Chapter one: Just another day on the waters
The song I'm referring to in this chapter is Nine Thou.
Revy sits on the floor in cab of the torpedo boat, huffing in sheer boredom as she spins one of her berretta cutlesses in her hand to pass the time.
"Fuck me... this shit is boring." She huffs in frustration.
The crew was out again on another small time job that had been passed onto them by the Malinavka cartel. Today they were picking up a shipment of weapons and drugs from overseas and were currently waiting on Rock to finish his work on board the cargo ship they were anchored next to so that the shipment could be loaded onto their boat and transported the rest of the way to the drop off point to finish the job. To Revy, this was nothing more than a boring errand that brought no fun for her... and considering the lousy pay they were getting for this job as well, it wasn't doing any favours in lowering her temper.
"Dutch... remind me why we're wasting our time with this lame ass job that these lazy assholes could have done themselves." Revy said as she spins her gun in her hand.
"I told you Revy, our schedule has been pretty empty this week so I figured a little side job for the cartel wouldn't hurt." Dutch said bluntly as he sits in his usual spot in the drivers seat of the torpedo boat with a beer in his hand. He looks out the window to see the various crates stacked up on the deck of the cargo ship and takes a draw from his cigarette as he spots Rock up on the deck as well, going about his business with the crew of the ship for the trade off.
"But I do have to admit... it isn't that much of a job for our expertise, and I'm starting to get a little bored myself sitting around for this shipment to be passed on." Dutch said as he looks down at his watch to check the time and then contact Benny who was monitoring the seas around them from the radar room.
"Hey Benny, anything on the scopes just now?" Dutch asked over the comms.
"Nothing so far, Dutch." Benny said as he watches over the radar. "I got a clean scope and we don't have any unwanted guests anywhere near... although I'd say that shouldn't mean we hang around here for too long."
"No shit, Benny... And Rock seems to be taking his sweet ass time on that ship." Revy said in frustration as she picks up her own earpiece and gets in touch with Rock herself.
"Hey Rock... What the fuck is taking you so long, hurry your ass up and get that shit on board so we can get outta here." She said with a rather angered tone, and she was pretty sure she could hear Rock stifling a scream from the shock he'd have gotten from her sudden out burst.
"Errr, sorry... I'm nearly done, just one more signature and the shipment is ours." Rock said over the comms.
Revy huffs in frustration as she returns her gun to its holster and leans her head against the wall, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.
A few minutes later Rock calls the rest of the crew over the comms.
"Okay, I'm all done up here, they'll lower the shipment down and we can go." He said to let the others know.
"Bout time, looks like we're in business now." Dutch said into his mic to Rock. "Alright then, hurry up and get back on board to help fasten the load to the boat when it gets lowered on."
"Got it, making my way down right now." Rock replies as he starts making his way down to the torpedo boat.
Not long later, Rock and Revy were standing on the stern of the boat and watching as the shipment they were here to pick up is finally lowered from the mothership and onto the boat. The crate is slowly lowered onto the boat and Rock and Revy waste no time in fastening it to the stern to keep it in place.
"Alright, that should hold it." Said Rock as he finished tightening the last tension strap to the crate.
"Took you fucking long enough, what were you doing up there... giving the crew a life story." Revy said in frustration as she flicks Rock over the back of his head with her wrist.
"Ow... Hey, knock it off alright... It's not my fault the crew took their time." Rock retorts, rubbing the back of his head after being hit by Revy.
"Whatever." Revy sighs as she makes her way back to the cab of the boat. "Let's just get this job over with... I wanna go get a drink after this asap."
With that said, Revy and Rock go back into the cabin of the boat as Dutch starts the engines and begins the long trip back to city harbour of Roanapur to pass on their shipment to the Malinavka cartel and finish off this little job of theirs.
"That's us all set on up top, that crate isn't going anywhere now." Revy said as she walks into the cab to let Dutch know everything was good to go.
"Alright, then lets get outta here and drop this shipment off to the client." Said Dutch as he begins to drive the boat away from the cargo ship and head back to the bay.
And that's when he notices Rock walk into the cab.
"Hey Rock, I got a question for ya." Dutch said to get Rock's attention.
"Errr, Yeah, what's up Dutch?" Asked Rock, looking over to Dutch who was still focusing on driving the boat.
"Why'd it take so long to sign off that shipment? It's only guns and drugs and we've moved shipments like this faster before, the only real time consuming thing that needs to be done is for the goods to be checked before handing them over to us... what was going on up on that ship?" Asked Dutch, and Rock could sigh as he rubs the back of his head.
"Errrr, Yeah... Sorry for the hold up. But the thing is they didn't actually check the shipment, nor did they let me check it either." Said Rock... However as soon as he said that, a rather displeased look shows up on Revy's face and Dutch turns back to look at him to with a concerned yet serious expression of his own.
"What do you mean by that? Its routine to check all shipments before handing them to us for insurance purposes." Dutch said, clearly stating the one thing that they always made sure of doing before taking on any goods for clients.
"I know, but, Gwah!" Rock is suddenly cut off from his sentence as Revy grabs him by the scruff of his collar and forces him to look at her angered expression.
"Rock, you dipshit... You realise that if anything is wrong with that shipment when we hand it over to the cartel, its our assess that are exposed." Revy shouts furiously as she shakes Rock by the collar. "I swear if this shit hits the fan then I'll give you a new asshole on your forehead before that cartel can."
Hey! Knock it off will ya Revy." Rock snaps as he swats Revy's hands off him. "I was just about to explain what's going on before you went off on one at me."
"Well, Rock... What is going on?" He hears Dutch ask, clearly wanting to know himself. Rock straightens out his collar and gathers his thoughts again before explaining the situation to everyone as they sail back to Roanapur.
"The drugs that we are transporting as on now are not fully manufactured yet, in fact they are only half completed." He said.
"And what's that got to do with not checking them before taking them on, I don't know about you Rock but delivering half completed goods doesn't sound good." Dutch said, sounding a little off put by this.
"That's what I said to the guys handing this shipment over... However they said the rest of the manufacturing process is done on the other end of the trip. Due to the current state the drugs are in, they need to be sealed away from direct sunlight, otherwise the U.V Radiation from the sun will force a chemical reaction in the drugs and ruin them, apparently its some precautionary method the cartel uses to prevent their products from being used if stolen." Rock said as he explains what he'd learned on the ship to the crew.
Dutch takes a second to think on what he'd just heard, and in honesty... it didn't sound too out of the ordinary to him, but he was still not fully convinced yet.
"Benny... Does this sound logical to you?" He asked, and Benny takes a second himself to think on what he'd learned before speaking.
"It's rare... but not that illogical... if you think about it, it actually makes good sense... its like a natural self destruct system that would prevent a rival cartel from using the goods if they stole them." He said convincingly.
Then Dutch turns back to Rock.
"So Rock, you're saying that the drugs are in a vulnerable state right now and need to be sealed off to stay preserved and usable... is that right." He said, and Rock nods at him.
"That's right." He said, then holds up the manifest that he was carrying after taking on the shipment. "And the documents have a previous signature on them... the Drugs were checked during the night right before they were packed onto the mothership... and I was also firmly informed that this supplier is a highly trusted client of the Malinavka cartel so any further checks are not necessary... So to put it bluntly, if something is wrong with this shipment, its the suppliers ass that's exposed and not ours."
"What about the weapons we're delivering as well?" Dutch asked.
"Checked at the same time as the drugs, its all in the same crate and signed for before it started its journey, all we're doing is the last bit of the trip that the mothership can't do... Sorry it took a while on their though, I was making sure we were definitely safe to take this shipment." Rock said confidently.
Dutch takes another second to think on what he'd learned, but as the seconds pass by he quickly begins to see the logic in the method and a small smile graces his face as he goes back to driving the boat
"Actually, Rock... I'd say you made a good call on that. Seems like you're getting pretty smart at this job real quick... although next time try to keep us in the loop a little better next time we get one of these odd ball shipments." Dutch said as he lights another cigarette, allowing Rock to breathe a faint sigh of relief.
That's when he felt Revy lean against his shoulder, causing him to swallow dryly as he sees the smirk on her face.
"Well, it looks like you pulled a real hat-trick outta your ass today." She said smugly as she clenches her fit and holds it in front of Rock's face. "For a second I thought I was gonna have to beat the shit outta you for screwing up... but I guess you got lucky this time."
"Gee... Thanks for the reassurance." Rock sighs, although deep down feeling glad he wasn't going to receive a beating from Revy.
"Oh lighten up Rocky, don't be such a wuss." Revy laughs out as she jabs Rock's arm, causing him to stifle a groan as the hit was a little harder than he was expecting.
"Anyway... now that, that's been taken care of... lets get this package dropped off and finish this job." Dutch said as he increases the boats speed and heads back to the bay.
A little later that day the crew sail into the harbour of Roanapur and anchor up at the agreed drop off point and were now waiting for the drivers from the cartel to show up and take the shipment the rest of the way.
And sure enough, a small unmarked white truck drives up to the side of the bay right on time for the pickup. Revy, Rock and Benny stayed back on the boat and leaves Dutch to handle the trade off with the cartel. Rock watches quietly as several men all armed with AK's and UZI's get out of the back of the truck and stand guard around the vehicle, the intimidating look of their weapons driving any passer bye's to just ignore them and mind their own business less they wanted to be turned into Swiss cheese.
Then glances back at Dutch who was talking to who he presumed was the leader of the group.
"You the delivery crew the boss hired?" The man asked.
"That's us, your shipment is on the back of the boat, and its been signed for here." Dutch said as he passed the manifest he'd gotten form Rock earlier to the group leader.
The man glances through the pages of the manifest, making sure that everything was in order, then looks over to his men and gives them a faint nod, signalling them to go retrieve the shipment.
"Alright, everything seems to be in order... the Boss will be in touch when we get the shipment to him in regards to payment." The man said as he watches his crew walk onto Dutches boat and unties their shipment from the boat and carry it onto the pier.
"We'll be waiting, until then I suggest getting that crate out of sight before the cops get suspicious." Dutch suggested, gaining a faint chuckle from the man.
"Don't have to tell me that twice." He said, and with that said the man watches as Dutch walks off to join the rest of his own crew and watches as the torpedo boat sails back of to anchor at base.
Then the man turns to his own crew as they load the shipment into the truck, a small smirk creeping onto his face as they did so.
"The Boss is gonna be happy with this." He said as he watches the crate slowly being loaded into the truck before its sealed off and just as quickly as they came, the cartel get rolling and head for base themselves.
Later that evening back at the dock house, Revy, Rock and Benny were passing time in the office room while Dutch was on the phone discussing business with the cartel boss that was just getting in touch with them to finalise payment for the job they'd carried out for them.
"And I trust the shipment is okay... Yeah... uh huh... okay good. You got our details so the payment can be done at discretion... Alright." Said Dutch before hanging up the phone.
"That us all set, Dutch." Asked Benny as he grabs a beer from the fridge.
"Yep, that's our end settled, so I'd say we can call it a day." Said Dutch as he turns to Revy and Rock who were lazing about on the couches. "You two got plans just now?"
"Not really." Revy mutters lazily.
"How bout you Benny?" Dutch asked.
"I'm all good on my end." Benny said before taking a swig from his beer can.
"In that case... how bout we head back to the main office and clean up, then we'll head to the Yellow Star for some drinks tonight." Dutch said.
And without needing a second offer, Revy shoots up from her spot on the couch.
"Oh fuck yeah, I'm in on that." She said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I'll join." Rock added in.
"Count me in to." Said Benny.
"Then its settled, Benny get the car ready." Revy said, eager to get going.
And that agreed on the crew get up and head to the car, ready to head to the office and wash off after a hard days work before heading off to their usual spot to drink the night away.
However... at about that same time in the evening outside of Roanapur... something else was making its way into the city.
The calm and quiet sound of the outer villages all beginning to wind down for the night is shattered by the loud and deep roar of an engine echoing out as a car speeds through the main road, darting and weaving through traffic like a race car and barely giving anyone time to see the car as it shot past, not even time to roll down a window flip off the driver before the car vanishes into the distance.
The car was a 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback, but one the like of which no one had seen before, the car was slammed low to the ground and matte black from bumper to bumper with brass 21 inch alloys and black tinted windows to mask the driver inside, on the front grill was a silver vipers head hissing at those who looked at it and the noise coming from the big bore intake sticking out the cars hood was more than enough to suggest that this car was packing some serious horsepower under the hood as it races down the road.
From inside the car, the driver leans back in his seat behind a pair of Rayban sunglasses, a cigar in his mouth and puffs out a cloud of smoke, his head bobbing faintly to the beat of the song he was playing on the radio.
(Ey yo, first things first, Its time to shake ground in the eighth round. Box battle and break down. Feel the beat in the rhyme tone, Jump in the cyclone. S-T-Y-L-E-S, yes I know. We're the rap team, Maxime... put'em up, you plucked a bad seed.)
The driver of the Mustang pulls up alongside a truck before violently swerving to change lanes as it passed between the truck and the SUV in front of it, startling the truck driver and nearly forcing him the lose control of his vehicle as he honks at the mustang before it disconnects from the main road. The driver puffs out another cloud of smoke from his cigar as he speeds down the narrow side roads.
His destination... Roanapur.
The driver slows his car down as he crosses the only land entrance to the city, a draggy old green wood and metal bridge, from behind his sunglasses the driver glances up to see the lone noose hanging from the end of the bridge as he enters the cities grounds.
"Nice decorations." The driver muttered to himself as he passes over the bridge... from here he could see the faint glow of colourful street and club lights as the nightlife begins within the city of pleasure known as Roanapur... but the driver who was about to roll into this city was no fool, he was fully aware of what kind of pit he was about to enter.
"Roanapur... the city of pleasure... a pit for the foulest of scum and trash to fester in." The driver mutters to himself as he drives into the cities club district, watching his surroundings as he drives further into the city.
"A place where justice is thrown away, and where the worst of the worst come to lock horns with each other for turf." The driver said before smirking. "The perfect place to go hunting."
The driver of the Mustang glances either side of his car, taking in the scenes unfolding around him. The streets were filled with locals trying their luck, some gambling in the streets, some drunk and disorderly fighting each other whilst spectators around them cheered them on and were placing bets on who'd win, and most of the rest of the men in the streets were being lured into the various clubs by local call girls and hookers that worked there, wearing trashy clothes that barely left much to the imagination for most men and flaunting their bodies to everyone in sight.
As the Mustang rolls down the street, all eyes seem to turn to the car and gawk at the sight of it, and even at crawling speed, its unrestrained engine was purring away loudly and proudly, causing windows and bottles all around to rattle and wobble as the monster on wheels pulls up behind a few cars waiting at the red lights. The driver rolls down a window and leans his arm on the side of his door to reveal his face for the first time to the locals. He was a rather young looking man, maybe in his early twenties and as well as those Rayban sunglasses he was wearing a black leather jacket and western hat. There was no doubt that this boy was as American as the car he was driving, and the charming look of his young face seemed to catch a few of the ladies attention and cause them to coo and whistle at the young man to try and lure him over to them while he was waiting for the lights to change.
"Well hello there sweetie pie, nice ride."
The young man glances out of his window after hearing a female voice close by and is met by a young blonde woman standing next to his car, resting her arm on the roof and leaning down to look at him. She was undoubtedly one of the call girls who had managed to find the courage to try her luck with the young man, although she seemed to be one of the prettier type, her body smelling of cheap perfume and her cigarette stained with her lipstick. She was wearing a tight pink tank top with a shoulder strap hanging down and a pair of light blue surfer shorts that had been cut down to the point where her ass was on display for all behind her to see. Yet despite her sex appeal the young man seemed to be keeping his composure together a lot better than any of the other men that were looking at the girl flirting with him.
"Thanks for the compliment." The young man said bluntly as he drums his fingers on the side of his door, gaining a faint giggle from the girl as she leans down even further to her arms on the side of the Mustang's door as well to meet eyes with the young man.
"You seem to be a little on the stressed side aren't you... how bout you come with me for a drink, I can take of that stress for you baby." The young girl coos to the driver of the car, tracing small circles on his jacket shoulder with her finger.
The young man glances down at her finger on his shoulder and could only chuckle a little to himself, he could see right through her and it humoured him a little that the second he shows his face in Roanapur he's being hit on already.
"Sorry sweetie... But I'm not in a partying mood just now, I'm here for business, not pleasure." He said through a small smirk of his own, causing the young girl to pout as she brings her hand up and under his chin to make him look at her again, squeezing her chest between her arms to reveal one hell of an eyeful of cleavage.
"Oh come on my sugar, don't be like that... surely there's something I could do for a dashing young man like you to make your stay in Roanapur more... enjoyable." The woman said, almost moaning the words out as she cups the young mans cheek, smiling seductively at him as she did so.
The young man just stares blankly at the girl, still unhindered by her attempts to seduce him, however it wasn't long before an idea pops into his head an he realises this girl may be more useful to him that he thought.
"You know... there may actually be something you could do to make things here a little easier for me." He said, causing the girl to smile at him.
"Anything you can think of babe, just name it." She said in a sweet yet seductive tone as she twirls he long blonde hair in her fingers.
"I'm looking for somewhere to ask some local a few questions... about the sorta business you wouldn't be hearing in the streets in broad daylight, if you catch my drift honey." The young man said, however his words seemed to cause the young girl to pout again... seeming a little disappointed that he didn't say anything she would have enjoyed to hear.
"Is this that business you came here for... shame, I thought you would've asked me to give you a ride you car could never give you." She said as she pouts in disappointment, gaining a faint chuckle from the young man.
"Well... you said to ask anything, so I'm asking... where's the best place to go?" Asked the young American.
The girl took a second to ponder her thoughts for an answer for the young man, she was more that aware of what kind of (Business) he was referring to and the be honest there were a few places she could think of. However her train of thought is suddenly cut off when the two of them hear a car horn being blown behind them.
"Hey Jackass, get moving, the lights green." Shouted an angered man in some beaten up rust bucket of a car parked behind the Mustang, honking his horn in anger as the light in front had changed but because the young man was busy with the call girl he couldn't get past him.
"Ignore him." Said the young man, gaining the young girls attention again. "So where's that spot I should head to?"
The young girl regains her thoughts as she recalls one place in particular where this guy could go to get some answers the questions he had, however... knowing the reputation of the place in question herself, she felt like it was a good idea to warn him of the sorta place he was going to.
"Well... There is this one place you could try, a lot of the local big shots go there during the night... but I think I should warn you kid, its pretty much one big fucking Viper pit... if you catch my drift." She said, however to her surprise this just seemed to make the young man smirk, chuckling in a low tone.
"Oh really... that's good, cuz a Viper pit sounds like home sweet home to me honey." He said as he grins at the young girl. "So where is this plac-."
"Hey asshole... I said get that scrap heap moving!"
The young man is cut off when he hears the man in the car behind him shouting again, only this time when he glances in his mirror, he spots something flying towards the girl leaning against his car.
"Heads up." He said as he pushes the girl back just before a beer bottle that was thrown by the man in the car behind him flies past and smashes into the Mustang wing mirror and breaks, spraying booze all over the mirror and hood of the car.
"Hey dick head, can't you see I'm busy here." The woman shouts in anger as she flips off the driver of the car.
"Up yours ya skanky bitch, next time your out looking for someone to fuck, make sure its not someone blocking the road." Shouted the driver as he flips of the girl as well.
"Fuck you." She retorts in anger, but then she glances back at the young man in his car and notices that he was staring at the mirror that'd just been hit by that guys bottle... and she was sure that when he breathed out, she could hear him growl lowly in anger before he switches off his engine and opens the door of his car and steps out to glare at the man in the car behind him.
However before doing anything else he reached into his pocket and pulls out a small note pad and pen that he carried on him and without looking at the girl next to him he hands to her as he said.
"Do me a favour and write that places address down for me sweetie." He said as he rolls his neck to crack his joints. "I'm gonna teach this asshole a lesson."
Holding his pad in her hand the girl watches as the young man starts walking towards the car behind him, the driver seeing this as a challenge and gets out, cracking his knuckles as he did so as well.
"What, you looking for a fight now, find by me... I'd be glad to pumble you into the dirt ya jacked up little shi-."
Suddenly the man freezes on the spot, a pang of fear shooting through his body as in the time it took for someone to blink, the young man reached into his jacket and draws a Desert Eagle .50 Magnum, pointing it right at the mans head. People all round began to back away and curse under their breath in shock from the size of the matte black gun the man held in his hand, but no one was as scared as the man the gun was being pointed at, who had managed to go from angered and willing to fight, to shaking at his knees in fear and trying not to lose control of his bowls as he stares down the barrel of the gun.
From behind his sunglasses the young man stares blankly at the man and gives him a twisted smirk... however right as he pulls the trigger, he aims his gun away from him and points it at the hood of his car as he unloads a clip into the engine bay of the car. From a distance the loud echo of gunshots cause some civilians to run in panic as they thought a street war was brewing up... whereas others that had at least seen what had happened before the young man pulled the trigger watched as he fires into the hood of the car until smoke began to pour from its hood and oil leaks onto the road under it.
"What the fuck... my car!" The man said in shock, gripping his hair in both hands as he looks at the trashed state of his car before looking back at the young man as he blows the smoke out of the barrel of his Deagle before returning it to the holster in his jacket.
"Let that be a lesson ya old piece of horse shit... because next time you throw a bottle at my ride, it'll be your head I pump full a lead." The young man said sternly before turning back to continue his business with the girl he was talking to and leave the man to deal with the mess he had made of his car.
As he walks back up to the call girl, she hands him his pad and pen and sees that she'd written something on it.
"That's the bars name and directions from here to it... hope you find what you're looking for." She said, gaining a smile from the young American.
"I'm sure I will." He said as he opens his car door to get back in.
"By the way... what's your name sweetie?" Asked the girl, causing the young man to look back at her.
"Why's that important?" He asked as he gets back into the driver seat of his car.
The girl smiles as she leans against his door again.
"Well... it'd be nice to know the name of the dashing young man that saved me from having a bottle hit me." She giggles, before trailing a finger along the young mans arm again. "And it'd also be nice to have something to call you next time I see you hun."
The young man could only chuckle... even after all that, this girl was still trying to seduce him... but he figured that he at least owed her something for helping him and turns back to look at her.
"Call me, Ricky... Ricky Casey." He said.
"Ricky huh, a hot name for a hot guy." The girl giggles, causing Ricky to chuckle a little himself, before he reached into his jacket and hands the girl a hundred dollar bill.
"Here sweet cheeks, a little something for helping me out." He said, causing the girl to smile brightly as she takes the note from him.
"Oh my, you're too kind Ricky... Tell you what, next time you wanna come party with me, the first drinks on me." She said seductively.
Ricky smirks as he lights another cigar and starts his car up again, the roar of the Mustang's engine ripping through the air as he redlines his ride and takes off to leave the girl to join the rest of her friends hanging around the entrance of the club they were working for.
"Well, looks like you didn't end up empty handed, Cindy." One of the girls said as she'd been watching the whole thing.
"Yeah... but I'm a little disappointed... I'd liked to have fucked him to... but oh well, money is money these days." Said Cindy as she puts her money into her purse and goes back to working the streets with her girls, still able to hear the echoing roar of Ricky's ride as he tears through the streets.
the name of the destination she had written down in his note pad.
The Yellow Star Bar.