Today happened to be the day that Republic City had its biggest trial. Most of the people left their jobs and businesses only to attend.
The Equalists who had been arrested were most of the working force. Even though jobs preferred benders first, without the labour force, the city couldn't run. Instead, they were bailed out, and the ones who shouldered the blame were the leaders.
Since two of the four leaders had escaped — an electrical sticks guy and a mad genius — the ones left to be judged were the two bloodbenders: Tarrlok and Noatak.
Nevertheless, public opinion demanded 'Justice.'
Considering that the most influential figures in this city were benders, or had benders working for them, they pressured the justice system to hasten the trial as well for maximum punishment, calling for the death penalty.
Akashi stood as a witness after swearing an oath to the spirits and the ancestors.
Amon and Tarrlok both looked at him, tied into the electric chair — developed by Sato Mobiles Company.
"… They never intended to kill me. Matter of fact, they were the nicest people I had ever met," Akashi said, his tone firm. "Amon had been explaining to me how he got frustrated with benders, especially the ones in the triads, who were doing harm, killing the innocents, and hurting the weak, and asked me to use my detection skill to help them locate more criminal organizations…
"Matter of fact, Amon and Tarrlok should be treated as heroes for hunting down the triads. Thanks to them, 70% of the triads had lost their benders. Ninety percent of the small businesses that had been oppressed got to thrive…"
"Objection. The witness is getting away from the main story."
"Please, Mr Akashi. Get back to tell us what they did to you on the island."
"Oh. Right. They just offered me to help them. I refused. He told me to wait. And then, I waited. The Avatar arrived and took care of everyone."
Both Amon and Tarrlok wanted to say something, especially Tarrlok, whose face was bulging with veins.
But they shut their mouths, as Akashi was speaking well about them, and his words made the jury consider them more favourably.
In fact, Akashi was doing a better job than their own lawyer.
The prosecutor was about to say something, but he couldn't. Amon was bloodbending him while pretending not to, in order not to get electrocuted.
"They treated me well, said that they would get me back home and all. Anyway, thanks to them, the crime rate had dropped massively, and they did a better job than the bureaucrats in handling organised crime. Despite how wrong their ways were, they'd done more good than harm," Akashi said.
The judge asked him to get back to his seat.
And so Akashi did. Next, the jury talked among themselves.
They didn't find the Equalist leaders guilty of any charge other than trying to lead a rebellion. But no harm was done.
"For now, five years in jail. Other than that, Ba Sing Se is demanding them for trial. And so, this case will be transferred to the loyal forces of the Earth Queen," the judge said, knocking his table three times.
Tarrlok's face turned pale.
He turned to Noatak, who had nothing but a calm expression on his face.
"Brother, we need to escape," said Tarrlok. "We've fallen into the hands of a crazy woman."
"We don't know yet," Noatak replied calmly. "Some things are going to change," he said while looking at Akashi, who ignored him and turned to look at the police chief.
"What the hell…" the prosecutor held his throat, as if finally regaining control over himself.
"Watch your foul mouth," the judge scolded harshly.
"Not that, Your Honour. It's that those bloodbenders held my mouth—"
"And to justify your foul language by blaming it on others… You are to be detained for 24 hours," the judge said, giving the prosecutor a small disciplinary punishment.
As it concluded, Akashi stood up from his seat and walked away. On his way, he looked at one of those who attended the court. He smiled at him widely.
'100 fucking million.'
Hiroshi Sato was sitting with his daughter, watching how the court was proceeding.
Though he may not have understood why Akashi had twisted the truth, he knew that it was better not to open his mouth.
That, and the other equalists had lost their awareness due to lack of oxygen and couldn't remember anything. So it was best to let things play out, as the others could be bailed out.
Now, Akashi was looking at him, like a devil.
Akashi, with that smile, turned his eyes to Asami.
It was as if he were telling Hiroshi to hurry up and give him the money, or else.
'My daughter can never find out,' Hiroshi thought, closing his eyes. 'I need to start selling those aeroplanes quickly. And produce the filming cameras… Fuck it, that would take time. I'm going to take a loan from the bank and pay him.'
Asami noticed Akashi looking in their direction and nodded, as if to say hi. Akashi waved his hand and continued walking on his way, happy to remind a man of his place.
'Asami is hot, that's for sure. Too bad if she finds out about her father and has to cry,' Akashi shook his head. 'NO. Forget it. She'd end up hating her father and make him cry. That woman is quite strict.'
After Akashi left the courtroom, he smiled widely.
He had played his part well, speaking favourably about Amon and Tarrlok so that Republic City couldn't push them to execution for war crimes. More likely, they were just vigilantes doing the authorities' jobs.
And with that, they were transferred for another trial in the Earth Kingdom. And so, Akashi's new gambit started, for a large-scale event. From the looks he had exchanged with Noatak — aka Amon — the latter seemed to have some understanding of what was going on.
Akashi may have enjoyed a break from the Earth Queen and her plans, but it didn't mean that he would always be on the defensive side. Sometimes, the best way to attack was to attack — and gain a huge amount of experience points, that is.
He didn't know when Korra's evil uncle would show up, nor did he remember much about the canon, nor did he know how his existence or interference had changed the timeline.
But he knew this: he had made the most money from gambling, and he had earned enough experience points and enemies.
"Why are you smiling like an evil man?" said a familiar voice.
Without turning, he knew that he was talking to Lin.
"Why? Don't the good guys smile?" Akashi turned and asked her back.
She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "I didn't expect you to go easy on them with the testimony. Did you really drop everything? Because I don't believe that's what happened."
Akashi walked to Lin, who was standing barefoot. It meant that she wanted some truth from him.
He held her by the waist, looked into her eyes, and said, "Lin. What nobody knows is that the Earth Queen was behind helping the Equalists' operation."
"What?" She opened her eyes wide. Knowing that he was telling the truth — and his history in uncovering mysteries — gave him strong credibility.
Akashi nodded. "And that woman should be very angry at them because someone planted false evidence of their betrayal for her." He leaned closer to her face. "And they will face proper punishment by their strongest ally. And who knows what may or may not happen."
Lin's heart pounded so fast that it was obvious even for a non-earthbender like him. He couldn't read her emotions well, but she wasn't calm.
"I take it back. You didn't go easy on them." She sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her lips to his. The two of them kissed in front of the courtroom, but no one would dare to arrest them.
After the kiss was over, she asked Akashi, "And why did you not say that?"
"It would bring more political trouble than it should. And Republic City would have to face a bigger backlash. Not to mention, it would not go easy for me, knowing some old monarch's dirty secrets," Akashi said.
She nodded, then paused. "What do you mean by the old woman's dirty secret?"
Akashi smiled at her. "Why don't we rent a motel room and make some dirty secret?"
"You're good at dodging my questions." Lin shook her head, thinking that Akashi was joking. But the dirty secrets he had been talking about were dirtier than the ones they could make in a cheap motel room.
"Did it work?" he asked.
"Yeah… I'm quite frustrated," she said.
"By the way, when will Tarrlok and Amon be transferred?" Akashi asked. He had hopes for them. But sometimes, things could go wrong, and he might want to join to observe.
"Two weeks later. Why?" she asked.
"Nothing. Nothing really," Akashi said. "Just curious."
"Do you want to participate in the task force?" Lin asked, sensing that he had a hidden desire, like a child eyeing a candy bar but never saying they want it.
"I want to. But could I?" he asked.
If he went to the Earth Kingdom, the Dai Li might target him. Surely, he might not be the main target for the Earth Queen, but she would think that he had read the forbidden book. And some free experience points might be donated his way.
"Yes. I can hire you as a temporary contractor for the task force. I can even get you a pay cheque."
"That's really a sweet offer." Akashi smiled.
"But I'm not sure. You are not that strong in a fight," she said, looking quite hesitant.
"Hoho… You wanna try?" Akashi laughed.
He had literally defeated two bloodbenders. Surely, he might lack strength compared to an earthbender, but he had higher stats in everything else.
"Jokes aside, I can let you prove yourself to me. But to prove yourself to the task force, that's another story. So, let me take you for a little trip," Lin replied, landing a kiss on his lips.