Lin felt useless.
Bad enough when rescuing her people from Amon had left her injured and hadn't done them any good, or when her assault on Amon's airship had only bought Tenzin and his family a short lead, not the escape she'd hoped. Now she was stuck at a desk while others walked her streets, keeping her people safe.
She could get up and assist, but without her bending, she was just another warm body. Her officers knew their beats well enough to direct the military benders to problem areas. As if the whole damn city wasn't a problem area waiting to happen. She was stuck with the dispatchers, trying to cover as much ground as she could, a general leading from behind instead of at the front, where she belonged.
She eyed the note Tenzin had left her. The White Lotus was chartering a ship to the South Pole; if anyone could figure out the bit of bloodbending Amon was doing, it was Katara. Korra was heading down; after all, she was the Avatar. Tenzin thought that Lin should come too. He'd written it in dispassionate terms, noting that Katara had healed Lin often when she was a child, so the familiarity might help her get a handle on the problem. Lin figured that he was being an idiot and blaming himself for her failures; she'd gotten damn sick of how he danced around problems like that.
Still, at this rate, she might as well be useless in a place she hadn't seen in a long time.
"You wanted to see me, Chief Beifong?"
Lin looked up at the young woman, and tried to restore her face to something approaching neutrality. Lin didn't want Asami Sato to think Lin's bad mood was at all her doing. Miss Sato was facing enough bullshit that Lin had to give her bodyguards because some people couldn't accept that the daughter of an Equalist wasn't the same thing as an Equalist herself. For crying out loud, Sato had laid an airstrip to waste and had to fight off her own damn father; one would think that would earn her a little goodwill from some people.
"Yes. Thank you for coming to see me." Lin replied, trying to keep an even tone. "From what I hear, the lawyers have been keeping you busy."
"My fa-" Asami stopped, and took a deep breath. "I know a bit about law; it helped me find good people to handle the transfers of Future Industries' patents and assets." Given how long Hiroshi Sato was due to spend behind bars, it only made sense for Asami to take over. The lawyers were mostly to make it nice and legal.
Lin nodded, trying to frame things in her mind. Corporate law wasn't her strong point. "Do you… I understand that some of your company's developments were seized by the military."
Asami met Lin's gaze. "Some of the property my father gave to Amon and the Equalists was. My lawyers maintain that the plans and manufacturing equipment are not in violation of any laws, so should be returned. Or compensated." The last bit was said a bit offhand. Lin could guess why; it was tainted by her father's fanaticism, but Lin assumed Future Industries would need cash reserves until they could disassociate themselves from the Equalists. For families and friends of benders, a Cabbage Car might seem more appealing than a Satomobile for a long time.
Which gave Lin an opening. "The Republic City police would be interested in some of the hand-held devices your father invented." She grimaced. "If you can make them look less like Equalist equipment and more in line with our uniforms." It could help Future Industries' image problem and finances. And it would let Lin outfit her people with something more than than fists and truncheons and less lethal than swords. Those that were willing to come back - she'd offered retirement and pensions to any officer who had lost his or her bending, the same as with anyone wounded in the line of duty. Of course, she wasn't taking retirement, as crippled as she was.
If her mother had ever heard her talking about being crippled like it was some kind of pity party, she would kick her from here to the Pole. It was a good thing that mind-reading was not an Earthbending ability.
Asami grinned. "That we can do. Shall I go talk to your accountants?"
Lin waved a hand. "Yes, yes. I'm sure they'll put together all the reasons why I'm going to be over-budget because we didn't plan for an invasion this fiscal year."
Maybe that was a good reason to go visit Auntie Katara. Budgeting was one of her least favorite things that didn't get people killed, and she could inflict it on Saikon. He had wanted to be chief, after all.