Long Island, D'Antonio family estate.
The morning sun of July sprinkled its gentle rays over the expansive, picturesque estate, creating a vision of a celestial paradise rather than scorching warmth. However, John Wick's mood was far from heavenly as he stared frostily at a seemingly innocent Richard, who had just handed over his gift. At this moment, John truly felt like drawing his pistol from under his arm and firing a shot right into Richard's forehead.
Gianna, dressed formally to greet esteemed guests, was thoroughly enjoying the scene, her laughter shaking like blooming flowers.
With veins throbbing on his forehead in frustration, John gritted his teeth and said, "Rick, you bastard, dare you tell me this thing called LU-RONG is another one of those Chinese concoctions for kidney health? I'm about to shoot you…"
Richard, with a sheepish smile, responded cheekily:
"Ahahaha, come on, don't be like that. Look, the gift I got for Gianna is called hash oil, it's great for nourishment and beauty!
John, look at me. My daughter, your goddaughter, she's all grown up now, and you and Gianna have finally gotten together. Don't you two want to have a child?
If she takes a bit of this stuff daily, just think about how healthy your future daughter's skin will be!"
With that comment, Richard instantly gained a point in Gianna's favor, who was watching the drama unfold with amusement.
"Alright, John, Rick means well, come on, let's sit down and talk!" Gianna said, approaching with a barely suppressible grin, playing the peacemaker while soothing her nearly irate lover.
"Yeah, John, you definitely don't know what I encountered in Paris!" Seeing Gianna stepping in to smooth things over, Richard quickly grabbed the opportunity to segue into a lighter conversation, settling comfortably on the sofa.
Sighing resignedly, John put down the elegant gift box he had been handling, walked over to the bar, poured two glasses of liquor, handed one to Richard, and gulped down a big swig of his drink as if trying to quell his irritation with the burn of alcohol.
"So, spill it. You look pretty smug; what happened? Something good?"
John had been curious about why Richard had suddenly gone to France, and the bits and pieces of information relayed by Gianna's people had nearly burst their curiosity.
Now that the man himself was here, apparently ready to spill some secrets, it was the perfect time to sit back with snacks and soda and enjoy the revelations.
"I went to France actually to gather some unique insights for a new book I'm planning to write. Have you heard about the recent cases of single foreign women going missing mysteriously in Paris? It's been a hot topic in certain circles.
So, I decided to go to Paris myself to take a look around. I'm a man, after all, nothing much to be afraid of."
Richard had been preparing this explanation since the day he planned his trip to France. Now, as a pretext to explain his subsequent actions, it easily won his audience's trust.
John, upon hearing Richard's reason for traveling to France, immediately nodded in understanding and easily believed Richard's explanation.
"Oh, that explains why you wanted the Lion's Head coin before going. You were planning for this!"
Richard continued, "Yes, I asked you for the Lion's Head coin just in case. See, it was because of my forethought that I was able to quickly organize a rescue for my friend's daughter after I found out they had been kidnapped, wasn't it?"
The Black Fox squad was highly professional. Even when queried by internal sources from the High Table, they simply stated that they had been hired to rescue two kidnapped girls. They adhered strictly to the principle of confidentiality for their employer, not divulging any details about tracking Peter and Mark.
Perhaps it was Richard's generous tip and formidable combat skills that had earned their respect.
So, with the incomplete information at hand, John and Gianna easily believed Richard's explanation, perhaps also due to their subconscious unconditional trust in him.
Seeing that his fabricated reason was accepted, Richard, unabashed and without any hint of shame, continued: "After arriving in France, I used some tech tools to perform big data analysis, quickly identifying a group with a high likelihood of involvement. Just when I was tracking them to investigate further, I shockingly discovered they had kidnapped two of Alexis's classmates, one of whom was my friend's daughter. How could I possibly stand by and watch?"
John, who had no sympathy for such inhumane criminals, despite being a notorious hitman himself, was utterly disdainful of those who preyed on weak girls: "If it were me, I'd have gone there and blown their damn heads off too!"
But then, John raised his own question, "Rick, we heard that you did most of the fighting yourself during the rescue operation. How did you become so skilled all of a sudden?"
Hearing John's question, Richard couldn't help but smirk, relishing the chance to boast a little.
"John, I have you to thank for that! If it weren't for all the rigorous training you put me through over the years, I wouldn't have been able to master combat shooting skills like I did.
You wouldn't believe it, but ever since I joined you and Marcus for that raid on the Tanasov family, I was so impressed by your performance in that nightclub's underground bathhouse that I decided to hit the shooting range as soon as you left for France to find Gianna. I don't know if it was an epiphany or if your drive rubbed off on me, but my shooting and combat skills improved drastically.
This time in France, I was so infuriated by those traffickers that, thinking I had such a formidable mercenary team backing me up thanks to you, I decided to take action myself. I never expected the training I had been undergoing lately to pay off so well!
And speaking of that, I have to formally thank Gianna for the Lion's Head coin guide you gave me. Without that, I wouldn't have been able to hire such an impressive mercenary team."
Gianna's smile blossomed even more at this: "Rick, don't mention it, you should be thanking me, but I should be thanking you too!"
With that, Gianna and Richard exchanged knowing smiles.
John, not bothering with the suspiciously complicit grins between the two, was more focused on Richard's claimed improvement in combat skills.
"Rick, you're saying you're good with guns now? I mean, I'd never dispute your writing talent, but your shooting? Haha, come on, let's go to the shooting range. Show me!"
Excited by the challenge, John stood up, eager to see for himself if Richard was just boasting or if he had truly honed his skills.
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