As Ressler, Samar and Aram landed in Russia, Aram couldn't quite contain his excitement of being allowed to go on a mission. "I still can't believe Ms. Wright sent us to Moscow."

Samar flicked her gaze to him briefly. "She doesn't know we are here to get Katarina and not Liz."

"Yeah, we are taking a huge risk here, she specifically told us the Russian authorities want Katarina untouched." Ressler knew they would have to play their cards right for this to work out.

They were met on the airstrip by a Russian SVR RF agent. "Zdravstvujtye, I am Agent Vasnev. There is a car waiting to take you to your hotel, we can talk after you have had a chance to refresh your selves."

After Agent Vasnev left them at the hotel, they met up in Ressler's room to talk. Samar watched out the window as the agent left the hotel lobby, got into a car and drove away. "I am surprised Agent Vasnev left, they must have others here to watch us."

Ressler shrugged, not sure how they would get to Katarina's place without a tail. "Aram, have you been able to get into their system and see if or what they have planned for the raid on Katarina's place?"

"Yes. It looks like they intend to move tomorrow morning." He scratched his head for a moment, confused as why they would go in broad daylight. "This is strange, Katarina will see them coming a mile away."

Samar turned from the window and walked to look at Aram's laptop. "That is exactly the plan, they want to give Katarina time to escape."

Ressler's phone rang, surprising him. He wasn't expecting any calls while they were here. "Ressler… Dembe? Slow down, I'm having trouble hearing you." He put the phone on speaker so everyone could hear.

There was a little static on the line, but they were able to hear most of what the bodyguard said. "We know you are here, we need your help… I circled back as soon as I realized there was a trap, it was too late for Raymond and Elizabeth, they were taken. Even if it means their capture by you, it is certainly better than what Katarina has planned for them."

The call disconnected and Ressler immediately started working on how to get out undetected. "We will need to find some clothes that will help us blend in."

Aram was not a field agent but he didn't want to stand on the sidelines for this one. "Me too, right?

"Of course. If you hadn't given me that impassioned speech about family I would never had argued with Ms. Wright to get us over here." He lightly punched Aram's shoulder. "We aren't leaving without you."

Samar smirked at Aram's little dance and then the sudden widening of his eyes when he realized he would be going into a dangerous situation. "Don't worry, I'll watch your back." She glanced down at his backside before sauntering away to see about clothes for them all.

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Red woke to find himself stretched out and tied to a metal table. He turned and saw Lizzie, she was tied to a chair not far from where he lay. Her head was bowed and her hair hung forward blocking her face so he couldn't tell if she was still sleeping or not. "Lizzie, are you awake, sweetheart?"

She lifted her head slowly and with difficulty turned towards him. He could see her right eye was bruised, her lips were swollen and bloody, there was a large bruise on her left temple. He prided himself on being a master of his emotions but he could not help the rage that flowed through him like lava. He would destroy whoever had dared to touch her.

His violent anger was a tangible thing in the room around them. She had never seen him look anything other than in control. She had seen flashes of emotions but he was able to control them before most people could even think to decipher them. It was in this moment that she realized the depths of his feelings for her.

She needed to get him to refocus his attentions so he could think clearly. She spoke slowly so as not to split open her lip anymore than it already was. "I'm okay, my love. It probably looks worse than it actually is. Has that brilliant mind of yours figured a way out of this yet?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, she was trying to distract him. "Someone dared to hurt you, Lizzie, I will not let that go unavenged."

Further conversation was cut off as the door swung open and Gwilym walked in, followed closely by Katarina. "See, I told you Kitty Kat, he has taken her as a lover to manipulate her feelings."

He should have known, Gwilym had probably worked for or with Katarina for years. Red lifted his head as far as he could to watch the two of them. "Just when you think you have seen it all, and believe me, I have."

Katarina walked up to Red and skimmed her fingers up his torso stopping at the opening left where he had unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt and curled her fingers into his chest hair. "If I had known you wanted a Rostova I would have pursued you all those years ago."

He had never wanted her, she had always come across as crass to him, not something he found attractive. Red laughed and shook his head at her. "You flatter yourself Katarina, you are no where near Lizzie's league."

Angered, Katarina gave his chest hair a sharp pull, earning a small grunt from Red, but that was not enough she wanted to hurt him now. She stepped over to Lizzie and grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her head back. "Not so lovely now is she?"

Red glanced at Lizzie before returning his gaze back to her mother. "True beauty is not in the face Katarina, it is a light in the heart that shines brightly enough to illuminate even the darkest of places."

Katarina roughly pushed Lizzie's head as she let it go. "Well, let's see if my 'Gentlemen' can get any information out of your light before he kills her."

"I've kept her in the dark about my activities, she doesn't know anything." He needed them to listen to him, his soul would shatter if he had to watch that wretched beast hurt her.

She waved her hand between Red and Lizzie. "If I am reading this right, by hurting her, we will also be hurting you and I can… "

Katarina was cut off by the sounds of gunfire. She turned sharply to Gwilym. "I thought you said your man incapacitated Reddington's guard?"

The door burst in before he could reply and Ressler strode in and put a bullet in Gwilym's thigh and one in Katarina's shoulder. He was followed closely by Samar and Aram, who hurried over to Red and Liz to quickly release them.

As soon as Red was untied he vaulted off the table and was at Lizzie's side gently caressing her face, uncaring that the others were there . "Are you hurt anywhere else sweetheart?"

Ressler strode over to them distressed that he didn't get to them before anyone was hurt, but glad that they were alive. "There isn't much time, the SVR RF agents are probably aware we aren't at the hotel by now and it won't be long before they get here."

Aram glanced anxiously at Red as he approached Liz and gave her a quick hug. "I'm sorry you got hurt, Liz. We came as soon as Dembe alerted us."

He stepped back to allow Ressler to give her a brief hug as well. "You guys need to leave, Dembe is waiting not far to the west to take you to safety."

Red had underestimated the bond between these friends, not something he did often. He would have to make sure that the three of them were properly thanked.

Liz was dazed, she had expected Ressler to stride over and cuff both her and Ray, not give her a hug. "I... I don't understand."

Samar stepped close now and pulled Liz into a brief hug. "We are taking in your mother, against the will of the Russian officials, and letting you go," She gestured over her shoulder at Katarina and Gwilym lying on the floor behind them, "Hopefully, we will be able to get enough information out of the two of them to clear you of any treason."

Liz was an emotional mess and incapable of speech right now. She was more than likely in shock. Red stepped forward and embraced the three agents. "Thank you. You have my eternal gratitude."

Red walked over to Katarina and leaned down to make sure he had her attention. "How did you know who she was?"

Katarina gave him the best look of contempt she could muster considering her prone position on the ground. "You were careless. When you suddenly returned to DC, I was curious and had surveillance done on you." She tilted her chin towards Liz. "In quite a lot of those pictures she was with you. I researched her, It wasn't hard to turn her husband into a treasure trove of information."

He had heard enough, Lizzie was right, betrayal was Tom's MO. He walked back over and gently grabbed Lizzie by the elbow and led her out the door to make their escape before the Russian authorities got there.

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Dembe had arranged, before the raid, for the three agents, with Gwilym and Katarina in tow, to use Red's private jet to quickly escape the authorities and get out of the country.

Reven Wright was not happy that the three had defied orders and brought back Katarina. "The president is having a hard time convincing Putin that you acted against orders. They are demanding her return immediately."

"Just give us a few more hours with her. Agent Navabi is close to breaking her and with the information we can get from her, I'm sure the leader of the free world can endure a little anger from the barechested Putin."

Ressler knew the President would jump at a chance for more information on the cabal. Since the media had started reporting on the mysterious group people were up in arms and demanding answers. He had promised the American people he would not rest until the group was taken down.

Aram knocked twice on the door and entered before Ressler or Reven could grant access. "We have it. Samar was able to umm, convince Ms. Rostova to share her knowledge of the cabal and to clear Liz of having anything to do with spying for Russia."

Reven walked to the door and turned to Ressler before she walked out. "You have one hour to turn her over to the Russian agents waiting for her. I will need a full report by then to debrief the President."

Ressler stopped her before she left. "What about Tom Connelly, is there anyway we can exonerate Agent Keen?"

She looked at Ressler and Aram and seeing their hopeful expressions could not crush their hopes. "I will talk with the President when I see him. No guarantees, though."

The sound of the men's buoyant optimism followed her out.

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Red and Liz had flown to his private island somewhere in the south pacific. They were sitting on the beach watching the waves roll in and drinking Mojitos when the satellite phone rang.

"Hello?"

He said nothing for a few minutes, just listened to whoever was on the other line. "Okay, thank you for letting me know."

He turned to Lizzie with a smile. "You have been officially cleared. You are free to go back and resume your life."

It was killing him not to beg her to stay. The choice had to be hers, he wanted her happiness more than his own. If she left she would take what was left of his soul with her, he would never be the same. Losing his family had taken a part of him, losing Lizzie would gut him. He would be a shell of a man, going through the motions, but dead inside.

Liz beamed a smile back at him. "Took them long enough!" She saw the hurt that crossed Red's eyes so quickly she almost missed it. Silly man, like she would ever leave him.

She stood and moved to his chair to straddle his lap. "They came to their senses too late, I have already found happiness in the arms of The Concierge of Crime." She took off his fedora and placed it on her head.

Red let the tears of pure joy slide down his cheeks. He knew he was not worthy to have her, but he would spend the rest of his life striving to be. She looked so beautiful sitting on his lap, even with her bruises still evident, his fedora perched at a jaunty angle on her head. Her red string bikini begging to be untied.

"The beach or the bedroom Lizzie." He gazed lovingly into her eyes his heart bursting with his love for her. "I will need your answer quickly or… "

She cut him off with her lips on his. She would never get enough of this man. She would spend the rest of her life showing him how much he meant to her. She silently vowed he would never for a second doubt her love.

The end!