"Now it begins."
He looked broken. More worried than she had ever seen him as he knelt in front of her with his hands behind his head. She felt at a complete loss as what to do next. The FBI and SWAT teams had already surrounded them; there was no escaping. She had no choice but to arrest Red and cage him back up like a wild animal.
The FBI had accepted her resignation quicker than she had anticipated. Since when had they ever worked that quickly? She had a feeling that some of the higher-ups had been more than happy to accept it. She kept kicking herself over and over for being so quick to jump the gun; and now she was paying for it.
She didn't know if Cooper would let her accompany Red back to the post office after his arrest, but she felt like she needed to be there. She still felt incredibly angry at him for what he did to her father; more angry than she had ever felt at anyone, including Tom. Whenever she thought about it, she felt like taking her gun and shooting Red in the head; but after that little speech he'd just given her, she had a feeling he would just put his arms up in surrender and let her do it. Damn him. He made it incredibly hard to stay angry at; she still told herself that she would never forgive him.
As the SWAT team closed in on them, their words sounded distant and muffled to her ears. She couldn't make out what was being said; the sound of blood rushing through her ears was too loud. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Red's profile as he turned back to her from watching the plane crash with his hands still behind his head. His amber sunglasses hid some of his emotions, but she could still tell that he was worried.
She stepped a little closer and said quietly, "Now what begins?"
He just gave her a sad smile and shook his head; regret shining in his eyes. "The war."
"Red, what the hell are you talking about?" She was standing too close to him, her jacket brushed his shoulder; but she didn't care anymore.
His lips upturned in the slightest hint of amusement as he looked at her; she thought she saw a faint sheen of tears in his eyes behind his sunglasses. He moved his head a little and they were gone; she convinced herself it had been a trick of the sunlight. "Lizzie, this is hardly the time to be discussing this. You don't want to look like you're telling me things you aren't supposed to be."
He had a point. She was already off the task force, she didn't want to be arrested and put away too.
Suddenly the SWAT teams shouts became audible to her ears. They were shouting for him to stay down and to keep his hands on his head over and over; which was stupid because Red hadn't moved from his position on the ground.
She pulled her handcuffs out of the holder on her belt and walked around him slowly. He watched her out of the corner of his eye until he couldn't see her any longer. She knelt with one of her knees resting on his calf and put a handcuff on his left wrist. "Raymond Reddington, you have the right to remain silent." She took her knee off his calf and leaned forward further to cuff his other wrist; he noticed that she didn't cuff him too tightly, which he was grateful for. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?" She had said the words near his ear, and could feel her warm breath on his neck.
"Yes." He said without malice; just resignation.
"With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?" She sounded near tears and he tried to reassure her with the only word he could say.
"No." The tone of his voice held forgiveness, and he could hear her take a sharp breath in understanding before leaning away and standing up.
She pulled him up by the arms, not hard enough to hurt him, as the SWAT team arrived and made a semi-circle around them with their guns raised. Uncharacteristically, Red didn't aim a quip or antagonize any of them. She kept a hold of his forearm as Cooper approached them looking angry.
"Agent Keen, you are no longer with the FBI. What are you doing here?" He stopped a few feet in front of her and waited for her explanation.
Liz glanced around at everyone looking at her expectantly and grimaced. "Sir, can we talk about this in the car?" Cooper was a good man. She knew he would at least consider her request.
Cooper sighed loudly and said after a few moments, "Very well, but you better tell me everything you know."
Little did he know that she knew nothing. Red didn't seem to know much either; and that scared her more than anything.
Cooper turned and addressed the SWAT team. "I want you to follow us to the vehicle, but at a distance. I don't think we need to worry about him escaping." He looked at two of the men. "Mendez, Warren, go see if you can find the bodyguard. We need to bring him in if possible."
They both chorused, "Yes, Sir," then moved out of the circle and walked towards where Dembe had retreated; Liz hoped he'd had the sense to leave while he still could.
Cooper looked over his shoulder and said to Liz, "I'll allow you to lead him to the car since I know he won't try anything with you, but you need to remain vigilant."
Liz nodded and said quietly, "Yes, Sir."
The semi-circle of SWAT team members opened up so they could walk past them. Liz bent down and picked up his fedora from the ground with her free hand, then squeezed Red's forearm softly and led him through the group of police officers, FBI agents, and SWAT team members; they were all looking at Red with different degrees of disgust. She hated every single one of them for it.
She kept studying Red out of the corner of her eye as they walked. His face was neutral, and he avoided looking in her direction. She found herself wishing she could pull him into a hug and be comforted by him. She didn't want to feel that way, he was supposed to stay a monster in her eyes, but that anger melted away like an ice-cube with every step they took towards his incarceration. She honestly didn't understand it and gave up trying to.
They reached the cars, and Cooper opened the back door for her so she could help Red in. As soon as the door was open, Cooper left and began to walk around the front of the SUV. That slimy bastard Agent Martin approached him with a thunderous look on his face. "Why is she even here? She's off the team. She has no right."
Cooper grabbed his arm and led him away from Liz and Red, then began to argue with him in low enough tones that Liz couldn't make out what was being said.
She turned to look at Red, trying to make her face look as emotionless as his was. She wasn't any good at it though, and knew he could see right through her. "Lizzie." He said quietly so that anyone trying to listen in wouldn't be able to hear him. "You need to contact Mr. Kaplan. She'll tell you what you need to do now that I can't protect you."
She shook her head. "No, I'm going to stay with you and-"
He cut her off and leaned closer so that his lips were inches from her ear. "No, sweetheart. It's far too dangerous for you to be anywhere near me. I'll have Harold order you away if I have to."
She clenched her jaw in anger, but refrained from saying anything more as Cooper approached them once more. "Well, what are you waiting for? We're causing a scene. Get him in the car so we can leave."
She nodded and apologized. "Sorry, Sir." Inside she felt panicked.
Cooper walked around to the driver's side and slid in as Liz helped Red step into the SUV. She tossed his fedora on the front seat, then put her hand on top of his head and marveled at how soft his short hair was as he sat heavily on the bench seat. She removed her hand, then grabbed the seat belt and pulled it around his body. She stepped up on the running board and leaned over his body to buckle the belt; as she moved back, she caught the smell of his aftershave and inhaled surreptitiously. She looked at him and said, "Are you as comfortable as possible?"
He grimaced. "One of my hands is bent at an awkward angle. If you fix that, then I'll be fine."
She reached down and fixed both of his hands, then couldn't help herself as she moved her fingers into his palm and squeezed his hand softly. He didn't show any outward emotion on his face, but he moved his fingers to squeeze hers tightly in response. After a moment she let go reluctantly and stepped back to the ground, then shut the door without another glance in his direction; this was already hell for her.
She grabbed his fedora and slid into the passenger seat, then watched as two FBI agents got into the SUV and sat next to Reddington. Of course Cooper wouldn't allow just the three of them to go, unfortunately.
Cooper looked at her with narrowed brows. "Are you ready?"
Liz sniffed and willed the tears that threatened at the back of her eyes to go away as she stared out the window. "Yes, Sir." She began to run her fingers around the inside of the fedora; it helped comfort her.
Cooper nodded, choosing not to mention what he observed her doing and started the SUV, then drove into the DC traffic; it was completely silent in the cabin, but she was screaming internally at herself for messing everything up. This was all her fault, and now she was in worse danger than before. She didn't know who the hell Berlin was, and what his connection to Red was. She didn't know who Tom worked for and what his mission was, and she sure as hell knew she couldn't protect herself without Red's help.
Life had just become significantly more difficult.
AN: So this plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone. This is what I would like to see in the finale, and is part 1 of 2. I tried to keep it as close to canon as possible. I know there are some Lizzington moments, but they aren't blatant..haha. I would love to hear what you all think. Feedback is so important. Thanks for reading. :)