Author's Note: You guys are right on the ball for reviewing, and I'm very happy because of it! Thank you all for your lovely comments and such and the conversations we carry over to the PM service. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter too.
Previously, on Avatar…
Zuko pulled a package wrapped in a bin-liner out from underneath his jacket and thrust it into her grasp, hoping that it was the decoy. Her smirk confirmed what he suspected would happen next. Azula spun around as she ran and raised the gun towards him. He stopped, knowing he'd never get out of the way in time. She pulled the trigger. The bang ripped through him and resounded down the corridor. The guards kept coming and Azula disappeared out of the shattered window, before he'd even hit the ground.
Chapter 17
As the guards rushed past him, Zuko rolled to one side and unzipped his jacket. His breath hitched in his throat as he peeled the package wrapped in bin-liner from his chest. The bullet had torn through the thick confidential folder and embedded itself somewhere in the right side of his chest. It pained him to breathe and a dizzying sensation began to wash over him as he stared up at the high ceiling. So this must be what it's like to die, he thought, trying to blink away the dark spots invading his vision.
A face appeared over him. "We've got a live one over here!" the face shouted. The shout summoned another face. It took Zuko a moment to figure that they were guards of the palace. "You going to tell us your name, sonny?"
He didn't respond with his name, but twitched the hand he held the package with. "She was after this. I gave her a fake."
The guards frowned at him and one of them took the package from him and ripped the bin-liner away. His eyebrows raised to his hairline as he realized the importance of what they'd nearly lost. "Who are you and who were you with a moment ago?!" one of the guards demanded.
"Who are you working for? The Red Army? Ozai?" asked the other.
"I saw the other wearing Red Army uniform. Boy, you got a lot of explaining to do!"
Zuko choked on some hot liquid in his mouth and coughed a smattering of blood onto the floor.
"Shit…" the first guard sighed. "We'd better get him some help, or we'll never be able to question him."
With a tender kiss on the top of Sokka's head, Suki slipped from the house in her nurse uniform and trotted to the hospital, running only slightly late. When she arrived in the early hours of the morning, a sort of mild chaos seemed to have overtaken her workplace. Several police stood in a tight circle with Dr Pakku, two nurses and two guards from the royal palace and they conversed in hushed voices. Several other nurses scurried in and out of the corridor leading to the emergency room.
"Suki," Dr Pakku called to her when he saw her. "You're here, excellent. Come at once."
Suki followed Dr Pakku and the two nurses into the emergency room, where other nurses were already bustling around the body of a young man, spread out on the operating table. One nurse shooed away another, who had been applying pressure to a wound on the patient's chest. The nurses already present cut his shirt open and tore the material away from his chest. As Suki pulled a mask over her mouth, she realized that the wound had been caused by a bullet. He was bleeding heavily. Suki stepped forward with the group she'd entered with and waited for Dr Pakku's orders.
"He's having trouble breathing," someone said. Suki reached immediately for the required equipment and leaned over the young man's face to fasten the oxygen-mask around his mouth. Looking down at him, her eyes rested on scarred skin over the left side of his face. A gasp escaped her mouth as she recognized him.
Katara woke up with the sunrise the next morning, despite the uneventful weekend ahead and rolled over against her will. Sure enough, the spot where Zuko had been was vacant. She sighed, disappointed. I guess I couldn't have expected him to stay, she thought. For a few minutes, she attempted to find sleep again, but it was hopeless. Reluctantly, she sat up, rubbed her eyes and lurched over to her desk. Her current sketchbook sat a little further to the right than she remembered leaving it the night before and she frowned, pulling it towards her and flipping it open to a fresh page. She stared at the paper, still half-dreaming of the night before, of the warmth of having Zuko next to her, of the rush it had given her to see him. She took a pencil into her hand and began to sketch his face and shirtless torso from memory.
He's still not back, Iroh sighed to himself, standing in the doorway of Zuko's empty bedroom. Nephew, please, please have done the right thing. He stretched out his back and then ambled down the stairs, through the kitchen and to the front door of The Jasmine Dragon café to open the shop. He greeted this first customers with a half-hearted smile, not that they noticed in the midst of their morning outing. In the slow weekend morning flow of patrons, he listened for new customers from the kitchen, where he glanced sadly at the photo of the family he used to have; his wife and his son, Lu Ten. If Zuko has returned to his own father, he thought sadly, than I have lost another son. The sound of a bell announced the arrival of new customers and Iroh left the kitchen to serve them.
The police and royal guards insisted on interrogating Zuko as soon as he'd regained consciousness. He sat up in the hospital bed, feeling groggy as they handcuffed him. There was a sharp pain in his chest, but the black spots had vanished from the edges of his vision and it was easier to breath than the last time he'd been awake. Dr Pakku had insisted on letting one nurse stay in the room to monitor him and he recognized her with a hint of embarrassment: Suki.
"Let's start with your name, son," a police man said calmly, switching on a recording device.
"Zuko." He had to clear his throat and say it a second time.
"Zuko, in your own words, could you explain the happenings of last night?"
"Happenings?"
"Yes, what were you doing last night?"
He leaned back against the pillow and closed his eyes for a moment, frowning as he tried to rid his head of grogginess. "Where should I start?" The men watched him intently and he avoided looking at Suki. Her gaze was relentless, but he couldn't blame her; he understood. She was afraid of what Katara had become involved in. "I think, we should start a little further back than last night," he said.
The policemen and the guards looked at each other, surprised. Turning back to him, one of the policemen said, "Go ahead."
Katara walked into town with her brother. The city seemed to be bustling with some sort of chaos, the worst of which they seemed to have missed. An ambulance truck roared away from the hospital and towards the royal palace, and Katara wondered with a hint of guilt whether Azula had gone ahead with her plans, with or without Zuko.
"You okay?" Sokka asked. "You've been real quiet lately. And you didn't come home gushing about your night out the other day."
Katara felt herself blush, but Sokka wasn't paying that much attention. "Oh, it was nothing special," she lied. "I'd actually meant to come home, but we got lost in the park for ages and then it started raining."
"Did you get any sleep?" he laughed.
"Yeah. My friend's house was closer so I figured it would be best to just crash there for the night."
"Suki said you guys were late to school yesterday."
Katara nodded. "That's right. We slept in. It was nearly midnight when we got home and we were both exhausted from being lost for so long. It was scary." For a while, Sokka didn't say anything. The ambulance truck roared past them again, back towards the hospital. "Sokka?" He made a sound of acknowledgement through a wide yawn. "You and Suki are cool with each other, right?"
He gave a sarcastic laugh. "I think we're a little more than cool with each other, Sis."
"What if someone else and I were… a little more than cool with each other too?"
Sokka gave a sudden start and looked to and from his sister a few times in confusion. Clearing his throat in an attempt to stop his voice from breaking he said, "Why do you ask?"
Looking down at her feet, she gave a quiet smile. "Just asking."
Sokka eyed her with the exaggerated suspicion that only her brother could produce. "I guess I'd have to meet the guy and give him a good talking to before I decide."
Katara giggled. "Want to meet someone?"
His face seemed to fall. "Oh boy… fine. I guess I'd better meet him. I don't already know him?"
She shrugged. "You probably know of him, but I'd rather you meet him properly before I tell you who he is."
"What's his name?"
"That would be telling you who he is before you meet him."
Sokka searched clumsily for an argument, but before he could open his mouth again, their conversation was broken by the sound of wailing. They noticed the police car parked outside the house they were passing, and Ms Joo Dee standing in the doorway. She was the source of the wailing and as they watched, she slipped further and further into hysterical tears.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to come with us, ma'am. You're not in any trouble just yet; there are just a few questions we'd like to ask you," a police officer said. Sokka and Katara continued walking as the men led her to the car and drove away.
"Well that was different," Sokka said, looking after the police car curiously.
Katara frowned as they continued towards the business district of Ba Sing Se. As they passed The Jasmine Dragon, Katara glanced into the little café, hoping to catch a glimpse of Zuko. She saw only Iroh, his brow furrowed as he went about his shop. "Hey," she heard herself say. "Sokka, do you wanna stop and get something to eat?"
"Are you kidding? I'm starving!"
She took him by the hand and led him into the café. Iroh turned to greet them with a small wave and a smile, but his face lit up when he saw Katara. Without a moment of hesitation, they both opened their mouths and asked, "Have you seen Zuko?" at the same time.
However, while Katara just gave a light giggle, Iroh's face fell again. She frowned. "What's wrong?"
"I haven't seen him since last night. He went for a walk and never came back. Or at least… I didn't hear him come back. I think he must have, because he left without a jacket and his jacket is gone now. I don't know what to make of it, but…" Iroh glanced at Sokka, uncertain, then back to Katara. "I fear the worse for my nephew."
Katara bit her lip. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore her brother's presence. "He came over to my house just before midnight to make sure I was okay." She felt Sokka turn to look at her in shock. "He stayed for a while, and I fell asleep again, but he was gone when I woke up this morning." She could feel Sokka's expression turning to horror.
"I don't know where he is now and that scares me. I am afraid that he went to his sister last night and agreed to help her."
Katara shook her head stubbornly. "He wouldn't do that."
Iroh gave a soft chuckle. "You've known my nephew for less than a week, Katara. You have already learned that his past is somewhat dark. But perhaps you overlook how much your friendship, or whatever else you consider yourselves to each other, means to him. Moreover, perhaps you underestimate how dangerous Azula is. She might just be another teenager to you, but she is the right hand of Ozai and the Red Army. It goes against everything that Zuko stands for, but to protect you from Azula, or really to protect anyone from Azula, I would not put it past my nephew to make such a sacrifice."
She frowned deeply. Sokka stood next to her, speechless after what he'd heard, confused and scared. "Katara…?"
"We need to find him."
Suddenly, the quiet chattering in the background silenced itself. Iroh, Katara and Sokka turned towards the doors of the café, where two police officers - a man and a woman - stood, scanning the room before them as if they were searching out a face. Their eyes rested on Iroh and they nodded to each other. Iroh took a deep breath and stepped towards them. "How can I help you?"
"Are you Iroh?" the female officer asked. He nodded. "You have a nephew by the name of Zuko, correct?"
Iroh nodded again. "That's right. I do not know where he is; I haven't seen him since last night. Are you looking for him too, or do you know where he is?"
The officers glanced at each other and the male officer said, "We know where he is. He's been in custody since around four o'clock this morning. He's injured and in hospital, but he's been very cooperative. We are hoping that he won't end up in any trouble, as he appears to be a victim of circumstances. However, there are some questions we have to ask of some other people whose names were mentioned before we can confirm that his story is true."
"His story?" Katara asked, stepping up. "Hospital, custody, what's happened to him?"
"He's been shot." Iroh and Katara glanced at each other in terror. "Are you Katara?" She nodded. "Your name was mentioned too, and we've got some questions we'd like to ask you." The officer looked past Katara. "Who's this?" she asked of Sokka.
"My brother. He's never met Zuko before. Actually, I was about to introduce them today, that's why we're here."
The officer nodded. "He's welcome to come to the station with us, but it's not required of him. Katara and Iroh, we're going to have to take you into custody for questioning. We hope you will cooperate."
They both nodded quickly. The police officers helped Iroh clear the shop of customers and he quickly locked the doors. Sokka insisted on going to the police station with Katara. They were sat in a room with Ms Joo Dee, who was still slipping in and out of hysteric misery, and a girl who Katara recognized as Jin, who looked exhausted and worse for wear. They were instructed not to converse with each other until they had all be separately questioned. One police officer was left to monitor them.
"Please understand, this is purely because we want to hear everybody's story separately, uninfluenced by the story of anyone else. Some of you might be recalled for questioning multiple times, so until we express permission, please refrain from conversation."
Katara raised her hand like a school-kid. "When will we be able to see Zuko?"
"After the questioning is complete. Officers might have to make trips to the hospital to questioning him again too, if they feel the need. Please, just be patient."
The hours dragged on into the afternoon and Sokka whined quietly about his empty stomach and his disbelief that Katara had kept him in the dark about this suspicious boyfriend of hers. The officer hushed him gently for speaking. Katara was called for questioning twice and answered the policemen nervously but honestly.
"I've only known him personally for about a week. We had detention together and we just got talking. No, I wouldn't say we're in a serious relationship. Not yet at least. I like him, sure. I don't like Ms Joo Dee or Mr Long Feng. Wait, what? He's a Red Army member? I didn't know that. No, no, Zuko and I said it jokingly the other day when he gave us another detention. That was for being late… and Zuko made a nasty comment about him and Ms Joo Dee. Well, Ms Joo Dee has issues with what I draw in my sketchbook not that it's her business, and she confiscated it and Zuko stole it back, but when she noticed we told her that she'd lost it and Zuko suggested that the drawings were no more inappropriate than um… well he suggested Mr Long Feng as Ms Joo Dee were having an affair. Dead? Really? Oh… Azula? I guess that makes sense. I only met her the one time, and I was hiding in his wardrobe. She threatened to hurt me if Zuko didn't cooperate with her. She said that she already had Jin too. She said that if Zuko didn't cooperate with her, she's hurt us both. No, I've never met Jin before. I've seen her once though. Um, I think Iroh set Zuko up on a date with her randomly." She watched them write down the last of what she'd said before she cleared her throat timidly. "Is Zuko okay? When will we get to see him?"
"He is fine. You'll see him after all this questioning is over, we just have to work out a few things. Thank you, Katara, that's all for now."
Author's Note: Sorry about that last big chunk of interview from Katara. I went a little Truman Capote and 'In Cold Blood' on you... I'm going to guess no one else has ever read that book and just shut up for now. But otherwise, what did you think? I let Zuko live (for now), you glad? Oh, Suki is never going to let him live this one down... And now Sokka knows too! Argh!
A big thank you once again to everyone who reviewed last chapter :) I'm going to be mean again and say 5 reviews or no update, but I think that's reasonable because that's half the number I actually got for last chapter. So, impress me! Tell me what you thought of the chapter (once again, the new longest in length) in a review!