Please see first chapter for disclaimer regarding Blacklist. (Of course I don't own it! I'm just borrowing for entertainment purposes. ) I've attempted to reply to everyone's reviews if I could (I appreciate you taking the time to leave me a comment) and anyone I could not reply to Thank you as well! This story has hit the 200 reviews mark and I am extremely grateful and very humbled by your response to this story and can only hope to keep you entertained. Speaking of my 200th review this chapter is dedicated to Prayforthelight as their review was #200. Thank you all!
Along with that same note this chapter is also dedicated to Sarah Jones for - well just about everything. This chapter would have never been finished without you. Thank you Sarah!
On to our story:
Mr. Kaplan moved purposefully down the hallway to room 15 using her key card to enter. Taking her evidence bag directly to Seymour, she laid it on the table before him. "We need a full work up."
"Is this everything?" Seymour inquired pulling out the busted camera and a number of cell phones followed lastly by Lucian's smartphone.
Mr. Kaplan nodded pushing Lucian's phone forward, "Start with this. I want to know everything it has ever done and where it's from down to the microprocessor."
"How soon are you going to need this?" Pulling a USB cable from his briefcase he plugged both ends in, one to his laptop and one to the phone itself. Finally powering the unit up, he glanced at the woman before him awaiting his answer.
Checking her wristwatch she mentally completed some calculations in her head, "I want nothing missed and a thorough retrace of all activity, take the night- I will check back in the morning unless I hear from you before."
"Has there been any updates on Agent Keen?" The question hung heavy in the air between the two for a long moment.
Finally seeming to find her voice Mr. Kaplan nodded, "She's alive but not out of the woods. Mr. Reddington is not to be contacted for any reason, I will keep him updated on any pertinent information."
With that she turned on her heel and retreated to the back room that Red had previously occupied, removing her cell phone as she went. Scrolling through her contacts she selected 'Jax' from her long list of associates and hit send.
Jaclyn 'Jax' Ware was sprawled out across a hospital bed in an empty room at St. Joe's hospital. She was halfway through her last 24 hour shift for the month and was trying to catch a small cat nap while they were slow. She knew as a trauma doctor a call from dispatch regarding an inbound patient could occur at any moment but she was bound and determined to get some shut eye before that happened. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy these shifts, she preferred the 8- 24 hour shifts she scheduled herself for the month over being on call 24/7, but she wasn't as young as she once was. Staying up for hours or days had been standard during her field medic time in combat all over the globe. When she finally retired from the Marines she completed her residency, she traded her guns and fatigues for a scalpel and stethoscope to become Doctor Jaclyn Ware.
That was 7 years ago. Looking back now: it felt like a whole lifetime ago. She had spent the better part of the first 2 years as an on-call surgeon: realizing very quickly that was not the avenue for her. The past 5 years she had been a shift trauma doctor for St. Joe's; twice a week she worked 24 hour shifts allowing her peace and quiet for the remaining 5 days in the week. The pay couldn't compare to being on call but she wouldn't trade her job or her free time for the world.
The problem she faced was she could never just fall asleep, her brain wouldn't shut up long enough to enjoy REM sleep before her phone would ring. Today was no different- she finally felt the draw of peaceful slumber when her cell phone began shrieking at her. The loud obnoxious sound of a smoke alarm repeatedly echoing off the walls of the room earned a groan from her. Refusing to sit up, she hit accept a before placing the phone against her ear, "Doctor Ware."
"Jax- it's Mr. Kaplan."
The familiar voice on her phone cause Jax to bolt upright in bed falling back into her old habits, "Yes Sir."
"We have a delicate situation that requires your expertise," taking a seat in the high back chair at the small table in the room, Mr. Kaplan gathered the stationary to her before continuing. "We need your assistance regarding a patient at Mercy for the foreseeable future?"
"Surgically or as personal physician?" Depending on her answer Jax would plan her exit strategy accordingly: if surgery were required she would need to contact her on-call backup to arrange for early dismissal. If the patient were in no immediate danger she would finish her shift before clocking out and driving to the nearby facility.
"Physician." Mr. Kaplan was making notations regarding future plans as she answered, "She is currently in stable condition- although in a medically induced coma for the time being. The problem is she is exposed- we have men there now but no way to vet every member on staff in such short notice."
Jax checked her watch, "I've 12 hours left on shift, if she's knocked out they will be monitoring her closely with regular check-ins of the same personnel until shift change. I can be there in... 6 hours to take over."
"Thank You Jax- We will double your standard compensation for this particular case. I will send the patients name and room number to your phone shortly. " With those last words Mr. Kaplan ended the call. Checking off physician from her list she moved to the next task at hand: preparation for medical transport to a safe house for Agent Keen.
Hanging up the phone; Jax sat stock still on the hospital bed taking the entire conversation in all at once. Mr. Reddington had always been overly gracious when it came to compensating her for her expertise but if he doubled what he normally paid her: that was more than she made in a year. Shaking her head to get her mind right, she pocketed her phone and jumped up, fully intent on getting her back-up on the phone to get the ball rolling on covering the rest of her shift. She had no intention of keeping Mr. Reddington waiting any longer than absolutely necessary.
XxXxXxX
After finishing her conversation with Dembe: Meera was absolutely infuriated. It had taken her longer than normal to reign in her aggression at the whole discussion and she still couldn't pinpoint what was more frustrating: Dembe questioning the validity of her information or Mr. Reddington not taking her call personally regarding such a sensitive subject. During her entire tenure working with Mr. Reddington her intel had always been accurate. Concrete evidence had always been a formality in his eyes: she didn't do educated guesses! She did deductive reasoning based on observed anomalies coinciding with factual information.
"Fine! If it's proof he wants, I'll give them proof." She grumbled loudly into the empty car as she tailed Agent Ressler away from the warehouse scene. After Cooper's initial conversation with Ressler, Harold had requested Meera's assistance at the site along with the rest of the task force. He had cried 'all hands on deck' to locating Agent Keen and the entire division jumped.
On her way to the warehouse she had stopped to collect some of her personal supplies: tracking and monitoring devices, bugs and anything else she thought may come in handy while tracking Ressler. It had been a bit more difficult to plant her receiver on Donald Ressler but this wasn't Meera's first rodeo.
Once she had arrived at the warehouse she scouted the area before getting out of her car. The flurry of activity from local PD and their FBI task force would offer Meera just enough cover to not draw attention to her activities. Before leaving her SUV she traded her flats for some heeled shoes and jumped directly into the fray to offer her professional opinion and search for clues to Agent Keen's whereabouts.
Meera was careful to bide her time and watch for an opening to plant her bug on Ressler. Moving carefully around the warehouse she made sure to alway keep him in her peripheral vision.
Purely by accident she found herself in a perfect situation for the plant and decided to act quickly: between heeled shoes and loose board on the steps- Meera found herself pitching forward and played the damsel in distress perfectly. As expected- ever the gentleman- Agent Donald Ressler reacted to his co-workers plight and caught her before she could fall. A mere slip of the hand and Meera had her bug securely attached to Ressler just below his collar completely out of sight before he had a chance to right her firmly on the ground.
Her device would relay GPS signal and audio as long as she was within 5 miles of the device itself. Hence the reason she found herself tailing him at a more than adequate distance heading away from the warehouse district towards central D.C.. On her MacBook she watched the small blip navigate the busy streets as she followed the same path just minutes later intent on tracking him all day if needed. The more information she could bring back to Reddington to prove her declaration correct, the better.
They had been driving around for the better part of half an hour without any audio transmission, Meera was beginning to worry that something had malfunctioned with the bug when Ressler's voice finally sounded through the audio.
"Ressler. No, we were unable to find any pertinent information in regard to Keen's current location. There is no evidence that it was Reddington but who else could have mobilized that much firepower to take out Lucian and his entire group. I'm on my way right now- I can be there in five minutes."
"Bingo." Meera smiled and continued to follow Ressler's car as he maneuvered his vehicle towards a familiar cluster of buildings. "Well well, I believe things are starting to get interesting."
XxXxXxXx
Red sat quietly beside Liz's bedside holding her slight hand in his much larger one, marveling at the size and temperature difference between them at that time. He had not left her side but to stretch his weary bones and use the facilities when necessary. He had no intention of her waking alone in an unfamiliar place after everything she had gone through.
He knew she was medically sedated but it didn't stop him from talking to her; describing the scenery outside, how it was approaching lunch and he knew a quaint little hole in the wall that served the best Moo Goo Gai Pan she would ever taste outside its original country of origin. He described how beautiful she looked in the natural sunlight and how the rose from the warmth of the room accented her cheek and jaw bones with an ease make-up artists would kill for. Last he told her over and over again how sorry he was for leaving like he did; there had been extenuating circumstances that kept him from her for so long and while he'd kept tabs on her; his absence was the sole cause of this.
It was a few hours later when the door to her room opened and Dembe walked in, "How is she?" He inquired coming to stand opposite his friend beside Liz's bed.
Rubbing the back of her Liz's hand lightly Red sat back to stretch, "They stopped sedating her, the doctor said she could wake up in a few minutes or a few hours."
Dembe watched the woman lying in the bed for a few moments before turning back to his friend once more, "How long ago was that?"
"A few hours ago." Red replied flatly, his voice devoid of all emotions.
The dead pan expression Red displayed now was a familiar tell to Dembe. Raymond Reddington was a master at disguising his true thoughts and feelings when needed but in this small room now: he was an open book. Dembe recognized the strained expression and weary look of a man who was not only physically but mentally exhausted and quite possibly close to a breaking point. "When is the last time you got some rest?"
Red fixed Dembe with a clear look of irritation at his ridiculous question, "Summer 1989." Both men glared at each other for a moment before Red yawned, breaking their silent staring contest. "Have you heard from Mr. Kaplan?"
Reaching behind him to pull the small wooden hospital chair up towards the bed Dembe nodded as he took a seat. "Doctor Ware will be joining us as soon as she can be relieved from her shift at St. Joe's. She has been briefed on Agent Keen's current situation medically but we thought it best she be on a need to know basis until we are able to move her." Sitting forward he rested his hand on Liz's other hand offering her a reassuring squeeze to provide what comfort he could to the woman. Agent Keen was important to Raymond which made her part of their little family, and being part of their family meant he would protect her -like Red- with his life.
"Mr. Kaplan has also procured a secure safe house to move her to once Doctor Ware is able to arrange her release." Continuing to maintain contact with Liz's hand Dembe leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs and forearms against the bed.
Red should have known his people would be able to handle all of the details regarding Lizzie's care on their own without direction. Turning to mirror his friends current pose both men sat in the same position opposite of each other, holding tight to both of Liz's hands. After what seemed like an eternity Red spoke, "Thank you."
Red didn't have to say anymore, to Dembe those two short words spoke volumes. "You should try to get some sleep: if for no other reason than to keep your wits about you. We are still exposed."
He knew his friend was right though he was loathe to admit it. While he didn't sleep much he still needed at least an hour or so to give his body a chance to refresh. Glancing around the small room he realized it offered little in the ways of functional resting areas. Bringing his gaze back to the small hand he was holding tightly to; he admitted to himself he had no intention of leaving her side again; even to rest.
At Red's delay Dembe pushed on, "Rest Raymond- no harm will come to either of you while I am here."
Red lowered his head to the bed beside Lizzie's hand, he just needed to close his eyes for a few minutes. He trusted Dembe with more than his life: he trusted him with Liz and that spoke volumes about their relationship with each other.
It felt like only moments since he'd closed his eyes before a loud beeping and the sound of commotion rousted him from sleep. Lifting his head from the bed he saw a number of nurses rushing in the room. "What's going on?" He demanded, trying to shake the fog still lingering from his short nap.
Dembe was already beside him, lifting him from the chair to move him from the side of the bed, "Her vital signs are crashing-."
Struggling to maintain physical contact with Liz's hand, Red fought against his friend, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S CRASHING!" Red cried out as Dembe physically lifted Red and moved him away from the bed to make room for the nurses.
The commotion in the room escalated as a crash cart was wheeled in by two more nurses and the attending doctor who had just hours before ceased her sedation. "She's unresponsive-" The doctor said urgently checking her pupils for dilation and her carotid artery in her neck for a pulse.
"Red."
He could hear a voice trying to get his attention but he had tunnel vision on the flurry of activity around the bed. The pit in his stomach grew as words such as 'no vitals...blood clot..non-responsive' were mumbled between the medical team around the bed.
"Red..."
Red stopped struggling as the doctor turned to him with a somber expression on his face and shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry Mr. Reddington." The air felt like it had been sucked out of the room at the doctor's words and he could feel his heart beat pulsing in his throat as he collapsed onto one knee.
The doctor moved forward and grasped his shoulder trying to shake him to get his attention while another hand- whom he assumed to be Dembe-was squeezing his hand and calling his name.
"Raymond!"
Red's head bolted up from the bed in confusion and panic; sweat beading on his forehead and heart pounding in his chest. Realizing he had slipped forward off the chair and had fallen to one knee at some point; he turned his head immediately towards the hand on his shoulder surprised to see Dembe standing beside him grasping his shoulder. "You're all right. You were having a nightmare."
Red looked at his friend like he had grown another head before he spoke,"It didn't feel like a dream-" he replied quietly. In his panic he didn't register the gentle pressure on his left hand that still rested on Lizzie's bed.
His eyes went immediately from his hand to Liz's face and was shocked to see her awake and offering him a small smile. "Hi."
A/N:I hope this has been worth the wait. I really liked how this chapter finished up and it segways into the next chapter nicely. I know we only have 2 episodes left of this season and a long summer hiatus to deal with but I promise this story will not be over any time soon. Hopefully it will ease some of the pain from the hiatus along with the other great fics in progress and that are sure to come during the break from all of our wonderful Lizzington Writers.
As always, leave love or hate just please let me know what you think. Comments and reviews feed my muse and make her eager to write faster.
Always,
Lady