CHAPTER THREE —
( if karma doesn't kill you, I fucking will. )

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the next night.

FUNCTION CENTRE
New York City

Viggo Tarasov informed the woman that Floyd Harding was going to be hosting a function the next night, involving only his most richest and close friended mobsters. Meaning everyone needed a formal invitation to be let into the venue, and the place would be heavily guarded by the best top-of-the-line security Floyd had to offer.

Diana knew it wasn't going to be an easy mission, and Viggo knew that. Hence why she was the only person he informed of one of his rival's location; he didn't care if Diana lost her life trying to take out Floyd Harding and over three dozen of his men alone. Once she was dressed up and made sure she was armed with all of her essentials—two pistols placed in holsters on her thighs, knives beside them and multiple magazines—Diana clipped her purse together with the fake invitation sitting inside and stalked out of the comfort of the Continental.

It didn't take long for Diana to reach her destination. One taxi stop and she found herself standing outside of a lavish hotel where the guests were still entering through the front door. Four security guards, Diana thought to herself, noticing the four men stationed at the entrance of the building with only one of them checking the invitations. She walked towards the security guard, completely ignoring the other people still waiting in line and stopped in front of him. He looked down at her, and Diana quickly pulled on her infamous smirk that instantly made the man pause.

She unclipped her purse and pulled out the invitation, showing it to him as his eyes stayed trained on the goddess-like woman in front of him. Diana showed him the invite, and when he eventually gave her the nod of approval, she walked passed him with her red dress elegantly swaying behind her.

The hall was grand and lavish. To the side was a buffet table with an array of food and dips with champagne glasses placed beside them. Women and men in suits were also weaving through guests, handing out champagne to the ones that wanted some while keeping a bright smile on their faces. Someone played a grand piano softly on the side, the smooth melody making Diana want to forget about her mission at hand and sway to the beautiful tune, but she knew she couldn't. Her eyes scanned the room quickly for any sign of Floyd. She didn't want to be noticed by him. Well, not yet anyway, and certainly not before she had formulated her plan on taking out all the necessary security guards in the safest way possible to leave her unscathed. Men continuously approached Diana while she was attempting to search for Floyd, asking her for a dance or offering her a glass of champagne. She declined every offer she received. She wasn't a fool. She wasn't going to accept any drink a man would offer her, not knowing whether it was spiked or not, leaving her in a vulnerable state.

Diana walked over to the buffet table containing platters of food, picking up a carrot stick to take a bite from as her eyes quickly darted around the room. There were over two dozen security guards, all of them armed with pistols, each containing a full round of six bullets. It was then when Diana spotted Floyd Harding, wearing a dapper suit that stuck to his impressive physic and his hair slicked upwards that once made Diana want to run her fingers through it and moan out in pure bliss whilst their mouths explored each other. He was a well-built man who held his head up high with authority. Even as he talked to the man wearing a navy blue suit in front of him, his grey one easily stood out, making every woman in the room's attention fall onto him. Which was what he wanted.

Her hand slid down her thigh and grasped her knife and then she began to stalk over towards the man that had broken her heart all those years ago. But once she reached the middle of the dance floor, a firm hand gripped her wrist and she was pulled backwards. Diana whipped herself around, ready to take out the potential target, only to find the person she least expected to be at the party. Diana narrowed her blue eyes as John Wick's brown ones stared blankly back at the woman.

"Don't react, just dance with me," John hushed, his face not changing from its natural stoic look as he pulled her body closer to his and they began to sway to the music.

"What are you doing here?" Diana quietly hushed to him.

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied easily. "You interest me, Diana."

Diana smirked lightly. "I do now? Why's that."

"You just do," John murmured. "And I've read that you're very good at what you do. Luring your contracts in by seducing them and then killing them in bed. Is that really what you want to be known for?"

"If i can have a bit of fun while also getting paid at the same time, I don't care what people call me," she said. "What about you, Baba Yaga? Like being the boogeyman's worst nightmare?"

"Not the worst thing to be called."

Diana smiled lightly. "Fair. Just don't get it into your head that you'll be able to sneak up on me in the dead of night so easily, alright?"

John smirked. "Why would I want to do that? I have nothing against you."

Diana let out a light laugh. "Honey, everyone comes after me once a bounty is placed onto my head simply because they misjudge me. I assume you won't be any different."

John rose his eyebrows. "You clearly haven't done your research on me."

Diana hummed. "I've done a little." She then pulled away from him. "Now, I have a contract, and you're in the middle of ruining it." Diana turned around, only for John to grab onto her hand and spin her back into him.

"Ruining, what, you getting yourself killed?"

Diana huffed. "I won't die, John. I've done this long enough to know what I'm doing."

John pulled Diana closer to him, chest to chest. Their breaths mingled with each other as John stared into Diana's eyes and she looked down at his lips. "Our mutual friend told me about this contract of yours. He gave it to you knowing that you will die trying to kill him."

She looked up into his eyes. "How are you so sure?"

"How many targets do you see?"

Diana looked around his shoulder and glanced at the guests and workers in the large room. "Two in each corner of the room. Four by the exit, one in front of each bathroom, and three just behind Floyd. And if I'm not mistaken, I take it that the butlers are all armed as well."

"Don't forget the other four in the next room," John continued. "That group of guests over there are armed, you can see the outline of their pistols through their pockets."

Diana smirked as she looked back at John. "Unless they're just happy to see me."

John gave a light chuckle. "That may be. There are also extra people in the kitchen and waiting outside; I talked with a man I know just before coming inside. I let him go."

She hummed. "You're soft."

"So, what are you going to do now?"

Diana tilted her head as she thought over her terrible plan. "I don't know. This is the first time in years where I've been in the same room as Floyd Harding. I don't know when the next time will be."

"Ex-boyfriend of yours?" John guessed. Diana pulled a face, it was much more complicated than that. "You're lucky you have me to help you."

Diana looked into his eyes in shock. "Help me? Really? Why?"

"I don't think you deserve to die."

"Charming." Diana glanced over John's shoulder and watched as Floyd whispered something to his bodyguard and then headed towards the direction of the bathrooms. "Now, I need to use the little ladies' room. Why don't you grab a glass of champagne for me and we'll come up with a plan, okay?" John looked down and thought about it before giving Diana a nod and letting her go.

Diana made her way to the bathroom without looking over her shoulder at John who was watching her every move. Just as she turned the corner for the restrooms, she looked back to make sure that she wasn't being followed before hurrying down the hallway to a door at the end that was being guarded by two bodyguards. The door remained open and just before Diana could make a move on slicing the men's throats, Floyd came into view.

He smirked at Diana while holding a glass of champagne and swirling the drink around. "Diana, it's been a while," he spoke smoothly, his eyes moving over Diana's body. "Please, join me."

Diana looked between the two bodyguards who stared at her as if she was nothing, and then back at Floyd. She stepped into the room and the two men shut the door behind her.

John Wick had been standing by the buffet table for ten minutes when he realised something was wrong. He knew women took their time in the restroom to make sure they looked good but also because they had to maneuver around their dresses so that they could actually use the toilet. But there was no sign of Diana, and as John's eyes never left the direction of the bathroom, he took notice of women who were heading off to use the toilet and then leave a short time later. Diana had gone rogue. John placed down his glass of champagne and began to make his way toward the restrooms. As he walked down the hallway, he noticed a singular door at the end of the hallway with what appeared to be a couple of drops of blood on the floor just in front of the door.

John's hands reached into his pocket and he pulled out his pistol, raising it at eye level in front of him. He crept up to the door, trying to listen out for any noise behind the door. But there wasn't any. He slowly grasped the door handle and pushed the unlocked door open a little bit before knocking into something. He looked down and noticed that the door had hit some man's head with a bullet hole right in his forehead. John shoved the door harder and walked into the study room, looking around in surprise as he noticed two large dead bodies on the floor and another man tied down to a chair with his mouth taped up.

Diana was leaning against the desk towards the back of the room and was twirling her knife around in her hand. She looked up as John made his way into the room and shut the door behind him. She looked down at the clock in front of her. "Twelve minutes," she noted. "Took your time, John."

John looked down at the man tied to the chair who was just staring up at John. "How'd you get him down?" he asked.

"Would you believe me if I said that I knocked him out with my charm?" Diana grinned and stood up straight. "So this is Floyd Harding, our boss's rival," she said, staring at Floyd with such hatred that it made John wonder what the hell this man did to piss off such a remarkable woman. Diana pointed her knife at Floyd. "You're good at hiding, darling. I've been looking for you for...I think, three years now?"

Floyd began to mumble from behind the tape over his mouth, and Diana let out an annoyed sigh before ripping it off. "Ow," Floyd muttered. "Well, that's better. Now, what do you two want? Whoever put the bounty on my head I'll double it."

Diana gave him a deadpanned look. "I'm not here because of some bounty, you fucking idiot."

"Diana, sweetheart. Now, I know we didn't separate on good terms, but—"

"You tried to kill me, and you sent out five hitmen to do the job," Diana said, eyebrows raised. "While I was in the fucking shower you asshole." John glanced over towards Diana, surprised.

Floyd let out a low chuckle, throwing his head back at the memory. "Yeah, bet that surprised you. All I could think about that day was your soaking naked body being thrown around the bathroom. How long did it take for you to take down five of my best men?"

Diana's gaze shifted towards John who was being awfully quiet in the corner of the room, taking in and observing the situation before him. His dark eyes locked with Diana's blue gaze, his eyes swimming with curiosity. The last thing Diana wanted was for John to learn more about her, and Floyd was just throwing everything out there. "Around ten minutes."

"Ten minutes," Floyd mumbled out, throwing his head back as a cackle escaped his mouth. Diana stepped forward and punched his face with such force that his head was thrown to the side. "Oof, that was a good one. Who trained you to throw a good punch? Oh, wait, me!" Diana pulled out her pistol in her gun holster and aimed straight for his forehead and all Floyd did was lean closer to the gun so that the end of it was touching his forehead. "Do it, you won't. Not with what's waiting for you out there."

"Diana," John mumbled, finally stepping up to stand beside Diana. He turned his back to Floyd and leaned into Diana's ear. "Hear him out. We don't want to leave and head into gunfire."

Diana turned her head and locked eyes with John. He was right, and that pissed Diana off. "One minute. Make your words count."

"One minute to talk? Seriously?" Floyd huffed. "Well, I have so much to say if these are my last words."

"Fifty-five, fifty-four," John counted.

"Fine," Floyd sighed. "Do you think it's just a coincidence that you finally found my whereabouts in New York all of a sudden after a couple of years of searching the globe for me?" he began. "You knew all of my spots, all of my contacts. Everywhere I would've gone to hide from someone out to take my head. I'm not stupid enough to just pop back up in New York in one of my buildings when I know you're out to get me and that you live in New York." Diana narrowed her eyes at his words. "It was planned, genius. To lure you to this hotel that's packed to the rim with bodyguards and people with guns. Everyone here has been hired to take one of the best assassins in the world out, and they've been paid good money too. The fact that the other best assassin in the world happened to follow you over here, well, I've just doubled everyone's paycheck."

"Is he lying?" John asked Diana.

Diana stared into Floyd's eyes, assessing the man and trying to find a sign to see whether or not he was lying. A shot rang out in the air and Floyd's head slumped forward. "He's not lying."

John huffed as Diana lowered her arm and looked around the room. "Got a plan?"

"Maybe," Diana mumbled, walking around the room to the bookshelf. She pulled one of the books out and watched as the shelf split in two and opened up a secret hidden armoury. "You fine with making a break for the entrance and just firing at anyone onsite?"

John stepped into the armoury after Diana. "If you've studied me, Diana, then you know I definitely don't mind."

Diana dropped the gun in her hand and turned around and walked up to John. She shoved him against the rack of guns behind him and pulled his face towards her, their lips immediately locking as they crashed into a heated kiss. With her heart in her throat, Diana's hands tugged on his hair as John's arms wrapped around her slim frame, pulling her as close as physically possible to him. Diana didn't know why she was suddenly locking lips with the Baba Yaga, but there was something about the man that just reeled her in and made him so fucking attractive to her. John's hands then lowered and he gripped onto the sides of Diana's dress, pulling it up so that he could grip onto her flesh underneath, surprising Diana as she let out a breathy moan.

Diana forced herself to pull away from John just to get a breath in, but the two stayed close and their breaths mingled as their chests heaved. "This isn't the part where you slit my throat and get your money's worth, is it?" John asked.

Diana grinned as she looked up into his eyes. "Not unless you give me a reason to, Wick." John let out a low chuckle and Diana smirked. "We'll finish this back at the Continental. But for now, are you ready for this?"

John gave a stiff nod. "Always."

The two sorted themselves out with an array of guns and weapons, whatever was with them in the weapons vault. Diana had her pistols already attached to her thighs with loads of ammunition ready for when she'd need a reload and a shotgun strapped to her back. She had thrown on Floyd's blazer so she could stash extra weaponry and ammo inside the pockets, but also because the blazer happened to be lined and bulletproof. Diana also had her hair thrown up into a tight ponytail and had taken off her stiletto heels, knowing she'd probably twist an ankle if she had to suddenly get down onto the floor or run upstairs. She was usually good with running in heels, but when it came to going up against a whole lot of people who were as trained as she was, she wanted to play it safe. With semi-automatic guns in their hands, John was also set and ready, a gun in his pockets also.

Diana and John walked towards the door heading out back into the main ballroom and turned to each other. "Down the hallway, pass the toilets," Diana recounted, going over the building's structure so that they both had a clue on where to go.

"And then across the ballroom and towards the front door," John added. "There are plenty of tables set up on the side if we need cover. A bar, also. And not everyone is there to kill us."

"Just most of them. Right," Diana mumbled and then cleared her throat, glancing back into John's eyes. "You have red lipstick smudged all over your mouth, by the way."

John smiled softly. "Wonder how it got there."

"There will be a lot more where that came from if we make it out of here," Diana promised.

"We will make it out, don't doubt yourself," he told her.

"I'm not doubting my skills, I'm doubting yours."

"Thanks."

Diana and John looked at each other and nodded. "Ready?"

"Ready." And John pushed open the door, leading the two into gunfire.

AUTHORS NOTE
This chapter goes out to merelykatt!! Thank you so so much for the !awesome! closing gif you made for me!! It's amazing and everything I hoped for! You're a legend 💕
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I've almost finished part one/post john wick and I can't wait to begin Diana and John's storyline in the movies. I added Diana in my OC book if anyone wants to check that out and find out more on Diana, although it'll spoil what's to come in this book oooo
Don't forget to like and comment! <3