*Updated 06-05-2018*

Chapter 33 - Paint It Red?

The rest of the night wasn't anything special; Rosa and Vaas just sat in a shack, playing poker with a few of the other pirates. Rosa knew Vaas was hustling some of the guys and they were getting severely pissed off.

"That's me again, boys." grinned Vaas, collecting his winnings, "I'm gonna call it now. You pussies are too easy to beat."
Vaas took his chips and got out of his seat, the bottom of the legs scraping the floor loudly.
"Where you going?" Rosa asked.
"To get the hostages ready for tomorrow." Vaas replied.

Rosa nodded.
"What's happening tomorrow, Vaas?" one of the pirates asked.
"That's none of your fucking concern, is it? You'll find out soon enough." grumbled Vaas before he stormed out of the shack.
"I'm gonna go too. I got shit to do." said Rosa and she threw her cards down; they were a dud hand anyways.

She made her way to the building and up to her room. Shutting the door behind her, she sighed. She needed to pack up her things to get ready to go back to North, so picked up her backpack and started filling it with all of the essentials.

Rosa pulled out the letter that was still in her top and straightened it out. Slowly sitting onto her bed, she stared at it, torn between whether or not to open it. If Hoyt knew it was gone, he would probably go insane; he had obviously hidden it. If Rosa opened it and read something that she shouldn't, then she didn't know what she would do. But if she didn't open it, her inquisitive side would get the better of her.

The harsh sound of the door opening made Rosa jump as she quickly pushed the letter to the bottom of the backpack. In walked Hoyt, whiskey glass in hand.

"Hey. What's up, Hoyt?" Rosa asked.
"Just seeing what you were doing." replied Hoyt and he looked at Rosa, "Seems like your fine, so I'll go."
"Hoyt, wait." said Rosa and she got to her feet, "I know you're pissed about us going; you don't think I'm well enough. But, please, just trust me, okay?"
Hoyt nodded after what seemed like forever, touched Rosa's shoulder and then left.
That man, thought Rosa, He'll be the death of me.

A loud gunshot rang out as Rosa smirked to herself before deciding to investigate; packing was never fun for anyone and she could always rope Vaas into helping her later on.

Making her way down into the compound, more gunshots went off, a long pause between each one. The cool nighttime breeze of Rook blew Rosa's hair back and calmed her pink cheeks.

Sauntering to the hostage area, a smile crept onto her lips as she saw that Vaas had rejects lined up, his gun at the ready. A few dead ones were lying on the floor already, blood oozing, seeping into the soil.

"I don't need you fucks on my island, making a mess. It's better to deal with you now, so then you're not wasting anyone's fucking time, okay?" Vaas said, the rejects all crying; their friends beside them dead.
"NONE OF YOU MAKE ME ANY FUCKING MONEY AND YOU MAKE ME WASTE MY BULLETS! WHY DO YOU KEEP VACATIONING HERE? WHY?"

The anger was rising in Vaas and Rosa liked it; it had been a while since she had seen him like this. Vaas never looked away from the hostages and motioned his hand to a nearby pirates who was holding two machine guns. Vaas took one off him and set the ammo in place.

"I might as well go to fucking town, amigos! Paint it black ... or red? You're all going to help be my fucking decorators around here, bring a bit of colour to the place. What do you say?"
The group of about 7 rejects who were tied and gagged, started screaming and Rosa rolled her eyes.
"Back to work you fuckers, the tea break is over ..." said Vaas.

Without a second warning, he opened fire on the rejects, their bodies spasming against the bullet, their blood splattering everywhere. Rosa enjoyed it as Vaas shot a final shower of bullets, making sure they were all dead. He nodded in approval at his work and turned to pass the pirate his gun, spotting Rosa. He beckoned her over and she jogged to him.

"Nice place you have here. Have you recently had it decorated?"
"As a matter of fact, I have. Thank you for noticing." he replied, "Gets the adrenaline going, I fucking love it."
"Well, I love watching you." Rosa purred, Vaas giving her a sultry look.
"Hang on, I'm gonna tell these cocksuckers that they're going back so excuse me. HEY! YOU FUCKS! GET OVER HERE!"

The pirates all clumped together in a group asVaas glared at them.
"You'll be pleased to know that we're going back tomorrow morning."
A roar of cheers erupted but Vaas was getting impatient.
"HEY!" he shouted, silencing them, "SHUT THE FUCK UP! GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER AND BE READY TO GO, BRIGHT EYED AND BUSHY TAILED."

Vaas pulled Rosa away from the hostage area and down to the beach that was so familiar between the two.
"When do you think we'll come back?" Rosa asked, the breeze blowing through her skirt and hair.
"I don't know, princesa. When we have to." Vaas replied.
They both just stared out into the ocean.

"Are you worried?" Rosa asked, breaking the silence, "About going back?"
"Me? No. It'll be fine. We don't have any of those dicks to think about anymore. Life will be a breeze." said Vaas.
Rosa took a long deep breath, inhaling the ocean air.

The next morning, the pair stood by the helicopter, waiting to leave. Rosa's backpack hung loosely over her shoulder and Vaas had an arm around her waist. The pirates going by boat had already set off, as it took them a little longer to get there. The others were boarding the chopper, the pilots starting them up.

Hoyt slowly came over and hugged Rosa, awkwardly. He hated saying goodbye to her.
"I'll see you soon." he said, "Be careful, even though you probably won't. Just try not to hurt yourself."
Rosa laughed a little.
"Stop worrying. I thought Hoyt Volker was no pussy?"
Hoyt stood a little straighter at her comments and cleared his throat.

"I'm not. I'm not. Take care of yourself, Rosa. You too, Vaas. I will be speaking to you very soon."
"Okay, hermano. Don't worry, I'll take care of her." Vaas replied and boarded the chopper.

Rosa smiled at Hoyt and he flashed a weak one back. He was obviously not happy about her going but he would soon get over it.
"Bye, Hoyt. Speak soon." she said before she got on the chopper too, Vaas helping pull her up because her stomach was still healing. Doctor Earnhardt was already seated and was mumbling to himself, his kit on his lap, hugging it protectively.

"Goodbye, my English Rose." he replied.
Hoyt shut the chopper door and waved them off as they lifted high into the air.

Nobody really said anything on the way back and the journey was dragging.

A simultaneous sigh of relief was silently heard by everyone when they landed and the familiar compound could be seen. It all looked good from the outside, still the same, graffitied and in one piece. There were pirates exiting the vehicles, gripping onto their huge guns, preparing for a fight if there was to be one.

Rosa felt her holster for her gun and the cold edge of it reminded her it was there; it was easily retrievable. Everyone was stood at the entrance as Vaas and Rosa pushed through the crowd and pulled open the gates, the ominous squeaking like something from a horror movie. Nobody was scared but they were apprehensive, waiting for something to jump out at them.

Everyone pointed their guns and entered the compound, expecting war to start. The men all walked tentatively around, including Rosa and Vaas but they couldn't see anyone. Rosa cast an eye to the warehouse and her eyes grew, suddenly slapping Vaas' arm.
"What the fuck, hermana?" he asked.
Rosa pointed to outside the warehouse doors.

Everyone looked and nobody uttered a word. Vaas stepped forward and absorbed the sight in front of him.

The pirates that were left in charge had been hung in a row outside the doors and a pile of the left behind hostages sat in front of them. The amounts of flies around them were growing, their bodies cooking in the heat of Rook, the blood drying and smelling.

On the doors where Vaas' beautifully spread painted rose was, was now covered in black paint, words scrawled across it. It had completely ruined it; defacing it so you could no longer make it what it was. The words were in tribal writing and Rosa couldn't work it out. She came behind Vaas; her steps felt panicked.

"What does it say?" she whispered.
"We're coming for you." Vaas replied.

There were still Rakyat on the island.

Hey guys! Just wanted to let you know that I have a plan in my mind again for the story so it's all good, it's just a matter of actually writing it down. The update days have been a bit delayed because sleep overcame me unfortunately but because I know have a plan, I should be more focused. These chapters seemed to have moved a little slowly but it should pick up now! Hope you guys enjoy and the 'letter' thing may be postponed until it's needed ;)