Raymond Reddington's Mona Lisa

The chilled fall air felt good against the hot flesh of Raymond Reddington's face, sitting in the park by his townhouse. He had always loved that time of year the best, the changing colors of the crisp leaves, the sunsets that seem to just paint the sky red and pink almost as if the sky was a canvas. He found himself with a carefree smile gracing his lips as he was alone and able to let down his barriers temporarily and just be himself. So much had happened since he had turned himself into the FBI. They had managed to already complete eight of his blacklist targets, and he had to admit he was impressed. Upon his arrival he was less than confident in the team that had been assigned to Director Cooper, where to start. He almost chuckled aloud as he thought about them all. His least favorite had to be Donald, he was just too smug and quite frankly he came off as being a man of lesser intelligence. Agent Meera Malik he had yet to fully get a good impression of, but she seemed to be very intelligent and both book and street smart. Director Harold Cooper was a fascinating man, with a past that Red was all too familiar with from…well let's just say business years prior. Raymond found himself fully smiling his head tilted slightly to the right thinking of the only agent that he truly cared anything about, her name was Elizabeth Keen. His reason for returning, his reason for trusting…she was his reason.

Reddington found his train of deep thought rudely interrupted by the shrilling of his cell phone, sighing softly he retrieved it from his jacket pocket and pressed the device to his ear. His voice was deep yet possessed an attribute as smooth as silk as he spoke.

"Ah Lizzie, to what do I owe this great pleasure?"

Elizabeth Keens voice clearly let him know from her tone that she was not amused. "Listen I don't have time to beat around the bush, I need you to meet me at the Guild Runway off of Highway 41 in a half an hour."

His eye brows furrowed a bit as he sat up a bit straighter glancing around. "And just why would I do that Agent Keen?"

Her voice was flat as she responded. "Because I..." She sighed and hesitated for a few seconds before continuing. "I need your help."

A deep bodied chuckle escaped his throat as he heard her response and stood up from the bench. "That is all you ever have to say to me Elizabeth, and I am your service. I shall meet you in a half an hour promptly."

Reddington hung up with Elizabeth before dialing Dembe to come and pick him up and take him to his requested destination. He couldn't help but wonder most of the ride why she needed to meet him at an airstrip that he knew for a fact was abandoned and had been for some time. Perhaps it was for a case they were working on the side, or perhaps it was for a personal matter. He knew she didn't quite trust him yet, and what trust he had earned from her seemed to be lost when somehow her husband Tom had managed to get away clean. It would only be a matter of time before the truth was revealed, but as of lately Raymond Reddington was not the patient man he used to pride himself on being.

Dembe pulled up to the abandoned landing strip and spotted the opened gate and drove on inside before parking next to Agent Keen's black government issued SUV. Reddington looked around not seeing anyone but Elizabeth as she climbed out of her vehicle. He placed his two hundred and twenty five dollar Knox dent fedora hat on and then smoothly exited the vehicle before motioning for Dembe to go ahead and leave him there with Elizabeth.

As Raymond approached Elizabeth he noted that she held herself in a somewhat defensive stance, her arms practically hugging herself in an attempt to hide the fact that she was vulnerable. He walked to stand just in front of her and slipped his hands into his pockets, his rose tented sunglasses not fully hiding the look of questioning in his eyes as he was confused as to why she had summoned his presence.

"Alright Lizzie, here I am…what do you exactly need my help with?"

Elizabeth tried to maintain a strong composure but her body fidgeted as she thought of a way to tell him exactly why she had called him to come meet her. "Red I…I found something…and I just don't know what to make of it. Part of me wants to just brush it to the side and say it's nothing, but the other part of me is saying something is…wrong."

Reddington took his glasses off becoming more and more quizzical as well as concerned as he listened to her speak. "What exactly is it that you found Lizzie?"

Her eyes rose to meet his for the first time since they had been there and she couldn't hide the wall of tears that were threatening to overflow at any moment. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a silver necklace with a pendant. To many it would seem just like any other pendant but Lizzie had seen it before and if she had remembered correctly, that pendant would change her life forever.

Reddington took a step forward, keeping all emotions off of his face and out of his eyes as he gently took the necklace from her and studied the pendant silently for a few moments. Her heart rate was ascending as she waited for him to say something or at least give her a look so she would know. Pursing his lips he looked up at Lizzie, his head tilted as he watched her trying to read him.

"Lizzie…I tried to tell you about your husband but..."

She cut him off, letting her emotions start to come out. "No buts Red, what does that mean? What is it, and why does he have it?" Her eyes held a glare that to another other than the 'Concierge of Crime' would have been intimidating. He held the pendant up that resembled a military dog tag but was smaller so she could see exactly what he spoke about.

"The shape of this particular pendant shows rank structure, a soldier, an enforcer. If you look closer the coat of arms shows a serpent coiled around a sword with markings that I don't suppose you are very fluent with. They are in fact Russian and they read, "Смерть придет быстрее." Red lifted his eyes to lock with Lizzie's and his voice held an icy undertone as he translated the Russian for her. "Death shall come swiftly…Lizzie your husband is a killer."

Elizabeth staggered back and gasped after he spoke, shaking her head with denial while her emotions fully took over and she let herself fall apart in front of Red. Sobs started to rack her body as her hands moved to shield her face from him. She was surprised to feel the warmth of his hands gripping her arms after a few seconds and before she could register what she was doing she had buried her face into the center of his chest, with her arms moving around his neck tightly.

He welcomed her into his embrace, his right hand moving to gently cradle the back of her head while his left hand kept a firm grip on her lower back. An emotional man he was not, however when it came to Elizabeth Keen the rules he had lived by for the past twenty five years, the rules some of which he had created and others had followed…had to be broken in order to make her feel safe. Reddington leaned the top of his chin gently against her head and took in the scent of her shampoo as he closed his eyes. The scent of Coconut and Shea made a blissful attack on his senses as his left hand started to gently rub her lower back in a soothing manner.

It seemed like he had gotten to hold her for hours instead of mere minutes, and while it was partially selfish on his behalf for enjoying the intimate moment he reluctantly released her when she started to pull away. She began to speak when this time he was the one to cut her off.

"I am going to send Dembe and Luli for some of your things, you will be staying with me tonight and in the morning we will discuss what options there are for Thomas Vincent Keen."

His tone was one of not a suggestion but a fact, and she was too vulnerable and physically tired to argue with him. Lifting her face her dark chocolate eyes met with his icy blue orbs before he replaced his sunglasses. Questions were starting to swirl in Lizzie's mind, but surprisingly the one that stood out the most had nothing to do with Tom….it had nothing to do with the current situation…it had to do with the one and only Raymond Reddington and the fact that for a split moment while he had been consoling her, she felt…no…it couldn't be that.

Could it?