After a couple of days, Akashi was sitting in front of his old office, as he was allowed to get back to the job.
All of the corruption charges had been cleared, and he had gotten his badge.
The one who had paid his debt to the bank seemed to have used forged papers and signatures that the bank didn't notice.
On the other hand, Akashi claimed that he'd been kicked out of his house because that person sold it.
The bank had been fuming, and they complained about him to the court, demanding Akashi give them the house or pay the rest of the loan.
He had complained back, demanding that they pay back the money he had already paid.
And the court was having problems with all the involved departments, from the police to the real estate department.
The case was still in court.
But the final result was obvious.
'Forget the bank. I just lost a dear friend.'
Akashi turned his head toward the lieutenant's office in the corner.
In memory of his old friend Boba, after having killed him, the first thing Akashi did was look for his car.
As a corrupt cop caught, the first sane move would be to empty all his savings accounts, take all his hidden money, and flee abroad.
But his second insane move was trying to get more money from Akashi.
Akashi was a better person who never forgot his friends.
And he had taken that friend's money to remember him with it and to help cleanse his sins by using it to help Boba's victims — Akashi was the number one victim.
'Enough with the hypocritical thoughts.' He turned his head back to the lieutenant's office.
Can you guess who became the acting lieutenant?
Amane.
His number one enemy in the office.
'The only reason I'm still in this department is because it's organized crime, and I can use it to take down Tarrlok.'
Amane got up from her desk, smiling, as the acting lieutenant, which was a temporary position. But it was official that she'd be the one to promote. Everyone in the department flattered her now, except him, who stared blankly at his desk.
"Heard about what happened to Boba." She walked to Akashi and said, "Despite everything, you two were close. Wouldn't you attend the funeral?"
"No." Akashi shook his head.
She smirked and sat on his desk. "By the way, I read your report, and it has around 15 grammatical errors, 20 misspellings, and…"
Akashi smiled back at her and replied, "Sure."
She must be thinking it's time to turn his life into hell after he put her through one.
Naive child.
"Forget about that." Akashi added, seeing the stack of papers in her hand. "Did you make progress on the case I handed you?"
She examined the papers and said,
"The account you gave me was very suspicious, and any attempt to find the owner's identity was blocked. But I managed to find the transfers it made, and I found something interesting.
"One account, located in Ba Sing Se, was under the name of the Dai Li's science department. I couldn't look further. What I know now is that the man who bribed Boba is interested in science, and he would definitely be at science events. It's a lead we can follow…"
"Amane. Please, go work on other cases," Akashi said, his tone drained of any sarcasm. It was so serious it felt like he was telling her to go fuck off somewhere else.
His mind suddenly made a connection, and it felt like he finally found the final piece of the puzzle.
Tarrlok.
Dai Li.
Ba Sing Se.
He stood up, ignoring his acting lieutenant's complaints, and went to the archives room, requesting a specific newspaper from a certain date.
When it was revealed he was an airbender, there were different reactions.
One scientist said he should donate himself to science.
'Tarrlok, involved in crime, must have some connection to the Earth Queen, who requested my kidnapping, based on this scientist's claims.'
It seemed with the thriving scientific fields, his genetics became valuable for some people to study.
'Well, I guess they couldn't approach Tenzin or his kids because of the Order of the White Lotus. The Avatar is out of the question. The only reason they approached me is because of Tarrlok, right? He may have connections to the Earth Queen, and that's why they tried. The Earth Queen was known to kidnap airbenders to train them, but not when they were with Tenzin or in air temples.'
He thought.
'So, the key to cutting her influence on this city is simply cutting Tarrlok himself from his position of power.'
'But how? That's purely my assumption, my knowledge, and I have no evidence or witnesses to prove it. The only witness was killed by me anyway.'
'And that brings me to the second problem. Evidence. It's impossible to get proof on the son of a previous underworld lord who's now a councilman.'
'There is, however, something I can leverage…'
'No… no… that plan is crazy. And the police chief would never approve.' He thought, feeling very tempted to try what he had thought of. 'Anyways, out of formality and to solidify my position, I need to do this anyway.'
Akashi stood up, ignoring Amane who was standing next to him and nagging.
"Yeah, keep ignoring me. Once I'm officially lieutenant, you're my coffee boy. You should take a course on how to make one." She taunted as he walked past her and raised his middle finger, earning a chuckle from her. Akashi had no time to amuse her or play along.
He made his way directly to the chief's office.
And he requested a meeting, which she granted after making him wait about 20 minutes.
"What brings you here? Is there a complaint you want to file?" The chief asked, with that annoyed expression she always wore.
Akashi looked at her firmly and said, "Tarrlok is the one who initiated my kidnapping, based on others' requests. That account that paid everyone belongs to him, but it's mostly under fake names and surrounded by high security, protected by the bank managers."
Beifong looked at him, examining him for a few seconds. She tilted her head and said, "You're serious."
"Since when have I been not serious?" Akashi asked.
"I don't know. Since you started working and accepted the charges to escape the bank debt."
"I lost the house, don't remind me."
She sharpened her gaze.
Akashi tilted his head to the side, trying to see her feet behind the desk.
But he couldn't see them from this angle.
He couldn't tell if she was using a lie detection technique.
"Let's not think about those bank bureaucrats. I'm telling you, Tarrlok is the one. He has so many connections to organized crime.
"Your evidence?" she asked.
"Boba mentioned his name before his death." Akashi admitted.
"You said you had no relation to that," she said. "And that's not evidence."
"He destroyed the building while chasing me, trapping himself under it." Akashi said. "I never wanted to kill him."
The best way to lie was to twist the lie to say the truth from a different angle.
Say true clues that lead the other person to believe lies.
"So, you can't initiate an investigation." Akashi said.
He knew his request would be rejected.
But he had to do it because it would serve as a narrative later.
I tried to tell you, but you didn't believe me and forced my hand… something like that.
"Akashi, in case you didn't notice, the councilman, ever since the mayor left, is trying to get me off my position. He's been cutting budgets, limiting our resources, and making it hard to operate. We've even shut the anti-prostitution department," she said.
'Bless him,' Akashi thought internally.
She continued, "I suspect he's bribing other higher-ups, but I have no evidence to start an investigation. And doing so and failing would only make our position worse."
"I understand." Akashi nodded, turned, and left.
A smirk crept onto his face.