Lockdown
(AU: 216 Tom Keen)
A/N: Short one written after being frustrated with the plot in 216 and by the way things were going, I thought they'd have Liz held without trial after that episode. And remember that guy who helped Red in Luther Braxton? Desmond something? Liked him because he helped Red after the explosion and warned Red that he was outgunned but he didn't listen because of Lizzie. I wondered what happened to him afterwards, so wrote him in. I'm not happy about the end, may be slightly cheesy in the romance department. Sorry.
Summary: Liz ends up in federal prison, after her unfortunate interrogation by the federal judge regarding the innocent harbormaster's death and gets an unexpected visitor. Red/Liz
Disclaimer: I don't own The Blacklist, or any of its recognizable characters. No copyright infringement intended.
"God, this feels like some kind of a twisted déjà vu..." Elizabeth Keen mumbled through the hands that covered her face.
She was hunched over on the stiff bed, her feet crossed, her back against the cold wall of the solitary cell. The last time she came this close to a cell, was when she was visiting Red in lockup. She told herself she was not going to break, she had to stay calm. Something, or someone will get her out of here, otherwise she will have to go to federal court and reveal everything she said to that judge and would most likely be sent to some shithole never to be seen again.
Suddenly she heard footsteps outside, she thought a guard was probably doing his rounds. Soon she realized that there were two sets of footsteps and they were nearing her cell, until they stopped right in front of it. The tiny hole opened on the metal door to her cell and the voice said, "Miss Keen, you have a visitor."
The hole closed again and the sound of the door opening, startled her, making her jump from the bed. She was a nervous wreck all day, waiting for the worst. She hung her head and took a deep breath, closed her eyes briefly to calm down and then looked up at the door. The first thing she saw was the familiar finely polished set of shoes that walked in and then... What the hell? Reddington!
Out of all the people who could have come to visit her Ressler, Cooper, Aram, or even Samar, he was the last one she expected to see. Not that she didn't think he wouldn't want to come but for God's sake, he was the FBI's most wanted! He didn't exactly have visiting privileges!
She knew she shouldn't be surprised by anything he did anymore, he's proven pretty unpredictable, still she had trouble believing he was actually there. "Red! What the hell are you doing here? How did you even get in?"
She didn't ask how he managed to walk inside the prison full of guards and inmates and not being recognized or apprehended.
He laughed briefly, as if her question was simply absurd and then replied, "Lizzie, I told you there isn't a prison on Earth where I don't know a few guys," And then with his confident voice came a reminder to her that not so long ago he was held in a CIA black site The Factory, a place hundred times worse and he walked out slightly worse for wear but safe. It may be crazy for him to be here but he must have a plan. He always does.
She frowned at him, while he continued, "and I happen to have a real ace in this hole." He smirked and nodded at the guard beside the door. "Thank you, Desmond."
"Mr Reddington," he nodded back, "Just returning the favor, for my wife."
Reddington cocked his head to the side, observing him, the small smile never leaving his face. "Ah, and how is Nadine? I imagine she is very pleased to see you every day, now that you are closer and not overseas. I must admit when I offered you the job opportunity, I didn't think you'd choose to be a guard again. Although I am pleased that you are, for Lizzie's sake." With that said he smiled gently at Liz, who was watching their exchange with quiet interest and added, "It is very fortuitous."
The guard Desmond, treated her kindly and respectfully since she arrived, unlike several others who either made lewd remarks or glared at her, seeing nothing but a killer.
"I did as you asked, you have about 8 minutes with no surveillance. I will come and get you." Desmond said, before closing the door on his way out.
"Short and to the point. Would you believe, a truly honest and kind man, that Desmond. Helped me out with that Luther Braxton business but he would not accept my money, only wanted to be closer to his wife."
Liz sighed and sat down on the bed, waiting for an explanation for his surprise visit. Reddington noticed her change of mood and his smirk disappeared. He walked over to the bed and sat down next to her, the bed springs creaking slightly under their combined weight. "Lizzie..." He spoke gently and chanced at taking her hand in his.
Liz stiffened, surprised at this intimate gesture of comfort but didn't remove her hand. "Why are you here, Red? This is taking it too far, even for you. Walking into a prison again?"
"We do not have much time," He stated the obvious, his finger lightly caressing her hand. Liz would never admit it to anyone but it was getting very hard to stay stubbornly opposed to him (a Fed and a criminal, we do make great team, for a dark comedy!), when he was comforting her like this. She was aware that he cared about her, deeply, for some reason, more than his own life, as the recent Kings' auction proved to her. She even realized then, (a scary realization indeed), that she reciprocated something deep for him, something not yet defined, that was making her risk her own life for him (again and again) and even dared to admit it to him after that near death experience. Maybe now she was opposing this, because he rejected her help and care then?
She was sure now, that if she gave in fully to this feeling (she won't dare name it yet) it would be hard to let go. She has been disappointed and hurt enough in more than a year and she can't let herself be fooled again. (Maybe she should stop trying to overanalyze every single thing?) She knew that she couldn't even trust her so-called profiling skills anymore, Tom or whatever the hell his real name is, was her downfall. It was as if he was a test in life and she failed it not once but twice!
"It's enough..." She said, "You can't break me out of this prison, I will have to testify in front of a court room full of people and they found new evidence! Pretty soon I will get sent to some faraway detention facility, or get stuck in a box, just like you. Some might even call it irony." She laughed bitterly. Maybe she did deserve this, it was her own fault, for stupidly blindly believing that her pathological liar, fake school teacher, spy and manipulating bastard of an annulled husband was actually in love with her, that he was a good person. He killed an innocent man! For her, he claimed. Even worse! There was nothing good in him, only his self-important, sociopathic, murderous, amoral self. That fact that he wasn't here, testifying on her behalf, showed his true feelings, or lack thereof.
"Lizzie, I can assure you that so called evidence was planted, Mr Kaplan would never miss that casing. She's been my associate for many years and she never made a mistake."
"Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. She certainly missed that body," She retorted.
"The body was moved, you were obviously monitored, somebody else was there and moved it, after we left... We are dealing with professionals."
"Aleko said-"
"They told him his brother will be denied treatment if he didn't reveal the location of the body."
She frowned, "Who are they? How do you know this?"
"He told me, after I convinced him it was in his interest to do so."
"What, you told him he'd get stabbed in prison?" As soon as she said it, she felt ashamed, a piercing pain in her chest. Why? Why does she say these cruel things to him? To push him away?
He sighed, he sounded exhausted and she could see by a brief show of emotion in his expression, that her accusation hurt him a lot but before she could apologize he replied. "His brother's surgery was successful."
Liz felt like such an idiot, with her inconsiderate words. Of course, it shouldn't surprise her by now that he would do something nice for the innocents involved. She long suspected that that was his main currency in making deals, or getting people's trust and unwavering loyalty. After everything that has happened so far, she knew he had a moral code, he was not a monster, even if he thought he was. Her fake husband on the other hand...
"Naturally, in return he recanted his testimony against you. That is why they were desperate and needed to plant the evidence." He said.
After she stayed silent, he continued, "I had to come. Desmond informed me that you are to be transferred in a few days time. You will be taken to an as of yet unknown detention site, there was to be no trial, Lizzie..." He gently squeezed her hand, as he stared at her intently, warily, waiting for her reaction.
You make it sound like treason, so black and white. It's not, it's green. She stared back, her eyes wide. "The judge said..."
He shook his head. "He's merely a puppet, Lizzie. The people in the shadows, are pulling his strings. I believe that detective who pursued you is genuinely honest and has no idea what he got himself into."
That innocent harbormaster was dead because of her actions. Because she decided to go behind Red's back and kept Tom chained up on a boat. She wanted to get her control back, her life back on track but instead, she lost even more control and had caused someone's death as a result and that judge, she told him about Reddington? Now he was in danger too.
Suddenly it became too hard to breathe, something hard slowly pressing on her chest, the sudden surge of massive grief almost suffocating her. The final push. The bubble of cognitive dissonance finally burst and it was overwhelming. She was drowning. Again. "Oh God, Red..." She choked out, her free hand covering her eyes, welling up with tears. "I'm so sorry, I told him about you. I-I was so stupid! He knows about the Fulcrum! What the hell is wrong with me?! It's like I had a brain transplant right before his interrogation!"
"Oh, Lizzie..." He drew her hand up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles lightly, before laying his other hand on her shoulder and slowly embracing her. "It's going to be alright," He murmured softly, surprising her at the intensity of feeling she heard in his voice.
Her head rested on his chest, which was getting wet from her tears. She was soon gasping and shaking, her grief turned into a full blown panic attack.
She felt his hand caressing her hair. "Sweetheart, it's going to be okay. Just breathe. Slowly, in and out." When he noticed she finally calmed down a little, he kissed her temple and continued softly, "Lizzie, you are not an idiot. Don't ever think that and I do not blame you. You were afraid, he manipulated, pressured you into revealing certain things to stop him from outing the task force. It may have been reckless but also human... You were also thinking of your survival."
She shook her head in disbelief. "How can you just... How can you defend me after I risked your life? I told him you were my CI, if it reaches your criminal partners, you could be killed any day by anyone!"
"You speak as if that is something new." He raised his eyebrow in challenge. "I am in constant danger every day, have been for more than two decades. I am used to it. However I am very concerned about your current safety. That's why I'm here. I have arranged for my people to be on that transfer..."
"No Red, you will not break me out! I will not be a fugitive! And I can't let you risk-"
"This is not negotiable, Lizzie."
"Red-" She started again but he stopped her by placing a hand on her mouth, then it moved to her chin, raising her head up to stare into her eyes. His green eyes looked at her fondly, as if she was the most precious thing in the world. She stared back at him in astonishment.
"Let me do this. Please," He said softly, actually pleading for her life. Liz closed her eyes and sighed.
No matter what happened and what she put him through, he always put her safety above all else. He must have a good plan, for the aftermath. If anything goes wrong and she could never go back to the FBI, at least Red could always make her disappear. Could make them both disappear?
She nodded. "Alright but only if it's not too dangerous for you, I don't want to get you killed. I'm less important than you, in the grand scheme of things."
"You are wrong, Lizzie. You matter." He smiled and stared at her intently.
"Because I still have the Fulcrum." She reasoned, her resistance slowly crumbling.
"No, because you matter." He caressed her cheek, a glint appearing in his eyes.
She stared at him, her mouth slightly parted in shock. "Why?" A hopeful smile formed on her lips as she asked daringly, "Because the ugly fish can not live without its light?"
"Yes." He said, his eyes flickering to her lips, silently asking for permission to kiss her, she beamed at him in consent and he leaned in. He was right. Everything was going to be okay.
