A/N: IMPORTANT! I had a sudden revelation and "Austin Fenton (the pimp)" is now Zaheer. I don't know why I didn't think of using Zaheer in the first place, but he's in the story now to replace the real bad guy. I will make the changes needed in the previous Law/Order parts. Thanks again for reading!

November 5th, 2015

11:39am

NYPD Interrogation Room #3

"If you had nothing to do with any of this, then why did you meet with Zaheer Lotus?" Bolin asked roughly.

The room remained quiet except for the detective's sigh a moment later. Derek had been uncooperative all day, deciding to remain silent instead. Mako had already left, excusing himself to a lunch break. However, Bolin was determined to get this guy to talk.

Just as Bolin was about to speak again, Derek interrupted him. "I need to confess something…"

Bolin kept his façade up, but looking into the other man's eyes told him that whatever he was about to say was going to change everything.

November 5th, 2015

10:45am

New York Memorial Hospital

Korra hesitantly knocked on the doorway leading to her current victim. The young child looked up and pouted. "You said you'd be here when I woke up."

The detective smiled apologetically and sat down next to her. "I know. I'm sorry I'm late, but I have someone with me that I want you to meet."

Riko swiftly grabbed her hand as the woman motioned for someone to enter. She gulped as she saw probably the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on. Her jet black hair was thrown into a loose ponytail and her ruby red lips were in a faint smile. Korra interrupted her thoughts. "This is Asami Sato. She's my wife, but to you she's your new doctor for the time being."

Riko looked to the detective in confusion. "New doctor?"

Korra bit her lip. No one must've told the girl about the change. "Yeah, you're gonna get a new room closer to her so she can help you, um, deal with everything that's happened." The young child scooted back in nervousness and averted her eyes. "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

Riko looked back hesitantly and shrugged. Asami stepped forward and placed a hand on Korra's shoulder. "Hi, you can call me Asami. What's your name?"

The girl huffed in an attempt to control her breathing. "Riko…"

Asami smiled at her. "It's nice to meet you, Riko. I know change can be hard, but you don't wanna stay in here forever, do you?"

Riko continued to stare at her bedsheets and shrugged. Asami blinked in shock. Tears slowly fell from the girl's eyes. Korra quickly jumped to action and hugged her. "I thought I was safe here." She cried.

Realization struck both women. Korra cooed soothingly in her ear and Asami sat at the end of the bed. "You're still safe, Riko. I trust Asami with my life. I wouldn't give you to just anyone. I promise she'll keep you safe."

Amidst her crying, Riko nodded her head.

"I'll be back to check on you later, okay?" Korra said as she shut the door to the girl's new room. She sighed tiredly as she stood outside the room.

"I can see you've already bonded with her." Asami commented.

Korra sighed. "Are you sure she's gonna be okay?"

Asami nodded surely. "Yes, sweetie. She's in good hands with me, you know that. I'm not get a chance to sit down and talk with her until tomorrow, though."

"That's okay. I thinks she needs time to settle in anyway." Korra replied. "I guess I'm headed back to the office. Call me if anything comes up."

Asami rolled her eyes and nodded. Korra landed a swift kiss on her cheek before running away. The doctor blushed, then chuckled. Her wife always had a way to cheer her up. She glanced back at the door of her newest patient and sighed. She needed to get things ready for their session before her long schedule today.

November 5th, 2015

12:47pm

NYPD Office

Korra walked into the office to see a winded Mako splayed across his chair. "Long day?"

Her partner sighed roughly, running a hand over his face. "That man hasn't talked all day. Bolin is in there still. He thinks he's gonna be the one to get him to talk."

Korra scowled. "He's lucky I haven't got a chance at him yet."

Just as Korra was about to walk away, Mako's phone buzzed once. He lazily glanced at it before jumping out of his seat and powerwalked to the interrogation rooms. "Mako, what is it?"

"Bolin just texted me. Said to get over there ASAP."

Bolin sat down in the chair and acted like he was attentive to what the man was saying. Meanwhile, he discreetly texted his brother to get over there. He had only looked down for four seconds and Derek didn't seem to notice.

"I never intended for any of this to happen. I was just trying to support my family. I should've known he would turn on me once I wasn't useful anymore."

Bolin angled his head. "You mean Zaheer Lotus?"

Derek nodded. "Yeah, I had been working for him for the past year. He's been in control of the local prostitution market. My job was to keep his workers in control, help find new recruits, and above all make sure he got his money."

"From my understanding, you were doing manual labor jobs during the day, but your wife was bringing in the real money."

"Yeah, but we still couldn't pay our bills. My new work helped a lot."

Bolin squinted his eyes. "So what changed?"

Derek sighed. "Zaheer started trafficking children a few months ago. I wanted nothing to do with it and tried to back out, but he threatened me and my family."

"You say you wanted out, but my partner saw you meet with Zaheer the day you were arrested. She saw him hand you a check."

Derek suddenly jumped in his seat. "He wanted to 'buy' my daughter! I was pretending to take his deal! He had already killed my wife! I was going to take the check and run for the hills with Riko!"

Bolin went wide-eyed as the truth finally came out. "What do you mean he killed your wife?"

Derek roughly ran a hand through his short hair. "This whole thing is about that night we had a fight. I told you the truth that we had an argument about our daughter, but I kept out the part where Zaheer showed up at our door trying to intimidate me. I didn't let him in at first, but it's not hard to break into a rundown apartment in our part of town."

Bolin carefully listened to the man's story. He felt that he was being honest.

"He came in while we were arguing. I tried to get him out, but Sydney wanted answers. She had figured out that something was going on with Riko. She pushed me away from the door in rage, and while her back was turned Zaheer bashed a lamp over her head. I freaked out and punched him, but one of his lackeys ran in and pulled gun on me…"

Derek started crying. "She had no idea what I was into and just like that she was pulled into it. I was held hostage while Zaheer choked Sydney to death! I was powerless to stop it!"

The so-called man cried for a few minutes and tried to pull himself together enough to tell Bolin everything. "He left her body for me to take care of. He said if I didn't cooperate that Riko would be next. I couldn't let that happen. I did what I could to keep us safe for the meantime."

Bolin sat still, trying to put some of his thoughts together. "So then…if you love Riko so much, why was she so injured when we found her?"

Derek sniffled and hid his face in his arms. "I hurt her. I feel like the worst piece of shit in the world, but I admit I did all of those things to her. I'm so sorry!"

Bolin asked one question in shock. "Why?"

New tears formed in the man's eyes. "It started when Zaheer started the trafficking, when I tried to back out. I stopped showing up to his hideout and so money was low again. I was mad at myself for everything that was happening and I took it out on my family."

Korra and Mako had long since gone wide-eyed and continued to stare through the glass panel. Mako's coffee had gone cold as he was unable to stomach it. Korra found herself hating this case more and more each day. Bolin eventually came out of the interrogation room.

"How do you know he's telling the truth, Bo'?" Mako asked tiredly.

"It connects the dots, doesn't it? Mako, he just confessed about the abuse and the murder. Besides, I can feel the sincerity in his words." Bolin explained.

Korra scowled. "Yeah, but apparently Zaheer is the one behind the murder. If everything Derek just said is true, this is a lot bigger than just an abuse case. We got a big problem in this city if Zaheer is trafficking sex."

November 5th, 2015

7:01pm

New York Memorial Hospital – Psychiatric Ward

Asami finished up the last of her reports for the day and locked up her office. She took a few steps toward the exit, but stopped herself as she thought back to the girl from earlier. Korra would probably want to hear something good about her when she got home.

So the doctor turned back around to the patients' hall. A few were in the lounge watching a football game. Others hid alone in their rooms. As she neared her destination, she saw a nurse hanging outside of the doorway. The woman greeted her with a smile. Asami glanced past her to see her newest patient sitting crisscross on the floor, wrapped in a blanket, and intently watching the others in the lounge. She returned the smile to the nurse before kneeling down to the child.

"Riko, what're you doing on the floor?"

The young girl whipped her head back. "Uhh, uhh, I don't know. I wanted to come out of my room, but those people scare me…"

Asami chuckled and rose a brow at the nurse, who shrugged good-naturedly. The doctor was glad someone had enough common sense to sit with the child, seeing as she's so young and vulnerable to new people.

"Why do they scare you? They won't hurt you. They're all here to get help like you." Asami replied.

Riko shrugged and averted her eyes. Asami looked back up to the lounge and noticed that it was mostly men there, except for an old woman sitting in a rocking chair by the window. She figured the girl might have a repressed fear of males after the incident, but at the moment a smile appeared on her face and she grabbed Riko's hand. "Can I introduce you to someone? I think you'll like her."

Riko gulped, but nodded anyway and let the doctor help her stand. Asami held her hand as she guided her through the lounge. She purposely put herself between Riko and the men and was glad for the forethought when the guys suddenly roared in excitement, making the girl jump. Riko slid closer to the doctor for safety.

The gray-haired woman glanced up and smiled once she saw the doctor and her guest. "Why, who is this young lady?"

"Good evening, Katara. This is Riko." Asami nudged the girl forward.

Katara looked at her with a look of knowing. "Oh, so what brings you to my corner?"

"Riko was scared to come into the lounge and I thought you would be a good friend to have in here." Asami replied lightly.

The old woman chuckled and motioned to the second rocking chair next to her. At her feet lay a basket of yarn which she was knitting. "Please be my guest for the evening, Ms. Riko?"

Riko glanced up at her and instantly felt a wave of relief wash over her. Before she knew it, she had nodded and climbed into the chair.

Asami smiled in joy. "Are you gonna be okay with Mrs. Katara, Riko?"

The girl nodded instantly, staring at the woman's working hands. The doctor chuckled. "Okay, just ask Katara if you need anything. I'll see you tomorrow."

She began walking away and noticed Riko's nurse peering around the corner to watch. "Keep an eye on Riko when she's out of the room at all times."

The nurse quickly nodded. "Of course, Dr. Sato. I was thinking the same thing. I'll see you tomorrow."

Riko watched in wonder as in a matter of minutes the old woman next to her had knitted half a scarf. "How do you do that?"

Katara chuckled and lowered her hands. "It takes a lot of practice. Maybe I can teach you if you want."

"Ah, um, maybe another time."

The duo went quiet, except for the men cheering on the game nearby.

"I've been here for years and I've never seen them happier except when watching sports." The woman laughed. Riko looked up at her with questions in her eyes, but Katara continued. "What makes you happy, Riko?"

The girl was caught off-guard by the question and sat quietly as she thought of an answer. "I like being safe."

"Everyone wants safety, but what makes you happy inside?" Katara rephrased.

Riko pouted and crossed her arms. What made her happy? She hadn't witnessed much happiness. "My mom made me happy when she'd pick me up from school and we'd go get ice cream."

Katara smiled sadly. "Is there anything else that makes you happy?"

Riko suddenly smiled faintly. "When Korra comes to see me. She makes me happy."

Katara chuckled again. "Ah, yes, that woman does make a lot of people happy. She has that kind of personality."

"How do you know Korra?" Riko asked curiously.

"Ah, I'm something of a grandma to Korra. I helped her family a lot."

Riko blinked in shock. Korra's so-called grandma was in here? Why? She accidently let the question slip her mouth and jumped in surprise when the woman spoke up again with a laugh.

"Do you think I'm a patient here?" Riko nodded yes and Katara laughed more. "Oh dear, I work here. I give the patients here the medicines they need."

Riko gasped. "Why are you just sitting here then?"

"Well someone has to watch those boys over there."

They looked back to the couch as the men cheered loudly. Both girls laughed together in agreement. Riko finally had a smile on her face again. "But shouldn't you be giving medicine?"

"Most medicine is administered at specific times, hun. We've got an hour until the next round, which is just before lights out. That goes for you too."

"So you'll give me my medicine?"

Katara glanced back to the girl and saw such adoration that it warmed her heart. She decided then and there to be Riko's nurse as long as the child was in their care. "Yes, Riko. Whatever medicine you have, I will be the one to bring it to you."

Riko smiled brightly for the first time in a long time. She turned to look out into the busy world through the window and felt great relief with the setting Sun. Maybe things were finally turning around for her.