Donald awoke and for a moment, wondered where he was. This wasn't his apartment, and this wasn't his bed. He rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm and yanwed. He remember Reddington's offer to let him stay. Donald still wasn't sure why he had even considered letting him stay. He wasn't sure why he had accepted.
Oh well, there was no use in dwelling on it. He climbed out of the over sized bed and got dressed. He still felt tired when he walked into the living room. He stopped when he heard talking coming from the kitchen. It was a woman's voice that he didn't recognize.
Donald glanced around the corner and saw a blonde wearing a red dress. Reddington was sitting while she was standing. Donald figured it was so he could get a better look at her breasts that were virtually hanging out of the revealing dress. Donald stepped forward into the room. The woman glanced at him and clamped her mouth shut.
"Good mourning, Donald." Reddington stated with a smug grin. "This is Scarlet. She works at a pub." He added and Scarlet raised an eyebrow at him.
"What? Are you gonna tell him my life story?" Scarlet asked making Raymond roll his eyes.
"Just tell me how to get the information."
"But what about him?" She asked and pointed her thumb back over her shoulder at Donald. Raymond glanced at Donald and then back to the woman.
"As much fun as it would be to see you take his head off, i have to say that he's fine. You can say most anything you want to in front of him." Red explained and Scarlet nodded. Donald moved over towards them. If he was allowed here, he might as well see what was going on.
"So, this chick, McCarthy, expects all of clients to come in pairs. Thing is both of the people there have to be guys."
"I'll take Dembe."
"She's racist. She nearly shot a black guy in the bar. That's why she can't come back." Scarlet stated. Reddington huffed.
"Too bad Newton is dead,"
"What happened to him anyway?" Scarlet asked. Red glanced at Donald and then at the blonde. "...Oh, that is unfortunate." She turned to Donald. "What about you?"
"What?" Donald asked. He crossed his arms and leaned back on the wall behind him. He glanced at Red and saw that he looked confused as well.
"Why don't you go with him? I'm sure McCarthy would like you. She's got a weird thing for tall guys." Scarlet explained. Donald shrugged.
"I guess I could. I don't know how much help I would be."
"Just stand there and look pretty." Scarlet stated. She picked up her purse. "I've got to go. Have you got everything you need?" She asked and Red nodded. "Ok, be good."
Red laughed and said, "I don't think I can pull that off." He stood and the two exchanged hugs. She patted him on the back before letting go.
"Just don't kill anybody."
"How long should this take?" Donald asked Reddington who was sitting in the car seat next to him. Red shrugged. "Well, what do we have to do? How do we need to act? What is this chick like?"
"Donald, there are a few things that we just have to play by ear." Red replied getting a bit tired of Donald's constant quizzing. "Just let me do the talking." He added and Donald nodded.
The car came to a halt in front of an old building. Donald bit his lower lip and furrowed his brow. They couldn't honestly be meeting in a place like this. It was run down and looked as though it would fall apart any second now. They got out and went up to the front door. Red knocked on the large wooden door. For a moment, Donald wondered if it would break or fall off the hinges.
The door opened slowly and revealed a small woman looking up at them. Both men were shocked by her appearance. Her black, with flecks of gray, hair was frizzed and pulled up into pigtails. Thick glasses made her eyes look bugged and crazy. She was frail, and her small hands were gnarled.
"Can I help you?" She asked in a small voice.
"I want to ask you what you know about a man named Herrick Lancaster." Raymond stated apparently unfazed by the woman's appearance. Donald on the other hand seemed taken aback by the small woman. He got an erie feeling from her.
"Who sent you?" She questioned as she squinted her owlish eyes.
"Scarlet Anderson, she works at a bar that you used to go to." Raymond answered. McCarthy seemed to be appeased by this. She opened the door and stepped aside for them to enter. Donald glanced at her as they crossed the threshold into the building. She was wearing a dress that made her look as if she wanted to be a five year old again. "I love what you've done with the place!"
"Thank you." McCarthy said and pushed her glasses back up to the top of her nose. Glancing around, Donald saw that the building was completely different on the inside. The room was lined with red carpeting. There was a bookshelf filled to the brim with novels of virtually every genre. He found it odd that the only furniture was two large arm chairs that faced each other. He guessed that when Scarlet told him to 'stand there and look pretty', she literally meant for him to stand.
"So, what do I need to pay you for this information?" Raymond asked as he looked down at the petite woman. She smiled up at him. They had to admit, she did have nice teeth. That still didn't counteract the fact that she looked like a demented school child with graying hair.
"There's no need to pay me, Mr..."
"Reddington." Raymond finished for her. "But you can call me Raymond or Red, if you would prefer that." Her grin grew as she looked at Donald.
"And what's your boyfriend's name?" She asked causing both men to freeze. Boyfriend? Where the hell did she get that ide-... That's why Raymond had to bring a man!
"This is Donald." Raymond said after the brief shock had worn off. He looked back at the still stunned FBI officer. "Come here Donald and let the woman get a good look at you." He instructed and Donald obeyed. When he was close enough, Red grabbed Donald's hand. McCarthy clasped her hands together like an excited school girl.
"What lovely names for a couple!" She said brightly. "You two have a seat and we'll get on with business." She added. The two men exchanged a quick glance as McCarthy took one of the seats.
"There's only one seat." Raymond stated. McCarthy gave him a small grin.
"You aren't afraid to sit in your boyfriend's lap are you?" She asked. Red looked shocked for a moment. Then, he and Donald moved over to the red chair. Donald sat down before Red sat in his lap. Donald made a small noise of discomfort and laughed to play it off when McCarthy gave him a strange look. He leaned forward and playfully kissed Red on the cheek.
"You're fucking heavy!" Donald hissed in Red's ear to where McCarthy couldn't hear. Red laughed and wrapped his arms around the other man's shoulders.
"Oh Donald, you're such a tease." He said and planted a kiss on Donald's lips. Donald refrained from jerking back from shock. Red moved his mouth over to his ear.
"Shut the hell up!" He hissed. "Every time you insult me, I'll kiss you, and neither of us want that."
"That's so nice." McCarthy stated. Donald gave a small chuckle.
"It's always nice when I've got my BIG man." Donald replied and clapped his hand on Raymond's belly. Red flinched and his gaze shot to the younger man. He was laughing, but Donald knew he was pissed. If someone's going to pull you into something like this, you might as well get a few fat jokes in.
"So, what do you need to know?" She asked and leaned back in her seat.
"I just need to know where I can find him. You see, he owes me for a service I provided." Raymond stated. She nodded and bit her lower lip.
"I'll have to make a quick call." She stated and picked up a small phone from a coffee table that sat in front of her. "It'll only take a minute."
"Please, take your time. We're in no rush." Raymond said with a smile. He shifted his position and laid his head against Donald's shoulder. Donald wound his arms around the shorter man's waist, and Red twitched. "I don't like people touching my sides." He whispered.
"Well, I like to be able to feel my legs. So, I guess we're both disappointed." Donald replied quietly while McCarthy chatted on her phone. Donald tightened his grip on the man slightly and felt him tense up.
"Move your arms." Red muttered and played with Donald's hair to make him uncomfortable. Instead of doing like Raymond wanted, Donald used his thumb to poke him in the side of the stomach.
"I'll move when it doesn't feel like a pregnant person is sitting on me." Donald hissed. Red glared at him before remembering his threat from earlier. He placed a hand on Donald's cheek before bringing their lips together. This kiss was longer than the last but was still over quickly. He really didn't want to kiss Donald but couldn't go back on what he said. "So, that's how you want to play this."
Red sucked in a deep breath as Donald leaned down and kissed his neck. McCarthy blushed, and Donald pulled away. Red's cheeks had a slight pink tinge to them. Donald smirked. He finally beat the bastard at his own game. At least that's what he thought. Red placed his hand at the back of Donald's neck and pulled him into another kiss.
McCarthy hung up after her call ended and stared wide eyed at the two men. She tilted her head and wondered when the two would come up for air. She'd never seen any of her clients go at it like this. She was certain that these two were actually gay men and not two people who were willing to fake it for information.
"E-excuse me." She said meekly and the two turned their heads to look at her. "He's in Paris. He said he was staying in a little bed and breakfast that was a few miles from the Eiffel Tower."
"Thank you." Raymond said. His voice sounded a bit lower than it had previously. He stood up and Donald swore he felt like his legs would never be the same again. He would have used this to mock Raymond if it hadn't been for the fact that halfway through that last kiss, both of them had forgotten it was just an act and a means for revenge.
"It was nice meeting you two." She said and led the two to the door. They exited and got in the car. She waved good bye and they returned the gesture. Then, the car pulled out onto the road. There was a long silence before Donald decided to break it.
"...S-So...breasts," he said as if that was enough.
"Yes, they're marvelous things." Raymond replied. He pulled down on the end of his vest to straighten out a wrinkle. "Scarlet has nice breasts."
"Yeah, she does."
"You know, she sings at the bar?"
"That's nice,"
"Apparently, when she runs late getting the show started, she flashes the crowd."
"...We really need to go see her sing."
"I'll set it up first thing in the mourning."
Author's note_
Ok, Scarlet is a character of mine. I'm going to have her as a main character in a book. I have none of it completed yet. I've got way too many story ideas :).
I used the name McCarthy because in history I always end up amused when they talk about Joseph McCarthy and his 'blacklist'. (in case you don't know, he was part of a 'red scare' where people were afraid of communism. He came up with a list of people. Most were people he was blackmailing. Now, if you accuse someone with no basis, it's called 'McCarthyism')
Last note. The reason why McCarthy doesn't do business with straight men and black people is because her husband cheated on her repeatedly with black women. Mostly, I needed a reason why Dembe couldn't go. So, I thought maybe her husband had some fetish or something.