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The Ghost of Roanapur - Chapter 2: Rasta Blasta; The Bloodhound of Florencia
🕑 Added 2023-03-08 18:36:26 +0000 UTCIt had been a few days since Rock and Revy had gone on their "job." In Amara's opinion, it seemed more like Dutch had sent the two on a series of small errands to force the two to work through their problems. This was further proven by the fact that Amara wasn't even busy like Dutch told them she was, she was just sitting in her room catching up on some sleep.
Although, Amara was glad she wasn't stuck in the middle of that awkward, violent atmosphere that had been following Rock and Revy like a suffocating cloud.
Now the company minus Benny had found themselves on their torpedo boat working on a new job, floating in the South China Sea…
SLAPT!
And it was not going well.
"Don't try to distract me you thug! Let me off this ship right now!" screamed a young boy with short blonde hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a light blue polo shirt with a yellow collar, tan shorts, and black shoes.
In front of the kid stood Amara, Rock, and Revy. Amara just looked at the kid blankly, and Rock was nervous, not because of the child, but the woman standing next to him.
The crew thought that giving the young boy some food would get him to calm down but instead…
He decided to throw it directly at the most dangerous person in the room…So there Revy stood, with an ice cream cup on her head, as the frozen dessert dripped down her face.
"You think your hot shit, huh?! Well?!" Revy pulled out one of her pistols, intending to use them only for Rock to jump forward and grab her. "How about we find out what you had for breakfast this morning? Hm?"
"Don't say that stuff to a kid!"
"Shut up! Piss off, will you?!"
"Why don't you go back up to the deck Revy? Huh? Come on Revy. Go! Go!"
"Little brat! I bet you'd eat it if I held a gun to yer head! I'm gonna kill you!"
And so, the three adults left to go up to the deck, leaving the young boy by himself. "Damn this sure is boring! You try to do something nice for the little bastard and he takes advantage of it!" Revy yells as she bursts through the hatch and climbs into the cabin.
Revy immediately grabbed a towel and began to wipe the ice cream off her, "Where the fuck did that kid learn his manners? We don't need the little snot in our cabin! I say we chain him up and lock him in storage! What do you think Dutch?"
For his part Dutch simply turned his head slightly as he gave Revy a quick look, "We're out at sea, Revy. He can't escape, so what's the point?"
Revy scoffed "Well aren't you a nice guy. Asshole." She then walked off to the corner like an angry child and started kicking the wall repeatedly.
Dutch waved his hand, bringing Rock and Amara closer to him, "Sorry. But do you guys' mind babysitting him? We can sell the brat off and make some money. Don't let him get hurt."
Rock and Amara just looked at each other before Amara waved her hands to the hatch. Rock sighed as he dejectedly walked towards it, going down first as the young woman followed behind.
In Amara's opinion there was something not right about this job, why would the Manisarera Cartel asked them to kidnap an orphan boy? Honestly, I have a bad feeling about this. Something is going to go terribly wrong I just know it…
~X~
SLPAT! POP!
"'Mutual Understanding'?! SHUT YOUR FLITHY MOUTH! Santa Maria can see through your lies, you thug!" The young boy once again screamed.
Rock sighed as he stood with the remnants of cheese and tomato sauce covering his face after the boy threw the slice of pizza he gave him, using the tissues Amara handed him to wipe it off. "Well okay… but I'm not feeding you the same lines my partner did."
"You're different from the other crew members. You're not like that tattooed lady or the black…" He then looked at Amara, "or that girl, you're normal."
Amara let out a small chuckle, "That's because Rock here is a thug-in-training. Isn't that right Rocky?"
Rock just rolled his eyes, a small smile gracing his lips, "Yeah, yeah, I know I haven't been broken in yet."
The young boy began speaking again, "Those guys from the Manisarera Cartel wouldn't tell me anything. Am I going to be sold off?"
"Yes." Amara responded.
"Amara!" Rock exclaimed, shocked that his partner would tell a young child that.
"What? Just because he's a kid doesn't mean he isn't aware of his situation, so what's the point in lying to him? Besides, it was obvious, why else would a cartel kidnap an orphan if they weren't going to sell him?"
The young boy glared at the two, "Is that what the Cartel told you? It's a total lie. My dad belongs to one of the thirteen noble families of South America. He is Diego Lovelace, eleventh patriarch of the Lovelace Family! And I am Garcia Lovelace successor and heir to his title!"
Rock just gave Garcia a pitiful look, "You're trying to get sympathy now? What's the point in lying… What an obnoxious kid." Amara just stared at the boy as Rock continued to speak, "First off, where did you even hear the name Lovelace? Aren't they at the very bottom of the thirteen families? I guess it does make your story a little more believable."
Garcia then explained to the two how the business wasn't doing all that well because of his father's old-fashioned mindset and how the Cartel showed up trying to force Diego to sell their family's land because of the rare elements that can be found on it.
"What kind of elements?" Amara finally spoke.
Garcia looked at her in slight surprise not expecting her to speak again, "Scandium and Yttrium."
Amara hummed, "That does make more sense than the whole random orphan story…"
Garcia was once again surprised, "You believe me?!"
Amara was about to answer him only for Rock to cut her off, "Wait a minute Amara! We can't just believe the kid because he gives us a whole sob story and says a few elements off the tip of his head!" Rock didn't think that someone like Amara could be fooled so easily?!
Amara just rolled her eyes, knowing what the man was thinking, "Don't you think if he was lying, he wouldn't be so sincere. And why would the Cartel ask us to kidnap him if he wasn't valuable? If he were just some orphan, they would have sent one of their own guys to do it, not hire us."
Rock thought about what she said, "Okay… next question…" Amara rolled her eyes again, "The Lovelace Family has a dog. What do you know about it?"
Garcia proceeded to give them a detailed answer about his dog Lazaro. At the end Rock and Amara looked at each other quietly. Rock looked shocked while Amara tried to look passive, but her lips kept threatening to pull up into a satisfying 'I was right and you're an idiot' smirk.
~X~
"…That's weird. There's something fishy about his story." Dutch said once Amara and Rock came up to the cabin to tell him and Revy the truth about Garcia.
"Dutch, I think we should return to port. The Cartel lied to us; this could cause some serious problems." Rock exclaimed.
Revy scoffed while twirling one of her guns around, "Rock I'm telling ya, don't listen to that kid. Although I guess Amara's listening because kids like them got to stick together." Amara herself looked like she was going to jump Revy if not for Rock's hand on her shoulder. "This sucks, either we get fucked over… or we come out looking like assess."
Revy suddenly stopped twirling his gun as her eyes became colder, "Then again… he's bringing in some profit. So, I don't see a problem here. Got it. No problem. Justice doesn't make the world go round, right?"
Rock looked down at the ground, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel sorry for the kid. But I'm worried our clients pulled a fast one on us."
"Well then, you've got to choose Dutch. I'll go with what you say."
Dutch looked towards the two newest members, "…Rock, Amara. Do you really think what that kid told you is true?"
After Rock explained how everything about the Lovelace Family was true while Amara said, "It's true, only someone close to the family could have known those things. Besides, I know liars, and trust me he isn't one. He was too earnest when he was talking about his life to be making it up."
"I don't get it through. All they had to do was kidnap the kid and make their demands. Even if they ate hiding something, why would they sell him off?"
Revy smirked, "He was probably a pain in the ass… to the Mafia and the Cartel. To think those guys hate having shit rubbed in the face the most. Right?"
"…A little insurance is in order. I'll ask Balalaika to check out his story."
~X~
A few hours later the crew reached the harbor and descended from the boat.
"We're here on dry land. Would you get moving already?!" Revy said as she smacked the back of Garcia's head, sending the boy stumbling forward.
"Hey back off the kid, will you? What are you a school yard bully?" Amara said, subtlety moving Garcia closer to her and away from Revy. She had always had a small soft spot for children, maybe it's because of her own shitty childhood and her need to project onto them…
Well, that's enough self-introspection for one day…
Revy just rolled her eyes "Well excuse me for having to babysit not one but two fucking kids! What a fucking joke!"
Rock soon stepped up, "Alright that's enough Revy."
But it didn't end there as Revy continued as they all got into the car, "What you too now?! Oh, let me guess you're going to treat him nicely and get a job at his house? Guess that makes sense, just look at you! You definitely be better off as some stuck up butler than a sailor."
After a long car ride the group finally found themselves at The Yellow Flag. As the group entered the bar, they see a crowd of Hispanic men at the front laughing at someone. The Hispanic men are members of the Colombian Manisarela Cartel and with them is the leader, Abrego. He is in his mid 40s, with black hair, a mustache and brown eyes and wearing a white suit with a red shirt underneath the jacket.
When Garcia entered, he heard a familiar female voice from the front.
"I'm very sorry, but I will not be able to hold back."
When Garcia heard that familiar voice, he looked directly to the crowd and saw a familiar young woman in her mid-twenties, with long braided purple hair, wearing round glasses and a maid uniform. She's also carrying a suitcase and an umbrella. Garcia is surprised to see her. The maid that Garcia knows is Roberta. The maid slowly starts to point her umbrella at one of the cartel members as they are still laughing.
"Please excuse me. And I hope you enjoy yourselves." Said the maid.
With that said, a cartel member was shot by a slug round which made him fly above the cartel members and hit the ground, dead.
"HOLY SHIT!" Yelled Dutch, Rock, Amara at the same time.
"Dutch...now I know what I want for Christmas." Said Revy in shock.
The Cartel was in shock and were slow to react, the maid lifted her suitcase, using it as a shield and pulled the trigger of her gun umbrella causing bullets come out and flying at the cartel. It was a Franchi SPAS-12 disguised as an umbrella. She was on a killing spree against the Manisarela Cartel. They then had to take cover, trying to kill the Maid. Bao was yelling at them to stop messing up his bar. As for Lagoon Company, they hid under a table with Garcia.
"Well, we just managed to walk ourselves into another war zone." Said Dutch. "Maybe we can take comfort in the fact that they are too busy killing each other to notice us. We'll be able to sneak out of here without alerting anyone to our presence if we keep our heads down."
"Does that involve leaving the brat here?" Revy asked.
"Yeah, I don't want a time bomb hanging around with us either." Dutch replied.
"Shit. That means that I won't have fun with that maid."
At that moment, the few Cartel members that are still alive, especially the leader Abrego took cover behind the walls and were firing in from the windows and the doorway...which pissed off Dutch and Revy.
"Great now the front door is blocked, let's take the back exit, leave the kid and let's go, Revy lead on" Dutch ordered.
He then let go of Garcia, "Anyway this kid isn't worth it."
Rock cut in, "But…
"We've got no choice." Revy cut him off, "Ah fucking fucks!"
"Listen to me Garcia, don't move from this spot until they stop shooting. When this is all over find your maid and go back to Venezuela."
Garcia stared at the man with tears in his eyes, "I-I… I didn't think she could just…That Roberta could just… she's not the type of person to just kill people!"
"Rock! What's taking you?!" Dutch called out from where him and the others were quietly trying to make their way out of the destroyed bar.
Behind the bar Bao could be seen muttering to himself about who was going to pay for all the damage when he saw Revy attempt to crawl past him. "Revy! You Bitch! Is this your fault?! How many times are your friends going to tear up my bar?!"
Revy glared at the man, "There not my friends! Don't try to pin this shit on me you dumbass!" Revy screamed, causing the bar to go silent as the gunshots stopped, giving away the fact that the Lagoon Company was there.
"Revy, you are a fucking moron. Would it kill you for once in your life to be quiet?" Amara said from behind, giving the older woman a look of distain.
Revy ignored her once she realized how quiet the room had gotten, "Fuck. It was almost as if they were waiting for me to open my mouth."
"Lagoon Company?! What the fuck are you doing here?! What happened to that package you were supposed to deliver to us?!" Abergo yelled from behind a pillar.
"Now wait a minute don't jump to conclusions Abrego!" Dutch said from a couple of feet away.
"Then why the fuck is the package here?! You better not have ignored our contract!" Abrego screamed when he saw Garcia stand up from his place on the floor.
"I said don't jump to conclusions! We'll talk about payment later, now is not the time!"
"Young master…" The maid Roberta said once she saw Garcia.
"Roberta…"
"I certainly didn't expect to see you here young master. Your father has been extremely worried about you. Come let us go home." Roberta tried to move closer, but Garcia took a couple steps back, putting more distance between them.
"It's understandable that you feel afraid but if you let me, I can explain myself." Roberta then looked down and saw Rock kneeling next to Garcia, "Who are these people?"
The maid then raised her umbrella with the intent to shoot Rock only for Garcia to jump in front of him, "Roberta don't!"
Suddenly Revy appeared behind the boy grabbing him whilst putting one of her guns to his head as she stared the maid down. "Stay back house maid. I don't think any of us wants to die, especially your sweet little Garcia."
Rock stared at her in disbelief, "Are you crazy?! You're only going to make it worse!"
"Shut up! As long as you're not stupid enough to start shooting at us you'll get the kid home in one piece. With his brain still in his head. Comprende?"
Roberta was quiet for a second, "I need a moment to think…"
"We're not done with you, you fucking bitch!" One of the Cartel members yelled as he jumped out from behind a pillar, charging at the maid with his gun drawn.
BANG!
Roberta was unfazed by this as she simply raised her umbrella, pointing it behind her and shooting the man dead all while still facing Rock, Revy, and Garcia.
Afterwards the two women stated at each other for what seemed to be an eternity, neither one moving as the room grew more tense.
"I have finished thinking now." Roberta said before speaking Spanish, saying the Lovelace Family creed.
"I cannot agree to your request though I do intend to have the young master home in one piece. I must work in agreement with this creed… So, in the name of Santa Maria, I shall bring the hammer of justice to all injustice!" Roberta yelled as she pulled the suitcase from behind her and began shooting once Revy pushed Garcia away and started shooting at her.
BANG! BANG BANG BANG!
The maid soon started clearing out the room with the machine gun that was hidden within the suitcase. And just as Revy was about to take cover behind the bar Roberta shot a shell at her which exploded, rendering the gunslinger unconscious.
"Revy!" Amara, Dutch, and Benny yelled as they ran towards her.
Soon Abrego started shooting once he noticed that the maid was distracted, "Would you just fucking die already?! I know you, Bloodhound Florencia!" This then led to Roberta turning her attention on him as she started shooting at the wall Abrego was hiding behind.
"Hey, is Revy alright?" Dutch asked Benny. "Her injuries are minor, but she does have a concussion." Benny replied.
"Damn it!" Dutch said as he picked up Revy's body. "Don't just stand there Rock! Run!"
Soon he and Benny were running out of the building.
"Come on Rock, we have to go." Amara said as she grabbed into his shoulder and began to pull him forward.
Just as the two started to move, Garcia latched onto Rock's hand, "Please take me with you! I can't deal with this! I-I don't know who she is!"
"Rock…" Amara said knowing what the man was thinking of doing and hoping that he wouldn't. There's no way we'll be able to get away from that crazy bitch if we take the kid with us.
"Amara." Rock said, he's eyes burning with conviction as she stared at his young partner.
Amara sighed, "Fine. But you're the one whose explaining this to Dutch."
And just like that Amara and Rock were leaving the Yellow Flag with Garcia in Rock's arms.
BAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNGGGGGGG!
The Yellow Flag became engulfed in flames a few moments after Rock, Amara, and Garcia made their way to the car.
"Gotta give that bitch props, she's an expert at killing." Amara said as she moved into the back seat, gently moving Revy next to the window.
"Damn it Rock, you dumb fuck! I told you to leave the kid behind!" Dutch said once he noticed Garcia in the man's arms.
"I know but I couldn't just leave him in there to die." Rock said as he handed the young boy to Amara before looking back at the now destroyed Yellow Flag.
"Do you think that might have killed her?"
"Get in the car."
"I shouldn't be able to hear it, but I can feel it. The sound of her footsteps getting closer and closer. And I can swear that any moment now her black maid's outfit will appear from that fiery exit…"
"So, hurry up and get your ass in the car!" Dutch and the others had no time for Rock introspective, physiological bullshit!
A deadly maid could be coming out of that inferno to kill them and get her master back at any moment!
Rock soon got in the car, and the group quickly took off into the night hoping to put some distance between them and Roberta.
Not knowing that the Bloodhound of Florencia was right behind them.
~X~
"Where do we go?" Rock asked nervously.
"Where can we go?" Dutch replied.
"Ah man. We're fucked. I know, that maid is really a killer robot from the future. Only we're fucked because we don't have Schwarzenegger here with us."
"First off, Schwarzenegger was the killer robot and secondly what does that make the rest of us, John and Sarah Conner?" Amara replied sarcastically.
"That's not funny, I'm not laughing you two. We've got her precious little master with us. Just head for the harbor Benny, we've got to reach the Lagoon."
Just as he said this Benny noticed a car approaching them fast, "It's her! She's coming for us"
"Damn it! Rock wake Revy up! This isn't the time for her to be catching up on her sleep!" Rock did as he was told but no matter what he did Revy refused to wake up.
"We're going to have to do this without her Dutch!" Amara yelled as she pulled out her trench knives from her holsters.
Roberta accelerated and was soon driving right next to them. "Oh, for fucks sake!" Dutch yelled once the maid began bashing her own car into theirs, pulling out his gun and shooting it at her. Some of his shots hit the front of her car causing the hood to pop open but this did nothing to stop her as Roberta once again closed the distance.
"Would you just fucking-" Dutch was cut off when Roberta leaned over from her own car and grabbed Dutch, pulling him partially out the window! Amara quickly grabbed onto the man's waist, keeping the woman from yanking Dutch out completely.
"Yo-you bitch!" Dutch began hitting Roberta's arm with his gun, but this did nothing to weaken the woman's grip on him.
"Dutch! The tires! Shoot the fucking tires!" Amara yelled desperately as the man was being pulled further and further out of the car.
Dutch took the young woman's advice, shooting the front two tires of Roberta's car. This paired with the previous damage down to the engine caused the car to stop in its tracks forcing Roberta to release Dutch as the Lagoon Company drove off.
"Now's our chance! Hang on Dutch! Amara!" Benny yelled, turning hard into a small alley way. They continued to drive for a few moments hoping to use the back allies to reach the harbor.
"Damn it!" Benny said when they reached a dead-end, forcing them to reverse and find another alley to use.
"We're wasting valuable time if we go here Benny." Dutch said.
"Yeah, but her radiator is totally shot. Her cars toast!"
"I'm not worried about her car. Maybe you should have been paying more attention to Rock and Amara's jokes earlier. You need to think of her more as an invincible killer robot. Rock! Keep trying to wake her up if this turns into a big shoot out, we're going to need her guns."
"Come on Revy! Wake up! We need you!" Rock begged, soon Amara joined in and began slapping the older woman's face. "Damn it Revy! You punk bitch, wake up! You're supposed to be the unstoppable Two Hands! Don't let that psycho punk you out!"
Just as the group was about to take the next left, a car came from above, using the buildings a road and slammed into them. It was Roberta who had gotten a new car in order to continue her hunt.
The two cars ended up flying apart, crashing into opposite sides of the street. Roberta had crashed into a department store and the Lagoon Company hit a wall.
"Benny! Benny wake up!" Dutch yelled shaking the blonde man awake.
Roberta soon smashed her way through the windshield, staring down at the group as she stood in front of her own damaged car.
"Damn it! The engine won't start!" Benny yelled desperately as he repeatedly turned the keys in the ignition, the group looked on in fear as Roberta took off, sprinting towards them.
It seemed whatever higher being existed was on their side, as the car soon roared to life and Benny floored it.
This, however, didn't stop Roberta as she continued to run after them and was somehow able to keep up with the speeding car on foot! The maid then pulled out a large combat knife from under her skirt and jumped high into the air, landing on the Lagoon Company's car, and using the knife to hang on after imbedding on the rear.
Rock and Garcia screamed once Roberta was behind them, Amara had her trench knives in hand, ready for when if (let's be serious, when) the house cleaner made her way inside the car.
"DUCK!" Dutch yelled, his pistol in hand as he turned around and aimed it right at Roberta, Rock and Garcia crouched down, with Amara grabbing Revy and following suit as be pulled the trigger.
BANG! BANG!
Roberta was able to expertly weave around the bullets, all without losing her grip on the car. Eventually, she made her way to the roof of the car, pulling out two guns and shooting through it. Dutch soon grabbed his magnum and returned fire. Amara crawled out of the window, standing on the roof behind Roberta as the maid turned to face her.
"Amara!" Rock yelled but his call went ignored as Amara swung her knife at the maid, only for Roberta to block it with one of her guns.
Benny had to swerve to avoid hitting a crashing into a large truck, causing them to go off road. "Dutch! We're off the road! We're heading towards the ocean with nowhere to go, it's a dead end!"
The car soon drove into a maze of large shipping containers as they had no other place to go. The debris from the ground was being kicked up by the car, hitting Roberta, but this once again did nothing to knock her off the car as they got closer and closer to the dead-end.
The two women continued to fight, neither one able to and a significant blow as they each blocked the returning attack. Amara soon ducked under an oncoming punch, swinging one of her legs out and knocking Roberta off her feet. Amara then straddled the maid and attempted to stab her only for Roberta to grab her arm, stopping the blade just centimeters from her face.
Roberta then pulled her feet into her chest and kicked Amara in the stomach, sending her flying. Luckily, the young woman took a card out of the maid's handbook, using one of her knives to hang onto the rear of the car. Just as Roberta was about to shoot her, Amara threw one of her knives, this caused the shot to miss as the knife was now imbedded in her shoulder.
Amara was about to climb back onto the car proper, when she saw the car heading right for a shipping container blocking their path.
KKSSSSSHHH! BANG!
~X~
Amara groaned from her place on the ground. Damn that hurt like a fucking bitch. She slowly stood up and hobbled over to the car a foot away to check on the others.
"Is everyone okay?" Amara quietly asked as she rubbed her neck, her body ached from the hard collision she had just experienced. Everyone, minus Revy who was still unconscious groaned out words assurance as they moved around.
"So, it pays to be a religious man after all." Dutch said when he noticed Roberta imbedded in the side of a nearby shipping container, seemingly unconscious.
"Ugh guys!" Benny yelled, drawing everyone's attention to the fact that Roberta was no longer in the shipping container but crouched down in front of them with one of her guns raised.
"You've got be kidding!? What the hell is this woman made of?!"
"Ugh… what the hell?" a voice quietly whispered from beside Rock. The young man looked over and noticed Revy had awoken and was rubbing her head, confused as to how she got in the car when last she remembered she was in the Yellow Flag.
"Revy…"
"Fucking hell. Hey what the hell happened to that stupid bitch? Is she dead yet?" Revy asked
"You're in luck Revy. She's alive and well." Dutch said as he pointed towards the maid standing a few feet from the car.
"Well, that's the best news I've heard all day. I've got an errand to run"
"Wait Revy-" Rock called out only to stop once she saw the gun pointed at his face. "Listen closely Rock, I'm about to light up like a got damn firecracker and there's nothing anyone can do about it. And when that's over I'm not even going to warn you before you give you a second asshole." Revy said her eyes were growing exceptionally colder as she kicked the door open and walked out of the car.
"Stay out of my way kid. This is my fight now, got it?" Revy said walking, past Amara and facing Roberta.
Amara scoffed, "Wasn't planning on interfering. You can have her Rev. Bitch is like the Terminator on steroids." The young woman then reached down to grab her now bloody knife off the ground. Roberta must have pulled it out when she pulled herself out of the container. Damn she's a fucking beast.
Revy chuckled a little, "That bitch made a big mistake using that shell on me. I'm gonna make her wish she were still at home washing fucking toilets. I gonna teach this cunt the true meaning of pain."
Revy and Roberta were now standing about a yard apart as the Lagoon Company and Garcia watched on. No one had said a word as the two women stared each other down.
The calm was shattered when Revy spoke, "Make a move Senorita. Or are you scared? You should be."
"I have no need for such filthy language and idle threats. You will not find me so easily intimidated. Knowing you could not beat me with skill alone you hid behind the young master…" Roberta then smirked "… you I'm afraid, are a coward."
This pissed Revy off, and she drew the first shot with Roberta returning the favor. And so, the fight between the Bloodhound and Two Hands began.
The group had lost sight of the two as they ran off into the maze of containers, the sound of gunfire still sounding off in the distance. The gunfire soon had stop as the two women had taken cover from the other.
"Dammit, she managed to put a bullet in the great Revy. Just who is this chick?!" Revy muttered before calling out to the maid. "You must have had one messed up childhood to have gotten like this?! Just who are you?! Tell me?!"
Roberta ignored the screaming as she looked down and saw that Revy managed to damage one of her guns and proceeded to throw the gun away.
Just as Revy was about to call out to the maid again, she noticed a small white feather drop down in front of her. And suddenly Revy had been pulled back into a memory. The memory that put her on the path to becoming the Two Hands of Roanapur.
"Hmph, I get it now. I thought I knew the smell still lingering around you. It's the smell of gutter mud still clinging to your feet. It's perfect really, all the more reason we need to finish this off."
"… I can't go back there. I can never go back now." Roberta said quietly to herself as Revy jumped from behind a container and ran towards where Roberta had revealed herself.
"Well, what is the plan now? I suppose we should try and get out of the car? What do you think?" Dutch had said to Benny once the gunfire had temporarily ceased. Benny had agreed but the fight had once again started up, the sounds of which were even more ferocious than before as metal scarped against metal and the gunfire sounded more like lighting as shipping containers and machinery could be seen falling in the distance.
"It's impossible all right. We would never make it no matter how many lives we had. I am not about to risk going anywhere near that fight."
"Amen to that." Benny said in agreement as he immediately closed the car door.
"You know what they say, 'every beginning has an end,' I'm sure they'll settle this eventually."
Garcia then opened the door and walked out, moving a few feet away from the car.
"Garcia wait…" Rock jumped up, thinking the young boy was going towards the fight.
Instead, Garcia cupped his hands in front of his mouth and screamed, "Roberta! You can win! Roberta! Don't you let that woman beat you!"
The gunfire then got closer as the fight between the two got more intense. Then suddenly, the two women crashed down in front of them from above, Revy having tackled Roberta off one of the containers.
This bitch, I'll kill her! I swear I'll kill her!
I'm going to send you straight to hell!
Once the two hit the ground they were about to draw their guns and shoot once more, only for a couple of bright lights to come to life, shining down on the area in blinding beams.
~X~
It then became clear that they were now surrounded by a large group of uniformed men, all carrying machine guns.
"Why don't you call it quits now, you two? Neither one of you has anything to gain by continuing this battle. So, stop wasting your energy. Two Hands." When the others had turned, they saw a tall woman with long blonde hair, blue eyes, a mole under her left eye, and scars on the right side of her face and neck that disappeared under her clothes. She was wearing a wine-colored skirt suit with black stockings, a Russian military coat draped off her shoulders with an insignia on one of the sleeves, and black 1-inch heels. She also had rose-colored lipstick and pink painted nails. This was Balalaika, boss of Thailand's Hotel Moscow.
Amara unlike the others had yet to meet the woman who had constantly employed the company, but she had heard of her as she had quickly established herself as a domineering presence in Roanapur, despite only showing up a few years ago.
And she was in awe of her. Never in her life has she ever meet someone who inspired this much fear and respect in her, but the woman in front of her was doing it effortlessly. The confidence she exuded showed she was the biggest dog in the yard right now, and that crossing her would end in death.
Revy growled, "Shut up. I'm gonna kill this bitch!"
Balalaika walked forward; the sound of her heels were the only thing that could be heard in the quiet shipping yard. Soon the woman stood in front of the two killers staring down at them.
"There is something you should know Miss Maid. Hotel Moscow has been planning war against the Manisarera Cartel for some time. So, imagine my surprise…"
Her man then dragged Abrego out from behind them, dropping the bound and beaten man to his knees in front of them, "…taking care of this one was actually supposed to be my job. But you came along and saved me the trouble. As we speak their headquarters in Venezuela should be in ruins. Therefore, all our problems have now been solved. Garcia's kidnapping has also been dealt with, and he may go. So, you have no reason to fight do you?"
"There is no doubt that they are three most terrifying women in the world." Benny said as they watched the scene in front of them.
"You got that right."
"This feels way too much like ground zero." Amara and Dutch said respectively, neither able took take their eyes of the three women.
"It doesn't matter." Revy said with her gun still raised and staring at Roberta.
"Indeed" Roberta said in agreement, in the same position as the woman across from her.
"Is that so?" Balalaika smiled as she raised her hand and quickly brought it back down, signaling the spinners she had placed a couple of yards away. Said snipers proceeded to shoot the guns out of Revy and Roberta's hands.
Balalaika then pulled out a gun of her own, "Do not misunderstand me ladies. That is not just some friendly suggestion. It is an order."
Amara couldn't stop the shiver that raced down her spine at the woman's tone and the fact that she still retained that gentle smile on her face, as if she were having a chat with friends and not threatening to kill the women at her feet.
"Hey Amara. Those guys up there, they don't look like Russian Mafia, do they?" Rock asked the young woman standing next to him.
Amara attention was quickly pulled away from Balalaika's figure as she looked at the men surrounding them, "No you're right Rock. These guys are too well trained and disciplined to be regular Mafia. I mean you remember how Abrego's men were. These guys are nothing like them, they seem too battle hardened."
The conversation between the two guys was halted when Garcia ran forward, "You don't have to worry Roberta! Look at me, I'm fine, they never even hurt me! Please let's go home. This must stop. I don't want to see you with a gun anymore… I don't want you to kill…"
"I agree kid, you're right..." Balalaika said, here gun still pointed at Roberta as she spoke, "but what does the Bloodhound think of that?"
"Bloodhound?"
"Oh, so no one ever bothered to tell you? Well-"
"You shut up!" Roberta roared, not wanting the woman to tell Garcia the truth.
"I suggest you keep quiet, bitch. Let me tell you I'm not sure what you think, but this isn't just some servant who looks good walking the dog. She is the Bloodhound of Florencia, Rosarita Cisneros. Trained as an assassin in Cuba, she is a former FARC guerrilla."
The look on Roberta's face grew darker as she glared at Balalaika, but the woman continued to talk unfazed, "She's wanted internationally for multiple kidnappings and murders. And she is a suspect in the bombing of the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa. She is a hard-core terrorist."
"Roberta, is that true?" Garcia asked.
Roberta began to cry, "I swear I never meant to deceive you, Master Garcia. However, there are things- there are some things in this world that it's better not to know. They bring only sadness. Everything she said was the truth. I-I believed in it with all my heart. I believed in the dawn of a revolution that would bring justice to this world. For that reason and that reason alone, I became a soldier. In the blind pursuit of this ideal, I killed in every place imaginable- politicians, businessmen, counterrevolutionaries, election officials. I even killed women and children. And in the end, I realized I was no revolutionary; I was nothing more than a guard dog, working for the Mafia, helping to protect their coca fields. Isn't it ironic the revolutionaries working side by side with the cartels? They said revolution would not be possible with ideals alone. And in saying that, they already sold their souls, and I knew it was over."
Roberta stood up, staring at the ground, refusing to look her young master in the eyes, "I knew then that I had to leave the military. And there was only one man I could think of who would agree to take me in, a close friend of my deceased father. Master Diego Lovelace."
Finally, she turned to face Garcia, "Master Garcia, allowing your kidnapping to happen was negligence on my part. I failed you. And then I knew of no other way to save you except to awaken a side of myself that had long been hidden away…. The Bloodhound. It was the only way to prove my devotion to you… to repay you with my life."
"No! How could you call yourself a dog Roberta?! Don't believe those lies! We're a family aren't we Roberta?! So how could you ever say you're a dog? You're nothing like that!" Garcia yelled, throwing himself into his maid's arms with tears in his eyes.
"I don't know any Bloodhound; she died a long time ago! And there's no Rosarita either. I bet she moved somewhere far away! Don't you see? That woman's got nothing to do with you anymore! The only one I see is my Roberta!"
Roberta kneeled in front of him with a gentle smile, "It's okay now young master. Here let me dry your eyes for you. Boys should not cry so easily."
"I'm glad that settled. We could have had a mess on our hands." Balalaika said preparing for herself and her men to leave.
"Give me a fucking break!"
Everyone soon turned towards Revy, "I'm sure everyone is just delighted with this teary-eyed happy ending. Well fuck that! I'm not going to pretend to be happy about it! What about this fucking tunnel in my shoulder, huh!?"
"Couldn't you just let that go?" Balalaika asked.
"Come on now sis, we both wow that's not cool. Even criminals have a code of honor."
Amara just scoffed, "Revy, you're the least honorable person in this whole fucking lot! And that includes that ex-revolutionary, killer maid." All she got in response was the gunslinger's middle finger.
Balalaika held her face in her hand, "Hmm, yes, is supposed you do have a point, Revy."
"Well, it seems obvious to me," Dutch cut in, "a little bare-knuckled boxing until their satisfied. (Scoff) Anyway I doubt that anyone will die."
"Fine by me!" Revy said while cracking her knuckles.
"Young Master?" Roberta asked.
"Don't you lose to that woman, okay? You're stronger than her, Roberta," Garcia said with a look of fierce determination.
"Well, then, I guess it's decided." Balalaika said winking at the small boy. Amara had to ignore the way her stomach flipped at the small action.
"Go for as long as you want."
Everyone of Hotel Moscow, Balalaika, Amara, Dutch, Rock, Benny, and Garcia were standing, waiting for the fight between Revy and Roberta. Revy and Roberta were facing each other.
"Before we could begin, your shoelace is untied." Said Roberta.
Revy, seemingly not reacting, suddenly looked down only to get herself an uppercut punch from Roberta. Revy swore to herself for falling into a childish trick. Dutch, Amara, Benny, Garcia, Balalaika and her men were laughing at Revy for being stupid enough to fall for the trick. As the two fought, Revy and Roberta were giving hard hits towards each other. Garcia was cheering for Roberta in Spanish.
"It's good to be young." Said Balalaika. "Don't you agree, Dutch?"
"Yup." Dutch answered.
"Who are you betting on?"
"I'm going two on Revy."
"Alright then I'll have to go with three on Roberta." Benny chimed in.
"I'll go four on this ending in a draw." Amara said, after witnessing the two women in action she felt that they were evenly match. Mostly because this wasn't a to the death kind of fight. In that case, she would go with Roberta.
Although, she wouldn't say that aloud for fear of Revy kicking her ass.
"What about you, Rock?"
"Huh? Wait a minute! We should stop this, right? We cannot let this go on." Rock said looking back in forth between the others and the fight.
"Hm, why not?"
"We-well is completely barbaric! Am I the only one who sees this? It's insane to have two girls going at it like that!"
"Then why don't you go and stop them?" Balalaika asked, her face completely blank.
"Uhh…"
"You said you don't like this."
"Or were you just expecting one of us to do it for you, while you stand here safely away from the carnage?" Amara replied, one of her eyebrows raised as she stared Rock down.
"I-I di-did." Rock stuttered.
"Then go ahead. Put a stop to it Really, don't worry about it. We don't mind." Balalaika said as they watched Rock begrudgingly make his way over to the two brawling women.
"Um. Ex-excuse me ladies. Haven't you had enough of this fighting? Why not try this… sit down and talk things through. I'm sure you have more in common than you think."
"STAY THE FUCK OUT OF THIS!" Both women screamed at the poor man.
"Or I could do that." Rock said as he made his way back to the others, looking like a puppy with its tail between its legs.
Amara couldn't help but chuckled at Rock's defeated expression, "What did you expect Rock? That they would listen to you and talked about their feelings?!"
"I don't know, maybe?"
Amara bursted out in laughter at the response, unaware of the look Balalaika was giving her.
"So, you must be the cute new recruit that Dutch brought on?" The woman asked once Amara calmed down and was no longer laughing.
Amara's head quickly turned towards the woman, "Cu-cute? You thi-think I-I'm cute, Miss Balalaika?" Never in her life had Amara ever stuttered when talking to another person. Now she was making a fool of herself. Her cheeks began to burn when she heard the beautiful melody of laughter that left the older woman's lips.
"Yes, I do. Revy spoke of you; you are quite the cute looking kid." Balalaika said.
Amara couldn't stop the gut punch she experienced when she heard Balalaika call her a kid. On the one hand a beautiful woman called me cute! But… but… she thinks I'm a kid! My life fucking sucks!"
Balalaika couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her when she saw the look of despair overtake Amara's face. Revy told her that the young woman had the best reactions to being called a child and she wanted to see it for herself.
~X~
The others grew bored a few hours passed by and the women were still fighting. Both women were beaten and bloody but refused to fall so long as the other was still standing.
"They just refuse to give up. This is getting boring." Balalaika said.
"(Gasp) why won't you die? Die already, you fucking four eyes!" Revy said panting for air as she stared at the house cleaner
"(Gasp) Same to you. Why the hell, won't you just go to hell now?" Roberta also said in a similar state.
"Damn you! Take this, bitch!"
"Ah!"
Both women charged at each other with a fist pulled back, letting out fierce cries as their fists made contact with the other's face, knocking the other to the ground.
"There it's a draw. You were right Amara." Balalaika stated as she turned to the younger woman with a smirk on her lips.
"Ye-yeah. I-I was – Yeah!" Amara once again stuttered, her face burning even more as she saw Balalaika's smirk grow wider and heard Dutch and Benny snickering behind her.
Garcia rushed over to Roberta to help her up and told her that she was the last one standing as Revy was knocked cold.
Balalaika soon ordered her sergeant to treat Roberta's wounds and take the two to the airport and soon the two and Balalaika were gone.
"Hey, it's morning Revy, wake up! Rock yelled as Dutch pulled a bucket of water on her head. No response.
"That barely registered." Dutch said once the bucket was empty.
Benny poked her cheeks, "Man, I do not want to be around when she wakes up. Won't be pretty."
"Who were those guys. They looked like they could be in the military?" Rock asked, looking in the direction that Hotel Moscow left in.
Benny then proceeded to tell them that Balalaika and her men were ex-military and how they had enough training and experience to possibly win World War III if they wanted to.
Rock appeared to be in deep thought after when Revy soon woke up, "Fuck, my face. What the hell happened?"
"You got your ass kicked us what happened." Amara said.
"Huh?! The fuck are you talking about kid?!" And so, Amara proceeded to tell Revy about the end of her and Roberta's fight, how even though they both knocked the other down Roberta was still awake while Revy was unconscious. So technically, Roberta won…
"UGH! Fuck that bullshit! There's no way I lost to a fucking maid!" Revy roared as she jumped to her feet and angrily walked in the direction of the car. Dutch, Benny, and Rock followed suit while Amara stayed behind for a moment, staring at the ocean. Never a boring day for the Lagoon Company, huh?
She soon started to think about the woman she met today.
Balalaika….
"Amara! Get your ass in the car kid or we're leaving you behind, you fucking punk!" Revy screamed from the car.
Amara blushed, embarrassed at the thought that popped into her head and quickly ran towards the car.
