A/N: I'd like to thank all you lovely people who have read and reviewed so far. It's been so wonderful and encouraging to read your feedback and has really spurred me on to get back in the saddle of this story. This chapter was made possible by all of you as I struggled a great deal to continue. I've got the rest of the fic planned to the end, and hope that you continue to enjoy it.
DARK ROADS & OPEN DOORS
CHAPTER 20
"Go and find out what you can about last night's intruders," Red ordered gruffly. With a nod of understanding Dembe left the apartment, closing the door softly behind him as usual.
"There was no need to be so rude to him," Liz chided quietly from her seat; she didn't dare move from the couch while Red was in such a mood. He hadn't taken news of the break in well at all, seemed personally offended that Dembe hadn't called him while the men were still in the building. At her words he ceased his pacing and turned his burning gaze on her, cocking his head slightly to one side as he had so many times before only this time he wasn't curious at all.
"I have every right to be angry, Lizzie," he began, stepping toward her; his sweet tone and the smile he said the words with made her feel patronised and sent a thrill of fear down her spine. She hoped she wouldn't witness this side of him too often and that he'd come out of it quickly enough. "This building is no longer safe. I need to make plans to move on again, and Harold will jump at the chance to set up surveillance on me. On you. It wasn't easy keeping them out of here, y'know."
"Be angry with them, then. Don't be angry with Dembe. He stayed up here and kept watch all night," she implored. "Who do you think sent them?"
Red shook his head. "I'm as clueless as you are on this one. It could be Lacerta – though I doubt it – or your soon to be ex-husband. Even your employers, if they have enough suspicion."
"About us?"
He rolled his eyes. "About anything, Lizzie."
"Of the three, who is most likely to be behind it?" she asked, thinking through the options herself, though she knew she didn't have the same information to work with that Red did.
"My instinct tells me it's dear old Tom, though I'll need to find proof," he stated, his expression becoming pensive, though quiet fury still radiated from him.
"Is there any reason it might be Lacerta?" Liz pressed carefully, knowing that if there was enough reason to suspect Lacerta then he could well be on to them; if that was the case she knew she wouldn't sleep for worrying until it was all over.
Red shook his head certainly and she relaxed a little. "Our meetings have gone well. He wouldn't be so blatant as to send heavies around. If it was him then I am treading on increasingly thin ice."
"That's what I worry about," she admitted. He sat down next to her on the couch and heaved a tired sigh, patting her leg reassuringly. "I do," she insisted. "I worry that all this planning and sneaking around, and worst of all hoping, will be for nothing because you're getting in too deep." She took his hand and squeezed it, tamping down on the panic that rose within her as she voiced her concerns. "I like to think you're not getting in over your head but I just don't know, and that scares the hell out of me, Red." She looked to him, wide blue eyes meeting his. He gave an awkward smile that came across as more of a pained wince – she took it to mean that he understood her fears – before he squeezed her hand back.
"I need to call Luli," he stated after a few moments spent in heavy silence.
"Has she said anything about the file yet?" Liz asked, grateful for the change in subject.
"Not yet." He let his head drop to the back of the couch and yawned at the ceiling. "She should have news soon."
"You'll tell me as soon as you know, won't you? I don't want to be kept in the dark about this." Her mind had been turning the issue of the file over and over in her head, running through everything she knew about the formatting of FBI official documents, trying to remember the file as best as she could in the hope there would be some discrepancy to prove it was a fake; not that her memory was up for the task – she had been entirely too emotional at the discovery of the contents of the file that most of her recollection of the appearance of the file was hazy and she only really recalled the words as their stark black print haunted her dreams for the future.
"Of course I will," he assured, giving her hand a light squeeze for emphasis. Silence stretched between them, until he broke it with another small yawn.
"I'm going to take Hudson out, he's been sleeping all morning. You look like you could do with a nap yourself. Why don't you take yourself off to bed after you call Luli?"
"Yes ma'am," he agreed with a mock salute.
She collected Hudson's lead from the coat stand and sought him out in the bedroom; she found him spread out on top of the duvet, only his eyes moving to acknowledge her presence. With a little encouragement he jumped down from the bed, and at the tinkling of the lead he soon perked up, realising he was being taken out. Liz grabbed her headphones from the coffee table and planted a kiss on Red's head as he lifted his phone to his ear.
"Luli, Raymond," she heard him greet as she closed the apartment door, giving him privacy for his conversation.
Liz stepped out of the elevator to find Dembe closing the door to his own apartment. They exchanged tired smiles in greeting with Hudson pacing between them, tail wagging excitedly.
"Would you mind if I joined you?" Dembe asked.
"Sure thing. I'd feel safer," she admitted with a smile.
"So would Raymond," he pointed out before gesturing for her to head toward the main door of the building.
"I know. He's calling Luli now."
"Good. She will be able to turn up information quicker than I."
"Do you think we'll be safe?" Liz asked quietly. They had walked around the park a couple of times before finding a small café, where they sat outside, sipping coffee. She realised they must look a very odd couple; Dembe didn't exactly look relaxed where he sat on the small bistro seat, his large hand wrapped around his mug, piercing dark eyes returning any stares that came their way.
"Raymond works very hard to protect himself and those close to him, Liz. You should be cautious when he is not around, of course, but when he is here you are safer for it," Dembe explained. She had always felt that it was the other way around, though supposed that only applied when they had first started working together – it was always more dangerous to be in plain sight with or even just linked to Red than it was to be sitting in a surveillance van, taking a back seat while he got his hands dirty – though since Edison and after everything with Tom, Liz was inclined to agree with Dembe. They were all safer when Red was around. She sipped at her coffee and reached down to give Hudson a pat. She couldn't help the anxiety that she felt for the coming days or weeks, and questions had begun to form in her head; she knew Dembe wouldn't breathe a word of their conversation unless threatened by his employer and friend and he was the closest thing to a best friend she felt she had outside of Hudson, who was a good listener but fell short as he couldn't exactly offer her sage advice beyond 'if in doubt, lick your butt.'
"Does he mean it?" she muttered into her coffee, before straightening up, realising how immature it was to ask such an open question. "That he wants me to come with him, I mean," she clarified. When Dembe didn't respond immediately she felt the need to fill up the silence at their table. "I just need to know he's as sure about it as I am."
After another long moment he nodded and smiled at her in understanding. "He wouldn't offer if he hadn't thought it through," he said with such conviction that she couldn't doubt his words.
"I know, and I hope that doesn't change. I don't think I could handle it if he left me alone in a foreign country. I'd have given up everything to be there."
On her return to the apartment she fed Hudson before seeking Red out. She found him, asleep, atop the covers of their bed, an open book resting on his chest. With a fond smile at the scene, and wishing she could have a picture of him as he was then, she slipped out of her shoes and approached the bed. Carefully, she removed the book from his sleep-limp grip and set it to one side before joining him on the bed, content when he instinctively curled his body toward her in his sleep. She treasured these moments when she caught him without his guard up; his features softened, he appeared like any other human in slumber – vulnerable yet at peace. She loved him, she knew; she wouldn't be making plans to disappear off the face of the earth with him if she didn't love and trust in him. She was sure he knew her feelings before she did but was painfully aware that she hadn't told him herself, and that would make all the difference.
Liz heard Red moving about their room before she opened her eyes; her ears followed him to the wardrobe, heard him changing out of his suit which was now no doubt rumpled from his nap. As she blinked away the muzziness that only came from waking from a nap she tried to recall whether he had a meeting that night.
"Good morning," his sleep-roughened voice drew her further into wakefulness.
"Morning?" she echoed groggily.
"Yes, we seem to have slept through," he responded brightly, as though it was amusing to him. "It's five o'clock."
She sat bolt upright in the bed and squinted at the clock. "Five? I don't feel like I've slept at all."
"I'm not surprised," he stated bluntly. "You did nothing but fidget half the time."
"And you didn't think to wake me?"
"We've both been under a lot of stress lately, and it's your first day back today. I figured you'd want the rest as much as I did. Not that I got much with all your moving around, mind you."
"I suppose it's the thought that counts."
"So they say." He paused, seemingly just to take in the sight of her, and she fidgeted under his gaze, hardly feeling attractive minutes after waking in yoga pants and a t-shirt; regardless of her own opinion, Red seemed satisfied and continued to prepare himself for his day. He buttoned his vest before turning to straighten his tie, fussing with it for a moment or two before he twirled around dramatically to present himself to her.
"Cream?" she asked, raising a brow at his choice of suit. "A little brave for the winter, don't you think?"
"It's too late to turn back now!" Red exclaimed, causing Liz to wince. It was too early for such animated conversation. "Besides, I get the feeling Lacerta quite likes a flamboyant soul."
"You're certainly that," she agreed with a smile. "How long will you be gone?" she asked, busying herself with stealing the pillows from his side of the bed, arranging them around herself to avoid dwelling on the danger he would be putting himself in again.
"I'll be leaving in about twenty minutes," he stated, and the surprise must have shown on her face as he gave her a small knowing smile. "Don't worry your bedhead, Lizzie, I'll meet you at the Post Office at ten."
"Is Dembe going with you?"
"He will drop me off at an agreed location where I will be picked up by Lacerta's people. He'll be back here to keep an eye and will take you to work."
She sighed. "I don't need-"
"After the events of the night before last, I would feel better if you allowed me to ensure your safety in the only ways I can at the present time," he stated in a no-nonsense voice. "I can't be there, Dembe is the next best thing. I wouldn't trust anybody else with your safety."
"Fine," she conceded, knowing Red was right. Truth be told, she was still touched by how much he evidently thought of her safety before all others. He had always told her she was special, but these days she really felt that she was. "Just keep yourself safe while you're... wherever you are," she said, the end of the sentence almost unintelligible as she fought a yawn. Red chuckled, approaching the bed with his usual swagger, and pulled the blanket from the end of the bed to cover her with it. He planted a kiss on her forehead and then her lips as a farewell before he left the room. She managed to listen to his footsteps down the hall, the tell-tale sound of the coffee machine clicking on in the kitchen the last thing she heard before she dozed off again.
The sound of the apartment door opening and Hudson's scurrying into the bedroom roused Lizzie an hour and a half after Red's departure. She dragged herself out of bed and called a greeting down the hall to Dembe as she grabbed her clothes from her room and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower.
As the water cascaded down on her Liz found herself feeling a little anxious at the prospect of returning to work. Since Edison so much had happened with Red, with Tom... her whole future was completely different to what she had thought before. Better, for sure, but still so wildly 'other' by comparison to what she had been expecting prior to leaving Washington with Red. She worried that somebody – namely Ressler – would figure out what they planned to do and alert Cooper, thereby putting an end to the future she intended to see with Red. She told herself it was just one more Blacklister, just Lacerta, and then Red would ensure they could disappear. She willed the impending takedowns to be a success and the time to pass faster, impatient for her new beginning.
Pulling her slacks on her mind turned to subjects that weren't quite so heavy. She thought she ought to go shopping for more work clothes, better ones; she had never noticed the feel of the cheap fabric before now. Red was really starting to rub off on her. Once dressed she checked her reflection and stopped dead at the sight of herself; she didn't feel like she was looking at herself, rather she was looking at somebody she was. Still feeling a little outside of herself she opened the bathroom door to meet Dembe and face the day with her Agent head on.
The Post Office Ops Room was a hive of activity that she didn't realise she had missed until she was back in the fray with her colleagues. She swept the room and saw Red going over schematics with Malik – evidently finished with Lacerta's people early – gesturing animatedly at the sheet in front of them, Cooper was on the phone, Aram was glued to a screen as usual. She smiled at Ressler as he approached to hand her a cup of coffee.
"Welcome back, Keen," he greeted with a small smile of his own.
"Miss me?" she asked with a playful smirk.
"You're part of the team," he offered by way of an answer before moving away to study Aram's computer screen. She was about to follow him when Cooper called everybody to attention.
"We have an update," he announced. "All teams are to move in on Balcescu and Ahmedi in forty-eight hours. I think it's been made clear enough that this operation needs to run smoothly. As Reddington has said many times now, Lacerta must believe he is in enough danger to be driven underground. We take these two alive and we make them talk." The team murmured their understanding before Cooper continued. "Agents Malik and Mojtabai, you'll be on the Balcescu bust; Agents Keen and Ressler, you'll be on the Ahmedi bust. None of you will be involved in the actual takedowns. You will be in surveillance vans away from the targets; the takedowns will be actioned by armed units who have been given orders to bring both of them in alive."
After the rest of Cooper's spiel and dismissal, Ressler told her they would meet in two hours to go over the plan for the takedown of Izzah Ahmedi. Not wanting to wade through her e-mails she followed Red to the small break room that nobody ever used – the vending machine hardly had anything tasty in it since the Bureau had insisted on providing healthy alternatives to Mars Bars and Cheetos. She opened her mouth to see if he had any further useful information on the takedowns but was stopped as his phone trilled. He fished it out of his pocket and gave her a look that told her he needed to take it.
"Luli," he greeted before falling silent to listen to what she had to say. He frowned at whatever he was hearing. "I see. You're certain of this?" He listened. Liz listened harder, not that she could hear Luli. "There can't be a shred of doubt in what you're telling me, Luli." Lizzie's mind began to race, worst case scenarios running through her head. Red put the phone to his shoulder to muffle the speaker and turned to her. "It's legit," he stated bluntly before resuming the conversation with Luli while Liz attempted to digest the information. The file was legit. The FBI was leading him up the garden path, letting him believe he had immunity and thereby the upper hand. Of course, while he had Blacklisters for them he did have the upper hand, but once that list was expended he would have no chips left to bargain with. This would surely change everything. She sat down heavily in one of the hard plastic chairs, staring straight ahead as she considered the implications and fought to retain her composure. She couldn't lose it at the Post Office or she would risk everything further. "Call Reinhardt and tell him to go ahead with what we discussed. Forward him the information – if he needs anything else, Dembe will provide it to him. Oh, and call Mr Kaplan – she has a job for you." With his instructions given he ended the call sharply and turned to Lizzie. "It would seem that plans are accelerating. I'd say we need to talk about this but I'm not certain that we have the time to." He looked meaningfully at the door to signal that Ressler was approaching. It was time to plaster on her game face a soldier on until they figured out their next moves; the days ahead would decide their future, and they couldn't afford any careless slip ups in the meantime.