Yun Song, Chief of Security of His Excellency the Prime Minister of the United Earthen States, was scrubbing between her toes diligently, dressed only in her bathrobe, fuming at the lack of competent hygienists in the Four Seasons. Yun was always fuming at something or the other these days - the Prime Minister, the Avatar and the President of Republic City being the main subjects of her ire. Lee Beifong, the Prime Minister of UES, was increasingly becoming an irrational man, demanding her to accomplish everything from rounding up the Earth Liberation Front to 'securing' the Avatar. The President of Republic City, on the other hand, was an adamant woman, incapable of sensing anything beyond the borders of her own tiny city. The Avatar, however, was proving to be more difficult to locate than what she had assumed at first.

All because of the White Lotus, she thought with surprising vehemence, accidentally stubbing her toe against the chair leg. She swore quite loudly, picking up the upturned vase, and taking a deep breath to calm herself. The White Lotus always got her blood boiling. As a young woman, she had always wanted to be a part of the secretive, elite organization. She knew they were always watching with their vast network of spies and informants, many of whom had no idea who they were spying for. She had heard of fake Paisho games that the Lotus members used to recruit or communicate. She also knew they would reveal themselves to any prospective applicant. But Yun never was graced with a visit from them. She refused to admit that the White Lotus did not consider her worthy of a membership. They can stuff their exclusive Self-help Group into their own glorified pie holes, she thought.

And that brought her to the reason for her visit to this cesspool of a city. She shrugged out of her bathrobe and momentarily appraised her taut frame in the full-length mirror. Her muscles still rippled and stood firm and her face seemed chiseled of stone. The metallic left arm caught the neon light from outside and shone, reminding her of the things she had lost to get to where she was. She had long passed the age where men would consider her beautiful. Now, they only saw an Enforcer - and that's just what she wanted. Especially when dealing with some truly hard-assed men.

Like the Chief of Police, Kobashi Nakamura, for instance. A fire-bender and one of the youngest men to assume the post, Kobashi was a tough negotiator who did not readily divulge sensitive informant information. And Yun desperately needed him to, if she had any hopes of sniffing out the nonexistent trail of the White Lotus. In an earlier time, when she still was a young woman with undeniably good looks, she would have tried to seduce the Police Chief. But while her body was still good enough to fight, its flirting days were over. Besides, she had heard rumours that Kobashi preferred men. And moreover, she did not really expect the tough-as-nails Kobashi to just fall for the oldest tricks in the book.

She would have to do this the hard way, she thought as she got dressed for her meeting with the Chief. She would have to bring to bear the full weight of her authority and the authority of her boss. She would have to dominate the conversation somehow - find some leverage she could use against Chief Nakamura.

She put on her pale-yellow blouse and a dark-green formal jacket that brought out the green in her eyes. She checked her belt to make sure the metal string was in there - for emergencies. As an added precaution, she also carried a handful of dirt in her elegant leather purse. Her heels clipped and clopped as she made her way across the plush hotel lobby, not bothering to return the receptionist's friendly nod. Barka, her large and mute bodyguard/assistant, folded the newspaper he was reading and got up from his seat in the lobby, wordlessly falling in step with her. His subtle nod, she returned.

As she stepped out of the hotel, the breeze whipped at her collar and she squinted her eyes against the bright glare of the lamps as the sun set over Republic City. She felt dwarfed as monstrous skyscrapers towered over her like admonishing giants. Here and there, among the endless throng of people, she could see shining glimmers of spirits going about their lives as well. Republic City - truly the nexus of the worlds.

She refused to ride in the city's taxis. Those were filthy things with the seats full of Raava knows what! To her assistant Barka's questioning look, she said, "The hotel is giving us a Futuron limousine." Barka smiled. He hated walking. And like his mistress, he too loved the comforts of life. As a long and sleek limousine pulled up outside right on cue, he quickly ran to sit in the front seat while Yun eased herself into the back. Despite her cool exterior, she was beginning to feel the nerves. This was supposed to be a routine negotiation with a policeman. Then why did she feel as if she was just about jump headlong into a mysterious abyss? With her anxieties circling her, the limousine peeled off the hotel entrance and made its way to the Police Headquarters.