If the “hearsay” was true – even if just one or two rumors were confirmed – Samantha Reyes was in danger of losing her job and would likely go to prison.
Luke simply nodded with a smile and didn’t say anything.
He didn’t know if Reyes would lose her job this time, but he knew better than anyone else that she would definitely start to suffer.
A small punishment wouldn’t kill her; at most, nothing would go smoothly for her.
But the news also came with another piece of information that had to do a little more with Luke and the others.
Lawyer Jennifer, whom they suspected to be Dustin’s girlfriend, had come to New York after her recovery, and had become an assistant district attorney.
Elsa had no idea how Dustin had managed to charm Jennifer into moving and switching jobs for him.
However, that was a private matter between Dustin and Jennifer, and nobody wanted to look into it.
But after Jennifer came to New York and stepped into her new role, District Attorney Reyes, who disdained her, never made it official.
This time, Reyes had been too busy protecting herself, and Jennifer successfully took formal office. Now, they had to call her D.A. Jennifer.
There were plenty of district attorneys and assistant district attorneys in New York’s D.A.’s office, so it actually wasn’t anything surprising.
But for Dustin, this small-time leader, he now knew someone in three government departments, which would prove very convenient when working cases.
However, Dustin had kept Jennifer “hidden” very well, and she hadn’t shown up as his girlfriend yet, so there was no need to celebrate her position.
Everyone in Dustin’s department was told they could look for Jennifer if they needed anything.
There was another piece of department news, which was that HQ might be moving against the 15th Precinct.
It was impossible for HQ to get rid of all the police officers of the 15th Precinct; it was just that they were getting a new precinct chief.
For now, no one knew exactly who this person was.
Luke guessed that this might have something to do with his and Matt’s “part-time job.”
When Kingpin’s forces started to pull back significantly and go into hiding, they no longer provided the dirty cops with any more “help.”
The other gangs were also left to flail around haplessly, and law and order in Clinton improved significantly.
Perhaps HQ had discovered something, which was why they wanted to tidy up the 15th Precinct.
Transferring a chief over wasn’t a big move and might not be effective.
But the new boss of the 15th Precinct just had to refuse to work with the gangs; those who didn’t want to be dirty cops, like Sergeant Mahoney, would definitely cry tears of joy.
While it didn’t affect Luke and Selina much, this was good news nonetheless.
After listening to Elsa share her information, Luke and Selina left for the Nassau County lab.
At the lab, Luke dropped in on John Wick, who was in their custody.
In the lab, an unused workshop had been tidied up to serve as a temporary dark room.
Of course, it wasn’t really dark. It had lights and a TV, and all kinds of books.
Except for the fact that nobody was talking, it actually wasn’t too hard to bear for a typical shut-in.
That dog with the square head and no name was also with John.
However, it enjoyed much better treatment than John. It came out of the small pet door twice daily for some fresh air under Gold Nugget’s watch.
So, while John hadn’t been doing well in the last few days, it hadn’t been hard either.
The lab door opened and Luke walked in.
At that moment, he was dressed as V.
Looking at the strange smiling face mask, John was a lot calmer. He wasn’t in a hurry to say anything, and just looked at Luke silently.
Luke didn’t waste any time. He said directly, “Have you thought about my suggestion?”
John: “…Does it matter if I agree or not?”
Pondering for a few seconds, Luke nodded and said, “Yes. At the very least, I’ll feel a lot more relaxed when I take the blame in your guise.”
Stunned for a moment, John had a bad feeling. “What did you do?”
Luke chuckled. “Your old line of work, of course. You charged into a Camorra party and opened fire, killing dozens of people.”
John’s eyes widened. “WTF?”
Luke said, “Poise, preserve your poise as a super killer. Also, don’t worry. Your old lover is fine. Hehe, no wonder you refused to fulfill the blood oath.”
John, who had been poker-faced all this time, finally couldn’t help but open his mouth. “What? Gianna and I were never like that…”
Luke said, “How do you know which old lover I was talking about? What a hypocrite.”
Looking at the changes in John’s expression, he stopped joking. “It seems you’re not refusing my offer, right?”
John’s lips twitched. How can I refuse? You locked me up here, sh*t!
Luke simply continued, “Now, let’s discuss a new situation. For example, let’s say that you kill Santino instead of your old lover; how will the Continental Hotel react? How will the High Table react? Who will they send to deal with you…”
John was immediately enlightened and instantly understood Luke’s meaning. “You want to use my appearance to kill Santino? And you want to deal with the Continental Hotel and the High Table? You’re crazy, you’ll be excommunicated! The High Table and the Continental Hotel will refuse to provide you any services… uh.”
He was suddenly stumped.
Luke tilted his head and chuckled. “You get it now? Indeed, the one who will be excommunicated is you.”
John couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
Yes, it was John Wick who was about to do these earth-shattering things. What did it have to do with V?
The High Table and the Continental Hotel would issue a double bounty, and countless hitmen and mercenaries would come running for the massive rewards as well as special contribution bonuses from the High Table.
But they were all after John Wick.
Did V care? Obviously not.
John was a hitman who lived within the High Table’s range, but nobody knew V’s real identity.
Thus, the bounty would have nothing to do with V, and nobody would make trouble for him.
As for being excommunicated, that didn’t affect V at all.
V had never used the services of the High Table, and lived as a free man!
All that was John Wick’s problem.
Luke looked at him with great interest. “Now, are you interested in giving up your identity?”
After a brief silence, John Wick asked, “What if I still don’t agree?”
Pondering for a moment, Luke said, “Then I can only lock you up for a few months or a year, before I send you to South America or Africa. Whether you live or die after that will depend on your luck.”
John was surprised. “You won’t kill me?”
Luke said, “I will be doing things under your identity, but your life is yours.”
He was telling the truth.
John barely attacked ordinary people, and had been retired for years.
For the sake of his handsome face and for helping Luke take the blame, letting him live was a small matter.