[General POV]
As Edward took down the assailants in the convention hall, several people inside the room were recording him with their phones.
The way he quickly disarmed the terrorist made the video seem like it was taken directly from an action movie.
"Oh my God. He's… like the Slayer," Sarah Michelle Gellar muttered, feeling a little envious.
Edward's sharp moves, especially when he locked a guy's limb and jolted it upward, causing it to dislocate, made the crowd wince as they related to the guy's teary screams.
Jason Sudeikis drank a glass of champagne quickly before saying, "I don't know what's going on. Is this fundraiser having a dinner and a show?"
Edward pinned a muscular man with a goatee to the floor, wringing his arm behind his back, causing him to groan in pain.
"Hey, I know you." He smiled as he peeked at the guy's face. Then he knocked him out.
Suddenly, Edward turned to Vanessa and said casually, "Babe, I'm really hungry. Can you find me something to eat?"
"Sure." Vanessa was taken aback at first before she went on to pick up a plate of finger sandwiches for him. Edward took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands.
"So, what do you think they are here for?" Vanessa asked as she moved to stand beside him.
"Hold that question for a sec. There are two more heading this way," Edward said before he hopped and jumped to the flagpole on top of the convention door.
As the two other members of the gang entered the room, he dropped down and ambushed them, delivering a swift punch to the back of their heads. Their eyes rolled up, and they fell to the floor, unconscious.
Bey Awadi rushed to Edward, holding the side of his body and said, "Oh thank God you're here! These sons of bitches want to bleed me dry."
"Oh, so they are after you?" Edward was a little disappointed. "I thought they came here for me. Player." He got a little angry and kicked the guy who was on the floor.
Bey pleaded, "You have to protect me, man! I'm going to be killed!"
Edward scoffed and said, "By who?" He checked out the black bag they were carrying and said, "It's bombs. But it's not active."
Bey looked around, realized that he was out of danger, and then got a bit embarrassed. He immediately defended himself, saying, "There are still some guys on the rooftop. We need to get out of here."
"We will. Through the rooftop," Vanessa suddenly interjected. "I guess all of them are already done for, right, Edward?" She grinned childishly as she looked upward to meet his eyes.
Edward smiled before his expression suddenly turned sharp. He rushed and grabbed Mr. Ahmed's hand, choking him with the other.
Bey Awadi and the others were startled by his action. Bey shouted, "Hey! That's my secretary."
"Oh really? Then why is he pulling out a gun and aiming it at us?" Edward said before he gripped Mr. Ahmed's wrist forcefully.
Crack!
Mr. Ahmed's bones popped, and his face winced in excruciating pain. His gun dropped from his hand, and everyone saw it.
He groaned and said, "AHH! LET ME GO, YOU FREAK! YOU HAVE RUINED MY PLANS!"
"Excuse me?! Who are you calling a freak, you freak?!" Vanessa shouted with irritation. Barbara Palvin looked at Vanessa in disbelief, wondering where she got the nerve to confront the guy.
Edward grinned slightly before turning serious again. His watch suddenly rang, and it connected to the CCTV of the hotel, showing Edward the scene in the hotel lobby.
"Jin, take care of Mickey," he ordered quickly as he saw Mickey was unconscious. He turned to Mr. Ahmed and applied pressure to his neck while asking menacingly, "Did you have any other friends you were bringing to the party?"
Mr. Ahmed choked and spat out with difficulty, "No… You've taken down every one of my people."
"Good, then you can go to sleep now," he said, continuously applying pressure on Mr. Ahmed's neck until his brain was almost devoid of oxygen. He passed out, and Edward released his grip before he could die.
"Everyone, please follow Vanessa to the roof. We don't have much time since there's another batch of these guys coming here. A whole lot of them," Edward said to the crowd, prompting panicked murmuring.
"Can't you just fight them again?" Andy Samberg yelled from afar.
"Not without them killing at least one of you guys. Do you want to volunteer to be the dead guy?" Edward asked Andy.
Andy scoffed and then shrank back slightly. "No," he muttered.
"Everyone to the roof right now. Follow the instructions of my security there. They will bring you out of the hotel," Edward said, waving his arms around like an air traffic controller. People started to move around him and walked out the door.
He turned to Vanessa and said, "You should go too. Jin will protect you."
"Really? You're putting me through a dangerous situation again?" Vanessa asked, pouting.
"Flying on a helicopter isn't a dangerous thing—"
"It is if you don't trust them," Vanessa retorted before Edward could finish. "It's like a flying fan! How do they even work?" she said exasperatedly.
Edward rolled his eyes before turning to the side of the convention hall. "You two, Gina and Tom. The spies who came here with a plan," he called them out, pointing his index finger at them before gesturing for them to come to him.
Everyone near Tom and Gina immediately retreated away from them, looking at them with malicious eyes.
Tom and Gina chuckled in disbelief and approached Edward unwillingly.
"As I do not have much time left, tell me about your mission, and I'll decide if I'll let you go today," he said with a cold expression.
"The mission? I don't know what you're talking about—" Gina abruptly took out a gun from the slit of her dress and aimed it at Edward, but he managed to kick her gun away with a roundhouse kick.
Tom joined in, wanting to punch Edward, but Edward slapped him with a backhand that sent him flying at least five meters away.
Blood trickled from Tom's mouth; the simple blow made him incredibly dizzy. As he slowly got up from the ground and turned to Edward, he saw him holding Gina by her head as she knelt on the floor, screaming in pain.
"You're so tough, hitting a girl!" Gina shouted challengingly and sarcastically.
Edward just gripped her head harder, prompting her to scream and say, "I was raised by Batman. My hands are rated E for everyone. So, who sent you?"
He activated his Sharingan from the blind spot of the crowd, not that anyone cared as everyone was busy running to the roof—the Bey at the front of the line, leaving only Vanessa and Barbara there.
Under the hypnosis of the Sharingan, Gina begrudgingly told Edward, "I was sent here to steal your watch. I do not know who the employer is, and I only report to a middleman who's handling the missions."
"Gina!" Tom was startled. Gina's life as a spy was over the second she decided to willingly give up the intel.
Tom realized that the only way to save Gina's life was to kill Edward. He saw the rifle dropped from the terrorist near him and picked it up hurriedly. But suddenly, a needle penetrated his neck. Tom found himself unable to move a centimeter after that.
"That's neurotoxin, by the way. It won't kill you, but you won't be able to move for at least a day," Edward said casually before turning to Gina again, asking her, "Why didn't you give up the mission when I botched your plans at the beginning?"
Gina said monotonously, "Because I'll die. I failed the last mission, and if I fail another, they will eliminate my status as an asset, and also my life."
Tom, still able to use his mouth, continued, "It's our last mission before we can get out and live our lives together. We're planning on getting married—"
"Stop talking, you psychopath. I don't believe you, not even a little bit," Edward said, noticing the emotional manipulation instantly. Tom was an expert at that.
Edward saw Barbara and Vanessa still loitering around and asked them hurriedly, "What are you guys still doing here? Go now."
"I'm waiting for you. Aren't you going to go too?" Vanessa replied.
"I'm not going. You guys won't make it if I go too. I'll act as bait for you, and I have a really strong feeling that this time, the target is me." He smiled brightly and said, "Fingers crossed. Please let me be the target this time."
"Edward!" Vanessa shrieked in disbelief.
Gina smiled and mumbled monotonously, "We're getting married. Tom and I. He promised me that. He said we're getting out of the job."
"He's lying. He lives for the gig," Edward said to Gina before turning to his friends again. "Barbara, you go with her too."
"Um, I want to. But my legs are kinda weak from being held at gunpoint before, so I can't really move," Barbara said with a pathetic expression. Vanessa rolled her eyes before moving to Barbara. "It's not your attempt to have Edward's hand all over you, is it?"
"No. I'm not that crazy to do that in this sort of situation," Barbara said tearfully. She couldn't move her legs at all. But Vanessa could drag her away.
Before she left, Edward smiled and said to her, "Barbs, after this all settles down, we're going to have a talk about the rumor you started."
Vanessa didn't stop and pulled Barbara out of the convention hall. Edward asked Gina how to get in touch with the middleman before he put her into a deep sleep.
"They will kill her, you know? They won't ever let her go now that she has leaked classified information," Tom said urgently.
"Then what do you propose I should do? Save her? What's in it for me?" Edward asked with a smirk.
Tom tried to follow Edward's figure with his eyes, but he was already walking away. "Give me the cure. I'll bring her out of the city and save her."
"Again, Tom. What's in it for me?" Edward rolled his eyes and exhaled in disbelief.
"Roark Instrument. They are the ones who put the hits on you," Tom said, much to Edward's surprise.
"Oh, didn't she say you guys didn't know who the employer was?" Edward smiled with amusement while he talked to Tom.
The army led by Anslo Garrick was only two floors away. They would be at the convention hall in less than a minute.
Mr. Ahmed's eyes moved slightly. Maybe it was the oxygen getting back to his brain, or the eternal spite he had for Edward, but he was regaining consciousness at a fast rate.
"I did some research of my own. I always do. Although I do not know their motive," Tom said urgently.
Edward mused and thought out loud, "Maybe it's because I'm taking over the company and kicking all the shareholders out. Their former boss was a madman, you know? Again, it doesn't explain why they want to take my watch."
"I don't know about that. But I do know that we're not the only ones targeting you today."
"Hmm? Explain," Edward finally turned to Tom.
"Give me the cure, and I'll explain it." Tom negotiated. Although Edward could just use his eyes to make him spit it out, Tom's adaptability in the middle of a crisis made him curious.
"Alright," he said before he shot another needle at Tom. In less than a second, Tom managed to regain control of his body.
"Damn, I ran out of my 'Conan needle,'" Edward mumbled as he shook his watch. "I should probably put more inside than just one poison and one cure."
Tom didn't try to grab the rifle again and stood up slowly while facing Edward, raising both of his hands in the air.
With a huffing voice, Tom said, "Okay. I heard some rumors about a bounty placed on your head. A billion-dollar bounty. It's unconfirmed rumors, but there are bound to be some people who would take the rumor at face value."
Edward nodded and said, "I know about that. That's not important information at all."
"Then do you know that in your psychological profile, it said that you're an arrogant control freak? You think of yourself as being on top of everything?"
"So?" Edward raised an eyebrow.
"Then what if the attacks here, all of them had different motives to let you put down your guard and shave off your resources before the final big bad appeared and swooped everything at the end?"
Edward's eyes lit up, and an excited grin spread across his face. "So you think everything was premeditated today?"
"It would explain why everyone decided to target the same party. Now that I've told you everything I know, I hope you will allow me to take her out of here. She's just a foot soldier. She doesn't even know that she was being used."
"Hmm… Take her away, then," Edward said dismissively. Tom immediately ran to Gina, picking her up and putting her on his back. "And Tom," Edward called out before he could leave.
Tom turned around, and a small name card floated softly in front of his mouth after being thrown there. He bit the card subconsciously while Edward said, "If you don't have anywhere else to go, you can find the library. Matt will give you the sense of purpose you're desperately searching for."
Outside of the hotel, after the black SUVs rammed into the building, the reporters called the police.
Rosa and Jake, who were nearby, responded to the call and joined the 'active shooter' situation.
SWAT arrived, and the police barricaded the hotel. The 'Vulture'—Keith Pembroke from the Major Crimes Unit—became the commander of the operation.
"I want information on the situation inside. I want eyes on top of the building." He directed the snipers and the specialists to get into position before allowing two SWAT teams to enter the hotel.
*BOOM!*
A huge explosion occurred from the top of the hotel, its fire lighting up the night sky. Everyone stopped abruptly and covered their heads.
Rosa widened her eyes and muttered, "That… came from the convention floor." Ashes were falling to the ground, and a few flecks landed on her face.
Jake yelled, "OH MY GOD! EDWARD IS DEAD!!"
On top of the building, as the explosion happened, Vanessa and Barbara got into the last batch of escapees, and the helicopter was prepared to fly up when the building shook.
"Edward!" Vanessa's eyes widened as she called his name in shock.
A few minutes before, after Edward let Tom and Gina go, Anslo Garrick finally arrived at the convention hall. The army marched and formed a barricade in front of the door, aiming their lasers from their rifles at Edward's chest.
"Oh, come on. I'm the only one left. Do all of you need to aim your guns at me? Am I really that threatening?" Edward said with a smirk.
Anslo Garrick walked to the front and replied, "A smiling man in the face of danger is never anything but dangerous."
Edward walked slightly to a nearby chair, picked up a sliced apple, and munched it down. As he licked his lips, he said, "So. Why are you here, Mr. Garrick?"
"It seems that you don't know everything that's going on, brat," Anslo chuckled with satisfaction.
Edward was disgusted and said, "Please don't laugh with that kind of face. Were you put through a cheese grater to have that kind of scar?"
A member of his gang giggled subconsciously amidst the silence. Anslo fumed and said, "You're coming with us right now!"
"And if I say no?" Edward smiled childishly.
Anslo grinned maniacally and said, "The bounty only said to bring you there. It doesn't say whether you need to be alive or not. So you can choose right now to come willingly or in a body bag."
"I'm never going to go out with a man who has that kind of face. I have standards too, you know?" Edward laughed mockingly.
Anslo raised his rifle and shot.
*BRRRRR!*
Edward didn't even move or flinch from his chair. The bullets went around him as if they were never meant to touch him in the first place. Plates shattered, chairs were destroyed, and the curtains and glass ornaments were wrecked, with shards of glass flying everywhere.
As Anslo stopped his shooting spree, Edward said, "Are you done playing around?"
"Men, grab him," Anslo shouted. The militia slowly approached Edward, but before anything could happen, Mr. Ahmed rolled over and rushed out of the convention hall.
A few men turned to him and immediately shot their rifles, but Mr. Ahmed managed to escape from the hall. He ran far away and hid behind a thick wall before taking out a detonator from his pocket.
"If I can't get my hands on that 500 million dollars, then I'll go for the 1 billion next," Mr. Ahmed said with a maniacal grin. He had heard about the bounty spoken by Tom before while pretending to be unconscious.
Mr. Ahmed pressed the detonator, and a huge explosion occurred inside the convention hall. It took out most of the militia and destroyed a large part of the hotel wall, revealing the night sky outside.
For Edward, the second Mr. Ahmed ran away, he rushed to the farthest distance possible from the black bag and hid behind a pillar. After the explosion, fire spread throughout the convention hall, torching everything in its path.
Anslo Garrick coughed as he slowly got up from the ground; his forehead was wounded, and only three of his men survived the explosion. They were standing too close to the bag.
"Motherfu—" Before Anslo could finish, a bullet penetrated his forehead. Mr. Ahmed had picked up a gun and was executing the militia squirming on the ground one by one in cold blood.
"Come out, freak. I know you aren't dead yet. I don't see your body anywhere," Mr. Ahmed said as he scanned the convention hall. The fire became stronger. The SWAT teams rushed to the top of the hotel.
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