( in all honesty, this is pretty much exactly what mako thinks about when he thinks 'shady back-alley hideout'. the street has him tense, shoulders up, guard ready, but once they're in the bolt hole he comes down from that, a little. his posture unfolds like a rare flower in bloom, and he lights the way with a small guttering candleflame nested in the palm of his hand. he's sure to shield it from any windows or run-down openings to the outside world, because the last thing they need is anyone else seeing them in here.
he ducks under a beam from the wall that's crumbled down, and once they're inside the old office mako lights the oil lamp at a distance and extinguishes the flame in his own hand.
the building's run down. decrepit, almost, and it wouldn't surprise him to learn it was condemned. he gets the feeling it was one of the buildings that was torched during the equalist uprising, but — probably for insurance reasons, it's never been fully demolished. it's just rickety and unsafe and it feels more like home than the apartment he and bolin still share. it doesn't matter how long he's been off the streets, it doesn't matter how long he's been away from the life. it's what he knows.
he casts a critical eye over the room. no booby traps, at least. no tripwires. and his gut instinct tells him that dick didn't bring him all the way here just to overwhelm him with superior numbers, an ambush doesn't really seem like his style.
as for attacking him alone? he doesn't know who'd come out on top in a fair fight, mako doesn't have a lot of experience fighting airbenders, but he's had a lifetime to master firebending. it's been a few years since harmonic convergence, though, and the way he moves can't be understated. zaheer was a natural at it, why can't this guy be the same? he resolves not to think about it. )
Did you do it about a century ago?
( it's what passes for humor in mako-land, dick, it's okay. because no butler, clearly, has ever been here. he gives one final look around and then sinks down onto his knees, hands resting lightly on his thighs. if dick were anyone but a criminal that's very nearly ruined his good name, he'd ask him are you okay? or. something. to show that he's a real person with real human emotions, and not just a soulless automaton masquerading as a cop.
no subject
he ducks under a beam from the wall that's crumbled down, and once they're inside the old office mako lights the oil lamp at a distance and extinguishes the flame in his own hand.
the building's run down. decrepit, almost, and it wouldn't surprise him to learn it was condemned. he gets the feeling it was one of the buildings that was torched during the equalist uprising, but — probably for insurance reasons, it's never been fully demolished. it's just rickety and unsafe and it feels more like home than the apartment he and bolin still share. it doesn't matter how long he's been off the streets, it doesn't matter how long he's been away from the life. it's what he knows.
he casts a critical eye over the room. no booby traps, at least. no tripwires. and his gut instinct tells him that dick didn't bring him all the way here just to overwhelm him with superior numbers, an ambush doesn't really seem like his style.
as for attacking him alone? he doesn't know who'd come out on top in a fair fight, mako doesn't have a lot of experience fighting airbenders, but he's had a lifetime to master firebending. it's been a few years since harmonic convergence, though, and the way he moves can't be understated. zaheer was a natural at it, why can't this guy be the same? he resolves not to think about it. )
Did you do it about a century ago?
( it's what passes for humor in mako-land, dick, it's okay. because no butler, clearly, has ever been here. he gives one final look around and then sinks down onto his knees, hands resting lightly on his thighs. if dick were anyone but a criminal that's very nearly ruined his good name, he'd ask him are you okay? or. something. to show that he's a real person with real human emotions, and not just a soulless automaton masquerading as a cop.
but.
well.
he's masquerading a little. and so: )
Why didn't you just let him die?