Chapter 2: Restless

The door of the apartment opened shortly after six that evening. Rock was the first to cross the threshold, followed closely by Revy. The way they held themselves did not go unnoticed by Dutch. Clearly, something had happened in Venezuela that hadn't quite been planned. Rock, too, looked as though he had been beaten, though not too severely. Dutch did not say anything immediately, they could fill him in later.

"Would you look who it is, Benny," the black man said enthusiastically. "Seems like years since I spoke to you two." Benny, whose head had been planted in the fridge, turned to see the others just as Revy shut the door.

"Shit, I was wondering when you two would come back," he told them.

"We weren't gone that long, were we?" Rock asked, abashed. In actuality, they had been fairly quick. It had only taken a few days to finish out the job Garcia called them for. Dutch was relieved they wouldn't be spending a week or more out there. He wanted them back home with him, under his employment. Considering his meeting with Abrego earlier today, he certainly needed them now.

"I'm just glad you two are back," Dutch said. "I trust everything went off without a hitch?" He knew that wasn't true, but he decided to let them explain, if they were in a sharing mood. Their expressions gave it away instantly. Their little getaway hadn't gone according to plan.

"Pfft. Well, that's bullshit," Revy groaned, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. "The 'Young Master' was in way over his head. Just lucky I was there to save his snotty little ass from those chumps." Her voice became higher-pitched in an attempt to mimic Roberta when she referred to Garcia the same way his maid did. Dutch found that amusing.

"That bad, huh?" he asked.

"They invaded the Lovelace estate," Rock explained. "Forced the family to their knees and almost killed Roberta and Wolf."

"How's that?" asked Benny, clearly confused already.

"One of them wanted the bitch dead," Revy went on. "Turns out they had a deal with this other asshole. He wanted Wolfy turned over to him. But me and my boys made sure that didn't happen." She patted her Cutlasses affectionately.

"So, you killed them, then?" Dutch asked her. Revy's smirk faded and she became irritable.

"They got away," Rock said glumly. "Or, well…three of them did, anyway. Most of their people were wiped out in Venezuela, but the leaders managed to escape." That wasn't exactly what Dutch wanted to hear. He had hoped that whatever business Revy and Rock had been involved in would be finished and forgotten about afterwards. Considering three people who were presumably not very happy with Revy right now still roamed freely, it was not outside the realms of possibility that they would have a bone to pick with Lagoon Company at some point. But Dutch supposed he could let that slide for now. That was not an immediate issue that required his attention.

"Well, shit," Lagoon's leader groaned, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the table. "I guess it's an understatement to say things could have gone better." Revy scoffed.

"That's putting it fucking mildly, Dutch."

"Still, that's not what concerns me right now. Whoever those assholes are, they can wait. We've got a job." Rock and Revy both came to attention, then. They were clearly not expecting more work so soon, but it would almost be a welcome change after Venezuela. Deep down, they shared Dutch's sentiment, that the best thing for them would be to return to the grind and settle back into the city proper.

"From who?" Rock asked, taking a seat on one of the couches. Revy fell into the other one and placed her hands behind her head.

"Abrego, of all people."

"No shit?" Revy asked. "What did that waste of space want?"

"He's gotten himself into a bit of a situation," Dutch began, making sure to explain as many of the details as possible without boring the others. "Supposedly, he tried to bargain with a local pirate crew to deliver his merchandise. In response, they kidnapped the woman he had taking the deliveries into the dock. He wants us to go get her back." That didn't seem to concern either of them too much.

"Why the fuck does he care so much about her?" Revy asked. "Wouldn't Abrego usually just cut his losses and forget he knew her?"

"That's what we thought," Benny chimed in, taking a seat beside Rock. "But he claims this 'Alexis' was never one of his to begin with. From what he told Dutch, it sounds like one of the other gangs lent her to him for this job. And if they find out she got in trouble under his temporary employment, they'll be coming for him."

"So we're basically wiping his ass so this doesn't get back to his friends," Revy put it eloquently. "Great."

"Hey, it's something," Benny told her. "Better than sitting on our asses all day long, huh?"

"Speak for yourself," she retorted. "We just got back from a job, remember? And we didn't even get fucking paid for it."

"That's not technically true, Revy," Rock reminded her. Revy frowned at that.

"Who offers to pay five grand for what we did?! Kid had us take out half the fucking country and that's all he offers us? I told him to shove it."

"Actually, you told him to shove it and then tried to get him to hand it over anyway," Rock reminded her, smiling as he did so. "Anyway, I wasn't exactly expecting payment for this. Considering Pius asked us to get Garcia out of a difficult situation, I assumed he couldn't afford to compensate us. We just did a good deed, that's all."

"What, did your balls fall off, Rock?!" Revy snapped. "If that was a good deed, then consider it mine for the fucking year. You want to play Mother Teresa, you go right ahead. But I am pissed about this." There was silence for a few moments.

"So, when does Abrego want us to do this?" Rock asked, finally, as Revy stewed silently on the couch.

"As soon as we can," Dutch told them. They all knew what that meant. "Sorry, you two. I know you probably wanted to catch up on some beauty sleep after Venezuela, but we can't afford to just wait around, either. I'll be calling you bright and early in the morning." Revy groaned and turned over on the couch, wrapping her arms around her head.

"At least tell me we're getting paid for this," she murmured.

"We sure are," Dutch told her. "Thirty grand. These guys are supposedly based out of Rayong but Abrego tells me they've got a ship out in the Gulf. That's where he says they've taken the hostage."

"A ship?" Rock asked, immediately coming to the conclusion that that didn't add up. Pirates never sailed large vessels that took any significant amount of time to get places. They preferred speed and precision over size and durability.

"Yeah, a cruise ship. It's stolen, obviously. Hijacked. But it sounds like they're using it for the time being to keep a few hostages and supplies. That's where we'll be headed. It's a simple rescue mission, in and out with Alexis and back to Roanapur." For the sake of his colleagues' sanities, Dutch hoped it would be as simple as he was trying to convince them. The last thing they needed now was for this to blow up in their faces when they least expected and bring heat down on Lagoon Company. It was still unlikely, considering everything. Balalaika had relaxed her grip on the city and other internal conflicts that did not concern her could be resolved with ease. But that didn't necessarily mean everything was going to go off without a hitch, either. Still, this was already promising. Despite himself, Dutch was almost eager about the prospect of beginning this job. It signalled a long overdue return to form that may well settle in and remain with them. And, if nothing else, it would surely offer some excitement. Part of Dutch's philosophy deemed that life had no point if it was not exciting every once in a while, a sentiment no doubt shared by Revy.

"Well, as long as I get to shoot someone, I'll be happy," Revy told him. "Even if this job turns out to be complete shit, I bet there'll be a lot of those fuckers to take out on that ship. My fingers are twitching just thinking about it." She started laughing, then. It didn't take long for her to retire to her room. She was probably tired, after all. And if Dutch followed through on his promise to wake her early, she likely wanted to get as much sleep as possible before unleashing her Cutlasses on the unsuspecting pirates.

"You look tired, Rock," Dutch piped up, lowering his newspaper just a few inches to look the Japanese man in the eyes. "You should probably get some rest, too."

"You're not mad about what happened in Venezuela?"

"Not really," Dutch said honestly. "That doesn't really concern me, right now. Unless those assholes come directly to the door asking for you two, we don't really have a problem." That was true enough. Rock knew that they were in no position to do anything right now anyway. Their cause had been weakened too much by Revy's interference. Still, he hoped that when the time came for them to act, they would be stopped in their tracks.

"That's true," Rock agreed. "Besides, I'm more concerned about Garcia. He hates this city. It must be killing him knowing the three men that put his family on their knees are out there somewhere." Dutch dropped the newspaper onto his lap altogether when he heard that.

"You mean he's in Roanapur right now? You failed to mention that, Rock." The Japanese man scratched the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed that he had forgotten such a significant detail.

"Oh, I did, didn't I? Sorry." Dutch seemed tense for a moment before sighing deeply.

"It's alright. I guess it isn't that big of a deal after all. The maid isn't exactly in any condition to cause any trouble and Garcia should keep his head down if he's smart."

"The only reason he came is because he didn't feel safe in the estate anymore," Rock explained. "Not after those people forced their way in." That was only natural. Garcia seemed to be walking a dark path, a long winding road through unfamiliar stretches of shadow. No matter what he did, it seemed like he was constantly called back to Roanapur against his will. Rock just hoped that he would come out the other side and be free of the darkness that waited oh so patiently nearby. He was lucky to have escaped before, but recent events seemed to be forcing him back into danger.

"Well, I'm sure he'll be fine here," Dutch mused. "It's not his first time in the city, after all. And he's a smart kid. He'll figure it out." Rock rose from the couch, then, and started to make his way to his room. Dutch grabbed his arm just as he passed the big man's chair. "Hey, Rock…"

"What is it, Dutch?" He released Rock's arm.

"Keep an eye on Revy, will you? I know that glint in her eyes. If I know her as well as I think I do, she's gonna need you to talk to her. This is the beginning of something. I just want to make sure she doesn't lose herself along the way."

"And what about me?" Rock asked. "You're not worried I'll lose my way?" That was intended as a joke, but Dutch clearly considered those words very seriously.

"Of course I am, Rock," he said. "But you know what Revy is like. Let's worry about one loose cannon at a time."