Warriors ⎜ John Wick

Quinque

Jessica shot up from the couch when there was a knock on her door. It had been nearly an hour since John received her uninvited guests and she had hardly moved in fear of being shot at. Of course she was confident in John's ability to do his job - whatever that may be - but it was the same fear she got after seeing a horror movie. She knew that, realistically, nothing would happen and that it was all in her head, except now there was a very real threat that she didn't even know would affect her.

John, who had been pacing between the windows and any other access point, constantly checking their vulnerability, moved towards the door, gun still in hand. He opened the door a crack, angling his body so that Jessica was hidden from view.

"John." He opens the door completely, revealing an older man to Jessica. A black fedora sat atop his head, matching his jacket and gloves. Behind him stood four other men, each varying in size and carrying a different object.

"Charlie." John nodded at the man.

"Didn't expect to see you again so soon." Charlie stepped through the threshold after John moved aside. His eyes almost immediately fell onto Jessica who folded into herself at the attention. "Or with company."

That was the last exchange for another hour or so while Charlie and his men got to work. Jessica watched from her place in slight awe as the group moved seamlessly, laying down a large sheet of plastic as their work space. Weapons and empty casings were thrown on with their owners, to later be rolled up and securely wrapped in tape. Stains were lifted from the wood and ground out of the carpet while gunshot residue was wiped away.

Jessica was in such a daze that she hardly noticed when Charlie and his men finally packed up and John dropped several gold coins into his waiting hand. She jolted into awareness when John rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Let me clean that for you."

Jessica looked down at her arm, just remembering the wound there. The pain suddenly came back to her. It wasn't as harsh now, but rather had faded to a dull throbbing. A small trail of dried blood ran down her arm and just barely ended before it reached her fingertips.

Jessica nodded numbly and followed John to the kitchen table where he had already meticulously laid out gauze and strips of bandage. After careful scrutinization John determined that she in fact did not need stitches - despite her stating this several times - and secured the gauze to the graze wound.

"You're not safe here."

Jessica rolled her eyes. Her senses were finally coming back to her after the shock of her home becoming a temporary war zone. "I never would have guessed."

John gave her a look that practically begged her to realize the gravity of the situation. "Tomorrow I'll be checking into a hotel. The Continental. You're coming with me. You'll be safe there."

Immediately Jessica objected. "Hell no. I'm not going anywhere with you. I still have a life and I'm not sure that I want to be a part of yours." John's eyes seemed to sadden at that statement but any emotion was extinguished in seconds. "I've got work tomorrow and it's not just something I can blow off. People depend on me, sometimes to save their lives."

"Jessica." John's voice was so harsh that she jolted back in surprise. His eyes had darkened and she wasn't sure if his brow could come down any farther without covering his eyes. "Do you understand that those men came here to kill me? And now that they know we're connected they will stop at nothing and exploit any weakness I have to get to me. You are not safe anymore and you never will be unless you come with me and let me finish this."

Jessica was taken aback. Not only had she never heard John say so many words, but the obvious danger she was in - and still is - has finally hit her like a truck.

"And you aren't the only one at risk," he continued. "After this they are going to do their research and find everyone you have ever spoken to, from your mother to the barista you get coffee from. They will be looking for leverage and they will find it."

Jessica was on the verge of tears by now. She thought of Angie and Aurelio and her mother. She hadn't seen her mother in years. After the death of her father their relationship fell apart, but she would be devastated to discover that her mother was hurt because of her.

"Your friends and family will be hurt if not killed to get to you, and once they do get you, you will be killed for helping me. Or worse." Jessica wondered at what could be worse than death but from the look on John's face she knew that they would do things that would leave her begging for death. "Unless you let me do my job and finish this."

Silent tears were streaming down her face now. She was accustomed to dealing with high levels of stress and trauma, but everyone has their limit. She half expected John to reach out and wipe her tears away - she didn't know why - but her more realistic side knew that they were nowhere near close enough for that and John just didn't seem to be that kind of man. However, his brown eyes did soften and he shifted forward. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way. I never should have stayed here."

Jessica immediately shook her head and sniffed. "No. I made you stay." He opened his mouth to object and say that he chose to stay and could have left any time he wanted to. "We both know that if you left then I would have gone looking for you and probably would have ended up in a situation worse than this."

John stared at her. He was amazed. She wasn't kicking and screaming and telling him to get out of her house and to never come back. Instead she was trusting him. She was showing vulnerability around him. It was odd to be honest. His entire time here, she had been stoic and sarcastic, putting her foot down against a man twice her size when she felt that she needed to. But now her walls were down and she was reduced to a woman that needed someone to hold her and tell her that everything would be okay. A feeling of warmth flooded John's body, but rather than embrace it and allow it to calm him he shook it off. It was something he hadn't felt with anyone except for Helen. He couldn't allow a woman to distract him from the task at hand and to tempt him into betraying his late wife.

When he focused on Jessica again she was just lifting her head to look him in the eyes. Her tears were beginning to dry and she had steeled herself. The redness around her eyes and tear stains trailing down her face were the only bits of evidence left to suggest a moment of weakness.

"I'll go with you."

John released an inaudible sigh of relief that he wouldn't have to drag her to the Continental against her will.

"But I need you to tell me about your world. I need to know everything."