John Wick - Chapter 113: Developments on All Fronts (Patreon)

Nate returned to his room and looked over the settlement information on the system panel.

During the half hour he had spent arranging Fox’s escape, he had brought both her gun and the Gunsmith’s gun back to his room and settled them.

His excuse had been that he needed to grab some Painkillers for her.

Only after completing the settlement did he return Fox’s gun along with the medicine.

Fox hadn’t said anything when she accepted them, but the distance between her and Nate had clearly diminished.

He had to show a little concern for his newly acquired Pokémon, after all. That was how you raised affection and unlocked...

Wait.

How was Jackal doing?

The guy hadn’t contacted him at all since they met.

Then again, it had only been a little over a day. His injuries probably hadn’t healed that quickly.

At that exact moment, Jackal, who was sitting in his hotel room cleaning his sniper rifle, suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason.

Nate sat on the sofa, took a sip of iced black tea, and scrolled through the system panel.

He had completed the settlement earlier but hadn’t had time to look at the results.

[Earned Resource Points for Eliminating a High-Threat Unit: 311]

[Legendary Weapon: Fox’s Custom Safari Arms Matchmaster 1911 = 1,215 Resource Points]

[Effect: Reload Speed reduced by 10%, Accuracy reduced by 10%, Recoil Control reduced by 10%, Range reduced by 5%, Fire Rate reduced by 20%, Bullet Penetration increased by 200%]

[Legendary Weapon: Gunsmith’s Custom M1911A1 = 912 Resource Points]

[Effect: Accuracy increased by 30%, Range increased by 20%]

[Current Resource Points: 34,515/64,000]

Fox’s gun was ridiculously specialized.

It sacrificed practically every other stat just to boost penetration.

Two hundred percent!

That bonus was insane.

Who the hell had modified this thing?

The Gunsmith’s pistol wasn’t bad either. It was basically an M1911A1 fitted with a muzzle brake and an enormous sight.

But without a Backpack, how was anyone supposed to carry something like that around comfortably?

Nate thought about the situation for a moment.

With Fox acting as an inside agent, the Fraternity probably wouldn’t send anyone else after them.

Even if they did, Fox could warn him in advance.

That immediately took a huge amount of pressure off his shoulders.

He took another sip of iced black tea.

What should he do now?

Maybe grab Elena and spend some time at the shooting range?

Yeah, why not?

...

After an extremely “tense and thrilling” chase, Fox finally made it back to the Fraternity’s safe house in Rome.

Her face was pale.

She clung tightly to the stair railing with both hands, struggling upward.

Between the blood loss and the pain, climbing even a few flights had become incredibly difficult.

By the time she reached the fourth floor, her vision was already starting to blur.

Half hanging over the railing, Fox felt like swearing.

Damn it.

Why the hell did the safe house have to be on the top floor?

Sixth floor!

And there wasn’t even an elevator!

Did these idiots in the Fraternity not care if she died on the stairs?

Then she remembered.

The Painkillers!

[High-Strength Painkillers: 100 Resource Points / 2 packs (12 tablets)]

[Effect: Reduces Pain Perception by 80% for 60 minutes. No Side Effects.]

Fox pulled out the Painkillers Nate had given her and swallowed one.

The effect was immediate.

The burning pain in the back of her shoulder instantly dropped by more than half.

Fox froze.

These things worked that well?

They definitely couldn’t have been cheap.

She carefully tucked the remaining five tablets away.

Her body was still weak, but at least now she could keep climbing.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally reached the door.

Using the last of her strength, she knocked, then bent over with her hands on her knees and gasped for breath.

A moment later, the door opened.

A face appeared behind it.

It was the Exterminator, the man from the movie who carried a rat around with him and was accidentally killed by the protagonist.

He had been stationed here to receive them.

“How did you get hurt this badly?!”

The Exterminator looked genuinely alarmed.

After removing the bullet from the back of Fox’s shoulder, he hurriedly helped her into the bathroom.

A bathtub filled with medicinal wax had already been prepared.

It was one of the pieces of advanced technology from the Wanted universe.

The medicinal wax stimulated white blood cells and dramatically accelerated healing.

Gunshot wounds, broken bones, knife wounds. As long as the injury wasn’t fatal, soaking in the liquid for a few hours could completely heal it.

Fox could barely move on her own, so the Exterminator had no choice but to close his eyes and help her undress.

She lowered herself naked into the bathtub and closed her eyes, slowly regulating her breathing.

Then the Exterminator suddenly realized something was wrong.

His voice trembled slightly.

“Where’s the Gunsmith?”

Fox opened her eyes and looked at him.

“He’s gone.”

The Exterminator seemed to lose all strength and collapsed onto the floor.

“How could...”

“This mission is impossible.”

Fox’s face first showed lingering fear, then grief.

“There are hundreds of assassins inside that hotel. Their suits are bulletproof. You can shoot them and the bullets barely do anything.”

“If it hadn’t been for the Gunsmith, I never would’ve escaped.”

“He was still so young...”

The Exterminator covered his face.

Then he quickly said, “Wait here. I’m going to tell the Boss what happened.”

“We’ve already lost two brothers, and you almost died too.”

“We’re abandoning the mission. Once you recover, we’re going home.”

The Exterminator hurried out of the bathroom to call the Boss outside.

His voice gradually became more heated as the conversation continued.

Fox lay silently in the bathtub, a trace of guilt appearing in her eyes.

In her experience, the Exterminator was a genuinely good person.

He truly treated everyone in the Fraternity like family and always put their lives before everything else.

She needed to tell Nate about him.

She couldn’t stand the thought of someone like that dying without ever knowing the truth.

A little while later, the Exterminator ended the call.

He walked backward into the bathroom, keeping his back turned toward Fox as he spoke.

“Sloan agreed.”

“He said that once you recover, we’re to return to Chicago immediately.”

“Cross has been attacking more and more frequently. In the two days we’ve been in Rome, we’ve already lost two more brothers.”

“He also told me to tell you that the plan is being moved forward. You need to be ready.”

“Okay.”

Fox closed her eyes again.

“I want to rest for a while. Wake me when it’s time.”

Her breathing gradually became steady.

She really was exhausted.

Physically and mentally.

...

Nate and Elena spent some time shooting at the range, but Nate quickly got bored.

Elena’s marksmanship was good by normal standards, but beating her gave him absolutely no sense of accomplishment.

So they headed back upstairs and started another poker game in Nate’s room.

This time there were four players.

Nate and Elena were one team, while John and Gianna were the other.

Cassian stayed outside to make sure everyone remained safe.

Nate was a decent player, but his luck was terrible.

Elena had excellent luck but wasn’t particularly good at the game.

Gianna, on the other hand, was genuinely skilled. Even with a terrible hand, she could still play aggressively and make the most of it.

As for John...

John was still John.

He never seemed to win at poker.

The four of them ended up surprisingly evenly matched.

Playing together also helped them grow familiar with each other very quickly.

Elena and Gianna had even gotten close enough to act like sisters.

Nate found that strange.

Weren’t these two supposed to end up fighting?

Time passed quickly.

Cassian went down to the restaurant, ordered some food, and had it brought upstairs.

Nate checked everything for poison.

Once everyone finished eating, they returned to their rooms to rest.

Another day came to an end.

Four days remained until Gianna’s coronation.

...

Meanwhile, at New York Airport, a woman with a crew cut boarded a flight to Rome.

She wore black gloves and a black coat, carried a bag in one hand, and walked with her head held high, an unmistakably proud air about her.