Several hours through the South China Seas, the Lagoon docked in the Port of Hong Kong just shy of midnight as Dutch had planned. Rock, Revy and Benny had joined Dutch on the bridge, as the boss shut down the engines.
"I'll have the harbormaster refuel her tomorrow," Dutch said as he lit a cigarette. "Now…" He lined up Rock and Revy in his sights, "…what are you both not going to do while we're here?"
"Start trouble," Rock replied sheepishly, while Revy made a face and folded her arms.
"That's right. Someone starts shit with you; you end it quickly and quietly. I don't feel like waiting around in a cell while Boss Chang greases the wheels," Dutch replied.
"Yeah, yeah," Revy replied.
"I lucky, Twinkie; his rules no apply for me," Shenhua said as she ducked into the bridge.
"So you finally decide to say something and it's gotta be somethin' disrespectful?" Dutch asked.
"Dai-lo Chang sign my check; not you."
"Whatever. You cause us any fuckin' trouble out here, I'm sure your boss ain't gonna be too pleased neither. I suggest you keep your mouth shut and your knives sheathed," Dutch replied.
"I do what Boss Chang tell me."
"And that is?" Rock asked.
"Not your business, dumbass" Shenhua replied as she walked back onto the deck.
"Dutch?" Revy asked.
"What the fuck are we supposed to do with her?" Dutch replied. "She starts any shit, I don't want any thrillin' heroics outta you two. She wants to go off and get herself killed, she can go right ahead. We're not here to get involved in some fuckin' Triad bullshit."
"Right," Rock replied, though the look he and Revy shared told a different answer.
-
The Lagoon Company plus one took a cab to their hotel and as planned, Shenhua directed them towards a particular restaurant. The five of them sat at their table, all seated normally, save for Revy who sat in a backwards chair. A waiter came over to them and Shenhua let out an articulate display of Mandarin, engaging in banter between her and the young male server.
"What the fuck is she saying?" Revy asked.
"It's too fast for me to get all of it, but it sounded something like, 'Tell the chef we want magic dumplings'," Rock replied.
The waiter left and Dutch asked, "What was that about?"
"I order us food," Shenhua replied.
Dutch lit a cigarette and cross one leg over the other, "Pork fat?"
"Dahng-ran," Shenhua replied.
"Rock?" Dutch asked.
"Of course," Rock replied with a smile.
The waiter returned a few moments later, and placed 4 beers on the table and a cup of tea in front of Shenhua.
"Nice, I kinda like not ordering anything and just having a beer show up," Benny said as he took a big gulp.
Dutch raised his beer, which brought everyone else to raise theirs in a toast, "To good friends…" He looked to Shenhua who seemed completely out of the loop as she sipped her tea, "…and good company."
"Cheers," They said in unison.
Revy let out a long yawn, "Funny how just sitting around all fuckin' day wears you out."
"I know it's about as useless as talkin' to a wall, but you two might want to get some actual rest tonight," Dutch replied.
"I wouldn't worry," Rock replied with a smile. Revy's eyelids looked heavier by the second, and Rock finished his thought, "I've seen that look before; tonight ought to be a quiet one."
A waiter slipped by the table and dropped an order of 20 or so dumplings in its center. Shenhua and Rock reached to a cup of plastic chopsticks in the center of the table and each picked up a dumpling. Dutch and Benny carefully picked theirs with their fingers, while Revy's eyes had completely closed. She had fallen asleep, seated upright with her head supported in her hand.
Dutch raised one of the dumplings to his nose and took a sniff, "They don't seem very magical to me, honey."
"Secret inside," Shenhua replied with a smile as she dipped the dumpling in soy sauce.
Rock took a bite of his and immediately started choking. As good friends always should, Dutch and Benny laughed out loud before Dutch asked, "You alright, Rock?"
Rock grabbed his beer and took a few gulps to clear his throat, "What the hell is that?!"
"Baijiu," Shenhua replied as she halved a dumpling with her teeth. With a mouthful of some of the most potent alcohol available in China, Shenhua asked, "What? You not man enough, dumbass?"
His pride threatened, Rock loosened his tie and slammed down the other half of the dumpling. As the alcohol burned his throat, he struggled to keep from choking again. His fist slammed into the table and within seconds, his face turned a new shade of red and he started choking once again, "Jesus! It's like fucking paint thinner!"
Shenhua smiled and tipped her head back, allowing the remaining alcohol to spill into her mouth.
Rock placed his chopsticks down on the table as he replied to her gesture, "Screw this, you win."
-
The next morning, the Lagoon Company and Shenhua stood before a row of perfectly groomed and dressed Chinese men, each barely discernable from the next. Revy and Rock wore light coats to conceal their guns, and not appear threatening. Shenhua stood in front of the Lagoon Company, and completed their portion of the meeting in just a few seconds. Whatever Chang had asked of her, she handled second. While Rock wasn't completely fluent in Mandarin, he was able to figure out the gist of the conversation, and quietly translated it to his coworkers.
As Shenhua spoke, Rock translated, "Operations in Roanapur are proceeding without flaw. However, we have a reason to believe that there is a hole in our defense here in Hong Kong. Brother Chang requested security is tightened on your end."
The man whom she spoke to looked to be in his 60's, possibly 70's. He adjusted his suit, and Rock translated for him as well, "If Chang wishes to question the security of our operation, he should do so in person. Sending a child, never mind a woman to speak for him is insulting."
Shenhua's arms folded across her chest; her hands in easy reach of her blades, and again Rock spoke for her, "Brother Chang puts his trust in me. If you--"
She was interrupted as the man stood and began to scream at her in Mandarin.
"What the fuck's going on, Rock," Dutch asked quietly.
"He's accusing Chang of being weak. Only a weak man would put his trust in a woman," Rock roughly translated.
"What a prick," Revy remarked with a disgusted look on her face.
Shenhua began to scream in return, which brought Dutch to comment, "Well this doesn't sound good. What the fuck's she sayin', Rock?"
"As long as I serve him, your disrespect will not be tolerated," Rock translated.
Shenhua turned to the Lagoon Company and shouted, "Deh-boo chi!"
"Fuck! Take cover!" Rock shouted as Shenhua drew her knives.
The Lagoon crew took cover behind a wall in the room, while Shenhua bounced and tumbled her way to a wall on the opposing side of the room. As a barrage of bullets rained down on them, Dutch asked, "That last thing she said, what the fuck did that mean, Rock?"
As bullets tore at the wall inches away from Rock's face, he shouted, "I'm sorry!!"
"Hey, you hear that, Dutch?" Revy shouted as she drew her Cutlass, "She's fuckin' sorry!"
Dutch drew his revolver and replied, "Yeah, it's really grand."
Rock finally drew his 1911 and replied, "Well we can't leave her to get killed."
"Somethin' tells me Chang wouldn't appreciate that," Dutch replied.
"So much for a simple fucking job, huh Dutch?" Benny asked as he buried himself safely in the corner.
Several more rounds of ammo were dumped into the wall shielding them. Revy leaned to Rock and asked, "You good?"
Rock snapped the slide of his 1911 as he replied, "Guess we'll get to see how good this gun is after all."
Revy smiled, grabbed Rock by his tie and brought their lips together. Dutch rolled his eyes, and as they pulled away from one another, Revy addressed her husband one more time, "Don't get shot, dumbass."
"You too," Rock replied.
Revy turned to face Shenhua and called out, "Hey Chinglish?!"
The knife wielder looked over to Revy who was holding up her fist. Shenhua smiled and taking a cue from their past, they shook their fists before choosing rock, paper, scissors. Lucky for Revy, even dull scissors cut paper, "Fuckin' A!"
"You only kill 3, Twinkie!" Shenhua shouted in frustration.
Revy leaned out from behind the wall and opened fire. As she took out the 3 men Shenhua allotted her, Rock, Dutch and Benny slipped to the rear of the room and knocked over a desk for cover. They drew some of the fire away from Revy and Shenhua, which allowed them fewer targets.
"My turn now!" Shenhua shouted. She slipped out from behind the wall and as she pirouetted across the floor, threw both blades. Several snaps of her tethers later, arms, legs, and even heads went flying. Having traversed the gap between walls, Shenhua took cover beside Revy.
"Real fuckin' smart, Chinglish! The idea is to separate their fire!" Revy shouted.
"So sorry, sista," Shenhua replied with a smile.
"Fucking hell," Revy commented as she jumped out from behind the wall. As she ran across the floor, she halved their attacker's numbers.
Behind the desk, Rock peered out and took aim down the 1911's target sights. Where Revy laid down massive amounts of suppressing fire, Rock was more controlled. He carefully lined up his shots, using only one bullet to take down one man. Every now and again when Revy observed a beautifully executed headshot, she would often find Rock as solid as his namesake, using a handgun as though it were a sniper rifle. She smiled for just a moment before another wave of bullets ripped apart the wall in front of her.
"Chinglish!" Revy shouted.
Without a word, Shenhua replied with her blades, tossing them with apparent disregard only for her to manipulate their tethers, putting them exactly where she wanted them.
Rock took a few more headshots, and calmly spoke to Dutch, "I think I'm getting the hang of this."
Dutch fired several rounds from his revolver and replied, "Glad to hear it. Another minute or two and I'd say this fight's over."
The older man who had reprimanded Shenhua was losing men by the second and now began to flee. Shenhua watched him cowering towards another exit and shouted, "Sista! I go now!"
"Wait!" Revy shouted, though Shenhua ran head-on through the remaining men, cutting them to ribbons. As the Lagoon Company finished off those Shenhua failed to dispatch, Mr. Chang's favorite knife wielder caught up with the man who had disrespected both her, and her boss.
She threw one of her knives, intentionally striking the back of his head with the butt end to knock him down. As he turned himself over, she was on top of him and slammed the other blade through his chest and into the floor beneath him with a smile on her face.
As the older man choked on his own blood, Shenhua spoke to him again, this time in English, "Since you dying now, I tell you other message Boss Chang give me for you; 'Pleasure doing business, Hong Kong mine now too.'"
She withdrew the blade and blood erupted from his chest as his heart pumped its last. The Lagoon Company casually joined Shenhua in the halls outside the room in which the gunfight took place.
"Was that part of Chang's plan, or did you just feel like startin' some shit and getting me and my crew into a fire-fight on foreign soil?" Dutch asked.
"All part of Boss Chang's plan," Shenhua replied with a smile. "We go now, yes?"