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There were many jobs Zuko accepted. From mafia leaders to political parties, his assignments took him far.
As such, there were twice as many he didn’t accept. And within those, there were ones where he went after the ones who requested his services instead.
Each time, he did his own research before making up his mind. When he decided against it, sometimes, he warned them. Other times, he felt it wasn’t worth his trouble and let it be.
When another request came in, he went through the motion. They provided little information but the rate they were promised was double his usual one. Wondering who would warrant such a bounty, Zuko looked into it.
When he first learned that his target was a political figure, he wasn’t surprised. Many of the ones he did were of such standing. She was on the younger end, only 32, but it was her statements he was intrigued by.
She only made a few promises but those promises, she followed through on it. She was popular and within the first few years of her terms, she was able to follow through on all of her promises plus more.
But many political personnel hide secrets, their hands always filled with dirt. So what exactly was councilwoman Katara Tornak hiding behind all of her good deeds? And even if it was horrible, would the changes she was making outweigh it?
He has no right to play judge – deciding whether or not to follow through with a job, it was essentially what he did. And he was the best at it when he did go through it.
But it’s been more than a couple of weeks and as Zuko sat outside, watching her speech from the second floor of a nearby cafe, there wasn’t anything he found to incriminate her. Well, there was one thing that had him smiling for the first time since he was young.
She was blackmailing her colleagues.
It made sense then why she was able to make as many changes as she did. This woman, who was given Sweetheart of Thzao, had no problems with handing out ultimatums. And there were ones that would land each and every one of her colleagues in a scandal. And prison.
At this point, ZUko was man enough to admit it. He didn’t accept the job. As a matter of fact, he decided to protect her from other hitmen. He was told by a therapist years ago, back when he was curious enough as to why people did it, that he had an obsessive personality. That anything that received his single-minded focus was in danger.
She was right but that was the last time he ever saw her.
His obsession has shifted, latched itself onto a new person.
And her name is Katara Tornak.