The crew exited the plane and headed towards the SUV Baker had sent for them. Slamming the door behind her, Revy barked, "I officially hate this fucking country more than Japan, Rock."
Her husband chuckled slightly and Dutch called to the driver, "We're in, let's go."
The four-wheel drive headed off towards the ghettos of Moscow, its occupants silent at the scene around them. Dutch noticed the dumbfounded looks his crew wore and commented, "None of you have ever been here, huh?"
"Have you?" Rock asked.
"I spent a little over a year here. It's an interesting place to say the least," Dutch replied as he lit a cigarette. "The way they do business here isn't really all that different from how the Italians, or the Columbians do it. They just sound a whole lot angrier."
The crew chuckled slightly, though Revy failed to even crack a smile. Rock took notice of his wife's solemn expression and asked, "You alright?"
"Something's off about this shit," Revy replied. "That prick Baker has people for this sort of shit; why the fuck did he need to send us?" She turned to Dutch and asked, "Did he tell you anything else?"
"Nope," Dutch replied simply. "What's on your mind, Revy?"
"I can't put my finger on it, but I can smell it." One at a time, Revy drew her cutlass from beneath her coat and racked them before putting them back.
"Revy--"
"I heard what he said, Dutch," Revy snapped back. "I won't fuckin' start anything, but I'm not getting caught unprepared."
"Just be cool, Revy," Dutch replied in a warning tone.
The snow let up as the SUV continued into Moscow, towards their first destination.
-
Several hours later at the Federal office in Miami, pictures, text data, and other information collected on the servers for processing. Lieutenant Baker walked around the office he and Lagoon had occupied a day earlier, as photos of their reconnaissance were displayed on the screen for him to view.
"You say she's at their last stop, Chang?" Baker asked aloud.
The speakerphone on the desk came to life with Mr. Chang's voice, "That's right. I doubt they'll exchange fire."
Baker rolled his eyes as he replied, "Very reassuring."
"Relax Lieutenant. I know these people a bit better than you. You can have all the intel in the world and you'll never get inside their heads," Chang replied.
"Whatever you say," Baker replied. He checked his watch as he continued, "We've got about an hour before they arrive. I've got Tech. patching us into the security feeds at Stolichny's."
"Excellent," Chang replied.
-
Their work complete for the first two targets, the Lagoon Company arrived at their last stop; Stolichny's Bar. The location couldn't have been seedier, and the volume of the music within the Bar made it clearly audible outside.
"Fuckin' lovely," Revy remarked of the noise.
"You know what they say, Revy; if it's too loud, you're too old," Dutch commented.
"Go fuck yourself," Revy replied calmly, as she walked through the main entrance, Rock, Benny and Dutch following behind her.
The Bar and surrounding tables were mobbed, quickly bring Benny to yell over the music, "Well where the fuck are we supposed to sit?!"
Revy led them to an occupied, round booth for five. Considering her surroundings, she had no concerns as she drew her cutlass and politely ordered the two drunken lovebirds in the booth, "Fuck off."
The less-than surprised couple quickly took their drinks and a waitress approached the table. Looking like she'd rather be doing anything but waiting tables in this shithole, she asked with a heavy accent, "What you having?"
"Two beers, two Bacardis," Dutch replied.
As the waitress walked off, Revy's head perked up, turning from side-to-side as she observed the denizens of the bar. Now concerned as to whether or not she was suffering some form of anxiety related stress, Rock grabbed her shoulder, turning her to face him and asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fuckin' fine!" Revy shouted over the noise. She turned back towards the crowds of people and finally, she caught a glimpse of the poltergeist that had her nerves on the highest of alerts; the silhouette of her long burgundy coat, golden hair and the trail of cigar smoke in her wake. "What the fuck?" Revy asked quietly.
"What?!" Rock shouted over the music.
She turned back to her husband and replied as she stood from the booth, "I'll be right back!"
"Is everything alright?!" Rock shouted in concern.
Revy leaned over and gave him a kiss in reply, before turning to follow the apparition. Rock watched on, just unsettled as his wife vanished into the crowd.
"Where'd she go?" Dutch asked.
"Not sure," Rock replied.
Revy pushed and shoved people out of her way until she ended up in a dead-end hallway; the men's room on her left, the ladies on her right. She retrieved her cutlass from her coat and took a breath before barging into the ladies room. At the sound of the door opening, Balalaika's coat floated along as she spun in place. Sizing her up, Revy's eyes widened as she observed Balalaika's face, a black patch covered her left eye. Having hesitated, Revy only acquired the Kapitan in her sights in time to stare down the barrel of her trusted Stechkin.
"Hey sis," Revy greeted, her body half-in and half-out of the rest room. Both of her hands steadily wrapped the grip of one of her cutlass.
"Two-Hands," Balalaika replied as cocked the hammer of her Stechkin. "Or should I say One-Hand?"
"What the fuck happened to your eye?" Revy asked with a hint of a smile.
"Casing," Balalaika replied.
"Yours or--"
From the men's room, Sergeant Boris added a third gun to the equation, interrupting as he pressed his Tokarev to Revy's temple, "Drop the gun, Rebecca."
"You first comrade," Rock replied as he drew his 1911 on Boris.
Revy's smile widened, a maniacal laugh beneath her tone as she spoke, "Now this is more like it, huh sis?"
Balalaika smiled, "I do feel…oh what is the word…" she flicked the fire-select switch to fully automatic and completed her thought, "…nostalgic?"
Finally at a loss for patience, Rock called to his wife, "Think we can move this out of the hall, Revy?"
The line of gunmen crept into the ladies room. They stood in silence for a few moments before the sound of a toilet flushing brought all four of them to draw their guns on a terror-stricken young woman. The woman dropped her things and fell back against the stall in fear and panic.
"You might want to leave now, young lady," Balalaika peacefully requested.
The four of them kept their guns on her as the woman ran from the bathroom. In an awkward and unspoken understanding, they holstered their weapons and Balalaika commented with a smile, "That was amusing."
"What are you doing here?" Rock asked.
"What?" Balalaika asked in shock, "You didn't hear?"
"Hear what, sis?" Revy asked.
Balalaika smiled as she replied, "This is going to take some time." She walked towards the door, passed Boris and Rock, "Follow me."
-
In a back room of the building, the noise level was surprisingly reduced. The Lagoon Company sat opposite Balalaika and Boris as the Kapitan explained just what had brought her back to her homeland.
Balalaika clipped and lit a cigar as she spoke, "Comrade Sergeant once mused that playing Mafia dulls the senses and kills the instincts; I knew he was undoubtedly correct, though I did nothing. To that end, I suppose it is ultimately my fault that I lost Roanapur."
"What?!" The Lagoon Company collectively exclaimed.
Balalaika wore a slight smile as she finished her thought, "To my own people no less."
"The Vysotoniki?" Dutch asked.
Balalaika inhaled deeply and held the burn as she replied, "Quite right, Dutch. As I'm sure you know, Hotel Moscow's operation in Roanapur was but one of many. Today I find myself running guns, drugs, and of course pornography from this shitty back room. It's not much more than a reason to wake up every morning; keeps the mind occupied."
"Wait a fuckin' minute," Revy barked as she stood from her seat. "That's it?! You got fucked over by your own people, and your just sitting here?!"
-
On a monitor in the Lieutenant Baker's office, Revy's outburst was clearly visible on screen. Instantly, Baker's speakerphone came to life with the sound of Boss Chang's voice, "What did I tell you?"
From his office, the head of the Hong Kong Triad also watched on as Revy screamed and shouted. He picked a separate phone from his desk and again addressed Baker, "I believe this is my cue."
-
The phone on Balalaika's desk rang beneath Revy's bantering and Boris reached to retrieve it, "Privyet?"
"What would you have seen me do, Two-Hands?" Balalaika asked as she stood from her seat.
"Sir?" Boris asked.
"Dah?" Balalaika asked as she turned to face her second in command.
Boris hung up the phone, putting it on speaker. Immediately Chang happily spoke, "Friends!"
"What the fuck?" Revy asked as everyone quickly placed the voice.
"Language, Rebecca," Chang replied.
"Chang," Balalaika spoke with a hint of joyous, malice in her tone.
"Miss Balalaika," Chang politely replied. "How have you been?"
Revy and Balalaika once again took their seats and the Kapitan replied, "Oh I'm fine. Please Chang, illuminate me; the exact moment I could have used your assistance most in Roanapur, what did I find? You'd run away to Hong Kong."
"Come now. You know as well as I do, business has a way of being unfair," Chang replied.
"Poshol ty na khuy," Balalaika replied with a smile.
"Fuck…" Rock muttered quietly. He knew exactly what she had said, and judging by his silence, so did Chang.
"I trusted you, Chang," Balalaika continued.
"I am truly sorry," Chang replied with an unheard of sincerity. His reply was laced with emotion, "There is so much I wish I had the time to tell you, Inna…" Balalaika's eye narrowed as Chang spoke, "…but there never is enough time for people like us, is there?"
"If you think--"
"I fucked you one year ago," Chang interrupted her, a subtle curiosity over the nature of his comment dangled in the room for a moment. "Now, how would you like to get Roanapur back?"
She smiled before slowly building her laughter into a loud roar. Finally she settled herself and asked through her laughter, "And just how do you plan to do that? You and I both know what happened that day, so please, educate me. "
Still feeling guilty, though growing impatient nonetheless, Chang replied, "Let's just say I've got friends in the largest military available. You can have Lagoon…" The crew's eyes collectively narrowed as Chang continued, "…anything you want or need, to go home to Roanapur and straighten out the mess we all left behind."
"That's very touching, Chang," Balalaika replied. "But if it were that easy, I assure you, we wouldn't be having this conversation, baby."
For just a moment, Chang remembered why it wasn't too difficult for him to leave that life behind. Regardless, he pushed her comment aside and replied, "And I assure you, I have three aces up my sleeve that have all been looking forward to this."
"What the hell are you talking about, Chang my man?" Dutch asked.
"Dutch, nice to hear from you again," Chang replied happily. "Surely you remember good old Yolanda from the rip-off Church?"
"What the fuck does that old bag have to do with this?" Revy asked as she retrieved a cigarette.
"You are going to ask before you light that cigarette, aren't you Rebecca?" Chang asked.
Balalaika's eyes widened as she stood from her seat and barked, "Are you watching me, Chang?!"
"Privyet" - Hello
"Poshol ty na khuy" - Go fuck yourself
I hope no one minds the first name I gave Balalaika. I've always loved that name, and I think it suits her nicely ;)
