I want to thank SaoirseParisa and Wildstar93 for their reviews. I want to especially thank Wildstar93 for doing a brainstorming session with me. The previous chapter was very long, and the original final scene of that chapter became the first scene of this chapter. It just goes to show how complex this story is becoming, and how many issues and factors are in play. We're about to complicate things a bit more in this chapter, so I hope you're ready for this!

Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko own the Legend of Korra.

After what could only be described as a harrowing adventure, Korra lumbered back into her office. She plopped down on her chair and let her head drop onto the desk, groaning the whole way. "First they give me a shower, then they give me a sauna, and I still have to get Varrick's item," she grumbled, "When I see Toza and Yung tomorrow, I am so giving those two a piece of my mind for not doing maintenance on this place."

With her head still on the desk, Korra tilted her face sideways, staring to her right while reaching for her notebook. Her fingers were like lead, flipping the pages like they were acidic. As a water bender, Korra was taught to embrace and accept change, but her condition made it difficult for her to do that. If the change did not fit her routine, Korra usually became resistant and, quite regrettably, ended up throwing fits. Part of her was happy that her own support system, including her own water bending teacher Katara, was so strong. Had they not helped Korra to overcome the challenges, Korra doubted she would be where she was today.

But back to the warehouse issues, Korra could only flip to an empty page and hold the notebook open there. Slowly lifting her head, she switched to holding the notebook with her left hand and reached for a pen with her right. She scribbled down issues to discuss with Toza and Yung, such as the leaky pipes dripping the water onto her head. She tried fixing it with water bending, sending the water back into the pipes, but that backfired when more came out. Not once did she recall there was any leaking in that exact spot. In fact, with the way she felt the water flowed inside that pipe, it was like something was pushing against her. "Did that lead to a water pump or something?" she wondered aloud, writing another message to check that.

But just when Korra diverted enough water away to allow her to jiggle the pipes back into a tighter position, Aiwei approached her again. This time, he claimed the boiler heated the warehouse to higher than comfortable temperatures. Korra was brought to the boiler room, where Korra could see steam emitting from the boiler. Korra was not familiar with boilers, but Aiwei asked her to stay there to fix it, which only reminded her of a sauna. "I had to water bend a leaky pipe, a whole lot of steam, and my own sweat," she hissed, scribbling another note onto the page, "If I get paid by the number of water bending techniques I used tonight, I think I can retire."

But Korra found the most unusual point to be Aiwei's behaviour, as Aiwei was nowhere to be found when he asked Korra to inspect each point. Aiwei left shortly after Korra did water bending on the pipes, and the same occurred after Korra approached the boiler. It felt like his only job was to report on the issues, but would not help her rectify them. "If he's not helping me fix them, then why bring him here in the first place?" Korra complained.

As if right on cue, the tan-skinned man stuck his head into Korra's office. "I thought I'd tell you that I'm heading out for the night," he stated, lifting his bag for Korra to see, "Suyin was kind enough to set me up with a nice hotel downtown, and it's quite a drive from here to there. If you don't require my help any further, I'll leave it to you to shut down the warehouse."

Korra said nothing, merely waving him goodbye. Deep down, she was happy to be rid of this creepy man. Something about his eyes just seemed off to Korra, and his conduct tonight did not curry him further favour. "I might just bring that up with Opal when I see her tomorrow. Or better yet, I'll talk to Varrick tonight," she decided.

Sending Zhu Li a quick text message to inform her that she could come pick her up, Korra scurried to the section Aiwei was at earlier. She was vaguely familiar with which box the piece Varrick wanted was stored in, and the challenge was to find it in the pile. She turned on the dim lights in the area, giving her just enough brightness to scan the section in question. "Let's see where we placed this," Korra muttered to herself, grabbing one box and shifting it around.

Korra opened the box and took a peek inside, realizing this was not the one she wanted. Pulling out her phone, she checked the photographs section, where she had a photo taken of that section right when all the boxes were imported. "So I have to take this box out, shift the box on its right over, and get the box underneath it?" she instructed herself incredulously, "Maybe we should have Varrick follow the military's lead and start putting ID's on the boxes."

Korra shuffled the boxes around in accordance to her photos. Finally, reaching into the box in question, she pulled out the smaller box within. It was one third of the size of the larger box, and was bright yellow instead of brown. Opening the box, Korra saw various mechanical parts, making her wonder how they would form Varrick's bigger part. "Well, he did say he'll study it first," Korra commented, "So maybe he'll have something else in mind with this."

Korra quickly tidied up the area, closing all the boxes and putting them back in the exact spots they were in earlier. Slipping out of the section, she returned to her office and placed the box into her own bag. She texted Zhu Li once more, letting her know that she was ready to leave. Within seconds, Zhu Li returned the message, letting Korra know that she was at a red light just outside the winding route leading to the pier. Chuckling at Zhu Li's preciseness in writing that text, Korra shut the lights of the office and marched out of the warehouse.

"Korra, are you locking up now?" a familiar voice called to her. Korra tilted her head left, just in time to see Mako marching towards her. "I'm on night shift tonight, and I'm relieving my two so-called seniors, Lu and Gang. They're posting me at the checkpoint at the end of the road."

Korra smiled at the fire bender's approach. "Hey, Mako," she greeted him, pulling out the keys to the locks at the front door of the warehouse, "Zhu Li is picking me up, and she should be arriving soon. Speaking of which, did you see that freak Aiwei leave earlier?"

"Yeah, I saw him," Mako responded, his right hand tapping his chin in thought, "He stepped out earlier, but then he was wandering back and forth. He was talking on the phone, went around the warehouse to the back, and held his bag really tight. I don't even know where he parked his car. Is he supposed to be inspecting the warehouse or something?"

Korra's head inched back involuntarily, a perplexed look now plastered onto her face. Why was Aiwei around even though it was almost half an hour since he checked out? "That just doesn't seem right," she muttered, "Did you see him leave at all?"

Mako shook his head, which chilled Korra to the core, colder than any ice-based training she had with Katara. Even Mako's next words could not calm Korra down. "I see Zhu Li coming in. I'll see you tomorrow, Korra," he stated before stepping away from Korra.

Korra slowly turned back to the warehouse to ensure that the doors were locked. She could hear Zhu Li's vehicle approach from behind, slowing to a halt before the car door opened. "Hey, Korra," Zhu Li greeted her foster child, "Are you ready to go?"

"How was your night tonight, Korra?" Zhu Li asked. As usual, Zhu Li waited until Korra was finished her closing routine before speaking to her. Korra had to lock the warehouse front door, pull on it a couple of times to make sure it was locked, then placed her belongings into the back seat, before taking the passenger seat. Once Korra began her routine, she would not even acknowledge those around her until she was finished. "Were you busy with both the military goods and Varrick's goods?" Zhu Li queried, watching Korra adjust her now fastened seatbelt.

"Yeah, things were a bit hectic, but I managed to get things done," Korra replied. The vehicle edged towards the usual inner gates, no longer manned by federal personnel. They all shifted to the highway section, where local police would cooperate in searching vehicles. "Mako has night shift tonight, and he just left for his post. We might just get searched by him."

Zhu Li shrugged. Mako was one of the few in the police force that Korra trusted, which made life easier for Korra with these checks. While Zhu Li knew Lin would train her staff in address mental health issues like autism, she could never be sure what some officer with loose lips could do. "Let's hope Mako takes the lead here, okay?"

Just when they snaked through the winding highway, a loud honk from near them caught their attention. A jeep cut to the left and lined up right next to them, the passenger side window lowering to reveal the recognizable face of Aiwei. "Ms. Moon, is that you?" he called as the vehicles stopped entirely, "I would like to talk to you before we both left for the night."

Korra turned to Zhu Li with an uneasy expression, and realized Zhu Li shared her look of confusion. Luckily, Zhu Li was plenty effective in containing her emotions, meaning Aiwei was unlikely to intimidate her too much. Shutting off her engine, Zhu Li stepped out of the vehicle, signalling Korra to follow suit. "What can we help you with, Aiwei?" Zhu Li asked.

Aiwei stepped out of his vehicle, and Korra could see a notebook in his hand. It was very similar to hers, and he placed it on the hood of his vehicle. "Korra and I discovered some issues with the warehouse," Aiwei pointed out, waving both Zhu Li and Korra over. He attempted to go into detail about the events that affected Korra, including the leaky pipe and the overheated boiler. "I think you and your husband should consider speaking with the owners to fix them."

"Aiwei, can't we do it in the morning, when it's a lot brighter?" Zhu Li complained. She waved her hand at the horizon, where no more sunlight shone through. "Why don't we all just go home and get some rest? Besides, it's too dark for me to read anything in your notebook!"

"Oh, but I can get you a flashlight from my car," Aiwei suggested. Reaching into the glove compartment, he pulled out a small flashlight and turned it on. Handing it to Zhu Li, he against gestured at the notebook, all the while stepping back to let Zhu Li and Korra see. "Please, just take a look at those notes and let me know what you can do."

Zhu Li sighed, giving them a quick skim-over. Korra mimicked her foster parent, even though her brain told her to be wary of this strange sequence of events. As Zhu Li went through the notes, Korra leaned her head over and whispered into her ear. "Zhu Li, there's more to this. You should know that…"

But while Korra discussed with Zhu Li, Aiwei reached into the back seat of his jeep for a small container. He gently opened it to reveal a special artefact, one that an acquaintance of his specifically requested. "The pendant of Guru Laghima," Aiwei whispered to himself. He glanced at the front once more, where Zhu Li and Korra were still busy conversing. "With Mako on their side, and both Zhu Li and Korra being full-time staff here, it's unlikely they'll be searched more thoroughly." With that, he quickly placed the pendant back inside and closed the box.

Turning to Korra's vehicle, Aiwei tossed the box into the backseat, where it blended in with the shadows. He quickly whipped out his phone and typed a text to his other associates, relying on them to retrieve this final item. Once the message was sent, Aiwei took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Despite the calm exterior required to be a truth seer, Aiwei knew the threat that the two women in front of his jeep held, particularly Korra. If Korra noticed even one detail of what he did, Aiwei knew that she would remember and recite it until the end of time.

Aiwei stepped back to the front of his vehicle, just in time to see Korra and Zhu Li both lift their heads. "Okay, I get it," Zhu Li assured the earth bender, "You want us to look into these issues so they won't damage the military goods. It'll still have to be tomorrow morning before I can look into them, so even if you show us now there's nothing we can do."

Aiwei promptly took the notebook back. "In that case, maybe it's best if we head out then," he suggested. He trotted back into his jeep and slammed the door shut, strapping on the seatbelt before shifting into gear. Zhu Li and Korra gingerly moved aside, their faces paralyzed in confusion. He had no idea how it was possible that Ghazan, Ming Hua, and P'Li forgot the pendant, but Aiwei spotted it before anyone else did. This was only way to get it out without Korra noticing, and he hoped Ghazan and Ming Hua would not mess it up past the checkpoint.

Korra and Zhu Li slowly returned to their vehicle, not sure what led that on. "I told you there was something weird about him," Korra informed Zhu Li as they too edged down the hill, "I say we shouldn't trust him and report him to Suyin. Maybe she can recall him or something."

Zhu Li did not respond. Instead, she kept her eyes on the road, where Aiwei's vehicle was before them. Aiwei sped off pretty quickly earlier, but now he slowed down for the police check. Korra could see Mako leading the search while some military members came to them. "Good evening, Ms. Moon," one soldier greeted Zhu Li, "Are you picking up Korra from work?"

"Yes, that's correct," Zhu Li described, explaining the situation to the soldiers. Korra kept her eyes away from the people surrounding her. Staring at the front car, she saw Mako finish up with Aiwei. She was still stunned at how Aiwei insisted on speaking to them in the middle of a highway, and then speeding out to the checkpoint. It was like he couldn't tell the full story, which was ironic in that as a truth seer, he was supposed to see the full story in people.

"Hey, who's the pretty lady here?" an obnoxious voice asked. Korra lifted her head to see two police officers peering in. One was short and stout, while the other was tall and slim, and they both had weird looking moustaches. "Did you get lost here, little girl?" the short one teased, "Or are you just tagging along with your mommy over there?"

Korra immediately grimaced, trying to avoid their intolerable faces. It only got a kick out of the officers, who giggled at her reaction. "I'm Gang, and this is my partner Lu," the tall one stated, "We'll just take a peek at your car and confiscate whatever treasure you got in there."

They giggled again, causing Korra to tense up. But before she could look around to see if there was a water source, a familiar voice interjected. "Guys, could you knock it off? That's my friend over there. Don't make her uncomfortable, okay?" Mako chided the men.

Korra glanced up and smiled at Mako rescuing her, which only put frowns on the faces of Lu and Gang. "Oh, come on, May-ko," Lu responded, planting his hands on his hips, "Can't the lady take a joke? It's not like I'll strip-search her or anything!"

Mako inhaled deeply and pinched his nose. "If you remember the chief's training program on mental health issues, you'll recall that Korra's brain doesn't operate like ours. We have to be sensitive when talking to her," Mako described, staring at his senior colleagues in exasperation, "I know your shift is up soon, so I'll search Korra's vehicle and you can go home."

Lu and Gang snorted at Mako's remark. "You know what? Skip her if you want, because I'm tired of you being such a killjoy," Gang spat, glaring darts at Mako, "It's hotshots like you who think you can run the show, when you don't know anything about investigations." With that, they marched back to the front, where Aiwei's vehicle was just given the pass.

Mako rolled his eyes at Lu and Gang. He signalled to the military crew, who just finished their questioning of Zhu Li and allowed them to pass. "I think we're fine here," the soldier who spoke with Zhu Li informed Mako, "They're trusted staff members, so there's nothing overly suspicious. Plus, we looked over their backseat and didn't see anything unusual."

"Alright then," Mako responded. Leaning his head to Korra's window, he told her not to worry about Lu and Gang. "They're the two senior officers that I hate with a purple passion, and you can see why. Just don't let their disgusting language get to you, okay?"

Korra nodded in gratitude while Zhu Li edged the vehicle through the checkpoint. Aiwei was no longer within sight, having taken off after Mako gave him the clearance. Zhu Li was about to floor the gas pedal when suddenly, a couple of bright flashes to their side caught their attention. "What in the world?" she hollered, hitting the brakes immediately.

A strong moustachioed man waved them down, waving to Zhu Li to lower the window. "I'm sorry, but my friend and I are having trouble with our car," he stated, pointing at the vehicle to the side. A gigantic woman with an eye-shaped tattoo on her forehead soon approached, her size alone enough to intimidate Korra. "We tried to get the guy who left before you to help us, but we didn't stop him in time. Can you give us a hand by taking a look at what's going on?"

Zhu Li stared incredulously at Korra before stepping out of the vehicle. Not feeling safe with being inside the car alone, Korra followed suit, leaving their vehicle completely unguarded. While the tall fire bender led them to her vehicle, a strange water tendril appeared from the bushes on the other side. It reached through the open back window of Zhu Li's car and dug around. It wrapped around a small box, before lifting it out and disappearing into the shrubs.

"Okay, Hiroshi," Varrick announced, placing a small box in the middle of the boardroom table, "This is going to change everything." It was the next morning, and Varrick once again called a meeting with Hiroshi at Future Industries. This time, Varrick had some exciting news for everyone, and he wanted to make sure they heard out what he had to say.

"What's so interesting this time, Varrick?" the heavyset owner of Future Industries inquired. He stood on the other side of the wide table, with his wife leaning on her cane and craning her head in curiosity. Unlike most times, Hiroshi did not call up the board. He wanted to see for himself what Varrick's project was first, before going to the board for a decision. It was only him, Yasuko, and Asami present, and Varrick brought along Zhu Li and Ginger. "Asami told me you kept Korra at the warehouse late last night. Is it for this big reveal?" he added.

"Hey, it's not like I kept her there on purpose. Korra was just uncomfortable with Mr. Grouchy Pants over there," Varrick responded, waving a nonchalant hand at the mention of Aiwei, "Zhu Li picked her up and brought her back for a late dinner, so everything's fine."

Zhu Li, who stood to her husband's left, nodded in agreement. "I'm really happy that Korra is so dedicated to the work," she complimented her foster daughter. That got a raised eyebrow from Ginger, who was on Varrick's right, but Zhu Li tried to block her out. "I think she is really in a position where she can succeed, and I'm so proud of her."

"Looks like we should trust the next generation's judgment after all, since Asami first recommended Korra for this job," Yasuko commented. She glanced over her left shoulder at her daughter, who grinned in return. "Anyway, what's inside the box that's so amazing?"

Varrick beamed with pride, shifting the box on the table a bit. "This is part of the dual-use technology that I plan to reveal, which will ultimately put Future Industries above and beyond our competition," he declared, "Once we start looking into developing it for civilian use, there's no way anyone in the market can beat us at the game!"

"Hold on, are you releasing the item right now?" Asami queried, lifting an eyebrow in surprise, "Korra texted me last night after she got home. She told me you wanted to review the parts before revealing it here. Did you already review the parts last night?"

Varrick shook his head. "But that's the fun of it, right? You get the surprise right in front of you, before I review it and develop it further!" Varrick exclaimed. Putting his hands on top of the box, he wrapped his fingers around the bindings and prepared to pull them apart. "Maybe we should get a drum roll here, just to add to the excitement!"

Hiroshi rolled his eyes while Yasuko tried to stifle a chuckle. Neither Zhu Li nor Ginger had any movement, while Asami kept her eyes on the box. Seeing the others were not about to humour him, Varrick got to work. Tightening his grip, Varrick pulled on the strings and untied the box. Grabbing the covering of the box, Varrick pulled it open with a flourish. "Prepared to be amazed," he announced, reaching his hands inside for the contained item.

Surprisingly, the item he retrieved was not a mechanical part. In fact, there was nothing mechanical about the item at all. "Why does the box interior feel softer than it should be?" Varrick muttered to himself, taking a deeper glance into the box.

Zhu Li, Ginger, and the Satos all craned their necks forward. Varrick's brows furrowed in worry, all the while his lips twisted to improbable shapes. "What on earth did Korra do? Did she get me the wrong box?" he murmured, shifting the soft foam out of the box.

"I was with Korra the entire time we drove out of the compound," Zhu Li reported, leaning her head in to help her husband out, "We went through the check, had a chat with Aiwei, helped out a broken vehicle, but we never touched the box until we got home."

The couple went through the whole box, but the only item in question was a smaller box. Varrick pulled that box open and a pendant connected to a good chain tumbled out. Everyone huddled around the table, wondering what the pendant was. Asami reached over and picked it up, turning it back and forth. "One side looks like it has some air bending master's face on it," she announced, "The other side has some type of slogan or quote."

Hiroshi and Yasuko gathered around their daughter, reading the small print in question. "Let go of your earthly tether. Enter the void. Empty and become wind," Yasuko read aloud. Turning her head up, she stared at Varrick with a puzzled look. "What technology is this?"

Varrick stuck his head completely inside the box, but his technology piece could not be found. "Zhu Li, are you sure this is the box Korra brought back last night?" he asked.

Zhu Li could only shrug. "I remember Korra putting the box in the back seat before going to the passenger seat," she recalled, "We were driving down the highway when Aiwei stopped us, telling us about maintenance issues at the warehouse. We stepped out of the car to discuss with him, but that only lasted a few minutes. We then went through the checkpoint, and then a car on the side of the road asked us for help. We left our car again and approached them to check on their car, which took maybe another few minutes. Neither Korra nor I touched the box at all."

"So it's either Korra took the wrong box, which doesn't seem likely given how much detail she can remember, or something happened during the times you two stepped out of the car," Asami deduced, tapping her chin in thought, "Did someone reach into your car while you were talking to Aiwei? What about those guys who had the broken down vehicle?"

Varrick and Zhu Li glanced at each other, too stunned to say anything. Did someone attempt to steal items from their vehicle and took their technology pieces? Even so, how did an ancient Air Nomad pendant get placed in the car? "I hate to be blunt, but you might want to get Korra to explain herself," Ginger pointed out, "The military won't be pleased if they inspect their boxes today, only to find out all these mistakes going on."

That got everybody's blood draining out of their faces, their expressions resembling someone who took a boulder to the stomach, courtesy of a pro-bending earth bender. Lifting his shaking wrist, Hiroshi peeked at his watch and eked out, "What time will Tarrlok go to the pier?"

Despite having been given notice a long time ago, Korra still felt dragonfly bunnies in her stomach when the military vehicles rolled into the warehouse compound. She felt her hands shaking, even when she clasped them together and squeezed hard. Around her, she could see Bolin and Kai with uneasy expressions, shifting their weights back and forth between their feet. Yung and Toza were on her other side, and while they did a better job of containing themselves, Korra could tell they were concerned as well. Deep down, she could only hope Tarrlok would not pick on them for every little thing they did or did not do.

Speaking of Tarrlok, the smug Minister of National Defence and Public Safety stepped out of his vehicle, straightening his navy blue suit before casting downward gazes at all those around him. "Arrogant as always, why am I not surprised?" Korra muttered to herself. Leaning back, she gestured to Opal, who had Korra's clipboard. "Let's show Tarrlok the inventory."

Opal nodded and handed over the clipboard, just in time for Tarrlok to march up to Korra. "Let's see if you cleaned up your act after that last fiasco," Tarrlok stated with a snarl, "Or are you still making a mess of things down here?"

"Oh, don't worry, because everything you imported is in these notes," Korra explained, showing the clipboard to Tarrlok, "We put them all in the section that was shown to you before, and now the goods are completely stacked in order so you can easily inspect."

Korra led Tarrlok into the warehouse, followed by her team and Tarrlok's entourage. While Tarrlok maintained a neutral expression, deep down he was concerned as well. When he first imported these goods, the idea was to do inspections on all containers before storing them in the warehouse. But Unalaq called him at the last second, asking him to hold off on inspecting the goods from the Northern Water Tribe until later. Tarrlok could not get an explanation out of Unalaq, other than that there were special reasons for doing so. While Tarrlok was not one to bend the rules, he felt an urge to follow through with Unalaq's request to wait.

"And here is the section…wait a minute," Korra announced before pausing both her speech and her movement. Tarrlok narrowed his eyes as Korra scanned the boxes, scratching her head with her free hand. "Toza, Yung, did either of you move these boxes this morning?"

Toza and Yung glanced at each other in confusion. "No, I didn't touch those boxes at all," Toza reported, "Yung told me he's left it all to you because you were so good at organizing them. I was completely hands-off, other than what you showed me in your notes."

Yung nodded stiffly. "I was the first person here today, and I can assure you I didn't touch the boxes at all," he declared emphatically, "What makes you so sure that the boxes were moved? With how big they are, I don't think one person can do it alone without being seen."

Korra turned to Tarrlok, who was seething with anger. "Is this another one of your mistakes? I thought I told you I will not tolerate any more mistakes!" he roared, his volume causing Korra to wince once more. Turning to his team and local police, he barked out orders to them. "The inspection shall commence immediately, and all non-military personnel are to leave the warehouse. I want a team of police officers guarding the doors until I say we're done!"

The military team trotted to the section in question while police officers escorted Korra and her friends out. Even Mako, who had to assist police, could only shake his head in disgust. He mouthed an apology to Korra before closing the warehouse doors. They waited outside the warehouse while facing a line of police officers. As Korra tucked her clipboard under her arm, Bolin tapped her on the shoulder. "Why do you think someone moved the boxes?" he asked.

Korra pulled out her phone and clicked the icon for photos. The whole team gathered behind Korra, who scrolled to the picture in question. "When I last left that section, Box 1203 was on top of Box 6644, and Box 1468 was not in the same column as them," she described with pinpoint accuracy, "But just then, I saw 6644 on top of 1203, while 1468 was below them both. Do you see how it's totally different in this picture that I took after the boxes were stacked?"

The team gathered behind Korra, and upon one glance at the photo on Korra's phone, their jaws all hit the ground. Not only did Korra remember the location of each box perfectly, she pointed out what changes were present with one look at the section this morning. Did something really happen and they didn't know about it? "Are you saying someone sneaked in here last night and moved stuff around?" Kai wondered, his tone shaky and lacking confidence, "Who do you think came in here and pulled something off like this?"

While the team chattered amongst themselves, Opal took a gander around the area. To her surprise, a certain familiar face was nowhere to be found. "Korra, have you seen Aiwei? I thought he would be here to help out today," she pointed out.

Korra craned her neck to observe the entire compound. She could see the waves lapping on the pier, the forklifts lined up ready to supposedly carry the military goods away, the trucks sent in by the military to carry said goods, and even the police officers lining the front door. Yet to her surprise, Aiwei's jeep was nowhere to be found. "He was here until very late last night, so he might know what happened," the water bender stated, "Can you find a way to contact him?"

But before Opal could even pull out her phone, Tarrlok and his team barged out of the warehouse. Stepping up to Korra, Tarrlok put his height advantage over her to full use. "You really have some nerve," he growled, crossing his arms in anger, "I just inspected those boxes and they show signs of having been opened. While nothing was broken, I'd like to know what security measures were breached. Do you realize things could have gone missing?"

Korra's mouth opened and closed several times. She never even touched the boxes, thanks to Mr. Creepy Eyes stalking around. How could Tarrlok make that accusation of her? Feeling her fists clench together, she stepped right back up to Tarrlok. "Watch your mouth, because I kept full records right here," she spat, pulling out her notes and waving them in the Minister of Public Safety's face, "What evidence do you have that I messed up those boxes?"

Just then, two senior police officers stepped up to Tarrlok. "Minister, if you don't mind, I clearly recall Korra being the last to leave last night," Lu chimed in, pointing a long finger at the water bender, "She was picked up by Zhu Li Moon, and we personally tried to inspect their car."

From the police group, Mako's jaw hit the ground. Was his team trying to pin this all on Korra, even though they did not thoroughly investigate? "That's true," Gang added, "Zhu Li was talking to the military while we were talking to Korra. She was the last person we saw leave."

Tarrlok's eyes narrowed to darts, putting Korra in an all-out panic. Korra turned to her friends, trying to get someone to back her up. However, they were all helpless, as none were present when this occurred. "So, should we take you in for questioning?" Tarrlok snarled.

Asami fretted the entire way as she raced down the swerving highway to Firewood Bay in her black convertible. She kept glancing at the clock at the front, the seconds ticking away to when Tarrlok would make his final judgment. She had no idea if Tarrlok had already inspected the goods and if he noticed anything different. "It's either Tarrlok is involved in smuggling Air Nomad treasures or this is someone's idea of a sick joke," she grumbled.

As she felt the wind blew past her hair and the trees whip past her vision, Asami kept wondering to herself how this mess began. While she did not doubt the intentions of Iroh and Tonraq, who were behind the decision to import and store the military goods at the warehouse used by Future Industries, she should have found it odd when Tarrlok insisted on inspecting the goods after they were stored instead of right when the goods left the boats. While Asami had no proof of this, she suspected Tarrlok either knew about or unknowingly aided in the smuggling of some historical artefacts. Why a government minister would get involved in something so blatant was beyond her, but this was definitely not a good sign.

Her vehicle neared the front security check, which was moved from the compound and onto the highway itself. Asami showed the security guards her identification and was quickly allowed through. Zhu Li told Asami that it was around this location that she and Korra stopped to assist a broken down vehicle, leaving their vehicle alone for several minutes. Asami found it very unusual indeed, but right now she had no time to think about it. "The sooner I stop Tarrlok from picking on those guys, the better," she murmured, flooring the gas pedal of her car.

Soon enough, the compound was within sight, and Asami was treated to a scary situation. Tarrlok was, as usual, marching his arrogant self before Korra and her friends. It seemed more like he was interrogating Korra, who was lined up against the wall with the rest of her group. Military personnel blocked any escape path, and behind Tarrlok was a line of Republic City police officers. Asami could see Korra in the centre, her arms tight and her back hunched. Slamming the brakes, Asami parked her car and turned off the engine. Reaching to the back seat, the engineer grabbed the box and opened it to give its contents one final look. "At least the pendant is still in good shape," Asami commented before snapping the box shut.

Asami stepped out of the car and marched towards Tarrlok, who continued berating the warehouse staff. "Did you not realize that it's a criminal offence to damage military equipment? What makes you think you can get away with what you did?" he ranted.

"Can you at least tell us what got damaged and how we damaged it?" Toza retorted, waving an arm at Tarrlok in frustration. Around him, Yung, Kai, and Bolin all nodded firmly. "You first said we broke open a box, then you said the equipment was moved around, and now you say we damaged something. So what exactly did we do wrong?"

"That's right," Yung added, stepping up with Toza against Tarrlok, "You can't force false charges on us. That's what you tried to pull with Toza last time, and we all know it was faked. Now you want to have your two incompetent officers out here fingering Korra? Why don't you show us the proof first, before you make any more outrageous claims?"

"The only person who owes us an explanation is Korra here, who the officers claim was the last to leave," Tarrlok insisted, pointing a long finger at the autistic water bender while ignoring everyone else, "I want to hear her describe what she did last night."

Korra took several deep breaths, her entire body shaking while her eyes focused at any place other than Tarrlok's face. "Varrick asked me to get a box of his materials for him. I was going to get it, but Aiwei kept marching around and I was too scared of him to get it," Korra recalled, her grip tightening on her clipboard, "Then once he left, I went into Section C and went to the front column. It wasn't in the front column, so I had to move some boxes around…"

"I'm not here to listen to you talk about how you stacked the boxes," Tarrlok interjected, placing a hand in front of Korra's face, "I want to know what happened to the military goods when you were here last night. Did you even make any effort to look after the place at all?"

At this time, Asami chose to intervene. "Maybe Minister Yakone would like to explain himself this time," she stated, marching into the fray with the box tucked neatly under her arm, "I'm sure Korra did get the box that her foster father asked her to get. If she did open a military box by mistake, then I think it's forgivable. But I want to know if the minister made any effort to look inside his boxes before they arrived at the warehouse?"

Tarrlok scowled at Asami, who pulled the box from under her arm in a flourish. She had a grin on her face while offering him the box like a plate of food. "And if Korra did get into the military boxes by mistake, then she definitely found something that shouldn't have been in there," Asami continued, "Is this the reason why you delayed your inspection?"

Tarrlok took the box from Asami's hands, his eyes tilting between it and the heiress. Despite keeping a calm face, Asami's heart raced to impossible rates. While she could not be sure that this belonged to the military, she found Tarrlok's delay in inspecting the military goods and the presence of this item in Korra's vehicle too odd to be a coincidence. Asami truly doubted that Korra grabbed the wrong box, meaning somewhere along the way the box must have been switched. Asami had no idea who did it, but something told her the broken down car might have something to do with this. If only we can find out who those people are, she thought.

While Tarrlok gently opened the box, Asami took a gander around the compound. Yuri went back to headquarters, so it should only be Korra and her team. All five members of the team were there, and Mako was with the police. But oddly enough, Aiwei was nowhere to be found. Asami found this unusual, as Korra claimed Aiwei was all over her last night. Why would he disappear on the very day the military inspected their goods?

Tarrlok took a quick peek inside the box and immediately slammed it shut, like Asami had put a viper bat inside it. "Miss Sato, I would like to have a word with you later on about this," he murmured, before gesturing to the rest of the police. He immediately ordered the ceasing of any searches and asked them to unload the goods for shipping out of the warehouse. Even with Tarrlok barking orders, Asami could tell he was visibly shaken by the discovery.

Asami then turned to Korra, who was still mumbling to herself. "I pulled that box out, and then restacked everything," she recounted, "I hopped into Zhu Li's car, and then…"

"Korra, I think you can stop worrying," Asami assured the water bender, placing her hands on Korra's shoulders, "Tarrlok won't be bothering you for the next little while, but I think we have to figure out what this is all about. There's something inside the box Varrick brought to the office that shouldn't be there, and we should sort this out right away."

Korra didn't really respond, but Asami was able to guide her back into the warehouse. The engineer then signalled everyone in, which allowed them some breathing room from Tarrlok. The only one still under Tarrlok's direction was Mako, but Asami made a note to update him later. "I think we have to see your security tapes," she requested to Toza and Yung, "I know the security camera doesn't point to the exact spot where the military goods were held, but I want the one closest to that section. Can you show me where you keep the tapes?"

"If there are no further questions, then this board meeting is over. Thank you for your time and your patience," Hiroshi announced before standing up to see his board members off. Due to what happened at the pier, Hiroshi once again called a board meeting to clear everything up. Fortunately, the damages were not severe, as Tarrlok could not find any evidence pointing to Future Industries committing any wrongs. As such, Hiroshi ended the meeting and saw everyone off. Everyone, that was, except for a few people. "Yasuko, Asami, Varrick, and Zhu Li, please stay. I have something serious to discuss with you," he requested.

The aforementioned foursome stayed behind, still seated on the chairs closest to the head of the boardroom table where Hiroshi was. Hiroshi craned his head back to make sure all board members left, before stepping over and closing the door. A click on the lock later, and Hiroshi was all alone with them. "I would like to address the issue of Korra with you guys," the heavyset entrepreneur stated, "I've decided to terminate Korra from her position at the pier."

Everyone in the room howled in protest, throwing their hands in the air and yelling out in confusion. "What's with that decision?" Varrick demanded, waving an arm wildly at Hiroshi, "I can't say Korra did anything to deserve being fired, so why are you firing her?"

"Yeah, that's right," Asami chimed in, her hands clenching into fist while her eyes narrowed to darts against her father, "When Korra and I approached you with this plan to expand the pier operations, you were all for it. You even said we can ask you for help if we get stuck. So why are you going back on your word to us right now?"

Hiroshi stared back at the group, his expression firm but concerned. He knew that when he made the announcement, the reaction would be exactly like this. Korra was a well-liked person, and Hiroshi himself grew fond of her during the years when she grew up with his own daughter. However, this decision had to be made, regardless of their opinions. "I'm doing this because of what Tarrlok did this time," Hiroshi explained, "This is the second time that Tarrlok is pinning something on the warehouse, and both times Korra was involved. I feel, in the best interests of our company, that the project moves on without Korra."

"Dad, that's ridiculous! Korra's work performance is top notch, and there's no evidence to show that the so-called issues were due to Korra's negligence," Asami retorted. She flipped through the notebook before her and showed the notes she took at the meeting. "The first time Tarrlok came, it was Varrick's mistake, which was immediately fixed. The second time, it was because an artefact was found inside the goods. We went through the boxes Varrick imported, and the military's notes made it clear that it wasn't from those. So what did Korra do wrong?"

"Not to mention that when the military suspected it was Korra, we found the security videos for them," Zhu Li added, "Even though we didn't catch the section with the military goods, we did see the section with Varrick's goods. The video showed that Korra did exactly what she described, and she was cleared of any wrongdoing. So on what grounds are you using to dismiss my foster daughter, Hiroshi?"

Hiroshi sighed. "I'm dismissing her on the grounds that this is the best way to protect Korra," he pointed out, rubbing his temples while avoiding the incredulous stares of the group, "It's very clear that Tarrlok wants to pick on Korra, and he's not afraid to drag her through the mud. Yes, the video cleared Korra, and yes, the military has to explain why they delayed their inspection of Water Tribe goods. All this reeks of a conspiracy, one that Tarrlok may or may not have a hand in, given his background as a native of the Northern Water Tribe. But right now, he wants Korra's head, and we have to protect Korra by removing her from that pier."

"But by removing her completely from her post, isn't that a bit much?" Yasuko suggested to her husband. That got nods and murmurs of agreement from the entire group, which prompted Yasuko to continue, "You can just reassign her to another post, or have her work at headquarters instead. There's no need to make Korra lose her job, right?"

"But it will affect Korra for the rest of the time Tarrlok is challenging the presidency. If he does become president, he'll target us twice as much. It won't affect just Korra, but our whole company," Hiroshi clarified, his hands gesturing crisply at his every idea, "The more we try to expose the conspiracy, the harder Tarrlok will try to cover it up. Knowing how sneaky and cunning he is, he will find a scapegoat, and Korra right now is his best target. I'm doing this for the sake of the company and Korra, so please try to understand that."

"But even if what you're saying is true, and that Tarrlok is doing this to hurt Korra, can't we do anything internally to protect her? How do you know there isn't someone within Future Industries that isn't hurting Korra already?" Yasuko challenged. Normally she was not one to be this vocal against her husband, as they had a very calm and peaceful way of mediating their arguments. But this time, she was standing her ground regardless of what her husband said. "I recall Asami telling me about that strange Aiwei character. He claimed he came from Zaofu after Suyin assigned him to us, but then he disappeared when Tarrlok inspected the goods. Where has he gone and what role did he play in all this mess?"

"I will investigate Aiwei accordingly," Hiroshi reassured his wife with a casual wave of his hands, "I've already contacted Suyin about this, and she will take action in Zaofu. I've also given the information on Aiwei to Chief Bei Fong, who assured me she will take care of it. But none of that removes the threat against Korra and the company in general. As the owner of Future Industries, I have a duty to protect the company. And as a family friend to Varrick and Zhu Li, I have a duty to protect their ward. We're in a bind here, and this is the best option."

Everybody remained silent, too stunned to say anything further. How could they get rid of one of their own, all because Tarrlok was on their backs? And even if this decision was the best option, how would Korra take it? She had little success with her life so far, just doing minor roles here and there and not really going far with her life. What if she did not take it well and shut herself out from everyone again? For Varrick and Zhu Li, this was even more profound, as Korra already did that to Varrick last time. What would she do this time if every one of her friends got shut out due to this new development?

After several minutes of uneasy silence, Varrick finally spoke up. "So what's the next step for us then? How should we break the bad news to Korra, and who should do it?" he asked.

Hiroshi sighed again. "First thing tomorrow, I will have my assistant draft the letter for Korra. I will explain my reasons for termination in accordance with company policy, but then we can tell her personally that it's for protecting her," Hiroshi stated, "I will even offer her an extra month's worth of salary, but that's all I can do. I think we should tell her in person as well."

"And do you want Varrick or me to tell Korra?" Zhu Li offered, raising her hand weakly. The creases on her face gave away any calm she might have on as a mask for her worry. "We do live with Korra, so maybe it's best if Varrick or I tell her in person."

But just then, Asami stood up from her chair. She licked her lips several times, all the while her hands gripped the side of the table to steady herself. "If you don't mind, I think I should do it," she suggested. That got her four surprised looks from her own parents and Korra's foster parents, but the engineer paid them no mind and soldiered on. "I've been her friend for most of her life, so it's only right I'm there for her. Besides, Future Industries is as much my company as it is my dad's company. If we decide Korra should leave, then at least I want to stab her in the front instead of the back. That's why I've decided to tell Korra this myself."

And here is my usual list of acknowledgements:

1.) Korra's abilities to memorize the ID numbers on the boxes and the exact locations of their storage are, if you haven't guessed already, modified versions of the abilities from "Rain Man." Whether it's memorizing cards, counting toothpicks, or reciting the order certain music records were placed, I just felt the different things Dustin Hoffman's character memorized could really be called upon again here. So for Korra, it's about the ID numbers on the boxes and their storage locations. I'm aware that this is moving Korra from autistic to savant, even though that was never my plans. Either way, if you can comment on whether that's a good move or not, then I'll be very grateful.

2.) Another things I should clarify is the warehouse layout. The warehouse has pipes crossing various parts of its ceiling. Some parts of the ceiling are lower, meaning Korra can reach up with water bending to jiggle the pipes. The warehouse also has a boiler that P'Li was able to manipulate, which gave Korra the sauna treatment. I'm aware that Korra's water bending also allows her to manipulate steam, but the point is that she's too stressed out by this time to consider cooling the boiler down. Lastly, the security camera is pointed at the section with Varrick's goods, but the section with military goods is just out of view. That's why it could catch Korra approaching Varrick's goods to get the item, but could not catch the Red Lotus getting their smuggled goods.

3.) Lu and Gang purposely mispronouncing Mako's name and their general obnoxiousness are from various Book 2 episodes where they harassed Mako and Team Avatar nonstop. The Air Nomad pendant and its accompanying quote are identical to the one from "The Metal Clan" in Book 3, featuring the same Air Nomad, Guru Laghima. Asami and Team Avatar pointing out Tarrlok's mistakes, and then later on getting in trouble with Tarrlok is from "When Extremes Meet" in Book 1, where Team Avatar tried to quell a protest, only to have Tarrlok arrest them (with Asami being the first to be arrested). And Hiroshi believing that he is being targeted by the government for "supposedly" questionable grounds is from "The Aftermath" in Book 1 when he was accused of having Equalist ties.

And is this chapter a large enough emotional backlash for you? So Korra gets stalked by Aiwei and the Red Lotus, verbally harassed by Lu and Gang, nearly arrested by Tarrlok, and now she is about to get fired! What will happen to her in the future? And how will Future Industries help themselves now that the Red Lotus is around? Read on next chapter if you want to know!