AN: Thanks once again for the comments and messages about the story. RL has taken center stage here and is kicking my backside. Hope to have the next chapter up soon, but it may be a while. In the meantime enjoy the read…

Chapter 9 A Walk To Remember

"Love is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes." A Walk To Remember

Red was pacing the room. He couldn't possibly sit still. The music, the pounding of the bass from the night club down the street, was making everything in the room vibrate including Red's mind. If the noise didn't stop soon he was going to go on the prowl for bass players. There had been no promising leads coming in…Lizzie had simply disappeared. That didn't make sense…she would have put up a fight if someone had kidnapped her. She would never go quietly, not his stubborn strong willed Lizzie. Mr. Kaplan had warned him to get in touch with his senses, his instincts. Red stood at the door and gazed into the lobby of the hotel.

"Aram, are you connected yet? Can you get a read on her phone?"

Aram had brought some pretty sophisticated equipment with him. He had data from the tracking device that had been placed in Lizzie's phone. Soon Aram let out a yelp. "Mr. Reddington, I have a location on her phone. Her phone is at the river. I'll keep tracking!"

"Are you certain?"

"Yes sir. The signal is as clear as day."

Red thought, 'Oh god, they've killed her and thrown her in the river.' But as he kept thinking, that didn't make sense. If they wanted him the kidnappers would have to prove she was alive so they wouldn't kill her at least not yet.

"Dembe, call Richard and ask him to take his partner to the river, the Ponte Vecchio."

Red was relieved to finally have a credible lead to act on. He sat down in the nearest chair, put his head in his hands and stopped to calm himself. He needed to think clearly. He tried to flush all outside noises and movement from his mind. He cleared his mind of all thoughts, all technicalities of this search. "Lizzie, sweetheart, where are you? I can feel you…you're so close yet so far away. Help me here."

Red felt something roll down his cheek…a bead of sweat or a tear…not sure, but he reached into his suit coat to pull out his handkerchief and a thought as clear as day popped into his head. The tickets for the Candlelight Tour of the Vasari Corridor…where were they? He began searching all of his pockets; they were nowhere to be found. Had he taken them out? No, but Lizzie had asked about them when they were lying on the table at the restaurant. Then he recalled something else…she had brushed up next to him as he was leaving the restaurant. Well she had become quite the ace of spades! She had pulled one over on Raymond Reddington! That woman was full of surprises, unpredictable. However, that still didn't prove she had been kidnapped, but he was going to find out!

"Aram, is there anymore activity on Lizzie's phone? Any change of location?"

"Sir, the location of the signal hasn't changed."

Red was feeling some relief, but he needed to check this out himself. "Aram, I'm leaving you in charge of this operation. I will keep in contact with you and let you know if I find Ms Keen."

"But sir…"

"Aram, you've proven yourself today. You can handle this. You can contact Dembe or myself if you really need us." With that Red motioned to Dembe and briskly walked out into the night.

~X~X~

Dembe was again trying to keep up with his boss. "Raymond, slow down!"

Red was telling Dembe his thoughts about Lizzie's where abouts and about the missing tickets. He glanced over and noticed Dembe had a sheepish look on his face when he mentioned the tickets.

"I think Lizzie lifted those tickets from my pocket and used them to escape from her bodyguards. Pretty smart move wouldn't you agree? By the way, what do you know about this? I'm sure you know something. You always pick up every move people put on me. You knew she had those tickets didn't you?"

Dembe knew he couldn't lie. "Yes, Raymond, I did know and I told her it was a bad idea, but she insisted it was in your best interest. She mentioned that Ms Pratt was the informant for Tom Keen's group and she was very worried about you. Ms Keen's interactions with you have changed since you returned to her life. She tries to help you, warn you of danger and keep you safe as you do the same for her. I do not worry about her being near you anymore. She's a great partner for you my friend."

Red considered everything Dembe had said. "Why didn't you tell me about the tickets earlier? Why do you think she did this Dembe?"

"I told her I would trust her up to a point. I allowed her to go with her plan; however we can't be sure she hasn't been kidnapped, so I allowed you to organize the search. She wanted you to leave the city, to find safety from Tom's men. Raymond, you would be wise to follow her lead."

"But you know Red Reddington can't run from a fight. I must go back and face the danger. I can't show any weakness. Weakness is not in my vocabulary."

"Raymond, let's find Ms Keen then you can return to the arena if you need to."

~X~X~

Tom groaned. He was sure Liz had just engaged in a ruse to stall the inevitable. He rushed to her side as the other people in the corridor began to worry and murmur about the scene before them. He knelt down beside Liz and began quietly speaking to her as he cradled her head.

"You had better watch yourself. You don't want to be responsible for hurting any of these people."

Liz didn't respond, she just continued to lie there. By now the tour guide had appeared with a first aid kit and a man claiming to be an off duty doctor also offered to help. Tom moved over to let the doctor examine Liz. She continued to lie very still. The doctor responded that he thought she had an irregular, but strong pulse. Her respirations and color were also very good. Soon Tom looked up to see the tour guide making a phone call for an ambulance.

Tom knew he was in trouble. If an ambulance arrived the police weren't far behind. What to do? He couldn't pull his gun here, there were too many people; he was sure to be swarmed by a mob. He thought surely by now Mike and Jerry had found Red Reddington. It was time for Tom to disappear into the shadows once more. He would find Liz back in D C.

Tom slowly began to move toward the exit of the corridor while the attention was focused on Liz and her needs. Soon he found the open door and melted into the darkness just as quickly as he had appeared.

~X~X~

Red and Dembe were walking briskly toward the Ponte Vecchio. When they turned into the narrow alleyway Red saw an unusual object in the street. On closer inspection he thought it looked familiar. He bent over and picked up the hat; he knew it was Lizzie's hat. He had seen her wear it many times and he also knew she was trying to leave clues for anyone who might be searching for her.

Red's attention to the hat distracted him from the activity surrounding him. Soon Red and Dembe were face to face with two armed men.

Red spoke first, "If it's money you want take all I have. I'll even give it to you so that we avoid the medical bills."

Mike just laughed as he reached into his pocket to get Lizzie's bracelet. "Red Reddington, come with me if you want to see Liz Keen alive again."

He knew that the bracelet he had been given was one that Liz had worn that evening, but Red didn't recognize either of the men. "Gentlemen, I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting either one of you. May I introduce myself? My name is Red and I'm about to outsmart you."

With that prearranged code phrase Dembe fell to the ground, rolled to the side and began howling. Mike and Jerry were so startled and distracted by the unexpected action that Red was also able to pull a weapon and make an evasive move to a tree alongside the alley.

Red yelled, "Hand over your weapons and your phones or I'll kill you sure as you want to shoot me."

Mike looked at Jerry and decided this night wasn't the night he wanted to die so he threw down his weapon and slowly reached into his pocket for his phone. When Mike began to surrender Jerry decided he had better follow suit. Dembe came to pat each one down as Red held his gun on them.

Soon Red announced, "Today you're lucky. I'm going to let you walk away after you tell me who has Ms Keen."

Both Mike and Jerry took one look at each other and said, "Tom Keen."

Red was so shocked at the answer that he was speechless for a moment. "Now I want to know where they are."

Mike replied, "They're on some kind of candlelight tour."

That was all Red needed to hear. Red knew that he didn't want to draw the attention of the Italian authorities so he was going to do something that he hated to do. "Now I'm going to allow you to walk away from here, but if I ever see you again you're dead men. Do you understand?"

~X~X~

Lizzie had revived herself when she discovered that Tom was nowhere to be found. The doctor and the tour guide had both commented that it was very strange that this woman's husband was suddenly missing. After a search it was decided he had just disappeared.

When the ambulance attendants arrived Liz insisted that she was feeling much better and just needed to catch a bus home. The attendants and the doctor checked her out and decided that this fainting spell must have been the result of overheating while touring the corridor and a lack of food and water. Vital signs were good so they gave Liz their approval to board the bus.

She discovered that her phone was missing when she searched her handbag. Tom must have taken it or it fell out of the bag at some point during the day. What to do now? She had no way to contact Red or Dembe so she looked to see if she had Euros for the bus fare and then allowed the tour guide to help her find the correct bus at the nearest bus stop.

~X~X~

Liz was feeling very worried by now. How was she going to get to the villa? She would have to walk, but it was after midnight and the roads were almost totally deserted, she had no source of light other than the full moon. Thank goodness there were no clouds in the sky. She wondered if Red had been taken or harmed by Mike and Jerry. Did he know where she had been? He was very intelligent, very savvy and good at solving puzzles. She was sure he had discovered the missing tickets by now. He would be coming for her soon. Did he know about Tom? Was he very angry with her for not killing Tom when he had trusted her to do so? And for not returning to the villa when he asked her to? She had to get to the villa quickly.

When the bus entered the village Liz asked the bus driver if he would let her off at the next intersection. The driver was reluctant, but Liz assured him that she had friends who would be waiting to pick her up at the corner. As luck would have it there was a car waiting at the traffic signal as the bus arrived so the driver allowed Liz to exit the bus. As the bus pulled away she crossed the street and began walking up the narrow road toward the villa.

The further she got from the street lights at the intersection the darker it got. She began to wonder just how far she would be able to go and if she would be able to recognize the driveway to the villa when she arrived. Luckily the moon was full and the moonlight was bright enough to guide her up the road as her eyes gradually adjusted to the lower light.

Liz began to worry about being on the road alone. She was sure not many vehicles would be driving along this road at this time of night. It had to be at least three or four o'clock. She walked in silence listening for any unusual noises. Soon her mind relaxed as she began to hear the sounds of the breeze whispering through the trees, the scent of the rosemary and sage bushes assailed her nose and the smell of fresh cut hay floated on the air. Soon Liz could see the tall dark imposing outlines of the cedar trees as they stood guard along the road ahead. She knew she was getting close, but close to what? A shiver ran through her as she wondered where Tom was. Had he followed her?

~X~X~

Red and Dembe walked quickly across the nearly deserted Ponte Vecchio. When they arrived at the Boboli Gardens they saw an ambulance just leaving the scene. Red quickly surveyed the scene and heard some of the tour participants talking quietly about a woman who had fainted in the corridor and how strangely her husband had just disappeared. Red began to ask questions and was directed to the tour guide. He described Liz to the tour guide and was told the description sounded like her, but the woman who fainted had never given her name.

"She had on a low cut red blouse. She was a beautiful woman. I can't understand why any man would desert her."

Red thanked the guide and asked which bus she had departed on. He then assured everyone that as soon as he found her he wouldn't let her out of his sight for days to come.

Red called Aram to tell him what they had discovered. Aram informed Red that the tracking chip in Liz's phone was no longer working. But he had switched to the tracking chip concealed in the clear patch he had given her and had discovered that Liz was moving along the road to the villa if she was indeed the one wearing the tracking device.

"She's now moving up the road toward the villa where we were staying. I think she's on foot now because she's moving so slowly."

"Thank you Aram. Let me know if anything changes." Red felt relieved. He was now sure that she was alone and headed to the villa. "Let's go Dembe, quickly. Lizzie is walking alone on the dark narrow road to the villa."

~X~X~

The incline of the hill was growing steeper and fatigue was about to overwhelm her. There it was… the grove! She was sure it was there because she could see the cedar trees guarding the perimeter of the field, the hay bales they had been seated on at the wedding were still there and she could barely see the cedar bench sitting as lonely sentinel near Red's tree. She wasn't sure exactly why, but she had an overwhelming desire to stop at the olive grove. Liz began plodding through the dew laden greenery of the field with one goal in mind, the bench under the tree. As the moon was about to set she seated herself on the bench and unloaded her burdens, literally and figuratively. She dropped her handbag onto the bench and covered her shoulders with a large scarf she had carried in her handbag.

She bowed her head and cleared her mind of all thought except the thought that Red should be arriving soon. She just knew he would find her here. He had said he would always come when she needed him. He would come! He always did.

AN: The end is coming soon. I would so appreciate you letting me know what you think. Will Red be very angry with her when he finds her? What will Red do about Tom?