Chapter Summaries

After Audrey Hepburn’s funeral, Henry settled her accounts and returned her cash and credit cards with her lawyer, Arnie Adler. He stayed for the reading of her will, where his unexpected presence left the family and close friends wondering what she had left him.

• Henry packed his belongings and learned from Arnie Adler that he had to attend the reading of Audrey Hepburn’s will that evening.
• Henry and an accountant reconciled his final wages, petty cash, and returned credit cards, then signed the required documents.
• Arnie praised Henry’s skill in drafting the French declaration, and Henry agreed to remain for the will reading.
• After helping with the banquet, Henry joined Audrey’s children, their fathers, Robert Wolders, and Hubert de Givenchy at the reading.
• The attendees were surprised by Henry’s presence and wondered what Audrey had left him.

At the reading of Audrey Hepburn's will, Henry renounced the inheritance she had left him, including Stark Industries shares. He accepted her help arranging publication for his manuscripts and eagerly received a signed photograph, ending with her handwritten message.

• Henry announced that he renounced any inheritance or gifts, and Arnie Adler confirmed he would not owe inheritance tax.
• Arnie Adler read the will, dividing most of Audrey Hepburn's estate between Sean Ferrer and Luca Dotti while returning Audrey-related Givenchy designs and rights to Givenchy.
• Arnie Adler told Henry that Audrey had left him Stark Industries shares worth about five hundred thousand, but Henry renounced them so Sean Ferrer and Luca Dotti would share them.
• Arnie Adler gave Henry a publisher's offer for his manuscripts, explaining that Audrey had helped arrange publication and that Henry retained the copyright.
• Henry accepted a signed Roman Holiday photograph of Audrey Hepburn and read her message on the back: "The moon is beautiful tonight."

After Audrey Hepburn’s will was read, Henry left Switzerland for Los Angeles while Jean Grey traveled with him to Geneva Airport, planning to return to New York and the X-Men. The journey left Henry considering how to build a discreet career in information technology while keeping an ordinary job for cover and income.

• Henry said goodbye to Robert, who explained that Audrey had already given him what she wanted while she was alive and had left him the five dogs.
• Henry and Jean Grey left the farm together for Geneva International Airport, where Henry planned to fly legally to Los Angeles.
• Jean Grey told Henry she intended to return to New York and had contacted Raven, who believed the government would not prevent her return.
• Jean Grey invited Henry to join the X-Men, but he refused and said he would go back to his rented home in Los Angeles.
• Henry considered building the CK hacker legend in secret while maintaining a public job and earning enough to support himself.

Henry returned to Los Angeles after Audrey Hepburn’s death and moved back into his apartment, where landlord Gary told him about the riots and continuing unrest in the city. The chapter ended with Henry explaining that the rioters had used a false sense of legitimacy to excuse their actions.

• Henry returned to Los Angeles and reunited with landlord Gary, who helped carry his luggage upstairs.
• Gary asked whether Henry had heard news about Audrey Hepburn, and Henry told him she had died and been buried in Switzerland.
• Gary described how riots had spread across the United States and Los Angeles, involving looting, violence, and a military response.
• Gary warned Henry that scattered disturbances continued and urged him to be careful.
• Henry argued that the rioters had kept making trouble to justify their actions and avoid punishment.

Henry cleaned his Los Angeles home and reflected on his plans for open-source software and a household robot. Watching Audrey Hepburn’s decline and death had left him regretting that his powers could not overcome illness and aging, and he wondered whether he could find a shortcut to medical expertise.

• Henry invited Old Gary to dinner and asked him to return that evening to discuss what had happened in Los Angeles over the past year.
• Henry cleaned his rented house and considered how his hand-built server could support his goal of bringing Linux’s windowing system to users early.
• Henry decided he might build a simple household robot to keep his home clean while he was away.
• Henry recalled watching Audrey Hepburn progress from health through illness to death and recognized that his Kryptonian abilities could not defeat aging or disease.
• Henry considered studying medicine but rejected the lengthy path through school and clinical training, then wondered whether there was a shortcut.

Henry shared dinner and drinks with old Gary, who described the dangers and political aftermath of the Los Angeles riots. They discussed Henry’s possible return to the film industry, but he had no clear path to success.

• Henry ate a large dinner with old Gary, then poured them both bourbon and played quiet music.
• Old Gary warned Henry that Los Angeles remained dangerous at night after the riots and said Hollywood’s top ranks remained out of reach to black newcomers.
• Henry considered whether to return to acting and explained that Audrey Hepburn’s connections would not help him advance in Hollywood.
• Old Gary suggested Henry become an agent or work toward producing, but Henry pointed out how difficult either path would be.

Henry planned to build a modular household cleaning robot based on BB-8 and considered searching for clues to his origins, but before he could visit a scrapyard, two FBI agents stopped him. The agents demanded that he accompany them, leaving Henry facing an investigation without knowing its purpose.

• Henry decided to build a practical household robot with interchangeable modules, using BB-8 as the design reference.
• Henry wondered whether he had an alien spaceship or a Fortress of Solitude, but chose to focus on building his robot for now.
• Henry set out for a scrapyard to buy scrap alloys he could reshape into robot parts.
• Two men in black suits identified themselves as FBI agents and stopped Henry before he reached his car.
• Henry asked why the agents wanted him and whether they had a warrant, but they told him to come with them or face trouble.

Henry was taken by FBI agents to California legislator Mike Riddle Horton’s mansion, where Horton offered him an attendant job and threatened him when he refused. Henry was left under guard and ordered to stand by until Horton needed someone to take a bullet.

• Two FBI agents drove Henry to a mansion in Montecito without explaining why they had taken him.
• A suited guard told Henry that the mansion belonged to California legislator Mike Riddle Horton.
• Mike Riddle Horton offered Henry an attendant position for eighty thousand dollars a year.
• Henry refused the job and tried to leave, but the guard blocked him.
• Mike Riddle Horton threatened Henry and ordered the others to keep him in the lounge until he was needed to take a bullet.

Henry stayed confined in Congressman Mike Riddle Houghton's staff lounge after refusing to work as his human shield, then learned Houghton had been threatened over his support for groups tied to the Los Angeles riots. When gunfire erupted, Henry refused to help and was carried toward the congressman despite his captors' threats and violence.

• Henry learned that Houghton had backed groups stirring up trouble during and after the Los Angeles riots, drawing a final ultimatum from his opponents.
• Henry stayed in the lounge, ate, and slept while guards watched him, until gunfire broke out late on the second night.
• When a staffer ordered Henry to get up and help, Henry refused, and a gunshot ricocheted off his head.
• A staffer punched Henry and broke his own hand, so the others ordered two inexperienced men to carry Henry to Houghton as a human shield.
• Henry went limp as the two men struggled to haul him away, while the injured staffer followed, plotting to find a larger gun.

Henry refused the congressman's demand to protect him, mocked his threats, and drew fire while attackers closed in. The congressman's men fled without Henry as he stayed behind, having shown that no one could force him to cooperate.

• The congressman ordered his men to kill Henry after Henry refused to help him escape.
• Henry pretended to be hurt as the men emptied their guns into him, then laughed unharmed and rejected the congressman's offer of a million dollars.
• Attackers who had quietly surrounded the congressman's party opened fire while the congressman's men were distracted.
• The congressman's surviving men rushed him toward an escape route, abandoning Henry and their fallen companions.
• Henry watched the congressman flee and resolved to make clear that no one could force him to work for them.

Henry was confronted by Continental Hotel gunmen after the attack on the senator's house and learned that Russian Mob attackers, including Baba Yaga, were pursuing the senator. The old gunman took Henry to the Los Angeles Continental Hotel, and distant gunfire ended with three shots as the gunmen accepted that the target was likely finished.

• Henry recognized the old gunman from a previous attack and pretended to be an uninvolved, unarmed victim.
• The old gunman explained that his employer had ordered everyone in the house killed and that the attackers had delayed after hearing Henry had joined the senator's camp.
• The old gunman said Russian Mob gunmen, including Baba Yaga, were attacking from the backyard and planned to take Henry to the Los Angeles Continental Hotel.
• Henry agreed to go with the gunmen, borrowed the old gunman's Kevlar jacket, and covered his exposed body with his ruined shirt.
• When a gunman pointed out that the target had not been taken down, distant gunfire stopped and three shots rang out, prompting the old gunman to lead everyone back to the hotel.

Henry Brown arrived at the Los Angeles Continental Hotel with Charlie’s group after surviving an attack by Senator Mike Riddle Houghton’s men. Muni Fisher protected Henry under the hotel’s rules but demanded that he explain how he would pay for his stay.

• Henry saw the Russian Mob’s wounded being treated in a separate hall after they had suffered heavy casualties in the attack.
• Muni Fisher questioned Charlie about whether he had secretly helped Senator Mike Riddle Houghton against the Russian Mob.
• Charlie introduced Henry, who explained that Houghton’s men had shot him after he refused their job offer.
• Charlie said the Russians had run into Houghton’s main force while it was retreating, and he had brought Henry back because Henry was not one of the senator’s men.
• A subordinate suggested putting a Mutant Suppression Collar on Henry and killing him, but Muni Fisher rejected the suggestion and declared that Henry was protected while inside the hotel.
• Muni Fisher told Henry that his protection would not be permanent and asked how he intended to pay for his stay.

Henry treated several critically wounded patients at the Continental Hotel after accepting Gold Coins from a Russian Mob man, using his X-Ray Vision to locate bullets and bleeding quickly. After saving three people, he followed the man to a wounded old man whose gunshot injuries had gone untreated because he had driven away several first-aid workers.

• Henry pushed aside a first-aid worker and removed a bullet, stopped the bleeding, and instructed the worker how to finish treating the patient.
• A handsome Russian Mob man offered Henry one High Table Gold Coin for every person he saved, and Henry accepted the payment.
• Henry treated a critically wounded patient and then moved on to other patients who were close to dying.
• Henry used his X-Ray Vision to locate bullets and bleeding sources, saving three people before the Continental Hotel doctor finished treating his first patient.
• Henry followed the Russian Mob man to a wounded old man who had driven away several first-aid workers.

Henry operated on a violently resisting old man with lung cancer, using improvised anesthesia and a small incision to remove a diseased lung lobe. After closing the wound and removing the needles, he left the exhausted old man unconscious.

• Henry agreed to treat the old man and had the Slav’s men hold him down as he examined the gunshot wound and suspected lung cancer.
• Henry improvised anesthesia with sterilized sewing needles and began operating despite the old man’s protests and threats.
• Henry removed the bullet and cut out a blackened lung lobe while the old man struggled and the Russian Mob held him down.
• Henry ligated and closed the chest, then removed the needles, leaving the old man unconscious.

Henry reassured the Continental Hotel staff that his improvised lung surgery had succeeded and met John Wick, whose companions he had treated. John thanked Henry and offered his help in New York, unknowingly disrupting the plans of Charlie and Muni Fisher, who had hoped to recruit Henry.

• Henry checked the old man's condition, explained that he needed postoperative care, and left the hotel surgeon to organize treatment for the injured men.
• The Continental Hotel surgeon inspected Henry's work and judged the operation likely successful, while Charlie and Muni Fisher reconsidered how to bring Henry under their control.
• John Wick introduced himself to Henry, thanked him for saving his companions, and asked why Henry had knocked out the injured men only after surgery.
• Henry gave John a practical explanation for his timing, and John accepted it without pressing further.
• John offered Henry help if he ever came to New York, then returned to his companions to prepare to leave.

Henry asked Muni Fisher to clear him of suspicion after the FBI agents and congressman died, then proposed exchanging medical help for the Continental Hotel’s services. The chapter ended with Muni considering his offer.

• Henry offered Muni Fisher a Gold Coin in exchange for help with the trouble caused by the deaths at the scene.
• Muni Fisher demanded Henry place his bloody handprint on a Blood Marker, but its needle could not pierce his thumb.
• Muni Fisher asked what Henry would offer in return, and he proposed helping treat injured people in future situations.
• Henry explained his interest in gaining clinical experience as an underground doctor and asked whether that cooperation could earn him the Continental Hotel’s services.

Henry decided to register as a Continental Hotel service provider and establish an underground medical station outside the hotel. Charlie explained the rules and revealed that John Wick had sponsored Henry, though his protection would only go so far.

• Henry told Muni Fisher and the old resident doctor that he wanted to open a medical station outside the hotel rather than serve as its resident doctor.
• Muni Fisher left the task of teaching Henry the rules to Charlie and said she would handle the FBI matter.
• Charlie explained that Henry would need a sponsor and must accept Gold Coin customers seeking services in his registered field, or risk being excluded by the Continental Hotel.
• Henry learned that service providers could not charge extra after accepting a Gold Coin, though they could exchange one at the hotel for ten thousand.
• Henry agreed to become a service provider and learned that John Wick, known as Baba Yaga, was his sponsor, but Charlie warned that John's favor offered only limited protection.

Henry asked Charlie how Continental Hotel gold coins entered circulation and learned that they were awarded for completed bounty contracts. Charlie also explained how associates could earn money by selling information, including details about a bounty seeking the identity of the Joker who had fought alongside the X-Men.

• Henry asked Charlie how the Continental Hotel's gold coins were earned, and Charlie explained the rules for coin rewards on bounty contracts.
• Henry recalled that his own coin had been taken from a fallen gunman and wondered whether the Hotel cared about its origin.
• Charlie told Henry that associates could sell street information to the Hotel's intelligence department or pursue specific information bounties.
• Charlie revealed that the largest current information bounty sought the identity of the Joker who had helped the X-Men fight aliens.
• Henry learned that some people suspected River Phoenix was the Joker, and Charlie said investigators had found no evidence and the Joker had not reappeared.

Henry and Charlie prepared Henry’s underground clinic in South Los Angeles, where Henry introduced himself as Tinkerer and made an agreement with local gang leader Big O. The chapter left Henry ready to open for business, with rent to pay and a Continental Hotel marker still to be put up.

• Charlie told Henry that Continental Hotel manager Fisher was his niece and explained that their families were distant.
• Charlie introduced Henry to Big O, the local turf leader, and Henry used the codename Tinkerer instead of his real name.
• Big O agreed to have his men paint Tinkerer’s sign and set the rule that Henry must avoid drugs and women’s business.
• Charlie explained that Henry could ask Big O, Charlie, or the hotel manager for help with trouble and promised to show him how to mark the clinic for Continental Hotel gunmen.
• Henry asked about monthly fees, and Charlie clarified that Big O owned the building and Henry would pay him rent.

Derek brought his gunshot companion to Henry’s underground clinic in South Los Angeles because he feared the police and rival gang. Henry demanded payment before treating the wounded man, and Derek paid as Henry began the operation.

• Derek pushed open the clinic’s shutter and repeatedly rang the service bell when nobody answered the door.
• Henry, known on the streets as Tinkerer, arrived and told Derek to bring his wounded companion inside.
• Derek hesitated at the shabby clinic and its bloodstained bed, but Henry told him to leave for a proper hospital if he did not want treatment.
• Henry demanded five dollars before saving the wounded man, and Derek handed over all his money.
• Henry took medical instruments from his bag and began treating the gunshot wound.