A/N: Here is Chapter 2 of the story.
I do not own Blacklist or its characters.
The next morning, Ressler and Keen entered the war room. They were about to take the stairs up to Cooper's office, when he and Samar approached them.
"Hey. What's the progress in the interrogation." Ressler asked Samar.
"That's what I came to you about. He won't talk to me." Samar replied. "He wants you." She said, pointing towards Ressler. Both Keen and him were shocked. They has presumed he would want Liz instead.
Ressler smirked and said, "Let's go see what that scumbag wants from me."
Liz, Samar and Cooper waited in the glass room behind the interrogation room from where they could see inside.
"So, I heard you personally requested me?" Ressler asked, taking a seat in front of hi and opening his file.
"You know, I wanted to talk. Husband to mistress. Is it called mistress?" Tom said, smiling. Hearing this, Liz paused for a moment. She was not expecting Tom to say that.
"Let's talk about last night." Ressler said, wanting to stay on topic. He should have guessed that the guy in front of him would resort to such tactics.
"When I caught you and my wife in a motel room?" He rebutted. They both knew the reason, Tom had to make it sound like something completely esle.
"She is not your wife-" Ressler started, by mistake.
"So you do agree that there is something between you two." Tom said. Ressler immediately regretted saying something.
"And last night when you opened fire on two federal agents." Ressler completed, ignoring Tom's previous remark.
"You know, its nice for you right? Having me here... locked up? It opens the way for you to make your move on my wife." Tom smirked, knowing he was pushing the agent's buttons.
"Every single time you call Agent Keen your wife, you are lying to a federal agent and increasing your time in jail." Ressler remarked, starting to get angry. "She got your marriage annulled, you do know that, right?" Ressler remarked, not being able to help himself.
"I bet that made you ecstatic." Tom replied. "And, did you call her Agent Keen? You also call her that in bed?" Tom remarked. At this, Ressler's eyes flared. He took the conversation to a different level with that remark. Tom continued, though. Making shrewd comments on Liz and Ressler. In the room behind them, the three agents gasped at the words too. Cooper and Samar looked at each other, and left the room for the time being.
"Why don't you tell me about Berlin." Ressler said, trying to keep his nerves and change the topic of conversation.
"Change of topic, Agent Ressler. Or can I call you Donald." HE asked, smiling wickedly.
"Let's stick to Agent Ressler."
"Oh, really. We are both bedding the same, woman. We should be able to call each by our first names, no?" Ressler had had enough. It was time to play bad cop.
"You know., Tom, Jacobs... whatever... There are a certain, let's say, indiscretions we get, as agents in a Blacksite facility that regular FBI agents don't." Ressler said, moving on the same side as the table as Tom. "The first one being, more leeway in interrogation techniques. I'll be back." Ressler said. saying this, he left the room and entered the room where the other agents were.
He didn't know that Cooper and Samar had left and so was surprised to see Liz alone.
"Hey. Where are the others." He asked softly.
"They... uh... left when he started saying..." Liz said, unable to complete her sentence.
"I'm sorry you had to hear that. You should have left too." He said, sympathising with her, and placinf a hand on her shoulder.
"It was worse for you... him accusing you of..." Keen said.
"Dirty tricks. Nothing I can't take." He said, managing a half-smile. Many of the criminals he interrogated throughout his career, said stuff that would get on anybody's nerves. But, Tom was the first to be that personal and crude.
"That's why you warned him of advance interrogation?" Liz asked, calling out on his lie.
"I was this close to actually doing something." Ressler replied. Just as Ressler finished, Cooper entered. "I saw you had left the room." He told the agent.
"Sorry sir. It was-" Ressler started to apologise.
"Please, Ressler. Do not apologise. It would disturb anyone. I can assume he isn't cooperating at all." He said. Ressler jus rolled his eyes at the last sentence. "How do you wanna proceed?" He asked.
"I can try." Liz said.
"No. You are not entering that room, at any cost." Ressler said strictly.
"I agree wit Agent Ressler. You're not going in there, Keen." Cooper said, with a tone of finality.
"Ten minutes. No cameras." Ressler said. Both the other agents looked at him unsure. "I won't kill him. Atleast I don't plan on." Ressler said. Cooper nodded and left the room, knowing he couldn't be there and allow Ressler what he was asking.
"Ress..." Liz started.
"I will be fine. And I won't kill him." Ressler smiled at her.
"It's not him that I'm worried about." She said softly.
"Have some faith, Keen." He laughed lightly, pretending to be offended.
"I tried that, you know it." She said, recalling when she tried to interrogate him without anyone watching over her.
"Yeah, well. I wont break his thumb while he is cuffed." Ressler joked. "You shouldn't be here." He said seriously.
"I'm not going anywhere." She said, leaving no room for arguments. Ressler conceded and left the room.
He entered Tom's room and moved to one corner and reached up to switch off the camera. "What are you doing? Gonna make me regret talking about Liz?" Ressler briefly chuckled, but did not reply. "what are you gonna kill me, that'll have Liz come straight into your arms, won't it." Tom pressed.
Ressler moved to Tom, and punched him square on the jaw. "Keep talking like that and it'd be worse." He warned. Seeing this, Liz steeled herself, against Tom's words and any blow he would return to her partner.
"Now, Berlin, your history and other people he associated with. Start talking." Ressler ordered.
"Liz would never forgive you, you know, for killing me." Tom said, catching his breadth.
"You don't need to worry about that." Ressler said.
"She would hate you. Can you live with that." Tom smirked.
Just then, Liz entered the room. "Oh please, killing you is the last thing for which I would ever hate him." She said.
"Keen." Ressler started, not anting her there at all.
"So you want him to kill me?" Tom asked.
"Yes. But he wouldn't... he isn't that kind of an agent. He believes in the law." Keen said.
"Aww... look at that..." Tom said, sarcastically. "Betraying your husband like that Liz?"
"Keen, leave." Ressler said, almost pleading.
"Fine. But you're coming with me." Liz said.
"Keen." Ressler argued.
"Ressler, you and I both know he will not say anything other than provocative jibes. Come out." Keen rationalised.
"I'm not talking yo anyone but him." Tom spoke up.
"Leave. I'll be fine." Ressler said looking at her. "And I do not want you in the viewing room." He added. Liz gave a second glance of concern towards her partner and left the interrogation room.
As she made her way down both Aram and Samar gave her questioning glances wanting to know what had transpired upstairs. She shook her head and gently dismissed them not in the mood to talk. Tom's words had hurt her. How ever much she could pretend they hadn't, hearing him talk about her and Ressler in that manner was disturbing.
"I was wondered you know. Those late night working on Reddington's cases. Going to New York and all around for multiple days. So, tell me? When did it happen?" Tom leaned forward and asked.
"Listen. Stop wasting both yours and my time...People you met during your history with Berlin." Ressler pressed. Ressler tried and tried to keep his nerves and keep the interrogation on track. But the accused wasnt in the mood of cooperating. After a while Cooper came in and instructed the agent to take a break and leave Tom be.
As Liz had just completed a few briefs and they had all had their lunch, Reddington came into the war room. "Hello Lizzie, Donald. i assume Tom has been of no use to you."
"What do you want?" Asked Cooper.
"What I propositioned Agent Ressler last night. For me to take Tom Keen with me." Reddington said.
"Absolutely not." Ressler said.
"Donald, he will continue doing just what he has been. Pushing your buttons."
"But he was caught on camera opening fire on two FBI agents. That's enough t out him away for life." Ressler argued not wanting to make any of it personal.
"The minute he enters a courtroom the first sentence he speaks is going to make the world aware of my relationship with you." Reddington reminded the agent.
"I hate to say this, but Reddington is right." Cooper said. "But, I cannot release him to you, just like that."
"You won't have to. He is being grabbed away by my men as we speak." at that Ressler, Liz and Samar dashed up to the interrogation room to find it infact empty and the ceiling broken.
"You cannot just break into this building. It is a black0site facility." Cooper said.
"I just did." Reddington smiled and made his way to the elevator, Dembe following closely behind him. "Oh, I don't have a case for you guys, just yet. I'm guessing the paperwork for today will take sometime."
"I cannot believe him." Ressler said. "No. I totally can." He corrected himself.
"Ressler, Keen write up an incident report starting from last night, but hand it directly to me and no one else. I'm not sure if I want to make this day official just yet." He sighed. The situations he keeps finding himself in since Reddington.
The two agents made their way into the office, when Keen turned to her partner. "I'm sorry." She said.
"For what?" Ressler asked, fearing she knew about Reddington's plans.
"For what Tom said." Ressler let out a breadth. "The way he spoke about you, us."
"You have nothing to apologise for. Especially not that scumbag." Ressler said.
"I never thought he would do that you know. The language he used, talking about me in that manner." Liz sighed. Ressler put a hand on her shoulder to support her. "It somehow feels worse than last night."
Ressler laughed. "Forgive me but fearing that I was about to be gunned down by him was worse for me. Thank God for Reddington." As econd later he realised what he had just said. "I never thought I was going to say that." The two started laughing and got to work.