A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews, everyone! It seriously makes my day to hear your feedback, no matter how detailed or brief! I'm about to watch episode 1.09 and am pretty sure that will be the one that officially makes this story non-canon (pfffft as if it was ever going to be canon), but hey, gonna keep going with it...should be about 10-11 chapters total! So glad that there are folks out there who are enjoying my little take on the whole star-crossed-lovers thing. You all rock!

.*.*.*.

VIII
Suspicions

A persistent sunbeam prodded Korra's eyes open. She groaned and rubbed her face, sitting up. The bed was empty beside her, and the window shutters were wide open. A folded piece of paper was in her hand. She stared at it, her cheeks warming as the events of the previous night flooded her mind. Slowly, shyly, she was beginning to admit to herself that she was falling for him. Hard.

She unfolded the note and pressed it flat against the bed. Amon's hand was difficult to decipher, not at all what she expected considering his elegant oratory skills, and she squinted at it for a moment.

"Decoy base. Ten o'clock tonight. Alone."

Her first love letter, she thought wryly. How romantic.

Plodding over to the window, she took in the beautiful day. Sunny, warm, blue skies. It matched her mood. Perhaps she would take her breakfast outside, and-

"Bolin," she said aloud. She had promised to meet him for breakfast, and the sun was already high in the sky. Hurriedly pulling on her clothes, she stashed Amon's note in her boot. As she ran out the door and up the pathway to the cliff, she worked at her hair, trying to undo the damage that the prior evening had done.

Bolin was sitting on a multicoloured blanket overlooking the bay, Pabu draped around his neck. A basket of buns sat in the middle of the blanket, a bottle of juice and two glasses beside it. It was so late in the morning that she expected him to have started without her, but his plate was clean. His fingers were fidgety, his face pinched, and a note of panic rang through her. He looks nervous.

"Good morning, Korra," said Bolin as she sat down across from him. "You sure slept late."

"Sorry to keep you waiting." She hammed up a yawn. "Told you I was exhausted last night. Wow, this looks delicious."

"Yeah. Pema was teaching the kids how to make sweet buns. They're a bit misshapen, but I've been assured that they taste delicious. Well, the girls' ones, at least. Meelo's might be a bit more suspect." He fidgeted again.

"What's on your mind, Bolin?" Korra selected the largest of the sweet buns and set it on her plate, then sniffed the juice. Some sort of melon. She poured a glass.

"I don't know how to put this delicately, so I'll just say it," he said. "You've been acting really weird since you were trapped in that cave last month. I want to make sure you're okay."

"What do you mean, weird? I'm fine." She took a big bite of the sweet bun. Salty! She spat it out and examined it. "I think I got one of Meelo's."

"Korra," said Bolin, "you were in there for nearly four days, and you haven't talked with anyone about it. We're all a bit worried about what you had to endure, and you've been so jumpy lately, and yelling at the radio..."

"Not much to talk about. I did some digging, gathered seaweed and water, did some meditation..." She trailed off, hoping he wouldn't call her on that last one.

He raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "You meditated? Really?"

"I had a lot of time to think." She shrugged, wrestling against the blush that threatened to rise to her cheeks. "Look, I'm fine. I just don't want to talk about it." She picked out a fresh bun and tentatively ripped off a chunk to chew. This bun was much better, and she let it melt on her tongue. Bolin was still watching her, his face concerned again.

"Out with it," she said around her mouthful. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He sighed, his shoulders sagging. "While you were missing, when we finally figured out you had gone to Observation Mountain, the surface was a mess due to the landslide, so we couldn't find you at first. Chief - er, Ms. Beifong did her foot-sensing trick to track you down." He looked up at her. "We know you weren't alone in that cave."

Korra froze, and the blush finally won out. The bread in her mouth was difficult to swallow. She set the bread down on her plate and looked down at it, poking it, so that she wouldn't have to meet his concerned gaze.

"It was Amon, wasn't it?" said Bolin.

She didn't reply.

"If he hurt you-"

"No, no," she interrupted, trying to calm her panicking mind long enough to figure out how much she should tell him. "I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want anyone to worry. Yes, he was there, but he saved my life, and I saved his in return. So we had a temporary truce. And now he's going to try to take down Tarrlok, and I might be helping him a bit..." She trailed off as Bolin's mouth dropped.

"You're working with him? And you didn't tell us?"

"Bolin-"

"I thought we were Team Avatar. We work together, and that means everyone is on the same page!"

She winced, seeing the hurt on his face. "That's all still true. It's just convenient if we let the Equalists handle the dirty work we don't want to touch. I didn't want to drag you guys into this - because I saved his life, he has granted me temporary protection, but he won't extend that to the rest of you."

There was a long pause, then Bolin shook his head. "Be careful, Korra. We've seen how easily he manipulates people, and what he can do to benders. Don't let him get under your skin."

Under her skin. Her eyes closed as she remembered the sensation of him behind her, inside her, his hand massaging furiously between her legs...

Her eyes snapped open before the memory could carry her away. "I appreciate the concern, but I promise you that the situation is under control."

Bolin didn't look convinced. She didn't blame him. If that unbidden little flashback was an indication of the amount of control she actually had over the situation, then she wasn't convinced, either.

.*.*.*.

Amon tugged his hood forward to straighten it, adjusting it into place as he strode to the warehouse door. Thanks to his little mental breakdown the night before, he had twenty-two individuals to cleanse; it was going to take a while. He really should have arrived earlier so that he didn't have to waste his entire day, but he had slept longer than he had intended with the Avatar in his arms. It had been a great risk staying so late in the morning, and he had paid for it by having to go to great efforts to stealth out of the temple to his waiting pilot without being detected by any of the acolytes. No doubt the pilot was going to require some sort of overnight bonus to compensate him for his time waiting.

Still, he couldn't help feeling that the whole ordeal had been worth it.

His good mood faded as he opened the door.

His third-in-command was waiting inside, a bundle of papers in her arm; she cocked her head to the storage room, setting her peppered black hair bobbing. "A moment of your time before you get started, Amon." He could tell by her pursed lips that his tardiness had been noticed. Feeling more like a chastised child than the figurehead of a revolution, he marched into the storage room, his third following close behind. She closed the door.

"You were expected here an hour ago," she said.

"My appointment last night ran later than expected." Noticing her brows drop, he added, "I do not have to explain myself."

"I think you might." She held out an envelope, her face drawn. "This arrived in our north-east drop box this morning, addressed to me."

Amon accepted the envelope and examined it. The police force logo was stamped over the broken seal. "How did they find our drop box?"

"Unknown, but we are already relocating it. The letter inside is what concerns me." Her arms folded over her chest.

He pulled it out, and as he read, the blood drained from his face.

"Ms. Aoki,

"It may interest you to know that we tracked your esteemed leader to the bedroom of a prominent bender shortly after midnight last night. We imagine the details of this information are of value to you and your organization, and we wish to make an information exchange. Please reply by post with a desired location and time to the address below."

Amon cleared his throat and folded the letter. "We must be making them nervous. They are so desperate that they are aiming to tear apart our movement from the inside."

Her yellow eyes bored through him. "Is it true?"

He stared at the envelope. Was this the movement he had seen outside Korra's window? Was Tarrlok keeping a police force spying on Air Temple Island? It made sense, he supposed, given that the details of Tarrlok's fight with the Avatar had not yet reached the public. He should have guessed at it, given that he, too, liked to keep his enemies close. He inwardly cursed his carelessness, but kept his voice calm as he said, "Do not allow them to plant seeds of suspicion in your mind, Midori."

"I don't need them to plant anything." She lifted the other papers from her arms, and he saw a newspaper, nearly a month old. The headline read, "Avatar Survives Cave-In, Returns to Republic City."

"We pretend not to wonder," she said. "None of us has asked. But we all know you were down there with her."

He met her gaze. "Yes. I used her to survive. I do not wish to speak of it any further."

She plucked the letter from his hand and slid it inside the paper, then set them on the floor. Pulling a matchbook from her pocket, she set the papers alight. They stared down at them, watching them burn, and he felt a weight lifted from his shoulders.

"No one else has seen that letter, Amon," she said. "And now no one will. But I can only do so much damage control should more like this arrive. I need you to be utterly honest with me so that I can prepare." Looking him squarely in the eye, she said, "Did you spend the night with the Avatar?"

Amon studied her. He had known Midori Aoki since he had first been introduced to the plans of revolution. She had been the one to recognize his natural charisma back when he was just another boy with an agenda handing out hand-written pamphlets on the street, and it was she who had boosted him to the forefront. Though she was officially ranked third in command, in a way she was almost a surrogate mother or aunt, someone who had helped lend an air of maturity to his goals. Many in the organization looked up to her, and if he were to lose her confidence, he did not doubt that the resulting schism would obliterate the Equalist movement. This had to be handled gracefully. So far as he could see, there was only one way to play this.

"I did," he said. "And it is all part of a greater plan."

.*.*.*.

Shortly before ten that night, Korra powered a small boat across the bay. She missed having Naga with her, but the polar bear dog had again been curled up with the girls, and she didn't have the heart to disturb them. Besides, Naga's absence might have drawn attention to Korra's. It was safer to go alone.

The streets were nearly empty save for patrolling police forces, but they were sparse enough that Korra easily avoided them, hurrying to the decoy base where she had met Amon the night prior. The lights were out and, when she stepped inside, the office had been stripped bare. Tarrlok's police force must have confiscated all the material they had left behind, she reasoned, suddenly glad that Team Avatar hadn't stuck around for long.

"Amon?" she whispered, sparking a small flame in her hand as she began to descend to the basement. "Are you here?"

"Avatar." He stood at the far end of the hallway, a lantern in his hand. Something his stance seemed off; it was too aloof, too stiff.

She hesitated, and he noticed.

"What's the matter, Avatar?" He was using the deeper registers of his voice, the threatening rumble that he had used the first time they had met face-to-face. "Don't you trust me?"

She crouched, awareness of danger pouring over her like water, making her skin crawl. "No, I don't," she said slowly.

"That is wise," said Amon.

A crackle sounded behind her. She turned to see the lieutenant, wielding electric batons.

"What-" was all she managed before the batons made contact with her gut. Her muscles seized and she dropped, writhing in pain.

Amon closed the distance with near-inhuman speed and loomed over her. "Bind her."

"Bastard," she managed around the spasms of her jaw. Several other Equalists appeared out of recesses in the walls to tie her arms and legs. The electricity finally stopped, and it took a few moments for the last tics to leave her body.

Amon crouched over her, looking down the nose of his mask. "Once again, I must apologize for my poor hospitality."

She gathered heat in her mouth and blasted a puff of fire at his face; he sifted out of the way like smoke.

"Such temper will only extend your suffering," he said. "Listen carefully: if you answer my questions, you shall be released unharmed. If, however, you try to pull a stunt like that again, then I will extract my answers more forcefully. Do you understand?"

She channelled all her hatred and fury into her glare. "You monster! I trusted you."

He sat down in front of her, folding his legs beneath him, and sat ramrod-straight. "You have experienced Councilman Tarrlok's bloodbending first hand. I need information."

"I would have told you if you had just asked," she growled. His gaze was so cold that she felt as if she were looking at a different man than the one she had seen the night before. The betrayal was crushing her stomach, making it hard to breathe.

"I am asking, and this will be the last time I ask before I use force. Tell me everything."

The lieutenant stepped into view behind Amon, batons brandished. Seeing that there was no escape, Korra's head dropped and, defeated, she began to speak. She hid no details about all Katara had told her about bloodbending; though the woman had never taught her the skill, she had described the theory behind it, albeit begrudgingly. By the time she had recounted the details of her fight with Tarrlok, Amon's eyes were wide.

"Can he bloodbend more than one person at once?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Korra. "But others have been able to before, so it wouldn't surprise me."

"Is there anything that can counteract these powers? Weaken them?"

"Other than a lunar eclipse, none that I know of. He should be weakest during the day, but he also shouldn't be able to bloodbend without a full moon in the first place."

Amon stood and walked a few paces away, his hands clasped behind him. Korra's lips curled as she glared at his back.

"Have I met your conditions?" she demanded. "Are you going to honour your word and release me?"

He did not turn around. "I have more to say to you, Avatar, but it is for your ears only. Lieutenant, please escort the others to our transport."

There was a long silence. Korra twisted to look behind her. The lieutenant looked confused.

"Lieutenant," said Amon again.

"Yes, Amon." The man stopped to double-check the cinching on Korra's bonds, then cocked his head at the other Equalists. As they began to file out, she saw how many there really were: about a dozen, by her count. It was a good thing she hadn't tried to fight her way out.

"Do I frighten you so much that you need to bring a small army whenever you want to speak with me?" she said.

The last of the Equalists ascended the stairs, and the door closed, leaving the two of them alone. Only then did Amon's head drop, though he still did not turn around.

"I did not wish to meet like this," he said.

"How dare you," she exploded, writhing against her bonds. "I trusted you!"

"There are growing suspicions that needed to be quelled, and you needed to seem genuinely betrayed and afraid."

"That's because I am!"

He spun and marched to her, not meeting her eye, then crouched behind her and began to untie her feet. "We don't have much time, so listen to me closely-"

"I'm through listening to you. You're just going to fill my ears with more lies and then-"

"Listen closely," he intoned, his voice dropping in register again, dangerous. A shudder ran through her body and she stopped talking. The bonds at her feet dropped away, and he began to work at her hands. "Tarrlok's forces are spying on Air Temple Island. We were compromised."

"Compromised?"

"My third-in-command received a letter announcing that I was in the bedroom of a powerful bender, and that there were more details available."

She glanced back at him. "That's impossible. We'd notice if there were spies. It's not a very big island, and the acolytes and the White Lotus are everywhere."

"And yet, I was able to land, visit you and leave, all undetected by your forces. You are not so guarded as you think. Tarrlok is keeping a close eye on you, undetected." He tugged at the bonds and they slid free of her wrists. "It was a mistake for me to visit you."

She sat up, rubbing her forearms to scrub the impressions of the bonds from her skin. "Yeah, well, this whole thing has been a mistake. Every single step of it."

"Korra-"

"No, save your breath. You can try to talk your way around this all you want; I know where I stand with you now."

He stood and held out a hand to help her up, but she smacked it away and stood up on her own. Something akin to hurt flickered across his eyes, but then his gaze steeled.

"I have no further questions," he said.

"Good. Can I leave now?" She folded her arms over her chest. "Or do you have to kiss me and then knock me unconscious first?"

"What would you do if I tried to kiss you right now?"

"Probably punch you in the face."

"Then I hope you'll excuse me if I decide not to risk it."

She pushed past him and stormed toward the stairs; she had just reached the bottom step when he spoke:

"Korra."

She whirled. "What?"

"Be careful," he said quietly.

Her anger deflated against her will at the gentle tone to his voice. Looking away, she nodded. "Goodbye, Amon."

Then she turned and began to climb the stairs.

.*.*.*.

Amon stepped into the skycraft, and the hatch closed behind him. The lieutenant stood at attention waiting for him.

"Did you get everything you needed to know?"

Amon moved to the window as the craft began to ascend. Korra was below, running through the streets toward the bay. He watched until she shrank from view.

"Amon?" asked the lieutenant.

"Yes." His leader closed his eyes. "Yes, I did."

But at what cost? his conscience whispered.

.*.*.*.

To be continued in Chapter 9...