Things were no less fraught in the car as Dembe piloted them swiftly away from the warehouse. Reddington pressed Aram's hands firmly onto her side to try and staunch the bleeding, while he made a phone call. After a hurried conversation, he leaned over and gave Dembe an address before turning his attentions back to her while the car made its way rapidly through the streets.
"Stay with me Lizzie, there's a good girl! Come on, stay with me. Lizzie!" Reddington's voice grew more insistent as she slipped in and out of consciousness. Dembe kept reassuring his friend that they would arrive soon, but it didn't stop the subtle note of panic that crept into his voice.
"I'm sorry Mr Reddington, but shouldn't we be taking Agent Keen to a hospital?" Aram was still putting pressure on her torso, his expensive designer jacket balled up in his hands to help.
"Absolutely not. We can't guarantee Elizabeth's safety in a public institution. My people can provide her with exceptional medical care and guarantee her safety."
After a few minutes the car pulled up outside a boxing gym and she was carried inside on a gurney by medical personnel. Aram found himself being ushered inside too, and he marvelled at the sight – an entire operating suite had been set up where the ring would be, sealed off by large sheets of plastic. Surgeons were already getting prepped and scrubbed whilst an anaesthetist was tending to her.
"Raymond, what happened to her?" A short, strict-looking woman, who Aram didn't recognise, walked straight up to them, concern etched into her face. He wondered if this was the Mr Kaplan that Agent Keen had mentioned in the past.
"I have some ideas Kate, but I can't be certain right now." Mr Kaplan nodded before going to talk with one of the nurses.
xxxxx
After calling Agent Cooper with Reddington's blessing, Aram settled in to wait while the doctors did their work. He must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing he knew there were voices, quiet but excited, coming from an office on the other side of the operating theatre. He stood up, easing a crick in his neck, and edged closer.
"For goodness sakes Raymond, I have been looking after that poor child since she was a babe in arms." Mr Kaplan's voice was hard and unrelenting, and even Aram could tell that this was a fight that Reddington was unlikely to win.
"Fine, but I insist on doing as much as is appropriate. It's imperative that she learns to trust me, and I suspect that you'll have trouble getting her to cooperate without my assistance."
Aram made his way back to his chair, trying to make sense of what he'd heard, but he didn't have long to think as Harold Cooper strode commandingly into the room, leaning heavily on his walking stick.
"Agent Mojtabai," Cooper's voice echoed around the gym, making several nurses jump. "Where is she?"
"She's still in surgery, sir. I, erm, I don't know how long they're going to be."
"Harold!" Reddington's voice boomed even louder than the Assistant Director's. Aram was beginning to get a headache. "Thank you for coming. Elizabeth is in the capable hands of my surgical staff right now, I'm sure we'll be getting an update shortly, but in the meantime, we have much to discuss." He ushered Cooper into the office and shut the door.
xxxxx
"Are you sure that this is the best plan Red?" Scepticism was etched into every line on Cooper's face.
"Absolutely sure. Until we can be certain who did this to Elizabeth then there's a very real chance that she could still be in danger. Plus, I'm afraid that the people behind the Selling Room might be interested in regaining the commission that they lost from selling her."
"We can help you to look after her and keep her safe."
"I've no doubt, Harold, but with everything she's been through, I believe that it is best to limit her contact to only a couple of people, at least to begin with. I will, of course, provide you with regular updates, and you will be allowed to see her as soon as she is up for company."
Cooper opened his mouth to say something else but was cut off a knock at the door. Before either man could say anything, the door opened and Mr Kaplan marched in, followed closely by the surgeon and Agent Mojtabai. The doctor was the first to speak.
"She's out of surgery and doing well. Her injuries were relatively superficial, although her lack of body fat meant that she's sustained more damage than she ought to have, which has taken us a while to fix. But she'll be awake within the hour and she should be back on her feet in the next couple of weeks, with some care."
"How is she otherwise?" Aram surprised the others by speaking up first.
"Well, she's very malnourished, and severely lacking in vitamin D, but otherwise she's in fair health. There's no obvious sign of other recent injury or illness that we could see, although she suffered from some broken ribs a few months ago that seem to have healed nicely."
"Good, thank you my friend." Reddington slung his arm around the surgeon's shoulders, leading him out of the room, Mr Kaplan on their heels.
xxxxx
An hour or so later a nurse came out and announced that she was awake and could be talked to. Something on her face concerned Reddington, and he pressed her for more information.
"Well, Agent Keen has to be in considerable pain right now, and she's not talking much, but she's refusing all pain relief." She paused briefly, considering her words. "Refusing is wrong, it's more like she politely declines. If she was showing any emotion, then I'd think she was scared, but, erm, well I suppose you'll see for yourself." With that the nurse hurriedly excused herself and the three men headed into the makeshift recovery suite.
Cooper had to work hard not to gasp audibly at what he saw. Before she was taken, he would have described Agent Keen as a force of nature, but now she looked tiny and fragile in the hospital bed. It wasn't just her skeletal appearance that was making her seem so diminished, something in her demeanour, in her clasped hands and downcast eyes, made her seem so much less than the woman he had last seen.
"How are you feeling?" Reddington's voice as he sat down next to the bed, was gentle, as though trying not to startle a wild animal.
"Good thank you, sir." her thin, weak reply brought tears to Aram's eyes. He couldn't cope with the note of obsequience in her words, and he ducked out of the room.
"Let him go" Reddington instructed as Cooper turned to follow. "He's been through enough tonight, we should give him his space." He turned back to the bed.
"Lizzie, look at me" he continued, but blinked in mild surprise when she didn't respond. He touched her hand instead, deciding to try a different approach. "What do you remember, my dear?"
"Sir?" The question was fearful, as though she expected to be punished for not understanding.
"Do you remember your name?"
"Nothing, sir." This time she was still quiet but sounded more certain. Red picked up her hand and kissed it very gently before leaning his head down onto it and sighed.
He only lifted his head again when a nurse came in a shooed them both out so that she could rest.
xxxxx
When Aram returned to the gym the next morning it was completely empty of medical equipment or personnel. Cooper seemed unsurprised when he reported this, reassuring the technician that she was perfectly safe, but implying that they may not see her for a while.