Chapter 2 – Fear
Teresa's heart was in her throat from fear. She had not felt such cold and paralyzing fear since the Bolivian jungle until she heard the click of Kostya hanging up. He was coming after her and after everyone she loved. He had killed Oksana, his own blood, poisoned her like a rat who was disposable and meant nothing. And it was Teresa's fault as she had stupidly told her over the phone details of the plan to take Kostya out in exchange for her business. James's warning that the phones could be tapped had been too late. The pain in her chest was too much to bear and she exhaled a long sharp breath and slumped on the couch, her face in her hands.
James, who had stood right in front of her when Kostya had called, had looked horrified, his face a reflection of his own fear and terror at the prospect ahead of them. At least Pote and Kelly Anne were gone, sent to Little Rock to live a 'normal life' under false names. Kostya was coming after everyone she loved. There aren't many left, she thought sadly as her despair was taking over, just James, who had sat next to her on the couch and whose hand had started making gentle circles on her hunched back, wordless.
"He is coming after us… you and me…at least the others are out, so that we don't have to worry about them", he said as reinforcement of his words that sending them away had been the right thing to do.
"I killed Oksana", Teresa said lifting her face and looking up at him with teary eyes. "after I killed Tony and George. How can I be such a maldita tonta (damn fool)?...Carajo! (Crap)…I should have known not to speak about the plan on the phone."
"How could you have known?" James tried to argue.
Teresa laughed a self-denigrating little laugh: "You knew…I should've known too…Epifanio's cartel had a network to trace and listen to all phones…of the sicarios and their families… I was the one telling Brenda to destroy her cell when I was in the warehouse, and she was on the run… how could this slip my mind? …Now we have lost all our leverage", she sighed frustrated.
"You are under a lot of stress…it seems like the world is crumbling around us…", he didn't seem to have any comforting thoughts either. They looked at each other for a moment in silence and then he got up from the couch and started pacing the room slowly.
"What can our next step be?...Tell Devon Oskana is dead and we cannot complete the mission?", Teresa's mind was scrambling. "Or take Devon out when he comes to meet us?"
James lifted his head and looked at her with a little squint in his eyes. "Killing Boaz is one thing, it's personal. Devon, on the other hand, is part of a big wheel, a huge organization, where you and your business are a just a file, high priority or not. …Actually, it seems like Kostya's file is the high priority now, like El Santo's was a year ago…and Devon, his job is to choose the players…people like us…the tool who complete the missions". He stopped and looked at her and when she said nothing, he continued: "If we take out Devon, a new guy will replace him. And the higher-ups will figure out we did it… this definitely will put us on the enemy list."
"So, we have to find a way to find Kostya", Teresa murmured under her nose even more despondent at the lack of prospect.
James continued unfazed as if he had not heard her: "If Kostya is the priority for the Agency now, they will explore all venues to get to him. If you are their strongest lead…I mean your connection to Oksana was…and you do not complete the mission when you are already in the know, you become a liability…and they will be after you. That's what the rules are."
"Carajo!", Teresa cursed again in voice that made him look at her again.
"Look, they will chase you because you are in the know…the cartel chased you for revenge, no matter that you knew nothing…", he wasn't sure himself if this line of thought was helping.
He let his train of thought continue as he hoped it would lead to something: "To beat a system, one needs to understand its intricate workings... I think I have acquired some decent understanding of how the intelligence agency works and to survive this situation, we need to either do what they want… or convince them …with proof …that we are not a threat …and that there is no need to spend resources on us."
"How?", she said looking at him with red and moist eyes.
"Well, let's focus on what we know: if he tracked her phone, that's where we need to look for a connection to him, else we have no way of finding him, right? …I will see if I have learned enough to be able to hack her phone", he added.
"You can hack a phone?", Teresa said lifting her eyebrows, "I knew you could handle any gun, but a phone…", her voice trailed off.
"Working in the CIA exposed me to many missions and to some fairly interesting tech stuff", he said and got up to go out of the room to see about the phone that had to still be on the body. Then he stopped and added: "Even if we find him, he will be protected…heavily. Now, we have Avi and his men…and I believe the Israeli Mossad can handle a Russian drug dealer", he said in a convinced voice, for her or his own benefit, she wasn't sure.
Teresa had gone to bed and had dozed off when she heard footsteps and a knock on her door. She quickly wrapped herself in a gown and opened the door. James, and behind him Avi with two other men, all dressed in full military gear, were at the door.
"Oksana has a daughter in Atlanta. Early 20s, name Samara, we got an address, the hack was not difficult at all. We are going to leave now, so that we can grab her after her morning class at the college she goes to...before Kostya makes a move", he didn't say more as the others didn't need to know that Kostya was their ultimate goal. "Chicho is in charge here, you stay put, I will call you with details," military summary in a serious steady voice.
"Please be careful," she said looking at him with concern and gratitude and it occurred to her that he was commanding these men and her display of affection might not be a good thing at this moment, but his mouth lifted at the corners and he said: "Of course, I intend to see this through."
