3:35am.
Roanapur's red light district, a mosh pit for the depraved…..
This is where we find our hero running for his life….

His heart is racing, a rumble in his gut from the bad oysters he had two nights before; He leads his pursuers into a maze of back allies. His chances were as dim as the cheap drug store lightbulbs that lit his way, but rock was always a gambling man. He darted left and right into different alleyways, the mercs on his tail; bear faced and burly, were getting agitated and was done playing cat and mouse
with this pencil neck. They spilt up and tried to flank him on the next block, dickheads…
they fell into rocks trap, his gamble paid off; there were only four mercs, two stayed on him and two went around. These guys weren't from here; they were flown in from the states and didn't do their research. Whoever was sending these mercenaries here to kill him wasn't very experienced in these matters, rock wanted to find out whom. The two that went to flank him met with a dead end.

"SARG WE'ER CUT OFF! HEADING BACK TO YOU"

"MAKE IT QUICK, WE JUST LOST HIM"

They headed back but they ran into a fence wall that definitely wasn't there before. They were on edge, they knew they were being watched, but by who? Well who else than our stouthearted hero who; with only two sets of eyes on him, managed to slip away into a nearby gentlemen's club. "The skinny" they call it ;not that any of the girls there hold to its name sake, plump in all the right places, something only a real men could handle, something rock could use to his advantage. He slouched against the well-lit side of the bar; looking frail and helpless, waiting for some buxom broad to take the bait.

"Hey there sweet tart, I'd ask if you come here often but from the way your shoulders are tensing up it doesn't look like it"

A beautiful red head, allot like revy but far more curvaceous. She saw rock in the corner; like a sheep in the lion's den and she was hungry. The truth was rock was dragged off to strip clubs all the time and even visited once in a while on his own to talk to the girls; they appreciated the company of a man not after their cookies. But all the same rock had to play the timid role which he was already well versed in; she bought him a drink and took him to the vip room in the back, but something about it was different. He noticed that they went further back than most of the other rooms and then up some steps. He was getting nervous, those guys couldn't have known he'd go here and they couldn't have had the time to pay off anyone to lead me here could they? He slowly reached for the handmade shiv he stuffed down his pants; hoping it wouldn't stab something that wouldn't heal the same. She opened the door and to his surprise there was nothing, not even windows or any other doors; just a large room with a queen sized bed in the center surrounded by mirror walls. He inspected the room, checking if there were any hidden doors or passage ways someone could use to get the drop on him; he found nothing.

"If you were thinking I was one of the working girls here who'd suck you and your wallet dry you can rest assured im just a friend"

Rock was befuddled, he chose this place on the fly and he doesn't spend enough time in the district to have any allies. He was being helped by someone he didn't even know and it bugged him.

"Friend?"

"you have more than you know sugar; those men won't be bothering you for a while, my girls sent them on a goose chase and are currently keeping tabs on him"

"YOUR girls?"

"Yes; Madam Maxine Ortega, but you can call me miss M; it's a pleasure to meet you"

"likewise and thank you, but I have one question' who sent you to help me?"

"Well who else? Cute as you are; there's only one woman who'd put up with THIS much stress,of course its…"

Before the answer could slip from her lips it came kicking the door open.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOCK!"

"….shit" he sighed defeated

like a bobcat on speed she thunderd towards him flailing her piece about

" IF YOU WANT A FUCKING BULLET IN YOU SO FUCKING BAD THEN FUCKING GO FUCK WITH THOSE FUCKERS FROME FUCKING HOTEL MOSCOW OR THE FUCKING TRIADS, OR MAYBE YOU JUST LOVE PISSING ME OFF; MAYBE YOU WANTED ME TO SHOOT YOU THE WHOLE TIME, WELL BUDDY YOUR REAL FUCKING CLOSE BECAUSE IF THE NEXT WORDS OUT OF YOUR MOUTH ARE ANYTHING BUT "REVY THANK YOU MY QUEEN FOR RESCUING MY SORRY ASS YET AGAIN" IL BE HAPPY TO PUT ONE RIGHT UP YOUR…"

She was silenced by rocks lips pressing against hers

"Let me thank your for all you've done…. Properly"

Why not another gamble he thought, he had been pretty much playing with his life all afternoon. Revy cocked her fist back to relieve rock of his head, but before she socked him rock grasped her by the waist and pulled her in.
"ROCK! What are you..."

He fixed his finger on her bottom lip; his predatory glare sent a chill down her spine. He grabbed her chin with his thumb and index and inched toward her neck; an inhale, an exhale, with her feeling the sensation of every carry of wind. Her gun slipped out her hand, what was this feeling? Why was she so weak? She thought to herself "rock? No way this is rock. Why the fuck haven't I punched this guy?" She was slipping, by the time she got out of her own head the feeling of rock nibbling on her neck had already begun to settle in. Her blood rushed violently like a tidal wave as she almost fell to her knees, rock held her up with one hand slowly crawling up her back, the other with a firm hold on her ass. He propped her up on the wall and noticed the perspiration on her chest; revy always wore a tank top, exposing her cleavage, rock took advantage. He slid his tongue up her chest to her neck.

"OH… rock... rooaaaaa..."

Revy had enough; she jerked him off of her, socked him one and dashed out in a flurry. He almost giggled and the look on her face as she left. He felt free, freer than ever before; as if this path he chose to follow has released him from hidden restraint. He glared at the ceiling, a chilling grin spread across his face like an infection.

"So what was that sugar? Trying not to catch hell from your girlfriend? I remember a guy who pulled that one on me one or two boytoys ago, can't say it didn't work though; there's just something about a man that just… I'm sorry I'm just rambling. It's really a shame, this room was originally meant for you and ME to play in; you should have told me you had a barbarian lover"

"She's not my lover; she's my gun, and I'm her bullet" he said gently, still fixed on the ceiling

"So that's what kids are calling it these days? Not surprising though, back in my day we used to call it all sorts of names like… oh. Forgive me again, I know you don't want to hear the droning of some old woman"

Rock let out a soft chortle, then fixed his eyes on the madam

"something funny?"

"I came to this bar looking for a place to hide, I considered having to pony up for a night's stay with one of your girls"

"They do call this place the perfect getaway"

He picked himself up and began dusting himself off, "And when you approached me in the bar and took me here, I was actually relived to find out you weren't a working girl, I couldn't afford you"

"Well don't you know how to make a woman blush"

Rock lit up a cigarette and began to walk out the door, passing Maxine and giving her a look that pierced right through her.

"Thanks again, I'll see you soon… Maxy"

"hmmmm, Don't keep me waiting "

He left with a straight face but his heart was racing, he didn't know what came over him; going after revy like that was insane and should have been a one way trip to the morgue, but somehow she looked into it. He felt more and more like he was someone else, someone strange but familiar; he decided thinking about was too much trouble for one night and headed home in the hopes of running into revy on the way, Meanwhile Dutch and Benny were at the office working late.

"Hey benny you see Revy around? She said she was going to carve rock a new shithole"

"I went by her apartment earlier to pick up my back massager I lent her. I figured she was out cold; I heard her tv, I heard the sounds of softcore porn that comes on when only adults can ben awake"

"Hey benny-boy"

" Yea dutch?"

"Revy's tv has been broken for a week"

The Next Morning….

"Rocks changing"

"what'r ya talking about rev?"

"You saw that look in his eye at that shit storm by the pier last week?"

"He looked like he was out of his mind, something that gets all too normal the longer you stay in this hell hole"

"No, this time was different. He didn't look like one of the dead men walking the streets around here; he looked to happy."

"You think he's enjoying himself? Like you"

" It just bugged me is all"

"I think you need a break, all this "fun" is making the blood rush to your head, ya'aint thinking straight. Go get a drink at bao's , you might even find him there"

Revy's eyes nearly lit up then shut as she sneered at the thought of him. She dragged herself along mumbling something foul.

"Kids"

Revy wafted the doors open like the beaded curtain in front of the X-rated section of the video store. The bar was filled to the brim with criminals and low lives; the flag never went down easy and at this point, having it destroyed and rebuilt has become something like a tradition, like a bon fire. Rock can be seen taking back a double shot at the counter; he looked a bit too natural amongst these murderers and thieves. Revy snuck up behind him thinking she could get the drop on him like always but before she could lay a finger on him his eyes adjusted ever so slightly, just enough to see her through his peripherals. Eyes like poison; they infected every inch of her, before she realized what had happened rock was looking at her with a puzzled face and she was frozen in place.

"Something wrong rev?"

"No asshole, Buy me a drink"

"TWO MORE BAO!" he said with a slightly slurred groan

Bao slid two shot glasses over with a snark, he didn't say it but he blames the lagoon for his new Swiss cheese décor.

"Hey revy i…"

Before he could let out another word revy pulled him in a stuck her tongue down his throat. It was the kind of sloppy kiss teenage lovers give each other in the back seat at the drive-in, and then she cocked her fist back and made a crater in his face. He was out like a dim light; she walked out yawning like she just woke up from a long nap.