A World Of Grey (Legend of Korra)

Chapter 33

The Satomobile pulled up outside of the building, parking alongside the curb in front of it. The woman inside looked out through the window, lifting her gaze to take in the heights of the tower. Then she turned to the man sitting at the front of the car, patiently waiting on her.

"This is it?"

"It is."

She looked out the window once more. The building loomed over the street, a mass of dark steel and glass that reached up into the night sky. She couldn't even see the uppermost storey from her vantage point, having to awkwardly crane her neck to look upwards.

"You worked fast, Takka."

"You made it expressly clear to us that the need was urgent," the man replied.

"That I did," the young woman murmured, hand rising to grip the door handle. "I'm not sure how long this will take."

"I'll drive around the block," Takka suggested, before glancing over his shoulder at her with questioning eyes. "How is your knee?"

"I can walk on it," Korra said by way of an answer. Nevermind that every instance she put weight on the leg tightened her expression with a grimace.

As soon as she was able to get access to water, Korra had sat down for a swift, intensive session of self-applied healing. She called Takka surreptitiously to her when he made his appearance with the subtlety of a shadow, slipping through the general chaos of the police scene to reach her side. There, Korra made known to him that she needed to find out where Asami Sato resided, tonight. She remembered the selling of the grand Sato mansion making the news several years ago. She had not kept track of the heiress' living arrangements after that.

"Take care," Takka bid her, as she pulled on the silver handle and pushed the door open. Korra hummed in response and stepped out into the night.

The air was cool around her, a light breeze disturbing the tail of her hair. The hour was late and the street devoid of pedestrian traffic. The sound of the Satomobile's engine reached Korra's ear, Takka smoothly pulling away from the curb at her back.

Tucking her hands into the pockets of her jacket, Korra moved forwards, approaching the doors of New Autumn Haven. The name was etched large and bold into the plaque fastened onto the wall to the side of the entrance. It was an interesting place for a certain heiress to have claimed as her home, a definite change of pace. And she was not merely living here on borrowed authority. According to Takka, Asami Sato owned the entire building.

Korra, chin tucked down into her chest, walked with a notable limp as she neared the entrance. Her gait was somewhat uneven, steps gingerly taken with her injured leg. She really shouldn't have been up on her feet so soon, but this could not wait.

The heavy glass doors gave way to a narrow lobby with a buffed granite floor when Korra pushed through them. Though she wore flat boots, her footsteps were pronounced in the silence of the relatively empty space. She passed by a pair of matching couches, brown in hue, which sat across from one another against the walls. Her eyes turned to either side as she walked through the lobby, spotting the elevators to her left. In front of her stood the reception desk, which she was making a beeline for. A woman sat behind it, gaze pointed down at something Korra couldn't see. She looked up however, when Korra drew closer.

The receptionist seemed to start when she at last noticed Korra's presence. Her hands moved quickly behind the raised counter of the desk, before rising to sweep short, dark hair away from her face. She shaped her expression into one of professional politeness, her smile friendly. But Korra could immediately see something in the receptionist's eyes, which could not quite hold hers. The woman was nervous. And that made Korra very curious.