As the awkward silence filled the cabin again, Rock had to admit he had no idea how to get through to angsty, rebellious teenage girls.
Tori sat on the bench in front of him, arms and legs crossed, and menacingly stared at one of the bolts in the ship's wall. "I don't care" was written all over her freckled, slightly childish face. Rock wondered if this is the face she puts on whenever she disobeys her father or tries to escape from her wealthy home. If so, was that a mask that now hid her fear, given she was kidnapped on the pirate boat? Interestingly, Rock had a different impression. He felt the 16-year-old wasn't scared. She looked cocky and confident. She might have even been glad to be in this situation - just so she could get back at her overbearing father.
But there was no way of knowing for sure as she gave him the silent treatment and was completely ignoring both him and Yuri, one of Balalaika's men. He was likely a young, new employee, one Rock has never seen before. But he already proved himself well, successfully sneaking inside Tori's father's mansion and scooping the girl up, although that wasn't too difficult since she had halfway escaped by herself. Tori was all dressed up - heels, bright makeup, denim mini skirt and a tight, pink blouse with a deep V line. The first thing she told them when they took off the duct tape from her mouth was that she was really pissed, because she's gonna miss her party.
However, the kidnapping had nothing to do with Tori herself. It was all about her father, a businessman from Hanoi who bought a mansion just outside of Roanapur. Balalaika did not give them the exact details, but the man managed to pull some strings and significantly reduce her profits from drug trade. She had been on a hunt for two weeks, but Tori's father proved to be difficult to catch - his house was heavily guarded, cars - bulletproof, and on top of it he somehow managed to slip through russians unnoticed many times. The only reason Balalaika hadn't dropped a bomb on the house by now was simply because she needed to speak with him, and needless to say he had to be alive for this.
So finally the Russian prepared a plan.
She stationed a bunch of her men in the main driveway, ready to open fire on the house, but all of that was only meant to be a distraction for the real operation - to allow her men to sneak in from the seaside, with Lagoon's boat waiting nearby. The plan was to capture any of the family members to facilitate negotiations. And as soon as Yuri stepped out of the boat, he saw the man's daughter sneaking through the backyard towards the fence. All he had to do was go and pick her up - and they ended up saving all the bullets.
Now her kidnapper sat in the same cabin, patiently waiting for arrival to Roanapur, where Balalaika was expecting to get her bargaining piece.
Rock had just come back from checking the passengers to their main cabin and plopped on a couch-like bunk, lighting a cigarette. Revy, who was dozing off opposite of him, shuffled and sat up. She gave Rock a curious look.
"Everything's alright there?"
"Yeah. Just had a chat with myself and so came back." He held the pack of cigarettes for her.
Revy scoffed.
"What is there to talk about anyway." She bent down for a light as Rock held the lighter for her.
"I was interested, because she's not afraid. You'd expect someone to be afraid when they're kidnapped, right?"
"Like you were?" A wide smile was flashed. She didn't wait for an answer, as it was all over Rock's face. "That bitch is too proud to be scared. Small brainless self-satisfied idiot."
The hatred-filled rant raised Rock's eyebrow.
"What?" She rammed her eyes into his. "Have you seen her? A priviledged dumb baby. I hate people like that." She spat with despise. "They think they're better and smarter than everyone while everything is served on a silver plate."
The fact that Tori was pampered by her rich daddy obviously irritated Revy badly, and that didn't surprise Rock any more. She still divided people into two categories - us or them - and "they" deserved no respect.
"Anyway." She pulled a smoke deep in her lungs, closing her eyes, but suddenly some tumbling sound caught her attention.
"Did you hear that?"
"What?" Rock started listening, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. "Just the boat's engine."
She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, tucking some loose strands behind her ears. Then slid into her boots and went towards their passengers' cabin.
"I'll go check them."
In about 30 seconds, fired shots echoed inside the boat.
Dutch nearly knocked him over when they both raced to the doors, and Benny joined, tumbling out of his equipment lair. Three men barged in.
The air almost sparked with tension. The first thing Rock saw was Revy holding a gun, pointed at the bench where Tori used to sit. He followed the direction of a barrel - at the other end there was Yuri, half-lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, as it oozed from the hole in his groin. He was pointing his gun at Revy. Squeezed in the corner Tori shivered and cried. Her previously cocky eyes were now full of tears as she clenched her ripped blouse against her bare chest.
"IT IS NOT YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS WHAT I DO WITH THE HOSTAGE, REVY!" Man growled. "Back off before I plant another bullet in you!"
As Yuri's words registered in the back of his mind, Rock scanned Revy's body. There was some blood running down her leg from her hip, but the wound was hidden by her shorts. From the amount of blood though, it seemed the soldier was in a much worse situation.
"NOT. ON. MY. FUCKING. BOAT." Revy spat, gritting her teeth with resentment, her trigger finger twitching unnervingly with every word she said. Anger or Resentment wasn't strong enough of a word. He thought he saw the epitome of Revy's rage when she duelled Roberta, but whatever he witnessed now was pure fury. Her body started trembling visibly while she was holding herself back, in the back of her mind still aware the man was their indirect client. Yet Rock didn't even need to see her eyes to know she was a ticking time bomb, with every second passing the chance of this scene becoming a bloodbath increased.
Dutch pulled his gun and pointed it at the man on the ground. "Fun's over. If you don't want to rot in the sea, lower your fucking gun."
Finally realizing he was not in a position to bargain, Yuri eventually pushed the pistol away. At this rate he will die soon anyway, he thought, compressing the hole in his groin, dangerously close to his man parts. He realized this is where she was aiming to begin with.
Revy never lowered her gun, but her and Tori's eyes met. Revy slightly tilted her head, implying for the girl to come, and Tori sprinted around her capturer and hurried behind the Lagoon's gunman. Benny extended his hand towards the girl to take her away from the room, but she avoided and clung onto Revy, her eyes trembling with now very visible fright. As Tori's hand tentatively touched Revy's arm, the tension dissipated. She lowered her gun, and gave a nod to Dutch.
"Come." Revy's voice was so different from what usually came out of her mouth Rock was perplexed, especially after the way she spoke of Tori just minutes ago. It was almost gentle. And Tori complied, closely following Revy back to the other cabin. Rock turned to follow as well, but Revy shook her head at him.
"Revy, you're bleeding."
She seemed to register the fact only now, ignoring the pain during the adrenaline rush. She took a look at her blood-covered leg, and carefully pulled the side of her shorts, revealing a shallow scratch.
Their eyes met in understanding, and Rock remained standing on the doorstep while they hurried out.
Dutch took away the man's gun and grabbed some bandages, helping the injured guy. The bleeding slowed, but judging from the rate of the bandages turning red, Roanapur's hospital was going to have one additional surgery today.
"Why are you helping me?" The man asked, somewhat confused, gritting his teeth in pain.
"I prefer you walking out of our boat yourself rather than us having to carry a dead body." Dutch answered, his expression calm and unphased.
"So why that crazy bitch thought differently then?"
"Balalaika paid for the transport of you and the girl and not for anything else, certainly not for a room in a 1-hour motel. Once you're off the boat, you can do whatever you fucking like." Dutch retorted.
"Dutch, you want us to stay with him until we arrive?" Benny asked, standing in the doorway.
"No. We will lock him up here. I need you at the radar, Benny boy. Rock, check if Revy needs any help. I'm going back to the wheel."
Rock turned to go. On his way he passed a closed door of the room they previously sat smoking. Through a window on the doors he saw Tori sitting on the bunk bed, dressed in a new black T-shirt, and Revy standing in front of the girl. Her hands were on her hips and she seemed to be talking a lot. He listened closely, but over the noises of the ship he could only make "...where to kick them". He lit a cigarette, lost in thought, and climbed outside.
After a while Revy came to the cockpit where Rock and Dutch sat in silence, staring at approaching Roanapur's port.
"Revy, what exactly happened down there?" Dutch asked.
"I came upon him trying to rape the girl. I pulled a gun, he did too. I think he fired first, but I may be wrong."
"Balalaika will be pissed."
"I know, but what the fuck was I supposed to do? Excuse myself and close the door?"
"Let me talk to Balalaika." Rock suggested. He felt like he could try to navigate the conversation. She might not be happy about her soldier, but instead she gets an unharmed hostage. If she is aiming for a dialogue with the businessman, Revy has just prevented this plan being busted.
"Don't interfere, Rock, this has nothing to do with you. I'll handle it." Revy answered.
"It has to do with me as much as it has to do with you or Dutch or Benny. This is Lagoon's business and some things are not tolerable for all of us."
"He's right, Revy, this is not personal. Don't worry." Dutch responded and turned back to the wheel. "And by the way, Rock. Think of what you will say if the fellow dies, because Benny checked up on him and he's already unconscious."
Back at the office, Rock poured two glasses of whiskey and lay down on the couch, before setting one in front of Revy. She was sitting across the coffee table on another couch, disassembling her Cutlasses and preparing to clean them. Her thigh was still bloody, but a corner of a patch was peeking from under her shorts.
Dutch and Benny had left with some business while both Rock and Revy decided to intoxicate themselves on the Lagoon's office sofas.
Rock closed his eyes and leaned his head against the armrest of the couch, his bare feet one atop the other the other end. "Revy..?" He fell silent before continuing the question to take a sip of his drink.
"Mmm."
"Right before ...the incident, you seemed to genuinely despise that girl. But then after she got assaulted, I noticed your attitude changed completely."
Her busy hands stopped assembling the gun. Revy slowly raised her eyes at him. He could feel her look on his temple. "I don't know what you're asking."
Rock opened his eyes and looked at her. He partly expected her to flip right after hearing what he said. This is what she would have done some years ago. But instead she just sounded mildly irritated.
"I'm actually wondering why you helped her. Generally people don't help people they don't like."
Revy sighed loudly. "I already gave that answer."
The tone of her words indicated the end of conversation. She didn't snap. She avoided the topic but let him know he was close to crossing a line.
This would have been a sensible time to end the conversation.
However something was urging him to push further.
"I know. You shot Yuri because you wanted to stop him, and to state our rules on the boat, and keep the hostage unharmed." He slowly took another sip of his drink. "Fair enough. But what I'm asking is why you not only saved her, but also took care of her after? Took her away, got her dressed and even gave some life lessons?"
He watched as her eyebrows slowly wrinkled and lips pressed into a thin line, as she realized he had been watching her. The mildly irritated look gradually became colder. Those eyes stared at him for what felt like an eternity, before her lips spoke. Her fingers started moving again, slowly sliding the magazine of bullets into one of her guns. It was a warning.
"You know I don't like talking about shit like that."
Rock was walking in a minefield. He did his best to pretend his heart did not start pounding faster, yet finished the drink bottoms up, mentally preparing for the plausible storm. He grabbed a pack of cigarettes and lit one, deeply inhaling the smoke, his moves deliberately slow.
"I just want to know what happened to make your attitude towards her change. One minute you hate her, another minute you're consoling her. Why did you suddenly start caring?"
The glass that she just emptied loudly banged against the table, her white fingers still clenching it.
"Why don't you fuck off and leave me alone, Rock, before I blow your useless head away?"
He met her look with stubborness.
"Why don't you just admit that you care about her?"
"I don't give a flying fuck about her!"
Her raised voice was followed by a grunt, as she was still somewhat attempting to calm down, although unsuccessfully. It sounded like she would gladly kill Tori herself just to prove him wrong.
"For fuck's sake why do you have to open your damn mouth and complicate everything with your useless shrink shit!?"
Staring contest continued. Revy clenched a gun in her hand, eagerly waiting for his answer, while Rock looked back, pulling a cigarette, masterfully hiding his uneasiness about this situation. The ashes at the end were approaching a near-falling stage, and Rock broke eye-contact looking for the ashtray. It lay in the middle of the table.
He knew there would be no going back after what he was about to say.
"I think you're lying."
Just as he reached for the ashtray, his words finally made Revy snap. The heavy, army-style boot loudly banged on the table, knocking off the whiskey glass, as she reached for his tie. Once their faces were inches apart, the strangling of his neck was accompanied by sharp pain in his chest, as she crawled on top, sliding her foot between the backrest of the couch and his side, and her knee rammed into his rib cage. A cold barrel of a cutlass was once again shoved against his temple as she stared into his eyes and he grappled around his neck desperately, trying to loosen the tie.
"I. DON'T. GIVE. A. FUCK. ABOUT. WHAT. YOU. THINK!!!"
He couldn't breathe. Aside the tie, she was pressing his chest with her body weight.
He got what he asked for. And one look into her eyes was enough to understand there was no nice way out of this. She was furious beyond words.
He tried to pull her hand away, clenching her wrist, but her only response to pain was lips pressed into thin line and the Cutlass pushing into his temple more painfully.
His ears started ringing from the lack of oxygen. For a second he wondered whether she will stop once he's unconscious; or dead. The glare of her eyes was pointing towards the latter.
Rock tried to wriggle out from underneath her, but she held onto him like a leech. As his vision started to blur, he gathered last bits of energy he had left and sat up, abruptly pushing Revy off his chest and on his legs, also using the moment to slide a finger under his tie. He turned, lowering his feet to the ground, and as a breath of air finally found it's way into his lungs, he found himself in a coughing fit. All this time he clearly felt Revy's gun as if it was glued to his head. Perfectly silent she stared down, unfazed by the change of position.
Rock's hand with a cigarette hung awkwardly in the air the entire time, never reaching the intended ashtray, having dropped some of the ashes on the ground during Revy's attack. After getting back his breath, he slowly brought the cigarette back to his lips.
A hoarse, fume-filled voice came from his chest, as he stared back at her bewildered, yet waiting, eyes.
"You wouldn't be sitting on me with a loaded gun against my head if you didn't care what I think. For once, Revy, can't you just admit that you cared for someone?"
She pulled on the tie again, and hissed, but the decibels of her voice became louder and louder.
"YOU KNOW SHIT, ROCK. FOR ONCE, STOP PRETENDING TO BE SUCH A SMART-ASS OR I WILL FUCKING MAKE YOU STOP! YOU'RE ACTING LIKE HER! LIKE YOU KNOW BETTER, LIKE WHAT YOU DO IS FUCKING BETTER! YOU KNOW SHIT!"
"Of course, Revy, deny! Deny any feelings you have, because that wouldn't fit you and your character in this shithole! Keep on lying to others and to yourself, even when it's so obvious! And if they refuse to let that go and keep on asking because THEY WANT TO KNOW YOU - SHOOT THEM DOWN! PULL THAT DAMN TRIGGER AND PROVE THEM YOU'RE AS HEARTLESS AS YOU WANT TO BE SEEN!"
He stopped to catch his breath for a second. Something in her look has changed. "But bear in mind Revy, once you pull the trigger, there will be no one to prove anything to. But that's probably better than someone actually seeing through you, isn't it."
The cigarette in his hand was shaking. He looked away, attempting to find a drop of solace in the nicotine as he put the cigarette to his lips and pulled. He did not want to look into her eyes, the change he saw during his speech was… unnerving. The gun at his temple moved slightly, but he didn't fear she'd pull the trigger. Instead of the cold, emotionless eyes she has when she kills, her eyes were… different. Looking at that suddenly felt like something so intimate he had to look away, suddenly feeling uneasy about this provocation.
Revy sat motionless on top of him, like a statue with a gun in one hand and a tie in another. Rock looked down at her thighs on top of his own, one of them with a trace of already crusted blood. He pulled at his cigarette again. He had a habit of resting his hand on his thigh between the puffs if he sat smoking, and was already lowering his hand before realising Revy's leg was on that exact spot. Considering her disregard of nudity and the pose she mindlessly occupied now, resting the back of his hand on her thigh did not seem to be a big deal at first thought, but an accident he witnessed before more than a year suddenly came to his head, and left his hand hovering in the air.
Rock and Benny were sitting in the Yellow Flag, emptying glasses of beer, waiting for Dutch and Revy to join after they finished some business in the city. Sitting at the bar with his right-hand side towards the entrance, he quickly registered movement with a corner of his eye and turned his head towards the door where his partners just entered.
Benny, already quite drunk, raised a glass and shouted something to them in order to catch their attention, but the holler also caught the ear of some Mexicans, who sat at the table near the entrance, the table that Revy and Dutch were about to pass. One Mexican guy was seemingly a newbie and the gang were having drinks as a welcoming party for him. Already visibly wasted, he turned to noise-creating Benny, and subsequently followed his look to find long bare legs coming his way. Rock did not see his expression, but judging by the reaction of his drinking mates, who began waving at him not do anything stupid and shaking his shoulder to wake him up from hormone/alcohol-induced frenzy, he must have had his tongue out like a dog.
Revy ignored the commotion and calmly approached Benny and Rock when the new Mexican guy sneaked his hand right between Revy's legs.
Revy reacted instinctively, wasting no time for looking or thinking, pulled one of her guns and shot the guy precisely between the eyes. The bar fell silent. It went down so quickly, neither Mexicans nor Dutch had a chance to pull out their own weapons, while everyone just stared at what had happened. As the bar registered Revy and a dead body lying by her feet, people turned back to their drinks, and Revy turned her head to the table of Mexicans to inspect their intentions. Since there were none, she calmly stepped over the body, upholstered her gun, and joined Rock and Benny as if nothing had happened.
Something clicked inside his head, and it wasn't Revy's bullet. A realisation suddenly entered his thoughts.
Her reaction to a girl almost getting raped; her reaction to some stranger's touch.
Rock had realised a long time ago that Revy's current power and her amazing gunslinger skills did not come out of the blue sky. There was no way a young teenage girl in NYC had such abilities with weapons, therefore most likely she didn't have any way to protect herself. She only told him the cops beat her senselessly; perhaps she did not tell him the full story, or a hundred of stories for that matter. He didn't know what she went through. And the skills she has now are her power, her shield, and her protection.
Is everything she demonstrates now - power, confidence, independence - is an over-compensation of what she didn't have growing up?
And she was holding onto that power, refusing to compromise. To trust someone means to open up; to open up means expose yourself. And being exposed means you might get hurt.
Rock became disgusted by himself.
By wanting to draw out something out of her he thoughtlessly bit, not stopping to think what she might think or feel. That was so selfish, he didn't want to believe he actually did that.
He stood up, wrapping his hand against Revy's back to hold her tightly until she regained her balance, then let go, allowing her to step back. She let go of his tie and a hand holding a gun was hanging by her side, the only thing directed at him were her eyes.
Nervously he raised his, worried about what he would read from her look. However, the look he found was unexpected. Instead of hurt, he only saw apathy.
She figured him out. She realized what he was trying to do, understood he tried to provoke her so she'd tell him something more. Something he craved to get so much.
So much, that he felt guilty as a dog after saying all these things that were supposed to bring her over the edge but instead woke her up from an emotional frenzy.
Revy watched as Rock plummeted into the couch, burying his hands into his hair.
"Revy. I'm…"
"The answer to your last question." - she cut him off - "Yeah. It is."
He raised his surprised eyes into hers as she pointed her gun to his forehead.
His eyes widened.
Her finger pressed the trigger.
His heart turned in his chest.
The gun clicked silently.
The safety was on.
Revy upholstered her weapons and left, swinging the door forcefully so they banged against the wall. Ceiling paint crumbled and fell on Rock's slumped shoulders.