Chapter 6: A New Friend

Once they arrived in Venezuela, Pius volunteered to drive them to the estate himself. He was anxious to get to business, especially with the New Order looming on the horizon. The Lovelaces were in a tight spot, here. The sooner they got underway, the better. Pius pulled up just outside the estate. As he shut off the engine, he turned to Rock and Revy in the back seat.

"Why don't you two hang on here for now?" he asked politely. Despite said politeness, Revy scowled at him broodingly.

"Why?" she asked. "I thought the little shit asked for us personally. You gonna tell me we're not welcome here after all?"

"Relax," Pius urged her. "Master Garcia is eager to meet both of you, of course. But I must bring Wolf to him first. Trust me, it's necessary." That screamed bullshit, but they decided not to argue. At the moment, Pius wanted to bring Wolf to see Garcia so the boy could explain the situation with a bit more clarity. Considering Hawke was due to arrive at the estate in just three hours, there was a sense of haste that put them all on edge.

"Fine," Revy relented. "Just don't take too damn long." Wolf and the priest exited the car and walked towards the gates, which were locked, naturally. They came to a halt, spotting the young Fabiola in the distance. Upon noticing them, she began making her way towards the gates.

"Now that we're relatively alone, there is something you must know," Pius began carefully. Wolf couldn't shake the sense that he had been tricked into something, here. The assassin slowly, very intentionally, turned his head towards the priest, locking eyes with him. He did not speak, instead giving Pius a chance to explain himself. "I may not have been entirely truthful when we spoke at the bar. I mentioned that Hawke demanded Roberta be turned over to him." Fabiola was getting closer, now. Wolf spotted her lift a single hand and reach beneath her maid's uniform. He had to stop himself from instinctually readying his Desert Eagle, playing off the jerk of his arm by adjusting the strap of the blade at his back.

"What have you gotten me into?" he asked of Pius. They both spoke with hurried voices. It seemed to go unspoken but understood by them both that Fabiola was not to hear this.

"Hawke seemed to know about your association with the Lovelaces," Pius continued. "He demanded that they also call you here. When he comes for Roberta, he will be expecting us to turn you over to them, as well." Wolf shot the priest a dangerously vicious look.

"Are you telling me you set me the fuck up?!" His eyes returned to Fabiola to make sure she was not actually producing a weapon. He did not believe the Lovelaces would actually take him hostage and turn him over to these people, but paranoia was getting the better of him. The young girl was closer, now. They had maybe fifteen seconds left to speak.

"Of course not!" Pius pleaded, raising his arms in defence. "I didn't think you'd agree to come here if you knew. I had to be discreet, you understand. It's better this way." Wolf sighed deeply. It could have been a lot worse. Considering his first thought was that he had been betrayed, this was a welcome surprise.

"Well, you're an honest little prick, I'll give you that." Fabiola appeared to have heard that, giving the two of them a confused look. Without the context of the conversation, she must have been quite puzzled by that remark. As it turned out, she had reached into her uniform to produce a key, which she now used to unlock the gates. Once they were opened, she joined her hands in front of her formally and smiled.

"Mister Wolf," she began. The assassin resisted, with some difficulty, the urge to roll his eyes. "I'm glad you could make it. The Young Master is eager to speak with you. Pius explained the situation, I hope?" A snort escaped Wolf.

"Playing fast and loose with the word 'explained.' But, uh…yeah, he told me enough." Fabiola squinted. Wolf hadn't thrown the priest under the bus completely, but he had been tempted.

"Good," Fabiola answered hesitantly. She eyed the car outside, or what she could see of it. It was safe to assume she wasn't looking forward to encountering the other two. Her relationship with them had been rocky at best. "Allow me to escort you inside. Master Garcia will explain everything." As they made their way towards the door, Wolf glanced up at the sky. The sun still shone brightly but it was edging nearer and nearer to the horizon by the second.

"How long do we have before they come back?" he asked. He did not need to be more specific, they knew what he meant.

"Three hours," Fabiola told him. "The man in charge told us if we didn't comply, he would force his way in here. I hope you can help make sure that doesn't happen." She did not sound too confident. Perhaps it was less a lack of faith and more a distaste for the matter at hand in general. That, and the people involved. Though the girl had been more or less content to work with Wolf in the past, he could tell she bore no real love for him. He was a ruthless killer, one of the walking dead of Roanapur. Her opinion of such men and women was very low. She might have been swallowing her feelings, but Wolf had no doubt that if she had her way, he would have nothing to do with the family. Ironic, then, that Roberta was accepted for all her flaws. But there was no use dwelling on that now. They had work to do. Fabiola led them inside, coming to a stop in one of the more modest rooms. Inside, Garcia waited. The boy had noticeably matured since Wolf's last meeting with him. He had certainly grown taller, if nothing else. As the assassin came to a stop, Garcia did not greet him with a smile. That was likely due to the gravity of the situation.

"I'm glad you could make it," he said sincerely.

"We came as quick as we could," Pius assured him. "The others are waiting outside. I thought you might want to explain the situation to Wolf, first."

"Good thinking," Garcia told him. "Mister Wolf, I assume you've been filled in?"

"For the most part," the assassin answered. "I'm told you have a plan."

"It was Pius's idea. But, yes, we have need of your services. Unless we do this now, it will be much harder to avoid Hawke and his people when he returns." Wolf couldn't help but notice that Roberta wasn't present. True, it was doubtful she would be taking part in this plan herself, but it had still been assumed she would be present for the briefing. It was possible she was resting, considering. A twinge of regret pierced Wolf at the idea that Roberta's physical state forced her to rest for most of the day. He quickly shook it off.

"Well, let's not waste any time, then," he told the boy. "Tell me." Garcia nodded at Pius, who proceeded to unfold a map on the table between him and the Lovelaces. It was a map of Venezuela, of the region surrounding the estate, to be precise. Two areas had been circled. One was a town to the west of the estate. The other appeared to be a seemingly random chunk of countryside to the south. There must have been something there of interest regarding the New Order. Pius pointed to the second circle.

"This is why we brought your gunslinger friend," the priest began. "Before I went to Roanapur, I did some scouting around. The New Order didn't originate here, but they have moved the bulk of their operations to a nearby site. If Revy can make her way there, she'll be met with what I assume is the majority of their forces. We want her to take them out." Wolf didn't say a word. He just stared blankly at Pius. When the priest realised he would not receive a response, he became flustered.

"That's it?" Wolf asked. "That's your big plan? You really think Revy can take those fuckers on by herself?"

"Of course not," Pius corrected him. "Come on, Wolf. Give me some credit. Why do you think I put the word out in the city? Over half of those guys are former cartel members. Their heads will fetch a high price. If Revy and Fabiola make their way there, I'm sure there will be others close behind." That was a hell of a gamble. Despite the fact that his assertion was very possible, it was also not set in stone. This needed to be done quickly. Even if a gang of bounty hunters did follow Revy out there, unless they arrived before six this evening, they were useless. Still, it was something. Wolf was not prepared to scrap the entire plan just because of that.

"What else?" he asked, sincerely hoping the rest of the plan would be more impressive. Pius laid a finger on the other circle, the town not far from the estate.

"This is where their leaders will be meeting later today. In less than two hours, the men responsible for the direction of the entire group will all be in one room. You know what that means."

"You want me to kill 'em all," Wolf concluded. Obviously, Hawke would not be there, that would have been an easier solution. However, if they managed to even take a good go at this plan, he would have very few people left to back him up later today. Then, they could finish this.

"Exactly," Pius concurred. "They'll be meeting in the back room of Café Luxo."

"How did you come by this information?"

"I tracked one of their cars," the priest explained. "Managed to catch one of them alone, got him to tell me everything he could. Turns out, he was very helpful." The assassin nodded before turning to Garcia.

"You're alright with this, I assume?" The boy did not answer immediately, instead glancing out the window and breathing deeply. The sun was continuing its path towards the darkness. The light would fade, soon, and it would be time.

"I wish there was a way to avoid this," he admitted. That was an innocent, foolish hope. "But there is no other way, is there? This has to be done. I can't let them take my Roberta." Wolf remembered what Pius had told him, that Hawke wanted the assassin, too. He supposed he could not blame Garcia for prioritising his maid's safety. Speaking of, the assassin hadn't had time to think about why exactly the New Order wanted him. To his knowledge, he had never crossed them before, nor did he even know they existed until recently. He needed to know more.

"Garcia, why-" Before he could finish, the door was flung open outside and footsteps could be heard hammering on the ground. Revy appeared seconds later.

"You guys better come quick," she told them. "There's some asshole outside having a fucking field day." Wolf motioned to Garcia to stay put as he, Pius and Fabiola rushed outside. Rock waited by the doorway as the others headed towards the gates. Gunfire reached their ears before they saw anything. Then, bodies could be seen falling to the ground outside. Some wore generic suits, others were dressed in military fatigues. The New Order had come early, it seemed, or at least a garrison of them had. Seconds later, a man rushed inside the estate and shut the gates. They did not recognise him, but he appeared to be an enemy of the men shooting at him outside. For that reason, they held their fire. His skin was dark, like Pius's, but his grey dreadlocks had been tied back in a ponytail. He wore a grey sleeveless biker jacket, khaki combat trousers and army boots. His hands, too, had been covered in hand wraps not unlike those worn by boxers. Once he noticed the rest of them, he motioned to the gates.

"A little help?!" he roared. Fabiola immediately rushed forward and locked the gates again. "Thank you. The rest aren't far behind. You all better get ready."