A/N: Hi all, thank you for your patience! Told you I'd guarantee an update this week.
Thank you to Tertius711, AsahixMe, Sharpe, Black Dragon Master, Guest, devilfiredog18, FireLordAziz, Raider, and StevenBodner for reviewing Chapter 65! And thank you, FireLordAziz, for continuing your quest to leave reviews on every chapter.
Time check: Early autumn, 177 AG (3 years and 1 month after Book 4)
66. We're going till the world stops turning while we burn it to the ground
The signs don't look promising.
The sun set an hour ago, the wind is dropping into the chill of autumn, and the rain is falling steadily, creating puddled roads and pelting a rhythm on the car roof that's putting Minsu to sleep.
It's been three hours since they set up camp in Juno's nondescript car in an attempt to intercept a drug drop from Korozo. After a fortnight of squeezing every drug dealer Narcotics could find, they've finally learned that Korozo makes his drug sales in predetermined locations. Korozo (or one of his go-betweens) tells the client where and when, and then deposits the drug package in a concealed spot and leaves. When the client arrives, they retrieve the drugs and leave the money, and Korozo comes back later to claim the cash. It's a system that only works because Korozo has built up enough of a reputation that no client would dare to sneak off with the drugs without leaving payment.
It also helps that many of these 'clients' are street kids whom Korozo has gotten hooked on his drug, so that they'll do his dirty work for him in exchange for food and their next dose. Just thinking about it makes his blood boil; but then, it doesn't take much to anger him where Korozo is concerned. His fuse has been significantly shorter lately, and it's not escaped Juno's keen eye. She keeps sneaking side glances at him that she knows he notices, but he clamps his mouth shut and refuses to say anything, and keeps Minsu silent with severe stares.
All in all, it's been a rather uncomfortable three hours.
Juno pokes Minsu in the side. "Wake up, Mr. Lead Detective. This is your case."
Minsu jolts awake sheepishly. "Sorry! I know." He yawns. "This is just…really dead boring."
"That's the reality of stakeouts," Juno informs him.
"Yeah, but — Mako, are you sure Korozo's gonna show up?" Minsu questions, twisting slightly so he can face the backseat while speaking.
He scowls. "That's what I got from my informant. He said he heard a teenager who does jobs for the Agni Kai telling someone to come to this alleyway at 4am tonight and to look behind the loose brick for the 'product'. It matches Korozo's MO, and he has to come here to plant the drugs before 4."
"Who exactly is this informant of yours?" Juno asks archly. "It's not the first time you've given us tips from him and he seems uncannily well-versed in what the triads are up to."
He smiles grimly. "If I told you that, he wouldn't be my informant anymore."
Juno dips her head in acknowledgment, then says, "Well, I just hope he's right about this, otherwise this stakeout would be futile."
His expression tightens. Minsu, as lead detective, signed off on this, but the stakeout itself had been his idea based on the information he received.
Minsu interjects hastily, "Even it's not Korozo's trade, it's a lead worth checking out, don't you think?"
"I still think we might have more luck trying to catch him based on the murder charges," Juno declares. "We've been chasing the drug angle for a month and we haven't gotten anywhere."
Minsu looks uncomfortable. "The murder happened eighteen years ago. Any evidence about it would be long gone."
"Yet somehow Mako knows it happened, and that it was Korozo's doing." Juno stares at him via the rearview mirror. "Are you certain you can't remember any other details about the victims that would give us a lead to take to the police archives?"
His tone is clipped as he replies, "I told you, all I remember is seeing Korozo dragging a couple's dead bodies into a house and burning the whole place down." Not true; he'd seen the grisly aftermath of the burnt house and his parents' corpses when he'd tried to return later that night, but he hadn't seen Korozo setting up for his act of arson. The official police report on San's and Naoki's deaths is no doubt buried somewhere in the RCPD archives, but their cause of death would be listed as a house fire, not an outright murder.
"It was a long time ago, though," Juno notes. "How sure are you that it was Korozo — or that you're remembering accurately?"
"You see a lot of messed-up shit working with triads, but you don't often see murder," he retorts. "Trust me, it left a mark. And I remember his scars." He taps his cheek. "It was Korozo," he says with conviction.
Juno purses her lips, but doesn't say anything else. Minsu shoots him a helpless glance, which he responds to with a heavy frown.
He knows he's standing on a knife edge. Juno obviously suspects he's not saying everything, and has been pushing for details more and more lately. It won't be long before she figures out the truth, at which point she will almost certainly kick him off Korozo's case.
He thinks he would be able to accept that if they can at least arrest the bastard tonight and make it stick.
He tunes out the rhythmic rain and ignores the tension in the car, scouring every inch of the alleyway with adamant eyes for any sign of someone or something that shouldn't be there.
An indeterminable amount of time later, a flicker of movement catches his attention. Minsu and Juno both go rigid, also alert.
A figure slinks through the shadows, holding a coat over their head to defend against the rain (it also hides their face, which irks him supremely). The three detectives watch as the suspect walks right up to the wall and counts bricks with taps of their fingers, before stopping to remove a particular one and sliding a wrapped packet behind it.
Lightning flashes just as the person turns to leave, illuminating their face…and the scars on his cheek.
"That's him!" He is already tensed, ready to bolt after the triad.
"Mako, wait," Juno orders. "Minsu, quickly — how do you want to play this?"
Minsu hesitates only for a second. "Juno, Mako, take the car and go after him. I'll retrieve the drugs. Rendezvous at HQ."
Juno revs the engine as Minsu slips out of the car; the sound alerts Korozo, who breaks into a run.
"He's getting away!" he exclaims.
Juno throws the transmission into gear and slams the pedal down. Her car shoots down the road as Korozo flings himself on a motorbike and speeds away. Juno switches gears expertly and hightails in pursuit, while he turns the siren on and slaps it onto the roof of the car.
They chase Korozo for three blocks before the triad squeezes his bike down a narrow back road. Juno curses as she screeches to a halt.
"Shit. I can't — Mako!"
He's thrown the door open and taken off running before Juno's finished calling his name. His feet pound the pavement, splattering his pant legs with puddle water. A well-aimed jet of fire melts the tires on Korozo's motorbike, forcing the triad to abandon the vehicle and continue on foot.
He sets an unrelenting pace as he pursues Korozo with single-minded intent. His stamina vastly outstrips the older man's, and the latter soon has to stop to confront him instead of continuing his escape attempt. Korozo ducks down yet another alley and turns to face him, panting heavily.
"You're persistent," the Agni Kai grunts.
He stands less than five feet away, breathing hard, his glare unyielding. "You have no idea."
Korozo smirks and bends two flame daggers from his fists; the flickering light casts the scars on his cheek into stark relief. "You think you can take me?"
His blood is boiling, but his fury is cold. "Bring it on."
He doesn't give Korozo the chance to attack first; he leaps, using the walls as leverage to spin a wide arc of fire from his foot. Korozo slides under the strike and slashes with his dagger, emitting a string of flame that singes the air with heat.
Korozo's fire is a deep, vivid orange; the sight of it transports him right back to the night his parents died. The reminder tears a guttural yell out of him as he recommits to his offence with renewed zeal.
His fire is hot, but it is fuelled by rage and overshadowed by painful memory. His flames blaze wild and uncontrolled, without the precise focus that gives them power, and none of his blows land with the force he desires. Korozo, in contrast, bends small, but strong, easily countering his flashy displays. A well-timed strike of a fire dagger scorches his sleeve and scores a burn down his upper arm. He retaliates with the largest fireball he can conjure — but once again, it fails to inflict any real damage.
"If this is the best RCPD's finest can do, it's no wonder you can't get me," Korozo taunts, skipping backwards to avoid the next blast.
Something snaps within him, and he roars with pure, unadulterated hatred. In that instant, he wants nothing more than to obliterate this smug ratbag from the face of the earth. He pours his wrath into his bending and his fire spirals in the alley: incandescent at the edges, white-hot at the centre. Steam hisses from rapidly-evaporating puddles and bricks burn red where the inferno touches them. For the first time, Korozo's dark eyes widen in alarm.
He whips the firestorm around him and channels the full force of the flames towards Korozo. His vision fills with a furious, frightening flare, a blinding blaze of yellow and orange and red. Someone screams; he's not sure if it's him or Korozo. He loses himself to the inferno.
When the burning conflagration finally recedes, he slumps against the wall, utterly spent. Korozo is nowhere to be seen. Either he had completely incinerated him, or Korozo had managed to deflect the flames long enough to flee while his firestorm raged.
At this moment, he's not sure which he prefers. He feels cold and empty; neither the growing horror of the first option nor the bitter relief of the second has yet taken hold.
By some miracle, nothing significant has burned down, and the still-falling rain douses the lingering flames in the alley. He finds that he is at least thankful for that.
The next flash of lightning and its accompanying thunderbolt remind him that a reckoning awaits him, and he reluctantly detaches from the wall.
There's going to be hell to pay.
A/N: Today's song is 'Burn It To The Ground' by Nickelback. The head lyric of this chapter encapsulates how Mako is insistent about staying on the case, to such a point of obstinacy that he risks burning all his bridges and the new life he's built for himself. The lines about being 'wound up too tight' and 'bat shit crazy' pretty accurately describe Mako's state of mind here, and the reference to whisky is fitting because that's already been established as Mako's drink of choice. 'We're screaming like demons swinging from the ceiling' allude to Mako's own screaming here while he battles Korozo, as well as his aerial firebending attacks. And generally speaking, the heavy rock vibe and strong beat of this song match the action of the chapter.
So, do you think Mako's fire actually killed Korozo or not? I'll leave y'all to debate that while you wait for the next bit. And here's the good news - I have managed to finish writing the next chapter already, so y'all will definitely get an update next week at the usual time (though be sure to check the author's note next week for news about upcoming updates). Moreover, I have plotted out the remainder of this arc and I know exactly what needs to be written for the next five or so chapters, which will make them easier (and hopefully faster) to write. I'm quite excited for the rest of this arc and I hope you are too :D