Chapter Twenty Five
Kai's phone rings and he slides his arm from under Jinora to answer it. A wave of dizziness hits him and he falls out of the bed waking Jinora. He mutters an apology and then answers the phone.
"Kai! There is a situation at two locations. We can't keep the fires contained without more men. Plus, we need men on hand for rescue efforts. So, get dressed and get to the station."
"Wh-what's going on? Two fires? I've been drinking, chief. I don't want to endanger anyone."
"Two of Future Industries buildings have had explosions, but the fire has threatened to spread. Find someone to give you a ride. Drink some coffee and get your ass down there. The next truck is leaving in twenty and you'd better be on it!"
"Yes, sir. I understand."
"This is serious, Kai. Don't let me down."
The line clicks dead. He turns to Jinora, who's sitting up.
"Nora?"
"I heard. Asami's dad runs Future Industries. I'll put some coffee on."
He gets off the floor with a groan. The seriousness of the call sobered him up pretty well. It must be bad if they're calling him two days before his scheduled shifts. He runs to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth.
#
Asami's phone rings and a couple seconds later, so does Korra's. They both roll over, groggily, and reach for their devices.
"Hello," Korra's voice rumbles.
"Are you with Asami right now?" Jinora asks on the other line.
"Dad, what's up?" Asami asks when she answers.
Korra looks over to her.
"Yeah, she's right here; why?"
"Asami, I didn't want you to hear it from anyone else. There's been an incident," Hiroshi says.
"Has she talked to her father yet?" Jinora asks.
Korra sits up. "She's talking to him now. What's wrong?"
"Dad, what do you mean?"
"Two of our factories had explosions this morning."
Asami quickly hops out of bed, all drunkenness suddenly erased. "Where are you?"
Korra watches her as she practically jogs to the bathroom. "Sams? What's going on?"
"Korra, there's been an explosion at two of Future Industries factories. I think it's bad."
Korra too hops up. "I'll call you back."
"Korra, wait. I'm on my way to drop Kai off. I have a feeling this wasn't an accident."
"Yeah, okay." Korra rolls her eyes. She knows it's early, but duh, two explosions wouldn't be an accident.
She hurries and digs through her drawers to find the jeans and tank top that Asami left over here. After she throws them on the bed, she grabs her own set of clothes.
"Are there any casualties?" Asami asks her father after he tells her which factories and assures her that he's okay.
He wouldn't dare tell her about the phone call, though. No, he'll handle that on his own. If his activities were exposed, he'd go to jail too.
"They've found two security guards, but the other four are missing."
Asami curses. "I'll be there shortly." She hangs up the phone without saying goodbye and then does a bit of hygiene before stepping back into the room. She's unsurprised to see her clothes laid out and Korra dressed, waiting to use the bathroom.
"Jinora told me. They called Kai to help with the fire. Give me two minutes.
"Okay," Asami says, pulling her hair into a messy ponytail.
Shortly, they head out the door, Asami driving, of course.
#
"Fuck!" Lin exclaims, startling Kya out of her sleep.
"What?"
"I've gotta get to Future Industries. There's been a possible terrorist attack. Two factories are going up in flames right now. Can you call Tenzin for me and tell him that I want his team working alongside the arson investigators. Their vacation is over."
Kya nods and Lin gets up to prepare to assess everything. She's going to have to issue a statement. Future Industries is a major employer. This could slow the economy down and the feds are going to want to take the case. It's going to be a busy day.
#
Hiroshi covers his mouth to muffle his voice as he speaks into his disposable phone. "I don't care how fucking long it takes. You fucking find him and you bring him to me!"
"But, sir. Everyone's going to be watching you right now. I don't think-,"
"I don't give a damn what you think. You fuck with my money; you think you'll send me that kind of message and I won't respond? I want his head on a stick." He's fuming.
"I-I understand, sir."
"The faster you find him, the bigger the bonus." He hangs up the phone. Then, he steps out of his car and into the media's flashing lights.
#
She's never personally seen this much devastation. The fire is still raging and a group of exhausted firefighters switch out. She heard them say that they can't even get inside to rescue anyone that may be in there due to the inferno. The only reason they're not just allowing the factory to be a loss is because of the chemicals that could create an even larger explosion.
They've pushed the spectators back and she spots Kai doing his part with crowd control. Her heart drops. This is only one site. Future Industries employs so many. What will they do now?
Korra touches her shoulder and shakes her out of her trance.
"Go find your dad. I'm going to talk to the detectives on scene."
Asami squeezes Korra's hand and heads to where the reporters are stationed. She knows her father will be over there. With her head held high, she makes her way through the maze of people. When Hiroshi turns, he finds Asami and pulls her in for a hug. Cameras click in a frenzy as they capture the moment. Then, they release each other.
"We'll get through this, dad. We always do."
"Thank you, honey." He straightens his clothes and steps up in front of the extended mics to make a statement. Asami stands behind him, lips a thin line.
"I'm going to be brief as the fire chief will undoubtedly have more answers of the cause of this fire. I want to thank our first responders for their prompt response. They are putting their lives on the line to keep the blazes contained. There are also some security personnel that are still unaccounted for. Out of respect for their family, we will remain optimistic and refrain from releasing their names until the proper people have been notified. Property can be replaced. Future Industries' first priority is to our people and we will continue to be committed to our loyal employees. Operations will be suspended for the next days, but we will continue to pay all of our employees through the week and until we can move them to other operations. For now, let's just allow our brave men and women to do their jobs and give them the space they need."
#
"I'm sorry ma'am, but I really need you to take another step back," Kai says, working the crowd. They've set up barriers, but some people with camera phones have tried to get a better view of the damage.
"A couple more feet won't hurt anybody," she whines.
"Ma'am, please," he says again as a police officer steps over to assist him. "This could be very-,"
His words are cut off by a small blast and the sound of the structure falling. There's screams in the distance as debris falls. In his ear, he hears a mayday signal go off. Without hesitation, Kai turns and sprints toward the flames.
He rushes to the truck to grab any equipment he needs and then takes off again. From his vantage point, he can see that some people are trapped under the debris. His people, his men. He pulls the first to safety and doesn't stop, determined to do all he can.
The heat of the flames kiss his uniform, but he ignores it as he yells for anyone in the area to call out. He's awfully close to the structure and his men wouldn't have gone in unless they knew someone needed to be rescued. Through the thick, black smoke, he continues to scan as he'd been trained, to save a life, if possible.
#
As soon as the blast hits, Asami pushes her father to the ground. The rest of the people follow suit. When Asami lifts her head up, she sees Korra pushing through the crowd to get to a woman that seems to be pinned under some cement. She stands up and takes off in her direction.
When she arrives, the woman is crying and Korra is already trying to lift the heavy object. It budges slightly, but it isn't enough. Korra screams as she tries to lift it again.
"It hurts," the woman cries.
"Just hold on. We'll get you out of here," Asami promises. She looks around for something to use as leverage, but she doesn't need it. Two more men rush over to help.
"We'll lift it and you pull her from under," one of the men orders.
He's a firefighter. Asami nods and on his count, they lift. Asami pulls and she can tell that her legs are crushes. She ignores the screams as she pulls the woman away from the danger. She ends up passing out from the pain.
"We need a medic!" the other man calls.
Somewhere behind them, more cameras go off.
#
"I need bomb squad teams to all Future Industries sites right now," Lin orders. "We need evacuations of all streets that they're on until we know what the fuck is going on."
"Understood." The line goes dead.
She had just left the scene of the first fire and was headed to the other one to talk to the fire chief and Hiroshi. It pissed her off that it didn't occur to her to have them check the other sites. That could be a costly mistake. Her phone rings again.
"This better be good news," she growls.
"There was a small explosion at my site moments ago. The chemicals in the factory seem to be responsible."
"Okay. Help out however you can. I'll be there shortly."
She hangs up and her phone rings again. It's a call that she's been waiting for, even if the timing is terrible. "Agent Shaw, I take it you were able to look into that."
"I did and right now, you can't tell anyone. You're not going to like this. Hell, I don't like it either. The people that picked up your guy, they weren't part of any federal agency. Now, we're trying to cover our asses."
"Who were they, then?" Lin squeezes the phone tightly.
"We'rre not sure, but we think they were working for Yakone. Well, not Yakone, but rather his sons."
"Son of a bitch."
"Beifong. We're handling it. It's not for you to worru about."
"The hell it isn't! That was my officer that was compromised and is now missing. This was a case that I let them take as a favor to you. If my people are in danger…"
"We're on the case, Beifong. I don't need your threat."
"Be careful here, Shaw. Let me know if anything else comes up."
"Goodbye Lin."
#
Six hours later, an exhausted group of firefighters are met with applause and cheers. They managed to put both fires out, but they were only able to rescue one more of the security guards. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, but the doctors aren't hopeful.
Still, no one blames them.
Already, images of Asami pulling the woman from the rubble, of Korra trying to lift the heavy concrete, of Kai rushing into the fire, and more have been circulating all over.
The market is going crazy and Future Industries stocks began to plummet affecting the entire market. They're doing heavy damage control.
Luckily, the bomb squads found nothing. It was business as usual for the other businesses around F.I.
Asami is still at the site with her father, but the rest of the team is at the precinct scouring over footage.
"Nothing from outside this morning. Not a peep."
"What about yesterday?"
"We don't have that. Hiroshi wasn't that generous. I'm sure he wants to have his people look through it first, see if there's any questionable business practices shown. Korra, why don't you call Asami and have her talk to her father."
"Sure. Or, maybe she can have a look herself."
"I don't like this," Kuvira says.
"Well, plenty of people have motivation to hate F.I. But, they also employ plenty of people. Are we really believing that this was intentional?" Bolin asks.
"Bo, I know you're an optimist, but let's do the math here. Two factories at the same time," Opal says.
"I know, I just… Something tells me that nothing good will come of this," he says.
"Bro, I'm agreeing with you on that,"says Mako.
#
"Dad, what is going on? What aren't you telling me?" Asami asks, growing frustrated with her father's behavior. He's been giving her the run around all day.
"If I knew, don't you think I'd tell you?"
"Dad, this is serious. Let me help you. Let us get the security footage so we can find out what happened."
"I already told you, my security is looking into it. Then, we'll give it to the police. I really don't want you on this case."
"Why? Our team is the best and I know the company just as well as you. We'll find out who did this."
"I just don't think it'll look good to have my daughter investigating this."
"You leave that between me and my bosses. I'll give you by the end of tomorrow, dad. Then, I'll use my own clearance and get the footage myself."
"You'll get the damn footage."
"Dad!"
He rubs his face. "Look, I'm sorry Sami bear. I don't mean to take it out on you, but I have to make tough decisions to protect the company."
"I get it; just make sure you know who the real enemies are."
She stares into her father's eyes, but he doesn't so much as twitch. She sighs.
"I'm going to go check in, but I'll be back, dad."
"Does this mean you're rethinking your position in the company?" he asks, even though he already knows the answer.
Asami looks down at her dirty clothes and recalls the flames that ate at the foundations of the factories. The factories that her father worked so hard to create, the same factories that she spent most of her childhood in. She's worked so hard to create her own identity-to be more than what everyone else wanted her to be.
"You know I'll help you with what I can, but I know my place, dad."
He gives her an amused smile. "Very well. You know where to find me."
As Asami leaves, Hiroshi reaches for his disposable phone.
'Found him. What do you want me to do?'
'Just keep watching him. I'll be in touch.'