John Wick - Chapter 56: AWM (Patreon)

“So, what can I get for you, Mr. Lin?”

Lily maintained a polite smile as she addressed Nate.

Despite how professional she looked, seeing her act this formal still felt strange to him.

“Lily, can’t we just talk normally?”

“It’s hotel policy, okay?”

Lily nearly broke character. The smile threatening to spread across her face was forcibly suppressed.

“All right, all right. I won’t make things difficult for you.”

Nate decided to play along.

“I’d like to sample something,” he said.

“What are you looking for?”

Lily raised an eyebrow.

Nate thought for a moment, then came up with a few words based on the kind of phrasing he remembered from the movies.

“Precise and lethal. Powerful and silent.”

Lily smiled.

She understood.

“One moment.”

She turned toward the weapon wall at the back of the room, her high heels clicking against the floor in a crisp, steady rhythm.

Nate watched her go, and that strange feeling returned.

Lily used to rush everywhere with her slippers slapping noisily against the floor. Compared to the rigidly professional way she carried herself now, she seemed like a completely different person.

No.

He had to hold it in.

He couldn’t laugh.

He might very well be her first customer, so he needed to give her some confidence.

Lily stopped in front of a metal door, entered a code, and submitted to an iris scan.

The door slid open without a sound.

She stepped inside and returned a moment later carrying a long black wooden case, which she placed on the counter.

“I have three options for you.”

“This is the first.”

She opened the lid.

Resting inside the black foam lining was a rifle finished entirely in matte black. Its long, slender frame and hard, angular lines made it resemble a predator lying in wait.

“Dragunov SVDS. Adjustable 1-6x scope. Chambered in 7.62×54 mm.”

Lily’s voice was calm and professional, like a museum guide introducing a prized exhibit.

“The Russian answer. Semi-automatic, twenty-round magazine, effective range of five hundred meters.”

“It isn’t the most accurate option, but it makes up for that with speed.”

“If you empty the magazine, you can reload quickly. If you miss the first shot, you can immediately follow up. It suits someone who likes having a backup plan.”

She removed the rifle from the case and offered it to Nate with both hands.

Nate took it and tested the weight.

The rifle was cold in his hands, the metal of the folding stock pressing firmly against his palm.

He brought his eye to the scope.

The crosshairs sat steady and clear.

It was definitely a good rifle.

Still, something about it felt lacking.

“Let me see another one.”

The rate of fire was good, but the accuracy wasn’t what he wanted.

He shook his head and handed the SVDS back.

Lily returned it to the case, closed the lid, and pushed it aside.

Then she headed back through the metal door.

This time, she took a little longer.

When she emerged, she was struggling slightly under the weight of a black case that was both longer and wider than the first.

“The second option.”

She opened the lid.

The rifle inside was noticeably longer and bulkier than the SVDS. Its body wore a camouflage finish, and the barrel was absurdly thick.

“Barrett M107A1. Chambered in 12.7×99 mm. Semi-automatic anti-materiel sniper rifle.”

There was a little more warmth in Lily’s voice now, almost as though she were introducing an old friend.

“Other rifles talk to you about accuracy.”

“This one talks to you about physics.”

“With the right ammunition, it can tear apart a truck engine from six hundred yards away.”

“A brick wall might as well be a sheet of paper. Once you pull the trigger, everything between you and the target is cover, but at the same time, none of it really is.”

She lifted the rifle from the case with some effort and handed it to Nate.

His eyes widened slightly as he accepted it.

The thing was even heavier than he had expected.

And the muzzle brake was enormous.

He shouldered it to test the weight.

Within ten seconds, his arms were already starting to ache.

“What about the recoil?” he asked.

“Like getting kicked by a mule.”

Lily immediately realized how casual that had sounded.

She cleared her throat and quickly returned to her composed, professional tone.

“But you should be able to adapt to it.”

Nate almost laughed.

Who had taught her that line?

Winston?

He put the Barrett back into the case and shook his head.

“No. Too heavy.”

Its destructive power was excessive for what he needed, its accuracy wasn’t ideal, and firing it would punish his shoulder.

Most importantly, it was simply too damn heavy.

Lily nodded, apparently unsurprised by his answer.

She closed the case and headed through the metal door once more.

This time, she returned carrying only a rifle.

No case.

No foam lining.

Just the rifle itself.

It was long and sleek, with the stock folded against the side and a subdued black finish covering the entire weapon.

Lily approached the counter and gently laid it on a piece of black velvet.

Her movements were so careful and delicate that it looked as though she were setting down a flower.

“This one, I believe you’ll like.”

She paused for a second.

“AWM.”

Her voice dropped slightly, almost to a whisper.

“British. Classic and reliable. This particular rifle has been given a special coating. Its effective range starts at around eight hundred meters. How much farther you can push it depends on you.”

“At that distance, even a one-meter-per-second change in wind speed can shift the point of impact by half a person’s width.”

“This rifle makes finding that missing half much easier.”

She picked up the rifle with slow, deliberate movements.

She worked the bolt.

A crisp metallic sound echoed through the quiet room.

“Five-round magazine. Rotating bolt action. None of the compromises that come with a semi-automatic.”

“Every round has to be chambered by hand, and every time you push that bolt forward, you can feel the cartridge seat firmly in the chamber.”

Lily pointed the muzzle toward the ceiling, checked the empty chamber, then closed the bolt again.

“The barrel is cold-hammer forged. For maximum accuracy, it uses a free-floating barrel design, so the handguard never touches the barrel.”

She placed the rifle back on the velvet and slowly ran her fingertips along its body.

“Folding stock for easier transport.”

“An adjustable cheek rest, so you can always find the most comfortable position for your face.”

“A light trigger pull. You can make it as sensitive as you want.”

Lily looked up at Nate.

There was complete confidence in her eyes.

“Precise and lethal. Powerful and silent.”

“The other two rifles each have their own weaknesses.”

“But this one combines everything you asked for without letting any one quality overshadow the others.”

Nate stared at the rifle.

His fingers twitched.

Lily let her professional smile fade, replacing it with something softer and more genuine.

“Choose this one. You won’t regret it.”

Nate remained silent for several seconds.

Then he reached out and took hold of the AWM.

The cold metal settled into his hands.

He pressed the stock into his shoulder, rested his cheek against the cheek piece, closed his right eye, and looked through the scope.

The crosshairs were rock steady.

“This is the one.”

Lily nodded.

She pulled a black soft case from beneath the counter and unzipped it.

Inside were precisely cut foam compartments, each one shaped to fit a specific component of the rifle.

“What about accessories?” Nate asked.

“Schmidt & Bender scope, adjustable from 5x to 25x.”

“Folding carbon-fiber bipod. As light as possible without sacrificing function.”

“A custom suppressor. It reduces muzzle flash by thirty percent and brings the report down to roughly the level of a .22.”

“Five additional magazines, plus one hundred rounds of .338 Lapua Magnum Scenar OTM. Open-tip match ammunition with a boat-tail design, built for precision.”

Lily laid everything out one piece at a time, arranging each item with the precision of someone defusing a bomb.

Nate watched her for a moment before suddenly asking, “Lily, how long did it take you to memorize that whole sales pitch?”

Her hand froze.

She looked up at him.

For the first time, the professional mask cracked, revealing a slightly embarrassed smile.

“Two hours.”

Then she quickly added, “But it wasn’t that bad. I already liked guns to begin with.”

Nate couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from curling upward.

Only for a second.

No.

He couldn’t laugh.

He had to play along.

Keep it together.

He cleared his throat, straightened his expression, and said, “I’ll take it.”

“That will be six gold coins.”

Nate pulled six gold coins from his pocket, placed them on the marble counter, and slid them toward her.

Lily collected them and smoothly slid the coins across the counter into a drawer.

Nate blinked.

Was that motion actually required?

He could have sworn he had seen half the people in this hotel do the exact same thing.

Lily packed the rifle into the soft case, zipped it shut, and handed it over.

Nate lifted the case.

It was heavy, but there was something reassuring about that weight.

He reached the door, then suddenly turned around.

“Lily.”

She looked up.

“You’ve only been training for one day, but that whole presentation just now?”

Nate gave her a thumbs-up.

“You did great.”

Lily froze.

Then she smiled.

This time, she couldn’t suppress it at all.

Her eyes practically lit up.

Nate turned around, opened the door, and walked out.

Just before it closed behind him, he glanced back.

Lily was still standing straight behind the counter, hands neatly clasped in front of her.

But the smile on her face was now completely impossible to hide.