Back Upstairs
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters; I make no money from this.
Chapter 1
...:::::
Bugging the elevator and the top floor suite hadn't been their job in the first place. They were there to attend a high-end art auction and confirm the identity of a man Reddington would only describe as 'a person of interest.' In true Reddington fashion, he had refused to elaborate further.
Liz resisted the urge to sigh as she stepped on to the elevator on the top floor of the historic London hotel. They had successfully placed the surveillance equipment in various positions around the suite, and she was looking forward to getting back to the party. As uncomfortable as her gown was, she felt more out of her element when things didn't go according to plan and she was forced to take on the tech portion of an operation. She slipped several small pieces of electronic equipment and a screwdriver from her clutch as the doors slid closed behind Reddington's back as he joined her on the elevator. He watched her impassively, hands clasped expectantly in front of him, as she turned to the control panel and began removing the face plate.
"Okay, Aram, since your guy bailed on us, you're going to have to talk me through what I'm doing. Electronic stuff is your wheelhouse, not mine," Liz said.
Meera, Ressler, and Aram huddled around an array of computer screens in one of the rooms a few floors down. Aram answered immediately. "Okay, this should be relatively simple, but you're going to have to move fast. You've only got the elevator ride down to do this, because if I start shutting down this car through the hotel's system, the house maintenance will see that something's up—"
"Wasting time, Aram," Liz said, setting the removed panel on the floor.
"Right, okay, you're going to see wires on the left, and a circuit board-type set-up on the right. Place th—"
"We have a problem, Keen," Ressler interrupted, looking at the security feeds on one of the other screens. He had been watching the crowds at the gala on the main floor. A man in a tuxedo patted his jacket pockets as if searching for something, turned, and made his way back in the direction of the elevators. "Hendricks looks like he's on his way back upstairs, and you're in the car he's expecting to get on to. Forget the bugs; put that panel back together and get off the damn elevator."
Liz grabbed the faceplate and shoved it back in place. She held one screw in her teeth as she fumbled to get another one into place.
"They can't get off that one, it's the direct elevator to Hendricks' suite and the one on the floor below his. It only goes from the top two floors to the bottom floor and back," Aram corrected.
"Problem," Liz updated Reddington. "Hendricks is about to try to get back on this elevator. No time to bug it."
"Even if you get that panel back into place before we reach the bottom floor," Red started conversationally, "you're going to have to come up with a story about how we happened to get on to the private elevator."
"Tell you what: earn your keep. You come up with the story, I'll finish putting this panel back on," Liz snapped, mumbling around the screw in her teeth.
"Well, I suppose we're staying in the other private suite this car services, then, aren't we?" Red asked. He looked pointedly at the camera in the top corner of the elevator car, knowing full well the rest of them team was watching them. "We'll need two room keys, turn down service, and extra blankets on the bed. Oh, and some chocolates like Hendrix had in his suite, too. Those were divine."
"You ate his chocolates?" Liz admonished, finishing with the final screw. She shoved the small tools back in her clutch and spun to face Red. "Do not engage this man when we reach the ground floor. I'll take your arm and we will exit the elevator and barely acknowledge him. Got it?"
"Or we could invent a reason to stay on the elevator, Aram could shut it down before we reach the top floors, and we could talk to him until we get all the voice recognition phrases we need, rather than waiting to see if we get the necessary verbiage from the bugs we placed in his rooms. I like my plan. Let's do it." Red spoke rapidly, with an enthused look on his face.
"How do we believably stay on the elevator? No. We're getting off." Liz turned to face the doors expectantly.
"We could be so intoxicated by each other that we decide to skip the gala and head straight back upstairs to—" Liz shot Red a warning look. "Oh. Apparently we're not at that stage in our undercover relationship." Red feigned a bruised ego. "But intoxication is a grand idea. Ever experimented with bulimia? If you can manage to vomit on the floor in the next ten seconds, I'm sure he'll believe me when I say you mixed too many martinis with the shellfish, and we need to take you back upstairs." Liz continued to face the elevator doors, refusing to dignify Red's plans with any acknowledgement.
"Get off the elevator when it hits the ground floor with Reddington, Keen," Ressler ordered over the ear piece.
The elevator slowed to a stop.
"Fine, if you won't play the drunk, Lord knows I can," Reddington said seriously, moving to face Liz, his back to the elevator doors. "Keep him talking. If he is who I think he is, he's a ladies man, and your best bet is to appeal to his pretty-boy ego. Lay it on thick, Lizzie."
The elevator chimed and the doors slid open. Liz continued to glare at Reddington, whose face suddenly melted into a bland smile, his shoulders sagging a bit. He made a calculated, unsteady step backwards, then swayed convincingly toward Liz, and as he caught himself on the back wall of the elevator, he buckled one leg and slumped to the ground.
Liz took a quick step back from Reddington, who was now taking up a good portion of the middle of the elevator, and looked up, somewhat horrified, to see Hendricks framed in the open doors.
"Well," the man said, surveying the scene. "He looks like he needs to skip this party. Can I help you get him back upstairs?"
"Get him off that elevator, Keen!" Ressler shouted through Liz's earpiece.
Reddington shifted around to a seated position on the floor with the appropriate amount of difficulty and looked up at the man standing in front of him, holding the doors open as they attempted to slide closed. "And who are you?" he said rudely, frowning at Hendricks as Liz knelt on one knee next to him.
Liz looked up at the man and sighed sharply. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'll just help him up and we'll be out of your way—"
"This gala doesn't need one more rich, belligerent drunk; pardon my candor," he added to Liz. The elevator chimed a complaint at being held open. "You must be staying in the suite below mine. Let's get him back up there and avoid a scene, shall we?"
"No, really, I—" Liz protested.
"I insist," the man said. "Besides, I don't feel right about leaving a beautiful woman alone to deal with an obviously intoxicated man." He stepped in and let the doors close. "Though he does look as though he's not going to be much trouble, and I'm sure you can handle this. But I'll ride with you just the same." He swiped his key card to access the upper levels and thumbed both top floor buttons.
Liz sighed and turned back to Reddington, moving his chin so he looked at her. His face had gone blank, but as she brought his eyes up to hers, his face widened into another bland, somehow satisfied smile. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She could hear the team shouting commands at Aram through her earpiece, trying feverishly to take over the internal system that governed the elevators and get the car stopped before they reached the suite she and Red were apparently guests in.
"Okay," Liz allowed, straightening. She smiled resignedly at Hendricks. "Thanks for your help."
Reddington shifted on the ground with a decided lack of coordination and slurred, "Not that we asked for it."
...:::::
Thanks for reading! Please stay tuned, things are going to get spicier and more violent as we go, I promise. (Not M spicy, tho! Don't get your hopes too high.)
Also, praise, suggestions, and all-around thoughts are super helpful. Please comment before you leave this page! Feedback is my favorite thing. :)