"So this is Port Moresby…too undeveloped. No, no, poor place for actual facilities…"Takahashi mutters, walking on sand, surveying the locale of Kupiano, Papua New Guinea. He stares at a small collection of houses scattered in front of the makeshift dock, the Lagoon and the Glass King being the only ships at dock. A few of the inhabitants walk between houses, staring at the strange ships. The villagers wear old clothing that seems to come from a Christian missionary clothes drive. "You do understand that this is just a village, Mr. Takahashi? Port Moresby is a…well…I wouldn't call it a thriving city…but it's a city," Dutch calls out, walking toward Takahashi. "Yes, of course I know!" Takahashi replies "I am more concerned with the lack of infrastructure. All I see is a single dirt road snaking through the hills and probably then along the shore. Of course, that will be more of my partner's issue then mine."
Rock and Revy approach their boss and their client, kicking sand into the wind. Revy covers her shoulder straps and Beretta pistols with a black and red tracksuit, the top of the tracksuit a black colored valley filled by a red triangle shaped like a V, the bottom a black color with a single white stripe on each side. "What the hell are we doing here? I thought we are supposed to meet up with a second ship?" Revy asks, annoyed. Takahashi turns around and answers "I mentioned how my partner is retrieving a vital ingredient for our operation. The two of you are to escort him back to this dock. He is currently in Port Moresby with the product at hand. He was unable to arrive here with the product because he would prefer not to risk a Papua New Guinea Coast Guard inspection while waiting for me. His ship is the one out there in the distance," Takahashi points toward a distant ship docked half a kilometer away, appearing to be white and slightly smaller than the Glass King.
"Why the fuck didn't you just have him meet us at sea?" Revy asks, perplexed at the redundancy of Takahashi's request. Takahashi glares at Revy, thoroughly annoyed "I phoned my partner when we were in Guam and I asked for an update on his task at hand. The amount of time that my business partner, Songxie Tong, said he required to purchase this product was a day less than the amount of time it was needed for us to arrive in Papua New Guinea from Guam. If we were to meet at sea, and something unexpectedly causes a hiccup in the timing, we would not be able to communicate with each other. I do not want to spend an entire day playing Marco Polo with our ships! My plan is to use his ship as a diversion if Black Lagoon Company underperforms in their escort duties. Clearly, my expectations need to be lowered from what I have seen from you so far. Now shut up and do what you are paid to do!"
Revy grinds her teeth and thinks of clocking Takahashi in the face, but a tap on her shoulder from Rock dissuades her. "Hn!" Revy snarls, calming herself down. After restraining herself, Revy says "Last time we were here, we stopped right by Port Moresby. How the hell you expect us to get there from this shit for bricks village?" Takahashi points toward a bus terminal nearby and answers "Public transportation. Here, some money that you could exchange for tokens." Takahashi hands out a pair of dollar bills, to which Rock grabs them. "You got to be shitting me," Revy mutters under her breath.
"Tong promised to be at the bar called the 'Leahy Brothers Watering Hole'. It is supposed to be near the bus stop at the commercial fishing wharf. He is the Chinese man wearing a green jacket and jeans. Tell him that Takahashi sent you," Takahashi concludes. Rock and Revy silently nod at both Takahashi and Dutch, walking toward the bus terminal. A quick exchange of money for bus tokens and the two relocate to a wooden, rotting bench, waiting for the bus to Port Moresby to arrive.
Four others wait with them, a young couple with a pre-school age son, the son walking around shirtless, and a middle aged man in a worn cowboy hat smoking a cigarette. Rock and Revy pull out cigarettes of their own and light them. The embers slowly burn through the tobacco of Revy's cigarette, leaving ash behind. After exhaling smoke, she quietly speaks out to Rock "It got me thinking, last two times we were here, and now today." Rock turns his head toward Revy, waiting for her to continue. After acknowledging that she has Rock's attention, she goes on "We are in the middle of Oceania, right? Papua New Guinea is in Southeast Asia. Indonesians look Asian, like darker skinned Chinese Asian. West of this country is a part of Indonesia, Irian Java. So it's safe to assume that people in Irian Java look like other Indonesians, right?" Rock knocks some ash off his cigarette and asks "What are trying to ask?" Revy answers "Why do Papua New Guineans look like East Africans?" Rock thinks to himself and answers "Well, Papua New Guinea has a lot of different ethnic groups. The ones we saw here and in Port Moresby are mostly Papuans. My guess? I think a lot of locals from Eastern African long ago decided to migrate east by boat. After settling Mauritius and become part of that island, some went further east and landed in Irian Java. The people of Irian Java also have African looking features like the people of Papua New Guinea. Over time, I guess they felt content with this giant island and didn't bother to sail west into Indonesia, I think. Besides, Papuans are Pacific Islanders, and have more in common with them then Africa."
As Rock concludes, Revy asks "Do you have evidence to back it up or are you just bullshitting? And isn't the Indian Ocean to fucking huge to cross back then?" Rock smirks and answers "Yeah, you caught me. I didn't really take any anthropology classes back in Japan. So, yes, bullshitting mostly, though I do know that the Australians were the first Westerners that the people of Papua New Guinea encountered. When the Australians explored the island, they found more than a million natives living on the island. They found gold on the island and started paying the locals in shells for their work in mining the gold. Eventually the villagers got their hands on guns, gangs and special interest groups started to form around the vast coffee plantations on the island, and the whole place went to hell."
Revy nods, absorbing the information. She exhales smoke and arcs her head back, before remembering "You said that you were not the first employee in your company to get kidnapped, right? That someone got snatched here, right?" Rock leans his head forward, trying to spot a bus in the distance. "Yeah, he worked in the same department as me, but we never talked. I don't even remember his name," Rock answers, leaning back to his seat after failing to spot a bus. "You ever wonder if he went pirate like you did?" Revy asks, stamping her feet on the dirt ground. "Oh I know he didn't," Rock answers, pausing to take a drag on his cigarette. "Why fucking not, what makes you so special?" Revy asks, smirking. "They found him in a motel in Port Moresby, his head separated from his body, thanks to a machete." Revy nods and responds with a nonchalant "Gotcha".
The bus arrives from their left, a white and sky blue stripped vehicle that could fit roughly 20 passengers, 5 rows of seats, 2 seats on each side of the row. A crack in the front window, appearing to be from a gunshot, sticks out like a sore thumb The cramped bus creaks to a stop, a large side door slides away, and four people, all Papuans, exit the bus carrying plastic bags filled with groceries. Revy, Rock, and the man in the cowboy hat put out their cigarettes and approach the entrance. The cowboy hat man steps inside, handing over a token to the driver, a Papuan man in a pink striped shirt and shorts, displaying a moustache and a thin beard. The driver pockets the token as the cowboy hat man moves toward a fabric seat in the back. Revy steps in, next in line, and submits her token, followed by Rock. The two find a pair of empty seats next to the left side window, Revy taking the window seat. The Papuan family submits their tokens and find a pair of seats behind Rock and Revy, the boy sitting on his mother's lap. The driver motions to a white passenger, pointing toward the sliding door. "Aight, gotcha mate," the passenger responds in an Australian accent, sliding the door shut. A short pause and the bus slowly accelerates out of the locale, following the snaking dirt road called the Magi Highway. It approaches a giant gated fence, halts, and waits for someone to open the fence for them. After opening, the bus resumes its journey, leaving the village in the dust.
Revy slouches on her left shoulder, moving her head to rest it on the window. As soon as she touches the glass, she feels cracked glass and quickly jerks her head toward the window. A bullet hole sits idly on the window, forming a web of cracks around it. "Jesus…it's like the driver either can't afford repairs or this shit happens on a usual basis," Revy mutters to herself, loud enough for Rock to hear. A few of the fellow passengers stare at the odd Asian pair, muttering to each other. Rock looks around and surveys the passengers. Most of them look like locales, with Revy, Rock, and the Australian being the only ones that look like 'tourists'.
The two stay silent for a few minutes until Revy whispers into Rock's ear "I don't fucking like this, us being separated from Dutch and Benny. This Songxie guy, we're supposed to meet him? That means he has a car and is sitting on some product or ingredient or whatever, in this cesspit, cause I sure as shit doubt that we are gonna be carrying drugs on a bus. If that's true, then why the fuck wouldn't he just drive the product to the docks and sip beer on his ship? I don't buy the coast guard excuse, all that we saw out at sea were a few fishing boats. This stinks like a set-up." Rock leans toward Revy and whispers into her ear "Why would the man, Takahashi, drag himself from Hawaii, personally, to have us killed. We are just couriers and part-time pirates, that's all." Revy's volume slightly rises "Yeah, that Luca lunatic sure thought we were just couriers, eh Rocky? And those friends of his that want to buy you a beer? You got to be shitting me! Seriously, if Songxie and Takahashi have any brains, they'll know that it's a bigger risk to stay in this fucking anarchy then risk the coast guard of a 3rd world fucking country!" Rock simply shakes his head and responds "Revy, from all the time I worked my old job back in Japan, I have seen some of the most stubborn and narcissistic managers come and go. Takahashi seems to be a smart guy when it comes to managing a business, at least back in 'civilization', but seems like the type of guy that falls in love with an idea as soon as he thinks it. Stubborn enough to not realize the redundancies in his plan, but I have seen worse." Revy laughs and replies "Ha! Back in civilization, eh? For four eye's fucking sake, I hope he realizes that he ain't in 'civilization'. Seriously, how the hell is this idiot planning on surviving in Roanapur?" Rock smiles and answers "We'll probably find out soon enough".
A native local in shorts stands on the dirt road, several meters away from the forest behind him. He appears to be hitchhiking a ride. The bus quickly speeds up and ignores the hitchhiker. "You ready for this, Rock?" Revy asks Rock, who stares at her in confusion. "Ready for what?" Rock asks. "I mean ready for anything that could happen. I already said how I don't like this," she responds, before adding "You carrying?" Rock arcs his head back, almost looking annoyed, and subtly raises the left side of his dress shirt up, exposing his bandaged torso and the back of the slide of his M9. "I am sure you are carrying yours as well," Rock emotionlessly responds, letting his dress shirt fall back into place. Revy unzips the top of her tracksuit halfway, displaying her black shirt and her shoulder holsters, both pistols in their respective holster. She zips her tracksuit back up and slouches in her seat.
"Heh, been a while since I wore a tracksuit. Wore one when I left Manhattan for good. Shit, I think the one I wore was also black and red," Revy blurts out, reminiscing. Curious, Rock asks "What happened after…well, after you first fired a gun in your life?" Rock grows silent for several seconds and then continues "I pretty much did the same thing in practice that we do here in the Lagoon, in theory. As in, moving shit from place to place. Drugs, guns, news, basically worked as a courier for several months. Then one day, these two cops spot me near this garbage truck depot on W 30 St, between Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea. They were the two cops that arrested me the day that…well…" Revy pauses, restraining herself. "The two recognized me. They thought at first that I was a victim in my father's death, that I just disappeared. When they saw me roaming around, they put two and two together and tried to arrest me. I shot them both, first one in the thigh and ribs, twice, the other once in the chest. After that, I panicked and ran toward Penn Station, took an Amtrak, thank fuck that I had enough for a ticket and the train was only ten minutes away, and fled to Newark, New Jersey. That was the start of my slow exit out of the States and into Mexico," Revy concludes, remember her first steps into New Jersey.
"What happened after you ended up in Newark?" Rock asks. "Hm…I remember spending a night at a crack den, one of the shittiest days in my life that day. There were kids younger than me, breathing in that disgusting shit. Next morning, I checked the papers, and the two officers, Officer Zhang and Officer Snyder, survived the shooting, with Officer Snyder paralyzed from the waist down. They knew me by name but, as luck would have it, couldn't find a single photo of me. They didn't take a photo when they booked me for 'theft', and they didn't find any photos in my…father's apartment. And the social worker that kept records of me? Misplaced them, so all the police had was a sketch that the two cops came up with, and my name, Rebecca Zhao. It wasn't that good of a sketch, so I ended up with some space and time to stay in the States for a while, went by the name of Revy. I came up with the name that morning, and it stuck," Revy concludes, stretching her back.
Rock nods in acknowledgement, growing silent as the bus snakes through the road, Port Moresby coming closer and closer. After an hour and a half of occasional stops at villages along the Magi Highway, the forest turns into urban sprawl and a hub of activity as the bus enters the city. After navigating through residential districts, the bus closes in on the commercial port. An armada of fishing ships and tug boats dot the docks on the left side of the road. The bus screeches to a halt next to a construction site, the skeleton of a four floor building roasting under the Oceanic sun. In front of the construction site, a man hands out tokens in exchange for cash, standing in front of a wooden makeshift kiosk. "THE PORT!" the driver yells out, motioning at the Australian sounding tourist. The tourist responds by sliding open the doors, as Rock and Revy step out, followed by the man in the cowboy hat. Rock turns to the man in the cowboy hat and asks "Excuse me, you know where the Leahy Brothers Watering Hole is?" The cowboy hat man turns to Rock, stares at him for a few seconds, and then says in a thick Papuan accent, talking with his hands "The Leahy Hole? Aight then, you go to the end of the street, turn right on at Japanese embassy, and follow Cuthbertson Street. Leahy Hole is first place with black roof, right before Yankee embassy." Rock nods and responds with a "Thank you" as the cowboy hat man crosses the street to the docks and Rock and Revy follow his directions.
They carefully walk through the streets of Port Moresby, ignoring a resident trying to sell them knock off junk. After passing the Japanese embassy, the two spot the bar mere meters away. Revy approaches the entrance of the bar first, unzipping the top of her tracksuit 3 quarters of the way, enough to allow her to draw her Cutlasses with ease. "You ready, Rock?" Revy asks, feeling tense. Rock nods, leaning his right shoulder on the doorframe of the bar. Revy slowly opens the door and steps inside. The room is mostly dim, a mass of cigarette smoke mingles with what smells like smoke from burning marijuana. A small Papuan boy, looking to be around 5 years old, scurries toward the bartender, a 40 something year old looking man in a beige cotton shirt, with short, black hair combed back and a thin goatee. A trio of men who look to be in their late 20s, wearing shorts, tight cotton shirts, and bandanas on either their head or hanging from their neck, drink and chat in a distant corner of the bar. A stool length away from the bartender, a man with short black hair, wearing jeans, cheap-looking black sneakers, and a green flak jacket similar to Dutch's, sits on a bar stool, drinking straight from a bottle.
Revy unholsters the Cutlass on her left shoulder strap and moves it into the front left pocket of the top of her tracksuit. The two of them nervously walk toward the bartender. Revy speaks out "We're looking for a guy named Songxie Tong, where is he?" The man in the green flak jacket slams a Glock 17 on the bar counter. "Who askin'?" the man says in a thick Cantonese accent. Revy digs her right arm into the pocket with the Cutlass. Griping the pistol in her right hand, she answers "We were sent by a four eyed fuck that goes by the name 'Takahashi'." The man in the flak jacket bursts out laughing and turns to them. His face is of distinct Cantonese character, dark honey brown skin, high cheek bones, a thin moustache, short, combed forward black hair. His face is flat with thin cheeks, and the head of a snake tattoo can be seen poking out of a black V-neck undershirt. The man, who looks to be in his late 30s, responds "Yeah, I Songxie. Bout fucking time! I wait in shit city for whole extra day because Takahashi scared of coast guard. Coast guard? Fuck coast guard! In time I was here, I saw woman get raped, man get executed on streets. Heard screaming outside walls of motel room twenty-four-seven. I should be in boat, not watching over back for knife in kidney!" Revy and Rock sit themselves by the counter, with Revy sitting next to Songxie to the left. "One beer each, Corona," Rock notifies the bartender, who nods and gets to work. "Takahashi said that you didn't want to deal with the coast guard," Revy says to Songxie. Songxie heaves a sigh and says "Takahashi took out context! I complained, yes, but much rather be in boat then in shit!" "So why didn't you just say 'fuck Takahashi' and head to your boat?" Revy asks. Songxie shrugs his shoulders and answers "Would do if simple, but driving with car full of phenylacetone? Makes myself fucking target for highwayman, no good! Need someone to open fence for me, that someone be Takahashi. Would have called Satele or Reynolds or someone from my boat, but cell phone got pick pocketed, fuckers!" The bartender props a pair of opened bottles of Corona on the counter, with a pair of lime slices seesawing on a napkin. "I heard things, but are the roads really that dangerous?" Rock asks, squeezing lime juice into his Corona. "If all goes good, no worry bout highwayman," Songxie answers, and then asks "By way, your names?" "My name is Rock, her name is Revy," Rock answers Songxie's question, pointing at Revy. "Rock…Revy," Songxie speaks to himself, nodding.
Rock takes a gulp from his Corona, as Revy follows suit. "So…" Revy asks, staring at the Corona logo "What brought you and Takahashi together?" Songxie suddenly grows quiet, feeling selective on what he wants to say next. He takes a sip of his almost empty bottle of beer and answers "He paid me to do job, job with Mister Chang. Transport work, that's all. Few years later he gives call, says Mister Chang recommended me for admini-strative job. Now, Takahashi handle production and public relations, I handle men and distribution." Revy stares at Songxie for a few seconds and speaks out "Transport job means human smuggling. I recognize your tat. You're a snakehead, a Triad smuggler." Songxie squirms in his seat for a few seconds and then says "Okay, yes I am, no matter anymore…can we get out now? I had to owe favor to buyer, ask him to hold goods and keep on guard. Want to also shower for once this week!" Songxie slams a fistful of currency onto the bar counter and gets off his stool. As Revy and Rock follow suit, the three men in bandanas and shorts block their exit. One of the men, a guy with a bandana on his head, sporting a thin moustache and a goatee, and displaying a large tattoo on his right, exposed shoulder that says 'Raskolz', speaks out "Wait, wait, man! You come to Port Moresby and not give any respect to masta Norman Sowera, eh? No respect to the Raskolz, eh? You pay with cash money, how about pay me an me boys for keepin ya safe, ya see?" Norman spits out betelnut onto the bar floor and pulls out what looks like a makeshift magnum made from various parts, the barrel looking like it came from a table umbrella. Songxie, Revy, and Norman's two fellow gangsters pull out guns of their own. Rock struggles to draw his gun, pulling it out awkwardly several seconds after the other five pulled out their guns. Songxie gives a dirty stare at Rock as Norman chuckles. "Ha, by the time you point gun at me I got time to kill you once for every person in this bar!" Norman blurts out laughing, amused with himself. The little boy huddles by a table next to Songxie, who spots this as an opportunity. He readjusts his Glock 17 into his left hand and points the pistol at the little boy, saying "We kill each other, no one cares. I kill little boy, police and army with drill all of us free assholes, no one lives." Norman's eyes widen as he holsters his homemade magnum, saying "You are a sick man, you chink, pointing guns at little boys." One of the two unnamed Raskolz, a man in sunglasses, wearing a bandana on his forehead, and sporting a tattoo on his neck that says '6 2 6', speaks out "Masta Norman, this man is bullshiting, he don't got balls to shoot a child." The bartender runs out through the back door, screaming for help and for the police. "Shut up Tuksy…fuck this, we gonna get outta here," Norman yells, feeling extremely uncomfortable. "Ferguson Kent," Norman speaks out to the other Raskolz gangster, a man with a bandana over his mouth and a bald head "Tuksy Morea, let's get out of here. As for you three, I remember you, I remember your face. You better not step in Port Moresby again, you sick fuckers!" The three Raskolz run out of the building together. Songxie turns to Revy and Rock and says "Let's get out city already before we get arrested!" Songxie jogs out of the bar as Revy and Rock keep up with him.
Driving a bluish green Chevy Tahoe, Rock cuts through the empty dirt road, heading back to the docks. Smoking a cigarette, Revy slouches on the front side passenger seat. Behind Rock, Songxie yells out "What fuck was up with you and gun? Slow draw almost got you dead, almost got everybody dead!" Revy barks back "Lay off him, Songxie, he hasn't had time to practice." Songxie stares at Revy with a look of extreme annoyance and disgust and responds "PRACTICE? Chang recommend you to Takahashi, said you good! I never know Chang recommend amateurs!" "Will you give it a rest, Songxie?" Rock answers, annoyed with Songxie. "You no talk! You no earn talk! You shut fuck up, drive, and don't stop for nobody, understand?" Songxie curses, visibly angry. Rock shrugs his shoulders as Revy gives Songxie the bird. Songxie responds with a middle finger of his own, and then turns around to stare at the barrels of phenylacetone in the back of the car. "So when did you and Mister Chang meet? Was it when you were doing the job for Takahashi?" Revy asks, curious. Songxie shakes his head and answers "No, meet Chang way before job, in Kowloon." "What was your impression of Chang, back then?" Revy asks, taking a drag on her cigarette. "Besides Chang be hypocrite and cocksucker? Sunglasses faggot fined me for be drunk on streets, so I spit on his shoes. Asshole put me in jail for two months! This was back when Chang was police. Now he go dirty, acts like we're same! Fuck him!" Songxie rants out. He heaves a sigh and asks Revy "That answer question, ABC?" Revy's eyes twitch as she responds "Fuck you, Mister Chinglish!"
As Revy and Songxie prepare to enter a pissing match, the Chevy Tahoe suddenly slows down. A man in a white shirt, an orange jacket, jeans, and sneakers stands in the middle of the road. "Wha…wha…why you stop? KEEP DRIVING!" Songxie yells. Rock turns around and yells back "You want me to run him over?" "IF HAVE TO, YES!" Songxie screams as the car slows to a halt. Suddenly six Papuan highwaymen jump out from the right side of the road, emerging from the grass. One of the men runs out with a Remington 870 shotgun, dressed in a dirty trench coat and fishing hat. Three of the men run out in randomly patterned t-shirts and shorts, panama hats, and sneakers, wielding Smith and Wesson Model 28s. Two of the men run out shirtless and barefoot in beige shorts, bandanas covering their faces and fire axes in their hands. One of the shirtless bandits slides his axe across the dirt road, letting the metal screech across the ground. All six of them scream out "OUT OUT OUT!" as the orange jacket man steps to the side of the road.
"You did get us fucked now…Rock," Songxie curses under his breath as the six highwaymen surround the car. "OUT OUT!" they keep yelling as Rock panics behind the wheel. "Look here, barrels!" one of the shirtless bandits yells out, peering into the back of the Tahoe. "On the count three, Rock, you duck and me and Songxie will draw our guns and waste these fuckers. When you hear the gunshots, hit the fucking gas," Revy speaks out, to which Rock and Songxie simultaneously nod in acknowledgement.
*Bang* The man with the shotgun fires a round into the air as the three men with Smith and Wesson revolvers each take a window next to the occupants of the car. "Three…two," Revy mutters, reaching for the Cutlass in her tracksuit pocket. Songxie slowly reaches for his Glock 17, staring at the barrel of the highwayman's revolver.
"ONE!" Revy yells, drawing her Cutlass. As Rock ducks his head, Revy lunges for the driver side window and fires two shots at the bandit, shattering the window and hitting the bandit twice in the chest, killing him. The bandit at the front side passenger seat fires a pair of bullets into the car, shattering the window and harmlessly drilling two holes into Revy's seat. Meanwhile Songxie drops backwards on his back, draws his Glock 17, and fires a bullet at the highway by his window. The bullet burrows through the glass and rests itself in the bandit's skull, killing him instantly. Rock immediately steps on the gas, Revy laying awkwardly on Rock's back, as the man with the shotgun fires a volley into the top of the front window, shattering it to pieces. The Chevy Tahoe smacks into the shotgun wielding man and an axe wielding man, knocking the fire axe man out of the way, injuring him. The shotgun wielding man loses his shotgun and his fishing hat as he holds on to the front window frame of the Chevy Tahoe, his friends being left in the dust. The trench coat man holds on with his left hand as he lunges at Rock and Revy with his right, grabbing at them through the shattered driver's window. Revy raises her Cutlass at the bandit, only to have the bandit grab on to the barrel of the gun. The highwayman struggles to keep the barrel pointed away from his head, trying to turn the barrel toward Revy's head, when Rock shoves his left fist into the highwayman's neck. The bandit loses his grip on the Cutlass, barely holding on to the window frame. Seeing this as their opportunity, Revy aims her Cutlass at the bandit's forehead, the barrel mere inches away from him, and pulls the trigger. Blood and brain matter spray onto the dirt road, and a little blood sprays onto the interior of the car, as the corpse of the dead bandit flips around on the road, the Chevy Tahoe leaving it in the dust.
All three occupants start panting after the ordeal concludes. Songxie stares angrily at the shattered windows of the Chevy Tahoe. Suddenly, he frantically jerks his head toward the barrels of phenylacetone in the trunk. Spotting this, Rock asks "Do you want me to slow down?" "NO! FUCKING SHUT FUCK UP AND DRIVE!" Songxie screeches out, almost ready to pop a blood vessel in his head. He scans the barrels, searching for any damage. To his relief, the man with the shotgun fired above the barrels, and he used buckshot instead of birdshot. Besides damage to the rear seating, all Songxie could find is a scratch on one of the barrels. "Phew," Songxie ventilates, relieved that none of the phenylacetone was lost.
"YOU FUCKING RETARD SHIT-BRAIN!" Songxie yells out, fuming "DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT COULD HAPPEN? FIRST, HAD HIGHWAYMAN TAKE CAR, THEY KILL US, ROCK AND I, THEN TAKE YOUR GIRLFRIEND AND RAPE HER, THEN KILL!" Revy's eyes twitch as she turns her Cutlass as Songxie "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND DON'T FUCKING SAY ANOTHER WORD CHINGLISH!" Songxie aims his Glock at Revy and continues "YOU UNDERSTAND HOW CLOSE BOYFRIEND GOT US ALL DEAD, ABC? IF ONE SHOTGUN BULLET HIT BARREL, WHOLE CAR GO BOOM! I WAS SO CLOSE TO DYING TODAY, TWICE, BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID PARTNER! AND WHO WILL PAY FOR CAR, FOR GLASS?" Revy's face turns blood red in anger as her entire body starts shaking. She furiously mutters "Whatever…could of happened…is in the fucking past…Right now, we are alive, and whatever will happen about the damages…will get fucking resolved. But if you don't…shut…the…FUCK UP NOW, I will shoot you in your right arm, take your gun, shove the barrel so far up your unwashed Chinglish ass, and pull the trigger…so that YOU WILL BE BREATHING THROUGH A NEW SET OF NOSTRILS!" Revy and Songxie silently hiss at each other, their guns hovering, when Rock slowly pushes Revy's Cutlass down and says "Let us all just get back to the docks and solve this there. We have been in a screwed up situation, and are high on our nerves. Just, move this for…" "SHUT FUCK UP!" Songxie screams out, to which Revy responds with an insult.
The two trade insults for the remainder of the trip, until Rock stops the Chevy Tahoe by the gate. The gate screeches open and the shot up car enters the village. Rock drives along the dirt road, passing the bus stop, and stops near the docks. As Dutch and Takahashi approach the Tahoe, they could hear the sound of a Cantonese smuggler and an American born Chinese gunwoman launching volleys of swears at each other as if it was the Battle of Trafalgar. As the occupants exit the vehicle, Songxie spots Takahashi and yells "Where fuck you be? And for that matter, where you found these fuck amateurs?" Takahashi eyes the damage of the car and asks "Is the phenylacetone safe and sound?" Songxie responds "Yes, but them". Takahashi interrupts Songxie and says "And you are clearly alive, yes? They did as they were told, and so I see no issue here. Well done, perhaps you are a very competent team after all, Black Lagoon." Songxie's jaw drops as he stares at Takahashi with an incredulous look on his face. "What fuck bout my car? Who pay for fucking windows, for fucking seats, FOR FUCKING DAMAGE?" he screams, not believing what he is hearing. Takahashi calmly stares at him and answers "That car is at least seven years old and you yourself purchased it as used. You have attempted to sell that car but no one would purchase it in the condition it was already in, at least not for your asking price of $3,000. The best you could have gotten for it would be around a few hundred dollars in a scrap yard, and those windows would probably net you $50 if you are lucky. If you so desire, I will mark the $50 as an expense out of Black Lagoon's payment."
Songxie silently glares at Takahashi, points his left index finger at him, and then says "You…we will discuss in Roanapur. I no done, understand?" Songxie steps back into his Chevy Tahoe, slams the car door, and speeds off toward his ship, which is situated in a dock further down the road. As he drives off, Songxie yells "FUCK!" at such a volume that half the people in the village could hear him. Takahashi turns toward Dutch, who is standing behind him, and says "Well, now that that is settled, I say we resume to our business of arriving in Roanapur. You remember our escort plans, correct?" Dutch nods and responds "Yeah, I remember. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but sailing these waters…things can get pretty damn hairy." Takahashi nods as he heads toward his ship, turning his back to Lagoon Company, who are heading back to their torpedo boat. When Dutch considers himself to be out of Takahashi's earshot, he asks Rock and Revy "What the hell happened with you two and that Chinese man?" As Rock prepares to answer, Revy stops him with a tug on his dress shirt and responds "Long story short, we got ambushed by roadside pricks. Songxie got pissed over car damage and tried to blame it on us. Doesn't matter anyway, as the shit we were hauling wasn't damaged." Dutch stares at Revy and responds "Well, if you say so. Takahashi seemed fine, and since he's paying our bills, that's what matters." The trio walks toward their ship, staring at Benny, who is slouching on the deck with a can of beer in his hands.
The calm Pacific waves fly in two directions as the Lagoon cuts through the Arafura Sea and protects the rear of the Glass King, with Songxie's ship protecting the front of the Glass King. Metal quickly flashes, and then disappears, and then flashes again. Rock stands on the port side of the Lagoon, drawing his M9 pistol out, and then holstering it. He practices with various places on his person to conceal the M9, and deduces that his original spot in the back of his waist was ideal. Afterwards, he practices his draw, trying to imagine enemies in front of him. A quick draw and he pulls the trigger twice, the pistol harmlessly clicking as it has no ammunition in it, the bullets being set aside. As he draws, Rock imagines an Extra Order mercenary carrying an AR-15. In his imagination, the merc staggers back after being shot and disappears into thin air. Rock holsters his M9 and tries again, this time shooting at Masahiro Takenaka, the Japanese Red Army terrorist that held Rock hostage in the Philippines. Holstering his M9 for a third time, he draws again, his draw becoming quicker and more natural, empting two imaginary bullets into an imaginary Frederica Sawyer, her chainsaw sinking through the ship. Not satisfied, Rock holsters his pistol once more, trying to imagine Chaka as his next source of inspiration for target practice. He fires his two false shots and then holsters the M9, becoming increasingly comfortable with his draw. Wishing to practice one more time, Rock holsters his M9 and tries to materialize a new imaginary target. Thinking back into Japan, he slowly starts materializing Balalaika in his imagination, her aiming at him with that Stechkin APS. As he draws his M9, faster than before, the image of Balalaika slowly alters into someone else, causing Rock to grind his teeth in anger. He fires one, two, soon eleven times into the bullet ridden corpse of the imaginary Yukio Washimine, the katana dangling through her neck. As she dissipates into thin air, Rock's hands shake violently, his teeth grind on each other, and his eyes twitch. 'YOU…STUPID BITCH!" he thinks to himself.
Rock suddenly hears someone walking along the Lagoon. He quickly reaches for the pistol clip he left on the floor and slammed it into his M9. As he prepares to holster the gun, he hears Revy, still dressed in her tracksuit, speak out "That you, Rock? What you up to?" Realizing it is Revy, Rock conceals his M9 at a much slower pace, greeting Revy as he covers his dress shirt over his gun.
"Practicing my draw, to make sure that what happened at the bar would never happen again," Rock answers, loosening the joint in his right shoulder. "Good move," Revy comments, staring at Rock with a tired expression on her face. She runs her right hand through her hair, scratching her head. "You aren't angry at me for screwing up?" Rock asks, taking in the Pacific breeze. Revy looks toward the Glass King and responds "Let me put it this way. Out of the various ways you fucked up so far, this was on the 'hey shit happens' side of the spectrum. I'm just going to assume that you won't make the same mistake again." Rock smiles to himself and speaks out "Heh, you sure have changed since I first met you." Revy responds with smile and says "Speak for yourself, Rock."
The two lean on the guardrail and grow silent for a minute, until Rock blurts out "Something tells me that Songxie isn't going to invite me for his New Year's party." Revy lets out a laugh and replies "Yeah, I'd bet money on that being the case. Will tell you, though, Songxie wasn't what I expected when Takahashi mentioned that he had a partner. The two of them are like 'Pinky and the Brain' meets 'Scarface'. Right down to the part where the retarded one has trouble with the English language." Rock smiles and chuckles to himself. Revy, amused, continues "Hell, maybe we should introduce him to Shenhua, have them ass fuck the English language together." Rock bursts out into laughter, chuckling loudly. "Thanks Revy, I needed that," he says.
Rock grips his hands tightly on the metallic guardrail, letting the Pacific mist tickle his face. Revy places her hands on the guardrail as well, her left hand barely centimeters away from Rock's right hand. She slowly slides her left hand to Rock's right, until the two hands come in contact. They turn to face each, partially smile, and slowly move their heads closer, until their lips touch.
A second after their lips touch, the sound of a slamming metallic door causes the two to cease what they are doing and jerk their heads toward the source. Their large, apparently ex-military, boss walks toward them, hands in his pants pockets. "Rock, Revy, I've been giving you time to tell me on your own," Dutch says, as Rock and Revy nervously respond with a "What?" Dutch adjusts his sunglasses and says "What really happened at Port Moresby, that got Songxie so pissed off?"
Rock and Revy silently exhale a sigh of relief as Revy answers Dutch's question. "These three dickheads, calling themselves 'The Raskolz' pulled guns on us and demanded that we pay them out of 'respect'. Songxie diffused the potential shit storm, but got pissed that Rock wasn't carrying a gun, saying how that almost got all three of us killed. Then while Rock drove us back to the village, this guy, what I at first thought was a retarded hitchhiker, decided to stand in the middle of the road. When Rock stopped the car, this mob of highwaymen came out with fire axes and guns. Songxie and I managed to take out three of them, but the car got shot up. Again, Songxie gave Rock shit and blamed him for the damages," Revy finishes, weaving a lie amongst the truth. Dutch soaks in the information and responds "Well, as long as Songxie ain't paying the bills, we're good. And by the way, the Raskolz are a blanket term for all of the gangs in Papua New Guinea. The Raskol gangs evolved from working petty shit like burglary and pick pocketing to working in the pot trade, extortion and kidnapping, and some serious piracy. I had a run in with them once. One rival Raskol gang was tailing me after I made a pickup for transport. They attacked me at sea, at least I think it was them, trying to take the Lagoon, but I was able to outrun them before shots were exchanged."
Rock stares at Dutch and asks him "What does 6 2 6 mean? I saw it as a tattoo on one of those Raskolz." Dutch arcs his neck back and answers "Depends on the context. While you were in Port Moresby, I saw this van drive by near the village, covered in graffiti. On that van it said 'Six 2 Six', which means partying from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. If that tattoo is on a Raskol, it means fighting or going to war from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M." Rock nods in acknowledgement and says "I see." Dutch looks toward the setting orange sun, checking a stainless steel watch that he purchased shortly after the Feng fiasco. The time, adjusted for Australian Eastern Standard Time, is displayed as 4:52 P.M. "I'll go head in for a beer, catch you two later," Dutch concludes, turning toward the entrance into the interior of the Lagoon.
As Dutch prepares to reach the entrance, Benny jumps out, screaming "DUTCH! I was screaming for you for over a few minutes! We got fucking company! One large unidentified boat far away that is sending 6 smaller boats at us!" As soon as Benny finishes, he pulls out a flare gun and fires the flare into the sky. Dutch hurriedly responds "Good, Songxie and Takahashi got the message! Rock, Benny, head to the armory and fetch us grenades, M79 grenade launchers, anything automatic! Revy, your holding down the fort! I am going to turn us around and intercept our guests!" Rock, Revy, and Benny all nod in unison as Revy draws her two Cutlasses. Rock and Benny run toward the armory and search for the requested weapons. "I'll handle the M79 and the grenades, you're too darn clumsy!" Benny remarks, to which Rock doesn't contest to. Rock stares silently at his Uzi, still in the shoulder strap. Benny, already holding the grenade launcher and an open crate of 40mm grenades, yells "What the hell you're staring at? C'mon, we are under fucking attack!" Benny shakes his head and runs out the armory without Rock, as Rock grabs the Uzi, putting on the shoulder strap with the Uzi on it. He grabs a Heckler and Koch MP5A3 as well, holding it in his hands. Meanwhile, Benny runs toward Dutch and the captain's deck, setting the grenade launcher and the grenades on the floor. "Brace yourself, Benny boy!" Dutch yells as he sharply turns the Lagoon around. Benny holds on to a table, maintaining his balance, while outside, Revy slips and falls on her back, shouting out "FUCK!" As Rock runs out of the armory, the sudden movement of the Lagoon causes him to trip and fall head first into a wall, knocking himself unconscious, the MP5A3 falling harmlessly out of his hands.
The Lagoon barrels toward the group of six widely spaced out attack boats. Automatic fire from the two closest boats, sounding like Kalashnikovs, rings out, a few bullets peppering the Lagoon. Inside the captain's deck, Dutch grabs his Remington 870 Marine Magnum shotgun, which was previously lying next to him, with his right hand and the M79 grenade launcher with his left. "You know what to do, right Benny Boy?" Dutch says as he pushes the crate of grenades with his foot. "I got it boss, got the controls down," Benny answers, taking Dutch's seat at the helm. "Good Benny boy. Sit tight, time to make our paychecks," Dutch comments, yanking his shotgun with one hand to cock it. Dutch steps out to the deck of the Lagoon, kicking forward the box of 40mm grenades and carrying the two weapons. "Revy! Catch!" Dutch says, tossing the M79 toward Revy, who drops the Cutlass in her left hand in order to catch it. Revy then stuffs her Cutlasses into her tracksuit pockets. Dutch brings the crate of 40mm grenades to Revy as she pops the grenade feed open. Grabbing one of the 40mm grenades, she pops it in and closes the feed, remarking "Where the fuck is Rock?" Dutch shakes his head and says "I don't know, maybe he pissed himself and bunkered down. Probably for the best." Revy does not respond to Dutch's comments, mildly worried about Rock. One of the attack boats approaches from the starboard side, revealing itself to be a motorized fishing boat. The sides of the boat show 'Six To Six' in vibrant colors, with three gunmen dressed in bandanas, sleeveless shirts, and shorts. The intensity of AK-47 fire keeps Dutch and Revy crouched on the ground.
"When you hear a pause in the fire, I'll suppress them with the Remington. Time your shot well Revy, I don't want to get shot in the balls!" Dutch orders, crouching on the deck with his shotgun at hand. The intensity of the shooting dies down as two of the three pirates pause to reload. "NOW!" Dutch yells out, opening fire on the attack boat that is barely 30 meters away. Dutch braves the barrage of AK-47 fire and gets off four rapid fire 12 gauge buckshot rounds, striking one of the pirates in the hand, as Revy centers the M79 and pulls the trigger. The 40mm grenade strikes almost dead center of the pirate boat, blowing it to pieces and killing all onboard. "One down, five to go," Revy comments, loading a second 40mm grenade into the M79. "Good thing I had these guard rails installed," Dutch comments, staring at the bullet holes that pepper the Lagoon.
At the helm, Benny fumbles through the controls, turning the Lagoon on an interception course for the next pirate boat. Revy and Dutch brace themselves by holding onto the railing as the 2nd pirate boat closes in. The boat is a carbon copy of the previous boat, except the pattern on the boat says 'Vipers' and shows the design of a green and red snake. The pirates on the fishing boat open fire, two of them shooting from AK-47s, one of them firing a double-barreled shotgun. "Same as before Revy!" Dutch hollers, shotgun at the ready. The two repeat the same strategy, waiting for the automatic fire to pause. Dutch jumps to his feet, tilts his shotgun sideways again, and opens fire, getting off four more shots before going empty. Two pellets from the buckshot strike an AK-47 wielding pirate in the chest, knocking him overboard. Revy centers the M79 once again and pulls the trigger, this time hitting the port side of the pirate boat. The blast splinters the boat into pieces, killing the two that remained onboard as the previously shot man sinks into the ocean, drowning.
"Alright Benny boy, serve us the next one!" Dutch yells, not expecting Benny to hear him. Revy loads another 40mm grenade into the M79 and Dutch picks out individual 12 gauge rounds from a pocket on his flak jacket. Dutch meticulously loads 8 rounds into his Remington 870. Suddenly, the next pirate boat bypasses the Lagoon and heads straight for the Glass King. Benny spots this and immediately turns the boat toward the pirate ship, without warning. "Shit!" Revy curses as she and Dutch hang on to the railing. The crate of 40mm grenades slides backwards, before tipping over and spilling its contents all over the deck. "Motherfucker!" Dutch yells out as Revy dives forward, vainly trying to pick up 40mm grenades. The avalanche of explosives rolls through the guard railing and into the Arafura Sea. Sliding down the Lagoon, she barely catches the crate, only to find it empty, with all the 40mm shells sinking into the sea. "Fucking shit! Rock where the fuck are you!" Revy violently yells. "Forget the grenades, Revy! We'll sink this next ship and handle the other three manually!" Dutch yells back, aiming his Remington at the pirate boat, which the Lagoon is catching up to. Watching the pirate boat come closer into view, the ship decorated in graffiti, Dutch lines his shotgun at the most concentrated mass of pirates on the boat. Soon, Dutch could make out individual figures on the boat, counting five pirates. He pulls the trigger, firing two shots into the boat, wounding two of the pirates, one in the left hand, the other in the right shoulder. The five pirates turn their attention toward the Lagoon and open fire from their assortment of AK-47s, Lee Enfield rifles, and double barreled shotguns. Realizing that Dutch will not be able to suppress them with just a shotgun, Revy hurriedly aims the M79 and pulls the trigger. The 40mm grenades whizzes through the Pacific air and lands in the water, meters to the left of the pirate boat. "Fucking Christ motherfuckers!" Revy curses, dropping the M79 onto the deck and drawing her two Cutlasses from the pockets of her tracksuit. The pirate boat closes in on the Lagoon, getting within meters of the torpedo boat. The fire from the pirates force Revy and Dutch to back away to the side, as one of the pirates tosses a grappling hook onto the Lagoon, snaring the guard rail. As the hook snares the guard rail, a fourth pirate boat attacks from the starboard side, showering the Lagoon with bullets. "Fuck! Revy, you got starboard, I got port!" Dutch yells, crouched, loading two 12 gauge rounds into his Remington. Revy, crouching under the gunfire, moves toward the starboard side.
Both pirate ships empty their bullets at the Lagoon, as the 4th pirate ship tosses a grappling hook of its own. Obscured to Dutch, the pirates hold on to the edges of the deck of the Lagoon, maneuvering themselves away from the grappling hook so as to attack from two angles. Two of the pirates pull themselves onto the Lagoon guard rail, both appearing to be Papuan men in their late 20s, wearing grey shirts and beige shorts. Dutch empties two buckshot rounds into the Papuan pirate on the right, spraying blood and tissue onto the water and sending his corpse into the Arafura Sea, as the other pirate jumps over the guard rail with a machete in hand. As the pirate swings his machete down at Dutch, Dutch blocks the blade with his shotgun, causing the machete to scratch along the barrel. Utilizing his size advantage, Dutch uses his shotgun to shove the pirate to the ground. He aims his shotgun at the pirate's head and pulls the trigger at nearly point blank range, literally blowing the pirate's head into pieces. The deck of the Lagoon turns awash in blood and brain matter as a third pirate climbs onto the Lagoon with a makeshift revolver. Dutch quickly turns his shotgun toward the pirate, only to receive a bullet into his left arm. The pirate misses the second shot as Dutch awkwardly fires his Remington with just his right hand, shredding the pirate's left leg into a bloody mess. The pirate yells out in pain and falls on his left shoulder. "Goddamn it!" Dutch yells in pain as he empties two buckshot rounds into the pirate's chest, putting him out of his misery. A fourth pirate, bald and wearing a bandana on his head, bleeding from his left hand, jumps onto the Lagoon with an AK-47 in hand, climbing in near the back, a few meters away from Dutch. As the pirate begins to spray his Kalashnikov, Dutch desperately fires two buckshot rounds, a few of the pellets striking the man in the gut. The pirate staggers and ducks behind the rear of the Lagoon. "Revy, watch your back, you got one rounding the rear!" Dutch yells out, groaning in pain. Revy jerks her head to her right and spots the shine of a rifle barrel gleam under the setting sun. She aims the Cutlass in her right hand and fires three shots into the chest of the pirate, who drops his AK-47, takes two sidesteps to the right, and collapses on his right shoulder. As Revy takes a closer look, she recognizes the dead pirate as Ferguson Kent. "Fuck, looks like the Raskolz shadowed us," Revy curses under her breathe, as on the other side of the Lagoon, Dutch loads two rounds into his Remington, heaves himself to his feet, approaches the guard rail, and aims his shotgun at the wailing, wounded pirate laying in his fishing boat. The pirate spots Dutch and desperately reaches for his AK-47. The butt stock of the Kalashnikov is mere inches from the pirate's grasp as Dutch centers his aim and empties two 12 gauge rounds into the pirate's chest and legs, finishing off the 3rd boat.
"3rd boat is cleared, but I took a bullet! Focus on your side!" Dutch yells across the Lagoon. "Got it, Dutch!" Revy yells back, kicking Ferguson's AK-47 closer to the center of the Lagoon. She leans her back on the walls of the Lagoon, stretching her Cutlasses out to cover both ends of the ship. "Damn it…fucking damn it!" Revy grinds her teeth, anticipating an assault from every angle. 'Rock, I could use something fucking automatic and in 9mm ammunition here!" Revy thinks to herself. Three Raskolz pull themselves onto the guard rail. Revy aims her left Cutlass at the one on the far left and her right Cutlass at the one on the far right, and pulls each trigger four times. The pirate on the left receives a shot into his left rib and a shot into his stomach, losing his grip, falling, and slamming his chin on the edge of the Lagoon. The pirate loses consciousness as he drowns. The pirate on the right is shot as he jumps over the guard rail, receiving a bullet into his right ankle and two bullets into the right side of his ass. The pirate in the middle jumps on board with a glistening black machete in hand. Revy concentrates both her Cutlasses on the machete wielding Raskol, firing four shots, two from each Cutlass, striking him in the stomach, gut, and right lung. The machete wielding pirate staggers, spitting blood, and swings his machete at Revy, blood dripping as he charges. Revy ducks underneath and to the left of the machete and fires a bullet into the man's neck. The pirate slips forward and awkwardly falls face first on the deck, dead almost immediately after he hits the sun-blasted metal of the deck. The pirate that was shot in the ass crawls to face Revy, drawing a Smith & Wesson Model 439 pistol. Revy, still lying prone on the deck, quickly reacts by shooting three bullets at the wounded pirate, the first bullet striking the pirate in his left knee, the second missing, and the third punching a hole through his nose, killing him. The pirate's hand twitches and fires a shot as he expires, the bullet harmlessly missing Revy by a foot over her head, striking the center of the Lagoon.
Panting, Revy holsters her Cutlasses and grabs the nearby AK-47. She checks the clip to see that it is half full, reinserts the clip, and aims the AK-47 at the pirate boat. Revy suddenly spots a pirate hanging on the deck right underneath her, as well as a pirate on the pirate boat preparing to climb the grappling rope. She fires a burst of four shots into the pirate that's holding the rope, all four bullets striking him in the chest, left arm, and groin region, killing him, as the remaining Raskol grabs the barrel of the AK-47 and pulls Revy off the Lagoon and onto the pirate ship. Revy falls back first onto the pirate ship, grunting from the fall, AK-47 still in her hands. She watches the pirate hang on to the rail with his left hand and draw a Ruger P90 with his right. Before the Raskol could open fire, Revy fires seven bullets at the Raskol, two of the bullets hitting his left thigh, three missing completely, one hitting his midsection, and the seventh gashing his heart and killing him. The pirate falls toward the water, his dead arms slamming against the pirate boat before the corpse completely submerges into the water. "4th boat is now fucked, Dutch!" Revy yells, getting to her feet.
As Revy prepares to climb back onto the Lagoon, she spots the 5th pirate boat, a larger fishing boat with what appears to be seven pirates on board. The sides of the boat are painted green, yellow, red, and white, showing the logo for 'South Pacific Export Lager'. The 5th pirate boat heads directly for the rear of the Lagoon, its occupants opening fire at the torpedo boat. Revy tosses the AK-47 onto the Lagoon and climbs the rope toward the edge of the Lagoon, pulling herself back onto the deck. Grabbing the Kalashnikov, Revy runs toward the rear of the Lagoon and empties the last few shots of the rifle, one of the bullets chipping through the boat and gashing a pirate in his right leg. Hearing the empty clicks of the Kalashnikov, Revy draws her Cutlasses and empties the remainder of her two clips into the pirate boat, concentrating on the centered mass in the middle of the boat. From the barrage of bullets, five of them actually strike their targets, four bullets striking the wounded pirate in the chest, left shoulder, and right ear, killing him, while the fifth bullet gashing a pirate right below his right ribs.
Revy ejects the ammo clips and reaches for her back pocket, taking out a spare clip with a full magazine. "Fuck, only one magazine left," Revy curses. She pours seven of the bullets out of the ammo clip, painstakingly inserts them into one of the recently ejected ammo clips, and shoves the two magazines into her two Cutlasses, pulling back the slides of each pistol using her palms. Anticipating the oncoming battle, Revy sits down, her Cutlasses aimed at the rear, bullets whizzing over her head. "You got your part of the rear covered, aye Dutch?" Revy hollers out, to which Dutch responds by firing his Remington once into the air. "I'll take that shit as a yes!" Revy hollers in response. Suddenly, she hears the sound of people diving into the water, the sound of people swimming. "FUCK! They are trying to flank us from the sides!" Revy yells. She stands up to take a glance at the water, but quickly ducks as bullets fly above her head. "Shit, shit, shit!" Revy curses, her head tilting left and right like an iguana. She considers retreating to the Lagoon armory, but is reminded of Dutch's wounded condition. '6 fuckers, fifteen bullets…and there's a 6th boat on the way too,' Revy thinks to herself 'Fuck, Rock I need some fucking ammo over here, so get your fucking ass over here!' Two pirates jump onto the guard rail from the back of the Lagoon, AK-47s in hand. Panicking, Revy unloads on the two pirates, firing five of the last seven bullets in her left Cutlass and four of the last eight bullets in her right Cutlass. The two pirates are cut down before they could open fire, the one on the left receiving two bullets into the groin and waist and a fatal bullet into his neck. The one the right receives a hole in his right knee cap, followed by a bullet cutting through his left lung, incapacitating the pirate as he coughs up blood and slowly bleeds to death.
As Revy heaves a sigh, two Raskolz jump over the guard rail behind her, one of the pirates carrying an AK-47, the other carrying an AR-18. Revy jerks her body back and empties all of her remaining bullets. Three of the bullets strike the AR-18 carrying pirate on the right, once in his chest, once in his left shoulder, and final fatal shot drilling slightly to the right of the center of his forehead. As pirate on the right drops dead onto the deck, the other pirate staggers backwards, having been shot once in his left ribs. "BITCH!" the Raskol yells as he prepares to drill Revy full of holes, when suddenly the barrel of an MP5A3 is driven into his neck, as Rock shoves the pirate over the guard rail and into the waters. "Rock! Where the fuck you been?" Revy curses, partially angry, partially relieved. "Catch," Rock responds as Revy conceals her Cutlasses, tossing the submachine gun. As Revy catches the MP5A3 and gets to her feet, Rock answers "The ship suddenly moved and I slipped into a wall. How long was I out?" Revy walks toward the guard rail and aims her MP5A3 at the pirate that Rock just knocked overboard, the man holding on to the 4th pirate boat. She empties several shots into the Raskol, turning the bluish green sea a crimson red, and answers "I wasn't keeping time. We're on to the last two boats, but Dutch got shot, still alive though…FUCK!" Revy suddenly remembers about Dutch and says "We got two more assholes left and I think they are attacking on the other side of the ship! Help him out! I'm covering the starboard in case the last two fuckers come around to this side!"
Rock runs to the Port side, turning across the bow of the Lagoon, Uzi in his shoulder holster and M9 under the back of his dress shirt. As turns the corner, the butt of a Remington 870 Marine Magnum strikes him across the face, breaking Rock's nose. "Rock, what the hell?" Dutch yells, the wound in his left arm causing the blood to reach his fingers. "Argh! That was almost the second time you knocked me unconscious today!" Rock yells back, lying on his back, holding his nose with his left hand. "The fuck are you talking about?" Dutch asks, annoyed, tilting his head back and forth for signs of the Raskolz. "I bumped my head against the wall when the boat suddenly turned…argh now two points on my head are in pain," Rock groans. "Well Rock, I'd offer you an apology and my condolences but I am bleeding from my fucking arm and these assholes are playing Rambo right now!" Dutch responds, when he suddenly notices Rock's Uzi. "At least you brought something I could shoot with one hand," Dutch says as he drops his shotgun and pulls Rock's Uzi from his shoulder strap, pulling the slide back with his right hand, using the guard rail.
Suddenly, a shirtless Raskol in soaked, brown, shorts climbs over the guard rail by the bow, Walter P38 in hand. "Heads down!" Dutch yells, crouching in front of Rock in order to shield him, aiming Rock's Uzi at the pirate. The pirate fires first, one of his shots slightly grazing Dutch's left leg, leaving a cut right below his kneecap. Dutch gives a wince and pulls the trigger. A burst of fourteen bullets flies at the pirate, nine of the bullets striking the pirate, turning him into in Swiss cheese. The pirate drops his Walter P38, staggers back a step, and collapses on his back, dead. Dutch heaves a sigh of relief and stares at the dead pirate, yelling "Revy, Rock's with me! He's alright and I think the fifth boat is cleared. As Revy turns toward the bow, intending to turn around the bow and regroup with Dutch and Rock, the last pirate of the 5th boat climbs over the guard rail at the rear of the Lagoon, undetected. The last Raskol, bleeding from a scratched waist, having been shot as the boat approached the Lagoon, unsheathes a machete and charges at Dutch. Revy turns to face Dutch with a look of relief in her eyes, only to have that face turn stern as she yells "Fucker behind you!"
The Raskol, wearing sunglasses and sporting a tattoo on his neck that says '6 2 6', jerks his machete back, preparing the drive it down Dutch's neck when given the chance. As Dutch turns around and prepares to unload the Uzi on Tuksy Morea, two shots ring out, striking Tuksy in the gut and midsection. Tuksy falls forward, dropping his machete. As he lands on his right shoulder, face to face with Rock and Rock's M9, Tuksy's sunglasses fall off, bouncing on the deck. Tuksy breathes heavily as the shock from getting shot registers in his brain. Rock emotionlessly pulls the M9 to Tuksy's forehead, the barrel mere centimeters away, and pulls the trigger, blowing Tuksy's brains out. A few blood drops spray onto Rock's forehead, nose, and left cheek, as the Raskol slumps back, dead.
"What…the hell…just happened?" Dutch mutters, paralyzed with shock from what just transpired before his eyes. Coldly staring at Dutch, Rock gets on his feet and holsters his M9. He opens his right hand and extends his right arm outward, saying "I shot Luca." The shock from what Dutch is hearing and seeing reduces the pain in his left arm to a mere annoyance. Dutch stares at the opened palm of Rock's right hand, then at Rock's Uzi holster, then at the Uzi that Dutch is holding, and asks "So…this is yours?" Rock jerks the Uzi out of Dutch's hand and squeezes tightly on the grip of the Uzi "Yes Dutch, it's mine. And for the record, Songxie was not angry that I wasn't carrying. He was angry that I was, 'was', slow on the draw."
Rock, Revy, and Dutch all stare at each other in numb silence when the final attack boat charges toward the Lagoon. However, several meters west of the Lagoon, Songxie's boat joins the battle. "It's about time that Songxie got off his ass!" Revy yells. More than a dozen henchman open fire, using Howa Type 64s, AR-10s, M14s, and Minebea PM-9s, spraying bullets around the pirate boat and the six men on that boat. A few lucky shots hit the boat, and one bullet wounds a pirate in his left shoulder. On the boat, Norman Sowera signals his men to retreat back to the main pirate boat, seeing this battle as a lost cause. As a final gesture before retreating, he takes a few pot shots at the Lagoon from his AK-47, a couple bullets hitting the hull. The last attack boat turns around and departs from battle, as Sowera fires indiscriminate shots into the air and at the Lagoon.
"Phew, at least that shit is over," Dutch comments, surveying the damage on the Lagoon. "At least we can tow these three pirate boats with us, sell them for scrap, plus pick their wallets, sell their guns, could probably make a few thousand dollars. Should be enough to cover the damages and those 40mm grenades," Dutch adds, wincing in pain from the bullet lodged in his arm. "Revy, Rock, go clean up the bodies and scavenge what you can, I'm going to attend to this piece of lead in my arm," Dutch concludes heading into the interior of the Lagoon.
Rock and Revy silently stare at each other, each holding their respective submachine guns. Revy surveys Rock's face and says "You…got some blood on your face." Rock holsters his Uzi and replies with "Yeah…I know…I'll go clean myself up first. Then I'll help with the rest of the cleanup." Revy notices the tone in Rock's voice and asks "You going to be okay?" Rock nods once, looks down at Tuksy's corpse, Tuksy's face covered in blood, and says "Yeah…yes."
Rock heads into the Lagoon and slowly walks into the bathroom. He urinates into the toilet bowl, flushes, and then turns toward the sink. Turning on the facet, Rock runs his hands through the cold water, slowly running his hands through the fountain. He starts breathing heavily, his heart racing as he struggles to breathe. Rock dares himself to look into the mirror, to look at the foreign blood drops on his head and the blood running out of his broken nose. His hands shake as he washes his face, the sink water turning pink with blood. Looking back up, he watches as his imagination turn his reflection into a beaten, smiling Yukio Washimine, as his brain whispers 'What you are capable of is EXACTLY what you will do' in the voice of Luca Cavalcanti. Rock's shortness of breath turns into boiling rage as he violently grabs onto the sink. He wants to scream, to shatter the mirror with his fist, to crush the sink with his hands. A feeling of sickness rises as Rock fights the urge to vomit. Suddenly he hears a knock on the bathroom door. "You okay there, Rock? When you coming out?" Revy says, sounding concerned. Rock restrains himself, wipes his face and his bloody nose with a towel, and responds "I'm…fine, heading out right now."
