11.

Something was wrong. Jacob wasn't sure what it was yet, but he pulled himself from the chair he had been sitting in, nearly dozing, and listening to Liz speak about... something. It didn't matter now.

"Jacob?" she called his name quietly, mirroring his action.

"Thought I heard something," he murmured, finally pinpointing why his mental alarm bells were sounding with a vengeance. Someone was there besides the people that were suppose to be. If he were to wager a guess, he thought it'd be one of Bud's operatives. Reddington had admitted to not trusting Bud in staying firmly to one side, but he had bought them time. Likely Bud was sending his operatives after Liz and maybe even Aram now, thinking that there was a good possibility that Reddington wouldn't see it coming.

Liz checked her gun at his side and Jacob stepped forward to take a look at the surveillance monitors, his own gun in his hand. Just as he'd thought, Gina and Justin moved stealthily through the halls, and without warning the feeds went down. Jacob cursed lowly and glanced back towards the hall that led to the little room they'd given Aram to work in.

"I'll check on Aram, you head them off where we last saw them on the feed," his ex wife said and he wanted to argue. He didn't want to let her out of his sight, but it made sense. They'd cover more ground this way, and Liz was good at what she did. She would be able to hold her own.

"Be safe," he said instead, reaching forward and pulling her into a quick kiss.

"You too."

He watched her take off down the way and he turned, readying himself to face off with one or both of his childhood friends.

Liz ducked around a corner, gun drawn and ready. She saw the blur of blonde hair and dark clothing and pulled back just in time to avoid a bullet her way. It hit the wall and she cursed lowly, slipping around the other way. The warehouse was a labyrinth of sorts, with halls and rooms and doors. She slipped through one of those halls that would bring her up the backside of the room Aram was in.

She found a gun aimed at her as she entered, but he dropped it immediately, breathing a sigh of relief. "It's done. The information is out there and it'll give Ressler enough to make the arrest."

"Good. Now we have to go."

Liz nearly dragged him out of the room, slamming the door behind them to avoid the bullets aimed at them. They darted down the hall, low and alert. While Aram was putting on a brave face she could tell he was utterly terrified.

His cry caught her immediate attention as he dropped his weapon and Liz saw the blood already soaking through his sleeve. She raised her own weapon, but Gina shook her head. "Don't be stupid," she said roughly. "We were told to deliver you alive. Kick your gun and his over here."

Liz weighed her options, glancing back to Aram who stood clutching at his bleeding shoulder. Finally she dropped her gun and slid both over. Tom was still out there. Maybe he would find them in time.

Gina's pretty lips perked in a cruel smile. "Good. On your knees."

Blue eyes narrowed. She'd fought with this woman before. She was calculated and cold, just as she thought most operatives coming out of The Major's school , though, Liz could see a storm raging just below the surface. "You're not taking me to your boss are you?"

"I warned him," she hissed. "I warned him that you'd end up getting him killed."

Liz blinked. Gina thought Jacob was dead, and while Masterson had used that to mock Liz, Gina's expression was one of a woman stricken by the death of someone close to her. "Gina," she said carefully, "I did not kill Jacob."

"No, but you convinced him to trust Reddington and Reddington killed him. His death is on you." She pulled back the hammer on the gun.

"Your employer won't be happy if you kill me."

She shrugged. "Even I know that there are things more important than the job."

Jacob hadn't found Justin yet by the time the gunshots echoed through the warehouse. It didn't take him half a moment to make his decision as he darted down the hall. His ankle and ribs protested loudly, but he pushed the pain down. He'd deal with it later.

He slammed through the door and into the room where Aram had been only to find it empty, but he recognized the voices on the other side of the door on the opposite side from where he'd entered. He crossed the space, gun drawn, and found a scene he'd hoped never to come across.

Aram was slouched against the wall, bleeding and staring wide-eyed. Liz was on her knees, Gina's gun trained on her.

"Gina," Jacob hissed and she froze, turning to look at him out of the corner of her eye. She didn't lower her weapon so he didn't lower his.

"They said you were dead," his oldest friend managed and he offered her a small, lopsided smile.

"Am I that easy to kill? Come on, Gina, put it down."

"No," she answered roughly. "If she dies you have no reason to stay with these people."

"So what? You think Bud's just going to welcome me home? He's the one trying to kill me, Gina. You take me in and he will kill me."

"Is that what she's been telling you? Listen to yourself, Jacob. Bill raised you. You're the best in the business. You've just been distracted. I'm protecting you, Jacob, just like all the times you protected me."

He'd known Gina a long time. He knew her real habits and the ones she put on for show. He could tell when she was lying and when she was jealous, when she was having a rare moment of honesty and when she was ready to kill. There was a look in her eyes, if there were any pause at all, just before she put someone down. It was small, and if the hit meant anything at all to her, it was there. He saw the shift, her small tell, and Jacob reacted as any one of Bud's operatives had been trained to act when they were meant to stop something from happening. The shot went off and Gina staggered forward, body rigid and he thought she looked like she swallowed hard as she turned, trying to say something. All the walls were down and he saw betrayal written across her face, clear as the expressions she couldn't hide the first few days he'd known her. For just a moment the whole world stopped around them and the girl he'd promised that he would protect managed half of his name before her knees buckled and she fell hard to the floor, her gun clattering uselessly to the side. Jacob stood frozen in place, his own weapon still clutched in his hand, and his gaze fixated on her. There was no surviving that shot.

"Jacob?" Liz's voice made it through the shock. He didn't know when she'd gotten up or crossed the space between them, but she was touching his arm now, fingers gentle as she eased his arm down from where he'd been frozen. "Babe, are you with me?"

"She was... Liz, she was..." His voice rebelled and he found himself trembling. It had been years since he'd reacted this way to a kill.

"Hey, it's okay. We're okay. You saved my life," Liz said firmly, taking a firm hold on his chin and forcing him to look at her. "Babe, it's not your fault. Look at me? It's not your fault."

"Gina."

The voice snapped Jacob out of his daze and he turned to see Justin standing and staring. "You bastard," Masterson growled and it was everything Jacob could do to shove Liz out of the way as he was taken off his feet.

Jacob landed hard on his back, but got his foot up and used the momentum to fling Justin all the way over. He was up and moving as quickly as the other man. They exchanged blows, weaving in and around each other. His ankle made it difficult to cut quite as sharply as he was used to, though, and Masterson landed a hard blow to his injured ribs. Jacob doubled over and found a knee slamming him in the face.

Masterson didn't relent, even when Jacob hit the ground hard from the blow. His hands wrapped around Jacob's neck, cutting the air off and the former operative knew it would be less than a minute before the windpipe gave way to the assault. He'd killed Gina, and now Justin would kill him.

"Hey!" Liz shouted and the pressure eased ever so slightly. Jacob couldn't see what she was doing, but he hoped she was at least armed.

"You think I can't snap his neck before you get that shot off, sweetheart?" Justin chuckled.

"I think you can't finish your job if I shoot you, and that's more important, isn't it?" Liz answered. "Let him go and I'll come with you. No one's going to stop you. Aram's in no condition to come after you and Jacob's hurt. Just... don't kill him."

"You for him, huh?"

"Me for him."

No, Jacob tried to choke out, but all he managed was to weakly claw at the hands holding him. The pressure eased a little more.

"Put the gun down and we have a deal."

His vision was starting to dim dangerously and he couldn't seem to fight back anymore. His body simply wasn't obeying.

"Make your decision. You're losing him." Masterson's voice sounded distant, as did the sound of a gun being placed on the floor and slid over.

Jacob didn't realized that he'd passed out until he found Liz bent over him and forcing air into his lungs. He choked and sputtered. "Lizzy, don't," he tried and she offered him a strained smile.

"I love you too. Let me protect you for once."

His body felt like lead as he tried to reach for her. Masterson was dragging her away, and the effort Jacob put into getting up only managed to send him plunging back into darkness.

Liz started fighting the moment they were out of the warehouse, but Masterson seemed ready for it and had a grip on her that she couldn't break. "Your truce with Reddington is done. I hope you realize that."

"It was a lie from the beginning. Reddington knew Jacob had survived that fall."

"And you knew that too? Why did you let Gina think-?"

Her question was cut off as Masterson adjusted his grip, taking hold of her hair and pushing her forward roughly. "Just because you've got a thing for Jake doesn't mean you know the first damn thing about us, fed," he growled. "You're the reason she's dead."

"I know one thing," Liz shot back, wincing. "You people seem to blame everyone else but yourselves for your problems. Tom made a choice to stay with me. I didn't manipulate him or convince him. If anything, I pushed him away."

"So I hear. Gina said she saw a few new scars you left on him."

Liz would have stopped where she was if he hadn't been holding onto her and dragging her along. He chuckled at her silence. "I get it. I've wanted to put a couple of bullets in the smartass myself. Sometimes he just won't stop and someone has to shut him up." He slapped a pair of handcuffs onto one of her wrists and shoved her inside of a waiting car. "Problem is you didn't keep pushing. But you know what? That isn't on you. It's on golden boy." He looped the chain through a handle on the back of the passenger's seat and cuffed her other hand. "Make one wrong move, sweetheart, and I'll make you wish I'd just killed you."

Liz kept her face carefully blank as Masterson circled the car and hopped in. He seemed to sway violently between calm, furious, and almost amused. She didn't like it, and she planned to get herself out of it as soon as she could.

TBC

Notes: Thank you for letting me know you're still reading it! I'm glad everyone's still enjoying it :)

Next time - Red finds out Liz has been taken, Masterson tells Liz a story from Jacob's past, and plans are made to save Elizabeth Keen.