Harold Cooper kept looking at him seriously as he finished telling what happened to him the previous day. The deputy director of the task force raised his eyebrows, taking in all he had patiently heard from his agent.

"And you're sure this woman is legit?" He asked, writing he name on his notepad. Resslee shook his head.

She's records of working beside Reddington. It's on her file.

"And why help you now? Why come up with this list?"

Ressler frowned at the question. She didn't tell him, and he didn't bother asking. Thinking back now, it would have been a relevant question. He knew little about what her intentions were and how that would take him to Reddington, but to him mind, any risk is worth it if it leads him to solve his case

"I really didn't ask, but I'm sure that..." Cooper stopped him right there.

" I can't approve an action like this based on a huntch, Ressler. you should've taken something more concrete. What if I allow you tor pursue this list and she's just playing you? "He thought back at the woman he dealt with at the diner. She could easily play him. They way she took his coffee from him to take a sip and he did nothing was proof of that. But deep down he wanted to believe that she wasn't playing him. For some reason, he believed in her.

"Cooper, with all due respect, but in five years this is the best lead we've got! We can't let this go like this. We have to at least give her a shot, even if we take precautions."

"Bring her as an informant, then. Tell her to surrender"

"She said she can't, not now"

Cooper was more and more suspicious of this woman. He didn't like the sound of the story she had told Ressler and they way he was about her. He was concerned for his safety, but most of all his sanity. this case had taken its toll on him.

"Look, give me 1 week. I'll see what she means with this list, check the names on it and then we see where it can take us. If it's a dead end, I'll arrest her myself"

"Oh, you will, or I'll take you off this case." He took a deep breath and looked at Ressler, still concerned. "Fine, you have one week, but I want constant reports of your meetings with her. Don't go rogue on me, Ressler. You know this case is not worth it.

Ressler walked out of Cooper's office pulling out his cellphone. He had already dialed Keen's number before he realized it. Part of his brain was scolding him; why the hell was he so eager to be calling a criminal? The other part of him backed it up as work. It was just work.

"Keen?" He asked as the phone clicked on, he heard her on the other end.

"Agent Ressler, this isn't...the best time." she said out of breath, "I have to go."

"No, Liz, wait-" he said urgently, he called her Liz...he wasn't sure how that one...uh...slipped out.

She's a criminal, he thought, think of her as that.

"Meet me tonight at the diner. 6 pm." she said in a hurry, "I know I said Tuesday but just...I'll see you tonight." And she hung up.

Ressler pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the dead line. He wondered where she was? What was she doing? Was she okay?

Shaking his head he decided to go about his day until 6 pm came.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This time it was him who arrived earlier at the diner. He was there since 5.30 and it was starting to annoy the waitresses, because he didn't order anything. Now it was 5 to 6 and he was impatiently looking at the door when the old woman named Susie approached him for the 5th time.

"Are you getting anything, sweetie?" she was trying to be nice, but her voice was shaky and he could see she was pissed.

"Just coffee, please" he pursed his lips into a smile, and she did the same, raising her eyebrows. she scribbled something on her notepad and then went away. A few seconds later, she came back with a cup and poured coffee into it. "If there's anything else you need, hon, please let us know."

She was about to leave when he called her back.

"Actually. There is. I was here yesterday, do you remember?" She looked up for a moment, trying to recall.

"Vaguely".

"I was with a woman. tall, slim, brunette."

"Oh yes, you were with Lizzie." she opened a smile, as if she knew Keen very well.

"So you know her, then."

"Sure. She's come here ever since she was a little lump. With her father, god bless his soul."

"Is he dead?" he asked, trying to remember if there was something about her family in her file.

"Oh, God, no! Ray is very much alive. But his memory is... you know... a bit weak. Poor Lizzie, she suffers so much because of that. She comes here sometimes and we chat."

He saw that as a golden opportunity to know more about her. He was about to ask another question when the woman looked up and opened her arm.

"Lizzie, darling! Me and your boyfriend here were just talking about you." He turned to see Elizabeth Keen coming into the restaurant. She had her hair on her face, unlike yesterday. He took a deep breath when he saw her, and felt a bit nervous.

"Hey Suz. He's not my boyfriend. Can you be a doll and get me one of those amazing omellettes only Johnny knows how to make? I'm starving."

The woman smiled and rubbed her hand on Keen's back, gently. "Coming right up, sweetie."

Elizabeth smiled at the woman, but her smile fainted the minute she turned to him. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Just chit chatting" he said, trying to look normal.

"I know what you were doing. You were going to interrogate Susie."

"I was just asking questions, being friendly. I'm not here on official business."

"Well, don't. Stop asking her questions. This woman is innocent and the nicest I know, so stay away from her." She was firm, and he knew she meant it when she said she cared about Susie.

There was an awkward silence between them when Susie brought her the omellette, and asked one more time if he wanted anything. When he said no, she sighed and went away.

"She was telling me about your father..." he felt a kick under the table, and looked up to see her with fire in her eyes.

"Don't ask about my father, or the deal is off, understand?"

"Okay. Okay. I'm here to say that I got one week to prove that your deal is solid. So you have to give me something real, or else we're off."

She stopped to think, and then took a bite of her meal. After she chewed it and swallowed, she said.

"The Stewmaker. He makes people disappear, literally. You probably never heard of him, that's how good he is. Find him, and your director will see what I mean."

"Is there anything else you can tell me about this Stewmaker?" he asked, taking out his notepad and flipping to an empty page. She smirked.

"If you want me to do all the job, then I don't need you. Now go, you're ruinning my dinner" she waved him away, and he, one more time, was left without reaction. He just stood up from the booth and walked away.

Outside, he looked through the window and saw her welcoming Susie to the table, with an open and honest smile. Looking at her through that point of view, he could actually believe that she was a good girl, a nice person. He felt his heart skip a beat, and frowned at it. Then, he just turned and kept walking to his car.

He decided to go straight back to the office. There was no need to go back to his dark and dreary apartment, where he'd be reminded of the lonely life he lived. He tried not to dwell on it too much, for the fact he put his heart and soul into his work.

Walking into the post office, he ran into Samar and Aram who were walking out together. "Agent Ressler, what are you doing?" Aram asked looking at him confused.

"Yeah, I thought you went home already. You need rest, it's late." Samar said readjusting the bag on her shoulder.

"I've got a couple of things I gotta finish up here first," he nodded towards them, "I'll catch you guys tomorrow." he said walking away towards his office.

The rest of the night he spent researching leads on the Stewmaker. He was tired and achy from lack of sleep. He needed to rest but he knew his constant insomnia would keep him awake. He was taken out of his lethargic thoughts when his cell phone dinged.

Picking up the phone he saw he had a text from Keen saying:

Let me guess, you're stumped? Take a break, meet me at the park in the morning. -L