John Wick - Chapter 143: Tracking and Counter-Tracking (Patreon)

“So, how about exchanging contact information, Mr. Magic Hands?”

“Uh...” Nate was caught off guard. He'd never met a woman quite this forward. Even Elena seemed reserved compared to Hannah.

“If we're meant to meet again, we will.”

He took half a step back, gave her a smile, and escaped to his car.

Hannah watched him climb in and drive away. Even after the car disappeared, she remained there, murmuring something to herself.

The captain came up beside her. “Hannah, people like Mr. Lin are best left alone.”

She rolled the gold coins between her fingers, still watching the road. “Why? Nate's charming. And that feeling of someone squeezing my throat from a distance... it was wonderful.”

She brushed a hand along her thighs, an unsettling little smile on her face.

The captain turned away, unable to bear looking at her. He knew his warning would probably be useless, but he gave it anyway. “Mr. Lin is dangerous. He's one of the best assassins in the world. He's not someone people like us should get involved with.”

“Really? I don't believe you.” Hannah turned her head. Clearly, the warning hadn't registered.

With a helpless sigh, the captain pulled out his phone and showed her a video. His higher clearance let him see certain things ordinary officers weren't allowed to know.

Hannah took the phone. Her eyes widened as she pointed at the elegant figure standing amid the inferno on its screen. Her voice cracked.

“That's him?”

The officers behind her tried to peek, but the captain snatched the phone back. “Hannah, your father and I served together. Take this as advice from an old comrade of his, whether you like it or not.”

He left her standing there and headed over to the other officers.

“Is this real gold?” one of the younger men asked, holding up a coin.

“Of course,” the captain answered.

“Then it's worth a fortune! A few of these would cover two months of my salary,” another rookie said.

“For outsiders like us, they're worth far more than you realize. One might even save your life, so keep them safe.” The captain patted the coins in his pocket.

His manner abruptly turned businesslike. He clapped his hands. “All right, enough standing around. Get to work!”

The rookies looked uncertain, but the veterans were already taking tools out of the trunks and heading toward the bodies in the motel courtyard.

The captain contacted the vehicle that would collect the dead. The young officers put away their coins and hurried to help. Only Hannah stayed where she was, staring after Nate's car, lost in thought.

...

Nate drove toward the Rome Continental at speed. Keeping one hand on the wheel, he called Julius with the other and asked him to use the hotel's intelligence network to locate a black Audi RS7.

Ever since acquiring [All-Rounder], his driving had improved considerably. He'd already been a good driver, but at this point he reckoned he could compete in a rally.

A bend appeared ahead. He turned the wheel and coordinated the pedals, sending the rear of the car sweeping through a semicircle. The tires briefly scraped across the road before finding grip again. He drifted smoothly around the corner without losing much speed.

He cut what should have been a forty-minute journey in half. At 3:53 p.m., Nate pulled up outside the Rome Continental Hotel.

The doors opened, and the receptionist spotted him from afar. She bowed politely.

“Welcome back, Mr. Lin.”

Then she looked up at his face and paused. “Mr. Lin, you seem... even more handsome than before.”

Nate grinned. “Must be your imagination. I've always been handsome. Anyway, is the manager here?”

She nodded hesitantly, then recovered her professional composure. “Yes, sir. He's in the Intelligence Department.”

On the hotel's top floor, Julius was supervising several staff members who were hard at work in front of their computers.

Nate slipped into the room without a sound and crept up behind him.

“Oi!”

Julius nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun around and looked at Nate reproachfully. “Mr. Lin, what on earth are you...?”

“Just livening up the place, haha. Well? Did you find him?”

“It's proving difficult.” Julius's expression grew serious. “The man is an expert at avoiding surveillance. He parked the car outside a clothing store and went inside. We haven't seen him come out.”

“I checked the footage from both entrances. Neither the front nor the back camera has caught him leaving.”

Of course they hadn't. He'd probably changed clothes and walked right out disguised as somebody else. Come to think of it, [Disguise] was a pretty amazing Trait. Maybe Nate could copy it when another slot opened up.

He studied the screen. “Wait.”

“Let me sit there.” The employee immediately moved aside. Nate took the keyboard and began navigating the unfamiliar software as if he'd used it for years. [All-Rounder] made learning something like this effortless.

His eyes settled on a man wearing a yellow T-shirt, jeans, and a cowboy hat pulled low over his face. There was a Band-Aid on the back of his head, with a little black corner showing beneath it.

Nate pointed. “There's something wrong with this guy. Can't you see it?”

The employees stared for ages without spotting anything unusual. Julius was no better. “Isn't he just a passerby?”

Nate held a hand to his forehead. “Track him.”

The staff followed the man's route through the camera feeds. He entered another coffee shop and, once again, never seemed to come out.

“Does it have a back door?” Nate asked.

“Yes, but the camera there broke yesterday. We can't access its feed,” an employee reported after checking.

“Then there's no point looking any further. Good work, everyone.” Nate gave each of the staff members two gold coins.

He'd lost 47. The man never made a move without a plan. A rear camera that had conveniently broken down yesterday? That was obviously an escape route he'd prepared in advance.

Julius looked apologetic. “I'm sorry, Mr. Lin. We weren't much help.”

“Don't worry about it. Keep your spirits up. Gianna's coronation is tomorrow. We've made it this far, and we're not going to let everything fall apart now.”

Nate returned to the fifth floor. He was still in the stairwell, not yet back at his room, when his phone rang.

He checked the screen. Diana was calling.