An: This is the fist thing I have ever written so please be kind. No Red in this chapter, he is still in recovery mode. I loved the show leverage, so I included a little line from the show in this chapter. Hope you enjoy
A special thank you to Emma ofDismay for her help. Without her this would not be possible.
Chapter 1
Liz had returned to work the following morning after Red was shot to start tracking down the man that Red said had information on the fulcrum. She wondered how she would manage to get through the day, let alone get any actual work done after what had happened. She worried this was her fault, would it have happened if she had just turned over the fulcrum to him when she first found it? But she knew she would never have done that, she'd been terrified that he would leave her. She wanted and needed answers, but what she didn't want to look closely at, was that she wanted and needed...him.
She was only half listening to what Ressler was saying to her when her phone buzzed in her pocket, when she saw who it was she interrupted him. "Oh, sorry Res, I've got to take this." She walked a few feet away and answered with, "Red, I'm so glad you called, I'm sorry for—"
Dembe cut her off with, "It's just me, Ms. Keen, Raymond is resting. He asked me to call you and let you know that an… associate of his will be by to give you some information on a woman who will be able to identify your target. She should be there momentarily." Before Liz could question him on this strange development he ended the call.
Liz was shocked to say the least. How could he have someone else bring her the information. What about all the "I only speak with Elizabeth Keen?" Did he blame her for being shot? He was only there, after all, because she had called him to give him the fulcrum. Was he upset with her for not letting him explain? Was she ready to listen? She knew she didn't want to lose him, but would he tell her the whole truth or would it be more half truths and stories.
Before she could worry about that any more the elevator doors opened to reveal an extremely beautiful women who looked to be in her early 40s, but aging very gracefully. Creamy white skin, jet black hair with a widow's peak and the most gorgeous eyes Liz had ever seen. Jealousy started to wind her up, but she tamped it down as she continued to study the woman walking straight for her. She was dressed elegantly and expensively in a black pencil skirt and a light blue blouse, the clothes were obviously tailored for her as they fit her to perfection, Highlighting the subtle curves of her small frame. She wore 6 inch heels, to give her some height as she could not have been more than 5'3.
Ressler was on her immediately with, " How did you get in here, this is a secure facility" She waved him off with a hand and continued until she stopped in front of Liz.
Cooper looked up from the file he was looking at to see the woman approach Liz. "Ahh, I see you were able to get in with no problems." She gave a small nod to A.D. Cooper, then turned back to Liz.
The woman then spoke with a very cultured British accent and a small smirk, "Hello Elizabeth, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Raymond can not stop talking about you. I half expected to see an angel with a halo and wings."
Samar approached them just then. The woman gave her a quick cursory head to toe glance, handed her a thumb drive and turned back to Liz, effectively dismissing Samar, who pocketed the drive and moved to stand near Aram. Liz could do nothing but stare, the woman was surprisingly intimidating despite her small stature. She looked as if she could chew you up and spit you out with merely a look. It was funny, but she couldn't help but think, this was a female Red. She didn't like this woman who seemed to know not only Red but her as well. It was disconcerting. As if sensing her thoughts the woman stepped a little closer and whispered for only Liz to hear. "Don't worry, my dear, he will be with you again soon," and stepped back. Without taking her gaze off Liz, the woman spoke to a man behind her. Liz looked behind the woman and could not believe she had missed the blonde Adonis standing behind her. He looked as big as a mountain, his muscles bulging and pulling at his suit. He moved to hand the drive she requested to Aram, then moved back to his previous position behind his mistress. It was then Liz realized he must be this woman's 'Dembe.' He was watchful of those around him who would pose a danger, not quite trusting the agents in the room.
Aram spoke up then, "Here we go." he said, pointing at the screen.
The mystery woman turned and started discussing the woman on the screen. "She is a wealthy socialite who uses her connections to discreetly sell secrets of the world's top dignitaries. She will be at an Embassy party tomorrow evening and I have secured invites for us to get close to her."
Upon seeing the attractive older woman on the screen, Ressler asked sarcastically "If Red is out of commission, who is going to get close to this lady?" pointing to her bodyguard, "Your mountain of a man?"
The woman turned to Ressler with a small grin, and walking into Ressler's personal space, spoke slowly and seductively, "Don't be silly Donald, she is a cougar, she likes them young and yummy." She playfully nipped close to Ressler and made a sexy growl, "You will be my date -slash-assistant and when she approaches, you will let her steal you away, charming her to discreetly ask about your target." While slowly circling him and eyeing him from head to toe, she asked, "Do you think you can handle me?" stepping in front of him again and running her hand up his chest and asking innocently, "Can you manage that without slipping on any banana peels?" She quickly stepped away and back to Liz keeping her laughing eyes on Ressler as he blushed furiously and stammered out his reply, "Of course—" he cleared his throat, "Of course I can, I am a trained agent after all." He shot a glare at Samar as she chuckled softly.
The woman then continued her review of the target as if the whole exchanged had never happened. "She does not seduce the dignitaries themselves, but rather their younger, unsuspecting assistants who accompany their bosses to quickly pass on the information that keeps businesses and countries running smoothly while their bosses drink and whore the night away," A disgusted look crossed her face to be replaced quickly with an impassive mask.
Ressler asked, "Is this some low level blacklister that is supposed to keep us occupied while poor, little Red gets all better?"
With a barely concealed eye-roll she responded "This woman is not a blacklister, she is harmless really, even the information she does manage to… seduce out of these youngsters is not all that damaging. She is a rather small fish, not worth your time, but she does know how to contact the man you are really after. All the information you need is contained on the file Aram has. Please read it carefully," she turned to look at Ressler, "As we can not afford any mishaps."
With that, she turned and started back towards the elevator. Without turning she spoke to Liz, "Are you coming Elizabeth? We do not have a lot of time to get you turned out for the evening."
Liz, startled out of her stupor, quickly caught up to the woman. "I trust you have a tux Donald?" she called as she stepped into the elevator with Liz, and with that the elevator doors closed leaving Liz alone with this strange woman and her bodyguard.
Liz immediately rounded on her "Who are you? Why did Red have to send you? I could have easily gone to him to get this information myself." She was starting to get worked up, so she forced herself to take a deep breath to calm herself.
The woman turned and regarded Liz for a moment before answering her "Raymond wanted you to have a new dress for the party and asked if I would accompany you to a friend of mine who is a designer. "She then looked down at what Liz was wearing, wrinkled her nose and added "If you like I could also introduce you to my tailor as you seem to be in need of a new wardrobe."
Liz blushed hotly feeling a bit inferior to this well turned out lady, then just as quickly her ire shot up, how dare this woman that she didn't even know criticize her choice of clothes. "Thanks, but I'm comfortable and confident in my choices." Barley able to resist sticking out her tongue, Liz asked again "Who are you? I assume you have a name."
"Henrietta, you may call me Henri. I am not here to be your enemy Elizabeth, we could even be friends." Just then the doors slid open and Liz followed her to a black Bentley Mulsanne. The guard opened the door for Henri and closed the door after she slid in and motioned for Liz to follow him to the other side.
"Do you have a name?" Liz asked a little irritably as she followed him around to the other side.
"Jonus" was all he said as he opened the door and waited for Liz to climb in. As she did he gave her a small smile to help ease her nerves and closed the door.
"So where are we going to get this dress" Liz asked to see if she could get a conversation started and maybe see how much, if anything Henri knew of her connection to Red.
"A friend of mine, Katharine, has graciously agreed to fly over to meet with us and show you a dress she designed for you. And before you ask, I...acquired some surveillance photos of you so Katharine could have a look at you and get a design ready to try on today. I guessed your measurements, we will see if I am correct."
"Liz looked at Henri incredulously "You acquired? Did Red give them to you or are you spying on me too?" she was working herself up again, but couldn't help it. Who did this woman think she was, it was difficult enough to accept that Red kept tabs on her, but to hear that Henri did as well was too much to take. "I suppose you know of my connection to Red and are in on his master plan or whatever his real agenda is with me. What's the plan? Why are you really here? You have to give me something if you want me to continue with this little charade after telling me you have been spying on me." She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for Henri to speak.
Henri opened her mouth as if to speak then closed it again, not quite sure how much she should reveal. She could see in Liz's body language that she would have to say something or this would go nowhere fast. So she settled on a small bit of truth. "You have to understand Elizabeth, I would tell you everything if I could, but it is not just your life hanging in the balance. You aren't the only one this information is protecting.
Well, that wasn't what Liz was expecting at all. Red obviously trusted this woman, did he not trust her? That hit her right in the gut. Liz stared into Henri's eyes, trying to see if this was a tactic or the truth, but could not read anything, she wore her masks as well as Red did. "It's not like he can't trust me" she managed to squeak out.
Henri gave Liz a pointed look, then said "Maybe you could start by trusting him. Give him the benefit of the doubt. You might be surprised at where it could take you."
Liz abruptly turned to face the front again. Took a few deep breaths before speaking. "Trust him? He's a criminal on the FBI's most wanted list, I'm a federal agent. He is the bad guy, I'm the good guy, trust isn't really at the forefront of his little deal." She wanted to trust him, but every time she turned around something was there to shake the foundations of any trust she might have with Red. He didn't seem very inclined to set her on solid ground. Or maybe he had, she thought of all the times she had angrily cut him off before he could fully explain. But no, he would just skirt the truth as he always had. She had to shake her head of the confusion that was Red or she could drive herself crazy.
Henri huffed a small laugh. "Sometimes the bad guys are the only good guys you get. You need to start to look beneath the surface of things to read between the lines. Sometimes a person cannot just say exactly what may need to be said. Sometimes fear holds us back from completely opening ourselves up." She turned to look out the window. "Here we are, Are you ready for some glamour?"
Jonus got out and opened the door for Henri to get out, Liz slid across the seat and stepped out. They were at a warehouse somewhere. Liz realized she hadn't even been paying attention to where they were going, she was so focused on the woman in the car. Jonus led them to a side door and after a quick peek inside allowed them to precede him into the building. It was massive open space inside, a table and some chairs had been set up with a steaming pot of tea on a rolling cart to the side of the table, with milk, honey and sugar. There was a large curtain strung up for a makeshift changing room and a rack with a garment bag and several dresses hanging next to it. As they got closer to the table she could hear hushed voices coming from behind the curtain.
A woman stepped out and smiled warmly at Henri as she greeted her. "Henrietta, it's so good to see you again." she kissed both of Henri's cheeks and then turned to Liz with a warm smile. "This must be the beautiful Elizabeth." She walked over and shook Liz's hand. "I am Katharine. It's so nice to see you in person, the pictures don't do you justice"
Liz smiled warmly at Katharine, liking her instantly. "Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to come here and do this. Those dresses look amazing."
Katharine turned to look at the dresses. "Oh, those are just a few I brought in case you did not like the one I designed for you." She took Liz by the elbow and guided her towards the curtain. She turned back to Henri for a moment to indicate the table. "Please make your self comfortable, I had Jonus send over some of your leaves to brew." She then grabbed the garment bag and followed Liz behind the curtain.
There was a bench and another rack for Liz to hang her clothes on while she tried on the dress, and a three way mirror to one side for viewing. Liz began to take her clothes off as Katharine got the dress out of the bag. Liz was momentarily stunned, the dress was gorgeous. It was a very dark blue and sparkled. There was a very low neckline with a belt just under the breast to hold it together, it would hit just above the knees. She finished undressing and was anxious to try it on.
Katharine held it out to her. "What do you think?"
Liz took the dress from her in awe. "It's so beautiful. It looks like a clear night sky where you can see all the stars twinkling." Liz slipped the gown on and was amazed at how it fit her like a second skin. "I will have to thank Henri for getting my measurements right." Katharine stepped behind her to zip her up. Liz studied herself in the mirror, tuning this way and that. She couldn't believe she was looking at herself. She looked hot. And she hadn't even done her hair and makeup. Too bad Red wouldn't be able to see her in this dress. She would love to see his reaction. Annoyed at where her thoughts were turning, she shook her head to clear her thoughts and turned to Katharine, she smiled shyly "I don't want to take it off."
Katharine smiled brightly clearly happy that her dress was a hit. "You will certainly turn heads at your event, you will be the envy of every other woman in the room. Do you want to show Henri before I pack it up for you?"
Liz had turned back to admire herself again, she really couldn't believe it was her. Maybe she should take Henri up on her offer of an introduction to her tailor, but she would never be able to afford clothes that weren't off the rack. Oh well, one night of being the belle of the ball will have to do. Turning around for Katharine to unzip her. "No, I think I want to see her face when I get there." Smiling, Liz handed the dress back to Katharine and got back into her work clothes.
Liz stepped out from behind the curtain and over to the table. Henri looked up and smiled at Liz, noting she was already redressed and got up and walked over to wear Katharine was and they talked quietly for a minute. Jonus took the garment bag and a box from Katharine and headed out the the car.
Katharine and Henri walked over to Liz and Katharine gave Liz a hug. "It was a pleasure to dress you. I included a pair of shoes to match the dress, you looked so lovely that I forgot to have you put them on."
Liz gave Katharine a huge smile. "Thank you, it will be an honor to wear your design tomorrow night."
Henri took Liz gently by the elbow and led them back to the car where Jonus was waiting to let them in.
Once they were settled and Jonus pulled from the curb, Henri turned to Liz. "I take it you didn't want to let me see the dress before the party?"
Liz turned and gave her a small smile. "It would have felt a little like a mom taking me to get a prom dress, so you will just have to wait like everyone else."
Henri shook her head and smiled. "I understand."
They rode in silence for the rest of the ride back to the post office. Liz hopped out before Jonus could get out and open her door for her. She gave him a cheeky grin and looked back in the car at Henri."You aren't coming back in?"
Henri shook her head. "No, I have some...business to attend to. Jonus will come to pick you up tomorrow a few hours before the event. You will use one of Raymond's safe houses to get ready and there will be someone there to do your hair and makeup if you like." She nodded her head to Jonus and he shut the door.
Liz gave Jonus a wave in parting and headed back in to the Post Office. What business could Henri have to do. Was she going to report to Red or did she have her own criminal activities to take care of. She needs to see if Aram can bring up any information on Henri before the event tomorrow night. It's always a good idea to arm yourself with as much information as possible before walking into a situation blindly.