(A/N: I have a new beta reader for this story. Her name is Amber Faith, and she's very good at what she does.)

The scroll lay unrolled over Mako's knee, the place where he had left off underlined by a large eagle-hawk quill. The crooning notes of Howie Bunker and the Rum Monkeys piped softly out of a gramophone beside him. The sun was beaming down through the window at the perfect angle. Its warmth reminded him of being close to Korra on a muggy summer night, something they had not done as frequently as he would have liked. It seemed they were constantly shuttling her off to some secret meeting or other, always under armed guard. When would they simply be able to be together, without distractions? Perhaps it was a selfish thought, but he was tired of having to share his girlfriend with every wannabe statesman and politician in the city.

He stretched his limbs, cat-like, appreciating the softness of the easy chair. It was brand new, just like a lot of things in their once-humble loft. Some of the new arrivals had been purchased with their previous winnings, but most were gifts intended for Korra. Since Korra was the type of person whose personal honor abhorred a hand-out, and her new schedule didn't have time for answering the piles of fan mail, Mako had made an arrangement with the White Lotus sentries to have it delivered to his residence above the arena. He was pretty sure the postman had a grudge against him at this point, but there was nothing he could do about the ten flights of stairs expect to smile and tip him generously.

The return addresses were from near and far, many of the senders rich men and nobles, or so he surmised from their intricate letterhead and penmanship. Most of these had some sort of request or proposition, and the gifts ranged from dime-store trinkets to elaborate masterpieces. A bottle of expensive perfume. A flawlessly crafted oak mandolin, which Mako had taken to plucking at ineffectually when no one was around. An exquisitely patterned silk quilt, which Bolin had tied to his bedposts to make them look more regal. His favorite, however, was an ornately carved humidor filled to the brim with a brand of cigar that once would have cost him a month of scrounging for just one. One of these was burning in the ashtray next to the gramophone and the inkpot, trailing a delicate fragrance while he mulled over the next words in his report to General Iroh.

He found it strange, then, that he didn't feel particularly on top of the world at the moment. Instead he simply felt restless, like he was forgetting someone's birthday. He didn't feel comfortable living in the lap of luxury while the rest of the city waited three hours just to get a ration of hardtack and some watery miso soup. It wasn't just potentially bad for their image, it was wrong.

For every letter from a powerful figure trying to gain leverage and influence there was a dozen handwritten notes from children in some far flung province hoping to get mail from the avatar. For some reason this made Mako feel even worse than the gifts.

Three pairs of footsteps and several noisy voices reached his ears, Bolin's loudest among them. Mako sighed, tucked his port away in a side table drawer and locked it. He removed the record from the turntable and placed it delicately back into it's sleeve. He grasped the cigar and placed it between his teeth, taking a long drag and letting it drift out from between his lips in a long white trail before putting it out with a flick of his wrist. He had lived with Bolin in this cramped little apartment long enough to know when he was about to be interrupted.

The door burst open, and Bolin strode in with a girl under each arm. Mako changed gears mentally, retreating behind the hard, disapproving mask that he had used on Korra until she had proven herself a Fire Ferret.

"…and his here is my room, as you can see- oh…" Bolin said, catching sight of Mako's non-plussed expression.

If a picture could convey a thousand word's, Mako's raised eyebrow was worth ten times that number. The two girls, however, were not dettered by his stony demeanor.

"Oooh, you must be Mako!"

"Oh my gosh, we've heard so much about you!"

Mako grabbed his scarf off the back of the easy chair and wrapped it around his neck. Bolin stepped forward, leaning on his two female armrests.

"Sorry gals, he's taken."

"Oh really?" one of the girls said, scooting up to Mako and attempting to put her arm around his waist, which he sidestepped. "I think I could change your mind…"

"I don't think Korra would like that." Bolin said with a laugh. "Snatching the avatar's man is a dangerous game."

"I'll catch you later Bolin." Mako said pointedly, trying to bring this conversation to a close as quickly as possible.

"Would you excuse us a moment, ladies? Make yourself at home."

Bolin grasped his brother firmly by the shoulder and lead him into the opposite corner.

"Later? Where are you going? I'm throwing a party for the Fire Ferrets before the new season kicks off, even Asami is going. You can't tell me you're going to miss it."

"That's what I'm telling you," Mako replied. "Korra and I have to go to a meeting with the chief of police."

"So let me get this straight-" Bolin said, closing his eyes and holding up one finger in an exaggerated expression of disbelief. "I'm about to throw the biggest party in Republic City, food, drinks, pretty girls, the whole nine yards, and you're ditching it to go to some… meeting? Can I ask you a question?"

"Ask away."

"Have you lost your mind?"

Mako mimed shaking his head around with his hands.

"You know, I can't hear it rattling around up there, I may have misplaced it."

Bolin crossed his arms and frowned, ignoring the humor.

"I'll say. I've heard you say some stuffy things in your time bro, but this takes the cake."

Mako almost said "well someone has to be the adult", but caught himself just in time.

"Come on, you know I've never been one for parties." He said instead. "Me and Korra will be along a little later, that's all. You're not going to end it until two in the morning or something crazy, right?"

"Two? Try twelve noon the next day!"

"Alright, plenty of time to party then." Mako said, eyeing the door. "I'll see you when I see you."

The girls were sitting on the bed, talking to each other behind their hands. Occasionally they would glance over and giggle at some private joke known only to them.

"Do what makes you happy, I guess." Bolin said.

Mako turned to leave.

"Don't worry. I will."

"Byeeeee Makoooo!" The girls crooned in unison, before relapsing into laughter once more.

When the door had shut behind him, Bolin rejoined his two companions on the bed. He lifted his arm up, made a fist, and a green glass bottle with a rock tied around the stopper sped into his fingertips.

"Anybody care for a little pregame warm-up?"

Korra watched the faces flash by outside as their car bumped over the loose cobblestones. She would have preferred to take Naga, but Tenzin had insisted upon tighter security for the avatar after the attack at the temple. A pair of White Lotus sentries had been assigned to shadow her at all times. They sat in the front seats, one driving and the other flipping through a magazine. Neither was much for conversation, although perhaps that was a blessing.

As they pulled up to the curb of City Hall, Korra caught sight of Mako chatting with what looked like General Iroh. For a moment she could have sworn she saw him snap a salute and hand something to him, but the next moment the White Lotus sentry had stepped in front of the window to open her door for her, and when she stepped onto the sidewalk the United Forces officer was nowhere to be seen. Mako was standing alone waiting for her.

"Bolin is throwing a party in the loft tonight. He says we're invited."

"That was nice of him." Korra said, a little more coldly than she had intended.

Mako had been keeping secrets from her, and she did not like it. Everyone else did it, but when it was him… somehow it offended her deeply. She tried not to let it show, but it was difficult. Tenzin always said she had trouble concealing her emotions.

She took his hand and they walked up the massive steps, trying to ignore the bodyguards tailing them and the sidelong glances that followed the avatar wherever she went. The hall was packed with people and interns bustling back and forth. The low buzz of conversation echoed off the towering columns and archways. The building had received the most damage during the rebellion, but had been repaired the quickest. The sections of new stone and marble had been painstakingly smoothed and painted, making the battle scars indistinguishable.

They reached the door to the upstairs rooms, a large steel contraption with a sign on the front that read "authorized personnel only beyond this point". They went to go through, but one of the guards held up a hand.

"Just the avatar. Your friend will have to wait outside."

"Mako is coming with me." Korra said impatiently.

"I have a direct order from Chief Saikhan. No one but the avatar may enter."

"If both of us can't go, then neither of us will-" Korra began, but Mako cut across her.

"You go ahead, Korra, I'll wait for you in the lobby."

"Are you sure?"

"It'll be fine."

Reluctantly, Korra let go of his hand and stepped inside. The door shut behind her with a click.

Mako sat on one of the benches beside a planter, observing the comings and goings of the municipal staff. People watching was one of his hobbies, although hardly his most interesting one. He would look at a person and try to guess as much about them as possible from their appearance. It was hard to pick with so many, though. There was a long line of people waiting their turn to talk to one of the receptionists, but the girls at the counter were working fast, serving as many as they could, as fast as they could. It was as though some of the old atmosphere of the city had been preserved here. Out on the street the attitude was slower, bleaker. Each person was simply going one day to the next, but here it seemed some of the bustle and barter of the marketplace had survived.

One voice stood out among the others, making enough of an impression to turn his head.

Lin was not in a good mood. It was only two o'clock, but she was already feeling like picking up a bureaucrat by his lapels and depositing him in a trash can. This was typically the sign that she needed to call it a day, but it was still too early, and she had too much to do.

"Inform him that he's wasting his time. I am taking the rest of the day off and I won't be in tomorrow either. He can just pack his bags and go back to Omashu."

The toady little man that they had assigned as her assistant followed close behind, his little legs pumping to keep up with her long strides.

"But Miss Beifong, the vice-consul will not be pleased to hear this, not to mention that it's not entirely true…"

"The vice-consul can pound sand. I didn't come out of retirement for you just to listen to some long-winded old bat try to force me to agree to his demands." She said. "You can stop hovering around me too, I'm not about to do anything else useful. Go help Lee at the front counter, he looks like he's about to have a nervous breakdown."

The man sidled away, looking sullen.

"You look like you're about to have a nervous breakdown, Lin." A voice called out from one of the benches

Lin's head snapped around, but her serious expression turned into a wry smile when she saw who it was.

"Hey Mako, didn't expect to see you here." She said, rounding the bench and sitting down next to him. She moved gingerly, her joints protesting the quick shift in stance.

"I could say the same thing. I thought you retired?"

"Funny, I've been thinking the same thing. I can't be a commissioner anymore- can't go back to walking the beat either, not with these creaky old joints. By all rights I should be neck deep in a hot spring somewhere, taking in some sun, but my phone rings off the hook most days with people asking for my advice or support in some wild scheme or other. The problem is, some of them really do need my help."

"I guess it's nice to be wanted."

"That's an interesting way of putting it." Lin said, shooting Mako an appraising look. "You know, you've grown up a lot."

It was the truth. Before the showdown with the Equalists, she had seen him as just another shiftless street kid, but now he had an entirely different air about him. It was an imperceptible change, but it made all the difference in how she treated him.

"I'll take that as a compliment, I guess." Mako said.

"You should. Korra needs someone around her with a level head, and right now that someone is you."

She was going to bestow her advice whether he liked it or not. That's how old people were supposed to work, right? Like a broken vending machine dispensing, free of charge, a product that everyone needed but nobody wanted.

"I remember when I first laid eyes on you. I knew you were troublemakers." Lin said with a grin. "You and your brother were being hauled into the station for stealing from a fruit stall. Let me see, you were about… twelve? I think that would make Bolin ten."

"Really?" Mako said, looking somewhat surprised. "I don't remember you at all until much later."

"That's because I always watched from afar. Petty crimes weren't my jurisdiction, so we didn't meet face-to-face until you started knocking over tea houses."

Mako's face burned, and he looked away. Lin suddenly felt like a bit of an ass. It was a portion of his life that he probably didn't want to relive.

"Don't worry about it. I know you were doing it to put food on the table for your brother. It's part of the reason you never got slapped with a serious sentence."

They lapsed into silence, Mako resting his elbows on his knees. She knew she ought to feel a bit awkward, delving into someone else's personal life like this, but she had one last thing she wanted to say, and he didn't seem to have anywhere to be.

"You know, in some ways you two remind me of Aang and Katara."

Mako turned to face her, his eyes lighting up somewhat.

"Really?"

Between the folds of his coat, Lin caught sight of something that distracted her. A pair of dog tags.

"Yes." Lin said, leaning closer. "The intensity of what you two share reminds me a lot of them. It was almost like they could communicate telepathically. Got a bit annoying sometimes…"

Like an egret-crane spearing a passing fish, her arm snaked out and grabbed the tags, pulling them into the light of day.

"What is this?"

Mako quickly tugged them back out of her grasp and tucked them into his collar once more.

"Nothing…"

"It's not nothing! Geeze Louise Mako, who convinced you to join the army?"

"I didn't- It's not-" Mako began, but stopped, taking a deep breath and collecting himself.

"It's not like that. This is a six month agreement, nothing more. I am doing a personal favor for General Iroh."

Lin did not interrupt as he told her the whole story about the effort to wipe out the last of the Equalist remnants.

"So what do you say? You want to help me? You're always going on about how you'd love to be back on the beat, making a difference. What about this?"

Lin considered the proposal honestly for a moment before replying.

"Truth be told, I would love nothing better than to tear after you kids on some crazy adventure, but I'm too old. I've always served this city; I just do it differently nowadays. If that means I have to push pencils across a desk and not see any real action, then that's the sacrifice I have to make."

Mako nodded.

"I understand."

"You should take care, Mako." Lin said. "General Iroh is a man of honor and conviction, but sometimes when our convictions are strong enough they blind us to reality, you follow me?"

"I won't let him manipulate me." Mako said.

Lin sighed.

"I'm not worried about him manipulating you; I'm worried that he's going to get you killed on one of these crazy raids. Do you know what that would do to Korra? She would be devastated."

At that moment the girl in question emerged from the doors to the upper, restricted floors, and began descending the staircase. Even from here she could see that her expression was not one of merriment.

"It was good talking to you, Lin." Mako said as stood up.

"Thanks for listening." Lin replied.

She watched the two of them share a brief kiss, and then they departed the hall together, their guards in tow. For one quiet moment, the ache wasn't in her joints, but in her soul. The shifting of old memories had a pain all its own, and remembering Aang, young and in his prime like Mako was now, was the most painful of them all. Times were changing, and they were leaving her behind.

"No."

It was a word Korra hadn't been using nearly as often as she would have liked. In the water tribe there were only two answers, "yes" and "no", and they had exactly those meanings and not a word more.

Ever since she had arrived in Republic City, and especially after Amon's defeat, she had discovered that there was an entirely new lexicon for these two simple terms. There was the "No, because…" and the "Absolutely not, how dare you even suggest…", and her personal favorite "Yes, but…" which was a minefield in its own right. It seemed that here these two simple words, "yes" and "no" ran on a continuum that had been previously unknown to her. Someone could say yes and mean no (and vice versa) without once uttering an untruth.

Therefore, when speaking to someone like Saikahn, who had occupied these strange circles all his life, it was rather difficult to impress upon him that when she said "no", that was precisely what she meant. It was absolutely infuriating, but she was trying to keep her temper in check, as Tenzin had told her.

"That is an unacceptable answer, Korra. You have a duty to this city. You're an icon now, whether you like it or not. A symbol of stability. It's only natural that you would work with us to reassure people we have the situation under control. Republic City's problems are your problems."

"The world's problems are my problems," Korra replied, "I have to be independent of earthly agencies, otherwise I can't be impartial. That's just how it works, and if you can't deal with it, then that's just too bad."

She could see Saikahn's knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists. His voice, through, remained perfectly level. It was a little eerie.

"I'm not asking you to drop everything else. The Fire Ferrets will of course take priotrity, but you would simply appear alongside us at press conferences, to give the impression that you're involved."

"But I don't want to be involved. Remember Tarrlock's little power grab? I'm done with task forces."

Just then another thing that had been bothering her popped into her mind.

"…speaking of which, what do you have Mako doing?"

"I'm sorry?" Saikahn said, without hesitating.

"You know what I mean. He's gone at all hours, he's always talking to General Iroh, and he won't tell me anything about it. What did you blackmail him with?"

"I haven't blackmailed anyone, believe it or not, and I am fairly insulted that you would insinuate that I would do such a thing. General Iroh is a United Forces officer. He does not fall under my jurisdiction, unfortunately. If he did I would be making quite a few changes to the way they operate in this city, but that is neither here nor there."

She stood up to leave, not bothering to push her chair in. Saikahn stood as well.

"Fine. If you won't tell me the truth, and you don't have a real issue to discuss besides your little pet project, then this meeting is over."

"Korra, wait! At least let me task a few metalbenders to your guard detail!"

"Absolutely not. I won't allow you to waste officers on me when I'm perfectly capable of defending herself." Korra said as she stormed out. "The only reason I let the White Lotus follow me around is because I respect Tenzin and I am humoring him. I can't say the same for you."

With that, the door slammed behind her, much more forcefully than was necessary. Her head still buzzing somewhat, she descended the staircase, trying to catch sight of Mako.

In the end, it was him that found her. The moment their hands met, she realized how much she disliked being away from him. It was a strange feeling that had required her being grilled by a veteran police commander to bring it to the surface. They shared a kiss that was a little slice of heaven.

"So what did he want?"

Korra shook her head.

"Nothing I could give him."

Mako looked like he wanted to ask further, but he did not. Together they walked out of City Hall, their feet clacking in unison on the polished marble as they went.

Tycho watched the trucks back up impatiently. This whole thing was bullshit. He knew it. His men knew it. And yet, here they were, making a weapons deal with Equalists. Life had some strange twists. He had a strange compulsion to mock them now that it was common knowledge Amon had been a bender, but he refrained. Business was business.

It didn't really matter what his opinions on them were, as he had explained to the crew, they didn't have a choice. Martial law had put a massive squeeze on their operations. Loss rates were higher than ever, and his entire operation was threatening to become unprofitable and fall apart. He would never allow that to happen, not while he still retained his core of professionals. The part-timers came and went, but those guys, Baku, Slip, Chinsen, and the others, were the real meat of the outfit. They weren't just in it for the money, or so he liked to think.

On the other hand, since every ship was now routinely searched before entering the harbor, the price of a smuggled pound had skyrocketed. There were yuans to be made, if you knew where to look and who to ask.

The black suited drivers didn't stay to chat. A seemingly inadequate sack of gold exchanged hands and that was it; they were off into the night once more. Tycho ordered the swabbies to unload the crates. A smorgasbord of killing instruments tumbled out and onto the cold concrete.

High explosives, incendiary jelly, wires, timers, shock gloves, stun sticks, smoke grenades, gas grenades, flares, everything still in its factory packaging. It was almost like they had knocked over a United Forces armory. On second thought, he realized that was probably exactly what had happened. Tycho and the older heads gathered in a semi-circle.

"Okay, everybody listen up. This stuff isn't free. We got it at deep discount in exchange for doing a hit job for Amon's freaks in leather."

"Jobs for product… I don't like this, Tycho. It's not good business."

"Tough shit. We don't have any other option." Tycho said. "I know all of you would love to be back in your old hangouts, slinging massive sacks of blow like it was nothing, but that game is over. A new game is starting. Right now Republic City is deciding by silent vote which of the old players will be around in this new game, and which won't. There's still money for the taking, we just have to get our hands a little dirty to get a shot at it."

He looked at each man, sizing him up, estimating his loyalty.

"Anybody got a problem with that?"

They all shook their heads. Chinsen, the fire bender from the eastern provinces, raised his hand.

"Who is the hit, exactly?"

"General Iroh." Tycho said. "I know what you're thinking. What's he got to do with us, right? Well, his soldiers are the best paid, best fed police force in this city right now, for one thing. They're impossible to bribe. The Equalists want him dead for their own reasons, but so do we."

He turned and began walking back towards the massive warehouse doors.

"We'll be back on top of this city before you know it, gents. Just stick with me and I'll do right by you."