"Finally they fucking let us back here. I hope it isn't too bad, please don't let it be too bad," Rock wasn't really sure how to handle Revy like this.
"Just breathe, I don't think a truck is enough to take him out. Honestly, I don't want to see what is actually tough enough to take him out," he replied as they went back to the triage room that Ethan was in.
The police had at least accepted they had immunity due to their association with Balalaika, so they didn't have to spend too much time dealing with them. That was all secondary to the situation. A Kenworth had been driven through the Suburban that Ethan and Balalaika were in, Petr and Vassily had been killed in the wreck, and two groups fired on the other two SUVs to cover the abduction of Balalaika. The response teams had managed to make contact briefly, and had lost four people before the attackers disengaged and escaped. Ethan luckily survived, and the doctor didn't act like he was in any real danger.
"I'm worried about what he might do when he realizes that Sis got taken. Have you forgotten how much he protects us whether we need it or not? What do you think he is going to do if he has someone taken, especially someone like Sis that he has such a strong connection with. He may turn Texas into a warzone to get her back. It may be a bloodbath that even we can't imagine," it didn't sound like Revy at the moment.
"Fuck, that stings. Just use some fucking superglue, why the fuck are you using staples," they heard an extremely upset voice coming down the hall.
As they reached the room, well they were met with Ethan's naked back. It occurred to them that they had never seen him shirtless from the back. Most of the time he was either fully dressed, or at least had a tank top on. The tattoo on his back was, incredible. It was a Jolly Roger, the skull over a set of crossed wrenches, the teeth were sockets, even numbered counting down, though for some reason there were blank spots where the ten millimeter sockets should have been. It was so detailed that the joints between the bones of the skull were even shown, and the shadows gave a sense of depth. On the wrenches were the words; figere mundum, funitur sanguis. Whoever had done that tattoo, was beyond a master of their trade. The design, was uniquely Ethan.
"How are you doing, Ethan," Rock asked when he turned his head and saw them.
"I have two pretty deep cuts, my vision has only been clear for half an hour, and my primary is missing. I am a fucking mess. Things get cleared up with the LEOs," Ethan looked better than he really should have.
"Yeah, all we know is that the people who took her were wearing biker leathers. They are resisting giving us any information, and Boris is talking with, I don't know if it is someone in Hotel Moscow, or the Kremlin, but he is trying to get some pressure on so that they let us in the loop at the least," Revy said after the doctor and nurse left the room and the three of them were alone.
"Fuck. I need specifics, not just the surface. How many did we lose," Ethan started putting his clothes back on.
Rock grimaced, "Petr and Vassily died on impact. The response teams lost four people."
"Oh, por el amor de Dios, ¿cómo puede empeorar esto? ¿Se darán cuenta de que en realidad no es una diplomática rusa? ¿Esto va a iniciar una guerra nuclear? Joder, yo, arriba, el, maldito, culo," Ethan only spoke Spanish when he was truly pissed.
"Hey, hey, calm down. I doubt that they want her dead, or they probably would have thrown a grenade or something in the truck. Just don't do anything stupid. Wait, did I just say that," Revy suddenly realized how reasonable she was being at the moment.
"Ok, fuck. Fuck. Just, fuck. It, fucks me up when I lose people under me. Even if I don't know them, it fucks with me. I am responsible not only for my primary, but anyone that is working under me. It isn't something as simply as throwing yourself in front of a bullet, honestly that isn't really that big of a part of the job. I am supposed to make sure that those situations don't come into play from the beginning. I didn't anticipate this, she got taken, and men died. I have to correct this," if Ethan clenched his hand any harder the bones might have exploded.
"Ok, the Vysotniki left one of the trucks with us, and went back to Houston for the moment to get ready for a rescue mission if it comes up. Your gun, and the back brace are in it. Where do you want to start," Revy asked.
Ethan shook his head, "I don't know. Right now I have no real knowledge of where I am. I don't know the local culture, have any contacts underground, and I doubt that the local cops are corrupt enough to pay to look the other way while we burn the city down. I have to figure out why they want her, how they knew which truck to hit, and why they chose to do it in when they did."
"Caleb," the three looked over as the three Coffeys came into the room.
"Oh, great. Now I have this to deal with. What are you doing here," Ethan already had enough to deal with.
"Let me see. My estranged son is in a major accident. His primary is taken, who happens to be a potential client. Why the hell do you think I'm here. How bad were you hurt, anything that is going to put you down for a while," Robert stepped over to him.
"No, I am pretty much whole, just some staples. I'm kinda surprised my well being was the first of the questions, shouldn't you be worried about the contract," Ethan was hostile in his tone.
Delilah was really a tiny woman, so tiny you thought it must have been rough for her in bed, but her attitude was way bigger than the two men, "Right now is not the time or place for this. You could have been killed, crippled, and you act like it isn't anything. What is wrong with you, do you want to kill me and your father without going to jail for it? We only just met this woman, and all she really is to us is money. Why would we ask about her first?"
"Hey Ethan, didn't you say you didn't have anyone here,"Rock suddenly said.
"What the fuck is your... Oh, no. I am not getting their help for this. I fucking operated in Bosnia during that war, I can find some shitheads in the ghetto to get some info out of. Either with money, or beating the living fuck out of them. I-," Jennifer interrupted him.
"If you want to know what is going on, go to the homeless junkies. They see everything, and would sell you their liver for a crack rock. Why is everyone looking at me," the girl had a good point, though everyone was wondering why she of all of them would say that.
Robert looked at his daughter, "Have you been hanging around with that gang banger again. While you have a point, I told already, if I see him again, nobody will see him again."
"Father, his uncle was a gang member. Quentin has stayed out of all that. Also, he isn't trying to sleep with me for the thousandth time, he sucks dicks. Stop making threats about my damned friends, I'm starting to see why Caleb wanted to run away," she replied.
"Regardless, I doubt that is it. Can you take me where there is a group that would know something," it didn't take Ethan much to figure out she was into something their parents were not aware of.
"Yeah, I can. In fact there is a group that has a camp not far from where they hit you. Again, what is with the stares. You are acting like I am a closet criminal," she was starting to get defensive.
"Jennifer, three of the people in this room are actual criminals. You sound exactly like a criminal, what are you doing that our parents don't know about? Be straight up, because if someone has to die, I maybe able to get away with it easier than our father can," he didn't know why he even cared at the moment.
"I might, uh, sorta, might, uh, kinda, supplement my allowance with information brokering," the girl got real small as she said that.
Revy snorted, "Ok, I now believe for sure that these people are related to him. Oh god, Rock, I just thought of something hilarious."
"What," he asked curious.
"Ok, we get Heidi over here. She can't talk, and almost nobody pays attention to her that doesn't know her. She is at least as mean as someone like Chinglish. She also isn't a slouch with a pistol. We bring her over here, and pair her up with his sister there. It would be a dream team," she laid it out.
"Heidi isn't a toy, she is an employee. Also, while this is useful, I don't approve. I don't think they do either. Regardless, I need to deal with discharge, get some more useful clothes, and then we go hit up this homeless camp. Damnit, I need a car, you two take the truck and go get some rest. I have to go deal with getting my ass out of here."
He really didn't want his father to be here. Jennifer didn't act like she was fond of the interruption of her brother sister bonding time either. Yet there he was, towering over everyone. Of course then again Ethan wasn't too much smaller, so the effect was doubled.
"I have been in cities a lot. I live in a city. This just feels different. I haven't heard anyone getting shot for the most of the couple days I have been here. Just, how do these people survive, Roanaopur doesn't really have a homeless population, too many random thugs that like to just kill people randomly," he commented as he looked around.
"Why would you live somewhere like that? Surely there has to be a better option for you. It isn't like you are wanted, are you," his father asked.
"Maybe a few countries in Africa, and North Korea. I can't think of many others off the top of my head. Roanapur though, it has a meaning. It is where mercenaries go, when there isn't anything else for them. Since 89, we have just become less and less relevant. Major nations started to only hire us when they needed plausible deniability, instead of trainers, and fill ins for line infantry. Only criminals look for us now, which, not the worst paydays, but it lacks the glory. I'm not interested in getting joined up with a PMC, or a security company like you run, which is only a little different," he replied.
"What happened when you left? Where did you go? How did you even live," for his credit, his father actually seemed like he wanted to know.
"Wound up getting wrapped up with some mid level sicario leader, and he kept me in work. Was the person who helped me with my first kill. He just pulled some random guy, put him on his knees, and told me to blow his brains out. I did, without any hesitation. I didn't care. After that, I just worked for whoever paid. The cartels, treated the mercs different that the sicarios. Because of that I ran into an old merc, Mexican by the name of Manuel Escoberas. He kinda became what I wish you could have been," he didn't acknowledge the shamed look his father showed, "He died a couple years later, shot and killed in Colombia while we worked escort for a Médecins sans Frontières convoy. After that I just drifted. Dealt with Langley some, got to Africa, fought there, and just went where the guns were needed. I didn't give too much of a shit about sides. There were the people paying me, and the people they told me to shoot. Did quite a bit of protec, worked for rebels the Soviet Union, until they got themselves killed. I mostly just survived. I got to be one of the best, which doesn't mean jack shit anymore."
"Wow, how did you manage that so quickly. Your only, like, 30 aren't you. That is a lot of fighting in not a lot of time," Jennifer said as she led them towards an area near the rear of the encampment.
"I never kept a contract for more than a year. I didn't want inertia to set in, and end up in a situation I couldn't get out of. Only one I was willing to let be a permanent, was my last before I ended up where I am now," he was starting to get uncomfortable in the surroundings.
"Jennifer, we are going to have a very long discussion about your hobbies when we get home. It isn't that I mind that you are trading information, I doubt you are getting into anything at your age that could get you, you know what, never mind this is going to end if this is the kind of place you have your informants," the giant form of their father rumbled.
"Father, I can take care of myself. If I remember right, I tend to do well in the company competitive rankings. Besides, they know that I have people behind me that can, make things difficult for them," the girl smiled slightly as she continued on.
"Shit, Revy may have something there. Look, any of these dudes try something stupid with me here, they die. Remember that, I have gun, and it looks like I outsize any of them. How far until we get to where you are taking us," Ethan was definitely not liking this place.
There were too many people all gathered up, that had nothing to lose. What was stopping a group of them from gathering together and trying to harm one of them. His hand kept migrating to where he had knife across the back of his hips, ready to strike if need be. He may hate his father, but he was in very strong agreement about the continuation of these activities. Very strong agreement.
"Hey, Skat, you around," Jennifer suddenly called out.
"Hey, Titties as haer. Whasta gaan on?," a very old, and obviously addled black man appeared out of seemingly nowhere.
"Bikers hit a three truck convoy. Whats the lark around here on it. Also, I wouldn't try any of your touchy feely crap today. Let me introduce my father, and older brother. They will probably make me need a new informant if you do," the tone she took was completely different than she had been using.
"Beekers," he started to reach for the girl's chest, but the end of a suppressor made him stop dead.
"You touch, you die," Ethan said coldly.
"OOOOK, yeaaah, beekers hitup the trooks, nabbed a blunde hoe out of one. Enercy's Mastas. Thoy hooked up with tha rooskies. Noot the usul one eether. Soome new cucks, acts looke soldas. Oonly beeeeen roun' faw weaks," he probably got paid cash usually, but this old man knew that he had to live if he wanted that crack.
"Jennifer, I did not understand this dude, and I speak Russian, it makes more sense than this when you don't," he looked at his younger sister.
She nodded, "He has three teeth, and his jaw has been broken who knows how many times. What he said was that a group of bikers called Anarchy's Masters hit your trucks. They took the blonde woman. Apparently there is another group of Russian mob types that have shown up in the last few weeks, soldier types."
"That is not fucking good. How the fuck did they even know about this, do they have a another fucking mole. This has been setup for two fucking months, so it tracks. She got me in it late though, so there was limited I could do," he started mumbling under his breath as he tried to make sense of it.
"Caleb, do you know who is behind this? If so we can get the info to Dallas Police, and they can work on getting her back," Robert said to his son.
"That would be a bad idea. It would get a lot of cops killed. These people, are spetsnaz, As much as I didn't want to talk about my last contract, let me say this; My deceased boss's brother thinks that I am responsible for his death, I'm not, and I killed the man's daughter when she tried to kill me. So yeah, I doubt there are many police forces in the states that could stand up to people that depraved. This is shit I did not need," he was on the brink of a complete breakdown.
"Wait, you have Russian special forces wanting you dead? Wow, my brother is actually really awesome. Skat, where do the bikers hang out," Jennifer was getting more excited to know Ethan the longer she was around him.
"Beekers, unkard, thank headed out past arlin'ton. Git thar oonce in a whale, soomteens throoow out deceeeent booze. Soomteens event gave out the honey if yah lick boots. Soome o' tha hoes eveeeen goo for unwooshed, and diseeesed whoon thay wound," Skat was really getting on Ethan's nerves, but he understood a little better what the man was saying that time.
"Yeah, Jennifer, this stops. I don't want to think that this is the company my sister keeps. You, get the fuck out of my sight. I am really having to hold back from taking out what teeth you have left," when the old man disappeared he turned to his father, "I hate having to ask for help in this. I don't quite want to unleash a detachment of Afghan War vets on this area if I don't have to . Do you have any men, that would be competent enough to pull off an assault on wherever this place is."
"Look I hire former soldiers, but that isn't what my company does, and I don't want to put it at risk doing something like that. Paramilitary operations tend to upset people in the government, and I at least try to make sure my taxes are done, and the ATF has no reason to look at me. Myself personally though, I think I still have enough left in memory from Vietnam to help, and a few buddies who haven't quite gotten that settled down even twenty something years later," the giant said.
Ethan looked at him slack jawed, "Are you fucking kidding me. When is the last time you ran an op. I was barely in kindergarten when you were drafted. You really think that you could help pull this shit off?"
"Who says that I just let it all go by the wayside," Robert Coffey simply smiled.