Rock ran to the front doors of the Church of Violence, wanting to get away from Revy's possible outburst as fast as possible.
"How may we help you?" he said as soon as he opened the door. But nobody was there, although he thinks he saw a figure run off to the nearby woods. He looked around in confusion, before his attention was drown downward. "Holy shit."
Back inside the church, Revy and Eda were making houses of their cards, waiting for Rock to get back.
"Where the hell is that dumbass?" asked Revy.
She was already getting frustrated that she couldn't get her cards to stand properly.
"Fuck!" she exclaimed as they toppled again.
"I think we've gotten too shit faced to make these work," Eda commented.
"If you're already shit faced, you're a fuckin' lightweight," chuckled Revy.
"I don't have the luxury of getting into endless drinking contests," Eda quipped. "Your liver must be the size of a watermelon by now."
"Hardy fuckin' har," Revy snapped back.
Rock finally came back to where they were playing cards. He had a befuddled look on his face and was holding some kind of basket with a white blanket partially covering it.
"About time," griped Revy, who noticed the basket. "What the fuck is that? Goin' on a picnic?"
"Somebody left this in front of the church," Rock replied. "I didn't see who. They'd run off before I got a good look."
"What is it?" Eda asked.
Rock slowly lifted the blanket, Revy and Eda went wide eyed with shock.
"Holy shit!" they exclaimed in unison, mimicking Rock's reaction to first seeing it.
In the basket was a sleeping baby. Based on the size it appeared to be a newborn. Rock gently placed it on the table and the three looked in confusion.
"What the fuck?" Revy said, breaking the silence. "Doorstep babies are a real thing?"
"Is there anyone on Roanapur who thinks this place is that kind of church?" Rock asked.
"Only if they just got here," answered Eda. "And knew basically nothing about this place. But I've never seen or heard anything like this happening before."
"Nobody leaves a brat on a doorstep without some reason," said Revy. "There a note attached?"
"I didn't really look," replied Rock.
He carefully moved his hand around the baby, feeling got a note, when he did finally noticed an envelope. He gently pulled it out and checked the contents. Inside was a stack of cash along with a note.
"To whomever finds this," he began reading. "There are people out there looking to harm my child, and I am unable to keep him safe. His father is someone of great power and influence, but his birth was not planned. News of his birth has already begun to spread, and I know he will not be safe for long. My son has done nothing wrong, he does not deserve to be hunted like some animal. I know your church has the resources to find him a safe haven. My inevitable death will not matter as long as he is safe. Enclosed with this letter is $5000. I know it is not much, but I hope it is enough for you to find him a safe place to grow up and be a regular child. Please, do not let my son be killed."
Rock finished reading the letter and they were all quite shocked.
"Who's fuckin' kid do you think it is?" Revy asked nobody in particular.
"Seems damn near impossible to answer that," replied Eda. "Plenty of people in this town you could call powerful and influential. Bet most of them sleep around too. The note definitely implies this kid isn't legitimate."
"So fuckin' what? I doubt this brat is the only bastard running around here related to a crime boss," Revy pointed out. "Why should this one be any different?"
"Then that must make the father even more powerful than the average criminal in Roanapur," Rock answered.
"Maybe someone with political influence," said Eda.
"Well that sure narrows it down," Revy replied with very obvious sarcasm. "Not like a politician is any different from the common criminal. They just dress slightly better."
The baby suddenly woke up and began crying.
"What the fuck do we do!?" exclaimed Revy.
"Somebody needs to hold it," said Eda.
"No fuckin' way I'm doin' it!" Revy protested. "Rock should, he found it!"
Rock sighed, rolled his eyes at Revy, and gently picked the baby up. This calmed it down slightly, but it was still crying.
"He's probably hungry," Rock pointed out. "Eda, does this place have any milk by chance?"
"Probably," she answered.
"Yeah, but what about a bottle?" Revy retorted. "I doubt this place keeps them handy just in case! And if any one of us were to go out and get one, there's no fuckin' way we wouldn't get found out!"
"Then we'll have to improvise," answered Rock. "Find some kind of eye dropper or turkey baster, or something we can use to help this baby drink it easily."
Eda managed to find a turkey baster that they filled with some milk. Rock took the baby in his arms and gave him the milk, which he drank rapidly.
"How do you know how to do that?" asked Revy.
"It's not rocket science," replied Rock.
"The little brat was really hungry," said Revy.
"Who knows when he last ate," Eda pointed out. "Plus, there's not much for them to do at this age."
"How old do you think he is?" Revy asked.
"Maybe a month old," answered Rock. "Can't imagine his mother was able to hide him for long."
"Think anyone knows he's here?" Revy asked.
"Hard to say yet," replied Eda. "But, given how worried she was for his life, and her willingness to bring him here of all places, tells me we need to be cautious."
"The note said the Church had resources to find him a safe place," Revy pointed out. "How exactly? You guys deal in human trafficking?"
"Of course not," replied Eda. "But we probably are the best smugglers in this shit hole of a city. And we got plenty of contacts."
"'Meaning you know people that do that human trafficking shit," Revy pointed out with clear anger in her voice.
"Relax, Two Hands," said Eda defensively. "I ain't gonna give the kid to someone who'd be willing to put him into slavery or some other fucked up stuff. I know plenty of people who can give him a legit safe home. Plus, that five grand she stuffed in the basket will be a good insensitive to whomever we ask to get him the hell out of here."
"Shit, I was hoping we'd get to keep that," groaned Revy.
"Not a chance," said Eda. "In fact, we might even have to add some extra to that."
"What!? Fuck that!" exclaimed Revy.
"Don't worry about that Revy," replied Rock, keeping his attention on the baby. "I've got plenty of extra cash stored away just in case."
"How the hell did you manage that?" she asked.
"I don't exactly live in the lap of luxury," he put it bluntly. "My rent is extremely low, I don't have much of a wardrobe, and I don't carry a gun, meaning no spending on ammo, and I eat cheap food. The most I tend to spend on is cigarettes and alcohol."
"I guess that's a fair point," she admitted.
Once Rock was done feeding the baby, he gave him gentle pats on the back to get him to burp. It didn't take long for him to fall back to sleep.
Revy spent an extended period of time watching the baby sleep. She wasn't going to admit it out loud, but she did think he was cute.
"So, now what do we do?" asked Revy. "How long do we gotta look after the little brat?"
"Hard to say," replied Rock. "Depends on who we can get ahold of someone to find a safe place for him."
"You two can go back to the Lagoon Company if you want," said Eda.
"Um, maybe we can call Dutch," she fumbled to say. "Tell him that you gave me and Rock a job."
"Getting attached to the little guy already, Two Hands?" Eda quipped.
"Course I'm fuckin' not!" Revy exclaimed, though she tried not to be too loud. "It's just...Rock seems to know how to handle the thing. So you could use his help. And god knows he won't last long if anyone comes around lookin' to shoot the place up."
"I know how to shoot too," replied Eda.
"Yeah, but not as good as me," Revy retorted. "And you don't got a lot of other people here. So I say we give Dutch a call tell him we'll be here for a certain amount of time."
"Whatever you say, Two Hands," Eda replied dryly.