Tales from Roanapur
Christmas Party
"We're having a Christmas party?" Rock echoed. "You're kidding?"
Dutch looked amused by his reaction. "Well, it's not that crazy," he protested mildly, "we are a company, and companies do hold Christmas parties." He added mildly, "We're going to be holding it at the Yellow Flag."
AGAIN Rock looked at him blankly. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked.
Dutch shrugged eloquently. "Well, where else?" he asked. He grinned, "We could ask Hotel Moscow to host it."
Rock suddenly had the mental image of Balalaika dressed as a sexy Santa with matching Santa hat. He nearly choked.
Dutch nodded knowingly, having probably had similar thoughts. "And it's not like there's a lot of other places... Rowan's is out, I think." he said, referring to the strip club and brothel.
Rock made a face, having visited there on the job. "Yeah, the working girls would be prowling the party all night..." he noted.
"Plus Rowan keeps trying to get Revy to go to work for him. I can't see that ending well," Dutch noted dryly.
"We don't need a Christmas homicide," Rock shuddered.
"So it's pretty much the Flag. We're not doing gifts, simply because I hate shopping," Dutch added cheerfully.
"Ah," Rock nodded.
Rock had, in fact, sent home gifts for his family earlier in the month. While they disapproved of his current life style, he felt some... obligation, he supposed. Ironically he has making more money with the Lagoon Company, so he could certainly afford it.
"I assume Revy, I and Benny are going. Who else is invited?" Rock asked.
"Greenback Jane is coming with Benny," Dutch noted, "Revy wants to bring Eda."
Rock nodded, imagining the trouble they'd likely cause. There would almost certainly be a fight between Revy and Jane. And PROBABLY between Eda and Revy too. Lovely.
"Balalaika will also be stopping in," Dutch added.
"And Boris," Rock noted, the bodyguard almost always along for the ride.
"Might be the new lady, Aya, but yeah," Dutch agreed. "There's a few others who hadn't confirmed, but that looks like it."
"I hope Bao has his insurance paid up..." Rock shook his head.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"... and concluding the briefing, I have been invited to the Lagoon Company Christmas party," Balalaika said. "I intend to go."
"Captain! No! You might die!" several members chorused.
"It's less dangerous than Afghanistan," Balalaika shrugged.
"Not by much," Nikolai noted.
Balakaika snorted with amusement. Admittedly, Lagoon Company Christmas parties were rather infamous, in Roanapur. Two years ago, a fight between Eda and Revy triggered a fire that swept through the bad part of the city.
(Ironically the area was redeveloped and the property owners unofficially thanked the two. Though at least one resident in the burned out area took out a hit on Revy. It didn't end well for the hitman, unsurprisingly.)
Then LAST year Revy 'hijacked' Balalaka's armored limo. With her in it. And then went joyriding through Roanapur, running down tacky Christmas trees and generally wreaking havoc. Balalaika hadn't stopped her because, honestly, she's always WANTED to do something like that and this gave her a good excuse...
"So," Balalaika continued briskly, "I will need a bodyguard."
There was a beat of dead silence as everyone looked uncomfortable. Finally a tall, very muscular man stood.
"Thank you, Boris," Balalaika nodded. She looked towards the back of the room, "Aya-san? I would like you along as well."
Aya Iseshima looked startled a bit, but nodded. "Of course, Ma'am," she said simply.
After the meeting broke up, Balalaika took Nikolai aside for a talk. "How is Aya shaping up?" she asked coolly.
"Pretty well, actually," Nikolai admitted. "She's one of our better enforcers: she uses just enough force and doesn't take any shit."
"And socially?" Balalaika asked.
Nikoai looked at her blankly a moment.
"She is one of our soldiers, now," Balalaika said flatly. "We take care of our own."
Nikolai nodded, looking a little sheepish. "She doesn't socialize much," he admitted, "I take her out to lunch, or dinner after our shifts. Other than that..."
"I suspect she finds socializing difficult, as we're mostly Russians," Balalaika admitted thoughtfully.
"That's why you're bringing her along," Nikolai realized, "you want her to meet Rock."
"Exactly," Balalaika agreed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
'Ho ho ho!" Shenhua laughed, breasts bouncing in her tight red dress.
"Please don't do that," Lotten sighed, the man doing his best NOT to look.
They and Sawyer were at the Lagoon Company Christmas Party, invited by Dutch. Apparently he wanted to bury the hatchet after the Greenback Jane incident, more or less. Which Lotten was okay with... the Lagoon Company was useful to know, being extraction specialists and such.
"Crowded," Sawyer noted, looking around.
There was the Lagoon Co, of course. And Greenback Jane was there with Benny. Eda from the Rip Off Church was hanging out with Revy and teasing Rock. Mr Chang from the triads was up by the bar drinking with Dutch, his slight smile and casual stance hiding deadly abilities. Finally, Miss Balalaika from Hotel Moscow was watching the goings on with some amusement, followed by two bodyguards.
"Welcome," Bao said flatly as they neared the bar, "Merry Christmas."
"Dutch is paying you to say that, isn't he?" Lotten guessed.
"Yes, actually," Bao scowled. "What'll it be?"
The three ordered, then Dutch came over. "Merry Christmas, all," he smiled.
"Thanks for inviting us," Rotten smiled back.
"Thanks!" Shenhua agreed.
"Hmm," Sawyer nodded.
Rotten took a small drink then wondered aloud, "Think there'll be trouble?"
Dutch snickered softly. "There's us, you and Hotel Moscow in one room. Of course SOMETHING will happen," he laughed.
"Ha." Sawyer smiled.
Dutch moved off, but almost as soon as he did Chang joined them. "Any luck finding those punks that attacked the Flag?" Chang asked quietly.
"They've been laying low," Lotten admitted.
Yes, they were 'laying low.' The Author had not simply forgotten them for two whole chapters while distracted with other characters. They were clearly hiding out and planning their next evil move. We now return you to the story...
"Why not let the Triads handle it?" Lotten had to ask.
"Things are always fairly precariously balanced in Roanapur," Chang shrugged. "I could mobilize my forces, but that in turn would weaken the area I'm in charge of for the Triads, and someone might jump me."
"Like the Columbians," Lotten nodded.
"Or Hotel Moscow," Chang agreed.
"I thought you and Balalaika got along?" Lotten asked, surprised.
"Business," Chang shrugged, "it would be nothing personal..."
Speaking of Balalaika, she was advancing on Rock purposefully. At the same time poor Rock rather had a deer in the headlights kind of look...
"Rock, good to see you," Balakaika said with a smile.
"Nice to see you too. It's been awhile," Rock bowed a bit.
"I think I need to refresh my drink. Boris, with me. Aya, please keep Rock company," Balalaika ordered, then stalked off again.
"What." Rock started, suddenly along with the barely twenty year old.
The pretty brown haired young woman looked equally dumbfounded. "This had better not be match making," Aya Iseshima noted wryly, "you're a bit old for me."
"I'm not THAT ol;d," Rock protested.
Aya smiled faintly, indicating it had been a joke.
Rock sipped his punch, noting it had been STRONGLY spiked. Probably by Revy, knowing her. "Look out for the punch," he warned mildly.
Aya sipped her own and winced. "Vodka," she nodded. She looked at Rock with an amused expression, "Did she just stick the two Japanese at the party together, assuming our common nationality would mean we have something common?"
"Looks like it," Rock agreed.
"Westerners," Aya shook her head.
To be continued...
Notes: YES I totally forgot about the gang bangers subplot in the first two chapters. Will take it up again in next bit.
Changed title to 'Tales of Roanapur' as it better fits what I'm currently doing.
Part Six
Black Lagoon: Just another Saturday Night...
It wasn't as cold as other parts of the world, but January in Roanapur wasn't hugely comfortable. Not snowy, thankfully, but it rained nearly all the time.
"FUCK!" Revy cured as bullets whizzed by, ducking behind a battered car.
"You'll pay for killing our comrades!" a voice yelled from up ahead.
APPARENTLY this was some kind of attempted payback for her shooting some bastards at the Yellow Flag a few weeks back. You could tell these guys were new to Roanapur: your 'regular' out here learned to take your buddies being popped in stride. Revenge was a sucker's game.
Revy would normally have had no trouble with these assholes, but two of them had sub-machine guns. Someone had actually trained them, and the two gunners were maintaining good suppression fire. Basically, she was being kept pinned by constant fire.
"Shit!" Revy yelped as a window exploded above her, showering her with glass.
Clearly the car wasn't going to be good cover for long. She was going to have to make a break for it, try to shoot the gunners, and hope she didn't get shot herself. She braced herself to move, then blinked as she heard a different gun going off.
And a chainsaw!
Peeking up Revy saw the attackers were under attack.
Lotten was firing his pistol, as Shen Hua and Sawyer were ripping into the men with knives and a chainsaw. Revy popped up and opened fire on them too, and together they killed several of them, before the rest fled.
"Fuck," Shen Hua pouted, "wanted to kill them ALL."
Revy ignored that as she strode towards Lotten. "Did you use me as BAIT, you bastard?" she demanded.
"Yes," Lotten shrugged. "Mr Chang wanted us to nail them, and we knew they were after you. So..." he shrugged again.
"Fuckers," Revy swore, unsure if she met the attackers or Lotten's crew.
"You have several wounds," Sawyer noted.
"Flying glass," Revy scowled, noting that YES she was bleeding from various spots. "Fuck," she cursed again, "I'm gonna go get cleaned up. Good luck chasing those shit heads down."
"What happened to you?" Rock blinked as a blood splattered Revy came home.
"The usual. Help me pick out the pieces of glass...," Revy sighed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Balalaika nodded to Mr Chang, the two of them meeting privately out on the docks.
They were friends, of a sort. Both would kill the other if circumstances demanded ir, and without hesitation. But despite that, they got along well. There was mutual respect, as well as an awareness of how hard each other's job was.
"Did you get the information for me?" Chang asked, "Babe."
"Don't call me babe," Balalaika noted.
Chang snickered softly. It was a rare turnabout that he was getting Balalaika's help on something, and he meant to enjoy it.
"You were right, as far as it goes," Balalaika passed the file over, "the Germans are moving in on Roanapur."
Chang sighed as he read through the papers. After the Vampire Twins incident, the Italian Mob in Roanapur was decapitated. Literally, in Verrocchio's case. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. But that left a power vacuum, and SOMEBODY was going to rush to fill it.
But why the GERMANS?
"It seems they want to use Roanapur as a conduit. Drugs, guns, the usual," Balalaika seemed to read his mind, as usual. "Hopefully we can all get along," she added wryly.
Chang snorted. Both of them knew the new guys would probably start a gang war at some point, just to prove they could.
"Do we know who's in charge?" Chang asked.
"Not yet. There's apparently some debate on who'll be going," Balalaika noted. She nodded to the file, "They are sending some of their best troops."
"Former West German security... core group of thirty veterans... long list of awards," Chang muttered, shaking his head. "This is going to get messy."
"The head of their forces and I should get along well," Balalaika added.
Chang frowned as he flipped through the sheets. "Tanya Degurechaff?!" he muttered.
"The infamous Tarnished Silver herself," Balalaika agreed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Ahhhh," Aya Iseshima sighed happily as she slurped down the last of her bowl of ramen.
There had been many things Aya missed after coming to Thailand, but one of the bigger things had been Japanese food. Luckily after meeting Rock, she had found out about this little resturant and became a regular. The owners had apparently run to Roanapur from some criminal activity, and opened up this place to get by...
"Thank you!" the old woman waved as Aya paid.
"See you again," Aya waved as she went out to the street.
Her week's work was done, which had mostly been quiet. After the first few times she had busted places and people up for Hotel Moscow, her reputation had spread. Now she just kind of had to 'loom' behind Nikolai, and people paid up.
'I guess I should be happy my work is going well?' Aya thought wryly.
She made her way through the crowded streets, another light rain falling over the town. As she walked she kept a wary eye out. After what happened to her previously, she didn't trust people as much as she had.
The apartment building was not far from Hotel Moscow's headquarters, and was owned by them via several shell companies. Several 'enforcers' lived there, which was why she blinked at the utter stupidity of several gangsters lurking nearby.
"You!" the big man growled, pointing.
"Didn't I beat you up at that gambling den...?"Aya remembered.
Several looked indignant she didn't immediately recognize them. "You'll pay for what you did!" their leader cried.
As the five men moved to circle her Aya warned, "This is really not a good idea."
Several drew knives, and at that point Aya gave up on reasoning with them. The first one close enough, she grabbed by the arm and yanked towards her. Surprised, he went with the motion and she head butted him, hard.
The man staggered back, getting tangled up with the others. Aya lunged forward, slapping knives out of their hands. She kicked the farthest away in the balls, making him gasp in agony and crumple up on the ground.
As the others visibly cringed she punched another in the face, then grabbed his arm and twisted. She didn't manage a break, but it was clearly strained badly. The other three looked startled, clearly having expected superior numbers to let them win.
Without warning Aya swept in, attacking the middle man. He was bigger and, theoretically, stronger but he didn't really know how to fight. She dodged a clumsy blow and hammered her fist into his gut, then uppercut him smoothly. He staggered a bit, then dropped.
Before the other two could do anything else, a gun went off. Nikolai emerged from the crowd, "This ends now." The survivors grabbed they injured buddies and took off as he walked up to Aya.
"I didn't really need the help," Aya noted, though she was pleased. Nice to know she had some backup, even if they were mobsters.
"Eh. They were getting in the way," Nikolai just shrugged it off.
"What was THAT about?" Aya asked, checking herself over for wounds. Thankfully, no one had managed to cut her.
"Balalaika sent a new guy to oversee the gambling den they ran for her," Nikolai noted. "Turns out even before they tried to go indy, they were skimming and pocketing cash. So they were fired," he shrugged again.
"Kind of surprised they're not dead," Aya said flatly.
As Nikolai intended to pass this on to Boris, he expected that to be fixed fairly quickly...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Viktoriya Serebryakov looked around dubiously. The airport had barely qualified as a dirt runway, and the transport their associates had arranged had been very, very poor.
"Easy, Visha," the slim blond woman used the affectionate nickname as she continued, "we expected rough conditions, remember?"
Viktoriya smiled at the younger woman, nodding. "You're right, of course, Captain," she agreed as they climbed out of the car.
Tanya Degurechaff looked around, her uniform cap shading her eyes. She still had her uniform coat too, though under it she wore trousers and a crisp white shirt. She was slim enough that she could be mistaken for a man, though her face was attractive enough. Her light blue eyes, though, were dangerously cold.
The rest of the unit would be arriving in the next few days, but for now they were here on their own. Viktoriya, of course, was there to guard Tanya, though both were aware the smaller woman could take care of herself.
They looked over the three storey office that the 'Organization' had bought out. "Defending this is going to be a pain," Tanya finally observed. "We'll need a rooftop gunner, and street security. But if they try a car bombing or such, we're fucked..."
"Agreed," Viktoriya nodded. "And it's not even a stand alone building..."
"Well, I'm sure they did the best they could," Tanya said dryly.
Part of the issue, of course, had been finding a base in the section of Roanapur that the area the Italians had formerly controlled. It was a way for them to declare 'This is ours, now.' Of course, that meant they would have these security headaches too.
"Shall we go in?" Viktoriya asked, looking around them warily at the crowded street.
"Right," Tanya nodded, "we need to talk to Rerugen, start figuring out what we'll need to DO..."
To be continued...
Notes: YES I am fusing the Saga of Tanya the Evil with Black Lagoon. Should be interesting. I will not be doing Tanya as 'canon' but she will be a similar character in the Lagoon universe, basically.
Saga of Tanya the Evil cast
Tanya Degurechaff: former German military, expelled for unknown reasons. Very intense, capable woman. Tried to 'retire' to a desk job after her army service, but discovered she was addicted to the excitement of combat.
Viktoriya Serebryakov: Russian born, but raised in Germany. Served with Tanya, but escaped being discharged. Was contacted by the 'Organization' after she left military, was happy to be reunited with Tanya. Has crush on Tanya, but other woman in unaware.
Erich von Rerugen: Representative of the 'Organization' in Roanapur. Very cool, efficient businessman. Respects Tanya, but honestly thinks she's a ruthless battle maniac.
Part Seven
The battered former military jeep bounced a bit as it went down the road, Viktoriya Serebryakov at the wheel. The brown haired woman drove capably, while also keeping an eye on their surroundings like a good ex-military type.
The jeep's shabby looks were deceptive, of course. It was military surplus, but it had been covertly armored, as well as all the glass replaced with bullet resistant materials. It wasn't completely secure, obviously, but they were safe from most handguns and light weapons.
"So there's the triads and Hotel Moscow as the major players," Weiss mused, "with the Columbians and other small fry fighting below them. And us, of course."
"I expect we'll be up on the level of the Triads and Russians soon enough," Visha observed mildly. "But that's not our responsibility, just security. You read the briefing?"
"Yes, but I'm not sure I believe it," Weiss admitted. "Killer MAIDS took out the Columbians?" he asked wryly.
"Apparently there's photographic evidence," Visha noted with a smile. Seriously she continued, "But basically, if you encounter a woman in a maid outfit in this town, call for back-up and do NOT try to engage."
"This is a strange, strange town. Is it true the Church is a weapon smuggling front?" Weiss asked her curiously.
"We may even end up going to them for weapons too," Visha noted. At his disbelieving look she continued, "They appear to be neutral, in local conflicts. Plus we, of course, will inspect anything we do buy from them."
Weiss shook his head ruefully, "STRANGE town..."
"Ours is not to reason why...," Visha used the old quote wryly.
They looped their way through their new territory back to the former three story office building that was their new headquarters. Grantz saluted as they got out, "Welcome back."
"Anything to report?" Weiss asked.
"Probing attack on the west side. We think sent by the Mexicans, we repelled them with no losses," Grantz said briskly.
"Any changes in orders from the Captain?" Weiss checked.
"Maintain patrols and have the rapid response team ready," Grantz said.
"Hmm," Visha nodded. She knew Tanya very well, and she wasn't one to be passive so... what was she planning?
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Germans?" Revy blinked then scowled, "Better not be those damned Nazi's again."
The Lagoon Company had a run in with a group of Neo-Nazis on a salvage expedition a few months back. It had ended up getting messy as hell, but it ended VERY badly for the Nazis.
"No, just regular soldiers and business types," Eda said, the sexy blond hanging with her friends at the Flag.
"We should ask Benny and Jane to look into them," Rock noted thoughtfully.
"They can't be any worse than those Italian bastards," Revy mused.
"Well, we'll see," Eda answered.
As a secret US agent, Eda had seen a partial file on the newcomers, and it was worrying. General Degurechaff and the 302nd had been an elite recon and security unit in the German military, with a huge list of awards and successful operations. Annoyingly the files she got didn't explain why she and her immediate superior had been discharged like that...
Rock gave Eda a look, "You know something?"
Eda shrugged casually. 'Damn that Rock could be perceptive at times!' she thought. Aloud she said, "Just that the rumors are these guys are good. Like, Hotel Moscow levels of good."
"So what happens if they decide to fight it out?" Revy asked.
"We're all fucked," Eda summarized it simply. She looked thoughtful as she added, "And I don't know if Roanapur would survive it."
"You're joking," Rock said.
Eda just shrugged.
"Shit," Revy sighed."Bao! More rum!" she called to the bartender.
"Another beer," Eda added.
"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirts on...," Bao grumbled as he delivered the bottles.
"Don't get too drunk," Rock reminded Revy, "I think Dutch wanted us to be ready to go, if needed."
"Yeah, yeah," Revy said as he headed off.
"So... are you two banging yet?" Eda teased.
"EDA," Revy growled.
"You're two grown adults," Eda added cheerfully, "if you want to ride him like a cowgirl, go right ahead." She continued, "Plus, you better watch out for that Aya chick too. She might grab him up if you don't."
"She's too young," Revy blinked.
"Clearly you've forgotten what being a teen is like...," Eda noted.
Revy just growled back.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Tanya's first impression was that Mr Chang looked JUST like a character from a Hong Kong action film. Tall, sunglasses, dressed in a VERY nice suit and, she could tell, armed with twin guns in armpit holsters.
"Ms. Degurechaff," Chang nodded, "it's good to meet you at last."
"Thank you," Tanya came around her desk in the small office, smiling back. "I understand you're here representing the local Chamber of Commerce?"
"Basically," Chang agreed.
Functionally, Roanapur was run by a group of representatives of the major crime families. Yes, there was a Mayor, Fire Marshal and Police Chief, but everyone knew that if Balalaika or one of the others ordered "Jump" they'd answer "How high, sir?" So having him visit them was important, but had to be handled carefully.
"So," Tanya poured them coffee that Visha had brewed up for her earlier, "why did those goons try to attack our perimeter?"
Chang ignored the question, sipping the coffee, then reacting in surprise. "That is really good coffee," he remarked.
Tanya sipped her own as she noted, "My subordinate is a wizard with coffee." She met his glance and said, "Well?"
Chang smiled faintly, "It wasn't done with our authorization. The Mexican cartel thought they would be taking over this part of town, and didn't plan on you establishing yourselves this fast."
Tanya nodded in return. "And we can expect others to hit us?" she asked.
"Neither I nor Hotel Moscow will," Chang said frankly, "but it would not surprise me to see others test your capabilities."
"I see," Tanya seemed to take that well, "I assure you, we will respond with reasonable force to any such provocations."
"Thank you," Chang smiled, and it was only later that he wondered what the German's defined as 'reasonable force.'
Weiss entered the office as he sighed, "That was nerve wracking. Did you have to let him come in here armed?"
"Yes," Tanya said, "it's about mutual respect. We had to at least pretend that we trusted him not to shoot me."
"Despite having a sniper ready to shoot through a window in case he did try something," Weiss noted wryly.
"Well, yes..," Tanya conceded.
"I was so worried!" Visha rushed in, enfolding Tanya in a hug.
"ACK!" Tanya yelped as she was pulled tight to Visha's generous bosom.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The truck barreled around a corner, then the driver bailed out as it rolled on. The gas pedal had been secured to the floor, so it built speed as it raced to it's target. The vehicle smashed through the store front, then exploded in a massive fireball.
A letter was delivered to the headquarters of the Mexicans a hour later.
Do not attempt actions against the German operations in the city. This is your only warning.
Signed, Tanya Degurechaff
"Well, fuck," Jack Calhoun, the second in command muttered.
"Are we going to let them get away with is?!" Grant demanded.
"All we have is street toughs. They have a army," Jack said.
"But..." Grant started.
"They got this attack organized in just hours. Want to bet they have worse planned if we hit them again?" Jack observed.
Grant thought about it, then sighed. "Shit..." he groaned.
To be continued...
Notes: Yes, more Tanya bits for everyone who was going 'why no Tanya is she's listed in the characters?' and all that.
Part Eight
In searching the buildings they acquired, the newly arrived Germans found there had been some 'presents' left behind by the Italian mob. Several members had died gory deaths as their influence in the city collapsed, and their attackers hadn't been interested in cleaning up.
And there was the torture room they found that morning...
"Oh gods..." Grantz went green.
"Don't puke," Weiss ordered as the stench of rot rolled over them.
"Urk," even Visha was having issues as the smell nearly overwhelmed them.
Tanya made a face. "We'll need to bring in a pro," she admitted. She was certain if she asked the troops to clean this, they'd revolt. And honestly, she couldn't blame them... this was vile.
"A pro?" Visha asked.
"When Mr Chang visited, he suggested a local expert for just such a thing," Tanya noted thoughtfully. She scowled, "I wonder if he knew about this..."
However, Sawyer the Cleaner was not whom Tanya had envisioned. A pretty, black haired mute young woman... who was dressed in gothic lolita fashion? Who used a pen sized artificial voice box?
"Huh," Weiss muttered.
Still, the woman calmly looked over the room, including the rotting human remains. "Did you want to still use the room for this," Sawyer gestured to the blood splattered walls, "or do you want it completely cleaned?"
Tanya was a bit annoyed she'd assume they'd torture people. On the other hand, this was that kind of town...
"Completely cleaned," Tanya said to her firmly. "We also have other sites that will need work," she added.
Sawyer nodded, "One day for this. Will need to assess other spots."
"Okay," Tanya nodded.
Sawyer went off and changed into a white hazmat suit, then strode in and started calmly picking up corpse bits. "Grantz, stay and supervise," Visha ordered, then they left.
"Yes ma'am," Grantz agreed, though he didn't look happy about it.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"You don't get to run a tab until you've been here a few weeks," Bao, the chief bartender and owner of the Yellow Flag said, "and cash only."
"Why no tab or credit?" Weiss had to ask, leading a small group of German officers in. "Afraid we'll run off?" he joked.
"No, you'll just end up dead and not pay me," Bao noted calmly.
"Oh," a young man in the group paled slightly.
A attractive woman in the group just looked amused, striding up to the bar. "Beer, and not that local crap. Good German beer," she ordered.
"Erya..." Weiss sighed.
Bao produced a chilled bottle, to their surprise.
"Huh," Erya paid, smiling.
Bao shrugged as he explained, "I heard that you folks were coming to town. Figured I should stock something."
"Thank you, kind barkeep," Erya smiled, bowing slightly.
"Yeah, yeah," a slightly blushing Bao growled as the others all ordered up and paid.
The new arrivals staked out a table and settled in to drink. "We're still getting the lay of the land here," Weiss cautioned the other five, "don't do anything too stupid."
"Yes sir," the four men said pretty much together.
"Speaking of getting the lay of the land," Erya added, "keep your eyes open and report back to me if anything does come up. Captain Serebryakov is counting on us."
Over at another part of the bar, Eda muttered softly, "Well, fuck."
Erya Roth was a former Intelligence Operative for Germany, and Eda knew about her due to her own links to the CIA. She made a mental note to relay this to her bosses... and bawl out her handler for not telling her that Roth was coming.
Thank god they had never actually worked together on an op. But it was at least broadly possible that Erya knew who she was via the usual intelligence grapevine. She certainly knew and recognized Erya, after all.
"So, why are you giving those Germans the stink eye?" Revy asked as casually she sat on a stool beside Eda.
"I am not," Eda took a swig of her beer.
"Even in civies they LOOK like they want to be in uniform," Revy teased. She drank her rum, "Nice bods tho, generally. I bet you'd like to ride one like a pony."
Eda snorted. "YOU are the one who likes the stiff, uptight ones," she teased, referring to her liking Rock.
"Don't tell me you would chuck the big guy out of bed," Revy nodded towards Weiss.
Eda did give him a thoughtful look, "Well, he DOES look like he'd have stamina."
Amusingly Weiss had actually passed close enough to hear that, and went pink.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
That evening, Tanya and Visha blinked as they took in the now nearly spotless room. "That's incredible," Tanya admitted.
Sawyer, interestingly, looked unhappy with the job. "Thank you," she replied, "but the floorboard stains wouldn't come out. You may need to sand and wax, or possibly tile them over."
Tanya nodded, having dealt with perfectionists before. "Still, remarkable work," she added. "There are three other rooms we'd like to have done," she said as she lead Sawyer away.
"Murder sites, as I understand?" Sawyer asked.
"Correct," Tanya said, as they showed her the other rooms.
Sawyer looked them over, "I expect a few hours each. They're not as bad as the first one."
"Thank you. We'd appreciate them being done ASAP," Tanya added.
"I can be in tomorrow," Sawyer agreed. They paid her, and she headed off.
"Grantz, any issues?" Visha asked once the strange woman had left.
"No ma'am!" Grantz said. "Except for removing... uhm... parts, she stayed and just cleaned. She didn't attempt to spy on our operations."
"Which does make sense, actually," Tanya admitted. "She apparently works for everyone in town, which would stop if there was any hint she was untrustworthy."
"Well done," Visha added to Grantz. "Dismissed."
"All right," Tanya said briskly, "I'm going to walk the perimeter one more time, then we're done for the day."
"You don't need to...," Visha started.
Tanya smiled wryly, "It encourages the troops."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Various factions were scouting the newly established German territory. The Columbians, especially, were planning something in hopes of rebuilding their rep. A group of new arrivals HAD to be an easy target, right?
Aya Iseshima was leaving work. She and Nikolai had finished collecting from businesses that Hotel Moscow controlled, as well as doing a bit of debt collecting. She had had no more trouble from gangs and such... her rep, plus being knows as a Hotel Moscow employee helped.
Feeling restless Aya went past her apartment building. She hadn't been to the section of town the Germans controlled, none of the businesses and such there interested her. She HAD heard there were now more 'troops' around, and was curious to see.
Indeed, their were group of three, spaced out around the area. Probably they were connected by radio, and would gather together to respond to an attack. One of the guards also noticed her, "Hey, miss. Please don't loiter, it's not safe at night."
Aya bit back a laugh. "Of course," she answered mildly, knowing he was probably in more danger than she was.
He gave her an odd look, but let her go.
'These guys are good soldiers,' Aya thought, 'but they don't really know this town yet. Hopefully they don't get burned too hard.'
"Hey, Aya!" Shen-hua waved, having seen her.
"Shen-hua, Lotten," Aya nodded to them politely. "Where is Sawyer?" she asked them curiously.
"We're waiting to pick her up," Lotten admitted.
"Ah," Aya realized, just as they heard a shout.
Lotten and Shen-ua looked curiously, but without thinking Aya hurried to the alley. Instinct. She saw a blond woman being grabbed by several men, and charged forward. She slapped one man away, then the lady kneed another in the crotch.
"Shit!" one man drew a gun, but the blonde, no longer restrained, drew her own pistol and shot him down. The remaining men, deciding the tables had turned, grabbed the wounded man and bolted.
"WHY did I do that?" Aya muttered. She had thought she no longer had noble impulses, after everything that had happened in Japan.
The beautiful blonde smiled as she said, "Well, thank you." She scowled, "I don't think I've ever had someone attempt to kidnap me days after arriving in town."
"You're with the Germans?" Aya guessed, then belatedly introduced herself.
"Yes," she shook her hand, "Erya."
To be continued...
Notes: I'm mostly following the manga Saga of Tanya for Visha's friend Erya Roth. In the Light Novel she's just mentioned as Visha' friend, in the manga she appears later as a spy for the Empire and having adventures.