A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and PMs! You guys are awesome :D Also, I've updated chapter six because of an inconsistency issue that I just realized. Amazing what a walk in the rain can do to clear up your mind ^^

Disclaimer: ATLA and Lok are property of Nickelodeon.

Chapter Twelve: Side Order of Deja Vu

Elated though Bolin was over what he considered to be a masterful feat of detective work, he still couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed with the results. Mako, for the most part, seemed to hold faith in Bolin's speculations that their father was still alive but that didn't change the fact that they still could not just go barging into Republic City. In fact, Bolin felt that knowing more did not necessarily bring them any closer to finding their father than they had been a few weeks ago. Worst of all, the reason for it lay in their financial problems.

"We don't have enough money to make a trip to Republic City," said Mako firmly when Bolin suggested they leave to find their father. "We got lucky with this circus job – or at least I did – but it's not enough. We're gonna need supplies for the winter and the debt on the farmland needs to be paid as soon as possible. If we leave now, Mom won't be able to carry on without help."

It was all too true. Their mother, Xiuling, tried desperately to make ends meet by selling homemade bean curd sticks near the marketplace but on most days she had to stay home to take care of Min and Mireu while Mako and Bolin were out working.

That being said, leaving for Republic City on such short notice would surely dent their already precarious financial situation and possibly Xiuling's sanity, which was partly the reason they decided to withhold their speculations from their mother for the time being. Also, even if one of them were to make the trip alone, finding a job wasn't guaranteed, much like the prospect of getting a place to stay for a cheap price. It seemed they would have to postpone the journey for quite some time.

Only momentarily stymied, Bolin tried to coax his older by suggesting alternative situations to their money problems. He was disappointed to find that Mako was less than enthusiastic about most of his ideas. Bolin's last attempt at convincing Mako went down like this:

"We could pay the debt later."

"No, it's already overdue."

"Get a loan?"

"No."

"Steal?"

"NO!"

Though Bolin fully realized their situation, the thought of their father hiding out in some remote slum unable to work and possibly going hungry for days kept Bolin up at night. Mako was troubled by the thoughts too but he at least had a lot of work on his plate to keep him busy during the day whereas Bolin was just a few days short of paying off the damage costs he owned the circus. It wasn't that Bolin hadn't tried to find another part-time job but it was easier said than done. Many people appeared to feel financial strains themselves and were reluctant to hire extra hands. Despite his many remarkable qualities, the young earthbender couldn't sell his usefulness as well as his older brother who knew more about machinery than most of the mechanics in town.

On most days after work, Bolin tried to talk to Iriah again in an attempt to gouge more information on his father, the Equalists, or Republic City in general. Apart from the third topic, it was as though their lengthy chat in the Incredible Inferno's own caravan car had never taken place. Whenever Bolin caught her during breaks between performance practices or on their lunch break, she was adamantly oblivious to anything that concerned the anti-bender movement or Kenji, always checking to see that no one was listening.

"But I know he's alive! I could really use your help," said Bolin one day when he caught her outside while she was taking a break. Her costume was a magnificent scarlet soldier uniform complete with golden epaulets and a regal shield embroidered on the chest.

Iriah looked around to see if anyone was watching before whispering, "Look, Bolin, I did you a favor the other day by telling you everything I know so let's make it even, shall we? I won't stop you from whatever it is that you're planning but please stop stalking me."

With that, she disappeared inside the show tent to resume practicing, leaving a disappointed and slightly frustrated Bolin standing outside alone. He considered following her inside but decided against it. Iriah was right; she had done him a big favor. Without her knowledge, he'd still be waiting for another letter from his father. Bolin also reminded himself that Iriah probably wanted to forget all about Republic City, her last permanent home and the site of her father's murder. And yet she had kept all the research on the Equalists in her room – several drawers-worth at that. Seeing as how it was related to her father's death, however, Bolin couldn't really blame her at all. But it did give him an idea.

Walking back around the main show tent and past the large animal tent where the racket of beasts could still be heard, Bolin walked a few minutes before reaching the long line of caravan cars. He quickly located the Incredible Inferno's and stood just outside it, wondering if he could pick the lock or break in through the window without anyone noticing.

Just when he was about to test the door to see if Iriah had clumsily left the door unlocked (an unlikely scenario but still worth trying), he heard footsteps behind him and then someone cried out in an accusing tone, "I knew I'd find you here!"

Bolin wheeled around, his hands raised in a sign of surrender. He then realized the tall figure immerging from behind the nearest tree was in fact his brother Mako who had disapproval etched in every line of his frowning face.

"Hey, Mako, glad you're here," Bolin said, ignoring his brother's scowl, "I need you to help me break into this caravan."

"I'm not helping you break into anywhere," said Mako testily, scanning the area for witnesses of his own brother's criminal behavior, "Get away from that door before someone sees you!"

Now it was Bolin's turn to wear a scowl as he moved away from the door and walked over to where Mako was standing with his arms crossed. Luckily for them, no one seemed to be around to spot the two brothers standing suspiciously close to a star performer's private quarters.

"What are you doing here anyways?" asked Bolin in a grumpy manner. "Don't you have to work at Mr. Noh's?"

"Mr. Noh went to visit his daughter in Ba Sing Se," replied Mako, placing a firm hand on his brother's shoulder and steering him away from Iriah's caravan car. They started walking back to the circus fairgrounds, Bolin looking sulky. "I came here to find you in case you got any crazy ideas about clues to Dad's whereabouts. I bumped into Iriah on the way here and she thinks you're stalking her."

"I haven't been stalking her!" retorted Bolin indignantly. "I've just been following her around a bit and… asking her questions she doesn't want to answer."

"Right," said Mako, a little exasperatedly. It was small comfort knowing he had arrived before Bolin could recklessly ransack Iriah's room.

Mako couldn't trust his brother to remain distracted from his quest to unearth more information on their father's fate so he decided to take him to work. As Mako had expected, the middle-aged lady who ran the custom dress boutique was unenthusiastic about having a unhappy, bare-footed Bolin sitting in the waiting room of her shop.

"Can't your brother wait outside?" asked Madam Fong, her beady eyes almost bulging at the sight of Bolin's dirty feet touching her spotless decorative rug.

"It'll be just this once, Madam Fong, I promise," said Mako, reassuringly. He had experienced first-hand how the dressmaker's obsession with cleanliness could spiral out of control. "It won't take long to fix the sewing machine so we'll be out before you know it."

After the repairs for the sewing machine were finished, the two brothers left the boutique to Madam Fong's ill-disguised relief. Since it was almost dinnertime, Mako suggested they forget about their troubles for a while by going to nearby noodle shop. With much less enthusiasm than usual, Bolin agreed.

The brothers sat at the counter where a few others were enjoying their meals. Once they had finished ordering, Bolin lapsed into silence, wondering when their father's last decent meal had been. Their father had always loved noodles, especially traditional Earth Kingdom fried noodles with vegetables, and Bolin wondered vaguely what sort of noodles they had in Republic City.

To Bolin's right, Mako was trying very hard not to think about the last time they had eaten out as a family. It had to have been a very long time ago, just after Mireu was born. The memory of his father eating dim sum and egg rolls with a contented smile on his face actually made Mako more depressed. Somehow he could not imagine a man eating well while hiding from bloodthirsty killers. Trying to think of something else, Mako looked around at his fellow diners.

A few seats along the counter, two men were eating their noodles with gusto, chatting between gulps. At a corner table sat a young woman with long, pleated hair, her back to Mako. Her companion appeared to be man wearing the hood of his cloak low over his face as though irritated by the light overhead. Behind them sat a party of five men, half of them clearly drunk. They talked and joked in loud voices, toasting each other with half-filled bottles of rice wine before downing the rest in one go. One of the men, whose neck resembled a tree trunk, roared with laughter at a particularly amusing joke.

The man had a messy mullet that looked like someone had hacked the front with an ax before shaving the sides. The back hair was tied up in a ponytail and Mako couldn't help but wonder why anyone would go around with such a ridiculous haircut. This thought might have shown on his face because the man noticed Mako watching. Their eyes met for a split second before Mako hastily looked away from the man's brown ones.

"Oi! You boy!" The man barked, the words slurring slightly. Shoving back his chair with a loud scraping noise, he got to his feet and stood surprisingly steadily for a drunken man. Pointing a finger at Mako's back he yelled again, "Hey, I'm talkin' to you, you lil yellow-eyed freak!"

Everyone froze. The two men at the counter stopped eating abruptly, their chopsticks halfway to their mouths. The people sitting in the corner weren't looking at the man but were silently listening. The rest of the mullet man's companions were also silenced by his loud outburst, all of them staring wide-eyed at each other or at Mako. Bolin was also looking at Mako in a 'what did you do?' sort of expression.

Feeling the need to break the tense moment, Mako got up from his seat and bowed apologetically.

"I'm sorry sir, my mind must have wandered. Please forgive me," said Mako.

The mullet man seemed unimpressed with Mako's politeness and pounded the table with his fist, causing a few bottles to roll over the edge, smashing to pieces on the floor.

"You slimy vermin! You think I'm stupid, do you? You think I don't know what kind of filth you are?" roared the man, pointing a thick finger at Mako's face. Looking around at his dumbfounded companions, he yelled, "Lads, that there is what I call a Fire Nation scumbag."

A look of comprehension dawned on the faces of the man's companions. Even the heavily drunken ones seemed to survey Mako differently, sizing him up as one might appraise a pig-deer for slaughter. One by one, the men slowly rose from their chairs, each grinning maliciously at the amber-eyed firebender.

A familiar sense of foreboding rose inside Mako like bile. For a fleeting moment, he saw the cruel taunting faces of the village boys who had tortured him as child. This time, instead of small children, the faces were those of middle-aged thugs bearing evil grins. Behind him, he thought he heard Bolin draw breath.

"Lads," the thick-set mullet man cried, locking eyes with Mako's amber ones, "let's teach this filthy little freak a lesson."

A/N: The next chapter will contain copious amounts of punching and screaming. I promise this time. Thanks for reading!