Happy 2017 to each and every single one of my fans! 2016 has been a whirlwind of a year, probably with more negatives than positives, but I'm cautiously optimistic about what 2017 will bring. For starts, 2017 brought you this brand new chapter of my story. I want to thank Theblackbird123, Wildstar93, and SaoirseParisa for reviewing the previous chapter. Things are really going to pick up for this chapter, with the pacing becoming faster and character traits being developed more. Get ready for this wild ride!

Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko own the Legend of Korra.

"We're about to serve dinner, Mr. Varrick. Please come to the dining room where Mr. Sato and his family are waiting," a middle-aged housekeeper stated. It was another typical weekend where Varrick, Zhu Li, and Korra would visit the Satos for dinner. Given the close proximity of their residences, and the close bond between Korra and Asami, this almost became routine for them. Varrick had strolled through the corridor to the dining room so many times that he swore he could memorize it in his sleep.

"Varrick, Zhu Li, glad you can make it," a deep baritone voice greeted the group. From behind her foster family, Korra could see Hiroshi stand up and approached, shaking hands with Varrick and Zhu Li before bringing them to the table. Yasuko was seated beside the empty seat that Hiroshi left, her cane leaning against the edge of the table. But the seat Korra had her eyes on was the one next to Asami, who was on Yasuko's other side. "And Korra, how are you doing?" Hiroshi asked, "Are you enjoying your new post under Asami?"

Korra shyly tilted her eyes away. "Oh, you know, just getting used to the routine," she murmured, emitting a slight chuckle. She quickly slid into the seat next to Asami, giving her a reluctant glance before placing her napkin on her lap.

Asami cocked an eyebrow at Korra. "You're used to speaking to my dad now, so what's with that hesitance?" she queried, placing a hand on Korra's, "You don't have to be scared of telling my dad about your work. Besides, he's the owner of Future Industries. Don't you think he might want to know what's going on inside his own warehouses?"

Korra tilted her eyes at Asami again. "It's not that I don't want to tell him. It's just that I'm not sure how receptive he'll be of my ideas," Korra replied, her free hand rubbing the corner of the napkin on her lap, "I've been talking to Toza and Yung and the rest of them, and they gave me some suggestions on how to make the piers busier. I'm just not sure if it'll work, that's all."

"Hey, is that the attitude I taught you about new ideas?" a bold voice interrupted their quiet discussion. Asami and Korra both turned to their left, where Varrick leans his face closer to Korra. "If I ever hesitated with my crazy ideas, I don't think I'd have even half my achievements today. Let your imagination flow, Korra, and there's nothing you can't do."

At Varrick's urging, Korra slowly revealed her idea. "Well, for starters, I'm okay at my workplace. I'm getting organized pretty well, the cargo is being tracked well, and our delivery times are over ninety-five percent," Korra regurgitated, the tone in her voice stronger and more confident, "But I don't think our pier and warehouse are busy enough. We should do more to increase the cargo flow, which can improve the business, you know?"

Hiroshi and Yasuko gave each other a curious glance before turning back to Korra. "Well, we did shift some cargo deliveries to that pier, but we want most of that close to the downtown core," Hiroshi explained, "Do you have something in mind to boost the activities at the pier? If it's something Future Industries can do, then I'm open to it."

"Well, if we focus only on what Future Industries import, then it's pretty limited. There's not much activity at my pier when everything is closer to downtown," Korra pointed out. With that, she pulled out a small notebook from the inside pocket of her jacket and flipped a few pages down. "Right now, we're only importing ten percent of Future Industries products through my pier, and the warehouse is less than fifty percent full. If we lease it out to allow other companies to store things there, we can fill the warehouse, improve business for Toza and Yung in deliveries, and also make a bit of extra money for the company. It's a win-win situation, don't you agree?" Korra finished with a huge smile on her face.

Hiroshi scratched his chin for a few seconds. "I like your idea, but I think it's not as straightforward as you say," the entrepreneur described, "Remember that if we own the rights to that pier, then we control everything that goes through it. And if someone uses that warehouse, which we have sole usage to in an agreement with Toza and Yung, then we decide what gets stored there. We must address all that before we can let other groups use it, or we can get in trouble. Won't it be wise to develop some policy to check each group and their goods before letting them in?" Hiroshi suggested.

Korra and Asami looked at each other, the water bender at a loss what to say. Was running a warehouse not about just storing goods? They were not importing weapons of mass destruction, so why were there so many concerns? "What do you mean by that?" Korra asked, brushing a loose strand of hair dangling in front of her face.

Hiroshi clasped his hands together and calmly identified the issues for Korra. "You may be held liable if anything you import through that pier or store in that warehouse breaches any laws and regulations. I'm all for expanding the business and making more money, all the while giving more work to you and your colleagues at the pier, but I want to be convinced that you have thought about these liability issues," Hiroshi lectured, sounding like the stern father that befitted his reputation, "If you've already developed a plan, then I'm willing to hear you out."

Korra winced. So much for her wish to break out on her own and setting a mark for herself. When Jinora visited the warehouse earlier that week, Korra was so excited that she was getting a new opportunity to prove herself. She really thought she inspired all her friends, as Asami, Opal, and Jinora all agreed that this was a good chance for them all. Now, before her plan even got off the grounds, Korra was already being shot down, by none other than Asami's own father! This was not the start she expected from that discussion.

But Asami soon gave her blessing to Korra's idea. "I think it's worth thinking about, because we currently aren't using the pier and the warehouse space effectively," she pointed out, "If Korra does want help to develop the regulatory plan for what products are shipped and stored, then Opal and I are willing to help her with that."

"And don't forget that before I married Varrick, I was his administrative assistant for the longest time," Zhu Li added, raising a hand from Varrick's left side, "I'm used to organizing his spontaneous and crazy ideas on the fly, so helping Korra out shouldn't be a problem. Besides, with Korra's structured routine, coming up with a plan with Korra should actually be easier."

At this time, Yasuko turned to Hiroshi and put a hand on her husband's shoulder. "I think both Asami and Korra have a point here, and it's time to let the kids shine. We're not getting any younger, and we'll be leaving the company in the hands of the next generation soon. At least, I don't plan on working full-time while managing my burns," she described, gesturing to her cane, "If Asami and Korra have a plan, and they're eager to put that plan into action, why not give them that opportunity? I have full faith that they will gain a good learning experience out of it."

Hiroshi's eyes scanned the group again. Asami and Korra both felt their blood go cold at Hiroshi's stare. While Asami always had good relations with her parents, she knew how intense her father could be when it came to work. He had high expectations of everyone, and that meant even Asami herself was subject to his sternness sometimes. Knowing that Korra would require some accommodation and positive reinforcement, would Hiroshi reject them instead?

Finally, Hiroshi gave his blessing. "But if either of you run into any problems or have any questions, make sure to ask, okay? I'll give you a hand if you feel none of your options are working out," Hiroshi suggested.

Asami and Korra cheered in excitement. They grabbed each other's hands and pumped their arms in the air. Given this was a right step in the right direction, their goals were clear, and they would do whatever it took to help each other achieve them. As they excitedly waited for the cook to serve dinner, they could only wonder about the limitless possibilities lining their way.

From the second he brought his guest into the warehouse, Kai had been sucking in his breath nonstop and nervously rubbing the bridge of his nose. He was ecstatic to hear that Korra convinced Future Industries to allow them to expand the warehouse, which meant more business for them. Given he was on the verge of not being able to attend university due to lack of financial help, Kai hoped this would get them over the hump. So when Korra asked him and Bolin to keep their eyes open for any clients, Kai did exactly that.

But the more time he spent watching his guest speak, the more Kai was regretting it. Kai should have known something was up when Skoochy approached him. Like Kai, Skoochy was a fellow orphan who bounced around from foster family to foster family. He did settle down with someone, but Kai gleaned no more information from him other than that. While they were not friends per se, Kai spent enough time with Skoochy to at least be able to tolerate him. But the fact that Skoochy always tried to take advantage of people really left a sour taste in his mouth.

Yet here was Skoochy, sweet-talking Bolin and Korra like there was no tomorrow. Whether it was buttering them up about the warehouse, or complimenting them on the pier, or even talking about how he and Kai were doing in school, Skoochy was pouring honey by the truckload on those two. "Don't you think it makes sense to let me help you out?" he ended.

Kai's whole body shivered, the air bender rubbing his arms up and down. "Skoochy, why don't we just cut to the chase here," Kai eked out, still uncomfortable with the sycophantic words coming out of Skoochy's mouth, "What exactly is it that you think you can help us with?"

Skoochy tilted his head at Kai and gave his infamous, lopsided, smirk-like grin. "Kai, it's not like you don't know about me," Skoochy stated, adjusted the reverse baseball cap on his head, "You know I hang out with people who have some businesses, and they want to ship stuff back and forth all the time. If you're looking for people to put stuff in your warehouse, I can give you some on the spot. You win by getting clients, I win by helping them, get my point?"

And what seventeen-year-old would have connections that want to store stuff that they can't even discuss, Kai thought to himself. Rubbing his forehead a few times, Kai tried to make his pitch again. "What exactly do you have in mind when you say these people want to use the warehouse to store things?" he queried, "You realize there are rules about what we can store and what we can import, right? Can we at least know about some of the things you want to store?"

Skoochy shook his head. "You're always so to-the-point, aren't you, Kai? Sometimes you take the joy out of all our conversations," he responded. That got Kai frowning once more, and the air bender could notice that Bolin and Korra seemed a bit put-off as well. "Let's just say I have some people wanting to bring in some pieces of technology. Just hard drives, car parts, other mechanical stuff, they're nothing foreign to Future Industries. Since you guys import, store, and deliver that type of stuff all the time, I figure that you can get some more from my people too. There's no harm in storing more of the same stuff here, right?"

Kai tilted his eyes at Korra, who spent more time scribbling in her notebook than pay attention to Skoochy. Hopefully Korra was just writing down her concerns so she could show Asami later, because Kai was not getting a good vibe. Meanwhile, Bolin seemed somewhat excited, but still very cautious. "It certainly would help, but you might want to let us know who these people are first," the older earth bender stated, "I don't think Toza will be too happy with us if we let a bunch of crazy people store unwanted stuff here."

Kai nodded his head. Part of him was impressed that Bolin was asking that question, as sometimes he felt Bolin had a naïve streak. Maybe it was because Mako and Toza shielded Bolin from hardship, but Bolin had a tendency to believe things at face value. There were cases where he had to be reminded that things were not always what they seemed, sometimes by Kai himself. It was awkward when the younger one had to remind the older one of this, but Kai was glad to see Bolin become more self-aware of his flaws. "Are you willing to let us meet these people? If so, then we should get Asami down here as well," Bolin suggested, "After all, we are working with her most of the time, and she does call the shots for Future Industries' goods."

"Hey, no sweat, but you don't have to worry too much when I'm around, right?" Skoochy replied, giving Bolin and Korra a cocky wink. That comment got goose bumps popping up and down Kai's arms, given Skoochy's tendency of hanging out with less than savoury people. "I can give you a few contacts, let you know who they are, and they'll start bringing stuff in, okay? The sooner we get started, the sooner everyone is making money, cool?"

Luckily, Korra answered Kai's prayer to the spirits when she herself also questioned Skoochy on the deal. "I don't think I'm the only person who thinks it's weird for a seventeen-year-old who is still in high school to have business contacts," the water bender pointed out. Kai could see Korra struggle to maintain eye contact with Skoochy, but despite her wavering voice Korra was definitely holding her own. "I think we should get your foster family or whoever they know in here first. We don't want any of us to get in trouble, including you, okay?"

"Oh, what? Are you telling me you don't trust me? Even after such a great offer? I'm shocked and hurt!" Skoochy responded, melodramatically placing a hand over his heart. That got Kai gritting his teeth, as Skoochy was doing a really good job pulling them in. Kai was most worried about this part, because Skoochy had a tendency of drawing people in and then turning them into his scapegoats. That was how he took advantage of them all the while washing his hands clean of the issue. At this rate, Bolin and Korra could be easily drawn in. Why didn't Kai wait until Toza and Yung were available before bringing Skoochy here?

Luckily, neither Bolin nor Korra budged, insisting that Skoochy brought the people wanting to import and store the goods to the warehouse first. Realizing that there wasn't much more Skoochy could push, the former street urchin stepped out of the warehouse. "Just you wait," he called back, "They'll be here and you'll get the business you want."

Once Skoochy left the picture, Kai turned back to Bolin and Korra. Both had their heads dipped, their eyes tilting hesitantly at each other while their lips were pursed. "Well, I don't know what we're about to get ourselves into, but I'm glad you at least asked him to bring those guys here first," the air bender stated, "Even though I don't call him my enemy, I don't trust him that much. I just don't want us to get into something that we'll regret later on."

Bolin nodded. "The new business is good, and I definitely think it'll help, but something about the way Skoochy talks just doesn't sit well with me," he commented. It was times like these that Bolin really wished Mako was here to help out. Being a police officer, Mako had a way with shady people like Skoochy that would make them spill. But given he was at the warehouse more, the least Bolin could do was fulfill his part in helping out his family. "So let's see what Skoochy's friends have for us, right Korra?"

Korra did not say a word, opting to return to her office and closed the door. It got both Kai and Bolin concerned, wondering if Skoochy got to her head. Given Korra's autism, did that encounter cause something to give Korra discomfort? They sure hoped she would not dismiss the opportunity just because Skoochy was overly dramatic with them!

Another large delivery truck entered the premises of the warehouse, with another group of delivery drivers taking care of another load of goods. It was less than two weeks since the visit from Skoochy, and less than a week since a new storage contract was signed. Korra could not be prouder of the results, as the goods kept pouring into the warehouse. It kept her very busy, to the point where she was asking Asami if she could borrow Opal more often. "I'm just glad you're here to help me, or else I'll never be able to get through all this," she told the air bender.

Opal smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Korra. It's my job, so I'm not going to say no," she responded, handing another clipboard holding sheets describing today's inventory to the water bender, "If we make this place busy, then the business is good. I'm sure everyone, both Bolin's company and Asami's company, will benefit, right?"

Korra took the clipboard from Opal and gave the documents a glance. With the amount of time she spent here, Korra felt increasingly comfortable with the surroundings. Asami and Opal were more than supportive of her, while Kai and Bolin were very friendly and accepting. Yung showed his fatherly side so often that she wondered what it would be like if he was her foster father instead, and even Toza had a mellower side once she got past his gruff exterior. The only person she had trouble reading was Mako, who was very emotionless and barely said a word. The fact that sometimes he had a permanent scowl stitched onto his face put Korra off a bit. But even then, Mako helped out the family as much as he could, something Korra appreciated.

Flipping to the next page, Korra sent a sly look towards Opal. "And how are things going between you and Bolin?" she asked, tilting her eyes between the clipboard and Opal, "I can see you and him being more than friends quite a few times, you know."

Opal blushed at that comment. It was true that she and Bolin were always teasing each other during their break times, and there were talks of a potential date. It was going to be the first date for them both, and Opal wasn't exactly experienced with romance. "I don't know if we're exactly boyfriend-girlfriend yet," Opal replied meekly, "Maybe we'll go on one outing first, and then we'll decide what to do with our relationship."

Korra chuckled, which only caused Opal's face to redden even more. "Anyway, enough about me," Opal stated, brushing the hair around her ears, "What about you? I don't see you with any boys around. Have you ever dated any boys before?"

Korra paused. Instantly, she turned her eyes away from Opal while her body slightly hunched over. "Oh, not really," she responded, her volume lowering while her gaze bore into the clipboard instead, "Just never really got the time, you know?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot about how uncomfortable you are around strangers," Opal stated, slapping a hand on her forehead. She should have known better than to ask Korra about her romantic life, given her autism made her uncomfortable around strangers. To be around a person who might become intimate with her would really be a challenge to Korra. "Anyway, let's get off this topic. I think we should focus back on our work," Opal suggested.

"It's not because of my autism that I haven't seen any boys," Korra mumbled into her clipboard, hoping Opal did not hear a word of that. Taking a deep breath, Korra re-oriented her efforts onto the inventory list. They had a list of things to get out, and she had to make sure that they were complete before release of goods was approved. After a few more minutes with the list, Korra signed off on it and handed it back to Opal. "Okay, list is complete. We can release."

Opal smiled when she took back the clipboard. Strolling over to the driver, she explained the goods to him before letting his team into the warehouse. From her angle, Korra could see a large white truck outside with two other deliverymen stepping out. Opal brought the men into the warehouse, leading them to where the goods were placed. Korra could recall the exact locations of everything, but let Opal take on the task instead. Like Korra, Opal wanted to make her mark in the world, after many years of living in a famous family. While Opal loved her family and was unlikely to break any ties with them, Korra knew what it was like to always be overshadowed. Korra herself had her autism to deal with on top of a famous family, so she was thankful that Varrick and Zhu Li gave her all those chances.

"Hey Korra, do you know when Asami will drop by?" Opal's questioned snapped Korra out of her trance. Korra turned back to face Opal, who stood near the shelves while the movers took their goods out to the truck. "She approved the project pretty quickly and told me to help you out, but I haven't heard much from her. She said she'll be in and out of meetings this week, but is she leaving town with her father to attend those meetings?"

"I'm not sure. I think she will be in town most of the week, but probably inaccessible due to meetings," Korra described, "I think she knows what we're doing, given she approved of the project. We can always ask her for help, but I think we should figure this out on our own first. If we can get this running smoothly, think how happy Hiroshi will be. He'll never think twice about handing us more work in the future!"

"That's good then. I'll be behind you all the way, Korra," Opal stated, giving Korra a pat on the shoulder for encouragement. What normally would create a flinching reaction became a wide grin, as Opal could feel Korra truly accepted her and did not see her as a stranger. "But still, Asami told us that we have to be in control of all the goods that pass through our doors. What does that mean for us? Will we go through each box to see what's inside them or something?"

Korra paused and tilted her head again. Opal leaned her head in Korra's direction, trying to get a read on the older woman's expression. However, Korra avoided her eye contact and did not say a word, making Opal feel slightly awkward. Other than the sounds of the delivery truck driving off, Opal could not hear any other noise from inside the warehouse.

Just then, without another word, Korra moved past Opal and into her office. Opal had to follow Korra just to see what happened. "Did I say something wrong, Korra? I just asked what our duties are, that's all!" she insisted, wondering what brought this on.

But Korra did not respond, instead rifling through her desk. Opal could still recall when Jinora was here and they saw Korra's desk. The wording Jinora used to describe Korra's desk later on was "organized messiness," a trait consistent with Korra's autism. Given autistic people had a certain structure to their routine, Korra would not deviate much from it. So despite the mess on the desk, the water bender was always aware of where everything was on it.

Just then, Korra pulled out her notebook, the one that she carried religiously for the past few weeks. Opal tried to lean closer, but Korra held the notebook so that Opal could not see what was inside. After a few page flips and some silent reading, Korra finally glanced up. "Asami wanted us to make sure each item is what it says it is. We're in control of what goes in and out, and should anything happen to the goods when they're in our possession, then we're liable," Korra read out like she was reciting a poem, "We also can't store anything illegal or against pier regulations, or we can be subject to sanctions. We can open and inspect each box, or we can have government inspectors do that if they have authority, but otherwise we can store them after the pier's security team addresses them first."

Opal looked on in amazement at how Korra basically gave her the whole rundown of the warehouse policy. Seeing Opal's impressed look, a smile soon returned to Korra's face. "I'm sorry if I ran off like that. It's just when I have an idea, I have to get it out first," Korra clarified, closing the notebook and putting it away, "Now that we're both clear on the policies, we won't have any problems in the future. We can always just cooperate with the authorities, right?"

"Is there any reason why Mako got the entire police force down here?" Kai whispered to Bolin as the police pushed everyone to the side. It was a regular weekend for Kai and Bolin at the warehouse, with the boys doing the stockpiling for Yung and Toza. Another delivery truck was about to arrive when the police barged in and cordoned off the area. While Kai and Bolin were happy to see Mako in the group, knowing one friendly face present that might assist them, they both thought this was a bit overboard. "What do they think we're doing, smuggling drugs or something?" Kai snidely remarked.

"Kai, I heard that," Mako stated, snap-pointing at the young air bender. While Mako's stick-in-the-mud made him approach everything as seriously as possible, there was definitely something wrong here. Mako seemed completely absorbed with the rest of his team, ignoring pleas from Kai and Bolin for an explanation. Mako usually made time for his family, even with a big case. So what was going on here? Did some stored items cause panic within the police?

Just then, Yung and Toza came out from the inner office with several books in their hands. "Here, Mako," Toza stated, handing the logs to his foster child, "These are all the Future Industries items. There shouldn't be any mistakes."

Mako took it without even saying thank you, only nodding in recognition of Toza's effort. The coldness of the fire bender sent chills through everyone as they watched him hand the books to his superior, a balding man named Saikhan. The police captain flipped through the pages nonchalantly, his eyes never lifting once off the pages. "Should we get Korra over here to help out? She's the one with the photographic memory, so maybe she can help clarify for the police," Bolin whispered to Yung and Toza.

"I already texted her, so she should be on her way," Yung muttered back, gesturing to the cellphone in his pants pocket. Clearing his throat, the older air bender turned to the police and requested an explanation again. "We've been more than cooperative with the police, so can you at least let us know why you're searching our warehouse?"

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Saikhan finally spoke, but not to Yung. Instead, he turned to his officers and barked more orders. "Search every single box that contains goods from Future Industries. I want all those boxes opened," he instructed, waving his finger around like a laser pointer. When Saikhan finally faced the group again, he was instructing Mako to join the search as well. "Just because they're friends and family doesn't mean you should forget the police oath," he suggested to the fire bender.

When Saikhan wandered off, Mako quickly sneaked in and waved the group over. When the group was close enough, he described the case to them in nothing more than a murmur. "We got a tip that counterfeit goods have been smuggled in, and some may be in this warehouse," he pointed out, "I'm sure it isn't anything related to you guys, but it'll be best if you let the police handle this. We'll let you know when we're done."

Toza threw his hands in the air, while Kai and Bolin groaned in frustration. Yung turned back to stare at his group with an exasperated look before whipping out his phone again. Texting Korra, he wished the water bender could get here in time to resolve this situation. Since Korra usually represented Future Industries at the warehouse, maybe she could better assist them with this matter. "And what makes you believe the tip you got, Mako?" Yung called to the fire bender now marching away, "What makes the police believe that we have counterfeit goods in here?"

Mako winced as he turned back. "All I can say is that some people who bought from suppliers carrying Future Industries got defects. The goods malfunctioned, and some even exploded," he clarified, the frown on his face deepening by the second, "When Future Industries was given notice, they could not locate any of the goods in question on their active databases, which made the customers believe that they purchased counterfeit goods."

"Actually, I think we found what we're looking for," Saikhan stated. The entire group looked over to where the police captain was, only to see the balding man wave the notebook Yung handed him earlier back in their faces. "These boxes in the back contain goods resembling Future Industries products, but none of the serial numbers can be found in your book. Do you want to explain that to me, folks?"

The entire group gawked in shock, before turning to each other in confusion. Even Mako, who did his best to stay emotionless, could not help but lift an eyebrow. From behind the fire bender, several police officers hauled a series of boxes out. "I think we have enough grounds to take at least one of you in for further interrogation," Saikhan added, closing the notebook and putting it in his pocket, "So which one of you is really in charge here?"

Kai and Bolin howled in protest while Yung tried to reassure Saikhan, all to no avail. Before things got out of hand, Toza stepped forward. "I'm in charge here, and I would like to know what happened as well," the older earth bender declared, "I'm willing to go with them to the station. If it gets cleared out, then I should be free to go. Is that right, captain?"

Saikhan lifted his head slightly, his expression a mix of sadness and helplessness. "I'm afraid it's either going to be a long investigation, or Future Industries will have to get a pardon from the president," the police captain responded, "We have orders from the Department of Public Safety that counterfeit goods are a serious matter, and there will be a crackdown on them. Both the Department of Justice and the Department of Trade are endorsing this move, so we have all the authority in the world to investigate this further. I'm glad you're cooperating with the police, but let's hope that cooperation will lead us to clearing your name."

As Saikhan escorted Toza to the police vehicle outside, Kai could not stop protesting. He got up in each officer's face, yelling and screaming at them and insisting they freed Toza. Even though Yung tried to calm his ward down, the older air bender could not hold in his own anger as well. "Mako, you've got to do something here. You won't let your own foster father get arrested, right? Can you convince the captain that there must be some mistake?" he pleaded.

Mako winced again. "Look, my hands are tied on this. The order came from the federal government, and even Chief Bei Fong herself can't override it. All I can say is that I'll try to keep an eye on Toza," he explained with great difficulty. Turning to Bolin, whose head and posture just drooped, Mako placed a hand on his brother. "It'll be okay, I can feel it."

"No, it won't! Get your hands off me!" Bolin shouted. Mako leaned his head closer and could see Bolin's eyes filling with tears. "How could you arrest your own family? You're not my brother anymore! You're a brother betrayer!" With that, Bolin ran off, leaving Mako in the dust.

In the midst of the chaos, Kai ran back to Yung, hoping his guardian had some solution to the problem. Yung could only fish out his cellphone and scroll to the texts he exchanged with Korra. "Of all the times to be late, Korra, why now?" Yung hissed.

"Chief Bei Fong, what is the meaning of this?" Asami demanded, marching up to the chief of Republic City Police who now stood in her estate living room. The grey-haired woman was a storm of sternness, her hands planted firmly on her hips while her grimace increased its intensity by tenfold. Asami was in the middle of a business meeting out of town when she was called to return. "I'm lucky I caught the maglev back into town tonight, so can you please give me some explanation as to what's going on here?" Asami asked.

Lin gave a side glance at Asami, her glower making the room at least ten degrees colder. However, Asami refused to back down from the intimidating look, persisting in getting answers from her. "All I know is that Korra called me, sounding like she just had a mental breakdown. She said that Toza has been brought into the station for an investigation on counterfeit goods in Future Industries' pier," Asami explained, "What grounds do you have for that?"

Lin's breathing was the only thing heard echoing in the room. It gave Asami the chills, and based on her observations of her parents seated on the couch, Asami believed neither Hiroshi nor Yasuko had an easy time either. Never in the history of Future Industries had it been accused of producing or importing counterfeit goods, so what in the world was going on here?

Finally, Lin described the situation to the Satos. "As you know, the Department of Public Safety ordered investigations after some counterfeit goods resembling those from Future Industries malfunctioned. We believe they were sold on the black market by triads that smuggled them in. One of our tips pinpointed Firewood Bay as an import point, so my officers were ordered to investigate," Lin pointed out, her tone laced with a sharp edge, "While I commend your colleagues at the warehouse for being so cooperative, we found some products there with serial numbers that don't match the warehouse records. As such, I'm asking Future Industries to turn over your product records for investigation."

"Chief, is this a joke?" Hiroshi asked incredulously, whipping off his glasses and staring back at Lin with an equally dark look, "Look, I heard about the Future Industries goods situation, but claiming we're responsible for those is wrong. I don't appreciate you harassing us with your meritless claims. If you're so adamant about this, why don't you go get a warrant for a search?"

"Hiroshi, please calm down. I'm sure it's a mistake, and we should just clarify for the police," Yasuko responded, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder. Despite this, the gentle woman did not ease up on Lin, rounding on the police chief and sternly lecturing her as well. "That being said, you really should give us better reasons than this. I feel like this is playing fast and loose with the rules. If our reputation is harmed due to this, we will sue your team for it."

Lin shot her a look that bordered between exasperated and irritated. "Yasuko, I wish I can bring in better results too. You know my reputation as a cop who makes sure the turtle ducks are all lined up before I start shooting," Lin retorted, her eyebrows creasing tremendously, "But this order came from the federal government, and they have some overriding authority on various grounds. You can sue my force all you want, but my hands are tied on this."

"Is this the work of that slime ball Tarrlok Yakone?" Hiroshi demanded, shooting right out of his seat. He marched right up to the unflappable Chief Bei Fong, leaning his face inches away from hers. "You know that sleazebag has it out for my family, Lin. For you to even think about entertaining his orders is completely rich. I thought you were better than to let him use you as a pawn for his election chances. You've just lost my respect and friendship over that move."

"Dad, stop!" Asami cried out, trying to wedge herself between Hiroshi and Lin. Watching the millionaire businessman and the no-nonsense police chief go at it in the mansion was not a scene anyone anticipated, and the last thing Asami wanted was her father to be charged with assault against law enforcement. "Look, we're willing to cooperate, but we'll do it only on our terms. Without a search warrant, we won't give up more than what we feel is necessary."

Before Lin could retort, the front doors of the Sato mansion were shoved open with the force of a tsunami. Lin and all three Satos turned to see a figure dressed in blue stalking towards them with murderous eyes. "Chief, you've got to stop this! You have no right to do this to Toza, and Bolin, and Asami, and everyone else!" Korra roared, waving her finger right in Lin's face.

That comment got Asami and Hiroshi to ease up, and even Lin was taken aback by the water bender's fury. Korra marched right up to Lin and, with her finger resembling a sword, kept jabbing it in the police chief's face. "I wasn't there this morning when Yung texted me, but once I got there I looked through everything. I can't see anything that indicates they were importing counterfeit goods, so you better let Toza go," Korra continued her rant, "I can't believe a police force led by you will drop this low to arrest innocent people. And I looked up to you when I was little too. Are you pushing Toza's family around because they're not as rich? Did you forget that Mako is one of your officers? Why don't you go comfort Bolin, who cried his eyes out after seeing his brother arrest their own foster father?"

"I had no choice, Korra!" Lin snapped back. Korra instinctively flinched, but to Asami's surprise stayed strong. Despite wavering eye contact with Lin, Korra faced the metal bender without missing a single beat. "Like I said, this is an order from the Department of Public Safety. My orders are to finish this investigation, and unless we can prove nothing weird happened, then there isn't much I can do. Yelling at me won't resolve the situation any quicker!"

"Then you should at least let Toza go until you officially charge him. I'm not a police officer, but even I know you can't hold someone indefinitely, which is what you're doing to him right now!" Korra continued her shouting, even shaking off Asami when the engineer placed a hand on her shoulder, "I don't care who Tarrlok thinks he is, but if you think he can order my friends to be locked up like that, then he's got another thing coming. I'll go into his office and water-whip him right across the mouth if I have to!"

"Great, and be criminally charged for assaulting a government official? Real smooth, Korra," Lin shot back, trying desperately to keep her cool. Lin knew that Korra's autism meant her emotions were hard to control, and she would have outbursts when stressed. While Lin had training in dealing with autistic people in the force, and expanded the training program for her officers in dealing with people with mental health issues, even she had her limits with Korra attacking her like this. Taking a deep breath, she stared Korra in the eyes again. "If you really want to help Toza and the rest of your friends, why don't you provide some evidence on what went on? Please at least explain those serial numbers and how they're tied to defective goods."

"Hey, did you happen to forget what I do at that warehouse? I look through all those books to make sure I know what was brought off the boats and into the warehouse. I can tell you exactly what boat from what port brought in what product for what company," Korra listed off, lifting a finger for each item she named, "Don't patronize me, Lin. You know I don't like that."

Just then, Asami paused. If Korra could remember all those details, then could she not track where exactly the alleged counterfeit goods came from and who exported them? If the exporter had nothing to do with Future Industries, then they would be in the clear. "Chief, I think I have an idea," she suggested, getting in between the two feuding benders, "Why don't Korra and I go to Future Industries and get the records you want? If you're not sure, you can come with us." Knowing that Korra was a human camera with a photographic memory, this might just be Toza's get-out-of-jail card.

"Your final appointment of the day is here, Minister Yakone," the assistant called into Tarrlok's office. Tarrlok spent most of the day going over reports of the police's investigation into the importation of counterfeit goods. He caught a huge break when Future Industries products exploded and malfunctioned. Under his orders and instructions, the Republic City Police raided a pier for those goods, and the warehouse owner was arrested as a result. Tarrlok felt it was an excellent start to his larger campaign.

"Thank you very much," Tarrlok stated to his assistant. He looked up from his paperwork and gestured to the door. "You can go home for the day. I won't be done with my work for a while, and this meeting is meant to be private. So just lock the doors and I'll do the rest."

The assistant nodded and slowly edged out from view. Tarrlok smirked at the sounds of bags being packed, all the while shuffling his paperwork once more. It did not hurt that the pier in question was franchised to Future Industries, a thorn on Tarrlok's side for the longest time. He was glad that Hiroshi Sato was taken down a notch, given his history in Republic City. "That will teach him to get in my way," he snidely remarked to himself.

Just then, Tarrlok's guest tapped on the office door. The Minister of National Defence glanced up to see a tall man dressed in blue, his long tan face completely expressionless while two strands of hair dangled near his cheeks. The strangest part of the individual was the pin he wore on his lapel, as it resembled a dark kite. "It's been a while, Minister Yakone," the guest greeted Tarrlok, "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Chief Unalaq Arnook, I haven't seen you since the president last had a meeting at the Northern Water Tribe. How has my old home been?" Tarrlok returned the greeting, standing up and waving at the two chairs before his desk. Unalaq strode forward and sat himself down on one, while Tarrlok moved to Unalaq's former position and closed the door. Making it was locked tight, the Minister went to the side and poured his guest a cup of tea. "What brings you here to Republic City? I don't recall having an international trade meeting on the agenda."

Unalaq gently took the tea out of Tarrlok's hands, taking a sip while waiting for Tarrlok to return to his seat. "I want to follow up with some trade proposals I suggested in our last meeting," Unalaq explained once Tarrlok sat behind his desk across from him once more, "I know you want to import more goods from the Northern Water Tribe into the United Republic. Unless, the little raid from earlier is part of your plan, I'd like to see more progress on this."

Tarrlok smiled slyly. "Guilty as charged," he responded, leaning back on his chair and placing his palms together, "You realize I can only get more Northern Water Tribe goods in here by breaking the near monopoly Future Industries has on the city. Yes, there are a handful of competitors like Cabbage Corp, but all their goods are inferior compared to Future Industries. Until we put a check on Future Industries, they pretty much own the market."

"And you thought the best way is to go after some of the local gangs, especially those with ties to the Northern Water Tribe," Unalaq pointed out, "You're lucky I have some idea where they are and what they're doing, or we're not going to succeed. I figure that they might be doing something illegal with importation, but never would I imagine them importing right at Future Industries' own pier and using the same warehouse Future Industries uses to store its products. That's just an amazing stroke of luck."

Tarrlok nodded. "It serves two purposes too," he explained, "I punt Sato down a notch, while you get a better chance at exporting Northern Water Tribe goods to us. I can't do anything too far outside the law, given my chances at the presidential election next year. The Republic has to see me as a saviour, and that means I can only associate myself with those on the side of the law, such as border security or the local police."

"And I'll put all my energy into ensuring your biggest rival for the election does not get in, given that rival is also why the Northern Water Tribe isn't getting its goods into the United Republic," Unalaq added, taking another sip of tea. The evening sun neared the horizon now, sending a glaze of orange through the windows of the office. It put Unalaq's seat in the shadows, shading part of his body in darkness. "You do realize that my own brother, Tonraq Arnook, may also be making a run at the presidency?"

Tarrlok felt his hand harden into a fist involuntarily. "Yes, and that's because the vice president is not challenging the presidency, and chose to throw his weight behind that imbecile," he growled. Tonraq was Unalaq's older brother, but had moved to the Southern Water Tribe since he was a young adult. Because he was friends with Tenzin's family, it was natural that Tenzin and Tonraq would support each other greatly. "It doesn't help that Tonraq is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, meaning he controls most of the trade routes. Unless you get a positive decision from him, your goods can get tied up in importation."

Unalaq fumed, holding the teacup just a bit harder than he anticipated. "Do you want me to get my people involved?" he proposed, shifting slightly in his seat and sending himself further into the shadows, "The cut-and-run strategy is common with air benders like your vice president, and my brother probably wants to do this just to stick it to me. So if there's anything you want me to do, either personally or politically, name it and it'll be done."

Tarrlok shook his head. "If I want to be seen as the Republic saviour from the Satos' monopoly, I have to make them look bad and keep myself on the good side," he snapped, straightening his back and glaring at his guest, "Even though I'm a representative of the Northern Water Tribe, I must appear to support of the United Republic. So just let the police handle the investigation and keep your connections out of it. If they get involved, it'll make things worse."

Unalaq stayed silent, sipping his tea once more. Tarrlok was overly conservative with this, too focused on looking good in front of the public for his election chances and hurting the trade with the Northern Water Tribe. Moreover, there were unforeseen challenges within the Republic that could thwart Tarrlok's plan, and the earlier Tarrlok knew about them, the better. Shaking his head a couple of times, Unalaq brought Tarrlok's attention to certain members of Southern Water Tribe descent currently living in the Republic. "You realize that other than my incompetent brother, there are other people from the Southern Water Tribe who might mess up our plan? You might want to watch for those who you might have encountered," he warned.

Tarrlok shot a confused look at the leader of the Northern Water Tribe. Other than those within the presidential cabinet, he had little interaction with people from the Southern Water Tribe. "I can only think of one recent encounter that I know of, and that was the assistant film projectionist at the arena," Tarrlok recalled, "I doubt that mentally challenged girl affect us."

Unalaq gave Tarrlok a stern look. "You might want to check out her history first," he chided the Minister of National Defence, "Why don't you start by looking at the Water Tribes' Civil War and who the main players are before you get back to me on that topic?" With that, Unalaq emptied the teacup and harshly placed it down. He got up and, with a curt nod, marched towards the door. He yanked it open and stepped out, letting the door slam close. The hard sound echoed through the office, leaving Tarrlok alone with that mysterious thought.

As usual, I just want to give my usual shout-outs here at the end:

1.) Once again, Wildstar93 and SaoirseParisa both deserve a lot of credit for the edits they made in this chapter. Wildstar93 edited the scene with Korra meeting Skoochy and advised on her interactions with a stranger (especially one with a less-than-savoury history), while SaoirseParisa edited the scene with Korra and Opal talking about their potential romantic lives and how to work a warehouse. They have continued to be reliable and trustworthy editors, and I'm more than happy to have their help.

2.) Other than the stories from Wildstar93 and SaoirseParisa, there is one other source of inspiration for Korra's autism. That source is from the movie "Rain Man" where Dustin Hoffman played an autistic character. While Korra is more high-functioning than Dustin Hoffman's character, I kept many traits similar, if not identical. In fact, there are at least 3 parts of this chapter where Korra behaved similar, if not identical, to Dustin Hoffman's character. Can anyone spot those parts?

3.) Korra's alternating shyness and openness around Asami is based on their interaction for most of Book 3. Korra's outburst at Lin is similar to her challenging Lin at the very first episode, when Korra was arrested after first arriving at Republic City. Bolin's comment about Mako being a "brother betrayer" is also from Book 1, after that awful love triangle occurred. Tarrlok's comments about being a saviour to the Republic is based on his personal portrayal in Book 1. And Unalaq's mention of the Civil War, which will be discussed in greater detail later on, is (or will be) a modified version of what happened in Book 2.

What does everybody think of this chapter? Did Korra really make a mistake that will cause more trouble? How did counterfeit or defective Future Industries products end up being put back on the market? Do Tarrlok and Unalaq really know more about Korra than they let on? Will Toza really get out of the police station? Find out next time!