Zuko rolled over, intending to grab a few extra minutes of sleep, but he bumped into something and it giggled. Slowly, he opened an eye, and two blue ones were staring back at him.
"You really should get out of bed, now," Katara said, brushing hair out of his face. "You don't want to be late for work."
Groaning, Zuko pushed himself up and looked at the clock. Usually when he woke up, Katara was downstairs making breakfast, the little ones putting on their clothes and heading downstairs to eat. He was always the last to get up, largely because he was the last to go to bed every night.
"Aren't the children going to school today? I thought you had to work?"
Katara nudged his shoulder when he dropped back against the pillow.
"You forgot again, didn't you? They don't have school today. Teacher meetings all day."
Yes. Zuko did forget. He flopped back against the bed, burying his face in the pillow. He'd have to take the children to work with him, and while his coworkers enjoyed fawning over each other's children, there was just too much to be done.
"I'm going to Haru's trial today," Zuko said, his voice muffled.
"Can Iroh watch them? Or can you leave them with Jun?"
"I want you to think about that second question again," Zuko said, slightly lifting his head to look at his wife.
Katara smiled at him, her head tilted to the side and her hair hanging in loose curls as she leaned on her arm. Zuko scooted closer to her, laid his head in her lap. The silk of her nightgown was soft against his cheek, but he preferred the feel of her skin, soft and silky in its own right, but also so much more her than anything else. He nudged the nightgown out of the way so he could lay his face against her skin, and kissed her knee.
"You know how they like going to work with you," Katara said, running her fingers through his hair.
Not that there was much of a choice. The children would rejoice, and many sweets would be had by all.
.O.
Many sweets were had by all.
"I like to keep something for the children when they come," Jin said as they passed by the front desk.
"Thank you, Miss Jin," Kurzu said as he shoved a sweet in his mouth.
Khan's pockets were overflowing with little candies, and Zuko only shook his head. They would be hell on wheels a little later. Ira was unwrapping a second, nodding her agreement with her older brother's thanks as she held one piece of candy in her cheek already.
"Come on, kids," Zuko said, holding the door open for them as he waved goodbye to Jin. He'd have to pat them down for hidden candy before he sent them to Iroh. There was no way Iroh would be able to catch everything, observant though he was. Zuko knew his children were a special brand of sneaky.
The Pit was busy that morning, all the detectives buzzing and passing folders and massive files from one group to the next. Zuko kept the children close to him so they wouldn't get trampled by the rushing secretaries, everyone too occupied to notice three extra little bodies around.
"Look who's come to visit!" Iroh boomed over the noise.
The children laughed and ran to their great uncle, Iroh picking up his namesake, Ira, and squeezing her as she laughed. Never one to favor one child over the other, Iroh sat Ira down, squeezing each in turn. Even among all the chaos, Zuko was glad to have these little moments with his family. He knew that children grew too quickly, and it reminded him of how he'd almost thrown this away in his pursuit of justice. Zuko frowned. He never would have forgiven himself if he'd missed these moments. Things could have gone so much worse than his working all the time. He was dealing with the mob. It wasn't unheard of for people to simply disappear.
"So those are your kids, huh?" Xin Fu asked, coming to stand by Zuko.
"Those are my kids," Zuko said, letting discouraging and painful thoughts be replaced by the sight in front of him.
"Cute."
"Crafty."
"Like their father."
Zuko laughed. "I guess it was unavoidable. They get it from both sides. One day, I should tell you about how Katara and I ended up getting married. I was powerless against her feminine charms."
Xin Fu slapped Zuko's shoulder, laughing loudly. "Aren't we all. Aren't we all…"
The two men watched Iroh fawn over the children, picking candies out of Khan's pockets, only to have Khan pick them back out of Iroh's pockets when his attention was distracted. By the end of the day, Iroh would be exhausted, and Zuko knew he could quite likely expect a call from Jun scolding him, because now Iroh had baby fever again. A few of the other detectives were wandering over, and Iroh was proudly showing off the children as if they were his own. Kurzu puffed his chest out when one detective commented on how big and strong he'd gotten, but this was slightly ruined when Ira said that she could always beat him in a race.
"Hate to ruin the moment for you," Xin Fu said, "but there's a bit of work we need to do before heading over to Haru's trial after lunch."
Zuko sighed. Aang had been less than helpful with the writing samples, though they'd been able to get records from the county clerk's office. They still didn't have a current sample from Gyatso, and all calls to any of his offices and operations were only forwarded to Aang. Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. Just because they couldn't get to Gyatso didn't mean that he was dead or that Aang killed him. Gyatso's disappearance left them with few plausible explanations, but that had to be secondary to the bootlegging and trafficking cases that would get Aang off the street a lot quicker.
"Yeah," Zuko said, watching Khan take candy back from Iroh's pocket again. "I know we've got some stuff to go over."
Kneeling, Zuko called to the children and reminded them to behave for their uncle and the other detectives. He removed the last of the candy from Khan and Kurzu's pockets, and handed it to Iroh, who could only laugh. He'd been bested by a five year old, and not for the first time.
.O.
"We should really focus on the bootlegging, since that case is the clearest," Zuko said to the Operation Soap Bubbles team. "It's also the easiest and quickest way for us to get access to Gyatso and pursue additional charges if we want."
A few of the detectives took notes, and Zuko nodded to Xin Fu, who pointed at the map they'd drawn up.
"Essentially, we can only go for one of Aang's establishments. The largest is the Blue Bison Casino. Surveillance over the past few weeks has told us that he can get anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 cases of alcohol a week, depending on his need. He does his shipping on a weekly basis, and this liquor is mostly coming from warehouses with leases and deeds in Gyatso's name."
"Is there no way we can make a raid on more than one property?" One of Zuko's beat cops asked. "We're going through all this effort, and all we're doing is going to the Blue Bison?"
Zuko sighed. He would love nothing more than to hit every operation Aang had running, but it just wasn't possible. He rolled up his shirt sleeves, began digging through the pile of papers on his desk until he found Aang's property records.
"Ideally, we would hit them all," Xin Fu said. "But that would mean getting nearly the entire FBI down here for a massive simultaneous raid, and the government isn't going to fund that kind of operation."
"We're hitting two properties, remember, not one," Zuko reminded the group. "We're going for the Blue Bison, and one of the warehouses. Yes, the warehouse is in Gyatso's name, but for all intents and purposes, Aang's running the show. Let's not forget that."
The gathered officers mumbled their assent, though there was clear dislike on many of their faces. Zuko understood their frustration, and if it was up to him, the entire government would fund their operation, send them as many men as needed so they could take down every illegal establishment Aang had. The more charges they could pile on, the longer Aang would be put away, and the longer Zuko would have to dismantle his gang and work on shifting the balance of power back in the favor of the police. But that was just too optimistic, too much wishful thinking. So far away in D.C., many of the higher government officials would see this as a small problem. Why couldn't the local cops handle a bunch of rag tag boys? They were too embroiled in their own work to spare the kind of thought Zuko wanted spared.
"Alright boys, let's break," Xin Fu said. "If you're coming with us, we're leaving for Haru's trial soon."
As the group began to break up, Xin Fu held Zuko back.
"We could use more detectives like you in the FBI," he said. "I've watched the way you handled this case, and it's been a pleasure working with you. I admit I had my doubts when we first met, but you've proven me wrong."
Zuko smiled. "FBI, huh? All the way in D.C.?"
"I understand you're loyal to your uncle and all—"
"More than being loyal to my uncle, I've got a loyalty to this city. It needs me."
Xin Fu placed his hand on Zuko's shoulder. "The offer's going to be on the table for a very long time. I'm not expecting an answer right now. Talk it over with your wife. Maybe I can pull a few strings for you."
Zuko nodded. It would be a big step up from being a detective in Chicago. He'd have a lot more to oversee, and it would give him the chance to travel. He wasn't so crazy about moving his family, though, and there's no way he would ever consider leaving them behind. But so long as the offer was going to stand on the table, he wouldn't throw it away so easily. As they left the room, grabbing their suit jackets, Zuko laughed.
"Katara would get a kick out of being married to a federal agent. She'd brag to all her friends."
.O.
Haru's trial was packed. In the throng, Zuko spotted several members of Haru's gang, all wearing identical suits, sitting quietly to the side. He could pinpoint the guys who'd beat him up, though none of them were looking nearly as confident as they had been that night when they cornered him in the alley. The usual circus of reporters was there, some cops to keep the peace, as well as businessmen with a vested interest in the outcome of the trial and some locals who clearly didn't have anything better to do.
Even with Haru sitting at a front table with his head hanging and his face blank, two other guests drew more attention. The steady hum of conversation was largely centered around speculation of why The Governor and his daughter were attending Haru's trial. Mai and her father were seated quietly and properly in the third row behind Haru, flanked by four bodyguards on each side, Mai's hands folded primly in her lap. She was looking thoroughly bored with the pre-court proceedings, but she remained seated, her back straight, a slight frown tugging her red lips down at the corner.
She turned then, maybe sensing Zuko staring at her, and the jewels in her hair caught the sunlight, sending a rainbow across the jacket of the man in front of her. Her golden eyes narrowed slightly and she smiled at Zuko, her lips parting. She nodded her head, and Zuko returned the greeting, wondering just what was going through her head. He wondered if she was going to keep her word and keep their meeting a secret. He hadn't, and that had briefly raised doubts in his mind. But who could cause the most damage? Zuko felt pretty confident that he'd be able to come up with a plausible lie, and with Iroh and Xin Fu to back him up, they could spin the meeting as a ploy by the police to draw more information from the mob. That would also invite retaliation from The Governor, but Mai also stood to lose something. The added public attention wouldn't be the best for them, and could possibly make their business partners back down from deals. When you're pushing liquor during Prohibition, it's always best to avoid too much scrutiny.
No, Mai was quite likely to keep their secret, and if she did let it out, it would be quietly, and through predetermined channels. It wasn't The Governor's style to wage an open and public war. His tactic was more subversive; get inside and pick and pull until the frame caved and the building collapsed.
"She seems very interested in you," Xin Fu said, nodding slightly toward Mai.
Zuko looked at Xin Fu, confused and disbelieving, before remembering that the agent wasn't a native of Chicago. He'd only been there for a short time, and hadn't been properly introduced to all of Chicago's gangsters. He might have seen pictures, but The Governor had been too far from their focus, so they hadn't looked at those pictures very often.
"That's The Governor and his daughter, Mai."
Xin Fu nodded. "I figured they were important. But that nod to you was very friendly."
"She's childhood friends with my sister."
Zuko ignored the flabbergasted look Xin Fu was giving him. The judge was coming in, and the courtroom was instructed to stand, effectively postponing their conversation. Zuko's relationship with Mai was a complicated one, even if their interactions were mostly centered around Azula.
.O.
An extremely uneventful hour later, Haru himself took the stand amidst gasps and excited chattering. Xin Fu nudged Zuko and nodded toward the door. Jet was quietly entering, his jacket thrown across his arm. His face was drawn, and it looked like he hadn't shaved in three days. He looked tired.
"Haru, I'd like to address the allegations that you were acting alone in this weapons deal," Haru's lawyer was saying. "You weren't, in fact, acting alone, were you?"
Jet saw Zuko and Xin Fu and made his way over to them. He sat at the end of the bench, nodding to them once before turning to watch the proceedings.
"No," Haru answered firmly, to the shock of the courtroom.
"The prosecution never questioned where these weapons came from. I'd like to address that right now."
Zuko rolled his eyes. Of course the prosecution hadn't addressed that yet. The trial just started. It was clear, though, just what the strategy from Haru's defense team was going to be. There was no way to avoid the weapons charges; the case against Haru was too solid, the evidence too overwhelming. But if he was going down, he clearly intended to take some people with him.
"Where did you get the weapons?" the defense attorney asked. "And remember, sir, that you are under oath."
"I was intending to stop a shipment of alcohol that was headed to a casino owned by the mob boss Smiling Aang."
The courtroom erupted and the judged banged his gavel, demanding order, but it was not to be had so quickly. Xin Fu cursed under his breath, and Zuko gripped his knees, hoping that, when Haru named the casino, it wouldn't be the Blue Bison. Mai was smiling at him again, her lips still a gash across her pale face, giving a friendly nod. Her father turned slightly, frowning first at his daughter, then at Zuko. He whispered something to the man next to him, and the thug nodded, excusing himself from the courtroom.
"If you were after alcohol," the defense continued when some semblance of silence was restored, "how did you come to be in possession of weapons instead?"
"Turns out the warehouse had guns and knives, not booze," Haru said, twisting his moustache between his index finger and his thumb. "We'd gone through the trouble of seizing the warehouse. We weren't about to let such a cache go to waste."
"This is a load of bullshit," Xin Fu whispered. "What the hell is he playing at?"
Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's a gift."
"Hell no…"
"This casino allegedly owned by 'Smiling' Aang, what's its name?" the defense asked.
"Why is The Governor here?" Xin Fu asked, doing a surprisingly good job at keeping the desperation that showed on his face out of his voice.
"It's an open trial," Zuko said, pushing his own unsettling feelings away. "They can attend if they want."
"It's a goddamn hostile takeover," Xin Fu muttered, dropping his head in his hands. "The Governor just commandeered The Moustache's gang."
Haru sat up straighter in the stands, his eyes fixed on Mai.
"The casino is The Temple."
Whatever relief was brought by the naming of a different casino was overrun by knowing they'd have to raid The Blue Bison sooner than they'd intended. News of Haru's revelation would have the city scrambling to hide all visible ties to Aang, and possibly make Aang remove the alcohol before they had a chance to seize it. They'd have to pull a lot of strings and make that raid happen that night before the evening news hit the stands and the radio airwaves.
Whatever relief was brought by the naming of a different casino was overrun by Mai's appreciative smile, the nod she gave Haru, the way The Governor looked insanely pleased and patted his daughter's hand.
This was a goddamned hostile takeover.
Work made me dead, so this update took forever to get here. But it's got cute Zutara babies! They'll be a sticky mess when they're returned to their father :D
After writing that chapter with gangster Mai, I couldn't let the idea drop. It was such a strong, vivid image in my mind, that I've fallen in love with it, and if I could draw...man! If only! I'd also draw gangster Haru twirling his moustache. Just cuz. Anyway, things are getting serious in the mob world, and this is a goddamn hostile takeover. I've been watching Boardwalk Empire, which is a show about bootlegging in Atlantic City, set during Prohibition, and there's this one story line where the 'new regime' is trying to take over, and I totally admit to stealing that. Only things are going very differently for my gangsters. Some realize the power of the old ways, and some don't. Some want to forge a new alliance, and some want to continue the tradition of power that's kept their families in place for so long. But this story needs more Toph. Even though I know it's highly unlikely, improbably, and possibly bordering on the impossible for the time period, I see Toph and Mai being the heirs for their respective families. Both of them have no-nonsense forceful personalities that could demand the respect they need. If I ever did a spinoff, I would handwave this improbability and make them next in line for succession. Who inherits Haru's gang in a non-event at this point. I think it's fair to say he doesn't have one anymore.
Thanks a ton to those of you who're reading this. Your reviews always make me smile, and in the last two weeks, smiles have been very much needed and welcome :D And another reminder: if you haven't already, check out the spinoff featuring Azula: Good Mourning. Have your tissues ready!