Bullet XXVIII
Balalaika was sitting on a bench in an unfamiliar park. Well, Rock had told her the name, but she wasn't the least bit interested.
She was enjoying another excellent day. Her men were currently conducting surveillance rounds on the selected targets, a simple order from her was enough for her men to execute them.
Everything was going well, so much so that she was finding it boring. The Yakuzas were not prepared at all for a war. It looked like this job would be over faster than expected, so Balalaika was simply taking her time getting things done.
In addition, she was also letting her men play for a little longer. Although they were totally loyal to her, the fierce and violent nature of her soldiers would sometimes get a little out of control if she didn't give them something, or someone in this case, to release their desire for bloodshed every so often.
But the real reason for her good mood was due to the small, but satisfying, call she received the night before from the young arms dealer; Koko Hekmatyar.
During her conversation with the young gun saleswoman, Balalaika informed Koko that she could find Chang in her office, as he, being temporarily managing her territory to maintain the balance of power among the other gangs in the city, as well as taking care of other annoying matters, would be staying at the Hotel Moscow for convenience.
So Chang would be too busy and distracted with all that to notice the arrival of Koko and her military squad. It was the perfect moment for a quick and deadly surprise attack.
If Koko wasn't stupid, she would make the most of this golden opportunity.
"Are you sure that was the right thing to do?" -Rock asked.
"What do you mean?" -Said Balalaika, enjoying the cold. Even though it wasn't snowing, the temperature was quite low, but she didn't find it uncomfortable. On the contrary, it made her feel at home.
"Mr. Chang is doing his part to keep Roanapur from getting out of control...more than usual, due to your absence. But you and that girl are basically conspiring to kill him. Does that seem right to you?"
Like many of her men, Rock had felt a good dose of fear at seeing her smile brightly without her usual cruelty or malice. But he was also curious, so he dared to ask her why she was in such a good mood. Which surprised her a little, since no one dared to approach her when she was in a good mood.
...Maybe her little tendency to be more violent than usual when she was happy had something to do with it.
However, after hearing her little explanation, Rock went from being scared and curious, to being worried about what might happen in the clash between the Chinese gangster and the arms dealer.
"What conspiracy? I just casually mentioned to an acquaintance of mine where she might find Chang, since, surprise, she is also an old friend of his and wants to pay him a little visit."
Rock rolled his eyes. "It's amazing the way you twist things around."
"It's no big deal either, you know? Even if I hadn't said anything to that brat, she would have found Chang sooner or later." -Balalaika looked at him seriously. "But leaving aside my conspiracy..."
"Ah, so you finally admit it."
She ignored the interruption. "This is not a moral question, about what is 'right,' but one of opportunity. If you were in my place, would you pass up such a good opportunity to get rid of an enemy standing in your way?"
Although, in fact, he had already been through that situation not just once, but twice. During the crisis with the helicopter of those mercenaries hired by his former boss to retrieve that disk... and the incident with the Italians that happened at Rowan's club.
The first time, Rock had shown no hesitation in killing to ensure his survival, on the other hand, the second time it was only to accomplish his objectives. These two aspects of a personality were something Balalaika liked and saw useful in a person.
So she didn't press for an answer, she simply waited for him to come to his own conclusion.
"No..." -Rock finally said, looking down at the ground, his expression hard to decipher. "Had I been in your place, I would have jumped at the chance, too."
"Excellent, keep up that way of thinking and you're going to go far in this shitty world, Japonski.". -Balalaika got up from the bench, dusting off her clothes. "Anyway, whatever happens between Chang and Koko Hematyar has nothing to do with us. Let those idiots kill each other."
Although Koko had traveled to Roanapur several times in the past, this was the first time she had ventured beyond the waterfront, where she and Balalaika usually did their trading, and into that town of ill repute.
But she and her squad of bodyguards were not there for sightseeing, they were there on personal business.
Given the nature of Koko's activities, she relied on her reputation to import and export weapons to the corners of the world. Being humiliated by a group of mercenaries damaged that reputation, and indirectly also that of the HCLI company, so Koko somehow had to repair that damage.
And the quickest and most effective way to do this was to kill those responsible for what happened in Taiwan, clearly conveying that the Hekmatyar are not to be messed with.
Of course, Koko herself was the main culprit having become so infatuated with screwing the man's life even more that he tried to pay her with drugs instead of money. But fortunately, Floyd Hekmatyar had no intention of killing his daughter ...probably.
The magnate only punished Koko by temporarily removing her from the company and its daily operations and limiting her resources until the matter was resolved.
For this reason, she and her squad were on their way to the Hotel Moscow, at least to one of its many locations around the world, to find and kill Mr. Chang, one of those responsible for the disaster that occurred in Taiwan. As for the other people in charge, the mercenaries of the Lagoon company, they were not in town at the moment.
But that didn't matter, Koko now had free time in her schedule, so she could wait patiently for them.
"Did I mention that this sounds like a bad idea to me?" -Commented Lehm.
Of all her bodyguards, only he was a little uncomfortable with this particular mission. But she could understand perfectly well, after all, Chang was not only one of Roanapur's criminal bosses, he was also the head of a Triad. He would surely have a good amount of bodyguards/henchmen protecting him.
"That's right, about three times during the trip.". -Responded Koko.
"Gee, I wonder why."
"Is there a problem?"
"Aside from the possibility of it all going wrong and getting us all killed?" -Lehm snorted. "Nope, no problem at all."
Her other two bodyguards, Valmet and Lutz, let out a small chuckle. Ugo, the squad's designated driver, just stood silently with his eyes on the road, but smiling sideways.
Lehm's acid sarcasm was just his usual bravado that went hand in hand with a mission, exaggerated by the thrill of the hunt. This was behavior that almost all of her bodyguards exhibited, and Koko was used to it. But, still, she couldn't help but take the bait.
"Listen, Lehm, I don't think a single mobster is going to cause us any trouble, so stop worrying."
"I can't, you pay me to worry."
"I pay you to kill people."
"Well, yeah, most of the time.". -said Lehm, shrugging his shoulders. "But I remember a lady saying those same words before, 'we're not going to have any trouble,' and she ended up with her precious ship at the bottom of the ocean.".
Again, his companions laughed. Koko clicked her tongue. "If you want to get out, then that's okay, you can stay with Ugo while we take care of Chang."
"Bah, it's not that I want to back out, Koko, I'm simply saying that I don't like it here." -Lehm smiled. "And I'd rather stay so that everything goes according to plan."
"Everyone knows that plans work out well only in movies and TV series.". -Valmet pointed out. "Besides, what you just said is a death flag. If anything goes wrong, it will be your fault."
Lutz, who until then was looking out the car window at the city streets, looked at her. "You're not helping."
"I didn't mean to, I was just making a point."
"Well then don't!" -Lutz replied.
Koko was silent for a moment, barely listening as her bodyguards argued over who was to blame for what, and then nodded, satisfied with Lehm's statement. She trusted her oldest bodyguard very much, and it gave her security to know that he would stand by her. "Thank you, I knew I could count on you."
"That's what you pay me for, too. And if anything goes wrong, which will in no way be my fault..." -Lehm playfully nudged Valmet, who hit him back, only harder. "I'll get your ass out of here no matter how much you cry, scream and kick."
Koko pouted. "...I wouldn't cry."
At that moment, Ugo smiled and decided to break her silence, "So you're just going to scream and kick? Okay."
Koko proceeded to punch one of his arms, as the others taunted her.
Once they arrived at their destination, Koko, Lehm, Valmet and Lutz got out of the vehicle and headed inside the Hotel Moscow.
Fortunately for them, there was no need for a massacre to reach their target, as the Russian gangster took the great trouble to order her men still at her base in Roanapur to give Koko and her squad free access.
The building was totally silent, and there was not a single soul in sight. No Russians, no Chinese. But as a precautionary measure, the group took the stairs to reach the upper level of the building, as Koko was not willing to lock herself in the enclosed space of an elevator for half a minute or more.
Although the office doors were locked, they were able to make out their target inside through the keyhole.
Chang was sitting behind a desk, with his feet resting on the desk and his hands behind his head. Koko did not know whether he was asleep or not, because he was wearing those dark glasses.
"Open that door." -Koko ordered, in a low voice.
Lehm and Lutz stood on either side of the door, while Valmet knelt between the two, placing a thin blade of his knife in the crack between the two halves of the door, beginning to work on the opening.
The normal thing would have been to blow the door open, kick it open, or break the lock with a gunshot...and then kick the door open, one of Koko's squad's favorite methods, but she had opted for the most dramatic entrance possible.
Because Koko wanted to see the stupid look on that Chinese guy's face when he saw a group armed to the teeth suddenly bursting into the office.
"I need an explosive solution.". -Commented Valmet, also in a low voice. "I don't like the quiet opening of things."
"Wiley said the same thing, and that's why I didn't let him come with us. I don't think Bals likes us making a lot of fuss in her house."
Lehm looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "She gave you permission to go in and kill a mob boss in her base, I think that qualifies as a lot of fuss."
"Yeah, but the idea is just to shoot a little, not blow up the fucking base along with the whole district." -Koko got a shiver as she imagined that scenario. "You know how Wiley gets with explosives; 'P' for plenty."
"What would be the problem with that? Roanapur is a dump, a torn up street won't make it worse.". -insisted Valmet. "In fact, I think it will improve the image of the city in general, you know, as a tourist spot."
"We don't want public admiring our work.". -Said Lutz this time.
Valmet snorted. "I think we've drawn enough attention to ourselves along the way."
That was true. During the small exploration in search of the Lagoon Company mercenaries, the group attracted all kinds of stares, from pedestrians to drug addicts and thieves wandering the streets and alleys.
A pickpocket attempted to mug them, only for Valmet to quickly cut him down, breaking his hand in the process. As they passed a series of dumpsters, the group saw some people lying there. Unconscious or dead, they didn't know.
True to its reputation, Roanapur was not a quiet city.
"Whatever, just shut up and just open that fucking door." -Lutz replied.
Almost as if waiting for that command, Valmet's knife finally slipped into the slot, sliding silently along the bar. Now the doors were open. Valmet stood up raising her hand to count down silently: four, three, two...
Lehm motioned to her boss, signaling her to stick to the wall for cover, just in case. 'But weren't we going in quietly and dramatically?' -she thought, before her brain finally understood what was about to happen.
Judging by the way his other two bodyguards opened their eyes wide, they had noticed it too.
One...
"Wait-!"
But none of the three could stop Valmet in time, and she proceeded to open the office doors... with a kick, throwing a few small pieces of wood from the force of the violent impact.
"Oh, hell." -She said, paralyzed in the stance she had taken to deliver the kick, keeping one of her feet in the air. "I shouldn't have done that, right?"
Koko looked at her, blankly "No."
"Oops."
Although the effect was not the desired one, Koko had to admit that the kick was a dramatic entrance in its own way. Unfortunately, Mr. Chang had not even been startled by the rumbling, he simply looked at the three intruders with a scowl on his face.
After a few moments of tense silence, Chang was the first to speak, pointing his finger at them. "I don't intend to pay for the repair of that door."
The woman in the eye patch had shattered the office doors, which were not exactly thin, with a single kick. She was also carrying a light machine gun. Like the woman, the two men accompanying her also carried light machine guns and appeared to be in good physical condition.
'Neither of them appear to be mere hired thugs.'
After giving a glance at what were apparently some bodyguards, Chang stared at the girl to the left of them and peeked her head out. She was barely around thirteen or fourteen years old and was staring back at him fearlessly, in fact, defiantly.
Chang stopped paying attention to him and tried to get up, only to be pointed at by the three bodyguards. "No, don't bother.". -Said one of them, the tallest and oldest. "You just stay right there."
"But what kind of a host would I be if I remain seated and my guests stand?"
"A live one." -The man replied, then grinned, baring his teeth. "Not by much, though."
Chang again relaxed in his seat. "Business sure is picking up." -He said. "Now a teenage girl commands a group of thugs. What's next, psycho kids who are experts at causing disasters...?" -Chang blinked. "Oh, wait, there are."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"If you're lucky, you'll never find out.". -Chang replied.
The girl finally entered her office, positioning herself right in front of her bodyguards, and cleared her throat. "I am Koko Hek-".
"Spare me your monologue/soliloquy, brat, I know who you are and what you're here for, so there's no need for introductions.". -interrupted Chang, with a curt wave of his hand. "Honestly, you guys sure took long enough to get in. Why the hell are you arguing in front of the office of someone you're supposed to be trying to kill?"
She seemed annoyed by the interruption, but her curiosity got the better of her and she ended up raising an eyebrow. "You're saying you heard all that?"
"I heard and saw the whole thing." -Chang pointed to one of the office walls.
When the trio of intruders turned to look, they found that there was a long row of screens running the length of the wall like a jury of accusing eyes. The screens were dedicated to surveillance, showing different areas of the building; entrance, lobby, dining room, etc.
Of course, the hallway leading to Balalaika's office also had cameras.
"What the hell...?"
Chang grinned. "I know, Fry Face has a terrible level of paranoia... or a most peculiar hobby."
Thanks to the cameras that were installed all over the place, he had witnessed how the few Balalaika men still left in the base began to withdraw little by little, leaving the building abandoned. This piqued Chang's curiosity, wondering what the hell had happened.
Moments later, the mischievous young arms dealer had appeared in the building.
And that meant that either Balalaika's soldiers had chosen not to confront her, Balalaika herself had given them the order to let the brat and her bodyguard pass... or that all those Russian soldiers had gone out to lunch at the same time.
The second and third options seemed equally likely, but Chang could hear one of the brat's bodyguards confirming the second option.
Even though he was doing her a favor, Balalaika did not hesitate to use that brat to try to kill him. She was a treacherous bastard bitch, but Chang couldn't blame her, because he would have done the same.
Still, he would get his revenge in some way.
He had also been a bit excited about the group's arrival, because he wanted to check if the button Balalaika had on her desk actually stopped the elevator, but was disappointed to see that they chose the stairs. But no matter, sooner or later, he would get someone so he could play that practical joke.
In any case, Chang did not regret his decision not to bring a few of his bodyguards to the Hotel Moscow. They would only get in his way, as he was more than enough to defend himself.
And Chang didn't want a fight in the first place.
"So." -He said finally, breaking the silence. The Hekmatyar girl and her bodyguards turned to look at him again. "Why don't we forget about this, Miss Hekmatyar?"
"Huh?"
"Don't answer me 'huh', you want to kill me, right? Well, I'm sorry, but I don't feel like dying on a whim of yours. But, on the other hand, I don't think Floyd Hekmatyar would be amused if I killed his unruly little daughter, so I have no desire to murder you, child. So why don't we just forget the whole thing and pretend this didn't happen?"
Koko froze in place; she was totally blank. Probably nothing was happening as she had imagined, let alone would it have occurred to her that he would come to her with an offer to resolve this matter peacefully.
However, she rejected the offer with a snort that was halfway between annoyance and disbelief. "Pretend-it-didn't-happen. Are you serious? After all the trouble you caused me, you think I'm going to accept that?"
"I didn't do anything to you."
She stepped forward. "You sank my fucking ship!"
"No, it was mercenaries who did it."
"Mercenaries you hired!". -She approached again, and one of her bodyguards, the woman in the eye patch, broke formation and went to stop her boss.
He shrugged and braced himself for what was coming next. "Maybe, but I didn't hire them to sink your ship, that was their doing, not mine. In any case, I'll ask you again; did we pretend this didn't happen?".
Koko's response was to snap her fingers and then point at him. The other two bodyguards raised their guns and moved a little closer, opening up to the sides as Koko and the woman in the patch was in the middle of the firing range.
Just what Chang had expected.
He let out a resigned sigh. Immediately afterward, Chang used both legs to push the desk forcefully toward them. The woman in the eye patch reacted with speed, she grabbed her boss and jumped her out of the way. The other two bodyguards also had to move out of the way to avoid being hit by the desk.
Chang took advantage of that momentum and distraction to jump out of his seat, pulling out his two Beretta pistols and beginning to fire while still in the air.
His shots successfully hit one of the bodyguards, the young blond man, knocking him down. The other, the tall old man, immediately returned fire, but Chang had already landed on the floor and began to move quickly through the narrow office space to dodge the bullets.
In a deliberately cool and very reckless act, Chang took a small leap and used that momentum to run along the office walls as he fired, forcing the old bodyguard out of the way. Chang took advantage of the opportunity to walk out of the office doors, bypassing the group.
Without stopping, Chango ran down the long hallway at full speed, ignoring the machine gun bullets whizzing furiously past him, until he reached the elevator at the end of the corridor. After entering the elevator, Chang took shelter against the wall and pulled out of his pocket... a grenade.
He smiled as he saw the disbelieving expression of the bodyguards, who stopped firing briefly in surprise, and then threw the grenade.
The last thing Chang saw before the elevator doors closed was a dazzling explosion of fire and a cloud of black smoke, which collapsed the ceiling and walls of the hallway.
Chang arranged his clothes, noticing how they were stained with blood, the result of a shot that hit him in the right shoulder and another in the left forearm. He hadn't even noticed, the adrenaline of the moment had made him ignore the pain. "But how uncivilized."
The initial attack was a disaster, but it did not result in the worst-case scenario Lehm had imagined. No member of Koko's squad had been killed.
'It could have been worse, much worse' -Thought Lehm, after checking that, fortunately, the tactical vest's armor had been effective and prevented the 9mm bullets from leaving Lutz as a bloody sieve. Blessed are the bulletproof vests. "How you feeling, kid?"
"Like shit." -said the blond. Lehm had sat him down on the floor and with his back lying on the collapsed desk so he could examine him. Lutz was fine, just had four nasty bruises on his chest and abdomen. "Very painful."
"Good. Pain is good, it means you will live."
"Or that I'll die later.". -Lutz replied, smiling.
Well, that was true too, but since it was good that the brat was in the mood to joke around a bit, Lehm didn't want to say anything about that ominous possibility. "Then stop whining and come help us clear the area, or I'll send you after the others."
"How? We're on like a fifth or sixth floor and the only entrance and exit is blocked."
"I see a nice window over there, if I throw you out of it, you could call Ugo screaming as you fall through."
Koko, kneeling next to Lutz and looking at the bullets embedded in the tactical vest, looked at him. "Let him rest a little longer, okay? He just got shot."
Lehm was tempted to retort that the Chinese gangster had shot them all, but as his boss's mood was at rock bottom, much more serious than usual, he decided to keep quiet.
"It's okay." -Lutz said, downplaying it with a wave of his hand. "I'm okay, I can help."
Koko looked at him blankly, then reached out one of her fingers and poked one of his bruises. Lutz let out a not at all manly shriek, a man shouldn't shout in such a high-pitched voice, and winced in pain. "Yeah, and shit about that 'I'm okay' stuff. Now hold still or your guts will fall out."
Koko was worried about Lutz's injuries, as well as feeling guilty, but more than anything, she was pissed off. The way she was clutching the tactical vest tightly showed it. But her boss's anger would soon pass, indeed, she would use it as fuel for her quest for revenge.
So Lehm just quietly walked away to help Valmet, who was busy clearing away the debris to more or less make a space through which to pass. As he started working his way out, her companion stopped and looked at him. "What?"
"I told you." -She said. "Death flag."
"Oh, come on. Who would have guessed that guy would be, I don't know, some kind of Jackie Chan 2.0? Besides, what kind of crazy son of a bitch carries a grenade in his pocket?"
Unbeknownst to the two of them, more than 4,000 kilometers away, a Romanian boy sneezed.
"Cheers, dear brother."
"Thank you."
"You do." -Valmet replied, deadpan.
"Well, yeah, but I'm a highly trained and skilled ex-military man, of course I have a grenade in my pocket.". -Lehm said, effectively pulling a grenade out of his pocket. Then, very carefully, he put it back in his pocket. "But, as far as I know, that man is just a Triad boss, not a military man with a screw loose."
"Whatever. The point is, you opened your mouth, and something bad happened." -Valmet resumed his task of removing the debris. "Next time please don't come with us, or just keep your mouth shut."
Lehm snorted and resumed his task as well. "Oh, come on, after this, I don't think anything worse could happen."
"There goes that death flag again. What part of 'keep-your-mouth-shut' didn't you understand?"
"But-"
"Shut up, man!"
The job was done, and Dutch wanted to rest for a few days after the intense work of recovering that painting at the bottom of the ocean. With the little bonus of having kicked the ass of a ship full of Nazis, killing a good number of them in the process.
After docking the Black Lagoon at the Roanapur dock, he and his two employees went to his office to settle expenses and distribute the money earned. In addition to the painting, Revy had gone to the trouble of getting a few medals and other knick-knacks she found on the corpses of the Nazi submarine, so they were also able to sell them for a good price.
However, when they arrived at the office, Dutch noticed that the door was open, when he had locked it before leaving. He immediately pulled out a gun, a .44 caliber, and motioned for Revy to do the same.
They were well known in town, so normally no one would dare try to rob or kill them, but the possibility was always there.
Dutch kicked open the door, then he and Revy entered with their guns ready to fire. "What's the matter, is it fashionable to kick in or what?"
But they ran into Chang, sitting comfortably behind the office desk. Revy lowered his guns with a grunt. "Fuck, boss, we almost shot you."
"Don't worry, I'm used to it." -He pointed his finger at them. "What happened to you two?"
Dutch also lowered his gun. Chang was probably referring to Revy's black eye, and his own busted lip, the product of a little fight he and she had before going to kill the Nazis, over who was to blame for making those Nazis suddenly appear...
Although both ended up blaming Benny for not paying attention to the radar. Naturally, Revy also hit him and Dutch pretended not to notice.
In any case, Dutch shrugged his shoulders to dismiss the question, so as not to start another fight with his employee, and because he noticed some suspicious red stains on Boss Chang's attire, but it didn't seem to be anything serious. Besides, there was another, more important matter.
"Are you going to tell me why you barged into my office unannounced?"
"That also seems to be all the fashion lately, so I wanted to give it a try.". -Chang smiled, as if he found the whole situation amusing. "You see, it's a long story, but to say that a bunch of unnecessary side characters have come to Roanapur to kill me is a good summary.". -Dutch and Revy exchanged confused glances. Chang sighed. "Remember that brat from the freighter?"
Dutch frowned. "Which brat?"
"The one from Taiwan, who, by the way, you guys blew up her ship."
"Oh, ohh, that little bitch." -Said Revy, apparently remembering her. "She's really here?"
Chang nodded. " Yeah, apparently, Balalaika sent her to kill me. Or at least she told the brat where she could find me."
"Why?"
"Because she's a bitch, bastard, backstabber and psychopath?"
Revy blinked and then shrugged. "Oh, yeah, that pretty much describes Sis..."
Dutch decided to intervene in the conversation, even though the whole thing was setting off his alarms that it was a bad idea to do so. "So, you're saying you want our help to get rid of that brat, whom I don't know, and she seems to be dangerous enough to make you bleed?"
Chang nodded. "It wasn't her, it was her bodyguards, who looked like some military guys, but yeah, that's what I want. Will you help me?"
"Hell no!" -Dutch flatly refused, making an X with his hands in front of his face. "Sorry, Boss Chang, but we just got back from a bit of a messy job and we want to rest."
"But-!"
"We want to rest." -Dutch repeated, more slowly and firmly, as if he were talking to a kid. "Why don't you call Shenhua? I've seen her in action with her knives and she's a scary killing machine."
Chang clicked his tongue. "Oh, I did, but she's working in Hong Kong right now and it will take her several days to get to Roanapur. I can't wait patiently for her arrival with a brat and a bunch of military men eager to kill me."
"Oh, so we're your second choice?" -Revy shook his head disapprovingly. "That's just wrong, boss."
"In fact, you guys are my eighth choice on my list" -Chang sighed, exasperated. "What good does it do me to have a bunch of elite assassins if none of them are available when I need them? I'm seriously thinking of firing a few of them."
"Whatever, I'm sorry, but there's no way the Lagoon Company is going to get involved in this.". -declared Dutch.
Only for Revy to step forward, pushing him out of the way with a sharp shove. "Speak for yourself bitch, I'm all in on that shit."
Dutch looked at her, frowning. But didn't she realize that fighting an unknown enemy, with a high danger level, and unknown forces was something completely stupid and reckless? Granted, he knew Revy didn't know the word 'reckless', but, still, she had to realize that it was stupid.
"Are you serious?"
Revy smirked and cracked her knuckles "Hell yeah. There's no way I'm going to be stuck with nothing to do, when I have a chance to take on interesting enemies. This is going to be a good shit storm."
Dutch shook his head, but he knew there would be no way to convince her otherwise, so he didn't bother trying. "Okay, then do what you want, but I don't plan on risking my ass unnecessarily and I doubt Benny-boy wants to participate. You're on your own on this one, Rev'."
"I know, I wouldn't expect anything else from you, Dutch. And as for Benny, he's useless, I don't need him."
Chang clapped his hands a couple of times with glee. "Wonderful, I knew I could count on your help, Two Hands!"
She looked at him, expressionless. "It won't be free. If you want me to kill someone, you'll have to pay me."
"Goddammit, I knew you'd say that, too!" -Chang replied, with a forced smile. "But never mind, get rid of that brat who plays at being a gangster and I'll pay you well. Ah, but I recommend you be careful, her bodyguards look good. Although I think I killed one of them, I have no idea if there are more."
"Bah, whatever, I can take care of anyone.". -Said Revy, then tilted her head as if remembering something. "Umm... but do you mind paying a little extra if I invite someone to the hunt?"
"Someone's trying to kill me, Two Hands, I'm not about to die for being a fucking cheapskate.". -Chang replied.
"Alright, I know a bitch who'll want in."