~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For advanced chapters, visit my patreon:
patreon.com/fatimasoomro123
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the Assassin Alliance Headquarters – Smith Doyle's Office
Fox walked in holding files and began his report:"The name and functions of the Continental Hotel have officially changed, and the bounty amounts for the Assassin Alliance have been issued."
"These are the reverse designs for our new coins. There are currently two styles.""Your portrait appears on the front, and this emblem is on the back.""The other design uses a custom three-segment bullet motif instead."
Smith Doyle studied the two options for a moment and then said:"Let's use this emblem for the Assassin Brotherhood's exclusive coins. The three-segment bullets will be kept as a memento but won't appear on the coins."
"Additionally, we need to motivate these killers. Prepare videos showing the healing effects of the wax baths.""I believe this allocation will be enough to push them into action."
Fox nodded. "I'll have someone edit the previous footage for this purpose."
Smith Doyle gave a satisfied nod. The assassins would storm in and eliminate Hand members, while the Assassin Alliance handled long-range sniping. The five most difficult targets, he would deal with personally.
Hell's Kitchen
Wilson Fisk, accompanied by Bullseye and several henchmen, exited the Midland Central Finance building. They noticed a few people entering the building. One of them glanced at Fisk and the others, shook his head, and said:"They're not the targets. The main members are inside this building."
Fisk heard the comment but ignored it, walking toward his car. Once inside, he asked:"What major event is happening in New York?"
A subordinate watching the vehicles replied:"The Continental Hotel has officially reopened as the Assassin Brotherhood Hotel. Currently, the hotel only offers bounties on Assassin Brotherhood members.""They also launched a new service called the wax bath—it's very appealing."
As they talked, more assassins arrived, entering the building.
Through the car window, Fisk saw that the lobby's security and front-desk staff had all been killed."The Assassin Alliance has indeed begun taking action.""Drive us out of here."
A massive influx of assassins surged into the building, chaos erupted, and gunfire rang out.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The sudden attack caught the Hand members off guard.
"Crack!"
Outside, glass shattered—a sniper had taken aim at Hand members inside the building.
Meanwhile, on the top floor, Madame Gao and her five companions were discussing their plan. They intended to capture John Wick first, hoping to extract as much intelligence from him as possible. But halfway through their discussion, the building alarm sounded.
Gao frowned just as someone knocked on the door. One of the armed guards went to open it. A man dressed as a ninja, carrying a short blade, stepped in and approached Gao."A large group of assassins has broken in. All the security on the first floor has been eliminated. Snipers outside are targeting our remaining personnel as well."
Hearing this, Gao glanced at Botu and Murakami and said:"Looks like someone wants to intimidate us, to prevent the Hand from fully retaliating.""I don't know if this is the Assassin Alliance or some other force."
She then addressed Shin:"Lead a team of ninjas and eliminate all intruders."
Turning to another guard, she said:"Send all surveillance footage to us. We want to see who dares to provoke the Hand."
Following Gao's orders, Shin led a team of ninjas downstairs and had a guard open the electronic screens in the lobby. Then he accessed the computer. Soon, all surveillance footage was displayed on the large screen in Gao's room.
Gao studied the assassins on the screen. Their movements were chaotic—some wearing the Continental's bulletproof vests, some with almost no protection at all. They were completely uncoordinated, like a disorganized mob.
Inside, due to tactical teams' intervention, the intruders suffered heavy casualties and were quickly forced from the third floor.
However, snipers outside immediately returned fire.
Some assassins, realizing the situation, decapitated their targets or photographed them before exiting the building.
Remaining intruders engaged in intense battles on the second and third-floor stairwells. Gunfire erupted, and tactical teams tossed several grenades.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosions caused heavy casualties among the attackers below. Shin's arrival further suppressed the intruders quickly.
Once the building's intruders were neutralized, the snipers withdrew—but this was only the first wave.
Meanwhile, Tokyo
The Hand's base in Tokyo was also attacked by local assassins. Simultaneously, killers from around the world flocked to New York and Tokyo. For the Assassin Brotherhood's first bounty campaign, most assassins wanted to make their presence known and secure their share of the wax bath opportunity. They had to reserve one or two spots just in case.
At this moment, John Wick's wife approached Poole:"Poole, can you help John?""He's hunting gang members alone. I'm worried for his safety."
John Wick, however, was determined to repay Smith Doyle and the Assassin Alliance, and decided to confront the enemy organization directly. Even if his strength was less than the leaders, he was confident he could eliminate the members and minor leaders. Fully armed and loaded with equipment, John drove toward Hell's Kitchen.
Poole, hearing Helen's plea, knew that John was Smith Doyle's ally. Learning the enemies were formidable, he said:"I admire John Wick's loyalty to Doyle. Since you asked, I'll help him."
Helen gratefully replied, "Thank you, Poole."
Poole contacted a member of the Assassin Alliance and personally drove to Hell's Kitchen. He would save John Wick's life—the young master's allies must not die at the hands of these scum.