"Just now, when I mentioned you owed me 120 coins and $30 million, you didn't deny it," John Wick said, smiling as he patted Viggo's shoulder. "Someone's paid the money for you, so now you owe me 120 coins. No problem, right?"
Viggo was about to retort, but Abram, standing beside him, quickly pulled him back. "No problem, we'll get you the coins."
"Thank you," John Wick replied, somewhat surprised by Abram's calm demeanor. Realizing that cashing the check himself would leave a trail, John took out the check and handed it to Abram. "Cash this for me and give me the money—15% as a handling fee. No problem?"
Abram's face twitched slightly. It was a big problem. According to the usual rules, the handling fee should be at least 30%. At 15%, Abram might even end up losing money on the deal.
But given the current situation, Abram didn't dare to refuse in front of John Wick. He silently took the check, nodded with a pained expression, and said, "Three days. I'll personally deliver the coins and cash to you."
"Thanks. I like you, Abram."
After nodding at Abram, John Wick walked over to the three unconscious Russian soldiers and began searching them. He found some plastic ties and used them to bind Ted's hands and feet.
He then lifted Ted and threw him into a chair, looking around for water but not finding any. A smirk crossed John's face as he thought of an alternative. He slapped Ted across the face.
The loud slap jolted Ted, who was just starting to regain consciousness, but before he could fully wake up, John slapped him again.
This time, Ted fully woke up.
John Wick slapped Ted twice to wake him up, and just as Ted was about to open his mouth to threaten him, John stuffed a pocket square into his mouth. "I ask, you answer. Understand?"
Ted responded with a mocking smile. He had been the head of a covert team and was no stranger to torture—in fact, he was quite skilled at it.
"Smack!" John Wick slapped Ted again, his face expressionless. "I ask, you answer. Understand?"
Silence. "Smack!" Another slap. Silence. "Smack!" And another. After three more slaps, Ted's face was starting to swell like a balloon. He realized John Wick wasn't trying to get him to talk; he was simply torturing him.
Ted was about to nod, but before he could, John delivered another slap.
Standing behind John, Abram couldn't bear to watch any longer. Killing someone was one thing, but this kind of torture seemed excessive, even to him.
"John, Ted's mouth is stuffed with a pocket square. If you don't mind, I can take care of him for you."
"Thanks," John Wick replied, briefly turning to look at Abram. "I know. Thanks."
"Ah," Abram responded, a bit taken aback. "Alright, you're welcome. Continue."
John Wick turned back and delivered another slap to Ted's face. By now, Ted's face was not only swollen but also starting to bleed from the corners of his mouth. He glared at John Wick with a dazed but furious expression.
After the last slap, which was particularly forceful, John Wick noticed his fingers were starting to hurt. He clenched his fist, checked his hand, then shook it off.
Suddenly, John paused as a voice from Sunday came through his earpiece. After a few seconds of silence, he turned to Viggo and said, "Tell your men to get ready. Two police cars are on their way."
"How do you know?" Viggo asked, surprised. He had been puzzled before when John Wick had sensed Kosov's arrival back in his office, and now it was happening again. Despite his questions, Viggo obediently picked up his phone and called his men, instructing them to delay the police.
If they couldn't delay them, they were to pretend to be rival gangs shooting at each other to divert the police's attention. If that didn't work, they were to shoot out the police car tires, and if all else failed, they were to surrender. The main goal was to keep the police away from the Empire State Building.
Viggo's men were well-practiced in such tactics. Not long after, a few gunshots echoed from a nearby street, followed by the shrill sound of police sirens.
A few minutes later, the group on the top floor of the building faintly heard the screeching of tires.
The sirens grew fainter and fainter.
Standing by the edge of the observation deck, Viggo watched as two police cars sped away, chasing after a Chevrolet SUV that was getting further and further away.
With the threat gone, Viggo walked back and nodded at John Wick. "This place isn't safe anymore. We should go."
"No need," John Wick replied, glancing at his watch. He took out his phone and made a call, then said to Viggo, "I've called a cleaner."
"Alright," Viggo responded. As the head of the Russian Mafia in New York, he had heard of cleaners, though they rarely needed one for their operations.
John Wick placed a chair in front of Ted, who was now fully conscious and staring back at him. Wick's gaze turned cold as he spoke. "My boss once told me a story. It was about a kind farmer and his wife who were murdered.
There was a kind farmer who took in a child—an 11-year-old orphan who had been abused in an orphanage. Even though the farmer already had three children of his own and wasn't well-off, when he saw the mistreated child, he didn't hesitate to adopt him and treated him like his own."
John Wick walked over to Ted and removed the pocket square from his mouth. "Ever heard of that story? It supposedly happened in the small border town where you used to live."
"Of course," Ted responded, his expression turning manic as he chuckled. "It's a famous story. Anyone from that town knows it. So, what, was that farmer a relative of your boss? How unfortunate."
"NO," John Wick replied, his voice icy. "My boss had no connection to that respectable farmer. He was just curious whether that farmer was a fool or a saint.
He wondered why the farmer would repeatedly forgive and love a child who got into fights, hurt others, extorted classmates, lied constantly, stole money from his foster parents, and refused to help his overworked foster mother."
"Can you tell me why, Nikolai?" John Wick asked, staring into Ted's eyes. "Your other name is Nikolai Sofchenko, right? Same surname as that murdered farmer."
"Oh my God," exclaimed Viggo and Abram in unison, finally understanding John Wick's point. They weren't good people themselves, so their minds naturally went to the darkest possibilities. Even Viggo, as ruthless as he was, couldn't help but feel a surge of hatred towards Ted. "You despicable monster," Viggo cursed.
Realizing his true identity had been discovered and that there was no chance of walking out alive, Ted decided to make the most of his final moments. If these men wanted to hear a story, he was more than happy to oblige.
"Heh," Ted chuckled darkly. "Sofchenko was indeed a good man—a very good man. He made me feel loved. For a time, he truly made me feel warmth and fatherly love that I had never known in this world.
But his love was useless to me. He didn't understand the world I came from, didn't know what I had to endure during those first 11 years. Love would only make me weak.
So, after pretending to be a good kid for a while, enjoying the rare peace and family affection, I found a knife and…"
Before Ted could finish, John Wick stepped behind him, grabbed Ted's hair with his left hand, and yanked his head back against the chair. His right arm snaked around Ted's neck, squeezing tightly, cutting off his air.
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