The One With The Pirates
As Ressler tossed a canister of tear gas over his shoulder, gunshots echoed throughout the hull of the ship. They were so dangerously close to gunfire that he could feel the sensation of the bullets ricocheting off of the bulkhead.
"Keen," he screamed, the panic audible in his voice. His eyes were beginning to burn, the expected reaction to the tear gas. "Get up to the main deck," he ordered. "Now!"
He was aware as Liz raced past him, toward the ship's main hatchway, skillfully dodging gunfire as she headed in the direction of the main deck.
"Ressler!" She cried out, determined to make certain that he, too, was also moving toward
the deck. She had lost sight of him, as her eyes, too, stung from the potent tear gas. Again, she called out his name, straining her voice, hoping against hope that he could hear her above the chaos that enveloped them.
Failing to hear a response from Ressler, she now called out to Aram. She hoped the ear piece, through which Aram had been communicating with both of the agents, was still operable..
"Agent Keen," came the deceivingly soothing sound of Aram's voice, "to your immediate right, you will find an emergency tool kit. Grab it and move on to the main deck." On the other side of that soothing voice, Aram was feeling much less in control than he sounded. He continued, "Inside, you should find a crowbar or something similar. You'll have to use it to secure the door after you've closed it. Tell me when you're ready, and I'll walk you through it."
"Emergency tool kit," she repeated, gasping as a bullet whizzed dangerously close to her head. She resisted the urge to rub her eyes, knowing that would only worsen the stinging.
"Ressler!" She yelled again, as she rummaged blindly through the shelves to her right.
"He's firing back at the pirates," Aram informed her. "There's a sentence I never thought I'd say..." he murmured, more to himself than the agent.
He and Samar were safe aboard a Coast Guard Cutter, waiting for Liz and Ressler to make their escape.
This mission had gone sideways. A group of Malacca Pirates had commandeered a fishing boat. According to Reddington, the boat was carrying a briefcase that would be substantially valuable to the FBI. This had made it a prime target for the pirates. Samar had already rescued the boat's crew. Now only one task remained: get the briefcase off of the boat before the vessel exploded. Ressler had placed a timed explosive device on the boat to kill the pirates and destroy any confidential information they might have obtained.
"Agent Ressler, do you copy?" Aram asked through Ressler's earpiece.
"Son of a bitch!" Ressler growled, loading his gun yet again. "Tell me that you can get us off this tincan."
He could hear the pirates getting closer. He feared the tear gas hadn't stunted their movements as much as he'd hoped. He continued firing as he made his way toward Liz's silhouette at the end of the hallway, with the briefcase secure in his hands. Pure Adrenaline counteracted any fear the agents might have otherwise felt.
"How long before this thing blows?" Ressler demanded, firing off another round toward the pirates as he neared Liz.
"Less than two minutes. You need to move," Aram replied..
"I've got the tool kit!" Liz shouted over the sound of the continuing gunfire. She could see Ressler now; he was only feet away. Her heart swelled with relief, and, when she opened the main hatch, fog came rushing in. She and Ressler fled onto the deck, into the damp and dank night air. Liz rummaged through the tool kit for a crowbar, while Ressler hurried to the side of the deck and grabbed two life jackets.
Aram's voice filled Ressler's ear once more. "Agent Ressler, Agent Navabi used the boat you arrived in to transport the crew to safety. You'll need to use the liferaft."
"Copy that," Ressler responded. He strapped his life jacket on and began turning the crank that lowered the liferaft to the water. In rusty condition, it took all of his strength to perform the task. It was difficult resist looking over his shoulder, as he feared the pirates would escape the hatch at any moment. If they did, he knew that he and Liz were severely outnumbered. Not to mention their low supply of ammo. Of course, none of that would matter if they were blown to bits.
"Keen!," he yelled, continuing to struggle with the crank. "Come on!"
Liz finally found the crowbar and jammed it into the wheel on the hatch door. "This won't hold them for long!" She cried, rushing to Ressler's side and grabbing the second life jacket. As she suited up, Aram began to talk hurriedly in both of their ear pieces.
"You two need to get off now," Aram ordered, fear creeping into his voice.
Ressler found the strength to lower the raft the rest of the way, while Liz picked up the briefcase and tossed it onto the raft. Her heart raced as Aram continued to order them to get off the boat. That was when they heard the hatch spring open. Ressler tackled Liz to the ground instinctively, shielding her from the impending gunfire. The two climbed onto the boat's railing, shared a knowing look as the peril they faced was lost on neither of them.
They would have to jump, raft or no raft. "Take my -" Ressler reached his hand out to her, but he was unable to finish the sentence.
A cloud of red-orange flames erupted from the center of the ship, and Liz and Ressler were tossed overboard by the blast. The night air was pierced with the sound of glass shattering and a fire roaring. Debris flew in every direction. The fire made short order of engulfing the ship, and flames danced wildly against the dark sky.
The ocean rolled with the explosion, and Liz was immersed in the cool waters, the waves cascading over her. Her head swam with confusion, as she tried to regain full awareness of her surroundings. She screamed and darted to the right just in time to avoid a large piece of wreckage on its way to the ocean floor. She gasped for air, immediately beginning to swim away from the burning boat, if only to avoid more dangerous debris.
"Aram, I'm okay. Where's Ressler?" She asked breathlessly, and she reached up to feel for her earpiece, which was no longer there.
She felt truly alone, but Ressler had to be somewhere nearby.
"Ressler!" She screamed, panic beginning to course through her veins. She did her best to avoid thinking about the fact that there was nothing but miles of darkness beneath her. She knew that Aram and Samar would arrive soon; she wasn't going to be stranded. But where was her partner? He could have easily been injured during the explosion, but his life jacket should have kept him above water. Unless he was trapped under debris. "Ressler!" She yelled again, turning frantically, looking in every possible direction. Her heart was pounding; her hands were shaking, but it had little to do with the chilly water.
She began to swim back toward the burning boat, running her eyes over the large pieces of debris at the ocean's surface. Her voice grew hoarse as she continued to call his name. She tried not to think about how many minutes had passed, how if he was still underwater, he was now unconscious. Her stomach lurched as the thought of losing him creeped into her mind, and she shook her head adamantly. There was no way she was going to lose him. Not tonight. Not ever.
What sounded like a small explosion made Liz duck her head underwater. When she resurfaced, she saw a brilliant red light, burning north of the boat's bow. Flares, she realized. Something someone could have only gotten from the life raft…
"Ressler," she breathed. Gratefully she began swimming furiously toward the small red light she saw glistening. Every muscle in her body was burning from exhaustion, but she pushed through. She called his name, relieved when she could see him turn his head toward her.
Ressler began to paddle toward Liz's voice, his arms shaking slightly. He hadn't been able to locate her anywhere in the thick debri, and he had begun to fear the worse. "Keen!" He bellowed back, the relief audible in his voice. He threw the paddles into the raft and reached his arm out to her as he approached her. Her arms were freezing, and he helped her onto the raft, pulling her against him.
Her breathing was ragged as she leaned her head against his chest. Her body shivered as she stammered, "I - I thought I lost you for a moment there."
Ressler removed a blanket from a compartment in the raft and wrapped it around her. He rubbed her shoulders and back rapidly, trying to create enough friction to keep her warm. "You gave me quite a scare too," he told her, lifting the corner of the blanket to gently wipe some of the saltwater from her cheek. He didn't even attempt to hide the relief he felt as he held her.
As the ocean continued to rock violently beneath them, they could hear the crackling of the flames in the distance as the ship burned. They clung to one another as the waves rolled around them, sea spray misting their faces. Liz gazed up at him, realizing that despite the uncertainty of their predicament, she felt surprisingly safe.
It was exceedingly unexpected, and yet it felt as natural as anything he had ever done. He returned her gaze, and slowly leaned in until his lips met hers. Liz found herself responding, and the kiss deepened.
Suddenly, the mood was shattered by the distinctive sound of a ship's horn. The kiss abruptly ended as they caught sight of the rotating beam of a ship's searchlight in the distance. Liz's heart leapt with excitement as she realized this meant their team was on the way to rescue them.
As they busied themselves with preparing to abandon the raft, each of them would've been surprised to know that the other was having a similar thought. What was it that they always said? Timing is everything.
Author's Note:Sorry for being such a tease with their first kiss... but I really feel like this is how the characters would respond in such a life/death situation. (Sometime in the future, obviously.) These oneshots aren't in any particular order yet, but I'm hoping to eventually write enough for it to become a story. I hope that you guys enjoyed it, and I will try to write more soon since my finals are almost over. Thanks for all of your reviews - they make my day. If you have anything in particular that you'd like to see, you can message me on here or on Tumblr. My URL is lizziekeen. :)