"I think you'd be an asset to the Council," said Tenzin. "I've always thought so."

We were walking - slowly - through the hospital garden. He had appeared that morning with a gift for me: a walking stick, designed along the lines of an Air Nomad's staff. I suspected fraternal collusion, but I wasn't going to complain.

"I'm no good at politics," I said. "I lose my temper and say the wrong thing."

"I've always admired your honesty."

"It's not enough." I sank onto a bench. "Look how Megumi manipulated me. And Tarrlok did the same thing last year. I'm not the right person for this job." I rubbed my knee and added, "And if I have to see Megumi's face every day, I think I'll punch her."

"I wish you'd reconsider."

"No."

"I just - I hate seeing you like this."

"In pain?" I asked.

"Lost."

I couldn't answer that.

When I could complete a circuit of the gardens without a rest, I checked myself out of hospital. Asami came to pick me up; when she arrived, she wasn't alone.

"She's been hanging around the office so much, we might have to start paying her."

"You can't afford me," snapped Anh, lifting my bag.

"Actually, we can," said Asami quietly as we made our way outside. "General Iroh settled the Megumi account yesterday. He paid us … well, a lot. And there's a message for you from the Fire Lord."

"What does she say?"

"No, the seal is Fire Lord Zuko's. I didn't open it."

In fact, Asami had been carrying the little scroll around since it had been delivered. She gave it to me once I was settled at home, with soup on the stove and a threat that she'd be around later that evening to make sure I was comfortable.

Lying on my couch, with a book, the wireless and two newspapers within easy reach, I opened the scroll. It was covered in large, rough characters, the work of a man who had been educated at sea, an old man whose eyesight was now failing.

Lin,

Long ago I made peace with the fact that I couldn't take responsibility for all the sins and crimes of my family. At the time, I was thinking of my ancestors, and my father and sister. Until now, luckily, none of my extended family have caused me any pain.

There's no evidence at this stage against Megumi, and I doubt any will ever come to light. Without proof of her crimes, we cannot stand in the way of the United Republic's decision. As I write this, the choice is not yet final, and I hope Tenzin prevails against her. But I'm not optimistic.

I want you to know that, even without proof, we trust your word. I've known you for your whole life, and I know how firmly you believe in doing what's right. That might be small comfort, in light of your losses and injuries, but I hope it still counts for something. Money is no compensation for what you've experienced, but I hope that, in settling our account, we enable you to continue to serve Republic City.

Zuko

Unable to drive, I had to take a cab out to the Earth Kingdom cemetery. My mother was buried here, at the very top of the hill. Too far to walk.

I gave the driver and told him to wait.

It was a long, slow walk to Liu's grave, and when I got there, my injury wouldn't permit me to kneel. I bent awkwardly, fumbling with the matches as I lit the incense.

"I'm still angry," I told the stone.

"Me, too," said a voice behind me. I turned, almost losing my balance, and she had to steady me. Liu's daughter.

"Yunhe," I said.

"You must be Lin Beifong." She looked like her father, the same crooked smile and bright green eyes. She was shorter than me, with cropped black hair and a hint of a double chin. Her pregnancy wasn't yet visible, except for the thickness around her waist.

"Am I intruding?" I asked.

"Not at all. I come here a couple of times a week to tend the grave and tell him off."

"Does it help?"

"Sometimes." She stood beside me, watching the wind carry away the smoke from the joss sticks. "I like to think he would have told me the truth, eventually."

"Someone," I said, "told me he was basically a good man."

"Yeah." Yunhe's eyes were bright. "But weak."

"Before he died, he told me he wanted to use the revolution as a force for good."

"Did you believe him?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"No. That's fair."

Yunhe knelt by her father's grave, her hands resting on the stone.

"Thank you for coming," she said. "I'm glad I got to meet you."

Thus dismissed, I walked away.

The cab dropped me off at the office. I paused at the foot of the stairs, gauging its height against the strength of my bad leg.

What the hell. I started to climb.

It took longer than I liked to admit, and I was glad to sink into my chair when I finally reached my office. Asami followed me in, joined by Anh and the cat.

"We've had three jobs while you've been away," said Asami, handing me a set of folders. "Two straying husbands and a lost pet."

"I found the pet," Anh added. "She," she nodded at Asami, "thinks I need to start off small."

"Shouldn't you be in school?" I asked. Anh shrugged.

"All the accounts are paid up," Asami went on, "and with the Fire Lord's money, we're actually doing okay for once."

"Can we afford to move?" I asked. "Maybe to an office on a ground floor?"

"We can afford to buy this whole block."

"Good. Look into it. I-"

I was interrupted by a tentative knock at the outer door. Asami went to answer it while Anh settled herself in a corner with the cat.

"You're going to get a proper education," I warned her.

"Make me."

"What do your - do you even have parents?"

"Yes."

"Tell them to expect a visit from me."

Asami entered, looking bemused.

"This is Mr Hong," she said. "He has a … triad problem?"

I recognised Mr Hong. He was the leathergoods man, who made the best shoes and belts Liu had ever seen. He took his cap off as he entered my office, and squeezed it absentmindedly as he spoke.

"It's the Triple Threats, ma'am," he said. "I've always paid the protection fees, never a bother, but now they say I gotta pay more. 'Cos of Councilman Liu, they say, he owed them money, and now he's dead, we all gotta pay." Misreading my silence, he added, "I know it's not true, ma'am, about the money, but it's not like they take no for an answer. Not from us, anyhow."

"You want me to … talk to the Triple Threat Triad?" I asked. "You want me to negotiate?"

Mr Hong shrugged. "It's what Councilman Liu did. And he trusted you - and we all know it's not true, what the papers say, they just hate when a boy from the Dragon Flats comes good. He trusted you," he repeated.

Slowly, I said, "The triads only respond to force. I'm just one woman, Mr Hong."

"Well," he said, "the way I figure, you need leverage, right? So Shady Shin, right, his girlfriend's a florist. Name of Lily, believe it or not. Talk to her, you might find something he needs more than our money. Take it away," he held up his hands, "Shin'll start listening."

"I…"

"Oh, and Mrs Kwan? Over at Lotus Square? She's real worried about her grandson, reckons he's getting in with the Agni Kais. You should go around, talk some sense into the kid."

"I-"

"And Mr Tsui, who runs the Fire Nation restaurant, his suppliers have been shorting him, so he's stopped paying, and someone just needs to sort them all out, 'cos they've all gotta make a living, you know?"

He put his cap back on.

"We're grateful to you, ma'am. Doesn't matter who's on the Council. We know you'll look out for us, just like you stood by Liu."

He left, Asami scurrying after him to show him out. I buried my head in my hands.

"Well?"

Asami was back.

I sat up, taking stock of our situation. Thinking. I had started from scratch once. I could do it again.

Fine.

"Go make friends with Shady Shin's girlfriend," I said. "And stop by a real estate agent, get the ball rolling on finding a new place. Oh, and give yourself a raise, backdate it to when Lady Yumiko walked in."

Anh stood up. "Do I get a raise?"

"Go to school."

"But-"

"You can work afternoons and festival days. For now, find this Mrs Kwan of Lotus Square, and find out if her grandson's really joining the Agni Kais, or if he's just playing with fire. And if you see Skoochy, tell him our lessons resume next week."

Anh vanished, leaving me alone with the cat. He jumped up on my desk, purring.

"I need to call some restaurant suppliers," I told him. "You're not helping."

He rubbed his face against my hand, nibbling it just a little so I didn't make the mistake of thinking he was tame.

"Hard to imagine why anyone would leave you to starve," I said.

Shǔ purred harder. I pushed him off my desk, and he curled up in the corner, watching me through narrowed eyes.

I got to work.

end

Final Notes

A lot of the names and criminal activities here are drawn from two sources: Shanghai: The Rise and Fall of a Decadent City by Stella Dong, and Razor by Larry Writer, which covers Sydney's underworld wars of the 1920s and '30s. (Razor was adapted into a miniseries, Underbelly: Razor, a few years ago. It's more glamorous and attractive than the real wars, but some of the most implausible plot developments, like the topless prostitute fight, are based in fact.) Pockmarked Huang was a real gangster in Shanghai, although his actual record was more like Deng's. Deng's nickname came from a distant relative of mine, a country girl who ran away to Sydney to become a flapper, and wound up a gangster's moll known as "Diamond Dolly". Liu's facial scars were common among Sydney criminals in the Jazz Age. Medical science here is about a couple of decades ahead of the real world, but the existence of water healing makes that at least somewhat plausible. Kneecapping was big with the IRA. I don't advise googling it. There are pictures. Shǔ the cat is ginger in real life, and it's been months since he put anyone in hospital.

Particular notes for readers

I just wanted to say, I've had exceptionally nice, thoughtful and clever feedback here on for this fic, and I'm very grateful. You guys rock.