Reunion

The night is still long, and everyone still roaming under the city's light looking for pleasure. The heavy traffic might be a turn-off for the visitors or tourists, but the nightlife was still enjoyable for them. But not for Bobby Faguini, who was currently dangling upside down from the ceiling.

Except for his bloody legs that might snap at any moment now, he had no wounds to worry about. Not because he was spared, but because the show was just about to start.

Snot and tears mixed together forming a gooey liquid dripping to the hard concrete floor. But he still dared to spout nonsense.

"KILLSWITCH!! I swear one my father's soul! I'll make you pay for this!" yelled Bobby.

Edward didn't react to his taunting. For him, it was just sound like a squeal of a dying pig. Instead, he glanced at Emily's face. She was scared, but she tried to muster every courage she had just to keep her eyes open. She didn't want to miss every moment that was about to come.

Edward crouched and tapped Bobby's cheek. He said, "You don't seem to understand what you're getting into, and what role each of us have right now."

Crack!

"Aaaarrfh!"

Edward crushed the tip of Bobby's finger. He couldn't hold it and screamed in pain.

"You bastard!! What did that bitch give you to turn against me? Did she spread her leg for you!?"

Crack!

Another finger was crushed, which then followed by a rather melodious scream.

"This is what I can't understand from the villain in this world. None of you ever give up in trash-talking your opponent even when you're on the losing sides," muttered Edward.

Bobby didn't understand what the person with the small stature was saying. Villain? This world? Is he drunk?

"Aren't you... afraid?" asked Bobby while biting his lips in pain.

"You really are so dumb. Then, let me give you a clue," muttered Edward, before taking off his helmet, showing the decadent and expressionless face that he hid. Because of the angle, only Bobby could see his face properly.

Bobby's face paled because of the fear that suddenly surging out. Not because of how the face looked or how terrifyingly calm the boy in front of him is. He might be dumb, but he understood the gesture that Edward just showed.

Now the question is, what would happen when a certain person witnessed the identity or the face that had been hidden all this time, moreover someone within the underworld background.

It's simple, none would last to see tomorrow unless they had the power to protect themselves.

"No, please. I'm sorry. I'll do everything you want..." begged Bobby. His face started to redden because of the accumulating blood pressure.

"Now we're talking. Then, how about a little game?" muttered Edward while putting on the helmet back again.

He stood and walked to Emily, giving her the Glock-19 strapped on his waist. Looking at the confused Emily, Edward started announcing, "The game is simple. Emily will be the referee. Her role is to pull the trigger upon your head, ending your misery, while I beat and crush every single part of your body."

Bobby paled in an instant. His body shook as he screamed the last threat he could muster, "Fuck! My father won't let you go after this. The whole Continental will hunt and purge you to dust!"

Edward didn't pause and gathered the strength in his right fist, but not too much as to instantly kill him. It must be noted that his physical attack had the effect of piercing any kind of defends. Imagine the effect on a mere human like him.

A thought lingered in Edward's head as he pulled his arm to his back, 'Is it too excessive?"

But it was only a passing thought that appeared less than a millisecond.

'Nahh, why would I care about a wellbeing of a rapist?'

Emily might look fine with a glance, but Edward had the Physical and Matter Movement Prediction. He could also scan the inside of her body with radar sense. The damage was far worse than she thought. She would feel occasional pain around her tummy. The abortion surgery, although successful, was pretty harmful. It would be a miracle if she could ever get pregnant in the future.

Puookkk!

Bobby's body bent in a weird form, almost a V shape, as Edward's fist made contact with his stomach. He started dangling back and forth from the impact, accompanied by the crisp sound of the chain wrapping his feet. And every time he moved forward, Edward always greet him with another beating, like a sack of sand.

Puoook! Smack! Crack!

Bit by bit, Bobby started to lose himself, to the point that the pain started driving him crazy. Meanwhile, Emily's face was drenched with tears. Not because he was scared or felt sympathy for the man who destroyed her life. But tears of relief, that she wouldn't need to hide anymore. That she was not the one at fault.

And ten minutes later.

Bang!

There's no more Bobby Faguini.

======

Back at the Continental Hotel, John Wick was staring at the glass of whisky in his hands. No one knew what he was thinking about, and no one bothered to ask either.

Winston, a middle-aged man, and the New York branch's manager walked to his side with a new bottle of whisky in his hand.

As he put the bottle on the table, he said, "It's rare to see you still drinking late at this time, John."

John didn't say anything and just gave him a nod while chugging the glass of whisky in his hand.

"I know I might trespass your privacy, but there's something that has been bugging my mind," muttered Winston after taking a seat next to him.

John didn't say anything, but he didn't try to decline either. Winston continued, "Killswitch, why you keep driving him away?"

Every mission or every task or business conducted on the hotel grounds would always be overseen by Winston himself. So knowing about Killswitch and John Wick's weekly business was to be expected.

"Hmm... I don't think I could answer that," replied John. He felt a bit reluctant to let outsiders know about their relationship, but Winston has been a dear friend for him ever since joining the Hotel's underhanded business. And of course, Winston used that card properly.

"I'm not asking as the manager of this hotel, but as the man, you consider as a friend," said Winston.

After thinking for a bit, John finally opened his mouth, "He wanted to be one of us."

Winston raised his eyebrow, and said, "I don't see any problem with that. Aren't we professionals?"

Winston wasn't just bragging. Being an assassin took effort and dedication, the label professionals were the highest compliment one could get after joining this world. And Killswitch was already a step closer to that height. The only thing he needed was recognition.

"But I don't want that. There's already enough professionals for this world to choose from."

"Then, what do you want him to be?" asked Winston.

"What I want him to be?" pondered John. He hadn't think about it yet. But if it was for Edward, then there's only one answer to that question.

He then confidently answered, "I want him to be free."

"Freedom is it? Then, a toast for his freedom," said Winston, filling John's glass before clinking his and John's glass.

However, before Winston could chug his fill, a waiter came to his side and whispering something to his ears. The content was a bit of a surprise.

After waiting for the waiter to leave, Winston then relayed the message to John, "Didn't you accepted Alfred's son's request?"

"That brat? What happened?" asked John while thinking about the boy that came for him earlier.

"He's dead. His corpse was hanged upside down in one of Alfred's old warehouses," explained Winston.

"My condolences," said John, preparing to leave.

"You don't seem to be surprised," commented Winston.

"Well, I am surprised. I thought he would torture him much longer before finishing him off. It seems he went easy on the bastard." muttered John Wick. A small smirk appeared on his face in a split second before turning back to the usual.

"John," called Winston. In a way, Winston was asking him what he would do next, knowing that he had something to do with Alfred's son's death.

"Alfred was put on the list of excommunicado, right?" asked John.

"Well, yes. And there's a bounty on his head. But none of our assassins could handle him. He had recruited a massive number of mutants to protect himself."

"Don't worry, his family will be gone by tonight, including him."

"You mean..."

"I'm taking the request," answered John while walking outside. No one would have expected that by tomorrow, all of the members of the Faguini family would be terminated by a single person, leaving none alive. And no one would've known that the reason John Wick accepted it was to eliminate any threat that would stand in front of his son.

======

In a secret hideout somewhere in New York City, a group of people was having a discussion, talking about the investigation on the missing case of Alexia Ashford two years ago. Some still wore their military suit, along with the bulletproof vest, while some others wore a formal business suit along with their fancy ties.

Suddenly, when they were in the middle of a debate, a phone rang, silencing the commotion they had previously.

"Damn it! Whose is it? I told you to turn off your damn phone!" said a rather old man in a business suit who was leading the meeting.

One of the attendants who was wearing a jacket, hiding the bulletproof vest under it, rose and walked away, ignoring the complaint from the old man.

As he pressed the button to answer it, a familiar voice greeted him.

"Uncle Chris, it's me, Edward."

Chris stiffen as he listened to the voice he hadn't heard since ages ago. His emotion almost took hold of him, but he held it in and asked, "It's been a long time. How are you doing?"

"Yeah, it really is. Are you busy? I can call you later." replied Edward, hearing the complaining voice in the background.

"No, it's fine. It's just the tv," replied Chris, getting out of the room.

"Wow, for a tv it sounded interactive."

Chris chuckled and replied, "I know, right."

There was a long silence after that. None of them had anything to say, even when they keep thinking about what topic to bring up. It was awkward, but it was not bad. Not at all.

"Hey, Uncle. Do you remember what you asked me back then in Paris?" asked Edward.

Chris gave it a thought, but nothing came up to his mind. There were just too many things happening around him for the past two years. Of course, Edward understood. Even he himself just recall it after he talked that evening with May in Mineral Town.

"You said, if... if it ever felt too..." Edward couldn't continue. He keeps stuttering. He felt he didn't deserve to talk to his uncle after what he said and what he did to him.

But then, as he remembered, Chris asked, "Is it tough, Edward?"

Like a broken dam, the jumbled emotion in Edward's heart burst out altogether. Tears flowed down his cheeks and while sobbing he answered, "So much... too much..."

Chris's heart was pained hearing the broken voice of his nephew, but he held it in and while forming a smile, he said, "then, do you want to go grab an ice cream?"

Edward wiped his tears with his sleeve and replied, "Yes... please."

"Good, let's meet tomorrow then. I'll let your aunt know. She missed you too." said Chris, while leaning on the wall.

A few minutes later, Chris hanged up the phone and returned to the meeting room. The others were waiting for him. Once they saw him, they started asking him what was going on, and who it is that was calling him.

It was then that Chris started sobbing as well. And like a child, he answered, "It was my nephew. My dear nephew."

As they watched the grown-up man crying, they looked toward each other and silently asked what was happening. None knew the answer, but for Chris, it didn't matter. All he could think about now was that his nephew reached out to him, after all this time. And he was glad, even if it took too long.

Suddenly, on the glass window separating the room and the outside of the building, a raindrop knocked on it. It didn't take long for the single raindrop to turn into heavy rainfall. Who knows if the sky was celebrating the small family's first contact, or weeping for everything they have been through.

======

11 PM, X-Mansion.

Most of the light in the mansion was turned off as the children went off for another adventure in the dreamland. It was a peaceful night, accompanied by the sound of rainfall and the sweet scent of the rain.

Sherry was taking a shower, cleaning the sweat that drenched her after getting out of the Danger Room where she vented her stress.

She couldn't stop thinking about him, about Edward who hasn't returned yet. She already asked Jean, and she said that Edward would return today, but after hours of waiting, there was still no news from him.

Did something happened? Did she failed to return? She shook her head and tried to distract herself with the harsh training in the Danger Room.

She did felt better, but after taking shower, the thought returned and keep bugging her mind.

Turning off the faucet, Sherry dried herself with a towel and put on a shirt, underwear and, short pants. After wrapping her hair with a towel, she unlocked the door and suddenly, froze.

Edward was there, standing, while taking off his wet clothes.