John Wick - Chapter 52: Training, Huh? Training Again? Why Did I Say “Again”?! (Patreon)

6:00 a.m. the next morning.

Nate was still fast asleep.

The young man dreamed that he was on the staircase from the fourth movie, fighting alongside John with a P30L in one hand and a throwing knife in the other, mowing down enemies left and right.

He and John pushed forward through deafening gunfire and a hail of bullets.

Just as they were about to reach the top, a man in a suit suddenly kicked Nate back down the stairs. Before he started tumbling, he caught a glimpse of the man’s face.

“Holy shit! Why is it Henry?!”

Nate’s eyes flew open. He jolted awake and sprang out of bed in one motion.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Deafening knocks hammered against the door.

“You little brat, get up! It’s six o’clock!” Henry shouted from outside. Judging by the sound of it, he had already been knocking for quite a while.

“No wonder it was so damn loud. It was you, Henry!”

Nate yawned as he opened the door, only to find Elena there as well, standing beside Henry in a tracksuit.

“Huh? What are you doing up this early?” Nate asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Training with you, obviously.” Elena beamed with energy. “Didn’t I tell you? I keep a very healthy schedule!”

“Training? Again? Henry, please, just let me get a good night’s sleep!” Nate groaned, slumping against the doorframe.

“I already let you sleep an extra hour. Hurry up, get changed, and stop dragging your feet.”

Henry had already turned toward the elevator. Elena followed right behind him, then glanced back and gave Nate a thumbs-up.

Nate lowered his head in resignation. He changed into workout clothes, then shuffled toward the elevator like a walking corpse.

The elevator doors opened onto the hotel gym on the twelfth floor.

“Good morning, Mr. Lin.”

A woman’s voice came from up ahead.

Nate instantly woke up.

He snapped his head up.

It wasn’t Judy. Behind the marble reception desk stood a girl Nate had never seen before.

Nate sighed. “You’re on duty today?”

The girl had blonde hair, blue eyes, and very fair skin. With a professional smile, she said, “Yes, sir. My name is Panam. Mr. Wang is waiting for you inside.”

“Okay, thanks.”

What a coincidence, that name. But she looked nothing like the Panam he remembered.

Nate pushed open the door.

Henry was sitting on a bench, watching the two people in front of him warm up.

Huh?

Two people?

John was here too.

“Morning,” John said, looking over and greeting him first.

“Good morning, Mr. Wick,” Nate replied. “But why are you here?”

“I haven’t exercised in a long time. I’m getting rusty.” John stretched both arms. “Want to join me?”

“Sure!”

Nate walked over, and the three of them warmed up side by side.

As for Elena, she stood next to John and never took her eyes off him. Nate could practically see little hearts sparkling in her eyes. She was one step away from drooling.

Henry stood in front of the three of them, watching with a kindly smile.

“It’s good to be young,” he said.

“By the way, aren’t we doing anything today?” Nate asked.

“Gathering intelligence takes time,” Henry replied. After a brief pause, he added, “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you sit around doing nothing.”

“So what are we training today? Dodging bullets again?” Nate asked while loosening up his wrists and ankles.

“Hand-to-hand combat.”

“Huh? There are three of us. Who’s fighting who?”

“You and John, obviously. Once he gets tired, we’ll have the girl take over.”

“Henry, have some mercy!” Nate wailed.

A short while later, the two took their positions in the sparring area.

John extended one hand in front of him while keeping the other near his waist, settling into a karate stance as he waited for Nate to make the first move.

Winston came upstairs around then as well, bringing Henry and the others a bag of sunflower seeds.

“Who do you think will win?” Elena asked Winston.

“John, probably. Nate is still young, after all.” Winston turned to Henry. “What do you think?”

“Then I’ll bet on Nate,” Henry replied.

“I’m rooting for Mr. Wick!” Elena shouted.

Nate heard her from the sparring area. Without even turning around, he raised his middle finger at her.

Elena rolled her eyes and ignored him.

Nate settled into his own stance.

He turned sideways, extending his right fist while keeping his left hand in front of his body. His feet bounced lightly back and forth in a steady rhythm.

John remained in his karate stance, looking at Nate with surprise.

“Jeet Kune Do?” Henry muttered. “When did he learn that?”

“His form is pretty solid,” Winston remarked.

Elena looked surprised as well, but said nothing and quietly cracked open sunflower seeds.

Nate had learned Jeet Kune Do in a college club during his freshman year in his previous life. In his second year, he had even served as club president and taught new members. He had also done a few full-contact sparring sessions while wearing protective gear, though he was still only an amateur.

The two slowly closed the distance until their hands touched.

Nate attacked first.

He opened with a right jab, feinting toward John’s eyes, then immediately pulled the punch back. As his body shifted upward, his right leg shot out in a side kick.

Feint high, strike low.

A signature Jeet Kune Do tactic.

The jab had clearly drawn John’s attention. He leaned backward, throwing off his balance.

It was already too late to dodge.

The side kick slammed squarely into his abdomen.

John grunted, clutched his stomach, staggered back two steps, then crouched down.

Seeing that the attack had worked, Nate immediately retreated. He kept bouncing lightly on his feet to maintain distance, waiting for another opening.

“Beautiful!”

Henry pumped his fist hard.

“Ah!!”

Elena let out a piercing scream at the sight.

Henry, who had been completely focused on the fight, nearly jumped out of his skin.

Winston, meanwhile, had already covered his ears.

“You okay, John?” Nate called out.

He hadn’t put his full strength into that side kick. It might have been unbearable for an ordinary person, but for John, it probably wasn’t anything serious.

After all, Mr. Wick’s reputation for having a body of steel hadn’t come from nowhere.

Then Nate remembered John’s [Adaptation] Trait.

The next hit probably wouldn’t work nearly as well.

A 25% reduction against the same type of damage was no joke, and that was after the effect had already been cut in half by the debuff.

“I’m fine! That was one hell of a kick.”

John rose to his feet and straightened his back.

Fighting spirit burned in his eyes, and a roguish grin spread across his face.

He settled back into his stance and beckoned Nate forward.

“Come on!”