Chapter 16

A cold breeze hit his face. He opened his eyes, and he saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

"You can interrogate him now." Said a stranger's voice.

Chen's blurry vision cleared when he remembered what had happened. Amon had ambushed and kidnapped him. Chen had escaped, flying, carrying his injuries all of the way out.

Chen turned his head to the left. He lifted his hand and looked at his wrist. There was a slight scar there, and it was healed completely. The pain on his back vanished as if it wasn't there. He moved his neck a bit, and it was completely fine.

He looked around him. It seemed that he is in the hospital. Chen sighed in relief. Now, his injuries are healed completely. In the hospitals of Republic City, worked healers who used their waterbending.

The door was opened. Chen could see Mira and Hina standing there, a worried look on their face.

Just as Chen sat up, he found that his hand was shackled to the bed. "Not again." Chen pouted.

From the door, pushing the two bender girls away entered a grey-haired pale middle-aged woman. She had shoulder-length hair, green eyes, and clear skin. She looked younger than her age. Her body seemed to be in a good shape, and so was the skin on her face. On her cheek, there were two scars.

He could tell who is she. The police chief. She was wrapped in her metal armour and dark grey police clothes.

"Well, the pro-bender Chen is here. Or should I call you, Mystical Flame?" She said, her tone impatient and bossy.

"So, Mira told you. Or was it Hina?" Chen said, looking past the door. Well, he wouldn't blame his teammates if they said what they'd heard that night when he'd fought the anti-benders.

The police chief let her face closer to his. She narrowed her eyebrows and said in a bossy tone.

"I'm the one who asks questions here, boy."

"Alright, mommy." Chen rolled his eyes.

"I'm not your mommy."

"And I'm not your boy." Chen turned his head. "By the way, I need a couple of sandwiches, a soft drink, coffee, and a few cigarettes."

"Enough!" She said. "First question. Why in the hell, the first thing you said before fainting was 'Don't call the police,'?"

Chen lowered his head, trying to remember. He recalled that he was met by a beautiful angel, and somehow, he said that to her.

'Old habits die hard.' He sighed.

"Let me guess. Old habits die hard." The police chief said.

Chen's heart skipped a beat, yet his face didn't show anything. Remembering that Chief Beifong was Toph's daughter, he knew that she can sense his organs if she had direct contact with the ground. He titled his head to the edge of the bed. Her feet were naked, meaning that she could know if he was lying. Chen didn't know if he'd be comfortable when lying. But he knew that he didn't need to.

"I didn't mean saying that. What I really intended to say at that moment was, call the ambulance." He replied. "I was bleeding out, and I said something that lead me into this situation. I find it ironic, know why?"

"Why?"

"I'm interrogated by someone who wears iron." Chen leaned on the bed and sighed. "See the irony."

Chief Beifong's eyelids twitched. "Enough with the sarcasm. You know why you are here, don't you."

"Yes," Chen answered. "I was about to come to you, but you shorted the way for me. You want to ask questions about the anti-bending movement. And you want to know if I knew anything, such as where they are. First of all, how long have I been out."

"You've been out for 3 days. You bled out and almost died. Honestly, I can charge you for the fire blast you caused on the road. But the anti-bending movement is becoming more dangerous. They'd even attacked the Avatar."

"I see. Three days." Chen exhaled a sigh. "Well, am I in trouble?" he looked at the shackle.

Beifong shook her head. "Depending on your answers. Why did they attack you? Did you steal the money from Amon, just as he'd declared?"

"I didn't steal. All of the money I spent was my own earning."

Technically, he didn't steal money from Amon or Agni Kay. All he'd done was putting that closet in his storage.

Beifong nodded. "Why did they want you?"

Chen sighed. "To pay my debts, I was fighting underground. My title was Mystical Flame. I was famed and powerful. Amon framed me for burning the Agni Kai's place, so he can use me to gain more followers."

"Use you, how?"

"First of all, Amon is a bloodbender," Chen said. He didn't mind revealing that little information. Saying that would bother Amon, and thus, it would be a form of revenge.

"Second, he can take the bending from the people. By taking my bending away in front of the people, he would demonstrate to his followers how he stopped a dangerous man from doing crimes, and how beautiful the world is."

The Police Chief didn't seem to believe that. However, she could tell that he was honest.

She released Chen's shackles by waving her hand. "Well, there is no proof that you burnt the Agni Kai place. I don't think that a firebender can burn a place full of firebenders anyway. Also, I've seen your file. You've been working daily in the energy station, so I can leave you off the bat this time. It seems you are trying to change. But remember this, if you do something stupid or I heard you got into a small illegal fight, such as fighting for the grocery, I will make sure you get rotten in jail for the rest of your life."

Classical warming threat from the policewoman who set you free. Somehow, he was familiar.

Chen smiled. "Beifong."

"Chief Beifong." The police chief stressed her tongue.

"Get closer to me. I don't want anyone else to hear this."

She let her ear closer to his mouth, and he whispered.

"Tarrlok, the councilman, is a bloodbender too, who can blood-bend without the full moon." Chen decided it was the best time to change canon. "Also, he's trying to take over the city, and he is manipulating everyone. Don't trust him. He will use the anti-bending movement to gain power. You'll be like a pawn in his game, and he'll try to get rid of you. He's the son of the man whom Aang took his bending. Also, he's the brother of Amon, but they don't know that. Amon though knows that Tarrlok is his brother."

Chen's attitude had always been: 'non of my business.'

Now that he'd got hurt, it was his business. He made it so.

"How do you know that?" she said, staring at Chen with wide opened eyes.

"You know I don't lie," Chen said, stretching his arms up. "Listen to my advice, bait Tarrlok to use his bending against someone who isn't important. Then, I advise you to ambush him and shackle him with your metal bending. Cover his eyes."

Chen could remember how Amon had blood-bent him by moving his eyelids.

He'd left one man out and didn't bring him.

Hiroshi Sato. He was the man who supports the anti-bending movement, and the founder of satomobile cars.

He'd lost his wife since the Agni Kai's killed her when they'd invaded his house.

He hated benders ever since.

If Hiroshi knew that Amon is a bloodbender, Hiroshi would turn against the equalists.

Chen never planned to take down the equalists. He'd planned to let Korra take care of that. But now that Amon had hurt him, Chen would surely interfere. He would train and even would like to take revenge on Amon.

"I have to go before something stupid happens," Beifong said. "I will visit you later." She then turned to the next policeman. "Bring him what he asked for."

Frowning, she walked out of the door, pushing the two girls away.

Chen stared at the ceiling. So he'd been out for three days. He wondered how long he'd spent when he was at Amon.

Chen's teammates entered. Hina and Mira sighed when they saw him free.

"So, how was it going when I wasn't here." Chen started the first word.

"I was worried about." Hina sat next to him and put her hand on his leg.

Mira sat next to him and held his hand. "Don't care about that. How have you been? I couldn't sleep ever since you were taken."

"Oh, don't worry," Chen said. "It all happened because of one reason."

They narrowed their eyebrows.

"The universe won't allow you to come to my place, simply," Chen said, shrugging.

All of this started with him wanting to invite two girls, with drinks, in hope of something happened.

Well, something happened, and it wasn't good.

Seeing how he was joking, they laughed. "Well, rest well. Do you need anything?" Mira said.

"Yes, and here it is." Chen turned and clapped his hand. A policeman came through the door with two sandwiches, soft drinks, and cigarettes.

"Hey, won't smoke hurt your firebending," Hina asked;

"Mental health is more important," Chen said as he started eating his sandwich. "Besides, don't we have waterbenders to heal lungs?"

"Well, rest well," Mira said, sighing.

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