But compared to the mysterious identity of the Ada familiar with Aiden, this nun Ada had a murky relationship with the CIA, or rather, the entire church did.
'Wonder how she's doing now. Probably out on a mission in some country.' Aiden's thoughts drifted. But soon, they were interrupted by the urgent knocking and Revy's cursing shouts.
"Hey, you old hag, open up already!"
"Did you hear me? It's Revy from the Black Lagoon Company! Hurry up, you old woman!"
Accompanying her knocking was also a parrot not far from the church entrance. It shouted "Hello" while occasionally chiming in with "Kill you."
"No wonder it's called the violent church. Even the parrot they keep is so aggressive." Aiden chuckled, no longer in the mood to think about Ada Wong, walked up behind Revy, and said, "Alright, Revy, stop knocking. You got the wrong place."
"How is that possible? I've already driven by several times." Revy said with a determined face, and then she saw a nun dressed in a nun outfit but with a gun holster under her armpit walking over.
The nun chewed gum in her mouth and said with a mocking face, "Hey, that side is for worship, if trash goes that way, it'll be condemned by heaven, y'know!"
"Who are you calling trash?" Revy said angrily.
The nun curled her lips and ignored her, only pointing behind her with her hand, "This way, follow me."
———
In the church reception room, several cups of black tea were placed on the tea table.
"It's really rare, that Dutch actually let you come over."
The head of the Rip Off Church, the old one-eyed nun Yolanda, took a sip of tea and said kindly.
"Cut the crap, is the stuff we asked for all ready?" Revy asked, legs crossed.
"Don't be in a rush, Miss Revy." Even though Revy referred to her as an old hag, Yolanda showed no change in expression and still smiled, while also stopping the bodyguard behind her who was about to draw a gun, the nun who had guided Aiden's group inside, Eda.
"As a woman, you should be more ladylike, or you'll make men dislike you." Yolanda continued.
"That kind of thing has nothing to do with me, old nun." Revy still talked tough, but changed the way she addressed her.
The corner of Yolanda's mouth raised slightly. She looked at Rock, who was standing to the side, and then at Aiden, who had taken off his hat but was still wearing a mask, the smile in her eyes deepened.
After taking another sip of tea, Yolanda finally got to the point and said, "The things you wanted are naturally all prepared, and they've even been packed in boxes."
"Then why are you wasting time? Load them into our car." Revy said.
"Of course, I'll definitely help you load them." Yolanda said, "However, before that, may I ask what you plan to use them for?"
"That's none of your business." Revy didn't know either, but since it was something Aiden wanted, she continued, "As the seller, you shouldn't be asking that."
"That is indeed not allowed." Yolanda set down her teacup.
"Then what do you mean by all this?" Revy glared at Yolanda viciously. She hated riddle-speakers the most.
"Heh heh."
Yolanda chuckled and said, "I know the gentleman beside you has a bounty on him from many organizations. You buying these weapons is just for self-defense, isn't it?"
"So what?" Since he was recognized, Aiden simply pulled off his mask and asked.
"Or are you also planning to take on this job?"
"No, no, no…" Yolanda shook her head, "We're just businesspeople. Some things should be left to those with experience. What I want to say is, getting these things smuggled in took us a lot of effort."
Aiden understood her meaning, "You want to raise the price on the spot?"
Yolanda nodded without any attempt to hide it.
"Hey, old hag, that's really shameless of you. And you still call yourself a businessperson, raising the price at the last moment." Revy slammed the table and pulled out her gun, pointing it at Yolanda.
"Put the gun down." Behind Yolanda, Sister Eda also pulled out her gun and aimed at Revy.
Facing Revy's gun, Yolanda showed no fear. She waved her hand, signaling Eda to lower her weapon, and then said, "Calling it raising the price on the spot isn't quite right, because I'll trade it for a piece of information—an inside scoop."
"Oh?" Aiden was slightly intrigued. He knew the entire Rip Off Church was connected to official organizations of country M. Maybe the information really was valuable?
"Alright." After thinking it over, Aiden nodded in agreement. But he still said, "I hope the info is worth the price. After all, my money doesn't grow on trees."
"Absolutely worth it." Yolanda looked at the tea in her cup and smiled.
"But, I can only tell you alone."
"Fine." Aiden nodded.
———
After coming out from the Rip Off Church, Revy was still angry. A woman's natural curiosity made her unhappy that Yolanda had only told the info to Aiden alone.
"What exactly did she tell you?" In the car, Revy asked Aiden, "Can't you tell me?"
Aiden shook his head and didn't answer. Then he fell into deep thought, seemingly digesting the information.
Looking at Aiden deep in thought, Revy angrily kicked the car door. She was super annoyed…
———
"Ma'am, is it really okay for you to do that? If Mr. Simmons finds out it was you who sold that info to him, he'll definitely hold you accountable."
After sending off Aiden and the others, Sister Eda returned to the reception room and said to Yolanda, who was still drinking tea.
"Then let him be mad." Yolanda didn't care at all.
"He only became our liaison because of his family's power. Do you really think he can interfere in our NSA?"
"But he is the national security adviser, after all." Sister Eda still voiced her concern, "I heard he's also close to the president."
"It's fine, Eda." Yolanda looked at her deeply, "You have to have faith in the people behind us."
Hearing that, Sister Eda fell silent for a moment, then nodded and left the room.
Watching Eda's retreating back, Yolanda sighed and said, "Once you're my age, you'll understand. Nothing's more worth pursuing than money."
Saying that, Yolanda's face showed a smile again, "This business deal was worth it, closed three deals in one shot. I hope more of these come along in the future."
———
By the time they returned from the Rip Off Church to Roanapur, it was already almost noon.
During this time, Aiden had more or less sorted out his thoughts.
Actually, the so-called inside information Yolanda mentioned wasn't all that useful. From what he could tell right now, the only thing that made him both glad and uneasy was that H.C.F's intelligence agents had already infiltrated Roanapur a long time ago.
'Who could it be that came? Ada? Or Wesker? Or the Wolf Squad that defected to them?'
Even when getting out of the car, Aiden was still pondering that question.
"Hey, Aiden, what are you daydreaming about? Hurry and move the stuff inside first."
Seeing Aiden still standing by the car in a daze after getting out, Revy, who had already carried several loads, shouted impatiently.
Snapping out of it, Aiden gave her an apologetic smile, then carried a large box into his rented apartment.
"Revy, Aiden, I'm going to get some food." After moving everything in, Rock checked the time and saw it was already noon, so he said.
Revy nodded and waved him off, then began checking the weapons in the boxes with Aiden.
About ten minutes later, they finished the inventory, and Aiden nodded in satisfaction.
Probably because the profit this time was quite good, and because Yolanda had wanted to squeeze more money out of him, the batch of weapons they got not only had excellent quality but also included some extra items not on the list… some yellow block-shaped objects.
"What's this?" Revy picked one up and sniffed it suspiciously.
"Plastic explosives." Aiden calmly lit a cigarette and said.
"Oh." Revy nodded, casually tossing the plastic explosives onto the tea table, then also lit a cigarette.
At that moment, the door suddenly opened and several people entered.
"Revy, Aiden, I'm back! Also, Dutch and Benny came too." Rock, carrying a large bag of food, shouted as soon as he entered.
"Got the stuff?" Dutch asked as he walked in.
Revy pointed to the big boxes in the corner and said, "All over there."
"That's good. Yolanda's not easy to deal with. I was worried she'd give you guys a hard time." Dutch let out a sigh of relief. If it hadn't been for a sudden call about a big job, he would've gone too. With Revy's temper, she could easily clash with people from the Rip Off Church.
"By the way, after lunch, let's have a meeting. We just took a new job that requires everyone. Aiden, you're in too. It might be a bit of trouble." Dutch continued.
Aiden nodded. By his estimation, the Black Lagoon maid arc was about to begin.
Since they were going to eat, they needed to make space first. Aiden's apartment didn't have a dining table, so they used the tea table as a temporary one. As the newest member of the Lagoon Company, cleaning it up naturally fell to Rock.
Placing the food bags on the tea table, Rock started clearing off the clutter. But when he saw the plastic explosives, he asked the same question Revy had,
"What's this?" Rock picked up a piece and asked, "Cookies?"
"Nope, Aiden said it's plastic explosives." Revy explained.
Hearing that he was holding explosives, Rock's face instantly darkened. He was about to throw it, but was scared it might explode on impact, so he just froze, helplessly holding it.
Seeing Rock's panicked face, Aiden chuckled, took the plastic explosive from his hand, casually tossed it on the couch, and plopped down on it, causing Rock's face to go from dark to pale.
"Relax, Rock. That stuff won't explode even if you shoot it. It needs a detonator." Dutch, a former soldier who knew how plastic explosives worked, explained.
"O-okay…" Rock nodded with difficulty, but still sat far away.
After lunch, Rock was still cleaning up the table while the others sat in a circle, waiting for Dutch to speak.
"So here's the deal. I originally took a delivery job a few days ago, but the middleman called today saying there's a big one. He wants us to prepare more manpower to transport a shipment through Roanapur." Dutch said.
"Just passing through Roanapur? That should be easy. Why does Aiden need to go too?" Benny asked.
"Because it's a shipment that needs strict protection." Dutch said. "Revy alone won't be enough."