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Return to Bison High Ch 18

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Chapter 18: To Tell the Truth

Korra struggled against the ropes and strong arms that bounded her. No matter how many times she kicked him or bit the hand that covered her mouth, Tarrlok just kept pulling her through the seemingly abandoned cabin. She tried screaming for help, but not only were her screams muffled out, but from what she saw, there were no other cabins or signs of life around. Just trees and darkness.
Finally, Tarrlok stopped at a door in the back of the kitchen. He removed his hand from the seventeen-year-old's mouth and reached for something in his pocket. As Korra gasped for fresh air, she saw Tarrlok unlock the door in front of them.
"What're you doing?" Korra asked, still trying to sound strong.
Without answering her, Tarrlok opened the door, and with one swift motion, let the ropes fall and pushed Korra inside. Even if she had enough time to see them, the room was too pitch black to make out the steps leading inside. There were only two of them, so Korra didn't fall too far, and she managed to land on her side.
Before she had time to process the pain, she heard Tarrlok close the door. She got up and ran back up the steps, but as she half expected, the door wouldn't budge.
"TARRLOK!" Korra screamed, pounding on the door, "You can't keep me in here forever!"
Tarrlok paid no attention to her. He slipped his key back in his pocket and began to walk away.
Korra's jaw and fists clenched. "You're not just locking me in here, you know!" she shouted, "I'm pregnant!"
Tarrlok stopped in his tracks. He stood there for a second, and then kept walking.
"TARRLOK!" Korra shouted. She continued to pound on the door, but it was no use. He was gone. Defeated, Korra slid down the door and sat on the step.
Suddenly, she remembered something: she took her cell phone with her when she went out. She searched frantically through her pockets, but her spark of hope quickly faded. Her phone was gone.
Korra huffed and ran her fingers through her hair, holding her head in her hands. She was trapped. If she wasn't found or didn't think of something soon, she was in deep trouble.
A couple tiny jabs interrupted her thoughts. She looked down at her belly and put her hand over where she felt the jabs.
"It's okay," Korra told the baby, rubbing her belly in tiny circles, "We're going to be okay."
--
Tenzin hurried through the doors of Bison High School. Ordinarily, the halls would be filled with students at this time, but in their place were police officers, detectives, and reporters. Trash and various other things were scattered across the hall, and cameras kept flashing every other second.
In the main office, Tenzin spotted Lin and Tarrlok, who was getting his arm bandaged by a paramedic. Hurrying over to them, Tenzin interrupted whatever conversation was going on beforehand.
"What happened?" Tenzin asked, "What in the world was Korra doing here last night?"
"As I was telling Chief Beifong," Tarrlok said, grimacing from the pain in his arm, "Korra stopped by to ask me to stop bothering her about working with me. I agreed not to bring it up again and…" A look of regret came on his face. "… That's when the Equalists attacked. I tried everything in my power to save Korra. I even tried using the baseball bat I keep by my desk to fight them off. I told Korra to run, but when she was about halfway down the hall, one of the Equalists slipped passed me and threw a trash bin at the back of her head. I tried to go help her, but before I could, I was electrocuted. When I came to, Korra and the Equalists were gone. I'm so sorry."
Tenzin didn't say anything for a moment. The story added up with the scenery, but he still had the feeling that something was off.
"Did you check the security tapes?" Tenzin asked, "We might be able to find out what direction they drove off in."
"Unfortunately, last nights footage has been erased," Lin told him, "As of right now, we don't have any leads."
Tenzin turned to Tarrlok. "Why would the Equalists take only Korra and not you?"
"I don't know. My guess is it has something to do with her work for KIA. She's the one who founded it, after all, and they didn't want her interfering anymore with their plans." He turned to Lin. "Can you track her cell phone? Maybe it'll give you a lead to where she is."
"We can try, but there was a phone found smashed in the parking lot," Lin explained, "If it's Korra's, it won't help us."
Tarrlok sighed. "We have to find her!"
The paramedic suddenly spoke up. "I've done what I can for your wounds, sir, but they should be more closely looked at at the hospital."
"Very well." Tarrlok stood up and turned to Tenzin. "Again, I'm so sorry."
He left with the paramedic.
Tenzin turned to Lin. "Are you sure we can trust was he says?"
"I don't know, but everything's still under investigation right now," Lin told him.
"I still think we need to look further into this. Tarrlok's been on Korra's case for weeks about her working with him, and the night she went missing was the night she came to confront him about it."
Lin looked up at him. "You say he's been on her case for weeks, huh?"
"Yes," Tenzin nodded, "He came to my home, and called her multiple times a night to try and change her mind."
"In that case, I'll be sure to have him come by the station for further questioning. In the meantime, I have a few questions for you. Do you know what time Korra left your house?"
"No, Pema was the only one who saw her leave."
"I'll need to talk to Pema, then. While I'm at your home, do mind if I take a look around? It's a long shot, in this case, but we might be able to find clues as to where she is."
"Of course." They began to leave the office. "Oh, and there's something else you need to know. Korra's pregnant. When she's found, we need to make sure that she and the baby are safe."
"I'll make sure my officers are aware. Hopefully, we can use her pregnancy to our advantage."
--
A black and red car pulled up in front of Tenzin's house. Asami turned off the engine and went to unlock the doors.
"Why are we stopping?" Mako asked, "We haven't found her yet!"
"Mako, we've been driving around all night," Asami yawned, Bolin snoring in the backseat, "We're tired. Maybe Tenzin heard something, or maybe she's home by now."
"If she was home, we would have heard something. Maybe if we drive around a few more times-"
"You can keep driving if you want to. I need a break." She opened the door and handed Mako the keys. "You coming, Bolin?"
"Huh?" Bolin asked, waking up. He yawned and then got out of the car.
"Take my phone," Asami said, handing Mako her cell phone, "If anything happens, I'll call you."
"Thanks." He hopped into the driver's seat, and drove away as Asami and Bolin walked into Tenzin's house.
When they walked in, they immediately saw Lin talking to Tenzin on the other side of the room.
"Any news about Korra?" Asami asked, Bolin flopping onto the couch for a nap.
"For the time being, the story is still the same," Tenzin explained, "We're still not sure how true it is, but it's all we have right now."
"Do you have a home computer that Korra might have used?" Lin asked Tenzin, "Maybe her internet history could give us some insight."
"She's been borrowing my laptop for homework," Asami told her, "I'll go get it."
While she went to get her laptop from her room, Tenzin turned to Bolin.
"Where's Mako?"
"He's still out driving," Bolin sleepily said, "He's real worried about Korra."
Asami came back up and handed her laptop to Lin. The police chief took it from her and sat in a nearby armchair to power it on.
"Hopefully, we'll be able to find her soon," Lin said, "Since she's pregnant, the investigation-"
"Wait, what!?" Bolin asked, springing up, wide awake.
"Korra's pregnant!?" Asami asked.
"Lin, I think I forgot to mention that no one else knew yet," Tenzin told her.
Lin shrugged. "Well, they know now."
"Whoa," Bolin said, still in shock, "That's… whoa. … Guess that's why she's been acting weird lately."
"Did she tell you who the father is?" Asami asked Tenzin, "Maybe he knows where she is."
"No, I doubt the father knows anything," Tenzin said.
"Actually, questioning the father might not be a bad idea," Lin said, "Depending on the situation between the two of them, he could've very well been involved in taking her."
"I doubt that's the case, but if you think it's necessary, I'll tell you who he is in private," Tenzin said, "It's Korra's business and doesn't need to be discussed right now."
--
Despite being advised to take some time off to heal, Tarrlok walked back into the school. A few cops were still there, but not as many as before. As he walked into his office to finish the work he started last night, he overheard a conversation between two of the remaining police officers.
"Can you believe all this?" the officer with a mustache asked, "Breaking into a school to kidnap a poor girl. Those Equalists are just out of control."
"I know what you mean. Your daughter isn't much older than this Korra girl is, right? Can you imagine if something like this happened to her?"
"I don't even wanna think about it. Though I suppose if my daughter was pregnant at seventeen, I wouldn't even let her out of the house."
Tarrlok froze at his desk. He listened closely.
"Yeah, I can imagine how you'd react to that. I hope this girl's okay, though. Those Equalists better not do anything to hurt her or the baby."
"I wouldn't worry too much about that. Once they find out she's pregnant, they'll probably let her go. I read online that it's against their beliefs to harm children, born or unborn."
"That's a relief. Hm, I wonder if that means that Equalists women aren't allowed to have abortions."
"No, that's a different matter. They also believe that women should have a right to their bodies, so it's entirely the woman's choice whether or not she wants to go through with her pregnancy."
"Well, you learn something new every day."
Tarrlok closed his door and attempted to get back to work. After over an hour of getting next to nothing done, he gave the excuse that his arm was hurting and went home early.
--
Lin handed the laptop back to Asami.  
"I looked over everything twice, but nothing hints to where Korra might be," Lin told her, "Like I said earlier, it was a long shot."
"Guess that just leaves questioning Tarrlok and the baby's father," Bolin thought aloud.
At that moment, Mako walked through the door. He looked exhausted, but still determined to find Korra.
"Any news yet?" he asked.
"Nothing as to where Korra might be," Tenzin said, "But there's something you need to know."
"About Korra?"
"Well, yes. She didn't want me to say anything yet, but since everyone else knows now, I figure you should too."
"What happened?"
"Nothing ha- Well, technically I suppose something did happen," Tenzin said, "You might want to have a seat."
Mako sat down on the couch.
"Korra's pregnant."
Immediately after hearing that, Mako stood back up. "What!?" A mess of shock and other emotions took over his body. "How… What do you mean Korra's pregnant!?"
"Bro, if you don't know what "pregnant" means, you should probably go back to health class," Bolin said.
"I know what it means! It's just…" He calmed down a bit. "She's pregnant?"
"Yes," Tenzin nodded, "Lucky for us, because of her pregnancy, the investigation's been made urgent, and is going through faster than it would if she wasn't. With any hope, she should be found sooner than later."
Mako still couldn't believe it. Part of him didn't want to believe it.
That's when it hit him. The only person he knew to have slept with Korra was… "Who… Who's the father?"
"I'm afraid I promised Korra not to say anything," Tenzin said, part of him still feeling like he should tell him, "It's her business."
The eighteen-year-old's nerves didn't calm at all. "How far along is she?"
"Approximately four months. I don't think she knows for sure, but she told me nineteen weeks."
Mako quietly counted back the months since he and Korra made the mistake of sleeping together. His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Seeing the look of sheer horror on her boyfriend's face, Asami quickly realized what was running through his head.
"Mako, why don't you come help me put my laptop away." She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him downstairs. She looked him dead in the eye, anger present in hers. "Are you the father of Korra's baby?"
"I…" Mako stammered, "I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't- … If you don't know, then you did have sex with her, didn't you?"
Mako looked away. He didn't know how he was supposed to handle all this. "We have more important things to worry about right now. We'll sort out our relationship problems later."
"Don't even worry about that," Asami said, anger still in her voice, "There's not going to be a relationship to sort out later."
She walked away, leaving him alone in the basement.
--
Tarrlok pulled up to the cabin and got out of his car. It was dark out now, but the full moon gave off enough light to see. The grown man wore a blank expression on his face as he walked inside and headed straight for the door in the back of the kitchen.
"So, you weren't lying after all," Tarrlok said to his captive, "You really are pregnant."
"Yeah, and currently I really have to pee!" Korra told him, urgency in her voice.
"You can take care of that yourself. There's a bathroom down there."
"Where?"
"There's only one other door down there. Take a guess."
"It won't open, and I'm going to wet my pants if I don't get in there NOW!"
Tarrlok huffed and reached into his pocket. "Stupid kid."
He unlocked the door. Before he could even take two steps inside, Korra struck him on the back of the head with the lid to the toilet tank. With her kidnapper half-consciously tumbling to the ground, Korra took her opportunity to run.
She was out of the cabin and running blindly through the woods faster than she could process. It didn't matter to her where exactly she was going, so long as it was away from Tarrlok.
Not long after bolting out of the cabin, Korra found herself at the side of a road. A bright light started shining from her right, and she looked to see a van coming down the road. She managed to wave it down, and the couple driving it immediately came to her aid.
"Are you alright, miss?" the woman asked.
"No! I need a phone, or a ride, or-!"
"Settle down, we'll help you," the man said.
"Thank you!" Korra felt a wave of relief wash over her. Soon enough, she will be back home in Summer Oak.
The man pulled open the back door of the van. Korra's relief vanished completely when Amon stepped out of the vehicle.
"I've been looking for you," the masked man said.
Not knowing what else to do, Korra got ready to run again, but before she could take even one step away, she felt a sharp pain go through her upper back and neck. She lost consciousness before she even hit the pavement.
Rustling soon came from the woods behind them. Amon and his two followers turned to see Tarrlok coming after Korra.
"Amon!" Tarrlok gasped.
Before anyone else could react, Amon zapped Tarrlok with his taser gun, knocking him out.
"Put the girl in the back," Amon told his followers, casually slipping his taser back into his pocket, "I'll take care of him."
The two nodded and bent down to pick up Korra. Amon walked over to Tarrlok and lifted him over his shoulder. He and his followers threw their victims in the back of the van before getting in themselves.
As per usual, the drive back to headquarters was silent. Nothing but the roar of the road and the sound of their own thoughts the entire way.
Sometimes I find it hard to believe that this series branched off AIRL.

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