Chapter 7

The 14K Triad was the oldest criminal group in Roanapur. They had shown up in the mid eighties and carved an impressive swath of territory that covered almost the entire city. Though if you wanted to get technical the Church of Violence had been there since 1953 it had never carved out a territory, they just sold guns.

Chang had arrived to take over sometime before '93. Originally he had been a cop in Hong Kong. He had fought with Balalaika when she had first arrived that year. After the battles the city was divided. Anything that didn't go to the 14K or Hotel Moscow was snatched up by the smaller syndicates that rode in during the chaos. And that was the end of the information on Chang's background that Rock could provide.

Revy had said something about him having tutored her in the use of twin pistols, but he hadn't paid attention. He had watched Revy shoot. She wasn't too bad, but she let herself become lost in the violence and use more ammunition than she needed because she was having fun.

The Triad's offices were in a high rise on the east side of the city. It was pretty much the tallest building that one could find. Chang's office had a fairly good view of the harbor. And it had an almost garish red color scheme.

The Lagoon Company sat in the man's office waiting for him to arrive. The four originals were sitting while Ethan was absorbed in a display with several pairs of handguns, all matched perfectly. Besides the numerous traditional Chinese hangings and pots they were the only decoration.

"Like what you see there," someone asked him.

"Beretta 76s, AMT Hardballers, and unless I miss my guess those are original military CZ75s. Quite a display, I haven't seen one this impressive in a few years," Ethan turned to face a Chinese man dressed in black.

Black Suit. Black overcoat. Black sunglasses. The only things he wore that weren't black was a white shirt and a white scarf. He definitely filled out the figure of a gangster.

"All of them are well used. The Berettas still get used every once in a while. You must be the mechanic Dutch told me he hired. Chang Wai-San."

"Ethan Haines. Ships Mechanic on the Black Lagoon."

Dutch chuckled, "Well with introductions out of the way, are you wanting us to try to get that equipment back?"

"Always down to business. I see it being easier to just buy new equipment rather than wasting the ammunition trying to reclaim it. I was really only pissed about loosing the crew. However instead of having you meet a freighter and transfer the cargo I want you to go pick it up at the source. You know the old saying, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me," He said.

"Should we worry about more of those idiots. They really aren't even worth the time as low grade as they are," Ethan asked.

"Odd question from a mechanic."

Revy snorted, "He can handle way more than a wrench."

Chang smiled at the girl's statement. But he really didn't see anything special about the man. He looked like every other thug that popped up out of the woodwork in the town. He could go to any of the bars and hire a half a dozen of him. And do it again the next day and the day after that.

"I have to ask Dutch, where did you find this guy," the Chinese gangster asked.

"He came into the Yellow Flag looking for work and I hired him. He does a hell of a better job with the engines than I ever could. And he has proven himself to be able to survive Revy without much trouble."

Ethan smirked, "I believe she commented at some point that a bullet costs more than the satisfaction she would gain by blowing my brains out of my fucking skull."

Chang shook his head as he chuckled, "Dutch, I will get in touch when the equipment is ready to be picked up. Revy, don't kill him, he actually has a halfway decent sense of humor. It was good meeting you Ethan, stop by some time if you get the chance. It's always nice to see a friendly face in this city."

When they arrived back at the office Ethan decided to take a walk. Roanapur at night was different than it was during the day. There was an almost serene quality to it, though that may have just been Ethan's comparison to some of the places he had been.

The lights reminded him a little of Moscow, Paris, Berlin, and other cities he had seen in Europe and Asia. They were almost hypnotic the way they shone. The neon tinting the air around the lights with a dull glow, and the streetlights cutting out white circles where they stood. It was intoxicating to him after having spent his life in one hot zone after another. Mexico, Kenya, Afghanistan, and Somalia.

He stopped at a corner next to an alleyway. Shortly he felt something nudge him in the back. After sixteen years he could tell easily when someone held a gun to him. He raised his hands up above his head like he was going to surrender, and then snapped his right arm back, his elbow driving into his assailants solar plexus downing them. Then it occurred to him he had felt boobs.

Keeping his hand next to his own gun he turned. The girl he saw on the ground before him couldn't have been more than sixteen. Her light skin gave away the fact she wasn't Thai. Squatting down Ethan picked up a Rohm .22. It didn't take him more than a second to figure out where she was from when he noticed the blond hair and green eyes.

"Now this may seem like a completely oblivious question, but what the hell is some kid from Czechoslovakia doing here trying to hold up a passerby," he asked kindly, but with enough of a commanding tone to get her attention.

The girl said nothing. She stared daggers into his eyes, like she could kill him with the look alone.

"Well? I'm waiting for an answer."

The girl just kept staring at him.

"Are you dumb or something?"

The girl slowly nodded, never breaking eye contact.

"Hmm. Well that may answer the holding up a passerby, hard to find a job when you can't say anything."

'Hmm. Why is she here in the first place though? It isn't like Roanapur is in the top ten tourist destinations. What to do with her? I can't just leave her to the mercy of the streets, I've seen too many girls get swallowed up by them. I mig... No! Revy would definitely kill me. Or she might see it as someone else to make life miserable for. Wait. Why do I care? Am I going soft in my advancing age? Listen to me, I'm only thirty, not sixty something. God, if you exist, please help me for what I am about to do.' Ethan's thoughts went by like a freight train.

"I am going to regret doing this, but come with me. And before you start to run the other way let me tell you this: this city will strip the flesh from your bones if you aren't prepared. To most of the people out here you are nothing more than a piece of meat. They will devour you like dogs. I can at the least promise you one decent meal for tonight," he told the girl, knowing full well the response he would get from the rest of Lagoon company.

"Like them young do we? I ain't surprised," Revy sneered when the two arrived at the office.

Ethan fixed her with a stare that would have melted lead, "If you ever make that assertion ever again I will put a bullet in your pretty little head. For your information my young friend here just tried to rob me at gunpoint. I didn't feel right leaving her out there."

"Why not," Dutch asked, "It isn't like there aren't a hundred others like her out there."

"Maybe I'm going soft, and it may also have to do with the fact she's dumb," he replied.

"You act nice to her and then insult her intelligence, priceless," the female gunslinger cackled.

"It doesn't have to do with intelligence," the mechanic said evenly, "It means that she can't speak. There is some problem with her vocal cords or the speech centers in her brain."

Throughout the whole thing the girl just stood a little ways behind Ethan. Looking around she noticed a notepad and a pen on a counter. Walking over she picked up the pen and wrote down a couple of lines and took the pad to the one person in the room who had not looked at her apathetically.

Rock took the offered pad and read the text.

Is he not mad at me?

Rock shook his head

Why? I stuck a gun in his back and was going to rob him.

Rock sighed, "Ethan is a unique person. It is really hard to upset him."

But why did he bring me here? For all he knows I may cut everyone's throat when their not looking.

Rock laughed, "You would have trouble cutting Ethan's throat. He doesn't sleep real deeply. He is also a really good judge of people. By the way what's your name?"

Heidi. And tell him I am Belgian, not Czech.

"Hey Ethan," Rock called out.

"Yeah Rock," Ethan said, ignoring what point Revy was about to make in their argument.

"Her name is Heidi, and she is Belgian, not Czech."

"Ok Heidi. Write us an essay telling why you are in this hellhole of a city," Benny joked.

Me and my dad came here about eight months ago. He was looking for work wherever he could look. He was a carpenter by trade, and he had hoped to find work doing construction in the city. He was coming back to our hotel room when someone shot him in the back. They didn't take anything off his body, they just shot him and walked away. My dad had payed for six months in advance on the room so I stayed there until it ran out and the manager told me to beat it unless I slept with him. I ran out of the building with everything I could carry. I slept where I could and stole most of the food I ate. I found a pistol earlier today and worked up the courage to try to rob someone when I tried Ethan.

The crew read the note and digested it. Ethan wasn't surprised, she hadn't much choice. Revy thought it was just some sob story. Dutch wasn't convinced that it was any of Ethan's concern. Benny didn't really know what to think of the situation. Rock felt sorry for her though.

She was forced into the city without a choice. She didn't have anyone to turn to. At least when he came here Dutch was halfway friendly to him. She literally had no one. That she had survived the last two months without somewhere to stay was a miracle in and of itself.

After a few minutes of silence Dutch spoke up, "Since you brought her here what do you suppose we do with her?"

"I don't know. Maybe we could keep her around for a maid or something," and Ethan once again noticed the flinch that happened anytime some said the word maid in Roanapur, "Ok. What is it with people in this town and the word maid. Any time it is said I swear everyone is about ready to go into kiss their ass goodbye mode."

"I will explain that later, however the idea isn't too bad. Just let it be known that if we do she gets paid out of your cut," Dutch warned.

"OK. HOLD UP. Dutch we don't know anything about her-"

Ethan interrupted her, "You wouldn't have to do your own laundry, or clean your room yourself."

Revy did a u-turn, "You have beautiful eyes Heidi. Why don't we find you something to eat," she almost bodily drug the young girl from the room.

Ethan turned to Dutch, "My ulterior motive: get Revy to leave my ass alone. I didn't feel right leaving her out there to suffer like most of the teenage girls on the streets do."

"As long as she does a good job I don't care, like I said; your paycheck," the man said amused.

It didn't take Heidi long to become an indispensable part of Lagoon Company. While she couldn't answer phones or such, she kept the office and apartments almost spotless. Amazingly enough it was Revy who got along best with her, Ethan figured she was just doing it to butter her up to keep her laundry washed since the male members still did their own laundry.

The biggest rule for her was to leave the Black Lagoon alone. They left it messy to give themselves something to bitch about to take their minds off the possibility of a job going pear shaped. It was an unspoken agreement.

And the girl could cook. Heidi's mother had died during childbirth so she hadn't gotten to know her, so her grandmother had taught her the things all women should know. Damn she could cook.

But more importantly just knowing that they kept her from the hell of being forced into prostitution and the possibility of ending up in a gutter with her throat cut gave them a feeling people in this city weren't used to. That there might actually be some speck of hope in the one city that the gods had decided to tell fuck off.

Ethan wasn't used to the feeling. For so long the only thing that inspired anything besides resignment was a rifle with a full magazine and a clear field of fire. Mercenaries are expendable. They have no loyalties except to the person paying them. Truly disposable soldiers.

"If your quite done daydreaming, would you terribly mind getting OFF YOUR FUCKING ASS AND HELPING ME MOVE THIS PIECE OF SHIT," a very upset female voice burrowed into Ethan's head.

"Revy, shut the fuck up and I will help. I ain't any good to anyone if I'm deaf," He seethed rubbing his ears knowing full well it wouldn't help.

Ethan got on the otherside of the crate that the crane was lowering onto the PT boat's deck. Nudging the crate as it descended they managed to navigate it to the tiedown area. When the crate touched down Ethan noticed the boat sink somewhat. Walking over to the side he checked the waterline and noticed it was about a inch above where it should have been with a deck cargo.

"Hey Dutch. What is in that crate," he called to the man who was talking to the loadmaster.

The loadmaster answered, "That is an x-ray machine. The crate is lead lined to prevent radiation from leaking out."

Ethan absently stroked the grip of one of the Berettas he was wearing. He had chosen to wear them over his .38 to compensate in case of a pirate attack. He had gotten a very contempt filled look from Revy when she had noticed.

"How many crates are left. Cause if there are more than two more that size or enough to make them up then we will be riding too low in the water. We may also need to move some of them to the rear deck to even the loading."

Dutch looked up and down the length of the boat and nodded. Ethan motioned to the crane operator to start setting the crates on the aft deck. About a half an hour later the crates were loaded and tied down and they were ready to get underway.

Ethan told Dutch to not give anymore than three quarters throttle due to the weight. Normally there would be no problem with them going full out, but he didn't want to overstress the engines since he had replaced all the seals just before they had left Roanapur for Rach Gia.

Ethan had gotten tired of the engine room two hours after they left Vietnam. He decided to take up a position on top of the control room and went to sleep. He actually slept a little deeper than he should have.

Fire shone in the skies for the third day in a row. A young man stood on a rooftop looking out over the town in Zimbabwe. He didn't care the name. It was only another name.

He let his hand fondle the knob on the rifle's bolt. Just by the weight he could tell that the internal magazine was full. Five rounds of .30-06 Springfield. He checked over the scope. When he was satisfied that everything was in order he went to the edge of the roof and scanned the area below.

Looking over the men he saw there he picked out one that was dressed a little finer than the others. He settled the crosshairs on a spot under the man's eye. A half second later the rifle let a round loose, a suppressor on the end muffling the sound from the report. What seemed like an hour later the back of the man's head exploded into a brilliant red and gray burst, painting his subordinates and the wall behind him.

A plethora of different weapons were raised. They scrambled around trying to find out where the sniper was. They were started when another man's chest disappeared. A third's left arm went away just above the wrist. The fourth lost his intestines. The last took a round in the neck.

The sniper ejected the last round and went to move. A sudden burning in his shoulder made him fall to his knees. Drawing a pistol he whirled to face the ladder that led to the roof. As soon as a head and gun peeked up over the edge he fired. A thump was heard as the body hit the ground.

Crawling to an air conditioning unit he set his back against it. His rifle lay discarded a few feet away. He probed both sides of his shoulder and felt a hole going in and one coming out, a clean through and through. His biggest concern now was infection and blood loss.

Gathering into a crouch he made his way to the ladder. Drawing his knife he used it to check the area below as if he had a mirror instead. When he ascertained that the area was clear he made his way to the ground. Checking the body of his attacker he found nothing useful to take with him.

Listening for any possible pursuit he set off towards the headquarters of his employers a mile away. He slipped through shadows and burned out buildings. Every time he saw an enemy patrol he shrunk into what ever dark spot he could find, ready to fight if it came down to it.

Close to an hour later he came to the border of friendly lines. Finding a small building that had been burned out he crawled into it and rested for a while. He started to doze off despite the fact it would be a death sentence. Either he bled to death, or someone came upon him and splattered his brains.

For a few minutes he drifted in and out of consciousness. Every time his vision cleared he tried to move, and he failed. He knew the sands were running out. At any moment he could wake to a bullet in the head, or even a gaping throat.

"Sniper, Sniper, Snip..."

"...han. Hey wake up dammit, we've got guests we need to greet."

As Ethan sat up the world cleared up some. He recalled where he was, the Gulf of Thailand. And when he was, '97 as opposed to '82. And who had yelled at him, Revy rather than some random soldier.

Drawing his guns the retired mercenary yawned, "It is rather impolite to keep them waiting isn't. Well, after you my good lady. Believe your manners may be a little fresher than mine are."

A/N: Well a big gun battle is about to occur. I do apologize for the wait. I struggled with the ending of the chapter due to that little flashback. Hopefully you won't have to suffer that long a time again. Also for the most part ignore Heidi, she is purely filler. I needed some moral dilemma for Ethan to deal with, and I was being lazy. She will be seen again, most likely throwing out week old cold pizza. Also I will be taking a short break to work on my Hellsing story.