Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Legend of Korra or anything pertaining to it.
Threads of Fate
Chapter 4: The Game Has Changed
"We can't choose our fate, but we can choose others. Be careful in knowing that." - J.K. Rowling
"Where is he?" Jiao asked, following Shin to the alleyway. Korra was at their heels, wondering what had happened. What was a 'Straight?'
"Here," Shin led them to his car where a man in a trenchcoat was hunched over, grasping his arm tightly.
"Let's move him out of the car to the house over there; I need to examine it," Jiao instructed, opening the door to the car. As the man moved out, groaning a bit in pain, his eyes flickered up and met Korra's.
"You have got to be kidding me," Korra and the man muttered simultaneously.
The emerald eyed woman looked between the pair suspiciously, then moved towards the house. "Over here!"
Shin grumbled something about his car's leather being ruined while Korra still processed who was being dragged into the house. She finally snapped to attention and followed Jiao and the tall, lean man into the house.
"You need to lie here," the healer instructed, going to wash her hands quickly. "Korra, do you have any medical experience?"
"I, uh, yes. I learned from Katara; she's the greatest healer in the entire Water Tribe. Probably the world, really," Korra said, watching as the amber eyed man clambered onto the table, still holding his arm. Red liquid oozed between his fingers, staining his jacket and the floor.
"Good," Jiao said. "Now's the time to use it. Fill this bowl with water; make sure it's hot and find some bandages and liquor." She began opening and closing drawers before finally pulling out a long pair of scissors. "What's your name, son?"
"Mako," he said, looking at his arm a bit.
Korra watched the young man and the healer in the reflection of the window. There was so much blood, so much, for just his arm. What should she do? What could she do?
"Korra, I need that stuff and you here, now," the woman said. "Lie back, please, Mako."
The delegate opened some cabinets after placing the bowl on the counter, searching for the other items. A bottle of vodka.
"Mako, look at me," she snapped as his eyelids began to droop. "Did the bullet go through and through?"
He grumbled some, shaking his head side to side.
"Korra, I need that stuff right now!" Jiao shouted.
The cerulean eyed woman ran to the healer's side, fumbling and dropping the bandages on the table. "I-I-I'm sorry," she said.
Jiao put her hands on both sides of Korra's face. "I know you're scared, okay? But please concentrate. I need you to hold him down when he lies back on the table."
"Hold him down?"
"His reaction will be to flinch and pull away from me when I go to dig the bullet out. I can't at the risk of hurting him, okay? Please, Korra. It's important. Can you do this?"
Her eyes darted to Mako and Jiao shook her to attention. "I can do it," she finally said.
"Mako, lie back," Jiao instructed, going to pour the vodka on the scissors. She waited on Korra to put her hands on Mako's shoulders, pressing him down to the table. "Give him a drink of this," she said, handing the young woman the bottle.
The young man took a greedy gulp of the drink, spewing a bit back up and coughing as it washed down his throat, then took another sip before handing it back to Korra.
"What do I do with this?" Korra asked.
"Remove his hand from his arm," she said. After Korra had obliged, the healer took it from the blue eyed woman's hands and splashed it on the wound. Mako thrashed and shouted in pain, cursing as Korra placed her hands on his shoulders to hold him down.
"Keep him still!" Jiao ordered, going to push the scissors into his arm. The amber eyed man groaned in pain loudly, going to flinch and pull away. "Korra!"
The woman pressed him down to the table, closing her eyes. When she had healed with Katara, it had been knicks, scratches, fevers, colds - not gunshot wounds. Not gangsters, not thugs, not whatever it was Mako did.
"I seem to keep bumping into you," Mako managed to get out through gritted teeth.
"So you do," Korra said, looking down into his amber eyes. He choked a bit as Jiao pulled the scissors out.
The healer took the cloth, going to rinse out his wound with the warm water and apologizing as he groaned in pain. She took the apron around her waist and pressed it into the wound while Korra prepared the bandages. Jiao took them from Korra's trembling hands, going to wrap them around Mako's arm when Shin called her to attention.
"Jiao, come here!"
The woman glared at him, "I'm occupied."
"The Water Tribe woman can do it; we have to talk," Shin snapped.
Jiao looked at Korra hesitantly when the delegate put a hand on the healer's shoulder and said, "I'll do it."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," Korra assured her, going to take the bandages from her hands.
"Now, Jiao!" Shin barked. The woman gave Korra and Mako a last look, then walked off.
The delegate shifted her weight and moved to try and bandage Mako's injured arm. His eyes looked at her wearily and he finally managed to say, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm bandaging you," she replied simply.
"I mean in the lower districts," he mumbled.
"I'm trying to do something about the illness," Korra explained, continuing to wind the white gauze around his bicep. "I could say the same for you."
He snorted. "Raid on a cash house. Just wrong place at the wrong time."
"Might be a sign from the spirits," she lamented.
"Yeah? What are they saying then?"
Korra's eyes darted to meet his. His thin lips were dry and cracked and she could see his tongue dart out to moisten them. "They're saying you need to get away from the Triple Threats."
"Life isn't that simple," he sighed, closing his eyes tightly.
"Stay awake," she pressed.
Jiao returned after a few moments, her hands trembling some as she went to the sink to rinse the crimson staining her creamy skin. "Thank you, Korra," her voice shook.
The South Pole native looked at the brunette, frowning. "Is everything okay?"
"Of course; why wouldn't it be?"
Korra wasn't convinced. "Is this what you do for the Triple Threats?"
"You don't think gangsters go to a traditional hospital just to turn around and get arrested after a turf war, do you?" Jiao asked, drying her hands on her apron. "You know this one?"
"Mako? I, uh, we've met once." she explained.
"Take him home before the police come. Shin got a tip the cops that aren't on Zolt's payroll are coming to investigate the quarantine. I can't have gunshot victims lounging around. It'll be a miracle if I get all this blood cleaned up in time."
"I can help you," Korra offered.
Jiao's lip quivered for a moment as she gripped the edge of the counter. "Go now. I'll call you when we can meet again to discuss the children."
"But-"
"Korra, get out of here before you and this kid both get arrested. Now!"
The woman slapped Mako's cheek lightly to bring him back to attention. "We have to go Mako. Where do you live?" She rolled up the sleeves of his coat to mask the bloodstains.
"Rose District."
"So what happened?" Korra asked as they trudged from the quarantined zone towards the Central Station.
He snorted. "Don't worry about it."
"You were shot, Mako. I'm gonna worry about it and you've gotta deal with it," she retorted.
Mako sighed in defeat. "It was just a turf war. Occasionally the gangs like to go around and try to reassert their dominance. I was unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"And what were you doing in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Korra pressed.
"If you must know, I was getting some finances in order for Zolt's legitimate operations," the young man said hotly.
"Gangsters have legitimate operations?" she made a face.
He sighed a bit in aggravation. "Forget it, it'll take too long to explain."
"Tell me," she said. It wasn't a request, it wasn't a question, it was a demand.
"Zolt has to have legitimate operations to explain his 'money.' One of them is a Fire Nation restaurant. He lets people place illegal wagers there and it's a speakeasy as well," Mako explained. "For alcohol. Alcohol isn't allowed in the city anymore."
Her lips made an 'O' in confirmation as she processed the information. "So you're basically an accountant?"
"I suppose you could say that," he said after a moment.
"But why?"
He snorted. "You were there. We owe him a debt. Bolin's a construction worker, too, which means he won't even hesitate to break his arm or leg and in this economy, you get hurt, you're out of a job."
"But why do you back down around Zolt like a little kid? You didn't even try to find another way," Korra frowned.
"It's complicated. I just did things I had to do when I was younger, and now I'm doing things I have to do. Let's leave it at that. Turn right up here at the intersection," he stated firmly.
"Brother, sister!" a man ran up to them, smiling at them eagerly. "Amon has come to rally for equality in our great city! Come! Listen to his protest!" He turned to go left at the intersection to an expanding crowd.
"Korra-" Mako began, seeing her eyes look immediately towards the group of people.
She gave his good arm a sharp tug and began marching towards the crowd of people. "I need to see what this Amon business is all about."
"I don't think it's a good idea; what if someone recognizes you?" he tried to pull his arm free of her death grip.
"We're going up to this protest and you gotta deal with it," she snapped at him, pushing through the audience.
"Brothers and sisters," a man with an impressive voice swept across the crowd. The people fell silent at once, lowering their homemade signs. Korra looked up to see this masked man on a wooden temporary stage, banners rippling in the wind with the character for 'Equal' stitched onto them.
"I stand before you today - not as a leader, but as your brother, as your sister!" he stated.
The crowd went wild, shouting and praising him. Mako whispered in Korra's ear, "That's Amon."
The man in a mask waited for the shouts to die down patiently. "For too long, we have stood by and watched our fair city be abused and neglected by the rich, the wealthy, and the politicians! And when they are done taking our labor, taking our hard earned money, and taking the life from us, they let these street thugs run through the streets, picking off the leftover scraps like vultures."
Another roar came from the crowd and Korra looked around. Did so many people really feel this way? She remembered the protestors at the United Republic headquarters, throwing bottles of fire at them, hurling curses and insults. As the delegate looked around, she saw the people cheering in support of Amon; they weren't rich, they were poor. Most of them wore old clothing, torn in places, and some looked like they hadn't been eating as much.
"The greatest criminal of all is the Chancellor and United Republic! They sit on their false thrones made of lies, taking our money to promote this idea of fairness and equality; how is it fair if they've a meal on their table every night? How is it fair if their children aren't dying of this horrible illness while we are forced into quarantine. They do not quarantine our children to protect the surrounding districts - they quarantine our children to protect their homes and children. The Chancellor promises money to help feed, clothe, and treat these children, yet where is it? Why is it people must make deals with street gangs to provide simple rations and a comfortable place for these children to rest? Make no mistake, crime in the lower districts is only a symptom of the real criminal, the real impurity that plagues Republic City - the United Republic." Amon told the audience.
"Korra, let's go," Mako pulled her back with his good arm, trying to weave through the crowd. It must have at least doubled in size because there were so many people there.
"And let it be known, I am here to cleanse that impurity," the masked man said over the cheers from the people when Korra and Mako had finally broken through.
A group of cops began lowering themselves down from airships above the group of people. Korra looked to the stage to see Amon had the other men on the stage with him had disappeared. The people began running and scattering like bugs with a light targeted on them.
The pair tried to follow suit when a man put his arms in a bear hug around her, trapping her arms to her sides and pulling her towards the back of a van with bars on the window. The young woman thrusted her head backwards, colliding with his face then took his moment of shock as an open window to break free. He reached out, grabbing her wrist and in a swift motion, Korra grabbed a pressure point on his shoulder, causing him to shriek in pain and release her. He fell to the ground on his knees when she felt a sharp pain at the back of her neck, immediately slumping forward onto the dusty ground.
"Korra!" Mako shouted at her, her vision blurry.
"By order of the Chancellor of Republic City, you are under arrest for illegal protesting."
Posted: 07/05/2012
A/N: This chapter is a bit shorter, but it had a lot of stuff going on. And now we have met Amon/the Equalists. ;) Since everyone keeps asking about why I removed bending, I'll explain it since Amon has now been introduced formally.
I loved LoK, and I have no delusions of grandeur thinking I'm a better storywriter than Bryke, however, one thing I thought was frustrating was that there were so many problems going on with the city. Poverty/homelessness, the gangs, etc, but the story never focused on them. I removed bending from the equation because I want this story to focus on those issues. It was so easy for the bending to overshadow these problems, but without bending, it forces me as a writer to actually address the issues facing a corrupt city.
Miss Mercurial: Ugh, I really hated to get rid of TPL, but I just felt like I was giving 75% on that story, and I'd rather give 100% on something. :( But thank you! Maybe after this story, I can attempt it again with better writing and a different twist. :) Since people keep asking why I've removed bending, I explained it in the author's note above. I hope that clarifies my thoughts.
crash and burnn: All excellent questions - all questions that will be answered in due time if not answered in this chapter.