4 Feet-Part 3

Author's Note: Things get complicated for our duo. For this bit, I'm going on the premise that the fingerprint and eye scan being sought is that of the current Reddington who has been him for a number of years, and these are the prints and scans one would now have. Not some original Reddington prints/scans from pre-1980s.

Let me know your thoughts.

DDDDDDDDDDDD

Harold Cooper was just shutting the door to his car in the parking garage when his phone started to ring.

"And so it begins," he sighed as he looked at the number and noted it was FBI security.

"Hello? This is Harold Cooper," he said as he started to walk into the Post Office.

"Sir, we have a situation," the security guard on the other side of the call said. "Uh…"

"Spit it out son," Cooper said impatiently as he pressed the elevator button to go up.

"There's a cage with two agents we have identified as Elizabeth Keen and Donald Ressler that have been delivered to FBI headquarters," he said.

"I'm sorry, my agents are in a cage?"

"Yes, with a large envelope attached that says 'To Only Be Opened By Raymond Reddington' and there appears to be a bomb….we've called in the bomb squad and…"

"Are you with them?" Cooper asked turning back and running toward his car.

"They were unconscious and my Supervisor is the only one in the building, it's been evacuated," the man said as Cooper jumped in his car and started it.

"When did this delivery happen?" Cooper asked.

"It came from main justice but we're tracking down…"

"When?" Cooper demanded as he pulled out of the parking garage and sped toward FBI headquarters.

"About 10 minutes ago," the man said. "Luckily at this time of day there's only security, a couple of early morning people and caretaking in the…"

"Has anyone assessed my agents for health, are they alive?" Cooper demanded as he raced through the streets.

"I reached in and felt a pulse on her but then saw the bomb and we all evacuated," the man said.

"Patch me through to your supervisor," Cooper demanded as he quickly turned a corner.

"We're trying to establish a connection but there seems to be a dampening field around the cage and…"

"Then go inside and get me more information," Cooper demanded as he ran a red light with his lights flashing. "I'm placing you on hold."

Cooper sped through the streets as he hit Aram's number.

"Sir?" Aram asked half asleep.

"Aram I need you to call the team and get to FBI headquarters right away," Cooper said.

"Is everything…?"

"Elizabeth and Don are in a cage with a bomb at headquarters," Cooper said before he hung up and hit the button for the security guard.

"Anything son?" Cooper asked.

"I'm still getting to them," he explained. "I had to convince them I was allowed to go inside."

"Thanks for doing this," Cooper sighed. "I'm putting you on hold again."

He hit the button for Nick's Pizza as he narrowly avoided a garbage truck.

"Harold, why are you contacting me at this ungodly hour?" Reddington's voice came through.

"Don and Elizabeth just got delivered in a cage to FBI headquarters with a bomb attached to them and an note that said Only to Be Opened by Raymond Reddington," Cooper explained.

"What?!" Reddington snapped to attention.

"Do you know anything about what this is about?" Cooper asked.

"No, I…are they alive?" Reddington stammered.

"Elizabeth had a pulse, but they hadn't checked Don before they evacuated," Cooper said as he screeched to a halt at the street blockade being set up. "Shit."

"Harold, I…" Reddington started.

"I'll call you back," Cooper said as a security officer approached his car.

He flashed his badge, explained the situation and was waved through. He got out and was picking up with the security guard as he ran into the building flashing his badge and explaining as he did.

"Well?" Cooper asked the security guard on the phone.

"They both have a pulse, and the bomb squad has arrived and is assessing…"

"I'm here now son," Cooper said as he got directed toward the mailroom. "Get out of the building."

"Yes, sir," he nodded.

"And thanks for all your help," Cooper said before they disconnected.

He ran down a hallway toward the mailroom and burst through the door.

A medic was reaching through the cage and giving Don and Elizabeth each and IV as the bomb squad assessed the information. They both still looked like the IV was waking them up.

The cage was about 4 feet square, Don was sitting in a corner with his legs extended and Liz was slumped against him with her legs extended as well.

"Harold Cooper," Cooper said as he walked up to the Supervisor. "What have you determined?"

"When Security scanned the package they got unusual readings, but nothing that indicated a bomb, so they shut down the delivery area and carefully removed the exterior box and found this," he said as he gestured toward the cage and Ressler with his eyes slowly opening and then closing at the brightness around him.

"What the hell?" Ressler asked.

"Don, just stay calm," Cooper said as he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. "I'm here and we're figuring this out."

"We've been held for…I don't know 15 hours or so," Ressler said as he blocked his eyes from the light. "We didn't see anyone, ever."

"Just sit still, okay?" Cooper said, deciding whether he should tell him about the bomb. "There's a bomb attached to the cage you and Elizabeth are in…"

He watched as Ressler, who was shifting and trying to wake up Liz, stopped all movement.

"Bomb?" Ressler asked as he tried to wipe at his eyes.

"Sir, we have some information about the device," someone from the bomb squad said as she approached them.

"What have you learned?" Cooper asked hearing his phone vibrate again.

"It's rigged to the cage so we can't open it without detonating it," she said. "The bomb is sophisticated and that's why it didn't set off sensors. Many of the components are microchips and plastics that don't come up on our sensors."

"Can you disable it?" Cooper asked.

"If you happen to know where Raymond Reddington is or have an eyeball or finger of his…" she said seriously. "We're problem-solving other solutions."

"Is there a timer?" the supervisor asked.

"No, no timer, no remote detonator that we can see. It will disarm if Raymond Reddington provides an eye scan and a finger print and explode if we try any other way to disable it. We're still working on solutions but that's what we have so far…"

"Jesus Christ," the supervisor said.

The medial team walked toward them as Cooper saw Elizabeth start to wake up and cover her eyes as well.

"They are dehydrated, elevated heart rates, minor injuries, light sensitivity, and it doesn't look they've had much to eat in the last 24 hours," she said to the two FBI AD's. "We'd need them out of that cage to do a proper assessment, they both have likely suffered concussions, but we have placed them both on IV fluids for the time being to help with the dehydration."

They both nodded and watched as the team exited the building.

Cooper took out his phone and saw 3 missed calls from Nick's Pizza.

"Don, Elizabeth, just stay put and relaxed, I'm calling Nick," Cooper said as he walked away from everyone.

"How are they?" Reddington asked as soon as the phone picked up.

"I need you to come to the Bureau," Cooper said. "They need an eye scan and fingerprint from you to disable the bomb. I'll clear a safe path into…"

"We're on our way," Reddington said as he hung up.

Cooper walked back toward the supervisor just as Samar was walking into the mailroom.

"Sir?" Liz called.

"It's being taken care of," Cooper smiled at her as she hid her eyes from the light. "I just need you two to sit tight."

Cooper gestured for Samar to join him with the supervisor.

"Schwartz, I need you to clear the bomb squad and open a path between the main road and the mailroom for a black sedan to come through," Cooper said.

"I'm not dismissing the bomb…" Schwartz started.

"Reddington is coming, and I need as few people as possible to be here when that happens," Cooper said.

"Raymond Reddington?" Schwartz chuckled.

"Clear it," Cooper said before he turned to Samar. "I need you outside making sure they get through. Coordinate with Dembe so it's a smooth entry and exit"

Samar nodded and left.

Cooper watched Schwartz who was still looking at him disbelieving.

"Now," Cooper said to him. "No explanation, just clear it. You don't know what I just told you."

Schwartz nodded and walked toward the bomb squad.

Cooper walked toward his two agents and saw that they could look at the light a little better now. Except for a couple of dried injuries they looked like themselves.

"How have you been held for 15 hours, and I didn't know about it?" Cooper asked.

"You didn't…?!" Liz asked surprised. "Agnes! I need you to call someone!"

"Fern, what's her last name?" Ressler asked suddenly worried as well.

"Fern Ling, they are on Cathedral Avenue," Liz said suddenly anxious.

Cooper searched on his phone for the woman and called her number and held out his phone for Elizabeth to talk on speaker.

"Fern?" Liz asked as a woman answered.

"Elizabeth! I was so worried," Fern said.

"You have Agnes?" Liz asked, anxious.

"Yes, we waited with her for you," Fern explained. "The girls wanted to play after school and when you didn't show up Ms. Yusain called home. No answer. Your cell, no answer. Your work number went to a message. So, she called Donald Ressler and same. No answer on any of the numbers. Then it was me on the list, so I took Agnes home with us and we were so worried. Terry when by your apartment and convinced your superintendent to open your door in case you were hurt. Nothing. You're okay?"

"I'm tied up in a work situation," Liz said. "I didn't have my phone or access to anything. Thank you so much for getting her, she's okay?"

"Yes, they had fun last night, and we pretended you called while they were in the yard playing," Fern explained. "We didn't want her to worry."

"God, thank you so much," Liz said. "I'll need you to keep her for a little while longer and get her to school today, is that okay?"

"Yes, of course, the girls are getting up right now," Fern said. "Do you want to talk with her?"

Liz sniffled.

"Yes, please," she said as she wiped at her eyes.

While Fern got Agnes Cooper whispered.

"I'll send security to her school."

"Thank you," Liz mouthed back.

Ressler's hand went up to her shoulder and massaged it while she tried to stop the tears dropping from her eyes. Cooper watched the head of the bomb squad argue with Schwartz momentarily and then start to pack up their team to leave.

"Mummy?" Agnes' voice said into the phone.

"Hey munchkin," Liz said with a smile. "I miss you."

"When are you coming to get me?" Agnes asked.

"Later, baby, okay?" Liz asked. "You had fun?"

"We played fort!" Agnes yelled.

"You love fort," Liz smiled and wiped at her tears.

"Why didn't you get me?" Agnes asked.

"I'm sorry honey, mummy got tied up at work and I'm so happy you got a sleepover! On a school night too," Liz chuckled as she felt Ressler softly rubbing his hand up and down her back supportively.

"I love you mummy!" Agnes yelled into the phone.

"I love you too sweetie," Liz said, her voice choked.

The phone disconnected suddenly and Cooper sighed and pulled it back. The last of the bomb squad was leaving the area and Schwartz was walking toward them.

"You will be picking her up from school today," Cooper said. "In fact, once this is done, I'm thinking you pick her up and take her for a mommy-daughter day."

"Thanks sir," Liz nodded. Ressler pulled her against him a little and she gave in, resting her head against his shoulder.

"So, tell us everything that's happened to you since yesterday," Cooper said as he looked at Schwartz next to him.

"We didn't check in at the end of the day," Ressler said. "Wouldn't that have set off…"

"You both did check in," Cooper said.

"Huh?" Ressler and Liz asked at once.

"I got a text from Elizabeth," he said as he opened his phone and found it. The text was sent at 3:23 pm.

Hey Sir, leaving from our last check in and going to get Agnes from school. Have a nice night!

"I didn't send that," Liz said. "We were…wait, what time is it?"

"7:18," Schwartz said as he looked at his watch.

"Our last stop," Liz said turning to face Ressler. "It was at 2:30, 2:45?"

"Yeah, because you wanted to get Agnes and were saying we needed to no prolong this one," Ressler nodded. "So, we've been missing for about 16 and a half hours…"

"What happened at that stop?" Cooper asked.

"We were walking into the warehouse and there was a light and a sound and I thought my head was going to explode and the next thing I know I woke up in a 10x6 cell with Liz handcuffed to me," Ressler explained. "What was my check in?"

"You left me a voice message telling me you were heading out for the night and wouldn't be back to the post office," Cooper explained. "I didn't save it, I was, frankly, happy you and Liz were clocking out a little early because you both work too many hours."

"I didn't leave that message," he said, concerned.

"Aram is on his way," Cooper said. "I'm sure he can find it in the data base."

His phone buzzed with a text from Samar, they were on their way in.

"He's coming in," Cooper said as he looked at Schwartz and then his caged agents.

"I'll get the bomb squad and paramedics to stand by but not come in," Schwartz said as he took out his phone and started to make calls.

"This will all be over soon," Cooper said as he watched a car slowly pull into the docking bay.

"Either way," Liz said with a sigh. "Uh, I don't…can I have a piece of paper?"

Cooper reached into his pocket and handed her a small notebook and pen.

"Can you take Agnes and raise her if something happens to me?" Liz asked Cooper seriously.

"Elizabeth, you won't need…" Cooper said. Then he noted her shaking hand and the desperate look on her face.

"Charlene and I will," Cooper said.

Liz wrote something quickly, then handed it to Ressler.

"Witness it?" Liz asked him. "Call Schwartz over too."

Cooper called the man over and after Ressler signed so did Cooper and Schwartz.

The black sedan pulled up and stopped.

"You need to leave," Liz said. "If this goes wrong, I need you to take that piece of paper and fight to keep my daughter, and you need to be alive to do that, sir."

Cooper nodded and took the notebook from her.

"Anything else I need to know about where you were held?"

"It was dark, cement walls, cement and dirt floor, no food or water, a bucket to pee in, two cots, one door with only a sliver of light coming in," Ressler said quickly as the door to the sedan opened and Reddington walked toward them.

"Okay," Copper nodded. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

He walked toward Reddington who gestured for Cooper to go into the car with Samar and Dembe and leave the area. Schwartz looked at the criminal in disbelief but went to the car as well and it drove away. They placed calls over their phones to clear the building.

Reddington approached the cage seriously.

"Well, you two find yourselves in quite the pickle," Reddington said as he looked at the bomb attached.

"Just put in your print and scan your eye and let's get this over with," Ressler said through gritted teeth.

"In a couple of minutes, Donald," Reddington said as he looked carefully at the bomb. "We want everyone clear in case this goes ass-backwards."

Ressler chuckled darkly.

"Tell me what you know," Reddington asked.

Ressler and Liz relayed all the information they had shared with Cooper.

"No interaction?" Reddington asked as he looked at the envelope addressed to him. He wasn't going to pull it until the bomb was disabled in case it was also a trigger.

"None," Ressler said.

"We were in complete darkness," Liz said. "Who has a bone to pick with you and is using us to do it?"

"I don't know," Reddington said as he leaned over the cage and looked down at them crumpled together. "You wouldn't be able to stand in this, or walk around…it's the equivalent of being handcuffed to each other still…"

Reddington's phone vibrated. It was a text from Dembe explaining the building was clear. He texted back that he was going to go ahead.

"Here goes nothing, kids," Reddington said with a sigh as he placed his finger on the scanner and it went green, then he placed his eye over the scanner and it went green.

There was an audible click that made both Ressler and Liz jump but nothing happened except the small door, sized for a dog, clicked open.

"Out!" Ressler yelled as he pushed Liz toward the small door. She crawled out quickly and he followed her, them both landing on the hard ground and crawling away from the cage a few feet.

Reddington texted Dembe and walked toward the main exit door, snatching the letter off the cage as he did.

"Tell Harold to get the details of the cage and the bomb to me," Reddington said.

"Hey, you can't take that, it's evidence," Ressler called to him.

"I'll turn it over to Harold once I've read it," Reddington said as he turned to looked at the two of them starting to stand with difficulty.

"Thanks for this," Liz nodded toward him. "I'd like to know the contents of that letter, though."

Reddington nodded and the sedan pulled up and Cooper, Schwartz and Samar got out as Reddington quickly got in.

"He's got the letter," Ressler called as he helped Liz get her balance.

"I know," Cooper said. "He'd sharing the contents with us and handing it over to Aram for analysis at the gate before he leaves."

Ressler nodded and when the sedan pulled away the bomb squad and paramedics rushed into the mailroom.

Ressler was placed on one stretcher and Liz on another and assessed for all the things they couldn't when locked in the cage.

The paramedics started to wheel Ressler away and simultaneously, Liz and Ressler started to scream and writhe in pain as they clutched their heads.

"What the hell is going on?" Cooper screamed.

"I don't know," the paramedic yelled as their heart rates started to go off the charts. "They're both going to have heart attacks if we don't stabilize…"

"Hand me those paddles!" One paramedic yelled as he pushed Ressler's stretcher back toward Liz by a couple of feet to reach it.

Their yelling and writing stopped immediately and everyone looked at them and stood back.

"What the hell just happened?" Samar demanded.

"I don't…" the head paramedic said. "All we did was move the stretcher…"

Ressler and Liz were starting to come back themselves and breath normally.

"Okay, whatever that was, we can find out more once we get them to the hospital," he said as he started to wheel Liz away and when he got a foot away, they started to scream again.

"Jesus," Cooper said as he walked toward the pair of them.

The stretchers were brought back, and the screaming stopped.

Ressler reached out and clasped Liz's stretcher rail with his hand and held on while his heart slowed, and his breathing regulated.

"You can't separate them," Schwartz observed.

Everyone stood around them from the paramedics to the bomb squad waiting for an explanation.

"As soon as you move them a few feet that happens, move them back and it doesn't," Schwartz said simply.

"We have chips…" Liz said with a raspy voice as she gestured toward her left ear. "My left, his right ear."

A paramedic took a tentative step forward and looked behind each of their ears feeling the bumps.

"There is something there," he said.

"We were handcuffed, and then caged," Ressler said, his voice hoarse from the screaming. "We couldn't be apart, but now we can…"

"How far?" Cooper asked the group.

They all looked at the distance between the stretchers and where the edge was that caused them pain.

"3 feet?" one paramedic offered.

"Just their heads or their entire body?" Samar asked.

She walked toward Ressler's stretched.

"Forgive me you two," Samar said as she started to wheel his stretcher in an arc away from Liz, his feet getting farther and farther from her but his head staying within 3 feet.

Nothing happened.

"The chips need to be three feet, not their entire bodies," Cooper observed.

Samar wheeled Ressler back so he was side by side with Liz.

"And," Schwartz said. "If his right is next to her left that buys them a few inches. Right now, their chips are on either side of their heads."

A paramedic slowly arched Liz's stretcher around Ressler's with their heads close together and got her on the correct side of him so their chips were as close as possible.

"What happens to you?" the paramedic asked.

"It feels like my head is going to explode from light and sound," Liz explained, and Ressler nodded.

"So, whatever is in these chips, Liz and I need to be within 3 feet, at least our heads, at all times?"

The bomb squad leaders stepped forward with a tape measure and measured their heads ear to ear.

"It's slightly over 3 feet," she said. "Three feet two and 3/8th inches."

"I know you don't want this, but we need to know how far exactly, so we don't breach that barrier again, okay?"

Liz shook her head. "I'm okay with three feet."

Ressler sighed and took his hand off the bar to her stretcher and nodded for Cooper to do it.

He carefully pulled Don away, half and inch at a time. Ressler and Liz started to breath heavily in anticipation of the pain. He got almost an entire foot more before it started, and the bomb squad commander took the measurement and they pushed Ressler back one inch. The screaming stopped.

"Well?" Samar asked.

"Four feet exactly," the woman said as she held up the tape measure. "One eighth of an inch over and that happens."

Everyone nodded and Ressler swallowed hard.

"Move me back," he said.

They moved him back next to Liz and he, again, clamped on the bar to her stretcher.

"I don't care what you gotta do, but not anther 4-foot breach until we get this shit out of our heads," Ressler said determined.

To be continued…