It was the very next morning that Lin Bei Fong came storming into her room to arrest her for tampering with evidence and working with a known, illegal Triad. And Kai was now sitting in one of the holding cells with two overly intoxicated men that kept eying each other up. It was making her uncomfortable. She was distracted from her cell mates' behavior by an argument.

"I understand that what she did was illegal, Lin," Councilman Tenzin argued exasperatedly. "I'm just asking you to go easy on her. She's a smart girl Lin, and I don't want to see her future destroyed because she was helping out a friend."

"I can get her off with community service," Chief Bei Fong told the previous avatar's son, "and it won't go on her record, but that's as far as I'm willing to lessen her punishment."

She heard the Councilman give a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Lin."

Bei Fong let out an exasperated sigh, and then Kai heard her footsteps coming towards her holding cell. The Chief of Police pulled the cell key ring from her belt and unlocked the holding cell. "You'll report here at oh-eight-hundred hours starting tomorrow morning and will leave at seventeen-hundred hours every day for the next week, to work off your community service hours. Is that understood?" Bei Fong barked.

"Yes ma'am," Kai replied.

"Good," Bei Fong snapped, "Now go home." She barked. Kai nodded again and hurried off towards Tenzin who was waiting for her at the door.

X

"I heard what you and Bei Fong said to each other while at the station," Kai told Tenzin softly.

"I only wante–"

"I know," Kai cut him off, "I only wanted to say thank you for doing that for me, and for everything else you've done for me since I've come to Republic City."

Tenzin looked down at the girl. She was short for a nineteen-year-old, but not by much. She had pale peach colored skin and green eyes, but her right eye was covered by her dark hair's fringe. She seemed hardened by a past he wasn't sure anyone would be able to get out of her one day, but he could see a sort of sorrow in her visible eye. "Lin's going to want you pin your fringe back tomorrow." Tenzin told her.

Kai froze for a moment, before she continued walking. "The fringe stays," she replied firmly.

"I wouldn't test her, if I were you, Kai." Tenzin told her, "She can be very–" Kai cut him off again.

"I know, Councilman." She replied. "But…" the girl sighed resignedly, "I was injured badly as a kid, it covers the scars so I'm not stared at."

"Ho–"

"I'm not going to talk about that." Kai replied, and that was the end of their conversation.

X

Kai arrived at the police station fifteen minutes early, and just as Chief Bei Fong was walking out of the building to wait to meet her. When Kai approached though, Bei Fong didn't comment on her early arrival. Her comment was about something completely different than that, "You look like you're ready for a fight."

Kai smirked ruefully as she stood there in front of Republic City's Chief of Police, knowing full well that the woman was scrutinizing her. "I get that a lot."

From what Lin was able to learn about the girl from Tenzin, the girl was independent, stubborn, and had many very high, very hard walls built up. Lin made it a point to, in the time that the girl would be working around the police facilities, figure out the girl.

"Come with me," Bei Fong remarked before turning and heading into the police station. Kai followed silently, trying to hold back her yawns. "You have two jobs while you're here. One, you will act as secretary to the two detectives, Lu and Gang." Bei Fong spoke as they stopped in front of an empty desk that sat in front of two office doors. Bei Fong turned to face the young girl to see if she heard her. "Do you understand that?"

Kao gave a mock salute, "Yup." She chirped as she followed Bei Fong across a pavilion out the back door of the station to the school yard of the Bei Fong Metalbending Academy.

"Two," they stopped in front of one of the classes that was working outside. "You will wash the academy's uniforms Friday before you leave. Try not to screw anything up."

Lin turned around to make sure Kai understood everything to find that the girl had wandered over to one of the training grounds where a group of graduates were running drills. "Kao, what do you think you're doing?" she barked.

"Watching," she muttered, walking back over to the Chief.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't know what a training drill looked like." Lin commented.

"Where I grew up, my age group's population of benders was mostly water." She muttered.

"Just because there weren't many of you doesn't mean your training wasn't any less standard." Lin told her.

"I was one of three," Kai deadpanned.

"Three?" Lin asked the girl surprised. "Where did you grow up?"

"A small island at the exact midway point between the North Pole and the Earth Kingdom called Orta Island." She answered. "Not many people know it."

Lin went rigid for a split second at the sound of the name. Out of all the places, Lin thought, how… Lin blinked those thoughts away, it wasn't possible. She had made sure she would never know who she was. Lin turned on her heel and headed back towards the station, sensing Kao following.

They made their way back into the station, and Kao walked over to and plopped down in what was now her desk chair. "Hey, this chair spins." She pushed herself from the desk and spun around twice before stopping and meeting Lin's gaze again. The older woman had one eyebrow raised.

"What?" she asked.

"Just get to work," Bei Fong sighed irritable, walking back to her office. What did I get myself into?