Liz drove them to an apartment building. They found the apartment easily. Red went in first followed by Liz then Haylie close behind. "Look through everything," Red instructed, starting with a pile of mail.
Haylie looked through the drawers in the kitchen and watched Red and Liz banter back and forth. This has been really good for her. Haylie almost felt bad for being there but apparently Red had always intended her to be.
"Somethings up with the vent," Liz said, looking up toward the ceiling. Red stepped up on a chair and opened it to see a box. He pulled it out while Liz beamed. "Hey Liz, you're pretty damn good at this stuff," Haylie commented.
Red handed the box off to Liz as he stepped down. Haylie saw some black SUV's coming down the street. "Hey, we gotta get out of here. The FBI has found us," Haylie said, her tone conveying the urgency.
Red nodded as he grabbed his coat and the three made their way out the back moments before Ressler and Navabi showed up.
"We need to ditch this car," Haylie said as they drove away casually so they wouldn't raise suspicion.
Red waved off her concern as he drove, "They don't know they're right behind just yet, take a breath."
Liz dug through the box until she found something of interest. "Here's an address. It looks like an old farm. Should we go?"
Haylie shook her head, "I think we should scrap this plan and get out of here." Red looked back at her through the rearview mirror placing his finger to his lips.
Red drove them to the location which was guarded by a keypad. "Now we know something is up," Liz noted, "But, this could be thousands of combinations."
Haylie watched as Red bent down to scoop sawdust into his hand, "What are you doing?" she asked with a smile. Haylie enjoyed watching him work.
Red blew the sawdust softly toward the keypad and it stuck to four of the numbers, "We're down to 24 possible combinations," he stated as he began pushing numbers until the door opened.
They walked in to discover multiple dead bodies. Haylie knelt down to look over one of them, "They've all been shot. Do we think Matchett had a different plan?" she asked, standing back up.
Red nodded, looking through the room for something. There was a door with stairs going down to somewhere, "Guns ready," Haylie advised as she went to go first. She felt Red gently grasper her shoulder stopping her so he could get ahead. "I'll go first, dear."
There was no one inside but what they did find was a small lab with one computer. Liz jumped on, sticking in a usb to move the files. "Look, there's a security camera of outside. Oh no," Haylie said, her tone dropping causing Red to look up.
"How long on those files?" Red asked, keeping his voice calm.
Liz looked up, her face showing panic, "This is a huge file. We don't have enough time," she said.
Red looked back at her from his post of watching the lab entrance, his face stone like, "We have enough. Haylie please go get the car started. We'll be right behind you."
Haylie didn't question him as she snuck out the back and cranked the car. Red wasn't lying, they came out and jumped in moments later. "Drive," he instructed calmly.
Haylie put the car in drive and got onto the main road until Red told her to pull off at a bar, "Don't you think we should go farther?"
Red shook his head, "We need to get a new car and both of you need a minute to regroup," he explained as she parked.
They got out and sat down in a booth, ordering coffee, "We need help to read this data. We only got about 90%," Liz said as she took a sip of her coffee.
Haylie nodded, "We need Aram. Can we send it to him, somehow?"
Red shook his head, "No. I want to know how Ressler was able to find us so quickly," he mused.
Liz answered without hesitation, "I called him. I know he wants to clear my name and I wanted to tell him the only way to do that is by leaving us alone."
Red sat back, his face showing a hint of aggravation, "You won't survive life on the run if you depend on the goodness of people," he stated.
Haylie looked at the wall, awkwardly. Liz didn't flinch, "I am going to the restroom. Meet me outside," she said, not even taking in what Red said.
Red looked down at his coffee as he pulled out cash to leave. Haylie placed her hand on top of his, "You can't expect her or even me to just know what we can and can't do. This is all new. I wouldn't have called Ressler but you know Liz still wants her old life back."
Red shook his head as he stood to leave. Haylie stood up in front of him as she saw a man get up with a gun pointed at her.
"Get out of the way," Red whispered, placing his hands on her upper arms. Haylie shook her head, "My job is still to protect you. Plus, I doubt he'll shoot a pregnant woman.
"Agent Storm, please move out of the way. My business is with Raymond Reddington," the gunman stated.
"How do you know who I am?" Haylie asked as her name hadn't been released.
Before the man could reply, Liz showed up behind him, her gun raised, "Drop your weapon," she yelled.
Reddington moved Haylie over gently out from in front of him, "I'm sure you're here because someone wants me dead but their score will need to be settled a different day. Now, lower your gun," he ordered his voice even. Haylie would never get over how calm Red could be with a gun pointing at him.
The man looked as if he was going to but instead turned to shoot Liz but she got him first. "Call 911, we need to go," Red instructed, noticing as they suddenly had everyone's attention.
Liz shook her head, "We're in the middle of nowhere. He'll die if he waits on an ambulance. I'm not leaving him here to die."
Red sighed, "Look through his pockets." Haylie watched as Red and Liz started going through the man's pockets until they pulled out his keys. "We have to carry him to the car," he instructed, lifting the man's feet, "Haylie be a dear and get the doors," he finished as he tossed her the keys.
They pulled up at a hospital and got him help before racing away across Iowa. "You two go get two hotel rooms, adjoining if possible," he said as he dropped them off at a Days Inn. "Pay in cash. I have an errand to run and I'll be back."
A/N: Sorry for the extra day's wait. But here's piece two of three for this week. The last will be a short, quiet chapter. Please R&R. Will Haylie ever let Red take care of her?
