"Who was it, nii-sama... that said cannibalism was true love?" "Edgar Allan Poe?" "No, nee-sama." "He was a necrophiliac." "Richard Matheson?" "Richard Matheson:" "An American fantasy, sci-fi, horror author" "It could have been." "Do you think they smelled this scent?" "The fragrance of life flowing out." "The aroma of rust and saliferous liquid." "The scent when people breathe their last breath." "We're spoiled, nee-sama." "They're going to make their move soon, the people of this city." "This is the eighth person we didn't plan on killing." "Everyone is going to try and kill us." "Isn't it exciting, nee-sama?" "Yes, nii-sama." "I'm really excited." "Hello, Lagoon Company." "Oh, Boris-san?" "You're cancelling the meeting?" "Yes, I'm sorry." "I'll contact you as soon as the Kapitan's schedule opens up." "What's up, Rock?" "He says the meeting is cancelled." "I wonder if they had an emergency." "You think it's because of "that", Dutch?" "Yeah, it's been a big fuss." "What's this about?" "What?" "Haven't you heard anything about it, Rock?" "No." "Murder." "It was a murder." "Well, I hate to say it, but murder doesn't seem like that big a deal in this city." "Murder itself isn't rare, but it's different if they're targeting Hotel Moscow." "Hotel Moscow?" "There have been five Russian corpses so far this month." "Revy, that information is a bit outdated." "Right now, there are six." "Whatever it may be, there are some guys out there that want to cause problems, Rock." "In this city, where the power balance between factions is perched on its hands on a tightrope... it won't end without more blood being spilled." "Another one has been killed." "This time it was an accountant." "Is this place Beirut or Mogadishu?" "Stop it, Balalaika." "That's why we're having a liaison conference." "This is an era of coexistence." "I'd like to keep the equilibrium we've gained through the bloodshed and bullets, Miss Balalaika." "Mr. Chang, when did I say that I wanted to coexist?" "You sure talk big, Fry Face." "Ivan refers to the farmer in "The Tale of Ivan the Fool" by Leo Tolstoy" "It makes me laugh when a country Ivan like you tries to act like a queen." "Sovkhoz is short for "Sovetskoe khoziastvo", a state farm" "Why don't you go back to your sovkhoz and dig up potatoes?" "Guido: stereotypical male working class Italian-American usually from New York" "I've heard that Guido guts smell just like pigs." "Is this true, Verrocchio?" "You bitch!" "Hold your tongues, you two." "Why do you think we're having this meeting?" "We all hold unforgettable grudges against each other." "But, these are the times where we cooperate for shared profit." "Nothing else matters, if it benefits our businesses." "Feed that trivial honor to the dogs." "Isn't that what the mafia is about?" "Miss Balalaika, you may be hearing this for the first time, but some of my men have been killed as well." "My affiliates from 14K and a member of my executive staff." "In the red light district on Lachada Street, the criminal's method was the same as with yours." "What do you mean, Chang?" "Someone is trying to break the balance!" "Abrego!" "look at me!" "Don't kid around, Balalaika!" "Sure, I've fought with you before, but we've resolved that already!" "Then, Abrego, ask Verrocchio about the real killer." "Fuck off, Fry Face!" "One of our leg-breakers got nailed too." "So, this makes nine bodies." "Chang, this isn't the style of anyone in the city." "A stranger did this." "Someone who doesn't know how this city works." "Then let us conclude that this was an act of an outsider, and the committee will collaborate and go after the killer." "We will also release a proclamation of cooperation in order to prevent bloodshed from misunderstandings." "Any objections?" "Pointless." "This is bullshit." "What the hell did you say?" "!" "Refrain from foolish acts, Balalaika." "I don't think it's your intent to blow this whole city apart." "Have you mistaken this for an informal social gathering, Mr. Chang?" "Are we having a round of Gin Rummy next?" "The reason I came here today was to clearly define our position." "Hotel Moscow will show no mercy for those who stand in its way." "We will deny and then destroy them." "Family, friends, even the pet dog if necessary." "Geez." "Look, everyone has a gun with them." "It's like we wandered into the world of Clint Eastwood." "Of course, there's some asshole out there who thinks he's the Punisher." "Punisher one who gives out punishment." "Punishment for what?" "Who knows." "Right now, Roanapur is like popcorn." "It's just waiting for enough heat to pop." "Did you hear Revy?" "There's a bounty." "How much?" "50,000, and not in our currency but in American dollars." "I guess they're getting serious now." "Should we go after them?" "Do you know who it is yet?" "Nope." "But if it's an outsider, we'll know real quick." "Yeah, if it was an outsider we'd know right away." "It's not that big of a city." "It was like that with Lovelace's maid." "And the fact that we haven't found out about it yet, means that someone's protecting them." "But we don't know who." "Now everyone's suspicious of each other." "Well I really don't care, but I don't want to get caught in the middle." "You're worrying too much, Bao." "This place is a neutral zone." "No one's going to make a move." "Yo, Two-Hands!" "You're drinking shitty booze again!" "How's business?" "Eda!" "Y-You bitch!" "Who is it?" "Wait... y-you're the sister from the Church of Violence!" "Hey, you have that cute guy with you." "Hi, doing well?" "Want to play with me instead of drinking with this wild boar of a woman?" "Don't go fishing around for men just cause business dried up." "I'll kill you." "Scarrry." "Did you hear that, cute guy?" "She's been having irregular periods forever." "Hey, Eda, step outside." "Just step outside!" "Don't be so tense, Two-Hands." "I didn't come here to pick a fight." "I have a deal for you." "A deal worth some money." "The manhunt, right?" "Revy and I were just talking about that." "There's no one in this city that doesn't know already." "Shoot, really?" "How boring." "Well then, let's get right down to it." "The anxious ones have already started." "The mafia is a given, but freelance assassins are also gathering here." "From what I hear, the Yun Brothers, "Big One" Emilio, and Ronny CK came into town." "Impressive." "Those guys are at the top of the killing business." "Others too. "Greentooth" Johnny was a joke though." "He came to us looking for an elephant gun." "What was he thinking?" "Does he think the target's a dinosaur?" "If you shot a human with that, they'd just be dust." "Well he's an exception." "If we dick around, someone else will get it. 50,000 is a lot to lose out on, Revy." "No kidding." "Got any more info, Eda?" "I got one lead." "Early this morning, the Carribean Bar on Bran Street got destroyed." "Hotel Moscow is ready for war." "Fry Face is furious because of her dead subordinates." "No Entry" "Yo, thanks for the trouble." "Yeah." "Do you have any information?" "One of the waiters survived, though he's nearly dead." "To summarize, they came at four o'clock, near dawn." "Near-identical twins, dressed in what looked like mourning clothes." "Creepy little brats, like in "The Shining"." "When the bartender told them, "This is no place for kids.", they took out your business card for the Bougainvillaea Trade Company and said..." "We meet guests for Miss Balalaika." "Didn't she say that we would meet a guest here tonight?" "Go to the back." "Thank you, mister." "The guest will recognize us, when he sees us." "We're going to be in the corner here." "If the bartender had called you then, he wouldn't have died." "Unlucky for him, when he decided not to bother you so late." "And then your collector arrived, right on time." "He asked the bartender "How's business?" And the bartender replied, "Not that good."" "At that moment..." "Hey, hey... will you play with us?" "Come on, mister." "Let's play." "Sahalov!" "It's them!" "They're the..." "They figured out who we were." "They have good instincts, nee-sama." "They certainly do." "We need to get better at this, nii-sama." "It can't be helped." "What shall we do, nee-sama?" "I guess it can't be helped..." "Let's call down angels for them." "They say that Heaven is a good place." "Right, nii-sama?" "Oh no!" "You're not allowed to run away." "Nee-sama!" "Let's take that guy home, so we can play with him until our next job!" "Let's do that, nii-sama." "Yeah, nee-sama." "Damn it!" "This guy is heavy, nee-sama." "Help me!" "You're a man, right nii-sama?" "Ladies don't carry heavy things." "And once they moved the collector into their parked car, they fired into the bar until there was no movement anymore." "No Entry" "What sort of car was it?" "And the license plate number?" "A black sedan." "A Japanese car." "We're investigating its whereabouts." "Oh, one more thing... they were white, but don't have an English background." "They greeted everyone with weird phrases." "Buna seara: "Good evening"" "Like, "Buna seara"." "Frate mai mic: "My little brother" Sora mai mare: "My big sister"" "And when they called each other they said, "Frate mai mic" and "Sora mai mare"." "Watsup, don't reveal this information to your superiors." "It'll be a mess if the peacekeepers get involved." "Yeah, I know." "I like this city, too." "Oh yeah!" "Hey, Balalaika!" "We're going to join the hunt too!" "You'll pay the bounty to cops too, right?" "What an unpleasant guy." "He makes me sick." "But I've made a terrible mistake." "I believed that if I made them act in two man cells, my soldiers wouldn't get attacked." "I think Sahalov was taken by surprise, Kapitan." "He would've never dreamed that the assassins were children." "Panjshir:" "A valley and battlefield in eastern Afghanistan" "This reminds me of Panjshir." "Most of the enemies there were children too." "I suppose souls can become thick." "Ours are no exception." "Indeed, Kapitan." "We'll be more careful from now on." "Comrade, Sergeant." "I do not wish for our forces to be weakened any further." "Use agents from outside our unit for the search." "Use them as pawns." "Yes, Ma'am" "It's eight deaths for the cemetery so far." "No matter how many get killed, I never get used to it." "From the day of our oath, we were ready to die in battle." "I am certain Sahalov would feel the same way." "I won't allow them to kill any more, Sergeant." "Those brats are going to pay for Comrade Sahalov's life with their blood." "I'll kill them with the utmost of hatred." "Geez." "How does it look?" "Have they been hung by anyone yet?" "Not yet, but it doesn't look good." "One mistake and they're screwed." "A typhoon is nothing compared to this." "Balalaika's thinking of using the Visotoniki." "Visotoniki?" "Stupid." "Does she plan on turning this city upside down?" "Their special troops, Visotoniki in Russian, were her subordinates even before Hotel Moscow was around." "They function as a single killing machine, with her as the brains." "They've had enough training to fight World War III." "Battle-hardened veterans from the Afghan war." "That's why they're different from the other gangsters." "They're unified and have no mercy." "I don't want to be anywhere near them when they're serious." "At least, not within 200 miles." "My mother has killed me." "My father is eating me." "My brothers and sisters sit under the table." "Picking up my bones, they will bury them." "Under the cold..." "What in the hell are you guys doing?" "!" "We're changing clothes, of course." "The blood's all dried up and sticks like glue, so we couldn't wear them anymore." "It's funny, you know." "If you put nails in his head, it twitches like a fish." "It still moves even after he's stopped breathing." "I think they call it "spinal reflex"." "The boss is so angry, he looks like a lobster!" "We only told you to kill the Ivan bitch!" "Who told you to kidnap her subordinate and turn him into a pin cushion?" "!" "It's about time for you to finish up, and get the hell out of this city!" "I'm sick and tired of baby-sitting you two!" "I can't believe those brats!" "It's way beyond having a screw loose!" "Maurry, they're really sick!" "No kidding." "We have to get rid of that mess too and can't even call the cleaners!" "Those idiots!" "Could the killers realize who they're attacking?" "They must be crazy." "These generations seldom appear." "They're trouble." "They're considered to be outsiders even among the garbage of the underground." "They usually do a lot of damage to everything and then disappear." "But sometimes they survive, thanks to their bestial instincts or sharp wits." "They can't live without being over the edge." "And they spread disaster." "If they're along those lines, it means they hate all sorts of things." "Hating isn't the problem." "They hate so many things, they don't even know what they hate." "And in the end, they draw everything around them in and explode." "But only they really know for sure." "That's what I learned in the slammer." "Rock!" "It's for you." "From the person in the limelight, Miss Balalaika." "Hey, nee-sama." "What is it?" "What shall we do?" "I'd like to try it." "I've never put an Ivan in before." "Not that, nee-sama." "About them." "We can kill them eventually." "I don't like being yelled at or being struck." "It makes me want to cry." "Right, nii-sama?" ""Buna seara." The nuance is like Italian, but..." "I thought you might know, because of your occupation." "My apologies, your previous occupation." ""Buna seara..."" "How about the phrase, "Sora mai mare"?" "Tell me anything you can think of." "Location?" "A name?" "I remember someone from the European branch telling me something like that." "But I can't remember it clearly." "Vampire?" "!" "What's that?" "What do you mean, Rock?" "That's it." "It has to do with vampires." "It smell so strongly of blood, nii-sama." "Let's take a bath." "But it smells so good." "It's such a shame, nee-sama." "The Chinese from the Lagoon Company." "And the sister from the Church of Violence is with her." "If necessary, crush them underfoot."