A Man of Service A John Wick Fanfic

Chapter 24

T/W – adult situations, implied violence, angst, confrontation, near death experience

John knew he had done this before and it almost killed him. Then he was hoping for absolution, a chance to live to remember Helen, to remember their lives together. At the time, it was all he had to remind him he was a real man. The other part of him was a robot, an assassin, schooled to deny his feelings and operate on instinct alone, like a trained animal.

Again he was going to have to find the One who sat over the High Table. It would take him to Morocco and the Sahara Desert, to lose himself in order to be found.

It took almost 10 hours to fly into Casablanca from New York, then an hour to travel to the local Continental in the congested, crowded city. Exhausted but driven to get his answers, he accepted a note from the concierge to meet with the manager of the hotel, a manager he knew almost as well as Winston.

Sophia sat in the private side of the open air lounge, a room 3 times the size of the one in the New York Continental. Smoke floated through the air mixed with a cool breeze, as the concierge led him to her, then excused himself.

"Sophia," John greeted simply.

"John," she replied without emotion. "I received a call from Winston. Your acceptance here is protected by his marker."

"I know. Thank you."

She invited him to sit in the booth with a wave of her hand. "What brings you here? I never expected to see you again. I assumed your last pilgrimage killed you."

"Obviously not," he answered, sitting down.

"What do you want?"

"I need an audience with the One who sits over the High Table."

"John, 99.999% of people within the Organization never meet with the One. Now you're on visit number 2? What makes you so special? What makes your problems more pressing than any one else's?"

John thought a minute. "My problems are no different than many others," he admitted. "I just have the need to settle them at all costs."

"So you're willing to sacrifice your life again for what?"

"For Kate," he answered with assurance.

Sophia sighed. "Well, you're consistent if nothing else, but you're forgetting one thing...."

"Which is....?"

"Your life outside these Continental walls is forfeit. You failed at the task you were given to kill Winston...what...3 years ago?" Sophia reminded him. "You'll be dead if you put one foot out onto the streets. This is Casablanca, John. There's nowhere to hide. And don't expect any help...you're on your own."

"Thank you, Sophia," he said honestly, standing up and turning to leave.

"There will be a jeep for you to use tomorrow. That's all I'm giving to you."

John nodded and walked back through the lounge to his room.

After a fitful sleep, most of the time having short, quick dreams of Kate, he rose and prepared himself as best he could for what he needed to accomplish. In his mind, he wanted to reenact the same set of circumstances he endured when he met with the One years ago. He wore a dark suit and tie with a white shirt and had literally one gulp of water in a clear water bottle. He had one firearm tucked into his belt. John was going to secure his freedom or die trying and was so focused, he had no time for nerves or worry. It was the way it was.

He crossed thorough the entryway of the Continental and placed his foot on the stairs leading down to the street. The hair stood up on the back of his neck as his sixth sense went into overdrive. There were men out there who wanted to kill him before he even reached the desert. John assumed killing him would put them in good stead with the upper echelon of the Organization but he was mentally and physically prepared for them. He was going to succeed no matter what it took.

The jeep was literally 10 steps in front of him but it seemed like miles when he knew they'd fire upon him the second he left the sanctuary of the Continental. And he was right.

Bullets flew in his direction as he reached for the jeep. Assassins came out of nowhere to attack him physically with body blows and tried to debilitate him with knives, metal bars and lengths of wood. At one moment, he noticed Sophia watching all this develop as she stood at the top of the stairs. She seemed mildly disinterested, then in a surprising turn of events, joined John to help free him.

"What are you doing?" he asked her, his dark eyes reflecting the urgency of the situation.

'Repaying you for keeping my daughter safe. No markers, no nothing. Just gratitude. I owe you that."

After a long battle with a line of hitmen that didn't seem to end, they managed to give John a chance to get behind the wheel of the jeep and flee. He followed the route he remembered that Sophia had taken and ended up at the base of a mountain of sand, the sun beating down on him as he exited the jeep.

He thought about Helen then, knowing he would keep her in his heart for the rest of his life. They had loved honestly and sweetly but it was now time to tuck her into his past, as hard as that was. John had chosen to live in the present, allowing Kate into his soul where he kept her safe and protected. That he was loved by these two remarkable women was surprising enough, knowing he didn't deserve either one. His life was marred by death and destruction but with the blessing of the One, he could put that in his past as well, allowing him a future with Kate, whom he knew he loved more than life itself.

It became a matter of step after step over the thick, dry sand that drifted and redirected him time after time. All the while there remained the heat, the light, the never ending pain of an unrestrained sun, following him every inch of the way until the relief of a cool, pitch black night overtook him.

The brutal sun burnt his exposed skin, seared his eyes and the moisture-less air dried the back of his throat as he continued on, knowing that his time was coming. His legs became weak and nearly useless, his mind began to shut down as he knew he wouldn't be able to continue on. Collapsing against a mound of sand was where he knew he would die or be re-born a freed man. His last cohesive thought was of Kate, seeing her smiling face and feeling her loving kiss against his cracked, parched lips.

"My son, why have you become lost again?"

John's eyes opened when he heard the voice he recognized as the One who could help him.

"I am not lost," he said with a hoarse voice. "I again was seeking you, seeking your counsel."

"Why do you nearly sacrifice your life to find me?"

"I am seeking peace."