Chapter 13: The Aroma of Blood
Revy and Wolf sat patiently in the parking lot adjacent to the street. Lagoon had been keeping watch of one of Kane's patrols. Soon, the jeep would drive past the parking lot. That was when they would strike. Dutch's plan was to have the assassin and the gunslinger pull out in front of the armoured vehicle, forcing it to stop. The cartels, who had now agreed to help in the fight against the Black Marchers, had been positioned on the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. They would kill any Marchers they saw. All except the driver of the jeep, of course. He would be ordered to lead them to Kane's hideout. It wasn't the most fool proof plan, but it was the best one they had. Assuming the driver didn't radio back to warn Kane that he had been commandeered, they would be lead straight to the mercenary. Then, they could rescue the Lovelaces and hopefully kill Kane. Even Revy and Wolf together would have a hard time taking out the slew of mercenaries that they would likely be confronted with. That was why the rest of Lagoon Company and Roberta would be close behind. Once the fighting started, they would force their way inside and kill as many Marchers as they could get their hands on. Shenhua, Lotton the Wizard and Sawyer had also promised to lend their aid. With their combined efforts, this did not seem so impossible after all.
"You and Glasses Bitch seem to be getting along nicely," Revy piped up as she propped her feet up on the dashboard and cocked one of her Cutlasses. Wolf was disassembling his Desert Eagle. Seeing as how the patrol wouldn't be passing through for another ten minutes or so, he had the time.
"Yeah, you're going to have to explain that nickname to me later," he replied, ignoring the obvious intrusive contempt in Revy's voice.
"I'm serious," she insisted. "Bitch is fucking nuts."
"We're all a bit fucking nuts, Revy," the assassin told her cryptically.
"Just saying. You're sniffing the wrong doggy's ass there." Though he had a slight hunch about what she was getting at, he left it alone. This was neither the time nor the place to get into that.
"Noted," he answered bluntly. Revy noticed that.
"So how far out is this patrol?" she asked then, as if to rectify any offense she might have caused.
"Dutch said they'd be here at three. About nine minutes, now."
"Can't wait to put a bullet in this fucker," she said of Kane. That once again brought back memories of Wolf's first encounter with the brute. "First one to him gets the kill, right?" He was far more afraid of meeting the mercenary face to face now that the time was upon them. He tried his best not to show it, though it was fairly obvious something was bothering him. "Hey, Wolfy! You awake in there?"
"Oh, uh, yeah," he said, clearing his throat and continuing to clean the barrel of his gun.
"Jesus, what's got you so freaked?"
"Nothing, I'm fine," he lied. "Yeah, sounds good. First one to this fucker puts a bullet in his head."
"Or a machete in his heart," Revy joked. Truth be told, it would be tempting to pay him back the same way he had incapacitated Wolf.
"That's more like it." They waited for the patrol in silence. Dutch's voice came over the radio just a minute before the jeep was supposed to pass.
"Only thirty seconds out, guys," he told them. "Stay frosty." Wolf frowned.
"'Stay frosty?'" he asked, holstering his gun and starting the engine. He pulled out onto the street immediately once he heard the patrol approaching. The armoured jeep ploughed into them from the side. Though no permanent damage had been done to either of them, the Black Marchers quickly exited the vehicle. Abrego did not disappoint. The combined forces of the cartels reigned down a firestorm of destruction from above, killing all who had exited the vehicle. Luckily, the driver still sat in his seat, petrified to move. Wolf and Revy immediately entered the jeep and pointed their guns at the Marcher.
"Don't fucking move," Revy told him.
"Where ya headed, pal?" the assassin asked, his Desert Eagle planted firmly between the man's eyes.
"I'm just on patrol!" he pleaded. "I'm not going anywhere."
"And when you're not on patrol?" Wolf asked. The driver became less sure of himself at that and refused to answer.
"Don't fuck around, dickwad!" Revy spat, shoving her Cutlass into the back of his head.
"We-we have a safehouse," he started, "just south of here."
"Go." As it happened, the safehouse was not what they had expected. While they were sure Kane would have been staying in some luxurious penthouse apartment, the building that they were taken to was rather unimpressive. More of a small house than anything, the building looked as if it had previously belonged to the owner of a café, judging from the sign out back. They killed the driver before making their way inside. There were guns, ammo and armoured vests all around the place. This was their hideout, alright. That much was certain. Though the building itself was fairly small, a flight of steel stairs led below the ground. That must have been where the bulk of the Black Marchers were located. Indeed, when Wolf and Revy made their way below, they heard voices all around. There were winding corridors and hallways that stretched across what must have been half a mile of catacombs. As they remained undetected, a voice reached Wolf's ears that he recognised; Kane. There was no mistaking the concoction of accents beneath that breathing mask. It seemed to be coming from the room at the end of this corridor. They made their way to the open doorway and came to a halt.
"…lucky we left you alive at all," Kane spoke. "I was tempted to kill you two the second I walked into that apartment. But I need all of you, don't I? The Wolf, of course. And that maid of yours."
"You'll regret messing with us!" Fabiola told him brazenly. "You just wait, when Roberta gets here-!" They heard a thump and what sounded like Fabiola falling to the ground with a startled cry. Wolf and Revy entered the room then and raised their weapons, only to be held at gunpoint by ten Black Marchers. This was going to be ugly.