Chapter 17: In This Business, Numbers Matter
France — The Marquis's Castle
The High Table's Adjudicator found the Marquis admiring a painting in his private gallery. She presented the challenge document without ceremony.
"A formal challenge from Ethan Cross of Hell's Kitchen. Per High Table protocol, you are required to accept."
The Marquis didn't look up. He sat with legs crossed, hands spread wide — the picture of leisure. "Under High Table rules, only a member of one of the twelve families can issue a challenge. This person doesn't qualify."
"As of today," the Adjudicator said, head bowed, "the High Table has unanimously approved the Fisk family as the replacement for the D'Antonio seat. Ethan Cross issues this challenge as the Fisk family's representative."
The Marquis's pleasant mood evaporated.
He kept his composure on the surface, but the weight of what Hell's Kitchen represented — what Ethan Cross represented — was impossible to fully conceal. He stood slowly, hands on his hips, eyes unfocused. Somewhere behind those eyes, he was reliving the past few days of running for his life.
As a member of the Twelve, he knew a challenge couldn't be refused. The Adjudicator laid out the terms.
Five hundred million in reparations. John Wick's freedom, fully restored. The New York Continental rebuilt — entirely at the Marquis's expense.
All contingent on Ethan's victory, of course.
The Marquis stared at the painting before him and agreed. He didn't have a choice, and he was only now beginning to understand the true cost of provoking Hell's Kitchen.
He proposed the Eiffel Tower at noon as the site to negotiate the duel's specifics.
"I'll relay this to Mr. Cross," the Adjudicator said, and left.
The Marquis stood alone with his thoughts.
· · ·
Hell's Kitchen — The Lucky Dragon
"Got it. Thanks." Ethan hung up. John Wick and Winston were watching him intently.
"The Marquis accepted," Ethan said. "We fly to Paris tomorrow to finalize the terms."
John and Winston exchanged a glance and exhaled. Neither had expected Ethan to actually strong-arm the High Table into agreeing to terms this extreme.
"Paris is the Marquis's backyard," Winston pointed out. "You're confident he'll play fair?"
"Of course he won't." Ethan smiled. "He knows that in a straight one-on-one fight, he loses. So he'll try to bury me before the duel even starts — throw his entire family's resources at me. I'm counting on it."
Ethan had no illusions about the Marquis's intentions. The man would mobilize every asset he had to kill Ethan before the duel could take place.
Which was exactly what Ethan wanted. Because Ethan didn't just need to kill the Marquis — he needed to wipe out the Marquis's entire power base in one stroke.
If the duel were held in New York, killing the Marquis alone would still leave his family's European operations intact. They'd send wave after wave of retaliation — manageable, but annoying.
Better to go straight to the enemy's doorstep and settle it all at once. In this business, what mattered was who could field more firepower. And just because the fight was in Paris didn't mean Hell's Kitchen couldn't make calls.
"Pack your bags. John, Marcus — you're coming to Paris. Winston, you stay here with Pietro. Wait for good news."
Ethan stood and went to get ready.
· · ·
The next day. Noon. Paris.
Ethan arrived at the designated meeting point with John Wick, right on schedule. After the High Table's courier confirmed both parties, they found the Marquis already seated at the negotiation table, legs crossed, waiting.
The Marquis's eyes lingered on John — the man who'd caused all of this — and a flash of hatred crossed his face. It vanished instantly, replaced by a practiced smile.
"Mr. Cross. As impressive in person as I've heard." His tone was silk. "The incident in Hell's Kitchen was... regrettable. An error on my part. I'm prepared to offer five hundred million as compensation. Simply hand over John Wick, and we can pretend none of this ever happened. You're one of the Twelve now — my equal. Surely you don't want to risk everything for one irrelevant assassin?"
Ethan took his seat across from the Marquis. He ignored him completely.
Instead, he looked past the Marquis's shoulder to Caine, standing behind him, and said in Mandarin: "Master Ip — Hell's Kitchen's community school is starting enrollment."
It was the only way he could think of to tell Caine his daughter was safe. He would have preferred something more subtle — even in Mandarin, there was a risk the Marquis might catch on. But Caine was blind. Hand signals weren't exactly an option.
The Marquis glanced between Ethan and Caine, suspicion darkening his expression. He hadn't expected them to have a connection.
Caine's face didn't change. To anyone watching, it looked like he hadn't even acknowledged Ethan.
But the system knew better.
「DING!」
「Congratulations, Host! Caine has been added as a friend!」
「Attribute Gained: Swordsmanship Lv.7!」
「Congratulations! Caine's Friendship Level has been upgraded to ★★!」
「Attribute Gained: Enhanced Hearing Lv.8!」
「Congratulations! Caine's Friendship Level has been upgraded to ★★★!」
「Attribute Gained: Martial Arts Mastery Lv.7!」
「Integrate immediately?」
Yes. Caine's daughter really did mean everything to him — three stars in an instant.
Ethan snapped back to the conversation and turned to the Marquis. "Sorry — what were you saying? I didn't quite catch it."
The Marquis's eyes narrowed. Being openly disregarded was not something he was accustomed to. Every instinct screamed at him to have this arrogant child killed on the spot, but he swallowed his rage.
"Not at all. I was saying — if you hand over John Wick—"
Ethan cut him off with a wag of his index finger. "What you want doesn't matter. John Wick is my friend. And there's something you should know about Hell's Kitchen people — we protect our own. I just needed to confirm you're the one who tried to kill him." He leaned back. "So skip the sales pitch. Let's get started."
「DING!」
「Congratulations! John Wick's Friendship Level has been upgraded to ★★★!」
「Attribute Gained: Assassination Mastery Lv.10!」
「Congratulations! John Wick's Friendship Level has been upgraded to ★★★★!」
「Attribute Gained: Driving Mastery Lv.9!」
「Congratulations! John Wick's Friendship Level has been upgraded to ★★★★★!」
「Attribute Gained: Dog Handling Lv.10!」
「Integrate immediately?」
Integrate. Now.
Knowledge flooded in — the human skeleton mapped itself in his mind, every vulnerable point highlighted. He knew instinctively where to strike for an instant kill.
And then there was Dog Handling Lv.10. Ethan nearly laughed. John Wick really was a dog person down to his soul — the skill was practically maxed out. Well, there was a dog at home who'd benefit.
The system spike told Ethan everything he needed to know: John Wick had truly accepted him. Not just as an ally — as a real friend. Hell's Kitchen had gained another legendary assassin. Retired, technically, but that was fine. The community school could always use a self-defense instructor. New York was a dangerous place, and Hell's Kitchen's kids would need to know how to handle themselves once they ventured out into the wider world.
"Fine," the Marquis spat, all pretense of charm gone. "If you're determined to stand against me, then you and your friend can go to hell together."
He raised his hand.
Assassins poured out from every direction — dozens of them, materializing from behind pillars, around corners, out of parked vehicles. Two helicopters roared into view overhead.
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