He walked into the diner and she was sitting there in her usual seat. She was chatting with Susie while sipping on a hot cup of coffee. It was the next morning, after the events with the Stewmaker. Liz looked remarkably well for having been through so much just the previous night.
She caught his eyes and gave him a small smile. He returned it and then Susie's face lit up, "Your friend's back!" she said to Liz, "How are you, hun?" Susie asked Ressler as he sat down across from Liz in the booth.
"I'm good, how are you?" he smiled and then looked to Liz for approval in talking to Susie, after the screamfest she gave him last time for talking with her.
"I'm well, I'm happy to see Lizzie here has a nice friend visiting her. She doesn't talk to enough people her own age and she needs a friend, in my opinion."
"Suz!" Liz laughed, scolding her older friend.
"What?" Susie threw her hands up to show she meant no harm, "Alright, what can I get for you, hun?"
"Uh...I'll have coffee, black please, and I'll have an omelette. I'm starving." He smiled, "Thank you."
"C'ming right up, hun, and Lizzie, darling, the usual for you?"
"Yes, ma'am. Make sure Johnny makes ours!" Liz smiled to Susie as she walked away.
"So," Liz shrugged.
"How are you feeling?" Ressler asked with concern.
"Tired, sore...but that's really it." she sighed, "I feel like I've been hit with a truck." she laughed.
"Well that's probably from whatever stuff that creep did to you." Ressler scoffed, "That never should have happened. I should have gotten to him quicker. Lorca just threw us off-"
"Ressler, it's fine. Really." She reached across covering his hand with her own, reassuringly. "Now let's talk about the next case."
Susie brought over their breakfast and coffee as they talked it through. The omelettes were amazing. Best he's ever had.
He paid close attention while she gave him some other names, and details of everything they would need. It was easy collaborating with her. They had a good rhythm, good sync.
By the time they were finished, their work collaboration had turned into a relaxing and friendly conversation.
"My boss is pressing me to bring you in, you know?" he commented, his mouth full of ice cream Suzie brought them. She clicked her tongue and shook her head.
"Not yet. no." it was all she said, and then ate another spoon full of ice cream.
"Why not? Don't you want a fresh start? Don't you want to get rid of Reddington and have a new chance? With the help you are giving us we can cut you a good deal, you may not even serve time. You can come as a consultant. Have your life back." she just looked at him, and he could see in her eyes how much she wanted all he was describing her. But then she shook her head again in denial.
"I can't." It was as if she wanted to tell him something. "Reddington isn't the problem."
He remembered how Reddington was there when they got to her and the Stewmaker, and how he never even tried to get to him.
"What was Reddington doing there with the Stewmaker?" he asked, expecting her not to answer. Surprisingly, she did.
"They had unfinished business. That's why the Stewmaker got to me. To lure him in."
"Is he your father?" he remembered something about Aram commenting her name was in reality Elizabeth Reddington.
"Don't ask about my father." she said, and he decided to change the tactics.
"Who is Keen? It's not your maiden name, is it?" She put her spoon down, knowing that he wouldn't stop before she gave him something.
"No. I was married, once. Tom Keen, was his name. He's dead now."
"What happened? Reddington?"
"Will you cut with this obsession with Reddington for one second? No. It wasn't him. It was something else. Something you feds have no idea exist."
"Tell me, then." she seemed like crying, she didn't want to tell him. He took her hand on his and squeezed it a little. their eyes met and he could see in her watery eyes how much she needed someone to trust.
"C'mon. let's go" he put some money on the table and took her hand, leading her out of the diner towards his car.
"I'm not getting into an FBI's agent's car." she said, and he took his badge out and put it inside the glove compartment.
"I'm not an FBI agent now. I'm Don. c'mon."
"hiding your badge does not change who you are" she said, but she got inside the car anyway. He went to the driver's seat, turned the car on and then drove away.
They drove in silence for 30 minutes until she finally asked where they were going.
"Somewhere safe. Far. A place where you can tell me what you need to tell me without fear." she took a deep breath, torn between trying to escape and letting him take her wherever he was taking her, because deep inside she wanted to tell him everything.
It took another 30 minutes for them to get to an old cabin, on the top of a hill.
"Where are we?" she asked as she stepped out of the car.
"It's my family's old cabin. there's no one here. let's go inside." he opened the door and she walked in, observing everything while he went around the house to turn the power on.
He had left the lights of the car on, so sehe could see that it was nearly empty, only with a sofa and a coffee table in the center of the place, and a few photo frames on the mantelpiece. she took one of the photos and recognized him with four more people in a picture laughing. The lights went on and after a few minutes he came inside, after turning the car off and closing the door.
"Is this your family?" she showed him the frame, and he came closer. he grazed a finger on the glass before taking it from her and placing it back on the mantel.
"yes. they are dead now" he said, and then lead her to the sofa, clearly closing the conversation. they sat and then, still holding her hands, he asked.
"Ok. You're safe now. Not many people know about this place. Tell me what's going on. Who's Reddington? and why can't you surrender to the FBI?"
She looked down at their intertwined hands and sighed, "I have no idea where to even begin." she shrugged. "Reddington's my biological father. He's a criminal, I know. He's a retired criminal, now, but that's besides the point." she said, her eyes now looking at him, "He was my world growing up. Some days I felt like I raised myself when he wasn't there...when he was on "business", that's what he'd leave to go do his "job"." she scoffed.
"Where is he now?" Ressler asked.
"Are you asking me that as an agent...or as a friend?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Liz, I told you." he smiled and squeezed her hand, "Here, we're friends, okay."
She looked down at her lap and smiled, she looked back up and breathed, "He lives in a secluded apartment in Bethesda...with his cat." she laughed out loud and Ressler couldn't help but laugh as well.
"A cat? The concierge of crime seriously has a cat?" he laughed.
"Do people actually call him that?" She laughed, "Do they have a weird nickname for me too?"
"Not that I know of, no." they laughed, and then their laughs faded. He knew there was more to it.
"Ok, so if your father is retired... Who's doing everything on his name?" he asked, but truly, he already knew. Her face just confirmed it. "Why, Liz? You were going places, FBI profiler. What happened?"
She looked at him, reluctant. She squeezed his hands a little bit more, they were sweaty and warm.
"There's this organization. They call themselves the Cabal. They have been after my father for years. They are the reason he's retired now, but also they are the reason why his name and reputation cannot die. When I joined the FBI, my father was my biggest supporter. He knew someday I would have to hunt him, but he didn't care. He planned to surrender someday. But then they knew that his daughter was going to join the FBI, and they couldn't allow it."
"Why not?" Her face showed no signs of it being good news.
"You're not gonna like it. I don't think you should know. I'll be putting you in danger as well."
"Please, Liz, tell me" he released her hands to cup her face, and she leaned on his touch, breathing in as they got closer. she looked into his eyes and decided to tell.
"The Cabal is deep inside the federal agencies. FBI, CIA, they are everywhere. High positions, positions of power."
He released her to put his hand on his forehead, shocked with that information. She knew she shouldn't have told him. Now it was too late. He could do two things. Believe her, or not. She wanted him to believe her.
"How... what? are you sure?"
"That's why I'm not an FBI profiler anymore, Ressler. I had to go undercover and take my father's name to hide behind. They framed me for murder, terrorist attacks. Do you remember that bombing that happened at the OREA offices? The responsible was never caught. They framed me. My husband died because of that. their agents, CIA and FBI agents, worked together to hunt me down as a terrorist. That's when my father killed me, together with Tom, and I took over his name. I'm Raymond Reddington now, and Elizabeth Reddington is dead."
He remembered seeing some files saying that she was dead, but it was not certain, so he never considered it. It was all so confusing, so shocking, he didn't know what to do.
"Why come to me then? How do you know I'm not Cabal?"
She sighed, "Reddington has done his research...too much research." she shakes her head. "I love my father...but he's very protective of me." she sighs again. "My husband...he was hired by my father to protect me but we fell in love. Come to find out after he died, he was hired to fall in love with me by one of my father's enemies. It didn't make his death any less painful...it actually made it more painful." she stopped talking for a moment; she needed a break before she started crying or something.
"It's okay," he said soothingly. She looked over to him and believed him.
"I was angry at my father for a while, I blamed him a lot for this mess; my husband...my life...his enemies, but I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him. His motives have never been anything but pure." she nodded, "I am so grateful for that. And I'm so grateful he found you." she slipped out, "Oh...I didn't mean-"
He laughed, "It's okay, Liz." he smiled, "I'm grateful he brought you to me, too. Although, I'm a little creeped out thinking about how much he could know about me." they both laughed, "How much do you know about me?"
"Not much. I told him to save the details partially so I could get to know you myself." she said shyly, "He said I needed a friend anyways, so I guess that worked." she playfully poked his arm.
"So, what now? Do you know who they are, the Cabal?" she sighed as she knew he would try to help. They had to go slow, or else the Cabal would kill them all.
"Yes, and no. it's not for you to know, at least not now. There's a reason we created the blacklist. We need to get to these names first, they will help us build the case against the Cabal. Remember they are important people."
"So how am I supposed to know who to trust?" he asked, annoyed that she wasn't going to tell him everything.
"You don't trust anyone. Trust me." she said, and then laughed at the irony. "Yeah, don't trust all your bosses and role models, trust the criminal instead. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought you in" He interrupted her by holding her chin.
"Hey. I'm in. Don't worry about me. I trust you" she smiled and looked into his eyes, relieved that she had made a good choice. He was the one.
"Just follow the lead and find Wujing, and Gina Zanetakos. They hold the next pieces we need." She said, and then looked up, feeling tired. "Are we going to sleep here?" She looked around to see if there was a bedroom or something. She found a door ajar with what looked like a bed inside.
"Well, if you want to. You can take the bed, it's right there" he pointed at the door she was looking at.
"What about you?" she asked as she stood up and stretched her arms, tired.
"I'll stay here on the couch, don't worry" he opened a faint smile, sad that he would spend the night on that old and not so comfortable sofa. She chuckled.
"Thanks, Ress. For everything."
"Don't mention it. Have a good night" he said, looking up to her from the couch as he leaned on it, trying to find a good position.
A/N - Hey guys! Please tell us what you think of the story so far. I know We've been taking a bit long to update (my fault - Sonia) so tell what you think to motivate us to write faster xD