Delivery

Chapter 18

Dutch expected the rest of the trip to go tits up, but to his surprise it seemed as if everything was going to work out. The past day and a half had been insane. Now, now they were going to the secondary meeting place, because it was the best way for both companies to keep their contracts. Personally, Dutch could respect a solution where it didn't end up in more blood shed. Sure, there were several times where he and Revy left a trail of blood across a boat, but having something that wasn't nearly as bad was welcomed.

He took a swig of his Heikien, and he considered the other side of things. Monsters were real. He was fairly sure that there was some kind of double edged sword that was going to fall. After all, he highly doubted that they wanted the common knowledge that they existed to be out in the world. Simply promising that they wouldn't tell didn't seem like it would be the right way to go either. Something this big, this huge, it didn't stay quiet if the wrong people knew.

He had a feeling that the ordnance they got from that bunker was going to be used. Sure, their clients were monsters, and from what he'd seen the Huang Family was fairly honorable. Even Balalavia talked favorably about them. But they were still monsters, and he didn't doubt that they would protect themselves first and foremost. Then again, there was Chyou Miao. The adopted daughter of Xia-Long Miao had taken to talking to him when he came back.

She was open, interested in his business, and even asked if he was hiring. When he asked her why she replied that she didn't mind working a couple of different jobs, if they didn't act against each other. He doubted that they would be fuckin' anytime soon, but at least she was amiable and fairly relatable. That was more than he could say for her sister. Her sister was high strung, talking about cutting them apart with her chainsaw, and Chyou apologized for her, before telling her that she needed to be respectful to those that had found a middle ground.

He certainly liked Chyou's calm to her sister's more angry and destructive personality. Honestly, Router reminded him of Revy. Maybe hiring Chyou, if she was really interested, would work out for the best. At the very least it would give another calm head when one was needed. Plus, from what he'd seen, and been told, she could hold her own in a fight. He did wonder what her pure human disguise was, but at the moment he was more concerned with being done with the job.

He looked ahead, his mind thinking of the other issue. Rock had seemed to get some extra leeway from the Miao Family by agreeing to escort a young vampire home. Like everyone else he'd grown up on Vampire stories. The stories of Dracula, stories of hundreds of other vampires, had been told and written for years. All of them focused on the fact that vampires were dangerous, vicious, and would kill without hesitation.

That girl didn't seem to be a bit of it. But then it could be that she simply trusted Rock. The guy had a way with kids, and maybe that was saving his ass. Still, at the end of it all he was going to have to discuss a few rules with Rock. Rules that would save his ass, and keep them in business. If he couldn't follow those rules then they were going to have to think about the terms of his employment.

Honestly, Rock brought more business in. His professional manner seemed to make him a desired contact. In a city of lawlessness it was nice to have someone that at least looked like a professional. Rock had actually managed to get signatures for manifests that they'd never gotten before, and his education and language skills had come in handy more than once. All in all He'd turned into a decent employee.

The fact that he and Revy were finally together only helped to potentially cement his stay. Still, Dutch knew that the talk they were going to have would be one that could end up changing things. Naturally he didn't want to, but Rock's hobby of trying to save people was getting into dangerous areas. Hell, when he did the work around to save Lovelace and his two maids it had been a dangerous enough venture. And none of them were beings with superhuman strength. Although the head maid might as well have been.

He shook his head, there were two and half days left of travel by boat. The area they were heading for was a different location from the first, but it was still the same distance. Getting there would take the same amount of time, but they were warned that potentially things could, and most likely would, look different. He wasn't even going to ask. There had been places he'd gone where he would have swore that the water looked like blood churning out from behind the Lagoon.

Of course those places had been at specific times of the day. He hadn't been superstitious about things. That was up for debate now. The beer beside him was working toward luke warm, and he got up. The heading was set, and he had ensured that they weren't going to be moving directly. He grabbed the rest of his lukewarm beer, knowing that at least an hour had passed while he had been thinking and he finished it off. He walked out, finding the can bin that Rock had put in there for them.

He had to admit that when they weren't in Roanapur the aluminum did tend to bring a little extra funds. Plus old Praiyachat did buy refined aluminum. It'd become something of a hobby for Dutch to run a small personal foundry. He'd melt down the cans, make about eight or ten five pound bars of refined aluminum and take them to the old gunsmith. He knew that the old man was happier buying his aluminum already refined, and it cut out some of the other distributors. Of course Dutch wasn't crazy enough to do it that often.

The other suppliers would allow it a few times, but interfere too much and it could be seen as a direct attempt at invading what could be considered already established territory. That was certainly something he didn't need. The extra cash was nice, but not nice enough to warrant someone deciding to make trouble. Sure, having Revy on the crew made most of the small timers keep their distance. The fact that Balalavia owed him a favor kept most of the bigger fish from trying anything.

He wasn't complacent though. Complacency was the quickest way to end up dead. Getting too used to things how they were, and not ever trying to expand, or protect, would lead to ruin. His time in the Navy had certainly taught him to always be proactive. He had a basic plan for how things would work, how they'd go down, and he had kept to it for the most part. Revy tended to be an x factor, but she was one that he understood enough to have contingencies on.

He walked toward the cooler and looked to see Chyou. Her sister had returned to the yacht, but she had stayed. He believed that it had ben part of an agreement, but when he asked earlier she informed him that she wanted to stay. He decided to call it professional courtesy, and didn't argue about it. Instead he grabbed a beer, and then looked at her.

"Want one?" he asked as he reached for a second one, "Cause there should be plenty."

She nodded, and he tossed it to her. He watched as she used the strange knuckle that was near the bend of her wing to open the can. She took a swig, and a slight smile crossed her face.

"Thanks," she replied before taking another drink, "Usually the only time that I get to drink more than water is when we're between jobs."

He nodded, "This is domestic, so it's going to take more than a couple to impair your judgement."

She took another drink, and he watched as she took the can with one of her bird-like feet. The talons acted like fingers, and to his amazement she seemed to be practically double jointed. She sat the beer down and looked at him.

"Thanks for not getting bent out of shape about us."

He shrugged, "Honestly, I heard a lot of stories in the Navy. Stories about people seeing things. I never did, but I figured that the world had more in it than what I had already seen."

She smiled, "Nice take on Shakespeare," she replied with a chuckle, "father insisted that I have a classical education. It kind of sucked since I was already twelve when he adopted me. It meant lots of book work. That's hard for a Harpy."

He took a swig, "Why?"

She leaned back, seeming more relaxed than she had been, "Oh, because it's difficult for us to remember things. We can, and we can do it well, but most of the time we focus on remembering our surroundings. We focus on dangers and how to escape or fight them," she replied with the sound of someone remembering things from years before, "To focus on books, literature, mathematics, and history was difficult because it wasn't something that would ensure survival. So, he had to make it ensure survival."

He gave a nod, "You learn or die, right?"

She grinned, "Exactly," she said her eyes looking heavy, "And now I've been fighting against my nature again."

He leaned against the wall, "Why?"

She shrugged, "Harpies aren't like most other monsters, or humans, we have seasons. We go into a sort of estrust depending on the time of year. For most of us it's regulated into four different seasons."

He closed his eyes, "You're currently already in it, right?"

She nodded, "Yeah," she replied, "It makes me question my judgement, and of course while I am in it my body reacts toward those that have the best chance of producing genetically strong offspring."

She nodded, and he wasn't sure why he didn't expect anything else. After all, if he'd learned anything it was that Murphy's Law was a law for a reason. If it could, it would, and it was the reason why it was the law of the universe in a sense. He watched her, drank from his beer, and watched as she picked her can up, again with her talons, lifted it, showing how double jointed she seemed to be, and took a drink.

He noticed that she seemed to blush slightly, and while he wasn't one to admit it, she was attractive. But he wasn't looking to get into a relationship. She sat the beer down, and sat up a little straighter. He could see from her demeanor that there was obviously something on her mind, and he had an idea of what it could be.

"Yes," she said, her voice soft like silk, "I know the look, and I'll be honest with you. I have no reason not to be. My body reacted to you."

She smiled at him, "But I am not a weak willed monster. I don't give into my instincts and desires so easily," she said as she leaned back, which allowed him to look at her, "I am not going to push anything. We don't know each other. I'd like the chance to know you, but I am willing to respect your wishes."

He laughed, "Tell you what," he said before taking another drink, and finishing off the beer, "After this job is over, meet me at the Yellow Flag. We'll have a couple of drinks, and just go from there."

She grinned, "That's acceptable, although, do you mind if I finish the trip with you? I don't mind flying back to the yacht, but I really don't want to explain why I felt the need to drink while we're on a job."

He grinned, "Sure, and you can have another, just be sure to save some for everyone else."