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She was angry and the feeling of rage flooded her entire body and mind. Pressing her lips together Liz repositioned her gun slightly as the decision was made but it wasn't really her who made it and more like the evil within her that urged her to pull the trigger. After she watched the body slump onto the ground she came back to herself, gasping for air as she realized what just happened. It reminded her of Connolly. There was a void of the moment she had fired and she didn't believe in coincidences. Not anymore; not after she met Red.

The body she was shielding her with landed on the grass before she reached for her bag and reloaded her weapon on her way to the other vehicle. She had lost a good 10 minutes and still had a 15 minute drive ahead. If Ressler knew, he would probably be there already and to some extend she hoped he would. The destination must be heavily guarded by the cabal and she could use some help. He thoughts drifted to what she was told. There was no torture that would cause neither Red, nor Dembe to give in and change sides. They were loyal people, good at heart and despised the clandestine organization.

Soon she reached the supposed house in which Red and Dembe seemed to be held hostage. Against her expectation there was no sign of the FBI. She hopped out of the car and unlocked the safety on her gun as she slowly crept towards the building. On her way she nearly trapped over a body which she couldn't see in the darkness. Kneeling down she searched his pockets for an ID and read that he was an official guard and didn't belong to the police which meant that she was at the right building and hopefully not too late.

Peeking around the corner of the door, she heard sirens coming closer and considered her options. If she would go upstairs and Ressler stormed the building she is trapped but if Red was in the basement and Ressler came in they could escape through a window. Taking a breath she descended the stairs, and went for the basement, wondering why there wasn't any security until she heard voices at the end of a long aisle.

"Tell Solomon the bodyguard is on the plane and Reddington's procedure needs a few more minutes."

Her back rested against the cold, moist wall as she swiftly watched the scene before her. One person only and at least one more in the other room where Red was in. She was in trouble and too late to prevent Red from whatever they were doing to him and Dembe was already gone. Too bad she didn't have a silencer. Red had told her the benefits of having one but she said she didn't need one since he had one in his possession. How foolish of her to think that she wouldn't need one and it was the first thing she'd buy when they were out of there.

A shot was fired from above, most likely the FBI had entered the building, causing the guard to come closer to where she was. Without further thought, she shot him and ran to the room, firing again when another two guards came out. She heard Ressler's orders to check every room on the first and second floor.

Good, that brought her time.

Kicking open the door, she gasped as an all to familiar sight greeted her. Red was lying on an operation table, unconscious but several electrodes were attached to his head, a monitor standing beside him. She lowered her gun as she saw the frightened expression on the doctors face who held up his hands in surrender. She clicked the door shut and closed the distance to her friend, her lip trembling slightly, fearing the worst to what happened to him.

"What have you done?", she asked. "Tell me exactly what you did and nothing happens to you!"

He still had his hands up and switched his gaze from Red to her. "I'm Michael Bucannon, I'm married and a father of three -"

"I asked what you have done and not who you are!", she told the middle aged man. She had no interest in his family history at all if she might have to kill him. Raising her gun again, she waited for his reply.

"I was forced to ... manipulate his memories. And those of the other man."

She unbuckled the chains around his wrists, ankles and chest rapidly, the words sinking in. "Where is his friend now?"

"I - I don't know."

"What memories have been altered?"

"I can't say."

She pressed the gun at his head. "Can you now?"

"They kill my family if I do!", he almost whimpered, making her nearly reconsider everything but she knew she couldn't. She'd never killed an innocent man and she didn't want to but this was about Red and Dembe and she needed answers. "Two choices Dr. Bucannon, you tell me what kind of man he will be when he wakes up and I provide you and your family with a new identity or I have to kill you and let me tell you that I personally don't want to do this."

His glance drifted to the monitor and his finger pointed to a tiny device underneath what looked like a microphone. "The procedure isn't fully done, yet. If I stop at this time I don't know what he will be like when he wakes up."

Leaning down to Red, she stroked softly over his cheek to get him awake. "What's the worst case scenario?", she asked quietly without tearing her eyes off Red.

"It's hard to predict, Miss. It's never been tried on humans before. The procedure is fairly new and was tested on mice only."

"Can you undo it?"

"Technically yes, but entering and implanting artificial memory is risky. I don't know if he would survive that; even less if he would awake as the person he was before."

She nodded and tore her gaze away from Red, her hand resting on his shoulder while her other hand ripped off the microphone, squeezing it tightly so that the device would be broken "Would you agree to my offer and join me? I assure your family will be safe."

Shaking his head apologetically, he ruefully declined, "I'm sorry for what happened to these two men but please understand that I can't do that since my family is involved.", he said matter of factly. "I've worked with a neurologist in Sweden who knows details about memory alteration. His name is Peter Larson and he works at the University of Stockholm. He might be able to help you."

She nodded sadly in understanding before she started to take off the electrodes on his head. If she was in his position she would also choose her family over the fate of strangers but Red and Dembe were her family. There was no one else but them she could trust. "When will he wake up?"

"As I said we haven't finished the therapy."

"Is it safe for him to travel?"

"Yes - "

Ressler's voice echoed on the other side, causing Liz to work faster, leaning Red's arm around her shoulder. "Bring me the wheelchair!"

The doctor obliged and she sat Red carefully down, grasping his black fedora afterwards. "Is there a backdoor?"

"This way, Miss."

"Go ahead!", she demanded and walked with Red behind Dr. Bucannon who shoved aside a cupboard, revealing a thick metal door that he opened. Before going in with Red she observed the area for possible threads. As she heard nothing but silence she let out a content sigh in relief and thanked the doctor for his willingness to cooperate. It was a dark and somewhat creepy hall, reminding her on a movie she once watched but this wasn't the time to be frightened. She had made it this far without any problems.

Except for the two men she killed. Even if it wasn't a problem at all, the suspect how she did it concerned her.

She stopped in her tracks as she saw the stairs she had to ascend in order to get to the car. Red was fast asleep, his head slumped on his shoulder. Locking the safety on her gun and hiding it in her pocket, she kneeled down in front of him with her back to him and grabbed his hands, wounding them over her shoulders so that his body was pressed against her spine as she dragged him upstairs, panting breathlessly. His usually polished leather shoes were most likely ruined and she thought how disappointed he would be when he saw that. Then she remembered that he probably wouldn't remember that things such as strained shoes bothered him.

What if he didn't remember the relationship they had?

The backyard was illuminated in flickering red and blue lights from police cars, officers and agents stood at the entrance. They were probably unaware of this exit. The sharp pain in her leg from the accident made it impossible for her to run and Red's weight lasted heavily on her back. Instead of going to the main street she limped towards a side road that lead her eventually to the car she occupied.

When she positioned Red on the backseat and sat behind the wheel she released a quivering breath. Suddenly, everything she was told sunk in and she realized what it meant. Dembe was gone and his memories had been altered to the Cabal's favor. The once so loyal man probably worked now for a shadow organization. She prayed that she saved Red soon enough. She couldn't bear the thought that he wouldn't remember the special connection they shared and the answers he kept secret would be gone with other memories; memories about his former life and god, even his family.

Leaning forward, she started the engine, heading for his apartment in Bethesda. She had to form a plan and observe the damage the therapy caused on him before making a further move. Slowly she left the city behind her, letting the darkness embrace her.

Tbc... Please R&R :)