Chapter Rating: M

We're nearing the end here, one more chapter...

Premiere Redux

"Tell me why the fuck I'm doing this again?" Revy gritted as they walked down the red carpet to the amphitheatre, amidst screaming crowds and camera flashes.

"Shut up. Wave. Smile," Eda said through her teeth as she did just that. Revy rolled her eyes and plastered on a fake smile as they followed the others into the large theatre.

"Finally, we're out of there!" she muttered, settling into one of the reserved seats near the younger actors. Rock sat down next to her and she lolled her head onto his shoulders, giving his side a pat to make sure her guns were still there. Everyone else sat down quickly and soon the theatre was filled to the brim as the lights dimmed, and Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince premiered for the first time (though a day late) in the world. Alicia watched the screen eagerly.

-----

"I guess you have to see the first five to understand what the hell is going on," Eda said as she swirled her Crown Royale while she leaned on the railing on the deck of the Miyuki. Takato had invited all the actors to an after party on the exquisite yacht and everyone agreed, packing the boat full. The Port of London was packed with limos and celebrities as the ones who couldn't fit onto the ship were partying down on the docks, which had been fancied up for them. Saito had made sure to lock off all weapons and suspicious artifacts beforehand, and everyone was partying out as the ship's deck speakers blasted loud music and pounding bass of whatever was popular.

Takato was leading the party with a glass of vodka in hand, and his other on the music controls. Many of the guests were dancing to the music and everyone was having a great time. There were photographers, news crews and even paparazzi all over the place, but they were strictly forbidden to enter the yacht, for penalty of being shot by Revy if she found them. They wisely stayed away after she shattered one man's Nikon camera in his hands with a bullet.

Screams caught everyone's attention, and Taka shut off the music and headed up to the bridge to see what was going on. A procession of Humvees and jeeps were smashing their way through limos and people as machinegun fire sprayed into the crowds, causing people to scatter. The convoy of 10 vehicles was heading straight for the Miyuki. He grabbed the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you could please duck and cover your ears and/or eyes, this will all be over shortly," he announced through the ship's mainspeaker. He flipped a few switches on the weapons console and hidden hatches and panels opened up to reveal .50 caliber chainguns, remote controlled RPG and grenade launchers, and small 60mm canon at the bow of the ship. "Fire in the hole!"

The night sky lit up brightly as tracer rounds filled the air and tore into the lead Humvee, turning it into scrap metal. The other trucks swerved to avoid the gunfire, but the computer-controlled guns picked off another two before the starboard side RPG launched a rocket towards a Jeep, blowing it sky high. The grenade launchers lobbed 40mm grenades in the general area of the convoy, peppering the ground with explosions and there was a loud BOOM! as the canon made the ship tilt slightly to the left as it fired in the starboard direction. The highly explosive round tore into another Humvee, sending shrapnel everywhere, and also bodyparts. The .50cals continued firing until nothing was left and soon the sky was dark and quiet once again.

The British army arrived after the last Jeep was turned into swiss cheese and began to search for any hostile survivors. To their great fortune, they found the leader of the ex-army terrorists and quickly dragged him off to interrogation. The celebrities on and surrounding the Miyuki watched in awe as the previously hidden weapons slide back into the ship's frame, leaving nothing but wooden decks and barely visible seams in the hull.

Suddenly, Takato's voice boomed through the speakers. "Ah, dammit, my mix CD got scratched!"

-----

Three days later, the occupants of the Miyuki waved off the deck and bridge as their yacht made to leave port. There was a large crowd of people (mostly celebrities) that waved them off, many of them jumping up and down excitedly as the huge assault/luxury cruiser drifted down the Thames. Takato was manning the helm, and Saito was navigating for him. Revy was standing at the bow of the ship, a la George Washington pose as she and the nose of the yacht guiding the boat into the open sea.

The cruise home was quicker than when they left, and Takato had kicked up the speed to 50 knots, wanting to get out of British waters eagerly. They refueled their diesel tank in Spain and jetted off to Asia. It wasn't until another 11 days that they finally reached Roanapur, where they were welcomed by their friends and employers. They quickly settled back into their normal routine, but Alicia could be seen walking around dreamily, holding a photograph of Dan giving her a kiss on the cheek at the afterparty.

-----

"So. This is where he died," Cecilia said softly as she, Takato and Rock stood in the square, in front of the fountain that churgled water happily. It had been 3 years since the death of her twin brother Hanzel, and she felt it was long due for a proper mourning.

Takato put his arms around her waist as he stood behind the 18 year old girl. Rock was standing beside them and lent her a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"They said he was shot by snipers," she continued, holding the large bouquet of roses. She set it down on the spot where she knew Hanzel had died, since the stone bricks were still a copperish tint from the staining of blood all those years ago. "And Miss Balalaika watched him die."

She stood back up and took her lover's hand. "Even though I've changed, I can't help but miss him," she said, starting to tear up. "He was my other half you know?"

She sighed, and wiped her eyes. "Come on, let's go home."

Takato pulled the Nissan up to the ramp on the dock which lead to the garage on the Miyuki. He let the other two out first before parking it inside with the Porsche and bike. Cecilia's BMW was usually parked at the Black Lagoon office. The current crew was off on a delivery mission that didn't require Rock, and he had gone out with Taka and Cece on the promise that they would bring him back soon before his year-old daughter woke up from her nap. They walked their way over to the next lot, and up the metal steps of the stairs to Lagoon office, where they settled down. As if on cue, a baby's cries drifted from Revy's room and Rock went to attend to Mei Ly.

"Is Alicia still with Yukio?" Cece asked as she wrapped herself around Taka's waist while both lovers lazed on the couch.

"Yeah," Takato yawned. It was early in the morning. Alicia had slept over at Yukio's penthouse for the past few days, and the girls had become inseperable. Yukio thought of the younger girl as a little sister of sorts, which wasn't a far-off assumption since everyone was a big huge family nowadays. "I'm sure Yuki's taking care of her."

"Mmm."

The phone rang. Rock came out with Mei Ly in his arms and went to pick it up. He pressed the phone against his shoulder and returned both hands to holding his squirming baby. "Black Lagoon," he greeted. His eyes widened.

"Are you sure?" he asked quickly. He nodded his head tersely. "Yes, he's here. One moment."

Rock hurried over to Taka and motioned to the phone. Taka took it and pressed it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"We have some trouble," Balalaika's voice answered tightly.

"What's wrong obasan?" he asked worriedly.

"Dutch and the others are in deep shit."

-----

Fifteen minutes later, Takato and Saito were seated in Balalaika's office, where the Russian leader herself sat before them at her desk. She pressed her forehead into her hands and sighed loudly.

"Three hours ago Dutch gave me a call and told me that he had picked up some cargo for Chang from Hong Kong," she started. "They were On their way back when they were attacked by a large Triad faction that doesn't like Chang."

"Are they okay?" Saito asked.

Balalaika shrugged angrily. "I don't know," she bit out. "Dutch's last words to me were 'It's too risky. Don't send help.' before we lost contact."

Takato slammed his fist onto the desk. "Dammit!" he swore. He noticed the cracks and fissures on the fine oak surface. "Oh, shit, sorry obasan!"

She waved him off. "I need a new one anyways," she said dismissively. "Despite what Dutch told me, I want to send help. He and I go far back..."

She looked up at the brothers, her pseudo-sons. "This is asking a lot out of the both of you... but..."

"Pfft, need you even ask?" Saito answered, indulging her with a grin. "What're the odds?"

She made a "well..." gesture. "Maybe 300 to 2?" she said. "500 to 2? This is one of the main groups fighting for total dominance in China. They're sadistic, ruthless and pack big toys."

"Well we do too," Takato said, thinking of the Miyuki. "What do they have, anti-aircraft guns? Our ship is bullet-proof up to 25mm!"

Balalaika raised her eyebrow at him. "They have ex-Navy missile cruisers," she said dryly. "With 80mm forward and rear canons, TOW missile launchers, torpedos, mines, gatling guns and most likely multi-shot rocket pods."

"That could be a problem," Saito gulped.

-----

"Thanks for the help, with such short notice Sister Yolanda," Saito said as he and Rico packed ammo crates into the 50' trailer of the 18-wheeler. "We really appreciate it."

"Don't worry a thing about it young man," Sister Yolanda waved off, smiling. "We all appreciate Dutch's business too. We don't want him dead either. Take what you need, it's on the house. Here, take Eda as well!"

"What?!" Eda cried, falling to her ass. "But I - oh okay..."

"That's the last of it!" Rico said with a grin, the forklift he was driving pushing a very large crate into the trailer. Takato lugged some large metal boxes of munitions on top of it, and Saito shut the doors. "Hope they help!"

"Thank you again," Takato said, bowing to Rico and Sister Yolanda. "We'll try to bring them back in one piece."

"Of course. Good luck you three."

-----

"I really hope you guys don't fuck this up," Eda moaned as she helped Saito load the last of the cargo into the now-emptied garage. Takato was outside, using a forklift to place a large crate of weapons on the bow section deck. "This isn't a new asshole we're talking about, it's being blown up!"

"We'll manage, don't worry," Saito said with a steely glint in his eyes. "We didn't escape the entire British Navy with luck all those years ago..."

Takato entered the garage through the hatch. "Everything's topside," he announced, eating an apple. "Everything's in place."

Saito nodded. "Eda!" he said, making his girlfriend turn around. She was dressed in a black catsuit. "Do you have to papers with coordinates of the Black Lagoon's last known position?"

"Right here!" she said, pulling out a folded wad of papers from God-knows where. Saito took them and looked them over thoroughly.

"Hmm, looks like somewhere in the East China Sea," he said, tracing the lines that the Black Lagoon had travelled. "Look, their movements were erratic, zigzagging and all over the place. I bet they were trying to dodge gunfire and attacks. They disappeared around 310 miles from the shores of Shanghai."

"You think the Triad crippled them and left them to the Koreans?" Takato asked insightfully. Saito shook his head.

"No, I had Sergent Boris scan the news for anything suspicious, naval-wise," he said. "Korea wasn't on the list, but there was a suspicious newcast of the Chinese Navy performing 'wargames' in that area, and to disregard any noises of battle... My guess is the Triad somehow got the Navy off their backs and dragged the Lagoon back to Hong Kong."

"So, to Hong Kong then?" Takato asked with a smirk.

"Set sail brother."

-----

Some days later, the Miyuki snuck into Hong Kong's naval harbor under the mask of night. The yacht was on silent running, with the engines powered at 1/8th and making very little noise that couldn't be heard over the sea's noises. Since it was mostly black, the Miyuki was well-hidden in the dark and no radar could detect it. Takato was in the back of the yacht, just outside of the garage. He pressed the throat-mic's speak button.

"Go time?" he mumbled in his throat, the highly sensitive microphone clearly transmitting his voice to Saito and Eda up at the bridge.

"Yes, but be careful," Saito responded. "The cruisers are armed with Phalanx anti-missile gatling guns."

"I'll just have to get closer then," Takato smirked. "The one downside of those guns is that A: none are placed at the very rear of the ship and B: they'll shoot at flares easily with their automatic systems."

"Good luck, be safe."

"You too."

Takato then pressed a button on the remote control he was holding, and with a slight noise, he and the inflating RIB he was sitting on was ejected backwards from the Miyuki, hitting the water with a jolt. Once it settled down, Takato started the engine, which had been muffled with a large foam cover. He zipped away from the Miyuki, and headed towards the Triad cruisers.

As he sat in the backseat of the RIB, jostling with the medium waves, he glanced at the cargo in front of him. There were six stacked crates, each containing a fully-loaded and armed FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missile launcher. These launchers were normally used for pulverizing tanks, but would work very nicely on ships as well. They were very long (43 inch) missiles with dual-warheads that packed a very big punch. They were fire-and-forget systems, which only required the operator to lock on, squeeze the trigger and haul ass, and the missile would take care of its self with radar guidance. They had a maximum range of 2500 meters, or 8200 feet.

Takato's mission was to creep around each 200-foot cruiser and check to see which of the 6 held the Black Lagoon, if they held it at all. If he couldn't find the PT boat, then he was to tie his RIB to the side of each cruiser, cover it with black tarp, and board each one, and search for the crew themselves. Using the intelligence they got from Balalaika, Saito deduced that the cruisers had just set into port no more than 20 minutes before they had, since they had continued their "wargames" longer to provide good cover for themselves. So, there was a very good likelihood that Dutch, Benny and Revy were stil on one of the ships.

Pulling up beside the hull of the nearest cruiser, Takato shut his engine off and pulled a pair of magnetic clamps from the chest that the boat had. If he pressed the triggers on each one with his thumb and index finger, they would activate and attach themselves to any thick metal. Since they had a thick rubber coating on the magnets, they wouldn't make any noises either. He stuck himself to the hull, and started to silently pull himself along the side of the ship. Looking up and around, he saw no PT boats tied to the lifecraft rig, or the rescue lines. He detatched himself and put the magnets away. With a strong push, he floated some distance away before starting up his engine and moving on.

Half an hour later, he reported to his brother that none of the cruisers had the Black Lagoon on them. It was time to go to Plan B, maybe C if he were lucky enough. He used the magnetic clamps to latch onto the cruiser he was currently at and used some cord to tie the RIB down. Opening the chest, he brought out the tarp and covered the boat, which made it undiscernable from the night water beneath it. Opening the riflebag on his back, he withdrew a Tavor TAR-21 bullpup assault rifle. The highly futuristic weapon was a compact, but full-length-barrel rifle that had the magazine located behind the handgrip, and the firing assembly as well. The sleek looking rifle was the Commando version, which was slightly shorter than a normal one and therefore more compact. The gun was equipped with an built-in holographic targeting sight/laser combo and a thick 180mm cylinder suppressor on its barrel threads. It had a full 30 round magazine with 5.56 NATO rounds inside.

Checking his tac vest, Taka made sure he had his 6 spare mags in their pouches. Pulling the bolt back, he armed the TAR and flicked the selector switch to Auto. Making another equipment check, he made sure his silenced SOCOM .45 was in his thigh holster, and its 4 spare clips in their belt pouches as well. He was ready to go. Tossing the rifle bag back into the RIB, he took out his magnetic grapple-gun and fired upwards, before pulling himself onto the deck.

-----

Thankfully, all of the cruisers had their deck lights turned off, to conserve power and only inside, under the deck they had their lights on. There were some patrols, who were smartly dressed in Chinese Navy uniforms, but they were carrying non-military issued Uzis and UMPs, so they had to be Triad. Sneaking along, Taka made his way to a porthole and glanced into the round window. Perfect. A single mobster was standing in the short hallway, facing the other way. He opened the door quietly and stepped into the hallway, raising his rifle. A muffled crack later, he picked up the dead man, who was sporting a new hole in the back of his head and stashed him in a broom closet. Using a mop he found inside, Taka quickly wiped the spatter of blood off the wall as best as he could before moving onward.

Some very skilled sneaking later, Taka found none of the Black Lagoon crew onboard, and stealthily made his way off the ship. Once he was back on his RIB, he pressed his throat mic.

"Saito, come in."

"Roger, what's up?"

"Cross the cruiser with the number 112 off the list, it's empty," Takato mumbled.

"Will do. Keep going, Eda's looking constipated over here."

Taka chuckled as he shut off his mic and gunned the motor, heading to the next ship.

-----

Another hour later, cruisers 110, 093, 272 and 144 were added to the list. The last one, 111 was Taka's final stop, and he prayed that the crew were on it and alive. Disembarking the RIB, he made his way on and immediately had to shoot a Triad as the man turned around in surprise. The body was pierced with a 3 round burst and slumped to the ground. Swearing, Taka looked around to see if he was seen by anyone else, but the port side was empty. Silently cursing at the dead man, he heaved him overboard, and the corpse hit the waters below with a muffled splash over the waves. Takato entered one of the portholes and continued his search. He walked down some stairs to the B-floor of the cruiser and had to press himself up against a nearby wall to avoid being seen by a pair of mobsters walking by.

""Hear what the boss did to those pirates today?"" one of them asked the other in Cantonese. ""It was fucking priceless!""

""Oh?"" the other asked eagerly. ""Tell me!"

""You know that Chinese bitch that was with them?""

Taka grit his teeth.

""Yeah! She's not too bad, too bad she's a fucking garbage-mouth.""

""Well the boss savagely beat her today,"" the first one said with an evil laugh. ""The others said they couldn't tell her from raw meat when he was done. Whatever these punks did, it sure pissed him off.""

""Wow, that sounds great!"" the second one chuckled. ""Where are they being held now?""

""Down in the D-level engine room,"" the first one said. ""We'll go visit later!""

"Don't think so," Taka muttered, stepping out behind them and putting a bullet into each of their heads. He stuffed the bodies into a nearby empty room and locked the door, before heading back to the stairs. "So they're in engine rooms. Thanks guys."

He quickly took the stairs down to the bottom level, having to take out a few more idiot patrollers on the way. Sneaking down the hallway, he spotted a pair of heavily armed guards standing in front of a large red hatch. They were armed with AK-47s. Hiding in the shadows of one of the support beams against the wall, Taka crouched to one knee and took careful aim, splattering the guards' brains against the wall. He checked to see if the coast was clear and ran towards the hatch, turning the lever and throwing it open. Inside was the boiling hot engine room, and a small group of figures lying sprawled out on the floor. Takato ran up to them.

"Dutch!" he hissed, shaking the large man's shoulder. "Dutch, wake up!"

Dutch groaned, rolling over to reveal a blacker eye than usual, and a split lip. He was also sporting a large gash on his left cheek. "Taka?" he groaned. "I thought I told -"

"Since when do I listen to you?" Taka smirked. He quickly woke Benny up, who was tied tightly with metal cords that cut deeply into his wrists and ankles. "Benny! Benny, Jane wants to know if you'd like to be a father!"

"Uhhh, whaaa?" Benny mumbled, coming to consciousness. "Takaaa?"

"Yeah!" Taka grinned. He rolled Revy over and gasped. Her face was beaten black and blue, and her lip sported a large gash in it. Her nose had to be broken, and one eye was swelled up so bad it wouldn't likely be able to open. Her clothes were torn to shreds, showing too much skin that was red from blood and lacerations. Her right arm looked broken, from the way she wheezed, probably some ribs. "Oh, ne-chan..."

"Taka, how did you get here?" Dutch demanded as he got up, shaking the cobwebs from his eyes. "You can't take these guys head on!"

"And you can?" Takato asked with a raised eyebrow, hefting Revy up, who moaned softly. "We came well-prepared."

"'We'?"

"Me, Saito and Eda."

"I sure hope so. Our PT boat managed to launch a torpedo and damage one of the ships before they blew us out of the water," Dutch grumbled. "Fucking Chinks."

"Hey now," Revy mumbled, one eye flickering open. "You wanna die Dutchy..."

"Revy!" Takato prodded, but she fell unconscious again. "Dutch, can you carry her?"

"Of course," Dutch said, affronted as he hefted Revy into his arms, wedding-style. "So, what kind of miracle are you working tonight?"

"One of Sakamoto proportions," Taka grinned as he cut Benny's bonds. He quickly wrapped some bandages around the man's joints, earning a relieved thanks from the blond. "You're gonna love it when the shit hits the fan!"

They quickly got out of the room, and Dutch handed Revy off to Benny as he picked up the dead mobster's AK-47 and a the clip from the other one.

"Don't shoot it off while we're still on here," Takato warned. He unshouldered his TAR-21. "That's what this is for. If you have to shoot something, take this."

He handed Dutch his suppressed SOCOM, and the older man nodded before slinging the AK to his back and taking the pistol, and put the spare clips into his pocket. "Let's blow this dump!"