Bullet II
A few hours had passed since the incident with Roberta.
After watching for an hour as Revy and the maid Rosarita, aka Roberta/aka crazy bitch, Rock got tired of watching them smash each other's faces in, as they seemed to have no intention of stopping, and went to sleep.
He awoke hours later and headed for the ruins of Yellow Flag. But he found the bar completely intact, as if the shooting and explosion had never happened.
"You're late, I'll deduct it from your pay Ricardo." Bao said upon seeing him.
Rock was relieved to see him unharmed, but also surprised. "How the hell did you manage to rebuild your bar so fast?"
"Bah, I've lost count of how many times some idiots have destroyed my precious bar. The thing is, here is the only place where Yakuzas, Russian mobsters, the Chinese triad and any crazy motherfucker comes to drink a nice cold beer or pay a top whore." -Responded Bao. "...Although it's also the only bar in this fucking city that gets trashed at least twice a week."
"You're telling me your clients pay for all the repairs?"
"That's right."
"Why? I mean, it's not the only bar in town."
"Like why? They do it for me, you idiot. Now shut the fuck up and get back to work." -Responded Bao, walking up a flight of stairs to the floor above. It was a good decision to hire an employee. "Sherry~, get my favorite robe ready will you?"
"Right away boss~"
Rock simply decided to ignore the murky mysteries shrouding Bao and got to work. If he was lucky, the tranquility of his life wouldn't be shaken again. Of course, Rock was unaware that since that fateful day when he was kidnapped, his luck had turned bad and was getting worse and worse.
Rock scrunched up his face in disgust, as if he had smelled some shit. "You look terrible."
"You're no sight for sore eyes either. By the way, if you touch me again, I'll rip your hands off and shove them up your ass."
"It was for a life or death situation; I'd rather not touch you with a stick. In fact, I'd die happy if I couldn't see you for the rest of my life."
"Yeah, well, go fuck yourself. I don't like you either asshole, you're lucky I'm not in the mood or I'd kill you right here."
"...Are you sure you should be here and not in a hospital?" -Said Rock with a slight hint of concern. He didn't know her very well, but he knew her well enough to know that a Revy not wanting to kill wasn't normal.
Revy had shown up at the bar, but she was a mess. Her face was riddled with bruises, she had wounds and a possibly broken nose. Her face was also a bit swollen. "I don't like hospitals, and I have other more important business to do."
"Other than scaring people with your hideous face?"
"Very funny. I came for my guns, idiot, and I want the money too."
Rock raised an eyebrow. "I understand about your guns, I have them right here." -He said then placed the twin pistols on the bar. Revy quickly picked them up, she felt naked without them. "But what money are you talking to me about?"
"Don't play stupid, Dutch told me all about the bet you, him and Sis made about me and that bastard."
"Sis?"
"Balalaika. Now stop playing dumb and give me my damn money." Revy demanded.
Dutch had informed her about that little bet, rather, he had complained that he lost money because of her failure to beat the maid. But Revy wasn't embarrassed by a tie, that bastard was really strong. In any case, when she heard that Rock was the winner, she immediately went out to get him.
There was no way she was going to let someone else line their pockets for one of her deals without getting a cut from her. Especially if it was a fight.
"Ah, you mean that pitiful show you put on last night. I don't have any money, I left while you were still fighting with Roberta, so I don't know who won. The ones who stayed there were Benny, Dutch and Miss Balalaika."
"That bitch..." -Revy growled under her breath. "Dutch told me he's paying her. And he also said she talked about giving you the money later."
Rock shrugged. He wasn't particularly upset, as the bet was more out of fear in being killed by Balalaika if he didn't participate. In fact, Rock expected some Russian gigantic to come and claim the bet money, or maybe Dutch. But if he won, and Balalaika didn't want to pay him, he really didn't care.
Revy snapped his fingers in front of him a couple of times. "Stop daydreaming asshole, don't you get it? Sis screwed us out of our money, we have to go claim it back."
"Ours? Wasn't it supposed to be yours alone? And if you think Miss Balalaika is going to give you the money just because you ask for it, you're dumber than I thought. If she wants that money, then the best thing to do is to say 'yes' and forget the whole thing." -Rock replied. "But I'm sure you already know that. Or maybe Roberta's beatings made you stupider and you don't remember, I don't know."
Revy was genuinely surprised at how easily he dared to insult her, and how he more or less understood how things worked with Balalaika. She compared the fearful man who kept whining when he was kidnapped and the man who had only been living in Roanapur for a week.
"...You seem to have changed a bit." Revy thought aloud.
"I told you, I'm tougher than you think I am."
"Hmp. Maybe. ". -She admitted. "In any case, you and I are the rightful owners of that money. You for gambling and putting up the money, me for putting up my body and busting my ass with that horny pedophile maid."
"...Do you really think Roberta is...?
"Maybe yes or maybe no. Does it matter? The thing is, Balalaika may not listen to a washed-up nobody like you, but I'm different. I have a reputation forged in blood and bullets here, so she'll listen to me."
"Then you go by yourself. I don't want to get in trouble with those Russian mobsters."
"Tch, that's not how it works. You made the bet, the business is yours. I can't just go and demand the money from him on your behalf without you being present to confirm everything."
Rock smiled. "Not that I was a washed-up nobody?"
"Don't think you're a big deal, you're only useful in this case. So stop wasting tempo and let's go get our money." -Revy smiled. It wasn't a good smile, considering the state of his face. "Since I'm such a good person, I'll give you half. $4,000 easy bills, instead of having to work your ass off here to get it on the pittance Bao pays you."
Rock thought about it for a moment. "All right damn it, you talked me into it."
"Wonderful. Now come on, we have to pay Sis a visit at the Hotel Moscow."
The China Triad, along with their supreme leader, Chang, had arrived at the Hotel Moscow. The Balalaika troops, led by their Kapitana went to greet them. After both sides reached an agreement not to bear arms, Chang and a small group headed for Balalaika's office.
The tension in the air was almost suffocating. A normal person would have fled quickly or fainted by now if they stayed there for too long.
Balalaika, sitting behind her desk with her fingers interlocked, and guarded by half a dozen giant Russians, was the first to speak. "To what is this dreadful visit due?"
"What, straight to the point?" said Chang.
"Did you expect anything else?"
"Yes, a cup of tea or at least a glass of water dammit. Do you have any idea how complicated it is for me to come all the way from China to Thailand and from there to come all the way to this damn island?"
"...My apologies."
"I don't want an apology, I want a cup of tea or a glass of water." -Chang insisted, then turned to his subordinates. "Cho, Xian Ye, what do you guys want?"
"A cup of tea would be fine.". -Cho replied. "But don't put sugar in it, use honey to sweeten it."
"Oh, I'll have orange juice." Said Xian Ye.
Chang nodded and turned to Balalaika again. "Then it will be two cups of tea, one sweetened with honey, and one orange juice."
"We don't have orange juice." Sergeant Boris, one of Balalaika's bodyguards, replied.
"What do you mean, you don't have any?"
"We are Russians, dude. We drink Vodka with orange juice for breakfast. So there isn't any."
"But I want orange juice." Xian Ye insisted.
"We'll get you the fucking juice." .-Said Balalaika, who was already starting to get irritated.
"But it must be made from freshly squeezed oranges."
"I'll see to it.". -Balalaika motioned Boris to come closer to whisper in his ear. "Выполняй егой приказы и мочись в его гребаный сок, пока делаешь это. (Fulfill his request, and by the way, piss in his fucking juice.)"
"Yes, Kapitana." Boris said and then left the office.
"In the meantime..." -Said Balalaika. "What the hell are you doing here Chang? You finally decided to surrender and give me control of the city?"
"Not exactly. I have two little problems on my hands and I was hoping you could solve them."
Balalaika raised an eyebrow. She could count on the fingers of one hand the times Chang had asked her for a favor, and still have fingers to spare. "What kind of trouble exactly?"
Chang adjusted his dark glasses. "You see, an old friend of mine died recently, and he had in his possession two really good and obedient assassins. But since there's no one to control them now, I'm afraid they'll go crazy and start killing left and right."
"And you're asking me to take care of them."
"That's right. Not that you kill them, you know, but that you keep an eye on them, give them food, shelter and very occasionally that you let them kill so they don't get bored."
Balalaika closed her eyes to meditate for a moment. Chang's request was extremely strange. If these assassins were so good and dangerous, why was he offering them to her?
"I don't get it, what's in it for you, why don't you...?"
"Why don't I use them to kill you?" Chang laughed. "I thought you were smarter, but I'll explain, because I love the sound of my voice. Even if I were to use them for that, and if they were to complete their task, the consequences would be disastrous. Like it or not, with you here, there is currently stability on the island and business is good. If suddenly there is a gap in power, the Latin American scum, those brute Colombians and Mexicans fanatical about chopping people into little pieces around here, would start a war to occupy that position, and I would have to step in to stabilize everything again, but that would draw too much attention."
"And right now you're under a lot of surveillance."
"It's just that I'm irresistible."
At that moment, Sergeant Boris entered the office. "I have your orders."
Chang stared at him for a moment, then at the tray he held in his hands. There were two small steaming cups of tea and a large glass of orange juice.
"And the spoons?" said Chang.
"What?"
"The spoons. Those little metal things you use to drink soup, coffee or tea. Where are they?"
"I... I thought you guys drank tea without spoons."
"Why?"
Boris shrugged, uncomfortable. "I don't know man. I just thought they did, that's all."
"Ah, but look what we have here...a thinker. And how the hell do you THINK we can drink our tea without spoons, huh?"
"S-sorry, I'll go get them for you right away."
"Yeah man, you do that."
Boris quickly left the office, a little startled. For a moment he had forgotten that he was dealing with the leader of the Triad, and that he was just as dangerous as his kapitana.
"In any case..." -Chang said, returning his attention to Balalaika. "It's not like I could have those assassins under my control either, since as you pointed out, I'm under too much surveillance right now. My... allies would take that as a provocation and I'd have to deal with a full-scale internal war. Obviously, I can't hand them over to another close friend either, because it would be the same as me having them."
Balalaika nodded.
"Besides." -Chang added. "So I can get rid of them. I'm too old to be in charge of taking care of kids, they're a pain in the ass."
"Kids?"
For the second time, Boris entered with the small tray in his hands. The two cups of tea, the glass with orange juice and two spoons. "Here is your order, Mr. Chang."
Chang smiled. "Excellent. But there is one small problem."
"A problem?"
"That's right. Where are the chairs? Or do you expect me to drink my tea while I'm standing?"
Boris looked to Balalaika for help, but she shrugged. "I..."
"Or maybe you THINK it would be better if we sat on the floor?"
"No, I don't! My apologies, Mr. Chang." Boris hastened to say.
"I don't want your apologies. I want some chairs so I can sit and drink my tea."
"I'll bring them right away!"
"I'm sure you will.". -Responded Chang, watching as the sergeant quickly disappeared from the office. "But what's wrong with your men?
"They're just a little nervous.". -Balalaika replied. "Now, tell me what you mean by children."
"Just that; children. They are twins about ten years old or so, their names are Hansel and Gretel. Their adorable appearance is just a facade, those two are monsters capable of murdering entire organizations in the most brutal and efficient ways there can be. Honestly, they scare me a little."
Balalaika looked at him in surprise. Not so much by the information about the child soldiers/murderers, since, during her military career, Balalaika had seen many similar and even worse cases. She was surprised that Chang admitted to being afraid.
"Someone like you can feel fear?" she thought aloud.
"Of course, I'm not a machine. And unfortunately, I'm not immortal either. But I think you'll be able to handle them, your men follow you out of both loyalty and fear. They follow me because I'm handsome."
"And you have a lot of money." Cho pointed out with a smile.
"That's right. but those little demons aren't interested in money." -Said Xian Ye. "They're only interested in killing."
Chang nodded. "So, you see, my main leadership methods don't work on them. That's why I'm asking you for this small favor and to take care of them. It would be a shame to have to waste so many lives in order to kill those two spawn, because they are not going to let themselves be killed easily."
Now Balalaika could understand Chang's reasoning a little more. By her having those assassins, she would get more power and prevent someone else from hiring those kids to eliminate her. At the same time, Chang avoided a break in her ranks, and that someone would use those assassins against her.
Except for Balalaika herself.
If those assassins were as deadly as Chang described them, he was taking a big risk purely on the basis that she also preferred this "cold war" they both had, being the major powers on the island, rather than another direct confrontation.
The idea of using the kids was very tempting, but Chang was right. Leaving a hole in Roanapur's power would only lead to disaster. At least until she could find a way around the potential gang war, and fill that gap as soon as possible, obviously, to her benefit.
But those were plans for the future.
"Okay. ". -Said Balalaika after some thought. "I will do you this favor and take care of those kids."
"Ah, I knew you'd find some kindness in your cold, black heart, Fry face."
"But I make no promises. And if they get out of my control, or I think they are a threat to me and my men, I will eliminate them without hesitation. Those are my terms."
"Sounds good to me. I guess that settles it, once me and my boys drink that longed-for cup of tea and orange juice, I'll bring the kids to you."
The office door opened, and Boris entered for the third time, only now accompanied by two more men carrying chairs.
"Ah, thank you." -Chang said, taking a seat. His subordinates mimicked him. "But..."
'Oh no, please.' -Boris thought. 'Not again.'
"What about the table?"
"The table, sir?"
"That's right. That wooden thing you use to support plates of food or cups of is it?"
Boris again called for help. But his kapitana refused to see him, as she preferred to admire his desk. His comrades seemed not to see him.
"I..."
"Shall I rest this cup of hot tea on my lap, soil my expensive pants and burn my legs?"
"No, by no means, Mr. Chang."
"Then you'd better get me a table, don't you think?" -Boris nodded silently and withdrew. "Is man is he an asshole or is he just messing with me?"
"Like I said, my men are just a little nervous."
"Nervous or not, politeness has to be a protocol that should be able to be followed without one having to be asking for everything." -Chang complained. "It makes me sound like a tyrant or a dictator, but it's only your man's fault because of his own clumsiness. Maybe then he'll learn to behave better next time."
Balalaika nodded in agreement, but also felt a little sorry for Boris, who had become the butt of Chang's cruel jokes.
Boris entered the office, for the fourth time, his face was blank. He brought with him a small folding wooden table in one hand, and the tray with Chang's orders in the other. "Here is the table, Mr. Chang.". -Boris said.
His voice was expressionless and his gaze was distant. Chang's criticism and demands had broken him.
"Excellent, I think that's all.". -Said Chang to then take a spoonful of his tea. Then, he smiled and looked at the sergeant. "This tea is cold."
"..."
"I like my tea hot. Since you're a thinker... Why do you THINK my tea is so cold?"
"...Because it took me too long to bring you the spoons, the chairs and the table."
"That's right. So, what should you do now?"
"Warm your tea, sir.". - Boris said, taking the tray.
"I'm glad we understand each other." -Chang waited for the sergeant to leave, then shook his head. "He's an asshole, we confirmed."
Bao's bar wasn't the only thing that was repaired in record time. Just a few hours ago, Benny's car was a mess, but now it was as good as new. It even had new paint.
Revy was the one driving, bound for the Hotel Moscow , while Rock sat in the passenger seat and stared absentmindedly out the window.
On one street there were piles of garbage strewn everywhere, on another, drunks were fighting in the middle of the street as a crowd cheered them on. One street over, there was a corpse lying against the wall of a building, with a suspicious hole in its forehead, but no one seemed to be paying attention to it.
"This town sucks." Rock said.
"You figured that out a little too late.". -Responded Revy. "And you haven't seen the city at its worst. There was a time when the gangs were at war with the police, or other gangs. The streets were stained red, there were dead people and bullets everywhere." -Revy recalled that time, living on the island was difficult even for her. "Still, even if things have calmed down a bit, this is no place for outsiders like you."
"And you think I should leave."
"Dah. Of course, you idiot. You've been very lucky, but someday that luck will run out...then Roanapur will chew you up and spit you out."
"That's too bad. I don't taste good."
"Then don't say I didn't warn you."
"I appreciate the warning, but I still plan to stay." Rock said as he lit a cigarette.
"Why...I get that shit about wanting to start over, but don't you think it's better to do it in your country?
"Nah, and I have three reasons. First of all, for the sushi." -Revy looked at him with a frown." Seriously! The sushi here is a delicacy of the gods. In Japan sushi tastes like nothing, and this raw, no cream cheese and no fried chicken." -Rock shook his head. "It pains my soul to say this, but Japan knows nothing about sushi."
"You have a point there."
"Secondly...this one's hard to explain. Suppose Dutch double-crosses you and tries to kill, and almost succeeds, for a few thousand dollars."
"That a good reason to kill."
"Maybe for you. To me it's bullshit, I mean, you've been working with Dutch for years, you do your best not to cause trouble and he repays all your effort, loyalty and years of service with a stab in the back. Or with a helicopter with mercenaries eager to fill you full of holes in my case."
Revy said nothing.
"In any case, Dutch couldn't kill you and he gets the money anyway. So, he comes to you and says 'What happened, happened. Let's move on. Come on, we've got work to do babe.' What would you do in that case? Would you accept and go back to being his lapdog...or would you do what I did and tell him to go fuck himself?"
"I'd send him to fuck himself.". -Responded Revy instantly, grinding her teeth. Thinking about that scenario made her furious. "And then I'd kill him, or ruin his life so much that he'd feel like killing himself. Be it Dutch, Sis or fucking Chang."
"Who's Chang?"
"A Triad boss. He's a cool guy, but a little strange for someone in his position."
" I see." -Rock wasn't surprised, it was to be expected that she knew that kind of person. He flicked the remains of his cigarette out the window. "My point is, that day when my old boss tried to kill me, I realized what an idiot I was, how many years of my life I've wasted being an ass-licker to others. And I got tired of that shit. Here I am free, and I do everything my way. I will never go back to Japan after experiencing so much freedom, not for now at least. That's my second reason for staying here."
"...Even if it costs you your life."
"Even if it costs me my life." -Nodded Rock. "Do you understand what I'm talking about?"
"Something like that, I guess I can understand that.". -Said Revy, reluctantly agreeing. "So? What's the third reason?"
"We're feeling curious, eh?"
Revy shrugged. There was nothing else to do but drive, and the silence was really uncomfortable. She couldn't stand silence. "Just spit it out already."
"Well, basically it's because I feel like it. Because I can and because I want to. Does that sound like a good reason to you?"
Much to her chagrin, Revy smiled. "Fuck off." -A few minutes later, she stopped the car, they had arrived at the Moscow Hotel. "Come on, let's go get our money."
The first thing they saw when they arrived was that the HotelMoscow was unusually hectic. And not just because of the number of extra people in the place, the serious faces of the Balalaika soldiers were even more serious than usual.
There was a strange feeling in the air, and Revy noticed it right away.
"You feel that, Rock?"
"What thing?"
She looked at him. He hadn't realized it, but unconsciously his body tensed. That was his instinct warning him that he'd better get away from there. "The smell of blood."
A small apology from me, as I know my English is not the best. I am sorry.