Stuck Together in an Elevator
It all started out as a normal, uneventful day. They were all going through the motions, where Reddington came in to the Post Office to discuss the next target on the Blacklist. Liz stared at him as he spoke, with his usual calmness and confidence about a man nicknamed the Coffin Maker, who was a hit-man who not only took out the victims himself with no traces of evidence left behind to connect anyone to his crimes, but he built coffins for them and buried them underground himself. Reddington suggested Liz and himself to have breakfast with a contact he had arranged a meeting with, who knew of the next potential victim of the Coffin Maker. Red had assured her that if they didn't act fast and move quickly, the Coffin Maker would make his next successful kill.
Cooper authorized her to go with him to meet this contact over breakfast, so Liz made herself move and follow Reddington to the elevator.
Red gave her a small smile as he waved his arm for her to enter the elevator first, and she smiled to herself as she stepped inside. She knew that Reddington liked to be a gentleman, or to at least act like one particularly in her presence, so she indulged him without a word, readjusting the strap of her leather handbag over her shoulder as she watched him press the button that took them lower to the ground floor where, no doubt, Dembe was waiting already with the car to take them to their destination.
She couldn't help but feel nervous, as she usually did, when they were preparing to meet one of his contacts. She blew out air through her mouth as she attempted to shake her shoulders out of their rigidity. She didn't know what to expect or who this contact was, no less, but she hoped that they could give her valuable information and a lead that helped the F.B.I to catch the Coffin Maker before he moved and struck again. She couldn't help staring at Reddington as the elevator started descending lower. He wore his coat and had a scarf wrapped around his neck today, while he held his hat in his hands while they waited patiently for the elevator to open.
Oddly, their journey in the elevator seemed to be slower today. Liz wasn't sure whether she was imagining it, but she wondered if something was wrong with the elevator to make it not operate as quickly as it usually did.
And then it happened...
Suddenly, with a terrible churning noise of the inner mechanics, the elevator shook and abruptly stopped to a stand still. Liz lost her footing and pressed her left hand against the wall for support, her breathing rising rapidly with panic. The light above the ceiling flickered off for a moment before coming back on again, and the buttons on the wall panel were no longer lit up. This hadn't happened before. Liz's stomach sank as she turned to look at Red in confusion. He looked just as confused as she did, and it comforted her in a sense.
"What's happening?" she got out in a low whisper.
"My guess is as good as yours, Lizzie. Try the button again."
Red sounded utterly calm despite the weirdness of the situation, only making Liz feel better in return. She leaned over to jab the button with her finger, only it wasn't working. Her stomach rolled in an uneasiness as understanding came to her brutally.
They were stuck. In the elevator. Who knew how long they would have to wait for the elevator to start functioning again? Biting down on her lip, she pressed another button at random, hoping to bring the elevator back to life if she pushed hard enough, but it was no use. The elevator didn't want to work and she balled her hands up and pressed them into her stomach with defeat.
"Nothing's working. I think we're stuck in here."
She tried to not seem as panicked as she felt, but Red apparently noticed otherwise. He lifted his arm and she felt inexplicably soothed as he touched her back gently, rubbing around in a circular motion with his hand. "I'm sure everything will be fine, Lizzie. Someone will notice what's happening in here, and then we'll be out in no time. There really is no need to worry, I'm sure."
She blinked twice before meeting his eyes for reassurance. "I hope to God you're right," she whispered. "This is why I can't stand elevators. They're too unpredictable. My claustrophobia's starting to settle in."
"Sit down," he urged her gently. "Just relax and breathe, Lizzie. It could always be worse."
She slid down to the floor, sitting upright against the back of the elevator, while she caught Red out of the corner of her eye removing his coat. Liz was still trying to regulate her breathing as Red sat down beside her and she shifted slightly from the wall to look at him. Yet again, he appeared to be ridiculously careless about the unpleasant situation they had been thrown in together. She watched him as he placed his hat on his head serenely, while he unwrapped his long woollen scarf from around his neck. He discarded the scarf just as quickly as he had discarded his coat, tossing it thoughtlessly on the floor near his shoes. Liz thought he looked as if he was doing something ordinary and going about his day, and not being confined in an elevator with her. Was Reddington ever afraid of anything?
"You look as if you're enjoying yourself," Liz observed quietly, her lips twisting into a smile.
"I am." His lips curved into a slight smile and Liz couldn't doubt that he honestly was.
"We're stuck in the elevator, and we don't know how long for. For all we know, we could be stuck in here for two hours. Maybe even four. And yet, despite all that, you're still managing to enjoy yourself? How?"
"How?" He moved to look at her more closely, resting his elbow against his kneecap, their shoulders touching. Liz had almost forgotten how unnerving it could be, being the object of his attention and intense scrutiny. "Because I'm stuck in here with you, Lizzie. Nothing else matters, but that."