John Wick - Chapter 98: The Rome Continental Hotel (Patreon)

The hole in the car window was directly in front of Nate. He could easily keep one hand on the steering wheel while sticking his gun through the opening with the other.

Within thirty meters, he didn’t even need to aim. His instinctive shots were already extremely accurate.

The oncoming car was still barreling toward them at high speed.

Nate fired several rounds in quick succession. With his enhanced vision, he could easily track where each bullet landed. Using the impact points to fine-tune his aim, he fired several more shots and riddled the driver with bullets.

The lead SUV began to slow, swerving from side to side before plowing straight into a flower shop by the road.

The second vehicle followed close behind.

Nate opened fire again, sending several more rounds toward it.

This time, however, the driver had learned his lesson. He dropped the seat back, ducked down, and simply kept driving without even looking ahead. All he had to do was keep his foot on the gas.

Nate couldn’t hit him, so he fired twice and blew out the SUV’s tires, trying to slow it down as much as possible.

“Hold on!”

He adjusted the car’s position as best he could, angling the front passenger side toward the incoming SUV.

BANG!

The vehicles collided.

Nate felt a violent jolt, then everything in front of him went white.

When he opened his eyes, all he could see was the airbag. The impact had left his chest feeling tight.

John and Cassian had already gotten out of the car behind them and were using the bulletproof vehicle as cover while exchanging fire with the attackers.

Nate shook his head, trying to clear it.

In the back seat, Elena had copied what Nate had done and shot a small hole through the door window. She was firing through it to suppress the enemy, but the angle made it difficult to adjust the MP5’s muzzle, so her shots weren’t very accurate.

The men who had gotten out of the SUV were less than five meters in front of Nate, using the vehicle as cover while trading fire with John and Cassian.

This wouldn’t work.

He needed to get out and force them from their positions.

The airbag was already deflating.

Nate fired through the hole in the window. The last round in his handgun left the barrel, and the slide locked back.

He unbuckled his seat belt, quickly swapped magazines, cracked the door open, then shielded his head with one hand and kicked the door wide as he jumped out.

The moment his feet hit the ground, Nate moved quickly.

His killing intent locked onto two men, and [Intimidation] kicked in, slowing their reactions.

Bang! Bang!

Two shots.

Two headshots.

The last attacker was distracted by Nate suddenly rushing out. Just as he started swinging his weapon toward him, John arrived and put two rounds into his body and a third into his head, dropping him on the spot.

There should have been a few more people in the SUV that had crashed into the flower shop.

Nate glanced in that direction.

John and Cassian had already taken care of them while Nate was still dazed from the collision.

After gathering whatever usable weapons and ammunition they could find, the group continued on their way.

The Rome Continental Hotel was only about ten minutes away now.

Nate returned to the car and handed Elena a Glock. She had emptied the MP5 during the firefight.

The vehicle slowly pulled away.

The front end had been badly damaged in the collision, but fortunately, it could still move.

After another five minutes of driving, the atmosphere inside the car remained tense and quiet.

Eventually, Elena couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“No way. Next time, I’m bringing bulletproof gear.”

“That’s why I said you came here on vacation. You still refused to admit it,” Nate mocked.

Elena immediately snapped back, “How was I supposed to know things would get this crazy the second we got off the plane?”

“I was planning to have a suit custom-made by the tailor at the Rome Continental, so I didn’t bring my bulletproof jacket.”

“What? Are the tailors in Rome better than the ones in New York?” Nate asked, raising an eyebrow.

Elena pursed her lips.

“Of course. The tailor at the Rome Continental lets you choose the style of your suit, the service is great, and I heard it’s not even that expensive. Unlike the one back in New York. That old man only lets you pick the color, and he charges a fortune!”

“Then I’ll get one made too when I have time.”

Elena looked outside.

“By the way, why is Rome such a mess? We’ve only been here a few minutes, and there must already be more than twenty people dead in the streets.”

“To be honest, that actually feels a little low.”

Nate fell silent for a moment before looking at her in surprise.

“You seriously don’t know?”

“Know what?” Elena asked blankly.

“Fine. Here’s a hint. Think about how succession works at the High Table.”

Elena thought for a moment.

“Isn’t it passed down through the family?”

“Right. But think about it. Is there anyone else left in the D’Antonio family? We just killed her brother, and her mother has already stepped away from this world.”

Nate continued, “As far as I know, Gianna doesn’t have any heirs either, so...”

Elena suddenly understood.

“So whoever kills her becomes a candidate for the High Table?”

“No. What we’re seeing now is just the appetizer. She won’t be crowned for another five days, but plenty of people are already getting impatient.”

Nate rubbed his nose.

“Think about it. If someone kills her at the exact moment she’s crowned, one of the twelve seats at the High Table becomes vacant. What do you think all those High Table candidates are going to do?”

“Oh...”

Elena nodded in realization.

“What did you think John and I came here for? A vacation?”

Elena scratched her head and laughed awkwardly.

“Sorry, Nate. I didn’t put it together.”

“You know how people say big boobs, no brains? Yours aren’t even that big, so how is your brain still so...”

“Nate!!”

Elena exploded.

“Okay, okay. We’ve still got a ways to go.”

Nate knew when to stop and immediately shut his mouth.

Elena’s cheeks were slightly red as she turned away with an irritated pout.

She knew this wasn’t the time or place for it. Otherwise, she would have already climbed over and grabbed Nate by the throat.

Fortunately, they didn’t encounter any more ambushes.

It seemed the previous two attacks had been enough to show the enemy that there were serious fighters in the convoy. After that, no one seemed interested in coming over just to get themselves killed.

After driving a little farther, the three battered, bullet-riddled vehicles finally arrived at the Rome Continental Hotel.

Nate looked out through the window.

He had to admit, the Rome Continental really was more impressive than the one in New York.

For starters, the building itself was considerably larger than the New York Continental, and the decor was far more luxurious.

An attendant approached them and guided the three vehicles into the underground parking garage.

Nate helped Elena out of the car. She had twisted her ankle during the earlier collision.

John and Cassian stayed on either side of Gianna, guarding her closely.

“Welcome to the Rome Continental...”

The attendant gave them a formal bow.

They had finally reached Continental territory.

Now they could relax a little...

Wait.

Nate sensed danger.

To his right, just ahead of them, someone was hiding behind a car near the corner.

His handgun was on his right side, but his right hand was currently supporting Elena.

Nate flicked his left hand, and a throwing knife appeared in his palm.

With a snap of his wrist, he sent it flying toward the man hiding behind the car.

But the target was more than thirty meters away.

Too far.

The knife missed and buried itself in the car instead.

Nate immediately shoved Elena aside and reached for the handgun at his waist.

John spotted the threat almost at the same time.

He raised his pistol and instinctively fired twice, hitting the man in the shoulder and chest.

The man was wearing Body Armor, so the shots only forced him back two steps.

John immediately tried to follow up with the final shot to the head.

Click.

The gun jammed.

John quickly racked the slide to clear it, but he was already too late.

Cassian had left his gun inside the car. He stepped forward without hesitation, placing himself between Gianna and the attacker.

The man at the corner had already raised his weapon.

Bang! Bang!

Two gunshots rang through the parking garage.

The man dropped.

The shots had come from right beside Nate.

Without a suppressor, the gunfire sounded especially sharp in the wide, empty garage.

Nate turned toward the attendant beside him.

Still dressed in his uniform, the man had somehow produced a handgun.

Using a textbook Weaver shooting stance, he had put two rounds straight into the attacker’s head.

He wasn’t particularly fast.

But he was accurate.

The attendant tucked the gun back into his uniform and immediately returned to his polite, professional demeanor.

He looked at Nate and the others apologetically.

“My apologies, guests, for the unpleasant experience. But there is still one thing I must say.”

“Welcome to the Rome Continental Hotel.”