“Councilman Tarrlok, sir.”

Xing gave a slight nod as he rose from his desk. “Thanks, Mozi. Lead him in, please.”

Stifling his bubbling curiosity, Mozi went back out of the office to usher the councillor in, and then wheeled in a tray of tea for the two men before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. The secretary then handled the councillor’s retinue, guiding them to the waiting room just to the side, and finally went back to his desk to make sure nobody got too close to eavesdrop.

Doesn’t mean he couldn’t, though.

Mozi barely heard the soft shuffle of papers from behind the door as the muted voices had their exchange.

“-cities are done with, let us not waste further time, director.”

“Gladly, councilman.”

Mozi immediately noted the tension in Tarrlok’s voice, and the firmer tone in Xing’s.

“So, what is the important offer you have for me that you had to threaten me last night?”

“It’s not a threat, councilman, just free advice. Considering the…missteps your party had already taken, simply relaying the aftermath of the Avatar’s challenge to Amon to the reporters without proper vetting would be a great detriment to everyone involved. And Avatar Korra’s reputation is important to the Future Industries group.”

There was a soft tut - probably from Tarrlok. “You might be a rising star, Director Xing, but I don’t need your assistance in this matter. As bad as things might seem, I had it under control. Amon escaping-”

“Councilman.” Mozi blinked in surprise at the sheer contempt in his superior’s voice.

“I am being open and honest, so as to not insult your intelligence or waste your time. I had hoped you would return the favor by doing the same.” A brief but heavy pause followed before Xing spoke again.

“Yesterday could have been an utter disaster. You had airships whose presence was obvious enough for anyone to avoid their detection. The Equalists managed to smuggle in their own electric lights and generators, not to mention at least two scores of their number onto Memorial Island, is proof of that.”

Mozi winced sympathetically at the flat but no less sharp rebuke.

“And until the captured Equalists have been interrogated, you do not even know if they’ve been there before you assigned the airships to the island. No attempt was made to sweep and secure the island before Avatar Korra’s arrival, nor were there any covert observers on it to ensure her safety. Or stop Amon and at least a dozen Equalists from escaping.”

The flatness in Xing’s voice was replaced by dry amusement as he finished. “And to top it off, when it came down to it, it was not your vaunted task force that stopped Amon from potentially removing the Avatar’s bending forever, but Councilman Tenzin, who was publicly known to oppose your task force’s creation. Councilman Tenzin, who, I am told by many, is a man of principle who would not lie or misremember events if asked by the press.”

That all happened last night?

The faint creaking of wood (probably) signalled Xing rising up from his seat.

“So, councilor, pray enlighten me as to how such facts could be spun in your favor if you had gone on to brief the reporters before dawn, so they could proclaim you and your task force’s failure on this morning’s papers? How many reporters would simply accept your words of the Equalists’ perfidy without questioning how unimportant a role your task force played in the events?”

A heavy pause followed, one that held Mozi’s breath until Tarrlok finally replied seconds later.

“I suppose you have an idea, director?” He sounded small, resentful.

Another creaking of wood meant Xing sat back down again (Mozi also made a note to get someone to fix the director’s furniture). “I do. A couple of ideas, in fact. The first: Future Media will provide a list of suggested actions to take, for a…reasonable price. Whether you and your people follow all, some, or none of it, will be up to you.”

“And how much exactly is this ‘reasonable price’ of yours?”

“No more than eight thousand yuans. And the task force will no longer include Avatar Korra in any of its future operations, without unreserved consent from herself, Councilman Tenzin, and me, in that order.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Mozi winced as Tarrlok’s voice came through the door a bit too loudly. He glanced outside, and noted with relief the curious heads in the waiting room turning about but not moving to check on him.

“You have no right to claim control over Korra!”

Xing’s voice hardened dangerously. “Neither do you.”

“Nonsense, she’s publicly joined the task force.”

“And look where that could’ve led, if things were allowed to play out last night. As far as I’m aware you didn’t even attempt to rein her in when she issued that stupid challenge in the first place.”

The quiet that followed was tight with tension, and Mozi himself braced his hands on his chair’s armrests, ready to leap up to enter the office in case things snapped.

“The Equalists are an underground organization that has plagued Republic City for some time now, the scope of its members and resources unknown, its leader an unidentified man hiding behind a mask that has thus far avoided any public appearance. Avatar Korra on the other hand is a public figure, one of huge importance not just to the city, but to the world. Amon’s secretive nature meant that he was never going to face her fairly, and Avatar Korra is too tempting a target for the Equalists’ ideology to not attempt an ambush on.”

Another brief silence, and then it was impossible to miss the implied threat in Xing’s next words. “I will assume that those obvious facts got past you in the excitement of the moment, councilman.”

More silence, and then Tarrlok seemed to force himself to speak through grinding teeth. “Yes…I was…elated in having Korra on board.”

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“Then I suggest you do not repeat that mistake by putting her in the same situation again, councilman. You’ve already got the legitimacy and clout you wanted by recruiting the Avatar. Do not ruin it all by risking her life in pointless gambits. She can make appearances in easy raids every now and then, if you have to keep up appearances.”

The pause that followed this time seemed to be marinated in the humiliation of Councilman Tarrlok. For a moment, Mozi almost marveled at the sadism of his director who had twisted the verbal dagger so cruelly, but then remembered his own family affairs.

For all the highlighting of Tarrlok’s mistakes, Xing’s blackmailing didn’t seem to carry the usual onerous terms the older families tended to favor. There were no calls for Tarrlok to resign in favor of someone else, no onerous ‘gifts’ to be made to Xing, no concessions to be given to Future Media… Not even a request for the claims to choice pieces of land in the United Republic, a staple investment of many Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom families.

Xing might be heavy handed in humiliating Tarrlok, but he was pulling back his slaps with it.

Then Mozi wondered if Tarrlok knew this as well?

Said councilman finally spoke up after an overbearing pause. “You said you had a second offer?”

And again the director answered without missing a beat. “Future Media will assign specialists to directly guide public relations of your task force. You will say and do what we tell you to, when we tell you to. Every appearance and every speech will be carefully crafted to ensure positive reception by your peers, and the public. Nobody in the task force will say or do anything that has not been approved by us. You will consult with us before launching any operations, to allow for suitable preparations for success or failure.”

Mozi’s eyes widened as he heard all of that, and the first thought that came to his mind was: We have specialists?

“Of course, the cost of this service will be a premium.”

Again heavy silence flowed out through the office door, and it took a while longer than before for Tarrlok to reply. Judging by his voice, the councillor was probably gritting his teeth.

“The task force’s resources are limited. I will have to be prudent in my spending and select the former option.”

Mozi could easily imagine Xing giving a curt nod in return. “Then I will have the list sent to you by the end of the day, alongside the invoice.”

“Hmph. I will ensure that you receive your payment in time.”

A soft creak spoiled the tension as Xing got up from his seat. “I appreciate the assurance, councilman.”

“And…thank you for your…advice.”

Mozi did his best to feign obliviousness as the office door finally opened and the two men left it. Tarrlok unsurprisingly looked utterly and impotently displeased. Xing on the other hand seemed stone faced, though the secretary did catch the flicker of satisfaction in his eyes.

“Mozi, kindly see the councilman and his people out.”

“Of course, sir.”

It was only as Xing returned to his office that Mozi heard what he thought was a sigh of relief coming through the closing door. As a dutiful assistant, he made sure not to register the words that followed that sigh.

“Fuck that was satisfying…should’ve done the same to Altaq and Katara…”

*****

“Once more, your assistance has proven invaluable, Hiroshi.”

Hiroshi gave a short nod as he kept a distracted eye on the report before him. “I’m just glad I managed to get you out of that whole mess.”

Despite his near capture, Amon seemed unflappable. “While our read on the Avatar seems to be correct, it appears that we have miscalculated the people supporting her.”

And quite badly too. Through unwitting insiders and innocent social gatherings, even Hiroshi had a good picture of Tarrlok to predict his movements with some accuracy. Based on what they understood of him and his task force’s operations, they could have banked on his political greed and arrogance to capture Korra without issue.

But it seems that even Amon had misjudged Tenzin’s indecisiveness, or factored in Xing’s old loyalties to affect it.

Hiroshi frowned at that last thought. Not only had Xing intervened last night, but as he surfaced the submarine - one of the many designs officially listed as a developmental deadend but are currently being produced for the Equalist cause - Hiroshi spied the unmistakable red hull of Asami’s private boat docked by Memorial Island’s port.

The boy had managed to loan Asami’s boat, the tycoon had initially thought.

But then he made an innocuous call back home, and was horrified as he listened to his daughter proudly and excitedly retelling how Xing came to her seeking permission and assistance in the Avatar being a reckless fool, and how she had come up with the idea to drive Xing over to the island herself.

Asami was so animated describing how Tarrlok’s task force almost sank the boat with their waterbenders, and Hiroshi made a note to make sure that councilman and his flunkeys would pay for almost harming his little girl. She also spoke of Xing shooting across the sea with firebending to follow after Tenzin.

Hiroshi was incensed at the thought of the new director charming Asami into following him, that he’d put her in danger like that. Was he planning to use Asami as a convenient excuse if things went wrong? That he was also responsible for the ambush’s failure further infuriated the industrialist.

Yet despite Xing’s involvement, Amon wasn’t as offended as Hiroshi.

“The young director is more competent than we have thought,” he cooly said instead, without any grudge or disdain. “And clearly he has the favor of your daughter.”

Hiroshi scowled at that reminder. Maybe it was a bad idea nurturing the boy’s talents…

“We could use this to our advantage.”

And the tycoon snapped out of his angry thoughts to blink at the masked Equalist leader. “Use him? But he’s a bender.”

“He’s not the first unwitting bender we have used,” Amon reminded. “Besides, there’s word from Air Temple Island that Director Xing might not be the best bender…”

Hiroshi’s eyes boggled. “But you said yourself he took down at least half a dozen of us!”

Amon nodded too calmly at that. “He did. But not once did he use his firebending. Rumors suggest that Xing’s firebending is…defective, somehow.”

“Defective?” How does bending get defective?

“Indeed. The words were taken straight from the Avatar’s mouth, who was keen to remind people of that fact when he was still serving under her.”

Hiroshi kept silent for a moment, trying to understand what Amon was getting at. He gave the masked leader a pointed look, and received a slight nod in reply.

“We’ve known that - thanks to reliable sources including your daughter - relations between Xing and young Korra were quite poor to start with. Perhaps, as a ‘defective’ bender, he was treated poorly. Perhaps he holds a grudge against her, and maybe even the White Lotus as a whole, for that. It is worth investigating.”

“But Xing intervened last night,” Hiroshi reminded, and once again the mask bobbed down a little.

“He did. But as your daughter herself had said, he did so looking out for your company’s interest first and foremost.”

“Asami could’ve been fooled,” Hiroshi grumbled.

“True,” Amon conceded. “But you yourself have admitted to trusting the boy’s character, however begrudgingly.”

“Only for the ideas that might benefit us.”

Hiroshi could feel the devious smile forming behind Amon’s mask. “And wouldn’t that be better harnessed if Xing joined us instead?”

“Join us?” he balked in response. “Just because he’s a defective bender-”

“Means he might not hold his bending dear to him,” Amon casually interrupted. “Xing will either be a capable enemy, or a capable ally. At this stage, we would have little to lose exploring the latter. If he disdains his ‘broken’ state, then perhaps we might ‘fix’ it for him. Equalize him, and bring him into the fold.”

Hiroshi felt his lips tugging back in a snarl. “Are you suggesting that I use Asami-”

“Not use,” Amon hastily corrected. “Your daughter is too precious to you for such a thing. But we could use her name instead? Tempt the boy, see how far he’d go for her. He has achieved much in his short stay in this city, without resorting to his bending. Encourage that, exacerbate his discontent against the Avatar.”

Well, that sounded…less offensive. But yes, maybe Hiroshi could figure out a few tests for Xing…

“What if he wants to be a proper firebender instead?”

“Then we remove him,” was the simple answer.

Hiroshi hummed in annoyance as he mulled the idea over for a moment.

“If things go well, would it not be good to have your daughter paired with such a competent partner?”

He grimaced at that notion, despite acknowledging for a fact that Asami finding a good, reliable husband was the best thing for her. Better than settling for the likes of Dao’s sons, at the very least.

“Besides, if you still disapprove of Xing by the end of all of this, it’d be easier to dispose of him without his bending.”

Now that was a good point.