Chapter 36: Who is Church?
William found a cigar in Barney's pocket, lit it, and leaned back in his car to wait, watching the time. After two hours, he sensed that someone was waking up. It was Yin Yang—or Master Wong Fei-hung, as William liked to call him. He hadn't expected the smallest member of the team to be the first to regain consciousness.
Sitting in the car, William said aloud, "As expected of Master Wong Fei-hung. Don't bother pretending now that you're awake. Or should I give your daughter a call? I'd hate for her to worry."
Hearing the threat against his daughter, Yin Yang dropped the pretense. "Don't you dare," he snarled. "This is about me. Leave my family out of it."
William put on a hood to conceal his face, then walked over to Yin Yang, shining a flashlight on a file he was holding. He read from the file, listing details about Yin Yang's family. "I hear you're a mercenary just to support your daughter. How about you work for me instead? I'll pay you well. What do you think?"
Yin Yang stared at the file, cursing internally. This man had found out everything about his family; he even knew where his daughter went to school. What could he do? Yin Yang was panicking, but he kept his expression carefully neutral.
Barney had actually woken up when William got out of the car. Hearing the threat against Yin Yang's family, he decided to speak up. "Hey! Whatever you want us to do, I'll agree to it. Just don't threaten his family. Yin Yang, relax. If he didn't have a use for us, he would have killed us already."
William looked at Barney with annoyance. The man had interrupted his business, messing up his plan. Now he didn't know if he'd be able to recruit these action stars.
"Haha, Barney. You really live up to your reputation as the leader of the Expendables. So calm, even at a time like this. But you're not the one in charge here."
Seeing movement from the others, William added, "Gunnar, Christmas, I'd advise you not to slowly reach for the knives at your waists. I think my gun is faster than your blades. Make one more small move and my gun might just go off."
As Christmas and Gunnar froze, they saw William casually draw a Glock 17 and chamber a round with a sharp click. Still, Christmas's mouth was as hard as ever. "Maybe. Why don't we find out who's faster?"
William ignored him. He knew the man's skill with a throwing knife was formidable, but Christmas had no idea that he was no longer facing an ordinary person.
He turned his head back to Barney. "Since you interrupted, you have only yourself to blame. This took me a lot of effort, and I intend to get something from you for my trouble. So, Barney, tell me: who is 'Church' from the CIA?"
Barney's pupils contracted. He looked down at the ground and said, "I don't know who you're talking about. I've never heard of a 'Church.' I do know a guy named Trench, maybe you're looking for him. But I heard that guy wants to be President of the United States."
The other members of the team, who had all woken up by now, chuckled.
"Yeah, I heard that too. Trench really wants to be president."
"That's right. I heard Trench is a real powerhouse. Maybe he could actually do it."
William found this amusing. How did this running gag from the movies exist in this world too? In William's past life, Governor Trench had no shot at the presidency. The governor and his wife had a falling out, ending his chances.
Amused by the thought, he suddenly raised his hand and fired a shot at Christmas.
The unexpected gunshot, seemingly killing Christmas without any warning, stunned the other five members of the Expendables. They stared in disbelief, and then a torrent of curses erupted from their mouths.
William was impressed by the sheer variety of English profanity. It wasn't just a few repetitive words; they were creative.
*The movie world is really something else,* he thought. *The vocabulary for swearing is huge. Why do I understand every single word?* He figured it must be a feature of the system that came with his transmigration.
"I said don't make any sudden moves," William stated calmly. "Now, Barney, are you going to tell me who Church is? Or will the next shot hit its mark?"
William aimed his pistol at Gunnar. "Gunnar, I hear you're good with a knife. A shame you're about to die. Look at Barney, Gunnar. He doesn't seem to value your life as much as he values his secrets."
Gunnar stared into William's eyes and said defiantly, "Untie me. We can settle this with knives. You win, I'll talk. Barney, don't you say a word. We die before we talk, you hear me? Barney…"
Before Gunnar could finish, William fired again.
"No! Damn you! Damn you, I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Barney's whole body trembled with rage, his eyes turning bloodshot as he strained against the ropes binding him, making them creak.
The others reacted similarly. Caesar cursed, "Go on, do it! Shoot me! Barney, if he wants to know who Church is, he won't kill you. You can't tell him, Barney! Even if we all die, you can't tell him! You have to survive to avenge us! Come on, bastard, shoot me! Do it!" Caesar stared at William, his face a mask of fearless defiance.
William ignored their shouting and cursing. After they had exhausted themselves for more than ten minutes, he pointed his gun at Yin Yang.
"NO! Don't shoot! Don't shoot! I'll talk! I'll talk!" Barney yelled, seeing William's gun aimed at Yin Yang. He'd already lost two men; he couldn't let Yin Yang's daughter lose her father.
Yin Yang immediately shouted, "Don't tell him, Barney! You can't! He'll kill us all if you tell him! You have to live, Barney! Only you can take care of my family if you're alive!"
"NO, man! I can't let your child grow up without a father! I'll talk! Church's full name is Bruce Willis. I don't know where he lives, only that he's the security director for the CIA in New York. He's usually at…"
Suddenly, Barney heard Christmas gasp for breath. A groan came from the man, who suddenly seemed to come back to life. A moment later, Gunnar also groaned and stirred.
William holstered his Glock 17 and cursed under his breath, "What kind of anesthetic bullets are these? They wear off in less than twenty minutes."
The other four members of the Expendables realized at that moment that William's shots hadn't hit Gunnar and Christmas at all.
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