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Chapter 21

Intelligence

"You are absolutely going to love him!" Sokka told his wife as they approached the hotel desk. "He's smart and wise and talented and funny and-"

"I get it, Sokka," Suki said with a weary smile. "You've been going on and on about him since you blew up the house."

"Sorry," he replied, enthusiasm never wavering. "I'm just so excited to get to see him again!"

"I gathered that."

As the two of them reached the desk, Sokka smiled and began bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"We're here to see Wang Fire," he announced. "Can you please tell us which room he's in?"

"Mr. Fire?" the receptionist repeated. "That would be room five twelve. Would you like me to call your arrival?"

"Yes, please," Suki answered. "Please let him know that Suki and Sokka are here."

"Very well."

"This is so exciting!" Sokka said again as he pulled Suki to the elevator door.

"Wang Fire? That's a pretty weak cover."

"It's a great cover! Who would go looking for a name like Wang Fire?"

In almost no time at all Sokka and Suki stood outside the door of room five twelve. Sokka could barely contain his excitement and he knocked on the door. Nonstop. Until it opened. A middle aged man with crows feet around his sharp eyes answered. Before anything could be said in the way of greeting, Sokka wrapped his arms around the man and squeezed as he hopped in place.

"It's so awesome to have you here, Master Pian Dao!"

"It's good to see you too, Sokka," Pian Dao replied as he pried Sokka's vice like grip off. "And you must be Suki."

"It's an honor, sir," she replied as she shook his hand. "Sokka is very fond of you, and I've recently become a big fan of your work."

"Thank you," Pian Dao smiled as he ushered his two guests in. "Has Sokka told you of the things he learned during his week with me?"

"He's told me that he learned something really cool, but he's never given me details," Suki admitted.

"I am so grateful to whoever put my name in that contest!" Sokka grinned. "It was one of the best weeks ever. Ever."

"You're welcome," Pian Dao smiled.

"Wait. You put his name in?" Suki asked.

"Not me actually," Pian Dao admitted. "However, a friend of mine highly recommended that I meet you so I made sure yours was the name announced. I don't believe anyone entered a formal contest entry form."

"Iroh!" Sokka shouted. "It was Iroh, wasn't it?"

Pian Dao only smiled as he crossed the room to get his bag. He hoisted it up onto the one bed in the room and opened it, revealing two beautifully crafted sheathes with ornate hilts. He removed one from the bag and held it for a moment before drawing the blade. A length of steel as long as Sokka's arm and black as night sang as it slid free from its cover.

"Wow," Sokka said, his voice barely audible.

"This blade was forged centuries ago by my ancestor. The technique used to create such a blade have long been lost, but I assure you there is no stronger steel."

"It's beautiful," Suki said. "But why did you bring it?"

"Sokka, during the week we spent together I came to know you as a scientist, an inventor, an eccentric, and a man. A unique individual the likes of which I have never before had the honor of knowing. You have shown an immeasurable amount of creativity, versatility, and intelligence. These are the traits that define the greatest of warriors and swordsmen, and these are the traits that define you. It would be my honor if you would accept this gift to help you in your upcoming battle."

"Master."

It was all Sokka could manage as he took the blade in his hands. Pian Dao was entrusting him with a treasured family heirloom that was supposed to be passed on to his own child. The fact that the man had no child to pass this priceless gift onto spoke volumes of his faith and kinship with Sokka.

"Though we have only known each other for a short time, I am certain you are the most worthy man I have ever met."

"Thank you, Master Pian Dao," Sokka bowed. "I will do my best to be worthy of your gift."

"Of that I have no concern," his master smiled.

"I'm proud of you, Sokka," Suki said as she kissed his cheek.

"As grateful as I am, Master," Sokka said. "I actually did want to speak with you about something."

"What might that be?" Pian Dao asked.

"I know that the White Lotus has been keeping tabs on the Fire Lord. I also know that a guy like him would never just sit by as his higher ups got taken out. One of the Fallen Angels killed the five men that were in charge of the attack on their recreation center."

"We are aware of this. Fire Lord Ozai has taken no action toward the Angel called Monster. This concerns us because we know Ozai is aware of where Monster is right now and it would be easy for him to finish what his men started."

"See, that's the thing," Sokka said. "If Ozai isn't doing anything about Monster killing those guys, maybe they weren't as high up in the ranks as we would have thought. Angel told us that they were there when Ozai first took over Serpent's Pass, but he's not concerned with losing them. He seems obsessed with power, so it makes sense that he would surround himself with it, right?"

"You are suggesting that he has more dangerous people under his command," Pian Dao concluded.

"That's not a question, is it?" Sokka groaned as his face fell. "You already know."

"I'm afraid we do," Pian Dao nodded solemnly. "From what we have been able to gather, Fire Lord Ozai has at least three people that answer directly to him. Other than that he has given them near limitless freedom to handle situations as they see fit."

"Do we even want to know?" Suki asked.

Pian Dao returned to his bag and pulled out three small folders. He laid each of them out on the bed before addressing the two of them again.

"Please understand that this was not kept from you with the intention of withholding information. We merely wanted to confirm all of the intelligence gathered in these dossiers before subjecting any of you to the rumors about these individuals before providing you with baseless propaganda."

"Which is worse?" Sokka asked. "Rumors or truth?"

"I won't sugar coat things for you, these are all very dangerous people. The first is a man very similar to Ozai himself." Pian Dao held up a photo of a man in his mid to late twenties with long sideburns. "His name is Zhao and he is motivated by the pursuit of power. His loyalty to Ozai is believed to be because of Ozai's natural charisma and magnetism to individuals such as Zhao. Most likely Ozai has made some sort of promise to award him with some sort of authority in the near future if his plans are successful.

"Zhao himself is skilled in two different styles of martial arts and has proven himself more than capable of handling multiple opponents. He does, however, have a tendency to lose control. He becomes so focused on destroying his opponents that he becomes less aware of the world around himself. Our sessions together have taught you the folly of that, Sokka."

"Yes," he nodded as he rubbed his arm sheepishly. "Yes, they have."

Pian Dao moved to the next folder and revealed the photo of an elderly woman with a kind smile and long white hair.

"I think you grabbed the wrong photo, sir," Suki said.

"That is the last mistake most of this woman's opponents ever make," Pian Dao said seriously. "Her name is Hama, and she has been destroying people since long before either of you were born. She has mastered the martial style of Tai Chi and added her own disgusting twist to the art that is both terrifying and deadly. She has bested and killed practitioners half her age and in their prime. We are unsure as to why she works for or with the Fire Lord at this time, but it would not be surprising if she were doing it simply to pass the time."

"That is one twisted old woman," Suki shuddered.

"What quality that makes her the most deadly is not that she is an unexpected opponent. For some reason, in multiple situations her opponents have simply frozen up just before she strikes them down. At first we assumed that it was due to her unprecedented agility and strength that simply caught her adversaries off guard, however in one fight it was recorded that this phenomenon happened multiple times to her opponent who was of master class. We do not know what her secret is, and we do not know how to prevent her from using it."

"I'm going to be having nightmares over these two," Sokka said. "Please tell me you didn't save the worst for last."

"Truthfully, I'm not sure myself," Pian Dao answered. He removed the picture from the third dossier and revealed the face of a large, bald man with thick black facial hair and a tattoo on his forehead in the shape of an eye turned on its side. "We know next to nothing about this man. For as many resources we have at our disposal and the time we have put into this investigation, we have turned up nothing but stories. We have only confirmed three things. Number one: he is a assassin that will work for anyone who can pay his price. Number two: he will commit himself completely to the duration of a contract. If it takes years to get the job done, then he will spend years getting the job done. Number three: he has never revealed his tactics to anyone. We have no idea what sort of tactics he may use in a fight or if he will even fight in the presence of onlookers."

"Well let's hope he won't," Sokka said. "We already know we're going to have a big audience."

"Let's hope that he does," Pian Dao contradicted. "I'd hate to think of his alternatives to eliminating a target in a large and aware crowd if he would prefer not to be seen while killing."

Sokka and Suki both gulped hard at the thought.

"We should tell the others," Suki said.

"Before you leave I'd like to say one more thing," Pian Dao said. "You know that we of the White Lotus can not be directly involved with what is happening. I want you to know that your friends Zuko and Aang were not chosen because of proximity or relation to any members of the Order. We have all placed our futures in their hands, and yours by association, because we have faith that you will be able to accomplish what is being asked of you. You are all amazing individuals, gifted in ways that you yourselves may not even be aware of yet. We entrust our futures to you because we believe in your futures as well."

Sokka and Suki both bowed their heads in gratitude and respect to Pian Dao before turning for the door. The future was looking more bleak and darker by the day, but these people had faith. All of these amazing men and women believed that they could direct the course of the future by taking a stand when no one else could. They both silently prayed that their faith and trust was not misplaced.

A/N: Sorry for the delay. Every time I tried to upload this yesterday I got a blank white page for my trouble. Anyway, Azula stars in the next chapter. Why did Dwight ask to have the day off? And who is that other girl he's with? Find out on Thursday!