FIC: The Princess of the Dragon Flats (LoK, R)

[lizbee]

Title: The Princess of the Dragon Flats
Author: LizBee
Fandom: Legend of Korra
Rating: R
Word count: 34,000
Characters: Lin Beifong; Asami Sato; ensemble; OCs; Lin/Male OC.
Notes: With many thanks to nonelvis for her beta, and to yiduiqie for looking over an early draft. More detailed notes at the end.
Warnings: Allusions to sexual slavery, child prostitution, non-coercive prostitution, drugs, alcohol and high-fat foods. Violence. Attempted noir. Politics.

Summary: AU - Aang never restored Korra's bending; instead she simply disappeared. Thirteen months later, Lin is building a new life as a private detective. A simple case -- the search for a missing heiress -- turns complicated as Lin finds herself dealing with politics, the criminal underworld and the Fire Lord's second cousin's cat.



The Princess of the Dragon Flats
by LizBee



That the law breaker is invariably sooner or later apprehended is probably the least challenged of extant myths. And yet the files of every detective bureau bulge with the records of unsolved mysteries and uncaught criminals.
Dashiell Hammett, 1923

*

We started to measure time by the Avatar's absence.

An hour. A day. A week.

We tracked her as far as the cliff, but none of us believed her journey ended there. For one thing, Naga was gone too, and however bleak Korra felt, she wouldn't have taken the dog with her.

Bolin suggested Katara start checking icebergs. Only Ikki laughed.

A month passed. A year.

Tenzin talked of the Spirit World reclaiming its lost daughter. No comfort to Tonraq and Senna, but the thought seemed to give Tenzin hope, and when we returned to Republic City he devoted his free time to old books and older stories.

And me --

The force welcomed me back, along with my fallen officers. People made accommodations for what they called my difficulties, and exclaimed about how well I was coping.

I lasted two months.

I didn't know what to do after that.

Tenzin wanted to sponsor me to join the Council, taking one of the new seats being created for people born and bred in the United Republic. It was a nice idea, but I had no stomach for politics. And I'd only ever known one way to serve the city.

Which brought me here, thirteen months after I lost my bending and the world lost its Avatar, to this dingy office in the Dragon Flats district, upstairs from an acupuncturist and next door to what was euphemistically called a massage parlour.

Home sweet home.

*

Asami knocked twice then let herself into my office.

"There's a Mrs Shiro to see you," she said. "Wealthy, well-dressed, middle-aged."

"Does she look like she'll pay?"

Asami shrugged. The wealthiest clients -- and that was a low enough bar -- were the slowest to pay their bills. Once a month we'd go through the accounts and sort out which needed polite reminders, which needed venomous polite reminders, and which required a personal visit from a burly earthbender.

"Tell you what, though," she added, "I'd bet money Shiro's not her real name."

"You can't afford to gamble on what I pay you."

She wrinkled her nose at me, tossed her hair and slipped out to send the client through.

Mrs Shiro shone.

There was little enough light in my office, but she seemed to radiate her own. Or maybe that was the gold thread that covered her red silk dress, fine embroidery that I was quite certain had been done by hand. The gold was echoed in her earrings and on her fingers. Her lipstick was precisely the same shade of red as her nail polish. Her face was oddly familiar, although I was sure I'd remember such a good-looking woman if I'd ever met her before. She was about my age, but at first glance she seemed much younger.

At second glance, I saw the lines around her mouth and eyes, and the loose threads on her sleeves where she had been plucking at that expensive embroidery.

Still, her voice, when she spoke, was perfectly controlled.

"My name is Akiko Shiro," she said. "My daughter is missing. Find her, bring her home, and I'll make you one of the richest women in this city."

I raised my eyebrows and didn't tell her that I used to be the richest woman in the city. Well, my mother was. At Asami's age I was even considered an eligible heiress, though for some reason men seemed to find me intimidating.

I found some fresh paper and a pen.

"Tell me about your daughter."

Shiro sank into a chair, her mask cracking a little more.

"She's nineteen. No, twenty. She's twenty. She came here to attend university--"

"From the Fire Nation?"

"Yes." She worried at a thread on her cuff. "I thought she was too young, but she insisted. It seemed all right for the first year."

"And then?"

"She hardly called us at all after Amon's revolution. Rarely wrote. We sent her money, she'd spend it, sometimes she called to ask for more. I thought this was normal."

"And when did she disappear?"

Shiro's attention was on her sleeves.

"Then we got a letter from the university, saying Megumi hasn't attended classes this semester. We called her, of course, but there was no answer. That was -- that was last week."

"And you came to Republic City to find her." I felt a reluctant stirring of sympathy for Mrs Shiro.

"I just thought -- I know people say the city is safer now, but there were the bombings last year, and all the crime, and--" She seemed to notice what she was doing at last. She reached into her bag and pulled out a cigarette case and an enamelled lighter. Her hands trembled slightly as she fitted her cigarette into its older and lit it. "Meg's allowance was more than generous. She could have rented the finest apartment in the city. I went to the address she gave me. It's little more than a slum!"

Her voice cracked.

I got up to make some tea.

When she was calm again, smoking her second cigarette, she said, "Maybe she -- maybe she ran away. Escaped."

"Escaped from what?" I asked.

Shiro's face became closed.

"An arranged marriage? The family business?" I paused. "Her royal duties?"

A rueful smile touched "Shiro's" lips.

"I didn't fool you for a minute, did I?"

"Several minutes, actually. Took me a minute to recognise you."

"My father was Fire Lady Mai's younger brother."

"Lady Yumiko." I leaned back in my chair, relieved that the liar in my office was only royalty, and not, say, the disgruntled wife of someone I once threw in jail.

"You see why I can't go to the police," she said. "Sooner or later the newspapers would find out Meg's missing. I don't want a -- a scandal. Or to scare her deeper into hiding."

Interesting, I thought, that she assumed her daughter had run away. Or maybe she didn't want to consider any other possibility, even privately.

"This is the key to her apartment." She slid an envelope across the table. "I haven't been in yet. I -- couldn't."

"I understand."

"I'll pay whatever you want." She stood up, adjusting her dress. "My uncle always said we could trust you. He speaks very highly of you.

Her uncle being Fire Lord Zuko, whom I knew mostly as the shyest of my mother's friends.

"My secretary will explain my rates," I said. And, knowing Asami, would add on an extra fifty yuans per day, on the principle that anyone who owned that dress could afford it. "Where can I reach you?"

She gave me the number of an exclusive hotel near the park.

"When you find her," she said, "tell her -- tell her we're not angry. We just want her to come home. We'll reward you generously if you bring her back."

I watched her sweep out of my office, the door closing behind her with a click. Then I shook out the envelope she had given me.

A key fell out, with a tag attached bearing an address only a few blocks away. And with it came five hundred yuans and a photograph of Megumi.

I looked at the mess -- the valuable mess -- on my desk. Carefully I picked up the key.

The metal was cold and silent in my hands. It was like holding a dead person's hand. Like closing my mother's eyes and letting her fingers fall from mine. Only it was the same refined earth it had always been. It was part of me that had died, like scar tissue atop damaged nerves.

I put the key in my pocket, swept up the money and put it in my safe, and got my coat.

*

Slum was too strong a word for Megumi's apartment, but it was close. She had made her home in a tenement near the river, the sort of place the new Councilman for the Dragon Flats borough had sworn to do away with. I felt a twinge of sympathy for the girl as I climbed the stairs to her door, but it quickly faded. She could have lived anywhere in the city, but the people around here didn't have a choice, and she had taken one of the few places they could afford.

And why? For experience? So she could go back to her friends in the Fire Nation and boast of having lived the life of a peasant for a few months? To shock and dismay her parents?

The key turned easily in the lock.

Instinctively I held my breath as I slipped into Megumi's apartment. Too many times I'd opened doors like this and found bodies on the other side. But the sparse room was empty, and smelled only of cat urine.

The cat itself wound around my ankles, wailing piteously. It was a grey, mangy old thing with a torn ear, and terribly thin.

"Fine," I said.

The kitchenette consisted of a small icebox, a couple of hot plates, a bench and a sink. In one corner lay a bag of dried fish, its contents spilling out of the hole the cat had clawed. It wasn't exactly starving, then, but it fell on the bowl of tap water I offered, purring even as it drank. The cat was so thirsty that for a moment it even ignored the bowl of canned fish that followed.

I watched it eat, thinking that a girl who adopted a stray cat was unlikely to abandon it.

Then I went to work.

Her furniture was cheap, and probably came with the apartment, but the futon, when I drew it from its chest, was of the highest quality, and the blankets were almost new. Poor little rich girl drew the line at bedbugs, I guessed.

I moved to her drawers. Most of the clothes were unremarkable, the things you could buy off the rack in stores. There were a few dresses that looked scandalous to my eyes, although I suspected Asami would merely call them trashy. At the very back, folded in tissue paper, were formal robes, embroidered silk like her mother wore, but in newer styles.

There was jewellery, too, kept in a lacquered puzzle box. The upper layer held showy costume jewellery, along with some cheap cosmetics, but the concealed inner layer contained a few expensive pieces. Earrings, a necklace, the sort of thing wealthy Fire Nation families gave their daughters when they came of age. And, wrapped in silk, a royal hairpiece.

Everything else I returned, but the hairpiece went into my inner pocket. Lady Yumiko would want that back. I was already beginning to suspect it would be the only thing I could give her.

The cat nuzzled my hand. I petted it, and it pushed itself against my fingers, purring, demanding that I scratch it. For a few seconds it seemed like the happiest animal in the world. Then it sank its teeth into my wrist.

I swore. At length.

The cat curled up on the futon and looked unrepentant.

Finally I turned to the most promising thing in the room: Megumi's desk. It was covered in papers, most of them torn from magazines and newspapers. Lots of pictures of pro-benders. Underneath the initial layer of mess was a scrapbook. Inside were more articles about pro-bending, pictures of pro-bending teams, even a crumpled play sheet. One team kept coming up. The Wolfbats.

The last picture in the scrapbook was a photograph. There were the Wolfbats again, preening in the centre, and clustered around them was a group of beautiful girls.

Second from the left was Megumi.

I recognised her from Lady Yumiko's photograph, although this picture was more recent. Megumi had a long face with a sharp chin and generous mouth. She bore a passing resemblance to Fire Lady Mai, although that might have been the effect of her short, blunt bangs. If I hadn't known they were related, I might not have noticed.

Pro-bending had been shut down since the revolution. The arena had barely been repaired after Amon's attack when it was bombed by his remaining disciples. That was four months ago; repairs were ongoing. This photograph dated back to before the finals, when Tahno and his team-mates were arrogant sons-of-bitches and Megumi was a wealthy foreign student attending university.

I should have asked her mother if she was a bender.

I flipped through the book again, pausing for a second on a photo of Korra with her teammates. They looked like children.

Something fell out as I turned the page.

It was a matchbook, the kind that nightclubs gave to patrons. Empty, it was nothing more than a bit of folded cardboard inscribed on the front with the characters 尊嚴. Sanctity. Dignity. Honour. An appropriate choice for a Fire Nation noblewoman, I thought, amused, and went to throw the matchbook on the desk.

I stopped.

I knew Sanctity.

Oh, Megumi, you stupid, stupid girl.

The rest of my search was cursory. I found some meditation candles, the kind that were almost exclusively used by firebenders, but there was no way to tell when they had last been lit. There were a few books, mostly university texts on politics, history and law. Fitting enough for her position, but then there were the pamphlets. Equalist propaganda. Calls for economic warfare. A slightly hysterical denunciation of Hiroshi Sato -- published before anyone knew he was an Equalist. Similar texts denounced other industrialists and plutocrats: Varrick, Raiko, the Shan family of Ba Sing Se, the Wei family of the Fire Nation.

I leaned back, ignoring the cat's cries for attention, and tried to reconcile Megumi the noblewoman with Megumi the revolutionary student, with Megumi the sports fan, with Megumi the -- what? The girl who painted her face and wore a flimsy dress to go dancing at nightclubs? The girl who took in an ugly, anti-social stray cat, then vanished and left it to starve?

The royal hairpiece lay heavy in my pocket.

Slowly I climbed to my feet. My back ached, and my head. The cat meowed at me, clawing at my boots.

"Fine," I said.

*

"What's that?" Asami asked, poking at the basket I had just dumped on her desk.

"The Fire Lord's cousin's cat. Watch out. He bites."

"But he looks so -- ow!" Too late, Asami ripped her hand away, sucking on her finger. The cat climbed nonchalantly out of its basket and started washing itself.

"That's not a cat," Asami said as she fussed about with disinfectant, "it's a weapon."

"I like it."

"You would."

In the interests of employee relations, I decided not to ask her to clarify.

Instead, I said, "You up for some overtime tonight?"

She perked up. "A stake-out?"

"You could call it that." I passed her the empty matchbook. "I'll pick you up at ten. Wear something pretty."

*

"Beifong." Asami ran a hand over her carefully waved hair and eyed my battered old car with distaste.

"Sato. You look good."

I wanted to put a blanket around her shoulders and send her home, but that was probably the effect she was going for. Her qipao was slit to her thighs, and she wobbled a bit on her high heels. With her hair in a knot at the base of her neck and heavier make-up than usual, she looked like a sheltered rich girl taking her first steps into the underworld. Exactly what I needed, and close enough to her true self that no one would doubt it, but I still felt like a heel for bringing her into this.

"Nice suit," she said as we drove. "Am I your date tonight?"

"People know me," I said, straightening my cravat. "But people find pretty girls disarming for some reason."

"Disarming. I can do that." She fluttered her eyelashes at me, looking about as helpless as a platypus bear.

"Be careful, though," I warned her. "I need you to watch and listen."

"For what?"

Anything that feels wrong, I wanted to say, but in a place like Sanctity that didn't exactly narrow the list.

It was an underworld institution, if you could use that word about a place that changed venues and names every couple of years. The owner was a man named Pockmarked Huang, although he spent enough time in jail that his wife handled most of the day to day business. If you wanted high-proof baijiu and a dance with a pretty girl, you went to Sanctity. If you wanted opium or hashish, you could find it there. If you wanted weapons, women, hired killers, someone in Sanctity would be able to provide them for you. Pockmarked Huang took his cut, turned a blind eye, and everyone went home happy.

Except, of course, the women. And the dead.

When I was a cop, we raided the place as often as we could, sometimes every few months. Huang would go to prison, his wife would curse us, and within weeks there'd be a new hot nightclub in town.

Asami took all this in, then said, "And you think they'll let you in? Chief?"

"Mrs Huang hates my guts, but her husband likes me. Says I remind him of his sister." I parked on a quiet street a couple of blocks away and went round to open Asami's door. "She's onto her third husband and sixth kid, but he says it's a compliment."

Asami tucked her arm through mine.

"Well," she said, "I could have become an accountant."

"That's the spirit."

The bouncer was hostile -- four years since I arrested him, but apparently he held onto his grudges -- but he smirked when he saw Asami and waved us through.

Sanctity was a dark cave of a place. Its main source of illumination was old-fashioned crystal lanterns that cast a sickly greenish glow but left faces in shadow. The air was thick with cigarette smoke, and I had to take shallow breaths to keep from coughing. Heads turned as we passed tables, men and a few women taking second and third glances at the beautiful girl on my arm. I felt Asami draw a little closer to my side.

"Easy, Sato," I murmured.

"I feel like a piece of meat."

"I know." I squeezed her hand.

"Did Megumi come here alone?"

"I don't know."

The waiter led us to a table, and I ordered drinks, warm sake for myself, a vile mixture of pomegranate and soju for Asami, who looked at the waiter with interest but said little. When the drinks arrived, I gave the waiter a generous tip and told him to scram.

When we were alone in our dark little corner, Asami sipped her drink and finally relaxed a little.

"You've done this before?"

"A few times," I admitted. "When I was younger, less recognisable. Once I came off patrol, middle of summer, stinking inside my armour, and my lieutenant threw a dress at me and told me to try for sexy if I couldn't manage pretty. Right in front of my mom. I wanted to die."

"Was she mad?"

"Are you kidding? She told the story at every family dinner for months, until Tenzin and I were ready to kill her."

"You must miss her."

"Sometimes." When I woke up in the middle of the night and the earth was silent. As a kid, when I had nightmares, she told me to put my hand on the wall and listen to the heartbeats of all the people in the world. I never felt alone until I woke up and my bending was gone.

I sipped my sake.

"I forgot what this is like," I said. "The way they look at you, I mean. I'd have asked one of the boys, but--"

"Bringing Bolin here would be like bringing a puppy to an abattoir."

"And Mako is so--"

"Intense," said Asami. Wasn't quite what I was going for, but it worked. "At least I know you won't try to paw me at the end of the night."

"I was raised to be a gentleman," I told her.

"Why would Megumi come to a place like this?" Asami asked.

"Why did you race cars?"

"You think she wanted a thrill?"

"Maybe. I don't know." I ran my fingers around the rim of my cup. "I keep asking myself, why would a firebender need matches?"

"Oh."

I leaned back in my chair, surveying the room.

"See the woman in blue?" I asked.

"With the beads in her hair?"

"That's Arnaluk. I sent her to jail for selling girls in her courtesan house."

"Isn't that what a courtesan house is for?"

"These girls were twelve. Men will pay a premium for virgins. A young enough girl and a bit of picken blood, you can make a lot of money. Provided you have no conscience."

Asami's eyes were wide.

"What happened to the men? Her clients?"

"She didn't exactly keep records."

"Oh."

"You could still become an accountant."

Her smile was slightly wobbly, and didn't meet her eyes.

"Chief Beifong." Pockmarked Huang placed another drink before me. "You honour us." His gaze flicked to Asami. "Miss Sato."

"Huang."

"I was so sorry to hear of your retirement." He sat down. "If I'd known you were going into the private sector, I'd have offered you a place running security here."

"Your wife wouldn't stand for it."

"Maybe if I had you on my payroll, I'd spend less time in prison and more time running my businesses."

"Or the opposite."

Huang's smile faded.

"You're making my other patrons nervous," he said, and his voice was now cold.

I pulled the photograph of Megumi out of my jacket pocket. "You know her?"

He hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "Meg. Yes, I knew her. She was a taxi dancer."

"A what?" Asami blurted.

"A taxi dancer." Huang's manner became more friendly. He waved a hand at the dance floor. "Some men are more accustomed to conducting business than charming dance partners. So I … combined the two."

"Men … pay to dance?" Asami sounded unimpressed.

"It's entirely legal," said Huang. "The ladies are as much my employees as the waiters or the bouncers. Even Lin can't find anything objectionable in the arrangement."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Well," he said, "I can't control what the girls do in their own time. If a lady makes her own private arrangements, that's no business of mine."

"He still takes a cut, though," I told Asami.

"I have an obligation to see that my employees are safe," said Huang sanctimoniously.

"Did Meg make her own private arrangements?" Asami asked.

"No. Never."

"And you're quite sure about that?" I said.

"Absolutely." Huang held the picture up to the light. "She was a popular dancer because she was refined, a bit classy. Not gutter trash pretending to be a lady. But she was distant. Like you, Lin. I always had the impression she secretly despised all of us." He put the picture down. "Of course, some men liked that. But I haven't seen her for a few weeks."

"You didn't check she was okay?" asked Asami.

"I have a lot of employees, Miss Sato."

"You don't care about their safety?"

"Decency," said Huang, "can only go so far. Like my time." He stood up. "Enjoy your evening, ladies. On the house."

"Wait," I called as he turned away. "Was Meg a bender?"

"Not anymore."

"Did she have any regular clients?"

"No," snapped Huang, but his gaze flicked over to another table. "Good night, Lin."

"He was lying, right?" Asami said over my shoulder.

"Of course." I glanced at the table he had been watching, then turned away from them. I whispered in Asami's ear, "Can you see the man with the earring?"

"No, I -- wait. Yes."

"He's called Diamond Deng. He makes Pockmarked Huang look small-time. When Amon took out the bending triads, Deng moved in and took over."

"How did Amon miss him?"

"Deng's not a bender. We were pretty sure he was helping your father smuggle Amon's weapons into the city."

"He's an Equalist?"

"An opportunist. The weapons are starting to turn up in Ba Sing Se and Omashu."

"Who's the man with -- oh."

I turned back, more openly this time, following the sound of raised voices.

"You can't control every business in this city, Deng. It's getting a bit pathetic."

As Deng's companion stood up, I caught a glimpse of a once-handsome face marred by deep, dramatic scars.

"Isn't that--"

"Yes." I stood up. "Time to go."

It had rained while we were inside, so the streets were almost empty.

"Councilman Liu," I called.

He turned back, the streetlight throwing his scars into sharp relief. A glass bottle had been smashed over his cheek when he was young, and one of Diamond Deng's underworld predecessors had opened his face from cheekbone to chin with a razor. He was a few years older than me, his hair almost entirely grey, but his scars were deeper than the lines on his face. I wished I could have seen the other Councillors' reactions when Tenzin sponsored him to represent the Dragon Flats borough.

But Liu had a reputation for straight dealing. He never bothered to hide his early association with the Equalists, just as he couldn't conceal his violent past or his common accent. He was said to be incorruptible, not least because the people he represented would tear him from limb to limb if he didn't meet their expectations. But the flipside was that he was untouchable, because the borough would destroy anyone who attempted to harm him.

Or so the theory went. I'd only seen him in passing before. And distant impressions didn't convey the man's charisma, nor the light in his bright green eyes.

"Councilman," I said, straightening my spine. "I'm Lin Beifong--"

"Yes," he said, "I know." He looked wary, maybe expecting me to ask a favour.

"You probably don't need me to warn you about Diamond Deng," I said.

"He's an old adversary," said Liu, a rueful smile touching his lips. "But I appreciate the thought." He bowed at Asami. "Miss Sato. You wouldn't know me, but I worked in your dad's factories for a decade."

She looked down, her jaw tight.

"It was a good job. Lots of us depended on that work. I hope that when the factory reopens, those people will be able to go back to work."

Hiroshi's assets had been confiscated by the city as compensation for the damage his machines had wrought. Over a year later, the factories still hadn't reopened, caught between government inexperience and Hiroshi's powerful lawyers. One of Liu's political obsessions, I remembered Tenzin telling me, was making Future Industries a thriving business again.

"About Deng," I said.

"He's quickly advancing from bribery to veiled threats. But that's a matter for the police, surely." His gaze took in my civilian suit, though he looked more curious than dismissive.

"I'm searching for a missing woman who may have been associated with him. Do you know--"

He took the photo from my hand and held it up to the light, frowning. There was a flicker of recognition in his eyes.

"She's familiar," he admitted, "but I can't place her. I've certainly never seen her with Deng, but I don't actually know him that well anymore." There was that self-deprecating smile again. "We're not as close as he'd like." He returned to the photo. "If she's mixed up with Deng, she's probably in trouble. He has a bad reputation with women."

"I know."

"I feel like I've seen her somewhere."

"You've probably seen her second cousin, General Iroh."

Liu looked up sharply.

"Though you can keep that to yourself," I added. "Councilman."

"You should come by City Hall tomorrow evening," he said. "I've heard a lot about Deng's women over the years. If he's finally tangled with a girl from the wrong family, I want to be there when he goes down." He returned the photo. "Come by at seven," he said. "I usually grab a bite to eat around then, and I'm tired of eating noodles alone."

He tipped his hat to us and walked on, a new spring in his step.

"Maybe you should wear something pretty," said Asami.

*

Asami grew quiet as we drove home. As I was dropping her off she said, "How can you deal with such terrible things, and not be angry all the time?"

I was tempted to point out that I was angry all the time, or at least naturally bad-tempered. But the question deserved a proper answer.

All I could say was, "I was a cop for thirty years, Asami. If I couldn't compartmentalise, I'd have gone crazy."

*

I woke up with my mouth tasting of old carpet and the telephone ringing. I rolled over, groaning a little, remembering the days when I could sit on a stake-out until four in the morning and go straight onto a morning shift. In the courtyard I could hear my neighbours' children earthbending. Loudly.

The telephone kept ringing.

"Tenzin, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Sorry," said Asami mildly. In the background I could hear footsteps and voices, her fellow residents in the Dragon Flats boarding house she called home. "Did I wake you? I thought you might have left for the office already--"

"This had better be good."

"The waiter last night. I knew I'd seen him before, and I just remembered. He was the earthbender for the Harbour Town Hogmonkeys."

"That could mean--"

"And the dancers Huang pointed out -- two of them were pro-benders. So was the woman behind the bar."

Slowly I said, "Pro-bending has a lot of ties with the underworld. And those players lost their livelihoods when the league was shut down. It could mean nothing."

"I know. But it might not."

"Yeah." I thought for a minute. "I'll be in late today. I need to find the Wolfbats."

*

The suspects in the second Pro-Bending Arena bombing were never caught, and rebuilding was still underway. I found Bolin working on an outer wall, hefting a slab into place. He waved when he saw me and called, "We'll be knocking off for a break in five minutes! Don't go anywhere!"

To make his point, he created a chair for me out of the ground. I sat, trying not to feel like an aged relative paying a visit on her young descendants.

"Hey, Chief."

"Shan?" I shielded my eyes, looking up at the burly mountain of metalbender that stood over me. Ex-metalbender. "I didn't know you were working here." Frankly, the place made my skin crawl, being able to see but not feel the earth moving. If that was a problem for Shan, he hid it well. He had a roll of blueprints tucked under one arm, and a couple of lengths of metal pipe in the other.

"My brother-in-law helped me out with the job," he said. "I may not be able to bend, but I can still recognise steel grades. Heard you went private."

I shrugged. "Seemed best, under the circumstances."

The whistle blew, signalling the break, and Bolin bounded over.

"What can I do you for?" he asked. "Oh, hi, Shan."

"Hey, Bolin." Shan wandered off, presumably in search of tea and food.

When he was gone, I said, "I was wondering if you knew where I might find the Wolfbats."

Bolin winced. "Wow," he said. "I was hoping you were going to ask for something easy, like how to train fire ferrets to dance."

"Why would you -- nevermind. I figured, what with you being an ex-pro-bender--"

"We're on hiatus," Bolin corrected me. "Pending the resumption of matches and the return of our waterbender from her spirit journey. Anyway, I have no idea where the Wolfbats are. I haven't exactly had time to catch up on gossip lately."

"The Wolfbats?" I hadn't noticed Shan returning. "What d'you want those bozos for, Chief?"

I raised my eyebrows and said nothing.

"Fair enough," he said. "But yeah, okay, I don't know about the other two 'Bats, but I've seen Tahno around a few times. I heard he's working at Narook's Seaweed Noodlery."

"Narook's?" Bolin sounded appalled. "I eat there all the time! I knew the food had gone downhill! And last week I was throwing up all night after a bowl of seal-breast ramen! He's been sabotaging me! With noodles!"

"Yeah," said Shan. "That must be it. Hey, when are you benders gonna be done with the east wall--"

They wandered off as the whistle blew again. I looked at my watch, and wondered what they served for brunch in the Water Tribe.

*

I had helped Narook out with some triad extortionists a few years back, so he welcomed me with open arms and hardly blinked when I said I needed breakfast and a word with Tahno.

Tahno arrived with a bowl of noodles with sea prunes and fatty seal meat. His hair hung limp from the steam in the kitchen and there were circles under his eyes. He watched me eat in silence. I was halfway through the bowl before I managed to say, "Thanks."

"Narook tells me to go sit down for an hour, I sit down for an hour." He leaned back, his hands behind his head. "What can I do for you, detective?"

"I'm looking for a girl."

"Aren't we all?"

"This girl."

He picked up the photograph, a hint of a smile playing around his thin mouth.

"Meg," he said. "Yeah. I knew her."

"She was a fan."

"Obsessively. It was nice. She knew a lot. Some fans are into you because they think pro-bending's glamorous, but they don't know anything about the actual sport."

It was news to me that Tahno himself knew anything about the actual sport, the way he played it, but I nodded helpfully.

"Meg was smart, though. Smarter than she let on. She was good at hiding in plain sight."

"Do you know where she'd be?"

"I haven't seen her since the championships." Tahno grabbed my abandoned bowl and started eating my untouched sea prunes. "Just before the championships, I should say." He looked up, a trace of his old arrogance returning. "She came to my place to wish me luck."

"Was she in the arena for the game?"

"Sure. I guess. Why would she miss it?"

"But you didn't see her?"

"I had other things on my mind," he said. "Before and after." He finished the last of my noodles and stood up. "Wait there."

When he returned, it was with tea and half a loaf of seaweed bread.

"What's happened to Meg?" he asked, pouring. "I always figured she'd go home, get married and settle down, like everyone else."

"I don't know," I admitted. "Tell me, was she a firebender?"

"Sure." He looked up from his bread, horrified as realisation dawned. "No," he said. "The Equalists got a lot of pro-benders, but they were mostly after cops and politicians, weren't they? Why would Amon unbend Meg? She was harmless!"

I could think of one good reason, but unless Amon had a burning desire to taunt the Fire Nation, it didn't make much sense.

Instead I said, "Have you ever been to Sanctity?"

"I used to go all the time with the others. Haven't been back since. He made an airy gesture that encompassed Amon and everything else. Unbent.

"Did you know the people who ran it?"

"Sure. They were big fans. Always offering us drinks, or trying to set us up with girls." Tahno shrugged. "Like we couldn't get girls on our own."

"Of course." I sipped my tea. "Did Meg go with you?"

"A few times. Yeah, she did. She said it was fun."

Fun. Right.

"When you find her," said Tahno, handing the photo back to me, "tell her I said hey."

"Sure." I stood up. "I'll do that."

*

I spent the rest of the afternoon at the university, seeking people who had known Megumi. It was a slow and difficult process. Many people vaguely remembered seeing her in lectures or at the library, but few could put a name to the face.

Finally, a librarian said, "Megumi. Yes, I knew her. Very serious, hard-working sort of girl. To tell the truth, I worried about her sometimes. She only ever smiled when she read the sports page."

"Did she have any friends? A social circle?"

"No," said the librarian slowly, pushing her glasses up her nose. "She always studied alone. She seemed very solitary. And her workload seemed quite heavy. She told me once she wanted to impress Professor Qing."

I raised my eyebrows. "Qing Luen?"

"Yes. The university's resident firebrand." She said this with affection. "She's in her office most afternoons, if she's not leading a protest or organising a rally. If you hurry, you might catch her."

The sun was setting as I made my way across the campus. In a couple of hours I would be meeting Liu for dinner, and maybe learning more about the crowd that Megumi had apparently gotten herself involved with.

Qing was what the more conservative newspapers called a radical subversive. She published pamphlets calling for the overthrow of monarchies, for rule by peasantry, the abolition of money and state control of industry. Among other things. Tenzin had once expressed sympathy for her less extreme ideas; she replied by calling him a hypocrite and a relic of the thankfully-dead past.

The Council occasionally called for her arrest, and had twice passed laws banning the distribution of her writing. They thought she was setting herself up as a demagogue, preparing to lead the city's masses in an uprising. Personally I suspected that the average peasant didn't much distinguish between her and, say, Hiroshi Sato or Varrick, except that Qing was more likely to use words like "hegemonic" and "dialectic", whereas the factory owners paid a decent wage. Her main followers were university students, and most seemed to get over it when they graduated.

Still, she had despised Amon as much as Tenzin. In fact, as I approached her office, I began to see old posters, presumably her students' work, denouncing the Equalists as the tools of the imperialist oppressors. I decided to see that as a good sign. The enemy of my enemy...

...was self-righteous and irritating, and condescending on top of it.

"I have a lot of students, detective," she said. Somehow, despite being a head shorter than I was, and seated, she managed to look down at me. "You'll have to refresh my memory. Which one are you stalking again?"

"Her name is Megumi. Maybe you could try looking at the photo."

"And I taught her?"

"You could say you inspired her. I found your books in her apartment."

"It's not a crime to expand the consciousness of the young."

"No," I agreed reluctantly, "but you seem to have expanded her consciousness right into a Dragon Flats tenement. And now she's disappeared."

"Great." For the first time, Qing sounded rattled. "And I guess I'm going to get the blame for that. Because spirits forfend a rich brat with a freshly minted conscience and no survival skills take responsibility for her own stupid choices -- are you laughing at me?"

"No," I lied. "And you might have put the idea in her head, but she didn't make her move until after Amon's revolution."

"Oh. Good."

"So you don't remember her at all?"

Qing sighed.

"Fine," she said, standing up. The filing cabinet behind her was overflowing with papers, but she didn't have to look hard to find what she wanted. She put a folder in front of me. "She was more than enthusiastic, she was passionate. She told me my ideas were the natural extension of everything she'd been taught growing up. Which was flattering, if meaningless."

I leafed through the folder. It was mostly class papers, but a few seemed to have been written on her own time.

"She was a smart kid," Qing went on, "but she was really dedicated to the idea that monarchy could be a tool for change as well as oppression."

"Figures."

"She became more focused after Amon. I think he scared her. Well, he scared a lot of people. When she stopped coming to classes, I figured her family had found out she was spending her time fomenting revolution and snatched her back home."

"Nothing so straightforward."

"Pity." A line had appeared between Qing's eyes. "I should have checked. I wondered, but she always seemed so self-sufficient."

"Someone told me she was more intelligent than she usually let on."

"Yes. She was immensely clever. And usually quite hard to read. I swear, her face was a mask sometimes. A couple of times I wondered whether she might be working for someone else. You, maybe."

I tried to imagine having the resources to spy on university lecturers. Tenzin was right; the woman was an idealist.

"I think," I said carefully, "she learned from a young age that there were advantages in being unreadable."

"You make her sound like the second incarnation of Fire Lady Mai."

I said nothing.

Qing looked at the photograph again.

"Shit," she said.

"Luckily the Fire Lord has a sense of humour."

"For people who grew up with her, maybe. For the jumped-up daughter of an Earth Kingdom peasant--"

"If Meg's alive," I said, "I don't think you'll have any problems from that end. If she's not … well, I don't think you're to blame."

"Well. That's a relief." Qing's voice was hoarse.

"Unless you have underworld contacts you've managed to keep secret, anyway."

"The triads are parasites to equal Sato. No." She frowned. "Was she involved with those people? It doesn't seem like her."

"She wouldn't be the first kid to go looking for the wrong kind of adventure."

"No. But they seem to get younger every year." Qing looked at the clock for the first time. "It's getting late," she said. "Buy you a drink, Beifong?"

"No." I stood up, reaching for my coat. "I have another appointment."

*

Liu was coming out of City Hall when I arrived. His scars made his broad smile somewhat lopsided, giving him an air of unconvincing boyishness.

"I'm glad you came," he said. "Are you hungry?"

"I could eat a whole bowl of sea prunes," I admitted, and he laughed.

"Come this way," he said.

A few blocks away from City Hall the streets grew narrower and darker. This was the old centre of town, back when it was the Fire Nation colony of Yu Dao. In an alley off the former main street, up a rickety staircase, was a small, dark restaurant.

"It doesn't look like much," Liu said as we went in, "but the food's amazing."

And cheap, I noticed, looking down the menu. Traditional Earth Kingdom food, devoid of any Fire Nation or Water Tribe influences, was unfashionable these days. But looking around at the other tables, I noticed the servings were generous and the smells delicious.

We ordered the beef hot pot, and when the stew was simmering on the little gas heater at our table, Liu said quietly, "So you wanted to know about Deng."

"I still do." The restaurant was quiet, but there was lots of space between tables. If we kept our voices low and leaned forward a little, no one would give us a second look.

"I used to know him well," said Liu. "We were boys together."

"That's--"

"Not common knowledge?" His fleeting smile appeared. "The reporters haven't started hunting down my childhood friends yet, but it's only a matter of time." He ladled stew into my bowl and his. "There was a whole tribe of us kids. We all lived on the same block, went to the same school. Deng and I were the same age, so we were thrown together a lot. Which is not the same as being friends."

I nodded. "I know what you mean."

"Deng's parents owned a grocery, and my father was collecting protection money for Yakone back then, so his family encouraged him to befriend me. Not that it made a difference, because Deng was a natural leader -- adult hierarchies were irrelevant, we all followed Deng's lead. Into harmless mischief at first -- nothing criminal -- well, not much. Misdemeanours."

"'Boys will be boys.'"

"I think you'll find the girls were the main offenders, but yeah." He reached for his cooled stew, the chopsticks tiny against his large, calloused hands. "We were twelve when Yakone fell. The balance of power shifted, and when the dust settled, Deng had a job running messages for the new leader."

"And you?"

"Oh, I was right there with him. He had to vouch for me, since my dad worked for the old regime, but I proved myself soon enough." He stirred his rice. "That went on for a few years. Dad never got the same respect he had when he worked for Yakone. He drank, he gambled, he got into debt. I stayed away from home when I could. But eventually his gambling debts got out of hand, and it was Deng who was sent around to clear the matter up.

"He did warn me. Had been warning me for a while, in fact, but I didn't want to know. I should have gone straight home and told my parents to clear out of town for a while, but I was an idiot sixteen-year-old, so I tried to fight him. He knocked me out, and when I woke up, my dad was in the hospital." He looked up from his food. "Are you about to tell me I should have gone to the police?"

"Back then? The Dragon Flats cops would have knocked you out themselves. My mother wound up chucking most of them out and starting from scratch."

"Right. Anyway, Dad learned to walk with a stick, and he stopped gambling, if only because all the games in town were closed to him. Still drank, though. Sat around telling me stories about how great it had been in Yakone's day, when he was the one beating people up. I kept working, but I was getting tired of the whole thing. I wanted out. But I was still an idiot, so first I went to Deng's boss and told her what I thought of her operation."

"I bet that went well."

"She listened very politely, sipping her drink while her enforcers gathered behind me. She might have let me have my rant and leave -- I think she thought it was funny -- but she was holding court in a bar, and she would have lost face letting me go. She might have found a way -- she was good at that -- but then I attacked her. With a bottle."

I raised my eyebrows, glancing at his scars.

"Yeah. One of her people got the bottle off me and broke it over my face instead. Then she got a razor and finished the job. Didn't even use her bending, I was that far beneath her. When I woke up I had three busted ribs, a ruined face, and I was being charged with assault and affray."

"A good enough lawyer--"

"Was way outside my budget."

"Right." Tenzin had started out as an advocate for people who couldn't afford one. But he would have been all of thirteen at the time.

"I was inside for three years. It was--" His face twisted. "A reporter tried to get me to say that jail was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was more like the worst. But the labour made me strong, and I had free run of a library for the first time in my life. I managed to get a factory job when I got out, and I spent most of my wages on books. And after a few years, people started to forget how stupid I'd been. They thought I was brave to go up against the gangs, so they started coming to me for advice and help. I didn't want to let them down, so..." He raised his hands, as if to suggest it had been an easy and obvious path that had brought him from prison to the United Republic Council. "And one of the people my neighbours needed help with was my old friend Deng.

"Whatever bond Deng and I had ever shared was wiped out when he attacked me. As far as I was concerned, we had taken separate paths and were better off for it.

"But while I was in prison, Deng was advancing in the criminal hierarchy, and there came a point where he was controlling the gangs. Took a back seat. Didn't want too much attention, back then. He had benders working for him, collecting his money and throwing their weight around on his behalf. One was a firebender who called himself Zolt. You know what happened to him.

"Deng never seemed interested in girls when we were growing up, but I guess that changed as he became a man. If a victim owed him money, there were other ways to settle the debt. Sometimes with a wife, but more often a daughter."

"Children?" I asked.

"No, never. Young women on the cusp of adulthood were his preference. The sort he could teach and use, and then send off to work in his courtesan houses. Sometimes they went willingly, figuring it was better than factory work. Others thought they could earn out their families' debts. You know how that story ends."

I did. Rarely happily.

"I was in my thirties when this started, and still quite stupid, so I confronted Deng. But this time I did it privately, and didn't try to attack him. I can't say it was a productive or friendly meeting, but Deng curtailed his activities somewhat, and stopped offering that particular, um, debt management plan.

"But he still owns courtesan houses, and I still hear that the women he employs aren't always there entirely by choice. There was an incident a few years ago. You probably remember it."

"A woman was strangled." I did remember it. A woman of no more than nineteen. Rumour had it that she had provoked Deng, maybe even attempted to break away from his control and establish her own business. But it was all circumstantial. There was no evidence pointing to Deng. There never was.

"These women who are willing to work for him," I said, "Can you introduce me to any?"

"Hmm." Liu concentrated on his food.

"I'm not a cop anymore," I pointed out. "Whatever they tell me will be strictly confidential."

"I don't doubt it," said Liu. "But whatever good you managed to do for the Dragon Flats--"

"I worked hard to protect those people!"

"Yeah, and the tiny amount of goodwill you managed to create was pissed away by Tarrlok and Saikhan."

Liu's voice was rough, and I had a glimpse of the young brawler he had once been.

"I know," I said, "but they're both dead now. If there's anyone who'll talk to me about Deng, I'll listen."

He gave me a long, considering look, then nodded. "I'll do what I can."

"Thank you."

"Are you still hungry?" He nodded at the empty pot. "We could order more."

"No, I'm done." I stood up. "Let me get this."

"I don't--"

Liu was reaching for his wallet. I stopped him.

"I can put it on expenses."

"Ah." His crooked, boyish smile appeared for a second. "Let the Fire Nation buy us dinner."

"Exactly."

He offered me his arm as we made our way down the narrow stairs. It had been raining while we were inside, and the alley was slick with puddles.

"Tell me," he said carefully, "would it be inappropriate to ask if I can see you again? Outside of your work, I mean."

I looked away so he wouldn't see me smiling.

"Of course not," I said. "I'd--"

Then a wave of fire knocked me off my feet.

Fifty years of instinct kicked in, and I reached out to earth and metal. That mistake gave my attacker the chance he needed to aim a sheet of fire at my head.

"Hrgh!"

Liu's punch took him in the solar plexus, disrupting his chi. It wasn't much, but it threw the man off a bit, just enough that Liu could capture his hands and aim a punch at his jaw, while I climbed to my feet and kicked him in the kneecap, knocking him to the ground. He was unhurt but winded, and it was a simple matter to roll him onto his stomach and secure his arms. Liu knelt down and, with a few practised jabs, blocked his chi.

It had started raining again. In the distance I could hear a siren.

Keeping my knee in his lower back, I leaned forward. "Who paid you?" I demanded. My voice was a low rasp, and I was beginning to feel the effects of a heavy fall against hard stones. "What did you want with us?"

"Lin," said Liu, "he was probably just after our money."

"Did Deng pay you to take me out?"

"What?" He spat some muddy water out. "Huh?"

"Do you know what happened to Megumi?"

"Lady, I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Lin," Liu was saying, "he's just a mugger."

"His name is Rishu." The sirens were getting closer. "He's a thug for hire. He'll attack anyone if he's paid enough."

"Business ain't what it used to be," said Rishu.

"This is a rough part of town," said Liu, like I didn't know that. "It was a mistake to come down here."

"For Rishu, sure."

The police arrived. Finally. Only one car, but the driver went for his radio as soon as he recognised me.

"You idiot, Heng," I said, but mildly, because by Heng's standards this was minor idiocy. "I'm a civilian. He," I nodded at Liu, "is a member of the Council."

"Oh." Heng looked less boyish than I remembered, more haggard. "Right, chief. Thanks. I mean, Ms Beif--"

"Get to it," I said, finally releasing the pressure on Rishu. "You know who this is, right?"

"Sure. Haven't seen you for a while, Rishu." Heng didn't bother with cuffs, just used his wires to restrain the prisoner. "Bad night?"

"Lemme guess," said Rishu, "it's gonna get worse?"

"Hope your lawyer has some fancy talk in him."

"Heng," his partner approached, "back-up's on its way."

"For us?" Liu asked, looking bemused.

"For you," I said.

"And the press," the partner added. I didn't know her, but she looked way too young to be a cop. Of course, I was younger than Asami when I started. These days everyone looked like babies to me. The rain was getting heavier, but it was bracing. I leaned against Liu's shoulder. He put his arm around me. He was strong and solid. I closed my eyes for a second.

Which was, of course, when the reporters turned up. I was off in the clouds like a kid, and didn't hear a thing until the flash went off.

"Fucking hell!"

"Nice language, Chief." The photographer lowered his camera. "Weren't you some kind of society heiress back in the day?"

"'Til I taught the other girls to swear." I could feel Liu shaking with silent laughter behind me. "Print that, and I'll rip out your intestines and make you eat them."

"No offence, ma'am, but my editor's scarier than you."

"Councilman Liu!" Heng returned, accompanied by one of the more senior detectives. "If you'll come this way, please."

They led him away to a drier part of the street. I crossed my arms and watched them talk while Rishu was loaded into the back of a police van.

The flash went off again.

"Take one more photo," I growled, "and I'll break your camera. Then your arm."

"That would be a felony, ma'am," said the photographer.

"I'd wear it."

I pushed past him, over to the covered corner where Liu was speaking to Detective Chan.

"Do you need to do this tonight?" I asked.

Chan looked disconcerted. "I--"

"Because last I checked, standard procedure with public figures is to get their statements in private instead of keeping them standing around in the rain while reporters watch."

I'd chosen my moment well: I stopped speaking just as a reporter's argument with Heng, demanding to be allowed past the police barrier, became rowdy. There were other journalists turning up as well, not to mention the staff and fellow patrons at the hot pot restaurant and every other place within a block.

"Councilman," said Chan, a bit stiffly, "perhaps you could come to headquarters tomorrow morning. Say, at eleven?"

"That would be fine," said Liu.

"I'll be there at ten," I said. More gently, I added, "You still like red bean buns, right, Chan?"

"That's right, Chief." He sounded a little happier.

"I'll bring you breakfast."

"What was that about?" Liu asked as I led him away from the scene.

"Respect. And procedure. A member of the Council should be permitted to give his statement in comfort. And Chan should have been concentrating on gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses before the rain washes everything away."

"You miss your old job."

I shrugged. "I worked hard to train Saikhan as my successor, and he still wasn't ready when I stepped down. The people in charge now will learn, but I hate seeing them mess up."

"No one else would know."

"I know."

He took my arm and looped it through his.

"Do you take the streetcar?" he asked.

"Usually." I paused. I was soaked through to my skin, and aching all over, but my heart was still racing, adrenaline still urging me to run and move and take advantage of this opportunity. There was mud clinging to my skin, but I was barely aware of it. "I need dry clothes and a stiff drink. And you. Will you come home with me?"

A look of surprise crossed his face, mingled, I thought, with relief.

"I was trying to think of a, ah, gentlemanly way to ask," he admitted.

"I always found 'Will you go to bed with me?' acceptable."

"No games. I like that about you."

"No time. No patience." I had to lean up to kiss him. He was as wet and muddy as I was, but warm, a reassuring presence. "Call a cab," I said.

We spent the journey to my house in silence, Liu tracing patterns in the palm of my hand while we sat in the back of the cab. His knuckles were bruised from punching Rishu, and his hands, like mine, still bore the remnants of callouses.

At my house we paid the driver -- or rather, I let Liu pay, while I found the keys to the gate -- and went inside.

I lived in the place where I grew up, an old courtyard house in the traditional Earth Kingdom style, set in a maze of alleys.

"What a mausoleum," Liu murmured.

"My grandparents chose it. Mom didn't care, as long as she had a roof over her head."

She had been fourteen at the time, and they had already bought her the school in the mountains. Mom always said her dad would give her anything she asked for, provided that she kept away and let him get on with pretending he didn't have a daughter.

That's what she said, but I wasn't sure. If my grandfather had been ashamed of my mother, why would the property be covered in--

"You, ah, have quite a winged pig motif," said Liu, looking around the front room.

"They're flying boars. My family's symbol." Somewhat defensively I added, "I had to convert the other wings into self-contained apartments a few years back, but I couldn't sell this stuff."

"I guess not." Liu was admiring the old chairs I'd inherited from my grandparents, less interested in the seal or the gold leaf than the craftsmanship. "What will happen to all this when you're gone?"

I shrugged. "I always figured I'd adopt some promising young earthbender and dump it all on her. Name and all. But I've had other things on my mind lately."

"Lots of kids get kicked out of home for being benders these days."

"Yeah, when I said 'young' I meant old enough to drink. Or are you saying I should found an orphanage?"

"The Beifong Home For Baby Earthbenders?"

"My grandfather's spirit would be very unhappy. Which actually makes it pretty tempting."

"That's one motivation, I guess."

I began to undo my top.

"I didn't bring you here to discuss my will."

"You're right." Liu reached for me. "You should kiss me instead."

*

"Prison work?" I asked, running my hand over the tattoo that ran from his shoulder to hips. It was a stylised tigerdillo, captured mid-roar. Liu was still strong -- I had seen that earlier -- but he was older than me, and muscle was running to fat. Looking at the tattoo, I could see how big he must have been in his youth.

"Not much else to do." Liu lay on his stomach, his voice drowsy. I was sitting up cross-legged beside him. "I guess you haven't seen much prison ink up close."

"You mean in my bed? No." It was intricate work done entirely in shades of grey. The tigerdillo didn't conform to any of the standard criminal tattoos, yet it couldn't have been done anywhere else but prison. If I looked closely, even in the dim light of my bedside lamp, I could see places where the ink was smeared, the image distorted. But if I leaned back, taken as a whole, it was magnificent.

Liu rolled over, giving me a lazy smile.

"Where did your scars come from?" he asked, tracing them. The red lines on my cheek were matched by the marks running over my chest, from below my collarbone to the top of my left breast.

"Waterbender," I said. "She liked to bend razor blades into her ice knives."

"Nasty."

"I was off-duty. Came across a robbery, decided to step in."

"Bad move?"

I shrugged. "I managed to contain her until back-up came. But the healers could only do so much."

Tenzin had been furious that I had risked my life like that. We had been talking about children -- again -- and he wanted me safe and healthy, not putting myself in danger by running into situations without back-up. Our relationship had lasted another four years, but looking back, I could trace the beginning of the end from that night.

"Well," said Liu, "I guess we're almost a matched pair."

I snorted, but I let him pull me down for a long kiss. He fell asleep quickly after that, one arm thrown over me, his hand resting on my collarbone. It was an unfamiliar but pleasant weight.

I lay on my back and thought about Megumi, whether she had a lover to give her an illusion of safety in the night, or whether she was alone and learning to be satisfied with solitude.

One thing I was increasingly certain of: Meg was alive. No corpses matching her description had been found since she was vanished, and the dead didn't stay hidden for long in Republic City.

With that satisfying thought, I fell asleep at last.

*

For the second morning in a row I woke to the sound of the telephone.

"Rip it out," Liu mumbled, but I dragged myself to a sitting position and picked up the handset.

"Beifong here."

"Lin, are you all right?"

I wiped the sleep out of my eyes.

"Tenzin?"

Liu's arms snaked around my waist and he pressed a kiss between my shoulderblades. I shivered.

"Lin?"

"Sorry. What did you say?"

"I just saw the newspaper. Are you all right?"

"We're fine. Bruised, that's all."

"Look, they're turning purple already." Liu showed me his knuckles, and I heard Tenzin chuckle.

"Don't say a word," I warned him.

"I wouldn't dream of it," said Tenzin, "though I imagine rumours are already flying."

"Let them."

"Do I need to threaten Councilman Liu with dire consequences if he hurts you?"

"Hypocrite. It's a bit late to decide you're my brother, Tenzin, and I can do my own threatening."

"I should hope so," Liu murmured into my neck.

"Your concern is touching and unnecessary, Tenzin. Now go away."

I dropped the earpiece and turned, pinning Liu beneath me.

"So much for discretion," he said, leaning up to kiss me.

"Tenzin won't gossip."

"I didn't realise you were friends."

"I don't," I kissed him on the mouth, "want to talk about--"

The phone rang again.

"Tenzin!" I all but shouted into the mouthpiece.

"...No," said Asami, "were you expecting him?"

"Nevermind," I snapped. "What's wrong?"

"I just got the papers. Are you--"

"I'm fine."

"Because the photos--"

I was going to make that photographer eat his own camera.

"I'm completely fine," I repeated. "I have to give the police a statement, so I'll be late to the office."

"Good luck," she said, and hung up.

"Your friends care a lot about you," said Liu.

"She's my employee."

"I never rang her dad at home to make sure he was okay." He climbed out of bed and began to retrieve his clothes.

I lingered in bed a moment, taking stock of the aches and bruises whose existence I'd spend the day denying.

Then I went to see if Liu wanted company in the shower.

*

Despite the distractions, I was five minutes early for my appointment with Detective Chan. He, on the other hand, was running late.

I took a seat in the lobby, ignoring the curious and quickly averted eyes of passing officers. A drunk, being signed out of the overnight lock-up, saw me and started to say, "Hey, is that Be--" but he was quickly hushed by the duty-officer behind the desk.

When Chan finally appeared, he looked grey and exhausted, his suit rumpled.

"Rishu's dead," he told me. "Hanged himself just after three this morning."

It was on the tip of my tongue to say, How could you let that happen?

But Rishu had been in and out of jail for years, and had never before given the slightest sign that--

"Are you certain it was suicide?"

"Maybe we should have this talk in my office."

The door closed, he fell on my gift of red bean buns like a man who hadn't seen food in weeks, and spoke to me between bites.

"Rishu was alive in his cell at ten to three. He had a conversation with the duty-officer about pro-bending, which teams will come back when the arena re-opens. The guard went off duty at three. At ten past, her replacement found him. Still alive, but he died a few minutes later."

"And you trust these officers?"

He almost recoiled, slamming the remnants of his bun down and saying, "Yes. What the hell kind of question is that, Lin?"

Lin, not Chief, not even Ms Beifong. We certainly hadn't been on first name terms a year and a half ago.

"Diamond Deng has deep pockets," I said. "And the Council keeps cutting wages."

"Yeah, but these are your own people. You hired both those officers yourself."

"You think I haven't considered that?" I reached for one of the surviving buns. "It might be nothing. Maybe Rishu didn't want to face Deng with a failure on his hands."

"That's what you call nothing, is it?"

"Call it a hunch. Cop's instinct."

When Chan spoke again, it was in the soothing tone he reserved for children, lunatics and women of a certain age.

"Councilman Liu said you were quite fixated on Deng."

"He thinks it was a mugging, but Rishu was fighting to kill, not maim."

"Are you sure?"

I raised my eyebrows.

The silence stretched between us.

In a more reasonable tone he said, "So what have you done that you think Deng's trying to have you killed?"

I hesitated.

"What I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this room."

He didn't like that, or any of my other conditions. But curiosity won out over procedure, eventually.

I told him about Megumi.

*

Despite my conviction that one of the most dangerous men in Republic City wanted me dead, I managed to get to my office unharmed. Occasionally I felt a prickle on the back of my neck, as if I was being watched or followed, but I saw no one. Deng wouldn't make his move on a busy street in the middle of the day, and succumbing to paranoia would only impede my work.

Or so I told myself.

"Beifong!"

Asami handed me the bundle of messages that had accumulated in the last couple of days. She was scrupulous about weeding the trivial matters out, which meant that everything in this fat little pile needed my attention.

In a carefully offhand tone she said, "Have you seen the papers yet?"

"Not yet."

She followed me into my office.

"Well, before you hit the roof, you should know that four overdue accounts were paid this morning, and everyone mentioned the pictures. Even Mr Lau!"

"So his daughter decided not to marry that apothecary?"

"No, she married him last month. He paid us anyway."

Even though I had completely failed to uncover reasonable grounds to ban poor Miss Lau from marrying the boy. If this was the effect of a couple of candid photos, maybe I should reconsider--

My eye fell on the newspapers.

"No," I said.

Megumi's grey cat gave a yowl of protest as I picked up the paper it was sleeping on, and retreated to the corner in a huff.

The more or less respectable United Daily News -- once owned by Raiko, who had officially divested his interests on becoming the Council's representative for the Yue Peninsula district -- had run a modest story below the fold. The headline, Firebending Attack on Councilman, was bound to draw complaints about the stereotyping of firebenders as dangerous and criminal, but the article itself stuck to the facts, and just mentioned that Liu had been dining with former police chief Lin Beifong. The police would not say whether the attack was aimed at Liu or Beifong, but inquiries are continuing...

Looking at the photograph, I could understand why people had been worried: the shadows in the grainy picture gave me bruises I didn't actually have, and the photographer had caught me gazing over at Liu with naked longing on my face.

What I had desired most at that moment had been a badge and the right to take over the investigation, but I doubted anyone would believe that at this point.

The Yuan News was much cheaper and vastly more widely read than the United Daily. The enormous headline screamed, VICIOUS ATTACK ON DRAGON FLATS COUNCILMAN AND EX-POLICE CHIEF! The article itself attributed the attack to a social breakdown following the Avatar's disappearance. Repeated reference was made to Liu's rugged good looks and my own alleged austere elegance.

The photograph was the one of me leaning against Liu with my eyes closed. The impression was somewhere between weary comrades-in-arms, and a lady swooning.

And the article ended by reminding the reader that I was once engaged to Tenzin.

"Hell."

"People seem to think it's romantic," said Asami apologetically.

"About as romantic as a cat fart."

Megumi's cat looked up at this, but, seeing he wasn't wanted, returned to licking his balls.

"Take these away. They can line his sandbox."

I sat down at my desk and began to go through my messages.

*

An hour and a half later I had dealt with the bulk of my correspondence, including a half-hearted attempt to blackmail me over my presence at Sanctity. Too inept to be Deng or any of his people; a few phone calls saw me speaking with my would-be blackmailer and putting the fear of Koh into his sorry heart.

I had no sooner hung up the phone then it rang again.

"Beifong."

"Lin?"

"Liu." My heart did not skip a beat at the sound of his voice, or any romantic nonsense like that, but I allowed myself a twinge of pleasure.

"Yesterday you asked if I could help you speak to some people."

"They said yes?"

"One did. Her name's Yiyan." He gave me an address. "Go soon, though. She won't see you after she's opened for business."

"Thank you," I said, pushing the cat out of my lap. He didn't want to go, and his claws went through to my skin. Another reason to miss wearing armour.

"My pleasure. Can I see you tonight?"

"I--" The cat buried a vengeful claw in my ankle. "Have you seen the newspapers?"

"I thought they caught your good side."

"It's not a political liability?" Ex-cop, ex-bender--

"No, it's fine. If anything, people seem to think you should be out of my league."

"Idiots."

"That's a terrible way to talk about the United Republic's Council."

"About Tenzin--"

"Lin." Liu's voice was light, almost amused. "I've been married twice, and I have three kids with two different women. Only one of whom I married. I didn't imagine you were a blushing virgin."

"It's not awkward?"

"Tenzin's my colleague, not my brother. We're fine. Go talk to Yiyan. I'll see you this evening."

*

Yiyan kept a house on the edge of the worst part of the Dragon Flats. At night these streets would be bustling, illuminated by the lanterns that hung over the balconies, crowded with men seeking a good time and women offering to make that happen.

The girl who opened the door and escorted me upstairs looked too young to be in this place, wearing her grey school uniform with all the solemn dignity of the Earth King. She brought me to an office, knocked twice and opened the door.

"Liu's detective, Mom," she said.

"Thank you, Ling. Go downstairs and do your homework."

Yiyan wore grey like her daughter, but in silk instead of cotton, embroidered with silver thread. The effect was not unlike a metalbender's armour.

She didn't stand to greet me, so I sat down uninvited. We studied each other for a moment.

At last she said, "Liu says I can trust you, and I trust him. He said you want to talk to one of Diamond Deng's girls."

"I was hired to find a missing girl. She fell into Deng's orbit and vanished."

"Yeah. They do that sometimes." Yiyan's silver bangles clashed as she put her hands together. "I was sixteen," she said, "and I would have found my way to a place like this on my own, but my uncle helped me along. My parents were dead, and he had debts.

"Deng was better than my uncle in a lot of ways. He gave me proper food and shoes that fit. And I liked the sex."

She raised her eyebrow, daring me to react. I didn't.

"He was good at it, and I was a willing pupil. You know how it is when you're so ready to be fucked you'll take the first offer going." She looked me up and down. "Or maybe you don't. Anyway, I had everything I wanted. Until I tried to go home for a visit. You mind if I smoke?"

"No." I watched her fumble with a long-handled pipe. Her hands were steady, but it took her a long time to get the thing filled and lit. "You wanted to visit the uncle who sold you?"

"My best friend. Not that it mattered, because I couldn't go anywhere. That's when Deng told me about my contract. Coming into his service had only erased part of my uncle's debt, or so he said. Then there was the cost of my clothes, food, training--"

"Do you mean the sex?"

Yiyan's smile was twisted.

"Oh yes. So I was stuck, you see. Girls who tried to leave met ugly fates."

"But you still work for him now." I tried to keep the judgment out of my voice.

"He owns the house, takes a cut of the money, but I have the final say in how this place is run. Adult women, no debtors, no virgins or addicts. My employees have complete freedom, provided they don't do any work on the side. All that unpleasantness was twenty years ago. Deng does things differently now."

Twenty years. This woman was the same age as Pema. And I had been a thirty-year-old cop when she was sold to Deng.

"The girl I'm seeking was a taxi dancer at Sanctity. Apparently Deng was a regular customer of hers."

"Young?"

"Twenty. She was educated and came from a good family."

"Ah." Yiyan nodded. "Yes, he would have liked that."

"Do you know where she might be?"

"He has apartments around the city, and owns half a dozen houses. She could be anywhere." A smile flickered across her face as she anticipated my next question. "Not here, though. I oversee hiring myself. As long as Deng gets his cut, he leaves me alone."

She rose from behind her desk, glittering in the late afternoon light.

"Will there be anything else?"

"Any of your girls frequent Sanctity?"

She allowed as they did, and deigned to let me speak to them. One recognised Megumi, had even seen her dancing with Deng. "She made him laugh," she said. "Never seen that before."

But no one had spoken to her. I had the impression that these women regarded the taxi dancers as mere amateurs, the way cops looked down on private detectives.

I was interested to see that they spoke of Deng without fear, or even much recognition. There was none of the tension of slaves talking about their owner. It gave me a little reassurance that Yiyan was telling the truth about his place in the running of the house.

My inquiries with the surrounding merchants confirmed that the women here were free to come and go as they pleased, and were as good-humoured as any woman going to or from a sometimes-onerous job that paid the bills.

I was wondering whether it was worth going back to Sanctity and having another go at getting information out of Pockmarked Huang, when there were rushing footsteps approaching me, and Liu narrowly escaped a broken nose at my hands.

"Sorry," I said, lowering my fists. "I'm a little on edge."

"I can see that." He kissed me lightly on the mouth and wrapped his arm around my waist. "Ms Sato said you were still here, and I remembered there's a Fire Nation barbecue house around the corner that does amazing things with picken--"

He led me through the darkening streets, telling me about the old man who owned the leathergoods shop -- he started out making tack for ostrich horses, but now he made shoes and belts, best you ever saw -- and the woman closing up the bookstall -- served five years in the United Forces before coming home to raise her dead brother's children -- and more.

It was strange to realise that he knew my city and its people better than me, but also reassuring: I was no longer Republic City's guardian, but with Liu on the Council, the place was in good hands.

Our progress was slow, impeded by the people who called out greetings to Liu. Occasionally he stopped to talk to people, always taking the time to introduce me. It wasn't just courtesy, I realised, but an endorsement: Lin Beifong works among you, and you can trust her.

When we had reached the restaurant and taken our seats I said, "I didn't appreciate what it meant, to be a community leader."

"Few people do."

"Tenzin said the Council are talking about letting the people vote for their representatives next time. Can you imagine that working out?"

"With guys like Deng around to buy votes? You'd have to be rich just to run for office. Was Yiyan helpful?"

"She was. And disquieting."

We ordered, and I told him about my talk with the madam.

"What's your next step?" he asked as we added chilli to our already-spicy meals.

"I think Deng has taken her into his … custody."

"His protection?"

"Protection from what? But I'm sure she's with him. I'lI need to find out which of his houses he's keeping her at. But first I might talk to Pockmarked Huang again, see if his memory's improved."

"What will you do," asked Liu carefully, "if she's there willingly?"

"I'm paid to tell her mother where she is. Her long-term health and happiness aren't my responsibility."

"Really?"

"Really," I said firmly. I stole a bamboo shoot from his bowl and said, "What did the City Hall switchboard operators think when you asked to be put through to a brothel?"

"Three brothels. Yiyan was just the first who agreed to speak to you. And it was all over the building by mid-afternoon."

"The rest of the Council must be delighted."

"Most of them already think I'm beyond the pale. Not Tenzin, of course. He had nothing to say on the subject. He may have been the only one."

"Did he watch you out of the corner of his eye and worry at his beard?"

"Not that I noticed?"

"Then he probably didn't give it a second thought."

"You were together a long time?" Off my look he added, "Not all the gossip was about me."

"On and off from our teens into our mid-thirties. It wasn't a grand romance, just a lot of fighting and--" I stopped. "How did you persuade two women to marry you?"

"They both wound up asking themselves the same question."

He told me about his children, all grown or nearly grown, and his first mother-in-law, who had wished he would go and work for the Triads so they could afford a bigger home. And she was still at it, complaining that his daughter, a firebender, worked for the city fire brigade instead of seeking more lucrative employment with the Agni Kais.

We were finishing as he ended this story, and when we were out on the sidewalk I asked, "What did your daughter say when you became an Equalist?"

He said, "My place isn't far from here."

So we took a streetcar back to his apartment, which was small and neat and full of books. Liu made tea while I examined his shelves.

When he and the tea were ready he said, "I wasn't, strictly speaking, an Equalist, but I had -- and have -- a lot of friends in the movement, and I thought it had a lot of good ideas."

I recognised the phrasing from a newspaper article a few months back. This was a well-rehearsed statement.

"Such as destroying bending forever?" I asked.

"That bit came later. At this stage, Amon was just a name and a couple of blurry pictures. I didn't even think he was a real person, just a figurehead someone had created because it got people's attention. Mostly I thought, hell, random chance gave my daughter opportunities her brothers couldn't dream of, and that made me angry. And frankly," he gave me a sidelong smile, "I always found it troubling that certain jobs were open only to particular benders. The metalbending police squads, for example."

"So did my mother, towards the end of her career," I admitted.

"Too late to change?"

"Too few resources to experiment with alternatives, the Council said."

"Ah."

I saw him file that information away, maybe storing it against the day he needed a carrot to dangle before my replacement.

"Anyway, I supported the Equalists, and I went to the rally where Amon promised us a revelation. And what we got was a load of rhino shit. A power trip concealed in spiritual mumbo-jumbo. And that 'revelation' -- we were talking about a social problem, and his solution was only personal! I didn't want my daughter to lose her bending, I just wanted my sons to have the same respect she gets.

"And frankly, I wasn't surprised when Amon turned out to be a bender, because who else would be so arrogant as to think taking someone's bending would make them harmless? I mean, look at you--"

He stopped, swallowing.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I forgot this was personal to you."

"Still is. But I enjoyed the speech. It'll play well in the Council chamber." I finished my tea and stood up, holding out my hand. "Enough politics. Let's go to bed."

*

Before I fell asleep, Liu said, "Lin? What was it like to lose your bending?"

I hesitated.

"I can't give it words," I said at last. "Something inside me was cut off. He forced himself into my chi and broke it. The earth went quiet. Part of me became numb, and nothing can restore it."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"You weren't there."

His arms tightened around me.

*

I woke up before dawn, listening to the rain outside and berating myself for falling asleep. No early morning phone calls would reach me here. I felt cut off. Isolated.

Liu lay on his side, snoring a little. We hadn't bothered drawing the curtains last night, and the dim light made his scars look even more dramatic than they really were.

When the sky was a little brighter, I climbed out of bed, found my clothes and left.

The streetcars weren't running yet, but the rain had lifted. It only took me an hour to walk home. I kept to the busier streets, where people were setting up for the day and stalls were already selling food. No one attacked me. No one even gave me a second glance.

Maybe I was becoming paranoid. Maybe Rishu just couldn't face another night in a cell. Maybe Megumi had run off to Omashu with an unsuitable boyfriend.

Maybe I could let all of this go and concentrate on missing pets and straying spouses and the unexpected relationship I was building with Liu.

At home, I showered and changed into a fresh suit, grey with touches of green embroidery at the cuffs and collar. I missed my uniform. I missed having the authority and manpower to conduct simultaneous searches on every one of Deng's properties.

For once I arrived at the office before Asami. I found Megumi's cat sitting on her desk, patiently waiting for its breakfast. It wrapped itself around my legs as I found and opened a can of smelly stuff that claimed to be tuna but was probably ostrich-horse. Or worse.

"Maybe if I feed you, you'll stop biting me?"

The cat just kept eating.

"Asshole."

"You'll hurt poor Shǔ's feelings," said Asami, hanging up her coat.

"You named it?"

"It suits him!"

In fairness, with its grey coat, the animal did look metallic.

"Newspapers." Asami handed them to me. "Have you eaten? I got coconut buns."

"I really don't pay you enough. I'll make tea."

We went through the newspapers together, eating breakfast and comparing the papers' takes on the same events.

The police department had released the news of Rishu's death late yesterday afternoon. It warranted the third page in the United Daily, which was more concerned with the rumoured retirement of the Fire Nation Councillor. The Yuan News gave it the front page headline -- SCOURGE OF THE DRAGON FLATS TAKES LIFE! -- and an editorial -- ESCAPING JUSTICE THROUGH DEATH? Detective Chan played everything down quite nicely, and no mention was made of Diamond Deng at all.

"I hope Chan doesn't scare him off," I muttered.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing. I wish I had charge of the investigation."

"Then you wouldn't have been asked to find Megumi."

"True." I poured myself more tea. "You're about Megumi's age. What would tempt you enough to risk Deng and maybe prostitution?"

"Nothing," she said at once. "I mean," she blushed, "a few men offered. You know, to help me out now that Dad and the company are gone. They talked about marriage, but on those terms I didn't really see a difference."

"No."

"But if I was Megumi?" Asami leaned back, thinking. "She's nobility. She's always had everything she wanted, but as soon as she was away from her family she started hanging out with pro-benders and revolutionaries. She wanted to learn, but she also wanted excitement. She reminds me of Korra."

I raised my eyebrows. "Explain."

Asami looked up, gathering her thoughts.

"Did Korra ever tell you how she grew up?"

"No. I know Katara and Kya had problems with the way the White Lotus trained her, but they didn't talk about it much with me."

"It wasn't just the training. She's the most powerful person in the world, and she was hardly allowed to leave their compound. As soon as she was old enough to be away from her parents, they were encouraged to move out. For Korra's good, the White Lotus said."

"She told you all this?"

"Nope. I kind of made friends with her mom after Korra … went away. Anyway, the White Lotus -- and Tenzin -- had this idea that Korra needed to be sheltered, I guess to have the normal childhood that Avatar Aang didn't. But they were also kind of scared of her. They kept her so sheltered, her only friends were an old lady and a polar bear dog."

That part sounded familiar. I smiled. "You've been talking to Katara, too."

"More like listening. Which the White Lotus should have done, but apparently Katara was 'too close to Aang to be rational.'"

"Right."

"And they didn't just hide her from people. She hardly knows anything about the modern world. It's like her history lessons stopped fifty years too early. Everything else she kind of pieced together from newspapers and the wireless."

I thought of the brash kid who came swaggering into police headquarters like she thought she was the hero in a radio play.

"So she was almost a prisoner," Asami went on, "of these people who think she's going save the world on one hand, but she's dangerous and volatile on the other. What she trusts are herself and her bending, and everything else is new ground. She's been taught how to fight, but not when or why."

"And then she lost her bending," I said.

"Right. And she didn't know who she was anymore. That's how I see Megumi. She's a poor little rich girl who comes to the big city and wants to learn everything that was kept from her growing up. She's not a fighter like Korra, so she goes to university, but she's into pro-bending and economic justice, all of that.

"Then her bending's taken, and she's like, 'Fine, I can't be who I was before, so I'll become someone else.' Like you did."

Asami gave me a look of wide-eyed innocence. I refrained from taking the bait, but gave her more tea as a reward for her perception.

"Were you a poor little rich girl?" I asked.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I mean, I was there when my mom was murdered, but my dad always loved me and looked after me. Until -- you know. But I was almost an adult then." She looked melancholy for a few moments, then pasted a smile on her face and said, "What about you, Beifong?"

"Hell, no. I was the biggest spoilt brat in the United Republic. I was thirty-five before I realised I couldn't have everything I wanted."

Something nagged at the back of my mind.

"She didn't tell her family she lost her bending," I mused.

"Maybe they wouldn't take it so well."

"Yeah, maybe."

I still couldn't figure out when Megumi had lost her bending. During the revolution itself, maybe, when Amon was unbending anyone who got captured. There were very few civilian victims, but Megumi had probably received the same calibre of early training as General Iroh. I could see her throwing herself into a fight she wasn't ready for, getting captured and disabled, kneeling as Amon loomed over her--

There was a polite knock at the door. I took my feet off Asami's desk and tried to look welcoming.

But the man who entered wasn't a potential client. He was a mild-looking fellow with a babyface, but he made no attempt to hide the shock-glove on his hand as he said, "Ms Beifong. Mr Deng presents his compliments and invites you to join him for a pot of tea."

*

We were driven across the Dragon Flats to a crumbling hotel near the docks. No one gave us a second glance as Deng's driver escorted us inside.

The interior was brighter than I expected, and in better shape. It was a casino, I realised, and by nightfall would be so gaudy that no one would notice the ragged exterior.

Deng held court at a large table in the centre of the gaming room. His companions -- all men, most bearing scars: a badly burned ear, a missing hand -- watched as we advanced towards him, but Deng was focused on the tea he was pouring. He was smaller than I had expected -- barely taller than me -- and he was slightly overweight. Nevertheless, he was a powerful figure, and had he been anyone else, I might have been attracted to him. It was easy to see how Yiyan had been happy to work for him. The mystery wasn't that Megumi had become involved with him, it was that Deng needed to pay a woman to dance with him at all.

All these thoughts ran through my head in an instant, and then I straightened my spine, firmed my jaw and prepared to do battle.

The driver cleared his throat.

"Beifong. And assistant."

Deng looked up, his gaze passing through me and focusing on Asami, who stiffened.

"Miss Sato." His voice was high and very soft. "I once enjoyed a very profitable business arrangement with your father. I was sorry when it came to an end."

"When he was arrested, you mean?"

"Politics is a dangerous business. I did try to tell him." He turned to me, dismissing Asami. "You've been making inquiries about me," he said. Looking around the table, he seemed to notice his companions for the first time. "Leave us," he told them.

When we were alone I claimed the seat opposite Deng. Asami took up a position behind me, like a bodyguard.

"For the record," Deng added, "I didn't order Rishu's death. He owed me a considerable amount of money, and having failed spectacularly in his attempted robbery, I suppose he felt suicide was easier."

"Did you order him to attack me?"

"I ordered him to follow you. He became greedy. And he always had terrible luck."

Deng's eyes were bright green, as clear as water. My mother might have been able to tell whether or not he was lying. I had no idea.

"Now I worry that his luck has passed to me," Deng continued, "because now I find myself the subject of your inquiries. Rather than allow you to harass my employees any further, I thought perhaps we should speak face to face. His diamond ring flashed as he tossed a cup of tea down his throat. He smiled. "Go on," he said. "Ask me about Megumi."

So, as if he were any other witness, I said, "What can you tell me about her?"

Deng poured himself more tea.

"She was a dancer when she caught my eye -- no, I lie. She was one of a dozen pretty girls throwing themselves at the Wolfbats. Not that you could call Megumi's flirtation obvious, but one learns to recognise such things." He poured himself more tea, a satisfied epicure of female flesh. "I saw her again a few months later, alone this time. A dancer. I employed her for an evening, found her intelligent, witty, secretive.

"It didn't take me long to work out who she was. I have extensive dealings with the Fire Nation. She was obviously a noble, and it wasn't difficult to work out which family she belonged to. So I continued to employ her, wondering what brought the Fire Lord's young cousin to work as a dancer in Republic City."

"You wanted to blackmail her."

"At first."

"What made you change your mind?" Asami asked.

"She did." He saw my face. "I was surprised too. But she offered me a deal. In exchange for information about her family, I helped Megumi … vanish."

"Where to?"

"I don't know. Ba Sing Se, maybe. A person could easily lose herself in that place, as her royal great-uncle could tell you. But truthfully, I have no idea. It seemed wisest not to ask."

He dismissed the matter with a shrug.

"Tell Megumi's mother she ran away. That's all anyone knows."

"Thank you," I said neutrally. "I shall."

"One more thing." Deng leaned towards me, his tone confiding. "Liu. My old friend Liu. You should take care where he's concerned."

The skin on the back of my neck prickled.

"I suppose he's a good man, if you care about that sort of thing. But he's weak. He always has been. Be careful."

Deng rose and offered me a shallow bow.

"Good day, ladies."

We rejected the offer of a ride home and walked five blocks to the rundown railway station.

"Are you okay?" Asami asked.

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

"I need to make my report to Meg's mother. I'm not looking forward to it."

"Do you want me to come?"

"No. But I do need a sparring partner."

"Planning on getting into a fight?"

"Just like to be prepared, Sato."

There was a missing piece in my puzzle. I believed Deng when he said he didn't know where Megumi was, but I had no doubt he could locate the girl if he had to. And he had to know I wasn't going to let him go so easily.

*

We spent the rest of the morning putting together the report for Megumi's mother, including an account of our expenses and an argument for continuing the investigation. Then we drove out to my mother's old metalbending school in the hills, empty since it had been replaced by the Police Metalbending Academy, and Asami spent several hours trying to murder me.

"I haven't updated my will," I warned, picking myself up from the ground. "You won't inherit the business if you kill me."

"I know where you keep your personal seals. And I've always wanted to try forgery. Try that stance again, but this time--"

"Stop trying to bend. I know."

"I wasn't going to put it like that."

"You didn't need to." There was dirt in my clothes, under my fingernails. It was smothering me. I took a deep breath and said, "One more round before we go home."

Driving back to the city, Asami said, "What Deng said about Liu--"

"He was trying to rattle me."

"That's what I was going to say. You and Tenzin both trust Liu, right?"

We had both trusted Hiroshi Sato, too. But I held my tongue.

"Right," I said.

It was getting late when Asami dropped me at my door. I wanted a long, hot bath and a drink, and a big bowl of noodles. Or maybe just a quick, hot bath and a long sleep.

I hadn't thought about Megumi or Deng or Liu in hours. And I liked it that way.

I was so exhausted that I was already running my bath and shedding my clothes when it struck me: things were out of place.

Someone had been in my house.

Naked, unwilling to sully a robe with the afternoon's dust, I made my way from door to door. All were locked, but the kitchen window had a loose catch.

A robbery? A strange, nosy thief to rifle through my cosmetics but leave all my jewellery. Not that there was much of it, and the few pieces of value carried the flying boar motif.

A strange, nosy, clever thief?

No. I was wrong. Something was missing. My ring.

The ring my mother had created from a meteor, child of the bracelet she was buried with. A crude, plain thing, of no value to anyone but me. Never mind that I couldn't bring myself to touch it anymore.

Someone had come into my house, looked through my books -- one was out of place on its shelf -- examined my cosmetics and taken the only physical possession I cared about.

Deng? Sending his people to go through my home while I was busy speaking to him?

For what purpose?

I hadn't been home last night. Was that when it happened?

I slid at last into the cooling bath, but it did little to relax me.

*

I was tired and sore the next morning, with a nagging headache caused by tension and lack of sleep. It wasn't how I wanted to face Lady Yumiko.

We met in her suite at the Republic Hotel. I would have liked to preferred to see Yumiko alone, but we were joined by General Iroh, and Councilwoman Ming.

"I'm not here officially," said the Councilwoman quietly. "Yumiko's an old friend, that's all. Poor thing, she's nearly out of her mind with worry."

If she was, I couldn't see it. The concerned mother I first met had been replaced by a carefully dressed, artfully made up society matron. Yumiko barely reacted when I gave her the news that her daughter had lost her bending, made a deal with an underworld figure and run away. Her face might have been a mask. Even the tell-tale fraying threads at her cuffs had been mended.

"I did tell you she ran away. A mother always knows."

She sounded tired. Councilwoman Ming reached for Yumiko's hand and squeezed it.

"She'll come back," Ming said. "She won't be able to stay away forever."

General Iroh took the news less calmly.

"Twenty-year-olds don't just make deals with crime lords. This man Deng is lying."

"I agree," I said, because anything else would have had the general haring off to Dragon Flats to confront Deng himself. "But I think he's being honest about that part of the story."

"She always wanted to run away and have adventures," said Lady Yumiko. Her voice was soft, her gaze distant. "I tried to teach her to be proud of her family's position, but she just made fun of me."

"How do you think she lost her bending?" Iroh demanded.

"I think she must have tried to take on some Equalists. It wouldn't have been a moment's work for Amon."

"Poor girl," said Councilwoman Ming. She had taken the loss of her own bending hard; rumour had it that she was only remaining in office until a suitable replacement could be found.

"Her grandfather will be devastated," said Yumiko. "He was so proud to have a firebender in his line. After what people always said about my aunt the Fire Lady--"

"Anyone who said my grandmother was tainting the royal line was an idiot," said Iroh, "and that's without bringing bending into it."

"Oh, you would say that, Iroh, you were a prodigy," snapped Yumiko. She stopped, pursing her lips. Iroh said nothing, but his jaw was set. He was many years her junior, but a more senior member of the family, and presumably unaccustomed to being told off by his cousin. His irritation, quickly concealed, made him look unexpectedly like his mother.

Turning to me, Yumiko said, "Thank you for your work, Ms Beifong. I'll settle your account right away."

"If you want, I could continue the search. I have contacts in Ba Sing Se and Omashu--"

"As do I," said Lady Yumiko. "Thank you, but I'm sure Megumi will come home when she's ready. And I'd rather keep this matter within the family from now on."

She was fiddling with her embroidery again, looking unhappy. I didn't think it would take much to change her mind about continuing the investigation, but she wouldn't want to lose face in front of Councilwoman Ming.

"I'll show you out," said General Iroh.

Bolin straightened to attention as we exited Yumiko's suite, saluting Iroh.

"Bodyguard?" Iroh asked.

"Having come to Deng's attention, it seemed wise."

"Also," Bolin added, "I needed the money."

"You should join the United Forces. We're always looking for good earthbenders."

"Yeah, who can read and write."

"You mean you can't?"

Bolin shrugged. "I didn't exactly get much school. I know maybe a thousand characters? Tenzin's daughters can read better than me."

Iroh digested this in silence. He probably knew, theoretically, that some people were semi-literate, but I doubted he'd ever knowingly met one.

Outside, though, he nodded over the road at Republic City Park and said, "Take a walk?"

When we were away from other people I said, "I take it you're not satisfied with the situation?"

"Not especially."

"Do you know her well? Megumi?"

"Hardly. I was in my mid-teens when she was born. I might have held her a couple of times. I mostly saw her at family gatherings."

"What was your impression?"

He had to think about it.

"Quiet," he said at last. "She was quiet and clever. Sometimes it felt like she was laughing at us. We weren't quite on her level or something."

"Funny. Lots of people have said that."

"Yeah. She was hard to read. Once I heard my mom say the only person Meg really respected was Fire Lord Zuko. She was a bit of a prig, actually."

"You didn't like her."

"No," he said, like the idea was only just dawning. "I guess I didn't." He added, "But that was years ago. I'm sure she's different now."

"Sure. Now she's selling your family's secrets to a gangster."

"I should probably warn my mother about that. She won't be too happy."

"I might be able to help you with that," I said.

"And with finding Megumi?"

"Is that what you want?"

"I can guarantee it's what my grandfather will want."

I handed him a card. "My rates are on the back," I said. "Don't expect quick results. An overt hunt will only send Megumi deeper into hiding."

"I'm familiar with the need for reconnaissance. Are you finished with Deng?"

I wanted to be, but I couldn't be absolutely certain he had been honest with me. I had relied on earthbending for too many years; my instincts were good, but atrophied.

"I want to look into his other houses and apartments," I said. "He may not know her precise location, but that doesn't mean he didn't give her a set of keys and tell her to make herself at home." I sat down on a bench by a fountain. "What do you think she told Deng? For blackmail, I mean?"

"I can't even guess." Iroh pushed a stray lock of hair off his face. He looked like a recruiting poster, albeit a troubled one. "That my grandfather ruins the punchlines when he tells jokes? My mother insists on singing when she shouldn't?"

"Families always seem quite normal to the people inside."

"Maybe. I don't have much to do with politics. I never have. Yumiko's husband has a lot of ideas about real estate development. Maybe that's what Deng found out about."

"Whatever it is, it might never come to light."

"Find Megumi," said Iroh, "and maybe she'll tell us what he knows."

I gave him a tight smile. "If she's in this world," I said, "I'll find her."

On the streetcar back to my office I said to Bolin, "Your brother still a beat cop?"

"No, ma'am, he was promoted to detective a while back. Why, I'm not enough muscle?"

"You aren't authorised to execute search warrants. Tell him to call me. I have some information I should bring to the authorities."

*

Tenzin finished his tea and said, "What are you doing now?"

"A stonemason thinks his staff are stealing from him. Asami and I have been conducting surveillance all week."

"I meant about Megumi."

"I know," I said. "I'm waiting. Great tofu roll, Pema."

"Have another. You look like you need it. In fact," Pema got to her feet, "I'll make up a package for you to take with you."

When she was gone, Tenzin said, "Plying people with food is one of Pema's ways of showing affection."

"I won't say no. Stake-outs usually mean cold dumplings and greasy fried noodles. I remember once--"

Bumi said, "Tenzin, you can't let her get away with changing the subject like that."

"I was conducting a tactical retreat," said Tenzin. "I thought you were the military strategist."

"Doesn't it worry you that this girl is out there, alone and vulnerable?" Bumi sat up straight, dropping his newspaper. "I've been teaching streetkids since I got back to Republic City. It's not exactly safe out there."

"Megumi's not exactly a kid. What are you teaching?"

"Reading, writing, math. Not to mention my particular brand of tactics and strategic thinking."

"Bumi feels the next generation of triad members should be trained by a master," said Tenzin.

"Maybe, if the city took more responsibility for its most vulnerable citizens, you wouldn't need to worry so much about the triads." To me, he added, "I know a couple of earthbenders who need a good teacher."

"No."

"Why not? You were the best earth and metalbender in the city. And you're a hardass, which these kids will respect."

"I don't think I'd be much of a teacher."

"What, you've forgotten all you know?" Bumi snorted. "Don't need bending to teach. Round up an assistant if you think you need to give demonstrations."

"I--"

"There isn't much they miss, living on the streets. Could be someone might have word on your missing princess."

Tenzin was smiling into his beard. I ignored him.

"I like you better when you're being the funny uncle," I told Bumi.

"And no one appreciates me like you."

Later, walking me back to the dock, Tenzin said, "I'm sorry about my brother."

"You're not responsible for him."

"Thank goodness." He sounded utterly sincere. "Are you okay, Lin?"

"I'm fine," I said automatically, crossing my arms. We walked on in silence for a moment. Finally I said, "Someone broke into my house and took my meteorite ring."

"Did you call the police?"

"No point. The thief didn't leave any evidence."

"Did you tell Liu?"

"I didn't want to worry him."

I could sense Tenzin's skepticism.

"He's busy organising the reopening of the Sato factory. And there's nothing he can do."

"I'm sure he can worry about two things at once," said Tenzin. "And you shouldn't deal with this alone."

I snorted. But I smiled.

At the dock, he swept me into a tight hug. It only lasted a couple of seconds, then we pushed each other away and made our farewells. It was hardly awkward at all. We were getting good at this.

"Bring Liu next week," he said as I boarded the ferry. "Jinora wants to interrogate him about his idea for a public library. And it would be nice to see you two together."

"Whatever," I growled, but this time I let him see me smile.

*

I had enough pull with the police force that, when I passed along my interest in Deng's various courtesan houses and private apartments, they were willing to include a junior detective in the investigations.

Mako wasn't happy to find himself serving two masters, but it was exactly that integrity that made me trust him. At least, I pointed out, his superiors knew he was speaking to me, and however unorthodox the arrangement, it was hardly secret.

"You just said you don't trust the force," he pointed out.

"Paranoia," I said. "Probably groundless. Have more tea."

He took a few moments to figure out how to reach for his cup without disturbing the cat in his lap. Shǔ, who loathed all other humans -- except when he was hungry -- apparently regarded firebenders as special catwarmers.

"We found opium, weapons, other contraband in the courtesan houses," he said when he was settled again to Shǔ's satisfaction. "Most belonged to the women themselves. Apparently shock gloves can be used for, um," he blushed, "professional activities."

The sexual application of Equalist weapons had never crossed my mind before. Asami looked equally horrified, probably for different reasons.

Mako swallowed and continued, "Two of Deng's apartments look like they hadn't been used for a couple of months. We found hashish in a drawer, but the container was dusty."

"The third?" I asked.

"Someone stayed there recently. There was a pile of newspapers on the table, and soap in the bath. Nothing illegal, though, and whoever it was had been gone for at least two weeks. The most recent newspaper was nineteen days old."

Just under nineteen days ago, I'd had my meeting with Deng. Had he moved Megumi?

"Did the neighbours know anything?" Asami asked.

"It's not the kind of area where people talk to the police," said Mako. He handed me a folder. "Detective Chan said I should give you this."

"Thanks."

"Am I going to have to do this again?"

I could only tell him the truth.

"I don't know."

I flicked through the report as Asami showed him out. My eye fell on the address of the apartment in question, a building across the road from a train station.

*

"Widen your stance. You need to connect with the earth."

"I'm standing on it, ain't I?"

"Take off your shoes. They're a distraction."

Skoochy scowled. His shoes were red patent leather, a couple of sizes too large, but a vivid symbol of his status as the leader of Republic City's street kids. They were certainly stolen, but hey, the kid couldn't go barefoot in the city.

But my lessons were a status symbol too. He took his shoes off.

"Bolin doesn't use a wide stance when he's pro-bending," Skoochy pointed out.

"Pro-bending is a different style," said Bolin. "You should start with the basics."

"Did you?"

"No. Which is why I look like a dope when Lin teaches me, too."

I wasn't convinced that teaching the budding criminals of Republic City to bend properly was a good idea, but Bumi's little school seemed popular. And it was a couple of hours a day that Skoochy wasn't out picking pockets or running numbers. He disdained the reading and writing lessons Bumi offered, but he had not missed a single earthbending class.

"Show me your horse stance. Okay, push."

The wall of rock Skoochy created looked stronger and more stable than his earlier attempts. Bolin ran his hand over the stone and nodded, confirming what my eyes were telling me: Skoochy was improving at a phenomenal rate.

"Not bad," I said. "Again."

My mother's teaching style had involved a lot of yelling and bravado. I wanted to be more like Avatar Aang, who had patiently helped me adapt airbending for metal. But standing in this tiny training arena -- a corner in an empty warehouse Bumi had rented -- was a kind of torture, if the absence of any sensation at all could be called pain. I did the first lesson in bare feet and went home on the verge of tears. Now I kept my shoes on, but I fell too easily into the forms I had tried to forget, only to have to stand back and let Bolin complete the demonstration. I could be patient with my students, but not myself.

When the lesson was done, and the floor returned to its previous condition, I said to Skoochy, "You still hang around Central Station?"

He recognised my deliberately casual tone and said, "Who wants to know?"

"I'm looking for a girl. Her family is worried about her."

Skoochy gave the battered photograph a cursory look and said, "She looks old enough to take care of herself." He sat down on the ground and reached for his shoes.

"She was staying in an apartment near Dragon Temple Avenue."

"Deng's place?"

"You know it?"

"I don't know nothin'." He paused, his left shoe in his hand. "Gimme that picture. I'll ask around."

"Thanks." I gave him the photo. I had had copies made, and Iroh had sent me a collection of other photographs, although none were recent.

"No promises," said Skoochy.

"If you can find out where she went--"

"No promises!"

He stalked away, shoelaces undone, shaking his head at the unreasonable demands of adults.

"What does Skoochy have against Deng?" I asked Bolin.

"Deng doesn't hire kids. Says they're not reliable."

"Finally. Something we agree on."

I was tempted to go down to Dragon Temple Avenue myself to ask the railway staff and local shopkeepers if they had seen Megumi, but that would only attract attention. Better to let Skoochy and his army of dirty, dishonest children see what they could learn.

*

"At least, that's what I keep telling myself, but it feels like cowardice," I said to Liu. We were in his office, catching up for a brief dinner before he went back to work. His desk was buried in paperwork: contracts for employment, contracts with suppliers, procedure manuals, corporate policies. The official re-opening of Future Industries was only a few days away, and while Liu had enticed back a lot of Hiroshi's old managers and clerks, it looked like he was still dealing with most of the work.

"Avoiding Deng seems like a fairly sensible decision to me," he said.

"That's what I keep telling myself. But I'm wasting my time. If she's left town, the trail is getting colder while I sit around waiting."

"I've never been to Ba Sing Se, but it seems like a good city for losing yourself."

"No more than Republic City, really. Maybe worse if you go into the Middle or Upper Rings."

"Megumi doesn't seem the type to leave the Lower Ring."

"No." But she was an aristocrat. If she wanted to, she could quite easily fit into Upper Ring society. And it would be the last place I'd look…

I pushed my half-eaten noodles away and said, "No. I'm sure she's still in Republic City. I can't think about this anymore tonight."

"Want to help organise the opening of a state-owned factory?"

"I haven't seen this much paperwork since a rookie metalbender brought down the West Phoenix bridge."

"The staff are doing what they can, but it turns out Hiroshi found time to personally oversee everything, on top of all the other things he did. No one else is really trained for this."

"United Daily News said he refused to help you."

"Laughed in my face. And I don't make prison visits lightly." He hesitated. "The other Councilmembers suggested asking Ms Sato for help. I'm inclined to go a step further, and offer her a job. Do you think--"

"You can ask," I said. "I don't know what she'll say."

Asami seemed torn between anger that her birthright had been taken from her, and a desire to see Future Industries a success again. To be a mere employee of the company her father had created might be humiliating, but it might also be better than nothing.

"If she says yes, you owe me another assistant."

"On what you pay?"

*

I discreetly removed myself when Liu made his offer to Asami, but when I returned to the office with sakura buns, he was gone, and I still had an assistant.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said, but she accepted a bun and made tea.

Eventually she said, "I like working here. I'm learning new things, and I'm good at it."

I wasn't sure the comment was aimed at me, but I said, "At the rate you're going, you could take over in a couple of years."

"Be careful what you say. I get access to my trust fund when I turn twenty-one." Asami's smile faded. "That's one thing the Council couldn't touch." She reached down and pulled the cat into her lap. It purred for a few seconds, before remembering that it hated us. "I could have made Future Industries a success again, you know? They could have just slapped us with fines or reparations. I could have paid it off."

"I don't doubt it."

I hadn't paid much attention to the politics around Republic City's seizure of Hiroshi's assets. Too busy adapting to life and a career without bending. Tenzin had argued against the seizure, but most of his attention was on finding Korra, and I had the impression he hadn't worked as hard as he could have.

I decided not to mention that to Asami. Instead I said, "Liu thinks it might be returned to you in a few years."

"Yeah, in what condition?" Asami scratched the cat under his chin. "Dad practically lived at the factory when he was first starting out. He had a little apartment built on the second floor, so he could wake up and look out over the assembly lines. Even now -- I mean, before everything happened, he'd be out there at all kinds of weird hours. And it wasn't just a cover for his Equalist activities." The cat caught her wrist between his paws and guided it towards its mouth. "No," Asami told it firmly, then went on, "I know Councilman Liu really needs help, but I can't go back there. Not--"

Her words were swallowed in a gasp of pain as the cat's jaw closed around her hand. She jumped to her feet, waving her arm to shake the cat off, but his claws were buried in her skin.

For a second, I was frozen, picturing metal cables wrapping around the animal and pulling it safely off Asami. Then I moved, pulling the lid off the half-empty teapot and tipping lukewarm water over the cat.

It howled like I was murdering it, and fled into my office, vanishing under my desk.

"Wow." Asami was breathing heavily, clutching her bleeding hand to her chest. "I think we've overlooked a suspect, Beifong." She was beginning to shake. "P-pretty obvious Megumi was eaten by her c-cat."

"No bones. Come here."

I led Asami into the tiny office bathroom and ran cold water over her arm. Red welts were already appearing beneath the scratches, and the wounds were alarmingly swollen.

"You should see a healer."

"Can't afford a healer."

"I'll pay." I held her arm up to the light. "These bites are deep. You'll need the lockjaw shot, too."

"I--"

"Don't argue, Sato. When you've been a metalbender as long as I have, you get paranoid about puncture wounds. Let me get my coat, I'll take you to the clinic down the street."

"It's okay." Asami took a deep breath and smoothed her hair with her good hand. "I'll be fine on my own."

"You sure?" I was reluctant to leave her alone, but the office was a disaster, and our stonemason client was coming around to settle his account in an hour.

She summoned a smile. "I can walk down the street, Beifong."

"Right. Go."

It took twenty minutes of scrubbing to make the waiting room look less like a crime scene, and the blood and tea stains in the carpet looked like they'd be permanent. I leaned back on my haunches, wondering if Pema would know how to remove a bloodstain, and what she'd say if I asked.

It wasn't like anyone came here for the fancy decor.

I prepared to climb to my feet, when something caught my eye under Asami's desk: a scroll bearing the seal of the Republic City Council.

It bore more bloodstains, and one corner was soaked in tea, but the message, when I unrolled it, was perfectly legible. Asami and I were most humbly invited, etcetera, to attend the formal re-opening of Future Industries. The event was three days away.

Asami might baulk, but I was curious to see how Liu's work would turn out. I scrawled a response -- my calligraphy a very far cry from that on the invitation, no doubt carefully written by an underpaid Council clerk -- accepting the Council's kind offer. I added it to the pile of outgoing mail, and was about to make a fresh pot of tea when Asami returned, her hand and wrist bandaged, and a grubby little girl in tow.

"I found this one lurking at the bottom of the stairs," Asami said. "She says Skoochy sent her."

The girl must have been about the same age as Jinora, but her hard little face made her seem older. Her hair was a short mop, half hidden by an oversized hat. Her faded sun dress looked like it had been made for an adult woman, then carefully cut down to fit her. She wore blue stockings -- one was falling down around her ankle -- and highly polished brown shoes.

I said, "You must be the boss kid from Dragon Temple Avenue."

"Sure am. Hear you're looking for someone." She nodded at Asami. "Princess here wouldn't say what you pay."

"Pay? I don't know what your information's worth yet." I leaned back against Asami's desk, mimicking the kid's pose. "Talk."

"Ten yuans."

"You're joking. Two."

"Seven."

"Five." I studied her skinny frame and added, "And I'll buy you lunch."

Her face brightened. "Deal."

To Asami, I said, "Mr Wu'll be here soon. You okay to deal with him?"

"Him? He's a softy." Asami looked around her and added quietly, "Where's the cat, though?"

"Still under my desk."

"Good."

"Let him out if you run into any trouble with Wu." I turned to the kid. "You got a name?"

"Anh. And I want a fancy lunch."

I was tempted to take Anh to Kwong's Cuisine, just for the look on the host's face, but I suspected their famously small portions wouldn't meet with her approval. Instead, I took her to the noodle bar two blocks away, on the edge of the banking district. Men and women in suits entered, swallowed their lunches in minutes then left again. It was hot and crowded, but I knew the owner, and Anh looked suitably impressed by the suits and briefcases.

"Table at the back?" I asked Auntie Min. Long ago, when she was just the owner's daughter-in-law, this had been my favourite place to bring informants. No reason for that to change now, even if my current informant reached only as high as my shoulder.

She also remembered that I liked my noodles with extra beef broth, and didn't blink as Anh ordered soup, garlic dumplings and a large glass of watermelon juice.

I must have smiled, because as Auntie Min walked away, Anh said, "What? I skipped breakfast."

"The dumplings here are good."

"Better be."

When she had finished her second bowl of soup, Anh leaned forward and said, "Okay. Skoochy says you're looking for this girl." She pulled a notebook from the pocket of her dress, flipped through it, and turned it around to show me.

It was Megumi, or rather, a sketch of the photo I had given Skoochy. The charcoal was smudged, and there was a fingerprint in one corner, but the likeness was unmistakable.

"This is very good," I said without thinking.

"Yeah, whatever."

Anh turned the pages until she found what she was looking for. She turned the notebook around and passed it to me.

Two pages, covered in Megumi. Megumi speaking to an old woman dressed in rags. Megumi watching a shopkeeper. Megumi buying a newspaper.

"You saw her?"

"I spoke to people who saw her." Anh shrugged. "Skoochy made it sound like she was hiding out. Not doing a great job, if you ask me. Everyone knew her. Her name's Saki."

"Who is 'everyone'?"

Anh gave me a patronising look. "All those streets around the avenue, right, they're like a little village. Old Man Yung, he reckons it was a village, before the city swallowed it up. So everyone knows everything. Only, some people gotta pretend like they don't know, right? Take Abbott Li. He's supposed to be, like, this Air Acolyte, so he doesn't want people knowing he puts a bit of money on the ostrich-horses and buys baiju if he wins."

"And that's where you come in."

"I'm a facilitator," Anh told me proudly.

"I bet you are." Faced with a miniature crime boss in the making, I was beginning to want some baiju myself. "So what doesn't everyone know about this girl?"

"Well, most people don't know where she lived. I guess she kept that quiet, because people wouldn't have been so friendly if they'd known she worked for Diamond Deng." She looked disappointed by my lack of surprise. "And hardly anyone knew she was from the Fire Nation originally. I got that from Long, the newsagent. She used to travel, and she recognised the accent. Said it was pretty posh, too."

"Long has a good ear."

"She's teaching me." Anh slurped up the last of her watermelon juice and sat back with a satisfied smirk. "There's one thing that only I know about Saki, though."

"And what's that?"

"Where she went."

I dropped her notebook. Quick as a flash, Anh's little hand reached out and snatched it back, burying it deep in her pocket.

"Tell me," I said.

"She took off a few weeks ago, right? Caught the train. Well, I've helped out the stationmaster a couple of times, and his assistant was sweet on Saki, and remembered she got a ticket for Central."

Anh was spinning this out, but I was content to give her this victory. "Go on," I said.

"Now, Central's out of my patch, but I know people there. Skoochy 'n' me asked around a bit, and this one kid, Xi, reckons she tipped him five yuan just for carrying her bag. And it wasn't even that heavy!"

"And where did Xi carry her bag to?"

"Platform eighteen."

Six lines left from platform eighteen, including the overnight to Omashu. "He didn't see which train she boarded?"

"Well, that's the thing," said Anh. "She bought a ticket while he was holding her bag, and he's not a great reader, but he's pretty sure it was for Omashu. But that train wasn't leaving for hours. So he walked her to the platform, and she paid him and said he could go. Then he figured he might wait around for a bit, see if she got bored. She might want him to mind her bag while she went shopping, maybe."

"She could have left it at the bag check," I pointed out.

"Not a great thinker, Xi. Anyway, a train pulls up, people hop off, it gets real crowded for a few minutes, and when it's all cleared, she's gone."

"She boarded that train."

"Yup."

"I don't suppose Xi knows which train it was that came in?"

"He's not too sure. But I got a timetable from Long, and she helped me read it." Anh pulled a tattered piece of paper out of her pocket. She pointed to the line circled with charcoal. "It's the Industry Circle, out to the factories and back. Future Industries, Cabbage Corp, all them ones." Perhaps mistaking my silence for disapproval, she said quickly, "I don't know anyone out there, but some guys around town used to work for Future Industries. They could help me out."

"No," I said slowly. "No, you've done enough. More than enough."

I walked her to the train station and gave her ten yuan.

"You do good work," I said. "Try…"

"What? Try hard at school?"

"No. I mean, yes, do that. But try not to get caught, uh, facilitating. Police force could use more like you."

Anh gaped, then caught herself and changed her expression to one of amusement. "Sure," she said. "Whatever."

"Think about it," I said, and I walked away.

My mind was reeling. The industrial district was almost a wasteland. No one lived out there. Well, hardly anyone. There used to be slums, but they had been swallowed up by factories. There were warehouses, of course, and a few office buildings, especially close to the port.

There were a few neighbourhoods between Central Station and the factory district. Tiny, mean little places where everyone watched their neighbours from behind thin, cheap curtains. My very first visit was to arrest a woman who had suffocated her five children and buried them in the back garden. It didn't make a good impression.

I walked slowly back to the office, but the exercise did nothing except make my knees ache.

*

Late that night, I was roused from a half-sleep by a knock at the door. I blinked, finding myself sitting up in bed, a street map lying open in my lap.

The knock came again.

"What the--" I hauled myself out of bed and went to answer it.

"Liu?"

"Lin."

He looked like he was about to collapse.

"Did you just leave work?"

"About forty-five minutes ago. I stopped for food. Then I realised I wanted to see you. I know it's an intrusion--"

"No." I moved, letting him enter. "I was dozing over a case, that's all."

"Megumi?"

"Some jobs don't let go." I caught his hand. "Come to bed."

We were both too exhausted and distracted for sex. Liu gave a contented sigh as I pulled the covers up.

"Do you think there'll ever be a time when one or both of us aren't consumed by work?" he asked.

"Probably not."

"We wouldn't be ourselves otherwise."

"What's wrong?" I raised myself up on my elbow. "Did something happen today? Did Asami--"

"No. Well, nothing bad. I had lunch with my daughter after I left your office. She's going to have a baby."

"Congratulations?"

He laughed, although it sounded forced.

"She's happy. That's what matters, right?"

"But here," I said, "just between us--"

"I wasn't a great father to her. I hope I'm a better grandfather."

I found his hand and squeezed it.

"I told Yunhe about you." Liu's voice had become drowsy. "She'd like to meet you."

The thought of being some squalling infant's step-grandmother was enough to make me flee to the South Pole. I was about to say as much when gentle snore let me know Liu wasn't waiting for a response.

*

It was still dark when I woke up, and the other side of my bed was cold and empty. I found Liu sitting in the courtyard, gazing up at the sky.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I'll be glad when this is over."

"Future Industries?"

"Everything."

I sat down beside him, the flagstones cold and dead beneath me. Liu wrapped an arm around my shoulders, but he didn't look at me.

"The wonderful thing about prison," he said, "was the routine. Wake up. Eat. Work. Exercise. Boring as hell, but there were no choices to make except which groups to avoid and which book to read next. Sometimes I miss being bored."

"What choices are you avoiding?"

"What would you give, to get your bending back?"

"I--"

"Your business? Your health? Your integrity?"

I pulled away. "I don't think about it."

"Try."

"I can't. Only the Avatar can restore my bending, and she wouldn't ask for anything in return."

"I forgot you knew her. What was she like?"

"Brave. Tough."

"Some people think she just ran away."

I shook my head. "Not Korra."

"People can surprise you." Liu looked down. "My daughter was captured by Equalists, and she only told me today."

"She lost her bending?"

"No. She got away. Just pure luck, really -- Amon was busy elsewhere, and the guards were careless enough to leave her alone."

I thought of Amon's hand on my forehead, reaching inside me and twisting, and I shivered.

"Well," he said, "you asked what she thought of my Equalist sympathies. I guess now we know."

*

"There are eighteen boarding houses between Central Station and the factories." Asami sounded dubious.

"Only six accept women," I pointed out.

"Great." Asami scowled at the list I had compiled. "What am I, a worried sister?"

"Or a friend. You don't look much like Megumi."

"Okay. We came to the big city to earn some money, but she hasn't been to work for a few days, and all I know is that she lives in this area."

"That's good."

"She might have just taken the train straight back to Central Station and gone somewhere else."

"I know. I'm gambling."

Asami stepped into the bathroom and frowned.

"I should take my make-up off," she said.

"And find an older coat. Yours looks expensive."

"It was."

"People notice things like that. Take my coat. It's too big -- you'll look vulnerable."

Asami removed the last of her make-up and said, "How's my dress?"

"Good. Quality, but worn. No one will give it a second thought."

"Explain again why you're not doing this?"

"I'm memorable."

"So am I." She began to pin her hair into a demure bun. "I was all over the society pages for a while. And a lot of people around there used to work for my dad."

"So it's a risk either way. But you're young, strong, the work will do you good."

Asami muttered something under her breath, then emerged from the bathroom. "How do I look?"

"Not bad," I said, but even with her hair pulled back and her make-up removed, she was still good looking. And that was a problem. People remembered pretty girls. We needed them to concentrate on Megumi, not the woman in front of them.

There was a box of odds and ends sitting on the filing cabinet. I rummaged through it until I found a pair of tortoiseshell spectacles with plain glass in the frames.

"Try these on."

"I'm not even going to ask why you have those," she said, but the glasses -- a fraction too large for her face -- made her look dowdy. She hunched her shoulders a little. "Better?"

"Perfect."

"Good."

Asami vanished, leaving me alone to weigh the value of competent staff against the tedium of waiting for results. I drank tea, I leafed through the folder of police reports that Mako had given me, and then I made a decision.

*

"Deng's not--"

I barged past the doorman and into the casino's foyer, then turned on my heel to face him. "Where's his office? Upstairs?"

"No, you can't--"

"Relax." I took the stairs two at a time. "I'll tell him how hard you tried to stop me."

I had been here once before, when it was owned by one of Deng's rivals. Back then, the office had sat at the very top of the stairs. Would Deng change it? Probably not, I decided, and threw the door open.

"Beifong!"

He had jumped to his feet at my entrance, open surprise on his face.

"Sorry, boss," said the flunky behind me. "She was going too fast!"

"I'm sure." Deng was recovering nicely. "See that we're not disturbed." He came around from behind his desk and guided me to a chair, closing the door behind me. All very courteous, but the back of his neck was still flushed.

"You lied to me," I said when he had sat down. "You were sheltering Megumi."

"I gambled." He steepled his hands, his diamond ring glistening in the light. "Frankly, I'd do it again. Forgive me, Beifong, but you were more intimidating in uniform."

"More intimidating than who?" Then the pieces clicked, and I found myself laughing. "Megumi? You're afraid of her?"

"You must know by now that she's not a lost little girl."

"What can she possibly have to hold over you?"

"Does it matter? We had an arrangement. I kept my end of the bargain."

"Must be tough, being on the other side like that."

"I thought about having her killed," he admitted. "But the risk is outweighed by the benefit of having her as an associate. And I'm curious to see how her venture turns out."

"What venture would that be?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." There was a touch of admiration in Deng's smile. "I was being truthful when I said I didn't know where she was the other day. Off into the hands of her next victim, I suspect."

"How does she contact you?"

Deng leaned back in his chair. "Like you, she has a knack for appearing when and where she's least wanted. Always in person. Never by telephone. Occasionally by mail, but it's too slow for her taste."

"Newspaper advertisements?"

"I hope not. I never look at those pages." Deng stood up. "Let me show you out."

He even offered me his arm as I got to my feet. It was an unexpected courtesy that distracted me for a moment. Just long enough for Deng to pin my arms behind my back and close his other hand around my throat.

"Stop moving," he snapped as I struggled to kick him, stand on his foot, anything that would throw him off-balance. His grip on my neck tightened, and against my will, I went limp.

His breath hot on my ear, Deng said, "Continue with this investigation, and someone will have you killed. Breathe one word of any of this, and I'll do it myself. First you, then your assistant, then your friends." He shifted, pinning my arms higher. The blood was pounding in my ears. "You don't have your bending. You don't have the police. I own the police. You're still walking around like you run this city. Well, sooner or later, someone's going to put a stop to that."

No amount of struggle would get air into my lungs. I was seeing spots, and I had to fight to keep myself from blacking out. Deng released my arms, but I couldn't even lift my hands.

He kept up the pressure on my neck as he pushed me down the stairs. I was distantly aware of people watching us, but no one moved or spoke. The pressure vanished as the pavement hit my face, and for a few seconds I just lay on the ground, breathing.

"Don't let her in here again," I heard Deng say, and then the door slammed shut.

Finally, I struggled to my feet. A couple of passers-by caught my eye, then looked away quickly as I staggered away from the casino. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a dirty shop window, and decided that I couldn't blame them. There were red weals around my neck, and my left cheek was grazed and bruised. Red circles had appeared under my eyes. I looked wild-eyed and scared, and nothing at all like myself.

You don't have your bending. You don't have the police.

If I walked into police headquarters looking like this, Deng would be in prison by nightfall. And I'd be forever looking over my shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Deng never spent long in jail. Not when there were witnesses to threaten and juries to bribe.

I didn't want my former officers to see me like this.

You don't have your bending.

It took me a long time to flag down a cab, and when one finally stopped, the driver gave me a doubtful look and said, "Fare in advance."

"Fine." I all but collapsed onto his back seat. It hurt to talk. "Take me to City Hall. Wait, no. Future Industries."

He charged me triple the regular fare, and I paid it without argument.

The first person I saw at Future Industries was an acquaintance, a former White Lotus waterbender. She gaped at my bruises.

"Your face--"

"Walked into a door. Councilman Liu?"

"Upstairs, in his office. You know the way?"

"I remember."

"Lady on the flywheel assembly team knows a bit of healing. Want me to send her up?"

"Don't bother."

Liu was in Hiroshi's old office, a sparse shadow of its former opulence. He looked up in surprise as I threw the door open, taking in my injuries. Then he turned back to the telephone as I closed the door.

"The sooner the better, as far as I'm concerned. You'll have to excuse me, Raiko, something's come up."

He dropped the receiver on his desk, then fumbled to pick it up and put it on the hook.

"What the--"

"You asked what I'd give to get my bending back." My voice was cracking, and I had trouble swallowing. "Anything. I'd give up everything I have and more if it meant I wouldn't feel this helpless."

Liu rested his hands on my shoulders, his touch deliberately light.

"Do you understand?" I said. "I expected to die taking down Amon's airships, and I wish I had. And I can't keep pretending--" My throat had closed up. "I can't -- I--"

I let Liu lead me to a chair and sit down. He turned my cheek to the light.

"What happened?"

"Deng," I whispered, no longer capable of speaking aloud. "I've made a mistake."

"Wait here."

I obediently sat, listening while he summoned the waterbender from the assembly team. Then Liu vanished for a few minutes. I stayed where I was, studying my hands. They were smaller than my mother's, with long, slim fingers. My grandmother's hands. My grandmother: a distant figure from my childhood, all elegant robes and fluttering gestures. She liked to spend her mornings in the garden, but then gave her afternoons up to remove the dirt from her fingernails. My mother despised her. I didn't like to think what either of them would make of me now.

"Lin?"

Liu had reappeared, placing a glass of water before me. I sipped it slowly and concentrated on breathing.

"Do you mind if Ilak looks at your face?"

Ilak was older than I had expected, a plump woman in her late thirties. She set a bowl of water down on Liu's desk and examined my face.

"Abrasions and bruises are easy," she said. "But there might be internal injuries to your throat. I only know first aid."

I shook my head and waved for her to get on with it. She didn't have the confidence of a fully trained healer, but her work was adequate: when she was done, the visible injuries had vanished, leaving me with a tender cheek and a sore throat.

"You should still go to the hospital," Ilak said.

"Maybe later."

She pursed her lips, but Liu waved her away with thanks, and she left, closing the door behind her.

"Do you want to talk?" he asked.

"No." Though I was glad my voice had come back, even if it was husky. Ilak underestimated her skills. I rested my head in my hands. Defeat was new and unfamiliar. I didn't like it.

"Does Asami know where you went?"

"No."

Liu leaned back against his desk, finding my hand and squeezing it. I sat up.

"I'll call her tonight," I said. "Tell her to close the file on Megumi and send what we have to her family."

"You're dropping it?" I heard relief mingled with shock in his voice, and I squeezed his hand.

"I'm done. I've had enough." I tried to force a smile. "I'm not fooling anyone anymore. Least of all myself. Maybe I'll take up gardening instead."

"What happened to the all-consuming job?"

"I guess I've been consumed. Chewed up and spat out."

"Just like that?"

I shrugged. "I've been chasing the wrong person. All this time I've been hunting Megumi, when I should have been looking for her victims."

"Victims." Liu sounded like he wanted to laugh.

"Deng, if you can believe it. Blackmail." I touched my neck. "I can see why he'd want to keep that quiet."

"So this … assault, that's -- what, a warning?"

"A promise, I think. That if he doesn't kill me, she will."

"You? You were the chief of police."

"Yes, was. Now I can't even fight off one large man." I looked away, so I wouldn't see the pity in Liu's face. "I took down an airship singlehanded. Even my mother never managed that."

"Lin." The harshness in Liu's voice took me by surprise. Looking up, I saw it was anger, not pity, that he felt. "I need to take care of a few things. Then I'll take you home."

"All right."

"Wait here."

I wasn't exactly planning to go anywhere. He slammed the door behind him. I stared into space for a few minutes. Avatar Aang had once told me I should cultivate stillness. Maybe it was finally time to try.

I listened to the tick of the clock and the distant sounds of machinery and workers. Liu's office had big windows that overlooked the factory floor. Below me, I could see people working, setting things in place, testing machinery. I thought of Shan, ex-metalbender turned builder. I could learn to build. I could find another path.

This was an honourable retreat, I told myself. It was negative jing in action. Cut and run. I'd learned more than just the basic principles of airbending from Aang and Tenzin.

I used Liu's phone and called the office, but there was no answer. It wouldn't be the first time Asami had returned to find me gone. I'd call her at home later. Tell her we had been wasting our time.

The door opened and Liu returned. He forced a smile, but his lips were thin and the scars on his face had turned purple.

"I'm done here," he said. "Let's go."

"I don't need to be babied," I said, but I was secretly relieved when he took my hand and led me through the corridors and down the stairs. "I don't think I've been this way before."

"It's a back route. Quieter."

"Thank you."

He hesitated for a moment at an intersection, then gave an irritated little shake of the head and led me down the western hall. Pulling out some keys, he unlocked a door that led to yet more corridors.

"This place is a warren," I said. "Hiroshi designed it himself. I'm not sure he wasn't deliberately setting out to confuse people."

"Of course." Liu sounded happier. "It's not as if he wasn't busy with the motorcars, the experimental weapons, the secret Equalist meetings and the overly complicated corporate structure."

"Man has to have a hobby."

"Like tax evasion. We found some documents he didn't get around to burning."

"Poor Asami." The corridor became narrower, more utilitarian. "Are we underground?"

"There's a network of tunnels and subterranean workshops down here."

"Of course there is." I tapped a door as we passed. "Platinum."

"I think this is where some of the Equalist weapons were manufactured. But it does have its uses." Liu unlocked a door, revealing a flight of stairs ascending to the surface. "Like a quiet escape route."

The stairs ended in a narrow room with stale air. I could hear traffic and people outside, and the hum of the railway line. Liu unlocked the door and gestured me through. We were in the small shopping district that served the neighbourhood's residents. The door that led to Future Industries was perfectly nondescript, identical to the ones that led to apartments and businesses on the upper storeys.

"You're not telling me that Hiroshi took the train to his factories," I said.

"No, he probably had a car and a driver waiting when he wanted to make a discreet exit. We'll just have to make do."

On the train back to Central Station, I said quietly, "Amon probably used that tunnel."

"I don't doubt it."

"Imagine him walking around, no one realising who or what he was."

"Like Megumi."

"I don't want to talk about her." I put my head on Liu's shoulder and closed my eyes. "Who else knows about Hiroshi's tunnels?"

"Only the foremen and managers. We're keeping them closed off for now. We don't need the space, and those rooms are…"

"Dangerous?"

"Eerie."

*

It was dark by the time we reached my house. I was tired and sore, and feeling more like a fool with every step. Liu's hand was tight around mine, but it wasn't enough.

"Can you eat?" Liu asked, looking around my kitchen.

"I'll make soup. You don't have to help."

He took a seat at the kitchen table and watched me work.

"I did most of the cooking growing up," I said, setting the mushrooms and wood ear aside to soak. "We had a cook when I was little, and I made her teach me. I took over when she retired. Auntie Lo would be horrified if she saw how I eat now."

No response. I looked up from the carrots I was slicing and saw that Liu's face was blank, his eyes distant. He looked profoundly unhappy.

He started when I put a bowl of hot soup in front of him, and said, "I'm sorry, Lin. I was a million miles away."

"I could see that." I reached for my spoon. "I'm sorry, I wouldn't have barged in on you if--"

"Better if you hadn't barged in on Deng."

"Yeah." I could only swallow tiny sips of hot soup. "It's not a mistake I'll make twice."

"Good." Liu's scars made his scowl seem fearsome. "Watching you come into my office -- you must know what it's like. Seeing someone you care about in that state."

A number of caustic responses sprang to mind, but I merely said, "What would you do, if you were in my shoes?"

"I'd make it very clear that I wanted nothing to do with Megumi. Fire Lord Zuko himself could beg for my help, and I'd tell him no."

"Easy as that?"

"She's not worth your life."

I sipped my soup and said, "She's still a little fish."

"With a big fish ready to kill for her."

"You're right."

"I know." A smile touched Liu's face at last. He leaned forward. "You've always been protected by your badge. This is how the rest of the city lives."

"In fear?"

"Are you afraid?"

"Yes." I pushed my bowl away. "I'm not scared to die. But everything else -- the humiliation, the -- the--" My throat was closing up again. "I'm sorry."

"I hate to see you like this."

I wanted to snap, I'm not weak, but the words died on my lips. What other word was there? I could manage a short fight against a lesser opponent, but against a larger, stronger man, I was…

"Come to bed." I stood up, my chair falling back. "If I keep thinking about this, I'll just -- I can't--"

"I get it," said Liu, and he let me lead him away.

Much later, I was almost asleep when he stirred and mumbled, "You had the choice."

"What choice?"

"To keep your bending. In exchange for the Avatar." He shifted onto his side, kissing my shoulder. "Integrity."

I tried to imagine giving the Avatar up to Amon. He caught her anyway. She lost her bending. But I might have gotten away whole.

"Not worth it," I said.

Liu wrapped an arm around my waist.

"So now you know."

His breathing became slow and even. I listened to him breathe for a long time, feeling his heart beat against my skin. It began to rain, and at last I fell asleep.

I woke up a few hours later. Liu had rolled over, snoring slightly. My throat hurt, and my shoulder ached from being slept on.

How had he known that Amon gave me a choice?

I must have told him, I thought, falling asleep again. Or someone. Maybe Tenzin had mentioned it. Hell, it was probably in the news.

I went back to sleep.

*

"Are you out of your mind?"

Since her father's arrest, anger had made Asami quiet. She wore her rage in soft words and cold, bitter looks. I had seen her temper before, but never directed at me. She stood in my office, eyes blazing.

"All our work," she said, "and now you're just giving up? Because Deng says she's a bad guy?"

"It fits," I snapped. "She left of her own free will, she set up her own family to be blackmailed--"

"Again, we only have Deng's word on that."

"And I'm not about to risk our lives for the sake of a spoilt brat playing at being a crime lord."

"Coward." Asami pushed past me and sat in my chair. "It's finally hit you that you're never getting your bending back, so you're giving up."

"Don't make this about me, Sato."

"Too late." Asami put her feet up on my desk. "Fine. Retire. Grow bonsai plants. I'll keep the business going, and the day I turn twenty-one, I'll buy it."

"You won't live that long."

"Won't I?" Asami put her feet down and sat up straight. "Deng's like my dad. The second someone calls him on his bullshit, he decides he's the victim. 'Oh, the benders forced me to become an Equalist.' 'Ooh, the little lost princess threatened me.' You should know that by now."

I did. I must have seen it hundreds of times over the years. She made me hit her, Officer, I wouldn't have done it if she hadn't disrespected me. She was asking for it, Detective, look at her.

"Think about it," said Asami. "Megumi's young, alone, in over her head. She's fighting back with the only weapon she has left." Clearly sensing me wavering, she added, "I'd do the same thing, if I were her. And Deng, he worked with my dad. They're following the same rules, that's all." She looked pensive. "I thought taking down Dad would make me feel better about everything he did. But it's not enough. I'm not giving up on Deng. And I'm not giving up on Megumi, either."

I took a deep breath.

"That's some pretty blatant manipulation, Sato," I said.

"Is it working?"

I sat down.

"My grandparents were collaborators," I said slowly. "I was a bit older than you when Mom realised. Her dad died, and we were going through his business records. Grandmother said she had no idea, but she must have been … well, blind." I looked up at the ceiling. "Mom was furious. She tried to tell the world, but no one outside Gaoling cared. She gave most of her inheritance to charities for veterans and orphans."

"So much for the famous Beifong fortune."

"Yeah."

"Is that why you became a cop?"

"No. But it's part of why you're here now."

Asami raised her eyebrows.

"I was lucky. If things had gone differently, maybe I'd have wound up with nothing. Looking for a job I didn't hate. A purpose, maybe."

"That's why you hired me?"

"It wasn't pity. I knew you'd be able to do the work. And more." I shrugged, uncomfortable under her gaze. "I gave you a chance, that's all."

"Well … thanks."

We were saved from further emotional outbursts by a sharp knock at the door. I jumped to my feet, wondering if this was another of Deng's goons, but it was Detective Chan who entered. He was accompanied by two uniformed officers, and, bringing up the rear, a sheepish-looking Mako.

"Diamond Deng is dead," said Chan, his gaze fixed firmly on the wall behind me. "Witnesses report you had a disagreement with him yesterday afternoon." He finally met my eyes. "You'll have to come with us, please."

*

It was just a formality, I had told Asami. The police needed to send the message that they didn't hold themselves above the law. If word got out that I had been a suspect, however unlikely, in a murder, it would look like they were giving special treatment to one of their own.

Sure enough, there were reporters waiting at headquarters, and no doubt the evening papers would carry photographs of me being escorted in. I could live with the embarrassment if I got some answers in exchange.

So far, none were forthcoming. I had been left alone in an interrogation room, metal all around me. Only the knowledge that someone would be watching through the two-way mirror kept me from pacing.

It wasn't just the media who were being sent a message, I realised. I had never thought of myself as being above the law, not even when I resigned to find my officers, but apparently I had given that impression.

I sat very still and tried to cultivate an appearance of endless patience.

At least an hour passed before the door was thrown open and Detective Chan walked in, a folder in his hand. Mako, at his side, had at least stopped looking like a guilty schoolboy. I decided to take that as a good sign.

"So what happened to Deng?" I asked.

In reply, Chan opened his folder and handed me a set of crime scene photos. I looked through them in silence, familiarity overcoming revulsion. I had seen all this before.

"Brother Ping," I said.

"Without doubt."

Brother Ping was an enforcer for the Triple Threats. He was a sloppy, self-taught earthbender, but he had one good trick: creating small, sharp projectiles and bending them with such speed and force that they penetrated his victims' skin.

Deng had died in an alley, a score of rockshot injuries to his chest. None had killed him instantly, although he must have been in astonishing pain in his final moments. It was the shot to the head that had ended his life.

"Did you hire Brother Ping to kill Deng?" Chan asked.

"No."

"Did you tell your assistant to hire Brother Ping?"

"No."

"Tell me about your movements yesterday."

I outlined my day, from sending Asami out to investigate boarding houses to my impulsive decision to confront Deng.

"He lied to me," I said. "He wasted my time. I was angry."

"When had he lied to you?" Chan asked, so I had to go back and explain our earlier encounter. This meant sharing Megumi's case with Mako, but Lady Yumiko's need for secrecy was a secondary concern by now.

"Where did you go after Deng's?"

"I took a cab to Future Industries."

Chan scribbled cab driver on his notebook. "Who saw you there?"

"One of the Avatar's former bodyguards. I think her name's Rina. A waterbender named Iluk. Councilman Liu."

"How long were you at the factory?"

"I'm not sure. It was late afternoon when we left. Councilman Liu took me out through one of Sato's old tunnels. We went to my house."

"Where you stayed all night?"

"Yes."

Chan looked like he'd rather die than ask the next question, but he gritted his teeth and asked, "Can anyone vouch for that?"

"Councilman Liu."

"Thank you." He added Liu's name to his notes.

"Where's Brother Ping?" I asked.

"Lying low," said Mako. "His mother says he's been in Ba Sing Se for the last month."

"She was obviously lying for him," said Chan.

"I don't think so. I've known Ping Cho half my life. She ... doesn't ask many questions."

They debated the relative trustworthiness of crime family matriarchs while I looked at the crime scene photos again. Deng was sprawled over the stones, his blood sprayed across the walls. It disfigured a poster advertising a performance ("One night only!") by a dance troupe from Kyoshi Island. I recognised the setting. It was only a block from Deng's casino.

Like you, she has a knack for appearing when and where she's least wanted.

Had Megumi hired Brother Ping? Had him murdered only hours after he told me about her blackmailing operation?

It seemed unlikely. But he employed so many people in his various businesses. They couldn't all be loyal. Deng had held power for so long that to kill him would be to upset a delicate balance in Republic City's criminal underworld -- but the rise of a new, powerful figure might be enough to make that tempting.

"Lin?"

I looked up, realising that Chan and Mako had fallen silent -- when? They both watched me.

"What are you thinking?" Chan asked.

"That Deng can't threaten me anymore."

"Asami said you were quitting. Have you changed your mind?" Mako asked.

"I don't know."

I looked down at the photos so they wouldn't see that I was lying. I couldn't walk away now, not with a man lying dead on the streets of my city. I had let my wariness -- no, fear -- of Deng put me off. If I hadn't wasted time being scared and cautious, he might still be alive. He might have one day faced justice for his crimes.

"I hope I don't have to warn you against taking justice into your own hands," said Chan. "Or putting yourself in harm's way."

"I won't interfere with the police investigation. You know that."

"I do." Chan closed his notebook. "But the missing girl isn't a police matter."

"No," I said. "No, it's not."

*

"Lin." Asami got to her feet as I entered the foyer. "You're not under arrest?"

"I told you. They just had to make a point."

"There are reporters outside."

"Fine."

We stepped out into the bright sunlight and the noise of the reporters. Did I feel I had been treated unfairly? Who did I think had killed notorious crime boss Diamond Deng? Was it true that Councilman Liu had provided an alibi? Seeing Asami at my side, one journalist shouted, "Miss Sato! How do you feel about your factory's re-opening tomorrow?"

She froze for a second, then recovered herself. "I'm very happy that people will be back at work. It wasn't fair to put law-abiding factory people out of a job just because my father is a -- a criminal."

I saw her falter, but before I could lead her away, the crowd parted to make way for Liu.

"Thank you," he said to Asami, loudly enough for the reporters to hear. "Your support for the project has been invaluable."

Asami's smile was bright and artificial as she said, "And, of course, I'll be at the re-opening ceremony tomorrow."

Liu took my hand -- more camera clicks -- and led us through the crowd to a car that bore Council livery. He waved the driver to stay in his seat and opened the rear door for us himself. I slipped in first, trying to ignore the cameras.

"Go," he said, and the driver took off. "Home? Your office?"

"Office," I said. "Thank you."

"It was nothing. Detective Chan called, said you might need a quick getaway." He glanced at Asami. "I appreciate what you said, though. That was quick."

"It was nothing."

"You heard about Deng?" I asked quietly.

"I did."

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." More gently, he added, "Thank you. Are you okay?"

"I'm good."

He squeezed my hand.

Arriving at the office, I said, "Do you want to come up?"

"No. I have a lot to do."

He kissed my cheek, and I climbed out and watched the car pull away.

"What's on your mind?" Asami asked as we ascended the stairs.

"What did you learn yesterday?"

"Nothing simple or easy. Does this mean you're not quitting?"

"Who said anything about quitting?" I unlocked the door and threw it open. The cat, curled up on Asami's desk, opened one eye, decided we were permitted, and went back to sleep. "Someone had Deng killed."

"Megumi?"

"I have no evidence. Just a feeling." I sat down behind my desk. "How'd you make out yesterday?"

"I told you, nothing helpful." Asami retrieved her notebook and took a seat opposite me. "No one at the boarding houses knew her, but some people thought they recognised her face. But when I asked where, they couldn't give me an answer. They had just 'seen her around', that's all."

"These people, where did they work?"

"One guy worked at Varrick Global Industries. He thought she looked like one of the secretaries there. A kid thought he'd seen her waiting for a train, but then he said she might have been older, or had different hair. A dock worker said she caught a girl who looked like Megumi trespassing, but she said the girl might have been younger."

"Megumi's only twenty. If she changed her hair and make-up--"

"I thought of that. But isn't it more likely people are just telling us what they think we want to hear? The memory cheats, Beifong, you told me that."

"I did. It does."

"We should go back to Sanctity. Find out how many other gangsters danced with Megumi."

"You think she was collecting allies?"

Asami shrugged. "I'm not saying she is staging a takeover of Republic City's underworld. But that's how I'd start, if I were her."

"I'm glad you're on my side, Sato."

"You should be."

*

Sanctity didn't open until the sun went down, but staff were onsite from the afternoon, cleaning last night's mess and preparing for the coming night's trade. A couple of taxi dancers sat at a table, already in their evening dresses and make-up, playing cards. I glanced at Asami. She nodded, and went to join them.

I went in search of Pockmarked Huang. Huang liked to keep an office above his nightclubs, the better to keep an eye on his staff as he counted the night's takings. In Sanctity's current location, the office was located on a mezzanine overlooking the club floor. I knocked, but there was no answer.

"He's not here."

Mrs Huang leaned against the wall, a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. She was about my age, but her hair was dyed black.

"You hear about Deng?" she asked. "Yeah, course you did. Heard on the wireless you was arrested for it."

"Questioned."

"Hmph." She took a long drag of her cigarette. "Huang took off soon as he heard the news. Off to pick over the corpse, I bet."

"Did you know him? Deng?"

"Know him? Sure, I worked for him back in the day." She exhaled in a cloud of smoke. "Fucking hated the man. Grew up together. Well, he was older, but, you know. I was there." Her gaze was distant, troubled. "You know why I married a second-rate hustler like Huang? 'Cos as long as he's got his clubs, got a small piece of the action, he's happy. Deng, now, he wanted the whole damn pie."

"Who do you think killed him?" I asked.

"Not you." Her gaze was contemptuous. "Probably no one big. Just some smallfry who'd had enough. Tell you what, though," she gave me a quick, sly smile, "if you find 'em, tell 'em they can always drink for free here."

She went to walk past me, but I stopped her.

"You grew up with Deng. You know Liu?"

"Oh, sure. Heard you two were shacking up." She shrugged. "Never thought he'd make much of himself. Little Liu, running after Deng, getting punched down. Changing sides when he gets sick of it. Not a bad guy. But I wouldn't rely on him."

"You know, Deng told me the same thing."

"Well, that's Deng for you. Always thinking of others. Can I go? I've got a business to run."

"Don't let me keep you," I said. But I stayed where I was for a few minutes, alone, thinking.

*

"They knew Megumi," said Asami as we walked to the streetcar, "but they didn't like her. Shǔi said she was a snob."

"Fits with what we know."

"Jade said she was a thief. She stole their regular clients. But most of them were just small-time crooks. Nothing like Deng. Except," Asami gave me a sidelong look, "Megumi danced with Liu sometimes."

"Funny," I said lightly. "You'd think he'd have remembered."

"I do." I could feel Asami watching me out of the corner of her eye. "I'm also wondering how much time he spent at Sanctity."

"Let it go, Sato."

She stopped. "Seriously?"

"Just let it go." I buried my hands in the deep pockets of my coat. "Actually, you go on without me. I need to make a couple of visits."

*

Late that night, I phoned Tenzin.

"Do you consider me naive?"

"What? I mean, good evening, Lin. I beg your pardon?"

"Do you consider me naive? Do you trust my judgment?"

"Of course." He hesitated. "I know we often disagreed professionally, but I've always respected your opinions."

"'Beifong's professional judgment is impaired when her personal life intersects with work.'"

"I'm sorry?"

"Chief Wa put a note in my file after ... you know. That's what he thought of me."

"It was a difficult time. Your mother was dying, we broke up--"

"I know," I snapped. "I was there."

Tenzin waited.

"I'm not proud of my actions then," I said. "But I've always worked very hard to keep my personal opinions separate from work."

"Even with Korra? I sometimes thought, with me as her mentor--"

"Oh, get over yourself. It had nothing to do with you. The last thing I needed was a kid running around, tearing the city apart while she played vigilante."

"I see."

"Not everything is about you, Tenzin."

"What is this about, Lin?"

I sighed. I was sitting in the dark, clutching the telephone to my chest like a lifeline, trying to separate instinct from anxiety.

"I think we've misjudged Liu," I said.

I waited for Tenzin to tell me I was paranoid, but he merely said, "Why?"

For the second time that day, I outlined everything that had happened since Lady Yumiko had entered my office. Meeting Liu. His account of his shared childhood with Deng. Deng and Mrs Huang's remarks.

Finally, reluctantly, I told him what Liu had said about the offer Amon made to me the night I lost my bending.

"I didn't know you were given a choice," Tenzin said.

"If you can call it that." I wrapped my fingers around the mouthpiece. "I checked the newspaper archives this evening. The story was never reported. The journalists I cornered hadn't heard it."

"Well, they have now."

"Tenzin, the only way he could have heard that was from an Equalist."

"Lin, we knew Liu had Equalist connections. In a way, they make him a better Councillor." When I said nothing, he added, "We can't suspect a Council member simply because he has undesirable acquaintances. Why, Raiko socialises with Varrick."

"You think I'm over-reacting."

"I think you're under a lot of strain."

I sighed. "Don't patronise me, Tenzin."

"I'm not! I--"

I slammed the earpiece into its cradle with more force than necessary.

*

I knew from the moment we arrived at Future Industries that I had made a mistake. The factory grounds were teeming with people, VIPs mingling with factory workers. I wouldn't get a moment with Liu, let alone the time for a confrontation.

Despite the apparent chaos, there were Council workers directing people to their places. Asami was guided to a seat in the front -- she gave me a cynical look as she was led away -- while I was relegated to a seat towards the back. Tenzin caught my eye as he and Pema were led past. He gave me a worried look, but one advantage of the crowd was that we couldn't speak.

A small stage had been erected at the front, before the heavy metal doors to the factory floor. The Republic City Council were to sit here, the urban and rural representatives to the left, the representatives of the nations to the right. Councillor Ming looked tired and pale. She had to take Tenzin's arm to ascend the stairs. When all was in place, the senior Council clerk struck a gong, and the crowd fell silent.

Liu stood up, walked to the microphone and bowed. Then he began to speak.

I didn't hear a word. I was too intent on his face, the shadows thrown by his scars, the silver in his hair. I wished that I would walk away, forget this and him forever.

If wishes were ostrich-horses. I was done running away. I'd wait as long as it took to get him alone. Confront him about Deng, the Equalists, Megumi. Then I could leave, and devote myself to the search for Megumi with a clear head.

The crowd was applauding, the factory workers punctuating it with cheers and whistles. Liu bowed, smiling, and sat down. The Councillor for the Earth Kingdom stood up to declare Future Industries officially in business, but it hardly seemed necessary.

"Sweet, huh?" As the crowd began to break up, a woman had appeared by my side. It took me a moment to recognise Professor Qing Luen. "I can feel my teeth rotting. Everyone's just so damn grateful for the opportunity to enrich the city. Pretty sure my invitation was meant as an insult. You find Megumi yet?"

"No."

"Pity. She was so young. They seem younger every year."

"I find it's the same with police officers," I admitted.

"Are we getting old?"

The crowd was breaking up. As the workers streamed into the factory, one man caught my eye. He was of average height, but enormously wide, and though he smiled at his companion's remarks, his eyes were watchful.

Brother Ping.

"You okay, Beifong?"

"You know my assistant? Asami Sato?"

"I think so."

"Tell her I found the brother. She'll know what I mean."

"What are you doing?" she called, but I was already walking away.

My coat was grey, almost the same shade as the coveralls worn by the factory staff. I slipped into a group of women heading the same way as Ping, hoping he wouldn't see me. We went into the factory itself. The assembly lines were already in operation, albeit with a skeleton crew. Workers posed at their stations for photographs. A journalist called out to the group I was with, and I had to duck behind a pillar to avoid notice. When I emerged a moment later, Brother Ping was gone.

I was struck by the sheer size of the factory. Last time I'd been on the floor, I was with Korra and Tenzin and a squad of officers, searching for Equalist contraband. Now I was alone, seeking one man in a crowd, and the task felt impossible.

Liu's office was in the main administrative building, connected to the factory by a series of walkways. If I went there now, I could let myself in and wait for him. Maybe he could give me an answer as to why a known criminal -- a fugitive -- was working here.

The factory's upper floor was a wide mezzanine level, Hiroshi Sato having had the same tastes as Pockmarked Huang when it came to supervising his staff. I looked up at the windows overlooking the factory floor, and a memory stirred to life.

Dad practically lived at the factory when he was first starting out. He had a little apartment built on the second floor, so he could wake up and look out over the assembly lines.

Most of the rooms upstairs looked like offices. But then, one could hardly advertise that one was sleeping at the factory, waking up early to watch the staff at work.

Megumi had travelled out to this neighbourhood. She -- or someone very like her -- had been seen in the district, but there was no trace of her residence.

The factory had a hidden exit.

I was heading for the nearest staircase when Asami called, "Beifong!"

"Quiet," I snapped, and told her what had happened. What I thought.

Asami took it all in, then said, "Dad's rooms aren't accessible from here. Come with me."

She led me downstairs, into her father's maze. Up a different flight of stairs, through a corridor, and then we came to an intersection.

"I know where we are," I said. "Liu's office is down that hall."

"And Dad's apartment is down this one."

Liu had hesitated here. For a second, he had considered bringing me to the apartment.

To Megumi?

Quietly we made our way down the corridor. From outside, the apartment looked like any other office. The door was locked.

"Don't suppose you've got keys?" I asked.

"Don't suppose you can pick a lock?"

I could.

"Remind me to teach you," I muttered, my voice muffled by the steel pick I was holding between my teeth. If I could metalbend, it would have taken seconds. It took me seven long, aching minutes, each movement marked by the expectation that Megumi would hear us and throw open the door. By the time the final tumbler fell into place, my shoulders had become tight and painful. Asami was holding her breath.

The apartment was empty.

Asami exhaled and started laughing.

"Quiet," I said.

It was a tiny space, just a room with a desk, a small couch and a futon chest. At first glance it looked uninhabited. I ran my hand over the desk.

There was no dust.

I knelt and opened the chest. The futon inside looked new, as did the blankets beneath it.

Beneath the blankets were newspapers, an evening edition and two morning papers. I unfolded the evening addition of the Yuan News and saw my own face. GANGSTERS ACCUSE EX-POLICE CHIEF OF TRIAD MURDER.

"This is from yesterday," I said.

"These are today's papers."

I swallowed.

"Go downstairs," I told Asami. "Go to the most senior police officer you can find, and tell them that Brother Ping is disguised as a factory worker. If they don't believe you, call HQ and tell Mako."

"And what will you be doing?"

I looked up at her. "I'm going to find Liu."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but I shook my head.

"Be careful," she said, and slipped away.

I put everything back as it had been found and closed the door behind me. But I had no sooner taken a step before something slammed into me, knocking me off my feet.

Stone. Stone binding my hands and feet.

"Always wanted to see how you'd like it." I was rolled onto my back and saw Brother Ping looking down at me. "Not feeling so tough now, hey, Chief?"

He picked me up, almost yanking my arms out of their sockets. The bonds on my ankles loosened just enough to allow me to walk.

"You keep nice and quiet," he said. "We're going to see the boss."

*

He brought me downstairs, back to the tunnel I had travelled through with Liu. The halls were empty. Ping's hand was a heavy weight on the back of my neck.

"You make a fuss, I break your spine," he said. I thought of a series of unsolved Triad murders, and believed him.

We reached a platinum door. Ping fumbled in his pocket, searching for the keys while his left hand stayed on my neck. I thought of running. Thought better of it.

Too late now. The door was open, and Brother Ping ushered me through.

We entered a small chamber partially illuminated by bare bulbs. A yellowed world map was pinned to a wall. On the opposite side of the room was a desk, and on the desk sat Liu, looking bleak. Ping locked the door behind him and took up position in front of it. He released the shackles at my hands and feet, giving me a smirk to say, I know you're powerless.

As evenly as I could manage, I said to Liu, "I think we need to talk."

"Lin, I--"

"If you're about to tell me you can explain--"

A shadow of a smile crossed his face.

"It's complicated," he said.

"Isn't it always?"

"What have you figured out?"

"You knew Megumi."

"Slightly."

"Well enough that she could blackmail you."

Liu nodded.

"Because you were an Equalist for a hell of a lot longer than you admit. And you weren't just a rank and file member." I hesitated, but I knew I couldn't stop at half the truth. "You were there when I lost my bending."

"Yes," he said. "I was."

"And ... Megumi?"

"She got mixed up in a street fight near her apartment. I captured her and brought her to Amon."

"So now you know."

Megumi emerged from the shadows.

She was tall -- almost my height -- and very pretty, but she had lost weight since the photographs I'd seen had been taken. Her cheekbones were more prominent. Her hair had been cut, too, into a short bob that curled around her ears. She wore a grey Future Industries coverall that was slightly too big for her.

She stood with her hands behind her back, like a school girl. She was terribly young.

"It's nice to finally meet you," she said. "The great Lin Beifong."

"Good morning, Megumi," I said. "Is this your revenge?"

"Justice," she corrected me.

"What did you have over Deng?"

Megumi smiled. "It's silly, really. He moved his widowed mother to an estate in the country. She's a nice lady, very kind. I played pai sho with her once."

"You threatened her."

"The only thing he really cared about."

"Why?"

"Isn't it enough that he exploited the needy and profited from their suffering?" Megumi's grey eyes were wide. "It wasn't personal. He was a cancer on Republic City. He needed to be cut out."

"So you could take his place," I said.

"What?" Megumi looked disconcerted. "No, that's what Deng assumed, because he thought everyone saw the world the way he did. He was a predator. I hope to become a more benign force."

"Megumi has political ambitions," Liu said quietly.

"The Republic City Council is just a different breed of criminal institution," said Megumi. "I plan to reform from within."

I said, "Professor Qing would be proud."

"Do you think so?" Doubt mixed with hope. "She thinks change has to come from the people. She doesn't believe anyone of my class could be sincere about wanting to better the system."

"I can't say I blame her," said Liu.

"I lived in Dragon Flats," Megumi snapped. "I've seen what it's like to live from week to week, selling your belongings or taking loans from sharks because your family needs food. Being so disregarded, you're just ripe for exploitation by people like Amon, because you know the world is unfair, and they seem to give you a reason for it."

"I believe you," I said. "I know you care about people who have nothing. I saw your apartment. And your cat."

Megumi's face lit up. "Yanwu? He's all right? You took him in?"

"I did."

Sheepishly, Megumi said, "He bites."

"We know." Feeling braver, I moved across the room to lean against the desk. Liu reached for me, then stopped. I ignored him and said to Megumi, "You must have left in a hurry, to abandon him."

"I knew my mother was coming. I thought she'd let him out."

"Why did you leave?"

"Mother. Everything was coming together, and she would have taken me home." Her gaze turned inward. "I didn't want her to know I lost my bending. I wasn't ready."

"Yes," I said. "I understand."

"I know I should be used to it by now--"

"But sometimes it feels so close--"

"Like ashes that are still warm." Megumi shivered. "I'm cold all the time."

"The earth is too quiet," I said.

"Yes." Megumi looked lost and sad. "You understand why I have to do this."

"A little." I turned to Liu. "It was your daughter, wasn't it? The reason you left the Equalists?"

"Yeah."

"You were there when she was caught."

Liu looked away.

"You were right," he said. "I was one of the most senior Equalists. Not because I believed wholeheartedly in Amon, but I thought something good would come of the revolution. I wanted to be part of that.

"I didn't care that you lost your bending. It was a shame, but you were a dangerous enemy. I didn't know you. I didn't know what it meant for you. But I admired your courage. No one else had been so brave."

"And Megumi?"

"She was a strong bender. No soldier, but dangerous. We had to knock her out to take her in. Even with her chi blocked, she kept fighting."

Megumi smiled. "My royal great-aunt believed we should all learn to fight without bending."

"You didn't need to lose your bending," said Liu. "One of us recognised you as Fire Nation nobility. We wanted to keep you as a hostage."

"Am I supposed to be grateful?" she asked. Liu shrugged.

"It made no difference. Amon insisted on cleansing you. He was also determined to take the bending of Tenzin's children. There was ... dissent. People began to desert."

"But not you," I said.

"I still thought the revolution could be salvaged." He was far away. "On the third day, my daughter was captured."

"And you finally had your change of heart," said Megumi.

"I'm not proud of it."

"Good."

"And in many ways, the revolution was a catalyst for positive change. Before Amon, no one would have dreamed of opening the Council to native-born residents."

"And that helps you sleep at night?" I asked.

"You know how I sleep."

"As easily as you lie." I looked over at Brother Ping, then back at Liu. "Tell me," I said, "did you have Deng killed?"

"What do you think?"

"I know one of you did it. When you left me the other day, was it to tell her what Deng had done?"

"Yes," Liu admitted.

"You -- the two of you -- realised he was becoming desperate. It was just a matter of time until he betrayed you, Liu."

"I did realise that."

"He was already dropping hints to me. Not that I listened."

"I didn't have him killed, Lin. I promise you that."

I smiled bleakly. "More lies?"

"What's the point?" He looked past me, at Megumi. "I'm not leaving here alive. I've done things I'm not proud of, and yes, I favoured pragmatism over my conscience until the revolution threatened my family But I didn't kill Deng."

"Just think," I said quietly, "if you hadn't taken my bending, I'd know whether or not to believe you."

"What do your instincts say?"

"That you'll say anything to salvage your reputation."

"I'm sick of lying to you."

"Good."

"I love you."

I closed my eyes.

"Lin--"

I took his hand in mine. It was clammy. My fingers found his pulse. His heart-rate was elevated, but the signs that would let me distinguish between lies and fear were too subtle for mere hands to recognise.

"Liu," I said, leaning closer. I whispered in his ear, "Ping first."

He nodded. I released my grip and stepped back.

"Now," I said.

We moved as one, my leg sweeping out to knock Megumi off her feet as we threw ourselves at Ping. He was taken by surprise, and by the time he had raised a defensive rock wall, I was already standing on it. I rose with the stone, crouching to keep from bashing my head against the ceiling. Balance? That was second nature.

He increased the speed of the wall, attempting to throw me off or crush me, but all I had to do was jump. I launched myself at him, pulling him down with me, and that was when Liu took advantage of his distraction to kick him in the knees.

There was no form here, no style or discipline. Ping and Liu were self-taught streetfighters, and although I had once mastered three forms of earthbending, I wasn't much better. And Ping was bigger than both of us; no sooner had we pinned his legs than his arms got free. Liu tried to block his chi, but Ping evaded him.

It was absurd. It was hopeless.

One bolt of electricity, and I was suddenly lying on my back, looking up at Megumi. She deactivated the shock glove, pushed her hair out of her face and smiled at me.

I thought of the way she kept her hands behind her back. Like a little girl.

"Ping," she called over her shoulder, "end this."

The sound of stone projectiles embedding themselves in flesh. Liu gasped. I closed my eyes.

"What about Beifong?" Ping asked.

I opened my eyes. If I had to die, I wanted to see it coming.

"I want her alive," said Megumi.

"She's a witness."

"Hardly credible anymore."

"Suit yourself."

Pain rocked my body. For a second, my entire being was on fire with it, and then I passed beyond pain into a profound numbness. Ping looked down at me and shrugged, walking away. Megumi lingered for a moment. She looked like she wanted to say something, but then she just shook her head and walked off.

Slowly, I became aware of my body again. My fists were clenched. I was dizzy. My leg ... I tried to sit up. I caught a glimpse of blood pouring out from what had once been my left knee. Then I fell back again.

Someone was struggling to breathe. Liu. Nearby.

I rolled over onto my stomach, almost blacking out from the pain in my leg. I concentrated on my hands, planted flat on the stone floor. Dirt under my torn nails. Bleeding from a scrape. Strong hands. I was strong, I told myself. This would be easy.

I got myself up on my elbows and dragged myself forward. My leg was in agony. Fine. I bundled all that pain up and pushed it down. Let it fester.

"Liu."

I was sweating and shaking by the time I reached him. His eyes were unfocused. Blood bubbled from his mouth.

"Lin."

He reached for me, his hand finding mine.

I closed my eyes as he died.

*

Someone was shouting. Asami?

"Down here! They're down here! We need a healer. Hurry!"

I heard Mako swear. I know, I wanted to say, it's an ugly scene. I'm sorry.

I couldn't speak.

"Hang on."

I opened my eyes. Asami was kneeling over me.

"Just a bit longer," she said.

I heard Tenzin's voice, and Chan's, and then there were strangers all around me. Water wrapped itself around my leg, drawing the pain away. Then I blacked out again.

*

The first thing I heard was Bumi's voice saying, "Go home, Tenzin. I'll sit with her for a while."

The brothers bickered quietly, and I lay still, not quite awake but no longer unconscious. I heard a chair creak as Bumi sat down.

"Well, Lin-Lin," he said quietly, "you just take your time."

I tried to move, to open my eyes and tell him I was fine, but I had no energy at all. The sound of Bumi's voice echoed as my awareness faded again.

*

Next time I woke up, it was to find Asami dozing in the chair beside my bed, the newspaper slowly slipping from her hands to the floor.

"Sato?" I said, but my mouth was so dry, I could barely squeak. Still, she stirred, opening her eyes and looking at me. She froze for a second, her face lighting up, then ran to alert a nurse.

I lay back, wishing she had stayed. I had so many questions, but my brain was so foggy, I could barely remember what they were. I craned my head, trying to read the headlines on Asami's newspaper, but the angle was all wrong.

A nurse appeared, followed by a healer and two physicians. Only the nurse spoke to me, and she just wanted to ask questions, not answer them. I saw Asami appear at the door, but she was chased away by an irritable healer.

The nurse brought me a bowl of lukewarm soup. I could only drink half of it before I fell asleep again.

*

When I woke up, it was Tenzin in the chair. There were deep circles under his eyes.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"I don't know." I was vaguely aware that my mind was attached to a body, and that there was pain somewhere, but it was very far away. There was a more urgent issue, if only I could remember… "Liu," I said.

"He's dead, Lin."

"I know." Memory was flooding back. I closed my eyes. "Megumi?"

Tenzin's lips thinned. "She's fine. She's with her family."

"Oh."

Yumiko would be happy. Perhaps I could delegate Iroh to tell the Fire Lord that her young relative was a murderess.

"Brother Ping is missing," Tenzin went on. "He and his mother have left town." He reached for my hand. "You haven't asked about your leg," he said.

"Tell me."

"The healers managed to save it. But they say the damage is considerable." Taking my silence for unhappiness, he added, "I could get my mother to come. She might be able to--"

"It doesn't matter."

"I'm sorry. I was told not to upset you."

"I think I'd like to be left alone, Tenzin."

"I understand."

He kissed my cheek and walked away, closing the door behind him. It was five minutes before the nurses came -- two, this time, and only one physician -- and by then, I had my feelings under control.

I was angry. It was a detached kind of rage, muffled by the morphine in my blood, but it was the strongest emotion I was capable of feeling. How dare Liu sleep with me, gain my trust, earn my respect, all the while lying about the part he had played in my unbending. How dare Megumi order his execution before I even had a chance to confront him properly.

It was selfish and indulgent, but I couldn't think of anything else. I nursed my rage, circling around all the signs I had ignored and the moments Liu could have -- should have -- taken his chances and risked a confession. I might have forgiven him, I thought, if I'd been given the chance.

That turned my mind to Megumi, alive and well, returned to the bosom of her family. What had she told them?

When the evening nurse brought my dinner, I asked for a newspaper, or better yet, a radio. She laughed and said, "Not quite yet. The healers say you shouldn't worry yourself about anything yet."

So I ate in silence and fell into a fractured sleep, dreaming about kneeling in the mud before Amon, his Lieutenant and Equalists watching as I fell.

The next morning, the physician came to examine my leg, and I got my first look at the injury.

"The healers did their best with the broken bones," she said, pointing to the misshapen lumps around what had previously been my kneecap, "but so many fragments were lost in the tissue, we had to reinforce the joint with pins."

"Pins," I said. "Metal?"

"Yes, it's quite a new technique, but--"

Metal in my body, and I couldn't feel a thing. I ran my hand over the scars they had left. I wanted to cry or throw up or both.

I swallowed and said, "Can I walk?"

"Maybe another day."

She met my eyes, then looked away quickly. Too late: I already knew she doubted whether I'd be able to walk again.

Anger welled up, and I swallowed it down.

As she was leaving, I said, "Can I have a newspaper?"

I saw her hesitate, but she said, "Yes, of course."

Half an hour later, a nurse arrived with the day's papers. Megumi smiled radiantly from the front page of the Republic Daily News.

Royal Heiress To Take Seat On Council? the headline asked. The article itself was more sober, an assessment of the likelihood of Ming stepping down and Megumi taking her place.

"Ironically, my time as a prisoner of Councilman Liu and Diamond Deng taught me more about the needs of Republic City than any university course," Megumi told reporters at a press conference yesterday afternoon. "If the opportunity arose, I'd be honoured to serve the United Republic."

The Fire Nation government has not offered an opinion about Councilwoman Ming's replacement. A spokesman for the palace said that such appointments were entirely in the hands of Republic City's government.

"So now you know." Asami leaned against the doorframe, a bundle of newspapers in her arms. "I wanted to tell you myself."

"And people are buying this story?"

"Why not? Beautiful girls, corrupt politicians, crime lords. People eat it up. I hear Varrick wants to make a mover about Megumi." Asami sounded bitter. "The police have been going through Deng and Liu's papers. Liu hired Brother Ping two months ago. And paid for his accommodation near the factory."

"Could be--"

"Forged, yeah, I know. But it looks like a lot of Deng's people were employed at the factory. Remember the young-looking guy who took us to the casino? I ran into him while I was looking for the cops. He had a job in the cafeteria."

I looked up, trying to remember what I had heard Liu saying to Deng on the night we met. You can't control every business in the city…

"Deng wanted a piece of the action," I said.

"Yeah. And Megumi was right there to make sure Liu gave it to him."

I said nothing.

"I'm really sorry, Lin."

"Don't bother, Sato. I'm fine."

Asami glanced at my leg, hidden away beneath bandages and blankets.

"So," I said, "Megumi's playing the victim?"

"She says she recognised Liu as an Equalist and went to confront him. He was scared she'd reveal his secrets, so he had Deng kidnap her. And it was just luck that Brother Ping showed up to have it out with Liu that morning, or he'd have killed her right there."

"And what part do I play in all this? Aside from Liu's stooge?"

"Well," Asami looked uncomfortable, "that's about it, really. Megumi's putting it about that you tried to rescue her, only to find your own lover was the villain."

"Close enough to the truth."

"I -- wasn't going to say that." Asami quickly moved on. "She says Liu had Deng murdered because he threatened you."

"How kind."

"There's no evidence that he didn't."

"No. I know." I lay back, my head spinning.

"I'm sorry," said Asami. "I've upset you."

"It's about time someone told me the truth."

"I wish--"

"I know."

"What's this?" The morning nurse was back, scowling at the newspapers that had appeared in my room. "You're supposed to be resting, Ms Beifong. Visiting hours are over."

"But it's only eleven-thirty!"

"It's fine," I told Asami. "Go. I'll see you later."

They left me alone with my anger.

My morphine dose was reduced that afternoon. The pain was magnified, but only a little, and in the absence of the drug, other emotions started coming back. Self-loathing, that was a good one. Regret. Even grief. I had never really known Liu, but he had presented a facade I had liked and cared about.

I fell asleep after lunch.

*

"You need to let go."

I was walking along a beach. It was cold and overcast, and the wind cut like a knife.

"You need to let go," Aang repeated.

"It's a dream."

"Yes," he said, as gently as if he was instructing a new Acolyte. "Are you scared?"

"I'm not scared of anything."

"Better not let your mom catch you lying like that." Aang reached for me, enveloping me in a hug. "Be brave," he said, and touched my forehead, the chakra point Amon had twisted and destroyed.

I woke up to find my face wet with tears. I lay still, looking up at the ceiling, thinking of Aang's touch. Then, feeling stupid, I reached for the metal bedframe.

Nothing. It was cold.

I laughed.

"Is something funny?"

I sat up so fast I got dizzy.

"Megumi."

"I didn't want to wake you."

She was sitting in the chair beside my bed, neatly dressed in a burgundy suit. Her hair and make-up were perfect. There was a book in her hand. Avatar Aang's History of the Air Nomads.

"I came to apologise," she said. "I didn't know Brother Ping intended to injure you so badly."

I said nothing.

"I suppose there are other things I should apologise for as well. I didn't think my mother would involve anyone outside the family, you see. I had to leave in a hurry when I realised she was coming to see me in person. I thought I had more time."

"But you had a deadline," I said. "You wanted to destroy Liu on the day of the reopening."

"I know it must seem petty to you."

I shrugged. "Criminals have all kinds of reasons for their behaviour. It doesn't make much difference in the end."

"Is that how you see me? A common thug?" Megumi sounded genuinely hurt. "I know I made mistakes, but I assure you, I've thought very carefully about every step I've taken."

I shook my head, wishing I could get up and walk away.

"Listen," said Megumi, "I have an offer for you. Tomorrow, Councilwoman Ming will be naming me as her replacement. Everyone on the Council except Tenzin supports me. But there's one more empty seat."

I looked at her.

"You could take Liu's seat," she said. "You have a good reputation. You're honest. And there's romance, too, with you having been Liu's lover. You'd be incredibly popular."

I was speechless.

"It would be an honour to work with you," Megumi persisted. "I think we have more in common than you realise."

"Get out."

"I'm leaving." Megumi stood up, gathering her handbag and book. She hesitated, then reached into her bag. "This is yours."

She put my ring on the nightstand. My meteor ring. My mother's metal.

"You broke into my house."

"I needed to know who you were."

"Leave."

She paused in the doorway. "Please," she said, "think about my offer."

I did think about it. I sat up into the night, thinking about Megumi's offer, until the night nurse threatened to sedate me.

*

When Bumi arrived the next morning, he found me taking careful steps around my room.

"Look at you!" he said, opening his arms, and I collapsed against him. "The nurses will kick me out if they think I'm letting you push yourself."

"Help me," I said, leaning on his shoulder.

"You need a walking stick? Like an old lady?"

I didn't laugh.

"My knee won't take my weight," I said. "And it's--"

"Painful. I can see that." He helped me into the chair. I was pouring with sweat and I'd barely completed a circle of the room. "You need to give it time."

"Hypocrite. How much time did you take after that elephant koi dislocated both your shoulders?"

"Oh, but I was younger and stupider back then." Bumi sat on my bed, watching as I caught my breath. "You want to talk about it? Liu and … everything?"

"Not yet."

"I hear you've had a job offer."

I looked up. "How did -- Tenzin?"

"Do you want my big brotherly advice?"

"Your advice is always terrible." I sighed. "Okay, what would you do?"

"Run -- or hobble -- as fast as you can and don't look back. Megumi's not your ally, she's definitely not your friend, and she'll have a knife in your back as soon as you look away." Bumi pondered for a second, then added, "Maybe literally. She is Mai's grand-niece."

"That's my instinct," I said. "But how can I just let her take power like this?"

"Trust your instincts, Lin."

*

"I think you'd be an asset to the Council," said Tenzin. "I've always thought so."

We were walking -- slowly -- through the hospital garden. He had appeared that morning with a gift for me: a walking stick, designed along the lines of an Air Nomad's staff. I suspected fraternal collusion, but I wasn't going to complain.

"I'm no good at politics," I said. "I lose my temper and say the wrong thing."

"I've always admired your honesty."

"It's not enough." I sank onto a bench. "Look how Megumi manipulated me. And Tarrlok did the same thing last year. I'm not the right person for this job." I rubbed my knee and added, "And if I have to see Megumi's face every day, I think I'll punch her."

"I wish you'd reconsider."

"No."

"I just -- I hate seeing you like this."

"In pain?" I asked.

"Lost."

I couldn't answer that.

*

When I could complete a circuit of the gardens without a rest, I checked myself out of hospital. Asami came to pick me up; when she arrived, she wasn't alone.

"She's been hanging around the office so much, we might have to start paying her."

"You can't afford me," snapped Anh, lifting my bag.

"Actually, we can," said Asami quietly as we made our way outside. "General Iroh settled the Megumi account yesterday. He paid us … well, a lot. And there's a message for you from the Fire Lord."

"What does she say?"

"No, the seal is Fire Lord Zuko's. I didn't open it."

In fact, Asami had been carrying the little scroll around since it had been delivered. She gave it to me once I was settled at home, with soup on the stove and a threat that she'd be around later that evening to make sure I was comfortable.

Lying on my couch, with a book, the wireless and two newspapers within easy reach, I opened the scroll. It was covered in large, rough characters, the work of a man who had been educated at sea, an old man whose eyesight was now failing.

Lin,

Long ago I made peace with the fact that I couldn't take responsibility for all the sins and crimes of my family. At the time, I was thinking of my ancestors, and my father and sister. Until now, luckily, none of my extended family have caused me any pain.

There's no evidence at this stage against Megumi, and I doubt any will ever come to light. Without proof of her crimes, we cannot stand in the way of the United Republic's decision. As I write this, the choice is not yet final, and I hope Tenzin prevails against her. But I'm not optimistic.

I want you to know that, even without proof, we trust your word. I've known you for your whole life, and I know how firmly you believe in doing what's right. That might be small comfort, in light of your losses and injuries, but I hope it still counts for something. Money is no compensation for what you've experienced, but I hope that, in settling our account, we enable you to continue to serve Republic City.

Zuko

*

Unable to drive, I had to take a cab out to the Earth Kingdom cemetery. My mother was buried here, at the very top of the hill. Too far to walk.

I gave the driver and told him to wait.

It was a long, slow walk to Liu's grave, and when I got there, my injury wouldn't permit me to kneel. I bent awkwardly, fumbling with the matches as I lit the incense.

"I'm still angry," I told the stone.

"Me, too," said a voice behind me. I turned, almost losing my balance, and she had to steady me. Liu's daughter.

"Yunhe," I said.

"You must be Lin Beifong." She looked like her father, the same crooked smile and bright green eyes. She was shorter than me, with cropped black hair and a hint of a double chin. Her pregnancy wasn't yet visible, except for the thickness around her waist.

"Am I intruding?" I asked.

"Not at all. I come here a couple of times a week to tend the grave and tell him off."

"Does it help?"

"Sometimes." She stood beside me, watching the wind carry away the smoke from the joss sticks. "I like to think he would have told me the truth, eventually."

"Someone," I said, "told me he was basically a good man."

"Yeah." Yunhe's eyes were bright. "But weak."

"Before he died, he told me he wanted to use the revolution as a force for good."

"Did you believe him?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"No. That's fair."

Yunhe knelt by her father's grave, her hands resting on the stone.

"Thank you for coming," she said. "I'm glad I got to meet you."

Thus dismissed, I walked away.

*

The cab dropped me off at the office. I paused at the foot of the stairs, gauging its height against the strength of my bad leg.

What the hell. I started to climb.

It took longer than I liked to admit, and I was glad to sink into my chair when I finally reached my office. Asami followed me in, joined by Anh and the cat.

"We've had three jobs while you've been away," said Asami, handing me a set of folders. "Two straying husbands and a lost pet."

"I found the pet," Anh added. "She," she nodded at Asami, "thinks I need to start off small."

"Shouldn't you be in school?" I asked. Anh shrugged.

"All the accounts are paid up," Asami went on, "and with the Fire Lord's money, we're actually doing okay for once."

"Can we afford to move?" I asked. "Maybe to an office on a ground floor?"

"We can afford to buy this whole block."

"Good. Look into it. I--"

I was interrupted by a tentative knock at the outer door. Asami went to answer it while Anh settled herself in a corner with the cat.

"You're going to get a proper education," I warned her.

"Make me."

"What do your -- do you even have parents?"

"Yes."

"Tell them to expect a visit from me."

Asami entered, looking bemused.

"This is Mr Hong," she said. "He has a … triad problem?"

I recognised Mr Hong. He was the leathergoods man, who made the best shoes and belts Liu had ever seen. He took his cap off as he entered my office, and squeezed it absentmindedly as he spoke.

"It's the Triple Threats, ma'am," he said. "I've always paid the protection fees, never a bother, but now they say I gotta pay more. 'Cos of Councilman Liu, they say, he owed them money, and now he's dead, we all gotta pay." Misreading my silence, he added, "I know it's not true, ma'am, about the money, but it's not like they take no for an answer. Not from us, anyhow."

"You want me to … talk to the Triple Threat Triad?" I asked. "You want me to negotiate?"

Mr Hong shrugged. "It's what Councilman Liu did. And he trusted you -- and we all know it's not true, what the papers say, they just hate when a boy from the Dragon Flats comes good. He trusted you," he repeated.

Slowly, I said, "The triads only respond to force. I'm just one woman, Mr Hong."

"Well," he said, "the way I figure, you need leverage, right? So Shady Shin, right, his girlfriend's a florist. Name of Lily, believe it or not. Talk to her, you might find something he needs more than our money. Take it away," he held up his hands, "Shin'll start listening."

"I…"

"Oh, and Mrs Kwan? Over at Lotus Square? She's real worried about her grandson, reckons he's getting in with the Agni Kais. You should go around, talk some sense into the kid."

"I--"

"And Mr Tsui, who runs the Fire Nation restaurant, his suppliers have been shorting him, so he's stopped paying, and someone just needs to sort them all out, 'cos they've all gotta make a living, you know?"

He put his cap back on.

"We're grateful to you, ma'am. Doesn't matter who's on the Council. We know you'll look out for us, just like you stood by Liu."

He left, Asami scurrying after him to show him out. I buried my head in my hands.

"Well?"

Asami was back.

I sat up, taking stock of our situation. Thinking. I had started from scratch once. I could do it again.

Fine.

"Go make friends with Shady Shin's girlfriend," I said. "And stop by a real estate agent, get the ball rolling on finding a new place. Oh, and give yourself a raise, backdate it to when Lady Yumiko walked in."

Anh stood up. "Do I get a raise?"

"Go to school."

"But--"

"You can work afternoons and festival days. For now, find this Mrs Kwan of Lotus Square, and find out if her grandson's really joining the Agni Kais, or if he's just playing with fire. And if you see Skoochy, tell him our lessons resume next week."

Anh vanished, leaving me alone with the cat. He jumped up on my desk, purring.

"I need to call some restaurant suppliers," I told him. "You're not helping."

He rubbed his face against my hand, nibbling it just a little so I didn't make the mistake of thinking he was tame.

"Hard to imagine why anyone would leave you to starve," I said.

Shǔ purred harder. I pushed him off my desk, and he curled up in the corner, watching me through narrowed eyes.

I got to work.



end



Notes

A lot of the names and criminal activities here are drawn from two sources: Shanghai: The Rise and Fall of a Decadent City by Stella Dong, and Razor by Larry Writer, which covers Sydney's underworld wars of the 1920s and '30s. (Razor was adapted into a miniseries, Underbelly: Razor, a few years ago. It's more glamorous and attractive than the real wars, but some of the most implausible plot developments, like the topless prostitute fight, are based in fact.)

Pockmarked Huang was a real gangster in Shanghai, although his actual record was more like Deng's. Deng's nickname came from a distant relative of mine, a country girl who ran away to Sydney to become a flapper, and wound up a gangster's moll known as "Diamond Dolly". Liu's facial scars were common among Sydney criminals in the Jazz Age.

Medical science here is about a couple of decades ahead of the real world, but the existence of water healing makes that at least somewhat plausible. Kneecapping was big with the IRA. I don't advise googling it. There are pictures.

Shǔ the cat is ginger in real life, and it's been months since he put anyone in hospital.

Comments

[alexseanchai]

I really liked this. Megumi's...transformation, if that's the word, was excellently done, as was Lin's adaptation to life with her bending missing.

[lizbee]

Thank you! I think "transformation" is a good word for Megumi -- it didn't occur to me when I was writing, but it really fits. She would always have been ruthless in her pursuit of her goals, but losing her bending radicalised her somewhat.

[tree_and_leaf]

This is marvellous. I really like your take on Lin, and the slow process by which she realises what's going on. And it's very good noir, but with a female protagonist, which is very enjoyable.

I liked Shǔ the cat, too.

(Also, I stupidly forgot to check the wordcount before I started reading and am now incredibly behindhand on my sermon for tomorrow, but can't really say I feel I wastd the time).

[lizbee]

Heh, I did that last week, and almost missed my train because I accidentally opened a really good Hunger Games fic. I'm really glad you liked it, and especially that it works as noir -- because I failed absolutely at capturing the stylistic quirks of noir, and had to settle for throwing some bleakness into the narrative.

[fitzcamel]

I've not seen any LoK, and I really liked this a lot.