John Wick: A Father Scorned

Chapter 9

     The first few of men that John attacked never stood a chance, as the blade he was swinging at them cut through the metal of their blades as easily as it did their flesh. Their attempts to take action were just as futile, as Wick was able to anticipate their next move and act accordingly. It took John only a matter of minutes to dice through the dozen men that had surrounded him, to the point where the last two has turned and run, much to the disgust of their leader. Wick turned to face the Master, sword raised as he was poised and ready to attack him next.

     "I'm sorry," John called out to him, "It appears you are the master of dead men and cowards."

     "You're skilled," the Master said as he slowly walked closer.

     "You're just figuring that out now?" John retorted, "I took out your alleged best earlier today. You'd think that would warrant a bit of caution."

     "We are not the kind to be cautious." The Master replied.

     "I noticed," Wick admitted, "That has been your weakness since the beginning. The Green Dragon made the same error, he underestimated me. It was the cause of his death and will be yours as well."

     "That won't be necessary, Jonathan." A voice called out.

     Wick recognized that voice and turned to see Winston, standing at the main door to the banquet hall. He looked a little jet lagged but was standing there with his hands in his pockets as if he had just strolled down the street as opposed to flying halfway around the world.

     "What are you doing here?" John asked the old man.

     "I'm here on Continental business," Winston replied, "So if you don't mind Jonathan, fetch your daughter from wherever she is hiding and leave the building."

     "Are you sure about that?" Wick asked, "This man is dangerous."

     "As am I," Winston informed him, "And this man sanctioned a hit in one of my buildings. That simply cannot be tolerated."

     "I have men surrounding the building," The Master called out, "None of you are leaving this building alive!"

     "You had men surrounding this building," Winston corrected him. "They're all dead. The only men surrounding this building are mine. No one commits murder in my building and gets away with it. An example must be made."

     "Are you sure, Winston?" Wick asked as he started to back away to the door.

     "I appreciate the offer to assist," Winston answered, "But I can assure you, I have matters under control. Hashimoto's private plane is fueled and ready to fly. You and your daughter should fly back state side as soon as possible."

     "I think that's a good idea," John said, lowering his sword. "Thank you."

     "We'll speak again when I return," Winston continued, "I just have some unfinished business to attend to. If you'll excuse me."

     As John when up the stairs, he noticed there were a lot more bodies in the hallway than he remembered seeing the last time. Winston's men had cleared the building while John had been taking care of everyone in the banquet hall. It didn't matter to him, as he strolled back to Yuna's room and knocked on the wall.

     "It's me," John called out, "We have to leave."

     The door to the safe room slowly opened and Yuna emerged. She was scared but unharmed which was all John cared about at that particular moment.

     "Is it over?" she asked him.

     "Pretty much," John answered, "Do you need to pack anything?"

     "I just need a few things." The young girl answered.

     "You have five minutes," John told her, "We can have everything else shipped at a later date."

     "Yes, father." She replied, with a small, respectful bow.

     John paused for a moment, taking in the last word that she had told him. It was a comment that had excited and scared him at the very same time. He watched in silence as the young lady quickly packed a small bag to get ready to leave the only home she ever had. John had felt bad about that, but Winston was right: they had to leave as soon as possible as this nation was too dangerous for her. Just as she was closing the bag, John pointed over to the wall.

     "Don't forget the picture of you mother," he said to her.

     Yuna reached over behind her and tossed the framed photo of her mother and Wick into the bag. They left the room and while she was scared to see the bodies on the floors, they quickly moved to the main floor and out the door to the car Winston had waiting for them outside. There were a few guards outside but no where near the amount Winston had referred to. This left John to assume that the owner of the Continental had likely taken the Dragon Master to somewhere else to make his example to the rest of the underworld in the country. It took the car waiting outside only twenty minutes to drive them back to the private air field where Yuna's plane was waiting for them. Once they were back onboard, the plane slowly taxied out to the runway and soared into the skies, taking John back to America. He had been in Japan less than a few days and despite that feeling he had being back in familiar territory, he was happy to be leaving again and heading back to the home he had resided in for over a decade. He laid back and sighed in one of the comfortable chairs, after putting the sword down on the chair beside him. Yuna was on the other side of the plane, looking at her father and thinking something to herself.

     "What is it?" John asked, as if he could hear her brain working.

     "I'm just curious," Yuna answered honestly, "What happens now?"

     "We go back to my place, and you live there for a while." John replied, "We get to know one another, bond a little bit, maybe look for a nice school to resume your studies with. We're pretty close to the end of the school year, so we're better off waiting till after the summer to send you back to school. I would prefer you finger healed up before you went back anyway."

     "I understand," Yuna agreed, "Will we be able to find something exciting to do where we're going?"

     "I'm sure we'll be alright," John replied, aware that he lived awfully close to New York which would handle any of Yuna's entertainment needs. The idea of taking her out to dinners, shows, shopping for shoes gave him images of what was to come raising this child on his own. He also remembered that Yuna's mother had raised the young girl by herself for the first part of her life, so it only seemed fair that John take things from here and do his part until Yuna was old and mature enough to leave the nest. John was very nervous as he thought about the responsibility of raising a teenager by himself. He would have to give the young lady a little slack not only because she will be unfamiliar with the area she'll be living in, but also because of the trauma that she just experienced. While the kid glove treatment wasn't exactly John's specialty, he would have to give it his be effort to make sure his daughter was as comfortable as possible.

     "What is it?" John said, as he could feel her eyes staring at him.

     "Is your dwelling big enough for us both?" she asked.

     A fair question, John thought to himself, considering how small the real estate can be in Japan. "I have a house, which is more than big enough for the both of us. You'll have your own room as well as your own bathroom. You are also responsible to keep both of them clean. Understood."

     "Understood," she repeated, "Is there anything else I should know about where we are going?"

     "Not really," John said thinking about it. "I hope you like dogs."

     "I'm allergic to dogs." Yuna replied.

     "What?" John said as he sat up.

     "I'm joking," Yuna said, smiling at him. "I love dogs."