Chapter 6

The rumbling sound of five motorcycles filled Akki's ears as she and four of Amon's most skilled, sped down the streets of republic city with herself in the lead. The Triple Threat's base was only a few minutes away, and Amon's men were going to be in for a surprise when they arrived and found the place empty.

Pulling up to the now abandoned Triad base, Akki switched off the bike and climbed off. The woman looked up at the darkened building, her eyes searching for an easy entrance. Settling on a closed window on the second floor, Akki motioned for the others to follow her lead. She effortlessly scaled up the side of the building, approaching her entrance. Akki pressed her gloved hands against the glass, sliding the window up, before climbing through.

Her boots made a light thud as they hit the wooden flooring and moved forward across the room. 4 more thuds as Amon's followers entered one by one. The group quickly made their way through an open door. Following down a hallway, they took a right down a flight of stairs leading to the familiar common room that Akki had been to a handful of times by now. Empty. A smirk crossed her face in the dark. 'Just as planned.' She thought to herself.

"What now, Noma?" One of the followers whispered from behind her.

"Fan out and search the whole building." Akki ordered. The four henchmen split up, leaving Akki alone in the main room. Out of the corner of her eyes she spotted a small flame light up in the dark, followed by the lit glow of a cigarette cherry. The smell of smoke stretched across the room into her nostrils. "I thought I told you to get out of here." She hissed in the direction of the unseen person.

"I figured we take advantage of your little warning." A familiar voice answered. A palm sized flame was produced revealing the face of her employer. The man lightly strode across the room towards the assassin. "Now we can get the drop on them. Get a little piece of payback."

Akki wanted to be surprised by this turn of events but failed to be so. Another thing she should have seen coming.

"So, I seem to have learned something interesting about you." The man took a long drag off his cigarette before blowing it in to Akki's face. The woman remained unphased, her dark eyes never leaving the Triad member. "I heard a little rumor that you've gone more than undercover. I heard that you are the bastard's second now."

Akki remained silent, knowing where this was going.

"You're not planning on fucking us over, are you?" The man leaned in close enough Akki could smell his unpleasant breath.

"Don't be ridiculous." Akki snapped. "It's all a part of the plan-" The woman was quickly cut off by the gruff voice of her employer, as he grabbed the shoulder of her jacket and pushed the assassin backwards in to a wall.

"Right. The plan. And when exactly are we going to be getting any results?" His grip tightened on her as he leaned in so close their noses brushed against each other. "It's been more than enough time, I think."

"It's not as simple as a quick throat slit." The woman growled. "The man has a following. A large following. This needs to be done right. If I was going to screw you, why would I warn you?"

"I think that we are going to need a little convincing." The gang member slowly loosened his grip on the assassin, before taking a step back from her. Akki raised her eyebrow slightly. Her employer snapped his fingers, and the lights turned on abruptly. Akki squinted for a moment, adjusting to the sudden brightness. The man gestured towards the center of the room. There sat the four followers that had come with her. They sat on the floor with their backs to each other. Hands bound behind them, and their ankles tied together. They had all been unmasked, revealing one older woman and three men. One couldn't have been more than 18 years old.

"Noma!" The younger of the men called out to her.

"Noma?" The triad leader laughed. "You do have them fooled, don't you?"

Akki rolled her eyes. "What is this?"

"It's simple. We want you to prove your loyalty." He started.

"You're loyalties?!" One of the other followers shouted at her. "You're a spy, aren't you?!"

Akki shot a short glance in their direction, seemingly uninterested in anything they had to say. "You want me to kill them." She stated.

The man grinned at her, giving a quick nod. "And use your bending. We need to make a point. You fuck with the Triple Threats; you end up burned." The other triad members began to laugh as they circled around their prisoners. Akki could see the fear spread across the followers' faces in a variety of forms.

"As long as you get off my ass." She spoke emotionlessly, walking towards the bound captives.

The group of four began to panic, pleading with the woman. One's panic quickly turned to anger, and he began cursing at the Assassin. "You betrayed us!" He screamed. "Fucking bending bitch. Our brothers and sisters will find out!"

"I wouldn't count on that." She responded. Akki watched as one of the gang members stepped towards the group, with a gleaming silver can of gasoline in his hand. Another member joined him and the two began dousing their prisoners in it until both cans were empty.

"If you could oblige us." The leader laughed, motioning with his arm for Akki to step forward. The younger man and women began sobbing, sure of their fate.

Akki gave a sigh, glancing over at her employer and then back at the captives. With a shake of her gloved hand, the woman's right arm became engulfed in flames. The crackling of the flames only inspired their captives to cry louder. Akki stepped forward, swinging her arm and shooting a long burst of fire at the bound equalists. Their crying pleads turned into screams of agony, as their gasoline-soaked bodies ignited. They smell of burning hair and sizzling skin filled the room as she spun on her foot and kicked towards the group, sending a stronger burst of flame towards them.

Their screams intensified over the minutes, before they one by one fell silent. Akki and the Triple Threats stood and watched the flames as they began to spread from the blackened bodies up towards the ceiling. It slowly caught and began to engulf the roof.

"You really are a cold bitch." One of the triad members chuckled. "Let's get the fuck out of here." The gang headed out of the building, with Akki following.

"Hold on there." Her employer stepped in front of her, blocking the young assassin's path. "Wouldn't it be suspicious if you were to come back unscathed? After all, we can't have this little plan of yours going awry"

Akki warily stared at the man. Opening her mouth to respond, she was quickly cut off as a block of earth shot out of the ground, into her abdomen, knocking the wind out of her. Akki fell to her knees, gasping for breath. Suddenly a boot clad foot entered her field of vision, connecting with her face hard, and throwing Akki on to her back. She could feel a stream of blood leave her nostril and fall down the side of her face. Soon several pairs of feet joined in kicking her body, some going as far as to stomp on her rib cage. Akki tried to force herself up and began to swing back, shooting random bursts of fire where she could.

A hand grabbed hold of her hair and began to drag the thrashing woman away from the now fully burning building. "Consider this our help. And a little reminder that if you screw us, we will make sure you are done." Her employer whispered in her ear.

Akki glared up through the blood that now trickled down her forehead. "You piece of shit." She hissed between her teeth, before spitting in his face. The man laughed, wiping the bloody saliva away. She suddenly felt a sickening thud as her head was smashed into the ground. Her vision blurred and faded, as she watched the Triple Threats saunter away from her, laughing loudly in the process. Then darkness.

She could hear soft voices speaking but was unable to pick up on what they were saying. Feeling an excruciating pounding in her head, the woman winced, slowly lifting a sore arm to touch her forehead. Everything ached, it hurt to even breath. Slowly she opened her eyes, begrudgingly accepting the blinding light that only seemed to intensify the pain in her head. Everything was blurry and she could only make out the outlines of two people standing by her bed. Akki quickly closed her eyes, feeling a strong wave of nausea sweep over her. She quickly threw her head over the side of the bed, releasing the contents of her stomach all over the floor.

"Noma." She heard a deep, familiar voice filled with concern. Squinting, the Akki looked up into the mask of her target as he crouched beside her bed, unphased by the vomit and saliva dripping from her mouth. Akki let out a small groan, as she rolled back on to her back, closing her eyes once more. "What happened to the others?" He asked gently.

"Dead." Akki answered shortly. Trying to summon the strength in herself, the woman pushed herself up into a sitting position, swinging her feet over the edge of the bed.

"Stop!" She heard another voice speak as a man in a white coat laid a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to push her back in to bed. Akki swatted his hand away from her, grabbing on to a rolling tray of medical equipment and using it to support herself into a standing position. Akki stumbled for a moment, tipping the tray over, causing a loud clatter as it and the equipment hit the floor.

"Noma, you in no shape-" Amon started, before abruptly being cut off by an agitated Akki.

"I'm fine." She snapped, stumbling over to the wall. She used it as a support as the painfully dragged her feet towards the door.

"You aren't fine." The Equalist leader growled from behind her suddenly. Akki froze for a second, before continuing on her way.

"I just need some rest. Alone." The woman felt the room begin to spin. Taking another step, she lost her balance and began to fall to her side. Akki felt a strong arm wrap around her waist, catching her. Amon glanced over at the equalist physician.

"She needs several sutures on her scalp. Also, there is damage to three or four of her ribs. There is a definite concussion, and we suspect a fractured collar bone." He stated. Amon gave a slow nod.

Without warning, Akki felt Amon's arm swing under her legs and gently lifted her into the air. "You aren't going anywhere." He whispered to her, turning and bringing the woman back to the infirmary bed she had only just escaped.

"Amon..." The assassin began to protest.

"That is an ordered." He cut her off, laying her back down. "You will remain until Dr. Ruo determines otherwise." Akki found herself scowling up at the man. "We will talk later." With that, the masked man turned to leave the infirmary. "Be sure to inform me of her progress." He commanded. The man known as Dr. Ruo gave a nod and watched as his leader swiftly left the room.

With a sigh of annoyance, Akki turned her head away from them, drifting into an uncomfortable sleep.

When Akki woke again, it was dark, and it seemed she was the only one in the room. The women sat up and looked around as her eyes adjusted to the dark. Her head still throbbed and felt taut. Feeling her forehead, she felt a row of stitches in her hair line. 'Those assholes are going to fucking pay for this.' She angrily thought to herself, remembering the events that had caused this. How many days had it been anyways? Akki had lost time.

Once more attempting her escape from the blasted infirmary bed, her plans were, again, interrupted. The angered voice of the Lieutenant broke the silence of the room. "Karma is a bitch, isn't it."

"Lieutenant." Akki acknowledged, her voice revealing just how weak and exhausted she felt. Her eyes searched the room, looking for the source of the voice.

"You thought that you were going to get away with what you did to me, didn't you?" He was suddenly behind her. His hand grabbed her shoulder, slamming her back down into the hospital bed. "The Triads hired you, didn't they? Who are you?" He interrogated, pushing his weight down in to her broken collar bone. Akki fought a pained groan and laid there silently. "I won't let you destroy what we have worked so hard for." He growled. Akki heard a crackle as the Lieutenant's batons lit up with volts of electricity, illuminating his mustached face.

"Trying and fucking stop me." Akki's voice strained out, as the man pushed harder into her broken bone. The woman reached around blindly, grasping for anything that could be used as a weapon. Her pale hand met the cold metal tray of medical equipment beside her, and her fingers felt the sharp, cold edge of a scalpel. Realizing what she was doing, the Lieutenant quickly brought his crackling baton down on her chest. Akki gasped as the volts of the weapon entered her body. Her hand lit up in flames and she swung as hard as she could, connecting with his bandaged and still bruised face. The Lieutenant stepped back in shock. Taking advantage of his surprise, Akki quickly snatched the scalpel, and flung herself off the bed towards him. She wrestled him to the ground, sitting on his chest as she brought her weapon down into his neck and twisting it.

The Lieutenant gasped, grabbing Akki's arm tightly, trying to pull it away. Ripping her arm out of his grasp, Akki began swinging her fists into the man's face. Her body ached in pain, screaming for her to stop, but adrenaline had taken over. The Lieutenant raised his hands, attempting to shield his face. Akki grasped the scalpel still embedded in his neck and jerked it out. A spring of blood shot out and began to pool on the floor. The woman attempted to plunge it through his eye, but Lieutenant's hand blocked it. The scalpel sunk through the skin, piercing through the tendons and coming out the other side.

The Lieutenant opened his mouth, releasing a scream. With her free hand, Akki tightly covered his mouth, while ripping the scalpel from his hand. The Lieutenant struggled and squirmed underneath her, trying to escape. She brought her weapon down once more, successfully stabbing him in his neck again. This time she sliced the blade across his neck. The Lieutenant gurgled and gasped, holding his open throat tightly.

Exhausted, Akki climbed off the mangled man, his blood dripping from her fingertips. Suddenly the infirmary door burst open, and three equalist soldiers burst in, two grabbing ahold of Akki and dragging her away from the Lieutenant's writhing body. The other follower ran to his side, assessing the damage that Akki had caused.

The two that held her quickly dragged her out of the room, bringing her down a short hall towards a large metal door. The adrenaline rush was over, and she was far too exhausted and injured to fight back, she could only wait and see what happened to her.

The door swung open with a loud groan, revealing a brightly lit room with an empty chair in the middle. The two Equalists laid her to the floor, then swiftly left, pulling the door behind them and locking it. Akki's black eyes scanned the room. Totally bare, other than the chair.

'Is this it?' She thought, trying to fight the feeling of panic. 'Does he know?' Akki took a deep breath trying to calm herself but was met with the sharp stabbing pain of her injured ribs. Groaning, she grabbed at them with one arm, dragging herself across the room with her free arm. She pulled herself up into a sitting position, leaning against the wall for support.

Akki could only imagine how angry Amon was going to be if he had found out. Between their... encounters the days before, the mangling of his Lieutenant and brutal murder of his four followers, she imagined she wouldn't be alive long. 'How did this go so wrong?' But she couldn't be sure of anything right now. All she could do was wait.

After what seemed like an eternity, the heavy door groaned as it swung open once more. Amon stormed in, his eyes frantically scanning the room until they fell on her. "Amon..." She called out hoarsely, "I can explain."

"What the fuck is this?!" He shouted, making Akki jump in surprise. This was the first time she had heard him so angry. Even when he thought the Triple Threats had beat the Lieutenant, he hadn't sounded as enraged as he was now. It made the hair on her arms and neck stand up, remembering just how dangerous Amon really was. Akki struggled to her feet, opening her dark red lips to explain herself. But much to her surprise, his piercing blue eyes left her, and he spun on his heel to face who she assumed to be the two masked equalists that had brought her here.

"Sh- She killed the Lieutenant!" One of them stuttered.

Amon stood in a dangerous silence, staring them down. Akki's gasp in pain as she struggled to stay to her feet finally broke the silence. "Leave." he snapped at the two masked followers in a low tone. The pair did not hesitate to escape his stare. He finally turned to her, rushing to her side and holding her up.

"It's not what you think." She lied. "The Lieutenant was going to betray you." Would he buy it? Looking up at him, she could see his calculating eyes, trying to read her face. "He made a deal with the Triple Threats for your head. His position was revealed, the night we invaded their base." Akki struggled to keep her focus on his face as her vision faded in and out. The events of the night crashed down on her full force, as she struggled to stay conscious.

"Why?" he finally asked, his voice filled with disbelief. Akki shook her head, to weak to come up with a lie. "You need to go back to the infirmary." Amon swept her off her feet, holding her gently in his arms.

Akki shook her head in protest. "My quarters will be fine. I just need to sleep."

"You need to be watched." He responded.

'Because he doesn't believe me?' Akki couldn't put much more in to that though, before she finally passed put in the Equalist leader's arms.

Between the aching of her broken bones, bruised body and throbbing headache, Akki had a very restless sleep. Drifting in and out at what felt like at least once an hour. The first time it had happened she found herself neither in her room, nor the infirmary. There was something familiar about it, but she couldn't focus her mind to figure out exactly what that was. The rest of the time, she couldn't remember. At one point she did feel a warm, wet cloth dabbing at the stitches on her head.

When she did finally come too, the room was dark, lit only with a few candles, scattered about. In the corner, she could make out the outline of a hooded figure, motionlessly seated in a chair near the bed she laid in.

"Amon?" She whispered hoarsely, realizing how dry her mouth was. No answer. The woman quietly threw the warm blankets off of herself, the cold air greeted her exposed legs. Looking down she saw that someone had changed her into a simple black shirt and pair of shorts. Akki shot a weary look over her shoulder at the sleeping Equalist. Had he done it?

Climbing to her feet, she struggled toward a door she assumed led to the bathroom. Closing it behind her, Akki turned on the lights. She looked rough. But she had looked worse. Admiring the long row of stitches that followed her hair line, she ran her fingers through her long, messy, dark hair as it hung loose around her pale face. The right side of her face, neck and collar bone were covered in a large purple bruise. Lightly touching it, she couldn't help but let out a sharp gasp in pain. Akki lifted her shirt to reveal an equally bruised torso.

Dropping the bottom of her shirt, she turned on the tap, cupping the water in her hands and bringing it to her mouth, then again, splashing it on her face. The cool water soothed the bruising on her face. She didn't know what time it was, but all she wanted to do was crawl into a nice, scorching hot bath.

Akki quietly exited the bathroom. She scanned the dark room until her eyes landed on the sleeping figure in the corner. As much as she wanted to regret both of their kisses, she had to admit it was effective. He was comfortable enough with her to sleep in the same room as herself. She could finish him right here.

The woman felt a heavy feeling in her stomach. A twinge of guilt. What was stopping her? The man was basically a cult leader. Akki stood staring at the hooded figure, contemplating the mess she was in. After a few minutes, she stealthily made her way to the door out. Quietly stepping out into the hallway, she quickened her pace towards her room. Once there, she belined towards the small shower in her bathroom, turning the water up as hot as she could stand. Carefully stripping off her clothes, she stepped under the stream of hot water. Her aching body immediately relaxed. Dried flakes of blood flowed from her hair, tinting the water red as it swirled down the drain.

She stood there for nearly half an hour before turning off the tap. Climbing out into the thick steam of her bathroom, she tightly wrapped a towel tightly around her small but muscular frame. Akki ran a brush through her hair, carefully avoiding the stitches as she stepped out into her room. But the woman was quick to stop in her tracks.

Sitting on her bed was the all too familiar masked man. She could see his eyes travel across her wet body as droplets of water dripped from her hair and rolled down her snowy white skin.

"I see your awake." He commented in a tone she couldn't quite decipher. "How do you feel?"

"Fine." The awkwardness in the air felt almost as thick as the steam from her shower. After an uncomfortable pause, she finally asked, "How long was I out for?"

"A day." Amon stood up, taking a step towards her. "You shouldn't be moving around so much."

"I just needed space." The woman fiddled with the hem of her towel. "Don't think I haven't appreciated what you have done for me. I don't want to put you out of a room."

Amon gave a low laugh that made Akki's stomach flutter. "That is hardly a problem. How ever the condition of my second is."

"I promise, I'm fine. Just a little sore." She lied.

"You have had a rough past few days. I wanted to thank you for your loyalty. With out you, the Lieutenant could have been the end to our cause." All Akki could do was give a nod. "What happened with the Triple Threats?" Amon inquired.

Akki moved across the room towards a small closet, pulling out a set of clothes to replace her towel. "They knew we were coming and ambushed us. I'm afraid it was the Lieutenant who warned them of your plan. I'm sorry, we failed you." The assassin answered softly, hanging her head in an attempt to seem sincere. Once again, she felt a twang of guilt as she lied to Amon once again.

"It's not your fault. I should have seen through his pretenses." Amon's eyes darted away from her, dropping to the floor. "I should be apologizing to you. You could have been killed. Four lives are on my head, and I am lucky to still have you."

Akki threw the change of clothes on to her bed before daring herself to step closer to her target. "There was no way to know." Her voice was the gentlest it had been. 'Play the part.' She tried to convince herself in her mind. Amon brought his gaze back to her as she approached him, first setting his gaze on the large dark bruising on her face and neck. He raised a hand with his fingers lingering above it. Akki reached for his hand, and gently placed it on the side of her face. The warmth of it spread through her cheek and intensified the fluttering and burning in her stomach and chest. "You couldn't have known."

With his other hand, Amon trailed his fingertips down her bare arm. He stopped at her hip, then pulled her in close. Akki suddenly felt a different kind of ache as he did. Letting go of her face, Amon partially raised his mask. His lips came crashing down on her. Akki returned the act, her own lips passionately moving against his. She raised her hand up under his hood, knocking it back and revealing his thick dark hair.

Akki's towel lost its hold and slipped from her body to the floor. Her naked body pressed against his clothed, as their kiss became more intensified and urgent. She found herself fumbling with the buttons of his coat until she had them all undone. Amon allowed it to slide off his arms to the floor before bringing his hands back to her exposed sides. Akki quickly interrupted this, pulling at his undershirt until Amon broke away from their kiss to remove it, while Akki's hands found the waist of his pants.

Amon let out a small chuckle at her eagerness, as he revealed his toned body. Akki took a second to take it in. She knew he was fit but seeing it for herself was entrancing.

"Show me your face." Akki raised her hands up to his neck and slid her fingers under the edges of the mask. Amon was quick to grab them, then froze seemingly unsure of what he wanted. Slowly he let go, allowing her to gently raise the notorious white and red mask from him. She couldn't take her eyes away from the strong features of his light brown face. The woman lightly traced along his cheek bones with her fingertips as he continued to gaze down at her. Akki was surprised to see that he looked to be Water Tribe. He quickly swept her onto the bed and laid over top of her, careful not to put too much of his weight on her.

Their lips met once more; Akki wrapped a leg around his lower back. She could feel him grow hard as she pressed her lower body up into him. Reaching a hang down, she gently held is rock hard member in her hand, stroking it up and down. Amon groaned against her lips and squeezed at the milky white thigh that captured his waist and slid a hand under her back, pulling the women up so that she straddled his lap. Desperately, the assassin slid his cock inside of her. Both moaned into each other as his thickness filled her. Amon grabbed the woman's ass, guiding her up and down. Breaking this kiss, Akki wrapped her arms around his neck and through her head back as she rode him. Amon's lips traveled up and down the good side of her neck and Akki let out a sigh of pleasure, grinding against him. The pace quickened as Amon lost control of himself, thrusting harder and harder into her. His grip on her posterior tightened while Akki dug her nails into his muscular shoulder blades.

"Fuck!" Akkis breathily gasped as she felt herself growing close. Amon buried his face into her neck, breathing heavily as he brought one hand up her back and pulled her tightly against him. A muffled groan escaped the Equalist leader's throat as he climaxed. Akki tight grasped the hair at the nape of his neck, following his lead.

Both panting heavily, the two collapsed on to their backs. Amon pulled her close to him and Akki laid her head on his chest, finding its rise and fall to be soothing. But not soothing enough to prevent the sudden wave of guilt she felt.