Chapter 11
"Busy evening, huh?" Smellerbee shouted, barely dodging out of Jet's way behind the bar counter as she rushed to refill the beer mugs of several thirsty patrons.
"Just the way we like it, Bee," Jet grinned, working on a Bailey's Mudslide cocktail for the lady sitting at the very end of the bar counter.
"Think you're on, hot shot?" Bee winked, giving a barely perceptible nod at the woman Jet was about to serve with another delicious cocktail.
"She's on her third drink, so I'm fancying my chances," Jet laughed. The woman in question was definitely making Jet very interested. She was obviously highly attractive, Jet could tell that right away despite her wearing a trench coat with the collar up, a fedora and dark shades, making it clear that for some reason she didn't want to be recognized. And she clearly didn't have a companion, nor did she seem to be waiting for one. Jet was definitely considering making a move soon.
"Well, good luck, I guess," Bee shrugged. "She looks like bad news to me, but I know that won't deter you."
"What can I say, Bee, you know me too well," Jet snorted before walking up to the mysterious woman to deliver her drink. "Another satisfied customer?" Jet smiled after the woman had taken her first sip of the cocktail.
"Oh, we're getting there," she replied, almost a little teasingly and in a way that suddenly seemed to jog an old memory in Jet. Still, no matter how hard he tried to remember, Jet couldn't quite put his finger on who this woman reminded him of. All he knew was that there was something vaguely familiar about her.
"I'm sorry, and believe me, this isn't a line I try on all the attractive ladies who sit down at the bar, but I'm pretty sure I know you from somewhere," Jet decided to try his luck.
"I get that occasionally," the woman nodded. Her voice also seemed very familiar, but it was only when she lowered her shades and their eyes met, that Jet immediately recognized the unmistakable gaze of steely determination in the woman's deep brown eyes.
"Well, I'll be damned," Jet just about managed to keep his surprise under control. He leaned a little closer to her. "I suppose you would like to remain incognito… Madame Governor?"
"I would appreciate that," she gave him a grateful nod, continuing to sip her liquor.
"Done," Jet smirked. "Anyway, what's the occasion? Is this you being a very hands-on governor and personally inspecting a new business? As you can see, everything here is completely above the board."
"I do see that," Kori grinned. "But don't stress it, this isn't a surprise inspection… not of the pub, anyway," her grin broadened, immediately reminding Jet of Kori's reputation and all the rumors surrounding her, something he had always thought very unfair and hypocritical. Jet had nothing whatsoever against women who were bold about flirting, especially if they were as attractive as Kori.
"Well, whatever you may want to inspect, I'm sure we have no secrets here at The Last Straw," Jet winked at her.
"This cozy little place was covered in the papers last week," Kori continued. "Imagine my surprise when I looked at the article and suddenly recognized the man who saved my life during the war ten years ago."
"I'd love to take all the credit for that heroic act, but I have to be fair and acknowledge that the rescue would have never succeeded without my team," Jet said. "Although, I seem to remember that those ten years ago, it was I who got all the rewards for rescuing you."
Kori finally blushed at that comment. Jet felt rather proud that he'd managed to get that reaction. "Well, I think it was probably for the best," she said. "Unless you think those rewards should have been shared with the entire team."
"Definitely not," Jet said quickly, making Kori grin. "Crazy memories, though, weren't they?" he asked. Jet didn't particularly care to bring up the war when speaking with women he was interested in sleeping with, but Kori was different. She'd lived through the war and she'd seen its horrors. She'd spent time as a valued hostage, a pawn in this cruel game between two superpowers. She'd seen the city of her birth reduced to rubble. Jet was more than certain that Kori would understand him. "One horror after another, but it made the rare happy moments feel so much more valued, didn't it?" he said.
"Exactly," Kori nodded. "But I'm curious, Jet. That article said you'd been living in Ba Sing Se for the past six years. Yu Dao must have so many ghosts for you. Why'd you decide to come back?"
Jet hesitated for a moment before answering. Bee and the rest of the former Freedom Fighters had asked him the same question after his return, and he had replied that he had simply missed them all. But Jet knew that it wasn't the full truth. "Because even though so many of my memories of the war are terrible, there are some that make me feel more alive than I ever felt in Ba Sing Se," Jet replied. "And I guess I have been chasing something like that for years now. Something that will make me feel more alive."
"I get that. More than you might imagine," Kori replied, nodding. "What I do now is very important, to me and to the people of this city. But my days now consist of struggles with bureaucrats and other politicians. And you know what makes me feel alive? Thinking back about some of my crazy escapades during the war. Like that evening with just the two of us on that dirty cot. It was moments like that when the outside world just didn't seem to matter."
"I remember that time," Jet grinned. "I remember it very fondly." He gave her a piercing stare. "Do you think that moment could be recreated?" Jet asked.
"I think maybe we should find out," Kori spoke in a sultry voice. "But it looks like you're having a busy night."
"My old comrades still have my back," Jet smiled. Indeed, Longshot had already realized which way the wind was blowing and had jumped in to help Bee behind the bar. "I'll meet you outside in two minutes," Jet said. "My place is within walking distance."
"Don't make the lady wait too long," Kori warned as she pulled away from the bar and turned to head outside. As Jet prepared to follow her, he briefly wondered whether he should care that Kori was a married woman, quickly deciding that it was hilarious for that to even occur to him.
Zhao Sakamoto felt quietly pleased with himself following the matches of the fourth round. By now, the other competitors had caught on to the fact that he meant business, and so he had run into a much better prepared Aang Jetsun, in the end managing to eke out a draw. Still, Zhao fully enjoyed the attention that his successful return to competition had brought to him. He wondered whether Azula wasn't starting to regret her decision not to block the reversal of his ban that had been keeping him from returning to the Pai Sho tour.
Azula had managed to skillfully avoid him for the first few days of the tournament, but Zhao was determined to force a meeting between them. He'd tried to bait Azula into confronting him by playing mind games with Yue Taqqiq. Thus far, both Yue and Azula had remained stoic and completely unaffected, which was starting to annoy Zhao. Maybe trying the old schemes of his former master was not a good strategy, after all. Azula was probably wise to anything that Ozai might attempt, which meant that Yue would be equally well prepared.
Still, Zhao simply wished to exchange words with Azula, and he knew that if he managed to cross her path, Azula would be too proud to back down from a confrontation. Following his game with Aang Jetsun, Zhao had spotted Azula among the spectators, waiting for Yue to finish her game against Long Feng's daughter. Instead of heading to the press zone to make himself available for an interview, Zhao made for one of the staff entrances and after a bit of navigating through the maze-like corridors, he eventually managed to find the stairway that Azula was most likely to take as she made her way to the parking lot.
Soon enough, a steady stream of people began to trickle towards the exits, but only some of them were headed for the parking lot, so when Azula Nakamura finally appeared, Zhao was able to make his way towards her without getting stuck in the crowd. Zhao would have much preferred to face Azula when she was alone, but so far, Zhao hadn't even seen Azula without one of her Water Tribe lovers. Azula obviously looked fantastic in a red crop top and high waisted jeans. She was accompanied by Katara Enuaraq, and Zhao supposed that Katara also looked quite fetching in her blue spaghetti strap dress, but as always when Azula was present, Zhao had eyes only for her.
"Azula," Zhao called out to her, seeing that Azula was about to simply walk past him without any acknowledgement. "I was hoping we could have words," he said, managing his most charming smile.
"Why would I care to exchange words with you, Zhao?" Azula snapped, turning towards him. Her cheeks were flushed with anger, making her look even prettier. Next to her, Katara was glaring daggers at him. If looks could kill, Zhao knew that he'd be a dead man.
"Well, you don't really have to say anything, my dear, I would merely beg you to hear me out," Zhao spoke humbly. It wasn't that he seriously believed that he could get on Azula Nakamura's good side, not after everything that had happened between them. But he could still mess with Azula and perhaps the effects of that would trickle down to her white-haired girlfriend. "I know that I am here only as a result of your benevolence. You could have made sure that my ban remained in place, but you didn't. I wanted to thank you for that."
"Exactly," Azula nodded. "And don't you forget about it."
"Well, I probably could decide to just forget about it," Zhao smirked. "After all, you have stepped down from the federation board. It's not like you can do anything to get me tossed out, not anymore."
Azula's expression darkened considerably, while Katara looked like she wanted to repeatedly stab Zhao with the heel of her shoe. "Don't forget that I still have some very unflattering information on you, Zhao," Azula hissed. "I withheld a lot of information that I could have included in my book and you know it."
"I know," Zhao admitted. "But some of it would be very embarrassing to you as well, wouldn't it?" he grinned. From the revolted look on Azula's face, he knew that she understood that he was referring to the incidents from her teenage years. Zhao knew that he had acted inappropriately, but he hadn't been able to help himself. And he was sure that Azula didn't really want to come clean about all the times when he had flirted with her underage self or even tried to cop a feel.
"I meant the documents incriminating you in war profiteering, ones that have never been made public," Azula recovered quickly. "Don't underestimate my ability to sink you, Zhao."
"Maybe you could," Zhao admitted. "But the war for Yu Dao is old news now. People have already dealt with the aftermath. Who really wants to revisit that old story? Besides, I've already served my time. Trying to bring extra charges against me six years later? It won't go as well as you might think, Azula. You're going to look petty. People will think you're trying to eliminate your girlfriend's rival."
"Don't flatter yourself," Azula snapped. "You are not on the same level as Yue."
"Exactly," Katara nodded, deciding to jump in. "We don't need to pull something underhanded to get you out of the way. Yue is going to destroy you at the Pai Sho board."
"I'm sure she's going to try her best," Zhao said, sensing that he had managed to successfully annoy the two women. "She might be in for a surprise."
"Don't be ridiculous," Azula snorted. "Anyway, was there something you wanted? I think we're done catching up. And before you ask, no, this wasn't pleasant, and no, we shouldn't do this again. Make sure to stay out of our way, Zhao, or I might still disclose all the remaining information I have on you."
"And stop your stupid mind games with Yue," Katara added angrily. "It's not going to work. Ozai failed to break us, and you think you will? You're deluded if you believe that."
"Hmm, I seem to recall that Ozai broke you very effectively, Ms. Enuaraq," Zhao smiled wickedly. "But I shan't delay you any longer. After all, I only stopped you because I wanted to thank Azula for her generosity."
"Yes, I'm sure that's all it was," Azula snorted, taking Katara's hand and together, they walked away, leaving Zhao smiling smugly. He wasn't sure if he had achieved any kind of long-term effect by managing to annoy Yue's coaches and closest confidantes, but by Agni, it had felt very satisfying to see Azula so irritated. Besides, this conversation had reassured Zhao that he didn't have to worry about Azula trying to publicly disgrace him and he could feel safe from her retribution.
With this confrontation behind him, Zhao returned to the press zone, but he made sure to avoid getting dragged into any longer interviews, merely waiting for Joo Dee to be done with the reporters following her narrow loss to Yue Taqqiq. Joo Dee was understandably distraught as they made their way back to Zhao's car.
"I'm so mad at myself," Joo Dee fumed angrily. "I almost had her! How did I let that game slip away like that? Ugh, I hate that righteous white-haired bitch. I hate her almost as much as I hate Azula Nakamura."
"I understand that, Joo Dee," Zhao nodded at the daughter of his old business partner. "Considering the ties between them, defeating Yue Taqqiq would have hurt Azula." Joo Dee was one of the people with whom Zhao had kept correspondence during his years in prison and then in forced exile from high society. He was well aware of Joo Dee's raging hatred of Azula Nakamura, both for causing the death of Joo Dee's father, and for profiting from it through her tell-all book.
"I know. I'll get her the next time, I swear," Joo Dee said determinedly. She'd always been a rather average Pai Sho player, but playing long distance matches with Zhao had sharpened her talent and made her a lot more formidable. Also, it seemed that in Joo Dee's case, revenge was a strong motivator. They had prepared for this tournament together, and as a result, they both were in the best Pai Sho forms of their career. Zhao knew that his level of play had shocked some of the competitors, but in his opinion, they were rather stupid to be surprised. Zhao's preparations in the past had always been tailored around helping Ozai, not towards making himself a stronger and more rounded player. With Ozai out of the picture and slowly expiring, Zhao was free to focus on his own play and the results were immediate.
"You certainly proved yourself well capable of beating Taqqiq," Zhao nodded as they reached the car and got in.
"Thanks, Uncle Zhao," Joo Dee said gratefully. "Still, I think hurting Azula directly would be even more satisfying. I already tried back in Ba Sing Se, but she got lucky."
"What do you mean?" Zhao asked as he started the drive back to the hotel. This was the first time he was hearing about Joo Dee trying something against Azula.
"I tried to run her over with one of my dad's old unregistered cars," Joo Dee confessed. "But I failed. She escaped with some bumps and bruises, the bitch."
"I wasn't sure you were committed to going this far," Zhao admitted, feeling a little shocked. Joo Dee had spoken about wanting to kill Azula Nakamura, but Zhao had always thought that it was either a figure of speech or mere impotent raging. It was only now when Zhao realized that Joo Dee's level of rage held a lot of potential.
"It's that bloody movie deal that got my blood boiling," Joo Dee snapped. "She's getting millions upon millions from it. Seriously, she shouldn't be alive to enjoy having all that money."
"I'm not going to argue against that," Zhao nodded. "But running someone over with a car is just too unreliable."
"If I had a gun, I would just shoot her," Joo Dee said confidently.
"Do you know how to handle a firearm?" Zhao asked.
"Of course, my father made sure of that," Joo Dee replied. "But the Ba Sing Se authorities confiscated all of my father's weapons, and I suspect I'm probably on some kind of register as a potentially disloyal person not to be sold guns to."
"Well, I could probably help you out with that," Zhao smiled at the woman in the passenger seat. "If you're truly serious about it."
"You bet I am, Uncle Zhao," Joo Dee nodded eagerly. "Please, get me a gun. My father's death must not go unavenged."
"Alright, Joo Dee," Zhao said, smiling to himself. "Long Feng was a loyal friend, and I also hate someone like Azula profiting from his death. I'll get you your gun, Joo Dee."
"Well," Kori Morishita sighed, taking a huge drag off the cig offered by Jet. "That was…"
"Pretty good, right?" Jet chuckled, his arm wrapped around the naked shoulder of his lover, Kori pressing against his side, with her leg thrown across his.
"I shouldn't elaborate on that," Kori smirked, relinquishing the cigarette. "I've noticed that complimenting men too much on their satisfactory performance makes them lazy and not worth keeping around."
"Wait, so I'm worth keeping around?" Jet snorted. "I had no idea that was an option."
"I prefer things to remain casual, but some catches are worth holding on to longer before I release them," Kori grinned confidently.
"I love how you just keep talking about these things as if I have no choice in the matter," Jet rolled his eyes. Still, despite his preference for hookups, he couldn't deny that keeping things casual but regular with Kori was interesting to him. Kori was highly attractive and had a killer body, from having fantastic tits and down to the rest of it, she was near perfect. And Jet couldn't deny that he'd just enjoyed possibly the best sex in his life.
"Your little pub needs an alcohol license to function, right? It would be a shame if something happened to it," Kori winked at him.
"Oh shit, blackmail?" Jet laughed. "I guess you were right and I actually don't have a choice in the matter. Besides, I'm sure it's my patriotic duty to serve the governor of this great new republic."
"Exactly right," Kori grinned at him. "Being my special friend comes with a lot of perks, as you'll find out in due time. Well, I guess you already discovered some of these perks just now."
"That I did," Jet nodded. "Anyway," he looked around the small apartment, suddenly feeling self-conscious from how out of place a glamorous woman like Kori looked in this place. "I'm sorry if the place doesn't meet with your standards. Maybe next time we can find something classier."
"I would prefer coming back here, actually," Kori said, surprising Jet. "Do you remember the dirty barracks and the flea ridden cot on which you fucked me repeatedly those ten years ago? I've never felt more alive than in that moment. And I feel more alive having sex with you here than at some glitzy hotel or at the governor's mansion."
"That makes a surprising amount of sense," Jet had to admit after a moment of thought. "Listen, even though I really don't care," he spoke up a while later after they had finished sharing the cig. "But I'm still curious about your marriage."
"You and the four and a half million citizens of this tiny republic of ours," Kori snorted. "What's there to say? Haru is home for maybe four months during the year? And recently, I realized I've started booking my foreign tours for the months when he actually plans to be at home, so that should tell you everything you need to know."
"Why not just get a divorce then?" Jet asked.
"My PR team thinks that it would be bad optics or something," Kori rolled her eyes. "Everyone already thinks I'm cheating on my husband all the time."
"I have no idea why they would think that," Jet laughed.
"Exactly," Kori joined in on the laughter. "But honestly, the first two years after our marriage, I was completely faithful to Haru. And yet the stories in the press about how I was a promiscuous whore never stopped even when I was faithful. So, I decided that if they wanted a whore, I would just embrace that and give them a whore."
"Well, if you ask me, it's the best decision you've ever made," Jet grinned.
"Oh, does that mean you're ready to go again?" Kori replied, running her hand down his stomach and lower, eventually coaxing a strained grunt from Jet. It was only the very beginning of their illicit relationship, but Jet was already starting to realize that he'd have his work cut out, trying to keep up with his new mistress.
"Sorry, this won't take too long," Suki said hastily, busy working on her report on the matches of the fifth round of the Fire Fountain City tournament. "I'll be with you in a few minutes!"
"Well, hurry up, or you'll miss the start," Mai replied, lounging on the sofa with her attention fixed on the TV. Mai was rather hyped for Darkroom, the anthology horror series that she and Azula were both very passionate for. Suki enjoyed the show well enough, herself. It was like a darker version of Twilight Zone, but Suki probably wouldn't watch it on her own, without Mai to cuddle with on the sofa.
"It's not the show I'm in a hurry for, but rather your company," Suki said. Mai had arrived from Caldera City the day before to spend the rest of the week in Fire Fountain City. Suki was happier than she let on about Mai joining her, but she was finding the work and life balance difficult to maintain, especially in the middle of a busy tournament. The only saving grace was that Mai was perfectly happy with solitude and didn't expect Suki to spend every waking moment with her. Whenever Suki was busy with her work, Mai would always find something to immerse herself in and never expressed the slightest annoyance about not being paid attention to.
"I'll be here after the show, but Darkroom won't be," Mai replied.
"Don't worry, I'll survive. Or catch a rerun later," Suki laughed.
"Well, suit yourself," Mai shrugged as the show's opening credits began to roll. Suki gripped her pen harder, trying to focus on finishing her summary of the most recent round of play.
She had already done the hardest part, having described the main contests of the round. Everyone's eyes had been on the struggle between Zuko and Zhao. It was clear that Zuko had been very prepared and motivated, but it still had taken him seventy-four moves to break Zhao and finally inflict Zhao's first loss of the tournament. Zuko was now snapping on Yue's heels after Yue had failed to score her fifth win in a row, having to settle for a draw with Aang.
In the other games, Piandao had scored another victory, further cementing the decline of Jeong-Jeong. Suki didn't want to be too critical of the old Fire Nation grandmaster, but she could tell that he was playing in too many tournaments and wearing himself thin. She made sure to remark on that in her article, hoping that Jeong-Jeong would read it and consider the advice of taking a break.
The remaining games didn't deserve detailed coverage and Suki quickly rushed through describing Toph's rather easy win over Siku. She couldn't help but be rather scathing about yet another loss suffered by Haru, this time to On Ji, and Suki also had fun with some light mocking of Hahn for a rather embarrassing loss to Joo Dee. With her report finally done, Suki used the fax machine she had requested for her hotel room to send her report back to The Harmony Ring offices where it would go into print a few hours later. Finally, after another busy day, Suki was free to grab a glass of wine and join Mai on the sofa.
"Did I miss anything good?" Suki asked, enjoying the gesture of familiarity with which Mai leaned into her.
"Sorry," Mai said. "You miss the start of the episode, that's on you. I can't be expected to narrate a summary for you."
"Cold," Suki sighed. "Why do I tolerate you, again?"
"I'm not entirely sure," Mai snorted. "Maybe the sex is just that good?"
"Oh, well… that's definitely true," Suki smirked. She brushed Mai's dark long hair out of the way as she leaned in to place a teasing kiss on the other woman's neck, one that was sure to leave a light mark on her pulse point. Mai made a slightly annoyed sound at the distracting kiss, but Suki could feel her body reacting with excitement.
"How about we just watch the show? Or you could let me watch if you're not interested," Mai said. Suki could sense that the annoyance in her voice was at least partly fake, but she still didn't want to push and make said annoyance real. "We'll get to the other kind of entertainment later, anyway," Mai added, trying to sound indifferent and failing.
"I'll hold you to that," Suki chuckled, cuddling up closer to her lover. She sometimes still wondered why Mai tried to put up this pretense that she wasn't particularly interested in sex. From their brief history together, she could tell that Mai was just as passionate as Suki herself, but perhaps it was because sex with another woman was something new for Mai. She hadn't needed much direction, though, making Suki suspect that Mai had received some incredibly embarrassing guidance from her best friend Ty Lee, lessons that had probably involved complicated diagrams.
As Suki did her best to focus on the show, it actually succeeded in capturing her attention, and several of the fifteen-minute-long mini episodes flew by quickly with them both just watching in silence. Suki took heart from not having to seize the initiative in what followed next, though. The other kind of entertainment had clearly been on Mai's mind the whole time as she now turned to face Suki, their lips meeting in a kiss that started out soft and probing, but quickly became almost frenzied, accompanied with hands frantically tugging at each other's clothes, desperately seeking access to the bare skin underneath. Just when Suki had finally managed to unhook Mai's bra and things were about to get really interesting, they were suddenly interrupted by the ringing of the nearby phone.
"Seriously?" Suki groaned, pulling away from yet another kiss. "Sorry, but I probably should-"
"Of course, it could be important," Mai nodded, managing to hide her annoyance.
"I'll get rid of them quick," Suki promised, dashing to pick up the phone. "Hello? Azula?" she asked, having recognized the voice of their friend. Mai's reaction was a quiet groan as she pressed a palm against her face. "What can I do for you? I'm a little busy here."
"Sorry, this won't take long," Azula spoke on the phone. "I wouldn't want to distract you from finishing your article." Suki just barely managed to swallow her laughter at that. "I just wanted to ask if you managed to find out anything on Zhao."
"Oh, that inquiry," Suki replied. Azula was convinced that someone from the Pai Sho elite, current or retired, was secretly assisting Zhao, and she had asked Suki to snoop around. "As far as I could tell, nothing like what you suspect has been going on, Azula. I know that Zhao has been playing a lot of long-distance games via mail with some of the retired grandmasters. And he's been practicing with Joo Dee, but that's about it, sorry."
"Hmm, well, thank you, Suki," Azula replied, not sounding completely convinced. Her reaction was not particularly surprising to Suki. Azula had a habit of seeing conspiracies everywhere. "Well, I guess I should leave you to your writing. Until tomorrow."
"Bye, Azula," Suki said as the call was disconnected. She then placed the handset on the desk instead of returning it to the phone, making sure that no further calls could come through.
"Azula and her timing," Mai commented dryly.
"Yes, but we're not going to let that stop us, are we?" Suki grinned, walking back towards the bed.
"Come here and let's find out," Mai replied with a promising lilt in her voice.
On the evening of the sixth round of play, Azula and her wives were in a great mood as they left the restaurant of the hotel they were staying at. They had just enjoyed a resplendent meal over a couple of bottles of wine, allowing themselves to indulge ahead of the off day tomorrow. The three of them had been in a celebratory mood, following Yue's win over Hahn earlier in the day. With the other results also going their way, Yue was now leading the tournament by a whole point ahead of Toph and Zuko.
Certainly, the job was far from done, but Yue's start to the tournament had been near perfect. Yue still had to face the other big favorites like Piandao, Toph, Zuko, and then finally Zhao in the last round, but despite the difficult schedule Azula felt quietly confident about Yue's chances. Her play had been very strong in this tournament, and now all they had to do was to keep Yue happy and relaxed until she reached the finish line. Yue was very eager to return to the rooftop suite for a quick midnight swim in the pool, and Azula saw no reason not to allow Yue this small indulgence.
They walked down the hallway towards the elevators, jubilant and giggling like schoolgirls, but the trio ground to a halt when someone suddenly stood in their way. Much to Azula's unpleasant surprise, it was Joo Dee Feng, frantically going through her purse.
"Would you mind getting out of our way?" Azula asked, not even bothering to appear polite. This little bitch was fraternizing with Zhao and as such had clearly chosen her allegiance. Joo Dee's shocking response was to pull a gun from her purse and level it at Azula. "What the-" Azula gasped, Katara and Yue also reacting with shock as they all took an immediate step back.
"You think I have just forgotten about the role you played in the death of my father?" Joo Dee glared, still aiming the gun at Azula. "Let me assure you that I haven't."
"He brought it all upon himself," Azula shrugged, unlike her wives having managed to quickly overcome her shock. "But sure, blame me if that makes you feel better. What I don't get is, why have you decided to do something about it only six years later?"
"Oh, I wanted to act earlier, I just didn't get an opportunity," Joo Dee spat. "And now, that movie deal you made reminded me how disgusting it is that you still continue to profit from my father's death. It's vile and sick!"
"No, vile and sick were all those things that your father was doing!" Katara had also recovered, quickly regaining her voice. "Put the gun away, Joo Dee! You don't want to go to jail for this!"
"Yes, put the gun down. Walk away and we'll forget about this," Yue implored.
"Hmm," Joo Dee hesitated, seemingly considering something. "You've actually given me an idea, Yue," she said, turning the gun on the white-haired woman. "I think simply shooting Azula would be too easy. It would be far more fitting to make her experience what losing a loved one feels like!" she exclaimed.
Joo Dee was about to pull the trigger when Azula reacted. There was no thinking involved in her decision as she threw herself in front of Yue just as Joo Dee took the shot. Nothing happened. Azula blinked before starting to laugh. "You can't even do that prop-"
The second shot went off. Azula felt as if someone had struck her in the stomach with a massive hammer. The pain was excruciating as Azula placed her hand over the rapidly spreading red stain on her belly. Her hand felt gross, covered with something hot and slick, which only later registered with Azula as her blood.
Azula suddenly felt extremely feint and the room around her began to spin. She lost her footing and collapsed at the feet of her wives. The last thing she heard before her consciousness began to fade was Yue's scream of pure horror.