Liz's throat hurt from screaming. Screaming loudly in hopes her tormented cries were enough. Red had to confess the truth. She needed the truth more than she needed to live and more than her relationship with anyone else mattered. All Liz had left was the search for the truth that got Tom killed. While she still had her daughter and her friends, neither seemed to measure up to her desperate need for answers. Grief was a dangerous beast. While many had the stages of grief, for Liz grief became anger. An anger that burned deep inside and could not be tamed. The unfairness of Tom's death and all that had to happen in her life fueled the anger. Anger ruled her every action, masking itself in pursuit of answers. Anger always needs a place of blame.
It was impossible to trace the exact moment her anger turned to Reddington. Likely around Tom's death. Or was it when Ian Garvey died, leaving the beast inside of her to shift from the man who had killed Tom, to the man who had been responsible for why Tom died. Maybe she hated Red from the start, and she just had not been willing to admit it because he was her father after all. Whoever he was, he was not Raymond Reddington, and the beast had to be fed. It demanded blood for blood. It was the truth or Red's blood, all her anger would accept.
Before Liz could scream again, a henchman rushed into the back door, "We need to move. Your people have found us."
Jennifer Reddington nervous as she was starting her foray into playing on the same level as Raymond Reddington asked, "Do we take him with?"
Despite the woman's nerves, Liz was amazed at how easily this was all coming to Jennifer. Liz could barely remember when she first meant Reddington, and the first few times she went up against in a game of wits. But she remembered the nerves and the amount of strength it took. Jennifer had barely batted an eye when Liz outlined her plan to get Red to confess the truth.
"Yes." Liz said, "You need to go. We will be in contact once we have him somewhere else." The word him spoke with venom.
Turning to Ross's man, "Go get Sutton and let him know we need to move now." They had been so close to getting Reddington to telling the truth. So close. How did they track them this fast? It had all worked so well. Liz watched Jennifer walk out the back door, part of her wondered if they should leave Jennifer out of this. She was still innocent. Everything the man she knew as Raymond touched went to hell. He made everyone's life worse for being in it. Could Jennifer be spared this fate? Or had Red's gravitational pull already dragged them into the path of oncoming danger and death.
Ross walked into the room, closing the door so Reddington would not hear their conversation or see anything. "What is wrong?"
"The FBI is on the way." Liz said already forming their next moves in her mind.
"We leave now." Ross said, "And continue at another location."
"The FBI will not give up looking for me." Liz spoke, "If you leave me behind, I can inform you of the movements of the team, including his people."
"But it will be harder to get him to talk. He is about ready to crack. Just a bit longer."
"I know." Liz said despising the fact that she knew it would take more time than they had to break Red this way, "But he will crack eventually." Everyone did after all. But they needed the FBI off their back so that they would have the time to break him.
The beast needed to see Red suffer, for all the pain he had brought to her life. The old Liz would be terrified at the emotions she felt, the desire for blood and vengeance. But she had long ago left behind the woman she had once been, the one that would have wilted at the idea of causing someone to suffer. That Liz would never have been willing to torture someone emotionally or physically. This Liz was looking forward to it.
"Where do we move to?" Ross had little connections left in the States after faking his death. He used what he could to secure the current location.
"I know a warehouse that will work." Lizzie said thinking it was fitting that they return to the place where she had saved Reddington from almost certain death. "Now you need to knock me out."
"What?" Ross said worried about who he was working with. This woman was crazier than Reddington and he feared her more than he feared wrath from Reddington.
"He needs to believe your men have been hurting me, and my people need to believe there was a legitimate reason you left me behind."
Ross nodded. One of his henchmen slammed his fist into Liz's temple, knocking her unconscious. "Secure her. And get the van." Ross ordered watching his men drag his new partner towards a pipe to cuff her. Ross wondering the entire time if this was going to work, what had he agreed to get himself into this time. He could just kill the imposter Reddington. Wash his hands of it all, and return to his life.
While he was intrigued as to who this imposter was, and why he would take on someone like Raymond Reddington's identity, was the answer worth dying for? At the Post Office, he had agreed because it was his only way out alive. There was hope that if got the answers he could use them to his advantage. He could take over Reddington's empire, and return to what he once had been.
"Bag him and get him ready for transport." Sutton said making up his mind to see things through a bit longer. He could always kill them later and the agent if needed. He had enough men on his side.
"Where is Elizabeth?" Red asked looking at the door that stood between him knowing Lizzie's condition. He was worried at Sutton's man's sudden appearance and then Sutton disappearing into the room. Had they pushed it too far? Should he have given the information up sooner? Was Lizzie ok? Alive? Seriously injured?
"In the other room. We are leaving."
"Sutton you used to be smarter than this. Did faking your death make you dumber?" Red spoke a twinkle in his eye as if he entertained, but in reality, he was terrified for Lizzie. He would not recover from her dying because of him again. "You know the FBI will keep looking for her. Until they find her. They will keep coming. They will not waste resources on me, not if they are sure you'll kill me in the end. But, right now you are fighting two fronts. Between my people trying to find me and the FBI finding her. You will not win. Leave her behind and simplify the battle. Hope that my people end up being too incompetent to find me."
"We could just end it all now." Sutton smiled pulling a gun and aiming it at Reddington's head.
"You and I both know you are not going to kill me." Red answered not at all cowered by the weapon aimed at his head. Sutton wanted something, more than the truth, he was letting greed motivate him, and Red knew it. Red was saving this information for when and if he got truly desperate. If he could get Lizzie to safety, then he would never need it. Sutton could do what he wished to Red, and Red would be ok with it as long as Lizzie was safe.
========B=======
Leading the way into the warehouse, Dembe kept his gun aimed in front while he scanned the room for signs of Raymond and Elizabeth. The room was empty except for a chair. At the feet of the chair was a pair of plastic zip ties, likely utilized to secure someone to the chair. There was no sign of Raymond. Dembe was also comforted that there was no sign of blood. If Ross killed Raymond, it was not here.
Continuing through the warehouse, while the FBI team cleared the main room. Dembe went for the room across from the chair. The door was closed and locked. Taking a step back, Dembe put all his weight into kicking the door. Splintering the frame as it burst open, Dembe rushed into the room, searching the corners as he moved inside. On the floor, cuffed to a pipe, was an unconscious form. Moving towards the body, he gently checked the pulse, noting it was Lizzie. She was alive, a bit banged up from what he could see, but alive.
Lizzie's eyes fluttered open with a groan as she felt warm fingers on her neck.
"Was Raymond here with you?" Dembe asked studying Lizzie for signs of concussion or distress.
"Yes." Liz said, "I think they took him. I heard them talking about disposing of him."
"Did you hear anything else?"
"No. Ross was trying to use me to get Red to tell him something." Liz responded closing her eyes against a wave of dizziness.
Ressler came into the room seeing the bruises and cuts on Liz's face, "Jesus. Are you ok?"
"Yeah." Lizzie said, "Just a bit sore."
"Let I get those off you." Ressler said using his handcuff key to unlock the cuffs from Liz's wrist.
With Ressler's help, Liz slowly sat up, rubbing her sore wrist.
Dembe was outside the room on a phone. "They took him. We need to search the video feeds leaving here, and also for how Ross might be leaving. Check planes, boats, and the usual." Dembe knew it was a long shot, but it was one he was willing to take if it meant finding Raymond.
"You should get check out by medical before we debrief." Ressler said helping Lizzie to her feet. She was a bit unsteady and wondered if she had a concussion.
"How is Samar?"
"We do not know." Ressler said keeping an eye on Liz as he walked her out to the waiting ambulance. "No change I think."
"How did you find us?"
"We tracked the van that brought Reddington here." Ressler said, "Ross almost got away. He did a nice parlor trick with three white vans leaving the same place, all possibly having Reddington in them."
Ressler kept speaking, "But Dembe noticed the first van, and figured out that was the one with Red. Aram was able to track it with the various traffic and CTV cameras."