"I want it on record," Red was adamant, "I am one hundred percent against you doing this totally insane–"
"I'm an FBI agent, Red." Liz was getting angry. "I can do my job. I did it, and quite well, I might add before you came into my life."
Red fell silent, his own anger and suppressed fears lurking beneath his supposedly calm exterior. He crossed his arms, sitting into the plush chair beside the ultra modern fireplace in the bedroom.
Elizabeth sat as well, plopping down on the blue cushion of the coverlet covering their bed.
"This is getting us nowhere." Dembe glanced between one stubborn individual to the other. "Elizabeth, please go select your clothing for tonight."
Elizabeth glanced up at the man.
Dembe crooked a brow. "Please."
She sighed, trudging off to the closet. "Well, I'm not sure I have anything suitable to empress a psycho but..."
Red's eyes followed the woman's retreat.
"What type of wire would you feel most comfortable with?" Dembe knew how to get Raymond up and moving. "Or we could trust the task to the FBI?"
Red rolled his eyes, unfolding his arms, rising fluidly. "I don't want one wire... I want at least three."
"I thought you might." Dembe opened a large valise, waving his hand over the electronic selections inside.
"Raymond," his voice grew grave, "you must allow Elizabeth her growth, you know this."
Red stared at the gadgets moodily. "They act like it's a fucking game."
"We both know it is... of sorts." Dembe replied. "A game at which we are very skilled. We will teach Elizabeth all we know in time."
"In time." Red snapped. "I don't know if this is... the time."
Dembe allowed him to vent.
"This maniac has taken down how many women now?" Red raised his voice.
"He has not as yet met... Elizabeth." Dembe watched Silas' arduous training sessions week in, week out. "Those other poor women, they were defenseless. Elizabeth... is not, I promise you that."
Red thumbed through the different types and ranges of communication devices, pulling three from the selection.
He lifted troubled eyes. "I won't let her down this time, Dembe. I promise that."
"You did not let her down before, but I understand your concerns."
Red sighed heavily. "Well," he waved a hand, "the sooner we start..."
"Career women are so..." the Unsub, Alex, said.
This guy loved to hear himself talk.
Red sat, arms folded over his chest, a morose look on his face. He had not said one word the entire time since this debacle had began.
He was aware of quiet activity about him. Samar's soft perfume came and went with the woman's proximity as she hovered about the viewing monitors which sat on an available table.
The entire team was holed up in an adjoining room from where Elizabeth and the Unsub dined, feet away. At least one, unaware he was being watched... scrutinized.
"...Captivating to me." the bastard literally oozed charm.
"Why is that, Alex?" Liz played her part well, the interest in those blue eyes shone seemingly genuine.
"You have it all." the guy spread his arms out. "And you've earned it without any help from," he motioned, a sickly smile on his face, "a lowly man."
Liz smiled back. "I'm proud of my achievements. I've worked hard but..."
What did this jerk want her to say?
What had the other women said? Was there a correct reply for a psychotic killer?
"Well, I'm on the dating site for a reason." she softened her smile. "We all need someone in our life, don't we?"
She left the question hanging between them. "I don't necessarily see that as a weakness."
"Oh, I totally agree." Alex was all too quick to soothe and placate. "Not a weakness at all."
Liz sipped her wine delicately. "The truth is," she sat the delicate glass aside, "not a lot of men have hit me up on the site." she lied fluently.
"You intimidate them." the Unsub supplied the reason.
"Do I?" she feigned modesty. "I can't think why?"
"You are beautiful." he waved a hand.
"I'm not." she tried to blush but it wouldn't come.
"You are," Alex smiled, "and very accomplished... and you carry a badge." a small joke was inserted.
Liz chuckled musically. "Well, that part might be a bit to swallow." she played along. "But... not for you?"
"I respect the law, but I have never been especially intimidated by its representatives." he softened the insult. "You are, after all, only human. But I do admire you are all out there on the front lines, so to speak..."
"Protecting and serving." Liz quipped.
"Who protects you?" the question had a sinister ring to it, to Red's ears. "Who... serves you?"
A sexual undertone there.
Red seethed in silence.
"What's your problem, Reddington?" Ressler had kept his opinion to himself longer than usual. "Are we missing something here?"
Samar glanced down at the brooding figure. "Is there a problem?"
"I always have a problem with putting a woman in an impossible situation." Red remarked quietly. "No matter who she might be."
Samar's eyes softened.
"Liz seems to be having an okay time?" Aram shrugged carelessly until Mr. Reddington's dark eyes shifted his way. "I mean... if the guy isn't who we're looking for," the man said, "it hasn't been horrible, right?"
"Do you have any idea just how many things could go wrong here tonight?" Red wondered if they did.
"We got it covered." Ressler dismissed.
"You have it covered?" Red was incredulous. "That's the most stupid remark you have made to date." he snapped for, it was the truth. "Need I remind you Donald, you said that before, and were shot... twice."
Ressler took it well, considering. "Look, we've covered all the bases. This sicko isn't going anyw–"
"Are we trusting your 'Spidey' senses now?" Red's eyes lifted angrily. "Covered all the bases my ass. There is no possible way we've thought of every contingency, and you know that."
"Like, Aram said, we don't even know if this guy is the Unsub." Ressler reminded. "We're playing a hunch."
"He's your guy." Red grated.
"And you know this... how?" Ressler arched a brow.
Red turned his head slowly, a menacing spark in his eyes. "Elizabeth..."
Ressler frowned, looking at the monitor. More specifically, his partner on the screen. She looked relaxed, a little annoyed... but he figured she would look like that on any date.
"What about her?"
"She's in there, facing that degenerate." Red focused intent eyes on the woman. "She sees through the façade ... she can read his eyes."
"So..." Ressler was at a loss.
"Her weapon is in her handbag." Red said. "She had it hanging on the side of the chair," he gestured, "now... it's in her lap." he zeroed in on that small bag, waiting for her to make her move.
"She got her lip gloss." Aram remembered.
"No," Red shook his head, "she saw something that put her on alert."
"You can't know that." Ressler disagreed.
"I know, Elizabeth." Red fumed.
"This has been an enchanting evening, at least from my point of view." the Unsub interrupted the moment.
Liz wondered what she had said or not said to bring the enchanting evening to such an abrupt halt.
She lifted inquiring brows, forcing a smile. "And mine."
"I hate to see it end so soon."
Liz glanced at their empty plates, glad she had ordered a very light meal. This guy was starting to turn her stomach.
"It is late though and I have to work tomorr–"
"Oh, I wouldn't concern yourself about that." the confident, swarthy smile again. "Which is to say... I couldn't bear it if you wouldn't allow me to share something rather private with you first... before we must say adieu."
"Excuse me?" Liz feigned confusion.
"It's such an amazing night, don't you agree?" Alex hurried on before she could make any objections. "I don't usually suggest this and I know we've just met but already, I feel an... affinity with you. I hope I'm not presumptuous."
"What are you saying exactly." Liz thought she knew.
"There is a special spot I've found. It's a very pretty, peaceful place." he smiled charmingly., taking her hand across the table. "The weather is perfect for... a moonlight stroll."
Liz artfully removed her hand. Mustn't make this too easy for the bastard. "I'm sorry... I really don't know if–"
"Oh God, I've spoiled it haven't I?" Alex grimaced endearingly. "It was a stupid thing to suggest."
He sat back sighing lightly, "What an idiot. Asking a woman to accompany me... to be all alone with a virtual stranger. What in God's name was I thinking?"
Red watched the psychopath work the situation, his technique perfected.
"It's just something I wished to share... with you." he tried for sincerity but was just too full of himself to fully pull it off.
He knew he was speaking of one thing while presenting the horror he suggested in quite another light.
It was part of the game... the build up... the anticipation.
"I sense you are the type of woman who could appreciate it." he scowled then. "So few are these days. You are... special."
"Well," Liz moved slowly, "is it far?"
"Oh, no... not at all. Not at all." he perked up, anticipating capitulation just as he planned. "Only a short stroll, really."
Liz hesitated still, her instinct telling her... make the bastard work for it.
"There aren't many such spots in the city. I count myself fortunate to have discovered it, actually."
Red's thoughts were interrupted by a rather irritating crunch coming from behind him. He turned, an annoyed look on his face.
"What?" Silas propped his feet on a nearby chair. "I missed dinner." he held the chip aloft, scooping a large portion of salsa onto its curved surface which he plopped into his mouth before cracking open a can of Coke.
"Why aren't you out there?" Red's tone was more than perturbed.
"The men are in place." Silas glanced around the empty tables of the room. "Is there anymore salsa floating around?"
Red sighed wearily, hastily returning to the monitors.
Samar sent a half-scolding, half-seductive look the guard's way before she too, resumed a watch-and-wait attitude.
Silas' eyes traveled the length of the curvaceous figure... stopping in all the right places.
Ressler offered a disdainful grimace, having caught the gesture which made Silas grin.
"I brought my car and I don't want to have to return–" Liz was really making the guy sweat.
"Oh, we don't have to take a car. It's very close by...we can walk."
Red and Ressler exchanged subdued glances.
"It's gotta be the park." Silas was up and alert, jerking a thumb in the parks general direction. He tossed the salsa bowl to the table in passing. He came alongside Samar.
Everyone's attention was glued to the screens.
Red sat forward, on edge.
The restaurant was built backing a slightly underdeveloped parcel of land surrounding a small park dedicated to the memory of some Senator's deceased mother.
"It's not Crescent Trail though..." Samar frowned.
"It is." Silas said. "That entire green area has a smattering of small memorial parks... but it is all considered, Crescent Trail."
Liz was arising from her chair, Alex gallantly assisting as any gentleman would.
"I guess a few moments won't matter." Liz looked at the man, her gaze straight and steady. "Will it?"
"One can never tell," Alex was practically vibrating with giddiness, "what a moment might bring."
To any female thinking the evening was taking a turn for the better, that might have sounded promising.
To Liz, it heightened her distrust. She smiled brightly, allowing Alex to take her arm... guide her.
Silas... left.
Samar hurried to catch up, which she did. "It will look more natural," she took his arm, "if we pretend we're simply going to our car."
Silas admired her quick thinking.
"I can go places you can't." she reminded.
Red stood, so glad to be active finally. Maybe within a few minutes, this nightmare would end. How it would end was another question... one he refused to dwell on.
Red and Ressler watched Elizabeth and her escort make their way through the crowded restaurant.
The guy's hand was on Liz's back, guiding her gently though the gathered throngs.
Red bristled, seething silently. Before the evening was through, he would cut that hand off and store it away as a reminder...
Did that make him the same as... or worse than... the Unsub, he wondered?
Silas and Samar had mistimed their steps. Elizabeth and the Unsub were headed on a collision course.
Silas halted, pulling Samar's lovely body against his for a brief moment, giving enough pause for Elizabeth to squeeze by.
Silas planted a gentle kiss on Samar's temple before gazing down into the dark creamy eyes. Samar took her cue, bestowing a smile only another lover would understand.
The Unsub smiled at the exchange, excusing himself as he passed.
Silas' face hardened instantly and those dark creamy eyes of Samar's pierced the Unsub with a steely, determined glare as they slowly followed the other pair out into the warm night's air.
Silas continued on, his arm securely about Samar's small waist. They walked to one of the SUV's designated for this OP.
Samar leaned into the burly man's chest, coquettishly halting their trek at one point. "We need to stay long enough to see which direction they take, right?"
She tip-toed placing her mouth gently to Silas' brooding one.
Silas leaned on the side of the car hood, allowing the woman her lead.
"I think the bastard is purposely waiting until there are no witnesses." Silas noted the Unsub stopped Elizabeth under the entrance portico.
"Shit," Samar trusted the man's instincts. "So... what do we do now?"
"Let's get in the car." Silas directed, opening the side door before helping seat her in the passenger side. "There is a dirt road a short ways down."
Samar smiled up at him, keeping the act in play. "Where are your men?"
"Where are they not?" was a better question in Silas' mind. He made way to the driver's side, sliding in the vehicle.
"Between Red's men and your fellow agents," Silas glanced to the woman, "there's not a damned bush or tree out there," he motioned with his head to the area which they now drove, "that isn't occupied."
"Then why do I still feel... uneasy." Samar wanted to know.
"I just lost her." Silas sighed. He tapped his ear, gesturing to the ear bud when Samar snapped her eyes his way. "I could hear Liz, now I can't. We're out of her range."
Silas drove like a bat out of hell to the dirt road, doubling back hastily. He parked the car in a darkened loop, allowing them sight of the back of the restaurant.
Red and Ressler could be seen exiting the double doors of the rear-exit of the establishment even now.
"Come on." Silas and Samar made their way forward through the cover of a thickly patched area to the West side of the small Park the guard mentioned earlier.
"I can't see or hear them." Silas kept his tone calm. "Who has eyes?" he asked into the wide-range comm-link.
"We're on them. Target moving to the water edge," Joe's voice immediately responded. "West side of the pond."
Silas turned, changing directions.
"Wait..." Samar lifted her leg, shoving her pant legs into her boots before tightening the laces securely.
Silas acted as her balance beam until she accomplished the task.
"I'll slow you down." she knew. "I'll come in from the North here..." she motioned to a clearing over the rolling expanse of hills lining the pond, "that way we'll have at least one possible exit blocked."
Silas looked long and hard at the woman.
"That son-of-a-bitch won't get past me." she vowed
"He won't get that far but... watch that beautiful ass of yours."
"You watch it." And with that, she was gone. A small figure blending with the shadows and camouflage provided by the lush landscape.
Silas moved stealthily forward.
Red halted Ressler with a hand out.
"You're right you know," Liz was saying.
About damned time she chimed in, the man thought.
"It is very beautiful here... so peaceful and quiet."
"Quite the contrast from the city, isn't it." Alex motioned to the trees they walked through. "It's all around us and yet... we wouldn't know it."
"It's easy to lose one's bearings in here." Liz was saying.
"I know this place like the back of my hand." was the cryptic reply. "The spot I want you to see is just up ahead."
Red stopped in his tracks when Lizzy's voice crackled in his ear, then faded. Both he and Ressler turned in the opposite direction, quickening their steps.
"That little lane we just passed," Red breathed when he heard Lizzy's statement loud and clear, "I didn't catch the name on that sign, did you?"
"Crescent Trail." Alex supplied the answer every agent and guard was hoping for...
Lizzy's tone was almost whimsical, Red noted.
"Why does that sound so familiar?"
Red cursed under his breath. Was she deliberately trying to bait the bastard?
"Probably heard it on some Spielberg movie." she quipped lightly. "Indiana Jones and the Treasure of the Crescent Trail."
The Unsub actually laughed. "Part two."
It was eerie hearing the chuckling laughter coming over the comm devices.
Red crept along the small trees and heavy brush steadily but silently, in an effort to close the gap between Elizabeth and himself.
This was proving rough going, but Red was both grateful and cursing the earlier rain. The mud hindered their speed but muffled their travels through the undergrowth tangling at his feet. The branches and overgrowth pulling at his trouser legs, cut through the fabric.
Though, all he felt at the moment was an underlying uneasiness the longer Elizabeth was out of his sight.
"Here we are... see? I said it wasn't far." Alex pulled up short, motioning grandly about himself.
Elizabeth looked around the small clearing. Inside she felt calm, oddly at peace.
"...I'm sorry," she didn't sound as if she were to Red's ears.
He halted, checking his bearings. A thick fog crept along the nearby pond, rolling over the dewy grass making the area virtually impossible to navigate.
Ressler held the tracker, motioning Red to an incline a hundred or so meters away.
Red followed hastily.
"I don't see anything especially remarkable about this spot." Elizabeth's voice carried well in the still of the night.
Overhead, a gentle breeze rustled the tree tops.
"No?" Alex sounded clearly disappointed. "Well... perhaps it's just me then."
"Oh? Why is that?" Liz questioned.
"There is no one out there." he knew for certain. "You and I are alone, Elizabeth. Just as I planned all along."
"Is that why you brought the others here?" she motioned to the bramble of leave and twigs covering the ground in which she stood.
At first, the man seemed stunned, rooted to the place he stood.
The moon cleared the clouds overhead. Through the thick mist of the growing fog, Elizabeth could see the surprise... the incredulous look on his face.
Red stopped dead in his tracks, as did Ressler.
"Is she crazy?" The agent shoved frantically through the thicket barring their path, an urgency in his tone.
Red echoed the sentiment, his need to reach Elizabeth a gnawing desire deep inside his churning gut.
Present confidence.
Silas' training rang loud in her ears.
"Well, here I am..." Elizabeth opened her arms, "a defenseless, independent woman, all alone, as you said... now what?"
Her eyes hardened as the man pulled a knife from his calf. The short blade looked shiny against the grey fog.
"So many questions," Elizabeth said, "no real answers as yet, hmm."
The man's face turned angry. "There's no way you set me up."
"Then how did I know what you are? Why you brought me here to this," she glanced casually about, "totally secluded spot."
Weapons are all about... secure one.
Alex's brow furrowed. "They would be here by now."
Liz shrugged. "Maybe there's a reason they're holding back."
She suddenly knew what it was. Silas was sending her a message loud and clear.
The silence was comfortable for the woman. She stopped just inches from where she needed to be.
"Think I will give you a confession, just," Alex laughed, "wrap it all up nice and clean for you?"
"No, that's not it." Liz leaned, hefting a stout piece of wood in her hands. "Do you think this is Birch or Oak?" she pondered, inspecting the thick knobbed branch carefully as she turned it about in her hands.
"You truly believe you can ward off my," the amusement was back in Alex's tone as he gripped the knife in his hand, "...advances with a little stick?"
Offense.
She kicked off her heels, eyeing the man belligerently.
"One way to find out." Elizabeth stood her ground, her fingers twitching in anticipation.
Red jerked upright as the sound of a muffled struggle and her smothered yell of indignation crackled in his ear.
"Dammit! Where is she!" Red stumbled in the ankle deep mud, cutting his palm on a branch that protruded from a tree trunk as he attempted to brace himself. Barely acknowledging the biting sting, he shook it off, hurrying forward.
"I see you." Silas' calm voice filtered through the earpiece.
Red looked about frantically, just seeing the glint of Silas' silver streaked hair as he stepped into view from a copse straight ahead.
Defense.
Liz fought off the man's advance, jabbing her elbow hard into Alex's face. The well placed hit tore into the tender flesh of her attacker, bloodying his nose and cheek.
Her hands tightened about her makeshift weapon, swinging it with a brute strength she didn't know she possessed.
Alex side stepped as Elizabeth swung the club, his arm raised to ward off the blow.
Incapacitate.
Changing tactics mid-swing, Elizabeth avoided his attempt to lash out and grasp her weapon of choice.
Bringing the club in a sharp downward angle, she connected soundly with his kneecap.
Following through with the momentum of her swing, she leaned into the turn, allowing the stick to catch the man across the face.
The loud whoosh as the club cut the air and the sickening crunch of bone splintering just beneath the skin's surface and the asshole crying out in agony... was such a gratifying sound.
Keep your attacker down.
Wasting no time and without hesitation, Liz repeatedly brought the sturdy stick down, all the force of her anger behind the blows.
Allow your anger control... feed from it.
In an intense downward blow, she jabbed viciously into the man's other knee. Reaffirming her grasp, she stabbed hard into the giving flesh of his thigh and beneath the sporty jacket he wore, stealing the man's breath away.
The sounds issuing forth from his disgusting mouth; sharp, piercing screeches, blunt vulgar curses and muffled outcries of disbelief... were all oddly satisfying.
He uselessly used his arms to ward off the blows.
Liz brought the weapon down hard, missing his neck by a fraction of an inch.
Red rushed forward towards Silas' hulking figure who was just ahead under the canopy of low-lying cherry trees.
His heart thumped wildly in his chest as the sound of Lizzy's predicament beat steadily against his eardrum.
Silas stood calmly leaning against the tree trunk, gazing out over some unseen venue. He shifted into a more comfortable position, grimacing as the movement pulled at his wound.
"What the fuc–"
Silas darted his grey eyes to the interloper, curtly bringing a finger to his lips, silencing the new arrivals.
Red shushed his outrage, following the other man's directive. He peered through the thicket Silas indicated.
Elizabeth stood over a downed individual, club raised, striking out repeatedly.
Red's brows lifted as he continued to witness the bloodbath taking place just beyond the concealment offered.
"Give her this," Silas advised quietly, "it's been a hard couple days... she's more than earned it."
Red spared the man a glance but was pulled back to the spectacle taking place in that small clearing.
"I've told the men to stand down." Silas whispered. "We're here just..." he trailed off.
Elizabeth kicked the shit head, for want of a better term, literally. She landed well placed blows to the guy's abdomen.
"She has some," Silas held a branch out of his way, viewing the carnage taking place, "pent-up aggression that needs released."
Ressler's chuckle seemed totally out of place... and character.
Red had forgotten the guy was with him.
"I'll say." Ressler winced as Liz knocked the man across the head with the stick she wielded. "We uh... should really step in." The red-headed agent seemed hesitant to do so, however. "Don't you think?"
Elizabeth took advantage of the fact Alex had pulled himself into a tight ball, assuming the fetal position.
She brought the club down over and over, any place of contact giving a perverse sense of pleasure... and serenity.
Images of the women flashed in her mind's eyes.
All the lovely faces before... and after.
Each blow a vindication.
A victory won.
Slowly... the rage eased.
The sounds of the night returned. The chirping of crickets, the wind moving her hair and the leaves of the bushes.
Her own breathing sounded winded and heavy.
Her arms ached and burned.
Her eyes stung with tears. "You asshole..." she hissed her fury, snatching the knife out of his reach.
Looking down at the assailant writhing on the ground, her fingers tightening reflexively around the hilt of the knife that caused so much destruction and death.
She wasn't alone.
Narrowing her eyes, she lifted her weapons, on the defense... until the blurred faces looking back at her shifted into focus.
Silas... his bulk was unmistakable although his face was obscured in the shadows of a tree branch. Joe, coming up to his left. David, Justin and Amir following suit.
They had found her.
Her chest heaved with the need to draw in air.
She studied the faces watching her so intently. She could only imagine how she must appear.
Straightening, Liz took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. The bloodied club hung limply in her right hand.
She smoothed her hair from her face with her free one. It must have fallen from its carefully arranged top-knot. She brushed her jacket, straightening is almost primly.
Still the faces stared.
"Why is everybody looking at me like that?" she frowned. "This guy is a freaking whack job!" she explained.
Her guards raised their hands, grinning.
"Is it safe to approach now, Xena?" Joe cracked.
"Elizabeth," the deep rumbling voice washed over her like a rejuvenating sea breeze.
Elizabeth turned, recognizing the voice instantly. She dropped the club as Red stepped from the edge of night, materializing in the gray mist.
Her shoulders dropped from their tense perch, her heart calming at the sight. A surge of exhaustion swept her frame as her adrenaline crashed.
Red rushed forward, welcoming the suddenly very weary woman in a crushing hold as she stumbled in her step towards him.
"Are you all right?" his eyes rapidly scanned her features, his hands flitting over her body.
Nodding silently, she stepped forward, laying her head against his sturdy chest... resting. "I'm tired."
"I can't imagine why..." Red murmured affectionately. He removed his jacket, wrapping it about her small frame.
Samar smiled at the scene as she came alongside the semi-unconscious victim of the... warranted attack.
"I would have crushed his balls." she looked down at the sorry excuse.
Silas grimaced, "I love a woman who knows her own mind."
"You shamefully neglected to pass on the coordinates to my fellow agents." she mentioned in passing. "Was that an oversight on your part?"
"As luck would have it," Silas offered sincere apologies, "all our comm-devices went out at the same time. I sent one of our men to explain the unfortunate mishap."
"I see." Samar held her amusement... just. "I feel compelled to rectify the error."
"Please do so with my sincerest apologies."
"Who says our factions can't work together?" she seemed impressed by such efforts.
"There is certainly one agent I wouldn't mind collaborating with." Silas ignored the moaning guy at his feet. "Especially after that brief but memorable kiss we shared..."
"Just holding my part of the charade." Samar ignored the 'guy' as well.
Men milled... men discussed the events they witnessed. Men lit up cigarettes... men messed with the crime scene.
"I trust I didn't offend your sensibilities?" the woman's perfume made Silas weak in the knees.
"That damned scent drives me to the edge but," he moved closer, stepping over the guy on the way, "you already know that... don't you?"
"One can hope." she shrugged her slim shoulders, her face falling. "Oh, shit... and they descend."
She sent an apologetic look his way. "I guess I should update the SAC."
Liz felt Red's solid presence even as he stepped back into the black abyss, disappearing from sight.
The man in question, Brian Hempstead, rushed on scene flustered, unorganized and way out of his depth.
"Oh God... Oh, God..." Hempstead was flummoxed. "Who...where..." he stuttered. "What happened? What..." he gestured lamely to the Unsub moaning on the ground, "we need some... medical personnel on site. Oh... God."
Liz stood silently aside as the man panicked.
"When did you people arrive?" he turned this way and that. "You can't walk all over the site! Back away..." the guards grinned, stepping back out of the way, "we need some sort of perimeter set up here."
Samar calmed the guy. "We have our man in custody. No one was injured. Agent Keen did an exemplary job."
"How did it go so wrong?" the SAC couldn't fathom. "We need to get this man to a hospital."
"Everything is under control." Samar's soft voice soothed.
Silas stood off to the edge of the scene, watching her work magic.
"Its Liz's word against his now." Joe sauntered over, a smug look on his face. "I think we've confused the crime scene sufficiently to allow any competent attorney to fry this son-of-a-bitch's ass."
"Could backfire on us." Silas swept Samar's frame sensually. "What if he hires a competent–"
"Then I'll wait outside the courthouse with my high-powered, very efficient McMillan TAC-50," Joe smiled pleasantly.
"Overkill?" Samar questioned.
"Sure kill." Joe corrected. "You'll see I'm pretty competent too, when I set my mind to it."
Silas grinned, "That's why I hired you."
Liz watched the others, her mind on automatic pilot. A medical team had arrived, their light blue uniforms standing out amid all the men dressed in black military garb.
"Red, all I could see the entire time," Liz leaned against him, his shoulder supporting her, "was their faces." Their names came at breakneck speed, demanding to be remembered... demanding justice. "I just... kept hitting him."
"I saw that." he nodded, holding his smile. "Good for you."
She laughed nervously. "Yeah, good for me." she shook her mood, lifting her eyes to face him. "We got him."
"You... got him." Red corrected. "You... Elizabeth."
"I couldn't have done it without all the backup I knew was–"
"I think... maybe you could have." Red couldn't help but smile recalling how vicious she was with that asshole.
She shook her head. "...Can we go home?"
Even as the words left her mouth, she realized the answer.
"I'll have to stay to wrap up the particulars." she sighed heavily, glancing at the man they now lifted onto a stretcher.
Red watched as well, holding tightly to his life line's hand.
Liz tilted her head quizzically as her guard approached the Unsub. He stared at the man with an expressionless face before leaning, bracing his arm on the gurney over the prone form.
Silas murmured something, then grinned, nodding for the medics to remove the trash.
Joe came to his side, both walking in unison, both with that cocky swagger that so impressed and/or annoyed women.
"What did you say?" Liz frowned at her guard as he approached.
"I just reminded him," Silas shrugged, "you did just fine warding off his advances... with that little stick."
Red ducked his head, hiding his grin when Lizzy bowed up at the remembered slight.
"That asshole did say that." she peered around her guard's shoulder, evil eyeing the immobilized man.
"Stop provoking her." Red side glanced the smirking guard.
"I hope they drop that bastard a couple times along the way." Samar came alongside them.
Just then, by chance, the locks on the gurney gave way... dropping the man in a straight, jarring fall.
A bubbling chuckle burst from Samar's throat as Liz gasped her disbelief.
"Karma..." Samar shrugged carelessly, "it's sweet, sweet justice."
"Speaking of justice," Samar groaned, "that new guy is pissing me off. Can one of your guys take him out into the woods here and... lose him, Red?"
Red smiled, "My men are above such tactics."
"He means to say," Silas' eyes drifted slowly downward to the 'V' of Samar's legs, "we have an excellent sense of direction."
Samar's heavy lids batted sensually, "But do you... follow directions?"
Red scoffed, rather involuntarily.
Joe grinned when Liz balled her fist, reflexively smacking Red lightly on the chest, silencing his amusement.
"Silas is good at what he does." Liz instinctively stood up for her guard before the full force of the conversation caught up with her. "I... I mean..." she flushed, "he does... what I ask." she stammered. "Oh! No, not that I mean I have ever asked... that!"
Red shook his head woefully, his cheeks hurting from withholding his smile.
"I just mean," Liz stressed, "he's good... no, amazing at all he does." her eyes squeezed shut, her chin dropping to her chest. "Which is to say," she looked at Red for assistance.
Red lifted his hands high above his head, no way was he getting involved in this.
"I'm just assuming," Liz took up the gauntlet again, in defense of her guard. "He would be good...no, amazing... at that, too."
"Rest assured," Silas broke in, "I am."
"See!" Liz gestured to the man, before once again, reality setting in, her face fell.
Joe's snort of amusement broke the silence.
Red shrugged helplessly before sharing a small resigned smile with Samar. "She's tired."
"Where from here?" Silas brought the conversation full circle... thankfully.
"Red," Liz was desperate to change the subject, "the guys deserve something for all their diligence." she sought his opinion.
"They stood out there watching you beat the hell out..." Red pointed out.
"I would like to buy everyone dinner at Chico's... on me." Liz was excited to share her triumph.
Silas and Joe exchanged impressed looks, grins coming.
"But," she grimaced, "keep in mind, I'm a lowly paid government agent so..." her grimace grew, "just keep it so I don't have to take a mortgage–"
"Hooters?" Joe suggested a cheaper alternative, glancing at Silas for his approval. "It's half price wing night."
Samar's lips quivered, her eyes rolling. "It's also buy two, get one free pitcher of beer tonight." she added her two cents, as if they all didn't know why they wished to go to Hooters.
Silas nodded slowly, warming to the idea. "She's right."
Red's brows lifted when Samar's brows furrowed in confusion. It sounded like they really wanted to go there for the food... and nothing more.
"I... am not a lowly paid government agent." Red deferred to the two lovely women by his side. "So inform the low-life's... the dinner and whatever else is on me."
Silas and Joe beamed happily.
"...At Chico's." Red added the stipulation.
Silas and Joe quietly conferred amongst themselves, weighing the pros and cons.
"All right," Silas turned about, "we'll take Chico's."
"I wanted to thank them!" Liz was adamant.
"How about," Red murmured, "you and I have dinner... on you?"
Liz hesitated, not sure if he had meant for that to sound sexual or not. Either way, she was game.
"Well..." she shrugged after a moment, "I guess that would be okay."
"You have the card." Red waved a dismissive hand to his men and Dembe. "You guys go on ahead, I'll stay with Lizzy." he smiled. "And thanks..." he caught Silas' arm as both men had turned to leave, "...really."
"Whatever." Silas dismissed.
"On that note..." Joe shrugged, dragging Silas away.
Liz pouted petulantly, then sighed. "You don't have to stay."
"Don't you want me to?"
She glanced at the chaos about them. "It's going to be a bunch of paperwork, long tedious interviews–"
"No, there will not be any of that." Red shook his head, jerking his chin to Cooper arriving on scene.
"What did you do?" she frowned.
"Harold here will take your statement, and release you for the evening." Red replied quietly.
Liz's face beamed. "I love you." she whispered her gratitude.
"We'll discuss that matter later." Red promised faithfully. "The sooner we start," he motioned to Cooper approaching the very antsy, nervous agent-in-charge.
Liz geared herself up, following his lead.
Red's hand on her back felt warm and loving... nothing like the creepy, crawling feel of that sicko, Alex.
She moved closer to feel Red's warmth, smiling up at his steady, calming gaze.