Chapter 22

"So, you think Mr. Sato manufactured those gloves for the Equalists then framed Cabbage Corp?" Tenzin asked. He, Korra, Lin and Sota were standing on the roof of the police station, the city lighting their background on this cold night.

"Are you sure he should be here for this?" Lin asked Korra, looking pointedly at Sota. The young boy hadn't said a word since they'd arrived but did lock eyes with the Chief of Police as his sister answered her.

"This involves him too, as much as I wish it didn't," Korra admitted, placing a hand on his shoulder to show her support. "His friends' lives are caught up in his and that's important as well."

"This is a bold accusation, but what proof do you two have?"

"Well, I don't exactly have proof, but I know what I heard. Sato's up to something," Korra said with conviction, something that worried Sota. His sister was never one to lie without a reason, and something this serious meant that she really believed it.

And Sota always believed his sister, gladly following her lead whether she'd been the Avatar or not. But if what she said was true, that meant one of two outcomes was going to play out. The first scenario was that Korra was wrong somehow. If they were to show up to their friends' house with police officers to accuse their family member of being a criminal only to discover they were wrong, his friendships were as good as gone. There was no way Mai-Ling and Jun would forgive him for that.

The other scenario was, they show up and it all turned out to be true, meaning that Mr. Sato was an Equalist. That thought alone seemed impossible, but if it turned out true, that would mean Mai-Ling and Jun were in danger, and he was going to be the one crashing their whole world. Was he actually saving them, or was he only setting them up to get more hurt?

He's spent the better part of the last hour thinking this over, but he'd yet to determine which outcome was the worst one because no matter what, someone was going to get hurt.

"He does have the means…and he has a motive," Lin said, surprising both Korra and Sota as Tenzin agreed with her while she contemplated this.

"A motive? What is it?" Korra asked, looking at her Airbending master.

"12 years ago, the Agni Kai Triad robbed Sato's mansion," Tenzin said sadly. "A firebender killed Sato's wife during the break-in."

"That's terrible," Korra said remorsefully.

"A firebender killed Asami's mother," Sota thought to himself, his heart breaking. "I wonder if that's why Mai-Ling doesn't use her bending…"

"It was tragic," Tenzin said, though he followed up by saying, "It's possible he's been harboring Anti-Bending sentiment all this time."

This immediately sent flags off in Sota's head as, for a split second, he questioned if it were possible that Mai-Ling and Jun were in on this. What if they were hoping for Amon to take their bending? Was it possible the entire Sato family was secretly involved?

"No, that's crazy! They saved my life back at the arena. If they were part of this, why would they have helped me?" he thought, trying to erase the thoughts from his mind that they would be involved in something so insidious. He refused to let his fears get the better of him.

"Maybe we should look at Mr. Sato a little more closely," Lin concluded, receiving nods of agreement from both the Avatar and Councilman.

This was a disaster, to say the least.

After mobilizing her forces, Chief Beifong headed straight for the Sato mansion, bringing Korra, Tenzin and Sota inside with her. Sota stopped at the base of the stairs while Korra followed Lin and Tenzin, stopping only as Mako and Asami met her on the way up. From the adjacent stairwell, he met the shocked eyes of Mai-Ling and Jun as they looked from him to his sister.

"What's going on? Why are they asking Hiroshi more questions?" Mako asked as the two adults disappeared up the stairs behind them.

"I overheard him on the phone yesterday," she said, trying to find a gentle way to break the news to them. Looking from the girls to Asami, she said, "Guys, I don't know how to tell you this, but I think your father might be involved with the Equalists."

"What!?" Mai-Ling shouted angrily as Jun and Asami gasped. "You can't be serious!"

"She's completely serious," Jun said with a frown. Looking from Korra to Sota, she watched as he turned his head away from them, something that only upset her further as her brow creased. Following her line of sight, Mai-Ling locked onto him and made quick work to rush down the stairs.

"Sota, look at me. Look at me, and tell me you don't believe this," she begged, but when he remained silent, head still hanging, she shoved him, her anger boiling up as she cried, "Answer me!"

"Mai-Ling, stop!" Asami commanded, though her cousin remained planted in front of Sota. Turning to Korra, the heiress said incredulously, "I don't believe this."

"You spied on Hiroshi?" Mako asked accusingly, making Korra flinch at his words while Asami turned to walk off toward her father's office. "What's your problem?" he added before following her. Mai-Ling gave Sota one last glare before rushing up the stairs, bumping into Korra as she followed them. Jun rushed past her as well, leaving the siblings alone.

Korra looked back at her brother apologetically, and waited for him to meet her before making their way down the hall to the office where they could hear people conversing. Asami had barged into the interrogation of her father, interrupting it, and going on a rant about why they were there again.

"Equalists? Is that what this is about? I can assure you; I have nothing to do with those radicals," Hiroshi said irritably as Jun and Mai-Ling made their way into the room to stand with their family. Mai-Ling was immediately by Asami's side on her uncle's left, while Jun stood to his right, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I overheard you on the phone. You said the Cabbage Corp investigation bought you time and you're getting ready to strike," Korra said as she pointed at Hiroshi. "Explain that."

Hiroshi's demeanor changed immediately as he gave a humorous laugh. "This is a misunderstanding, resulting from the young Avatar's overactive imagination. My number one competitor was knocked out of the game. It's providing me an opportunity to strike the market with a new line of Satomobiles. It's just business. Nothing nefarious."

Lin and Tenzin looked at each other, not sure what to fully believe as his explanation did make sense. However, behind them, still standing in the threshold, Sota could feel his blood running cold as his eyes grew wide and his stomach clenched tight while he watched Jun. Her pupils had shrunk, and her face looked paler than normal as she slowly removed her hand from Hiroshi's shoulder. Sota watched as she looked down at her hand, cradling it as if she'd been hurt, before immediately looking up and locking eyes with him.

This was it. This confirmed it. Hiroshi was an Equalist. And only he and Jun knew. What were they supposed to do now?

"In order to put all suspicions to rest, might we have a look into your factories and warehouses?" Tenzin asked.

"No! You're just trying to- "Mai-Ling started to say, but stopped herself as Hiroshi held a hand up.

"If you feel it's necessary, you're welcome to search all of Future Industries," Hiroshi confirmed as he looked at everyone.

"What. Have. You. Done!?" Jun ground out through her teeth as she gripped Sota's upper arms, pressing him against the wall. The gathering has broken up immediately after Hiroshi's approval, and Jun beelined it for him, dragging him down the hall and around the corner before pinning him where he was. The Water Tribe boy could only look at her, something that only upset her more. "Answer me, Sota!"

"Let me go! I haven't done anything," he finally spoke up, shoving her off him. Looking around the corner and seeing that their commotion hadn't caught anyone's attention yet, he turned back to her and said, "Listen, I know it's hard to believe, but I saw the look on your face. You know he was lying."

"You're…you're wrong," she said, shaking her head as she looked at the ground, but Sota could see the doubt written all over her face. "He was lying about the Cabbage Corp thing, but…" She stopped, shaking her head. "I can't just accept that Hiroshi is an Equalist, Sota."

"Trust me, I don't want to believe it either," he said sincerely. "I know Korra's reasoning isn't the most solid, but I trust her instincts when it comes to things like this. She wouldn't make an accusation like this unless she really believed it to be true."

Jun bit her lower lip and thumbnail irritably as she contemplated what the hell to do. Hiroshi was lying about something, but it couldn't be true, right?

"You can NOT tell Mai-Ling about this," she said, turning to look him in the eyes. "She won't be able to handle it, and things are heated enough. So, until we can get to the bottom of it, she doesn't need to know any of this about him."

"Agreed. Though, I doubt she'd listen or believe me anyway," he said disappointedly.

"To be honest, I'm still not certain I believe you either," Jun admitted, stepping back, and crossing her arms. "But…I won't say I'm not having some doubts he's hiding something. You're gonna need to find some kind of proof, Water Boy."

Korra was frustrated. They'd searched every factory and warehouse in the city but hadn't found a single thing that could link him to the Equalists.

"I can't believe we didn't find anything," she said as she leapt off Naga, leaving Sota in the saddle to take the reins.

"It would appear that Hiroshi is innocent," Lin stated to her as the Avatar stood next to her and Tenzin. Behind them, Sota could see Asami approaching, Mai-Ling and Jun at her sides, as well as Mako, who followed behind her.

"Okay, you did your search. Now you can all leave," Asami declared.

"My uncle is clearly innocent, so just leave us alone. All of you," Mai-Ling added, directly that last part directly to Sota. He could only look away sadly, avoiding the anger in her eyes while Chief Beifong met it head on with a disapproving scowl of her own. If this little girl believed that she was threatened by her, she had another thing coming.

Mako quickly motioned for Korra to follow him and the two walked aways away to speak privately.

"So, I hope you're convinced now," he said to her.

"No, I'm not," she rejected. "I don't care how cooperative Hiroshi is being, I know he's lying."

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, fed up with her stubborn attitude. Pointing a finger at her, he asked, "Are you really that jealous of me and Asami?"

"What?" Korra asked, gasping in disbelief at the accusation, and thankful her little brother wasn't with in earshot of that comment. "Don't be ridiculous, that has nothing to do with it!"

"If you don't drop this, consider our friendship over," Mako stated, shocking Korra that he'd given her such an ultimatum. The hurt was clear on her face, but the Avatar held her convictions.

"I'm sorry. Hiroshi is not the man you think he is," she said, looking away from him. Mako gave her an affirmative grunt as he turned and walked away. Reaching Asami, he rested an arm around her shoulders before guiding her away. Mai-Ling followed behind, not even bothering to glance at Sota as she walked past Jun who was still watching him.

Korra walked over to her brother and pet as Sota, now on the ground, watched their friends leave, certain he'd never see them again. He looked sadly at the ground as Korra placed a hand on his shoulder and prepared to reassure him, but she stopped as she felt something in her hand.

"Huh?" she said, looking around before looking at her hand to find a note.

"What's wrong?" Sota asked as she opened the note and started to read. "What's that?"

As she started to scan it, her eyes grew wide. Turning to Lin and Tenzin, she stated, "I think you guys should hear this," showing the two adults the note before proceeding to read it. "If you want to find the truth, meet me under the North end of the Silk Road Bridge at midnight."

"What do you think?" Tenzin asked Lin who pondered on this.

"I think we should go," Jun said, walking up to the group, surprising the adults as she stood next to Sota.

"Jun? But I thought…? "Korra asked, looking at her brother.

"Jun has her doubts, and so she wants to find out the truth for herself," Sota said, trying his best to avoid giving them more reason to suspect Hiroshi without any evidence.

"Doubts about his innocence?" Lin probed, narrowing her eyes at the two kids.

"Doubts about what we will or won't find out at midnight," Jun answered. "If this person really has information, then I need to find out for myself."

"Well, for now, it may be the only lead we have. We'll have to take a chance and hope this informant really does have something," Lin agreed, though she was quick to turn to Korra and add, "And if you insist on bringing these two, you're responsible for them."

"Actually, I think I have an idea that will make everyone happy," Sota spoke up.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jinora asked Sota as he, Jun and Korra prepared to leave. "I'm not trying to imply anything, but do you think it's really a good idea for you all to go?"

"She has a point, Sota," Korra admitted, looking to her little brother as he finished refilling his gauntlets. "Even with this idea of yours, I'm not sure how I feel about you two tagging along."

"I know, but we'll be fine, guys," Sota reassured them both, though Jun could sense the lie in his words; he was terrified, but they didn't need to know that. "Tula and Essa should be here any minute, and as long as the two of them are with us, there shouldn't be anything to worry about."

"Promise you'll all be careful and make it back in one piece, ok?" Jinora commanded, reaching out and hugging him.

"Promise. I'll be back before you're up in the morning," he replied as he returned the hug. As he let her go, she made her way to Korra to hug her as well, and finally, Jun, who was shocked by the gesture.

"Wait, really? You mean you don't hate me?" Jun asked the Airbender.

"Even if I did hate you, that doesn't mean I wouldn't want you to be safe," Jinora smiled, pulling Jun into a hug that the Earthbender returned. "Just make sure you all make it back, ok?"

"It's past your bedtime, Jinora," Tenzin said softly as he approached with the two Sentries. Placing a hand gently on his daughter's shoulder, he said, "You should get going before your mother starts to worry." Jinora nodded, wrapping him in a hug as well before grabbing her glider from where she rested it near the pier and taking off back toward her home. Looking back to the group, Tenzin asked, "Everyone ready?"

"Ready," Korra confirmed, before turning to the twin Sentries. "Thank you again for accepting Sota's proposal, as last minute as it was."

"The honor is all ours, Avatar Korra," Essa said as they bowed to her.

"He's really grown on us, I have to admit," Tula said, smiling to him before moving to introduce herself to Jun. "You must be Jun."

"I am, and thanks again for your help," she said, shaking both their hands. The six walked up the plank and on to the boat, immediately setting sail for the city.

"Lin," Tenzin greeted as they met her at the Republic City pier.

"I still don't approve of this, Tenzin," the chief said, looking to the two kids. "Bringing you along is reckless enough, so you two keep quiet and don't make any unnecessary moves. You do as your told, and you don't talk back, got it?"

"Understood, Chief," Sota said, a bored look on his face as Jun smirked next to him. The two immediately straightened up as Lin narrowed her eyes to them.

"Come on," she commanded everyone, beginning to lead the way. The group was quiet for a moment before Lin spoke again, directing her question to Jun. "So, you gonna explain where you got police issued metal spools?"

"My father is an officer in Zaofu and used to provide them to my siblings and I," she explained as Sota looked at the metal ropes on her hip. "He says that police grade is stronger than standard."

"Because they're made of thicker, stronger metal. Which also makes them heavier. Impressive," Lin complimented her, surprising them all. "I certainly didn't expect to find a Zafouian here. Have you been there recently?"

"Uh, no," Jun said, suddenly feeling somewhat uncomfortable about the topic. "I haven't been back since we moved here. It's been almost 4 years since I've been home."

"I see," was the only response she received, everyone remaining silent for the rest of the trip to the rendezvous point.

"Psst," a voice whispered, grabbing their attention. Korra immediately recognized him as one of the workers she'd seen earlier. The man had his coat's collar up and a brimmed hat on his head to help hide his identity from any prying eyes. "Over here."

"You're the one who slipped me that note?" Korra confirmed, receiving a nod from him. Looking to the group for a moment, she turned to him again and asked, "What can you tell us?"

"Listen, I joined the Equalist because I believed in what Amon said. I thought he could make life better for us non-benders. But I didn't sign up for this…this war," he confirmed, looking at the two children as he did.

Sota moved to put Jun just behind him, a slight anxiousness building in his gut, while she clenched her hands at her sides nervously.

Lin turned to follow his line of sight, noticing that he was looking at Jun, before looking to him and asking, "What do you have on Hiroshi Sato?"

Jun swallowed, her body starting to shake as the nerves started to get worse, before gasping as she felt something in her left hand. Looking down, she saw that Sota was holding her hand, trying his best to stop her shaking, though he could barely stop his own. The Earthbender gripped back, steadying herself.

"He manufactured those gloves for the Equalist," he said straight forwardly.

"I knew it!" Korra said, upset at the discovery, before she looked at Jun. The poor girl looked like her whole world was shattering, her shoulders shaking with a sob.

"Whoa, are you ok?" Essa asked, kneeling to her level. Wiping some tears away, she turned to her sister and said, "We should escort them somewhere – "

"No!" Jun shouted, shaking her head. "I need to hear this. I need to know the whole truth."

"Are you sure?" Sota asked, receiving a nod from her. Looking back to the man, he said, "We searched all of Future Industries but couldn't find anything."

"You didn't find anything because he has a secret factory." the Worker said. "There are rumors he's working on something even bigger, some kind of new weapon,"

"Where?" Jun demanded, tears still staining her face as she looked at him.

"It's right underneath the Sato Mansion."

The silence that followed the collective gasp was thicker than fog as they all let his words sink in. No one more than Jun, her tears no longer flowing as she stared at the ground in utter disbelief.

"Underneath…the mansion…" She mumbled, as suddenly, it all made sense.

To be continued…