A/N Inspired by a facebook prompt and an episode of criminal minds. Canon-style drama/Lizzington. As ever, not mine.

4. The Playboy

Liz rolled her eyes. "The Playboy? What's he done to piss you off, party too hard?"

Red's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes, the name does make him sound rather innocuous. It's like the gangs of so-called raskals that plague the streets of Vanuatu – the name makes them sound like adorable rogues. The reality is they're violent thugs; rapists and murderers who make the streets a living hell. Don't be deceived Lizzie – the playboy is calculating, sadistic and driven by greed. He profits from people's most depraved desires. He's a broker. Whatever – or in this case, whomever- his customers want, he procures."

"You mean women?"

"Men, women and children. He abducts to order then auctions off the targets to start a bidding war. It's why your profiling brethren haven't picked up on a pattern – the only thing that links his victims is that someone out there is willing to pay for them. He's responsible for kidnapping and selling hundreds of victims many of whom were later killed by an assortment of nefarious people."

"Right, where do I start?"

"You don't, not this time. This really is a job for agent Ressler – it's time Donald and I got to know each other a little better."

Liz frowned. "All year you've insisted you'll only work with me - what's so different about this case?"

Red looked uncomfortable for a moment, a deviation from his typically confident demeanor. Liz filed it away in her head for future reference.

"I'm sorry Lizzie, but do you have any idea how much a young, female FBI agent is worth in this sort of market?"

Liz grimaced in disgust. "We've worked dangerous cases before – there hasn't been a blacklister who wouldn't have killed us in a heartbeat. I don't get what makes this different."

He patted her arm. "The key to finding this man is his online activity – your talents would be best used working with Aram. Find out where he's been, who his customers are, and how he finds victims who match the profiles he's been given."

She sighed. "Fine, but if I need to go into the field I will."

Red turned on her, and suddenly seemed to be standing extremely close, his eyes flashing. "You listen to me. You will remain within the four walls of this building until this man is brought in, do you understand?"

Liz frowned. She had no idea what had got him so worked up but it was interesting to watch. She nodded. "What do you get out of this anyway?"

Red smiled innocently. "Isn't it enough to take a depraved broker of human life off the streets?"

Liz raised an eyebrow. "You never do anything unless there's something in it for you."

"Fair enough. Now that you come to mention it I would be interested in a copy of a list of the Playboy's customers. A small price to pay for delivering such a high value target, I think."

~BL~BL~BL~BL~BL~BL~BL~BL~

The next day, Red arrived at the black site in time to overhear Ressler's complaint - "Damn, Keen's not picking up her cell."

"I assume a government run facility manages to have an operational telephone line or two" Red said sarcastically. "She can't be far Donald, this place isn't nearly as large or complex as you'd like to think."

Ressler bristled. "Reddington. She's not on site. Aram pulled up an address for a property rented under an alias – it could be our guy. She went to check it out."

Red stiffened. "Was I not completely clear when I said that Agent Keen shouldn't be in the field on this one?"

"She has backup. And get over yourself – first you want her in the field, then you don't. You don't get to dictate how we run our cases-"

He stopped mid-sentence as Red approached him with eyes like fire. "I will do exactly that, and with good reason. She isn't just a typical high value target for the Playboy – he wants her, specifically. I brought you this case because someone out there is very interested in procuring Agent Keen."

Ressler's phone rang. "Ressler…What?...Oh hell" He looked at Red apprehensively. "That was local law enforcement - that address I told you about… they were ambushed. Keen's gone. It's been over an hour."

Red's eyes flashed for a moment. He strode over to Aram and put his hands menacingly on the desk. "Agent Mojtabai – where are we on accessing the auction facility?"

Aram looked up nervously from his computer. "Running the code as we speak Mr Reddington, I'll be in… now. I've got it." Red and Ressler stood behind him as he scrolled down through photographs of people, bidding open. "It's her!" He pointed at a photograph of Liz. He clicked on her profile and pulled up the photographs. The first few were head and full length shots of her in her FBI vest. "Oh God." As he scrolled down the page more photographs came into view. She'd been stripped and photographed meticulously as though she were a car someone had put on craigslist.

Aram went to close the photographs but Red stopped him. "Wait. Pull up that one."

"For God's sake" Ressler spat. "That's my partner and I'm not about to let you look at her like that you sick bastard."

Red ignored him and started flicking through the photos, his brow furrowed. "I'm less concerned about her privacy than about getting her back. Look at her hand." He pointed to one of the pictures, flicked to the next one and pointed again.

Aram swallowed and flicked through the set quickly. "It looks like ASL – sign language. We can't assume the pictures were posted in the order that they were taken…north east…and possibly part of a zip code…

Ressler pushed off from the table. "The auction was posted less than an hour after she was taken – Aram, pull up a map showing the location she was taken, factor in travel time and time to take the pictures, and cross reference with the info you can get from the photos. That ought to narrow down a grid search."

Aram typed furiously. "Ok, I have it - I'll get teams out right away." He turned to Reddington but he was already gone.

~BL~BL~BL~BL~BL~BL~BL~BL~

Dembe broke the lock on door to the backroom of the factory; he went to move ahead but was halted by Red's arm. "I'll take it from here. Cover the entrance." Red moved through the narrow, windowless room, noting the empty cages stacked against the walls. He could see that just one was occupied, at the back. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the darkness, like a beacon for him to follow. He saw her head turn sharply when she heard him approach.

"It's me Lizzie, you're ok."

"Please tell me you brought some clothes."

"In the car. Here-" He removed his coat and passed it to her through the bars of the cage. He worked studiously on opening the lock while she slid her arms into the sleeves and wrapped it around herself.

"The Playboy?"

"Dead." Red's tone was neutral but she saw the fire in his eyes as he helped her out of the cage. She pulled his coat tightly around herself, grateful for his penchant for voluminous cashmere.

As they walked silently to the exit, Liz noted that the factory floor was littered with bodies. Red had spared no-one. On the way she paused and turned to him. "The photos…did everyone see?" It was almost a whisper.

Red looked at her square on for the first time since he entered the factory. "They saw what I saw: an extraordinary display of intelligence and ingenuity under the most difficult circumstances." She managed a small smile, and for a moment they stood in silence amongst the bodies.

Then Red steered her towards the exit, his usual chatter returning. "ASL – ingenious. You know I once knew a deaf woman in Ohio, absolutely deadly – you couldn't get a thing past her…" Liz smiled to herself as they made their way to the car.