Just a little bit something to tide you over until the first chapters of the new story I'm working on are ready for publication.
This insert takes place during Mangrove Heaven (Ep. 2), just after Balalaika and the Japanese left to do their business.
The small motorcade taking Balalaika and the Asahi Industries executives to a hotel near the port had just disappeared behind a warehouse. Rock stood there, still looking in that direction, lost in thought.
"So… tell me, Rock," Dutch spoke, bringing the Japanese man out of his brief reverie. "What will you do now?"
Rock turned to face him and the rest of his crew. Dutch and Benny were leaning against a concrete block at the edge of the wharf, while Revy was casually sitting on it. "Guess I'm not a hostage anymore," he shrugged. "And I've got nowhere to go." A welcome breeze came from the sea as if on cue.
"Hey. There is this crew I've heard of that might be looking for a good sailor. You think you could be interested in something like that?" Revy called while Rock was lighting a cigarette. "They are a delivery company."
"Who sometimes break the rules to put food on the table, isn't that right?" Rock finished the sentence for her.
She just chuckled in reply. Rock walked towards the three, shirt still partially untucked, hands in his pockets, cigarette in mouth and the tie he'd taken off hanging out of his back pocket, silently accepting the offer. For a few minutes, he sat there with them, smoking and enjoying the newfound feeling of freedom. Finally, he flicked the butt of his cigarette into the sea. "So," he said. "What now?"
"First of all, I'll get the boat refueled," replied Dutch. "And then we'll go back to Roanapur."
-o-
The sun was about to set when the crew finished tying the slightly battered and bullet-holed PT boat to its pier. Repairs were going to have to wait. All four were too drained to even think about such matters.
"I don't know about you guys, but I haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning," said Rock as he shuffled towards the Lagoon Company dock with the rest of them. "I'm starving. So, if you know a good place to grab a bite… My treat." Even with all he'd been through over the past couple of days, he still had his wallet. "So, what do you guys say?"
"Well, I wouldn't say no to a couple of slices of pizza and a burger," Benny said. "Fries, too."
"And some cold beer to go with them," added Revy.
"Benny-boy, get the car," Dutch told the blond hacker. "We just happen to know the perfect place, Rock."
About an hour later, the expanded Lagoon crew walked back to the car, hunger sated with pizza, cheeseburgers and fries, thirst slaked with cold beer.
"We're gonna have to find Rock a place to stay," declared Dutch as he closed the door of the Roadrunner after maneuvering his massive frame into the passenger seat.
"That's the easiest part," shrugged Revy from the back seat while trying to find her lighter. Rock, sitting next to her, was faster, his own lighter already out and flicked on. She smiled as she accepted the light and took a drag on her cigarette. "Plenty of cheap rooms to let in this city," she added, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "However, it can wait. Right now I need a drink. Yellow Flag?"
"Wasn't it destroyed last night?" Rock asked, somewhat dumbly.
"Just trashed a bit," she replied. "Don't underestimate Bao. I bet it is open right now."
"Really?"
"The last time it was trashed, the place opened for business less than twelve hours later," Dutch said sagely. "Bao had new furniture and was serving drinks even as a work crew was installing new window panes and wood paneling."
"Plus we have a bit of unfinished business from last night," Revy reminded Rock.
"It's not like I have anything better to do for now," he agreed.
Rock and Revy marched inside the Yellow Flag, each pushing a side of the double doors inwards, followed by Dutch and Benny. The first two walked up to the bar with matching strides, backs ramrod straight and eyes locked forward, looking intense and purposeful.
Bao saw them approach and scowled, but before he could open his mouth and blast them, they slapped a hand on the counter each and spoke as one. "Bring us all the Bacardi you've got right now!" As the Vietnamese bar owner went to get their order, they turned and looked at each other with narrowed eyes, determined to settle the matter once and for all. Bao had barely poured the first shots when they disappeared down the competing pair's throats.
Soon, word spread out that Revy was engaged in a drinking contest with a newcomer to the city. As a result, a lot of people crowded inside the Yellow Flag to watch and before long they began making bets on who was going to win. So, in addition to serving drinks, Bao also became the bookie. Rock and Revy ignored everything but the shot glasses in front of them, occasionally smirking at each other. Clearly, neither of them intended to back down.
"Two hundred on Two Hands," declared a spectator, putting his money down and getting a betting slip from Bao.
"A hundred and fifty dollars on the new guy," said another guy. Bao dutifully made a note of the bet.
Off to the side, but close enough to keep an eye on the action, Dutch and Benny sipped their own drinks. Benny spoke up first. "What do you think, Boss?"
"The way they're going, Bao could run out of Bacardi before either one of them drops."
"Are you going to back it up with a bet, Dutch?" Bao asked him. He'd just placed a fresh bottle of rum in front of the competing pair, their second. The first one had been emptied in a remarkably short time. However, Rock and Revy didn't get started on it right away, taking a smoke break instead. As they smoked, they glared and grinned smugly at each other, caught up in the thrill of their little contest.
"Dutch?" Benny prodded.
"Eh, what the hell! Two hundred on a draw," he said.
Bao handed him a betting slip. "You, Benny?"
The blond man checked the contents of his pockets. "I ain't got much on me right now, Bao. Screw it, fifty bucks on it being a draw. If Dutch is so sure about it, I'm not going to bet against him."
The barkeep took the money and went over his notes. People had bet overwhelmingly on Revy winning the contest, based on previous experience. A brave few had put their money on Rock. Those who'd had money on a draw were even fewer; just Dutch, Benny and a guy from Hotel Moscow.
Revy and Rock finished their cigarettes and cracked their second bottle open. Their faces had taken a slight reddish tinge from the alcohol, but they didn't appear to be anything more than slightly tipsy.
"How do they do that?" Benny wondered aloud.
"You need to be a little more observant, Benny-Boy," Dutch whispered in his ear. "Think about the day we've just had. Revy and Rock slept well on the boat and we all had a good dinner before coming here. We also know about Revy's alcohol tolerance and it looks like Rock ain't no slouch in that department either."
The second bottle was soon empty and a bathroom break followed (Gotta make room for more, Revy had said). Bao placed their third on the bar and Rock poured them a double each, which disappeared in the blink of an eye. By now their movements were beginning to get sluggish and their speech was slightly slurred, but they kept on, ignoring the shouted encouragements from the audience and the betting going on around them.
"Bao, bring us another bottle, please," Rock slurred, rapping his knuckles on the bar.
"You done with your third already?" Bao asked and took a look to confirm. Indeed, the third bottle was now completely empty and Revy was looking at it angrily. "Hang on a second." He was as good as his word, but when he returned he looked rather sheepish. "Sorry, but there's no more Bacardi."
"What?" Revy whined, with a comically unfocused look in her wide, alcohol-clouded eyes. "How am I supposed to drink this dumbass under the table if you have no more booze?"
"Get over it, Revy. I ordered more just this morning. I'm still waiting for it."
Rock let out a frustrated growl and clumsily inspected the bottle, finding it indeed empty.
"Nooooo, I wanna more rum!" Revy's speech was still whiny and slurred.
"Those three bottles were all I had left," insisted Bao.
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuckin' fuck!" Revy swore.
"What she said," added Rock. "I still need to teach her to never underestimate a Japanese businessman." How both of them managed to remain articulate even after sharing three bottles of Bacardi was a mystery to those who were close enough to listen to them.
"Hey, what's going on?" The question came from one of the onlookers.
"The rum's gone and they are both conscious," replied Benny.
"Um, so, now what?"
"It's a draw," declared Bao. Most of the people present groaned, crumpled up their betting slips and threw them on the floor. Three others, however, went to Bao to collect their winnings. These three were Dutch, Benny and the Russian from Hotel Moscow.
Dutch stuffed a thick roll of bills into a pocket and turned to Benny, who was counting his share. "Let's get them home, Benny."
"Stupid question, but Rock hasn't found a place yet. Where are we going to take him to?"
"We'll just have to let him crash on a couch at the office."
"Works for me," he agreed. "Let's go, you guys," he told Rock and Revy, but got no reply. A look in their direction told him why. They were both asleep, heads resting on their folded arms. "Dutch, they've fallen asleep." He shook them both, trying to rouse them, without success. "And they are not waking up anytime soon."
"Damn. We'll have to carry them. You take Revy, I'll take Rock. We could dump them both at Revy's place, but I kind of like the kid and him getting shot before his first full day with the company when she wakes up isn't exactly a good scenario. We'll go with the original plan and leave him at the office."
"Just hold on a minute there, Dutch. I don't want them puking in the car. I had it cleaned inside and out just the other day."
"Don't fret, Benny-Boy. I just thought of something." He smiled his signature grin and turned to the bartender. "Bao, do you have a guest room available upstairs?"
"Sure do, Dutch."
"Good. We're gonna leave these two here for the night, OK?"
"No objections here," shrugged Bao. "Their little contest brought me good business tonight."
"Take this as a bonus," said Dutch, giving Bao three fifty dollar bills.
The Vietnamese man smiled and gave Dutch a key. "Upstairs, first door on the right," he said.
"Thanks man." He picked Revy up effortlessly, slinging her over a shoulder and also helped Benny support Rock's limp body. The two sleeping people didn't even stir as their colleagues carried them up the stairs and into the room. Dutch and Benny came down a few minutes later, bade Bao goodnight and went to get the car and go home.
-o-
As the sun rose above the eastern horizon, some rays slipped through a gap in the curtains and shone directly on Revy's face. The light was bright enough to wake her up. "Aw, fuck," she moaned after making the mistake of opening her eyes. The light hitting them felt painful, especially with the monumental hangover she had. "How much did I drink last night?" Something did not feel quite right, however. She took a moment to gather up her strength, shielded her eyes from the intrusive rays of light with one hand and surveyed her surroundings. It definitely wasn't her room. And then her pillow moved. She looked down and saw that her head had been resting on the chest of a man, who, upon further examination, turned out to be the still sleeping Rock. Her eyes widened and she shot upright. Bad move, as the sudden movement made her vision blur and the room spin. She groaned and held her head with both hands, willing the dizziness away.
"Mmmhm." Rock stirred slightly, but didn't wake up.
"Shit," she mumbled, not daring to raise her voice in case her headache got worse. And then she realized something. Rock's torso was covered by his white cotton tank top undershirt. She chanced a peek under the covers. Yep, he had his boxer shorts on, but his shirt and pants, plus her own Daisy Dukes, had disappeared. At least it seemed that nothing untoward had taken place. She still needed answers, however. "Hey, wake up, Rock," she said as loud as she dared, while shaking him rather vigorously.
"Huh? It's time to go to work already?" He opened his eyes and jerked upright when he registered his bedmate's scowling face. "Revy? What… Where are we? What is this place?"
"Can you keep your voice down, dumbass? I have a fuckin' headache the size of Texas and no, I don't know where we are."
Feeling like shit himself, he gingerly rose on his elbows and took a look around. The folded piece of paper on his nightstand was kind of hard to miss. He opened the note and read it. "It's from Benny," he informed Revy. "He says we fell asleep last night… Oh, we're still at the Yellow Flag, by the way. Dutch got Bao to give us a guest room for the night."
"Does he mentioned what the fuck happened to our clothes?"
"They are in the closet and your guns are in your nightstand drawer."
She checked. "The boys are here, all right."
"By the way, it was a draw. Benny and Dutch, plus another guy, according to this, bet on a draw and made out like bandits."
"I remember," she said. "Bao ran out of Bacardi before I had a chance to drink you under the table."
Rock chuckled. "In your dreams, Revy. I was going to win."
"We'll see about that. Next time Bao isn't going to run out of our booze and then I'm gonna teach you a lesson you'll never forget." She jabbed a finger in his chest to emphasize her point and then yawned widely.
He actually had the audacity to chuckle. "I don't know about you, but I could use some more sleep. We have time until they come to pick us up."
She looked at him with narrowed eyes, then splayed a palm on his chest and pushed him down on the pillows before wriggling close and resting her head on his shoulder.
"Uh, Revy, what are you doing?"
"I'm making myself comfortable, dumbass. You make a pretty good pillow. Now, shut the fuck up. I wanna sleep a little longer, too."
Rock sighed and obliged her, moving a little to get more comfortable as well. Her even breathing told him that she was already fast asleep. As he too fell back asleep, his right arm wrapped around her shoulders, the fingers of his hand ghosting over her tattoo.