Ressler, Listen to Me
Part 11
Author's Note: We're getting close to the end of Townsend and the start of the team that will be working on The Blacklist.
Reviews are always appreciated.
LLLLLLLLLL
Liz stood by the Qingming bridge watching all the tourists take pictures and admire the canal lit up at night. As much as all of the people with cameras unnerved her, they also brought her comfort. She and Don blended in better in with the tourists then in some remote region. She should thank Townsend for his choice of destination. She watched a couple stand and kiss while taking a selfie with the beautifully lit up canal behind them and she thought of Don. If she and he had felt whimsical enough, they didn't with their current mission in place, they may have taken a picture like that and framed it when they got home. Instead they were running surveillance on Townsend at his Wuxi estate and looking for gaps to get to him. Not the kinda of picture you want to frame.
Then it occurred to Liz that she didn't have one picture of Don and herself. Not one. Over all of the years that they had known each other, taken care of each other, loved each other (first as friends and then as more), neither she nor he had taken a picture of them together.
She remembered going to his apartment after Audrey's funeral and sitting with him for hours as he talked about Audrey; how kind she was, how she laughed, what her favorite food was, an incident where she was scared by a bear at his cabin, an unromantic vacation they took to Mexico and she couldn't handle the food, how she used to walk around in his socks which were too big for her feet, and how much he missed her. They looked at vacation pictures, she noted several framed photos of Audrey and Don in his living room and bedroom, and thought how great they were as a couple. She thought about the comfort these experiences and the photographic evidence of their love must have brought him in his time of sorrow.
Liz then realized that she would not have that with Don, if anything were to happen to either of them, and that saddened her. It hadn't even occurred to her to document their time together, and, it obviously, hadn't occurred to him either. They were too busy chasing, capturing, and working. They were too occupied with finding the truth, exposing the facts, revealing the mysteries. And they, most recently, were not a couple touring the Venice of China, they were plotting to assassinate one of the worst criminals they had faced.
She saw Don walking up the path along the canal at a meandering pace, looking at the lit up houses and the beautiful lit up boats drifting along it. He was surrounded by families and couples all taking in the same sights as him and no one was in any rush to get anywhere. He caught her eye and smiled and Liz smiled back, they hadn't seen each other all day. They'd been in contact over phone and text, but it was nice to finally lay eyes on him and know he was there and safe. She felt the rigidity of her back soften when he nodded toward the canal and looked in awe of the sight. Don appeared almost boyish in those moments, when the wonder of the place where they found themselves struck him. The same thing had occurred in the alps when he made her pull over on the edge of a mountain roadway and just look at the view. Don had his wistful moments, even in all this.
"This place is gorgeous," Don said as he approached her with a smile and kissed her as soon as they met.
They had been far more affectionate in Wixu and when alone then when around Reddington, Dembe, or the rest of the team. Liz and Don had never been huge on letting others know about their private life.
"It really is," Liz said as he pulled back. "It's called the Venice of China."
"I've been to Venice for a day, and I think the prices are more affordable here," Don smiled at her. "Have you eaten?"
Liz shook her head in the negative.
"There's a place right back here a hundred metres that looked good," Don said nodding in the direction he just came from.
Liz nodded and looped her arm through his and started to walk with him along the canal with the throngs of people. Their team would meet with them in the AM and share the intel they had gathered overnight. Reddington had sent two of his best people with them to finish the job with Townsend and Liz felt confident that they would perform.
She stopped abruptly and Don turned to look at her confused.
"Come with me," she said as she pulled him down a side street and toward a shop that was open.
They walked inside and saw a large selection of cameras.
"You need a tripod or something?" Don chuckled as he looked around.
Liz ignored his question and walked toward a display and the man behind the counter came to them quickly.
"I need a compact camera that's high quality and takes clear pictures," Liz said to him. He started to show her some Nikons and Sony cameras when Liz spotted one behind the counter. She had noticed several people with that camera while standing at the bridge. It wasn't much larger than a phone and just looked like a case with a lens.
The man cautioned the Ricoh was expensive, 8,631.85 yuan, and, just as Don was taking out his phone to convert the money and find out the price, Liz said she'd take it and could they charge it and have it set up for her?
The man smiled, took her credit card, and promised it would be ready in an hour as he handed Liz the receipt and a ticket to claim her purchase.
"You want to take pictures of…?" Don asked as they exited, thinking this was about Townsend.
"No, it's for personal use," Liz said casually.
"Personal?" Don asked, confused.
"I don't have a camera and I want one," Liz said simply.
"Okay, you just bought a $1500 camera then," Don said with a chuckle as he took Liz's hand in his, not sure why she suddenly needed a camera but sure the reasoning would eventually reveal itself.
She smiled at him, and they found the restaurant he liked, choosing take-out instead of eat-in and found a lovely spot sitting on a wall at the edge of the canal in a less touristy area. Don and she shared their intel, enjoyed some great noodles and the beautiful view. Their day had gone well, he had secured them passes from an informant to get into the facility as employees, she had discovered that a little money in China can close a street forcing a detour, and both were feeling much more confident about their plan for two days from now.
"Give me a second," Liz said as she wiped her mouth and got up to leave him, dropping their garbage in a bin along the way.
Don sat drinking the sugary lime pop and admiring the view. He saw a lot of couples in the area and wondered if it was a romantic getaway for many of them. He and Liz were here to assassinate Townsend, but all these other couples were on a romantic retreat. He shook his head. He needed to take her up on her offer to go away for a few days with her and Agnes, when Townsend was eliminated. They needed some kind of break from the intensity of their lives before they stepped into The Blacklist with the team they had assembled. They needed a fucking vacation with a beach, sandcastles, Liz in a bikini, alcohol, swimming, and sleeping in.
Don took out his burner phone and looked at the number of the resort in the Azores he had scoped out for them. He'd wanted to talk with Liz about it for days, but things had gotten busy and there was no time. He smiled, called the number, and booked them the 2 bedroom villa on the water four days from now for a week. She'd be happy and Agnes would be thrilled. Reddington would be less than thrilled, his desire to start on the Blacklist apparent. But Don knew they all needed a break before they continued. He and Dembe could go and get started if they wanted, but he Liz and Agnes were taking a short and well-deserved vacation.
Don looked up when he sensed he was being watched and saw Liz standing twenty feet away holding something up.
"Are you taking a picture of me?" Don asked her as he stood from the wall they had been sitting on and walked toward her with a smile.
"Maybe," Liz answered back. "You look so mysterious talking on your phone in the dark by a canal."
"I can solve the mystery of who I was talking to," Don said as he took the camera from her and looked at it. "Nice."
"Okay, solve the great mystery," Liz said with a snicker as he turned the camera on her and took a couple of pictures.
Don put the camera in his pocket and stepped toward her, pulling her in close, her body pressed against his.
"I just booked us a vacation," he whispered into her ear.
Liz looked at him surprised.
"You, me, and Agnes are staying in a villa for a week in the Azores," Don said before he kissed her temple.
"You booked?" Liz asked as a smile crept across her face.
"I booked," Don smiled back.
Liz wrapped her arms around him and kissed the side of his face.
"God, I love you," she said as she exhaled.
Don smiled down at her; he was happy she was finally in a place where she could see a vacation was possible.
"I'll show you the place when we get back to the hotel," Don said as he kissed her hairline.
"No, I'll see it when we get to the Azores," Liz sighed. "I can't wait."
Don held her for a few more minutes, the two of them gently rocking side to side.
"It's really almost over," Liz said the words she hadn't dared to speak before.
"One part of it, at least," Don said, honestly. "One big part."
"Yeah," Liz nodded against him.
"Come on," Don said as he released her. "Let's get back to the hotel, we've got a long day tomorrow."
Liz nodded and wrapped her arm around his waist, and they started to walk down the canal path toward their hotel when Liz stopped and slithered her hand into his front pocket.
"Excuse me?" Don asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The camera," she chuckled as she pulled it from his pocket and turned the lens to face them with the canal lit up behind them.
"We're selfie people now?" Don asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"We are," Liz snickered as she took some pictures of them smiling.
"I guess we are, huh?" Don chuckled and pulled her in close to him and kissed her temple.
Liz smiled back and slipped the camera back into his front pocket before they started to walk with their arms around each other's waists again back to the hotel.
"Why'd you want pictures all of a sudden?" Don asked as they walked.
Liz buried her face into his shoulder a little, a sign to Don that she was feeling a little embarrassed about what she was going to say.
"I'm happy," Liz said quietly. "I wanted to document that."
Don smiled and turned his head to the side to kiss her forehead.
"I'm happy too, Liz," Don said softly.
He felt her squeeze his waist a little in recognition of his words. They walked on, into the night, back to their hotel. In two days, Townsend would be dead and in four days, they would be on an island far away.
To be continued….