Chapter 4- Mission Impossible
The next day had resulted in the decision to drop the sniper attack option as it was a suicide mission because Kostya moved around with a three-layer security between his Queens locations, his pent house, and the Russian Embassy. Teresa had told James point blank that she wouldn't let him use a CIA provided fake badge to access the Embassy as the thought of him getting killed or captured was unbearable and the chances of this happening were very real. They had opted out to use the Dominicans to attack Kostya's Queen business location, which was a long shot, but was the only one they had left.
When Boaz had disturbed their plans and had prevented the Dominicans from assisting them, Teresa had offered to meet Kostya and try to kill him herself.
She hung up from Kostya and said: " He agreed, just need to wait for the meet location."
James's face was lined with turmoil, his mind was spinning as he knew that she would be shot on the spot if she shot Kostya in his place of business. He loved this woman so much, but her stubbornness was what would get them killed! He knew he wouldn't let her walk in alone, so they were both going to die in the next few hours and there was nothing he could do about it! His mind was screaming, and he was sure it was written on his face.
"And this is not suicide?", he said with anger. How, the hell, couldn't she see? "You are not going in to die alone, I am coming with you!", he snapped and turned away from the kitchen isle that he was leaning on.
"I won't shoot him, I will poison him, like he did Oksana!" she said quickly after him and he turned around briskly to face her: "With his own poison.. just need to get it from New Orleans", she was looking him straight in the eyes now: "I also intend to see this through!"
"How are you going to do it?", James heard himself say with some relief in his voice.
"I told Chicho to get the plane ready, he is flying out in an hour, he will bring me a Tequila bottle in a gift box with caballitos, and Okana's breath spray. I will coat his caballito and make him toast to having gotten all my business for free." She said and then sighed: "Only hope the plane can come back before he calls with a meet location."
"Why can't they fly out now, why wait an hour?", James couldn't hold himself.
"I was told they have to file a flying plan and wait for approval", she said.
"Fuck that, I am telling them to leave, they can file a plan in the air," and he was gone to deal with the matter.
By the early evening, the plane had returned with everything needed and James had coated one of the small tequila shot glasses with poison from Oksana's breath spray. The fancy looking gift was ready and the wait had begun. Dusk had fallen, the NYC din was permeating the condo even with the windows shut, James had listened to the news several times by now and had downed two whiskeys, but that hadn't made the wait any easier. Someone brought two large boxes of hot pizza, they ate, and the rest of the men went downstairs to their rooms.
God, he hated waiting, especially when he knew that whatever he was waiting for, could mean death for her or both of them. The darkness that had descended over his soul was very very black. No, there was no way out of the cave, he caught himself thinking.
James opened his eyes as bright sunlight fell on his face. It took him a minute to gets his bearings and the events from last night flooded his mind. They had shared the most tender and magical night, and now they had to face the music. She was in the shower; he could hear the water running. He saw a mug on her night stand, stretched over to check if it was empty, and as it was not, he took a gulp of decently warm coffee, black and bitter, as Teresa drank hers.
He looked at the room, the white furniture gave it a serene look, then his eyes fell on their discarded clothes and shoes, and he smiled. He had not expected her to kiss him last night, as he thought they had the silent agreement that they were working towards "another life", but when she had kissed him, he had melted and had not been able to refuse her. And why would he? He had always wanted her and dreamed of her the whole time they had been apart; then this past month since her rejection, he had had to hide his loneliness in whiskey and smokes, on top of figuring out how to help her get over the greed for power that had consumed her. So, no man, he was not obliged to guard her wall. If she put up the wall, she should guard it, and if she couldn't and fell in his arms, oh well…he was not made of stone.
He had told her he loved her and if he hadn't been burning to put his hands on her, he would have found time to tell her how much and for how long, but she had pulled up for air and had whispered "I can't wait any longer", and his only words had been "Me neither". He had signaled upstairs with his eyes as he was not undressing her again in a common space, like the first time they had made love in his house in Phoenix, when they had stumbled half naked to privacy and later he had had to sneak out to collect the clothes strewn on the floor, wondering who might see him or who might have seen the clothes already. Impulsive moments were welcome as the thrill gave him a pleasant ache, and he was sure she felt the same, but he was taking them to the bedroom before continuing. It had taken them but a few seconds to shut the door behind them.
They had removed each other's tops gently while holding their eyes locked and then he had turned her around to remove the pins holding her bun. She had pushed her back into his chest and the contact of bare skin had been so electrifying that he remembered flicking her bra open and gently cupping her breasts as her head had turned searching for his mouth and her hands had found themselves in his hair. She had rubbed her back against his hardness and whispered in his mouth: "I need you in me, James".
Then the built up pressure had exploded; the remaining clothes and shoes had been discarded fast and they had ended up in an electric tangle on the bed. She had been more than ready, and he had let her ride him as slow and then as fast as she had needed, while he caressed her and basked into the pleasure of holding her close and listening to her hurried breath.
He had turned her under him once she was done and had taken less than a minute of looking into her happy eyes to come himself. He had needed a release and although he knew that this time had been marked by urgency and stress, he couldn't have been more thankful that she had broken her damn wall.
He clearly remembered that at some point during the night he had sensed her awake and had moved; then and they had turned towards each other and had made love slowly and tenderly, languishing in each other's embrace without words, the same they had on their first night in Phoenix.
She came out of the bathroom at this exact moment and their eyes met. He downed her coffee and after putting the cup on the night table, stretched his hand to her. Teresa took it and dropping the towel, lifted the cover and went straight into his arms. Her hair was tied in a bun to avoid getting wet and her body was warm from the shower, and gave him goosebumps.
"There's more coffee, should I bring some?", she asked after kissing him on the mouth.
"No, I only want you", he said, "God you feel good and smell good…did you sleep well? " he asked.
"I actually did, way more than I have been sleeping recently, " Teresa admitted. Her recurring nightmare that woke her right before dawn where she would see the grey light swallow her, had passed when she had slept on his shoulder for two months in Phoenix, and then had come back with a vengeance.
"Are you still getting the grey dawn light nightmare? ", James asked, searching her eyes.
"Unfortunately… yes, my life has been very difficult and…lonely for some time now…I can't wait to get to another life…ahh… this is me being open and sharing, please say something", there was no point hiding from him, she thought.
"I am afraid to ruin the moment," he admitted: "Do you know how many times I have imagined us together again…hundred times at least…I have thought about it every day since Phoenix. " he said in a subdued tone.
"And did it meet your expectations?", she teased.
"It surpassed them". He pulled her closer and his hand started going slowly up and down per back.
"Do you think we will get something else in this life but pain and loneliness? ", she said in sad voice.
"I doubt it….pain and loneliness are a natural part of this life …we have to fight for anything else. And even then, we still may lose…you saw the Vargas family," he wasn't sure if he truly believed it, but he knew she did.
"Javier used to ask me this question, and he flunked his chance to be happy big time…I was mad at him for quite some time as his choice screwed up things for me a lot… now I think I have forgiven him…maybe I caused my own disappointment as I expected him to take your place, to fill in your shoes…", she said deep in thought.
"My place? In every sense of the word?", he eyed her squinting.
"Of course not!" she slapped his chest lightly. "As my right-hand man."
"I told you he was a clown, but I also left you no choice as you needed manpower…All the Jimenez men are too impulsive for this business, that's why Camila didn't trust any of them, even Manuel." James said relieved by her clarification.
"The Jimenez men…I have been thinking about Boaz…and why he was in NYC undermining our mission. Do you think Finch sent him? …If not, then how else would he have found Kostya and made contact with him? ", her questions made sense and James couldn't put anything past Finch, the dirty bastard that he was, but it was not the right moment to dump more doubts on her.
"I can't say…but if Devon sent Boaz, he is preparing plan B very seriously as he does not expect you to take the CIA as a partner"…his hand moved to her front and slid between her thighs and after her sharp intake of breath, he moved closer and whispered in her ear: "I pray for many more such mornings Teresa, but if we are not lucky, I need you to know that no one has ever had the slightest chance of taking your place in my heart…and I don't care to see if anyone even stands a chance…and I have forgiven you for trying to fill in my place, love. "
She got startled by his last words and closed her eyes in pain. "You know? Pote told you?"
"No one told me anything. I saw surveillance photos and I prayed you would fail trying to replace me", he said simply.
"I am sorry, I did fail, miserably." His fingers were making torturous circles and she wasn't sure why he would bring this topic now, but she knew he hadn't been completely out of touch. He definitely was as selfless as they came, if he had known about Eddie and had still come back.
"It doesn't really matter as long as we have the present," he whispered and she realized that he had not been with anyone this past year, even to relieve stress. She was sure he could've picked up a woman in a bar anytime, had he wanted to, but maybe he, like her, wasn't able to feel the connection and the fire, if there was no love. She had never fooled herself with Eddie, she had not felt anything, but stress that needed an outlet, and she had had work her imagination to get aroused, then she had had to fight her compunctions for using a man for whom she felt nothing, just really liked the way he played the piano.
She heard James saying: "...and if one of us does not make it, the other one has to promise to live a full life… out of the biz… and try to be happy…" his mouth was on her neck and going down to her breasts that felt so tight with arousal that her mind was losing its focus.
"Promise me", he prompted…"If it's me who doesn't make it, you'll leave…and find someone and be happy… I so want you to be happy. "
"I promise", she was able to breathe out, and mentally she promised herself that she would tell him how much she loved him before they walked into battle later today.
The made love slowly and generously and each one, in their own way, tried to push away the thought that this might be their last time together. Their release was long and shared, and when she finally lay content in his arms, she felt complete. Their time together, it could not be so soul and body melting and be meant not to last! She was grasping at straws and she knew it.
She had closed her eyes and maybe had dozed off a while when she felt him move his arm and then heard him say: "You know, I can spend my life making love to you … but for now…it's better to be a little on edge as the survival instinct will keep us alive…"
"Hmm, I remember our lazy mornings in Phoenix…they recharged me to better take on whatever the day would bring…", she mused.
"Well, for some time we were quite lucky as nothing dramatic happened…our time in Phoenix, Teresa, was the best time of my life…and I mean it, truly". He kissed her head and tried to extricate himself to get up, but she held on and said: "We have to go over the details again, right?...I would offer him the distillery and the transpo company, but the main point should be my contacts at the port because that's what took time to cultivate for a foreigner down there", she continued.
"Yes, also offer him guarantees that the Colombians will supply him, guarantees that Boaz cannot give…and please whatever you do, do not tell him you have poisoned him, you need to stall", James said with insistence in his tone.
"What if he gets a nosebleed, like Oksana…they'll know I poisoned him…that's how you knew she had been poisoned, right? ", Teresa was running all possibilities thought her head.
"Not everyone gets a nosebleed, a larger quantity of the poison on a smaller person definitely gives the victim a nosebleed. I don't know how big of a frame this Kostya has, but I would assume he is taller and heavier than Oksana…and I put a smaller quantity on the glass", this explanation and its logic sounded reassuring.
"Would it be enough to kill him though?", the question popped in her mind.
"Yes, it won't take 10 seconds though, but 30 instead…as long as he gets in contact with it through the liquid, he will die…you have to last that long… I anticipate a commotion the moment he falls, his men will be trying to help him, and most likely will remove you from the room but will not shoot you on the spot…by then Avi's man should be in through the service exit, that's building code, all buildings have a service exit…also I am at the front with Luis and Chicho and we will storm in the moment we hear the commotion", James had an answer for everything.
"So many things can go wrong", Teresa said, not that she doubted him, but in her experience, things tended to go sideways.
"You have to believe that the success of the mission is in the details. That's the best you can do - look at every detail, consider every possible scenario and have a pre-determined course of action for each one... having done your homework will bring you peace of mind, trust me…", his voice trailed off and he looked at her as only he could, with love and pain and adoration in his eyes.
"He wouldn't know the CIA is after him, he thinks it's me, right?", a sudden thought came to her.
"Exactly, if you need to stall, tell him it's not the money changer from Mexico who wants him dead, but Uncle Sam, give him food for thought…as long as he drinks from the glass and is busy talking to you 30 seconds after…tell him it's an honor to work with him and now you and him need to put your heads together against a common powerful enemy…just keep him occupied…tell him Boaz is a pawn for the CIA, if push comes to shove, got it?", James felt their brains worked so well together, she had these brilliant ideas sometimes, and they usually worked.
"Yes, as long as I get him to drink", she smiled at him.
"Teresa, I have to also say this to make sure you understand and agree", his voice was serious as he felt the need to emphasize this point: "I know you hate him for killing Oksana, but she agreed to kill him…his reaction was expected…put aside anything you may feel…this is not about taking revenge, this is a mission and you are not going to have the pleasure of telling him you have poisoned him like he did her, because not telling him is your ticket out!".
"I understand!", she nodded as she had so many times when he had given her instructions before many missions, a life time ago, in a dingy warehouse in another city.
"Good", he said as if there was no room to worry any more: "I also have a gun that looks like a cell phone, that I hope you'll be able to have on you. It's downstairs with my things, will show it to you later.", he had done his homework and was confident that the mission would run smoothly. He got up and headed for the bathroom with her eyes fixed on his muscular body.
