Ms. Balalaika's office was not what some would expect the most fearful person in Roanapur to have. Never one for flaunting wealth, the room was of modest fashion. On one side of the room was a set of chairs and a leather couch. On the other side of the room, past the glass plane window, rested a rather large oak desk, upon which rested various files, paperwork tools, and most prominently a special case for cigars. A large bookshelf and liquor cabinet lined the wall behind the desk. The room had the smell of heavy tobacco smoke. In a chair behind the desk sat the head of Hotel Moscow's Thailand branch, the Kapitan of the Visotoniki, the women who would start and win World War Three if she desired to, Ms. Balalaika.
Ms. Balalaika sat silently, puffing a smoke from one of her iconic cigars. She was dressed as usual in a crimson red suit adorned with bronze buttons, a low cut skirt, and set of black high heel shoes. Her legs were covered by a set of black stockings, which no but the leader of the Triad, Chang, dared to stare too long at. Her long golden locks of hair tumbled out upon both of her shoulders. Of course, her most striking features were evident from her face. Her eyes, stalwart and light blue in color, could shatter anyone's fortitude. The most distinctive feature to the eyes of everyone though was the scars. Reminders of a military operation gone bad during her time in the hellish sands of Afghanistan, they took up most of one side of her, up to the distinctive scar that covered her left eye. Her willpower to live with such a marking only increased the terror and respect she held from the residents of Roanapur.
Rock was no exception to this effect, and he tried to stay calm while slightly trembling. The rest of Lagoon Company stood behind him, and Boris had moved to Balalaika's right side at this time. An old-fashioned clock on the bookshelf chimed, signaling that it was now noon.
"Good morning Lagoon Company, I trust you are all doing well." Balalaika said as she put her cigar down in the ash tray on her desk. She motioned for them all to sit down.
"Business is good so far, so I can't complain" Dutch said as he took a chair.
Revy, still a bit irritated, produced a cigarette from a packet. "Mind if I have a smoke sis?"
"Go ahead Two Hands"
Revy searched for a lighter and, realizing she didn't have one, motioned Rock to let use his. When he produced it, she smiled wickedly. Popping another cigarette into Rock's mouth, she leaned in close to his face, causing Rock to fumbling in lighting both cigarettes at once. After they were lit, Revy leaned back into the couch she and Rock both sat on, taking a long puff. Rock meanwhile slightly choked on his and coughed, his face reddened a bit. Although he was embarrassed, he was thankful for Revy's distraction, for he was calmer now.
Those two still have a ways to go Balalaika confided in her mind.
Clearing his throat, Dutch spoke up now.
"So Ms. Balalaika, what exactly do you require our humble services for?"
"Always straight to the point as usual Dutch." Balalaika said as she put her hands together.
"I am in the need of some assistance with operations here while I am away for a personal matter. Why my second in command is more than capable of handling most of our day to day operations, I figured it would be interesting to have you and your crew assist him."
"So, what do we need to do?"
"Well Dutch, I need you to help direct some of our shipping through some routes you may be familiar with. You'll be on hand at our private docks to instruct the captains."
"Sounds good to me, but what of the rest of my crew?"
"Well, our server network is in need of inspection and perhaps a tune up, so I thought your computer expert could spend some time with our technicians"
"I'm on it!" Benny said a bit out of turn. He quickly muttered "Thank you ma'am"
"Glad to see an energetic technician for once" Balalaika replied with a smile. Turning to face Revy, she spoke again.
"As for you Two Hands, I need you to simply do what you usually do, keep an eye on Rock"
Revy stood up, her cigarette hanging from her lips. "What are you implying Sis? I'm not his babysitter." Revy said, her face flush with her typical outrage look. Rock tried to keep from getting hit, but Revy still knocked him on the head.
Balalaika laughed upon seeing Revy's reaction.
"I figured you'd react like that. Calm down Two Hands, you've got the easiest task at hand. You should be grateful I'm paying you to basically be yourself."
Revy's ears perked up on Balalaika's words, and she sat back down.
"Well, if you just want me to sit around while the others work, fine by me. Not like anyone is going to try and kidnap Rock in this place"
Rock, noticing he was not tasked with anything, raised a hand up.
"Yes Rock?"
"Excuse me Ms. Balalaika, but what am I here for exactly?"
"I was getting to that, but first, Sargent!"
"Yest Kapitan!"
"Please show Dutch, Benny, and Two Hands back to their car and have them bring back anything they need from their office."
"Right away Kapitan"
Boris opened the doors as Dutch, Benny, and Revy got back up. Dutch patted Rock on the shoulder as he left first, Benny gave him a thumbs up, and Revy punched him lightly on the right shoulder. As Revy left the room last, she said over her shoulder, "Don't rattle him too much Sis"
As Rock watched the doors close, a lump grew in his throat. While he was okay dealing with people who could kill him at the slightest whim every day, he felt more secure when Revy was nearby.
Balalaika tapped a hand on her desk, causing Rock to quickly snap his view from the door back to her. She smiled at him in an attempt to calm him, but his face showed still a slight bit of fear underneath his usual demeanor.
"Relax Rock, it's not like you've done anything to warrant a lecture. I simply wanted to talk to you personally about a few jobs I need you to do for Hotel Moscow."
Rock relaxed slightly and nodded.
"So Rock, I have a list of things here for you to do personally. Boris and Revy will accompany usually, along with a few of my men for a few of the jobs on the list."
Balalaika tapped a finger on a clipboard at the front of her desk. Rock stood up and walked up to the desk and skimmed the list in hand.
"I see. If I may ask something though Ms. Balalaika."
"Go ahead Rock"
"What's going to happen when news gets out that you are gone? When we all were in Tokyo, Chang had trouble keeping the local ruffians down."
Ms. Balalaika laughed at Rock's concern and smiled yet again.
"Always concerned about Roanapur, aren't you Rock? Chang has already made preparations on his end and I have made it clear already to certain elements that if they try to start a revolution, a ruckus, even a fight in the streets, not only will Hotel Moscow strike them down, but Two Hands will be with my men."
Balalaika leaned back and lit another cigar. She took a deep puff and then exhaled, the smoke wafting pass Rock, who surprising didn't react.
"In fact, the Italians and Colombians have started keeping their men off the streets, least one of those drunken buffoons they dare call soldiers opens the gate to hell."
Rock smiled.
"I see. Very well, I accept."
"I'm glad you find the matter satisfactory." Balalaika said as she stood up from her chair. Grabbing the Soviet officer's coat she often wore from its hanging spot on the backside of her chair, she draped it over her shoulders, cigar in hand still. Raising it up to take another puff, she walked around the desk right up to Rock, inches from his face.
"I do owe you one for this Rock, think carefully on that." She said as the smoke left her lips.
"Yes ma'am" Rock said with a slight quiver.
With that, Ms. Balalaika left the room. Rock stood still, unsure of what he was supposed to do now. While the list only had a few things he was sure he could handle, he wasn't so sure about why he was doing them. After all, it wasn't like Ms. Balalaika to leave without her men, especially Boris. Where is she going, and why? Rock thought as he looked down at the list again.
Balalaika walked briskly through the hall after leaving her office. While she had informed her men that she was leaving in advance, she had not told a single soul why. As such, she didn't want to see her men, her comrades, some might even say her children, to see her go, looks of uncertainty in their eyes. They had followed her through the hells of Afghanistan and into the darkness of the crime syndicate world. She frowned as she got into the elevator. She had noted Boris's dismay behind his stone-wall face, sensed the fear he had of losing her. As the elevator went down, she thought about how he had stood by her at all times. He had been the one that carried her to the rescue gunship when she had been scarred by the burns of torture while in captivity. He braced her when they were all humiliatingly discharged discretely after the media attack on the Kremlin for the cross-border operation they undertook. He had always reassured her that she had done the honorable thing by taking that child back with them that fateful April day, even as she was losing control of herself in the military hospitals. Now she was leaving him in charge of the others, but she couldn't tell him why yet. As the doors of the elevator opened to the grand main lobby hallway, her face changed to her usual demeanor. Every Visotoniki that earlier had been in a room was at attention, standing side by side on each side of the hallway. Upon seeing their Kapitan, they all raised a hand in salute. Balalaika walked down the hall slowly, looking at each of their faces. Most were as stone-walled as Boris, but some had a single dried tear path hastening rubbed off in an attempt to hide. Upon reaching the front doors, Balalaika turned in step, her heels clicking the floor. She addressed her men with a booming voice.
"Defend Lagoon Company as though they were one of us, my comrades! Let anyone who dares stand in our way feel the might of our Kalashnikovs!"
The Visotoniki all yelled in unison, fists pumped into the air.
"URRAH!"
With that, Balalaika strode out the front doors. A black Mercedes awaited her. Soon, she was speeding off to the airport in Bangkok. When she arrived where her private jet was in preparation for takeoff, she nodded to the crew and stepped aboard. Moments later, the jet took off into the tranquil blue skies.