...
The rest of the nationalists who had been at the meeting were long gone, as were the mask wearers. Ayika and her friends ran out of the alley to the street on the canal side of the warehouse. There was a flow of approaching spectators from the town making their way down the streets and across the across bridges, people roused by the clanging of the fire bell to view the excitement. From the sound of it there were several knots of discussion in the rapidly growing crowd focused around the possibility of organizing a bucket-line but those ambitions were daunted by the burning warehouse's immense size and the close proximity of its fellows on each side. Robbed of an obvious answer the ever helpful people of the city defaulted to standing and watching the flames while making low gasping noises under their breath.
Ayika felt as numb as them. Xinfei was at her side franticly asking if the earthbender had harmed her in any way but she could not stop thinking about the men in the masks. Something about them had not been natural. But she found she could not articulate her worries and none of her friends appeared to share those concerns. Mizumi was anxiously discussing what it meant that earthbenders were fighting nationalists and who were the men wearing masks but the other three were too winded to contribute much mental effort to such analysis. Such matters could be resolved when everything was not on fire.
Near the edge of the gathering crowd there was a commotion as a group of men from the fire station pulling a wagon laden with loose dirt fought to break through the mob's surface. The government-badged earthbender who led that convoy was ready to start taring up the paving-stones under people's feet to make a path but when he got a full view of the warehouse and the black smoke billowing out of the orange glowing windows to join the dark night above he sagged. While Ayika huddled with Mizumi and Xinfei, Xiaobao ran over to the fire patrol to offer what help he could out of civic duty and desire to not be left unemployed in the ash.
He came up next to the fire brigade bender and gestured to the nearest wall of the building, yelling to be heard above the chattering spectators. "I work here! The fire has only spread through about a quarter of the space inside. If you bend open a door here you might be able to smother it all, or at least let us save most of the merchandise! I can send someone up to get Mister Gaoli while we do!"
The man shook off Xiaobao's insistent hand. "Hands off, guy!" Another man in a fire patrol headband rushed forward to shove Xiaobao back, an effort that produced much less motion than the man might have expected. The team leader scratched his beard as he continued to survey the situation, not actually looking at Xiaobao's face. "We've only got this one cart of dirt until more manages to fight its way through this crowd. We are wetting it down to put on the other roofs around here. If I go poking holes in the wall I am just going to feed the flames and weaken the whole structure. We're so near the Exclusion that there's only one patrol station close by so we got no extra men to try saving this place, only prevent damage to other buildings. Call your boss if you want, by the time he gets here this will likely just be burned rubble." He turned to the rest of his team who had formed a small bucket-line pulling water out of the canal to dump on the pile of dirt in the cart. "You all done yet?"
When he got an affirmative yell the leader waved his men away from the cart and spread his stance, bending his knees as he brought his fists in close to his waist. The volume of the crowd suddenly dropped as the push reversed its direction and people fought to give space to the man employing the bending arts. The man stamped his foot and using slow, strong movement began to do his work, launching loads of damp earth out of the cart with each move of his arms and legs. Ayika could hear the thuds of the widely spread projectiles landing on top of the buildings that bordered Gaoli's warehouse. That would stop any spare sparks igniting the roofs of other buildings but it would do nothing to save the original warehouse.
Xinfei tugged at his brother's arm. "Come on man, lets get out of here. Ayika's pretty bashed up. No one should be asking about us unlocking the doors since that gardener knocked holes in the brick walls but trust me, you don't want to wait for the guards to work that out. Not to mention that Ma'er guy could still be out somewhere!"
Ayika was about to protest that she was fine and Xiaobao could do what he wanted, but as she raised her hand to give her assurances she saw blood seeping across her arm from several scrapes and cuts. Suddenly she felt all the injuries she had sustained when the lumber fell on her surge back to awareness. For an instant in that pain and vanishing adrenaline she felt light-headed but Mizumi tightened her hold and Ayika was able to hide the swaying. In lie of anything more physically strenuous she shook her head to wave away any special concerns. Xiaobao was stricken by indecision, trading off between searched the faces of the crowd for some prospect of help and looking back at the now condemned property of his employer.
He spoke aloud, not directing his words at anyone in particular. "Look at how many people there are here. We can't just give up and do nothing."
Xinfei said, "Yeah, well you know the City. Everyone loves to watch a tragedy as long as they don't have to lift a finger."
Mizumi was looking at something over the canal, back in the direction of the center of town. "It looks like those people are doing something." She pointed at the far end of the bridge, where a commotion was arising.
Ayika and Xinfei turned to see some disturbance rippling its way through the mass of fire-watchers. As the clamor of bells drew nearer Ayika thought that this might be another cart of dirt from the fire patrol post. However, as she began to catch glimpses of the approaching party she realized she was wrong. She did not know what it was. Two daft-beasts were strung in tandem in front of a cart or carriage of some kind. It was about five paces long but none of the ten men pushing through the crowd along beside it were riding. Instead those wheels supported several contraptions of metal and leather, including what looked like a metal tank, an odd furnace and some weird flat canvas ropes, in addition to what Ayika could only guess was part of a printing press or a torture machine.
The beasts snorted as their claws clicked against the paving stones and the wheels scraped slightly as the halt command was given in front of the burning building. Suddenly something about these newcomers that had been tickling Ayika's mind flashed to clarity. Even as she was half hanging off Mizumi's arm Ayika somehow did not make the connection until she heard the orders being barked in a buzzing, rolling foreign tongue. These men were Fire Nation. Most of them wore uniforms with highlights of red that she took for some type of livery, however, a few of the others wore robes and overcoats that though hastily and sloppily donned were obviously of very high quality. One man in particular in a black robe edged with red seemed to be in control. Then he turned to gesture to something in the canal and Ayika felt fingernails dig into her arm as Mizumi tightened her grasp. Mister Miohuito was here twenty paces away from them.
Ayika angled her body slightly to provide Mizumi a little cover, as the other girl clearly thought her father would take a disapproving view of finding his daughter out here in the night. However, Miohuito was distracted. He had switched to the language of the Kingdom, now calling for help to put some sort of pipe into the canal. The government earthbender stopped in his dirt distributing efforts and was stomping over to find out what the hell these foreigners thought they were doing. Miohuito saw this advance and moved to intercept as another member of his party in red robes opened a little metal door into one of the devices on their cart and began peaking in.
Xinfei leaned in near Ayika, oblivious to the ominous family proximity and instead interested in the strange contraption on the wagon. "Hey, Mizumi, what is that? It looks like it might have some sort of burner they are trying to light. You know I actually might be able to help out there, I've got my box of matches right here. Or in this pocket, no wait, where did they go I thought..."
However, as Xinfei patted his vest and pants it looked like the man in red robes had run out of patience as he straitened up and spread his palm in front of the opening to the second metal tank. Then he made a sharp motion and blazing light briefly bloomed from his hand. Firebender. The presence of a foreign bender did not do anything to ease the mind of the city fire patrol's leader. He stomped up to Miohuito. "I'm going to need you to get your people back to the Exclusion right now! We've got plenty of fire here already and your machinery is blocking space for my guys to bring in more earth carts! I've got to keep this thing from spreading right now and for that I really need about six more earthbenders which I have not got!"
Mister Miohuito was smooth and gracious. "Of course, captain. That is why we are here to lend a hand. You might not have enough benders to surround the fire nor we to control it, however, together we may be able to fight it."
The patrol captain looked skeptical. He glanced over at the collection of tanks, pipes and tubes that now, under the careful direction of the foreign bender who's strange motions were fortunately no longer producing plumes of fire but did seem to be guiding the machine in shuddering movements and high pitched whistling noises. "Your guys can make fire, can they put it out? And you got anymore than that one?"
Miohuito was yelling back at the rest of the Fire Nation crew. "Is the hose secure? Tank primed? How is the pressure looking?" He apparently liked the answers he got because he turned back to the captain and said, "No, Rishi is the only bender I was able to rouse on such short notice, but we do have a force multiplier." He waved his arm and one of his men fiddled with a weird metal cap at the end of the now bulging canvas rope. A jet of water suddenly shot out and splashed against the brick wall. The crowd let out noises of wonderment. This was new magic. Machines pumping and spraying water.
Miohuito turned to the captain. "Perhaps you could help with letting us in the building."
The captain was grinning now over his grizzled beard. "Well, that's more like it. Better than a bunch of tribal fighters, isn't it? Ha, this might actually work." He turned and called out to Xiaobao nearby. "Hey, kid! Have someone go get your master! Might actually be able to save some of his stuff now!"
Xiaobao was relieved, this being the first good thing he had heard all day. "Ok, need to tell Mister Gaoli. Xinfei can you...no, you are still beat up. Shoot, I can't leave, um..." The Islanders were moving their water-shooting pump closer to the warehouse wall. The earthbender secured a place in front and as he planted his feet and thrust up his arms he managed to tear open a hole so they confront the fire inside, propping up the opening with a crudely constructed arch he threw into place with a sign of his hand. The spectating crowd moved in closer to see if they could observe anything within the burning building. One of them caught Xiaobao's eye. The Bao brother yelled, "Chouyu! What are you doing here?"
The middle aged dock hand looked like he had not been asleep, and had rather been availing himself of the night before the general traffic of the town carried him to this spot. He blinked his eyes as if to steady his vision a little more. "Huh? Wha?"
Xiaobao had hold of the man's shoulder now. "I don't care. Go wake up Jun Do right now, and then make sure someone heads up to the Middle Ring as quickly as they can! Mister Gaoli has to know this place is on fire. You got that!? I got to make sure no one steals stuff as we carry it out behind those Islander guys."
Chouyu squinted past Xiaobao's expansive shoulder. "You sure those guys are going to let you get in there?"
Xiaobao frowned at him. "Course they are. Fire captain said so and those Islanders built a whole fancy water squirting machine to protect their dock merchandise."
"Them's not who I mean." He said as he began edging backwards.
Ayika called out, "Um, Xiaobao?"
Xiaobao turned back, and realized that the tide of the onlooking crowd had retreated quite a bit to leave their small knot isolated and exposed in the newly vacated street-side near the warehouse rows. There was a clear reason for this. If in the lower rings the presence of a city guard can repel people on the street then five dark robed Public Safety agents in dark long-sleeved robes and deep round hats showed potential to impose a curfew by their very appearance. Their robes hid their hands and their hats hid their eyes, but with a flick of their arms the water-hose machine and all the those working with it were magically slid black out onto the street by cobbles shifting like a flowing stream. The newly made entrance in the side of the burning warehouse sealed its self behind them, brick by precise floating brick.
Mizumi's father was furious, and unlike the fire captain he was not cowed by suddenly finding himself in the presence of the king's secret police. "What is the meaning of this?! We were starting to make headway in there, and now the fire can go back to spreading!" On some invisible cue all the agents save one dashed off around the corners of the warehouse.
The one agent who remained spoke softly yet clearly. "The fire can not be allowed any avenues of escape to threaten the city."
Mister Miohuito focused his anger on this lone target. "Since when does Public Saftey attend to structure fires?"
"We were already in the area." The Agent raised his head revealing his face and Ayika felt the sudden desire to hide. It was the same man who had investigated Lizhen's death. The man who had attempted to arrest Miohuito for that same murder. He continued in his soft, calm voice. "We have reason to believe that this may have been arson."
Miohuito was just as surprised. "Inspector Yang! Why...? Of course it is arson! Half the harbor is talking about seeing boys in university robes running away from here! You know they have been threatening things like this!"
The Inspector's head did not move as much as a normal person's and his grey eyes were focused on Miohuito but still Ayika felt some measure of his attention sifting through the crowd in his peripheral. He said, "You and your device were very quick to arrive here. Remarkable civic concern in a land that is not your own."
Miohuito jerked back like he had been slapped. "What are you talking about? I donated the mechanical waterspout, so I go with it when it is used. It was either that or donate to the new Exclusion city-god temple. I liked Ambassador Naruhuama enough but the thought of him as a god seems odd to me, even if Sage Huitzlan is so enthusiastic. And of course I am going to head out when I hear the fire bell ringing out from the docks that my business partner's building is on fire! What are you even suggesti..."
He was interrupted by sudden shudders from the smaller buildings on either side of Gaoli's warehouse. Ayika could hear several soft thuds as some of the wet dirt flung up to protect the roofs slid off into the alleys, shifted loose by the vibrations that rattled the walls. Miohuito turned back to the Inspector, his face pale with disbelief. "No, Yang. Wait! You can't just jump to destroying even more buildings than the fire!"
"Proper protocol is to create a fire-break to ensure there is no chance of a fire escaping containment. The owners will receive recompense in accordance with the registered value of the properties." The Inspector seemed almost bored, oblivious to the chattering waves of astonishment his pronouncement had set into motion. He moved away from the poleaxed Miohuito to pace idly along the edge of the condemned Gaoli building ignoring the smoke that was now piercing up through the eaves in great dark plumes. The agent reached the edge of the alley just as the neighboring building began to collapse, it supports torn out by some hidden Public Safety agent. The building seemed to die in slow motion, walls sagging and bursting as they fell inwards into clouds of dust. But something attracted the inspector's attention more than Miohuito's furious outraged protests and with a single upheld hand the agent froze this one collapsing corner in place with invisible force. Gently, like picking up a wounded bird, he bent to grab something off the ground. As he walked away the falling masonry recommenced its downward destiny.
The inspector held his prize up to the multidirectional light of the lanterns carried by some of the crowd and Ayika felt a pit sink in her stomach. It was a red wax-paper box, covered with stamped Fire Nation flames. It rattled with the sound of little sticks.
The inspector said to Miohuito, "Do you recognize these?"
"Hmm? That looks like it is a box of matches."
"Yes. We find this Fire Nation product interesting."
Miohuito threw up his hands in protest. "This is really too much. I will be complaining to Representative Tailang about this second round of unfair accusations! Anyone could have bought such a product. Take one look at the people in this crowd and see that any one of...Mizumi?!"
Mizumi had been trying to hide behind Xinfei and Ayika at the edge of the crowd which had packed its self in the narrow space between the edge of the canal and the invisible demarcation that represented getting too close to the Public Safety Agents. However, since Ayika's shadow could only cover so high and Xinfei had the hiding properties of a lamp pole this proved a fruitless effort. Her father rushed over and pulled his daughter free of her grasp on Ayika with the desperate energy of a frightened parent. "What are you doing here?" he said.
Silent as a cat, the Inspector was behind him. "Yes, what is your daughter doing at this site at this time? Is there somewhere further away you expected her to be?" His gaze took in Ayika and Xinfei. "Mister Miohuito, you have been surprisingly on hand for two devastating events in as many nights. A murder and an arson. Would you care to offer an explanation?"
Miohuito glared at the uniformed bender, hate burning in his eyes. "Why bother? The city will have invented their own answer by morning."
It was true. Even as they spoke Ayika could hear the rising rush of relayed whispers spreading and multiplying through the crowd. The facts were simple enough: a rich foreign merchant and his family, an Islander firestarter found on the scene, suspects in a murder! The rumor mill had plenty to work with. The expressions of curious spectators began to darken as mutters about foreigners and conspiracy began to grumble around them. Ayika grabbed Xinfei and shrank towards Xiaobao.
Miuhuito sensed the same shifting of the tide. He clutched tight at Mizumi's hand. "Come on, we will talk later. We are going back to the Exclusion."
"Father I..."
"Now! Rishi, gather up the engine and follow behind!" The rest of the Islander men looked very uncomfortable at all this but they complied. He scowled at the impassive inspector. "I assume my daughter and I are free to go?"
Inspector Yang bowed his head. "Our powers to detain citizens of the Exclusion are heavily circumscribed."
"Of course they are. Come Mizumi."
Mizumi looked terrified and as she began to move off she reached out her arm to clutch Ayika's hand. She whispered, "Frog well, quarter day" and then she was gone beyond hearing. A crack of splitting brick rang out in the night as the Public Safety earthbenders went to work. With a shuddering rumble Aizhang Gaoli's warehouse collapsed inward into a pile of smoldering rubble. Through cracks in the tumbled masonry a faint orange glow of smothered embers shone in the night, while on the streets and bridges nearby angry whispers grew and spread.
...
Ayika's arm and leg were still aching with their bruises and abrasions but she still would have preferred to walk under her own power when they made their getaway. Xinfei and Xiaobao had other ideas as they fell into position on either side of her and almost lifted her off the pavement by her armpits. She would have protested, but these last two days had worn considerably on her reserves of energy and being sandwiched between two much taller men shielded her from the sight of the unsettling Public Safety agents who drifted like silent ghosts of destruction. However, after two blocks this concern grew old.
"All right you two, I can walk fine." Ayika pushed at them with her elbows and then winced in sympathy when Xinfei groaned softly at the impact to his ribs. She had forgotten his bruises from last night. All in all they were a pretty battered bunch. But at least they had achieved something. The trio slowed to a stop in a dark corner of the riverside docks, far from the sight of Public Safety's destructive firebreak. She began, "I saw Ma'er's assistant! He was working with the masks! I almost had him but then he..." She squeezed the bridge of her nose with two fingers to settle her memories of the chaotic last hour. "But then Ma'er showed up to attack the nationalists. And the assistant said that he tried to stop someone from killing Lizhen. The boy was bringing something to where Ma'er...Or maybe he was betraying Ma'er? No, that doesn't..."
"Ayika, enough." Xiaobao said. The young man was nearly always soft-spoken and gentle, creating a deliberate contrast from his muscle bound exterior. But now he was forceful and commanding as he stared into Ayika's eyes, barely visible in the dark. "You need to stop this investigation game. You are getting yourself in danger."
"What? No!" Ayika cried. "There are so many details, I just need to figure out how to put it together! And those people in the masks, there was something... That strange feeling when they got close. They weren't benders but they didn't just have some fighting training."
Xinfei said, "What are you talking about? That leader was just some guy in a bird mask. I was near him and I didn't feel anything. And then when they were fighting in the fire, well, I could barely see but I guess even a bender can be pushed back by three fighters if he is choking on smoke."
They had not felt the strangeness she had. They had not noticed the dancing of the flames. Ayika rubbed at her forehead. She was starting to doubt herself now. "The government has gotten sidetracked by finding some way to blame everything on the Fire Nation. Mizumi's father is getting set up as a scapegoat. We are the only ones looking into Ma'er and the Masks! Someone ordered Lizhen killed and they are getting away with it!"
"And you have been seen by Public Safety at two crime scenes in two nights, and with suspicious Islanders." Now Xiaobao was pleading, "Ay, you know they need a lot less than that to condemn some kid from the Bed. You need to lie low."
"But, but..." Ayika began, but she knew Xiaobao was not going to budge. She breathed out. "Fine, but I need to meet up with Mizumi tomorrow so I can tell her it is over. She is so determined, she is going to keep pushing the more they sling dirt on her father."
Xinfei suddenly spoke. "Are we sure that she is right about that?"
"What?"
Xinfei scuffed his sandal agains the barely visible wharf-street. "I'm just saying I haven't exactly heard anything that says this Mister Miohuito didn't have anything to do with your teacher's death."
Ayika exhaled a sharp laugh. "The great Xinfei Bao suddenly believes everything Public Safety says. What new world is this?"
Xinfei was defensive at being dismissed so easily. "Hey, I'm just saying. That earthbending attack-gardener gave something to Lizhen and the professor suddenly gets very nervous, like maybe people he used to be all in love with suddenly don't look so great. Then he's killed, the package disappears and Miohuito is found right outside the building. Powerful people are visciously attacking the nationalists, maybe Lizhen figured out he was on the wrong side. Mizumi never did give us an explanation for why her father was lurking around in the dark outside the school like that."
"That's ridiculous!" Ayika found herself getting angry. "There is no proof of all that!"
He threw up his arms. "Yeah, there isn't any proof he is innocent either! Maybe Lizhen was cooperating with the Fire Nation on something dangerous and the Mask took him out. Maybe both sides are wearing masks! I don't know, and neither do you! I'm just saying that Miohuito is not automatically innocent just because Mizumi is your new favorite person!"
Ayika found her hand clenching into a fist as Xinfei loomed over her, but she managed to turn herself away from him and fold her arms below her chest. "I thought you might be a little more sympathetic to someone trying to clear the name of their unjustly accused father."
Xinfei showed no reaction to this below the belt hit. "Yeah, well Dad was actually trying to protect us people, not sell them out to foreigners! That's a big freaking difference! Now you are trying to help some foreign girl and Maolin and I are out of a job because that Ma'er made our workplace burn down while attacking those masks!" Of course it was dark, and she could not make out his face well. She might have heard his voice catch.
Ayia forced him to take a step back, moving in close as she said, "So what? You want to give up?!"
He put his hands on her shoulders but she shook him off. He said, "No, just do it our way. Quiet, figure out what is really going on. And no getting all wrapped up with Miss Fire Nation."
Xiaobao interjected, "Hey, you just promised to give all this dangerous stuff a break. Mom is not in shape for you to be disappearing again."
"Oh, mom's not in shape for anything." Xinfei waved his arm dismissively which just made his brother angrier.
Ayika was so tired. Her head felt thick. All day her balance had been out of kilt, her heart pounding at the wrong times. Now the agitation was spreading to the Bao brothers. She needed to say something, somehow reel this crisis back. But it was late and she did not know if she had gotten a single hour's sleep last night. Her grandmother had said that tired people crept closer to the spirit world, and spirits could not contain their emotions since they were pure mind. Well, right about now Ayika was seeing shapes flitting in the corner of her sight and felt like she was about half an hour from leaving her body entirely. Of course, Grandmother also said that proximity to death brought people closer to the spirit world so maybe she should take it a little easier right now to prevent any unscheduled trips beyond this life. In other words she was dead tired.
"Lets just go home," she said. "It is too late." Above, the gibbous moon shone down through a plume of dust and smoke. Somewhere out in the night, benders fought masks while governments of earth and fire grew closer to conflict. Here three young people made their way along the riverside to their beds.
...