Roanapur Nights

A Rosario+Vampire and Black Lagoon Crossover

Chapter 6

The trip up the stairs was one that Rock enjoyed. Yan had begun filling him in on some of what had been going on. Part of which was that Tsurara was currently in Roanapur with her daughter. The fact that someone he considered so highly being here didn't strike him as odd. For all he knew Tsurara was part of the Huang family already, and if she wasn't then it was likely that Tsukune was.

A small part of him wondered if he would be seeing her, but at the same time he didn't want to push for it. It wasn't that he was going to go out of his way to avoid her, but he had to believe that she was currently busy with other matters. He could almost practically hear Revy in his head letting a bark of laughter escape and mention that yeah, she's likely servicing the cock she was a present for.

Revy was a lot of things, and every single one of them were things that he didn't just accept about her. No, they were things that he loved about her. All of them made up the woman that she was. It had been an ordeal to get her to the point where she understood that she was worth the effort. There were a ton of things that her father had done to her. Things that he had let happen, and all of it had ended up creating the trauma that created who she was. He wasn't going to be thankful for it. While her past trauma had helped her with her ability to adapt and survive it also cost her dearly.

Revy had a difficult time believing that she was worth anything. He had been patient, and his patience had been rewarded. She was closer to being healed, and that was a step in the right direction. He had no illusions that she would ever be completely healed. There would always be a part of her that was waiting for the other shoe to drop. At the same time he had what he supposed was an eternity to show her that she was worth everything to him.

The most important people in his life were her, their daughter, and then the rest of the crew of the Black Lagoon. He considered Dutch a close friend and confidant. Benny was practically a brother, and he had to admit that he had ended up in an interesting family. His place of employment was actually an extended family. His own family, his mother and father, had never once attempted to search for him. There was no need for them to.

His former company had all but confirmed that he had died. They had informed him that it was best if he allowed himself to be killed, or to simply throw himself into harm's way so that he would be killed. His existence was more of a hindrance to them. He knew about their practices, the things they were involved in, and he had been more than happy to watch Balalaika ransom it back to them.

His speaking up and stating that he no longer worked for them, or would ever work for them again, had been the final nail in the coffin for who he had been. Besides, he had no doubt that his father and mother would be more than disappointed in him. They had wanted him to strive to become a major officer in any of the corporations in Japan. They wanted him to waste his life in the pursuit of money over everything else.

Instead he had landed somewhere that he not only made a living, but had a decent life. He looked at the door as Yan opened it, and inside he saw Revy leaning against the couch. There was an easy smile on her face, and that told him that whatever it was that Ling Ling wanted to talk to him about obviously had her interest. If she was interested then it couldn't be bad. No, he had to believe that his wife had a good idea of what would be something that they would both be interested in. More than that she would want to ensure that whatever they did wouldn't mess with any of the other clients they dealt with on a daily basis.

That smile, that easy smile of hers, meant that she was actually happy and considering something. It was a scene that made the world better. He moved forward and gave a slight bow to Ling Ling who stood and did the same toward him.

"Please, " she said as she pointed toward Revy, "have a seat."

He did as she asked, and Ling Ling gave him a slight smile, "Would you care for some tea?"

He gave a nod, and the Jiang Shi lifted a teapot and poured what smelled like a heavenly blend of herbal teas. It wasn't one specific, but instead it smelled to be a couple of different teas that he knew. The first was a gently crafted orange pekoe tea that was well established in Japanese culture. The other was a lighter hint. It had a sort of smooth taste that reminded him of black tea, but it had a soft hint of cloves and mint to it. The taste was truly unique, and he found that the flavor was indeed something he'd enjoy.

"Thank you," he said as he looked at her, "This tea certainly reflects your establishment quite well."

He could see the interest in her eyes as she leaned forward, "Oh?"

He gave a nod, "You have two different teas that came into foreign countries through various trades, and neither were taken seriously," he replied as he sipped a bit more, "Yet, both of them have grown to become powerhouses. The Orange Pekoe itself is most likely from the Gorreana Tea Company. They pride themselves as being the single oldest tea plantation in all of Europe. The Black Tea is from the L.T. Sue Company I'm sure. Also one of the oldest tea companies in the world. They however don't grow their own tea. Instead they select the best options from around the world and make house blends that are often considered to be among the best in existence. Their black tea, for example, often has light hints of cloves and mint."

She gave a small laugh, "I see, and how does that reflect our company?"

He looked over his cup, "Simply put neither company was ever expected to become staples in the corporate organizations in Japan. They were expected to fail, and yet they now command over ninety percent of all tea related businesses," he said before he put his cup down, "The similar was thought about the Huang and Miao families when they first arrived here in Roanapur, and yet your alliance has gained a commanding presence."

He saw her nod, lean back, and considered him for a moment, "You truly have done your homework," she said with a smile, "And that is exactly why I feel so confident in offering this to you."

Rock studied her for a moment before Ling Ling stood, "We would like to offer you and Revy a chance to work closer to us," she said as she motioned for him to follow. He stood and followed after her and she led him toward another room. This one was a large office, attached to it was a balcony, and from what Rock could see a full kitchen, "In essence we want to make you both members of the Huang Family, but we do understand your situation as well."

She moved, half hopped half walked, toward the balcony. Opening it, Rock couldn't help but admire the view. From this height one could easily say that Roanapur looked like any other city. Of course he learned that every city suffered from corruption. Roanapur itself was just more honest with it. Still, he had every reason in the world to want to see the change. His personal mission was to make Roanapur a place that no longer lived by the decaying rules of the American Old West.

He wanted to see the city become something more than it had been, but he wasn't naive as he had been. He understood all too well that there would always be a darkside to things. It would be up to him to find a way to control those darker elements, and now he had time. What Ling Ling was offering was tempting, but it was tempting for a multitude of reasons. If he accepted her offer he would be given resources to help change the direction of the city.

Of course he would also have to deal with the politics between the various factions at work in Roanapur. With Hotel Moscow he knew that the politics mostly dealt with the idea that Balalaika wanted two main things. She wanted to preserve her honor, and she wanted to allow her men the chance to perish in a grand war. Out of the two she held to her honor more. Thus, everything she did, everything she allowed to happen, was all based solely upon the idea that her honor would not be tarnished.

With Chang and the Triads the politics dealt more with established power and money. The Thailand branch of the Sun Ye On Triads were focused on creating a powerhouse that would establish themselves as the very pinnacle of the criminal underworld. As such it wasn't a case of honor, but it simply was what decision would ensure that he made the most money possible. He had little doubt that Chang would happily take any chance he had in exploiting, or destroying, everyone else.

There was little doubt in his mind that if push came to shove Chang would be dealt with. He couldn't deny that Chang himself was skilled when it came to weapons, but ultimately he would be a man going up against real monsters. There was absolutely no doubt in Rock's mind that when it happened Chang would find himself a very surprised individual. Granted, he had more than enough reason to not specifically care about what happened to the man. Chang had pricked his own honor and intelligence. In essence Rock had disrupted the flow of black tar heroin into Roanapur, but it had done nothing to stop the illegal trade.

All it had really done was force the criminal syndicates established here to focus on a different product, and that had been guns, sex, and slaves. He'd closed one door only to see dozens of others open up wider to take the place of the one. With Chang and the Triads it was a mixture of illegal guns and slave trafficking that they focused on. The lagoon company had moved more than enough of the guns for them in the past. Shipments going out to whomever had the money to purchase them.

Freedom fighters in a small tropical nation, gun traders that dealt with the criminal elements in more established places, drug cartels, and dozens of other places. What he had hoped for was the flow of illegal money into Roanapur, but what he found was that the flow wasn't even truly affected. Which was why the offer that Ling Ling was making was more than just tempting.

Rock knew that he would be working for a criminal syndicate, but then he was already working for smugglers. There was absolutely no illusions that the Lagoon Company were couriers, but more than that they were smugglers. It really didn't matter what the shipment was, they were willing to haul it. Antique World War II weapons, they'd deliver it. Illegal immigrants, just another Tuesday. The one place that Dutch drew the line was slave trafficking.

Rock hadn't ever asked, but Dutch had said the reason regardless. He'd said, "Slave trafficking is risky anyway. There's too many variables, too many chances that things will go tits up," he'd said before taking a drink, "But on top of that it's bad business to enter into that business. Once you do it closes more doors than it opens."

He'd realized exactly what Dutch had meant when he realized that the slave couriers that the Triads used didn't really get any other jobs. They just hauled slaves, and it wasn't a steady gig. From what he'd seen the Triads saw a shipment of slaves about once every three months. That meant that the couriers were paid once every three months. Even if they were getting five thousand a head, which was doubtful, they were likely only delivering around twenty-five slaves. That meant at best, at absolute best, they were making about a hundred twenty-five thousand US Dollars. Their crew had to be big enough to ensure that no slaves escaped, so at least ten people. That meant that they were splitting a hundred twenty-five US between ten people. That was twelve and a half thousand. Divide it by three and it was just a little over four grand a month.

It wasn't bad money, but it wasn't worth the risk. As it was, the Lagoon itself was a million dollar business. He knew because Dutch had him take over doing the books. Which doing the books certainly became more interesting after he and Revy started dating. Revy herself was someone that expressed her feelings tactically. Hugs, kisses, and a whole slew of other things. One of which included the desk at the office, her waiting under it, and him being completely unaware.

It'd happened twice, and both times he had to keep from sounding like anything was going on. Still, he understood that if they accepted Ling Ling's offer it would be a chance to slow the other avenues. He didn't have illusions of stopping it, but he believed that it would be possible to control it. To regulate it to some degree. Ultimately it would mean having to get a handle on some of the more unruly elements.

Of course he knew that it meant Chang. There would come a time that he had to deal with Chang. There was little doubt in his mind that he could potentially do it himself, but then he didn't want to. He wanted to let Chang's own superiors deal with him, and that meant finding a way of completely annihilating the Triad's income. He didn't want to put the Huang and Miao families at odds with the Triads, but there was a potential that he could help them take some of the avenues of income away from them.

As long as it was done above board, and it was done to a degree that everyone could see it happening, then there couldn't be a damned thing done about it. Ultimately Chang would be left dealing with the fallout, and he would have to explain to his superiors why they had lost such a large amount of income. The original plan he had when it came to the US soldiers that they helped escape was still the best option.

Of course that meant that he needed to find a United States operative that wanted to bring down the various criminal syndicates, and have them see that the best option would be to bring down the Triads first. The vacuum that would be created would be one that the Huang and Miao families could fill. Still he tabled the thought and he looked at Revy who seemed to have already contemplated the offer. He studied Ling Ling for a moment, "As long as we are still able to work, within certain limitations I'm sure, for the various organizations that we've worked for in the past I see no reason to not accept."

Ling Ling leaned back, "Naturally we want you to continue to work as couriers for the other syndicates," she stated as she looked at him, "That would not change. What would change is that you would attend the various meetings between the various syndicates over the territories and power dynamic in the city."

Rock couldn't help but smile at that, "And that means that I would have a front seat access to everything that goes on, right?"

Ling Ling studied him, and then looked at Revy who also seemed to be interested, "Yes, you would be in the loop on all of the business that includes the Huang and Miao families," she said with a short pause, "I'm sure that you have your reasons for wanting to be part of them."

She leaned back and closed her eyes, "Rock, you will be part of the Huang Family. You will become a member of the inner circle, and it is not an offer that is made or accepted lightly," she said before she opened her eyes again, "It is an office, and position, that carries a great deal of responsibility and weight. What you say, what you do, will reflect upon us. We will defend our own, but at the same time should the need arise we will also discipline our own as well."

He nodded, "I understand," he replied, understanding where she was coming from, "I have no intention of harming the organization, itself. I just have a few ideas that might take a rival off of the chessboard and leave it free for everyone else."

The smile that crossed Ling Ling's lips was one that both Revy and Rock had seen on others. It was the smile of a predator. The satisfied smile of one who was all too happy to allow the situation to take out their prey for them. He didn't think that she knew who it was that he was planning on removing, but he did know that she likely knew if there was a power vacuum that both the Huang and Miao families would benefit from it. He was counting on the resources at their disposal that would help him ensure that a major player was removed.

Afterward, it would be a matter of ensuring that the next one in would respect the unofficial truce and hidden laws a bit better.