Breaking the Wheel

Chapter 6

In the years Lin had worked with Raiko, she had learned a few things about him. He was a snakeweasel, through and through, but he was also an astute politician, and he rarely did anything without a reason.

He held the first emergency defense meeting, the one with Wu, Lau Gan-Lan of Cabbage Corp, and Suyin, in a room with a view of the harbour, where Iroh's fleet hunkered, their guns a dull red in the late afternoon sun. The press were there too, but Varrick and Asami Sato were notable by their absence.

The second meeting, the real meeting, he held in his briefing room on the main floor, his window looking out onto the mountain range behind Republic City, the mountain that Kuvira had cored still trailing smoke into the sky.

The leaders of the three largest triads in republic city; Viper of the Triple Threat, Seppi the Shark of the Red Monsoon, and Buster Cheng of the Agni Kai, sat around Raiko's long table, drinking tea. It was surreal. They should have been there in cuffs if they were going to be there at all, and under any other circumstance they would have been trying to kill each other. Cheng's fernlike red scars, which branched from under her high collar to her bottom lip were testament to that, courtesy of Viper's predecessor Lightning Bolt Zolt.

"Republic City is a great city," Raiko began. "It has survived a great many things. The equalist movement has come and gone, harmonic convergence changed it but did not destroy it. But, in hard times-"

"Cut the crap." Cheng put her tea down, covering the top of the cup with her gloved hand. Her movements were quick and precise, those of an expert firebender, and that motion alone made Lin's back itch. "You know why we're here. I know why we're here. I think these two-" Cheng looked over at Viper and Seppi, raising a delicately arched eyebrow.

The leader of the Red Monsoon grunted. Seppi was huge, too big for his chair, his dreadlocks draped over his broad shoulders, and when he spoke, Lin could see his teeth were filed to points. "You've got no standing army to speak of," he said, his voice an even baritone. "And the Fire Navy don't have the numbers. Stands to figure, you want us to fight."

"Meat for the meat grinder," Viper remarked. He was a waterbender like Seppi, but unlike Seppi he was a true son of Republic City, his dark hair clipped fashionably short. "If you want us to bleed for you, you better have one hell of a pitch, Raiko."

Raiko adjusted his glasses. Lin hadn't asked how he'd been able to assemble Republic City's three biggest crimelords at such short notice, but she could tell from the way that he stood that he was at least familiar with them. "If you would let me finish-" he said, putting his hands on the table as he locked eyes with each leader in turn. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, and these are desperate times for all of Republic City. Once Kuvira has completed her invasion, you will be her first targets. All through the-" Raiko cleared his throat. "-former Earth Kingdom, Kuvira has systematically rounded up citizens with non earthbender heritage and put them in labour camps."

"That's half the people in Republic City," said Cheng, her red lips curling into a slow smile. "Come on, you can do better than that."

Raiko turned his back on the three of them and stalked towards the window, allowing them a good view of the mountain range. "Do you think this is a game? That you can just pack up your pieces and walk away?" he asked.

"Life is a game," said Cheng. "And I'm not throwing in my lot with you unless I like your odds. Right now you're a poor bet."

Seppi gave a slow nod. "I hate to say it, but the lady's right. What can you do against a weapon that can level mountains?"

Lin shivered. It was hard to pin down how she felt when she looked at the view from Raiko's window, but as an earthbender, it was almost like a loose tooth, drawing her eye back to the damage. A mountain shouldn't look like that.