Deep

A/N: Holy crap! What an incredible influx of feedback! Seriously, thank you guys so much. Keep telling me what you like! I love hearing your speculations on what you think is going to happen. :) One quick thing though, even thought this story is inspired by The Dark Knight trilogy, it isn't the Dark Knight trilogy. So, sorry guys, no Batman. I just really liked the idea of a dark and gritty city with a crime syndicate. I hope you're still interested though! Also, after thinking on it for a while (and the help of some people on tumblr) I've decided to keep this story without bending.

Ambiance music: Tonight by John Legend. (It feels like very high class club music to me)

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Chapter Two

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Iroh stood outside the club with a casual indifference, periodically checking the gold watch he had clasped around his left wrist. He was dressed in a nicely pressed suit made out of the finest fabrics, his hair smoothed away from his face and a dash of cologne dabbed along his jawline. He fit the picture of young money as well as he should being a son of a noble Fire Nation family. It had been a long time since he had dressed in anything other than his police uniform, and the last time he had worn a suit was the night before he left for Republic City when he took his mother out for dinner. She had tried to convince him to stay in the Fire Nation, join the police force there perhaps, but he had a natural calling for justice that drew his attention to Republic City. For the first time in the ten years he spent in the city, he finally felt like he was making some progress, and whether or not he succeeded rested on the slim, beautiful shoulders of Asami Sato.

For a solid week after his reconnaissance brothers had broke the information about Hiroshi Sato, Iroh prepared himself for his mission. He changed his identity and hid the information that would give him away in the archives at the police department. He dipped into the inheritance money he'd been saving to create the illusion that he was a high end man willing to make a deal to get richer. In the meantime, he went over the details of his case with his men, making sure he had every detail committed to memory. There was no consulting memos this time around. They studied the workings of the underground until they came up with a viable story that could get him in the door without much question. From then on, he'd be on his own. Mako, dressed as a chauffeur, drove him to the launch point of the mission: the Jade Dragon Nightclub. Asami Sato was sure to be attending that night, and Iroh had all of one shot to make it work. As he excited the car, he overheard Mako whisper a soft "Good luck, sir". As the car drove away, Iroh set his shoulders. There was no going back from here.

He easily assumed a position of an anxious party-goer being stood up by his date. His eyes searched for an imaginary woman while carefully cataloguing the faces he did know. He counted three different Triad members walk through the doors and a pair of women he knew to be avid members of the Agni Kai Gang. With one final glance at his watch, he finally decided it was time to enter.

He took all of three steps towards the door when a top-down convertible Satomobile came flying to a halt just in front of the building. Its engine growled with pure power as it was placed into park, the valet parking driver running over to open the door for the driver. Iroh had to force himself not to look surprised as Asami Sato stepped out from behind the wheel. She was dressed in a shimmering silver cocktail dress that barely reached her knees, showcasing her long legs. Her long dark hair was slightly wind-blown from her wild driving, and she passed a hand through it a couple times to be sure it was tamed before giving the valet driver a wink and smile as she handed over her keys. The young man struggled to be professional as she walked for the door. Eyes gravitated towards her, following her every move. She gave the bouncer a smile and a quick compliment, the big man's cheeks turning a slight shade of pink, before disappearing into the building.

Once she was out of sight, Iroh released the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He couldn't deny that she made quite an impression on him and everyone else who had watched her arrive. Knowing the nature of men, he knew she would be the talk of the night which would make approaching her a little more challenging than he originally anticipated. Regardless, he felt a little thrill of excitement at the idea of wooing a woman who knew how to commandeer the attention of men. Casting one last glance at the streets, he wasted no time entering the club.

The air was thick and heated, and it smelled heavily of alcohol and sweat. Already, people crowded the dance floor, dancing to the beats of the music with a bass so loud it reverberated through Iroh's chest. A brilliantly lit up bar with backlight glass counter tops edged the ground floor, several people sitting and talking on barstools while expert bartenders mixed custom drinks for their high end customers. On both sides of the dance floor spiraled two stair cases, leading up to the lounge balcony where people nursed drinks in a more private setting. The lighting was low, only the flashing lights of the dance floor, the bar and table lamps from the second floor lit the room.

It didn't take him long to find Asami. The heiress sat on a barstool at the lit up bar, a cool neon green martini garnished with orange slices in hand. Three men already vied for her attention, two merely buzzed and the third loudly drunk. She stirred her drink almost lazily with one hand, listening to the boastful stories the wove. There was a sultry smile on her lips but Iroh was surprised to see a sharpness to her eyes, giving him the impression that she listened to what they had to say, but didn't care to remember it.

Iroh took a quick glance around. Approaching her now wouldn't do any good. He picked out an open seat at the opposite end of the bar, just vacated by a girl anxious to dance. Sliding into the seat, he ordered a soft liquor to keep him busy. He sipped at the sharp drink taking note of his vantage point. From this angle, he could see Asami's face. She seemed bored to him, like she had dealt with this situation many times before, and her casual attempt to look around the club proved it. Her brilliant light green eyes slid past him once or twice before catching. He held her curious look for a moment or two before turning his eyes away, hiding his smirk with a sip of his drink. When he looked back minutes later, she had turned away, but that wasn't the last time he'd catch her eye that night.

To his surprise, the night passed quickly. It was easy to stay perched upon his seat at the bar and just observe the ongoings around him. He watched as people danced and talked and drank. He watched drunk rich girls flirt shamelessly with dense, even drunker heirs to big fortunes. He watched as businessmen in finely tailored suits spoke over drinks on the second floor and he watched a pair of Triad members have a heated dispute by the emergency exit. He watched as Asami fended off pursuer after pursuer with practiced ease, barely blinking an eye as they filed in one after another, thinking they'd have a shot to bed the lovely Sato heiress. Later in the night, he made small talk with a pair of giggling rich girls for a while until they realized that he wasn't interested in taking them up on their offer for a threesome. He was two drinks in and had just ordered his third when his opportunity to act arrived.

He was still smiling in amusement from watching a wild dancing girl accidentally whack her boyfriend in the jaw with her elbow when he gave Asami a quick glance. He almost did a double take when he realized she was frowning, her posture defensive and annoyed. The man standing beside her, a sleazy looking kid in a rumpled suit, was leaning in a little too close for her comfort, trying to talk into her ear. It was clear that she wasn't enjoying the conversation anymore, but the guy was just not taking the hint. He reached to push her hair out of her face- perhaps to kiss her. Iroh prided himself to be a man of honor, something his grandfather had taught him when he was growing up, and if there was one thing he couldn't stand for, it was the harassment of women. He pulled a frown and stood from his seat to intervene, but, to his surprise, Asami was quicker.

She caught his fingers before they could touch the skin of her cheek and bent them back with a deft twist of her hand. Even from where he was standing, Iroh could hear the snap of bones breaking. The man's face went ash white, and Iroh resisted the urge to grin as Asami held him in place by his now broken fingers. Her eyes flashed dangerously as she reminded him not to overstep his boundaries. He snatched his hand back when she released him, cussing angrily as he walked away.

She merely rolled her eyes at his dramatics and leaned forward to rest her arms on the countertop. There was a brief moment where her strong, promiscuous façade fell, and she seemed almost sad as she distractedly twisted her martini glass between her fingers. But the moment was gone as fast as it came and she waved down the bartender with a smile to order another drink.

The exchange left Iroh pondering for a short moment, wondering what kind of secrets could produce such a sad look. He decided to think over that interesting slip of her expression later, reminding himself that he had a job to do and his leading lady was finally free. He kept his approach casual, in case she wasn't in the mood for more unwanted company, and slid in beside her, catching the bartender's attention as he walked by.

"Crescent Island Gin," he said, glancing over to meet Asami's eyes as she looked up at him. He casually slid the unfinished drink in his hand off to the side. "On the rocks." The bartender moved to finish his orders and Iroh gave Asami a slow smile. Her delicate eyebrows pulled in, unimpressed by his suave entrance.

"Look," she said before he could introduce himself. "I'm really not in the mood to deal with you right now, so if you're here to sweet-talk me into your bed, you can just forget it."

His surprised smile widened at her blunt dismissal. "Wow," he said. "I have never been rejected so quickly before in my life."

She was unamused that he was still talking to her. She turned away with a glare. "Well, you better get used to it."

He chuckled lightly. "Luckily for me, I wasn't actually looking to get you in my bed." She gave him a suspicious glance. "I just wanted to talk," he continued. She rolled her eyes.

"That's what they all say," she said with a frown. "You better think of something more original than that, or I'm definitely walking away."

The jab stung his pride. Iroh's pleasant smile fell. "Alright," he said. "What I really wanted to say was that I noticed how you defended yourself not too long ago. It gave me the impression that you're a strong woman with an even stronger spirit, but now I think you're too scared to handle a man." He was stretching the truth quite a bit, but her sharp, offended look was exactly what he was looking for.

"Excuse me?" she said dangerously. "I'll have you know that I am perfectly capable of handling a man."

"Really?" he asked with a false note of disbelief. "Then why did you let the last one get under your skin like that?"

She opened her mouth to defend herself, but she was speechless. Her cheeks were flushed with anger and her brow creased with disbelief. She was flustered and insulted and so irrationally attractive that Iroh had to school his features into a calm mask of confidence, casually turning away as the bartender returned with their drinks. He lifted his drink and gave her choice an impressed glance.

"I'd think that a woman who can down Fire Whiskey is more than capable of handling a bit of simple conversation." He held out her glass for her to take, his lips lifting into a small smirk. "Was that original enough for you?"

She glared at him and for a brief moment, he thought he had gone too far. He breathed an internal sigh of relief when she reached up to accept the glass.

"You're lucky," she said, taking a small sip of her drink. "If you weren't so handsome I wouldn't have let you walk away with insulting me."

He gave her a small, confident smirk as he clinked their glasses together. "I'll be sure to thank my ancestors, then."

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A/N: Next time we'll see the continuation of their conversation! Thank you for reading, and please review!