I do not own the Blacklist or any of its characters.
"Sir, you left your newspaper!" he heard her call out after him. Raymond Reddington desperately wanted to turn around, go back to the bench and get to know her a bit better, but kept walking. She was more beautiful than he could have imagined. "Not now," he thought, "not now."
While he walked towards the North entrance of the park, he pulled his phone from his pocket, pressed 1 on the speed-dial and left a message. "It's me. I need you to do something for me."
Raymond walked two blocks north until he arrived at his brownstone. He took the stairs to the front door. He unlocked his door, looked around and stepped inside. He walked up the creaky stairs until he reached his apartment.
As he opened the door, a brown tabby with a red collar came walking towards him and started purring around his legs. "Hello, Mr Cat," he said as he picked up the animal, "Yes, I know, I missed you too. Let's see if I can find you a treat."
On his way to the kitchen, Raymond opened the windows, turned on his stereo, placed a record by Nat King Cole on the turn table. Then he turned the volume to high and sighed.
Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you
Elizabeth was already in class at 10:45 waiting for Samar to arrive for their 11:00 class in US National Security. She was excited to be a part of this popular International Relations department. Being she and Samar were both honor students, she was grateful for their fortunate good luck
She kept looking for her friend, and finally sent her friend a text. "Where the heck are you?"
Meanwhile, Harold Cooper, also the Director of the International Relations department, walked into the classroom, and said in a deep voice "Good morning. Welcome to US National Security."
Cooper looked around the classroom and said in a voice filled with annoyance "Anyone care to tell me where Miss Navabi is? Skipping her first class I assume. I hope she realizes I do not tolerate this kind of behavior," he said while looking at Elizabeth.
Liz shook her head, sighed, and grabbed a syllabus as they were passed around, then opened her notebook.
By lunch time, Liz still hadn't heard from Samar, so she grabbed a light lunch while waiting for her next class. She went to the nearest salad bar, filled a bowl with greens and vegetables and grabbed a bottled mineral water. She returned to the park. Maybe she'd see the distinguished man in the hat again.
She blushed when she realized that he'd left an impression on her, even though they shared only a brief conversation. She didn't see him, so she went back to the bench she had sat on earlier and ate her lunch in solitude. She only had half an hour until her next class, so she didn't want to venture too far from campus.
Liz walked back towards the building for her next class. It wasn't so much an actual class, as it was more meant as a preparation for her honor's thesis. "Should be pretty easy." She thought. Only a few students were allowed in this session and she knew most of them from other classes.
Finally, she spotted Samar in the distance. She waved at her and nearly shouted, "Where have you been? You do realize you managed to piss off Cooper on your first day?"
"I have been trying to get a hold of you all day, and you just blew me off. What's going on? Where have you been? And who was that guy in the picture?" Liz asked as they entered the building and headed toward class.
"Wow, so many questions?" Samar responded. "Oh my god, you wouldn't believe him. He was so sweet and so kind. At first I thought he was just another computer science nerd, but he is such a gentleman. He ordered Mexican from Paco's Tacos, ginger beer and lemon chicken and cripsy beef from Ho Kow, and he got take out from that Italian place I like. How he knew I liked all these things, I will never know. But it was amazing. We never even made it to the movie."
"I noticed that," Liz said, "you sent me a rather interesting picture this morning. I'm happy you finally met someone you like. What's his name anyway?"
"His name is Aram, and we are all going out tonight, if that's okay with you?"
"Sure", Liz replied. "I could use a night out. I also met an interesting gentleman this morning."
They sat down in the small auditorium and kept talking, all the while oblivious that the door was shut and the lights dimmed.
"Good afternoon all. My name is Raymond Reddington. Do I have your attention?"
It turned so silent in the room, you could hear a pin drop. All eyes moved to the sound and a few whispers were heard as the students realized who was standing in front of them.
"THE Raymond Reddington?" "Concierge of crime?" "The man in the hat?" "The man who stayed out in the cold?"
Liz nearly lost her breath when she realized the man she was just talking about to Samar, was the same man now facing them. He still looked as sharp as earlier in the morning, wearing his light colored three-piece suit, silk tie and beige fedora hat.
"Good, now that I have your attention let's get started, shall we?" Raymond took his hat off and placed it on the desk.
"We are going on a journey together. I have something very special in store for you all this year. Something you will not soon forget and will shape your future profoundly."
"It's called the Blacklist. That sounds exciting, doesn't it! And that's why we're all here, of course. My wish list, a list I've been cultivating for over 20 years: politicians, mobsters, hackers, spies. You are amongst the brightest students and that is why I choose you."
Everyone looked at each other, unsure of where this was going and how this was supposed to help them with their thesis.
"Each session we are going to delve into another Blacklister, find out who they are what motivated them to do the things they do and how it relates back to your country and its International Relations."
Reddington answered as he saw the questioning look on their faces. "You will then look for your own Blacklister and write your thesis on it."
"And are we supposed to believe anything you say, Mister Reddington?" Elizabeth asked cautiously.
"Of course not. I'm a criminal. Criminals are notorious liars. Everything about me is a lie." Reddington answered.
TBC