13.

She had exhausted every nook and cranny, but there didn't appear to be a way out. The lock was on the outside of the door, impossible to pick from the inside. The windows were wedged down, the room looking as if it hadn't been used in some time. It almost looked like a school, some sort of military academy. She had seen glimpses of the students ranging from maybe around thirteen or fourteen up to their upper teenage years. She hadn't seen many, but the ones she had gotten close enough to had a strange, cold sort of look in their eyes. Almost like the one Tom - Jacob, she reminded herself sternly. She had promised - used when he was trying to shut people out. It gave her the chills, though Liz would never admit it.

She heard the sound of the locks coming undone outside the door and she stood, readying herself. If she could catch the person off guard, she might have a chance at escape. She moved to stand behind the door, ready and waiting, and when it opened she barely breathed. There was a beat if time before footsteps shuffled in and she was halfway to jumping at him before a small voice called out "hello?"

Liz pulled back last second, nearly toppling over. It was a kid, and not just a teen. He was younger than any of the others she'd seen, with wide eyes and a determined look to match the black eye he sported. To her surprise, the kid immediately had a gun on her. "Don't move."

The former FBI agent slowly raised her hands. "I'm not going to hurt you, sweetie," she told him carefully.

A tight, forced smile tilted his lips. "I know, because I have the gun. The Major warned me about you."

Liz took a steadying breath. He was scared. He didn't want her to see it by the way he was trying so desperately to school his impression, but he wasn't a born killer. He didn't want to shoot her, but in the same way, she thought he didn't want to fail his Major either. She smiled a little, keeping her hands where he could see them. "You do. Now what do you want me to do?"

He stared at her a moment. "He just wants to make sure you don't get out. He needs you to go after that guy."

"What guy?"

"Phelps."

"Jacob?" Liz prompted and the boy nodded. She'd be damned if she was going to become bait. They were on McCready's home turf, which would give him a greater chance of success, even if the people she cared about were able to put their differences aside. "Do you know who he is?"

"He used to work for the Major. He betrayed him. I'm not going to-"

Liz moved fast, one hand on the gun, pulling the barrel to the side, the other going to the boy's hand. He let out a sharp cry and swung around, but she had pried the gun loose and sidestepped him so that she pulled his arm behind him. "I'm not going to hurt you," she hissed lowly, "but I'm not going to let your boss use me against Jacob."

He struggled, but quickly seemed to understand that Liz wasn't a pushover. "They'll kill me," he whispered after a moment.

"Not if I protect you. This guy that the Major is after? Jacob? He was his best. He's not going to beat him. Not with the friends we have."

"Like who?"

"Raymond Reddington."

"I know that name."

"Does the Major talk about him?"

"Yeah," the boy answered, looking down at his boots.

Liz offered him a smile. "We're going to win this, and I'm going to protect you. Do you believe me?" When he nodded she released him. "My name is Liz. What's your name?"

"Matt."

They had visited all options, including one in which Reddington strode up to the front door and demanded a meeting with Bud. That had been Jacob's favorite, personally, but there was no question how unreasonable it was. About as unreasonable as Reddington's statement that they should just march the former operative up to the front gate and negotiate an exchange.

The sun was setting low now and it had been a long day. The FBI would be sending backup, but their small party was going in first and would provide intel from inside, relayed to Aram who would then relay it to the team when they arrived. It was unconventional, but as far as Jacob could tell that's how the task force worked. In his experience, unconventional tended to work best. The feds had the newly infamous - to them, anyway - Major dangled in front of them following the arrest of top Cabal members. They'd be fat and happy with their score after this, and Jacob was willing to hand his former mentor over if it meant getting Liz back safely. He'd do anything for that at this point.

"I can bring the defenses down in the localized area for a little over sixty seconds," Aram said from where he sat in the backseat of the vehicle that had brought them as close as they dared around the back. "To get everyone else in, you'll need to take the rest down from inside."

"How much more than sixty seconds?" Ressler asked, checking his gun.

"There will be guards on the other side," Jacob added. "They may not be there immediately, but they'll come."

The tech genius shrugged as best he could with one arm on a sling. "Give or take two to five seconds. If they catch wind of me earlier than I anticipate-"

"We need you to stay hidden here," Reddington said firmly. "We can't count on the FBI to be here on time and we'll need a way of escape."

"They'll be here," Ressler said tightly. "They understand what's at stake and what we're risking to-"

"Reddington is right," Samar cut in. "We need a contingency plan for those that get out." She turned to look at her boss. "The FBI is coming for Bill McCready, not Liz. She doesn't mean to them what she means to us. If we want to save her, we go in without expectation of help."

"Those that... Everyone's getting out and our backup is coming," Aram stuttered and he looked a little terrified at the thought of anything else happening. "I'll have you on comm and relay anything you need to our people on their way in. They won't leave you in there."

"These people we're up against are well trained," Jacob explained as he tucked his gun away, feeling his entire body protest as he unfolded out of the vehicle. "They're not pushovers and they're going to know we're coming. It's not going to be easy. Things happen and-" his blue gaze shifted to each member of the team going in - "if you can't accept that, you probably shouldn't come."

"We know what we're getting into," Baz acknowledged and thumbed back at Aram. "I have one of my guys staying back with Mojtabai to keep him safe in case any of those guys decide to come take a shot at him."

"Are we settled then?" Reddington asked.

The plan was fairly straight forward. Dembe and Jacob would lead in - if only because Jacob knew the layout - and the others would follow. They were creating their own hole in the gate once Aram had defences down and they'd slip in through one of the outer courses that were set up on the campus. Trees, large rocks, and various places not only for them to take cover, but for their enemies to take shots at them if they weren't careful.

They would take the first guard that they could and Reddington had already volunteered to make them talk. No one questioned that he could. They would find Liz and they would move out if the FBI was there yet or not. Even Ressler acknowledged that their first goal was to get Liz out safely while their secondary goal was to take Bud down.

"Look at you manipulating the FBI for personal reasons," Jacob murmured as they approached the back of the gate in a blind spot. It was still buzzing softly, and none of them dared touch it until the defences were brought down. "I'd always pictured you as some sort of boy scout or something."

Ressler bristled. "Liz is part of our team, if she's technically FBI right now or not. We're not leaving her."

The woman in question's ex husband felt a small smile perk his lips. "Good to know she has allies like you then."

The shorter man snorted and only offered a glare in return. Jacob fit the small earpiece into place and gave Dembe a nod as he joined him at the gate. They were waiting for the signal that the security was down, and as soon as Aram's voice rang in their ears Dembe made quick work of the fence with wire cutters, allowing them to slip through the opening.

It was silent on the other side and there was something surreal about the fact that nothing seemed to have changed. Some markets for the course had been moved and it looked like one tree had taken the wrong end of one of the student's weapon, but all in all it was still the place that Jacob had grown up in. It was silent with the exception of the breeze moving through the trees and bushes, and Jacob risked a glance at Dembe. The older man wore an expression that seemed to agree that it was too quiet.

Blue eyes scanned the open space just beyond. They would have cover until the end of the course, but there was a field between them and the complex where Liz would be held. Taking a guard in the middle would attract too much attention, so they would wait until they got inside.

They met two different guards between their entry point and the door. They were low level, likely trainees as young as they looked. By the time they reached the door and used the fob they had lifted off one of them to enter, Reddington shot Jacob a glare. "I need one alive, Tom," Reddington groused.

"I need to not have any more holes in me, thanks," Jacob snapped back. "These aren't the guys you'll question anyway. Bud compartmentalizes the program to some extent."

"How is it you know so much then?" Samar asked and Jacob's lips thinned out as he started forward again.

"He needed someone to take over someday."

He felt eyes on him as he moved past, but he ignored them. They had too much ahead of them to worry about that now.

"FBI is inbound. I can walk someone through taking the rest of the security down if you can get to the console system," Aram's voice rang in everyone's ear.

"If Aram can walk me through it I can disable it," Samar said.

"Tom, you'll need to show her where it is," Reddington said. "I'll take Dembe and Donald and-"

"No," Jacob cut him off. "I'm going after Liz." He turned back to the dark eyed woman. "Take this hall. It'll circle around to your left and empty into a courtyard. You'll see three buildings. The furthest one to the right is the one you need."

"Got it. What should I expect between me and it?"

"Trained assassins," the former operative answered honestly.

A smirk tilted her lips. "Baz, you and your boys up for a detour?"

He nodded, motioning to his two men to follow, leaving Jacob, Reddington, Dembe, and Ressler as the rescue team.

"You boys stay alive," she offered as they turned, leaving them to face down everyone between them and Liz.

Notes: Sorry for the short chapter. This week sort of got away from me and suddenly it's Thursday and I meant to update several days ago.

Next time - Liz chooses to trust her young ally, Reddington leaves a trail of bodies, and Jacob makes a sacrifice for the woman he loves.