15
The toll of war has been horrendous.
The Black Lagoon team is resting while licking their wounds. Revy Two Hand's injuries are being treated by Dutch. The black badass himself is also injured, although slightly. Benny and Jane are relatively unscathed. Rock has a minor concussion but he insisted that he needed only aspirin to cure his world class headache.
Mikasa's Task Force Titan has been decimated. She is the only survivor of the brutal 24K ambush. The body bags of her comrades are laid in a neat line inside the hangar. Mikasa refused any kind of food and medication. She sat quietly on a stool beside her team.
Revy stood up and walked towards Rock. "Are you okay?" she asked the Lagoon money man.
Rock looked up to her."Yeah."
"Your hands are shaking."
Rock looked at his trembling fingers. "I was just….."
Revy placed her hand on Rock's shoulder. "You've handled yourself pretty well."
Rock's fingers wrapped on Revy's hand. "Thank Revy."
"What do we do now?" Jane asked.
"What do you think?" Dutch grumbled, grabbing his shotgun.
"Let's just cut our losses and get the hell out of here," Jane suggested.
Revy took an M4 carbine from a table and checked the bolt.
Benny stood up. "You are not planning on going to Kao's island, aren't you?"
"We still have a fight to finish," Revy concurred with Dutch.
"This is fucking insane, Revy!" Jane thundered. "There's no way you two can take out Kao's army!"
"Three," a female voice echoed from the hangar.
Mikasa stepped forward. "I'm coming with you, Two Hands. For my comrades, I'm with you for the final battle. And if we have to give these motherfuckers our lives, let's make sure they'll all go to hell first."
Revy stepped forward and extended her hand. Mikasa held it tightly.
"Well, machoness aside, I am sure you girls have a plan?" Benny asked.
Revy smiled at them. "I always have a plan."
The team grunted in mock horror.
Kao Zhaulong's island is only a few nautical miles from Roanapur. It is small, and dominated by the drug lord's huge ten-room mansion. The massive European-style edifice has a three stories and a basement, complete with all the amenities any rich man would want. An expansive swimming pool dominated the front yard. The main mansion is supported by several support structures, including a motor pool, a small concrete building on the side, a watch tower, and three helipads.
The helipad is full to capacity, as well as the pier. Expensive yachts are tied on the docks. Since the island has no road access, only boats and choppers could reach it. This is the first time the island is filled people. Drug lords tend to be paranoid, and most of them have huge private armies. They brought most of their muscle to the island for this meeting, swelling the population even more. Kao's 24K gangsters are patrolling the grounds, armed to the teeth with firearms.
Kao himself is on his room, drinking brandy while on the satellite phone. His new close-in bodyguard is a huge Aussie man named Nathan. The bald baddie is six foot ten inches of pure muscle.
"Kao, you made another mistake," the voice on the other line said. "You lost a lot of your men and yet Ackerman and the Black Lagoon team managed to get away. And they still have the chip."
"My men are expendable," Kao answered. "And they managed to kill Ackerman's team."
"Yet you missed your primary targets once again," the voice grunted. "I can assure you, Ackerman will come for your head."
"She can try," Kao mused. "I have 500 men waiting for her."
"Just make sure you'll take care of the problem this time, Kao," the voice warned. "This is your last chance."
Kao cursed as he tosses his phone on the couch. "Nathan, get my chopper ready. We might have to leave."
"But sir, your guests are waiting on the conference room."
"I'll meet them first."
"As you wish, sir."
Kao has no idea that the whole island is being watched from above. A tiny drone hummed in the sky as it took pictures and real time video of the area. The footage is being beamed straight to a lone PT boat floating a few nautical miles away.
"This is their central command hub," Jane says, pointing at the small concrete building beside the main mansion. "My guess is that all their communications and security equipment are housed here. We need to take this out before anything else."
"I'll take care of that," Mikasa said.
"I'll get the helipad and motorpool," Revy suggested.
Dutch nodded. "And I'll take care of the pier."
"We will try to support you from the Lagoon, but because of the distance, our actions will be very limited," Benny says. "You guys will be on your own once you've landed."
Dutch looked at Revy. "When was the last time you've jumped from a plane?"
Revy shook her head. "Can't remember."
"Me neither," Dutch grunted.
"Don't worry guys," Mikasa said. "It will be a cake walk."
"Easy for you to say," Revy mused.
Sorry guys for the veeerrryyyy long delay. I am so busy for the past couple of years. Hopefully I can finish this story soon so I can move on with my other stories. Thanks guys. -gene