Blacklist 1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I do not own any of the characters. This story is purely for entertainment uses, I am not making any money off of this. I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 1**

Her body seems to fall in slow motion. He watches her fall, his mouth open in a silent scream of agony. All he can do is watch her fall, watch her lifeless body hit the ground. Finally he manages to say something, letting out a desperate scream, "Lizzy!"

Raymond Reddington awakens to hear the echo of his scream rebound through the empty house. He is covered in sweat and silent tears are streaming down his face. His racing heart rate starts to slow, but he can't shake the fear inside of him. In fact, it only seems to grow, until the man is quivering in fear. He grabs the burner cell off the bedside table and hits speed dial number one.

Liz knows she should be asleep. It is 3 o'clock in the morning and she is certain that Red will have a new name on the blacklist for her by tomorrow, but she is too afraid to sleep. Too afraid to succumb to the nightmares that visit her every time she closes her eyes. Everything that had happened in the last year is finally catching up to her.

Keeping Tom prisoner had been her last desperate attempt to regain control in her life, her last attempt to make sense of the situation she had been thrown into. But now Tom is gone, escaped to God knows where and Elizabeth Keen is left to face the mess all by herself. Never before had she felt more alone, and never before had she felt more unsure about her life.

Elizabeth Keen was always someone who had a plan, who knew where she was going next. But recently everything had hit her so fast, leaving her no time to adjust. She had felt crushed by her emotions, so naturally she had tried to isolate herself from them. And she had succeeded, but only succeeded at pushing them deep within herself. Now they are coming back out and are demanding to be felt. Liz had never been good with grief. Especially now that she has no one. Well not exactly no one, Liz thinks to herself.

Speak of the devil she thinks with a small smile on her face when her cellphone lights up for Nick's Pizza. It doesn't matter that it is 3 o'clock in the morning, it doesn't matter that whatever Red has to say will most likely be bad news, the only thing that matters is hearing his voice.

She is taken back momentarily to the scene on the ship as she picks up the phone, remembering the two of them fitting together perfectly as he rocked her back and forth slightly and she cried into his shoulder. "Hello Red," she says, trying to sound disinterested and as if he had just woke her up. She fails miserably.

"Lizzy," came Red's voice, low and filled with relief. Liz hears him let out a gentle sigh.

Alarmed she asks, "Is everything alright Red?" She hears a pause on the other side of the line.

"Yes, I'm fine," came Red's short reply. He suddenly sounds exhausted. Liz isn't sure how to respond so she sits there listening to his steady breathing on the other end.

"Red?" she finally questions.

"I have to go Lizzy; I will call you in the morning," Red says before he abruptly hangs up, cutting of Liz's response. Liz growls in frustration, glaring at her phone for a while before getting restless and deciding to try to get some sleep.

Red sits staring at his phone as well, lost in thought. He is angry at himself for losing control like that. He has always prided himself on being able to hide his emotions, but ever since Lizzy had entered his life- or rather he had entered hers- he's had a hard time controlling his feelings. It was frustrating to say the least.

He lays back down in bed, wondering when it would be an appropriate time to call her back. Then he asks himself why she had sounded so awake at 3'o clock in the morning. Curiosity gets the better of him and before he can really think it through he calls her back. It takes a few rings for her to pick up. He doesn't let her say hello, cutting her off with, "Why are you up, Lizzy?"

"What the heck, Red?" she answers, sounding more than a little annoyed and definitely tired.

"What are you doing up? It's 3'o clock in the morning," he repeats.

"I couldn't sleep," she answers immediately, regretting her answer almost as soon as it comes out of her mouth.

"I'm coming over," announces Red and then he hangs up to cut off her protests. Liz stares at her phone for the second time that morning, wondering if he is actually coming over. Regardless of whether he shows up or not, Liz knows there is no chance of her going to sleep now, so she decides to go make herself semi-presentable.

There is a knock on the door 15 minutes later. Liz opens the apartment door to see Red, missing his usual jacket and tie but still looking way better than anyone should be able to at what is now 4'o clock in the morning.

He strides into her crummy apartment with a wine bottle in hand. He goes straight into the kitchen, with Liz trailing behind looking a little lost. He places the wine bottle on the table and goes to rummage through the cabinets, finding them mostly empty. "Where do you keep your wine glasses, Lizzy?"

"Ummm I haven't really had time to unpack yet…" Liz states awkwardly. Red doesn't comment to Liz's relief and instead grabs two plastic cups and gestures to the table. Raymond Reddington inviting her to sit in her own house. How predictable, Liz thinks, but she gives him a resigned and tired smile and sits down.

Red pours a generous amount of liquid into each cup, then hands one to Liz. He takes a sip and studies the defined lines under Liz's eyes.

He knows that these past few weeks, past few months really, have been hard on her and he has done nothing to help her through it.

He lets out a heavy sigh, feeling Liz's eyes on him. They sit there drinking in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, and each enjoying each other's company.

Red breaks the silence first, speaking in a low and soft tone, "He was a good man, Fitch was. He made a few mistakes on his way to the top, but he was no monster. He felt every death he caused. He could still feel remorse, still feel regret. He just got in too deep."

Liz expects him to go on, but it seems that is all he is willing to say on the matter. "So what happens now?"

He fixes his penetrating gaze on her, "Now?"

"Now that Berlin is gone."

"Oh Lizzy, if there is one thing that is clear to me, it is that Berlin was just the tip of an iceberg. A very nasty, very large iceberg. Recent events have stirred things up. I can feel it."

"We are starting to worry some powerful people, Lizzy. And while that is a good thing- it means that we are succeeding, it also means that we are no longer safe. The people we are angering are very dangerous people, who have even farther reaching resources than myself. We are playing with fire here."

Red has a deep frown on his face, looking deeply concerned. Liz has no idea how to comfort him so she just says, "We have the resources of the entire FBI on our backs; at least that's something."

"That certainly is something," he responds with a small smile.

"So, where do we start?" Liz asks, eager to throw herself back into to work to avoid her life for a little while longer.

"Eager, are we?" Red says with a little smirk, "I must admit, I was thinking you might want a little time to yourself, but I do have the first name if you're so inclined to get back to work immediately."

Liz nods.

"I'll get you the information in the morning," Red promises. Liz glances at the clock. It is 5 am.

Red smiles, following her gaze. "Fine just one more glass and then I'll go get it." He refills both their plastic cups with more wine then is acceptable to drink at this hour, and Liz drains her cup rather quickly.

Liz is at the black site by 7'o clock, armed with a folder full of information on their newest blacklister: James Tuckett. He is number 179, rather low on the backlist, but Red insists that he needs to be taken out first. He is a fairly popular American diplomat. According to Red, he uses his power to smuggle all types of cargo in and out of the country. He will smuggle anything for a price- including people. James Tuckett himself isn't too dangerous, but he has friends in high places and has managed to escape many lower charges placed against him.

James is going to be in town for a party for all the higher-ups in the embassy. And guess who else has a spot on the list- Liz, who will be posing as the daughter of a wealthy government official who couldn't make it. Liz's job is to get Tuckett drunk and then seduce the information out of him.

Cooper had organized the plan with the promise of Ressler and Samar posted outside for backup. Red had been mysteriously missing during the planning, having stepped out almost an hour ago to "make a phone call."

Just as they're finalizing the plan, Red steps back into the war room, "What's the plan?" he asks with a cocky grin on his face. Ressler clenches his jaw; Red never seems to fail to get on his nerves.

Cooper explains and Liz watches the cocky grin start to fade off Red's face when Cooper tells him Liz's job is to seduce the target.

He cuts in, "James is not someone you can mess with, I would not advise sending in someone to seduce him. He can get rather… pushy when drunk."

"That's why we will have Agent Ressler and Agent Navabi stationed outside," states Cooper, staying calm under Reddington's murderous glare.

Red turns to Liz, "Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asks her quietly. His gaze sends chills down her spine as she makes eye contact.

"I'm fine Red, I know how to seduce someone," Liz says dismissively. Cooper glances between the two of them, his gaze suspicious.

"I guess it's settled then. Agent Keen, be here and ready by 6o' clock. A limo will take you from here to the hotel where the party is being held."

"I want to be in the van," Red states more as a command than a request. Cooper just sighs resignedly and nods.

"Be here at 6."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I own nothing.

**Chapter 2**

Liz looks into the mirror, looking at how the familiar red dress fits her form. She has lost weight, there is no doubt about that, but she still looks good. The dress always reminds her of Red, reminds her of their brief dance before Madeline Pratt had double crossed them.

His eyes had been fixed on hers, glowing with happiness as he watched her. Getting lost in his warm gaze had been so easy and for a few seconds she had forgotten about all of her problems.

She had forgotten about Tom. She had forgotten about being on foreign soil. She forgot about the case. She had even forgotten about the things the man in front of her was capable of. For a few moments it had just been Red and her in the world. She would give anything to feel that again.

Liz puts the last touches on her makeup and drives to the black site, starting to feel nervous. She steps out of the car to find Red waiting for her in the garage with Dembe standing next to him.

"You look stunning as always, Lizzy. Red is good color on you," he says in his low, soft voice that he seemed to reserve only for her. Liz fights the color rising to her cheeks, instead giving him a confident grin, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach.

She notices almost immediately that something is off with Red's tone of voice. He is probably just worried about her. As endearing as that is, Liz is annoyed by his concern, because after all, hadn't he told her that James is relatively harmless?

She allows Red to gently touch her back, leading her to the elevator. Dembe joins them. Before the doors open, Red turns to her and says with a serious tone, "Just be careful in there, Lizzy." She promises him she will be, utterly perplexed about why he is so concerned about this low profile case.

Cooper makes the last second arrangements, attaching a camera in disguise of a small pin to Liz's dress and giving her a wire. He ushers her into the limo and Red gives her a small smile before hopping into the cramped surveillance van. Liz smiles to herself, thinking about Ressler and Red being trapped in the van together for a couple of hours. Somehow she feels better knowing that Red is also watching her. He won't let anything happen to her.

Liz arrives to the party a few minutes late. Already there are people pouring in, all dressed in flashy outfits meant to flaunt their money to each other. She suddenly feels self-conscious in her fairly modest dress. She smooths it out, stroking her scar to help with the nerves.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart, just show some confidence and you'll fit right in," Red says in a soothing tone through the earpiece. Liz smiles in spite of herself. She can almost hear Ressler's scowl from the van.

Liz steps out of the limo with a smile on her face and strides right up to the security guard.

"Name and ID?" he says in a gruff, not-to-be-messed-with tone.

"Lauren Scott," she says showing him the fake ID Aram had made her. She is posing as the daughter of Senator Scott who is currently on a business trip in Ohio. The security guard nods and moves aside to let her in.

She steps in and has to remind herself not to gape. The ball room she's in is huge with a ceiling that towers above her. A massive crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling, casting a warm glow throughout the room.

There is a large dance floor and off to the side is a bar that spreads along the length of the room. Servers walk around carrying platters of fancy appetizers and drinks.

Liz wanders around, trying to stay on task and not be overwhelmed by the grandeur of the place.

"Tuckett hasn't arrived yet," Ressler tells Liz as she settles down on a stool at the bar. The bartender comes over to offer her a drink and she politely declines.

"Lizzy you're rich and here to flaunt your money, you can certainly afford a drink," Red lectures through the ear piece.

Ressler cuts him off, "You're doing fine Keen, Tuckett is entering now." Liz glances over to see an attractive young man stride confidently into the ball room from the elevators.

She recognizes him as James Tuckett from the pictures in the file, but he is definitely more attractive in real life, with short dark hair, dark blue eyes, and a hard face lit up in a devilish smile.

Red watches James saunter over to the bar from the small screen in the van. He catches sight of Lizzy and Red sees his gaze roam over her. Red visibly bristles, feeling anger build in his stomach. If Ressler and Samar were paying him any attention, they would have immediately seen the jealously written all over his face.

James approaches Liz who sits turned away from him. He leans up close to her and says in a charming voice, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but noticing a beautiful women like yourself sitting all by herself. Has your date gotten lost or did you come alone?" Liz turns to find James well within her personal space.

She gives him a shy smile, "I came alone."

"May I?" he asks, gesturing to the stool next to her.

"Of course," Liz responds.

Sitting down he says with a cocky grin on his face, "So tell me, who do I have the pleasure of making acquaintances with this fine night?" Liz feels slightly sick by his tone. Somehow it reminds her of Tom, and she suddenly finds herself repulsed by James.

She steels herself and replies with a convincing smile, "I'm Lauren Scott."

"Daughter of Senator Scott, I presume?" Liz nods. James grabs her hand and kisses it gently.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Scott. I am James Tuckett." He states his name with such self-importance that Liz almost starts laughing. His ego definitely surpasses his reputation.

"Call me Lauren." James gives a predatory smile at that, causing Raymond Reddington to start planning his murder from inside the van.

As the night goes on, Liz keeps James talking about his travels. He loves talking about himself, so it is quite easy to keep the conversation on him.

Liz doesn't even have to try to get her target drunk, he is doing a perfectly fine job by himself, ordering drink after drink for Liz and himself, and then drinking Liz's when she barely touches hers. Liz is astonished by his lack of manners, wonders how he had ever persuaded women to sleep with him.

Meanwhile, James's tongue gets looser and looser as he starts giving away classified intel. She tries to steer the conversation towards his business, but he is too drunk to even notice. Liz is hoping she can skip the seduction part of this case.

Finally, when Liz doesn't see any other ways to get him to talk about his trafficking and other guests had started to leave, Liz presses her lips to James's, cutting off whatever story about his travels he is in the middle of telling.

He tries to kiss back, giving her a sloppy wet kiss before Liz pulls back and says in a seductive tone, "Why don't we take this back to your room?"

He gives her a lustful smile and says, "I thought you'd never ask." If Liz could have seen Red's expression in the surveillance van as he watches Liz practically drag James to the elevator because he can't keep his hands off of Liz, she would have been scared for James. The only way to describe Raymond Reddington's expression is as murderous.

Liz drags James into the elevator and he immediately pushes her against the wall, sticking his tongue down her throat while his hands snake up her dress. Liz fights off his advances, feeling like she might throw up on him if this went any further.

She pushes him back and says in her seductive tone, "I like bad boys. Tell me James, have you been naughty?"

She pushes down his sleeves and starts kissing his neck. He moans "I have been…"

"Tell me," she says and bites gently into his neck, "What have you done James? How are you a bad boy?"

"The ships," he moans, "If I sign off on the cargo, they can't check them."

He proceeds to give away his entire business on the ride to his suite on the 78th floor, interrupted by lots of moans.

When the elevator dings, Liz hears Ressler say, "Alright Keen, we've got enough…" Before he can even finish she pushes James off and hits him hard on the head. He drops like a ton of bricks.

The doors open and she drags him out. "I'll meet you in his apartment," Liz says, slightly out of breath as she fishes the room card out of James's pocket.

As soon as she says that, Red is out of the van and practically running towards the hotel. Ressler is right behind him and flashes his badge at the guard. Red stalks into the hotel, barely holding his anger in. He goes straight for the elevator, not waiting to see if Ressler is following.

Once in the elevator Red takes a deep breathe, trying to let out some anger. Ressler ducks into the elevator as the doors close, having had to practically run toR keep up with Red.

If he notices the older man's mood he doesn't mention it, which is probably a good thing because Red is ready to lash out at anyone.

Red again tries to calm himself, thinking of how Lizzy could lose her job if he gave them reasons to suspect that they were involved. That thought finally subdues his anger, enough at least that he can control it.

"That van was awful. Do you really spend the whole time in there during operations?" Red asks mockingly to Ressler, his mask back in place.

Ressler ignores him and when the elevator reaches the 78th floor it takes all of Red's willpower not to run to room 7813.

He knocks on the door, maybe a little louder than he intended to, and Lizzy opens the door. He smiles at her, letting relief fill him at seeing her again, even though he had known she was safe.

Ressler marches past them and goes to handcuff Tuckett. Red makes eye contact with Lizzy, wanting to talk with her about what had happened, but she shakes her head- not now. Red nods but purses his lips in displeasure.

Ressler comes back to the door dragging an unconscious James with him. "There's a back way we can go out to avoid suspicion," he grunts under the weight of James. Red moves to help him carry James, mostly because he knows it will annoy Ressler.


	3. Chapter 3

Authors Note: Thanks for the reviews they definitely make me write faster! None of this is mine.

**Chapter 3**

After giving a brief account of the case, Liz is sent home to get some sleep. It is 1 in the morning, and Liz is exhausted from the lack of sleep she'd had lately.

This had officially been the quickest black list case they had ever closed, and Cooper had told them all to take the day off tomorrow. In less, of course, Red came up with a case that needed their immediate attention.

Liz walks to her car to find Red leaning against it, sunglasses on despite being inside. She can't read him as he says, "Lizzy do you mind if I drive you home? It's not safe to drive tired, you know."

"Where's Dembe?" Liz asks.

"He had other matters to attend to," Red answers vaguely.

"So you don't have a ride home." She doesn't even wait for him to answer. "You can come with me, but I'm driving."

Red mumbles something about getting them both killed, but gets into the passenger's side. Liz smiles at her small victory against him and starts the car.

Red is silent the whole way home. "Where do I drop you off?" asks Liz as they get closer to her house. Red looks at her, having finally taken the sunglasses off in the dark.

His gaze is shaded and it is impossible to read his tone when he answers, "Lizzy we need to talk."

"So to my apartment?" she asks, more rhetorically, and Red gives her a strained smile and goes back to gazing out the window in stony silence.

Red's actions are admittedly making Liz a little nervous. She knows he is holding a strong emotion in, and what worries her is that she doesn't know what that emotion is.

She hasn't done anything to anger or disappoint him to the best of her knowledge. At least not since Tom. Unless he's still angry about Tom, which Liz finds doubtful because he had found out about that over a week ago and she is pretty sure he had forgiven her or at least understood her reasoning while they were on the boat.

Liz worries about his strange behavior all the way until she pulls up to her apartment. Her headlights illuminate the door standing wide open. Inside she can see shattered glass and broken shards of furniture littering the floor.

Her heart drops, adrenaline coursing through her. She pulls out her pistol and hears Red doing the same. She looks at Red and he nods in understanding.

They both step out of the car and approach the door. Liz steps in the door first, her gun pointing out. Red enters after her, flicking on the light to reveal the full extent of the damage.

Liz walks into the kitchen and bathroom to find them both ransacked, but empty. "Clear," she calls out and hears Red do the same as he exits the bedroom.

In every room the furniture is smashed to bits. Every personal item Liz has kept in her apartment is destroyed. Luckily she has very few personal affects in her apartment- just some clothes and pictures from her childhood with Sam. The rest is in a storage facility.

Liz picks up a cracked photograph off the ground and pulls the photo free from the shattered frame. Sam is in it and he is holding her in his lap, a laugh forever frozen on his face. He looks so happy.

Liz feels a tear slide down her cheek, then another. She feels Red's presence next to her and lets him wrap his arms around her. He had been making phone calls- probably to Mr. Kaplan and Dembe.

"Your storage facility is safe. I have placed my own guard on it." Liz doesn't even question how he knows about the storage facility. She wraps her arms around him, pressing her face into his shoulder and inhaling his comforting scent.

Finally she gets her emotions under control and pulls away. Red immediately releases her.

"We need to go, it's not safe here," Liz says, her tone free of emotion. She feels a little numb.

It terrifies her that someone had been able to find her apartment. That they had trashed it, making sure to destroy everything that she treasured.

Red tries to meet her gaze, but she turns and walks to the car, feeling like the world is slowly crumbling around her and there is nothing she can do to stop it.

Red sighs and follows her, wishing he could comfort her. He knows she can't possibly be that upset about her cheap apartment, so he figures everything that has happened recently is finally catching up with her. That is a familiar feeling for Raymond Reddington, and he would do anything to spare Lizzy from feeling it.

Red feels a little helpless, knowing that he had been the cause to some of her pain. It didn't matter that he had done it in her best interest, it had still hurt her and if there was one thing Red had never intended to do it would be hurt Lizzy. Yet he had succeeded at doing just that more than once in the year since he had entered her life.

He slides in to the passenger seat and looks over at his Lizzy. Her face is devoid of emotion. She is learning how to hide her feelings.

"My safe house is 10 minutes away," Red says cautiously, unsure how to proceed.

Liz responds in an empty voice, "Tell me where to go." Red nods and they drive in silence, interrupted by directions every once in a while. Liz pulls up in front of a hotel and gives Red a questioning look.

"I've had to change safe houses often in the past few weeks, with you switching apartments every other day. Paranoia has served me well in the past, but I must admit the way you have been moving around is a little much." Liz gives him an apologetic smile, keeping herself from breaking down by thinking of how he moved all over just to be close to her.

They enter the highly furnished, sparkling lobby. The check in clerk perks up when he sees them and says in an overly eager tone, "Mr. Johnson, welcome back!"

"Thank you, John," Red replies with his normal charming smile. John looks giddy at the thought of 'Mr. Johnson' remembering his name, seeming unaware of his blatantly obvious name tag.

Red guides Liz to the elevator with his hand resting lightly on her back. They ride up to his room in silence.

"I have to call Cooper, tell him what happened," Liz says suddenly.

"That's already taken care of, sweetheart," Red says softly with a sad smile.

"You called Cooper?" Liz says, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"I did," replies Red with a small laugh as the elevator doors slid open. He strides out, this time letting Liz follow his lead. Dembe is standing outside the room and gives Red a small nod, before opening the door for them.

The room is huge and grand, filled with eloquently designed furniture that is right up Red's alley, but Liz hardly notices any of it. Exhaustion has caught back up to her now that her body senses she's out of danger. She stifles a yawn, trying to focus on Red but finding it extremely difficult.

Red sees her half hidden yawn and says with yet another soft smile, "Let's get you into bed." Liz is too tired to see the small smirk flicker over Red's face after hearing those words. If only Lizzy knew how long Reddington had been waiting to say that to her…but in a very different context.

Red pushes back the mental images brought by that thought and slowly leads nearly- asleep Liz to the bedroom where a king bed covered in soft blankets fills almost the entire room.

"Where are you going to sleep?" asks Liz, not even fighting the yawn that follows.

"I'll take the couch, don't worry about me," Red replies. Liz tries to protest, but finds she is too tired to argue with him.

"Goodnight Lizzy," Red says softly, almost moving forward to wrap his arms around her but holding himself back.

Instead, he gives her a comforting smile and walks out of the room, calling over his shoulder, "I'll be right outside if you need anything." Liz crawls into the soft bed and falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.

Red collapses on the couch and lets out a deep sigh. He desperately needs a drink, but isn't sure he'd be able to stop drinking if he started, and he doesn't want Lizzy to see him drunk. His plans had been going wrong all day.

The first plan was the case- it was supposed to be an easy case and give Liz a well- needed and deserved break. Instead Lizzy had ended up having to seduce the little pervert for information. Red still felt enraged when he thought about that.

The next plan had been to have the long delayed talk with Lizzy. The case had made Red realize something- that he couldn't wait any longer to tell her. He had to tell her no matter how she responded, because honestly Red had no idea how Lizzy would react.

Even after spending a full year with her, she still proved unpredictable and Red often found himself surprised by her actions. Stabbing him with a pen had definitely not been something he had been expecting.

Red unconsciously rubs the small scar on his neck. He had worked up the courage to tell her how he feels on the way to the apartment and had been ready to put his heart on the line (and really his whole life on the line, because Lizzy was the only thing that kept him going) when he had been so rudely interrupted by the vandals.

Mr. Kaplan is already tracking down the suspects, having accessed the security feed Red had set up (without Liz's knowledge) the first day Liz had moved in. Red wishes he could help, but Mr. Kaplan made it quite clear she would physically drag him back here if he tried to leave. He needs to be there for Lizzy.

Red needs something to occupy his mind so he picks up the book he had been reading. His mind doesn't take in one word as his thoughts stray to the young woman fast asleep in the next room.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the reviews they make me so happy (initiates group hug). I will update this as fast as I can but it may go a little slower because of midterms. I hope you enjoy! Again, none of this is mine.

**Chapter 4 **

Liz presses her back against the cement wall as bullets whizz past her. Adrenaline courses through her body, keeping panic from setting in.

She makes eye contact with Ressler, who is pressed against the wall opposite her, and as soon as the guards stop firing to reload, they make their move. They reach the doorframe at the same time and with 2 shots each they take out the 4 guards before they have a chance to react.

They walk into the room and approach the closed door. Liz feels her heart starting to pound in her chest. Whatever or whoever is behind this door couldn't possibly be good.

All of a sudden a bullet shatters through the wooden door and hits Ressler dead in the chest. The scream barely has time to leave Liz's mouth when she is grabbed from behind.

Her attacker knocks away her weapon as Liz twists and pushes back, her reflexes kicking in. The attacker stumbles back and Liz dives for her gun. She feels a hard fist close around her foot and yank her backwards. She lands on her chest, her breath knocked out of her.

The attacker is already on top of her, restraining her wrists with zip ties. He drags her up and Liz comes face to face with her ex-husband. Shock registers on her face, and Tom Keen laughs coldly at the expression. "Surprised to see me again, sweetheart?" he sneers at her.

He opens the wooden door (now with a bullet hole in it) and shoves Liz roughly through it. Liz nearly falls over Ressler's crumpled body and has to stifle a sob. That's when a familiar voice stops her heart.

"Lizzy?" She hears Red's voice, but it's much too strained, much too weak. Her head jerks towards the sound to find Red, bound to a chair with blood dripping from his head. His face is convulsed into a look of pure agony and Liz feels her legs threatening to buckle underneath her.

"It's going to be okay Red, just hold on," she says in a trembling voice. Tom pushes her forward again and into the seat next to Red. Liz finds that she can't break eye contact with Red as Tom methodically binds her to the chair. Red's eyes are bloodshot and filled with pain. Liz swallows her tears and tries, but fails, to give Red a hopeful smile.

"Lizzy-" Red starts to say, but his voice cracks and he can't continue.

"It's going to be okay Red, we're going to be okay," Liz promises as tears stream down her cheeks. Tom finishes with the bindings and walks towards the small bench pressed against the wall. It is covered with all sorts of torture devices.

"So where do we start?" he asks with a menacing smile. "Oh, that's right." Tom picks up a hammer and advances on Red, a sick grin spreading across his face. Liz screams.

Raymond is startled from his thoughts by the sound of someone screaming. He leaps up and runs to Lizzy's room, fear coursing through his body

"Tom, no, please don't hurt him, please stop TOM YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM!" Liz yells, sounding absolutely petrified. Red bursts through the door and sees her twisted up in the sheets, tears running down her face as she screams again, "Red talk to me, please Red, please don't be dead. I can't live without you, please…" Red grabs her shoulders and starts gently shaking her.

"Lizzy, wake up," Red orders. She starts screaming again, this time her words incomprehensible. "Lizzy!" Red shouts, shaking her quite violently this time. Her eyes fly open and she screams but then falls quiet upon seeing Red above her. Her eyes are glazed and unfocused.

"Red?" she says with confusion, her voice shaky from tears. Red lets out a breath he wasn't aware that he was holding.

"It was just a nightmare Lizzy, you're okay," Red tells her softly, keeping his hands on her shoulders. He stands there, watching Liz for a little while, as her breath slows down and she seems to come to her senses.

"It all seemed so real," she whispers softly, so Red has to lean in to hear her.

"I know sweetheart, but you're okay. You're safe now." He removes his hands from her shoulders and gives her a comforting smile. Red starts moving towards the door.

What Liz says next she would blame on her lack of sleep the next day. Or on her terrified and clearly fragile state of mind. But no matter how she justifies it the next day, the bottom line is that Liz is scared and needs Red. And in a very similar way, Red needs her too.

"Red, will you stay with me?" Liz asks in a small voice. Red freezes in his path out the door. "At least until I fall asleep?" Liz continues, unsure of herself. Red visibly swallows and then turns, keeping his face expressionless.

"Of course," he answers simply, and then walks to the other side of the bed. He has already shed a few layers of clothing, so he crawls into the sheets, being careful not to touch Lizzy. She carefully moves closer to him, until she's pressed against his side. Red wraps an arm around her, pulling her closer to him.

"Goodnight, Red," Liz mumbles tiredly into Red's undershirt.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," Red says in a soft and deep voice. Liz inhales the scent of him and then drifts off into a light and dreamless sleep. Red waits until Liz's breathing steadiies, and then carefully untangles himself from her.

It wasn't that Raymond Reddington wouldn't love to sleep next to Elizabeth Keen; in fact nothing could make him happier. It was just that Red knew that Liz was scared when she had called him to bed. It hadn't been out of the same need that Red felt for her, and he knew if he led himself to believe, even for one night, that she felt the same way about him as he felt about her, it would ruin him.

So he leaves, and takes his spot back on the couch. He tries to forget the way Lizzy's warm body had felt against his, how well they had fit together. Tries to forget how she had relied on him for comfort. But that's all Red was to her and was all he would ever be.

He was insane to have thought, even the slightest amount, that she could have feelings for him. He can't believe that he had almost told her that day. It would have ruined everything.

This time, Red doesn't resist the urge to drink and passes out on the couch around 3 am.


	5. Chapter 5

Authors Note: I own nothing. The next chapter is more Lizzingtony.

**Chapter 5**

Liz awakens to soft light streaming through the shades of her window. She opens her eyes and is shocked to find herself somewhere other than her apartment. Then it all comes back to her and she blushes. Had she really asked Red to sleep with her? And where had he gone, if it hadn't been a dream?

Liz rubs her eyes tiredly, and then glances at the clock. It is 10:00, the latest she had slept in years. Liz gets out of bed and realizes that she's still in her dress from the night before. Apparently she had been too tired to even change her clothes. The dress is a wrinkled mess.

She walks over to the mahogany wardrobe and opens it to find all of her favorite suits of Red's. She smiles to herself as she grabs a soft white button up shirt. She quickly strips and then puts on the shirt. It is soft and cool against her skin.

She finds the bathroom and washes the smudged makeup from her face. It is streaked from the tears the nightmare had caused. She has been having nightmares for a while now, but that one had been particularly frightening.

Once Liz is presentable, she goes to find Red. She steps into the main room to find him passed out on the couch. A half- empty bottle of scotch sits on the table in front of him. His neck is bent in an uncomfortable position.

Liz is debating whether to wake him or not when all of a sudden he wakes up. He has his gun pointed at Liz before she can even say a word. She watches him take in his surroundings and then lower his weapon.

"Good morning, Lizzy. Did you sleep well?" he says, his voice gravely with sleep.

Liz gives him an amused smile and replies, "Good morning, Red. As a matter of fact I did sleep well."

"At least that makes one of us," groans Red as he rubs his head.

"That's what happens when you drink half a bottle of scotch." Red just chuckles at that and then says, "I'm going to take a shower and then I will make you and I a grand breakfast. You haven't lived until you've tasted coffee grown on the hills of Nicaragua."

Then he notices what Liz is wearing. His pupils dilate, and he has to look away. He clears his throat. "Would you like Dembe to bring you some of your clothes?"

"This is actually rather comfortable," Liz replies with a smirk, glad to have the upper hand for once. Red doesn't even respond, and avoids making eye contact with Liz as he walks out of the room.

He pauses at the doorway and says in a deep tone, "That shirt looks a lot better on you than it does on me." His eyes meet hers and Liz blushes at the obvious lust in them. Red turns and goes to take a very cold shower.

Liz has never been very good at staying still and doing nothing. She tries to wait patiently for Red to finish, but gives up after about a minute. She starts looking around the hotel room. Besides his clothes in the dresser and a couple of boxes (and of course, his extensive amount of alcohol) there are no other personal affects. Liz wonders if he has any other personal affects, having to live a life on the run doesn't leave a person with a lot of material belongings.

Liz wants to continue searching, but doesn't want to snoop, so instead she enters the small kitchen. It seems to be fully stocked, even though Red had only moved in here two weeks ago if he had been following Liz like he said. She sits on the counter and just takes in the grand hotel room that is 5 times nicer than her crappy apartment.

Liz hears the shower turn off and 5 minutes later Red is in the kitchen dressed in his normal suit. Liz tries not to think about how good it looks on him. Red busies himself with making breakfast, crushing up coffee beans and whisking up omelets.

He seems very experienced and Liz wonders if there is anything Red isn't skilled at. The kitchen becomes filled with delicious smells and Liz's stomach starts to growl- complaining about the fact that she hasn't eaten anything since 12 o clock the day before.

Breakfast is ready in no time and Liz sits down on one of the stools facing the granite counter top. Red places a giant plate of food before her with an oversized mug of coffee and then sits beside her with the same breakfast. They eat in silence, Liz wolfing down her food (which is delicious) and Red seeming to savor every bite.

Red watches in amusement as the food disappears at an alarming rate off Liz's plate. She finishes and steals a piece of toast from his plate and then sits there nibbling on it while she watches Red, looking impatient for him to finish breakfast.

Red pushes away his half full plate with a sigh and says, "I assume you're ready to start the day?" Liz nods.

"Well you're going to need some clothes first," Red says, gesturing to her clothes, seeming to have recovered from the initial shock of finding her in his shirt.

"I have a dress," Liz offers hopefully, just wanting to get a move on with the day.

"No, that won't do with what we have today- I'll send Dembe to go see if any of your clothes survived. If not, we can stop by your storage facility on the way to our destination."

"Are we going to find the people who ransacked my apartment?" Liz asks. Red gives her a grim nod and then goes to talk to Dembe. A half an hour later Liz is fully dressed (it turns out some of her clothes had survived the destruction of her apartment) and pulling out of the hotel with Red.

Liz questions Red the entire car ride about where they are going and who they are going to see, but she can't get one word out of him. He keeps saying, "You'll see when we get there." Finally Liz gives up in a huff of annoyance, causing Red's lips to quirk into an amused smile. They drive in silence after that, Liz getting angrier by the second, and Red becoming more amused by the second as he reads her anger.

They pull up to a small warehouse and Liz tries to jump out of the car immediately. Red grabs her arm. "Something isn't right," he says in a serious tone. Liz freezes and pulls out her gun. Red does the same and says (more to himself), "The guards should be out here."

Red gets out first and when no bullets come flying at him, he motions Lizzy to do the same. She cautiously exits the car, feeling anxiety starting to build in her stomach. Red looks up at the warehouse with a look of dread on his face.

"I suspect this is not going to be pretty sight. Stay behind me." Liz doesn't argue and follows behind him as he approaches the door. The lock is broken and the door is slightly ajar. Red pushes the door open and a repugnant smell meets them that they both recognize as the smell of death. Neither of them react to it, having smelled it too many times before.

The room is dark in front of them, and Red steps in and quickly flips on the light. Two bodies are lying there, crumpled in a pool of blood, their bodies torn up with bullets. Liz winces, but Red hardly reacts, moving on to the next room. They find 3 more bodies, all torn up by machine guns.

In the last room there are 3 wooden chairs, with the bindings that once bound the 3 suspects lying in ribbons on the ground. Red lowers his gun and shakes his head.

He walks out of the ware house without a word. Liz wants him to say something. Even yelling is better than his silence.

She has never seen him so angry before, and it frightens her to see him like this. The Red she knows is gone, replaced by the dark and ruthless Raymond Reddington, who has earned his spot as number 4 on the most wanted list with blood.

They exit the building, the strong scent of death sticking to them. He calls Mr. Kaplan, relating what happened in an empty tone. He doesn't even look at Liz during this whole time. He finishes the phone call and just stands there.

If Lizzy wasn't there Raymond Reddington would already be tracking the killers to the ends of the earth to take his revenge. He wouldn't even try to hold in his anger, instead letting it drive him forward- letting it numb all of his emotions until it became him. He would kill everyone involved and then return home emptier than he had been before.

Each trip for revenge had taken a little something of Raymond Reddington's heart until it had nearly been too late. Then, he had met Liz. How strange, how wonderful it had been to let Lizzy into his heart. It had been a while since Red had let anything get even close to his heart, but the little girl had him wrapped around her little finger.

She had reminded him of his daughter, and at first that had hurt- it had hurt almost too much to bare. But then, something changed in Raymond Reddington and he found that being with her filled his heart instead of hurt it. He allowed himself to love someone else, and when the time came that he had to let her go, it almost broke him, but he knew he would always watch out for her from afar.

He would make sure his Lizzie had the best life possible, a better life then he could even dream of providing for her. And Red had done just that, until a little over a year ago when he found their paths inexplicably aligned and had come face to face with his Lizzy after over 20 years.

He met a Lizzy quite different from the one he had known all those years ago, and almost immediately found himself feeling differently about her than he had in the past. Gone were the parental instincts he had felt. Liz was all grown up- she didn't need a father. Red promised to himself he would become whatever Liz needed.

What had started out as a means to an end had quickly transformed into something entirely different, and Red found himself changing at an alarming rate. Liz was changing him at an alarming rate. And now, as he stands there trying to get himself under control, he can feel her pulling him back to the light.

She doesn't even have to say anything; all she needs to do is be there with him. He closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath and opens them to see her watching him. Her eyes hold no fear in them; instead they hold a kind of fierce determination. She won't let him do this to himself.

Red takes another deep breath and feels the anger start to melt away. It is amazing the power she has over him. As the last remnants of his anger leak away from him, Red feels exhausted, as if he had just fought in a battle. And in a way, he had.

He tries to smile at Liz, but only manages a grimace. He still can't meet her eyes; he can't meet the compassion in them yet. He needs to be strong, but be strong without the darkness driving him forward.

Another minute passes and Red is completely under control. He meets Liz's kind eyes and nods at her. He is okay. Liz smiles, the smile lighting up her face in a way it hadn't in a long time. She doesn't fully realize the significance of what had just occurred. Then she grows solemn, thinking about the destruction behind her. "We have to find the people who did this, Red," she says, making a pained expression.

"We will," Red assures her, "Mr. Kaplan will be here soon."

Sure enough, Mr. Kaplan pulls up a few minutes later to find a very unexpected sight. Red and Liz are sitting on the hood of Liz's car, their fingers intertwined. They look up as she pulls in, and she doesn't see the normal anger in Red's face.

He is definitely still angry, but Mr. Kaplan doesn't see the normal devouring rage in them. Instead she sees sadness in them. She shakes her head. She knew the girl had power over him, but she had no idea she had this much power over him. She doubts Liz even knew how much of a change she had already caused in the man beside her. Liz could break Raymond Reddington with one word if she wanted to.

Mr. Kaplan gets out of her car and Red greets her with a kiss on the cheek. "It is pretty bloody in there. All 5 guards are dead," he tells her.

Mr. Kaplan nods and responds, "I can take care of this, dearie. Why don't you go home and I will call you when I have something." Red seems unsure for a second, then he looks at Liz and nods.

"As soon as you have something," he says.

Mr. Kaplan nods again and watches as he and Liz pull out. Raymond Reddington leaving the scene of a crime before he gets answers? This is something I'd never think I would see, Mr. Kaplan thinks to herself as she gets to work.


	6. Chapter 6

Authors Note: I own nothing.

**Chapter 6**

When they return to Red's hotel room, neither Liz nor Red know what to do with themselves. Mr. Kaplan could take 5 minutes or she could take 5 hours, and neither of them can stand sitting there and waiting for her call. After about 5 minutes of waiting Liz says, "Let's go somewhere."

"Where do you like to go?" asks Red, just as desperate to find something to occupy his mind.

"Let's go to the zoo," Liz suggests.

"Last time we were at the zoo it nearly got blown up," Red says with a quirk of his lips.

"Okay, so maybe not the zoo…How about a museum?" Red perks up at that.

"There is a simply splendid art museum just down the road from here that I have been dying to go to," he says with excitement in his voice.

"Let's go."

Five minutes later Liz and Red are walking through an art museum. Red has a story behind every painting, and Liz tries not to laugh at some of them. Every once in a while she can't stifle the laugh and all the visitors turn and give them patronizing looks that makes Liz laugh harder.

It turns out that three of the paintings there are counterfeit- Red owns one of them and knows who owns the other two. The stories of the elaborate heists pulled off to obtain the paintings are entertaining and Liz soon finds herself lost in Red's words- forgetting momentarily all the problems that they are facing.

Red's ringtone interrupts another story about a painting. Red's face falls and he picks up the phone, briskly walking out of the gallery. The other visitors give them dirty looks as they walk out. They walk up the block back to his hotel; Liz waiting patiently for Red to finish the phone call and tell her what is going on. Red hangs up with a sigh and says, "I need to go on a trip for a few days…"

"I'm coming with you," Liz says automatically.

Red gives her a hard look. "It's too dangerous and I don't want to drag you into this."

Liz cuts him off; they are now in the parking lot in front of his hotel. Her voice is filled with anger. "I am a trained FBI agent I think I can handle danger. And drag me into this? These people ransacked my apartment! If anything it's_ me_ who is dragging _you_ into this."

Red answers in an infuriatingly calm tone. "These people aren't after you Lizzie; they are just using you to get to me. I'm sorry that I got you involved with this, but it is only through association with me."

Liz clenches her jaw, trying her hardest to not yell at Red. "Well since I'm already involved, you might as well bring me."

"No, Lizzie, it's much too dangerous. My job is to protect you and I plan to do just that," Red says with finality in his voice. Liz opens her mouth to argue that and Red groans. "Can we at least save this until my hotel room? I'm pretty sure those people are ready to call the police on us."

Liz follows Red's gaze and sure enough there is a couple standing on the sidewalk with their mouths open, gawking at Red and Liz. "What, have they never seen an argument before?" Liz mutters angrily, but begrudgingly follows Red into the hotel.

They are greeted by their favorite check in clerk, John, who has started calling them "Mr. and Mrs. Johnson" and neither Liz nor Red have bothered to correct him. Liz gives him a murderous glare, causing him to trail off on his greeting and his face to pale, earning a small chuckle out of Red.

"It's good to see you John," he says with false cheeriness, and John looks extremely stressed out by that.

"Do you need anything Mr. Johnson?" he stutters, every so often glancing at Liz with a terrified expression on his face.

"We're fine, thanks for your help John," Red answers, not even trying to hide his amused grin as he steps into the elevator. Liz fixes him with her glare once the doors slide closed, and he meets it with a cool expression.

"I should probably make sure there are no pens lying around in my hotel room before we continue this conversation," Red says causing Liz's face to turn red with anger as she clenches her fists. The elevator doors slide open and Liz storms to the door of the room.

This time, Dembe isn't waiting there so she has to wait for Red to unlock the door, and he seems to be taking his time. Liz could kill that man right now and she would feel absolutely no remorse. God he is so infuriating, Liz thinks to herself.

Red opens the door and lets Liz enter, trailing behind her as she storms into the room. She paces back and forth a couple times, planning her argument as Red watches her.

Liz starts with, "These people were in my apartment Red. They destroyed all of my belongings. I deserve to be there when you find them." She says it with more anger than she intended.

Red watches her for a second then says, "Lizzy, when we found my men today, do you remember how I acted? Do you remember the… anger in me?" Liz looks at him and nods slowly. He continues with a soft question, "When you saw me like that, were you scared?" Liz just looks at Red, not responding. "Were you scared?" Red asks with more force in his voice.

He can hear the honesty and the pain in Liz's voice as she responds. "Yes, Red, I was scared. But that person, he isn't you…"

Red cuts her off in an almost yell, "He is me!" His voice quiets. "He is me, Lizzy. I've tried to hide him from you, but you can't hide from yourself."

Silent tears are streaming down Liz's face. "But I brought you back. You were there, but I brought you back." Red's face looks lost at that statement.

"Yes- you did," he says quietly, more to himself than to Liz. They watch each other from across the room. Liz starts to approach Red. He backs up and says softly, "I'm a monster."

"No Red," says Liz quietly, then with more confidence, "You're not a monster." Red stops moving and just watches as Liz gets closer to him. He knows he can destroy her. He knows he will destroy her- just like he has done for everyone else he has loved. Raymond Reddington is a monster and the only one who can't see that is Liz.

A single tear runs down Red's face. He wants to move, wants to yell for Lizzy to leave before it is too late, but Raymond Reddington is not a selfless man. Liz gets close and he wraps his arms around her and kisses her. He kisses her with all the passion he has kept bottled up for so long.

And she kisses him back, and he can taste her tears, and he realizes that he could break her with the snap of his fingers, but she could do the same to him. He surrenders to the feel of her lips on his and lets himself get lost in the moment.

They finally break apart and stand there, locked in each other embrace, gazing at each other with similar expressions of shocked joy on their faces. Red gently wipes the dried tears off of Lizzy's beautiful face, and then pulls her close to him. She whispers his name into his ear and gives a contented sigh. He gently rubs her back, just enjoying the feeling of her body pressed against his.

After a long time, Red releases her and steps back. "How can I let you come with me after that?" he asks her quietly, searching her face.

Liz looks at him sadly, knowing she has lost. "Promise me you'll come back to me, Red," she says quietly.

"You know I can't promise that," says Red, pain filling his face.

"At least promise me you will everything in your power to return," Liz replies, meeting his gaze.

Red looks straight into her eyes and says, "I promise that I will do everything in my power to return to you, and that as long as I am alive there will be nothing big enough or strong enough to keep me from you."

Liz nods, trying to keep herself from crying for the second time today. Red gives her one last kiss that is filled with longing, but breaks off before she can deepen it. "Goodbye, Lizzy," Red says and he turns to walk out the door, leaving Liz standing alone is his hotel room with tears running down her face.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews they keep me going! I own nothing.

**Chapter 7**

Liz isn't exactly sure what to do with herself once Red leaves. She knows she will have to face Cooper eventually and tell him that she had let Red escape, but she doesn't feel up to that yet. So instead, she takes a long bath, puts on one of Red's shirts, and takes a nap.

Two hours later, Liz wakes up dazed, but greatly refreshed until she remembers where Red is. She feels the urge to break down into tears again, but she knows she is stronger than that.

Liz gets out of bed and goes to take the long-delayed and dreaded phone call. She turns on her phone for the first time that day to find 3 missed calls from Ressler. Great, now they probably think she is on the run with Red.

She dials Cooper's number, feeling a knot of anxiety starting to form in her stomach. She had planned her story while in the bath and it had seemed realistic then, but now Liz isn't so sure.

"Agent Keen, where the hell have you been?" Cooper says angrily through the phone.

Liz winces- this isn't a great start- and replies, "I'm sorry I haven't checked in sir, Reddington was keeping me busy." She realizes what that sounds like and hastily continues, "We tracked down a lead and when we got there some of Red's people were dead. He got really angry… and well he's gone sir."

She hears Cooper exhale sharply. "What do you mean by gone?" he says through clenched teeth.

"He just disappeared, I think he went to find the killers," Liz replies, knowing that was not going to go over well. She was correct. Cooper explodes.

"What the hell have you been doing, Keen? Get to the Post Office now!" Liz glances at the clock,

"Sir, its 7o'clock."

"I'm well aware of the time Agent Keen, and if you don't get here in 5 minutes…" Cooper growls.

"I'll be there," Liz says and Cooper hangs up on her. Liz sighs. That certainly could have gone better.

Ressler is waiting by the elevator when Liz pulls into the garage. He just nods at her and follows her into the elevator. This is starting to feel a lot like an arrest Liz thinks to herself. Ressler watches her with a cold look from the other side of the elevator, keeping his stony silence.

Cooper is waiting for them when the doors slide open, thankfully looking less angry than he sounded on the phone. He gestures for Liz to follow him. The looks everyone is giving Liz as she walks by reminds her of the looks they gave her when they suspected she was working with Tom. Definitely not a good sign. She sits down across from Cooper in his office. Cooper starts asking questions in a cool and even voice, and Liz answers them.

"Tell me what happened."

"Well, last night I was giving Reddington a ride home from the post office, and he told me he had a new case to tell me about and suggested we meet in my apartment, because his safe house was close by and Dembe could pick him up when we were done. When we pulled up, we found the door kicked in and the apartment destroyed. That's when Reddington called you. Then he took me to his safe house, a hotel called Hotel Monaco. I was exhausted, so I slept there with Reddington sleeping on the couch."

"I slept in late and when I woke up Reddington told me he had a lead on the people who had ransacked my apartment. We drove for about a half an hour to a warehouse- I don't know exactly where, Reddington wouldn't tell me. When we pulled up Reddington said something wasn't right because the guards weren't waiting outside. We went inside and found all 5 of Reddington's guards dead and the 3 suspects they were guarding gone. Reddington called an associate to investigate the deaths. He was angrier then I had even seen him sir. I wanted to call you then, but I didn't have my phone."

Cooper cuts her off, "Why didn't you use Reddington's phone? Who was the associate?"

"I don't know who the associate was, but Reddington was still talking to him when we started driving back to the hotel, and wouldn't give me his cell phone. When we got back I spent a long time trying to calm him down and get him to give me some answers. Then his associate called him back and he got really angry and stormed out. I tried to follow him in my car, but I lost him about 20 minutes into my chase. I went back to the hotel and had to con my way back into his hotel room because I had left my badge and cellphone in there and I don't have a key. As soon as I got in there I called you back."

"Reddington didn't tell you anything about the suspects or where he might be going?"

"No, he refused to tell me," Liz answers, feeling no remorse about lying to Cooper. She had told John from the hotel what to say so he could confirm their alibis, and was pretty sure he was more scared of her than he would be of both Ressler and Samar, so he would stick to her story. Cooper tells her to wait there while Ressler, "checks out the lead". Samar replaces Cooper and they make small talk while Liz waits to hear her fate.

Finally, at 9'o clock Liz sees Ressler walk out of the elevator and say something to Cooper. They both glance up at Cooper's office where Liz and Samar are. Samar gives Liz a comforting smile and Liz follows her as she exits Cooper's office and joins the other agents.

"It seems like your story checks out, Keen," Cooper tells Liz in a doubtful voice.

"Can I go home now, sir?" asks Liz, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

"No one goes home until we find Reddington," Cooper orders, and the agents all disperse to their own offices. Liz moves to go to her office when Cooper stops her. "Agent Keen, a word in my office please?" Liz follows him up, wondering what she has done now.

As soon as Cooper closes the door he says in a threatening tone, "Even if your story checked out, I know there is something you aren't telling me. You told me on the first day that you had no idea why Reddington picked you, and I believed you. Now I'm not so sure. I will make myself clear, if I find out that you are involved with Reddington in anyway, I will not hesitate to take him down and take you down with him. With that being said, is there anything you want to tell me?"

Liz doesn't even flinch at his threat. "No sir."

Cooper gives her a searching look and then says with a heavy sigh, "Get back to work, Keen." Liz exits his office, wishing she could leave the post office and run into Red's arms, but she has work to do and doesn't even know if Red is in the same country. She sighs to herself; this is going to be a long couple of days.

While Elizabeth Keen is stuck in her office, Raymond Reddington is hiking through the Amazon rainforest with no more than a bottle of water and an outdated map, and of course his trusted friend Dembe. "It is getting dark, Raymond." Dembe tells him, glancing up at the small pieces of sky breaking through the canopy with a worried look on his face.

"We're almost at our destination," Red reassures him, as he tries to figure out his map. It is covered in squiggly lines and strange symbols, and he gives up on trying to understand it. He had found this place once before, he could find it again. They plunge on through the thick foliage.

"Raymond…." says Dembe, looking up at the dark blue sky.

Red makes a sound of relief and exclaims, "We are here Dembe! Thank God, I don't think I can walk another step." Dembe smiles at his friend's luck.

They walk into a small clearing lit up by a big fire in the center. Small tents surround the fire, and off to the side is an unexpected site- a satellite and a small generator.

There is a group of about 20 people gathered around the fire, dressed in animal skins and looking very strange. They are talking and laughing and seem completely at ease with their surroundings.

Red spots one of them and shouts, "Jack, my old friend!" as he steps into the light cast by the fire.

Jack lets out a big laugh and calls back, "Raymond, you son of a bitch, how long has it been?" as if it is normal to meet old friends in the middle of the Amazon. Red goes and hugs his old friend.

He gestures to Dembe. "This is my dearest friend and partner in crime, Dembe." Jack in turn introduces everyone around the fire, most of them family.

Ever so often Red chuckles and exclaims, "He/ She has grown so much!" He has his normal charming smile on, and the small group seems completely mesmerized by him.

Jack finishes with introductions and points to Red, "Everyone this is my old business associate I've been telling all those stories about, the one and only Raymond Reddington." Red and Dembe join them around the fire, and join in in the laughter.

When the last traces of sunlight leave the sky, and the youngest members start to break off to their tents to sleep, Jack pulls Red off to the side. "So what brings you all the way out here?"

"It couldn't just be to catch up with an old friend?" Red asks with a smile. Jack gives him a knowing look and he grows solemn. "I need to track someone down, someone in the region of South Africa."

"Give me a day and I'll see what I can do," Jack responds. Red gives him a nod of thanks, and then retreats back to the fire his thoughts drifting to Lizzy for not the first time this day.

Back at the Post Office, Liz has been working for 36 hours straight, and she is utterly exhausted. Cooper has stuck to his order that no one leaves until Reddington is found, and everyone in the Post Office is running off of sheer adrenaline and coffee.

Liz has been searching for Red the entire time, and has yet to find one lead. She is guessing by the dejected looks on the other agent's faces that they are having similar luck.

Liz eyes start to water as she struggles to read the airplane logs for private airports near DC. She pushes back from her computer and runs a hand down her face.

"I'm going to get a coffee; do you want me to get you one?" Liz asks Ressler. Ressler grunts in response, which Liz takes as a yes. His eyes remain glued to the screen.

She walks over to the coffee machine, filling two Styrofoam cups with bitter coffee that was definitely not grown on the mountains of Nicaragua. Someone approaches her and she turns to see Aram, with a stressed look on his face. He motions for her to follow him and she does, leaving the coffee.

He leads her to an empty hallway of the Post Office, near the interrogation rooms. He looks around with a paranoid look on his face.

"No one is here Aram, what do you need to tell me?" Liz asks him.

He pulls out a file and hands it to Liz, giving her a wide eyed expression, as if something of life or death importance was contained in the small file. Liz moves to open and Aram hisses at her, "Not here! There are security cameras everywhere. Open it at home." Liz is intrigued and definitely a little nervous by Aram's behavior.

"Thank you," she says to him, knowing that whatever information is in the file could get Aram fired, or worse. He just nods to her, looking slightly relieved to have passed on the damaging information.

Liz walks back to her office, grabbing the now-slightly-cool coffees on her way. Ressler doesn't even look up when she enters and places the coffee on his desk. He probably didn't even notice she was gone. The hunt for Reddington had already taken five years of his life, he wasn't about to quit now especially when they'd had eyes on Red less than 2 days ago.

Two days, Liz thinks to herself, he's only been gone for two whole days. She already misses him. She wonders what he is doing, and pictures him with the empty and enraged look he'd had back at the warehouse. She shudders at the thought of what he would do when he found the people responsible. Sometimes she forgets about the dark side of Red.

Liz sighs and leans back in her chair, sipping the coffee slowly, lost in thought. Ressler breaks her out of her daze. He pushes back from his chair, the legs scraping the ground loudly. "Let's go get some dinner, Keen." Liz hadn't realized how hungry she was until he mentions dinner.

She hesitates, "What about Cooper?"

"He won't mind," Ressler replies with a small smile, "we've eaten nothing but a few handfuls of trail mix and some stale doughnuts in the past 36 hours, he owes us breakfast, lunch, and dinner." Liz smiles in agreement with that and follows him out of their office.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Thank you sooo much to all the people who have left reviews- I can't even put into words how much I appreciate them. None of this is mine.

**Chapter 8**

*3 weeks later*

Liz rolls out of bed at the sound of her alarm with a groan. It has been 3 weeks since Red had gone to get his revenge, 3 weeks since he had stood in this very hotel room and kissed her goodbye.

Liz wouldn't have stayed at the hotel- she wasn't that desperate, but it turned out Red had paid for it about 3 months in advance, so Liz decided to put it to good use. The hotel room had slowly transformed into hers while he was gone, Chinese takeout filling the fridge and her clothes hanging besides the suits Red had left behind in the dresser.

Liz showers and then goes into the kitchen where the file Aram had given her is still laying there from the first time she had opened them. It is yet another thing she will have to talk about with Red when he returns.

Liz sighs; she hadn't thought that Red would take this long. Now that she thinks about it, she had never actually asked him how long he was going to be gone for. She didn't want to know the answer.

Liz worries about him every day, and every night she's had nightmares about him. When she wakes up screaming in the middle of the night, there is no one there to comfort her, to tell her that everything is going to be okay.

On her weakest nights, she would get out of bed and walk on trembling legs to the music box Red had made her. She would listen to the soft music and let it comfort her until she was ready to go back to sleep. At first this had worked, but it seemed that the longer Red was gone, the worse the nightmares got.

Liz finishes getting ready and then drives to the post office. Progress has been nearly non-existent, and everyone is frustrated. Everyone except for Liz that is, but she pretends to be frustrated so she has an excuse to be in a bad mood, when really she is just missing Red.

Halfway across the world, Red is missing Liz just as much. He is close to his targets- he now knows who they are and where they are. What he doesn't know is who they work for. He has people following them right now, giving him his first break from hiking through jungles and attending business meetings with dangerous criminals who wouldn't think twice about killing him.

Now that Red has nothing to do, he finds himself missing Liz even more than he had the last 3 weeks. Red hadn't thought that was possible, but apparently he was wrong.

Red sighs, just wanting to get this trip over with so he could return to his Lizzy. His phone rings, and he answers immediately. He hears the familiar voice of Mr. Kaplan, "We found him."

She doesn't have to say anything more; Red is already off the couch and grabbing his pistol as he walks out the door. Dembe pulls up with perfect timing and Red gets in, hanging up on Mr. Kaplan.

"Who is it?" Red asks him as he speeds away.

Dembe gives him an apprehensive look.

"Who is it?" Red repeats, his suspicion growing.

"It's the husband," Dembe says quietly.

Red knows immediately who he is referring to. He swears under his breath. To Dembe he says, "I thought he was working for Berlin."

"Apparently he found a new employer."

Red is furious. He knows he should have killed Tom while he had the chance. Tom knows too much, not just about him but also about Lizzy. The only reason Red had let him go was to try to protect Lizzy- he didn't want to kill someone else she loved, not after Sam. Even if she hadn't loved the real Tom, Red knew she would never approve of him killing him in cold blood. He now wishes he had gone with his gut instinct on the matter.

Red and Dembe are currently in a small city in South Africa. Jack had tracked down the suspects in a day as promised, and had led them here. Red had never been a fan of South Africa- too many corrupt politicians and giant corporations made life hell for everyone else. It seems fitting that Tom would set up business here.

Dembe speeds to their destination, while telling Red that the 6 people who had killed his men had gone into a public office to meet with Tom and hadn't left yet. Red feels the anger building in him, but keeps it under control. Tom is an experienced agent; Red is certain he'll have a trick up his sleep.

If this case wasn't so personal, Red would have realized that this all seemed too easy. It had taken a day to track down the killers, another day to start following them, and only another week before they had led them Tom. In Raymond Reddington's world plans never went so smoothly.

Ten minutes later Red and Dembe pull up in front of the office. Red's men are watching the building as they wait for orders. Once all the exits are covered, Red pulls out his gun. It is time to get that son of a bitch and make him pay, Red thinks to himself.

With a hand signal, Red, Dembe, and two other agents pull on gas masks enter through the four doors. Smoke grenades cloud the air and cause the smoke alarm to go off. Red moves forward. Business men are running around in confusion, desperately trying to find the exits as smoke fills their eyes and lungs. Someone screams. Red ignores it all and moves towards the office where they determined Tom was meeting with the 6 killers.

He reaches the door and his 3 men converge behind him. He glances at them, making sure they are all okay and then kicks the door in. The room is already filled with smoke, and Red steps in with his gun up and ready. The smoke clears slightly and Red's heart drops- the room is empty. Something's wrong he thinks to himself, alarmed.

He's in the process of turning around to tell his people to retreat when the bomb goes off. The wall next to Red explodes, sending him flying across the room. His head hits the wall and he crumples to the ground, blacking out for a few seconds.

When he opens his eyes the world is spinning at an alarming rate. He squeezes them shut, and then opens them. The world clears. He wishes he had kept them shut. Two of his people had been standing nearly against the wall when the blast hit. They were completely gone, replaced by a few chunks of scorched flesh and bone. Dembe is laying a few feet away from Red. He can't see what shape he is in, but he isn't moving.

The wall where the bomb went off is gone and the rubble is burning slowly. Red can hear muffled screaming and shooting through the ringing in his ears. He tries to get up, but his body refuses to cooperate. All Red can do is lay there.

He accepts his fate and closes his eyes. His thoughts first go to his wife and daughter. He wishes he could have learned the truth about that day, but he knows that they are both alive and will probably do better without him.

His thoughts then go to the man lying beside him, his most loyal and faithful companion. Red can only hope that Dembe will somehow get out of this alive. That he will get out of this alive, and then use the money Red has left him to make a new life for himself- a better life. He can get a normal job, a job that doesn't give you nightmares that make you dread falling asleep every night. Then he can get a family. He can be happy, which is what Dembe deserves. He deserves a happily ever after.

Red's last thoughts go to Liz. His Lizzy. She will be sad at first. She will be sad and angry at Red for leaving her alone in the world. She will cry and feel hopeless. It will feel like the end of the world. But then, slowly, she will learn to move on. She'll get up every day and live with the daily toil and every day it will get a little easier. She will move on from him, until Raymond Reddington is just a distant memory. She will find a husband, who will be able to treat her better than Red could ever dream of doing. She deserves a husband that makes her happy, not a criminal who makes her cry. She will get her happily ever after too.

Just as Red has made his peace with the world, he feels someone kick his stomach. He opens his eyes in shock and receives another blow. He doubles over in pain, this time his body following his commands. He looks up to see Tom with a twisted smile on his face. He leans over to spit in Red's face.

"The great and mighty Raymond Reddington, lying on the ground doubled over in pain. I never thought I would see this day," he sneers with a triumphant laugh. His people laugh with him, only 4 of them seem to remain. Red wonders how many of his people they had taken out. He stays silent, not even bothering to rise to the bait.

"What- did the cat get your tongue, Reddington? That's okay because I have plenty to say. You know the men you had out there? They're all dead. You lead them all to their deaths. All because you were blinded by your revenge. You are losing your touch. Your business is crumbling. You will be taken out. And I promise to you, when the time comes to take you out I will be the one to do it. But first, you get to watch your entire empire crumble beneath you."

"I will kill every last person you care for or have cared for, and I'll save Liz for last. By the time I'm done with you you'll be begging for me to put you out of your misery. I'm going to make you suffer." Red keeps his face blank as Tom rants. Tom's voice is filled with malice and disgust that confuses Red. This sounds personal. Red is certain he had never met Tom before Tom had entered Liz's life.

Tom finishes with one more hard kick to Red's stomach. Red's vision blurs and by the time it clears Tom is gone. Red moves slowly, the world spinning as he gets to his knees. He crawls painstakingly slowly towards Dembe, every muscle in his body screaming in agony. Pain is no stranger to Raymond Reddington, so he powers through.

He checks Dembe's neck for a pulse. He has to press hard, but sure enough he can feel a weak pulsing. He breathes out in relief. When he pulls back his fingers they are sticky with blood. He has to move fast.

Adrenaline takes over Red's body as he focuses his energy on saving his friend. He doesn't have one lucid thought as he stumbles out of the destroyed building, half carrying and half dragging Dembe with him.

A crowd is gathering outside of the building, and they all gasp when they see two figures exit the building. One is in a torn suit with blood running down his face. He stumbles and then collapses next to the man he is dragging. This man's shirt is soaked with blood and he isn't moving.

Red retains consciousness for enough time to check Dembe's pulse again. He hears sirens blaring in the distant as the world fades into black.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the comments (I really can't say it enough)! Sadly, none of this is mine still.

**Chapter 9**

Liz is just about to settle in for the night when her phone rings. Cooper had sent them home early; Liz thinks he is starting to give up hope that they will ever find Red. This is good for Red- it gives him time to accomplish his mission, but it is certainly not good for Liz. She needs something to keep herself busy.

Liz picks up the phone eagerly, secretly hoping they had a break on the case so that she will have something to do. She doesn't think she can stand being away from Red any longer.

"Keen," she answers, not even bothering to check who is calling.

"We found him. Get to the black site now." Cooper hangs up after those short words. Liz is stunned for a moment, but then she turns and sprints out of the hotel room.

On the way to the Post Office, she can barely contain her excitement at seeing him again. She knows she'd have to disguise it when she sees him, but even seeing him would provide her some much needed relief. She's had a knot in her stomach since he had left; the worry has been constantly gnawing at her.

She wonders why Red had let the FBI find him- they certainly wouldn't have been able to find him on their own. It most likely means he is done with his mission or that he needs the help of the FBI to complete it. The first reason seems more likely, which leaves Liz to wonder- why hadn't he come to her first?

She pulls into the Post Office just as the elevator doors open and Cooper, Ressler, and Samar step out. Liz feels her heart drop. Something isn't right.

She jumps out of the car and Cooper acknowledges her with a grim nod.

"Agent Keen, go with Ressler- he can fill you in on the way."

Liz feels dread building in her stomach. She can't bring herself to ask what he needs to fill her in on as they jog to his car. They get in and Liz wants to demand answers, but she can hardly breathe. She faintly recognizes this as a panic attack- she used to get them when she was a little girl. She would have flashbacks to her childhood that would leave her paralyzed with fear. Sam would hold her hand and tell her, "Just breathe, Lizzy. In and out. That's right, you're going to be fine- just remember in and out."

Liz focuses on her breathing as Ressler speeds out of the parking garage. In and out. Finally he turns to her.

"Aram got a report about a half an hour ago of an office building exploding in a small city in South Africa. There was a shootout and witnesses report seeing 5 people walking out of the building. Then, a man dragged someone out of the building and passed out. They were taken in by the local emergency unit. The man was identified as Conner Minx at the hospital, a known alias of Reddington."

Liz lets out a deep breathe, "So he's alive?"

"The doctors say he's in critical condition, but he's stable. He had a serious blow to the head- they haven't quite determined how extensive the damage is yet, but are encouraged by the fact he regained consciousness initially after the incident," Ressler tells her, while swerving through traffic.

"Are we going to the hospital now?" Liz asks him, unable to keep the desperate panic out of her voice.

Ressler gives her a weird look and then responds, "A plane is waiting for us at the nearest airport." He hesitates before continuing, "I'm sure Reddington will pull through this, he has gone through a lot worse."

Liz tries to smile at him for his attempt at comforting her, but only manages a half grimace. Luckily, Ressler is too focused on his driving maneuvers to notice. For Liz, it is the longest car ride she has ever experienced.

Cooper explains on the plane ride that local police are guarding Red's hospital room as well as the man he had dragged out of the building, who they had identified as Dembe. They are waiting for their team to show up.

The local police had given them the statistics about the explosion- 8 people were found dead outside the building and 3 people were found dead inside. There could possibly be more bodies inside, but the fire engines had arrived after a majority of the building had been scorched so some evidence had been destroyed. There had been 3 more minor injuries that had been treated at the site.

The police had taken statements from all the spectators and they all reported the same thing. At 4:15 4 men had entered the building, all of them armed. Two of them had been the people who had stumbled out of the building after the explosion. The four men had thrown smoke grenades into the office, setting the smoke alarms off. Everyone had exited the building.

At approximately 4:20 the bomb had gone off. That's when the shooting started outside- seven men started to open fire on the building with automatic weapons. They killed the 5 people shooting back (all of Red's men), along with 1 citizen. Two of them were taken out in the fight.

The five remaining shooters entered the building. They had exited from the back about 5 minutes later. 2 minutes later Red had dragged Dembe out and they had both collapsed in the street.

Their job will be to take over for the police and figure out what had happened, and to get Red and Dembe to talk once they wake up. Liz's job is specifically to get Red to talk, no one had even questioned that she is the best one for the job.

They start going through the evidence on the plane, but Liz doesn't take in one word. Her thoughts are stuck on the man lying in the hospital room that they are flying half way around the world to see.

The flight takes 16 hours. The other agents sleep, but every time Liz gets close to drifting off, her mind conjures up images Red covered in blood, or Red dying, or Red's corpse. She finally gives up on sleep, and goes through the case files on Reddington to keep her mind off things.

They arrive at the airport in South Africa at 7'o clock the next day. Liz knows she should be exhausted, but is so used to the effects of sleep deprivation that she hardly notices it.

Three black armored vehicles are waiting for them when they step off the plane. Liz goes in one car with the agents charged with guarding Reddington. The others head to the crime scene.

For Liz, the situation still feels a little unreal- like a bad dream she will wake up from soon. She has to keep reminding herself the Red is alive to stop the overwhelming flow of panic from overtaking her.

The other agents who had been pulled in just for this case keep giving her suspicious looks when they think she isn't looking. They had heard many rumors about what really went on at the black site- and most of them seemed to be focused around her.

Some seemed to suggest that she was a goddess- she caught every criminal thrown her way with ease despite her rookie status. Others got closer to the truth, saying that she was the next Clarice Starling. As to who the Hannibal Lector in her story was was a mystery to all.

The agents had only been told that they were going to be guarding two assets who were in a hospital with severe injuries. It was made clear immediately how important these assets were- if any of the guards screwed up they would never see the light of day again.

They were given strict instructions- the only people to be allowed in the room were Agent Keen and the doctors. If either of the assets tried to escape they were ordered to shoot them on the spot. There were to be two guards stationed at all hours outside the door for both rooms. If anyone (besides the accepted people) tried to get in, they were to shoot them on the spot as well.

The last rule had surprised Liz when she had heard it- they were putting her in charge of the agents. Liz knows that Cooper doesn't trust her. She had come to the conclusion on the plane that this is a test, to see where her true loyalties lay. Little did Cooper know that Liz had made that decision a long time ago, and is certain she had made the right choice.

It's a 45 minute car ride to the hospital. It is yet another infinitely long car ride for Liz. She spends the entire time fighting off panic attacks and trying to ignore the stares of the agents. By the time they arrive, Liz is at the very edge of her sanity.

She leads the agents out of the car and into the hospital. Thankfully, the agents are all business now so the stares stop. When she flashes her badge at the check in desk the nurse makes a phone call. A minute later they are following a police officer to Red's room.

Liz is having trouble breathing again. Her momentary weakness makes her angry enough at herself to push her emotions away as they arrive at Red's room. Dembe's room is right next to Red's. The officers stationed outside their doors exchange a few words with the agents and then leave.

Liz's hand is trembling as she reaches for the door to Red's room. She is trying her hardest to keep her face a mask, at least until she is alone with Red, and it seems to be working because the agents just nod to her and take their positions outside the door.

She finally manages to open the door and jumps in, pulling the door behind her. Her emotions hit her like a truck when she sees Red lying on the bed hooked up to machines. Her breath is knocked out of her and she has to grab the wall for support.

Liz is usually pretty good at handling her feelings, but considering the emotional roller coaster she has been for the past couple of months, she is handling things as well as expected. Red is the only person she has left, and she is once again faced with his mortality.

Liz takes a few deep breathes. She needs to get herself under control. She approaches Red, every injury that she can see causing a jab of pain to her heart. Even in sleep, Red's face is twisted up in agony. Cuts cover his face. Liz can see massive bruising on his head through his short hair. The rest of his body is covered in a white sheet, but Liz suspects that the wounds cover him.

She sits heavily in the visitor's seat. The room Red is in is claustrophobic- he was moved to a room without windows after they identified him because of the incident when Liz had put him in the hospital back on their first case.

Liz thinks back to the moment, and gently brushes her finger over the small, circular scar on Red's neck. His eyes flutter open and Liz pulls her hand back in surprise. His eyes are unfocused and dazed at first, but when he sees Liz they focus.

"Lizzy," he whispers softly, his voice rough from lack of use. Liz grabs his hands, unable to keep the tears from falling. Red reaches up to wipe them away, to find his right hand restrained by the IV. He awkwardly reaches up with his left hand, gently caressing Liz's cheek.

Liz knows she will have to ask him about what happened eventually, but she can't bring herself to end this moment. She grasps Red's hand tightly, as if she is afraid that he might slip away from her at any moment. They sit there hand in hand until Red drifts off again.

Liz cleans all evidence of tears off her face then goes to find the nurse to tell her that Red had woken up. She goes to check on Dembe while the nurse attends to Red. He hadn't woken up since the accident.

The doctors said he had received a serious wound to the stomach and had lost an extensive amount of blood. It is too early to tell how much internal damage was done from the injury. The doctors had managed to pick all of the shrapnel out of him, but he is far from making a full recovery.

Dembe's face is just as troubled as Red's. He is hooked up to a heart monitor as well as the IVs and Liz watches the steady waves of his heartbeat. She prays, for Red's sake as much as her own, that Dembe will recover.

When Liz returns to Red's room he is sleeping. The nurse had increased the dosage of his pain medication, so he looks slightly more at peace. Liz calls Cooper to catch up on the case. So far they had only confirmed the story the police had given them, but Aram is getting access to the security feeds at the office that will hopefully fill in the gaps. The surveillance room had been largely untouched by the fire, giving the team the first bit of luck they'd had in over a month.

Cooper asks her if Red has woken up yet, and she lies telling him he had only regained consciousness for a little under a minute. She can tell Cooper doesn't believe her, but he doesn't push her further.

"The bureau has set us up with hotel rooms just down the street from the hospital- why don't you go there and get some sleep? The hospital will call you when he wakes up again," Cooper tells her, his suggestion sounding more like a command.

Liz agrees, even though the last thing she wants to do is leave Red. She doesn't want to drag any more suspicion to the two of them so she squeezes Red's hand one more time and then exits the hospital. She gets some much needed sleep in the hotel, the relief of seeing Red putting her mind at ease for the first time in weeks.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: Thank you so much for all of the reviews- I'm sorry I don't respond to them I figure you guys would rather have me writing this story than responses (and I really need to study). I hope you enjoy and I still own nothing!

**Chapter 10**

The next day Liz is at Red's bedside bright and early. The nurse tells her that he hasn't woken up since her visit yesterday. Liz retakes her seat next to his bed and grabs his hand. She can tell the pain killers the nurse had given him yesterday so he could sleep are wearing off. His face is slowly twisting up from the pain.

Liz gets lost in her thoughts and when she looks back to Red she is surprised to see his eyes open, watching her with an admiring gaze.

"Good morning Lizzy," he says with a small smile.

"Red," she breathes out in relief. She still hasn't gotten used to seeing Red this vulnerable. It scares her to see him so… mortal. Sometimes it is hard to remember that he is just flesh and blood with the aura of greatness that seems to follow him.

"How are you?" she asks him, her blue eyes filling with concern.

"I've never been better," he says with a forced laugh that Liz sees right through.

"You don't have to lie to me Red," she tells him.

The forced smile disappears, replaced by a worn out, pained expression. "It hurts, but it's nothing I can't handle," he says truthfully. Liz nods, satisfied with his answer.

All of a sudden Red tries to sit up, looking alarmed. "Where's Dembe?" he asks in a slightly panicked voice.

"He's alive," Liz answers quickly, watching Red's shoulders noticeably sag in relief. "He hasn't woken up yet, but the doctors say he's stable."

Red takes in his surroundings, thinking about his current predicament. "You found me because of the alias?" he asks.

Liz nods. "I knew I shouldn't have used one that would be on your radar. I wasn't exactly planning on this extended stay," Red says with a thoughtful frown.

"What happened?" Liz asks him. He avoids her gaze and sighs loudly. "I'm not sure if it's better you find out from me or from your team. I'm sure they are well on their way to figuring it out as we speak."

"Figuring what out?" Liz asks him, annoyed by his lack of response. Before she can force an answer out of him, Liz's phone rings. She looks at the caller ID- Cooper. She looks at Red and he tilts his head, studying her reaction. Liz moves to stand up to answer the call and Red grabs her hand.

"You might want to stay sitting for this," he says softly. Liz sits back down and answers the call,

"Agent Keen."

"Keen, has Reddington woken up yet?"

"Yes sir he is awake now."

"Good, maybe he can help fill in some gaps," Cooper says angrily into the phone. "Maybe you both can, since this seems to involve you both." Liz looks at Red with a confused expression. Red's face is neutral, but he hasn't taken his eyes of Liz since the phone call started.

"Sir?" Liz asks, making her confusion clear.

"Aram got the video tapes. They confirm the story we know. We also have who Reddington was going after on tape." Cooper pauses again, as if waiting for Liz to admit her involvement at this point.

"Who is it?" Liz asks him, suddenly thinking that she might not want to know the answer to her question.

"The suspect was your husband. Reddington was going after Tom Keen." Liz freezes in her chair. She is unsure of what to say, unsure of what to even think. She glances at Red, and he has a pained expression on his face that Liz doesn't even try to decipher.

"Agent Keen? Are you there?" Cooper asks his voice devoid of concern.

"Yes I'm still here. That was just… a little bit of a shock sir," Liz says, taking a deep breathe to try to keep her emotions under control while Cooper is listening in.

"Find out as much as you can from Reddington. The rest of us will be there in 15 minutes." Cooper hangs up and Liz just stares at her phone for a second, completely overwhelmed. She takes another deep breathe as she starts to compartmentalize everything. Work first, emotions later. Thoughts about Red definitely last.

She meets Red gaze again, and his face is stone as if he's preparing for an attack from her. Which isn't really unreasonable considering the amount of times Liz had yelled at him, not to mention the time she had stabbed him in the neck.

"Tell me what happened," Liz says to him in the calmest voice she can manage. He looks a little surprised by her reaction.

"I spent the first week and a half tracking down the killers from the warehouse. They led me here. I got here a week ago, and had my people follow them when we got there. Two days ago Dembe picked me up from my safe house and told me they had found their leader. It was Tom. We followed them to the office building. My people surrounded the place, and I went in there. I was going to kill the killers, and I still wasn't sure what I would do with Tom. When we got in I knew something was wrong. It was too easy. It was a trap," Red swallows and continues in a horrified voice, "I led seven of my people to their deaths. Seven people who had wives, and children, and families who loved them. I killed…"

Liz cuts him off, "Red, you can't possibly blame yourself for that. There was no way you could have known it was a trap." Red looks up at her with the tortured expression he keeps hidden from the world.

"If it wasn't for me they would still be alive," he says with quiet finality, as if he was already carrying the guilt for their deaths. His mask slides back into place as Cooper, Ressler, and Samar enter the small room. Liz stands up abruptly. They all look at her expectantly.

"Sir, can I go get a coffee?" Liz asks, suddenly finding herself unable to handle the situation.

"Sit down, Agent Keen," Cooper orders, not bothering to hide his anger. Samar and Ressler share surprised looks. Cooper addresses them. "Agent Ressler and Navabi, go see how Dembe is doing." They both nod and give Liz a curious but sympathetic look as they walk out.

Cooper drags a visiting chair to the opposite side of the room of where Liz and Red are sitting and sits down with a heavy sigh. He rubs a hand down his face, looking exhausted.

He takes a deep breathe, "Would either of you like to explain?"

Red looks a little annoyed but proceeds to tell Cooper the entire story, from the beginning. Aram had told him exactly what to say to back up Liz's story in a brief phone call (after a couple of empty threats from Red). Cooper listens without interrupting.

To Liz's relief Red tells the story without his usual grandeur, understanding the situation they are in needs to be navigated carefully. When he gets to the part about Tom, he sticks to the lie that he had no idea that Tom was still alive. He says he was just as surprised as Cooper to learn of Tom's apparent reincarnation.

Cooper asks a few questions when Red is finished but seems satisfied that he got as much of the truth out of Red that he would get. He seems much calmer and Liz relaxes.

Cooper sits there for a second, eyeing the two of them and then starts with the dreaded speech. "I don't know what to do with the two of you. It is clear that your relationship has gone past the point of professionalism…"

Liz opens her mouth to protest that but he cuts her off with a sharp look and continues, "….However, we have no evidence to prove anything between the two of you. I believe that your work speaks for itself. As long as you two are able to work together, I will do my best to keep this team together. But understand this, if there is _one _slipup from either of you that suggests something unprofessional I will not hesitate to take you both down. Is that clear?"

Liz nods and can feel Red preparing a witty comment but thankfully he holds back. He can't keep the slight smirk off his face as he nods and Cooper just shakes his head and walks out resignedly. He closes the door leaving the two of them alone once again.

"Well that certainly went better than expected," Red says cheerfully turning to Liz. She gives him a tight lipped smile, a little distracted by her whirring thoughts. Had Cooper just given them permission to (secretly) date? He had kind off skated around the idea of an "unprofessional relationship".

Red takes her prolonged silence and half smile as a sign of anger. He starts to apologize, "Lizzy I'm so sorry I went after Tom without your permission, I should have called you as soon as I found it. I never meant…" He trails off when Liz kisses him full on the lips. He responds immediately deeply confused by the turn of events since she had found out about Tom. Lizzy never ceases to amaze him.

She breaks off and says with a small smile, "Red I'm not mad, you didn't even have time to call me. Besides, that is nothing compared to me keeping Tom on the ship for months without telling you. I don't think I've really apologized for that, I'm sorry from lying to you and putting your life in danger. You could have…" This time it's Red's turn to steal a kiss from Liz.

"I've already forgiven you, sweetheart," he says in a low voice and Liz wants to kiss him so badly but just then the whole team decides to walk in. Good thing they hadn't entered a couple seconds ago, or they would have already violated Cooper's speech.

Ressler questions Red about everything he had found out about Tom's operations and Red is back to his usual jovial self, teasing Ressler at every opportunity. At the end of the brief interrogation Ressler's face is bright red and Liz is struggling to hold back her laughter. She gives Ressler an innocent look when he turns to glare at her.

Unfortunately, Red had found out very little in his brief stay, or at least very little that he was willing to share with the FBI. He was able to identify the 4 remaining members of Tom's team. They were all ex-military or Special Forces, came from around the world, and were blunt force instruments. They were all very well trained if they were able to take out Red's men with such ease.

Red wasn't able to figure out if Tom was taking orders from himself or if he had found a new employer. All the money trails from Tom's organization had led to dead ends.

That was their best lead- Tom's financial ties. Tom definitely did not have the capabilities needed to transfer the amount of money needed for an operation like this without a trace. Red knows only one person that is even better than his people at hiding money- they call him The Banker.

The Banker deals in all types of currency and operates around the world. He has a high interest rate, but it is well worth it with the services he provides. He can move any sum of money, instantaneously, without a trace. It doesn't matter what form the money is in- cash, gold, diamonds- he can transfer it, hide it, or clean it depending on the client's wishes.

The Banker is extremely secretive in his operations; Red doesn't even know his name. But Red does know that he has an important base of operations in Kuwait. Cooper had stiffened up at the mention of Kuwait, but no one seemed to notice except for Red. When Red finishes telling the team all he knows, Cooper starts making plans.

"We need to track that lead before it goes cold, and to do that some of us must go to Kuwait. But things aren't quite finished here and I don't trust those rookie agents out there with guarding Reddington so some of us must stay here." Red chuckles at that and Cooper ignores him.

He continues, seeming a little unsettled, "Agent Ressler you stay here and finish investigating the crime scene. As soon as you finish and Reddington and Dembe are stable enough to travel you are to drop them off at the Post Office and then meet the rest of us in Kuwait. Agent Keen and Navabi, pack your bags we are leaving now."

Both Ressler and Samar nod obediently and leave the room. Liz tries to think of a way to protest without losing her job or getting herself and Red arrested. Red isn't looking too pleased either to be spending so much time with his least favorite agent.

Cooper fixes a stern gaze on Liz, "Is there something you would like to say to me, Agent Keen?"

Liz hesitates and then answers dejectedly, not meeting his gaze, "No sir… Can I just talk to Reddington in private before I leave?"

Cooper looks as if he is about to reprimand her, but seems to give in. "Fine," he says, sounding exasperated. He exits the room.

Red looks at Liz. "You have no idea how much I missed you." Liz grabs him and kisses him with such force that it takes his breath away. "I'm guessing you missed me too." They rest with their foreheads together for a second before Liz pulls away, fighting the tears threatening to spill down her face.

"I'll see you soon," she says quietly to him, managing to pull a small smile on her face even though it feels like her heart is being ripped into shreds. The last time she had said goodbye to him he had almost died. Walking out the door feels infinitely harder than walking in it had felt earlier this morning.

Red watches her exit the room. His happiness seems to leave with her. He is left alone with his dark thoughts and the raw guilt that is tearing apart his soul. This time it had been seven people.

He has long ago lost count of all the people he is responsible for killing. He knows the number is too high and every night it haunts him. He, Raymond Reddington, is a monster who has shed just as much blood as the monsters he hunt .

It is times like this when Raymond Reddington starts to doubt that he is any different from the other blacklisters. It is times like this when Raymond Reddington's conscious causes him more pain than physical torture ever could. It is times like this when Raymond Reddington wishes he were dead.


	11. Chapter 11

Authors Note: As always, comments are greatly appreciated and I own nothing. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 11**

It has been one month since the team (minus Ressler) had arrived in Kuwait. One month since Liz had last seen Red. Their only communication has been brief phone calls whenever Liz found the time. Fortunately there is only about an hour of a time difference, and Red has nothing but time so they are able to talk fairly frequently.

Just talking, however, is not enough for either of them. They miss each other dearly and while Liz has a distraction with work, Red happens to be stuck in a hospital room with nothing better to do than annoy Ressler all day. He takes this job quite seriously and Ressler often has to leave the room to stop himself from causing permanent injury to the infuriating man.

Dembe had regained consciousness about a week after Liz had left. He is still in bad shape, but he will live. Unfortunately for Ressler, he won't be stable enough for the long plane ride home for a while. Ressler had long ago exhausted the leads from the crime scene. Liz could tell from the few phone calls she'd had with Ressler that he is almost at his wit's end.

Secretly, Liz is glad for the delay because of Ressler's little _problem_. She had asked Red to keep an eye on him and he had reported that Ressler seemed to have kicked his addiction. Still, Liz knows that the deaths of Meera and Audrey are still fairly recent and Ressler still needs time to grieve. Hopefully this little vacation would give him the time he needed.

For the rest of the team in Kuwait, progress is slow. They had been able to determine The Banker's base of operations- a large mansion on the coast of the Persian Gulf only 10 minutes away from Kuwait City. The Banker had bought it under the alias of Amin Daulah. The problem was that they did not have enough evidence to get a warrant and international cooperation was a little tentative.

The local law enforcement is well aware of Amin Daulah's importance to Kuwait's economy. The economy almost completely relies on oil for income, and Daulah's operations have given the economy some much needed diversity. Not only that, but he draws in wealthy business men from around the world. This makes the government unwilling to help the investigation. Cooper is doing his best to navigate the foreign policy.

If Cooper was being completely honest with himself, he would have admitted that he needed Reddington's help. Red has an uncanny ability to insert himself into any political situation on a seconds notice.

His name alone would give them access to a meeting with The Banker at the least. But Cooper isn't quite ready to take his eyes off of Reddington after the recent fiasco of him disappearing (and getting himself blown up). So it seems that the team has lost their instant ticket into any criminal organization for the moment.

While Cooper had been trying to get local law enforcement to cooperate, Liz and Samar had been planning alternate methods of getting close to The Banker. They have finally decided that one of them will have to seduce him. They have limited resources so it will be a very dangerous mission. Whoever goes in will be on their own, with only the other agent for back up if something goes wrong.

After arguing for a while about who should go in, Liz and Samar agree to let Cooper decide. They hold a meeting at the cheap hotel they had been staying in at the edge of Kuwait City. Cooper arrives and collapses on the couch with a deep sigh.

The lines under his eyes have only grown more prominent since they had been here. Liz had noticed almost instantly that he seemed very tense in Kuwait. She isn't sure if it's because he's less comfortable in all foreign countries, or if it is Kuwait in particular. She is keeping an eye on him.

Liz tells him the plans, and he isn't very happy about them but he certainly doesn't see any alternatives. Besides calling in Reddington, which is definitely not an option yet.

"So," Liz finishes, "Samar and I were wondering which one of us would be more affective at the mission. I think Samar would be much better, she fits in here much better than I do…"

"But Agent Keen is closer to Amin's age and besides she has much more experience with seduction than I do," Samar cuts her off. Liz turns to glare at her from the last comment.

"Stop arguing," Cooper snaps at them. "So far intelligence suggests that Amin would be more attracted to Agent Keen." Samar gives Liz a triumphant smile. "However," Cooper continues, "I think the wisest move would be to send you both in, giving us the best chance at getting close to him."

Both Liz and Samar scowl at that, but Cooper ignores it. "Admin is a very careful person; this operation will not be easy. You both need solid cover stories before you go in."

They spend the rest of the day and most of the night arranging new identities for Liz and Samar with the help of Aram who is back in the U.S. singlehandedly running the post office while they are away. He seems very happy to be in charge for once, and Liz is often amused to hear him ordering people around in the back of their phone calls.

The time apart had been hard on him and Samar too; the two of them had grown closer while Liz had been distracted by her own complicated relationship with Red. Liz is happy that they are finally together- they had always seemed like a perfect match.

Certainly better than a relationship between a criminal 4th on the most wanted list and an FBI agent Liz muses to herself with a small smile. Somehow the fact that her and Red's relationship is forbidden makes it all the more enticing. Liz has always had a bit of a rebellious side.

Two days later, Liz and Samar find themselves in bikinis soaking up the sun on the coast of the Persian Gulf. They are on a rather large, private stretch of sand known as Messilah Beach. Amin seems to visit the beach frequently during his stays in Kuwait.

They walk along the coast, Liz enjoying the feel of sand under her feet and the sun on her back. Liz has always loved the ocean. Even as a little girl, she would spend hours playing in the waves or walking down the beach and having little "adventures".

Sam used to walk with her and they would pretend that they were pirates searching for treasure or survivors trapped on a deserted island. They would spend all day laughing and exploring. She had some of her fondest childhood memories on the beach.

She thinks back to her childhood as they walk. She finds that thinking about Sam no longer hurts as much as it used to. There's still a slight ache at the thought that she'll never be able to see him again, never be able to hear his laugh, never be able to smell his minty aftershave as he holds her close. But along with the ache comes a certain happiness, a joy at having such great memories with him. She misses him, but looks back at each memory with fondness. He had given her a truly wonderful childhood.

Liz is pulled out of her thoughts when Samar grabs her arm. She follows her gaze to see Amin lying back in a brightly colored beach chair. His driver's license states that he is 28. He is attractive in a carless sort of way. He has short dark hair, dark skin, and a toned body. His face has some light stubble on it that accents his hard jaw line.

Amin is wearing sunglasses that hide his face, khakis, and an expensive looking white t-shirt. He has a relaxed posture and a small smirk on his face. He turns his head toward Liz and Samar, sensing their attention to him.

Liz grabs Samar's hand and giggles to her, immediately falling into her cover. Amin's smirk changes to a slightly predatory smile. Liz drags Samar to an empty section of beach right next to Amin, still giggling.

Three imposing men looking completely out of place in black suits stand a couple of feet behind Amin, wearing identical pairs of dark sunglasses. They glance over as Liz and Samar sit down, but thankfully find them just as unthreatening as their cover makes them out to be.

They spend the rest of the day flirting shamelessly with Amin and both earn invitations to his mansion the next day. Liz is a little hesitant to leave the beach, when all she really wants to do is throw herself into the waves and swim until her toes wrinkle up. Samar finally drags her off at dinner time.

Back in South Africa, Red is lying in his hospital bed staring up at the ceiling, beyond bored and unaware of the mission his favorite agent is currently taking part in. He considers going to see Dembe; they now have adjoining rooms after Red complained to Ressler for about a week straight. His oldest friend is recovering well and Red hopes they will be able to leave soon.

He really doesn't think he can take any more time in the hospital. They had put another chip in his neck, but considering how well that had stopped him last time around Red is certain he could escape in a moment's notice. In fact he already has multiple plans of escape at the ready, just in case. One of them involves blowing a whole in the wall with medical equipment. Red is still working on that one.

Just as he decides to go visit Dembe, the phone on the bedside table starts ringing. Red glances at it- its Lizzy. He picks it up instantly, a big grin already lighting up his face. Talking to Liz is one of the only things that brought him happiness in this little prison he is stuck in.

"Hello Lizzy. How are you?" he says warmly into the phone.

Liz answers sounding tired and a little distracted as always, "Good. We have a little bit of a break on the case. Samar and I went undercover and The Banker invited us over his mansion tomorrow. Hopefully we'll be able to find some evidence."

Red stiffens up. "You made contact with The Banker?" he asks, sounding a little incredulous.

"Yes, why?" Liz answers, not catching on to the tone of Red's voice.

"You don't understand. The Banker is not stupid. If you made contact today then he already knows who you really are and who you work for. Where are you?"

Liz is definitely more awake now. "I'm in my hotel room and so is Samar."

Red curses under his breath. "Get out of there now, Lizzy. Go somewhere you've never been before where he won't find you. Go somewhere public. Keep your gun with you; you're going to need it. Keep this phone on you at all times. I am on my way there now."

With that Red hangs up the phone and gets out of bed, pulling on a suit Ressler had gotten him from the safe house he had been staying in. Just then Ressler walks in.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" he asks with his normal, trying-to-be-in-charge voice.

"Agent Keen is in danger. I am going to go save her life," Red answers with a false sense of calmness in his voice as he continues getting ready to leave. He walks into Dembe's room and Ressler follows him, pestering him with questions.

"How is Agent Keen in danger? How do you now? Where is she? Is…"

Red cuts him off in a sharp voice, "Donald, I am going to save Agent Keen right now. Your choice is to either come with me or get the hell out of my way."

Ressler just nods. "I'm coming with you."

"Good, and bring some of your G men with you, we are going to need all the manpower we can get."

Ressler leaves the room to round up some agents. Red hands Dembe, who had been watching the scene play out with interest, a burner cell. "Mr. Kaplan's team is watching you my friend. Call me if you are in danger. I will be back to pick you up as soon as this matter is taken care off. Just get better."

Dembe nods to his only true friend. He is not happy about being left behind, but knows that they do not have time to argue. If Raymond lost Elizabeth Dembe knows it would be the end of him. He watches his friend leave the room in a hurry and prays he will make it on time.

The flight from South Africa to Kuwait takes about 8 hours. They were some of the longest 8 hours that both Red and Liz had ever experienced.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: Wow this story is turning out a lot longer than I intended! I think I'll be able to wrap it up in a few more chapters (hopefully). Thank you so much for all the support, I'm new to all this so it's very helpful. Again I own nothing and hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 12**

As soon as Red had hung up, Liz had sprung into action. She had grabbed her gun and retrieved Samar her hotel room next door.

As they were fleeing the hotel, Liz had called Cooper and told him what was going on, leaving out the part that Red was on his way, because she was quite sure he would not be very happy about that and she didn't have time to argue.

As Liz and Samar had walked into the lobby they had seen two black SUVs pull in to the parking lot. A large man armed with an automatic rifle wearing a giant bullet proof vest had hopped out of one of them. Liz and Samar quickly exited through the back of the hotel.

Samar realized that their rental car was parked in the front. Liz quickly hotwired a motorcycle. They technically didn't have jurisdiction in Kuwait, so they were breaking the law as they pulled out of the parking lot, right past the team sent to kill them. Neither of them had time to worry about being criminals on the run.

They end up Kuwait Zoo. Liz decides that it fits the bill- its public and The Banker will never suspect for them to go there. Plus, there are practically no security cameras. Liz isn't sure how much pull The Banker has in the city, but if he is anything like the criminals she has taken down in the past then he has access to the security cameras.

The zoo is small and a little dirty. Liz watches some lemurs hop about in their small cage. Garbage litters the floor of the habitat and Liz feels bad for the poor animals. She's always had a problem with zoos, something about keeping animals in cages seemed wrong to her. Especially if they were kept in bad condition. She figures this mentality is a little ironic considering her life work is to put animals behind bars, but at least the animals she catches deserve their confinement.

Both Liz and Samar are extremely paranoid. Every time Liz sees someone who slightly fits the profile of Amin she jumps. If a person even looks at her funny her hand subconsciously jumps to where her gun is concealed.

It is mid-April, summertime in Kuwait and the temperature is in the 90s. Liz and Samar sit in the shade and try their best to fit in. Thankfully, English is commonly spoken in Kuwait for business so their conversation doesn't draw any attention.

They study the map for the zoo, planning possible escapes, just in case. Knowing that Red is on the way is the only thing that is keeping Liz from having a panic attack. Her stress level isn't helped by the fact that it is getting dark and they will have to leave soon.

The zoo closes at 8. It is already 6:30. Red won't get there until 2 in the morning, at the earliest. That left Liz and Samar seven and a half hours to evade capture. And they would be doing it in the dark. Liz watches the darkening sky with growing anticipation. This is going to be a long night.

The Banker sits in his office in his extravagant mansion. There is a scowl on his face and a glass of red wine in his hand.

He is confident that he can deal with the American agents, clearly they had nothing on him or he would be in handcuffs. Still, he is angry that they had been able to find him. He has been running his operation for nearly a decade and this is the first time he has even been on the radar of the law enforcement.

Something didn't seem to add up with their sudden interest in him. He thinks of his most recent client. He had been hesitant to help him from the start; he had seemed to be in deep with some powerful people. But The Banker had never been able to find any solid proof that the deal could blow back on him, so he had taken it. It was good money. Now he is beginning to regret his decision. Seeming to decide something, The Banker picks up the phone to call his agents in South Africa. It is time to pay his client a little visit.

While The Banker is dealing with cleaning up the source of the mess, his people are desperately trying to find the mess itself. Liz and Samar had left the zoo about an hour ago and are now driving through Kuwait city, looking for a place to go.

They both know that they can't stay on the road for too long- there is security cameras everywhere and it won't be long until The Banker's team catch up with them. They wear helmets to hide their face, but it is only a matter of time before the motorcycle will be noticed as missing and the team will start hunting for it.

They'd had no contact with Cooper since they'd gone on the run and Liz has a bad feeling in her stomach. She had called him five times at the zoo and he hadn't picked up. She'd had brief contact with Red, but the signal wasn't very good and he had only been able to get through that he would be there at 2 am.

Things are not exactly looking good for Liz and Samar. Finally, when they can't find an alternative, they stop in front of a small restaurant. It is located on a side street and no other cars are around. The restaurant is closed and Liz can see no signs of life inside. So much for finding a public place she thinks to herself.

She looks up at the sign. The restaurant is called "Maki." It is nestled between two skyscrapers. Liz hopes Red will be able to find it when he gets here. They are running out of time.

Samar serves as the lookout as Liz picks the lock with a bobby pin in slips inside in under a minute. Secretly, she is pleased that she is still able to pick a lock so efficiently. It has been a while since she's indulged her criminal side.

Samar locks the door behind them. They don't dare to turn on the lights. Liz uses her phone to navigate through the cramped restaurant. They make it to the bar and decide that is as good as a place as any to set up base.

Liz considers moving the motorcycle outside, but figures they will need it close by if Amin's team finds them. Now it is just a waiting game. It is worse than at the zoo, because Liz has nothing to distract herself from the imminent danger they are in.

The SUVs could have easily held up to 10 heavily armed men. That makes the odds 10 heavily armed men who are familiar with the city to 2 lightly armed federal agents who could barely find their way to their hotel rooms. It isn't great odds.

Liz needs to keep her mind off of the danger, because she is dangerously close to hyperventilating. Her thoughts immediately go to Red. She is calmed by the fact that he is coming to save her. Her very own knight in a well-tailored suit.

As romantic as it would be if he came barging in by himself to carry her away from danger, she hopes he had enough common sense to bring backup because not even Raymond Reddington could stand by himself against the entire force of The Banker's empire. Liz decides that if anyone could singlehandedly take down a force that size, it would be her Red, but it is still very helpful to have backup.

Liz is thankfully distracted enough by thoughts of Red that the time starts to pass (without any panic attacks). She is still on guard though, and when the same dark SUV passes by the restaurant for the third time she exchanges anxious looks with Samar. Their cover is blown. Now it is time for the stand down. Red better get here fast Liz thinks as she counts her bullets. Twenty two. Twenty two chances of getting out of here alive. Better make them count.

Red lets out a sigh of relief as he feels the wheels of his private jet hit the ground. He stands up before the plane slows to a stop, already handing out orders to Ressler and his people. Ressler doesn't even try to pretend he is in charge of this operation.

Red slips on a bullet proof vest. He might not get his hands dirty often, but he was once a trained navy officer and he is as qualified as anyone to be on this mission. He calls Liz, his heart stopping every time the ring goes through without an answer. Finally she picks up.

"You better be on your way here. We are at Maki restaurant on Al Soor Street. The Banker's team is here. I have to go," she says breathlessly through the phone. Red can hear the sound of automatic rifles going off and glass shattering. His heart stops.

"Lizzy? Lizzy!" he shouts into the phone, but the line is already dead. Red swears loudly and then leads his new team of FBI agents off the plane. He is met by three black SUVs provided by his contacts in Kuwait. He hops in the first one, not waiting to see if the other agents get in to the others.

"Kuwait City," he tells the driver with urgency in his voice. Ressler and a couple agents jump in as the car starts rolling away. They ride away in charged silence, each minute that passes sending a jabbing pain to Red's heart.

This is one of the few times in his life that Red has been completely panicked. He manages to calm down a little, knowing he has to keep a level head if he has any hopes of saving his Lizzy. They are still twenty minutes out from the city. Just hang in there, sweetheart, Red thinks as he urges the driver to go faster. Just hang in there.

Back at Maki's all hell has broken loose. The windows are completely shattered by the machine guns. Samar is keeping up a steady round of cover fire through the window to prevent anyone from coming in. She has quite a bit more ammo than Liz, but her supply isn't limitless. Liz thinks that they had taken one down. Only nine more to go.

Adrenaline is coursing through the two agents, and their training is kicking in. As Samar shoots Liz prepares the other weapons.

She finds a lighter and a minute later she sends a Russian cocktail flying through the window. It explodes with a loud bang on the street earning a yell out of the team. Liz smiles at that, all of her fear had been driven out by the thrill of the fight.

She prepares some more and shouts to Samar, "How many bullets you got left?"

"Maybe a clip and a half left. How are you doing?" she shouts back.

Liz had already fired a few rounds. "Maybe 15 or so?"

Samar winces at that. They are running out of defenses. She is unsure how much longer they can last. The firepower they are up against is just too high. They have only been holding them off for about 10 minutes.

Liz notices that there are no sirens in the distance. The Banker must really have the city wrapped around his finger if he is able to keep the police away from a shootout. Liz is not encouraged by the thought. She throws out a few more Russian cocktails and is pretty sure she takes out one or two guys.

Suddenly the shooting ceases. Samar stops firing too, and all that's left is an eerie silence. Liz and Samar exchange worried looks. Something is wrong. Why had they stopped shooting? Liz sees something fly through the open window and hears it hit the ground and roll a few feet. She hears the familiar hissing sound. She shouts to Samar but it is too late.

The flash grenade goes off. Liz is already on the ground, but Samar doesn't react in time and is blinded by the blast. She falls to the ground next to Liz. Liz pushes Samar behind herself and grabs her gun, her ears ringing from the grenade and her mind slightly sluggish.

Another object comes sailing through the window and goes off with a deafening bang. Smoke fills the room. Liz coughs and gags on it, the smoke blinding her.

She hears the door splinter as it is kicked in. She stays still, listening to loud footsteps entering the room. She is certain that they know their position from the shootout.

She hears footsteps approaching and when they get close enough for her to pinpoint an approximate location she shoots blindly from behind the bar. She hears a surprised yell and then the sound of a body hitting the ground. She hit her mark.

The other members shout to each other and she hears footsteps running to the bar. She shoots blindly again but is soon out of bullets. She hears the sound of a gun being cocked from above her.

"Don't move or I will shoot," says a voice with a heavy accent. "Put your weapon on the ground slowly and push it away," he orders. Liz obliges, not seeing any other alternative. Samar groans in pain behind her; she is starting to regain consciousness.

Liz's ears are ringing and it all seems like a bad dream as a masked man walks behind the bar and binds her and Samar's hands with zip ties. He lifts her up, and Liz starts to struggle but a sharp blow to the head that leaves her world spinning takes the resistance out of her.

Her thoughts are muddled- all she can think about is Red. That he didn't make it on time. She doesn't blame him- she's sure he tried his best. Her last thought before she loses consciousness is that she hopes he doesn't blame himself. He deserves to be happy.

Red can hear gunshots in the distance. He is close. He grabs his automatic rifle and pulls on a gas mask. The agents in the car follow suit. He just prays that he made it in time; he can't even bare to consider the fact that Lizzy could be gone. His blood runs cold when he hears the gunshots stop, and he uses some colorful language to urge the driver on, who is already going well past the speed limit.

They come speeding down the street and Red sees two SUVs pulled up in front of a small restaurant. Smoke is drifting out of the shattered windows and the broken down door. He sees two heavily armed men walking out of the building each carrying an unconscious body with them. Red recognizes her immediately- Lizzy!

The car screeches to a stop causing the men to look up in alarm. Red is out of the door before the car fully stops. It takes two shots to take out the guard holding Lizzy. A bullet hits him in the head, and he falls backwards, cushioning Liz's fall.

Red turns to the other man who has dropped Samar unceremoniously on the pavement and is frantically reaching for his weapon. Three more shots from Red's gun takes him out too. Red can hear shouting from inside the building, and soon bullets are flying out of the window in return fire.

Red ducks behind the black SUV and starts barking orders to his team through his earpiece. They spread out, taking cover behind both Red's and the enemy's vehicles. Red keeps his eyes fastened on Liz. She is well out of the range of fire, but Red doesn't want to take any chances.

He calls for the agents to cover him as he runs to get her. He stays low to the ground, his training kicking in from all those years ago. He had been good at this back then, and he is still quite good at it now. He grabs Lizzy and sprints behind the closest SUV. He waits a minute, and then repeats the action with Samar.

One of the agents runs over to meet him, telling him that he is trained field doctor. Red lets him look over Liz and Samar, and goes back to fighting. The shootout lasts for another 10 minutes. They wait for a minute once the enemy fire ceases, and then go to investigate. The smoke has mostly cleared and Red finds everyone inside dead.

There had been 10 men, including the 5 lying dead outside. It looked like Liz and Samar had managed to take out at least 3 guards while Red was on his way.

Once Red is sure the threat is over he runs back out to his Lizzy. The field doctor tells him they are both unconscious and have received minor injuries, but do not require any medical attention.

Red thanks him and then picks up Liz. It is time for them to leave. He gently lays her in the back of an SVU, slipping off his coat and laying it over her. Then he goes to talk to Ressler.

"I have a safe house not too far from here. I am taking Agent Keen there," he says it in such a demanding way that he doesn't expect Ressler to protest. But of course, Ressler never lets Red have his way.

"What about the rest of us?" he asks him with a quirked eyebrow. Red wants to tell him that they would have to find their own protection. He wants to tell him that he is a trained FBI agent, he could surely protect himself. But he knows Lizzy would never forgive him if something happened to Ressler or Samar, and he certainly does not want to send either of them to their deaths.

"Fine," Red sighs, "just follow my SVU." Red isn't exactly pleased that he can't be alone with Lizzy, and he is especially unpleased that he has to share the location of one of his safe houses with the FBI. He happens to like this safe house.

He kicks the agent out of the SVU, insisting that he has to go alone with Liz. He justifies that he is allowed to have one more moment of selfishness before he shares his safe house with 15 FBI agents. Red is glad that they hadn't lost anyone in the shootout, but is not exactly giddy at the idea of playing host to so many FBI agents under his own roof.

This is definitely not where he expected to be two years after turning himself into the FBI. But his plans often have a tendency of changing. He smiles when he thinks about Liz. His plan for her has definitely changed for the better. With that uplifting thought, Red pulls away from the crime scene, content for the first time in over a month to be with his Lizzy.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews (they inspire me to write more)! None of this is mine.

**Chapter 13**

Elizabeth Keen wakes up in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar house, with an aching head and a distinct memory of being captured.

She looks around the room she is in. A mahogany desk sits in the corner with a matching bedside table sitting next to the grand king bed Liz is laying on. Sunlight streams in through a giant window casting a soft glow through the room.

Liz is confused. Why is she not tied up in some dungeon in a godforsaken place where no one would ever find her? She glances out the window and sees a massive green lawn that stretches until it meets sand. Her room is looking out on a small stretch of beach with golden sand and sparkling blue water.

She assumes that she is in The Banker's mansion. Why hadn't he restrained her? She figures that this either a trap or a cruel trick The Banker is playing on her. Unless he thought he had a chance at bringing her over to his side- Liz shutters at the thought.

Determined, she walks over to the window. It is locked, like she had expected. She decides that two stories up is probably too high to jump from without injury anyway.

Liz notices that she is still in her blouse from yesterday- it now has a crimson stain on it that Liz assumes is blood. She is glad that The Banker hadn't taken advantage of her unconscious state.

Liz walks to the door and presses her ear to it. She hears no sounds from outside. She tries the doorknob and is surprised when it opens- Amin had left the door unlocked.

She cracks the door open and peers out. There is no sign of anyone in the hallway. Liz steps out of the room, with even greater confusion. The Banker hadn't even put security on her?

Liz steps carefully towards the large carpeted stair case. As she walks down the hallway, she tentatively peers into each room.

She profiles The Banker based on his furniture and personal effects (or rather his lack of personal affects). He is a loner, afraid to make personal ties to others. The order in all of his rooms suggests he feels a need to have constant control of every aspect of his life. He is intelligent and calculating, and possibly a little cold hearted.

Liz reaches the staircase and looks down. She doesn't see anyone, but can hear voices drifting up from below. They're too quiet for Liz to fully make out what they're saying.

She slowly descends, wincing every time the stairs creak under her weight. When she reaches the bottom she finds herself in a small living room, furnished with only a slightly worn out couch and a wooden table.

A pistol lies on the table. Liz is shocked by that- The Banker just left a weapon lying around? She slowly approaches, glancing around the room with a paranoid look as if The Banker might suddenly appear and attack her.

She picks up the gun and looks in the clip. It is filled with bullets. Liz can't believe her luck. She cocks the gun and points it ahead of her as she continues walking through the house.

She follows the voices. She hears someone let out a loud laugh. They must not know she is awake yet. She can catch them by surprise.

She approaches the room and then leans against the wall. She takes a deep breath and then jumps into the doorway, pointing her gun out.

"FBI, freeze!" she shouts.

She looks at her targets to see a surprised looking Ressler and a deeply amused looking Red. They are sitting around a large table covered in documents, pictures, and a couple of computers. The rest of the agents at the table are giving her incredulous looks. She lowers the gun.

"Lizzy, how nice of you to join us!" Red exclaims with a bright grin that makes Liz want to stab him with another pen. "How are you feeling this morning? The nice agent over there says you might be in some pain."

Liz drops the gun on the table and collapses in the chair next to Red.

"I feel like hell," she mutters through gritted teeth.

Red gives her a concerned look and then leaves to go get some pain killers. Ressler fills her in on last night's rescue mission. Samar hasn't woken up yet.

Red returns and hands Liz two pills and a glass of water. She takes them without hesitation.

Red starts to fill her in about what they had learned about The Banker. Every time Ressler tries to add something Red cuts him off with a glare. He seems to enjoy telling the story,t so Liz pretends to listen attentively when most of it was information she already knew from the investigation.

Suddenly a thought hit her, "Where's Cooper?"

A worried look passes over Ressler's face. "We haven't had contact with him. We think The Banker got him."

That didn't make sense to Liz. "The Banker would have been too busy sending agents after us. I'm not even sure if he knows about Cooper's involvement in this- Cooper never went undercover."

Just then she notices Red's gaze. He is looking at Liz and she can see a slight flicker of guilt cross his face before it disappears behind his mask again.

"Reddington, can we talk? In private?" Liz gives him a look that tells him he has no choice in this matter. This is not a question, but a demand.

Red sighs and follows her out of the room, ignoring the curious looks from the agents and the suspicious look from Ressler.

She walks into the closest empty room, a small guest bedroom. Red closes the door behind them and then crosses the room to look out of the window, facing away from Liz. He has never lied to her and isn't about to start now.

"What do you know about Cooper?" Liz asks him. He turns to look at her. God she is beautiful. Especially when she is angry, like right now.

Red sighs again. "I suspect that Cooper wasn't taken by The Banker, but I think you already know that." Red's legs seem to move on their own accord and he finds himself in front of Lizzy, only about a foot of space in between them.

Liz's face is slightly flushed but Red suspects that it is not from anger anymore.

"What do you know about Cooper?" she repeats, but her voice contains less of an order in it and her eyes are on Red's lips.

Red takes another small step forward. He hears Liz let out a small breath. He gently reaches up a hand to cup her cheek and guides her lips to meet his.

The kisses are light at first, almost a little tentative. But Red soon deepens the kiss and before they know it they are both lost in it.

Red presses her against the wall earning a low moan from Liz that only seems to drive him on. He wraps one hand around her back and the other starts to work with the buttons on her blouse.

He breaks off the kiss for a moment to say in a low, quiet voice, "I wanted to take this off you last night but couldn't find a good excuse for Ressler."

Liz is unable to answer; instead she just lifts her head to give Red access to her neck. He places hot kisses down her neck and unfastens the last button of her blouse.

Just as they reach the point of no return they hear a loud knock on the door. Red pulls back and Liz's eyes fly open. They are both out of breath and Liz's blouse is almost completely off. Their obvious arousal would be very hard to explain to Ressler.

The knock sound again.

"What is it?" Liz calls out, managing to keep her voice steady even though her entire body is trembling. Red moves away from her with a glare at the door, giving her space to quickly rebutton her blouse.

"Why the hell is the door locked?" Ressler asks angrily, shaking the doorknob a little more violently than necessary.

Liz shoots a glare at Red that says why-the-hell-would-you-lock-the-door? Red gives her an innocent shrug.

Liz runs a hand down her face, hoping Ressler wouldn't notice anything and then moves to let him in. He peers into the door as if he half expects to find Liz naked and tied to the bed.

"Sorry I didn't realize the door was locked." Liz lies. Ressler doesn't look convinced, but decides to get to the point.

He turns to Red, "What aren't you telling us?" he asks him angrily. Which is definitely a big mistake because Red hasn't quite forgiven him for interrupting him and Lizzie.

"I don't have to tell 'us' anything. I believe that the terms of my agreement state that I speak only to Elizabeth Keen, and I expect you to honor that agreement. Now if I choose not to tell Elizabeth Keen something, that is still in no way violating my agreement. I believe I have said it before- I have no interest in cases I have no interest in."

Ressler's face is so red that Liz thinks that he might punch Red. Instead he uses the method he had learned at the hospital and storms out, slamming the door behind him.

Liz gives Red a disapproving look. "Was that really necessary?"

Red just gives her a slightly frustrated look that says "yes it was." Liz sighs. She takes a step back when Red starts to approach her again.

"No. Distracting me won't work Reddington. You are going to tell me what you know about Cooper and you are going to tell me right now," Liz demands.

Red quirks an eyebrow at her. "Reddington?"

"Please Red," Liz responds in a voice that Red can't possibly turn down.

He gestures to the bed with a sigh. "Sit down, this is a long story." Liz obeys.

"The year was 1987. I had only just started my business. I was in Kuwait to meet with some associates of mine. Powerful people, people who had the ability to move me up on the ladder quite quickly if they wanted to. I hadn't quite made a name for myself yet, I was desperate for any chance at power. And it seemed that Cooper felt the same way."

"He was a young FBI agent, who had been out of Quantico for 6 years. His career wasn't really going anywhere. I first crossed paths with young Agent Cooper at one of my business meetings. We were there to meet with a slightly shady figure known by the name of The Keeper. He had connections all around the world and would do anything for a high enough price. His empire was already at a pretty large size, and was growing rapidly."

"The Keeper had one problem- he had caught the attention of some local law enforcement. Normally he would just kill any officer who had any clue about his business, but the officer chasing after him was rather high profile. His name was Henry Price and he was the leader of a task force at the FBI. He had somehow managed to find The Keeper's base of operations in Kuwait. The Keeper had some political figures in his pocket, but none of them were willing to get their hands dirty."

"He needed a reliable witness so the operation wouldn't lead straight back to him. He told Cooper that he would pull some strings for him at the FBI if he would perform a few tasks for him. He didn't tell Cooper what these tasks were, but Cooper's ambition blinded him and he took the job anyway."

"How the story was told to me was this: Cooper was given a gun, 5 million dollars in cash, and a fake ID with Henry Price's face on it. He was given an address and the code to a safe. His job was quite simple and did not involve any casualties. He was told to place the money, passport, and gun in the safe at the given address. Then he was to leave and return after Henry returned home and confront him about the contents of the safe. He was to arrest him and then testify against him."

"Things did not exactly go to plan. While Harold was planting the evidence Henry returned home early. He was going home to make a phone call to his wife and 3 year old daughter. When he walked in and saw Agent Cooper there, there was some type of fight, no one knows what truly happened in that room, but I do know the end result- Harold shot Henry and he bled out."

"Agent Cooper later said it was self-defense, but he let Henry go down for a crime he didn't commit. His family has spent their whole lives believing that their beloved hero was actually a heartless criminal." Red shakes his head at this, looking disgusted with the entire thing.

"Cooper returned home and rose up in the ranks. The Keeper's empire was able to grow without any opposition. The Keeper is still quite powerful today. But I believe he goes by a different name now- Senator John Philips."

Liz feels her heart drop. "Cooper said in his phone call yesterday that he was meeting with one last contact- Senator John Philips."

Red watches the emotions flash over Liz's face. At first she is shocked, then she is angry, and then she is horrified. "Red we have to save him, before it's too late!"

Red chooses his words carefully. "I understand your need to save Harold, but The Banker is not just going to stop going after us to give us time to save him. Philips is just as dangerous as The Banker, if not more dangerous and we're low on resources as it is." Red just stops there because he can tell that Liz is not taking this well.

"How can we leave Cooper to fend for himself?!" Her voice grows in volume as she becomes even more enraged with Red.

As beautiful as Lizzy is when she's angry, Red knows that her anger is being quite counter protective at the moment, and time is not on their side. He has yet to find an effective way to calm her down- staying silent seems to make her just as angry as when he tries to argue back. And telling hear to calm down clearly isn't effective considering last time he had tried that he had earned a pen in the neck.

"Lizzy," Red says to stop her. She is rather animated in her argument and doesn't even seem to notice that Red had said anything.

"Lizzy," he says a little louder and she trails off, keeping a hard glare on him.

"I will try my best to save Harold, but my first priority, no matter what, will be to protect you," he tells her in a calm and collected voice.

"I am coming with you."

Red considers saying no, but he knows that will just bring on another argument that they really don't have time for. If Cooper isn't dead already he will be soon.

"Fine, but you will do everything I tell you to do, without question or hesitation. If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to shoot, you shoot. If I tell you to leave me, and save yourself, you will do so without argument. Do I make myself clear?"

Liz nods but Red already knows she had no intention of following his orders. She is independent and strong willed, which is one of the many things that Red loves about her, but it does not help when he is trying to protect her.

"We need to plan for this. I happen to know where The Keeper's base is. That thing was a fortress 30 years ago; I can only imagine it has become even more fortified since."

Liz follows Red out of the room. She hopes that Cooper can hang on until they get there. Each minute that passes decreases the odds of any of them getting out of this alive.


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note: Midterms are next week so I may have to take a little break in writing (sorry). Again, none of this is mine, comments are greatly appreciated, and I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 14**

The first thing Harold Cooper feels as he slowly slips back into consciousness is a dull ache in his head. Then a slight tingling starts in his feet that gradually transforms into a burning sensation that travels through his entire body.

He becomes fully conscious and all he can feel is the burning pain all through his body. His tongue is dry and the back of his throat stings from dehydration. He doubles forward with a racking cough. He feels something warm dribble out of his mouth- blood. His arms are chained so he is unable to wipe it away.

He tries to make out his surrounding, but it is too dark to make out anything. His back is pressed against a cement wall with his arms bound above him. His ankles are bound with the same cold metal cuffs. He can barely move his legs it's so tight.

Memories come back to Cooper in flashes. He had been meeting with someone… A face flashes before his eyes, and it is very familiar but he can't place it. His mind does not seem to be cooperating with him. Then the name comes to him- Senator Philip. Cooper can feel dread fill him with the name and he thinks back.

A man's face flashes before his eyes- the man's eyes are filled with panic and his mouth is open and he is shouting something. He is shouting at him to put the gun down. The sound of the gunshot resonates in Cooper's ears as if he is back in '97 making the same mistake that changed his life forever.

The gun goes off two more times in his memory. Blood covers the ground. He can't look at the body, can't bare to meet the dead stare of the innocent man he shot down. The guilt that hits Cooper is just as real and just as intense as it was all those years ago.

Before he can even process that old memory a new one appears. He is in a large room- a meeting office. Senator Philips is there and they are talking. Cooper is trying to persuade him to do something- help him with an operation of sort. Something to do with Reddington. He is refusing- it is too dangerous.

Then Cooper's phone is ringing. He picks it up and it's Agent Keen. She sounds worried- there is someone coming after her, she calls him The Banker. Their newest blacklister with connections to her ex-husband.

Cooper feels the panic again. He needs to find Agent Keen and Navabi before The Banker gets to them. He tells Philips that he needs to leave. Philips tells him that's not going to be an option. He remembers a sharp prick in his neck and after that nothing.

Cooper sags against the wall. He wishes that his memory had been gone for longer. He wishes that he hadn't been forced to relive the incident. Most of all, Cooper wishes that he had never pulled the trigger that day. Cooper has spent his whole life trying to redeem himself from that one moment, and never once has the guilt left him.

Cooper knows that he deserves this. His fate had been determined the second he had killed an innocent man. He thinks briefly to his family. He had been away for so long. Regret fills him on all the time he had missed. Time he would never get back.

The irony of the timing is not last on him. The doctors had given him a year. The osteoporosis has already spread through his entire body. It is too far along to be treatable. Now, only 3 months after the diagnosis, Cooper is facing his imminent death.

Cooper lets himself slip into a dark state. He lets all the regret, guilt, fear, and pain he had felt in his life fill him. He tries to come to terms with his sins. He had long ago stopped believing in God; it is hard to have faith when surrounded by demons, but a prayer comes to him from when he was a boy.

_God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference._ It is too late to fix some of his sins, but he can make his peace with the world. Cooper feels the weight that had been slowly suffocating him for years being slowly lifted off his shoulders. He is finally at peace.

Red steps out of the SUV. He eyes the warehouse warily. He sees no outward defenses, but The Keeper has always been a sneaky son of a bitch. The rest of the agents pile out of the van and get ready for the fight. Bullet proof vests are strapped on, machine guns are loaded, and earpieces are put in.

Red is leading Team A into the building and Ressler is leading Team B. Liz hadn't even protested that- so far she had kept her word about obeying orders. Red watches her slip on a vest, a determined look already on her face.

He pushes back the fear at the thought of putting her in danger. He will not let anything happen to her, even if he has to die to save her. The thought of putting his own life before Liz's is not even questioned by Red anymore. It has become more of a fact; Liz's life went before his own, no matter the circumstances, no matter the consequences.

Little did Red know that Liz has already accepted the same fact about him. She will sacrifice herself for Red without a second thought. All they have left is each other.

Finally everyone is ready. Liz follows Red to their entrance point. Team A consists of just the two of them- it's more of a distraction to give Team B time to carry out their plans.

They enter through a ground floor window. The warehouse is meant to look abandoned so all they have to do is remove a wooden board and they are inside.

Red carefully replaces the board sealing them into darkness. "We're inside," he whispers into his mouth piece as he waits for his eyes to adjust to the dark.

As soon as his eyes can make out small grey shapes in the darkness he starts to move, hearing Liz following behind him. The Keeper would not keep anything on the ground floor- his operation is completely underground. They are safe for now.

Red walks across the floor quietly, searching for an entry into The Keeper's lair. He stops when he hears his footstep echo a little differently on the ground. He walks back over the spot and feels the floor shift ever so slightly. He brushes off the dirty ground to reveal a wooden panel. Liz helps him pry it open.

A ladder leads down, farther than either of their eyes can reach. They both glance down it for a moment, then Red gives a small nod and comforting smile to Liz and starts to descend. Liz is right after him. They are almost silent as they climb down at a careful pace.

Red feels apprehension filling him. He hasn't felt this nervous for an operation in years, and he tries to push it away but every thought of Liz brings it back. He needs to focus.

After about a minute of climbing Red feels his foot hit solid ground. He turns and is met with pitch blackness. He scarcely dares to breathe for a moment as he listens for signs that they are not alone. Finally satisfied, he steps away from the ladder allowing Liz to drop down beside him.

They pull on their night vision goggles that Ressler had deemed necessary for the operation. Looks like Captain America is useful for something after all, Red thinks to himself, still more worked up then he would care to admit about Ressler interrupting them. He really has missed Lizzy.

The reason Red hadn't thought of the night vision goggles himself is because of his past experiences with them. He has never liked using night vision goggles because of their limited range of vision. They cut off your peripheral vision, and Red's ability to catch things out of the corner of his eye had saved him on numerous occasions. Red is a little uneasy about using the goggles, but it is better than going in blind.

Liz follows him as he starts down the small cement hall. It looks like they're in a bunker. Despite the danger they are in, Liz finds that she is not afraid. Her fear had been replaced by brave determination- not only to save Cooper, but to get her and Red out of this alive. Or if she couldn't get all of them out alive, at the very least give Red a fighting chance.

There is also a strange kind of excitement in her brought on by the adrenaline of the situation. Liz feels a little invincible as she tiptoes behind Red.

They hardly make a sound as they approach the first door. It is a huge metal contraption that is covered in security devices. There is a fingerprint scanner, a card reader with a password, and finally a good old fashioned lock. It would take even an expert lock picker a couple of minutes and a blowtorch to get through.

Red seems to expect this and turns and starts walking back down the hallway. Liz is quite sure he has a backup plan. Sure enough, they walk back a few feet and Liz looks up to see a large vent set into the wall. It is covered by a grate. She looks at Red and he makes a lifting hand motion. He is going to prop her up. Liz nods that she understand and Red bends down.

He puts her foot in his hand and he starts to stand up, moving her so she is level with the grate. Liz takes a small knife from her belt and starts working out the screws with it. It is painstaking work, but Liz works fast and Red doesn't complain. Soon the last screw is out and Liz pulls the grate off and gently places it on the ground.

She pulls herself up and wiggles awkwardly until she is in. It is a tight fit, but it will do. She helps Red up and Red pull the grate back into place. They crawl forward. Now it is time to find Cooper before The Keeper finds them


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long, midterms were terrible but they're over now. I should be able to add updates to this pretty regularly now. Thank you so much for all the reviews and for sticking with this story for this long! As always, I own nothing, love all reviews, and hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 15**

John Philips is not happy. He is not happy that Harold had returned to Kuwait, he is not happy that he had to capture Harold, and he is especially unhappy that he now has to clean up this mess. He thought the incident in Kuwait had been finished many years ago, apparently he was wrong.

In his business, old friends coming back to pay visits is never a good thing. And then Harold had the nerve to ask him for help. Like he thought that he couldn't destroy him in a second, like he thought that he had some power against him. Harold may have moved up in the world since 1967, but The Keeper still owns him.

Philips usually isn't one to do his own dirty work, but this is personal. He will enjoy every scream he gets out of his old corrupt agent and then he will kill him, and everyone else he brought with him to Kuwait. Philips is quite confident he can clean up this mess before any suspicion is drawn to him. He is a senator after all, and a well-liked one which gives him power. Enough power to make this go away.

The Keeper opens the door to Harold's cell and flips on the light. Harold looks up alarmed, squinting his eyes against the light and looking deranged. He is covered in bruises and cuts and is chained to the wall- he is ready for The Keeper. He lets out a low laugh and watches Harold freeze.

"Time for us to have a nice little chat, my old friend."

Liz and Red have spent the past 10 minutes crawling through vents and have yet to hear anyone or see anyone through the sporadically placed grates. All is dark and silent. Red has kept track of all the turns in his head, planning multiple escape routes as they continue on.

Liz stops abruptly and Red almost crawls into her. She turns and whispers, "Do you hear that?" Red listens, and far away he can hear the muddled sounds of voices. He nods and they keep crawling, following the sound.

The next grate they come to has light streaming through it. Red and Liz pull off their goggles and let their eyes adjust. They can now make out the voices; they are speaking rapidly in Russian. Red can understand enough to know that they are playing poker- and one of them is taking a majority of the money. He figures that they are the security.

Red peers through the grate and counts 7 men. They are all heavily tattooed and heavily armed. Red doesn't like their odds if him and Liz get caught before Ressler can get in. "We've got visual on 7 guards." Red whispers through the microphone.

It's time to take them out. Red pulls out his pistol and screws on a silencer. Hopefully he will be able to take them all out before they can determine his location. He has to awkwardly curve his body to have a good angle for a shot. He can hear Liz's breathing pick up beside him. This is it.

He pulls the trigger and the first guy drops. Before the others can react he has taken out two more. The Russians are looking around in terror. He shoots 3 more. The remaining guard dives under the table and Red no longer has a shot. He swears under his breath.

He can tell the remaining Russian doesn't know where they are- he is looking around as if he suspects the shooter to appear out of thin air. His finger is on the trigger of his semi-automatic rifle. He seems a little trigger happy. Red doesn't want to push his luck but he also doesn't want to give him time to alert The Keeper of their presence.

Making a quick decision, Red starts shooting at the table, his bullets piercing through the wood. The Russian rolls out and a bullet catches him in the arm. He starts yelling. _Shit._ Red hits him with one more shot and he falls silent.

At first all is quiet, but then Red hears voices shouting from down the hall and footsteps approaching fast. He pushes Liz forward with a hiss, "We need to move, now." Liz doesn't need to be told twice.

They can hear shouting and swearing when the rest of The Keeper's guards find the crime scene.

"How the hell did this happen? Somebody get The Keeper in here. We have a serious problem." Time to call in backup Red thinks to himself. He alerts Ressler and can hear Captain America ordering his team to enter.

They crawl until they are far enough away to avoid detection but close enough to hear what is going on. Liz hears footsteps approaching and someone talking loudly and angrily.

"What the hell happened? How did you miss the attackers? They had to have walked right past you! How could you not hear the shots going off!?"

Red stiffens up besides Liz. "That's The Keeper," he whispers to her. They hear him walk to the room and when he sees the destruction Red had left he swears loudly.

"Go find the attackers now! I'm going back to my interrogation, I don't want to see any of you until you find them. Bring them to me alive." After swearing at the ineptness of his remaining guards, Liz hears The Keeper walk back towards them.

As soon as he passes under them, Liz starts to crawl after him. They have to crawl fast, but they manage to keep up. Thankfully, The Keeper is too busy swearing under his breath to hear the clanging as Liz and Red crawl through the vents.

After numerous turns, Liz hears The Keeper stop and unlatch a door. He enters and flips on a light, lighting up the nearest grate. Liz and Red gather around it.

Liz immediately sees Cooper chained to the wall and he isn't in good shape. There is blood dribbling out of his mouth, and his eyes are unfocused and slightly glazed over. The machine in front of him sends chills through Liz- it is an electrifying machine. Even Red winces when he sees it, having past experience with the contraption.

"I'm sorry Harold, how rude of me to leave in the middle of our little conversation! Where were we? Oh that's right." Philips smears at him and bends in closer.

"You were just about to tell me who else you brought to Kuwait with you. Now don't play coy with me Harold, you Feds are a dime a dozen! Now tell me, who else is here?"

Cooper shakes his hade weakly. His eyelids droop. "No, no Harold, it's not nap time yet!" Philips aims a kick at Cooper's stomach. He doubles over and struggles to catch his breath.

"Tell me who your friends are and this can all stop." Cooper shakes his head again, earning him another kick.

Liz is distracted by Red's movement. He is pulling out his pistol. She moves to give him a better angle. He lines up his shot.

Philips had given up on kicking the information out of Harold and has returned to the machine. Electrification is one of the worst kinds of torture; causing severe physical pain. Liz isn't sure that Cooper can take any more rounds of it.

Philips picks up the handle. Just as he approaches Cooper Red pulls the trigger. The bullet goes straight through The Keeper's head and he crumpled to the ground.

Cooper looks around with a wild look on his face, his eyes still slightly clouded over. Liz turns and kicks the grate. With two kicks it gives out and clatters to the ground.

Cooper looks over to see Liz dropping out of the vent followed closely by Red. He is certain that he is hallucinating until Liz rushes to his side and starts dealing with his injuries. Her voice sounds like it is coming through water and Cooper struggles to understand.

"Cooper, Cooper do you hear me? Can you understand what I am saying?" Cooper nods his head. She keeps talking as she makes quick work of his cuffs.

"You're going to be okay, sir. We are getting you out of here."

Red hears approaching footsteps and shouting.

"I think we are running out of time here, Lizzy," he warns as he peers through the door.

"Ressler, where are you?" Red asks loudly into the microphone. There is no response.

"Looks like we have to go out the way we came," Red tells Liz with false confidence in his voice. Cooper looks like he is barely retaining consciousness. Liz helps him to his feet and he sways dangerously. Red moves to take his other arm and practically drags him to the grate. The shouting is getting closer.

"Time to go," Red says loudly. Liz pulls herself up as Red locks the door, dragging Philips over to form a blockade.

He pushes the nearly unconscious Cooper up to Liz, who has to drag him into the grate. He just finishes pulling himself up when the guards reach the door.

He hears the doorknob rattle and then rapid speech in Russian. "Sir let us in. They are in the vents." Red curses and urges Liz on, telling her when to turn.

Somehow Cooper is able to crawl, even though Red can't even imagine the sheer amount of pain the man is in. Every once in a while he falters and Red has to push him onward.

He can hear when the guards break in the door to the interrogation room. There is a whole lot of swearing. _Where the hell is Ressler?_ It is too risky to make contact with him now that the guards know they are in the vents.

They crawl on, but Red knows they are going much too slow. He hears something that makes his blood run cold. He pauses for a second and sure enough there it is- the sound of someone crawling through the vent behind them.

He shouts ahead to Liz. "Lizzy listen to me, there is no time to waste. A guard is behind us. Take Cooper and get out. Right, left, straight, left, right, then straight. I will hold them off."

He hears Liz start to protest but he cuts her off, "Remember your promise. Tell me how to get out."

Liz's voice is shaking as she repeats, "Right, left, straight, left, right, straight."

"Good girl. Now go," Red orders her. He takes one more glance of her as she crawls out of sight, her silky her pulled back in a ponytail, a look of determination set on her flawless face. Goodbye Lizzy.

He crawls behind a turn and pulls out his gun. He can hear the guard approaching fast. He peers around the corner and as soon as he can see him he shoots.

The guard shouts and ducks behind his corner. Soon Red's fire is met by the fire of the guard's automatic rifle. Bullets tear through the metal like it is nothing more than paper. Red presses his back against the wall, his heart hammering in his chest.

He is very out gunned. When the guard stops to reload he sends a couple of bullets in his direction. None of them hit their mark. Time for another approach.

Once the guard starts firing again, Red crawls rapidly down through the vent. He turns left and when he reaches the next left turn he peeks out from behind it. Sure enough he sees the guard pressed against the opposite corner. A perfect circle.

Red shoots twice and the guard slumps. Before he can relax from his small victory, Red hears the sound of automatic rifles going off. Bullets tear through the vent where he just shot the guard, rapidly approaching him.

Red jumps back and starts crawling back in the opposite direction. Everywhere he goes he is met by bullets tearing through the vent. Red crawls as fast as he can, making a break for the exit.

Meanwhile, Liz has made it back to the start. She pops the grate out again, letting it clatter to the floor. There is no point in staying quiet anymore.

She slips her goggles back on; it is still too dark to see in the hallway. When she looks to see if the coast is clear she finds the entrance door blown off its hinges. She prays Ressler's team had done it and are now well on their way to saving Red.

She bites her lip when she hears shooting and shouts in the distance. The overwhelming fear she feels for Red has to be pushed down. She needs to get Cooper out.

Liz jumps down. Cooper practically rolls out behind her, and lands hard on all fours. Liz helps him up. He is delirious- it is clear he has no idea what is going on. The pain is too much.

Liz tells him everything is going to be okay anyway as they stumble down the hall. She isn't sure if she's saying it for Cooper or for herself. She tells herself that Red is smart; he'll find a way out of this, he has to, but secretly, deep in her heart, she knows the odds are against him.

A couple hundred feet away a gun goes off. A bullet tears through the torso of a familiar man. He falls, his mouth open in a silent cry, one word- "Lizzy!"


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note: Sorry I ran out of time yesterday to update this. I should be updating this every day from now on, as long as I don't lose power. As always, thank you soooo much for the reviews and I own nothing.

**Chapter 16**

Raymond Reddington had been shot before. In fact, he has been shot so many times it is quite a familiar feeling for him. Too bad the pain never gets any less.

He has been shot many times, but this time it feels different. It is different. Raymond Reddington has changed so much since Elizabeth Keen has entered his life, she has changed him. That's why one word falls out of his mouth as the world crashes down beneath him, "Lizzy!"

Red can feel himself going into shock. He knows the symptoms; he's experienced it many times before. But this time, like the shooting, it's different. This time he is able to hold on, with his thoughts stuck on Liz.

Red can hear guns continuing to go off beneath him. He hears shouts and then return fire. Ressler. Never has he been more glad to hear Captain America's voice.

The pain has yet to set in, but Red knows he has limited time. He knows where the bullet hit, he knows it went clean through, and he knows he has less than a minute of consciousness left. Time to make the best of it.

When he gets up on his knees the pain hits him. It is excruciating, worse without the effects of shock to dull it. Red lets out an involuntary scream that is drowned out by the battle going on beneath him.

With blurred vision, Red crawls to the nearest gate. It is only a few feet away, but it might as well be miles away with the condition Red is in.

Red's knees slide behind him. Red's unfocused eyes study the liquid- blood, his blood. There is a lot of it, a whole trail behind him. Red feels dizzy.

He reaches the grate. He pushes at it, but he is weak, so weak. He slumps against it, letting out a weak cry. He can see blurs of people under him. They are running and shooting at each other and Red can no longer remember why. His ears are ringing and his thoughts are blurring.

With his last few seconds of consciousness, Red sees a familiar flash of red-blonde hair. Ressler is his last thought as he slumps against the grate.

Donald Ressler has always wanted to be an agent. Growing up with an abusive father, he knew from a very young age that he wanted to save the world. He wanted to protect the weak from the monsters of the world.

He had watched his mother die before his eyes at the hands of his father when he was 11. When his father had turned to him in his drunken haze he had done the only thing he had thought possible at that age. He had grabbed his father's glock 27 and shot him.

His father had fallen at the first bullet, but Ressler hadn't stopped there. When the police found him a half an hour later, he was laying in his mother's arm, his shirt stained in her blood. His father had an entire magazine of bullets emptied into his chest.

So as Ressler finishes the attack and every last guard is dead, he can't help feeling a grim sort of satisfaction. The sounds of guns completely fade from the air, leaving ringing ears and the acidic smell of gun smoke.

He surveys the damage for a second; they had lost 2 agents and taken out at least 20 of Philip's people. It will be a successful operation, as long as Cooper, Reddington, and Agent Keen make it out.

Ressler signals Liz, "Agent Keen, what is your position?" He holds his breath as he waits for a response, but soon he can hear her voice through his earpiece, sounding stressed and out of breath.

"Cooper and I have made it to the ladder. He is in bad shape; I will not be able to get him up on my own. Red is-" her voice cracks.

"Red is somewhere in the vents. He stayed behind when we were being pursued by a guard." Her voice is shaky. Ressler is shocked by the amount of pain in it.

"Stay there, I will send an agent to help you. I'm going to find Red." It doesn't take long. As soon as Ressler looks up at the nearest grate his heart stops.

He can see Red slumped against it, not moving. A trickle of thick, red liquid is oozing down the wall from the grate- Reddington's blood. Ressler swears loudly and then runs over.

"Reddington, can you hear me?" he shouts up at the man. There is no response, Red does not move. Please don't be dead, Ressler thinks, Liz won't be able to handle it, I won't be able to handle it.

Ressler tries to remove the grate with trembling fingers, working as fast as he can. He is not going fast enough. He desperately calls for an agent to help him.

Samar lets out a heavy string of swears from behind him when she sees Red. She helps Ressler pull off the grate, and then pull Red's unconscious form out. They lower him to the ground as gently as they can.

Ressler gasps when he sees the bullet wound. It can't be more than a few inches left of his heart, and has pierced all the way through his chest. Blood is soaking his shirt, so much of it that the stench combines with the acidic smoke in the air.

For a second Ressler is too shocked to move, but then he launches himself into action. He presses his trembling fingers into Red's neck. His pulse is rapid yet weak, beating at an impossible speed. His breaths are shallow, each one barely taking in air. They have to move fast, or they will lose him.

One of the agents comes running, carrying a first aid kit with him. Ressler grabs it from him and gets to work. He pushes his worry aside, he needs to focus. First priority- getting Red some blood. Ressler happens to know someone who shares Red's blood type. He pulls on a pair of medical gloves and gets to work, letting his brief training in field injuries take over.

Liz lets Cooper slump against the wall, too exhausted to hold him up for any longer. With nothing to focus on, the anxiety overwhelms her so she focuses back on Cooper.

He seems seconds away from losing consciousness. Liz talks to him, struggling to keep him awake.

"Stay with me Cooper, you're safe now. We'll be out of here soon; I just need you to stay awake. Just stay awake- can you do that for me?" Cooper nods dully, but Liz isn't sure if he's taking anything in. Somehow he manages to stay awake until the other agent comes to meet them.

"Have they found Reddington yet?" Liz asks him, her voice sharp and demanding. The agent looks a little taken aback by her tone, but manages to answer with a, "They have no visual yet." Liz nods, struggling to keep her rapidly changing emotions off her face. She needs to pull it together.

Helping Cooper up the ladder is tedious work. Both Liz and the agent are covered in sweat and utterly exhausted by the time they reach the top. There are multiple close calls where Cooper almost topples backward, but somehow they manage to make it to the top.

As soon as they make it up Liz orders the agent, "Stay with him, I am going to find Red." She is back down the ladder in seconds, jumping the last couple of feet. She doesn't resist the urge to run as she goes to find Ressler and hopefully Red.

When Liz sees Red's lifeless body lying on the ground she is in shock. She almost collapses, but then her mind processes Ressler next to him and the small tube connecting the two of them. Blood flows from one of Ressler's arm; his other arm is pressed tightly against Red's chest.

Samar is busy preparing gauze. Ressler lifts his hand and lets her press it to the wound, wrapping it around to staunch the flow of the exit wound. Red's face is pale and his chest barely moves every time he takes a raged breath. His blood soaked shirt is tossed to the side to give them space to care for his injuries.

Neither Samar nor Ressler notice Liz standing there, staring wide eyed at Red. She can't even move, the world is crashing slowly around her. Finally she chokes out one word, "Red." Samar's head shoots up at the noise and she gives Liz a slightly panicked look.

"Go find a stretcher or something we can use for a stretcher, we need to get him out now." Liz sprints out yelling at every agent she can find to find a stretcher. They find the guard's bunks and return with a makeshift blanket stretcher.

Ressler removes the blood transfusion and helps Red onto the stretcher. The blood had already soaked through the gauze. He shouts, "We need to move, fast," but it is not needed because everyone can tell the severity of the situation. The teams of agents rush to save the man 4th on the most wanted list.

For Liz, what happens next is just a blur. There is shouting and running and somehow she ends up in the back of a car with Red's head cradles in her lap. She clutches to him, holding on to him as if it will keep him from slipping away from her, as if it will keep him alive. She whispers to him, tears running down her face, begging him to hang in there. He can't die, so she holds on to him for dear life and prays for his survival.

Liz refuses to let go of him when they arrive at the hospital. She doesn't comprehend Ressler's voice as he tries to talk sense into her. In the end they have to physically pull her away from him, in hysterics as her entire world is taken away from her. She is sat down somewhere, a blanket thrown around her shoulders and she waits. She waits for the news, waits for the single sentence that could destroy her.

Liz has always known that Red has a dangerous life style, but somehow she forgets that until the inevitable happens and he is hurt again. And again. As she sits there, knees clutched to her chest, her face buried in her knees, she lets the cold fear settle in her heart. Raymond Reddington could die. Raymond Reddington- her Red- could die and it would be all her fault.


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note: To make up for all the angst in the last couple of chapters, here is the fluff you all have been waiting for. I hope it lives up to your standards haha. They are honestly the most adorable fictional couple. As always, thank you for the comments, none of this is mine, and I will try to update as fast as possible.

**Chapter 17**

Red wakes up to a wrenching pain in his chest. For a few moments the pain is too much, so he lays there paralyzed, eyes clenched shut. Slowly the pain starts to ebb and his mind is able to focus.

He tests out his limbs. They all move on his command. When he moves his left arm slightly it sends a jab of pain to his chest that takes his breath away.

A new breath is forced into his mouth through a tube. He struggles to remove the tube for a second. Relax Red, just breath with it he tells himself. Breathing tubes are never pleasant, but they tend to work better when you don't fight them.

The remaining sensations reach his brain. The prick of an IV in his arm. The heavy feeling of a light sedative in his blood. Then something else- a light pressure in his right hand.

Red forces his eyes open to the blinding light. He takes in the sterile white walls around him, and then turns slightly to the right. He lets out a sigh of relief when he sees her.

Liz is fast asleep, her head resting on her chest at an awkward angle. His eyes travel over her body, checking for injuries. She seems unharmed.

Red tries to say, "Lizzy," but the breathing tube cuts him off. He struggles with it for a second and then thinks of a better alternative.

He gently squeezes her hand and watches as she starts to stir. Her blue eyes open and meet his with surprise.

Liz opens her eyes to see Red's pale green ones staring back into hers. She is so shocked for a moment that she just sits there staring at him. She squeezes his hand back so tightly that she's sure that she's hurting him but she doesn't care. He's alive and that's all she can focus on. Red is going to be okay.

He just watches her for a second, his warm eyes filled with emotion that he rarely shows. They hold her gaze and Liz feels relief and joy filling her.

Liz manages to find her voice. "Red." The simple word fills the room, expressing so much more than an entire conversation could. That's how it is with the two of them- it's as if their minds are connected. They have an entire different language, known only by each other.

Red closes his eyes as his name settles around him, never sounding sweeter. He squeezes her hand back, letting the contact calm him. He has all but forgotten about the pain.

When he opens his eyes again he finds Liz's eyes stuck on him. He motions to the tube and she instantly understands, leaving to find the nurse.

Red feels a little lonely in her absence, which he knows is ridiculous because she'll be back in under a minute. He thinks about what he should say when she returns, measuring his words. There is so much he wants to tell her, so much he needs to express.

The nurse comes running in, looking shocked to see him awake. She turns to Liz, "It is amazing that he is awake. He lost almost 40% of his blood. We weren't even sure if he was going to wake up…" The nurse seems to realize that she's babbling and goes to Red's side.

Taking out the tube is uncomfortable, to say the least, and Red feels like his throat is being torn open. He coughs when it is removed and struggles to pull in a breath. For a second his throat constricts and he starts to panic but soon he manages to calm his breathing.

"That's it. Just breathe in and out." The nurse pushes him back into his pillow. "Just relax."

Red finally adjusts to breathing on his own again and tries to speak. His voice is so dry that all he can croak out is, "Water." The nurse rushes to go get him some and Liz retakes her spot at his side, taking his hand again and giving him a reassuring smile.

The nurse comes back in and pesters him with questions. Liz has to stifle a laugh when she shows him the smiley face chart and asks him to rate his pain. He says it's a 6 and winces as he says it, giving away that it is much higher than that.

The nurse tries to give him some morphine, but he refuses. Liz tries to talk some sense into him but he looks her right in the eye and says so soft that only she can hear, "I want to stay conscious for this." How can Liz argue with that? The nurse finally gets the point that they want to be left alone and exits, closing the door behind her.

Despite Red's preparation he suddenly finds himself at a loss for words. Liz seems to be the only one who has that effect on him. He clears his throat, "Lizzy…"

That's all it takes for her to give up and throw her arms around him. She clutches him tightly, careful to avoid the wound. Red gently runs his good hand through her hair. "It's okay now, Lizzy. I'm okay," he mutters into her ear.

Liz pulls back, her bright eyes filled with tears. She gently kisses Red on the lips. He tries to deepen it but she pulls back slightly.

"You need to sleep." Their faces are only a few inches away from each other, their hot breaths mingling together.

Red's penetrating gaze meets hers. "The last thing on my mind is sleep."

She kisses him softly one more time then whispers into his ear, "Go to bed, Raymond." Shivers run down Red's back. She smirks at his involuntary reaction to her words.

Pulling back, Liz announces, "I'm going to find the nurse to get you some morphine." Red moans in disagreement but Liz leaves anyway. He does not want to sleep.

The nurse comes back in and attaches a morphine pump to his IV. She points out the buttons, telling him that he can adjust his dosage. Red ignores her, his eyes fixed on Liz's.

Finally she leaves them again, but the morphine is already setting in. Red can feel his mind slowly shutting down as his muscles relax. He can no longer feel Liz's grip on his hand. He looks over at her as his eyes droop.

"I love you, Lizzy." The words are so quiet that Liz almost misses them. She looks up at him, but he is already asleep, his face peaceful.

"I love you too, Red." She presses her lips to his cheek.

Liz spends the rest of the night at his bedside, a permanent smile stuck on her face as she watches the steady rise and fall of his chest. Everything is going to be okay.


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Note: Here is an extra-long (and intense) chapter just for you guys! It might not be as proofread as my others; I may have rushed a little. I hope you enjoy it anyway and I apologize in advance for the cliffhanger, I needed to stop it somewhere. As always, I love reviews and own nothing.

**Chapter 18**

"I want to go," Red argues.

"Red, you were shot in the chest two days ago. You need to recover," Liz counters.

"It's only a matter of time before The Banker finds us here. I wouldn't be surprised if he is tracking us down right now." Liz opens her mouth to argue back when Ressler barges in.

"We need to leave," he announces. Red gives Liz an I-told-you-so look. Liz tries to argue with both of them but Ressler cuts her off,

"I've had agents posted around the hospital. The Banker is 5 minutes away from here, and he's bringing 4 SUVs full of guards armed to the teeth with him. We need to leave now."

Red is up before he's finished talking. The morphine is still numbing his system. He quickly removes the IV and bandages up the small hole in his arm.

"Red!" Liz yells at him, alarmed.

"You heard the man, Lizzie- we have to go now!" Liz grits her teeth together but knows she must give in.

"Go to the car, I am going to get some morphine for you."

"5 minutes, Keen," Ressler reminds her with a sharp tone.

The nurse is on her way to change Red's IV and when she sees him walking away she lets out a squeal of surprise. Liz quickly flashes her badge at her to cut off her protests.

"I need for you to get me some morphine, and anything else I would need to care for my patient in the next couple of days."

The nurse's mouth is hanging open. "I need it now," Liz snaps at her. She practically runs to get the necessary materials, looking panicked.

As she gathers the materials Liz tells her what to do, "In a few minutes a group of men with guns will arrive here. I have already called the police and they are on their way, but they will take a couple of minutes to get here. When the gun men arrive you are to tell them that we just left, show them the security footage, and show them the room my patient was in. Do anything they ask you to do and do not argue with them."

The nurse hands her a bag filled with medicine, her wide eyes filled with fear. "Thank you," Liz says, giving her a quick smile, and then running out to the car.

She jumps into the first SUV she sees. They pull off with a screech of tires as soon as the door closes. Liz sits back against the seat with a sigh. She looks around at the people with her.

"Cooper!" she exclaims, having nearly forgotten about his injuries after Red had been shot.

"Agent Keen," he responds with a small smile. He hesitates, "Thank you… for finding me and saving my life. I…"

"You would do the same for me, sir." Cooper smiles back, relieved that Keen hadn't brought up his past in Kuwait.

"So what is the plan?" Cooper thinks for a moment.

"I think it's about time we got some reinforcement. The FBI can't refuse now that an attack has been made. We've been out of contact for too long, I'm sure they have back up ready." Liz feels relief filling her. They are finally getting the help they need.

Their conversation is cut off by the sound of blaring sirens ahead. Liz looks out the window to see a line of police cars ahead of them blocking of the road. The SUV in front is already slowing to a stop.

Red slowly takes out his gun. He is in the first SUV and he knows something isn't right about the blockade. The Banker has political power- but does he really have this much power?

The car slows to a stop a few feet in front of the police. A police officer gets out and walks towards their SUV. His hand brushes his holster. Red stiffens.

The driver rolls down the windows, then places his hands back on the wheel. "What seems to be the problem officer?"

The officer approaches the window. "License and registration, please," he says in a heavy accent.

The driver slowly reaches into his pocket for his badge. The wheels in Red's head are spinning- there is something off about this. If only the morphine wasn't blurring his mind- then he could properly think.

Just as the driver holds up his ID it pops into Red's head. He opens him mouth to shout at him to stop, but it is too late. What happens next is a blur. The officer pulls out his gun and shoots the driver in the head. The agents shout as the air erupts into gunshots. Red ducks down as bullets shatter the windows around him.

Liz hears commotion in front of her. She cranes her neck to look out the window and the windshield explodes in front of her. She shouts at the rest of the agents to get down and pulls out her pistol.

Before they can even prepare to counter attack the officers in front of them, Liz hears the screeching of tires behind them. She peers out from her spot wedged under the dashboard and sees four armored vans pulling up behind them. They're trapped.

Liz can do nothing but keep her head down as the stream of bullets from multiple machine guns fly over her head. Shouts fill the air, but the guns are too loud to decipher them. Panic fills her as she thinks about Red- he should still be in the hospital, yet here he is involved in another life-threatening situation. He better keep his head down.

A couple feet away Red is doing the complete opposite of what Liz wants him to do. After getting over the initial shock of being shot at again, the adrenaline kicks in. Red dives into the trunk and fastens on a bullet proof vest. Thankfully Ressler had not returned the operation supplies to Red's safe house while he was in the hospital.

Red grabs an automatic gun. He steadies himself- it's now or never- and pops open the trunk. The sound is deafening, even louder without the car to obstruct the noise. Red rolls onto the asphalt and ducks behind the SUV, staying low to the ground.

The bullets are aimed at the car windows and apparently no one had seen Red's daring escape because no bullets are aimed his way. So far, so good. Red can no longer see any agents in the cars, he's unsure if they are all ducking or if they're all dead. He is momentarily distracted by thoughts of Liz, but the window exploding above his head quickly knocks him out of his daze.

He figures that the police have less ammo then The Banker's people so he decides to take The Banker's men out first. Maybe the police will run out of bullets by then.

Red carefully makes his way towards The Banker's barricade. He stays low to the ground, shuffling in between their SUVs always making sure to stay out of the line of sight. If he is seen, the bullet proof vest will do little to help him. Bullet proof vests are not meant to withstand machine guns at point blank range.

Finally he makes it over to a good position. He is crouched behind the last SUV's hood giving him the perfect spot to counter attack. He's in the process of preparing his shot when he hears the door open to the passenger's side left of him.

His head jerks up to see a familiar ponytail of brunette hair exiting the car. "Lizzie?" he hisses in disbelief.

She crawls rapidly to his side, bullet proof vest already on and gun in hand. "What the hell do you think you're doing Red?" she hisses back.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"_I_ am starting the counter act. You, however, were shot _two days ago_ so you are in no condition to be fighting."

"What do you propose I do then? Go back to the SUV and wait for them to come and kill me?" Liz gives him a livid look. Red shakes his head, "We don't have time for this, you take left side, I'll take right."

Liz moves to the other side of the car. On the count of three they start shooting. The first round of bullets hits the SUVs with deafening bangs. The guards who are positioned behind open doors dive back into the cars. The bullets hit three unprotected guards head on and they drop instantly. The rest of the bullets are deflected off of the cars.

"Armored vehicles," Red calls out to Liz.

"I guess we'll have to wait until they come back out." Their plan is cut off by a flurry of bullets hitting the ground behind them. The police side has visual on them. Both Red and Liz instinctively flatten themselves to the ground, having nowhere to run from the shooting.

Ressler is sitting in the second SUV watching Red and Liz get shot at. _What the hell where the two of them thinking? Why couldn't they just stay in the cars?_ Ressler thinks angrily. No matter how much he hates the concierge of crimes at times, he can't exactly let him die considering the time Red had saved his life. Technically Ressler had already repaid him for the favor, so Red will owe him for this.

Ressler jumps out of the car and rapidly edges his way towards the police side. Luckily they are too focused on Red and Liz to see him approaching. He follows Red's idea, ducking behind the back of the first SUV.

The police cars are not armored, so when Ressler starts shooting, the windows instantly shatter. He takes out 4 officers in the first round. He ducks back behind the car to reload.

Meanwhile Red and Liz are left with a brief reprieve as Ressler holds off the police side. Having Captain America on your side does have its perks. As soon as the police stop shooting to regroup, The Banker's people continue their offense. Every time one of them pokes his head out from behind the door, he is met by a stream of bullets from either Red or Liz (or both of them).

The FBI agents periodically appear from inside the vans, taking their spots besides Liz and Red or Ressler and now Samar. Red sees a few of them drop, but there isn't enough time to count up the casualties.

This goes on for nearly ten minutes, each side taking major hits. Red feels a sickening lurch in his stomach when he goes to reload his gun to find it empty. He is out of defenses. He looks over to Liz to find her returning his panicked gaze a few seconds later- they have run out of time.

Red quickly scans their defenses- there are 7 of them left- Ressler, Samar, himself, Liz, and 3 other agents. Cooper is nowhere to be seen. There is no movement inside of the SUVs. There are at least 5 police officers left and more than 10 of The Banker's men left. They are outnumbered and now defenseless.

Ressler is the last one shooting, but soon his last bullet is fired. The air goes silent after that. Liz holds her breath, pressing her back against the car, waiting for the bullet that will end it all.

She looks over at Red, meeting his green eyes. They are filled with pain. He mouths, "I'm sorry," at Liz. She feels her eyes filling up with tears.

"Put the guns down and lay down, face first with your hands up!" someone shouts from The Banker's side. The agents exchange looks. "Do it now!" he yells.

Liz obliges, letting her face dig in to the asphalt. She hears people running around and shouting things at each other in a different language. Liz feels hands patting her down and then zip ties are attached to her wrist.

She waits there, hardly daring to breath. Finally they get their next order, "Now stand up and line up in front of me," the same voice shouts. Liz struggles to her feet, having to push up awkwardly with bound wrists.

She immediately finds Red and walks next to him as they approach the guard. They line up next to each other, shoulders touching, desperate for what could be their last contact. The man eyes them, studying the faces of all the agents.

His face twists into a sickening smile. "Let's play a little game. I ask you a question; if you answer right you get to live. If you answer wrong," he cocks his gun, "I'll put a bullet in your head." Red swallows and presses closer to Liz- he won't let anything happen to her."

"So who wants to go first?" He steps up to the youngest agent who had just graduated from Quantico. He is trembling. "How about you? Okay here's the question- is your name Raymond Reddington?"

The agent's face pales, "What?"

"I said," the man repeats with a leering smile, "Is your name Raymond Reddington?"

"N-no," he stammers.

The man instantly lifts his gun and pulls the trigger. Liz gasps as the agent crumples to the ground, the bullet going right through his head. "Wrong," the guard says with a small laugh.

He approaches the next agent, this one barely older than the first. "Let's see if you'll get it right- is your name Raymond Reddington?"

The agent has broken down. "Please," he chokes out through sobs, "I have a family; I have a daught-" The guard presses the pistol into the agent's head, cutting off his pleas.

"Are. You. Raymond. Reddington?" he asks.

"Yes- I am-" The man pulls the trigger and the second guard drops.

"Lies," he mutters. Then he says louder, "I am bored of this game. How about I answer this question for you?" He shoots the third guard, then turns to Ressler. Ressler's eyes are cold; he is glaring with contempt at the guard, not one bit of fear showing.

"Hmmm you could be useful. I'll see what my boss has to say about you." Then he turns to Liz and Samar. "I only need one of you- so which one should it be?" He taps the muzzle of his gun against his head, eyeing the two agents.

Liz feels her throat close up. He can't kill Samar, but the only other option is for her to die. She makes a split second decision. She steps forward, "Kill me," she tells him, her voice confident.

"No, Lizzie!" Red shouts. He tries to move forward but one of the guards grabs his wrists and holds him back. The guard watches the scene with interest.

"Shoot me," Liz demands, her voice even stronger. "I am the rookie agent- Samar knows more than me."

"Liz, please don't," Samar says quietly.

Liz ignores her, "She is of much more use to you than I am. Please, kill me. I have no one left."

Red desperately thinks of a way out of this. He cannot lose his Lizzy; he will not let that happen.

The guard seems to decide. He pushes Liz back and she stumbles. "Well I hate to disregard a dying girl's wish, but it seems like Reddington has a little soft spot for you." Samar's blazing eye's meet the guards. He lifts the gun at her and turns to Liz, "Don't worry; you'll be joining her soon." He pulls the trigger.

Samar falls, lifeless to the ground. Liz feels the shock filling her. The guard smiles a little. "Well that was quite a dramatic scene, but I'm afraid it's time to go. Don't worry- you'll have time to grieve about our dear Samar's death once we get to where we're going- at least a little time before you receive the same fate."

Liz lets herself be led to the SUV, the world blurring around her as her mind takes in that one moment. She keeps replaying the image of Samar's lifeless body falling to the ground.

Ressler fights the agents all the way, kicking his legs and squirming until eventually someone jams their gun into the back of his head, dazing him enough so that they are able to get him into the car.

Red is talking to the guards, clearly making fun of them, but the words flow right through Liz's mind. She is in shock. As they are pulling away from the scene it finally hits her- this is it. There is no way they are getting out of this one. All of them- herself, Red, and Ressler are going to die.


	19. Chapter 19

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the delay, my teachers decided to slam me with homework. I have a snow day tomorrow so I should be able to catch up and update regularly again. For everyone who didn't see the episode last night, just know that it was absolutely fantastic and you should definitely look forward to it. As always, I own nothing, REALLY love reviews (even bad ones), and hope you enjoy! Just a heads up- it looks like there will be about 23 chapter in this story, including an epilogue, so the end is near (just in time for the new episodes)!

**Chapter 19**

Agent Harold Cooper wakes up to a pounding head and the smell of smoke. He opens his eyes to find himself pressed into the floor of a van covered in glass shards. He looks up to see one of his agents slumped against the seat, a bullet through his head.

Cooper starts, sitting up abruptly. A stab of pain goes through his head and the world blurs. He breathes deeply, waiting for the world to come back into focus. When it does he sees bodies littering the ground. The police and The Banker's people are gone, leaving only their three SVUs that are riddled in bullet holes. Smoke still clouds the air and Cooper can hear the sirens slowly fading in the distance. They couldn't have left long ago.

He quickly dials a number he has memorized for events just like this. Cooper calls in the cavalry, telling them all he knows about the possible location of The Banker. Now it's time to account for all of the agents. Cooper carefully gets out of the car, avoiding the shattered glass.

A quick count of the bodies confirms his suspicions- they had taken out some of The Banker's people. Cooper begins the horrific job of identifying the bodies. He has to make sure that all of his men are accounted for.

He winces when he sees Samar, she had only been on the task force for a short time yet she had already become a vital part of the team. The young agents laying next to her makes his heart clench, they'd had their whole lives ahead of them.

Cooper identifies all of the bodies and discovers something curious. Reddington, Keen, and Ressler are missing. His mind is still blurred from the blow to his head, but he can think clearly enough to know what this means- they had been taken.

Raymond Reddington wakes to a stabbing pain in his chest. It is so intense that he can barely breathe, the air being forced into his lungs with quick gasps. At first that's all he can focus on, but soon his experience kicks in and he starts to push the pain away. He needs to think, needs to concentrate.

The first thing that comes to his mind is Lizzie. But what about her? Is she okay? A memory comes back to him- a flash of bullets, smoke filling the air, standing side by side with her. She is trembling slightly, but she won't show it.

Then there is a gun aimed at her head and the whole world is crashing down around Red. At the last second the gun is diverted and the bullet pierces through Samar. Still not a good outcome, but considering the alternative Red can't help but feeling relieved. They are thrown into a car and brought here. So they must be at The Banker's.

The pain is still too much for Red to force his eyes open, but there are other ways to obtain information about his surroundings. For example, Red can feel the rungs of the cold metal chair pressing into his back and the rusty metal of the cuffs digging into his ankles and wrists. He can hear breathing around him, two series of breaths breathing deeply and steadily, so he is with two other people who are either asleep or unconscious. His best guess would be Ressler and Lizzie.

He can tell through his closed eyes that the room they are in is dark. He steadies himself, and opens his eyes slowly. The only light filters in through a crack to the left of Red, a door frame. There are two distinctive shadows blocking the light, the feet of a guard standing on the other side. Red's eyes slowly adjust to the dark and he can make out the figures with him. It is too dark to see their features.

"Lizzie," he calls out in a hushed whisper. "Ressler."

There is no response. Red lets his head fall backward, gritting his teeth against the pain in his chest. He is hesitant to call out to them any louder; he doesn't want The Banker to know he's awake yet.

"Lizzie," he hisses out again, his eyes locked on the smaller form in the chairs. Although it is nearly impossible to see her, Red is fairly certain that she is his Lizzie. He could recognize her anywhere.

She stirs slightly and Red calls out her name again, this time a little louder. There is thankfully no movement behind the door, the guard hasn't heard him. Liz stirs again, letting out a low groan. Red sees her sit up slowly in her chair, her head moving to try to take in the room.

"Lizzie," he whispers again into her darkness. She freezes and Red can feel her gaze stuck on him.

"Red?" she questions softly, her voice weak and filled with fear. It breaks Red's heart.

"Its okay sweetheart, we're okay," Red responds softly, but he can't help his voice from wavering at the end when another wave of pain hits him so hard it leaves his eyes watering and his lungs gasping for breath. His hands clench into fists.

"Are you okay?" Liz whispers, alarm filling her voice.

Red can't keep the strain out of his voice, "I'm fine." He takes a deep, steadying breath and continues, "We need to find a way out of here. I'm not sure what The Banker has planned for us, but it can't be good." They whisper back in forth, trying out different plans. Even Red can't come up with a plan likely to succeed. They have no way of knowing what lies behind that door.

Ressler starts to stir at the sound of their whispered conversation. He lets out a loud moan and Red winces. The feet behind the door move, shifting the position of the shadows. Ressler sits up and mumbles loudly, "Where am I?"

Red hisses at him, "Shut up before you get us all killed."

It is clear that the blow to his head was harder than Red had thought. "What're you talking 'bout?" he slurs, "Who is that?" He thrashes in his chair, straining against his cuffs. His voice rises to a panicked shout, "Get off of me!"

"Ressler," Red shouts, "Ressler listen to me!" Ressler stills and Red lets out a deep breath.

He talks at a normal volume, it's pointless to pretend they're still asleep; the guard has already left his post presumably to find The Banker. "Take a breath, Donald. We have been captured by The Banker's people. You received a pretty massive blow to the head, which is what I'm guessing is the reason for you acting like a 3 year old, although my past experiences with you haven't quite convinced me of your outstanding intelligence."

It takes a second for the words to sink in for Ressler and he scowls at them. Red watches him settle into his chair, a small smirk forming on his face. He never lets up the opportunity to make fun of dear Donald.

"Now then," Red says in a commanding voice, hiding his pain from Ressler, "Thanks to Donald's little hissy fit, The Banker knows we are awake. I'm sure he is on his way now. We need to prepare ourselves for anything he might say or do. The only hope of us getting out of here alive is to tell him the whole truth, without hesitation, leaving out nothing."

Liz opens her mouth to argue that, but Red hears footsteps approaching and cuts her off. "He is almost here. I suggest that you both let me do the talking to start off." The door swings open. They squint against the sudden blinding light shining on them.

Red's eyes adjust first. He lets out a small chuckle, and then speaks with false cheeriness, "Amin Daulah, what a pleasure, my friend Lizzie here has been telling me all about you! I was just-"

"Raymond Reddington, I can't say that I am pleased to meet you. And I must say that I am surprised that you still haven't learned my real name. I was told you were smart." Red frowns at being cut off.

He tries to speak again, "I am sorry that I did not waste my precious recourses on discovering your real name, I have been a little preoccupied recently, which I'm sure you already know."

The Banker's lips turn into a twisted smile, "Yes, I know all about that incident in South Africa. A little birdie told me all about it and all about you for that matter. This birdie loves to sing, he even sang about you." He gestures at Liz.

"Imagine my surprise to find out that you are all connected. Reddington, his pet agent, and her ex-husband, all one big mess, really. It must have been shocking to find out that your dear Tom wasn't who you thought he was, I couldn't imagine the pain. But you seemed to have moved on fast." Red tenses up as Amin eyes the two of them with a knowing smirk.

"It's too bad really; you two make such a cute couple; an FBI agent and a criminal who's old enough to be her father. Star crossed lovers in the making. And then there is your past, so connected, yet Tom tells me you don't even know about it." He fixes his gaze on Liz, she has frozen, her bright blue eyes fixed on his face, taking in every word he is saying.

"Do you really not know?" he asks her, his intense stare bearing into her. Red pushes back the instinct to struggle against his handcuffs. He can feel the blood rushing in his head, his hands involuntarily clench into his fists, his nails digging into his palm so tight that it draws blood.

Liz doesn't answer his question, but the reply is written all over her face. His voice is gloating; he looks straight at Red, his head held triumphantly as Red stares back at him with loathing in his eyes. "Let's show you the scars."

Liz mouth goes dry, she doesn't yet understand the significance of what he is saying, yet she knows it is big. Red's face says it all, there is hatred towards the man in front of him, and there is something else- dread. His eyes are filled with dread as he waits for The Banker to reveal it, to show Lizzie what he never wanted her to know, what he had been protecting her from the entire time. The truth.

A guard walks forward. He has a knife in his hand, and for a second Red thinks he is going to stab him, but then he pushes him roughly forward proving his true intent. Red can't protest, the forced movement has caused his bullet wound to ache again and the pain leaves him too weak to fight back.

His shirt is pulled taught against his stomach, giving the guard room to cut it away. He slices carefully down his shirt; Red can hear his heartbeat in his ears. His stomach clenches as the pounding in his ears gets faster and faster. The guard reaches the bottom.

Red can feel the cool blast of air on his back as his shirt is thrown open. There is a soft gasp when Liz sees it. The guard moves his hand off his back, but Red doesn't sit up. He can't sit up, he can't meet Liz's gaze. He can't meet the horror and pain that is surely written over her face. He has hurt her, yet again.

Finally the guard forces him up, causing another burst of pain to his chest that forces his eyes closed. The Banker lets out a slow laugh. It resonates through the silent room. Red opens his eyes, and looks over to Liz. She is looking anywhere but at him, her eyes stuck on the ceiling as she struggles to understand the significance of the scars.

Red was there the night of the fire. He had been there and he had saved her, not her father like she remembered. He had been there, but he was not her father. Then why had he been there? She meets his gaze as the answer hits her- he had lit the fire. His eyes confirm the answer; they are filled with sorrow, filled with guilt.

She turns away again, tears blurring her vision. Red had killed her father, her real father, and possibly her entire family. He had taken away everyone she'd had. He had lit the fire.


	20. Chapter 20

Author's Note: I love reviews (thank you so much to everyone who left one), own nothing, and hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 20**

The Banker watches the scene play out in front of him and then turns to Ressler. "Now you; you weren't part of the plan at all. In fact, I have no idea why you are here, Agent Ressler. You tracked Reddington to the ends of the Earth, nearly killing him that time in Paris, yet here you are and it seems that the tide has turned. So tell me- why are you here? If I find the answer intriguing enough I might let you live for a little longer."

Ressler's mind is still a little scattered from the blow, but he is conscious enough to remember what Red had told him- just tell the truth. Red usually knows what he's doing, so he decides to follow his instructions. "I was called in because I am an expert on Reddington. I was the case agent on him; I tracked him down for 5 years. I came the closest out of all the agents."

The Banker nods, a mildly bored expression on his face. "Is that it? You are here just because that's your job?"

Ressler answers without hesitation, "No, I am here to save my partner. And to make sure Reddington doesn't get himself killed while trying to save her."

"Reddington, huh?" The Banker says fixing his gaze on Red, "Why would you care about Reddington? He turned his back on his country, he left his family; he goes against everything you stand for." Both Ressler and Red freeze, realizing the implications of the statement.

"Unless," The Banker continues with excitement, "You know something about Reddington; you know what really happened that day Reddington disappeared." The Banker chuckles at Ressler's surprised face. Red is staring at Ressler, just as confused as Liz. How could he know about what really happened that night? Not even Red knows the whole truth.

Ressler opens his mouth, struggling to find words to turn the conversation around, trying to deny what is so blatantly clear. Before he can speak, The Banker starts to order his people around, "Bring Agent Ressler into interrogation room 5. We are going to have a nice little chat, one-on-one."

The guard looks confused at the order, "But sir, interrogation room 5 is already taken." He glances at Liz.

The Banker has a gloating smile on his face, "Yes, bring our guest of honor here once you drop Ressler off. I think it's about time the four of us have a good heart to heart. You three clearly have some problems to figure out, it's quite a love triangle you've got going on."

Two heavily muscled guards quickly lift Ressler's chair and bring him out of the room. He spits at The Banker on the way out, which he laughs at, completely unfazed. Liz watches them leave, her mind spinning. The same thought keeps hitting her- Red had lit the fire. She almost can't believe it, but every quick glance at Red confirms it.

Red wants to reach out to her, he wants to explain himself, to beg Lizzie for forgiveness, to tell her that he needs her, that he loves her, but somehow the words won't come. It's as if he has lost the ability to speak. He watches her, the pain so evident on her face that it makes him cringe. He has done this to her, he has hurt her again. Why is it that he always hurts the people he holds most dear?

The Banker is watching the two of them, amusement written over his face as if he is watching a particularly interesting movie. He enjoys seeing the pain, enjoys playing with their hearts. Caring makes people so weak, The Banker never makes the mistake of letting his feelings control his actions. He is a very controlled man, every action carefully mapped out in his head, measuring out the benefits and drawbacks.

He looks up as Tom is brought in. He is swearing at the guards, never willing to cooperate. He has the delusion that he has more power than he really does. In Tom Keen's world he is king, and nothing makes The Banker angrier than people whose ego surpasses their abilities.

When Tom sees Liz he freezes, his last swear fading from the air. The guards set him down (none to gently) facing Red and Liz. They pull up a chair for The Banker and he sits, a wicked grin forming on his face as he watches the reactions of the people involved. All too predictably really, their strings are too easy to pull.

Liz is staring at Tom, taking in his cut lip and bruised eye with grim satisfaction. Any feelings she may have had for the man are long gone, replaced by a deep loathing. He had taken away two years of her life, deceived her, and then hurt her. And then he had gone after Red. As far as Liz is concerned, Tom deserves every bit of torture The Banker had given him.

It is clear by the expression on Red's face that he completely agrees with Liz. His face, normally so guarded, has such a malevolent look on it that it is easy to see how this man has a spot on the most wanted list. The Banker can practically feel the hostility rolling off of the two of them.

Tom merely looks shocked; he is looking from Liz to Red as if to say '_what are you guys doing here?'_ He has never really hated Liz, he had only been doing his job, but Red is a different matter. He is glad that Red is here with him as long as it means that Red will get the same fate that he has.

The Banker finally tires of watching their expressions and decides to get the show on the road. He is greatly looking forward to this conversation. With a clear of his throat he begins, "I know you all like to keep your secrets, but I am telling you right now- this is the last time that any of you will see each other again. Surely you would all like to get some things off of your chest before you go to the grave, so let's start with you, Tom."

Tom stares at him defiantly, thinking that his refusal to talk is an act of rebellion. The Banker is unfazed, "If you don't tell her than I will."

Tom meets Liz eyes, the warmth that he is used to seeing in them replaced by cold anger. He winces, but Liz does not react, she is unforgiving. "Liz, it's about your father, your real father."

Red glares at Tom, "Her father died in the fire."

Tom sneers at him, "That's what it seemed like didn't it Reddington? You burned the house to the ground; it looked like no one could have made it out of it. You and Liz barely did. But did you read the news the next day- only one body was found, her mother. His body was never found."

"His body was destroyed in the fire."

Tom shakes his head, "His body was never found because it was never there. He escaped the fire."

"No," Red replies, his voice remaining level, "He was unconscious when I left him." Liz looks shocked at that, Red keeps his gaze fixed on Tom's.

Tom laughs, "You think it's that hard to fake being unconscious? He would have died in the fire if you hadn't decided to be the hero and run back in. He slipped out while you were saving her." Tom gestures to Liz.

Red doesn't respond, he is thinking back to that night. At first all he can see is the smoke and the tower of flames, but he pushes that away. He focuses on the memory of the father- is it possible that he could have escaped? Red certainly hadn't been very lucid when he stumbled out of the house, his back covered in burns that would never fully heal.

Tom watches his reaction with a smug look. He has bested the great Raymond Reddington yet again. He honestly doesn't understand how Red had gained so much power, he can be so ignorant. "Ahh so you're starting to doubt yourself. Are you not fully convinced? Well then I have a message for you- from Max Albert."

Red freezes at the name. "He told me to tell you- he knows you have her, but you were wrong. She is not the key to the fulcrum; do you think he would have been stupid enough to put the key to The Fulcrum in the hands of a mere child? All this time you've spent trying to get close to her, it's been a waste. He doesn't even care about his daughter, he never has."

Liz is staring at Red. She can't believe it- he had been using her this whole time. She doesn't understand what the fulcrum is or why he had thought she was involved with it, but she does know one thing- Raymond Reddington had lied to her and used her this entire time.

This whole thing has been an elaborate plan, just the concierge of crime using people for his personal gain once again. She should have seen it coming, should have known especially after what Tom had done to her. Her mind can't possibly process all the thoughts whirring through her, so she stares at Red, a dull numbness filling her.

Red feels her gaze, but he can't meet it, not yet. He has to figure out a way to get them out of her, play his cards right. He needs to focus. He speaks calmly, the mask sliding into place, "So Maxwell has been the man behind this the whole time?"

Tom nods his head, and Red wants to wipe the smug smile off his face but sadly he is handcuffed (and considering his condition he probably wouldn't be able to win this fight.) He continues to think, laying out his options, "If Liz has never had access to the fulcrum, then who does?"

Tom's smile is wiped off at that, "I don't know."

Red takes his opportunity to take control of the situation. "You don't know? Tell me, what is it that you know about this Max Albert? How do you know he is really who he says he is." Red is hoping Tom will give him some solid proof.

Before Tom can answer he is cut off by Liz. She has come to her senses. She is staring at Red, with fire in her eyes. "Why?" she demands.

Red falters, then slips his mask back into place. "Why what, Lizzie?" The look on her face breaks his heart, but he can't give away how much he cares for her, can't give away that she is his only weakness.

"Why did you light the fire?" Her voice is strong, but Red can hear the pain behind it. He knows her and he knows what this must feel like. He has just become her next Tom, but this time she will be less understanding, less forgiving. He tries to express himself with his eyes, but Liz's gaze is stubbornly fixed on the wall behind him.

"Why Red?" she snaps when he doesn't answer. Her tortured gaze meets his then flickers away again.

Red takes a deep breath, he isn't prepared to tell her this but he must. "I was a few years into Navy service. Despite being so young, I had caught the attention of some important people. I was power hungry; I wanted to escalate my career so I ate up their attention. Soon they started asking me for favors. It was little things at first, keeping certain details out of a report, telling them certain classified intel, guarding their little meetings.

"They told me it was perfectly justified, they were helping people, taking down bad guys. I knew there was something wrong with it, but I ignored it, I was blinded by the power. And at first we did do good, I saw progress. But then they started giving me heavier jobs, jobs that forced me to ignore my morals, jobs that blurred the lines. I got in deep, I had a family and I knew if I tried to do anything I would be putting them in danger. So I obeyed orders, never questioning the reasons behind them. They owned me."

He takes a deep breath, "One day they told me that I needed to burn down a house for them. They said that only their target was there, a terrorist named Max Albert. They needed to take him out without it tracing back to them. I didn't want to do it, but I couldn't find a way out. It was set for May 4th. I drove there and parked in front of the house at 12:30. The house was dark, there was no sound. I slipped inside and got to work. Your father was lying passed out on the couch, empty beer bottles lying around him. I hit him on the head, hard, to make sure he was really unconscious and then poured accelerant over everything. I was quite inexperienced in pyrotechnics so I just dumped gasoline everywhere. Then I lit a match, and dropped it."

His voice cracks and he has to force himself to continue, "I was halfway out of the house when I heard your screams. There wasn't supposed to be anyone else in the house, but I recognized the screams of a little girl. I thought of my own daughter and ran back in. The fire had spread upstairs, your mother had already been engulfed, she had been sleeping in the room above the living room. She hadn't even had time to scream, I didn't know she was in the house until it was too late."

"I ran up to your room, and you were standing there holding your teddy bear and crying. I grabbed you and ran. On the way out a piece of flaming ceiling fell on us, burning my back and giving you that scar on your wrist. I put out the flames and then carried you out. We were both injured and I knew I had to get away. I couldn't work for them anymore, I had just killed an innocent woman and almost killed a child, so I took you in my car and ran."

"Mr. Kaplan took care of us for a while and my family went on a brief vacation far away from there. I knew I needed a more permanent solution for you; I couldn't bring you back to my family that was already in danger. When I was strong enough to drive again I drove to a friend's house. I arrived at Sam's house without warning, injured and afraid, in the middle of the night and I asked him to take care of you. He didn't hesitate, he took you in."

Tears are running down Liz's face. Red's voice trails off as he watches her.

"You took away my family," she finally says weakly, each word driving knives into Red's heart. He has taken so much from her. Red wants nothing more than to take Liz into his arms and hold her and tell her everything's going to be alright but he can't. He isn't sure if she would still let him, and even if she did he wouldn't let himself. He has destroyed her, just like he knew he would always do.

The Banker rolls his eyes at the scene in front of him. Falling in love is the worst thing a person can do. It is destined to end in heart break, there is no such thing as a happily ever after.

"Yes, that is a very touching story." Red turns his head back at him, eyeing him as if he had forgotten he was still in the room. "I think that is quite enough for tonight. Tomorrow I'll see what I can get out of you- make you all dance." He stalks out and closes the door behind them, sealing them into darkness.

It is 1 o'clock in the morning and Cooper is still busy at work. The phone is pressed to his ear, and he is talking to Aram who is helping him track down Ressler, Liz, and Red. When Cooper had told him about Samar he had gone silent for a few seconds. His voice had cracked when he returned a weak, "I'm sorry to hear that."

Since then he had worked tirelessly to track down The Banker, currently in the process of hacking into the Kuwait government's security cameras. He is tracking him down with vengeance, and Cooper is confident that they will be able to find them by the end of the week. He can only hope that they will make it in time.


	21. Chapter 21

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews (they inspire me), I own nothing, and I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 21**

Ressler waits in the darkness, his muscles tense, his jaw set. Hours pass. The waiting is agonizing, but Ressler does not even consider sleeping. He barely moves a muscle as he listens to the voices drifting down the hall.

Ressler snaps to attention when he hears the door slam shut. Footsteps echo through the hallway, approaching his door. They pause out front and Ressler feels the fear coursing through him. He's not sure if Red's order still stands- should he tell the truth and avoid being tortured?

The Banker exchanges a few words with the guard outside and then throws the door open blinding Ressler with a ray of light. He squints as his eyes struggle to adjust.

The Banker walks briskly to stand in front of Ressler. Ressler cranes his neck up, his eyes only able to take in the blurry outline of The Banker's face.

"Agent Ressler!" The Banker exclaims, drawing the word 'agent' out mockingly. "Have you missed me?"

"Can't say I have," Ressler replies dryly. He is done with games.

The Banker gasps in fake offense, "Well regardless, I know_ I_ have been looking forward to this conversation so let's get started, shall we?" A guard comes out of nowhere and places a chair down for The Banker. He sits with a smug grin, "It is so hard to stand all the time. I used to do it every time I had a _guest_ over, but then I thought, why not sit? It makes it so much easier, and I find that I can be just as intimidating from a seated position."

Ressler snorts at 'intimidating.' The Bankers voice drains of it amusement, "Now tell me what you know about Reddington." There is an empty threat at the end, Ressler is well aware of the repercussions if he doesn't talk. Then again, once he tells The Banker what he wants to know Ressler knows he will have lost his usefulness. He needs to stay alive.

"I know a lot about Reddington. What would you care to know?" Ressler stares him down, challenging him.

"I don't like games, tell me or be tortured."

Well that escalated quickly, Ressler thinks. His chances of getting out of here seem to be dropping by the minute. "December 24th, 1986. Reddington was in the Navy, being groomed for Admiral. His car was found 2 miles away from his house with the gas tank empty. He disappeared that day, leaving his wife and daughter…"

"I've read the official report," The Banker hisses, anger flaring dangerously in his eyes, "I told you I don't play games."

Ressler hesitates. The odds are that none of them are going to make it out of this, but if anyone has a chance it would be Reddington. He's not sure how much Red knows about that night, but he knows he doesn't know everything. Revealing the truth to The Banker would give him the upper hand.

The Banker sighs, "I thought this was going to be an easy talk, but I guess you've decided to take the difficult route. It makes no difference to me, I enjoy an occasional torture, but I'm afraid this will be much worse for you."

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Ressler growls at him, ready to put up a fight now that he has made up his mind. He will not give this twisted son of a bitch anything on Reddington.

The Banker laughs, "No, this is." He snaps his fingers. Ressler could have rolled his eyes for the theatrics of the moment if what the guard had just brought in hadn't made his blood run cold. He remembers how much pain Cooper had been in. The Banker lets out a cold laugh at the shocked look on Ressler's face. "Let's get started!"

Liz hasn't spoken since those five little words that had hurt Red so much- 'you took away my family'. The words keep repeating in Red's mind. They hurt more than a bullet ever could, because they are true and they can never be undone. Red would go through hell for Lizzie, but one thing he can never do is bring her family back.

Red had reached out to Liz once, calling her name out softly in the darkness. She hadn't responded, and the air had fallen silent after that. They all wait in the agonizing silence, waiting for the time when The Banker will return and the games will continue.

Finally the silence gets to be too much for Red. He has to say something. "Tom," he calls out, knowing by the breathing that neither of them are asleep yet.

"Yes?" Tom answers, not bothering to keep the contempt out of his voice.

Red thinks his words out carefully. "Why did you do it? Why were you attacking my business? You made it seem personal."

Tom hesitates, wondering what he should tell the man. He finally decides that there is no point in keeping it a secret anymore; none of them are making it out of there. "Andrew White."

The name is enough to spur Red's memory. It had been a long time ago, but Red can still see his face in front of him. Andrew had been the first person he had killed in cold blood. Red can still feel cool metal of the gun in his hand; can still hear the sound of the gun going off. It had dropped from his hand as Andrew had fallen, a look of shock on his face.

Andrew had worked for him, but he had betrayed him. Ten of his people had been killed as a result of him giving away vital information. It was the first time Red had led any of his people to his death and it hurt. He had killed him to hide from his own guilt, to place it on someone else.

There had been something else though- there had been someone else there on the day of the shooting. The memory had been blocked out of Red's head but know he sees it as clear as day. The body had fallen, and behind him there was a small child. Eyes wide, mouth open in a silent scream as he watches his father die. Short brown hair, with brown eyes. Thomas White. He had kept his first name all this time.

Red opens his mouth, but finds he has nothing to say. In the mind of a criminal, and the man that Red is now, that death was perfectly justified. But back then, the lines had still been clear. That death still weighed heavily on Red; even if his mind worked differently now.

"I'm sorry," he finally says, almost too quiet to hear. He can feel the eyes of Tom and Liz on him, shocked at his apology.

"Yeah, well," Tom says with a dry laugh, "It's a little too late for that."

Liz suddenly feels a surge of sympathy for Tom, something she had never expected she would feel after what he had done to her. She understands the blind rage he must have felt, directed straight at Red. It in no way makes what he had done acceptable, but at least she can understand his motives. He is in the same boat as her; Reddington had robbed him of his family.

The only difference is that Tom never knew Red. Not like Liz does. Every time she thinks of him, her thoughts start racing too fast to keep track off. He is the only one that can leave her so conflicted. She had forgiven him of killing her family once, she isn't sure if she can do it again.

The room falls silent, and this time Liz finds it unbearable. The likelihood of their deaths is finally sinking in on her and she is desperate to figure things out. She needs closure, there are so many questions left unanswered, so much she needs to know. So much that Red promised he would tell her, 'when the time was right.' They had run out of time, she needs to know the answers now. She thinks and finally settles on a question.

"Did you know him?" The voice revenants through the small room.

Red looks towards her, "Know who?"

"My father." Her voice is devoid of emotion, Red can't read her in the dark. "And tell me the truth; I want the whole truth, for once." She tries to keep the emotion out of her voice, but Red hears her voice waver and it hurts him just as much as it hurts her.

"I met him once." He doesn't want to continue, he knows the truth will hurt Lizzie even more, but he can't bring himself to stop. "I was at a party, a gathering of the important political people I told you about before. I knew about my mission, and for some reason they wanted me to meet him. I looked him right in the eye and shook his hand. The next day I was at his house setting the fire."

Liz nods, even though she knows Red can't see it. She keeps her voice steady, "What was he like?"

Red closes his eyes; he does not want to tell her. "We were going after him because he was corrupt. He was making deals with terrorists, giving away Intel that got people killed. He was smart though, they could never prove it."

"What was he like?" Liz repeats, recognizing the deflection.

Red sighs, better to keep it short, "He was an alcoholic. He regularly drank himself into oblivion and then beat your mother. When your mother wasn't around he turned to you. His family was his punching bag, he cared little for others, and he killed all of his enemies in cold blood."

Liz inhales sharply; somehow she had always known this. Hidden somewhere deep in her memories are flashes of fists and angry shouts. Tears as she watches her mother fall again and again. She feels wet tears sliding down her cheeks and she makes up her mind.

"Thank you," she says quietly, the words having an almost mystical quality as they float through the air.

Red almost thinks he's imagining them. "For what?" he answers in a low tone, holding his breath as he waits for the answer.

"For saving me."

Before Red can begin to form a response, a loud scream cuts through the air. Red can barely recognize it with the amount of pain in it, but he's heard it too many times- Ressler.


	22. Chapter 22

Author's Note: I'm so sorry it has been way to long! I had some writer's block, and couldn't get a sentence out until now. I will be sure to update this soon to make up for the wait. Sorry again! I hope you enjoy, I own nothing, and I REALLY love reviews (they help me update faster cough cough).

**Chapter 22**

Ressler has never been electrocuted before, but he has heard the stories. Unbearable pain, pain so intense that you forget where you are, forget who you are, forget everything. He tries to prepare himself for it as best he can, but what he is about to find out is that what he was told about electrocution was a gross understatement- the pain cannot be properly put into words.

His heart rate increases as he is strapped in, a piece of plastic shoved between his teeth. The Banker calmly explains that it is there to insure he doesn't bite his own tongue off. Ressler can only grunt in response, feeling bile rise in his throat as panic starts to overtake him.

The Banker walks over to the knob, a small smile breaking over his face. Agent Ressler is already sweating and The Banker had done his research- Ressler has never had this type of torture used on him. He feels honored to be the one to introduce it to him. He turns the knob, deciding to go straight for the higher voltage- a federal agent can certainly handle a little bit of pain, right?

Ressler is shocked when the first jolt of electricity runs through him. The pain is immediate. His muscles contract tightly as all the thoughts fly out of his head. He spasms, his eyes squeezed shut to the unbearable pain. He hears an inhuman scream and it takes a second for him to realize that it is coming from him.

The Banker watches Ressler's face screw up in agony with grim curiosity. The agent had been injured on the job before, but clearly the pain he had felt then isn't even comparable to the pain he feels know. As he starts going into violent convulsions The Banker shuts off the flow.

Ressler slumps immediately. His eyes remain shut. The pain is everywhere; he can't focus on anything else.

"Ressler," The Banker sings, approaching the agonized agent. He taps him on the cheek, "Wakey, wakey Ressler. It's time for you to answer some questions."

Ressler lets out a low moan, his muscles still tensed, jolts of pain still sending tremors through his body. The voice of The Banker hardly reaches him, the pain is too much for him to handle. The Banker calls out his name a few more times and then grows bored. He slaps Ressler hard, bringing him back into consciousness.

Ressler eye's pop open and he sees The Banker standing in front of him, a sickly bright look on his face. He is shaking out his hand; Ressler's blurred mind realizes he must have just slapped him awake.

"So how was it? Are you ready to talk now?"

Without hesitation, Ressler shakes his head, his strong gaze meeting The Bankers. He is too weak and his mind is still too blurred for him to form a coherent sentence, but his look tells The Banker enough. He's not going to tell him anything, even if he dies in the process.

That is all fine with The Banker, the Intel on Reddington isn't that important. He has no personal issue against the man; it would just be interesting to know what makes the great Concierge of Crime tick, to know what had turned him from a moral, law-abiding man to a ruthless killer. It would certainly make their little interrogation session more interesting.

The Banker lets out a cold laugh at Ressler's determination. He has to give him some credit- he is definitely loyal. Yet another reason why The Banker works only for himself, loyalty causes you to make stupid decisions. Like this, The Banker thinks to himself, turning up the nob again, this time even higher than before. He watches the young agent convulse again, the sick grin never leaving his face.

"I've found them!" Aram shouts excitedly through the phone. The words fill Cooper with instant relief.

"Where?" he asks, not bothering to hide his impatience. They need to get them now.

"I'll send the address to you."

Five minutes later Cooper is in the back of an SUV, surrounded by a heavily armed SWAT team. He can't help but feel Deja-vu; his surroundings bring him back to the incident yesterday. The sound of gunshots, his people falling, waking up to smoke, finding them all dead- Cooper shakes his head to clear the memories.

This operation will go better than the last one, it _has_ to. He can hear the sound of choppers flying overhead, the FBI had held back no resources when they had found out about the attack. They had lost over 20 agents in the shooting, this is personal.

Liz's breath catches in her throat as she hears his screams pierce the airs yet again. She squeezes her eyes shut, her expression horrified. Ressler's cries are filled with so much agony that she can't even imagine what they're doing to him. She has never even seen the stoic agent shed a tear before, and now she is hearing his terrified and pain filled screams fill the air.

Reddington gazes grimly at the door; his mind whirring as he desperately searches for ways to help him. He had heard people in this much pain before, even been the one inflicting this type of pain on someone, yet this time it is different. This time it is personal, he will do whatever it takes to save Ressler (granting that it will not put Liz in danger.)

An idea finally hits him. The Banker had made one mistake- not bolting their chairs to the floor. He inches his chair towards Tom, using his restricted feet to propel him forward slowly. The metal legs scrape the cement floor letting out a screeching sound like nails on a chalk board. Red winces, but continues on. Outside the door he watches the shadow outside shift as the guard notices the sound over Ressler's screams.

"What the hell are you doing?" Tom hisses at him, his angry eyes fixed on the older man. Red ignores him, continuing his slow passage across the floor. He stops in front of Tom, turning his chair slightly so the back is facing Tom. The screams fade from the air, another break in between sessions Red guesses.

Without warning, he pushes back his chair. He topples backward, slamming into Tom's chair. Tom falls with a shout, unable to brace himself with his restrained arms. Red falls right on top of him, earning a stream of angry swears from Tom.

The guard outside bursts in. Red starts flailing, using every opportunity to hit the already enraged Tom. He does his best to fight back, fighting the restraints like a wild animal.

The Banker hears the commotion and mutters, "What the hell?" under his breath. He turns back to Ressler, whose body is still racked with periodic convulsions as if the electricity is still running through him. "I'll be right back," he promises him, unsure if it gets through to the agent. He is slumped over, his face unnaturally pale and a small dribble of blood at the corner of his mouth. The Banker is certain he won't last much longer.

He strides angrily down the hall approaching the other interrogation room. He swears when he sees the door wide open- what the hell is wrong with his guard? It is about time he replaces his security (in other words, _disposing _of his current staff and starting anew). He can see movement inside the room. When he gets closer he finds the guard pulling a flailing Red off of a cursing, red-faced Tom.

He watches the scene for the moment, considering how to handle it. The guard frantically repositions Red and Tom, shaking he is so nervous. His employer will not like this. The guard turns and when he sees The Banker standing in the doorway he jumps, letting out a strangled shout.

"What is going on?" The Banker's voice is cool, but there is a threat underneath it, the danger can be heard in his tone. His icy eyes stare at the guard, watching him like a predator stalking his prey.

"S-sir," the guard stammers, "I heard a bang and came in and this one," he points a trembling hand at Red, "he was attacking the other one. I pulled them off…" The guard trails off as he sees The Banker move. His eyes widen in terror as he watches The Banker pull out a gun.

"Thank you Ben, you did exactly what you were supposed to do." The Banker calmly presses a bullet into the chamber, loading at a painstaking pace. The guard is paralyzed in fear, his mouth open as if he is trying to say something but is unable to.

"Unfortunately," The Banker continues, popping the chamber back into place and aiming the gun at the guard's head, "I find myself no longer in need of your services." The gun goes off and the guard crumples to the ground, a terrified expression still stuck on his face, his eyes still wide in terror.

The Banker eyes the guard unpassionately, "Well that clears up matters." He slips his gun back into his belt, looking over his prisoners.

"I must say I'm disappointed; you three couldn't even get along for a few hours without me to mediate things? I guess there's no love lost between the three of you. Well, I suppose it's for the better- you come into this world alone, and you can die alone too."

He calls in two of his people. They nervously eye the last guard, his body still lying on the ground, a small pool of blood surrounding his head. The Banker lets out a cold laugh when he sees their expressions, "Don't worry, as long as you do your job unlike dear Ben over there, you will be fine." The guards look unconvinced, but they definitely move a little faster after The Banker's comment.

They quickly carry out Tom, who doesn't resist swearing at Red a few more times, cursing him and his entire family. After he is properly placed in an empty cell, the guards return for Liz. As soon as Red realizes their intentions, he loses it. "No," he says as they walk into the room, "no, you can't take her." They ignore him, much more afraid of their master than they are of Red.

Red desperately watches as they grabs Liz's chair, "No!" he shouts, straining uselessly against his cuffs. "Don't you dare touch her, leave her, stop!" The Banker watches the scene play out in amusement. Old Red had made the biggest mistake- he had allowed himself to grow attached, to become sentimental. He is a fool, just like many of the "great" criminals The Banker had met, and in the end their weaknesses destroy them.

Liz doesn't say a word as she is carried out, but keeps her eyes on Red for as long as she can. "Lizzie…" Red breaks down when he says her name, his face twisting into a panicked agony. She disappears from his sight, leaving him with The Banker.

"Well _that_ was interesting." The Banker circles Red, a strange glint appearing in his eye. If Red had looked at him with anger before, now his expression is absolutely murderous. His muscles are flexed and his arms are clenched into fists; hostility seems to be flowing off of him in waves.

Red keeps his body still, his jaw clenched tightly as he stares at the door where Liz had just disappeared through. He is struggling to keep the rising panic down, his whole body trembling slightly with the thought of never seeing her again. He watches The Banker's movements out of his peripheral vision, reminding him of a shark circling it's victim. The Banker's eyes are just as lifeless and empty as a shark's as he studies his prey.

While The Banker starts on his newest victim, his old one lays completely forgotten. It takes a few minutes after the last 'treatment' before Ressler can manage to open his eyes. He is delirious, the pain and concussion mixing and leaving his thoughts too muddled to think. He needs to clear his head.

It takes a few second for him to fully take in his surroundings, and a few more seconds to recall what had happened. The severity of the situation hits him, and he feels the fog clearing from his mind. The adrenaline is starting to kick in, allowing him to properly think. He is unsure where The Banker had gone and how long he has to get out of there.

The Banker hadn't left a guard on Ressler, not expecting Red and Tom's little incident. The restraints Ressler is bound with are easy to remove, but Ressler is trembling so violently that his fingers take multiple tries to unclasp them. It takes an unbearable amount of time for Ressler's frayed nerved, but soon he is free. He stands up on shaky legs, his vision blurring as another wave of pain leaves him doubled over and gasping for air.

He recovers and tries to walk. He makes it one step before another wave of pain hits him and he collapses to the ground, stifling a scream. When he is able to open his eyes again something catches his attention. It is a small medicine bag lying near the door. He crawls towards it, unable to face the prospect of standing again.

He reaches the bag. It takes multiple tries for him to unzip it, his fingers shaking worse than the rest of his body. He finally manages to open it and rummages through the bag, his heart jumping when his hand closes around a small, cylindrical bottle. He pulls it out, not even bothering to read the label on the pill bottle before popping three in his mouth. He swallows them dry.

The relief is immediate, and Ressler slumps against the wall, his entire body relaxing as the pills dull everything. He feels his mind sharpen, looks like he still hasn't gotten over the full effects of being an addict even though he had been clean for 5 months now. He had promised Liz he wouldn't relapse, but considering the circumstances he's certain she won't mind.

He lets out a deep breath and then gets to work. He is nowhere near his normal capabilities, but at least he can actually think now. He pulls a small knife from the medical bag and stands up on unsteady feet. This time he doesn't fall as he steps forward, a plan solidifying in his mind.


	23. Chapter 23

Author's Note: I know it's been forever, I'm so sorry (I don't have any excuses this time). Shout out to everyone who left comments, as always they really spurred me into writing more. I have a little break from school so I should be able to finish this story soon! I will update this very soon. I hope you enjoy this chapter, please leave reviews, and I own nothing.

**Chapter 23**

Tom sits in his chair glowering at the wall. He hopes that The Banker is giving Red what he deserves. That man had taken everything from him, Liz, and most likely countless others. He needs to be stopped.

Tom knows the end is near but it hardly makes him sad. The knowledge that Raymond Reddington will die a slow and painful death is enough to make Tom happy. His whole life has been spent tracking down his father's killer and he is finally about to get revenge. He is a little disappointed that the revenge can't come directly from his own hands, but dragging down Reddington with him is second best.

He supposes that since he is going to die soon, he should probably reflect on his life. Make his peace with the world and all that. He thinks of all the people in his life- Berlin, deceased; various contacts in Berlin's force, mostly dead; Liz, about to die; and Red in the same boat. Liz is the only one he feels slightly conflicted about so he focuses on her.

She had been so willing to fall in love, desperate to meet the right man when Tom had entered her life. He'd had her at the second date; with the stupid heart in the dust. Tom remembers finding the heart. It had been so sweet, so touching- it had almost hurt.

It had almost hurt to realize what he had done, who he had become. That was the first and only time in his life that he had reflected on what this quest for revenge had taken out of him.

It was hard to look back to the person he was before, it was too long ago, too far separated for Tom; like a distant relative that he had only met once. He had pushed away any traces of that innocent little boy that day and hadn't turned back since.

But now, _now_ Tom has time to think. He has time to reflect on his life, on who he once was and who he has become. Tom is not delusional- he knows there's no such thing as miraculous transformations that redeem a person in a day. Fixing his heart would take years, and sadly time is not something Tom possesses. Tom does, however, possess his own mind, and his life choices have sharpened that particular resource so that he knows exactly what to do in these types of situations.

It takes Tom all of five minutes to figure a way out. If only he'd had proper motivation earlier.

Tom has to admit he is taking a page from the Reddington handbook when he tips his chair over, but there aren't really any other options (that Tom can think off). The bang is deafening, especially because the agent's screams have stopped.

He hears the guard swear outside, and then watches as he quietly opens the door and slips inside. It looks like he doesn't want to meet the same fate as his coworker. Tom thrashes on the ground, moaning loudly. The guard comes running over- it is almost too easy.

The guard is blabbering away in a foreign language; Tom assumes he is telling him to quiet down. He moans louder, watching as the guard starts to panic. He leans down next to Tom and starts to heave the chair up, his gun forgotten on the ground a few feet away. When Tom is halfway up, he jerks forward, wrapping the chain of his handcuffs around the guard's neck.

The guard panics, instinctively dropping the chair and clawing desperately at his neck. The now-released chair only tips farther, putting more pressure on his windpipe. The guard makes a strangled noise and slumps slowly to the ground.

The struggle is brief; Tom has enough pressure to cut off the entire airway. The guard's movements slowly become more sluggish as the oxygen is cut off from his lungs. His panicked grunts fade and Tom hears him exhale one last time before he goes limp. Tom slowly removes the chain from the guard's neck watching the tell-tale dribble of blood at the corner of his mouth. He is dead.

It takes some maneuvering, but Tom manages to find the keys hidden in the guard's pocket. He quickly removes his restraints. There are bruises where the cuffs had dug into his skin. He rubs his arms- they almost feel empty he had been chained up for so long. Tom grabs the gun and cautiously steps into the hallway. Time to get his revenge- on both Red and The Banker; and possibly after that save a life.

It doesn't take Ressler long to realize he has no idea where he's going. The concussion and following torture and drugs have left him completely disoriented. He turns down yet another identical hallway, stumbling slightly as his head spins. He slumps against the nearest wall, feeling the adrenaline starting to wear off. And with the adrenaline fading the pain starts to come back.

Red sits in the chair, his mind spinning. The threat runs through his head again and again- 'if you don't talk I'll torture your girlfriend until you do talk.' But if he does talk then himself and Liz will lose their use and will wind up dead anyway.

Red has been up against some pretty impossible odds (and has survived) but adding Liz to the equation changes everything. He is no longer planning just for himself; in fact he is now planning just for Liz. The only important thing is that she makes it out; Red has little concern for his own well-being. Even now that he has more reasons than ever to live, he is more than willing to throw his life away for the one person he truly loves.

The Banker watches him, the malicious grin stuck on his face again. He grows slightly impatient on Red's lack of response, "Have you made a decision?"

Red grits his teeth; The Banker knows that this is not really a choice for him. "What would you like to know?" His voice carries the same lilt to it that it normally does, but there is a dark undercurrent, a loathing for the man in front of him.

The Banker doesn't miss the slight change in tone, and it makes his smile widen. Reddington honestly believes that he has power over him; it will be too much fun to break him, to shred away his defenses until he is begging for death, begging for The Banker to end his miserable existence. The Banker knows people, he knows how to get into their heads and make them turn against themselves; make them see themselves as the monsters they truly are.

"Let's get started, shall we?" The Banker can hardly wait.

Cooper is in the process of planning for an immediate extraction plan for his team when the first offence hits. They are still five minutes away from their destination; no one is prepared for the attack. Cooper is barking orders into a microphone when the ground shakes with a giant explosion. The van in front of them disappears into a ball of flame.

Cooper's car skids to a halt. The agents only remained shocked for a few seconds, after all they are trained for this (and Cooper has brought in all of his best men). They burst into action and soon the air is filled with bullets and bombs dropping around them from both their people and The Banker's fortified army.

Liz is in shock. She knows the symptoms, she had studied them back in Quantico, but studying the symptoms and experiencing them are different things altogether. She tries to steady her breathing, thinking back to what they had taught them to do for people in shock.

Step 1- call 911. Impossible at the moment. Step 2- have the person lay down. Also impossible. Liz's breathing grows faster, she struggles to focus. Step 3- check for breathing. Well Liz is definitely breathing, if hyperventilation counts. Step 4- make the person comfortable. That's not an option either.

Well that was entirely unhelpful Liz thinks to herself. She focuses on steadying her breathing and feels her mind starting to clear.

Liz is so focused on preventing the effects of shock that she doesn't notice when the guard positioned outside her door lets out a muffled shout. She doesn't notice when the guard slumps to the ground, lifeless. She _does_ notice when the door swings open.

Her head pops up and she strains against her cuffs, her heart stopping for one panicked moment before she recognizes the familiar head of reddish- blonde hair.

"Ressler," she breathes out in relief, half convinced that she is hallucinating him.

"Nice to see you again, Keen." Ressler's voice is weak and pained, but it's definitely him. Liz feels like crying out in relief, but she needs to keep it together. Ressler approaches her and Liz can't help but noticing how unsteady he is on his feet and how labored his breathing is.

When the stream of light from the door lights up his face, Liz has to stifle a gasp. His face is so pale it is almost white and his skin looks chalky. His brow is covered in drops of sweat, even though it is cool in the cell. There are smudges of half-dried blood around both of his ears and his mouth. His eyes are glazed over in pain, his pupils dilated so they nearly take up his entire eye.

Liz doesn't say anything as he struggles to unlock her cuffs, his hands shaking so badly that he can't do it. She gently takes the keys from him, unlocking her handcuffs at a quarter of the speed that he could do it.

Ressler slumps against the wall, closing his eyes to cut out the room that is tilting dangerously. He startles when Liz touches his arm, having forgotten in his drug and pain induced haze that she is with him. He opens his eyes again, but the light blinds him so he automatically shuts them again.

The pain hits him full force; the drugs are no longer strong enough to keep it at bay. Ressler lets out a gasp and lets his back slide down the wall. He is vaguely aware of Liz leaning over him, saying something to him. It hurts too much for him to focus on her.

He feels something cold and small being pressed into his hand- the scalpel (now slippery with blood). He tries to tell her to take it back, that she needs it more than him, but the words won't come. Nothing escapes his moth but a low moan.

It goes against everything Liz believes in to leave Ressler undefended in there, but she needs to find Red. She gives him the scalpel, but she is unsure if he even comprehends what she is doing and even if he does she seriously doubts that he would be able to fight anyone off at the state he's in. She drags the dead guard in, doing her best to clear the small smear of blood on the floor just outside the door.

She closes the door behind Ressler, calling out to him, "Just hold on Ress, I promise you, if it's the last thing I do I will come back and get you." If he hears her, he makes no response, his face still crumpled in pure agony.


	24. Chapter 24

Author's Note: Thank you sooo much to everyone who has stuck with this story! The end is near although I may have to add a sequel, I wasn't really planning on adding Liz's father to this mess so I'm going to have to deal with him somehow. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and I own nothing!

**Chapter 24**

Tom doesn't have to go far to find his targets. Unlike Ressler, he had been keeping track of the turns when the guards had carried him out. Now it is a simple matter of retracing his steps. He keeps his gun held out in front of him, cocked and fully loaded. He is prepared to shoot anything that moves.

When he is only a hall away he starts to hear the voices of The Banker and Red. He creeps down the hallway, finding no guards to block his path. The voices are strangely hushed outside the closed door. He can hear The Banker's taunting voice fairly clear, but Red's is less pronounced. It is few and far between and sounds unrecognizably broken and weak. It sounds like the concierge of crime is in pain (Tom can't help but feeling a surge of joy at that). He pauses outside the door, his hand resting cautiously on the handle as he listens in.

"Who took them Red? Who took your wife and daughter? You've been tracking them down for years; you thought they were dead until dear Naomi showed up out of the blue a few years ago. All that was left was two pools of blood, left for you to find. Left for you to draw the conclusions that you did. Who did this to you- who turned the great Naval officer into the man you are today- a murderer. Who did this to you?" The Banker is practically shouting, a strange hint of joy in his voice. He is enjoying this, enjoying how each word cuts into Red like a knife, forcing him to repeat memories that he had kept buried for so long.

"I don't know," Red finally answers, his voice almost too weak for Tom to decipher.

The laugh that The Banker lets out is so harsh, so dark, that even Tom winces. "The Great concierge of crime, who knows everything about everyone, doesn't even know who took his own family from him." He laughs again, a chilling sound.

Tom can't listen anymore. He pushes down hard and slams the door open. He doesn't hesitate to empty three bullets into The Banker's back- the look of surprise never having time to reach his eyes. He falls immediately, the bullets going straight through his heart.

Red looks up in surprised, his face losing the tortured look immediately as it falls onto Tom.

"Tom Keen," he says smoothly, as if greeting an old friend, his mask immediately sliding back into place.

Tom lifts the gun, but suddenly finds himself hesitating. He isn't sure what it is- his near death experience, his relationship with Liz, or the amount of blood already on his hands, but whatever it is it causes him to freeze. He looks into the eyes of the man in front of him, the man he had spent his whole life hunting.

This hesitation is the one thing that saves Red's life because what Tom doesn't see is his ex-wife slowly making her way through the door. Her fist collides hard with his head and Tom reflexively drops his gun. It goes scattering across the floor.

Tom's training kicks in and he turns and kicks Liz flat in the stomach. She stumbles backwards, grabbing the door frame to stop herself from falling backwards. Tom is already at her, aiming ceaseless punches and kicks. It is automatic for him; he doesn't even consider what he's doing.

While Liz and Tom fight, each getting in several blows to each other, neither letting up any ground, Red scooches his chair rapidly over to The Banker. He tips awkwardly onto the still warm corpse, the body cushioning his fall. He rummages around in his pockets until he finds the key. He looks up desperately as Tom sends Liz flying across the room, his face hardened into stone, his eyes cold.

Red undoes his restraints as fast as he can just as Tom looks up momentarily to see him. He starts to rush towards him, his face twisting into rage, when Liz tackles into him, sending him sprawling on the cement floor, his glasses shattering on the ground.

Red grabs the gun and aims it at Tom. "Lizzie!" he calls. Liz is halfway up when Tom's eyes focus on the gun and realize what Red is doing. He grabs Liz around the neck, pulling her to him forcefully at a last attempt to survive. There is panicked desperation in his eyes- he is outnumbered and unarmed.

Liz struggles for a few seconds and then meets Reds gaze. "Lizzie?" he asks her softly, waiting for permission. She gives a slight nod (as much as she can with Tom's arm closing around her throat) and closes her eyes. She doesn't need to see this.

Red walks calmly to Tom, cocking the gun. He leans down and presses the gun to Tom's head. He looks like he's considering fighting, but then Red watches the fight go out of him-he deflates and accepts his fate as he looks up at Red.

It is unnerving for Red, watching those same eyes look up at him that had watched him so long ago, watched as he had fully stepped over the line into darkness. He can almost see the child in them, the child that had watched his world die in front of his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Red says quietly. Tom's eyes slide shut, he understands. A single tear flows out from his closed eyes as Red pulls the trigger. The bang resonates through the room and both Red and Liz wince at the sound of it.

The arm around Liz goes slack as the life fades from it. Red focuses on anything but the tortured man laying below him and the blood splatter caused by the bullet that took his life as he helps Liz up. They make eye contact. _Are you okay_ Red asks silently. Liz understands, giving him a small smile that doesn't meet her eyes. She's not okay but she will be.

They don't have long to sort out their thoughts because right then they hear shouting down the hallway. Liz gives Red a panicked look and he looks back at her with a grim yet calm expression. The Banker's guards couldn't have missed the sounds of the bullets; it was only a matter of time before they showed up.

Red checks the chamber- the gun is nearly fully loaded. He doubts it will help much. The voices grow louder and Red closes the door, wedging the chair into the handle. Liz and him are sealed into darkness once again. They move next to each other as the voices grow louder and the footsteps rapidly approach. Liz feels a hand slip into hers. She takes it gratefully, smiling in the dark.

Ressler is barely conscious when the door opens. When he hears the shouts his mind takes a few seconds to process it. He grips the scalpel tighter in his hand, forcing his eyes open.

The world is a blurred mess spinning so fast that it hurts Ressler's head. He sees a tall figure approaching him. The figure gets closer and closer until he is right on top of Ressler.

"No no no no," Ressler mutters, his body overcome with tremors.

"Agent Ressler, can you hear me? You're going to be okay, we're taking you in." Ressler is too out of it to understand the man's words.

His muttering gets louder until he's shouting, "No no no…"

"Agent Ressler!" The man crouches down in front of him.

With the last bit of strength Ressler has he drives the scalpel towards the man's neck. The agent ducks, the scalpel only centimeters above his head. Ressler feels hands grabbing him. He struggles then feels a sharp prick in his neck and everything goes black.

Liz squeezes Red's hand as the hallway explodes into bullets. The bullets ricochet off the metal door which is thankfully holding up for now. They stand there; their heart's racing as the shouting gets louder.

Liz hears something, "Is that…"

Red shares an amazed look with her, and sure enough Cooper's voice comes ringing down the hallway again, shouting orders to his men.

Five minutes later the shooting stops. Red catiously opens the door, sticking his gun out of the door first.

"FBI, freeze!" someone shouts from the outside of the door.

Red drops the gun and opens the door, a wide grin spreading over his face, "I never thought those words could bring me so much joy."


	25. Chapter 25

Author's Note: Here it is folks, the second to last chapter! But never fear, I went a little overboard with the loose ends so now I have to make a sequel for you guys (sighs). The last chapter will be up ASAP. THANKYOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO READ/FOLLOWED/REVIEWED THIS STORY, I LOVE YOU ALL! As always, I own nothing and hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 25**

It is a fitting day for a funeral. The sky is heavy and overcast, a small drizzle had started early in the morning and has refused to let up. The air is a little chilly, the dampness making it very uncomfortable. It's as if the world is mourning the loss of the agent just as much as her team is.

It's a small funeral; Samar hadn't been in the States nearly long enough to make friends out of work. Cooper had tried to get in contact with her family, but had been unable to. So that leaves just the four of them huddled around the small marble gravestone.

Her death by far hit Aram the hardest. Liz looks up at him and sees the distant look on his face that she has seen often since returning home. She sighs, walking over to him and giving him a big hug. He stiffens at first, but then relaxes wrapping his arms around Liz gratefully. If Liz feels the tears on her back she doesn't comment.

They pull apart, Liz giving him a sympathetic smile, "Are you okay?" It is a stupid question, but it is something you ask at funerals, even though you know it's not okay; it will never be fully okay again.

Aram puts on a brave smile, "I will be." And maybe one day he will be. Maybe one day he'll lose this emptiness he feels every time he wakes up and has to face the day alone. It will never be the same, but Aram can only hope that it will get better. He glances momentarily at Red, thinking back to what Ressler had told him. If Red can get through losing his family, he can get through this. It just hurts.

The funeral is short, and soon the agents go on their own ways, all of them somehow realizing that this is the end of what they (Red) had started. It has been two long years, filled with some of the best and worst moments for all of them, but now it is time to move on. Nothing lasts forever.

The day of the funeral is the day Cooper resigns from his position at the FBI. He wants to spend the time he has left with his family, he owes it to them to be a good father and husband for as long as he can.

That day Cooper receives an unexpected visitor. He is at the Post Office, packing his few belongings into a single cardboard box. The other agents have the day off, it is just him; or so he thinks. Suddenly the door to his office opens.

"Reddington," Cooper says, surprise registering on his face.

"Harold," Red says fondly, looking around the empty office, "I am happy for you, this is the right choice."

Cooper continues packing, unsure how to address his old criminal. This is surely goodbye; Cooper doubts that Reddington will stick around with the changes certain to take place in the Post Office after he leaves. He is secretly glad that he will be free, Red is a lot of things, but Cooper has come to realize that a monster is not one of them. Considering the circumstances, Cooper thinks Red turned out as good a man as could be hoped.

Red watches him and then places a thin folder on his desk. Cooper gives him a questioning look.

"I'll leave it to you to decide what to do with that file, but I highly suggest reading it."

Reddington leaves Cooper alone again, closing the door behind him. Cooper stares at the folder for a moment then gives a resigned sigh and picks it up. He flips through the papers, glancing over the paragraphs. A few words catch his eye. He nearly drops the folder. He reads every word, his eyes widening in shock.

It's all in the report- Cooper is innocent. Well maybe not fully innocent, he had still killed a man to gain political power, but that man hadn't been a particularly nice man. Henry Price wasn't killed because he was close to catching The Keeper; he was killed because he was The Keeper's competition. Henry Price had used his publicity to hide in plain sight, he had controlled drug trade and other criminal operations in a good portion of the Middle East until The Keeper had taken over.

Cooper feels the weight slowly lifting off of him, all thanks to the man fourth on the FBI's most wanted list. He shakes his head, a smile playing on his lips. He throws the file in his box, and giving one last glance to the black site, he exits for the final time.

Liz is exhausted when she returns to the hotel. She had spent the past 3 days at the hospital; after being cleared herself she had gone between Ressler and Reddington, finding ways to keep the two extremely irritable men from leaving or hurting each other out of sheer boredom. Needless to say, Liz had been at her wit's end by the time they were released and the day had just been topped off by Samar's funeral. Liz is more than ready to curl up in bed (hopefully next to Red) and catch up on sleep.

Dembe is standing outside the door to their hotel room. "Dembe!" Liz exclaims, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Red's friend who she hasn't seen in months.

"Agent Keen," he replies, one of his rare real smiles lighting up his face.

"Are you all healed?" Liz asks, remembering the state he was in last times she saw him.

"I'm much better, thank you. No one has touched the room since you've left." Liz resists the urge to give Dembe a hug on the way in, figuring it would make the man uncomfortable.

Liz looks around the room, a tired smile on her face. It is exactly how she remembers it, although maybe a bit dustier. She moves to the kitchen and freezes at the sight of the folder. _Oh yeah_, Liz thinks to herself, _I forget about that_.

She's glad Aram had told her to open it at home when he had given it to her so many months ago; because Liz is certain she would have broken down at work if she opened it there (she had broken down in the hotel when she opened it).

She flips through the pictures again, long engraved in her memory from the number of times she had looked at them. They still cause her stomach to burn and her eyes to sting. She closes the folder again, placing it back on the counter with a sigh. Red will be back any second now. She wishes she could hold off this conversation until tomorrow, but she can't wait any longer. The images had haunted her nightmares for long enough.

Red and Dembe embrace outside. "You look well my friend." Red tells him.

"Agent Keen is waiting for you," Dembe replies with a sly smile.

Red laughs at his friend, "You can get some rest my friend, Agent Keen and I will be here at least until tomorrow. Then we might have to change some plans." Red looks thoughtful.

Dembe nods, "Good night Raymond." He can't keep the smirk off his face.

Red walks into the hotel, a little unsure on what he's going to find. What he doesn't expect is to find Liz sitting at the other side of the island, nervously playing with the edge of a worn folder.

"Red!" she says, her voice falsely cheery, "Come sit down."

Red sheds his coat and hat slowly and then goes to sit across from her. "What have you got there, Lizzie?" He eyes the folder cautiously.

Liz sighs, and Red notices that her eyes are watering. "Oh Red…" Her voice is filled with so much pain that Red knows something is wrong. He feels cold dread filling him. He swallows thickly.

She opens the envelope, fingers slightly shaking, and lays the pictures out in front of him.

Red freezes. His eyes squeeze shut for a second. He meets Liz's gaze, his face expressionless. "Where did you find those?" His voice gives away his pain; he can barely force the sentence out.

Silent tears are already streaming down Liz's face. She wipes at her blurred mascara, breathing deeply and steadying herself. "Aram."

Red nods, staring at some point on the wall behind Liz's head, his gaze not focusing on anything.

"What happened?" Liz asks him softly.

Red looks back down, his vision blurring as his eyes fill with tears. Laid out before him are the pictures of his old house. Covered in blood, so much blood. Next to them are pictures of his family- his daughter and wife with joy- filled smiles on their faces, his daughter's mouth open, frozen in a laugh. They had been so happy.

"I don't know," Red croaks out and then stands up abruptly.

"Where are you going?" Liz asks, sounding slightly panicked and standing up to follow him.

Red clears his throat, hiding his face from her. "To find Ressler." Without another word he grabs his hat and coat and walks out the door, leaving Liz standing there with a single tear running down her cheek.

Ressler stares at the screen, his mind blank. Entirely, blissfully blank. He knows it won't last for long, the pain pills they had given him aren't nearly strong enough (taken at the appropriate dosage) and Ressler doesn't want to go down that path again. A promise is a promise; even if it is made to a person with a worse criminal record than yourself (keeping Tom captive was a huge mistake on Liz's part).

When he lifts the remote he watches his hand tremble slightly. _Huh, so I guess I'm still slightly addicted._ His hand shakes more violently- _very addicted. _Before Ressler can consider that thought there is a knock on the door.

Ressler looks at the door for a few seconds, the unexpected knocking blowing his drugged mind. _You should probably answer that_. Ressler stands, grabbing the gun on his coffee table just in case. He opens the door a crack.

"Reddington," he says, raising his eyebrows in surprise. He opens the door for him and Red strolls right past him into his house. Ressler can't tell what it is, but there is something off about the concierge of crime tonight.

Red looks around his apartment. "I must say, Donald, your decorating style is very… _peculiar_."

Before Red can piss him off, Ressler cuts him off, "Why are you here?"

Red hesitates, looking a little uncertain. Ressler would find his expression very entertaining if he hadn't been so shocked by it.

"Take a seat," Ressler tells him, gesturing to the worn armchair in his sitting room. He takes the couch beside it, facing Red.

Reddington sighs, playing with the rim of his fedora in his hands before meeting Ressler's curious and slightly concerned gaze.

"While we were in there, The Keeper interrogated you separately." Ressler takes in a sharp breath, immediately knowing where this is going. Red fixes him with his intense gaze, his eyes boring into him as he continues, "He seemed to think that you knew something about me. Something about that night." Red falters, his eyes containing more vulnerability than Ressler has ever seen. "Do you?"

Ressler wants to answer no so badly; he wants to tell Reddington that The Keeper was delusional, that he had just been doing his job. That answer is on the tip of his tongue but he looks into the eyes of the man in front of him, the man whose life had been destroyed on that night and he can't bring himself to say it. He deserves answers, even after all he has done.

Ressler stays silent for a little too long, he sees the sparks of anger starting to appear in Red's eyes. He steadies himself, taking a deep breath, "Yes, I know what happened that night." Red is no longer looking at him, so Ressler can't gauge his reaction to this, but he hears his breathing accelerate slightly as his body tenses. It looks as if he is preparing for a blow, and in a way he is. Ressler takes another breath and then plows onward, only pausing when the entire story is told.

Red listens intently, having suspected or known most of the details himself, but hearing them laid out like this makes his heart clench painfully. He pushes down the feeling; he will not break down in front of Ressler.

Ressler finishes with the tale, leaving out nothing and being as honest as he can. He studies Reddington whose face is devoid of emotion. The only way Ressler notices the raging storm inside is through his eyes. They say eyes are the windows to the soul and not even Raymond Reddington can keep his emotions for something this big completely hidden.

"Where did you find this out?" His voice is empty.

"I did some digging." Red just nods at that and stands, placing his fedora firmly on his head.

"Thank you," he says to Ressler, their eyes meeting and expressing so much more than the simple word. Ressler knows that this is goodbye.

He walks Red towards the door, his mind spinning on how to properly send Red off; after all he has now spent the better part of _seven years_ with his life centered around this man. He finally settles on, "Take care of yourself."

Red takes his hand, a small smile breaking over his face in understanding. There is a hidden message to the statement- take care of _her_. Red has every intention to.

"Goodbye Donald."

Liz picks up the phone 3 times while Red is gone. One time she actually hits 'Nick's pizza' but quickly hangs up before the call can go through. She paces the room, once, then twice, and then sits back at the island, pulling a hand through her hair. She unconsciously rubs her scar as she looks over the photos again, her heart clenching painfully for Red.

This is where Red finds her, only a half an hour since he left. Liz jumps up, the mascara still blurred around her eyes and her hair falling out of it's messy ponytail. Red gives her a tired half-grin (that fails miserably) and shards his coat and hat again. He walks by her and collapses on the sofa, gesturing for her to join him.

Liz grabs a bottle of scotch and two empty glasses on the way, assuming correctly that this is going to be a long and difficult conversation. She settles down next to Red, eyeing him cautiously as if he could break down at any moment (which Red figures is probably true). Once they both have generous portions of scotch (their glasses are nearly overflowing) and Red has taken a large sip, he starts the dreaded speech.

"December 24th," Red starts, his gaze distant, "It was seven months after the fire. The organization had given me a few petty jobs in-between, but had more or less left me alone. I was desperate to leave, but I needed to figure out a way to protect my family first. When I finally figured out a way to get us out, it was so close to Christmas-," His voice cracks and Liz grabs his hand.

He takes it gratefully and swallows, blinking rapidly, "And I couldn't make them leave on Christmas. We were planning to leave the next week. We had our whole lives planned out, we could have…." Red seems to shake himself out of his reverie, his eyes haunted by the possibilities if they had only made it out. His wife, his daughter… But suddenly he looks at Liz and realizes once again that if none of that had happened he would have never found her.

He downs more whiskey, the sharp taste of it calming him enough to continue, "That day, coming back from work, I was so excited to get home that I didn't check the gas tank. I ran out of gas. I was still miles from home and the snow was getting heavier. I got out and started walking home, so upset at the thought that I was ruining Christmas, but the more I walked the more I realized how_ funny _the whole thing was and how every Christmas they would get such joy out of retelling the story at my expense of how 'Daddy ran out of gas.'" There is a ghost of a smile on Red's lips, but it is haunted, as if the memory is tainted by what comes next.

"I walked 3 miles. When I finally got home, I was so excited to see my wife and daughter. I opened the door and all I saw was blood. All there was, was blood." Red trails off at that, his expression tortured as it meets Liz's. Liz has tears running down her face and she is squeezing Red's hand so tight that the tips of his fingers are white from the lack of circulation.

Red is so lost in the memory that he almost forgets what Ressler had told him, almost forgets that there's more to the story. He hasn't had time to process the details himself, so when the words fall out of his mouth they are unprepared and filled with raw emotion that takes Liz's breath away.

"It was all a government cover-up. The organization I was working for had power, so much power that they could make me go away. But killing me would be suspicious, no they couldn't just _kill_ me." Red lets out a bitter laugh, "Instead they had to destroy me. Destroy my name, make me the enemy, blame me for all that went wrong."

"While I was at work the leader of the organization visited my wife, the woman you know as Naomi. They showed her pictures and documents, obviously forged, about me. They accused me of horrendous crimes, crimes that they had actually committed with their widespread organization. Naomi didn't believe them for one second, and when they figured out she wouldn't willingly go into witness protection they threatened our daughter." Red lips pull into an angered expression at the thought of anyone hurting his daughter, especially since she was so young at that time. The thought that anyone could hurt an innocent child fills Red with the utmost rage.

"Naomi left and they set the scene for me. The blood they used was Naomi's blood; they had gotten it from her doctor. When I confirmed that it was her blood, I reacted how they expected. I disappeared, hunting for the killers. By the time I resurfaced three years later, no closer to hunting down the people responsible, I found myself climbing the charts on the FBI's most wanted list. I had a choice then- to turn myself and spend the rest of my life rotting away in prison while trying to prove my innocence, or I could take the opportunity and use my power to destroy the organization that took away my family. I slipped into my positon as Concierge of Crime. It was much easier than I thought it would be." Red frowns at that statement, realizing how true it is. He had been built for this, just as much as Liz had.

Liz's head is spinning with all the information Red has dumped onto her, her heart breaking for Red. Something bugs her suddenly and she asks him, "Where does the fulcrum fit into this?"

Red's proud grin at Liz asking the right question (thinking like a criminal!) doesn't quite meet his eyes, but it's a start. "Right about the time I disappeared, the fulcrum- a set of classified files on the organization I worked for- went missing. They jumped to the conclusion that I took it," Red shrugs his shoulders, "I don't know who actually took it or who has it now."

Something about the way Red says that bothers Liz. "But you have an idea." It's not a question. Red's eye twitches slightly, and he takes another gulp of his whiskey. "Red," Liz says sharply, not allowing him to hide from this.

Red meets her gaze again, his eyes troubled, "There was a rumor a few years back that your father had it."

Liz's splutters on the whiskey she just took a sip off. Red's gaze is far off, "I brushed of the rumor, certain that your father was dead, but now…" Red looks uncertain.

They sit there sipping their drinks, each lost in their own thoughts. Liz is the first one to break the silence a few minutes later, placing her empty glass on the table. "Come on," she practically pulls Red off the couch, "It's late. We can discuss this more in the morning." Red glances at the clock, it is 8 o' clock, but he isn't going to argue with Liz especially since she is dragging him to bed (a fantasy he had played out many times in his mind).

Liz strips down to a bra and underwear, too tired to care about being half naked (for the first time) around Red. Red lets his eyes run appreciatively over Liz, but he is just as tired (if not more tired) than her and is still recovering from a bullet wound (as Liz likes to remind him hourly) so he just slips in beside her.

Red pulls her close, letting her head rest on his shoulders. She is asleep in seconds and her steady breathing soon lulls Red into sleep too.


	26. Chapter 26

Author's Note: Here it is y'all- the last chapter! Thank you so much for your support, I couldn't have done it without you. Enjoy and as always I own nothing!

**Chapter 26**

_3 months later_

Ressler wakes up to the sound of his blaring alarm. He groans, pressing the pillow back over his face and hitting "snooze". Work has been unbearable lately. After Red and Liz had disappeared to God's know where and Cooper had retired Ressler was left to run the disheveled remains of the team. He is doing the best he can, but if he is going to be perfectly honest with himself he knows that they need Reddington to get anything done. The bastard was damn good at his job, even if it was only because he was on the inside.

Speaking of the bastard Ressler checks his phone to see 5 missed calls from his boss. That can only mean one thing- they had made progress on tracking down their number one target and only mission- Raymond Reddington and exAgent Elizabeth Keen.

The phone goes off again and Ressler answers it, sitting up in bed. "Ressler," he growls out into the phone, his voice still rough from lack of sleep.

"Turn on the news and once you see it come straight here." His boss hangs up before he can respond.

"Yes, sir," Ressler grumbles to himself, and gets out of bed, much more awake now and intrigued by the phone call.

He stumbles into his living room and flicks on the TV. It is set on the news channel and Ressler immediately sees it. His jaw drops and he has to sit on the coach behind him to steady himself.

On the screen is the picture of a burning jet, but not just any jet. The private jet of the one and only Raymond Reddington.

"Reports are coming in of a plane crash in Eastern India earlier this morning. The plane crashed into an empty field. It exploded on impact, there are no survivors. The registration of the plane was under an alias and local police did some digging. The plane belongs to notorious criminal mastermind, Raymond Reddington, 4th on the FBI's most wanted list and responsible for some of the biggest criminal events in the 21st century. There are also reports of a second victim on the plane, FBI agent Elizabeth Keen, a young rookie agent who apparently has ties to Reddington. It is unclear of whether or not they were in the plane at the time of the crash, but it is certain that if they were they did not survive. We'll keep you updated as the investigation continues, more on the life and career of Raymond Reddington after the break."

Ressler stares at the screen even after the picture of the scorched jet leaves it. He can't even begin to comprehend the situation, so instead he busies himself with getting ready. He is at the post office 20 minutes later.

The following week is a mess of red tape and flashing cameras. The bodies are confirmed as belonging to Raymond Reddington, Elizabeth Keen, Dembe Zuma, and Red's pilot. DNA confirms it, there is no doubt that they died.

Reporters hound Ressler when he arrives at the sight of the crash. The smell of smoke and the sight of the jet laying in still smoldering pieces makes it all real. Ressler answers no questions, hardly comprehending what he is being asked as the scene sinks in. Red and Liz are dead.

Ressler pretends to be unaffected by the whole situation, pretends to be relieved that an American traitor is finally put to rest, but the truth is he lost two friends on that day. He lost the two friends he has left in the world, and now he is truly alone.

_Two months later_

Ressler leans back at his desk, running a hand through his hair. He glances over at the clock, 11:30. _Great, time seems to have gotten away from me again_. Ressler sighs, looking back at the glowing screen of his computer. He is hardly going to be able to track down the killer tonight and he desperately needs sleep.

He turns off his computer and walks to the elevator. The post office is a little eerie at night. The computers give off a low buzz as if they are snoring. Ressler snorts at that thought; _I definitely need to get some sleep._

The elevator doors slide open and Ressler is so focused on getting home that he nearly trips over the large box sitting directly outside. He looks at it, half convinced it is a hallucination from his sleep- deprived brain. He decides after a moment that it's not. It's a large box, looking about 6 feet long, 3 feet wide, and two feet tall. There is a small white envelope on top.

Ressler reaches down and picks it up. He pulls out the enclosed letter, a small piece of lined paper. The familiar writing makes his heart stop. It is a small message, written in red pen.

_Donald-_

_In this box you shall find our dear friend Max Albert along with a folder containing all of the heinous crimes he is responsible for. You can do with him what you please, as long as you make sure he never sees the light of day again. Agent Keen and I wish you the best, and I was told to tell you that you need to stop sleeping at the post office. I admit that is a little disconcerting, although I've slept in worse places. I wish you the best in life._

_ -Reddington_

Just then Ressler hears a loud knocking from inside the box and muffled shouts. The box has an easy latch and Ressler throws it open. Inside is a man, his mouth gagged and arms bound, every inch of visible skin deformed with burn scars. His eyes are bloodshot and they go wide when they see Ressler. He struggles against his restraints desperately, making panicked noises. A tan folder is laying on his chest.

Ressler calls it in, his voice numb of emotion when he reports it to his boss.

"You mean to tell me a criminal was just left on our door step? Do you know who left him there?"

Ressler hesitates, "Raymond Reddington."

There is a pause on the other side of the phone and then Ressler's boss swears loudly, "I'll be right there."

Ressler glances back down at Max Albert and lets out a deep sigh. He looks at the man and all of a sudden the whole situation becomes very funny. Ressler lets out a laugh that startles himself he hasn't heard it in so long. He laughs harder, thinking of Reddington sitting on a beach sipping drinks with Liz by his side. Completely free, not a care in the world, and most importantly _alive._

Ressler laughs so hard that there are tears in his eyes. Max looks up at him completely horrified, which only adds to his growing amusement. Finally he calms down, but a smile remains fixed to his face. It feels good to laugh, and Ressler feels hope blooming in his chest as he sees the future lay out before him. He can finally move on, finally start living again. Once again, the man 4th on the most wanted list has saved his life.

Halfway around the world, Liz lays between Red's legs, the hot sand beneath them. The sun bears down on them, leaving Liz drowsy and happier than she has been in a long time. She reaches up to entwine her hand with Red's, her head lying in his lap. He hums with happiness and runs a hand through Liz's hair. She glances back at the beauty in front of her, the soft waves lapping at the shore. The turquoise waters are lit up with sunlight that dances across the surf.

Red continues to run a hand through her hair and Liz lets her eyes slip shut. "I never want to leave here," she mutters quietly, the smile slipping off her face. Liz knew what she had been signing up for when she had left with Red, but living a life on the run isn't easy.

"We don't have to." The words rumble out of Red's chest. Liz cranes her neck to look up at him. There is a large grin on his face and he looks relaxed, more relaxed than Liz has ever seen him.

"What do you mean?" Red continues to run a hand through her hair as his calm smile gets impossibly bigger.

"We can stay here forever, if that is what you wish."

Liz feels a twinge in her stomach, "Red, we're on the run. We can't stay anywhere for more than a few days or they'll catch up to us."

Red makes a small noise that Liz takes as a noise of agreement. She settles her head back, looking back at the ocean longingly. If only…

"What if we weren't on the run?"

Liz gives him a questioning look, "What if…?"

"Would you want to stay?" Liz sits up to face him, kneeling in between his outstretched legs. Red reluctantly lets her hair fall from his fingers.

"Why are you asking this?"

Red just smiles again, the infuriating bastard never giving her a straight answer (unless Liz forces it out of him with… methods). "Would you want to stay?" he repeats, his eyes twinkling.

"Yes, but…"

"Then let's stay."

"Red, we can't stay, we're on the run, remember?"

"But we're not."

Liz stares at him. "What do you mean we're not?"

Red looks so proud of himself when he answers, "I arranged it so that we are no longer on the run. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Raymond Reddington and Elizabeth Keen died in a plane crash 2 months ago." With Liz's sharp look Red quickly adds, "We used corpses to take place of our bodies, then got our own scientist to modify them like The Chemist did."

Liz considers his words and then a small smile breaks over her face, "You mean…we really can stay?"

Red nods, enjoying Liz's growing excitement. He couldn't wait to tell her this; he just figured it was better to wait until her father was captured.

"Red!" Liz shouts in the most girly- scream he's ever heard come out of her and then she crushes herself against him. Red gladly kisses her back, one hand entangling with her hair to press her towards him. They break apart when they need to breathe, beaming at each other when their gazes meet.

Liz kisses him one more time and then settles back against him, humming happily.

"Yes," she says.

"Yes what?"

"I want to stay here, with you, forever."

Red entangles his finger with hers, unable to keep the smile off his face. How had he gotten so lucky? "Well it's decided then."

Liz falls asleep in Red's arms as the day turns to night, and for once Red finds that he doesn't care. For the first time in his life he has nowhere to go, nowhere to be, just time to spend with his Lizzy. He glances down at her peaceful face and smiles; she will always be safe in his arms.

Author's Note: Tada, do you like how I ended it there? I know, a little cheesy, but I couldn't resist. Anyway, thanks for reading, I love you all!


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