AN: Ug, my computer has a bug in it so things have been wayyy frustrating lately. As per usual, none of the characters nor settings belong to me yadayadayada. Thank my new and fantastic beta DemonicDRAMAqueen for editing this piece. At last, something with proper grammar, huh! Many kudos to you ^^
The Russian watched him with light disdain, blue eyes wary. Her fingers itched for the trigger stashed neatly under her jacket.
"Don't." the man said confidently striding into the room. He looked, from what she could make out….Korean? Chinese? She waited patiently for him to situate. Like herself, he wore a business suit. Black sunglasses completed the outfit and all contributed to making him that much more ominous. From the pocket of his trench coat, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered the box to her.
"No thanks." was her reply, clipped and barely civil.
He shrugged "There's a tin of cigars on the counter to your right if that's more your style."
When the woman made no move he sat down on the couch adjacent.
"Miss Balalaika."
"Mr Chang." The response was made through tight lips. A few moments of silence followed.
The man sighed "Nothing personal. It is the job after all."
The job, Balalaika knew well enough what 'the job' called for. Her time in Afghanistan had imprinted solidly and permanently behind her eyelids. He...was of course referring to the hefty wound he'd had blown into her side only weeks after arriving in Roanapur. (She did a number to his ensemble as well.) Balalaika didn't respond for a long time. Her eyes spoke of wariness and...was that boredom?
"Your marksmen had dreadful aim." she said finally.
And he'd had the nerve to laugh. "That was of course to his detriment in the end."
"And it was the end?"
"Naturally. In fact, if I didn't know better, I would have thought he took that miss on purpose. Speaking of which, I want the name of that boy and company who saved you, I'm thinking they might be of some use after all."
Again, the ring of silence stung his ears.
"This isn't an interrogation here, have a cigar, I insist; they're vintage." he stood up and grabbed the box from the counter.
Giving up, she accepted one, igniting it and inhaling deeply.
"You've made quite the impression on this town already."
"Have I now?" Her tone although still guarded was the slightest fraction more relaxed.
"Indeed. You know, in a place like this, it wouldn't hurt to have an agreement, especially from something so absolute as my triads."
She exhaled, doing her best to feign aloofness
"And what would you have it be Mr Chang? You put a quaint little collar on me and I go 'woof' I don't think so. I know well enough of your dealing with Rowan Pigeon 's S&M club."
"What'd I tell ya, eyes in the sky already." Callously, he removed his sunglasses, folding them, and stowing them neatly inside his trench coat. "No, I was thinking more along the lines of a business partnership. You know, 50/50, the old school way."
Her eyes lifted, unafraid to his. "That of Hotel Moscow supports their own. We do not require aid from outside sources."
With a sigh, the man heaved himself off the couch. From yet another pocket inside his coat, he pulled a business card.
"The Hong Kong's Sun Yee-on Triads. Think on it."
She stood to accept it, not taking her beady blue eyes off of the man until he exited the room. Yeah, that was right...there were, Hotel Moscow and they would ally themselves with none. She eyed her faithful sergeant through the window coming to a silent agreement that they would break the news that night.
The next time they saw each other was in July, three months after their first meeting. A casual evening meal had led to the careless drop of information from her guest's lips. Within moments he was dead and Hotel Moscow walked proudly down the streets of Roanapur.
They had found themselves on the outskirts of the east border of town, behind the shelter of a sagging farmhouse. It was hot out that day, reminding herself of Afghanistan. She counted the beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. A gunshot rang out inside the building, Hotel Moscow had their cue. They took the intruders by storm. There were fewer of them but their skill far outmatched that of their opponents. They mowed through the outer ranks effortlessly and slowed to a stop outside the inner room. Gunshot and thundering feet rang from inside like a great beast. There were no children to protect here, not like Afghanistan. There was no one but her posse, and they protected her.
When the doors finally did swing open it was Chang grinning easily, sunglasses upon his nose and his left arm in a sling. A perhaps smaller than original group of the Triad's flanked him. He gave the order for them to go on ahead and turned to approach Hotel Moscow. He greeted their leader with a half hearted shrug from his injured arm.
"Mr Chang," she spoke sharply "a little bird told me I could find you here."
"And thank goodness they were correct. We are in your debt Hotel Moscow."
"Hmm" she sniffed "I'd rather you just bill me later."
"The offer still stands." he said turning to go. "See you around."
And Balalaika thought perhaps he'd only been talking to her.
Fate would have it opposite the next time they met. Hotel Moscow had found ground in Japan. She'd been in the middle of a conversation with a prominent figure.
"Ms Vladelina," he had been saying (an allude to her pseudonym) when a bullet whizzed past her head, nestling itself into the shoulder of a man across from her. He had let out a scream and the room dissolved into chaos. Her posse sprung into action but they were outnumbered, sixteen to about eighty. Then, the Triads arrived; Chang in front, leading the operation. The combination of his men and hers were fatal to the scattering Japanese criminals. He wore a cheeky grin that Balalaika absolutely despised. She drew her gun. Game over.
"What can I say...well, if there's one thing we hate, it's to be in debt." Chang remarked afterwards over a smoke.
She exhaled, leaning her back against the wall. "Vassili will no doubt stir trouble here in the future." she reveals. "We'll need to flee the city soon. After all this, I can't believe he was able to pull out his head from inside his ass long enough to put two and two together."
"It'll be a while before you'll be able to return to Japan, that's for sure." Chang agrees. " It does surprise me things worked out the way they did. My only guess is that there was an unknown force working against both of us." He frowned "This only means more paperwork and more time digging through useless security footage. The things we do for money."
He let his cigarette fall to the ground.
They stood in silence and although it wasn't said, in fact, it was never, and probably never will be said, they both knew that when it came to picking teams in Roanapur, as far as their respective men went, they would be safe. They would be allied.
Yes…Balalaika thought decidedly, Hotel Moscow protected their own.