“I don’t believe this!”

  Korra’s hands slammed down on the table.

  “Xing can’t be an Equalist! He’s a bender, after all! It’s got to be some sort of ploy.”

  Across her, Tenzin’s face was still scrunched in a perturbed frown, while Tarrlok looked sympathetic.

  “I understand, Korra,” the Northern Water Tribe councilman assuaged. “Believe me, despite my differences with Xing, I’m aghast to hear that he’s an Equalist.”

  Tenzin nodded, his scrunched brows seemingly frozen on his face. “Especially after his aid in rescuing you, Korra.”

  “Exactly! And didn’t the Equalists try to break into Future Entertainment?”

  The airbender let out a sigh. “Indeed. But…the evidence is disturbingly consistent.”

  “And hard to dismiss,” Tarrlok added.

  Korra scowled. Nevermind the confessions from the prisoners - admissions could be made up - but the recent discovery of a cache of Equalist gear in a storeroom in Future Entertainment’s building had kicked up a fuss. The papers were already running wild with the information, which Korra was outraged to learn was how she found out in the first place.

  Why hadn’t Tarrlok or, at the very least, Tenzin told her beforehand?

  Because according to the prisoners’ confessions, Amon was planning something big. Something that could only be done with Xing’s help. An upcoming demonstration for the metalbending police, a front for a devastating ambush.

  Allegedly.

  “It doesn’t make any sense,” the Avatar muttered as she sat back down.

  “Yet we did find the Equalists’ gear,” Tenzin said with reluctant skepticism.

  “And one cannot fully dismiss the connection between the Itiro massacre and their scion’s…meeting with Xing,” Tarrlok added unhelpfully.

  Korra clenched her fists. “Xing is not the type of person to be vengeful like that. He won't hire Equalists to do such a thing.”

  “It is all confusing, and the facts are…murky,” Tarrlok admitted.

  “Why would Xing join them anyway? He’s too…Xing to just-”

  “Up and go?” the water tribesman suddenly cut in with a pointed raise of his eyebrow. “Just as how he left the White Lotus, according to reports?”

  That froze Korra for all of a split second. “That’s…not the same.”

  Right?

  Tarrlok shrugged too casually. “It might not, but it might be.”

  Tenzin cut in with a sigh. “Regardless, we’re still working on speculation. Lin has said that Xing remains highly cooperative, and investigations into Future Entertainment have not turned up any suspects among his staff. We will continue to look into this, Korra.”

  It was all Korra could do to nod her head silently. Raging would be pointless, Tenzin and Tarrlok were not at fault here.

  Amon was.

  But she can’t do anything about it now because she doesn’t know where the masked scumbag was, and Tenzin had expressly forbade her from interfering with the investigations. Which was what Xing was likely to say…though he’d be blunter about the fact, and maybe less inclined to sit around to talk and explain things like Tenzin.

  Korra rose to leave the council’s meeting room, bidding farewell to Tenzin as he headed off to liaise with Lin, but was held back when Tarrlok not too subtly signalled for her to stay.

  “Korra…”

  She gave him a pointed, impatient look. “What?”

  The councilman gave a sympathetic look that felt anything but. “I understand you and Xing go back. You grew up together.”

  “And…?”

  Tarrlok let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping visibly before adopting a more serious and stern expression. “And I’m just trying to help you understand… To prepare you, in case the worst happens. I’ve seen my share of supposedly trusted associates be revealed as Equalist supporters.” He continued, his words flowing too smoothly and stopping her from cutting in. “We all know that Xing left the White Lotus, and that he made a remarkable showing rising up Future Industries.”

  He held up his hands with preemptive placation. “I’m not asking you to assume anything, nor am I accusing him of anything. But could you think of anything, anything at all, that might sour him against Republic City? Could it be possible that Xing and Amon have been putting up a show? I’m asking not to cast doubt, but to find clues. A thread that might lead to the truth.”

  Korra wanted to snort, but her sour parting with Xing back at the arena popped back up, along with other things.

  She recalled his many grumblings while they adventured, mostly harmless… But what if they weren't?

  “Poor Xing,” she remembered Asami saying once.

  Why ‘poor Xing’? What was she missing? What might Xing have told his girlfriend, that he never bothered telling Korra?

  It all clashed horribly with Xing’s stoic demeanor, the Xing who patiently observed and planned. The Xing who had been waiting for her with a ticket for the ship to Republic City despite his clear reluctance. The Xing who shadowed her dutifully (and annoyingly) and quietly butted in to deal with troublesome things like complaining fisherman or overbearing fans.

  And yet…

  And yet Korra could easily imagine Xing easily hopping into the Itiro’s estate by himself. It was hardly as secure as the White Lotus’ compound, after all. If he really wanted to, he didn’t need the Equalists.

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  Could he actually turn a demonstration into a chance to attack Lin and her police? Definitely. He laid traps for unwanted voyeurs, planned out the deviously brutal ambush obstacle course. He orchestrated the Fire Ferrets' overwhelming promotion and the pro-bending tournament’s performances as well, all carefully done to achieve some particular effect or another.

  So yes, Korra could imagine Xing turning his talents towards more destructive ends, if he actually wanted to. But he wasn’t the type to do that. He had a job now, and a snooty girlfriend.

  More importantly, he was a bender. And Equalists hated benders.

  Presently, Korra’s gaze hardened as it met Tarrlok’s. “No,” she answered resolutely, before walking off.

  But Xing’s bending was defective, imperfect. Broken. Could he have preferred not bending at all, to that?

  His job overseeing Future Entertainment didn’t require bending either.

  Korra shook off the doubts gnawing on her mind as she headed back for Air Temple Island. Her faith in Xing remained solid, but the doubts were sprouting like weeds…

  *****

  “While I do appreciate your cooperation, I have to ask…how are you so calm?”

  Lin regarded the director sitting across from her in the interrogation room, whose expression has so far fluctuated between a quiet frown to a polite smile. At most, he gave a wry smirk when he was informed of the Equalist caches found in Future Entertainment.

  Xing shrugged lightly, the manacles binding his wrists clinking softly. “If I rage and protest, it would be taken as me protesting my innocence too much. If I remain calm, I could be seen as a guilty man resigned from being caught. I’m opting for the less…exhaustive path. And hope that Republic City’s legal structure is as robust as it claims to be on paper.”

  The police chief hummed at that. “Your girlfriend has already secured you a lawyer.”

  “But they’re not here yet.”

  Lin couldn’t help but cringe a bit. “Tarrlok’s being jumpy, and he got the council to institute a…vetting process to ensure anyone being involved in this case is not an Equalist.”

  Which, beyond legal counsel, started with an annoying ‘cross investigation’ between the police and his task force, slowing investigations down as all but the most obvious things on either side were being reverified and doubted. Even the waterbending healers in the morgue were being taken aside for an hour or two to have their loyalties ascertained.

  Either Tarrlok was really spooked by the supposed new development with the Equalists, or he was just playing up a strict face for the reporters to win approval points.

  Or both.

  The Satos - more accurately, Asami Sato - had officially protested. For better or worse, the papers didn’t publish her scathing statement, despite them circling around the hoo-ha about Xing and Future Entertainment.

  Probably Tarrlok’s doing.

  Xing’s brows slowly rose. “They can do that?”

  It was Lin’s turn to shrug her shoulders. “From what I understood, there was nothing that said they couldn’t.”

  “I…see.”

  His brows furrowed into a slight frown of concern and calculation. In her mind, Lin made a note to brace her department later for the aftermath once this whole thing was resolved. If…when Xing proved his innocence, the city’s administration would likely have to endure a legal counterattack. For now, all she could do was stick to protocol and hope that the council didn’t start instituting stupider policies.

  Clearing her throat, she gave him a querying look. “Do you want to wait for your lawyer before we proceed further?”

  The wry smirk appeared again, his tone sharp but clearly not directed at her. “And be accused of playing for time or being uncooperative? Please, ask what you have to, Chief Lin.”

  The police chief let out a tired sigh before nodding slowly. “Right. Let’s go over the envelope found in your office again.”

  “Of course. Do we talk about how easy it is to send someone an anonymous message falsely incriminating them of something, or the fact that the envelope was allegedly sent to me on the day you came, and was conveniently on my desk when your teams were doing their investigations?”

  “My men did not-”

  “I did not say or meant to insinuate that the metalbending police planted the evidence, Chief Lin.”

  At that moment, Lin suddenly sympathized with Korra. The smirk on Xing’s face, the tone of his voice, the general air of a man withholding his suspicions… She could see how it could be infuriating. Very infuriating. Tarrlok was slimy, Tenzin was spineless, Xing here was…something on the wrong end of cocksure.

  What sort of shit was he taught in the White Lotus?

  *****

  “You going to be alright?”

  “We’ll be fine, Asami,” Kai drawled with a smile that took some effort.

  Ren added with a smirk in the same flavor. “You asked that yesterday already, and the day before that.”

  Asami smiled, as much to play along with everyone putting on a brave face, as it was because she genuinely admired her two assistants. Hardened by the alleys, and perhaps tempered by their time with her and Xing, the kids were clearly restraining their emotions at news of Xing’s detainment.

  Ren’s eyes twitched occasionally, and Kai broke into a scowl every now and then, but otherwise the young assistants did not lash out or emote beyond the outrage from the first time they found out.

  Instead, Asami saw the calculative looks they exchanged calculative looks as they huddled over the latest news about Xing and Future Entertainment. How they kept to their duties seemingly unruffled, calming and reassuring Asami more than the other way around.

  So much like Xing.

  Shaking away the thought before it could drag her mood down again, Asami glanced beyond her assistants to the house she helped them buy. “You sure you don’t want to stay with me? Or I could move in for a bit…”

  “We’ll be fine, Miss Asami,” Lidai reassured. The old man was perhaps the poorest liar amongst them, radiating concern, confusion, outrage, and more despite the stoic expression he wore. It was comforting in its own way, and Kai and Ren seemed to think so as well judging from how their smiles became more effortless when they were with him.

  “Don’t let us get in your way,” he added. “We’ve lasted this long out on the streets, the three of us can stomach staying in a new house by ourselves.”

  Her assistants nodded along, and none of them voiced their actual thoughts about her father’s directive. For the sake of propriety, he had said. But clearly he just wanted to distance the Sato family name from the adoptive family of Xing’s to keep the investors un-spooked.

  It was all she could do to keep Kai and Ren working for her, and Asami would’ve fought harder, but again it was her assistants who told her that it was fine, that they understood. And the looks in their eyes made it clear that they truly did, though it was heartening when she saw the comfort appearing from the pools of disappointment and resignation being directed at her.

  Regardless of how the real world was trundling downhill, her assistants still trusted her, believed in her.

  She’d have to make sure that the three of them get a sizable compensation after all this is over. At the very least, she’ll get her father to personally apologize to them.

  And Xing, of course.

  The way Future Industries was quickly backpedalling to quarantine Future Entertainment and its director, ready to cut it loose at any moment, was frankly appalling. At least her father was understanding enough to keep the staff paid despite operations being frozen.

  “You-”

  Ren sighed with faux exasperation as she interrupted Asami. “Yes, Asami, we have the number to your house. And your office. And the other sites you might be working in. We’ll call if we need anything. Promise.”

  The heiress smirked faintly at the cheek she was getting. “Fine. I’ll leave you two to your fun. But don’t trouble your Gramps too much, got it?”

  This time it was Kai who rolled his eyes at her. “We won’t…just like we didn’t the past few days you brought it up.”

  In retaliation, Asami lightly pinched their cheeks. “Sometimes, I regret letting Xing train up two brats.”

  “You say that, but without us you and him can’t break beds,” Kai replied without missing a beat.

  “Kai!” Lidai admonished out of secondhand embarrassment, and the kids giggled.

  Asami chuckled as she shook her head, waving away Gramps’ concern. “It’s fine. Anyway, I’ll leave you three to your day. Do let me know if you need anything, alright? I’ll let you know if anything new comes up.”

  She drove off with a small smile, feeling pride at her assistants’ independence and reliability, as well as something warmer at how close knit Xing’s adoptive family was.

  It made it all the more anguishing when she got a call later that evening from the metalbending police describing a ransacked and bloodstained house, its inhabitants missing.