15

She wanted to take his head off. Masterson had sauntered in and let three of his guys go down before Dembe took him down from behind. Now he was smug where he sat, tied to a chair and his face bloodied. Red flexed his hand, knuckles showing signs of the beat down he'd given the younger man. It had been relatively quick, a release of anger on a man that had caused them nothing but trouble, but Liz still felt the moments weigh. The Major had Jacob, and if they didn't act quickly enough he would kill him. She worried that Red didn't care as much about that.

"Patience, Lizzy. Thirty seconds' difference won't change Tom's fate," Reddington assured her.

"He's not going to talk," she pointed out, glancing over to where Ressler was speaking quietly into a comm.

"I'm well aware." Masterson's head snapped around with the next blow. "That doesn't make it any less necessary."

"Bill will figure out pretty quick what's happened," the tied operative managed. "You won't make it in time."

"They've breached the parameter," Ressler said. "Backup is here."

"Oh look. The FBI came through," Reddington cheered as if he'd never had much faith in it to begin with.

Liz turned a glare on Masterson, her gaze not softening as it then shifted to Red. "We're going after Jacob."

"He'll be dead by the time you get there."

"I don't have time to argue-"

The shot rang out without warning, making Liz jump and Ressler turn. Masterson, for his part, fell limply forward, the fact that he was tied to the chair the only thing keeping him in it. Reddington smiled. "He was more trouble than he was worth. Shall we?"

"Seriously?" Ressler grumbled, shaking his head. He turned his gaze to Liz. "Listen, I'll take a team in to get Tom. He... He let himself get caught to make sure we could get to you. I'll do what I can to get him out safely."

"If you think I'm not going with you-"

"You're hurt, Liz. You need a doctor and then we can start going through the legal channels to clear your name. Connolly was linked with the Cabal."

"Great. That can be after we go save Jacob," she said purposefully, his real name a little easier each time she said it. There were too many questions for it to end now.

"What about me?" Matt asked quietly to the side, his eyes wide and a little afraid.

Ressler gave her a purposeful look and she couldn't argue it. Matt needed her, and she had promised to get him out safely. If she shuffled him off to some agent somewhere, he'd get lost in the chaos. At best he'd end up right back in the foster care system and possibly even juvie. She reached her hand out to the young teen and he came immediately over. "I've got you. Just like I promised," she told him as she put her uninjured arm around him and turned back to her partner. "You'll get him out?"

"I'll do everything I can," Ressler promised.

She nodded and Red joined her, Dembe moving to go with Ressler. Matt looked up at the former Navy officer turned criminal. "Are you really Raymond Reddington?" he asked and Red's lips quirked upward.

"Yes I am. Why don't you help me get Lizzy here to the medic. She is awful stubborn about some things."

His eyes lit up and he nodded, taking Liz's hand and leading her down the hall.

Jacob didn't dare move. He'd never been afraid of Bud before, but he'd had a hell of a lot of respect for him. He still wasn't afraid, per se, even if he knew he was wasn't walking out of this by now. All that he could hope was that Liz would get out. He'd done everything he could for her now.

"What the hell were you thinking, kid? You led feds and Reddington to my doorstep."

"You took her. What did you expect, Bud?" Jacob shot back. "You could have left us. I never would have-"

"Somethin's snapped in that head of yours. Zanetakos? Really?"

The former operative flinched. "I tried to talk her down from it, Bud. You know I did. Gina-"

"Just shut up. Shut up. It all comes back to that bitch and as soon as Masterson brings her back in I'm going to put one in your gut, kill her, and make you watch, you hear me? Your death ain't going to be quick, kid. You gave that up. You set this into motion. All of this is on you, but I have to clean your mess up."

Jacob kept his expression as even as he could, even as Bud's cell rang in his pocket. He dug it out irritably, his own expression changing just under the surface. If Jacob hadn't known him like he did, he doubted he would have seen it. It was subtle, but Bud was not happy. "Masterson failed, didn't he?" he asked as soon as the call was ended.

"Masterson doesn't matter," his former handler answered, levelling the gun at him.

"But you don't have Liz. Otherwise you wouldn't be about ready to shoot me."

Jacob's satisfied smirk only lasted as long as it took for Bud to move close enough to kick out at his already injured ankle, sending him crashing down. The cool barrel of the gun pressed against his forehead. "Ain't going to save you."

"Never said it would." Blue eyes slipped closed, waiting. Lizzy was safe and that had to be enough. After everything he'd done, everything he'd given and taken and everything in between, it had to be enough that she was safe. She knew he loved her. He'd done his best to prove it.

It took a moment for him to realize that the loud, abrupt sound was not the gun going off. Jacob's eyes blinked open with the shouts that followed the door slamming open and saw the defeat flash through his mentor's gaze. They were on him faster than Jacob could have moved in his condition and the Major gave them no reason to kill him. The former operative remained knelt on the ground, watching the scene as the man that raised him was read his rights.

An agent approached him, demanding that he put his hands behind his head as well, but a familiar voice cut him off. "He's fine. He's an asset." Ressler waved the eager agent off and stood watching as Jacob forced himself to his feet. "You look like hell."

"Thanks for that. Liz safe?"

"Took a bullet to the arm. She's getting patched up."

Jacob grimaced. "Is she okay?"

"Mostly. She will be. What about you? You going to make it?"

"Well I'm not dead yet. Never thought you'd be the one in here though."

Ressler snorted. "You got us in. I figured that was worth something. Don't expect an accommodation or anything."

Jacob chuckled, arm going around his battered ribs as he winced. "What would someone like me do with it anyway?" He looked up to see Ressler smirking at the comment. Slowly, and with a great deal of effort, he got to his feet, expression serious. "If you're not going to arrest me, I'd like to see Liz."

The medics were set up along the outside the fence that surrounded the compound. Liz didn't let go of Matt's hand as they exited, and she felt his grip on her tighten. Gunshots could still be heard in intervals from inside, but it seemed that the worst of it was over. The Cabal was down, and those that hadn't been arrested were scattered. It was only a matter of time before Bud's operatives around the globe found themselves in the same situation.

"You think your friend is okay?" Matt asked from his place right next to her.

"Jacob? I hope so."

The teen swallowed hard. "I heard stories about him. He was one of the Major's best operatives. He was supposed to be really good until he met you."

Liz found herself smiling just a little at that. "All my fault, huh?"

"Some people say that. Maybe you were just nice to him like you were to me."

The former agent turned to look at him, watching the uncomfortable expression work its way into his entire stance. "I love Jacob very much," she confessed quietly.

"And that's why you're worried?"

"Yeah. That's why I'm worried." Her gaze drifted and between the movement she could see two familiar faces. Liz stood, bandaged arm held tightly to her as she mumbled for Matt to stay there and tell anyone that asked what he was doing to ask her. Her feet were already carrying her to meet the two men coming her way and she could see that Jacob was favouring one leg to the point that he was actually leaning against Ressler.

Jacob spotted her first, and as tired as he looked, his eyes lit up and he pulled away from her partner, nearly stumbling. Liz was nearly to him and reached out, feeling his arms lock around her and he pulled her close. She sank in, her forehead pressed against his chest and her uninjured arm wrapped around him. It was like a dam broke and as a sob escaped her she tightened her grip, her fingers clutching the fabric of his t-shirt.

"Easy, babe," he coaxed softly, his hand coming up to her hair in a soothing motion.

It took a second for her to realize she was hurting him and she instantly let go, moving back enough to see his face. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. You okay?"

"Yeah. You?"

Jacob nodded, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "I love you, Lizzy," he whispered, his voice rough with emotion. "I know Justin told you some things..."

"We'll talk," she promised. "Just not right now okay?"

His gaze drifted behind her and his tired smile returned. "Hey there."

Liz turned, finding Matt trying to look inconspicuous. "Matt, come meet Jacob," she offered and he shuffled forward. "Matt helped me get out. He was a real hero today."

"Yeah?" her ex husband asked, his voice lighter with the young teen coming into the conversation. "You a first year?" Matt nodded. "Where'd the Major pick you up from?"

"DC group home," he answered smally. He glanced back at Liz. "I don't have to go back, right?"

"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you're safe, Matt. I promise you." She glanced over to Ressler, hoping he might be able to weigh in with something the task force could do, but he was distracted by another agent.

"I could just go home with you and Jacob," he offered.

Liz's eyes flickered to her ex who looked both amused and half ready to collapse. She offered Matt a strained smile. "Honey, we have a lot to work out between the two of us. We'll make sure you get into a good home and I'll come visit whenever you want to make sure they're treating get you well."

"Promise?"

Liz nodded, feeling her walls tremble just as they had moments before. "Promise."

"If I don't like it or they don't like me, you'll come for me though, right?"

"Right," Jacob said, surprising Liz a little.

"Right," she agreed with him and Matt wrapped himself around her middle.

"I'm holding you to it," he told her firmly and Liz felt the weight of the trust he was choosing to place in her, just as she had in him.

"I still think you'd make a great mom," Jacob said softly as the agent that Ressler had been speaking to led Matt to the side.

Liz turned to look at him. "Don't you think you and I need to fix a few things before we bring a kid with probably a fair number of his own issues into the equation?"

"I'm not saying right now," he huffed.

It pulled a small smile from her as she found herself nearly lost in those blue eyes of his. She risked a glance around for people nearby. "Tom... Jacob," she corrected herself. "What Masterson said..."

His expression darkened immediately. "What'd he tell you?"

"That you manipulated someone for classified intelligence. That you... Dated her, I guess... Slept with her to get the information."

"And then I killed her once I got it?"

Liz felt the knot in her stomach that she had been try to fight tighten and she nodded. She needed to truth. She didn't want any more lies between them. She could - at least she hoped she could - accept his past for what it was: his past. He was struggling to find himself, and she hoped she wasn't being blind when she thought that he was truly a better person than even he gave himself credit for.

"That's true," he confessed quietly, grimacing as he shifted his weight. "Liz, I promised you I wouldn't lie to you anymore. You... you deserve better than that. I got close to her, got her to give me the information that I needed, and then tied up the loose ends."

"Was that what Berlin was going to have you do with me?"

He winced and she tried to steel herself. She needed to know. "Probably what he expected, yeah. That was one of the reasons I took the job in the first place... To keep someone else from taking it and hurting you."

Liz let the information sink in. "You weren't just using Berlin to protect yourself from Reddington?"

"Not just," he answered, gaze meeting hers hesitantly.

She nodded slowly. "So what's next?"

He shrugged, cringing as he did. "Heal up first, I think," he chuckled. "Maybe actually give my body a chance to get all the way there before jumping into whatever's next."

Liz smiled, tipping up on her toes and pressing a kiss to his lips. She felt him lean into it, deepening it, and her voice was muffled as she whispered, not quite breaking it. "Stay?"

"Hmm?" he answered distractedly.

"With me," she answered, pulling back to look at him. "Don't leave DC once we get back. Let's fix this."

His eyes lit up and the smile was real. "Okay."

"Keen?"

She turned, Ressler motioning for her to walk with him. She pressed another quick kiss to her ex's lips. "Have them check you out."

"I'm fine," he argued, but she glared.

"I wasn't asking," she halfway teased as she turned back to her partner, waiting just long enough to see Jacob nod and start limping towards one of the ambulances that had been brought in.

Ressler frowned. "That's trouble waiting to happen."

"Weren't you the one telling me earlier how he was helpful?"

"Helpful doesn't mean safe, Liz. Where the hell is Reddington?"

"Need him to back you up on this?" she asked, her voice a little tight.

Ressler frowned. "Need some answers from him to fill in gaps in my growing pile of paperwork that'll be on my desk after two massive takedowns in as many days." He sighed. "Listen, Keen, you're going to need to come in. With everything that's happened, I should be able to protect you, but we'll need the full story. You can't just run off with Tom on his damn boat or whatever he has planned."

"I'm not. I'm coming in, and he's coming to DC too."

Ressler looked surprised by that information but shook his head. "You know my feelings on it. Just be careful. He's still a killer. Still a liar."

"I'll be careful," she promised softly.

"Good. Good partners are hard to find. We've missed you around the Post Office."

"I've missed you guys too," Liz answered genuinely. "I'm just... Ready for things to get back to normal."

Her partner rolled his eyes. "Not sure any of us would recognize it," he chuckled. "Stay safe, Keen. I'll see you back in DC."

Liz watched him go and loosed a breath. Maybe, somehow, things might finally start to even out.

TBC

Next time - Things start moving back towards normal and Jacob receives an offer that he never expected and may not be able to refuse.