Two Calibers

The night air was cool with an edge of humidity that foreshadowed the weather that would soon be incoming. The air over Roanapur was filled with the scent of gunpowder, rum, and the metallic scent of blood. The capital for crime was rather quiet on this night, gunshots only occurring every now and then. However, there was a certain degree of loudness coming from the Yellow Flag which was somewhat empty considering there were only three parties in at the moment.

On one side, there was a group of four males, each leaned back in their chairs and sipping at various alcoholic beverages ranging from beer to wine to rum. Next to them was a large group of what appeared to be run of the mill thugs who were the main source of commotion; screaming about various things and making derogatory comments to the table beside them. The table beside them contained four people, three males and one female.

"Lovino…Can you please calm down. They aren't even saying anything to us." A large male with a thick German accent spoke, reaching across the table and palcing his hand on the Italians forearm. The Italian in question yanked his arm away with a scowl. "Shut up Ludwig! I am not angry because they are making fun of that woman wearing shorts that are clearly excessively fucking small. I just hate loud bastards." His glare switched from the table parallel to the two males snickering and sitting on the other side of him. Francis and Antonio.

"Come now Lovi, there is now need for such a stare-" Francis began while flourishing his golden locks of hair before Italian stuck up his middle finger with a sardonic look. "Fuck off. You and that Spanish bastard are nearly as bad as they are." Antonio frowned as he sipped on some of his rum. "You are really angry drunk Lovi, I think you should be cut off-" Lovino narrowed his eyes and made a grated sound with his throat and turned away. "Try to take this bottle from me and I will blow your ass back to Madrid…"

Over to the other quartet, the fiery red haired female was itching to turn around and put a hole in the thugs continuing to make comments about her attire. "Revy…Don't do something you will regret." Dutch stated as he sipped on his glass of rum. "We can't afford it." Revy snarled as she cocked her head to the side and spit only to receive jeers about her 'unladylike behavior' Benny chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I am sure they are just kidding…No need to put a few holes in them, Revy…Are you listening?"

Rock next to her let out a sigh, already knowing where this was about to head. "All she hears is steam whistling and all she sees is red. We better leave before someone pushes her over the edge." Dutch frowned as he folded his arms and locked eyes with Revy from behind his glasses. "Revy…Listen to me, unless you want to pay for damages then I will tell you now, don't try to start anything with them." Revy gave Dutch an all too familiar glare, the one she had when she was about to unload a few clips. "Ya know Dutchy; I was going to let these fuckers slide. But, these cunts are about to drive me over the edge." "Do you want to pay Revy?" Dutch replied dryly as he sipped once more from his cup.

Revy was close to responding before a loud voice rang throughout the bar. "Oi! You red headed bitch! If you got something to say, then come over here and say it! If not, then strut your fine ass out that door!" Revy shot out from her chair before another voice from them came ringing out. "Maybe you and that weird kid with the curl over there can learn some 'proper language'!"

Almost instantly, Dutch and Ludwig could feel both of their best soldiers unhook and neither of them made an attempt to stop them. Lovino was out of his chair, empty wine bottle in hand and caused all hell to break lose after he broke the bottle over one of the males heads. Revy was forward in a flash and swinging her dual pistols around and pistol whipping whoever was within range.

A thug stood up and charged her with a switchblade, flipping it out as he jolted from side to side. "Come here you little twat!" He made it no more than five steps before a bullet went through his skull and his brains painted the floor. She continued to unload clip after clip, gunning down anyone who did not immediately take cover; a Cheshire grin spreading across her lips. Dutch, Rock, and Benny watched from under their tables, their attention turning to the male who was busy engaging the other half of the thugs since it was clear Revy had everything under control.

On the other end of the table, Lovino ducked under a right hook and moved back swiftly. As he did, he reached a hand around from behind and underneath his shirt as he seemed to pull something before his hand came back around with a Glock in hand, that had been taped to his back to remained undetectable. His other hand dug into his pocket as he whipped out a trench knife with a vindictive smirk. "The Italian Mafia doesn't like bastards who don't know their place…So it is my job to maintain our reputation for silencing you kinds of fuckers."

He wasted no time waiting for a response as he began to fire away and edged forward after every shot; busting bullets through the bodies of anyone who tried to even stand against him. After his clip was empty he popped it out and was ready to reload before a beer bottle came flying to him and busted right against his skull.

Lovino grunted in pain for a moment as blood dripped down his forehead as he turned his head away. Revy watched from the other side of the bar after having taken down her own gang of thugs. "Is that really all the kid can take? Some mobster…" Her voice carried through the bar and it seemed to cause something within the Italians mind to snap as he dropped his glock suddenly.

He straightened up, blood dripping down from his forehead and covering most of the left side of his face. "You stupid fuckers! I am not a kid! I am Lovino Romano fuckin' Vargas! I am the son of the infamous mobster Romulus Vargas! I swear to God if any of you shrimp-dicked fuck nuggets call me a kid I will cut you into so many pieces that they won't even be able to cremate your fucking remains!"

The bar became quiet as the thugs silently edge for the door, beads of sweat soaking their clothing as they all looked as if they saw the Devil himself. The Italian did not look intimidating, but the way he held the trench knife was a clear proof that he knew how to use it. He was ready to strike at anything from any angle and his amber eyes were shining unnaturally bright.

Before anyone could exit the bat, Lovino bolted in front of the exit, suddenly turning to the last five standing thugs. "You caught me when I am in a bad mood. Sucks to be you." Lovino looked about ready to charge ahead and tear through the remains of the five before a hand grasped ahold of his shoulder and pulled him back. Lovino snarled and whipped around, swinging the trench knife and stopping at the throat of Antonio who was smiling nervously.

"You Spanish fuck! Get out of here before I-" "Lovi, I have a bottle of wine if you spare these guys…We already caused enough commotion as it is, so can we please NOT continue this?" Lovino contemplated the offer internally before turning away with a scowl. "My mood changed, get the fuck out of here before I sober up…"

The bar was somewhat wrecked, mainly the center where the thugs were at with their bodies littering the wooden floor and broke tables all around. Dutch slowly stood from beneath the table and watched as Lovino returned to the table with Ludwig and Francis. "He certainly has a temper…" Rock came up next beside him and nodded slowly. "Yeah, reminds me of Revy…" "Speaking of Revy, what is she doing?" Benny inquired as he popped his head up; pointing to Revy sauntering towards Antonio.

Antonio watched as the remainders of the thugs walked off, a frown upon his lips. "Hey you, what is your name?" Antonio cocked his head to the side and locked eyes with Revy shortly before giving a friendly smile. "Ah, my name is Antonio. I apologize for Lovi's behavior…He can be a bit-" "It was pretty fucking wicked." Revy stated with a dangerous grin that sent a shiver down Antonio's spine. It reminded him of Lovino.

"Pues, I guess that is one way to put it…I prefer not watching him lose his temper." Revy shrugged, continuing on. "So, who are you guys? Mafia? Cartel?" Antonio gave a small chuckle before shaking his head. "I was once a part of the Spanish Cartel and as you can tell Lovino was a part of the Mafia. Our boss with the slicked back hair was a part of the Russian Mafia though he is German. Our friend Francis is not really from any crime syndicate. He is just a rogue hacker we picked up along on a contract."

Revy nodded along. "So, what are you guys called? The four musketeers or some shit?" "We go by 'The Black-Hand'…What about you guys? You clearly aren't some tourist group." "What fuckin' told you that? No, we are Black Lagoon delivery company. Sorry to cut this short but you said the Italian over there likes wine?" "I never said that- I just used it as a way to bargain with him-" Revy walked away from him with a stoic face. God, he reminded her too much of Rock. It was almost uncanny.

"Lovino, what you did was a tad bit…unnecessary, no?" "Fuck you Francis. I don't take shit from anyone." Lovino muttered drinking from the wine bottle as he wiped away the blood with a napkin. "Do you want to get that checked out?" "I'd rather have you check it out than have any of these back-alley meat tossers even come near it." Lovino muttered with a scowl.

"Hey, Mister 'fucking Vargas'." Lovino instantly tensed up as he sighed and rose from his seat. "I let you fuckers go, do you have a fucking death wish!" He shouted as he whirled around and came face to face with an unamused Revy with her hands on her hips. Lovino sighed as he cast his eyes down before looking back up. "What do you want?" Revy snorted and rolled her eyes "Can't even fucking apologize? What a gentleman."

Lovino's brow twitched as he stepped closer to her. "I am a mobster, what do you expect? I am a killer, not a fucking dinner host. Now can you tell me whatever it is that you want so I may drink in peace?" There was an awkward silence as Revy sighed and shook her head. "God you're hopeless…" Lovino by now just gave up and turned away to sit back down. "Tell me something that isn't already painfully obvious. If you are looking for some fuck buddy go chat up Antonio or this blond loser." He nodded his head towards Francis who winked at Revy with a smirk upon his lips.

There was a silence as Lovino sat there, drinking from his wine bottle. That was until he was suddenly growing farther and farther away from his table. He was being dragged back across the bar as his face deadpanned and he just stared at Ludwig who frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What do you fucking want?" "Shut up." "Say one more rude thing and I swear I'll give you a fourth hole."

He was suddenly spun around and met face to face with a large, bald, black male who stared at him behind glasses. "Dutch, this is him. You know the one we saw." "I could tell…Say kid-" Lovino emitted a low, dark growl as he stood from his seat. "Excuse me…Sir. We have a business proposition."

"I seriously can't believe you went along with this Ludwig…" Ludwig sighed as he stared ahead at the ocean ahead of him before turning to face the exasperated Italian male. "Listen, we need cash do we not? This job should be tranquil. Plus maybe you can make a new friend." Ludwig stated as he nudged his shoulder while walking towards the hatch leading down below. Lovino blinked a few times trying to register what he was saying before his face became vermillion. "What did you say!?"

Ludwig ignored his comrade's backlash as he went to take a seat next to Dutch, letting out a sigh of relief. "You know, it is nice out here. I never knew the open sea could be so calming." "Hah yeah, it is a nice view when you aren't being shot at. Even then Revy takes care of it quick enough." "Speaking of your shooter, where is she?" Ludwig inquired as he gazed over his shoulder only to see Rock and Antonio climbing up the ladder leading to topside. "I think she is asleep still, want a Heineken?" Dutch offered, holding out a cool beer can to which Ludwig accepted in no time at all. "We should have accepted a job with you a long time ago…"

"So you say you are from Tokyo amigo? How was it there?" Antonio inquired curiously, walking beside Rock. "It was…mixed. Some parts of it were nice but it wasn't enough to keep me there when I got the offer to join this crew." Antonio smiled and nodded. "I can see that. You seemed a bit out of place, still getting use to the life style I take it?"

Rock rubbed the back of his head bashfully and awkwardly laughed. "Yeah…He, what is your friend doing up there?" He asked pointing up to Lovino standing at the edge of the ship, leaning back against the safety rail as his feet dangled off the edge. Antonio raised his brow before giving a gentle smile and shrugged. "Lovino is an enigma. I know he may seem like a bad person but he really is not that bad. He just has a short fuse and a foul mouth."

Rock smiled fondly and shook his head with a small laugh. "He is basically identical to Revy. It is really uncanny; I am surprised they don't get along that well like the rest of us." Antonio laughed with him before coming to a stop at the tip of the ship and staring ahead. "He is very distant towards people until he gets to know them or like them. He is not sued to people so much like him so it may take a little bit…It is just how he is."

Below deck, Francis and Benny sat within the control room; Francis smiling wide like a child in a candy store. "Mon dieu! Is that the new BlackFire 3.29?" Benny gave a prideful smirk and nodded. "You bet, one of the highest quality modems in the World. I paid a pretty penny for it." Francis smirked back as he flung his hair over his shoulder. "It is nice; however it is not better than the CrossRoads 2.88. The CrossRoads can process things 3 times faster." Benny waved off the Frenchman with a wide smirk. "You're insane. No way in hell is that true. The CrossRoads is slower than your Italian friend getting to this ship."

Francis rolled his eyes and shook his head. "He is just not a very big fan of being in groups with people. Perhaps your red devil may want to tone it down. He isn't used to someone so much like him." Francis joked as he relaxed against the wall. Benny adjusted his glasses before playfully joking. "It is like there are twins." "Yeah, if Lovino was a red head."

"God this is stupid…" Lovino muttered to himself, chewing on a toothpick between his teeth. "Why do I have to be here, can't these poop nobblers take care of their own problems. Not like my squad can even help. Ludwig is a sack of fucking potatoes, Antonio is not a killer and Francis is only useful with a computer around." He let out an exasperated sigh as his mind shifted to the thought of Revy. "Damn girl…Who does she think she is? Being like me and shit…" He knew it was a terrible reason to be upset but he actually did not give one single shit.

Revy stood not far behind him, a playful grin spread across her lips. "You may find me annoying but I find you fascinating you mobster…And I am going to find out more about your tan ass." She didn't say it loud enough to make the male aware and sauntered up behind him and silently went to her knees before placing both hands around his head and covering his eyes. After a moment, Lovino scowled and bit down upon the toothpick. "Antonio, get the fuck back before I throw you over this god damn railing."

Revy only rolled her eyes and pressed her chest against his back, knowing exactly what she was doing. Lovino was quickly aware as well as he felt her breast press against his upper back which caused him to jolt forward against the railing, the toothpick breaking right in half. After a few agonizing moments of choking on the wooden splinter while Revy nearly shed a tear from laughter Lovino whirled around. "The hell! What are you doing!?"

Revy smirked playfully as she turned away from the Italian. "Oh god, it is great to have someone like you here. See you later, 'Lovi'" Lovino felt his face become cherry like as he reached for his glock and bit his inner cheek. "Don't do it…Don't…Ludwig will kill you…" He grumbled.