Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Legend of Korra or anything pertaining to it.
Threads of Fate
Chapter 3: Tip of the Iceberg
"Everything comes gradually and at its appointed hour." - Ovid
"Keep your heads down," the man shouted, his arms around Korra and Asami as they ran back inside. Tenzin was standing inside and as soon as he saw Korra, he ran forward and embraced her.
"I'm glad you're alright," he said. "What were you doing so close to the protestors?"
Asami bowed her head a bit. "I'm sorry, that was my fault. I just wanted to see what was going on. Curiosity, I suppose. I'm sorry I put Korra in any danger."
Tenzin shook his head. "Well, I'm glad you're alright as well. We should get you back to your car. I'm sure your father will worry once he hears about the protests on the radio."
"Yeah, you're probably right," she said, chewing on the side of her cheek thoughtfully.
"Thank you, Captain Saikhan, for saving Korra's life," Tenzin said. "Good to know there are good men like you on the police force."
"Not a problem, sir. Just doing my job," the man replied, giving a small bow to Tenzin. "The west entrance should be secure, so we'll escort you out via that exit."
Asami, Tenzin, Korra, and a few other people she recognized from committee meetings followed the small group of officers towards the west exit. There were a couple rioters outside as well, but it was noticeably less and several officers were pushing the police back to make a pathway.
"You seem shorthanded, Captain Saikhan," Tenzin said to the man.
Saikhan gave a stiff nod. "Yes, sir. Chief Beifong has been stretched thin with all the protests, and even worse now that Chancellor's been forcing us to use quarantines in the Dragon Flats, Port Sides, and Coal Heights Districts."
"Quarantines?" Korra asked, frowning.
"The sickness is spreading quickly, and seems to target children. We're trying to keep it controlled and regionalized to those areas and limit the spread, but children still seem to be getting sick. Chief Beifong is working with hospitals to try and figure out the source and if there's a cure," the captain explained, pushing through the crowd a bit aggressively towards a parked car. "You should be fine; they seem to stick to children who are younger than nine or ten."
"I see," the South Pole native said, but she was definitely not relieved. Knowing little kids were suffering made her more concerned if anything.
When they had finally breached the crowd and made it through, Saikhan opened a door. "This will escort you to your car, Miss Sato."
"There's no need; allow me to drive you and Korra home, Representative Tenzin. It's the least I can do," she offered.
"I agree with Miss Sato. I would drive you home myself, but I have to get this riot under control; you understand." Saikhan said. "Please."
Tenzin bowed a bit and got in the car after helping Korra in. "Thank you, Miss Sato. You are every bit as generous as your father."
"Please, call me Asami," she smiled and climbed in after.
"Captain Saikhan, give my regards to Lin," Tenzin shouted over the roar of the engine. Saikhan gave a small bow, then returned to the crowd and began barking out orders.
Korra sighed, watching the chaos. Most of the protestors had split up and scattered since reinforcements from the police had showed up, but she couldn't stop thinking about what she had seen. She couldn't forget the sad eyes of the child near the gate, covered in that horrible rash.
"Asami," Korra said as she and the heiress rinsed dishes in the kitchen. The brunette had agreed to stay for dinner per Tenzin's insistance for driving them home after the incident at the United Republic headquarters.
"Yeah?" she replied, drying the dishes off and interrupting her faint humming.
"Have you ever heard of Lightning Bolt Zolt?"
Asami fumbled with the plate, quickly recovering to keep it from falling and shattering against the ground. "Whe- where did you hear that name?"
"Uh, nowhere," Korra lied.
"You heard it from somewhere," she frowned.
The South Pole delegate thought for a moment. "At the... Central Station. Some people were talking, that's all. I just thought his name was weird." Technically true; that is where she and Mako had encountered said man, they had talked, and his name was weird.
"Zolt's the leader of the Triple Threat Triads. It's a gang. They run a lot of downtown now, but there's a lot of turf wars going on in the lower districts. You need to be careful around Central Station. The Triple Threats tend to flock around there," the emerald eyed woman warned. "They're different, too. Most of the other gangs like the Agni Kais and stuff, they tend to target people randomly and forcibly approach them. The Triple Threats seek out your weakness and exploit it; a lot of people have gambling debts with them since Zolt runs a lot of the betting areas. Then you're stuck with him until he decides your debt's repaid. It's serious, too. He's pretty sinister about how he convinces you to pay him back."
"That's... terrible. Just preying on the weak like that," Korra frowned.
Asami nodded solemnly. "It is. I won't tell Tenzin anything because I could see him losing his cool really fast, but please be careful, Korra. I'd hate to see anything bad happen to you because of some street thugs."
"Don't worry about me, I was just curious," she smiled. She had no intentions of going back to Central Station. That is, after she confronted Mako about lying to her.
Korra leaned against Fire Lord Zuko's memorial statue, flipping a coin and waiting patiently. She had again snuck out again for the third night in a row to try and stumble across Mako. So far, she had no such luck, giving up after about an hour. She doubted she would ever see him again, and was growing tired of risking inciting the wrath of Tenzin again by going behind his back to a known hang out for criminals. She pocketed the coin and moved to hail a cab to go to the library to start the research on economics she had told Tenzin she was doing.
"Hey, pretty lady," a man teased, moving his hand to push his coat aside. A revolver sat comfortably in a holster and she felt her pulse quicken. Great.
"Scram, Two Toed."
The man with a scar over his eye sneered and pointed a boney finger in another man's face. "Don't think just because you're running our books makes you the boss of me."
"Whatever, just go on already," Mako said coolly. The man gave Korra a last look, then walked off, grumbling under his breath.
"Mako-" Korra began.
"You shouldn't be here," he scolded. "It's dangerous."
"Oh, dangerous for me, but not dangerous for you, is that right?" she placed her hands on her hips. "Not a double standard or anything."
He clicked his tongue, then rubbed his forehead. "It's pretty dangerous wherever you go if you're a representative to the United Republic."
"How did you-"
"I did my research," he interrupted. "Point remains - you shouldn't be here."
Korra moved from the statue towards him, thrusting a finger in his face. "You lied to me."
"Lied? I barely know you, what could I have possibly lied about?" Mako asked.
"Does the name Triple Threat-" she began before he pressed his finger against her lips.
"Stop right there. You don't just throw names around like that so cavalier," he said. His eyes showed concern.
She grabbed his hand and moved it away. "But you work for them, and they're," a dark look from him encouraged her to lower her voice. "They're not nice people."
"It's complicated, Korra. You don't know me, or my life so don't just apply some black and white concepts to my life," Mako said defensively. "Why did you come here?"
She folded her arms. "I came to ask why you lied."
"You came from your cushy little palace down to the slums of Republic City, waited around at that statue for the past three days in a row hoping for a passing chance to see me stroll by for the express purpose of asking why I lied?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.
"Well, when you put it like that," the blue eyed woman made a face. "The point remains you weren't forthcoming about who you were- wait. You've seen me here for the past three days? Why didn't you say anything?"
"You weren't forthcoming either, delegate of the South Pole. I just was hoping it was coincidence is all; I didn't know you were going to keep coming here," he reminded. "Look, I don't have a problem with you. Honestly, I'd like it if you were on our side and could get someone to do something about this city. It's a fucking train wreck and it would be nice if someone paid attention to it. So can we just make peace?"
"What do you mean it's a train wreck?" she frowned.
Mako waved his hand around. "Look at this place; it's overrun by thugs, and the triads are constantly having turf wars. When they're not doing that, they're out laundering money, racketeering, and taking advantage of other people's weaknesses. Plus the Chancellor is draining every bit of money from here. The quarantine is starved for money, and the children are dying from malnutrition before the disease itself. Not to mention how many orphans don't have a home, and the housing projects are collapsing."
"Wait, what? How do you know all this?" Korra asked.
"I've been in Republic City my entire life. I've grown up watching this place. It's decaying from the inside out, and the only people making any money are lawyers, bankers, and politicians. The rest of us are left to rot and fend for ourselves," he said hotly. "Not to mention the face off for Chancellor between this guy Amon, Tarrlok from the Security Council, and the current Chancellor."
A stocky man with green eyes strolled over and clapped Mako on the shoulder. "There you are; I was wondering if you talked to that cute girl yet or - oh. Hi," he gave a flashy smile.
Cute girl? Korra moved her hand in front of her face to cover her blush. "Hi," she said.
"Don't be rude, Mako, introduce me to her," he smoothed his shirt out with his hands and extended his palm.
"Korra, Bolin. Bolin, Korra," Mako waved his hand a bit, rolling his eyes a bit.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Bolin winked and took her hand.
Korra gave a firm shake and smiled. "Same here. I take it you're Mako's brother."
"The one and only. Say, you look like a woman who could appreciate a delicious, fresh bowl of seaweed noodles," the man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Whaddya say? It'll be my treat."
"Oh, I haven't had seaweed noodles since I left the South Pole," she smiled.
"Bolin-" Mako protested. "We have to work tomorrow."
"You can go home; I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself," Bolin frowned.
The taller brother sighed in frustration and opened his mouth to reply, but Korra spoke before he could.
"Actually, I need to go home. I just wanted to talk to Mako for a minute. But it was nice meeting you," she flipped the coin in her hand, looking at Mako one last time. "And I would like to help you, if you'd let me. Goodnight."
"Representative Korra, it's so good to meet you. Councilman Tarrlok spoke highly of you," a woman said to her the next morning. She had silver streaks in her black hair and her eyes were the color of jade.
"Good to know," the delegate shook the woman's hand. "I'm afraid I don't know your name."
"Forgive me," she apologized. "My name is Jiao. I'm the woman in charge of containing and treating the outbreak."
Korra pushed the hood of her cloak back and followed the brunette down the alleyway. "Of course. How is it coming along?"
"Not favorably," Jiao admitted. "The disease is an utter mystery to me; no matter what I do, children still get sick. We're trying to keep it contained in these three districts, but I don't know how successful we are, honestly. I don't even know how the sickness is spreading. Children keep dropping like flies. It's comforting for us adults, but personally speaking, no parent should have to bury their child."
The woman opened a door to reveal a room with children coughing and spread generously throughout the floor. The oldest child couldn't have been more than nine or ten, and most of them had rashes covering their skin. A few had peeling skin, concentrated on their face.
"Is the only symptom the rash?" Korra asked Jiao.
The green eyed woman shook her head. "No, come." She placed the back of her hand against a child's head, then tipped his head back. "Open your mouth for me and show me your tongue, Lian."
Korra crouched down and looked at his tongue. It was bright red, almost like a berry, and when she pressed her hand to his forehead, it was burning hot.
"I've never seen anything like it before," Jiao sighed. "I'll bring you some soup soon, Lian."
"Neither have I," Korra admitted, scanning the infected children with her azure eyes.
The woman stepped outside the room and covered her face with her hands. "I don't know what to do. Parents are bringing their children here, expecting a cure and I can't even make their children comfortable. And this room is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm a healer, not a miracle worker, but it makes it worse when the Chancellor is giving me no money to feed them. Everything here is rationed, and people without ill children are even sacrificing their hard earned food, money, clothes, blankets, and anything extra they have to try and help. And I just worry if it spreads to the orphanages." Jiao's eyes began watering and Korra placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"What can I do?"
"Find a cure?" the woman said, laughing a bit. "Honestly, anything you can do would be great. Even if it's just reading to the children, helping me feed them, donating anything you have. It'd be great. We're forgotten here. The Chancellor vowed to make us a priority and encourage people to donate, but he hasn't kept to his word."
"Let me handle the politicians," Korra said.
"That in itself would be a miracle," the healer gave a half smile. "We've had to rely on alternative funding methods."
"What do you mean?"
Jiao looked down, clearly embarrassed when she answered, "Lightning Bolt Zolt's been funding us."
"The mob boss?" she shrieked.
"He's not a completely bad man, he cares about children, he just- it comes at a cost," her eyes watered some.
Korra put her hands on the shoulders of the woman, attempting to comfort her. "What'd he do to you?"
"No! Not that, I just... I owe him a debt. Zolt always collects his debts," the woman fisted her apron anxiously. There was more to this story than she was willing to explain - just like Mako.
The Water Tribeswoman leaned her head down, her ponytail falling over her shoulder some. "You shouldn't have to rely on a mob boss. Someone should stand up and fight to bring this city back to what it was founded for."
"And who will do that?" a cop grumbled at her. "You?"
Korra turned to look at the figure and narrowed her eyes, "Yes. I will."
"Jiao! Come quickly," someone burst into the room wildly.
Jiao turned her attention to the young man and walked towards him, drying her eyes on her sleeves. "What's happened?"
"One of the Straights got shot. We need you to patch him up," an man with icy blue eyes said. Korra recognized him as Shady Shin.
Posted: 07/03/2012
A/N: There you are. Can anyone guess the disease based on the symptoms? ;) For some questions:
Is there bending in this fic? - Chapter 1's A/N said there was no bending, ergo no Avatar. I have a particular reason for that, but I would prefer to explain it at the end of this story rather than tell you now because it will spoil a lot about upcoming events.
How often do you update? - I will do my best to update as frequently as possible. I try to get a few chapters ahead in a story before I begin it to set up some sort of momentum for readers; in my experience, I usually need to read at least 2 or 3 chapters before I'm ready to decide if I want to stick with it or not. After this update, I can't tell you exactly when it'll be updated next. Please check tumblr to see information about updates.