Two men wearing Dai Li uniforms rushed out into the front of the shop just in time to see the door swinging shut behind Kya. They plowed through the shop, knocking over even more pots and shelves, trying to catch her before she could get too far away.
"Hey! Someone stop her, she's getting away!" the taller of the two men yelled at no one in particular.
Lin, having heard the ruckus and preparing to go inside to check on Kya, was already wary and on her feet when she came bolting out the door. Kya hardly spared a glance at Lin before grabbing her hand and pulling her along behind her. The streets in the middle ring were crowded and they had to weave between people to get anywhere very quickly.
"What the-"
"Run! Just come on, we've got to go," Kya said, interrupting the questions before Lin could even properly form them in her mind. Looking behind her, she could see the two agents leaving the shop in a rush, searching the crowded streets, presumably for Kya.
"Over there!" the shorter one yelled, pointing in their direction.
"Shit," Lin said, turning back around and picking up the pace to keep up with Kya, who hadn't even bothered to tell Lin why they were even running, "Friends of yours?"
"I mean, not really, "Kya said, pulling her into a maze of alleyways," Usually my friends don't chase me through the streets."
"No? Well, do you want to tell me who does, then?" Lin countered angrily as she was pulled down another, even smaller alley and behind a dumpster. She was pulled down to a sitting position beside Kya.
"Um, well generally the chasing is done by enemies and angry ex-lovers," Kya smirked, "It appears that this time, we're dealing with the former."
"I don't know which part of this you think is funny-"
Kya's eyes widened and she threw her hand over Lin's mouth, pulling her closer and shushing her. She could hear footsteps coming towards them.
A child and her mother walked past their tiny alleyway and Kya breathed a sigh of relief, leaning away from Lin and removing her hand.
"If you ever do that again, I will not hesitate to rip your hand off, understand?" Lin said, furious that she had been put into this situation. Running from the Dai Li was not part of the plan for this trip as far as she had known.
"Hey, hey, calm down. I think we lost them," Kya said, pulling herself up and looking over the top of the dumpster.
"Calm down?" Lin exclaimed, " Calm down, Kya? We were just being chased by the fucking Dai Li for some yet to be explained reason and you want me to be calm about it? You do realize that they practically fucking run this city and there is literally no actual 'losing them' that could feasibly happen, right?"
"Okay, all the yelling is really going to attract more attention than we really want right now," Kya sighed, " So yes, I am asking that you try your absolute best to remain calm, which I do realize is a real struggle for you."
Kya could practically see the conflict waging behind Lin's eyes. She was fairly sure that she was about to be punched in the face with a rock.
"You are going to tell me what the fuck is going on. Right now. Or I'm going to walk away and possibly see you back in Republic City if you don't end up being secretly arrested first," Lin huffed, grabbing onto both of Kya's shoulders to try to keep herself focused on not punching her in the face.
"To be completely honest with you, Lin… I'm really not sure," Kya said, slouching back down beside the dumpster, "I haven't been to Ba Sing Se in so long, I don't really remember what I did the last time I was here. I don't know why they'd still be trying to find me."
She pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her hands, trying to follow her own advice and remain calm. She really didn't know why the Dai Li would be looking for her, but honestly she could go her whole life without finding out and she would never regret it. Right now, their main goal really had to be getting out of the city.