John Wick: Within a Dark Wood Ch. 04

The Adjudicator sat in the back seat of her car making phone calls behind sound proof glass so that her driver wouldn't hear anything. She knew the rules and putting out a hit on Elisa Drake when she had been granted immunity by The Elder was suicide, but........ there were loop holes. John Wick had a price on his head and her men were trained to do whatever they had to to get him. IF someone happened to get in the way... and in the chaos failed to see the mark of immunity... that would not be her fault. They would receive their punishment and she would walk away smelling like a rose.

Even if Winston spoke up and claimed he warned her, she could say that she had no way of knowing who John was hiding with at any given moment because he is constantly on the move. That part would be true enough. Since she could not possibly know the exact time an assassin chooses to strike, she couldn't possibly be there to identify Elisa and warn them. Besides, the bitch hadn't been seen in ten years, so she really had no way of knowing what she looked like nowadays anyway. Yes, this was an excellent loophole. Sometimes it was easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Bringing about the death of the two most infamous assassins would certainly be a feather in her cap.

The only thing The Adjudicator did not consider was that both John and Elisa lived their lives in full expectation that they were being hunted every minute of every day. Even at The Continental where the rules of engagement are crystal clear, they still always slept with one eye open. Sitting in her vets office they both were cognizant of every noise around them, the occasional meow, bark or scuffling in cages was to be expected. Hopefully nothing else would reach their ears.

In the light of her office, Elisa looked at her childhood friend as he slowly sat forward and picked up his shirt from across the arm of the chair. Sitting in such close proximity to him, she couldn't help breathing in the scent of the man. It was a mixture of blood, the antiseptic she had used on his wounds and the natural musk of John himself that she knew so well. Beneath his tattoos was a lean muscular body that was hard as titanium with an intense gaze to match it beneath his long dark hair. The rest of the world feared meeting his eyes, but all she ever saw was the beautiful fire that blazed in them. How beautiful they must have been when he gazed at Helen with so much love and affection. Oh to have had that look for herself.

For sometime the two had been silently staring at each other uncertain of what to say. Perhaps it was simply a game of 'chicken' with both parties waiting for the other to blink first. Their eyes were locked and unwavering like predators watching for that perfect moment when their prey stumbles so they can pounce. Indeed they were beasts of prey and neither was about to show weakness or so much as blink.

"Help me understand," he said suddenly, breaking the tension between them as he leaned in close and began to slide his shirt back on.

"Understand what?"

"How the one person I thought no one could buy, sold herself." John's face was inches from hers and his dark penetrating eyes were doing their best to burn a hole through her as they did with everyone else, but to no avail. Elisa had been looking into them her whole life and never once had she feared him.

"Do you remember what we used to talk about?"

"We wondered what it was like on the other side." he answered, watching Elisa nod at his answer.

"Over the years I've heard stories and rumors that at least one person managed to escape this life. I wonder if it's true." A slight laugh rippled from her lips as she thought about it. "Can you imagine someone like us working a dead end job in an office somewhere and living in the stereotype suburbia with a spouse and two-point-five kids. The only real stress you have is trying to get your trash to the curb in time for pick-up once a week. Do you suppose all the training, conditioning, or mentality ever gets out of your system? Ever wonder what it would be like to not look over your shoulder constantly? To be absolutely nobody? You and I have both tasted the other side, but it's not in us to be domesticated."

"No it isn't, but some things have clearly changed. I remember a time when you would not have danced around my question."

Elisa looked around her office, examining every shadow in the room suspiciously then motioned with her head for him to follow her. Where she led him was back to her store room where she quickly shut the door and locked it. One of the first lessons she ever learned was that even walls have ears and you could never be too careful. Once inside, she leaned forward on the counter with her arms spread wide, her back to him and her eyes closed as she tried to steal herself for the explanation she had to give. It was not going to be easy for either of them. The secret in and of itself was not the problem, but if it got out then every assassin would be at her door.

"The morning after our last night together I was sent to dispatch a guard called Aleksey Serebryakov who was supposed to protect a shipment of funds being sent for deposit in the Obshak. It seems he was doing a lot of skimming off the top. I found him easily enough. He was living it up at a port in Tunis with a cigar in his mouth, a bottle of the best Brandy and woman on each knee. It seems he forgot what organization he was dealing with. I crept into his room that night and could easily have dispatched him without even waking him, but where is the fun in that. Instead he awoke to find the muzzle of my gun against his forehead. I asked him if he knew why I was there and as always he tried to tell me he had been framed and was of course innocent. Perhaps one day I will hear something original. When that didn't work he swore he would pay back every cent and offered his undying fealty to the high table. One thing I have never gotten tired of is watching a grown man, piss himself. I put one bullet in his head and then one into his chosen whore for the night. Simple really, hardly worth my time."

"Where exactly does The Elder come into this?"

"From Tunis I went to Casablanca Morocco and got a room at the Continental. By the way, did you know Sofia's dogs were afraid of me? It's weird because I work on animals all day long and those were the only two who whined and shied away. I wonder if they still would?"

" The Elder," John growled. He knew she was purposely dragging out the story, trying to buy time, but for what purpose? Was someone on their way? Was she afraid of how he would react?

"The only reason I even met with Sofia was because of The Elder. I wanted an audience with him and she in turn refused to tell me how to find him. I calmly reminded her that the rules of the continental are not extended to dogs and I don't take body shots. After that she took me to meet Berrada and he was more than willing to talk." At the mention of this man she could vividly remember walking out onto a luxurious lounging area and seeing a man seated on the far end. He took one look at her and immediately tensed up, his eyes wide and she could still hear him whisper ' Azhdaya '. "He was the one who told me how to find The Elder"

"I know what it takes to find The Elder, what I don't know is your purpose in seeking him out."

"Aaaahhhh." Elisa turned around and faced her old friend. While the store room was long, it wasn't terribly wide leaving only inches between them. "Now this is the part of the story where things get really interesting." She brushed her long dark hair back from her face then leaning back against the counter, she braced herself with hands. "What I am about to tell you, very few know and the ones that do are too afraid to talk. The others are buried beneath the sands of the Moroccan desert, lost forever." She paused for a moment to let the weight of her warning sink in, but John's expression never changed. He would never betray her confidence and unless Elisa was planning on killing him herself, he was confident he could take on whomever they sent. "The truth, John, is that I went there to barter for our freedom."