I am so, so sorry for this long delay but RL *siiiiiiiiigh*…I'll try to write the next chapter faster (only if you guys still interested ;)
This chapter is beta-ed by the great Almcvay1, thank you so much for your help! :)
It contains violence, so be aware!
I don't own anything.
21. Peace
Jenny was woken by a death grip on her left arm. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that somebody was checking her pulse. Did she hallucinate the whole car crash and the stabbing? For a brief moment she sighed in relief but when she tried to move, she realized that her hands were immobilized behind the back of chair.
Oh, my god, oh, my god, this can't be true, this can't be, she breathed heavily as she felt the panic overtake her.
"Oh, no, no need to worry, Miss. You're welcome here." said the man in front of her. He was a really handsome guy, she had to admit: short brown hair, fresh-shaven face, black-rimmed glasses, maybe two years younger than Red. He looked normal, even nice, but then she looked into his eyes...
His incredibly blue eyes that whispered something dark, something evil as the windows of his soul opened to welcome her fear.
At that moment, she realized that this man, this soul-eater tasted her fear and got drunk on her tears. He was a monster...
Monster...
Her father's sad eyes appeared in front of her. His eyes had never told tales about a soul like this man's; shouting the sins of his evil heart. At that moment she realized: no, her father wasn't a monster. Maybe a bad man but nothing compared to this psychopath.
Yeah, thinking about how twisted this man is will calm you down...at least you should think about how you're going to survive the psycho-doc.
"Wow, you're one of the quietest journalists I've ever met." he laughed as he stood up. She slowly looked around, but her surroundings included only the cold dark walls and an annoyingly bright light. No windows, no furniture, only her chair, and a table. "No questions, Miss Ford?"
At least he doesn't know who I really am, she thought.
"I know why I'm here and I know what you're trying to do to me." she tried to keep her voice calm and seemed it work. "You want to know about the Fulcrum, don't you?"
"Very good, Miss Ford," the man smiled at her charmingly and folded his arms across his chest as he leaned against the table.
"Well, tough shit, 'cause I don't know anything," she shrugged.
The man laughed again.
"Not only beautiful but funny as well! But that evil tongue of yours..." he let the sentence linger in the air as he grabbed a scissors and approached her. "Let's make a deal, Allison, can I call you Allison? You tell me what you know about the Fulcrum and our dear friend, Reddington and I won't cut out your tongue," his voice was so calm, so soothing...it scared the hell out of her.
"I told you, I don't know anything about the Fulcrum! All I know is that it's a blackmail file and that's it!" her voice betrayed her fear.
"But you know something about Raymond Reddington, right?"
She stared him as he turned around and put the scissors down.
"Dear old Raymond..." he mused, "You know he was my buddy when we were young but then he betrayed me. We agreed that we would help each other in the Navy but as he stepped higher and higher he forgot me. I was still an ordinary sailor when he prepared to become admiral. One day Raymond called me and begged for my help. He had a quite powerful file about an organization, called the Cabal and he wanted to expose them but he needed more information and more time. I agreed to help him but in the mean time I told the DOJ. They immediately enacted a protocol called "Prague Spring". They trapped Red with a series of crimes against the USA. I let them treat him like a guilty dog for stealing the Fulcrum and let them rip him away from his family." he laughed heartily. "Oh, you should have seen it! The great admiral was crying like a dirty little whore when he believed that his family was murdered in cold blood!"
Jennifer's eyes filled up with tears. It was too much, just too much. All the information, all the sudden memories as they ran through her mind; all her childhood nightmares were based on lies. They let her as well as her mother believe that he voluntarily left his family to live his playboy life while he sold the precious information of the US government.
She shook her head, no, no, no, this couldn't be true, this…her father, dear god, she treated her father like a monster…no, this psychopath was surely lying.
"You think I'm lying, right?" he asked softly as he crouched in front of her and ran his index finger along her cheek. "They wanted to destroy Ray because he was too smart for a puppet and the most powerful people in the world didn't want another powerful man as the head of the one of the biggest branches of the armed services. On the other hand our dear Reddington was an opponent of the Gulf War. At the first months of 1990 there was no question that it was a matter of time before the USA would send in its troops. At that time Red was powerful enough to make it all stop because he knew the real reason of the whole operation."
"The Cabal" Jenny hissed.
The man nodded.
"They engineered the whole Gulf War just to assert their power over the world. Just imagine: a brave young Naval Officer dared to say no…of course they destroyed him! That idiot ran to me while his picture was everywhere! He told me that he had a friend at the KGB and she would help him with more information. I promised him to go to her and bring the remained pieces of the Fulcrum. I planned killing the whole family but in the meantime Red realized my betrayal so he came after me. The KGB whore and her husband were already fighting when Red appeared. He shot me but I only fainted because I had a bulletproof vest on. When I woke up again all I saw was smoke and flames. Turned out that the husband was dead and Red was nowhere to be found. I hunted him for years, to get the Fulcrum but he was like a ghost for years…and then here we are." he put his hands into his pockets as he tilted his head. "You're wondering why I told you this little tale, don't you?"
"You think I already knew about that," it was only the half of the truth, because she knew the pieces but now, owning the whole picture, it terrified her even more. She was tired and overwhelmed but one thought kept her straight; she knew she would have to survive this hell to forgive her father…she almost laughed.
The most horrible thing was that he would have to forgive her! Of course, she didn't know anything this man had just told her but then she hadn't let Red tell her the truth. She hadn't let him explain anything and the pain of it tightened her chest.
No, this wouldn't change her fatherless childhood but at least she would not be blaming the wrong person.
"No, I don't think. I know, at least about the Fulcrum," he slowly stepped closer as he pulled out a little pocketknife and he repeated the movement of his index finger with his pocketknife. "Alan Fitch debriefed you," it was a statement rather than question. "Maybe he was too weak or he had bigger plans but I don't care at all. He told me information about Red and the Fulcrum. Did he tell me about his family? Unfortunately I couldn't reach them because they were in the Witness Protection Program…" he sighed heavily "Oh God, how I wished to fuck Raymond's wife…now I believe his little girl has become an equally desirable woman. What do you know about them?"
"Nothing," she whispered.
"Wrong answer," he sang and scratched the blade of the knife along her cheek. It wasn't deep enough to leave a scar but it was enough to draw blood and scare the hell out of her.
"Let's start again: what business do you have with Reddington?"
"Nothing! I swear to God, I don't know anything!"
He cut along her collarbone and she screamed.
He shut his eyes as he stood up and enjoyed her fear.
"Ah, yesssss. I love these little cries of yours," he grinned evilly. "You know what I love more? Your skin. It's so soft and pale and I just have this huge urge to mark it with lovely cuts" his calm face darkened. "If you don't tell me what I want to know, by the end of the day you won't have skin because I'll peel you like a little scared bunny." he growled.
###
Ressler woke up with pounding headache. What the hell just happened? He blinked as he reached toward the passenger seat.
"Are you all…" when she was nowhere to be found, Ressler's heart began to pound. "Allison! Allison!" he dialed Liz's number. "It's me. Allison is missing."
"What do you mean missing?" he heard as she tried to calm her tone, probably to protect Red. He must be too weak to fight, he thought.
"A car appeared in front of us and they kidnapped her. I-I couldn't…they sedated…Liz if they hurt her…" suddenly he was well aware of his feelings toward this woman. He didn't love her but he was on the way to it. After Audrey's death he thought himself incapable of love but this woman, with her stormy green eyes, her beautiful laugh, not to mention her intelligence…she swept him off his feet.
Oh no, there was no god to let her slip away from him after their shared night. They hadn't even kissed but they shared many things and for the first time in many years he dared to open up to another human being.
"Ressler, we will find her. Call Aram and set the…"
"Agent Ressler, I suggest you to tell me what happened."
Reddington, great. He was too scared for her safety so he just told Red everything, not caring that Red would surely kill him.
"Stay where you're and for God's sake don't slip on any banana peels until we arrive." with that he hung up.
###
Red stood still for a moment and Liz dared to take a step closer but then he just smashed the phone against the wall. He picked up his shirt and called for Dembe. He was still too weak but he just couldn't sit there and wait until his unknown enemy killed one of the most precious things in his life.
He raved with fury. How could that bastard Ressler let them take his little girl away? There would be no stone unturned as long as Jennifer was missing!
"Red, you're…" she tried to soothe him but he turned around and snapped at her.
"Did you really want to keep this information from me?"
"Raymond, please. You're still weak and…"
"No, Elizabeth! Don't!" he held up his hand, stopped her from coming closer to him. He wasn't thinking clearly, otherwise he would have seen her real intention. "I don't need the big speech from you. She's my daughter and I can't…I won't…"
"Raymond, shut your mouth for once in your life!" it was enough for Lizzie, too. "I didn't want to keep this information away from you! All I wanted was more answers before I told you! I wanted to call Mr. Kaplan and her team to record the evidence."
"I don't need your protection, I need your honesty" he calmed down somehow but he was still furious.
"Don't you dare tell me that, you arrogant asshole! I didn't lie to you and it wasn't my intention! All I wanted was to spare you the needless stress!" her eyes danced wetly, but she would not allow him the pleasure of seeing her cry.
Really, how could someone open up in a moment and close in the next? How could someone turn from a tender man into the greatest jackass?
She would never know him well enough.
"Needless?! Somebody kidnapped my daughter!" now he raised his voice, something he rarely did with her.
"Yes, and yelling will save her, right?" she asked sarcastically as she folded her arms across her chest.
At that moment Dembe stepped in, saving the furniture from any other damage.
"The car is ready. I called Mr. Kaplan and they found a fingerprint," Dembe handed Red the paper where he had written the data that Mr. Kaplan had given him.
Liz was still angry with Red but she clearly saw as his flushed cheeks turned pale.
"This can't be true…he's dead. I saw him…I shot him. Is she sure?" Red asked with disbelief.
"Who is this enemy?" Liz asked but Red didn't answer nor did Dembe.
"Yes. She checked it twice," Dembe nodded.
"Locate him," Red ordered as they hurried to the car.
"Care to tell me where we are going?"
"After the man who ripped me away from my family." he growled. They were driving to the crime scene when Liz got a text from Ressler.
"Aram located the place." she said as she held her phone to Dembe who sped up the car. "We need more people."
"No, we don't. He's a loner. And a psychopath" he growled through his teeth. All he could think about was Theodor, the man who betrayed him many years ago and now threatened his daughter to make more money. Red shivered with fury, just like when Lottie had tried to kill Lizzie.
Lizzie…
At that moment he regretted all the horrible words he had thrown at her. She tried to help, to make things easier and even though it was inexplicable to him; he knew her intentions were good.
Liz sensed his gaze and prepared for another meaningless fight but the moment she saw his apologetic eyes, the way he opened and shut his mouth, she shook her head.
"We'll talk about this later. Now, we will save Jennifer," she said in the tone Red called the FBI agent.
He nodded and he was grateful for that.
For now.
###
"I TOLD YOU I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, YOU BASTARD!"Jennifer couldn't see anything through her tears as Theodor only smiled.
"Oh, I thought we were through this already. Why would you be under the protection of Reddington? He surely didn't fuck you nor does he wants to…his new wife is such a pretty creature, she must be with him for his power and money." Theodor chuckled as he slowly peeled down her jeans to her thighs. "You know, one of the most sensitive areas are the thighs. The skin there is so thin…" he ran his hand along her thighs. "I think I will linger here for a while or until you pass out…what do you know about Reddington?" he was losing his patience, Jennifer heard his voice harden word by word.
At that moment Ressler burst into the hellhole and raised his gun as Theodor stepped behind Jennifer and held his knife against her throat.
"Drop the knife and step away!" he ordered.
"Are you sure you want to risk her life? If the knife should slip…" Theodor's voice was sing-song, taunting. Jennifer shut her eyes tightly. All she could think about was that she didn't want to die. She wanted to tell her father how sorry she was, to find out if things could work with Donald, to tell Liz she was right. So many things to do and she didn't want to die, dammit!
Ressler let his instincts drive for once and he pulled the trigger.
"Shhh, you're okay, you're okay," Ressler soothed her as he released the rope from her wrists and ankles. Luckily he shot Theodor in the head and he was dead before he could make any move.
Jennifer tried to stand up, to run away but her jelly legs couldn't hold her. Ressler was already there, gently sitting her down as he examined Theodor.
A second later Red burst into the cell. He had heard the gunshot and Jenny's scream and he just ran. He took a deep breath in relief as he knelt down in front of her. He was too selfish to think about Jennifer's rejection, if he could hold her even for a second, to make himself believe she was alive and well, he would happily deal with her anger later.
Much to his surprise, instead of pushing him away, Jennifer held on to him tightly and buried her face in his chest the way she had used to do when she was little.
"Dad… dad…I'm so sorry, this psychopath…he told me…told me everything…dad, god, dad…so so sorry…" she gasped and hugged him.
He shut his eyes tightly at her beloved voice in his ear "Shh…everything is okay…don't cry honey. I'm here," he gently caressed her back, rocking back and forth.
When the Concierge of Crime married the love of his life, he felt his heart became whole.
Now this whole heart found peace in the long-craved embrace of his daughter.
To be continued…
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