I do not own Black Lagoon or any of its characters.
This is a sequel to my story Cover.
"Damnit Rock that was too fucking close! You came within an inch of taking Dutch's head off!" Revy screamed. She grabbed him by the hair and pulled him backwards over the edge of the gun tub he had been sitting in with his BAR. With her free hand she began to choke him, while shaking him at the same time.
"Stop it Revy!" Dutch ordered, as he tossed the package they had procured from the freighter onto the top of the deck house. Revy dropped Rock to the deck and stormed away towards the stern cussing and kicking everything around her.
Dutch reached down and picked Rock up by the front of his shirt. He leaned in close to Rock's face and said, "Rock, that is the second time you have come close to hitting one of us since you started giving cover fire. What happened?"
Rock looked up at Dutch with panic on his face and said, "The boat rolled Dutch. Just as I pulled the trigger, the Lagoon rolled to the right and threw me off balance. I let up at once but I had already fired three rounds."
Dutch let go and put his hands on both of Rock's shoulders. Dutch took a deep breath and blew it out. "I'm not mad Rock…no, hell that's wrong, I am mad but I'm also scared. You've got to practice and get better with that thing or not use it anymore. If you can't control it then you've got to put it down."
Rock hung his head in shame, "I'm sorry Dutch, I never thought trying to miss a target would be so hard! When you showed me how to use it I thought I would be able to help more than I do. I thought I would be able to protect you and…her." He looked aft where Revy sat on the deck with her head between her knees smoking.
Dutch leaned back against the deck house and lit a cigarette. He blew out smoke and said, "She's pissed Rock, and scared. She will never admit it but she is. You go talk to her but you be real careful about what you say. Ask her to help but don't push her." With that he turned and picked up the package as he headed to the pilothouse.
Rock lit a smoke before going to the stern. He stood quietly for a minute before sitting down beside her. "Revy I'm…" Rock started to say as her hand rose with her index finger pointing to the sky.
"Not a word Rock. Not yet. I am not calm enough yet to talk to you." She said. With that she got up and went below.
Rock sat there smoking for a while and then got up, put away his rifle and cleaned up around the boat till they tied up. As soon as they did Dutch and Revy got in the GTO and left to deliver the package they had picked up for Hotel Moscow.
Rock stood watching them leave as Benny stepped down onto the dock beside him. "I really fucked up Benny." Rock said as Benny clamped a hand on Rock's shoulder.
"Well shit happens Rock," Benny said, "Come on, let's go to the office and get a beer." As they walked off down the street Rock wondered how long it would be before Revy got back.
When Rock felt Revy slip into the bed beside him, it was almost midnight by the clock on his desk. "Revy I…" he started to say as she put her hand over his mouth. "Shush." She said, as she leaned close, "go back to sleep, we have things to do in the morning." Rock simply nodded as she snuggled in close. He could smell rum on her breath but she did not seem to be very drunk. Giving a sigh he put his arms around her and closed his eyes.
Oddly enough when he woke up Revy was already gone. He got up and went into the living room to find the rest of the crew drinking coffee. Saying good morning to everyone he got a cup for himself and then set down next to her.
Dutch talked for a few minutes about the things they had to do for the next couple of days and then told them to take the rest of the day off. Revy finished her coffee and told Rock, "Get dressed. Jeans, boots, no neckties today." Rock nodded and as he got up he noticed his BAR standing next to the door with several boxes.
Not wanting to set anybody off, Rock kept his mouth shut and got dressed. When he came back Revy had piled the boxes on the coffee table and was pulling them open. She patted the seat next to her and handed him a pile of clips that fit the BAR.
"Start loading." She said, "I picked up six more clips and 1000 rounds last night at the church."
"Oh," Rock said, "That's where you went?"
She looked at him for a moment and said, "Yeah, I felt the need to have a drink with that bitch Eda." Rock nodded as he began to load 30.06 rounds into the clips. Revy started to talk about the how and whys of good gun care and proper loading.
Dutch watched a few minutes and then got up. "I'm going out for a while, you kids have fun." He put his hand on Rock's shoulder as he went by and said, "Loosen up Rock, its cool now." Rock nodded as the door closed behind Dutch.
An hour or so later Rock and Revy were in the GTO heading north out of town. "Where are we going Revy?" Rock asked as he stepped down on the gas running the speed up to seventy.
"Hotel Moscow uses a place out here to train without a lot of people seeing what is going on. Dutch called Boris and got us permission to use it today." Revy told him.
"I thought they had a place in town?" Rock said.
Revy nodded, "They do, but it's for pistol and sub-machine gun. This area is for snipers and heavy stuff. Turn right at the next road."
Rock made the turn and slowly eased up the dirt road. When they passed through a tall hedge row the woods opened up into a clearing that stretched several hundred yards in both directions. To their left were wooden tables and in the tree lines they could see target boards.
"We want the third stand." Revy said as they pulled to a stop. They got out and looked over the range. "Yep," Revy said, "30 meters. That's what I want to start you on. After a few times getting used to that we'll come back and practice at 100 meters or so.
"Why 100 meters Revy? We are usually only a few meters from a ship anyway." Rock said.
Revy lit a smoke and said, "Well that may be true but what if something happens and the Lagoon has to pull away for some reason? Then you might have to lay down fire till Benny gets the boat back in close. Or say we have to go overboard? You might need to keep their heads down till you can pick us up."
Rock looked around as he nodded at what she was saying. "Revy? Um, is it just me or does it feel like someone is watching us?"
Revy nodded as she slowly turned in a circle checking every direction. "Yeah I get that too, I'm glad you picked up on it. I would not be surprised if they have a guard out here somewhere in a hide. Boris told Dutch we should have the range to ourselves today but keep your eyes open just in case."
Rock nodded as he opened the trunk of the car. As he reached in Revy put her hand on his shoulder and said, "Uh Rock? Don't pull the BAR out wrapped the way it is, and while you are at it untie that dolly from the barrel. I don't think we want any of the Russians knowing whose gun you are using."
Rock nodded as he unwrapped the rifle while it was still in the trunk. He had picked the gun up off the dock after the little assassin Gretel had been killed by the fixer Elroy. He had always left it in the blanket she carried it in and her doll was still tied to the barrel. He didn't know why but he just felt like he should leave it the way it was when she died.
It took about thirty minutes for them to unload and set up targets. Revy had brought a bunch of different things like cans, bottles, and paper targets for him to shoot at. She started out showing him how the gun should be held for different positions. She then had him practice loading clips and dropping them until Rock could do it smoothly and almost without looking when he reached to his belt for them.
Over the next several hours she had him firing while standing, sitting, kneeling, and prone. She had him doing single shots and then three and five rounds bursts. She did things like throw stuff at him and even grab him while he was shooting to teach him not to take his eyes off the target.
Revy had been watching where Rock was hitting with a pair of binoculars and was satisfied he was really getting the hang of this. "Ok baby it's time for one last round." Revy said with a smile. "You have six clips left, 120 rounds. I want you to burn through 100 rounds as fast as you can. Leave one clip, never burn through all your clips if you can help it."
Rock nodded and smiled. He had enjoyed this day with Revy and hated to see it end. For all her temper she was a good teacher. He felt like he had really learned a lot and was feeling much better about his shooting for it.
Rock set the BAR into his shoulder and loaded the first clip. He had a feeling she was going to try something to break his concentration but was not sure what. She rubbed him on the back and said, "Get ready to rock and roll baby. I want you to fire on that tree just to the right of the targets. I will be able to tell how you are hitting by the bark and leaves falling and then we can go look it over"
Rock nodded again as she slid up close to his back and whispered in his ear, "Go!" The BAR began to kick into his shoulder as he held down the trigger. Rock dropped his first clip and reloaded with ease as Revy began to rub his chest and belly from behind with her hands going lower and lower.
"So that's her game." He thought as he racked the third clip home and began to burn through the rounds. Number four slammed home and she got lower and lower. As Rock racked the last clip in she gave him a squeeze he could not ignore but he still churned out bullets a fast as the gun could cycle.
The last clip hit the ground and Rock sat the rifle on the table. Then he suddenly spun around and pulled Revy close crushing her to him with a kiss that took both their breaths away. As they pulled back and smiled at each other and Rock said, "Revy? I'm ready to go home now."
Revy grinned and patted him on the chest and said, "Me too baby, all we got to do is look at that tree, clean up, and then we can go get a drink and play." Rock nodded as they walked down the range to check his target.
Revy was satisfied Rock had put most of the rounds into the tree and as they started to pick up cans and paper Rock's cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and looked at the number.
"It's Boris." He said as Revy started lighting a smoke. "Hello Boris?" Rock said as he answered.
"Rock," Boris said, "the Kaptain says to tell Revy for nether of you to move an inch." Rock looked puzzled and he repeated Boris words as Revy's face went white.
The can sitting on a stump between them suddenly leaped into the air. It then flipped away to the right from a second hit as they heard the sound of the first shot arriving. Down the row of targets, cans and bottles began to flip and shatter, each before the sounds of the shots reached Rock and Revy.
They could hear Boris laughing over the phone as the echo of the last shot drifted away. Revy turned and raised her binoculars, looking back towards the shooting stands where the car was parked. She saw movement far up range and high in the trees as the front of a hide dropped down to reveal Boris and Balalaika.
Boris was looking back at Revy through binoculars as Balalaika waved with a smile on her face, her Dragunov rifle was still to her shoulder but hanging down. "Fuck!" Revy cried out, "That must be 600 meters!"
Suddenly she could hear Boris cry out from Rock's phone. "Rock! Rock, don't move whatever you do!" As Revy watched she saw Balalaika snatch her rifle to firing position and a flash came from the muzzle. There was a meaty smack behind Rock and a second later the crack of the rifle reached them. Revy, still frozen, looking at Balalaika saw her lower her Dragunov and blow air from her checks. Boris leaned forward looking through his binoculars and called "Clear!" through Rock's phone.
Revy turned to look at Rock still standing frozen with his phone to his ear and a stunned look on his face. She leaned over to look behind him she saw a long shape flipping and twisting in its death throws. "FUCK!" She screamed as she grabbed Rock and snatched him with her as she ran away.
After about ten meters she stopped and looked back where the biggest King Cobra she had ever seen was still twisting itself into knots. As she began to check Rock to make sure he was not bitten, she realized he was still holding the cell phone to his ear. "Um, Rock?" She said as she reached up and took the phone from him. He just looked at her and said, "Eeep?"
She leaned in close and waved her hand in front of his face. He began to focus on her and then suddenly screamed, "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT SHIT ALL ABOUT!" Revy just watched as he began dance around ranting and raving about crazy fucking women with guns and hidden snakes and pretty much anything else he could think of at the moment.
Revy lit a cigarette and smoked as he got it out of his system and finally calmed down. When he collapsed in a heap she sat down beside him and thought to herself, "I really don't blame him for going off his nut one fucking bit."
A minute later a jeep roared up with Balalaika and Boris in it. Boris jumped out with his AK and jogged toward the snake as Balalaika made her way over to Rock and Revy. "Are you two ok?" She asked as she looked down at Rock, Dragunov still in her hands.
All Rock could do was stare at the sky and say, "Snake, big snake, big fucking snake." Balalaika looked at Revy with her eyebrows raised.
Revy just puffed her smoke and said, "Oh don't mind him. He's just off his nut right now. I'll get him home, get some rum in him, tuck him in bed and he'll calm down. Sooner or later."
Balalaika just lit a Cuban and shrugged her shoulders as Boris walked back up. He was shaking his head as he said, "Biggest snake I've ever seen. Sixteen foot long female King Cobra." He looked down at Revy, "There is a nest behind the tree Rock shot the hell out of, must be about twenty eggs in there. I'll get a grenade and drop in it; I don't want any of those to hatch!"
As Boris headed to the jeep Rock raised his head and said, "Balalaika? Why? Why would you do that to us? What did we ever do to you?"
She stood for a minute looking down at him before saying with a smirk, "Let's just call it an initiation Rock. Welcome to the gun club."
Rock just stared at her and dropped his head back to the dirt moaning quietly, "I don't want to play anymore. Can I just go home now?"
Revy just lit another smoke and stuck it in his mouth as he lay there staring at the sky.
A/N: Please review and be sure to check out my other stories!