Chapter 11: Let Loose the Dogs of War

Balalaika, Boris and Rock stumbled in the door of the apartment late that evening, much to the shock of the others. Dutch had been expecting Rock much earlier, under the assumption that the mission had gone according to plan. As Balalaika had explained what had happened, it became clear that was not the case. Not only had Kane not been in the apartment, but Hotel Moscow lost many valuable soldiers. Though she would not show it on the outside, Balalaika grieved silently for her fallen comrades. She cared more than she let on about her people. Their deaths always hit her hard. As if the day hadn't been bad enough, an outraged Mister Chang arrived not an hour later to discuss their plans.

"This isn't going according to plan," he began, taking a seat. Members of the Triad had accompanied him, though many of his people were out in the streets right now trying to hold off the Black Marchers. "This madness has gone on long enough. We need to do something now!"

"That much is obvious," Balalaika shot at him.

"What about the cartels?" Dutch suggested. "Roanapur's criminal underworld is full of people we'd be lucky to have at our back. Where are they all gone?"

"In hiding, most likely," Chang told him. "Either that, or they're just going about their lives. Despite the chaos, not much has changed for a lot of the people here."

"As for the cartels, they've completely backed off," Balalaika said. "After I told Abrego who killed his people, I didn't hear from him again. We can only assume the other cartels have tucked tail and run as well."

"Give them a call," Dutch said, his voice almost commanding Roanapur's leaders. Though he had no authority over them, he did have a plan, one that would increase their chances of victory significantly. "If we can unite the cartels, they'll provide valuable manpower." Though they were hesitant, both Chang and Balalaika nodded approvingly. It was one of the only options they had left, considering their forces were dwindling more and more by the day. "Benny, see if you can get a hold of the rest of the city's criminals. We'll need all the help we can get if we're going to pull this off."

"The Taiwanese girl's been spotted around town," Benny called back from the other room. "As far as I know, she lives with that wizard dude and the scary chainsaw lady."

"Get on it," Dutch repeated. "They're as good as we can get." Hotel Moscow managed to set up a meeting with Abrego. Though he only led one of the cartels, it was a start. Rock had been chosen to negotiate, seeing as how most of the others were occupied with other matters. Not to mention Rock far outdid them when it came to coercion and talks. They met just outside of town, in a field with patchy grass and rotting crops all around. Nobody would see them there. He had chosen to take Revy, Wolf and Roberta with him. If anything went wrong, they were all he needed.

"Where the fuck is this asshole?" Revy asked. The cartel were fifteen minutes late. That was not surprising, given that they did not want to meet in the first place. They were also probably trying not to be seen by Kane's patrols. Though the cartels travelled in everyday vehicles, the Black Marchers somehow knew the cartels when they saw them.

"Can we trust these men?" Roberta asked, then. The naiveté of the question was astounding. You couldn't trust anybody in Roanapur, that was the point. But they were backed into a corner. The cartels shared a common enemy with Lagoon Company and their associates. They hoped that would be enough to form an alliance, however temporary.

"We'll find out," Rock replied simply. What was more amusing was that Roberta and Abrego had attempted to kill one another the first time the maid had been to Roanapur. Perhaps it was not a great idea to bring her along after all. Three cars pulled up before Rock a few minutes later. No wonder they were so easily spotted. If they constantly travelled in groups of three cars, there was no mystery as to why they had to hide from the Marchers. Abrego stepped out and approached with his men in tow.

"I heard you were looking for me," he stated threateningly. Rock simply took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. The cool breeze that blew in made his trench coat sway slightly.

"Abrego, isn't it? I'm here on behalf of Hotel Moscow and the Triad. We're inter-"

"What is that bitch doing here?" he asked, pointing to Roberta. "Don't tell me Fry-Face is so desperate she hired the damned Bloodhound for this job."

"As I was saying," Rock continued, ignoring him, "we're interested in forging an alliance. My bosses want to take the fight to Kane."

"Good fucking luck with that," Abrego spat as he lit a cigar. "I don't want any part of this."

"So, you're content to let your city burn?" Abrego frowned as he exhaled a trail of smoke.

"Look, kid, my business will go on same as usual. Sure, we might have to be more careful in the streets. But, hey, Roanapur has always been a shithole. It's just under new management now."

"You don't realise how screwed you really are, do you?" Rock hissed. Abrego didn't take too kindly to that comment. "Kane will keep on until everything we know is destroyed. You can kiss goodbye to your drug trafficking days if he's allowed to run rampant. And if the Marchers don't topple the cartels, they'll definitely draw enough attention from the outside. Either way, we all lose." The Manisalera Cartel's leader seemed less certain of himself now. Though he was a difficult man to work with, he could not deny that Kane spelled bad news for the entire city. If the criminal underworld sought to survive, they needed to unite in an effort to stop the Black Marchers. "Look, you've got the three best killers in the world behind me," Rock went on. "Get in contact with the other cartels. Tell them what I told you. And when the time comes, put these three in charge of your men and let them loose on Kane." Abrego studied the four individuals before him from behind his sunglasses before dropping his cigar and stamping on it.

"You're a smart kid," he said at last. "Where did Balalaika find you? Alright, I'll see what I can do. Tell Balalaika I'll be in contact." With that, he re-entered his car and the cartel drove off. That went better than Rock had expected.

"He seems nice," Wolf piped up humorously.

"Yeah, he's a real charmer," grumbled Revy, sarcasm dripping from her mouth.

"I'll give Dutch a call," Rock told them. Lagoon's leader would be elated at the fact that Abrego had essentially been convinced to lend his aid to the fight against Kane. Though he liked to play it cool, Rock knew that Abrego would follow through. The leader of the Manisalera Cartel was, like the rest of them, out of options. Once Rock was done on the phone, he remained silent for a few moments. Something was clearly wrong.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Wolf asked as he headed over to the car.

"It's Kane," Rock answered chillingly. "He was at the apartment."