Ten minutes later.
Duggan and Anna returned to the underground training base.
They exchanged a knowing nod toward Alex Cross.
The meaning was clear.
Every last Camorra Family killer inside the Salisbury Hotel had been wiped out.
With that—
The Camorra Family's New York division was annihilated.
Aside from the occasional gunshots from the club and parking garage, where a few bounty hunters still tried to push their way inside, the operation was a complete success.
Alex lifted his wrist and checked the time.
10:45 PM.
That was it.
From the moment the fight began to its end—only forty-five minutes had passed.
"Get a team to clear out the top floor presidential suites," he ordered.
He waved at Susie, signaling her to handle the arrangements.
Then Alex turned toward John Wick.
"Mr. Wick, I've had rooms prepared for you. You can head up with them now, choose whichever you like. I've still got things to take care of—you understand."
"Yeah," John Wick replied with a nod.
Following Susie, he left the armory.
He knew exactly what was coming.
The bounty hunters outside weren't going to give up so easily.
Nobody was leaving Salisbury Hotel yet.
If he was staying, then the cleaning of rooms, looting of spoils, planning of next steps—
All of it needed handling.
But Wick wasn't interested in any of that.
Since Alex gave him a room and a polite excuse—he was happy to go upstairs and get some sleep.
Once Wick was gone, Margarita, who had been sorting through the armory's weapons, finally spoke.
"Mr. Cross, we just found a large vault in the back of the armory."
She stepped aside and pointed deeper into the room.
Alex followed her gesture.
A reinforced steel door was embedded in the farthest wall.
He turned back to Margarita.
"You tried opening it?"
"It's a special steel door—needs a code to unlock."
"Explosives?"
"…It'll work."
"Then blow it."
Alex decided without hesitation.
"Yes, sir."
Margarita quickly ordered two killers to prep a block of C4.
They pressed it to the door, retreated to cover, and hit the detonator.
BOOM!
The blast ripped the heavy door loose, sending it crashing sideways into the dust.
Two killers swept inside first, ensuring it was safe.
Only then did Alex lead Anna, Duggan, and Margarita inside.
The vault wasn't huge—about the size of a bedroom.
In the center sat a cube draped with canvas.
Pulling it back revealed neat stacks of U.S. dollars—roughly 80 million.
On the left stood a metal cabinet.
Inside: coins.
Alex gathered them into his pack.
When counted, they totaled:
[Gold Coins: 737]
Exactly what he expected.
A family branch didn't need to stockpile too many.
On the right-hand shelves, however—
Documents.
And those caught Alex's eye.
Files like "New York Division Assassin Roster," "Arms Trade Records," "Assassination Logs," and more.
He only skimmed them, but it was enough.
These were weapons—secrets sharp enough to bleed the Camorra Family dry.
"Station a squad here. Guard every file. No one touches them unless I say so."
With his plan set, Alex gave Margarita the order before leaving the vault with the others.
In the hall, Susie was already approaching, carrying reports.
"Mr. Cross," she said, quickening her pace.
She handed him the paper.
"According to the count, we eliminated 177 Camorra Family killers and 106 bounty hunters. There are still eight fighting on the perimeter.
In addition… we lost 10 men. Nine wounded lightly. Two seriously.
The final tally of losses and gains will be ready in two hours."
Alex nodded.
He'd expected as much.
The ten dead were already reported by the system.
No exceptions—
Every one of them was among the first white-tier killers he had summoned.
Bulletproof suits or not, poking your head out in a battle this brutal… survival was impossible.
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