A World Of Grey (Legend of Korra)

Chapter 10

Bolin gave a sigh as he rolled his shoulders, stepping through the doors of the tall building. The crisp evening air greeted him, easing the lines of his frown as it cooled his brow. In his left hand was gripped the handle of a small briefcase. The contents was largely composed of thin sheets of paper, blueprints and designs that required his thorough review and approval. Or disapproval, as the case may be. In fact, he had needed to be more disapproving in the past two months than perhaps his whole life yet. But so it was when one strived for quality as he, and most importantly his employer, did. He lifted a hand to loosen his tie, just a little. He couldn't quite throw all decorum aside just yet, after all.

His gaze rose to the city's skyline as he walked away from the office block at his back, making for the parking lot that clung to its eastern side. Some distance away, black smoke curled lazily and perpetually into the air, evidence of the on-going labour of a workforce left with little other alternative but to help turn the city's wheels and cogs. The thick coils of smoke succumbed to the wind as they rose higher, becoming first wisps of mottled grey against the dimming orange sky and then forgotten amongst the dull, opaque clouds. Those clouds droned through the air, emblazoned with the manner of their ownership as scything propellers enabled their laborious movement.

His jacket felt tight and constricting as he joined the straggle of employees moving along with him towards the parking lot. He would wait until he reached his car before he shed it. A man with what seemed a permanently furrowed brow and a long mouth nodded in his direction when he reached his own vehicle and their eyes met. Bolin smiled politely, and then again when a young woman with her thin brown hair pulled into a short ponytail spoke as he passed by.

"Have a good night!" she bid him heartily. He was just happy she hadn't called him 'Sir'.

Several years of captaincy over the now disbanded Fire Ferrets had certainly helped teach him a thing or two about leadership, but now there was much more at stake than a few thousands yuans of prize money and the ability to boast for a few months about winning a tournament. Now he had to concern himself with the professional reputation of not only himself, but his employer and the name of the company he worked for. The eyes of the city's ardent populace had once been upon him, but back then only fleetingly. Now, a reputation preceded him in an altogether different manner. His name was known by the men and women of the city who held real power and influence in their hands. He considered himself quite lucky that one of those people happened to have been a friend of his.

His jacket, dark and tailored to the broadness of his shoulders, was shrugged off with relief as he reached the Satomobile that belonged to him. Producing the keys, he opened the driver's door and set both the briefcase and the jacket down on the passenger's seat. Getting in himself, he promptly shed his tie completely. It pooled untidily onto his other article of clothing, but it was already forgotten. Bolin leaned back into the comfortable seat, exhaling audibly. He slotted the key into the ignition, but did not yet start the engine. He gave a small smile, reflecting on the fact that he used the normal, generally accepted method of starting up a car simply to keep the minds of others at ease.

He had acquired his license not long before being approached for his present job. Eager to get his own set of wheels and enjoy the freedoms and luxury of being able to drive, he had visited a local car dealer. He distinctly remembered the wiry, enthusiastic salesman's face dropping like a stone when he had, in his excitement, manipulated the engine to start with a mere gesture. He stretched out his hand, turned his wrist through ninety degrees, and the car roared to life. To be sure, the inner workings of an engine were an intricate and complicated affair, but Bolin was uncommon, even amongst the more seasoned of his kind. The laughter that the salesman managed to put out after a few moments of utter silence was very much fraught with nervousness.