Author's Note: Thank you sooo much to all the people who have left reviews- I can't even put into words how much I appreciate them. None of this is mine.

Chapter 8

*3 weeks later*

Liz rolls out of bed at the sound of her alarm with a groan. It has been 3 weeks since Red had gone to get his revenge, 3 weeks since he had stood in this very hotel room and kissed her goodbye.

Liz wouldn't have stayed at the hotel- she wasn't that desperate, but it turned out Red had paid for it about 3 months in advance, so Liz decided to put it to good use. The hotel room had slowly transformed into hers while he was gone, Chinese takeout filling the fridge and her clothes hanging besides the suits Red had left behind in the dresser.

Liz showers and then goes into the kitchen where the file Aram had given her is still laying there from the first time she had opened them. It is yet another thing she will have to talk about with Red when he returns.

Liz sighs; she hadn't thought that Red would take this long. Now that she thinks about it, she had never actually asked him how long he was going to be gone for. She didn't want to know the answer.

Liz worries about him every day, and every night she's had nightmares about him. When she wakes up screaming in the middle of the night, there is no one there to comfort her, to tell her that everything is going to be okay.

On her weakest nights, she would get out of bed and walk on trembling legs to the music box Red had made her. She would listen to the soft music and let it comfort her until she was ready to go back to sleep. At first this had worked, but it seemed that the longer Red was gone, the worse the nightmares got.

Liz finishes getting ready and then drives to the post office. Progress has been nearly non-existent, and everyone is frustrated. Everyone except for Liz that is, but she pretends to be frustrated so she has an excuse to be in a bad mood, when really she is just missing Red.

Halfway across the world, Red is missing Liz just as much. He is close to his targets- he now knows who they are and where they are. What he doesn't know is who they work for. He has people following them right now, giving him his first break from hiking through jungles and attending business meetings with dangerous criminals who wouldn't think twice about killing him.

Now that Red has nothing to do, he finds himself missing Liz even more than he had the last 3 weeks. Red hadn't thought that was possible, but apparently he was wrong.

Red sighs, just wanting to get this trip over with so he could return to his Lizzy. His phone rings, and he answers immediately. He hears the familiar voice of Mr. Kaplan, "We found him."

She doesn't have to say anything more; Red is already off the couch and grabbing his pistol as he walks out the door. Dembe pulls up with perfect timing and Red gets in, hanging up on Mr. Kaplan.

"Who is it?" Red asks him as he speeds away.

Dembe gives him an apprehensive look.

"Who is it?" Red repeats, his suspicion growing.

"It's the husband," Dembe says quietly.

Red knows immediately who he is referring to. He swears under his breath. To Dembe he says, "I thought he was working for Berlin."

"Apparently he found a new employer."

Red is furious. He knows he should have killed Tom while he had the chance. Tom knows too much, not just about him but also about Lizzy. The only reason Red had let him go was to try to protect Lizzy- he didn't want to kill someone else she loved, not after Sam. Even if she hadn't loved the real Tom, Red knew she would never approve of him killing him in cold blood. He now wishes he had gone with his gut instinct on the matter.

Red and Dembe are currently in a small city in South Africa. Jack had tracked down the suspects in a day as promised, and had led them here. Red had never been a fan of South Africa- too many corrupt politicians and giant corporations made life hell for everyone else. It seems fitting that Tom would set up business here.

Dembe speeds to their destination, while telling Red that the 6 people who had killed his men had gone into a public office to meet with Tom and hadn't left yet. Red feels the anger building in him, but keeps it under control. Tom is an experienced agent; Red is certain he'll have a trick up his sleep.

If this case wasn't so personal, Red would have realized that this all seemed too easy. It had taken a day to track down the killers, another day to start following them, and only another week before they had led them Tom. In Raymond Reddington's world plans never went so smoothly.

Ten minutes later Red and Dembe pull up in front of the office. Red's men are watching the building as they wait for orders. Once all the exits are covered, Red pulls out his gun. It is time to get that son of a bitch and make him pay, Red thinks to himself.

With a hand signal, Red, Dembe, and two other agents pull on gas masks enter through the four doors. Smoke grenades cloud the air and cause the smoke alarm to go off. Red moves forward. Business men are running around in confusion, desperately trying to find the exits as smoke fills their eyes and lungs. Someone screams. Red ignores it all and moves towards the office where they determined Tom was meeting with the 6 killers.

He reaches the door and his 3 men converge behind him. He glances at them, making sure they are all okay and then kicks the door in. The room is already filled with smoke, and Red steps in with his gun up and ready. The smoke clears slightly and Red's heart drops- the room is empty. Something's wrong he thinks to himself, alarmed.

He's in the process of turning around to tell his people to retreat when the bomb goes off. The wall next to Red explodes, sending him flying across the room. His head hits the wall and he crumples to the ground, blacking out for a few seconds.

When he opens his eyes the world is spinning at an alarming rate. He squeezes them shut, and then opens them. The world clears. He wishes he had kept them shut. Two of his people had been standing nearly against the wall when the blast hit. They were completely gone, replaced by a few chunks of scorched flesh and bone. Dembe is laying a few feet away from Red. He can't see what shape he is in, but he isn't moving.

The wall where the bomb went off is gone and the rubble is burning slowly. Red can hear muffled screaming and shooting through the ringing in his ears. He tries to get up, but his body refuses to cooperate. All Red can do is lay there.

He accepts his fate and closes his eyes. His thoughts first go to his wife and daughter. He wishes he could have learned the truth about that day, but he knows that they are both alive and will probably do better without him.

His thoughts then go to the man lying beside him, his most loyal and faithful companion. Red can only hope that Dembe will somehow get out of this alive. That he will get out of this alive, and then use the money Red has left him to make a new life for himself- a better life. He can get a normal job, a job that doesn't give you nightmares that make you dread falling asleep every night. Then he can get a family. He can be happy, which is what Dembe deserves. He deserves a happily ever after.

Red's last thoughts go to Liz. His Lizzy. She will be sad at first. She will be sad and angry at Red for leaving her alone in the world. She will cry and feel hopeless. It will feel like the end of the world. But then, slowly, she will learn to move on. She'll get up every day and live with the daily toil and every day it will get a little easier. She will move on from him, until Raymond Reddington is just a distant memory. She will find a husband, who will be able to treat her better than Red could ever dream of doing. She deserves a husband that makes her happy, not a criminal who makes her cry. She will get her happily ever after too.

Just as Red has made his peace with the world, he feels someone kick his stomach. He opens his eyes in shock and receives another blow. He doubles over in pain, this time his body following his commands. He looks up to see Tom with a twisted smile on his face. He leans over to spit in Red's face.

"The great and mighty Raymond Reddington, lying on the ground doubled over in pain. I never thought I would see this day," he sneers with a triumphant laugh. His people laugh with him, only 4 of them seem to remain. Red wonders how many of his people they had taken out. He stays silent, not even bothering to rise to the bait.

"What- did the cat get your tongue, Reddington? That's okay because I have plenty to say. You know the men you had out there? They're all dead. You lead them all to their deaths. All because you were blinded by your revenge. You are losing your touch. Your business is crumbling. You will be taken out. And I promise to you, when the time comes to take you out I will be the one to do it. But first, you get to watch your entire empire crumble beneath you."

"I will kill every last person you care for or have cared for, and I'll save Liz for last. By the time I'm done with you you'll be begging for me to put you out of your misery. I'm going to make you suffer." Red keeps his face blank as Tom rants. Tom's voice is filled with malice and disgust that confuses Red. This sounds personal. Red is certain he had never met Tom before Tom had entered Liz's life.

Tom finishes with one more hard kick to Red's stomach. Red's vision blurs and by the time it clears Tom is gone. Red moves slowly, the world spinning as he gets to his knees. He crawls painstakingly slowly towards Dembe, every muscle in his body screaming in agony. Pain is no stranger to Raymond Reddington, so he powers through.

He checks Dembe's neck for a pulse. He has to press hard, but sure enough he can feel a weak pulsing. He breathes out in relief. When he pulls back his fingers they are sticky with blood. He has to move fast.

Adrenaline takes over Red's body as he focuses his energy on saving his friend. He doesn't have one lucid thought as he stumbles out of the destroyed building, half carrying and half dragging Dembe with him.

A crowd is gathering outside of the building, and they all gasp when they see two figures exit the building. One is in a torn suit with blood running down his face. He stumbles and then collapses next to the man he is dragging. This man's shirt is soaked with blood and he isn't moving.

Red retains consciousness for enough time to check Dembe's pulse again. He hears sirens blaring in the distant as the world fades into black.