AUTHOR'S NOTE: Jesus, I've been sitting on this one for a while. Well, here you go, if there's anyone still interested in this. Hope it's not terrible!

Chapter 1: The Chinese Cat Lady

The server placed a glass of water down in front of Revy and a bowl of noodles across from her, for Rock, though he did not look particularly enthusiastic about eating them. His eyes glared at the bowl for several seconds as he debated leaving them altogether. Revy watched him closely with equal parts curiosity and disdain on her face. She took a drag of her cigarette and blew a steady stream of smoke directly at Rock. He did not react. After apparently coming to a decision about whether or not to eat, the Japanese man gently pushed the bowl away and sighed. Revy rolled her eyes and rested her head on one hand, looking off in the other direction.

"Eat something," she told him.

"Huh?"

"You heard me. You haven't eaten anything in two days, Rock, and don't pretend otherwise. We live in the same apartment. You need to eat." He did not engage her. He knew she was right, but that didn't suddenly give him an appetite.

"I'm not hungry," he groaned weakly.

"Not sleepy, either. Up late last night?" Rock rubbed the back of his neck and remained silent, embarrassed. The bags under his eyes spoke volumes. Revy watched him closely, hungry for some kind of emotional response from him. Even an argument would have been better than this. Not only did Rock not retaliate when she berated him, he barely spoke to her at all. Saying that, he barely spoke to any of Lagoon Company that much these days. He had become increasingly more reserved and timid as of late. Revy didn't like that. It did not worry her so much as annoy her, but even she could see something was not right. "You ain't been the same since we came back from the Mekong. I've never seen you like this, partner." His eyes did not meet hers as he waited patiently, hoping against hope that she would leave well enough alone. That, or he just did not care to answer her.

"I'm fine," he said meekly at last. Revy frowned and bore her teeth like an angry dog, but she did not unleash her fury as she normally would have. She just sighed and left it be.

"What did Dutch say? About his meeting?"

"You do listen, hows about that," Revy snapped. "He doesn't know much yet. Chang should be over tonight."

"I wonder what he wants," Rock mused to himself, filled with more energy now than he had been in weeks. Typical, that the only thing that garnered any sort of reaction or enthusiasm from him was the possibility of a job or misdemeanour.

"You know it will be important," Revy told him. "Nothing else would bring him out in person. Shit must be going down."

"You think it's them?" Revy's eyes lit up and she turned in her seat to face Rock.

"The New Order? Pfft, I doubt it. Fuckers haven't been stupid enough to come after us so far. I can't see them having the balls to risk pissing the higher ups off. After the two years we've had, ain't nobody gonna try anything here." Rock disagreed.

Not long after they returned from Venezuela, Balalaika paid a visit to Dutch when he was alone in the apartment. The visit had been about a job, but Hotel Moscow's leader mentioned that she had managed to come across some information that implied Alejandro was in the city. Though he had been a member of the cartel in the past, he had thrown in his lot with the New Order and, from what Balalaika seemed to believe, he would more than likely be coming after Revy at some point to pay her back for the people she had killed at the Lovelace estate.

"They'll show themselves eventually," Rock suggested.

"No shit," Revy spat back at him. "You think I'm a total fucking moron?! I'm not stupid enough to think we're never gonna see them again. But I'll be ready for 'em when they do show." Of that, Rock had no doubt. He was just anticipating the arrival of the New Order. They were a new, unexpected threat, and their goals were simple, but their antagonism with some particular people who resided in the city right now had some ugly implications.

Hawke, the former F.A.R.C. soldier, had been hunting Roberta for some time and would not rest until she was dead. And if her family got in the way, Hawke would probably not hesitate to give them the same treatment. Then, there was Ashur, the loyalist member of Wolf Pack who thirsted for the blood of his equal. The Wolf had been lucky, but that luck would not always be there to save him. And finally, Alejandro had his sights set on Revy and that put the entire of Lagoon Company at risk. These thoughts swirled around in Rock's head and he felt…nothing. Where normally there would be fear or anxiousness, there was just an empty grey cloud. He was not oblivious to the danger of the situation, he just struggled to find the energy to care. It was freeing, in a way, to ignore the happenings of the world around him, impervious to compassion and other inconvenient emotions. He was a shadow of his former self, but at least he was at peace with that fact.

Rock prodded at the noodles with a chopstick and deduced that it had gone cold. He decided not to bother with it after all. Revy, content to leave him be for the moment, rose with him and the two of them made their way back to the apartment in the evening sunset. When they arrived, cars belonging to the Triad were already outside. Chang must already be meeting with Dutch. Indeed, when they headed upstairs and opened the door, the Triad's leader was sitting across from Dutch. The Chinese man turned to see who had entered.

"Rock, Two-Hands," he greeted them. "How've you been?"

"Right as fucking rain," Revy said sarcastically. She threw herself into a free chair and curled into a ball. "Must be something important brought you down here."

"In a way," Chang somewhat agreed. "You must all have a heart attack every time I show my face, considering what's happened the last few times."

"Let's not tempt fate," Dutch joked. "You wanna catch these two up?" Rock grabbed a beer from the fridge and leaned against the wall on the right of the room, beside Benny.

"Well, naturally, there's been a bit of a situation," Chang began. "I recently received word that there's someone in Roanapur who I'll want to avoid. Rumour has it she's been hired to take me out."

"Fucking great," Revy moaned, putting her head in her hand and propping one foot on the table between Chang and Dutch. "Who is it this time?"

"We don't know her name," Chang admitted. "But supposedly some have taken to calling her the 'Cat Lady'." Revy had been dozing slightly in the chair, but she came to life and roared with laughter when she heard that.

"You gotta be pulling my leg, boss!" she screeched. "The fucking Cat Lady? Oh, brother!"

"Unfortunately, that's the funniest thing about her," Chang went on. "My sources tell me she's being paid quite the price to bring my head back to her clients. She's an assassin, you see. And from what I hear, she usually gets the job done fairly quickly, hence the urgency."

Dutch laid back in his seat and eyed Chang cautiously. There was something off about the whole situation to him.

"Why do I get the feeling you aren't telling us everything?" the big man asked. Chang smirked devilishly. Dutch's gut, it seemed, was correct.

"Everything in due time, Dutch. For now, that's as much as you need to know."

"So, what, you want us to take her out?" Revy asked. Again, Chang smirked.

"Not exactly," he said coyly. "This is more of an FYI call. She's been seen in Roanapur already and I'd appreciate the help if she does come for me."

"Last I checked, we weren't in the charity business," Dutch told him. Some of the Triad members standing near the door chuckled to themselves.

"Well, naturally, Dutch," Chang replied. "I wouldn't expect charity. But it goes without saying that if this crazy bitch is as serious about coming for my head as it sounds, I'd be more than happy to offer compensation for the person who brings me hers." That was a roundabout way of hiring Lagoon. The way Chang was speaking certainly implied, as Dutch said, that he was not being entirely forthcoming about all of the information he had on this woman. It did not add up cleanly.

"Who else knows about this?" Revy asked him.

"Well, I only came to you directly. For old time's sake, and all. But I've put the word out on the streets. If you go after her, expect competition." Revy's face lit up with glee and she smiled from ear to ear.

"Fucking A!" she exclaimed. "That's what I like to hear."

"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist. An exact location has been hard to pinpoint, but she's been seen around the docks. I'd start there if you want to go looking for her."

"Appreciate the information, Chang," Dutch told the Chinese man. He nodded in response.

"You scratch my back, I scratch yours. But I have business to see to. Talk later, Lagoon." With that, he rose and exited the apartment, his underlings close behind. Dutch dragged himself out of his seat and went to the window, watching as the Triad members entered their cars and took off.

"That seem strange to anyone else?" he asked when he was sure none of the Triad remained in the building.

"What, that job he just dropped on our doorstep?" Revy asked, oblivious. As far as she was concerned, Chang was simply enticing them to go after an enemy of his and, admittedly, attempting to have them do his dirty work.

"That's just the thing," Dutch explained. "There was no job offer, he just told us about this chick and then left. Besides, if he really wanted her killed, there are plenty of others in this city he could have called on. Assassination's not really our style."

"Speak for yourself," Revy retorted. "If he's paying, you can be damn sure my girls will be ready to go to work." She patted her Cutlasses in their holsters as if to emphasise her intent.

"Dutch is right," Benny agreed. "I know Chang has been stressed lately, but that was downright weird. I get the feeling he didn't want to tell us the whole story." Dutch nodded in agreement.

"What do you think, Rock?" Dutch asked. "You're usually good at seeing this shit." Rock, as it happened, was paying very little attention and only looked up from his beer several seconds later.

"Oh, damn it, Rock!" Revy scolded him. "Did you even hear a word of what Chang said?" Rock looked down nervously. Revy just shook her head and stood up, making for the door. "Ah, fuck this. I'll be at the docks if you need me. If Chang follows through on his promise, I'll have this bitch's head in his lap in record time."