The next morning Ana woke up unreasonably early. John had pulled the curtains closed tight the night before, but a small sliver of sunlight shone through onto the bed. John's dog was curled up at the bottom of the bed, both he and John snoring softly. It was a strange feeling for Ana. Years ago this had been all that she wanted. A somewhat normal life with John and maybe a dog or two (kids were definitely out of the question for a life like theirs). Now it just felt strained to be this close to him. Awkward.
She could admit to herself that she was there because she was scared. Dimitri scared her. And John, even after all of this time apart, was a comforting presence that she needed even though she couldn't admit that out loud. To be afraid was to be weak, and Ana wasn't weak. But even through her fear Dimitri needed to be found. He needed to be stopped. There wasn't much she could do at the present. His only known location was his club and that wouldn't be opening up for another sixteen hours.
Ana slid out of bed, quietly making her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. She decided to let John sleep. It was the least she could do after he let her crash with him. Plus he looked like he needed it. John's pit bull looked up from his place on the bed and watched as Ana grabbed her purse. She smiled softly at the dog, patting him on the head before grabbing a hotel key from John's pants and slipping out of the room. There was a coffee shop about a block away from the Continental and Ana was dying for some caffeine.
It was a quiet place. Small. It was a habit, but it was an easy place for Ana to keep out a watchful eye. She sat at a small corner table where she had a view of everyone else, set aside the black coffee she ordered for John and small brown bag filled with two bear claws and pulled out her phone. She typed in his name, Dimitri Petrov, into the search bar and took a slow sip of her coffee. Whatever it was that Dimitri was up to, he definitely had someone cleaning his image up. It was too clean. There were a few articles about the opening of Club 26 and a mention or two of him immigrating to New York from Russia at sixteen but that was about it. It was frustrating, but Ana wasn't entirely sure what she expected to find in the first place.
She set her phone down with a huff just as the door opened and a man in a black winter coat walked in. He was on the phone speaking in a hushed tone. And in Russian. She thought she might have recognized him from the night before. She remembered seeing a man with his hair buzzed short and a horrible skull tattoo on his hand at the bar while she was casing the place. Ana sat up a bit taller, focusing on what he was saying. "You tell him we have it handled. It was in the middle of the fucking club. Everyone was too self involved to notice a body. Dimitri can bitch all he wants about his reputation. I'm more concerned with who's trying to pick off my men." Ana felt a little pride that she was getting a rise out of Dimitri even though he hadn't realized it was her just yet.
Whoever this man was, he didn't get into the line. He walked straight up to the counter, not pausing his conversation, and grabbed a coffee from an employee who had it waiting for him before leaving. So he must come here often, she thought. She looked down at her phone screen to check the time. 6:45 AM. This was her perfect in. It would just take a little bit of work. Ana quickly grabbed her things and headed out after the man. She was just in time to see him slip into the backseat of a black SUV. Whoever he was he was important to Dimitri. If she had to guess he was probably the head of security. The perfect block to remove to bring Dimitri's tower crashing down.
Once she was back at the Continental, Ana made her way to Charon's desk where he waited for her with a smile. "Good morning Miss Kozlov. I hope you slept well." he greeted.
"Like the dead," she smiled. "Can I ask for a favor?"
"But of course. What is it that you need?"
"I just texted a friend to drop some things off for me in a few hours. Can you send them up to John's room?"
"I'll see to it they arrive." he nodded. Ana thanked him and headed for the elevator. As much as she hated to admit it, the Continental was...nice. She understood why John liked it there. And if her house had been completely destroyed she'd probably be more than willing to crash there for awhile. If she had a home at all at least.
John was awake when she got back to the room. He popped his head out of the bathroom, toothbrush in hand, as Ana walked in. She flashed a quick smile, holding up his coffee and the brown bag. "I brought breakfast." she explained, setting them aside and grabbing one of the bear claws. The dog was in the same place she left him. Ana ripped the pastry in half, feeding it to the happy pup before giving him more scratches behind the ear.
"I can't believe you're up this early." John said, taking a long drink of his coffee.
"And I can't believe you're drinking black coffee after you just brushed your teeth." she scrunched her nose.
John raised an eyebrow. "If I don't drink it now it'll get cold," he explained. Ana's expression didn't change. "Why are you up so early?" he asked.
Ana shrugged. She took her coat off and threw it over a chair before plopping down on the couch. "I have trouble sleeping in when I'm working. But I ran into one of Dima's men at the coffee shop." she explained.
John looked Ana up and down quickly, looking for any sign that she had been in a struggle or blood splatters on her shoes like the night before. "And you let him go?" he asked in disbelief.
Ana grinned. "Can't kill this one yet. I'm gonna work him a little. I think he's the head of security of the club. He was talking about the guy I killed last night. Apparently Dimitri isn't very pleased." she said with a happy sigh.
Jon cracked a smirk. "You just can't help but play cat and mouse can you?" he asked, taking a bite of his bear claw. "Can I ask...what's the plan here? Dimitri's a dick, but he's a dick that's always on his toes." he remembered what a paranoid bastard he was back in the day. There'd always been something wrong with him. Like his brain wasn't wired right. He was violent and over confident, and John didn't want to see Ana in over her head.
Ana gave John that pleased look again. "I've covered my trail. I spent some time back in Russia. I was there for a few months and made sure I made a scene."
John could tell she didn't want to elaborate there, but he had heard a few things. "Is this the drug lord you were living with?" he asked. He didn't know much about the situation. About three months back someone at the hotel mentioned Ana was living back in Russia with some weird, goth guy who was making a fortune with drugs and guns. John imagined now the guy was probably sitting back in Russia with emotional (and maybe physical) scarring after Ana had her way with him.
"His name was Yorgi. I needed a place to crash. And he was surprisingly nice for a drug lord," John let out a soft snort. "But yes. I stayed with him and I built up a reputation so I could be sure my name would get back to Dimitri if he ever came looking for me. When I heard he was coming back to America I broke things off and flew to Thailand," she walked over to her purse, pulling out the two passports John had found the night before. "I spent a few weeks there. I checked into a big, fancy hotel and spent a lot of Yorgi's money to make some waves. Then I had a friend of mine fly me to England. No passport or paper trail," she held up the other passport. "Katie Johnson is a socialite from Louisiana who's just dyin' to see the world. She's visitin' New York after a trip across the pond." she said in a thick southern accent.
"So if Dimitri has any suspicion you're here it'll look like you're still in Thailand." John finished. This had always been her way. The elaborate schemes. It had made working together a little difficult in the past. John was always a little more quick to jump and it drove her crazy.
"Exactly. Until then I'm gonna figure out what he's up to. Maybe fuck with him a little."
"Does this mean more costumes?" John asked.
Ana grinned. "You know it, baby. But what this doesn't explain is why Winston is involved. He told me you were looking for evidence. I guess you found some?"
John nodded. "Thumb drive. There was a bunch of surveillance equipment inside the building."
"How'd you get there anyways? I mean since I had to pick you up?"
"Subway tunnel underneath the building. It's been abandoned awhile."
Ana pursed her lips as she thought. "...Mama helped you escape the city last year didn't she?" John nodded. "Maybe that's why Winston had us both work on this. Someone wants him dead, so maybe they hired Dimitri. He always hated you. He probably jumped at the chance."
Dimitri had come to America two years before Ana. And while John was off with the Marines, Dimitri had become the best. He was quick, forceful, and nearly obsessed with outdoing anyone else in their tribe. Once John returned home, Dimitri fell short. He was no match for John. It drove him nearly insane how effortlessly John exceeded him on every level. As John and Ana grew close, Dimitri circled around her like some sort of bottom feeder waiting to pick over whatever was left. He became set on the idea that Ana was owed to him. A prize for the best student. And while Ana had grown to fear him, John only found him pathetic.
John had never known Ana to be afraid of anything. She had always been this fearless, wild thing. But whenever Dimitri was brought up John could almost smell the fear on her. He only hoped that eventually she would share with him whatever it was that had happened. Instead John only sighed, moving across the room to change into his suit. "Why do I feel like you're about to drag me into your shit?"
"Because I am. We're in each other's shit now. Just like old times."
John looked over his shoulder at her as he shrugged his shirt on. "You keep saying that."
"Don't you miss it even a little? Just on a work level?"
"I think that that's a...complicated question."
Ana rolled her eyes. "Fine. You just have to come with me to see mama. I won't drag you into the rest. I have it handled" she explained, walking over to John and helping him with his tie. He looked down at her as she tied the knot skillfully.
"Are you sure about that?"
"...Are you insinuating I can't handle things on my own?" she raised her eyebrows but her eyes didn't leave the tie.
"I'm not. But I know when you let your emotions take control you don't think straight." it wasn't meant to be insulting. He wanted to make sure she was careful. No matter what their past was, he still cared for her. But like he said, Ana's emotions usually got the best of her.
Her jaw clenched. She took a step away from him, spinning around on her heeled boots to grab her coat. "Well, unfortunately we can't all flip a switch like you can, John," he knew the comment was deserved, all things considering. So he didn't argue. "The sooner we go home the sooner I can get the information I want and get out of here."
John felt a small pang of sadness in his chest when she called the theater home. It had been far too long since either of them had lived in the old theater. While John had made some sort of life for himself over the years, it was clear to him now that Ana had truly been wandering from place to place searching for where she belonged. He also couldn't help but feel partly responsible.
"She won't want me back. My ticke-"
Ana held up a hand to stop him. "I don't give a shit if your ticket was torn. If she doesn't want to die she'll have to let me bend the rules a little. Now let's go. You're driving."