21 years earlier, August, 1998.
It was a gorgeous summers day in the Miraflores area of Madrid. The town sat peacefully among the trees, a gentle breeze bringing the scent of bluebell flowers into every home. The majority of the heavenly scent was coming from an unsuspecting villa on the corner of town. Like many of the properties in the area, the villa was built out of stone, with a lovely red terracotta roof. The fenced-in courtyard held little gardens of boxwood and spanish bluebell as well as a walkway framed by Italian cypress trees. There was nothing suspicious or odd about the place, and that was exactly how it was supposed to be; because the villa's occupants were out of the ordinary, and highly suspect.
One of these occupants was Raymond Reddington, The Concierge of Crime, who was enjoying a cigar on the patio extending from the villa's lavish lounge. Smoke curled around him as he scanned the peaceful horizon. The town was currently reeling in a scandal of his own creation, as a variety of valuable banknotes had gone missing that very morning. They would soon be used to further fund his criminal empire. But first, Reddington wanted to know how he could get his hands on one of these villas.
He called into the lounge, "I must say, Howard, you've outdone yourself on the location this time. What foreign secretary's secretary did you have to bribe to get this place?"
Howard Hargrave, Reddington's accomplice in the heist, laughed as he poured two fingers of scotch into a heavy crystal glass. "I'll have you know I neither bribed nor blackmailed, thank you very much. I've been trying out a new proprietor for safehouses while abroad. She's turning out to be an invaluable asset."
He joined Reddington on the patio, "She's reliable, discreet, and unbelievably thorough. Any safehouse in her network can be equipped, at any moment, to your exact specifications. From groceries to ammunition to safe passage out of the country, should you need it…"
Reddington peered curiously at his companion, "Well, are you going to divulge your new mistress of the house or are you keeping her to yourself? Mind, I don't see Scottie as the sharing type."
Howard snorted dryly, "Scottie dislikes her. Aside from being young and good looking, the girl is like you, viciously intelligent and irritatingly confident."
"Traits which are bound to incur Scottie's ire, I'm sure," Red smirked knowingly.
Howard shrugged his shoulders, "In truth, I think she could be more valuable to your network than my own. I believe you would work well together. It would bolster her business and take some of the burden off of yours."
Reddington met his eyes with a wry smile, "If I didn't know any better, Howard, I would accuse you of trying to set me up on a blind date. Not unlike that time in Bratislava with the Italian girl who insisted we were in Belarus."
Howard roared with laughter at this, "by God, she was beautiful though, the waist on her…" he shook his head, getting lost in the memory for a moment as he finished his drink.
He looked seriously at Reddington, "This woman, she has the potential to change the landscape for criminals moving throughout the world. It would behoove all of us to keep her considerable talents away from the likes of drug lords and terrorists."
Reddington nodded thoughtfully, staring into his glass. "Well, Howard, I'll reach out to her, see if we can't strike a deal. I can't deny having a more comprehensive network of safe houses would make conducting my business much easier."
Howard popped a cigar in his mouth and started lighting it, "Excellent."
"You should find her in Argentina. She was flying there this week to complete an acquisition for a new safehouse in Patagonia under the alias Renata Alder. I know her as Rosalie."
Back in his room that night, Reddington made a call to one of his associates.
"Kate, I have a task for you…"
Grinning, Renata Alder tore down the dirt roads west of Bariloche in a Mercedes G500 Cabrio. The top was open and her blonde hair fanned out behind her as she put the vehicle through its paces. Whipping around a hairpin turn and tearing up the drive, she found the place she was looking for.
A flimsy 'For Sale' sign hung on a dilapidated fencepost, marking the entrance to an overgrown property. Renata threw the car in park and stepped out onto the road, her black boots crunching against the pebbled drive. After climbing the rusty cattle fence that blocked the path, and grumbling at the rust that coated her hands, she finally reached the clearing. A man in a four-runner trundled toward her, flashing a set of brilliantly white teeth. Renata pursed her lips in annoyance. Real estate agents were a necessary evil in her line of work, but that didn't make them any less tiresome. Switching off the engine, the man climbed off the vehicle and extended a hand to her.
The realtor walked the clearing with her, gesturing emphatically at the views and the property borders in the distance as he rambled on in rapid Castellano. The property was in truth magnificent, and tucked far enough from the main roads to be a viable blacksite for her network. As she was running the numbers for building a safehouse on the lot, Renata's satellite phone rang.
Her accountant's voice echoed through the connection, "The funds are ready to move, but you've gotta get out of there."
Renata frowned, "I'm about to close the deal, what's the rush, Lu?"
"The rush is that some big shot dispatched his cleaner to your location."
"What the hell?" said Renata, flagging down the realtor to get the paperwork started. She signed her name on page after page of documents as Luli explained what intel she had mistakenly come across.
"If he is sending his cleaner ahead of him…" she said seriously,
"I doubt it's a social call." Renata agreed.
"What did you do?" Luli asked accusingly.
"I haven't the foggiest idea whose wrath I've incurred this time."
"I don't know who this guy is but I don't recommend waiting to find out,"
"Yeah, I'm on it, wire the funds to complete the purchase, I'm heading to the nearest airstrip." She snapped the phone shut and shook hands with the realtor once again before heading for the car.
Mr. Kaplan was following Raymond's lead on the innkeeper's location when a grey suv with no top came hurtling past her down the hillside. She only caught a brief glimpse of the driver, a head of curly blonde hair and dark sunglasses. Kate pursed her lips as she realized the woman matched the description of the innkeeper she was looking for. Turning the car with a sigh, she started heading back down the hillside.
Renata watched as the black sedan turned around and pursued her. She smirked and punched the accelerator, shifting like mad. The little suv tore through Bariloche, conveniently ignored by local police, and headed toward a private airport.
Ditching her ride in a hangar, Renata hoisted her backpack out of the trunk and jogged to the nearest plane. She conversed with the pilot in fluent Castellano and coaxed him into taking her over the border into Chile. From there, she could arrange better transport. After a little bribery he agreed and kicked the little two-prop plane into life.
As the plane left the ground, Renata giggled to herself. Far below, the black car pulled into the airstrip and a petite woman with dark hair stepped out to stare at the plane.
Kate called Raymond, "Your innkeeper is going to be a little difficult to catch," she told him.
He laughed, already intrigued. "Excellent, I love hide and seek."
3 weeks later
Reddington had to admit, he was impressed that she had evaded him this long.
Normally, having to chase down a potential ally would put Raymond into a towering temper. However, as the weeks carried on and Howard's innkeeper remained elusive, Red found himself looking forward to their little game of cat and mouse. Each day he would receive word from his associates regarding what countries they had chased her across, and each day he would listen with poorly disguised amusement at how she had outwitted them all.
As enjoyable as their game had been, however, he felt it was time for the two of them to meet. He and his team had quietly entered Brazil the night before, setting up operations in the hotel across from her intended location. Finally, they had gotten a step ahead of her, and as word reached Red that the woman had just landed outside of São Paulo, he smiled to himself. Now, they need only wait for her to arrive.
An hour later, a black town car pulled up to the high rise as Reddington's team waited patiently. Their target emerged from the vehicle wearing a grey skirt, white silk blouse, and a sun hat. A pair of dark tortoise sunglasses covered her eyes as she nodded to the bellhop and headed inside. Once the lookouts in the lobby confirmed she was in the elevator, they made their way to the building.
Renata had just stepped off of the elevator when she ran into the bellhop who was bringing her bags. "You've been made." He whispered, pushing a bug-out bag into her hands. She sighed irritably and passed the young man a crisp $100 before heading for the emergency exit.
Renata had intended to stay in South America long enough to finish her dealings in Argentina, but it now seemed that this mystery player wasn't going to leave her be. This time, she would head to a blacksite where she could at least lay low for a few days. Bag hoisted on her back, she hurried down the stairs until she heard footsteps moving up several flights below.
Lips pursed, she opened the door to the nearest floor and headed for the service elevator. Slamming her finger on the button, she waited impatiently for the doors to open. With an out of tune ding the elevator arrived and Renata jumped in, repeatedly pressing the 'door close' and 'basement' buttons until she was safely on the move.
Not trusting the security of the basement entrances, Renata tucked herself into the corner next to the door so she would be out of site when it opened.
As the elevator settled on the bottom floor with another jarring ding, the door opened to a deafening silence. Renata waited patiently. She could see the faintest shadow being cast on the back wall of the elevator. A moment later a very large man with a dark beard and ponytail walked cautiously into the space, pointing his firearm ahead of him. Renata swung her leg and kicked the man's outstretched arm with all her might, sending the gun flying. Grabbing his belt and shoving him head first into the corner of the elevator, Renata then slammed all of the buttons on the top of the control panel.
Giving the man a sardonic little wave, she took off through the basement garage to the tune of the elevator dinging several floors above.
Bursting out of the exit, Renata sprinted through the back alley. Her strappy sandals weren't ideal running shoes, but they would have to do for now. Before she could go any further, however, a black sedan whipped into the mouth of the alley.
Renata turned to cut through the neighboring building, but was intercepted. A tall, young black man appeared, blocking her path.
Turning to try another route, Renata saw the woman she had left at the airport in Argentina, and in the distance, the man she had kicked earlier.
All of the exits were blocked. She jumped slightly as she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She looked up into the solemn face of the younger man as he spoke in a deep, West African accent.
"Hello Ms. Alder, Raymond Reddington sends his regards."