In time, he'd work for the High Table, bound under their rules but operating independently. With no Internet or phones, they were unplugged, anonymous, and untraceable. This was his way of saying off the grid, with an established and quite large intelligence network across the Big Apple. He'd recruit beggars, vagrants, and panhandlers to act as his eyes and ears in New York while training pigeons as messengers for data transfer. This was a homeless shelter, where he said he created an underground empire. It turns out that after he and John feuded years back, the King took control of The Soup Kitchen.
John brokered a deal with the Bowery King: for protection and, then, an arsenal. His John needed help after incurring the wrath of Santino. It was a reunion Matrix fans loved as Fishburne once more came face to face with Keanu Reeves. John Wick 2 introduced Laurence Fishburne as the Bowery King.
