Chapter 9: Mission Accomplished
Rock climbed up the stair leading to the first floor. Once there, he pulled out his daggers and began walking down the corridor that led to the living room.
As he walked, he wondered why it was so quiet. There was no commotion going on outside. The place was like abandoned.
Many possibilities popped in his mind. Could they be planning an ambush, lurking in the darkness and waiting for him to come? Or could it be that they were all already dead?
He reached the end of the corridor, but he lingered for a moment. He inspected the living room for guards, looking at every corner of the place. He found no one around. It confused him. There should be men there at the moment. Why was there no one?
He walked into the living room, still warily searching for anyone. The lights were off. The only illumination came from the lampposts outside. Anyway, that was just enough for him. He had been working in darkness for a long time now. Finding his way through or spotting someone was just an easy task.
He walked on. And while he was doing it, he kept his surveillance. Suddenly, he felt something fleshy beneath his left shoe. He halted. He let some moment to pass before he bent to pick it up. When he brought it into the light, he realized that it was a severed forefinger. He immediately understood what was happening. Throwing the finger away, he climbed up running for the second floor.
In the second floor, he found some dead bodies of the guards. They were scattered around. The ones farthest had pulled out their guns. The ones nearest were just all hands. The killer had come from behind. He had snuck quietly and had killed them in surprise.
At the end of the corridor, an arrow made from blood was pointing to the left. An inversed number five was in the end of the arrow. There were only four floors in the mansion. Whoever had painted it wanted him to go to the rooftop. He didn't waste anymore time. He ran for it.
In the third and in the forth, he found more dead bodies. However, he ignored them, completely. He passed by them as if they were no more than decorations. He wanted to get to the rooftop as fast as possible.
He arrived.
Red Blade was sitting in between Eda and Bernardo Faust. There was a bloody-dripping dagger in his right hand. He was looking down at the pool of blood at his feet. There was an insane enjoyment on his face. Then he looked up at Rock. His blue eyes found Rock's dark brown. He held them, strongly. He found some interest in them.
"I've been waiting for you," Leopold said. "Have you enjoyed my exhibit downstairs?"
Suddenly, Rock attacked. He launched a right dagger thrust at Leopold that was deflected by the latter by his own dagger. Seeing an opening, Rock slashed with his left dagger. Leopold caught his wrist midair defeating the attack. Rock tried once more with a thrust coming from below using his right dagger. Leopold stopped it by trapping Rock's dagger's blade inside the dent near the hand guard of his own dagger. Rock was completely immobilized.
"Hey! What's the hurry? I mean we haven't met for a long time. Why not exchanging greetings first?" Leopold said.
"Don't mock me!" Rock said.
"Oh." Leopold sent Rock a right frontal kick in the stomach, pushing him back from where he had been. "Am I mocking you?"
Rock prepared for another assault.
"If I were you, I won't attack," Leopold said. He knelt next to Eda. "Or this beautiful lady dies."
"Don't involve outsiders! She has nothing to do with this!"
"Oh, yes, she has. Without her help, you won't listen to me."
Rock just glared at Leopold.
"I guess you're ready to listen, now. Look, the doctor had given both of us two last missions. Mine, namely, to take out all the sponsors of the Kutzmann project and to kill you, while yours are to kill the Brigadier General of the German marines and to kill me. He also had given us freedom to choose our own lives after the accomplishment of our final missions. Before, I'm so eager to fight and kill you, but now, I think it is just a waste of time." He paused for a few moments. "Tell me Rock, are you still going to finish your final mission even though it's already useless doing it?"
Rock slightly lowered his daggers. "What are you trying to say?"
"The doctor is dead. No one is now living to monitor our movements. Why don't we both just abort our last missions and go on with our own lives?"
Now Rock straightened up. "What are you saying?"
"You know what. We were both prisoners. We were deprived of many things, even of our own emotions. Now is our time to gain ourselves back. Don't waste this chance, Kukri."
"Didn't you learn from living a normal life that we are very dangerous? This is the mistake the doctor was trying to tell us. The true objective of the Kutzmann project is to clean the world of unjust, selfish beings to protect the common people. But to do it effectively, evil should be used. He planted us with evil seeds because of this. It would work as long as he is alive to control us, but now that he is gone, no one would be able to stop the seed from growing and eventually altering our personalities. I can feel it, now. Our habit of killing is surfacing. Gradually, instead of being able to protect people, we will be endangering them. Do you understand now why we must completely dissolve the Kutzmann project?"
"If you are worrying about the surfacing of your habit of killing, the doctor once told me that there's a way to control it: having emotions. I can see that you have your emotions back, so why worry. Get real, Rock. Don't be a slave for him, anymore. If you let me live, there's no reason for me to kill you as well."
"I will not let that happen," Rock said. "I can sense from you the overwhelming thirst to kill. You are now the embodiment of what the doctor had always been fearing. A demon."
"Was the doctor terrified of having a demon in his ranks or rather elated?" Leopold said. "All his life he just wanted to have the perfect soldier he was dreaming of. I am his perfect soldier, Kukri. Are you going to kill his masterpiece?"
"I am."
…
A night in the past, when the doctor was still alive, he had a conversation with Rock. He was sitting on his master's chair, his back on Rock, while Rock stood behind him. The room was only lighted by the fire in the hearth. It was a cold, white December, a day before Rock's next mission.
"Kukri, what do you feel on the things you're doing?" the doctor asked.
"Nothing, master."
"Don't try cheering me up. I know you can feel something."
"I don't."
"Well, that's good. At least, I know you're not enjoying it. You are not to be blamed on anything, if that's the case." He paused. "You know why I made you as cold as ice?"
"I have no idea, master."
"It's to preserve your purity. I made it seem to you that killing is nothing more than breathing. You are my knife, but I like it that when you take a life, there's nothing that is tainted with blood but my face."
"Purity," Rock muttered.
There was a long pause.
"Kukri, do you know the difference between you and Leopold?"
"I don't, master."
"He is the son of my principle while you are the son of my dream. He is my perfect soldier while you are my perfect servant."
Rock remained quiet.
"Kukri, don't ever have a conversation with him while I'm still alive, you got me? He is very different from you. He already knew the meaning of blood on his hands. He is well aware of it, but he still enjoys it." He paused. "There was already a demon inside of him before I even planted one. I wish…I wish I hadn't let him captivate me."
There was a very long pause, and when the doctor spoke, his tone was rather dreamy. "There will come a time when you need to close this portal of hell I created. It will be when the head is gone and the feet start to move on their own. Kukri, I want you to be loyal to my dream when the time comes. Make my suffering in hell less painful."
…
It was apparent that Leopold wasn't expecting that answer from him. "So, I can't change your decision, after all." Leopold grinned at Rock. "It's a shame that it doesn't only concerns you." He grasped Eda's neck and lifted her up. "Because I'll make sure that your acquaintances get it as well."
"Stop it!"
As Leopold began squeezing Eda's neck, two bullets pierced through his arm. This made him throw Eda away. Immediately, Rock dashed to catch her. Before Eda hit the floor, he caught up and made a pad out of himself for her to land on. She landed on him, unharmed.
Leopold was glaring at Revy who was pointing her pistol at him. Revy was panting hard. She was confused why hadn't she aimed at Leopold's head and had gone on shooting his arm, instead. Could it be that the overwhelming thirst for blood reeking from Leopold had made her to do so?
Intimidated by his stare, she fired again. However, Leopold just deflected the bullets away by his dagger and, after three more shots, threw it towards the pistol she was firing at him. The dagger hit the pistol away from her hand.
Rapidly, Leopold came at Revy, who couldn't move a muscle in surprise. However, before he could successfully slash her neck, Rock appeared before him. He froze.
"You won't have a chance to kill anyone while I'm alive," Rock hissed.
"Oh?"
"Let's settle this alone. Don't involve outsiders," Rock said.
"This is boring," Leopold replied and straightened up. "But I don't want anybody watching us."
"We have the same opinions," Rock abruptly turned around and punched Revy's stomach, knocking her out before she could even manage to react.
"I'm expecting that you would put up a fight," Leopold said. He ran towards Rock. "Don't disappoint me!"
They clashed. Leopold slashed continuously with his dagger in a speed twice that of Rock. Rock blocked every one of them but the force pushed him back, little by little. In time, their position reversed.
"What's wrong? Haven't you trained yourself enough for this confrontation?" Leopold said. With an upward slash, he successfully took out Rock's right dagger. "Oh, a dagger is out. What will you do, now?"
Rock leaped backward to create a distance away from Leopold. Leopold had become stronger, indeed, in just a year. Rock wondered if he had ever abstained from killing even for a day.
"What's happened to you?" Leopold asked. "Are you supposed to be the one to outmatch me?"
Rock searched for a gun. Eda was as far as Revy, and she was behind Leopold. She had a gun, but, before he could reach her, he might be dead, already.
Leopold began coming at Rock, toying with his dagger. "Come on, Rock. I'll give you another chance. Let me go and I'll spare your life and your friends'. It's so much easier than killing me, don't' you think?"
Instead of answering with words, Rock answered with actions. He leaped forward for another attack.
"You don't know how to give up, do you?"
Rock made two fast slashes, a leftward and a rightward, but dodging them was just an easy task for Leopold. While he was doing it, he was even smiling, mockingly. However, Rock had no plan on giving up. He continued attacking even his efforts were futile.
Revy slowly stood up, her right hand on her stomach. Her face was drenched with sweat, and she was still dizzy from Rock's blow. When she succeeded in standing, she tried walking to get her gun that was thrown near the roof deck's railing, but before she could even make a step, she fell on her butt.
"Damn it" she cursed. "I never expected Rock to be this strong." She glanced up at the two assassins. Honestly, she hadn't seen anything like their battle before. Their speed was difficult for her to follow. They were on another level.
Rock began to show vulnerability in his exchange of strikes with Leopold. Leopold's slashes were pinpoint accurate to hit his vital spots if not blocked. Those were also fast and carrying a formidable amount of force.
Soon, Leopold succeeded in hitting Rock with a kick in the stomach. Rock was thrown to the railings of the deck, losing his grasp on his dagger.
"Is this all you've got? You haven't even scratched me, yet. Could you be an impostor?" Leopold said, approaching Rock. "The Kukri I know was the best. He could knock me out in seconds. I couldn't catch up to him. He was the doctor's favorite and no one could defeat him." He hunkered in front of Rock and played with his dagger. His smile was intimidating, mocking Rock in his condition. "It is sad that I might forget this confrontation, immediately. You know why? It's because this is not worth remembering."
Leopold pulled back his elbow, and then launched a swift thrust towards Rock's heart. Rock saw the incoming dagger, but instead of worrying about it, he seemed more excited. He smiled as he moved a little to the right to have the blade miss his heart. It passed through his left breast.
Still smiling, Rock took out the handcuff he had been keeping in his back pocket. He put one end on Leopold's closest wrist and another end on the metal baluster of the railing.
"I hate to do this because I want to get rid of you with my dagger, but it seems I have no choice."
Leopold couldn't believe what had happened. His eyes were bulging out at Rock. "Get this thing off me!" he demanded, repeatedly yanking on the cuff. "Get this damn thing off me!"
Now, it was Rock's turn to laugh. "I can't. That cuff has no key."
"Damn you!" Leopold attempted to take a hold of his dagger, again, but Rock held his wrist. His hit arm was completely numb already, and he was too close to use his feet, so he couldn't follow up. All he could do was shout curses at Rock.
"Accept our fate," Rock said. "All will end here." He fished out a small device out his pant's pocket. It had two buttons, a white and a green, and as big as a lighter.
Leopold glanced at it and was appalled at what he saw. He knew how to create time bombs, and he knew the appearance of a detonator. He was sure it was one.
"Are you afraid?" Rock asked and chuckled. Then his face became serious. "Mission accomplished," he said. He pressed the button of the detonator.
There were sudden explosions coming from below up. Leopold went frantic as he heard of them.
"Let me out! Let me out!" he yelled.
"It's too late," Rock said. "Just accept your death."
Soon the explosions arrived at the rooftop. Revy knew what was happening. She wanted to get up but she couldn't. All she could do was watch.
The roof deck fissured across, dividing the floor in two. The half where Leopold and Rock were began sinking. Seeing this, Revy began to scream. However, there was nothing that came out her throat. She was too shocked to move. Her body was trembling and cold.
When the sinking half of the floor had sunk enough as to hide Leopold and Rock out her sight, she managed to scream. Her eyes gave in as well, and her tears began to flow. The only man she had loved was now slipping away from her. And the most painful thing about it was she couldn't do anything.
While in air, Leopold whispered something to Rock. "You've won. But don't die, yet, Kukri. There's still an sponsor living." He smiled, and, to Rock, it was a smile of gratitude. "Please take care of him for me."
There was a loud rumble as Rock and Leopold were completely gulped by the massive half of the mansion. Revy slowly got up and glumly walked to the edge of the floor's remaining half, looking down at the wreck below. Eda woke up, looked around, and saw Revy trembling at her spot. She approached her. When she was just an arm's length away, she heard Revy's crying.
"Revy," she said, softly.
Abruptly, Revy turned around and embraced Eda. Eda didn't know, yet, what had happened, but still she let Revy cry on her shoulder. Eda hadn't seen Revy crying before. This was the first time. Letting Revy use her shoulder as pillow felt like doing something special. She would let Revy use her shoulder until her eyes were all dried up.
Balalaika and Dutch arrived after five minutes. They were quite surprised at the ruins and very shocked when Revy told them what had happened. In the morning, Balalaika called for a search of the place, eager to find Rock's and Leopold's body. The team she had sent only found Leopold's. Balalaika thought if she should tell Revy, but, in the end, she decided not to. She knew that if Revy would know that he could be alive, she might take on the risk of searching for him, which, in her opinion, would be quite impossible. If Rock wanted to be in Black Lagoon, again, he himself would show up.
…
Three months passed like hours. Revy began living her life again, as if nothing had happened. On this particular day, she was inside Church of Violence having a transaction with its head, Yolanda.
"You know what I'm talking about, Yolanda," Revy said. "It was the—"
"We can't give you such an expensive gun, Revy. We know that you're a patron of our products, but that gun is just too much to sell for a low price."
Revy said, "Let's have it this way, Yolanda. We have an information that you are giving the military hints about the three giants of Roanapur. Benny has it, now. In there, you have given reports about the newest activity of the Hotel Moscow and the Triad concerning the coming elections. If you want to, we can trade it with the gun."
There was silence for a while, until Yolanda spoke. "It's amazing that you've grown good at negotiating. All right. I'll sell it for four thousand five hundred dollars. If you still don't want to accept, I have nothing more to offer."
Revy smiled. "Deal."
"Deal." Yolanda offered her hand to Revy. Revy accepted it. "I miss that young man. Talking with you like this somewhat reminds me of him."
"I'm sure he's happy, now, somewhere," she said, smiling.
…
In a large business corporation in New York City, Rock found a new job.
"Hey, Rock, bring me coffee here!"
"Coming, Mr. Anderson!"
"Where's my burger?"
"On the table, Ms. Emily. It's on the table."
A fat, stern looking man approached Rock, carrying a bunch of files within his arms. "I want these typed, immediately," he said. "Put these on my table this afternoon."
Rock got the folders from the fat guy. "Of course, Mr. Robins. I'll attend to this, immediately."
Mr. Robins turned around to leave but, at the last moment, turned back at Rock. "And one more thing."
"Yes, sir."
"I'm promoting you as my secretary. So, starting now, ignore those jerks that are always ordering you around."
Rock's face brightened. "The condition will be satisfied, sir."
"What?"
"I-I mean, sir, yes sir!"
…
Inside an abandoned room, in a dirty four-storey tenement in Malaysia, there was a letter-sized paper taped on all sides on the table. There were eleven names written on it, the last one being Bernardo Faust. All of them were crossed out with red ink.
Below the list was a childish crayon drawing of two children, both of them had long hairs. One had a yellow green shirt, the other a red one. They had blue wings, holding hands and flying with big smiles on their faces. Below them, there was something written in red ink:
I'm afraid, but I still want to fly with…
The last word had been blotted by a liquid drop. However, the room was in the first floor. Leaks were impossible to happen in there.
The End
Author: Thank you for reading this Black Lagoon fic. Sorry if it took quite a while to finish. It was because there were times that my thoughts were disorganized. I know that this piece has imperfections, quite a lot, especially on the language, but I promise to try harder next time to avoid them. Thank you for those who had given comments and advice. I especially thank those who frankly criticized my work. You helped a lot guys.
