Bullet XIII

Gretel was going back and forth from one end to the other in the visiting room.

She had been given a very simple order by Rock; take the asses of those two Chinese scumbags to the ropes and the four-eyes. But Rock hadn't told her that she had to go too, and taking advantage of that gray area in his order, Gretel quickly returned to the prison, crawling once more through the sewers and made her way to the visiting room.

That was the only point of reference she, her brother and Rock had to guide them through the prison. The other tour she'd taken with Shenhua and Fang Jian had been long enough and a bit confusing to go through again, so Gretel stayed there, waiting in case Hansel and Rock decided to return.

'But, Boss had said they'd make another exit... possibly he and Hansel aren't even in the prison right now.' -Gretel thought.

She stopped her walking, and after hesitating for a moment, decided to go in search of Rock and his brother. If she was lucky, maybe she would find them on the way.

Gretel headed for the only door in the visiting room, ready to leave, but stopped when she heard something.

She listened carefully, it was the sound of footsteps approaching rapidly. Gretel drew her gun, thinking it was guards, but before she had time to react, the doors burst open and hit her in the face, sending her to the floor.

"Ow!"

"What? ...oh, it's the fucking brat."

Gretel jumped up, her gun ready to fire, but relaxed when she realized it was Revy. "What the hell, Anego? Aren't you supposed to be on the boat?"

"That's what I say, I came looking for you guys because you're taking your damn time getting out." -Revy surveyed the room. "Where's that asshole Rock and your psycho brother?"

"I don't know, we split up. Boss ordered me to-"

"I know, Dutch explained everything to me.". -" Cut off Revy, making a curt gesture with her hand. Then she blinked a couple of times as she noticed something on the girl's face. "How did you do that to yourself? Was it me? Shit, Rock is going to be pissed at me."

"No, you didn't do anything to me, other than give me a concussion.". -said Gretel with her eyes rolling. "You should learn to knock before you come in, Anego."

"Whatever. Remember where you got separated from those two idiots?"

"I think so."

"Right. Lead the way then, brat, we have to go get those two idiots."

Beside him, Hansel looked at him in confusion. "Who? "The prisoners? Who knows?" the boy said, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe they were, maybe they weren't, does it matter? They were scum that no one was going to miss anyway."

"They're still people, Hansel. They had family, friends, children..." -Hansel looked at him blankly for a moment, then kicked him mercilessly. "Ouch, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Same here. Are you seriously going to start crying over people you don't even know? You're just as soft as Gretel!"

"I wasn't crying...I was just wondering whether or not people died from the explosion back there."

"So what if they did die? They were just collateral damage. Besides, you weren't the one who pushed the button, nor did you set the explosive charges. And if anyone died it was my doing, so stop worrying about it."

"But I was the one who gave the order. I'm also to blame..." -Rock insisted, then shook his head. Now was not the time to dwell on that. "I just realized, but you did set a damn lot of explosives, I wanted to blow a door, not half the prison!"

"And how the hell should I know, I've never used explosives before!"

"You're always blowing things up!" -Rock replied.

"Yeah, but not with a fucking C-4!"

Rock was about to answer him, but felt someone grab him hard by the shoulder. Thinking it was one of the guards, Rock jerked to free himself from the grip and then lunged at the guard, ending up on the ground in a tangle of feet and hands.

The other person began to let loose punches and kicks along with a long list of insults, and Rock did the same. He and Hansel had come too far and done too much to get caught now.

"Stop Boss!" -Gretel shouted, appearing down the hallway. "That's Anego!"

The fight stopped abruptly. He had his arm back, ready to release the punch, but stopped at the sound of the girl's voice. Rock blinked, finally noticing who he was pushing against the ground.

"...Revy?" Rock asked, his voice nasally and eyes watery, as she shoved two fingers deep into his nose while pulling him by his cutoff.

Revy shot him a furious look. "Yeah, it's me, you piece of shit!"

"Oh, my hero, you've finally arrived!"

"Stop talking shit and get off me, asshole!"

"I will, but first let go of my nose and my tie, you'll break it and it's the only tie I have!"

"I don't give a shit about your stupid tie!"

As the adults struggled, Hansel walked over to his sister. "I thought Boss told you to leave?" -said the boy. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a bleeding wound on her face. It was a cut that started at the bridge of her nose, and went down to the right side of her jaw. "How the hell did you get hurt like that?"

Gretel shrugged. "Boss told me to take the two Chinese to the four-eyes, and that I did, but he never told me I couldn't go back. And as for the wound, well, that's a funny story, but I'll tell you about it later."

"...You know he'll be upset with you, right?"

"Ughh... don't remind me."

After breaking away, Revy gave Rock an expressionless look, then looked down at his own hand and back up at Rock again. "You bit me, bitch." -she said, showing the teeth mark on her forearm along with a small trail of blood. "Just like a little girl. That's like a whole new level on your gayness scale."

"In my defense, you should have said something before you grabbed me from behind. And, by the way, I like women." -Rock replied, rubbing his nose. It was a very painful and unpleasant experience. "What the hell was that attack, your fingers almost reached my brain!"

"That's an old trick I learned in jail."

"Why am I not surprised?"

Revy simply shrugged. "What can I say? The only way I could entertain myself in there was to stick my fingers into my cellmates to make them scream a little. But my fingers didn't exactly enter their noses, and you can imagine what kind of screams they were."

"...!".

Revy raised both eyebrows as she realized Rock's face turned as red as a tomato. Oh, she should have guessed that he was all innocent little thing and would be shocked by those dirty little jokes. She let out a laugh, embarrassing Rock even more.

Hansel cleared his throat, catching both of their attention.

"As educational as the bipolar bitch's lesbianism talks are, I don't think now is an appropriate time for one."-The boy said, earning a hard look from Revy.

"Tsk. I see you didn't die, you snotty little shit."

"I'm hard to kill."

"Just like a fucking rat."

Rock, now calmer thanks to Hansel's intervention, gave Revy a little shove to cut off the argument. "What the hell are you and Gretel doing here, you were supposed to be on the ship-!" -He noticed the wound on the girl's face. "And how the hell did you do that to yourself!?"

"B-Boss, I'll explain it all to you on the ship." -Said Gretel, who still hadn't thought of an excuse not to be scolded, while making a calm gesture with her hands. "So the best thing to do would be to get the hell out of here, okay?"

"Although now there's a bunch of maniacs running all over the prison thanks to you guys. "-" Revy said, then gave him a Rock shove. "What kind of stupid idea was that? You only managed to complicate things more."

"Well, the idea was to give Shenhua and Mr. Fang time to get out. By releasing the prisoners, the guards would have their hands full." -Responded Rock. "Besides, now we can take advantage of the confusion to get out."

"That's if we don't get caught by the prisoners first and get our asses handed to us all, don't think you're going to save yourself just because you're a man.". -Revy looked him up and down. "Especially with those tight pants you're wearing, you might as well be wearing a sign attached that says 'FUCK ME'.".

"I-I'll think of something."

"Well, you'd better, because I'm not in the mood to have an orgy right now."-Revy replied, then grinned with amusement as he watched Rock blush again. 'Oh, boy. I really found a weak spot there, huh?'

"Hey." -said Gretel, catching the attention of the others. She stared at the unconscious guards that Hansel and Rock had knocked out. "I think I have an idea."

The guards' uniforms fit Rock a little loosely, and they were stained with fresh blood, but he thought he could pass himself off as one of them in the confusion. "Are you ready?" -He asked Revy, as he put on Gretel's backpack, which was still loaded with explosives.

The idea was a simple one; for him and Revy to put on the uniform of the unwitting guards and simply walk out the main exit while the twins followed. By dressing as guards, the real guards would not bother them and possibly the prisoners would avoid them. And so far, so good.

"Yeah, this uniform is fucking uncomfortable to wear, though.". -Complained Revy, tugging at the collar of the uniform. "I don't know how these guys wear it every day."

"You'll survive." -Said Rock turning to look at her, then blinking a couple of times at the strange sight. "..."

"What?" -Rvy asked noticing her stare.

"...Why did you let your hair down?"

"I thought it was a good idea, you know, to make it stick out more with this crappy uniform." -She folded her arms. "What, I shouldn't have?"

"No, it's just a little refreshing seeing you in a new style, instead of the one you usually wear." -Said Rock, inexplicably shy. "I mean you're wearing decent clothes now and not that very revealing outfit."

"I didn't understand anything you just told me."

"What Boss is trying to say..." -interjected Gretel, to avoid another argument between the two of them, because she knew Rock had the uncanny ability to piss off Revy in the silliest ways possible. "It's just that you look nice, Anego."

"Ahh. Then let him just say that, dammit." -Replied Revy, then looked at Rock with a raised eyebrow. "So...you're getting off on seeing me with clothes on? What the fuck? You're depraved."

"W-what? No, that's not it at all!"

She was making a great effort to keep a straight face and not laugh at Rock's face. "Wait till I tell Dutch about your weird fetishes, you won't hear the end of it for a long time."

"That's not it, dammit!"

Revy couldn't take it anymore and started laughing out loud.

"This is no time for flirting!" -Gretel scolded, then kicked Revy, but that didn't stop her laughter. "Are we ready to go?"

"I don't know, you tell me.". -Said Rock. "It's your plan."

"...Yeah, I guess it should be okay."

"That doesn't sound convincing at all to me."

"Don't worry, Boss." -Said Hansel, smiling. "We'll avenge your death!"

"Don't kill me before my time!". -shrieked Rock then sighed wearily. "Be serious, dammit. We must do this right, or this plan will fail before it even begins." -He pointed his finger accusingly at Revy, who had finally stilled his laughter. "That means not starting a fucking firefight with the guards, unless we have to."

"Yeah..."

Rock went on to point at Hansel. "Nor blowing up, or skinning, anyone."

"I'll try."

Rock finally stopped at Gretel. "...I really can't find anything wrong with you." -he admitted, generating grumbling from Hansel and Revy. "You're the most normal, well-behaved, and common sense of the three of us."

Gretel smiled proudly, she liked getting compliments. "Of course."

"So I expect a good explanation as to why the hell you decided to come back, young lady."

"...Of course." -Said the girl, dejected.

"Good. Now let's get the hell out of here, I miss Roanapur."

Benny obeyed the order and went straight to the prison dock, despite the protests of Shenhua and Fang Jian, although he could not understand anything the latter said, as Shenhua refused to translate. Once there, they quickly boarded the Black Lagoon and Dutch explained the situation.

"And what do the translator and those ghouls matter?" -said Shenhua, not at all happy about Revy's departure, since they would have to wait longer than they had. "We should go."

"Revy's in there too. I don't plan on moving this ship until she gets back." -Dutch replied.

"Are you aware that reinforcements could arrive at any moment? We're going to end up inside this prison if we don't leave."

"Miss, we could end up in prison for anything. And if some bastard wants to come and screw with us, let him. I'm pissed off because they hurt my precious boat, my baby, so I could use someone to take it out on. And that includes you if you don't stop being a pain in the ass."

Shenhua shook his head and retreated, muttering a few insults to Dutch. Benny ran past him and stopped next to his boss.

"There's trouble." -Said Benny, concerned.

"Of course there's trouble, never any good, or a fucking solution.". -Complained Dutch.

"I'm serious man, there's a ship coming straight at us."

"You mean the freighter ship? I know that already, I've seen it before."

"No, although that's goddamn worrisome too. I mean there's literally a ship coming right at us." -insisted Benny, earning a confused look from Dutch. Benny pointed his thumb to the deck. "Come out and see if you don't believe me, you'll be able to see it and without needing the binoculars."

Dutch got up and quickly made his way to the deck of the ship, just as a boat pulled up a short distance from the Black Lagoon. A man stepped out from inside, and raised his hand by way of greeting. "Dutch!" -said the man, smiling. "Man, it's been a long time!"

"...Chuck?"

"My name is Charlie."

"Ah, you're definitely Chuck." -Said Dutch, crossing his arms. "Good old Chuckie always says that."

"Fuck you."

"What are you doing out here, buddy? It's a strange place to be sightseeing." -said Dutch, raising his voice a little higher to alert the others. "Don't tell me you came here to cause trouble?"

"I'm afraid I did, and a big one at that.". -Charlie replied. "You're not the one Mr. Chang hired to get the Chinaman out of this prison."

Dutch clicked his tongue. He should have expected something along those lines from Chang. "Well, there's the prison for you. Send him regards if you find him."

Charlie took a quick look around the prison, noting the plumes of smoke and flames, plus the corpses Revy left in his wake. "...Looks to me like you guys already found him."

"No man, we were just playing with the guards."

"What a game..."

Benny approached his boss, watching the stranger's ship closely. "Who the hell is this guy?" -He asked quietly. "You know him?"

"Sort of. Like us, Chuck's a mercenary, and we've worked together a couple of times." -Responded Dutch, regretting the decision to let Revy go, he could use his help right now. "Go to the booth, Benny-boy, and get ready to get our asses out of here."

"But what about Revy and the others?"

Charlie interrupted the conversation. "What are they mumbling about? Well, I don't really care. I got a deal for you, Dutch, for old time's sake."

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Hand over Mr. Fang Jian to me and nobody's going to get hurt, okay? We don't want any trouble with you, we just want to complete our job and get paid."

"And what's in it for me?"

"...Not dying?"

Dutch pretended to consider it for a moment. "It's certainly a good deal, but I'm afraid I have to turn it down, you know, we went to a lot of damn effort to get Mr. Fang out, and it would piss me off even more than I already am to let some other asshole take all the credit and money."

"Are you sure? Then I'll have to-" -Charlie couldn't finish speaking, because a sharp knife plunged into his head, startling Dutch and Benny. The mercenary's body fell heavily backwards.

"Cut the fucking chatter.". -said Shenhua, emerging from the cockpit, another of his knives in his hand. "We don't have time for unnecessary side characters."

"Hell... at least let him finish talking.". -Murmured Benny

"A little late for that, don't you think?"

Benny was about to blurt out a comment, but Dutch interrupted him by picking him up like he was a sack of potatoes and running off towards the booth. Shenhua followed him instantly, as men came out of the other boat and began firing at point blank range.

Dutch let go of Benny, who fell to the ground with an 'oof', and turned to look at Shenhua. "I'll drive and get up to them, then you kill them with your pretty knives, okay?"

"Sounds good to me, I was already getting bored of doing nothing."

Dutch nodded and got into the driver's seat. The Black Lagoon's engine let out a roar and accelerated rapidly. By the time the enemy ship backed up a little, the Black Lagoon had already closed in on them.

Shenhua shot out onto the deck and took a long leap, throwing two knives into the air towards the men who were firing. When she landed on the deck of the other ship, the two men were already dead. Wasting no time, she quickly made her way to the cabin.

The last mercenary couldn't even get up from his seat, when Shenhua reached him and threw a third knife at him, plunging it right into the back of his head. Shenhua gave a quick inspection, and seeing no more enemies, she headed for the deck.

"All set!" -she shouted.

"So fast?" -asked Benny, dumbfounded, standing next to his boss. Barely a minute had passed. "What the fuck..."

"It's a good thing she's on our side." -said Ducth, with a strained smile. "Come to think of it, I was all mouthy and threatened her. Do you think Shenhua will be pissed at me and want to kill me?"

"Well if she is, she doesn't show it. But if she comes to kill you now, I won't help you. I mean, I'd try, but I couldn't do anything about it because I'm weak."

"You're shit, dude..."

Benny suddenly had a doubt about the future. "Once you die, who gets the Black Lagoon? Because Revy can't sail and it would be a shame for her to sell it..."

"Neither of you two are going to get hold of my baby. If I die today, so do you, Benny-boy. It's in the contract you both signed. Black Lagoon regulation zero-zero-zero-one, clause A; if the captain dies in action, his entire crew dies too."

"What kind of bullshit contract is that, and at what point did I sign it?"

"Create that contract the same day you joined us, you know, when Revy saved your ass from the mob and the FBI. I even paid a notary, so it's 100% legal. If you break it, your ass goes to jail."

"But I don't remember signing anything!"

"Of course you don't remember, you two signed it when we got drunk that night. Along with giving up one of your kidneys to Rev' in case she needs it."

"What the fuck Dutch!?"

Shenhua boarded the Black Lagoon again, walking casually towards the cockpit. "Well, that was very disappointing. ". -She said, letting out a small sigh. "And these idiots were hired by Mr. Chang? Pathetic."

"Oh, poor Chuck. He never knew how to measure risks correctly." -Dutch shrugged. "Maybe they didn't expect there to be a fucking killing machine on this ship?"

"You're upset because I killed an old acquaintance of yours?"

"Not really, if Revy were here, she would have killed him too."

"I see. I guess it was his destiny as an unnecessary supporting character. When do we leave? I'm getting tired of waiting for Two Hands."

"Soon, or so I hope. It all depends on how fast Rev' can find Rock and his kids and get out of prison. Or how fast they die."

Rock walked stiffly, as if he had a knife stuck in his ass, while the twins walked beside him along with Revy.

As they made their way towards the main entrance, they were able to witness the real disaster they generated. The prisoners were desperately struggling to get out, but having weapons, the guards were gaining ground, managing to more or less regain control.

There were at least a dozen prisoners lying on the floor. Rock decided to concentrate more on the way out than on the inert bodies. They were almost there, only a little more to go...

"You two, wait there!" -Rock watched out of the corner of his eye as a guard quickly approached them, his stomach sank. The guard, armed with a shotgun, stopped right in front of Revy and the twins. "What are you doing, what are you doing with those kids here?"

'Damn!'. -Rock thought. Revy couldn't speak Chinese, and she was staring at him with her eyes wide open. A silent move-your-ass-and-help-me command. Rock cleared his throat. "We-!"

"I didn't ask you!" -interrupted the guard, pointing his gun at Revy. "You think we're idiots? There are no female guards here, and we were reported to a woman attacked this facility. Who the hell are you?"

"S-She's a civilian and only knows how to speak English!" -Rock exclaimed, walking up to Revy and then placing a hand on her shoulder. "She was visiting her husband, along with her two children, when the riot started!"

"And why is she dressed like that, huh!?"

"So that the prisoners will think she's a guard and not attack her!"

The guard looked at him for a moment, then lowered his gun. "Really?" -Rock nodded silently, praying that the man would accept that excuse. Unfortunately, the guard raised his gun again. "Then let him show me his arms!"

"W-what?"

"We got a report that a woman attacked the facility from a ship, and she had tattoos on one of her arms." -said the guard, looking at Rock. "Tell her to show me her arms, and if there are no tattoos, then I-"

The guard was unable to continue speaking, because the instant he looked away from Revy, she pulled out one of her guns and shot the guard right in the head. Unfortunately, by firing in such a hasty manner, the bullet grazed the guard.

The guard backed up a step, then fired with his shotgun. Revy fell to the ground.

Gunshots rang out all over the place, quickly drawing the attention of the other guards. Chaos broke out again. The prisoners seized the moment and resumed their efforts to try to escape, pouncing on some of the guards.

From the ground, Revy blinked a couple of times, not understanding how the hell she was still alive after taking a direct hit from a shotgun. She watched as Hansel and Gretel returned fire against the guards, and out of the corner of her eye she could see a body lying next to her.

"...Rock? Rock!" -She quickly walked over to him. Revy shook him a couple of times, but Rock didn't react. "Come on man, this is no time to be messing around!"

"Anego, we got your back, get Boss out of here!"

"The asshole got shot!"

"I know that, just get him the hell out of here!"

Revy clicked her tongue and crossed one of the unconscious Rock's arms over her shoulders. She let out a grunt as she lifted him, the bastard was heavier than he looked, and she felt something cold and wet. He was bleeding, but Revy didn't know from which part. There was no time to check.

"Don't you dare die on me now, you piece of shit."