A Matter of Opinion

[Kenji]

Kenji shrugged and said “ Oh just a little bit of background on your supporter, Ambassador Tikaani.” he then produced the envelopes he had been handed earlier and said “ Oh and some invitations to this fundraising gala, at the embassy is having a couple nights from now.” he paused and said “ It’ll be important for later.”

He then paused and said “ Now for your second lesson, and it’s a history lesson.”

" As you probably already know after that whole Equalist business, the council that used to run Republic City was disbanded and we got a president instead, that election is important for two reasons." he paused  " The first was because for the first time, there was a position of power available that you could get without having to be a Fire Lord, a Earth Queen, or a Water Tribe Chieftain, which i guarantee has crossed every ambassador, attache, aide, etc in every embassy. The second reason is it is probably the last clean election that we'll ever have."

He chuckled " As much as I'd like to believe that the will of the people will prevail, experience tells me that's not going to be the case. First of all, in order to run to plaster your name all over the city with posters, radio spots etc, you need a sizable amount of money, which you can't take out of the embassy's coffers, so you need private backers, businessmen, nobility, but they're not going to give what you what you want freely, no their going to want something in return."

"Then there's  the criminal element. After all, doesn't matter how much the people of a certain neighborhood love you, if the local thugs are threatening to burn down their store if they don't vote for the candidate they have in mind."

He gestured with his hand " Politics, Money,Crime they were here before we were born and they'll be here after we die. These form what I like to call the Platinum Triangle. As it can't be  bent or broken." he paused and then said " However, it can be manipulated if your clever enough."

He stopped after that to let her absorb it as he said " Well that's enough lessons for right now, the match is starting. Sit back and relax a little, because there's work to be done after the match is over, the nights only begun."

[Neva]

Zula’s interest was piqued at the mention of information he’d acquired. She wanted to press for more, ask him just what that information detailed. But he moved onto a different topic in the next breath, and Zula withheld her curiosity. Patience for now, and she’d learn later. At the moment, he was deciding to give her the second lesson, and that stole Zula’s focus as she listened.

It all made sense: power, money, and politics ruled the world whether they liked it or not. Zula understood that she couldn’t change the system, and she’d be naive to think that was an option. Corruption had been here since the start of the universe, and it wasn’t going to just disappear altogether. She could fight it all she wanted, but it would still be here long after she was here, unbeatable. Manipulating it, however, could work in her favor.

She had yet to discover just how to do that.

“Manipulating the manipulators, I see. I suppose that’s as efficient as it can be.” Seeing how this was going, Zula could only guess that he would be showing her that eventually. What he had planned was still a mystery to her, the questions dangling on the tip of her tongue. She kept them to herself, however, knowing that she couldn’t rush ahead so quickly. He was in no rush, and she had to follow his pace. So she nodded and settled back in her seat, turning her attention to the ring below.

It was the Catgators against the Lion Vultures, and though she wasn’t completely invested in any single team, she was partial to the Catgators. When in doubt, supporting her home team was the way to go. The match was intense, both teams holding their ground, and as round after round went by it became increasingly hard to bet which one would win. In the end, the Lion Vultures took the win with a close call, but coming out on top nonetheless. Zula absently hoped that wasn’t a bad omen for the rest of her night.

As the match ended people began to filter out of the arena, crowding the exits as they left like a flood. Zula stood up to stretch, shaking the tiredness from her limbs. While she thoroughly enjoyed watching the match, and it had been nice to see one, the game was over. Now she had to focus, and while she wasn’t particularly eager to follow him around, it was time to get to work. The night was quite young, and she couldn’t begin to imagine where it was going to lead.

She looked to him, turning her back to the ring, “Well, Zuka did pick a good match. Now, where do we go from here? What type of work does tonight entail?”

[Kenji]

Kenji kicked back and enjoyed the match, after all the real work didn't begin until after it, and there was no point in overthinking this, not when there were several other things that he was busy overthinking already. In theory this should be simple, but he had learned that nothing ever ended simple when it came to Zuka so why should he expect it to be with her sister?

Soon enough though the thrill of the match was done and people began to filter out and he stood up stretching his legs When she asked what tonight's work would entail, he tried very hard not to smile, and kept a straight face as he said " You can't do what I do without information it's the most important resource, so tonight's work is going to be gathering some vital information."

He then turned to her and spoke in a low voice so only she could hear him as he said " So what is tonight's work? Simple, We're going to break into the Earth Kingdom embassy."

He then paused and gave a look and asked a follow up question" Did you drive here? I took a cab, and it's gonna be a nightmare trying  get another one right now."  He said that with a casual air as if just a minute before he didn't suggest doing something that even on a good day was a prison worthy offense.

[Neva]

"You can't do what I do without information it's the most important resource, so tonight's work is going to be gathering some vital information."

That didn’t sound too difficult, when he said it like that. In fact in those terms it didn’t seem like much of a challenge at all. But she knew there had to be some sort of catch to this. She couldn’t imagine that the assignment would be as easy as gathering information.

“So what is tonight's work? Simple, We're going to break into the Earth Kingdom embassy."

It took everything in her power to not let the shock of that explanation show on her face. For the most part she hid it, refusing to let him see that it had actually ruffled her at all. But it was still there in the quick widening of her eyes, the way her straight posture suddenly tensed. Break into the embassy? Sure, she’d done some breaking and entering as The Cinder, but nothing on the scale of that.

But she regained her composure swiftly. It was a risk she was going to have to take, and she was not about to back out. The possibility that they could get caught was there, sure. That didn’t mean it would happen. The whole point was to make sure they wouldn’t get caught, and Zula was certainly not aiming for that. No, she would follow his lead because she had to prove herself somehow, and not learning from him wasn’t an option.

How he changed the subject so easily caught her off guard yet again. He could make such a striking remark and then ask about a ride? She resisted shaking her head and replied simply, “Sounds rather...eventful. As for transportation, I can give you a ride, yes.”

She strode out of the box, each step trying to shake the feeling that fell on her the moment he’d told her the plan. Zula led him out to where she’d parked her satomobile and got in, waiting for him to do the same. Then she started the engine, and asked offhandedly, “Should I take us both to corner Zuka for this, or leave you to do it on your own?”

[Kenji]

Kenji chuckled and said " Oh I assure you I have something, quite special, planned for Zuka for her part in this little deception, but for now, just a drive will be fine." He paused and small smirk crossed his face as he said " Oh and one last thing I should have mentioned is that we're going to be doing this bit of burglary without masks, just what we have in our pockets."

He then very purposefully ignored whatever look was crossing over her face right about now as he pointed into the night and said " Now I'd park us about a block or two away from the embassy, don't want to be too conspicuous. Let's get a move on, we're burning moonlight."

[Neva]

The look that crossed over Zula's face could only be described as horrified. It was brief, but very obvious, and if anyone could see through the window of the satomobile, they could assume she'd just been told the worst news of her life. She had assumed they'd be masked, as she always did anything that took her outside of the law. But really, should she even be surprised? This entire scheme was absolutely crazy, so of course he'd make it as difficult as it could be.

But that couldn't stop her. Zula listened to his instructions, gripping tight to the steering wheel. He may be causing her stress, but she could handle it. She did not come this far to give up, and she really wondered if she'd rather be caught than give up. Even though it would ruin her whole career. And shame her family. And put her in prison.

No pressure. None at all.

"As you wish." Zula pushed it all to the back of her mind and focused on driving. He could criticize her street knowledge all he wanted, but getting into an accident wouldn't exactly put his faith in her. He was packing on the pressure for a reason, she knew that. She just had to prove that she could handle it and not get caught. Zula remained silent as she drove, finally parking a couple blocks from the embassy as he instructed. She hoped that if they had to make a quick exit they'd actually be able to get there in time.

She looked to the building, outside lights glowing in the dark. Then she turned to him, removing her hands from the steering wheel. "So what is your grand plan for the evening? I'm assuming you're not going into this without one."

[Kenji]

He smirked and said " Well seeing as I've got a tourist tonight I thought I'd keep the agenda simple, walk up to the front gate, pick a lock, walk in through the front door, up some stairs, pick another lock, pick a third lock, rummage through some papers, and then walk back out the way the way we came." He then paused and said " But don't worry that's my part of the plan, your part of the plan is far simpler

He held up four fingers as he said "Keep up. Don't panic. Keep a lookout.  Play along. You keep to those four basic principles and we should be in and out no problem."

Of course he had not mentioned at all how they were going to get through the no doubt myriad of guards that would be in both the perimeter and inside, and he wasn't going to after all, what was this going to be if he couldn't have a little fun. He opened the car door and motioned for her to follow as he started toward the embassy gate.

[Neva]

It didn't sound all that complicated. The process, broken down into those individual steps, didn't appear to be anything that complex. Her part especially didn't seem like it required much work on her part other than watching and learning, and of course following instruction. But Zula's mind picked plenty of concerns. They weren't going through a side entrance, but right through the front doors, which sounded like a horrible idea. Not to mention that he hadn't even told her how they were going to deal with the tight security which Zula was well aware existed. It couldn't just be a matter of stealth, could it?

She had plenty of questions to ask, but just as she was about to start listing them he opened the door and was on the move. Zula held in her sigh, telling herself that he probably wouldn't be willing to answer them anyways. She was there to learn, and so that was what she was going to have to do. Zula shoved open her door and got out of the car, following after him. The closer they got to the gate, the more cautious she felt, her eyes searching for any guards. Were they really going straight through the front door?

Play along, she reminded herself. He wouldn't do it if he knew he'd get caught. At least, she hoped that was his thinking. There really was no telling what was going through his mind. As they approached the gate she kept silent, following his lead and waiting for him to throw another surprise of some sort her way. 

[Kenji]

Kenji walked at a cool but rapid pace as they were coming up on the outer gate, then he said " Now as you may or may not know, the lock on that door are embassy grade. That means they have too high a temperature to melt with firebending, too low a temperature to freeze and shatter through water bending, and are made from a platinum composite that can't be bent through earth bending, but that also makes it so, that if you know what your doing." he paused and then from his inside pocket pulled out two of his lockpicks " They're the easiest to pick."


You could stop a bender or you could stop a thief, but you couldn't stop both, sometimes Kenji thought all he had to do was invent a thief proof bending proof lock and he'd be the richest person in existence.


They came to the courtyard and it was surprisingly empty, although that could just mean the night guards could be patrolling the back. Kenji went to the locked gate and in a only a moment there was a click and he opened the door and let her in closing it behind them. He continued the pace to the front door and without even pausing simply walked through.


The interior lobby was also empty. Not a single guard in sight. Kenji figured he'd better explain something to Zula before she had a heart attack


So he said ina quiet voice that only she could hear " You know that probending match we were at? Well they rebroadcast it on the radio, right about now. So if your a night guard for an embassy and want to catch the game what do you do? You have a heavy patrol early in the evening when there are still some late workers and cleaning crew around, and then after wards you all huddle in the back offices and listen to the game."


He paused " I figure we still have about five minutes before someone draws the short straw and has to do a perimeter check. So come on." he pointed to a nearby staircase " We're looking for the accounts office, should be on the second floor."

[Neva]

Zula matched his pace, listening closely as he spoke. She'd never really thought about the type of locks a place like this would use, but it made sense as to why. It made it sound as if they had all their bases covered against intruders. Though, as he pulled out the lockpick, she supposed they weren't as covered as he thought. She watched as he set to work, commenting, "Not as foolproof as they would hope for, I see."

She watched, focused on how he would manage to pick the lock, and yet it was over and done with in an instant. Zula's expression reflected how impressed she was by that, and she figured she shouldn't have expected anything less. He continued forwards and she followed, her gaze glancing around the area, waiting for a guard to appear and stop them before they could even make it inside. But he walked straight in through the doors, not hesitating once. As much as Zula did want to hesitate, she followed suit.

Inside she prepared herself for the guards, to hear them coming. To her shock, there was not a single one in the lobby, and she heard nothing. Where was everyone? Did they just walk into some sort of trap? 

Then he filled her in, thankfully, as to where the guards would be, and she nodded. That made much more sense and it brought her a small sense of relief that this was what was supposed to be happening. How he knew all of this she had no idea, but it worked in his favor. As he pointed to the staircase she followed his gaze. "Right. Let's go, then."

Keeping alert she headed towards the staircase, hurrying up it as quietly as she could. Five minutes wasn't a lot of time, especially considering she didn't know where exactly the office was. Zula reached the top and peered around the corner, and seeing that no one was there she continued through hurriedly, reading the labels on each door, but being careful to not wander too far from her current...partner. Yes, that was the word, she supposed.

Accounts Office, accounts office...she walked on, until she finally paused in front of a door that read what she was looking for. She turned to him and gestured towards it, voice quiet, "This is what we need?"

[Kenji]

"Thats the one we need." he said once again quickly picking the lock and letting them inside, shutting the door behind them quietly.

Inside the office were a few smaller desks, no doubt for the deputies , which eventually led to a larger office, with a bigger desk, no doubt for the head of the accounts department. Kenji briefly spotted a plant on one of the smaller desks and thought for a minute
.

"This'll come in handy in a minute." he muttered as he slowly moved the potted plant closer to the edge of the desk.


He then turned back to Zula and said quietly " keep watch on the door and let me know if you hear anything" With that he then went into the larger office and found another door. He picked it open and walked into. There were rows and rows of cabinets, containing the accounting for the entire Earth Kingdom embassy. It was a lot, but luckily he only needed one thing.


He made his way to the alphabetized cabinets and then pulled it open quietly, rifling through until he found what he needed. Folding the stack of papers until it was small enough to wedge into one of his inside pockets.


Now he merely waited.


He knew that, soon enough, whichever two guards drew the short straw would be making the short round, and would be coming to the second floor. Time to see how Zula the would be vigilante handled it when a bit of external pressure was put on her, like embassy guards coming her way.

[Neva]

Right, look out was her job. As he moved to the next office Zula positioned herself a little out of the way of the door, listening for them. She waited, the seconds ticking away until they stretched into minutes. Zula glanced over her shoulder, wondering what was taking him so long. Surely he knew what he had come for and could find it easily. What could be holding him up was beyond her knowledge. She was half tempted to go and ask, but then she heard the sound of voices and footsteps coming their way, and her gaze snapped back to the door.

"Guards," Zula said in a harsh whisper, backing up a few steps. She wondered if they would get lucky and the guards would simply walk by the room and not bother to check inside. But the footsteps drew closer and closer, until they were right outside the door. There would be no luck for her tonight. The doorknob turned, and Zula dove behind the nearest desk as the guards entered.

She pressed her back up against the wood, listening as they moved farther inside. Her mind raced, deciding what she could do. She didn't need to cause chaos that would alert other guards and then have them trapped and caught. Staying out of sight and quiet would be her best bet, for now. She peered out from the side of the desk enough to see the guards checking around the room, searching. They definitely noticed the unlocked door, and so she knew their suspicions had to be high.

As they moved around the room, Zula crept behind another desk, being careful not to make a sound. She knew that the moment they turned their attention to the larger office, she'd have to act. Preferably without them seeing her face, which was the one thing holding her back from making a move. It had to be timed right, or else it could mean a lot more trouble than she needed.

The guards made their way, Zula creeping after them slowly. She watched, anticipating when they would move, until they finally turned their attention towards the large office where her new mentor was. With their backs to her, she drew herself up, and then rushed forwards. Firebending would cause light, which would let them see her clearly, and so that was out of the question. But luckily, she had other skills she could use.

Closing the distance between herself and the two guards, Zula raised her fist as the first one started to turn towards her. She swung hard, the punch then knocking the first guard into the second one. As the first fell unconscious and the second guard fumbled with him collapsing, Zula kicked out her foot, letting the sole of her foot--hopefully--be the only thing he saw before he crumpled as well. 

With the two of them knocked out Zula stepped over their bodies, looking into the large office. "Are you finished yet?"

[Kenji]

 " Yeah I'm done, just hold on a second and we'll...." Kenji's voice trailed off as he saw the guards lying there on the floor. He paused for a minute and then looked as if he was going to say something, but then  let it go as he simply sighed and said " I can't be mad at you, because in all honesty this is my fault. I wanted to see what you'd do with a little added pressure and I figured that I literally could not make your part in the plan any simpler, but I was wrong, and for that I apologize."

He continued in a clam measured voice as he said " So here's whats going to happen. Your going to go now, and  get to the car and wait there while I clean up" he pointed to the two guards " this mess." He looked back at her and said " I will join you when I can, and once I do will explain to you your mistake." his voice then turned arctic as he said " Using as small of words as I possibly can."

He pointed out as his tone was not one for argument as he said " Go now."

[Neva]

She could not remember the last time she wanted to scream as much as she did now. Zula could feel the anger rise in her almost instantly as he talked. In all truth, she didn't know if it was the fact that she'd done something wrong or the fact that it was him, but it may very well have been a combination of both. It really didn't matter. Her jaw clenched tightly, and she wanted so badly to start right arguing right then and there, but she didn't. For the first time the entire day, Zula actually fell silent. She turned on her heel sharply and left the room, knowing she needed the distance before she actually went off. 

It was as easy to leave as it had been to enter. But Zula was fuming. Was he going to refuse to continue training her now? Did she just lose the right to her mask over this? No, she wasn't about to have that happen. She'd go as far as refusing to the agreement if that was what it took. Before she even realized it she'd left the walls of the embassy and was out and in the street, her stride quick. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost walked right past the car, but she stopped herself. 

Zula reached for the door and wretched it open, taking a seat and then slamming the door shut. She didn't care how it looked, really. Her thoughts moved from berating him to berating herself. Zula didn't make mistakes. She didn't mess up, she couldn't mess up. And now it could cost her everything. And she was absolutely dreading his return. If she thought she struggled to hold her tongue before, it would be nothing but torture now.

She let out a sound that was half a sigh, half a growl, and then sank back against the seat. All she could do now was wait.

[Kenji]

As she left Kenji sighed and got to work.

With something like this, it was impossible to cover up, but it was possible to explain it. So first he locked the back office and the door to the cabinet room as well. Then he took out a few coins from his pocket and bent them into the general shape of keys, enough for a quick pass-by inspection, and then made a make shift ring to put all of his fake keys on. He then put those in his pocket and then buttoned up his shirt to the top button and buttoned up his jacket. He smoothed it out a bit and then looked at the potted plant on the desk. He had a different plan for it a the time, but that was out, so on to something else.


He lifted it up and then clenching it in his fist the cley pot slowly broke into peices as the dirt and plant fell to the group softly around the guards. He then lowed the peices as well as it looked like they had been knocked out by a lucky hit with a flower pot.

That was the easy the part, the hard part came next as Kenji then affixed a look of panic on his face and then began running out in the hallway making as much noise as possible as he yelled out in a slightly nasally voice " Help! Somebody help me! Is there anyone there?"


He managed to get all the way down stairs still yelling when he heard the mass of footsteps coming and suddenly he was surround by a large amount of confused and suspicious guards. However despite this Kenji instead broke into a relived smile as he said " Oh thank the spirits, there you guys are.... you guys got help me."


"What are you doing here sir?" the head guard questioned


Kenji spoke quick as if he was almost out of breath as he said " I came back to the office late, I....I have keys." he held up the fake ring quick as he continued " I..i think I might have been followed in or something, because next thing I know someone was reaching for me in the office in the shadows." He paused and his eyes went wide as he said " They're still in the office, come on, come on, quick!"



He then gestured to the guards and lead the charge back up the steps ad to the office Once inside he then opened the door wide as he said " I think I got with a flowerpot and whacked the other on when he tried to grab me, so what do we...." his voice trailed off as the light was clicked on and the two guards were revealed. Kenji then let his face fall as he murmured " oh no, oh no, I'm so fired, I'm going to lose my job, oh no."



The phalanx of guards that had followed him looked at Kenji and said " What happened here, and why are you here so late?"



Kenji kept talking in that rapid fire nasally pitch he had adopted " I-I had forgotten to lock up the office, I'm usually the last one out and it's my job to lock it up, and I forgot today, see there's this girl from the Fire Nation Embassy and we had a date and....." he trailed off " not the point, the point is that I forgot to lock up the offices and  so i came back here to take care of that , and the next thing I know I hear someone coming in and then...." he gestured back to the guards and the shattered pot
.

The guards looked at him again as he said " hey man I'm not some spoiled nobles son, who got a cushy gig, I'm from the Dragon Flat's, and when someone jumps you in the dark you either run or knock them out with something and call the cops." He then paused and let his face drop again " Oh god, my boss has made it clear from day one that if I screwed up once he'd replace with one of those brats and I'd be out on my ass again, and then not only do I forget to lock up, but I do this, oh my god I am so fired!"



He then paused "Oh my, they're not dead are they? I don't see them breathing, Oh no, no no."



Then the guards on the ground bolted up going " Wha!"



Kenji sighed " Oh thank the spirits!"



The downed guards brushed the dirt off them and said " What happened?"



The head guard looked at them and then pointed the the seemingly nervous Kenji and said " You caught the intruder of the century boys."



The everybody had a good laugh, as Kenji in a panicked voice went over the story again and the downed guards looked pretty embarrassed, not remembering exactly what happened, much to Kenji's relief as his story then became the official story. Kenji  apologized profusely another couple of times and then finally they left, locking up the door behind them, the head guard accompanying Kenji back out to the main courtyard as Kenji then said " Hey any chance that we can just keep this between us, like I said my boss will..."



The guard smiled and said " Your secrets safe with us, tonight was just another quiet night as far as I'm concerned."



Kenji sighed and said "Thank you so much, alright well I better get to my ride, it's just around to corner and..." he paused and then smacked his head as he said " and my date is still waiting in the car this whole time....oh god I'm dead."



The guard laughed and said " and one of those Fire Nation girls too...your in for an earful no doubt."



Kenjii sighed " Ah well you can't win em all, I guess." he then chuckled and then went out the gate, as the guard locked it behind him. Kenji continued the act of recovering nervous accountant, until he got to the car and got in.


He then looked at Zula and said " Drive away calmly. there's a stop for the late train about 6 blocks down the road, should be a ghost town this time of night. Get us there and park it there, then you can say whatever's practically radiating off you."



He then turned away from her, still not brooking further discussion until they were far away., but he was sure his earful would be coming soon enough.