Bullet VI

Revy and Roberta had begun a crash course for the twins. The maid taught them manners, responsibility and military discipline for combat, while Revy taught them to control their bloodlust and how to direct it towards their enemies without getting lost in the carnage and attacking allies, both in theory and in practice.

Though also, she taught them a bit of street art.

"Listen brat..."

"My name is Gretel.". -Said the girl with a smile on her face. Even though she had mentioned her name to him since the first day, her second instructor didn't seem to bother remembering it, even though she repeated it to him many times. So now, Gretel was simply doing it to irritate her.

And as usual, Revy took the bait. She quickly frowned.

"I don't give a fuck what your name is, pendeja. Listen stupid, there are four phrases that can be very useful to you in the future if you learn how to use them correctly." -Said Revy. She was giving the girl some extra lessons, as Gretel was the more eloquent of the two twins. "Pay attention, because I don't like to repeat everything twice."

Gretel tilted her head to the side, a gesture that almost made her look like an innocent child." What?"

"...I won't fall for that again." -Revy cleared her throat and she held up her fingers one by one. "It's these; 'I didn't do it. He was already like this when I got here. Well said boss and I was taking a shit.' That's it."

Gretel was nodding silently, soaking up the information like a sponge. The twins were learning with alarming speed, and within days, Revy and Roberta had run out of lesson material, so they both just rattled off anything that was useful. From how to defuse an explosive to how to threaten, and murder, someone using a pencil.

"Did you get it?"

"Yep~."

"Good. Don't use those words lightly and you'll be fine." -Revy scratched her head. "Well, I guess that's it, I don't have anything else to teach you."

Gretel smiled and gave a little bow. "I've learned some pretty interesting things from you, and I like you better than the maid with a face so serious she could sour milk. You have my gratitude."

Revy felt a little pride, taking the girl's statement as a sign of her victory over Roberta's bitch. But he also felt a bit of discomfort. "Uh... yeah, better just say thank you. Actually, don't give them to me, I only did this for money Rock offered me."

"Still, I appreciate it. You're not so bad after all, it helps that now your face doesn't make me want to puke, I guess that's why Boss likes you even though you're a moody, violent bitch."

"...You have a way of talking that I don't know if you're flattering me or insulting me."

"Confusing people is my favorite pastime."

"Damn brat, you're going to get in trouble someday for trying to get smart." -Threatened Revy, but she wasn't really upset.

These days had been quite fun for her, even though the twins sometimes got on her nerves. She thought that maybe for the first time in many years, she didn't need the action and violence to cut through her boredom. But she quickly shook that off, it wasn't right to think that way.

"Come on, let's go to Yellow Flag, I feel like getting a little drunk. I'm feeling generous, I'll buy you a drink."

"I'm underage." -Replied Gretel.

"And you've murdered who knows how many people, don't fuck with me. But if you don't want beer, I'll buy you a fucking Pepsi."

"See? You can be a good person when you want to be, too, Big Sis."

"...Don't call me that."

Gretel thought about it a bit, playing dumb, a game she'd perfected by using Revy and Rock as guinea pigs. "Would you rather I call you 'Anego'? I think that's what it would be like in Boss country."

"Tsk. You can call me whatever you damn well please. But don't ever say I'm a good person again, ever. You hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Anego."

"...Damn brat."

Dutch felt a little sorry for Benny, as he had to stay at the Black Lagoon, because the heat in Bangkok was even heavier than in Roanapaur.

He hadn't visited Bangkok for years, and it seemed like nothing had big city was similar to Roanapaur, but Dutch didn't like it one bit.

In Roanapaur, back home, if someone stuck his nose into business he shouldn't be meddling in, sooner or later his corpse would turn up lying in the middle of the street, in a corner of some alley, or hanging on the pier for the seagulls to peck at.

But in Bangkok you simply disappear, as if you never existed. Also, there was shadier business than back home. Abortions, organ trafficking, child prostitution and a lot of other things. Things Dutch wasn't the least bit happy to get involved in, not even for the most money he was offered.

That's why he preferred Roanapur a thousand times over, but Bangkok was bigger, and the jobs there were plentiful. It was dirty, blood money, but money nonetheless. The only good thing, perhaps, was that there was only one head running the real face of the city; Chang and his Triad, which is just the reason Dutch visited Bangkok.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?". -said Chang as he saw Dutch enter his office, one of the many he had around the world. Dutch asked him to meet, and as he was overseeing some business in the big city he called him there.

"What, not even a 'good morning' first? You're losing your manners." -Responded Dutch, smiling.

"No good mornings here lately, just days. Anyway, if you're looking for work, you know I can't give you anything official at the moment, you know why."

So, yes there was work. But Dutch noticed something odd in the way Chang spoke.

"What about unofficial?" -He asked.

Chang pulled out a stack of papers from a drawer in his desk, with lots of faces and information on them. "Some people don't know how to keep their mouths shut, and they may need someone to shut it for them."

"Lagoon Company doesn't work by shutting people up."

"That's a shame. By the way, is Two Hands with you?"

"She may be interested, but she's in Roanapur at the moment. She decided to stay there while I'm out and about."

"That's a shame." -Chang repeated then sighed and leaned his legs back on his desk, and crossed his arms behind his head. "Then I don't have much that can help you get the bread, my friend. Hmmm~, except..."

"Spit it out, Chang."

"Did you know my asshole friend, Fang Jain, screwed everything up and got himself thrown in jail?"

"Hell..." -Said Dutch, as he remembered, Fang Jian was an agent of Chang's and knew a lot of compromising things. "Wasn't he supposed to be working in Bangkok?

"That's right, but the bastard got himself arrested in Taiwan. Fang Jian screwed up a big purchase of toys that go 'bang' to one Koko-no-what. And as payback, that bitch got him arrested using her contacts. Taiwan is tricky territory, the police there aren't interested in easy money, and I'm worried about my friend, as there are some very bad people who already took notice of him."

'And on you too.' -thought Dutch, cursing his luck. He had visited Chang at the worst possible time. Now he understood the reason why Chang was talking like that; he was being watched very closely and he didn't want to risk saying something dangerous. At least not in a direct way.

Dutch didn't like to get involved in such serious shit, and Chang's imaginary gymnastics were hard to follow, but he had already made it all the way there and had gone looking for business. Chang was offering him one, so at the very least, Dutch thought it would be nice to hear what he had to offer.

"So, you're worried about Fang Jian starting to sing?" -Dutch said, playing along. "He doesn't look like a good singer."

"I think so too, but we both know that singing is a nice way to spend time cooped up. What worries me is that Xian Ye will sing something he shouldn't and it will piss someone off."

"How do you know he hasn't already?"

Chang sat back down properly, a little more seriously.

"I have friends everywhere who assure me that Fang Jian hasn't. Although I also don't fail to warn him that prisons are dangerous, and you never know when someone might attack him with a knife in the middle of the night because they were upset that he wouldn't stop singing." -Chang said. "But maybe I shouldn't worry so much, since it's possible that Fang Jian could get out sooner, you know how justice is nowadays. Although it's a shame that I can't go to see him, because I'm too busy. I'm a little envious of him being able to walk around Taiwan, as they say it's very beautiful this time of year... Have you ever been there, Dutch?"

"No, I never have been, but I might, and maybe I'll invite some friends."

"In that case, I recommend that you do. God knows you need a break sometimes, Dutch. And if you do go, I'd like you to bring me back a souvenir from Taiwan."

"It's a long drive, I've got to get fuel, pay for my companions' meals and drinks, you know."

" Yeah, I've thought about that, and I seem to remember that I owed you some cash. A fair amount."

"I don't remember very well, was it about $100,000 Baht?"

"You are correct about the number. But it's actually green bills, those ones with dead white men's faces printed on it, that Americans like so much. So, you're going out for a ride to Taiwan?"

Dutch thought about it for a moment. He didn't like getting into such serious shit, especially with Inter-Pol involved, if he got that 'very bad people' thing right. But that was a tempting amount of cash, and just to get a passenger from one point to another. It wasn't a bad deal.

"Yeah, why not, I could use a little vacation.". -said Dutch finally. "It will take me some time to pack my bags and let my friends know. I also need to find a good hotel."

"Sure, don't worry about that, take your time."

"But there's a little problem, most of the local people can only speak Mandarin Chinese, my friends and I can only speak English."

Chang smiled. "I know a good translator who will be willing to help you."

Xxxx

Bao looked at Hansel with a critical eye. The boy was standing in front of him without showing the slightest sign of nervousness. "... What is one to do when an idiot asks for a glass of water, milk, or anything other than alcohol?"

"Answer him that 'only alcohol is served here,' and that he's an idiot."

Bao nodded. "Right. Now, what to do when he starts, God forbid, a shooting in my bar?"

"Hide, call the police, and don't intervene. And if you must intervene, avoid destroying the bar in the process."

"Excellent. Last question; what to do when I'm wanted by the police and I haven't called that in before?"

"Say we haven't seen you."

Bao turned to Rock, who was sweeping the premises, as it was not yet opening time. "This kid is good. He learned all the protocols faster than you. His answers actually sound convincing and he didn't smile like an idiot when I asked him the questions."

"Hansel is a smart kid, and, unlike me, he knows how to lie." -Rock acknowledged, still sweeping. Dusting wasn't half as hard as mopping up blood. Though Rock thought that wasn't his duty, since he was only hired as a bartender, but he couldn't complain about that to Bao, or he'd get fired. "So, Hansel passed your tests?"

"With the higher score, plus bonus points for knowing how to use a gun. Something you should learn, you'd think you'd know how to shoot a gun by this point."

"I'm not very comfortable with the idea of using a gun.". -Rock replied. It didn't seem right to him to use an object that could decide on the life and death of other people so easily.

"Then maybe you'd be more comfortable with the idea of sleeping in a crate buried six feet under."

"Only if you cry for me at my funeral."

"I don't cry for anyone, you idiot, I only cry when I have to pay to rebuild my bar. Nor will you have a funeral. In any case, Hansel's approved, and I'm allowing him to come to Yellow Flag to work when he comes of age... or right now if possible. There aren't those pesky bureaucrats here who won't allow children to work."

"If Roanapur didn't suck, then you'd be going to prison right now."

"Then I'm glad it's shitty. Well, once you're done sweeping, you can open the shop. I'll be upstairs."

Rock nodded. "Whatever you say boss."

Bao started up the stairs, while Hansel walked over to Rock. "Do I really have to work here?"

"Not if you don't want to. No one is forcing you, but there are many benefits to working and earning money."

Hansel, who never had the opportunity to learn the value of money, nor of work, tilted his head to the side. "Like what?"

"The satisfaction of earning a paycheck after a hard day's work."

"Huh? That sounds boring."

"...And obviously, earning money and being able to buy lots of bitter chocolates." -Continued Rock.

Chocolates, and pretty much anything that was bitter, was Hansel's great and possibly only weakness. "Now, that's interesting."

Rock stopped sweeping and looked at the boy. "Tell you what, work here for today, and if you like it, then you can keep coming back. If not, there'll be no problem at all, all right?" -Hansel nodded silently. "Okay. And if you can make it through the whole day without getting involved in a shootout, I'll get you some more bitter chocolates..."

At that moment, Revy and Gretel entered the bar.

"Never mind." -Said Rock, discouraged. "It's impossible."

The twins quickly got together, as they weren't used to going their separate ways for so long, except for when they were in fights, and went to a secluded part of the bar to chat and plan new pranks. Revy stopped in front of Rock, noticing his stare.

"What thing is impossible?"

"Hansel not getting involved in a shootout, that's impossible.". -Rock replied.

"Why? I thought the pedophile bitch taught him a little fire discipline."

"No, I'm saying that because you're here."

"Fuck you, Rock. It's been a while since I've been in a shootout, so long I can't remember the last time. My poor Barretts are getting rusty." -Replied Revy, crossing his arms. "Besides, everything's been going too quiet lately, too boring, so I don't see any reason for another shootout."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about.". -Said Rock, suffering a chill. "Every time my life seems to get back to normal, a big shit storm comes along and completely shakes the tranquility out of my life. And it's usually you who attracts those storms."

"...do you have proof?"

"Roberta and Garcia." -Responded Rock, looking at her blankly.

"I had nothing to do with that. That crazy bitch was the one who destroyed the bar."

"You kidnapped the kid she was supposed to protect, used him as a hostage and held a gun directly to his head, in his face. What did you expect Roberta to do?"

"Bah, shut up. Your job is to be Bao's slave and serve drinks, so go do that and pour me a nice cold beer. Chop-Chop."

"It's not customer service hours yet. But I'll do it anyway, not because you asked me to, but because I want to."-Rock replied, turning away.

Revy smiled, it was hard not to, as she had learned to enjoy her little arguments with Rock. He was probably the only harmless guy in all of Roanapur, and the one with whom she could let her guard down, even a little, without fearing that he would treacherously kill her.

Rock was still a jerk, but he was a good jerk.

"Now that I remember..." -Said Revy to cut off that train of thought. "Where's the horny maid and the object of her perverse desires?"

"Roberta and Garcia? They went back to Venezuela about an hour or two ago." -Responded Rock, behind the bar and leaving the broom lying there.

"...Tsk."

Rock smiled with amusement. "What's the matter, you wanted to say goodbye to your new friend?"

"Fuck off, who would want to be friends with that four eyed one?" -Replied Revy then sighed, a little dejected. "It's just that we couldn't continue our fight, and the tie still stands. That just means there's someone just as strong as me...and I can't accept that."

"If you want, we can fight, the two of us." -Said Rock, raising his broom again. "I've got this, you've got your Barretts."

"Psshh, that wouldn't be a fight at all. I'd take that thing off you in a second and shove it up your ass before you could land the first blow."

"I'm afraid this broom is too big to fit up my ass."

"Yeah, whatever. As interesting as it is to discuss what does or doesn't go up your ass, I still want that beer. And while you're at it, pour yourself one too, damn it, getting drunk alone is boring."

Shenhua was grateful to Chang. She hadn't done any interesting operations for weeks, nor had she made that much money. It was a nuisance to have to go in and out of that stinking prison to constantly deliver messages and threats from Fang Jian to him. But fortunately, today was the last one.

Although the stupid expression on Fang Jian's face at not understanding Chang's last message, it had been worth it to go all the way to that damn prison. Apparently, the guards either didn't understand the message Shenhua conveyed either, didn't give a shit or were previously bribed by Chang to turn a blind eye.

In any case, her job was done. And so she pulled out her cell phone, and dialed Chang's number.

"Shen." -The Triad chief replied instantly, almost as if he was expecting the call. "I guess you were able to visit my friend?"

"That's right. As usual, he's a mess." -said Shenhua, with a serious doubt in his head that needed an answer. "How the hell do you plan to get him out of there?"

As expected, the prison where Fang Jian was being held was maximum security, located on a small island in the middle of the ocean, surrounded only by large chunks of rock the size of buildings. The only way in or out of there was by boat. Also, there were many armed guards, security cameras and a lot of other things that made it seemingly impossible to escape from there.

Shenhua's job wasn't just as a messenger...

"You know you shouldn't ask me that over the phone."

"And you think my little visits went undetected? I thought you were smarter. Chang, this is all going to be a pain in the ass."

"I have people who are taking care of that, at least to some extent, after that...let's just say that Lagoon Company is good at improvising." -Responded Chang.

"Lagoon Company improvising, huh? When you hired me for this, you didn't tell me it would be a suicide mission." -She complained.

"What's life without the constant risk of death? Besides, everyone knows that plans are no good, because they never work out the way you imagine them, that only happens in action movies and series. But don't worry, Dutch and Two Hands work much better when under pressure and at unexpected risk of death."

Shenhua raised one of her eyebrows. So, if she didn't misunderstand, the entire operation depended solely on the improvisation of a group of mercenary pirates, who didn't even know they would have to improvise in the first place. Truly wonderful. However, Shenhua wasn't happy at all, she didn't like being kept in the dark, nor working on the fly.

"I expect extra payment for this."

"Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from you. In any case, Dutch needs some time to get ready, so you'll leave for Roanapur and he'll let me know when he's ready to go play. I'd advise you to go too, you know, so that everything is well organized."

"Hmm, I'll think about it, is there anything else, or can I hang up now?"

"Uhh, how cold~. But yes, there is something else." -Chang said, she could almost see him smiling. "There is a good chance that Lagoon Company will bring someone else, some children to be more precise. And if you think, I repeat, only if you think, that they can risk the whole operation... well, you'd better get rid of them. Do you understand what I'm talking about?"

"...I've never killed a child before.". -Responded Shenhua, impressed by Chang's request.

"Me neither, hopefully you won't have to. But if it does happen, well, then you can tell me how it feels~."

"What about the others? They're going to be pissed if I kill some kids."

"Yeah, I can see one or two of them getting a little upset...I guess then it applies to anyone who goes on the Black Lagoon."

"Including Dutch and Two Hands?"

"Oh, well, it would be a shame if they died, but that's business. Sometimes you have to lose something to gain something."

"You're a sick, backstabbing bastard."

"I know."

"...I expect extra payment for this."

"I know that too."

After almost a week away, the Black Lagoon was back in Roanapur harbor. Revy had received Dutch's call for her to come to the base, and she had almost run off. Revy was hoping for good news, she needed to get her body into action or she would end up going crazy.

However, Dutch had asked her to take Rock too, because she needed to talk to him. And that gave her a bad feeling. That idiot Rock seemed to have one too, as he was discouraged, and had refused to go, but Revy dragged him along anyway while the twins were away.

They arrived at the base.

"Haaaa~"

"Shut up." -Said Revy, elbowing Rock in the ribs. Rock behaved all the way like that. "It's probably just to ask you some questions, stop complaining."

"If that was the case, he would have called me or something. He wouldn't have asked me to come." -Rock replied, he had recovered a bit thanks to the new pain in his ribs. "Not that I have anything against Dutch, he's cool, I just don't want to get involved in the troublesome shit you guys usually get into."

"Too late for that, you should have thought twice before agreeing to live here."

"But there's only three of you, how do you guys have anything to do with anything that goes on here anyway?"

"How the hell should I know? Blame the game, baby, not the players."

"...It's not too late yet, I can still go back to Japan along with Hansel and Gretel, and get away from all of you."

"Yeah, you do that, AND I assure you that Sis and Chang will move heaven and earth to find you, kick your ass, and bring you back." -Replied Revy, beginning to grind his teeth.

"I don't want to be in another shootout!"

"Shut up!"

The door to the warehouse suddenly opened, revealing a woman. She was wearing a pink Chinese dress, along with a white jacket.

"你们两个人的声音太大"

"No, no asshole. Talk to me in English. And who the fuck are you?" -said Revy, pulling out his guns.

"She said we were making too much noise.". -Rock replied.

The Chinese woman looked at him. "You must be the translator, and the aggressive bitch must be Two Hands.". -She said, unconcerned about having two guns pointed at her head, then turned around. "Come on in, Dutch is waiting for you."

"Oi, answer me!" -Demanded Revy, but the other woman ignored her. "Tsk. Come on, I want to know who that motherfucker is."

With no other choice, Rock followed Revy into the warehouse.

"Oh, there you are Rock." -Greeted Dutch, sitting relaxed in an armchair while watching a program on a small television. "Long time no see buddy."

"Dutch, good to see you're still alive.". -Responded Rock with a smile.

"It's just that I still have a lot to live for. What's up man? I heard you decided to adopt."

"Yeah, something like that. But I think they adopted me."

"Yeah, yeah, cut the bullshit chatter.". -interrupted Revy, pointing accusingly at the strange woman. "Dutch, who the fuck is she?"

"Good to see you too Revy. And this is Shenhua, someone who's an expert at cutting people up and turning them into steaks."

"Don't give me that you decided to pick up another stray dog..."

"Nothing like that. We'll be collaborating with Shenhua on our next job, so I want you to get along with her."

"I'm not promising anything." -Revy replied, shooting Shenhua a hard look, but she was merely staring at her fingernails. "Where's that bastard Benny, did he die while traveling with you?"

"Benny is in the Black Lagoon, alive, since he already knows everything, he decided to stay there."

"Tsk, what bad luck."

'So, Revy hasn't cooled down yet.'-Dutch thought. 'This is going to be tough.'

Dutch didn't expect her to forgive Benny, but he thought maybe she had already forgotten about it, but that didn't seem to be the case. The treatment of Benny was a bit harsh in Dutch's opinion, as Benny never intended to steal anything from Revy, he wasn't stupid, but Revy didn't think so.

Dutch could also understand her behavior a little.

Revy could be someone surprisingly friendly and loyal if you befriended her. But if you betrayed her trust, you could forget about getting back on her good side for a long time. And intentionally or not, by stealing that money, Benny had fallen into that latter category.

In any case, Dutch could worry about that later, he had other business to attend to now. Dutch turned off the TV and stood up.

"Go ahead Rock, make yourself comfortable, we need to talk about something important."