Son of a Wolf
Captain Chouw was waiting in Hasooks noodlery, which was one of the few classy restaurants in the harbor district. It was early in the evening and the noodlery was almost empty. The most customers would arrive in two or three hours. The usual clients were wealthy bachelors and bachelorettes that wanted to fill their stomachs with something classy before they indulged in the far less classy joys of the various bars, jazz-clubs and brothels. Two burly bouncers, huge, dark-skinned, southerners were idly sitting on a small table while sipping their tea. It was milk tea – how Korra could drink this perversion of a tea willingly was beyond Ma Kos understanding. Luckily the men hadn´t spoken to Ma ko, it had been annoying enough to deal with these clingy tourist girls from Ba Sing Se. They wanted to take pictures with him and insisted on autographs. Luckily the people of Republic City weren´t that interested in him anymore. Sure, there were some creepy fangirls but apart from that he could go about his daily life relatively unnoticed. However, Ma Ko, who had positioned himself on a table located behind a rice paper screen wall, was waiting for Varrick son of Varrick. The man had a faked appointment with Taiji, the terrifying matron of his taxation offices.
The businessman was on time, as Ma Ko noticed after having a short look on his pocket-watch. Asami had gifted the watch to him, it even carried a dedication inside the silvery cover "Love knows no time". Ma ko smiled at the irony behind the words, since he only saw the Hiragana signs when he had no time! He considered this expensive gadget quite useless, who cared about a few minutes anyways? "Oh, Mr. Varrick Sir, what can I be of service with?" one of the bouncers greeted Varrick. It somehow felt as if the two men knew each other. Varrick muttered something the officer could not understand, then he was led to table fifteen. The table Mrs. Taiji had reserved for their dinner. At once a waiter plopped up next to the entrepreneur and asked him for his dishes. He ordered a quite lavish amount of traditional watertribe cuisine and the most excellent plumwine of the establishment. Ma ko waited until the wine arrived, then he left his place.
"Good evening Varrick." He greeted his old acquaintance and simply seated himself on the chair next to the startled man. "Oh – good evening Ma Ko. What´s up? I´ve heard you and Asami are in the hot biz right now?" the man smiled a disgustingly broad smile. "I think so." Chouw responded. "I´m startled to see you here however – me and Asami wanted to grab some noodles together but it seems something came up with her." Ma Ko sighed exaggerated. "You know, businesswomen." He trailed off. "Oh, I get´cha pal." Varrick chimed in with much gusto. He emptied his glass of wine in a decisive gulp. "I´ve ta make more deals with these two sisters from the north recently – damn fine ladies but – urgh… the business meetings are so boring!" Varrick whined. "No decent drinks, no ladies going along with the food. Not even good smokes!" He pouted. Ma Kos eyes widened, was this the same man who had married in the grandest and most romantic ceremony to be ever held in the republic? Varrik obviously was moping around because his business partners didn´t provide hookers for him! Somehow Chouw didn´t feel much pity for his wife turned secretary – you just didn´t marry your boss to begin with! He remembered a time in which he had not behaved much better, though. He really loathed his old self for being a heartbreaking asshole but well – things are as they are and will be as they`ll be – he repeated his mantra.
Ma ko chuckled nevertheless. "Well Ma Ko, I really would like to catch up with you but I´ve got an appointment with a lady." He rose his hands. "No , not what you´re thinking pal." He winked at him obviously. " Mrs. Taiji does parts of my taxes and she wanted to meet me to talk about some things." He shrugged. "Seems one of my bookkeeps didn´t do his job correctly. I guess we´ll have cleaned the issue before the main dishes arrive." He stated nonchalantly. "I guess I´ll have a talk with her boss about this. You know – among us businessmen – always make sure to play Wing Chun with the head of offices." Ma ko nodded in consent. "Well – is this about the foundation for supporting your illegitimate children? Or is it about you washing money with said foundation." Ma Ko stated dryly. Varrik spit out his plum wine. "H- How!" there was no politeness in Varricks demeanor anymore. He looked like a frightened rabbiroo. Maybe Ma Ko had used the look without noticing it, but the officer didn´t care, since intimidating Varrik always had been part of his plan. "What sneaky cowswine told you about my foundations? And why are you even interested." He asked. Of course the businessman implied that Ma Ko was here for Asami´s strategic interests. Even if Varrick trading Inc. was the main logistics distributor for the Future industries group Asami could´ve stomped out an own chain of logistic companies in an astonishingly short period of time. At least that was what Varrick was thinking. Different from him Asami Sato was a favourite of the council as well as the firenation pairlament. She without a doubt would be able to get not only freedom of taxation but also active help from the governments if she decided to dump Varrick´s companies due a personal vendetta. "So you know Mrs. Taiji – I appreciate your legwork Chouw." Varrik almost seemed as if he was complimenting a toddler for picking his first daisy. Suddenly the jovial man was far less jovial and it seemed the bouncers took a sudden interest in the conversation between them. Ma Ko hoped these dudes weren´t on Varriks payroll, otherwise his exit could become quite unhealthy. "What does Asami want?" He cut the chase bluntly. "I´ve been expecting her to make a move for quite some time." He responded dryly. Hes watery blue eyes looked like the bottomless depths of the ocean. Ma ko gulped, he had no clue why Asami should be related to the talk they were having.
"Don´t you think you´re dodging the topic at hand – I want to know what you use this foundation for Varrik. No worries I´ll not call the republic times about it. I just wanna know." Ma ko glowered at the man who had lost any interest in plumwine and fried noodles. "Oh please Chouw, you think I´m an imbecile posterboy like your little brother? I´m Varrik son of Varrik – the biggest self-made man in the world!" he bragged. Ma Ko´s face remained blank, if he would jump at any petty insult people hurled hat him he would die of a heart attack very soon. "What I think is not of importance Varrik. I know that you´re an excellent trader." The man frowned at the word as if Chouw had called him a manwhore to his face. "I also know that you´ve got some of the best lawyers of Rep City as your lapdogs, but I just want to state…" he trailed off "that going to court against me would be a waste of money, time and nerves – even though you WILL win in the end. The question is just if you´re willing to waste so much resources on a mere captain of police." He summarized smugly. Varrik seemed to be short of seething with rage. It definitely wasn´t often that somebody stood up against him in such a blunt and crude way. The businessman cracked his slim knuckles. "Listen Ma Ko, I´m playing this game for almost two decades now, you can´t fool me with beginner tricks. I know you´ve got nothing and if you want to get on with your job without being demoted to a traffic regulation officer I advise you to get up, leave the restaurant and pay this bill." He pointed at the table. "I´m being generous here since, we´ve been through the thick of it together. You can tell your – mistress – that this sort of cheap blackmail will lead to nothing. Next time I´ll not be lenient and I´ll make use of paragraph thirtythree of the republic trade act – tell her that. Also, I could just leave right now!" He threatened in a still hushed voice. Ma ko had no idea of paragraph thirtythree but he was good at bluffing. "As far as I know Asami is your customer, she doesn´t buy anything from you but ores – ores she´ll mine herself in due time! Really, I wonder why you´re so adamant about not telling me what this foundation of yours does… You´re no prude man so it can´t be about something like an unstained vest." He smiled with a wink.
"We both know that we´re not made for a single woman." Varrik grinned a crooked grin. "Seem´s I found another one of your hidden talents Chouw. However, you´re the one who approached ME, hence it would just be fair if you spilled your hidden agenda first. I don´t have some lawyers hidden behind the counter so you´re allowed to speak freely." The wet offered. "My hidden agenda." Ma Ko mused. Obviously, the businessman thought Ma Ko knew something he didn´t know. Why else would Varrik remain at the table and expose himself to his accusations? The eccentric merchant sadly was a very elusive person that Ma Ko couldn´t fully comprehend, he didn´t like that at all. It had to be something that was dangerous to Varrik, Ma Ko knew that the man didn´t bother much about his public image. "To be precise my agenda isn´t that secret at all. We´ve to look at the politic situation in Republic city Varrik and my course of action will boil down to a single question." Ma Ko paused.
"What do you think of the Ling clan and the plains of Chu da?" he asked gravely. Indeed – everything was somehow connected to this question the powerhouses of republic city had to answer. Varrik was caught redhanded. He lost his composure for a second before he clapped his hands and poured himself a second plum-wine. "You´re one valiant man Chouw." Ma Ko wasn´t sure if he was being mocked or not. "You know you´re the first person to ask me about this? Not even my wife asked me what I thought about the Lings and the war that´ll come at us without a doubt." Varrik seemed more amused then worried. "Actually I´ve not figured out what to do in this matter. The earthern kingdoms are my most important customers." He played with his fingers like a puppeteer. Ma ko fought the simmering fury in his belly. What was there to think about? You couldn´t do anything but oppose these backwater monarchists who wanted to conquer the united Republic! However, his face remained blank through pure willpower. He nodded slightly. "On the one hand the Lings know how to make business - at least they have known two years ago." Varrik corrected himself. "so they´ve cut ties with you. Understandable, since you´re not earth nation nobility but a filthy savage." Ma Ko interjected. The businessman looked as if he had sucked on a pickled raddish. "I wouldn´t go that far but my subsidiaries have been - substituted - by native companies wherever possible. I´m still the only wholesaler for machinery, fire nation imports and other luxury related commodities." He responded indignated. "They won´t find anybody who can do´em cheaper than I can in this business." He smirked superior. Ma Ko crooked an eyebrow.
"You think Shing Quan Ling does care about a free market and price tags, really?" Ma Ko allowed himself a cynical cackle. "Of course! The world needs a free market!" Varrik seemed to be shaken to his core. Most likely he was like all those spineless merchants – refusing to see the signs of the rising storm. "If – if the Lings burned the markets of Xing Tao they´ll have had their special reasons." He tried to reassure himself. Ma Ko´s fist hit the table and the bouncers jolted upright. They obviously weren´t sure about what to do next. Ma Ko rolled his eyes. "Come on Varrik, you´re kidding yourself. What should be special about the markets of a provincial capital? The only thing special in xing Tao was a small firenation mercantile district!" Ma Ko glowered at the merchant who couldn´t give an answer to that. "I´ll tell you why the markets burned – it´s because the esteemed Shing Quang ling doesn´t have a leash on his army of rabid war-dogs. And furthermore he´d love to eradicate the firenation from the earth's surface." The firebender stated the truth. "Maybe he doesn´t even WANT them to be on his lash because he plans to use their savagery for his bigger plans. This man won´t settle until he´s crowned godly emperor and if he´ll stop after that is questionable at best." Ma Ko responded. Varrik gulped down his plum wine. "You´re so negative." His voice was hollow. "No – I´m one of the few levelheaded men in this damned city! Obviously, everybody has forgotten that this very piece of land had been property of the Bei Long Shen a mere century ago! Do you think the noble´s won´t want to rule the beacon of technology?" he quirked his eyebrow. "Do you have facts Chouw – something besides - my employees hear stuff from other people!" Varrik´s eyes were piercing like cold icy shards. "Is that the reson for councilmen Tenzin meddling with travelling merchants and sending out his acolytes?" Varrik asked.
Ma Ko was astonished that Varrik had such a precise judgment about master Tenzins actions. "Yes." He confirmed the man´s suspicions. It wasn´t that Ma Ko wanted Varrik to stop washing dirty money in the first place. It was far more important that Varrik helped him build a self-defense force for this nation. The man in front of him was easily as powerful as the firelord, even if one could easily forget this. He had larger fortunes than Asami and far less scruple. Also, he was a trader by heart, his words held a certain sway in numerous courts. Varrik was a maker and since nobody else was doing what needed to be done Ma Ko decided to become a maker himself – consequences be damned! "Do you know what a bullet-thrower is." Ma Ko whispered as Varrik turned white as a sheet. "Y-Yes." He stammered astonished. "That´s a quite impressive but quirky weapon the earth queen demonstrated on a party once. And your girlfriend knows a suspicious lot about them" He responded. Obviously, the businessman has severely underestimated me, Ma Ko thought. "The Dai Li have hundreds of them – maybe thousands. Thanks to Asamis oh so nice father. You have seen what such a thing can do on the Republic all schools night, imagine thousands of them handed out to soldiers who fire in formation." Varrik needed another glass of wine. "Do you think the Republic police department could do anything to stop such a force? We´ve seen what the small, battle weary, second army of Ku Vi Ra did to the city. We have to become a state Varrik!" Ma Ko screwed his plans - and his pride. "I – we need you. That´s the truth. I could try to blackmail you with your connections towards the dog soldiers! I could dig into your taxation reports! I won´t Varrik – because you may not be a law abiding citizen but you´re no psychotic whoreson! There is a good man inside you – I´ve seen him." Ma Ko responded. "I beg of you to help me make our Republic strong. Give it a self-defense force that deserves its name. That´s what me, Asami and Master Tenzin are fighting for. Give aid to those in the kingdoms who want a free market, who want for things to change!" he pleaded with a desperate voice. Varrik obviously was short of panicking, it seemed that Ma Ko had hit him square in the chest. The word dog soldiers made the bouncers grab their sticks and snarl questions at Varrick. Ma ko reacted fast, he jumped from his chair and entered a basic firebending stance as the men stood there threatening. Varrik was short of falling off his chair, cold sweat staining his brows. "Just who under the heavens told you!" he snarled like a cornered tigerdillo. Ma Ko thought about telling the truth but decided against it. Since a lot of razzias had been carried out in the last week it was quite possible that they had found some documents – like a diary of a member. Yeah – that would be inconspicuous since people did stupid things and he had no idea if it was common for the dog soldiers to have written documents! "We found a diary." He responded with a fake grin.
"Some of your guys obviously wanted to be an author and therefore recorded all his doings. He surveyed a ton of names and even more theories about who, ordered what…" Ma Ko shook his head. "no dog soldier would do something like that. Let´s clobber this landlubber!" one of the bulky men growled. He didn´t wait for a reply and lunged at Ma Ko who unleashed a fireblast, the man delved out of the way in a twisting, dance-like motion. Ma Ko barely managed to parry the wooden bat with his left forearm, the impact sent a shock through his whole body. Without thinking he breathed out and manifested the rays of Agni in his hands. A hissing, compact flame singed the burly mans clothing. Suddenly Ma Ko yelped as a searing pain made him almost lose his mind. He subconsciously clutched his private parts and was knocked out with a precise strike on the head.
When he awoke his head felt twice its usual size, while his private parts seemed to have been reduced to a hurting, meaty pulp. Finally, he noticed that he had been tied to a chair. He definitely would be able to burn himself through the ropes that chained him to the chair. The two men and Varrik were discussing something. They obviously had not realized that he was awake, yet. "We´ve got to kill him! Nobody is allowed to know about the wolf´s homestead!" one of the bulky guys had gripped Varriks collar "A spineless man-child like you will not stop me from protecting the boys!" "You´ve forgotten who my father is, have you? Bloody yak-fucker!" the merchant defended himself in a loud voice. The huge man shoved Varrick forcefully, the merchand slammed into a heavy barrel and groaned. "A slimy whimp like you doesn´t deserve a father like the stormwolf!" he spit out in disgust. Varrik cackled. " I don´t CARE if I DESERVE anything, I´m playing my hands with what I´ve got - you oversized toddler!" the merchant rubbed his lower back. "Fact is I am the stormwolf´s son and I think about what he might do if he got news regarding the demise of ME - his last living relative." He mused while the bulky brawlers seemed to shrink before Ma Kos eyes. The smaller bouncer whispered something to his battle brother. "And therefore, you´ll be nice blue puppies and do what I say - which means that you´re NOT distributing Mr. Chouws remains as seal jerky." He stated. Mako gulped dryly while an uneasy feeling settled in his stomach. He had to get out of this chair really fast. Therefore, he started breathing in the heaves of Agni. The second bouncer was the only one who noticed the small trails of smoke that were rising from Ma Kos arms and legs. His colleague was much too busy with yelling at Varrik in Inuktikut. The merchant retorted in the same language, even though he already had the upper hand. "I don´t like interrupting you boss - but the firefry is burning the ropes." The smaller man stated dryly. His companion twirled around and rose his bat.
"STOP!" Varrick yelled in a commanding voice. "You´re not disturbing my conversations AGAIN!" he reprimanded the huge man, who flinched visibly. Ma Ko concentrated on destroying his restraints while he still could. "Chrm…Well Ma Ko, my associates are a tad uncivilized." he seemed slightly embarrassed. "Just fuck yourself Varrik!" Ma Ko blurted while he tried to clear his slightly blurry vision. The businessman ignored the insult and cleared his throat. "Well – let´s just say that my father has slightly questionable business ethics compared to your girlfriend or the humble old me. I however am not a dog-soldier." he responded without blushing. Varriks father was a bloody crime lord! Ma Ko wasn´t as surprised as he should have been. The fact that Varrik built the largest trading company agglomerate of the united Republic from scratch one in a mere fifteen to twenty years always had felt kinda fishy! "As I said before Varrik, we´ve got bigger problems than your fathers' businesses in the southern tribes or heavens knows where!" Ma ko grumbled. The less he knew about the illegal doings of the merchant, the less he would have to fight an arising inner conflict. "Hah, the hero of the people isn´t such a nice boy after all." One of the bouncers mocked. "Seems you´re more of an uppity bitch banging streetrat." The other one added. Ma ko´s eyes narrowed and suddenly the ropes holding his arms gave in. "Varrik – do we really need these hilarious cronies of yours? They´re making my right arm twitchy." Ma Ko fumed silently. The smaller bouncer gulped, while the bigger one flashed a challenging grin. Ma ko wasn´t afraid of the man even if he was a dangerous opponent. Varrik again switched to Inuktikut and snarled at the men. The bouncers responded something in a heated tone but finally left the cellar of Hasooks noodlery. Now Ma ko noticed he had been held in some sort of storage room, where various casks and boxes were piled up. "Well, let´s not talk about this diary Ma ko. I hope you´ve already sent it somewhere safe. Because if you think about unleashing hell on dog-soldier smuggling operations I´d be the last one to hold a grudge against you." Ma ko blinked astonished. Wasn´t Varriks father a quite prominent figure amongst the dogsoldiers?
Varrik smiled. "let´s just say that my father is quite the embarrassment. I´d like to cut ties with such a rural and violent man who – thinks I should restrict my opportunities to enjoy life to it´s fullest!" Ma Ko didn´t understand what Varrik meant but of course he didn´t bother to ask him. "ok." He just responded shrugging. The fact that the mentioned diary was nonexistent was something he wouldn´t tell anybody. "You still haven´t answered my questions. Where are your loyalties Varrik." The officer poked again. Varrik sighed and looked quite despaired. The man obviously hated openly siding with people, which was nothing new for Captain Chouw. "I – I just can´t understand how civilized and educated men like the ling princes can desire a stupid title so much!" he sighed. "I´mean - come on Ma ko – money IS power, not some blody jade chair. By the blazes of Agni, I could BUY an army and a bloody throne too! If I wanted such boring shit I´d be president Varrick right now!" he responded. Chouw wasn´t so sure about that, but he knew better than to contradict an eccentric scientist-turned businessman. "So you DO know what they´re doing!" Ma Ko accused Varrick, who flinched under the younger mans loud voice. "Of course I´d know, I´m not some backwater savage!" he snapped annoyed. "But…what do we care Ma ko, I mean come on – let em take the kingdoms. There still is a lot of infighting between warlords, democrats and some savage minorities. We´re the united Republic. We´ve got the united forces and the fire nation. It´s not our business to save the world!" He tried to soothe the cop. However, Varricks voice sounded quite small and it was obvious that he wasn´t unfazed. "Of course – since despotic fucktards like firelord Ozai or Kuvira cared SO MUCH about the approval of other nations! Damn Varrik, the united forces haven´t fought a single real battle! The cannibal wars are a joke compared to that!" he sneered.
"The squirreltoad operation was made up by dai Li agents Varrick. They aren´t dead, no the´re coming back to light and carry the Lings banner! I know that because I´m the man responsible for the buffalo flats massacre… Because I DO what needs to be done….The Dai Li stole tooling equipment form Future industries and secretly manufactured bulletthrowers in the republic." Ma ko fogort himself for a moment and the businessman let out a startled cry and stared at him with frightened eyes. "They´ll not stop! Once they´ve taken Ba Sing Se they´ll come here." Varrick grit his teeth. "What do you want form me Chouw!" he yelled at the young man. "What the fuck am I supposed to do – i´m a bloody merchant!" he responded. Ma Ko frowned. "A Merchant – don´t play games Varrick. I know that you´ve got charisma. You´re all buddy with the president and councilmen. Lastly you´re the only one who has stocked enough army supplies to set up a self-defense force that deserves the name." Ma Ko poked the man's shoulder. "How about this; you meet with Tenzin, me and Asami and we´re talking about these things in detail after we have prepared something resembling a plan." Varrik waited a moment. His eyes cleared and he looked outright frightened. Ma ko recognized this gaze – and he knew he had won! "You´ve got yourselve a deal Chouw – however there is a tiny favor I´d like to ask." The merchant responded. Ma Ko rolled his eyes. "Being?" he asked. "Well, ya know – I´ve got to do some favors for my father once in a while. I´d need some safe houses for storage of, things you should know nothing about." Varrik responded. "I´m not talking about human trafficking but about goods – so please don´t be a pain in the ass and steer clear of pier six." The merchant smiled. Ma ko snorted.
Varrik was asking a lot, since he demanded him to commit a crime. Also, Ma ko wasn´t the Chief of police so an overzealous subordinate could easily ruin everything. "You know that I´m not Ping Hungshu, do you?" he responded. Varrick chuckled. "Aww come on Ol´Hungshu is a decent pal. We´re both booty-guys." Varrick smirked and added a twinkle. Ma Ko managed a disturbed nod, actually it wasn´t that unexpected that Varrick and Hungshu had partied together. After all, Hungshu still seemed to be an uninvited regular to almost all parties held in the tiger´s den. Ma ko was in a pitch, he had played most of his cards and of course Varrick wouldn´t support him for free. So he nodded in defeat, since dancing close with a crime-lords son definitely was lighter on his conscience compared to not doing everything humanly possible to stop the ling clan. "We´ve got ourselves a deal Varrick." He responded in a heavy voice. The businessman wasn´t smiling as he shook the officer's hand. Damn, even Asamis handshakes were stronger – Ma Ko thought disgusted. He still felt like shit. Luckily, he had planned no further appointments for today. In the meanwhile, he had noticed the sticky wound that hid itself beneath his blackish hair. "That´s fine pal, let´s have some good plum wine. Actually Mrs. Taiji never was going to visit me, wasn´t she?" the businessman asked innocently. Obviously, Ma Kos face gave him away, he still was surprised that a bookish guy like Varrick was so damn smarmy.