Author's Note: Wow this story is turning out a lot longer than I intended! I think I'll be able to wrap it up in a few more chapters (hopefully). Thank you so much for all the support, I'm new to all this so it's very helpful. Again I own nothing and hope you enjoy!
Chapter 12
As soon as Red had hung up, Liz had sprung into action. She had grabbed her gun and retrieved Samar her hotel room next door.
As they were fleeing the hotel, Liz had called Cooper and told him what was going on, leaving out the part that Red was on his way, because she was quite sure he would not be very happy about that and she didn't have time to argue.
As Liz and Samar had walked into the lobby they had seen two black SUVs pull in to the parking lot. A large man armed with an automatic rifle wearing a giant bullet proof vest had hopped out of one of them. Liz and Samar quickly exited through the back of the hotel.
Samar realized that their rental car was parked in the front. Liz quickly hotwired a motorcycle. They technically didn't have jurisdiction in Kuwait, so they were breaking the law as they pulled out of the parking lot, right past the team sent to kill them. Neither of them had time to worry about being criminals on the run.
They end up Kuwait Zoo. Liz decides that it fits the bill- its public and The Banker will never suspect for them to go there. Plus, there are practically no security cameras. Liz isn't sure how much pull The Banker has in the city, but if he is anything like the criminals she has taken down in the past then he has access to the security cameras.
The zoo is small and a little dirty. Liz watches some lemurs hop about in their small cage. Garbage litters the floor of the habitat and Liz feels bad for the poor animals. She's always had a problem with zoos, something about keeping animals in cages seemed wrong to her. Especially if they were kept in bad condition. She figures this mentality is a little ironic considering her life work is to put animals behind bars, but at least the animals she catches deserve their confinement.
Both Liz and Samar are extremely paranoid. Every time Liz sees someone who slightly fits the profile of Amin she jumps. If a person even looks at her funny her hand subconsciously jumps to where her gun is concealed.
It is mid-April, summertime in Kuwait and the temperature is in the 90s. Liz and Samar sit in the shade and try their best to fit in. Thankfully, English is commonly spoken in Kuwait for business so their conversation doesn't draw any attention.
They study the map for the zoo, planning possible escapes, just in case. Knowing that Red is on the way is the only thing that is keeping Liz from having a panic attack. Her stress level isn't helped by the fact that it is getting dark and they will have to leave soon.
The zoo closes at 8. It is already 6:30. Red won't get there until 2 in the morning, at the earliest. That left Liz and Samar seven and a half hours to evade capture. And they would be doing it in the dark. Liz watches the darkening sky with growing anticipation. This is going to be a long night.
The Banker sits in his office in his extravagant mansion. There is a scowl on his face and a glass of red wine in his hand.
He is confident that he can deal with the American agents, clearly they had nothing on him or he would be in handcuffs. Still, he is angry that they had been able to find him. He has been running his operation for nearly a decade and this is the first time he has even been on the radar of the law enforcement.
Something didn't seem to add up with their sudden interest in him. He thinks of his most recent client. He had been hesitant to help him from the start; he had seemed to be in deep with some powerful people. But The Banker had never been able to find any solid proof that the deal could blow back on him, so he had taken it. It was good money. Now he is beginning to regret his decision. Seeming to decide something, The Banker picks up the phone to call his agents in South Africa. It is time to pay his client a little visit.
While The Banker is dealing with cleaning up the source of the mess, his people are desperately trying to find the mess itself. Liz and Samar had left the zoo about an hour ago and are now driving through Kuwait city, looking for a place to go.
They both know that they can't stay on the road for too long- there is security cameras everywhere and it won't be long until The Banker's team catch up with them. They wear helmets to hide their face, but it is only a matter of time before the motorcycle will be noticed as missing and the team will start hunting for it.
They'd had no contact with Cooper since they'd gone on the run and Liz has a bad feeling in her stomach. She had called him five times at the zoo and he hadn't picked up. She'd had brief contact with Red, but the signal wasn't very good and he had only been able to get through that he would be there at 2 am.
Things are not exactly looking good for Liz and Samar. Finally, when they can't find an alternative, they stop in front of a small restaurant. It is located on a side street and no other cars are around. The restaurant is closed and Liz can see no signs of life inside. So much for finding a public place she thinks to herself.
She looks up at the sign. The restaurant is called "Maki." It is nestled between two skyscrapers. Liz hopes Red will be able to find it when he gets here. They are running out of time.
Samar serves as the lookout as Liz picks the lock with a bobby pin in slips inside in under a minute. Secretly, she is pleased that she is still able to pick a lock so efficiently. It has been a while since she's indulged her criminal side.
Samar locks the door behind them. They don't dare to turn on the lights. Liz uses her phone to navigate through the cramped restaurant. They make it to the bar and decide that is as good as a place as any to set up base.
Liz considers moving the motorcycle outside, but figures they will need it close by if Amin's team finds them. Now it is just a waiting game. It is worse than at the zoo, because Liz has nothing to distract herself from the imminent danger they are in.
The SUVs could have easily held up to 10 heavily armed men. That makes the odds 10 heavily armed men who are familiar with the city to 2 lightly armed federal agents who could barely find their way to their hotel rooms. It isn't great odds.
Liz needs to keep her mind off of the danger, because she is dangerously close to hyperventilating. Her thoughts immediately go to Red. She is calmed by the fact that he is coming to save her. Her very own knight in a well-tailored suit.
As romantic as it would be if he came barging in by himself to carry her away from danger, she hopes he had enough common sense to bring backup because not even Raymond Reddington could stand by himself against the entire force of The Banker's empire. Liz decides that if anyone could singlehandedly take down a force that size, it would be her Red, but it is still very helpful to have backup.
Liz is thankfully distracted enough by thoughts of Red that the time starts to pass (without any panic attacks). She is still on guard though, and when the same dark SUV passes by the restaurant for the third time she exchanges anxious looks with Samar. Their cover is blown. Now it is time for the stand down. Red better get here fast Liz thinks as she counts her bullets. Twenty two. Twenty two chances of getting out of here alive. Better make them count.
Red lets out a sigh of relief as he feels the wheels of his private jet hit the ground. He stands up before the plane slows to a stop, already handing out orders to Ressler and his people. Ressler doesn't even try to pretend he is in charge of this operation.
Red slips on a bullet proof vest. He might not get his hands dirty often, but he was once a trained navy officer and he is as qualified as anyone to be on this mission. He calls Liz, his heart stopping every time the ring goes through without an answer. Finally she picks up.
"You better be on your way here. We are at Maki restaurant on Al Soor Street. The Banker's team is here. I have to go," she says breathlessly through the phone. Red can hear the sound of automatic rifles going off and glass shattering. His heart stops.
"Lizzy? Lizzy!" he shouts into the phone, but the line is already dead. Red swears loudly and then leads his new team of FBI agents off the plane. He is met by three black SUVs provided by his contacts in Kuwait. He hops in the first one, not waiting to see if the other agents get in to the others.
"Kuwait City," he tells the driver with urgency in his voice. Ressler and a couple agents jump in as the car starts rolling away. They ride away in charged silence, each minute that passes sending a jabbing pain to Red's heart.
This is one of the few times in his life that Red has been completely panicked. He manages to calm down a little, knowing he has to keep a level head if he has any hopes of saving his Lizzy. They are still twenty minutes out from the city. Just hang in there, sweetheart, Red thinks as he urges the driver to go faster. Just hang in there.
Back at Maki's all hell has broken loose. The windows are completely shattered by the machine guns. Samar is keeping up a steady round of cover fire through the window to prevent anyone from coming in. She has quite a bit more ammo than Liz, but her supply isn't limitless. Liz thinks that they had taken one down. Only nine more to go.
Adrenaline is coursing through the two agents, and their training is kicking in. As Samar shoots Liz prepares the other weapons.
She finds a lighter and a minute later she sends a Russian cocktail flying through the window. It explodes with a loud bang on the street earning a yell out of the team. Liz smiles at that, all of her fear had been driven out by the thrill of the fight.
She prepares some more and shouts to Samar, "How many bullets you got left?"
"Maybe a clip and a half left. How are you doing?" she shouts back.
Liz had already fired a few rounds. "Maybe 15 or so?"
Samar winces at that. They are running out of defenses. She is unsure how much longer they can last. The firepower they are up against is just too high. They have only been holding them off for about 10 minutes.
Liz notices that there are no sirens in the distance. The Banker must really have the city wrapped around his finger if he is able to keep the police away from a shootout. Liz is not encouraged by the thought. She throws out a few more Russian cocktails and is pretty sure she takes out one or two guys.
Suddenly the shooting ceases. Samar stops firing too, and all that's left is an eerie silence. Liz and Samar exchange worried looks. Something is wrong. Why had they stopped shooting? Liz sees something fly through the open window and hears it hit the ground and roll a few feet. She hears the familiar hissing sound. She shouts to Samar but it is too late.
The flash grenade goes off. Liz is already on the ground, but Samar doesn't react in time and is blinded by the blast. She falls to the ground next to Liz. Liz pushes Samar behind herself and grabs her gun, her ears ringing from the grenade and her mind slightly sluggish.
Another object comes sailing through the window and goes off with a deafening bang. Smoke fills the room. Liz coughs and gags on it, the smoke blinding her.
She hears the door splinter as it is kicked in. She stays still, listening to loud footsteps entering the room. She is certain that they know their position from the shootout.
She hears footsteps approaching and when they get close enough for her to pinpoint an approximate location she shoots blindly from behind the bar. She hears a surprised yell and then the sound of a body hitting the ground. She hit her mark.
The other members shout to each other and she hears footsteps running to the bar. She shoots blindly again but is soon out of bullets. She hears the sound of a gun being cocked from above her.
"Don't move or I will shoot," says a voice with a heavy accent. "Put your weapon on the ground slowly and push it away," he orders. Liz obliges, not seeing any other alternative. Samar groans in pain behind her; she is starting to regain consciousness.
Liz's ears are ringing and it all seems like a bad dream as a masked man walks behind the bar and binds her and Samar's hands with zip ties. He lifts her up, and Liz starts to struggle but a sharp blow to the head that leaves her world spinning takes the resistance out of her.
Her thoughts are muddled- all she can think about is Red. That he didn't make it on time. She doesn't blame him- she's sure he tried his best. Her last thought before she loses consciousness is that she hopes he doesn't blame himself. He deserves to be happy.
Red can hear gunshots in the distance. He is close. He grabs his automatic rifle and pulls on a gas mask. The agents in the car follow suit. He just prays that he made it in time; he can't even bare to consider the fact that Lizzy could be gone. His blood runs cold when he hears the gunshots stop, and he uses some colorful language to urge the driver on, who is already going well past the speed limit.
They come speeding down the street and Red sees two SUVs pulled up in front of a small restaurant. Smoke is drifting out of the shattered windows and the broken down door. He sees two heavily armed men walking out of the building each carrying an unconscious body with them. Red recognizes her immediately- Lizzy!
The car screeches to a stop causing the men to look up in alarm. Red is out of the door before the car fully stops. It takes two shots to take out the guard holding Lizzy. A bullet hits him in the head, and he falls backwards, cushioning Liz's fall.
Red turns to the other man who has dropped Samar unceremoniously on the pavement and is frantically reaching for his weapon. Three more shots from Red's gun takes him out too. Red can hear shouting from inside the building, and soon bullets are flying out of the window in return fire.
Red ducks behind the black SUV and starts barking orders to his team through his earpiece. They spread out, taking cover behind both Red's and the enemy's vehicles. Red keeps his eyes fastened on Liz. She is well out of the range of fire, but Red doesn't want to take any chances.
He calls for the agents to cover him as he runs to get her. He stays low to the ground, his training kicking in from all those years ago. He had been good at this back then, and he is still quite good at it now. He grabs Lizzy and sprints behind the closest SUV. He waits a minute, and then repeats the action with Samar.
One of the agents runs over to meet him, telling him that he is trained field doctor. Red lets him look over Liz and Samar, and goes back to fighting. The shootout lasts for another 10 minutes. They wait for a minute once the enemy fire ceases, and then go to investigate. The smoke has mostly cleared and Red finds everyone inside dead.
There had been 10 men, including the 5 lying dead outside. It looked like Liz and Samar had managed to take out at least 3 guards while Red was on his way.
Once Red is sure the threat is over he runs back out to his Lizzy. The field doctor tells him they are both unconscious and have received minor injuries, but do not require any medical attention.
Red thanks him and then picks up Liz. It is time for them to leave. He gently lays her in the back of an SVU, slipping off his coat and laying it over her. Then he goes to talk to Ressler.
"I have a safe house not too far from here. I am taking Agent Keen there," he says it in such a demanding way that he doesn't expect Ressler to protest. But of course, Ressler never lets Red have his way.
"What about the rest of us?" he asks him with a quirked eyebrow. Red wants to tell him that they would have to find their own protection. He wants to tell him that he is a trained FBI agent, he could surely protect himself. But he knows Lizzy would never forgive him if something happened to Ressler or Samar, and he certainly does not want to send either of them to their deaths.
"Fine," Red sighs, "just follow my SVU." Red isn't exactly pleased that he can't be alone with Lizzy, and he is especially unpleased that he has to share the location of one of his safe houses with the FBI. He happens to like this safe house.
He kicks the agent out of the SVU, insisting that he has to go alone with Liz. He justifies that he is allowed to have one more moment of selfishness before he shares his safe house with 15 FBI agents. Red is glad that they hadn't lost anyone in the shootout, but is not exactly giddy at the idea of playing host to so many FBI agents under his own roof.
This is definitely not where he expected to be two years after turning himself into the FBI. But his plans often have a tendency of changing. He smiles when he thinks about Liz. His plan for her has definitely changed for the better. With that uplifting thought, Red pulls away from the crime scene, content for the first time in over a month to be with his Lizzy.
