Chapter 10

One of the CSIs on the scene had experience in getting into locked phones, so there was no need to go to the precinct. That was absolutely fine with Zuko. He jumped in his car and lead two squad cars towards the warehouses down by the docks.

The notification from Katara's tracker had fanned Zuko's hope into an all consuming flame. Catching Koh had fallen from the main priority to a side benefit of finding Katara alive. As long as she was okay…

Zuko's foot pressed on the peddle, though he had already taken his car to it's top speeds. His keening siren and flashing lights warned everyone ahead out of his way. Later on he would be thankful that he didn't crash, but he didn't consider how erratic his driving was in the moment. The squad cars following started to fall behind, but Zuko didn't notice until he reached the docks, and realized that their sirens were in the distance. It didn't matter, he thought. They would catch up soon enough.

There was a long row of warehouses along the waterfront, and three in the area where Katara's tracker had marked as her location. It had narrowed the search area considerably, but not quite enough.

The area was all but abandoned. There were active warehouses at the docks, but this section had been abandoned years earlier when the company that owned the buildings folded. It was, Zuko acknowledged grimly, the perfect spot to commit a murder. The closest neighbor was four or five large buildings down, and there was no reason for anyone to be curious about someone lurking around one empty building out of half a dozen. With any luck, the police wouldn't have to search all of them. Katara's tracker had narrowed the search area considerably, but not quite enough.

The sirens were still in the distance. Zuko frowned at that. Had he actually lost his back up? He unclipped his radio from his belt, his eyes scanning the darkened buildings.

"This is Detective Zuko Kaji," he announced. "Units 27958 and 87964, do you read?" The line was silent for a moment, then crackled to life.

"This is 27958," came the reply. "We lost you on fifth. Where are you?" Zuko growled in frustration before he pressed the button. He had told them they were heading to the docks.

"Come to Pier 37," he ordered. "Move quick, we won't have much time once he realizes we're here."

"Copy that," the officer one car replied.

"Copy," said the other.

Then the line was silent again. Zuko drummed his fingers against his steering wheel as he counted the seconds. Inaction was chaffing to him at the best of times. Right now, it was torturous. Katara was inside one of these buildings, and he had to hope she was still alive. He didn't have room to consider any other outcome.

Three minutes passed, and the sirens got louder, but they still hadn't arrived. Zuko busied himself with preparations. He pulled his gun out of its holster and checked that there were bullets in the chamber. His bullet proof vest was in his locker back at the station, but he was sure he could borrow one from one of the squad cars. If they ever got there.

A flash caught Zuko's attention. He squinted out of the windshield to confirm what he saw. It was a light from inside one of the abandoned buildings. Why, he wondered, was there still electricity in an abandoned building? Protocol said he should wait for backup, but in this situation…

The other cars had still not arrived. It was time to make a judgement call. Zuko exited the car with his gun drawn, but his finger away from the trigger. At the very least, he could look for a way into the building. When the other cars arrived, they would be able to move as quickly as possible to catch Koh- Yon Rha- and rescue Katara. That was what Zuko told himself as he slipped around the corner of the building and checked for open doors.

There was one door around the back, and fortunately for Zuko, the lock had rusted through. He winced as the door squealed. Once it was open just wide enough, he slipped inside and shut the door as carefully as possible. In the way of all old buildings, the warehouse was full of its own unique sounds. There were creaks and groans echoing through the space. Zuko hoped that it was enough to mask the sound of his entry. He made his way deeper into the dark building, looking for the light he had seen earlier. The darkness made Zuko's progress agonizingly slow, but he didn't dare move any faster. The last thing he wanted was to give Koh a reason to panic. Or worse, give his position away.

Sweat beaded on Zuko's forehead in spite of the cool, damp air. Suddenly, coming in alone didn't seem like the sound judgement call it had in the car. There was no one to watch his back, and the warehouse was a maze of crates and metal shelves behind him. The chances were very good that Koh knew the building well enough to navigate in the dark and sneak up on an intruder. Zuko yanked his mind away from that train of thought. He was inside now. The only way to go was forward. He took another few steps before-

WHAM

- something hard and thin slammed into his midsection with breathtaking force. The gun clattered from his hand and went skidding across the floor into the darkness.

" Guuff!" Zuko grunted. Distantly, he heard a gasp and a metallic clatter, and then someone wrapped their arms around his back.

" Zuko !" Katara hissed. "Oh! I'm so sorry!"

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Katara had a split second to prepare herself when she heard the door rattle and the lock click. She had shut the light off again, and was waiting in the dark when the door opened. Koh had just long enough to peer confusedly into the shadows before Katara brought the chair down on her captor's head. He went down with a grunt, and Katara dashed past his prone form into the dark warehouse beyond. The chair wasn't very heavy. At best she had won herself a head start to find an exit or a hiding place. At worst, she had just pissed off a serial killer. She shuddered as she ran. Behind her, the fluorescent light flickered on. Koh was back on his feet. She ducked behind a stack of crates.

"I don't know what you're hoping to accomplish with this!" Koh yelled into the dark. "I'll find you before you find your way out. You're only delaying the inevitable, my dear!"

You say that like it's a bad thing, Katara scoffed to herself. She slowly retreated deeper into the shadows, away from Koh's advancing footsteps. She needed a weapon. It should be easier to find something to defend herself out here. She hoped.

The was a loud, but slow squealing noise from the far side of the warehouse. She heard Koh stop, then hurry away from her, back to his operating room. The light flickered off, and plunged the warehouse into complete darkness. Katara's heart leapt into her throat. Of course Koh must know his way around the warehouse in the dark. He had been there for Agni knows how long. Katara pressed her hands to her mouth and tried to slow her breathing and her pounding heart. Her only advantage remained surprise. Koh may know his way around in the dark, but he was still human and he couldn't see in the dark. She told herself that she could get out if she kept her head.

When she felt confident enough, Katara crept carefully along a back wall, searching either for an open door, or something to protect herself with. Her eyes were adjusting to the scant light from the high window, which made it easier to avoid the more obvious obstacles. There were footsteps on the other side of the crates where she was hiding. Koh, it seemed was back on the hunt. He wasn't wasting time taunting her now. That didn't seem like a good sign.

Katara's foot hit something on the floor. It clinked along the cement floor as loud as a gunshot. Her heart stopped. Turning her ears sharply into the wooden labyrinth behind her, Katara waited for any sign that Koh had heard her. The footsteps she had heard earlier remained on the opposite side of the crates, unhurried and seemingly unaware of her presence. There was no time for relief. Katara reached down to feel for what her foot had hit. Her fingers bushed something long, cold, and rough. Pipes. Katara smiled in spite of the situation. No matter how this turned out, she would make Koh regret targeting her.

Be smart, Imiq, Katara told herself. Going out swinging randomly was a great way to wind up locked in Koh's killing room again. She was armed now, but her priority was to get out as quickly as possible. She held the rusty pipe tightly in her grip and headed away from the direction of the room.

A tall metal shelf forced her to turn at the end of the crates. She couldn't see beyond them, but the sense of emptiness on the other side told her that she still had a long way to get to the other side of the warehouse. That made her nervous. The longer she took to get out, the more likely she was to get caught. But she couldn't think about that too long. She had to keep moving …

There were footsteps heading her way. Katara's breath hitched in her chest as a scream bubbled up her throat. How had Koh ended up in front of her? The footsteps were hesitant, though. Maybe, Katara thought, he didn't know she was there. She raised the pipe up over her shoulder like a club and waited as the steps got closer…

"Ugh!" Katara grunted as she swung with all her strength. The pipe collided with something solid and someone doubled over in pain. The someone wasn't Koh. Even in the dark, Katara could see that this new person was too short, their hair too long, and their grunt of pain sounded too young to be the man who had kidnapped her. For a horrifying moment, Katara thought Koh had a partner until the stranger tried to straighten up and Katara caught a glimpse of a dark mark over part of his face in the dim light. She gasped and dropped the pipe.

"Zuko!" she hissed. She put her arms around his shoulders both to embrace him and to try to help him upright. "Oh! I'm so sorry."

"Forget it," Zuko snapped. Katara flinched away, but he grabbed her hand. He took a breath and straightened up. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"I'm alive," Katara said. "And you're here. I'm great!" Impulsively, Katara threw her arms around Zuko. He quickly, and absently returned the hug while he scanned the darkness beyond her.

"We have to get out of here," he said. Katara stepped back and picked up the pipe.

"Agreed," she said. She glanced around nervously. "I don't know where he went, but he's still here somewhere." Zuko nodded and reach down to his holster for his gun. His hands clasped the air where his gun should have been. He swore under his breath.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked.

"My gun is missing," Zuko told her. Katara's grip on the pipe tightened.

"We can't do anything about it now," she said. She looked nervously over her shoulder. "There's no way he hasn't heard us." Zuko clenched his jaw, but nodded. Katara was right. The priority was getting out safely. Zuko told himself that a reprimand would be less humiliating than a serial killer tripping over him while he searched for his weapon.

"Let me have the pipe," Zuko said. Katara passed it to him without arguing. "There should be back up when we get outside." Katara froze when he said that.

"Should?" she hissed. ' Should? Did you come in here alone ? Zuko! "

"I didn't have much of a choice," he whispered back. He led the way back to the door he had entered. Katara clutched the back of his shirt, her head swiveling towards every drip and creak she heard.

"Why?" she demanded. Zuko snorted and she could tell he was rolling his eyes.

"The cars that were following me got lost. I didn't want to risk Koh doing something... stupid." Katara scoffed.

"I think we've got him beat there," she muttered. . Zuko grunted in response and reached back for Katara's hand.

"Let's just go." He led the way back towards the door he had come in through. Katara's hand was damp with sweat and trembling slightly in Zuko's. He laced his fingers through hers and gave her hand a comforting squeeze. They were so close to getting out. He could even see the flashing lights of the other squad cars, finally arrived on the scene. If he remembered correctly, the exit should be around the next corner.

Katara froze, clutching Zuko's arm as she peered into the darkness ahead. Zuko glanced back at her with a frown.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I heard something…" she said. Zuko cursed himself for not bringing a flashlight. He focused his hearing ahead of them and for a long moment, all he could hear was the drip of a far off pipe, and the shriek of sirens muffled by the heavy layer of concrete separating them from the street.

Then he heard what Katara had heard. A light scraping noise just ahead. He put Katara between him and the metal shelf behind him, and raised the metal pipe to his shoulder and waited. The scraping stopped abruptly, then suddenly the shelf behind them erupted in a deafening clanging. Katara shrieked and leapt away from the shelf, pulling Zuko back from it at the same time. She had him almost behind her, but Zuko twisted away and stood in front of her.

"It's over, Yon Rha!" Zuko called into the darkness. "There's no way out for you. Give up now."

"So, the police found me out, huh?" The killer's chuckled came from ahead, the same direction as the exit. "Guess this is it for me. But I think I want to finish my last project first." Katara's fingers clutched at the back of Zuko's shirt. She was pulling him away from Yon Rha, though she certainly couldn't see him any more than Zuko could.

"Yeah, I don't think so, buddy," Zuko scoffed. He raised the metal pipe again.

"But I do," Yon Rha said. "If this is my last hurrah, I'm going out...with a bang." Katara understood what the click meant a split second before Zuko did.

"The gun!" she shouted. She tried to push him out of the way, but it was too late. The bullet hit Zuko in the chest, and he went down with a grunt. The pipe clattered to the ground beside him.

No!

Katara wasn't sure if she screamed, or if the echoing cry was just in her head. Instinctively, her hands went to Zuko's chest, trying to stop the bleeding. She had just enough time to feel the warmth of Zuko's blood on her fingers before she was tackled from the side and slammed into the concrete floor. The breath left her lungs in a whoosh , and before she could even gasp, rough, slender fingers closed around her throat. Her vision exploded with brightly colored stars as she fought for air.

"I hate... grrmph ... doing it this way," Yon Rha ground out between clenched teeth. His hands were shaking with the effort of strangling Katara."I'm not going to get a clean cut."

His words reached Katara through a ringing in her ears. She barely understood what he was saying. Somewhere by her feet, she was aware of Zuko bleeding to death. They were both going to die here with help just outside. Katara would have sobbed if she could breathe.

She reached up and clawed at the hands around her throat. She could feel his flesh give way beneath her nails, but Yon Rha didn't even loosen his grip. She tried punching him next, and connected with his chin. This time, he did let go, but only long enough to hit her back. Katara's head bounced against the floor painfully. She had just enough time to hastily swallow a lung full of air before Yon Rha's hands closed around her throat again.

"Don't panic!" Katara heard Sokka's voice in her head with startling clarity. She almost flinched, but she was losing the strength to do even that much. He was right, she thought giddily. She didn't have long to act- maybe thirty seconds before she lost consciousness. Another minute before she died. She calmed herself as best she could and thought back to an afternoon the year before where Sokka and his girlfriend Suki had gotten it into their heads to teach Katara some self-defensive moves. She hadn't practiced since then, but it was her best hope now.

"Keep your elbows in tight," Suki instructed her. Sokka grinned down at Katara, straddling her waist and hands loosely around her neck. He didn't think she was strong enough to actually pull the move off.

"I'm not going to go easy on ya," he taunted. Katara scowled at him, and did as Suki told her. She pulled her elbows in tight, grasped Sokka's arm just above his elbow, and clamped her other hand over his wrist.

"Good form," Suki said. "Now your left foot outside of his and your right foot in the middle of his legs, and use your weight to throw him off of you."

"No way you- oof !" Katara scrambled to her feet with a triumphant smirk.

"And that's how you do it every time!" Suki laughed.

Katara hadn't counted on how weak lack of oxygen would make her. Her hands shook as she grasped Yon Rha's arm, just above his elbow and grasped his wrist. She couldn't even tell how tight her grip was. All she knew was that she had one shot. When her feet were in place, she stopped struggling for a moment while she gathered her strength. Yon Rha was caught off guard when she rolled her hips and threw him to the side. Katara scrambled to her knees and over towards Zuko, gasping for air. Yon Rha's hand closed around her ankle as hers wrapped around the metal pipe. She rolled over and slammed the pipe over his head. He released her immediately and his hand flew to his head. Katara brought the pipe down again. And again. And again. When she finally stopped swinging, Yon Rha's face was broken and bloodied, but he still seemed to be alive.

" Ka...Kat...ra…" Katara spun and dropped to her knees by Zuko's side.

"Oh, no!" she whispered. "Oh, no! Oh, no!" She pressed her hands over the hole in his chest and willed the blood to stop. Zuko reached up weakly and put hand over hers.

" Radio… " he managed to say. He dropped his hand, brushing it against the radio on his belt. Katara grasped at it with one hand and yanked it off. The force of it snapped the clip, but she didn't notice and wouldn't have cared if she had. She pressed the button on the side, hoping that it would do what she needed.

"Hello?" Her voice was croaky and raw, her throat ached from the effort. She tried again. "I'm on Detective Kaji's radio. He's been shot. Someone help!' The radio was silent for an agonizing moment before it crackled to life.

"We're coming in!" the voice on the other end said. "Is the suspect armed." Katara shook her head. She looked over at Yon Rha. His eyes were swollen shut, and his breath gurgled behind his lips. She didn't see where he had put the gun, but it wasn't anywhere near his hands.

"He's not armed," she said into the radio. "Please! Zuko's….there's so much blood." Somewhere behind her, the door burst open and hit the wall with a bang. Katara didn't notice. She had dropped the radio and brought her hand back to Zuko's chest. The warehouse floor was suddenly flooded with light as police officers bore down with guns and flashlights drawn. Someone stepped forward and cuffed Yon Rha's twitching hands together.

Then there were hands on Katara's shoulders, pulling at her. When she realized they were trying to pull her off of Zuko, she fought hard.

"No!" she insisted. "He'll die! Let go of me!"

"The paramedics are here," the too calm voice told Katara. She recognized it, but she didn't know from where at first. She turned and found herself looking at Chief Iroh Kaji, the kind old man who had first taken her statement. Zuko's uncle. Then she saw the paramedics behind him with a long orange spine board between them. She allowed Iroh to help her to her feet and move her aside so the two could transfer Zuko from the floor to the gurney. Her sore throat wouldn't allow for sobbing, but the tears streamed down her face mixing with snot and sweat and blood. Soon Iroh was almost as covered in the mess as she was.

"Come on," Iroh said gently, leading her outside. "We have to get you to the hospital, too."

"I want to ride with him," Katara insisted. "Please let me go with him!" Iroh shook his head.

"He'll be fine," he said with a conviction that even Katara could tell he didn't completely feel. She struggled against his grip as they loaded Zuko into the ambulance, but now the burst of adrenaline that allowed her to fight off Koh- Yon Rha- whatever his name was- had run its course, leaving Katara shaking and weak. Iroh passed her off to another team of paramedics, regarding her apologetically as he ran over to the ambulance with Zuko. Katara watched it leave, gasping and weeping, but no longer resisting the people trying to take care of her. She was alive, and Koh had been stopped, but it wasn't fair that Zuko should pay the cost for it.