Chapter 3

The ride to the meeting point was mostly silent but hardly in a comfortable way; Red was stoically reading his newspaper while Lizzie was staring at the road ahead, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

'How do you know Smirkov is in town,' she finally said, casting a sideways glance at Red.

Red chuckled heartily while he turned to her, folding his newspaper, 'Lizzie…Lizzie…don't you know me a little bit better by now; Valentin Smirkov let me know he was in town. He wanted to discuss…er…business!'

'Ofcourse,' Lizzie whispered, adopting a 'I should have known' expression on her face while Dembé entered an abandoned parking lot adjacent to an old warehouse.

'Why are we stopping here?' Lizzie said while she glanced around. Red briefly bit his lip but said nothing. He got out and walked around the car to open the door on her side, helping her out. Lizzie sighed but got out of the car while Dembé opened the trunk, withdrawing a Smith & Wesson .357.

'What are you doing?' Liz hissed but Red suddenly pulled her behind a stack of wooden crates because the front door of the warehouse opened and a woman stepped outside. Lizzie gasped and pointed but Red forced her hand down, pinning it to her side.

'Don't let her see you!' Red whispered, grabbing a handful of Lizzie's coat, pulling her to his side.

'Sorry…but that was Gina Zanetakos,' Lizzie murmured, lowering her head.

'Dembé,' Red whispered, '…go 'round the back and find out if he's here too?'

Before Lizzie had a chance to ask whom Red was referring to, he covered her mouth rather roughly with one hand, dragging her backwards but his action was too late cause Lizzie had recognized the man stepping out of the warehouse.

'Are you gonna keep quiet?' Red whispered, breathing hard, his hand still cupped tightly over her mouth. Lizzie nodded and Red slowly removed his hand.

'That's Tom…b…but he's supposed to be at home…sleeping,' Lizzie stammered.

'Maybe's, he's lost,' Red whispered cynically but Lizzie didn't even hear him. She saw how Tom wrapped his arms around Gina's waist and tenderly kissed her neck.

…

Dembé ran quietly using abandoned cars and trees for cover. Red had asked him to check if Agent Keen's husband was there. Well, he would only need about five minutes or so to make sure. He crept quietly to a side door listening intently for any sounds. Hearing nothing, he carefully pushed down the door handle. Dembé breathed in deeply, calming himself before he moved forward into the dim darkness of the warehouse. For a moment he paused giving his eyes time to adjust. Once adjusted, he could see clearly all the way to the back wall. The warehouse was as good as empty, except for a large matrass in the corner and a desk . Dembé opened its drawer, stuck his hand inside and pulled out a Glock 22 and a passport with a photo of Agent Keen's husband on it. Dembé put the items back, quietly closing the drawer. He then snug outside to inform Red but on his way to the Jag, he spotted Agent Keen, who ran as though her life depended on it.

…

Lizzie noticed Red's lips moving but she couldn't make out what he was saying; everything around her was turning cold. This is how one must feel when death is near, she thought absently. Red had been right…Red had been right! The thought ran through her head like a mantra. How could she have been so stupid? She had been married to Tom for two years without noticing anything. How could she have been so gullible…?

I need to get of here! Ignoring Red's warnings, Lizzy got up and started running back to Red's car. When, she was half way, she stumbled but quick hands caught her before she fell to the ground.

'Agent Keen?'.

'Get me out of here, Dembé…please?' Lizzie turned her head, sucking from the pain that suddenly shot through her ankle.

'Lizzie…are you OK?' Red's husky voice came from near.

'Yes…No, my ankle…' Lizzie moved her head and ended up, pressing it against Dembé's chest because the pain shot through her ankle again; so sharp this time, it made her nauseous.

'Dembé will carry you to the car, ' Red said calmly.

'Where's T…where are they?' Lizzie softly said.

'Don't worry…they're back inside,' Red said quickly while he nodded to Dembé. Dembé picked her up as if she was a feather, carrying her to Red's Jag and carefully dropping her in the back seat.

Red carefully removed Lizzie's boot and started examining her injured ankle, 'It's just a sprain…in a couple of day's you'll be as good as new !' he assured her.

'Red,' Lizzie choked out, forgetting the pain in her ankle. 'Why is this happening?' Tears sprang to her eyes and she sagged into Red's arms, all anger replaced by overwhelming sadness.

Red held Lizzie and stroked her hair as she cried.

…

Red called Donald Ressler to meet him in at The Postoffice and then called Harold, asking him to meet there as well. When Ressler laid eyes on Red, he immediately started yelling.

'WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU? AND WHERE IS KEEN?'

Ignoring Ressler's questions, Red turned to Harold Cooper asking, 'Did you get Valentin Smirkov?'

'Yes, we did!' Ressler said before the Assistant Director had a chance to reply. Ressler clenched his teeth but started to sound a bit calmer now, 'Where is Keen?'

Red sighed deeply, knowing he shouldn't do what he was about to do but knowing, he was going to anyway.

'All I'm going to say is this! I swear I was not lying when I told you Lizzie was in danger. This morning, when you were catching Valentin Smirkov, I showed her that her loving husband is not the man, he's claiming to be! I am here because I need…no, I want you to give me time!' Red said slowly, putting an emphasis on time.

'Time for what?' Harold Cooper said.

Red spun round and glared at Cooper, 'Time to persuade Lizzie to cooperate so we can catch the person who is no. 1 on The Blacklist!'

…