Bullet XXVI
"Well, let's do a little recap." -Said Rock.
Sitting across from him, Hansel and Gretel nodded in perfect synchrony.
After the Yakuza incident at Rowan's club, Gretel had been quite insistent on learning Japanese, because she did not want to be left out of the future conversations between Rock and Ginji, Chaka, or any of the Washimine still hanging around Roanapur.
Hansel also wanted to learn, but mostly because he found the challenge of learning a new language fun.
Rock saw nothing wrong with agreeing to teach them, besides, he was a little happy that the kids wanted to learn Japanese. The problem was that he had no idea how to teach his native language to some kids, so he simply mentioned everything he could remember that he found useful.
And, even so, the most common words proved difficult.
Fortunately, the twins were paying full attention to him and showed no signs of boredom as he recited lists of basic Japanese words. Rock would then ask them to repeat them again with him. After repeating this cycle for an hour, it was time to see how much information they were able to retain.
"Can you count from one to ten?"
The two kids spoke at the same time. "Ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku, shichi, hachi, kyuu, juu."
"...now the other way around. From ten to one."
"Juu, kyuu, hachi, nana, roku, go, yon, san, ni, ichi."
Rock swallowed briefly and tried to hide his surprise, but judging by the smiles on the kids' faces, it was obvious he had failed. Although counting from one to ten was not exactly the most difficult, it was still a bit of a tricky exercise. But the twins had mastered it in record time, and pronounced them correctly in both cases.
'And I only mentioned the numbers to them once... Just once!'
"You two scare me.". -Rock admitted quietly.
Hansel snorted. "After you've seen everything we can do, you're scared just because of that?"
Well, although Hansel was right, he was also wrong.
Maybe he and his sister didn't realize it, but their retention was perfect and absolute. At this rate, in a few days they would be able to speak basic Japanese fluently. And with a little more time, they would probably be able to have long conversations without any difficulty. That was what surprised and scared Rock.
And he regretted not having taught them sooner.
And on a mental note, he decided that he was going to be careful what he said to them in the future.
Before Rock could continue his instruction, now with a new enthusiasm, for no lesson was wasted on them, someone knocked on the door. The twins immediately went into a defensive scheme. Hansel and Gretel flanked the door with their backs against the wall, guns in hand.
Rock looked at everything with a blank stare. "Okay, relax a little bit, all right? Nobody declared war on us, just knocked on the door."
"That's the problem, Boss.". -said Gretel, whispering. "No one is supposed to know that we live here, and the few who do know, shouldn't come bother us or tell anyone else that we're here. We make sure of that."
"Why do you think the owner of this apartment no longer comes to collect rent from you?". -Said Hansel this time. "Have you also not thought about why thieves in the area don't try to sneak in here to steal?"
"... I'm afraid to ask, but what the hell have you people done to these people?".
"Hansel's knives are very persuasive.". -answered Gretel, without specifying.
As they came knocking again, this time a little more insistently, Rock, despite the twins' complaints, went to the door and opened it. Sergeant Boris was standing in the hallway, accompanied by two other men that Rock didn't recognize.
Although Boris was a 'known' face, that didn't make the twins lower their guns. However, Boris paid no attention to them.
"Rock." -He said. "The Kapitana requests your services."
"Hah." -Sighed Rock, pinching the bridge of his nose hard.
"..."
"I apologize for my lack of enthusiasm, Sergeant, put the last time we had this conversation, things quickly went to hell."
"Don't worry, it won't be anything like that this time."
Rock rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it won't..."
"As I said, the Kapitana requests your services, since the date for the meeting between her and the Wha...Wush...Yakuzas of the other day-"
"The Washimine."
Boris nodded. "Yes, them. Today is the new meeting between them and the Kapitana, so she needs you to attend that meeting to do the translation.". -He shot a glance at the kids. "Just you, without the creepy brats."
"Okay." -Responded Rock, before Hansel and Gretel could say anything, earning a scowl from them, but he ignored them. He sighed, again trouble was coming for him when he was in peace and quiet. "Let's go to that meeting."
"What the hell are you doing here?" -Said Revy, at the bar of the newly rebuilt Yellow Flag.
In fact, just rebuilt, because the bar was exactly the same as it was before that missile-errr, mysterious explosion destroyed the bar. She didn't know how Bao's contacts had managed to repair the bar so quickly, but she didn't want to know either.
The only modification the bar underwent was a sign posted at the entrance that read, "NO WEAPONS ALLOWED.". But even though it was written in 5 languages in addition to English, most customers didn't seem to understand it.
The point was, Yellow Flag was back, and that was one of the very few things worth celebrating in Roanapur, so the bar was fuller and louder than usual. The problem was that, upon arrival, Revy didn't find Rock at his post, instead, it was the bitter, bored face of Bao that was manning it.
Which was shit, because she was going to the bar to, besides getting drunk, see Rock. And, although he had a lot to do with it, it wasn't just because he was giving her free drinks behind Bao's back.
But there was another problem, a much worse one; she encountered that blond parasite known as Chaka.
Revy had noticed him when she entered the bar, but fortunately he had kept a reasonable distance, leaning against the wall in the corner of the bar, apparently with no intention of approaching. However, after half an hour, perhaps thinking that she had let her guard down by drinking and relaxing a bit, he had come over and slid into the seat next to her.
"I came in for some cold drinks.". -Chaka replied, with a smile. "And for the pleasure of pleasant company."
"I remember something." -She said, her voice a little hoarse with displeasure. "I remember telling you to stay away from me."
"As attractive and sexy as you are, that was an impossible thing to do."
"Get the fuck out of my sight, asshole."
"Ah, there we go again with the impossible things to do~"
Revy let out a growl, getting more and more pissed off.
If that idiot was still in Roanapur, that meant the rest of his group was too, including the psychopath with the sword. Of course, that's assuming he wasn't stupid enough to stay. So it was most likely that those raw fish lovers were still in town to continue their business with Balalaika.
That was the only reason she hadn't killed him yet, but he kept pushing her.
"You're lucky I don't kill you right now.". -she said.
"Really?" -Chaka set the glass he was drinking down on the bar, and brought his hand to the gun at his waist. "They say you're the most feared gunwoman in all of Asia, why don't we check it out, slut?"
"Your mother is a slut." -Replied Revy, frowning.
'The most feared gunwoman in all of Asia'. That was a bit of an exaggerated title. As much as she hated to admit it, during the ten long years she had been in the business, Revy had met a lot of people who were more skilled and dangerous than she was in combat and weapons use. But that didn't make that title any less cool.
Chang would die of envy if he found out.
"Yeah, I know.". -said Chaka. "That's why I can recognize a slut when I see one."
Revy didn't say anything, just stared at him. Chaka glared back at her, his hand firmly on his still holstered gun, ready to draw it at any moment.
She noticed the entire bar had gone silent. As far as he knew, no one had drawn their weapon, but almost all of the patrons at the nearest tables had their hands on or near their guns.
All eyes were on the two of them, waiting for what the hell was going to happen.
Chaka was the first to run out of patience, and in one swift move, he drew his revolver. He was pointing his gun when Revy threw her glass, still laden with beer, into his eyes. She felt a brief sensation of warmth as the revolver shot, fired by reflex, whizzed past her left ear.
Chaka only had that one shot. An instant later, his gun had gone flying somewhere in the bar from the slap Revy had given him, and he was unable to avoid it as he was blinded. She then smashed her empty glass into the side of Chaka's face, knocking him off his seat.
The other patrons became nervous when they heard that shot and most stood up, guns in hand, but since the fight was over as quickly as it started, there was no shootout.
Or that's what should have happened.
Unfortunately, seconds later, Chaka's revolver had landed on one of the many busy tables in the place and accidentally went off, wounding a customer, who began to scream in pain... This set off a chain reaction in which all the armed patrons of the bar began shooting at no one in particular, unleashing a hail of bullets.
"Fucking hell!" -Bao roared, as did Revy, sheltering behind the bar counter. He turned to look at her, pointing a finger at her, his eyes wide in an expression halfway between disbelief and annoyance. "This is your goddamn fault!"
"Why?! I didn't do anything!"
"Are you kidding me? You started a fucking shootout!"
"That motherfucker was the one who started shooting first!". -Revy defended himself.
"I don't care who the fuck started it first, I just know that every time you come here this happens!". -Bao replied, tears streaming down his face. Revy didn't know if it was because of the fear of dying, or because his bar was again going to need to be repaired. It was probably the latter. "You're banned from my bar, you fucking maniacal bitch!"
"Fuck you!"
Resignedly, and confident that the kids wouldn't get into trouble during his absence, Rock made his way to that awful meeting between those mob bosses, escorted by Boris and his two men. They even had a vehicle ready to transport him.
In fact, in the back seat of the car there was a gag and ropes.
He did not want to imagine what would have happened if he had refused to go voluntarily.
In any case, Rock expected the meeting to take place in an abandoned warehouse, or in some dark alley out of sight and earshot of everyone, as it happened in movies or TV series, with exchanges of threats and insults during the conversation.
But the reality was totally different.
Bando and Balalaika were civilly discussing methods to get rid of the Kousa, kill them all in a nutshell, while they drank coffee and ate some pastries in a coffee shop in broad daylight, where anyone passing by on the street could see the assembled group.
The cafeteria wasn't even closed, or booked for that meeting. In fact, there were several customers in the place, although they were smart enough to stay as far away from them as possible. But just in case, Bando and Balalaika had brought their respective bodyguards to keep some fool from getting too close.
Still, even though Balalaika was a known face for his illegal activities, there was not a single policeman in sight.
Revy had once told her that fact outweighed fiction, and it seemed she was right.
Balalaika dropped her now empty coffee cup on the table with more force than necessary, startling Rock a little. "Looks like all this chatter is boring the translator.". -she said, eliciting a chuckle among her bodyguards.
Fortunately, she spoke in Russian, and without sounding annoyed, so only he and her bodyguards could understand her.
Rock smiled and scratched his head, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Miss Balalaika, I got distracted for a moment."
"Never mind, I don't blame you. It's so goddamn boring to feign politeness, when it's obvious that what we all want is to spill blood as soon as possible.". -She said, then lit one of her cigars. "Anyway, I think we're done for today. Tell your comrades they can fuck off now, and that we will see each other again in Japan."
Rock quickly got the message across, though not as bluntly. Bando agreed and, after giving a polite farewell, which Balalaika could not have cared less about, he and his men left the premises.
"Well, that went okay.". -Said Rock. "I'm glad I didn't get killed today."
"You might get killed another day.". -Balalaika pointed out.
"That's sad, but you're probably right. But leaving aside my possible death, how did Sergeant Boris find my apartment?"
Although he disagreed with the twins' mysterious, and probably dangerous, method of concealing their dwelling, Rock had to admit that it was somewhat convenient. Staying hidden and inconspicuous was ideal for living quietly in a town like Roanapur.
The little extra of no longer having to pay rent on their apartment was also convenient. But the important thing was that the location of his apartment seemed to be a point unknown until now, so it was strange to him that the sergeant had appeared there so suddenly.
"It wasn't that hard.". -Said Balalaika, shrugging her shoulders. "I just assigned a few of my men to keep an eye on you at all times, in case you got into more trouble, and that's how I found out where you live. After that, I just sent Boris."
"You mean you're stalking me?"
"You're free to think whatever you want.". -She replied.
"Okay... So, when are you going to Japan?"
Balalaika raised an eyebrow, probably noticing his careful choice of words.
It was a roundabout way of indicating to her that he had no intention of traveling to Japan. That country was loaded with bad memories. Besides, he had already done his part by forming that alliance with those Yakuza. Whether it worked or not would depend on Bando and Balalaika herself.
He no longer had anything to do with their business.
"You mean when we go to Japan."-But apparently, Balalaika didn't think so. "Since I was already expecting something like this, I have already made the necessary preparations, so we are ready to leave at a time that is most convenient for us."
"Right, right, I forgot that your men will also be accompanying you.". -Rock said, playing dumb in an effort to wriggle out of the situation. "I wish you all a good trip. Oh, and you'd better get a coat, Japan is cold this time of year."
"You get yourself a fucking coat too, because you're coming with us. My men and I can't speak Japanese, so obviously we're going to need a translator, and that's where you come in."
"Yeah...I think I'll pass."
"Rock, Rock..." -Balalaika shook her head in mock sadness. "Did you really think you could get away with this, after meddling so much in my business?"
He looked at her, expressionless. "Being honest? Yes."
"I find your naivete adorable."
"Anyway, it's not strictly necessary for me to accompany you, there are plenty of Russian-Japanese translators around, you know? I'm sure you can find one willing to work for you."
"Maybe, but the difference is that I don't have to pay you anything."
"Ngh...You have a good point, but-"
"No."
"Maybe-"
"Japonski, stop being a sore loser and accept your defeat. ". -Said Balalaika, smiling. "Go pack your bags, we're going to Japan."
'So...'. -Benny thought, observing with a crooked smile the sorry state Yellow Flag was left in after the sudden shooting. 'This is what happens when you let a Japanese and a Chinese into a bar.'
Dutch had received a call from a very upset Bao, demanding that he take Revy away, since according to Bao, she was responsible for the new destruction of his bar and she was now officially banned from Yellow Flag indefinitely. Besides, the bar owner also demanded that Dutch pay for the costs of future repairs.
This obviously made Dutch less than pleased, and, once he and Benny arrived at the bar, he asked his employee for an explanation. Revy defended herself by telling her, dubious, version of events, arguing that she did not start the fight.
Still, Bao had not shown her a shred of mercy and insisted on blaming her, along with his decision to ban her from his bar.
All this caused Revy to make the drastic and absurd decision to barricade herself in the bar's bathroom, with a full bottle of the strongest and cheapest rum Bao had, which she stole moments before barricading herself, as well as her two weapons.
So now Dutch was advancing toward the bathroom cautiously, as if he were walking on thin ice, in an attempt to calm Revy down and get her to come out of the bathroom.
In the meantime, Bao had temporarily closed the bar because of the damage and to prevent some idiot from entering and further complicating the delicate situation. Benny had simply watched the scene from a safe distance.
Dutch stopped just in front of the door leading to the bathroom.
"Okay, baby." -He said. "Playtime's over, tomorrow we've got work to do, and you know we need to get a lot of stuff ready, so get your ass out of there."
Revy burped in response.
"Hey..."
" Get the hell out of here, Dutch." -Revy's disembodied voice sounded a little distorted due to the echo in the bathroom. "I'm not going out."
"I'll make a deal with Bao so he won't ban you from his bar, okay?"
"No, none of that 'okay', you know how stubborn and insistent that bastard is, you're not going to be able to convince him. So call my lawyer here, I want my fucking lawyer."
"You don't have a fucking lawyer!" -Dutch growled, losing a little of his infinite patience. That was quite an accomplishment, considering what a granite monument to stoicism Dutch was.
"Then get me one, bitch!" -Replied Revy, only to burp again.
If Benny wasn't so worried about his boss's safety, he'd be having fun with that absurd situation. "Heh."
Ah, what the hell, he was having fun.
Across from him, behind the bullet-hole-studded bar, Bao looked at him disapprovingly. "It's not funny, man, look at all this rampage that fucking bitch made, shouldn't you be over there, standing next to Dutch, calming her down?"
"Hell, no." -Benny replied. "I'd rather stay far away from her right now. Besides, it's not like I'm much help in situations like this either, maybe I could even make it worse."
"You're useless."
He was perfectly aware that a cornered, drunken Revy was 100 times more dangerous than normal, sort of like some kind of bomb that could go off at the slightest sudden movement, so there was no way he was volunteering to go try to calm her down
So, knowing this was going to go on for quite a while, Benny settled into one of the battered seats and then turned to look at Bao. "I know. Now, give me a cold beer, and put it on Revy's tab."
"She's banned-"
"Man, we both know that's not going to happen."
After leaving the cafeteria, Rock asked Boris the great favor of taking him to Yellow Flag so he could start his shift, which he was late for because he was almost forced to participate in this meeting between gangsters. The sergeant had no problem accepting his request and transported him to the bar.
After saying goodbye to Boris, Rock entered the bar...
"You're late." -said Bao as he saw him enter, sweeping the dust from the floor, along with a pile of bullet casings. "I'll deduct it from your pay."
...and found him a mess.
"I don't get it." -He said, looking at the damage around the bar. "What the hell happened here?"
"Fighting, shooting, Two Hands."
"Oh..."
That explained why the bar was closed...
And why the ceiling, walls and bar were riddled with bullet holes. Also, there were several tables and chairs that were destroyed. The only good thing was that the bar was not completely ruined as it was a couple of days ago, considering how destructive Revy was when it came to fighting.
There were no dead bodies in the bar either, and that was a real miracle...unless Bao had removed the corpses, but Bao seemed to be in no mood to explain himself, and Rock didn't want to keep looking for answers for fear of being scolded by him. So Rock walked over to the bar counter, where Revy was standing.
And there, he noticed the body lying unconscious on the floor. It was Chaka, with his face bloody and with several pieces of glass stuck in it.
'Ah, now I understand why there was a fight.' -Rock thought. 'And now I also understand why he wasn't at that meeting.'
"I hope he's not dead." -Said Rock, grimacing at the sight of the Yakuza's pitiful state.
"I do." -Said Revy, sitting on one of the few unharmed stools, drinking a glass laden with some kind of alcohol. "You're late, you missed all the fun."
"I'm glad of that."
"How boring you are. The bar opened like two hours ago, where the hell were you?"
"Remember Miss Balalaika had a new meeting with the Washimine's?"
Revy turned to look at him slowly. "I hope..." -She said with a warning tone. "That you didn't, again, get into any more trouble with Sis and that Yakuzas."
He said nothing, just averted his gaze. She began to crack her knuckles.
"Balalaika met with Bando a while ago, and in the end, she decided that we're going to Japan!"
"We're going" -she repeated, with a twitch in one of her eyes. "That means you're going too."
It wasn't a question, but he answered anyway just to see her reaction. "Well...yeah."
"Goddamn it, you did get yourself in trouble again!". -Revy burst out then slammed the bar counter hard, spilling some of his drink, and making Rock take a step back. "What the hell is wrong with you? You almost got killed the other day for meddling in other people's business, and now you go and do it again? You're seriously looking to get yourself killed, asshole."
Rock couldn't help but chuckle a little, just as he expected, Revy had reacted aggressively. Although that made him feel a little happy, since that was the way she was expressing her worry. "Come on, come on, it won't be a big deal, it's just a simple translation job."
"Yeah, right, because the last time you played translator for Balalaika, it was all simple job." -She replied with acid sarcasm. Then she clicked her tongue. "So what do you think, asshole? Tomorrow Dutch, Benny and I are leaving for work for a couple of days, so I'm not going to be able to go to fucking Japan to keep your ass safe."
'Oh...well, that's disappointing, but not unexpected.' -thought Rock, smiling bitterly. He had grown accustomed to spending so much time with her that he sometimes forgot that Revy worked for the Lagoon Company. It was normal for them to leave Roanapur for a while when they found a decent job.
Still, it was a shame. It would be a bit lonely not having Revy's company.
"I see... What kind of job is it? Or rather, who are they going to kidnap this time?"
Revy snorted, apparently calmer now. But her frown indicated she was still somewhat annoyed. "You're not forgetting that."
"I ended up in a town surrounded by criminals because of that. I could never forget it."
"Whatever. This job isn't anything that interesting, we're just going off the coast of Indonesia, looking for a Nazi submarine that sank 50 years ago.". -Rock blinked. That did sound interesting, but he decided not to continue asking questions about it. Balalaika had found a good way to teach him not to meddle in other people's business. "Anyway, when are you leaving?"
"No idea." -He sighed. "Miss Balalaika didn't give me a specific date, but from the way she said it, maybe it's within a day or two."
"That's shit." -Revy growled. Then she pointed accusingly at him. "And just so we're clear, this time it wasn't my fault, you got involved in that shit yourself."
"Ah, you're absolutely right."-Rock smiled at her. "I can't seem to stay out of trouble."
"It's nothing for you to be happy about, stupid."
"Yes it is, think of it this way; I'm looking to get into trouble and, most of the time, you generate that trouble. We make a good pair, don't you think?"
Revy looked at him blankly. "Are you hitting on me?"
"Maybe, is it working?"
"A little." -she admitted, but then to add mockingly. "If I were a man, I'd find you irresistible."
"That's too bad, but I don't bat for that side. How about if you like me as a woman?"
Revy leaned back against the bar counter, smiling, her face resting on her fist. "Who says no?"
"Oh, w-well..." -Rock couldn't find a retort for that, though he was aware she meant it as a joke, that response made him a little nervous. Seeing him stutter, Revy began to laugh. "Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, but you'll miss me when I'm gone."
Revy stopped her laughter and stared at him, seeming to debate whether to say something next or not. But in the end, she said it. "I know. So don't get yourself killed, okay?"
He offered her a crooked smile. "I'll try."
"That sounded very half-hearted."
"I'll give you another answer when you stop causing shootouts."-He replied.
"Fuck you, Rock."
Rock laughed again. No doubt Revy would be needed during his days in Japan.
Merry Christmas in advance.