Just through the Philippine Sea, the sun crested the horizon, turning the morning sky a golden orange tinge. As she had promised, Revy lay in one of the lifeboats, suspended several dozen feet above the surface of the sea. After her spat with Rock and Dutch the previous afternoon, she hadn't spoken a word to anyone for the rest of the night. She tossed in the boat, giving it a bit of a swing. She was so peaceful just laying there, completely oblivious to the fact that Rock stood at the railing beside her; smiling slightly as he watched her sleep.
He wondered endlessly what went on inside her head. What sort of life she must have had to become the broken shell that lay before him. He could fix just about anybody, but after nearly two years with the Lagoon Company, he'd all but given up any hope of ever fixing Revy. She didn't want to be fixed, and if one day she just happened to be all better, he wondered if he might not care about her as much.
"You alright, Rock?" Dutch quietly asked, startling his businessman.
Rock turned to the boss and asked, "Huh?"
Dutch approached him and leaned over the rail next to him. He looked in on Revy and smiled as he commented, "Hard to believe something can be so peaceful one minute, and so completely fuckin' crazy the next."
Rock turned his attention back to Revy and replied, "Yeah." He turned back to the boss and asked, "Hey Dutch, permission to speak freely?"
Dutch grinned at Rock's polite exchange, "Granted."
"Sometimes I wish she never had to wake up," Rock replied. He turned to face Revy, and could see her eyes fluttering beneath their lids, "She's dreaming. Her breathing isn't elevated; you think maybe she really is at peace in there?"
"It's a sweet thought, Rock. But the thought of that girl at peace, it just doesn't compute."
"You don't think she can ever know peace?"
Dutch lit himself a smoke and replied, "I think she's going to go full-bore until the day she dies." At mention of death in Revy's future, Rock's eyes widened, while Dutch continued, "It's all she knows." Taking notice of the concerned look on Rock's face, Dutch commented, "Don't think too much into it, Rock. She might not know when to quit, but you know as well as I do, she's pretty damn good at what she does." As Rock absorbed Dutch's words, the boss stepped behind him and patted him on the back, "See you in the mess hall for breakfast."
"Wait, Dutch!"
"Rock?" Revy weakly muttered. He turned to face her and she wasted no time scolding him this morning, "What the fuck, Rock? You know I fucking hate it when you watch me sleep; it's creepy."
Rock smiled slightly as more than a few thoughts, memories, and feelings washed over him, "Wanna get some breakfast?"
In a large, and somewhat overdone mansion in Venezuela, a group of perhaps twenty men carried on a loud and indecipherable discussion at a rather long table. Every now and again a few words broke through the loud din, "…five-hundred…Abrego…fuckers…Roanapur…kilos…Lagoon…"
"What the fuck is this?" A man at the end of the table shouted as he stood from the table. Dressed in a white-on-white suit, this man was quite obviously their leader. "We're sitting here arguing like a bunch of fucking children; when those fucking bitches from Roanapur are coming here right fucking now, to take our drugs from us. Our sources tell us that fucking punto Abrego has sent four pieces of shit to make his pickup."
"What are we supposed to do?" One of the men barked. "We don't know what field they're hitting, and-"
"What the fuck is wrong with you assholes?" The man in white roared. "Our Cartel outnumbers them, over a hundred to one. We've got all the law enforcement in South America in our pockets, and you ask 'what are we supposed to do'? Soon as they make landfall, we're going to follow these fucking bitches and when the time is right, we're going to kill them, and send their fucked up bodies back to Roanapur as a message to that fucking cocksucker."
"When do they arrive?" Another of the men asked.
"Five days from now. Until then, I want each of you to keep a close eye on your territories. Don't let anything slip through the cracks, and if anyone looks out of place, don't ask questions; just fucking kill them."
"Boss-"
"No fucking argument, Armano! Those fucking assholes in Roanapur are watching us, and I want them to see we are not fucking around! Once we send their delivery boys back to them in fucking pieces, they'll stay the fuck out of South America for good." The man in white looked over his people and barked, "Que putas andas esperando? Largate de aqui!"
In the Lovelace mansion, Garcia placed his fork on his empty plate and immediately Roberta ceased eating. She turned to him and asked, "Was everything to your liking, Master Garcia?"
Garcia smiled as he wiped his lips, "It was delicious!" He stood from his seat, took his plate into his hands and Roberta hastily dropped her fork in an attempt to take the plate from him. He pushed her hands away, directing her back to her seat as he spoke, "Finish eating, Roberta. I can bring my plate to the kitchen."
"Are you cert-"
"Yes," Garcia interrupted. "Please, finish your breakfast."
Fabiola sat opposite Roberta who almost seemed lost at not tending to Garcia's place setting. She rolled her fork across her fingers, watching on their exchange with half-closed eyes. As Garcia continued into the kitchen, Roberta picked up her fork and took another bite.
Garcia stepped back into the room and again, Roberta immediately stopped eating, "Master Garcia."
Again he smiled as he stepped beside her, "Please eat, Roberta. Gabriel and Manuel will be arriving shortly; I'll be in the study."
"Yes, Master Garcia."
She remained completely still, watching him as he walked off to the study. Her eyes followed every step he took, every crease his suit formed as it shifted about him, until finally; he closed the door behind him. Without taking another bite, she stood from her seat and collected her plate and silverware. Fabiola's face told of her disapproval and finally she spoke, halting her mentor in her tracks, "He's in the next room, Matron. I don't think you have anything to fear for Master Garcia at the moment."
Roberta had no explanation for her behavior. Garcia's safety was her only concern in life. Without that single goal, her life had no purpose and she'd never fail him again. She collected her thoughts as best she could, and continued towards the kitchen with her plate, without a word for Fabiola.
Mid-way through the next day at sea, Revy walked onto the bridge of the container ship to find Dutch and the Captain sharing a smoke. Laughter filled the room, ever so slightly lowering her guard. At hearing her boots crash into the diamond-plated floor of the bridge, Dutch turned to her and commented, "Ah, Captain Delgado, meet Revy."
The Captain was an older man. Clean cut for a seaman, but a fair bit wrinkled, and dressed not quite like a grunt, but a man who'd seen more than his current position told. He extended his hand to her with a smile on his lips. She looked to his hand and accepted it in a somewhat awkward shake. "You didn't tell me she was beautiful, Dutch."
She blushed just slightly, her hand reaching behind her head in embarrassment. As he took his hand back, the Captain again commented, "Shy too."
Dutch chuckled which immediately brought Revy's embarrassment to vanish, "Something fuckin' funny?"
The Captain too laughed, "You were right about that mouth though."
Revy mock laughed among their laughter, "Yeah I'm real fucking hilarious. When the fuck are we making port?"
The Captain took a drag from his cigarette and without checking anything answered her, "I was just telling Dutch here that we've got four more full days out here. We should be arriving in Tumaco late-Friday afternoon. We'll get everything unloaded while you're…" He cleared his throat, "…taking care of business, and we should be back at sea Friday night. If we're lucky, we'll be back in Thailand by Thursday next week."
The Captain offered Revy a cigarette, which she accepted and lit. She took a deep drag and as the taste filled her mouth, she looked down to the cigarette, "Non-filters…" she looked back to the Captain and finished her thought with a smile, "…good man." She stepped closer to the window and lifted her right leg, placing her unlaced boot on a kick rail, "So am I the only one who doesn't think this is gonna be some fuckin' walk in the park? The two of you have this fairy-tale fuckin' schedule all planned out."
"Not every job has to end with a gunfight, Revy," Dutch quietly replied, his tone indicative that didn't want to have this discussion in front of the Captain.
"Not every job…" Revy replied as she exhaled a mouthful of smoke, "…but most of'em."
"You make it sound like every job you do ends with people dying," The Captain laughed. Revy and Dutch shared a telling stare, and the Captain's light-hearted tone shifted immediately, "They don't do they?"
Revy and Dutch remained silent, and Revy dropped her cigarette to the floor of the bridge. After snuffing out the smoke with her boot, she made her way to the rear door and called back to the Captain without turning to face him, "Thanks for the smoke."
In the Lovelace mansion, Garcia and the same men he'd met with a few days earlier sat in discussion of business. They were sure to take things slow, but Garcia was quick to catch on. For the most part, he understood how this worked. The lanthanides were mined, sorted, packaged, and finally shipped around the world to waiting buyers and corporations.
After clicking through a few slides on a presentation, one of the men spoke, "Those are the current figures as best I can tell."
"So we're showing a 30% gain in the first quarter?" Another of the men asked.
Conversation carried on, but as young Garcia listened in and observed the exchange between his coworkers, his thoughts were solely of Roberta. Seeing her as he had in that jungle in Roanapur, like a dog being hunted for sport; he hated the men and women that sought her. But vengeance could always wait till tomorrow. For now, he just wanted to see her face once more.
The conversation reached a brief pause and Garcia usurped the opportunity, "Would anyone care for tea?"
One of the men smiled, quickly rushing to applaud Garcia's courtesy, "Certainly, thank you Garcia."
A leather strap hung from the ceiling just behind Garcia's seat at the table. A gentle tug brought a bell in the main hall of the home to ring, and within seconds, Roberta appeared in the doorway. "Yes, Master Garcia?"
As his eyes met hers, he was completely lost. He had no way of knowing whether or not what he felt was real, the only thing he knew was that every beat of his heart, and every butterfly in his stomach told him that this was what love was supposed to feel like. While she too was growing wary of her own feelings, Roberta's penchant to serve her young master controlled her tongue, "Master Garcia?"
Being snapped out of his trance, Garcia replied, "Oh, I'm sorry Roberta. Could we please have tea?"
"Certainly, young master; will that be all?"
"Yes, thank you Roberta," Garcia finished with a warm smile.
She closed the doors behind her and one of the men opposite Garcia spoke, "She is truly an amazing creature, Garcia."
Garcia immediately found himself off-guard. Was this to be his first round of guy-talk? He froze solid; he couldn't get into his feelings for Roberta with his business associates, and quickly attempted to shift the subject, "Yes she is." He turned to the paperwork on the table before him and continued, "I'm to understand we recently completed a shipment?"
"That's correct," One of the men replied. "One ton of refined lanthanide ore, to 'C and H Manufacturing' in Austin, Texas."
"If it's alright with everyone, I'd like to make the arrangements at the port," Garcia replied.
Surprise passed over each of them at how enterprising Garcia was to further his part in the business. They knew he was strong and that he wanted to fill his father's role, they just never expected him to show such determination. His father's right-hand man smiled and offered, "If you like, I'd be happy to go over the details of arranging the shipment with you."
Garcia smiled and replied, "Thank you, Gabriel."
Gabriel turned to the rest of the men and addressed them, "Gentlemen, I think we've covered everything necessary in today's meeting. We'll convene tomorrow at the same time."
As the other men stood from the table, Roberta entered with a tray of teacups. At the sight of all but Gabriel getting to their feet, Roberta asked, "Young Master?"
"Everything's fine, Miss Roberta," Gabriel replied as several of the men said their goodbyes to Roberta. With just the three of them left in the room, Gabriel continued, "Garcia and I have a bit of work to do. Come Friday, Garcia's going to arrange his first shipment at La Salina. Do you know it?"
Memories of bloodshed at that very port ran through Roberta's mind and she flatly replied, "Yes."
"We should go together, Roberta!" Garcia exclaimed.
Frightened at the thought of going back to that place, Roberta spoke, "I don't think I-"
"That'd be excellent for me, since I have another meeting that afternoon," Gabriel replied.
"Is it okay?" Garcia asked.
She hadn't the heart to tell the young master no. She put on a warm smile and replied, "Certainly, young master."
Four days had passed since the Lagoon Company departed Roanapur. Four days at sea, without the influence of alcohol, was slowly starting to grate on all of their nerves, especially Revy who was now beginning to show signs of withdrawal.
She and Rock lay opposite one another in two separate lifeboats. Whether they intended it or not, lately they always seemed to fall into positions that mirrored the other's. They both lay with cigarettes in their lips, though while Rock's still body merely swayed with the boat, Revy's body had just the slightest occasional tremor.
After a few moments of silence, Rock asked, "Is it something you use everyday?"
"Uh-huh," Revy replied. "16."
"It's not your Cutlass, right?"
"Nope; 15."
"Is it a bullet?"
"Nope; 14. You fucking suck at this, Rock."
"Sorry, I guess I never thought I'd be sitting in a life raft playing twenty questions with you."
"It's a lifeboat, dumb-ass; and what the fuck does that have to do with anything anyway? Don't over think it just play the fucking game. It's not a person, place, vegetable, or mineral. It goes outside sometimes, it's not man-made, and it's smaller than a fuckin' breadbox."
"Is it an animal of some kind?"
"Nope; 13."
Rock sighed and blew smoke from the corner of his lips, "I don't know, Revy. I give up."
She felt the slightest glimmer of sorrow for him and offered him a hint, "C'mon, Rock; I'll give you a freebie."
Rock heart jumped into his throat and immediately he sat upright and asked, "What?"
"It's full of liquid and it's always the same color, unless you meet me." She just barely turned her eyes to meet his and asked, "What is it?"
Rock thought on it for a moment and a smile passed over his lips. He chuckled lightly and shook his head as he got it, "Is it a brain?"
Revy smiled and threw her hands behind her head as she turned to face him, "See that, you just need to know what questions to ask, dumb-ass."
She again turned her face so that she was looking to a different part of the sky. Rock kept his eyes locked on her, and while she very well may have felt his stare, she didn't acknowledge it. Moments like this, where Revy was absolutely herself, but showed another layer; Rock longed for them. He wished so much to know more about her life, but everything he knew about courting a woman would be completely useless with Revy. "I wonder what she's thinking right now?"
Revy played every minute of every day as it came to her, which was precisely the reason times like these were so intolerable. Nothing to react to, save for her colleagues, and while any of them would probably be more than happy to strike up conversation; her lack of patience would see her lose her temper in seconds. With Rock being the closest to her, the last thing she wanted was to screw things up with him and so, she simply lay there and stared at the sky. "What the fuck do I care for anyway? It's not like he gives a fuck about me."
Rock leaned back in his lifeboat and looked up towards the sky. "Who am I kidding; I'm probably the last thing on her mind."
"Que putas andas esperando? Largate de aqui!" - What are you waiting for? Get out of here!