Bullet V

It had only been a few days since the incident with the twins at the Hotel Moscow, but Balalaika had already sent for the children. Rock was not going to allow them to go alone, more for fear that they would make a mischief, so he went with them. Balalaika was waiting for them in her office, along with someone else.

"Hi Rock!" -exclaimed a little boy.

The maid accompanying him was more polite and bowed. "Nice to see you again, Mr. Rock."

"Garcia and Roberta?" -Rock said, surprised to see them again." What are they doing here? I thought the problem from the other day was solved."

Balalaika was the one who answered, she was sitting behind her desk. "Yes, it was. I asked Rosarita to come for another matter; the education of your little monsters."

"I told you not to call them that."

She ignored him and waved her hand at the maid. "Rosarita has a lot of experience dealing with children, and also in military training, which is just what they need."

Rock had to agree to that.

The twins had promised him obedience, but he didn't know to what extent they would deliver on that. He couldn't sleep very well during the nights, because he was afraid Hansel and Gretel would run away and hurt someone . or him. Gretel didn't seem to have any intentions of that, but for Rock, the problem was his brother.

She decided to "protect" him willingly, but Rock thought Hansel had only agreed to do it for his sister. And Hansel was also the more unstable and violent of the two.

Roberta nodded. "I'll do my best to teach the kids self-control. It's the least I can do as thanks for helping the Young Master."

"...Are you sure?" -Rock asked. "They're a little hard to handle, and I hate to say this, but they're dangerous. You don't owe me anything, Roberta. It's not like I did much either, Miss Balalaika was the one who sorted it all out."

"No, no, you pulled me out of that bar when the shooting started.". -Said Garcia. "And I wanted to thank you for that too. So don't worry and let Roberta handle everything, she'll be able to do it because she's the best."

"Come to think of it Is it okay for you to be here, Garcia? ". -Rock asked. "Your dad won't worry because, you know, you got kidnapped once and all?"

"No problem. My dad knows that, as long as I'm with Roberta, nothing's going to happen to me."

The maid smiled at her Young Master's words, grateful for his confidence in her.

"In any case, Rock." -Said Balalaika. "We both know that... Hansel and Gretel need more self-control, or yesterday will happen again."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Garcia looked at him curiously." What happened?"

"I'd rather you didn't remind me.". -Rock replied and then turned to look at the children." Hansel, Gretel, from now on you guys...huh?

But they weren't there. The twins were gone. Immediately afterwards, an explosion rocked the building, alarming everyone. Sergeant Boris rushed into the office.

"Kapitana!"

"Sergeant! What the hell is going on?" -Balalaika exclaimed, standing up.

"The twins! They blew up the downstairs bathroom!"

"Goddamn it!"

The Lagoon Company, the only three members, had gathered at their base of operations, located in an old warehouse in the harbor. Dutch turned over a chair and straddled it, crossing his arms over the backrest and resting his chin on them. "I thought it might be nice to have a little chat."

Benny was sitting in a small chair and Revy was standing with his arms crossed, his back against the wall. "Well?" -She said. "What is it?"

"First, our funds are through the floor.". -began Dutch. "I haven't been able to get any jobs worth getting off my ass for, since Balalaika is limiting her operations a lot until she recovers from the damage done by the twins. I talked to Chang and he said he'd do the same thing, you know, so there wouldn't be any more bad blood between them."

"...Shit."

" Yeah, a shit. And that's your own damn fault."

"My fault?!"

"You set about destroying Balalaika's base, Rev'... What the hell is wrong with you?"

"But I didn't do anything, dammit! It was those little demons!"

Dutch laughed. "I know, I know. I'm just messing with you, baby. But I'm not kidding about the rest of it, we'll be starving ourselves for a while until business gets back out in town. I'll talk to my contacts in case I can get something, but in the meantime, we'll just have to wait."

Benny nodded silently, and Revy grunted under his breath.

"Right. Secondly..." -Continued Dutch, this time more serious, looking at them intently. "What the hell is going on between you two?"

"Between us? Nothing's going on."

"Don't play dumb with me, Benny-Boy. Or did you get that black eye yourself?"

"No, no, I just slipped..."

"With Revy's fist, yeah."

Revy clicked his tongue. "That's what he gets for getting smart. It's his fault I got wrapped up in that shit with the twins, I almost got killed there. Then I almost got in a shootout with Sis because I was collecting on a bet she already paid for, that this asshole dared to steal."

"Oh come on. How many times do I have to apologize for that?" -Said Benny, looking at her. "I told you, I thought the money was just Rock's, I only took it as compensation for damaging my car."

"That was that horny pedophile maid's fault."

"But who was it that brought the kid to my car and made that lunatic chase us?"

"That doesn't matter. If you wanted compensation, you should have talked it over with Rock and not just taken his money. That wasn't right, asshole."

"And what do you care if I steal from Rock or not? I'm starting to think you're more upset about that than anything else."

"Fuck you four-eyed fuck. You're a fucking thief, and I'll break your fingers if you even think of doing it again!" -Replied Revy, grinding his teeth, his patience was wearing thin.

Benny seemed to realize that too, because he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut.

Dutch waited, ready to intervene if she jumped on Benny. But fortunately, that didn't happen. Still, tempers weren't good, and Dutch wasn't a damn babysitter to be watching out for them killing each other, nor could he work if his employees were on bad terms, so for the sake of the Lagoon company, he'd have to step in.

"All right, we'll do this." -Said Dutch finally. "That problem stops right now. If you keep fighting about it, and if you go back to hitting each other, I will personally see to it that you repent."

"Come on, Dutch, you-"

"I ain't finished talking, Benny." -interrupted Dutch. "You won't say another word until I say so. Neither will you Revy. If either of you have a problem with that, then you'll have to come outside with me."

The silence that fell in the warehouse was almost solid.

"Good. Now, shake hands." -said Dutch, pointing his fingertip at them. Neither Benny nor Revy moved for a moment. "I said, shake hands. Now."

Dutch wondered if he would have to get up and force those two idiots to do it, but then Revy walked over to Benny. He got up and they both shook hands as Dutch asked them to. It was only a second or two, as Revy quickly pulled his hand away roughly, as if he had been burned.

Dutch nodded in satisfaction, it wasn't much, but that little truce would do for the time being.

"So, since we'll be stuck for a while, they can do whatever they want. If they want to go and do business with someone else, they're free to do that. In the meantime, I'll be traveling back and forth with the Black Lagoon, if you want to join me." -Said Dutch as he stood up. "When I get a real job, I'll let you know. That's all."

Revy was the first to leave, taking furious strides and slamming the warehouse door shut hard. Instead, Benny stood up calmly. "I'll wait for you on the boat." -He said.

"You sure you want to go with me and not stay to see if you can find a job?"

"Nah. If I stay without you around, she might kill me."

"...Revy will get over it, just give her a few days."

"I know, that's why I'm going with you, besides, I'm sick of the heat in the city."

Dutch nodded silently and Benny stepped back. He let out a tired sigh. "This is harder than Vietnam..."

Balalaika, Roberta, Garcia and Rock circled around the twins, who were standing quietly. Their clothes were covered with dust and dirt. All around them were debris and puddles of water. The workers hired by Balalaika were directing an angry glance at the children, and another little looked at them in terror, but they paid no attention to him.

"Sorry, Boss." -Said Gretel, with a smile and tone of voice that indicated quite the opposite. "It's just that we were bored."

"You blew up my bathroom.". -Said Balalaika expressionlessly. "Again."

"But hey, we didn't kill anyone this time.". -Replied Hansel, with the same smile as his sister. "That sure must count for something."

"Hansel came up with the idea of whether a grenade exploded as effectively in water as it did on land." -Explained Gretel. "I told him it wouldn't work, but he was convinced it would. So, he threw the grenade into the toilet and sent it down the pipes."

Rock was piqued with curiosity. "...So what happened?"

"I was right!" -Hansel exclaimed cheerfully.

Garcia gave Roberta's dress sleeve a little tug. "Can I play with a grenade?"

"Not in a million years." -answered the maid.

Rock refused to look at Balalaika, but he could feel her piercing gaze. He had to intervene fast before she decided to call off the old deal. "Ehem. In any case, from now on, you guys will be getting lessons in self-control and responsibility about handling weapons from Roberta."

Hansel tilted his head adorably to the side. "For how long?"

"Until you stop blowing up Miss Balalaika's bathrooms."

"Eh."

Roberta stepped forward." Nice to meet you, as Mr. Rock pointed out, I'll be your instructor temporarily." -She gave a small bow. "Lessons will begin immediately, but first, I need you to hand over all your guns to me."

The twins became instantly serious.

"You've got to be kidding me." -Almost spat Gretel. "You want us to be defenseless against someone like you? No way."

"You're not fooling anyone with that harmless maid act. You reek of blood and gunpowder." -Hansel said. "Being around you makes my hair stand on end."

Rock was impressed. It was the first time he had seen the twins behave with such seriousness, and even fear. They hadn't acted like this in front of Revy, Chang and Balalaika, nor under their threat of being killed by them. Rock looked at the maid, who had been unfazed by the twins' statements.

'Who the hell is she?' -Rock thought, but decided to put that aside and stepped forward. Then he crouched down, staying level with the boys.

"I can understand that you feel insecure about being unarmed in front of someone you don't know, and yes, Roberta is strong, but I assure you, she's not going to do anything to any of you. So please...give Roberta your guns."

Hansel didn't answer, he was still staring at the maid. Gretel was the one who spoke, but without her usual confidence or nonchalance. "... ¿Are you sure, Boss? If she tries to hurt you, we won't be able to help you."

The thought of losing their guns had caused them to stop being the ruthless killing machines, and go back to being scared little kids. And that hit Rock hard.

"I'm absolutely sure. Roberta's not going to be any harm to me, or to you." -Said Rock, forcing himself to smile and trying not to let his voice break in front of them. "Please trust me, okay?"

The twins looked at each other for a moment, then sighed. "Okay." -They said in unison.

Rock chuckled and then patted both of their heads. "Those are my good kids."

Hansel backed up a step. "Stop, don't do that, it feels weird."

Instead, Gretel seemed to be delighted. "Well, I like it."

"...I wonder which one of us is the one who's sick in the head, Gretel."

"It's obviously you, dear brother. It was you who threw a grenade into the toilet."

Balalaika watched everything without saying anything, but thinking that maybe Chang was right about Rock. For her, it was still too early to be sure that he could keep the twins under control, but it looked like he was on the right track.

"So..." -Said Roberta. "Your guns, please."

The twins complied and dropped their guns. Hansel dropped his twin guns, while Gretel dropped a pistol and a very sharp knife. "...What about the assault rifle, Gretel?" -Said Rock, a little perturbed by the children's arsenal.

"I left it at home, it's jammed since I last used it."

"It's still missing its pockets." -pointed out the maid.

Hansel and Gretel sighed, resigned, and began emptying their pockets.

They dropped knives of all shapes and sizes, pieces of guns the twins probably intended to assemble, and a good number of grenades. Rock was shocked, he couldn't imagine how the kids were able to move so freely and stealthily carrying all that.

"Oh, boy..."

"Roberta, can I play with knives?"

"Not in a million years."

Since Dutch and Benny had left, Revy had turned the warehouse base into her lair. This prevented any drug dealers or smugglers from usurping the place, and she would have to make a killing to get it back.

After all, she didn't want Dutch to scold her again.

In any case, she just woke up from a good nap, and left her lair bound for Yellow Flag, planning to spend what little money she had left. Then, as she was halfway to the dock exit, she ran into Rock and that brat whose name she couldn't remember.

They each had a fishing pole and a bucket by their side. Revy shook her head, and continued on her way. But she only took a few steps before she stopped, clicked her tongue, and walked over to them.

"But what the hell are they doing?" -Said Revy, catching their attention.

The two looked at her, with Garcia turning pale as he remembered how she used him as a hostage. Rock, on the other hand, was calm.

"Ah, Revy. It's been a while."

"It's only been about three days since the last time."

"Really...it seemed like many more days to me. Anyway, it's good that your face is back to normal." -Said Rock, which was true. Revy's face had deflated and he didn't have as many bruises anymore, just a few small ones and some minor injuries.

"Yeah, fuck off, what the hell are you guys doing?"

"We're fishing." -Garcia pointed out, raising her fishing pole. "You're coming fishing too? I'm warning you, there aren't many fish around here."

"That's obvious, idiots. The noise from the boats and motorboats scares the fish away."

Rock looked down at his empty bucket. "No wonder we don't catch anything..."

"Asshole. And another thing, you guys shouldn't go wandering around carelessly. They'll think you're fucking tourists and mug you."

"But we've already been mugged." -Garcia replied.

"Yes, and three times." -Rock added, and then showed him three wallets. One of them was loaded with bills.

"And that? where did you get it?"

"It's what Hansel and Gretel caught. They wanted to see the ocean and I brought them here. But it's not the same as the open sea, so they got bored and made up a game; use us as bait to see how many thieves they could catch."

"And they caught three..." -Revy was a little interested, that seemed like a fun game. It was too bad he didn't have anyone to use as bait.

"Four actually. One got away, and they went after him.". -Rock smiled. "Thanks for worrying about me, but it's no problem."

"Who the hell cares about you, asshole? I just wanted to warn you so you don't get killed and those brats of yours get out of control. That's all."

"In any case, nothing's going to happen to me. Besides, Roberta is with us, since she came with Garcia."

That immediately got Revy's attention. That crazy bitch would be perfect to cut her fucking boredom, and incidentally, solve that standoff they had.

"Where is she?" -Revy asked, cracking her knuckles.

"Your face just recovered, and you're looking to get it broken again?"

"The only thing that's going to break, is going to be that bitch's face, and that damn tie."

"...I've thought about it for a while now, but you use the word 'bitch' a lot, don't you?"

"Shut up Rock."

At that moment, Roberta arrived along with the twins. Rock and Garcia stood up, while Revy stared at the maid with a smile on her face, but the maid seemed to ignore her completely. "Well?" -Rock asked. "Did you catch him?"

Hansel nodded and showed him a new wallet. "That's right Boss. This one was loaded too."

"And…?"

"We didn't hurt him much." -said Gretel.

Roberta nodded. "Just enough, besides, they thanked him at the end."

"That's my good kids."

Revy stepped sharply between them. "Yeah, yeah, cut all this shit out. It looks like a fucking pedophile meeting." -She jabbed a finger in the maid's chest, who didn't flinch in the slightest. "You and me, we got unfinished business, bitch."

"See? There's that word again..."

"Shut up Rock!"

Roberta finally seemed to notice Revy. "I thought the shit smell was coming from the city, but it turns out it was your mouth. I thought I already told you to watch your language when the Young Master was present."

"Why don't you try shutting my mouth then, huh?"

The two looked at each other in tense silence for a moment, then both threw a punch straight at each other's faces. Causing Rock and Grace to yelp in surprise, while the twins began to celebrate.

But their entertainment was quickly interrupted by Rock, who jumped in between the two women and was trying to pull them apart, shoving them in the face and pushing them back, but receiving several punches and kicks in the process. "Hansel, Gretel, stop them!"

But the twins continued to watch everything in silence, and with a big grin on their faces.

"Stop them, goddamn it!"

"But we can't, Boss. You took our guns away from us!" -said Gretel. "And you let that broad nag us until she'd had enough."

"That's right, maybe a few broken bones and bruised brains will teach you not to do that next time." -Hansel added.

Somehow, Rock was able to separate the two. Completely exhausted, and with several bumps and scrapes. "You two..." -Said Rock, panting. "Seriously...you girls are messed up in the head."

Roberta fixed her dress as if nothing had happened, she had a small cut on her mouth, there where Revy hit her. "Mr. Rock, you should stay away from that wild, vulgar woman."

"I'm wondering which of the two is the wilder."

Revy also had a cut on her lip, and maybe a loose tooth or two. That fucker really hit hard. "The only vulgar one here is you, who keeps following that brat around."

"It's my duty to protect him." -Replied Roberta.

"And wanting to fuck him is part of your duty?"

They both looked at each other again in silence, then immediately afterward went back to throwing another punch at each other. "These broads have no patience at all!" -Rock exclaimed, sitting down on the floor and letting the two of them beat each other to a pulp. He no longer had the strength to intervene.

Gretel appeared with a large piece of wood in her hand. "If you want, I can shove this up their asses. That will make them stop."

"...Sometimes you scare me, Gretel."

In the end, Gretel's intervention wasn't necessary, as Hansel appeared with a paddle much bigger and heavier than he was, and used it to hit the two women, who were already on the ground rolling around and punching each other, sending them into the water. "There, matter taken care of.". -said the male twin.

"Good boy."

Rock poured Revy a glass of cold beer. Her face was full of wounds again, but they were nothing serious compared to her first fight with Roberta, who retreated to the hotel where she was staying along with Garcia, as she was exhausted, both from the fight and from trying to educate the twins, and because she didn't feel it was appropriate to take Garcia to The Yellow Flag.

Garcia wasn't too keen on going there either...he didn't have fond memories of that bar.

"So no jobs lately, huh?"

"That's right, blame those little..."

"Don't call them that." -Advised Rock, his voice harsher than usual.

Revy stared at him for a moment, slightly surprised by that, then clicked her tongue and looked away. He didn't feel like fighting again. "... kids." -She said finally. "There will be no business until Balalaika fixes that big shit they did. Chang stopped just so there won't be any more trouble between them."

"What a piece of shit. Sorry."

"Hhmp. Anyway, what's that fucking pedophile doing here, are you sure about leaving your kids with her?"

"Roberta's just teaching them about controlling their violent emotions, and also about responsibility when using guns, you know, so they don't cause mayhem again." -answered Rock, then lowered his voice. "You seriously think Roberta is...?"

Revy ignored that last question, and focused on what else he said. "That'll never work. Those kids won't learn from someone like her." -She said Revy, taking a swig of her drink. The cold beer going down her throat was refreshing.

Rock looked at her seriously. "' What do you mean?"

"That shitty maid, like Sis said that time, she's a soldier. She has a soldier's training and discipline. Your kids didn't learn to use guns and kill to serve their country or a cause like she did, they learned to do it to ensure their survival... until they acquired a taste for killing. That's why that bitch will never be able to teach them self-control, because military training is useless on a wild animal."

Rock was silent, thoughtful after hearing her, and so was she.

Yes, she knew about that. Of course she knew, and she could recognize a wild animal when she saw one, because she was one too. She too had needed to learn how to kill to survive. After doing it a couple of times, she liked the feeling of power and invincibility that pointing a gun at someone's head gave her.

The power to decide about life and death was sensational, intoxicating.

But over the years, that feeling disappeared completely, leaving only an empty hole. Now, when she killed someone, she no longer felt anything. Rarely did she manage to feel anything; guilt and regret.

She shook her head to forget about it. That's why she hated silence, silence always made her think stupid things and made her remember things she had buried in her head that she wanted to forget.

"Anyway..." -Said Revy, taking another drink. "You're just wasting your time with her. Better tell her to bugger off and not come back, or we'll end up killing each other."

"You said you couldn't get a job, didn't you?" -Rock asked suddenly, confusing her. "Does that mean you're free right now?"

"...? Yeah, something like that. But what...?"

Rock interrupted her, holding up the now four wallets the twins got, all of which had quite a bit of money in them. "Are you interested in a job?"