There was a strange atmosphere in the crate. Korra and Hazukk were both restless the entire time, especially Korra, who had a sudden craving for sea prunes. She didn't know what it was, maybe the thick smell of oil that had probably leaked in this crate not too long ago, or the tides constantly falling in on themselves from the irregular shape of the dock, reminding her of when she stayed at Air Temple Island. She was very needy, but kept her mouth shut. She knew the importance of this mission, and she could always have her sea prunes later.
Hazukk's heart was beating fast enough to supply blood to three bodies, he was practically about to explode. He didn't say anything though, fair play to him. She been told that he was in investigative journalism, but there was no way he'd gone near anything this big before. If he hadn't been the one who insisted on coming, she would've felt sorry for him.
After what felt like days in the crate, made all the more longer by the razor-sharp silence, Mako lit the dimmest of flames in his palm, barely enough to light up Beifong. Her stern expression was covered by the shadow of her hand. She counted down to three with her fingers, then nudged the door fully open, unlocking it from the other side using metalbending. The others quickly followed her out, and a combination of earthbending and metalbending followed, the seven being vaulted onto the eight-crate high tower. Korra used airbending to soften their landing, but it was only needed for Hazukk. The metalbenders had retracted their soles for a quiet landing.
"You wouldn't believe what I'm seeing, Chief," Commander Sim said, astonished at a man he was looking at in the distance. "It's Shinoda himself. Dead Man Shinoda has made an appearance."
There was an audible gasp from Hazukk, but none of the others chastised him, not even Lin Beifong. Korra felt left-out, but she didn't want seem stupid in front of the others so she whispered in Hazukk's ear what the big deal with him was. He wasn't his usual composed self like when they set out, and his voice was trembling. It broke when he answered her.
"Kenichi Shinoda was notorious a few years back. It was a while before the Equalist Movement gained popularity. It was said that Amon had killed him full stop. In fact, his 'death' was what got Amon's first support to start gaining traction."
"What's so scary about him?" Korra said, phrasing her question differently.
Hazukk looked her dead in the eye, and his expression was grave. "No-one in the papers wrote anything about the Agni Kais back when he was around because when they were criticised by a journalist, that journalist would be kidnapped, tortured, raped and then killed. I remember seeing a mutilated body in the park as I was heading to work when I was fifteen. It was his inner circle that bragged about these crimes, but he led and ordered it all. He was never seen in public, but everyone knew his face."
Hazukk paused and took a deep breath before echoing an old saying:
"Not even the devil dares double-cross Kenichi Shinoda."
"Wow," Korra said, her first time ever hearing about this man. "But I thought that this was the Red Monsoon. What's this about the Agni Kai Triad?"
"That's just as surprising as Kenichi Shinoda being here," Hazukk replied, whispering. "The Agni Kais and the Red Monsoon hate each other with a passion. Whatever this operation is, it's clearly bigger than their personal differences, which is saying something."
She stared at the person the others all had their eyes on. He was a skinny man, about 5'6, mid-sixties, and on closer inspection, was missing his left arm. One of the officers, Juan, pointed this out.
"You're right," Beifong said. "We never heard anything about a missing limb. It may have been Amon who did that."
Mako stared at Shinoda. He was responsible. It was his fault. After so many fruitless hours of searching, he was delivered to Mako.
"Please, please, we have nothing else, I have a family to feed," San pleaded, his face bloodied and burnt from the fire whip. His wife had tried to fight the man in front of them, but she was no fighter. Sure, she had the basic ability to firebend, but she'd never had the time to develop it because she had to earn money when she was younger.
"Who do you think you are?" the firebender snarled, causing eight-year-old Mako and six-year-old Bolin to hold on even tighter to each other in the corner.
"I'm so, so sorry," San repeated for the umpteenth time. "Forgive her, I'll pay double next month, triple, quadruple, anything!"
"We have a policy at the 'Kai," the man said, lifting up his head and showing off the infamous 'K' carved into the side of his neck. He tapped the scar. "Kenichi Shinoda doesn't accept debts."
"SAN!" Naoki screamed.
San's screams were heard all throughout the apartment block as he was cut down by the Red Monsoon member. Bolin wailed, but despite the tears flowing freely down his cheeks, Mako couldn't wrench his head away, frozen, speechless. Their father, who had been on his knees, crumbled like the old tower blocks he used to set up with the two boys. His charred face fell directly in the vision of his sons, although his eyes didn't see anything. His body stayed in that position, his barely recognisable face in perfect view for the children. Naoki rushed over to cover her boys with her body.
"Daddy, no!" Bolin screamed in anguish. "Daddy, get up, please!"
"You two'd better learn who runs this city," the member threatened, turning to face them. His eyes bore holes in the momentary gaze at the young boys. "Your old man thought we were lenient. Can't have that spreading arou-"
"Please, go away," Naoki whimpered. The firebender cocked an eyebrow.
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE," he screamed, infuriated, "TO INTERRUPT ME, A MEMBER OF THE PRESTIGIOUS AGNI KAI TRIAD?" The apartment shook as if his words were an earthquake.
"I will teach your boys a lesson that they will never forget," he growled, and grabbed Naoki by the hair. She temporarily let go of Mako and Bolin due to her instinctive reaction to stop the pain at her scalp. She didn't get to even touch her hair before she was thrown across the floor. She hit her head pretty bad on the tiles with a whimper.
"Mommy!" Bolin shouted, reaching out with a hand even though she was too far away to reach.
"Sweethearts," Naoki spluttered, coughing up blood. They just sat there, traumatised. "Mako, take care of Bolin. One day, you'll both grow up to be strong, handsome, successful men. Know that I always have and will love you, no matter what your-"
"Sweethearts, I love you soooo much. How touching," the man taunted. "I can barely keep myself from breaking down right now."
He slashed at Naoki, and one second later, Mako and Bolin became orphans.
Mako's fists clenched and a small flame sparked in his nostrils. This was the man who was indirectly responsible for his parents' murder. There was no doubt about it. He ground his teeth together, and a near insatiable rage boiled up inside him.
"Mako," a voice said behind him, and he looked around to see a sympathetic Beifong put a hand on his shoulder. "I understand your pain, but stick to the plan, and you can have your revenge. If we go in all guns blazing, by the looks of it, we'll be outnumbered 7:1, plus Shinoda."
Mako tensed his lips for a minute, then nodded briefly. He was glad Beifong hadn't tried to talk him out of it. She wasn't stupid, she had held a grudge for over thirty years for something that paled in comparison to him. She knew his history with the Agni Kais was personal, and just got him to control his temper. "Where are we sneaking in? I can see about fifty people running crawling around here."
"I'm sorry," Hazukk apologised. "I thought that there would be a low-key presence from the gang to avoid attracting attention. I was wrong."
"No-one could nor would have predicted that the Agni Kai and Red Monsoon Triads would be working together, and especially that Shinoda would show his face. It's a good thing we brought the Avatar. We'll need you to in top fighting shape if worse comes to worst," Sim said, and nodded to Korra. She nodded back and gulped. Her senses were going haywire. It had happened at the last full moon too; she had been in a fit, bending every drop of water in the vicinity at whatever caught her attention. She couldn't back out now though.
"Whatever they've got in there, it's got to be priceless," Beifong said. "Whenever they bring out their special- Wait a minute, look at the amount of people guarding that crate."
A plain red crate was being forklifted off the ship, followed by a similar black one. About twenty men guarded them both, circling the shipments.
"There's no time to sneak around under the ship," Sim said, his fists tightening. "What should we do?"
"I hate to say it, but we have to jump in head first. Now," Beifong ordered, grinding her teeth together.
"T-t-that's suicide!" Hazukk stuttered. But one icy glare from Lin Beifong herself was enough to silence him, and he regained his composure. "Very well."
"Korra, create an airlift for Hazukk and Mako. Let's go men."
The bay was quiet, apart from the grunts of the triad members. Not a soul dared appear careless right next to their usually biggest enemy, and particularly with Agni Kai boss Kenichi Shinoda and Monsoon leader Jiren there as well, somewhere in the shadows. Suddenly, a bright green flare shot up in the sky.
"Shit," Shinoda cursed. "This was top secret! Prove your loyalty and fight the thieves!" His voice rasped from shouting too much when he was younger, but everyone heard him. "Protect the cargo at all costs!"
The yard erupted into a hotbox of shouts and commands, and amid the commotion, a large gust of air knocked one of the platinum forklifts over, toppling the black crate and nearly crushing a few members. Lin Beifong and two other metalbending cops swooped down from the darkness of the top of a pile of crates. Lin crashed into the ground, sending a ripple in the concrete all around her. It sent a few flying, but more just filled their places. Juan and Michael landed directly behind her, and they formed a triangle, back to back.
The gang members wasted no time in directing the brunt of their power on the trio. None of the attacks hit though, as these were some of the best cops in the business. Any volley of water was simply countered with a block of earth. Any fire blast was blocked with a pillar of earth, or with a very difficult technique whereby the cable was used as a fan, which took years to master. Lin was frustrated though, as they couldn't aim to kill any of the gangsters. That would be police brutality in the eyes of the media, ironically. There had been instances of real brutality recently against innocents by lower officers, so there was little margin for error.
The waterbenders by the dock reacted quickly to this, and large columns of water were dragged out of the pitch-black bay. However, it wasn't quick enough, as Korra, Mako, Sim and Hazukk floated down on an airlift by the edge of the water. Hazukk wasted no time, and landed on the water, creating a board of ice to stand on. He glided over to the nearest man and propelled himself directly behind him. A whip of water with an ice tip had been attached onto his arm, and he smashed the ice against the Red Monsoon member's head. He toppled, unconscious.
Korra's eyes flashed momentarily with Raava's light and she used the power to send a powerful gust of air at all fifteen of the waterbenders lined up by the dock. This only worked partially though, as the sixth man saw what was coming and coiled his column around his body, before freezing it instantly. Such was the power of her blast, it smashed, and five of the waterbenders groaned, all unconscious. Hazukk made a beeline for that sixth man, a thick trail of water following after him.
Another guy behind the man who Hazukk was running to appeared shoulder to shoulder with his companion. Hazukk got up close and lead with a heavy hook, intending to connect with his fist and not the water. The first waterbender was surprised at such an upfront attack, especially from another waterbender during the full moon, but it didn't matter. He leaned back just enough to avoid the punch, and the second waterbender curved a volley of water at Hazukk with a roundhouse kick. It was going to hit Hazukk in his temple, but he raised his forearm just in time. That prevented a concussion, but was thrown off the side into the freezing November bay. That was lame, hethought. I shouldn't have thrown all my body weight in that punch, and now I'm lucky not to have a broken skull because of it.
He wasn't alone for long though, as a short, bright flash lit up his vision under the surface, and two more bodies, the men he had just faced, broke the ripples that he had created a few seconds ago.
Korra was having some trouble up top, but her job was made a lot easier by the way they were lined up. They couldn't get into position in time to face her in more than just single file, and although their waterbending was considerably stronger under the full moon, so was hers. She waved away any attempted streams or shards coming her way without even thinking about it. Her mood swing had turned violent, and she had the perfect outlet to express herself.
She stomped on the ground, and ten blocks of concrete jumped up a few metres in front of her. She turned her hip sideways to face them and used her left heel to fire them at the remaining eight water benders all at once. Without bringing her leg down, she spun a full circle and unleashed a huge trailing fireball, curling around the blocks so that it would collide with the Monsoon members at the same time as the blocks. She used an airlift to propel herself over her enemies to just above the water, narrowly avoiding the ship. Careless, she noted.
A water-tornado rose to meet her elegantly. She ripped any water the waterbenders were about to use to defend themselves out of their grasps simultaneously. It didn't work completely, but it threw them off enough that they wouldn't be able to neutralise her attack. She held her hands out to her left side, and tugged violently to the right. A wall of air slammed into the last man, which continued onto the fourth last man, who crashed into the back of the fourth remaining man. He had just had his arms broken from two of the blocks, and salt rubbed into the wound by three men falling on them in front of him, then those from behind adding to the dogpile. The entire attack from start to finish took eleven seconds.
The cries of the men reached every set of ears around the yard as flames washed over them. Whatever water shield they'd managed to erect had been far too weak. Korra found herself wondering how she didn't care one bit for their lives and that she may have overdone it, but empathy wasn't welcome here. It was her duty as the Avatar to be ruthless sometimes. They weren't like Kuivera, they weren't deluded in some ideology. No head was turned for long though, as Beifong and her men made sure.
Korra watched a spluttering Hazukk rise out from the water onto the edge, coughing. She smirked, and turned her attention to an empty nearby crate. She ripped off part of it and used it to secure the waterbenders hands and feet to the ground. Not that they were in any condition to be moving. They were alive, but just barely.
Mako and Sim used the element of surprise to take out several members before they even knew what hit them, most the gangs' attention diverted to Beifong's team. Sim used his metal cable to whip the backs of twelve men. It was lethal, and they were hospitalised with one hit. Their flesh had been soft and tender, not tensed, so that made it so much worse. Sim punched the ground, and a wall appeared in front of him and Mako, just in time to stop the searing fire coming at them. When the attack ceased, he opened his hands but kept his fingers shut. He palmed the wall, and it broke into six different pieces, flying at the terrified triad members, Monsoon and Agni Kai alike.
Mako charged out when the wall was broken up and attacked like a man possessed. He'd always thought everything through before; is the risk greater than the reward, can I get away with it, what's the worst-case scenario if I fail? But none of these thoughts went through his mind as he threw himself at the water and firebenders. This was revenge, and when he attacked his flame burned all the brighter because of it.
The first man was a firebender, and he powered a hard backhand lit on fire straight for Mako's face. Mako grabbed his wrist before it connected and used the same move to break the other guy's nose. A burly waterbender tried to get him into a chokehold, but one glance was all Mako needed to confirm his backwards kick was for the right person. The waterbender screamed as he was enveloped in flames.
Two men immediately came for Mako, both firebenders, before he even put his leg down and swiped his standing leg with a fire blast Mako could do nothing about. He landed heavily on his side, but the pain drove his ambition even more.
"My parents won't have died in vain!" he shouted, and used a technique he'd been taught in the force. He opened his mouth, and screamed at them. Only words didn't come out, fire did. It was a move created by the late General Iroh the First, and boy was it handy. The firebenders just about managed to part the flame, but didn't react quick enough to Mako coming through the fire and uppercutting one of them right under the jaw. Mako used the momentum of the uppercut to swing his elbow into the other man's temple. They both fell, but Mako wasn't sure the second guy was out, so he grabbed his bloody head and brought it onto the full force of his rising knee. That should do fine, Mako thought, as they fell in a heap, out for the count.
"AH!" he blurted as a large ice cube hit him clean in between his shoulder blades. He fell to his knees onto the two Agni Kais he'd just grounded. He caught his fall with his hands, but a hose of water beneath him erupted from a drain, sending him a few metres into the air before landing flat on his back, his head bouncing off the hard rock.
"Not such a hero now, are you?" a man with a scruffy voice jeered him. "Say your prayers." He began walking over to Mako, then cursed audibly. "More cops!" Mako looked down his body, and saw the platoon arriving. The Red Monsoon and Agni Kai Triad, which a few seconds ago had looked so threatening, now began to split up, no real order to their attacks. A fat cat had landed amongst the pigeons.
Mako looked over to the one remaining forklift, and saw the red crate being loaded onto a truck. He could maybe catch it. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shinoda slipping away, with the larger presence of police leaving him no option but to leave. Mako's blood boiled, and his mind was made up in an instant.
Mako used the momentary distraction to drag his foot in a helicopter kick all around him, and he knocked all those who'd begun to surround him down with one of the hottest fires he'd ever produced. He launched himself to his feet despite what felt like a concussion, and paused at the man who'd just jeered him, now on his back. He slashed at his face, resulting in a cry of agony as the waterbender was scarred for the rest of his life all over his face. Mako took off after Shinoda, his hair wet with his own blood.