A/N: Hey, ya'll! Sorry I've been gone for so long. In short, my midterms are coming up and I'm very close to failing History of English Literature. But anyways, enjoy this chapter! :)

Chapter Thirteen: Bait and Switch

Earlier

Loc swiped the sweat from his brow and looked out the window at the darken sky. He and the other Surrogates had spent the day smuggling Survivors out through a narrow underground tunnel in the basement. While Ae Jeong led the Survivors through the tunnel, Loc had stayed back to guard the ground floor entrance to the building.

"Loc?" A short young man with dreads appeared at Loc's side, looking pale but determined. "That's the last of them. They're all through to the other safe house."

Loc nodded. He disliked showing how nervous he was to other people but he was feeling it in his guts even as he gave out instructions in his most collected voice. "All right, Tuan, tell the others to move out."

Tuan made no move to leave. Instead, he stared at Loc with an almost stubborn expression. "You're not thinking of staying, are you?"

"Got to. Who else is going to seal the exit?"

"Don't worry about that. Leave it to an Earthbender."

Loc shook his head. "You know that's not how it works." He clapped a hand on Tuan's shoulder, and grinned. "Get going, Tuan. You know the tunnels better than Ae Jeong does. Make sure no one gets lost."

Tuan hesitated for a moment but then he nodded, returning a tight grin before running off toward the basement. Loc watched him leave. It was, in a way, the easiest goodbye he would never say aloud.

Loc stayed well hidden with a clear view of the front entrance as he waited. About a quarter of an hour passed before anything exciting happened, and even then it started – not with a bang – but a creak of the door opening. Three people entered the premise, one of whom Loc recognized immediately. Zahrul, leader of the Agni Kai Triad, was followed by a thuggish male with a crew cut wearing a leather jacket, and a few steps behind him, a slighter figure whose face was hidden by the hood of her cloak.

"Sir, I'll take it from here," grunted the thuggish male, looking around at the dusty reception area. "The Spec knows where it is, and it shouldn't take too long to find."

"You needn't bother yourself," replied Zahrul, his voice as cold and smooth as ice. "There's been too much trouble concerning the item, and I find that things go much quicker if I am personally involved." He motioned for the cloaked figure to join his side. "Tiva and I shall be back soon. You're to stay here and keep watch. Understood?"

The thuggish man bowed. "Yes sir."

From his vantage point, Loc watched Zahrul disappear from sight along with the cloaked person named Tiva. The thuggish man stayed where he was, his back turned to where Loc was hiding. Given that the opportunity was far too good to pass up, Loc slipped out of his hiding place, sneaking from cobwebbed reception desk to cobwebbed decorative vase until he was right behind the broad back of his target.

"Surprise," Loc whispered, and before the man could do anything more than grunt in alarm, he was out cold, sprawled on the floor with his mouth lolling open.

.

Zahrul climbed briskly up the flights of stairs, so quickly in fact that the Spec girl called Tiva who trailed behind him kept tripping over the hem of her cloak. The two of them kept on going until the cloaked girl suddenly stopped, her hazel eyes fixated on Zahrul. He nodded.

Tiva now walked in front of Zahrul, her hand outstretched so that her fingertips brushed the spotted wallpaper. She passed door after door, steadily making her way down the hall while Zahrul followed her, silent and watchful. When she passed a set of double doors that led to a suite room, she paused for a moment. Then, she turned to face Zahrul and pointed quietly at the door. Again, he nodded.

Quietly, he motioned for her to get out of the way. She obeyed without comment as Zahrul turned the doorknob, found it to be unlocked, and slipped inside. When the door closed behind him, Tiva stayed motionless as a doll. Behind the double doors, she heard Zahrul's voice. "I see that I have company." Tiva looked away from the doors, hiding her tears.

.

Loc wished he could have interrogated the bodyguard to figure out what Zahrul was doing here. It seemed clear that this wasn't the sort of Agni Kai invasion that Kria had described that morning. Although Loc was fully aware that Kria's interpretations could be inaccurate, it still did not explain why Zahrul had showed up here in the first place if not to capture Specs. What was this "item" that Zahrul was so intent on finding to come all the way to an abandoned hotel?

All these questions and more were pushed down to the second slot on the list of priorities as Loc ran around the first floor with a scraper in hand. He started ripping of sections of the wallpaper, moving from wall to wall, revealing small wall safes which had been installed on the day of operation. Some Surrogates (mostly Ae Jeong) had objected to what Loc referred to as "a solid contingency plan" but Loc was relieved to see that everything was intact. The safes each held a small switchbox which could only be activated via an electric charge. Once the switches were all on, an interval countdown would begin. If Loc remembered correctly, time until detonation was barely a minute.

With a feeling of trepidation, Loc pressed his hand against the first switchbox. The smallest tingle ran from the tips of his fingers onto the small metal surface on the side. There was a tiny mechanical click as a red light flickered on. One down, three more to go.

It was on the third switchbox that Loc heard the footsteps. Evidently, Zahrul had made quick work of his search for the mysterious item. The final switchbox was located in a corner, invisible to anyone coming down the stairs. Loc waited with baited breath. If he did not activate the switch soon, there was a good chance that Zahrul would walk away alive. There was, of course, a good chance that Zahrul would leave with what he came for and never think to return. The Survivors would then be free to move back into the hotel once the coast was clear and Loc would enjoy the pleasure of not being blown to a thousand pieces. But just the thought of letting Zahrul, the leader of the Agni Kais, walk away was causing Loc's hand to shake violently. He quickly stuffed it into his pocket just as Zahrul reentered the front entrance.

Zahrul stopped abruptly and Loc knew why. He'd left the thuggish bodyguard sitting propped against the reception desk. Loc's instinct was to charge the switch and wait until the detonation but his hand literally froze when he saw who was standing beside the cloaked girl who now had her hood down. A small frightened looking young boy with dark hair and green eyes. Bolin.

Loc swore so loudly inside his own head that he was astounded that nobody turned around. He was momentarily paralyzed, unable to think straight as Zahrul knelt beside the bodyguard. The little cloaked girl watched placidly while Bolin seemed too scared to do or say anything. In that moment, Loc made his decision.

"Hey!" Loc shouted as loudly as he could as he stepped out from the corner. As expected, Zahrul took notice as did Bolin and the cloaked girl. Bolin smiled and was about to greet him when Loc gave him "the look", something all Survivors equated with the words "shut up".

"I take it you're the one responsible for taking out my subordinate," said Zahrul in remarkably calm tones. "Quite intriguing. He seems to be out cold without the slightest signs of exterior trauma or drug use."

"Yeah, that's because I scared the daylights out of him," Loc replied airily. "But you should be too. Scared I mean."

"Of what, pray tell, would I be scared of?" asked Zahrul. "Of you?"

"No, no, not me. Well yes me, but not mainly me, you know?" Loc lifted the switchbox in his hand. "This here, my friend, is a detonation device."

"I see. A bomb threat."

"You bet your fancy suit there's a bomb, buddy. Several bombs, actually." Loc waved his free hand at the reception area. "See those safes over there? Those ones have already been activated. This one I'm holding is the last one. The second it's activated, the whole building's coming down."

"And what exactly do you want of me?" asked Zahrul, his icy tone now clearly pronounced in each syllable.

Loc snorted with laughter. "What does anybody want from you? Your profound wisdom? No, man – me and this whole city only want one thing from rich folk like you: money."

Zahrul's expression did not change as he pulled an expensive leather wallet from his jacket pocket and slid it across the floor toward Loc. "I think that should suffice. The wallet alone is worth more than –"

He broke off as Loc's derisive laughter echoed around the empty floor.

"You're a hell of a joker, aren't you?" Loc said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "What would I want with a couple of bills and an old man's purse? No, no. I want them."

Zahrul's raised his eyebrows. "You mean those children?"

"Don't play stupid, I know they're Specs. Why else would you be toting around a couple of kids?" said Loc, a wild gleam in his eyes though internally his heart was frisking his ribs, certain that any moment Zahrul would call his bluff and run. "One is worth enough to set me up for life."

Zahrul was quiet for a moment, apparently mulling over Loc's offer. Then, to Loc's incredulity, he looked up, his amber eyes flashing mischievously. "Deal."

Loc had to refrain himself from stupid blurting out "what?" and instead replied with a sneer. "That's the spirit, old man. The two Specs –"

"Not two, just one," said Zahrul, his grin more pronounced than ever. "You said yourself that one is enough to set you up for life, and I'd rather be dead than lose an investment as large as both these Specs."

"And which one are you so kindly offering?" asked Loc as nonchalantly as possible.

"Oh that's simple," Zahrul said. He slowly walked over to where the two children stood. He clapped a hand on Bolin's shoulder. "This one… is mine."

To be continued...

A/N: Questions and comments are always appreciated! Wrote this very fast so excuse all the crazy grammar mistakes. Thank you, as always.