This is it. Really, no, seriously guys and gals: last stop on this line. I said there was one little thing left that I wanted to tie off and here it is; I hope you enjoy it!
. . .
Two Weeks after The Battle of Roanapur
"…Today the search efforts of the Senator and his staff were called off. The Senator was believed to last be in the Gulf of Thailand region on what some are claiming to be personal business, despite his summons to a Congressional Hearing. Some in D.C. are claiming this is merely a stunt to avoid attending the hearings. The Congressional Budget Committee is still investigating illegal and unethical spending of 'Black Budget' funds and the programs these unlisted funds went to. The Senator's office in D.C. has since been raided by the D.O.J. and the trove of documents acquired is still being processed; who knows what they will find? That's all from D.C., back to you in the studio."
"Thank you Kurt. Politicians at their finest, is there no limit to their corruption? International news has a big headline today: the gun-for-hire Extra Order Security Company has shuttered all of their bases around the world, from South Africa to Bogota to their corporate headquarters in D.C. The circumstances of their sudden shutdown currently remain a mystery. Fellows in the industry have offered their opinions on the matter, suggesting Extra Order may 'have gotten in over their heads.' The international investigation is still ongoing. Stick around after the break to learn from our expert guest the secret to losing a pound a day, you won't belie…"
P-Tew! The TV clicked off.
"Yaaaawwwwwnnnnnnnn…that's enough of the tube for tonight."
. . .
Two Months after The Battle of Roanapur
"Last chance, got everythang?"
"Yes!"
"Notebooks?"
"Yes."
"Pencils?"
"Sharpened."
"Folders?"
"Blue for me."
"And mine are green."
"Lunches?"
"Frederica made us peanut butter and banana sandwiches."
"Guns?"
"Yes…I mean…"
"Give 'em. NOW."
"Sorry…"
"Force of habit, Ah know. They'll hang out here in tha glove-box 'till Ah come an' pick yah up. Now class's gonna be startin' soon, so c'mere an' gimme ah hug." Country hugged The Twins tightly, lifting them off their feet despite the added weight of their supplies.
"Is this really real?" Gretel asked as Country put them down and they turned around to face a large brick building.
"Pinch yerself an' find out."
"Okay…but are you sure we'll be…"
"Y'all aced tha entrance exam an' Benny's taught yah everythin' he knows."
"Then maybe we don't need to go…" Hansel was just as nervous as his sister.
"This's y'all's idea an' Ah git why yer nervous. However, Mizz Balalaika's already paid fer fees an' uniforms an' y'all need to hang out with some young'uns yer own age 'stead of us old duffers."
"Oh…okay. Well Sora-mea?"
"Let's go Fratele-meu." Gretel said firmly and they started for the front doors. "Bye Country!"
"Bye-bye kiddos! Have fun an' make all of us proud!" He got back into his truck, and then called back out the window. "AN' BEHAVE YERSELVES!" The Twins waved goodbye one last time and ascended the front steps. They each pulled open a front door and began their first day of school.
. . .
"Nibblin' on sponge cake…watchin' tha sun bake…all of those tourists…hold up. Hummm…who's tha'?" Country wondered as he pulled out of the school's parking lot. He'd spotted someone that didn't quite look right; they didn't fit the mold of an average high schooler. "Is it…naaawww…couldn' be, couldn' be!" He pulled over, got out of his truck and crept down the sidewalk towards the suspicious figure. They were clad in a pair of dark green pants, bloused into their high-cut boots, a black backpack and black hooded sweatshirt; the hood pulled low over their face. Country managed to close the distance undetected and before the mystery student set foot on the front steps. He stretched out a long arm, shaking from suppressed laughter, and snagged their hood; ripping it back to expose a head of plum-red hair. As they turned, a face of equal color shone with embarrassment.
"Suh-prise!"
"God fucking damn it." Revy swore and jerked her hood back up. "How'd you know it was me?"
"Yer boots. Ain't another pair like 'em in town. Never mind that, tha hell're yah doin' here?"
"Ta-mmumble mumble mmmublleee-ssess." She refused to make any eye contact, hiding under her hood.
"Eh?! Run that by me 'gain."
"I'm taking some classes okay?!" She huffed, glancing around to see if anyone was watching them.
"Oohhh…gittin' yer G.E.D. huh?"
"Yeah…I dropped out in seventh grade and have to take some, stupid remedial courses or some bullshit so I can be ready for the test."
"Why're yah goin' back now?"
"Well I've been reading a lot more books lately and got to thinking about what you said. You know, that time we flew out to Guam?"
"Oh yeah? That was ah few moons ago, what'd Ah say then?"
"How knowledge is power. I realized the other day we didn't really outfight E.O….we outsmarted them. If we'd tried out-muscling them, we'd have gotten our asses kicked. So I thought it couldn't hurt to be a little smarter myself."
"An' here yah are. Tha's really good, Ah'm sure Rock's proud of yah…"
"He doesn't know." She cut Country off. "Nobody but you does."
"Why?"
"Because I want to do this myself."
"Self-reliant as always. W'all Mizz Revy, Ah really am happy fer yah. Ah think yer gonna do jest fine." Country clapped Revy on the shoulder and steered her towards the front door.
"Thanks. Don't tell anyone though. If you do, I know where you live." She threatened with every ounce of malice she could muster.
"Not so much as ah peep outta me, you got it. Jest do tha same's as ah told tha kids. Have fun, make us proud…an' BEHAVE. See yah!" Country waved goodbye and left Revy on the front steps. She hiked her backpack up on her shoulders, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. It was just a school, why the hell was she, Revy Two-Hands, nervous?!
'Just simmer down…it's just a few classes…you're gonna be fine.' She took a deep breath and composed herself. 'Well…here goes.' She opened the front door of the school and quickly slipped inside.
. . .
Five Years after The Battle of Roanapur
It began like any other morning at the Lagoon-run airfield. Hansel and Gretel were up bright and early at six so they could study before school. Breakfast for them was a softball-sized chunk of bread, feta cheese, some cuts of ham, salami and pastrami, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes with several cups of Turkish-style coffee.
Next up were Sawyer and Rock at six-fifteen. She was headed for work at U.G. Pork at seven-thirty and he just liked to be up early. While Sawyer ate her oatmeal with sliced strawberries and Rock his bowl of ramen, ground pork, scallions and a soft-boiled egg, they would see The Twins off with Country. He would roll out of bed at six-thirty, tell The Twins every morning to do well at school and make everyone proud, give Sawyer a kiss when she left for U.G. and then go straight back to sleep.
At six-thirty-five, Dutch would walk out of his quarters and up to the front gate to collect the four newspapers waiting for him. He made it his business to know the going's on in Roanapur and the papers were a good starting point; the Roanapur Daily was always on the top of his stack. He would then read them in the kitchen over a massive bowl of Cheerios with half a bunch of sliced bananas mixed in; muttering only "Mm-hmmm…" when addressed as he read.
At seven, Country would amble his way downstairs and proceed to make an absolute racket in the kitchen. He would start cooking his food with a frying pan in one hand, Dutch's finished copy of the Roanapur Daily in the other. Country would finally sit down to: three pancakes, three fried eggs over-easy, hash-browns and onions, sambar deer bacon and sausage, sliced tomatoes with black pepper, a small bowl of baked beans and finally his own pot of coffee.
By seven-fifteen, because of all the noise and people moving around, Revy would haul herself out of bed. She made it abundantly clear she was not a morning person, every morning. Her method of letting everyone know was to mumble, grumble and curse everything on God's green earth under her breath while waiting for her toast. She would stand statuesque in the kitchen while staring at the toaster with eyes still squinted almost shut with sleep. Nothing coherent could be dragged out of her until she had her first bite of toast. All four slices were covered in a massive slathering of jelly and a thick piece of mild cheddar on top. Only then would she begin to wake up.
Benny was not a morning person either and slept through most of it until nine. He was very simple for breakfast. A pack of strawberry flavored pop-tarts and a cup of black coffee while his computer booted up was all he needed.
Finally, at ten, Leigharch would emerge from his own Quonset hut. His work schedule was slowly turning him nocturnal. Bao often scheduled him for evening shifts that started at six and would run until last call at two in the morning. To get his daylight hours started right, Leigharch would fix himself rashers, sausage, beans, black and white pudding, fried eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes, and some thick slices of soda bread with butter and jam, finishing with strong tea.
Lotton and Shenhua still lived across town in Shenhua's apartment and were increasingly in the habit of sleeping through breakfast. They too were becoming nocturnal, but for reasons completely different from Leigharch's. They usually would get their days started roundabouts lunchtime.
Once everyone had eaten, they would either head out for a job or their separate ways if there wasn't one. Country almost always gravitated to the hangars and Lagoon's growing fleet of aircraft. In addition to the B-24 Liberator "Roanapur Raider" and the F4U-4 Corsair "Ferocious Fredi", they now had accumulated several newer craft.
· A Douglas C-47 Skytrain. They used it for large, bulky items that could never fit into the B-24's bomb bay.
· A Piper Seneca with a modified fuselage. 1,200 pounds of cargo could be loaded into the make-shift "bomb-bay" and dropped with parachutes made from bed sheets. Lagoon used the Seneca to fly into mountainous regions inland where the C-47 or B-24 would be unable to land or maneuver.
· A UH-1 Bell Iroquois 'Huey', acquired through a series of misadventures, and one colossal S.N.A.F.U. where everything wound up F.U.B.A.R., in Vietnam. It was fitted with two GAU/A guns and two 7-round 2.75-inch rocket pods and christened with the moniker "The Hammer". But that is a story for another time.
· A Cessna 172. Why? Because Country said they needed at least one fun plane. He used it to give all of Lagoon, and anyone else who paid him: flight lessons. It was in the 172's copilot seat that Chang, Balalaika, Ronnie and Abrego all discovered something they had in common: a profound fear of flying with Country. He did his best to push the 172 to its limit, flying it more like the Corsair and was in the habit of saying: "Hold on, Ah wanna try somethin'…this'll be cool, trust me."
That morning there wasn't a job for Lagoon to run but there was a ringing rotary phone in the kitchen.
"R'anapur Airfield an' L'goon Comp'ny…" Country answered with a mouth half-full of pancake. "Thish's Country, how mah Ah direct yer call? W'all ah good an' blessed mornin' to you too Sister Eda."
"Just…just put Dutch on please."
"You okay? Yah sound ah little…"
"Now you Miserable Michigander!" She yelled and Country nearly fell off his chair.
"Alright, alright! Don' have tha Man upstairs hit me with ah plague or nothin', here's Dutch."
"Yes?" Dutch nestled the phone between his ear and shoulder so he could turn the page in his third newspaper.
"Something's come up." Eda's voice was strained and wavered as she talked. Dutch immediately folded his paper and stood up from the table.
"Like what?" He walked next to the phone's receiver on the wall, standing in the hallway so he was out of Country and Leigharch's earshot.
"I'm, it's…well, just please come to the Church okay?"
'This isn't like her at all.' Dutch thought. 'She's always got it together…oh hell.' He groaned and lifted aside his sunglasses to rub his eyes. It was still so early and already the day's outlook was turning bleak.
"Dutch, you still there?"
"I'm still here and I'll be there in ten." He hung up and lifted his flak jacket off the coat rack by the front door. "I'll be back later Country!"
"An' Ah'll be here! Good luck!"
'I hope I'll be back anyway.' Dutch thought as he opened the garage. Waiting inside for him was a black '56 Harley KHK; a rescue project from the city's scrapyard. He started it up and put all 883cc's into gear; throwing runway gravel as he raced out the gate and into town.
. . .
Eda couldn't believe it. Years of being stationed in Roanapur, working with Dutch while keeping everything under control…this couldn't happen, right? It certainly wasn't supposed to happen but well…it was a little too late now wasn't it? She was in her bathroom, sitting on the floor next to the shower and covered with a towel. Her state of mental health had not gotten any better over the past five years and that day was testing her. Even though Roanapur was the calmest it had ever been, E.O.'s disbandment played a major factor, problems still popped up of course. It was becoming a challenge for her to muster the will to get out of bed some mornings and keep her stories straight; remember who she really was: the C.I.A. agent or the gun-running nun? On that morning though, all of that took a backseat.
"I had a feeling I'd find you here." Dutch let himself in and took a seat on the toilet, opposite of her. "Sooo…we're having a bit of a rough morning huh?"
"Yeah, we sure are." She slowly raised an arm from under her towel and pointed at the sink counter. "Did you see…?"
"Yes, I did. Double bars on each one, on all three of them. You really wanted to be sure."
"Of course!" She snapped then sniffled a little. "Something like this I can't leave to chance."
"Always verifying information, that's you to a T." Dutch slid off the toilet to sit with her on the floor. He put his arms around her and pulled her close to cradle her against him. "You know, it's a funny thing."
"Sniff! What is?"
"The only reason the D.I.A. approved me partnering with you, a C.I.A., is because I assured my boss our relationship would be kept strictly to the highest level of professional."
"Ha. That didn't go as planned. How long did that last again?"
"Two months if I remember correctly. But no, it certainly didn't stay that way. Some orders seem to be given only so you have ones to disobey."
"Mmmm…" She hummed in agreement and shifted to make herself a little more comfortable. He put down the toilet's lid so he could take off his sunglasses and set them on it. She was the only one that ever got to see him with them off.
"Anyone else know?"
"I don't think so. I'm sure Yolanda has her suspicions; I did throw up during mass this morning. Other than her, just you."
"Okay, for now, let's keep it that way. What do you want to do?"
"What're you asking me for? You have seniority."
"Just thought I'd see what you would do if you were in charge."
"Alright. Well, we have to call this in, no way around that."
"So we're not going to the clinic then?"
"NO! No, God no. The clinic is not an option, no-way, no-how. I mean, you and I talked about this before, what procedure was if this happened. Besides, aren't they going to be rotating us out in a few months or so anyway?"
"Last time I checked in, they said our tours were almost up. They've shortened them after the incident in Laos."
"Hey, maybe this's a sign you know?" Eda smiled the first time that morning.
"Sign of what? That you've gone nuts?"
"Think about it. Maybe this's life's way of telling us it's time to find a new career path; that we ought to slow the hell down. I'm just surprised they contacted you. My phone hasn't gone off in weeks. I was starting to think they'd forgotten us."
"D.I.A. and C.I.A. never forget anything. So, we're going to go through with this right?" He asked, unaware he was holding his breath.
"Yes." She said firmly and took his hand. "We are."
"Then we're going to have to let everyone know sooner or later."
"Well duh. It's gonna be kinda hard to hide in a month or so. What'll I say? Oh yeah Two-Hands, I really am just getting fat! No one's gonna buy that. But we have to wait a little though."
"Why wait?"
"Hansel and Gretel's graduation is in what, two weeks? I'm not stealing their thunder by dropping this, us, on everyone. I know how important it is to them."
"If that's the way you want to play it, then that's what we'll do." He agreed. "I'll get on the phone this afternoon and explain everything to higher up. If I manage to do that and not get disavowed, I'll see what can be done about everyone else too. We owe them that much for all they've done."
"And nothing less." She said, then clapped a hand to her forehead; groaning at a revelation. "Ohhh….noooo…I just realized something."
"What's that?"
"Revy is never, never ever, going to let us live this down."
. . .
Five Years and Two Weeks after The Battle of Roanapur
Ah don' recall ah moment where Ah'd ever seen them two kids happier than on their graduation day. Since Ah'd first met 'em, they'd done some serious growin' up. Gretel'd rounded off at five-nine with her blonde hair to her waist an' looked like: "an envoy from Planet Babe" as Leigharch put it before she heard him an' bonked his noggin' fer it. She was right purdy though, it wasn' uncommon to see folks crickin' their necks 'round to make sure they wasn' hallucinatin' when she passed by. She still sang much as she could, 'specially 'round tha house. She'd joined tha school's choir an' even won some awards fer singin' 'long tha way.
Hansel filled out well an' was no longer tha skinny little bag-of-bones he used to be. He was near six-foot even, on tha school wrestlin' team 'spite his leg an' tied his sister fer top of their class. He'd taken to cuttin' his hair shorter so it couldn' git pulled on durin' matches but as ah bonus, it made him look all tha tougher than he already was. Tha only drawback of 'em growin' up into such ah fine young genellman an' lady was tha constant, irritatin' horde of potential boyfriends an' girlfriends showin' up at tha house tha rest of us had to intimidate.
Tha party after graduation was ah helluva good time. We had it in one of tha smaller hangars an' it quickly filled up with food, liquor, music an' waves of well-wishers. Lots of Tha Twin's classmates showed up, Lotton an' Shenhua 'course, even Abrego, Ronnie, Biu an' Boris stopped by to give their congratulations. Oh, yer hung up on why Mister Chang an' Mizz Balalaika weren't there? Funny thang 'bout them two…
Turned out, Abrego's joke 'bout tha Triad an' Russian bosses havin' regular rolls in tha hay…wasn' even not far-off, it was dead-center spot-on. Two years after our fight with E.O., those two love-birds up an' pulled ah vanishin' act. Poof. Gone, jest like that. They'd left letters an' instructions fer their organizations on what to do an' thankin' 'em all fer their services. Hotel Moscow's troops had tha option to take their leave an' consider their service fulfilled. Very few did an' most chose to stick 'round with their newly promoted commander, Capitan Boris. Tha big debate though was how tha two had managed to git outta tha city unnoticed. It was still ah favorite topic of discussion 'round town years after tha fact. Personally, they say money talks but it can also keep mouths shut. SO, Ah'm not gonna answer anymore questions 'bout where Ah or tha Seneca was on tha night they left, thank y'all very much!
Ah jest said that out loud…didn' Ah? Whoops.
Anyway…movin' right 'long, where was Ah? Right, grad party, yes. Originally, we were gonna jest hook up ah stereo or somethin' but Hansel had other plans. It turned out Gretel wasn' tha only one of 'em musically inclined. Hansel an' some of his buddies from school had started ah band that played some country, some rhythm an' blues, little bit of rock; ah smorgasbord of sounds. They didn' even have ah name but weren't half-bad, 'least they could play ah respectable 'Free Bird.' Any garage band worth their salt knows how to play 'Free Bird.' Hansel's buddies had immediately put him up front with ah mike an' ah 1953 Fender Telecaster guitar; third or fourth hand from ah pawnshop. 'Bout sixteen, Hansel's voice'd bottomed out instead of tha higher pitch he'd started with. It had dropped to ah kind of deep, gravelly baritone with tha capacity fer ah surprisin' volume. That 'n' Tha Twin's voices'd both taken on ah slight accent that Dutch said sounded awful similar to mine; Ah was so proud. We said he didn' haftah play his own party, but he said nothin'd make him happier.
Midnight found tha party jest 'bout ready to start windin' down. Hansel an' his friends had jest finished their last set but he said he wanted to do one more not on tha list.
"I would like to thank everyone for comin' out an' givin' my sister an' me your congratulations; you have no idea what it means, how much it means to us and how grateful we are. I know the first time we arrived in Roanapur didn' go over so well…" He said an' got ah laugh outta everyone. "But because we were given a second chance an' you trusted us, we've been able to exorcise our demons an' get to know everyone here as our friends an' family; somethin'…somethin' we'd never dreamed of havin'. It hasn't been the most traditional or easy route to go through life, an' I don't think I could've ever imagined a place like Roanapur becomin' our home. Certainly a normal person wouldn' have done things this way, but I couldn' imagine anythin' different. So I'd like to play one last song, dedicated to Country and Frederica for treatin' us like their own kids, to Dutch, Eda, Rock and Revy, Benny, Jane, Lotton and Shenhua and Leigharch too for bein' the best family we could have ever asked for. This song's about someone doin' things a little differently too, but everythin' still workin' out in the end." He turned to his band, told 'em tha song an'they all smiled; it must've bin planned out 'head of time. Hansel counted 'em off an' they started into one of mah pers'nal fav'rites.
Lord it's the same old tune, fiddle and guitar.
Where do we take it from here?
Rhinestone suits and new shiny cars, it's been the same way for years.
We need to change…
Somebody told me, when I came to Nashville…
Son you finally got it made!
Old Hank made it here, we're all sure that you will.
But I don't think Hank done it this way, no.
I don't think Hank done it this way…okay!
Hansel an' his boys really had a good sound goin' that night. It was ah real, w'all, awesome thang to see; tha two rain-soaked kids that'd shown up outside tha hangar now full-grown an' happier than Ah'd thought possible. No, surely not tha way Old Hank'd done it, but they was doin' jest fine, jest fine indeed.
Ten years on the road makin' one night stands…
Speedin' my young life away!
Tell me one more time, just so I'll understand:
Are you sure Hank done it this way?
Did Old Hank really do it this way?
Lord I've seen the world with ah five – piece band!
Lookin' at the back – side of me!
Singin' my songs, one of his now and then…
But I don't think Hank done 'em this way…no!
I don't think Hank done 'em this way…
Take it home!*
. . .
Five Years and Three Weeks after The Battle of Roanapur
Brrrrrrrrriiiiinnnngggg!
"Hold on, I'll get it!"
Brrrrrrrrriiiiinnnngggg!
"Coming! My goodness! Hello?"
"This's tha Farrance household, am Ah correct ma'am?"
"Yes…that is correct."
"Hansel an' Gretel there?"
"They are and in the middle of a band practice…may I ask who is calling?"
"This's their father. There's ah family 'mergency so put 'em on tha phone, please an' thank you."
"Oh, I'm sorry. One moment please. Hansel! Gretel! Your father is on the phone! He says it's an emergency."
"Hello? Country, what's up?" Hansel took the phone from Mrs. Farrance.
"Hustle yer butts home right now. Dutch's called ah 'mergency family meetin'."
"Is everyone okay?"
"Everyone's fine, no one's bin shot if tha's what yer askin'. We ain' had that happen fer ah while, well, since you yerself got pinged two months ago anyway. Jest come home quick; Ah don' know mahself what's up but Ah do know it's important."
"Okay, 'long as no one's hurt. We'll be home in ten." Hansel hung up. "Sora-mea! Here's the keys, start the truck and I'll grab our stuff!" Gretel caught the keys and ran outside to start the black two-door '85 Chevy C/K they shared and brought it around front to a waiting Hansel; amp in each hand and guitar cases under his arms.
"So what do you think it is?" He asked as Gretel wove their truck through evening traffic. "The reason Dutch called a meetin'?"
"Well Fratele-meu…" Gretel mused as she broke free of gridlock and shifted into fourth. "I really can't say. But if Dutch called it on an A.S.A.P. notice, then it's for somethin' really serious…"
. . .
The kitchen at Country's house was packed to the bursting point. Dutch and Eda, Benny, Rock and Revy, Country and Sawyer, Hansel and Gretel, Lotton and Shenhua and Leigharch all pressed together around the table. All eyes were on Dutch and everyone waited anxiously awaited him to start speaking.
"There's really no easy way to put any of this." He began in as slow, calm and deliberate of a voice he could manage. "A lot will not make sense at first and some you are really not going to like. Just trust me like you have hundreds of times before, bear with us and we'll all get through this together."
"Us?" Rock was puzzled by the choice of words. "Who's us?"
"That'd be Eda and me." Dutch said as he and Eda locked their fingers together and placed their joined hands together one the table.
"Whoa, hey now!" Revy's hackles were instantly raised at one of her rivals so casually holding Dutch's hand. "Eda…what the hell do you think you're doin'? This isn't fuckin' funny."
"Oh I suppose there's no way around it." Eda sighed. "So I might as well just say it. I'm pregnant." The resulting silence was absolute and deafening. Everyone could hear the person next to them breathe, the sound of the gum Leigharch was nervously chomping, even the tinkle of the wind chime on the front porch. Five, twenty, thirty seconds, an eternity crawled by; marked by ticks of the clock on the wall. No one could think of anything to say but some were determined to try.
"Miss Eda. If you don't mind my asking…how far along are you?" Lotton surprised everyone by speaking first.
"Almost a month now."
"I see. Well, allow me to be the first to extend my congratulations to the both of you."
"Wait, wait, wait! Before we get all sappy, how long has this been going on?!" Revy demanded. "I'm getting the vibe this wasn't some one-night stand…right?"
"Oh goodness Two-Hands no!" Eda began to laugh so hard tears welled up in the corner of her eyes. "It's been years, how many now Dutch?"
"Well you arrived here in '92 and I was already stationed here before that. About ten years now I'd say."
"Now when yah say stationed, what does that mean…'xactly?" Country wasn't bothered in the least by Dutch and Eda's relationship or her pregnancy but his ears pricked up at the word 'stationed'.
"I did say you weren't going to like some of what I had to say and this is it." Dutch took a deep breath and looked at each and every person in the room in turn before finally saying: "Eda is a C.I.A. Senior Field Agent and I'm a D.I.A. Special Agent; basically Eda's boss." This latest revelation produced a drastically different result thank the first and that was pure bedlam. Country and Revy were fully on their feet and hands halfway to their holsters before Rock and Sawyer pulled them back into their chairs.
"Don' you be tellin' me to calm down!" Country roared as Sawyer and The Twins struggled to keep him contained in his seat. "Didn' y'all hear him?! They've bin here fer ten years! All that time, they've got 'nough on y'all an' me to put us away fer ten lifetimes! With everythang we've done, Ah'm surprised we're all not on ah damn black site with fuckin' burlap bags on our heads right now!"
"Country, if we'd wanted to bring anyone here in, we'd have done it years ago." Eda rubbed her face with annoyance at the hatred and distrust Country still harbored against any form of government authority. "Hell, we could've had a team waiting for you, right outside on the runway, the first day you landed here."
"Then why didn't you?" Benny asked. "Why keep all of us around? I'm sure all of us are wanted for something or other; Country, Revy and I at the very least. If you wanted, you could nab Rock for piracy, Shenhua and Lotton are easily labeled as international guns for hire, Sawyer cuts people up, Leigharch certainly qualifies as a terrorist because of the IRA…"
"Benny, yer really not doin' anyone favors at tha moment…"
"My point is, they've had us dead to rights for a decade…but didn't just not turn us in, but actually worked with us. The big question though: what was the angle?"
"My job is nation and government building, control and, if we deem necessary, destruction." Eda explained. "Specifically for Roanapur, my task is to keep things stable; a corrupt crime world we control is preferable to a peaceful one we do not."
"And for me, my job is to determine capabilities of criminals, governments and any manner of organizations. Things like personnel strength and quality, type and quantity of equipment they have, how good it is, how good they are with it and what those groups intend to do with their hardware."
"So, Eda could point you in the direction of new or different groups; ones that might benefit from weapons purchases…" Rock was getting his mind wrapped around Dutch and Eda's operations. "And you could let her know which organizations were buying what and based on that, which ones could become a problem to stability, right?"
"You've got it!" Dutch smiled. 'I knew you'd figure it out."
"And what better way to know who has what equipment than to be the ones moving the guns and bombs around? Eda was the wholesaler at The Church and Dutch was a distributor with the Black Lagoon."
"Right again."
"While this explains an awful lot…" Benny was rubbing his temples as his head ached to accommodate the new paradigm. "Why are you bothering to tell us?"
"Two reasons." Eda said. "First is because in a month or so, you'd all find out I'm pregnant anyway; it'd be kinda obvious. Second, we're being rotated home; our tour of duty's over. Since all of you are the task force we put together and have been such bosom buddies, we're offering you a chance to come with us."
"With you, to where?" Gretel had kept her peace until then. "Do you mean the United States?"
"Virginia's most likely." Dutch clarified. "Because you all worked for us, like Eda said, as our task force, you're eligible to come back with us; records wiped, new lives, staring over."
"Y'all will pardon me if Ah sound all kinds of suspicious…but that does have tha makin's of ah good deal." Country had become much more reasonable since his blood pressure had gone back to normal. "There's ah catch or somethin' though, ain't there?"
"You'd have to behave, stay out of trouble and probably stay confined to whatever state you're assigned to for a few years. They might make you sit through a reeaaallly boring debriefing; maybe make you wear a GPS ankle tracker for a month." Eda said.
"Hummm…Ah'm not too keen on that tracker."
"Me neither." Revy agreed.
"She did..say maybe." Sawyer reminded. "And besides…Country… remember our talk…the other day?"
"What talk?" Dutch asked.
"You're not pregnant too, are you?" Eda started to laugh.
"Oh no!" Sawyer and Country both colored and waved the question off. "But we…were thinking…of someday…maybe that would…be a reality."
"The hell for?" Revy scoffed. "You got two already." She budged Hansel sitting next to her.
"Eh." Sawyer shrugged. "Call us…crazy."
"So what do you think?" Dutch asked the room in general. "The offer's good for everyone here."
"Would you give us a moment to consider it?" Lotton asked and Dutch said that would be fine. Everyone separated and agreed to meet up again in an hour. Benny picked up the phone to call Jane in India, Country, Sawyer and The Twins went to the porch, Shenhua and Lotton went to the picnic table out back and Rock and Revy began to walk the runway.
"I would've thought the answer would be easy." Rock said as his and Revy's boots crunched gravel.
"Oh yeah? I thought you hated it here?" Revy asked, hands jammed deep into her pockets.
"Guess Roanapur's grown on me a little." He admitted. "I've lived somewhere for, what, seven years? It may be a place where incoming fire has the right of way, but it still feels like a home to me."
"Never thought you'd say that." She said, staring down at the runway as the neared the beach. "Then again, you've done a lot of things I never thought you would."
"Isn't that the understatement of the century?" He said as they reached the end of the runway. Both sat down with their feet hanging off the lip of the runway. He lit up two cigarettes out of habit and passed one to her. She took it and started to bring it to her mouth but stopped; staring at the glowing embers. "Something wrong? Did you change brands?"
"No…" Her voice was soft and subdued, her eyes staring unfocused as some thought occupied her mind.
"Then what's up? You know you can tell me anything."
"I was going to try and say something at the house but Dutch and Eda's stuff was enough for everyone already."
"Something about what?"
"I think…" She started and lost her voice. She took a deep, rattling breath that shook her entire body as she tried to keep calm. Settled, she began. "I think, not totally sure, but I think…I'm pregnant too."
"Oh." It was all he could think to say as his mind went completely blank. He tapped his cigarette out and put his arm around her, still searching for something to say.
"Well don't get too excited Rocky, you'll scare me."
"It's just that there's so much contained in such a short sentence."
"No shit. Now that's the understatement of the century." She tried to pass off a joke but her voice cracked as she spoke. He hugged her tighter, feeling both exhilarated and terrified at the same time.
"How far along are you?"
"About three-ish weeks since I missed my period."
"Okay…so there's that…" He said, almost for the sake of saying something.
"Rock, the man with the plan for everything." She teased. "He has finally met his match."
"I guess. Just, wow, I mean, I don't even know where to…start." He fumbled his way through his words; even making a coherent sentence was difficult.
"How about we start by deciding if we're going to take Dutch's offer or not?" She said. He looked at her and was surprised to see a look not of fear or tepid uncertainty, but determination.
"You seem really calm about this Revy."
"Oh Rocky…I'm fuckin' terrified right now." She freely admitted. "I think, I have another human, growing inside me. Me. Revy Two-Hands, basket case of the free world. And it's happening in the worst city possible on the planet for it to happen. How could I not be scared?"
"When you put it like that, I can't see how anyone could not be scared." He agreed. "But like I said, you still seem really calm."
"You wanna know why? Because of you. If you hadn't come along, I would be dead by now. There's no debating that you literally saved my life, even when I went out of my way to take away any incentives for you to do so. If I can survive myself, I can do anything."
"It sounds like I'm not the only one that has changed during their time in Roanapur. All the same, I think we should take the offer, we really don't have a choice."
"We always have a choice, what're you talking about, no choice?"
"Let me rephrase, the choice is obvious."
"Ahhh, there yah go. So what makes you say that?"
"If you really are pregnant…"
"Did I say we were keepin' the little brat?" She interrupted and completely sidelined him.
"I…uh, well…that's, I…" He verbally floundered for a response.
"I'm just fuckin' with you, geez-us." She laughed at the mortified expression that had broken out on his face.
"So you think we should then, leave Roanapur and see how it goes?" He recovered enough to speak.
"Yes, and no. Yes because obviously it'd be the responsible thing to do and all that bullshit." She said, rolling her eyes at 'responsible.' "And no because well, we've lived here and in this lifestyle for so long; I mean, what kind of parents would we be, would I be? I'm the least motherly person on the planet."
"I can answer that. What would you do to protect me?"
"You know that one. I'd rip this city's nuts off and cram 'em down its throat if I had to."
"There you go. Just channel that enthusiasm."
"Huh, never thought of it that way." She said and looked a little more at ease. "So, we're taking the offer huh?"
"Yes, I think it would be the best course…I just can't believe we're going to be parents too." He finally was able to smile. The full impact of everything had yet to hit him, Revy's pregnancy, Eda's pregnancy, the deal being offered…but he just decided he and Revy would deal with that when it came.
"You and me both." She said, putting a hand across her stomach and looked crossly down at it. "That's gonna be a real crap-shoot. But, I'll say this much: I wouldn't want this to happen to me with any other guy but you Rock." She declared and he kissed her in thanks. They sat holding each other, just watching the waves and enjoying the company. It was starting to grow dark, the sun was beginning to slip behind the mountains to the west and their hour was up. It was time to head back and give their answer. They stood to begin heading back and as they did, she looked south to the harbor, just visible in the fading light.
"I will miss this place, only just a little bit mind you."
"We all will miss it a little, in our own ways." He agreed. They clasped hands, took one last look of the waves, one last deep breath of salty spray, turned and made their way back to the house.
. . .
In the end, everyone except Leigharch took up Eda and Dutch on their offer. He said he wasn't quite through rambling and still had things he wanted to see and do. He would remain in Roanapur. During the past five years he had been taking flight lessons from Country and was on his way to becoming a competent pilot himself. To give him a leg up, Country sold him the C-47 and Seneca. Country originally wanted to just give them away but Leigharch had refused what he called charity.
"Fine, how much yah got in yer wallet?"
"Thirty, five…forty dollars."
"Okay then, fifteen fer tha Seneca an' twenty-five fer tha C-47. Take it or they're gittin' taken apart, put in ah shippin' box an' comin' with me."
"Sold."
The Cessna 172, the Huey, the Black Lagoon, the Corsair, the '65 Pontiac GTO, Dutch and Eda's motorcycles and the '59 Ford F-250 were taken apart, boxed up and then put on a ship bound for Norfolk. Rumors began to seep through the grapevine that Lagoon was closing up shop and retiring; as they did exactly that.
"Always knew they were a smart group." One gossiper said to another. "They're gettin' out while their gettin's good. Living here is like playing Russian Roulette. The longer you play the game, the odds of you losing only goes up."
A week later saw everyone boarding the B-24 at dusk. A few people, Bao, Leigharch, Rico (another C.I.A. agent who was Eda's replacement) and Yolanda, Boris, Biu, Ronnie and Abrego; all stopped by to see them off.
"W'all, it's bin fun!" Country yelled out his window over the engines. "Take care of tha place Leigharch, don' be havin' too many parties!" Leigharch yelled back he wasn't going to make promises he couldn't keep. With a final farewell, Country gave the B-24 full power and lifted off from the Roanapur Military Airfield one last time. Once the wheels were up, he banked south, making a long, slow loop around the city so everyone could get in their final look.
"If yah've changed yer mind, lemme know so Ah can drop yah off in tha harbor." He joked over the intercom.
"No, I think this will be enough." Rock said as he watched the night lights flicker on through the bombardier windows; Revy lying next to him on the deck.
"All righty then. Say yer goodbyes 'cause we're like tha wind: GONE!" Country finished his loop, pointed the Roanapur Raider north and Lagoon and company left Roanapur airspace for good.
. . .
Ten Years after The Battle of Roanapur
Once we'd gotten to tha States an' processed through tha C.I.A. an' D.I.A., we set 'bout gittin' real borin'. Okay, not quite, but it wasn' tha big shootouts we was used to. First was tha ridiculously massive weddin' where all of us 'cided it'd be fun to git hitched on tha same day. Five couples makes fer quite tha gala affair. Then there was ah major adjustment curve, 'specially with dealin' with normal, average people. We was so used to bein' able to intimidate an' basically boss 'round anyone who gave us sass an' like Revy had warned us, tha's ah mighty powerful feelin' to let go of. But we eventually got it figgered out an' it became tha least of our worries. It didn' take long to find new ones though: our new lives an' tha challenges that came 'long with 'em.
Dutch now teaches deep cover courses at tha D.I.A. an' was awarded ah Service Star fer his work in Roanapur. He finally told us 'bout tha rest of his background too. He'd lied 'bout his age to git into tha Marines an' was sent out to Vietnam where he'd jest had ah hell of ah good time. He'd bin tapped to join an Special Operations Group that ran missions in Laos an' Cambodia; doin' all sorts of sneaky and classified fun. He was noticed an' recommended to tha D.I.A. 'cause of his technical expertise. Tha war was windin' down, tha Marines didn' have much fer him to do an' he wanted to keep workin' so to tha D.I.A. he went. He picked up tha Black Lagoon from his Marine unit 'fore he was sent out to Roanapur, sayin' it was perfect fer his new job. Speakin' of that beautiful boat, Dutch'd gotten in contact with some of tha original drivers, tha less than 4,000 men who'd put their PT's up 'gainst tha Japanese Navy. He now uses it to run veterans, instead of guns, as ah kind of livin' an' floatin' museum. Eda got herself promoted once we got back an' had also earned her own Service Star fer her file. She now directed tha entire country of Thailand an' ah few of its neighbors too. She really loves messin' in other country's affairs but does ah good job of it Ah guess. They had their kid of course an' Sampson is tha absolute spittin' image of his father. First indicator was tha kid was born bald…tha's ah sign of things to come, Ah'm sure of it.
Rock an' Revy also got into government service. He's ah buyer an' equipment sourcin' expert fer tha alphabet soup of organizations. He says most of his time is spent makin' sure tha companies that build all tha equipment don' try an' cheat tha taxpayer by jackin' up their prices or slackin' off on quality. Revy stuck to her guns, literally an' figgered out how to make 'em pay her. She was hired as ah Small Arms an' Combat instructor fer special operatives who aren't military but will be doin' risky overseas duty. When she wasn' busy makin' hot-shot special agents piss themselves on tha practice range, she was cleanin' house on Beretta's 3-Gun competition team. Told yah she found ah way to make her Cutlasses shoot money. They wound up havin' twins; Revy looked like ah snake that'd done swallered ah bowlin' ball when nine months rolled 'round. Victoria was tha girl, red-headed an' stubborn as her mother while tha boy, Lewis, was dark-haired an' took after his father in almost every way.
Benny an' Jane took to tha college professor, yuppie life like they'd bin purpose bred fer it. They both taught classes at Virginia Tech in programmin', computer science an' engineerin'…yah know, black magic. They also free-lanced to tha government on an' off as white-hat hackers…least on paper anyhow. Benny'd started havin' trouble with his leg 'bout ah year after we left Roanapur. Tha wound from that E.O. bayonet had never healed right; we'd done ah real quick stitch in tha field but crossed some muscle groups or somethin'. Now he walked with ah cane but tha best part was that he loved it. Tha man dug havin' ah cane, like it was tha coolest thang since canned beer. His fav'rite thang to do with it was wake up students sleepin' in his classes by bonkin' 'em on tha back of tha noggin' with it or smackin' their desk to really give 'em ah jolt. Their one son Patrick was blonde, skinny, already ah super nerdy goof an' could program stuff that'd put an IT specialist to shame. Go figure. Wonder where he picked those traits up from?
Shenhua an' Lotton didn' stay in Virginia any longer than they had to. Once our mandatory one-year tether lifted an' ankle trackers were taken off (Ah'm still not happy 'bout those), they moved straight fer New York City; Shenhua jest couldn' git down tha rhythm of bein' ah southern girl. Lotton put his creative genius to work right away an' got ah job as ah writer an' developer fer video games. Shenhua found ah job more her speed, struttin' her stuff on tha fashion runways an' doin' somethin' called 'developin' tha newest wave'…fashion people are weird. Oh, an' their kid count is currently still at its season high of big ole goose-egg…zero.
Fer me, Ah have mah commercial pilot ratin' now an' also am ah flight instructor. Tha B-24 they made me give back to tha gennellmen Ah stole it from. They was surprisin'ly good 'bout it an' were impressed on how good ah shape it was in. Ah didn' tell 'em 'bout tha flak damage or what Ah'd bin usin' it fer. Ah mean, Ah'd fixed everythin' on it, they jest didn' need to know how banged up it'd gotten. Tha Corsair an' Huey git plenty of work now as flyin' props in movies; there's talk to usin' tha Corsair in ah big Pacific Warfare blockbuster. Fingers crossed. Despite mah whinin', moanin' and complainin', Ah'm occasionally asked, very nicely Ah must say, by Dutch to train their operatives on how to fly light aircraft on improvised or sometimes, non-existent runways in tha worst conditions you can think of. Tha pays good an' Ah can really scare tha be-jeez-us outta mah students. It's ah fun time fer all.
Fredi said she was done workin' in slaughterhouses fer tha next ten lifetimes but still wanted to work with food. She found her niche in ah bakery with this café in it. Tha cafe's ah real uhm, what's tha word, petite. Yeah, real petite lookin' place. It looks like somethin' outta ah fairy tale dream with thangs like finger sandwiches, cakes an' Turkish delight, but she jest loves workin' there. When she's not at tha bakery, she'll be workin' on another thriller an' slasher horror novel; they're ah real good cure fer not wantin' to sleep ever 'gain ever if you have that as ah problem. She also likes to try new food ideas out at home, so Ah force mahself to eat tha wonderful, beautiful an' orgasmic food she makes fer work. Tha things we do fer those we love. Speakin' of them, Fredi an' Ah have three kids of our own now, not includin' tha two we got pre-started. Andrew's tha oldest an' wants to be ah pilot jest like his daddy. Jackson's tha middle child an' is ah curious young-un, jest into everythin'. Elizabeth's tha littlest an' looks jest like her mother…an' can be ah bit of ah trouble maker jest like her mother too somedays. Fredi also met up with her sisters, Francis an' Felicity. They had ah day where what all tha three did was purdy much jest cry. Her mom an' dad had both been in tha ground fer ah few years at that point but her sisters were doin' alright 'spite everythin'. Now she visits 'em almost every other weekend to make up fer lost time an' they love fightin' over which one of 'em's tha cooler aunt. Their husbands are good fellahs an' we go deer huntin' every season. It's weird to even say this, but mah in-laws ain' even half-bad; they're downright decent.
Hansel took his own curiosity abroad an' now shares it with everyone usin' his camera. He an' Gretel both'd taken 'nough pictures in Roanapur to fill ah dozen volumes, but he was tha one of 'em that really got into it. He's ah photographer fer Time-Life an' National Geographic; specializin' in wartime coverage. Fredi an' Ah asked him, begged tha boy to do somethin', yah know, ah little less dangerous. He said that stories need tellin' an' if he's there, its gonna get told one way or another. His latest trips took him to tha wars in Iraq an' Afghanistan. He got reprimanded by his bosses after his first trip to Afghanistan. Tha patrol of Marines he was coverin', interviewin' an' such, were ambushed in one of those washes at tha bottom of tha valley. Even though he was officially press an' ah non-combatant, he picked up an M4 anyway an' started layin' down tha pain on tha Taliban so everyone could skedaddle on outta there. Tha Marines asked him where he'd learned to shoot like that an' he proceeded to blow their combat hardened minds with his tales of ah faraway city of sin called Roanapur.
Gretel had followed her stomach an' thankfully found ah job that didn' involve any risk of gittin' shot at. Maybe accidentally hit with ah champagne cork or cuttin' her fingers while mincin' somethin', but that was it. She'd cooked her way into culinary school, studyin' in France, Italy, Spain an' Sicily an' that was jest her studies in Europe. With all tha good food, she should've weighed five hundred pound but still stayed fit as ever. She visited durin' breaks in her semesters an' as she got closer to graduation, started thinkin' of openin' her own restaurant in America with some of her classmates.
Not bad fer ah bunch of reformed crooks an' basket cases huh?
. . .
I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand.
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand.
Life is good today…life is good today.
Country's battered portable radio still played faithfully, just audible over the surf crashing into the Virginia coastline.
"This…we needed this right here." Revy sighed as she dug into her cooler for another beer.
"I still can't believe your parents agreed to take on all of our kids Country." Benny said from under his and Jane's parasol. "Can they really handle all seven?"
"They handled me an' all mah siblin's once upon ah time, they'll be fine." Country assured between sips of Corona. "'Sides, they've wanted gran'babies since mah oldest brother got married; they never leave that poor man an' his wife alone."
"I wouldn't worry Benny-boy." Dutch looked like he was asleep on his towel but was listening in. "Country's parents were the ones who insisted in the first place."
"Good point. They must have known it was a good weekend to hit the beach."
Concrete and cars are their own prison bars;
Like this life I'm livin' in.
But the plane brought me farther; I'm surrounded by water,
And I'm not goin' back again.
I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand,
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand…
Life is good today…life is good today.
Adios! And Vaya con dios!
Yeah, I'm leaving G.A.!
And if it weren't for tequila and pretty senoritas,
I'd have no reason to stay.
Adios! And Vaya con dios!
Yeah, I'm leaving G.A.!
Gonna lay in the hot sun and roll a big fat one;
And grab my guitar and play…
That morning, after Country's parents had arrived to visit their grand-kids, Lagoon had picked up The Twins at the airport; Hansel with a month of unchecked facial hair and sun-burnt brown skin while Gretel occasionally lapsed into the rapid-fire French she spoke at school. The group drove to the coast, set up on the sand and began catching up on what the others had been doing the past few weeks. Leigharch had been keeping in contact and had sent everyone several postcards. Each came with pictures of him flying in the Himalayas, over India, across Micro and Polynesia and even down to Australia.
Four days flew by like a drunk Friday night,
As the summer drew to an end.
They can't believe, I just couldn't leave,
And I bid adieu to my friends.
'Cause my bartender, she's from the islands.
Her body's been kissed by the sun.
And coconut replaces the smell of the bar,
And I don't know if it's her or the rum!
"Man, I still can't believe it's been five years since we left." Rock said.
"And ten year since battle. Ai-yah, you make me feel old Rock." Shenhua recalled their fight with E.O.
"Speaking of Roanapur…" Gretel sounded like she had a secret just dying to get out. "You'll never guess who I saw in Marseilles last week!"
"Ah bunch of snooty, stuck-up Frenchies?" Country ventured. "W'all Ah'm not right, but Ah'm not wrong either. Okay, who?"
"Mister Chang and Miss Balalaika, on their sailboat tour around the world."
"They're still on that thing?! They left Roanapur eight years ago now."
"Oh yes." Gretel went on. "They're making another lap of the Med."
"That'll be…an interesting…trip to say…the least." Frederica said as she made another attempt to add some color to her complexion. "Did you …get a…chance to…have a long talk…or were…they just…passing through?"
"Just passing through. But Mister Chang did give me their email address so we can message them. He said they're going to cross the Atlantic next year and visit in person."
"It'll be nice to see Big Sis again." Revy said. "I wonder how everyone back in Roanapur's doing?"
"Who knows?" Rock shrugged. "I'll bet a fifth of 151 that Bao's still at the Yellow Flag; if it still stands."
"He and that bar've been there for so long, they're like tha background." Country laughed. "Like they're part of tha city themselves."
"Do you guys miss Roanapur, even a little?" Jane asked. "I'm sure I don't!"
"Of course, a little at least." Rock admitted. "It made us all who we are today; can't forget about it no matter how hard we try."
"Any regrets though Rock?" Country asked. "Ever wish it'd gone different?" Rock looked around at everyone on their beach towels and chairs. These were his friends closer than family, closer than blood. He saw Revy giving him her sly half-smile, reminding him of all the adventures he'd had, the good and the bad ones, then the life he had now, his two beautiful children. All considered, he could never have planned everything going better than it had.
"No Country, no regrets. Not a single one."
I'm just gonna drive by the lake…
Put my ass in a lawn chair, toes in the clay.
Not a worry in the world, a P.B.R. on the way.
Life is good today…life is good today.**
. . .
THE END
Songs:
*Are you sure Hank done it this way? - Waylon Jennings
**Toes - Zac Brown Band
-Little side note: The description of Dutch eating breakfast, reading the paper and only saying "Mmm-hmmm..." when you say anything to him, is my Dad every single morning. Nothing gets through to him until his Cheerios and bananas are gone and the paper is read.
I'll be honest with everyone here. As soon as I submit this, as soon as it's posted, I think I'm going to cry a little. This has been the biggest project I have ever attempted in my entire life and it's now over. It has been a truly wonderful experience, my first fanfic. I am at a total loss for words on how to describe how deeply humbled I am by all in this community. All of you have been incredibly supportive, friendly and nothing but helpful throughout these past months. I am overwhelmed with pride and joy to know that you have enjoyed the story I told, and have embraced its characters whom I have come to love. The only way I can describe it is a parent watching their child go out into the world and that's how I feel with Redneck of Roanapur and Country. Although, he'd probably ask me to stop being so sentimental about him and tell me to hold his beer so he could try something insane. Anyway, thank you again so, so, so very much for reading my story, there have been some rough days for me this past year and sometimes it was all I had to look forward to. So thank you for helping me out, even though you didn't know it. I hope to keep writing more stories that you will read and enjoy just as much as this one. Again and finally, thank you all so very much for reading and coming along on this adventure with me. God Bless you all.
-BigCountry75