Liz sat in the gazebo, breathing in the fresh spring air, smiling at the passing guard. She kicked her feet up and cracked open her book.
Red had bought her the entire works of her favorite author and she couldn't wait to dive into them. After reading the first, she was starting with the second in the trilogy that she'd been dying to read.
She hoped that the second part held glimpses of the characters from the first, just to know how they had progressed in their relationship.
And now, two chapters in, she was so glad she had fallen in love with this author, because the woman sure did deliver.
The characters had a baby on the way, the man showered his lady with affection and the humor Liz had gotten a glimpse of in the first novel, shined through, now that the man was overjoyed in his new life.
This was the woman's idea of perfect holiday, these past few weeks had been a curative to the soul.
Liz raised her head from her fantasy world as Silas neared, screwing her face up and crossing her eyes as the man passed by.
"Your face will stick like that." he quipped. "And that's something you don't need happening right now... gimp."
Liz scowled harshly, making the man guffaw with amusement.
"Don't you have a bridge to troll or something?" she sneered playfully.
Silas grinned at her, "You are becoming more entertaining." he nodded his approval. "I didn't expect that to happen." he crossed his arms, leaning casually against the gazebo's frame.
"What's that supposed to mean!" she demanded defensively.
"You were as dull as a wooden knife." he nodded sagely, obviously agreeing assessment.
She drew her head back, her expression most indignant. "What?!"
"You got your point across, but couldn't cut the muster."
"You've been hanging out with Red too long." she advised.
"I've been watching you for a while." the woman screwed up her face at his creepy deliverance of the statement. "While you could tell someone how to profile a killer, you couldn't catch one."
"I was supposed to be teaching, not catching." she defended herself. "And was there a point to your observance, sage Jedi Master?"
"You're growing grasshopper." he appeared shocked. "And while you may never surpass me, I still enjoy the game." he looked off into the distance, totally satisfied with himself.
"Yet, you're the one who changed the subject." she smiled inoffensively. "So maybe I did surpass you after all." she crossed her arms under her breasts allowing her own confidence.
"Well, I didn't think you'd take to me telling you, being the troll I am, that I'd eat you right up." the man winked and swaggered away, leaving the woman shell shocked for a second.
Liz snapped her mouth shut, thinking quickly of a response, "Samar would enjoy it immensely though." she yelled out after the man.
Silas turned his head, a wolfish grin overtaking his face.
Elizabeth held her smile, snorting her amusement after the man had disappeared around the corner of the house. She was so beginning to enjoy these exchanges.
The woman grimaced, slapping the book down on the seat, "Dammit!" she groused. "I should have told him to stay away from Ressler... who we all know, adores trolls." she huffed her annoyance for the oversight, sighing. Though, on second thought, Ressler wouldn't stand a chance against this troll.
Silas may be right, she may not always come out on top, but she did enjoy the verbal sparring.
If anything, she took to the challenge and felt herself growing with each passing duel. She had even taken to playing with Red when she felt on top of her game and he had seemed to enjoy the match of wills.
A highlight of her evenings was often when she would throw a good comeback out and Red would beam with pleasure and applaud her wit or valiant attempt, in some cases.
Even when Red, who seemed to have picked up why she was doing it, coached her on a good rejoinder. Instead of making her feel a failure, she instead felt more well informed or armed for her next battle of wits with the head guard.
Red supplied some juicy barbs to hurl at the man.
She couldn't wait to see Red's face when she told him of Silas's latest comeback and it's sexual laden innuendo.
Sometimes he would roll his eyes at the man's vulgarity, and others, his face would wipe of expression.
Which was an expression in itself, she had come to learn.
The man had not appreciated the retort Silas had offered, and was holding himself in check.
She'd never tell anyone in a million years, that blank expression was one she most enjoyed.
She knew he was only thinking the guard had over stepped a boundary when talking to his ward.
But she liked to secretly fantasize that he was a little jealous.
She knew she probably shouldn't daydream about the man, but couldn't help it sometimes. Especially when reading some of the books he had purchased her.
There was so much of Red in these characters, his face had taken shape in her imagination when the scenes unfolded in her mind.
And her little secret, didn't hurt anyone, 'right'?
Like this story now she was deep into, the girl was honor bound to marry an Earl who'd hired a thief-taker to find her.
The bounty hunter had found her, and in the midst of negotiating her return, he had offered a way out, which was for her to become his lover in return for his protection.
It wasn't so much she thought Red would take the man's path. She just thought the character's demeanor, his outlook on life and society as a whole, reminded her very much of Red Reddington.
Even the very description of the character. His swaggering confidence, his charm, style and good looks, bespoke of Red. His vast wealth wasn't his true aim in life. It just existed to give him the ability to focus on his goals. And his loyal underground contacts gave him information the local constabulary couldn't begin to procure.
But most of all, he wasn't just a bounty-hunter for hire living under an assumed name. He was heir to a title. Two different men, living in one body.
Red Reddington was a felon with an empire at his fingertips. But if what he suggested was true, Raymond Reddington, the ex-Naval Officer, was innocent of the crimes of which he was accused.
A hand curved around her mouth and rib cage tightly, stunning her from her daydream.
"Don't make a sound." a low voice hissed in her ear.
She fought against the assailant's hold, struggling uselessly in the bruising grip. The man pulled her over the short wall of the wooden structure, dragging her towards a means of egress.
Elizabeth kicked out in vain attempt, wincing when her leg ached with the sudden jolting movement. She bit the hand covering her mouth, but it only caused her captor to hurry all the more.
He dropped his hand, yanking the door handle of a car, giving the woman her needed chance.
"Silas!" she screamed, fighting the man's pressuring hands which shoved her roughly into the automobile. "Silas! Help!"
Liz wheezed shakily, unceremoniously pushed hard into the framing of the car door, which knocked the wind from her.
"Shut up!" the man snapped. He jerked his head about, hearing a man's voice repeatedly yelling out Elizabeth's name.
Then suddenly, gunfire split the air.
Tom slammed the door shut, jamming his key into the ignition. He grabbed her, preventing her intended escape.
The young man pushed his foot to the floor, peeling away from the curb. The back window shattered in a spray of glass. Elizabeth ducked low in the seat, hoping the action would allow Silas a clear shot.
Tom spun, lifting his own weapon firing wildly. Liz hit his arm, jamming it into the car's seat, repeatedly.
"Liz!" the man gritted. "Stop!"
"Let me go!" she grated in response, painfully biting into his arm.
"Damn it!" Tom grunted his growing fury, his arm swinging out automatically.
She saw the blur of his hand. The warm metal of his weapon connected with her temple and her world shifted into a black void.
Elizabeth blinked, wincing under the sudden light, the throbbing in her head eliciting a slight groan.
A voice came out of the hazy aura still clinging to her, "Are you awake?"
"I should have let Red kill you a long time ago..." she whispered adamantly.
"A simple, yes, would have sufficed." Tom sighed, then brushed her bangs back.
She jerked away.
"Don't touch me!" she spat.
"I didn't mean to hurt you."
"What did you think hitting me in the head with a gun would do?" her voice was tinged with hatred. "Oh, I guess that's your version of a love tap, isn't it?"
"Liz..." the man placated.
"What the hell do you want?" she interrupted heatedly.
"What the hell do you think!" he returned in the same manner. The man visibly tried to calm his responses, hoping to gain control of the situation and the woman. "I was saving you from–"
"The only saving I need is from you!" she stated disdainfully.
"Reddington w–"
"Would never hurt me!" she pushed into her throbbing temple, grimacing. "You on the other hand..."
"Reddington only wants the Fulcrum." he advised coldly.
"And what the hell do you want. And don't even think of saying, me." she voiced her disgust. She had already heard all this before.
"But I do." he sat down quickly, reaching for her hand, then frowned when she wrenched it away. "I love you Liz."
"I'm not interested in your form of love, thanks." her mouth twisted derisively. "The annulment should have been a dead give away."
"If you'd just give me a chance to explain." he soothed, moving closer to her.
"Well, go ahead." she glared at the man, yanking on the chain holding her wrist to the bed. "It doesn't appear I'm going anywhere."
"Have you asked Red why he wants it? Has he told you anything about your family? Has he–"
"These sound like questions to me." she gritted. "Not explanations." she scowled. "If you know so much, why don't you just fucking tell me. Because..." she nodded knowingly, "I can tell you for a fact, Red will be here any minute now."
"Why do you have this blind faith in him?" Tom shook his head piteously.
"Why do you always skirt the issue?" she countered expertly. "Admit it, you don't know jack shit. You just want me to tell you what I know so you can try to fill in the blanks yourself." she jerked on the chain irritably. "It's not gonna happen, so don't waste my time. I want to go home, now!"
"You sold our home." he accused.
"Because it wasn't a home! And never was a home! It was a lie!" she snapped. "That house was nothing but a noose around my neck, draining the life from me!"
She frowned slightly, the words being familiar, but she couldn't place where she had heard them?
She shook it off, shooting daggers at the man staring sadly at her. She huffed in a flare of annoyance.
"Just like your untimely visits are draining!" She continued her tirade. It felt so good to get some of the loathing she felt for this man out of her system. "I want to go to my new home, with Red!"
"Lizzy..."
"Don't call me that." she growled coldly.
"Oh, that's his little pet name for you," the man snarled, "isn't it?"
"Do you want to know his little pet name for you?" she sneered. "Fucker." she replied readily.
"That's all he could come up with?" he rolled his eyes.
"No, that was mine." she announced proudly.
"Let's go away," the man smiled disarmingly, changing his tactics mid-stream, "just the two of us."
She gritted her aggravation, her head falling back into the wall.
"We can start over. Get away from Reddington." he continued.
The woman dropped her head into her hands, slumping in defeat. Her eyes welling in frustration.
"I want you to leave me alone..." Liz's tone held her exasperation. "I just want to go home." she wailed quietly.
"Where would you like home to be?" he was quick to respond. "We can go anywhere."
"You're like the plague." she talked over him. "Or maybe a roach?" she had found a more apropos description. "Nothing will eradicate you, right?"
"There's nothing holding us here, really." he continued, as if she hadn't spoken at all.
"You'll outlive the atomic blast." she nodded her belief. "Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. It's Superman. No... it's Tom, the indestructible roach..." she curled toward the wall, closing her eyes tightly.
She willed Red Reddington to come and take her out of this particular type of hell she now found herself within.
"We can break hold of him," Tom leaned over her, warming to his narrative, "get out from under his thumb. Away from his lies. The filth he brings into our lives."
"I don't want to," she mumbled, knowing he did not hear her words, "but thanks for asking."
"Let me take care of you." the man soothed, reaching out, stroking her hair.
The woman tensed, his touch making her cringe inside.
"What's wrong, babe?" the man cooed tenderly.
"I hate... no, I loathe, when you call me that." she had always hated that pet name.
Tom looked at her adoringly, making the woman's skin crawl. The feeling intensified when he stroked her once again. "You always liked–"
"Stop touching me." she shivered involuntarily, her voice a husky whisper.
"I don't think you want me to," he stated gently, "you shivered–"
"In revulsion." she gritted hatefully.
The man sighed impatiently, jerking her away from the wall, turning her to face him. The chain snapped loudly, rattling across the concrete floor.
The sound of splintering wood, as a heavy door gave way to a force more powerful, filled Elizabeth's heart with hope.
Liz's head whipped about anxiously.
Tom yanked her off the bed, holding her in front of him, using her as a human shield.
The reality made the taste of bile rise in her throat.
"Let her go." Red Reddington snarled, his weapon steady, the sights aimed directly at his target.
"Slide it." Tom demanded from behind his shield. "Slide the gun, now."
"No." Red stated emphatically. "Are you hurt?"
She shook her head slowly, her eyes focused on the man before her and nothing else.
"Tom, put the gun down before you do something you'll deeply regret." Red cocked his head, his tone rather soothing to Liz's ears actually. "Make the right choice, Tom. But make it fast."
Reddington shook his head, downing it for a second, his disgust more than apparent. The light eyes were devoid of any emotion except hatred when they lifted.
"We've been through this before." Red narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Only this time, when I get over there, I will take that gun away from you... and then..." he smiled pleasantly, "I will kill you."
Tom leveled his weapon as the man stalked forward.
Elizabeth pushed her captor's arm upward as he fired, the shot ricocheting off the cement ceiling.
The woman grappled with the man for control. Tom shoved her hard, landing her into the bed before turning back to the enemy.
An enemy which was already upon him.
Red grabbed Tom's arm, twisting and bending his wrist, breaking the weapon free. The gun clattered to the floor. Red's foot kicked it aside, sending it skittering out of sight under the bed.
The enraged man shoved his shoulder into the younger man's chest, flipping Tom in the air. The man hit the floor, a resounding crack filling the room.
Tom grunted his pain, favoring his side but lunged for the loose weapon. He yelled out sharply when Red's foot stomped his hand, halting any advancement.
Red thrust his gun into the man's heaving chest, "I told you..." Red's breath fanned his face, his eyes black coals of rage, "if you so much as looked in her direction again, I'd put a bullet in you."
"But you haven't yet..." Tom glared back, his expression wincing from the pain inflicted, as he sought out Elizabeth Keen, "and you won't, because she's watching."
Red looked up at the woman, then back at Tom. "No, that was just a reminder..." he shrugged, "or warning in this case, that I always keep my promises." the man rasped lowly, pulling back on the trigger.
Tom jerked as the bullet tore through his chest, driving into the concrete floor beneath him. He clawed at the wound, gasping and staring wild eyed at the man.
The young man instinctively sought out Elizabeth, reaching for her.
Red caught the man's wrist, jerking it back and away. "No, you don't get to touch her." he shook his head. "She will not feel guilt for your transgressions." The man shook his head once as he glared coldly, dragging the man towards the door.
Dembe waited patiently as he had through the entire episode.
"If you please?" Red asked politely.
Dembe took hold of Tom's arm, dragging the wheezing man from sight.
Red blinked once, feeling a little of his soul melt away. Each time brought the same feeling, the same emptiness, the same apathy.
He watched the large man turn the corner down the way, disappearing from sight before redirecting his attention to the silent woman behind him.
"Lizzy..." he slowly approached, his eyes gentle on Elizabeth Keen who slumped dejectedly on the edge of the bed.
Her shoulders shook as she cried silently. Red's wing tip shoes entered her watery field of vision.
"Sweetheart?" he frowned his concern, reaching out, stroking his hand over her small head. "I'm sorry, I had to do that, but he woul–"
She bolted from the bed, wrapping her arm tightly around his middle, weeping despondently into his jacket.
"I want to go home." was all she knew for certain, her fingers tightening into a death grip about the expensive fabric of his coat. "Please take me home, Red."
Red's large hand smoothed her hair, his fingers filtering lovingly through her soft strands. He rocked her gently, his tone washing over her like warm honey, "It's all right."
She turned her ear into his chest, fixated on the deep comforting rumble of his voice. "Sit down sweetheart."
She shook her head, clutching him tighter.
"I have to get the cuff off your wrist Lizzy." he reminded patiently. "You want me to do that, don't you?" he propitiated the woman. "So we can go home."
She realized she was still chained to the bed, her arm stretched out tightly behind her. She nodded slowly, sniffling. She regained her seat on the bed dejectedly.
Red crouched down in front of her, making quick work of the lock, releasing the tight cuff.
His thumb caressed the abused, reddened skin. He bowed his head, tenderly peppering her wrist with soft kisses.
"Did he hurt you?" he enquired, his lips warm against her skin.
"Y-Yes." she had come to terms with Tom Keen's methods long ago but that did not mean she had to accept or like them.
Red tensed, slowly raising his eyes to meet hers, finding them cold and angered.
She turned her head quickly, showing the man where Tom had hit her. She wanted vengeance she found, and was not above such a petty emotion in this case.
Red reached up, gentling her hair back, wincing as he saw the raw, red welt. His concern was immediate and foremost. "Are you nauseous?"
"Yes," she muttered, "but not because of that. I don't think?"
He nodded in understanding. "Dizzy?"
"I don't think so?" she edged to the side of the bed, intent on standing now.
Red stood quickly, holding his hand out for her. She clasped his hand, the strong fingers giving her strength. She pushed off the bed, trying to find her bearings.
"I think I'm okay." she looked up at him, sighing deeply.
"Let's try a few steps." he encouraged.
She gained confidence with each moment spent in the man's presence. "I'm good."
Red looked as Dembe entered, the man's face showing no emotion.
It was Red's cue, that the problem had been resolved. He breathed easier, but there were still things to be handled.
Red wrapped his arm around her back and legs, lifting her effortlessly, holding her close against his chest.
"I can walk..." she muttered compliantly, all the same.
"It's quite a walk." she was informed. "And you're exhausted."
She took a deep breath, laying her head into his shoulder silently accepting his word. She relaxed totally into his comforting hold.
"Let's go home, sweetheart." Red soothed quietly.
AUTHOR NOTE: I used some dialogue from the actual show, as I'm sure you picked up on. I am giving credit, where credit is due to the writers of The Blacklist.
You'll know it when you see it. I just changed it up a bit. Hope no one takes offense. It's my homage.