AN: Thank you for your kind words and messages. Most of you have been waiting for Liz to meet Madeline once again. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Chapter 7 Declaring Red

"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does!" William James

Liz knew Red was close by, she could sense it! Yes, he had told her he was close when they spoke on the phone. She began to look around for a nearby restaurant or café because that female, Madeline Pratt, had unwittingly dropped a hint that Liz had overheard while talking to him on the phone. She followed the crowd noise, it was dinnertime and the closest eating establishment was standing room only. Liz knew that Red would not be ready to leave the restaurant anytime soon.

Red had suggested that she go back to the villa, but she was having none of that. She was convinced that Pratt woman was up to no good. Even though Liz knew Madeline and Red had obviously had a previous intimate relationship, Liz wanted to expose her lies and deceptions. If she was the one who had gained access to Red's accounts as Aram suggested, she wanted Red to see Madeline clearly with open eyes.

She decided to go into the women's clothing boutique that was just four doors down the block. Liz entered the boutique and informed the sales clerk that she was looking for a red blouse. She had decided that she was going to mark herself with the color red so that he would notice, besides that she had to look her best when she met Madeline again.

She knew that Red would immediately know that she had on something new, after all they had been living in the same house and he recognized all of her clothes. He was never shy about telling her which ones he liked and which ones he wanted her to never wear again. Liz also knew that Red was savvy enough to notice the color and associate the reason she would chose to wear something red.

The sales clerk helped her select three tops to try on. The first one was too tight across the chest, the second was just not a style she felt comfortable wearing, but the third…oh, the third one was just right. If Red didn't notice this top he had no pulse. The sleeveless top had a very low cut wide v-neck. The neckline modestly revealed her rounded breasts, emphasized her slim waist and the fabric clung to her shape in all the right places. Liz immediately told the clerk that she would purchase the blouse and then she requested to leave the boutique wearing her new purchase.

As she was leaving the shop she noticed some bangles displayed on a table. Oh yes, this was the time to be daring. She went back to the sales register and purchased two silver bangles that were on sale then she put the baubles on and confidently walked out of the shop. A smirk was on her face as she noticed the eyes of her security team got a little bigger as they followed her out of the door and down the street.

Lizzie was ready to make her presence known at the restaurant. She stopped to have her name put on the waiting list; Elizabeth Scott, seating for two. Madeline would not recognize that name, but Red would. Then she decided to take a trip to the ladies room. She told Richard where she was going. He agreed to wait there. Liz was gone only a few minutes, but as she was on her way to the restroom she surveyed the tables and discovered where Red and Ms Pratt were seated. Liz was sure that Red had not seen her, but Dembe had. Darn it…she hoped he wouldn't tell Red she was there and ruin her surprise entrance.

About twenty minutes later Elizabeth Scott's name was called in the waiting area. She and Richard followed the hostess to their table. Liz stood up a little straighter, threw her shoulders back which automatically thrust her chest forward as she marched with confidence to her table. Red immediately saw her. His eyes lit up, locked on to her and followed her across the room. He tilted his head slightly to the side and gave her a surprised grin. Madeline, who had been talking on her cell phone, missed the interaction.

As luck would have it, they were seated at a table for two located three tables in front of Red. Madeline's back was turned to the table so Liz wouldn't be easily seen. Soon the waiter appeared to take their order. Lizzie ordered bruschetta with olive oil as an appetizer and francesina, a beef stew, for her entrée. She asked that she be served the red house wine immediately. Then she waited for Richard to place his order. The waiter soon returned with the glasses of red wine and the bruschetta.

Liz tasted the wine which the waiter mentioned had been produced by a local Tuscan vineyard. She found the wine to her liking; then noticed that Red was watching closely to see her reaction so she took another sip, licked her lips, nodded her head and told Richard that the wine was very good.

Lizzie decided to try the bruschetta. She tore off a piece of the crusty bread and dipped it into the fresh virgin olive oil then she took a bite. She had been so hungry her mouth was watering. The bread was delicious; she absentmindedly hummed 'mmmm'. When she realized what she had done her face turned a bright shade of pink. Red, who missed nothing, smiled at Lizzie when he noticed the blush because he was sure he knew what she had done.

She picked up another piece of bread, dipped it into the oil and took a bite. She closed her eyes, thinking the bruschetta was heavenly and then slowly ran her tongue over her bottom lip. Her eyes gazed straight at Red.

He was enamoured like a fly caught in the web. 'This woman has no earthly idea what she's doing to me. Or does she?'

Red knew Lizzie and he knew she wouldn't be able to resist confronting Madeline. He was going to enjoy this encounter because he knew it was coming soon. No surprises there. Just look at the confident way she had walked into the room, wearing a revealing red blouse and loaded for bear. She was something else, his Lizzie!

Red had to force himself to pay attention to Madeline or she would soon become suspicious. A few minutes later Maddy decided to go to the ladies room. When she left the table and was safely out of sight Red rose and walked over to Lizzie's table. He stopped and asked, "How's your dinner?"

"It's delicious."

Richard, realizing he was interfering in a private conversation, walked to the men's restroom.

"Lizzie, the bruschetta must be exquisite. How did you like the extra virgin olive oil?"

"Oh Red, it's absolutely to die for."

"Well, let's hope it doesn't go that far, but you did look like you just had a glorious, shall we say, sensual experience. Want to try that again?"

Lizzie's face turned ten shades of red. "Oh you! Stop it! It was a very satisfying experience though. Maybe I will purchase a bottle to take home with me. Then we can both decide if we want to try it. Afterward we could continue that discussion of deep throat and the g-spot."

Red had no answer to that. This woman would be the death of him! She was full of surprises these days.

"Uh, Red, I need to talk to you about something very important."

"Sweetheart, I can't talk right now. I must get back to my table."

He knew that he had to return to his table before Maddy came back so he excused himself and returned to his seat. After he sat down he grinned at Liz and winked just as Madeline returned. Again Red sat back to watch the show.

Madeline seemed to be very anxious. While she and Red appeared to be engaged in a serious conversation, Liz decided this was the time to tell Red about her suspicions so she pulled out her phone and called him.

When he answered she immediately began. "Red, Ms Pratt is the informant. She is the one who gave Tom's handlers your location. Please be aware."

"What evidence do you have?"

"I'm sure of it. My instincts are on high alert. She wants pay back, but for what I'm not sure. I'm sure you can answer that question better than I can."

Red just looked at her across the room and shook his head. "I trust your instincts, but we both know that won't fly. You must have more solid proof than that."

"I'm telling you I'm right, but if you insist I WILL get solid proof. In the meantime be careful."

"I will and you need to do the same. We will speak later if I get any new information."

As soon as the call ended Liz looked at Richard and said, "Please trust me. I'm going to leave this table for a minute. If you see me motion to you please come to rescue me."

Richard wanted to ask her what she meant, but before he could ask she stood up and left the table.

Liz decided to make her presence known to Madeline. She picked up her handbag walked over and stopped to greet Ms Pratt and Mr. Reddington. Red immediately knew Lizzie was up to something.

"Hello, Ms Pratt. It's nice to see you again."

With a brief look of surprise on her face, Madeline hesitated for a moment before she schooled her emotions, then took a careful look at Liz and replied, "Well hello. How are you? Aren't you looking beautiful tonight? Are you here alone for dinner?"

"Oh no, Richard is my date tonight. I hope you and Mr. Reddington have had a good meal."

"Yes, thank you, we have."

Liz noticed that Madeline's voice sounded irritated. About that time she got a phone call. "Ms Pratt here….Yes, thank you for the information. We'll meet you at the Uffizi in an hour."

When the call was complete Maddy put her phone on the table and said, "Raymond, we need to be going soon."

Liz pointed to a slim envelope, "Red, you left something on the table."

"Those are tickets to tonight's candlelight tour of the Vasari Corridor. I had been hoping to take you if our business was complete; however our work is not finished. The tour will have to wait until another time."

As Red reached into his suit coat to make arrangements to pay for his dinner bill Liz also watched him place the tickets inside the inner pocket of the coat.

She knew what she was going to do.

Madeline announced in a dismissive tone, "It's time for us to move along now. It was good to see you."

"It was very good to see you again also."

Liz twirled quickly as if returning to her table and allowed the shoulder bag she was carrying to knock Madeline's glass of red wine over. As the wine splashed onto Madeline's clothing she jumped up, grabbed the cloth napkin that was lying on the table and started dabbing at the red stains. Red also grabbed his napkin and tried to contain the remainder of the wine that was still dripping off of the table.

Madeline declared as she rushed off to the ladies room, "Oh! You little twit! You'll be sorry for this."

Red began summoning the waiter and tried to sop up the mess. In the midst of the confusion Liz grabbed Maddy's phone, turned and left the table.

Liz had to think fast. What to do? Remove Maddy's SIM card from her phone or replace Ms Pratt's phone with a different one? She removed the SIM card from the phone and returned to Red's table just as Madeline arrived.

"Why are you still here?"

Liz noticed the red stains that were still marking the perfection of Madeline's dress. She thought, 'Soon everyone is going to see the stains you try so hard to camouflage every day.'

Madeline was preparing to leave as Red saw Lizzie quickly drop Maddy's phone into the open pocket of her handbag just as Maddy realized she hadn't seen her phone. Red said, "It's in your handbag."

She looked down, saw the phone in the outer pocket and said, "Oh, okay. Let's go."

As they departed Liz made sure to brush up against Red. She managed to stick her hand inside his unbuttoned suit coat as he laughed and put his arm around her waist then whispered, "I love your new red blouse. Oh. I've been looking for a good ace of spades. Do you need a job?"

He then looked back over his shoulder, grinned and shook his finger at her. "GO to the villa!"

Red and Madeline Pratt were none the wiser. Seems Ms Pratt had departed the building as fast as she could leaving Red to catch up with her.

Lizzie had forgotten about Dembe. He walked over and quietly said, "I saw what you just did. Not a wise choice."

She looked him straight in the eyes and said, "It's in Red's best interest. Madeline Pratt is an informant for Tom's organization. I'm sure of it. Please don't say anything to Red. I know what I'm doing. Trust me Dembe. Do you know where Aram is? I need his help."

"I will trust you only so far and then no more. Aram's number is on the speed dial of your phone." Just then Dembe's phone chimed. It was Red asking where he was.

~X~X~

Liz immediately called Aram. He answered quickly when he saw who it was on the caller ID. "Aram, I need your help. Where are you?"

"Agent Keen, are you in distress?"

"No, but I need your technical assistance immediately. Where are you? I need you to make a copy of Ms Pratt's SIM card. I'm sure she's the informant for Tom's organization. She gave them the information that we're here in Florence."

Liz could hear the laughter on the other end, "You really did it? You palmed Ms Pratt's phone again?"

"Of course I did it. I had to get the evidence we needed to protect Red."

"Liz, where are you? It'll be easier for me to come to you. I only have a few minutes then I have to meet with Mr. Reddington again."

"I'm at Da Burde restaurant on the Piazza della Signora. It's easy to find if you're anywhere near the Uffizi Gallery. I'll be looking for you soon."

About twenty minutes later Aram found Liz and her security team. When Aram arrived at the table he set up his laptop and proceeded to make a copy of the information contained on the SIM card. Soon Liz and Aram were scanning the info for any incriminating evidence.

Aha—just the calls they were looking for. Madeline Pratt had been contacted several times over the last two days by an unknown person from a Washington D C number and again three more times from a location here in Florence. Liz was sure Madeline had spoken to this unidentified person while she was sitting at the table with Red.

"Thank you, Aram! Now we need to let Red and Dembe know."

"Let's do it now!"

Liz gave the SIM card to Aram and asked him to give it to Red or Dembe. They would know what to do with it and how to safely get it returned to Madeline's phone. "Aram, if I haven't spoken to Red by the time you return, ask him to call me. You can also tell him about the information we've uncovered. Warn Dembe of danger."

"I'll do that. Now I must go. Be careful Liz."

"You too, Aram. See you soon."

"Oh. Aram, one more thing. Do you have one of the tracking devices like we used in the Wujing case? The one that looked like a clear sticker?"

Aram thought for a minute, checked his equipment bag and nodded his head when he found one. "Why do you want one?"

"I would just feel safer if I knew I had it with me just in case."

"But Mr. Reddington gave you a phone with a tracking chip in it."

"Yes, he did. But the first thing a kidnapper would do is make me hand over my phone. I would just feel safer with a backup."

Aram decided she was correct and handed her the tracking device.

"Thanks, Aram! I knew I could depend on you. See you soon. Stay safe."

"Liz, go back to the villa. It's safer there. See you later."

As soon as Aram departed Liz called Red, but there was no answer. She tried again and still no answer. She decided to text him. The message said, Be alert. Danger. Evidence found.

She tried to call Red again and still no answer so she called Dembe. "Yes, hello. Ms Keen."

"I need to talk to him. It's an emergency."

"This is not a good time. He's busy."

"I said I need to speak to him. It's urgent!"

"Are you in danger?"

"No, but he is. If you won't let me speak to him ask Aram about the information we found. Ms Pratt is the informant. She has given Tom's people Red's location. They are coming for him. Do you hear me?"

"Yes. I will give him your message." The call was ended.

Liz could only wait and hope that Aram would inform Red and Dembe and that they would wisely leave for safety soon. But Liz knew Red. He would not run from a confrontation. She must do something to protect him; he had done so for her many times.

AN: All thoughts and reviews are welcome. This is my favorite Liz. Confident!