A small plane flew over the waters of the South China Sea, with Roanapur as its destination. Then the pilot received a message in his headset.

"This is H.K.T three, state your business, over."

Drake Winters sat in the back, only able to hear the words of the pilot.

"Yes, sir. I'm en route to Roanapur, over."

...

"But, why? I thought you needed him in the city, over."

...

"Understood. We're on our way, over."

Drake raised an eyebrow. The pilot turned around and began speaking loudly to ensure he could be heard over the plane's engine. "Hey, Winters, Chang just told me there's a change of plans. I'm rerouting to drop you off in Taiwan. You'll meet up with the boss himself there for further instructions."

"Understood. Did he tell you why the sudden change of plans?"

"Not a clue. I just carry people to their destinations for him, I don't get told any of the big stuff."

Whatever it was, it was enough to coax Chang himself out of Roanapur to meet Drake in Taiwan. He could alrady tell that this was going to be big.

Two weeks after landing in Taiwan and receiving his instructions from Mr. Chang, Drake had already been forced to eliminate two six-man squads from Hotel Moscow. He was still in the dark about what the Russians had come for, but whatever it was, it was stored away in the old warehouse he frequently got stationed at for patrol. It was boring work most of the time, just patrolling and watching out for Ivans, but when they did come to retrieve whatever it is they were after, it was defintely entertaining. The Russians were very skilled, and each fight with them cost Chang at least a dozen men. But once Drake got to the battlefield, that was it.

On days where he was assigned night watch, the God of Mercs found himself questioning his old friend Chang's motive here. He had already left Taiwan and returned to Roanapur, but he would have to get some answers next time they met. If there would be a next time, that is. These Russians were sharp little tacks, and Drake was getting on in years. All it would take is one slip, one error, and Hotel Moscow would shred him with bullets.

Drake used to be perfect, completely untouchable in a fight. He was fast, ruthless, and cunning, and he never made mistakes or did anything that would give his enemies the upper hand. But that was when he was young and in his prime. These days, the 39 year old found himself slowing down, the decades of constant fighting finally catching up to his body. He couldn't retire, though. Not yet.

The sun was beginning to poke out from the horizon. Not too long till daylight, and the end of his shift. He wondered what was going on with Chang in Roanapur right now?

Lyrics to a metal song blasted out of the earphones of Revy's walkman, but she could not hear them since they were no longer in her ears. She Lagoon Company's gunslinger was sound asleep in her bed, blankets in disarray, completely naked save for a pair of gray panties and matching bra. Then came the knock on the door.

"Revy, wake up! Dutch says we have a job!" came Rock's voice from the other side.

Rock's voice barely even registered. Revy shifted slightly but remained asleep.

The knock again. "Revy, come on! I don't want to have to come in there."

Last time Rock had barged into her room, not only was Revy completely naked (summer heat in Roanapur can be brutal), but she snapped awake, mistaking Rock for an enemy soldier at first and nearly putting a bullet between his eyes.

Again, Rock's voice barely registered, but it was enough this time. Revy's eyelids slowly moved away, and her eyes adjusted to the light to allow her to see clearly. She was aware of her surroundings now, at least.

Another knock. Revy sighed. She liked Rock well enough, and thought of him as a friend and teammate, but damn he could be an irritating little shit sometimes.

"Revy, wake up! We have a job to do!"

"Alright, I'm up!" she called out. "I'll be down in a minute."

She sat upright at the edge of the bed, looking around her bedroom. Same shit, different day. She slowly rose to her feet and proceeded to her dresser drawers to get dressed. She ran a brush through her hair and put it up in a ponytail, brushed her teeth, threw on some deodorant and headed downstairs to see what all the fuss was about.

"I'm here, did I miss much?" she asked rhetorically upon seeing Dutch and Rock in the living room.

"No, you haven't missed anything yet, two-hands," came a familiar voice. "You're just in time."

Revy glanced across the room to see Balalaika sitting on the couch opposite her co-workers. To either side of her stood two bodyguards holding AK-47's in the down-ready position.

"Now that everyone is here, save for Benny," she continued, "I suppose we can begin."

"So," began Dutch, "what's this new job you have for us today, ma'am?"

"No need to be so formal, Dutch," replied the Russian. "You see, I have a large shipment of weapons waiting for pickup at a port in Taiwan from an old contact of mine, but they refuse to come near this city. And the real problem lies in the fact that I've sent men out to retrieve this shipment twice now, and both times we've completely lost contact with them."

"So you want to hire us to go get it since we're disposable, is that right?" asked Rock.

"That, and whoever is causing my men to drop off the grid likely won't recognize your boat. I'd also like you to figure out what happened to the men I sent out there, if you can. It's not required, but I'll add a 50% bonus to your pay if you do find out."

"Speaking of pay, this sounds like an 11 out of 10 on the potential danger scale," said Dutch. "So we'll be asking quite a hefty sum for the risks involved. Seventy grand."

Balalaika thought about it for a moment. "Sure, seventy thousand sounds just fine. and that also means you'll get an extra thirty-five thousand if you come back with info on my men."

"No promises on collecting the info," replied Dutch. "but we'll get you your weapons."

"I certainly hope so, Dutch."

"Come to think of it," Rock chimed in. "Why not just get your weapons shipment from the rip-off Church? I'm sure you would have gotten them by now."

"Yes, about that," replied Balalaika, "a few months ago, we had a transaction that went... sour, for reasons I'd rather not explain, and myself and Yolanda agreed that it would be best if we didn't do business again for awhile until the dust settled."

"Alright, sis," said Revy, "Now all we need is the location of the port and the company you got the weapons from."

Balalaika stood up and reached into her pocket, producing a folded piece of paper. She handed it to Dutch. "This should contain all the necessary information to retrieve my weapons." she started towards the door, her guards staying right behind her. "Now, if you don't mind, I've lingered here long enough. I have other business to attend to."

"Go on, then. Enjoy your day, sis."

"I somehow doubt I have too much joy in store for me today."

After Balalaika's departure, the trio was silent for a moment. Then Rock broke the silence. "You realize Benny isn't gonna like this one bit when he gets back and hears about this."

"Yeah," replied Dutch. "I know. But he'll get over it once he hears how much we're getting paid."

"Do you plan on poking around for info on her boys that she sent out there?" asked Revy.

"For a hundred and five grand total, I think it's worth snooping around a bit, yeah. But if we don't find anything quickly, we'll pull out before anyone starts getting suspicious of us."

"Sounds like a plan."