Bullet XV

Shenhua woke up, she took a few seconds to recognize the place where she was.

It was one of the rooms that Dutch's ship had, she had informed him that she would go to rest for a while, and to wake her up once they were in Bangkok. From the slight movement she felt, it seemed that the Black Lagoon was still moving, so she guessed they were not yet arriving at their destination, but decided to get up anyway.

But she couldn't do it, in fact, she could barely move her body, she couldn't quite identify what it was that was restricting her movements, because she couldn't turn her head either, but it seemed to be some thick ropes. Besides having something stuck in her mouth that prevented her from speaking or screaming.

Shenhua panicked for a moment, but quickly calmed down, breathing deeply through his nose. What the hell was going on? If this was a damn prank on the part of those idiots...

Then, the light in the room came on. After a moment, and after blinking a couple of times to get her eyes used to the light again, she could see the small, smiling figure that was tucked into the room.

"Did you think you could try to kill me and get away with it?" -said Gretel, holding up her hand, showing Shenhua a pair of scissors. "Well you messed up so bad, bitch."

"Mnhg!"

"Yeah, it won't do any good to scream, since I made sure to give you a nice gag." -Gretel opened and closed the scissors a couple of times. The characteristic 'chek-chek', made Shenhua's hair stand on end. Gretel's cruel smile widened further. "By the way, what you have in your mouth is Anego's dirty panties."

"Nghm!"

"Ah, in case you're wondering, no one is going to interrupt us. I made sure to tell everyone that you're sleeping and don't want to be disturbed, besides, we're heading to Bangkok right now, and everyone is resting. It's a long trip, so we have plenty of time to have fun."

Seeing the sinister girl approaching, Shenhua again fell into a panic and tried desperately to break free, but the bindings were too tight. "Nhmmg!"

"Now, I don't intend to tell Boss the truth about your assassination attempt. Nor will I tell him that you killed those guards, because knowing him, he's going to be pissed at you and I really don't want him to get hurt by trying something stupid." -Explained the girl. "However, I think it's only fair to take revenge for this painful cut on my face. But then again, I don't want to cause Boss any trouble, so I won't cut you... I'll cut your pretty hair."

"NMGHH!"

"Don't worry, I won't make you bald like that black guy, I'll give you a nice cut I saw in a magazine a while back. So don't move or I might accidentally cut off your ear." -Gretel took a lock of Shenhua's hair, and began to cut it mercilessly, ignoring the woman's furious look. "...How do you get a 'Bob' style cut anyway? Ah, never mind, we'll soon find out."

The trip was long and very uncomfortable the whole way, due to the angry looks Shenhua was giving the twins, with clear murderous intentions. Though Rock couldn't blame the woman for being so pissed off after what the kids did to her. Fortunately, Dutch and Revy had managed to keep order on the ship and avoid bloodshed.

Once they arrived in Bangkok, Dutch made a necessary call to Chang to arrange a rendezvous point, but the Triad chief was out of town at the moment, and would be back in two days. In the meantime, Chang arranged a place for them to rest properly until he returned to Bangkok.

Rock had hoped for some kind of cheap hotel, or a house in the slums that wouldn't attract attention. But Chang again had not been stingy about it and got them a suite in a centrally located hotel, which included a spectacular view of the city. There was a living room, dining room, a bar and even a fucking kitchen.

Rock didn't even want to imagine how expensive everything would be, instead, he preferred to focus on another doubt he had since the escape from Taiwan that prevented him from sleeping properly. Unlike the others, who didn't seem to be too worried about it.

Especially Revy, because as soon as they arrived at the hotel, she went straight to a room and lay down to sleep.

"So..." -Said Rock, awkwardly trying to get information out of Dutch. "What's another shit storm waiting for us in Bangkok?"

"What do you mean by that?" -Dutch asked, not taking his eyes off the TV. He was leaning back in an armchair watching some entertaining boxing.

'Oops.' -Rock had forgotten that only he and Revy used that term to describe problematic situations. "I mean, here in Bangkok are we going to have trouble with the police, or anyone for that matter, trying to put us in prison...or kill us? You know, because of the thing we did in Taiwan."

"Rock, buddy, there's nothing to worry about. Not for a few days at least, but by the time it all really gets messed up, our asses will be in Roanapur."

"It would be easier for me not to be dead worried if you'd explain in a little more detail." -Responded Rock. He'd had too much of impromptu plans and unexpected fight-or-die situations for quite a while now.

"Well, it's a bit long to explain. But basically, the Taiwanese government will be hiding our little explosive visit we made at the prison for a while."

Rock blinked, that didn't make sense. "Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'? It's obvious, no decent country is going to divulge that their maximum-security prison was attacked by a clerk and two brats, who, apart from destroying the facility, took a prisoner. Then there's the fucking riot, a Chinese-American bitch with a machine gun tearing her guards to pieces, and the corrupt guards themselves collaborating with the prisoner's escape." -He laughed. "It's a real mess."

"Oh, ohh, now I think I get it! Taiwan is trying to keep up appearances so as not to look ridiculous."

"That's right. Fortunately for us, being such a remote and restricted area, there are no civilian witnesses to our little prison visit either. Obviously there are the guards, but they can be silenced for a while. The government will end up telling what happened, only it will be when they see fit, and using different words. But by then, we'll be long gone."

'Excellent, one less problem to worry about.' -Rock thought. Now Dutch's reassurance made a little more sense to him.

Rock, now much more relieved, stood up to leave the room. He was about to retreat when he remembered something, and again turned to Dutch. "By the way, how long did it take us to attack the prison?"

"Including the time, it took Revy to get out of the prison with you and the kids? About ten minutes, maybe twelve." -Responded Dutch.

Attacking a maximum-security prison, partially destroying the facility in the process, and extracting a prisoner in just ten-twelve minutes? That sure was a world record. "Wow...that fast? It seemed like hours to me."

"I've had that shit happen to me before, stress really messes with your sense of time. Take my advice and use the time to get some rest."

Rock nodded silently, walking out of the place, leaving Dutch to enjoy the TV.

He let out a big yawn. Chang would be back in two days, and he thought it would be a good idea to go out and explore the city a bit, but he was exhausted from the trip, plus the bruises on his body hurt like hell.

Rock thought better of it, decided to follow Dutch's advice and get some rest. Later he could go for a walk.

Revy woke up at some point during the day.

She lay in her bed for a while, just staring at the ceiling, until she regained the strength she needed to get up. Mixing the beer and the painkillers Dutch gave her for her ankle pain was both a bad and good combination. Bad in the sense that she was still half dazed, and good because the trip her mind took while she was conscious was great.

She made her way to the living room and discovered that it was nighttime.

Revy paused for a moment to look out the window. Bangkok, with its impossibly tall buildings, seemed like a totally different world when she compared it to Roanapur. By day it was impressive, but at night it was even more so. All those people strolling around under a mass of lights, colors and sounds from the stores and stalls on the streets, it was an exotic and exciting scene.

At another time, and had she been in better shape, she would have insisted on going for a walk. But now all her body wanted right now was to get a good dose of strong, bitter coffee so she could wake up properly.

"Welcome back to the land of the living!" -Benny exclaimed behind her back, making her close her eyes. His voice was like a knife. "For a moment you scared us. We thought you were dead until we heard you snoring."

"Shh, shut up, bitch.". -Responded Revy, shuffling into the kitchen. She needed that coffee or Benny would kill her. "Stop breathing for about five or ten minutes."

"But I'll die if I do that."

"And what would be the problem?" -After making herself an instant coffee, she returned to the living room. Benny was sitting in an armchair, randomly flipping channels on the television. She didn't see, or hear, anyone else. But Revy decided to ask anyway, because maybe her brain still wasn't fully engaged. "And the others?"

"Exploring the city a bit.". -Responded Benny. "Rock wanted to walk around and took the twins, Dutch and I tagged along."

Revy raised an eyebrow. "Is it you idiots think we're on a fucking vacation?"

"Says the woman who got high on pills and beer."

"I never needed to be on vacation to be high on pills and beer." -She replied.

"Good point."

Revy took a sip of her coffee. Maybe it was too bitter for her taste, but since she was now feeling hungry, she figured it was working to wake up her body and brain. "So, are the others still out for a walk?"

Benny nodded. "That's right. Dutch, Rock and the kids kept browsing. I bought a new T-shirt and decided to head back."

"Dude, we're still not getting paid and you're already spending your money..."

"I had to!" -Benny exclaimed, jumping to his feet and startling Revy. "I mean, look at this shirt, it's great!"

She narrowed her eyes as she inspected it closely, but couldn't find anything different. "It's the same old Hawaiian shirt."

"No! I mean, yes, I know a Hawaiian shirt, but it's different than the other one." -said Benny, indignantly. "Don't you realize that the other one was orange and this one is black? Besides, the palm fronds were green, these are gold."

"They were palm fronds? Wow, I always thought they were marijuana leaves."

Benny ignored that, but now he had a twitch under his left eye. "It's a very obvious change, how were you not able to notice that?"

Revy took another sip of his coffee. "Honestly, I don't care enough about you to pay attention to your little changes, Benny-boy."

"...Hey, that hurts."

At that moment, the doors opened. Revy turned quickly, flashing one of his pistols. Hotel secured by Chang or not, one could never be too careful. Rock walked in carrying a few plastic bags. He froze at the sight of the welcome. "I give up." -He said, holding up his hands.

"Shit..." -Revy lowered his gun, clicking his tongue. Good thing his reflexes were also picking up thanks to the coffee. "Did you enjoy exploring the city, son of a bitch?"

"Yeah, it was fun."

"At least you would have woken me up to ask me if I wanted to go or not."

"I meant to, but I was afraid you'd wake up pissed, and you'd shoot me dead."

"Tsk. If I didn't kill you before, much less will I now."

"I'm relieved to hear that." -Rock walked over to a table next to her and set her bags down there. He opened one of the bags and pulled out a small tray of food and offered it to her. "Are you hungry? Dutch and the kids are bringing the rest of the food, though."

"Then I'll wait for Dutch and the brats. I don't trust your ability to pick out food." -Responded Revy, backing up a step.

"Hey, the twins made sure this is edible."

"I'd rather not risk it..." -Revy cocked her head to the side as she noticed something different about him. "You bought a fucking tie?"

"Oh, you noticed?" -Said Rock, looking at his new tie. He had seen it in a store and was unable to resist buying it. Also, he had made sure to buy a few more so he wouldn't run out of ties.

"The other one was blue, or light blue, I don't quite remember. That one you're wearing now is red." -She took a sip of her coffee. "Of course I'd notice something so obvious."

"Hey!" -Benny shouted, stretching his arms out to either side, indignant. "That's not fair!"

"...What?"

The two days passed quickly and it was time to deliver Fang Jian. After calling Chang and agreeing on the meeting point, which would be at the dock, the crew of the Black Lagoon went to the place and just waited.

After about an hour, Chang finally arrived, along with about three bodyguards holding about three black colored bags. He left his men a few meters behind and walked until he stopped inches away from Fang Jian's face. Since he was taller, he had to bend down a little.

Fang Jian was sweating and his face deathly pale. He was standing steadily and absolutely silently. Chang was staring at him as if he wanted to blow him up using only his eyes. Rock felt sorry for the man. Few things in the world had to be as terrifying as facing your very pissed off mobster boss.

"You're such an asshole." -Chang finally said, after a while. "What are you?"

"An asshole, sir.". -Responded Fang Jian, his voice trembling.

"And now with your ridiculous screw-up in Taiwan, you've let me look like an asshole too. I don't like that."

The rest of the crew watched the conversation curiously, but since both men spoke Chinese, only Rock and Shenhua could understand what they were saying.

"I-I thought it was a good idea to pay with drugs because-"

Chang held up a finger, interrupting him. "Ah...another thinker. Before you offered an alternative payment, didn't you THINK to talk to the saleswoman to find out if she agreed or not, you stupid piece of shit?

"I-I..."

"And before that-" Chang interrupted him again. "You didn't THINK to investigate who the fuck you were buying the guns from?"

With each question from his boss, Fang Jian shrank more and more. Now he was no longer looking at Chang, he was looking at his feet. "I-I'm so sorry, sir, it won't happen again!"

"Oh, believe me, I'll make sure of it.". -Chang promised him, snapping his fingers. But a few seconds passed and nothing happened. Chang turned to look at his men with a frown on his face. "This is supposed to be when you guys come and take him away."

The three bodyguards looked at each other. "You mean us?" -Said one, pointing his finger at each other.

"Yes, damn it, who else would I ask?"

"Ah, my apologies, Mr. Chang."

"I don't want your apologies; I want this asshole taken away when I signal." -Chang replied, snapping his fingers again. But, again, nothing happened. "What the fuck is wrong with you people? Are you blind or what?"

"There was no signal, sir."

"But I just made it!"

"Oh, you mean when you snap your fingers?"

"Well yeah man, it's just like we practiced it last week!"

The three bodyguards again looked at each other. "We don't practice anything with you, Mr. Chang, we are another unit."

Chang looked at them silently for a while, making the men uncomfortable, then sighed wearily. "Just bring me the bags and take Fang Jian to the car. Wait for me there, I'll be right there." -He said. Once the men obeyed the order, Chang finally turned to Dutch. This time speaking in English. "Sorry for the delay, it was due to a little organizational problem."

"No problem at all." -Said Dutch.

"Your little vacation in Taiwan was fun?"

"Fun enough, but not relaxing at all."

"Terrible."

"Now, why don't you let me help you with those bags? They look a little heavy."

"Easy Dutch, only one of these is yours." -said Chang then looking at Shenhua. "One is hers. By the way, my dear, you look devilishly sexy with that new haircut."

"Fuck you." -Responded Shenhua, unable to help but bring her hand towards her hair.

It used to be so long that it was down to her waist, so she tied it up in a sleek ponytail that went nicely with her long bangs. But now it was brutally cut to just above her shoulders. Her bangs were also cut short, and she barely managed to comb her hair enough so that the rough, unkempt cuts of the scissors didn't show.

She walked over to the bag and picked it up. Before leaving, Shenhua shot one last murderous glance at the twins, who simply smiled. "If you ever want to kill those brats, I'll do it for free."

"Terrible." -Chang repeated, watching Shenhua walk away. Then, he kicked the larger bag. "This one here is yours, Dutch. Of course, I added the amount we renegotiated during your vacation days. Along with a little extra payment for your trouble. Thanks for your services, you've been very helpful."

"We're here for whatever you need."-Dutch said. Lifting the bag, he noticed it was heavy. That was very good. Dutch nodded, satisfied, and turned back toward his boat. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go work on the bookkeeping."

"Help you with that?" -Benny asked, following his boss without waiting for an answer. His eyes sparkled as he imagined the amount of money in there. "It'll be easier if we carry it between the two of us. In fact, let me hold it for a second."

"Keep your hands to yourself, Benny-boy!"

Revy, Rock and the twins watched everything expressionlessly. Chang just smiled. "You're not going after them?" -He asked Revy. "Because I'd like to have a chat with good old Rock."

"Nah, Dutch wouldn't let me anywhere near him anyway.". -She replied, strangely calm. "I'd rather stay here and make sure there's no trouble between you two. So go ahead, chat all you want."

"What problem could there be between us? If we are two civilized people." -Revy didn't respond and simply folded her arms. Chang shrugged, deciding not to argue with her, and then pointed to the last bag. "This one's for you, translator-san.".

"I didn't do this for money." -Rock said, more bluntly than he intended. He was still uncomfortable being in front of this deceptively relaxed and joking man. "It was to shorten our debt a little more, not expand it."

"Oh, I know, I know. This is simply a small reward, for all your efforts you put in during this operation." -Chang smiled amused. "Fuck man, you were only supposed to be there to translate if Fang Jian needed to ask for a glass of water or stuff like that, but you ended up blowing up a bunch of stuff."

"...Dutch told you what happened."

"They were small but important details in our conversation. And if it makes you feel better, giving you the money was Dutch's suggestion. But if you don't want it..."

Chang couldn't complete the sentence, because the twins quickly pounced on the bag and dragged it away from the man. "Boss is a little tired." -said Gretel. "He can't think straight right now, so if you don't mind, we'll take this."

"But I do mind."

"It's a good thing I don't." -the girl replied, then quickly retreated along with her brother towards the Black Lagoon.

Chang looked at the children for a moment and then shook his head. "In any case." -He said. "Dutch also mentioned to me that you were able to take care of that little gun-selling bitch."

"Not really, I just sank his ship."

"Heh, I know. That was cool. Even though no she's not dead, knowing she didn't get away with it is good enough for me. Now I'll leave you alone for a while so you and your kids can rest. So relax and enjoy the money, you did a good job."

'You did a good job'. Rock almost laughed at those words.

Before, he would have broken his back and kissed a lot of asses to get his bosses and superiors to tell him that. Now, he really didn't care too much. He was a little happy, yes, but not to the point of jumping up and down, happy and excited, like a puppy when its owners congratulate it on learning to paw.

'Ughh, really pitiful.' -thought Rock, feeling a little embarrassed at the memory of his 'past self'. Yet another reason to thank Revy for kidnapping him that day. "I'll try." -He said finally.

Chang nodded and turned to leave. He would have liked to keep talking some more, but he had other business to attend to and couldn't keep wasting time. "Send my regards to Balalaika for me."

"Why don't you tell her? You have her phone number." -Said Revy after being quiet all this time.

"Yes, but that bitch doesn't answer my messages and ignores my calls. That woman has a heart as hard and cold as Russia itself.". -Responded Chang, raising his hand by way of farewell. "Take care, kids."

Rock and Revy watched Chang leave, his black trench coat flapping in the wind...which was strange, because there was no wind. So how did he manage to achieve that effect?

Neither of them knew, nor were they going to ask.

"He's a strange man." -Said Rock, after Chang was out of sight. "He doesn't look anything like the typical image of a mob boss depicted in movies or serials."

"Reality trumps fiction my friend."-She said. "For some reason, we always end up hanging out with strange people."

"I'm not surprised, we're a freaking magnet for weird people. I mean, we've got a Vietnam vet, a guy who ripped off the FBI and the mob. Some disturbed twins, me, a crazy clerk son-of-a-bitch, and finally you; a psycho gunwoman."

"Ha! And that's with you and the brats not being official members of the Black Lagoon." -She gave him a playful nudge, though a bit rough for Rock's taste. "Maybe you-"

Revy was about to say something else, but she stopped herself. Rock looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"Nah, forget it, it's nothing." -Revy scratched her head and turned around to go to the boat. "Come on, it's time to go home."