So I got possibly the best review ever from a guest. Wish I could respond directly to you, wonderful human, but calling my writing some of the best in the Blacklist archive is...woah. Like dang. That was awesome. Thanks so much. I haven't pondered the Blacklist titles much (not like I scour the Phantom of the Opera ones. Haha that is my ultimate obsession by the way.) Thanks so much, Guest!

I don't have the exact transcript of the episode so some things are different. But it's alright.

You know how some people put playlists in the author's notes so you can listen to what they were listening to when they wrote the chapter? I've never actually followed along and done their playlist cause listening to music distracts me. But right now I've got An Alpine Symphony by Strauss plugged in (soon to be followed by Mahler's 2nd Symphony) and it's really beautiful so you should listen to it while you read. Or before. Or after. Just because it's a masterpiece.

An Honest Answer

"You really should invest in a vehicle that doesn't scream, 'I'm out to kill a CIA operative.' Now I realize big suburban muscle is what you go to for an illusion of safety, but you simply look up to no good emerging from a bunker in one of these."

Red was being chatty.

Wujing was sweating.

Security Bulk was driving with white knuckles.

And Elizabeth was trembling. Not instantly noticeable but enough for the person sitting next to her to be aware. She wanted to get out of the unmarked black vehicle right now and run back to the Post Office. Or home. All questions concerning Tom aside, collapsing in someone's arms and staring blankly at a wall sounded amazing. As soon as her feet hit the ground, anywhere away was safety and she'd get there as quickly as possible.

"Interesting how the FBI and those who work against them prefer similar means of transportation. Boxy, gas-guzzling oafs. Me, I'll take a simple Mercedes any day."

Elizabeth couldn't believe he was back to chit-chat with the men who had guns pointed at them minutes ago. If pursuing every name on his list ended up with them in similar circumstances, eventually she too might be able to provide small talk with murderers. Wouldn't that be something.

She began to notice a spot of warmth on the side of her leg. Without moving her head down, she peered along the edge of her eye and saw that Red was subtly pressing his knee toward hers. The shakes traveling throughout her body collided with the heat and a tiny amount of security lowered her heart rate. She clenched her teeth. He knew people too well; he knew how inexperienced agents might find physical contact relieving after seeing someone shot to death five feet away from them. She was sure there were blood spatters on her shoes.

But finding comfort in the person who had shot said man to death was not something she anticipated.

Her clenched teeth ground together and found remnants of that cool sensation she'd experience when addressing Wujing. Running home to Tom would have to wait. They needed to get out of here without suspicion first.

But they also needed to capture Wujing.

Dammit, if this scene didn't belong in a movie. She'd pay to see an actor relive the trauma before she did.

"Anywhere in the shade is fine," Red said, positioning his hat lower over his eyes, brushed his pants to remove microscopic debris, and picked at this cuff links. So this is what criminals did before stepping foot into the normal world: they preened. It almost made Elizabeth smile. His knee pressed more firmly against her leg. Perhaps he was just as anxious as she to get the hell out of here.

The agent casually brought a hand to her shoulder, mimicked rubbing a sore muscle, and removed the location transmitter. The car stopped and she found a new home for the sticky patch on the exterior.

Red followed and together they waited a few moments while Security Bulk maneuvered the suburban back into traffic. At the same time, when they could no longer read the retreating license plate, both she and Red exhaled. He turned and smiled at her. "Well done, Lizzie. Unfortunately I'm afraid Wujing is going to disappear into another hole."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." So he hadn't seen her clever trick. Later when the Chinese man was arrested, she could gloat. For now, she felt lightheaded and not at all like running to the Post Office. In fact she just wanted to sit down. She squatted down with her elbows on her knees and face in her hands.

Red placed a gentle hand on her bowed head and a soothing sensation flowed over her skull like warm water. "Do get up, Lizzie. I have an appointment with a manufacturer later to discuss some illicit activities and I'd rather keep my punctual reputation if you don't mind."

"I'm sure Mr. Manufacturer can wait five minutes."

He chuckled. "You'd be surprised how many deals are lost each day due to five minutes."

She looked up, still resting on her heels. "Why? Another buyer gets to them early? Increases their offer to ten percent above yours?"

"Actually, they tend to end up dead or arrested." He removed his hand and offered it to help her up. "Safe zones are only safe for a minute amount of time."

Red opened the door to the black Mercedes that approached a few steps away and indicated for her to get in. Elizabeth nervously inclined her head to Luli inside. As much as she knew about Red, she perhaps knew even less about his personal security detail. Luli extended a tiny smile to her sometimes and Dembe was just as courteous as Red when it came to opening doors. That's more than she got from Ressler or Malik, though Elizabeth wasn't sure what to think about that.

Red settled in beside her. "Go ahead, Luli." The car blended in with those around it, lost in plain sight. The driver handed back a file and Red began flipping through the pages.

"Luli will take us to where Dembe's waiting with another car. From there, he can take you wherever you need. I'm sure Cooper will want to have storytime immediately, but I highly recommend a massage first. You seem very tense-"

"You didn't have to kill him."

Elizabeth zoned in on his cheerful face which had quickly turned to quiet apprehension. He closed the file and with a glance out the window, replied. "I believe I will always do whatever I feel I have to do to keep you alive."

"Why me?" she asked with exasperation.

He opened his mouth to answer but Elizabeth caught one upturned corner of his lips and knew he was going to avoid the question.

"No. I held up my end of the deal. Now it's your turn. Give me an honest answer, Red. You owe me this. Why me? My life was turned upside down in a matter of hours when you showed up in your three piece suit and hat. I just had ten guns pointed at arteries guaranteed to quickly bleed out. Why did that just have to happen?"

"Oh now you're being dramatic! There were only seven and they were more tech rats than gunmen. They hardly know where an artery is, let alone how to hit one!"

"Red." Hearing his name spoke with such conviction caught his full attention. For a moment he looked like he wanted to devour the sound. "Why me?"

Red didn't look like he was struggling with the answer, but he chewed on it for a bit. How much could he reveal without actually letting anything go?

"Because of your father."

Her heart instantly feels heavy. "Did you know my father? Have the two of you met somehow?"

"I wish the answer were as simple as the question seems." Elizabeth sighed which prompted Red to add, "I share your frustration."

And that was it. She knew Red would say no more on the matter. Elizabeth leaned her head against the leather seat. There would be no use pushing Raymond Reddington. He told you what he wanted when he wanted and no sooner. Tight lips were his specialty. All of her energy drained, Elizabeth reset to default: profiling mode. It made her feel like a needle when she flicked the switch and it would be nice to not be the only one prickled today.

"You act like we're the same," she said, "You're wrong. I have a life, people who care about me. But you...this is all you have."

"I have you."

The words came out of Red's mouth with little thought, as if he'd been waiting to speak them for years. And perhaps he had. The three words moved through her skin and gave her heart a small pinch. Elizabeth's mouth went dry.

And what could she say to that?

The car stopped but Red's eyes never strayed from her face. What did he want? Her fingernails dug into the seat leather for lack of something to do with the jolt in her body.

Elizabeth opened the door and took one last look at his still immovable expression. She couldn't understand the tight corners of his mouth, or the somewhat eager gleam in his eyes, or the way his upper body inched in her direction as she back out. Elizabeth didn't understand any of it.

So she left.

As always, there's the little box below to share thoughts. I'm about to take this next chapter into a non-episode related direction.