Chapter 7

Akki had wasted a week healing from the damage caused by a certain Triad. She had a feeling that was their petty revenge for the extra charges the woman has persuaded the Triple Threats to cough up. Though she was still sore, she found herself to be much more mobile than the previous days. Akki took advantage of this though, using the time to avoid Amon and refocus on her job. The days were numbered, and she was starting to feel the pressure of her deadline.

To add to it, the Avatar had been kidnapped and, much to Amon's displeasure, he had been framed. With the use of his many spies, Amon had discovered that councilman Tarrlok had been the kidnapper and knew exactly where he had taken her. Being his second, Akki was expected to be in attendance.

Lead by the masked man, Akki and three others descended upon a cabin, located in the mountains near the city. The group followed him inside, just in time for a shocked Tarrlok to meet them, coming up the stairs of the cabin's basement.

"Amon!" The surprise in his voice was evident as he stood there gaping at him.

"It is time for you to be equalized." Amon's voice rumbled as Akki and his followers shifted in to fighting stances.

Tarrlok smirked at the masked man. "You fool." He spoke with a chuckle, raising his hands into the air. "You have never faced bending like mine." With a flick of his wrists, Akki felt her arms unwillingly twist behind her as she was forced to her knees, then slammed face first into the ground.

The woman couldn't help but let out a gasp of surprise. Tarrlok was right, she had never faced bending like this. Akki had heard of blood bending before, but never experienced the 'pleasure' of being under the influence of it. Despite her discomfort, she couldn't help but feel fascinated by it. What was more fascinating was how it seemed to have little impact on the Equalist leader.

Amon stood strong, resisting Tarrlok's bending, even taking a walk towards the man. Tarrlok gasped, before giving everything he had. Struggling to push herself up from the ground, Akki watched as Amon's body tensed up and shook but never gave in. After pausing for a moment, he continued to step forward.

"What are you?!" Tarrlok asked, his eyes widening in fear.

'What are you indeed.' Akki thought to herself, furrowing her eyebrows in contemplation. How was this possible?

"I am the solution." With that, Amon quickly grabbed the other man's arm, gracefully ducking under and pulling Tarrlok's arm behind him. Pushing him to his knees, Amon grasped the base of his neck. Tarrlok tilted his head back, watching as Amon's free hand came down and he placed his fingers on Tarrlok's forehead.

The councilman screamed as the masked man preformed his most notorious move. Feeling her body go limp, Akki pulled herself to her knees and watched as the water bender was stripped of his most prized ability. She couldn't deny that it scared her a little. An eye opener of what this man was capable of, and a reminder of what would happen to her if she put off her job any longer. Sooner or later, he would figure out what she was really there for. The man was highly intelligent and almost always two steps ahead of his enemies.

Amon ordered them to go collect Korra from the basement, warning them to watch out for her and commanding that they electrify the metal box that kept the Avatar captive. Dealing with the Avatar was another thing that Akki had not signed up for when accepting this fucking job. Following the equalist followers down the stairs, they surrounded her cage. Akki activated her electric glove and placed it against the metal wall, the equalists following in suit. The cage crackled and lit with electricity, and after a minute, Akki took her hand away, motioning for the others to follow. The group listened for any sign of movement. Nothing.

"Open the door." She ordered. One of the masked followers abided by her and began to open the door slowly. Without warning, the Avatar burst out, using her bending to overpower the equalist followers. Dodging a jet of fire, Akki rushed at Korra, her electric glove at the ready as she took a swing. Korra dodged and rushed up the stairs with Akki quickly on her heels. Out of sight of the other equalists, Akki leapt in the air into a spinning kick as fire trailed from the heel of her foot, sending it in one large wave towards the Avatar.

Unprepared for a bending attack, the Avatar stumbled and fell to the ground, raising a shield of earth from the basement below them. Akki's flames broke against it, and the Avatar scrambled to her feet and charged towards the cabin's exit. Not giving up the chase, Akki ran, using the raised earth as momentum to jump towards her, with her hand outstretched to grab the other woman. Her fingertips grasped the back of the Avatar's shirt and Akki pulled herself towards Korra, tackling her to the ground. The two crashed through the door, drawing the attention of a busy Amon as he loaded Tarrlok's unconscious body into the back of a vehicle.

The two wrestled on the ground, with Akki successfully throwing a hit. Then without warning, she felt the frozen restraints of ice wrap around her wrists and legs. The restraints pulled her back from the other woman and encased her entire body in ice. Korra swung a strong kick into Akki's still bruised torso, sending her flying backwards. Akki coughed, gasping for air, her body shivering. She watched as the Avatar sent multiple icicles flying towards Amon. He effortlessly dodged them and was joined by his fellow equalists as Korra disappeared into the mountains.

"I told you not to underestimate her!" Amon bellowed in frustration at them. He shot an unreadable glance at Akki, before slamming the vehicle door shut, and climbing into the driver's seat.

Akki collapsed into her bed, pulling her headwear off and lazily tossing it to her bedside table. The day was a total bust, and Amon's foul mood seemed to be contagious. The silent ride back to their base felt like an eternity. And honestly, losing to the Avatar had hurt her ego. If she were able to use her bending, Akki could have escaped her restraints no problem. While her hand-to-hand combat skills were excellent, it was another story going against the fucking Avatar who had mastered three elements, without the use of her fire bending.

Lifting her hand in to the air, Akki produced a small blue flame in her palm, watching as it flickered in the darkness of the room. The woman didn't realize how much she missed using her gift until today. Stretching out of her fingers, she allowed the flame to grow in size, but then clenched them into a fist, quickly extinguishing the flame.

This was all getting too messy for her. How could she fuck a man that thrived in stealing the bending of others? There was something about his displays of power that were just so enticing. But how was he able to resist Tarrlok's blood bending? Raising an eyebrow in thought, Akki felt there was something off about that. Regardless, only in a delusional world would that work. If she didn't get this over with soon, something was going to give. She would do it tonight.

Waiting for the early hours of the morning to come, Akki wandered over to her closet. Reaching up to the shelf, she reached for an object wrapped in a white cloth. The woman unwrapped it to reveal the long, shiny metal of her machete blade. As she stared down at it, she began to feel another twinge of guilt form in her stomach. She quickly forced it away, as she sheathed her blade.

Akki pulled out a long black coat and pulled it over her frame and buttoned it up along the right side. She pulled up the deep hood that shadowed her face and slung the sheathed weapon on to her back. The woman's dark eyes glanced at the bed. Remembering the night they shared, Akki once again found herself fighting guilt.

'The man is a terrorist.' She attempted to persuade herself. 'If he knew who I really was he wouldn't hesitate to take my bending. And probably worse.' Another flash of memory from that night crossed her mind, remembering the feeling of his touch and smell. Akki sighed, sitting back down on her bed and covering her face with her hands. 'Don't be a bitch.'

Taking a deep breath, she climbed to feet and headed out into the corridor. The assassin moved quickly and quietly down the hall, sticking to the shadows. Akki felt a fluttering in her chest as she rapidly grew closer to Amon's chambers. As she reached his room, Akki stopped in front of it. For a moment she froze and could only stare at the closed door. Hesitantly, she reached for the handle and gently pushed the door open.

His room was pitch black. As Akki stepped in, she squinted her eyes as they adjusted to the dark. Silently moving across the room, her eyes scanned for any sign of her target. As she grew closer to his bed, Akki could see his outline rising and falling with each sleeping breath he took. The assassin loomed over the unmasked, taking a last look at his handsome features.

Gently unsheathing her machete, the woman hovered it inches from his neck. A neck that Akki distinctly remembered the taste of. And there was that pesky conscience suddenly coming in to play again. She felt her hand start to tremble as the sharp blade hovered just above his throat. Amon stirred in his sleep and Akki struggled to control her hand. She quickly retracted the blade to her side as her black eyes continued to burn down at the man. A small sigh escaped his lips, and Akki felt the urge to kiss them again. 'No!' her brain screamed at her. Without thinking, she found herself leaning over him and she lightly brushed her dark red lips against his. The man stirred again, his eyebrows furrowing as he frowned in his sleep.

Akki felt the guilt in her stomach was over her body in a large wave. She stepped back from the man, grinding her teeth. "I can't." The woman whispered to herself. She took another step back, giving the man one last look before she turned on her heel and fled the room.

'I need to get the fuck out of here.' The woman burst into her room, quickly pulling a black bag out from under her bed. The woman headed to her closet throwing the few belongings she brought with her into the bag. The woman paused, looking at the Equalist uniform hanging there. Pushing it aside, she grabbed the remainder of her things and threw the bag over her shoulder.

Without a second look back, she fled the compound.

Akki found herself standing outside the Triple Threats' new, but not improved, base. With her machete strapped tightly to her back and the large bag of yuans in hand, the woman lifted her foot and booted down the door. Her dramatic entrance was greeted by looks of shock, as the triad members stumbled into their bending stances.

Akki threw the sack of money at their feet. "I quit." Her icy voice rang out through the room.

The man who hired her, stepped out in front of his men, glaring at the assassin. "I don't think I heard you right." He growled.

"You heard right. You want Amon gone, do it yourself." Akki snapped back. "There is your yuans. Don't contact me again."

"No one quits the Triple Threats, bitch." Water coiled up the man's arms. The other members of the Triad following his lead with their various bending abilities. The water bender swung his arm, shooting a watery tentacle in her direction. Akki swept her arms in a circular motion, sending arched blades of fire, slicing through his attack. Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of the triad's earth benders, summon a chunk of earth and send it flying her way. Akki's feet left the ground as she flew above the rock in a back flip. Landing crouched on the floor, Akki shifted her weight to her hands, rotating her body around in a circular motion sending several more blades of fire towards her enemies' feet. The gang members backed away from her in an attempt to dodge her flames. Akki took advantage, pulling her Machete from its sheath, she charged at them, swinging at the earth bender who had thrown the rock at her. The assassin successfully landed it in his shoulder. The earth bender screamed as the blade sliced into the bone.

Akki gave a strong tug, yanking it from his shoulder and sending splatters of blood across the wall behind her.

Her employer sent 5 giant icicles in her direction. The woman used the machete to slice threw of them down. The remaining two caught her clothing and pulled her back across the room, pinning the assassin to the wall. She grabbed hold of the one that pinned the shoulder of her coat, she used a burst of blue flame to shatter it. The other pinned her pants. She simply pulled her leg away, ripping them in the process. One of the other triad members rushed her, Akki turned to them with barely enough time and trusted her fist up into his lower jaw. With her blade in hand, she swung it across the man's stomach. He stepped back, gasping and holding the wound as a large red stain spread across his shirt and began to drip from between his fingers. He fell to his knees as his intestines slipped throw his hands and on to the floor. Desperately he scooped up his innards, trying to push them back inside his abdomen.

Akki slanted her arm up to the roof with two fingers pointing. She felt static build up around her arm as a surge of electricity traveled down her arm, through her stomach and up towards her other hand in the direction of her water bending employer. A burst of lightning shot through his chest. The man gasped and tensed up, seemingly unable to move. As the electricity left his body he slowly crumpled to the floor.

The other triad members scurried back like the cowards they were, their eyes darting between the crying man holding his insides, and their unconscious leader.

"If he wakes up…let him know if he comes after me, I'll finish the job." Akki turned on her heel and left.

She entered her dark apartment and examined the room before her. Her sight set on a half full bottle of whiskey that sat on the table. Walking towards her room, she snatched it on the way by, popping open the top and taking a swig of the strong, burning liquid. Akki sat herself on the edge of her bed, taking another, longer one.

The woman knew it wouldn't be safe for here anymore. She had just jumped ship from the Equalists and didn't say a word. Akki imagined they would come looking for her. And the Triple Threats never could be trusted, plus they knew where she lived.

Bringing the bottle to her lips, she felt an ache in her chest thinking about a certain Equalist leader. 'You're being ridiculous.' Akki knew it could never have worked. He didn't even know her real name. And she knew there were lots of things he was hiding. Her mind drifted to his fight with Tarrlock. How he was able to resist his blood bending. She replayed the scenario over in her head. The way he struggled for a moment and then took control.

"Took control." She whispered to herself, furrowing her brow. Was Amon a water bender? Was he able to resist because he bended his own blood? Akki took another swig. But it didn't make sense. Why the anti-bending vendetta? He was definitely hiding something big. His mystery only drew in her interest.

Akki chugged the remainder of the bottle, Tossing the empty into the corner of the room. She felt the warmth of the whiskey in her stomach spread through it, followed by numbness. She laid on her back allowing the liquid fire to lull her to sleep.

Three weeks had passed since she had left. The woman had relocated herself outside of the city. Hidden in the cover of the forest, Akki had set up a small camp site. The assassin found herself keeled over a fallen tree, retching out every last speck of her stomach contents. Akki gagged, digging her fingers in to the back of the tree.

This was the fourth morning in a row she had woken up feeling horribly nauseous. She had her suspicions about why, but still remained in denial. Leaning back on her knees, the woman took a deep breath of the fresh air, trying to ease the urge to vomit again. Akki dragged herself to her sleeping mat, which was laid out beside a small fire. Reaching for her bag, she rummaged through trying to find something to settle her stomach. Empty. She knew her supplies had been running low, but she had been too sick to do anything about it. Today she would have to go back into the city. The woman laid there for a few moments, allowing the nausea to pass. She eventually found the energy to hall her ass over to the stolen motorcycle she had acquired on the way out of the city.

Akki swung her leg over the seat and turned the machine on. It rumbled to life as she revved the engine. Her feet left the ground as the bike sped through a hidden forest trail towards Republic city. It was around an hour later that she finally reached the busy streets and bustle of the city.

Navigating through the streets, Akki pulled up to a street market. She climbed off the bike and strolled down the street, observing the seemingly endless options of foods that lined the street. Her stomach grumbled, though she wasn't sure if it was from hunger or if it was because of her consistent nausea. She stopped in the street, forcing the rising bile in her throat back down.

Regaining her composure, she saw a flash of grey. Now on edge, Akki's hand found the hilt of a hunting knife hidden in her coat. Another grey blur ran by two her left. She quickly turned her attention in that direction, not immediately spotting anything unusual. But she could feel eyes watching her. Ducking down an alley, Akki's eyes looked up to the roof tops. Again, she saw a grey blur jump between buildings.

Akki heard a whooshing sound from behind her. She turned to see a rope with two heavy metal balls on either side whip towards her. Igniting a flame in her hand, Akki threw a bright blue fire ball at it, incinerating all but the metal balls. The woman took off running towards her motorcycle. She leapt on and sped off, the tires squealing as she took a sharp corner. On top of the buildings, Akki's eyes caught sight of two Equalists following her from above.

Akki took a sharp left, her bike drifting with the road inches away from her leg. She yanked the bike up into its proper position and gave the engine more gas. She heard the sound of motorcycles on her tail. She glanced over her shoulder through her long hair. Three Equalists gained on her. She turned her attention in front of her, in time to see three more Equalists pull in front of her, barricading her exit. Akki slammed on her brakes, skidding to a stop. She jumped from the bike as it slid into the wall. With a spinning kick she sent a wave of fire towards them and charged in their direction.

A weighted net flew down from above, tightly wrapping around her body. Akki fell to the ground and struggled against the net. The 6six Equalists surrounded her, one activating their electric glove and grabbing Akki. Her body tensed as the electricity shot through her body. Her mouth opened to gasp, but no sound came out and everything quickly faded to black.

When she awoke, the assassin found herself restrained to a chair. Lifting her head, she scanned the room through the strands of her hair. It was the same room she had been taken too the night Lieutenant died. Panic rose as she struggled against the metal cuffs. Akki yanked and pulled until the metal began to dig into her wrists and rub them raw. The loud groan of the metal door behind her filled the room. Straining to look over her shoulder, she wasn't surprised to see Amon, in the company of two of his followers, enter the room.

"Noma." He greeted, coming up behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck rose. "Or is that even your real name?" He spoke lowly into her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

'Fuck.' The woman tried to keep track of the man in her peripheral vision, but he quickly left her site, pacing behind her. "Amon." She greeted him back, curtly.

"Leave." He ordered his followers. The two left the room, pulling the door shut behind them. The man walked in front of the woman. His hands grabbed her restrained wrists as his masked face leaned down into hers. His icy blue eyes felt like they were trying to burn through her skull. She could see a flicker of anger. "It seems you haven't been entirely honest with me. In fact, I think it's safe to assume you haven't been honest about anything."

"What do you know?" she asked, averting eye contact and looking down at the floor.

"I don't think you're one to be asking questions." He snapped, squeezing her wrists tightly and then releasing them. Akki winced as the cold metal dug into her skin. "Who are you?"

"My real name is Akki."

"Well, Akki…" the way he said her name sounded so venomous, she nearly cringed. "Why are you here?"

The assassin felt a strong ache in her chest while she struggled to bring herself to answer that question. "I was hired…" Akki started, forcing herself to look back up at him. "Hired to kill you."

Amon grew silent and the room suddenly felt ice cold. "Who?" he finally asked.

"The Triple Threats. They wanted payback for what you did to Zolt."

"And how much was the price for my head?" He almost sounded amused, asking.

"…100,000 Yuan." Akki muttered, following his every movement as he paced in front of her.

Amon nodded slowly, stopping his pacing to glance back at her. "My men tell me you're a fire bender."

The assassin glared up at him. "Something tells me I'm not the only bender in this room right now." Amon glared back at her from behind the mask. "And I don't think I'm the only one keeping secrets." She spoke in an almost taunting tone.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He growled, dangerously.

"Don't give me that shit." Akki snapped back. "You are a water bender, aren't you? It's the only thing that makes sense. How you were able to resist Tarrlok's blood bending?"

Amon gave a stony stare at the woman for a moment, and then changed the subject. "So, why am I still alive? Why did take off?"

Akki opened her mouth to speak but struggled to articulate the words. "I... It's... It's complicated." The woman's black eyes dropped to the floor.

"It's complicated." He repeated, mockingly. Akki flinched at the harshness of his voice. "Try and simplify it for me."

"Amon… I can't. It's not something that can be simplified. Look, I quit. I changed my mind."

Amon tilted Akki's head upwards and firmly gripped her chin. "Then you left without a word. I was worried. Fucking. Sick. Then I received an anonymous message, ratting you out."

Akki imagined that a certain triad had something to do with that message. "Well, I couldn't fuck stay here. You are the target of a job I am no longer interested in." She hissed.

"I remember you in my room that night, you know." The masked man whispered. "That was the night you intended to end my life, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you kill me?" The masked man repeated.

"Why are you lying to your entire following?" Akki questioned back with a glare. "Who are you really?"