Chapter 5- Beating Devon Finch at His Own Game!

It was quiet on the plane as everyone was either relaxing after a drink or had earphones on. James was looking through the window, the deep wrinkle between his eyebrows clearly visible. Teresa got up and moved next to him. He turned and looked at her with a smile: "Hey".

"Hey", she smiled back. She could not keep her happiness at bay. Kostya was dead, the mission had been a success, the only unexpected thing had been Pote coming in through the service exit to her assistance before Avi's man when Medved had told her to get up to be taken to another room. Kostya had not gotten a nosebleed, he had slumped in his chair and the commotion that ensued had been loud enough to raise the dead.

Finch had said the product was en route, boats' ETA in New Orleans in eight days. They had eight days to solidify an escape plan, so she had to talk it through with James: "Based on everting you told me about how the CIA operates, Devon will send a killer after me, when he realizes I am not there to receive Castel's boats in eight days, right?"

James nodded and she continued: "As my security is so tight, what would be his move?" Teresa asked.

"He may ask me to kill you", he said and she got startled.

"Why would he think you'd do it? After giving up a year of your life to work for him to protect me. That makes no sense," she said shaking her head.

"Well, to remove me from your immediate circle…so that I cannot protect you…Devon is a smart son of a bitch and you are right - he won't trust me to kill you …he for sure will put a second shooter on me, whose mission will be to eliminate you in case I don't…and maybe eliminate me as well afterwards", he scratched his face and let out a deep breath.

"Maybe it's time I came clean", she said and he turned his face to her and bore deep in her eyes. "Let's go to the back", she said and stood up.

When they were out of earshot, Teresa continued: "I have a boat with a captain on standby in Belize and I have a beach house in South Africa …as part of my plan to escape should the need arise".

A slow smile creeped up on James's face: "I knew you had a plan B if the waterfront didn't work…so smart…like Devon…that's why we need to beat him at his own game this time…to really be able to get out!"

"If he sends a second shooter after he asks you to kill me and you accept, the risk becomes too high. The man will follow you and even if your shot 'misses' me, his may not!", her face was registering concern.

"I will get in touch with someone who owes me a favor and see if a mission has been logged regarding your elimination…yes, there is a system where missions get sanctioned and I have a person with access…because as of now Devon has no reason to believe you'll run," this made sense, so she relaxed. "Then, if there is no mission logged, we will still prepare and wait for it to be sanctioned…preparation will take some work, but it will be worth it."

"Prepare how?", she asked quickly as her mind was speeding.

"Do you remember putting a device that messes up birds for me once in preparation for a move?", James said looking at her expecting.

"Of course, I do…what are you thinking?", she couldn't hide her excitement.

"Once I hear from my contact, I will fly commercial to Belize, so that this plane stays in NOLA...in case Devon has eyes on it….and I'll check out the property and the surroundings to see what the best place for a sniper shot is… then I will have to find someone to install bulletproof glass on the window where you'll be 'shot' with the exception of one tiny area…when I hit this area, the glass will shatter and create the proof of a successful shot…but I will need help figuring out who I can get to do the bulletproofing silently and quickly down there', he concluded.

Teresa was amazed at his ingenuity but before she could say anything he continued: "If the second shooter fires, his shot will be stopped by the glass…I am sure he will be following me, the moment they drop me off in Belize…if I accept, Devon won't have me fly commercial with a gun, that's standard procedure…and you, love, will have to figure out the rest…you'll need fake blood…corrupt morgue officials, transpo to your boat, a reliable witness for the police…"

"This is brilliant, James! It may just work!", she exclaimed.

"I hope so, but don't fool yourself, this is still dangerous as I still have to fire a shot at you", he told her seriously and then continued: "I'll have to get pics of the 'dead body' for Devon to convince him…and be prepared if my shadow has orders to kill me as well," he smiled sadly and said, "I'll do my best to beat this bastard at his own game!". The he looked her straight in the eyes and said: "Do you trust me to stand in front of the barrel of my gun?"

"With my life!", she said with an emotional voice and her eyes misted. To get herself under control, she continued with the idea that popped in her head: "If Pote takes my ashes to the hills of Culiacan…as this logically may be my last wish, and you take pics of him spreading them, wouldn't it be even stronger proof for Finch?...I mean Culiacan is Boaz's territory, so for Pote to risk going there, it should show that I am really dead!"

"Yes, that is a good addition…you need to contact your people in Belize as soon as possible and have them search for an expert who can bulletproof a whole window," James said after a brief pause.

"I will make a call now…and we tell Pote tonight, right?" she asked.

"Yes, we do it tonight," he confirmed and as she had already risen from her seat, he added: "Would you, in the meantime, have someone bring some food…please!"