~Chapter 8~

~Sides~

"So they're both missing," Lin looked over at Sozza, "and you don't look concerned at all."

"What? I trust my agent, he'll check in and everything will be fine just you see." The director sighed.

"It's almost noon, Sozza and he hasn't checked in. Forgive me but I don't have the confidence you do." Lin sighed. "Do you think Iroh is as good as you say he is?"

Sozza smirked. "He's better, than that."

Lin frowned. "Then why hasn't he checked in? Face it Director, either they've been captured or worse."

"Worse? What's worse than being captured?"

"That he's actually working for Amon." Tarlok said walking into the room and sitting down. "Ladies."

Sozza narrowed her eyes. "These 'ladies' you speak of are the two of the most powerful people in the city, Councilmen. Try to not offend either of us."
"Since when do you speak for Chief Beifong?"

Sozza's eye twitched. "I don't but you're aggravating me and I'm harder to aggravate than her, so you must be aggravating us both."

Tarrlok shook his head in exasperation. "So any word from the General or had he gone off the reservation with the avatar in tow?"

Sozza sighed. "He hasn't checked in but I trust he will soon."

Tarrlok huffed. "Well let's hope, because if he doesn't check in it's going in his file as a black mark."

Sozza raised an eyebrow. "Well, even with one black mark in his file he's still an angel compared to you."

.o.

Korra sighed contentedly feeling Iroh's warm chest against her back and the silk sheets everywhere else. It might have taken a few hours to get their hotel room but the peace and quiet earned was worth it. She did not want to move or wake up but was forced to when Iroh sat up.

"MMMmmmm, Why Roh? Why are you moving?"

Iroh yawned. "Because I have to check in with my people before they freak out more." He stretched and squinted at the clock. "Kor, what time is it? I don't have my glasses or contacts."

Korra opened one eye begrudgingly. "It's 1pm. you're blind."

"Yeah, yeah, bite me. I need to call in to HQ they're probably freaking out right now."

"Where you would you like it?" Korra leaned back. "Need me to dial the number for you?"

Iroh grabbed the phone. "Haha, I've got it." He kissed her shoulder and started to dial and put the phone to his ear. "Hello, this is agent 007 checking in…. I'm sorry I over slept…No, I will not come in today, this is my day off! Director Sozza, please, no I will not come in, I am with my wife…. well what do you think we're doing UNO?! Well I guess, there's a history for that, but no. That's not what happening…why would you say that? I am not an equalist?! Look I checked in, now let me enjoy time with my wife…oh go F*ck your spouse!" Iroh slammed down the phone and looked at Korra and smiled. "Checked in! Won't have to call them until tomorrow."

Korra nodded. "Uhuh, so people think you're an equalist now?"

Iroh cuddled up to her, "Yeah, apparently I have all the markers of a person who might be sympathetic to Amon's cause."

"Huh, a nonbender with a history of being out spoken against benders abusing their power over nonbenders. Who'd have thought?" She kissed him. "You're not an equalist right?"

Iroh chuckled. "Oh, I'm totally an equalist, taking orders from Amon to keep you busy and out of the fray." Iroh's hands wondered over her body. "And I have very specific instructions on how to do it."

Korra giggled as he whispered in her ear sweet nothings. "Oh, you are such a bad boy, Princy."

Iroh pulled back, "I need to call her back."

Korra tilted her head. "Why?"

"Because while I was hanging out in a jail cell one of the guards mentioned they were targeting a probending game. It totally slipped my mind." He kissed her cheek, "Just give me a second and we can go back to having fun."

Korra smiled. "Yeah you still haven't told me where to bite."

.o.

Mako did not look pleased watched all the security personnel milling around the arena. Bolin was warming up and Asami was talking on the phone with her father trying to arrange another dinner for the whole team. He looked at Korra, who just shrugged.

"I can't believe that they dispatched so many cops just for one game on the off chance your boyfriend heard right." He crossed his arms and glared at nothing in particular.

Asami patted his shoulder hanging up the phone. "Look they just want to keep people safe and not end up like General Iroh or any one else who's lost their bending." She looked over at Korra. "How's he doing by the way? I've heard losing your bending takes a big toll on a person."

Korra bit her lip. "Well he's doing better than the other people who lost their bending. He does keep getting these bad headaches, which I'm worried about. The people in the United Forces aren't exactly rushing to get him back to work. Actually, it's the inability to get back to work that's really driving him batty. He's started taking long drives in the country just to kill time."

Bolin looked over. "So is he going to see the match tonight?"

Korra nodded. "He should, he had a meeting with a healer this afternoon but he promised that he would be here if he could."

Mako frowned. "You and this Iroh guy, how long have you two known each other again?"

Korra sighed. "Uh, about six years now I think. Why?"

"I just don't like him, or rather there's something about the guy that just seems false like he's not being completely honest." Mako gave her a sympathetic look. "I just don't want you getting hurt by him that's all."

"Don't worry about Iroh, he's a good guy and he'd never hurt me. I trust him so you should too. "

Mako stiffened. "I'll trust him, once he's earned it. Until then I'm going to keep an eye on him. My gut tells me he's not what he appears to be, and it hasn't been wrong about a guy before."

"How many guys have you summed up?" Asami asked with a giggle.

"My old best friend's family was part of the mob." Mako frowned. "I got quite good a spotting the bad eggs."

.o.

Varrick leaned a little too close to Iroh's face for his tastes, as he looked Iroh in the eye before turning to Sozza and shrugging.

"I don't get it, Ma'm. He's healthy and none of my scans picked up any problems." The inventor looked baffled. "I've got nothing."

Iroh rubbed his temples. "Well I have a headache and it's getting so bad I can barely function. Last night I almost let Korra drive home. Almost."

Sozza frowned. "Maybe it's a good thing you've not been put on active duty then. You're a mess. I'm pulling the mission, it's just gotten too complicated."

Iroh clenched his jaw. "You can't do that! We're so close to nailing these guys! Just give me another month! Please! We can't let them get off the hook for what they've done."

Sozza looked over at Iroh and let out a deep breath. "Look, Iroh I'll give you two weeks to get all you can for this mission and then I'm scrubbing it. If you can't get the proof then I resort to other measures."

Iroh was stunned for a moment. "You can't honestly be implying you'll call in a wet team to deal with the problem. Where's the justice and honor in that?"

Sozza patted Iroh's shoulder and signaled for Varrick and his assistance to leave. "Iroh, Iroh, Iroh, my dear cousin, this is not a profession for honor or justice, but more for getting the job done." She put her arms around Iroh's shoulders like a dragon coiling up around its offspring. "We're from the same family tree but while your branch has honor and justice, mine is the twisted limb. You have two weeks Iroh to do it your way and then I'm calling in Kayther and her team, understand?"

Iroh nodded. "Yes, Director Sozza."

Sozza patted Iroh on the head lightly. "Good boy, now don't you have a game to go watch?"

Iroh glanced at the clock. "Yeah, I need to stop by the ship first and fill out some paper work. The game's not for another four hours should get some head way done."

Sozza nodded. "Go, enjoy being a work-a-holic and be careful maybe doing paper work with a head ache is not the best idea."

Iroh sighed. "I'll see if I can get someone to dictate."

.o.

Captain Zaho of the Gorgon was a fire bender of great skill and bad temper, he had once burned a boy in grade school but his parents covered the whole thing up. No one was supposed to know about that incident in his past, but Iroh did so when he walked into Iroh's office along with some of his cohorts Iroh's inner red flag went up. He raised an eyebrow.

"Can I help you?" He asked calmly after the proper pleasantries.

The Captain shook his head. "Not really, just wanted to check up on you sir. See how you were doing without your bending."

"Thank you for your concern" Iroh nodded. "I would be doing a lot better if I didn't have this headache. Is that all gentlemen?" Iroh stood up from his desk and glance at the clock, an hour and a half until the game started he should leave now.

"Yeah, that's mostly it. Uh, General Iroh, sir, I do have another question I'd like to ask."

"Yes, Captain?"

"Your opinion on nonbenders has it changed any since you had your bending stolen from you?"

Iroh looked at the four men, his head pounding, he didn't have the mental capacity to lie, not with the pain hammering in his skull. "No, it hasn't." Iroh looked the man right in the eye and realized it might have been better to lie. Then he felt heat and a lot of it.

.o.

Korra looked at the clock and pouted, ten minutes until the game started and Iroh wasn't there. She looked down at her helmet. "He's going to be here, he promised he'd wish me good luck before the match. He promised."

Bolin patted her shoulder. "He's still got those headaches right? Maybe he took a nap and over slept."

Korra nodded. "That's probably what happened. I bet he'll be waiting here at the end of the game with that guilty look on his face."

.o.

Iroh woke up in pain, in a room he didn't know, on a bed he'd never slept on before. He looked up at Amon standing over him a manila file in his hand. The masked man chucked and set the file down.

"Hello General Iroh." Held out his hand towards Iroh. "Welcome to the Equalists."

A/N: thanks for reading, I hope you liked, comment if you feel so compelled. ~ C.C.