Chapter Twenty-Two: Sting
Alessia chuckled at the screen. It was odd watching a moving picture on a large screen. 'Movers' Is what Varrick called them. Bolin was his star. There have been a few of these movers released recently. Varrick had opened a building and called it Mover theaters. She would have to give it to the man. It seemed to be keeping the citizens entertained during the hard times. Though she couldn't help but think that Varrick was doing this to get people to support the south during the civil war. She crossed her arms and laughed while watching the children throw popcorn at the screen. There were some cute parts after all. Once the mover had ended with the theme song going while the credits rolled, she took her leave. Heading to the station. She wasn't in her armor but her normal clothes uniform. It felt odd not wearing it. Today, she told Lin she would help train the new recruits. Stopping by a coffee shop and ordering herself a coffee and for Lin of course. Bolin was with Varrick making another mover. It seemed like they were getting them out pretty quickly. He was already famous from being a Fire Ferret, now from the movers. Mako was out writing tickets for now. Alessia had no idea where Korra was. It wasn't like her to up and disappear on her. Shrugging at the thought before grabbing the coffee and making her way to the station. Today seemed to be quiet. Too quiet for her liking. She skipped up the steps before entering the building. She stepped out of the way for a few officers rushing out. Walking over to the chief's office and knocking.
"Open." Lin spoke. Alessia entered and closed the door. "You've read my mind." Lin smiled and took the coffee to drink it. She nodded and gave Lin a quick kiss upon her cheek before sighing.
"What is it?" Lin asked with a frown.
"Korra. It's not like her to just disappear." Alessia spoke.
"I'm sure she is around somewhere. Mako out on his route?" Alessia nodded her head.
"Yes. I'm going to head downstairs to the training room and start." She spoke.
"Alessia." Lin spoke as Alessia turned around to find Lin standing in front of her. Her cheek cupped. Her mismatched eyes found the pale green ones.
"I don't know what I would do without you." Lin spoke softly. She raised a brow at her. "I mean. With you here, my officers have been bothering me less and less now. You've been taking charge and helping as much as you can. They trust you now." Lin answered as Alessia smiled.
"Just doing my job." Alessia smiled.
"No, you are going above and beyond." Lin spoke and gave Alessia a deep kiss. Hugging her tightly before letting go. "Whip them into shape." Lin smirked as Alessia nodded before taking her leave.
Alessia went down the stairs and entered through double doors. Seeing only a few recruits.
"Listen up, rookies!" Alessia shouted while she stood tall with her hands behind her back. They had lined up and stood at attention. "You have been recruit because you are the best of the best from the academy! Now, here you are lower than the best! Train hard and prove your worth! Hone your skills and fight for the law! You took an oath and swore to protect the city and its citizens!" She started walking slowly as she was checking them out.
"Ma'am yes ma'am!" They shouted in unison.
"Alright! Who here is a bender?" She asked as all three of them raised their hands.
"Element?" She asked. It seemed they were all earth benders. "Sub?"
"Metal. Metal. Lava." Alessia stopped and looked at the last recruit.
"Did you say lava?" She asked as he nodded his head. "Interesting. Our first lava bender." She touched her chin while thinking. She would have to come up with some ways for the lava bender to fit in. The sub element itself was very rare. She hadn't met any lava benders before.
"You two, hand to hand combat practice. You follow me." She pointed to the two metal benders to fight as the lava bender followed her. Once they were to the side she turned to him.
"Honestly, we never had a lava bender before. What made you join?" She asked him as he smiled.
"I just want to serve the city in any way I can. I know it's for metal benders but I want to prove that anyone can join." He spoke.
"Well, you are right that anyone can join. Mako is our fire bender. Jacklynn is our water bender." His eyes went wide as she chuckled. "Come. Let's head back over." She spoke. It seemed like she worked them to the bone today as they were laying down trying to catch their breaths.
"Hit the showers!" She shouted as they jumped up and jogged out. She smiled at her work well before heading back up the stairs.
"Wait, officer Alessia." The lava bender spoke while catching up with her as she stopped. Lin was watching her from her office. Alessia turned and smiled at him.
"How can I help?" She asked.
"When do we get our badge and what not?" He laughed nervously.
"You will be going out on the field with Officer Song here for an assessment test. Pass and you shall receive it. Once I go over it of course. Chief does have the final say." She crossed her arms. He looked at the chief's office and gulped before bowing to Alessia and dashed away.
"You're scaring the new rookies already?" Song asked as Alessia laughed.
"Nah, he is scared of Beifong." She smiled.
"He better be." Lin's as she was standing behind Alessia. Song gulped and nodded his head. "What did you tell him?" Lin asked.
"His has to pass his assessment test with Song but you have the final say. I'm curious though. He is a lava bender." Song's eyes had widened at this.
"Interesting." He spoke.
"Have you met a lava bender before, chief?" Alessia asked as Lin nodded.
"Yes. One. Many years ago. He is a criminal and locked up." Lin spoke as Alessia was handed a file. She took it and bowed to Lin before she left.
"She is scary. That one." Song spoke before going back to his desk. Alessia shook her head with a smile. In public, Lin had an appearance of stern, strict, stoic, strong woman that scares people but it was in respect. In private, Lin was the most loving person she had ever met. How she just melts in her arms when they lay together. Alessia was blushing at her thoughts while she followed Lin into the interrogation room.
She stood by the wall with her hands behind her back. Another attack this week. Ships have been attacked not by spirits but by water benders. It seemed more and more evidence was pointing to the northerners. Alessia didn't like this one bit. Lu and Gang were standing by the captain of the ship that was attacked.
"All this stress is going to turn the black beauty into gray." He spoke as Alessia rolled her eyes. He needed to focus. Both of them. The northern water tribe getting blamed again. For some reason, she felt the north was innocent in these attacks.
"I agree. Is there anything else we need to know?" Lin spoke. Alessia was taken aback at Lin's agreement. She sighed lightly and looked down at her feet as they continued.
"The bombs exploded without fuses. Like they were remotely detonated." The captain spoke. Alessia gasped at this as eyes turned on her. She cleared her throat.
"Sorry." She spoke as Lin glared at her before turning back to the captain. She retracted the bottom of her metal shoe and hit the floor. She could hear Varrick in the other room. Her eyes slanted a little as she turned her head. Her good ear is listening in. Mako had entered the room. Her head began pounding as she rubbed the side of it. Her metal shoe returned to normal.
"Mako! Leave!" Lin spoke. You could hear the annoyance in her voice. Lu and Gang laughing at him. They all started talking as Asami was trying to back up Mako.
"Enough! I don't want to hear anymore of your lame rookie thoughts! You're a beat cop, not a detective! Hit the street and do your job!" Lin shouted and pointed to the door. Alessia felt her heart sink. She was a rookie cop as well. She watched them pile out of the door and she followed.
"Where are you going?" Lin asked her while Lu and gang were still laughing.
"I'm a beat cop chief. I'm going to the streets." She spoke. There was anger in her voice before she took her leave. Following Mako and Asami outside. She huffed a little and crossed her arms. She had never gone off on Lin before. It was killing her inside now. It felt awful. Knowing Lin was going to give her an earful later.
"Forget them, what's the idea?" Asami asked.
"It's a sting operation." Mako spoke. Alessia felt the chills run up her spine.
That was against the rules. Any and all operations had to go through the chief in order to get them approved. She did not like this idea that Mako had come up with.
"We can do it ourselves. Just the two of us." Asami spoke. 'Am I chopped liver or something?' Alessia thought.
"I don't want to go behind Beifong's back." Mako spoke. Asami then pulled the whole mom is dead, dad in jail card. She was guilt tripping Mako and she did not like it. Varrick had come out of nowhere. Alessia decided to just listen in. She felt invisible but shrugged it off.
"I have an idea!" Varrick spoke as Alessia rolled his eyes.
"So, sting operation it is!" Varrick shouted and led them away. Alessia was pinching the bridge of her nose. 'Hum.' She thought before deciding to follow her route on the street. Deciding the better of it, she turned and went back to the station. She had to tell Lin. If Mako was doing this, the chief deserved to know. She went back inside and heard Lu and Gang snickering as they saw her. She was red faced and angry. She knocked on Lin's door.
"Enter." Lin spoke as Alessia did. She closed the door behind her. Her hands balled into fists. She could feel Lin's eyes on her. She was avoiding the green eyes.
"Spit it out already!" Lin snapped.
"Mako is doing a sting operation." Alessia spoke.
"What?!" Lin shouted as Alessia sighed. "How long have you known about it?!" Lin demanded.
"He just mentioned it to Asami right after we left the interrogation room." Alessia spoke.
"So, not long. Why are you telling me instead of going behind my back as well?" Lin asked as she sat back down.
"I may be pissed off at you right now but I would never betray your loyalty chief." Alessia spoke. Her speaking freely felt like a slap to the face. Lin was rubbing her temples and sighed.
"I'm sorry. You're not a beat cop Alessia. You're smarter than Mako and you know your place. He doesn't. I'm trying to teach him there are orders to follow and a chain of command." Lin spoke as she stood up and walked over to her. Alessia felt Lin's hands cup her cheek and forced her eyes to meet the green ones.
"I'm still mad at you." Alessia huffed. Lin smiled weakly and kissed her forehead.
"I know. I'll make it up to you. I promise." Lin whispered.
"So, I'm not a rookie?" Alessia asked while raising her brow.
"No. You're my little lieutenant." Lin spoke.
"Little huh?" This made her smile.
"There's that smile." Lin spoke and stole a kiss.
"When did this happen?" Alessia asked.
"The paper was just processed so now." She spoke and replaced Alessia's badge. She smiled at Lin before hugging her tightly.
"I'm still mad at you." Alessia huffed again as Lin laughed before shaking her head.
"I promise. Now, go on this operation with Mako. Keep me updated." Lin spoke and handed Alessia a new ear piece. She placed it in her ear and nodded. Giving Lin a bow before leaving the office.
"Guess you lost your job huh?" Lu laughed as Gang was snickering. Alessia turned to face them and crossed her arms.
"Lieutenant?" They gasped and shook their heads.
"Looks like you're answering to me first, boys. I want those files done by tomorrow." She spoke as they nodded. She took her leave to go find Mako.
It was hours later as she finally found Mako by the shipyard.
"Mako." Alessia spoke. She took her badge off and hid it.
"Alessia! I didn't see you there. What are you doing?" Mako asked.
"What does it look like? I'm here to help you." She spoke and jumped down from the building.
"Does Beifong know?" He asked as she shook her head. "Good. Anyways, I was hoping you would help." He added.
"Gladly!" She replied and nodded at Asami. "What's the plan?" Alessia asked as Mako retold the plan. He intended to get the triad's help.
"That is not a good idea." Alessia spoke while crossing her arms.
"I know but we need help." Mako spoke.
"He is an idiot." Lin's voice spoke in her ear. She couldn't agree more. An hour had passed as they finally made it aboard the ship. Alessia looked around as she was alone.
"Lin?" She asked while touching her ear piece.
"What is it?" Lin asked.
"I have a bad feeling about this. Something isn't right." She spoke.
"Just be careful. Keep your eyes and ears opened. You'll be out of range soon." Lin's voice was static and she didn't like it. They were now cut off with communication. She frowned as she made her way around to the other side and saw Mako and Asami talking. They were talking about dating the avatar. This made her feel uncomfortable. People talking about her sister. Then again, she was sure many people talked about her. There was laughter as Mako said he broke up with her.
"Why do they call you Two Toed Ping?" Asami asked. The man laughed and pulled his shoes off and showed his bare feet.
"Ew." Alessia spoke while looking at his feet. He had extra toes. Two extra. One on each foot.
"This is why they call me that." The man spoke as he wiggled his feet. It felt odd talking to a criminal like nothing had happened. She felt uneasy. It seemed like the operation was taking too long. Mako left to check something out. She kept her eyes on him. Two Toed Ping was picking between his feet as Alessia made a disgusted face. She then heard a whisper. She looked at Asami as they both ran over to where Mako was. He looked upset.
"They were paid to keep us distracted!" Mako spoke at once. "We have been double crossed." He added.
"We need to leave!" Alessia spoke as they nodded. Mako flung his arm and fire-bent Shady Shin away from them. Alessia ran after the two and jumped into the motorboat. Mako cut the rope with his fire with ease. They landed in the water as Asami started the boat in mid air and the boat sped towards the city's harbor. Alessia felt her heart beating in her ears as the static happened again. The communication was back. They were being followed. Mako was throwing fire punches. Alessia stood up and started throwing ice shards at their pursuers. Two ships were cutting them off.
"Hurry! They are catching up!" Mako shouted.
"Not for long! Asami shouted as she pulled a lever as they went faster. Alessia felt her weight shift and fell over in the seat.
"Hang on!" Asami shouted when she did a sharp turn.
"What out!" Alessia screamed as the chaser crashed into the wall.
"What was that about?" Asami asked.
"Someone paid the Triads to keep us distracted." Mako replied.
"From what?" Asami asked. Then it hit her. "Oh no!" She shouted. They arrived at the harbor.
"I got to head to the station. I have a meeting." Alessia spoke as Mako nodded. She bowed to them and dashed away.
"On my way back." Alessia spoke in the ear piece.
"Already?" Lin asked. Alessia made quick work getting back using her cables to move from building to building. She was out of breath almost by the time she arrived. She dashed inside and almost crashed into someone.
"Sorry!" The police lady spoke. "Wait. You're the new lieutenant right?" She asked as Alessia nodded. "I need to make a report." She spoke.
"Write down details, I have to speak with the chief. I will come to you right after." Alessia promised to her. She nodded and went to her desk to begin writing. Alessia knocked on Lin's door as it was opened. She went inside and took a seat and sighed.
"Well, what happened?" Lin asked.
"We were double crossed. Someone knew that Mako was doing a sting operation." Alessia frowned. Lin touched her chin while she was in thought. "I don't understand. The only people who knew were Asami, Mako, myself and Varrick." Alessia spoke. Her eyes went wide.
"I think Varrick should be a suspect." She spoke as Lin shook her head.
"He is the President's largest supporter and one of the richest men here." Lin crossed her arms.
"Which makes him the perfect suspect!" Alessia spoke.
"How so?" Lin asked.
"Who can pay off a bunch of criminals to do dirty work for you?" Alessia asked. Lin's eyes went wide.
"It makes sense. We need to gather evidence to build a case against him." She nodded her head in agreement.
"One of the officers said she needed to speak with me. I need to meet with her." Alessia spoke while standing up. Lin nodded and stood up as well.
"Meet at my place." Lin spoke as she brushed past Alessia. She nodded before leaving the office and went back to find her.
"Hello. Here, come into the office. It's private." Alessia spoke as she led the officer into Lin's office and closed the door.
"Are you allowed to?" She asked as Alessia nodded her head.
"What's your name?" She asked.
"Officer Jade." Jade spoke as she sat down. She was nervous.
"Tell me. What's going on?" Alessia asked as she pulled up a chair and sat down next to Jade.
"Your job is to make sure things go smoothly right? And deal with any type of..harassment?" Jade asked in a nervous voice. Alessia frowned.
"Who is it and what happened? Do you want this recorded or not?" Alessia asked.
"Yes. It needs to be." Jade spoke as Alessia pulled out a tape recorder and turned it on.
"Start from the top. Tell me, what has been going on?" Alessia asked as Jade took a deep breath and began telling her story. Alessia listened carefully to it.
"Alright. I want you to know that you are brave for coming out for this. I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to get this taken care of. There will be hearsay unless there are others that are facing this." Alessia spoke.
"I understand." Jade spoke weakly and sighed.
"Hey, I will help you get through this. Now, you do understand the chief will be listening to this tape correct?" She asked as Jade nodded her head.
"Thank you for this." Jade spoke as she left. Alessia nodded and took the written report and tape. Pulling out her keys, unlocking the case cabinet, setting the stuff inside and locking it before locking Lin's office to leave.
"Who said you're allowed to use the chief's office?" Gang asked as he and Lu crossed their arms.
"The chief herself. Feel free to ask her!" Alessia smiled and waved at them. She decided to head home.
She had finally arrived at Lin's apartment and let herself inside. She sighed lightly and hung her coat. Kicked off her shoes and went to get a glass of water.
"Everything alright? You never stay later than me." Lin spoke as she came up behind Alessia and hugged her. She leaned back against Lin and closed her eyes.
"Yeah. There was a harassment report against Lu and Gang." Alessia spoke. She felt Lin shift around and held Alessia close.
"What did they do? Did you get a report?" Lin was asking questions as Alessia stopped her by a kiss.
"The report is in the case cabinet. Ready for you to listen to and read." Alessia spoke.
"Good. Go put on your nightwear. Dinner is almost ready." Lin spoke. She raised a brow at Lin. Since when did she do cooking? She nodded her head and made her way to Lin's room. Changing out of her uniforms and into a dark red silk like gown that stopped above her knees. The food was hitting her and making her stomach growl. She walked out and her jaw dropped. Lin had gone all out again. The room was dimly lit. Candles lit up the room. The table was fancy. Candles lit by two plates of food and wine glasses.
"Still mad at me?" Lin whispered into Alessia's ear from behind her. She blushed at this and turned to pull Lin into a tight hug.
"I can never stay mad at you. I love you." Alessia spoke softly. Lin smiled and kissed her deeply. Gripping her hips tightly.
"I love you too." Lin spoke softly. Leading Alessia over to the dinner table as they sat across from each other. The food was delicious. Apparently Lin knew how to make good steak.
"This is amazing." Lin spoke while eating her food.
"Not as amazing as you." Alessia spoke as her eyes were watching Lin. She got caught staring and blushed. Not breaking eye contact.
"Eat. I know you're hungry." Lin chuckled as Alessia nodded. This was definitely setting the mood. She had finished her food and helped Lin clean up. She then settled on the couch next to Lin. Holding her glass of wine. Lin's arms were wrapped around Alessia's waist. Dare not letting her go. She was leaning against Lin and hummed softly. Placing several kisses across the older woman's face.
"Told you I'll make it up to you." Lin smiled. Alessia chuckled at this.
"You don't even have to try and I'll never stay mad at you but I do appreciate everything you do." Alessia spoke. How she loved this woman so much was beyond her. Well, it was because of the mark. The spirits knew exactly what they were doing when they paired them.
"Want to head to bed?" Alessia asked as Lin smirked at her. Hearing a soft laugh as Alessia jumped up and dashed to the room. Lin followed her closely behind. Grabbing and poking anything she could get her hands onto.
