Well, start with a different Rick.
Rick turned from his old life because he couldn’t take that anymore. Too easy to make the ex SF into turned away from standard US Mil evil.
How about he was an activist. Lawyer or news producer (not necessarily American) who passed messages that led to his family dying in one of the big 3 terror attacks (World Trade Center, London Subways, or Madrid trains)
His nationality is appropriate for plausibility at where the attack took place ie: ACLU or CNN for 9-11, English for 7-7 ect. When his pregnant wife, sister, and nieces and nephews died in the attacks that he passed the messages for he goes off to Casablanca (wherever it is now situated). Or if you want an older hero, have the terror attack be the Beirut barracks and the dead pregnant spouse had been one of the nurses there. And the new interest is the previous girlfriend who introduced them when Rick was too tied to the activist mindset to be serious about anything but the anti-America theology.
That makes the story also one of redemption.
