POV John Wick
After Helen was fully healed, I made a call to an old friend.
"John? I must admit I'm a bit surprised you called," Winston Scott says.
"Would you be willing to come to my home? I have some stuff to discuss," I ask.
"Given your situation... Sure, I can be there in about three hours. Does that work for you?" Winston asks.
"That will work fine," I reply politely.
After waiting for a bit, Winston arrives, and I invite him in. Helen was away visiting her family to deliver the good news, so I didn't have to worry about her overhearing anything.
"It's been a while, John. How is Helen doing?" Winston asks genuinely.
"Much better, thank you for asking," I say and give him a small hug.
"What can I do for you, John? I assume this isn't just a simple house call," Winston says.
"You're right. I need information," I say while pulling out a case of Continental Gold Coins.
"Oh? This is a lot of coins for some info," Winston asks without saying the question he has.
"I want any info you have on the High Table, the Continental System, Major Crime Families on the High Table, and other partner groups. Among anything else on this list I can afford after that," I say while handing him a list that Rio had asked for.
Winston looks at me with surprise, but he quickly controls his expression and looks over the list.
"This is... Quite the request. And I do apologize, but I can't help you completely. There is some info I am not allowed to disclose. But I can help you the best I can for old times' sake. Of course, if there is anything that accidentally gets mixed in, I hope you discard it promptly and forget any such mistakes," Winston says with a knowing smile.
"Of course. I'm sure it happens sometimes. Nobody will ever know that it happened," I reply.
"Was that all?" Winston asks.
"Yes, that was all. How long will it take to get the info?" I ask.
"Give me a week to gather everything. This sort of info is sensitive and can cause issues if it gets out that someone is asking about it. But I can tell you something now. Consider it a concerned friend's warning. The High Table is in chaos right now, as nearly half of the twelve original seats have been removed. The Camorra and 'Ndrangheta are dueling currently, and only one will be allowed to live after the dust settles. As such, you need to lay low. Disappear for a while if you have to. Do not get involved in the conflict," Winston cautions.
"You think he might use the Blood Oath?" I ask with narrowed eyes.
"It's possible. Though I imagine with the coming problems, it might be harder for them to find you if you try to hide well. So if you have somewhere other than here, I suggest you go there and stay there until the dust settles. The Camorra Family is likely going to lose, and when they do, you don't want to be on that sinking ship," Winston says, then gets up.
"Thank you for the advice. I'll figure something out. If I somehow disappear between now and when you get the info, you can leave it in my box, and I'll have someone get it," I reply.
"Of course, John, and I hope you continue to live a happy retirement," Winston says with a smile.
We hug one last time, and he leaves with the case full of coins. As I am left in the darkness, I think about the idea I had but decided against, only after Rio had told me he didn't need such a thing. I had offered to swear a blood oath, but Rio refused, stating that such a debt wasn't needed. Not just because my skills weren't enough, but also because he dislikes debt of any kind and never wants to put me in such a bind. In his own words: 'Loyalty should never be a demand or requirement, it should be something you give freely because you want to.'
It was because of what he said that I chose to repay him in any way I could, such as spending most of my Gold Coins on information. And given what the storm that was coming, I felt it might be a good idea to move somewhere less noticeable. Which after some thought, I decided to take a risk.
Ring Ring Ring
"Hello?" Rio says.
"It's John, I hate to ask this, but can I ask a favor?" I ask.
"Sure, as long as it is reasonable," Rio answers.
"Things are a bit complicated, and it seems I might need to live somewhere discreet. I can't think of anyone else who might be able to do that and keep Helen's family safe," I ask.
"Uh, sure. I have spare bedrooms in my manor; you can move in for a bit. I assume this is related to a Blood Oath," Rio says.
"How? No, never mind. Yes, it is. I don't want to endanger Helen," I reply.
"This is why I told you I dislike debts. Sigh. But forget that. I can hide you and Helen. Her family might be a bit trickier, but I can get a friend to help out with that. But I doubt anyone would go after such distant relatives. But just in case, I can make it riskier than it's worth. Pack your stuff and wait for me to pick you up. I'm a little busy at the moment, but as soon as I am done here, I will head over," Rio replies.
"Thanks, I... I can help out, and I can pay rent," I reply.
"We'll discuss that later," Rio says.
"Okay," I reply before ending the call.
POV Shift Rio
I hang up the phone and destroy the burner cell.
"Sigh. Another thing to add to the list. Now, where was I? Oh yes," I mumble before looking back at the dilapidated shack.
I had just peacefully sent off Ivan Vanko and his father. It would look like an accident. Gas Leaks can be very deadly. I was a bit torn on whether or not to kill the Vanko family. But after learning of what had happened to the various nations in the world, I realised the Vankos were a credible threat to the world. And the fact remained that neither were good men. They would not hesitate to kill someone, regardless of whether they have to do so. I even made sure to check with some light mind and memory reading.
Now I was busy erasing any evidence they left behind of their technology or their plans. If, or rather when, Hydra or whatever other organization comes around to find them, they will find nothing but a dead end.
Once I was certain everything was removed and nothing was missed, including safeguards against resurrection or possession, I left. I knew someone could still raise the Vankos, but they wouldn't get anything, as the soul that contained their knowledge and genius was gone. I had one last stop to make before I went to pick up John.
I had been thinking of some ideas for a while, but eventually I chose to create a company. And what better corporation than Wayne Enterprises? I had the template of Batman and thus Bruce Wayne, so why not use it? And with my own fortune combined with Selene's fortune, we could easily fund such a company. Our first product was the Stimpak, or I suppose Minecraft could also count, but that was publicly created by me, not Wayne Enterprises. But I had big plans. First was Stimpaks and medical devices. But clean energy and Fusion Power were also options, which was why I had to meet with two people of interest.
The first was Dr Connors. Who was beyond easy to convince to leave Oscorp. His research was not showing good results and had suffered several budget cuts before. The writing was on the wall, so when I offered him a new job, he was interested. But when I restored his arm, he left the company the very next second and moved to Wayne Enterprises' new laboratory, which was just an old laboratory that had been out of use for a bit. Selene didn't need it, so it was chosen as the lab.
"Now that you are working with us, I would like to ask for your assistance with something. It can be a side project, but I do believe it will interest you greatly," I reply while handing him a folder.
Dr Connors opens the folder and starts reading through it. His eyes slowly widen and look over several pages over and over again.
"W-What is this!? This is incredible. Does such a substance truly exist?! This could help my project as well!" Dr Connors says with massive excitement.
"It's called Bacta, and yes, it exists; however, I've been struggling to replicate the small sample I have. As you can read, its abilities are immense. I could revolutionize the medical industry likely far more than the Stimpak when it fully hits markets," I reply.
"You're correct. If it can do what you say it can, then by all means, this could be revolutionary, and it doesn't rely on magic. I would be more than honored to work on this project," Dr Connors says with a smile.
"Glad to hear it, Dr Connors," I say with a smile and shake his hand.
My last stop would be to Dr Otto Octavius. I had done extensive research on him to make sure I knew which version I was dealing with. And as such, I was confident this was a man who might have a high amount of pride, but he wasn't a fool and cared for those around him, especially his family. Getting a meeting with him was easy, as like with Dr Connors, he was having money issues and his research had been stuck for a while now.
"Thank you for meeting me on such short notice," I say with a smile.
"No problem at all. I'm not exactly all that busy as of late," Dr Otto says self-deprecatingly.
"Don't be like that, sweetie!" Rosalie says reproachfully.
"Sorry, sweetie. This is my lovely wife, Rosalie Octavius," Dr Otto says with a smile.
"Nice to meet you both," I reply.
"Now, what was it you wished to speak with me about?" Dr Otto asks.
"Please look at these and tell me if this is something you can understand," I ask.
"Okay," Dr Otto says with confusion.
He looks at the documents I gave him, which contained the info I knew about plasma creation stabilization and, more importantly, Fusion Core/Cell Technology.
"This is amazing. Stable Plasma Creation, and at these temperatures. It's genius. And Fusion Cores? That is very close to what I have been trying to do for years. It's my life's work. Tell me who wrote these?" Dr Otto asks.
"I did," I reply.
He looks at me skeptically, so I start explaining parts that weren't included to show I knew what I was talking about. It actually turned into a four-hour discussion of Fusion Power and its uses.
"So what do you say? Want to come work for Wayne Enterprises?" I ask with a smile.
"Hahaha, you got yourself a deal. I haven't had this much fun discussing my work with someone other than Rosalie in years. I even have some ideas to increase the stability of the Fusion Core," Dr Otto says with a wide smile.
"Welcome aboard," I respond with a smile.
We shake hands, and I give him the address to the laboratory he will be using for now. Eventually, I will move all research to the Watchtower, but that will only happen when I make a viable transportation device for moving to and from the space station. After that was settled, I went to pick up John and moved him into the manor, then I retrieved Helen and did the same. I had a good relationship with Helen as she understood I saved her, and I had to admit she made some really tasty food. Then I made some calls and had Helen's family put under some protection. It wasn't much, as Helen's only remaining family was her sister, and as such, it wasn't that hard to protect a single person.