Bullet XVIII

Rock had finally finished his job. The translation of the listens into the Russian language for Balalaika was complete. After calling her to inform her of this, Balalaika ordered him to be taken to her office. Once again, Revy accompanied him to the Hotel Moscow. And once again, the twins stayed with Sergeant Boris.

The man gave him a sad look, almost looking like he was going to cry. Rock was about to change his mind, but Revy pulled him by the arm and forced him to go ahead. It would be hard on the sergeant, but he would have to resist.

After reading silently for a few minutes, Balalaika let out a tired sigh.

"This is bullshit." -She said, dropping the notebook on her desk. "But at least it confirms what I suspected so much. These motherfuckers intend to set up shop in my city."

"So, what's the next step?" -Rock asked, though from the woman's somber expression, he could guess what was coming next.

Balalaika did not disappoint him. "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to show those bastards that that won't be so easy for them."

"I don't think it's necessary to go straight to the attack. They are not looking for trouble with you or any other...local wildlife in Roanapur. They are just recruiting people to strengthen their group."

"And you want me to allow them to do that?" -Balalaika asked, looking at him as if he had grown another head. "You want me to allow this plague to spread all over my city, and turn them into fucking competition? ...I don't know if you're too dumb or naive, Rock."

"Maybe both." -Commented Revy, receiving an expressionless look from Rock. "What? It's the truth."

"What I'm trying to say...". -Rock said, returning his attention to Balalaika and using his best diplomatic tone of voice. "It's that the Washimine don't necessarily have to be competition, they could be allies."

Balalaika snorted. "And what the hell do I want these raw fish lovers as allies for?"

"Well, these guys are desperate to defend their territories in Japan, so much so that they had to come all the way out here to make alliances. Setting up shop in Roanapur is just a secondary objective-"

"Get to the point, Japonski.". -Balalaika interrupted, gesturing with his hand. "You're making me impatient with your palaver and I have better things to do, like preparing to assassinate those intruders."

"All right." -Said Rock, feeling the negotiation slipping away from him. "I think it would be a good idea to establish contact with them and offer an alliance to do business with them."

Rock swallowed hard, hoping it didn't show how nervous he was. He was making a risky bet, again, based solely on what little he knew of Balalaika's personality, or what he thought he knew.

Fortunately, she took the bait. "...What kind of business exactly?"

Rock had the audacity to smile. He was definitely more comfortable dealing with Balalaika than Chang. He could at least read Balalaika and her interests a little, whereas Chang was kind of like a bottomless pool.

"Offer your services to fight their rivals in Japan, the Kousa, and allow them to settle here. In return, they could provide you with a free pass to Japan to expand your influence there." -Responded Rock, still smiling. "You've been inactive for a long time, don't you think this is a perfect opportunity to get you into action again, Kapitana?"

"He's got a point there, Sis.". -interjected Revy. Oddly, in favor of the peaceful solution. Rock had expected her to opt more for going straight to war, but he wasn't about to get into an argument with her at such a critical time. "It's better to do business and get money, rather than stupidly killing each other."

Balalaika blinked. "What a surprise, Two Hands, I thought you would prefer the second option."

"I admit I love to see blood spilled, but I love money more. I can't get drunk or do business with blood, most of the time, and neither can you."

"I see... but I really don't give a shit about your advice."

"Tsk. It's not advice, bitch, I don't give a fuck if you want to go to war with those guys or not. I'm simply saying that Rock's idea doesn't seem absurd to me." -Replied Revy, crossing her arms. "Rock wouldn't tell you all that shit, if he wasn't sure that such an alliance could be achieved."

"And you trust his word?"

"Do you think it would speak in his favor if he didn't? Besides, all of Rock's plans have worked so far..." -Revy shrugged. "Well, sort of."

"What do you mean, 'sort of'?" -Rock asked.

"Getting shot from a shotgun can't be part of any fucking plan."

"Oh, that's what you think.". -Rock replied. She looked at him doubtfully, unsure if he was being serious or not. He looked at her blankly. "I'm kidding, okay?"

While they were talking nonsense, Balalaika was staring at them hard and hard, silently, but it seemed that she was considering the proposal. Rock knew this was the moment of truth, if he succeeded in this part of his plan, he could avoid a gang war. If not, well...he and the kids would have to deal with a fucking gang war.

"Okay, have it your way, Rock.". -Said Balalaika, after a long silence. "You have one chance, just one."

Rock made a hard effort to hold back a sigh of relief. "Yes, of course. I won't let you down."

"For your sake, I hope so." -Balalaika took out one of her cigars and lit it. "Contact your new friends and tell them of your proposal. But I warn you now, if they refuse this alliance, I will kill them all…" -Balalaika waited a moment for her words to take effect. "Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes."

"Excellent. Go with Sergeant Boris, he'll give you all the information you need to find your new friends."

Rock didn't need to be told twice. He quickly left the office, followed by Revy, wondering how the fuck he could convince a Yakuza leader to collaborate with the Russians.

Bando had met with a new Yakuza leader in the city, the fourth. A Shinozuka or something like that, Ginji didn't care enough to remember his name. Bando, perhaps tired of repeating the same thing so many times today, decided to go straight to the point and told his reason for traveling to Roanapur.

Also, Bando told him his proposal for an alliance between the two organizations. However, that Yakuza leader decided to reject Bando's offer. The promise of new territory and business was not enough to convince the man, as well as the other Yakuza leaders they had met with.

Ginji already knew how this would end.

"What's so funny about this.". -Said Shinozuka. Three guards were standing next to him. "It's just that you thought you could convince us by spouting pure bullshit. I guess the only question now is what am I going to do with you...send what's left of your bodies to Japan, or just let the fish take care of you?"

"There's no need to get violent.". -Said Bando with a slight smile on his face, sitting in an armchair the office had. "I'm sure we can come to an agreement. I'm even willing to offer a substantial sum of money if it will help bring them over to our side."

"Shut up." -grunted the other man. "Whatever deal you have planned, you can shove it up your ass, Gaijin."

Bando's smile faded. "Wrong answer." -He said. "Kill them, Ginji."

Ginji, who had been standing behind his boss the whole time, stepped forward while drawing his sword. And in an impressive unison move, all three of the Yakuza boss's guards drew their pistols. They fired. Ginji's sword sparked as it blocked the projectiles and deflected them directly back toward the shooters.

The three guards fell to the ground, dead. It all happened in just seconds.

Shinozuka stood transfixed in disbelief, his eyes wide open at the sudden and unexpected slaughter. Ginji waited, watching as the man in front of him thought at full speed whether he should fight or flee. Then, to Ginji's surprise, the man decided to fight and drew his own gun. But Ginji only needed that instant of distraction to cut the distance between them.

With a downward sweep of his sword, Ginji cut Shinozuka's hand, the one holding his weapon. And twisting his wrist slightly to the right, he used that same momentum to slash one of his feet. The man fell to his knees, he could only let out a short cry of pain before Ginji silenced him by decapitating him.

A small bloody mist floated in the air.

"Well, that was disappointing.". -said Bando, sighing wearily. "I think that's it for today. We'll try again tomorrow."

Ginji put away his sword and turned to look at his boss. "How long are we going to go on with this stupid waste of time?"

"As long as it takes. We must be patient, we've only been here a day, damn it. There must be some Yakuza groups that will accept our proposal for an alliance."

"Do you really believe that? Because this is already the fourth group we've eliminated, boss?" -Ginji replied. "Is there any difference in this, to my original idea?"

"The part where we don't go straight out and kill them all?"

Ginji stretched his arms out to either side to point to the corpses in the office. "But we're killing everyone."

"Okay, I admit it, maybe... maybe everything isn't going as I had planned, okay?" -Bando scrunched the bridge of his nose, Ginji recognized that gesture from his boss. Bando was getting more and more pissed off. "But that's exactly why I need you to back me up, Ginji."

"But I do, or why the hell do you think I followed you here, even though I knew this was a lousy idea?"

"Then I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't question my damn decisions."

"I wouldn't question anything if your decisions seemed right to me.". -Ginji raised an eyebrow. "Or does it seem right to you to be begging for help on your knees, just like a bitch?"

"You think this is easy for me!?". -Bando exclaimed, standing up and pointing his finger at him. "You don't know shit about how hard it is to make decisions and carry the weight of leadership, so stop acting like you have all the answers, like you know what to do."

"So, if it all seems so difficult to you, boss?" -Ginji casually brought his hand towards the hilt of his sword. "Perhaps you are no longer fit to remain the leader of the Washimine."

"That's a threat?"

"What do you think?"

A tense silence ensued, both exchanging glances. If Ginji decided to attack now, then Bando's only option for survival would be to kill him first. But they both knew he didn't stand much chance of accomplishing that.

Then, the office doors suddenly opened, a smiling Chaka entered the office. He blinked a couple of times as he saw the tense atmosphere. "Okay... Am I interrupting something?"

Bando looked at his other subordinate. Ginji didn't know if his boss was annoyed or relieved at the interruption. "No, no need, we're done here. ". -Said Bando finally. "The negotiations failed..."

Chaka snorted. "Yeah, I figured that out."

"Come on, we have to take care of the rest."

"No need, boss. I killed everyone else as soon as I heard the gunshots." -Responded Chaka, smiling again. "I'm cool like that."

"Okay, good job... both of you. We'll retire to the hotel." -Bando didn't wait for a response and left the office. Chaka followed him, ignoring the fact that he avoided a fight between their leaders.

Ginji shook his head, but also followed them.

It had been a tiring day, now he just wanted to rest. And he also wanted to call Yukio to see how she was doing.

After the little meeting with Balalaika, Rock had asked to return to the Yellow Flag to explain to Bao his sudden departure in the middle of work. Revy had no problem with that, as he could use a drink right now.

Revy was a bit puzzled after the outcome at Balalaika's office.

She had been waiting for some crazy plan from Rock to get out of this new trouble, but not a calm, conciliatory response. And the bastard had managed to convince Balalaika not to start a war. Nothing similar had happened since Dutch had stopped the confrontation between Chang and Balalaika several years ago.

Anyone else would have seized the opportunity to curry favor with Balalaika, or at least gain a little fame or money. Hell, even she would have done the same. But he wasn't. Rock wasn't looking for any of those things, nor had he strived to become some crime lord, like many others who did upon arriving in Roanapur.

No, of course, Rock could never become a crime boss. He didn't have the greed and lust for power, nor did he have the vacant eyes and utterly heartless character that she had often seen in people like Chang, Balalaika, or even herself. The only dangerous thing about Rock, aside from his lousy luck, was his sly silver tongue and his facility for talking bullshit.

And Revy realized that she liked that. But that also creates conflicts for her, because when she wanted something she liked, money, alcohol, weapons, etc., she would just take it, by force if necessary. But that wouldn't be so simple in this case.

Again, everything to do with Rock was difficult.

"Here." -Rock's voice interrupted her thoughts, which she quickly dispelled, and she watched him hand her a new glass full of alcohol. "On the house."

Revy bit the inside of her cheek, she just hoped he hadn't seen her all gawked at. "Have you cleared things up with your master yet?"

"Yes, I'll have to clean the bathroom more often, but Bao gave me permission to be absent, again, for an indefinite period of time until I get this shit sorted out.". -He said. "Hansel will have to stay behind to cover my place, though."

"And the brat just accepted it that easy?"

"Well, he's a little pissed off. So now Hansel gets to keep part of my pay as compensation, and I'm going to need you to tell me where to find that church that sells guns, since Hansel also wants some new toys that go 'bang'. And if I give them to Hansel, I have to give them to Gretel too, or she'll be pissed at me."

Revy clenched his jaw to hold back a resounding hell no. Telling Rock where Ripoff Church was meant letting him get close to Eda's bitch, and that wasn't going to happen. Not if she didn't go along with him to keep him away from Eda's clutches. "Yeah, I'll tell you later..."

"By the way, thanks for the support earlier. I don't think I could have convinced Balalaika without your help."

"You saved my life in Taiwan, it's the least I could have done." -She said, looking away.

"Although I was hoping to get a can of Pepsi."

"If you have time to spill on bullshit, surely you already have a plan regarding those Yakuzas."

"Sort of, but the problem is finding these guys.". -Rock let out a sigh. "Sergeant Boris told me that, since they arrived this morning, they've already changed hotels about four times in different parts of town. They don't stay in the same place for very long, except..."

"What?"

"There's one of them, a blond man, who visits that Rowan guy's strip club quite often." -Rock smiled. "He's done it about ten times...sure is a fun place."

Revy wasn't surprised by that. After Bao's bar, Rowan's club was the most popular establishment in town. The music was blaring, there were flashing lights of different colors, and the decor was quite nice. And the most important thing, aside from selling all kinds of pornographic movies, were the sexy girls dancing with little or no clothes on.

There were even fucking S/M shows...which she had participated in several times. Both for business and pleasure.

"You're going there, right?"

Rock nodded. "It's the only thing I've got left. Miss Balalaika didn't give me a deadline or anything, but I can't waste time wandering all over the fucking city looking for those guys either."

What Rock was saying sounded reasonable to her, still, she couldn't help but look at him blankly. He probably hadn't set foot in a fucking strip club in his entire life, so Little Pidgeons was going to be a whole new experience for Rock. His embarrassed expression was surely going to be amusing. But there was a problem; Revy wasn't amused by the idea of someone else embarrassing Rock.

Especially if that someone else was another woman.

"Tsk, okay, let's go to the fucking strip club."

"Like I said before, you don't have to come with me if you don't want to..."

"Rock, I'm not about to let you go to a fucking strip club alone, because you're going to gawk at the dancers' asses and tits."

"Actually, I like the legs."

Now, that was interesting information. He may have meant it as a joke, but she wasn't about to waste that opportunity. Revy smiled mischievously and leaned back against the bar. "Does that mean you like looking at my legs?"

Revy watched with satisfaction as Rock's face turned red with embarrassment. But to her pleasant surprise, he didn't recoil or look away. "...It's kind of hard not to."

"You could do more than just watch.". -Replied Revy, almost purring.

She knew he wasn't being subtle about it at all, but what the hell, subtlety was never part of his vocabulary in the first place. However, that was more than Rock's brain could take and he began to stammer out a response. Revy let out a laugh, embarrassing Rock even more.

She knew this wasn't going to last, nothing good that came into her life lasted long, but for the moment, Revy decided she was going to enjoy it while she could.

Verrocchio, head of the Italian Mafia and one of Roanapur's top leaders, grimaced in disgust when he saw what his right-hand man, Ronnie, brought to his office. His subordinate was holding a plastic bag, containing a severed and bleeding head. Blood had begun to seep from the bag and was dripping a little, staining the floor.

Verrocchio didn't give a shit about that, though. It wouldn't be the first time, or the last, that his office floor was stained with blood.

"But what the hell are you showing me?". -He said.

"To Shinozuka.". -Responded Ronnie, then shrugged his shoulders. "Or what's left of him."

"...Who?"

"One of our customers. You know, the Japanese guy who always buys dope from us."

"Ah..."

There was no simple retort to that. However, Verrocchio wasn't surprised either, such things happened all the time and he had seen, and done, everything over the years as the head of his organization. To him, seeing a severed head in a plastic bag was about as interesting as a table leg. What he was really interested in knowing was something else.

"And what the fuck are you bringing his head to me for, Jaws?" -said Verrocchio, using the nickname given to his subordinate, knowing that Ronnie detested it. Although Verrocchio didn't understand why, 'Jaws' was a pretty badass nickname. "Do you want me to decorate my office with that or what?"

"I don't know boss, I thought you might like to see this."

"Oh, thank you very much, how did you discover my fetish for collecting severed heads?"

Ronnie looked at him blankly. "Shinozuka was killed-"

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

Ronnie continued, ignoring his boss. "-Along with all their subordinates, and this isn't the first Yakuza group they've been liquidating." -Ronnie looked at him seriously. "We made some calls to find out what the fuck happened, and they told us that three other Yakuza groups, all clients of ours, were killed today."

Verrocchio straightened up in his chair. Now, that was something interesting, and at the same time worrying. Part of his income was due to the various Yakuza groups in the city. For they bought weapons or drugs, either for personal consumption or for resale. Losing so many customers would certainly be a blow to their economy.

But... why? Why was someone killing those Yakuzas? Was it Chang, or Balalaika? Was it for revenge, for show of force? He needed a 'why'.

Verrocchio opened the drawer of his desk and pulled out a small metal tray. On it, there were two long lines of cocaine. He rolled up a hundred-dollar bill and snorted both lines through his two nostrils. The high he got from cocaine always helped him think and act fast. "Who the hell did it?"

"Other Yakuzas." -Said Ronnie, unfazed by watching his boss get high, nor by his new accelerated tone of voice. He had gotten used to it over the years. "But they're not from around here."

"How do you know? Those fucking Chinese-"

"Japanese."

"-They all look the same."

"One of our men was carrying a few kilos of dope for Shinozuka.". -Ronnie said. "He saw about three guys come out of Shinozuka's lair, Japanese guys he had never seen before in the city. When he went into the guardhouse, he saw that they were all dead. So, he brought Shinozuka's head to me to confirm that his story was true."

"... Did he cut off his head?". -Suddenly asked Verrocchio, with genuine curiosity.

"No, it was already cut off."

"I see..."

The idea that another very aggressive mob had come to town did not appeal to him in the least. Verrocchio already had enough problems with the Triad and the Hotel Moscow monopolizing most of the control and business in Roanapur. He didn't need any more rivals.

"All right, all right, listen to this Jaws.". -He said, rubbing his nose. "Does your man know where they are?"

"That's right, a Japanese guy who uses a fucking sword and is almost six feet tall is easy to follow. One of them stayed in a hotel, but the other two, a blond and the big guy, headed for Little Pidgeons."

"Okay, listen. You and your man get a team ready and go hunt these assholes down. Shoot them, stab them, or burn down Rowan's fucking club with them in it. I don't care how, but I want them dead. I've got enough with the Russian bitch and the Chinese fucker, I don't need any more assholes fighting for control of the city."

"As you say boss."