Chapter 38: War, Part 2: Checking in to Hotel Moscow
Back in their apartment, Rock and Revy were gathering up whatever artillery they had accumulated over time to take with them back to Hotel Moscow. Balalaika had agreed to let those on her side stay there as a base of operations. It was easily the most fortified building in all of Roanapur, it was safe to assume that Ronny the Jaws and any of his associates would try to take it over. There was a hostile atmosphere in the apartment, ever since Revy found out that among those recruited by Ronny in his war against Hotel Moscow and the Triads included officers from the 27th Precinct from her old neighborhood. Among them was officer Steven Collins, the man who took away the last of Revy's innocence and sent her on the path of a killer. She was intensely quiet, breathing heavily as she looked over their inventory. Rock wasn't sure to do or say to his wife in this situation.
"Rock," Revy finally spoke, though her voice was distant.
"Yeah Revy?" he asked.
"If…if I can't take out Collins," she began, looking at Rock with great intensity. "I want you to be the one who does it."
"What makes you think you won't be able to?" he asked nervously.
"I don't know," she answered, letting out a long sigh. "Seems like it should be obvious that I can take this fucker out. But…something inside me keeps making me doubt I can do it…"
Rock embraced his wife, she instantly dropped her guns and embraced him back.
"I'll do whatever I can to make sure this guy gets taken out by only you, Revy," Rock said in a comforting tone.
"And if I can't do it?" she asked, still unsure.
"Then I will," he said with no doubt at all in his tone, they then shared a kiss. The moment was then interrupted by noises they heard from the hallway.
"Thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Revy asked Rock, giving him a devilish smile.
"Looks like we're gonna have company," he smiled back.
Outside in the hallway, four men from Cosa Nostra were getting ready to enter Rock and Revy's apartment room. One got ready to kick in the door, when suddenly a shotgun blast was fired from inside, blowing the would-be kicker to shreds. The other men blindly opened fire on the door and the walls. None of them sure they'd hit their targets. They entered the room, which at this point was full of bullet holes, there were no signs of Rock or Revy.
"There's no fuckin' way they coulda escaped the room," one of them said. Upon saying this, the man's kneecaps were blown away by a gunshot from under the bed. He fell down, crying in pain, as the shots continued and turned him into a bloody pile. The other two had barely gotten out of the way, each in different directions of the room. One attempted to shoot towards the bed, only to have his head blown apart by a shot shotgun blast from the closet. This distracted the last guy long enough for Revy to get out from under the bed, slam the guy against the wall, and have a shotgun shoved into his neck.
"That the best you fuckin' dagos got!?" she exclaimed with glee in her eyes as she shot his head clean off. Rock then emerged from the closet, a bit disappointed by the state of their place.
"Guess we'll need to find a new place," he sarcastically said.
"Ronny really thought four people would be enough?" Revy rhetorically asked, not really paying attention to Rock's quip. "That fuckin' idiot Dago shoulda known better."
They then made their way to the Lagoon Company office, where Dutch and Benny were as usual already there getting ready as well.
"Mornin' boys!" Revy exclaimed as she kicked open the door.
"You're in high spirits," commented Benny, arching an eyebrow.
"Either you two just did the mattress mambo," began Dutch, taking a drag of a cigarette. "Or you got into a gunfight. Or both…"
"I fuckin' wish we'd had some fun in the sack first," exclaimed Revy, grabbing a cigarette from Dutch. "Ronny sent some cocksuckers to our place to try and blow us away. Stupid shit thought four guys would be enough."
"Guessin' your place didn't make it?" Dutch asked.
"Only thing they didn't destroy was our bathroom," Rock groaned, also lighting a cigarette.
"Big fuckin' deal," snickered Revy. "Plenty of cheap ass places in this shithole city."
"I lived there nearly 6 years," sighed Rock.
"After today, I wouldn't be surprised if there were some vacancies," chuckled Revy.
The Lagoon Company made their way to Hotel Moscow, where other citizens/criminals had shown up before them. The Triads were there, meaning Chang and Shenhua would also be staying at the hotel. Revy wasn't exactly excited to be sharing a building with the Taiwanese assassin, chances are this also meant Lotton the Wizard and Frederica Sawyer would be there too.
Lotton the Wizard is an attempted bounty hunter of unknown origins, whom the Lagoon Company met back when they were protecting professional counterfeiter, Janet "Greenback Jane" Bai, from a barrage of other bounty hunters. He wasn't very proficient with a weapon and seemed to be uneasy with having to kill anyone but was able take hits and survive high falls. Shenhua had taken a bit of a liking to him since he helped her out after being severely injured. He talks and dresses in a very flamboyant fashion.
"Greetings, Lagoon Company," Lotton greeted in a very formal manner, bowing and stretching out his hand for shaking. Rock was the only one who shook back. "I wish to congratulate you Rock and Revy on your recent nuptials."
"Um, thanks a lot, Lotton," Rock said with some embarrassment in his voice. He wasn't used to this kind of politeness in Roanapur. Rock stood out, sure, but Lotton was a whole different element.
Frederica Sawyer aka Sawyer the Cleaner is, as her name would suggest, responsible for disposing of bodies for anyone willing to pay the right price, especially the Triads. Occasionally, she also partakes in bounty hunting, again this is how Rock, and the others became more familiar with her. When not cutting up human bodies, she ran her meat packing business, U.G. Pork. Despite her small stature and age (most guessing her to be in her late teens to early twenties) she is deadly with a chainsaw that's twice the length of her own body. Her "cleaning" attire consists of white medical scrubs, outside that she dresses in a goth style, meaning few recognize her outside her usual job. At some point in her life, her throat was cut, so she relies on an ultravoice to speak.
"I heard Two Hands…wore a dress," Sawyer began, pressing the button on her wrap around ultravoice and smiling deviously. "Wish I could've…seen that."
"Shouldn't you be watching The Craft or something, Leatherface?" Revy sarcastically asked, making fun of both her gothic attire and her use of a chainsaw.
"I'm sure Miss Revy looked absolutely ravishing," commented Lotton.
"Stop kissing Twinkie's ass, Lotton!" exclaimed Shenhua, jabbing him in the side with her elbow, he gave an audible groan. "She no need ego boost!"
"Relax, Chinglish," replied Revy, lighting a cigarette. "I ain't gonna try and take your weirdo boy toy away from ya."
"Watch what you say, Twinkie, or I skin your ass!" Shenhua exclaimed, pulling out her Kukuri knives. Revy followed with her cutlasses.
"Ladies, please," Lotton intervened between the two. While not a skilled shooter he was surprisingly quick. "I doubt Mr. Chang would want us killing each other at this time."
"It certainly wouldn't be ideal," interrupted Chang, walking towards them in his usual casual demeanor. "Put them away ladies, before you put someone's eye out. Save that for the real enemies." The two women looked at Chang then looked at each other and finally put their weapons away.
"Whatever," scoffed Revy. "I got some fun earlier anyway. A few cocksuckers shot up mine and Rocky Baby's place."
"Some people put holes…in my butcher shop today too," said Sawyer. "They barely saw my…chainsaw coming at their faces. He…he…he…"
"You get some Dagos too?" Revy asked.
"Looked more like…Mexicans to me," Sawyer answered. "Pretty sure I saw some…guacamole inside them. He…he…he…"
"Didn't know Wednesday Addams here could crack a joke," chuckled Revy.
"Hardy…fucking…har," Sawyer replied in a deadpan manner.
"Welcome to Hotel Moscow," Balalaika greeted her guests, as if it was their first time being there. "I do hope you all enjoy your stay here. I can't promise room service at the moment, sad to say. And should you decide to partake in more amorous activities while here, you'll be responsible for cleaning them." She then shot a wink towards Revy and Rock, then blew a kiss to Chang, making all three blush.
"Very funny," replied Chang with a very annoyed look.
"Oh, I doubt you have to worry about that, Baby," she coyly replied while patting him on the side of his face. Revy did her best to hold in her laughter. Balalaika then pulled out some keys and began passing them around. "Here are your room keys, I'm sure they'll be nicer than your usual accommodations."
"Especially after today," grumbled Rock.
AN: Finally, a new chapter! Things had been a bit busy in the real world, plus my sinuses were acting up because of the changing weather! Anyway, I'm excited to include Lotton and Sawyer in the story now. I wanted the font for Sawyer's dialogue to look different from using her ultravoice, hope I conveyed it well. I also hope you enjoyed Balalaika's flirting with Chang. Stay tuned!