John Wick - Chapter 82: He's Here (Patreon)

The door to John’s house opened, and sure enough, it was that mechanic, the same guy who slapped Viggo’s idiot son in the first movie.

Nate had a pretty good impression of him. Aurelio was a funny guy, and he was also one of John’s good friends.

The two were already exchanging greetings.

“John, glad to see you’re looking well.”

“Aurelio, thanks for coming all this way.”

Aurelio glanced at the Ford Mustang in the garage and joked, “Well, look at that. You got your precious car back, and it doesn’t even look damaged. So why’d you call me over? Don’t tell me you missed me.”

John smiled without taking the bait. “It’s the other car. That guy smashed the windshield and headlights, so it needs some repairs.”

“No problem. And who’s this?” Aurelio asked, looking over at Nate.

“My partner,” John answered without hesitation.

“Damn, you have a partner now? Haven’t you been a lone wolf all these years? I’ve definitely got to meet him.”

Aurelio walked over and held out his hand. “Hey, buddy. I’m Aurelio.”

Nate smiled and shook it. “Nate.”

The group chatted and joked around, and before long Elena joined them with the little Border Collie.

At that same moment, a man and a woman were lying on the rooftop of a four-story building about two hundred meters from John’s house.

The man was watching the house through binoculars, while the woman beside him scrolled through the bounty notice on her phone.

“Well? Have you confirmed it? Is that him?”

The man lowered the binoculars, checked the photo on his phone again, and nodded.

“That’s him.”

“Then let’s take him alive. That’s 1.6 million!” the woman said excitedly.

“I’d forget that idea if I were you. Do you know who’s standing next to him?”

“Who?”

“John Wick. Baba Yaga. The Baba Yaga who killed three men in a bar with a pencil!” Fear had already crept into the man’s voice.

“What? No way. Let me see!”

The woman snatched the binoculars from his hands and looked toward the house.

The instant her gaze settled on John’s face, she froze in horror.

John was looking straight back at her.

It wasn’t some casual glance in her general direction. His gaze was steady and precise, as if he were staring directly into her eyes.

Cold sweat immediately broke out across her body, and her hands began to tremble.

“Did he spot us? We’re two hundred meters away. I swear our eyes just met. Can you believe that?” Her lips trembled as she shakily handed the binoculars back.

“How is that possible?”

The man took them skeptically and looked toward the house.

Then his blood ran cold.

Through the binoculars, both Nate and John were staring directly at him.

In the brief moment it took him to look, Nate had already swept aside his suit jacket and drawn the HK P30L from his waist.

“Bang.”

A bullet whistled over their heads.

“Holy shit! Go, go, go!”

The man threw down the binoculars, grabbed the woman, and practically tumbled down the stairs with her.

By the time they reached the first floor, he was still badly shaken.

“What the hell are those two?”

The woman wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. “Let’s just go home. We’re not taking this bounty.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

...

Back at John’s house, Nate clicked his tongue.

“Damn. Missed.”

He had sensed the threat just now, but they were too far away, and with so many people around, pulling a gun out of his Loadout wasn’t practical. He could only make do with his pistol.

But two hundred meters was asking too much from a handgun. He had to aim high just to compensate for the distance, and even the bullet took a noticeable amount of time to get there.

The sudden gunshot startled everyone, especially the little Border Collie, who literally jumped.

“What happened? What happened?” Aurelio immediately ducked behind his big pickup truck, while Elena scooped up the puppy and hurried inside.

John, however, looked at Nate in surprise.

“You noticed them too?”

“My instincts aren’t that bad, you know. He’d already looked at me several times. Even I’d notice after that many,” Nate said with a laugh, casually brushing the matter aside.

John didn’t press him. He simply gave Nate a thumbs-up.

“Impressive. That’s my partner.”

“All right. Let’s go inside.”

They spent the next few hours chatting and even played some cards.

John, apparently, was terrible at them. He lost nine games out of ten, but it didn’t bother him in the slightest. He simply kept playing with a smile.

John made lunch. Nate had wanted to show off his own cooking, but John refused. How could he let a guest cook the first meal after coming over?

Aurelio stayed for lunch as well, and they all sat down together to eat.

Elena seemed to enjoy it, but as for John’s cooking... it was edible. That was about the highest praise Nate could give it.

So everyone unanimously decided that Nate would handle dinner.

He had already told John before that he wanted him to try his cooking anyway.

Aurelio had other things to do that afternoon, so he didn’t stay. After towing John’s car away, everyone else settled in. Some played with the dog, some watched movies, and at one point Nate and John even spent a while playing a fighting game together.

They talked and laughed, and before they knew it, evening had arrived.

Nate was busy in the kitchen. John didn’t keep much food in the house, so there were only a handful of dishes he could put together.

He made beef stew with carrots, some crispy pan-fried potatoes, and sautéed beef with broccoli. Since John didn’t have much else to work with, Nate also threw together a simple pasta dish with butter, herbs, and whatever seasonings he could find.

He’d have to remember to bring some groceries next time.

Though that probably wouldn’t be anytime soon. After today, things were bound to get hectic again for quite a while.

Nate carried the plates to the table.

“Sorry for the wait. Come on, let’s eat.”

Elena was already waiting impatiently, fork in hand.

The little Border Collie beside her looked just as eager.

John took a bite of the pasta and immediately gave Nate a thumbs-up.

Elena, meanwhile, barely looked up. She just kept eating.

For someone who cooked, there was no better compliment.

Nate tore off a small piece of potato, blew on it to cool it down, then tossed it under the table to the little Border Collie, who had been circling around impatiently at the smell of the food.

“Should we give him a name?” Nate asked, looking at the puppy.

“Good idea. What should we call him?”

“Bailey?” Elena suggested, looking up.

“Not bad. What do you think, John?”

“Works for me.”

Halfway through dinner, the doorbell rang yet again.

“Ding-dong.”

Nate’s heart sank, but he kept his tone deliberately light.

“John, you’re getting a lot of visitors today.”

John nodded. “Apparently. I’ll go take a look.”

“Ding-dong.”

The doorbell rang again.

John’s expression changed.

Nate and Elena both set down their forks. Elena picked up Bailey and held him close so he wouldn’t run around.

The puppy was unusually obedient. It seemed to sense that something was wrong and buried its head against Elena.

“I’ll come with you,” Nate said.

“Okay.”

The two stepped into the hallway.

A figure could be seen standing outside the front door. From the silhouette, it was clearly a man wearing a long coat.

The walk from the hallway to the entrance suddenly seemed far longer than it actually was.

“Ding-dong.”

The bell rang once more.

John slowly opened the door.

Nate saw the man outside.

Just as he had expected.

Santino D’Antonio!