." Rorin looked down at the trinket attached to it. It was a yin-yang with waves superimposed on it. Rorin ran his fingers over the top and it snapped open to reveal a glaring eye in the center of it.
"Everyone that's a friend has one. I'd suggest you as many as you can because we'll be using the chaos to cause as much damage as we can and you'll need someone to watch your back." He waved at Rorin to leave, which he did, dumbfound. Rorin was experiencing a sever case of culture shock. This was not how the meeting went in his head. That man was dangerous and Jericho was seriously underestimating him.
On the opposite side of the world Riley had just touched down at the South Pole. The harbor was the antithesis of the one of the North Pole. Crates were scattered everywhere and boats lined the pier in need of repair. He walked down the plank that doubled as the hull of the ship and was greeted by the chief of the Southern Water Tribes who was a wrinkled old woman.
She wouldve commanded almost none of his respect except that her eyes showed infinite wisdom and equal intelligence. She made him nervous because it seemed like she could read his mind, which wasn't a good thing.
"Welcome to our humble home. Please, make it as your own until you're done helping us get rid of this blot that has infected us."
More articulate than he thought too, "Thank you. Your hospitality bests your reputation. We will do our best to eradicate the arm of the group that has been seeded here, but it may take some time as we only just found out how wide spread they are."
"Well, we may have some leads. Is it possible they've changed their name since coming here?"
Riley's blood went cold, "Not unlikely, why, what have you heard?"
"Well, if you had a name it would be easier to track them down, and let's face it; a name like Fallen Fire would stick out around here like a sore thumb, wouldn't it?" She gave him a wry smile.
This was going to be more difficult than Riley had thought, "Yes you're right. If you could give me a list of any organizations that you know of around here I could send it back to see if we can get a name out of one of the members we have locked up right now."
"That would be a problem. I'm sure you're familiar with the down side of our reputation here. The actual law has very little power here. Everyone goes by their own rules. Thankfully, if any leaders aren't, their gangs usually implode, or are disbanded by the others. Most of the time we live in piece here and everyone is happy."
"That isn't exactly what I expected to hear to be quite honest." Riley admitted.
"Few things places are like what you think before you go there. I would suggest cooperating with them. They may not like you at first, but if you gain their trust, then the group you're after should be gone very quickly. The only place they could hide is the underground and that can be locked up easily if you play your cards right. I wish you luck in your endeavor." Once she was done talking she handed him a packet that had where they were staying in it, along with a few names of people that could be helpful.
Riley pocketed it and left for his room, followed by his men a short distance behind. Their rooms were what they'd expected: Spartan furnishing. Next to the bed was a dust covered nightstand. There was a picture on it that was the hotels claim to fame. The picture was apparently by the founder's great grandfather who had gotten a good luck at Sokka when his ship was going down during the remnants of the whiplash war. Next to it was something that wasn't covered in dust. It was a yin-yang carved out of narwhal-seal bone with waves superimposed on it.
Riley went to pick it up, but when he did he triggered something and there was a bright flash that temporarily blinded him. When his vision returned, there were five other men standing in the room.
A rather chubby one stepped forward to take his hand, "Welcome partner. I think you know the way things are run around here from your talk Naori."
"I assume that was the old lady."
"Yes, now you see the massive undertaking that's been thrown at us. So far, are plan involves to stages, which are unfortunately going to drag on for some time. The first step will be to take the city without worrying about the gangs. We will act as if we've won for awhile despite the gangs hammering away at us. We know they will.
Next, we'll wait for them to become bolder. We'll gather intelligence until we have enough to snuff them out with a swift strike. We'll do a number during the coup, to be sure, but we won't kill them, though we'll act like we have."
"What's the strategy for taking the city? Even with the way things are run here, I doubt we'll just be able to walk into the capitol building."
"You're right of course. Every inch of this pace is controlled by one gang or another. The area around the capitol building is no exception. Naori's own gang controls that and we'll have to fight tooth and nail to take it."
"Wait, she's a gang leader?"
"How do you think she became chief?" Riley couldn't come up with a intelligible answer, so he waited for the man to continue.
"If we can take the capitol building, the city will fall on the surface. We have to be careful though. If Omashu doesn't fall, then they'll be able to send forces to help the gangs, though it won't be called that. If that happens we're finished. For that reason, we also have to take the port to stop any out going messages. That means a divided force split at the front and the back of the city.
I'll be leaving the capitol building to you as there'll be plenty of bending at the harbor once this starts. One other thing: take the Spirit Oasis at all costs. If you can hold it for a little while, then some of the gangs will surrender because of the Koi fish you'll have in your possession."
"Thanks for the tip. We'll be getting into position soon. Best of luck to you." The chubby man nodded his thanks, and then whipped an incendiary at the ground and once the smoke cleared they were gone.
Riley could hear the janitor, muttering outside the room, "Damn fire benders. Been hear for ten minutes and they're smoking the place up already."
AN: This was a really fun chapter to write. I know it'll raise a lot of question, but keep reading book three and you'll figure it out eventually. Okay, probably not, more like book four, but the wait will be worth it, I promise. Please review as well. I haven't gotten one in a long time!
