Plan in Motion

Everything was in motion by the time the Task Force had found out that the Cabal was planning to attack Red. The best Cooper could do was to insist that he was delivered to the Post Office. It had taken every favour he had, and they knew that as soon as Kotsiopulos made his appearance that he would claim national security and they'd never see Reddington again.

Seeing him locked away in that box again reminded Liz of the first day they had met. He had been all smug smiles and full of information that no one should have known. She certainly hadn't expected her new team to find out about a few select pieces of her past and her upbringing that day.

Now there were no smug smiles as blue eyes flickered up to meet hers, her boots making just enough noise on the hard floors to draw his attention. "Lizzie," he breathed, his expression a little surprised.

Liz tried for a reassuring smile, but she didn't have to see it to know it didn't quite make it. "Red, what's going on?"

He snorted a mirthless chuckle. "I warned you that you and Christopher were playing with something you couldn't possibly understand, Lizzie."

She glanced up at where the cameras were fixed in the box. "Aram's bought us a little time, but if you're going to fill me in, you need to do so now,"

"It's out of your hands. They want something that I no longer have."

"And what's that?"

"The Fulcrum," he murmured, his voice low.

"And what's that?" She knew that honesty and openness weren't his go-to's, but she needed something. She had to have something.

"A blackmail file meant to be the bargaining chip for my life."

Liz did everything she could to school her expression. What were the odds that she found a blackmail file that she had never known about tucked away in a childhood toy just weeks before finding out that Reddington was missing one? When Aram and Dumont had shown her the footage, she had felt sick at the idea that someone from her past was connected to this mess with the Cabal that was happening now. Chris had been the one to voice the idea that it could be Reddington, but she hadn't wanted to believe it. That would give her the key piece of information to understand why he had dropped into her life, and after everything she had wanted it to be more than him using her for something. She had wanted there to be a deeper connection, even if he had told her that he wasn't her father. Somehow she wanted it to be more than this, but what she wanted didn't seem to matter.

"Lizzie?"

The nickname caused her to draw a sharp breath. "I'm going to save you, Reddington," she swore softly, her voice tense with the determination. "But then we're done."

A startled expression flashed through his eyes briefly, but if it remained she couldn't tell. Liz turned on her heel and left the room. If she was going to free him, she had to act fast.

"I'll be back. Don't let anyone take him from this facility," she instructed as she pulled her phone out, stepping into the elevator. "Dembe. We need to meet."