Maintaining a whisper, Harish replied, "So your solution is to fleece the big cheese of the Triad world and then demand information? That's just begging to be killed. Listen, guy, this strategy may have worked for you in the past, but right now, there are probably more Triad goons in a two-mile radius than there are metalbender officers in Dragon Flats. We bungle, and we can kiss our futures goodbye." Harish was raised to be apprehensive of the Triads. Growing up in the lower crest of Republic City, he came to tolerate them as a mere nuisance, but one not to be trifled with all the same. Now, he reckoned that some of that apprehension his parents raised him on must have impressed itself into his psyche.

At the man's second comment - about Equalist intel - Harish's eyes narrowed into the smallest of slits, and his muscles contracted. That he would even suggest a thing was dubious enough. What did this man know about Iqaluk that he didn't? And how would he have any leads on Iqaluk except for that he had closer contact to Iqaluk's ilk than he cared to admit? Just who was he speaking to? Where Harish should have felt distress, he only felt a quiet indignation at this entire situation. "Alright," he said, retraining his eyes on Mitsuko, "let's let the girl decide."

Mitsuko watched the two as the tension grew. There was a definite malice in the air after both the men had shifted and were staring at her, waiting for her to answer. She could see both sides of things but now wasn't exactly the best time for that. It was a lot of pressure to make the decision, it could change the outcome greatly depending on what she chose to say.While it was true that going to the RCPD would do nothing, Harish was probably right in the fact that Iqaluk would see through the lie. Her eyes flashed between the two as she nibbled on her lip, attempting to make a decision. 

"I already went to the RCPD, they didn't do anything." Mitsuko paused to gauge their reactions before continuing, "But I don't think cheating our way to answers is exactly the best route either. I mean they sure look like the type who would easily figure out that they were being played."

She examined the gambling group in the corner before looking back to her new companions, "We don't want to make him an enemy, we need to make him think that we are helping him in some way. Is there anything the guy doesn't have? Something one of us might have, something one of us could do, or even information he'd be interested in hearing himself? I'm not saying we could trust exactly everything he said, we'd need to give him some type of incentive to tell the truth. An incentive that wouldn't put us in any danger."

"The only place I think would have any solid information on the Galgori would be the Temple of Koh, but it's not like we could get in there. I think the only choice we do have is to work our way up. Start with info on Equalists and go from there. There is one thing we've got on Iqaluk. He's going to think that I'm dumb, naive, and have no idea what I'm doing. We could perhaps take advantage of that assumption?"

Gozu was glaring at the man, he was directly against all his idea's he could become a huge problem. Gozu knew that any somewhat unmoral idea's would be shot down immediately if the man had any say in what they where going to do. The man didn't know anything that he didn't know, at least not to hi knowledge, but to keep in favor of the girl Gozu couldn't be too aggressive he had to at least listen to his ideas before shooting them down. As he listened to all the reasons this was a bad idea his eyes trailed off the the girl she was viably uneasy with the tension and Gozu knew that he could work with that at least, maybe he could find a way to convince the man using the girl. His best shot was to listen to the girl and see what she had to say, that way it might still go in his favor in some way or another.

As he listened to the girl speak he could see that she had a point, nobody knew that girls intentions beside us and she looks naive enough to convince them, he just had to make sure she was ready for the operation. "That could work but you would have to make sure to seem innocent enough to not be suspicious but still ask the right questions to get your answers. Us two will also have to stay back here to make you look less intimidating, we will still be watching you but we can't interfere unless necessary" He said he looked back over to the table of gamblers wandering if this would actually work he wasn't sure but it was the best plan they had right now. "Also you might want to keep the conversation of us as much as possible wouldn't want them getting suspicious." Gozu said.

"Well I'm fine as long as your ready for it.Play to your strengths and don't get to close, once your in a group like that, its hard to get back out so make sure you get the info and get out." Gozu looked back at the girl "Try to get as much information as you can out of those guys, anything could be valuable." Gozu said before remembering the nickname given to her by the man before giving his closing remark "Go get 'em tiger seal." he said giving her a soft pat on the head.

Harish returned Gozu's hard stare and wrinkled his nose in distaste at his use of the girl's nickname. It may have been a bit self-righteous of him, but he suspected that the fella's crack at being charismatic and approachable was purely underhanded. His misgivings about this man may have been cynical, but he imagined they were soundly so. In any case, he had to be on board with this new plan. He was clearly outvoted. "Fine. Talk to Iqaluk. But not without a gratuity." He removed a generous amount of yuans from his coat pocket - his spending money for that week - and offered them to the girl. "Iqaluk is the kind of thug who feeds false information without the right price. Do as this sap said. Be firm, but civil. Don't bring up your brother. You don't want to sound foolhardy or desperate. Push him for a lead on the missing persons. And don't directly mention the Galgori either. Some names are better left unsaid. You're just a private analyst looking for a lead. Those kinds do often wander into 'The Fan', and while they're not treated as nobility here, they're received well enough. Got it?" Harish took his eyes off Gozu and fixed them on the girl; a keenness displaced their usual jadedness, and his heart beat with the tempo of his active mind.

At her comment about the Temple of Koh, Harish wanted to tell her, There's no such thing as the Galgori. Whoever took your brother, it wasn't them. But he couldn't, not with surety. Until now, he had stifled any thoughts or mentions of the mythical Galgori, but it was beginning to dawn on him that he couldn't do that any longer. Whatever it was he feared - and however rational those fears were - he had to confront it now. Not for any mental or spiritual wellness reasons, but because they were hunting an urban legend now. And hunting was as mental as it was physical: for one to find what they want, they first need to believe it exists.

Mitsuko listened intently to the two men, she had hardly done something like this in her life ever. She truly did need all the advice she could get.  Reaching out to Harish's offered hand she only took some of the yuans, digging the remaining amount that she would need from her own pocket. Taking any money from him made her feel more guilty than she already did, she couldn't possibly take all of it. She made a mental note to pay him back after she got enough hours in the flower shop to make do with giving up the currency.

She nodded her head, "Got it. I'll be back, wish me luck."

After looking between the two one last time, she started to make her way over to the gambling men in the corner. She needed to look confident but not too confident, naive but not too naive, and most of all she had to make sure that Iqaluk wouldn't even get the chance to doubt her story. Her stomach was flipping and she had to consciously will her hands not to shake. The men stared at her long before she reached them and not a single one of them spoke until Mitsuko had. She didn't even bother looking at the others and instead trained her sight on the person that stared her down, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

Her nerves started to get the best of her and she willed herself to calm down, the only thing even close to working being the picture of her brother, lost and alone, imprisoned for being a bender. Straightening her back and locking eyes with him, she slid the money across the gambling table over to Iqaluk and started to recite the story she had created with the assistance of Gozu and Harish. She explained she was a private analyst, following a lead on the missing persons case.

The statement seemed to catch his attention and after a short glance at the money, he nodded at Mitsuko to continue. She took it as a positive sign and pushed forward, trying not to sound desperate. If he knew she was, he would charge much more than she had already given him. Relaxing her stance she started lying through her teeth about her investigation taking her here in search of him because she had caught word he was involved somehow. Mitsuko made an offhand comment that she didn't really believe that, however, and was there to both figure out who was truly involved and to make sure the wrong people, such as himself, weren't brought into the matter. As she rambled, Mitsuko was grateful for the simple comment because his entire demeanor changed.

Her hunch had been correct, if she acted as if she were helping him in the process, he would be much more willing to give information. Iqaluk spoke in a hushed tone, rushing through words so quickly Mitsuko had to pay careful attention to make sure she picked everything up. From his new attitude she figured that he did know what was going on and he wanted no part of it, because he was spilling information to her she didn't think he would. Mitsuko would have assumed he was being deceitful if not for one small detail. When looking into his eyes, a new emotion had emerged when she told him that word around the street was that he had a part in it all and that emotion was fear. Pure, unadulterated terror. That look in his eye rivaled that of the victims she had helped at the Temple of Koh when volunteering after the attack. To see a man so feared by many, shaken to his very core made Mitsuko realize just what she was getting into, just how serious it all was.

When he finished speaking Mitsuko thanked him and turned to leave when he called out to her. "Hey Girl! Wait!"

Her heart skipped a beat as she looked back and raised an eyebrow, "Yeah?"

He tossed her a few yuans, "Take this as payment, for making sure my name gets out of this mess." He nodded to Gozu and Harish, "And who are those two? You sure spent a lot of time with them."

"They work with me. They're helping me with the case. Don't worry, I'll make sure that none of this is even related to you anymore."

Iqaluk gave a small nod of approval and Mitsuko made her way back to the others. When she saw them waiting for the information she had been provided, she smiled in the hopes that it would make everything sound less terribly serious than it was in actuality. "He told me a lot, but you're not going to like it."

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and lowered her voice, "A lot of it was super vague, but there were two major things. According to him, that attack on the Temple of Koh? There was more to it than just a hate crime, word is that it was done for a reason. From what he was saying, I don't think they meant to target the non-benders there, the real targets were the Monks. He almost made sound as if it were an act of revenge by the Triads. Unfortunately he said he couldn't tell me anymore on that because he really didn't know more, told me I'd have to take it up with the Triads themselves. And, what's even worse, I don't think the Equalist movement is as dead as we think it is. He gave me a location, one that is a supposed Equalist meeting. I guess empathizes and supporters of their cause will be there. It's tonight."

Taking the yuans that Iqaluk had given to her, she handed them over to Harish, "Take this, you gave more than I did." Mitsuko hoped it would make up for what he lost as she then started fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist once more. "Neither of you have to come, in fact I wouldn't want you to. It's too dangerous and while I can risk it myself, I can't possibly ask of either of you to do the same. If you want to know as much as I do, you can come with but you both have already done more than enough. And thank you, really. I could find him now, my brother, and I don't think I could have gotten that opportunity without the your help."

Gozu watched as the girl talked to the men he leaned against the counter watching for any signs of distress but it seemed to be going just fine. Gozu was actually surprised about how well it seemed to be turning out, nothing seemed to be going wrong, and no one seemed angry. As he watched them talk he noticed the crowd around them, people seemed to stop watching the girl probably thinking that if she was with Iqaluk that she shouldn't be messed with, that was good in her case. Gozu just sat and watched until she was returning, she seemed as though she got her information so he waited to hear what she had maybe some on it was of value to him or maybe not he had to wait to see what she found out.

"Well done tiger seal, didn't think you could do it but you proved me wrong." Gozu said as he returned he then listened to the info she got. "Hmm, this all sounds interesting, if people where attacking the monks it was probably because of there historical connection to the Galgori, A talking to the triads seems dangerous along with that meeting." Gozu then took a second to think before he came up with an idea."Well first of all we have to get to that meeting, we might wanna invite some people to help I personally have someone that could be a great help I don't know about you two, then we'll talk to the triads and maybe go to the monks." He said then looking at the girl "We gotta get some disguises so we don't stand out." He said going back into thought.

As he thought about situation more he realized how big this could be, learning more about it might be his best course of action right now. " In any case I'm gonna have to stay with you, beside your probably gonna need us for this."Gozu said. "I don't know about this guy but I'll be here to help if you need it." Gozu then looked to the man with a smirk and starred him in the eye "Your gonna help aren't you, we wouldn't want to leave her on her own, would you?"

Harish accepted the yuans and let them roll off his fingers into a front pocket. Then, taking off his cap and rubbing his forehead, he said to the girl, "You did good. But if you think you're getting rid of me that easily, you're not as smart as I thought." He spoke in his customary steely voice, but for the first time in days, a smile played on his lips. "Look, this is just going to get more treacherous with each lead we find. I'm not walking out on you again, not now." The smile dissolved as his mind caught up with his plight, and a pall of anxiety fell across his usual poker face. "This is some dangerous business, so the sap here is right. We'll need disguises if we're thinking of crashing any Equalist parties." It took his brain a minute to register what he was saying. When it did, his pall of anxiety evolved into a total eclipse of absolute dread.

"So the Equalists are still in league, huh?" He wondered aloud as he scratched his bristly, barbed chin. "And these don't sound like the trained professionals who seized Republic City weeks ago. These sound like a ragtag team of patrons to the cause. I guess you can't kill an ideology." He said it matter-of-factly, but his flinty expression gave away his apprehension. "So this conclave of Equalist sympathizers-- where do we find it? And how do we get in?" Despite his questions about the Equalists, his mind wandered to the enigmatic Monks of Koh. Macabre as they were, who would target a humanitarian organization? The Triads? That wasn't adding up. As far as Harish was aware, the Triads had no bone to pick with the Monks, unless he was missing some scrap of information about the Triads' doings. Not that he kept up with the activities of the Triads, but he learned enough from eavesdropping in 'The Fan' to get a sense for what the Triads did in their down time. Attacking Monks didn't seem part of their agenda.

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips at their responses, knowing that she wasn't going in alone was a relief and she couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit excited. It wasn't to say that she wasn't nervous, because she was terrified, they were getting involved in a very dangerous situation, with probably even more dangerous people. But she tried to look to positive aspects of it and push her fear away, letting her terror get the best of her would cause nothing but problems.

Mitsuko had always been someone who had been hopeful, and when she was a little girl her mother had repeatedly told her that she was a dreamer and even though the tone her mother had used when saying it was not necessarily positive, Mitsuko had never seen it as a bad thing. However, even she had been having her doubts about the chances of ever seeing her brother again but now those doubts were receding once more and when she looked at these two men, with their small smirks and helpful attitudes, she was capable of seeing a future where she wasn't without a family.

"I can't thank you both enough, truly." Mitsuko spoke softly before growing serious, "In terms of the location of the meeting, that's the hard part. It's supposed to be in the Republic City underground, which makes sense considering the tunnels used to be home to some of the most active Equalist bases and prisons. I don't think getting into the tunnels will be the hard part, I think getting to the location inside the tunnels will be difficult. It's in the dead center and I think if we get some type of map we'll be okay but I wouldn't want to go in blind."

"Gozu, you said you knew some people? I'd say we should get in contact, at least if they have information on the tunnel systems. In terms of disguises though, that's where I'm lost. How are we supposed to blend in? I doubt they'll be wearing an Equalist get up and if they are, how are we supposed to get our hands on something like that? I know about Equalist activity from research I've done, but I'm not exactly knowledgeable on anything past that. "

Gozu thought for a moment wandering about what they would do, he had to get some casual clothes to help them blend in, and to figure out where the meeting is he needs to get someone with access to the city plans, had had an idea of who to call. He thought for a moment about everything they needed and what would work, after a while of thinking deeply on what to do and how to do it he had a great idea and everything seemed clear to him, he had what he would call a full proof plan.

Gozu reached in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and a pen writing a number and handing it to Mitsuko "Here, their name is sek call them, tell them chance sent you, and tell them what you need." He said. "In terms of costumes just wear some dark clothes, and for you wear something to cover your blue eyes it gives you away." He then stroked his chin for a bit before continuing to speak. "Later tonight we will all meet here with the Sek and we will infiltrate the meeting, okay?"

Harish rubbed his face in mild disgruntlement that sleep would evade him that night. After a tireless day of construction work, the last thing he wanted to do was trail an Equalist conspiracy until sunrise. His fatigue mingled with his anxiety to produce a miserable exhaustion that was almost palpable in his expression. He reminded himself his only pledge to this operation: to find Tiger Seal's brother. After that, he was cutting his ties with his group and resuming his normal routine of work and sleep. As long as they kept a low profile, they would be fine. And, despite his nerves, they would only drop in to this conclave long enough to pick up a lead as to the whereabouts of the missing persons. After that, it was just a matter of getting out and getting home.

Resolved to leave, Harish tipped his hat to the girl and the man. "While you look for this what'd-you-call-'em, I'm going to pop in to my flat to check on things before we leave. I'll see you guys here when I get back." He tipped his hat courteously one last time before exiting 'The Fan' and crossing the street, this time choosing not to idle by the tracks. He hated the leave Tiger Seal alone again surrounded by shady men, but she'd proven her merit in her exchange with Iqaluk. She could handle herself- he was sure of that much.