Chapter Eight
Lotton knocked on Chang's door, thinking that perhaps it would be best to opt for the more understanding teacher first. One of Mister Chang's subordinates opened the door.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"I'm afraid not, sir. This should only take a few minutes. If I could be allowed in?"
"Let him in, Yuen! He seems like an amusing sort. Actually, you carry yourself more like a gigolo than a killer. What can I help you with…? Well, first, what's your name?"
"I'm Lotton. I've worked with Miss Shenhua and Miss Sawyer in the past, but I don't believe I've ever done any jobs for you, sir."
"Hmm… Respectful, at least. What can I do for you, Lotton?" Chang mused.
"Up to now, I've been using Mausers. I understand that you're the man to speak to about dual wielding guns. I mostly just spray the area with bullets. I was hoping that a man of your talent could help me learn greater marksmanship and finesse." Lotton said, bowing deferentially. Mister Chang laughed at this.
"There's no need to grovel, Lotton. I'll have you know, I don't take screw-ups or people that aren't serious. Are you serious?" He asked, lowering his sunglasses and looking serious for a moment.
"Yes, sir."
"Well, good. I've trained others in the past. Revy is one of my success stories… Not personality-wise, but talent-wise, definitely.
"However, I haven't really got the time right now to train a complete beginner. First of all, come over here. Punch me… Don't worry, Yuen. He won't be able to hurt me. Come on. Give me your best shot."
"Are you… Certain, sir? It doesn't seem wise to assault a mob boss."
"Unless he's told you to do so, you're absolutely right." Chang winked.
"Okay…" Lotton sighed, still uncertain. He balled his fist and struck Chang as hard as he could in the stomach, driving Mister Chang back a few steps.
"You're stronger than you look… I guess you would have to be to handle the recoil on an automatic weapon. You need to be stronger, though." Chang said, punching Lotton back, driving the wind out of him rather severely.
"Sit-ups, pushups, that core exercise with the wheel, running, acrobatics… Any and all of those are good exercises. You don't look terribly agile or dexterous. I suspect that you're a bit of an oaf… Clumsy. And I don't have time right now to work with beginners. Honestly, I would advise becoming stronger all around. Some martial arts courses could help.
"Go and ask Revy for her help first. She'll get you started… And ditch those vulgar Mausers. Sell them if you like. They might help pay for your lessons. Revy's help doesn't come cheap. I hear she's even charging her teammate, Rock for her tutelage."
"Yes, sir. Thank you for the advice."
"Excuse me, Miss Revy…" Lotton called, knocking on the door.
"Yeah!? Who the hell are you!? Waddaya want!?"
"My name is Lotton… You shot me in the chest once."
"Yer gonna hafta be more specific. I've shot lots of people in the chest." Revy laughed.
"I was working with Miss Shenhua and Miss Sawyer to assassinate Jane."
"Huh… Not ringing a bell… Anyway, Whaddaya want?"
"Could you teach me to shoot a gun? I… Have some modest skill, mainly in using an automatic Mauser and spraying an area. But I feel it would be good to have some actual marksmanship skills."
"Ya've come to the right person! You've got quite an eye for true talent! C'mon in, and we can work out my fee." Revy said cheerfully, smacking Lotton on the back hard, driving the wind from his lungs.
"I really must tell you, Miss Revy, I'm not wealthy. I don't have as lucrative a business as Miss Sawyer, nor am I as talented as Miss Shenhua… I hate to demean you and I both by asking you to accept less, but perhaps you could accept a more modest fee for now, and I can pay you back once my skill improves?"
"I think I can work with that. Rock is banging your roommate, Leatherface, and for some reason, you strike me as an honest person… I've been screwed on that front before, but I'm gonna be generous and trust you. We can work on 100 dollars a week for now, and you can pay me back the other 300 a week once your bounty hunting picks up later. I won't even charge interest!" Revy laughed loudly, managing somehow to seem magnanimous in that moment. Lotton gritted his teeth, determined not to call her on her crude and unkind reference to Sawyer.
"That's… Very generous of you, Miss Revy." Lotton said dubiously. That was still a lot of money. One hundred dollars a week. He could potentially afford that, but not easily.
"What kind of gun do you use?"
"I've always used dual Mausers, but I'd like to learn a more elegant gun, if such a thing can be said of a gun." Lotton said sheepishly.
"It's all in how you use the gun. If you're looking to dual wield, I suggest 50. Caliber Hmm… How nimble are you? Do a flip. Yeah, right here."
"I couldn't if I wanted to, Ma'am."
"Mm…" Revy said, grimacing with contempt. "Rock has the same problem. He's running every morning, now, though. I learned most of my acrobatics through trial and error… I hurt myself a lot along the way… I suspect a klutz like you would just kill himself trying what I do every day.
"Take some martial arts classes… Don't ask me what types you should take. I've never done actual martial arts, though I could probably kick just about any karate dork's ass if I wanted to."
"Oh… Lotton… What are you doing here?"
"Ah, Rock… I was petitioning Revy for her help in learning to shoot a gun."
"Don't you use Mausers, though? Not much need for marksmanship. Just point and spray." Rock said. Lotton nodded.
"Well, at the moment, yes. That's my entire strategy. But I wanted a more elegant style. I need to start making better money. I don't like mooching off of more talented people."
"I see… So, you're asking Revy for training. It makes sense."
"Yes. Do you know of any martial arts classes I could take? I'm afraid I'm quite hopeless. I never got past orange belt in Karate, back in Canada, and most guns are illegal in my home country, so I never really learned much in the way of weapons or marksmanship. Rifles and shotguns are legal, but only for hunting. You see my quandary, yes?"
"Yes… Well… Freerunning would be a good way to learn more flexibility and nimbleness. Capoeira is what Fabiola used in conjunction with her gun to fight. It was self-taught, but effective to a point. Silat is mostly used for bladed and throwing weapons. Ninjutsu is a traditional Japanese martial art, and can be used with almost any kind of weapon you could imagine. It's largely up to you to decide the style of marital arts, if any, you want to use.
"Street fighting seems to have worked for Revy. I suspect she's largely if not completely self-taught, though she may have had some training from Mister Chang, given her choice in weapons."
"Hey, Rock! How do you know so much about martial arts?"
"Oh, well I made it to red belt in Karate before I quit. I… Seem to have lost most of my skill in the art. But I suspect I could pick it up again. I'm taking some Silat, Capoeira and Freerunning courses at the moment. I'm only a beginner in all of them, and I haven't gotten around to actually running in Freerunning. I'm mostly doing strengthening exercises and working on flexibility currently, learning some theory.
"It could be as long as two years before I really get to actual running, depending on how hard I work. I had hoped that you would help me with making myself stronger… You seem to know what you're doing, Revy." Rock said nervously.
"Why don't you get Leatherface to help you with that? Your cast should be coming off any day, now, and she's strong enough to swing that chainsaw around like it's a stick."
"I have considered doing that. But I had hoped to keep myself to as few tutors as possible. Already, I have you, and I have a Capoeira/Freerunning teacher, and a Silat teacher. Soon, I'll have a new teacher in Miss Shenhua."
"You're learning to use knives?"
"Well, not right now. She said I needed to get stronger before she would teach me."
"Ahahaha! She's got that right. Hold on! Yeah! What is it?!" Revy demanded on the phone.
"Hello, Miss Revy. I'd like to see Rock again soon to check on his leg's progress. I suspect that his fracture should be healed soon, if not already." The doctor said. Revy nodded.
"Yeah, yeah! I'll drag 'im down soon!" Revy shouted. The doctor made a sound of dissent.
"Good. See you… In an hour, say?" The doctor asked. Revy agreed and called Rock over.
"Hey… Rotten!"
"It's Lotton." Lotton said.
"Whatever… We're leaving. Get out. Run every day, I would suggest taking some damn martial arts lessons, make yourself better at fighting. I'll be teaching you to fistfight as well."
"Yes, ma'am. I'll take your advice." Lotton said, leaving and closing the door on his way out. Revy grabbed Rock's hand, dragging him along. Rock grabbed his crutch and limped along with her.
"Hey, Doc! We're here!"
"Jussst a minute…" The doctor said, holding up a finger, and leaning in with his tweezers and putting on the last piece of the model ship.
"Sorry… Had to finish this model ship in a bottle. Couldn't let the glue dry. Come on over to this X-Ray machine, Rock, we'll check out your leg." The doctor said, turning on the X-Ray machine, putting a lead vest on Rock to protect his upper body from the radiation.
"And… Here we go… Rock, look at your leg. It's almost completely healed. I suggest you continue to take it easy for another week to allow any residual damage to disappear. But then, you should be fine. You're a very fast healer."
"Thank you for this. Here's the money I owe you for the visit."
"Oh, don't worry about that. It's been paid. They wish to remain anonymous, though."
Rock didn't notice Revy blushing at the mention of his anonymous benefactor.
"Oh… Um… Thank you. Well, have a good day."
"Remember, no running, no kicking or heavy lifting with your legs. Any exercise you may be doing can wait a week."
"Thank you, doctor. Have a good day." Rock said politely, rolling down his pant leg, but not before inspecting his leg, touching it.
It was still a little tender to the touch, but that would probably go away in time. As Rock stepped on his foot for the first time in weeks, he grimaced slightly at the sensations that were going through his foot. He put some more pressure on it, feeling a strange tingling sensation.
"Is it normal to feel this tingling sensation in my foot?" Rock asked. The doctor nodded.
"It's not uncommon. You haven't had any pressure on it for four weeks. It may have only been a minor fracture, but regardless, the bone is reset, and you'll be fine, but you'll need to get used to it again. Expect some tingling and numbness. Keep walking, and you should be fine by tomorrow. Don't worry about it, Rock.
