A/N: Nothing really to add, so here's the chapter.
"This is Shiro Shinobi!"
"Stay classy, Republic City."
"Thaaaaaaaanks for listening chiiillllldren!"
"Good night, Republic City, good night."
"Here's the 5-day forecast."
"SPIRITSDAMMIT! HOW MANY SIGNALS ARE THERE IN THIS CITY!?" Demanded Asami, hitting the table with the radio on it in frustration.
"Um, Asami-" Began Mako.
"Not now, I need to find the signals!" Declared Asami.
"Well wouldn't it be faster to raid an Equalist base and find the signal based on their radio?" Asked Korra, thinking she'd relate to Asami better than Mako.
"Well we can't exactly go knocking on doors and asking if they're Equalists... And it isn't like they have a recruiting center on a street corner next to the apothecary." Sighed Asami, notably less annoyed by Korra's input.
"Well, what if we told you we spotted a storefront a few blocks from here that Equalists have been seen coming in and out of all day?" Asked Bolin, a goofy grin on his face.
"Amazing! You guys are great!" Asami shouted, the joy plainly visible on her face.
"Thank Korra, she found it." Said Mako, sheepishly.
"Well then, I'd say its time to kick some Equalist ass!" Declared Asami.
"We really do work well together!" Laughed Korra, which made Asami blush; it seemed she was developing a bit of a crush on The Avatar, though she was a bit nervous about how Korra might react...
"Right, but we need a plan, I'll get one ready, meet me in the courtyard in two hours, get whatever you need in the meantime." Declared Asami, as she turned off her radio transmitter and got out some paper, as she began to formulate a working plan of attack.
"All right, here's the plan: Ideally, we won't even have to go in, if we can time it right, and with a little luck, we can just hijack a truck and get a radio from there, so that'll be plan A. If that fails, we go in and fight the Equalists until we find a radio either on one of them or somewhere in the base that's locked on to Amon's signal. At that point, if Mako and Bolin's team gets there first, Mako will shoot fire into the air, and we'll evacuate, the same applies to Korra and me; Korra will send up a fiery signal in that case. Just remember not to lose your partner, and make sure you can see all the Equalists attacking you; they'll have the advantage of numbers." Explained Asami.
"Good work, let's stake out the building and wait for a convoy." Agreed Mako.
"It's settled then, let's get down to business!" Declared Korra, as she ran to the building adjacent to the Equalist base, the rest of Team Avatar in tow.
"Damn it, when will an Equalist truck get here already!?" Sighed Korra, breaking her gaze on the empty street for what had felt like days but Asami insisted was only 3 hours.
"Korra, Tarrlok has this city on lockdown, The Equalists obviously won't want to go out any more than they have to." Interjected Mako.
"But it's annoying to just wait for hours for a truck that might not even exist!" Protested Bolin.
"Guys, it's here." Interrupted Asami, and sure enough, a Future Industries truck with a driver dressed in standard Equalist garb rolled up to the suspicious building.
"Hell yeah!" Shouted Korra, as she jumped 3 stories down, breaking her fall with a spike of earth that transitioned into a ramp; she rushed down into the street below, and launched a ball of fire at the truck, which did some fair damage to it, and prompted the four Equalist troopers inside the truck to vacate it, and come out to attack The Avatar.
"Just try!" Boasted Bolin as he, Mako, and Asami joined Korra on the road surface, ready to fight it out.
"You will soon be liberated from the tyranny of bending, and as for you, Miss Sato, your father will be interested to discuss the matter of fraternizing with benders." Noted their leader.
"Well, let's test that little theory of yours..." Groaned Asami, as she equipped her shock glove, and joined her compatriots on the charge against the four footsoldiers.
"Well, that didn't take long..." Muttered Korra, noting the four Equalists lying motionless on the ground, and opening the back of the truck. "I see plenty of crates, help me sift through them."
Mako and Bolin went to work looking through the crates, looking for a radio.
"Damn, I should have guessed; they took out the radio that's standard on this model, probably to cut down on weight." Sighed Asami, looking through the cockpit. "They were one step ahead; they went without a receiver in case they got caught."
"That's not our biggest problem..." Noted Mako, as a fairly sizable coalition of Equalists poured out of the building, seemingly present to investigate the dispatch of their comrades.
"Stop benders!" Shouted one of them, as they charged at Team Avatar.
"Guys! Think of something!" Shouted Bolin, as he bought time by pulling up the road in a semicircle around their opponents.
"Bolin, cut holes in your wall." Ordered Mako.
"Why would I do that?" Demanded Bolin, frankly a bit scared at the mob behind the wall.
"Just trust me. I've gotten both of us out of more than a few scrapes in the past, haven't I?" Mako said, his voice's magnitude increasing.
"Here goes..." Bolin half sighed, half gasped, as he pushed circles of earth into the Equalist troopers on the other side as hard as he could. Some were hit, but the overwhelming majority were still standing.
"Eat this!" Declared Mako, as he shot fire through one of the openings, damaging more than a few of the remaining foes.
"And here's my say!" Agreed Korra, as she bent water from the air, and shot the resulting liquid at high velocity through several of those holes. The high pressure water streams hit their targets dead on, and the last of the Equalist soldiers fell to the ground.
"Check if they have any receivers, and if not, prepare to fight some more." Said Asami, as Bolin brought enough of the wall down for Team Avatar to pass through, and proceeded to reseal it, and inserted the cuts of the road back into their proper place.
"None." Noted Korra.
"Well then, it looks as if we're going in."
The Equalist hideout was barely distinguishable from an ordinary office building, it was small, and featured a fair amount of cubicles, with an office, presumably for that branch's leader, toward the back of the room. There was a portable radio in the corner, and it was relaying a message from Amon.
"Attention all units: The absence of a convoy from our air base to an outpost near Air Temple Island has led us to believe that Tarrlok's forces have intercepted it; do not. I repeat do NOT panic; there was no sensitive material being carried on that convoy; and its crew are heroes to the cause. A moment of silence for them... The next broadcast will be on 104.9 MHz, this will not be repeated, so take note."
"Bingo!" Declared Asami, as she picked up the radio and tuned it to 104.9; nothing but static then, but no doubt Amon would be announcing his plans soon enough. "I'm such an idiot! I never thought he might be changing frequencies with each new broadcast!"
"So, we have a lead now?" Asked Korra, with Mako and Bolin in tow.
"Most certainly, now all that's left is to-" Asami and Korra were suddenly pinned to the floor, as Tarrlok emerged, police officers accompanying him.
"Well I must say I'm appalled, but not exactly surprised, Miss Avatar." Noted The Councilman, as he noticed the Sato Heiress near Korra.
"She isn't an Equalist..." Korra managed through the rising pressure.
"I've heard that one a million times, and I still believe it about as much as the first." Groaned Tarrlok, as he tightened His grip.
"Psssst, Mako, I have a plan." Whispered Bolin, too quiet for Tarrlok to hear, and not descript enough for the metalbenders to detect.
"What?" Mako asked, careful to follow Bolin's lead in speaking.
"These floors are stone, so I can get us out of here, I just need a diversion."
"Fuck you man!" Shouted Mako, as he shot lightning directly at Tarrlok, who materialized water from the air and froze it into ice to block it. Bolin capitalized on the distraction, and forced the stone under them to give way; Team Avatar was soon underground, and running, with Bolin blazing a path, and Korra immediately covering it.
"Tarrlok had metalbenders with him, so they're probably in hot pursuit." Noted Asami, nervously glancing back at their previous path, which was already fading thanks to Korra.
"That's a good point, time to surface!" Decided Bolin, as he began slowly but surely slanting his path upwards, until they resurfaced, outdoors, and thankfully away from any police. The area around them looked uncomfortably familiar to Asami, and it only took a quick glance around for her to realize why.
"This is my old neighborhood." Noted Asami. "That was the house I lived in until..." Asami was a bit downcast after that statement; some bad memories had resurfaced. "We should stay there, I'm positive my dad had some kind of bunker that we'd be safe from Tarrlok in."
"Okay, any clue where." Asked Korra.
"I have a pretty good theory..." Asami muttered.
"I get the feeling somewhere in this room leads to the bunker, look around for it." Ordered Asami, as they came into a mostly metal room with a workbench off to one side. "My dad's workshop would be the perfect place to hide equipment for The Equalists."
"What's a book doing in a room full of steelworking tools?" Mako wondered aloud as he picked it up, with pushed the pressure off of the switch. In a matter of seconds, a sizable chunk of the floor opened up, and a set of metal stairs leading down to a massive field of technology and maps.
"Nice work." Complimented Asami. "And it looks like even more than we needed; charts and tech The Equalists have that they haven't even unveiled yet. We just need to alert the United Forces."
"But first can we get some sleep? It's kinda late..." Asked Bolin, as he noticeably slumped.
"Sure, I'm pretty tired too." Laughed Asami.
Despite her fatigue, Asami couldn't sleep; she kept thinking of Korra. She was beginning to like Korra more than a friend, and she was nervous that Korra may not accept her even as a friend if she knew. The whole affair brought back a bad memory.
Flashback: 3 years ago.
"Absolutely not!" Declared Hiroshi, with a harshly disapproving look.
"Why? I'm not hurting anyone" Protested Asami.
"You must find someone of the opposite gender to carry on our family line." Explained Hiroshi.
"Why would that be? It isn't like the spirits will allow reincarnation of our ancestors into our descendants!" Argued Asami.
"This conversation is over; forget about this incident, and never speak of it again." Ordered Hiroshi.
End flashback.
Of course, Asami could never forget how her father berated and insulted her simply for her attraction to girls; it would never leave her memory, especially since Korra had become the target of her affections...
