章節 46: The Watchdog
•3 hours before HUNK and his team infiltrated NEST.•
It was 8 PM. I was currently inside the training facility inside the Continental Hotel, sprawling on the floor, breathing disorderly and my shirts were wet with sweat. A dry towel fell on my mask covered face. Looking on, it was from John Wick.
"It will be your last training for now," said John Wick.
Surprised by the sudden notice, I asked, "But aren't you going back tomorrow? You can observe my mission progress later, can't you?"
Yesterday, inside Emma's office, we had a small talk about when John would return to New York. For some reason, he insisted on going back in two days at least without telling me why. I think it has something to do with his employer's order. I didn't know who he worked for at the moment but I was sure he hadn't met Santino yet.
"I'm sorry, Edward. I had something to do before going back tomorrow. Just go home and rest. Don't take any mission," he replied. I started feeling disappointed. I was hoping that he could train me more.
"When can I see you again?" I asked. His training proved to so much effective than I thought. Now I could hold myself longer against him when he was in serious mode, raising my win rate to 2/10. Of course, I was the two.
Whenever he was serious, his Boundless Will would always make him a mini untouchable monster. If he set his Will to not allow a single scratch on his body, it would simply be realized. However, he couldn't inflict much damage on me either as the gear of fates were focusing on protecting him. Imagine how scary he would be if he set his Will to attack mode.
"Just finish your school for now. I'll visit you once in a while," he replied while ruffling my hair for the first time. He walked out of the door, leaving me behind. I could see his wide shoulder. It seemed to hold a huge responsibility as it drooping low from unknown pressure.
With nothing left to do, I decided to go home. Turning into Stealth mode, I started running on the empty alleys.
Since the meeting two days ago, I haven't met with Nick Fury anymore. He seemed to be working on something important.
I tried contacting him with the Mercenary feature, but the voice-mail answered instead of him. Oddly, the voice-mail words changed every time I called him. Sometimes a tone of nervousness could also be traced to it. That motherfucker better not hiding from me.
On the way, I checked my character stats.
<Edward Kavka>
<Level 19 - Mercenary>
<Mental Power (MP) - 350/350
<Experience Points (EXP) - 35400/80000>
<Strength (STR) - 23>
<Dexterity (DEX) - 23>
<Constitution (CON) - 23>
<Intelligent (INT) - 35>
Unused stat points - 0>
<Main Power: Reinforcement - Unranked>
<Special Ability:
Unranked: Reinforced Body, Permanent Reinforcement, Personal Assistant.
S-Rank: Stealth
A-Rank: Eagle Eye, Superhuman Strength, Superhuman Regeneration, FlowMotion.>
<Knowledge Mastery:
Intermediate: English Linguistic, Firearms Mastery, Systema Mastery, Vale Tudo Mastery, Breathing Mastery, Movement Mastery, Self-Defense Mastery, Battle Tactics Mastery, Thievery Mastery, Disguise Mastery.
Basic: Japanese Linguistic, French Linguistic.>
All of my Knowledge Mastery already increased to Intermediate level except for the linguistic. I didn't need to use the linguistic skill for now, so it didn't matter if it was raised or not.
All in all, it was a satisfying result. Compared to before I received training, my improvement was far steeper than I thought. If I face Ranmaru Mori once again, I might last longer against his evolved form. The only thing that could make me lose was our difference in raw power. His Strength and Agility stats were probably reaching a hundred on each category, which was scary enough if I think about it.
Next, I opened the equipment tabs. All of the slots, except for the trinkets were full of new equipment. Since I hadn't unlocked the E-Rank section on the shop, I have to make do by using the Continental's private shop.
As my reputation was still too low, I couldn't access the VIP section. But with Emma and John's help, I could order a set of full-body equipment, complete with gloves, belt, boots, and a small helmet that covered my head. It was the latest product of Stark Industries. Although it was not the Iron Man suit. It was still a specialized military suit, made with the best material available. John even lent me his savings to buy them.
Once I reinforce them, I was confident to face the previous Nemesis I fought in Paris head-on.
15 minutes later, I arrived in front of the apartment. However, I noticed a familiar man standing in front of a car near the entrance. It was Agent Phil Coulson.
I looked around, seeing that there were still people walking by around the apartment, I didn't cancel the Stealth and went inside the unlocked car. Phil was alarmed seeing the door opened and closed by itself. He was reaching into his pocket when I lowered the window.
"Get in," I said, acting like the owner of the car.
Although he was surprised by my appearance, it wasn't the time to space out. With him driving, the car drove through the main roads. Our destination was a small pub. Phil led me downstairs, into the cellar.
Nick Fury was standing in front of several monitors, it shows many places in Raccoon City. Mostly centered around Umbrella's public facility.
He turned around and greeted, "We meet again, Uhh... Killswitch?"
He remembered the name I gave him on the golden card and assumed that it was my alias. Since we're not alone, it would be wise to keep my real identity a secret. I was thankful for that.
"How ya doing, Nick?" I greeted. Everyone suddenly looked between me and Nick Fury. Startled that someone called their Director's first name.
"What are you lookin' at? Get back to work." He ordered.
There were around 8 people inside the cellar, mostly typing something on the keyboard and watch for any irregularities in the monitors. Nick was a bit irritated because I still called him by the first name. And so do I, after he took my comics.
"Nice costume, K. Got a sugar daddy to buy that for you?" he asked, sarcastically. He recognized the military suit that I had on me, especially, the bulletproof glass filter helmet. He was curious about how I got my hands on them.
"Nice kneecaps, Nick. Shame if someone put a bullet in it." I replied.
"Okay man, let's put it behind us, and I'll give them back later. I got something to show you," he said.
"Damn right you should, " I replied.
He led me to one of the monitors and signed for one of his subordinates to roll the recording. From the date shown on the corner of the screen, I knew it happened a month ago, a few days after I moved into Raccoon City.
"It was a security cam from the water treatment plant on the outskirt." Nick fast-forwarded the recording and stopped it when a man was shown went inside the facility. My eyes widened after I recognized that figure.
'No way. What's he doing there?'
"When you said that there was a possibility of an outbreak, we took a look at the security systems around the city to find any clues. And then, we found this."
The rest of the monitors started to change one by one, showing different scenes of places. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence, but then zombies started appearing.
"What? How!? I checked those places and nothing was there."
Then the previous man appeared once again. Now he was killing them one by one. There were even several UBCS mercenaries cleaning the bodies after he made a call. It was as if he knew what he was doing.
An hour passed, and I was still connecting the dots one by one. It still didn't make sense for me no matter what. I gave up and asked directly to Nick Fury.
"What is he doing, Nick? How did John Wick know about those zombies and the mercenaries?"
Yes, that figure on the cam was John Wick. He had the same hair, the same beard, and the same suit. How could I not recognize him? I've spent a month training with him.
"Ohh... you know him? Then this will make it easier." he snapped his finger and a man came in, with a file in his hand. I recognized him, it was Clint Barton, the Hawkeye.
"Hawkeye, greet our candidate for the Avengers, Killswitch. K, this is Hawkeye," he said while receiving the file.
"Nice to meet you, kid. Not gonna lie, I was amazed by what you did in Paris," he said while holding his hand in front of me.
"Thank you, Mr. Hawkeye. I would like to say something about you as well, but I don't know anything about you." I replied while shaking my hand with him. I make a questioning look toward Nick, but he didn't know because my face was hidden behind the black helmet.
"Uuh... Nick? Who else did you tell about me?" I asked.
"Oh come on, you gonna be colleagues, don't be too hard. Although there's one more, she was called Black Widow, but I sent her somewhere else," he replied while handing me the file.
'Natasha Romanoff was here too? She joined this early?' I thought. I put it behind my head for now and started skimming through the file.
It was a report about accidents around the city this past month. There was an increase in aggression as there were multiple attacks and attempts, but it didn't make through the News like the canon storyline. I didn't know all of these things were happening around me all this time. Turns out, John Wick was cleaning them one by one, and every time I went there, everything was already gone.
"As you know, he is John Wick. I won't ask how you know him, but we suspect that he had connections with Umbrella. It was either a coincidence or, he was hired by them." he showed another scene of him going inside the Water Treatment Plant.
He continued, "From his behavior since he arrived here, it points toward the latter. It has been going on for a while, and I suspect that the Chief of Police, Brian Irons also had something to do with it. Every time a report on the missing person was made, it never investigated properly."
He walked toward a wall, where the Raccoon City map was hanged on, "The secret lab you told me before were placed around there, near the Water Treatment Plant and he kept going in and out of the facility, every once a week. Now what we needed was to find this entrance. It will take a long time to find it without the man showing us directly. Do you know where he is?"
"I don't know, last time I checked, he was in the Hotel," I replied. Nick then ordered two of his men to observe the Hotel. I added, "And also, don't worry about the entrance. I know where the other lab is, and they were both connected by a railway."
"And where is it?" Nick asked.
"Right under Raccoon General Hospital. I couldn't go any further after reaching the steel gates, though." I said. Nick's expectant looks turned into disappointment.
Hawkeye also added to my explanation, "The staff was not allowed to go outside unless it was an emergency. They even could live for months inside without getting sunlight."
"What are they? Bacteria?" said Nick, out of frustration. Hawkeye just shrugged.
This was not the first facility that they try to investigate. Nick and his gang had secretly investigating Umbrella since years ago. So, they know the drill, at least. Nevertheless, it was still annoying to find a dead end.
Suddenly, a phone call rang inside the cellar. Nick, fuming with anger, asked, "Who the hell turned their phone on during a meeting? Come out so I could break your leg."
"Uuh... it's yours, sir." answered the person holding the cell phone. It was a bulky Nokia 5510, with a small antenna the size of a pen.
Hawkeye was holding his laughter, while I raised my hand, "I'll do it for you and I swear it would be painless."
"Chill, guys. I'm just giving an example, of what not to do during important meetings," he said, while shamelessly chuckling.
"Fury here," he said.
"Boss, all's done, you can check it. The pig was receiving a call, right now." It was a woman's voice, to be exact, it was Natasha's. She added, "So, about breaking the leg, can you notify me which bones it will be?"
Nick closed the call without answering and walked to a monitor, "Switch the damn camera."
Everyone in the room was still holding their breath, to stop themselves from laughing.
The monitor then showed the scene of an office, where a fat old man was sitting on the couch. It was the Chief of Police, Brian Irons.
"Turn up the volume." said, Nick.
Chief Irons' voice could be heard clearly on the speaker. He was showing signs of depression and breaking down, "What the hell are you thinking, William. FBI was coming, knocking on my door, asking about S.T.A.R.S.'s dissolvement and the orphanage. The former, I get it, but how the hell they sniff out the orphanage?"
The orphanage he talked about was about a legal orphanage funded by Umbrella as a cover to get their hands on fresh test subjects. Agent Romanoff was the FBI agent, and she knew a lot of things that have been happening around the city, the moment she arrived. She had been tasked by Nick to put pressure on Chief Irons for days and plant surveillance camera's inside his office, and it led beautifully to this moment.
"That's enough." Said Nick Fury, turning off the monitor. "Clint, help Romanoff and kidnap this fatman. We can write the official reports after we're done."
"Got it, Boss," he said, taking a bag of equipment, probably his bow and arrows, with him. "See you later, kid."
"Check his office. You might find something interesting." I said toward Clint, or Hawkeye if you prefer. Chief Irons had a secret room where he usually stored the remnant of his victim. That old fat man had tendencies for killing, torturing, and cutting open innocent people. He even put them inside a jar or hang their bones or skull on the wall. Pretty fucked up if you asked me.
Days ago, there were also accidents where women were kidnapped by his goons through the sewer system. I knew it was him because, in the story, he started to shift his victim from wild animals to humans. Thankfully I was around, I don't know what would happen if I wasn't there. The victims couldn't indict him either. As he was the Chief, every major case would have to get through his hand first before being properly investigated.
"Nick, we need to talk," I said after Clint left the cellar. I signaled to him that I want to speak alone. The rest of his staff started to walk out one by one. It didn't take too long until there were only the two of us inside the cellar.
"So, what is it, Ed?" he started to call me by my name since there's was only the two of us.
"John Wick's behavior was weird lately. He said he was going back tomorrow, but when I asked him to spend some time tonight, he refused." I said.
"Ohh... I didn't know you were that close, even spending nights together. Ed, I know you are mature in minds, but please hold it off for now, okay?"
"Fuck off, Nick! It was just a teacher and student relationship."
"Oh, so we're talking roleplay now? Okay. A bit kinky, but acceptable."
"Goddamn it, Nick, I'm serious."
"I am. It's okay, everyone's gay once in a while."
"Fuck! Okay, just listen then. From my conjecture, I think he is under a mission given by his employer which is to clean up Umbrella's mess this past month. He said he is going back tomorrow which means he's going to do a major clean-up now, unlike before. You also said that he went to the Water Treatment Plant, once every week. Did he ever go there this week?"
Nick started to look at the latest file and said, "Hmm... The last time he went there was more than a week ago. So, you mean..."
"Yes, there's a high chance that he will be there tonight," I said, confirming his conjecture.
"I already sent Romanoff and Barton to take down Irons, do we cancel it?"
"No, I'll go to the lab and find my way through, just give me something to communicate with you," I said.
Nick Fury then gave me an earplug-like object, connected to a radio strapped on my shoulder. I didn't have to change the frequency and it will always on. I could talk with them by tapping the earplug.
It was going to take a lot of time to travel from here to Raccoon General Hospital. It would even take longer to travel from the lab under it to NEST.
"I'll send Black Widow and Hawkeye after they were done. Keep me on the updates," said Nick.
I couldn't waste any more time and started running. I could have taken Nick's car, but I could travel through shortcuts which were faster.
15 minutes later, I arrived inside the parking lot. Unlike before, this time I went inside the ventilation and find my way toward the underground. I found this path two days ago. After I went down, I started sprinting through the railway, toward NEST. It took me half an hour to reach it. It was just too far for a running pace.
I arrived in front of the steel gates. Unlike before, it was opened wide. With irregular breathing, I cursed, 'Fuck! I hope I'm not late.'
創作者的想法 
NightHowl
NightHowl I was thinking about writing my second fanfic after finishing the Raccoon City ark.
But, I don't know what to pick between The Witcher, Bleach, or the same one as this novel, but in DC Universe/DCEU.
The Witcher would start as amnesiac boy who become Ciri's squire.
Bleach would start with Arrancar/hollow protagonist.
DCEU would start with a protagonist born as Wonderwoman's twin brother. A confirmed major world inside DCEU would include God of War and Castlevania.
Well, it's still an idea.
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