Brass and Brawn [korrasami]

Chapter 1

Korra had been chasing him for 4 years. She remembered the first encounter like the back of her hand.

It happened in the shopping centre. It had architecture that schools and hospitals could only dream of. The ceiling was domed higher than any cathedral and made of the most beautiful glass. The walkways flowed like tributaries to the main rivers of people, not a sharp angle to be seen. It smelled like heaven in a hand-basket and the floor shone like the surface of a lake at sunrise. In the background was music to soothe, gentle flowing notes to take the shopper's cares far away.

With her dog at her heel, she trotted through the building with her eyes sharp. That's when she saw him, long coat and his hair spiked up, matching the description that Chief Beifong had given her earlier in the day. He was definitely up to something, sketchy looking when he looked both ways before disappearing through a staff only door.

Korra followed his footsteps and cautiously opened the door. It led into a long corridor, illuminated a light blue from the lights dangling above. She pulled Naga in front and stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind her.

"Excuse me Miss. You're not supposed to be back here."
She looked up, brow furrowed. A security guard looked at her with confusion and then to her dog that stood close to her leg.
"Dogs aren't supposed to be here either."

Korra rolled her eyes, her hands fiddling with the end of Naga's leash.
"Sorry Sir, but my friend went this way." She replied, wondering if this guy even saw Mako walk past here.
"And Naga's my service dog."

He took a look at Korra's dog again, obviously not convinced with her lie.
"Do you have the papers to prove that?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Korra huffed and dug a hand into her pocket, she had to blow her cover just for a moment. But this was a waste of time, she needed to follow Mako.. now. She pulled out her wallet.
"Look dude, I'm a cop." She muttered and held up her wallet to expose her brass badge.

The security guard's face washed out white and he stood up just a little straighter. Satisfied with this reaction, Korra put her wallet away and pointed down the corridor.
"Did you see a man go this way? Dark hair, quite a tall fella."

"No officer." He answered.

She sighed and handed him a picture of the suspect, it was only a small cut out, no bigger than her palm.
"If you see anyone that looks like this, call the police." Her legs started to move into a running pace as she ran down the corridor, keeping her steps light so they wouldn't make much noise.

The corridor came to a junction and Korra looked both ways, they were empty. She knelt down to her dog, looking into its' bead like eyes. The dog and Korra had an understanding; it wasn't there at first. Back in the days she was fresh from the pound she was a raw bundle of unspent energy, crammed into a canine shape several sizes too small for her personality. She grew to twice the size they thought she might, but that can happen with mutts. Korra had trained her to the best of her ability and she's earned a medal or two as a result.

"Alright Naga you know what to do." She muttered, unclipping the leash from Naga's collar.
"Search."

Undercover was her specialty. With a tight blue shirt and a coat thrown over it with brown joggers at her bottoms, she blended in like everyone else. Yet, she had something strapped tight around her shoulder, the coat hiding it successfully.

She moved forward step by step whilst Naga's nose grazed across the ground, sniffing, searching. Her ears soon perked up tall and her head snapped towards another corridor. She's found something, her tail wagged twice and she bolted.

Korra knew what this meant and her hand trailed underneath her coat. It stayed there for the time being whilst she walked down a different corridor. The sounds of someone muttering echoed down the halls, it was faint but Korra could hear it loud and clear. Her hand gripped onto the handle of her pistol and she held it by her side, moving against the wall as she stepped closer towards the noise.