Bullet XII

Shenhua watched with annoyance as Fang Jian paced back and forth in the visiting room from one end to the other.

She, he and the two guards were waiting for the translator and his brats to arrive and get the hell out of there, but there was still no sign of them. The riot wouldn't take long to be suppressed, or so the guards assured them, and Two Hands and Dutch's distraction wouldn't last long either...and they were running out of time.

Only the translator knew the way, Shenhua felt stupid for not having asked earlier about where the ropes were located to get down, along with Dutch's subordinate's boat. Just as she was about to give the order to go on, the translator and the children entered the visiting room.

He froze as did Fang Jian, the guards raised their weapons and the children did the same. Shenhua thought it was a ridiculous sight as he gestured with one of his hands to the guards.

"Finally, you took your damn time, translator.". -Shenhua said, frowning due to annoyance and displeasure. The three of them looked bad and smelled worse.

"It's a long way to get here. And my name is Rock."

"Let's pretend for a second that I care about that. Is the exit ready?"

Rock scowled at her for a moment, then looked suspiciously at the guards behind her. "Is it okay for me to speak in front of your new friends?"

"I rented their services, so don't worry about them." -Shenhua replied, then pointed at Fang Jian with his chin. "And before you ask, yes, that's our package."

"Mr. Fang Jian then.". -Said Rock, bowing slightly. "I finally get to meet him."

"And you must be the translator, Rock, that Shenhua spoke of?" -Fang Jian looked him up and down, clearly displeased. "I don't get it though. Does covering yourself from head to toe in shit help you translate better?"

"...It's a long story."

"Which we don't have time for.". -Shenhua interrupted. "Is the exit ready or not?"

Rock nodded. "The path from here to the engine room is clear and so are the sewers."

"Sewers... what do you mean by sewers?"

Rock smiled at Shenhua, ignoring the incredulous Fang Jian's question. "Too bad, looks like you'll have to dirty that nice jacket and dress."

Shenhua said nothing, simply turning to the guards. "You guys know any other way to get to the back of the prison? You know, so that when we get out we don't have to crawl through a bunch of shit."

"That's how we're going to get out? Crawling through some fucking sewers full of shit!"? -Fang Jian asked again, clearly aghast at the idea, quickly approaching Rock and then grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him a bit. But he quickly let go, disgusted. "Tell me this is a fucking joke..."

"I'm afraid it's not..., And did I mention there's also descending a cliff using some ropes?".

"No, you didn't!"

"Oops." -Rock shrugged. "Well, that's how we'll do it."

"But what kind of ridiculous escape route is that!?"

"An improvised one, Mr. Fang."

"We'll go out that way if you don't shut your mouth!" -Shenhua growled, then turned back to the guards. "Well? Do you know another way to get to the back of the prison or not?"

The guards looked at each other and then nodded. "We know." -said one. "But it's going to be a long way, we'll have to take a detour."

"Better than going into the sewers, though." -Said the other.

"Sounds good to me, lead the way then."

"Wait! Are these guys coming with us?" -Rock asked.

"That's right." -Responded Shenhua.

"That wasn't part of the plan! And these sure we can really trust them?"

"I thought the plan was to not-have-a-plan. And about your second question; they are corrupt guards who are helping a prisoner escape. Of course, they can't be trusted, but they'll help us as long as we pay them."

"...Dutch won't be happy about this at all."

"It's a good thing I don't mind that."

Fang Jian interjected, stepping forward. "Enough, enough wasting time! If you don't mind, I'd rather get the hell out of here as soon as possible, and if possible, without taking a shit bath on the way."

"As you wish." -said Shenhua. Then, she waved to the guards. "Come on, it's time to go."

For Rock, the next few minutes seemed to stretch on for hours.

As Shenhua had ordered, the guards led the way, moving swiftly through the corridors with the others at their heels. Shnehua and Fang Jian trailed behind them, Rock followed, and finally, the twins brought up the rear.

He didn't like in the least to change plans, even though there was no plan, at the last moment. They had gone to so much effort making that damn entrance only for it to be completely useless in the end, plus they were taking an unnecessarily long detour just because Shenhua didn't want to get a little dirty.

And that pissed Rock off a bit, but there was nothing to be done anyway, since Shenhua had no intention of listening to him.

The noise of the gunfire had stopped, or they didn't hear it since they were so deep inside the prison, but the screams of the prisoners and the alarm still continued. That meant they at least had some time, but Rock didn't know how long it could last. If the guards caught them now, they would never leave this rock.

If they could get a way to distract the guards long enough, it would be perfect. Rock stopped dead in his tracks, causing the kids to crash into him.

"Ow..."

"What the hell's going on Boss?"

"Hey, I think I've got an idea." -Said Rock, the others stopped as well. "How do you get to general population from here?"

"You have to go all the way to the end of this hallway and then turn right, that'll take you straight to the access doors." -Explained one of the guards frowned, not understanding the reason for the question.

"What the hell are you planning to do, translator?" -Shenhua asked, raising one of his eyebrows.

"Buy time." -Rock replied. "If we free the general population prisoners, we'll buy more time so we can escape. I'd hate for us to get caught halfway."

"But there's a steel door that's most likely blocked, plus more guards guarding it." -said the other guard. "You won't be able to get there, and in case you do, the doors open only with the keys the guards have."

Rock smiled, looking at the children, who cocked their heads as they didn't understand anything. They were still carrying their backpacks with explosives, and even though Hansel had placed a few charges in the engine room, there were still quite a few left. "Don't worry about that, we have our own keys."

"Then tell us where the damn ropes and your friend's boat are so we can get the hell out of here." -Fang Jian said, frowning. Every minute that passed was vital. "Why we don't know where the fuck they are."

"Gretel can lead them.". -Responded Rock, then switching to English so the girl would understand. "Get these guys to the ropes and with Benny, okay?"

"But Boss, I can't leave you here!" -Protested Gretel.

"Don't worry, Hansel will stay with me, right buddy?"

"Hell yeah, I don't know what you're planning to do, but I don't plan on missing it!" -Responded the excited, smiling boy.

"See? With Hansel here, nothing will happen to me, I promise. So take these morons to Benny, okay?"

Gretel looked at him, then at his brother, then back at him. "Is that an order, Boss?" -She asked, almost looking like she was going to cry.

He hated to do this to her, but he had to stand his ground. "Yes, that's an order." -Said Rock, then gritted his teeth. 'I can't believe I just said that.'

The girl nodded expressionlessly and turned her back on him. "...All right. I'll lead these idiots to the four-eyes."

"Hey, we're running out of time." -Shenhua grunted. "Are you guys done chattering yet?"

"Shut up, bitch."

"...What?"

"I said shut up, bitch." -Gretel repeated, clearly in a bad mood.

Shenhua's indignant expression almost made Rock laugh, but he avoided doing so as he took the backpack from the girl. He would need its contents later. "Gretel will take you to the ropes with which you can descend the cliff, Benny will be waiting for you below. Once you get on the shuttle, get the hell out of here."

The woman who was an expert knife thrower looked at him with a frown. "And how the hell are you and the other brat going to get out of here if we leave on the transport?"

Rock pulled a load of explosives out of the backpack. "Improvising."

he Black Lagoon had stopped somewhere in the ocean, some distance from the island-prison, as the little chase had gone on longer than expected. But Revy and his minigun were able to take care of the boats and their aggressive crewmen, but that cost him a few injuries, a really low price considering the bad time they had.

Also, the Black Lagoon had a fair amount of holes in it. The repair cost would be expensive, Dutch really had to renegotiate the pay Chang was going to give them... for the third time.

"So?" -Said Revy, after adjusting the bandage on his leg so it would stop bleeding. "Any word from the idiots?"

She was shot a few inches to the right of the ankle, and another in the left shoulder. Now she had two holes the size of her thumb. She stomped a couple of times and grimaced. It hurt a little, but she thought she would be able to walk. The shoulder wound wasn't that painful, as she could move her arm pretty well.

It would get really bad tomorrow... when the muscles and nerves would swell up.

"Which one of all the idiots?" -Dutch asked, walking up to her. The area where the M134 was assembled was littered with bullet casings, and that a good amount probably fell into the sea during the twists and turns.

"All of them?"

"Well, Benny reports still no sign of the extraction team..."

"You're having fun playing commando, aren't you?"

Dutch ignored her, even though she was right. "The local police have most likely already been alerted by our friends on the island, so any minute now reinforcements are going to be arriving. And from what I see on the radar, there's a big ship coming our way."

"How big?"

"I couldn't say exactly, but it's pretty big, a freighter maybe? But I'd hazard a guess that they're not civilian or friendly, we're in a restricted area after all. And they're not far behind us, they're closing fast."

"Tsk. And those suckers are still tucked in there."

Dutch used binoculars to survey the island. The dock was clear, the rest of the guards left ashore had either returned to the interior of the prison, or had died. They were all used to working on the fly, this job had been a real test, but now everything was teetering on the brink of disaster.

"If they're not out in a few minutes, we've got to get the hell out of here. Pack or no pack." -said Dutch, lowering the binocular.

"...I don't like the idea of leaving someone behind."

"We did what we could, Revy, but we can't wait much longer."

It would be a real shame. They would never get another chance after this, and he would have to report their failure to Chang. It wasn't the first time they hadn't been able to deliver on a job, sometimes it happened, and Chang would surely understand.

"Is the dock clear?" -Rvy asked suddenly, checking his Barretts.

"Yes, it is, but I don't think-." -Dutch blinked. Did she...? "Oh, hell no! Go forget about it, baby."

"But I haven't said anything yet!"

"You think I'm stupid, that's a bad idea you've got there!"

Revy smiled, Dutch knew her too well, so well that she didn't even have to say anything for him to understand what she was planning. And his expression of disbelief was amused.

"It's not like you have to do anything Dutch, you and your black ass will just have to stand around waiting inside the ship." -She stowed her weapons as she saw that everything was in order. He stomped back a couple more times, she felt pain and her leg a little numb, but she could still walk.

"It still seems like unnecessary bullshit to me, we've got enough problems and-"

"If Rock were in our shoes-" -interrupted Revy. "...He'd never leave us behind." -She had no idea if that would be true or not, but knowing the kind, whiny jerk that Rock was, it was probably true. She held back a sigh, she couldn't believe what he was about to say. "Now...take me to the prison, or I'll swim there myself."

"Well..."

"If you make me swim there.". -interrupted Revy, pointing accusingly at him. "I'll put a bullet in that black, bald head of yours before I go."

"That's not fair." -Dutch complained, almost childishly. "You leave me no choice but to accept that, bitch."

"You said it yourself, bitch, life ain't fair. Now, move this jalopy. We've got to find two Chinese scumbags, two brats who dress alike, and one asshole who wears a shirt and tie."

Revy made a mental note about that as she followed Dutch back to the booth, as she wanted to rest for a moment before getting into action again. She had to get Rock to change his attire. Who the fuck would go into a prison, to help a prisoner escape, wearing a fucking office suit? It was ridiculous.

"You're acting a little strange.". -Said Dutch suddenly. His tone of voice didn't indicate that he was upset, he rarely got upset about anything, but rather seemed to be showing curiosity. "Normally you wouldn't give a fuck if someone was left behind or not. Or you'd be pissed that you couldn't collect the money."

"Well, it's true that I'm pissed at the idea of having come all this fucking way out here for nothing, but now..." -Revy bit her lower lip hard, to keep from speaking further.

"But now that's stopped being a priority, huh?" -Completed Dutch, glancing sideways at her. Although she couldn't see him because of his dark glasses, she could feel his gaze. "That doesn't sound like you at all."

Revy clicked her tongue in annoyance, he had gotten it right. "Yeah, I know. I haven't felt like myself since I met that jerk." -She closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat. "Now shut up, and wake me up when we get there."

For someone who had already been involved in several gunfights, Rock was still not at all used to being in one again. He was sticking his body to the wall as much as he could, while Hansel took care of the guards. The boy had already managed to take down two of them.

And true to his word, without killing any of them. He only wounded them enough so that they were no longer a threat, although for that it was necessary to blow off the hand of one, pierce the leg of another. But there were still four other guards defending the door, firing their assault rifles nonstop at Hansel and Rock.

Behind that door, it was pandemonium. Prisoners were screaming, laughing loudly and throwing things at each other or at the poor guards inside in an attempt to stop them. The chaos had started on floor two, but, fortunately, had spread to general population at a really fast pace.

"I still think it would be easier to just throw a grenade at them and blow them to bits!" -Hansel shouted, returning fire with the help of his twin pistols.

"I don't think it's right to kill them!". -Responded Rock. "And we don't have any grenades!"

"Well they're just fine with filling our asses full of lead! Once I run out of ammo, we're dead Boss!". -replied the boy. "And I always carry grenades in my pockets!"

"That's not something a kid should carry in his pockets!"

Rock was aware of the ugly situation they were in. He naturally expected some resistance from the guards, but it was greater than he imagined. Now they were cornered and in deep trouble. For an instant, he imagined what Revy would say if she could see him right now.

'Why the fuck did you bother doing this, putting your life and the kid's life at risk to help a fucking criminal you don't even know? You're an asshole, Rock'

Rock couldn't help but smile, he was almost certain she would say something along those lines. He seriously considered allowing Hansel to throw his grenade and...

"Hansel!" -Rock suddenly shouted as he suddenly got a crazy idea. He was getting good at that lately.

"What!?"

"You said you have grenades!?"

"Yeah! What's up with that!?"

"Throw one and blow it up in mid-air!" -Rock ordered, remembering his first encounter with the twins. Revy had done the same, and despite being close to the explosion, she came out of it unscathed. The shockwave simply knocked her down for a few moments, but that was all Hansel would need.

"I don't understand Boss! Why-?"

"Just do it, dammit!"

Hansel had no idea what good that would do, and it seemed like a waste, but he did it anyway. There wasn't much distance between them and the guards, who were sheltering from the gunfire behind some pillars, just a corridor 15 or 20 meters long. The grenade easily traveled that distance, and before it hit the ground, Hansel shot it.

The sudden explosion took the guards by surprise, and sent them to the ground. Just as Rock expected. "Now Hansel!" -He shouted, but the boy had already beaten him to it. He had figured it out without needing to explain anything.

With surprising speed, Hansel went running halfway down the hallway, then dropped to his knees, sliding until he was in the middle of the guards. Then, Hansel rested one of his hands on the ground and spun on his own body to stand up.

He took aim and fired a couple of shots at the stunned guards, wounding them in their hands so they couldn't use their weapons, and in their knees so they couldn't get up. The boy stood up and sighed in relief, ignoring the whimpers and cries of pain from the guards.

"Yatta!" -Rock roared, almost jumping for joy. He was really impressed by the boy's dexterity, it all happened so fast, so much so that he barely saw what happened. Also, he would be sure to thank Revy for that idea. "Good Hansel! Clever Hansel!"

"I'm not a fucking dog!" -Said Hansel, breathing hard and feeling his knees burn. He had gotten some bleeding scrapes, sliding across the floor wasn't easy at all. "Now what the hell do we do?

Rock reached the door, opened his backpack and pulled out some explosive charges. They barely fit in his hands and were a bit heavy, they were the size of a brick. "Kaboom!"

"I like the sound of that!"

The Black Lagoon pulled into the dock of the prison-island, and all seemed clear. Revy hopped off the boat, immediately wincing as she felt a sharp twinge in her ankle. But she could fix that later. Dutch, watched her intently from the deck of the boat.

"Are you sure you can walk?" -Dutch asked.

"Yeah, this shit is nothing. I've gotten worse injuries than this.". -Responded Revy calmly, the pain had passed, but he still felt a few small twinges. "One time, my cellmate stabbed me when I was taking a shit. That bitch gave me a good gash in my stomach, I still have the scar."

Dutch raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued. "Why?"

"And how the hell should I know? It was when I first went into prison. I was pretty asshole and mouthy back then, more so than I am now, so it was to be expected that some bitches would try to kill me." -Revy shook her head, a lot of crazy shit happened in that dark and turbulent time for her. "But hell, attacking someone when they're taking a shit ain't right. It's like breaking an unwritten rule."

"Anyway, are you sure you want to do this alone? I could go with you."

"Nah, relax your ass Dutch, I can handle this. I just gotta get in, get Rock's ass, his brats' ass and get out. And if some asshole tries to stop me, I'll kill him."

"Remember to take out our pack, too, and Shenhua."

"...Yes, I'll try."

"That didn't sound convincing at all to me, but I'll have to settle. Good luck."

Revy was about to say something else, but couldn't due to the fact that they both heard the sound of a voice from inside the ship. "Dutch are you there? Over."

"That's Benny!" -Dutch quickly made his way to the cockpit, sitting up and grabbing the radio. "Benny-boy, this is Dutch. what's up buddy? Over."

Benny's voice sounded slightly different over the radio. "Shenhua and possibly Fang Jian are coming down the ropes right now. I repeat, Shenhua and possibly Fang Jian are coming down the ropes right now. Over."

Dutch almost screamed with joy. All that big shit they had to endure paid off, but he quickly calmed down. Celebrating prematurely was an invitation to disaster, and he didn't want to screw up what little success they had right now.

"Roger that Benny-boy, what about Rock and his kids? Over."

Benny took a moment to respond. "I don't see them Dutch. Still no sign of them. Over."

Dutch sighed. It didn't take a genius to figure out what that meant. It was a shame, Rock liked him and the death of some kids, as creepy and dangerous as they were, left a bad taste in his mouth. However, those were the risks of the job and Rock knew that when he decided to participate.

"Okay, Benny-boy, but now there's a change of plans. Head to the prison dock, we're stationed there right now. I think it would be better if we all took off together, besides, the Black Lagoon is faster. Over."

"Okay Dutch. Over and out."

"Dutch?" -shouted Revy from the dock. "What the hell's going on?"

Dutch stood up and walked back to the deck of the ship.

Revy was waiting for him, looking at him with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. He was about to explain the situation to her, but a shockwave from a large explosion interrupted him. The small building that had once been the engine room was gone; in its place, there was now only a huge column of smoke and flames.

...And there was another one just like it, even bigger, coming from somewhere in the prison.

Revy asked the big question he had in mind. "What the fuck is going on!?