Who the F*** is Kanto?

Chapter 12 - Her Father

Day 14

The people that jumped Lin and Kun in the middle of the street at broad daylight were clearly professionals of their craft. Lin didn't even feel them coming until one of them wacked her across the head with what she could only assume was a wooden bat. Kun got the worst of the beating, since as soon as the criminals got a good look at Lin's face, they stopped cold.

It was just as she suspected, they weren't allowed to hurt her. Not Toph's daughter, no.

She suddenly regretted bringing Kun along, seeing as she was mostly unharmed, while he had to be dragged up the stairs as the men and women led them to their boss. The thugs would've just thrown them across the border to the Shades if Lin hadn't intervened, those were probably their instructions, and there was only so much resistance they could put up while not being allowed to hurt her in any way.

On the journey to the Chef she finally realized how their boss got his nickname. It wasn't a morbid joke like she'd previously assumed, his headquarters were in a restaurant. He probably was a chef in his spare time. And if she wasn't sure then, she was when her and Kun were shoved into the restaurant's kitchen for the meeting.

There was a single man there, waiting for them. Well, not waiting... He was turned away from them and the door, chopping something at the kitchen counter. There was no chef's hat, no apron, like she had expected. The man was dressed like he had a very serious business meeting after this: grey suit, except for the jacket that rested, neatly folded over a dinning chair. Despite all the chopping going on, his white shirt was spotless.

"They're here, Boss." One of the men holding Kun up spoke. The policeman then shifted, trying to stand on his own without help, but failed.

"I can both hear and sense that." The Chef didn't turn. "I'll be with you in a second." He checked his very expensive-looking watch, then transferred the vegetables he'd been chopping into a pot with one swift motion. Next, he started stirring, brining Lin's attention to the purple flower tattooed on his forearm made visible by his rolled-up sleeves. Could this man be Kanto? Even without seeing his face she was sure she'd never seen him in her life.

"It smells great, Boss." A man approached the dining table, ogling all the finished dishes already on it.

"It smells wrong." Finally, the Terra Triad leader turned around. "Your idiotics made me overcook the potatoes. I had to start over. Now, you find some good taste while you're on night patrol tonight."

"For not smelling the difference?" It was obvious the man was displeased, but in a very polite and careful way.

"For ass-kissing."

The man nodded, resigning. "As you say, Boss."

"And take that swill with you when you leave."

The henchman obeyed and left the room with the food and only then did the Chef look to Lin, if only briefly.

"Everyone knows who you are." Then he moved his gaze to Kun who was wheezing as two men struggled to hold him up. "But who are you? What's your name, officer?"

Kun managed something resembling his name. Lin wondered if he recognized the Chef. She wanted to ask, but it almost didn't matter now. They were here, there was no going back. The triad leader certainly looked old enough. His brown hair had the occasional bit of gray.

"What are you doing so far into my territory?" Kanto asked. Or at least she thought that's who he was.

Kun looked like he was trying hard to give his response, but then instead of words he spit blood in the Chef's direction. Luckily for him, he didn't hit his target and it made Kanto amused instead of angry.