Deep

Summary: AU. Ruled by the crime syndicate in the darkness of the night, Republic City has fallen into the hands of the corrupt. The dark fingers of the greedy have left no person untouched, and yet Captain Iroh of the Republic City Police Force thinks he's found the one thing that will bring Republic City back into the light. But to do so he must get deeply involved with the syndicate themselves, and his first step is to seduce the head criminal mastermind's only daughter. Irosami.

A/N: I don't know where this one came from. I've been considering writing a longer chapter fic for Irosami for a while now, but every idea I've had has been AU. I wanted to give a shot writing something darker and, erm, sexier, since my version of them is pretty chill in Amethyst. That being said, rating may change in the future, depending on how risky I decide to be. Anyway, it's some what inspired by Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. I like his version of a gritty, crime-infested Gotham, and I thought it would work well with the darker themes presented for Republic City.

Sorry to those of you following my other stories. I promise I'll update them soon. ;_;

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Chapter One

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#Robbery in progress on 45th South. Requesting back up.#

#Break and enter north of 29th. Suspect seen fleeing the premises on foot, wearing a white top with black pants. Pursuing at a distance.#

Iroh steepled his fingers, resisting the urge to turn off the radio on his desk. The reports weren't anything different from any other day in the gritty slums of Republic City, but they weren't what he was wanting to hear at the moment. Things were quiet. Quieter than normal for the gritty and corrupted streets of the once great city, and if his ten years of police work was anything to go off of, it didn't bode well for him.

Republic City used to be a symbol of unity and success. Built during the tail end of the Hundred-Year War, its towering spires served as a medium for protection and promised prosperity for those who wished to reside there. But that was an ideal of a war-worn people, and one that was easily proven to be transparent.

In the decades of peace that followed the great war, the people found that their successes were short lived as the hierarchy between the wealthy and the poor grew wide with the rise of corruption. Those who started with little were left with nothing, and those who had more than enough continued to bathe in the suffering of those beneath them. It was a breeding ground for crime and despite the best efforts of Republic City's police force, the city took a turn for the darker. Now the blood of poor soaked the streets of the city's slums and a haze of lust and greed darkened the skies as the city's most corrupt rose in power.

For the past five years, Iroh worked diligently to uncover the inner workings of the city's crime syndicate, discovering a group of twisted people intent on leveling the hierarchy of the city who called themselves the Equalists. A mysterious and evasive group of crime lords, the Equalists supposedly pulled the strings of every chain of crimes within the city under the guise that they were aiding the shift in power. Up until then, not much was known about the Equalists beyond their intent. Few were taken into custody, and even fewer knew about the true workings of the group. Every lead the police discovered had them running in circles with false evidence and eventually ending with inconclusive results. Many questioned the reasoning behind investigating the Equalists, and with more officers being gunned down on the streets every day, the questions surrounding the involvement of the Equalists died quickly.

But Iroh wasn't ready to let the case fall to wayside quite yet. His instincts told him that they were definitely onto something and that if he let the case disappear, he'd lose the chance to discover the truth. With the special permission of Chief Lin Beifong, he pulled together a rag-tag team of officers to look for the patterns behind the crimes; to search for the Equalists behind the criminals. It took them years, but they were finally on the edge of making a profound discovery. He could feel it.

Someone knocked on his door. He turned down the sound on his radio. "Enter."

"Sir," a young officer said, opening the door. His green eyes were wide and excited. "We found it."

A beat passed and Iroh was out of his chair. "Tell me everything. Leave nothing out."

They passed through the busy hallways of the central police station, avoiding the quickly moving officers in uniform as they headed for the Chief's office. The officer, a kid named Bolin and his older brother Mako were all that made up his reconnaissance team for his case. He had found the two of them on the streets, sneaking food from the street stands at a local market. They were quick and outran him for quite some time. Luckily for them, Iroh could see that they were essentially good boys who were dealt a bad hand in life, and treated them to lunch. He offered to let their record of stealing food slide as long as they shaped up their lives and used their quick senses for good. They accepted his offer to enter them into officer training, barely holding back grateful tears. To repay him, they worked harder than the other trainees in their class and graduated with top marks. With how dedicated they were to their jobs, Iroh was proud to have them join him on his case.

"You were right about Future Industries," Bolin was saying. "They've got something shady going on behind the scenes." He handed over a grey, pixel-heavy picture that must have been taken from a security camera. It detailed two people. "We've been tailing Shady Shin for a couple of weeks now but this is the first time we've seen him interacting with anybody in Future Industries."

Iroh pulled a frown as he looked at the picture. "If Shin's there then we can safely assume that Zolt is involved as well," he said. Having the Triple Threat Triad involved would make his case even more dangerous, but it meant that they were on the right track. "What I want to know is why Hiroshi Sato is calling up the scum of Republic City for off hour meetings."

"Secret crack addiction?" Bolin suggested.

"Not likely," Iroh shot down.

Bolin shrugged and pushed open the Chief's door for his superior. Mako was already waiting in Lin Beifong's office, the woman Chief of Police seated with a serious look behind her desk. Habitually, Iroh snapped her a solute of respect. She dismissed him with an annoyed look.

"Quit that nonsense. We're not in the military, Captain," she snapped. He lost count of how many times she had said that to him over the years. The door closed softly behind him and Bolin moved to stand next to his brother. "Now that we're all gathered like cattle," Lin said sarcastically. "Get on with this briefing."

"Yes, ma'am," Bolin said. He laid a pair of pictures upon the desk for her and Iroh to see. "After spotting Shady Shin out by the factories of Future Industries, Mako and I did some research on Hiroshi Sato." He placed a stack of stapled papers beside the picture of the middle-aged owner of Future Industries. "For the most part, his slate is clean, but his dealings get a little murky down the line."

"We have a few accounts of Satomobiles being sold to various members of the Triad through several different middle men," Mako supplied. "He's keeping his hands out of it, but Hiroshi Sato is involved with every transaction. We have reason to believe that he may be a key player in the communications between the crime lords of the underground and the Equalists."

Iroh flipped through the stapled papers documenting the sales of Satomobiles to Triad members. "Hiroshi Sato…" he said thoughtfully. "If he's involved with the crime syndicate, this could change the course of everything. How certain are you that he's dealing with the Equalists?"

"Well, at first we didn't realize that he was," Bolin admitted. "We were tracking the sales but the numbers weren't matching up. After a while we started to notice that there was a hidden shipment of unknown materials being sent to an undisclosed location. We were stumped about where to go from there, but after long nights of wire tapping, we caught one name: Amon."

Iroh looked up sharply. The few Equalists he managed to question all said and believed the same thing: "Amon will save us." He didn't realize they were referring to a singular person until now.

"Amon," Lin growled. "If we can prove that Hiroshi Sato is dealing with this "Amon" then we can bring him into custody. They've been secretive about their information, but Hiroshi is a sleazy weakling. It won't be hard to make him squeal."

"That's the problem," Mako said. "He's got nothing on him. Not even a speeding ticket. And if our past dealings with the Equalists were anything to go off of, the flow of information will stop as soon as we get involved. He's our only lead. We can't let that die when we know its still hot."

"Then what do you suggest?" Iroh asked.

Bolin gave a small sigh, knowing his words probably wouldn't be taken well. "We need to send somebody in."

"Undercover?" Iroh said in surprise.

"Absolutely not," Lin said sharply. "We know little to nothing about this situation other than it might produce the answer to finding the Equalists. It's dangerous and too much of a gamble. Especially for you two."

Iroh gave it some thought. "I don't think we should discredit their idea quite yet," he said. "If we were to go undercover, how do you think we're going to get in?"

Bolin and Mako shared a quick glance. "Through Hiroshi's point of contact." Mako gestured toward the second photo on the desk. "His daughter."

The picture caught a beautiful young woman with gently curled long dark hair exiting a vehicle. Her eyes were a remarkable shade of green accented by expertly applied shades of copper and maroon eye shadow. Iroh easily admitted that she was the most stunning woman he had ever laid eyes on.

"Asami Sato, 23, is the only daughter of Hiroshi Sato. Her mother died when she was young," Mako said. "From what we can gather, she's not directly involved with any of the dealings her father does, but she's an excellent judge of character. Only the people who can pass through her are able to speak with Hiroshi, but she's a tough nut to crack. You'd have to convince her that you are willing to do dealings with her father without outing him."

"Which means getting involved with the syndicate," Iroh said. He looked over at Lin, who gave him a frown.

"No. I will not authorize this at the risk of our men," she said.

"Then authorize it for me," Iroh responded. "Think about it. This is our best lead in years. We can't let it slip through our hands. If we can find out what the Equalists are planning before it happens, we might be able to make a difference before things get worse."

"Iroh," she said with a note of uncharacteristic softness. "I cannot let you do this."

He matched her eyes. "I know. But you and I both know how important this is."

She closed her eyes giving a long, drawn-out sigh. "There will be no back up. No contact with the police. We can't risk having your cover blown by loose-lipped agents. Once you step in, you're on your own. Do you understand?"

Iroh stood straighter. "Yes ma'am."

"Good," she said sitting back. "Now get to work. We've got a lot to plan."

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A/N: I hope you guys liked this start. Let me know if you want to hear more! We'll meet Asami in the next chapter. ;)