Agnes

Part 12

Author's Note: So…Townsend….

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Donald Ressler was feeling pretty good. He and Liz were video chatting while he drank a beer on the sofa with Agnes fast asleep in her bed. After weeks of not hearing from her, he had heard from her at least once a day for the last week. They'd spoken a little about what was going on with her and her quest to get to Townsend, but, like all conversations, there was little real information about her work shared.

"I finally watched that movie," Don said as he looked at her with a knowing glance.

"Oh," Liz shifted on the chair. "And?"

"It's a pretty hot scene," Don said. "I can see why it would be…relaxing."

Liz smiled at his use of the words.

"You know," Don said as he sat forward and then looked over his shoulder to make sure Agnes' door was shut. "At my cabin, there's an outdoor shower."

Liz raised an eyebrow and leaned forward. "Really?"

"Yeah," Don said. "And I'm thinking I need to spend some time up there one weekend working on the supports for the walls. Make sure they are sturdy."

Don winked at her, and Liz laughed out loud.

"They would have to be really sturdy," Liz chuckled.

Just then there was a heavy knock at his door and Don looked up and reached for his gun.

"Donald!" Reddington called. "Donald are you awake?!"

"It's Reddington," Don sighed as he put his gun in the back of his pants. "Just a second!"

Don turned to his phone. "Liz, want me to turn this…"

"NOW DONALD!" Red yelled and Don dropped the phone and ran to the door.

He opened it to see Red and Dembe armed with what looked like a small militia behind them.

"Townsend is coming, get Agnes and your go bags!" Reddington said as he walked into his apartment.

"Shit," Don said as he ran to his bedroom and picked up Agnes from her bed, wrapping a throw blanket around the sleeping child.

"Bags are in the closet!" He yelled as he searched for her tiger stuffie while she started to wake up and whine.

"Ressler!" His phone yelled and everyone in his living room turned to see Liz's face on his phone on the sofa.

"Lizzie," Reddington said as he walked over to the phone and picked it up. "I thought you and Donald would be in communication. We need to leave, Donald will update you when it is safe."

"What's going…?" Liz started and Reddington hung up.

Reddington walked to Don and placed his phone in his back pocket as he carried Agnes toward the door. Dembe had his GO bag and Reddington picked up Agnes' and they quickly walked out of his apartment locking the door behind them.

"Townsend is coming here? Why now? Why after all this…?" Don asked as he half ran down the hallway with Agnes in his arms surrounded by Reddington's men.

"He thought he had Lizzie cornered in Cambodia," Reddington said.

Don nodded, he didn't know the details but he knew about Liz's time in a Cambodian prison.

They went down the stairs and out into the back.

"Why are you carrying me?" Agnes asked him groggy. "Where's my bed?"

"Sweetie, you just go back to sleep and I'll get you into a bed once we get to a safe place," Don said softly. "Close your eyes."

He could feel his phone vibrating in his back pocket and knew it was Liz and he wasn't answering her until they were safe—there was no point otherwise.

"I want to go back to my bed," Agnes said as Don climbed into an armored vehicle that looked like a delivery truck. He cradled her across his lap and tried to calm her down.

"It's an adventure munchkin," Don said. "You'll get to wake up someplace new."

Agnes' eyes were heavy and she cuddled into his torso and feel back into sleep once the vehicle got moving.

"Where the hell are we going?" Don asked Reddington who sat across from him.

Reddington looked at him thoughtfully.

"You know, I was surprised she chose you," Reddington said.

Don looked at him confused.

"Years ago," Reddington said. "Aram was more naturally nurturing and Harold and his wife would have been another good choice…being parents."

Don sighed, why were they talking about this as they were in an armored vehicle with a sleeping child and go bags outrunning a psychopath?

"And what does this have to do with anything?" Don asked, annoyed.

"I know why she chose you now," Reddington said. "You and Lizzie have been partners in a much broader sense this past year or so."

Don sighed, he didn't want to, or need to, talk about this with Reddington.

The car careened around a corner and sped up, they were on a highway.

"But now I see what she saw," Reddington said. "You are an excellent parent."

Don looked at him surprised he was hearing this after all of Reddington's digs at him over the years.

"In your own way," Reddington conceded. "Having been thrown into the deep end with little previous experience, you have fared quite well Donald."

Don gave him a tight smile and a nod of acknowledgement.

"Where the hell are we going?" Don asked again. He could feel almost a constant vibration in his back pocket now with Liz's calls. He couldn't answer it without Agnes waking up and it would be a better conversation once they were safe somewhere.

"We have a mole in Townsend's organization," Reddington explained quietly, as Don placed a hand over Agnes' one exposed ear making sure even if she could hear through her sleep, that she couldn't. "Up until now, he was more interested in getting Liz and having her killed in front of me. But after Cambodia…"

"What happened in Cambodia?" Don asked.

"Lizzie didn't…?"

"It's safer for me to not have the details," Don explained.

Reddington nodded.

"They planted drugs on her, and she was arrested," Reddington explained. "But the prison system lost her records and Townsend couldn't locate her until last week. But, over the weeks Lizzie was in prison, she planned an escape and bribed a series of guards and successfully escaped, literally, just the day before Townsend was coming to get her."

"Jesus Christ," Don said.

"Townsend was annoyed and decided he would use you and Agnes as bait to get Lizzie to come out of hiding," Reddington said. "He's growing impatient with the game."

"Game?" Don snapped. "This is Liz's life, our lives."

"Donald, Townsend is insane," Reddington said simply.

Don leaned back against the van, his ass a constant vibration and Agnes snuggled into his frame. He pulled the throw blanket up around her shoulders so she wouldn't get cold.

"Where?" Don asked for the third time.

"You and Agnes will be using my luxury shipping container to travel to…"

"She starts school in two weeks," Don said.

"Psychopaths do not care about school schedules, Donald," Reddington said.

Don felt his phone vibration stop and closed his eyes, willing Liz to just wait until he could call.

"I have secured a second container for Chuck and Bianca to accompany you," Reddington said.

"Who the hell is Bianca?" Don asked, noting the name was familiar in a way that made him uncomfortable.

Reddington nodded to the blonde woman sitting in the front of the cab.

"She and Chuck will be right next to you," Reddington said.

"And where is this container going?" Don asked.

"Iceland," Reddington said.

"Iceland?" Don asked.

"I have a safe house there and…"

"Iceland," Don said again.

"Beautiful country Donald, you will love it," Reddington said. "The best yogurt I have ever tasted, they don't pasteurize…"

"And Agnes will be safe there?" Don confirmed.

"Yes, my team members are already arriving there by various means to support you," Reddington said.

"Team?" Don asked.

"It's a compound," Reddington said. "There will be a team of ten plus Chuck and Bianca."

Don took a deep breath and sighed.

"I will need to tell Cooper…" Don started.

"No, I will find a way to inform Harold," Reddington shook his head. "Townsend has a mole in the FBI and we cannot trust anyone."

"I'm supposed to be at work at 9 am," Don said. "You don't think…"

"You're going to call in sick," Reddington said as he reached around Donald and fished his phone from his back pocket. He looked at the 13 missed calls on the app from Liz and sighed. "You will need to tell Lizzie you are safe but not where you are."

"Why not?" Don asked, confused.

"She will come to you and lead him right to Agnes," Reddington said. "Not intentionally, but her worry will make her sloppy."

Don let go of Agnes with one arm and hit Cooper's number.

"Hey, Cooper," Don said casually. "Sorry, it's late. Agnes has been up with an upset stomach and I'm going to keep her home from camp and take the day. I'll see everyone Wednesday."

Don looked at the app and all of Liz's worried texts.

He quickly typed.

We're fine. Enroute to another location. Will call as soon as I can. She's safe. Then he typed Cherry Blossom Tattoo

Don waited for her to reply before he put away his phone. Within seconds a text came in on the app.

Call the second you can. Mercury Cougar.

Don smiled, she remembered the classic car he said he would buy one day and ask his brother to fix up for him.

He carefully reached around and tried to put the phone in his pocket, but Reddington had to get up and help shove it in his pocket so he wouldn't wake Agnes.

"No location Donald?" Reddington asked.

Don looked at him like 'what do you think?'

"Thank you," Reddington said. "I can only guarantee your safety and Agnes' if we follow my rules," Reddington said.

"Which are?" Don asked.

"No sharing locations with anyone," Reddington said.

Don nodded.

"No giving clues that could allow Lizzie to figure out your location," Reddington said.

Don nodded.

"You listen to my people," Reddington said. "If they say go, run, hide…anything, you do it, without question, just like you did tonight."

Don nodded and sighed. He didn't like placing his and Agnes' fate in the hands of others.

Reddington held up two passports.

"You are Wayne Calder," Reddington said. "A recently widowed father of Olivia."

"Agnes won't understand the different names," Don said.

"Make it a game," Reddington said. "And she should call you dad."

Don's eyes went wide, that was…unexpected.

"She is your daughter, Donald," Reddington said. "Well, for the purposes of this cover. And I don't know any five-year-olds that call their dad Wayne."

Don shifted with Agnes in his arms. He loved her, loved Liz, saw a future with them, but Agnes calling him dad seemed a little premature.

"You will go to town, so you don't look like a recluse and draw attention, but not often," Reddington said. "You have your own IT consulting business and work from home."

Don nodded.

"I am hoping we can have this resolved in a few weeks," Reddington said, but it could be months.

Don closed his eyes. This was not going well.

"And lastly, you will bridge a contact between myself and Lizzie," Reddington said. "She needs my help and we need to work together so you and Agnes are not living in exile for the rest of your lives."

Don swallowed hard. "I can't promise she will agree, and I won't try and convince her to work with you."

"I want one conversation," Reddington said. "When we get to the shipping container."

Don nodded.

"Let's get you to Iceland," Reddington said. "I hope you packed some warm things in your Go bags."

Don looked at him confused. "It's summer, I have shorts, t-shirts, her bathing…"

Reddington sighed. "Dembe, call Sandra and get her to meet us at the docks with some clothes for Donald and Agnes. He's a 34 waist, medium shirts. Agnes is…?"

"Seven/Eight," Don said.

"A seven/eight," Reddington told Dembe. "Warm clothes, Dembe."

"Iceland is that cold? It's summer," Don said looking at the man.

"Summer in Iceland is all day light and about fifty degrees," Reddington said. "In winter, it gets into the 20's and is in complete darkness almost 24 hours a day, so let's home you are not there by Christmas."

"Christmas?" Don asked, surprised.

To be continued….