The Gunslinger & the Salaryman: A Love Story for the Ages

Chapter 10: The Hospital

     "ROCK! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Revy exclaimed in a blood curdling scream.
Rock had run in front of the bullets meant for Revy. They weren't sure how many bullets he'd taken, but it was clear it was more than one, definitely more than two. He was now lying face down on the floor of the warehouse, not moving, but they could tell he was still breathing. Revy stood there in shock momentarily, an emotion came over her that she rarely felt, fear! But this was followed soon by unbridled rage. She grabbed her cutlasses and opened fire on everyone in her path; she kept firing till there was nothing left but the clicking of her guns. Dutch finally got her attention.
     "Revy! We gotta get the fuck out of here! Now!"
     Revy briefly snapped out of it, as they made their way to the car.

Balalaika's men gathered Rock's unconscious body.
     "Comrades! Grab Mr. Okajima, he needs immediate medical attention!" Balalaika exclaimed. "Be very careful with him!"
     As their vans were more spacious, the Kapitan had her men stick Rock in the back of one of theirs, applying pressure to the necessary wounds. They stripped away any clothes that might be obstructing the views to the bullet holes.

Roanapur wasn't well known for its health care. You get some kind of injury your best luck was to find someone with a passing knowledge in anatomy. There was only one hospital, with legitimate doctors; whether they still had license to practice was another story. The Hospital (as it was known), was of course under the control of Hotel Moscow. Few people outside the organization were able to use it, unless they had the proper funds. Balalaika was willing to make an exception for the man who fought bravely and risked his life for one of his own. The vans sped as fast as they could to The Hospital, with the Lagoon Company tailing behind. Nobody minded Benny's usual lead foot this time, given the circumstances.

Balalaika must've contacted in advanced, because there were already people outside waiting for her; there was even a stretcher in preparation. Without having to say anything, her men quickly, but gently, pulled rock out from the back of the van and got him onto the stretcher. Benny skidded the car to a halt as they crudely parked in front of the hospital with the rest of them. They made their way into the main lobby of the hospital, not seeing where Rock was taken.

     "Where the fuck is he!?" Revy shouted.
     "The doctors have taken him into surgery," Balalaika replied calmly. "They will let us know in while of his condition."
     "Fuck that shit!" Revy exclaimed. "I'm not leaving him alone!"
     As she made her way towards the operating room, some men from Hotel Moscow stood in her way.
     "Get the fuck out of my way, potato guzzlers!" 
     They didn't flinch. Then one tried to grab her, she jumped back and pulled out her cutlasses.
      "Back the fuck off! Any shithead tries to fuckin' stop me will be pumped full of so much fuckin' lead, they'll be able to use their dicks as a pencil!"
     Before she knew it, Dutch was behind her, grabbing her in a tight bear hug.
"Dutch!? What the fuck are you doing!? Fuckin' let me go, you piece of shit!"
     "Revy," he began, keeping his composure. "You need to calm yourself."
     "But Rock is..."
     "Rock is having surgery done on him. There's nothing we can do for him right now. You goin' off in there will only make it worse. The best we can do right now is just wait."

Revy slowly dropped her cutlasses and loosened up. Dutch finally let his grip on her go. She turned to face him, and he saw something he hadn't seen in her eyes in a long time, fear. Revy "Two Hands" Lee was scared, and to top it off, scared for someone else's life. She then did something, he'd only ever seen her do once, she began to tear up. She grabbed ahold of his vest, pushed her face into his abdomen, and cried. Everyone in the room was quite shocked by this site; none of them had ever seen Revy in such a vulnerable state. She finally let go of Dutch's vest, turned and faced everyone else.
     "Any of you assholes tell anyone outside this hospital about this, I'll shoot your dicks off and fuckin' make you choke on them!" That was more like the Revy they knew.

At least an hour had passed since they got to The Hospital. Revy had mostly calmed down, having a cigarette to drag on certainly helped. Finally, a doctor came walking out. He looked to be of Indian decent, middle aged, and his scrubs had some blood on them. Blood on clothes was not a new site for Revy, but she knew it had to be Rock's, and it almost made her puke.
     "How is he, doc?" Dutch asked, once he was standing in front of them.
     "He's currently stable," the doctor said. "He had four bullets inside him, and he has lost a significant amount of blood. Luckily, no vital organs were hit, and getting the bullets out proved simpler than initially expected."
     Is he going to be alright?" Revy asked, her tone distant.
     "It's hard to say at the moment," the doctor replied. "He has not regained consciousness yet."
     "Is he going to?" asked Benny.
     "At the moment," the doctor began. "We are unsure."
     "What kinda fuckin' doctor are you!?" exclaimed Revy, standing up from her chair and grabbing the doctor by his scrubs; he didn't flinch, this was clearly nothing new for him. "Sis not paying you enough money to take care of him!?"
     "We are doing all we can, ma'am," the doctor said calmly.
     "Can we see him, doc?" Dutch asked. The doctor motioned them all to Rock's room.

     He was lying in a standard hospital bed, he was plugged into a heart monitor, and there was a bag of IV fluid stuck into his hand. He was breathing, very lightly, it was the only movement they noticed from him.
     "Jesus," Revy said under her breath.
     In all these years, she never expected to have this kind of reaction to seeing someone lying in a hospital bed. He was alive, sure, but in this state, he was still somewhere between life and death.
     "You may all stay as long as you like," the doctor assured them, leaving them alone with Rock at the moment.

     "Rock did good out there," said Balalaika. "I'll be sure to give him a bonus for his efforts. Didn't know he knew how to shoot now."
     "Took us all by surprise," said Dutch.
     "Where the fuck did he learn that," Revy said to nobody in particular.
    "He requested my services," Boris responded. "And I agreed to it." Everyone just stared at him for a moment. "Although, we only had one lesson so far."
     "Huh," chuckled Revy. "So that's what he was doing all fuckin' day yesterday."
     "He sure picked up fast," replied Dutch, clearly impressed.
     "Da," agreed Boris. "He is definitely fast learner. I hope you do not mind, Kapitan."
     "What you do during your spare time is none of my concern, Comrade Sergeant," Balalaika replied with a playful tone. "If he recovers, you may continue to teach him."
     "You mean when, sis," Revy said with harshness yet clear vulnerability.
     "Of course, Two Hands," Balalaika replied, not wanting to enrage Revy any further. "I'm afraid I must be going now. We must find out how our intel was leaked. Thank you once again for your services, Dutch. I'll be sure to wire to the usual place, and I'll take care of any medical expenses."
     "Thanks a lot," Dutch replied. "Good luck getting your answers."

The Lagoon Company stayed a couple more hours after Balalaika and her men had left. Dutch and Benny sat on a couch, while Revy sat in a chair right next to Rock's bed; she hadn't taken her eyes off him the entire time. Dutch finally let out a large yawn and stood up.
     "I think it's about time we get some proper sleep. Come on, let's head back to the office."
     Benny followed and the two headed for the door, but Revy didn't move.
     "Revy? You comin'?"
     "I'm not leaving him, Dutch," she said calmly, still keeping her eyes on Rock the whole time.
     "Revy..." Dutch began to say, but Revy cut him off.
     "I said, I'm not leaving him," she exclaimed, though not in much of a higher tone than her previous declaration. "He's my partner. He said he's got my back, so I got his. I'm not going anywhere till he wakes up."

Dutch let out a long sigh, he knew he wasn't gonna win this argument, and frankly, he didn't want to. He wasn't upset to see this side of Revy, far from it. It was actually a godsend in his eyes.
     "Ok, Revy. We'll be by sometime tomorrow."
     Dutch and Benny made their way out. Once Revy knew nobody else was in the room with them, she grabbed Rock's hand, she desperately wished he would grab it back.