Assassin's League
Everyone was gathered in the conference room when Smith spoke up:
"Someone delivered a letter to headquarters tonight. It states plainly that The Hand is preparing to enter New York on a large scale."
"I believe the information is credible—it won't be hard to verify."
He paused and looked around the room.
The moment they heard The Hand was coming to New York, everyone's expressions turned serious. Cross spoke first:
"The Hand is a notorious organization and already one of our targets. If they've got the guts to show up here, then let's make sure they don't leave alive."
Mr. X added:
"They probably think we're still recovering from our battle with the High Table. That's why they're making such a bold move."
"But what exactly are they after?"
His analysis prompted the others to speculate about The Hand's motives.
Smith then offered his own theory:
"I suspect they're here for the Dragon Balls."
Wesley frowned.
"The Dragon Balls? Weren't they all already gone?"
They had all seen the Dragon Balls fly off before—vanishing in a flash, with no way to track them. When they asked John Wick how he'd collected so many, he had admitted he was guided by the former leader.
Fox spoke up:
"They probably don't know the Dragon Balls are gone. Most assassins around the world already know John Wick had two of them."
The group nodded in realization. Of course—they had put a bounty notice through the Continental Hotel, sending the kill order to assassins worldwide.
Smith said:
"When I took over as leader, you all gave me a list and asked me to choose one target as a test. I said I'd leave none of them alive."
"The Russian Mob and the High Table are gone. That means The Hand is next. They've delivered themselves to us."
No one objected.
Smith continued:
"So, what are your thoughts on dealing with The Hand?"
The Gunsmith shared his view:
"If you want to kill a snake, strike its head. We have to eliminate their Five Fingers."
"Once they're leaderless, the rest are just scattered rabble."
Fox added:
"I'll have Intelligence track the Five Fingers' locations. With luck, we'll find their trail soon."
The Mechanic chimed in, recalling something from an old file:
"You all know I like digging through archives."
"I once read an analysis on The Hand's Five Fingers. One of our past leaders shot one of them point-blank in the head."
"But not long after… the same one came back."
John Wick was shocked.
"The Dragon Balls?"
Smith shook his head.
"No. It wasn't the Dragon Balls."
"The Mechanic's right. The Five Fingers are difficult to kill—but they're not immortal."
Pest Control gave his opinion:
"If bullets don't work, I'll just blow them into dust. No body left, no resurrection."
The group looked grim, but they agreed. If they couldn't be killed once, they'd kill them again—and again. Even if someone tried to use the Dragon Balls, resurrecting someone wasn't easy. The cost must've been high.
Smith said:
"They may be able to come back—but they're not without weaknesses. I'll deal with the Five Fingers myself."
"Even a tiger has to swat a mosquito. John Wick, what do you think?"
John Wick put down a folder containing intel on The Hand and replied:
"Leader, I have a proposal."
"You all know I was once a registered assassin under the Continental. Now that we've taken it over and repurposed it, I still have ways to reach many of the old contacts."
"Our mission is to punish evil—but if those assassins are left out there, they'll take jobs just to survive. Worse, rogue black-market sites are growing, and we can't hunt them all. There are too many."
"So why not use this mission to bring them in—to help eliminate The Hand?"
Some frowned, some nodded. Wesley asked:
"What do we offer them? No one works for free."
John Wick stayed silent—Wesley was right. No one would risk their lives for nothing. And reopening the Continental went against the League's mission.
Smith tapped his fingers on the table, then said:
"Using the old assassin registry is a good idea. Killing The Hand's members can be framed as redemption."
"As for the Continental—we're not reopening it, but we can take what worked and discard the rest."
"Fox and I have been exploring new ways to generate income for the League. One idea is to commercialize the wax bath system."
"With our advanced healing pods, making a public version won't affect us—as long as we protect the secret tech."
"And the old Continental locations are perfect for this. We can preserve the no-killing rule and some of the services, just disable the contract system."
"The old gold coins will be void. We'll issue new coins, marked with the Assassin's League insignia. The Continental will be renamed Brotherhood Hall and used to promote the wax bath."
"The message is simple: all former registered assassins will receive an alert detailing the wax bath's benefits."
"For every Hand member killed, the assassin receives one coin."
"One coin, plus $100,000, buys one wax bath session."
The group's eyes lit up at the plan. But Fox, who managed the League's financial system and had dealt with the Continental before, raised a concern:
"How do we distribute the new coins?"
"After The Hand is gone, what's the coin system built on? The old one was tied to contract payouts."
Smith replied:
"We won't be offering assassination contracts—but we can buy and sell intelligence."
"We'll post bounties for specific pieces of intel. Anyone who submits real, verifiable info will receive coins."
"For example, they might provide the whereabouts of a criminal. Once we confirm it, the League will take them out."
"The coin is the reward for the informant."
"With the power of the wax bath and the neutral-zone policies of Brotherhood Hall, I believe plenty of people will want in."
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—End of chapter—
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