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𝐓He four turned into a corner and saw two Equalists preparing to attack them. The airbender hastily craned her neck to the side, almost mockingly, before using her powerful airbending to knock them against the wall. Mako ran towards them and grabbed one of them, hastily snatching his mask off.
"Avatar Korra," He demanded. "Where are you keeping her?"
From her peripheral vision, she could see Lin peering into the prison cell where her metalbending officers were being kept. She metalbent the bars apart and walked in like the boss she was.
"Chief Beifong?" An officer said wearily, glancing back and forth toward his sullen comrades.
"I'm too late," Lin said grimly. "That monster already took your bending, didn't he?"
The officer nodded his head and Lin looked down.
"I'm so sorry." Then her expression changed, determination spreading across her face. "Come on, let's get you out of here."
Cloud glared at the Equalist while the firebender tried to get some answers out of him. "I'll ask you one more time; where is she?" He demanded, igniting his right hand to intimidate him further.
The Equalist tried to grab his arm, and exclaimed with a weak tone, "We don't have the Avatar, and the Equalists didn't attack City Hall. Tarrlok's lying."
Mako dropped the man back to the ground, looking surprised. He wasn't the only one. "What?"
"I scanned the entire prison. Korra's not here."
"Why would Tarrlok make up a story about getting attacked?"
"Because he has Korra. He fooled us all!"
"That foul, loathsome, evil cockroach."
At the sound of a loud siren, the four ran back to where Bolin and Asami were standing guard. All of them got into the tram and immediately took off. A team of Equalists started to catch up from behind them, and Bolin used his earthbending to collapse the tunnel sides, causing the tram to crash into the rubble.
Lin, who stood in the front of the tramp, noticed an army of Equalists waiting up ahead. Among them was none other than the Lieutenant, and several mecha tanks that Hiroshi Sato made.
"We've got more company!" Lin metalbent a rail from the ceiling onto the track. "Hang on!"
Cloud held onto whatever she could reach and buried her face on the person's chest. Her muffled frightful screams mixed with Bolin's loud ones, the two clutching onto each other as if their lives depended on it. Lin earthbent a hole into the ceiling as the tram flew through the gap and landed on the ground of the tunnel above. Groans were heard from the group but Lin didn't even look shaken up as she made another hole in the ceiling, although this time, daylight streamed in.
The group marched inside the City Hall and to the council chamber, approaching the council members and Chief Saikhan. The female airbender's eyes immediately landed on a familiar man with a ponytail as he approached them from behind. Trying her best to hide her hatred for him, she clenched her fists and glared at him.
"Have you news of Avatar Korra?" Tarrlok asked as if he was innocent.
"We do." Tenzin angrily pointed at the man. "You kidnapped her, Tarrlok!"
Tarrlok was persistent as he tried to defend himself from the honest accusations. "I am shocked you would accuse me of such an evil act! I already explained: Equalists attacked us and took her!"
"But there were no chi blockers here last night," Tenzin said incredulously. "You planted the evidence, didn't you?"
"That is a ridiculous accusation!" Tarrlok said angrily.
"You are ridiculous," Cloud shot back.
From behind a pillar on the balcony above, the council page said fearfully, "It's true! He took her! I was here when Avatar Korra arrived last night, but Councilman Tarrlok ordered me to leave. I was on my way out when I saw Tarrlok bring her down to the garage."
That made the councilman enraged. "That is nonsense! Everyone knows you're nothing but a squeaky-voiced liar!"
Lin folded her arms and looked at the council page. "Why did you wait until now to 'fess up?"
"I was terrified to tell because..." The council page looked up to them. "Because Tarrlok is a bloodbender! He bloodbent Avatar Korra!"
"Don't make this worse for yourself," Tenzin demanded, and Lin took on a stance, both of them prepared to attack. "Tell us where you have Korra."
Cloud, almost out of instinct, took on an airbending stance, but before she could even realize what was happening, Tarrlok had started to bloodbend them as the people in the chamber room cried out in pain. He bloodbent them to their knees, one by one, until everyone fell unconscious, fleeing after the evil deed was done.
