Episode 11
Aram Mojtabai: I've never seen anything like it. What is it?
Lizzie: I don't know. It was... I think it contains some kind of message.
Aram Mojtabai: Where'd you get it?
Lizzie's morality: I need you to see if you can figure out what it is, how it works.
Aram Mojtabai: There are people who are far more qualified at this kind of thing than me. Why don't you ask your boyfriend, Mr. Reddington?
Lizzie: He is not my boyfriend!
Red: I hope I'm interrupting.
Lizzie: Yes! Go away, Red!
Aram Mojtabai: No, no! Please don't kill me, we're just friends, I swear!
Red: You're not answering your phone.
Lizzie: So leave a message.
Lizzie's morality: By the power vested in me I now pronounce you blocked and deleted. You may now kiss my ass!
Red: Dembe did. Two, in fact. We have a new case, Agent Keen.
Lizzie's morality: Then tell Cooper.
Red: That's not how this works.
Aram Mojtabai: I think I left my soup in the microwave. Lobster bisque. # awkward Why do they always have to fight? Can't they just kiss and make up?
Lizzie's morality: I know exactly how this works: you lie, say what you need to say to make me believe you actually care…
Red: That's not true!
Lizzie: You're after the Fulcrum. It's why you're here. Not to help me or protect me or whatever spin you're selling today.
Lizzie's morality: Well, I'm not buying it. From this point on, there's no reason for us to talk unless it's about the work.
Red: Fine! Then let's work.
Then…
Red: The other one, the watercolorist, she-legs like a shot-putter- gets me in this headlock. I black out. Next thing I know, I wake up, no sheets, vaseline everywhere. The lipstick on the mirror overhead reads "Same time next year?" I haven't missed an art expo in Basel since.
Lizzie: Not you again!
Red: Lizzie! Please excuse me, I need to go to my wifey.
Lizzie: What are you doing here?
Red: I promised to help. I can't be an effective resource if I'm thousands of miles from the action.
Agent Donald Ressler: It's not safe! We just saw the CIA at the airport. They see you…
Red: I'll be sure to say hello. Uzbekistan has no extradition treaty with the United States.
Lizzie: Who are your friends over there? Are you drunk?
Red: Go get cleaned up. We'll have dinner. I know a wonderful little hole in the wall that's actually in a hole in the wall.
In the elevator…
Agent Donald Ressler: What's going on with you and Reddington? You two have a little lovers' quarrel?
Lizzie: Is that obvious?
Agent Donald Ressler: I'm sure anyone with eyes can see it.
Lizzie's morality: I don't trust him!
Later…
Red: Well, you certainly make friends fast.
Agent Donald Ressler: #rude. Don't let him see you cry!
Red: Truth is, I'm impressed.
Agent Donald Ressler: Really? So we can still be best friends, right?
Red: Not with you, with Ruslan. He never really struck me as a man of the people.
Agent Donald Ressler:*sobs* The guy's a psychopath! He's in over his head. He doesn't know anything about pipelines.
Red: Agent Keen is late. Where is she? Is she ok?
Agent Donald Ressler: She's having room service. What, are you in the doghouse?
Red's heart: Oh, you have no idea!
Red: Oh, that's a shame. She's gonna miss the most tantalizingly delicious khorem baklava.
Then…
Ruslan Denisov: I will not be negotiating this deal myself. I've decided to bring in a professional, someone to make sure that the company lawyers don't eat me for lunch.
* a wild Red appears*
Red: Mr. Denisov, it is my pleasure to be here. Hello! My name is Raymond Reddington. And you are?
Lizzie: What, what, what are you doing?
Red: I'm sorry. It's been a while since I've done one of these. Did I screw up already?
Agent Donald Ressler: You're not really gonna negotiate for Denisov, are you?
Red: Bitch I might. You're the one who insisted that our interaction be strictly professional.
Lizzie's morality: You gave us this case to help us get the agent back, not represent the other side.
Red: Agent Keen, in this world, there are no sides, only players.
Lizzie: Are we really supposed to sit here and hammer out a deal?
Red: Absolutely not! I was thinking we might get out for a bit. The first day of negotiation is rather like the first day of school.
Agent Donald Ressler: Get out? Where?
Red: Let's go on a field trip, shall we?
Agent Donald Ressler: That level of sass is too high!
Later…
Lizzie's morality: You told Ruslan the State Department was open to the idea of an inquiry.
Red: You haven't touched your baklava!
Lizzie's morality: You told him, and he's not interested?
Red: Just one bite.
Lizzie: I didn't come here for the baklava. I came here to talk about the negotiation!
Lizzie's morality: Then why are you staring at his lips?
Lizzie: Sorry! It's like second nature to me…..
*tango music plays*
Red: Ah…..a Russian milonga. Watch closely, Lizzie! Everything you need to know about negotiation is there in the tango milonga. At the outset, they are opponents. Each has something the other wants. They size one another up, assessing risk, setting boundaries, challenging each other to breach them.
Lizzie: Hey, that sounds exactly like our relationship!
Lizzie's libido:* heavy breathing* Is it hot in here or is it just me?
Red's libido: Did you know that you burn 2.8 calories a minute while slow dancing? Wanna work out?
Red: A sensuous battle, violence and sex, balanced on the blade of a knife.
Lizzie: Are you trying to seduce me?
Lizzie's libido: Because I wouldn't mind that in the least!
Lizzie's morality: Conceal, don't feel! Focus, Lizzie!
Red: Nothing given that is not earned, nothing taken that is not given. This is the pure essence of negotiation. Not a poker game,but a milonga, a tango, a seduction.
Lizzie:*dead*
On the phone…
Lizzie: Where have you been?!
Lizzie's morality: Great, you sound like a concerned wife!
Red: Good news! I've reconsidered our position. Negotiations will resume immediately.
Agent Donald Ressler: Did you talk to Denisov?
Red: No questions.
Agent Donald Ressler: Burke's dead, isn't he?
Red: No. We have new evidence to present. There is one proviso, however. That mouthpiece from Anneca, the one you spoke to? Bring him along.
Lizzie: Wait, wait! We can't leave. Kushan's doubled the guards outside. It's too risky!
Red: I may need to have a chat with this Commander Kushan. We'll come to you. See you in an hour.