Like a Stone

by ivvana

Some Ressler angst inspired by one of the greatest songs ever. AU following the events in 8x03. - This is a spy story inspired by events in TBL. We have good, bad and, mostly, in between. Old characters repurposed, new ones to bring on a dash of fun. I love TBL and am shamelessly #TeamLiz

Chapter 1

He felt trapped. Uneasy. Worn-out.

Aram was on his side more than he wished for, just being a good friend. A much too worried friend, tough, always coming up with suggestions about things to do in their spare time. Park was mostly avoiding him, same as other agents in his team. Cooper was asking him for late debriefing meetings over bourbon more and more often. Reddington was oddly and wordlessly squinting in his direction each time he passed by the Post Office, while Dembe's glance always looked concerned during their briefly encounters.

He may have officially become a mess although, he never mentioned her to them nor referred to her in official discussions as being something else than his now former partner. Her.

It's been weeks since their last call. The goodbye. He stopped counting the days a while back trying hard to push away any thoughts that didn't have to do with the work of the Task Force. He failed miserably, of course. He kept hoping for his phone to ring flashing an unknown number or a message with an obscure place to meet where he'd head to within minutes. He continuously checked the phone, he was looking in the Settings mode to ensure the data plan is set up and there is signal, that the battery is not low, that there is always a spare charger around he could use. Just in case… Checking emails, refreshing the inbox over and over again, navigating through all the communication apps that she'd might use to get somehow in touch – this was his new routine.

And he felt angry each time his fingers were tapping the screen of the phone.

On the other hand, he was a master when it came of suppressing feelings. That has always been his thing. This was the only thing that offered him a sense of control over what happens. He could just ignore the mess he was in. The mess he was.

His sudden sigh was louder than the music coming from his Audioslave record he decided to play that night, while doing his awful phone routine.

In your house I long to be / Room by room patiently

I'll wait for you there / Like a stone

I'll wait for you there / Alone

But what stunned him more than how the lyrics fit his bedraggled mood was the shy knock at the door. At first, Ressler thought it's his erratic imagination, but there came a bolder second knock.

Her.

He jumped off the sofa heading to the door with one single hope invading his mind and senses.

Her. It has to be her.

Esi glanced at him from the other side of the door, but Ressler's eyes fell on the little girl next to her.

"Agnes, sweety! What's happening? Where's Liz?", his mind was swirling. This was not happening. World were collapsing as he was trying to read the situation and not madly jump to conclusions.

He carefully took Agnes by her hand, starting to check her up, to see if she is hurt. The girl seemed, but there was something in her eyes he could not ignore.

"You can't be here…", he told Esi without even looking at her as he was still cupping Agnes' little face.

"I know. But we need to talk and this is urgent", the woman pushed the door with decisiveness, letting herself in. Ressler took Agnes by the end, she followed him without not letting out a single sound.

"Honey, you look sleepy. Come with me here, I'll get you a blanket."

Ressler couldn't tell if she was sleepy or if she cried, but he was struck of how much the look in her eyes resembled her mother's when she was in distress. Once he set her up on the sofa, under a blanket, he quickly turned-on Netflix in children mode and handed over the remote to her.

Esi was waiting for him in the kitchen, looking into a pink backpack he didn't even notice at first.

"Talk", he said and it sounded as an order rather than an invitation.

"Liz has been taken, child is not safe with me."

"What? Who? Speak. NOW!" He immediately realized his loud tone might and panic might scare off Agnes. SO, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down and allow Esi to explain the situation.

Allowing him a few moments to gain back control over his reactions, Esi continued: "I'll tell you what I know. Liz disappeared so she can dig on Reddington – that you know already. What you don't know is that we had some leads left from Katarina, we met a few associates of hers that, we talked to some other people. It seems with this we woke up some monsters…"

"Who took her? Was she hurt?", he asked not needing other information about Liz's investigation. He, too and not too long ago, woke some monsters that had to do with Katarina's past.

Just looking at Esi's expression, Ressler could tell she was not indifferent to what had happened and she genuinely cared about Liz.

"Look, she wasn't deadly hurt. She fought back, tried to escape them. They were at this small park, close to the safe house we rented. Agnes ran back from the park…"

"Agnes saw it?", Ressler interrupted creeping out at the situation.

"She did, they tried to catch her, but they gave up because it was middle of the day and they were drawing too much attention. I don't think they wanted to risk anything. Agnes came back to the house. I found her crying, she told me what happened. She is one brave girl, like her mama…"

"Who the hell are 'they'?, Ressler felt like hitting something. Someone.

"Agnes said they spoke a strange language, like Maddie. I assumed it's Russian since... well – you know who Maddie was. Listen, I don't know who they are, their names, how they look like… But from what she told me they were brutes, they were more bodyguard material rather than anything else", Esi replied back.

"Reddington?", he asked as his heart stopped for a second.

"I don't know, but Liz told me he will never hurt her or Agnes. On the other hand, we found some things on him. He might want revenge, I really don't know…"

"Are they after you now?"

"Probably. They know we were a team. Skip is not in town now, he is keeping low for the moment. His Liz's lawyer."

"I know…", he said with half of voice.

"Liz asked us, in case anything happens, to bring Agnes to you. I wouldn't be here otherwise", Esi changed the topic.

Ressler sighed. He couldn't comprehend the whole situation. There were a million questions he wanted to ask. He looked over the living room. Agnes was impassively watching the screen. Esi continued:

"I have here" – she opened a backpack – "some things I put together", she handed him some files and a flash drive.

Ressler was still absently looking away, not showing any reaction at her files. There were too many details to digest. There was the little girl on the sofa. There was Liz somewhere, hurt or even worse.

Esi took a deep breath to remind him she is still around, then put everything on the kitchen counter sharply saying: "I leave these here, you will look into, the area doesn't have too much surveillance, but maybe your team will find something to identify those men."

"Thanks. Thanks for bringing her in, Liz knows I…", he couldn't finish the sentence, but she seemed to understand him.

"I have more evidence, I'll send it to you once I am safe", the older woman advised.

"You want an insurance we'll not arrest you because you helped a fugitive…"

"You let me go once, you will do it again because now it's more important and I can help. I want to help", she said.

He bitterly smiled hearing that. But he had no regrets.

"Look, I know it must be hard for you. But you can help her. You can save her."

"You don't need to worry about…"

"Arresting me?"

"Yes, that."

"Good. Because I can continue Liz's investigation and, trust me, you and you FBI team would want me to do that."

"What about Reddington? What do you have on him?", he asked a bit scared to find out. It was clear to him Esi and Liz gathered a lot of insights.

Instead of offering an answer to him, she pointed out to the counter.

"We need to stay in touch, Agent Ressler. I know how to find you."

With that Esi took off. Before closing the door behind her she added: "That USB drive. Liz put that together for you. Oh, and Agnes' things – you know where they are."

He knew that text message by heart.

"Agnes? Are you hungry?", he shyly asked her.

"No…", her drear voice instantly broke his hear into a million pieces.

"Are you sad because of what happened?"

She nodded.

"I am sorry you had to see that. I will do everything to get your mom back. I promise", he said to her caressing her hair. He then tucked the blanket around her to ensure she feels safer there, in his presence.

"I know. Mommy said you always take care of her", Agnes turned around to face him.

"She did?" His very surprised voice made Agnes share a small smile.

"Yes, she always tells me stories. You're like a superhero. You do a lot of good, you save good people from bad people. Mom told me you have always kept her safe", she said in a reassuring voice as if it was her turn to comfort him.

"Good, this means you know I'll also take care of you for a little bit."

"I know", she said.

"You do?

"Mommy told me you will take care of me when she is not around", she was looking in his eyes reassuring him. The million pieces that were his heart mended together again.

"What else did she tell you, Agnes?"

"You like Chinese food and you always eat with the sticks. I don't know how to that", she added the last part in a small voice. Ressler chuckled.

"I can teach you. Are you hungry now?"

She shook her head no, then added: "She told me we'll have picnics and Aram will come too." Agnes said his name with a smile, making Ressler laugh for a second.

"You like Aram?"

"Yessssssss!", the reply came very convincingly.

"I like him too", he added. This made her cuddle on his side. He put an arm around her.

"Mom also likes him", she said. Now her voice sounded sleepy.

"So, a picnic. We can do that."

Ressler wanted to ask her about what happened when Liz was taken, but this didn't seem the time. He decided it would be best to let her have some rest. He positioned the pillow under her head and added in a soft voice:

"I'll get some of your things tomorrow. I know where they are, OK?

"OK…"

It only took a few minutes for her to fall asleep. He watched over her for more than 20 minutes before he decided to go to the kitchen and look into what Esi left him.

"I have the feeling I should be more surprised…", Cooper said as he was taking a seat cross the table from Ressler. Ressler was cutting a waffle into smaller pieces for Agnes to eat. She was in a talkative mood, very excited to eat out. He specifically chose that diner knowing there is a playground where she can have some fun while he talks to his boss.

It was only 7.30 am and the diner was half full.

"Remember what you have to say if anyone asks?", Ressler asked the little girl.

"Yes!", she smiled to him and went to play.

Cooper raised his eyebrows towards Ressler waiting for clarifications:

"She's my daughter, if anyone asks. Her mom is in a business trip, I take care of her".

"Sounds plausible…", Cooper agreed.

"Since last night, Aram is trying to get any footage so we can identify these bastards. But we need to go there to ask people if they saw something, Agnes described them to me, but she was too afraid to look back, she just ran away. Liz told her to run, she tried to keep her daughter safe…"

"Do you really think it could be Reddinton?", Cooper asked on a low voice as if he was afraid to say the name out loud.

"If it's his people, Liz should be fine. But if it's an enemy of his or… his handler…", Ressler sighed.

"We can hide this from him for a while…"

"And Agnes too. She'll be safe with me..."

"If this is what you think it's best, I support you", Cooper said.

"I made arrangements for my mom to come and watch over her, she'll be safe at my apartment until we get Liz back".

Ressler placed the backpack next to Cooper, who nodded understanding what should be done next.

"I may have something on Reddington that matches the story you were told, but the encryption is complicated. Aram is working on it. This is not to be shared".

Ressler took a sip of his coffee and said: "I'll be at the Post Office around noon. Can you drive us home?" He then made a sign towards Agnes.

"Coming, daddy!"

The two men exchanged a smile. Cooper picked up the backpack from the chair and led the way to the car.

Chapter 2

Chapter Summary

This will be a multi-chapter. It's AU.

"You're not gonna like this…", were the first words Aram spoke as Ressler was tossing his coat on one of the empty desks in the War Room.

"Is there anything about this situation to like?", he asked not actually waiting for a reply. Nor wanting one.

"Is Agnes OK?"

"She seems so", he sighed as he answered. Donald actually enjoyed the little girl's company more than he thought he will. He'd always had a soft spot for her as she was Liz's daughter, but having her around for what was now half of day made him realise how normal it felt and made him regret they haven't had spent more time together in the past. The three of them.

Agnes took seriously the role of being his daughter as they had to go shopping for food and other supplies. Then, back at home, they played cards, watched cartoons and he showed her his impressive vinyl collection. Music not coming from an iPad was fascinating for the little one. He knew she was now on good hands as his mother arrived late in the morning. Lisa didn't ask any inquisitive questions, she knew who Agnes was and focused more on befriending her, made domestic plans for the rest of the day. She simply reminded Don she has been married with a cop for a long time and that they had enough time to talk. Agnes happily accepted to continue the game of being a daughter and a granddaughter.

"That's hard to believe…", Aram interrupted his train of thoughts.

"It's strange, it's like Liz has prepared her for something like this…"

"That's…", Aram didn't want to say how cruel it seemed to him: enabling a safety protocol for a 6 year old girl.

"Well, it's not like Liz had the easiest life, she just wants to keep Agnes safe. By the way, she wants to see you…"

"Agnes? Really?"

"Don't act so surprised… You impressed her with those paper airplanes", Ressler smirked. "So, what is not to like about your findings on what Cooper shared…"

"We got some footage, but it's too far away to actually identify faces or a plate number. Park went there with a team, asked for details. Nobody saw anything or is afraid to say anything. I am not surprised Liz chose that area, she was probably thinking no surveillance is good for her situation. The irony…"

"Did you look for any footage from the adjacent streets?"

"Yes. Still nothing. We confirmed there were 5 of them. And you were right, they were brutes, not quite the usual security people we are familiar with from Reddington's associates", Aram continued to zoom in what he had on the screen, squinting to see anything new that could be a lead.

Again, Ressler pushed away the painful thoughts of Liz being hurt. He didn't know how many more times he could do it. How they hit her face and how abruptly she fell, but kept on protecting herself, angrily fighting them with her hands. Even if in the poorest quality of the video, he could see her blood on the pavement and how she kept hitting them, trying to get a hold of anything around her just so she can continue fighting. She was the bravest woman he knew.

Aram's awkward staring made him realize he has been silent for far too long.

"Don't say it, Aram", he articulated.

"Mr. Reddington might have a clue about all this…"

"He is the reason why she is in danger; we need to keep this away from him. At least, for now."

"I agree", Park's voice came from behind them. "He'll come to us if he knows anything about the abduction."

Both Aram and Ressler nodded.

"Look, the answer must be somewhere here. Esi said Liz summoned some demons from Katarina's past. It has to do with that."

"But she was a ghost, how can we track anyone from her past…"

"She was a ghost - true, but she was an enemy of Reddington. The person that took Liz must be an enemy of Katarina. The enemy of my enemy…."

"Did Esi share anything else? What we have – I am sorry to say – but it's impossible to connect all the pieces…", Park spoke.

"Actually, there might be something else…"

He grabbed his coat and continued "Aram, come with me. We'll call Cooper on the way to explain."

"Where are you going?", Park asked confused.

"To get Agnes' things…"

"Really? Now?"

Ressler didn't bother to reply, instead he said: "The USB drive, Park. Just look into the names you find there. Or anything that seems interesting to you."

"I didn't pay attention to this after they took off, my mistake…", Ressler said as he was opening the door to the storage unit that Liz told him off some time back. He knew the text message by heart, but never thought of going there.

"No, I get it. You tried not to think of her", Aram's tone felt somehow suiting.

"Something like it…", he replied as he turned on the lights. There were more than a dozen boxes, most of them with toys. There were also some pieces of furniture that he recognized from Liz's apartment and 2 suitcases.

"Where do we start?"

"Good question…", he said and headed over to the pieces of luggage and unzipped one if them. His intuition was correct. In the first suitcase there were item of clothing that belonged to Agnes. Only that there were baby clothes mixed with what seemed to be her current size. He sorted them and was not surprised to find a small microchip in a pocket of a very tiny sweater belonging to a less than 1-year-old Agnes, the smallest thing in there.

"Look", he carefully handed it over to Aram who couldn't hide his surprise.

"This is actually a USB stick…I hope it still works", he took it and put it in an evidence bag.

Donald also picked up some items to take back to his apartment, hoping it will fit her. As Aram was scrutinizing the toys, Ressler opened the second suitcase. He was not surprised to see an inside pocket very well hidden, but nothing out of the ordinary in it. On the other hand, the clothes and shoes seemed to be matching Agnes' size, as much as he could tell, so he decided to take everything with him. He moved over to the furniture, hoping there will be other clues intentionally left.

"Which toys do you think she'd want?"

"Unicorn", Ressler replied without breath. Her face in the morning sun, smiling from the floor as she was looking for that purple sock.

"I don't see any unicorns here, just dolls. Oh my god, so many dolls. I never imagined there could be so many…"

"Aram, anything with a unicorn. Find it."

"Ok… But I don't know.. unicorns… does she really likes it?"

Ressler rolled his eyes, choosing not to reply and, hectically, started to look up around the room for anything that had this pattern.

About 10 minutes later, they had a few boxes of items ready for Agnes. However, there was nothing else that could help them connect the many dots they had. When he was about to give up and suggest leaving, Cooper called in:

"This may come as a surprise or not, but Reddington called about a case…", Cooper's voice made it through the speaker.

"Let's say I am surprised. Any catch?"

"Name is Andrey Oleksy."

"Andrey Oleksy? Sounds Russian…", Ressler felt the need for air. Or the need to punch someone. He couldn't tell.

"Ukrainian, actually…" Aram's comments came in.

"Reddington said he'll be here this afternoon for a more detailed briefing. Park is looking into him right as we speak", Cooper added and paused a few seconds to allow Park to step in.

"He seems to have disappeared 3 years ago, we don't have nothing on him since them. He should be 67 now, if he is still alive. He was an arm dealer with a strong business in all Eastern Europe that probably started early '90s - at least then's when it appeared on our radar. Studied in St. Petersburg to become an Engineer between 1973 and 1978, married in 1978 a Russian lady named Irina who was an English Literature Professor there at Saint Petersburg State University".

"English Professor in the late '70s in USSR?", Ressler asked.

"Exactly… this is why I have also been looking into her. Her brother was Soviet Intelligence, but died in '86. So we can be 99.9% sure she was too a collaborator of the KGB. There is very little on her, tough. She appeared to have been teaching there until late '80s. She had a few papers published, then she disappeared. Presumed dead in '88."

"Thanks, Park. We'll return to the office within the hour and we'll continue there", Ressler added before ending the call.

Agnes jumped to hug the two men seconds after she heard their voices at the door. Aram was so touched he dropped most of the toys.

"Sweety, we brought you a few things…"

"A few?", Lisa laughed as she stepped in to help out clean the mess.

"Aram, when can we play with the paper planes? I know how to make them now!"

"We will, Agnes. I promise. But now we need to get back to work. We just brought you these toys, we thought you missed them…"

"OK…" She was more disappointed than she let it out – a thing that everyone noticed.

"Agnes is helping me make lasagna", Lisa changed the topic knowing this would help out with clearing the air a bit. Even if she missed a lot of information on what was happening in her son's life, her intuition has always been working top notch.

"That sounds delicious!", Ressler said with a smile glancing at Aram to keep Agnes a bit busy, as he was pulling his mom on the vestibule.

"I don't know how late I'll be, I am sorry. We have a lead on getting to Liz…"

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. Just be safe, honey!", Lisa said placing a hand on his shoulder. "I am sure you will do anything to find Elizabeth."

He smiled and whispered a "thank you", not wanting to share more about the situation nor about her. His partner, his friend, his everything?.. That's how Ressler mentioned Liz to his mother, but he was well aware she was reading him like an open book.

"Agnes, I want to ask you something…", Ressler interrupted the discussion between Aram and the little girl. She looked at him with curious eyes and, once again, the resemblance with her mother was uncanny.

"Do you have any unicorn stuffed toy or... anything with a unicorn on it: backpack, thsirt, a dress? Anything?"

Agnes made the biggest eyes he'd ever seen, completely taken by surprise. She came close to him and with a trembling voice asked:

"Do you know about the unicorns?"

"I know… You told your mom unicorns are good luck. She shared this secret with me…"

She nodded to him.

"Will you help me with find these unicorns?"

"Mhmm…"

"Thank you, honey!" Ressler bended his knees so he can reach at her level and pulled her in bear hug. Her little hands were squeezing him and he never felt more emotional. But crying was never an an option for him, so he just stayed like that a few seconds, fighting dozen of thoughts and wishing he'd have been more present in the little one's life just to have this fake-father-daughter moments that felt so real.

"I'll make a list", Agnes proudly said. "There are many unicorns hidden."

"So what's so special about this guy?", Ressler's eyes were fixating Reddington. He was hoping the old man's poker face would just fall down and he'd let out some sort of a worry or a sign. Liz was missing for almost a day now without knowing if she is safe or even alive.

"I have my reasons, Donald", came in the answer. Ressler didn't even bother to react. It became too much of an effort to control himself.

"What about his wife?", Cooper asked. "She is an interesting character too, sister of a KGB Agent…"

"I see you've done your homework, Harold", Red was again playing his usual role. Dembe, on the other hand, was pacing around the war room. Ressler watched him as Reddington was continuing with his comments addressed to Cooper and Park, who were trying to fish for answers. This was completely out of character for the tall man to do, so the Agent continued to watch him for a little while.

"Andrey was one of a kind, smartest man in the room at times…"

"Smarter than you?", Ressler impertinently interrupted just to provoke him.

Although he was visibly annoyed, Reddington choose to ignore the comment: "He started to build his own prototypes for weapons you cannot even imagine. Of course, these got into the wrong hands as his brother-in-law was working with the KGB, but Andrey chose to see the benefits of that. And so did his wife, by the way. Irina has been the CEO of this ever since the early 80s."

"A literature teacher orchestrating these operations?"

"She is a woman of many talents. Beauty and brains", came in the answer.

"And now you want them found… Are they even in the US?", Park stepped in noticing Ressler's level of anger.

"They have been in the US since '91, they've always had aliases here. I just don't know them."

"Do you know them since then?", Park asked the question that Ressler had on his lips.

"Even before that…"

Cooper eyed Ressler and quickly turned to Red:

"What do you know about their latest whereabouts?"

"I know they did business with the wrong people and created trouble for some of my associates. They've created a lot of trouble, in fact, making a deal with a consortium for some new military weapons in exchange for…let's say, long buried secrets".

"Anything to do with your secretes?", Ressler couldn't help it. Liz.

Dembe was still pacing around the room, but the question seemed to have made him more agitated than he previously was.

"Agent Ressler, Andrey and Irina have been working for and with the most dangerous and powerful people in the world. You can imagine, there are secrets at middle – secrets you never ever want to know because it's not just you who will be in danger, it will trigger death for everyone around you. They now have their hands for a piece of intel of exactly that magnitude." Reddington took a deep breath.

"So I want them found". With that, he rearranged his hat and headed to the elevator. Ressler followed closely, so he can reach Dembe from behind and whispered.

"You and I need to talk."

Chapter 3

Everything hurt. Her head felt unusual heavy as she was trying to lift it up and reposition herself on the floor. At least, there was a carpet under. The effort of raising herself up was unbearable. She gave up after a couple of trials, crawling back to her corner. They brutally hit her head when they took her, she suddenly remembered how it all happened. The instinct was to touch her forehead to do a self-examination, but her hands were tied. She didn't have a clue for how long she was in that room and what was going to happen next.

The memory of what happened ached too. Agnes. Was she able to run for help? This was the thing she was mostly afraid of. Endangering her little girl. But no, she has to be OK. She outran them – that she also vividly remembers. And they – whoever they are – would have used Agnes as a way to get information from her or somehow torture her.

Since they were on a run, she explained to Agnes about potential situations like the one they've just experienced.

She told her stories so she would never ever forget anything about her parents. She wanted her to know how to protect herself, hot to take care of herself in case something unexpected happens. Agnes had to be fine. Liz also made arrangements for situations like that to ensure her daughter would be well taken care of. She wanted for her love, but also a parent figure to watch over, to guide her, to keep her maternal memory lit up.

However, in that moment, everything she felt was pain.

"Andrey, what is to explain?", Reddington asked while pouring vodka in two crystal glasses.

"I am sure Irina didn't mean to cause any harm…", came the answer in a humble tone.

"Are you? Because this wouldn't be the first time…"

Andrey's eyes were glued to the floor. Reddington handed him one of the glasses and resumed his dominant posture.

"What is she up to these days? Still shaking with that… what's his name? The bored tech guy…"

Andrey started to drink his liquor instead of answering.

"And isn't he like 25 years younger than her?" Reddington's intention was clear for everyone in the room. Raw humiliation, pushing his nerves, making him snap. Dembe, Chuck and Morgan were all exchanging glances. This was not a first time for the alfa to rise amongst them.

"That's what we call... what's the word?" Reddington started gesticulating with his free hand as he was trying to remember a word. Of course, everybody knew what he meant to say, but nobody stepped in to help him.

"Anywho… I need you to find out what she's up to and who is the person backing her up in all this mess. We're talking about $500 millions and something even more valuable that I need back."

"I'll get you the answers, Ray…"

Reddington didn't reply to him. Instead, he took a very small sip of his drink, making a grimace.

"Cougar. That's the word!"

"Son of a bitch!", Ressler yelled from behind the black Mercedes that just took off.

"He played us again…", Park said reaching him. "At least, we are somewhere now."

He didn't feel like like somehwere or anywhere. All he felt were anger and despair.

It didn't take to long for Task Force to connect some of the pieces from Liz's own investigation to the blacklisters Reddington has just served on a silver platter.

Irina and Andrey Oleksy's names were in one of the files they had from Liz's first drive. Indeed, they were KGB, but they were also former friends of the Cabal and other similar organizations. That's how they managed to sell weapons to corrupt governments all over the world. There was extensive intel on their past, but not so much on the present.

However, Liz – somehow – managed to confirm the existence of a son of theirs who took on some of the family business. But Dmitri Oleksy was, practically, a ghost. His business – on the other hand - wasn't. He built an investment company that had as clients oligarchs from the former soviet states. Liz had everything documented on this – names, contribution, what dirty business they were involved in and if they were part of any organization. But she also added how the business was sealed. This process involved Dmitri's lady friend, Mirjam. She was the ones helping him acquire new customers by blackmailing them with pieces of intel that could only come from either KGB or FCB. A simple recipe.

So they went after Mirjam the minute after the linked the pieces and found her right away, at a listed address. As she was not officially part of the Oleksy family, they probably considered collateral damage. On the other hand, Ressler knew that once she realizes how absolutely disposable she was for Dmitri & Co, that might make her talk – which she did. It took about 20 minutes for her to give them everything on Dmitri – or Stanley Peters, his alias - and confirming he is not just FCB, but also a member of other secret cartels, same as his parents.

Katarina's name didn't mean anything to Mirjam, tough. She was desperate to stay alive and agreed to help out with anything. When Park told her she might be safer in their custody than anywhere else, Mirjam agreed. She knew with whom she was dealing.

Once they had the alias used by Dmitri, Aram located him within minutes. He was at a country club outside DC.

Unfortunately for them, Reddington had his own agenda and extracted him minutes before the FBI arrived.

Once they were back at the Post Office, Park decided to have another chat with Mirjam, hoping she would have other things to share, especially about the Russian "parents-in-law", Aram continued to go through the USB drives to find other clues and Ressler was fumigating in Cooper's office.

"You know Liz could be already dead… her blood is on his hands…"

"I know this must be hard for you, but you need to keep yourself together"

He took a deep breath and started pacing around the small room trying to do just that.

"Dembe knows something…"

"What do you mean?"

"He was agitated earlier today. If we get to Dembe… He'll talk…"

"Dembe? Talk?"

Cooper wanted to prepare a drink, but realized alcohol might be the last thing Ressler needed at that point.

"I don't know, I just want to know she's safe. I want to be able to tell Agnes her mother will be back…"

Cooper nodded acknowledging once again the heavy burden his lead agent carried with him. Within seconds, he dialed Red, put the phone on speaker and invited Ressler to have a seat.

"What happened today?"

"Whatever do you mean, Harold?"

Clearly, Reddington had no intention to make it easy for him or the Task Force.

"You took our suspect."

"I did?"

"Red, he should be in our custody."

"I agree, but your agents weren't there fast enough. Maybe they had other priorities…"

"Is he alive?"

"He is. At least, for now. Look, Harold. I can ensure you he will still be alive when I am done with him. I can also ensure you I'll pay you a visit tomorrow morning to talk in more detail about Dmitri. Should this be all, I have an appointment to get to."

"Agent Ressler… Don, I…"

"What is it, Aram?", Ressler asked. He was exhausted and wanted just to disappear from that place. To be at home, talk to Agnes a bit, maybe ask her about Liz or show her the other record player he had in his study.

"I've made you a copy of a folder. It was hidden. It's for you. Seems personal."

Ressler cleared his throat before saying anything back. He didn't feel able to actually talk or ask Aram of any specifics about what was supposed to be catagorized personal.

"Thanks…", he managed to verbalize.

"I also copied all of the Oleksi files in case you want to look at it tonight. Anyway, the file I talk about is in a folder with your initials. So that you know, I didn't read after the first lines and I deleted it from the other drive."

There it was, a folder named DR. Double-click and a .txt file named "U" appeared.

Double-click again..

It's crazy… Isn't it?

I've started writing this note on my phone the day after I left your apartment. It was cold, I was in an overused car, just waiting. It was so cold. I am not sure exactly for what or whom. I was just there. Things were hectic, I had a plan and I wanted it to work. Not thinking of you proved to be the hardest part.

Do you hate me now?

This was supposed to be a love letter. But how should I dare writing something like this? Especially, to you from all people? I don't deserve this privilege. There have been so many times I wanted to knock on your door. Not just that day. And so many nights. And other many nights when I only felt safe dreaming of you. Not just now.

I miss you. Will you ever believe me?

The other day Agnes asked me about you. Out of the blue. I have been telling her about Tom, Sam, about our times with the Task Force fighting the bad people.

Do you think I am one of them now?

I think it's the first time I'm afraid of what's next. Yes, I used to be afraid of many things and you know most of them. It's been crazy. It's harder and harder to refrain myself from reaching out to you. Agnes keeps making stories about unicorns. You'll enjoy one of those the most. I have this image in my head with us having take out and writing together a story about unicorns that kept us safe.

I hate how much I don't know about my life. With my memories being so messed up – stolen, manipulated – will I ever be able to understand what I found out? Everything hurts. I wish you'd be here with me. You'd like this place. It even has a guitar in the living room.

There's just too much. I need to find a way to put it together for you. At least Agnes needs to be kept safe if something happens to me. Please, be there for her. Please.

"She fell asleep about 20 minutes ago, but she left this for you", Lisa handed over a sheet of paper to him as he was taking off his tie and unbuttoning his shirt.

"The list of unicorns?"

"Yes, she spent the whole day thinking of how to put it together. I…I asked her questions, I wanted to help out with this … treasure hunt", Lisa waved her hand so they can move from the living room area to the kitchen. "You have to eat, Don…"

"Not really hungry…"

She ignored him and placed a plate of lasagna in front of him and poured wine for both of them. More for him, tough.

"Thanks", he smiled. Ressler was grateful for being taken care of.

"Otherwise, she is fine. She feels safe here. She is worried for you. I believe this has to do with being aware of what you and Liz are doing for a living."

"I have a feeling Liz prepared her for exactly this situation", he said.

"I agree", Lisa said making Don glancing her.

"So what did you find out?"

"Like I said, it's a treasure hunt. It seems there are 3 unicorns hidden and each of them is a clue to something bigger…"

"Is the clue a USB drive?"

Lisa seemed confused at first, but then realized what he meant

"No, it's something about numbers, not a drive stick. That's what Agnes remembers."

"It might not mean anything…"

"No, Don. I trust this little girl. She knows more that she lets out. I think she may know why Elizabeth was taken..."

"She told you anything about this?"

"She did tell me a lot of things. I thought, at first, it's her imagination. But not anymore. She has a good memory and what she shares it's either things she has seen or been told."

"Liz's memory was…" He felt a nail in his throat just remembering how he found Liz after Luxter Braxton tortured her. That felt worse than having his own brain scrambled like an omelet.

"Her memory was erased as a child. She doesn't have a clue who she is."

"What? Is that even possible?", Lisa was visibly shocked.

He nodded and then took his glass.

"Liz didn't have the easiest life. We have been partners for so long, I kind of got used to how much she had to overcome, how much she is trying to have a normal life. She wants Agnes to remember her early years and be able to connect things, to navigate life without the confusion she had to deal with…"

"But she is not your partner anymore…", Lisa spoke in the softest tone a mother could.

"No, she is not. She's my... friend."

Lisa gave him a warm smile, then petted his arm. She didn't need any other explanation. She knew.

"Can you continue to do this... talking to her about the unicorns? Every small thing might help us…"

"You don't even have to ask, dear…"

Chapter 4

"Raymond, I am afraid Agnes is still missing, no sign of her anywhere."

Red could tell Dembe was doing his best not to let out his concerns.

"Chuck, anything on our friend Skip? Did Marvin get in touch?"

"He was gone by the time the guys arrived at that safehouse, but they have a good tip from the pilot of their plane. Dude liked our money more, I trust he'll give us all the intel…"

"Mhmm.. and Esi? Still missing?"

"Yes, nothing on her. Chuck talked with our friend at metro PD. No child that resemblance her found so far."

"I guess we should assume Esi has Agnes for now", Red said.

"I trust the FBI would help here if they have the information about the abduction, they won't let anything happen to her or Elizabeth."

This time, Red could feel plenty of frustration in Dembe's voice, beside the usual trepidation concerning Elizabeth. He didn't like it. But he also didn't like the latest development of the situation. Dembe was right.

"I'll go make some other calls, Marvin shared some other potential people Hadley reached out to", Chuck said.

Red nodded in approval.

"Maybe Ressler could help if you don't want to get the whole Task Force involved."

Reddington was eyeing the tall man, not quite convinced this is the best idea. But Dembe didn't seem to give up on the topic.

"The way Donald acts when it comes of Elizabeth, I just don't think it's the best idea to get him looped in. Don't forget she played him, so I don't see him taking any risks for her benefit. Not now, at least."

Dembe didn't feel like adding anything else. On the other hand, Ressler made it clear something else was going on. He just didn't want to complicate the situation for his boss.

"You didn't answer me: how was the reunion?"

"What do you want from me? Why am I here?", Liz asked the tall woman standing in front of her.

"Oh, Masha, your ingenuity is rather endearing! I wonder where it comes from, certainly not your parents…", the woman laughed.

"Stop calling me Masha. My name is Elizabeth."

Her head was spinning. They gave her water and what seemed to be an aspirin. No food yet and she was still tied up, not feeling her best self. But she has been in this sort of situations before, so her aim was to keep a clear head, think lucidly and have a bit of hope that things will turn out fine.

"Yes, of course it is", the woman smirked with arrogance. "Did Katarina like it?"

"What do you have to do with Katarina?"

"As if you don't know…", this woman was emanating pure condescension.

"You remind me of her", Liz decided on the spot to switch gears and play a game of her own. "Same blonde hair, same expensive outfit, the snake leather boots – or is it alligator? Same desperation..."

It worked. The woman's expression changed. She didn't like being compared to Katarina. A different kind of smirk appeared on her face as she was now focusing on what to say next. Liz took the few moments of silence as a sign to continue.

"Why does this even surprise you? Aren't all of you Russian spies the same? How do they call you? Red Sparrows?"

"You have no idea what you are talking about…"

"I don't think you actually believe that. Otherwise, you wouldn't have taken me."

"Agent Keen, there are many reasons why you are here.

Once the transition from "Masha" to "Agent Keen" was done, Liz knew there must be a way out of that mess.

"Why are you sleeping here?"

Ressler felt a small hand tapping his shoulder. He realized it was still dark when he opened the eyes to face Agnes.

"Why are you awake? Did you have a bad dream?"

"No…", she said looking around the very-very small study where Ressler was crashing. He had a small mattress in his closet usually used in his camping trips. His mother took the sofa while the bedroom was transformed into Agnes' room. He took a mental note that he could actually rent something on AirBnb for 1-2 weeks, perhaps a house with a garden for Agnes to play in.

"Sweetheart, little girls need sleep to grow up…"

Agnes had no reaction. She was just staring at him in the dark, waiting for something. He sighed a bt frustrated he had no clue what would work with a small child that doesn't sleep at night. Suddenly, he realized he could actually ask her: "So, what did you dream about?"

"Mommy…"

It hurt. His wish was to make a promise to her that Liz will be back, safe and sound. But what if he fails her?

"Was it a bad dream?"

"No, she was just there, with me. I miss her. Do you miss her?"

"I do, Agnes. I miss her terribly."

Agnes smiled to him finding comfort in his words.

"Your bed is odd."

"That's because it's not a bed", he laughed softly. "It's a mattress I usually use when I go camping."

"What's camping?"

"Well, sometimes I like to go out of the city and spend time outside, in the nature, looking at trees, taking long walks and admiring the sky, the leaves, sleeping in a tent", he tried to explain.

"Sounds like fun. Can we do that?"

"Sure, Agnes. But we can go to my cabin instead of sleeping outside in a tent."

"Can mommy come too?"

"I'd love for that to happen…"

Avoiding any promises was more complicated and painful than he'd ever imagined, so he quickly stood up and placed a hand around Agnes tiny shoulders to lead her back to the bedroom, he said:

"But now – time for bed. Yeah?"

"My thinking is Keen got caught into something bigger than she'd ever imagined. It's not just about Reddington anymore", said Cooper as he was pouring what seemed to be too much sugar in Ressler's eyes.

The three Task Force men: Cooper, Ressler and Aram met for coffee before going to the Post Office. They randomly picked up a place a few blocks from work and arrived there separately. They wanted to discuss the latest outcomes in a private setup. The intel Liz left for them was too dangerous to be scrutinized in an open office. They did a lot of progress the day before going through the files and managed to connect some of the information to Reddington's business. However, all this was beyond their wildest imagination.

"Everything we have from Liz proves Reddington is not who we thought. How many times I asked why someone would take the identity of a traitor? Well, now we know…"

Aram almost didn't dare talk. After a few moments of silence when all of them or paying attention to their drinks, he finally opened his mouth:

"The first flash drive we have from could be a solid proof. But the encryption is still a challenge."

"Could it be his handler the one that took Liz?"

Neither Cooper nor Aram replied to this.

"At least, we know now he has a boss…", Ressler said.

"Agnes wants to tell you something", Lisa said.

Ressler heard in the background how his mom handed over the phone to the girl and telling her to repeat the story.

"Hi!", came in her joyful voice.

"Hi sweetheart! What's the matter?" It was a bit past 8.30 am. He had a ton of things to do and a potential lead that would mean a trip to New York, but he was still excited Agnes thought of him.

"I remembered something about one of the unicorns."

She sounded enthusiastic as if this was a great new discovery. There drawing skills were not very helpful. He placed the drawing on his desk, but couldn't read into it too much. There were 3 unicorns, some trees and some shapes. He assumed it's just some toys Agnes had at some point.

"You said you have a house in a forest…"

"Yes…", he was surprised she remembered the discussion from last night and smiled heartfully, realizing this sort of interruptions were everything he needed in his work life.

"I was there with mommy!"

Now he was surprised.

"Are you sure, Agnes? Maybe it was just something you dreamed about, sweetheart, after we talked last night."

"Nooo, I was there. It had a big white door, with colored glass, blue, green, purple, like in the picture", Agnes insisted.

"What picture? The one in the study?" Ressler remembered the photography of him and Audrey on the porch. The door was visible behind them.

"Yesss, that one!"

His didn't want to contradict the little girl. He was quite impressed of her determination to help. Only that she was probably imagining things. So, he said to himself it is best to let her believe it was real.

"Thank you, Agnes, for sharing this with me. What about the unicorn?"

"Mom hid it there. She put it behind the green curtain where there was that broken guitar."

His blood froze. How was it possible for het to know? Unless.. She was there. Liz was there, at his cabin. His mind was in overdrive. He took a deep breath and realized how much he meant every word he was just saying to her:

"Agnes, you're the best daughter a parent could wish for!"

She laughed in the receiver, impressed of what he has just told her. He also heard his mom laughing and asking back for her phone.

"Don?"

"Get her whatever dessert she wants, will you?"

"I will. Are you going to the cabin? It's a long drive, dear. Do you want me to call your cousin Hank and go in the house to look up for this or are you handling this with the police?"

"I think I will call him myself, but thanks. Mom?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Thank you too!"

The many pictures and video sent by his cousin an hour later proved that the unicorn was a regular size, blue stuffed toy. However, the tag was replaced with a handmade one that had written on it two numbers and one letter: 3 7 L.

Although Ressler knew that was the only thing Liz left for him, he couldn't stop thinking there must be other clues left around the house. Just for him. Within seconds he was imagining her arriving there, walking around the house, smirking at his dorky taste in furniture and the many memorabilia he laying around. There have been many times he wanted to take her there. Her. Them. How Agnes would enjoy the walk to the lake.

But, for his own benefit, Park interrupted the daydreaming:

"Listen, I talked again to Mirjam…"

"Again?"

"Yes, I somehow feel sorry for her. I also think she knows more than she realizes and – guess what?"

"I am not gonna guess, Park. So just say it".

"She doesn't recognize the name of Katarina Rostova, but she recognized her by a photo we haed. Apparently, it was a family friend of Dmitri's mother. She doesn't remember the last name, but she said they were calling her Natasha and she attended some functions of theirs with mostly Russians.

"Natasha Rybarova?"

"The one in Liz's file… But it doesn't make sense…"

"No, it does not add up. Katarina was on the run because of the KGB. These people were supposed to be her enemies…"

"Complicated. Ah, Cooper said Red will be here soon!", Park ended the conversation taking a turn and heading to her own office.

"Where's our suspect, Reddington?"

"Busy, I'm afraid. He still has some work to do with my men", Reddington replied innocently.

"So why are you here? To brag about stealing him from our watch?", Ressler snapped.

"Agent Ressler, a bit tensed – aren't we?", Reddington threw him a cold, inquisitory glance. His trademark

"Only since you've been around…", came in the acid reply. Cooper cleared his throat with the clear intention of ending that dialogue.

"What is that you want to discuss, Red?"

"It came to my attention that Irina Oleksy has some plans of her own. Dmitri and his father are convinced she is negotiating with a group of terrorists to sell them a new generation of electronically enhanced weapons", Red said on a serious tone.

"Are we supposed to believe they turned around their own mother?", Ressler scoffed.

"Well, families can be complicated. I am sure you already know that."

"This sounds like a lot of money. Why would they say no?", Cooper continued to ask, ignoring the glances between Red and Ressler.

"Irina has always been a bit of a tyrant. She and her brother were the heads of the family, she was strategizing, he was executing. Andrey was just the inventor. Dmitri, on the other hand, has no interest in gun or in anything that is outside the country club", Red added.

"You said these are electronically enhanced weapons…"

"Yes, a lot of AI put into it thanks to Irina's latest affair. I'll give you his name, but Irina's associates have already made him disappear. And by that I mean – he no longer physically exists."

"Can we have a name at least?"

Ressler noticed Aram was becoming more agitated, but didn't want to draw any attention on that situation. Mentioning Liz was also not the wisest thing he could do. It was impossible to read Red. He took a couple of steps back, trying to have a better look at Dembe. Although the tall man was calmer than the other day, there was still something off with him.

"So… what is actually the information you're giving us here?", Ressler decided to cut to the chase.

"That I may know how we can get to Irina through one of her associates. She is an old friend of ours. Name is Natasha Rybarova".

"Is he toying with us?", Ressler was in flames. Red left them more confused than they were. He eyed Aram and asked: "What was with you in the briefing? You almost lost it for a few moments…"

"No… I mean, yes… Sorry! I… think I know who the boyfriend is…"

"Boyfriend?"

"Irina's affair. It's this guy Anthony Davids. He had a few breakthroughs in the AI field and… uhmm.. he is a bit of an extremist, very into weapons and violence. He's been missing for a couple of weeks, tough. He was very active on social media, then he just.. became absent."

"But this doesn't mean something…", Ressler said.

"Except for the fact that we have a part of the code he developed on the flash drive. Liz somehow found out about it…"

"I may just make a guess here and say Katarina was onto them too…", Cooper concluded.

Chapter 5

Looking into Natasha Rybarova was a more complicated mission than expected. There were no credit cards, no parking tickets to find a trail. Aram pulled out all his strings, got in touch with some other friends who owned him favors and the only thing he found out was the address of an apartment. Natasha Rybarova appeared to have bought the place from a ghost company, but the transaction of $135k was untraceable and the real estate company that orchestrated it was also a ghost. Aram offered to accompany Ressler there, but both men knew there were small chances to find anything helpful.

On the other hand, Park kept herself busy orchestrating a search at the Oleksy's villa in the Hamptons Mirjam told them about and another one, where she was also in person, at Dmitri's apartment. Both homes were luxurious, but impersonal. Unfortunately for the team, Mirjam didn't know anything about the weapon business. They believed her. The woman was grateful to be alive and felt safe in their custody. Park's decision to show a friendly attitude proved wise.

"Nothing hidden behind the furniture or the weird paintings… We looked everywhere", Park's voice came from the speaker.

"What if we get an art dealer to look into that stuff? Tell us about the artists, the gallery they bought it?", Ressler tried to get something out of it.

"We can, but I don't know what it will do for the case. These people are pros. Anything that actually matters was either destroyed or hidden…"

"But we still don't have a clue where they're producing these weapons. I am thinking they must have an art dealer that got them something for their real office too…"

"I'll see what I can do", Park ended the conversation.

"It has to be a big place…", Aram suddenly said from the right seat of the SUV.

"What?"

"Like a warehouse, but nobody would know what's in there…"

"And very well guarded…", Ressler realized what Aram was referring to the potential factory. Keeping his left hand on the wheel, he opened the "Contacts" on his phone and dialed Dembe.

"Agent Ressler", Dembe answered after the first ring.

"I need to ask something. Do you or Reddington know where Oleksy is producing the weapons? Is it in the US?"

"Yes. They moved the production in the US for this new generation of guns. We don't know the location."

"Interesting, wouldn't it be less expensive in Taiwan or China or even Eastern Europe?"

"Not for what they were doing now with the AI enhancements. We only know it's in the country. I'll have our men have another talk with them."

"Thank you, Dembe." Ressler would have wanted to ask about other things too, but knew it was not the right moment. With a small regret he pushed the red button on his screen.

"I think we'd just need to connect some other pieces now…", Aram felt disappointed.

"I guess so…"

"Do you think Mr. Reddington may be interested in this weapons and would keep the location a secret?"

"You don't even have to ask me this…"

Once they arrived at Natasha's apartment, they discovered a beautiful, empty penthouse.

"Look at the window!" Aram was absolutely impressed with the house. "And the view! Is that another room?"

"This cannot be $135k…", Ressler said.

"Do you think she bought it as a safe house?"

"I wish I'd knew… Katarina was supposedly living in Paris at that time. Even after she faked being killed by the Kanzanjian's brothers, she lived in a cheap motel", I wish I'd know what this place was meant to be…"

The neighbors they managed to talk to didn't have any additional insights to offer, two of them told them the owner was a woman who lived abroad, somewhere in Europe – she was described as a classy, educated lady. The description matched Katarina. They also confirmed that was a very private building, great for a safe house. Ressler was wondering if Liz knew of it. This belonged, technically, to her.

"What?", Aram asked him noticing the sudden half smile on Ressler's face.

"You know that's basically Liz's. I think Agnes would love it here. She'd wake up every morning to see the park there", he said.

Aram watched him gaspingly.

"You're quite fond of Agnes…"

Ressler smiled. There was nothing to deny there.

"Do you think is there a way to find where Esi is without creating problems for her?"

"Why?... She should be in custody, you know that…"

"Trust me, Aram, I know. But... Esi might be the informant we need to connect some dots. I keep hoping she'll get in touch. I am afraid Red might get to her first. And you know what that means…"

"I guess you're right. I'll see what I can do, but she's an expert PI. It would be impossible to track her if she doesn't want to be found. Just like Liz…"

Ressler sighed realizing how much he missed her.

"Do you think I'd ever listen to the woman that abandoned me?", Liz said with a touch of sarcasm.

The tall woman made another appearance that morning, with a clear intention of resuming their discussion.

At some point during the night, the guards took Liz to a room that had a couch and an adjacent bathroom. They untied her, so she can use it. She found toiletries and clean clothes. It may have been a horrible black track suit, that seemed one size too big, but it helped her feel better. She was allowed only 10 minutes to clean herself. When she was out, they tied her back. This time, they immobilized her feet too she would just be able to move on a short distance around the coach. Her first impulse was to fight them, but immediately realized that would not be wise as there were 4 of them and she was not feeling very well.

"Maybe if she had a good excuse…"
"Well, you seem to know more about her than me", Liz really didn't know for how long this game would last. But she had to try her best.

"Did you know her? Please, tell me… Do you know why she left me?"

"Your mother was cold blooded, Agent Keen. She had reasons to do what she did. But I know you are lying to me. You say you would not talk to her, but you were in touch with her father and I am convinced you've also recently met Katarina."

"Dom didn't abandon me…"

"Oh, you really are naïve!"

"He had to cut ties with Katarina, I was taken by my nanny to a friend of hers!"

"Fairytales... Do you feed these stories to your daughter too?"

Panic sent cold shivers down her spine.

"Agnes…"

"I am not interested in your daughter, Elizabeth."

"Did you take her too?"

"Perhaps you should pay attention to what I have just said, after all you are FBI…", the woman laughed.

She couldn't fight back tears. Where was her little girl now? Did she manage to run for help?

"What do you want from me?", Liz asked in a small voice.

"Your mother took something very important from me. This is one of her worst betrayals, I have to say… It doesn't feel good, you know?"

"What did she take from you?"

"Information. Incredible valuable information."

"Look, I would help you if I understood more. Katarina reached out to me, but she was… let's say not maternal. She was looking for information from me. She thought my work with the FBI would help her cause", Liz continued to test waters.

"Sounds like her", the woman laughed.

"Have you actually been in touch with her after… after her disappearance?", Liz did her best to play the part of the innocent woman. Although she continued to be surprised about her mother's connections and operations. By now, she was convinced the woman standing in front of her was also a dangerous operative.

"You should not be surprised. You were…" she stopped and looked at Elizabeth. She was looking for a way to phrase what she had to say. "Let's say Katarina was much more into being a spy than a mother, but I guess you must have realized that by now on your own."

She did, it still hurt to think of. But she had forgiven Katarina's behavior the moment she saw that bullet in her chest.

"Why do you think I would know about her business? Trust me, the Katarina I've met was mostly asking questions and not sharing stories. This is what she did to her father until he stopped breathing…"

"Dominic? Is he dead?"

"He was shot a few months back", Liz decided on the spot to change the story. "Katarina's people got to him. He didn't die right away, he partially recovered…"

"Interesting, but I can't say it comes that much of a surprise. Katarina wanted her revenge after Belgrade. I believe you know that…"

"Not in detail", Liz continued to serve parts of the truth she knew.

As she was ready to ask more questions, the door opened. One of the bodyguards tilted his head and the woman approached him. She was a beautiful woman, very gracious, elegant in her moves. Reminded Liz of a ballerina. The man handed her a phone so she could read something, but Liz couldn't tell if it was a text message or an email or even a picture. But it was not good news. The woman's usual arrogant smile faded and her eyes became darker. She put her arms around her chest and hesitated a few moments before opening her mouth.

"Masha, I suggest you do some thinking until I'm returning. Your mother stole something from me and I have all the reasons to believe you have it. Katarina may have been one cold hearted bitch, but I can ensure you that is something I have mastered first. And if your memory plays tricks on you, there are ways to make you talk."

For the first time since she had been taken, Liz cried.

"You were right! We got someone to look into the art Oleksy had displayed around their mansions – most of it comes from a gallery in Soho. The team is bringing in the gallery owner and the curator, we have a mandate for their books too. Agent Philips told me they have been collaborative so far, we may be lucky", Park said as she was placing various pictures of the paintings on the whiteboard in the War Room.

"Good job! But do you think these…" – Ressler gesticulated to the whiteboard – "actually mean something"? Ressler could only see strange shapes and lines. He owned a few of contemporary paintings himself – but what he was seeing there was above his level of understanding.

"These people launder incredible amounts of money, they'd go for the most expensive art pieces. Instead, they seem to just favor these that are not that expensive… It's odd."

"I wouldn't be surprised if this is a way to hide intel", Cooper said. "Irina is a well-trained operative, she is also highly educated. I've seen this before. I will get you the old files. Keep me posted."

"Will do", Park nodded and couldn't hide her pride.

Aram was glancing in Park's direction with a startled look in his eye. Ressler gave him a few moments to recollect. Noticing he was still looking lost, Ressler got closer to him and with a playful voice asked:

"Jealous?"

"Huh? No, I…", Aram looked at Ressler defenseless. "A bit… I could have thought of it…"

"You were on field, Aram. Don't beat yourself up. Look, Agnes asked about you, my mom is cooking a tone of food. Wanna join us for dinner? We can resume work after that, go through the files on the flash drive one more time…"

"I… Yes, that would be nice."

"I thought you'd want to know about our progress", Harold said over the phone.

"Any interesting development?", Reddington replied with not too much concern in his voice.

"Since both Dmitri and Andrey vanished thanks to you, we're focusing on finding Irina", Cooper continued.

"That's wise", came the reply.

"She may be a ghost, but she's quite the art lover. Huge fan of a Russian artist called Vasily Mitroskini."

"Is he any good?" Cooper could tell Red was starting to feel uncomfortable with the discussion which probably meant he recognized the name. He decided to build up the suspense a little longer.

"Well, it's contemporary art. Let's say things are subjective. The owner of the art gallery told us he, personally, considered it garbage, but since he had been paid big bucks to have it there and deal with a specific customer, he took the deal."

"Ha, I'd do the same…"

"Money came in an envelope for these specific pieces, no questions asked. But the delivery addresses match the locations we've linked to Irina."

"So… she is a fan of untalented artists."

"Well, the lack of talent is justified. Vasily Mitroskini is not actually an artist."

"No?"

Harold could say Red was now annoyed.

"No. These paintings were a way to send information between different parties. Mitroskini was just a courier. But I believe you two had some business together at some point…"

"Please remind me, Harold."

"Madeleine Pratt and you used him in the past. We have it on file."

There was a short, but heavy silence.

"You got me, Harold. Anything else?"

"Mitroskini works only on referral. Did you introduce him to Irina or was it vice versa?"

"Is this really what you want to find out?"

"I want to understand how much you are involved in her business."

"Not as much as you probably think. So, please, Harold – do tell me what you think about my involvement here."

Now it was Cooper's turn to be silent for a few longer seconds.

"It's clear to me you have history with the Oleksys. Does Katarina Rostova have history with them too?"

"Is that a question for me? I thought you'd be sharing a fascinating hypothesis here", Reddington laughed, but he still didn't sound relaxed.

"We think there is a connection between Irina and Katarina. They've been active operatives during the same time, probably had the same handles and have been in same missions. I would like to know if you want us to get Irina off your back so she won't find out what happened to Katarina."

"You mean me killing her?"

Harold was surprised Reddington didn't serve him a sarcastic comment.

"Yes. I think Katarina was not only interested in clearing her name, but she was also working for someone and had recent business with Irina."

"And why would you think that?"

"Because she was going by the name Natasha Rybarova, but I believe you know that… And this identity has been confirmed by three different people. We also have her name in the gallery's books. She bought two paintings. One of a strange hat. I would say it's a fedora. I'll send the picture to you…"

"Well played, Harold…"

Don instructed Agnes to keep quiet, as he headed over to the door. Aram and Lisa nodded in agreement. Instinctively, he took his gun too. It was almost 10.00 pm and they were not expecting anyone. On the other hand, he wasn't that surprised to see Dembe. He instantly decided not to invite him in and asked from the hallway keeping the door opened just a bit:

"What's wrong?"

"Red wants to talk to you."

"Can it open until morning?"

"Yes, I am just here to deliver the message." He then handed over a manilla anvelope.

Ressler tore it apart the moment he put his hands on it.

"Skip Hadley is dead?"

"We found him like this, I wanted you to know this was not Reddington. We wanted him alive."

"Just him…?" He didn't want to ask about Liz, Agnes or Esi as he was afraid he will let something out.

"No sign of anyone else. He has been living alone at resort."

"Do you know who did it?"

Dembe opened his mouth to say something, but then – as he noticed a doll and a small sweater on the table behind Ressler – he took a deep breath and said:

"Agnes is here.

"Agnes is safe."

"And Liz?"

"We don't know… And I guess you don't know neither."

Dembe shook his head no.

"I will text you where to meet tomorrow morning. Donald, I know she is safe with you."

Chapter 6

The Ressler newly founded household seemed to love very early mornings. It was little after 6 and they were already up and running, gathered in the small kitchen, steaming coffee on the table and one chatty child pouring milk over a bowl of cereals on one of the chairs.

Ressler managed to sleep for about 3 hours, which was more than enough for him under the circumstances.

After Aram had left his apartment the night before, Ressler's mind went again in a massive overdrive. He felt that – no matter what they were doing – they would only get more questions than answers. After finding out about Skip Hadley being murdered, he was even more concerned about Liz's safety. He was telling himself these monsters could have killed Liz on the street. Only the thought of it made him sick to the stomach and his skin burn. He did his best to rely on his extensive experience with the FBI, telling himself there was something more to the story if she was taken. They needed her alive. But for how long?

Their only conclusion after going again and again through all the information and evidence gathered, was that Katarina was not at all hiding. She was still an active operative, very well infiltrated and extremely resourceful. However, they had no clue for whom she had been working. Katarina seemed to have kept a connection with many people from her past, even KGB. They couldn't tell if the bounty on her head was a decoy and what was Dom's role in the story. How much did Liz unveil? Did she realize her mother was not so much of the victim she tried to pose as?

They also concluded that Katarina's connection with Irina Oleksy was not just about a job, the two women seemed to know each other quite well. But it became a job or, better said, a mission when Katarina bought one of Mitroskini's paintings for herself. Their assumption was that this broke their relation and it complicated Irina's business delaying her deal. Did Liz fell in the middle of this?

This was one of the reasons he wanted Esi back, alive and safe. She'd know something they were missing. And she seemed to care enough to help. Just looking at Agnes who was chewing her cereals across the table made Ressler feel grateful for her support.

Ressler was still waiting for a confirmation on where and when to meet Reddington. Dembe made no other contact since last night. To clear his head, Ressler decided to go for a quick run. His mother and Agnes joined him to the park, quite excited about enjoying the fresh morning air. The two of them were to take a walk around the lake, while he ran a few laps. They met at the bakery outside the park for a real breakfast. As they were eating a scone, Agnes remembered about one of her unicorns her mother left at a restaurant. In her painting that now Ressler carried in his wallet, the toy was associated with a fork. It made him smile how the girl made analogies.

"Fatherhood suits you, Donald", Ressler heard from behind him. He was drinking his second cup of coffee while watching over Agnes. The little girl was playing with a chocolate Labrador on the grass, not far from him.

Becoming aware of his mother sitting next to him, Ressler bit his tongue not to let out any out of placed comment. But he was not happy to see Red there.

"This lovely woman must be your mother! So great meeting you! I am Raymond. I have been working with your son for what's been now ages!"

Lisa smiled and, following a few comments about the weather, she excused herself to check on her granddaughter, Agnes.

"Couldn't this wait? You just had to make an appearance…"

"Let's say I was curious…", Red seated himself next to Ressler, hat still in his hand.

"Why did you want to see me?"

Ressler was still looking in Agnes' direction, ignoring Red's presence.

"Elizabeth. But that shouldn't surprise you…"

Agnes waved to Donald, he waved back smiling at her. It was a smile Red had never seen before.

"Do you know where she is?", Ressler asked after seeing his mom leading Agnes to the other dogs there, all eager to play with the child.

"I may know even less than you do, Donald. But I want her found."

"Aren't you afraid she'd want to kill you?"

"I may be. But I think she put herself in enough danger to swap her priorities. For now, at least."

Ressler turned to his left so he can face Red.

"Did Irina Oleksy abducted her?"

"That would be my guess…"

"You want me to expect you have no idea about it?"

"I want you to believe I don't want Elizabeth in any type of danger."

Ressler sighed. He knew that.

"Was that…"

"Yes, he was", he said curtly, putting on his coat, ready to take off to work. His mother acted strangely ever since they got back from the park. He knew why, but tried to ignore her gloomy mood.

"But weren't you chasing this… criminal, Donald?"

"I was. Mom, look – I know this is complicated to explain and quite confidential. I don't want you to be worried about him."

"I am not worried about him, I am worried about you. About Agnes. About Elizabeth. I don't.."

Ressler sighed and closed his eyes for a second. It was that moment when you close your eyes and hope all the bad things disappear . Of course, that didn't work. His mother was still there, standing in front of him, scrutinizing him as he was 14 and have just returned home in the middle of the night, drunk and smelling as an ashtray.

"It may difficult to believe it, but Red is trying to protect us from whomever abducted Liz."

Liz fell on the floor, without being able to fight back. Every cell of her body vibrated when the fist hit her face. Blood was darkening her sight. Her head was again heavy. She stayed there for a few seconds until someone pulled her up and smashed her against the wall. Nausea. Dizziness. Pain that did not seem to end.

Playing the innocent didn't work anymore.

"Enough!", the woman ordered.

"You're Irina Oleksy…", Liz said. She was leaning on the wall, trying to regain her posture.

"Congratulations. Took you a little time", she icily said.

"What do you want from me? I don't have it. I am not even a FBI Agent anymore", Liz said.

"I want the painting Katarina stole from me."

"I don't have any painting… Maybe Reddington took it…"

Another hit in the face. She could taste her own blood.

Harold summoned his team in his office that morning. Reddington was already there when they entered.

"You have news?", Ressler asked without any pleasantries. It was not even 9.15 he was sick of seeing Red.

"I have, Donald."

There was a short silence as Dembe closed the door.

"Your friend, Elizabeth, is not just trying to kill me. She is also on a mission to destroy my business."

Ressler's jaw clenched his expression became unrecognizable.

"We would need more details."

"Long version or the short one, Harold?"

"Let's start with the short one…"

"Liz broke one of my safe houses and stole a flash drive. Because of that information, she has been kidnapped."

Ressler took a deep breath.

"This may or may not come as a shock for all of you. I don't care, to be honest. I want that asset found. And Elizabeth."

"Do…do you know who might want this information?", Aram asked.

"Many of my enemies, including Irina Oleksy."

"We're looking into her, we have some leads where they're building those weapons."

"I have probably a better lead. Agent Ressler, I trust you'd want to accompany me for the sake of your… friend", the man with the hat said, dismissing any other option.

Ressler eyed him. He didn't want to spend any second with the man, but it wasn't like he had a choice. Cooper nodded in their direction and, shortly, they were out of the Post Office, with the promise of Ressler to keep them updated on the location and a back-up team to be ready – just in case.

"You told me you want her safe. It didn't seem like it in Cooper's office", Ressler said.

They were now in Red's car, on the back seat. Dembe was driving and, occasionally, throwing glances in rear view mirror.

"I guess you'll have to wait and see", Red replied.

"You gonna tell me where we're going?", Ressler asked after a few moments.

No reply followed.

"I meant what I said this morning. Fatherhood suits you, Donald", Red was all about changing the topic.

"Agnes is a great kid. I love spending time with her."

Ressler was surprised of what the words he actually managed to speak. In his head a completely different answer had been meticulously phrased. It was mostly about how Reddington should go to hell and stay there and leave them alone. Instead, he was now bitterly smiling, looking on the window. The simple thought of stepping up as the little girl's father made him feel something odd. He had to find Liz. To bring her back to Agnes. The promise he avoided for days now. He had to find Liz because the three of them were meant to be a family. A family with a dog, maybe a Labrador, anniversaries at Wing Yee and Christmas in Detroit, at his mother.

And it hit him. Liz. Agnes's painting had fork because she didn't know how to use chopsticks. He had to go there.

"A labradoodle…", Reddington said out of the blue.

"What?", Ressler was left startled, almost in panic and felt shivers on his spine. Was Red a goddamn mind reader?

"That's a good dog for a child."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Agnes seemed to like dogs", Red said.

Ressler noticed Dembe was smiling.

"You should get Agnes a dog. When all of this is over."

Ressler decided not to say anything back.

"A labradoodle with a funny name… She'd love it!", Reddington's tone was cheerful. Ressler couldn't tell if what got him so excited was the idea of a dog for Agnes or the idea of all this mess finally being over.

"Still no message from Agent Ressler", Aram informed Cooper.

"According to his phone, they are somewhere here – north. It's a residential area", Aram said marking an x on the screen. "Agent Park is with the backup team, 6 minutes behind. They will keep the distance, as Red asked."

"It's a very expensive neighborhood. They're probably visiting someone there…"

"Do you think we'll find Liz?"

"I don't know, Aram. But I do know both Red and Ressler will do anything to get her back…"

"She's not moving", Irina said to the guard who had just hit Liz. "We don't need her dead, you moron!"

She slapped Liz, so she will gain conscience.

"Masha… Wake up. Come on! Get me some water. And a towel!", Irina ordered.

"She's still breathing, but has a weak pulse", said one of the men who was placing Liz on the coach.

"Call Reddington and set me up a meeting with him. NOW!"

Chapter 7

"Now this is what I call a surprise!", Reddington's voice filled the intimidatingly large foyer they were now standing in, hat in his hand and his courtesy giggles and exaggerated good disposition on.

Ressler did his best to hide any grimace that would betray either his annoyance or desperation. He focused on why he was there: to play the dirty cop. On the other hand, he couldn't wonder why, so often, the Concierge of Crime wanted him by his side, as an attachment. He was, once again, Frank Sturgeon from the State Department – an alias he hated. It just felt wrong.

The man in front of them was in his late 50s, but courageously wore a red silk shirt, that seemed one size too small for his stuffed figure. He was holding an unlit cigar in his right hand and there was a glass of cognac on a glass table, a few feet from where they were. Clearly, they've interrupted him.

"Enjoying a day off from the office, Mark?", Red stated what seemed obvious as day light. "I'd say you deserve one. After all, it probably took you a lot of energy to get rid of Skip Hadley…"

"What the hell do you want, Raymond?"

Ressler, as usual, followed Red's lead, but took note of the lack of denial when it came of the murder of Hadley.

"Cognac? Is it the usual Lheraud, I assume?"

The man headed to the adjacent room, not making any effort to show how displeased he was with the company. He positioned himself around the marble counter that held many liquor bottles and opened one of them that looked decadently expensive. Ressler didn't recognize the brand. It was cognag, tough, based on the glass.

"Who's the cop?", the man named Mark asked while he was preparing to fill up two crystal glasses. At least, he had some manners.

Ressler eyed Red, but didn't bother to show any other reaction.

"He does look like Metro PD Detective, right?", Red's disapproving voice annoyed the FBI Agent. "With that hair and the average suit that still looks cheap", Red laughed and Ressler clenched his jaw so hard his teeth hurt. "But Frank actually works for the State Department. He's my man there."

Frank handed a glass to Reddington and one to Ressler and returned to fill another one for him. Apparently, he forgot about his other glass which looked suspicious to Ressler. Liz. She'd know best how to interpret this mundane behavior. Was Mark stressed out a bit by Red's presence or was he just lazy?

"And why are you here?", he sounded bored.

"Hadley."

"Did you have business with him that was left unfinished?"

"In a manner of speaking…", Red replied which made Ressler roll his eyes. He was asking himself how much of the money Liz stole went, in fact, to Hadley. Probably a lot and, probably, Red wanted it back.

"He was dirty, but that didn't bother me that much. We all are. Mississippi and Nile together won't clean the dirt on us, Reddington."

"So. what sort of dirty business did Hadley do to you? Or wasn't done to you?"

Red was playing with his drink. Ressler was not in the mood to get drunk. He looked at Dembe, who was observing the conversation from the entry, and then realized there was quite a long silence before Mark opened his mouth to answer the question:

"We could say that. Wasn't Hadley an associate of Gerard?"

"He was. Not a good one, tough. Made some errors that cost me some money."

Ressler was surprised how much Red was sharing with this guy. He suddenly remembered he still didn't have a clue who the man was. Red ignored his question when he asked it, during their ride.

"Have you seen Irina lately?"

"Is this why you're here? Did the husband complaint?"

Red chuckled, then said on a brotherly tone: "I told you sleeping with the devil is not a good idea. But did you listen?"

"You should speak! Look – I had some business with Oleksy. It didn't work. Their products are less qualitative than what my clients want. Simple as that."

"And Hadley?"

"You'll be surprised to hear I haven't touched him. Irina, on the other hand…"

Dembe joined them, getting closer and closer to Mark, looking fiercely intimidating. Ressler realized it took a few seconds for Reddington to change tactics.

"A contact of Irina Oleksy's reached out for a safe pass. He mentioned your name, Mark…", Ressler bluffed. "If you want us to look away, you just need to talk…", he added and then took a sip of his drink enjoying it more than he would ever admit.

Absolutely in sync with Donald, Dembe moved even closer to the man.

"Look – I don't want to be in any trouble…"

"Then speak", Red said using, again, am exaggerated friendly tone of voice.

"Hadley was an intermediary. He secured a part of the guns for someone, but I don't know for whom. It was a woman – that I know. Irina referred to her as an old friend, a woman who keeps on making mistakes and that bothered her."

"That's not the full story, is it?"

"The deal went off because the woman disappeared. Hadley just paid the price…"

"A few bullets in his head for a few hundred million dollars? Sounds legit."

Reddington put his hat on and headed to the door without looking back, leaving Ressler more confused than when he had entered that house.

"Sir, they left. No need for us here. Will wait for Ressler to be dropped to our car", Park informed Cooper over the phone.

"Anything we should know?", Aram enthusiastically replied instead of letting his boss speak or give his orders.

"Ressler only said that Irina Oleksy killed Skip Hadley…"

"Liz's lawyer? Oh, my! Do you think she is in mortal danger? Do you think she touched her?", Aram was in full panic mode.

"Uhhhh….", Park didn't know what to reply to her colleague. Neither did Cooper who was staring at the techie from across his desk

"Sir… Ressler has just texted me now. He has to check something else with Reddington…"

"Love doesn't ask questions, Donald."

Ressler flinched. Out of all the things in the world Dembe would ever say to him, these words made their way out. It was unknown to him why. They were both waiting in the car for Reddington to take a phone call. He preferred to get out of the car and talk outside to whomever was giving him a hard time. At least, this was what Ressler thought seeing the man with the hat clenching his jaw, more in a listening mode rather than being his usual talkative self.

"What are you talking about?", the ever stoic agent finally spoke.

Dembe smiled, but kept quiet which made Ressler smirk.

"You. Raymond. You are more alike than you'd ever care to admit. There are things that brought you together."

"Things?"

"Yes."

Reddington returned to the car.

"Who do you think that friend was?", Ressler asked Red, but was ignored as the man showed the phone to Dembe.

"The address is there in the text messages, Dembe. Will you join us, Donald?"

"Where? Who is that you want to see now?"

"An old acquaintance. I promise you it would be more interesting than meeting Mark. He's such a dull guy!", Red said.

"I asked you something."

"You did and I chose not to answer", Red replied.

"Do you think that old friend Mark mentioned was Katarina? Was she interested in the weapons? Is this why Liz was taken?"

"Are you sure you don't need to be dropped anywhere?"

"No", Ressler said icily. "I'm coming with you to the end of the world if that's what it takes to find Liz", he added.

"Fine. You can't play cop, tough."

"Play cop? So, who am I then? What role do you have for me in this goddamn charade?", Ressler laughed in exasperation.

"Donald, I'm serious as a heart attack. Put your badge away once we get there. Otherwise, we might risk never to see Elizabeth again."

Ressler sighed.

"I think I got something…"

Cooper got closer to Aram's computer. "Still working on those USB drives?"

"There's a lot of info on them. I'm using this app to automatically pick up the names and run a search in various databases. I've setup notifications for various scenarios. For example, if they are linked to our blacklisters cases.

"I assumed Elizabeth had a starting point like a blacklister or case she knew well or anything that had to do with her know-how from the Task Force…"

Aram became suddenly quiet as he was focused on the keyboard, typing some lines of code.

"Aram?!"

"Right… So… I have an interesting match."

"And that it?..."

"Alexander Kirk."

Her head was spinning, her eyelids were heavy, pushing hard on her eyeballs. She felt pins all over her body as if needles were flowing through her blood, scratching her veins from the inside, tearing apart her flash. Where she was, what day it was – these were all unknown to her. Was she alive or was she dead?

Did it matter?

But her mind was a strange thing. The thoughts that quickly materialized were colored and, suddenly, made her feel safe. Agnes. How she made her laugh to tears with a story she invented when they were in Paris. Something about an enchanted forest with purple trees and birds that were singing like in a musical. Agnes singing even if she couldn't hold a note. Don. Don holding her while they were always asleep, whispering in her ear something that she tried to ignore. It was something about how he'll not let go. Or let her go. Or… His breathing on her neck as other words were left unspoken. Aram's last birthday arty. The laughter they shared and the many drinks. Two of them trying to stand up and failing. Don trying to carry the two of them. Don holding her as she cried later that night. Cooper's words after she discovered one of Red's many lies. Red in the execution room and the struggle within.

Her eyes started to hurt as she felt tears coming out. Yes. She was still alive.

And she had to stay that way. At least, for a little longer.

Dembe pulled the car outside a park.

"The badge, Donald. And the gun.", Reddington said.

With a sigh, he handed these over to Dembe who placed these in the glove department. Surprisingly, he offered another gun in exchange.

"You don't need the FBI issued one… This would do just fine, if needed".

Ressler's bad feeling reached out a new level.

"Shall we?", Red invited him out of the car.

"Igor, to what do I owe this…whatever this is?", Red asked as they were approaching a middle-aged, slender man that looked strangely familiar.

"I think you know. I see you brought a friend."

"Yes. I did. This is Donald."

"Donald, this is Igor Rostova. I believe you've met his brother, Constantin."

Ressler was far from being comfortable. His head was spinning.

"Isn't this the FBI guy Masha was working with?"

"Was. Donald gave up his badge recently. He is part of our family now", Reddington highlighted.

The man didn't seem convinced. Ressler squinted in the sun to analyze better the expression on his face. He indeed looked like Kirk. His hair was different.

"Do you have any concerns about me, Igor?", Ressler felt the need to talk. "Just say it."

"I couldn't care less about you, I called you – Raymond – because our dear Irina is in deep trouble. She needs your help."

"When did you became her messenger?", Red asked.

"I guess you could say I am that…"

"So is this trouble connected to the $500 million dollar deal she is trying to close?"

"You could say that…."

"Who's the client, client? Your dear brother?"

"Constantin is not interested in this sort of deals, Raymond. It's quite the opposite."

"You have my attention", Ressler found this somehow amusing. He smirked at both Igor and Red, the latter one glanced him curiously as if he enjoyed seeing his act. Family.

"Constantin's illness made him rethink a bit the business he was investing. Oleksy's weapons business were too stressful for him."

"I know for a fact he was investing in Dmitri's company. Those money were used for the weapons business."

"He placed there only $25 million as a favor for Andrey, Raymond. Besides, the Oleksy's had bigger fish to catch. The KGB had nothing on Constantin. Katarina his records clean."

"What about your records?", Ressler asked taking Igor by surprise. After all, he knew it was always complicated when it became of brothers and their choices. There was a heavy silence before Reddington opened his mouth to talk:

"I guess this answers my question about why Igor here plays the errand boy… Funny how things work out!", he chuckled.

"Raymond, I wouldn't have called you if this wasn't urgent. Irina wants a meeting with one of your friends in Moscow."

"Have Constantin to do it, after all he is more connected there than I am. In fact, he married one of these friends of ours and had a child with her."

"That won't work…"

"Why so? If Katarina kept him clean, she'd help again…", Ressler took a stab at the situation challenging the man.

Igor was startled at the words a man – other than Reddington – spoke.

"Katarina is gone", he replied. He didn't seem to have a way out, Ressler noticed and continued to push this limit:

"Katarina, may be gone. But what about Natasha?"

"What I am saying is that you, at least, could share what is their connection", Ressler said placing his hands on the hem of Cooper's desk.

"He is right, Red. You need to tell us something. We are nowhere."

"You're wrong, Harold. We are about to find out where these weapons are being manufactured."

"I don't see how…", Park said.

"And what about Liz? It's been a long time since she is gone. What if…", he couldn't even say the words. Liz.

Aram's look of despair didn't pass unnoticed.

"I guess that's in the open now…", voiced Park.

"Do you think Kirk took her?"

"I really don't, but I think he'd help us out."

"After everything, he'd just step in and give us a hand?"

"Not for the sake of Elizabeth, no. But he'd do it for other reasons…"

"As long as doesn't find out about what you did to Katarina."

"Hi!", Don headed to the waitress he knew well.

"Hi! How are you? Table for two?", she asked recognizing him instantly. The woman reminded him of a cheerleader he knew in school.

Liz always teased after he confessed. Liz.

"Not today", he smiled. "But I'll take the usual to go + 2 mix menus. And I have a question, if you don't mind…"

"Ask away…", the lady said.

"My friend I usually come here with, Liz…"

"I remember her, yeah! Nice lady, you two are a nice couple."

His heart ached.

"She was here with our daughter…" Ressler instantly realized he'd never want to refer to Agnes in any way other than that.

"Yeah, like two weeks ago, she ordered the usual. But left suddenly and forgot the kid's toy!"

"Do you still have it?"

"Sure, it's in the Lost & Found, ask for it at the counter. We knew she'd be back, she's coming here for years. Your order will be ready in about 15 minutes. You know the drill!"

"Thanks!", Ressler said.

4 8 R 3

What are you trying to say to me, Liz?

Chapter 8

"Agnes… Honey…", Lisa circled her arms around the little girl who, for the first the first time since she was with them, was crying. Heavy tears were falling from her eyes and her whole body was shaken.

Ressler was startled, paralyzed and unable to do anything. He couldn't bring Liz back home. Had he tried hard enough? Since she was not there, the answer was 100% no. He blamed himself for Agnes' pain and for Liz's suffering, wherever she was. He blamed himself for not have being supportive enough when this madness started. His mind was in over-drive and his lungs suddenly couldn't catch enough air.

But there was one thing for which he felt lucky: his mother being there, holding Agnes' tiny hands in hers, trying to solace her, to tell her that everything is going to be fine.

The toy he had found at Wing Yee earlier that day was now laying on the floor. He hated how much it disturbed Agnes.

All he could in that moment was to kneel in front of the sofa. He kept on telling himself not to break down to tears. With a hesitation in his voice that would betray the hurt he was feeling himself, he called Agnes' name a couple of times until the girl, caught in Lisa's embrace, finally faced him.

"I'm so sorry you have to go through this. I miss your mom too. I love her too and it hurts she's not yet here back with us…" Tears fogged his eyes, but he was forcing himself not to break down more than that. Agnes, startled to see him like this, let go of Lisa and stretched her hands to reach out Ressler.

"I love mommy so much…"

"I know you do…"

"I am scared. What if she will never get back to me? What if those people come after me too and take me away from here?"

"No, Agnes, that is never gonna happen! Not under my watch!"

"Constantin is waiting for you. He asked for you to come with Elizabeth", Dembe said seating himself on the armchair so he could face Reddington.

Red processed that information for a few moments, before opening his mouth to ask: "Did Igor call back?"

"Not yet." Dembe would have comment about the news he had just shared, but his boss was in no mood to debate Kirk's odd request. So, he took a deep breath and raised himself up with some hesitation and headed towards the window.

Red, feeling some tension coming from his trusted friend and partner, studied him cautiously. He finally decided against any debate about Rostov, so he took a burner from the coffee table and dialed a number.

"Are you in the mood for a quick trip, Donald?"

"Do you have news?", came in the answer. No salutations needed.

"We can say that", Red said on an even voice.

"I… Look – I may need a favor first. It's about Agnes."

"Talk."

Dembe glanced over the sofa where Reddington was seated and sensing the change in his tone, he decided his worries could wait for another time.

Aram, surprised to see Alina typing at his desk, tossed his jacket close to the keyboard to cause an out of the blue and not so innocent interruption.

"Sorry – I just…"

"Don't you have a desk of your own, Agent Park?"

"Aram, I really don't want to have a fight with you now…"

"Then don't use this station that has my name on it."

"Fine. Is Cooper still here?"

"Are you going to... Are you going to tell on me?" His voice was now in defensive. He knew that would not end up in his favor as their boss was not too interested in this sort of uncollaborative behavior nor he wanted to play mediator between two grown up agents.

"God, no! What's the matter with you, anyway?", Alina yelled.

"Well..."

"Well… OK, I know you are stressed out because of Keen, but seriously… I am also trying to help out here, this is why I was using your stupid station."

"What were you looking for? Paintings?", Aram suddenly became interested in what his colleague had to say.

"Paintings with the same patterns as those painted by Mitroskini."

"And?"

"There is another art gallery in New York that has similar pieces."

"Too similar…"

Aram's eyes were hooked on the screen. "Oh, you're good!"

"I know! And look at the artist's name: Mira Mitroskina."

She felt a presence in the room. Despite her mind being in alert, her eyes were kept shut.

"Masha, this must be… unpleasant."

The familiar voice made her shiver. The man who addressed her on her birth name. Him. The effort of opening her eyes gave her a sudden headache she could hardly bare.

"You got yourself in some trouble, big trouble. Just like your mother", the man continued to talk on a soft tone.

Hearing about Katarina angered her. Her body, tough, was out of sync with the mind. She was still far from being able to move anything, even an eye lid.

"I am not even sure what did you do, Irina didn't tell me. I am… confused, Masha. Probably that's the best word. Confused of why you are here, what did you do… Or was it Katarina and you are now paying the price?"

The man sighed. It was him. Alexander Kirk. Or Constantin Rostova. Husband of Katarina. The man she knew as her father for the first years of her life. The man who kidnapped her and Agnes. The man who separated her from her daughter.

"Truth is I hate Reddington for destroying my family, but he saved my life then. And you… You may not be blood of my blood, but it's unfair to you. Masha..."

She felt him getting closer to where she was laying down. He was, she assumed, staying at the margin of her bed. Watching her, maybe.

"Irina doesn't want you dead until she finds Katarina. Knowing your mother… I am sure she'll think of you as collateral damage. It seems this is what we are to her."

The words hurt. Out of the blue, Liz flinched and Constantin's hand was immediately on touching hers.

"Come on, you have to wake up. She'll let you rot in here. Masha, you have to wake up. You have to trust me on this one… I am trying to help you here…"

"You're telling me there is another artist involved?" Ressler was scratching his head trying to digest the intel coming from Aram while he was holding a sleeping Agnes who had refused to go to bed.

"Thing is…the catalogue we found online doesn't include a bio for the artist, we don't know the relation between them. It may be a wife or a daughter…"

"Aram, let me stop you right there. I don't think these artists even exist."

"So, we assume it's an alias", Park spoke.

"You two are still at the Post Office?"

He asked thinking of him and Liz and the many nights spent there, trying to figure out things, cases, their own messed up lives. However, he couldn't picture Park and Aram in the same way.

When Agnes changed her sleeping position on the sofa, he took the opportunity to stand up and tuck the blanket around her.

"But there could be hundreds of paintings…", Aram continued and Ressler realized he missed some of the things that have been said as his mind travelled.

"Yeah, I guess. But what about the gallery owners or the curators? What is the pattern there? These are posh places, they have rich customers who buy art for the sake of spending money, they organize select event… There has to be something…", Ressler said.

"Anthony Davids", Aram said enthusiastically.

"The IT guy Irina was dating?"

"He was a sort of a socialite. He… let me check…", Aram added.

Ressler could hear him typing as he headed over to the kitchen and turned on his laptop. While waiting for either Park or Aram to add anything else, he connected to the Post Office intranet so Aram could screen share whatever he was looking at.

"I'm online if you want to share anything…"

In just a few moments, there were some captures from various social media channels popping out on his screen.

"Boy liked to party…", said Park.

"So, he used to attend this sort of things… And look in the background.. The same type of cryptic paintings."

"Too bad he's dead…" Park's bluntness surprised Ressler, but he decided to ignore her remark.

"Can you check if he bought any of these for himself? And can we have a list of all the galleries that are linked to him somehow?"

After the conversation ended, Ressler started to do his own search in various databases he had access to realizing that Liz's profiling skills would have been desperately needed to understand why Davids would want to have anything to do with an elderly woman like Irina Oleksy. There were things that didn't make any sense. There had to be something else.

Ressler had never imagined it would be so difficult to say goodbye to Agnes. He carried her in his arms from the car to the plane, listening to her story about the places she'd been with Liz.

Red didn't think twice after Ressler had asked for a favor. Within a few hours, his private plane was ready to take Agnes and Lisa to Detroit for at least a few days. All of them agreed Agnes would be safer there, in Lisa's care and scrutiny.

"This is Xian. She will be accompanying you and Agnes", Dembe told Lisa indicating towards the woman that was onboarding ahead of them.

"Is she….", Lisa really didn't know who or what Xian could be. She didn't even know who Dembe was. Don told her he's a close friend. On the other hand, knowing all this came from Raymond Reddington made her feel uncomfortable and she didn't know how much she could hide these feelings.

"Xian is a well-trained bodyguard and we've made arrangements for her to stay nearby your house. In case anything is needed. She is also licensed in social studies and pedagogy; she can also babysit if it's needed…"

"Ok…"

"And these are Agnes' papers."

"Huh?"

"Have no worry about it, Mrs. Ressler. Aram helped, so these are all real. She's officially your granddaughter now. You have something to support the story about her…"

Lisa was surprised to see how much care and honesty were in Dembe's eyes. He smiled reassuringly handing over the documents.

"Why can't you come with me and Lisa?", Agnes asked even if she was told many times that Donald must stay in DC to continue looking for Liz.

"I will come when this is over. With your mom. And we'll do something fun, go to a real vacation", he said hating himself for the risk of creating expectations that might never be met.

"Promise?"

He smiled as he adjusted her safety belt. This was harder than when he had to see Liz go. Last time.

"Agnes, remember what our secret about unicorns?"

"Yes…"

"Can I have this one?", he asked pointing to one of her toys squeezed in a bag Lisa brought. "For good luck", he whispered.

She nodded. He took it and put close to their faces. For the many times that evening, he was fighting back tears.

"I will call you once we're home, Don…", Lisa said trying to break the tension as she seated her next to the girl. "Agnes will be fine, she'll have some fun with your cousins, I'll have Robbie helping me with anything. Right, hon?"

"Thank you, mom. I just…", he swallowed his words. He could worry later, in the silence of his now empty apartment.

"Kiddo, I'll see you soon", he kneeled again to hug Agnes one more time. As he again came to the realization he'd do anything for her, Agnes said: "You're my best daddy!"

"I love you, kid!"

Dembe drove straight to Red's apartment. It was past midnight, but sleeping was the last thing Donald wanted to do. Aram texted him about a few leads, but he didn't insist to call knowing about the plans to send Agnes to Detroit. Ressler assumed he was being given some space and sincerely appreciated that.

He took the opportunity to recap the many layers of the case they had on their table. There were facts unknown yet to Reddington, like the USB flash drives and all the intel Liz had gathered while being away. Esi was still gone and Ressler was naively hoping she'd return with something.

Then, there was the cryptic message left on the toys. As he was holding one of the stuffed unicorns, he suddenly remembered there was another one missing.

Reddington welcomed him with a glass of scotch that he silently accepted.

"We're gonna meet Constantin Rostov tomorrow, Donald."

"Why is that? What's his connection?"

"That is yet to see…"

"Did he decide to take revenge on Liz after…"

"I really doubt it."

"Then?"

"Loyalty, maybe…"

"Is he loyal to the Oleksys?"

"To Irina, mostly."

"Not Katarina?"

"Katarina kept him clean. But Irina helped him become a rich and powerful man."

Ressler finished his drink in one sip.

"How close were Katarina and Irina?"

"There are various interpretations…"

"Can you just give a straight answer?"

"It depends on what I am being asked…"

"I can't lose her…", he said after a short uncomfortable silence. "I know this is one thing we have in common."

"Just one?", Red scoffed. "Donald, by now you would have realized there are many."

"When are we meeting him?". Ressler decided to change the topic. He also wanted another glass of whatever scotch that was.

"Tomorrow am, we'll drive to his house outside New York. I've told Harold you're doing field work with me."

"Aram and Park have some leads Anthony Davids. He was quite the fan of fancy galleries that sell cryptic paintings signed by non-existent Russian artists."

"Anything interesting?"

"I asked them to look into what else these galleries have in common…"

Red hesitated a moment, then said:

"You should ask Aram to look into Davids business partners too."

"Do you have someone specific on your mind?"

"Do you know why Irina was interested in Davids?"

"That's a good question. This where Liz would have had something interesting based on profile…"

"What do you think brought them together?"

"Not faith. I looked into him. He has a huge god complex. Everything he did, all of his projects and startups, seem to have been means to place him on a pedestal. I think Irina took advantage of that when she decided to upgrade her own business. She wanted the technology at a good price."

"Elizabeth taught you well, Donald…"

Chapter 9

Of course, sleeping was an impossible mission. More than that, it felt like an immense burden. Shutting his eyes for more than a few seconds made him feel he'd run out of breath.

Once he had returned from Red's and realized sleeping is not an option, Donald walked aimless around the apartment picking up some of Agnes' things left around: toys, clothes, some books.

Unable to spend time within his mind to disembroil the thoughts hanging, he retrieved his laptop to look again into the content of the flash drives. There were still many links missing to understand what Liz thinking was.

For a brief moment, Ressler contemplated the idea of sharing everything with Reddington too, but it just didn't feel right. After all, Reddington killed Katarina in front of Liz. It was cold-blooded murder. An execution, as Liz described it. He was the reason she disappeared. Ressler knew well Reddington's secrets were probably darker and deeper than whatever they'd ever imagined. And more dangerous

He had opened the .txt file from Liz, then got up for a glass of water. He knew every word by heart. Like a poem. His favorite poem. To say that he missed her was an understatement.

He felt broken. Like glass shattered on the floor.

Their road trip to New York seemed long and tiring. Red was not feeling particularly chatty, so Donald focused on his phone for most of the time. He got numerous text messages from his mom and brother who were assuring him Agnes was well taken care of and had fun plans for her first day in Detroit. At some point, Aram called him. His news wasn't that good as he and the team needed more time to look into Davids business partners. The man was officially missing and not yet confirmed dead, so his lawyers were far from collaborative without a warrant which Cooper was working to get.

Donald decided to break the silence. After a couple of hesitation he put into words what he was thinking.

"You don't look that good. Is your health better?"

"Worried about me, Donald?"

"I am worried about many things. The one that matters the most is finding Liz. Since you're connected to all this, I hope you'll be capable of helping out…"

"And here I was, imagining you've started to care about me."

Ressler scoffed. It took him a few seconds to process that he was worried for the man with the hat.

"Was not my message clear?" This was the first thing Rostov said to them once they showed up on his property. They were outside, on a manicured lawn.

"My friend Donald wanted to join the party, Constantin. Do you remember him?"

"Should I?"

Red smiled instead of offering a reply.

"Where's Katarina?", Rosotv asked.

Ressler was biting his tongue not to share her permanent whereabouts.

"That depends. Last time I saw her, she was in Paris. Last time I've heard from her, she was in the company of our good friend Irina. Probably having tea."

Ressler was hoping his poker face would not betray him as he hated this game Red was nonchalantly playing.

"Irina is, in fact, looking for her, Raymond."

"So, are you now her errand boy? I thought that's your brother's job", Red laughed and started to walk around, looking for a place to seat. He was heading to the pool area where he spotted a table with 6 wicker chairs.

"You called me, Raymond. Why?"

Reddington didn't bother to reply. He was walking a few feet ahead as the others followed: Rostov, then Donald and Dembe. He seated himself on what of the chairs. Rostov repeated his question after he also took a seat across from Red. Ressler crossed his hands around his chest and waited for the conversation to continue, deciding not to open his mouth.

"Elizabeth", Red answered.

"What about her?"

"She's been kidnapped."

"And you think that has something to do with me… It doesn't."

Flashbacks from a few years back, from a garden that smelled like freshly cut grass, when he had seen the most desperate side of Liz darkened Ressler's mind. She was so fragile in his embrace. Liz. He suddenly found himself speaking:

"And we are supposed to believe you because you had nothing to do with what happened last time…"

Rostov glanced at Ressler in surprise. On the other hand, he didn't even try to exculpate from the accusations – may these be unspoken.

"Donald is the FBI Agent who led the rescue operation back then."

"And you are now involved with the FBI?"

"God, no. Donald's motivation is as personal as mine. Different nature, but we both want Elizabeth back. Safe."

Rostov looked at Ressler trying to give a definition to that "personal" reference. He said drily:

"I can't help you with that, I don't know where she is."

"But you know where Irina is."

"You know Irina, she's here and there. She's to be found only if and when she wants to."

"You didn't ask me if I think Irina is responsible for Elizabeth's kidnapping."

"I don't need to ask because I know that's what you think."

"Why do you want to meet Katarina?", Ressler interrupted them. "What business do you have with her now?"

"Do I need a reason to meet my ex-wife?"

Reddington laughed for a few moments.

"Well, since you thought she was dead… we have to ask…", he was still laughing.

"I only found out she is alive last year. She reached out to me."

"But she has been in contact with Irina. You didn't know that?", Donald asked. Some things were not adding up.

"Maybe you should ask Raymond about that. Irina is a dangerous woman. She is not to be asked things she doesn't want to share."

Red raised himself up and rearranged his hat.

"Constantin, I suggest we'd stay in touch. I'll make sure Katarina reaches out to you soon."

Ressler's eyes were burning holes in Reddington's scalp.

"Are you gonna tell me why you're dragging me to these meetings?", Ressler asked Red once they were in the car, on their way back to DC.

"Why do you think I'm doing that, Donald?"

"Clearly not for my badge", he answered bitterly.

"No, not for your badge."

"What you said to Constantin… that this is personal for both of us."

"And it isn't?"

"It is for me."

"That is a well known fact. It's been years since it is personal for you. Between you two."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I lost count of how many times you've done everything to save her, even when she was with Tom."

"She was my partner, of course I did."

Reddington finally turned his head to face Ressler. There was a hesitation in his eyes. However, no words followed for the rest of their trip.

"Admiring these?", Aram asked as he entered the storage unit behind their office area where Ressler was. He may have been sleep deprived, but his brain was still on.

"These are the originals from Irina's property in the Hamptons. Look here…", he said carefully scratching the canvas on a corner, making sure he doesn't deteriorate it too much. "See? These are printed on a strange kind of paper, with a weird granularity to imitate a painting… Nothing is actually painted."

Ressler kept on scratching.

"Correct me if I'm wrong… but these are marked as paintings, not prints. Everywhere – in the catalogues, web sites, acquisition contracts…"

"Not just that…" Aram's face lightened up as he started to scrutiny the canvas. "You know, there are very specific printers to create something like this…"

"What about the creative process? If these are not handcrafted, but created with the help of some software, do you know what would that be?"

"There are a few… but yes – the patterns, the size of the canvas… I think you were really up to something…"

"Aram, we desperately need a new lead. I count on you…"

"Panabaker is trying to help with the warrant…"

"Trying?", Ressler's disappointment didn't pass unnoticed by his boss.

"This Davids seemed to be one influent man. Didn't Reddington offered any other ways to do it?"

"No. Not related to Davids anyway. To be honest, I am not sure he wants this woman found, he already helped the husband and the son escape. Their history with Alexander Kirk and Katarina seems complicated…"

"Reddington wants Keen found. That we know."

"Yeah…", Ressler agreed. That was something he could be 100% sure of.

"And Kirk? Did he share anything with you?"

"No. He thinks Katarina is still alive. Reddington fed this illusion."

"What?", Park's voice interrupted the two men. "But she is dead! He killed her!"

"You may not know Reddington for as long as we do, but you know him well enough to realize there is always a hidden agenda when it comes of his actions…", Cooper clarified taking off his glasses.

"Thing is we're nowhere. What if…", Ressler felt unable to speak. His mouth was dry. He pressed his nose bridge, took a deep breath, then continued: "The info on the flash drives resemblance a blacklist, like the one Red operates with. But we cannot link any of those names to Liz's abduction. Oleksy is the only real suspect and she is nowhere to be found. So – we don't have anything. We need that warrant to look into Davids' associates, he has to be the key here."

Cooper looked into his direction and nodded. A silence filled the room as everyone was trying to gather their thoughts.

"Aram is investigating how those prints are made…", Park added. But she knew that was too little to compensate for the desperation hey were feeling.

"Should I set up another meeting?", Dembe asked turning on his laptop.

"No, Igor is not going to be of any help", Red answered from behind the counter.

"They need a new intermediary for the deal, Raymond. That can be an opportunity. Even if a dangerous one…"

"You may be right here, but I would need some additional details, maybe some guarantees."

"The Task Force is working on decrypting the messages in the paintings."

"Yes, I am still impressed they picked up on that."

"And Elizabeth? Do you think they can manage this?"

"Donald has surprised me before, he may be able to do it again."

Irina's tea time was interrupted by Igor and two of her guards. With a cold look, she made it obvious how much it annoyed her.

"They got a warrant, Irina."

"How?"

"FBI is now at his apartment, they have a team there searching."

"There is nothing there, our people cleaned everything. What about Reddington?"

"Constantin said he came alone, with his guards. No sign of Katarina."

"We need to change tactics here."

"You can't hurt Masha", Igor said in one breath. "Let me talk to him again."

"Here!", Aram clicked on the remote and the wide screen filled with captures of what seemed to be very difficult to read lines of data.

Dembe pulled out a chair for his boss, as the others were squinting to whatever Aram was showing.

"Are we supposed to know what any of this means?", Red was the first to ask.

"These is his bank balance", Aram was navigating through various files.

"A rich man, yes. That we knew", Red continued.

"We need a new word for so many zeros…", Ressler said.

"I'd say…", Red seemed to enjoy the comment coming from the lead agent.

"What's strange is that… his money was not circulating. He was a spender, yes. And we know what he bought, that's here – the forensics have all his expenses ready. But he was not investing in anything. Most of his money was just seating in a few bank accounts. It's weird…"

"People like him make investments, they create startups from scratch, they take risks…."

"So… What you are saying is that he was keeping almost $2 billion dollars in 7 bank accounts?", Cooper asked pushing his glasses closer to his eyes.

"Yes. And… he was not even getting a good interest… I mean, there are better banks…"

Reddington chuckled: "I'd say!"

"Wasn't he rolling out money through his company?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary there", Park answered. "Their audit seems fine, we are running additional checks, but it's a small company. With 12 employees. They design software, then they sell it to bigger companies. It's a straight-forward business model.."

"What 12 employees? Then why is he paying $6m per year for the office?", Ressler asked starting to dig into various files around Aram's desk.

"That's the second weirdest part…", Aram said. "Look where the address is… and… look where he has been regularly in the last months for lunch".

"A diner in Poughkeepsie?"

"One close to… these 3 warehouses owned by… someone called… Oleg Ivanoff."

"What a surprise, it's a Russian…"

"Not just a Russian", Red spoke. "It's an alias for Constantin Rostov's brother."

"We need to go there…", Ressler impatiently said.

"Donald, I can ensure you Elizabeth is not held there. But the guns are so we need to play smart. I suggest allowing me to pay them a visit first."

"Do you need company this time?", Ressler asked.

Chapter 10

"Whhh-hy?"

It was frustrating for her to be unable to articulate the many thoughts that were spawning her mind. Constantin Rostov was seating silently next to the bed, in the dim light. He was not facing her, rather looking at a wall or a painting. He seemed tired. It was late in the day, as she could tell, probably already nighttime. The windows were covered by curtains, but the air was stringy as if a long day had finally gone by.

Other few minutes passed until he turned his head and looked at her.

Liz has been awake for a while, but too fatigue to do anything else than blinking. The daze was not just because of the IV in her arm. Somehow, she felt relieved for being sedated and not in pain. The fade memory of what happened to her was enough to understand at least one person wanted her alive.

"You're pale, Masha… Irina hurt you."

"Yooo-uuu ss-aaa—ved meee? Whh-y…"

"Because for a long time I thought you are my daughter, Masha. In some ways, you still are."

Liz's lips were moving, but no sound made its way out.

"Katarina and Reddington played you just like they played me. I think this is the answer you are looking for."

"Hhhh-ow?"

"You need to get better so we can find Katarina. She has all the answers for both of us."

"R..rredi.."

Rostov moved his head away from her, again facing the wall.

"He paid me a visit today. Reddington. I asked him to bring her, but of course he keeps her hidden."

Liz decided on the spot not to share yet about Katarina's inauspicious faith.

"He came with a friend of his from FBI. Of yours too, as far as I could tell. He seemed to care about you very much."

Ressler. Her eyes were stinging, her hand involuntarily moved to cup his and Constantin suddenly turned his head to face. He was startled.

"Who the hell are you?"

It was not uncommon for Reddington to burst into a room, absolutely owning it, making the others feel small, insignificant and terrified. The fact that he didn't need the cavalry or an FBI badge to do it, made it even more impressive. This was why Ressler's signature smirk quickly made an appearance once the man with glasses opened his mouth in terror.

"What are you doing here? This is a private place."

Reddington ignored him and looked around the conference room they were in.

"Out of curiosity: are you any chief of something or we can dispose of you?", Ressler asked unsympathetic. He decided to be bad cop.

"I am, yes. I am the… CTO…"

"Good, so – how's the weapon business going?", Reddington finally opened his mouth.

"Excuse me?"

Instead of offering any clarification, the man with the hat seated himself at the round table placing a hand on the table, revealing his gun. The man looked even more terrified.

"What do you want? I…"

"Where are the weapons fabricated?", Red asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Do we really need to play this game?", Ressler continued to play boarish, while Red repositioned his gun into the man's direction.

"Fine… I will tell you, but please… Have mercy, I.. really am in the middle here".

Ressler gestured towards him to continue and the man took a deep breath before opening his mouth.

"We have 3 floors underground, there's where they're being fabricated partially. The software… That's more complicated. The software has been written here. We have a team of 9 people working on that."

"Why partially?"

"Because we use 3rd printers and to build a first prototype, we embed the processor and then ship them to… China. The factory there is doing the touching points. Here they look mostly like toys."

"Interesting business model…"

"But… We are now just doing the prototypes. There are issues…"

"Meaning?"

"The software…It's not good, we had problems with the automation. There is a fix, but we don't have it and…"

"Can't you write it? A team of 9 people?

"It's too advanced. There are few people who would be able to do this. We… Look, this is not actually a real software company. I mean, we do some code, but most of it doesn't come from us. The Technology for the guns to work is written by contractors all around the world. We have a vendor that does the whole thing, Anthony works with him. I don't even know his name. Talk to Anthony…"

"He's dead…"

"What? Did you…"

"I am afraid his Russian business partner got to him first…"

"Igor?"

"So you know Igor Rostov?"

"Not his last name… His last name is.. Well, I guess Maddison is not his real name, right?"

"That's why you are the CTO…"

"Look – I am honest here, I.. just needed the job, I knew Anthony since we were kids… I will tell you anything!"

"Have you also met Irina?"

"This name doesn't ring any bell…"

"Let me rephrase it for you: any other interesting Russians in Davids' life?

"He was dating someone older… But her name was Mary Hathaway."

Ressler threw a glance at Reddington to check his reaction hearing this name. The man didn't even blink, which convinced the agent that's a familiar alias.

"Dembe, would you call Mark? Tell him I've got a business proposal for him…", said Red as they were returning to the jet.

"Mark?", Ressler asked just to be sure he knows it's the same guy from a few days back.

"You've met him."

"So, is he or is he not one of your associates?"

"I am sure he is going to be one now. And that's good news. He'll think twice about Irina's influence… And – by the way – I appreciate you making this off-the-record.

Donald nodded.

"Are we even getting any closer to finding her?", Park asked Aram.

"I can't even tell…", he answered without taking his eyes off the screen.

"We have to hope for that… It's just.. "

"What?"

"There are so many pieces connected – but all of them seem to fit in another puzzle."

"Yeah… But we've been through this sort of things, now it's with Liz. She clearly found something big and pays the price for it, we just need to figure it out what it is to save her life."

"What did Ressler send from Poughkeepsie?"

"Uhm… That's off the record…"

Aram finally looked at his colleague knowing she'd be confused to find out about the decision made above their level.

"Mr. Reddington wants to keep it private…"
"For now?"

"Yeah… Yes. Probably…"

"Aram!"

"Look – for now it's just between us. Cooper's orders too."

"Is that why we didn't have any tac team following up their business?"

"Yes", he said with a half of voice. Seeing Park is not still convinced, Aram decided to share more about the findings.

"Red's team took over whatever is there, they shared the servers with us. That's what I am doing now. Going through the code. At first sight, it it's very poor quality and I am far from being an expert in that programming language. The team there is writing and some vendor is taking it to the next level."

"A vendor?"

"Yes. I am now looking for how they were providing the fixes. They were doing this in a specific program, not widely known. Look here – on the left is the code initially written, on the right is the improved version and if you click here, there are some comments. But it's quite cryptic."

"Can you scroll down, please?"

Aram hesitated for a moment then opened his mouse in surprise: "It's not that cryptic, is it?"

"No…"

"There are patterns…"

"Like in the paintings and the prints or whatever those are…"

"Do you think….?"

"Think what?", Cooper asked looking at his two agents who were left mouth agape in front of the screen.

"We think… the prints are related to whatever programming this is. Everything is created by the same mastermind…"

"I think the third toy is in a cemetery, at her father's grave."

As Ressler was re-reading the text message from Lisa a few times, a picture came through from Robbie's number. It was a drawing Agnes made that yes, he had to admit, resembled a cemetery.

Ressler quickly forwarded it to Aram with an ask to go and check it out. He also added at the end that it is best to connect via text messages, rather than calling each other given the fact that he was still with Red. Hopefully, Aram would understand. He regretted – however – not being able to hear the panic in Aram's voice as he was asking him to go to a graveyard at night.

Reddington slept during the 1h flight back to DC, while Ressler and Dembe spend the time talking about sports. A safe topic that would keep them in a sort of a comfort zone. Ressler would have willingly opened other topics, there was a long list of things he'd wanted to ask to the most loyal man he ever knew. It was just not the time.

Now, as they were back in the car, Dembe driving them back from the heliport back to the Post Office, he suddenly felt talkative. He turned his head to the left and asked in the most casual voice:

"So why did you kill her?"

"Excuse me?"

"Katarina. There must be something more here. You risked too much pulling the trigger."

"Do you believe in coincidences, Donald?"

"Not when it comes of you", the answer came with a snort. "I've many times wondered if it was on purpose choosing me too to become part of this Task Force."

Reddington glanced at him in surprise. Noticing the grimace, Donald decided to continue his interrogatory and push for at least half of an answer – whatever that would be.

"So it wasn't a coincidence. Me, Liz, the Task Force."

"No, Donald. It was not."

"But why me? Clearly it's not the same motivation as it was with Liz. With Cooper you have a past. But with me?..."

"You've been my tail for 5 years. We could say we had a past."

"You could have had me eliminated many times during those 5 years."

"I could… Yes, that's true."

"And why didn't you do it?"

"What do you actually want to know, Donald?"

"I just want to understand. Why me."

"And why do you want to know now, after more than a decade?"

"Because it bothers me. I realize now you probably knew everything about me when I started the assignment. Right?"

"I did, yes", Reddington replied curtly, annoyed on how much Ressler seemed to enjoy this odd discussion.

"About my dad, Robbie, Tommy Markin… You knew…"

"My goodness! It's not difficult to connect the dots of your past, Donald", Red chuckled. "You are not a complicated man, most of the times you wear your feelings on your sleeve."

"For you, maybe I am not. But you could have used my past against me. And yet you didn't. You actually saved my life that time in the box."

"And yet I was about to kill you for the code."

Ressler's signature smirk made an appearance on his face.

"I would have shared the code without the gun on my head. You know that. And you know why."

Now it was Red's turn to smile.

"If what you really want to ask is about me forcing the hands of faith to bring you and Elizabeth in the same place, then the answer is yes."

"Because she needed protection?"

"At first, yes. From Tom, Berlin. Others still in the shadow. But does any of this even matter now, after these many years?"

"You knew I'd protect Liz", Ressler felt a stage sense of pride invading him.

"I knew you two would be good for each other, yes," Red nodded. "Call it intuition, if you want."

"Interesting…"

Ressler's blatant smile started to really annoy Reddington, so he decided to cut the conversation short: "Is it?"

"Yes, it is. I still don't get some things, but you confirmed for me something quite important."

"Does this discussion have a point, Donald?"

Ressler didn't say anything back. He continued to smile.

Chapter 11

"87CBTRE? But this makes no sense, Aram. If we combine all the characters from the toys we don't get anything…"

Ressler was pouring coffee in his cup, keeping his phone on speaker on the counter.

"I know… But I still think it's a sort of a password."

"This seems to be it, yeah. But password to what exactly?"

"That it is hard to tell."

It's been a while since Ressler started to hate mornings. Waking alone in his apartment, knowing Liz is not just gone from his life and a wanted fugitive, but she had also been kidnapped because of something they cannot yet figure it out. Then there was Reddington, the man who caused Liz's breakdown and with whom he ended up spending days without having any clarity on why his presence was wanted so badly. And the case they were still working at that was stuck and had him on the edge of burnout.

These were just a few of the things that were shattering his soul to a million of sharp pieces that were scratching his inside.

He also missed Agnes' company and, as he was returning from his run earlier that morning, he came to the realization that he enjoyed perhaps a bit too much playing the role of a father. He was thinking as Agnes as being his. There have been times when he imagined that this was the case, but he always felt guilty because of Liz's love for Tom. That morning he became aware that the guilt faded completely.

He ended the call with Aram to text his mother. It was bit over 7 am, so he knew she'd be already up and enjoying a coffee cup. Agnes was also a morning person, as he was happy to discover during their time spent together.

A couple of minutes related, instead of a reply text, his mother was calling him back. On video. Agnes face appeared on the screen of his phone once he accepted the call.

"Hi, sweetheart! Up already?"

She was smiling, happy to see him.

"We have to walk Bernie, Mr. Watson's dog. Uncle Robbie will take us to the doggy park. Ressler could see the excitement in her voice.

"That sounds fun, Agnes. What kind of dog is Bernie?"

"A German shepherd. He's big! But he plays nicely, he likes the frisbee I throw."

"I am happy you're having fun, honey!"

Lisa appeared on the background, waving her hand to the camera.

"Hi, mom!"

"Hi, dear! So you know - I'm making waffles for breakfast, so Agnes is here to entertain you. Are you good?"

"Yeah, thanks for asking. Tired, mostly."

Wanting to avoid other questions related to his wellbeing, he resumed the chat Agnes:

"I like German Shepherds too. And golden retrievers. They're playful."

"I… I wish I could have a puppy one day. Maybe when mummy comes back…"

"She'll be back soon, Agnes. And I promise you we'll get a dog", he hated himself for making such promises.

"Will you help me pick it?"

"Sure. And we'll train it together, take him to the park every day."

Her giggle was the only thing he needed.

Cooper was at his desk, silently scrolling the mouse as he was reading something on his laptop. Ressler knocked on the door, even if this was wide open. He didn't want to intrude.

"Did you figure it out what's the secret agenda this time?", Cooper asked leaving aside any small talk.

Ressler gave him a lopsided smile.

"He really seems quite fond of you lately…", the AD glanced at his lead agent.

"It seems so…"

Cooper moved away his laptop and waved towards Ressler to shut the door behind him.

"So, no idea of what he wants from you?"

"No, not really. He doesn't want me there for the badge", Ressler replied while he seated himself in one of the chairs across from his boss, losing up his tie a little.

"Not playing the corrupt cop this time?", Harold smirked.

"Not this time, no. I think… I may be wrong, but I think it has to do with Keen. It's a message he wants to send across".

As he was speaking, Donald realized it was the first time he was voicing out some of the heavy thoughts that were troubling him. He felt grateful for the conversation that was taking place.

"So that Elizabeth would know you're siding with him?"

"Have to admit I thought that at first, yeah…", Donald chuckled. "But after meeting Kirk it seemed mostly about these people – Oleksy, Kirk, whomever it may be involved in the old situation – should know she is not alone. That it's not just Reddington caring for her…"
"That, yes. I agree. But Reddington's sudden interest in you is not something I can easily ignore."

"What's your theory here? Should I be careful about something? What's exactly on your mind?"

"It may be just a guess, but… Elizabeth was supposed to be his heir. I think he is now looking for a replacement." Harold's eyes were set on Ressler so he could see his reaction. This didn't disappoint.

"Absolutely not. I would never accept anything coming from him… Besides – he cares about Liz, despite what happened."

"She deceived him while you saved his life during the hospital explosion. Not just once he showed interest in you or helped you out…"

Ressler sighed. Red was his sin eater too and there were things not even his boss knew about.

"So what – he's now expecting for me to become the New Concierge of Crime?", Ressler laughed. He was sorry it was still early morning, so drinking was not an option.

"Something like this, yes. Ideally, with less crime. But let's pick this up later, I am sure there is more on the topic. Oh, I've talked to Panabaker, I wanted you to know that."

"About Liz's immunity?"

"Yes, she's supportive. I shared a part of the information she left for us. Of course, she wants Keen found, but…"

"No charges?"

"I trust there won't be anything like this."

"I believe that's good news."

The room was mantled in heavy shades of darkness, but she could tell that the sun was up behind the corduroy curtains. It was probably early morning. She only then noticed how much medical equipment was laying around. Liz checked her arm as she felt a mild discomfort from where the needle was in, but there was no IV dripping, so she got it out with a shacky movement.

She tried to think if there was any other presence besides Kirk's and felt relieved once she remembered a blonde, tall woman, in her late 40s, that came by a few times to check on her. Probably a nurse or a doctor. She could tell she was taken care of.

Now Liz was alone, surrounded by an unusual silence. She felt stronger and more lucid than in the past days so she got up from the bed. What she wanted to do is to check the door to see if it's locked, but before she could do that, she heard the known sound of a lock as Constantin entered the room together with a tall woman.

"Hi…. I need… My daughter… Why are you keeping me here?

"You're not a prisoner here, Masha."

The woman approached her and slowly took her arm to check the blood pouring from where the needle was. Her touch was gentle and she kept a smile on while cleaning the stitch. She continued to check her up, especially the left side of her face which made Liz think there was a wound there that didn't look good. There was no mirror around so she could see the damage from where Irina's people beat her up.

"This is Mila, she has been taking care of you. She is my physician."

Liz smiled at her, which made Mila confidant enough to grab her hand and walk her back to the bed.

"The maid will help out with the cleaning. If you need anything…"

"I am not a guest here…", Liz curtly replied.

"Please, Constantin… I want to…I want my life back."

Constantin took a seat on an armchair, facing Liz.

"I understand you, but I can't let you go now. Not until Irina gets what she wants from Katarina. She'd kill you within seconds, Masha. She'd kill Agnes…"

"What are you talking about? I can take care of me… I have been an FBI Agent, I have people looking after me."

"I know, I've met him."

Ressler.

"Why does Irina want from Katarina?", Liz's voice sounded as a whisper.

"Many things, probably. But now there is some intel Katarina has and Irina needs. I don't know the details."

"Do you want something from my mother? Is this why you're keeping me here?"

"I have nothing to do with your mother, Masha. It has been some time since I realized our paths had nothing in common, except you. I know you are not my daughter, but Irina doesn't know that. This is why you are here. Her men almost killed you and she realized that would be a mistake."

"But you are not letting me go…"

"You'll be safe here, hidden."

"Do you hate Katarina?

"I don't like her, no. Hate may be too strong of a word."

"Do you hate Reddington?"

"You know the answer, Masha."

"And me? Do you hate me?"

"I saved your life, Masha."

"What intel are they looking for?"

"I told you I have no idea. Katarina and Irina have been working together for years for different operations. The only difference is that Irina was more of an entrepreneurial spirit."

"And Reddington? Are you sure he doesn't have the information?"

"Not this one, no. But he has access to Katarina. A direct line, let's say."

"What are you talking about?"

"He helped Katarina create many of her aliases. I don't know what's between them now, but he knows how to find her."

Once again, Liz decided not to say anything about Red killing her mother.

"I miss Agnes… If I could just call her…"

"It's not safe, Masha, she is being watched."

"What?... Did something?", her eyes hurt. She couldn't cry because of dehydration. Her body ached and she started to shiver. Mila, who was sitting next to Liz, placed a hand on her shoulder trying to calm her down. Constantin was visibly shocked by the reaction and also reached out to her, but Liz rejected her.

"She's just a little girl…"

"She is well taken care of by your partner, Masha. I am not lying to you!"

Liz gasped.

"She's with Don…"

"And his mother. He's a very good with her. My men didn't intrude, they were watching from the distance. I can ensure you he cares very much…"

Her heart stopped a beat.

"Can you…. can you… If I cannot talk to them, please, I love them so much!"

"I'll ask one of my guards to take another swing around that area."

"Thank you…"

"You should rest. There is a long way to recovery." Liz was surprised to hear Mila speak.

Exiting his office, Ressler stumbled upon an ecstatic Aram. The techie was humming a song that Ressler could swear is the theme from Family Guy. He called his name a couple of times, until the man reacted.

"What's happening?"

"Oh... Agent Ressler! Donald! Happy to see you!"

"I'd say… What's happening? Hot date or did you find something?", Ressler asked getting closer.

"Look!"

There were four monitors on Aram's desk, each showing something else. Seeing Ressler's confusion, Aram pointed a finger to one of the screens where there was an axis system and a multitude of vectors connected by arrowed lines.

"Trigonometry?"

"Sort of, but no. The prints. I realized how they're made."

"Ok… Go on…"

"Well, I couldn't say too much about the paper – still waiting some confirmation on it. But after you've noticed these are printed and you've scratched that corner, I kind of noticed there is an overlay: on the same piece of paper they've printed various drawings, over and over."

"That's great… so these are like coordinates from the axis?"

"Exactly!"

Ressler felt like dancing too.

"Do they mean anything?"

"These are not GPS locations, no. But the software we have from David's company has some similar patterns. I think this is how they crypted information?"

"Do you think Liz's number can also come from there?"

"I can't say now, but with our colleague Juan we've build an app to scan the paintings we have to recompose all the numbers. We can say then."

"That's… impressive!"

"What's impressive?", Reddington made an appearance any of the two noticing him.

"Aram found something about the prints."

"That it's a way to share intel from one spy to another?"

"Something like this…"

"I could have told you that, Donald."

"Yeah, but do you also know what's all this about and what they were communicating about?"

Reddington smiled: "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."

"Einstein?", Aram asked?

"Ghandi", replied Dembe.

"So why are you here?"

"To invite you to dinner, Donald."

"It's 4 pm. And why?"

"Because our friend Igor Rostov has been paid a visit my our other friend Mark."

"Your friends". Ressler replied sourly, noticing Cooper approaching just in time.

"To what do we owe the pleasure? News on Keen, I hope", Cooper intervened.

"I am afraid nothing on that, but I have a lead."

"And we have one too… Agent Mojtabai and and the tech team made a monumental discovery." Cooper took advantage of his height while glancing at Red.

"Yes, I've heard. An innovative channel for Russians spies to share information."

"And your lead required the presence of a Special Agent?

"Not really, but I like Donald's company."

Ressler rolled his eyes before opening his mouth:

"We need to find Liz, that's all I care about."

"I know and that's why we will meet with Oleg. He has some information for us."

"Us?", Ressler again rolled his eyes not even trying to hide it.

"It's a painting!", Park was running towards them from the elevator. "It's a painting! This is what Katarina stole from Irina. A painting…", she paused to catch her breath. "A painting by Mitroskini…"

Chapter 12

"Never."

The man's voice sounded sharp, like a blade scratching metal. Liz's eyes were glued to Constantin. She would not be surprised to see him suddenly bleeding in front of them, right there, on the expensive carpet. Even if it were difficult for her to accept it, she wouldn't want him hurt. Feeling this weird sense of protectiveness towards a man that caused so much pain to her years back felt strangely natural. She rolled her wheelchair to get closer to him.

Milla followed behind, with a blanket covering her right hand. Liz could tell she was hiding a gun.

"You are more reasonable than this, Dex", Constantin replied on an acid tone. He was not pleased with the conversation nor with the presence of the man called Dex, who appeared unexpectedly announcing trouble, while Liz and Constantin were having coffee. It was the first day in a while when Liz felt better, more human. Mila helped her dressed up with some comfortable clothes of hers and brought in a wheelchair.

The house she was in, not a prisoner – as Constantin continuously said to her, was beautiful. Large windows, surrounded by a huge garden. She could smell salty water – the ocean, perhaps. But she wasn't told where she was and she decided she won't ask, but rather try to guess. The house was furnished in neutral tones, with beautiful designer pieces, every object seemed carefully selected to fit the space. Her room was on the first floor, at the end of a long hallway that hided a few other doors.

Dex made himself comfortable on the sofa and Liz could tell he was more than familiar with both the surroundings and the presence of Rostov. Maybe they were business partners.

"Reddington found a way to get his dirty hands on our business, Constantin. That is what worries Irina."

"And this is what worries me: look what your people did to Masha!", Constantin demanded pointing a hand towards Liz.

Dex, on the other hand, was not impressed and just rolled his eyes before opening his mouth again:

"Now it's Masha? Not Keen, the FBI Agent?"

"Irina may not care too much about her child but I care about mine."

Liz's mouth felt dry realizing that these people were seeing her as the daughter of Katarina and Constantin. This was a strange safety net she had and needed to use.

"If you want Reddington… I can help you", Liz found herself suddenly talking.

"Not Reddington, our business we want back. And Katarina."

"So, you want Reddington. He is the key to Katarina."

Dex glanced in her direction, sucking his teeth. He became interested in what Liz was saying.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because Reddington's power is intel and he would always keep a tab on the woman who betrayed him."

"Why should I believe you'll go against the man you worked with for years?"

"The man who destroyed my life, you mean?"

"As far as we know, he also saved it a few times. Including from Katarina."

"After they both endangered it."

"Masha, you don't have to… You need to recover first. This can wait."

"No, papochka. I want to be able to live my own life without Reddignton or Katarina destroying it."

Hearing Liz saying that word, as she did when she was a child, made Constantin visibly nervous.

"So we did good bringing her to you… Family reunion…", Dex laughed at him and Liz knew she had to save the situation. Rostov was becoming too emotional and she was afraid something would turn out bad.

"I owe him my life now", she said with a trembling voice, glancing at Constantin. "I was taken away from my father when I was a child. Years later, when he reached out to me, Reddington played us both and my daughter got caught in the middle."

"Another reason to hate the bastard", Dex continued to laugh while Constantin wasn't able articulate any word. Liz decided to own the conversation instead.

"One of the many, yes."

"And you'll think he'll get us Katarina?"

"No. I really don't he'll ever do that. However, he will get you to her."

Technically, that was no lie.

"And… whatever you need from here, I am sure he'll also manage to find and deliver."

"You seem optimistic", he scrutinized her face and Liz realized he's looking at the many wounds on her face.

"Yes. I may not know what you are looking for, but I know how you can get it."

"You don't?"

"Didn't Irina tell you?"

"No."

"She stole a painting. A very special painting…"

"A painting?", Aram asked.

"Yes – I was escorting Mirjam, our first witness in all this mess, and she remembered hearing a conversation between Dmitri and Irina. Dmitri didn't understand why it was so important that Irina went full nuclear against her old time friend…"

"You're saying Dmitri didn't know about his mother's special interests and occupation?"

"He didn't, Donald. Andrey and Dmitri knew Irina and Katarina are spies and have various missions, but were not directly involved in anything."

"Is this why you hidden them?", Cooper asked.

"The reason I did it it's not of your concern", Reddington replied.

"So, yes", Ressler scoffed and turned to face Park. "What else did she remember?"

"Not much… That Katarina made a painting disappear right from their house and this complicated some business deals. Mirjam assumed the painting was linked to one of the investors."

"But it wasn't", Aram said.

"It's probably the missing piece of the puzzle we have", Donald was looking at Aram waiting for a confirmation.

Aram nodded.

"Your injuries look better, but I'd like to run some tests tomorrow just to be sure."

"Thank you."

Mila petted Liz's shoulder to ensure her she was safe.

"Constantin is not going to harm you, you have to know that…"

"For how long have you worked for him?"

"About 3 years", she replied humbly.

"You trust him." This was intended as a question, but Liz realized she doesn't need the answer. It was visible to the naked eye they had an odd relationship.

"I trust him, yes. He saved my life, got me out of Russia and hired me."

"Because of his illness?"

"Yes, but I am not the specialist. He has other doctors attaining him and the medicine, may it be experimental, works."

Liz wondered if one of those doctors was Shaw, but decided against asking more details from the woman that seemed genuinely nice to her.

"My face looks really bad…" It was. Her head was swallowed because of the bruises and half of it was a disgusting shade of purple.

"These wounds will heal, Masha. I am more interested about any internal damages those brutes may have caused. You didn't show signs of internal bleedings, but I want to be sure everything is in order. You are pale and still weak and that may normal given the context, but I want to be sure it's nothing else than that."

Liz nodded.

Moments later, Constantin knocked on the door.

"My men have news about Agnes."

Within seconds, she started to cry. Her body was shivering. Both Mila and Constantin came closer to her, trying to calm her down.

"She's safe, Masha. Please, don't cry – there is no reason to! Please!"

"Masha, listen to me…", Mila was cupping her face "you're too fragile to waste your little energy crying, nothing happened – listen to Constantin."

She may have heard them saying there is nothing bad with Agnes, but this day has been already too much for her and, as long as she was away from her little girl, everything was bad. As Mila was coaching her breathing, now holding her by her shoulders, she managed to bring herself back from the edge of despair.

"H-h-how is she?"

"She's in Detroit."

Liz eyes were again in tears, trying to assess the situation.

"Don must have sent her there… to be safe", she verbalized this thought mostly for her, feeling overwhelmed of how much was happening.

"Yes. We have a reliable source. And Reddington's men are there too to watch her. Agnes is safe. Look", he handed her the iPad he had been holding the entire time. There were pictures of Agnes in the park, walking a dog, in the close company of an older woman who Liz guessed was Lisa. She also recognized Robbie in one of the images.

Constantin was right. Agnes seemed safe and she seemed happy to have that bit of normality. As she was zooming on one of the shots, she could see the endearing look in the woman's eyes. It was the same look Ressler had. Love. Care. She missed him.

The last ones were from the park in DC she instantly recognized. She had been there a couple of times to meet Ressler for coffee, it was close to his apartment. There was another picture of Agnes petting a dog, while Lisa was smiling at them. She could also recognize Ressler in the background, dressed in his running gear.

"She seems to love dogs…", Liz said.

"You can keep it…"

She was grateful, even if she realized the device was blocked and she won't able to use it in any other way.

"The painting they want…"

"I don't know too much about it…", Constantin cut her off.

"Why is it important?"

"It's not actually a painting. I don't know what hidden information it has. That's one of the ways they share crypted information without being caught…"

"I read about something like this…"

"Well, maybe you remember from when you were little – our house was filled with paintings. Katarina's favorite method of hiding messages with her handlers…"

Liz smirked.

"Did it bother you?"

"I was not that involve. I had my businesses to care for. I knew very little at first, but then she… started to take care of me, to help me be more successful – to say so."

"Feeding you insights?"

"Exactly", he gave a short laugh.

"She also kept me safe from the scrutiny of the Russian system. That was not easy for her, she had many enemies…"

"Why do you think she did it?"

"I stopped asking. I thought it was for us, for the love of our family. At first."

"At first?", Liz sounded surprised.

And she was. The Katarina she met was a woman that lacked any form of love.

"Then it became a habit."

"And Irina? Were they actually close?"

"Irina was her assigned mentor, they befriended. But a mission is a mission and they have been at odds in the past. When Katarina disappeared, for years I didn't know anything about her. One day I found out she is in Europe and has always been in touch with Irina…"

"The Katarina I've met was scared for her life. She wanted answers, there was a bounty on her head… How is it possible for her to still be on a mission?"

"Masha, I kept myself away from these intrigues. I wouldn't know what to answer… But I know there is always an ulterior motive. If Katarina stole a painting from Irina, it's not personal. It's something bigger. And if Reddington risked so much to take over that business Dex mentioned…"

"What business is that?"

"Weapons. Electronical guns. We're talking about billions of dollars here."

"If all of them have been on a mission, then there are bigger players somewhere in the shadow…", Liz concluded.

Donald was far from pleased to see Reddington lurking into his office. The older man was curiously looking around the small room.

"Don't get me wrong, but I had enough of you for today. And for the week, month, year – for that matter…", Ressler said pulling his chair. He really wasn't in a mood for whatever Reddington wanted.

"Aww, you're just teasing me", Red replied taking off his hat to place it on the opposite desk that used to belong to Liz.

Realizing then this was a longer chat, Ressler barked without any intention if simulating any ounce of politeness: "I really don't."

"Isn't it depressing to stay here so many hours without any natural light?"

"You're depressing me…"

Ignoring the comment and the attitude, Red continued to talk:

"It's just… You're a man of action, Donald. You enjoy the great outdoors. I really don't see you seating here for years and years. One has to wonder…"

"One? You mean you?"

"Yes, as a friend –"

"We're not friends."

"I think you are made for greater things than this office…"

"Such as?"

"Well… If I'd have to chose one: as an FBI Agent you've achieved great success already, you could take Harold's spot anytime".

"Is this why you're here? I'm not interested in becoming Assistant Director."

"That's why I am saying it. Imagine doing the good you do from a different role, outside the Task Force."

"I'd say yes in a minute if that means getting you out of my life."

"It doesn't."

"What's the purpose of this discussion? Are you recruiting for your empire?

"What if I would?"

"Not interested. All I want is to find Liz."

"I trust you will."

With that Red placed the hat back on his head, but hesitated before leaving the room.

"Even if Elizabeth returns, things will not be the same. She has a record of felonies and yes, she may not go to jail because of Harold and Cynthia, but it doesn't mean there will be no consequences."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Think about it, Donald. More light to feed your soul. You may need it more than you think…"

All he wanted was to get home, call Agnes, talk to her and find out how she spent her day. Instead, there he was – in the parking lot – observing a strange movement in the shadows. He was being followed in front of his house. With a hand on his gun, he circled the car and hid behind the next one, as the dark silhouette approached. In a matter of seconds, the man was flunked against the wall behind.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Wait, wait. Constantin sent me. Constantin Rostov."

"I know who he is."

"Can you let go?"

"No way in hell."

"It's about Masha. She has a message for you She's there."

"What are you talking about?

"Phone, in my pocket. Call the number when you are alone."

Ressler dialed the number.

"Don?... Is that you?"

Ressler felt a huge relief hearing her voice, but he was simply not able to talk.

"Are you there? Is Agnes OK? Please say something. I… really miss you."

"I'm here, Liz…"

Chapter 13

Chapter Notes

I had an incredible hard time writing this chapter. First of all, I miss Keen. I know her absence in the show is related to the plot, but it's been too long since she is gone. Also, Ressler is acting weird and I am desperate to find out why.
In my AU, she has also been away for long, and it's complicated. Now, the two of them finally meet again. And it's gonna get even more complicated. Also, there's sex.

"I don't get it…"

Her piercing, runny blue eyes made him tremble. He went straight to the edge of the bed and sat next to her, as close as he could without making her uncomfortable because of her soreness, but close enough for their shoulders to magnetically brush each other. Just like that, the walls he tried so hard to build while driving to Rostov's house with the purpose of allowing him space to think lucidly, crumbled. Once again, it was the two of them. Troubled as they have never been before.

She leaned into him.

"You don't trust me", she said with a hint of sadness, but trying to keep her posture of braveness.

"It's not that."

She found the energy to smile, but that was just a defense mechanism. Ressler doubting her was not settling. But no, he couldn't understand why she refused to go away with him.

"But?"

"Liz, you're… It hurts me like hell to see you like this", his voice betrayed both pain and anger. Frustration. Despair. He knew he'd kill whoever caused her that suffering.

He drove a few hours to get there and see her, carefully following her instructions. He arrived around 2am at the house he already visited a few days earlier. He changed two cars and left his mobile at home, only using the burner phone he was given.

A tall woman, who introduced herself as Milla, gave him a surprisingly warm welcome and guided him to Liz's room, saying she had been waiting for him. She also mentioned she can wake up Rostov if needed.

The first sight of Liz - all covered in bruises, with her eyes swelled, her lip broken, made his heart race. He just stood there unable to process what was in front of him. Liz, tearfully, called his name, asked him to come closer. He finally approached her, afraid that his touch will shatter her to pieces. Milla left them alone, not before saying to Liz to call for anything.

"I will be fine, I am recovering… But I am ugly now…"

He circled an arm around her waist for support, but still afraid that would hurt her. He felt relieved when Liz slowly kissed his shoulder, nesting her head there. In acknowledgment, he placed a feather-like kiss above her year. His mouth lingered there a few seconds more. With a whisper, he asked: "Is it safe to talk here?"

Waiting a couple of seconds, he then tilted his head so Liz can reach out his ear and give confirm. She, instead, kissed his ear lob sending shivers down his spine. "I am not sure, Don… let's be careful." He nodded in agreement and kissed her forehead.

He helped her get up of the bed and, arm in arm, they headed to one of the windows.

"Do you have a nice view here? The house is beautiful. Agnes would love the backyard…"

"I miss my baby girl. Tell me… is she enjoying Detroit?"

"She seems to enjoy it, yeah. She really hit it off with my mum. I… really liked having her around, Liz", he said on a serious voice.

"You did?", Liz's couldn't hide the emotion in her voice.

"I'd love having her around more, actually. And you."

"I want that."

Ressler smiled and then gently her let go of her as he investigated how to open the window. Liz indicated where to pull a leaver to do just that, as she saw Mila doing it. He winked at her as a thank you and then helped her sit on the window case. They could hear the ocean not far. Under other circumstances, this would have been romantic.

Liz inhaled the fresh night air and smiled with her eyes closed. That felt good. She didn't even notice it was cold until Ressler wrapped her in a blanket. He turned off the lights in the room, leaving just a lamp on. Then, he brought one of the armchairs closer and seated himself. Liz willingly let herself be pulled into his arms, ending up on his lap. There, in the dim light, wrapped in blankets and surrounded by the manifold sounds of the night, they could discuss more sensitive matters.

However, for a while, none of them felt able to talk. The fact that they were together was sufficient. They needed that.

Knowing they don't have too much time until he had to leave, Don decided to break the silence with one of the many topics on his mind.

"The unicorns…"

"You found them?"

"Were just three?

"Mhm… Do you have the tags?"

"Yeah…"

Liz started to softly kiss his jawline. In between the kisses, she whispered: "…password… restaurant first… your cabin… then cemetery…. don't know to what… but important…"

Ressler tried hard to keep focus, but Liz's kisses didn't help. He pulled her closer, so she won't have space to do other lovely maneuverers.

"Ahhh…", she cried in pain.

"Sorry! It's just… I need to have a functioning brain here…", he snickered.

"You know I missed you, Don. A lot. When I was held captive, the thought of you was all that kept me going…"

"Hey…", he protectively kissed her forehead. "Was it Irina Oleksy? Did Rostov save you from her?"

"Yes and… sort of."

"Sort of?"

Liz repositioned so one of her arms would go around his neck. She then leaned her head on his shoulder, whispering into his ear.
"Irina was sure I knew more about Katarina's secrets. Apparently, Katarina stole something, a piece of intel. Irina ordered my abduction knowing I was in touch with my mother. Her men beat me up so I would talk. At some point, they became more desperate for info and… this happened. Constantin's brother is Irina's business partner. He convinced her to get rid of me before they end up killing me and stirring other waters…"

"Igor helped you?"

"You know him?"

"Reddington took me to many meetings…"

"What? Why?"

"Cooper thinks he wants a new successor…"

"That's… unexpected…"

"Tell me about it…"

They shared a short laugh, before Ressler asked:

"Do you feel safe here?"

"It's strange, but I do." She took a deep breath and then nestled her head on Ressler's neck: "I think they want me safe so I can take them to Katarina…"

"Hmm…"

"They don't know she is…gone… that he did it", she continued to whisper.

"Red was discreet about this in other meetings with his associates…"

"It's weird, right?"

"Do you know anything about the stolen intel?"

"No, but I found out some things. She was not that honest. She was active, she was working for someone important."

Ressler swallowed his words. He didn't want to jaw. As far as he was concerned, Katarina was the only one who shared something with Liz, unlike Reddington who dragged her around for years without feeding her anything about her past.

"We think so too. Reddington is careful because of that person. Her employer, handler, whomever it is. And… yeah - we did some digging, Katarina was not in hiding, she lied about that."

Liz sighed feeling guilty for blindingly trusting her mother.

"We were told it was a painting."

"Interestingly enough, that's what we confirmed too…"

"So… what do we do now?"

"Now?", she smiled into him pressing her body closer.

"You need to be better for… that….", he smirked and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I want you back, Liz. Back in our normally messed-up lives. Tell me… how can I help you? Isn't this why you asked me here?"

"I… don't want him dead. You have to believe me."

"I do. Is this why you called me here: to pass the message?", he snorted.

"That's one of the reasons. I have more. Constantin agreed to help me."

"If you trust him…", he whispered. "But I wish you'd come back with me. That's WHAT I don't understand."

"I am not a prisoner here, Don, I am safe because…"

Liz lifted her head, so she'd look in his eyes.

"They think I'm Rostov's real daughter. They don't know about… the affair with Reddington… This is why I am untouchable. They don't want to upset Constantin because of his influence. If I'm associated with Katarina in their eyes, I'm… They can hurt Agnes or you…"

Ressler placed a kiss on her cheek. He didn't have the strength to fight back on this one, so he kept quiet for a bit.

"Agnes wants a dog. Maybe a golden retriever", he said after a few moments.

Liz laughed in surprise.

"Only if you help out with it…", she said kissing his collarbone. She knew he was smiling and the idea of the three of them and a dog seemed the most beautiful thing in the world.

"I'll find a way to tell her you're well. She's worried about you."

"I'm sorry about the situation. You have to believe me."

"I know, Liz… We will find a way out of this."

She wanted to believe him. She needed to.

They sat in silence a few more minutes until, once again, he was the first to speak:

"You're beautiful", he said as it was the most natural thing in the world. "You said you're ugly when I came in…"

"I am... look at me…", she gasped. Ressler could tell she's in tears.

"I'm only seeing beauty." He tilted his head so he could touch hers. He slowly brushed her lips with his. Liz opened her mouth allowing him to deepen it.

"You're afraid I'll break…", Liz said with a small smile.

"Sort of…", he replied also with a smile, cuddling her at his chest.

"What about Red?", he whispered.

"They don't know about… not being him…", she replied on a low voice. "I intend to keep it that way." Her mouth was on his neck. Liz continued to place kisses on his collarbone allowing her hand left hand to find a small patch of skin at his band and slowly drew circles, causing his breath to become heavier.

"Liz…"

She continued to kiss him.

"Was Rostov OK with bringing me here?". He was surprised of how his own voice sounded because of the arousal he desperately tried to ignore.

"I think he liked you… He knows you're my… You and I…"

"Are partners?", he smirked.

Her right hand was now drawing patterns on his lower abdomen.

"Yeah…"

"Liz…"

"Don't tell me to stop. Please…", she begged, pushing her body into his, almost straddling him.

He sighed. No, he couldn't stop her because he wanted it to happen too. He wanted her but couldn't help a sense of guiltiness because of the circumstances. He chuckled at the thought that, after keeping each other at bay for years, now they were acting as hormonal teenagers.

Their innocent touches intensified in a matter of seconds. Liz's hands found the hem of his jeans and decisively started acting on it. In between heavy kisses, Ressler lifted her up, still keeping the blanket on her shoulders. She was easier than he remembered. He spun her around, so she'd face the window. Well aware of her many wounds, his kisses have been rather wary. However, when he met her longing gaze, his tongue started a more sizzling exploration.

In a matter of seconds, Liz was strained on the chair with Ressler kneeling in front of her. He was slowly pulling the lace from her pajama bottoms. And he was smiling and biting his lower lip.

Liz cringed in self-consciousness, knowing how her body looked like because of the brutality of the beating she had been through. Feeling her tense, Ressler took in her hand and squeezed it. Then, he started to tenderly kiss her lower abdomen, slowly going down to her ties and her dripping core.

"Awww…", Liz cried out, but he knew that had nothing to do with pain.

It didn't take long for him to bring her off. She was vibrating under the tip of his tongue, not letting go of his hand until she reached her cunning end.

Ressler left a trail of kisses from her center back to her belly, going up to her breast he had just conveniently uncovered. He gently bit and sucked at her nipples while his hands also joined the luscious exploration. He lifted himself up so he would reach better under her pajama top. Liz took the opportunity to wrap her legs around him.

"Too many clothes…on you…", she said, making him smile.

Ressler elevated them both from the chair with Liz's legs circling him. She was nibbling at his ear, slowly moving to his neck and starting to bite his sensitive skin. His intention was to move them to the bed, but quickly decided against it. So, they ended up again on the armchair with Liz straddling him and pulling out at his shirt. He helped her take it off and then lifted his hips, so she could pull out his jeans and take him in her hands, gently stroking him. Within seconds, he was deep inside her, making them both gasp in the same rhythm.

They stayed like that minutes after they finished, not caring about the mess or anything else.

"I hope I was not too…", Ressler said.

It wasn't easy for him to ignore her many wounds. He empirically knew it hurt her.

"Shh, you know I wanted this. I wanted to feel something else than pain."

He couldn't hide a deep, loud sigh.

"I would do anything for you not to feel this pain. You know that."

"You just did", she smiled and placed a kiss on his chest.

Chapter 14

"You just went there?", Cooper snapped at him. "Not thinking for one second to inform me?"

"I know it wasn't the smartest thing…"

"Smart? I don't even know if I should ask for your badge or send you to your room because you're acting worse than a teenager!"

Ressler took a deep breath. He knew his boss was entitled to react exactly as he did and couldn't help feeling bad for causing him what was probably a high blood pressure.

He left from Rostov's mansion at the break of dawn. He drove straight home speeding as much as he could, trying to digest all the information Liz had shared with him. Liz. Back at his apartment, he showered, dressed up and headed to work ignoring the numerous text messages from Aram and missed calls from Aram, Park and Cooper.

From the car, he called to check up on Agnes and – for the first time – he didn't feel guilty telling her mom is fine and she'll be back.

"I had to see her", Ressler finally said. That was the truth, after all. The fact that Liz fed him a lot of intel and assigned some homework to the Task Force came in addition to that.

Cooper took off his glasses and looked at him.

"And how is she?"

"Not well… She was hurt, beaten up pretty badly. She's all bruises and open wounds."

"Oh…", Cooper was startled, clearly expecting something else.

"But she has information for us… We have a strong lead now and she'll keep helping us with this case.."

"And Rostov?"

"I've met him briefly. He doesn't want anything to do with the FBI, but he offered help as long as he is kept in the shadows. That's why they asked me to go there. Alone…"

"I see."

Donald told Cooper how he had met Constantin on his way out of the house. He left aside that had happened while he was kissing Liz good-bye, but he openly shared all the other details: Constantin had been impressively polite, welcoming Donald to visit again as long as he doesn't show up as Special Agent Ressler nor as Reddington's associate. Don agreed on the spot. After all, he wanted to keep seeing Liz, under whatever circumstances.

Cooper had also been informed about the discussion the three of them had - Don, Liz, Constantin - over coffee, going through some of the details of the warehouse where other paintings had been stacked for years, but also the name of other art galleries on the East and West Coast that were closely collaborating with both Irina, Katarina and other Russian Agents.

"I guess we can consider that an undercover mission…", Cooper said in acceptance.

"But we cannot tell anyone about Liz… Not for now. Not to Red…"

Cooper took a deep breath which Ressler took as a disagreement.

"For now…"

"Raymond, you're playing with fire here", Igor said while arranging his sunglasses.

"Probably. Wouldn't be my first time…"

"Irina is angry, you know her…"

"That has to be fun for you!"

"Is this a way to get revenge?"

"Revenge? I am far past that, Igor."

"Then?", Igor desperately asked.

"Remember that dinner party in Paris, on that rooftop in Montmartre? It was such a hot summer night we were pouring cold martinis on each other instead of drinking it. You were rambling about your brother; it was around the time Constantin started to distance himself from us. You were desperate, following Katarina, pushing her to talk to him…"

"What's your point?"

"Was it then when Irina got to you?"

Igor took a deep breath.

"You're wrong about me."

"Am I?"

"Katarina knows very well I've never betrayed Constantin. Not even for Irina. I'm here after all, correct?"

"You are. And does Irina know about this meeting?"

"Of course."

"Should I be afraid?"

"Not of me, no."

"Good."

"All clear, sir!", the Agent informed Ressler. "Target secured."

Ressler nodded as a thank you, stepped aside and took out his phone to call Cooper.

"We have it. Everything. There are thousands of paintings here – all very similar to what we were already investigating."

Once back at the Post Office, he realized Reddington didn't make any contact that day. On the other hand, he didn't want to put too much thought into his absence. So, seeing Aram talking loudly in the War Room, convinced him to join whatever was going on there.

"Agent Ressler, nice one!"

"Yeah, thought you'd like it… But it will take you a lot of time to scan those paintings", came the reply.

"Park is at her desk asking for additional resources to help us with that, but – wow!- so mind-blowing, can you imagine how many things are yet to be discovered?"

"Well… some of these are quite old and handcrafted, not printed. It's not an easy job, but I admire your enthusiasm."

"Cooper said you have a CI?"

"Yes. It seems a trustworthy source…."

Aram looked at him intensely, trying to see anything that would betray the identity of that mysterious person, but Ressler's poker face was a tough one to break. The awkward silence that followed this moment of scrutiny was quickly ended by Park who was running towards them, hand in her phone.

"You won't believe what else we found there while the team was moving the paintings to our warehouse…"

"You mean besides the paintings?"

"Obviously, why would I say "else" otherwise?", Park rolled her eyes.

"Guys… Please!", Ressler interfered. "What else, Park?"

"Some of the older paintings had cuts at the back. Very subtle nicks so you could fit an envelope. We have a few. Look here…"

The field operations team sent her pictures of various documents found hidden. The sheets of papers were small, reminding of a telegram. Everything was written in Cyrillic. Probably, these were now old cases, but they still considered it a breakthrough in learning how spies like Katarina and Irina were working.

Ressler knew the Unknown Caller ID meant only one person, so he eagerly answered with a "hello" instead of saying his name to the caller.

"Hey", Liz's voice was soft.

"Quite an impressive catch we have here because of you and Constantin…"

"I am glad it turned out well…"

"Yeah, Aram called it a class trip to the museum."

"Funny!"

"Now he has to decrypt all of it…", Ressler gave something resembling a cartoon evil laugh.

"That part is probably not that funny…", Liz snickered.

"Don't worry, he already has some ideas… Liz, really - thanks for this. We did well because of you."

"I want this to be over, Don. I want my life back."

"It will… You feeling better?", his tone was inquiring. He was really worried for her.

"I am, thank you. I slept a lot today." Ressler could tell she was smiling and, of course, he knew what the reason was.

"Good. You needed the rest…"

There was a short as both got lost in the moment. Donald decided to change the topic and leave the romanticism for another time: "Guess what? Mom enrolled Agnes in a ballet class."

"Aww… my little ballerina!"

"I'll show you pictures once she sends me." He intentionally paused. "When I come to see you again."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Donald's good mood didn't last long noticing a hat-wearing silhouette behind his office door. A knock-knock-followed shortly, which was for Red just a way of announcing himself and not asking for permission.

"A day without you… I was starting to get worried", Ressler said.

"Aren't you sweet?", came in the reply. Red made himself comfortable on a chair.

"How's our girl, Donald?"

Ressler's hear stopped for a moment.

"Agnes is fine, she has a dance class now", he replied dryly doing his best not to let any emotion out related to Liz and they recent reunion.

"I see…"

"Why you ask? It's not like you don't have someone watching her."

"I was more interested in your updates."

"I miss her", he said curtly. "Is this the sort of update you were looking for?"

Red gave him a smile and Don was surprised to see the candor.

"I liked having her around…"

"Did you think of what I told you?"

"Didn't actually have the time."

"I see…"

"Why do you want me as a… whatever I'd be… an associate?", Ressler found himself asking out loud.

"You're loyal", Red replied.

"Loyal to my country, yes."

"Yes, that too. Well, don't make plans for tomorrow. I have some plans for us…"

Ressler couldn't help a grimace.

"I'll pick you up from your apartment, we'll goo to meet an old friend of mine."

"Super…"

"It will take about one month to look into everything…", Park briefed them later that evening in Cooper's office.

"That's the maximum number of resources Panabaker can approve, I'm afraid", Cooper said. "We have another negotiation window if we discover something big."

"Let's hope for that…", Ressler said yawning. "Sorry… long day…", he apologized making a mental note to control himself better.

"4 of the galleries on the list have been closed, but they have storage units. We've brought in everything and we're looking into the owners and curators."

"What I don't get is why powerful spies keep these and… wouldn't make it more sense to destroy the paintings once the message is delivered?", Aram asked.

For a few moments they all kept quiet.

"Maybe… the person responsible to destroy it thought there is a place for blackmail", Park weighed in.

"What is your CI saying?", Aram turned to face Ressler.

Ressler had to fake a cough realizing he was about to start his sentence with "she".

"Nothing about that…"

"How many envelops found?"

"43", Park replied. "Possibly more and we're waiting for the translation tonight."

"Good", Cooper approved.

"What if…", Don brushed his face trying to gather his thoughts.

"What?"

"What if these paintings were actually meant to be kept. What if there is a story told by there?"

Aram looked at him.

"Like a novel?"

"Something like that, yeah… Look, my CI told me this was an ongoing thing. There was a circuit: the painting comes is bought from a gallery, kept a short while – sometimes hours – then, it was disposed. Even in the warehouse there was a sort of order in the chaos…"

"Did the CI tell you about the notes in the paintings?"

"Did he/she know or… just wanted you to enjoy the surprise?"

"Not sure…"

"Look - is this even a reliable source?"

"Very", said Cooper to end what seemed to be Don's interrogation.

"We need to have a structured approach in how we analyze them…", Ressler said.

"Agree…"

Dembe placed the salad bowl on the table glancing at a very disappointed Reddington.

"You can complaint now or at your next doctor's appointment", the tall man said.

"Hmm…"

"Chuck called while you were on the phone with Marvin", Dembe changed the topic as he took a seat at the table.

"And?"

"Irina seems to have left the country, he's now confirming to where…"

"No need to. She's in Russia", Red spoke calmly.

"Doesn't that worry you, Raymond?"

"It was expected. She needed protection."

"But do you expect for them to reach out to Katarina?"

"Of course, since they think Katarina is still an ally", Red nodded.

"How is Elizabeth fitting into their next move?"

"She's not. Elizabeth has always been a liability for them. This is what worries me. And Igor won't speak."

"Can't we make him talk?"

"If he knows anything about Liz, he'll try to protect her, he'll get Constantin involved."

Red reached for the bottle of wine triggering Dembe's instant disapproval.

Chapter 15

10 days later

Donald Ressler found himself settled in a new routine, completely different than what he had lived until that point. Following the discovery at the warehouse, his work at the Post Office meant loads of dreadful paperwork and coordinating a team of techies together with Aram, a thing that bored him to death. The War Room was packed with these new colleagues of theirs, all focusing on deciphering whatever was hiding in the paintings. They often had small breakthroughs, but there was still a lot to do to connect the dots.

Reddington pushed for answers once he realized the Task Force was working on their own, with a CI he knew nothing about. Cooper avoided his enquiries for as long as he could which put them in a delicate position, especially Ressler who felt caught in the middle.

That kept going until one night… Reddington was seated at Liz's former desk, rotating the chair slowly, when Ressler returned from a debriefing in the War Room. Leaning on the doorframe, Dembe gazed at him in a way that made the Agent mentally prepare for something bad.

"Is it Elizabeth?", Reddington curtly asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your CI, the person that feeds you this series of unfortunate events featuring Russian spies", Red continued.

Dembe also came in the room, his eyes were glued to the floor, not daring to look at either of the other two men. Ressler found it odd.

"What if it were her? She's not a fugitive anymore… She is not coming after you. Why do you care as long as we have something to work on that cam give us some answers?"

"If it's her, then it means she is safe", Dembe spoke taken Donald by surprise.

Red took a deep breath, not quite pleased with his loyal man speaking out his thoughts.

"And with whom is she working with? What other fairy tales is she serving you on a silver platter?"

"No one", Ressler barked back. "And it's not like you don't do that. Serving us stories all the time, depending on what's scribbled on your agenda."

"Donald, you realize that Elizabeth will always be haunted just because she is Katarina's daughter."

"Raymond…", Dembe – again – surprised them with how talkative he was.

"Anything else? Are we done here? Any bugs planted on me to track her?"

Depending on the workload he had and Reddington's special requests for his presence, Donald went quite often to Constantin Rostov's mansion to meet Liz. He kept his promise and never acted as the FBI Special Agent that he was. He came as a friend. As her friend. As her Partner. Lover? Boyfriend? They have never addressed it, not that they needed to.

Liz's health had improved little by little. On the other hand, her state of mind was not at its best. She was trying hard not to push back on Constantin, feeling trapped and useless. She was missing her daughter. She was missing her work with the team and felt frustrated with her unfinished investigation on Katarina's whereabouts and Reddington still acting as nothing had happened.

What was surprising for both Liz and Don was how domestic it became for them to join Constantin over dinner or a drink, chatting about various topics. The man helped them make connections when it comes of the painting and people he knew that were part of the KGB/FCB circle.

Because of his health, the man lived quite a clean life and was adamant of keeping stress to a minimum level. Liz learned from Mila more about his condition and started to notice when he had bad days, which unfortunately happened to be quite often. This led to Liz also taking care of him as much as she could do it: reminding him about his meds, joining him in the gym or preparing smoothies and very healthy snacks.

She also started talking to him more about their life as a family instead of just digging into Katarina's past. Some years back, at the Summer Palace, Liz had a chance to learn things about her early childhood. She was surprised to see Constantin kept her room intact. She also discovered a time capsule she had buried with her mother and her journal.

However, there was still a blur in her mind. Liz had hope hoping that now, with less tension between her and her legal father, she could finally find out more about who she really was.

"Do you think he is honest?", Liz asked Ressler one night, when they were in bed.

"All the information he gave us helped…"

"I sometimes think this is a correction for what he did wrong in the past…"

"He kidnapped Agnes, Liz. I will never fully trust him because of that", he whispered burring his head in the crook of her neck to plant a kiss.

"I know… God! I get mad only thinking about it…" Liz started to stroke his hair as a way to calm herself and move away from bad memories that were darkening her mind.

After a few moments she continued, but on a softer tone: "He had some boxes brought to me. With things from when I was a baby… You won't believe what's in there…"

"That's quite nice. Do you recognize any of it?"

"There is a familiarity to it, but my memory – you know…" Liz got up and grabbed Don's hand. "Come, I'll show you."

It was a late afternoon Ressler was looking over the reports submitted by the new agents, when his phone rang. There was a pattern they discovered in the notes hidden behind the paintings and some fingerprints that proved to be in the system. Nothing conclusive so far, but it was a start. He answered, but didn't have a chance to say anything. A nervy Liz was on the other end:

"Don!"

"Liz? What's wrong?", Ressler started pacing as we waited for her to continue speaking. He did his best to register every background noise. He could easily tell she was in a car, probably driving

"Can you track this phone?"

"Uh…?"

"I need you to track it, I am not sure where I am now and I need a hospital. Constantin… He was taken, four men came to the house. They were armed. I shot on of them, I think he is dead. And another one in the garage, but was still alive when I ran. They… they shot Mila, I need a doctor for her."

"Are you hurt?", he asked running towards Aram, grabbing him by the forearm so he could understand it was an emergency.

Liz could hear his voice in the background, Ressler asking to track the conversation, followed by tumultuous and loud typing.

"Don, guide me to the closest hospital, please. I am fine. And send a team to the mansion, maybe they can still find the man shot. The other two men took Constantin, they were in a hurry… there is probably something left behind"

"Liz, we have your location. There's a hospital 15 mins from where you are", Aram spoke in the receiver. "I'll guide you, stay with me."

"Liz", Ressler added: "I'm coming where you are, wait for me and keep safe. Call me after you're done with Aram to sync."

Chuck pushed the man into the chair, ensuring his hands are tied. He then took off the sack from over his head.

"It gives me no pleasure, Igor", Reddington spoke on the most serious tone the man heard.

"Why do you do it, then?", Igor asked in desperation.

"Because there are things you've orchestrated for Irina that have now escalated."

"I had nothing to do with it… You have to believe me!"

"But why would I?", Red sighed.

"Because you know me… I would never hurt my niece!"

"That I believe. But it's not about Masha, is it?

"Raymond, please…"

"What did Irina do?"

"I don't know… She's back in Moscow looking for Katarina, maybe she did something and you think…"

"Igor, come on", Red interrupted in exhaustion. "You already know Katarina is dead as a doornail. So – I ask again – why should I believe you?"

No reply came from Igor.

Reddington flipped his phone to call Dembe: "Tell Brimley to bring me some pie too, will you?"

"So… you knew where she was?", Aram asked sounding rather disappointed than confused.

Cooper was looking at him from above his glasses and with no intention to justify anything of the past events.

"Did Ressler call?", the DA changed the topic well aware Ressler was still on his way to the hospital as that was longer drive.

"No, not yet… I am sure he will call you once she gets to her. You, not us…"

Cooper cleared his throat.

"Is… Is she in danger?", Aram didn't give up on trying to get some scoop from his boss.

"We believe so, yes", Cooper answered.

"But… to stay at Kirk's, really? After everything he did?"

"Agent Mojtabai, let's wait for Ressler to return. We'll debrief then."

Understanding his privy is not welcomed, Aram left the office with his head down. Park, who was looking from the War Room, ran towards him. She pulled his arm, guiding him to one of the empty conference rooms.

"What?", Aram snapped.

"Did he tell you anything?"

"No… I can't believe Ressler kept this away from me – I mean us…", Aram said.

"And Cooper knew?"

"It seems so…"

"And covered for him… I can't believe it!"

"Do you think Mr. Reddington knows?"

"He didn't act like it. Remember he was looking for Ressler the other day and Cooper said he sent him to whomever from DoJ?"

"This is not gonna be fun", Park said…

"But why aren't you in field? Shouldn't you be there to look at what they left behind?"

"Cooper sent someone else. Weird, right?"

There were only other two people in the waiting room. Liz was all cried out. She was feeling cold and thirsty, so she scanned the room hoping she would find some water. There was a vending machine down the hall, but she had no money on her, no ID, nothing but a burner phone with a single battery line. She decided instead to reach out to the front desk and ask about Mila's status.

"This person has been shot and you're not a relative, the police will talk to you and not me", the nurse yelled at Liz catching the attention of the others.

"Sure…"

Shortly after, two cops made an appearance. Liz knew it would still take some time for Ressler to get there, so she texted him about the situation waiting for guidance.

"Tell them who you are – Special FBI Agent Keen. No aliases. We have the jurisdiction, not them."

She decided to follow his lead, even if it meant a lot of unmannerliness. The two men have been far from polite during the discussion, not accepting her answers and pushing her limits to the tops.

When Ressler finally arrived, he saw her leaning towards the wall, cornered by the two policemen.

"Keen!", he called for her using his strong, abradant voice. "Special Agent Ressler, FBI. I believe you've met my partner and, as she probably told you, this is with us and not with the PD."

"Yes, she told us… But we've seen no badge and the lady here…"

"And what? I am pretty sure you got a phone call from your boss telling you to leave her alone. Yet, you're still here… And you seem to quite enjoy whatever intimidation this is. My partner, who is still convalescent after being hurt in a mission, needs some rest and I believe you have other things to do that involve PD activities."

"Thank you…", Liz said after they left.

She let herself fall, back against the wall. "Mila's still in the surgery… She lost a lot of blood. And Constantin... Oh, God! He was not well. He has been sick since yesterday. He needs his medication…"

"He was the target, not you?", Ressler asked seating next to her, on the floor.

"They didn't even look for me. I got out of the room when I heard Mila screaming. They tried to take me after I shot one of them, but I fought back… They gave up, I enabled the alarm too… I…"

Liz was interrupted by Ressler's phone. Seeing "Nick's pizza" flashing on the screen, she nodded in his direction to answer.

"Get her out of there now, Donald."

Chapter 16

Aram imagined many times that moment. The sliding of the yellow door. The heavy and unesy silence filling up the Post Office. His struggle and pain and immeasurable rage. The elaborated outcome of the situation they were in. Because of her return.

And yes – he was there transfixed and he was baffled just looking at the woman standing in front of him. The woman who, last time they've met, had a gun pointed at him.

"You look pale…", were the only words that came out of his dried mouth.

Everything that Liz was able to do was to give him a sad smile in return.

She was pale and underdressed. Donald's coat hanging on her shoulders made her look even thinner and more fragile than she was. She was cold, tired and weak. Even if the bruises on her face were faded out, it was still noticeable her face was maimed.

Then Aram noticed Ressler's hand folding up on her waist, keeping her as close as could for support and to make her feel her safe. He nodded in his direction. No need for words between the three of them.

"He's right. Are you OK?"

Nobody noticed Park appearing out of no where.

"No, but thank you", Liz gave her the same rueful smile. Then her eyes starting looking around the Post Office, trying to spot something. Someone.

Ressler, realizing what it was all about, decided to ask on her behalf:

"Where's the boss?"

"With Panabaker…", Park answered. "He asked for you, by the way."

Ressler didn't want to leave Liz alone there, but he had to. Even if she wasn't in the FBI's custody, there was too much tension hanging in the air and too scrutiny. Many pairs of eyes were already set on them. They were expecting that. On their drive to the Post Office, she barely spoke to him. It was probably her last choice to be there.

"Come, I'll get you a sandwich and some water or coffee", Aram spoke.

Before she could reply, Ressler pulled her closer to him so he can lower his voice: "I kept your overnight bag in our office if you need it…"

She squeezed his hand as a thank you.

"Morgan made the arrangements. The surgery went well, we'll be able to take her soon to our mobile unit", Dembe said taking a seat across his boss.

"We need her alive, just make sure she stays like that", Reddington replied pensively. Then, on a more cheerful tone, he added: "Elizabeth is at the Post Office. Panabaker had the papers ready."

"That's good."

"Good? I don't think I know anymore what that means", Red gave a pitched laugh, which made Dembe roll his eyes in surprise.

Without replying anything back, the tall man stood up and headed to the cockpit to check on the pilot. On his way, he turned back to face Red and calmly spoke:

"What you did to help her. That is good."

"We'll see if that's good or bad when we return from Moscow…", Reddington smiled, completely taken by surprise.

"Are you nervous about this, Raymond?"

"I think I should be at least careful…"

"Yes, but they don't know of your involvement and about Oleg", Dembe tried as much as he could to show to be supportive.

"With Irina – you never know… There was a good reason both myself and Constantin kept the distance…"

"You don't look good", Cooper said raising his eyes from the file opened in front of him. Panabaker was seated on one of the chairs across his desk, cross-legged, picking up invisible naps from her flowered dress and acting as if a former fugitive and FBI Special Agent was not standing there, in the frame of the door.

"That seems to be the general opinion here…"

Despite the glacial looks Cooper continuously thrown in her direction, Liz did her best to look him straight in the eyes. Her rock, Ressler, was asked to leave the office after the summary briefing provided. Liz had to face alone her former boss. She was confused, dizzy and felt like throwing up because of the stress. At least she was dressed in some of her her old clothes found in the overnight bag her partner kept. Panabaker's visible disdain was heavily contributing to her state of qualm.

"Your 40 million dollar escapade wasn't quite the all-inclusive, huh?, Panabaker broke the silence.

What the hell can you answer to that? – Liz thought. She bit her bottom lip, trying to control herself not to speak more than it was necessary, especially around the Panabaker.

"I had to find out why my mother was murdered in cold blood…"

"And has your avid curiosity been satisfied?", Panabaker continued to push her nerves.

"I shared everything from my investigation...", Liz answered between her theeth.

"Yes – that you did", Cooper wedged in making Liz realize he was not quite fond of Cynthia's nasty remarks. "And it's good you thought of sharing that with us, but you understand why you cannot have back your badge."

"What I want to know is if you're gonna blow Reddington's brains out or just try to blow him up with some more of our explosive. Yay or Nay Question", Cynthia cut in.

"No."

"Good for me. Harold, be a sweetheart and give her the papers, would ya?"

Cooper handed Liz a pen and a file where she gratefully accepted it. Her immunity. She started impatiently reading it.

"We'll talk tomorrow, Harold", Panabaker left completely ignoring Liz.

Cooper nodded to his boss, then waved a hand towards the recently vacated chair inviting Liz to seat.

"You really don't look good. Donald should take you to see the ME", Cooper spoke. Liz could tell his voice was now different. He was worried about her and that brought tears to her eyes,

"It's just.. it has been… a long day", Liz replied bravely, but there was tremor in her voice. She seated herself in one of the chairs across his desk. "And not such easeful weeks ever since…"

"I can only imagine." His tone was now even more softer. "You seem to be doing a lot of work too…"

"I had some leads, I had to go deeper and find out what was this all about…"

"You did well. And I am sorry about the badge..."

"I know. But I gave it to you. I wanted answers about my mother, I couldn't have done that from here", Liz wiped her tears before she continued: "I found so much more than I would have in my oldjob. It's such a complex puzzle and it's still a lot to understand and the people that helped me they are usually the suspects we bring in here to interrogate…"

Cooper gave a soft smile.

"You've seen the War Room… It's a lot to take in, Elizabeth. But it is great intel and we will find out what is all about."

"I also wanted to thank you…"

"For?"

"Everything, but especially for covering for Don and me in the last weeks. That means a lot", Liz said bursting into tears and quickly brushing off her eyes with her hand.

"You don't have to, Elizabeth. To thank me nor to cry… I care about you both", Cooper concluded.

She left Cooper's office doing her best to keep her balance. This was all overwhelming.

"So… you and Liz…", Aram made his way to Ressler. "Pretty serious, huh?"

"Not the time nor the place, Aram…"

"Oh, right… Sorry!"

"What Aram is trying to say…", Park stepped in between them throwing dirty looks to their techy colleague, "is that we've got a call from Dembe."

"About?", Ressler was surprised.

"Moscow."

Ressler frowned and couldn't hide his surprise. Truth be told, he was expecting some sort of contact from Red after the cryptic call from the hospital. However, nothing came in at his end and made him feel frustrated.

"They're in Russia meeting some people to track Constantin", Park informed him.

"What lead does he have? Did he say anything about Irina? Is she responsible for this?", Ressler's bedevil was no longer hidden behind his usual stoicism. Reddington had been all over him for days, but now he didn't even bother to explain what all was about and who would endanger Liz. He took out his phone and texted both Dembe and Red: "Should I be worried about Liz? Any threat against her?".

"Dembe said they are there to find out more about it – I mean Rostov's abduction – and they want us to stay away for now. But he asked us to look into some specific paintings for more details – those that have a blue quadrant in the right corner. And that is what we are doing it…"

"Ok, and found anything?"

"Our computer is rendering the pictures – these are very hi-res, so it would take a bit, probably 6-8 hours will…"

Aram stopped talking as Liz approached shyly approached them.

"So?", Park shifted to face Liz.

"I'm a free person…", she told them and couldn't hide a smile. This time, there was no sadness in it.

A feeling of relieved embraced all of them.

"And are you officially our CI now?"

"Yes, Aram. No badge, but… I am here to help."

"Good – because this is what we have: 47 paintings to look into, as per Reddington instructions who is currently on his way to Moscow and wants us to give him some space as he is looking to Rostov's kidnapping…"

"I'm sorry, Liz. This is all we can do for now, I am afraid we have to wait."

Ressler would have added other things, such as how much they would do anything to keep her safe and help her solve this once and for all, but his phone buzzed.

"Just continue to keep an eye on her."

"We have scanned almost all of the paintings. We now need to look into those that have a blue square on the right corner. We've designed an app that allows us to select only those that meet this criteria. However, the rendering take some time – tomorrow we'll know more.

"So what now?", Liz asked.

Ressler gave her a curt smile.

"Now… we go home and call Agnes", Ressler said. He grabbed his overcoat from the chair and placed it on Liz's shoulders.

Chapter 17

Ressler knew Liz was exhausted, but the level of her fatigue took him completely by surprise. When he got off the shower, he found her sleeping on the sofa, curled up around the iPad that basically seemed to substitute a pillow. For a few moments, Don contemplated the idea of moving her to the bedroom, but he really didn't want to wake her up. So as gently as he could, he extracted the tablet from under Liz's sleepy head and covered her with a blanket. Liz had been talking to her daughter for almost one hour and 40 minutes. For the first part, Don had been around and so was Lisa at the other end, crying with happiness for both Agnes and her son. It had been overwhelming for all of them. A family. Theirs. Together.

Donald tiptoed to the kitchen; he wanted a tumbler of whiskey to distress. Because it was only 8:45, he decided to browse some of the reports submitted by the tech team, hoping he would notice something that could help them in some way. Something new, a breakthrough – anything that would end up the mess. He couldn't focus, tough, as he kept thinking of Reddington. It was somehow strange to realize that feeling was concernment. Reddington's poor health had been a lot on Don's mind following the time spent together in Liz's absence. And now, the old mad was chasing ghosts in Moscow. Of course, it was a typical Reddington situation. Stubborn bastard! Ressler took a sip of the drink, allowing the warmness to settle in within his body.

Did he actually grow attached to the man? Did he end up caring for him? That was an odd epiphany to have, especially under the circumstances. And would it be a betrayal to Liz?

He brushed his eyes in discontent and sent a quick text to Dembe. "Liz is at my place. She's safe and will keep her like this. Anything there? You OK in Moscow?"

Then he texted to Aram: "At what time would you expect the rendering to be done?"

No reply from any of them came through in the next minutes and the lack of communication offered a minor chance to escape the thoughts of worriedness.

It was almost 10.00 pm when Liz woke up from the sofa. She was in discomfort. A pain in her neck made her roll over a few times trying to reposition herself, but finally cave in opening her eyes. Once up, it took her a few moments to realize where she was. However, she felt at ease recognizing Don's home. With him. Where she longed to be. With him. It was a strange feeling for Liz to feel safe.

The dim light coming from the kitchen drew a small smile on her sleepy face.

"Hey you…", she whispered from the door frame. There he was, seated at the kitchen table, with his work laptop on, a drink in his hand. Liz lost count of how many times she had this image in front of her eyes.

"Did I wake you up? Sorry – I tried to be quiet", Ressler said on a low tone.

His eyes were warm. Liz found it endearing he was worried about such a insignificant thing. But there was something else she noticed, something besides the infinite care. Happiness? Relief to have her back?

"Not at all, I must have fell asleep at some point. Last thing I remember was browsing online for some shopping and realizing I have no money…"

"You know – the bed is much more comfortable than the sofa", Ressler was showing that flirty half smile of his. "You hungry? Thirsty?", he asked.

"No", Liz softly laughed. "Just tired, sleepy, a bit dizzy…"

She slowly walked behind him, circling her hands around his strong shoulders: "Working?"

"Yeah… Dembe texted me. They're meeting one of Red's associates to get to Constantin."

"Any news on Mila?"

"She's… Reddington made arrangements to move her to a safe house after the surgery. She's stable."

Liz let go of her embrace and took a sit at the table.

"They didn't know I was there. Whomever took him… That man, Dex, knew I was there and he was working with Irina. So was Igor, his brother."

"They could have kept this from her… But what about Rostov's security?", Ressler asked. It felt like them again – the partners.

"There wasn't any… Just one person, but I never saw him around. Constantin told me he wants normal, he was living there with Mila. The help had fixed hours – they came in and left in the afternoon. Both Mila and Constantin were quite domestic and very low maintenance."

"Aram looked into his business… Nothing off charts. But what about the guy who came here, to see me so we can get in touch?"

"Gus? Oh, he was like a good-at-everything kind of man. He's married to the maid."

"Really domestic…", Ressler's couldn't help a grin.

"And they were all sure I am Constantin's daughter", Liz added pensively.

"Yeah, Reddington told me the same. He always referred to you as Katarina and Constantin's daughter. I asked him about this when we had dinner…"

Liz interrupted in a hurry:

"Dinner? With Reddington?"

"I told you he was much more of a presence than before." Don didn't know why exactly he felt guilty, but he continued: "Liz, we all missed you. Reddington too. And we were all worried. He was trying to… build a bridge through me to get back to you."

"Anything else I should know about you two?" Liz was trying to make it sound as a joke. She gently took Ressler's hand as a sign of peace and placed a soft kiss on his knuckles.

"He's quite the chef, man knows his way around a stake", Ressler's smirk was indeed irresistible making Liz laugh. "This is from him", he indicated the bottle of whiskey on the counter. "I also think he offered me a job…"

"And what Cooper has to say about this?"

"That I must be some sort of a son that he never had…"

"Isn't that Dembe?"

"We agreed Dembe is more like a brother…"

They both started laughing still holding hands.

"What? You don't like the weather, Raymond?"

"Slush in Moscow – who wouldn't like it, Mihail?", came in the reply. But it wasn't sarcasm in Reddington's voice. He was visceral in the way he talked, announcing a difficult conversation with the man standing next to him.

Sensing this, Mihail cleared his throat and asked:

"So why are you here?"

"Constantin."

"I assumed so. But I cannot help you."

"Is he still alive?"

"Raymond, Constantin has debts to pay. And so have you."

"Make his debts mine and we have a deal."

"You know that is not a trade we can make…"

"Everything is transactional. Pass this message to Miroslav, would you? Oh, and tell him Irina managed to forget a couple of "0s" in Hague transaction."

"What are you talking about?"

Reddington smiled bitterly, letting his associate bite the minnow. Panic was all over his face. Dembe took the opportunity to get closer to his boss and passed the phone with a text message from Cooper simply stating "done".

"Did Mr. Reddington call?", Aram asked eagerly running towards the elevator to welcome Don and Liz.

"No, no sign from him…"

"Aram, you OK? Did you get a caffeine IV or something?", Liz asked smiling and feeling emotional about how much she had missed Aram being… Aram.

"I wouldn't be surprised…", Ressler rolled his eyes. "So? Tell us what's the matter… It has to be something…"

"Yeah… so… no more coffee for me! Already had 7 and only 2 hours of sleep, but the rendering is done and we mapped it to the software we got from Philips' company and… it's huge!"

"OK…"

"Aram, your voice mail nearly gave me a heart attack – what happened?", Cooper said from behind them as he was just entering the post Office. "No Park?"

"She's on her way to our to talk to our main suspect, Nestor Reed, an art dealer who ensured these paintings got from Irina to a few self-made multi-millionaires who run business on the weapons black market", Aram said.

Cooper nodded.

"So that's what you discovered from the paintings?"

"Not just that. It's called Operation Hague which is ironic because in Hague… OK, I'll spare you the details for now. Irina and Katarina were both pivotal in a 1 billion dollars deal with stolen military equipment from Eastern Europe Countries. They communicated with the sellers through the paintings Mr. Reddington indicated."

"Any official records of the equipment being stolen?", Ressler asked.

"No. Everything has been executed in complete silence", Aram said.

"But how do we know it really happened?", Liz asked realizing how much she missed being part of the Task Force in any capacity, even as a CI or a consultant.

"We ran the names of various members of the Governments in these countries. And – as you can all imagine – there is lots and lots of corruption."

"And strong connections to someone in Russia…", Don added. It was meant to be more of a question, but he somehow knew the answer was affirmative.

"Yes – all of them have bee spotted in the presence of Miroslav Maksym."

"The Russian oligarch?", Ressler asked.

"Yes. And… There is something you won't like about it…", Aram said looking in Liz's direction and lowering his head.

"What is it?", she asked.

"He was… He was close to Katarina. Like very close. As in lovers for a few years in early 90s when everyone thought she was dead."

"How can you know that for sure? Katarina was in hiding", Ressler said, feeling his urge to protect Liz from anything, may it be a negative rumor related to her mother, as strong as ever.

"Yelena Maksym…", Liz said. "His daughter." She quickly regained her posture and added for everyone: "Yelena's name and operations are on the flash drive I shared with Don. Katarina knew her well, very well. She was killed a few years ago, during an operation in China. She was also trained as a spy, she's a red sparrow by the book. Her file is massive, complex and includes the smallest details about a person only someone who knew her very well could have put that together. There is also a picture, but it's cropped. I guess Katarina didn't want to be in it…"

"Keen, we would need your help with that flash drive. Maybe that can be one of your first jobs as a consultant", Cooper concluded.

"I've heard you're in Moscow, old friend…" Reddington spread his arms to offer an embrace to the man welcoming him in his living room.

"I wish it was for the good reasons", the man with the hat said while throwing himself on the sofa. Dembe silently followed and, after a nod meant to be a salutation, he also seated himself next to sofa.

"Miroslav not happy to see you?"

"We have not yet met, but his sister clearly isn't happy about my visit here."

"You know how bad news travel, Raymond. I don't think you can do anything about Constantin."

"The man is ill, he needs his doctors. If there are debts to be paid… I offered to pay it on his behalf."

"You know it's not about the money, Raymond."

"Everything has a price, my friend."

Red sighed and Dembe looked away.

"It's about Elizabeth", Dembe finally spoke.

"Masha?"

"Elizabeth", Red corrected. "Her name is Elizabeth."

"What has she been up to?"

"She wanted revenge for Katarina's death", Dembe said and Red could bet there was fury in his tone.

"Katarina died?", the man was in shock. "I was so sure she had more lives in her than a cat…"

"She crossed too many lines… One of them was endangering Elizabeth", Red explained. "I had to do it. Elizabeth didn't take that well."

"Because she doesn't know the full story. Not from you, not from Katarina", Dembe said. Again, Red could feel some anger in his tone.

"Raymond, is Elizabeth in danger because you killed Katarina?"

"It's a long story. But to summarize: she was. Constantin tool the fall for her."

"He is her father…", the man said. "In others' eyes, at least."

"This is why I have to somehow get to him. And you need to help me."

"I sent to Aram my findings…", Liz told Ressler when he appeared in the doorframe. His intention was to check on her. She was still pale and her cloudy eyes worried him. He was sure she had been crying there, in the privacy of their former office.

Liz watched him entering the room. There were many things she wanted to say, but her tongue felt beamy. So she gave him the tiniest sad smile.

"Park didn't get anything from the guy. He refuses to talk, probably because he is afraid of someone…", Ressler filled the silence. "You know, I'd ask you if you are OK, but you clearly aren't. So… tell me what I can do to make it better…"

"You're sweet, but you already did. Here's your credit card", she grinned.

"Weren't you a millionaire?", Don laughed.

"Technically, I still am… but those money are Reddington's. I touched very little of it. And I'll give it back. And I'll pay you back too once I get back my stuff…"

"It's fine. You know I'm happy you're here, right?"

"Even if I am such still such a mess?"

"You're not a mess, Liz. What's a mess is what these people brought in your life. Red, Katarina…"

"I wanted to trust her so badly…"

Her eyes stung and she wanted to run somewhere and cry herself out to sleep. Realizing she doesn't need to do that anymore – cry in hiding – because she was where she needed to be with the man he wanted to be with, made her whole-body tremble. Tears flooded in, but for a different reason.

"Park, promise me you won't do this kind of interrogation anytime soon", Cooper barked in the War Room. It was almost end of day and they still didn't hear back from Reddington.

"We wanted him to talk…", Park said knowing there would probably be another anger management class required in her appraisal.

"Talk, not break his finger, not hurt him with a wire…"

Aram's cup made it to the floor in one second and Liz jumped to help him clean up the mess with whatever napkins were around.

"Are you sure you're not CIA?", Ressler laughed.

"This is not how we do things here!", the Director said then added: "Most times… So where does his confession takes us?"

"To Moscow…"

Chapter 18

There had always been something dramatic about their shared office: the dim light, the limited space, the spacious desks, the layers of dust settled on the papers spread around and the secrets. The many secrets that found a way out and crawled under their skins transforming them into the people they were now. And now there was Liz was walking aimlessly between their desks. She was furious.

Don's hand was still on the door handle, even if he had been inside the room for at least a couple of minutes. Words didn't come easy to him, so he was just standing, biting his lower lip afraid of anything that he would say as nothing would dismantle her anger.

"You can't do that."

"Liz…"

"No", she said curtly.

He sighed deeply, his eyes glued to the floor. What he wanted to do was hold her. Tell her she has no reason to worry. She should trust him after all these years. But Don knew it wasn't just about that.

"You can't do this, Don…"

Her wrath had become desperation.

"I'll be fine, you know Reddington… He won't do anything to endanger me."

"Everything he does is a death-trap…"

"Liz, I know how to take care of myself", Ressler suddenly decided to stand up for what he actually thought of the mission that had unexpectedly landed on them. "And no, you will not come to Moscow. Not with us, not on your own."

"You can't go there alone…"

"Park's gonna be there."

There had been uncountable times she cried in that room. Sometimes, because of some of the strangest reasons. Finding herself increasingly defensive each and every time he had an additional ounce of reason behind the actions he took, Liz gazed at him through heavy tears not even bothering to show self-control. What was the point, after all?

Ressler closed the distance between them with two steps. His hands travelled to her shoulders.

"It's gonna be fine…"

"I want to believe that, I do…" She leaned into him, allowing him to circle his hands around her back.

"There had been many times I threw myself into some dangerous situation, but now it's different."

"How so?", Liz asked not letting her anger be too far gone.

"Because I have this now. I really want that vacation I promised Agnes…"

"Donald!", Reddington walked towards the Agent and spread his hands. Don tried to hide how appalled he was about the welcoming, so he responded with a smile.

"So what's new since we've last talked?"

During the flight to Moscow, Donald had some sleep enough to keep him up and running. Based on his experience, that was also the best way to deal with jet lag. He was continuously on the line with the rest of the Task Force, but also with Dembe. Park ended up on a different flight, together with a TAC unit, as per Red's recommendations.

"I believe Dembe briefed you on everything", Red replied elusively.

"So, what now?"

"Come, come. We have lunch at my hotel."

"I spent half a day on a plane to have lunch?"

"Fine cuisine, Donald. It's worth it."

Dembe, who had been silent all this time, opened his mouth to offer the missing answers:

"A friend of Raymond's will join us. We have a plan in motion, but he'd need a bit of convincing."

Red shook his head in disapproval.

"Raymond, Donald is right. He deserves to know why we asked him to come here."

Feeling empowered, Don turned to face the man with the hat.

"I am not OK with leaving Liz alone at the other end of the world."

"Is Harold keeping an eye on her?", Red asked worriedly.

"He is, she and Aram will stay at the Post Office until I am back."

"Popcorn?", Aram cheerfully offered the bowl to Liz who turned her head and made a grimace in disgust.

"No, my stomach it's still upset after eating that sandwich the other day…."

"Oh, sorry…"

For a second, Aram didn't know what to do nor say – should he throw the popcorn away or run with it to the kitchen area and eat it in there? – but seeing Liz smiling back at him that playful smile, he decided to just place the bowl further away from her nose and continue gnawing at it later on. He missed that smile.

"So… tell me", Aram said, "how's your investigation going?"

"Not that great. No new leads, but I've managed to connect some people to some of the projects Katarina had in focus. Some agents are still active…"

"All Russians?"

"All but three… One is former CIA and two are MI6, but all of them have been involved in the same operation: Jack Stanton, Harry Weaver and Charles Montgomery."

"Trading new generations of weapons?"

"Yes, Weapons and military software is …", came in the confirmation.

Aram started to type the names, but nothing relevant returned on the screen. The two of them started to scrutinize the information on the monitor, looking up for anything relevant and, most of all, pictures to put a face on them.

"There's nothing here we can use, we may need a favor from one of your friends…", Liz sighed. "I have been trying to reach out Esi, but she is not answering, she was looking into something for me…"

"Agent Ressler asked me to put a flag on her – you know… just for our eyes only, but she is nowhere to be found. Sorry…"

Liz felt suddenly ill at the idea of Esi being deadly hurt. She had been a friend to her, despite the circumstances that brought them together. Most of the intel they were working on had been gathered with her help.

Aram's eyes were set on Liz. The lost gaze in her eyes was too familiar.

"Was she working on something for you?"

"We can say that… She was tracking one of Katarina's leads. We didn't know what it was, actually. We just found various things and something related to a password. We assumed it was a safe…"

"The password you shared with us, right?"

Liz nodded.

"And now we know it's a painting that she had stolen, but what that actually hides…."

Aram smiled bitterly.

"We found an apartment of hers, but there was no safe box anywhere. I asked for the floor and the wallpaper to be tore down – sorry…"

"What for?", Liz asked in surprise.

"Technically – that is yours now."

It took her a few moments to realize Aram was referring to the apartment.

"That damaged, huh?", she cracked a smile.

"Very… Bur beautiful property. Donald said Agnes would probably love it there, a room overwatching a park…", Aram said turning around to grab some popcorn.

"He is amazing with her, isn't he?"

"Very!", Aram said in one breath.

"I think you'd be happy there, Liz…"

There hadn't been many times Harold Cooper was asked to meet his boss outside the office. He knew this had to do with Keen's latest insights into the CIA operative that had been working with Katarina for years. She was usually being cautious about things like this and that was one of the reasons he respected her. However, this time it seemed there was something more and he was right.

"Harold, this is heavy. Heavy as a cat sitting on a mouse's head", she said taking the cup of coffee from his hand.

"This means you have some additional insights", Cooper said.

"The names Keen has are all aliases."

"Do you have confirmation of them being CIA operatives?"

"Not operatives. Operative. Singular. These are three aliases used by one person. Jeremy O'Neal, former CIA Agent. Dead CIA Agent. He was killed in a mission in Chechnya in2014."

Harold felt the sudden need to hit something, so he rolled his eyes and smashed the almost empty coffee cup in his hand.

"Oh, and I am not done…", Cynthia said with a snort. "Care to guess what was his last mission?"

"Something that had to do with weapons…?"

"Nice park here…", Cynthia spoke after a few moments of silence, choosing not to offer a clear reply. They both knew with what they were dealing with.

"Reddington's spot, actually. He asks us to meet him here quite often."

"I can see why. Quite private scene", Cynthia took another sip from her to-go cup. "Not just guns, Harold. Man was all about military arsenal. Last generations on what there was on the market. Officially, he was assigned to infiltrate a black-market dealership back in 2012."

"And off the record?"
"Let's just say they were after a big fish: Miroslav Maksym. O'Neal had to infiltrate his organization and was so successful doing that he became one of his trusty advisors for a while. He played both Maksym and the CIA selling drones to the Chinese for half a billion."

"And he died under extremely suspect circumstances when it came out?"

"A classical hit and run on the streets of Grozny. Quite boring, if you ask me."

"Is CIA willing to cooperate with us here?"

"They don't know what we're doing and it should stay like this for the time being…"

"Any reason?"

"None that I can share…"

"So what now?"

"Reddington is in Moscow with a reason, Harold. We need to dance on his song and hope nobody sees our dirty moves…"

Park was not the kind of person to make small talk, so she creeped silently into the screen while waiting for the rest to join. Liz would have asked about the weather or anything that had to do with her meeting Ressler in Moscow for their operation, but Park had been anything but friendly in these past days. Therefore, she could only feel relief when Aram and Cooper entered the video conference room to kick off the meeting.

"No good news, Park?", Harold asked jumping directly into the matter.

"Not really. Ressler told me to wait. So… I am here, waiting…"

She sounded more than annoyed and Liz knew it also had with the fact Red plays favorites and keeps Ressler close while Park tails him.

"He's fine, we've talked to him earlier. Red is securing a meeting with an associate that might help them get to Rostov", Cooper said not showing too much interest in Alina's visible vexation.

"So why am I here with the TAC team? Are we needed for anything?"

"We may have another lead and need you to pay a visit to the US Embassy…", Cooper said looking at Aram to start the deep dive into the topic they wanted to discuss.

"Jeremy O'Neal. Lived on and off Moscow between 2008 and 2014 when he died. Officially, a CIA operative with many successful covert missions in his resume. Well – all except one. In 2012, he infiltrated Miroslav Maksym's operations under the name of Jack Stanton and quickly took over a part of his business. I'll share with you the report."

"What we found out, from Katarina's files and the paintings Red indicated, is that he played Maksym, setting up a similar operation in Ukraine. Both Irina and Katarina worked with him to intermediate the sales, especially in Middle East black market. They managed to do that by creating another alias, Harry Weaver. Unfortunately, this is when the US Embassy stepped in…"

"Sounds fun…"

"I guess we can say that, yeah…", Alina said trying to keep up with all the information flowing in her direction

"See what you find out about other of his collaborators working for the Embassy. We know he had help and we know that person is still part of a covert operation."

Ressler's accommodation in Moscow ended up being Reddington's place: an impressive penthouse overlooking Zaryade Park.

"How is Elizabeth?", Dembe asked the moment they were left alone in the spacious living room.

"Recovering. She has been through a lot." Ressler was touched to see Dembe so worried.

"Our Security told me she was beaten up pretty badly. I am sorry about that. Elizabeth has been impulsive and got herself in a lot of trouble, but she is a good person. And so are you."

Don smiled. He didn't know until then how much he needed to hear something like that. He also realized Red had not touched the "Liz" topic.

"Thanks…"

"No need to thank me. We are all… family", Dembe said as reassuring as he could and with a hint of a smile on his face.

"I guess we are…", Ressler smiled looking over the balcony. "So, who's coming to dinner?"

"Old friend of mine", Reddington replied placing a bottle on the table. He has been working for the US Embassy for years now. Quite connected to everything…"

"Does he know where Rostov is?"

"Yes, I believe he does. But he can't do too much about it, tough."

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation, just when Ressler was about to show his anger towards Red being evasive. A couple of minutes later, they were all seated at the table making small talk about the weather. Ressler's blood was close to boiling.

"So, Alexander, I hear you work for the US Embassy…", Ressler asked, deciding to leave aside all the formalities.

"I do. Since early '90s, in fact. It's been quite the journey. A rollercoaster, how you'd say it. But I believe it is the same for you working for Raymond", the man laughed.

"He's not working for me, Alex. Not yet, at least. Donald is my friend from the FBI."

"You seem to have many friends there!", Alex burst into laughter. "And is he a friend of Masha's?"

As Ressler was readjusting his position in the chair trying to digest the words, Red joyfully nodded in his direction.

"Oh, friends is not enough of the word to describe what the two of them are…"

Was that wink?

Ressler's mood switched from anger to confusion. He decided to take the lead of that conversation.

"Why are you asking about her? What are you to her?"

Alex tapped the napkin on his mouth and calmly said:

"Katarina and I go way back, same as with Raymond here. Masha is important to me because of them."

"And Constantin Rostov? Is he also important?", Don asked knowing his tone is far from calm.

"He is not one of my favorite people. But I understand he is important to Masha. So I will help."

"You're helping for her sake?"

Ressler felt there is something missing in this equation. The man wanted to be an enigma, but he was clearly interested in Liz's wellbeing.

"Are you related to her?", he asked. "To Liz", he added to be clear.

Alex smiled, but didn't say anything back.

"You are, aren't you? There is something about you reminding me of someone…"

"Donald…", Reddington intervened knowing that Don was already a few steps ahead.

"Dominic."

Alexander smiled.

"He was my father, yes."

"But… Katarina was an only child. I've looked into her, I've…"

"Different mothers, Donald", Red said. "You're rascal investigation was quite spot-on."

"Raymond, Donald is here because he wants to help."

"Yes, Raymond", said Ressler trying to imitate Dembe's severe pronunciation of the name.

"Katarina and I weren't always seeing eye to eye, I am afraid. Not even when it came of important things. However, we both had the same training. We were raised to be spies", Alex said.

"Does he know about Katarina? About what happened to her?", Don snapped at Red.

"He does and no, he doesn't approve. But it was a matter of time…"

"Donald, it may be difficult for you to understand, but as I stated: we were raised in a specific way by Dom. We are operatives and always play by whatever rules a mission has. Katarina endangered Masha. And it's not even about Masha anymore. There is another little girl that needs protection…"

Agnes.

"I trust Raymond made the right call…"

Ressler scorned.

"But that's not why we are here…", Dembe said. "We asked for your help for a negotiation."

"Let me guess: I am not here to help with my badge…", Ressler said in disdain.

"No, you are here as my successor, Donald."