City of Secrets (The Lost Waterbender sequel)

Fire and Ice

Unfortunately, the journey back to Republic City wasn't short. About three-days on Appa. It was uneventful. We were all worried about what we would find in upon our return.

"Organized crime is something Raiko and I have dealt with," I said in an attempt to boost the morale. "This can't be worse than our fight with the Agni Kai's."

Raiko shot me a look so quick I almost missed it. But I knew he was thinking about what I did when we were faced with the group. It resulted in a death by my own hands. That was something I never wanted to remember.

Katara smiled encouragingly. "We've taken on Ozai; there's no way a few rogues can beat us."

"Well clearly something about them is pretty terrible if Zuko and Toph are asking for help," Sokka said grimly.

We all remained silent, fully aware Sokka had made a very glaring point.

Our return to the city was met with a very worried-looking Fire Lord Zuko and Toph.

Zuko and I had grown rather close over the years. Both of us knew too well the tyranny of the Fire Nation before the end of the Great War, and both of us had things in our pasts we weren't proud of. That kind of similarity grows into a pretty close connection.

"What's so bad here that we had to come back early?" I asked as we all slid down from Appa.

Zuko grimaced. "As the populations are increasing, so is desperation. A lot of the people coming into this city are people whose lives were rooted up during the Great War, and now they've found refuge. But, a lot of them are finding the only way to get by is illegally. Gangs are taking over the streets; robbing, creating a black market, even creating intense rivalries with other groups."

This sounded incredibly familiar to what I grew up with. The difference between them and the City of Outcasts was we had intentions for the greater good of the world.

"Basically we need help monitoring the streets and keeping those not involved in  the rivalries safe," Toph said. "With everyone spread so thin, we had to call you back in."

"So you're planning on setting up patrols?" Aang asked. Toph nodded.

"We don't need to make any arrests or storm any buildings. Just help to prevent this from getting out of hand."

                        ***

A few days later, Raiko and I were on patrol.

We were walking down a street filled with people shopping around the markets, buying food, tools, appliances, and clothing. Most people seemed fairly unbothered. But Toph had said there had been a lot of crime in this area, and Raiko and I were here to scout it out.

Raiko suggested we walk to one of the food vendors, and I agreed. We made our way over to a fruit stand, where a frail old man was tending his products.

"Excuse me, sir?" I tapped on his shoulder and he turned around. "My name is Badger and this is Raiko. We're with the Relublic City Police Department and were wondering if you could answer some questions for us?"

He nodded, a friendly look on his face. "Certainly. What about?"

Raiko stepped in. "Recently there seems to have been a spark in crime reports in this area. We were wondering if you've heard or seen anything in regards to that?"

The man's smile faltered for a second, but it was so brief I barely noticed. He turned around and walked behind his stand, where he began writing something.