Chapter 6: Chance
"Rock? Why would Rock be in there?" Eda asked.
"I need to get him out of there," Revy said. "I need to!" Revy made an attempt to go inside, but Eda and Benny held her down.
"What are you doing?" Benny said. "Do you want to get killed? You saw the cat just a while ago. If that cat wasn't spared, then how much more you?"
"Revy, he is right," Eda said. "Our transaction is already finished. They have no reason to not kill us, anymore."
"But, Rock is in there. You saw him, too, right?"
"I didn't. Whatever, we should get out of here, now. Those guys are impatient."
"I'm not lying! I saw Rock in there!" She turned on Benny. "Benny? I'm not lying."
"I believe you," Benny said. "But, we should get away from here, first."
Revy stared at him for a moment. Then she nodded once. Eda and Benny helped her up and never let her go until they were all inside the car. Some time later, they were riding back to the town.
"Could you two tell me what is happening here? Why would Rock be in that mansion?" Eda asked.
"Eda, Rock is not with us, anymore. He left five days ago," Benny said.
"What? Why? What happened? The last time I saw him, he seemed happy being with you guys."
"It's my fault," Revy muttered. "I made him leave."
"You made him leave. Now, that's great."
Benny became worried. "Eda…"
Eda sighed. "All right, I'm sorry. Tell me what happened."
"I pulled the trigger of my gun at his face."
Surprised, Eda suddenly stepped on the brake. Benny and Revy were pulled forward.
"Damn! Now, that's a bitch," Eda muttered.
"Who are you calling a bitch? It's his fault, you know. He didn't let me have the room for myself. Do you think I would share it with him? Hell, no! Not in a thousand years!"
"I ain't calling anyone a bitch, you jerk! I mean that bitch!" Eda pointed a bitch crossing in their front. Its breasts were sagging and scraping the asphalt road. "Damn! Don't she feel the heat of the pavement?"
They watched the female dog until it had crossed the road. Then they went on their travel.
"Where were we?" Eda asked.
"Forget it!" Revy said.
"Oh, about the room, right? I know perfectly the reason why you didn't want to share the room with him. You are in—"
Revy poked Eda's neck with her pistol. "Say another word, Eda, and you're dead."
"Revy!" Benny blurted out.
"Relax, Rev, we are the same. You know, I'm also in love with him."
Revy blushed. She worriedly pecked Benny a glance.
"Am I right, Revy? Was that your reason?"
"S-stop the damn car!" Revy exclaimed.
"I refuse. What are you so worried about?"
Benny relaxed and smiled. "Yeah. She's right. There's nothing to worry about, Revy. I have been thinking the same thing."
Revy glared at Benny. "Benny—"
"I know, I know. No need to get so piped up. I won't tell anyone."
"So, was that your reason?" Eda prodded on.
Revy gulped. "No." She tried to make it sound stern, but her voice quivered.
"No? Really?"
"I said no! I just don't want him to…to—"
"On February 23, Bernardo Faust will fly here to complete another transaction with the Church of Violence. That will be nine days from now."
"So?"
"This transaction is very private. He will meet with our representative in person. That means whoever is assigned to represent the Church of Violence in the deal gets a chance to enter Wonderland, unharmed. I'm sure that my boss will pick me for this job. If you want to, I can have you as my personal bodyguard."
Revy's face brightened. "I would love that."
"In one condition."
"What?"
"Confess."
…
A limousine pulled up in front of an old concrete house. Seven men in black suit came out of it. Balalaika came out last, the red rose among the black thorns.
"Not much of a house for a former president of a renowned project, don't you think, Kapitan?" Boris said.
"I don't care where do he dwell these days. You know why we came here," Balalaika answered. "Search him in there."
Lead by Boris, four of Balalaika's men went inside the old house. Balalaika just waited outside, smoking. After five minutes, her men came out. Boris hastily approached her.
"It's a mess inside, Kapitan. We've seen a skeleton of someone. I think it is the doctor's," Boris said.
"Hmmm?" Balalaika flicked her cigarette away. "I want to see it."
"This way ma'am."
Boris led Balalaika through a messy living room to a much messier bedroom. The whole room was covered with soot. A bed sheet and a number of books were on the floor. Nothing was in place. It looked as if there had been a war there.
The skeleton Boris had been talking about was seated on a chair beside the bed. The back of its skull had a big hole. Beside its chair was a rifle.
"Even at the last moment of his life, he made himself presentable for hell," she said. She was amused with the elegant maroon suit of the skeleton. "Where is the tape of this recorder?" Balalaika said, pointing at the camera on a stand, in front of the skeleton.
A man approached her and showed her the tape. "Here, ma'am."
Balalaika waved him away. "Anything more of value?"
"We found this in a drawer," Boris said, presenting a small notebook to her.
Balalaika held it up and paged through it with a thumb. "A diary? Anything more?"
"Nothing more, Kapitan."
"Then let's go. Burn this place."
"As you wish."
…
Balalaika walked across her elegant hotel room. She had just finished taking a shower and was only wearing a bathrobe. When she passed by the center table where she had put down the videotape on, she stopped and stared at it. This thing will tell me everything, Rock, she thought. Everything I want to know.
She picked it up and went to get it played in a player. Sitting on her bed, she waited as the player rewound the tape. Then it started.
An old man with few remaining white strands of hair in a maroon suit appeared on the television. His face was so pale, and his thinness was almost as that of the skeleton Balalaika had seen earlier. He seemed very troubled and regretful.
"Kukri," he said in a raspy voice. "This will be the last time this old man of yours will talk to you. I know this is not needed anymore, but I want to say congratulations for another flawless mission you accomplished." He chuckled disgustingly. Balalaika could imagine from his chuckle the shrill sound of hard chalk being used to write on the surface of a chalkboard. "I'm sorry if I look awful. Lately, some thoughts have been repeatedly haunting me so I couldn't sleep well. Anyway, let's get directly to the point. This recording is to tell you about your last mission. Yes, that's right. What I'm about to tell you, now, shall be your last mission." He paused for a moment.
"Okay, I'll begin the briefing. This mission is composed of two objectives. Both these objectives must be accomplished, no matter what, you understand? Both. The first one, I need you to live like a normal person for two years. Secure an identity. You can affiliate yourself to any country you want. I don't care whether it's America, Russia, or France. Any but Germany. And remember to never kill unless it's necessary for the accomplishment of the mission. Never kill unnecessarily, got me? The second objective, you must kill the remaining child of the Kutzmann project other than you. You must kill Red Blade." He made a perfunctory pause. "Now, here's another condition. You must accomplish the first objective first before the second, you understand? There is no excuse for this. Then you're free. Decide on your own what you want to do after this mission. You can kill yourself if you choose to. You can work for another person or group. It's your choice. I'm granting you freedom after this." He smiled warmly. And from the expression of his face, it was as if he wanted to give Kukri a last, tight hug.
"This whole project is a mistake," he went on after the pause. "I originally intended to make this world free of evil by the use of evil itself. But, it seems that that is not the proper approach to this problem. I want to rectify this mistake by the total dissolution of the project. I don't want any traces left. Forget about everything you know if you were to decide to accept your freedom. You are the only one who can do this. I trust you. " The old man lifted the rifle beside his chair and smiled. "Kukri, I'm sorry." He inserted the nozzle in his mouth and—
Balalaika turned off the player with its remote control. She had watched enough and had understood many things, already. However, she still wasn't contented. Very interested now to learn more about Rock, she went to get the diary on the center table.
…
Somewhere, a young, longhaired man was standing inside a cage, surrounded by a bunch of criminals. He had nothing but a dagger, while the men around him had long swords, axes, and spears. Everyone was his enemy.
"Okay, listen up," the mustached guy outside the cage, who was sitting on a wheelchair, said. "You death row convicts had been given a chance to regain freedom. It would seem funny to you that the only thing you have to do is to kill that young man at your center. Well, that's all there is to it. Just kill him and all of you are free."
The convicts attacked the young man with all their strength, confident that they would succeed. Blood splattered in every direction as the battle inside progressed. Grunts were heard and then screams of fear.
"Help me! This is no human!"
"Demon! Get away from me!"
"Please, spare my life!"
However, the young man didn't listen to any of them. Coldly, he killed them all and with extreme ease. One slash was enough for a person. In only two minutes, he annihilated everyone.
"Bravo, Leopold! Or rather Red Blade. That was an amazing display of skill," Bernardo Faust complimented.
"These people are just a bunch of garbage. You know who I need to duel with to prove that I'm the strongest assassin in the world. I work for you because you said you'd help me find him."
Bernardo Faust smiled treacherously. "I know. As a matter of fact, I found him already. Next week, you'll gonna meet him."
…
Past nine o'clock in the evening, someone knocked on Revy's door. She was woken up from her sleep. "Who's there?" she asked, getting up. The knocks just continued. When she opened the door, she was very surprised at who she saw. "Dutch?"
"Well, hello there, Miss Rebecca? Did I disturb your early beauty rest?" Dutch said.
Miss Rebecca? Damn, he already knows. "W-what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Black Lagoon?"
"I just want to visit you two here and to clear something from you."
No! Benny, where the hell are you? What am I supposed to say? "A-all right. Come in."
To be continued…