三十二

[anatural]

[Korra's been in prison for a few days now, and she is PISSED. So pissed, in fact, that her took her this long to realize what she needs to do.]

[ video ]
ATTENTION EVERYONE. THIS GUY -- [oh crap how does she show somebody's picture BLEEP BLEEP BLOOP the screen cuts out and then briefly links to this post.

A few moments later, Korra's face finally comes back on screen.]

That guy who said his knife was stolen [since she has no idea if the bleep bloop did its thing or not] is a liar. It's not his knife. SO YOU CAN TELL ALL YOUR STUPID NAKED LADY HALLUCINATIONS TO GO AWAY. [That was directed to Theo. Seriously. She's not impressed with the visions of harem women. She has trouble enough sleeping with the nightmares she's earned.


Back on point.]

Rowena, wherever you are, I need you to come to the police station and explain. Tell them that it was your knife! [Because it looks like she's not getting out of prison until the knife is returned or "Rowena" tells the cops the truth. (Little does Korra know....)


Now we get to the bane of Korra's network post existence -- how does she end this thing? After a long, awkward pause, she says --]

Thank you.

[Click.]

Comments

[anatural]

[Hey. Hey. ........you probably have a point.

She sighs grumpily and throws herself back on her cot.]

I met this girl named Rowena in the hospital. She was being attacked by this guy who had stolen her father's knife and given it to that Theo guy. She needed my help to get it back.

[mortemscintilla]

[ Of course he does. ]

[ A crease appears between his brows as he tries to figure out what she means. Hei has made an extensive study of the Network -- who uses it, who avoids it when possible. He's never heard of any Rowena. Granted, the City's a strange place -- full of people with stranger stories. But there's something so ... contrived about this tale. It makes him think of every bargirl in Southeast Asia, who has a sob-story about an abusive husband or a dying grandmother or a sick baby or an aging water buffalo, all intended to play on the gullible foreign customer's guilt. ]

[ When he speaks, his voice is carefully neutral. ]

Did you have proof the knife was hers? Beyond her word?

[ Face it, Korra. People lie all the time. Some are as good at it as Hei. Or better. ]

[anatural]

I SAW him attack her!!!! [Sort of.] He almost killed her!

[mortemscintilla]

'Saw' him?

[ It's quiet, but laced with a mild incredulity. She's being awfully defensive. But is it because she's hiding something else, or because she subconsciously doubts the validity of her own assertions? He won't know until he's extracted all the details from her. ]

Where? At the hospital?

[anatural]

Yeah. [Sulky and yes, a little doubtful of herself. It happened during her original recovery. She'd been tired, almost convinced she was dreaming except she kept seeing Rowena injured even when she was awake.] It was by this big, shadowy thing.

[mortemscintilla]

[ Big shadowy thing? Articulate as always. Except what she's describing sounds too much like an aftereffect of the drugs that were swimming in her bloodstream. Hei remembers Korra's bleary gaze and slurred voice during his sporadic visits to the hospital. She was high off her gourd half the time. ]

[ The look on his face isn't unkind or impatient, but it also gives nothing away. ]

Are you sure it wasn't a hallucination?

[anatural]

I'm sure. I saw her afterwards in the hospital afterwards. And during my rehab. He almost killed her!

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei almost lifts a hand to rub his temples. Decides against it, and stretches his legs out across the narrow bunk instead. For a moment he studies the peeling paint and furred mottling of mildew on the gray walls, before he murmurs, ]

If this Rowena is so afraid of him, she won't show up at the Police Station. [ If she exists at all, a dry voice interposes. But he doesn't say that out loud. Instead, quieter, ] Describe her. I can let you know where she might be. [ He'll ask Yin to send out a specter, for a quick sweep of the City's environs. But privately he doubts it'll be successful. ]

[anatural]

She was small. Pale, dark hair, looked like she didn't eat enough. I don't think I ever saw her without some kind of injury.

[mortemscintilla]

[ It's almost amusing how she's described a dark-haired version of Yin. Sans injuries, that is. Ordinarily, Hei tends to be skeptical, even of the most bruised and blood-scabbed specimens of pity. He knows all the tricks: the filthy shank of meat hidden inside a frayed shirt, seeping bright-red; the fake sores created with oatmeal and cranberry syrup; the soot-shadows under the eyes. But he also knows that human misery is dismally real, and there are so many realistic ways a young girl can end up prey for a monster. ]

[ Unfortunately he's less concerned about the faceless Rowena, and more interested in Korra. ]

Give me fifteen minutes.

[anatural]

What are you going to do?

[mortemscintilla]

[ Seriously, Korra. You should know better by now. Don't ask questions when you know you won't get answers. ]

Use the Third Eye.

[ It's inherently sarcastic, but also accurate, when you consider Yin's ability in detail. ]

[anatural]

[Sorry, she's kind of distracted by being THE VICTIM OF INJUSTICE!!!!!!!!11!!!!]

Huh?

[mortemscintilla]

[ Is that what kids are calling incorrigible patsies these days? ]

Nothing. Just be patient. [ If Rowena's out there -- if she exists at all -- Yin will know. There's not much that gets past her surveillance specter. A few beats pass, before he asks, ] Did you ever meet this girl outside the hospital? Are you even sure she's in the City anymore?

[anatural]

......no. [Korra's stomach twists with dread. What if Rowena is fake gone? What will she do then?]

[mortemscintilla]

[ At last, Hei lets a bite of irritation creep into his voice. ]

You didn't plan this out at all, huh? [ Stupid child. She doesn't realize how all that youth and strength and optimism, that freshly forged adult-ness, can be as raw as any open wound. Someone will always try to exploit it. Someone will always find ways to stick the knife in. ] How can you be sure that big shadowy thing was Theo? There are so many other magic-users in the City.

[anatural]

Hey, I got the knife to her! And I never said the big shadowy thing was Theo! The big shadowy thing was working WITH Theo!

[mortemscintilla]

So why isn't she here to accept her precious knife?

[ Exhaling, Hei slumps back against the thin mattress. (Honestly, the word mattress is dignifying it too much. Good thing he's slept on worse.) His gaze finds Korra's, like he's trying to weave his way past the colorful outcropping of tantrums and twitchy-itchy-bitchiness, to find that quiet kernel of sense inside her. ]

Did the shadowy thing tell you that? Or was it Rowena?

[anatural]

I've already given her the knife. [Geez, Hei, get with the program.]

I didn't exactly stop it for conversation. [She didn't stop the attack at all, being in traction at the time. The memory makes her a little nauseous, honestly.] But she'd told me about that guy attacking her before.

[mortemscintilla]

[ There's a long moment's silence. It's broken by the scritch-scritch as a cockroach crawls onto the Network device's lens. Flicking it away, Hei fixes Korra with a flat look. ]

I'd hate to be in your shoes if it turns out she was lying.

[ Or worse, that she didn't exist. ]

[anatural]

[ERK Korra wants to say SHE'S NOT! but she's gullible, not an idiot. She can read the signs as much as the next person. Whether Rowena was lying or is gone, it's becoming more and more clear that she's not going to be coming to Korra's aid.]

It doesn't look like you're much better off. [Sulky.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ No, not an idiot. Korra's problem is that her heart's just too big for her own good. That, and her goddamn savior-complex. Hei knows it's something a lot of people gravitate towards. But there are just as many who'd exploit it for their own ends. He nearly smiles when she changes tacks by focusing the conversation on him. He's tempted to shrug it off. But after a beat, he says, ]

I wasn't arrested. I turned myself in.

[ No point playing hide-and-seek in a glass ant-farm. He misses Pai, is worried how she's getting on. But it beats the alternative of playing fugitive. He's had enough of that back home. ]

[anatural]

For what? [That is something she never expected to hear from him.]

[mortemscintilla]

[ Hei's in no mood to get into the details. These aren't his customized filters; he has no idea who might be listening. He might be more obliging if they weren't on the Network. But the truth is, Hei prefers to keep Korra separate from his investigations about the City, the careful notes and theories. She still strikes him as a child sometimes -- and like most children, she's too brash and honest to be trusted with more than a few tidbits of knowledge. Of course, that only means she hasn't been in the game as long as others her age have. Innocence is a fragile thing. ]

Use your imagination. [ It's a curt monotone that indicates he doesn't want to talk about it. ]

[anatural]

[Oooooooookaaaaaaaay somebody's a little pissy.]

I'm gonna guess public indecency. [Arching an eyebrow. It's two thirds snark, one third genuine attempt to lighten the mood.]