I have no excuses for this being so delayed. But I post as I write, and I do have other fics on the go... plus an obsession with Marvel... and Chris Evans...
Please review!
Liz came storming in to the office seconds after Reddingtons little statement. She eyed Dembe, making it clear to him that she wasn't to be messed with, not today, not ever. Her eyes were blazing with fury at the audacity of the man sitting in the chair a few feet away from her - after everything that was said between them the day before he still couldn't stay away.
She didn't even look Reddingtons way as she moved directly in front of Coopers' desk. She opened her mouth to speak but Cooper beat her to it.
"Agent Keen, please take a seat."
Liz stared at Cooper before turning to glare at Reddington. "No."
"No?" Cooper sat there stunned. Not a single one of his agents had ever outright told him no before.
"He needs to leave before I speak to you."
All three sets of eyes were on her, she could feel it but she didn't care. She'd had enough of Raymond fucking Reddington.
"Lizzie..."
"Don't." She rounded on Reddington, causing the three men to flinch slightly. "Don't you dare you evil, twisted man. You have no right. Director, I'm handing in my resignation, affective from today. I no longer wish to be apart of this task force."
Cooper opened his mouth to speak but had no words - he had not been expecting that. Never would he have imagined that Elizabeth Keen would quit when things became too much for her. Perhaps her personal problems ran a lot deeper than he thought.
"Agent Keen, this is a serious decision you're making and not something you should do lightly. We should talk before I question you on the matter regarding the search of your house."
Liz nodded but the look in her eyes made it clear that she would not be doing so in ront of Reddington.
"Harold, I advise you to ignore Agent Keen's res-"
"He killed my father." Liz's declaration caused a deathly silence amongst the occupants of the room. Cooper sat there trying to process the words he had just heard while both Reddington and Dembe shared a brief look with each other before the former sighed.
"I think it would be best if you two left. Now. I want you to remove yourselves from this building before I do it myself." To his surprise, both men left without another word, leaving him and Liz alone. Cooper gestured to the now empty chair and Liz sat down, keeping her gaze focused on Coopers the entire time.
"This is much bigger than you know and I can't - won't - stay." She refused to back out, she needed to do this.
"I can't say that I understand but, if that's what you want, then I can't stop you. However, rather than resign, you can instead request for an extended leave of absence. That way, if you do choose to return, you can." Cooper moved to one of the filing cabinets and pulled out a file before placing it in front of Liz. "I don't want to lose you from my team, Keen, but I understand that, with everything, you need some time. Reddington ordered me, before you came in, to give every member of the task force an indefinite vacation. He made a good case for it, and he's going to be out of the country until further notice. I'm inclined to do so, and I would rather do it with the knowledge that you will return once it ends."
Liz had to think about it. She wanted to stay on the task force, she really did, but she couldn't continue to work with Reddington. Cooper was offering her a way to stay, and she wanted to take it; she would still be able to see Ressler, work with Aram and Meera but also do what she was planning to do if she was leaving. Who knew how long they would be given a vacation for? It could a week or two, a month or a few, and though she would never fully be able to forgive Reddington for what he had done, maybe over time she would be able to work with him again - after all, they were doing a hell of a lot of good.
"I don't want to leave... but I can't be sure that I can be able to work with him again."
Cooper nodded and inched the file ever so closer to her. "Then, Elizabeth, we will cross that bridge when we come to it."
Not two hours after Liz left Ressler at her house, the agent stepped off the elevator and in to the war room. Processing Liz's house was an exhausting task; he felt as though he was invading her privacy by going through all her belongings. He'd let the other agents work on the main area of the house but he insisted on tackling the bedroom (though he asked for one of his female colleagues to address Liz's half of the dressers and cabinet in the en-suite bathroom). He felt the need, at least, to protect her dignity. Both he and the female agent spent an hour combing through the two rooms, not exactly finding anything that was worthy of being called 'evidence', though a pair of fluffy black handcuffs and a silky black blindfold that made Ressler turn terrifying shade of crimson were discreetly put back in their place.
When he'd finished in the bedroom, he remembered what Liz had said about a white stuffed rabbit in the downstairs closet. He made his way back down and located said closet. A box marked 'Liz childhood/Sam's house' was on the top shelf of the closet and after a brief inspection, Ressler deemed it to be nothing of significance to the case seeing as it was from a time before Tom. Liz wouldn't be allowed back in the house for a while, a few weeks at the very least, and knowing how much Sam meant to her and knowing how much his death affected her, Ressler decided to take a few of the items of the box to her. He plucked the envelope full of photos and the old, off-white, slightly burnt stuffed bunny and took them down to his car, placing them on the front seat.
He left once the house had fully been given the once over, leaving a few agents stationed at the front and back entrances to the house, just in case Tom Keen decided to be stupid enough to show up again. He made the journey to the Post Office not knowing quite what to expect. Will Liz have had explained the situation to Cooper? Will she have already told Aram and Meera that she would be leaving them and effectively ending the task force? Will he be entering their office to find her packing away all her things? As time went on, he realised that he hated the thought or her leaving but he knew he would always support her in whatever she chose to do - and leaving was something that she needed to do.
He parked his car and flashed his ID towards the guards standing at the elevator, they granted him access instantly, one of them taking the usual trip down with him. He stepped out in to the war room, envelope and stuffed bunny in hand, and instantly noticed that all seemed relatively normal, though upon reaching Arams desk, he noted that the young agent was casting worried look after look up to his a Keen's shared office.
"Aram, something wrong?" He stepped up to his desk and gave him one of his glares that sent Aram in to a spluttering mess.
"No.. no, of course not, Agent... Ressler. Just... just looking out for... Agent Keen." Aram refused to make eye contact, instead keeping his eyes on his computer screen.
"Why?"
Aram gave him a quick glance before sighing, something that Aram didn't actually do often. "Because... when she came in earlier and found out Reddington was in with Dir. Cooper, she... she patted me on the shoulder like a child doing something worth praise, marched up the stairs and stormed straight in to his office without knocking." Aram spoke so quickly that Ressler almost missed what he'd said.
"What! Reddington was here? Do you know what happened in there?" Oh, this wasn't good. Was Reddington really going to push Liz's buttons?
"Um... well.. they were all in there for a few minutes but then... um... Mr Reddington and Dembe came out and Mr Reddington was looking a little... defeated? Liz stayed in there for a while after but she came out looking a little... tired to be honest. She was holding a document of some sort."
Ressler shot a look up to his office before making eye contact with Aram. "Do you know what it was?"
Aram shook his head. "No... but she didn't have it with her when she went in. Dir. Cooper must have given it to her."
"Thanks, Aram." Ressler flashed a brief, almost non existent smile to the agent and all but sprinted up to his and Liz's office, coming to an abrupt halt outside the door. He had to brace himself slightly, this was most probably be the last time he would be stepping in to this office they'd called theirs.
He turned the handle and pushed open the door, noting instantly that nothing had been moved out of it's place. Liz was slumped over her desk, writing furiously on to a note pad and had evidently not heard him come in. He couldn't help but wonder what she was working so hard on, but after a quick glance and seeing Tom's name at the top of the page, it didn't take a genius to work out what it was. He closed the door softly behind him and still Liz seemed not to realise he was back, something which caused Ressler to smile slightly. He placed the envelope and stuffed rabbit on the edge of her desk, and it was this act that finally made Liz stop what she was doing and realise that he was there.
"Hey, you found him!" She grabbed the rabbit and ran her fingers over it's head, an act which seemed to help her relax. She glanced at the envelope and smiled, knowing exactly what was in it.
"Him?" Ressler raised an eyebrow but didn't comment further, instead waiting for Liz to volunteer the information to him.
"Yes, him. I don't remember ever taking to dolls, or anything overly girly. Any stuffed animal I owned, including this one, were male. Seemed simpler that way."
Ressler laughed and soon Liz gave a chuckle before sighing and looking back down at the note pad, keeping the stuffed toy near to her.
"I didn't resign."
Her statement made Resslers head shoot up. He had no idea what changed her mind, considering that she'd been dead set on doing so earlier that morning before she'd left him to come here. He just hoped, for sanitys sake, that Reddington had nothing to do with her change of heart.
"You didn't?"
"No." She sighed again and rubbed her temples. "I opted for an extended leave of absence instead. Cooper didn't like that I wanted to leave but understood by reasoning behind it. He suggested taking the leave instead and see how I feel. If I still feel the same after then I'll resign, and Cooper knows that."
Ressler nodded but didn't say anything. He couldn't lie, he was glad that she was still, technically, staying on the task force, even if she wouldn't actively be there. He suppressed a smile as he looked over to his partner; she wore a confused expression and he couldn't tell whether that was because of her decision or because something else was bothering her.
"Out with it, Keen. What's wrong."
Liz looked up at him, opened her mouth to say something but closed it again almost instantly. She stayed quite for a couple of minutes before actually speaking.
"Cooper will most likely be going over this at some point later today but... Reddingtons convinced him to give every single member of the task force, including himself, an indefinite vacation." Resslers expression alone was enough to make her continue. "He didn't say what Reddington had actually said but Cooper reckons he made a pretty good argument. It's how he convinced me to take the leave instead of resigning, saying that I wouldn't be here anyway."
"Why would Reddington want every one to have a vacation? What the hell is he planning?"
"I don't know." Liz jotted something down on the pad before her. "Cooper said Reddington would be attending to business out of the country for the foreseeable future and without him, the task force can't function. Which, technically, is unfortunately true."
Ressler was about to say something when they were interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. Cooper let himself in without invitation, choosing to stand in the doorway and motioned to Liz.
"Keen, it's time. If you would please accompany me to the interrogating room so we can get this underway. Ressler, I would like you to debrief the team."
Both agents nodded and stood as Cooper left the room to wait for Liz. Ressler approached her and touched her arm lightly.
"Good luck, Liz. I'll make sure the team does every single thing they can to get to the bottom of this."
She gave him a nod and left the room, turning back to him at the last minute and muttering, "I hope so."