Here we go. Chapter 5 is up!
It's more from Lizzie's POV and how she managed to get to Chicago without Ezra close on her heels.
This Chapter lacks Lizzington, but I hope you like it.
A huge thanks to inmate23!
When Lizzy left Red's bedroom earlier that day, she already had a plan in mind, on how she could follow Red without his knowledge. She had shoved her phone into Red's bag, so that Aram could locate him later. Clearly, he wouldn't be amused and she could imagine the angry looks he would send her, but Elizabeth Keen wasn't his pet. Even though she enjoyed that he treated her like she was currently the most important woman on this planet, having a babysitter during his absence was insulting.
He metaphorically pushed her into the grave more than once, so why would he stop now? His daughter was supposed to die, if he wouldn't give in and she was game to do everything in her power to help him. He saved her life and she would help him saving Jennifer and him.
She grabbed her coat from the wardrobe and walked to the car, where Dembe was already waiting for them. He held the door open and Liz smiled in thanks, as she slid into the vehicle. While Red was still busy packing his things, Lizzy watched Dembe standing in front of the car. Can he even talk? He never talked to her personally. They only spoke on the phone, although she liked his stoic calmness. Suddenly she was curious how Red and Dembe met. Was he also that silent towards Red? She opened the back window and poked her head through it, looking up at him. He seemed even taller now.
"May I ask you a question, Dembe?"
He peered down at her for a brief moment and nodded, "You may do that."
His voice was deeper than on the phone and definitely more throaty. Not as attractive as Red's, but still pleasant. Tilting her head, a habit she must have picked up from Red, she asked him.
"How did you meet Red? Did you save his life, or something?"
Looking down shortly he raised one eyebrow and huffed a laugh.
"You don't have to answer that, if you can't. I'm just curious, because you're always so quiet and calm, so I don't see you meeting him at a bar or something like that. In a non-professional sense." she said quickly, as she caught his glance.
"I am an orphan. My family was murdered by the Mombasa Cartel. They sold me to peddlers. When I was no longer of further value, they left me chained up in Nairobi. I was 14 and left to die, when Raymond found me. To be honest, in that state, I would have rather died but he simply took me with him. I owe him everything. He is the only family I have." He answered honestly, his eyes fixed on Lizzie's.
Internally happy that she was, at least one time, right that this particular case was important to Red, she choked down the lump in her throat. If she had known that the Mombasa Cartel was responsible for the death of his family, she would have made sure to deal with them accordingly and severely. Her eyes were filled with tears, but she didn't dare let them out. Instead she tried to smile sincerely at Red's best friend, but she must have failed terribly, because one corner of his mouth turned up into an amused smile.
"I know you are sorry. But you don't have to be."
She nodded and chewed on her bottom lip, wondering if her next question was inappropriate or not. There were so many things she didn't know about Red and of course, she was curious about Dembe's journey as well. Although she highly doubted that he would answer her following question, she gave it a shot.
"What was he like when you met him?" she asked.
"I'm not here to play Cupid for the two of you." He smiled, while he eyed the area around them.
Surely he had recognized the change in dynamic of their relationship. He had seen their embrace on that filthy ship. Truth to be told, Raymond Reddington had never been the type for a monogamous relationship. He wooed women in Paris, Madrid, Rio and in many more cities. Only Madeline Pratt was a longer lasting affair, but after she wanted more from him, he fled. But he could see in Red's eyes that his feelings for Liz went deeper and wondered if she was the woman, who could break through his wall.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Dembe whispered as he went around the car to the trunk, when Red closed the front door of the house.
"Excuse me?"
"Ask him!" he stated simply.
"Ask me what?" Red questioned, as took the seat next to her.
"You're not the only one with secrets, Red." she said smiling.
With his lips pursed, he fastened his seat belt, his eyes focused on her, "Obviously not."
Then his attention went back to the landscape.
Watching the scenario in the rearview mirror, Dembe let out a quiet chuckle as he drove off to the Post Office.
After Red had left, Lizzy told Aram to locate her phone. He didn't even ask why he should do that. He just did it. Despite not being the best marksman, he was her secret hero of the task force.
While she was checking her prepaid phone in front of Cooper's office, Ressler tapped her on the shoulder.
"What's going on between you and Reddington?"
"What's going on with you, lately?" she responded, fairly offended by his rude tone, her eyes leaving the screen of her phone to look at him.
He wiped the sweat from his furrowed forehead. "I'm fine, Keen! So, what's going on between you and him?"
"You're still on your pills, aren't you?"
"I asked you a question." he hissed and guided her in the direction of their office.
She rolled her eyes at him and watched him tight-lipped, as he shut the door behind him.
"I've seen you with him. Didn't look professional to me." he said skeptically, one eyebrow raised.
Lizzy gave him a glazed look and shrugged. It was none of his business at all and as long as he didn't have proof, he couldn't do anything. Furthermore, there was nothing going on. Yet.
"Does he force you into something? Does he blackmail you?"
"No" she answered immediately with an unreadable expression on her face, her arms folded in front of her.
He shook his head and sniffed. This was not the same Liz he knew, the one who told him when something was off. She even told him what she did with Tom, so why doesn't she tell him about Reddington?
"Do you love him?"
Her jaw slacked as he spilled those words out of his mouth. Now that someone had finally asked exactly the question she tried to avoid so badly, she became aware of something. It felt like the first time she went on a rollercoaster ride. She didn't like rollercoasters, especially not the rustling of the chains at the beginning when you're climbing up the hill, but it was exhilarating. It always made her heart pumping faster against her chest. She would close her eyes for the things she didn't want to see, she would want to cover her ears for the things she didn't want to hear, but there was no turning back. Her stomach would have felt full and empty and the lump in her throat would become more difficult to swallow the closer they would come to the peak, but if she had opened her eyes, she would have seen that there was someone beside her, who was going through the same hell.
If she would have listened to that person, she would have heard the words of encouragement that everything is going to be fine. Nevertheless, she would have wished for the time to stop for a couple of minutes to prepare herself for the the next thing to fall down, before it goes up again, with rapid speed.
Her relationship with Red was fairly the same. The day they met had been the start of her career as a profiler, but she ended up as the partner of a notorious criminal. She tried to hate him for destroying her life, her marriage, but she felt more alive at the same time.
Being in danger constantly was somehow thrilling and sitting in an office 24/7 would have been boring anyway. If she hadn't walked through the day with her eyes closed and her ears covered, since she started working with him, she would have recognized that Red is the person next to her.
It wasn't easy for him either and he always supported her. He comforted her, when she was sad. He was there to hold her hand, he put her life ahead of his own, he even built her that damn music box, and she was blinded by thinking of him as an asset, instead of a friend, or the person who tried to bring out the best in her.
Again, she felt starved and stuffed at the same time. The noose was slowly tightening on her until the urge to breath and swallow became unbearable. However, the problem this time was, that it was not just a 120 second rollercoaster ride. This time it was real. And it lasted.
She starred unblinking at Ressler, trying to appear as neutral as possible, but she had a terrible pokerface.
"Even if I loved... him, it wouldn't make a difference, since it would be onesided."
"Liz." he sighted, "You can't fall in love with him."
"If only one could control that." she said quietly, avoiding him by now.
Red's words echoed in her head, 'When you love someone you have no control.'
She was in trouble.
He approached her slowly and inclined his head to have a better look at her.
"Yeah, I bet you would've chosen me instead of him."
She snorted with laughter and looked up, "Rather Aram." she winked and patted his shoulder in sympathy.
"Touché" he said smiling and added with sincerity in his voice, "But honestly, when you need someone to talk to, or my help in general, don't hesitate to call me."
Liz nodded and pursed her lips, now looking like an innocent little girl who asks her parents for a piece of chocolate. She might need Ressler's help, soon. Soon, like now!
"What's the matter?" he asked, as he caught her look.
"Red's meeting a contact in Chicago and won't tell me who it is. I wanna go to there, but I need your help to get rid of Ezra."
"Who's Ezra?"
"Let's say he is my Dembe."
"If he's as tall as Dembe, we might have a problem."
"Just distract him! I'll try to sneak out after I talk to Cooper."
"Okay, but be careful." he nodded.
"Will do."
The conversation with Cooper went along smoothly. Whatever Red had planned, it apparently concerns the whole Task Force. She wasn't sure, if she would like this plan, since she was worried that Red's rational thinking was blurred by his rage. He can be lethal, when it's necessary. A deadly outcome for his enemies in this case was unworthy of discussion to him, but she feared the consequences. Although they didn't know for certain who held Jennifer hostage, she was convinced Fitch's people were involved.
Ressler watched Liz enter Cooper's office from the window, as he recognized one of the guards and an unfamiliar person close behind.
As soon as Ezra passed by the office, he opened the door.
"Is there a problem?"
The guard stopped. "This man works for Mr. Reddington and wants to pick up Agent Keen."
"Assistant Director Cooper gave his permission?"
He nodded and Ressler pulled him into his office. Perfect.
"Sit down!" Ressler ordered and carefully blocked the exit.
Ezra laughed at his comment and stood by the window instead.
"Where is Agent Keen?"
"That's confidential." Ressler said with a thin smile.
Ezra made a sound of disapproval and shook his head.
"I won't tell anybody where she is, when people are trying to abduct her."
"And it's my job to prevent that from happening." The brown haired man stated matter-of-factly.
Ezra wanted to get out but Ressler pushed him away, and dragged him to sit on a chair by the radiator. He went to the drawer and pulled out a new magazine, his eyes focused on Ezra as he reloaded his gun.
"I'll give you two options, buddy. Either your ass remains on this chair until I allow you to move, or I have to cuff you to the radiator."
"Look" he paused and squinted at Ressler's ID, "Agent Ressler. We both want the same thing. Why don't you stop being a prick and bring me to Agent Keen instead?"
He shoved the weapon in his holster and approached Red's associate with three steps.
"Because," He leaned closer and placed his hand on the wall next to Ezra's head. "I like being a 'prick', and to answer your question: Agent Keen can handle herself very well." he hissed in the most arrogant tone he could manage.
"Reddington's gonna kill us both, if something happens to her." he said, pushing himself off the chair.
Ressler pressed his Glock-18 against his thigh and forced him to sit again. His free hand fiddled for his handcuffs before the metal closed around Ezra's wrist with a 'klick'. Given the fact that Ezra was unarmed, he couldn't do something without getting shot, and that would neither serve Liz, nor him. He sighted as the other end of the cuffs closed around the pipe. "If your partner dies because of this, could you forgive yourself?"
"She's been through worse." he said and went to the office window, waiting for Liz, "And Reddington is a valuable asset and it is her job to protect him.
When Liz hurried down the stairs, she caught Ressler standing in their office, giving her a 'thumbs up'. She waved her hand and headed to the elevator.
Her plane arrived 3 hours later. She had talked to Aram to find out Red's location. It seemed he was still in his hotel. She also talked to Ressler, who informed her that he 'nailed it', but also that Cooper found out about it and was 'beyond pissed' about their joint action.
Lizzy rented a car and drove off to the address Aram had given her earlier. Red's car was parked in front of the hotel entrance. She sipped from her plastic cup and waited patiently for further movements. It was already 6 a.m, and neither Red, nor Dembe were to be seen. If she would have known that it would take 3 hours for Red to come out, she would changed into something more comfortable.
When Red finally exited the hotel with Dembe, she barely recognized him at first. He looked more like a petty criminal in his dark hoodie than someone from the Most Wanted list. She pulled into traffic, careful that one vehicle remained between her and his car. The drive took another 45 minutes until they came to a stop in a rather unattractive area. As before, she parked on the other side and waited until the coast was clear. She crouched behind a car, one hand on her holster, always on guard. It was odd to watch Red watching someone else, and she wondered if this was the contact he referred to. She squinted into the darkness and noticed that the stranger looked like Tom.
Wait!
His hair and the beard was shorter than on the ship, but it was undoubtedly Tom. A dozen questions popped up in her head. Was this a coincidence? Was he doing business with him? If so, then why? She frowned when she saw how another person knocked Dembe out. With her gun in hand, she tip-toed over the street. Glad that the road was only dimly lit, she stood at Red's old spot behind the bar, while he leaned over Dembe's body. She couldn't see Tom. Unfortunately. Otherwise she would have reacted sooner, but Tom's attack came out of the blue. She inhaled deeply, but none of it seemed to get into her lungs. Her sweaty palms held her pistol, ready to shoot if necessary, but she believed Red would defeat Tom. He had been one of the best graduates at the Naval Academy, and therefore must be incredibly skilled. But now he seemed distracted, unable to defend himself. Tom was stronger, younger and in better shape, but Red had over 20 years experience. What was wrong with him?
She must do something.
Now.
She couldn't bear the image of Red beaten up by Tom any longer. She targeted Tom, who was standing with his back to her. Her hands were shaking, her palms sweaty let alone to mention the rapid beating of her heart against her ribcage.
What if she missed the shot? It could kill Red and she would be responsible for that.
No, she wouldn't. She is an agent. She has done this before. She can do that.
She moved aside, and tried to keep her voice as steady as possible.
"Don't move, Tom!"
But he only turned his head towards her and ginned deadly at her as he raised the blade once more.
She didn't think, she just pulled the trigger and watched Tom's body hit the ground. As soon as her gun was safely placed back into her holster, she hurried first to Dembe, who slowly regained consciousness, then to Red. Blood was dripping down his shoulder, where Tom had stabbed him, but it didn't look life-threatening. She turned him on his back and pressed her fingers against his pulse point on his neck. It was weaker than it should be, but still there. Her palms cupped his cheeks gently as she leaned closer to him.
"Red! Can you hear me? Come on, wake up!" she said in a low voice while her thumbs ran tenderly over his cheekbones.
When he didn't show any reaction, she searched for his phone in his trouser pockets. They must get rid of Tom's body and Red needed a medic. She dialed the only person she knew, who could help, while her other hand was still moving over his cheek.
Mr. Kaplan would know what do to.