"We have some questions for you, about Jet," Smellerbee states. You cross your arms silently, and wait for her to continue.
"He says he's been just sneaking out to see you, but we're worried he's going to get himself into trouble." Longshot walks to stand beside Smellerbee, and nods as she speaks.
"Trouble...?" You question, but you feel like you already know what they are referring to.
"What were the two of you doing before meeting us in the alley?" She inquires.
"Minding our own business. Ever heard of it?" You snap back, but notice the mood change, as Smellerbee's harsh expression softens.
"Listen lady, we're seriously worried for our friend here. And if you care about him at all, you should help us out. He's… having trouble letting go of some things."
"Letting go? Of what? If you want my help, you need to fill me in," You cleverly respond. Since getting answers from Jet was a bust, maybe these two could explain what the heck was going on between Jet and the tea shop workers. Longshot and Smellerbee exchange glances, then turn back to face you once again.
"I guess we have to explain a few things if we want your help… Listen up; I'll only tell the story once." Smellerbee declares. Finally, some answers. Why was Jet stalking Lee and his uncle Mushi? Why does he suspect them of being firebenders? How do Jet and Lee know each other? Why did Lee tell you to stay away from Jet? You want to ask every question at once, but instead stay silent and listen carefully to Smellerbee's retelling.
We disbanded the Freedom Fighters after a certain… accident happened in the town of Gaipan. It doesn't matter now, but we need to put our misdeeds behind us. Only three of the former Freedom Fighters stuck together, and you're looking at them. Jet, Longshot, and I travelled to Ba Sing Se to start a new life. We were on the ferry to the city, when Jet met the dark haired guy with the bad temper. The two got along at first, and at some point, Jet invited him to join the Freedom Fighters, although we're… disbanded. He can't seem to move forward. The new guy declined Jet's invitation, and ever since then, Jet has been insisting that this "Lee" guy and his Uncle are not just from the Fire Nation, but that they're also firebenders! Something about seeing the old guy with a hot cup of tea, when only moments before, it had been cold. Now that we're finally in the city, Jet has become obsessed with trying to expose these 'firebenders', instead of getting the fresh start we came for. Whether they can bend fire or not, it's best if we stay out of it! We asked him to stop, but he obviously isn't listening after where he took you yesterday...
"Wait a second," You interrupt her narrative. "So you DO know where we were doing yesterday!"
"Yeah, I'm not gonna lie: we've actually been watching the two of you for some time now."
"WHAT!" You blurt out in disbelief. There's no way they've been spying on you the ENTIRE time. You can definitely tell when someone is spying on you. They were spying on Jet, and you happened to be there sometimes. And when you were there, you never noticed because it was probably at the Warehouse Wrestle Earthbending arena, and there were crowds of people. Hard to know your being tailed in an arena full of screaming fans. Yes, that's why. It's NOT because you were distracted by being with Jet or talking to Jet or getting tea with Jet or—
"So are you gonna help us or what?" Smellerbee interrupts your thoughts.
"Yeah I'll—" you pause. "What do you need me to do?"
She explains the plan that she and Longshot put together. And they want to do it tonight. As you consider their request, you feel your empty bag on your shoulder; it's practically weightless. The Red Mask inside seems to speak to you, reminding you that money is vital to your survival; in order to make money, you have to steal and resell expensive 'merchandise' you acquire in the Middle Ring! It's been a long while since your last trip, and you're running dangerously low on coins.
The surrounding alley reminds you why you're even in the industrial district: to finally visit Gopan. Smellerbee and Longshot watch you closely, awaiting your answer. There's genuine worry in their eyes, and now that you think about it, you're also concerned for your new friend's well-being. Jet's clever, funny, sly, confident; but when he saw Lee in the teashop, something about his personality changed. He seemed crazed, paranoid and… to quote Smellerbee: 'obsessed'.
Even if he and his uncle really were, 'firebenders' (you almost laugh aloud at the thought of the gentle Mushi shooting fire from his mouth like a dragon), it's in his best interest to stay out of trouble. Especially since sightings of Dai Li agents are becoming more and more frequent in the lower ring. Should anyone cause a huge scene, there'd be serious consequences. Should the scene be related to the 'war' with the Fire Nation, (a war which 'doesn't exist' as far as Ba Sing Se citizens are to know), that's when people start 'mysteriously disappearing'. You have a sneaking suspicion that these disappearances are the work of the Dai Li.
After thinking over the situation in your head, you finally make up your mind. Tonight you aren't visiting Gopan and the Red Mask isn't visiting Middle Ring.
"I'll help you," You say to the former 'Freedom Fighters', they are grateful for your compliance. The three of you turn around and head towards residential district. You're going to miss out on your plans for tonight, but you're willing to put everything aside for one night, for Jet's sake.
—
The first step of the plan is to locate Jet. According to Smellerbee, Jet disappeared again around mid-day. They expected him to be with you, but when he wasn't, there was only one other place he could be.
As you travel back to the residential/market district, you make small talk with your new acquaintances. Correction, you only have small talk with Smellerbee. Longshot wasn't much for conversation, and you learnt that that hard way. Instead, you ask Smellerbee how she got her nickname.
"What are you talking about? It's just my name. Smeller. Bee."
"Well if that's your full name, do you have any nicknames? S-Bee? Bee?" You tease, but you're only half joking about those nicknames, you'd actually like to use them.
"If you call me anything but Smellerbee, thing won't go well for you." From her tone of voice and mild scowl, you assume she's also half joking.
The three of you finally arrive at your destination and the banter ceases. Together you scope out the buildings and alleys around the tea shop, while the sun lowers in the sky. You make a quick stop at home to drop off your large 'work' bag since you certainly won't need it due to today's change of plans. As the night approaches, shadows stretch longer and longer along the streets, and searching gets slighter harder and harder as the lighting diminishes. Longshot eventually spots the target entering a store just stone's throw away from the tea shop storefront.
"Ugh. He's probably taking 'surveillance' of the tea-place from in there." S-Bee says, annoyed. The three of you keep an eye on the building's exits and wait. It's not long before sunset is upon you and darkness slowly envelopes the street. In the semi darkness, Jet finally exits the building.
"What if he was just going shopping, and didn't actually 'disappear' again?" You whisper to your two accomplices. The three of you are currently crouched on a nearby rooftop, peeping over the ledge at Jet's every step.
"There's no way he just went out for a little shopping spree. " Bee replies. "Keep watching."
You do as she says, and turn back to watch Jet. He slips into the shadows of an alley directly across from the tea shop storefront. Longshot lets out an audible sigh, then shoots 'the signal' to both you and Bee.
Moving fast yet stealthily, the three of you roof-hop until you're in position above Jet. He doesn't see you, at least, not yet. Over the alley, you nod in unison with Bee and Longshot, and the plan is set in motion.
First up, Smellerbee. On cue, she lowers herself into the alley, kicking off the walls to slow her fall. She lands in the alley behind Jet, startling him. He turns in the direction of the sound but looks relieved when he sees who it is. You and Longshot watch in silence.
"Jet, we need to talk." She says solemnly as she slowly approaches.
"What? Oh great, it's you. Where have you been ? I could use some help with surveillance here."
"We think you're becoming obsessed with this. It's not healthy."
"Obsessed?" Jet says, clearly offended. Meanwhile above, you exchange a glance with Longshot and he shoots you a nod before replicating S-Bee's drop into the alley. He move to stand with Smellerbee, and Jet looks wide eyed at both of them.
"Oh, really? You both think this?" Says Jet, getting frustrated at his friends. Longshot places an arm on Bee's shoulder, showing his agreement with her statement.
"We came here to make a fresh start. But you won't let this go. Even though there is no real proof!" Smellerbee pleads.
"Well, maybe if you'd help me—"
You decide now's your turn to join the intervention. Instead of the route S-Bee and Longshot took, you first move closer to the edge of the alley. Your drop lands you right behind Jet, ever-so-silently.
"Jet, you've gotta stop this." You implore, and he turns around. The two of you are face-to-face. He looks genuinely shocked to see you standing there, but the shock morphs into a glare.
"[Y/N] not you too, I thought you would support me? I thought..." He looks down at his feet for a moment, and when he looks up, his face is more furious than ever.
"Actually, how about you stay out of this?! You don't know anything about this!" He spins and starts to go off at his friends. "And maybe you two have forgotten why we need to start over. Maybe you've forgotten about how the Fire Nation left us all homeless . How they wiped out all the people we loved! If you don't want to help me… I'll get the evidence on my own."
His anger fueling him, he turns on his heel, back to you. You gently raise your hands to try to calm him down, but he shoves past you, his eyes trained in the distance. Confused, and a little hurt at his actions, you follow his gaze.
He's heading straight towards the tea shop.
In a panic, you turn back to Smellerbee and Longshot, and see they're already following after him. Gosh, this wasn't going to end well at all. You jog after them, hoping that the Freedom Fighters wouldn't have to do any fighting today.