The Ho Chi Minh Paper Trail (Rewritten)

by BelisariusMagnus

The follow-up to 'Glass Rocks'. Martin Zappala and Fred Viapiano, business associates of Luca Cavalcanti, arrive at the home of Black Lagoon Company with reconciliation and a job. After a body is found, Black Lagoon Company becomes embroiled in a violent political game between the owner of an illegal recycling racket, a media mogul, and the Vietnamese secret police.

8. Shell Game

A splash of water across his face, Rock, wearing nothing but his red and black plaid boxers and white socks, rubs his cheeks and eyes in front of the sink. He lets his right knee run the length of the cabinet under the sink. Spotting a tube of toothpaste, Rock sighs and squeezes a little toothpaste on the tips of the index and middle fingers of his right hand. He then takes a gulf of water, rinses, and spits, before using his two fingers as a crude toothbrush. Revy, wearing only her corduroy shorts, naked from the waist up, stands by the door separating the bathroom from the rest of the complex, her right ear pressed against the door itself.

Spitting once more into the sink and splashing water on his face, Rock turns to a towel rack and pulls off a white towel adorned in purple rose petal designs. He wipes his face and turns to his beige shorts and Jai Yen Yen shirt. Revy leans lower slightly, her eyebrow furrowed. A wry smile suddenly emerges on her face, as she concocts a plan. Turning back to Rock, she slaps his hand away as he reaches for his shirt.

Rock, turns to her, about to speak, when Revy whispers "Shh. Shh." She then fakes a cough and leans into his left ear, her breasts pressing against Rock's left shoulder, whispering "There is at least one asshole listening in on us, on the other side. Now…what could the two of us want with watching each other piss? You know? It's suspicious…unless…" Rock raises an eyebrow of his own, whispering "I don't understand…" Revy answers by grabbing his crotch with her left hand, forcefully but not enough to cause pain. She whispers "We can give them something to listen to, you know?" A pause, and she adds "Unless I'm too much of a soulless fuck for your dick to get hard." A few more rubs with her left hand, and she smirks and playfully adds "Looks like I got my answer."

She unbuttons her shorts with her right hand, and pulls them and her black panties down to her knees, pushing at Rock's chest with her left hand until he is gently shoved onto the closed toilet seat. Rock, wordless, stares at her exposed sex and then back at her face, his façade crumbling, his arms quickly fishing out his hardened prick. She kneels on the floor slowly, grabs his prick with her right hand, and whispers "Now don't ever say I don't do nice things for you."

Sticking her tongue out, she slowly leans into his prick, making Rock suffer from anticipation. The tip of her tongue traces the root of Rock's prick, slowly to the head. She laughs slightly as Rock shudders, his eyes pleading for something more substantial. Cracking her neck slightly, as if to loosen it, Revy then leans forward and takes Rock's prick nearly to the base once, then twice, then pulls back and coughs twice, amusing herself with Rock's panting reactions. She then bobs her head for a few minutes, taking his length half way each time, before saying "I think I just tasted the pre stuff. My turn now."

She motions Rock to climb off the toilet seat and sit down just in front of it. His head resting against the bowl, Rock nods and whispers "Okay, ready." Revy spreads her vagina, her palm covering her black trimmed bush, and squats down on Rock's face. She coos slightly as his tongue quickly finds the underside of her clit, and instructs "Yeah, like that, bottom to top, then side to side, and push it inside too…mmm."

Beyond the door, Ngoc, dressed as she was yesterday, struggles to listen in on the goings in the bathroom. She walks up to Vibol, latter holding a Carl Gustav M/45 submachine gun, wearing a sleeveless white shirt and black track pants, and leaning against a far doorway, and whispers in Vietnamese "I hear something but not sure what." He replies "You think they found the stuff under the sink?" "No idea, either they did or they have a weird fetish. You know how the Japanese and Chinese are. Too late to drill a peephole now." "Why, want to upload it online?" "Hah! One way to get payback! Make some money too. Oh well. I'm gonna go back, see if I can hear something. Stay here."

Revy pats Rock repeatedly on the back of his head while being eaten out, no longer whispering "That's good enough, yeah, I'm ready now." She takes a step back as Rock, sweating, wipes his face with his right hand and climbs back onto the closed toilet seat, pumping his slightly softened prick a few times. Quickly regaining firmness, he exhales as Revy turns around and angles her ass. Squatting down, Revy takes Rock to the base and leans slightly back, her left hand reaching for the sink to their left. "Fuck," Revy audibly utters, as Rock groans and Ngoc leans her head back to incredulously stare and shake her head at Vibol.

Rock grasps Revy's hips as she rides him in a slow and deliberate pace, almost teasing him. Revy groans and whispers "Hey Rock, they might, uh…plug us today, this might be the last fuck…" Rock cuts her off "That kind of talk makes things worse, uh…" Revy leans further back and adjusts her right arm behind the back of Rock's neck, grasping his right shoulder, twisting her torso slightly to her right, providing Rock with a better view of her breasts. She continues riding him, when another idea pops into her head. Smirking, she whispers "Alright, how bout this. You said it's blanks down there." "Ugh, yeah, phew, yeah, I already told you. Too low a count." Revy bites her lower lip and replies "But not zero." Rock stares at her, reacting wordlessly, only moving her hips at a slightly faster pace.

Revy lets out an audible moan, and further increases the pace. Rock groans and says "That's bait." Revy moans and replies "And you're going to nibble anyway." After a few more rides on his prick, she adds "You like your, uh, games, huh, Rocky boy? Well here's a game you, uh…can play. How many times have you pumped…a load in me?" Rock feels Revy clamping down on his prick. He groans and says "Twenty times? I lost count, ugh, a month ago." Revy, ready to reel Rock in, speaks "So…how many till…you knock me up?" Rock loudly groans "Fuck," as he stops himself and lets Revy control the pace of the ride, adding "That's…you have gotten really good at manipulation." Revy accelerates her riding and says "I learn from the best…fuck, you close already?"

No longer whispering, her ass slapping loudly against Rock's thighs, she loudly speaks "Fuck Rock, fuck…I need a load in my cunt so badly. Fuck a kid into me. Knock me up." Ngoc, meanwhile, quickly backs away from the door, waves Vibol off, and walks toward him. A flustered, incredulous look on her face, she whispers to Vibol "Yeah, they're screwing. I got all I need to know." Suddenly they hear loudly from the bathroom "Fuck! Hurry up and cum! Fuck I need to breed so badly!" Ngoc mutters in Vietnamese "Shit, Chinese is a screamer. Whole safehouse going to hear them. Let's get out of here."

Back in the bathroom, Rock, almost hypnotized by her ass rising and slamming back down on his prick, yells "I'm there!" A low groan from Rock as buries his head in her hair, spent. Revy, sweating from her forehead, lets go of Rock's shoulder and focuses on his buried prick. She taps the shaft a few times with her right hand and then says "Stay, I'm almost there." Licking the tips of the fingers of her right hand, she massages her clit aggressively, eyes closed. A few minutes pass, and she herself loudly groans.

Finished cleaning up, Revy laughs and says "They'll back off us now." Rock buttons his pants, his forehead covered in sweat, his vision slightly blurred. He says "You…" Revy fakes innocence, pretends to pout, and replies "Me what?" Putting her top on, she says "I'll head out first, make those assholes squirm a little."

After getting dressed, Rock rubs his forehead and slowly opens the door to the hallway. He reaches the stairs and heads down them, spotting Revy at the bottom. Joining her, he fakes a smile as he nods at Trí Vũ and Vibol, the latter two seated on the sofas, dressed as they were yesterday. Trí Vũ and Vibol each watch a friendly soccer game on TV between the Vietnamese national football team and the Philippine national football team, both sipping from cans of Hanoi Beer. As Revy and Rock pass by, Vibol fails to hide his occasional side glances at the two. As Rock and Revy exit the room, Vibol whispers into Trí Vũ's ear.

Turning left while in front of the living room and the kitchen, Rock and Revy head down a dark corridor and reach a door at the end. Turning a knob, Revy exits onto a backyard, walking on grass, wearing only her socks, Rock following suit. A tree grows in the back of the backyard, the branches encroaching on the neighbor's property. A wooden picket fence closes off the backyard, as the Toyota Corolla stays parked on the left, its rear hidden in the driveway. Walking up to the tree, Revy reaches into her shorts' pockets for a pack of American Spirit cigarettes and her lighter.

Approaching her, Rock whispers "Have you thought about what we are going to do?" Revy does not immediately respond. She lights her cigarette, takes a drag, and exhales. Tapping her right foot against the tree and soaking in the early afternoon sun, Revy whispers "We need to make up a reason for us wanting to look at our guns. Tuyết is not going to give me anything, given recent events. Got to keep making them think they are still in control and that we don't know. Hmm…I could say that I want to check my Cutlasses for cleaning, lie that they had a jam yesterday. Do it under her supervision."

"Are we going to shoot her then?" Rock inquires, whispering. Revy grimaces and whispers "I don't know. They're supposed to drive us to the Lagoon. We fuck up, Marty's gonna kill Dutch and Benny." Rock frowns and whispers "I forgot about that." Revy finally turns to face Rock and whispers "If they want us dead, they'd have taken out Dutch and Benny by now. I...we need to call Dutch, get them to call Marty and put Dutch on the line. See their reactions. We'd know then. Maybe the stuff under the sink was meant for one of Tuyết's thugs if they croaked. Maybe it was there just in case. I mean, they been looking at us funny since we got here." Rock adds "Not like we didn't give them a reason to." "Eh," Revy shrugs.

Rock motions at Revy's cigarette, to which Revy responds by pulling out her pack and fishing out a cigarette. Revy then pulls her cigarette out of her mouth and uses it light Rock's, the latter holding it in his mouth. Rock nods and takes a drag. Exhaling, he says "Thank you. The main telephone in the living room, we can wait until we got the numbers on our side before asking." Revy nods and says "Yeah, Ngoc and Branca are pussies, I can floor them easily. Tuyết is smarter than she looks though. Two of the assholes are busy watching soccer. If we doing this, we should do it now. Oh, and I'll do the talking. You're still shit at speaking in non-specifics."

Tuyết, dressed as she was yesterday, CZ-75 pistol hanging from an ankle holster under the right cuff of her rolled up pants, rests on the couch, arms folded behind her head. She watches Rock and Revy enter and asks "Got it all out of your system?" Rock blushes as Revy smirks in amusement, her smirk turning to annoyance as she suddenly hears Ngoc and Branca laughing in the kitchen. Ignoring them, Revy asks "Hey, get me Marty on the line, I gotta speak with Dutch." Tuyết removes her arms from the back of her head and rests them on her chest, asking "Why? He said he was fine yesterday." Revy quickly lies "I have a plate of massaman curry back on the Lagoon and I don't want anyone eating it." Tuyết groans and replies "Seriously? Massaman curry? Fine, whatever. One second." She climbs off the couch and turns toward the telephone, dialing. After a pause, she speaks "Martin? Ah, Nicky, hello, I have Revy here, get me Dutch. Thank you."

Tuyết hands the receiver over to Revy. Suddenly, she hears Dutch groan on the other end "Yeah? Revy?" Seated in the living room quarters of the Lagoon, wearing a white sleeveless shirt and black track pants, a plate of pancakes in front of him on a coffee table, Dutch drops his fork on the plate. In the nearby kitchen, Benny, dressed in his old, purple, FSU Seminoles t-shirt and grey sweat pants, peers out of the kitchen and listens on. Swallowing his saliva, Revy replies "Yes, it's Revy. How's the leg?" "Fine enough Revy, thanks." "Alright, so the massaman curry in the fridge, don't eat it." Dutch raises an eyebrow, lowers the receiver, and then turns to Benny, asking "Didn't Revy eat that massaman curry a while ago?" Benny yawns and replies "Yeah, why?"

Dutch places his left hand on his face and rubs his forehead. He thinks for a second, and then answers "No, the curry is still in the fridge. You need us to heat it up soon?" Revy exhales in relief and answers "It's gonna go bad soon if no one eats it." "I…got it. When you think we should heat it up? You supposed to be sent here around 6." Revy scratches her chin and adds "Soon as possible Dutch. Is the fan back to working on the boat? Rock and I are sweating in the heat here." Dutch groans and mutters under his breath "Oh hell." He returns to the receiver and says "Yeah, it's pretty cool here. Alright, thanks for the call, we'll be in touch. I'll see what I can do." Revy nods and says "No problem, thanks," hanging up the phone. Back on the Lagoon, Dutch turns to Benny and says "We have…an issue to watch out for."

Marty, dressed in blue jeans and an orange t-shirt that says in dark red lettering 'Fifth Annual Fraser River Port Authority Chili Eating Champion', speaks to a receiver by a payphone on Nguyễn Trãi Street, in Cam Ranh. He says "6 PM, alright? Send them out this way. Just endure their bullshit for a bit more, it's almost over. Gonna have Mr. T take us on his boat, go out to sea before some dock cunt gets suspicious. We'll be back round…five-ish. Cam Ranh, yea. One of the docks by Nguyễn Trãi Street. Alright? Take it easy." Hanging up the phone, Marty pulls out a phone card and dials a second phone number. Waiting for a bit, he says "Hiếu Văn Phạm? It's me. Pay phone again."

Dressed in his dark green military uniform and dark green military cap, Hiếu Văn Phạm places a pay phone's receiver to his right ear and taps his right foot against the ground. After a pause, he hears Marty say "You like Speedy Gonzalez or some shit." Yawning, Hiếu asks "Now what it is this time?" Marty rotates his right shoulder, stretching it, and says "We got Trung tied up on the boat. He hasn't said a peep, scared shitless and all. Chained. You been following the news?" Hiếu blankly replies "Sharp as an eraser. Of course I have been following the news. I have been listening closely…an East Asian male in his late 20s and an East Asian female with dyed maroon hair in her mid-20s. A dead civilian. A row of greenhouse destroyed. Oh, and one coffee shop demolished. Other than that, nothing of note." Marty rolls his eyes and asks "Alright wiseass, did you hear anything about me? Or a Ford Taurus?"

Hiếu grimaces for a bit, and then says "Yes, I have. The dead civilian's car. Police are searching for it. I assume it has been disposed of, correct?" Marty nods to himself and says "Yeah, I ain't stunatz. What of the Ford Explorer?" Hiếu blinks and answers "Total loss. They will comb through it for evidence and then scrap it. I highly doubt that they would find anything linking you. Perhaps the mercenaries. Which leads me to my question, what of them?" Marty shakes his head to himself and says "Couldn't do it. Their boss called and checked up on them before we could do something about it. They are now at the safe house that I mentioned to you earlier. We are receiving them today, in the evening. My advice Hiếu, let it be. It's making things too complicated…they ain't locals here. No connection to you, almost no connection to me."

Hiếu twitches and frowns, staring out of the phone booth at a Vietnamese couple pushing a baby carriage across the street. Returning to Marty, he says "I will take that under advisement." Marty raises an eyebrow and asks "Under advisement? The fuck you mean by that?" Hiếu replies in a slightly annoyed tone "It is, what it is. Consider this matter dropped." Marty's eyes widen, as he says "Wait, hold on a second. Are you going to do something crazy?" Hiếu blankly replies "That is in violation of my general personality and demeanor. Now leave this be. I have news about that boat you encountered at sea. The one that was chased by the Philippine Navy."

Marty's eyes light up as he says "Go on, I'm listening." Hiếu cracks a relieved smile and says "They were apprehended in Rạch Giá by my other hired help. They quietly sequestered them aside in a private shack, far from anyone else, kept under alternating watch by our associates in the police department and my hired help. All four are foreign nationals, all male. A Laotian and three Eastern Europeans. None of them spoke a word when we were in their presence." Marty places his left hand on his forehead and mutters "Eastern Europeans? What the fuck?! Where did they crawl out from? How you catch them?"

Hiếu grimaces and says "They were living in that dilapidated shack. Their boat was nearby. On the coast outside the city. Next to a small dock that was falling apart. Thai bhat was found in their pockets. Besides that, I have nothing to offer. Verbal interrogation has failed. We are contemplating using truth serums and alcohol to loosen their tongues." Marty glares blankly at the floor, his mind racing. After a long pause, during which Hiếu mutters "You still there?", Marty sighs and looks at the clear blue sky. He says "Yeah, we'll sort through that later. I gotta take a leak. Uh…I...okay. See ya." Hanging up the phone, Marty exhales a deep breath. He scratches his back and pulls out his cell phone. Turning to a number in the address book that is called 'FREDVIP', Marty grimaces and forces a smile. He laughs and says to himself "Ehh, what are the odds of that happening? Nah…"

Still standing in the phone booth, Hiếu leans against the glass walls with his back and crosses his arms, in deep thought. He watches the occasional moped and truck speed through the street. In the distance, he overhears the faint sound of gunfire, most certainly soldiers at a firing range. Pulling out a pack of Craven A's, Hiếu reaches inside the pack, only to stop. A mild smile materializing on his face, Hiếu sets the pack of Craven A's on top of the pay phone and reaches into a rear pants pocket. Pulling out a light grey leather wallet, he reaches into a slot where his driver's license is, and pulls it out, revealing a piece of scrap paper. He pulls out the scrap paper, pockets his wallet and license, and then unravels the paper, revealing a phone number.

Dialing the number, Hiếu waits patiently for a response. Suddenly, Hiếu hears "Vâng (Well)? Ông chủ (Boss)?" Hiếu leans forward and says in Vietnamese "I have a job for you." On the other end of the line, standing in an alleyway outside a bar in Saigon, a somewhat tall dark-skinned Cambodian man listens into a disposable cell phone. He is sporting bushy black hair, a thin moustache, a small, untrimmed beard around his chin, and minor wrinkles, in his late 40s. He is dressed in an unbuttoned black leather jacket, a blood red undershirt, dark grey jeans, and black leather boots. Twirling a cigarette with his left hand, the man says in Vietnamese "The money transfer for the last job did not go through." Hiếu sighs and says "It will go through. Please be patient."

Grimacing at the sky, the Cambodian man asks "How much? What is the job?" Hiếu pauses for a bit, and then says "The town on the highway between Cam Ranh, Phan Rang, and Đà Lạt. A house with seven people. Gather your friends. Seventy-five large. Thongvan, are you in agreement?" Thongvan tosses the cigarette away and hurriedly asks "You asking me to kill them?" "No, I'm asking you to buy them coffee," Hiếu sarcastically replies. Thongvan ponders for a bit, and then says "I want the money from the last job. I also want twenty-five large, upfront." "No time! They leave the house in the evening!" Hiếu exclaims, slightly on edge. Spitting at a nearby dumpster, Thongvan says "I have gambling debts to pay off." Shaking his head and relenting, Hiếu says "Give me the contact and I will settle 25 grand of it, today, fair? I will let you know the exact address in half an hour. Meanwhile, hurry up. Call your friends and head north." Thongvan smirks and says "They are here."

Dressed in a grey tank top and sky-blue track pants, her hair tied into a ponytail, Tuyết folds her hands on the table in the kitchen, her back facing a window next to a refrigerator. Seated to the left of her is Rock, and seated to the right of her is Revy. Tuyết blinks at Revy and says "Well?" Revy scratches her back with her left hand and says "My gun jammed yesterday. They're overdue for a spit-shine." Tuyết glares angrily at Revy and says "Absolutely not." Rock leans forward and says "You can watch." Tuyết blankly turns to Rock and says "Watch? Not just listen? You must think I'm an idiot."

Smiling, Revy lets out a laugh and says "Trust me, comrade. If I wanted to kill Viet glasses-bitch, I'd use my own hands. Much more satisfying. Don't think I can do it?" Tuyết glares blankly at Revy, and then at Rock. Yawning, she warns "You know what? Fuck it. All of us are carrying guns on us right now. You are to check your guns in the attic, only. Otherwise, concealed at all times. If anyone ever so sees a glint of metal, they will shoot you. And the bullets will be going into your legs and crotch. I have orders to bring you to your boss while you two are still alive. Nothing about being in one piece. Am I clear?"

Revy smirks and says "Like a Swarovski crystal." Tuyết frowns, contemplating her decision. After a pause, she says "They are in the trunk of my car. I'll take you to them. Revy, I will also give you one of Vibol's shirts to conceal them." Revy turns to Rock and calmly nods, to which Rock replies and says "Alright. That is fine with us. Thank you."

Sitting on their bed in the attic, Rock and Revy fiddle with their guns. Rock's Uzi, his shoulder holster, and Revy's twin shoulder holsters lie on the bed, with a Cutlass in one of the shoulder holsters. Revy pulls on a black shirt, a size too large, that says in large, red, vertically descending, English lettering "This Town Is Like A Pussy, Just Waiting To Get Fucked!" Revy holsters her Cutlass into her waist and says "This is fucking uncomfortable. How do I look?" She stands up and turns to Rock, her shirt partially covering her corduroy shorts. Rock cracks a weak grin and says "You…I don't know where that line is from, but it makes you sound like a lesbian." Revy cracks an annoyed grin and says "Munch on a cock, will ya? Scarface, never heard of it?" Rock pauses, and then nods his head in acknowledgement, saying "Okay, now I know. Never watched it."

Revy laughs and says "Damn, you been living under a rock." Rock grabs his M9 and glances at it, saying "We have some good films like that. Takeshi Kitano's films, plus the Yakuza Papers." Revy nods and blankly says "Gotcha. By the way, I'm seriously on the fence with these Viet fucks. Tuyết gave us back our guns pretty damn fast. On one end, maybe it's a coincidence. On the other end..." Rock nods and says "I noticed that. My magazine has not been emptied. It is running empty, though. How about I give you the rest of the bullets in my current magazine and use the fresh one that I hid under the bed?"

Pulling the gun out from under her shirt, Revy nods and says "Alright, that works. I'll pull a few more from the other Cutlass." The two then eject the three magazines on the pistols. Extending the last few bullets in his magazine to Revy, Rock reaches under the bed and pulls out a fresh magazine. He inserts it in as Revy manually inserts the rounds into her Cutlass's magazine. She then looks at the magazine on her other Cutlass, shrugs her shoulders, and returns that magazine to its original gun. She then slams the remaining magazine into her remaining Cutlass and hides it under her shirt. Grimacing, she says "I literally feel the barrel pressing against my bare ass. It's fucking uncomfortable."

Rock lets out a smirk and says "I'm enjoying that image." Revy flips Rock off and says "You give it a try. Now what game plan do you have for this? I'm thinking of a wait-and-see approach till Dutch picks us up. Stick close together." Rock nods and says "I am fully in agreement with that."

Heading down the stairs of the attic, each with a pistol concealed on their persons, Rock and Revy step onto the hallway. Tapping Rock on the shoulder, Revy whispers "Just keep cool, aight?" Rock blankly turns around and whispers "More than the same to you." Revy groans and says "Oh, you starting on this shit again?"

As they turn around and face the kitchen and living room, they spot Tuyết, standing in front of a refrigerator, holding a Madsen M50 in her arms, with a rifle sling around her neck. Seated in the living room, Ngoc and Jake lie slouching on the sofa. Holding onto the barrel with her right hand and standing it upright, Ngoc cradles her stockless Ithaca 37 pump-action shotgun between her legs. Seated to her right, Jake cradles his wooden framed, scoped Ruger 10/22 rifle carbine in his arms.

Suddenly, Vibol speaks from within the hallway to the left of the TV set, saying in Vietnamese "I filled up the gas tank. Should be more than enough for the trip." Ngoc nods at Vibol and says "Tốt, tốt (Good, good). Cảm ơn (Thanks)." As Vibol steps into the living room, Revy scans him, noticing in Vibol's right hand a Carl Gustav M/45 submachine gun.

Walking toward the kitchen, Vibol turns to Rock and Revy, laughs, waves his Carl Gustav M/45 at the two, uses his left hand to grab onto his waist as if he is at a rodeo, and speaks in a carefully rehearsed faux Texas-Vietnamese accent "A polite society…is armed society. Ahaha!"

As Vibol steps toward the sink in the kitchen, nodding at Tuyết, Rock turns to Revy and whispers "That scared me more than the submachine gun." Revy widens her eyes and says "At least he and I respect the right to bear arms. Vietnam has that, right?" Rock silently cracks a wry smile and stares at the door to the outside. He turns back to Revy and whispers "I think we're fine." Turning to Tuyết, he speaks out "Hey Tuyết. Um…when are we heading out?" Tuyết pulls out a cell phone and stares at it for a second, seeing that it is 1:51 PM, and then says "What I wish…leaving right now, and never having to see you two again. Sadly, we cannot always get what we wish for. So I have to tolerate you two for 30 more minutes. Then we could all prepare to head out, reaching Cam Ranh around 6 P.M. sharp. Is there anything else?"

"Something to eat would be nice," Rock mutters, almost feebly. Tuyết hurriedly pulls open the fridge. Reaching inside, she opens a cabinet in the fridge and pulls out a Ziploc bag full of sliced ham. She pitches the bag of ham at Rock, hitting Rock in the upper chest with it as he catches it with his right hand. She then pulls out a can of Hanoi beer and pitches it at Revy, who leans forward and catches it underhandedly. As Vibol turns around and prepares to protest Tuyết raiding his refrigerator, Tuyết waves Vibol off and says to Rock and Revy "Figure it out yourselves."

Calmly darting blank stares at Tuyết, Rock and Revy turn toward the stairs. Walking up them, Revy whispers "Either she is one hell of an actress, or we really are fine. Whatever, I want out of here, like now." Approaching the retractable stairs to the attic, Rock says "Soon Revy. By the way, I remembered something funny, from back in Japan."

Climbing up the stairs, Revy says "I'm listening." As they reach the top and retract the stairs, Rock says "When I was in my university, I knew this guy, same grade level as me. We occasionally kept in touch. Not anymore. We were both originally studying in the same field…logistics, but he then switched to finance. He got an internship on his last year, at a pretty serious investment bank."

Sitting down on the bed, beer in hand, Revy says "Go on, I'm listening." She quickly opens the beer and places it to her mouth, catching a small surge of beer before it could spill on her hand. Watching Revy swallow the gulp of beer, Rock opens the bag of ham and pulls out a slice. He crams it into his mouth, eats it, and hands Revy the bag of ham. Continuing with his story, Rock says "The guy worked in the futures department. Do you know how futures contracts work?"

Placing the beer on the bed, pulling two slices of ham out the bag, and eating them, Revy swallows and then says "Nope. This is where you gonna tell me?" Rock smiles and reaches toward the beer on the bed. Taking a gulp, he swallows, collects his thoughts, and says "Let's say I want to buy 100 bars of gold at $1,000 a bar, because I expect the price to rise in the future. I buy at $1,000 because that is the price at that moment in the market. Let us say, tomorrow, the price rises to $1,100. When this happens, $100 per bar is pulled out of the seller's account, basically the person promising to sell the actual gold bars, and put in the buyer's account. It works in reverse for the seller, when prices drop."

Revy pulls another slice of ham out of the bag and asks "Where the hell is this going?" Rock cracks a weak smile and takes a sip of beer. Wiping his mouth with his beer-holding right hand, Rock continues "Well usually, someone sells their actual contract to someone else before the deadline comes along. Now, if the deadline comes, you are legally obligated to buy or sell actual gold bars, and you are expected to have the product or the money available for that. Again, usually, someone like me would have sold the contract to a serious jeweler and they would then get the gold and be happy."

Revy shrugs her shoulders and asks "Yea, so?" Rock breaks out a smirk and says "My friend…was working with contracts for cattle." Realizing the joke, Revy starts cracking up, as Rock continues "…and got so drunk one night, that he wasn't able to sell the contract for 500 Wagyu Cows from Mie Prefecture, before the deadline." Revy starts chuckling and asks "Oh fuck…did they send the cows to the bank?" Rock starts laughing and says "I wish, that would have been better! No, they sent them to some farm up in Yamagata, as a punishment. He spent the rest of his internship making sure they don't break out of the fence and cleaning up their shit. Didn't get the full-time job." Revy and Rock casually laugh together, and exchange ham and beer. Taking a sip of beer, Revy nods and smiles, saying "Now Rock, that is an example of a funny joke and a good story. You're learning."

A desert-colored UAZ-469 all-terrain vehicle, with a black tarp covering the rear, drives up in front of the house, driven by a slightly dark-skinned Vietnamese woman in her late 40s, sporting black hair cut above the shoulders and thick framed black and brown spotted glasses, wearing a light-brown leather jacket and dark blue jeans. Seated right next to her, Thongvan takes a final drag on a dying cigarette and tosses it onto the asphalt. Seated behind the Vietnamese woman, a light-skinned, clean shaven, short, chubby, muscular Laotian man in his mid-20s yawns and looks out the window, sporting short black hair and faded eyebrows, wearing a sleeveless light green shirt that says "Got Lift?" in white English lettering, dark brown cargo shorts, and a brown beaded necklace. Seated behind Thongvan, a slightly dark-skinned Vietnamese man in his late 40s cracks his knuckles, sporting short black hair and a long moustache, wearing an unbuttoned dark green camouflage colored shirt, a sleeveless black V-neck undershirt, black cargo shorts, a gold watch on his left wrist, and a dark green camouflage colored Panama hat.

Yawning, Thongvan pulls out his cell phone and answers an incoming call. He says in Vietnamese "Boss? We just arrived. Wait! What are you talking about? I see. It will be done." He hangs up the phone and leans back in his seat.

Suddenly, a sky-blue Yamaha SR250 motorcycle drives up to the UAZ-469, driven by a muscular, clean shaven Thai man in his 30s, sporting thick eyebrows, dressed in a red and black Manchester United tracksuit. Holding on behind the Thai biker, a skinny, pale East Asian woman nods at the UAZ-469, sporting black rabbit-style twin tails, wearing a blue and white polka-dot patterned buttoned shirt tucked into black slacks held by a brown belt. She has a pointed chin, brown eyes, and a scar just above her left eyebrow. The motorcycle parks in front of the UAZ-469, as the two on the bike dismount and approach the UAZ.

Peering his head out of the window, Thongvan says to the Thai man in Vietnamese-accented English "Weerawat, what are you doing here? Who's the woman?" The East Asian woman replies in French-accented English "It's a long story. Call me 'Le Majeur'. You know Roanapur?" Weerawat nods and confirms in Thai-accented English "Yea, I mentioned I had a contact with me when we were searching for that boat that attacked Hiếu Văn Phạm's friends. Well, here she is. By the way, did you seriously try to fucking cut me out of this?!" Thongvan coldly stares at Weerawat and says "I had a time limit and I brought only those that were with me. You know Linh from before. Linh, Weerawat. Weerawat, Linh."

The Vietnamese woman in the leather jacket nods at Weerawat and Le Majeur and repeats their names, as Weerawat and Le Majeur nod in confirmation. Thongvan points at the Panama hat wearing Vietnamese man behind him and says "The guy with the hat is Danh. The short guy is from Laos. He is Thavisouk." As they all remember each other's names, Thongvan motions everyone towards the back of the car.

Crowding around the back of the car, the five henchmen watch as Thongvan lifts up the tarp and reveals four AK-74's with extra magazines taped to the ones already inserted. Next to the AK-74's is a set of four CZ-75's with a spare magazine next to each gun. "A few years old, from the military base. Recently cleaned. Have fun," Thongvan speaks out, as he holsters a CZ-75 in one leather jacket pocket and stuffs a spare CZ-75 magazine in the other pocket. He then grabs an AK-74 and switches it to fully-automatic firing. Thongvan eyes the streets and finds it pleasantly devoid of life.

While Thongvan's crew arms themselves, Weerawat and Le Majeur head toward their Yamaha motorcycle. Le Majeur reaches toward a pouch tied to the bike and opens it. Sticking her hand inside, she pulls out a pair of MAC-10 submachine guns, handing one to Weerawat. Suddenly, a blue Lada Samara drives up and parks behind the UAZ. Three Vietnamese men exit the car, all in their 30s, the driver dressed in a black tracksuit and sporting long black hair and a goatee, holding an AKS-74u. The latter two are both sporting short black hair and wearing dark green t-shirts and blue jeans, with one holding a KS-23 shotgun and the other holding a Stechkin automatic pistol. After aiming his AK-74 at the three, he is silently waved off by them, as the driver approaches Thongvan and says "We are with Hiếu Văn Phạm." Weerawat stares at Thongvan and asks "How many people is he throwing at these idiots?"

Climbing up the stairs with his Ruger 10/22 held in his right hand, Branca heads toward the attic, flanked by Ngoc with her Ithaca shotgun. Reaching the hallway before the attic, Branca yells out "Alright you weirdo annoying fucks! It's time to hit the road!" Shortly afterwards, the attic stairs slowly drop. Stepping down the stairs, Revy smirks at Branca and Ngoc, wearing her shoulder holsters, her Cutlasses holstered inside them. Rock follows her from behind, wearing his shoulder holster, Uzi holstered inside it, the outline of his M9 visible on the back of his shirt. Shaking her head, Ngoc says "Luckily, I'm not driving you assholes. You two are going in the Toyota with Tuyết and Trí Vũ. Me, Jake, and Vibol are going in my car. The Telstar. And we are going to keep our distance as if you got chinky bird flu."

As Revy prepares to open her mouth, a thunderous burst of gunfire sounds from outside. Vibol and Tuyết quickly duck under the refrigerator as bullets zip over their heads, shredding glass and wood, creating a maelstrom of debris. Ducking under the sofa, Trí Vũ yells out "Cái lồn gì thế (What the fuck)?!" He pulls out a MAC-10 from under the sofa and yells "Vibol! Tuyết! Vẫn còn sống (Still alive)?!" Crawling under the table as the gunfire ceases, Vibol yells "Vâng! Vâng! (Yes! Yes!)"

Getting her bearings, Ngoc nods at Branca and says "First door behind you, the door before the one with the mattresses. Large storage room with windows. You and Rock go and shoot at them. Revy! You and me downstairs!" Brushing everything to the side, Revy replies "Alright, I'm pissed off, and those fucks outside are making it convenient." She and Ngoc head down the stairs as Branca slams open the door behind him and steps into a room peppered with random cardboard boxes. Drawing his Uzi, Rock follows Branca to the end of the room, facing two windows. Branca yells "You got right, I got left."

Running toward the window with the stock of his hunting rifle aimed at it, Branca shatters open the window. As he readjusts his rifle, Rock pulls the window open with both of his hands and looks out. He spots Thongvan, Linh, Danh, Thavisouk, and the unnamed Vietnamese driver reloading their Kalashnikovs as the other two unnamed Vietnamese men, Le Majeur, and Weerawat slowly approach the front door. Danh and Thavisouk scan the house, apparently alerted by the shattered window. Aiming his Uzi at the four approaching the door, Rock yells "Four are approaching the house!" Sticking his rifle into the gap, Branca replies "I got them!" Suddenly, Danh points at the window and yells out in Vietnamese "BẤN TÍA (SNIPER)! ĐẦNG KIA (OVER THERE)!"

Pulling the trigger, Branca fires a round through the KS-23 wielding Vietnamese assassin, punching a hole through his left lung, spraying blood and flesh out of the wound, and sending him to the asphalt, mortally wounded. Rock unloads his Uzi, haphazardly firing at Thongvan's posse. A bullet grazes Linh's right thigh, causing her to flinch, while two other bullets strike Danh in the gut, sending him falling onto his ass. Weerawat adjust his MAC-10 toward Branca, only to scream in pain as a bullet punches a hole through Weerawat's right cheek, spraying blood all over the asphalt. Covering the wound with his left hand, Weerawat staggers onto his knees and yells in pain. Spotting this, Le Majeur yells out in French "Putain!" She, the Stechkin wielding gangster, and the kneeling Weerawat open fire on Branca and Rock, the latter immediately dodging to the side.

"Oh shit!" Branca yells out, trying to duck out of the way. While ducking, two bullets strike the frame of his Ruger, shattering it into a few pieces and sending a shard of wood towards his left shoulder. Yelling out in pain as the large splinter lodges itself firmly into his left shoulder, Branca yells "Useless wooden motherfucker!" Back outside, Weerawat calms himself down and clamps down on the wound using his tongue and left hand. As he crawls to cover behind the UAZ, the KS-23 wielding assassin bleeds out and expires, and Danh yells in Vietnamese "I will kill you! I will fuck your ass in half!"

Suddenly, jumping out from cover behind the kitchen sink, Tuyết steadies her Madsen M50 and prepares to fire at Le Majeur and the Stechkin wielding gangster. Le Majeur drops on her stomach as the Stechkin wielding assassin side steps to the left in anticipation of Tuyết. Immediately, Tuyết fires a seven-round burst, the first four bullets harmlessly bouncing off the asphalt, the fifth bullet striking the Stechkin wielding assassin right above the right kneecap, the sixth bullet missing the intended target and striking Danh in his left shoulder, sending him onto his back, and the seventh shot harmless lodging itself into the UAZ. The Stechkin wielding assassin opens fire at Tuyết while losing his balance, the bullets missing widely as Tuyết returns to cover. Vibol nods at Tuyết from behind the fridge and crawls toward the window. He arcs his Carl Gustav M/45 and unleashes blind fire on the crowd, keeping them occupied.

Crouching under the window, Rock yells "Oh hell, are you alright?!" Branca winces in pain and cries out "I got a motherfucking cocksucking piece of fucking wood lodged in my shoulder, what the fuck you think?! Argh! And I think my finger is broken! Fuck!" Rock grabs Branca by the back of his shirt and drags him toward the space between the two windows. He spots the splinter, the shard causing treks of blood to stain his shirt. Patting Branca on his right shoulder, Rock grabs onto the bottom of the window frame with his left hand and pulls himself up, sticking his Uzi out the window. He aims his Uzi at the kneeling Stechkin wielding assassin and fires four bullets, the first two missing, the third cutting open a major artery on his right arm, and the fourth bullet striking right above the crotch. The Stechkin assassin quickly covers the wound with his left hand, as blood begins to rush out. As Rock quickly ducks back to cover, Thongvan, Linh, and Thavisouk fire several rounds at the second floor. To both his and Branca's horror, a couple of the bullets actually penetrate the brick wall, with one bullet punching through the space in the wall right below Rock's crotch.

"Okay, that's enough!" Rock yells out, holstering his Uzi. He grabs Branca by the back of his shirt collar and drags him to the other end of the room. Helping him to his feet, he and Branca dart out of the room and into the hallway, with Branca groaning in pain, glaring at the splinter. The two climb down the stairs and spot Tuyết and Vibol taking cover in the kitchen. Right at the bottom of the stairs, Ngoc and Revy take cover behind a small wall in front of the stairs, a coat hanger right next to them. Trí Vũ huddles behind the sofa, appearing to be a little out of his element. From outside, Thongvan yells out "ĐI! ĐI! ĐI! (GO! GO! GO!) Giết họ! Giết họ! Giết họ! (Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!)" Turning around, Ngoc spots Branca and yells "ĐỤ (FUCK)! I will kill those bastards! Where they get you?!"

"Fucking defective piece of shit! I hope the asshole that sold me that rifle swallows a goddamn knife!" Branca yells out, sitting down next to Ngoc and Revy. Rock turns to everyone and says "He'll live. I saw nine people outside, seven men, two women. Two cars and a motorcycle. Jake got two of them, at least one is dead. Two more got hit, they are either dead or soon going to be." Tuyết nods and says "Okay, okay. Damn, we don't have time to set up kill zones. Let me think…"

Out of nowhere, Thavisouk leaps through the window in the kitchen, AK-74 in hand. He lands awkwardly on the table and crashes through it. Quickly aiming his rifle at Tuyết, he prepares to pull the trigger when Tuyết quickly grabs the rifle by the barrel and aims it up at the ceiling. As Thavisouk squeezes the trigger and lodges bullets into the ceiling, Vibol aims his Carl Gustav M/45 at Thavisouk's chest and unloads bullets, turning his chest and neck a peppered collage of holes, killing him.

From outside, right below the kitchen window, Le Majeur extends her arms out and waits to help send another assassin through the window. At the same time, the Stechkin wielding assassin, holding his wound with his left hand, and the AKS-74U wielding assassin climb up the porch and take cover behind opposite ends of the front door. As Linh gets a running start in front of Le Majeur, the AKS-74U gunman kicks the door down and immediately breaches, aiming with his rifle's iron sights. He is immediately greeted with three bullets each from Revy's Cutlasses. The first two from Revy's left Cutlass strike the assassin in the pelvis. The first from her right Cutlass punctures his aorta, while second from the right Cutlass gashes his left shoulder. The last two bullets gash his already dead heart, as the assassin leans backwards, drops his rifle, and drops dead on the porch, tumbling once off of it and falling on his face. Blood stains the grass on the front lawn as the Stechkin wielding assassin blindly fires from cover.

Suddenly, Linh leaps gracefully through the window, AK-74 in hand. She lands on her feet and quickly swipes Vibol across the face with her rifle's buttstock, breaking his cheekbone. She quickly turns her attention to Tuyết and grabs the barrel of her Madsen M50 with her left hand. Jerking the barrel forward, Linh quickly curls her elbow and swipes it across Tuyết's face as Tuyết runs into it. Revy attempts to focus a shot on Linh, only to have Tuyết jump in front of her aim, spoiling the shot attempt. Linh and Tuyết struggle, locking their rifles. As Tuyết attempts to swipe at Linh with the barrel of her Madsen M50, Linh parries the swipe with the barrel of her Kalashnikov. She then leaps behind Tuyết and begins to choke her with her AK-74, using Tuyết as a human shield in front of Revy.

Unbeknownst to Linh, Vibol has regained his bearings and considers aiming at Tuyết and Linh, before changing his mind and switching his M/45 into his left hand. He then, in one very quick motion, reaches for a knife rack, grabs a kitchen knife, and pulls it out. He then drops his M/45, grabs Linh's forehead with his left hand, and plunges the knife into the back of her neck with his right hand, blood trekking down her neck. Linh gargles blood and eases her grip on her rifle, letting it slide off her hands, as Vibol arcs the knife downward and digs into her neck. After a few seconds, he pulls the knife out and tosses her corpse to the side, her head landing next to Thavisouk. Tuyết turns around to Vibol and favors her neck with her right hand, rubbing it. From outside, Thongvan yells in Vietnamese "Clear out! I have an idea!"

The Stechkin wielding assassin fires a couple more shots from cover and then stops. Pondering over the lull in battle, Revy speaks "What the hell is going on? They stopped?" Tuyết and Vibol stare at each other and shrug their shoulders, crouching behind the sink. Suddenly, they hear a car starting, stopping, and then reversing. Carrying Branca to the sofa, Ngoc asks "What is that?" Thinking for a second, Tuyết laughs and says "No way…" As the sound of a car accelerating resonates through the neighborhood, Tuyết's face turns to fear as she yells "CHẠY ĐI (RUN)!"

Using the sloped lawn as a mini ramp, Thongvan launches the Lada Samara through the kitchen, crashing through the brick wall and landing the car sloping downward onto Linh and Thavisouk, crushing their corpses, as Tuyết, Vibol, Revy, and Rock run out of the crash zone and join Ngoc, Branca, and Trí behind the sofas.

Coughing and groaning, head buried in an air bag, Thongvan quickly draws a CZ-75 as he hears the hobbling fridge fall to the ground. He opens the car door and falls out, landing slightly awkwardly. Aiming his CZ-75 at the hallway, he kneels before the fridge and rests his chest on it, breathing heavily, spotting Vibol's M/45 on the ground, along with two AK-74s. On the wall opposite the kitchen, Vibol taps on Tuyết's shoulder. He lifts his shirt up and pulls out a Browning Hi-Power pistol. Gripping onto her Madsen, Tuyết takes point and raises three fingers. Preparing to confront Thongvan, she whispers "Ba (Three). Hai (Two). Một (One)!" She and Vibol quickly run forward and crouch a couple of meters in front of Thongvan, aiming their guns at him. A pissed off look on her face, Tuyết yells "WHO ARE YOU?! WHO THE HELL SENT YOU?!" Raising his face off the fridge, Thongvan stares at Tuyết and laughs, the latter and Vibol both staring in confusion. Leaning his head forward, Vibol says in Vietnamese "Thongvan? That means…?" Giving a fake frown, Thongvan says "Sorry, it's a business thing."

Out of nowhere, the Stechkin wielding assassin yells out "Time is up! Prepare to get fucked!" As the Stechkin assassin runs through the doorway, right arm and Stechkin stretched out, left hand on the wound, Tuyết turns right and aims her Madsen. She fires and takes steps back, as she and Vibol open fire on the assassin. Three shots into the right ribs, three into the gut, two into the left shoulder, and one into the left side of the neck. The assassin drops his Stechkin, grabs onto his neck with his left hand, blood pouring out of his new holes, and leans backwards, losing his balance.

As the Stechkin assassin gasps his last breath and falls onto the space between the porch and the doorway, Thongvan raises his CZ-75 and fires six shots on Vibol. Tuyết quickly leaps into cover as the first two shots miss. As Vibol turns to face Thongvan, the third shot strikes Vibol in the left side of the pelvis. Wincing and now facing Thongvan, arcing his pistol toward him, the fourth Thongvan bullet pierces Vibol's left lung. The fifth bullet drills into his chest, right into the aorta, and the last bullet misses to the left of Vibol's neck. Vibol gasps for breath, takes a step back, drops his pistol, and falls forward, his arms spread out. Landing on his face, Vibol takes his final breath, mutters in Vietnamese "No…sense" and croaks. Peering out of the hallway, Tuyết yells out "Vibol? Vibol?!" She turns to Rock, Revy, and the rest, and yells "Screw this! We are going now!" As everyone hurries up toward the hallway to the left of the TV, Tuyết yells again "Now! To the car now!"

Tuyết and Revy cover the rear, Rock carries Branca by his right shoulder, and Ngoc and Trí take point, Ithaca and MAC-10 at the ready. Reaching the door, Trí twists the knob and kicks it open, only to be greeted by Danh and his AK-74. Smiling, he squeezes the trigger, wincing after each shot. Two bullets punch into Trí's lower abdomen before he could even realize what happened. Three more hit his chest, followed by another two through the heart, killing him. Four of the bullets ricochet out of Trí's back, with one of them lodging itself in Branca's left knee and another one lodging itself in Branca's left rib. As Trí collapses onto his left shoulder, and as Danh turns his AK-74 toward Ngoc and yells "KỂ TIỂP (NEXT)!", Ngoc aims her Ithaca at Danh and fires two 12-gauge shots into his chest and legs, shredding his insides. The second shot knocks him off his feet and sends him backwards, him falling on his stomach, dead immediately after hitting the ground. "My shoulder and now my leg and ribs…Trí got clipped!" Tuyết yells out "Keep going! I don't plan to die here!" "How many left?!" Revy yells out. "I DON'T CARE, JUST GO!" Tuyết replies, as Thongvan pulls himself onto one knee.

Running into the house through the front, MAC-10 at the ready, Le Majeur leaps over the Stechkin assassin's corpse and scans the damage. She spots Thongvan on the right, the latter yelling "GO! Around the back! I'm covering the front!" Le Majeur nods and runs forward, through the backyard, stepping over Trí's corpse. She checks on Danh and then turns left, taking cover by the back wall. Overhearing Branca groaning in pain, as Tuyết climbs into the driver seat, the head-cushion still damaged, and Rock, M9 in hand, climbs into the front-side passenger seat, the front of the car facing the backyard, Le Majeur pulls out her magazine and inspects it, finding it half full. She reinserts it and lets the slide lock in automatically. As Ngoc climbs into the backseat, and as Branca uses the roof of the Toyota for leverage, and as Rock rolls down his passenger window, Le Majeur steps out of cover and yells in French-accented English "Drop dead already!" She aims at Revy and Branca, getting off five shots. The first two shots strike the ground in front of Branca's feet, the third shot strikes him in the stomach, the fourth shot buries itself in his left kidney, and the last bullet grazes Revy's right leg, causing her to wince in discomfort.

"JAKE!" Ngoc yells as Branca loses his balance and falls backward onto his ass, in shock. Revy and Rock quickly turn their attention toward Le Majeur. Revy aims her left Cutlass as Rock aims his M9. They each squeeze of three bullets as Le Majeur returns to cover, the bullets peppering the brick wall and the backyard lawn. Turning to Branca, Revy tosses her right Cutlass into the backseat, grabs Branca by his right arm, lifts him up, and pushes him into the backseat, and then jumps inside as well. She slams the door as Tuyết hurriedly shifts the car to reverse. Sticking his M9 out of the window once again, Rock fires off a few more bullets at Le Majeur's direction, keeping her from jumping out of cover.

As the Toyota swerves onto the road, facing the same direction as the UAZ, Rock and Ngoc spot Thongvan preparing to fire an AK-74 at the Toyota. He squeezes off three shots that miss to the right, before running to cover into the house as Rock fires off a few from his M9 and as Ngoc fires off a few shots from a CZ-52, her upper body sticking out of her window. Immediately afterwards, Tuyết switches to drive and slams on the gas. Climbing to his feet and still covering his left cheek with his left hand, Weerawat fires a few desperate shots from his MAC-10, from behind the UAZ, one of the bullets lodging itself into the Toyota's trunk.

Running out of the house, Thongvan points at Weerawat with his rifle and yells in Vietnamese "In the car! Right now!" He runs toward the driver's door and pulls it open, stepping inside, as Weerawat climbs into the front-side passenger seat. As Le Majeur runs up to the street, Thongvan yells "Take the bike!" He reaches into Weerawat's pocket, pulls out a set of keys, and tosses it out the window, and then immediately slams on the gas.

"What the hell are you fucking doing?! Get off of him!" Ngoc yells at Revy, the latter pressing her hands on the holes leading to Branca's kidney and stomach, as the Toyota Corolla speeds down the highway. Branca's eyes flutter as he seems to shift to and from consciousness. Darting a dirty look at Ngoc, Revy yells "You want him to bleed to death?! I'm trying to keep him alive, you stupid fuck!" "CAN EVERYONE BE QUIET?! I'M TRYING TO THINK!" Tuyết yells out, swinging her right hand out for emphasis, almost smacking Rock in the face. A calm look on his face, Rock asks "Who was that, attacking us?" Darting a quick, uncomfortable glance at Rock, and then returning her attention to the highway, she eases down her speed. After a pause, she lies "I don't know. All I know is that he threw numbers at us." Licking her lips, she continues "Vibol and Trí…I am going to have to notify two families today. Damn. I saw a couple of police cars headed to the town on the other side of the highway. If anything, the shootout cleared the streets. Should get us to Martin…to Martin and your boat relatively quickly."

"Uh, are you forgetting something here?!" Ngoc yells out, cradling Branca's head as Revy blocks the blood from pouring out. Collecting her thoughts, Tuyết sighs and says "We'll get him to a doctor. A clinic that won't ask any questions." On edge, Ngoc exclaims "Do you even know any doctors in Cam Ranh?!" Tuyết frowns and admits "No. It's fine I…shit." Ngoc extends her arms out and yells "Well shit what?! Say something!" Tuyết heaves a deep sigh, takes a quick glance at Branca, returns her eyes to the road, and says "I want to keep my work life and what's left of my personal life separate…okay. When I used to sell hash in Nha Trang, my #1 customer was this medical student from Cam Ranh. He studied at Huế but went to Nha Trang for vacation. I stopped selling for over a year and he stopped buying from me a month before that, but I have his number. Unless he dropped out or something, he should be already working. Probably in his home city. It is a long shot, but I don't know anyone else."

Tuyết reaches into her right pocket and pulls out a cell phone. She hands it to Rock and says "Find the name 'Tân' and dial it. I have my hands full." Rock shuffles through various names, finds 'Tân', and dials. As the call tries to go through, Rock hands Tuyết back her cell phone. Wedging the cell phone between her right ear and her shoulder, Tuyết says in Vietnamese "Hello, it is Tuyết. From Nha Trang. Listen, I understand this is very sudden, but I have a few questions. Okay. Did you receive your diploma? Okay. In medicine, right? You work in Cam Ranh? Okay, that is fantastic! Listen very closely. I have a friend who was shot. He needs immediate medical care. You will be well compensated."

After a pause, she smiles and says "Thank you very, very much! I'll meet you there." Hanging up the phone, Tuyết says "He will treat Branca at his house in Cam Ranh. And he will keep quiet about this." Ngoc glares at Tuyết and anxiously yells "Is he going to light one up before surgery?!" Tuyết groans in annoyance and glares upward, sighing and saying "No! Now be quiet already!" Suddenly, Branca mutters "Just…let me fucking die already. Ugh…I…think I can still feel…my legs. Dropping out of school just…fucking get shot in Vietnam…the hell." Ngoc cradles Branca's neck and says "You are going to be okay, Jake. Just hold on for thirty more minutes. Almost there."

Looking out the window, Rock glares at the orange horizon and comments "I'm surprised that we haven't been attacked yet. There were still two assassins left." He closes his eyes and drowns out all the noise around him, feeling tired and spent.

A few screams are let out behind a wooden door that says 'Dr. Nguyễn, Pediatrics' in gold letters across a small black plaque. To the left of the door is a window emulating orange light. To the right of the door is a hallway continuing on to a living room on the immediate left, the living room sporting a couch, a TV set, and a fire place, and a kitchen on a further left, the kitchen separated from the living room by a wall. Inside the kitchen, seated opposite each other on a dining table, Thongvan and Le Majeur glare at each other in silence, each holding a dark amber, glass bottle of Halida Vietnam beer. A radio sits on the table, playing "Những Ngày Nghỉ Phép" by Hùng Cường.

Taking a sip of Halida, Le Majeur shakes her head and says "I still cannot even process the idea that you are stupid enough to take the wrong exit." Thongvan shrugs his shoulders and says "I made a mistake, I know." Le Majeur rolls her eyes and shakes her head once more, asking "Did you not notice the massive sign that says 'Phan Rang'?" Thongvan shrugs his shoulders and says "If you noticed it, why didn't you tell me?" "You're the local here! If this was Roanapur, then I understand. All that hard work for nothing," Le Majeur sighs, disappointed. Thongvan takes a sip of beer and says "I…actually live much further south. I only know of the city to the west and Nha Trang up north. I had to consult a map before I even reached that town." Le Majeur folds her arms and buries her head in them, saying "Whatever. 75 grand in the toilet."

Taking a sip of beer, Thongvan comments "They shouldn't have even left the house. We should have blocked both sides of the entrances and started a fire. Danh was the only one with any brains, and now he is gone. Linh and Thavisouk too." Raising her head out of her arms, Le Majeur asks "Who was that guy with the small Kalashnikov? The one that showed up last?" Thongvan shrugs his shoulders and replies "I don't know. I barely even knew those that were inside of the house. Vibol and Tuyết were the only ones I even met. It seems that Hiếu Văn Phạm liked having his hired henchmen as separate from each other as possible."

Le Majeur pauses, stares at the ground briefly, and then speaks "Wait, I'm confused. Are you saying that the people we attacked were a separate crew?" Thongvan sets his beer down and draws imaginary images in the table using his right hand, to illustrate his story. He says "Alright, Hiếu Văn Phạm is working with this Italian-Canadian gangster in order to make money from dumping 'recyclable' waste into the nearby ocean. He is also probably going to make money off whatever that gangster is going to do, drugs and hookers I believe. Maybe other schemes. That is why Hiếu Văn Phạm is hiring fine, upstanding folk like us in the first place, to protect his interests."

Le Majeur leans forward, frowning. "And those Russians that Weerawat and you caught? Weerawat told me about that," Le Majeur asks. Thongvan scratches his nose and says "They were part of a boat that was staking out the garbage disposal barge. Which had the Canadian gangster on it, Tuyết, and a few freelancers which were hauling the barge. I think…if I had to guess, those Russians were hired by Trung Thanh Hoàng, and Hiếu agrees with my input." Le Majeur extends her right hand and says "Stop. Hold on a minute. Are you talking about that man in the Vietnamese Secret Police that was either rescued or kidnapped yesterday?" Thongvan nods and says "The very same. His brother is the owner of a major newspaper. The Indochina Daily. His brother is the focal point in all of this. Chù Thanh Hoàng is his name. Chù was supposedly trying to extort the Canadian over the disposal business. The story goes that one of Tuyết's henchmen was arrested and assaulted by police that were in Chù's pocket. That escalated everything."

Le Majeur shakes her head and says "I am still confused. Is Tuyết working for the general?" Thongvan grimaces and tilts his head back and forth, saying "Yes and no. She works for the Canadian gangster, who in turn works with the general. All her associates work under her. Those freelancers I mentioned earlier? They work for the Canadian gangster. They were the ones that kidnapped Trung." Le Majeur's eyes light up as she says "Oh." Thongvan nods and says "It gets more complex. There were four freelancers. One permanently stays on their boat, he is a technician according to the general. Three actively participate in the grunt work. Two of those freelancers were in the house we attacked. I think it was the woman with the maroon hair and the man with the red shirt. The gangster wanted Tuyết at first to have those two freelancers killed in unsuspicious circumstances, to send the Vietnamese Secret Police on a dead end by dropping their corpses in easy to find places. Tuyết was unable to. The gangster mentioned this to our boss in the local army, and the latter then hired me, you, Weerawat, and all those others to kill Tuyết and the freelancers in one go. Apparently, the gangster refused to send Tuyết to the wolves. Even considering that she and the freelancers are highly wanted by police. They participated in the Van Thirith raid."

"Wait, the Van Thirith raid? That goatfuck in Vũng Tàu?" Le Majeur mutters, processing the information. Thongvan laughs and says "Want to hear the best part of all of this? That henchman that was arrested and assaulted by the police? That wasn't Chù Thanh Hoàng who gave the order, that was Hiếu Văn Phạm. The Canadian is completely oblivious. The extent of Chù Thanh Hoàng's influence in the police ends with his brother, who is a glorified supply clerk. Gear from the Vietnamese Secret Police was stolen and then used by Tuyết, the freelancers, and I assume some of Tuyết's men. In the Van Thirith raid. Because Chù's brother, Trung, is responsible for equipment, and because Van Thirith sent a nail bomb at Chù, the Vietnamese Secret Police would assume that Chù is the cause of all this chaos. When actually, it is not. It is our boss that is the source. He even baited the idiot Trung to attack the recycling plant that really set this all in motion. Trung doesn't even know it. What a patsy."

"What the hell does Hiếu want from all of this?" Le Majeur asks, her eyes following the hand gestures Thongvan makes. Thongvan smiles and extends his right index finger toward the sky, saying "That is the beauty of this. All of this. How everyone, including the Canadian gangster, are being turned into idiots. Hiếu wants to embarrass the secret police, kill their funding, and get more funds diverted to the army by making it appear as if South Vietnam is vulnerable to invasion, through all of these shootouts. He wants to kill the reputation of the one man in South Vietnam capable of exposing him and the recycling scheme, which is Chù Thanh Hoàng backed by his journalists. Lastly, he wants to make it appear as if he and a few of the South Vietnamese police departments…they themselves in on this scheme…that he and those police departments 'found' the Van Thirith killers. That he and the police 'found' the people that 'rescued' Chù's brother. And that he and the police followed a fabricated Ho Chi Minh Trail of evidence and speculation and dead bodies that would 'lead' to Chù Thanh Hoàng. And when they would 'break' the case, they would all get promotions and pay raises for solving the crime of the decade. Hiếu gets on a shortlist for a real political appointment, maybe make king maker in Vietnamese politics. He makes the oil slick, and everyone loves him for cleaning it up. After he probably milked the recycling scam dry."

As Thongvan beams in amusement, Le Majeur glares at him in and asks "And the Russians? Where do they fit in here?" Le Majeur takes a gulp of beer, wetting her lips, as Thongvan takes a sip as well. He sets the beer down and cups his hands, saying "What about them? They don't matter anymore." Le Majeur lets out a laugh and asks "Do you know where they are? Maybe we can use them." Thongvan raises an eyebrow, puts his hands under the table, and says "I trust the boss. Hiếu is adept at making win/win situations. I don't know where the Russians are. Tied up? In a ditch? Buried as sea? Why do you care?"

Le Majeur rolls her eyes, and then takes a sip of beer. The radio ends "Những Ngày Nghỉ Phép" and begins a French/Vietnamese cover of the Sheila song "Non Cheri", by Thanh Lan. Le Majeur places her hands on her lap and asks "And how do you know all this? About Hiếu? About what he has been doing?" Thongvan quietly reaches under the table with his right hand, touching the grip of a Ruger P89 pistol that has been taped under the dining table. He smirks and says "Hiếu is to me as the Canadian gangster is to…"

BANG* *BANG*

Holding the Ruger P89 in his right hand, Thongvan blinks and glares in shock as an extremely unpleasant burning sensation emits from the spot right above his crotch. Suddenly, Le Majeur rises out of her seat, Colt 1903 Hammerless pistol with wooden grips in her right hand. She glares furiously at Thongvan, aims her Colt 1903, and fires three more shots in rapid succession. The first bullet drills through Thongvan's chin, knocking his head back as blood sprays out. The second bullet punches through Thongvan's nose, repeating the effect as it exits through the back of his head, while Thongvan's dead corpse drops the pistol on the floor. The last bullet drills dead center in Thongvan's left eye, again triggering a whiplash effect as blood and brain matter spray onto the wooden floor, the last bullet ricocheting into the wooden floor.

His face a blood-drenched mess and his head arced back on the chair, blood seeping out of the back of his head, forming a puddle of blood, Thongvan's left arm twitches as his bowels relax and empty, filling the room with the stench of shit. Content that Thongvan is dead, Le Majeur slowly walks toward the doctor's office. She presses her back against the wall and creeps forward, her right arm extended. The door to the doctor's office swings open.

A somewhat short, balding, 50-something year old clean shaven Vietnamese man, dressed in a slightly blood splattered sky-blue lab coat, a buttoned collared red undershirt, and black slacks, steps into the hallway, pulling off blood-soaked beige plastic gloves. He says in Vietnamese "Now, about payment…"

BANG*

A bullet passes slightly to the right of the bridge between his eyes, exiting out of his head, carrying blood and brain matter with it as it ricochets into the window, cracking it and staining it, and the flower pot, in blood and brains. Dr. Nguyễn's head snaps backwards as his corpse falls forwards onto the wooden floor. His face flops against the floor as blood begins to pool around his head. Stepping over his corpse, Le Majeur peers into the office. She spots two long desks on the left and the right sides of the room, a row of cabinets above the desks, a few posters detailing various parts of the body, and a miniature model of a skeleton on the opposite wall, the back door next to the skeleton.

Placed on a gurney, the gurney inclined upwards against his head, Weerawat lies on it, his arms dangling off the gurney and his throat completely slit. Pools of blood form on the ground under the gurney, the blood captured by plastic wrap that is spread across the floor. Shaking her head, Le Majeur approaches Weerawat, closing his eyelids with her left hand. She holsters her Colt 1903 under her shirt and into her slacks, wipes sweat off her forehead, and leans against the wall with the doorway. She speaks to herself in French "Okay, at the least, I can tell Balalaika where her missing men are. That should offset some of the debt on the ledger." Jogging toward the back door, Le Majeur opens it and runs to find her Yamaha motorcycle, beginning her exit out of Vietnam.

Stepping out of a wooden door, Branca on a gurney behind him, a young Vietnamese man with bushy black hair and thick black glasses heaves a sigh. An IV attached to Branca's arm connecting from a blood pack, Branca is shirtless, sedated, and covered in bandages. The Vietnamese man himself is dressed in a sky-blue lab coat, a white t-shirt undershirt, and blue jeans. Standing inside a hallway, with a door in front of him and a window to the right, the window emulating a dark orange hue, the man turns left into a living room filled with two brown leather sofas, a small TV set, a VHS player, a coffee table, and a grandfather clock. Seated on the sofa, Tuyết and Ngoc wait patiently. As the Vietnamese doctor approaches the two, Ngoc gets off the sofa and asks in Vietnamese "How is he, Tân?" Tân grimaces and says "It is bad). However, he will live. I stopped the bleeding. His stomach is stitched up." Pausing and trying to phrase his thoughts correctly, he adds "I did, however, remove his kidney. He will urinate blood for a while."

Ngoc sighs and forces a smile, relieved that Branca will pull through. Tuyết pats the doctor on his right shoulder and says "You did very well for us. I have some money coming up. I will wire you the money that we have promised. In a few weeks later, you will get extra." Tân smiles and bows his head at Tuyết, saying "Thank you very much! Next month, I'm taking a vacation. Perhaps to the Australian outback." As Tân nods again and turns back to attend to Branca, Tuyết watches him go.

As soon as the door is shut, Tuyết turns to Ngoc and says "We have a problem." Ngoc raises an eyebrow and replies "I'm listening." Tuyết grimaces and leans closer to Ngoc, whispering "Now, I did not warn Rock and Revy about this, and I don't want you to warn them either. Those people that attacked us…they were led by Thongvan. One of the other guys that work in our organization. A few of them also looked familiar. I think all of them worked in our syndicate." Ngoc glares at Tuyết as if she has three heads and asks "What the hell are you talking about?" Tuyết grimaces in frustration, smacks her right ribs, and whispers "Martin Zappala tried to have us fucking killed! Thongvan works for Martin Zappala. So did a bunch of those assassins. I know they work for that general, and Martin and that general share everything."

Ngoc cracks a nervous laugh and says "Zappala would have one of his own killed…right." Tuyết smacks her forehead and says "Jake, sorry to say it, is worth less then moose shit to Martin Zappala. He is an imbecile." Ngoc snarls at Tuyết and exclaims "Fuck you!" Tuyết grinds her teeth and grabs Ngoc tightly by her right shoulder with her left hand. Squeezing her shoulder, she steps closer, an inch out of Ngoc's face, and says, intentionally spraying saliva over her face as she speaks "I honestly, at this point right now, could not give an irradiated shit if you ended up bleeding out on a concrete sidewalk, but we need to stick together. You, me, Thụ, and Min-soo. All that remains of us. Do you understand?!"

Ngoc pulls off from Tuyết and wipes her face with her right hand. Darting a dirty look at Tuyết, Ngoc says "Don't do that again. And yes, I understand." Tuyết nods as says "Good. Very good. Now, you can stay here if you want. Maybe get a taxi to take you back to the village when it becomes safe to do so. Get your car. I am going to drive our 'guests' to Zappala. Remember, act like this conversation never happened. I am adopting a wait and see approach. I will act depending on what Martin does with the freelancers."

Suddenly, Tuyết's cell phone goes off. Tuyết pulls it out, looks at the caller ID, and says "Shh, it's Martin." Placing the cell phone to her head, Tuyết says "Yes? We are in the city. I will explain everything in person. We are literally in the city. Wait, what are you saying? 'Đó là một cô gái' means 'It's a girl'. Why? Huh? Oh. Thank you for sharing. Yes, that was sarcasm. Anyway, I will see you in a few minutes. Goodbye."

As Tuyết hangs up the phone, Ngoc laughs and says "He just called us. Why would he do that if he expected us dead?" Tuyết glares a disappointed look at Ngoc and says "Probably because Thongvan told him. And so…he is covering his ass. Anyway, I'm driving to the docks. Remember what I said. Bye."

Shirtless, barefoot, and in black gym shorts, Rock rests sprawled on his bed in the motel in Nha Trang. Suddenly, Revy, dressed as she was earlier, minus the Cutlasses and holsters, enters the bedroom, holding a plastic grocery bag in her right hand. She nods at Rock and says "Hey, Rocky boy. Dutch gave me this. He said Marty told him to give it to you." Rock opens his eyes and asks "What is it?" Revy shrugs her shoulders and says "All Dutch knows is that it is square-shaped and it doesn't tick."

Taking the bag from Revy, Rock opens it and finds a white, thin cardboard box. Looking at Revy, Rock says "This better not be anthrax." Revy lets out a laugh as Rock pulls the box out. He sets the box on the bed, opens it, and reveals a half-eaten chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, the cake sliced around the sides until it became a square. On the cake, the vanilla frosting spells out 'Đó Là Một Cô Gái (It's A Girl)'. Rock raises an eyebrow and says "What is this…" He spots something under the cake, a photograph. Reaching under the cake, he pulls out a picture of a bald, Vietnamese man in his forties, dressed in a grey t-shirt, wrapping his arms around a Vietnamese woman in her late 30s, sporting short, black hair and dressed in a blue and red vertically stripped blouse, appearing to be in her last trimester of pregnancy. Two red lines run through the Vietnamese man's face, created by a red marker.

With a curious look on her face, Revy peeks at the photograph. Her look turning into bemusement, she places her right hand on her forehead and says "Marty you a real fucking piece of work." Crushing the photograph in his hand, Rock tosses it away and leaves toward the bathroom. Heaving a sigh, Revy mutters "Here we go again."

Glaring coldly at his reflection in the mirror, Rock grips the sink and clenches the rim, exhaling deeply, faster, almost hyperventilating. Revy approaches him and says "Look, we already went over this, shit happens. It is what it is." Rock furls his brow and sticks his right index finger at Revy, shouting "This was NOT supposed to happen! Goddamn, moron! What the hell is wrong with me?! Fuck! FUCK! I had it all under control and this happens!" Revy extends her arms out in surrender and yells "You think whipping yourself over this is going to Lazarus the civilian's ass back from the dead?! I think the western governments have a name for it, collateral damage, you know? It happens! Look, we had a goddamn shootout, hell we even fucked today. You think Marty's ball breaking matters?"

Rock ignores Revy and continues to stare coldly, now into the void. Revy adds "Hey, hey! I even got winged in the leg and you haven't said a thing! Jerk!" Rock fakes a sad frown and replies "Aw, want me to kiss it for you?" Revy snarls and extends the middle finger, speaking "Hey screw you, you know you can be a real fucking asshole sometimes?" Rock ignores her and returns to stewing in front of the mirror. Walking away from Rock and toward a bed-side drawer on the left side of the bed Revy opens the drawer and pulls out an unmarked bottle of pills. She opens the bottle, pulls out two capsules, and returns, saying "Here, two amobarbitals. Take them and you will feel better." She places the two pills on sink countertop.

Rock quickly grabs the pills and flings them at the glass shower wall, yelling "Fuck your pills!" Giving up, Revy says "Whatever, Rock, get it out of your system, but do it yourself. I'm going to try the chocolate cake. Craving something sweet all day." She walks toward the pill drawer and retrieves a serrated knife. Turning toward the cake, Revy slices a sliver off with the knife, and uses it as a makeshift cake server, gently taking a bite, crumbs spilling onto the bed.

She turns to the bathroom and says "Hey Rock, you really missing out. Think this is ganache or some shit." As she waits for his response, Rock, appearing possessed, clenches his right fist and punches the mirror once, twice, three, stopping on the fourth time. "Fuck!" Rock shouts, clenching his fists, and shards of glass fall onto the bathroom floor. Revy shouts "Are you serious now?!" She sticks the knife into the remaining cake, climbs off the bed, and shouts "You gone retarded?! Now we got fucking glass everywhere!" His right knuckle bloodied, Rock winces in pain, finding a small shard lodged in his ring finger. Revy points at the shard and shouts "Seven years of bad luck, congrats dumbass!"

A knock reverberates from the door. Behind it, the Vietnamese motel manager, dressed in a light green shirt with pockets in the front, dark green shorts, and brown sandals, yells "I am getting complaints! If you don't calm down, I will call the police!" Rock shouts "Fuck off asshole!" Knocking once again at the door, the manager says "I'm calling the police."

Rock groans "Screw off already!", still clutching his right wrist. He groans "Revy, you got bandages?" Revy, her anger boiling, her demeaner cold, speaks "Have you gone deaf too?" "What…oh…fuck," Rock replies, the realization dawning on him. Livid, Revy gestures with her hands for Rock to stop and go away, saying "Wait here, I'll take care of it." Rock pulls the shard out of his finger, tosses it into the toilet, and smears blood on the wall. He says "I got this. Get the first aid ready."

Putting the guest ledger on the counter, the motel manager, seated on a cushioned chair, reaches for a beige telephone on a beige receiver. As he prepares to dial a number, the Vietnamese man feels an elbow being driven into the left side of his head. Staggered and dropping the telephone towards the floor, the telephone dangling, the Vietnamese glares at the ceiling, only to be driven nose first into the edge of the counter. Blood seeping out of his nose, the Vietnamese manager is grabbed on by his neck and tossed back first against the wall, coming face to face with Rock, the latter wearing nothing but his gym shorts, aiming his M9 from his hip with his left hand.

The motel manager stammers "Wait, wait a minute." Rock frowns and speaks "I am waiting. Now…you said you are going to be calling someone. Now…who is it you said you going to call?" The manager mumbles "No one, I'm calling no one?" Rock frowns and replies "No, that doesn't sound right. It sounded like you were going to call someone. So…this is like Ghostbusters. Who you gonna call?" The manager wipes blood off his face says "N-no one, I promise…I…something you need? W-what you need?"

Rock thinks to himself, resisting the urge to wince from his bleeding right knuckle. Frowning and nodding, he says "I need you to send someone with a vacuum cleaner. Your bathroom floors get slippery, so slippery, I accidentally put my fist through your mirror. Now there is broken glass everywhere, that's not good, not good at all." The manager exhales in relief and says "Okay, okay, good, done, I'll send someone." "Someone who can keep her mouth shut," Rock corrects. The manager nods and exhales again, saying "Of course, of course. I'm not stupid." Rock snarls "If you weren't stupid, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

The manager wordlessly nods, reaching for a pack of tissues to address his nose bleed. He wipes down his nose as Rock, gun now lowered, adds "Oh, and we need two plates, nice plates, and a cake server, and some silverware, good silverware. You have good silverware?" The manager nods "Yeah, yeah, we have good silverware." Rock nods in approval and adds "Oh, and send up a bottle for the room." The manager rolls a tissue into a tube and stuffs his left nostril with it, saying "Okay…okay…what you want?" Rock thinks to himself, nods twice, and says "Something clear and Russian."