Chapter 3: Another Day In Paradise

"Slow down, Dutch," Revy's voice came from the back seat. Reluctant to argue, the big man did as he was told, slowing the car to a stop in the middle of the road. Revy rolled down the window and stuck her head out like a dog. Rock squinted to see what it was she was looking at.

"Any reason you have us parked in the middle of the street, Revy?" Dutch asked impatiently.

"Is it just me or was that place shot to shit not long ago?" Curious to see what she was talking about, the rest of them craned their necks and looked over to the right of the car. The building was small but not noticeably so. The lights were all on inside. It appeared to be a bar. That wasn't particularly disorienting at first, but they all knew this specific establishment. Or at the very least, they knew of it. This was the bar the Romanian twins had decimated during their time in the city. Hotel Moscow's collectors were sent here to receive their usual payment. Only death was waiting for them on that night. After the incident was resolved and the two children killed, the site had been condemned. Not only that, but any businesses nearby that were in a position to do so also packed up and left out of mere paranoia. It was odd that it had been reopened at all.

"Can't imagine fixing that shithole up was too fun," Dutch said aloud.

"Yeah," Revy agreed quietly, resting her head on her hands like a child. "Place probably reeked. How many bodies were there, five? Six?"

"What nutcase would reopen a graveyard like that?" Benny asked them. Though he did not expect any of them to answer, he was curious. Considering only a ruin remained here recently, it was remarkable that the bar had been rebuilt and now apparently functioned properly again.

"Only one way to find out!" Revy squawked before bursting out of the car and legging it over to the building.

"What are you doing?!" Rock called after her. Dutch rolled his eyes and pulled the car in beside the establishment. They all exited the vehicle, then, and followed Revy inside. Considering the level of destruction that had taken place, the bar looked impeccable. It was almost as if no damage had been done at all.

"Pfft, look at this place," Revy groaned in what could only be described as disgust. Considering her affinity for the Yellowflag, that wasn't surprising. "Wasn't worth their time rebuilding, if you ask me. Shoulda saved their money." There weren't many people here, maybe five or six, two of which Lagoon Company recognised. Four-Leaf was sat at the bar with a drink in one hand. Thought he had his back turned to them, they recognised that voice instantly. His shillelagh, too, was in his free hand.

"I guess that answers the question of who owns the place," Benny suggested. That made more sense than any other theories they could come up with. The Irish Mob boss had only been in the city for about a month and in that time, his people had been making moves to establish themselves in the city. Specifically, they now ran a protection racket that focused on the lesser known criminals who, without the guidance and intervention of the Mob, would get themselves killed. As well as that, they had apparently been scouting areas not within the territory of Hotel Moscow or the Triad. While this bar had once been an extension of Balalaika's influence and contributed to her business, the moment she condemned the place it became fair game. That must be why Four-Leaf decided to move in and take the place over. Not only did it provide a hub for his people to meet, but anyone who frequented the place would be putting money straight in the Mob's pocket. Four-Leaf set his drink down on the bar and rose. He spotted Lagoon Company and smiled.

"Ah, look who it is! All's well, I hope?" They weren't sure how to answer that. Regardless, he took off towards the other end of the room, leaving the Wolf alone at the bar. The assassin noticed the others at the door and offered them a smirk.

"Well, don't all rush in the door at once," he spat when he realised they had no desire to come inside. He currently had his feet up on the bar with his arms hanging limp beside him. Revy was the first to walk over to him, her own arms outstretched dramatically.

"What, Bao's place ain't good enough for you no more?" Wolf laughed as he leaned forward and grabbed his glass from the bar, taking a sip he appeared to enjoy far too much.

"Ah, don't be like that," he moaned. "Just stopped by to see what Four-Leaf had done with the place. You have to admit this is impressive. The way I hear it, the whole building was riddled when he found it. Windows smashed, walls torn to pieces. And, in Four-Leaf's own words, there was 'an ungodly amount of dried blood.'" The rest of Lagoon took seats at the bar, then, though they made no effort to hide their reluctance.

"Yep. Handiwork of the twins from hell," Dutch said. Wolf shook his head.

"That means nothing to me."

"Child assassins," Benny told him as he prepared to fill him in on the disturbing details. "A pair of Romanian twins who killed a sizeable number of Balalaika's people."

"I can't imagine she took that too well." That was an understatement. "Well, shit, thanks for the nightmares. So this place really was a fucking circus before I showed up."

"Hah!" Revy snorted. "You have no idea, Wolfy."

"Anyway, they didn't survive the onslaught," Benny continued. "Balalaika had them both killed. I guess she got her revenge." Wolf could tell this wasn't exactly the happiest topic of conversation. Rock, in particular, was very quiet during this. Still, in some morbid way, the assassin found this interesting. Mainly because it gave him that bit more knowledge about how the city had been before he arrived.

"Killing kids? That's screwed up."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you'd seen 'em," Dutch assured him. He paused in thought, then. "You telling us you never killed any kids?"

"That's correct," Wolf told him, taking another drink.

"Really? Nobody ever approached you with a hit on some brat they wanted taken out?"

"Oh, dozens of times," Wolf answered. "You'd be surprised how many crazies there are out there." Somehow, Dutch doubted that. "I've had my fair share of clients who wanted me to put an end to children. Problem is, the kids they wanted dead weren't anything like those twins you described. They were just…kids. That ain't my style." Lagoon had never given it much thought before, but the affirmation that Wolf had actively refused contracts to assassinate children did appeal to them. They were no saints, that was as blatant as ever. And they had also completed jobs that involved kids, some that resulted in the deaths of the poor souls. But even they would not think much of someone who murdered children and still slept at night.

"Speaking of Balalaika," Rock interjected, likely eager to change the subject, "how did she react when she heard about this place? Considering it used to be under her thumb, I can't imagine she was too pleased."

"According to shillelagh man over there, she didn't give him any trouble," Wolf said, surprise in his voice. "I mean, I doubt she was dancing with joy, but it sounds like she was content to leave him and his people be. After that rescue a few weeks ago, I imagine she's willing to give him a free pass. She strikes me as the type of person who pays her debts."

"I can vouch for that," Dutch confirmed. Indeed, Balalaika had seen fit to honour her debt to Lagoon in the past. She was a woman of honour, whether others in the city wanted to believe it or not. "If you ask me, Balalaika's letting a few things slide these days." That, too, was true enough. Ever since the city had been put on high alert by Wolf Pack's presence, Hotel Moscow and the Triad had been cracking down hard on transgressions they would not tolerate. Frankly, it got hard to breathe at one point. Balalaika, in particular, had crossed the line from cautious and smart to paranoid and unstable. However, since her confrontation with Hunter Woods, she seemed to be relaxing her iron grip on the city a bit. He had taken her down a peg, it seemed, something she actually needed.

It was better now that she could relax and return to business without breathing down everybody's necks about every little thing. Dutch certainly appreciated it. Anytime during the past year and a half where he had to meet with her, there was an unmistakable sense of unease. But now, Lagoon once more felt comfortable operating in the city without worrying about the ramifications if they stepped a little out of line, in Hotel Moscow's eyes. Balalaika felt like more of a colleague or associate than an overbearing boss.

"No complaints here," Benny admitted. "I could do without Hotel Moscow's watchful eye making me nervous." Four-Leaf finally returned then, grabbing a stool and setting it down behind the bar so he would be facing Lagoon and Wolf.

"Not too shabby, eh?" he asked. They assumed he was referring to the bar itself. "Could've been better, I suppose, but we didn't have a whole lot to work with. This was the best we could do without knocking the whole site and starting from scratch." As he spoke, he grabbed an assortment of glasses and bottles before setting them down before Lagoon Company. They all snatched up whatever took their fancy.

"Throw all the bullshit you want at us, you still got nothing on Bao," Revy grumbled moodily.

"You'd prefer to be sitting across from that greasy bastard than me?" Four-Leaf asked her, making no attempt to hide how insulting he thought that was. "Jesus. You take no prisoners, do you?"

"Can't beat the Yellowlfag," Revy reiterated adamantly. "He'd give us our drinks soon as we came in and we'd get the dirt, too." Four-Leaf looked like he had just thought of something, then.

"You want the dirt? Well, as it happens, there is something you might be interested in." Lagoon Company all came to attention, then.

"Is that so?" asked Dutch apprehensively. "As long as it's not about some nutjob who wants Balalaika dead, I'll be happy." They all found that amusing, considering recent events.

"It's early days yet," Four-Leaf joked. "From what I've heard, there's a newcomer in town. A priest, actually. He's not a local. Anybody I spoke to says they've never seen him before. He hasn't done anything to draw attention to himself yet, but who knows what he's up to, really."

"You had your people look into this?" Rock asked him. He couldn't help but sound a bit judgemental, considering. If Four-Leaf made a habit of immediately investigating newcomers, he was going to step on some toes.

"Not at first," he assured them. "But he started hanging around the places I visited. Some of my boys reported that they'd been followed. I did a little digging and found out the car used to follow them had been rented by that very priest. I don't know about you lot, but that's very strange to me."

"You can say that again," Revy agreed. "So where is he now?"

"He checked into the Ramsap Inn just a few hours ago. I have my people keeping an eye on the place."

"Why not just have him taken to you?" Revy asked. "He was tailing your guys, right? Fucker's asking for it."

"Unless I know why he's here, I'm reluctant to have him taken," Four-Leaf told them. He was playing it safe, just in case. Regardless, he was having his people keep an eye on this priest. That was something. "As soon as I figure out what he has planned, he'll be brought straight here, have no fear."