A/N- Hey guys. So this one is coming a bit late. Good news is that real life stuff got in the way in the best of ways. I graduated from Uni at the beginning of this week. This means I have a lot more time to dedicate to my writing, so I hope that translates to an uptick in quality. There's so much shit I want to explore and have fun with and now I get to do that. As for this story, expect the next update on Wednesday next week and know you could skip the wait and rea the next two chapters as well as continuous updates on Pa-treon right now. Since I now qualify as an unemployed member of society, all subscribers on my pa-treon are much appreciated. If you enjoy my writing, then please don't hesitate to support it if you can. For Pa Treon, you can remove the hyphen between Pa and Treon and Google it, then search for my username—Oghenevwogaga. Or you could copy the link in my bio and remove the spaces before pasting it in your address bar.

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"You could just ignore it, you know? No need to act. Their plan failed, leave it at that" Amara was the first to speak after I briefed what had become my command team with Sung's departure. They were basically the ones who had led the planning of Operation Firestorm that led to us taking Ba Sing Se with the notable additions of Toji and Maki who both got side looks but had nothing addressed to them. I was the leader now, and while these people were loyal to the Fire Nation just as I was, I could never avoid the risk that their primary loyalty had been to Sung, and not me. That was why I needed my friends around me. I could trust them, and they could trust me.

I gave Shin a significant look at the word that had just left the water bender's mouth, and I could practically feel the way he sighed internally. After questioning their motives and intentions, it was only normal for us to look into exactly how they had snuck in. And the fact that a member of my own army had spotted them making their way with me and not sounded the alarm was the kind of thing that had me feeling a bit unsafe in my position. Somewhat foolishly, I'd promised Shin not to act without thinking and giving him an opportunity to come to some defence for her. His arguments were good, not to disparage him or anything. He had made the very good point that she was a water bender healer that had saved the lives of dozens, perhaps hundreds within this very camp.

Losing her would lose me lives in both the short and long term. There was also the possibility of a mutiny, and I had heard the silent threat he'd made of joining the mutiny himself. It was not a threat that neither Toji nor I had appreciated, but one we had been forced to consider. In the end, she was too useful, had too much backing, and perhaps most importantly, I'd have to kill Admiral Rensuke's son to get to her.

"Impossible. We will need to leave the city sooner or later, and leaving an enemy to our backs would be foolish," Shin shut down her idea and received a short nod from Toji that made him breathe easier than he had been. If the situation had not been so serious, it would have been comedic. The way Toji had practically become considered as an extension of my will. If only they knew ho far that was from the truth. He obeyed when he wanted to, and threaded the line when he didn't want to. It was why instead of partying with the others, he'd been scouting the territory even despite me ordering him to take the night. Of course, that had saved my life. A fact he never hesitated to remind me off.

"Colonel Shin is right, and even regardless of that, we must be seen doing something. The men witnessed some of the attack. Even strict information control hasn't stopped word from spreading that the General was attacked by earth benders. Sooner or later, the more zealous of them will begin attacking the civilians to show their loyalty or whatever you men call it" Maki pointed out, and I nodded at her words. Something had to be done. And it had to be seen done.

"The Mayor has to go, that is beyond question. Now convince me on why Lao Beifong's head should not join his" I said to the room, taking a page from Sung's book and asking them to essentially play Devil's advocate.

XXXXXXX

When Lin was the only one to return from the mission, and the fact that he was empty-handed told him all that he needed to know. The man's report had been useless in the end. A successful mission for the most part and then the Fire Nation General waking up at the very worst moment and taking out five men even while having his hands and feet bound was the kind of mess that only he could find himself in. He'd attempted to hope that the men would not break under interrogation, or even that they would have ended up dead before being questioned. That hope also proved useless. He woke up one day to find that whatever guards he relied on had been discharged on the order of the General and replaced by firebending guards. It was obvious, the intention. He was going to be killed sooner or later.

But the fact that it had not happened yet was giving him what he was ashamed to say was a feeling of hope in his chest. His attempts to send secret messages to Beifong, asking for a rescue, had so far proven unsuccessful. Well, either that or his oldest friend had abandoned him as a lost cause, and while both he and Lao had done the same to dozens of others, he refused to believe that the same could happen to him. They had schemed and plotted for decades to ascend. Lao on the merchant side, rising to become the richest man in Gaoling, and he himself, rising to become the Mayor, and thus the most powerful. They were closer than brothers. He would not be abandoned. No, it was clear that the fire nation General had coopted his servants to his will, and they were redirecting his messages and pleas for help. They were all encoded so he had no risk of incriminating himself or Lao, but he'd nevertheless made the decision to stop. Stopping the letters meant boredom. Unofficial house arrest had left him with few things to do, except for thinking how the one they called "The Thunderer" would choose to kill him.

"Hello Mayor" he barely prevented himself from jumping out of his own skin with the surprise that shot through him.

"General Natsu. What do I owe the pleasure?" He asked, barely remembering his manners and executing the proper bow. Every part of the young man's bearing screamed nobility. Even the hair that clearly longed for a haircut had been pulled into a neat ponytail that neatly framed the rest of his aristocratic features. High cheekbones, soft face, and eyes so black they seemed to suck in whatever light strayed too close to them. Just like when he saw him the first time, Kinvara felt nothing but hatred for this man.

"Oh come on. You know why I'm here. I received your gift a few nights ago" he said, making Kinvara smile easily as he slipped into a persona that he'd worn a million times before.

"I have no idea what you speak of, General"

"Major General"

"What?" He asked, wondering what was going on.

"Your people keep calling me General. I am a mere Major General. That means I have two promotions left to secure the hallowed rank. Do you think they'll give me one when I send your head back home?"

"I doubt a humble mayor from Gaoling would matter much for such a purpose. Especially since I peacefully surrendered the city to you and have ceded all administrative authorities to you upon your arrival at the city, as I have no doubt you have reported back to your people. The hawks fly quite brilliantly I must say. Such proud creatures."

"And yet, five men made an attempt on my life two days ago on your orders," He accused. Kinvara was no stranger to this game. Deny, deny, and deny some more.

"What men? Why have I not heard of this? I am so sorry for the attack, General. I do hope you managed to avoid any harm from such dishonourable traitors. Rest assured, I gave no such orders and will, in fact, work with you most ardently to see these miserable rogues and their sponsors brought to justice" He said instantly.

"And yet, I find myself staring at one of those very sponsors"

"I assure you that you are mistaken, General. I would never attempt such. Did I not peacefully resign my positions to your rule and that of the fire Nation? There is none in this city more loyal than I to your cause. My people already view me as a traitor for my surrender. Our fates are intertwined. " He did his best to make sure no tells gave away his dishonesty even as he knew that he was done for. This was probably the last performance of his life, and for some reason the knowledge of that fact made him feel even more secure. He would die when this was done, for sure. But let none say he went without note. He'd perform so ardently that every man would doubt his guilt in the end.

"You're lying. You know you're lying. I know you're lying. The question you should probably be asking is why I have not killed you" The General said, lifting the heat of the building with his accursed fire bending. Kinvara could see no outward signs of it, but he was no fool. The day had been pleasantly chill before his arrival, and now Kinvara was struggling to get cool air through his clothes and into the sweaty form beneath them.

"I am no fool, General. Kill me now and you will never have Gaoling. These people are my people. Their problems, my problems. They bent the knee to you because I told them to. You did not conquer this city, Thunderer. Sure, you have the military force to handle the city, but do you have the _time_." He pressed, relishing in the way the boy's eyes shifted. He was disciplined for one so young, but a player of the great game he was not. Kinvara lived, breathed, and shat the game. He knew right then and there that his suspicions were valid.

"Time? I have all the time in the world. I have this city. I can take care of this city as I wish. Let your people rise. They will rise, and they will burn in short order" He riposted, but his heart wasn't in the threat. It was almost painfully obvious.

"Really? And then when are you going to get around to Ba Sing Se" He sang the last three words of the sentence, making sure the threat landed just the way he wanted it to. Of course, that proved to be a mistake. Kinvara had relaxed into the situation. He saw a verbal spar and began to feel at home. He forgot the first rule of the game-Know your enemy. His seat went fling out from under him, and before he could process that, a hand had grabbed a hold of his head and slammed it into the table. Whatever temptation he felt to move dried up quickly as he felt the heat pressing down on his eyeball.

"How do you know about Ba Sing Se?" The question made his bones vibrate, such was the way it was screamed from the General right into his ears. If it had not been so loud, he might not even have heard it over the sound of his heart beating in his ears. His life was flashing right before his eyes in real time, and he had no idea what to do. This was the kind of situation that he had not foreseen, but should have. He was kicking himself for the foolishness, all the while trying to do his best to figure out an escape from what seemed like an impossible conundrum.

"I don't. I swear I didn't. I just had a theory, and you confirmed it." He tried to push as much honesty into his voice as possible, but was hit with the sinking feeling that his earlier lying had bought hum little trust when it came to that respect, and there was every chance that he was being disbelieved as a matter of principle.

"A theory, huh? Tell me more" He almost sighed in relief at being allowed to keep speaking. Because it meant he was not going to be killed now. It meant he had a few more minutes left of breathing in him, and the longer he got to keep breathing, the more chances he'd get to keep things that way for the long run.

"You took Omashu, and sat on it for a month. And then out of nowhere, your forces get split up, most of the army across the kingdom send the better parts of their forces towards you, and you begin to march down East. You burn through the Foggy Swamp rather than going around it like literally everyone else would have. And then you come here. From every sign, your presence here is going to be temporary, and if I were a gambling man, I'd guess that you'd be continuing Eastwards. There's only one thing you could be going after. The great slayer of Bumi himself. There exists only one prize worthy of your attention. The Walled City herself, Ba Sing Se." The more he spoke, the more he felt the pressure forcing him downwards reduce in intensity. He was clearly doing something right.

"It seems you have me all figured out, Mayor" The General said while standing up straight. Kinvara waited a few seconds to make sure he was not being baited to his death and then lifted his upper body from the table while taking care in rising to his feet, one after the other.

"But now that you know I don't have the time to waste, here's an opportunity for you. You write a letter. You confess to the assassination. Say that Lao Beifong used his wealth and influence to manipulate you in going through with the attempt and that you are very sorry, blah blah blah. Your people never much liked Beifong, I suspect. So you use him as a patsy, I place you under official house arrest, and you get to live as you just have" Kinvara held his breath all through the offer being given. It was a good offer, he knew. A better deal than he would have given in the General's place.

"And what happens to Lao?"

"Well, a head needs to roll, does it not?"

A/N; Small steps, light steps. Political steps, or non-political steps. Like I said earlier, you can either wait till Wednesday for the next chapter or skip the waiting and read the next two, as well as continuous updates as I write on pa-treon (same username as up here- link in bio). Both are equally valid actions, so no rush. For Pa Treon, you can remove the hyphen between Pa and Treon and Google it, then search for my username—Oghenevwogaga. Or you could copy the link in my bio and remove the spaces before pasting it in your address bar.