Chapter 6
…
Reddington had telephoned Aram to ask for his help in tracking down Brendan Salgado, Dembe and Reddington could only do so much from their contacts, knowing how good Aram was at the technical side of things, it seemed like a good idea. The young man arrived, knocking on the door, coming face to face with Dembe as the door was opened.
"Hey, I came as quickly as I could."
"Aram, come through."
Aram looked over Dembe's shoulder to see Reddington standing behind him, a smile on his face which appeared to make Aram a little uncomfortable. Dembe let the Agent inside, a little apprehensive about allowing the Agent to help them.
"Aram, sit down. Can I get you a drink?"
"I wouldn't mind a glass of water actually."
"Dembe, water for Aram please."
"Of course Raymond."
Aram got comfortable, taking out his laptop which Reddington had insisted he bring with him, setting it up as Dembe brought over his water.
"I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing here Mr Reddington."
"Red please."
"Okay…Red; you never stated what you needed my help with?"
Reddington looked over at Dembe, who was standing a few inches away from them, his hands clasped in front of him, his face neutral.
"Aram, I need your help in tracing a man who….who hurt a very good friend of mine."
"Okay, and if I were to find this man…what are you going to do to him."
"That doesn't concern you."
"It does concern me if I have a hand in you possibly killing him."
"Dembe, could you give us a minute please."
Dembe only nodded his head before leaving the room; Aram taking a long sip of his water as Reddington brought a chair over, sitting down near Aram.
"The man I want you to find, his names Brendan Salgado, he was once, a very long time ago…someone I considered a friend."
"And now?"
"He…entered in to some business deals that I didn't agree with; he became someone I barely recognized. He became, cold…a terrorist. He caused the death of many innocent people."
"You kill people."
"The people I hurt are by no means innocent or good people, believe me."
"So why do you want this Salgado guy, you said he hurt someone?"
"I gave him up to the authorities many years ago and he told me that one day, he'd make me pay for what I'd done to him."
"And this friend he's hurt, this is his payback."
"A cruel payback."
Aram went quiet when he saw the pain and hurt in Reddington's eyes."
"This friend, are we talking about Liz?"
"No, don't worry about Elizabeth Aram, she's perfectly safe."
"Then who? Dembe?"
"It's Mr Kaplan."
"Mr Kaplan, well how bad is she."
Reddington was surprised by the concern he noted in Aram's voice, the worry etched on his face.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that you and Kate were close?"
"Oh no we're not; she's just been nice to talk to on the few occasions that we've worked with you in the field. She's a nice lady."
"Then I hope that means you'll help me."
"I'd need to know exactly what I'm getting in to here before I agree to help you, I'm a federal agent. I can't do anything that could cost me my job, you understand?"
"This is a very sensitive subject Aram, what Salgado has done to Kate…he can't take it back and we can't make the pain she's in right now disappear as much as I'd love too."
"What did he do to her?"
Aram watched as Reddington looked down at his hands before looking back up at the younger man, seriousness on his face.
"He raped her."
"What, no way. He….oh my god."
"That's not all Aram, there were issues after the attack."
"What kind of issues?"
"Some may call it some kind of miracle that it's even happened, though right now I don't think Kate would agree."
"What is it?"
"Kate's pregnant."
…
Elizabeth carried two cups of tea over to the sofa where Kate was sitting with Agnes in her arms, a smile on her face as the young girl watched everything that was happening around her.
"I can take her if you want, let you have your tea." Elizabeth smiled.
"Don't be silly dearie, I'm quite happy with her."
Kate continued cooing over Agnes as Elizabeth drank her tea, smiling as she watched Kate with her daughter.
"You're so good with her."
"She's such a good baby."
"Yeah, god help me when she's a teenager."
"Don't go wishing away her childhood, you'll have some happy memories to come."
"Hey…so could you."
"Mmmm."
"Mr Kaplan you don't have…."
"Call me Kate dearie, I think we've known one another long enough, don't you?"
"Okay, Kate. I know it's an awful thing that you went through and to be faced with the possibility of raising a child by the man who raped you…I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through."
"If I had this baby, everyone will think I'm this child's grandmother."
"Since when have you ever cared what other people think, besides…if anyone ever commented, you could kill them and no one would ever know?"
Kate looked up to see the smirk on Elizabeth's face as Agnes shifted in her arms.
"Do you really think I could do this?"
"I think it takes a lot of courage and strength, both of which you have. I think you could do this, you'd be a good mother."
"Despite the work I do."
"Hey, someone's gotta do it, right."
"If you don't want to have the baby Kate, you don't have too. Nobody is forcing you to do anything you don't want to do. It's a decision no woman should have to make."
"When Andrea gave me the sonogram this morning, I went in there determined that I wasn't having it. Then she showed me the baby and something changed. Having a child isn't something I thought I'd ever want or have and now after this morning…I think I do."
Kate looked up at Elizabeth, tears in her eyes as Elizabeth placed a hand on her arm.
"We'll all be here to help you, whenever you need it."
"I'll definitely take you up on that."
"Good, and in the meantime…you can get in all the practice you'll need with Agnes."
"He does love you know…Raymond."
"There's nothing he wouldn't do for you."
"Well he's proved that time and time again."
"I don't think you understand what I'm saying Elizabeth. He's in love with you."
"I know what you're saying."
"Do you feel anything for him, anything at all?"
"I have Agnes, and while Tom and I have our problems, I love him."
"You're avoiding the question dearie."
"I do care about him and maybe at one time I did begin to feel something for him, but he put my life in danger and Agnes. He tried to kill you for god sake; we can't pretend none of that ever happened."
"You have to learn to forgive; I couldn't cope with what I'm going through now if I didn't have Raymond by my side. You learn to forgive the ones you love, at all costs."
"I should go and get Agnes lunch ready; I'll be back in a minute. Are you okay too…"
"We'll be fine."
…
Aram was working away on his laptop for hours while he got all the information he could fine on Brendan Salgado, putting a trace on the man's phone so that he could get a location. Reddington walked into the room, Dembe out on some errands for him.
"Aram, any luck?"
"I've put a trace on his phone, so the next time he uses it we should be able to get his exact location. I've got a list of all the businesses he's currently involved in and this is his last know address." He said, passing Reddington a piece of paper.
"Thank you Aram, I appreciate you doing this for us."
"Just get the son of a bitch."
"Don't worry, I intend too."
"Can I ask…Mr Kaplan, is she…is she going to have the baby or not?"
"Right now, she hasn't made any definite decision but when she has, whatever she decides, she knows she has our full support."
"Would you tell when you see her, I'd like to help too. She has my number, if there's anything she needs day or night, I'd like to help."
"I'll tell her Aram."
"Is there anything else you need from me before I go."
"No I don't think so. Aram, I do appreciate everything you're doing. I know it can't be easy. Especially knowing what I'm likely to do."
"Given the circumstances, I'm choosing to ignore what I know."
"Thank you Aram and here." He said passing Aram a piece of paper.
"What's this?"
"It's Kate's address, she needs all her friends around her right now. I'm sure she'd appreciate knowing you're there to help too."
"Thank you Mr Reddington."
"Red…"
"Red."
…
To Be Continued…
