Chapter 3:
This was much easier to write, what held me up was watching the Golden Compass. Disclaimer: I only own the original characters and nothing else. About story: I want to create contrasts and comparisons between different characters and situations. Oh and I pronounce Reoh: Ray-Oh not Rio. Haha Rio Olympics. Anyway stage to story.
Night operations were reputedly a risky operation, always done with extreme carefulness that was hard to reach. They weren't naturally subtle or indiscernible, and the absence of the sun left something in Reoh... lacking. This operation was to be handled with delicacy, robbing Republic City's International Bank, they had become short on funds and this was a reimbursement strategy.
Reoh huffed out fire into his freezing arms, the spring air was cool without the crisp sun warming it, and Reoh sighed ever so quietly, not making eye contact with the four others in the group. Within a few minutes, they would be in the Bank, and in the next minutes they would be out if it.
Reoh had volunteered for this because of the Black Dragon, Komovan, one of the leaders of the Triads, with power upon power that Reoh could only dream of. He hadn't suggested for Reoh to go, but Reoh did and that spark of pride fueled his drive to help his Triad.
Three flashes of lights from the fourth floor of the impressive Western Earth Kingdom style building, signaled the start of the operation, and the ten firebenders filed in by twos through the side door, a brief flicker of Malu's fire confirmed the disabling of the security, masked though. Reoh had approximately three seconds to admire Sho's handiwork with the security system, the Police Force and Protected Buildings were notorious, perhaps even rising to infamous, for their tight security. Reoh filed in, keeping two fingers in the air at ready, night cops were, however low their bending prowess, a nuisance and a witness to gang activity.
Reoh spread into the shadow pressing the small of his back against air, not wall, a habit forced from years of being trained not to touch anything containing skin cells to walls. Now the only skin showing was around his eyes and nose, the shiver of the shadow draining only a little of Reoh's heat of breath. He had to quickly remind himself that he had voluntarily requested to lead this raid, as the last under Kwang had resulted in, the Agni Kai Triad raids under him had often resulted in botched attempts and police interference, again a nuisance but not a tragedy.
Gold bars. Stacks and stacks. Reoh remembered for a bittersweet second of the childhood forced out of him, or rather, what he had forfeited. A vault, glass doors led to that, the treasure, treasure that would keep those less loyal paid. Three beeps of the security detector assured that the coast was clear, and another two declared a lack of security.
Reoh pressed his fingers against the glass, and watched two others, Leah and Soren, a brother and sister who had barely reached the age of eighteen, mime his own gestures. Reoh breathed slowly and summoned flames to his finger tips.
The glass quickly melted away, dripping slight streams and burning more. Soon, a modest hole was created and Hava poured the bucket of water on it. Reoh stepped aside and Leah and Soren clambered through the hole, delicately and they put on black gloves, with the symbol of the Golden Tremblers on them (oh if one were dropped, what trouble it would put on the rival Triad!). Reoh half wished that they would drop one of the gloves but rethought the command lingering in his throat.
Two elongated high-pitched beeps. This isn't part of the...
Reoh felt drops of searing cold water go down his back and turned around quickly. Five people, Reoh took his own breath away. They were staring, all hooded in a cloth colored a dark shade, although it was black in the lacking of light.
Reoh lit his hands, the orange flame revealed nothing. The figures were gone. Reoh's heart felt torn out of his chest with his ragged breathing that matched if not surpassed Soren's.
A water whip hurtled at him out of nowhere, and Reoh ducked in time for his heart to avoid it, but not his arm. A gasp of pain, his and the others signaled an onrush of blood.
Reoh lit his hands and fired several blasts around him, briefly illuminating a figure before it ducked out. Waterbender.
"Come out into the open," Reoh called out, and heard a swish of a cloak to his right.
He shot the charging stream of fire, elongating the orange flame to last five seconds, hot air converting into fire. The figure put up an ice shield which shattered immediately.
Definitely waterbenders. Who?
Reoh roared a ring of flame around him, illuminating everything within five feet of him. He mouthed "go" to Baras, who had the gold bars, and he sprinted out leaving no trail of smoke behind. None of the hooded figures followed and Reoh quickly breathed a sigh of relief. The money would come back to the Dragons, and then all the kids who were rescued by then and are still in training would be paid and maybe better food would sneak its way in...
Reoh fired two streams of flame at the two closest figures lighting everything up. The fire alarm sounded- delayed effect was it?- and Reoh scrambled to the exit but was stopped.
The face came into view and it would have taken Reoh's breath away if he had any time to pay attention to it. Later he would remember it as beautiful and carved, high cheekbones, and gorgeous dark blue eyes, a color Reoh could only call as "midnight ocean" and everything was perfect of her features.
But nevertheless, Reoh through out a punch and felt a tingling sensation throw it sideways, The woman's arm was out sideways and quickly moving to his face. Reoh blocked it with one arm and kicked with his leg, a tiny nearly invisible flame conjured only just in time. The woman swerved sideways and Reoh's leg kicked air, now heated air.
She hurled water at him, but smooth and graceful, the curve of her back arched with the water. Reoh hurled a fire whip back at her, but it missed its mark.
"Reoh let's go!" he heard a female voice, Leah, call out, and fire- a heartbeat not his own- sent out at the woman, Reoh paired it and the woman just ducked in time.
Reoh wildly took a glance around, heart beating faster than it should, and ran out, trailing fire behind to stop the hooded figures. Leah and Soren opened the door, and sent out blasts- but weak ones, Reoh was the only master firebender among them- and Reoh sprint out the door,
Heartbeats behind his back-
Reoh swivels around-
A knife to his throat-
No bending, the figure is no longer hooded-
Old features, scarred, but strong-
And a pendant, in plain full view, red and very distinctly water tribe-
He presses the knife to his throat-
What would Komovan do?-
Reoh takes a deep breath waiting for nothing
And then he stops.
And time follows.
And then the man smirks and removes the knife and leaves.
Only when they get back to headquarters eyeing bars of gold does Reoh gain a suspicion- only a little one- of who had attacked them.
TWO DAYS LATER
The ruling three of the Agni Kai Triad were called by Dragon. The Black Dragon was Komovan, his fire was white, but his soul not, reputedly. He had conducted the infamous raid on the Sato Mansion only three years ago, and a tattoo on his back, in the shape of a gentle rose wilting black honored that achievement. Reoh wanted that, wanted a tattoo so desperately honoring a famed achievement. The White Dragon was old and humble, but added a necessary touch of passion when needed, but only when needed, his firebending prowess above average, adept in mass attacks. The Blue Dragon was perhaps the weakest in firebending but a tactical protege, and every successful coup in the past fifteen years were planned by him. Reoh was directly under him.
Not one of them possessed blue fire, Komovan and the White Dragon neared it, but the skill and precision to achieve that elluded them. Only one person currently alive was able to command blue fire, the Fire Nation Princess Leaza, a reputedly hotheaded and immature eleven year old who had tricked half of Ba Sing Se into believing she was a water tribe peasant.
"This meeting is now being called into order to discuss the robbing of the Republic City Bank and the subsequent events. Present at this meeting are the Dragons, Orange Dragons Reoh, Chong, and Soula, and joining are Technician Malu and Level 3's Leah and Soren and Barus. Komovan?" Xu finished his traditional starting prompt and introduction, and Reoh straightened his back.
Komovan was the most senior, he had been a Dragon the longest, a total of 20 years, nearly half of the middle aged man's life.
Komovan asked Reoh to explain and give a report of what happened and the Black and Blue Dragon seconded him.
Reoh complied and explained everything in the tiniest detail not forgetting to add in nuances and appearance. The time passed before he knows it, the tall but stiff grandfather clock ticking away time.
"Who did it?" the Blue Dragon voiced the question on every mind. Reoh swallowed.
"We don't know," Reoh spoke out and then swiftly revised, "The attackers were lacking in any identifying traits."
"Are you sure?" the White Dragon softly asked and Reoh nodded.
What happened after, all Reoh would remember were blurs of fire and water.
The windows broke, the office was high up close to the sun, and out of the authority's eyes, and seven figures flooded in.
Reoh's breath caught in his throat, same cloaks.
He quickly hurled as much lightning as he could but something weakens his joints all the while, and it comes out in a long stream but only a shock wave. The seven dodge it and Reoh doesn't have time to change its direction.
Komovan shone his hands and charged his attacks and then fired, powerful, comparable to even Leaza's, what Reoh knew of her, but they dodged and weaved through the attacks, as if fire were foam balls and they were playing a game.
Reoh let out another attack, but the same weakness took over and he summoned all of his strength to not fall over onto the floor.
The White Dragon made his way to Reoh manipulating a fire shield around him and motioned for Reoh to go.
Reoh mouthed "no" but felt himself getting dragged out.
Everyone else. What about them? I can't face them. Neither can Komovan, Reoh saw Komovan's hands get tied up, the fight, it couldn't even be called a fight, had ended and Reoh was using the newfound energy from the sun to rocket himself down to the park below along with the White Dragon.
When they landed the world stood still and Reoh cast everything out of his head. My Triad. My men and women, innocent people as well. I fled. I left them to die.
"It was the Red Monsoon Triad," Reoh said with a start.
"What?" Komovan nearly yelled and the nearby- making out- couple looked up and Reoh's cheeks burned.
"They were the ones. I remember a pendant on one of them, and it's the same cloaks, the pendant it's red and it's a water tribe symbol," the words tumbled out of him fast and furious, the latter bearly contained.
"Why didn't you mention this before?" Komovan was calm, oh so calm, and the hairs of Reoh's neck- of all things!- stood straight up.
"What will happen to the Triad?" Reoh asked breathlessly, sweating even on a cool day, and he looked up to the sun desperately half expecting to see it holding a pina colada and wearing sunglasses, so delirious was he.
"Why didn't you mention this before?" Komovan repeated voice edging to steel.
"I didn't know I didn't remember, oh we were fools!"
"Yes we were, utter fools, Reoh" Komovan said sadly.
"Are we going to go back? Are we going to rebuild it, not everyone can be gone the hideouts are nowhere near the office, oh let's go back," Reoh streamed out breathlessly.
"No we can't," the Black Dragon looked defeated for once, the spark in his black eyes gone, the burning spark that had made him so successful.
"Then let's go to the authorities! We know who is behind this attack and they can't let innocent citizens get hurt, and they are probably behind the restaurant case, the one that neither us or the Tremblers could figure out," Reoh streamed out more, losing his breath, hyperventilating.
"We can't," when Reoh was about to respond why, Komovan looked to the side, the couple was gone and then he shouted, "Because the government doesn't care about us, we made more trouble than they and we can count, and so what if some of us were killed or harmed or kidnapped, well that's life and that's good for them, some players in Republic City's crime got knocked out maybe we can hope for a general decrease in overall crime rate as well!" the clouds opened up and rain poured down, the sun swallowed, and the weakness returned, it hadn't left really. "Because we don't matter to the authorities.
"Because we are blamed for making a turn somewhere that took us to this place, and we can connect everything back to them, not everyone is born a hard worker, not everyone is born witha job serviceable to the city, hell, people are still terrified of every firebender, no matter if we aren't those people, and some people aren't born to get great grades in school or the son of the Avatar, or the Avatar. Although the Avatar's duty is hard enough, and I can respect that."
"Komovan," Reoh said slowly but desperately. "We can try to set things right, and we were only trying to do right with the people under us."
"Reoh, this city labels, and it uses people and then throws it away. When power passes it passes and only the legacy remains."
Oh Reoh would never make himself a hero in Komovan's eyes or mind, he was a bumbling idiot right now not seeing eye to eye with his superior and not acknowledging or humbling himself. Of all the things that Reoh would allow himself to care about, that was the only one.
Komovan stopped, face ragged and scarred but wise beyond what his years should be, several hundred more. Reoh searched wildly, breath frayed in the center and edges. Slowly Komovan spoke, everything melting from his face. "You are young Reoh, and you may still have time, to leave something behind. One day you will understand what I'm saying, but now you are too young."
Reoh opened his mouth to respond saying that he wasn't too young, that he was a good 25 years old, and certainly not a child. But before he could utter a word, Komovan left slowly at first, but gaining speed, and he walked out of the park and into the city.
The next morning the newspapers reported an Agni Kai Triad disturbance subsequently followed by the passing of one of its leaders, the apparent leader of the Sato Mansion break in. The body washed up onto the shore of Yue Bay with no signs of struggle.
Reoh left himself to the rain.
Well. Chapter over. This was my favorite one to write so far, I will probably revisit Reoh much later. And I'm not a fan of asking questions about the next chapters so you can think of questions yourself. But seriously this was an easy and fun, not in the kid way, to write.
And what would you guys like more sooner (not necessarily in the next chapter, but a revised order of chapters), Linzin/Pemzin details or more on the Red Monsoon Triad? I'm planning on putting Leaza in after Linzin break up basically to make Lin's life hell and then make it better with cute childhood innocence. Not. By the way you can think of the specifics of what happened in Ba Sing Se using your fruitful imaginations. Because its going to be mentioned by (spoiler!... ish) by Zuko, the FireLady Ursa, and Leaza's brother and a lot of people.
Bye till I write the next chapter which I will try to make soon.