John awoke in a warehouse. He had been bound and tied, his hands met behind his back, a chair propping him up. Aldrich Aalders stood in front of him.
Unlike his brother, Aldrich was an impressive man to look at. Handsome, well dressed, and articulate, he was known and respected.
He had not prompted this fight with Wick, and he hoped to end it here.
"John Wick," the Dutch man started, "the legend himself."
John did not appreciate the flattery.
"Where is the girl?" John uttered huskily.
"That thing is not a girl." Aldrich barked. "She is a demon. I trusted her, and she betrayed me." John was struck with the hatred Delphi seemed to elicit from Aldrich.
"Where is she?" John repeated.
Aldrich had a laugh that made men's hair stand up on edge. "Why are you so taken with her? Trust me, broer, if you had seen the others, this one would not be as important to you. It is a shame that you came back to help her. It has done you no good." Aldrich paused and looked as though he were in deep thought. "Vaarwel, Mr. Wick." He said quietly.
"If you so much as touch her, I will kill you." John said, starting softly but voice rising to a yell.
"Then I suppose I am already dead, broer." Aldrich laughed as he looked towards his men standing at the side. Aalders exited, and the men walked towards John. He waited, and then when they were close enough, he acted.
It happened fairly quickly.
John's hands were still behind him, but the chair, and the two men sent to kill him, were all broken on the floor. John breathed heavily and coughed blood. He searched the men for a knife.
Henry stood in the doorway. Quiet and watching. He tossed John his knife. The very one he had almost stabbed him with just a day earlier.
John was not surprised to see Henry. Just like Henry was unsurprised John had escaped.
Once loose, John strode towards Henry. Henry looked John up and down. The man could take a beating, Henry thought. Then he remembered why he was here. More like it flashed to the front of his brain again, because it was hard to un-see her like that.
"They've got her at 270 Williams. I need you on the roof of the building across the street. A rifle is waiting. You're on contingency." Henry told him.
"Contingency?" John asked. He did not like the sound of that.
"He gave the order to shoot her sisters this morning." Henry said, as his shoulders slumped, obviously upset.
"Did you know?" John asked as he took a step closer to Henry. His brain was a reel of possible scenarios.
"No. That was never part of the plan. He may try to kill her too." Henry looked right in John's eyes. Henry's were a mix of desperation and anger. John's were full of determination. "I need you to make sure that does not happen."
John walked by Henry and out of the warehouse as a response.
Delphi's hands were tied behind her back, and she was on her knees. She had never been very comfortable in that position. Three men stood on either side of her. They looked like copies of one another, each in a black suit, hands crossed over their stomachs. She recognized a few from when she used to work here.
Delphi's face hurt. Her ribs hurt. It pretty much all hurt. Her hair fell wildly in her face.
She was not afraid. The way she figured it, she was faced with two choices. One, escape. Or two, be killed. She had made her peace with death a long time ago. And now, he was her neighbor.
John laid on his stomach on the rooftop where Henry had directed him. The rifle was there. John peered through the scope to catch a glimpse of her. He had found that, after seeing her in action, she struck him as more of a wolf trying to be a girl than the other way around. It did nothing to change how highly he thought of her, but it did quite affect how he imagined her before they met.
Finally, she was in his sights. Her shirt was torn and bloody, much like her face. John's grip on the gun tightened.
Aldrich strode into the room, Henry by his side.
Delphi made herself not look at him. She needed to focus on Aldrich.
Henry did make himself look at her. If not, she had told him, Aldrich would know. Guilt flowed over him.
Aldrich walked over to her and pulled her up by the hair. Delphi found this dramatic. Both John and Henry, in a strange form of solidarity that neither were aware of, found it infuriating.
"At one point, I would have called you my right hand, do you know that? I would have trusted you with anything." Aldrich looked down at Delphi remorsefully. "Strange, zus, how things have changed." Aldrich drew back his fist and hit her square on. Henry flinched. John put his finger on the trigger.
Delphi looked up at Aldrich with bold, challenging eyes.
"You never did scare easy. Not like Phoebe. She jumped at anything." Delphi struggled to stand at the name of her sister. Aldrich struck her down. Her head hit the concrete floor. Henry closed his eyes.
Aldrich crouched down beside her. He used the end of his gun and traced her collarbones, moving lower down her shirt.
Henry started. Then stopped. He breathed heavily.
John struggled to see. Aldrich was blocking her.
"Where is the boy?" Aldrich whispered into Delphi's ear sinisterly. His voice was just low enough for them both to hear. She spat on his face.
Delphi's hands were very close to being untied. Her theatrical fall had given her the proper coverage. And now Aldrich was so close. All she needed was a gun, and if she couldn't find one, her hands would have to do.
But instead of reacting the way she expected, by lashing out and grabbing her, the one thing she needed him to do, he touched her face gently instead. "I will find him with or without you." Aldrich spoke calmly. He gave her a chance to respond as he wiped his face. Delphi's fingers worked quickly to untie herself.
"I had planned to kill you myself, zus, but I cannot bring myself to do it." He laid her head back down, and stood.
"Shoot her." He said to one of his men. The rest made to file out behind him. "No, stay. She is a clever one." Aldrich commanded.
He put his hand on Henry's shoulder as he left. "Make sure it is done." Henry fought the urge to tear off his arm.
"Boontje komt om zijn loontje, broer." Delphi said, hoping to lure him back to her. You'll get what you deserve, brother.
It did not work. Aldrich paced out of the room.
John seized the moment. He squeezed the trigger.
Henry exclaimed and fell to the ground.
"Oh shit! The boss!" One of the henchmen cried. Delphi almost rolled her eyes in annoyance. She broke free of her restraints and immediately set to the task at hand. John tried to follow her in the scope but she moved quickly.
Using just her hands, she beat the first two. Using the second man's gun she put a bullet in both, and then turned to the remaining four. She used the remaining three bullets on them, and then the magazine clicked.
"Where is John Wick?" She asked the only man standing. He did not answer. She asked again, her voice apocalyptic. When he failed to answer a second time, she threw the empty gun at his face, and used his distractedness to break his neck.
Then she moved towards Henry.
He laid on the floor, blood pooling by his head. Delphi's heart began to race. She knew what she had to do, but it hurt so badly. Delphi had no clue who was or was not working for Aalders. He had always made it a point to have eyes all around. She could not risk letting anyone know that she and Henry were in this together.
She only looked at him, crumpled grey suit on the floor, and then continued out the door.
John moved to meet her.
Henry, realizing he was alone, raised up on his elbows. He touched the top of his ear, and looked at his fingers, red with blood. Slick, he thought, very slick.
Delphi walked out of the building, and willed her body to heal as quickly as possible. The bright sunlight hit her face and for a moment she thought she might cry. It had been a long time since she had cried. But she thought that for just for a moment, because as she was debating, John Wick began to walk towards her.
Delphi was sure as hell not going to cry in front of John Wick.
She placed her hand on his elbow, perhaps one of the only times they had any sort of physical contact. The action conveyed a variety of emotions, and John understood them all.
"You didn't kill him, right?" She made sure.
"No." John said. Trying to appear only slightly pleased with his actions.
"Good." Delphi looked physically relieved. "Let's go. I think I know where he's got them."