Chapter 10: Evolution

The door to Rock's room was slightly ajar as Revy returned home. It was a sad sight, considering the Japanese man was rarely away from home for extended periods of time. The longer he was in the possession of the Dead Men, the more likely he had been harmed. That angered Revy immensely. She had gone to the warehouse in the early hours of the morning with the hope that Rock would be there. She fully intended to wipe out any and all unknowns that she found there. But Hunter had moved his people just in time. That was likely as a result of Rahul leaving. As soon as Hunter noticed one of his most trusted allies had been away for too long, he must have been put on high alert right away, prompting him to move his people to another location. Now, the ruling factions were back to square one.

Hunter was out there somewhere, the city at his mercy. They needed to hurry if they were going to stop him. At this rate, he could have the entire of Roanapur razed to the ground and nobody would be able to stop him. Revy ventured into Rock's room, scanning the environment around her. Everything was neatly packed away after the return from New York. That was a stark contrast to Revy's room, which was never tidy no matter what the situation. Guns, bullets, pizza boxes and clothes littered her floor every hour of every day.

As the gentle breeze blew in through the open window, thoughts of New York came back to Revy. They were forcing themselves into her mind more and more now. They were not necessarily negative, like they had been leading up to the job. Now, she was more reflective about what had happened, namely her encounter with Wolf. That was a strange moment for her, one she would likely not forget any time soon. In true fashion, their relationship had not been strained outside of that moment either. As the two often did, they simply moved on and acted like nothing had happened. Revy was almost glad of that. Had the assassin decided to bring it up at any point, she might well have shot him. Or vice versa. Revy turned her back to Rock's bed and slowly let herself fall backwards to land on the soft material with a gentle thud.

The memory of her conversation with Rock came to her as she laid there in silence, breathing in and out. As complex a person as Revy was, this last year and a half had been an important period of growth for her. Not only was she almost relaxed as she lay on the bed, she was evolving. She was changing, almost for the better. After all was said and done, there was only so much a person could change, especially someone as broken and tortured as Revy. But it was inevitable, her attitude and personality had been altered. There was a time when she lied to herself, convinced herself she was content with her life in Roanapur. Then, shortly after Rock's appearance, she had been forced to step back and consider that. It was implied, however briefly and deep down inside her, that she was quite the opposite to how she believed, that she hated Roanapur and her life in it. And now, after everything she had been through, after the relationships she had forged, the friendships she had built, the emotional journeys she had been through…she was healing.

As mad as it was, she could almost find herself in a place where she was content with her life. It wasn't long ago she looked at Rock and saw everything she could never have. She was almost jealous of him, fuelling her dysfunctional relationship with him. But now, that was over. She was content now, happy to cope with this life she once hated and move on. It mightn't have seemed like much on the surface, or even to Revy herself, but it was a huge development for her. She was changing, and while her base personality and attitude would remain largely the same at face value, deep down inside her soul, the scars that once dictated her life, that dragged her down and made her hate herself, were finally closing up so that she could have happiness, in whatever form.

She breathed deeply as the cool breeze washed over her face. She closed her eyes, then, and just relaxed. She had been stressing about Rock more than anyone since he was taken. That hadn't exactly changed, but it was nice to finally find some time for herself. This whole ordeal had been particularly trying for her. As stubborn as she was, as much as she would deny it openly, she was unbelievably glad for Rock, for Wolf, for Dutch and Benny…they were as good as family in this city, all for different reasons. The sound of voices from the living room snapped Revy out of it. She shot up in the bed and grunted.

"Goddammit," she groaned. "Can't get a minute of peace." She hopped up off the bed and made her way out to the others. Balalaika was with them, Boris in tow as usual.

"Two-Hands, good to see you up," the Russian teased.

"Bite me, Sis," Revy snapped back as she fell onto the couch. "You got news?"

"I do," she said as she took a seat across from the rest of Lagoon Company.

"How're things coming with Hunter?" Dutch asked, cracking open a can of beer.

"Our allies are gathering," Balalaika began. "As well as the Triad's forces, Four-Leaf came through. His people arrived an hour ago. What's more, we've intercepted a few of their squads. Kells's information pulled through for us. They're using taxi cabs. A clever tactic, but one that won't work anymore."

"Now we just need to know where he is," Dutch surmised.

"Oh, believe me, Dutch, that's the least of our worries." Lagoon eyed one another apprehensively. "During this conflict, we backed Hunter into a corner we were sure he couldn't claw his way out of. In doing so, we made him desperate. On that note, it's come to our attention that he called in an old associate of his, one we really don't want in Roanapur."

"Weren't the two assassins his only resources outside the Dead Men?" Benny asked.

"Or so we thought," Balalaika told him. "Then again, if my information is correct, this particular 'resource' is apparently a member of Hunter's organisation. Svetlana Ivanov. She's one nasty piece of work. They call her the Mad Dog, and for good reason. Hunter freed her from the hands of the KGB and in doing so, bought her loyalty. To an extent. She's known to be wildly uncontrollable and unimaginably bloodthirsty. If she's released on the city, it will take more time and effort than what we have to stop her."

"And he's already sent for her?" Dutch asked. Balalaika smirked at him.

"You see our predicament," she went on. "We're working on tracking Hunter down right now, but he's catching onto us. Whenever we attempt to tail one of his taxis, they lead us aimlessly around the city, a tactic that always ends in a firefight."

"What do you need from us?" Revy asked, desperate for Balalaika to make a point soon.

"I want you all to be on guard," Balalaika told them. "When the time comes, I will call on you. But right now, we have nothing. Until we get a location on Hunter and his people, all we can do is wait and keep watch for Svetlana." The woman rose from her seat and started for the door. "The storm is coming, Dutch," she said quietly by the door. "Best be prepared when it arrives." With that, she and Boris left the apartment.

"Well, that was cheerful," Benny joked.

"Damn it," Dutch moaned. "Just another problem to worry about, I guess. I'm getting tired of waiting around."

"You're telling me," Revy concurred. "These fuckers been screwing us around for too damn long. We ought to just go out there and take 'em all out!"

"You know where Hunter is? Could do with that information," Dutch joked.

"If I did, you think I'd be sitting around here?"

"Nope. I think you'd be out there giving them hell."

"Fucking A!" Revy exclaimed as she came to her feet. As dangerous as this Svetlana sounded and as bad as it was that she was coming to Roanapur, the prospect of taking her on intrigued Revy. She hadn't had a good firefight since the steelyard with Kepler and his men. To tell the truth, she was itching to kill. It had been too long and she was getting restless. Not only that, but she desperately needed to blow off some steam. Taking out a mad Russian dog that Hunter let off the leash would help her do just that.

She was tempted to go outside and open fire at the first taxi she saw, but even she had the restraint and good sense not to. The rest of the day was long and boring. It was a waiting game now until Svetlana showed up, or until the location of the Dead Men was discovered. Until Balalaika or Chang called, Lagoon Company were useless. Again, the idea that Rock was at the mercy of the Dead Men made Revy restless. But she had to keep telling herself that Wolf was right, they had no interest in hurting the Japanese man.

"Can't wait to get this shit over with," Dutch complained as he fell onto the couch beside Revy. "The sooner Balalaika turns up any new information, the better."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Revy told him as she cleaned the barrel of her Cutlass. "Way I see it, they aren't gonna turn up shit. All we gotta do now is wait for this Russian bitch to show up. Then, it's go time."

"I'm surprised at you, Revy," Dutch told her. "You're staying pretty calm through this whole thing."

"Why the fuck wouldn't I be?" she asked, a little defensive.

"Well, if past experience is anything to go by, you'd have shot the apartment to pieces by now. Or Bao's bar, at least. That place hasn't seen a good firefight in too long."

"Not the only one," Revy croaked. "Times change, Dutch. Shit is different, now."

"Times change, yeah," Dutch agreed. "But you don't. Least you didn't used to."

"Jeez, when did you become Roanapur's shrink?!" Her voice wasn't angry, just deflective. Dutch just chuckled at her.

"Relax, Revy," he told her, patting her shoulder before rising. "Just thinking out loud." He retreated into his room, then. Dutch had been with Revy from the beginning. He was the one who took her in and essentially introduced her to the criminal life in Roanapur. He cared about his crew, as much as his actions and behaviour implied the opposite. Revy, in particular, was more important to him than he let on. The two of them shared a bond that was both unique and practically unbreakable.

Even through the worst of times, they never fell out, at least not the same way Revy seemed to fall out with everyone else. Her relationship with Rock was clearly dysfunctional, though not so volatile anymore. Her bond with Wolf was strong but so unpredictable that it was a wonder they hadn't tried to murder one another yet. And Benny had been nothing but an occasional annoyance to Revy, fodder for her jokes despite the fact that she was still glad of his company. But Dutch always managed to keep Revy on a leash no matter what. There was a faint knock on the door then, quiet but urgent. It was late, now. That instantly put Revy on alert. She took her Cutlasses in her hands and went to the door, opening it swiftly. Sawyer and Lotton stood there, almost looking like children dressed up for Halloween.

"Spooky?!" Revy asked, confused. "The fuck are you doing here?"

"It's Shenhua," the cleaner answered in her mechanical, robotic voice. "She's been taken."