Chapter 25: Midnight Hunting Party, Part 1

Safe house

8th Canal Street

"Here's the keys to your safehouse, I'll be back in the morning for a full debrief. And when I say full, I mean full. Nothing left out whatsoever, understood? Because let me tell you, people here in the north bear long grudges for what the Fire Nation did all those years ago. You wouldn't want a bunch of angry waterbenders on your doorstep now, would you? So sleep tight, because tomorrow's going to be a long day." before turning back to the vessel and blowing a kiss to Sokka, clearly aware of the effect it would have on Azula, who seethed at what she perceived to be blatant attempts at stealing what was hers.

Thankfully, Sokka recognized the baiting attempt for what it was and moved to restrain her once again from behind in a tight bear hug, mixing in kisses and soothing words that helped allay her concerns about any potential infidelity. Besides, creating an international incident via sinking her vessel wasn't going to help their case much.

The safehouse was small and cozy, built around a central fireplace that spread the warmth to all areas of the house via steam pipes. When questioned as to the practicality of using steam pipes in a structure made of ice, Sokka and Katara merely shrugged. "The ice is thick enough to still maintain structural integrity and the heating pipes have been modified for unidirectional heat conduction only. Basically, the house won't melt down, despite any concerns you might have. Besides, melting is only really an issue during the summer months." he assured her.

With that, their contingent moved to claim the different rooms while Kiyi and Aang proceeded to set up their communications and other equipment. After informing Ursa of their safe arrival, minus the whole catfight on the tarmac, they went to sleep, tired and jetlagged as their bodies gradually adapted to the land of the endless midnight.

Buffer Zone

Pirate's Pier

It was shaping up to be a boring shift, as neither side wished to be at fault if things ever came to blows. In fact, outside of some minor construction of vehicle checkpoints, it was business as usual. Even on the first day, those foot soldiers of the gangs tasked with enforcing the buffer zone were too busy with setting up their own miniature rackets and checkpoints that inevitably, hitmen and reconnaissance scouts from both sides slipped into their predesignated observation posts, ready to ambush each other's raiding party should they trip up and reveal themselves. That is, if the foot soldiers didn't catch them first as along the line, there were varying levels of security.

For instance, one street patrolled by the 4K were heavily guarded, with a technical parked on the side as a show of force whilst four streets down, a checkpoint run by the Crimson Typhoon members was a very sloppy affair, with only a haphazard roadblock and a tent beside, inside of which were the guards enjoying takeout and some liquor. All in all, there were weak points and strong points along the line and both sides intended to exploit it fully.

After all, one did not get very high up the food chain sticking to the same old tactics everytime.

"Are the hawks in position?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Tell them to standby for wetwork in the next 48 hours, target packages will be couriered soon."

"Jae Hyun, are the badgermoles in position?"

"Yes sir."

"Tell them to start feeding me movements, we've got some dragons to hunt."

"Would this not violate the ceasefire?"

"Only if it goes loud. But that's why it pays to keep ex-special forces and Dai Li on your payroll."

"A most excellent choice. Equipment will be delivered along with targets as soon as we have established a plaza."

"Very well. See to it that the blasted ashmaker gets what's coming."

Warehouse district

Pirate's Pier

Bleeding out on some grimy Earth Kingdom street curb was not how she intended to go down. In fact, she fully intended to retire back in her home village, surrounded by rice paddies on all sides as she slowly sipped tea while watching the sunset. At least, that was the plan twenty years ago, given her service to crown and country. Six years as a regimental sergeant major in the 88th Division, before applying and passing selection for the Golden Division, the special forces unit for the Fire Nation military establishment, in which she served with distinction for two grueling tours in the colonies chasing partisan units who fought like savage animals. Many a time she thought she would not live to see the next sunrise, but coming home to a defeated and war-wrecked nation made her wish she did.

Flashback

12 years ago

Dear 阿妈,

I hope this letter finds you in good health. Remember I told you in my last letter that I was down to my last yuan? Well today some recruiters for a private security company offered me a contract for a twelve month deployment back in the southwestern Earth Kingdom. Apparently the Earth Kingdom has been in a mess ever since the end of the war, can't blame them really seeing as we 'bout damn near tore up the place in our war. I suppose, it's one way to start paying for my sins. Anyways the pay is seriously good, too good to be true but given our financial status right now, what with the farm in dire straits as it is, I've decided to take the contract. I'll be leaving in a couple days, so by the time you read this letter, I'll be half way across the Mo Ce. Don't worry about me, I've survived one war, this should be a piece of cake. Say hi to Ming Hui and tell her congratulations for entering the Academy.

If the worst should happen and I somehow get blasted to kingdom come by some halfwit bandit, go to Caldera and look for colonel Jia Jian. He was my commanding officer back in the Golden Division and he's a good man, he'll help take care of things. May the light of Agni shine upon you and the household.

Your filial daughter,

陈智晴

Her suspicions proved true, as the so-called 'private security company' was nothing more than a front to recruit veterans into the Agni Kai's Pirate's Pier branch in their first turf war with the Terra Triad. Being a new kid on the block so to speak, they were lacking in firepower and experience. Slipping back into her role as the a urban fighting and psy-ops specialist from her days in the Golden Division, she not only whipped the unruly gang members into a fearsome roving platoon that so bloodied their opposition that the appearance of their signature calling card, a black flame on red sprayed across the walls and shutters sent them scurrying back from whence they came.

For this, Ursa rewarded her efforts with a cushy position as lead instructor for their vanguard as well as coordinating convoy safety, seeing as their transports laden with china white made tempting targets for opportunists seeking to make a quick buck. Under her watch, only one shipment in the past eleven years was unaccounted for, a large shipment of China White that was jacked somewhere in between Pohuai and Pirate's Pier. Other than that one shipment, she had a flawless track record.

This night had been a tiresome night, for coordinating security with shipping was a nightmare due to the buffer zone in place which affected route efficiency but also security planning. Finally, two hours after she was supposed to clock out, she stepped into the chilly night air and started to walk back to her apartment. As she walked, the wind picked up and she pulled the hood over her, intending to block the wind blowing behind her. However, she did not realise that behind her, a man darted from shadow to shadow, a rock glove in his hand. Timing his shots with the wind, a flurry of crystalline shards effortlessly tore through her midsection, their temporal cavity imparting massive hydrostatic shock and rupturing multiple vital organs, in addition to smashing her spinal cord, sending her crumpling to the ground in a boneless heap. Satisfied that his target would not live to the next sunrise, the glove on his hand assimilated back into the dust and grime of the alleyway.

As her eyes began to lose focus and the world started to blur, she noticed the noise started to die down. So this is what it feels like to be close to death, she thought. Can't say it's all that scary, besides we've all served our time in hell. Struggling to keep her eyelids open, the last thing she noticed was a stretcher rushing towards her as the world faded to black.

Shing Su Night Market

6th Avenue

Pirate's Pier

Whilst Zhi Qing was bleeding out on the street, a man and a woman were busy browsing the varied assortment of wares for sale, ranging from the typical street food to trinkets, artifacts that were most certainly not looted from an abandoned Air Nomad temple, weapons of all manner and make as well as euphoria inducing substances and adult beverages. As it was located near the sea, the weather was mild enough that people were willing to brave the slightly lower temperatures and see if there was a deal to be had. The couple on the other hand, were here not to seek out deals but rather, to seek out one man in particular.

According to their targeting package, the man was a mid-level manager for the Terra Triad, which made him a very tempting target as killing someone higher up the food chain risked reigniting the war, while killing those lower on the food chain served no purpose from a strategic point of view. But what made him a suitable target was not only the dossier compiled prior, but that he had built in habits, which in this line of work was what got someone killed pretty fast. That he survived this long, was a small miracle in of itself.

Slowly, the couple waited and bided their time until their target came into view. When he passed by their table, they immediately got up and started to tail him. Feeling that someone or some people were on his tail, he ducked into a nearby alley and readied himself for a fight. A fight that ended rather anticlimactically as a chloroform pad was smothered on his face, knocking him out before the couple then moved in and started to strip him until they could see his bare chest. Summoning lighting on their fingertips, they delivered a heart stopping jolt that turned off the pumphouse that ensured blood circulation. In short, they electrocuted him. Satisfied he was dead, the four man team then positioned the body to make it look as if he had merely passed out drunk as best they could before exiting the scene, blending in perfectly with the crowd.