John Wick - Chapter 118: Background (Part 2) (Patreon)

“Uncle Caine, it’s Nate.”

There was a long silence on the other end before Caine finally replied.

“What do you want?”

“Are you really my uncle?”

Nate finally asked the question that had been bothering him all this time.

“Your father is my biological brother. What do you think?”

“I want to ask you something.”

Nate tightened his grip on the phone.

“Go ahead.”

“So when I was attacked at the restaurant that day, you were there the whole time?”

“Yes.”

“Were you the one who put out the bounty?”

“No. Your father did.”

Caine answered without trying to hide anything, though there was a hint of resignation in his voice.

“I was there to make sure you didn’t die. If you couldn’t handle those two assassins, I would’ve killed them myself, found a corpse to pass off as you, and sent you back to China.”

“So you were helping him test me?”

Anger crept into Nate’s voice.

“He’s him, and I’m me. I don’t get along with him either.”

Caine sounded irritated now.

“I’m not on his side. But I don’t want to watch a father and son tear each other apart, and I don’t want to hear about it either. Your father knows that.”

“Understand?”

Nate understood, but there was still something he wanted to confirm.

“Caine, you’re retired. How did you know there was a bounty on me? You even knew a week beforehand.”

Without realizing it, Nate’s tone had softened.

“Your father casually ‘sent someone’ to tell me.”

“Were you controlling the bomb on that guy?”

“No. Someone else was.”

“Do you know who?”

Caine sighed.

“I’m blind, Nate. It’s bad enough that your father schemes against a blind man. Now you’re giving me a hard time too?”

Then he changed the subject.

“You’re in Rome with John, right?”

“Yeah.”

“When you’re done in Rome, go straight to your father’s place. I’ll come find you, and we’ll go together.”

“We’ll put everything on the table. After that, whether you stay or leave will be your decision.”

“Do you have his number?”

Caine recited a phone number, and Nate wrote it down.

“Try it. He probably won’t answer.”

“Got it.”

“Anything else? If not, I’m hanging up. Give John my regards.”

The call ended.

Nate dialed the number Caine had given him.

Sure enough, no one answered.

He tried twice more.

Still nothing.

Nate tossed his phone aside and sat up in bed.

Just as he had suspected.

This really had been about forcing him to grow stronger.

But did it really have to go this far?

Was the alternative to growing stronger simply dying?

Back at the restaurant, without his advantages, Nate would almost certainly have died.

And Vincent Lin hadn’t only dragged Nate into his scheme. Even Caine had been pulled into it.

Still, the phone call hadn’t been a waste.

At least Nate had confirmed one thing.

For now, Caine appeared to be on his side.

The man had already retired. If Nate had failed against those two assassins and Caine had been forced to kill them himself, that would effectively mean coming out of retirement.

Wouldn’t sacrificing his eyesight to retire have been for nothing?

Nate shook the thought from his mind.

He would deal with it after he was finished in Rome.

For now, he needed to focus on the problem in front of him.

Gianna’s coronation was still two days away.

The ruins were enormous, with a maze-like layout and far too many places where people could hide.

No.

Simply waiting for the assassins to come to them was too passive.

He needed another approach.

Nate’s mind raced.

Then an idea struck him.

Assassins were motivated by money.

So he would use money to lure them out.

Besides, while Nate had built up a decent reputation in New York, he was still practically unknown in Rome.

It was time for Rome’s assassins to learn his name.

The moment he made up his mind, Nate got out of bed and went to find John.

The door to Gianna’s room opened.

Thankfully, there was nothing inappropriate going on inside.

Still, it was already past nine.

Were these two seriously still sitting around talking?

John noticed Nate and greeted him first.

“Nate. What’s up?”

“I’ve got an idea that could make things a little more interesting in Rome.”

Nate smiled.

“Want to hear it?”

Gianna immediately became interested.

“I’m listening.”

“Your coronation is in two days.”

“That day definitely won’t be peaceful. The other High Table candidates are going to hire assassins like crazy to kill you.”

Gianna nodded.

“And?”

“I’m guessing most of those assassins are already in Rome. Right now, they’re probably preparing for the hit.”

“So?” John asked, beginning to understand where Nate was going.

“Assassins work for money.”

“The Fraternity was the only exception, and they’re no longer a threat to us.”

“To avoid openly turning against each other, those High Table candidates can only hire assassins through private deals. They can’t use the hotel’s public bounty system.”

“As far as I know, jobs like that usually involve a deposit upfront and the rest after completion.”

“And since they’ve hired so many assassins, the amount offered to each individual probably isn’t that high.”

Nate smiled.

“So if a massive public bounty suddenly appeared right now, who do you think those assassins would go after first?”

Realization appeared on Gianna’s face.

She understood.

John leaned back slightly.

He understood too.

“But wouldn’t the person with that bounty be in serious danger?” Gianna asked with some concern.

Nate glanced at John.

The two exchanged knowing smiles.

“John, do you think that person would be in danger?”

“Very much so.”

John immediately added,

“But if I’m with him, then he won’t be.”

Nate grinned and held out his fist.

John smiled and bumped it with his own.

“You two...”

Seeing them like that, Gianna laughed as well.

“All right. I understand.”

“So who are we putting the bounty on?”

“Me, obviously.”

Nate shrugged.

“Who else? John?”

“But if we do this, we shouldn’t go to the ruins tomorrow. We’ll wait until the day after instead. Any problem with that?”

Gianna shook her head.

“No problem.”

“Give John and me one day.”

“We’ll clear out as many threats as we can for you.”

“How much should we offer?”

Gianna thought for a moment.

“Twenty million? That’s all the money I can access right now. High Table candidates are worth about that much.”

Nate smiled.

“I can add another five million.”

“I have ten million in my account,” John said.

Gianna frowned slightly at him.

“We don’t need your money. Keep it.”

John shook his head and smiled.

“Take it.”

“When those assassins start getting scared, we can use it to give them another push.”

“There’s still one problem,” Gianna said. “Whose name do we use to issue the bounty? Using mine wouldn’t be appropriate, and John’s won’t work either.”

“Cassian!”

John and Nate answered at exactly the same time.

Outside the room, Cassian suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason.

Gianna picked up her phone and dialed a number.

When the call connected, she put it on speaker.

“Operator. Where would you like me to direct your call?”

“Bounty Center,” Gianna replied.

“Please hold.”

A moment later, another voice came through.

“Bounty Center. How may I assist you?”

“I’d like to place a bounty.”

“Name of the target?”

“Nate Lin.”

“Verification number?”

“9305-04.”

“Contract status?”

“Open.”

“Amount?”

“Twenty-five million dollars.”

“When should the contract become active?”

Nate held up one finger.

Gianna understood immediately.

“One hour from now.”

“Confirmed. Order accepted.”