Bullet IV

Benny drank a glass of cold beer while staring at the ceiling, the fan barely threw off any wind, and he was staggering as if he was going to fall over at any moment. It was too hot to use the computer, or sleep, or anything that had to do with getting up and moving his body.

Suddenly, the fan stopped, releasing a bit of dust on Benny.

"Dutch, it happened again."

Dutch had an ice pack over his bald head, and was fanning himself with a porn magazine. "Fix it buddy. I can feel the heat rising."

"But I don't want to move."

"Use the broom."

Benny sat up straight on the couch where he was, he had specifically moved it so it was under the fan, and calculated the height. He thought maybe it was possible without having to move much. He would just need to reach out and give it a sharp whack. "Okay. Where is it?"

"Ah, I think he was in the bathroom."

Benny plopped back down on the couch. "Damn. Why don't you put a goddamn air conditioner in this sardine can?"

"Because there's no money, man. Simple as that. If you can't stand the heat, jump in the ocean and cool off a little."

"...But I can't swim."

"And that's why you're a damn disgrace as a sailor and a pirate. What if, God forbid, my precious ship sank? What would you do in that situation?"

"I'd wear a life jacket."

"We only have one." -Dutch replied.

Again, that cost money and the Lagoon Company's numbers were dangerously close to being in the red. Too many expenses for maintenance, food, beer and cigarettes. Maybe too much beer and cigarettes, but if you took those two things away from Revy, she'd go into her berserker mode, for anything.

That's why he'd made the bet with Rock and Balalaika, to see if he could salvage a little cash. But he hadn't expected Revy to tie with the maid. It was a direct hit to his pocket.

"Then I'd hang off the back of whoever wears the life jacket.". -Benny replied.

"The weight would make you go down along with the poor bastard."

"I don't weigh anything dude, I'm as thin as a stick. Anyway, I'm hot and I can't go to my car to cool off with your nice new air conditioner because Revy took it away like two hours ago."

"No wonder I don't see her complaining here about the heat."

"Do you know where she went? I'm worried about my car, you know, I just got it fixed."

"Where did you get...? Never mind. Anyway, now I remember Revy went to Yellow Flag, yeah, she went to collect her share of the bet from Rock."

Benny sat up straight again, as if he had a knife stuck in his ass. "What do you mean her share of the bet? ...wasn't it just you, Balalaika and Rock?"

"Seemed that way, but you know how crazy Revy is. He said the money was his too, so I sent him to Rock for...wait." -Dutch turned to look at him. "Come to think of it, you still haven't given me the money I sent you to get.". -Dutch noticed that Benny was unusually pale, and was now sweating profusely, but it didn't seem to be just from the heat. "...Benny?"

"Oh, boy..."

"What the fuck did you do now, man?"

After searching through the building, and not finding the twins, Chang and Balalaika's soldiers retreated to tend to their wounded and check the damage caused by the explosions. Revy wasn't interested in that, so she started wandering around looking for Balalaika, but instead ran into Chang, who greeted her cheerfully.

"Ohh, nice style. The puffy eye and busted lip make you look very handsome Two Hands."

"Yeah, well go ahead and fuck yourself in the ass, Chang."

"Hahahaha, so much aggression! What it is to be young and so full of hate!" -Chang exclaimed, but backing away wisely. Being around Revy was dangerous, but being around a pissed off Revy was about a thousand times more dangerous. "In any case, it's good to see you again."

"I'd say the same thing, but I'd be lying if I said it."

"Whoa~, how cruel. Why are you so pissed off?"

Mainly it was because that asshole Rock had vanished, as well as the psycho brats. And that could only mean two things. The first, Rock thought it would be a good idea to chase them and they killed him, the second; that they kidnapped him and then killed him.

She didn't really care what happened to Rock, but a very small part of her felt a pang of guilt and regret. After all, she was the one who had convinced him to come to the Hotel Moscow in the first place. And dying at the hands of those little monsters, if at least half of everything she found out about the twins turned out to be true, sure was horrible.

'That guy didn't deserve an ending like that.'

But Revy quickly squashed that feeling of guilt. She had warned Rock that sooner or later his luck was going to run out. She just didn't think it would be that fast. "...I just couldn't kill those bastards, that's all.". -Responded Revy at last.

"Well, you might get another chance. Fry Face is a bit pissed off about the partial destruction of the Moscow Hotel, and the injuries his men received, now he put a price on the twins' heads." -Chang said, then sighed. "Honestly, she took less damage. I lost seven of my men. Now I have to report and send letters of comfort to four different families."

"Didn't you say there were seven dead? Then why only four families?"

"Because three of those dead belonged to the same family. They were three brothers."

"Wow... that sucks."

"It really is. But that's business, sometimes you succeed and you're the fucking master. And other times you fail and you have to take responsibility for your fuck-ups."

"It's tough being the boss, huh?"

"Harder than you'd imagine." -At that moment, Chang's phone rang. It was Cho. "Excuse me for a moment, will you?"

"Do whatever you want." -Said Revy to then walk away. She still had to go talk to Balalaika to collect her $8,000 debt. But strangely, she was feeling a little discouraged. However, she wasn't going to give up $8,000 bills so easily. It was almost a job's salary.

"Cho." -Said Chang, answering the call. "What's the current situation?"

"Well, it's a bit mixed, to tell you the truth. The wounded on both sides number 19, with 5 of them seriously injured."

"And the dead?"

"They're still dead. I think it would be a good idea to give them a shot in the head, you know, just to make sure they don't wake up in the middle of the night looking for revenge or our brains."

"I mean the numbers, don't be an asshole."

"Oh, that. No one else has died yet, so they're holding at 7, all on our side."

"Yes, I know that very well."

"There's more news, Mr. Chang. We found the twins."

Finally, some good news. "Dead or alive?"

"They live, but not for long unless you give an order for them to keep breathing, there are a lot of people around here eager to gut them, no need to explain to you why."

"Did you capture them, or was it Balalaika's men?"

"Neither. They came back of their own free will, and they say they want to talk to you and Miss Balalaika. By the way, they are with a Japanese. I think he's the one who came to the Hotel Moscow along with Two Hands."

Chang gritted his teeth. He was sorely tempted to order those little bastards shot to death, but he also didn't want any more of his men to die if he could help it.

"Don't let them do anything Cho, I want to hear what they have to say first before I decide if I want them dead or not."

"As you say boss. I'll send them to Miss Balalaika's office right away."

"Thank you Cho."

"Ah, one more thing, Mr. Chang. Shenhua called, she says she's bored and needs money."

"Heh, tell her to be patient, I'll find something for her once I'm done with this problem."

" Roger that, sir. Goodbye for now."

Chang cut the call and sighed.

It had been a long day and he was really tired, not physically, which was even worse. The only thing he wanted to do right now, was to go back to Hong Kong and rest. But he still had to close the matter with the damn twins, so unfortunately, his longed-for rest would have to wait a little longer.

"I'm getting too old for all this shit."

Balalaika shook her head as she saw the traces of destruction caused by the twins, it was as if a tornado had passed through her precious hotel. It would take hours and a good amount of money to get her base back in good shape. She regretted not paying attention to Chang's words. Those kids were fearsome weapons.

"Oi, Sis!"

Balalaika turned to look, though she already knew who they were. No one else besides Revy called her that. "Two Hands. You look bad..."

"I'm getting tired of people calling me that."

"Did Dutch send you?"

"No. I just came to visit you on personal business."

"Unless you're coming to volunteer as a full-time bricklayer and carpenter for the next two weeks, I don't care."

"Well too bad, because I want my damn money Sis."

Balalaika glared at her and then sighed.

"You want money, the builders want money and the police who heard all the commotion of gunshots and explosions want money too; well ¿You know what?; fuck you all. ¿You want money?; spread your legs and name your price, I'm sure you'll find plenty willing to pay you to play with what you've got down there."

"It's not my fucking fault those brats fucked up your hotel. Don't take it out on me, bitch."

"Really? They told me they saw you kicking grenades back and forth, bitch."

"Fucking Chinese gossips. That only happened once!"

"And now I don't have a bathroom downstairs. I have to stand in line myself so I can go take a shit, in my own bathroom."

"That's not my problem, you can shit in a plastic bag if you're so inclined." -Said Revy as she lit a cigarette. Filling her lungs with smoke calmed her down a bit. She had been under too much stress lately and Balalaika wasn't helping her. "My point, you owe me $8,000 bills for the bet you made last night with Dutch and Rock."

"And what the fuck does that have to do with you?"

"You think I'm going to let you assholes make money at my expense? My ass. Rock won that bet, and he was going to give me half. But since he's dead, all the money from the bet belongs to me."

Balalaika raised an eyebrow. The dead Japonski? that was unfortunate, she had looked into him a bit and his resume had caught her eye, but she wasn't particularly saddened by his death. She was just sorry for the loss of a potential resource. "Well, I've got news for you, stupid. I gave that money to Dutch.". -she replied.

"That's a lie! Dutch said he paid his share to you, and you said you'd give it to Rock along with your share."

"That's right, it's just like Dutch said. But since I don't know where Japonski lived, I called Dutch to ask him if he knew where he lived, but Dutch had no idea either. So he said he'd pay Rock when he crossed him around, and he sent Benny to pick up the money at my office this morning."

Revy stared at her in silence, and Balalaika could almost hear her brain working at full power to process the information. "So..." -Said Revy slowly. "You're telling me that Benny's son of a bitch has my money?"

"Yes."

"...Benny, that bastard. ¡No wonder he was able to get his stupid car fixed so fast!" -Revy exclaimed as she pulled her hair. That meant she'd gotten caught up in that whole shit with the twins, and Rock died for nothing. "How did I not realize that before, where was he going to get the money to pay for his car?! He's just a fucking bum who hangs out in front of his shitty computer!"

"Stealing, apparently."

"I'm gonna kill that skinny motherfucker!"

Balalaika shrugged. She really didn't give a shit about all that. "Are you done making a fool of yourself? I've got a lot of work to do."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure shitting in a plastic bag must take a lot of work."

"You'll end up in a bag if you keep pissing me off."

"So you can shit on my corpse too?"

Balalaika drew her gun, and Revy quickly did the same with her pistols. "I warned you, asshole!" -Said Balalaika, gritting her teeth and with a scarred vein on her forehead. She had made a great effort to keep her cool so far, but that stupid girl had pushed her over the edge.

"You think I'm afraid of you? Go ahead and shoot. I'll fill your ass full of lead before you can pull the trigger twice, bitch."

"Whoa, whoa!" -Exclaimed Chang as he appeared on the scene, he was a little surprised to see the two women pointing their guns at each other. "Calm down, ladies. No need to fight over me, there's enough Chang to go around."

Both women stopped pointing at each other, and instead pointed directly at Chang.

"You should fuck off Chang."

"Yeah Chang, you better fuck off."

"I'm glad to see you two getting along again." -Chang said, putting his hands on his guns, just in case. "But before you kill me, I have something to say about our much hated twins."

That made Balalaika lower her gun. "What about them, did you find them, are they dead?"

"Damn, how bloodthirsty are you..."

"Answer my damn question."

"Which one of the three?" -Balalaika raised her gun again. "All right, all right. Sheesh. The thing is, the twins are alive and they're back. They say they want to talk to both of us, I don't know what about."

"There's nothing to talk about. Just shoot them in the forehead, cut them into little pieces and throw their remains in the trash." -Balalaika replied, grinding her teeth. "And then burn that garbage, and let those ashes go straight into the deepest, darkest abyss of the ocean. Then collapse that abyss."

"Yeah... that won't be happening. I've already agreed to talk to them. We're going to listen to what they have to say, and if we don't like it, well, you can do what you want to them. But that will be after we hear them out, okay?"

Balalaika closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try to calm herself. These last few hours had been the most stressful of her entire life. "Okay." -She said finally, managing to get some peace. "I'll listen to those demon spawn. But have them go prepare two plastic bags."

"...You sure take a big shit."

"Don't push me, Two Hands."

The atmosphere in Balalaika's office felt heavy, suffocating. Rock was extremely uncomfortable being the target of Revy, Balalaika and Chang's stares. The twins were at his side, smiling as if nothing was wrong. Rock cleared his throat and put on the best salesman smile he could.

" Hi-"

"How the fuck are you still alive?" -interrupted Revy.

"Well, that sure is a funny story, but Hansel and Gretel are best suited to answer that question."

"Why the fuck are you with those monsters?"

"Don't call them that, please. And, again, they're the ones best suited to answer."

Revy growled, annoyed at not getting any information. And even more annoyed at feeling just a tiny bit relieved to see him alive. But that was simply because she thought he died because of her. That left a bad taste in her mouth, but now that the jerk was back and apparently intact, there was nothing to feel guilty about anymore.

Chang spoke next.

"And who the hell are you exactly?"

"Oh, nobody important. I was just a clerk who was kidnapped and decided to live here, on the island." -answered Rock, then pointing to Revy. "There you go Revy, she was the one who kidnapped me."

Chang looked at her with a raised eyebrow and she nodded. "He's telling the truth, Mr. Chang. The guy's nobody important, just a very lucky idiot."

"I see..." -Chang said. Two Hands had never lied to him before, and there was no reason to distrust his word now. "So... what are you doing with the kids, how did you end up with them?"

"Err, like I said, they can answer that."

"I asked you." -Chang said, in a harsher voice.

"Uh...w-well, sir...I..."

Gretel let out a small chuckle as she watched Rock stammer. "Excuse the Boss. He's too intimidated by you guys. Your faces scare him, especially hers." -she replied, pointing at Revy.

"Fuck you, you psycho little bitch.". -Replied Revy, then frowned. "And what did you call him?"

"Boss. He's Boss, because we're under his command now."

Chang frowned. "And what exactly does that mean?"

"Well that, that we are now under his command." -Hansel replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's not that hard to understand, don't you think? Or maybe you're mentally retarded?"

"Hansel!" -Said Rock, aghast. "Saying that isn't right, let alone to a mob boss on whose life your life depends!"

"There's nothing to worry about, Boss. If they wanted us dead, we wouldn't be here."

"That hasn't been decided yet." -Said Balalaika, in an icy voice, sitting behind her desk with her hands clasped together. "I agreed to listen to them, but if it's not a plea for their lives, and an apology for damaging my hotel and hurting my soldiers, then I don't care what they say."

"...You know that seven of my men died, right? Why are you the one who's the most pissed off here?" -Chang asked

"Unlike you, I'm being followed by loyalty forged by fire, blood and bullets, not by stupid political alliances to sell drugs, assassinate or whatever other fucking business you run, Chang. My men won't betray me either if they see me letting my guard down for a second. That's why I do value the lives of those who serve me."

Balalaika hit right on target, and so Chang said nothing more. She continued the questioning and changed the subject. "But I suppose you are somewhat right, after all, you were the one who received the most losses. In any case, I want you to explain your actions, you little monsters."

"Don't call them that."

Balalaika fixed her furious gaze on Rock. "I'll call them whatever I damn well please. And by the way, why the fuck are you still here? This is none of your business, Japonski."

"My name is Rock, Ms. Balalaika." -Said Rock, through gritted teeth. "And you're wrong, it's become my business from the moment I set foot in your hotel and got caught in the middle of that shootout. And these children's names are Hansel and Gretel. Not monsters, or demons. Learn their names for fuck's sake."

"Do you deny that they're monsters? Maybe their little facade of innocent children has fooled you? I thought you were smarter than that, Rock."

"To me they're just kids who went through real hell because of people like you."

"You don't like it? Well fuck you, baby. The world is not a fucking McDonald's Happy Meal. The world is a cold, savage, cruel place. If you want to blame someone, blame those kids for their own weakness and allowing themselves to be made into what they are now."

"What you say is fucking bullshit!"

"And you think I care? That's the stark truth, do yourself a favor and just accept it already, you're making a fool of yourself acting like a knight in white armor. You want justice? Then go find the real people responsible for ruining those kids' lives, as you call them, out there. Not in my fucking office, stupid."

Rock clenched his fists tightly, his body trembling with rage and helplessness. Because he knew what she was saying was true. Neither Chang nor Balalaika were responsible for ruining the twins' lives.

"We're not going to get anywhere this way.". -intervened Chang, before the situation got worse and Fry Face ended up murdering the Japanese. He liked him, not just anyone could stand up to Balalaika. "The brats caused a big ruckus and have left us all pissed off. But there's no point in blaming each other, what happened, happened."

"The kids." -insisted Rock.

"The kids." -Chang agreed, smiling. "I see you take seriously the role of 'Boss' you've been given."

"Of course I do."

"Ah, then, like any good Boss, I'm sure you will take responsibility for the actions of your subordinates. Especially if they severely offended the main heads who run this island."

"That's right. That's what I'll do, I'll take responsibility for their actions." -Rock replied, not backing down.

"Really? In that case I'm afraid you will have to pay for all the repairs to the Hotel Moscow, you will have to suffer the same injuries that Balalaika's men suffered, and you will have to die seven times for the seven men of mine who were killed by your children." -Chang said, without losing his smile. "¿Do you understand, man? This is beyond you."

"...They're right Rock.". -Said Revy, folding her arms. She felt a little sorry for him, being attacked from both ends. "As good as your intentions are, there's nothing you can do. Just drop it and go home."

"...You know I can't do that. I'm not going to abandon Hansel and Gretel."

"Why do you care so much about them? ¿Are they your lost children or what?"

"I just think everyone deserves a second chance." -Said Rock, staring at her. "I got a second chance at life, and because of that I've discovered the value of myself. So I'd like to create a second chance so that these kids who have spent their whole lives in darkness can start from scratch again, without having to endure a life of replete with shit and pain."

That caught her off guard. After all, she hadn't expected that kind of statement. She tried to blurt out a taunt or some insult, but none came to mind.

"And that's why he's our Boss now, because he's a good person!" -said Gretel cheerfully. "And that's also the reason to be under his command, because I can't imagine him ordering us to hurt or kill someone. Besides, this way we can protect him from shitty people like you."

"You guys are just as dangerous as I am!" -Replied Revy.

"We may be a little similar, but the difference between us is that we're not going to hurt him. isn't that right Hansel?"

"..."

"Hansel." -insisted his sister.

"I think cutting it a little shouldn't be a problem.". -declared the male twin. "Nothing major and nothing necessary. Just a couple of cuts, I think they'd look good on him. They'd make him look badass."

"No, you can't. But you can cut other people."

"Like the man with the dark glasses or the woman with the scars?"

"Especially the two of them."

"Actually." -Said Rock. "I'd rather they didn't cut anyone. That kind of behavior got us into this mess in the first place. They should have more self-control."

"...What's that?" -Asked the two twins in unison with a perfectly innocent tone of voice.

"Don't play dumb!"

Chang sighed. So long wondering how to keep the twins under control, for the answer to be a 'good person'. "Then neither of us could pull it off.". -He said.

"What thing?" -Balalaika asked, looking at him.

"Control those kids. It seems the requirement is to be a 'good person'. That's why it's impossible for you and me to do it."

"You said an old friend of yours had them under his control. I have a hard time imagining anyone close to you being someone good."

"Ah, no, he wasn't. And that's probably why these kids killed him."

"You never mentioned that. Just that your friend just died."

"Bah, small unimportant details."

"And you were planning on giving these kids to me, you son of a bitch."

"...That may not have been the best of my ideas. In my defense, I thought very favorably about you, and that these children would obey you out of fear. But, ah, surprise~, it seems they don't feel fear."

"Sure..."

"In any case, I think it would be best to forgive this matter!" -Chang exclaimed loudly, drawing the attention of the others. "Let's not be so hard on this poor man and his little disaster makers, since this whole mess happened mainly due to my error in judgment."

"Forgive?" -Said Balalaika, surprised and irritated. "But my men...!"

"They are lucky to still be alive. I remind you that seven of mine died. And if you care so much about them, then get out of the game and leave the island to me. We're criminal scum and we're in the city of the dead, not some fucking kindergarten."

"...The Hotel Moscow..."

"It can be repaired." -Said Rock, taking the opportunity Chang gave him, though he didn't know if it was intentional or not. "And if it's about the money, well, why don't I and the twins better work for you as compensation?"

"Pssh. I understand about those little shits But what could a useless guy like you do?" -Said Revy. "Clean up the bags of shit Sis leaves behind?"

"Don't start." -Advised Balalaika.

"I used to be a clerk, I'm quite used to administration and paperwork. I was also constantly sent to seal deals with partners in the industry I work in, so you could say I have experience in negotiation. And for what it's worth, I know how to speak about five languages, if you count Japanese."

"...Pure boring shit, I bet you don't even know how to use a gun.". -Murmured Revy.

"Information and knowing how to take advantage of opportunities are the best weapons in business." -Rock replied.

"Two killing machines and a universal translator who knows how to do business in exchange for sparing their lives and as payment for repair costs. It's a good deal, Fry Face. So much so that it makes me a little jealous."

"...The offer applies to you, too, Mr. Chang." -Said Rock. "We also owe you a debt."

"And I'm sure you'll repay it to me. But first settle your Fry Face affairs and then we'll talk about how to repay a favor."

Rock looked at Balalaika again. But there was no need to press further. It was solely up to Balalaika to accept or reject the deal. But if what he thought was right, then...

"Sounds good to me.".

And just as Rock had thought, she had agreed. Balalaika was all about profit and loss, and this deal would bring her a lot of profit. She wasn't stupid enough to turn down something like this, no matter how upset she was.

"I will forgive this offense in exchange for you working for me, as payment for the cost to repair my hotel. And until my wounded men make a full recovery. However, I'm not going to give you a penny, you can forget about it, you'll have to get it elsewhere."

"Sounds good to me." -Said Rock, though the conditions seemed too harsh for him. And Hansel and Gretel would still have to fulfill Balalaika's missions. But it was either that, or get them killed. He looked at the twins. "What do you guys think?"

"I really don't care about the money. And if it's okay with you, then it's okay with me." -Said Gretel.

"Same here. But will we get a chance to kill someone?"

"Seriously Hansel. You're out of your mind."

"As are you, dear sister."

"Of course you'll get your dose of blood." -Said Balalaika. "I'll make you two work hard to pay your debts. And you..." -She pointed to Rock. "Their mistakes will be your responsibility. If your kids raise their weapons against the Hotel Moscow again, they will be eliminated. And you will be the one to execute them, I will force you to do it if necessary, ¿is that clear to you?"

"...Yes."

"Good. I hope you will remember that in the future."

Chang gave a loud clap. "Well, I guess that settles everything for now. If you don't mind, I'm out of here. I need to rest."

Rock let out a sigh of relief. Somehow he'd managed to save his life and the lives of the children. But now he couldn't help but wonder, what would be in store for him now that he had those kids in his life?

Once they left the Hotel Moscow, each went their own way. Rock and the twins headed home to rest, while Balalaika would stay at his base to supervise the reconstruction.

Only Revy and Chang remained.

"I know you well enough to know when you want to ask me something." -Said Chang once they were alone. "Spit it out already before I go to sleep. Men my age need to be well rested to deal with shit like this."

"Why did you help him?" -Said Revy, watching as Rock and the twins walked off into the distance." Is it because you want to get on the good side of those kids or did you just feel sorry for him?"

"You noticed, huh? Well, one doesn't get to my position by being an emotionless machine, even Fry Face has them, albeit very hidden. But in this case...let's just say I'm thinking ahead."

"That doesn't tell me anything."

"You've always been a bit of a dummy." -Chang said as he smiled. "But I guess this deserves a little explanation."

"But don't go blabbering on for hours."

"Okay. Where do I start? ... Roanapur sucks. There's no way to hide or decorate that. It's grotesque, vulgar shit...like your face. Go to a fucking hospital, or at least put some ice on it."

"Fuck off."

"Maybe later. In any case, I think Roanapur needs a change of air as soon as possible, or we'll end up choking on its rottenness..." -Chang paused, and waited. Revy did not disappoint him.

"...But trying to ventilate the shit smell with more shit smell doesn't change anything, it will only make it worse."

"Exactly, I'm glad you can realize that. That's why I think the best thing that could happen to this city, is a change of perspective, a different view, from someone who isn't rotten like you, like me and Fry face. The vision of an outsider, of a good person, might be just what we need."

Revy looked at him in surprise. "Do you really think Rock...?"

"Who knows? But think about this; he's already made a change without even realizing it, a small one, but a change nonetheless. He saved the lives of those who were supposed to die. It makes me want to know how far he'll go, what other changes he'll make. Don't you find that a little interesting?"

'Everyone deserves a second chance...'

"Maybe."