"Hey Dutch, have you ever noticed how alike Ethan and Revy seem to be," the question coming from Benny stirred the other two occupants of the room.
It was one of those days when it was so hot and humid that Roanapur just ground to a halt. They were very rare, but still occurred during the year when you would least expect them. The local government loved them since it gave them a break from the usual wanton murder and mayhem, but for others it just gave them time to think about things best left alone.
"I'm not sure that is a line of thought any of us would be healthier for. What brings it up though," the large, sweaty, suffering black man replied, wishing that his skin was lighter, and that he would invest in thicker blinds one of theses days.
"Just noticing how close they are now. They seem like siblings almost. Not to mention I still have nightmares about when they massacred those pirates a few months ago. I almost couldn't tell them apart when we came out of the cabin. ."
Rock looked over at Benny, lacking any clothes on his upper body to try to give the sweat as much area to evaporate from, "I've noticed it too. Honestly, I think it's a good thing. Revy has gotten into the habit of thinking about what she is doing more since they started liking each other. It's almost like she is listening to what he says. I am going to stop talking, I'm getting sweat in my mouth, and it tastes horrible."
"Can you imagine how much deadlier that might make her. She might even start getting smarter, who knows, Ethan may make her start studying alongside Heidi," Benny seemed to feel the heat less than the others given his energy to talk.
Unbidden the phone started ringing in the other room. At one point there had been a phone in the living area, until Revy went into a fit of rage and shot it when it started ringing and attracted her attention. Dutch got up and went to answer it, grumbling under his breath the entire time. About ten minutes of pure, sticky, smelly misery passed in the living area before Dutch returned.
"Well," he said sounding almost depressed, "If you thought it was hot right now, they haven't even turned the oven on yet."
Rock was the one to ask the question, "What's wrong? Who could possibly have called us that could be that bad. It isn't like Roberta is coming back for another rampage."
"Yes, and hopefully no rampage this time."
"You can't be serious Dutch, what possible business could they have here. Don't tell me that some other military power or cartel was dumb enough to do anything to them," Benny was suddenly feeling the weather much more than he had been before.
Dutch sighed heavily, "Apparently in a move to improve the financial futures of the Lovelace family, Garcia is going to be negotiating some legitimate business dealings involving the factions around here. Opening hotel and the like to indirectly launder money and provide lodging for agents that are needing to disappear from other areas. Legitimate, or at least as much as it can be in this city, but very profitable for all involved."
Rock was a little confused, "With Roberta there it is a guarantee that there won't be any trouble arising from disagreements between the attendees, so what is with the sour mood?"
"I just put together some puzzle pieces that don't paint a pretty picture. There is a chance, slim though it might be, that given who she was, where she is from, and who used her, she might be the one who shot the merc that raised Ethan. I also realized just how dangerous that conflict could get."
"Can anyone stand to our champion. The Hammer of Tripoli, undefeated in twenty five fights. Remember there are no rules past no weapons, and now a pot of thirty thousand American Dollars on the line."
Ethan chuckled as him and Revy watched the spectacle,"These prize fighters like this are such slops. In a real life or death fight they wouldn't stand a chance. And he has to be a queer if he goes around with the name Hammer of Tripoli. I want to fight him."
Revy almost shot rum out of her nose, "Come on, he has to be doing something right if he hasn't been beaten in twenty five matches. Or more likely they have the fights rigged so that they get the biggest payout from the betting they can."
"I'm going to go down there, and embarrass the hell out of him. Be ready to start shooting when they realize "Yes, that just fucking happened.'"
"Wait a minute, aren't you the one that is usually telling me not to do stupid shit? I think I need to stop drinking."
"Are you feeling sick, something wrong with the rum?"
Revy shook her head, "No, for some reason I am the reasonable one right now. Maybe I need to go the other direction and drink more. Wait, goddamit Ethan, stop"
Her words were unheeded as he deposited his Berettas on the table in front of her and started towards the ring. Eyes were on him as it was realized that he intended to fight the oversized Arab champion. It would have been expected that the crowd would have exploded in calls to put money on the champion, but it must have been something in the way he moved that had the bets placed in his favor.
"My friends it appears that we have victim number twenty six right here. My brave and foolish friend, may I ask what name should be placed on your grave marker?"
Ethan looked sideways at the announcer, "Just call me the Mechanic. I'm just here to put the Hammer away."
The room exploded in a sheer uproar of laughter at the joke. Even The Hammer of Tripoli himself couldn't hold back. A more perfect joke could never have come to pass in any other circumstance.
"I must say that I fear there is no toolbox big enough to fit me, Mechanic. Hopefully you are skilled enough to fix all the bones that I am about to break in your body."
"Big words, I guess you are just a bit smarter than the rest of the hammers in the box," the jokes seemed just off the cuff, but he knew what he was doing.
"Alright enough words, FIGHT," the announcers, announcement, was met with cheers.
In the end Ethan was right. There wasn't any contest as the 6'8" tall 310lb arab threw a wild haymaker in anger of being taunted, and the 6'4" tall 220lb Ethan delivered one of the most precise uppercuts the audience had ever seen, and hit so hard that the man died right there. Silence filled the room as the sight unfolded.
"That is the problem with knock out blows, it is just as easy to kill a man making his brain slosh around like that," Ethan didn't feel too bad about the death.
For several minutes the audience, and the rather upset Lebanese mobsters, couldn't believe their eyes. There wasn't a show like they were used to, it was a real moment of combat. From the beginning Ethan had been out for blood, and he held nothing back. Ethan however just turned to the announcer.
"So, where are my thirty gs. I need to go get a new toolbox, that hammer is too big for the one I have right now," he knew that the last joke was in horrible taste, of course he also knew that the triads were about to bust in and shut down the fighting ring that had been operating on their turf without their permission.
"You murdered Sa'ed, and you dare ask for money. Allah shall have no mercy upon your soul, and we shall send you to him right now," the knife that was pulled looked rather wicked, but it was obvious that it had mostly been for show.
Doors to the outside flew open and Chinese men flooded in. At their head stood Chang, as ever in his silk suit, and a pair of Hardballers held loosely at his side. There were two groups that were known for not leaving survivors when they were crossed. Hotel Moscow, and the Sun Yee On Triad.
"I hope we haven't stepped in at a bad time. Why Mr. Haines, fancy meeting you here? How are things," Chang started a somewhat playful conversation with Ethan.
"They have been better. At the moment I am having a bit of a tiff regarding some prize money I am owed for punching their champion all the way to Allah's throne. He seems to the think I am not owed it even though I won."
"Mr. Haines, you can't possibly have won any money here. I never gave permission to open a fighting ring on my turf. Surely these fine upstanding Lebanese men wouldn't do anything so brutally stupid and suicidal as that. They couldn't possibly be even stupider and rig the fights in their favor now, could they."
Ethan cocked a head over to the side, "Why Mr. Chang, are you insinuating that my victory was due to this former living being not actually having fought twenty five other matches, but just faking it to draw in betters. I could not imagine such a dishonest thing. Alas though, that would mean there never was a thirty thousand American Dollar prize. If that is the case, then I will just join Revy over there, and finish my drink. I will give you full leave to negotiate on my behalf."
"I think I shall. You know, they say my .45 ACP argument is almost unbeatable. Men, lets teach them what happens when you cheat people in Triad territory without our express permission."
Unlike Hotel Moscow, the Triad did not use guns as much. Instead they tended toward weapons like swords, golf clubs, baseball bats, and 2x4s. Quickly sounds of flesh being pulverized by heavy impacts filled the air. Sickening crunches as bones snapped could be heard all the way out the door. During it all, Ethan and Revy sat at their table drinking rum.
"So how long do we have before they arrive," Rock asked the wheels in his head turning at high speed.
"From what Garcia was saying they would be arriving in late November. Unfortunately, that means that it will be after you three return from the states. So we don't even have that to try to buffer it," Dutch himself was trying to find a way in which they all didn't die.
Benny asked a question that had been bothering him since the announcement, "So why did they call us? They don't exactly need bodyguards or transport while they are here. Roberta even so much as glances in any direction and ten city blocks will empty out. Besides, don't you think this is really sudden given that it hasn't even been two years since they came through here the last time? I mean, It may bring more attention than they really want."
"Garcia trusts Rock more than I think is good for us. Rock, he wants you to start making arrangements and scout some locations that you believe would be beneficial. Something about these places supposed to be neutral ground. The kid thinks big, but I think he is a little too naive about what these people are like."
"So," Rock was really hating this thought, "What do we do if he sends Roberta out first to make sure the arrangements are to their satisfaction?"
"That is not a pleasant thought,. If she does end up being the one Ethan is wanting to kill, I am not all together sure we could stop it. When he gets going, he is almost as hard to stop as she is. Honestly, I would rather deal with Revy during one of her 'Whitman Fever' spells than a truly pissed off Ethan. I still have shivers down my back when I think to how badly he collapsed that guys skull not long after he joined on. Maybe it is something in that part of the world that creates unstoppable juggernauts," nobody disagreed with Dutch.
A/N: I know it is short, but I plan to try to work on it daily for the next few days. I can't guarantee if I will have the Roberta arc before the Dallas arc, but it will be most likely be interesting to say the least.