Every Time You Close Your Eyes, S5 (Queen of the South)

Part 4 - This Little Light of Mine, I'm Gonna Let It Shine, Let It Shine

What the hell was Aleksei doing unlocking Kostya's office and coming out with a briefcase at 4 am? Where was Kostya himself?

James had seen pictures of Kostya and his two security detail – Aleksei and Medved - in Finch's brief; a brief compiled by the CIA analysts once it was determined that the Russian gangster was the diplomat Konstantin Federev.

James had patiently waited out the early night and had not expected anyone to come in before the morning. This man's appearance was a glitch because it might mean that Kostya was not coming today either. James knew he needed information to determine if the mission was salvageable. So, he silently slipped out of the cover provided by the corner and followed the man.

In less then a minute it became clear that the man wanted to flush him out as he ducked behind corners and hid in an apparent effort to have James step out and reveal himself. Something was off! Someone had spilled the beans about their operation. He needed to intercept the man and make him talk!

On the next turn James got closer behind Aleksei and flapped his hand on the wall to attract his attention. The man tuned back and did the predictable thing: dropped the suitcase on the floor, stepped in and threw a wild roundhouse punch aiming for James's face.

"So, it's true you here, asshole!" Aleksei breathed out as he tried to balance his stance.

James's heart flipped with worry as this confirmed that Kostya's men had found out about the infiltration plan!

As Aleksei was getting ready to threw a second roundhouse, James slid a little to the right, just enough so that he could deflect the blow with his left hand and stay close enough to counter. Then he stepped inside Aleksei's exposed defense and smashed his forearm into his adam's apple. The man made a squawking noise as the fight was over right there. James stepped back and let him gasp to the ground.

"What exactly do you know?" His voice came out low and angry.

"I was sent to see if you were really here!" Aleksei tried to get up as James's foot contacted with his middle and made him grumble in pain.

"What happens if you don't come out? Who else knows about this?" James kept asking about details as his hands felt cold due to the dark premonition that this mission was over before it had begun.

Aleksei lifted his head. " My boss!"

"Is your boss Kostya Federev?" James's foot was getting ready to kick again.

"No...Medved is my boss. We're just checking if you had gotten inside...", the man coughed and cringed in pain.

"I don't believe you do nightly sweeps of the Consulate before Federev comes in every other day! Stop lying to me! How did you know to come flush me out?" James could hardly contain his voice.

"We have a source...A reliable relative!" Aleksei was still lying on the floor as the butt of James's gun hit the back of his head and his body went limp.

It all sounded very fishy, especially the part about the 'relative'. James swiftly realized his time was running out. But it didn't matter what he would do: abort now or continue the mission, one thing he knew: he had to neutralize the man and hide the body!

He had nothing to tie and gag the man with, so as much as he hated it, he got his hands on his head and twisted it until his neck broke.

===

James closed the door of the side electrical room where he had stuffed the dead Russian and nervously dragged his hand over his face.

Defeating this man seemed to have been easy, damn it! Kostya's men must be trained soldiers! Was he missing something?