"Well, you see, Mr. Reddington, that's where you're wrong."

I wonder if they'll even find a body Aram thought to himself in horrified fascination, watching the softness fade from the man standing in front of him, watched as it was replaced by a subtle tension, a coiling of intent. Predators go very still just before they strike. And Mr. Reddington had gone so very, very still. Aram swallowed nervously, the sound loud in the thick quiet that lay heavy in the air like a smothering blanket, but he refused to look away from the cold green gaze that bored into his. It had taken everything he had to utter those words, and he refused to back down now. Too much was at stake for him to cower down, no matter how intimidated he was feeling. This would be his only chance to make Mr. Reddington listen and he was not going to let it go to waste.

The silence stretched, becoming impossibly more uncomfortable before those cold green eyes blinked slowly and Aram could breathe again. Slowly, the very dangerous man moved back to the couch and resumed his seat, a predator settling in to wait, to see which way the prey would run.

"Explain."

A single word, spoken softly, both permission and demand. He would listen, for now. For Aram, it was enough.

"You're playing a high stakes game of chess, Mr. Reddington, and I think you've been playing for a very long time now. It's a game you're very, very good at, but the game has changed. The board has shifted and your opponents aren't playing by the rules anymore. Crippling yourself now would be more than foolish. It would be stupid. You'll never win by refusing to use all the pieces at your disposal. Your opponents are going to bring all they have to bear on you and they won't spare your knight or bishop just because you refuse to move them. They'll try and use the members of the task force to get to you and Agent Keen so you see; there isn't any safety for me in ignorance. In play or not, I'm already on the board and they know it. They'll take me out simply to eliminate any potential threat I represent, and because it will hurt Agent Keen, which in turn, will hurt you. Either way, they win. You're not a stupid man, Mr. Reddington. Use the resources you have to their fullest. I can help. More than that, I want to. Please don't ask me to stand idly by while that innocent child's life is at risk. You, Agent Keen and the rest of us? We made our choices. Agnes had no say. We have to speak for her. Let me help" he pleaded.

The silence of the room was softer after Aram allowed his words to trail off; still present, but no longer weighed down by the dangerous tension that had flavored it before. Softer, yes, but no less heavy as Aram waited for a verdict to his plea. Predatory intensity has been replaced with a nostalgic sadness in the gaze that held his and he dared to hope he had gotten through.

"Such a nobility of character rarely have I seen in another, Aram" Red spoke softly, an honest fondness filling his voice, making it kind. That kindness never changed, never faded; even as he went on to speak words that were meant to shred the gentle man sitting so earnestly before him. Words that were designed to hurt, not with malicious intent, but to save the younger man from the nightmare he was so determined to throw himself into. Red had no desire to see this gentle soul sullied any further by the evil that lurked in his world. And so he was cruel; wanting desperately to preserve him as he was now, to protect Aram from becoming jaded and twisted and as haunted by this life as Red himself was.

"But tell me, in your earnest zeal, how far down into the pit are you willing to travel? It's cold down here, Aram, and there are monsters that live in the dark. How much gore are you willing to coat yourself in? How much like us are you willing to become? I have no doubt that you would die for those you hold dear, but are you willing to kill for them? Because, make no mistake, if you pursue this course, if you choose to play this game, the day will come that you will have to do just that. I will point you in the direction of our enemies, and I will ask you to be their executioner. Will you be able to swing the axe; to end countless lives without hesitation or qualm?" A pause, as he considered the young man, watched as he wilted in the face of the ugliness deliberately painted so graphically for him. And then he pushed, driving his point home with exacting, calculated precision.

"I cannot wait for that day to arrive for you to make that decision. I need to know, here and now. Tell me, Aram. Are you truly ready to spill blood for me?"

To Aram's credit, he didn't answer quickly, didn't blindly promise to do whatever it took. Closing his eyes, he considered everything Mr. Reddington had said, knowing that the intent to discourage him from the choice he was making did not make the words spoken any less true. He considered his life, his family. The good things he had. He considered his career, how all he had ever wanted to do was help people who could not help themselves. If he did this, he would never be the same man as he was right now, in this moment. He would have to live with the things he would have to do, with the lives he would help take. He weighed all he had against all that he knew and then he opened his eyes. Agnes still lay peacefully sleeping against her father's chest, and suddenly, it wasn't a difficult decision at all. Chin raised in defiance, he spoke the words that would change his life forever.

"For you? No, not for you, Mr. Reddington. But for Agnes? Absolutely. Some things are worth the price demanded of us. You, more than anyone, know that truth." Decision made, Aram was almost giddy with relief. He knew the euphoria would not last long, but for now it was a welcome comfort.

Red considered him for a moment longer and then accepted the decision with a curt nod.

"So be it" he said with finality before a dark humor twisted his lips into a wry smile. "You do realize Lizzie is going to kill me for allowing this, don't you?"

"Don't worry; I'll make sure she knows this was all my idea." Aram grinned back.

Red snorted. "As if that will help. Then she'll just be mad at both of us."

Aram only grinned wider, feeling invincible for the moment. "I just won an argument with the great Raymond Reddington. I think I can handle Agent Keen being mad at me for a little while."

Red laughed outright at that, shaking his head with mirth. "A bishop taking on a red queen. That, I cannot wait to see!"