Part Three.

Shouts echoed as the glass poured in. Liz hit the floor as bullets flew all around her. Her eyes caught Tom's and she scooted forward, keeping her head low, and pulled the tape from his lips. "You okay?"

"Liz, I didn't-"

"I know." He blinked at her and she felt a little satisfaction well up inside of her. Well, at least she could still surprise him.

"Then why the hell are you here?"

Satisfaction was instantly replaced with irritation. "I knew something was off, so I mentioned it to Mr Kaplan for her opinion on the way out. You never text, but that doesn't mean that if that were the only way to get the message out that you wouldn't."

A small smile perked his lips and Liz recognized it. It was the same one that he had always given her when he told her how proud he was of her and how clever she was. She mentally filed that one away under real. "We need to get out of here."

He nodded and motioned to where his hands were tied behind his back at what looked like a painful angle. Liz caught sight of one the armed guards that seemed to have remembered them in the flurry of the firefight and she pulled her weapon up, a single shot taking him to the ground. Without missing a beat she had a pocket knife out and was working through the tape that secured his wrists.

Tom was up in a flash, sweeping a leg out at another oncoming assailant and Liz got another shot off. She forgot how quickly he moved, even favoring one leg as he did so. Joining the fight drew attention, but it would have come anyway, and she needed to keep focused. She spotted Dembe - a surprise, as he had barely left his boss' side since the shooting - at the door and felt relief was through her. To say that she had sought Mr Kaplan's advice might have been a stretch. The older woman had stopped her in the doorway and had asked some very pointed questions. Liz had begged her not to tell Red what was happening, because the idiot might try to pull himself out of bed and follow her. Hopefully she still hadn't, but Dembe's presence might have been the compromise made. She just needed to make sure that they got Tom out as well.

She spun around, a hand grabbing her wrist and the gun went off, sending the bullet flying at the ceiling. On instinct she swung out with her free hand, but the man that had grabbed her was twice her size. She had gotten better at hand to hand out of necessity, but that didn't change the sometimes-disadvantage her size lent to her. It also didn't help when she was pulled around and a gun put to her temple.

"Jacob," a man next to her own captor called out and Tom jerked around, stolen gun drawn and aimed, and eyes darker than Liz was comfortable with. This was the cold, calculating operative that could put his enemies down without blinking. She wouldn't admit it, but that man terrified her. He was the one that killed and maimed and lied. He was the one that put his job above all else. In that moment, she realized her mind had been separating this man from Tom. He wasn't separate, though. Tom could be just as cold as Jacob could be gentle. There were just many more layers than she had ever thought there could be to the man that she loved.

As soon as he saw the gun pressed to her head his expression shifted, and he carefully loosened his grip on his weapon. Slowly he raised his hands. "Bud, this is between you and me. She's not apart of this."

"She's the root of it," the man that must have been the handler he had spoken of snapped. "Put it down, Jacob. It's over."

"You'll let her go?"

"Tom, don't-" Liz tried, and the thug holding her tightened his grip. She hated feeling helpless. Hated the fact that they were using her to get to him.

"It's okay, Liz. It'll be okay," he promised softly, and she couldn't help but feel that their places were being switched from that terrible incident with Zamani that seemed like a lifetime ago. Tom's gaze flickered to her and held there for half a moment before returning to his former boss. "Bud, it's me. I'll go with you now. Just let Reddington's men take her. You don't want to dig yourself any deeper with him, right?"

Liz could feel the man's eyes on her, sizing her up and estimating her value. "Such a troublemaker," he grumbled, grabbing her chin in his hand and pulling her so that she was looking at him. "You cost me a lot of money, missy. He was my best."

There was something unnerving in his gaze. She didn't understand it, but if they made it out of this alive, she would have to ask Tom for the whole story. "Go to hell," she snapped back and he chuckled.

"Well, at least she has spunk," he chuckled and motioned over to Dembe. The Alliance was already melting away into the shadows. "Reddington wants the girl? Fine. I get Jacob, and Reddington and I are even, got it?"

"Dembe, I'm not leaving him," Liz snapped, pulling hard against her captor, completely ignoring the guns now.

"Yes you are," Tom said from his place, and she watched him turn directly to Dembe. "Get her out of here. Your boss sent you to keep her safe. Do it."

"Well isn't that sweet?" the white haired man chuckled sarcastically. "Take him. As always, Dembe, tell Reddington it's nice doing business with him."

"No!" Liz screamed as she was passed over and Dembe took a gentle but firm grip on her arm. Her vision blurred as she struggled to reach out to Tom, who was already being manhandled to leave.

"Hey, give me a second," he growled, batting the hands away as if they wouldn't shoot him at the first opportunity. "You've got what you want, Bud. Give me just a second."

The Major snorted. "She really got to you, kid," he snarled, but Tom was allowed to step forward, guns trained on him.

Liz risked a look up at Dembe who looked torn, but determined. Her safety was his priority, but she'd be damned if she left Tom to the wolves after all of this. When she turned back around her ex was standing right in front of her, bruised and beaten and he looked so damned tired in that moment. He lifted a hand to the side of her face, thumb brushing at the tears that escaped. "Hey, don't cry," he whispered. "You've been telling me to go. I'm going. You're going to get your life back."

"Not like this." A short sob broke loose and Liz shook her head. "I'll come for you. I promise."

He seemed to try for a smile. "Don't, Lizzy. I'll be dead and you'll get hurt. Not worth it." Without warning he leaned forward and Liz's eyes drifted closed as he kissed her. She didn't want to lose him again. She couldn't lose anyone else. "Cooper's compromised," he whispered as the broke, so soft that even she had trouble hearing it. "I do love you. Goodbye, Liz." He looked past her. "Get her out safe, Dembe."

"No," she managed as the taller man began to pull her away. "Tom? Tom!"

"Agent Keen, we must go," Dembe said, pulling her towards the door.

The gunfire had ceased and they were leaving without a scratch, but as she watched Tom being led the other way she couldn't crush the feeling of defeat.

"Twenty years I've taken care of you," Bud growled as Tom was shoved into a seat, hands bound once more, and they pulled his ankles together to tie them as well. His knee protested at the movement, but he didn't dare flinch as his mentor continued. "I raised you, kid. Took you off the streets where you would have died or landed yourself in juvie. Did I hand you back to social services when you caused trouble? No, because I have been the one person in your life that you could trust." He was in his face now, irritated and angry. "Then the girl. Jacob, you're smarter than that. How many times are you going to take the fall for her?"

"I'm guessing this is the last one, huh?" he answered calmly and Bud snorted.

"Damn right. I would have just put a bullet in your head if you hadn't screwed me with the Germans. Now you're an example."

"Not just a dog to put down?" he growled back.

The fist to his jaw snapped his head around and he turned a glare back on the man that was the closest thing to family that he'd known until Liz. He was going to die there that day, he knew that. He'd gotten emotionally involved and he was going to pay the price there.

Bud stepped back and the blows came down in full. One captor picked him up by the collar, shoving him hard against the wall of the small room, the back of his head bouncing and his vision swimming dangerously.

"You've lost it all now. Was she worth it, Jacob?"

Tom's fingers were working desperately at the tape around his wrists. He had worked it looser while Bud had been talking, but hadn't gotten free yet. He thought he was safe with his guards on hand, both bigger and broader than Tom, but if he could get his mobility back, he could get the upper hand. Finally, one hand slipped free and a smirk broke out across his face. "Yeah, she is," he answered and whipped around, slamming his now-free hand into the nearest man's nose, his palm forcing it upward and sending him tumbling back.

He dropped to the floor, narrowly missing a blow by the other man, and kicked out with his still-bound feet. He didn't hear the satisfying snap of bones breaking, but he did send the man falling back, clutching at his shin and howling in pain. Tom's fingers went immediately to the tape, finding the edge of it and starting to unravel it. It was a race against time before Bud drew his weapon, and he had just gotten it started when he had to fling himself out of the way to avoid the bullet aimed at him.

His feet were coming free as his first attacker came at him again, the second hot on his heels. Tom was up again, using the confined space of the room to his advantage. He slammed the first man on around, using his momentum to drive him into the wall and found himself launched across the room by the other. He hit hard, the breath knocked out of him as he slumped the floor. He didn't pop immediately to his feet, though, but waited, letting his eyes lull a little as the other man trudged forward. Let them underestimate him. Bud should know better.

A hand closed around his collar and he was lifted up and nearly off his feet. Bud must have seen him because he gave a shout, but it wasn't fast enough. A knee to the other man's gut loosed his grip, and a well placed hit to the throat left him wheezing for breath, but it was Bud's own bullet that killed the larger man. He should have known better than to take the shot with Tom and his other operative so close. The smaller man shoved the body back towards his former handler, throwing Bud off as he moved almost in sync with it, tugging the gun down as it went off again, the bullet burying itself into the floor. He slammed the older man's hand so hard against the wall behind them that he was forced to let go of the weapon. "Guess you taught me too well, Bud," he snarled. For the first time since he'd made the deal for Liz's safety, he thought he might just get a chance to walk away from this.

"Just don't forget who taught you," the Major answered calmly and Tom understood the warning too late. He had pinned Bud's right hand to the wall, the gun dropped to the floor, but he'd pulled a knife out with his left quicker than his protégé had followed and buried it deeply between two ribs. If Tom hadn't watched him do it, he might not have noticed with the amount of adrenaline pumping through his system, but as Bud ripped it back out again, he loosed a struggling cough and his bad knee gave under him, sending him tumbling to the floor.

Bud bent and took hold of the fallen gun. "It's a shame to lose you, Jacob. It really is. A man with your level of talent only comes through every great once and awhile. I probably won't live to see another." He nudged the younger man with his boot until a soft groan escaped him. "But I'm not done in yet. I need to know what you told them, kid. I need to know what the FBI knows about my school."

"Go to hell, Bud," Tom gasped, his lungs burning with the effort. He couldn't breathe and he could feel the blood soaking through his the dress shirt.

"I'll meet you there later, but first you're going to give me what I want."

"Or what?" the injured man chuckled breathlessly.

"I'll make you wish you were dead."

"You've got to be kidding me," Ressler half groused, half yelled. He looked flustered, but Liz didn't care. He'd get over it.

"I'm not asking you to agree with what's happened. I know you don't, but-"

"Do you really think that Director Cooper would be working for people like this?" Aram asked in a small voice.

Liz felt herself deflate. "Tom didn't say he was working for them. He said he was compromised."

"I want you to listen to yourself. Tom said," Ressler bit out. "Can you hear yourself, Keen? This is the man that lied to you for your entire marriage. Why the hell would you trust him now?"

"If he thought he was going to die anyway, what did he have to lose?" Samar pointed out. "Compromised doesn't mean that Director Cooper is necessarily working against us. Without Tom, I'm not sure we can know what he meant."

"Thank you," Liz said, but Ressler rolled his eyes.

"Don't encourage this. You don't know him like we do."

"You don't know him at all," Liz snapped. "I'm not saying Tom doesn't have serious issues with the truth, but he's gone out of his way to help in something that he knew could put him in danger. For me. You don't have to help me, but get the hell out of my way!"

"Lizzy."

Liz spun, blinking at Reddington who was standing precariously in the doorway of the warehouse-turned-hospital. She swallowed hard. He still looked ill, and now he looked distraught on top of that. She couldn't let him talk her out of it though. Regardless of how she did or did not feel about her ex husband, she couldn't leave him to die.

Red gave a short chuckle, his voice raspy from the cough that lingered from his injuries. "You do have Sam's determination. There was no telling him no when he set his mind to it."

"You're not going to lecture me too?"

"No. That would prove pointless. I'm going to provide you with everything I know about the situation so that you don't go in blind and get yourself killed."

She stared at him like he's gone crazy. "You're... What?"

"And we're not letting you walk in there alone," Samar stated firmly, elbowing Ressler in the ribs.

"I wasn't going to let her anyway. I just want it on the record that this could be one of the stupider things she's done," he said pointedly.

"This isn't on the record," Liz stressed. "Not until Tom can tell us what he's learned and we know who we can trust. I'm not asking you guys to come."

"You don't have to. We're a team," Aram said and handed her a box. "I have everything I need to guide you guys in. Mr Reddington has already given me the specs to the place."

"When?"

"When you were off trying to do this in your own," Reddington groused. "Now, Lizzy, I do have a request."

There it was. She knew there was a catch.

"You go into this knowing that he is likely already dead. Bill doesn't let things like betrayal go, no matter how close they were. He likely put a bullet in his head before they left the building earlier. If you know that and still feel the need to put your team in danger, well then, there's no stopping you."

"He risked his life to get this information to us."

"And he knew the risks, Lizzy. If Tom does truly still care about you, this is the last thing he will want."

Liz frowned deeply. "It's not always about what he wants."

"Very well. Be careful, Lizzy."

"I'll be back for that chat," she promised and he nodded.

"I'm counting on it."

Ice water crashed down on him, dragging him back towards consciousness. He coughed and sputtered against it, instantly regretting the movement as his pain burned through his side. He wasn't sure how long he had been out this time, but it seemed like a good sign that he hadn't bled out yet. Or a bad one. He was pretty sure that he was still in whatever hole that the Major had dumped him in, convinced that he had something of value before he put him down.

Like a dog. That had been the reference he had used when he'd picked him up under the pretense of saving him. He had been desperate and the man that had been the only steady, reliable person in his life had swooped in. He hadn't seen it coming, and for someone of his profession, that was dangerous.

"Welcome back, kid," Bud's voice drifted into his ear. "You remember the question?"

"Doesn't matter. You know I'm not going to tell you a damn thing."

"Funny, because you've developed a loose tongue lately. I'd think you'd show at least a little loyalty in the end."

"Loyalty?" Tom snorted, shifting in his place to try to get a better look at his surroundings. "Like you showed me?"

"I showed you more loyalty than that bitch did. You've given her everything, and for what?" He reached for him, pulling him roughly forward and Tom bit back a cry of pain. "Where has it gotten you, Jacob? She's cost you everything."

"What do you want, Bud? You want me to grovel? Good luck with that. You better shoot me and be done with it, because you're not going to survive round two if we go at it." He was wheezing by the end of the threat, pulling in shuddering, painful breaths.

"You're either very lucky or very unlucky, kid. That knife only nicked your lung. You've got some time yet."

"I'm only alive as long as you think I have use," the burnt operative managed, wincing at the tightness in his chest. The wound itself was the real danger, but if it did come down to another fight, he wasn't going to get very far.

"I'll make it quick if you tell me what you've told her."

Tom snorted and it quickly turned into a cough. Bud let go of the front of his shirt and he fell back, struggling to get control of his breathing. It took a moment and he could feel the world swimming around him again, blood in the back of his throat. Unlucky, he thought. Increasingly unlucky.

The door opened and Bud looked up, eyes narrowing at the intrusion. "Sir, they found us."

"They?"

"The FBI, sir."

Bud turned a surprised look on Tom who just smirked. "We'll keep coming back for each other, even when the other says not to. That's loyalty." He knew that wherever they were wasn't well guarded. Bud never kept many of his recruits around him at once. As long as she hadn't come alone, she had a chance at finding him. He could see her again, and as much as he knew he should probably be upset with her for putting herself in danger again, at least there was that. Liz was going to do what she was going to do regardless. There had never been any stopping her. It was one of the things he loved about her.

"Son of a bitch," Bud growled and a shot went off, taking the messenger down. "How the hell did they find this place?"

The door was kicked open and Liz was there, rage almost visible around her. "Don't move. Drop your weapon."

"You're too late."

If he was moving the gun to fire or not, Tom had no idea. His vision was blurred by pain and naturally poor sight without his contacts in, but the two shots fired back to back were deafening and he saw Bud stumble back. The gun dropped and he slumped. Liz was a damn good shot.

"Tom?" He felt hands brush across his forehead and a hiss of pain escaped him as that same hand moved to try to put pressure on his side. "Tom, can you hear me? Babe, look at me."

He blinked hard, struggling to focus. She had called him babe. That nickname, once so common between them, hadn't been used in far too long. He swallowed, finding it hard to do, and a cough bubbled up instead. "'m okay," he managed after a moment and lifted a trembling hand to her face. There was blood there. Someone had hurt her in her fight to get to him.

"No you're not, you idiot," she sniffed and looked up. "We're in here!"

Tom winced as his head pounded. "I will be," he promised softly, trying to will himself to stay awake. It was getting harder and harder to pull in enough air to satisfy his body. He felt like he was sinking, slipping under crashing waves, and for one terrible moment he remembered that he didn't know how to swim.

"I know," she answered and leaned down, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Help's coming. It'll be okay."

He smiled. She had him. He wasn't going to drown. "Love you, Lizzy."

She called his name, but her voice was fading as he slipped beneath the waves. It was okay, though, because she had hold of his hand, and Liz would never let him drown.

TBC

Notes: One more chapter to go!

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