Chapter 1066: Terms You Cannot Refuse
Satisfied, Luke flexed his hand and nodded. It was almost done.
Once he was more familiar with the intelligence and was better at imitating various behavioral and speech patterns, he should have a chat with that boogeyman hitman.
He would offer the other party terms he couldn’t refuse, ensuring that they could negotiate a “transfer agreement”.
…
In New Jersey, John Wick poured dog food into the bowl at his feet. He looked at the dog that he had taken from the animal shelter, and couldn’t help but rub its square head.
This dog was very obedient.
It hardly ever barked; it just played by itself, and could understand many commands.
John felt better after a few days; at least, it wasn’t as unbearable as he thought it would be.
More than half of the injuries on his body had healed. Only some of his wounds still hurt, but he was fully recovered within a week.
After a simple breakfast, he went to the bas.e.m.e.nt to clean up the broken pieces of concrete.
Then, he slowly packed away the equipment and the Continental gold coins in the big case.
Closing the case, he pushed it back into the hole and smoothed the floor over with cement again.
However, he felt a little uneasy. What about next time? Could he really quit?
It was late into the night when John leveled off the bas.e.m.e.nt floor and began throwing a few large bags of garbage out the door so that the professional garbage collectors could take them away.
He opened the door and had only taken a few steps outside, when three black cars drove over.
Just as he was putting down the trash, one of the cars stopped on the side of the road not far from him. The back door opened and a pair of s.h.i.+ny leather shoes emerged. A 24- or 25-year-old man got out of the car.
When he saw him, John’s expression didn’t change, but his heart sank. It seemed his thought from that morning was turning into reality.
The man held out his hand. “Long time no see, John.”
John hesitated for a moment before he stretched out his own hand. “Long time no see, Santino!”
Santino: “Can we go in and sit down?”
John turned silently.
Ten minutes later, John looked at the silver badge in front of him. “Find someone else.”
Santino, who was sitting opposite him, laughed. “John, the Marker is not an insignificant thing. It represents a solemn promise to another person. It must be fulfilled under the blood oath.”
At that point, Santino again waved the badge, and gently placed it on the coffee table.
He pushed it slowly toward John.
The metal badge sc.r.a.ped slightly over the wooden table.
John looked at the silver badge in front of him and struggled internally. Finally, he shook his head and said, “I’m not that person anymore.” He reached out and pushed the badge back.
Santino’s face was filled with anger. He picked up the silver badge and opened the back to reveal a b.l.o.o.d.y thumbprint. “John, without my help that night, you wouldn’t have been able to complete your mission and retire. This house, this life; all of this, strictly speaking, was given to you by me. All of this was possible because of this Marker. You have no right to reject it.”
Looking at the conflicted John, Santino’s lips curled into an ugly smile. “Are you willing to listen to the mission now?”
John’s expression changed, but he was already resolved, and was prepared to stick to his decision.
At that moment, he heard a faint voice. “Say yes; I can help you settle this problem.”
John’s expression changed as he quickly scanned the room.
“Say yes. In any case, if you don’t agree to do it, you would already be going back on your word. So, it won’t make a difference if you do it later!” The faint voice carried a teasing tone.
John couldn’t help but look around.
His behavior made Santino frown and look around the living room. “What’s wrong?”
John twisted back to look at him. “You — didn’t hear anything just now? Like someone talking?”
Santino looked displeased. “No. John, are you trying to escape the blood oath by pretending to be crazy?”
John struggled internally for a moment, but Santino, the Marker, and the cryptic words all came together to make him finally give in. “Alright.”
Santino was stunned for a moment, before he revealed a delighted expression.
If possible, he really didn’t want to fall out with John.
This guy nicknamed the Boogeyman was a monster, and he really needed his help.
Now that John had agreed of his own volition, that was the best outcome.
“I want you to kill someone,” Santino said.
What could John say? The thing he was best at was killing people. “Who?”
“My sister,” Santino said heavily.
John’s heart lurched. He hadn’t expected that answer.
…
Ten minutes later, Santino walked out of John’s house and said goodbye to him with a smile. “I’ll wait for your good news, John.”
John didn’t say anything. He just nodded slightly and watched the three cars leave.
Closing the door behind him, he walked back to the living room and scanned the area. “What do you want?”
A dark figure emerged from the hallway on the other side of the bedroom. “I want everything of John Wick’s.”
John narrowed his eyes and saw a mask peeking out from the shadows. It had a curled mustache, and the corners of the mouth were pulled up to form an eerie smile.
A thought flashed through his mind, and he said in disbelief, “V?”
Luke looked at him with interest. “Did Winston tell you? Not many people in the Continental Hotel know that name.”
John quickly suppressed his shock. “What exactly do you want?”
Luke chuckled. “Just like I said, I want John Wick. In other words, I want your name, appearance, and ident.i.ty, to enter the Continental Hotel.”
John could no longer maintain his composure. “What do you want?”
He had heard from Winston that this smiling man V had killed 126 veteran hitmen in one go and even left behind a statue that seemed to be of V himself as proof.
After John, V was perhaps one of the most powerful killers out there.
It was also for this reason that John had yet to make a move.
Given V’s rumored strength, it was unlikely John would have survived if he was ambushed.
However, the other party came out just like that, and had no intention of hiding. Clearly, he wasn’t here to kill John.
Luke walked over to where Santino had sat earlier, and sat down. “Sit down. We can talk slowly. I’ll give you an offer that you can’t refuse.”
John sat down slowly. “What do you want?”
A moment later, John exclaimed, “That’s impossible!”
Crack!
Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+
Clang!
The sound of items being flipped over and shattered could be heard.
“Ah!
“Sh*t!
“F*ck you! Ah~”
The sounds suddenly stopped and the room fell silent once more.
Ten minutes later, Luke slipped out of the villa. He couldn’t help but sigh. “I said you can’t refuse, so you shouldn’t refuse. Even if you’re unwilling, so what?”
In the bas.e.m.e.nt, there was another huge hole in the new cement which had yet to dry. The large case inside had disappeared without a trace.
…