It didn't take Lizzy long to finish up scoring out the basic 8x8 grid of a chessboard. She sat back and stared down at it, a line furrowing her brow.
'What's wrong, Lizzy?'
'It's wonky, come see'
Red got up and came to stand over her shoulder, gazing down at her efforts. Some of the lines were indeed a little unevenly spaced but it was more than good enough for them to play a game or two.
He stifled a laugh and crouched down next to her, 'Elizabeth, I know you're a perfectionist, but I feel this is more than adequate for a jail cell chessboard'.
She glanced over at him and smiled, then laughed. 'Yeah, okay, good point. Now I need to work out what we're gonna use as pieces. We need sixteen things the same but in two different colours. And then two kings and queens, different colours…..'
Lizzy allowed herself to tail off, knowing that Red knew only too well what they would need. She looked about their spartan cell and started thinking. Red too cast his thoughts towards what would work. Glancing down at himself, he realised he had enough buttons between all the pieces of his clothing to manufacture the pawns but quickly dismissed the idea as the thought of his vest and shirt hanging open for the next fortnight wasn't one he was sure Lizzy would be happy with.
Lizzy stood up and went towards their stash of canned food. She tugged at some of the paper coverings on the cans and quickly ascertained that some were white and some blue on the inside.
'Okay, so we can rip off a couple of labels and have white pawns and blue pawns if we tear them into little squares. The other pieces might be harder though'.
Picking up a can of corn and a can of beans she threw one to Red and tore the paper off her own one. Within a minute they had their 16 pawns in place.
'Well, that's a start. However, I'm feeling pretty tired. I think I might have something to eat and then maybe try to get some rest'
'Good idea, sweetheart. What delicious dinner awaits us?'
'Ummm….. How about sharing a can of chilli and this can of corn?'
'Positively gourmet, my dear'
Lizzy picked up the can of chilli and came to sit back down with Red on their mattress. They sat and ate quietly again. Something about the mundanity of their food and the task of eating out of cans didn't lend itself to conversation. Once they had finished their rudimentary dinner, Lizzy took their spoons to the bathroom and washed them and then got herself ready for bed, washing her hands and face and taking off her shoes and jacket.
When she returned, Red went in and completed his own evening routine, as best he could. Emerging back into the main room, he switched off the lights and lay down on the mattress next to Lizzy. Both of them were trying desperately not to make it seem awkward, however that in turn made it more so. Lizzy was facing the wall and really felt like turning onto her other side but then she would be staring at Red. And she just knew she'd never fall asleep like that. Red was perched on the very edge of the mattress, as far away from her as he could be without falling on the floor. He knew he was being ridiculous, there was nothing romantic about their sharing of a bed, but he couldn't help the unbidden thoughts that were rampaging through his mind in this moment.
After about half an hour, Red could hear that Lizzy's breathing had changed and that she was most likely asleep. He gently rolled himself over so that he was able to look at the back of her head. He wanted so much to reach out and touch her, just to reassure her in her sleep that he was here and he would protect her, but he didn't dare. The light from the windows high above them was enough for him to make out her features quite clearly; he surmised there must be a bright moon tonight. Casting his eyes over her form, eventually they alighted upon the side of her neck and he saw her pulse beating strongly and healthily, easily within his reach. At first, he couldn't tear his eyes away but then, with a barely audible growl, he turned himself onto his back. He needed to be better at controlling himself, he thought, chastising himself for his moment of weakness. Firmly closing his eyes, he forced his breathing to slow down and resisted the urge to open his eyes again. It took a while but at last he too fell asleep.
The young Raymond Reddington had absolutely no idea where he was. He had been on the run now from his own government for nearly six months and so far, other than evading capture, he had achieved nothing. His back was healed enough that he could move around freely without medical care and so he had fled to South America. He thought he was in Bolivia. But maybe that had been last week. He had drunk so much rum tonight he would be hard pressed to remember his own date of birth. Tripping over a cardboard box in the alleyway he was stumbling along, he laughed to himself. Sometimes he found himself laughing about his situation. Other times he cried. Not just for all that he'd lost but for what he'd had to leave behind. He had no way of knowing how Elizabeth was, he just had to pray she was okay with Sam and hadn't been discovered.
Coming to the end of the alleyway, he looked to the left and was faced with a dead end. Dammit, this was supposed to be a shortcut. He walked up to the wall and undid his fly, releasing a seemingly never-ending stream of urine against the wall, a lot of it bouncing back onto his shoes, not that he noticed. Not that he'd have cared if he had noticed. Finishing up, he shook himself dry and tucked himself back in his pants. Using the hand against the wall to push off, he managed to lean back without falling over. It was then he realised he wasn't alone.
Squinting back along the way he had come he saw two men approaching. No, wait, he was seeing double. Unless they were twins. Not just twins, but fully grown male twins wearing the same outfit. He found himself laughing again at the thought of that. He shut one eye and peered closely. Okay, just one guy. However, something about the man's demeanour wasn't right. The way he was striding towards Red with complete confidence. Red tried to sober up but only managed to lurch drunkenly against a dumpster when he attempted to pull himself up to his full height. Had they found him already?
The man stopped about five metres away. He was just looking at Red. Red couldn't wait any longer, he needed to know who this guy was.
'Do I know you, buddy?', he slurred out, hoping to sound casual.
The man didn't reply, just kept staring at him. Then Red could swear he sniffed the air between them, like a damn animal. This scared Red more than anything else he had done so far.
'Hey, come on pal, this isn't funny'
The man smiled and at last said something,
'No hablo Ingles, senor'
Just as he was saying this, the man threw himself at Red, pinning him with ease against the wall. His leg was between Red's and he was holding him back with both hands on his shoulders. Red's eyes opened wide with fear. He had never seen such a primal, hungry look on a man's face before. Before he had any idea what was happening, the man darted his head forward and Red felt agonising pain at the side of his neck. He struggled for nearly a minute before he passed out, the smell of blood in his nostrils…
Red woke up with Lizzy lying half on top of him, her arms wrapped around his torso.
'Red, wake up, dammit!'
He stared at her, his eyes wide. As she sighed her relief at the fact he was awake, she briefly noticed something else in his eyes she'd never seen there before. But before she could work out just what it was, it was gone.
'Lizzy…..'
'Hey, hey. It's okay. You just had a nightmare'.
Red's heart hadn't slowed down yet, he was terrified he may've revealed something in his sleep. Although he was hugely relieved that he hadn't done anything to harm Lizzy whilst he was in the throes of reliving the second worst night of his life.
'What was it about?', he asked, preparing himself for her revelation.
Lizzy smiled at him and sat up, relinquishing her grip on his arms, 'Well, I don't know, do I, silly? However, apparently you don't speak English'.
Red stared at her, letting her words soak in. So he had said something. However, she didn't seem worried or scared so he gratefully allowed himself to believe that he had gotten away with it.
'Right, okay….. Well, that's a new one', Red replied, a slight tremor in his voice.
'Are you okay?'
'Yeah, yes. I am. That was just a very vivid nightmare'
Lizzy lay back down and pulled Red's blanket back up to cover him, 'It certainly sounded that way. You were thrashing around and talking Spanish. Not quite sure what I was expecting in my first night sharing a bed with Raymond Reddington but that wasn't it'.
She winked at him and closed her eyes, 'Goodnight, Red. I hope that was the last of your nightmares'.
'Goodnight…'
But Red's mind was elsewhere. Nothing had happened this time but what if there were a repeat performance? And had Lizzy really just said 'expecting in her first night' sharing a bed with him? Had she imagined it before? Or did she just mean over the course of today? He rolled his eyes at himself and turned to face away from her. These thoughts were the last thing he needed to be worrying about right now. He had to get some decent sleep so that he could come up with some kind of strategy tomorrow. As their time here went on, he was just going to become more and more dangerous to her.