Chapter 24: Operation Rolling Thunder, Part 5

Common space

Airship Prosperous Dragon

"Alright Kiyi, would you like to brief us on the situation?" Zuko queried.

With a nod, she pulled out a pointer from her back pocket and tapped at a name atop a web. "The 'Mountain Master' for this branch is Wenfu. From what I know, he runs an incredibly tight ship and dislikes interference from outsiders, especially adjutants from head office in Caldera."

Moving her pointer downwards, she tapped again at the left side of the web "Aniki here is the 415 for this branch."

At this, Sokka asked "415? What's that?", to which Azula answered "It means he's a 'White Paper Fan', in charge of running the day to day operations."

"If he's just a day to day ops person, why does he report directly to the head?"
"That's what we're here to find out. Moving on, the next person of interest is the Heung Ju, An Hui. He's in charge of inducting new recruits as well as HR within the organization."

"Of the three, who's going to give us the most trouble outside of the Mountain Master himself?"

"On the surface level, probably the Heung Ju, given that he's a staunch traditionalist and isn't very accepting of women being in positions of power. Although I suspect it would be the 415 that gives us the most trouble as he has access to the daily bookkeeping, which means he can fudge the records to show us what he wants us to see. Then again, he is subordinate to the will of the 'Mountain Master' so any action or reaction would have been pre-sanctioned from above."

"So what's our plan?"

From his pocket, Aang pulled out some small electronic devices and placed it on the table. "Place these bugs in their office and meeting rooms. They've been modified for cold weather as well as EMP shielding. With the city so far up north, my concern would be that communication with the outside world might be disrupted due to the Northern Lights. But these would work fine."

"Any idea who's meeting us at the airstrip?"

"Probably Katara and her liaison, whoever that it might be. The northern branch knows we're coming, but not when, and I'd like to keep it that way. Throws them off their game."

"Anything else?"

"Are there any more hot packs? I'm freezing here." Sokka piped up.

Raising an eyebrow, Azula replied "Aren't you from the Water Tribe?"

"Well just because I've got Water Tribe blood doesn't mean I like the cold."

"Is this your roundabout way of saying you want to snuggle?" Azula smirked

"If it keeps me warm, why not?"

"Then go snuggle with Zuzu then."

"That's not very nice of you." he pouted

"Okay break it up guys, no one is going to be snuggling with anyone here, especially not in front of me." Zuko interjected before continuing "Any other questions? Else, Azula, you're going to be in charge of running the furnaces today while Sokka, you're following me to inspect the armoury."

"Is this some sort of ploy to keep us apart, Zuzu? What a nice supportive brother you are." she sneered.

"Don't make me yeet him out through the cargo bay."

"Touch him and I will throw you out from the cargo bay after I castrate you."

"Aww, you're fighting for me? That sounds pretty hot." Sokka cooed, while making lovey-dovey eyes at Azula, who reciprocated with a kiss on his cheek.

"You two deserve each other, given how sick both of you sound about right now." Kiyi remarked, before leaving to practice her katas as far away from them as possible while trying not to throw up.

"I agree." said Aang, likewise retreating to the other end of the ship for the same reasons, leaving just the three of them staring at each other, Zuko on one end and Azula and Sokka on the other.

"Aren't you going to leave, or you'd like to be the third wheel here?" she asked as she maintained aggressive eye contact with him while proceeding to make out with Sokka, causing Zuko's good eye to twitch and finally chasing him away, half wishing someone could burn his other eye away after having witnessed his sister exchanging saliva with his employee, their smooching sounds loud enough to be heard in the engine bay.

Penthouse

5th Canal Avenue, Uptown District

Agna Q'ela

In most cases, being sent to the Poles by the council of elders in Caldera was as good as being excommunicated back in the early post-war era. The fact that it flourished as well as it did was testament to the strength, willpower and resourcefulness of those who were sent here, to the last frontier of civilization. A small fledgling offshoot, beset by petty infighting and torn apart by moles,it had since evolved to rival in terms of profit accrued, some of the more prestigious branches in Fire Fountain City and Ba Sing Se.

If it were any other man, they would have called it a day and relaxed upon his laurels. Truth be told, he was once tempted to do so, but the allure of a fresh challenge was too tempting to resist. Though now in hindsight, it was beginning to be more trouble than it was worth.

Turning his mind to more pressing matters, he cast his gaze at the other members of his inner circle, before taking a sip from his glass and weighing his words carefully.

"I assume you know the reason why all of you were summoned here on short notice, do you not?", pausing to watch the mood in the room before continuing. "It seems that the head office has dispatched a team of adjutants to review our branch records after a most unfortunate incident involving the youngest daughter of the branch in Pirate's Pier."

One of them raised his hand to ask but was cut off "To most, it appears to be nothing but a gang war. However, six days ago two senior FNIA personnel were spotted meeting with the branch head. And now the head office is sending us adjutants, well past the auditing season, it is too much of a coincidence here. Someone's departments are leaking. Might I advise you all to plug it before it escalates any further. Else," he paused and motioned to two foot soldiers to open the door, where a bound and battered man was tossed unceremoniously to the floor, a small whimper escaping his lips. "this be your fate."

With that, he dragged the man up to his knees and summoned a fist of fire. Showing zero hesitation, he slowly and methodically burned a fist sized hole through the man's left, the screams silenced but for a moment as the other hand gripped the neck in a vice like grip. Soon his bloody right fist emerged out of the back, a ragged burn hole where the man's heart used to be, the smell of charred flesh mingling with the excrement released by the man in his death throes.

Releasing the mutilated body from his grasp, he let it crumple in a heap, the smell of burning flesh lingering in the air. Wiping his hands off in a nearby basin, he motioned for the council to commence, whilst men quickly filed in to remove the stained carpet and the shell of a man it contained. It was a shame to have to ruin a fine carpet like that, but a message had to be delivered, he thought to himself as the central area was cleaned before the members of the meeting stepped forth to deliver their piece.

Underground bunker

Hotel Azulon

As Ursa walked in, there was a flurry of activity already taking place as men and women manned and operated radio equipment, others cleaned and rechecked the rows of weapons off to the side and still others huddled around a grid of the city, moving blocks and figurines as sheets of papers passed hands from the radio operators to the runners to them, notes and remarks hastily scribbled on them. So busy were the personnel that no one batted an eyelid nor did they give any form of salute, as their work required their undivided attention.

"What are the latest movement reports from the hawks in the field?" she asked as she placed her hands over the grid of the city, leaning in to take a closer look at several points of interest.

A woman with a sheaf of papers in her hands glanced at the grid and moved a couple pieces arounds before double checking with her list and replying "So far the peacekeeping force has largely stayed within the buffer zone, though there have been minor incursions into our sovereign territory. I believe these are merely to test our response, nothing more."

"What about the Terra Triad?"
"There have been minor skirmishes, but nothing that has the potential to blow up yet."

"I see. Get our hawks to probe for any weak points along the buffer zone, and keep me posted on when weak points appear. Do we have eyes on inside the buffer zone?"

"Not yet, our hawks are still trying to penetrate and set up a relay station, however initial field reports suggest that there might be jamming equipment as well as RDF equipment in case there are relay stations. Possibly to prevent both sides from trying to smuggle assassins across the buffer zone as well as deny them safe houses would be my guess."

"This does make things difficult, but not insurmountable. They are criminals, not ex-military personnel. Get me a background check on the records of those sent to the buffer zone as soon as possible.

"Will do, ma'am."

"Thank you. Also, it wouldn't kill to turn the AC one every once in a while, it's pretty hot down here."

"We're Fire Nation, we're used to hot weather. Besides, it keeps the heating costs down."

"Suit yourself. " Ursa replied, before walking quickly to exit the room, which had gotten more hot and stuffy in the meantime.

Unmarked airship port

Somewhere outside of Agna Q'ela

Standing in front a long glass window, two women stood animatedly chatting, whilst waterbenders set up a tight perimeter, eyes glued to the surroundings while their fingers either drummed restlessly on the sides of the weapon's receiver or fiddled with the caps on their waterskins. While one was more or less the poster child for what a typical Water Tribe Woman looked like, with a cinnamon complexion highlighting her cerulean eyes, her counterpart had seemingly struck the lottery with an exotic blend of Fire Nation and Water Tribe features that would steal the breath out of most lesser people. Most strikingly of all, her hair was as white as the pure driven snow, further enhancing her stunning looks.

"Are you sure we can trust these people? I mean, they're here under orders from the FNIA and secondly, three out of the five have a substantially large bounty on their heads. Thirdly, our people still carry grudges from that siege of the north. So yeah, they better have a good reason as to why I shouldn't arrest them as soon as their boots hit the ground."

"I mean, when you put it like that, yeah we probably shouldn't trust them. But still, from the way he sounded, better the dragon you know than the leviathan you don't. Besides, if the threat is as serious as they say it is, having extra firepower is a plus. Also my brother is part of 'these people', so no. Though I would like to cuff him up and toss him in a holding cell for shits and giggles."

"And you say you have a good sibling relationship?"

"I bend water into his parka, he shoves me into a snowbank, I'd say the score is about even. I mean, what are younger siblings for amirite?"

"The hell am I supposed to compare that against, my imaginary friends?"

"Tui and La, lighten up Bulan, you don't have to be so serious all the time."

"Someone's gotta be to keep those idiots in line, especially the ones sitting behind their fancy desks and shit."

"You should quit your job and give freelancing a try."

"And leave the capital in the hands of incompetent councilmen and women? Fat chance."

"Unfortunately someone's gotta take charge. I'm just glad it ain't me. Spirits know I'd bloodbend them to death on the first day of the job."

"Welp, the airship's here, guess I'll see what they have to say."

"Promise me you won't arrest them on sight."

"As chief of law enforcement, that would be a dereliction of duty."

"Fine, just don't arrest the bald kid with the arrow tats and my brother."

"Sure, but that doesn't mean I can't have my fun."

"..."

As the gang exited the skybridge, a tense silence greeted them as the arrival gate was empty and devoid of personnel.

"Something's off. I can feel it." Kiyi stated.

Closing his eyes, Zuko took a deep breath and focused on the heat sources around him.

That's 'Lala, Kiyi, Aang, Sokka….wait who's those people hiding in the corners? Shit, this is an ambush.

Before he could utter a word, ice cuffs shot out and slammed them against the wall and the railings, knocking the breath out of them. Then, the sound of heels clicking on tiles echoed loudly, every step sounding ever more ominous as they struggled to free themselves. Wiggling their fingers, the fire siblings tried to melt the ice but before they could, a voice called out "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Unless you'd like an icicle through your heart."

Turning their heads to the source of the voice, they spotted a pale skinned woman with blue eyes and white hair stride confidently towards them, before taking a stance in front of the gang. Raising her pointer, she casually pointed at them "I've got arrest warrants for you, you and you.", pointing at Zuko, Aang and Azula. "And you must be Kat's brother, which then begs the question, who are you, young lady?" pointing to Sokka and finally Kiyi.

"Release my siblings and I might answer you." Kiyi shot back.

"Hmm, how about no? Can't have criminals running loose in Agna Q'ela can we?" Turning her attention to Sokka, she purred whilst slowly stroking his face "What's your story? Fell in love with a girl from the wrong crowd? If so, I'll show you what a girl on the right side of the law can offer.", prompting Azula to growl "Step away from my Sokka and I just might spare your life."

"Well well well, what a possessive girlfriend you have there. So hot tempered."

"I'll show you hot tempered!" she exclaimed.

"Sheesh, calm down girl. I was just messing with y'all." ruffling her hair whilst trying to avoid a snapping Azula.

"Who are you and what do you want from us?" Zuko queried.

"I would answer your question, if you'd promise to restrain your sister."

"..."

"Fine."

With a snap of her fingers, their cuffs were released and immediately a firm restraining hand was placed on Azula's shoulder as she massaged her wrists, all the while shooting death glares in Bulan's direction.

"Alright, now speak."

"Not the most polite way to address the deputy chieftess of the Interior Directorate, but I'll let that slide. Now I believe most of you are acquaintances of Katara, who told me you needed some backup in hunting down some high level individuals currently residing here?"

"Sounds about right."
"And you are working for the FNIA, correct?"

"Well, not officially no. But we have access to resources from the FNIA."

"I see. But what makes you think I will allow FNIA operations to be conducted on NWT sovereign territory without repercussions?"

At this Aang piped up "Well, I thought Katara would have cleared it with you?" Turning her head, she asked out loud "Hey Kat, this bald boy of yours says you cleared this op with me? I don't recall you ever mentioning FNIA operations, only that there would be certain Fire Nation individuals heading up north and cooperation would be appreciated."

At this, Katara stepped out of the shadows, jokingly replying "Obviously you don't remember shit, you were blasted to the Spirit World last night in the club, Bulan.", however her smile and demeanour soured when she caught sight of Azula, who hissed "Water bitch."

"Ash slut."

"Easy now girls, calm down." Aang interjected, trying to prevent his girl from getting into a catfight with Azula.

"You know what, let's get this over with once and for all. One on one, no using sub bending."

"You dare challenge a waterbender on her home turf?"

"You're damn fucking right."

"Let's do it."

10 minutes later

Runway

The two stood on opposite ends, golden eyes staring down cerulean blue. Bulan stepped into the middle of the two and laid out the ground rules. "No bloodbending, no lightning bending. Hand to hand is allowed, but no deliberate targeting of eyes. Winner by submission or knockout. No targeting of each other's boyfriends. I want a good, entertaining fight. Any rule breaking and I will break the offender's kneecap before leaving her out in the icefields. I hear polar bear dogs aren't too picky as to what they come across this time of the year. Got it?"

"Got it." the girls answered beneath their scarves, their bodies tensing up in anticipation of combat.

With that, she left them to their staring contest and headed to where Sokka, Kiyi, Zuko and Aang were watching with bated breath. "Ready, set, fight!"

Immediately, the girls started circling each other, fingers flexing, trying to tease out any weak points to strike at. Then, Azula kickstarted her offensive with a flurry of rapid fire punches, sending fireballs hurtling in every which way at Katara, who quickly pulled up a wall of snow, converting the fireballs into steam, which she turned into a water whip and countered with stinging strikes in reply, forcing Azula on the back foot by the sudden ferocity.

As she backpedaled slowly, she kept a running defence with her own fire whips extending from the palms of her hand. Putting her left foot back, the heel of her boot made contact with black ice and she slipped, her head rushing to make painful contact with the asphalt. Seeing this, Katara redoubled her counter offensive and closed the distance, seeking to press in her advantage and claim a swift victory.

Unfortunately, Azula's reflexes, which was honed through combat and relentless training, allowed her to use her right hand to boost herself back upright, before using the momentum to dive into her own counter with twin twirling fire jets, causing Katara to be on the defensive as the relentless fiery barrage nullified any chance for a reply.

In the ensuing melee, the water shield brought up was time and again converted into steam, creating a fog that was briefly illuminated by flashes of blues and oranges. An idea then came into Katara's mind and she dived to disengage, intending to use the steam cloud as concealment. Now outside of the steam cloud, she gathered up the snow and water vapour to utilize against her but was rudely interrupted by Azula, who tackled her to the ground.

With that, they struggled and rolled on the ground, seeking to establish dominance over each other with punches and scratches, their winter coats absorbing the worst of the blows. Using her slightly larger body mass, Katara pinned the slender firebender to the cold hard asphalt with a leg lock, before summoning an icicle and holding it over her head.

"Seems like I have you beat."

"Think again, bitch." she spat, as Katara suddenly felt the left side of her face suddenly heat up, a fire dagger blazing unbearably hot. As they once again stared down each other, Katara's peripheral vision failed to spot Azula left hand bearing down on her chi points. A few vicious strikes later, her right arm was disabled and the icicle melted harmlessly into water. Capitalizing on her shock, she used her free hand to propel herself out with a quick jet, before straddling the waterbender and disabling her left arm with another series of strikes that left her limbs hanging limply.

"Who's got who beat now, water witch?" she smugly taunted, savoring her victory over the damned waterbender, who at this point was trying her very best to not be a sore loser even though she was very much contemplating beating her senseless, her blue eyes still staring back in defiance.

"Fine. You win, for now." Katara spat venomously.

"Glad you know your place in the pecking order. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to fend off your pesky friend from stealing my Sokka." she replied, before hopping off her and making her way towards Bulan, while Aang and Kiyi rushed to help get Katara back on her feet. Raising her head, she looked up at Bulan and threatened "If you ever, ever even attempt to steal my boy from me, Spirits help you."

"Is that a challenge I hear?"

"You want to test me?!" she angrily replied, her jealous streak out on full display. Immediately, Sokka moved to put his arms around her, partly to assuage her concerns and partly to prevent her from doing anything rash.

"Hey Azula, enough. I'm not gonna leave you for anyone else, okay. Calm down." he whispered into her ear, followed by sappy kisses and whispering sweet nothings into her ear as she slowly came down in temper. Pulling his face down, she whispered in his ear "You better not, else Spirits help what's left of you once I'm done." Turning back to the field, he asked "What did you do to my sister?"

"Oh that, I chi blocked her. It should wear off in about a day or two."

"Could you teach me?"

"Yeah...no. No telling what sort of of dirty things you'll do to me when I'm chi blocked by you."

"Well that wasn't the first thing that came to mind but now that you mention it….." he chuckled deviously, causing Azula to ask herself she had inadvertently shacked herself up to an sex crazed fiend. Banishing the thought from her mind for now, she hit Sokka in his manhood, causing him to cry out in a high pitched tone "What the hell was that for?"

"That," she cooly replied, "was for thinking with your dick, you perverted savage."

"Please tell me you didn't chi block little Sokka?" he squeaked.

"I didn't. Or perhaps I did. We'll find out later tonight won't we?" At this, the rest of them could only shake their heads in judgement, as Azula sauntered off with Sokka waddling behind her, hands still on his nether regions.

"Wouldn't surprise me if your brother is the one getting pegged." Bulan remarked to Katara. "

Ew, what the fuck Bulan can you not be so graphic! Tui and La, I need to take a bath in the Spirit Oasis to cleanse that image out of my mind." Katara shot back, barely stopping herself from throwing up.