Punching Bag

| 30 |

It's not been easy around the office lately.

Not only has Townsend been tense since Elizabeth's visit, but the IRS have been snooping around businesses that are laundering money for him.

Meaning those businesses and those people have had to be dealt with.

I'm sitting in the corner of the room, watching Neville get out his frustrations in his most favourite way. His punching bag.

Godwin comes in, needing to speak to Townsend, but he doesn't stop punching and he isn't really listening.

"If now's not a good time -" Godwin tries to ask.

"Loyalty, Godwin. Loyalty and trust. Nothing matters more." Townsend says in between punches.

"About that. I'm concerned Keen may be feeding the FBI information."

"Or she's using them to feed information to us." Townsend counters. Despite his initial anger at Keen's outburst the other day, he confessed to me how he actually respects her more for it. That he needs to be able to work with someone that has balls. And it takes balls to threatened Townsend like that. Although he made it clear he won't let it slide again.

"You asked me to monitor her communications with them. Her contact is Agent Donald Ressler." Says Godwin.

"Who's whispering sweet nothings to whom?" Townsend asks.

"We'll know soon enough. Keen changes her burner phone regularly, but Resslers phone is FBI issue. I reached out to our asset at the bureau. We're up on his line."

"I trust Keen. But then again, I trusted Espinoza! And look what that got me." Townsend punches harder.

His men then cut down the punching bag.

"But maybe I'm just too trusting. Aren't I Mr. Espinoza?" He says as it's revealed that Espinoza is in the punching bag, unconcious and bloodied.

"Call Obenrader. Tell him to put his head hunter hat on. Tell him that Espinoza's employment contract has been terminated." He tells Godwin, and then throws his boxing gloves down at the body.

He goes to leave the room but I follow him.

"Neville! I don't understand why am I not involved in monitoring communications? This is what I do?" I call after him.

He stops walking

"Yes, okay, do what you can Cora." He waves me off, clearly exhausted. Then I'm left to do what I do best.

•••

I've been working my ass off trying to get information for Townsend all morning. Between myself and Vandyke, we actually managed to hack Agent Resslers phone and monitor his calls with Elizabeth.

As soon as we have what we need we bring it to Townsend who's sitting at his desk.

He listens to the recording. It identifies the name of Reddingtons handler. Ivan Stepanov. Also that the FBI has set up for Keen to extract him from somewhere.

"How long ago was this? Townsend asks.

"No more than ten minutes." Vandyke replies.

"Any contact since?"

"If she called him, it wasn't on the cell we tapped." I replied.

"Sir, I believe you need to ask yourself why Miss Keen is working with the bureau. She came to you because she said she couldn't trust the Bureau." Godwin cuts in.

"And they couldn't trust her." Townsend says.

"If they've ID'd Reddingtons handler, that's a game changer." Vandyke circles back to the original conversation.