Putting the Band Back Together

Chapter 11

Aram apologized. "I'm sorry I don't have a more exact location for you. The phone pinged multiple towers during the call."

"Like he was using some kind of a program to somehow mask where the call was coming from?"

"No, like he was traveling at a very fast speed. As soon as the call ended, he turned the phone off so it couldn't continue to be traced."

"Thanks Aram. Keep checking to see if he turns his phone on again."

Putting away her phone, Liz turned the corner back into the living room to find Reddington and Mr. Kaplan deep in discussion.

Looking at them, Liz had a niggling feeling that it had been a mistake stepping out of the room to take the call from Aram. Saying nothing, she held still at the edge of the room so she could try to listen in without drawing their attention .

"I know it, Raymond, but I still need to hear you say it."

Reddington put his hand over Mr. Kaplan's. "It's already been forgiven. There will be no repercussions."

"Alright dearie." Mr. Kaplan squeezed his hand and stood. "I best be off."

"Wait! What? Where are you going? You can't leave!" Liz moved more properly into the room. She turned to Reddington. "You started having Dembe's daughter look after your cat once your neighbor left. That was how she knew about the apartment and got in with the poison. I put together that much, but we need to come up with a plan."

"We already did. While you were in the kitchen." Reddington replied nonchalantly.

Definitely a mistake, Liz realized as she rushed to the door to try to block Mr. Kaplan from leaving. "Where is she going? And to do what?"

As Liz stood with her back solidly against the door Mr. Kaplan wanted to open, Mr. Kaplan looked back towards Reddington.

He rolled his eyes. "Lizzie, you do know that Mr. Kaplan would have no difficulty ... moving you."

Now Mr. Kaplan got to roll her eyes. "Or Raymond,you could take this as an opportunity to start trying to be more open with Elizabeth about things."

Liking that idea a whole lot better on so many levels, Liz agreed. "Yes! That! What's the plan?"

Reddington rolled his eyes again, but answered. "Baz is picking up Abe and delivering him to Mr. Brimley. Someone a little more subtle – Marvin – is going to go visit Mrs. Smoll and keep her company with some fake life insurance payout paperwork on Zack until Brimley decides if he would like to make her acquaintance as well."

"What about Dembe and his daughter? He's still in the country. Do you have a picture of his daughter and granddaughter? I can have the team alert the airports, the train and bus stations - Maybe set up road blocks -"

"- Yes, you do that." Reddington readily agreed. "That will be a nice bit of busy work for Donald and Harold. Completely useless, but it will keep them out of our way. Dembe and Isabella, they're not going to try to get away. They know they can't."

Mr. Kaplan explained it more clearly for Liz. "Elle can't go on the run – she can't go into hiding with a new identity. Her medical condition would make her too easy to find unless they withhold treatment which they can't and won't do because it would kill her."

Liz turned to Reddington. "So if we're right, if Isabella did this, now Dembe doesn't have a choice. He has to come for you."

"He has a choice. Everyone has a choice." Reddington looked towards Mr. Kaplan. "Sometimes people just don't choose wisely."

Liz wasn't sure if his words and his look of consternation were for Mr. Kaplan's choice to betray him or for his own choice regarding how to deal with her betrayal.

"Do we have any idea why Dembe's daughter would try to kill you?"

Reddington shook his head.

"How are we going to find them?"

"We're not going to try. We're going to get them to come to us. Both of them."

"How? And where is Mr. Kaplan going?"

Mr. Kaplan explained. "Dembe and Isabella may have both turned off their phones, but there is someplace that will have a working number for Isabella ..."

tbc