Chapter Seventeen

"How did this happen?"

"What jury in their right minds wouldn't convict her with all that evidence?"

"Obviously the jury wasn't in their right mind."

"I can't believe this six months' worth of work now rendered completely useless."

Toph held up her hands in an attempt to stop the chaos that erupted all around her. The second Zuko told her the news Sokka went to gather their friends so that they could hash this out together. So far gathering everyone had accomplished nothing.

When it was obvious that the calm approach wouldn't work Toph placed her fingers to her mouth, and let out a shrill whistle. Sokka and Aang who were standing beside her jumped in surprise and covered their ears to shield themselves from the pain. She made a mental note to thank Chief Hakoda for teaching her how to whistle like that.

She sighed and lowered her fingers when the room was finally silent. "Panicking like this will accomplish nothing. Zuko are you still with us? Do you have any idea what your sister's next move will be?"

"I'm here." Zuko muttered. The telephone line began to break, but after Toph whacked it with her first she could hear the Firelord clearly again. "That whistle really hurt you know."

Toph grinned apologetically before realizing that he couldn't see it her facial expression. "Sorry Sparky, it was the only way to get everyone's attention. Have you talked to the jury? Are there any signs of tampering?"

"That's not how things work and you know it." Zuko muttered. She could practically hear his exhaustion. "I can't just question the Fire Sages over a hunch that they've been messed with. That is a very serious accusation, one I can't pursue without evidence."

She slammed her hand against the wall and muttered a long string of curse words under her breath. She felt Sokka's hand on her shoulder, a silent show of support. Toph sighed and placed her hand over his.

Aang broke the silence. "Surely there is someone we could talk to who could give us some insight to Azula's motives. Maybe Mai or Ty Lee?"

"That's it!" Toph muttered. She spun around nearly knocking Sokka over. Before he could fall flat on his face she reached out to steady him. When he was secure Toph looked at her lieutenant as though the fate of the world rested on his shoulders. "Berk are you still in contact with that slimy turncoat you flirted with while undercover."

Berk turned bright red when all eyes turned to him. He crossed his arms and cleared his throat. "Chief are you incapable of being discreet?"

"Sorry." Toph muttered sincerely. She began to pace thinking of possible solutions to the problem at hand. "Do you think you could work your charms on him to get us a lead? If Azula is planning something your guy would be the one to know about it."

Her lieutenant mulled it over before sighing. Given the circumstances Berk wasn't really in a position to say no. He scratched the back of his head in a half-baked attempt to ignore the eyes on him. "Well my cover has been blown after the council released me. I'll have to pull out some extra charm. It will be difficult, but if I can find us a lead does that mean I get a raise?"

"We'll see." She fired back. Although Toph tried to look serious she couldn't conceal the left side of her mouth that was raised in a semi smile. "If we can get more information on Azula's moves we can formulate a strategy to keep her at bay until we find a way to put her behind bars."

Berk left the room and took Flynn with him. As he left he mumbled something about calling when everything was arranged. When the door closed Toph untucked her the hair behind her ear and turned towards the phone trying to think of what else needed to be done.

Aang stopped her. "Now hold on, what if that doesn't work? We should take precautions the first being that Izumi needs to go underground."

"Izumi is safe." Zuko reassured them. They heard shuffling, Toph raised her fist to hit the phone thinking it was interference, but whatever it was promptly stopped. "The second the jury failed to convict Azula, I had her moved to Ba Sing Se to stay with Uncle Iroh."

Toph breathed a sigh of relief at the news that Izumi was safe. "The second Berk comes back. I'm on the next ship to the Fire Nation…"

"You wouldn't have any authority in the Fire Nation." Sokka reminded her. Toph grit her teeth angrily when she realized he was right. Still he felt the need to tell her. "You're more use here."

She turned to glare at him. "Damn it! This is the reason why I kept pushing for the council to draft a system of law that is united in all the nations. The way we run international issues is a joke."

"What happened to keeping calm?" Aang prompted.

Toph sighed and counted back from ten in an attempt to keep from bending a giant bolder at the Avatar's face. "I hate feeling useless like this. I'm going to head to the station maybe I can pull a few strings to have Azula placed on trial here in Republic City."

"That's not possible." Zuko said. "There is no precedent."

Toph felt Aang and Sokka agree with the Firelord. She refused to believe that they could do nothing. "Have you three learned nothing from our time together? There is always a first. I'm not going to stand by and wait for something terrible to happen before I act."

She didn't give him a chance to answer. Toph grabbed her coat and ran out of the house to the station. Sokka and Aang looked at each other before turning towards the phone. The Avatar sighed and placed a hand over his forehead. "She has a point."

Sokka nodded and turned back to the phone. "Sit tight Zuko. We'll call once we have any information."

"Be careful. If word about gets back to Azula that Toph is actively trying to stop her plans…Well I don't have to tell you that those actions will be perceived as a threat." Zuko warned.

When they hung up Aang turned to Sokka. "I'm going to send Katara and the kids to the South Pole for a few days. Azula has it out for us and I don't want them in the middle of this. Do you want to send Lin too?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I have the feeling that Azula is a threat to Zuko and Izumi not us." Sokka muttered. He massaged his temples in an attempt to think with a clear head. Aang walked up and put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "It isn't my call. I'll talk to Toph about sending Lin to the South Pole when she gets back."

Aang nodded. "I understand."

…

Toph leaned against the filing cabinet as the Attorney General read over everything they had on Azula. Her heart fell when he shook his head. "It's not enough Toph. What she did was clearly done in the Fire Nation we have no jurisdiction there. If she committed a serious crime here in Republic City I'd have reasonable cause to prosecute her."

"So all we need is for her to commit a crime here?" She prompted.

The Attorney General didn't like the look in the Chief's eyes. He tried to dissuade her from whatever plan she was concocting. "You make it sound so simple, but it's easier said than done. The evidence would need to be beyond dispute. She would have to confess to her crimes, or be caught in the act and even that might not be enough."

"Is there no other way? Can't we use what we have?" Toph asked.

He shook his head. "The second the evidence was presented in the Fire Nation court it became inadmissible in another court of law. Out of curiosity why wasn't she declared guilty in the Fire Nation?"

"Jury tampering, is my best guess." Toph muttered. "We don't have anything concrete."

He nodded and placed the papers in a stack. Turning to hand the papers to the Chief of Police the Attorney General jumped in surprise when the door to his office suddenly flew open. Toph wasn't too surprised when Berk crashed through the door. "Wait…aren't you supposed be on maternity leave? Why are you here and not one of your subordinates?"

"Several council members are already against me because I'm a woman." Toph groaned. She pushed back her bangs and flopped down onto a chair across from him. "If I take more than a few days off they'll have the ammo they need to keep me from being reelected for Chief of Police."

Kieran looked at her sympathetically. Before he could say anything there was a knock at his door. Berk walked in without waiting for the Attorney General to answer. The lieutenant's eyes were wide with horror and his hands shook. "Chief I need to talk to you in private."

"Whatever you have to say can be said in front of the Attorney General Lieutenant." Toph muttered in irritation.

"New orders came from Azula. All followers are to make their way to a secret location." Berk muttered. He cleared his throat unsure how to say this next part. "She's raising an army to challenge the Fire Nation and take the throne by force."