Ten hours after departing New York, the Fraternity aircraft touched down at Bangkok's private terminal. The city's humid night air hit them immediately as the cabin door opened—thick, tropical, carrying the scent of street food and exhaust fumes.
A Rolls-Royce waited on the tarmac, engine idling. The Bangkok Assassin Brotherhood's local director had arranged transportation personally.
Selene, Wesley, John Wick, and Eddie Brock descended the stairs and climbed into the luxury vehicle. The driver—a Thai operative with the Brotherhood's subtle tattoo visible on his wrist—pulled away smoothly.
Wesley broke the silence first. "Selene, where do we start the investigation?"
Selene reviewed the intelligence file on her tablet, scanning photographs and reports compiled over the past eighteen hours. "We meet Li Zhongzhi first. He's the victim's father—filed the initial missing person report. There may be details he didn't include in his Brotherhood commission."
She glanced up at the city lights streaming past the window. "I've already requested the Bangkok chapter bring him to their headquarters. He should be waiting when we arrive."
The Rolls-Royce navigated Bangkok's chaotic traffic with practiced ease, eventually pulling up to an elegant hotel facade. The building's exterior gave no indication of the lethal organization operating within.
Li Zhongzhi sat in the Bangkok Assassin Brotherhood's lobby, anxiety eating at him from the inside.
Four days. His daughter had been missing for four days.
He'd flown to Bangkok the moment he'd learned she'd disappeared during her vacation. Called the Thai police immediately. Filed reports. Shown photographs. Provided every detail he could remember.
Nothing. The police had found absolutely nothing.
Li Zhongzhi was a Hong Kong police officer—twenty years on the force. He knew how investigations worked. He also knew when official channels were deliberately dragging their feet.
So he'd turned to unofficial channels.
The Assassin Brotherhood's reputation was whispered about in law enforcement circles. An intelligence network spanning continents. Resources that made government agencies look underfunded. And most importantly—they got results.
But when Li Zhongzhi had approached the Bangkok chapter with his daughter's case, the receptionist had been apologetic but firm: the Brotherhood handled intelligence on criminal organizations, not missing persons investigations.
However, if he possessed gold coins—the Brotherhood's internal currency—he could post a bounty. Maybe someone would accept.
Li Zhongzhi had liquidated his savings. Five hundred thousand US dollars converted to two gold coins. He'd also pledged one of his Hong Kong properties as additional reward if they found his daughter alive.
Apparently, his case had triggered something. A Brotherhood operative had investigated the initial leads and discovered connections to organ trafficking and fraud networks. That information had gone straight to headquarters.
Now Li Zhongzhi sat in the lobby, waiting to meet whoever headquarters had sent.
He approached the reception desk again, unable to sit still. "Yuan Ming, any news about my daughter?"
Yuan Ming—a Chinese national transferred from the New York chapter—maintained his professional composure. "No updates yet, Mr. Li."
He paused, then added with a slight smile. "But I have good news. Your case attracted headquarters' attention. They've dispatched adjudicators to take personal command of the investigation."
Li Zhongzhi's stomach tightened. "Adjudicators? Why would my daughter's disappearance warrant that level of response?"
Yuan Ming's smile remained carefully neutral. "Mr. Li, from my perspective, this is excellent news. It means your daughter's case will receive the organization's full resources."
What Yuan Ming didn't say: adjudicators only deployed for serious situations. If headquarters had sent them, the trafficking network was larger and more dangerous than a simple missing person case. But that also meant they'd find Li Zhongzhi's daughter—dead or alive—and deliver justice either way.
Li Zhongzhi tried to take comfort in the receptionist's reassurance, but his law enforcement experience told him there was more happening beneath the surface. Whatever his daughter had stumbled into, it was big enough to trigger an international response.
That thought terrified him.
The hotel's main entrance opened, and an extended Rolls-Royce pulled to the curb. Doormen moved immediately to open the rear doors.
Four people emerged.
Three men wore tactical suits—professional, expensive, clearly ballistic-rated. The fourth was a woman in black leather, moving with predatory grace that made Li Zhongzhi's instincts scream danger.
All four radiated barely contained lethality. Even from across the lobby, Li Zhongzhi could feel the weight of their presence.
The Bangkok chapter director accompanied them personally, gesturing respectfully as they entered and headed directly for the elevators.
Li Zhongzhi barely registered their passage. His mind remained locked on his missing daughter.
Minutes later, Yuan Ming's phone rang. He answered, murmured confirmation, then hung up and looked at Li Zhongzhi.
"Mr. Li, the adjudicators have arrived. They want to meet with you immediately." Yuan Ming gestured to another staff member. "Somchai, escort Mr. Li to the top floor conference room."
Li Zhongzhi followed the Thai operative into the elevator, heart hammering. Whatever was about to happen, it would determine whether he ever saw his daughter again.
The conference room occupied the hotel's entire top floor—panoramic windows overlooking Bangkok's glittering skyline, a long table of polished hardwood, chairs that probably cost more than Li Zhongzhi's monthly salary.
The four adjudicators sat along one side. The Bangkok chapter director stood near the windows.
One of the men—Thai, mid-forties, professionally dressed—gestured to an empty chair. "Mr. Li, please sit. I'm Li Mingyu, director of the Bangkok Assassin Brotherhood. These four are headquarters adjudicators. They have questions regarding your daughter's case."
Li Zhongzhi sat, trying to keep his hands steady. "What do you need to know?"
The woman in black leather—clearly the team leader—spoke first. Her voice carried absolute authority despite its measured tone. "Tell us about your daughter. Have you discovered any new information in the past twenty-four hours?"
"Nothing," Li Zhongzhi said, frustration bleeding into his voice. "I've shown her photograph to people throughout the city. Street vendors, hotel staff, taxi drivers. No one remembers seeing her."
He met the woman's gaze directly. "Can I ask why my daughter's disappearance has drawn your attention? I understand it's important to me, but surely this doesn't warrant headquarters involvement?"
The woman—Selene, based on the team's deference to her—studied him for a moment before responding. "Mr. Li, your commission led our organization to discover that criminal networks we previously eliminated have resurfaced in this region. Specifically, cyber fraud operations and human organ trafficking rings."
Her expression remained neutral, but her words hit like hammer blows. "Headquarters has deployed us to dismantle these organizations completely. Because your case provided the intelligence that revealed their presence, our leader ordered us to help find your daughter first, then handle the larger criminal infrastructure."
Li Zhongzhi's blood ran cold. "You're saying my daughter might have been taken by traffickers?"
Selene nodded once. "We can't rule it out. In fact, the probability is relatively high based on the circumstances of her disappearance."
"Is she—" Li Zhongzhi's voice broke. He forced himself to continue. "Will she still be alive?"
Selene's expression softened fractionally. "Based on the timeline of her disappearance, if she was taken by these networks, her chances of survival are good. They don't kill quickly—they use victims for labor, fraud operations, or..." She paused. "Or they keep them healthy for organ harvesting. That means time."
The clinical assessment should have been horrifying. Instead, Li Zhongzhi felt desperate hope. If his daughter was alive, there was still a chance.
"What can I do?" he asked.
His phone rang.
Li Zhongzhi pulled it from his pocket—the screen showed an incoming call from Bangkok Police Department.
"It's the police," he said, looking up at Selene. "I filed a report when I first arrived. This might be a lead."
Selene gestured permission. "Answer it. Speaker phone, if you don't mind."
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