Previously...
"Ah yes, good job noticing that our mystery man has shown up. That," Reddington says. "Is — "
Their conversation is interrupted (which annoys Ressler as he's pretty sure Reddington was about to tell them who had hired Repo) by a tall, thin man holding a package.
"Mr. Reddington?" he asks, and Ressler recognizes him as one of the lesser ranking agents (which makes sense, since he's delivering packages). "This came for you."
"Ah, thank you, Mr. Jones," Reddington replies, smiling briefly as he takes the package. Once Mr. Jones leaves, his smile turns to a frown and he sighs as he begins opening the box. "Packages, unless delivered by the giver, are almost always bad things," he muses, and while Ressler would like to claim Reddington wasn't always right, it seemed more and more likely he actually could predict the future.
Because opening a package and finding a hand - still painted red with blood, with loose meat hanging by threads - definitely qualifies as "bad".
5:00 PM
Ressler is staring at the note that came attached to poor James Madison's hand.
Turn over Sherry and Sammy Madison or more of James will appear on your doorstep. You have twelve hours before the next ... delivery.
Everyone else is arguing in the small room, ignoring Sammy's cries and Ressler's preoccupation.
"No, of course I'm not saying we should give her up, I'm just saying — "
"Maybe we should find Sherry and ask her, she probably wants to know that her husband is being cut into pieces — "
"We have to think about Sammy, though, he could be in danger — "
"Could we lead them on a false trail to Sherry? That could buy us time — "
"STOP!"
The voice surprises Ressler into dropping the note onto the desk in front of him. It surprises him because it's not the voice of Raymond Reddington at all (which is who he expected to get fed up with the fighting first) - it's Liz's voice, and he can barely hear it over Sammy's anguished wails. Ressler's eyes flicker to the baby, feeling his heart clench as he notices the boy's cheeks are bright red and his face is wet with tears. His tiny hands are balled into fists, and judging by the sounds he's making, he is very unhappy.
"Sammy thinks you're all idiots," Liz says, bouncing the baby in her arms and trying to calm him down (the sudden silence is helping, Ressler notices). "We can't do anything - Reddington helped Sherry hide and there's no way in hell we're turning Sammy over. All this means is that we have to work even harder to find James. It doesn't mean we find Sherry or try to turn her over, it means we do our fucking jobs."
Everyone - Harold Cooper, Aram, Samar, and even Reddington and Dembe - falls silent.
"She's right," Aram mutters, wiping a hand over his forehead. "Of course she's right."
Reddington is grinning proudly, and Ressler resists the urge to roll his eyes as he walks over and takes Sammy from Liz (once again, he tries not to be concerned that the baby boy calms in his presence). "Where should we start?"
Reddington moves forward then, still grinning. He lays his fedora on the desk and turns to Ressler. The younger man shifts uncomfortably under Reddington's gaze as he pats Sammy on the back, bouncing him gently in his arms.
"Donald, you had just realized something before we were all distracted by the note and the - ah, hand. Think. Remember — what was it?"
Ressler purses his lips, thinking hard. Before the package came, they were talking about the warehouse from the previous night, and watching the security camera footage —
"The man who hired Repo!" he shouted triumphantly, and Reddington nodded, tapping his fingers on the desk.
"Exactly. Dear Donald here noticed that of the three men getting into the van on the camera footage, one - one we had not seen before, as this is his first appearance on stage - seemed to be in charge. This is the man who I suspected was behind the hiring of The Repo Man. He is named Anton Dmitriyev — he is the man from whom James saved Sherry and from whom he has been running all these years."
All eyes are on Reddington as he leans against the desk.
"Let me tell you a story."
...
...
...
"Long, long ago in a land far away — "
"Oh, my God, Reddington, please don't."
"Donald, I'll thank you not to interrupt my story."
"..."
"Go on."
"Russia. I was in Russia at the time. It was back in '99 and I was working with Anton to receive a shipment of weapons. Low demand, untraceable, basically burner weapons. It's harder than you'd think to find a weapon that's untraceable - not in the system, no VIN, common enough that it can't be tracked back to a single buyer, yet still quality and not mass produced. Anton was perfect at this, he offered good firearms at a low price and was always willing to work with his customers."
A pause.
"I was early to our transaction. Instead of meeting Anton, I met his assistant."
...
...
...
"Can I help you?"
Reddington took off his fedora, laying it gently on the desk in front of him. He surveyed the young man - no older than thirty, certainly, and knew immediately this was not who he was meeting with.
"It's true I've never met Mr. Dmitriyev in person," he began, sitting in the chair across from the desk and folding his hands on his knee. He smiled briefly, offering the man the courtesy of kindness. "However, you are far too young and don't have the air of authority and ruthlessness about you I'd expect from a dealer of weapons meant specifically for the black market populace."
The man shifted uncomfortably. Reddington was about to open his mouth to continue (he did enjoy making people squirm) when a door to the left of the desk opened and an older man - much more fitting of Reddington's description - entered the room.
"Ah, Mr. Reddington!"
Raymond Reddington stood to his feet, reaching out to embrace the man. They patted each other on the back, grinning as they pulled apart. The younger man cleared his throat, and Reddington as well as Anton turned around to face him again.
"Mr. Reddington, meet my assistant, James Madison. He will be assisting with your transaction today."
...
...
...
"Why was James in Russia?"
"Fantastic question, Lizzie, and the answer is quite simple. He had lived there since childhood. Dear James' father uprooted the family and moved them when James was very young. James did not choose his position with Anton, he inherited it when his father disappeared suddenly one day. I never have received a clear answer from James as to why or how his father began working with Anton, or how their relationship ended, but it did not seem of import at the time."
"OK, so clearly if James 'saved Sherry from Anton', there was more going on there than weapons dealings."
"Be patient, Lizzie, I'm getting there."
...
...
...
"Back again so soon, Mr. Reddington?"
"Ah, Mr. Madison. You are always so bright and smiling. Are you here to assist me today?"
The younger man nodded, moving from behind his desk to greet Raymond. They shook hands and James motioned for Reddington to head back into the hallway. "Let me take you to Mr. Dmitriyev."
They walked quietly for several moments, Reddington silently taking in his surroundings. He knew the layout of the building fairly well - it wasn't hard to learn, being a simple warehouse. He knew all three exit points and was confident he could use any one of them successfully if necessary.
"It's not been long since our last transaction. Mr. Dmitriyev was not expecting you back so soon."
"Ah, yes," Reddington drawled, clasping his hands behind his back as he walked. "I want to reassure Mr. Dmitriyev that our business relationship is important to me, and I have brought him a gift today, in anticipation of future dealings."
James' mouth quirked at the edge. "I'm sure Mr. Dmitriyev will appreciate it, though he has no need to monetary gifts. His ... side business brings in quite enough money as it is. I hope you brought wine or something that will appease his palate, or else he will not be impressed. He's fond of the classics."
Reddington's interest piqued as he listened to the edge in Mr. Madison's voice. The man did not seem pleased that his boss was doing well, and there was acid lacing his word as he talked about the man's 'side business'.
Attempting to remain nonchalant, he merely said, "Oh?" and James took the bait to continue talking (often, assistants that were privy to too much personal information were more than willing to share it). The younger man was still walking, though Reddington knew they were approaching the room where Mr. Dmitriyev drew deals and distributed goods. He slowed his walk, hoping James would keep pace with him and allow them a little more time.
Information was the lifeline of Reddington's business, and while it was true he hoped that Mr. Dmitriyev would be available for future dealings in untraceable weapons, he also was interested in what had turned his assistant so sour.
"Mr. Dmitriyev doesn't only sell weapons."
"Mm hmm," Reddington hummed, and James turned around to stare at him before finishing his thought.
(Later, Reddington would wonder why James was so willing to share this information, and he would come to the conclusion that James was a very smart man who had recognized Reddington as a man who would be unable to resist helping if the price was right and the reason was compelling enough).
"Mr. Dmitriyev also sells women."
...
...
...
"Oh, my God."
"As in, prostitution?"
"And Sherry must have been one of them."
"Exactly right, Donnie, Liz. Sherry was one of the tens of hundreds of women that had cycled through Mr. Dmitriyev's possession. At first, I didn't know exactly how deep his business ran. As James and I met seven or eight times over the next few months, I learned more and more. Anton was both selling the women as sex slaves, and operating a business of his own, offering his clients more than just weapons on their visits."
...
...
...
"I discovered his business shortly after I began working for him," James confided, both of his hands wrapped around his coffee cup. He was staring at the milky liquid intently as he spoke, not meeting Reddington's eyes.
They were sitting in a little cafe in downtown Belyov, Russia. Reddington was enjoying a pastry as James continued to talk of the darker side of Mr. Dmitriyev's business. "It was by accident, and I am still unsure if he knows I happened upon his second warehouse a few months ago. He has a storage warehouse, and I knew we needed some... supplies, so I decided to make a run to it. I only knew where it was because my father took me there a few times when I was young. I always had to wait in the car. Anyway, I wanted to surprise Mr. Dmitriyev because filling my father's shoes felt impossible and I just... I was stupid."
Reddington clicks his tongue, taking a sip of his coffee. Yes, the man was a little over eager and entirely too innocent, but he was actually very smart.
"What do you plan to do about it, exactly?"
"Well..." James began. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I don't know. There... there was a women there, that I met while I was snooping around. Once I realized that it wasn't only a supply warehouse, I went looking around to see what was going on. I met one of them, she was different... most of them, they were laying in beds separated by thin sheets. Some seemed sick, but most just seemed... lifeless. I mean, I guess I understand why, but she was different. She was fiery and she kneed me in the balls and gave me a black eye before I knew what was going on." James paused to chuckle, and Reddington knew the look in his eyes — he's a goner, and he knew there weren't many ways that this would end well. "She was waiting around the corner, she must have heard me enter. I explained who I was and she suddenly seemed to... light up."
Reddington cocked his head to the side, because he was pretty sure no woman in that situation would be happy to see a living man, ever again.
"She wants me to help her."
Oh. So that was why.
James' confession was quiet, and he refused to look up at Reddington as he aimlessly stirred his coffee.
"Where do you want to start, then, dear James?"
...
...
...
"And the rest, as they say, is history," Reddington concludes. "I helped James rescue Sherry, and in the process we brought Anton's entire business to its knees. He had to flee to escape the charges that would have undoubtedly been piled against him. The women currently in his ... care, were taken to a rehabilitation facility. Sherry, of course, left with James."
"Oh, my God," Liz says again, sinking down into a chair beside the desk they're all surrounding. "That's horrible."
Her eyes are on Sammy, and Ressler knows she's undoubtedly thinking about the baby and how he was the result of two people in a messed up situation coming together and loving each other despite their past. Ressler passes the baby over, because he knows that Liz wants to hold him but won't ask. She smiles up at him, a smile of thanks, and plays with Sammy's toes (when did that little stinker take his socks off?) as Reddington continues speaking.
"Anton wants revenge. He always has. The fact that it has been sixteen years means nothing. James and I, we destroyed his life, his livelihood. Now, he wants to do the same to James. He's obviously trying to find Sherry and Sammy, probably so he can makes James witness their deaths. I would not doubt that Anton will kill James in the end, too. Anton is a very proud man. Being forced to flee the country when James took down his multi-billion dollar operation was not a hit he took lightly. I wouldn't be surprised if he has been thinking about this for years, planning it all. He will torture James until he finds Sherry and Sammy, and then he will kill them all slowly. Anton is not a man to be taken lightly - he is unstable and murderous."
Six pairs of eyes - Reddington, Ressler, Liz, Aram, Samar, and Cooper's - flash to the box sitting on the desk, left open to grotesquely display James Madison's hand. Ressler speaks up, sighing as he taps the note he'd dropped earlier.
You have twelve hours.
"And we're running out of time to find them."
And another chapter down!
Guys, did I do something wrong in When I See You Again? I was really excited for chapter 4 to go up, and the response has been next to nothing! Now I'm really nervous, especially since I'm not used to writing case-fics. Still working on Chapter 5 as we speak, though - hope it'll be up in the next 24 hours!
Please leave your thoughts on this chapter!