Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews (they inspire me), I own nothing, and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 21

Ressler waits in the darkness, his muscles tense, his jaw set. Hours pass. The waiting is agonizing, but Ressler does not even consider sleeping. He barely moves a muscle as he listens to the voices drifting down the hall.

Ressler snaps to attention when he hears the door slam shut. Footsteps echo through the hallway, approaching his door. They pause out front and Ressler feels the fear coursing through him. He's not sure if Red's order still stands- should he tell the truth and avoid being tortured?

The Banker exchanges a few words with the guard outside and then throws the door open blinding Ressler with a ray of light. He squints as his eyes struggle to adjust.

The Banker walks briskly to stand in front of Ressler. Ressler cranes his neck up, his eyes only able to take in the blurry outline of The Banker's face.

"Agent Ressler!" The Banker exclaims, drawing the word 'agent' out mockingly. "Have you missed me?"

"Can't say I have," Ressler replies dryly. He is done with games.

The Banker gasps in fake offense, "Well regardless, I know I have been looking forward to this conversation so let's get started, shall we?" A guard comes out of nowhere and places a chair down for The Banker. He sits with a smug grin, "It is so hard to stand all the time. I used to do it every time I had a guest over, but then I thought, why not sit? It makes it so much easier, and I find that I can be just as intimidating from a seated position."

Ressler snorts at 'intimidating.' The Bankers voice drains of it amusement, "Now tell me what you know about Reddington." There is an empty threat at the end, Ressler is well aware of the repercussions if he doesn't talk. Then again, once he tells The Banker what he wants to know Ressler knows he will have lost his usefulness. He needs to stay alive.

"I know a lot about Reddington. What would you care to know?" Ressler stares him down, challenging him.

"I don't like games, tell me or be tortured."

Well that escalated quickly, Ressler thinks. His chances of getting out of here seem to be dropping by the minute. "December 24th, 1986. Reddington was in the Navy, being groomed for Admiral. His car was found 2 miles away from his house with the gas tank empty. He disappeared that day, leaving his wife and daughter…"

"I've read the official report," The Banker hisses, anger flaring dangerously in his eyes, "I told you I don't play games."

Ressler hesitates. The odds are that none of them are going to make it out of this, but if anyone has a chance it would be Reddington. He's not sure how much Red knows about that night, but he knows he doesn't know everything. Revealing the truth to The Banker would give him the upper hand.

The Banker sighs, "I thought this was going to be an easy talk, but I guess you've decided to take the difficult route. It makes no difference to me, I enjoy an occasional torture, but I'm afraid this will be much worse for you."

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Ressler growls at him, ready to put up a fight now that he has made up his mind. He will not give this twisted son of a bitch anything on Reddington.

The Banker laughs, "No, this is." He snaps his fingers. Ressler could have rolled his eyes for the theatrics of the moment if what the guard had just brought in hadn't made his blood run cold. He remembers how much pain Cooper had been in. The Banker lets out a cold laugh at the shocked look on Ressler's face. "Let's get started!"

Liz hasn't spoken since those five little words that had hurt Red so much- 'you took away my family'. The words keep repeating in Red's mind. They hurt more than a bullet ever could, because they are true and they can never be undone. Red would go through hell for Lizzie, but one thing he can never do is bring her family back.

Red had reached out to Liz once, calling her name out softly in the darkness. She hadn't responded, and the air had fallen silent after that. They all wait in the agonizing silence, waiting for the time when The Banker will return and the games will continue.

Finally the silence gets to be too much for Red. He has to say something. "Tom," he calls out, knowing by the breathing that neither of them are asleep yet.

"Yes?" Tom answers, not bothering to keep the contempt out of his voice.

Red thinks his words out carefully. "Why did you do it? Why were you attacking my business? You made it seem personal."

Tom hesitates, wondering what he should tell the man. He finally decides that there is no point in keeping it a secret anymore; none of them are making it out of there. "Andrew White."

The name is enough to spur Red's memory. It had been a long time ago, but Red can still see his face in front of him. Andrew had been the first person he had killed in cold blood. Red can still feel cool metal of the gun in his hand; can still hear the sound of the gun going off. It had dropped from his hand as Andrew had fallen, a look of shock on his face.

Andrew had worked for him, but he had betrayed him. Ten of his people had been killed as a result of him giving away vital information. It was the first time Red had led any of his people to his death and it hurt. He had killed him to hide from his own guilt, to place it on someone else.

There had been something else though- there had been someone else there on the day of the shooting. The memory had been blocked out of Red's head but know he sees it as clear as day. The body had fallen, and behind him there was a small child. Eyes wide, mouth open in a silent scream as he watches his father die. Short brown hair, with brown eyes. Thomas White. He had kept his first name all this time.

Red opens his mouth, but finds he has nothing to say. In the mind of a criminal, and the man that Red is now, that death was perfectly justified. But back then, the lines had still been clear. That death still weighed heavily on Red; even if his mind worked differently now.

"I'm sorry," he finally says, almost too quiet to hear. He can feel the eyes of Tom and Liz on him, shocked at his apology.

"Yeah, well," Tom says with a dry laugh, "It's a little too late for that."

Liz suddenly feels a surge of sympathy for Tom, something she had never expected she would feel after what he had done to her. She understands the blind rage he must have felt, directed straight at Red. It in no way makes what he had done acceptable, but at least she can understand his motives. He is in the same boat as her; Reddington had robbed him of his family.

The only difference is that Tom never knew Red. Not like Liz does. Every time she thinks of him, her thoughts start racing too fast to keep track off. He is the only one that can leave her so conflicted. She had forgiven him of killing her family once, she isn't sure if she can do it again.

The room falls silent, and this time Liz finds it unbearable. The likelihood of their deaths is finally sinking in on her and she is desperate to figure things out. She needs closure, there are so many questions left unanswered, so much she needs to know. So much that Red promised he would tell her, 'when the time was right.' They had run out of time, she needs to know the answers now. She thinks and finally settles on a question.

"Did you know him?" The voice revenants through the small room.

Red looks towards her, "Know who?"

"My father." Her voice is devoid of emotion, Red can't read her in the dark. "And tell me the truth; I want the whole truth, for once." She tries to keep the emotion out of her voice, but Red hears her voice waver and it hurts him just as much as it hurts her.

"I met him once." He doesn't want to continue, he knows the truth will hurt Lizzie even more, but he can't bring himself to stop. "I was at a party, a gathering of the important political people I told you about before. I knew about my mission, and for some reason they wanted me to meet him. I looked him right in the eye and shook his hand. The next day I was at his house setting the fire."

Liz nods, even though she knows Red can't see it. She keeps her voice steady, "What was he like?"

Red closes his eyes; he does not want to tell her. "We were going after him because he was corrupt. He was making deals with terrorists, giving away Intel that got people killed. He was smart though, they could never prove it."

"What was he like?" Liz repeats, recognizing the deflection.

Red sighs, better to keep it short, "He was an alcoholic. He regularly drank himself into oblivion and then beat your mother. When your mother wasn't around he turned to you. His family was his punching bag, he cared little for others, and he killed all of his enemies in cold blood."

Liz inhales sharply; somehow she had always known this. Hidden somewhere deep in her memories are flashes of fists and angry shouts. Tears as she watches her mother fall again and again. She feels wet tears sliding down her cheeks and she makes up her mind.

"Thank you," she says quietly, the words having an almost mystical quality as they float through the air.

Red almost thinks he's imagining them. "For what?" he answers in a low tone, holding his breath as he waits for the answer.

"For saving me."

Before Red can begin to form a response, a loud scream cuts through the air. Red can barely recognize it with the amount of pain in it, but he's heard it too many times- Ressler.