Soul Bound

Lin's Day at Work

Lin glared at the stack of 'orders' that the rookie had nervously placed on her desk. She tried to guess how many the stack held and figured she didn't want to know. She turned her cool eyes at the recruit and he squirmed under her scrutiny. "Are they all the same?"

"Yes," he said, managing to stand straight, even if he couldn't meet his chief's eyes. "They're all orders for the prisoner Kuvira, formerly known as the Great Uniter, to be transferred to their prisons to pay for the crimes she and her army committed while in their states."

Lin was slightly impressed that he got all that out in one breath. She wondered for a moment if he had been practicing before he came to her office. "How many times must I and President Moon say no for them to stop sending these orders?" She made the last word out as a sneer. She had been too long the Chief of Police to roll over for some politician with too high of an opinion of themselves. She gave the pile of papers a disdainful glance once more. "They know as well I that as soon as that prison cell closes, Kuvira's good as dead." Lin wouldn't be even slightly surprised if the wardens of their so renowned prisons killed Kuvira themselves.

"Maybe that's what she deserves." The words were out of the rookie's mouth before he could stop them. When he realized what he had said, he stood even straighter and stared wide-eyed out of the windows at the back of Lin's office.

Lin nearly choked on her rage as she stared incredulously at the rookie in front of her. She didn't doubt that several of her officers thought that Kuvira deserved the death penalty for everything she had done but for this green rookie to say so blatantly to her face was a shock. Her teeth ground together as she raked her brain for the boy's name. He had only just joined the force right after Kuvira's downfall and Lin had been too busy with her normal duties along with all the mess the new spirit portal created to hold his hand.

She recalled suddenly that the rookie in front of her was the same one to make that snide comment about favoritism. She let the rookie simmer under her baleful gaze for a few more moments. "So you think that we should disregard what the court had deemed an appropriate punishment for Kuvira's crimes?" The rookie swallowed loudly and Lin had a moment of satisfaction before she growled, "Get out of my sight and put these requests into Kuvira's file." She watched him snatch up the stack of orders and rush out of her office. She had to admit she was surprised that he didn't appear to be holding back any tears.

There was only seven minutes of peace before Lin heard a tentative knock on her closed door. She squeezed the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath before glaring at the door. "Come in," she ordered.

Mako opened the door and walked into Lin's office. He placed a folder onto Lin's desk and stood at attention while Lin flipped open the folder. He let her skim over the contents of the folder before clearing his throat. "Those are the crime statistics of this year. There has been a spike in criminal activity compared to previous years, particularly burglaries and assault charges."

Lin nodded as she studied a graph comparing the different categories of crimes committed in Republic City throughout the recent years. It didn't take any time for her to notice the spikes. She didn't comment that the spikes really took off when Korra came to Republic City. She had expected such an effect the moment her officers first arrested Korra all those years ago. Wherever the Avatar was, trouble surely followed close behind. "Do you think we should hire more officers to keep up with the surge of activity?"

Mako blinked in surprise. His rigid stance was broken by him shifting his feet. "I, um, do you think we should?"

"I'm asking you." She looked Mako in the eyes and was impressed by the way he held her gaze steadily. She tapped once on the graph. "Once I retire someone is going have to clean up this mess. I much rather not leave my police force on a sinking ship." Lin noticed how when she mentioned her retirement, Mako's eyes had a flash of discomfort. She repressed rolling her eyes at him. "Well?" she prompted after a few seconds of silence.