Chapter Nine

"Okay! Sit-ups! Now!" Revy demanded. Rock and Lotton lay down on the floor, and began doing situps as well as they could without any pressure on their feet. Rock seemed to be doing better than Lotton, who seemed to have no facility for exercise whatsoever.

"Come on, you fucking Canuck! Get going! You too, Rock!" Revy ordered.

"Miss Revy… Canuck isn't actually considered offensive by Canadians. It's just the name of a Canadian hockey team from Vancouver… I'm from Calgary, Alberta."

"Shut the fuck up, dumbass! If you have breath to run your mouth, you aren't working hard enough!" Revy snapped. Rock seemed to be far ahead of Lotton in terms of core strength, which seemed odd, since Rock was such a peaceful person, and didn't seem given to intense exercise.

"Yes, Miss Revy." Lotton said, going back to his sit-ups. Revy smirked.

"That's better. Keep going! When your stomach can't take it anymore, take a five second break, and go back to sit-ups!" Revy ordered. Lotton started doing sit-ups again. It was agonizing at this point. Rock seemed to have an easier time of it.

"Come on, Rotten! Even Rock is doing better than you! What does that say?"

After about half an hour of straight sit-ups, when both men's stomachs were killing them, Revy ordered them to stand up.

"We're doing target practice, now! If you don't get at least five bullseyes, every half-hour, you're out! I don't work with losers!"

Rock started shooting, and got very close to the bullseye right away. Lotton tried, and didn't even hit the target. This training went on for two hours. Lotton got around eight bullseyes, while Rock got around thirteen. Lotton looked over to Rock. Rock looked back at Lotton.

"Rock… How do you manage to be so talented at sharpshooting?"

"I'm not. I take my time on my shots for now, though. There will be time in the future when I need to aim and shoot quickly. Now is not that time, though. You're rushing your shots, when you don't need to." Rock said calmly, putting his shoes on, and changing out of his work clothes, and into running clothes. The truth was, although he said that he had only been working with Revy for a short while, it had actually been more than a month, and he knew that they were going running now.

Already, given that he didn't smoke anymore, his lung capacity was improving a great deal. Although Revy could still run harder and longer, she coughed a lot after a long run. Rock had suggested that she cut down on smoking, and drinking as well. That was only met with a punch to the stomach and the suggestion that he go fuck himself.

Nothing he could do, really.

"You better get your running clothes on…"

"Right now?"

"Yes, right now. We're about to go running."

"In front of Miss Revy? Doesn't that seem inappropriate? Especially since you have a girlfriend, and I barely know her?" Lotton asked, wondering if he could undress in front of Revy.

"I don't think she'll care. She was a porn actress in a previous occupation. Not much bothers her. She's seen it all." Rock said, shrugging. Lotton shook his head, and grabbed his running shorts, going into the bathroom to change instead.

"What a pussy…" Revy sneered. "Can't even find the balls to change his clothes in front of others. Bet he was that one kid who went into the bathroom stalls to change after gym class."

"There's nothing wrong with being considerate of others, Revy. Here he comes, now." Rock said as Lotton came out of the bathroom in running shorts and a tee shirt.

"Fine… We're taking a five mile course today. You better be able to run at least 2 and a half of those miles… That's 2.5 miles straight."

"Um… Miss Revy… I hate to seem like the naysayer, but I haven't done any serious running in a while."

"Then what are you doing here? Either conform or get the fuck out, bitch!"

"Yes, ma'am."

"At least he knows how to respect his betters." Revy said dismissively, slipping into her shoes, and heading out to the fire escape and jumping down, landing perfectly.

"No need to hurt yourself. Even Revy doesn't expect us to do that yet. If you did, you'd probably hurt yourself. Come on. The door is over here." Rock said, heading quickly down to the street, knowing Revy wouldn't want to wait.

"Faster, weaklings!" Revy snarled angrily, cracking a leather switch on Rock and Lotton's backs, yelling at the two of them. Lotton cried out, in pain, though Rock, having gotten used to her abuse, didn't make a sound. "Come on, pussies! If you can't keep up with me while I'm jogging, how do you expect to get anywhere?" Revy demanded angrily.

Rock gasped, continuing through the stitch in his side. Lotton had slowed down multiple times, never stopping, but rarely going as fast as he potentially could for fear of burning out and being kicked out of Revy's training.

"H-Hard… To believe… This *Gasp!* is the woman who's in love… With you." Lotton commented.

Rock nodded.

"Revy just… Has a… Hard time expressing… Her emotions in a healthy way." Rock replied. Lotton nodded, continuing, slowing down a bit, while Rock sped up just a slight bit, pulling ahead of Lotton. Rock had been using an odometer to make sure that he had the 2.5 miles done before he slowed to a fast walk, catching his breath.

"Come on, pussy! You're being held to higher standards than this gigolo wannabe!" Revy shouted at Rock, who sighed and started running again. This process of speeding up, slowing down, being verbally, and occasionally, physically abused by Revy went on for another hour or so until the sun started setting, and Revy dragged the two men back to the apartment building, where they worked on marksmanship again for an hour before Revy kicked Lotton out, and he trudged his way back to Shenhua's home.

After about an hour, having moved slower than usual, he made it back to his apartment, where he stumbled into the room, staggering his way to the couch, and collapsing on it. Shenhua came in a few moments later, not having bothered to put a towel on, thinking she was alone.
"Ah, Lotton? You home so early, yes you are. I no think you be here for 'nother two hours, no."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Shenhua… Could you get dressed? I find you incredibly attractive, but it's not appropriate for me to be in the…"

"You too much prude, yes you are. You like Rock. Handsome, but stiff… And no in good way, you get my meaning."

"I do. I'd get up myself, but I'm likely unable to move."

"Oh, that no problem, no… I do acupuncture, yes… You lay down on bed… I carry you if need to…"

"I couldn't have you carry me, Shenhua. I appreciate the acupuncture, though. Does it work for overworked muscles, though?"

"Don't know. I use it for lot of things. Relieve pain, cause pain, loosen muscle, stiffen muscle, torture, open chi paths, block chi paths… Many use, yes. No certain if use for sore muscles. Relieve pain, though. I think you stretch tonight first, though, yes."

"Of course…" Lotton said, sitting down on the floor, and going through what seemed like it was probably a long held stretching regimen.

Kneeling and laying back fully, along with a long procession of other stretching, which, even as Shenhua watched, having quite forgotten to get dressed, now, was impressed. She had always considered herself more flexible than she was strong, but Lotton's ability to stretch was still impressive.

"You quite good stretching, yes… That gigolo practice?"

"I told you. I'm far too clumsy to be in that line of work. And please get dressed." Lotton said, standing up feeling better already.

"You such prude. Why you no want see beautiful lady nude?"

"Fine… I'll leave. Come in when you're dressed if you still want to do the acupuncture."

"I be in ten minutes. No less, yes." Shenhua said, turning around and going to her room, while Lotton went into his room, lying down on the bed. About fifteen minutes later, Shenhua came in with a box of needles wrapped individually. First, she ordered him to take off his shirt and pants. He only needed his boxers on, since she assumed he didn't want to strip completely in front of her.

She started with acupressure, hitting a few pressure points, cracking a few joints, and realigning his spine. Then she moved onto the needles, heating each one with a lighter, then sticking them in him. She truly had the eye of an assassin. She performed acupuncture with such precision. Finally, she finished with the needles, and slowly began to remove them. When she was done, she took them to a chemical bath to sanitize them.

"Thank you, Shenhua… I feel much better."

"Oh, it no problem, no! You much welcome." She said with a cheerful smile, just as Sawyer walked in.

"You welcome home, Sawyer… What that in you hands?" The assassin asked. Sawyer blushed slightly.

"It is a gift for Rock. His birthday is coming up. I bought him a kerambit."

"Kerambit? That good gift, yes… But it no help much in soon future. He while go to using knives. Need training first, yes. He be firing guns sooner than throwing knives, he do."

"Oh…" Frederica said dejectedly. Lotton walked in, having just put his clothes back on.

"It's still a very nice gift, and I'm sure he'll appreciate that you thought of him. That will matter more than the practicality of the gift. I always got neckties and dress shirts on my birthdays. But the time I was twenty, I had more than I knew what to do with. My family always assumed I was going to be a businessman. The shirts came in handy, the ties, not so much. But I always appreciated them regardless. In retrospect, I think my brothers and sisters didn't know what else to get me."

"That sad story, yes it is. They no able think of more creative gifts than ties and shirts? They boring, yes… When you birthday?"

"Birthdays are unimportant. Trivial celebrations of just another day of the year."

"No… I'm certain that we can find a more suitable gift for you, Lotton…" Frederica said sternly. Lotton sighed.

"Well. Miss Sawyer, my birthday is in three weeks… June 3rd. My family always joked about it being the same date as the June Rebellion's end."

"June Rebellion? I no hear of that, no I don't." Shenhua said, scratching her head.

"It was a rebellion in France that came about as a result of the French king's uncaring attitude toward the proletariat. A small group of students roused a rebellion of about 3,000 people to try to kill the king and overthrow the government. Needless to say, they were crushed brutally, and executed for their treasonous actions." Lotton said. Shenhua laughed at this.

"They idiots, yes, oppose king with so small force!"

"Well… It was the people of France. Unfortunately, most of the people were still cowed by the king's power. They weren't ready to die for the cause. The rebellion was actually started by a bunch of students who faced off against French military by barricading themselves.

"After the death of General Jean Maximilien Lamarque, a group of students and other poor and proletariat tried to accompany the hearse back to Lamarque's home, and the group formed into, along with a number of other people in the crowd, into a mob, that fought French forces. Some say the group numbered as large as 100,000, though that's unlikely. It's more likely that people were so awed by the fact that commoners rebelled against the military, that they exaggerated their number.

"Many of them may not have been able to estimate a number as large as 3,000 either. They were just common people with a small number of guns and ammunition, opposing a huge military force. But this rebellion went down in history, and eventually, that king was overthrown… Or so it's believed…"

"Wow… They brave, but stupid! They no even buy mercenaries fight for them?"

"They were commoners. How could they have afforded mercenaries, especially ones of yours and Miss Sawyer's talents? They could barely afford to put bread on the table." Lotton said, scowling. Sawyer nodded, and headed out to do her daily run. She had just eaten a lot, and needed to run it off.

Rock went to a table and started fiddling with some eggs, drilling a tiny hole and pushing a tube into it. Revy's eyes widened slightly as she heard a hiss and a yellow goo dripped out of the egg, and Rock set it aside.

"What the fuck are you doing, Rock? Why are you spending money on eggs just so you can drill holes in them?" She demanded angrily. Rock laughed, and took a completed egg and handed it to Revy.

The purple haired woman looked the egg over.

"Don't crush it. It has ground up glass, pepper, gun powder, sawdust and a fuse in it. It makes an excellent short to mid-range weapon." Rock said. "You light the fuse and then wait for it to burn halfway down, throw it at the enemy, preferably at their face. The pepper causes sneezing and discomfort, the glass blinds them, and the sawdust creates fire while the gunpowder explodes.

"The opponent won't know what hit them. It's cheap but effective." Rock said. Revy's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Wow! That's really cool! I guess you do have moments where you're not as much of a pussy as usual!"

"Mm… Yes… Well, I'm making as many as I can. I suggest you hold them carefully. Put them in a place where they won't get jostled. I've lacquered the eggshells multiple times so that they don't break as easily. But they'll still shatter if they get jostled too much."

"Cool! How did you get this idea!?"

"Oh, Miss Shenhua… She practices ninjutsu to a certain degree… Not extensively, but she uses thrown weapons, and what is this if not a disposable thrown weapon? It's a bit like a miniature grenade." Rock said cheerfully. Revy nodded.

"So, are you making these for her?"

"No. I'm going to sell most of them. Bet I can make as much as 50 dollars off of one, but I'll sell them for 30 dollars individually. I'll supply Lagoon Company with a cache of them so that we can benefit from them." Rock said, turning back to the eggs, cursing as one of them cracked, and split open, oozing yolk.

"Hey, dumbass! Get that goop away from the floor! We don't want ants!" Revy demanded. Rock nodded, wrapping the egg in plastic and throwing it away.

"Sorry…" He said, moving onto the next egg, gently drilling a hole in it and putting the air burster in it, liquidizing the yolk, pouring it out into the garbage and setting it aside to dry.

"This is boring. I'm going running and you're coming with me." Revy said. Rock looked at her.

"Why? I just went running this morning. I'm even starting a relatively mild Freerunning course.

"Actually, I've already told Shenhua about these, and she's interested in buying some of them. I need to get going." Rock said, slipping the eggs into individual cotton padded holders and putting them in a plastic bag. Revy counted ten in all. He then started slipping twenty more into another set of cotton holders and putting them in a separate bag, labelling it Hotel Moscow.

"Whoa! You're selling these to Balalaika!? Maybe you really do have a pair after all!" Revy laughed. "How much you sellin' em for!"

"Well… Individually, they're 30 dollars. But, for ten, I'll let them go for 250. For twenty eggs, I'd be happy to sell them for 500." Rock said. Revy started cracking up at this.

"Wow! Selling eggs for 500 dollars! Next you're gonna try to sell Mr. Chang the Brooklyn Bridge, right!?" Revy laughed hysterically.

"No. This isn't a confidence scam. You're underestimating how effective these eggs are. Here. Let me show you." Rock said quietly, taking an egg that was labelled with a P.

"This is just a pepper bomb with a tiny pressurized sac in it that will create an air burst when the egg is broken. It will be uncomfortable, but not deadly or even long term. The worst that happens is irritated eyes, sneezing, coughing." Rock said, lighting the fuse and waiting for a minute. Then, he threw it at Revy's face, and it burst, pepper spreading everywhere. Revy gasped, sneezing furiously, rubbing her eyes, and by the time she was clearheaded again, Rock was gone, having left a note.

See? I told you they work. Check the cabinet. There's a gift for you in there. Rock wrote. Revy was pissed off that Rock had done that to her. But she checked the cabinet. There was a bottle of Bourbon and a bag with ten eggs in it.

The eggs are completed bombs. Careful. Even if they're not lit, they have ground up glass in them.

-Rock-

"Good morning, Miss Balalaika. I came to deliver the package you asked me for." Rock said. Balalaika smirked.

"Mm… You're a fast worker, Rock. I respect that. You only told me about this egg bomb project a few days ago. Are you sure that they work?"

"I've tested some non-deadly prototypes of them filled with pepper and an air burst sac. If you have someone to test them on, I could show you that they work." Rock said. Balalaika actually laughed at this.

"I've been wondering how we should punish this particular individual… She just doesn't seem to know her place. But, she's a new mother, and I would hate to see her children suffer just because she's stupid."

"Don't tell me Anita stole from you again?" Rock asked, not liking where this was going.

"Oh, yes… She tried to steal from Boris this time… Tried and failed to pick his pocket. I don't know if it's just arrogance, or if she really didn't realize that he was one of my men.

"Either way, it can't go unpunished. I won't have people believing we're going soft."

"That wouldn't do at all, would it? Well, bring her in, and we'll test the weapon on her."

"You know, I like you, Rock. You had so much potential when you first came here. I could see it in you. An intelligent and cunning mind, a desire to prove yourself… A certain disregard for the rules set by society, but a bureaucratic mindset.

"You walk that fine line between savagery and order very well." Balalaika said to Rock, smiling at him.

"Thank you, Miss Balalaika." Rock said, as a woman was dragged, kicking and screaming into the room.

"Please! I-I swear I'll never steal from you again! I'll leave Roanapur tonight and never come back!" Anita begged, tears streaming down her cheeks. Balalaika took out a cigar and cut it, lighting it up, taking a long drag before exhaling and speaking.

"You got that right, sweetie. Rock, would you do the honors of showcasing your new product for me?"

"M-me?"

"W-wait! Rock!? Please! Help me!" Anita screamed.

"Yes, you… You're the salesman right now. Prove to me that your admittedly brilliant project works." Balalaika said dispassionately.

Rock gulped, nodding and standing back, borrowing a lighter from Balalaika and lighting the fuse. He knew he was going to feel guilty about this. He didn't mind that Balalaika and her people did these things. Part of the natural order and whatnot. But he didn't necessarily want to be part of it… But he was part of it. It was his life too, now.

"Now, you light the fuse, and wait for it to burn about a third of the way down before throwing it. You should really be standing about ten feet away to avoid any backlash from the explosion. Once you throw it, step back another five or so feet and cover your eyes, mouth and nose. This, of course, is under optimal circumstances. There may be situations where you're using them in combat, and you won't be able to take such precautions. Just do what you can in those to avoid hurting yourself." Rock said.

He then lit the fuse, and stepped back a few feet, throwing the egg at Anita's face, hitting her dead on as the gunpowder went off, lighting the sawdust and creating a loud "bang!" Anita shrieked in pain, rolling around covering her burned, bleeding face, and now blind eyes. Balalaika clapped, impressed.

"I will take as many as you have available."

"I can sell you twenty for right now." Rock said. Balalaika thought for a moment.

"Very good. How much do I owe you?"

"500 for all twenty."

"500… Well, they are very effective. How about 400…?" The Russian mob boss asked. Rock didn't generally haggle, especially with women whom he knew could kill him just as easily as look at him.

"That's fine. Here you go, Miss Balalaika. 20 egg bombs for 400 dollars."

"Hmhmhm… You still have a lot to learn. You definitely could have gotten more money out of me for these bombs. You offered them to me for a good price, acted as a good salesman, displayed their use in spectacular fashion."

"I might have been able to. But I don't make it a habit to argue with people who can rip my head off without breaking an 85 on the heart monitor."

"Ahahaha! So you didn't press your advantage because you're scared of me! Well, you should be scared of me, Rock… But you don't need to be timid in my presence, either. Here's your 400 dollars. Have a good day." Balalaika said cheerfully. It had been a while since she had this much fun. Rock really was an interesting person.