Hello again :)
So before some of you start throwing full wine bottle at your computer screens, let me promise you, this is the one and only update I will be making to this story ;)
K, now that I've cleared that up, I know a lot of folks were NOT overly thrilled with my pairing of Roberta and Garcia. Normally, that would disuade me from taking it further, but I found myself completely incabapable of not writing this fic (I blame Volume 9). Unlike the original one-shot, the Lagoon Company is on the job in this 8 chapter update, and I've taken another shot at Revy and Rock's odd relationship.
Anyway, I've been staring at the 20,000+ words for a few days now, and I think I've done all I can do with it. Hopefully it's enjoyable :)
In Roanapur's finest Colombian restaurant, Dutch sat opposite the head of the Manisarrera Cartel. Rock sat at his side, sure to oversee business with Abrego, while behind them, Revy and Benny stood watch. "It's a simple job, Dutch; in and out. You'll spend more time at sea then on land."
Dutch exhaled a mouthful of smoke as he dwelled on the details of their deal. Abrego had offered fifteen thousand US dollars, to collect a shipment from their supplier in Colombia, and return to Roanapur. While for all intensive purposes, Abrego was bang-on that this should be a simple job, trouble seemed to come looking for the Lagoon Company. Dutch flicked his ashes into the tray on the table and calmly replied, "I like simple, but need I remind you, you said the same thing about the transport of one Garcia Lovelace. We all remember how that turned out."
A slight chill filled the room at mere mention of the name 'Lovelace'. It had been two weeks since Garcia, Roberta, and Fabiola left for Venezuela, and still, the spilt blood from Roberta's rampage in Roanapur hadn't completely dried.
Abrego kept his cool as best he could. He could have barked orders at Dutch, but the fact of the matter was Dutch didn't need Abrego; Abrego needed him. "Look, Dutch; I know things have been fucked up around here since that crazy fucking maid came through, but all that's behind us now. We got no business with her or the kid anymore."
Dutch took a drag and replied, "Yeah, but Colombia's awfully close to Venezuela, my friend. Way our luck runs, we'll end up running into those crazy bitches on happenstance alone. Granted my crew and I do alright in tense shit, none of us fancy getting involved with Miss T-1000 again, especially not after that shit two weeks ago."
Abrego smiled slightly, he had planned a bit further ahead for this job, "The ship is set to make port in Tumaco, Dutch. You won't be going anywhere near Venezuela or those fucking maids."
"Looks like you've thought this out," Rock commented as he flicked his ashes loose. "Usually planning the route comes on our end."
"My business took a hit because of that crazy bitch. I can't afford to take any risks with this job."
Dutch exhaled the smoke in his lungs, "I hear you loud and clear on that one. Unfortunately we've been a bit slow these days too. However, now that things seem to be getting back to normal around here, our rates are just about back to normal as well."
Gustavo's eyes narrowed and he asked, "How much?"
After re-filling his lungs with smoke, Rock answered for the boss, "Twenty-five thousand."
"Seventeen," Abrego quickly countered.
Dutch snuffed out his cigarette in finality, "Twenty; take it or leave it."
Rock leaned across the table to put out his cigarette while they waited for Abrego's answer. Without a word, the Colombian raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. One of his subordinates approached with a weathered, brown leather suitcase, and placed it on the table between them. Abrego spun the combinations into its golden latches, flipped the case open, and turned it to Dutch. "Ten-thousand up front, and ten more when you return to Roanapur, with the merchandise."
Dutch lightly reached his arm up and closed the case. He and Rock stood from the table and Dutch spoke one last time, "Always a pleasure."
As soon as the Lagoon Company was out of earshot, Gustavo leaned to the boss and asked, "Why the fuck do you give in to those assholes? We could just as easily get-"
"Who?" Abrego interrupted. "Who the fuck could we get that's going to handle shit the way Lagoon does? Dutch might be a prick, but he's right. That crew'a his can get out of anything without fucking up the merchandise or getting themselves killed." He watched through the window as Lagoon piled into their GTO. "They might not even know it, but they've got this fucking town by the balls."
Benny spun up the 389 and left a long and smoky eleven in his wake as the crew headed off towards the docks. In the back seat, Revy sat with her cheek resting on her knuckles, "Twenty-fuckin'-grand for two weeks at sea; what a fuckin' waste of time."
"We were lucky to have gotten that much out of'em in the first place, Two-hands," Dutch replied. "Business is slow all over Roanapur, and a job like this ain't worth twenty grand in the first place."
Revy scoffed as she replied, "What about Fry-face? Didn't she say she have a gig for us?"
"Last I heard, she gave it to the Italians," Rock quietly replied from the opposite side of the back seat, in a pose that mirrored Revy's.
"What the fuck?" Revy grumbled.
"If you asked me, it's pretty fuckin' insulting," Dutch added. "But, business is business. Besides, when the Italians fuck up, it'll just guarantee that she never goes through them again."
"So how's this gonna work, Dutch?" Benny asked.
"On the surface, Abrego's right; this should be cake," Dutch replied. "Once we reach Tumaco, we pick up the jeep his buddies are supplying us with, head out to the coca fields to make the pickup, get back to the boat; Bob's your uncle. The whole thing shouldn't take more than a few hours."
"And you really think it's gonna go that fuckin' smooth?" Revy asked.
"I sure as shit hope so. I know we ain't even on the boat yet, but I'd appreciate it if you could keep the twins in their holsters." Revy cringed as Dutch continued, "Last thing we need is these assholes thinkin' we're out to screw'em, and all fuckin' hell breakin' loose."
"Yeah, yeah," Revy replied. She turned to look back out the window, and for just a moment, looked back over her shoulder to Rock. His eyes were fixed on the ocean as they drove alongside it. "He's been awfully fuckin' quiet," she thought before turning back to the rows of vendors on the opposite end of the street.
In the Lovelace home, several well-dressed men had come to meet with Garcia. With the unfortunate passing of his father, Garcia was now the twelfth head of the Lovelace family, and as such, he had to learn the ropes of the family business. While he was fairly knowledgeable on the subject of the Lanthanides his family mined, he knew little of the day-to-day workings of the business. In any other family business, the men that surrounded him for the first time since the passing of his father might have turned in their resignations. However, as Garcia sat in his father's seat, they didn't see a child; they saw a man ready to begin his life.
Donning her maid's attire, but not her glasses, Roberta stepped into the dining room where this impromptu meeting took place. Upon entering the room, she and the young master shared a smile, and she proceeded around the room, setting a teacup down before each of the men. On a second round about the table, she filled each cup three-quarters of the way, and after filling the young master's, he politely addressed her, "Thank you very much, Roberta."
"Of course, young master," Roberta replied. "If you need anything, please ring for me." She closed the doors behind her and simply stood a few steps back from them.
On her way to the kitchen, Fabiola noticed Roberta standing motionless before the double doors to the dining room. Curious, she altered her path and stepped in front of Roberta, though her eyes didn't detract to her little protégé as she spoke, "Matron?"
Roberta's eyes remained fixed on the doors as she answered, "Yes?"
"The young master is in good company ma'am; you don't have to stand guard over him."
"I swore an oath to protect the young master, and his father," Roberta replied. "I failed, and because of my failure, Master Lovelace is gone forever, and in a fit of rage, I almost killed the young man I swore to protect. I will never allow these things to happen again."
"I understand, but please remember; it is possible to care too much for those we hold dear to us."
Roberta finally turned to face Fabiola and smiled just slightly, "I understand. Thank you, Fabiola." She quickly turned her gaze back to the doors, which brought Fabiola to roll her eyes and continue to the kitchen.
Meanwhile in the dining room, the meeting was well under way, "Garcia, are you certain you don't need more time?"
"My father taught me to be strong. Everyday without him is a new struggle, but the longer I wait to take my place as the head of this family, the further behind we all become," Garcia replied. "We all have families to care for, myself included. I need to be strong now, so that we don't all suffer."
The man who had addressed him earlier looked most pleased at hearing young Garcia's words, "You're quite the young man, son." He turned to the rest of his associates and spoke, "Let's begin." They all retrieved several folders and documents from their briefcases and placed them about the table. "If anything requires any more specific explanation Garcia, please ask."
"Thank you," Garcia replied. He hadn't known this feeling before, but he could only imagine it to be pride. He'd earned the respect of his father's business partners, and he would work hard to keep the family name strong.
Several hours later, the doors to the dining room creaked just slightly before opening completely. At the very sound of them opening, Roberta shifted her position, as to not appear as though she'd been standing guard for three hours. Even with her extensive military training, her body ached after having been so completely still for so long. She ignored the pain as she took Garcia into view and spoke, "Finished for the day, young master?"
For a moment, he simply stared at her face. He was still getting used to the sight of Roberta without glasses. The way her hair gently framed her face, adding a tenderness to her smile. Though she was a good deal older than him, and there was much of her life he might never understand, Garcia's love for her was absolute. They were always in each other's company, and while she was nothing more than the young master's maid, one day if she would oblige him, he would have her as his bride.
Finally he answered her with a smile, "For now, Roberta."
Doing her best to keep the pain in her legs and lower back buried, Roberta asked, "Would you like me to fix lunch?"
"Are you hungry?" Garcia innocently asked. It might have been a simple and kind gesture, but it warmed Roberta's heart when he spoke to her this way. Not as his maid, or as his servant, but as his family.
Fabiola entered the room to find Garcia and Roberta as she often had these past few days, in the midst of their quasi-high-school romantic banter.
"I'm fine," Roberta replied somewhat flatly.
Fabiola again rolled her eyes as she continued through the room, and Garcia spoke once more, "Then I can wait."
Aboard the container ship Abrego had arranged for the Lagoon Company to travel with, Rock stood at the starboard edge of the deck. He leaned on the safety rail with a cigarette in his lips, looking out at the South China Sea. Beside him, Benny leaned his back up against the rail, and behind them, the boss and the guns exchanged words. Dutch held Revy in as delicate of a headlock as he could, while he scolded her for kicking the door to their bunk open, breaking the lock in the process. "Dammit girl! I know the Captain of this boat and I don't want him seein' mine acting like some goddamned street rats!"
His calling her a street rat bit her hard, instantly bringing her temper to rise a little further. "This is fuckin' bullshit, Dutch!" Revy barked. "Not only are we getting paid dick for this fucking job, but all four of us have to share one fuckin' bunk too?"
"If you want, I'll sleep on one of the fuckin' lifeboats, and I'll try and get Rock and Benny other accommodations; I don't give a fuck," Dutch replied. "We're only out here for a few days, and if we don't act like a bunch of idiots, we might even get to spend some of those days hungover. But if you keep acting like some goddamned punk, it's just gonna make the trip longer, and pull from our payment."
She growled slightly and finally worked her way out of Dutch's grasp. As she adjusted her holsters, Dutch addressed her once more, "I'm gonna go talk to the Captain, see if he has any more room for-"
"Fuck it," Revy interrupted. "I'll take the fuckin' lifeboat." She walked off towards the stern, and called back to the boss, her middle finger raised behind her, "Have fun bunking up tonight."
As he approached Rock and Benny, Dutch commented, "She's in rare form. Everything alright, Rock?"
"How should I know?" Rock replied, without turning to face the boss.
"I meant with you," Dutch replied. "You've been quiet all morning."
"I'm just thinking about what Fabiola said to me before they left for Venezuela."
Dutch pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and screwed one into his lips. After lighting his smoke he asked, "And what was that?"
He paused for a moment as the gravity of her comment passed over him, "That I was the biggest piece of shit in Roanapur." Dutch rested his elbows on the rail alongside Rock, and Benny turned to lean on the rail as well. Rock turned to the boss and asked, "You think that's true?"
Dutch exhaled the smoke in his lungs before he replied, "What do you think, Rock?"
He turned back to the ocean, "I don't know what to think anymore."
"You do play a risky hand, Rock. She might not have agreed with your methods, but Garcia was the one who asked for your help. It wasn't your job to please her, but to get Roberta back to Garcia," Benny replied. "At the end of the day you did that, and everybody lived." Rock and Dutch shot Benny a glare and he corrected himself, "Well not really, but your clients lived. That's got to count for something, right?"
"I guess," Rock replied. He flicked his cigarette into the ocean, and commented as he headed off after Revy, "Further down the rabbit hole."
"You think he's gonna be alright?" Benny asked the boss.
"He might not be able to shake that cool businessman exterior, but ever since he crewed up with us, there's been a war brewing inside him. One of these days he's going to pop; I just hope it doesn't cost me business, or him his life."
As Rock approached the stern, he found Revy standing at the rail, exactly as he'd been a moment ago. He could see the smoke from her cigarette as he closed in on her, and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He lit a smoke, placed his hands in his pockets, and leaned his back up against the rail beside her. They stood in silence for a moment before Revy quietly spoke, "Thanks for your help back there, partner."
"What was I supposed to do, Revy?"
"I don't know, speak up maybe? One fuckin' bunk for four people? It's bullshit and you know it."
"What do you care? You don't seem to have a problem showing skin, and it's not like you sleep naked."
"Whatever," Revy deflected.
"Come on, Revy; I think I've known you long enough to know when you're picking a fight."
She scoffed as she spoke, "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."
Rock grinned just slightly. He gave her a few silent moments to cool down, and finally spoke, "Do you want to talk about it?"
A thousand feelings passed over her in half-a-heartbeat, but her words came out with no thought, "There's nothing to talk about, Rock."
He placed a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Revy-"
She didn't even give him the chance. She slapped his hand off of her and interrupted, "Fuck off."
Revy flicked her cigarette into the ocean, and Rock merely watched her as she stomped off to who knows where.
Oh, and I don't own Black Lagoon ;)