Chapter Twenty-Seven
Berlin was a dog that had chewed through his leash. Impossible to control, angry, and vicious. He would just as soon bite the hand of his master as his enemy, not that Reddington thought the man could tell the difference any longer.
Things had dissolved quickly. Red had thought that finding the man that had helped Berlin's daughter escape would somehow ease the tensions. He had fed him the information he needed to find this Decembrist, but when it had led back to Alan Fitch, all hell broke loose.
The phone rang and rang in his ear, and he was about ready to hang up and start again when a sleepy sounding "Phelps?" stopped him.
"Agent Phelps, of all the times for you to decide to get some sleep," Reddington grumbled into the phone. "Wake up. This has to do with Elizabeth's safety."
"What happened?" Jacob demanded, his voice suddenly clearer than it had been. That did it.
"Berlin is on a tear looking for the man that helped his daughter escape. He was called the Decemberist."
"Isn't that you? The guy that killed his daughter or whatever?" Jacob grumbled. "What does this have to do with Liz's safety?"
"Everything, Jacob. Keep up. No, the Decembrist is a man named Alan Fitch."
"The AD of National Intelligence?"
"If Berlin gets to him there's a chance they'll try to pin it on Elizabeth. If they do that they will lock her away and throw away the key. You know that they will."
"What makes you think I care if they do?" the younger man growled.
"Because you were barely listening until I mentioned her name. If I like it or not, you two are connected. There is more danger out there for her. If they lock her away it will leave her vulnerable to people willing to kill her."
"You're really dramatic, you know that?" Reddington could hear him shuffling even as he said it and he snorted.
"I'd suggest you oversee it personally," he answered and ended the call. There were few things in this world entirely reliable, but Jacob Phelps' near self-destructive, single-focus was one of them, and heaven help them all, but that focus was on keeping Elizabeth safe.
It had taken some convincing to allow the task force a chance to be in the middle of Fitch's detail, but someone must have pulled strings somewhere and Jacob, and Ressler were on the detail while Samar and Meera followed up a lead to track Berlin himself.
"Special Agents Ressler and Phelps, sir," they were introduced.
Fitch turned and Jacob felt his gaze linger on him a moment longer than it did Ressler before he nodded. "Well, let's get going."
Jacob caught his partner's gaze briefly before they started forward, one on either side of the man as he climbed into the SUV. Ressler circled around to the front and Jacob took the back. As soon as he'd slipped in he found Fitch watching him with a small smirk. "The husband," he said, as if he'd been trying to place him.
"Excuse me?"
Fitch only gave him a knowing look and turned his gaze forward as the convoy started to move.
"We'll be taking you to a safe location. A black site," Ressler explained from upfront. "We have viable intel that a terrorist we've been looking for is after you."
"Son, I've had a lot of people want me dead over the years. You don't work on the level of the Intelligence Community as I do and not make a few enemies. What's so special about this one that they put a task force that few know about as my personal protection?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but until we reach the location, I'm afraid that's all I can tell you."
"What? You afraid the vehicle has ears? Or Luis?" Fitch asked, motioning to the driver. "I've known Luis for thirty years. He and Betty come over for dinner every other week. You can't say anything here that I'm worried will-"
Tires squealed ahead of them and the impact hit the driver's side of the car before any of them could register it. It hit hard enough to turn it on its side, jolting all four men inside and leaving them dangling upside down from their seat belts.
Jacob blinked hard, feeling the world around him pulse dangerously. "Sir? AD Fitch?"
The older man didn't respond, but he heard Ressler grunt from up front. "Jake, we have company. Can you get free?"
"Yeah," he answered, struggling out of the seat belt and dropping to the roof of the car. He felt blood trail down his face from a gash above it and he wiped it away as he went for his gun, shooting the first masked man that peeked inside. "AD Fitch, we need to get you out of here."
The older man mumbled incoherently as Jacob started working on the belt holding him in. "It's jammed, Ress. Can you buy us some time?"
"Work fast," Ressler growled, returning fire.
Jacob reached into his jacket and pulled a small knife out. "I'm cutting you free. We're going to have to make a run for it. Just stay low and with me. I'll get you out."
"Good at your job, aren't you?" Fitch mused. "Even with everything." He grunted as Jacob cut him loose.
The agent took a seat and kicked out, shattering the rest of the glass out of the window on his side of the car so they could get out.
"We're right next to an alleyway that looks clear," Ressler said from up front. "Let me know when and I'll give you cover."
Jacob looked back to Fitch who still looked dazed. He grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him forward shouting "when!" as he did.
The two men ducked low as Jacob's partner covered them. Bullets pinged close and Jacob felt one catch him deep enough in the thigh to lose his footing for half a step. That was all it took, though, and Fitch gave a sharp cry as Jacob pulled him around into the alley and further back until they were ducked behind a trash container. He knelt, ignoring the stingingly his own leg as best as he could while he peeled open Fitch's jacket. "They have you in a vest, right?" He demanded. "Should have-"
"Went right through," Fitch choked and Jacob could see the signs of blood gathering at his lips. He cursed lowly, starting in on the vest to try to get to the wound and apply pressure, but Fitch reached clumsily up. "You did all you could, kid. Whatever… whatever Ray told you to put you here today… He exaggerated."
"I don't know what you-"
"Cut the crap. Masha Rostova won't be blamed for this. Not the girl's fault. But-" He winced and coughed hard. "They know. Tell Ray they know. If he has it, now's the time to prove it. How good's your memory, kid? Can you remember a set of numbers?"
"Yeah," Jacob managed, not sure exactly what was happening.
Fitch snorted, though it might have been a laugh. "You're not so bad," he mused. "Just an idiot in love. Ray should get that." He closed his eyes and Jacob thought he had slipped when he spoke again. "Seven. Eight. Twelve. Thirty-six. Four thousand. Repeat it back."
"Seven. Eight. Twelve. Thirty-six. Four thousand. What is it?"
"Phone number. Tell Ray… Tell Ray I couldn't stop it. They know. Running won't save him now. Only proof."
Jacob swallowed hard. "Proof of what?" He didn't get an answer, though, as the man's eyes slipped shut. "No, no, no! You have to stay with me! What did you mean?"
"Jake?"
He turned, finding Ressler standing behind him and all at once the desperation washed out, leaving only the hollowness that had been threatening to take over. "He's gone."
"Ressler frowned. "We did everything we could. We'll find the leak that put the route out there."
Jacob stood slowly, and without warning lashed out, fist connecting with the brick wall. "Dammit! What the hell is all of this?"
"What do you mean?"
"He knows Reddington. He gave me some sort of phone number for him. I don't know, saying that someone knows something and that Red can't run anymore."
Ressler was watching him carefully. "We'll talk with Cooper."
"He knew about Liz," Jacob managed, his voice soft and shaky.
"We'll figure it out. Come on, let's get that leg patched up."
"It's fine."
"It will be with stitches. Come on. We've done all we can here."
Jacob didn't shrug his friend off as Ressler slipped one of his arms around his shoulders, helping him out. His leg had started to ache as the adrenaline wore off, but the cut wasn't deep enough to worry too much over. Not as deep as all of this seemed to run, anyway. "We're in deeper than we know, aren't we?" he murmured, leaning on his friend.
"We may be," Ressler answered. "Come on, let's get you patched up."
His leg wasn't nearly as bad as Ressler was making it out to be. Jacob saw the EMT that was on site and caught a ride back to the Post Office. He was caught almost immediately at the door by Reddington who pulled him aside as if someone had dared to keep him out of the loop. Jacob sighed. "Alan Fitch is dead. The convoy was hit and we didn't get him out."
A surprisingly shaky breath left the older man. "Did he say anything?"
"A few. A lot that I didn't understand, but he left a phone number."
"Phone number? What was it?"
Jacob squared his shoulders. "You don't get all the information and give us none in return, Reddington. He said that you were running from someone. Who? What does this have to do with Liz?"
Something switched in Reddington and instead of impatience there was a dangerous flash in his eye as he moved as quickly as he had the morning at Ressler's cabin and shoved Jacob against the wall, speaking lowly in his ear. "Who else have you spoken to about this?"
"What the hell, man?"
"Who?" he hissed.
"Ressler. Ress was on the scene with me. I didn't give any of those details to anyone but him."
"No one outside of this task force is to hear what Fitch told you, do you understand me? What phone number-"
"You're a real ass, you know that?" Jacob growled, shoving the older man off of him. "You don't run this task force. You work with us, or at least you're supposed to. Something has you spooked, I get that, but we can't help you if-"
"You're right, Agent Phelps, you can't help me, and all that's going to happen if you keep trying to stick your nose deeper into it is you'll draw attention."
"So tell me, because you know I won't stop looking until I find out."
"How well did that work out with you with Elizabeth?"
Jacob bristled and Reddington shot him a smug look, knowing he'd won that particular round of verbal sparring.
"I still have information you need," Jacob said lowly. "Information that I can't know if I should give to you until I know why you need it so badly. I'm a lot of things, Reddington, but I'm still a fed. I have no problem bending rules if there's a reason behind them. You sent me racing into a situation this morning that may have gotten that man killed, all because you tossed Liz's safety out there like it was the easiest thing for you to use. She was never in any danger from this."
"These people that Fitch was referring to-"
"Who are they then, because until you give me a reason to trust you on this, you'll understand if my trust is running a little shallow lately."
The two men stood glaring at each other for several long moments before Reddington heaved a sigh. "Not here."
"You're not getting the phone number until I get the information," Jacob said firmly, glancing up and behind him. "Cooper, on the other hand, is about to get a full debrief. You want to stop that, you better be willing to shoot me."
Reddington didn't wait around for Cooper to pull him into their chat as well. He didn't have time for that. Berlin had killed Fitch and that could, potentially, lead down a very dangerous road when it came to the Cabal. First thing was first. He needed to get rid of Berlin. Once he'd done that Cooper would be forced to move on his promises in regards to Elizabeth. Reddington would know from there just where Harold stood. If he was with the Cabal, he'd never let the woman out of his sight, but Red was hesitant to believe that he was. Time would tell.
Berlin couldn't be left alive. He had gone too far and he seemed to be aware of that. He didn't fight it as Reddington sat with him and took shots of vodka until they had finished the bottle. The shots rang out and Reddington had left Mr Kaplan to clean up the mess he left behind and Dembe to call that idiot Phelps and set a meet.
That was how Red came to stand on the docks, watching the waves below and waiting for the man that had married Katarina Rostova's daughter. He heard footsteps and glanced back. "Is it true you can't swim, Agent Phelps?"
"Why? Are you planning to throw me over the rails?"
"I hadn't meant to, no, but there's a certain appeal to the idea."
"I'm still not going to give you that number until you-"
"What do you think you're doing here if not for information?" Reddington asked with a sigh. "I am aware how stubborn you are, and if Alan gave that number to you with his dying breath, I need it."
Jacob came to stand next to him by the railing. "Okay. Talk."
"Did you receive word about Berlin yet?"
"We found his body a couple of hours ago. I take it you had something to do with that? Not that there'll be any direct evidence to link back to you."
Reddington hummed softly, eyes scanning the waves. "He was hired, originally, by an organization with few fond feelings towards me."
"What organization?"
"First thing's first: Elizabeth."
Jacob's voice was tight as he spoke. "Cooper has set the process into motion. Apparently she wants to stay. She'll be used as a CI, just like you."
"But she'll be free?"
"Apparently that's the deal you two worked out. It'll take some time, but by the end of tomorrow she should walk."
"You disagree?"
"I don't know how I feel about it yet."
"That's quite fair," Reddington mused.
"I've given you that, now who are you running from?"
"This group that hired Berlin is an extremely powerful clandestine organization. If their activities were made public, some of the most powerful and influential men would go to prison or be executed."
"And you know who these people are?" Jacob asked, not sounding as if he entirely believed what Reddington was telling him.
"Some. There's a blackmail file that I took many years ago from them. It's kept me alive while simultaneously painting a target on my back. Some of them believe I still have it, some of them believe I've lost it."
"Do you have it?"
Reddington offered the younger man a lazy smile, but not an answer to his question. "Alan Fitch was one of my few remaining allies in that organization. If he was trying to get information to me, I do need that information to stay alive. If you'd like me to continue helping your team - if you would like me alive to do so - I need that phone number that he trusted you with."
Jacob snorted. "You seem to think I give a damn if you live or die."
"And you used to be a better liar. No wonder Berlin made you when you swooped in to save Elizabeth." He chuckled at the glare he received for the effort.
"What does all of this have to do with Liz?"
"She'll be caught up in it if I'm not careful. If I don't have the right protection. I took out the… insurance against this organization - this Cabal, we'll call it - when she was still in my life. They may try to use her to get to me, just as Berlin was ready to do."
"Fitch said they knew. He said that running won't save you now, only proof, and that they knew. What do they know?"
"They know about Elizabeth," Reddington sighed. "He'd kept her off their radar, but… I knew it wouldn't last. The number, Jacob. I've told you what you asked."
"Seven. Eight. Twelve. Thirty-six. Four thousand," he said quietly. "Those were the numbers he gave me. Are you… Are you going to take her away?"
"She should go. She'd be much safer with me and away from all of this. That was the original plan before… Well before she fell in love with you." His gaze traveled up and down. "You're very troublesome, Agent Phelps. Maybe I should just throw you in the water."
Jacob snorted and leaned against the railing. "Maybe so."
"I won't force her to leave. She doesn't know me anymore and there's no reason for her to trust me over you."
"You want me to tell her to leave?"
"I don't think you would. You're too stubborn and foolish enough to think that you can protect her from all of this."
"She's lied to me for years. I don't know what-"
"Don't be stupid. She's told you a few pieces of false information. That was her job. One that, according to her file, she was quite good at before you. Did you know that she is the one that got the antidote from Zanetakos?"
"No."
"Of course you hadn't thought about that. You've spent so much time with the bureau that they've trained even someone like you to look at things in a black and white sort of manner. You are well aware that the world is rarely so clear cut." Reddington pushed himself off the railing. "Like right now. Drowning you would handle the issue with Elizabeth wanting to stay, but it would also make her incredibly sad, so I resist. Feel free to get yourself killed in any manner that won't be my fault, though. I'll leave you to your decisions to be made while I try to salvage some symbolance of safety should she choose to stay here." He left the younger man standing there, the day finally winding down into evening. It had been a long and hard day, and he had to make preparations in case Elizabeth chose to go, but first he had a call to make.
Jacob tossed his keys towards the bowl by the door and ignored how they slipped out the other side and tumbled to the floor. Hudson met him, less enthusiastic than he used to, but still pleased to see him. "As if things couldn't get more complicated," he grumbled to the dog as he moved silently to the kitchen, grabbed a beer, and back to flop on the couch.
He'd somehow managed not to utterly destroy the townhouse again after the first outburst. Kelly and Bruce had spent that night putting it back together to the best of their ability and he almost felt responsible to keep it that way. They called nightly, checking on him and often Kelly came over with food to make sure he ate. He was entirely aware what they were doing, but he couldn't quite bring himself to put a great deal of focus into what was supposed to be his personal life. Liz had been his life outside of work, and now even that was tainted.
A knock at the door caught his attention and Jacob loosed a sigh, pulling himself to his feet and seeing his partner on his doorstep. He opened the door and moved back to the couch without a word. "Hello to you too," Ressler greeted.
"It's been a really long day."
"It's been a really long couple of weeks." He moved in without any verbal invitation - not that he'd ever really needed one - and grabbed a drink before joining Jacob in the livingroom. "How're you doing?"
The younger man shrugged. "Can we talk about anything other than that?"
"Is Cooper giving you the option to transfer?"
Jacob's head jerked up and his gaze fell on his friend. "You don't want me on the team?"
"Woh. I didn't say that," Ressler answered defensively. "I just know that last I heard Liz - Rostova - was talking about staying on as a CI. I can't imagine that you-"
"I'm staying."
Ressler swallowed a gulp of his beer. "Stubborn."
"Yeah."
"Listen, she probably won't-"
"Cooper gave me some options," Jacob cut in, his gaze falling to the coffee table between them. "I know that they'll put her up in some safe house somewhere to keep an eye on her, but I think I'm going to offer to bring her home."
Ressler choked on his drink. "You're… what?"
"I'm going to offer to let her stay here."
"Okay, I think you've finally found your threshold for how many hours you can be conscious at once before you start babbling."
"I'm serious, Ress."
"Jake, she-"
"I know what she did. I know that I haven't had a chance to talk to her. Not really talk to her, you know, without cameras and recordings, and everyone staring at us like we're some sort of spectacle." He took a long sip of his drink and set it on the table, forcing himself to look up, but his words were lost at the look that Ressler was giving him. It was complete and utter astonishment, like he'd lost his mind. "You told me you'd have my back."
"Yeah, but not in this."
"So, what? Having my back only stands when you agree with my decision?"
"Having your back means stopping you from going into full-on self-destruction mode," Ressler snapped, standing. "Jake, stop and think. A couple weeks ago I was picking you up off the floor after you ripped your living room apart and then just shut down. Your mom has been force feeding you. You're only sleeping when you completely crash. You know why, Jake? Because your life was ripped apart. I get that. I get that your world has been shattered and you're expected to keep going, but what I don't get is you suddenly wanting to turn back into the mess-"
"I'm not turning back into it!" Jacob argued, matching his tone and standing as well. "I'm trying to figure out what the hell is going on!"
"She lied to you, that's what. She used you. That's not love, Jake, that's-"
"You have no idea what she feels or what she doesn't."
"Neither do you! You just want her to love you back. I hate to break it to you, buddy, but it's supposed to hurt when a woman breaks your heart. That's the one thing normal in all of this."
"Nothing about this is normal, Ress," Jacob snapped, taking an aggressive step around the table.
Ressler squared his shoulders. "Yeah, well diving head first back into it sure isn't. Listen, I know I'm not the one to give you emotional advice or anything-"
"You're really not," Jacob growled, straightening his back so that he was standing taller than the other man.
"Get out my face, Jake," Ressler answered. "This is stupid. You're impossible to talk to when you're like this."
"That's because you don't give a damn about what I have to say. It's my life. It's my marriage. You know, it must be easy to sit on your high horse with Audrey back. Must be easy to let the rest of us whose lives have gone to shit know just what we should be doing. If we'd just act like you-" he gave the other man a hard shove- "everything would work out."
"Jake, stop," the older man said tightly.
"Stop what? You want me to feel something? You want me to react? Fine. I'm pissed, Ressler. I'm pissed that you think you can come in here and offer your sage advice like you know what the hell could possibly be going on," he snapped, sarcasm rolling off each word. "That you, in your perfectly little world with everything could-"
Ressler lashed out, his fist connecting hard with Jacob's jaw and everything broke loose. Half a second later they were both grappling, evenly matched as they threw punches at each other in Jacob's living room. Jacob pinned Ressler to the ground and Ressler threw him over backwards, rolling to his feet only to be knocked back to the ground and given a black eye for the effort. They struggled until they were both bruised and beaten and leaning against opposite sides of the room with only their ragged breathing filling the room.
"I just don't want her to get you killed," Ressler managed after a moment.
Jacob swallowed hard. "She's saved me. A couple times."
"According to Reddington?" Ressler asked sarcastically.
"He was right about Bouchard."
"Who worked for the same man as Liz!"
"She was telling me the truth, Ress. When I asked her when it became real? She wasn't lying."
"You can't know that."
"I can. I do. I don't want to believe it, but it's true." He sank hard to the wooden floor and crossed his legs, leaning heavily with his elbows against his knees. "I've done a lot of thinking, and everything - every moment, every situation that we've been through - it always leads me back to her. Everything comes back to her, Ress. I want to hate her for what she did. I don't trust her, but I do love her. How am I supposed to balance that?" He looked up as his beer appeared in front of him and he took it, Ressler taking a seat next to him.
"I don't know," the older man said softly.
"The only thing I know to do is to talk to her. To figure it out. I know that if I don't, if I just… if I run, I'll always regret it." He'd spent enough time running that if he knew anything, he knew that he didn't want to run from Liz. Not until he knew the truth.
Ressler remained silent for a long moment, sitting and drinking with him, until Jacob loosed a long breath. "Sorry."
"Me too."
"What'd you come over for anyway?"
That pulled a rough chuckle out of the other man and he stretched his legs out in front of him. "I came to ask you something. It's kind of important."
"Well, if you were going to ask me to be your best man at your wedding, you may want to find someone that doesn't mistake you for a punching bag."
Ressler snorted. "No way. You accepted the first time Audrey and I were engaged. You're not slipping out of it this time. Not when it's really happening."
"Fair," Jacob murmured, a small smile finally tilting his lips. "What were you going to ask?"
"I was going to ask if… if you'd be my son's godfather."
"Son's…" He stopped, staring at his friend. "Audrey's pregnant?"
"Yeah."
A laugh, the first real sign of any happiness in some time, escaped him. "That's amazing. Congratulations, man."
Ressler chuckled. "Yeah, well, you get to explain why I'm coming home with a black eye tonight."
"I'll be lucky if Audrey doesn't give me a matching one."
"You've got a shiner started already," Ressler pointed out and the younger man shook his head.
"I have to do this, Ress. She… She's the only woman I've ever loved. If there's nothing of Liz there, what does that say about me?"
"I don't know."
"Sage wisdom, right there," Jacob chuckled mirthlessly.
"Yeah. Have you told your folks yet?"
"No. I just made the decision tonight."
Ressler pulled in a deep breath. "I'll do my best to back you, Jake. I don't like it. I think you're crazy for doing it, but I'll be there to back you."
A small smile pulled his lips. "Thanks."
"You'd do the same for me."
"Let's hope Audrey's not some secret operative, okay?"
"That would be…"
"Terrible. Let's just leave it at terrible."
Ressler chuckled, leaning back so that his head thunked lightly against the wall. He looked as exhausted as Jacob felt. "Any other surprises you want to tell me about?"
"I kind of get the idea they're about to start rolling out daily," Jacob managed. He closed his eyes and sighed. "I talked to Reddington today about that phone number that Fitch left?" Had that really been that morning? It was hard to believe.
"You gave it to him?"
"I did. He's… running from some organization. I don't know what exactly. He tends to tell his stories to get what he wants out of people." Ressler snorted and Jacob managed a glare in his direction. "Shut up."
"Didn't say it."
"He knows I'll do what I have to to protect her. I think that's why he told me about them."
"You think this organization is after Liz too?"
Jacob shrugged. "Sounded like it."
"We'll protect her, Jake. She's going to be working with us, so-"
"That's just it. Red said that the organization is made of of people in high government positions. It sounded like they could be anyone."
"No specifics though?"
"It's Reddington."
"Yeah," Ressler sighed. "What does your BS detector say?"
A small smile tugged at his lips. Well, at least his partner was acting like he was going to trust his judgement again. "That he's not telling me everything. Shocker. Listen, as much as I want to keep going over this, I need some sleep. Tell Audrey congrats for me, okay?"
"Yeah. I'll tell her you said yes too, you know, after you punched me."
"You had it coming."
"I think the wall would have had it coming with the way you've been. Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."
Jacob nodded, watching his friend set what was left of his beer down on the coffee table and leaving without another word. He stayed on the floor for a long moment until Hudson came over and leaned up against him. "You're mom's coming home tomorrow," he promised softly. It had to be the right decision, because he wasn't sure he was capable of making another one.
TBC
Notes: Well that chapter turned into a rather long one. Over 5K. Ah well, everything needed to be in there :)
I'm still kind of on a Tessler high from Thursday's episode. I'm absurdly excited! As long as they keep on that path, those two may actually start to become fond of each other. I mean, I still expect those wonderful one liners that they gave us. "Did you even go to the academy?!" Oh Jacob. How I love him.
I also have a set one Tessler canon-based one shots started under the title Changing the Dynamic if anyone's interested. I don't know how often those will be updated, but I already have a request for the second chapter, so I do plan to continue them.
Next time - Ressler and Liz have a chat, Jacob takes her home, and the Phelps' do what they can to pick up the pieces of their lives.
