Rock was finding himself in a much calmer mood than he really should have been. He knew that Hotel Moscow, the Triads, and the Sicilians knew better than to cause trouble. The Colombians were the wild card. Honestly, if it had still been the Manisarera Cartel, he would have been more comfortable.
Gustavo was known for being a little volatile, and there were whispers that he had executed Abrego a few years earlier during the last time Roberta had been in the city. Regardless, Abrego disappeared, and Gustavo took over for him. This just had to be big enough for him to return to oversee directly.
He looked over to the door where Revy was standing, surprisingly wearing one of the suits that Ethan had gotten her for the business trip in America. There wasn't anyway that he could deny that she cleaned up way better than he would have ever thought possible. He was a straight guy, so of course he thought that Revy was smoking hot, but dressed like that, he couldn't even describe it. He could still see the outlines of her cutlasses beneath the jacket, so he felt it better that he not say anything.
He looked over to the bar where Ethan was discussing something with Bao. That was a tense conversation. Bao and Ethan didn't get on the best, so Rock was almost afraid that a fist could fly out of nowhere without any notice. He knew Ethan wouldn't be the one to start, he was more professional than that, but Bao might, as long as he thought the Flag would come out of it ok.
The big issue was going to arise when the attendees began to arrive. Chang and Balalaika had already agreed that they would submit to being patted down before they entered, even if they weren't that happy about it. Ethan would do men, Revy women so no one could claim that anyone was trying to cop a feel out of turn. Ronnie and Gustavo hadn't ever answered if they would submit, which was worrying.
"You look like a jackrabbit having a staring contest with a coyote. Relax Rock, things should be nice and boring. Who would be dumb enough to attack a meeting like this, when you have all the big wigs, their personal armies, and two of the deadliest gunfighters in Roanapur here," Ethan walked over and sat down at the table across from him.
Rock nodded and took a breath, "Yeah, you're right. I'm mostly just worried about the Colombians. They aren't known for making the best decisions, and they really don't like Roberta. They also have strong ties to FARC. They know who Roberta was, and they have tried to kill her before. I just have to hope that the value of this meeting is higher than the price on her head."
"They won't get any weapons in here. I can assure you of that, and if they try to force it, they are not going to have a good time. I'm not a big fan of the cartels, and I worked for them when I was starting out. There are a few things that I could mention, that would make them reconsider," Rock wanted to say that the man was just trying to reassure him, but the completely straight face Ethan held, and how long he had known him, said different.
Ethan reached over to clap him on the shoulder a couple of times, and then stood up and went to join Revy by the door. Rock really hoped that there wasn't about to be a gunfight breakout during the meeting. He could take yelling matches and fistfights, but no shooting that day.
Another hour passed, and the first people arrived. Garcia and the maids. Rock held his breath as Roberta walked in. This was going to be the one moment that could result in the highest chance of bloodshed, and even Ethan had a hand close to one of his guns. Thankfully nothing happened during her pat down, or Fabiola's. Ethan expertly patted down Garcia, and there was no conflict. He did notice that Ethan gave a very appreciative look up and down Roberta's body though.
"Senor Rock, I'm glad that we were the first to arrive. It will give me time to properly compose myself while we wait. I suddenly find myself wishing I was old enough to drink," the boy said as he greeted Rock.
"Be glad you aren't. You may end up having the clearest head here tonight, and that can be its own advantage. I was a little worried not knowing how you would take the security measures, Roberta," Rock looked over at the woman nervously.
"They are understandable. I see that the gentleman is aware of my, previous actions. I will endeavor to, not disappoint the Young Master. Though, I feel as though Senorita Revy was, a little too interested in my chest," she replied, her face slightly red.
"Oh, that may be from Ethan's instructions. He said that he had known women to hide small pistols and knives under their breasts, so to make sure to, I will let you figure the rest of that out. Regardless, he is good at what he does, and an utmost professional. He has been doing this for a very long time. How are you doing Fabiola, I hope the pat down did not offend you," Rock turned to the young girl next.
She made no secret of her opinions of Rock, but she didn't outright voice them, "No, Senor. I do appreciate that they have made an effort to not force us to be manhandled by lowly mercenario. Will the other attendees be much longer. I would rather not have to spend anymore time in such a, den of inequity, than I must."
Rock looked around. The Yellow Flag might not have been the nicest bar in the city, but he was rather fond of it, and did not look forward to the day that Bao finally decided to stop rebuilding it. That was going to be a sad day, and a loss for the alcoholics of Roanapur that would never be recovered from.
"Hopefully not too much longer. As to how long the meeting is going to last, I have no clue. It may be finished in a couple of hours, or we may have to sleep on things for a day or two. Please only speak up if Garcia addresses you directly. There is a certain level of decorum expected from subordinates at these meetings, and any deviation from that could be seen as a weakness. If you cannot control those under you, then how can you control your own affairs. Garcia, your age alone puts you at a disadvantage. I know that you don't try to dominate your maids, poor choice of words there, but you get what I mean. You must give the impression that you control them completely. Understood," Rock turned back to the teenager in the spotlight.
Garcia nodded, "Si, Senor Rock. As much as I don't like such dishonest theatrics, I will abide by that."
Garcia began speaking to his two female companions in Spanish as they moved toward the table that had been set up for the negotiations. One group down, and four to go. Hopefully there wouldn't be too much in the way of stress preceding on.
Ten minutes later Hotel Moscow arrived. It was completely uneventful getting them inside, though Balalaika wasn't very happy when Ethan suddenly grabbed the hem of her coat and gave her a stern look. Begrudgingly she handed over a bayonet that she had concealed in there. Ethan never missed that someone was carrying a weapon, and he wasn't going to give anyone an inch.
"I had forgotten he knew about that. How are you doing today Rock. I see that the Lovelace family has arrived already," Balalaika greeted Rock as Boris and an individual that he didn't know stood behind her.
"Somewhat nervous considering that the Colombians are involved. Thankfully the Nuevo Leredo are not involved. I could almost guarantee there would trouble then. Who is this, I thought that you were going to have Jodorowsky with you," he asked, addressing the subject.
"Serzhant Bondar. He briefly served with us in Afghanistan as a lowly private. He was lucky enough to remain in service however, and was part of the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces. Jodorowsky, I can't believe I am actually saying this, he suffered a case of testicular torsion after he drunkenly insulted a prostitute yesterday," the woman covered her eyes as she spoke.
"I, imagine that didn't go well for her," Rock was a little worried about what they might have done to the prostitute.
"Rock, she was the one insulted. Even if we are members of the Thieves in Law, we are still soldiers, and we believe in getting what you deserve. If he didn't want his scrotum tied in a knot, he shouldn't have called her a cow. Regardless, everyone that was with him got a good laugh out of it. Sadly I don't think he is going to be able to do more than lay in bed with a bag of ice for a few weeks. Please, pardon us, I spent quite a while on my feet walking the positions my men are stationed at, and I had the poor judgment to do it in a brand new pair of high heels. I really need to sit down," she walked off to the table, followed by Boris and Bondar.
Rock noticed Ethan and Revy doing their best to not smile as they overheard what happened to the Russian mobster. It may have sounded funny to them, but Rock was feeling a bit of sympathetic pain. Balalaika was right though, he did bring it on himself. He just wondered what she meant by everyone with him. Wait, did she mean...
He decided he was better off not knowing.
"Hey Twinkie, watch hands. I no swing that way," Rock turned to see Chang and his entourage
coming in.
"Are you seriously keeping throwing needles under your tits? Seriously? Why," Revy still had her hand shoved up under Shenhua breast.
"Always have backup plan. That big surprise? Now move hand, making me uncomfortable," the Taiwanese woman said trying to pull away.
"Give them up Chinglish. The only two allowed to carry weapons inside are me and Ethan. Also, congratulations on smelling human again," Revy stepped back and held her hands out.
"Uh, what you mean?"
"Give me the needles. It isn't rocket science. They are weapons, you don't get weapons in here. So hand them over, we don't have all day," Revy kept her hand out, and Chang just watched, both proud, and a little amused.
"Uh Twinkie, they under boob. I no open dress to take out right here. Too many eyes. Uh, go back room," Shenhua looked at the room and saw Garcia, "Also children present. Have no decency?"
Revy looked over at Ethan who rolled his eyes, but gave a nod, "Alright. You better give up anything else I didn't feel. Otherwise I'm kicking your ass after this."
The other occupants of the room watched the two women disappear into a store room. The most of the men in the room couldn't hide their collective disappointment.
"So, Mr. Haines, How did you get her to actually act like a professional. All I ever managed to teach her was how to shoot. Not to mention getting her to wear decent clothes," Chang looked over at Ethan.
"I bought all of it for her. She really likes it when things don't cost her anything. Also, you have to admit, she fills it out really well," Ethan shrugged.
Chang just gave a chuckle as they all heard Revy yell, "WHY THE HELL WERE YOU KEEPING THAT THERE? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
Rock groaned as Chang just walked past him with an amused smirk. He both wanted to know, and really didn't want to know. Eventually Revy came back out with a shocked look on her face, and Shenhua walked over to join Chang with a sly smile.
Thankfully Ronnie the Jaws arrived. He didn't say anything as he and his two companions were patted down by Ethan. Rock could see they weren't happy, but knew better than to say anything. He hadn't been overly worried about the Cosa Nostra. They probably had to go through similar things when they met with the Dons of the organization.
They had nothing to say as they walked past Rock. He didn't recognize the two men accompanying Ronnie, but they weren't accosted by Ethan. They were respecting the rules put forth thankfully, so that gave him a little less to worry about. Then his anxiety spiked as he realized that the Colombians were going to be the next to arrive.
Twenty minutes passed. Rock was pacing. The room wasn't necessarily tense, in fact the three powers from Roanapur were actually having a bit of an ersatz meeting regarding business that was of interest of all three parties. That was a very good thing at least. It gave Garcia a chance to observe them, and understand how they worked.
Then the door opened. Upon seeing who was with Gustavo, his stomach almost fell out of his body. Hidalgo wasn't too much of an issue, though he might still have something of a grudge, or abject terror, regarding Fabiola, the other person was going to be the issue. He had decided to bring Deigo Cabrera. All it was going to take was for him to make a snide remark to Revy, and something could touch off.
"Oh, check this out Jefe, the whore dresse...," Rock had expected a gunshot.
What had happened was that Ethan stepped in between the two, and was simply staring the man down. That was when Rock remembered that there was a good chance that this man was the same one that was shown in the tragedy photo that Ethan had. He could also see why the guy was called Pipsqueak, if that was him. There was over a foot difference in their heights.
Ethan was calm and professional, "Good day gentlemen. If it isn't too much trouble, I need to ask you to either hand over any weapons they you may posses, or leave them with your associates outside. I will also be patting you down to make sure that you haven't forgotten anything. Are there any objections to any of this?"
Gustavo looked at Ethan. He was fairly tall himself, but Ethan was still taller than him by several inches, "Who gave you the authority to say that we can't have a weapon, Pendejo?"
"Señor, le pediría que se abstuviera de adoptar una postura tan agresiva. Todos los demás participantes han estado de acuerdo. Tengo la sensación de que no sería bueno para sus perspectivas financieras a largo plazo intentar evitar seguir los mismos términos. ¿Me entienden? (Sir, I would ask that you refrained from such an aggressive posture. All other participants have agreed. I have a feeling that it would not be good for your long term financial outlook to try to avoid following the same terms. Am I understood?)," Rock often forgot how intelligent and articulate Ethan was, given that he often was right there with Revy when violence started up, but he was relieved at the fact.
Gustavo looked over at his companions, and pulled his pistol out to hand to Hidalgo, "Cabrera, pásale tu pieza. Hidalgo, llévalos al vehículo y haz que Miguel se asegure de que sean atendidos.(Cabrera, hand your piece to him. Hidalgo, take them to the vehicle, and have Miguel make sure they are taken care of.)."
"Jefe, ¿estás loco? ¿Qué pasa si esto es algún tipo de intento de eliminarte?(Jefe, are you loco? What if this is somekind of attempt to take you out?)," Cabrera was suddenly on guard.
"Maldito mercenario paranoico. Si ese fuera el caso, dudo que hubiera sido tan diplomático. Sigue mis órdenes o finalmente dejaré de pasar por alto tu falta de respeto. Ahora.(You fucking paranoid mercenary. If that was the case, I doubt that he would have been so diplomatic. Follow my orders, or I will finally stop overlooking your disrespect. Now.)," Gustavo didn't raise his voice, understanding that Ethan wasn't joking, and most likely wasn't going to shy away from engaging in violence himself if he thought it was necessary.
Cabrera took another look at the complete blank face that Ethan had adopted, and gave him a dismissive look as he followed the order, "Si, Jefe. I will do as you ask. Let one scratch on that gun Hidalgo, and I will skin you alive."
When Cabrera withdrew his pistol, Rock thought he saw Ethan's eyebrow raise up. He couldn't be sure, as Ethan did have an issue with some facial tics since he had the surgery to remove the tumor, but they usually seemed much less noticeable than that. Regardless, the rest of the interactions were much less confrontational.
Once the Colombians had taken their seat, Rock walked up to the head of the table. He was definitely feeling like that rabbit Ethan had compared him to earlier. He really was regretting agreeing to do this, but it was too late for him to back out now.
"Thank you everyone for being here. Though I know you are all aware of what the purpose of this meeting is, I will be going over it again to make sure everything is clear. I will then hand off the floor to Senor Lovelace.
We are here to deal with negotiation regarding the construction, and partnership in a mostly legal hotel that will provide services and refuge to agents of the assembled parties, and any future parties that buy in, or are recommended and agreed upon by the assembled parties.
The mentioned hotel would be under the ownership, via an offshore company wholly owned by the Lovelace family. The partnership would be through contracts restricted to the legal enterprises operated by the assembled parties. This is to be done to make any tracing of agents by law enforcement more difficult, though it will be mentioned, not impossible.
Staffing will be mostly local individuals who are not affiliated with any organization assembled, or other organization that operates within the bounds of the city. There will be an effort to make sure that no one hired will be from outside the boundaries of the city. This is so that there is an understanding of the staff who they will be interacting with, so that there is less of a chance of anyone cooperating with any law enforcement agencies.
Unless there are any questions requiring further clarification, I will now yield the floor to Senor Lovelace," Rock really hoped this wasn't going to become a bloodbath, he really did.