It was only when he reached home that Daniel realised what he had done. He dropped the weapons and his messenger bag onto his bed and was about to take off his goggles when he noticed something. There was still blood on his goggles. He looked down and his gloves were coated in blood. Daniel felt fear growing in the pit of his stomach and he started tearing the armour and clothes off himself before throwing himself into the shower.
Daniel scrubbed feverishly at himself , even though there was no blood on him. He had forgotten to turn the cold tap on and the hot water felt scalding, but he didn't care.
"Why won't it come off?!" Daniel screamed. The memories of the blood and gore came back into his mind and he felt bile rise into his mouth. In his mind he saw the charred head of his teddy bear, its half melted eyes staring at him and weeping silently. Daniel collapsed to his knees before vomiting into the drain, the sick being washed away by the scalding water. Then he heard the phone ring.
Turning off the shower, he picked up his phone with a trembling hand and answered it. "Hello?"
"Daniel." Chang said in a barely calm voice. "Mind explaining to me why Ronnie the Jaws of the Italian Mafia and most of his high ranking officers are dead?"
"I…"
"You do realise just how much shit you've stirred up, right? How much trouble you've caused me?" Chang asked. "You don't seem to realise that the Italians are one of the most important factions here in Roanapur, and you've just declared war on them with your stupid little stunt. I'll be lucky if the ones left don't try to tear this city apart looking for you, and last I checked you don't have the cash to get out of here."
Daniel felt himself choking on his words as tears started to form in the corner of his eyes. "I… I killed them… I killed all of them… And now more people are going to die because of me. I… I just… I don't know what to do! I don't know any way I can fix this!"
"Lucky for you Ronnie the Jaws wasn't exactly on friendly terms with his family back home, so they won't particularly miss him. My guys found that the warehouse you blew sky high held a huge cache of weapons, and a laptop we found in Ronnie's office had details of a plan to overthrow both Hotel Moscow and my organisation before going back to their family head with an army of mercs and a bullet with his name on it. As well as giving me a headache, you've averted an attempted coup, so by phasing you out of the official picture is the least I could do to thank you. But be warned. This is the last favour I'm giving you kid. One more slip-up and you're on your own."
"Th-thank you Mister Chang. It won't happen again."
"I hope so. For both our sakes." Chang said before hanging up.
Daniel flopped backwards onto his new bed.
"Dear god, what have I done?"
*v*v*v*
*v*v*v*
Daniel had no idea what he was going to do now. He had been so close, and then everything was taken from him. And to make things worse, he went on a murderous rampage. Daniel spent days looking at the ceiling and trying not to break down or throw up again. Eventually he was contacted by Balalaika.
"What's wrong Daniel? You haven't been taking any jobs for weeks now. You'll never get home at this rate." She said over the phone.
"I know. But… I killed people. I killed a lot of people." Daniel said in disgust.
"As have almost everyone in Roanapur." She said. "You'll get used to it eventually."
"But I don't want to get used to it! I want to lead a normal life, not spend it in this sinkhole of a city blowing people to pieces!"
"Of course you don't. That's what makes you different from the denizens of this city." Balalaika said. "You don't belong here. You can't belong here. You don't have the constitution for it. That's why you wanted to leave, wasn't it?"
Daniel was silent for a moment before answering again. "You're right. But I need some more high paying jobs if I want to get out of Roanapur."
"In that case, I have just the job for you." Balalaika said. "Something I need delivered to me personally. If you do this right, I'll pay you fifty thousand dollars."
"Must be important to you." Daniel said. "What needs to be done?'
"Go down to the docks and wait for the Lagoon Company's boat to arrive. They'll give you a package. After that, I will contact you and give you the coordinates of the rendezvous point."
"Will there be any complications?"
"You tell me." She replied.
*v*v*v*
*v*v*v*
Daniel stood at the docks, waiting for Lagoon Company's boat to arrive. He clutched at his bandolier and felt his smoke grenades. He checked his pistol and grenade pistol, making sure they were loaded. Eventually he heard the gentle thrum of the boat's engine as a torpedo boat floated up to the dock. On the bow of the boat was Revy, who as soon as she saw him started grinning.
"Hey there kid. You here for the job?"
"Yeah." Daniel said.
"The package is on board, so come on up." She said, dropping down a gangplank. Daniel clambered up the gangplank and when he got up onto the deck, Revy was staring at him. "Huh. I knew it wouldn't last."
"What?"
"Your eyes have changed." Revy grinned nastily.
"What do you mean?"
"You have the eyes of a murderer."
Daniel's eyes widened before he looked down at the metal deck of the boat in shame.
"You're the one that blew up the warehouse full of Italians, right? I have to say, you must either have fucking balls the size of Roanapur or less brains that a god damned gerbil to kill all those bastards."
"I hope that's not a compliment." Daniel spat. "Anyway, where's the package I'm supposed to deliver?"
"Right here." Came the voice of Dutch as he stepped out from below deck, carrying a manila folder. "Be careful with those files. Balalaika's paid us a hell of a lot of money to get these from that transport ship."
"What are they?" Daniel asked.
"Not a clue. It's all in Russian." Dutch shrugged, handing over the folder. "Anyway, you'd best get those files to Hotel Moscow."
*v*v*v*
*v*v*v*
Daniel was skating through the streets of Roanapur towards Hotel Moscow. He was on the main street when he heard something whistling through the air behind him. Daniel threw himself to the side just as a rocket exploded just where he was going to go, the shrapnel and rubble bouncing off his amour. Civilians started screaming and emptying out of the streets and more people started shooting from a nearby building! Sniper rifle bullets hit the ground everywhere around Daniel, and one bullet managed to pass clean through his leg!
Screaming, Daniel got himself behind a car before pulling the pin on a smoke grenade and hurling it into the building. Rolling away, he pulled out his grenade pistol when he saw a van screech to a halt at the next intersection. From out of the van someone pulled out an RPG and fired it at Daniel!
Cursing, Daniel rolled out of the way of the rocket before firing his grenade pistol at the van as it started to move. The grenade hit the van's back tires and exploded, demolishing the back end of the van and flipping it over. From what Daniel could see, nobody got hurt and he breathed a small sigh of relief.
Reloading his grenade pistol, Daniel rolled from cover to cover, grimacing as he felt the wound in his leg getting worse.
"Gonna need a doctor after this." Daniel groaned before pulling another smoke grenade out and flinging it over the car before skating to Hotel Moscow.
*v*v*v*
*v*v*v*
Daniel was let into Hotel Moscow and was admitted to the medical ward, where the doctor there got to work on his leg. Balalaika was down shortly after the surgery had finished.
"Hello Daniel. Have you got the file?" she asked.
"It's over in my bag." Daniel said as the doctor wound gauze and white bandages around Daniel's leg. One of Balalaika's soldiers opened the bag and retrieved the file before handing it to Balalaika, who started reading it.
"Ah, I see. This is very valuable information. I thank you for getting this to me Daniel. I'll be sure to pay you appropriately."
"Thank you Miss Balalaika." Daniel said, testing his leg. "Though I think I may be out of commission for a while. The doctor said the bullet didn't hit anything important, but he made it clear I should stay off it for a while."
"Of course. But I have a feeling you should stay here in Hotel Moscow from now on."
"Why is that?"
"Your apartment was attacked." She said.
"Again?! Seriously?" Daniel groaned, putting a hand to his forehead. "Did it have something to do with the people that attacked me? Chang told me I was taken out of the official story."
"It's a definite possibility, though nothing in Roanapur stays secret for long. I had a suspicion something like this would happen after your little episode, so I had my men move your possessions. Your weapons are in a personal locker in the armoury and you have a bunk in the barracks."
"Thank you again Miss Balalaika. I don't know how I'll be able to repay you for all the kindness you've shown me." Daniel said.
"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way." She smiled.
*v*v*v*
*v*v*v*
Over three weeks had passed, and Daniel was looking out the window of the boat as it neared a new island. As it turned out, Miss Balalaika had found out a way Daniel could repay her before he could.
"I am going on a business trip of sorts to the east of Jamaica. I need your speedy delivery services to drop explosives into drop points for the local Jamaican drug cartels." She had explained to him. "One of the lowest ranked cartels there wanted Hotel Moscow to assist them in expanding their little business any way we could. I was more than happy to oblige. Ah, this reminds me of the Washimine job…"
"So do we have the locations of these drop points?" Daniel asked.
"Only one or two are in actually populated areas. The rest are outside of small towns or in jungles. I'll have one of my soldiers covering you as you work. But know that all the charges have to be set before seven o'clock tonight." She explained. "After you finish with the charges, head back to the boat and get some rest."
"Yes Miss Balalaika." Daniel said.
*v*v*v*
*v*v*v*
Daniel lowered his new pair of sunglasses as the sun started to dip. Balalaika had told him to not wear his combat armour, since it made him look suspicious. Now he was dressed in the simple clothes he had bought in Roanapur, with a combat knife hidden in his rollerblade and his pistol in his deep pocket.
Patting his bag and checking his phone for the directions, he started to roll through the town Balalaika had dropped him and a soldier at. The soldier, who was armed with a sniper rifle, had started running from the dock as soon as they landed while Daniel was still getting ready. Eventually Daniel reached the first drop point, an innocuous looking rubbish bin in an alleyway. Opening up his messenger bag, Daniel flicked the activation switch on a block of C4 before putting it carefully into the bin and closing it back up.
Daniel started to roll through the bustling streets of the Jamaican city until he reached the outskirts. The road looked too rough to use his rollerblades on, so Daniel took off his wheels and started to run into the jungle. Moving out of the way of numerous trees, he eventually found the second drop point, an old stump. Dropping the activated bomb into the stump he took off again for the next drop point.
When he was dropping the third explosive into the third drop point, a rusted letterbox outside a dilapidated house, Daniel's phone began to ring. Flicking it open, he put it to his ear as he started to move again.
"This is Hermes."
"This is Lebowski. There are around five jeeps heading in your direction." cracked the voice of the Hotel Moscow sniper. "I think it's the Military Police."
"That can't be good." Daniel gulped. "How long until they get to my position?"
"I'd reckon three minutes. For now, get into the jungle. Go north five hundred metres then wait for them to leave. By then it'll be safe to go back onto the road." He said. "Lebowski out."
As the line went dead Daniel started running into the jungle. After getting some distance from the house he threw himself flat onto the ground as he heard the jeeps pull up. Heavy boots started stamping on the ground and he heard the MPs enter the house made of greying rotten wood. There was a lot of shouting and gunfire before the MPs started leaving. After Daniel heard the jeeps drive off, he returned to the road. The house looked even more wrecked than it did before. Bullet holes riddled the structure and there were bodies out the front, their dead eyes staring off into space.
Holding back the bile rising in his throat, Daniel continued down the road. Looks like calamity wasn't just in Roanapur.
*v*v*v*
*v*v*v*
Daniel eventually deposited all the explosives at the drop points. As he was going back to the boat, his phone started to ring.
"This is Hermes." He said.
"This is Boris. There has been a change in plan." A man's voice reported. "Come to the Wipeout Bar at the end of the pier. It's next to the docks. The Capitan is waiting for you."
After the phone went dead, Daniel put the wheels back onto his rollerblades before skating to the bar.
'I wonder what's going on.' Daniel thought.
Eventually he arrived at the bar, which was themed in an entirely out of place tiki style. As soon as he entered, a man from behind the bar looked at him.
"Hey mon, this place isn't for minors, so buzz off!"
After he had said this, a huge man with a scar across his face marched up to the bar.
"He's with me." He said before turning to Daniel. "The Capitan is waiting. This way."
The big man, who Daniel assumed was Boris, led him to a door into a windowless meeting room. The smell of tobacco smoke hung stiflingly in the air, much of it coming from Balalaika's cigar. On the opposite end of the table sat a Jamaican man in a white suit, a fat cigar in his hand and a businesslike expression on his face.
"Ah, Daniel. So glad you could make it." Balalaika said. "Now we can begin. Mister De-Morris, you asked Hotel Moscow to aid in the expansion of your criminal enterprises, did you not?"
"Yeah." He said, clearing his throat. "My guys are sick of bein' on the bottom rung. It's time for a change in Jamaica. I called dis meetin' to discuss ways we can knock the other gangs out of Jamaica."
"Well, I'm happy to say we've already found a solution to your problem." Balalaika said happily.
"You have?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes, but first allow me to introduce my associate." She said. "This is Hermes, a one man courier service from Ronapur. He's working for me as an independent contractor and has been quite busy for the past hour."
"Doing what?" De-Morris asked, looking slightly disinterested.
"Oh, you'll see." Balalaika smiled. "Boris?"
Boris handed Balalaika what looked like a remote detonator and she pushed the button. Daniel heard the muted thud of an explosion from outside the building and Mister De-Morris' eyes widened in surprise.
"What da hell was that mon?"
"I'm sure you're well aware that the other cartels you're competing with have some very efficient drug mules. I believe you once likened them to clockwork. We've just stripped the gears a little by destroying their drug drop points." Balalaika explained.
"Y-you're crazy mon!" De-Morris shouted. "I was gonna ask you to frame the other cartel bosses for somethin' and get 'em arrested, not get them royally pissed off!"
"Oh? Well I thought you had known. Manipulation is not how Hotel Moscow operates." Balalaika said.
The Jamaican man looked terrified, his cigar now forgotten and dropped onto the wooden table.
"Now don't worry. I guarantee that by the end of the month all the other cartels will be obliterated." Balalaika said, picking up her large coat from the back of her chair. "Leave it all to us while you focus on expanding your organisation. Let's go, comrades."
Daniel followed Boris and Balalaika out of the room and to a waiting car outside. Balalaika and Boris stepped into the car.
"I trust you know your way back to the boat?" she asked to Daniel.
"Yes Miss Balalaika." He said, slightly disappointed that he had to skate back to the docks.
"Very good. Boris and I are going to take care of some more business elsewhere, so I'll see you there later." She said as the car sped off. Daniel started skating back to the docks. But then he rounded the corner and felt something slam into the back of his head and he fell to the tarmac before blacking out.
*v*v*v*
*v*v*v*
Daniel awoke in a situation he was starting to hate being in. He was covered in bruises in the corner of a small dark concrete room. His hands were bound behind his back by duct tape, but he was still wearing his rollerblades, and that meant that his knife was still there. But both his gun and his bag were missing.
Edging the knife out of his rollerblade, he set to work slicing apart the duct tape as he heard a door open. A light flickered on to reveal three people; a scrawny man with a butterfly knife twirling around his fingers, a Jamaican with an afro and a pistol by his side and finally a fat red faced man in a cheap looking suit.
"Alright kid, we know you're the little fuckstick who's been dropping bombs into our drop points." The fat man said. Daniel's knife was almost all the way through the duct tape. "What I want to know is who put you up to this."
"How do you know I wasn't working alone?" Daniel asked, earning a kick in the gut that almost resulted in him stabbing himself in the back.
"Because I 'aint never seen you in Jamaica before you little turd! I have this entire fuckin' island in my pocket. I know everyone and everything on this island like the back of my hand, and it's gonna stay that way for years to come! And I don't think your little stunt was just some fuckin' prank. So you're gonna tell me this real loud and fucking clear, or else you'll have a bullet where your tiny brain is supposed to be!" the fat man shouted.
Daniel felt the duct tape snap and he leapt up and stabbed the fat man in the gut, the knife buried all the way up to the handle.
"Sorry, I can't tell you. Professional courtesy." Daniel said before throwing the fat man onto the goon with the pistol.
The skinny man with the knife lunged at Daniel, but he moved out of the way and kicked the knife man in the face before slashing across his chest. The man with the gun had finally gotten his boss off him and tried to shoot Daniel, but the bullet only grazed his arm. Daniel leapt at the man and buried the knife in his brain. Quickly drawing the knife back out, he looked around the room. The three people who had beaten him just moments ago were all lying on the ground, their blood mixing together into a giant puddle on the floor. Daniel looked at his hands in horror and saw them dripping with blood again. He started shaking as bile started to rise in his throat again and he threw up onto the floor. When he stopped, he made his way out of the bloody room.
Just outside, Daniel found his gun and his bag resting against the wall. Picking it up, he unsteadily skated his way out of the building.
*v*v*v*
*v*v*v*
Daniel was back on the boat. He made his way back to his bunk, took off his rollerblades and collapsed onto the bunk. There he stared at the ceiling, not able to sleep. He lay there for what seemed like hours. Eventually he grew frustrated and got up, making his way to above deck.
He looked out over the island, rubbing his various bruises. He looked at his hands and saw that the blood was still on them. Sticky and drying, the smell of iron drilling into his sinuses. He heard the sound of high heels tapping across the metal deck as Balalaika walked over to him and rested on the side of the ship.
"You know Daniel, I've heard something very interesting happened tonight." She said. "The head of the top cartel in Jamaica was killed. Stabbed to death along with two of his men. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Daniel looked down at his bloody hands again but didn't say anything.
"You've saved me a lot of trouble Daniel. You're a much better investment than I first thought." Balalaika continued. "I had planned a complicated public assassination, but this will work just as well."
"I killed them. And it was so easy… What am I becoming?" Daniel said.
Balalaika breathed out a cloud of smoke, watching as it coiled through the air. "You're not becoming anything. You always have been yourself. You are simply doing what you have to do to survive."
Daniel looked at the blood drying on his hands again. "I was always told life is about doing things you don't want to do. I always hated my teachers."
"At any rate, we have more work that needs to be done. Go wash your hands and get some sleep. I have a paid assignment for you in the morning."
*v*v*v*
*v*v*v*
Daniel walked around the Jamaican town. The job Balalaika had given him was simple. Just a demands delivery to the second cartel on the hit list. Daniel knew that Balalaika wasn't really expecting them to accept the demands. Eventually he reached what was reported to be the cartel's headquarters, a run-down looking bar; he entered the building and was intercepted by the barman.
"Hey kid, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"I'm here to deliver a message to the boss of the Carlotta Cartel." Daniel said.
"Ah, we've heard about you." He said. "The boss is through that door over there."
Daniel nodded and went through the door were he saw a Jamaican woman sitting behind a desk cleaning a huge over-under style double barrelled shotgun. In the corner he saw a load of scuba gear and a small olive green crate, but he didn't know what could be inside it.
"Ah, so you're that courier, right? Hermes was it?" she asked in a cheery British accent, not taking her eyes off the gun. "Name's Carlotta. Nice to meetcha."
"It's good to meet you too." Daniel said before taking the envelope out of his bag. "I have a message for you from Hotel Moscow. A list of demands."
"Hotel Moscow? Hotel Moscow, now where have I heard that name before…" She said, rubbing her chin in thought before snapping her fingers. "Oh yeah, now I remember! They're that Russian terrorist group from Roanapur! They've come all the way out to Jamaica? Wow, they must be bored."
"Shall I leave this here then?" Daniel asked, envelope in hand.
"How about you read it out to me? I've got a busy schedule and this old under-over of mine needs a bit of a tune up." She said, returning her attention to the gun.
"Alright then." Daniel said uncertainly before opening the envelope and reading the letter. "Dear Miss Carlotta. As I'm sure you know, you are the second most powerful cartel in Jamaica…"
"Oh that flatterer. I really should send her a gift basket." She mused.
"What I'm sure you aren't aware of is that since the death of one Herbert Smithe, your cartel has become the most powerful in Jamaica."
"Oh really?" she said, looking away from the gun. "That is very interesting. What else does the letter say?"
"It is because of this that I feel that you must be destroyed." Daniel said.
"Ah." Carlotta said. "So that's the Hotel Moscow hospitality I've heard of. Anything else?"
"Yes, there's a list of demands." Daniel said. "However, if you do not wish for your entire cartel to be crushed under the heel of Hotel Moscow, there are a few things you must do. First, hand over all land and plantations you own to the De-Morris Cartel. Second, deliver all weapons and money in storage to the docks. Third, all men employed in your Cartel must be transferred to the De-Morris Cartel or executed, including yourself. If you comply with all these provisions, you will be spared. Regards, Balalaika."
"Ah, the De-Morris Cartel! I remember I stole quite a lot of money from them once. Ah, those were the days." She said, reassembling her shotgun. "Well unfortunately enough, those demands are very… well, demanding. So much so in fact that I think I won't bother. That's it. Off you pop."
Daniel nodded and left the bar before his phone began to ring.
"So, were my suspicions correct?" Balalaika asked.
"She refused." Daniel said.
"Well these things can't be helped. You'll get your payment when you return." Balalaika said. "Actually, feel free to take some time off. You sound like you need it."
*v*v*v*
*v*v*v*
Daniel was sitting in the shade at a secluded section of a beach, watching the crystal blue waves roll in. He was grateful Miss Balalaika decided to let him have time off. Eventually he fell asleep in the warm Jamaican sunlight. When he woke up again, he saw a few more people on the beach, a young boy and a girl.
"Oh, did I wake you?" asked a voice next to him. He looked up and saw a woman in a black dress sitting in a wheelchair. Her face and one of her hands was covered in bandages, and Daniel noticed that her right leg was artificial.
"No, no. It's alright." Daniel sighed. "It's a nice place, Jamaica. It's hard not to fall asleep in the warmth of the sun."
"Yes, the young master was quite insistent we visited here. Although I've heard that there is nothing but trouble recently. Terrorist bombings, gang wars; it seems that Jamaica is becoming akin to a battleground. However the young master seems determined to enjoy his holiday." She smiled.
Daniel felt guilt grow in his gut again. How his parents would love to see him now…
"So what brings you here? You don't seem to be a local." She said.
"I'm… on a business trip. I work as a courier on an island in Thailand."
"Oh? Which one?" she asked.
"Roanapur."
As Daniel said that word, the two people playing in the waves stopped and the woman in the wheelchair wore a sour expression.
"I take it you know of it?" Daniel asked.
"We prefer not to talk about that place. It turns men and women evil." said the young boy as he returned to shore. "The entire city is a hive for all kinds of scum and villainy."
"You don't need to tell me that." Daniel said grimly. "I've done terrible things. Things I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for doing. Even here I'm forced to bloody my hands. But one day I'm going to put it all behind me. I'll move somewhere sunny. Buy myself a nice house. Find a girlfriend. Have a family. Try to live the life my parents wanted for me. But until that day comes, I'll just have to bear the burden of my sins."
The three others were quiet for a while before the young woman spoke up. "But that may never happen. You may be stuck in that pit forever. What then?"
"That won't happen. I won't let it happen. I was never meant to be in Roanapur. It was completely by chance that I appeared there, and it'll be through all my own doing that I leave there, all the richer for it." Daniel said. "You see, I made a promise to a friend of mine. I told him we would leave Roanapur together. And while he's gone, I can still fulfil my end of the bargain."
"I hope that promise becomes fulfilled." The boy said. "Not a soul on this earth should suffer the torment forced on them by Roanapur."
*v*v*v*
*v*v*v*
A few more days had passed and Daniel was back on the boat. Miss Balalaika hadn't really found many jobs for him, so he was just helping around the ship. He was helping one of the soldiers take stocktake for the ammunition when his phone started to ring.
"Hello?"
"Hello again there Hermes! It's me, Carlotta speaking." said the cheery cartel owner.
"Miss Carlotta? Why are you calling? I thought you had gone into hiding." Daniel said, drawing the attention of the soldier he was helping.
"Just calling to give you a bit of a heads up is all." She said. "You see I know you work with those guys in Hotel Moscow, but you just seem too darn nice to just kill. So if you get off their boat within the next ooh… ten minutes? No, no, more like five. Yeah, in five minutes that boat is going to be blown sky high. You see, my men and I don't like being pushed around by some stuck up Ivan bitch and her dogs. Hopefully I'll see you again! Ta ta!"
And with that, the phone went dead.
"What did she say?" asked the soldier.
"They're going to try and destroy the ship." Daniel said. "Either there's a bomb somewhere on the ship that'll go off in five minutes, or the boat is going to be attacked somewhere in that time frame."
The soldier said something in Russian, presumably a string of curses, before running off. "I'm going to raise the alarm! You contact the Capitan!"
Daniel was about to start dialling when he realised something. Balalaika was always the one who called him.
He didn't know her phone number.
"Son of a BITCH!" Daniel shouted before running off to start searching the ship.