There's a knock at the door. Luke Cage answers to see a husky man nearing middle age with a graying beard, dark suit and sunglasses, a briefcase, which he soon removes. "Luke Cage, yes?," he says in a thick Russian accent.

"Uh,... Yeah, I'm Luke Cage."

"Good afternoon Mr. Cage, I am Agent Patkus from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. May I come in?"

"You're from the Russian..."

"Foreign Intelligence Service. May I come in?"

"Uh, what's this about?"

"I have come on behalf of the Russian government to enlist your aid," and then he asks once more, "May I come in?"

"Um,... Yeah, sure. Come in."

Cage lets him inside. Agent Patkus takes a look around and, when seemingly satisfied with his surroundings, he sits on the couch. Cage stands by the door, still looking dumbfounded. Patkus smiles and motions toward the chair, "Please, Mr. Cage, have a seat." Cage remains standing, "You know I have an office you could have called, right?".

"Yes, but I have strict instructions to meet you here, in private. We would appreciate your cooperation in keeping this matter confidential."

Cage finally sits down, "Any meeting with a potential client is confidential but I haven't agreed to anything y -"

"You see, there was a very dangerous man operating a criminal organization in Moscow. Two days ago, he left the country and we have reason to believe he is coming here to New York. He should be arriving tomorrow, as a matter of fact. The Russian government wants him."

"Sounds like you need to call the American authorities and work something out."

"The American authorities would likely keep him and ship him off to Guantanamo Bay."

"Probably. What's it to you people? He's out of your hair, either way."

"Because Russia wants him."

"Russia probably wants a lot of things but unless I get some reason to help you, I'm not interested in a case that sounds like it should be handled by the FBI or CIA or someone."

"This man is named Zebidiah Killgrave," Patkus hands Killgrave's photo over to Cage, "He was meant to work for the KGB during the Cold War. He disappeared and, several years later, returned as a major figure in Russian organizaed crime."

"The KGB, huh? I guess you'd rather not let it be known this guy exists."

"I should not be telling you this but if this conversation is confidential... It is confidential, yes?"

"Might as well be."

"The KGB performed experiments a long time ago. Killgrave was such an experiment. He was meant to be a superspy. Instead of performing his duties, he disappeared."

"Disappeared, or escaped?"

Patkus ignores the question, "He returned years later and soon became one of the more dangerous criminals Russia has ever seen."

"What kind of experiments are we talking about?"

"Killgrave's codename was The Purple Man. His skin releases phermones. I'm saying this correctly, no? Phermones?"

"Yeah. Phermones. What do they do?"

"Once he comes into contact with his victims, he can take control of them for a certain amount of time. You see, the phermones allow him complete bodily control. He was called the Purple Man for the temporary bruising it would cause."

"So he didn't like working for the KGB and became a crime boss instead. Tell me about his organization."

"His organization is unique in that he is the only member. He doesn't need to employ anyone if he can simply bend the will of innocent people to do his bidding. As you can see, Mr. Cage, he is quite dangerous."

"I can see that. You say he left the country. What makes you think he's heading to New York?"

"The Russian police were informed that Killgrave was planning to leave the country but no one was sure where he was going or why. They knew he was meeting with a man who forges passports and they tried to intercept them during the deal. Killgrave escaped again but the forger was nearly killed by Moscow police officers. Since Killgrave screwed him over, he was more than happy to tell us where he was going. Of course, Killgrave was able to easily influence his way past airport security and leave the country. We barely had enough time for me to come over here in hopes you would help us."

"And you don't want the authorities over here knowing about all this past KGB stuff?"

"Russia wants this man very badly. We'd rather have as few complications as possible."

"I would love to help you but all this clandestine stuff... I have no idea if this is even legal."

At this moment, Patkus lifts the briefcase and drops it on the coffee table between them. Cage stops and looks at it. Patkus only shrugs, so Cage picks it up and opens it, finding several large bills. "This," he begins, "This is -"

"Half a million US dollars, yes. This is your payment. You shall recieve the other half upon completion."

"Wow, look, that is a lot of money. I'd love to take it but I got a good thing going here. I'm almost off parole and I don't want to screw things up."

"What if I told you Killgrave is working for the Maggia?"

"The Maggia?"

"Sure. You are aware of the Maggia, no?"

"Yeah, I have a history with one of its leaders: John McIver. They're dangerous people, but I thought you said Killgrave worked alone."

"He does. The Maggia is an international organization with many families that are mostly autonomous. McIver's operation was only one family within a larger network. Killgrave is just another head that needs to be removed."

"So what's he doing with the Maggia? What are his plans for New York?"

"We'll need to find out," Patkus places a note with a flight number and time on the table, "He is arriving by plane tomorrow afternoon. Bring him to me and no one will know I was here."

Cage sits, contemplating.