John Wick - Chapter 139: An Ambush? (Patreon)

The woman on the other end remained silent for a moment before answering slowly.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Lin. I can't tell you that.”

“How did you get my number?” Nate asked.

“An organization's intelligence network can uncover a great deal,” she replied.

“Diana, from the ICA. Am I right?”

Her breathing immediately grew faster.

“How... how do you know that?”

“The Continental has a pretty good intelligence network of its own,” Nate said evasively. “We've already identified your people.”

“So why are you calling me? Planning to sell out your partner?”

Nate found the situation strange. Diana was supposed to be on 47's side. In the games, she'd betrayed the organization instead, and 47 had shot her and nearly killed her for it.

Something didn't add up.

After a brief pause, Diana spoke again. The panic had left her voice, replaced by quiet determination.

“No. I'm trying to save him.”

Nate raised an eyebrow but let her continue.

“There's no time, so I'll be brief. I just betrayed the organization, and I've lost all contact with 47. He's going to be ambushed at his safe house tonight, and there's a very good chance he'll be killed.”

Now Nate understood what she'd done.

“Why should I help him? How do I know this isn't a trap, or some attempt to lure me away?”

Diana fell silent, apparently searching for an answer.

“He tried to poison me not long ago,” Nate reminded her. “He wanted me dead. Miss Diana, I'll need a very good reason to help him. Or a sufficiently generous reward.”

After another pause, Diana took a deep breath.

“He's one of the finest assassins alive, Mr. Lin. Don't you think it would be a terrible waste for someone like him to die?”

It was obvious she had more to say.

“And?”

“If you save him, once this is all over, I'll convince 47 to join your organization.” Her voice was full of earnest hope.

Nate smiled, though he kept his voice level.

“That's not much of a guarantee for either of us. Here's what I want you to do. Wherever you are, get to the New York Continental as fast as possible. You'll be safe there, and the hotel can give you sanctuary. Once its manager confirms that you've arrived, I'll help 47.”

“Deal!” Diana said at once. “I'm only about half an hour away.”

They exchanged addresses. Nate stopped the call recording, hung up, and sent Winston a message.

Fortunately, he remembered this part of the Hitman storyline from his previous life. His presence might have produced a few changes through the butterfly effect, but the broad course of events was still familiar.

Hitman: Absolution.

If things were unfolding as he remembered, Diana had probably sabotaged the ICA's financial accounts and published the identities of a large number of its assassins online. The entire organization was likely in chaos by now.

And she'd gone that far to save a little girl named Victoria.

Victoria was another genetically enhanced human, supposedly as perfect a specimen as 47 himself, and potentially even stronger. But her abilities depended on a necklace. Without it, she was no different from an ordinary person.

Elena stared at Nate suspiciously. “Nate, when did you learn all this?”

“I did my homework before coming to Rome. There are only so many assassin organizations in the world, and even fewer truly exceptional killers. It wasn't hard to piece together.” He gave her the first explanation he could think of.

“When you're working, you need to be prepared. Use your head.” He ruffled her hair.

Elena looked at him with open admiration, then leaned over and kissed his cheek.

They were sitting close together on the sofa, and Nate's hand soon began to wander. Elena let out a soft, involuntary sound. He checked the time. It wasn't even one in the afternoon yet. There was time.

He scooped her up and carried her toward the bed. Elena smiled faintly and nestled against his chest, her arms resting gently around his shoulders.

She was light and soft in his arms, her skin remarkably smooth. Years of exercise had kept her body lean, without taking away any of her striking curves.

“Nate... you're going to be naughty again,” she murmured. Her cheeks were flushed, and her voice had turned soft and inviting.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Did you close the door?” she reminded him, but he was already leaning in to kiss her.

“Who cares...”

...

There followed another long stretch of quiet rustling and murmured voices. After the previous day's experience, both of them were eager for more, and neither felt quite so shy anymore.

At their age, once the mystery had faded, the closeness of body and heart could feel wonderful, especially when both people were equally willing.

Elena eventually fell into a deep sleep. Nate kissed her cheek and saw a smile touch her lips.

He checked the time. It was 1:40 p.m. Five minutes earlier, Winston had messaged to say that Diana had been picked up.

Nate showered, got dressed, and stepped out. He was just about to close the door when Elena spoke from inside.

“Be careful, Nate.”

A small smile crossed his face. Then he strode off.

Fifty minutes later, Nate reached the designated location in a car borrowed from the hotel. It was a motel in a fairly deserted area. He took up position inside a small building roughly five hundred meters away.

His AWM rested beside him. Thanks to his enhanced [Eagle Eye], he could observe the motel clearly even without binoculars.

After waiting for about forty minutes, he saw a black Audi RS7 pull slowly into the parking area. A bald man in black got out and made his way inside, though something about his posture seemed slightly off.

“Is he hurt?” Nate wondered.

His own side certainly hadn't been hunting 47. That left the ICA and the police. Had the trouble already started?

47 was probably confused himself. He might have realized he'd been betrayed, but he would almost certainly assume Diana was responsible.

“Couldn't she have called the guy before making her move?” Nate grumbled.

As far as he knew, Diana and 47 communicated directly through a secure ICA channel. Had everything happened so suddenly that she'd had no chance to warn him?

What Nate didn't know was that 47 destroyed his phone after every assignment. He would return to a safe house, contact Diana through a dedicated computer and a particular secure channel, then take a new phone for his next mission.

It was a meticulous, cautious system. Under these circumstances, though, it had led to one hell of a misunderstanding.

Well, he'd recorded Diana's call. He could go down and explain everything.

Nate was reaching for his AWM, ready to leave, when a black van came speeding toward the motel entrance.

A motel. Wait a second. Why did this look so familiar?

He immediately brought the sniper rifle to his shoulder.

Through the scope, he watched a group of women in black nun's habits climb out of the van. Their hoods were up, their heads bowed, and their hands folded reverently over their chests as they walked slowly toward the motel...

...

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