"Ouch! Ouch!" The young man complained, grimacing every time the needle penetrated his skin and came out at the other end of the fissure.
Katara watched him squirm and bit back her smile. She hadn't seen anyone complain so much about an injury since the last time she had treated his brother. Everything about this man reminded her of Sokka, now that he thought about it there weren't many people from her tribe in the city. She had seen how that town began to grow from the refinery that Toph's father had inaugurated and it was the first time that she had found someone with features so characteristic of her town, those features of an unbroken line. The man seemed to sense her gaze so Katara just concentrated on stitching up the severed skin.
"I haven't seen you around here" the man said gravely.
"Sorry?" Katara answered as if he hadn't understood.
"I hadn't seen you around here," the man repeated, fixing his blue eyes on the healer's collected hair, "are you new?"
"Someone spends a lot of time in hospitals," Katara answered, looking up. The man smiled.
"A bad habit or an unfortunate coincidence." The man sucked air through his clenched teeth to keep from complaining further. "Either way, i would remember a tribal girl anywhere."
"It's not like we're brown and blue-eyed unlike the rest of the world's population," she spoke slyly as she got up for a new bandage and scotch tape. The man slanted a smile as he watched Katara work. He held his arm, pinching the skin.
"Healer Ichi is the one who usually attends to me, but since I'm guessing, she'll bet you're a practitioner under her supervision. Now I wonder why, such a talented girl, would rather work in this dirty town than hang out with the best healers in the world at the North Pole?"
"Good sense of perception, though I refuse to give you much credit as it's all so obvious." Katara was enjoying a witty conversation after months of routine. A comforting feeling washed over her. "But I must admit that I know the work of the northern healers and Ichi doesn't ask anything of them. The techniques are different but I like to learn wherever I go."
Katara finished bandaging the wound and got up to fill out the record chart and give the man painkillers as well as his prescription. He got up and threw one of the bloody gauze pads into the trash.
"Well, I have no doubt that you will become the best healer in the world, then," he told her gallantly as he approached her. Katara couldn't help but smile at the medications in her display case.
"Or at least that someone speaks as highly of me as of the healers of the North Pole or of Ichi." She extended the form so that the man could sign it and he could be discharged.
"Believe me they already do," he said after signing the papers. Katara gave him a smile and a gentle nod. "I'm Kuta, Northern Water Tribe." Then he offered her his wounded arm in greeting, which she reciprocated, being careful not to hurt him.
"Katara, healer at Cranefish Community College"
"Come on man. They want us on guard now." Katara turned in the direction of the Earth Kingdom man who was yelling at Kuta from the main entrance, only half of his body poking inside. He looked agitated and for a second. He stopped to look at her from head to toe, which made her uncomfortable and look towards the tiles of the corridor. "If you don't mind the beauty you're with"
The man with the insipid green eyes stalked closer so as to appear like a male model. Sure in his head it was what every woman would wish for, but to Katara he was nothing more than a monkey-lizard trained for the act of his life at the circus. Before he got any closer to her, Kuta cut him off and brushed past him, pausing at the hospital entrance to thank Katara and retreat after the spear glare at the foul-smelling man who seemed to be his partner.
Katara went back to her homework, but not before taking one last look at the spreadsheet and remembering Kuta's details. She could now enjoy her day knowing that she had a brother from the tribe near her.
…
"Now we know that Taro stands up to your kind," Raiden said with a grin as he ungracefully dodged the blow Taro tried to land on his jaw.
Yakone stepped between them adjusting the bandage on his arm, walking without any disturbance. Taro tried to control himself by kicking the unfortunate cat-owl that was passing in front of him. The streets of the central market, always full of shouts and smells, intoxicated them, as well as the smoke from the boilers of the restaurants and the puny midday heat.
Raiden took the hat from one of the young vegetable vendors and tried it on. The boy yelled at him to give it back but Raiden caught a glimpse of his father kid stopping him and watching him warily as he walked away.
"Ekkim said to keep our profile down until things calm down. I don't think you two idiots fighting downtown was what he had in mind," Yakone said as he adjusted his trench coat. With gloved hands he took a cigarette out of his pocket.
"Are you sure we're headed in the right direction, dick-licker?" Taro asked with a tense jaw.
"They said we now recruit at the central station," Yakone answered, rummaging through his clothes for a match.
"Why did Kaito send us to the outskirts? There's nothing to do in that part of town since the brothels closed. We're supposed to be top of the line and now they're trailing us like dogs. Recruiters!" Taro snorted in annoyance.
Yakone gave up and decided to go to the kitchen of one of the mobile rice stalls. The lady offered him a plate, to which he responded with a nod, declining her invitation, with his cigarette finally lit. Looking up, one of the torch posts had a notice nailed to it. Pulling it out he withdrew and crushed it against Taro's chest.
"Here, we may have better luck here than at the station. And stop complaining, we have a lot to do"
"Gorek Constructions?" Raiden read strangely.
"A construction needs masters. We'll find someone useful if we're lucky. I hate the vermin that Kaito insists on keeping " he said with a puff of smoke coming out of his mouth.
"Not long ago you were one of those vermin, Yakone," Raiden answered, glancing at the women peddling cloth and jewelry in the market.
Beautiful, well-dressed young women who looked at him with shallow, enticing smiles. Raiden bowed his head in a high-handed gesture of mock chivalry. Taro was not very prone to such attention but he did enjoy the sights unopposed. For his part, Yakone preferred to keep a cool head and his eyes alert for possible problems or any chance to get out of the hole Kaito had thrown him into since his miserable performance in the last raid.
"By the way, how come Commander Bojan showed up in the middle of last week's operation?" Raiden opened the subject with laughter in his voice.
"I told Kaito that the guard was following us closely but he didn't listen to me," answered Yakone, putting his injured hand in the pocket of his raincoat. The cold was taking its toll on his alibi at the healing center.
"They alerted the group very late and the alarm was of no use. By the time we deployed, Lu, Milta and many others had already fallen." Taro's casual tone bothered Yakone. It seemed that only he realized the danger they faced.
"Kaito underestimates the rest of the guard. The fact that he has an agreement with Siló does not mean that Commander Bojan obeys his every whim. Bojan is still out of the deal," Yakone said with the cigarette in his mouth, making his voice choke.
"Bojan,… Get out of my way! Taro yelled, pushing a man in a suit who was waiting for his breakfast and was getting in his way as he passed. "He's nothing more than a double face. He kept the shipment from the Arenal distillery and the drugs from the Lobo Azul botanists. A figure of justice my balls!"
"You will have to learn that the police are not very different from us, Taro. They claim to protect the common citizen while they lick the crumbs that those above give them. We make a deal with those above so that the average citizen licks his lips at home and we give the police a mask of guardians of the peace."
"And what does that make us, exactly?" Raiden said, taking the passenger cards out of his bag and showing it to the guard at the central station.
"In the Avatar of business. We are the ones who have the true power of everything, but we do not flaunt it so that the illusion that others have of power is not lost."
"Can you imagine, Raiden? The great and powerful Avatar Yakone," Taro mocked, manipulating a couple of rocks from the station's floor and joining them in imitation of a crown. Before he touched Yakone's hair, Yakone slapped the earthbender and the rocks fell.
"Anyway, the Avatar was the one who pushed us back last week and I have no doubt that he intends to take more ground than the guard," Raiden replied, completely ignoring the waterbender's discomfort. He climbed into the carriage and stared out the window as people went about their business. "Not to mention those damn Genamites have gotten better organized under our noses."
"After today's visit, I doubt they want to mess with us," Yakone replied, leaning back against his seat. He sucked in another puff of smoke and leaned down to blow it onto the roof of the carriage.
The three of them were silent until the carriage stopped at the first stop. A woman with her two rowdy children stumbled out. Taro took the still warm seat of the lady. After the second station where a couple of fat cooks got off, Taro leaned in to Yakone's ear.
"Do you think that girl will give us trouble?" He whispered, his eyes alert to the other passengers.
"If it hadn't been for that twisted mind of yours we'd be in trouble," Raiden said, still staring out of the carriage.
"It's not our problem, it's Kan's. If he had known she was on duty he wouldn't dare set foot in the university center" Yakone replied, touching the wound he had caused himself as a distraction.
He recalled with renewed anger Kan's foolish decision to carry the corpse of President Jonhing right to the hospital where the Avatar's wife was on duty. He couldn't think of a better solution than cutting off his hand and forearm with a dagger to distract the girl's prying eyes from Kan's argument with hospital officials inside the morgue. The hospital had been bought long ago. They carried the bodies and the healers took advantage of them for their medical tests, besides it was easier to disappear them that way without the biggest problem.
But as Raiden was saying, the Genamites were beginning to represent more than a nuisance to the Triple Threat. They sounded the alarm to the guard about the robbery at the refinery and their infiltrators in the police were in charge of bringing down a whole group of their men. If they didn't move with the right footsteps of power, the Genamites would steal the city from them. Therefore, Kaito had ordered to leave the president's body in the university center that morning. Triad traitors were suspected in the ranks of administrators, doctors and those of the union, so they were asked to attend that meeting to give them a warning of their lack of relevance of the place, day and time to execute the double faces. They wouldn't tiptoe about it and Kan would take care of the suspects but, as always, their uselessness had put them in a dangerous position. Healer Ichi couldn't stop one of her real managers from dragging her into a "basic forensics lecture" for students when the opportunity presented itself.
"And what will we do if she sticks her brown nose where she isn't called?" Taro asked once the carriage stopped and the three of them went down to the basement of the communications building.
"I'll have no problem getting rid of her," Yakone replied, tossing her cigarette into the puddle of melted ice on the sidewalk.
"What if the Avatar..."
"There's more than one way to get rid of someone. And let's say that the connection of our roots makes us trust our brothers from the tribes. Just give it the right boost and it will scare off the Avatar on its own, like hunting a two-headed chicken-snake."
The gnawed wooden door opened before them and their fellow triads greeted them with shots of cactus juice and arctic cranberries. Raiden's throat lit red hot and he blew out a puff of steam, pleased.
"And what are you doing here?" Aneko questioned them when they appeared near the radio station.
"That doesn't interest you, witch of the mountains," Yakone replied in a scathing voice. He hated the girl ever since he had known her and she didn't hide her absent disrespect for him either.
"Fucking raven-rat," Aneko stammered under her breath. She directed her gaze to Raiden.
"We want to know if Gorek Construction is still applying."
"Are you going to stick it in this Gorek, Yakone?" It's about time you settled down."
"Something tells me there will be more masters to choose from there," Taro said with a shrug, taking Yakone's idea for himself. Aneko made a face of disgust, baring her teeth, and dragged the young man in front of the telegraph from his seat. A couple of taps later and she had the message decrypted.
"Job interviews are starting in two hours. You couldn't be in a better position, for your own good" Aneko informed them without much impact on her warning; sitting up and with those big headphones framing her luscious face wasn't nearly as intimidating as her big mouth.
"Fine," Taro said, turning around and heading for the exit until Aneko caught his attention.
"What makes you think, trio of assholes, that I won't tell Kaito that you're about to do something stupid?"
"Let me remind you; that asshole standing over there saved your ass last week," Raiden pointed out to the frowning Yakone, "plus that asshole…" Raiden swung out of Aneko's reach to meet Yakone's strong grip on his shirt "Hey, I got it! Easy, man." The firebender straightened up and continued talking to the tiny girl in the chair. "It was Yakone who gave us the pass with Minister Siló. So you should consider yourself lucky to belong to the biggest Cranefish threat."
President Siló had been one of the best deals Yakone had managed to capture since he joined the triad. But each deal implied a price to pay and if a better offer was up, the balance would lean against him. Siló was volatile and an ambitious man. Worse still, one without scruples and without much sense of moderation. Yakone found that Siló's fondness for gambling nearly bankrupted him when he met him at the Ba Sing Se casino. And it was that same fan base that gave Yakone the opportunity to offer him a deal that would top the Triple Threat and ensure his permanence in the group. Kaito had been surprised at his resourcefulness when a skinny, young Yakone fresh from the North Pole had offered him the deal. He had been Kaito's right-hand man for months until last week, when he had awkwardly petrified the Avatar's arrival at the refinery and had left his work half completed. Kaito had demoted him so easily...
"Pff," Aneko snorted, "had I known I would have stayed in the Taihua Mountains."
Aneko waited for Yakone to lunge at her like he always did but it seemed he didn't feel like fighting as usual. She snorted again and gave them what information she had on Gorek and the builder. She without further ado fired them from the plant.
"Good-for-nothing coyote-bitch," Yakone said, his eyes raging hatefully on the path that would lead them to Gorek.
…
Aang left the town hall with a head full of questions, the voices of the children in the schools reminding him of what would be inevitable in the future. He would soon see his little ones running around in those same schools, hanging out with other kids from other nations, learning about the history of his world. That class in the Fire Nation so long ago had left a bad taste in his mouth; he was disgusted by the idea that the world thought of his nation, his peaceful and loving nation, as an isolated fortress with an armed army and secret strategies ready to attack.
It had been for that reason that one of the first reforms he suggested implementing was the removal of all false Fire Nation propaganda and information manipulation from history books around the world. He had been collecting from the temples and anywhere that had bits of his culture to have a base to support his knowledge. It was frustrating and an energy drain that had left him constantly sleeping on Appa wherever he chose to stop to rest. Anything he could find he had left for Toph in one of his cellars in Yu Dao. He recalled with a smile the anger on his friend's face as he flew away on Appa after being caught in the act. "I will sell all your rubbish, Twinkle toes" she had shouted at him from the ground and although he had been concerned that she carry out her threat, after months he found that he had set aside the warehouse for his "trash" and had organized everything by sections.
He was aware that all of this involved an expense, and he would repay Toph as soon as he could. But now it seemed that everything he did made money, money, and more money.
Tired of his thoughts, he sat down on one of the metal benches in front of the fountain in the main square. With a sigh, he sipped the last of his coffee and tossed it into one of the trash cans. He saw the workers in their overalls heading to the factories and for a moment he was jealous of them. He frowned at the thought of a life where his only concern was getting to work early, grumbling about his boss, and coming home to his wife to soothe his bad mood with petting and teasing about the children flaws of the superior of him. Go out with his wife and be one of the crowd, without admirers, anarchists or busybodies wanting to have information about him and his personal life. Without the others expecting everything from him.
With another sigh that raised some snow around him, he pulled Mr. "Seaweed" budget out of his clothes and stared at it for a long time with his elbows resting on his thighs. Five thousand pieces of silver at month! The price was fair for the location and the square footage of the building, but that didn't mean it didn't seem like a steal to Aang. He wanted to please Katara and in his mind the plan was sustainable after a year. But he couldn't afford that now, could he?
With a groan he stood up and crumpled the paper into a ball. Frustrated, he decided it would be best to visit Appa at the stables and pay the rent.
"Spirits!" Why?" He berated himself for having to shell out more money, money he didn't have. "I'm going around in circles, think of something else, think of something else."
"Avatar Aang! Avatar Aang!" He heard a young woman calling from behind him. A young woman dressed in green, brown and gold colors that highlighted her, surely, good economic position. Aang waved to her and smirked at her as she walked over to him. The paper in his fist groaned at the harder grip. "Avatar Aang, thanks for stopping by."
"No need to be thankful. What can I do for you?"
"Please don't be so formal. My name is Batari and I came from the newspaper Elemental Times to see if you could grant me an interview" said the girl taking a notebook from her handbag and brushing her hair behind her ear.
"Since we're done with formalities, at your request, just call me Aang. What kind of interview?" he asked carefully. He had learned to be wary of the press after the Ba Sing Se tabloids and it false reporting on his close relationship with nature, and his "loving" inclination towards all creatures to maintain the balance. He couldn't help but squirm at the thought of "pampering" a walrus-octopus.
"Don't worry. We want to know your point of view regarding the recent events in the city such as the dismantling of the black market near the ports, as well as the reprisals that this could cause in the city." Batari stared at the Avatar and the how he seemed somewhat uncomfortable with the subject. He swayed from one foot to the other as he crossed an arm across his chest and touched his chin thoughtfully. She maybe shouldn't have been more direct so she decided to keep asking cautiously. "Do you know that the city is more than indebted to you and your faithful service to the community?"
"Of course it would help keep things," Aang said seriously, holding up his fingers and making air quotes, "´under control,´ but I didn't think they'd talk about the riots anymore. People can go out to protest and express their opinion, but they are never totally in agreement. But as if they felt indebted to me… I'm afraid it's just my job to try to keep the peace."
"So you're saying that you only help others as a responsibility and not out of true interest in the general well-being of people?"
"What? No." he answered, unable to avoid the stab of pain that went through his head. It was because of these types of comments taken out of context that he couldn't stand interviews, reports or any type of press that involved quoting him. Aang was silent until he put his words together as best they could to rephrase the statement, "It is my pleasure to work for others and, thanks to the spirits, I have been born with the skills to be able to do my best."
"You are an example to the world. But I'm afraid his direct intervention has not been seen in terms of answering the threatening messages that have been discovered around the city."
"What kind of messages?" His voice came out more alarmed than he intended so he was silent a moment longer before Batari spoke again.
"Do you mind if we make an appointment for the interview?" The reporter said with a pleased smile. She expected the Avatar to grant her request and now she had him.
"Uh, okay," he said, still dizzy with intrigue, "Where do I see you?"
"How about right now? If you don't mind, or when you tell me."
Aang was left wondering what the interview would entail. The deaths that occurred during the latest attacks on the market and everything that it triggered were affecting the city and, although he couldn't do anything about it at that point, he could calm the resentment of those affected a little and extract some extra information. The only advantage he saw in the press was that they never mince words when they questioned him, unlike the politicians or the guards who refrained from giving all the "news" information. He had come across more detail than he intended in his interviews and more than once he was caught off guard by questions on unfamiliar topics. If he had to undergo another uncomfortable interview to resolve his doubts about the news that was not reaching him from Zuko or these new threatening messages, he would do it. As surreptitiously as he could manage, he sighed, determined to focus his mind on answering questions as perfunctorily as possible but flattering enough to avoid probing.
"First question?"
"How about we have breakfast at Kwong's Kitchen? The newspaper invites. We will be able to speak more freely and privately."
"Sounds good to me, only I need to settle a matter first. Do you mind if I see you there in twenty minutes?"
"I could go with you, if you don't mind," she said, raising her hand with the pen between her fingers to stop him when she saw him turn around. Aang was surprised but understood that the reporter didn't want to lose her job opportunity so he didn't care, even if it meant a whirlwind of questions along the way.
"After you," Aang said, pointing the way and letting Batari pass as a polite gesture. Batari tightened her grip on the bag and nodded her thanks as she walked alongside Aang.
It's going to be a long day, Aang thought with a defeated attitude and a pounding headache that would only get worse.