2.
Jacob came to abruptly and he couldn't breathe. He blinked hard, something burning his eyes and he kicked out, finding himself underwater. The panic started to set in, but before he could start thrashing too hard he felt someone grab onto the collar of his jacket, yanking him upward. He broke the surface, sputtering and coughing, swallowing even more water as he tried to take deep breaths of the air and the waves continued to wash over him.
"You still can't swim?" Gina demanded and she still had ahold of him to keep him from slipping back under.
Blue eyes blinked rapidly, trying to clear the saltwater from them. "I've been... busy," he managed, choking against another wave.
Gina grumbled something he didn't catch and pushed him forward. He had enough basic knowledge from one time that Liz had given it her best effort to teach him that he managed to get over to the pier, feeling his body's protests as he hauled himself up the ladder along the side. He risked a glance to the wreckage that was his boat. It hadn't been a bomb big enough to take the pier out with it, but it was big enough to make the boat he'd called home for the last few months useless and it didn't look like it would stay afloat long.
"We need to go," Gina hissed. "Jacob."
"I hear you," he snapped back, gaze scanning the floating debris. He reached into his back pocket and found that his wallet had somehow survived while his gun was likely at the bottom of the bay. His burner phone was also in his pocket, but it was so waterlogged it was useless. He stood slowly on the deck, the adrenaline rush receding and what had formerly just felt like small protests were turning into true pains. He reached around, wincing as his fingers found a rip along the back of his jacket and his fingers came back smudged with red. He would have to see how bad off they were later.
"Guess that answers my question on how far Bill trusts me," Gina huffed, her gaze falling on him. "You're limping."
"My boat just got blown up with us inside of it," Jacob growled. "That's the least of my worries."
"I've got a place we can regroup."
"They knew you were here."
"Good thing it isn't where I was staying then, isn't it?" She rolled her pretty eyes. "I'm not an ameture, Jacob, even if you're acting like one."
He let it slide, following her instead to a bolt hole hidden away between two shops in an alley. It was a second option she had had, but hadn't been to by the looks of it. They slipped inside and she motioned to a chair as she disappeared into the tiny washroom. She didn't tell him what to do, but she didn't need to. This was an old ritual with them, stretching back to their teenage years when they were still learning the ropes and had to figure out how to patch each other up when they screwed up. Jacob carefully peeled his jacket off and slipped his t-shirt up and over his shoulders, wincing as he did. He hadn't gotten a chance to look in the mirror yet to see how scraped up he was, but if the way his back was burning was any indication, he wasn't sure he wanted to
"I thought it'd be worse," Gina said as she set a small medkit down on the table and motioned for the undershirt to come off too. Jacob could feel her eyes on him as it did, gaze moving over new and old wounds, but there was none of her usual flirtation as her fingers touched one of the scars left by a bullet that had gone straight through him and out the back. "She shot you."
Jacob had never given Bud the full story. All he knew from his formerly favourite operative about his time completely off the grid was that he'd run into some trouble and it had taken longer than he expected to get out of it. He never mentioned that Liz had nearly killed him or that she had held him prisoner. "I caught those for double crossing Berlin," he lied. "That's why I went dark."
He could feel her gaze on him and she wasn't buying his bullshit that day. Instead she worked in what he knew was purposeful silence as she picked pieces of glass that had shattered outward out of his shoulders and back, treated the burns, and wrapped his knee that was beginning to stiffen up by the end of it. As they switched places and she stripped her shirt off to show she hadn't avoided all the glass, her dark gaze caught his. She turned, reaching out abruptly and her finger hooked the chain he wore around his neck, his wedding ring dangling at the end and she lifted it as if to inspect it. "You're a fool, Phelps. She's going to get you killed."
"My choice, Gina. Sit down and hold still."
She did as instructed, but glanced back as he worked. "You can't go into this without back up. They know I'm involved. Let me help you."
Jacob pulled in a deep breath. She had just saved his life, and she was well aware that this wasn't going to end the way their ops used to. He had made that abundantly clear the last few years. She would stand a better chance of surviving betraying Bud if she had allies, especially if one were Raymond Reddington. That was likely her end goal.
"I need a computer I can send a secure email from."
"There's a cafe we can use."
"You've used it?"
"I know the owner."
A smirk tilted his lips. "Of course you do."
She smirked back and slipped her shirt back over her head. "Let's go save your girlfriend," she said and started for the door. Jacob shook his head and followed, carefully tugging his shirt back into place and tucking his ring beneath it.
He reached out on impulse, fingers taking hold of her arm. "Thank you."
A strange look flashed through her eyes. "Don't thank me until you have her," she said tightly and started out the door.
She didn't want to admit she was worried any more than Reddington seemed inclined to ask about her silence. It wasn't as if silence was such a strange thing these days. Liz found herself lost in the folds of her thoughts more than she didn't, sinking so deep sometimes that hours would pass and she wouldn't realize it until she glanced at the clock. She felt defeated and terrified, useless and beaten down.
Even miles apart from those she cared about she seemed to do damage to them. She caught glimpses of the news - sometimes in English, sometimes not, depending where they were - and she knew enough to know that Ressler was being put through the ringer for her. There was a manhunt on for the former FBI agent Elizabeth Keen, and he was at the forefront, forced to hunt down his former partner. Cooper had likely lost his job over it all and the others would live under scrutiny, the worst assumed at every turn. Connolly had said they had dirt on everyone, but even if that wasn't true, they could make it true. She was living proof of that.
Tom could have remained on the outskirts of things. He should have, but the longer she waited for a response back to a email that should have been returned hours ago, the more uneasy she became. She had sent him a coded message that included where they were going. It was something only he should be able to understand, but if the Major had gotten his hands in Liz's ex husband and he refused to interpret the message for them...
The hand to her shoulder nearly sent her flying off the sofa she had tucked herself into almost immediately when they had entered the little apartment in Salzburg, Austria. She looked up, blue eyes wide and Reddington was wearing his concerned face. It always made her feel just that much more guilty. "He still hasn't sent anything back," she said softly. "What if he's in trouble because of me?"
"Then that is his decision, Elizabeth," Red said gently and he took a somewhat hesitant seat next to her. "You know well enough he's not the naive teacher that you thought you married. He knows the risks."
"I know," she whispered, leaning against his shoulder. As if on cue her phone buzzed in her hand and she couldn't open it fast enough.
Ran into trouble. Watch out for Justin Masterson. Reddington might know of him. Coming to you for the rest. Stay safe.
"What did he say?"
She looked up to Red. "Does the name Justin Masterson mean anything to you?"
The Concierge of Crime tilted his head thoughtfully. "I haven't worked with him personally, but I've heard stories. Dembe is meeting us here tomorrow. We'll reevaluate then if we're staying a few days or leaving."
"I don't know how you live like this," Liz murmured, eyes scanning over the message again. He had run into trouble, but if he was on his way he must be alright. Tom was resilient, and she was about half convinced that he was just too stubborn to die.
She pushed back the small, amused smile the thought brought with it. Red didn't need to know Tom was on his way. Once he got there, it wouldn't be an issue, but if she told him before he might pick them up and move them.
"I enjoy surviving," Red said with one of those smiles he put on for her. It wasn't quite forced, but she had spent enough time with him recently in close proximity to know he had a lot on his mind. He stood abruptly then, straightening his suit, and plucking his hat up from the table. "I need to run an errand. I trust you'll be careful should you venture out?"
"Doubt I'll go site seeing," she groused.
"Perhaps you should, Lizzy. Being on the run doesn't have to mean that you're trapped in a cage." He paused, straightening his fedora. "Or that you need to punish yourself. This is not your fault."
Liz snorted softly. "I'm still at the center of it though."
"Things will be put right," he promised and she forced a smile and a nod.
"I know."
He looked like he might say more, but didn't. Instead Reddington left the little apartment and she was left alone with her thoughts.
Jacob winced as he tried to keep his knee from giving way when he stepped off the train. The little-over four hour ride from where Gina had found him in Venice up to Salzburg had left him stiffer than he had hoped, but he was still on his feet, and every step loosened it a little.
"She knows we're coming?" Gina asked as they wound their way around and out of the train station.
"I told her I was coming to her."
"And what? She just gave you her location without even hearing your voice? Anyone could have sent that email, no matter how secure."
A smirk played on Jacob's lips. "Liz's smarter than you give her credit for." True, she'd sent her location through, but he was likely the only one besides her that could have deciphered the vague reference shed used. It had been a conversation they'd had, but one that she must have known would have stuck out in his mind. It had been after they had moved to DC for her training at Quantico and after one of their first major setbacks of the adoption process. In a moment of desperation - and no small amount of wine - she told him they just needed to take time and go. Anywhere, she had said. Maybe Austria? But not Vienna. Everyone went to Vienna. Maybe Salzburg just off the mountains...
She had changed her mind the next morning, of course, but Jacob had always liked the idea of seeing Europe with her. He'd seen it, but he was always working when he was there.
Jacob pulled his phone out of his pocket, shaking it a little when it was sluggish to give him a screen. He'd pulled every trick he knew to dry it out and it was mostly functional now. He typed an address in and sent it before starting down the street. "She's not going to be happy to see you," he told his former partner bluntly. "I heard what you tried to do."
"I don't like her."
"You don't have to help."
"I'm not doing it for her," Gina snapped and looked around. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"To meet up with Liz. I'd like to make sure we're not being tailed first, if you don't mind."
They circled the block and then another, eventually finding the long way around to a little cafe. Surprisingly enough, Liz was already sitting there, sipping on a glass of wine and waiting as if she had been ready to meet him as soon as she'd received his message.
Gina snorted from his side. "Love-struck puppy is not a good look for you."
Jacob blinked, rolling his eyes rather than responding and he moved towards the table. Liz must have heard them coming because she turned, blue gaze coming to rest on him and he tried to keep control of the emotions seeing her again always pulled to the surface. "Hey, babe," he greeted, the old nickname falling from his lips and feeling right for the first time in so long.
She stared at him for half a moment, almost as if she had expected it to be a trap. Slowly, though, her expression shifted and she was out of the chair and in his arms before he had a chance to register she was moving.
Liz wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his t-shirt, and hung on tight. He gathered her up before whispering into her ear for her not to make a scene. When she did finally pull back she turned a glare on Gina, finally noticing her. "What the hell is she doing here? You said that-"
"And Gina was my source. They just about killed her along with me, so I-"
"Are you okay?"
He blinked. "Yeah, I'm okay. You?"
She nodded and slowly they all took a seat at the round little table. Liz was watching Gina warily and Jacob couldn't blame her. The only interaction that his ex wife had had with the other woman had been less than pleasant, and from what he understood Reddington had made it sound like he and Gina had been an item throughout his and Liz's marriage.
"So," Liz said, her tone falling into the all-business range, "who is Justin Masterson?"
Jacob pulled in a deep breath. "He's an old... Associate," he said carefully.
"This guy has been hired by the Cabal to kill me and you want to start mincing words?" Liz demanded, her voice soft but firm.
He winced a little at her tone and ordered a beer from the waitress as she paused by their table. "I've worked with him before. He and Gina and I all grew up together. We... Graduated Bud's program at the same time."
"How much have you told her?" Gina demanded suddenly, sounding almost panicked.
"What I asked. That's the only way this works," Liz growled and turned her attention back to Jacob. "So he's your friend?"
"Friend would be stretching it. He's... Masterson's a piece of work." He sighed. It wasn't easy talking about other operatives so openly. They spent their entire existences in the shadows, and if Masterson had stayed there, Jacob would have been happy not to stir that particular hornet's nest up, but he hadn't. He was coming after Liz. Jacob wasn't sure if this was Bud's own way of drawing him into the line of fire, but he couldn't care too much about that right then. His focus was getting Lizzy through this safely. "He's Intelligent, skilled, and vicious. Bud doesn't graduate a kid from his program that can't kill if the order comes down, but Masterson lives for it. He's brutal, Liz."
She nodded, her expression carefully blank, but he could see the way she was sifting through the information in her mind. "He's the type of guy you call when you need something out of someone and don't need them alive after it," she breathed.
"Yeah," Jacob murmured, reaching across the table for her hand. He didn't quite touch it, but she moved to meet him in the middle. "I won't let him hurt you, Liz. I swear."
"And a fine start you've made to breaking yet another promise."
Jacob closed his eyes, forcing the urge to turn around and snap the arrogant idiot's neck down. Raymond Reddington had kept Liz safe so far and Liz cared about him. Jacob didn't have to understand it to do his damnedest to respect it. So instead he loosed a shaky breath and drew another one as her fingers left his and he continued to fight his own impulses.
"Tom was just telling me about Masterson," Liz explained.
"And was he telling you how Mr Masterson is getting off the train right now? You led her enemies straight to her, Tom."
That did it. He stood, squaring his shoulders and ignoring the way his knee threatened to give as he pulled himself up to his full height. "You are well aware what I'm willing to do to keep her safe, and you know that if never-"
"No, you wouldn't," Reddington said, the statement surprising Jacob enough for his mouth to snap shut. The older man's gaze drifted over to Gina. "But I dare say she would. Tell me, my dear, is it for the money or something a bit more sentimental?"
Gina bristled at the insinuation, but didn't deny it. Jacob felt the world shift dangerously. "You wouldn't be stupid enough," he managed, and by this time she was on her feet as well. The only one still sitting was Liz, and she was watching the whole scene play out in front of her.
"I told you, Jacob, you need to come in. It's you. Bill will-"
"He tried to put a bullet in my head," the former operative hissed.
"It was a show. You know he couldn't-"
"For who, Gina? The driver? You bitch," he growled, ready to lunge at her, but she was already going. She was outnumbered and they had already drawn more attention to themselves than they should have. Reddington put a hand on his shoulder, keeping him from following.
"I would prefer to leave you here to face the consequences of your exceptionally foolish actions, but... That will be up to Elizabeth." He turned to face her. "We're leaving. I'll send instructions on the new meet with Dembe on our way out. Make your decision quickly."
Jacob felt terror wash through him, not unlike the day that he'd been at her mercy after she shot him. He'd failed her in a way he hadn't even foreseen, and that within itself was dangerous. He was slipping and he couldn't risk taking her down if he made another equally fatal mistake.
But he couldn't tell her no either. Not when she moved to stand right in front of him, taking his hand to gain his attention and looked him right in the eye like she had that evening on the boat. "Come with me?"
"I..."
"I trust you. You didn't know," she said and she wasn't lying to him. He could tell that much. "Please?"
"We're wasting time," Reddington snapped.
Jacob nodded slowly and felt her fingers lace through his like she was holding on for dear life. A quick glance at her expression might give anyone passing by the impression that she was calm and collected, but he could see the storm raging beneath and felt it in the way she tightened her grip as they walked, almost as if she were afraid that if she let go he would slip away from her.
TBC
Notes: I couldn't keep them apart too long. And I'd like to give a shout out to Evey Edge who called the Gina thing. I started laughing so hard when that review came in, but didn't want to spoil it by telling you how spot on you were.
As a side note, I'm uncontrollably excited that I get to go see Ryan Eggold's play tomorrow night in New York. Hopefully we'll get to meet him! He tweeted that we should come to the door and say hi after it :)
Next time - Jacob second guesses himself when it comes to dealing with his former allies (and friends) who are after them while Reddington finally brings him at least a little into the loop.