The water parted as the ship moved through it at high speed. This small torpedo boat carried a crew of pirates. The leader, Dutch, at the helm of the ship, was not happy.
"That was too fuckin' close." He said. "All it takes is one stupid man with a gun and all hell breaks loose. Rock! Go check on our hostage."
The Pirate known as Rock obliged, entering one of the cabins and sitting down on the bunk opposite the terrified girl. Taking out a pack of cigarette, he inserted one in his mouth before offering to the captive.
"Up yours!" she said, not even looking at him.
"Suit yourself," he said, lighting up his own. "You know no one's coming for you, right?"
The girl looked at him, tears in her eyes. "You don't know that!" She yelled.
"This was a hostage situation, not a ransom. For all they know, we could have killed you already, and dumped your body out to sea. Believe me, they don't care what happens to you. Now, there's the issue of what you're going to do now."
"Don't get any funny ideas." The girl growled, causing Rock to chuckle.
"Sorry if I gave you the wrong idea. You handled that gun pretty well back there. You have any training?"
She shook her head.
"Seems you've got a natural talent." Rock pulled out a pistol, gabbing one of the girl's hands and placing the gun in it.
"Now, if you want to live, you're going to pull the trigger. Don't question why, just know that this is life or death. If you don't, well you know what will happen." Rock said, smirking.
The girl looked at him with fear in her eyes, fear that quickly turned to determination. Her finger squeezed the trigger, and the hammer fell.
Click.
Rock smiled. Taking the gun from the shocked girl, Rock once again offered her a cigarette. This time she accepted.
"What's your name?" He asked.
"Rebecca." The girl answered. "And that was a dirty trick."
SIX MONTHS LATER
That girl is fitting in here nicely. Dutch thought to himself, as he watched Rock and their newest member go at it again, arguing about when the right time to stop talking and start shooting was. Hell, she even got Rock to open up about his past a little bit. Damn. I thought that kid was gonna be another one of those mysterious types.
Rebecca, or "Revy", as Dutch had nicknamed her, was fitting in at the Lagoon Shipping Company rather well. Despite her confrontational nature, she actually got along with everyone rather well, and her skill with weaponry was truly something to behold. People had even taken to calling her "Two-Hands" because of her skill and affinity for Dual-Wielding. Dutch couldn't help but notice some tension between her and Rock, however. He hoped they'd resolve it quick, because without Rock's negotiating, Lagoon would be dead a couple times over. It wasn't hard to see why they fought, Revy was a hothead, and Rock was usually a calm guy who preferred to take a diplomatic approach to a problem. If things got ugly, he wouldn't hesitate to do what had to be done. Didn't mean he enjoyed it.
The office phone rang, and Dutch answered. After listening to the offer, Dutch agreed and hung up.
"Yo, Rock! Two-Hands! We got a job!" He called to them.
"Finally!" Revy said, grateful for an end to Rock's lecture. "This the fun kind?"
"Yeah, we got a ship to catch."
Revy smiled. "Let's get started."
