Lizzie watched as her father marched towards her, his hands clenched at his sides and his jaw set. As he stopped a few feet away, Lizzie quirked a small smile and looked around her at the glass walls of the Box.
"Well Dad, it looks like the tables have turned, huh?" She joked tremulously.
Red's eyes flared as he ground his teeth. "Don't you dare!" He thundered. "Don't you dare make light of this, Elizabeth. What the hell were you thinking?" Red aggressively scratched the top of his head. "25 years. You have demolished 25 years of trying to keep you safe, trying to give you as normal a life as I possibly could. For what? Please enlighten me, Lizzie. I am just dying to know!"
Lizzie swallowed as she stood up from the uncomfortable metal cot and walked towards her dad, her body warming with self-righteous anger. "To save your ass, Dad." She stated between clenched teeth.
"Oh? And why exactly did my ass need saving?" Red questioned, looking her directly in the face as he couldn't bear to look elsewhere, to see his little girl, caged.
"Because you're too much of a stubborn jackass to admit when you need help." Lizzie snarked, crossing her arms atop her rounded belly. "You came to the FBI with the list but you kept them out of the loop on the bigger picture. You're using them to fit your needs while at the same time, you're crippling them." Lizzie shook her head in exasperation. "The FBI are your three-legged work horse, Dad."
The tick under Red's right eye began to flutter. "I don't see how that has anything to do with saving my ass, Lizzie."
"Your wife has been kidnapped, she's being tortured, Dad!" Lizzie yelled. "Berlin found her when you couldn't. I think that means you're a bit over your head, don't you?"
Red began to grind his teeth once more, his eyes hardening as he stared at her before spinning on his heel and walking away from her.
Lizzie's eyes widened in anguish at the sight of her father's receding back. She'd never seen him so angry, at least not at her. As he walked away, she couldn't help but wonder if he was coming back.
/\/\/\/\
She shifted in her seat under Ressler's intense scrutiny. He was angry, fuming really. His cheeks flushed red to match his hair. Was every man in her life pissed at her?
"What was your game plan? Did you really think that you could just admit that you'd been harboring a fugitive for 25 years and, what, we'd just let you continue on as an agent? That you'd get to keep your badge?" Ressler spat, springing out of his chair that it scraped loudly against the floor before tipping backwards. "I trusted you!" He yelled, slapping his hand against the desk, causing Lizzie to jump in her seat. "You were my best friend!"
"I'm still your best friend, Ress." Lizzie said tearfully.
Ressler scoffed, shaking his head as he paced.
"I knew what I was doing. I know I can't be an agent." She stated, ignoring the fresh tears sliding down her cheeks. "I also know that my dad wrote a clause into his immunity deal. Any family members who either knowingly or unknowingly were a party to his criminal offenses fall under the umbrella of his immunity deal."
Ressler's eyes narrowed as he stared through her in silence.
"I can't be an agent anymore. But I can be an asset."
/\/\/\/\
Red looked towards the door as it closed behind the newcomer, his cheek beginning to feel tight as the blood splattered there began to dry. "You're late." He gruffed.
Mr Kaplan pursed her lips but apparently chose to ignore his comment. "How many?"
Red directed her into the next room. He imagined it was a living room at some point, but it was now nothing but a shell used by the homeless and addicts. "Three."
Mr Kaplan looked at him askance as she carefully got to her knees and examined the first body. "This is the second time this week."
Red shrugged, looking around dispassionately at the carnage. "Everything was very polite, a few questions, a few answers. Then things got contentious."
Mr Kaplan shook her head as she searched for spent bullet casings. "This business with your wife, this pursuit, and what's going on with Lizzie…it's pushing you in ways that I don't like."
"Don't start with me, Kate." Red snapped. "I'll handle my business, you handle yours."
"Raymond."
Red turned around at the sound of Dembe calling his name to see the man holding out that day's burner phone. "It's Worboliski." He said in his soft, deep voice, handing the phone over to Red.
"Henryk." Red greeted
"It's Warsaw." Worboliski's gruff voice came over the line, his thick German accent reverberating through phone.
"What happened?"
"They were hit 20 minutes ago."
"What do we know?"
"Professional crew. Military precision. Six minutes in and out."
"We have an inventory?"
"Safe-deposit boxes popped, some cash missing. They're running numbers now."
"But you and I both know what they were after."
"Notify Dubicki. See if he knows anything about the team. I want a report within the hour." Red shut the phone with a click. "Interesting."
Red walked over to Mr. Kaplan where she kneeled on the floor, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Mr. Kaplan, I'm sorry. You're right. I'm out on the far end of the limb."
She grasped his hand and held it tightly in comfort, her eyes misty. "Take a moment. Read a book. You will find your wife. Have faith in your daughter." At the sound of a soft groan, Mr. Kaplan looked over at one of the bodies. "Oh, dear."
Red heard the next groan and pursed his lips, walking over where the man lay prone on the floor. "Aw, hell." He murmured, raising his gun and calmly shooting the man in the head before leaving the room, a small nod in good bye to Mr. Kaplan.
/\/\/\/\/\
"When Reddington came to visit you in the box, you referred to the FBI as 'them,' like you didn't include yourself as one of us. Why?" Ressler questioned gruffly.
Lizzie smiled bitterly, looking down at her hands, clenched in front of her on the table. She supposed she should be happy they didn't cuff her. "When I made the decision to do this, I knew what it meant. I knew that no matter what happened, I wouldn't be allowed to keep my badge. So I distance myself. I need to."
"Why?"
Lizzie gave Ressler a wounded look. "I know what you must be thinking, Ressler. You're thinking that this is some elaborate ploy. That I got into the FBI to aid my father in his criminal endeavors." Ressler opened his mouth to speak and Lizzie quickly spoke over him. "I didn't. When I was fourteen, I had a bit of a ... rough patch. My dad and Pop had taught me how to pick locks, pockets…among other things. They did it to prepare me, make sure I could handle any and all situations. I used it to rob stores." Lizzie's lip quirked wistfully. "When Dad found out, he was so furious. Told me that he'd taught me those things for my protection. That he wanted me to run as far from what he was as I could, to never be like him. So I did."
Ressler gazed at her solemnly, nodding his head. "Why wasn't that on your criminal record?" He asked quietly.
"I was lucky. I reminded the Sheriff of his daughter who had died in a car accident." Lizzie stated, smiling sadly.
/\/\/\/\/\
"Agent Ressler." Aram whispered urgently as Ressler passed him.
Backpedaling, Ressler came to stand next to Aram's desk. "What's up?"
Aram nodded at the screen. "She's been like this for the last ten minutes." He murmured, grimacing in sympathy at the sight.
Ressler stared at the footage of Lizzie curled up on the cot in the box, her shoulders shaking. As they watched, the movements of her chest and shoulders became more frantic.
"Can we get sound?" Ressler questioned quietly.
"Uh yea…"
Within moments, the sound of Lizzie's sobs came through the speakers, causing both Ressler and Aram to wince. Ressler leaned forward, trying to hear better. What had at first been sobs had turned to gasps for breath.
"Shit!" Ressler cursed, running towards the holding area.
/\/\/\/\/\
"Liz! Hey Liz!" Ressler shouted as he squeezed through the door as it swung slowly open. Falling to his knees beside her, he gently set his hand atop her head. "Hey, c'mon it's alright." He tried to sooth but she couldn't seem to hear as she hyperventilated, her eyes closed.
"Liz, you gotta breathe for me." He murmured as he stood, hoisting her up and sitting down on the cot, pulling her up so that her back was to his chest. "C'mon, you're alright. Breathe with me."
He seemed to finally be getting through to her as he continued to murmur in her ear. Her breaths stuttered as she tried to take deep breaths. "Good, you're doing good." Ressler ran his fingers through her hair soothingly. After several minutes, Lizzie's eyes fluttered open and she turned her head to look at him.
"Thanks." She said, her voice slightly raspy.
"No problem." He said softly, feeling no inclination to pull away or stop petting her hair. "What happened? What's wrong?"
Lizzie snorted bitterly. "What isn't wrong, Ress? My father is Raymond Reddington. He killed my husband in front of me… though in all fairness I had shot him too." Lizzie took a deep breath as her voice tinged on hysteria. "I'm not an agent anymore, everyone hates me."
"Hey, that's not true!" He argued. "I wouldn't be here right now if I hated you."
Lizzie looked at him once more, sniffling slightly. "Why are you here, Ress? I thought you'd be the first to join the mob with a pitch fork."
Ressler rolled his eyes, smirking slightly. "I was and I mean, I'm still pissed at you." Ressler cleared his throat, looking away for a moment as he continued to run his hands through her hair, holding her body against his. "But you're still my best friend and I guess…I'm trying to understand, Liz."
/\/\/\/\/\
"Harold!" Red greeted jovially as he walked into the war room of the Post Office.
Cooper looked over when he heard his name and gazed at Red dispassionately. "No."
Red laughed loudly. "I didn't even say anything, Harold."
"You're going to ask if you can see Lizzie and I'm going to repeat myself. No."
Red rid his face of any pretense of good will and stared coldly at Cooper. "Let me assure you, Cooper. I had no intention of asking. You will let me speak to my daughter or I will make Garrick's little incursion look like a damn tea party."
"Are you threatening me?" Cooper growled.
"Yes."
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Ressler shouted, coming forward.
Red's gaze slid dispassionately towards Ressler. "I'm Raymond Reddington. I believe you, Agent Ressler, know more than most exactly what that means."
When the only reply he received was an angry snort, Red turned his sights back to Cooper. "Now, you're going to let me speak to my daughter. Isn't that right, Harold?"
/\/\/\/\/\
"Uh… Mr. Reddington, sir." Aram stuttered as Red walked passed, heading towards the holding area where Lizzie languished in the Box.
"Yes Agent Motjabai?" Red questioned pleasantly, walking over towards Aram's work station.
"Well uh… I thought, cause you seemed angry the last time you left… and um—here, let me just show you." Aram turned his chair to face his computer and quickly opened a video file.
When he hit play, the screen showed a high angled view of one of the Post Office interrogation rooms. Red bit his lip at the sight of his daughter on the wrong side of the table.
"Why did you never turn Reddington in?" Ressler's voice came over the speaker.
Lizzie appeared to pause a moment, biting her lip as she blew a small breath out of her nose before she began to speak. "He is the Concierge of Crime – the dealer of death. He is the man that the world's most horrific people go to when they want to demolish entire cities – entire countries. Or when they want to disappear afterwards. He has murdered, pillaged, and maimed countless people."
Red winced, hurt at his daughter's blunt listing of his sins.
On screen, Lizzie blew out a shaky breath. "But he is my dad. He read me bedtime stories – even when he couldn't be there, he would buy two copies of every book so that he could call me and read to me. I would sit in the kitchen, the phone cord wrapped around my ankles as I followed along with him. He's the one I went to when I was upset with Sam. He was the one who set me right when I was heading down a path to Juvenile Detention. I always felt safest when he was home." Lizzie smirked, despite the tears leaving tracks down her face. "After all, he was the boogie man's worst nightmare."
"My father is the reason I went into criminal profiling. I am all too aware of the monsters in the world. But I also know that men like my father exist. My dad is not a monster." Lizzie stated passionately. "But he does do monstrous things. And I'm still trying to come to terms with that. But I know that everything he's done in the last 25 years has been to protect me. I don't know why, I know very little about who he is protecting me from, which trust me, frustrates the hell out of me."
"But he has literally burnt the world down for me." The side of Lizzie's lip curled in a sad smile. "Because I'm his light. He thinks I don't know that sometimes his random phone calls come after he's just killed someone or when he's feeling particularly self- recriminating and can't sleep. He calls me so that he can hear my voice and remember. Remember that he is my dad, that he is loved."
Lizzie stared at Ressler, and shrugged her shoulders. "That's why I never turned him in. The short answer, Ressler? He's my dad."
Red stared at the screen for a long moment after Aram pressed pause. Clearing his throat, he clapped Aram on the shoulder gently. "Thank you, Agent Motjabai." He whispered gruffly before walking away, continuing on to where Lizzie was being held with renewed purpose.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Lizzie sat up as quickly as she could from where she'd been laying on her side, her head cradled in the crook of her elbow on the hard metal cot. Thankfully she'd been given a couple blankets the day before and had been using them as cushioning.
Turning towards the sound of footsteps, Lizzie stood up at the sight of her father, warily stepping forward as he came closer. When he stopped right in front of the glass, Lizzie was happy to see he didn't look angry today just… sad.
Walking forward, Lizzie reached out her hand to place it on the glass. As his gaze flickered to her hand, his eyes softened as his lips turned up in a small smile, his hand migrating up the glass to lay mirroring hers.
"I hate seeing you in there." He said softly, gazing around her at the glass walls encasing her.
Lizzie smiled softly. "I know."
"You're not supposed to be." Red shook his head, wincing. "I've done everything I could to protect you from this." Red barked out a dark laugh. "I'm rather unfamiliar with the sensation of not being in control. But Lizzie, I don't… I'm not sure how to get you out of this."
Lizzie smiled, her eyes warming compassionately. "Don't worry, Dad. I do."
Red searched his daughter's face for some clue as to what was going on in her head. Nodding his head resolutely, he took a step back, allowing his hand to fall to the side.
"Harold!" He called loudly. "I know you're watching, Harold. I think it's time you let Lizzie out, don't you?" Red smiled brightly at Lizzie. "I believe we have much to discuss."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Red sat at the head of the large conference table, with Lizzie sitting off to his right. Cooper sat at the other end with Ressler stood behind him, his hands on his hips, trying to glare daggers into Red's forehead.
He was on his way towards forgiving Lizzie but apparently that didn't mean he liked Red any more.
"What exactly is it that you wish to discuss?" Cooper asked Red.
Red looked over at Lizzie pleasantly, sweeping his hand out in front of him as if to say 'this is your show.'
Lizzie took a deep breath. "I've said before, I have no delusions that I will be able to remain as an agent. But I can help you. I can be an asset." Lizzie said, gazing at Cooper steadily. "I earned my degree. Hell, with Raymond Reddington as my father, I earned my degree before I even went to college." She said, smirking at her dad who smiled pleasantly back at her. Both ignored Ressler's snort. "Not to mention, I believe my dad has made it clear that he will only speak to me." She stated, trying to stamp down the smile that was threatening. She really liked being able to call Red 'Dad' in public. "I don't believe that's changed." Lizzie looked over at her father in question.
"Nope!" Red popped his 'p' giddily.
"What exactly are you proposing, Ms. Keen?"
"Uh, actually it's Scott, sir. The divorce went through a couple days ago." Lizzie murmured before continuing. "I'm proposing that I work as an asset. I can be a contracted profiler as well as remain the go-between between my dad and the FBI."
"That's not possible, Ms. Scott. You were not just Raymond Reddington's go-between. He was an asset and you were his handler. You are no longer FBI so that can no longer be the case." Cooper stated gruffly.
"I understand that, Sir. I thought we could be a bit… unconventional." Lizzie answered, her gaze switching over to Ressler. "Which is why I thought Ressler could be both mine and my dad's handler."
"How exactly do you think that will work? If Reddington only talks to you, what's stopping him from just walking off one day and never coming back?" Ressler questioned.
"You answered your own question, Ress. Me. If there's one thing you can say about my father, it's that he will do anything to keep me safe. This list – the blacklist, it's the final play, the killing swing to that end."
"Lizzie." Red growled warningly, disliking where she was taking the conversation.
"No Dad." Lizzie stated firmly. "I told you, they need to know." Lizzie and Red stared at each other, trying to get a read on each other. Finally, Red huffed, throwing his head back as he huffed out a breath.
"Fine." Red shook his head. "The things that I do for you, Lizzie." He muttered.
Red gazed over at Cooper and Ressler, gathering his thoughts.
"Alright, this is how it's going to go. You agree to our terms – including those that Lizzie has set out before you but I'm going to take it one step further. She will no longer be an agent in any official capacity, but we will all act as though she is."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Ressler cried in outrage.
"Shut up, Agent Ressler." Red ordered firmly. "I haven't finished yet."
Cooper held up a hand to cut off the retort that was on the tip of Ressler's tongue and nodded his head for Red to continue.
"Now, the reason this charade is tantamount to the continuation of this operation is well, quite frankly, if we continue the list with full disclosure, you will be committing treason."
"What the hell?"
"Excuse me?" Both Cooper and Ressler shouted at the same time.
Red chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, I should amend that to say that the group I am hunting – that I have been hunting for the last 25 years – are extremely powerful people all over the world. They hold positions in finance, government, the military, the justice systems." Red gazed at Cooper and Ressler steadily. "If these people were to find out you were knowingly going after their criminal networks, they will label this task force rogue, bring you up on charges of treason and then blow this place to Timbuktu just because they can."
Cooper cleared his throat. "Why should we believe this… shadow organization even exists?"
Red laughed, shaking his head as he cocked it to the side. "Because I'm here, Agent Cooper." His face grew grim. "Honestly, have you never wondered about that?"
"It's obvious now, isn't it? Because of K-Scott." Ressler spoke up.
"Don't get me wrong, Agent Ressler. It has always been about Lizzie. But that isn't the only part of the story." Red looked over at Lizzie, his lips pressed thinly together. Lizzie smiled and reached forward to grasp his hand in hers. Red looked down at their joined hands and gave a firm nod of his head before looking back across the table. "No, Agent Ressler. Put the pieces together. I was a Naval Intelligence officer. Twenty years ago, I was led to believe my wife and daughter were butchered in our home on Christmas Eve. You were led to believe that I had abandoned them. Have you connected the dots yet, Agent Ressler?"
"You have information about them." Cooper stated gravely. "But why didn't they just kill you?"
"And why did you decide to become a criminal?" Ressler spat.
Red smiled sagely at Cooper. "I am currently in the middle of a Cold War. I don't leak the information, they don't come after me and mine."
Lizzie tried to stay still in her seat. This wasn't exactly the full disclosure she had meant but she understood why her dad wasn't telling them that they were bluffing, that they didn't have the information. Because to him, it was still a bluff. And she didn't want to tell him the status quo had changed. It still wasn't the right time. She could feel it.
"And as for your question, Donald, I do believe that you have the same choice before you. Remember a few minutes ago when I mentioned that should you take the road we've laid out before you, you will be branded a traitor?" Red paused, staring placidly at Ressler. "Well how does one defeat criminals who are seemingly above reproach? How do you understand their enemies, their friends, their families, their criminal networks?"
"By becoming a criminal." Cooper answered, his voice deadened.
Red nodded slowly. "Make no mistake, they will eventually catch on. But I would prefer to prolong their ignorance about well, your knowledge of them, for as long as possible. Hence why it is imperative that Elizabeth remain an agent to the public eye."
"So if it were known that Liz wasn't an agent anymore, it'd force them to question why." Ressler murmured before rubbing his face tiredly.
"Why yes, Donald. Color me impressed." Red said happily, causing Lizzie to kick his shin. They both didn't see Ressler's pinched face as Red looked to Lizzie with a muttered "ow," and Lizzie scowled at him.
"You've never actually said what this group wants." Cooper stated
"Ah, well, they want what any devious organization stitched into the very fabric of civilization wants." Red said glibly. "War. Power. Money."
"And you're asking us to betray our country in order to take these people down?" Ressler questioned.
Red laughed, shaking his head. "No, my dear Captain America. Your understanding is fundamentally wrong. You will not be committing treason. You will be labeled as a traitor. Hear the difference?"
Lizzie fidgeted in the ensuing silence as the weight of everything hit her. With a shuddered breath, Lizzie put her hand to her lips. "Oh God." She murmured.
"Liz?" Ressler's voice came as if through water as Lizzie pushed her chair back so that she could place her head on the table without her stomach getting in the way. "Liz? You alright?"
"I believe, Agent Ressler, that Lizzie has just come to the realization of exactly what she was asking of you when she asked for your aid in this endeavor." Red stated grimly.
Lizzie lifted her head as tears streamed down her face. "I didn't know. I'm so sorry, I didn't realize." She shook her head. "God, I'm so naïve."
"Yes." Red stated. "But only because I've only ever given you the talking points of this whole affair your entire life. You never had a true understanding of what is at stake. And this is exactly why, Sweetheart." He murmured, before looking over at Cooper and Ressler. "Because to know, is to be in danger."
Lizzie watched, sniffling, as Ressler came around the table and crouched beside her chair. "Hey, hey look at me." He murmured, taking her hand in his. "What's done is done, there's no going back now."
Lizzie laughed wetly. "If that's your idea of a pep talk, Ress, you really need to work on it."
"Luckily it wasn't." He said with a small smirk. "But this is: I can't speak for Cooper, but I'm glad I know. I needed to know. And whatever happens, whatever comes of this, I'll sleep easy knowing we did the right thing."
Lizzie's eyes skittered across Ressler's face, searching for his sincerity. Finding it, she nodded mutely, squeezing his hand in thanks.
"Wonderful!" Red shouted boisterously. "Let's get to it, then shall we? We've got a rogue task force to implement!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Lizzie yawned tiredly as the door swung open. She and Red had sat in the conference room with Ressler and Cooper until late in the evening and she was exhausted. But of course, as soon as she got home, her dad called her to his safe house.
Smiling wearily at Dembe, she allowed him to draw her into a bear hug and returned it with relish. "Hey big bro." She murmured.
Dembe chuckled quietly, kissing the top of her head as he ushered her further into the house with one hand on her back. "He's in the living room, Elizabeth."
Nodding her head, Lizzie headed off to where she assumed was the living room.
"Lizzie!" Red greeted her as if he hadn't seen her in days rather than hours, popping up from his chair and coming over to hug her as she passed into the living room. "How are you, Sweetheart? It's so good to see you outside of that abomination of a cage." He murmured, hugging her tightly.
Lizzie returned his hug, her smile quickly turning into a large yawn as she pulled away, taking the proffered seat on the couch. "I'm tired, Dad. Couldn't you have talked to me at the Post Office?" She asked, leaning her head against the back of the couch and closing her eyes.
"Sorry Dear." He replied with genuine sympathy. "If we're to continue with our little arrangement, I feel it prudent to have our little talks outside of the Post Office as much as possible."
Lizzie nodded in understanding before opening her eyes wide as she remembered something. "Oh! I have something I need to tell you first."
"Oh do tell." Red smirked.
"It's about Jennifer."
Red's face immediately closed off and he shook his head with a sigh. "Lizzie, I am begging you, do not go down that road."
"Dad! She's my sister, I have to try!"
"Lizzie-"
"No, listen. I looked into it. She was in Witness Protection until around seven years ago and then she dropped off the radar." Lizzie said quickly, afraid he'd try to interrupt her again. "She's alive, Dad." She whispered, almost reverently.
Red closed his eyes, wincing as if in pain. "I beg of you, Lizzie. Don't go looking for her."
"Why? Don't you want to see her?"
"More than anything!" He said desperately.
"But I can't…" Red sighed. "The last few days alone are proof of what being my child involves. I live with the guilt of bringing you into my world every day. By the time I realize just what I'd done, it was too late. I will not do that to Jennifer."
Lizzie reached over and took her dad's hand in hers, her eyes creased with worry. "Okay. I understand. I'm sorry." She murmured.
Red gave a curt nod, his lips thin.
After a moment, he took a deep breath. "Anyway! On to the reason you're here!"
Lizzie nodded, squeezing his hand once more before curling her legs up on the couch and pillowing her head on her arms against the back of the couch.
"I'm listening."
"Monarch Douglas bank." Red stated as if she were supposed to know
"What?"
Red smiled at her, amused. "The preferred bank of international criminals, dictators, terrorists, hedge-fund managers. They're headquartered here in the U.S., deposits insured by the FDIC, which places them firmly within your Agency's jurisdictional bailiwick. They have branches in 63 countries, but their criminal operation is run out of an unassuming little branch in Warsaw." Red paused. "And it is the last place on earth that anyone would ever want to rob. Well, while you were languishing in the box, Monarch's Warsaw branch was assaulted."
Lizzie rolled her eyes at his little dig. "What was stolen?"
"According to the official statement, nothing."
"And according to you?"
"Everything." Red stated solemnly.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Dante Stewart, the notorious arms dealer, the Juarez Cartel, the entire Marbella Crime Syndicate. Reddington claims these are just a few of the criminals who funnel money through Monarch Douglas. Our contacts at Treasury say Monarch's records are spotless." Lizzie looked around at the people in the war room. "They're in full compliance. Despite that, according to Reddington, they're legendary for laundering the money of the criminal elite without any traceable accounting. There has to be some kind of record. That must be what they're looking for."
"The ledger." Cooper stated, his gravelly voice carrying itself across the room.
Lizzie nodded. "Which is apparently more valuable than the millions in assets they left lying in that Vault."
"Well, the bank can't cooperate without implicating itself. We take down Monarch, we get the names of every criminal who funnels money through them." Ressler spoke up from where he leaned against one of the large metal tables.
"I'll contact our legal attaché in Poland. I want you and Ressler on the next flight to Warsaw." Cooper pointed to Lizzie and Ressler.
" Yes, sir." Ressler murmured.
"Uh… sir." Lizzie said awkwardly, rubbing her stomach.
Cooper pursed his lips and shook his head. "Right. Sorry."
"I believe I can help out with your little predicament."
Everyone's heads turned to look towards the sultry voice to see a beautiful Persian woman with thick, curly hair walk towards them from the elevators.
Cooper smiled once he recognized the newcomer. "Ah, everyone, I'd like you to meet Samar Navabi."
/\/\/\/\/\
"I can't believe Cooper expects me to just rush off to Warsaw with a newbie." Ressler grumbled as he hopped into the driver's seat of his SUV.
Lizzie smiled softly at him. "You'll be fine. Besides, I'm pretty sure my dad mentioned that she's Mossad so… she's hardly a newbie."
Ressler shook his head and snorted as he turned the engine. "Wait, what do you mean? Reddington knows this chick?"
"Oh yea." Lizzie laughed. "She caught up to him last week. Questioned him."
"What!?" Ressler yelled, not taking his eyes off the road as he drove them to their favorite lunch place. They'd decided to grab a bite before he had to fly to Warsaw.
"Yep. I think he was rather impressed."
"So uh… did Reddington…is she-?"
"A plant? Oh most definitely." Lizzie stated simply.
"Great." Ressler grumbled, shaking his head.
"Don't worry. Whatever he has tasked her with, it's to aid us, not hinder us."
Ressler looked over at her quickly. "Yea, why do you think that?"
Lizzie shrugged. "Because it sure as hell won't benefit him to break up the task force."
Ressler came to a stop at the red light and looked over at her. "I guess I finally understand why you're a damn good profiler." He muttered.
Lizzie laughed and opened her door to climb out once Ressler put the car in park. "Oh wow, I'm touched. It only took me telling you that Red is my dad for you to have a little faith in me. You realize how twisted that is, right?" She teased as he came around the car.
Ressler snorted, a grin taking over his face. "Yea well, don't let it go to your head."
/\/\/\/\/\
Red looked up from his newspaper as he read it sitting at the dining room table of his suite. "What is it?" He asked Dembe as the man stood in front of him stoicly.
"It was at the front desk." Dembe murmured, placing a package on the table in front of Red.
Gazing at the large envelope in front of him, the tick under Red's eye began to stutter as he winced. He knew damn well what was in that envelope. Taking a deep breath to bolster himself, Red hesitantly opened the package. Inside was another small ornate box. Holding it in his hand, Red paused, another attempt to fortify himself before opening the lid quickly.
Red looked away immediately with a hiss of pain. Closing the lid quickly, Red slammed the box onto the table, though he knew he would not be able to get the image of his wife's bloody ear sitting upon velvet out of his mind's eye for some time.
/\/\/\/\/\
Liz stood beside Aram at his desk as they teleconferenced with Ressler in Warsaw. "No inconsistencies in the witness statements. They hacked the system, shut it down, deleted everything back to a half-hour before they hit." Lizzie looked over at Aram who was shaking his head. "What?"
"Traffic-police services forwarded their feeds." Aram said with a giddy smile.
Lizzie couldn't help but smile back, the man's smiles were contagious. "You got picture?"
"Yep. But lousy angle, though. Can't see what went down inside. But they caught the bad guys coming in and going out." Aram brought a video onto his screen. "I'm mirroring the feed now. You seeing this?" Aram aimed his question to the phone.
" Yeah. Got it. Go." Ressler's gruff voice came over the line.
"We got five unsubs." Lizzie stated as they watched.
Aram shook his head, fast forwarding the video. "Not so fast. Check this out."
As they watched, Lizzie counted six people coming out of the bank in hazmat suits.
"Six. I got six. Is that right?" Ressler questioned.
"Yep. Five went in, six came out."
Lizzie pointed to the screen. "Uh, Aram, can you zoom in on number 4?"
"Copy that." The techie murmured, doing as she asked.
"That's a woman. She looks scared." Lizzie let out a long sigh. "This wasn't a robbery. It was a kidnapping."
The sound of shuffling papers floated through the phone's speaker "There was only one employee who swiped into the Warsaw branch the day of the incident who didn't swipe out – Kaja Tomczak." Ressler stated after a moment.
"Alright, find out what you can on her, yea?" Lizzie said.
"Alright, will do."
"Okay. Hey Ress, how you liking your new partner?" Lizzie teased.
"Shut up, Scott." Ressler said with a snort.
Lizzie tried to stifle her laugh as Aram muttered, "I think she's beautiful."
/\/\/\/\/\
"I just got off the phone with Ressler." Lizzie stated as she hoisted herself up onto one of the stools in the war room. Her feet were killing her. "Apparently this…Kaja Tomczak is less of an employee and more of a slave. She is surrounded by guards 24/7. They take her food in an apartment owned by Monarch and they escort her to and from work."
"How do we know they aren't regular body guards, for protection?" Cooper questioned.
"Why would a regular bank employee need body guards?"
/\/\/\/\/\
"Agent Ressler!" Red greeted warmly as he could hear the tell-tale click of someone answering their phone.
"What the hell do you want?" Ressler questioned peevishly.
"Your impeccable manners aside, Donald, I hear you've found a get away vehicle!"
"How the hell did you kn- nevermind." Ressler rubbed his face with his free hand, blowing air out of his nose.
There was a bit of a pause as someone addressed Ressler.
" Is that blood?" Ressler seemed to question someone at the scene. Red rolled his eyes, sighing impatiently.
"I don't think so." Red could hear Agent Navabi's voice through the phone.
"You know that's where people sit, right?" Ressler questioned while holding back a chuckle. Honestly, this was getting a bit rude. Red was dying of curiosity.
"Smells like roses." Navabi answered.
"Agent Ressler." Red stated, attempting to get the agent's attention. "Set a match to it See if it burns. Check if it's flammable."
"What? Why?"
"Just do it, Donald."
Ressler grumbled before pulling his phone away from his ear. "You got a light?" After a moment of russling and a faint whoosh sound, Ressler spoke into the phone once more. "Yeah. It's flammable."
Red laughed, throwing his head back. "Jam. From the heart of the rum-soaked, rose-petal Paczki."
"I'm sorry, I don't know what a rum-soaked, rose –"
"It's a jelly doughnut." Red cut through Ressler's sass.
"Great." Ressler deadpanned. "Now what?"
"Now? Nothing. Just get some rest. I'll be there in less than three hours. Then something."
Red hung up before Ressler could answer and looked over to Dembe. "The copper mine will have to wait. We're going to Warsaw."
Dembe nodded his head before standing to go talk to their pilot.
/\/\/\/\/\
The door chimed as Red and Dembe bustled through the door.
"Raymond!" A stout older woman came hustling over to them.
Red chuckled, holding out his arms. "Apolonia."
"Oh!" Red bent to hug her, kissing her on the cheek.
"My darling." He enthused.
" Ohh!" Apolonia shouted. "And Dembe." She murmured, walking over to Dembe, her arms outstretched. "How is my sweet, gentle boy?" Dembe shrugged, smiling as he returned her hug with gusto.
"Mmm, I've been dreaming of Paczki." Red murmured, shaking his head as he sniffed the donuts that sat out on a platter atop the counter. "I tried to curb my cravings in this little shop in the West Village in New York, but they fill them with prune jelly. Can you imagine?"
Apolonia shook her head in horror. "Idiota." Walking over, she selected a donut from the tray and handed it over to Red.
Red reverently took the donut from her hands. "Ahhhhh." He took a huge bite. "Mmm! Tastes just like Patty Sutton. I must admit, madroja, I have ulterior motives." Red licked his lips, his demeanor becoming serious. "Little business."
/\/\/\/\/\
"Sales up, business good. I finish inventory. Then you have something nice to pick from. And maybe something for my little favorite, too." Apalonia winked over at Dembe as she lead them to the back of the industrial freezer.
"My grandmother used to keep flour in the refrigerator. Why is that?" Red questioned, pointing to the flour that sat upon the shelf.
"To keep the weevils out." Apalonia muttered, shrugging her shoulders as if it were obvious.
"Oh, of course Weevils." Red nodded his head solemnly, watching dispassionately as Apalonia turned an apparently inconspicuous nozzle, causing a trap door to open at the back of the refrigerator, displaying a large stash of weapons and ammo. "It's come to my attention that the Monarch Douglas bank was robbed yesterday by some of your customers. And if your customers come under scrutiny, Apolonia, your business comes under scrutiny."
"Majboja." The old woman cursed.
"God can't protect you. But I can."
/\/\/\/\/\
"We've got Kaja." Ressler's voice came through the speaker as Cooper, Liz, and Aram stood around the phone. "What's the rendezvous point?"
"The safe house just across the river. We're sending you the address now. Agent Salerno's on his way. Head toward the Vistula River." Cooper ordered.
"Have we identified her associates?" Ressler questioned.
"A Warsaw gang called the Mayerchak Group, known for armed robbery and money laundering."
"Rough trade for a bank clerk." Lizzie deadpanned.
Cooper gave her a withering stare before turning back to speak at the telephone. "Get her statement I want to know everything she knows before this extradition deal blows up."
"If the police know where I am, so does Strickland." A woman's voice floated through the speakers.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"It's called hyperthymesia. Highly superior autobiographical memory."
Lizzie and Cooper were standing in the middle of the war room, looking up towards the large screens which currently displayed a live video feed from an interrogation room in Warsaw.
"Like a photographic memory." Ressler stated.
The woman, Kaja, nodded, her blond hair falling over her shoulders. "It's why the bank hired me so there wouldn't be any paper trail. Pick a day: Any day, any year."
"Um, December 21, 2001."
"It was a Tuesday. I had dry toast for breakfast, bigos for lunch. I picked up a copy of the Fakt. Two earthquakes One in Japan, Bonin Islands, another in Iran, 6.5. There was a lunar eclipse."
"That's incredible." Lizzie whispered, incredulous.
"A sheet of paper, I- I don't just look at it and remember every word. I relive it the temperature of the room, the light." Kaja continued speaking.
"The cameras in your apartment, the guards. They were watching you."
She nodded again. "For my protection."
"Then" Ressler paused. "You became the prisoner."
"I staged it at the bank to ensure there'd be an investigation."
The sound of shattering glass could be heard as Ressler and Kaja stared to a point off camera, in the direction of the two- way mirror.
"Ressler!" Samar's voice could be heard, yelling Ressler's voice repeatedly.
As she watched, Lizzie gnawed on her lower lip, one hand rubbing her stomach as the other clenched at the desk beside her. At the sound of gunshots, Lizzie gasped, her face creasing in worry. She had to hold back her own cry for Ressler, knowing he wouldn't be able to hear her.
Ressler stood up quickly at the sound as well and unholstered his weapon, firing. He then went off camera, jumping through the glass.
"It's over, pal." Lizzie breathed a sigh of relief. If he was talking, he was okay.
"Who do you work for?" Samar questioned.
"You don't understand the national-security implications of what that woman knows and the damage she can do." Lizzie and Cooper shared a poignant look as the voice of Agent Salerno – an FBI agent stationed in Warsaw – spoke.
/\/\/\/\/\
"Ressler! Red has a friend in Warsaw – Kaspar Dubicki. He's waiting for you under the Swietokrzyski Bridge, east of your current position." Lizzie spoke quickly, knowing that Ressler and Samar were currently being chased by who knows how many people in a stolen vehicle.
"There's a million dirty cops between here and there, and they're all after her." Ressler yelled, forcing Lizzie to pull her phone away from her ear for a moment.
"Don't worry. Red arranged for a small diversion. Just get to Dubicki."
"Can we trust him?"
She wasn't sure if he was referring to Red or Dubicki. "You can trust me."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Red allowed his men to precede him into the train car, they're weapons at the ready. After a moment of silence, he hopped in himself, followed closely by Dembe.
"Reddington. How did you–?" Ressler looked at him quizzically, his hand pressed to the obvious bullet wound in Kaja's stomach.
"Enough with the guns." Red fluttered his hands, motioning for his men to put their guns down. "I love trains." He enthused. "My grandfather rode the rails. Have you ever seen 'The General?' Buster Keaton? Oh, my goodness." Red shook his head, laughing as he looked around the train car, wistfully, as if reminiscing.
"What are you doing?" Ressler barked.
"Dubicki said the bridge was swarming with police." With a motion of Red's hand, one of his men stepped forward and quickly picked up Kaja, causing the woman to groan and quickly left the train car. "We need to move quickly."
"And Kaja?" Navabi questioned sharply.
Red looked over at her, his face placid. "Quite safe, I assure you. On her way to my Gulfstream. I'll arrange for an onboard medic to tend to her wounds. We'll be wheels-up in 20. I've also booked the two of you first-class tickets home."
"No, you can't take her! No! Y–" Ressler yelled, rushing forward. He stopped himself as Red's men pointed their guns at him once more.
"Guys, guys. Enough with the pointing." Red spoke as if frustrated with a puppy who'd just peed on the couch. "Don't worry, Donald. They won't shoot you. But they will restrain you rigorously if necessary. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to. Be sure they make their flight."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Yeah, hello?" Berlin's thick accent came over the line.
"I think it's time we met." Red stated darkly.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Red sat at a bench, the noises of the crowd – laughing and shouting in merriment behind him as they enjoyed the pleasures of Coney Island – were tuned out as he focused on his immediate goal.
Red looked next to him, his face a pleasant mask as a man with slicked back hair and a loose fitting suit sat next to him.
"Well, well. This has been a long time coming." The man stated, laughing darkly.
"I hope it's been worth it. What a terrible waste." Red muttered, shaking his head. "Time, blood, money. And in the end, for what?"
Berlin leaned towards him. "Revenge. That's my passion." He growled.
"Revenge isn't a passion it's a disease that eats at your mind and poisons your soul." Red suddenly chuckled, incongruous of the current subject matter. "I attended summer camp with this little stick of a girl Twila Stansberry. Hell of an athlete - capture the flag. Had an unrelenting passion for fitness. Never skinny enough. A pound here, a pound there. Ran like a deer. Until one day she could barely walk. Turns out she was anorexic. The disease caused her to lose her sight. I've never known anyone more obsessed with their body than Twila. Spent her entire life chasing something that destroyed her. Make sure your passion isn't your sickness."
Berlin stared at Red for a moment before looking out at the water, sucking his teeth. "Your wife is coming apart nicely."
Red's face darkened. "We have a common enemy."
Berlin raised a brow at his sudden subject change. "Who?"
"Whoever told you that I killed your daughter." Red frowned. "You are finished with my wife."
Berlin laughed, shaking his head. "Think so?"
"Yes, you are. I have something I suspect you value far more than revenge. Your money."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Lizzie stood next to Ressler in the war room, almost rubbing elbows with him. She had found over that last few days that she really didn't like being separated from him. And according to the way he seemed to lean in towards her, he apparently felt the same.
"What you're telling me is we have totally lost control of the situation." Cooper paced. "Reddington and the witness are gone. Berlin gone. Red's wife gone. Can any of you tell me one thing that we've got going for us at this point?!"
"Coffee machine still works." Aram murmured, causing Lizzie to quickly cover a snort.
"Uh. At least it's finally clear now who our perpetrator really is."
Cooper raised his brow. "Is it? Illuminate me."
"Reddington. He's the one who put the spotlight on Monarch Douglas. My guess is, because he had significant funds on deposit." Lizzie didn't hide the hurt look as she gazed over at Ressler. He pointedly refused to look at her.
"And once he identified Kaja as their human hard drive, he put us on her trail, had us deliver her into his custody. Reddington double-crossed us." Cooper stated angrily.
"No." Lizzie stated emphatically. "He's up to something else. If that were the case, he would have just done it himself. He wouldn't get us involved."
Ressler and Cooper studied her. She knew they were trying to decide if she was blinded by her relationship with Red or if because of said relationship, she knew him better than anyone.
"We need to find that girl, find out where she's being held." Ressler finally stated gruffly.
"She's wounded. Reddington's going to need to find her a doctor, someone he can trust." Cooper agreed.
Lizzie smirked. "Rosa Heredia."
"Who?" Cooper asked, bewildered.
"His manicurist."
"Manicurist?"
Lizzie shrugged her shoulders. "I've met her several times. She was trained as a surgeon."
Cooper rolled his eyes. "Of course she was. Find her now."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"I have the girl." Red stated, gazing steadily at Berlin. "And because I have her, I have control of all your assets at Monarch Douglas. I've transferred every penny into a numbered, thoroughly untraceable escrow account. You're broke." Red leaned towards Berlin on the bench. "Shh. Listen. Hear that? That's the sound of your checks bouncing. From here to St Petersburg, from Bangkok to Mozambique." Red smiled pleasantly as he sat back. "So, my proposal: your money for my wife. You can give her back and we can continue this war, or you can kill my wife and I keep your money."
Berlin chuckled, shaking his head. "I almost gave up looking for you. You were like a ghost for 12 years. Heard rumors. And I followed them. From Barcelona to Melbourne to Stockholm. But always nothing. Until one day I made a connection." Berlin forward, his yellowing teeth inches away from Red's ear. The man's breath was awful. "Elizabeth Keen." He hissed, causing Red's spine to stiffen. "That's why we're sitting here today. Because of Keen. I know you care for her as much as you care for your wife. I think underneath it all, under that hat of yours, you're not much different from, uh, Twila Stansberry." Berlin chuckled again. "You have the power to destroy me, but you're offering me a way out because you're blinded by passion. Guess we both are." Berlin stood up to leave. "Have your associates set up the meeting. Okay?"
/\/\/\/\/\
Lizzie walked up beside Rosa's car and leaned into the window. "Hey, Rosa. We know you're treating Kaja. Where's your patient?"
Rosa looked up at Lizzie wearily. "I– I don't know. I came alone."
Lizzie raised her brow in obvious disbelief, her lips pursed. "I don't want to have to call for backup."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
At the sound of his phone ringing, Red stopped playing the arcade shooting game and answered the call.
"Lizzie! How are you, Sweetheart? When's your next appointment?"
"I know what you're trying to pull."
Red chuckled, placing the toy gun on the counter. "What I'm trying to pull? Is that how we speak to each other now. As if I'm some kind of cheap, dime-store confidence man?"
"Bank robber, embezzler, thief." Lizzie lifted off. "You put us on this case so you could get to the girl so you could steal Berlin's money."
"Once she left the bank, the girl was vulnerable." Red began walking down the boardwalk, a hand in his pocket. "I simply took advantage of an opportunity."
"You're gonna use her to get your wife back."
"Storybook ending."
"Not for the thousands of people who are gonna lose their lives because of his actions. This man is a psychopath! That money is going to fund terror all over the world, and I'm not gonna let that happen for the sake of one woman."
"You don't have a vote."
"I found Kaja."
"She gave you the routing numbers." Red murmured, closing his eyes as if in pain.
"We froze the escrow accounts where you parked Berlin's cash."
"My wife will die."
"Have a little faith, Dad."
"Oh? Faith in what? In the FBI?" He spat bitterly.
"No. In me. In Aram."
"He's FBI, Lizzie."
"He's good at what he does."
"Please, do elaborate."
"He's created a program. When you go to transfer the money, it will look like the money is going into his accounts. But it will just be numbers on a screen."
"That's what most money is these days, Lizzie." Red muttered tiredly. "No bank actually holds more than a few thousand physical dollars at any time."
"Yes. But these numbers will disappear after an hour. They'll be wiped, having never existed."
"Lizzie, that's not going to work." Red stated, rubbing his eyes. "It's just going to enrage him when he goes home to find that the money isn't there.
"Right. But he can't do anything about it without funds. He'll have to go back to whoever supplied him in the first place."
Red was silent for a moment, grinding his teeth as his eyes alit with pleasure. Chuckling richly, he shook his head. "Sweetheart, I don't believe I tell you I love you nearly enough."
/\/\/\/\/\
Red and Dembe stood stoically in the front of their vehicle, his men flanking them on either side, heaving armed. Red squinted as the lights from an approaching vehicle blinded him.
The car soon came to a stop a few yards away, the lights moving out of his direct line of sight as it moved closer. Within moments, Berlin stepped out of the car, along with a couple of his men. Naomi was ushered out of the trailing SUV, a sack over her head as she was tugged along to Berlin's side, tripping in her heels as she tried to stay upright on the uneven gravel.
After a moment of tense silence, Red spoke. "Give him the codes." He murmured gruffly to Dembe who quickly punched in a few numbers on the tablet in his hands. Red prayed that this worked.
Dembe nodded once the transaction was completed and one of Berlin's men began to type away at his tablet, checking the accounts. He soon turned towards his boss with a nod of confirmation. At Berlin's signal, the men began loading up back into their vehicles, leaving Naomi standing there, blindfolded, her hands bound.
Dembe quickly walked towards her, Red frowned as she flinched away though she was quickly soothed by Dembe's gentle touch at her elbow. Red watched in silence, distraught at the sight of his wife after so many years, knowing that she would not welcome the sight of him and so almost thankful for the blindfold she still wore as Dembe slowly led her to the vehicle, carefully guiding her across the uneven ground.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Lizzie knocked on the door and shifted on her feet as she stood in the hallway. As Ressler opened his door, she bit her lip as stubborn tears fell down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry."
Ressler's brow furrowed in confusion. "For what?"
"Everything."
Ressler's shoulders sagged as he moved aside, inviting her in. As the door closed behind her, she turned to face him.
Unable to stand the sight of her crying, Ressler stepped forward, cupping her cheek in his hand, wiping away some of the tears. "Hey, it's fine." He murmured.
Lizzie snorted wetly, rolling her eyes in disbelief.
"Okay." He chuckled softly. "It's not fine. You lied, you withheld information, you're an accessory to all of his crimes."
Lizzie winced, taking a step back. When she tried to move her face away, Ressler grasped her chin gently.
"But I understand." He murmured, taking a step closer. "Liz, I almost shot my best friend a few months ago. I'm not Captain America anymore." He teased gruffly, causing Lizzie to huff out a laugh. "The world's not black and white. He's your dad. And if you say that everything he's done has been to protect you, that he's been taking down this mysterious shadow group, then I believe you."
"Why?" The question left her lips as a plea.
Ressler searched her face for a moment before taking a small step closer, capturing her lips in a gentle kiss. Her eyes shuttered closed as her lips slid against his, her arms slowly rising to wrap around his shoulders.
Ressler pulled away slightly, resting his forehead against hers. "Because I care about you, idiot." He murmured, his eyes twinkling in mirth.
Lizzie laughed, pinching the back of his neck gently. "I care about you too, jerk."
