Bang bang bang!
Revy emptied the entire magazine, but Rokuro Okajima didn't die, he was just scared into silence by the deafening shots near his ears.
"I'm sorry, Aiden." After a moment of silence, Rokuro stood up and bowed deeply to Aiden.
Aiden nodded casually, then looked toward the armed helicopter that had flown far away after its round of strafing.
"What are these guys trying to do?" Revy was equally puzzled. "Are they toying with us?"
"Probably." Aiden replied, starting to recall the plot of Black Lagoon. But the anime was so old, his memory was blurry. He couldn't remember a lot of it, only that the chopper was eventually shot down by Revy and the others using a torpedo.
"Boring tricks." Revy glanced coldly at the chopper, then opened the cabin door and called Aiden and Rokuro in with her.
"Dutch, can you guess what they're trying to do?" In the cockpit, she asked Dutch.
Dutch was looking at a map. Upon hearing her, he pondered for a moment and slowly said, "I've got a rough idea of what they're planning."
"What is it?" Revy asked again.
Dutch put away the map and said, "We're about to enter the Palawan waters. It's all mangroves and reefs there. The deeper we go, the narrower the channel. Eventually, our boat won't even be able to dodge anymore."
"So they want to play a cat-and-mouse game and force us into a dead end… I understand now, Dutch, let's run away quickly." Although Revy had a violent temper, she wasn't a simpleton. The moment she thought they were being forced into a corner, she immediately made a choice.
"I was thinking the same." Dutch threw the map aside and began maneuvering the speedboat to leave the area.
But just as the speedboat showed signs of veering off course, the armed helicopter overhead launched an attack. Rockets and machine gun bullets were fired as if they cost nothing, blasting up countless splashes in the direction the speedboat was trying to go.
Helpless, Dutch could only steer the speedboat back toward the Palawan waterway. But this way, they truly became mice being toyed with by a cat.
Revy punched the back of Dutch's seat and said angrily, "This really feels so suffocating!"
"No helping it, after all, they can fly." Aiden lit a cigarette and laughed. "Who told us we have no countermeasures."
"That's why next time we should only take big jobs. These small ones for twenty thousand bucks, we shouldn't take them anymore." Revy felt they had lost big on this run.
"Big jobs are the ones that make big money. Only then can we buy better gear."
"That's for later, Revy. Right now, let's first think about how to get through this crisis." Dutch glanced at the armed helicopter flying overhead again and said helplessly.
For a moment, most people in the cockpit fell silent. Only Aiden continued smoking, occasionally glancing at Rock (Okajima Rokuro).
Very soon, the torpedo boat entered deep into the Palawan waterway. After traveling some distance, they encountered a sunken ship. The overturned hull blocked two-thirds of the waterway.
Seeing this shipwreck, Aiden once again looked at Rock. He remembered that in the original plot, the one who came up with the idea to shoot down the armed helicopter was Rock.
But at this moment, Rock hadn't awakened like in the original story, or rather, hadn't had a moment of realization. He just sat there blankly on the floor, eyes dull, staring at the ceiling.
"There's no road left."
At this time, Dutch slowed down the boat and started turning around, because in front of them appeared a huge waterfall.
"We might really die here, Dutch." Benny's lazy voice came over.
Surprisingly, Revy didn't argue back like she usually would. Instead, she stood quietly behind Dutch, as if silently agreeing with what Benny had said.
The cockpit once again fell into silence.
At this moment, Aiden suddenly spoke, breaking the quiet atmosphere inside the cabin.
"Looks like you guys still haven't figured out the other party's intention."
Revy and Dutch turned to look at him simultaneously. Revy even asked, "You mean you understand?"
Aiden nodded and said, "Don't you get it yet? Why did they push us here? Was it really just to toy with us?"
"If it was just to toy with us, he could've done that already. And if that was all he wanted, it could be done anywhere. Why did he have to force us all the way here?"
"You mean, he wants to force us into a duel? Like a western-style gunslinger showdown?" Dutch looked at the waterway ahead. The narrow part could barely fit one boat in or out. There was no space to dodge at all.
"Yes." Aiden nodded.
Dutch sneered, "What an arrogant guy."
"He has the right to be arrogant," Aiden said. "Flying an armed helicopter that can launch rockets and guided missiles. If it were me, I'd be even more arrogant than him."
"So what do you want to do?" Dutch asked.
"Since he wants a western-style gunslinger showdown, then let's give it to him. Let's duel him." Aiden said as if it were only natural.
"But what do we use to strike back?" Benny asked. "We're just a torpedo boat!"
"We've got an RPG." Aiden pointed at the crate outside. Inside lay a launcher quietly.
"But that thing can't lock onto an armed helicopter. I tried it earlier, you said that yourself." Revy said. "Unless he's willing to come face-to-face with us."
"Don't worry, he'll give us the chance to face him head-on." Aiden glanced at the helicopter.
"You're that sure?" Revy asked.
"Of course." Aiden nodded confidently, because in the original plot, the captain piloting the armed helicopter had exactly that thought.
After a brief pause, he said to Dutch, "Dutch, stop the boat."
Dutch thought for a moment, then nodded and stopped the boat as instructed.
Then Aiden opened the cabin door and strode outside.
Revy, a little uneasy, followed him out. Then she saw Aiden raise his right hand and make a shooting gesture toward the hovering helicopter in the sky.
Revy didn't understand why he did that, but soon she saw the armed helicopter actually turn around, stopping about a kilometer away from the speedboat, then turning back again.
"I told you he would." Aiden turned back to Revy, raised an eyebrow, and smiled.
In the original story, it was Rock who suggested the duel with the armed helicopter captain.
Perhaps because of his own involvement, some plotlines didn't happen, and Rock hadn't fully turned dark, so the scene where Rock gave Dutch a suggestion never appeared.
As a result, to survive, Aiden had to temporarily take Rock's place and become the one giving the plan.
Calling Revy back into the cabin with him, Aiden began to assign tactics.
Actually, at the start, he also thought about doing what Rock did in the original story, using the overturned ship as a springboard and smashing the armed helicopter down with a torpedo.
Unfortunately, during the previous attack by the helicopter, the boat's torpedo launcher was damaged. Although it didn't explode, it had lost its firing function.
So, he could only pin his hopes on that RPG.
"…That's the plan. Revy will use the flare gun as a decoy to lure the heat-seeking missiles that might be fired by the helicopter, and then I'll use the RPG to shoot down that Hind." Inside the cabin, Aiden handed the flare gun to Revy and instructed.
"Will this… work?" Benny asked, a bit unsure.
"Let's try. Usually, my luck is pretty good." Aiden picked up the RPG, gave Revy a wink.
Revy nodded, took a flare gun from the crate, and walked out of the cabin. Aiden didn't follow, he wanted to show up at the moment of confrontation and catch the helicopter off guard.
Once Revy stood steady on the deck, Dutch started the speedboat, pushed the throttle all the way, and brought the boat to its top speed.
Inside the distant helicopter, seeing the speeding torpedo boat charging straight at him, the scar-faced EO captain showed a cruel smile.
"It's finally starting. Don't worry, I'll give you a brilliant fireworks show to send you off from this world."
Like a madman, he talked to himself. Then he maxed out the helicopter's power, placing his hand on the missile launch button and aiming at the speeding boat.
On the speedboat's deck, Revy held the flare gun tightly, eyes locked on the armed helicopter. As the chopper grew larger in her view, she showed no fear, instead, she burst into maniacal laughter.
"Revy, ready?" Aiden's voice came through the earpiece.
"Of course. I've been waiting for this." Revy laughed and then raised the flare gun toward the sky.
A kilometer's distance would take a human about three minutes to run, but for a helicopter and torpedo boat at top speed, it only took about ten seconds for them to get close enough to see each other's faces clearly.
At this moment, EO captain pressed the missile launch button. The launchers on both sides of the helicopter powered up simultaneously. Two missiles ignited and left their racks, flying toward the torpedo boat.
"Revy—!"
Aiden shouted, rushing out of the cabin with the RPG on his shoulder.
At the same time, Revy pulled the trigger. A blazing flare shot into the sky.
The heat emitted by the flare was far higher than that of the torpedo boat's engine. Just as expected, the two guided missiles were drawn toward the flare. As they were about to hit the boat, they made a sharp maneuver and flew toward the flare, which was now emitting maximum heat.
Boom!
Just as the missiles neared the flare, the detonation system activated. They exploded midair. Amid a sky full of flames and black smoke, countless fragments scattered in all directions.
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