Chapter 4: The Falling Hammer

Dutch took a deep breath as he prepared to enter Balalaika's office. He still wasn't sure if this was the best idea, but he had no other choice. He kept telling himself what he told Revy out on the water, that it would be much, much worse if Hotel Moscow found out on their own that Usagi had come to Roanapur with enemies presumably close behind. The dark wooden door swung open and Boris appeared, nodding in greeting and walking away, leaving the door ajar. Dutch could already smell the smoke from Balalaika's cigar before he entered. She was sitting at her desk examining a stack of papers when she came into view. Dutch closed the door behind him gently.

"Welcome, Dutch," she told him in her calm yet domineering voice. She gestured to the seat across from her with one pale hand, her long nails painted a fiery red colour. "Take a seat." He did as he was told, exhaling deeply as he did so. This meeting could go very wrong if Balalaika reacted badly. Considering past experience and the Russian mafia's distaste for those who would bring danger to the city, it seemed Dutch would have to deal with Hotel Moscow's wrath here today. "You sounded urgent on the phone. Nothing is amiss, I trust?" He almost smirked at that, catching himself just in time. He cleared his throat.

"Probably not," he lied in an attempt to soften the blow. "Just thought you might be interested to know we picked up a girl out on the water today."

"Oh?" Balalaika asked, treacherous intrigue in her voice as she laid down her papers and looked up at Dutch for the first time since he had entered the room.

"From Hong Kong," Dutch went on. "A local smuggler contacted us, claiming she wanted to be brought here."

"An odd request."

"That's what I thought. Turns out she's running away from her father. Supposedly, he's involved with the wrong people back home. I assume that means people will be following her." Balalaika grinned, but her face spoke volumes about how dissatisfied she was with this turn of events.

"You put me in a difficult position, Dutch," she mused, sitting back in her chair. "You understand the consequences of this girl being here? You will, of course, be held accountable if this comes back on Hotel Moscow."

"I understand," he told her firmly. "Just thought you'd want to know. So far, the girl doesn't seem to have brought any unwanted guests with her. The docks are quiet. No sign of anyone." Balalaika grunted.

"And where is the girl now?" Dutch hesitated for a moment. "Oh, relax, Dutch. If I was going to kill the girl, you'd be the first to know." He chuckled, glad that she hadn't decided to come down on him as hard as he suspected she would. She was taking this surprisingly well considering how paranoid she had been lately about intruders in the city. Perhaps that was a sign things were finally returning to normal. How tragically unfair that Usagi showed up now to make sure that never happened.

"She's with the Wolf," he told her. "Seems she's paying him to be her bodyguard."

"Smart girl," Balalaika mulled, placing her head on one hand and exhaling a trail of smoke. "Thank you, Dutch." She did not need to say it, that was her way of dismissing him. He nodded and rose from his seat, starting for the door. "And, Dutch…" The big man halted, turning to glare at Balalaika through his sunglasses. "Do keep me up to date, won't you? I'll want to know as soon as something happens." He smiled before nodding approvingly.

"Sure thing." He headed on outside and entered his car once again. Rock turned to face him, clearly worrying something was wrong.

"How bad did she take it?" he asked, panic in his voice. Clearly he had expected Hotel Moscow to react aggressively to this. It wouldn't have been the first time they were put at odds with Lagoon Company, but it may have been the last if Usagi's pursuers turned out to be dangerous enough.

"Better than I thought," Dutch replied, starting the car. "She made it clear that we're to blame if this bites her in the ass. Frankly, I'll take that as long as that girl's father keeps his nose out of Roanapur's business."

"You know he won't, Dutch," Rock warned. "From the sounds of it, he's going to stop at nothing to get her back. Did she say why he was coming after her?" Dutch sat forward in his chair then. An idea came to him, one he wasn't sure would play out too well. But if it worked, it would serve as an advantage, especially if relations with Balalaika went sour.

"No, actually, she didn't," he muttered. Rock noticed the contemplative look on his face.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking we need someone to prod her for information," Dutch began, a roguish smirk creeping its way onto his face. Rock groaned, clearly anticipating who would be elected for such a task. "You up for it, Rock? I doubt she'll open up to any of us."

"What makes you think I'll have any luck?!"

"You got a way with people, my man," Dutch assured him. "Trust me, once you get to know her, she'll tell you everything. Just don't take too long. There's no telling when her dad might show up." Rock moaned, his manner almost sulky. But it was true, if Dutch tried to interrogate the girl, she would immediately know something was off and refuse to tell him anything. And Rock didn't even want to think about what Revy might do to pry information from the girl. Either Usagi would end up riddled with bullets, or Revy would have to be dragged from the apartment by her hair. So it was left to Rock. He couldn't deny, his people skills were far superior to those of his companions. If anyone could make her complacent enough to let something slip, it was Rock. He wasn't sure how he felt about being so sly to find out why her father was coming after her but they didn't really have a choice. It was either this or silently waiting until the day when her father and presumably a retinue of Hong Kong's nastiest criminals showed up demanding vengeance for harbouring her. Dutch took off towards Wolf's apartment, coming to a steady stop outside it. "Give me a call when you have what we need." Rock smiled nervously before exiting the car. Dutch wasted no time in driving away. He enjoyed making Rock uncomfortable just then a little too much, he suspected. The Japanese man gradually made his way up the short flight of steps to the door, glancing around him all the way. He couldn't have looked more uncomfortable if he had a cactus shoved down the front of his trousers. He knocked on the door gently three times. Wolf answered, frowning in confusion immediately.

"If you have another girl out there, I'm full up," he jested. Rock scoffed.

"Is she in there?"

"'Course she is," the assassin told him, almost offended by the notion that he would let Usagi out of his sight after less than a day of guarding her. "Don't tell me she's after bringing a shitstorm with her already?"

"Can I come in?" Rock asked, his patience wearing thin. "I just want to talk to her. We still don't know why she ran away from home, after all. Not really."

"Yeah, the whole 'my father is a nutcase' thing was a bit vague," Wolf agreed. He stepped back and let Rock in. Usagi was sitting on the couch, her back so straight it could have been made from stone. She turned to face Rock, smiling warmly at him. He took that as a sign that Wolf wasn't exactly giving her a warm welcome.

"Rokoro," she greeted him. He couldn't help but blush once he heard that. Wolf shot him a mischievous glance before heading into his bedroom. Rock joined Usagi on the couch.

"Hey, Usagi. I, uh…I just came by to see how you were doing."

"It's only been a day," she told him, giggling all the while. "But I appreciate the concern. I'm doing well enough."

"How's your new bodyguard working out?" Rock asked, assuming he was the main reason she had been less than comfortable.

"Very well, actually," she told him, much to his surprise. "He's been very hospitable. But he doesn't talk much."

"Actually, he probably talks more than anyone else you'll meet in this city."

"I don't doubt it." She considered him for a moment, her light brown eyes washing over him as if checking for danger. He was immediately aware of this, averting his eyes in case they gave away something. "I sense you have more to say." He considered being straight with her. While that would undoubtedly frighten her and perhaps cause her to distrust him, he could not help but get the sense that she would be comfortable opening up to him. Despite his allegiances and the types of people he hung around with, he was a very likable, trustworthy man.

"Something still bothers me about why you left China," he told her, ignoring that voice inside him that urged him to continue deceiving her. Her expression turned forlorn, but not suspicious. He took that to mean she would tell him a bit more about her father. "You said you were fleeing your father. But why is that? What reason could you have for being so afraid of him?" Usagi swallowed, evidently made nervous by this. If she was to remain in this city, she supposed she would have to confide in somebody.

"I couldn't stay there anymore," she began. "My father was a good man, once. At least I believe so. But he is not himself these days. He has spent too long bowing to the power of that city's crime. I know it can only end badly. So I left him. I want to be free of that life." That didn't really answer Rock's question. He decided to probe her further, but he would be cautious. One wrong move and she would seal her lips.

"You said he was coming after you, though." There was a flicker of something in her eyes for a moment, perhaps momentary fear or doubt. Rock could not tell. He instead awaited her reply.

"I did," Usagi agreed, looking at her feet. "Yes, I did. My father…I took a lot of things from his house-our house-when I left. He would be furious about, um…his money and his…possessions." She was losing the run of herself now, stumbling over her words and hesitating. She was hiding something.

"Usagi," Rock spoke softly. She looked up from the ground then, definite fear in her eyes. There was something about her, about her manner. It was not necessarily her father she was afraid of.

"I-well, I…" Wolf re-entered the room then, startling the two of them. The moment was lost, now. Rock hadn't gotten the concrete information he was hoping for, but he did have a hunch, one he was eager to present to Dutch and the rest. He offered Usagi one more smile before rising and leaving the apartment, waving at the assassin before closing the door behind him. He hurriedly reached for his phone and dialled Dutch's number.

"That you, Rock?" the American answered.

"Yeah, it's me."

"You get the information we need?" Rock groaned.

"Not exactly," he admitted. Dutch's sigh of dissatisfaction was audible on the other side but Rock went on nonetheless. If his theory was right, Dutch needed to hear it right away. "But I did talk to her. I almost had her giving me what we needed. She gave me a lot about her father and why she left. Dutch, I'm not convinced her father isn't working for somebody else."