So, we reached the Fall Finale. And I am SO bummed out that we now have to wait 3 months to see the next episode! But anyway, the finale episode was so busy with all the revelations and interaction between Red, Berlin and Fitch that it was a wild ride. And with all that going on, the ONE scene I'd waited all week to see was good, with Ressler and Tom finally facing off with each other. But I admit it – I felt robbed! I had wanted to see Liz tell Ressler about Tom. I had wanted to see his reaction to that news. I wanted to see how they got off the boat and to that phone booth! But we never got it! So…this is my take on how it 'might' have happened...
The rusty, heavy door clanged behind Liz as she closed it, shutting in her ex husband as his shouting filled the air behind her.
"Liz! The only way is to let me out of here! You're out of time!"
Liz tried her best to ignore him but her mind was reeling as she walked quickly, making her way through the rust bucket of a ship. In its heyday it was a beautiful vessel, but she had long since faded from that former glory, left to sit idle and slowly rust in the harbor. Now her sole use was as a dungeon, holding an unkempt, chained prisoner who slept on a dirty mattress each night.
As Liz left the ship, desperately needing a few minutes to get some air, Tom's words rang in her ears. 'We both know you are in over your head.' She told herself she had it all under control. But as she walked toward her car she could feel in all unraveling. At every step, Tom's words spoke up in her head over and over again, 'You are not equipped for this Liz.' After four months - far longer than she had ever imagined this would go on - it was rapidly approaching the endgame.
And she WAS in over her head. Tom was right about that. And that, she realized, upset her more than anything else. That her ex husband still knew her. He could still read her. And that was both infuriating… and inexplicably reassuring. She shook that thought away.
Sitting in her car and parked on the dock a little way up from the rust bucket of a ship, her world was closing in. Tom was right about the fact she was running out of time. Sighing heavily, she leaned back in the seat.
"Think, dammit. Think. You're a Federal Agent. You can handle this." she whispered, panting, trying to stop the tears brimming in her eyes. But what she was doing – what she had been doing for 4 months was likely to have her carted off to a Federal prison. Leaning forward on the steering wheel, her hair falling around her face, she closed her eyes and tried to see a way out of this. To fix this. But she couldn't do it by herself anymore.
There was only one person she could call. And he'd come at her asking, she knew that much. But what then… dragging her partner into this so they could both end up at the same Federal prison? That wasn't fair on him at all. He didn't deserve that. He wasn't the one who had kept a prisoner locked up for 4 months in a rusty ship. And he had his own problems. She couldn't dump this in his lap. Not now, when he was just starting the long climb back up, trying to stay clean and off the pills. No, this was all on her.
"I need to go back inside…and unchain him…" she whispered, as if needing to hear it said out loud. But at that, her resolve weakened further. Not knowing what her ex husband would do once he was unchained. He could strangle her as effortlessly as he'd strangled the Harbor Master. The thought still made her shudder. She had seen him kill someone. The monster within him had been revealed. It didn't matter that Red told her he'd killed Jolene Parker. It was someone else, not Tom. It didn't matter that Meera had suspected, hell, that she herself suspected – knew – he'd killed Viktor Fokin. Seeing the man she'd shared her bed with for over two years ruthlessly choke a man to death with his own chains had rocked her to her very core. She had seen the Tom that Red had told her to be careful of - standing right in front of her with a fresh kill at his feet.
And now she was contemplating going back inside and unchaining him. Leaving him free to do what he wanted. Would he hurt her? She wasn't sure anymore. But that was a risk she was going to have to take. Red had told her Tom could lead them to Alan Fitch. And the only way to do that was to put him out on the street and let him contact Berlin. Lifting back up off the steering wheel, blinking in the afternoon sun, she collected herself and opened the car door. As she was standing by the car, looking down the dock toward the ship at the end, her phone rang.
It was Ressler. She hung up the phone. She couldn't talk to him right now. Because she needed him, yet she couldn't put this on him. And if she heard his voice right now…
The phone rang immediately as he redialed her number. If she didn't answer, he would know something was wrong. He'd come looking for her anyway. Her best bet was to answer and…act normal. When that was the last thing she was feeling right now.
"Keen…" she answered, hoping her partner didn't hear the hitch in her voice.
He did. Immediately.
That and the fact she had hung up on him first time he'd called and then answered him with 'Keen' had just destroyed any sense of normality. They didn't usually answer each other like that on the phone anymore, being so familiar they would just say 'Hey' and start talking.
"Liz…? You alright?"
"Sure…yeah. What have you got?" Standing leaning on her car, hearing his concerned voice was more than she could take. And what little resolve she had left fled completely. But still she couldn't drag him into this…complete and utter mess.
Ressler's voice took on a more hushed, secretive tone. She could picture him turning away to face the back wall in their office. "Liz, where are you? Where did you go after Red left?"
"…I'll be back soon, I had to… follow up-"
"What did he say to you?" He cut her off. "What's wrong?"
She knew he wasn't buying it, because he also could read her. Just like Tom. And then the floodgates broke and she turned to her car, leaning on it. And on the other end of the phone, Ressler heard her breath hitching and realized she was crying.
"Liz…?" he asked her softly.
"I'm okay… I'm-"
"Where are you? I'll be right there. I'm leaving now. Do not hang up until I get there." He had taken command. The tone of his voice had changed, and she listened to his voice, needing to hear that right now, wanting him here and yet dreading telling him.
Liz nodded, as if he were right there in front of her. "Ress…I…I'm sorry. The docks. Pier 87." Opening her car door, she climbed back inside clinging to her phone - clinging to her partner's steadying voice as she cried.
Crying not only because of Tom, but because she had now got her partner involved and had now likely destroyed his career too.
###
Ressler was walking briskly toward the elevator, phone to his ear, when he saw Cooper coming down the stairs to his right. Hoping like hell his boss wouldn't stop him, he kept his head down, averting his eyes.
"Agent Ressler!"
Crap. Think fast. Turning slightly and holding his phone up for his boss to see, he kept walking. "Keen has an update from Reddington.' He called out, as if that would suffice in the midst of the controlled chaos inside the war room to locate Alan Fitch. He didn't offer anything else and quickly stepped into the elevator. As soon as the doors were closed, he spoke into the phone again.
"I'm heading up the elevator now." He had his keys ready and cursed how slow this elevator seemed to move at times. She hadn't answered him yet. "You alright...?"
"I don't know…" she told him, and he could still hear her crying.
What the heck is wrong...? "I'm on my way. Should be there in about 15 minutes."
On reaching the surface he jogged to his car and once inside he heard Liz talking to him again. "I'm sorry... You don't need to Ress…I can do thi-"
"Don't do that. Not now. I'm on my way." He told her listening to her breath hitching. And he really wished she wouldn't do THAT, because hell, it was bad enough seeing a woman cry. But hearing one and not being there to …comfort… was even harder. Absently nodding to the parking attendant as he pulled out onto the street, phone to his ear, he maneuvered through the heavier traffic and turned in the direction of the river.
"Liz, tell me what's happened." He told her, gently as he could, changing lanes and pushing through traffic. Wanting her to tell him, yet dreading the answer.
This is not going to be good. Not by a long shot.
"I'll wait till you get here…" She didn't want to tell him while he was driving. Because when he found out…she tried not to think about that part of it.
"Okay…but tell me, are you hurt?" The concern in his voice was palpable. But he was relieved to hear her voice was a little steadier as she fought to control herself.
"No, I'm not." She assured him. Not yet… she thought.
Sitting at traffic lights, Ressler looked impatiently around. When the light finally turned green, he continued a couple more miles before edging his way across lanes and taking the exit toward the river and the shipping yards.
"I'm approaching the docks. Which direction as I come off the exit?" He actually knew which direction, but wanted her to keep talking to him.
"Take a left, then come down toward the end…almost the last dock…" She told him, and he could hear fewer hitches in her voice now. "Ress…I'm sorry…you're not going to like what you hear…"
"I already know that Liz." He didn't know what she was about to tell him. But I'm still going to listen.
Driving past container ships, he came to the area of the docks with the smaller ships, fishing boats and small trawlers. No container ships down this end, and, as he noticed, no one in sight. He spotted her car parked by a small storage unit and pulled in quickly beside her. Hurriedly climbing out of the SUV, he pulled open the passenger door of her car and quickly got inside.
Hanging up his phone and slipping it in his pocket, he took in her tear stained face. But it was her eyes that held him as she looked at him in desperation and apology, with tears threatening again. He reached out to her, placing his hand on her arm and turning slightly in the seat to look at her.
"Tell me."
"I…before I tell you, let me first say that I'm sorry... But I didn't want to compromise your position in any way…I didn't tell you because I-"
"Okay. It's okay. Just tell me what it is." He interrupted, trying to sound gentle, holding up his other hand to stop her.
"Tom. It's Tom." She said watching the confusion fly across his features.
He looked down briefly, his eyes darting, then back up at her. "Because he's dead…you mean?" Is this a delayed reaction? She's finally grieving his death…?
"He's not dead. He's alive." And as she finally uttered the words to him, she exhaled heavily, no longer harboring that secret from her partner. She held her breath then, waiting for his response.
Dreading his response…
He stared at her. Opened his mouth to say something, then slammed it shut again, looking away. A dozen thoughts hit his brain at once, jostling and vying for attention. Alive?! What?! How can he be alive? He's dead! She shot him! Told me she shot him. How is he? Why is he? Why wouldn't she tell anyone? Why wouldn't she tell ME?!
She grimaced, seeing the conflict in his face. And now that it was out, the words spilled out of her and she continued, despite his silence. Or to fill the void of his silence, more to the point. "Four months ago, I took him from where I shot him. A surgeon friend of mine patched him up. I've had him …contained… since then." She looked into Ressler's darting eyes, needing him to be there for her. And right now she needed him to say something. Anything.
Ressler finally found his voice and it wasn't gentle anymore, hidden among his swirling thoughts. "What the hell, Liz?! All this time you've led us to believe he was dead! You led ME to believe he was dead! How in the…?! And contained where?!"
Though he knew the answer to that - obviously, somewhere on this dock.
She leaned toward him. "I'm sorry. I know it's a lot to-"
"No shit, Liz." He leaned back on the headrest, shaking his head.
"I was worried about telling you… with you …just coming off the pills, and I-"
He glared at her. "Don't make this about that." He couldn't take the thought of her not seeking his help because she felt him still compromised. While it was still a daily battle of willpower he fought, he had that under control… as best he could.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply…" she replied.
He nodded to her, moving on from that. He couldn't linger there, discussing his addiction issues when Tom Keen was alive and 'contained' nearby. And as the initial shock of her revelation was passing, now Ressler found his FBI trained brain kicking in. "Why didn't you go to the Bureau with him?! Why didn't you go to Cooper?!"
Why didn't you come to ME?!
It was her turn not to linger, and get to the point of the discussion. "We can discuss the pros and cons of my decision later. But right now, I need…" She hesitated and he turned his furious gaze back to her.
"…I need your help." And the tears that had been brimming in her eyes spilled over, and she quickly brushed them away.
Four simple words. I need your help.
Four words that he couldn't resist from her, that now completely defused him. They were spoken with such need that they snapped him out of it. She needs my help. So HELP HER. Gathering his thoughts, he realized this wasn't about how pissed off he was that he hadn't been in the loop. And rebuking himself for even feeling that way, he inhaled deeply, calmed himself down and turned to her again, his voice much more even. "Alright, you got it. What do you need?"
Taking a deep breath, she wiped the tears from her cheeks as she saw him settle down. "I kept Tom alive because he's been my… informant…"
An informant who worked for Berlin... He nodded in sudden understanding. "And he can find Berlin, and that will help us find Fitch." He completed her sentence. She looked at him gratefully, seeing him realize where she was going with this. Seeing them on the same page.
"Tom is in that ship over there, in the cargo hold…" she pointed past Ressler toward the faded orange trawler at the far end of the dock, and he turned to look where she was pointing. "And I need to get him out of there and…back on the street…so he can help us find Berlin and ultimately, Fitch."
And now Ressler understood what she needed from him. He was to ride shotgun. He was her backup…her protection because there was NO way in hell he was letting her confront Tom alone when he was released from the hold. But I don't like this. Damn it. This is breaking about a hundred rules.
"And you need me here to make sure he doesn't hurt you when he's released." He looked quickly at her again. "I am not going to let him hurt you, Liz" You SO should have let me rough him up last year.
"Thank you." She whispered, and for a moment he thought she was going to cry again. Please don't do that…
"Yes…that's what I need from you..." And more, she suddenly thought. She needed his support, his back up, his protection, yes… but most of all, she needed to know he was right by her side.
"What's the game plan then?" he asked her, interrupting her thoughts. He was going to treat this as a 'prisoner transport' and he'd probably done a thousand of them. It was the safest way for him to handle it – try to handle it. To resort to the FBI handbook.
"He's chained in the hold in the ship-"
"He's chained up?! Good God, Liz!" He couldn't help it. Despite trying to be calm for her, that had come as a surprise. He shook his head, digesting that information. Calm down. "And you have the key, I take it?"
"Yes, I have it. He also has an ankle monitor on-"
He closed his eyes, and exhaled. "I'm not even going to ask where you got that from." Dammit. Breathing in steadily, he continued. "Okay, so we unchain him, then where did you have in mind to take him?" Am I really having this conversation?!
"He just needs a payphone…and I know there is one about a mile up the road. Then he can contact Berlin and get us an address." And saying it out loud, it didn't seem quite as daunting. A huge risk, most certainly, but more doable now.
"And then?" He asked her.
"Then I let him go."
What?! He stared at her, clenching his jaw. You really don't want to know what I think about that Liz. He shook his head, then quickly got out of the car and looked back at her. And as she looked fearfully up at him, she thought she'd lost him. That she'd pushed too far. That she was indeed in this on her own and he was leaving.
And then he looked more calmly at her. "Come on, Liz. We have a prisoner to move."
###
As they walked down the dock he couldn't help but look furtively around them at every step. He wasn't sure what he expected. But knowing who was in the hold at the far end of the dock had him on guard.
"There's no one around. This end of the dock is always deserted. No one can put us here. Put the Bureau here…" She told him.
"You sure about that? People have eyes Liz. And we have Fed written all over us." He told her, looking past her to the other side of the river. He drew his attention back to the boat they were approaching. Dilapidated didn't even begin to describe it. How the hell is it still afloat was more like it.
Drawing his weapon from its holster, he held it as they came up beside the vessel, then followed Liz up the gangplank. The movement of the boat on the water made him uneasy. Damn. Why did it have to be a boat... "He's in the main cargo hold, down here…" she told him quietly, her own weapon drawn now.
As they walked down the deck and were about to walk inside through a rusty door, she turned to him. "There's something else."
"There's more than THIS?" He looked at her resignedly. "What else, Liz?"
She stopped, not wanting to tell him, but needed to warn him. Because it was going to be right in front of him any minute now. "Tom…killed a man a little while ago. His body is in the hold also." She said, positive Ressler would turn and walk away at that additional piece of information. She'd held off telling him that part of the equation until she knew he was really going to go through with this and walk inside to where Tom was being held.
He clenched his teeth, hissed in a breath. "Dammit Liz. You're really pushing it today. If I didn't…" Care about you… He stopped, swallowed hard and faced her. "Who the hell did he kill?" he hissed at her through his teeth. And something suddenly occurred to him. "Don't tell me it was Reddington?!"
She stared at him. "Uh, no. Not Red. The Harbor Master. He's been snooping around all day, and-"
Unsure of whether he was relieved or not that it wasn't Red, he reached for his phone. "We need to call this in. Right now." He interrupted her.
Her hand shot out, stopping him dialing. "Wait!"
"For what Liz? For him to kill someone else? Kill you?"
"The only way this is going to…work out… is if we let him find Berlin and Fitch. That is the ultimate goal here. It's still a valid goal." She pleaded, her hand still on his as he held his phone.
"We're both going to jail for this Liz. You know that, right?!" He told her through clenched teeth. "But you know what? Lead the way." He told her firmly, dropping his phone back in his pocket. When she didn't move, he looked down at her, his voice calmer now. "I'm in too deep now. I can't walk away. I won't leave you alone with him."
She nodded, then turned and opened the heavy door and led him inside the boat's interior. As they descended the narrow stairs and made their way through the ship, Ressler was making mental notes on what to watch for on the way out with Tom Keen. Points in the return trip that their prisoner could use as weapons or escape. Because in the midst of this crazy turn of events, thinking like a Fed was the only thing keeping him sane.
And then they were in front of another heavy door and Liz turned and nodded to him, motioning inside the room. This was the prisoner cell. His gun at the ready, she opened the door and they both stood in the doorway with weapons drawn as they held Tom Keen in their sights.
Ressler had only seen Tom in person twice. And both times, were fleeting. He'd seen photos of the man, and knew what he looked like. But none of those mental images had anything in common with the unkempt, long haired, thin man standing in front of him. A man chained to the floor, a filthy, putrid mattress behind him, and stained sink beside him. As he took in the full view of the hold, Tom Keen and the dead Harbor Master, his breath caught in his throat. Liz had been dealing with this by herself for months. The least he could do was keep it together for her right now.
Motioning for Liz to keep her weapon on him, he holstered his, took his handcuffs from his belt and moved toward the prisoner.
Tom's eyes flickered over Ressler, studying him up and down in an instant. He turned to Liz, a sardonic smile on his lips. "I see you brought the partner. The back up. The muscle."
He looked at Ressler now, unaware of just how much the FBI agent wanted to put a bullet in his head and end this right now. "What did she promise you in return for this little favor? A cozy weekend for two?" he mocked, looking Ressler in the eye.
"Shut up." The words came in unison from both Liz and Ressler, which made Tom chuckle and shake his head. "Oh, I always knew you and my wife were the same."
"I am not your wife." Liz told him firmly, taking a step closer aiming her gun at his head.
Eyeing the cuffs in Ressler's hands, he held his hands out in front of him. "You better cuff me tight. My ex wife's cuisine hasn't been the best. Kinda lost some weight down here. I might just slip right out of them-"
"I told you to shut up." Ressler told him coldly, standing right in front of the man now as they sized each other up like two pit bulls. He then grabbed Tom's left arm and held it behind him, before grabbing the right arm roughly to cuff him behind his back.
Liz had approached now, holding the key to the ankle chains. They swapped positions, as Ressler again drew his weapon and held Tom at gun point while Liz leaned down to unchain him.
"Don't move pal. Or I'll drop you with one shot." Ressler goaded him, almost willing Tom to move now. Are you gonna cooperate? Please say no…
The shackles fell to the floor as Liz opened them and for the first time in 4 months, Tom Keen walked without metal around his ankles. Holstering his weapon again as Liz again drew hers, Ressler grabbed Tom by the arm and led him roughly from the cell. They made their way through the ship, maneuvering up the narrow stairs, Ressler holding onto his arm while Liz held him at gun point, until they stood on the deck.
Tom stood still, blinking in the light. It was the first time he'd seen the sun and felt the outside air in 4 months.
Ressler pushed him impatiently. "Move it pal."
Tom moved again and silently met the agent's eyes, a hint of a dangerous smile playing across his lips.
Ressler met the look and lowered his voice out of earshot of Liz. "I don't think you could swim in these cuffs. It would be unfortunate if you accidentally fell overboard." He told Tom, daring the man to make a move.
"I won't always be cuffed. Remember that." Tom replied, his hooded eyes regarding Ressler.
"Just give me one reason, and I will take the shot Keen. Or whatever the hell your real name is." Ressler warned as they stepped onto the dock and walked to Liz's car.
"Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you. Play the hero. But how do you think Liz would feel about you if you murdered the man she's still in love with."
"Shut up." Said Ressler, ending their conversation, as Tom shook his head and smiled knowingly.
Liz followed behind the two men, her gun trained on Tom. She knew they were talking – goading each other. She couldn't hear the words, but she knew both men well enough to see that they were bouncing verbally off each other as they walked. Sparring with their words.
She didn't need to hear what they were saying. Because as she walked behind them, she realized she knew them both intimately. One physically, and one not, but both of them played a huge part in her life.
Ressler shoved Tom into the back seat of the car and climbed in beside him, now drawing his gun on the cuffed man. As Liz climbed into the drivers seat with Ressler behind her, Tom looked at her from the back seat.
"Nice day for a drive, babe."
"Shut up." Liz and Ressler both told him in unison and Tom chuckled again in response.
###
Two minutes later they pulled into an empty side street near a pay phone and Liz parked about 50 feet away from it.
"There's your phone." She told Tom, looking into the back seat as he sat there with cuffed hands behind him. "You know what we need."
"Yes, babe." He said to her, trying to elicit a response.
Beside him Ressler clenched his teeth. "Turn around."
Tom eyed him, before turning his back to Ressler so that he could remove the cuffs. After Ressler removed them, more roughly than was called for, Tom turned back to him. "Oh, you just hated doing that."
"I told you. One wrong move and I'll take that shot." Ressler told him, daring him to push him too far.
Liz spoke up again. "Go make your phone call. Now."
"Sure thing, babe." And he got out of the car, head down, and walked toward the phone booth. Ressler watched him walk away then got out of the car and walked around to the passenger seat, never taking his eyes off Tom.
He sighed, climbed in beside Liz and clenched his teeth.
He glanced across at Liz, who had her eyes trained on her ex husband as he reached the pay phone. Looking away from her, he also watched Tom making a phone call.
And sitting beside her, he wondered what the hell he had just done.