Synopsis: Blacklist AU. Elizabeth Scott. A well-known and respected International lawyer, and a clandestine Robin Hood of crime known finds herself in the crosshairs of Raymond Reddington.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own any of The Blacklist characters. I'm merely borrowing them for my over active imagination.

Chapter 1

She's sitting in a local coffee shop, ignoring the fast paced world around her, in her own world sipping her drink and working through the New York Times latest edition of the daily crossword puzzle when he spots her. In his line of work, he has met some of the most beautiful and interesting women, but for some reason, it is this woman that makes him stop and take notice. It is this intriguing woman that makes him turn around and want more than anything to know her. To know what question she's trying to solve, to know what she's drinking, to know what her life goals are and her dreams. So on a whim, he takes a chance. Telling Dembe to hang back so as not to draw too much attention, he enters the coffee shop, seemingly unnoticed. Little does he know, he was on Lizzie's radar the minute he was in the coffee shops window. Like Red, she finds herself drawn to him. Maybe it's the immaculate three piece suit he's wearing with a fedora, or his body guard he's trying to pass off as a random stranger walking nearby. She thinks it's probably a combination of the two, but either way, she wants to know more about this mysterious man. She doesn't look up of course, being a master of deception and concealment, she's able to ascertain all these observations with just a quick glance of her eyes. Years of practice have honed her skills past an expert level. Figuring her senses are just on high alert being in public, she dismisses the thoughts of the handsome stranger. But that dismissal doesn't last long when she realizes that he's entered the cafe and is heading in her direction. Pausing mid crossword, she watches him order a coffee, grab his own copy of the NY Times and walk past her without so much as a sideways glance. He grabs the seat in the corner of the shop facing the door, thus being able to watch the whole room while he relaxes.

'Smart man.' She thinks to herself.

Going back to her crossword, she reads a couple more clues hoping to finish out her puzzle, but her mind keeps wandering back to the mystery man. She chances a look in his direction, only to realize that he is already looking at her. Normally upon this discovery she would feel threatened and hastily make an exit, but something in the way he is looking at her makes her feel differently. She feels warm, safe. Two feelings she has not felt in such a very long time. This unsettles her because she can't afford those kinds of feelings. Those feelings lead to vulnerabilities, and that is completely unacceptable. But in not having experienced such emotions in a while, she finds herself suddenly yearning for them. Again, unacceptable. She holds his gaze for a moment longer before she looks back at her puzzle. Finishing the crossword in a haste, she picks up her bag and leaves. Trying to put as much distance between herself and Mr. Fedora as quickly as possible.

Red didn't know what it was about this woman, but he couldn't help but look at her. He felt this draw to her that he hasn't felt towards another person since he found Dembe shackled in that damn basement years before. In his work, having close connections was a very bad idea. Close connections meant vulnerabilities which were completely unacceptable. But this. The feelings this mystery woman conjured up in him could not be ignored. In his musings, he had failed to notice that she was looking directly at him. At this he straightens in his seat and keeps his piercing gaze upon her. After what felt like a lifetime but was really only a few seconds holding each other's eyes, she looks back at her paper and finishes her puzzle. Putting the paper down, she picks up her bag and takes her leave. He finds himself wanting to run after her and take her somewhere secluded where he can convince her to divulge who exactly she is and all her deepest darkest secrets and desires. Not wanting to spook her though, he lets her leave. He rises from his spot in the corner and makes his way to her recently vacated table. Picking up her discarded paper, he takes a look at her work. Tucking the paper under his arm he heads toward Dembe who was sitting at the front of the shop sipping a hot tea while watching people make their way down the busy streets going about their lives. He notices Red approaching and stands up.

"I have no idea who that woman was Dembe. But I must know everything about her. I know we have nothing to go off of, but see if Glen can pull up anything on her. Anything at all."

Dembe nods his head in affirmation and follows Red out of the coffee shop. Walking down the street to their car, Red looks over at Dembe.

"I don't know if this is a place she comes to regularly, but have one of our guys put eyes on that shop tomorrow, and I want to be notified the minute she is spotted. If she returns."

You see, in Lizzie's line of work, both the known and unknown, situational awareness and preparedness is a matter of life and death. More so in one line than the other. In the legal world she is a well-respected freelance International lawyer, specializing in both commercial and governmental trade and policy. Many companies and governments call on her when they must have a positive outcome, or if they need a particular situation to be dealt with promptly.

Elizabeth Scott has a reputation as a ruthless and meticulous attorney. With a 100% success rate, anytime a company or government brings her in to handle their business, the opposing counsel either drops their side or acquiesces to her client's demands. The only way to reach her is through a private and untraceable email account which is only passed on by word of mouth. You won't see a billboard or bus placard with Lizzie's face on it. Her acceptance of a case is completely at her discretion. So you may submit an email outlining your predicament, but whether or not you hear back from her is a craps shoot. If she accepts your case, she'll reply to your email with a phone number. Never the same one though as she does not own a cell phone, through which she'll contact you to set up a day, time and place where you can meet to discuss her game plan, and an account number where you can submit her payment. At any time throughout the case if she needs to be reached, you can contact her via that number she provided. But once the case is settled, that phone is tossed and no longer usable.

She realized early on that her skills and expertise as a lawyer could be put toward another purpose. A better one in her opinion. She has singlehandedly toppled governments, overthrown dictators, handed over criminals to INTERPOL or other government agencies, and on occasion has been known to even help criminals if she finds merit in their dealings. All of this is done clandestinely of course. In the darker recesses of the criminal underground, where she is known only as the Ghost. No one knows if the Ghost is a man or woman, young or old, or even human. There are theories though.

The name Ghost came about because when she decides to take action on something or someone, you won't know about her dealings until they are finished, and at that point she is in the wind. In the criminal world, Ghost has been active for around 5 years. It may not seem like a long time but, in those 5 years though she has earned herself quite the reputation. Once she started on this track, she sought private training in both weapons and hand to hand combat from some of the most elite fighters and marksman. Most retired special ops soldiers or private trainers. She has a contact whom she trusts to handle all of her technology based endeavors, known only as Chaz. He works out of an underground room hidden beneath a local TV station, utilizing their antennas and satellites without them knowing to conduct his business. Quite clever really if you ask her. Chaz is an MIT grad who funded his education by hacking into the schools scholarship database and allotting money to pay for his education. The school was completely oblivious though as he was able to move the expenses around to different departments, making the schools financial board none the wiser. Lizzie came to know him through some of her underground dealings, and convinced him to work exclusively with her.

All of her work as the Ghost is conducted through contacts she has made through both of her career fields, though those contacts only know that their dealings are with the Ghost. The reputation she has earned herself over the years has put her in a highly powerful position. Those in her world know that if the Ghost asks or tells you to do something, you do it. Or the consequences of dissent are quite severe. Not so much followed through by her personally, but the right click of a button, or a secret whispered in the right person's ear, and you and your business are done for. Sometimes fatally. Her criminal career is conducted much like her professional. She executes undercover missions through different aliases, having Chaz wipe all video feeds so no pictures of her are ever kept or dug up. That's one of her calling cards of sorts. When she makes a hit, there's no video evidence to corroborate the actions that took place.

So after her run in with the mysterious man earlier that afternoon, she headed back to her apartment to try and unwind. The experience left her feeling completely off kilter. This man that she's never met before roused feelings in her, no man ever has. Sure she's had relationships in the past of a purely sexual nature, no emotions and no strings attached. And once even had a real relationship years ago back in college, but that all changed one evening when she came home from class to find her boyfriend in her bed with another girl. Her best friend to be exact. Although at the time it hurt her to be betrayed in that way by two people she held most dear. But instead of feeling bad for herself, she chose to take that lesson and made a vow to herself that she would never allow herself to be a victim again. Not one to have a victim mentality, she closed herself off to close relationships, which wasn't hard because she had no family or close friends. So she poured herself into her studies and graduated ahead of schedule. After which she quickly established herself in her current 'legal' career field as an invaluable asset in the law community.

But now. After one run in with a man she's never met before, she finds herself flipped on her head. Deep down she hopes, more than anything, that in some way she will encounter that man from the coffee shop again. But seriously holds out no hope.

'New York City is big city after all.' She muses to herself.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she opens up her laptop to check her email seeing what possible cases are being brought to her doorstep. Normally she looks forward to this challenge, but tonight, her thoughts are filled with three piece suits and fedoras.