From the discreet safety of an office’s basement just across the police headquarters, Amon’s hideout was secure enough that he could pay full attention to the radio’s broadcasting of the grand pro-bending tournament without having to keep an eye on the door. Republic City’s authorities would not think of looking for a threat right next to their main strongholds of power, and there were enough skilled Equalist between the surface and the hidden office to warn Amon of any trouble. And besides, Tarrlok’s specialist task force was still being led to the edge of the city with false leads.

  Come tomorrow, the residents of an unfortunate, completely Equalist-free tenement block would be raided by the councilman’s benders, and Tarrlok would no doubt pick apart each and every apartment for clues for a nonexistent Equalist cell. If things went well, the realization that he’d been chasing down a false trail again would finally cause Tarrlok to snap, and if the residents kicked up enough of a fuss they’d be branded as Equalist conspirators to join whatever fabricated excuses for Tarrlok to save face.

  Considering that it’d take pce in a heavily non-bender area, the inevitable heavy-handedness would easily foment resentment among the locals there, and the first-hand experience would help solidify the notion of bender supremacist oppression. It’d realize Amon’s warnings for the victims, and another part of Republic City would be more receptive to the Equalists moving in.

  It was far from the grueling pns that Amon had prepared before the Avatar’s coming, but he would not compin at such convenient opportunities. If anything, he should’ve found ways to give Tarrlok more power over the city if he knew this was what it’d lead to.

  But then again, such aggression from Tarrlok was completely unexpected…

  “-member, at Future Industries, it’s about bringing the future into your lives!”

  The announcer from the radio cut through Amon’s thoughts, and he focused his attention back to the live broadcast. It was still a while before the games actually started, but there were enough songs, adverts, and bulletins to entertain any listeners for far longer than the previous tournament broadcast did.

  And all of it only avaible through Future Entertainment Radio’s frequency. Over at Republic City’s official radio station, the shrill radio opera was still pying, and would continue to do so until the games actually began and the sports commentator took over. And after the tournament was done for tonight, it’d turn to the same old theater and folk songs again until the station shut down for the night.

  In contrast, Future Entertainment Radio promised post-game team interviews and match reviews from seasoned pro-benders, as it had done the past two nights already. Then there’d be more lively radio pys with fresh stories, and new musical arrangements that have not graced any stage before. And before the station went dark, Hitori Kuro would read through another page or two from ‘Water in the Fire: A Steaming Romance’.

  Amon had to admit, that woman’s voice was highly potent.

  If Hitori Kuro could be made to join the Equalist ranks, it’d give a considerable boost to the movement’s propaganda efforts.

  Just as how her superior would be a huge boon if he could be brought into the fold.

  Hiroshi’s assessment of Xing’s incompatibility with the Equalist cause was disappointing, at face value, but Amon still couldn’t help but feel that the tycoon’s opinions were highly colored from his protectiveness over Asami.

  Yes, the other members who were present that day echoed Hiroshi’s sentiments, but considering that they were all quiet sponsors rather than trained orators, he had a feeling that everyone in that room was intimidated by the young media director’s rhetoric, more than anything else. While Amon could not secure the exact transcript of Xing’s speech, the various retellings painted a picture of the director wielding logic to his advantage.

  Logic that, Amon could quietly admit, was so easily overlooked by his followers up until now thanks to the more emotional persuasion that he used to win them over. It was far easier building on existing resentment to bridge any gaps in reasoning, after all.

  Still, it was a good thing that the little encounter in the private box that day only involved Hiroshi and other equally entrenched Equalists. If Xing had voiced his rationale to the common man, it’d deal a dangerous blow to the movement’s legitimacy.

  But that didn’t mean Xing was completely incorrigible, as Hiroshi and his circle might insist.

  After all, Hiroshi Sato was once just as detached from the Equalists, and cared only about the inventions and innovations Future Industries could bring to the world. All it took was one tragedy to stoke the fires of hatred and vengeance in the magnate, which remained undimmed until now, and commit fully to Amon’s cause.

  Not that Amon would raise that point to Hiroshi’s face, of course.

  But it was still a relevant point.

  With one accidental death, one of the most powerful men in Republic City had thrown his lot with the Equalists, and the movement transformed from what was essentially a small gang into a growing underground army.

  So what then would be required to tilt Director Xing of Future Media? What was the fulcrum and levers needed to push Xing into the Equalist cause?

  The key was not to approach Xing, but make him come to them. That, Amon had learned, was the best way to gain the staunchest followers.

  Bckmail would obviously be useless on someone who, by all accounts, came from nothing.

  And with how Future Media was quickly gaining recognition, it’d be far too much time and effort to try conjuring scandals or orchestrating misfortunes on Xing and his company. Amon was not so blinded by confidence to downpy the media director’s skill. Tarrlok’s humiliation, and the Itiro family’s sudden meekness, was proof enough.

  And Amon did not want to antagonize Xing. Not if he wanted Xing to willingly join the ranks like Hiroshi did.

  Amon tuned back into the radio, where the teams of the first game were being announced.

  The games would be left alone, of course, as was everything reted to Future Media, for now. Amon knew that there was far more to lose now if he went ahead with the old pn of making a scene during the finals; even if they did accomplish their goals, it needn’t take Xing’s supposedly keen mind to turn public perception around.

  Up until now, Amon had been relying on the United Republic’s old-world incompetence in dealing with the masses. People who ruled for their own interests, from the safety of their opulent halls and mansions, and paid little attention to the cracks and shadows unless they shouted or shed out enough. Having someone show a bit of canniness in that field was enough to cause a significant upset.

  It was a mistake of compcency on Amon’s part, to not expect it. But this mistake could be turned into an opportunity, if only he could figure out a way…

  It didn’t help that Xing had the indirect protection of Hiroshi’s influence, being a subsidiary of Future Industries, and though he’s earned Tarrlok’s enmity, Xing’s star was still on the rise for the councilman to do anything anytime soon. His ties to the Avatar, though far from amicable according to reports, was still not something to overlook, considering that he did intervene during the ambush…

  Could the Avatar be used somehow?

  No. Not after the confrontation. Amon had already made Korra to be seen as another enemy, a great tool of the bending oppressors. To seek reconciliation now would undermine all he’s built.

  But what if she could be turned against Xing?

  Amon lingered on that thought for a second, and then dismissed it. There were no contacts to achieve that. Korra lived on Air Temple Isnd, under the annoyingly moderate Tenzin. For all his passivity, he was still a councilman who wielded a surprising degree of cunning. He’d no doubt intervene if he noticed any outside influence on his ward. So it’d require getting to Tenzin first, to make any approach to Korra possible, who could then be turned against Xing.

  An impossible waste of time, ultimately.

  “Hm…”

  Amon grunted with growing frustration. He was sure that he had an opportunity to gain a powerful follower in Xing, one that could fill just as crucial a role as Hir-

  “Hm.”

  If he wanted another hardcore Equalist, like Hiroshi…maybe he should draw inspiration on what converted Hiroshi in the first pce?

  According to Hiroshi, Xing had adopted a family of his own, two street children who now served as Asami’s aides, and an old beggar that now worked as a proofreader.

  Was he overthinking this problem all this time? Could the tragic accident that converted Hiroshi be mimicked to achieve the same results on Xing?

  It was…surprisingly, far from impossible - The Equalists still had active agents in the city’s underworld…

  “Hm…”

  *****

  Tarrlok seethed in the privacy of his home. But even here, he was caged to his study room. It was just past dinner, and the servants were still up, and the muted static-ced sounds leaking through the door hinted at their current activity.

  Despite that, it was much better here than if he’d remained outside. His house staff were at least more discreet when they huddled away to listen to the radio. Outside, where the councilman would have to mingle at parties, he’d be forced to put up with the damnable Future Entertainment Radio at full bst. Worse, he’d have to actually engage with the excitable idiots eager to sing praises for the new radio station.

  Every announcement, every song, every damned jingle that rattled out of the speakers, was a pointed reminder of the smug bastard that had dared hold a sword over Tarrlok’s head. Even more galling, the councilman was completely powerless at the moment to retaliate.

  Future Media under Xing had undergone a quiet but transparent overhaul. Incompetent or corrupt staff were repced, their books were audited, and their engagement with the journalists and city police force were properly conducted. Tarrlok had double-checked to make sure.

  The only point of contention one might bring up was the low entry for employment, but as far as Tarrlok’s people could see, the lowered standards did not come with equally lowered compensation. If anything, Future Media was paying its staff a higher wage than Republic City Radio across the board, so there went the cims of exploitation.

  Being a subsidiary of Future Industries, trying to get Future Media for staffing bance would be a masochistic endeavor, and would only unite the corporations against Tarrlok again. He already learned his lesson the first time: powerful as he was, he still couldn’t afford a protracted legal battle against the far wealthier industrialists. Which meant that Tarrlok couldn’t even raise the issue of bender discrimination in Future Media without Hiroshi Sato spitefully putting his wyers to work.

  There were also no guilds reted to radio or public retions, so Tarrlok couldn’t use competitive dissatisfaction as how he secured the earthbenders quotas in the construction industry.

  Future Media was, for now, beyond Tarrlok’s reach.

  And, frustratingly, so too was its director.

  The bits of conversation Tarrlok picked up about Xing’s time guarding Korra only painted a picture of patient suffering. What compints the Avatar had about her minder was that of a rigid adherence to duty, not compcency or incompetent. The sparse White Lotus accounts about Xing were also simirly dull. At most, there was something about him getting reproached by the White Lotus masters, but it was a one-time thing. And trying to raise a fuss over a boy being scolded by his elders was idiotic.

  In a simir fashion, his conduct as director of Future Media was annoyingly clean. Xing had a direct connection with Lin Beifong, and seemed more willing to deal with the bureaucracy to employ the metalbending police, than use the more convenient route of approaching the local triads like most people did.

  The one contact that Tarrlok could trace to the gangs involved Future Industries directly reaching out to a faction of the Triple Threat Triad to secure a site for a soup kitchen, a charity project. So even if he was desperate enough to pursue a company for negotiating with a criminal organization to peddle in charity works, technically Future Media still hands its hands clean.

  And for all the whispers being brought back of Equalists uding Xing with almost as much fervor as Hiroshi and the other industrialists, there were no signs of any contact between the terrorists and the boy. It did puzzle Tarrlok as to why the common Equalists were praising Xing after his involvement in foiling the ambush, and that led the councilman to believe that the terrorist leaders had purposefully kept that fact to themselves, and let their followers believe the official version of Tenzin being Korra’s sole rescuer.

  Which probably meant that Amon and his inner circle had pns for Xing.

  But again, there were no signs of any interactions between them. Then again, Tarlokk’s task force was still chasing Amon from one hiding hole to another, so the Equalists probably had to prioritize their leadership’s liberty.

  “Damn it all.”

  Should he rein in his task force to see what the Equalists had pnned for Xing? Considering the ck of significant success so far, it wouldn’t impact public perception too much…

  “Shit.” Tarrlok winced as he was reminded that if he did so, he’d have to ‘consult’ with Future Media to receive their damned list of ‘recommended actions’. Stupid, damnable contract…

  He really needed to find something, anything to hold over Xing, before his influence began to wane. There was no telling how chaos he was brewing would turn out without Tarrlok’s careful ministrations, especially as it was just a few stages away from achieving a critical state. He cannot lose his grasp on the city, not now.

  And he will not suffer the humiliation of ceding further control to someone else. Not again, not anymore.

  Tarrlok growled quietly as he heard the radio downstairs spike into animated excmation. Something has to be done, he decided, as he slowly rose up from his seat. If it meant losing some face by letting the Equalists run loose again, well…maybe Republic City needed the reminder of just how vital the task force was to holding back the terrorists.

  And if that reminder was accentuated with the tragic loss of a certain young man, all the better.

  Taking a second to compose himself and school his expression into a calm smile, Tarrlok left his study. The Tarrlok that his servants and the public knew was not one to haughtily demand his service, after all. He slowly descended, and as expected found the butler, cooks, maids and other staff sitting and standing around the radio. To their credit, they quickly noticed him and immediately killed the stupid box.

  “No, no, don’t let me get in the way of your break,” Tarrlok casually said with a gentle wave of his hand, before gncing to his butler. “Katyuk, I need my afternoon clear tomorrow.”

  “Understood, sir.”

  “Oh, and could you check if Lord Itiro is still awake? I have something to communicate with him.”

  The butler gave a single nod before swiftly heading for the telephone room. Watching the man go, Tarrlok put on a satisfied smile before making it fully downstairs to trade some empty talk with his servants. It was a simple way to keep up appearances, and now had the added benefit of keeping the radio silent.

  It made it easier to plot without all that nonsense staining the air, anyway.