Blacklist 1. Chapter 1

_All normal legal stuff: I don't own anything pertaining to the Blacklist but just borrowing for entertainment purposes. Much love to the cast and crew for their hard work. On to the show..._

_**Paying For His Sins**_

Pain and cold. Those were the only two things Elizabeth Keen was able to register as she slipped slowly back into consciousness.

Her body felt so much slower to respond to her waking then her mind. It took her a few moments but before paralyzing fear could grip her Liz compartmentalized the two woman fighting for dominance inside her. The frightened woman in her was terrified but the FBI agent took control as she began analyzing her current situation.

She quickly noted that her eyes seemed overly heavy and non-responsive to her desire to open them to take in her surroundings- _possibly drugged_- she mentally noted.

The fierce pain radiating from her wrists and shoulders were indicative of restraints and hanging suspended in the air. She forced herself to concentrate on her breathing and attempt to control her emotions as she continued.

The cold she was experiencing seemed to come from water that was trailing down her arms coating her entire body. She couldn't hear any running water and assumed it must just be trickling down whatever held her suspended.

Liz amended her previous overview of her situation. It wasn't just pain and cold she was feeling but intense fear and suffocating panic were beginning to well inside her as well.

"Ah she's finally coming around." Boomed a deep male voice piercing the quiet around her, startling her with its close proximity. "Come on love! Rise and Shine sweetheart! It's show time!"

She was still not in total control of all of her faculties but she tried with all her might to open her eyes. The effort causing little more than a fluttering of her eyelashes and a pathetic head roll but even in that small movement she couldn't make anything out in her general vicinity.

Liz attempted to call out for help but only managed a weak moan.

"Alright then let's get down to business- you have something I want and as you can see we have Agent Keen. Something I've been told you really want Raymond..." The rough grip of calloused fingers bit into her skin as someone lifted her head up forcing her head from side to side, "A little worse for wear but still alive- for how long is entirely up to you. "The man pushed her head away and Liz could feel the shift in the area around her signaling he had moved away from her.

She had no clue who he was talking to but it sounded like he was ransoming her life for something. Liz tried to focus her muddled thoughts through the drug induced haze. What ever she had been given was lifting gradually and she hoped that once the man was done with his monologue she would have time to plan an escape before any harm was done. The thought alone sharpened her befuddled brain quickly, she wasn't going to be killed if she was worth something alive and that meant she had time to escape. '_Start thinking like a criminal_' One of the very first things Red had told her replayed in her mind spurring her on.

"The feed that you are watching is live but please don't insult me by trying to trace it. The signal is cycled every 11.5 seconds- even your best cannot narrow down the signal before is resets." A sadistic smile lifted the corner of his mouth as he waved over someone out of her limited eye sight. The mountain of a man moved closer to Liz and set down a car battery, laying something beside it on the floor as he put on a pair of thick gloves.

Blinking hard a number of times- Liz tried to focus on the situation before her, she didn't like the sound of his narrative. It implied of the danger to come that was directed solely at her.

"But let me give you some incentive to try." With the flick of his hand the man before her picked up the two sponge covered jumper contacts and pressed them to Lizzie's midsection.

Liz's entire body pitched and contorted as a scream was ripped from her throat. The contact only lasted seconds but it felt like an eternity.

Her skin was on fire and her muscles spasmed from the assault. She was given only a short reprieve before he pressed the contacts to her midsection again and again giving her only moments between each contact.

Liz's entire body would contract with each contact, drawing a blood curdling scream from her chest involuntarily. There were no thoughts of gathering information or possible escape, her mind had officially shut down from the pain.

The man raised his hand once again to signal the other man to stop. He watched as Liz's body sagged once again against her restraints, this time drugs had nothing to do with her incapacitation.

"Each day brings new rounds of very archaic torture methods that I'm not sure Agent Keen will be able to survive." The man couldn't keep the devious smile off his face at the prospect of the coming events. "I will be expecting Raymond's call regarding exchange terms. Tick Tock Red."

The man turned away from whatever was recording him and moved to the still twitching Liz, gently lifting her head up and starring at her for a few moments. "You are a pretty little thing aren't you, I can understand his interest in you."

Liz's chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath and focus through the pain. Swallowing a few times she managed to croak out, "You're...wasting yo...your time." She took a few more deep breaths before continuing, "Reddington has be...been in... the wind for...8 months." She coughed as she finished and groaned as her torso protested the movement to her damaged body.

The man stood stock still for a few moments pondering over what she had said before laughing at her. "You think we don't know that?" He asked her incredulously, "That's why you're here!" He grinned at her as he lowered his voice to a dangerous level as he moved his face only inches from hers, "Live Bait." With that he stood and nodded to the other man, "Just don't kill her."

The small room was filled with Liz's screams as the man walked away smiling.

_**AN: Yes a little torture and a lot of questions. I know where it's going but writing comes and goes so we will see. Leave love or hate.**_

_**Lady**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Thank you for such an amazing response to this story. To everyone who left a review I greatly appreciate it, if I could reply I believe I replied to all of you. If I couldn't reply- Thank You! I hope the Muse keeps going and it keeps flowing. I'm hoping to update regularly until it is finished. I have no Beta and wanted to post this before the new ep tonight so please ignore the spelling and grammar errors I will fix them. All legal stuff is in 1st chapter._**

**_On to our story:_**

**12 hrs earlier**

5:58am

Liz lay on her side facing away from her husband. She was wide awake and had been up for the past hour just starring at the numbers on her alarm clock tick by slowly. The tension in the house since Anslo's attack was palpable and the rift it had caused between them even followed them to their bed. Both choosing to sleep facing away from one another, leaving a large valley that Hudson had no problem filling.

5:59am

Tom had been persistent in his suggestion that they move to Nebraska, citing the danger of her job and the strain it had put on their lives. Liz didn't argue the point that her job did provide unneeded stress to their already sensitive relationship but with Red missing- the task-force had kicked into high gear working round the clock to find any trace of him.

When weeks passed with her blatantly ignoring his suggestions, he changed tactics, he became more adamant that her job wasn't healthy for either of them. He requested she take his feelings into consideration on the matter. What he felt like being stabbed, the terror he felt finding out she had been abducted by a psychopath then a strange man saying he was going to kill her.

Liz felt horrible that her work had been brought into their home but everything else came with the territory. She worked for the FBI, it was her job! He just didn't understand! She had worked hard for a lot of years to get into the FBI - let alone to be working on such a high profile task force right out of the gate. Better Profilers worked years to get assigned to such a high profile subject such as Raymond Reddington and he was asking her to walk away from all of it. To walk away from Red and The Blacklist and for what? A desk job at some precinct, it wasn't even a lateral move for her it was a punishment in her eyes.

Again weeks turned to months and his request fell on deaf ears. Last night their dance around the subject had escalated into a full blown fight. Tom demanded that she quit her job so they could move away. He had even gone so far as to call out he had already phone interviewed for a position and could start in as little as two weeks: she just needed to come with him.

They had screamed back and forth for hours, each finally retreating to separate ends of the house and neither gaining any ground. Tom's finale declaration of "It was him or the job and she needed to choose. Now!" hung heavy in the air around the house.

The ultimatum even followed them to bed as they both finally came back together in their bedroom intent on finding whatever restless sleep they could manage.

6:00am

Liz couldn't lay there any longer thinking on the matter. She had an early debriefing at the Post Office and figured she might as well get moving before Tom woke up.

She tried to be as quiet as possible collecting her things but when she went to move past him she noticed he was fully awake as well.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

Liz stopped but refused to maintain eye contact with him, "Work. We have a debrief at 8am." Her answer was short and left no room for discussion on the matter. She started to move once again making it to the doorway before she heard him.

"By the time you get home, I will be gone." Tom didn't elaborate or display any emotions in his statement, he just casually rolled away from her frozen body standing in the hallway.

**8:00 am Post Office**

The conference room at the Post Office was packed by the time she made her way into the meeting and grabbed the only available chair left. Donald, Meera, Aram, AD Cooper and Director Diane Fowler were present for today's meeting. She quickly took an open seat beside Aram and open her dossier as Harold began speaking.

"We have officially hit the 8 month mark with no contact with Reddington since the breech. We haven't had even a spec of credible intel." Harold started every meeting out with the same information, the only thing that seemed to change was amount of time Red had been gone.

"Agent Keen based on your profile, recent events and time spent with Raymond Reddington- what can we expect from him? How do we get ahead of him? He has to have a weakness?"

Lizzie sat concentrating on the dossier before her regarding Red. She wasn't the same woman that had been flustered and unsure of herself only a few short months ago when she had first been interrogated by Assistant Director Cooper. She took time to organize her thoughts and began to speak, still not taking her eyes off the report before her. "It is safe to assume that Reddington will not resurface until he so chooses."

Slowly she closed the report and sat back, "He will not slip up, you will not smoke him out- he is not going to make a mistake. He did not spend 20 years in the wind without knowing what he was doing." At this she glared at Donald as he scoffed at her. After her fight with Tom, Ressler's dismissal of her made her blood boil causing the rest of her report to be a clipped and straight to the point."He will only appear when he is ready and with his own agenda. Someone inside sold him out. He will not forget that." With that she glared at Ressler, giving him a challenging glare.

Cooper and Ressler shared a questioning look that did not go unnoticed by Keen. "Is there anything else you can tell us about him?" Cooper asked speculatively.

She had a war raging between her professional side and the personal side that had begun to sway to the side of grey...or a better descriptor would be Red. She paused a few moments battling her inner turmoil- trading back and forth the idea of admitting he had been in contact with her before he left and not saying a word. If she were a betting woman the first person that would hear from him when he returned: was her. She was pulled from her reverie by AD Cooper's voice once again.

"Agent Keen!"

Deciding against adding any more fuel to the fire she shook her head and replied, "No sir, Red isn't like anyone I've ever studied. Aside from his personal fixation on me - he has no statistical characteristics to base any conclusive response from."

Cooper sighed and rubbed his temple, "Then get out of here and find him! GO!"

As the room started to slowly file out of the office Meera appeared at Liz's side, closer than what felt comfortable. "What are you..."

Grabbing her arm, Meera directed her away from the group making sure they were a safe distance away before acknowledging Liz's question. "Listen very carefully- do not answer just nod. We've ascertained there is a mole correct?"

Liz went to answer but the pressure of Meera squeezing her arm changed her mind and she snapped her mouth shut- just nodding her agreement.

"Anslo Garrick saw your connection to Red first hand and now with that little speech you've added a large target to your back. Whomever is after Red now knows to draw him out they need you."

The blood drained from Liz's face as the reality of Meera's words hit her full force. "They wouldn't?"

"The FBI? No but whomever is our mole may relay this information back to their Leader. Be very careful." Meera released her hold on Liz's arm and patted it lightly, "Trust no one."

**10am - Diane Fowler's Office**

"It's been 8 months Diane without sight or sound from Reddington. What is your plan to rectify this situation?" Fitch sat glaring at the individuals in the room but directing his questions to the Director.

Diane didn't back away from his directness, " Sir we have an plan in place to draw him out but it is of rather questionable means."

"I don't really care what the details are, I want results!" Fitch slammed his hand down on the table.

Diane glared at the screen then turned her attention to Harold and Donald. "Do you truly believe Reddington has his own spy inside our nest?"

Both men nodded but Ressler was the first to answer, " There are too many inside secrets he is privy too that he could not ascertain if not for someone on the inside."

She nodded, glancing at the paperwork before her, "Are you confident this will draw him out of hiding?"

Fitch interjected here, "I do not just want to capture Ray, I want the information he stole. I want this done once and for all."

Again both men nodded, "We have already used Agent Keen's safety once and he dropped everything he was doing without so much as a blink of the eye. That is something he will not fall for again, it must be real." Harold explained cooly.

Ressler took the opportunity to add, "We have employed Lucian to handle the task."

"Lucian? He is more volatile than Garrick was. I'm sure Agent Ressler, your leg can attest to that." Diane replied quickly, her surprise at this choice evident in the little jab at Ressler's still nagging injury.

Harold was the one to interject, "Agent Keen's entire existence in this Blacksite is solely due to Reddington. I am on board with this action plan so long as she is not killed. I see it as a perfectly logical solution to our current situation."

Diane and Fitch both nodded their agreement. "Agent Ressler, please make the call. I want this done tonight, I do not want to delay this another day."

Ressler nodded and pulled the burner phone out of his jacket, excusing himself to make the call.

**3pm Post Office**

Liz had wasted most of her day in an emotional fog. Between Meera's warning and wondering if Tom was going to go through with his threat this morning: she was useless. It was impossible to concentrate on finding Red when her own life was in such upheaval. At so many points in the recent months finding Red had been able to take her mind off of everything else. Now she had to admit she wished she could disappear the same way he could.

Deciding it was useless to stay any longer, she informed AD Cooper she was leaving for the day. Surprised but uninterested in analyzing his lack of concern for why, she gathered her things and made her way through command and out to her car.

The short drive home left her feeling sick to her stomach at what might await her. Liz wasn't exactly sure what she was hoping for: on one hand she knew Tom would be gone and she was ok with that. They had never truly been right after Zamani and the notorious box - now the weight of faking it was too heavy a burden to carry any more.

But on the other hand if Tom left her she would be alone; utterly and completely alone. She would have no one, not Tom or Sam or even Red. The one who had promised her he would be there no matter what. All of them would be gone from her life in an instant.

It was then that Liz realized she had started to cry. There was no outcome she could see that would be right for her. She cried the rest of the way home.

When Liz finally arrived home she took a couple minutes to compose herself and try to gather a game plan for both scenarios. Depending on what she found when she entered the house would dictate her next move. If Tom were home, she had every intention of taking Hudson for a walk to delay the inevitable argument they were bound to carry out. If Tom was gone... Well she would cross that bridge when she got there.

Gathering her purse she climbed out of the car and slowly mounted the steps. Once she reached to the top of the stairs and let herself in, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief. The house was silent, indicating no one was home. This immediately took a immense load off her shoulders at not having to be attacked as soon as she got home. The next question was if Tom had truly followed through with his threat to be gone when she returned and the only way to find that out would be if his things were still in the bedroom.

Liz made deliberate steps slowly up the steps to their bedroom and still wasn't sure what she actually wanted to see. She figured she would know once she opened the door.

Before her hand even touched the doorknob she heard a rustling behind her. She didn't even have the opportunity to turn around before someone pushed her forcibly into the closed door and jammed something sharp in her neck.

**AN: Please don't flame me for my mole selection. I actually came to it when Anslo made the comment about giving Ressler everything he needed to bring down Red and let my imagination go from there. I wanted a bit of a back story before getting back to the torture... I mean storyline so here was my attempt at giving you some details.**

**Yay for the new ep tonight! Message me for my Twitter and Tumblr name and we can chat the night away.**

**As always leave love or hate just let me know someone is reading this.**

**Lady**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Thank you everyone for the amazing reviews/favorites/follows and all of the love, if I could reply to your review- I did. If I couldn't- please know I appreciate your comments just as much! The Blacklist came back with a vengeance or at least Red did. Obviously this story is not canon but do I get credit for Tom interviewing for a job in Nebraska? _**

**_Ok enough about that on with the show!_**

"Director Cooper!" Aram shouted lifting his laptop off the stand and rushing towards the AD's office. Pushing past Donald and Meera he moved to Coopers desk setting his laptop down.

"What the hell are you doing Aram? We are in the middle of a meeting!" Cooper's irritation at the interruption and intrusion to his office and personal space was blatantly obvious.

Aram paused only long enough to glance at the other two agents before opening the laptop. "Sir, we just received a coded transmission titled 'Agent Keen' I assumed it was a contact from Mr. Reddington to Agent Keen but she isn't here and I thought you'd want to see it first."

Cooper nodded, "Do you have recording capabilities so we can analyze the transmission for location details depending on what the message contains?"

Nodding, he pulled up two programs on his laptop pointing to them one at a time, "I have two programs currently running in the background - one is a tracer program to lock down the location of the transmission and the other is recording with output to a secured server."

Gesturing for the other two field agents to gather around he nodded for Aram to click on the link provided. Short moments later, the screen came to life showing a large empty room and a hook hanging in the center of the room.

"What the hell is this? Why can't we see or hear anything?" Ressler was the first to verbalize what the small group was thinking.

Leaning in close, Aram checked some settings on his computer, "We are connected and my sound is turned all the way up. It appears to be a live feed, I am assuming the sound is muted on the other end. Perhaps a safe house he is in?"

Meera chimed in, "Then what the hell is that for?" She pointed to the large hook hanging in the middle of the room.

Aram shrugged, "Maybe it's symbolic? Proof it's really him from our last confirmed location of him... You know after Garrick?"

"I don't think so," Donald replied pointing to the upper right corner of the screen where two men entered dragging-what appeared to be- an unconscious person.

Between the two men they strung the unconscious woman up on the large hook and moved off screen again. The room fell silent as they watched the body sway slightly and the identity of the person was easily observed. Only Aram sucked in a breath and whispered, "That's Agent Keen..."

Time stretched on without another word being spoken as everyone attempted to come to grips with the reality of the situation.

"Can you trace the feed?" Harold asked quietly, his eyes never leaving the screen.

Aram moved slowly to sit at Cooper's desk, moving the screen to the side he brought up his tracer program. "Wait.. This isn't right?"

"What is the problem, you can't get a pinpointed location?" Harold asked.

"Quite the opposite actually it's pinging, every couple seconds it just jumps to another random coordinate?" Aram was typing quickly, concentrating on the current signal before it jumped again. "Damn it!"

Meera leaned in closer, "Based on the previous coordinates, can you triangulate it's next jump to get ahead of it?"

Before Aram even began to write the code, the location jumped again."I'm going to need a few different algorithms and access to a few more systems to get ahead of this." He replied confidently. "It won't be easy or quick."

"Someone just moved into view by Keen." Ressler directed their attention to the feed, causing Aram to quickly maximize it back to full view.

_**"Ah she's finally coming around. Come on love! Rise and Shine sweetheart! It's show time!"**_

_**A man moved beside Agent Keen and took slow appreciative glances up and down her body.**_

_**"Alright then let's get down to business- you have something I want and as you can see we have Agent Keen. Something I've been told you really want Raymond... A little worse for wear but still alive- for how long is entirely up to you."**_

_**"The feed that you are watching is live but please don't insult me by trying to trace it. The signal is cycled every 11.5 seconds- even your best cannot narrow down the signal before is resets."**_

_**Suddenly another body appeared on screen, a mountain of a man moved closer to Liz and set down a car battery. He laid something beside it on the floor as he put on a pair of thick gloves.**_

"What the hell is he going to do with that?" Aram asked leaning closer to the screen.

Meera didn't hesitate to respond, she'd seen this tactic used many times. "See the water..." She pointed to the now wet Liz, "what happens when water and electricity mix?"

Aram paled considerably glancing at the two men who had impassive expressions on their face.

**_"But let me give you some incentive to try."_**

**_With the flick of his hand they watched the man before her pick up the two sponge covered jumper contacts and press them to Liz's midsection._**

The room went silent save for Liz's screams.

**_The man raised his hand once again to signal the other man to stop. "Each day brings new rounds of very archaic torture methods that I'm not sure Agent Keen will be able to survive. I will be expecting Raymond's call regarding exchange terms. Tick Tock Red."_**

**_The man turned away from the camera and smiled at Keen, "You are a pretty little thing aren't you, I can understand his interest in you."_**

**_"You're...wasting yo...your time." She took a few more deep breaths before continuing, "Reddington has be...been in... the wind for...8 months."_**

**_"You think we don't know that?" He asked her incredulously, "That's why you're here! Live Bait." With that he turned and nodded to the other man, "Just don't kill her."_**

Hitting the mute button on the laptop, Harold was the first to speak amongst the group. "I want this feed on the primary displays in the war room. Aram, use whatever resources you need to lock that signal down ASAP! Malik, reach out to the CIA for help on facial recognition and as much background as possible, we need to know who we are dealing with! Ressler, contact and interview Agent Keen's husband about her last known whereabouts. I want a timeline from the minute she walked out this door until this arrived."

The group quickly dispersed heading to their designated tasks, leaving Harold in his office alone. Looking out his office window he saw Aram confiscating the screens in the war room, Ressler was heading for the exit and Meera was already on the phone. Slowly picking up his office phone, he hit the speed dial to Diane's office. After two rings she picked up and he offered only a few words before hanging up, "It's a go."

_**In the war room**_

Meera hung up the phone with her CIA contact as she approached Aram, handing him a flash drive she started to list off what she needed. "I'm going to need photos from all angles of the perp, a copy of the audio track and full video thus far and the coordinates of the previous jump locations."

Aram plugged the flash drive into his laptop and started writing her list down as Meera picked up her phone again. Hitting the speed dial button, she waited for someone to answer as she added, "I'd also like a copy of the link itself to see if we can analyze the origin based on the links creation.."

He was about to say something when someone on the other line picked up and she held her finger up to pause him for a moment, "Yes, may I speak with Mr. Kaplan please? Ok, thank you."

As soon as Agent Malik hit the end button, Aram nodded. "I can get you everything in 20 minutes."

"Thank you, I'll be in my office." She replied leaving him to his work.

**_Lucian's hideout_**

Liz could hear something in the hazy fog filling her subconscious. A type of sing song pulling her from the darkness back towards the harsh white light blinding her through the lids of her closed eyes. A decidedly male voice, she did not recognize, was calling her name.

"Agent Keen... " The voice repeated twice. When she didn't seem to respond the voice switched tactics, "Elizabeth...Lizzie!"

The fluttering of her eye lids betrayed her rousing from unconsciousness.

Watching her head roll from side to side the man moved to lean over her prone body, now strapped to a metal table. He physically opened her eyes one at a time with his rough fingers. "I was beginning to think you'd never wake...thought we were a bit too rough and lost our leverage."

Liz was still groggy and having a hard time following exactly what was going on around her. Fighting through the searing pain in her midsection and shoulder area, Liz forced herself to open her eyes and glance around at her surroundings.

Out of no where another man joined him diverting his attention from her to engage in a hushed conversation. She was only able to make out a few words such as -husband- Dembe- FBI and logged in. At the last words the man seemed to smile and clapped the man on the back, thanking him before sending him away.

Moving back to the table he leaned over her, "Let's not play games huh, let us get straight down to the brass tax of it all. You are Agent Elizabeth Keen FBI profiler and I am Lucian. This may mean next to nothing to you as of right now but if Red were here I'm sure he would tell you I am close to #1 on his so called Blacklist he has you chasing."

At the mention of Red, Liz glared at the man lunging up at him only to quickly realize she was strapped to the table. Lying back due to her soreness and inability to move, she held eye contact with the man.

"Good! You look at me. You realize it's important to know the enemy." Lucian moved to sit on the table beside her. Crossing his arms over his chest he tapped his lip as they started each other down. "You're well trained. Even now, even here, you're trying to find an edge against me. What do you see?" He asked standing up quickly and spreading his arms wide. "Tell me. What will soften my heart? Tears? Courage?"

Liz tried to keep her breathing even, attempting not to betray the immense amount of fear coursing through her. "You do realize that either the FBI or Reddington himself will be searching for and will find me." Pausing to let him process exactly what she was saying she continued, "I hope, for your sake, that it is the FBI that gets here first. The last person who tried to harm me ended up fitting in a milk jug by the time Red was done with him."

Lucian started laughing as he reached into his pocket and removed what appeared to be a cellphone. "They didn't mention a sense of humor in your file, if you live through this they need to update that. You see I have your file...Right here in my hand is everything that the FBI knows about you. See here- Says you are strong-willed. They consider that both your greatest strength and your personal flaw. Doesn't always follow orders, thinks for herself."

Liz choose to stay silent and let him talk. The more he talked the better profile she could create and hopefully the less he tortured her.

Moving to sit beside her again Lucian leaned close to her causing Liz to lean away from him glancing around the room for any sign of life or escape. Keeping his voice hushed he spoke, "I highly doubt anyone will find you. We have removed all tracers from your body- including the wedding ring that your husband so nicely set up for us. So even if they figure out how we took you, there is nothing to track."

Liz's entire body froze as the mention of her husband, she couldn't believe that Tom would have anything to do with this let alone placing a tracker in her wedding ring! Though if she were to think of it logically it made perfect sense now. Why Red was so sure that he was hiding something, the link to Gina. It was like she had been punched in the chest when she realized that Red had been right about Tom.

"I'm guessing right now you're just kicking yourself for not believing Reddington and digging deeper into who your husband really is was- gun for hire. Just like me!" He smiled devilishly at her, running his finger up and down her arm.

Fighting back tears of anger and betrayal she struggled aggressively against her restraints trying to get away from his touch. "What do you want?!" She screamed at him, letting her emotions get the best of her.

"What do I want? It's not what I want, it is what I'm being paid to retrieve from Reddington."Lucian replied as Liz continued in vain to struggle. Tiring of her fruitless antics, he grabbed a handful of hair and bounced her head off the table twice to stout her actions.

Liz immediately felt nauseated and stopped struggling but she refused to look at him anymore.

Lucian grabbed her chin and forced her gaze back to him, "Look at me!" He screamed until he got her attention, "Good, now I am aware that he has gone off the grid so far that even Dembe has been unable to reach him but I am sure given the current circumstances that he shall come running back as soon as information of your husband's murder is reported by every news station."

The sting of fresh tears prickled at her eyes but Liz refused to let them fall. "Never mind Red or the FBI..." She bit out then paused for the effect of it before her next statement, "I'm gonna kill you myself."

"I'd like to see you try-" Lucian replied mere meters from her face. Standing tall, he whistled into the large open room and waited while two men began lumbering in carrying some type of basin between them. "But until that time comes, what do you know about water boarding?"

**_AN:From this point on please knoe that whatever occurs to Liz is now being viewed by the FBI since they have the link._**

**_Hope you have enjoyed the newest installment. I promise I'm not purposefully keeping Red from you but we needed to lay the ground work to draw him in. As always leave love or hate just let me know people are reading this._**

**_Thank you again!  
>Lady<em>**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Please see first chapter for disclaimer regarding Blacklist. (Of course I don't own it! Just borrowing for entertainment purposes.) I've replied to everyone's reviews if I could ( I appreciate you taking the time to leave me a comment) and anyone I could not reply to Thank you as well! You are just as important!_**

**_Here we go again:_**

**Post Office**

Donald and Meera returned to Cooper's office a few hours later to update Harold on the current situation regarding Agent Keen.

"What do you have for me?" Harold asked leaning back and observing the two agents.

The two agents exchanged glances and a sort of silent coin flip occurred leaving Donald to conduct his report first. "We've checked their home and with his school. The school said he'd taken a few personal days and the home was completely empty, no sign of struggle. Even the dog was missing."

"Are we able to run a tracer on his phone?" Harold asked, making a few notes.

"According to Aram it was left at the house and hasn't pinged any other towers since we brought him in to interrogate him." Donald now turned his attention to Meera, "How did we not turn anything up on him when Keen brought him in for the situation with the box? I mean you interrogated him, right?"

Meera glared at him for his accusatory tone, "Need I remind you that Reddington's entire Blacklist is full of people we do not even know exist? For all we know Tom Keen isn't even his real name. Yes, I ran point on the interrogation but vetting his credentials and background fell to your people."

"Enough!" Harold yelled over the two bickering. "He played us - all of us. Malik- what have you found regarding Lucian from your CIA contacts?"

Meera had to control her desire to shoot Ressler in his other leg, "I have relayed the necessary information and will be meeting with a contact in an hour to collect the pertinent data and can report back after my meeting. So far there are no hits on any searches through the agencies relating to a 'Lucian' or anyone fitting that description."

"Where are you meeting your contact?" Donald asked quickly.

"A predetermined destination set by them, I am not sure how long this will take but if anything happens..." Meera nodded to the screen in the war room of Agent Keen lying unconscious on the floor of a small suspended cell. "Call me." Without any preamble she retreated from the office.

Donald held his position for a few moments before moving to the door and closing it softly as Harold reached into his desk and withdrew a small device. Setting it on his desk he hit the silver button on top causing it to flash red before he addressed Donald.

"The room is secure, has Reddington or any of his people attempted to contact us?" Harold inquired rubbing his forehead in a vain effort to relieve the tension headache that was building.

"No sir. I would have assumed he would have made some contact by now. I have also been running tracers on every person who leaves to see if they divert from their normal routine." Donald shook his head, "I have even reached out to local animal control as well in case any strays turn up matching their dog."

"A bit of a stretch don't you think?" A skeptical Harold glared at Ressler.

"It's all we've got at this point to try locating Keen's husband - if he is dead." Donald looked at the screens splayed across the war room. "She seems to be holding up well. Lucian appears to be following directives."

"So long as he continues to play ball with us," Harold snapped. "If he gets tired of waiting for Reddington we may lose control of him."

"Perhaps we should up his payment to help extend his patience." Donald glanced over his shoulder to gauge Cooper's reaction to his suggestion.

Sighing heavily he nodded his head, "Fine but let's not jump the gun yet. The less paper trail- the better."

xXxXxXxX

Meera quickly made her way out to her SUV. Once inside she removed her cell phone and disassembled it as she took off out of the parking garage.

Once she was safely enroute and away from the blacksite, Meera made a quick detour to swap her SUV for a Porsche 911 to ensure she was not followed or GPS tracked. Reaching into the center console she removed a burner phone, reassembled it then waited for it to power up. Immediately after powering on a text message arrived:

**_Mr. Kaplan: 198 Main Rm 15_**

After plugging the destination into her GPS she shot back a quick confirmation of receipt. She had everything they had collected since the link had arrived, including the link itself- the proverbial front row seat to Agent Keen torture. Throwing her car into gear she maneuvered quickly towards her destination.

Arriving in under 30 minutes, she quickly moved through the lobby and knocked lightly on the door to room 15. She didn't have to wait but a few moments before the door opened revealing Dembe looking stern as ever. Motioning her inside Dembe lead her through to the dining area. She had to maneuver around and over bunches of cables and cords running through the hallway, living, and dining area.

Dembe didn't stop until he arrived at the master suite doors when he paused only long enough to knock to announce their arrival before entering.

As soon as she moved inside she came face to face with Raymond Reddington, "Hello Meera."

"Mr. Reddington," she nodded to him, reaching into her pocket and removing the file and flash drive she had been instructed to bring with her. Handing it to him, he immediately handed the flash drive off to his tech then gave the rest of the file to Dembe. "How long has she been gone?"

"We are not sure about the exact time but she left the Post Office yesterday around 3pm and the link arrived last night roughly around 6pm." She kept her information on point. "That time frame helps to considerably narrow down the search radius."

"You'd be surprised how far you can travel in so little time." Red remarked sharply. "So she has been missing for roughly 24 hours." Red clipped out glancing at the screens as each one started coming up with the live link, the electronic information about Lucian and the link, and finally the video they had recorded previously. " Let me guess the only information the FBI was able to garner from all of their time with this through their masterful powers of deduction was his name is Lucian..." Red shot Meera a sarcastic look before they were interrupted.

"Sir we are ready." A young bespectacled man spoke softly from the table behind Red. "I've got the video cued up plus the live feed. There was a tracer program embedded in the link to coordinate the ISP location of the uplink that we have redirected to a random location in southwest.."

"Seymour, just play it." The entire room stopped at Red's comment. They starred at the screen; glancing back and forth between an unconscious caged Liz and a man monologuing who Red knew to be Lucian Striker. Lucian had not actually made Red's Blacklist prior to this incident but he had quickly earned himself a spot of his very own.

Reddington seemed to be solely focused on the screen and Meera couldn't help but wonder what was racing through his complicated mind. His facial expressions gave nothing away although she could feel the tension in his body, he was like a viper ready to strike.

Red wasn't really concentrating on the message from Lucian, he was a hired gun just like Anslo. The initial thought that Red had was Lucian would meet the same fate as Anslo: Red would end his life. The difference this time was he didn't know who had hired Lucian and it was Lizzie they were torturing to get the information he currently controlled.

No one dared speak until the recorded video was over. "Seymour - how long until you can get me the location?" Red didn't stop looking at Liz as he began formulating his plan.

"He is good, but I am better." Seymour was sitting in front of a laptop eagerly typing away. "I sent out a rogue virus to the tri state area, any computer that is on with internet access is running code to triangulate their precise-"

"TIME SEYMOUR! HOW LONG?" Red snapped at the young man.

Seymour's mouth snapped shut - he began to do some quick calculations in his head. "24 hours would be the earliest."

Red took a few moments to absorb what he was saying. Lizzie would be in Lucian's grasp for 24 more hours, leaving her to whatever diabolical plans he could concoct during that time. Scratching at the top of his head with his left hand he regarded Meera who appeared poised to say something. " Meera, please provide Seymour with your remote access information for the Post Office."

Meera looked taken aback as Seymour perks up, "With those type of resources we could cut the time down by at least 6-8 hours."

"Mr. Reddington, I cannot give him-"

Red cut her rebuttal off as he looms dangerously close to her person, dropping his voice down to a frightening level he addresses Meera in a private conversation. " I'm not asking Agent Malik: I'm telling you. I did not ask for classified CIA documents pertaining to national security or anything of vital importance, honestly not even anything he couldn't accomplish on his own given enough time. Now give him the access information so we can save valuable time in locating Agent Keen."

She continued to stare at Red weighing her options; it only took a few seconds For her to make her choice. Pulling a pad of paper to her, she wrote down her pass code and log in to remote into her system at the Post Office.

As soon as she finished writing, Seymour pounced on the notepad like a buzzard on a gut wagon. He grabbed it quickly and ran off before she had a chance to change her mind. "I need to give them something when I return, Ressler came up empty on Tom Keen - obviously because he is dead- and any information from their home was next to useless given the condition of the house."

The sound of Liz stirring in the cage drew Red's attention back to the live feed, "See Dembe on your way out. He will provide you with information to return to Harold and Donald about Lucian." Effectively dismissing Meera from their meeting Red continued to just stare at the screens thinking resolutely to himself, 'I will find you Lizzie.'

xXxXxXxX

**_Awaking with a start Liz glanced at her surroundings. She appeared to be in a small cage hanging suspended in the air barely a few feet off the ground, though she was high enough and far enough away from anything she could use to escape._**

**_Realizing she was by herself, she tried rolling over slowly and gingerly climbed to her knees. The burning sensation in her abdomen had not ebbed in the time she had been unconscious. Lifting her shirt up she observed the sensitive burns across her stomach. The water boarding had been frightening. Though the knowledge that he wasn't trying to kill her - just yet- seemed to help control her panic. After taking those first few deep breaths of life giving air the panic subsided leaving the tremors from the electrical shock and pure adrenaline._**

**_'Tell me what you saw?' Subconsciously she heard Red again from their tense conversation about finding Zamani when they had first met. "What do I see?" She mumbled as she used the cage to pull herself up and started glancing around for anything she could use to identify her location._**

**_"No windows." Liz said aloud, recalling that the man called Lucian had said they were being recorded somewhere in the room. Closing her eyes she tried to concentrate on her other senses. The only thing she could smell was moisture- presumably coming from her semi moist clothes and damp hair but possibly due to being underground as well. "Moisture- maybe underground?"_**

**_Liz kept her eyes closed and tried to focus, " And it's very quiet. No traffic or railway sounds."_**

Red couldn't help but smile as she spoke to the empty room trying to provide any information she could to assist in pinpointing her location. "That's my girl. Keep fighting."

**_"That will be quite enough!" Lucian's voice came from off screen as he approached her suspended cell. "I thought you'd be out a bit longer not spouting off useless information to ghosts." Checking the time on his watch he shook his head as he paced around the cage, "I am surprised I haven't heard from him yet."_**

**_"I told you." Liz bit back at him. "You over estimate my importance to him, I'm a means to an end for him." Liz tried to not let her own words affect her. She had felt things changing between them prior to his disappearance and since he had confirmed he wasn't her father and he'd been gone- she'd felt her feelings toward him shift._**

**_Lucian grinned at her rambling, "No love, you under estimate it. He places your well being over all else and you don't even know why. But I know."_**

_xXxXxXxX_

_AN: I know cliffie right?! What does Lucian know? Thank you for reading my latest chapter. I had to separate this into 2 chapters because it needed it. Hope everyone enjoys Red's return- should flow a bit faster now._

_Thank you again for all of the reviews and words of encouragement they are greatly appreciated! Also please give lots of love to nikkixsensei for the beautiful cover art to this story. Hope everyone enjoys the new episode tonight!_

_As always leave love or hate just let me know someone is still reading this._

_Always_

_Lady_


	5. Chapter 5

**_Please see first chapter for disclaimer regarding Blacklist. (Of course I don't own it! Just borrowing for entertainment purposes.) I've replied to everyone's reviews if I could ( I appreciate you taking the time to leave me a comment) and anyone I could not reply to Thank you as well! You are just as important! _**

**_Just a warning the end of the chapter may be a little rougher than this has been yet in regards to torture (suggestion/description of non consensual advances/touches) it didn't feel to me M but if I'm wrong please let me know and i will bump it up._**

**_Hope you enjoy:_**

The Cheshire grin Lucian had on his face as he moved over to her cage was disconcerting. Removing his smartphone again he started paging through whatever was on the screen, "I don't only have your personnel file but also Reddington's declassified file."

Liz couldn't help but roll her eyes, "You're obviously not as informed as you believe if you think I haven't already read that whole thing cover to cover- twice. Do you even know what an FBI profiler does?" The one thought she kept thinking was 'keep him talking' the more he talked the more time she had and the less she would be tortured. If they were truly being watched on a live feed by Red or the FBI anything he talked about would be analyzed in effort to find her. Liz couldn't discredit her desire to find out if what he was saying was true. It may be her only chance to find out what Red's connection to her was and why she was so important.

Lucian laughed heartily at that, "What you read was a puff piece fabricated by your government and people much bigger than you and I to paint Red the Big Bad defector and traitor to the flag."

'Everything about me is a lie,' Again Red's voice echoed in her subconscious. He had been telling her from the start that every preconception she had about him was wrong. In the time that she'd been captured by Lucian she'd found more and more truth to the subtle honesty Red had shared with her that she had discounted as lies and half truths. "You're a criminal... I've been told that criminals are notorious liars." Liz was surprised by how easily Red's words came to her, he always seemed to be just beyond her thoughts at all times. "Why should I believe anything you say?"

"Why would I lie? Yes- I'm bad news... I'm not your friend." Lucian shook his head. "I'm not going to help you but I have no personal ties to you either. To me: you are a paycheck- if I get what I want I'll never see you again. If I don't get it- I'll kill you." He said this so matter of fact in such a cold manner it rocked her to the core. "I just thought you'd like to know what you're probably going to die for if I don't hear from Reddington soon."

How soon?"

Lucian glanced at his shiny gold Rolex, "I'll give him another 12 hours, after that you will just become more blood on his hands."

"What does he have? The thing Red has- what is it?" Liz asked keeping herself composed and level headed, ' keep him talking' was the only thing running through her mind- her personal mantra for the foreseeable future.

"Classified documents that he's been holding over some VIP's for the past 20 years."

"But why now?" This didn't make any sense to Liz, why after 20 years did this information need to be recovered. It didn't take long for her to work it out for herself, "They are afraid the information is a part of his plea deal regarding the Blacklist."

Lucian winked at her as he approached the cage, "Ding ding... Give that girl a kewpie doll."

"How do you know that Red even knows about this-" she gestured around to the cage, "that you have me?" Liz stood her ground she didn't break down or shy away from him. "You said yourself that he's gone."

"Because the link to that camera," this time Lucian turned and pointed to a small wall mounted camera. She hadn't noticed it before because it was so small and melted into the wall- 'So there it is' she thought to herself. "The uplink to this feed, that we only sent to the FBI mind you, has been accessed twice in two separate locations. Which means Reddington has it, would you like to wave to him?"

Liz paused to stare directly into the camera. If Lucian was right and Red was watching this she knew he would save her, no matter what she did or said to him he always saved her. With that knowledge she could not break down, this was merely a hostage situation with dire consequences should she fail. "Ok then what do I have to do with all of this? That's what you want right? To spill his secrets. So tell me."

"All in due time," Lucian replied hitting a button on his phone once then pocketing the device. "As I said we have at most 12 hrs left together, the time is still young. I think we've done enough talking for now don't you?"

The jingling of keys caught her attention before a large set of doors opening redirected her gaze away from Lucian. She watched as two men carried in a metal table with a box sitting on top.

The clink of the lock moving on her cage caused her to turn quickly back towards Lucian as he was turning the key, "I think it's time we take our 'relationship' here to a more physical level. Don't you?"

Panic at his words flooded Liz and she rushed the door pulling on it with the whole of her body weight to keep it closed, "No I'm quite happy in here. I'd really prefer to know about why Red is using me."

"Come on now-" Pulling the lock off the cage Lucian used it to hit Liz's knuckles on the bars of the cage repeatedly. "Let's give ol' Red a little incentive to pick up the phone."

She was able to hold on for three strong hits before she felt the skin on her fingers break open, causing her to hiss and release the door. As quickly as she could she retreated and pressed herself into the corner kicking and scratching at him as he tried reaching in to grasp her.

The two henchmen behind her had set the table down and come to help at the cage. They reached through the bars and shoved her forward towards Lucian's awaiting arms.

Liz had no intention of going down without a fight. Instead of resisting her forward movement she went with it barreling into him, a well placed knee landed at his solar plexus taking them both down as he collapsed and a satisfying 'oomf' exhaled from his mouth.

Rolling away from him she stumbled to her feet shoving the cage into the two henchmen, delaying them enough to a head start towards the door they had just entered.

She hadn't taken two more steps before from out of nowhere Lucian tackled her hard to the floor. They wrestled momentarily until Lucian's size advantage won out easily. Rolling her over he sat astride her torso pinning her to the floor blocking her wide right hook and landing two shots of his own - one to her bruised abdomen and another to her face.

The hard blows stunned Liz, she now understood what Lucian meant about taking their relationship to a more physical level. Rolling on her side she pulled her knees up slightly to take the pressure off her sore stomach. Biting back the tears she wiped at the blood now seeping from the cut on her lip.

"I thought you were smarter than that," he growled out as he pushed himself to his feet. He turned to go then seemed to pause for a moment contemplating something. Turning back quickly he kicked her hard in the stomach and grinned with satisfaction at the crack that resounded - followed by her pained cry. "That would be at least one broken rib, should stout anymore ideas at escape."

Liz tried to catch her breath and breathe through the pain but she found it more difficult than mind over pain. The tears flowed freely from the pain but she refused to give him the satisfaction of hearing her cry out.

Leaving Liz laying on the floor Lucian strode back to the table his henchmen had carried in and started unpacking the box of items. "Gentleman your assistance is no longer needed, thank you."

Dismissing both men he turned turned the table, adjusting it so it faced directly at the camera. Once he was happy with the table, he removed two sets of handcuffs from the box. Connecting one cuff from each set he spread it out on the table measuring the distance they were able to span across the table.

Liz tried to move out of the fetal position she had found herself curled into cradling her bruised and busted body. Not so long ago she took solace in the fact that he wasn't going to kill her and that Red would save her. Now between the pain of the torture and betrayal by Tom, the feeling of abandonment by Sam and Red. She had reached her breaking point with Lucian.

"Alright Elizabeth I believe we need to sweeten the pot- so to speak." Lucian crouched down beside her resting on his haunches. Gently he brushed her hair away from her face and smiled wickedly down at her, "How do you feel about bondage and voyerism?" Lucian asked grabbing her by the hair that his hand still rested against and pulled hard to start forcing her to her feet.

Liz's eyes went wide when she registered what he had asked and she tried to struggle away from him. "Let me go!" She cried out trying to dislodge the clump of hair he had a firm grip on.

Tiring of her fruitless antics Lucian hit her twice in the stomach again aiming for the rib he had broken not minutes earlier.

Crying out in agony Liz collapsed to the ground at his feet, the pain of him pulling her hair dulled in comparison to the abuse to her broken rib.

"Up you go," Lucian mumbled picking her up bride groom style and carrying her to the table. Setting her on her feet he pressed her upper back forcing her to bend over the table, her face directly at the camera. In two swift movements he had her hands handcuffed under the table, effectively keeping her in the bent position over the table with a limited amount of movement.

"Please don't!" Liz cried trying to find a comfortable position to take the pressure off her ribs as they rubbed against the edge of the table.

Lucian stayed behind Liz just admiring her body in the precarious position. "Tell me Elizabeth-has Raymond seduced you into his bed yet?" Ghosting his hand over her shoulder he feathered touches down her spine.

The tears flowed freely from Liz as she squirmed on the table trying to free her hands from the handcuffs and test her range of movement to escape his touch.

When she refused to answer him verbally he grasped the collar of her shirt and pulled her back against his lower body straining her upper body in a stretch. "What was that?"

"NO!" She screamed hoping her answer would cause him to release her and create space between them. She wanted to call out for help, to call for Red to save her but what that would mean to him and to those watching at the FBI was too complicated To fathom. At this point her upper brain functions had effectively shut down and she had gone into survival mode- her only thought being to get away from him.

His wandering hands moved from her collar around her shoulders keeping her body against his and pulled away from the table. "That truly is a shame..." He mumbled into her hair as his hands moved down her chest to grasp the seam of her blouse. In one swift yank the buttons gave way separating the fabric and displaying her lace covered chest to the camera. "There's nothing complicated about meeting a woman like you and knowing what to do." Lucian's hand moved across her chest and over her bruised stomach down to the clasp of her slacks.

Liz tried to move away from his hands but it only pressed her against him more, "Please don't!" She begged him as she squirmed to the side groaning in pain at the torsion on her injuries.

Lucian grabbed her waist to move her back in front of him, resting his chin on her shoulder he hooked his thumbs inside the waist band to start working on the clasp. Before he could even get the clasp undone his phone rang stilling his hand movement.

Turning his head slightly Liz felt his hot breath spread across her neck, "Saved by the bell." Feeling him move away from her she collapsed against the table crying so hard she could barely catch her breath.

**_AN:I'm so sorry to leave it like this, I had intended to combine this and the next chapter but it was hard to write it out and have it make sense as you read through it because it went back and forth between scenes. Please leave love or hate just let me know what you thought._**

**_Always_**

**_Lady_**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Please see first chapter for disclaimer regarding Blacklist. (Of course I don't own it! Just borrowing for entertainment purposes.) I've replied to everyone's reviews if I could (I appreciate you taking the time to leave me a comment) and anyone I could not reply to Thank you as well! You are just as important! I am so pleasantly surprised at the amount of interest this story has drawn and I only hope to keep entertaining you. I 3 Lizzington!**_

_**2 Quick things before we start**_

_**1-As you will notice I did not bump this up to M. I took all suggestions into consideration and after some deliberation decided that it didn't have that 'thing' to force it up. I apologize if I lose any readers for this. I truly didn't believe it needed to be up there.**_

_**2- Please bear with me on this chapter- the main reason I did not include it in the last chapter is because of it's complexity in form. I have 2 story arcs occurring at the same time in 2 different locations. I hope I kept it as easy to read as possible, if not I do apologize. I thought it would be best to get it all out at once but if it proves to hard to follow I will break it up into 2 chapters. Let me know.**_

_**On with the story:**_

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>POST OFFICE:<span>**_

Aram typed furiously on his keyboard. He was working on a new virus trying to reverse sync through the live feed attempting to retrace its entry point from the initial email ISP. His frustration level was fueled by a number of failures, lack of sleep, too much coffee and his unobstructed view of the monster torturing his coworker. On too many occasions he had caught himself glancing over time and time again when a loud noise would catch his attention.

Hitting the send button one last time on his keyboard he sat back with bated breath to see if this time the result would be anything else but defeat. Resting his elbows on the desk he steepled his fingers before his face starring intently at the computer screen as the virus loaded slowly from zero. The slow progression was better than an immediate response and Aram couldn't help but feel slightly encouraged at the slow climb to five percent.

Realizing in his tunnel vision on the virus he had been neglecting his other programs he quickly shifted tactics. He'd began running simulations on the intended next trajectory of the signal skip to hopefully get a lock on the next target, unfortunately nothing had connected yet for him. He had also began monitoring any traffic in and around the post office again just to eliminate anyone potential leaks.

As Aram started scanning down the data he noted a black out for a period of 9 minutes, "How the hell did that happen?" He mumbled to himself, pulling up the programming and running a diagnostic on the program to check for any interference or tampering with his program. Immediately his program shot back the black out in the program was due to an electromagnetic countermeasure (or scrambler), it was weak but functional. Pushing back from his table in disgust he roughly rubbed his hand across his forehead. The last time they had a high powered jammer used in the Post Office a number of his colleagues died and he had killed a man.

Glancing around he couldn't figure out how he had missed the interference or the notification regarding it! 'Couldn't have been Agent Keen's life hanging in the balance' he thought aggressively to himself as he hit himself in the forehead with his palm.

"Agent Ressler! My office!" Director Cooper's voice boomed across the war room to Agent Ressler at his position at the info board effectively startling the rest of the agents on the floor. Donald had been starring aimlessly at the collection of data trying to appear busy while spending a good majority of his time just watching the scene play out on the screens.

Donald glanced over his shoulder at Harold's office window and nodded to him acknowledging his request. Lucian had just made reference to Red's classified file and he was interested to see Liz's reaction to any information he presented. Donald already knew what he was going to say so watching it play out was more for entertainment purposes than information.

Ascending the steps he entered Harold's office as he was taking a call. Harold waved him in and signaled for him to close the door, "No, no contact yet. Yes, we are monitoring all communication avenues." Harold paused listening to the other side talk adamantly. "Yes I understand the gravity of the situation Diane; I will update you in a few hours."

Slamming the phone down he squeezed his eyes shut, "Any luck with Keen's husband?"

"Found a few hours ago, I just got the message. He was found in the dog park not from their house with their dog's leash attached to his neck... It had been broken." Ressler didn't flinch as he relayed the information. He'd never been a fan of Keen's and knew something about her husband had been off originally. Although nothing could prepare him for the truth about Tom Keen and finding out about his 'double life' had almost caused him to dance with glee.

A particularly loud scream echoed off the walls of the Post Office as Lucian kicked Liz. Both men turned to watch as he set up the table and carried Liz over to it; the situation had progressed to a decidedly dangerous level.

When Lucian ripped open her shirt Harold had enough. Reaching into his desk he pulled out the scrambler to ensure their conversation wasn't overheard. Setting it on his desk and hitting the button he extended his open hand, "Give me the phone. I'm calling this off." Harold exclaimed.

Aram's PC dinged loudly; drawing his attention back to the scanning program. "It's happening again..." He mumbled rummaging through his desk to locate the signal tracer. Turning the device on he spun slowly trying to lock down the location of the signal. Moving slowly he followed the soft beeping as it lead him towards the location of the signal.

Moving out of the war room he was concentrating so hard on the device he didn't see where he was going and ran straight into someone. The tracking device and file fell to the floor as Aram and Meera collided in their haste.

"Agent Malik! I'm so sorry I wasn't paying attention." Aram stuttered at the senior agent helping her collect the papers that had fallen from the folder and splayed across the floor.

Meera picked up the tracer and gave Aram a confused look, "Why do you need this?"

Handing Meera her file, Aram grasped the tracer and glanced around. "Someone is using a scrambler that is affecting my tracking program. It's not a complete jammer where we cannot make or receive any communications – like with Garrik- but it's blocking my tracking program. My program picked it up before but I didn't see the notification so I'm trying to narrow down the location now before it disappears again. It may be the mole?"

Meera paused only a moment before she nodded for him to move along. Following him, they cautiously moved through the lower section of the war room to stand directly below the mezzanine housing the offices. "It's right here?" Aram whispered glancing around the general area searching for any device being hid in plain sight.

It didn't take Meera long to piece together where the signal was coming from as she glanced straight up. "Where are Cooper and Ressler?"

Still searching the area and glancing at his tracer Aram answered, "Cooper just called Ressler to his office."

Ressler didn't take his eyes off the screen to hand Harold the phone as the situation between Lucian and Liz escalated.

"I stood behind her being physically broken because Reddington should have jumped in to help her like before. Cuts and broken bones can heal. This would break her beyond repair and I cannot in good conscious as director let a vital asset be broken- like this! We will need to locate Reddington some other way. I'm going to set up the final payment with a stipulation that he will receive extra compensation as long as he keeps his hands off her and provides her location." Flipping the phone open, he hit speed dial number four and waited for Lucian to answer.

"What about Director Fowler?" Donald inquired raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Harold shook his head," I'll handle Diane."

"Should I prep a recovery team?" Donald inquired moving towards the door.

"Yes." Harold replied shortly.

Meera held her file and moved to the corner of the hallway, glancing up she saw Ressler descending the stairs heading towards command. Her eyes then moved to the screen where the man holding Liz was answering the phone. "Aram, is the scrambler still on?"

"Yes why?" He asked moving the tracer around like someone searching for cell signal.

"Tell me the moment it stops." She replied not taking her eyes off the screen.

Harold watched Lucian answer the phone on the screen. "Shut it down."

Lucian spun slowly to stare at the camera as if making eye contact with Harold. "Not exactly the call I was expecting but never the less, what can I do for you?"

"This is done. If he hasn't shown or made contact by now he won't." Harold watched as Lucian moved around to the table again behind Liz, grinning as she tried to move away from him. "We will pay you double the final payment right now to send your location and vacate the building."

Lucian continued to glance between the camera and Liz as he pondered the offer. If he had to be honest with himself he was having entirely too much fun with the young agent to give in so easily but he also understood the depth of danger he had himself in now. Reddington was not a forgiving man and there was not enough money in the world to protect you from him, but they were certainly making a good start for him. "Fair enough, I'll have them sent over as soon as the transfer clears."

Harold didn't answer but closed the phone effectively ending the call. Moving to his desk he opened the drawer and removed a small smartphone. Opening the server he confirmed the wire transfer and hit send. Pocketing the small device he turned off the scrambler on his desk, kept hold of the burner and waited for the wire transfer to complete.

"It's gone." Aram exclaimed as the signal disappeared.

Meera watched as Lucian hung up the phone then watched the screen. A slow smile slid across his features before he typed out what appeared to be a text or email on the phone. Contemplating her next move Meera choose to store this information and follow Agent Ressler.

_**198 Main Rm 15-**_**_RED'S ROOM_**

Red had moved a high back chair from the living room in front of the video equipment and had not moved since Agent Malik left. He had started working his way through the decanter of scotch in an attempt to calm his nerves and keep his sanity while watching the scene unfold on the screen.

He hated that he had to sit and wait for someone else to find His Lizzie. He trusted Seymour and his team inexplicably to find her location as quickly as possible but it still left him sitting on his hands without anything to do. Dembe had left to collect Mr. Kaplan and to start prepping their tactical units in preparation for any type of mobilization should Seymour come through with a location sooner than anticipated.

It was in times like this that he hated the hand he had been dealt in life. Everything had spiraled so far out of control that he had questioned too many times if he was doing the right thing.

Taking a long sip from the glass he closed his eyes to shut out reality for just a short few blissful moments. This entire situation was his fault; everything that Liz was suffering through was because of his demons and his past. The choices he'd made in life had manifested themselves in the form of hell on earth for the one thing he truly cared about. He had let his guard down and she was paying for it now. Had he kept to his original plan all would have been fine. Liz would have lived out her entire life never having met the nefarious Raymond Reddington. He could have gone about his business without thought or repercussion then quietly retired and lived the rest of his days out on a private island in the Caribbean.

But she had taken him by surprise and he had been lost ever since. He kept up with Sam as she grew from child to teen but he had never been in contact with her. His only information came in the way of brief calls and progress reports Sam would send if/when he requested.

It was a phone call from Sam out of the blue that had started the snowball effect they were rolling on at this point. Sam had called with the unfortunate news of his ailing health due to the cancer he was battling. Red had dropped everything and traveled 15 hours straight to be by his friends side for moral and emotional support as well as financial support. Red sparred no expense to get him the best oncologist and treatment available.

One afternoon when Red had been visiting Sam during his chemo treatment, their conversation had eventually turned to Liz. Sam handed Red a 'Save the Date' wedding announcement of Liz and her new fiancé Tom. If he could place the exact moment when his feelings for her had began: this would have been the moment. It was the first time he'd seen her since she was young and God help him she was a vision.

He'd felt it immediately. She had mesmerized him with her eyes and she had simply taken his breath away. Somewhere in his daze he heard Sam mention she had started studying at Quantico to train as a profiler or something but Red didn't hear anything else. His casual interest in her well being had changed to a desire to know everything about the woman she had become.

From that last thought a plan began to formulate and three years later; here he sat. This! This was his fault! Her life hung in the balance because of him. Had he left well enough alone, she would have never have suffered a day like she had since knowing him.

Turning his gaze back to the monitor he finished off another glass of scotch as he watched Liz fend off Lucian with a well placed knee. "That's my girl- get out of there." He mumbled softly but the brief smile on his face was short lived as he watched the rest of the scene unfold.

She had fought hard but was woefully unprepared for such a physical onslaught. Her cries of pain and anguish were like daggers to his chest. It made him sick. He had done terrible things in his life but nothing would compare to the hellfire he would rain down upon Lucian when he found him.

As he moved Liz to the table Red was jolted from his seat in a fit of rage, throwing his glass against the wall just above the screen. Liz's cries pierced his heart as she struggled against her restraints. He could take no more. He couldn't sit by any longer waiting to take action. "SEYMOUR!"

Within seconds the young man appeared in the doorway, "Yes sir?"

"Get him on the line now." Red left no room for discussion on the matter.

"But sir we haven't locked his location yet..." Seymour tried to explain to Red before he exploded.

"Just get me the damn phone!" Liz's cries echoed through the room and caught Seymour's attention for only a moment before he disappeared into the living room returning shortly with a burner phone.

"As soon as you hit send we will start the tracer," Seymour replied his features visibly paled at the sight on the screen of Lucian tearing Liz's shirt.

Before Red could hit the send button Lucian's phone began ringing. Red glanced at the phone in his hand to make sure he hadn't accidentally hit the send button then dropped his hand and watched as Lucian stopped his assault. Whispering something in Liz's ear, he stepped away to answer the phone.

Red released a shaky breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Collapsing back into the chair, he scrapped his fingers across his scalp in frustration. "I'm so sorry Lizzie."

"If it isn't you calling then was it just good timing or?" Seymour vocalized exactly what Red was thinking.

He stayed in the room with Red and tried to be as small as possible. Watching the man before him break down and give in to another's will have rocked him to the core.

"SEYMOUR! WE GOT IT!" A petite young woman named Kyrie came sliding into view at the door way drawing the attention of both men. "We've got it! It just cracked! Location is coming up now!"

In a flash Red was back on his feet, "I want directions to the location and schematics of the area now!" Using the burner to dial Dembe's cell he wasted no time with small talk, "We've got it, I'll send you details and meet you there."

Hanging up the phone he tossed it onto the bed and turned back to the tv. Someone was responsible for this. That someone was also watching the feed and called just in time to prevent a horrible thing from occurring. He would deal with those people. He would make them pay, but right now his only goal was getting Liz back safe and sound. Finding himself once again alone in the room with the feed of his Lizzie crying helplessly Red touched the screen lightly, "I'm coming sweetheart, just hold on."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: I hope you enjoyed this. The next chapter starts all the fun and angst! Thank you again everyone for the reviews and the favorites. Please leave love or hate about this, I love hearing everyone's thoughts and discussing the show. FYI the next update may be a bit delayed due to a prompt story that is asking to be written: it's a one shot so it won't be huge but it's interfering with the next chapter._**

**_You can also contact me on Tumblr or Twitter if you need someone to talk Blacklist with. *Wink*_**

**_Always,_**

**_Lady_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Please see first chapter for disclaimer regarding Blacklist. (Of course I don't own it! Just borrowing for entertainment purposes.) I've replied to everyone's reviews if I could (I appreciate you taking the time to leave me a comment) and anyone I could not reply to Thank you as well! You are just as important! I am so pleasantly surprised at the amount of interest this story has continued to draw and I only hope to keep entertaining you._**

**_Longest chapter to date all for you guys:_**

Lucian pocketed his phone and moved back to Liz kneeling before her. With two fingers he lifted her chin up forcing her to make eye contact with him, "Just for the record Agent Keen- in case you were wondering- you'd remember a night with me for the rest of your life."

Turning her face away from him she shied away from his touch. Her natural instinct was to lash out or make a retort to his statement but she had no desire to inflame his rage lest he continue what he had started before the phone had interrupted him just to prove his point.

"How about we have another round of 'Reddington 101' to help pass the time while we wait hmm?" Pulling up Red's file he glanced over the information before him, "Let's see...Raymond Reddington. His file actually reads like a rejected Bourne movie pitch, but his story is really the beginning of your story from what I see."

Liz tried to appear uninterested; she had no desire to hear anything from him at this point. Yes, she wanted answers but the desire for them had long since been overcast by the need to stay alive and escape as quickly as possible. Yet the profiler in her had perked up at the possible chance for answers Red had been denying her since he turned her world upside down only months before.

Realizing he had peaked her interest Lucian read down the file some more. "Intercepted coded information while working under cover on a black covert op against- oh look at that your father- code name: Flavius."

Liz fought to keep her face neutral but knew she was failing miserably.

"Flavius attempted to have you and your mother killed in a fire at the house – a diversion to suggest the whole family was slaughtered by rivals so he could disappear…"

Liz shook her head trying to drown out what he was saying. With every word she became more distraught over the resounding truth that began to fill in some missing blanks in her memory as a child.

"Tsk tsk looks like the government left their spy out in the cold after he saved you from the fire for disobeying orders. Flavius figured out Red's duplicity... Oh he sent the Stewmaker after Red's wife and daughter. Both never to be seen again..." Lucian shook his head at Liz. "It sounds like your Father is a right mean bastard."

Closing her eyes Liz laid her head on the table trying to block him out. "You're a liar!" She screamed at him.

"Your Father tried to kill you, your adoptive Father, Sam right? He died to get away from you, your husband sold you out for a few bucks and Ol' Red would rather protect himself than save you...Not very good luck with the men in your life." Lucian ticked off name after name then shook his head checking for the wire transfer again.

"Go to hell." Liz practically growled at him refusing to lift her head from the table, she couldn't bear to look at him lest he see the tears that flowed freely down her cheeks.

Lucian waved her comment off, "Oh I have no misconception about my after life plans- at this point it's really go big or go home." Moving close to Liz he stopped only inches from her face, a breath away from her ear. "Sometimes the deepest cuts I can make are with words of truth, I don't need to touch you to hurt you. I just like it more." With no further comment, he stood and left the room through the double doors his henchmen had exited out after bringing in the table.

Liz understood now why he was telling her about Red's past. Their lives had been entwined for years and she knew nothing of him. Who he was now was because of her and her family. His family was dead because of her. She wouldn't take the words of a demon like Lucian though, she would hear the truth for what it was from Red. No matter how horrible the truth actually was.

Somehow she felt worse than before. She had suffered through so much pain and such an array of emotions since she had been kidnapped she was exhausted and quickly losing the battle to her body to stay alert and awake.

_'Red will find me'_ had now become her silent mantra. She didn't understand why he wanted to protect her so badly if everything Lucian claimed to be true but she clung to that hope that he would find her. She no longer relied on the FBI to save her, they played by the rules too much and by the time the paperwork was completed she could be dead. _'Red will find me.'_ She repeated to herself as she laid her head down on the table.

**_POST OFFICE_**

Cooper continued to check his phone like someone worrying a loose tooth. He had even retreated back to the sanctity of his office so as not to draw attention to his repetitious motions. He could only hope that Lucian was going to hold up his side of the deal.

Shortly after retreating to his office Ressler ascended the steps, "Recovery team is prepped- we just need coordinates." He said closing the door as he entered the room and came to stand just before Cooper's desk.

Looking up from his phone once again he shook his head, reaching into his desk he pulled out the jammer again. Once he was sure the room was secure he spoke, "It's been over 20 minutes and I still haven't received the location from him. He disappeared off screen shortly after our last communication and hasn't returned."

"You think he got the hell out of dodge to make sure we don't cross paths before he provides the locale?" Ressler asked turning back to look at the war room and the monitor showing Agent Keen fidgeting against the table.

"I don't know what the hell he is thinking at this point, all I know is this whole situation could blow up in our hands very quickly." Cooper replied pulling out his smartphone once again to check the wire transfer. "DAMN IT!" He cried out, standing up from his desk in one swift move. "It's no wonder he hasn't contacted us! The damn transfer was rejected!"

Ressler was taken aback, "What do you mean it was rejected?"

Cooper was already picking up the phone and typing in an extension before Ressler could finish his sentence. As soon as the line picked up he blurted out, "Approve the Transfer Diane!"

Diane Fowler held the phone away from her ear as Cooper's voice boomed through the receiver. Allowing him to finish she simply stated, "No."

"What do you mean no?!" Harold was fuming; switching the receiver to his other hand he picked up the smartphone once again trying to process the transfer once again. "This is over, he hasn't shown and he won't. We agreed that as long as he played by our rules we would wait Red out- he's going to destroy her."

Diane refused to rise to the bait, "Do you play chess Harold?"

"WHAT THE HELL DOES CHESS HAVE TO DO WITH THIS?" Harold exploded, swiping at the items on his desk and flinging them against the wall surprising Agent Ressler with his physical display of emotion.

"I've been chasing Raymond Reddington all over the world for the better part of 20 years Harold," Diane sat forward at her desk. "To capture a King, you have to go through the Queen. She is collateral damage. There will be no wire transfer- this discussion is over." Diane slammed the receiver down ending the call.

Both men stared at each other as the dial tone could be heard echoing in the silence of the room.

"She just signed Keen's death certificate." Cooper said softly turning to look at the screen once more.

**_WAREHOUSE_**

Liz wasn't sure how long she had been left alone but she had almost lulled herself into a false sense of safety. Her legs were beginning to burn from standing so long and her back was beginning to cramp from the awkward position she held herself in to ease the pain from her ribs.

_'Red will find me'_ She thought back over the past months without his presence in her life and how she had felt there was something missing. It was something she was loathe to admit to herself in the harsh light of day but he had grown on her those last few months before he had disappeared. He was a constant for her- A North Star. She could always depend on him – something she couldn't even say of her husband. He had been a rock for her after Sam had died; sometimes it even felt almost as if he had taken Sam's death just as hard if not harder than she had. It was a pain they could share and trust the other to understand without vocalizing their need or suffering.

Even with what Lucian had told her she didn't understand why but she was thankful for it all the same. If and when she got out of this she would hear it all from him- from the beginning. Maybe these were the questions he had told her about the night she shot Barnes, the ones she didn't even know about yet. Red had been right, she hadn't been ready to hear it yet but she was ready now.

It was in that moment of clarity the seeds of doubt had also began to seep into her subconscious as she was left with only her pain and her thoughts to keep her company in the poorly light room. She was actually beginning to believe her own words that maybe she was wrong about him and her importance to him. That she was destined to die here. '_He could correct a mistake made years ago by letting me die.'_

As those horrible thoughts began to suffocate her she closed her eyes against them and concentrated on the last call she'd had from Red, _'If you need me, I will be there_.' Laying her head down on the cold table she squeezed her eyes closed against the tears the threatened the fall again and held onto that one promise. His pledge to be there for her even thought she didn't understand why. "I need you Red," she whispered against the cold metal.

**_RED'S RENDEVOUS POINT_**

The next 45 minutes after receiving the location was a blur of activity for everyone in Red's camp. The entire group reconvened at a rendezvous point just minutes away from the address that Seymour and his techies had finally tracked down. Dembe and Mr. Kaplan had met Red at the building loading dock, "Where are we?" Was all he said as he approached the entryway.

Mr. Kaplan handed Red a thin folder for his inspection, "A small team has already scouted the location you provided."

"Thermal Scan shows about 20 including whom we assume to be Lucian and Liz internally centered here," Dembe pointed to the blueprints of the building. "Alpha team is already assigned."

"How many on Alpha?" Red inquired flipping up the blueprint to observe other photos taken of the outer perimeter of the warehouse.

"Including you– 5. Dembe, Careles, Linkin and Clawson. " Mr. Kaplan replied continuing to move down the corridor leading him to their command center, "Secondary team -8."

Red looked up from the file at Dembe then Mr. Kaplan, "Move Linkin and Clawson to Secondary for egress and medical- I want them on hand and ready to handle her injuries as soon as we neutralize Lucian. The less bodies we bring inside- the safer it will be for Lizzie."

Handing the file back to Mr. Kaplan she veered off towards her post as they approached a cluster of computer equipment and a small armory. Upon arrival, Red nodded to the group of men in various stages of prep, "Gentlemen."

Dembe directed him to the small outpost just to the right where Seymour had already begun running simulations based on the recovered Intel. "Seymour, what have you found regarding point of entry?" The table behind Seymour was filled with Red's own personal equipment including: flak vest, comm unit and multiple weapon selections.

"I've ran a number of sims and all possible entries provide a very low chance of entry without detection, based on these numbers-" Seymour began pulling up statistics on his screen before Red slammed his hand down beside the man.

"Seymour- "The deathly calm of his voice caused Seymour to tremble slightly as he looked at Red."Screw the numbers - point to the area where I can go in. Secondary will handle the rest. Nod if you understand?"

Seymour nodded numerous times and highlighted a section on the screen enlarging it for a better visual, "Here!" He pointed to a tunnel leading into the building, "The south section has an access door that was built into the emergency evac plan. There was no coverage according to their thermals and based on these plans it is built to run directly into the center of the warehouse where-" Hitting a few more buttons quickly on the keyboard, he pulled up the live feed of Lucian and Liz inside the building.

Red wasted no more time suiting up as he watched the screen, "Then it's done, brief both teams." Tightening the strap on the flak vest he began holstering every weapon to their proper place, not taking his eyes of the screen.

"Comm check: Report. Over." Mr. Kaplan's voice sounded through their communication units and each member checked in to confirm operation and channel.

After each team member checked in; Dembe's deep voice followed, "Operation D.I.D rolls in 5!" Both teams began mobilizing towards their departure points.

**_WAREHOUSE_**

The sound of doors slamming open startled Liz, causing her to hiss as she jerked against the table. Lucian stormed in staring at his phone; he had waited long enough for the transfer that never came. "Looks like your 'stay of execution' has been revoked!" He called out approaching her with a dangerous glint in his eye. "It's time for a show!"

"What do you mean?" She cringed through her pain and was confused by his comments. "What happened?" She asked softly still trying to find a comfortable spot against the table to rest her injuries. "Didn't you get what you needed?"

"Not exactly, I guess you're not as important as we thought." Lucian moved to perch himself on the corner of the table in front of Liz.

Liz was momentarily shocked at his admission and her hurt expression didn't go unnoticed by Lucian. "I guess you were right." He replied taking his phone out again, checking one last time to see if they had come through with the money.

"So what will we do to pass the time? Hmm?" Liz cringed at his statement- unconsciously she moved away from him and hoped he didn't have any more 'physical' plans for her.

"Sir!" There was movement by the doors again as 4 heavily armed men moved quickly towards Lucian. "We are picking up movement on our exterior perimeter. Incoming less than 4 minutes."

Lucian glanced at his phone again realizing that he had been played, they purposely used the proposed payment to lull him into dropping his guard, "How many?"

"Hard to say - initial contact shows 5 but we have movement in quadrants 2, 3, 5, and 8." His second in command explained providing him with a small tablet of what appeared to bemotion sensors.

"Looks like the Calvary has arrived." Lucian sneered as he handed the tablet back. "I need primary team here with me - everyone else to positions. Have Sike's team engage hostiles on site. We need to prepare for egress."

Liz couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips, drawing all of her strength she lifted her upper body off the table glaring at Lucian. "I guess you were right – he is coming for me."

Lucian glared at her, "Looks like plans have changed." Pulling out his gun he targeted the camera hitting it on the first shot. "Now they are going to have to fly blind."

The explosion from the doorway shook the entire room surprising all three people in the room. Chaos followed as Lucian's few personal guards backed into the room trading gunfire with unseen assailants outside the door.

"It's a full breech!" Cried Lucian's second as he clipped off a few shots. "We need to go!"

Through the explosions and gunfire Lucian rushed to Liz, "You are my ticket out of this alive." He growled, unlocking the handcuffs swiftly and pulling her flush against his body as a human shield. He made sure to forcibly jostle her midsection to keep her effectively immobilized by pain as she stood before him.

Red's team was more organized and much more effective despite their smaller numbers. You didn't live in the grey of society without making many questionable friends and Red was very good at keeping company with only the best. The incursion took less time than they had planned and Seymour's route had brought him right into the 'hornets nest' so to speak and surprised Lucian's ill prepared back up.

"LUCIAN!" Red's voice rang out over the last shot that downed one of Lucian's men standing directly beside him.

Liz was shocked to hear Red's voice and couldn't help crying out for him, "RED!"

"Shut up!" He cried, grabbing her roughly again. Lucian trained his weapon on her temple as he watched Raymond Reddington walk purposefully into the room flanked by Dembe and another man. Lucian was at a disadvantage standing by himself with only Liz between him and certain death. "Hello Raymond, so glad you could join us. Elizabeth and I have been enjoying getting to know each other. Say Hello Lizzie." He replied squeezing his arm around her midsection causing her to cry out once again.

Dembe and Careles held their sights on Lucian as Red approached him, "Lucian, the only reason you're still alive is because I want to know who facilitated this whole charade." Catching eyes with Liz, Red he have her a soft reassuring smile. He could feel her fear and pain through her gaze and wanted this ended quickly. Gesturing around the room to his fallen fighters laying around him Red lifted his revolver training it on Lucian. "Now put the weapon down or I will kill you myself and find out who hired you through other channels."

"I don't care much for either of those options Red so I think I will go for what is behind door number three- I give you Liz and walk out that door or I put a bullet in her and we see who survives this shoot out?" Lucian replied squeezing her around the stomach again causing her to cry out louder this time.

Liz ground her teeth against the pain and tried to come up with her own plan to distract Lucian enough to give one of the three men a clear shot. Holding Red's gaze she moved her free left hand slowly to tap on her left thigh, hoping he would understand her gesture without drawing attention to her.

Watching Liz's movement it took him only moments to realize what she was asking him to do. The signal must have been loud and clear to his men because in his ear he heard the soft whisper of Dembe, "I will take the shot as soon as she's clear."

"I'm sorry Lizzie." Red adjusted his aim to Liz's thigh and shot.

As soon as the bullet pierced the fleshy outside of her leg Liz cried out and sunk to the ground involuntarily landing on her back she gazed up at her captour.

Before Lucian could register his shock at Red himself shooting Liz, Dembe pulled the trigger and hit Lucian center mass.

The room went silent as they watched Lucian's gun hand sway lightly at his side as his free hand moved to the hole in his chest. His eyes moved from his blood covered hand down to Liz as she stared up at him. With one last effort his gun arm moved towards Liz as four gunshots rang out simultaneously, the force of the bullets throwing Lucian backwards sprawling him on the floor.

Red rushed forward falling to the ground beside Liz as she cowered on her side. "Lizzie- " He couldn't find any words beside her name, helping her roll slowly onto her back him smiled at her.

"Red-" Liz moved one hand from her chest to touch his cheek as she swallowed hard.

Confusion spread across his face at the warm sticky feeling and strong smell of copper from the hand. Lifting her hand from his cheek he saw the large amount of blood slipping down the inside of her wrist: Red felt his heart drop. Liz lay deathly still before him clutching her chest with her free hand and white as a ghost. The stark contrast between the bead of blood slipping down her ivory skin was all he could see. Gently moving her other hand from her chest Red gasped at the small hole between her breast.

Lucian had managed one last shot at the same time they had finished him off.

"DEMBE! MEDIC NOW- SHE'S HIT!" Red cried out in slight hysterics as he touched her cheek lightly with his free hand he tried to coax her to keep her eyes open. "Lizzie- Liz! Look at me. Come on sweetheart keep your eyes open."

He was helpless to watch as her eyelids fluttered in a vain attempt to stay open. Her breathing began to labor and an involuntary cough shook her body as a small trail of blood slipped from the corner of her lips. Dembe moved beside Red as both men went into crisis mode, "Elizabeth you open your eyes now!"

**_A/N: I'm so sorry, please don't hate me! Sorry for the delay with this chapter, not only did my one shot prompt story (Dangerous Liaisons - Liz see's Red's Tattoo) cause a delay but the end scene was very hard to write (I actually had to make my husband act it out with me) and I'm still not happy with it but eh that is what re-writes are for. I understand that the way I left this leads to a number of flames probably being sent my way but do let me know what you think good or bad. _**

**_Always,_**

**_Lady_**


	8. Chapter 8

**_Please see first chapter for disclaimer regarding Blacklist. (Of course I don't own it! Just borrowing for entertainment purposes.) I've replied to everyone's reviews if I could (I appreciate you taking the time to leave me a comment) and anyone I could not reply to Thank you as well! You are just as important! I am so pleasantly surprised at the amount of interest this story has continued to draw and I only hope to keep entertaining you. _**

_**My apologies for the delay and on with our story:** _

Meera Malik had been shadowing Ressler's movement as he had prepared a response team. The file Reddington had provided her was long forgotten when Aram alerted her to the jammer anomaly. While following Ressler through his tactical planning, Meera thought it odd to be prepping a response team knowing full well they were without insight regarding situation or Keen's current location. Keeping to the shadows in the hallway beneath Cooper's office she watched as Ressler climbed the stairs to Cooper's office. Though she was surprised to see the two men shortly after retreating down the steps and descending upon Aram.

"What the hell happened to the feed?" Cooper cried out; storming down the steps from his office with Ressler close on his tail as all the screens in the war room were showing just static.

Aram turned from his computer to Cooper, "There was- what appeared to be- an incursion on the area where Agent Keen was being held. Lucian shot out the camera shortly after the attack began."

Confirming all eyes were occupied with Aram's computer Meera climbed up the recently vacated stairs and slipped into Cooper's open office door. Staying low, she quickly moved across the room towards his desk. She wasted no time beginning to rummage through the jumble of papers and other files strewn half hazardly on his desk. When this initial search produced nothing, she started opening each desk drawer. When neither left drawer produced anything remotely useful or interesting she moved her search to the right side of the desk. There, in his top drawer, sat exactly what she had been looking for: a pocket-sized signal jammer that would be able to produce the same type of interference that Aram had been picking up on his scanner. Leaving the jammer in the desk she finished scanning the remaining drawers coming up with nothing else at that time but it was enough for now.

Down in the war room, Cooper and Ressler shared a confused look as Aram pulled up the last 30 seconds of the video and replayed it. "See here- Agent Keen makes the comment 'He's coming for me' right before Lucian shoots the camera."

"It had to be Reddington!" Ressler announced, moving to Aram's table to look at the screen.

Meera closed the last drawer and made her way back out of Cooper's office, descending the stairs as quietly as possible and joining the congregation around Aram's desk. "Anything yet?"

Cooper shook his head at Meera as she joined the fray before turning his attention back to Aram, "Were you able to narrow down the signal location before it disappeared?"

Aram shook his head, "No but there is chatter on the local police channel about reports of 'excessive gunfire and explosions' by a 'rent a badge' in the warehouse section of the business district less than an hour from here. PD is en-route as we speak."

"Send the location to my phone- we already have a team prepped to roll." Ressler replied taking off for the exit.

"I want you to continue monitoring all chatter and keep checking local hospitals for any patients being admitted with gunshot wounds." Cooper clipped shortly, watching the many screens in the room filling with running data from Aram's laptop.

_**XxXxXxXx** _

"Pressure here!" Red directed to Careles as he knelt down over the fallen FBI agent.

Red searched for a pulse on Liz's carotid- finding her pulse weak but steady as Dembe reached for his com unit, "Juliet is hit! I repeat Juliet is hit and she is down. We need Medi-vac ASAP! Alpha Team has neutralized threat. Romeo is checking vitals but she's lost a lot of blood."

"Roger That! Medic ETA 90 seconds!" Replied Linkin, one of the men Red had designated to Secondary for just this reason.

"You've got 2 options for medical treatment-" Mr. Kaplan's voice echoed through the teams com units relaying their only two options regarding medical trauma treatment in the immediate area. "Mercy is 8 miles and St. Joe is 15 but we have a associate who is a trauma doctor there."

"Raymond..." Dembe turned his attention back to Red waiting for him to make the call.

Red held his finger on Liz's pulse, every second could mean the difference between her surviving or not. It wouldn't mean anything going to someone he trusted if she died on the way.

The stern voice of Mr. Kaplan over their com units broke Red out of his reverie, "Gentlemen! We have incoming local PD- five minutes."

Linkin and Clawson sprinted up to the group carrying their medical supplies and instantly knelt beside Liz. "Evac is ready- we have to move her." Clawson replied quickly, getting to work applying a blood pressure cuff.

When Red still hadn't taken his eyes off Liz, Dembe grabbed his shoulder to shake him, " Raymond! You need to make a choice- now!"

"Mercy. Take her to Mercy hospital." Red replied sharply, seeming to snap out of his daze and get back on task.

"Bring the board! We're moving!" Linkin reported into his com as Clawson looked up from the blood pressure cuff. "BP is 99 over 75 but dropping."

Two men from Red's secondary team rushed in carrying a backboard and straps for securing Liz for transport. It took the skilled men only moments to gently move the injured woman on to the board, secure her and take off for their transport.

Red ran with the men as they rushed towards the open doors of their van keeping in physical contact with Liz the entire trip. The crew themselves wasted no time settling inside, the driver taking off as quickly as possible without causing further damaged by jostling the injured woman.

Clawson continued to monitor Liz, " She's dropping: 94 over 70."

Linkin had already picked up his phone and contacted Mercy Hospitals emergency line as they traveled, "This is EMT Brad Linkin- I'm in route with a 30 something female, single GSW to the left chest. Pulse is faint and BP is 94 over 70 and dropping. Inbound ETA is?"

Tapping the driver on the shoulder he called back, "5."

"5 minutes." Glancing up at Red he nodded once while disconnecting his call. Trying to stout her blood loss he spoke, "Lose the flak and when we arrive you need to play family member: Father or husband- I don't care. If you don't; you will be froze out of any further contact and updates regarding her situation. You will be directed to a waiting room while she is rushed into a trauma room. I will stay with her as long as they let me."

Red quickly stripped off his vest and resumed holding tightly to her hand as he nodded, "Thank you." No one else spoke the rest of the trip, save for Clawson updating on her blood pressure.

_**XxXxXxXx** _

Mr. Kaplan moved quickly through the warehouse with the secondary team. Their mission was to collect any and all evidence of them being there. "I want Com units, cell phones and any ID's if they have them. Grab the camera as well. We have 90 seconds to evacuate before PD arrives."

Wasting no time she headed directly into the center of the warehouse- her target was Lucian himself. When Mr. Kaplan approached his body she immediately started collecting his com unit, smartphone and a burner phone she found in his back pocket. She didn't have enough time to collect the bullets or any other evidence from his body before she heard communication is her com unit.

"Mr. Kaplan we have company," Secondary team member Hauss informed the group inside. "Evac to point C."

"Let's go boys!" Mr. Kaplan called out retreating towards the back of the warehouse.

_**XxXxXxXx **_

"I've got no pulse!" Cried Linkin as the black van pulled into the ER parking lot, maneuvering close to the trauma room's entry doors.

Immediately and without instruction Red began chest compressions as the back doors were forced opened by Linkin. Sprinting out of the van for help he was followed closely by Clawson, Dembe and Careles who collected the first stretcher they came across- returning it to the van.

"Stay with me Lizzie- hang on." Red whispered to her as he kept his chest compressions shallow and rhythmic. "Do not give up on me Lizzie...I'm here." He panted through the emotions threatening him. Watching her pale lifeless face, Red felt like he was the one who had the open wound in his chest.

Watching as his men moved back to the van with the stretcher, Red straddled Liz's legs on the backboard so his men could transferred them onto the stretcher and begin rushing for the door that Linkin had entered through. By the time they reached the sliding entry doors a trauma team following Linkin converged on the gurney. "We have trauma one set up and a full team is waiting."

Red refused to stop his compressions as they wheeled the stretcher down the hallway towards the trauma room. Linkin finally grabbed Red's arm to still his movements, "We have her, she's in good hands."

Finally relinquishing his post Red reluctantly climbed quickly down from the stretcher. Red stood at the swinging doors leading to trauma room one with his team flanking around him and watched the trauma team that held Elizabeth's life in their hands disappear behind another set of doors.

"We're going to go handle clean-up," Careles whispered, stepping close to Red and nodding at Clawson.

"Gentlemen." A young nurse wielding a clipboard addressed the group as she approached hesitantly, "We have a room where you can wait. It's right this way."

Turning she led Red and his team to a small room just down the hallway, "Family or friends?" She inquired, opening the door for the group- watching two men enter the room as the others headed for the exit.

Moving inside away from the nurse, Red answered, "Family." Standing just inside the door, he faced away from the nurse taking time to compose himself.

The nurse made a few notes on her clipboard, "Relation?"

"Husband."

Pausing slightly at his remark she nodded, "Patients name?"

"Elizabeth Smith."

"Blood type?"

"O positive."

"Known allergies?"

"None."

Flipping through the rest of the sheets she shook her head, "The rest is just trivial benefit information that isn't important at this point. We will keep you up to date as information becomes available during her surgery. Can I get you something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Water?"

Watching his friend, Dembe nodded at the nurse, "Water please." The nurse nodded and took her leave.

Dembe stood close behind Red as he watched the door swing closed to the private room. "I'm sorry."

Red scratched at his head as he turned to face Dembe, confusion clearly evident on his face. "For what?"

"I told you I would take the shot," Dembe replied hanging his head, unable to make eye contact with his friend. The heavy weight of their current situation sat uncomfortably in his chest.

"This isn't your doing Dembe..." Sliding his hand down his face he held it over his mouth as he tried to reign in his emotions. "You trusted me Raymond," Dembe shook his head, "Had I put him down with the first shot Agent Keen would not be in this position. I let you down."

"No. This is entirely my doing." Red moved to Dembe and grabbed him by the shoulder forcing him to look him in the eye. "The moment I associated myself with her I placed a noose around her neck that has been tightening since that day. The fault for this situation is entirely my own."

Both men fell silent again, each moving to take a seat facing one another in the small room.

Dembe eventually pulled out his phone to check for any messages from the group. Breaking the silence of the room, he spoke softly, "Agent Malik has been attempting to contact you, she said it is urgent."

Red sat back with a blank look on his face before glancing once again at the door, "Meera can wait."

_** XxXxXxXx **_

Agent Ressler and his team arrived at the warehouse location in just under an hour. By the time they arrived the local PD and mobile CSI unit was already in full swing. Ressler maneuvered to the command center for the police investigation, displaying his FBI credentials and introducing himself immediately. "I'm Special Agent Donald Ressler with the FBI field ops, who is in charge?"

A heavy set man in a too small suit stepped forward, "That would be me." The burly man extended his hand, "Detective Sergeant Howard Miles. What can I do for you?"

Ressler nodded to the number of body bags laying behind the coroners van parked just outside of the warehouse, "We have reason to believe this site was used for kidnapping and torturing one of our field agents. Did anyone make it?"

Detective Miles shook his head, "No I'm afraid not, it was a massacre inside. We are still combing the building searching for survivors but we don't have high hopes."

"How many so far?" Ressler inquired.

"Last count was 18 or 19. We couldn't tell for sure exactly how many had been hit by whatever explosion seemed to be the entry point." Detective Miles pointed to a large hole on the outside of the building. "This was no petty gang 'turf war', whatever happened here was military grade precision. These poor bastards," Miles waved his hand over the row of body bags, "they didn't have a chance."

"Was there a woman found?" Donald figured it best to find out now how they would need to approach this situation. If Keen had been one of those bodies, they would have lost their only chance at catching Reddington again. Keen was the only reason he was still around and Ressler was positive that if she was dead Reddington would never been seen again.

"A woman? No, all males: late 20's to early 40's." The detective turned to observe Ressler, "We found nothing suggesting a woman was even here."

Ressler nodded and glanced around, "My team is going to run through the scene if you don't mind."

"Be my guest." Detective Miles replied heading back to the coroner.

Ressler directed his team to sweep the whole area, once they had disbursed he picked up his phone and dialed Cooper. "She's gone, everyone else is dead. Reddington must have her."

"Did you find Lucian?" Cooper asked, knowing Ressler would understand the meaning behind his question. If Lucian was dead and still had his burner phone or smartphone on his person it could lead to some very difficult questions being asked in the near future.

"I'm going to go inside now to investigate, I will keep you informed." Ressler replied disconnecting and heading for the warehouse.

_**XxXxXxXx **_

Neither man paid any attention to the length of time they sat in silence together before the door finally swung open from the outside revealing a doctor removing his mask. "Mr Smith?" He inquired stepping into the room and glancing between both men.

When Dembe gestured towards Red the man moved forward offering his hand in greeting, "I'm Doctor Holloway, I've been working on your wife Elizabeth."

"How is she?" Red asked immediately as he stood up, quickly moving towards the Doctor and accepting his hand, "Do not sugar coat this situation-I need cold hard facts Doctor."

Doctor Holloway glanced between the two men and nodded, "She's gone into cardiac arrest while on the table- twice." He explained clinically. "We are working diligently to repair the damaged left ventricle that the bullet grazed on it's way through but if she goes critical again she may VFIB and I'm not confident we will be able to pull her back."

When neither men made move to comment, the doctor continued, "The truth is: it isn't looking promising at this moment. If there are any family members you need to call I would suggest doing so right now."

"There is no one else." Red replied quietly, allowing everything the doctor was saying to sink in as the gravity of their situation hit him full force.

Again Holloway paused, allowing them the opportunity to ask questions. Holloway turned to Red, "Will you be making the decision regarding life support?"

Red had barely taken a breath let alone reacted to the information the doctor was giving them. This could not happen now. It would not happen now. He had spent too many years in the darkness to have his only chance at sunlight ripped from his grasp in a cruel twist of fate. Taking a calming breath he spoke softly, "I already have…"

Doctor Holloway nodded with understanding, "Alright, I will have a nurse bring in the pape…"

With lightening speed Red pulled a gun from seemingly out of no where- jamming it into the Doctors neck, "I've decided she is going to pull through." Breathing very deeply, Red paused to let the situation sink into the good doctor before he continued. "Her will to live is very strong and so should be your will to save her."

Fear was clearly evident in the doctors eyes as sweat started forming on his top lip and he shook involuntarily, "Sir- we are working tirelessly to-"

Red shook his head effectively silencing the man, "I want you to go back inside and tell your colleagues to do the possible- then the impossible- then the unthinkable. Until she is out of danger." The sound of the guns hammer being cocked echoed in the small room. "Because Good Doctor, her body will not be alone in the morgue if you fail: do you understand?"

Doctor Holloway nodded emphatically as Red lowered the gun, disengaging the hammer once again. The terrified man wasted no time retreating from the room post haste, leaving the two men alone once again.

Red handed the firearm to Dembe, "Please handle this and contact Meera but do not tell her we have Lizzie or our current situation. Collect whatever information she has and tell her we will be in touch shortly."

Dembe nodded at him, hiding the firearm in the waistband of his pants and leaving the room to take make the call.

_**AN: I hope you have found this update adequate and are still enjoying the story. I do apologize once again for the delay in this update. I normally do a majority of my writing at work since it's very difficult to find time to sit down to write after I get home but work has picked up as of late causing delays in my writing. As a reminder this story is not being beta'd at this time so if you see anything that I have missed please do not hesitate to point it out so I may correct it. I'd like to remind you that even though I re-read this and edit it a number of times, sometimes I see what I expect it to read not necessarily what it is says.**_

_**As always, leave love or hate just let me know someone is still reading this. **_

_**Always, **_

_**L**__**ady**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Please see first chapter for disclaimer regarding Blacklist. (Of course I don't own it! Just borrowing for entertainment purposes.) **_

_**I want to apologize for my delays in updating. I won't bore you with details because I'm sure most of you already know (if you follow me on twitter or tumblr) but real life has a tendency to make life difficult and writing near impossible. Please don't give up on the story, it will be updated and finished. That I will promise you.**_

_**On with our story:**_

Doctor Mike Holloway scrambled back into the OR- mask firmly in place and freshly scrubbed. Approaching the assisting nurse to receive his gloves, he gave her a shaky nod.

"You ok?" She inquired, glancing up at him. "Looks like they took it hard?"

"That would be an understatement." Mike mumbled, grabbing the bottom of his gloves and adjusting the fingers. The man in the room who called himself 'Mr. Smith' wasn't just some run of the mill grieving husband. Thinking back now on the debacle, Mike found the entire situation disconcerting to say the least. Part of him had thought of calling security to arrest Mr. Smith for pulling the gun on him but he also had a feeling Mr. Smith ran with a dangerous sort of crowd. The kind that left horse heads on your bed, greased palms of anyone in a political office and left you with a double tap to the cerebellum should you fail him. Shaking his head to clear his mind of that disturbing vision, he trained his eyes on the patient lying on the table. "How is she?"

"BP is down to 84 over 60. Stats are 86. Doctor Andrews just finished closing up." The nurse replied as they approached the table.

Mike looked confused as he watched her vital signs continue to slowly descend, "Then why are her stats still dropping?" He inquired, moving besides Doctor Andrews to observe the patient.

"I stopped the bleeding in the ventricle- we must have missed something." Dr. Andrews replied searching for any obvious signs of trauma.

The alarm sounds on her monitors began beeping as the nurse looked to both doctors," BP 70 over 54 and dropping fast. She's going to go critical."

Mike took another look, checking the ventricle and connected vein when he noticed an anomaly. "Her epicardium is distended! It's compressing her heart."

Mike grabbed the scalpel, making a small incision to release the pressure around her heart.

"She's in V FIB!" Cried the assisting nurse, standing quickly to retrieve the defibrillator.

Doctor Andrews took hold of the paddles as they charged in preparation to shock her heart back into rhythm. All the while Mike massaged Liz's heart gently, ensuring all the blood was removed before repairing the incision by cauterizing the small hole.

"Charged." The nurse exclaimed.

"Clear!" Doctor Andrews placed both paddles to Liz's chest and watched as her body shuddered from the charge.

The flat line sound echoed around them, "Charge to 20." Doctor Andrews directed, turning back to his patient.

"Charged."

"Clear!"

Liz was still fibrillating: "Charge them again!" Mike directed the nurse as Doctor Andrews held the paddles in the air.

Andrews shook his head, setting down the paddles on the cart and checking the time on his watch, "She's gone Mike. Call it..."

"No!" Mike felt cold fear grip his chest at the prospect of the what awaited him in the waiting room should he return with news of this young woman's demise. "No! She's not! Move!" Shouldering the nurse out of the way, he hit the button himself as he grabbed both paddles off the cart. Moving to stand over Liz's body he watched the meter slowly ascend to full power.

Both doctor and nurse stood beside Mike in complete and utter confusion. There had been no change to the flat line signaling any effect from the charges. "Why are you doing this?" The nurse asked watching him hold the paddles above Liz's chest one last time.

Hearing the familiar chime indicating the charges were full, Mike glanced up at the nurse. "Because I have no intention of being the one to tell her husband she didn't make it: Now CLEAR!"

**XxXxXxX**

Dembe maneuvered the hospital corridors. He avoided all security access points that promised guards and metal detectors, quickly making his way back through the ER exit to the parking lot they had just arrived in a short time before. There in the back row stood Careles beside Red's black Mercedes. "Is the situation contained?"

Careles nodded, "Mr. Kaplan will contact you once she has information from the items collected. The FBI has since arrived- including Agent Ressler and they are working with the local PD at the warehouse."

Dembe glanced around their surroundings, "The rest of the team?"

"On perimeter: monitoring inbound until Agent Keen is moved to a personal room or secure location." This gained another nod from Dembe as he continued, "Mr. Reddington's go-bag is in the trunk along with yours; including new burners."

A black SUV pulled up behind the two men as Careles handed Dembe the keys to the Mercedes before silently taking his leave.

Dembe watched as the SUV pulled away before pressing a button on the key fob for the trunk lid to release. Moving to the opening trunk lid he removed Red's gun from his waistband and added it to the top of his other supplies. Closing the trunk he moved around the car and slipped into the drivers seat. Reaching across the front seat he opened the glove compartment- removed a new burner phone- and dialed Agent Malik's.

Meera picked up on the second ring, "Malik."

"Agent Malik, you have information?" Dembe inquired.

"Where is Mr. Reddington?" She wasn't surprised Dembe had been on the other line but she felt the information she possessed required immediate attention by Reddington himself. "I do not want to play phone tag, I've sensitive information for him regarding Lucian."

Dembe glanced up at a passing vehicle as he switched the phone to his other hand, "Mr. Reddington is unavailable currently but he will contact you when he finishes his business. Now what do you have?" He left no room for debate or discussion on the topic.

"Was your group watching the feed when Lucian received the phone call; stopping whatever heinous act he was about to commit against Agent Keen?" Meera got straight to the point.

"Yes."

"Aram picked up a jammer signal inside the post office," Pausing for the effect, she allowed Dembe time to process exactly what this information meant. " A signal that started just prior to and ended just after that phone call."

"Are you suggesting the call came from the PO based on a coincidence?" Dembe paused, "That's very circumstantial Agent Malik."

Highly affronted Meera shot back, "I'm wasn't aware I needed to provide evidence for Mr. Reddington!" Letting the silence stretch on between them Meera took a moment to "Fine! How about the mini jammer I found in Cooper's desk. Which coincidently was directly above the hallway where Aram tracked the signal too."

"Thank you Agent Malik, we will be in touch soon." Dembe disconnected his call, pocketing the new burner.

"Hello?" Meera pulled the phone away glancing at the black screen. "Damn him!" she growled throwing the phone on the passenger seat and slapping her fist against the steering wheel.

Dembe sat quietly; contemplating exactly how to approach Raymond with this new information. Agent Malik wouldn't have brought this information to their attention lightly if she didn't believe there was something entirely plausible about this series of events.

Dembe had also come to the realization that all of this could be a moot point should Agent Keen not survive. The loss of Luli- while painful in it's own rite-would pale in comparison to immense pain Raymond would suffer should he lose Elizabeth. Not to mention the hell fire he would rain down upon those who were responsible: be it federal agents or not.

Finally deciding to wait until he heard from Mr. Kaplan before presenting this damning information to Raymond- he climbed out of the car. Moving back to the opening trunk lid he gathered their Go bags before making his way back to the waiting room. Once he'd checked in with Red he'd start making his calls to check in with the perimeter team to ensure they were safe while he protected his friend.

**XxXxXxXx**

Red sat stock still in the waiting room staring intently at the door watching for movement. He hadn't moved since Dembe had taken his leave and he'd felt every single second tick in the pit of his stomach as time marched on with no news. He'd always considered no news to be good news until this moment. He hated this feeling of helplessness.

He'd spent a majority of his life researching, preparing and strategizing before acting so he could always stay one step ahead of those whom wished him harm. It was not only for his own safety but to maintain control over the situation.

Control.

Rubbing his throbbing temples, he scoffed at the absurdity of his idea of control and how 'out of control' things had been this last year.

He'd been pulled out of his reverie by the opening of the door, the noise causing him to spring from his seat. His initial excitement at the possibility of news was short lived when he saw Dembe enter the opening door holding their bags. Red let out a deep sigh at the sight of his friend before offering him a sad smile, "Hello Dembe." Turning away, he pinched the bridge of his nose, "Everything went well I assume?"

Dembe set their bags down just inside the door as he held the door open for Doctor Holloway to enter the room following him. Closing the door softly he called out to Red, "Mr. Smith."

The familiar voice of Liz's doctor caused Red to spin quickly, "Doctor Holloway, you have news?"

"Please?" Mike gestured to the seats before him, he watched as a darkness passed over Red's face at the horrible thoughts running through his head.

"I don't want to sit down!" Red took an intimidating step towards the doctor. "I want to know how she is-"

Mike quickly retreated taking two steps back, "She's alive."

His admission stopped Red in his tracks, "She's alive?"

Mike nodded once again, gesturing towards two chairs. "The next 48 hours are going to be extremely crucial. Her heart stopped. She was legally dead for 1 minute and 36 seconds."

Red moved to take a seat beside the doctor- slumping down unceremoniously- he couldn't help the pure elation and paralyzing fear that came with finally knowing she was alive. A knowledge that should his enemy's find out could start this vicious cycle all over again. But that thought could wait. Lizzie was alive and right at that moment in time, nothing was more important.

Dembe took this opportunity to move to Red's side, gently resting his hand on his friend's shoulder- squeezing it reassuringly for unspoken support.

"You were very right Sir. She is a strong woman." Mike continued, offering a gentle smile while referencing their prior conversation only a short time before. "We have applied a number of stitches to close the flesh wound on her thigh and set her broken rib. She is currently in a medically induced coma, just for the evening. It will allow her heart to keep it's normal resting rhythm in place so as not to place any undue stress from fear or pain." If this had been a normal situation he would have been using touch to connect with Mr. Smith as a way to reaffirm the information he was trying to process. But this wasn't a normal situation and Mike resisted the urge to pat the man's forearm- choosing rather to continue with as much detail as possible. "Because her heart stopped for such an extended amount of time, we will need to monitor her EKG readings and vitals to make sure she doesn't sustain any permanent damage."

Red allowed Doctor Holloway's words to slowly sink in before he asked, "Can I see her?"

Relief flooded Mike, smiling he nodded at Red, "I can take you back right now, if you'd like?"

At Red's nod both men stood and made their way out of the room. Red followed Mike through the maze of corridors leading from the waiting room to Liz's private room with Dembe close on his heels. When they arrived at the room Dembe stayed outside the door, standing watch as Mike lead Red inside.

There in the stark white hospital bed lay Lizzie: a bruised, pale woman tucked gently into a warm blanket while numerous hoses and IV's were strung around her from each of her arms. Surrounding her bed was copious amounts of medical equipment beeping and buzzing rhythmically with the bleep of her heart beat. Red had never been so thankful to watch such a small line move so repetitively over and over.

Red didn't wait for the doctor's approval before moving to Lizzie's bedside immediately grasping her hand lying limp on the blanket. Running his thumb over her knuckles, he leaned over to brush his lips over the soft skin on the back of her hand being mindful of the iv taped there. Grabbing the chair near by he pulled it up close to her hospital bed and took a seat all the while never losing physical contact with her. He kept his gaze firmly on Liz's delicate features as he spoke, "Thank you Doctor."

Mike nodded at the man while backing out of the room quietly. Closing the door gently behind him, he moved to stand against the wall beside Dembe. Both stood in silence for a short time before Mike worked up the courage to turn to Dembe, "Would he have really used that gun earlier? "

Dembe turned his head slowly and held the good doctor's gaze before shaking his head, "No." The visible exhale from the frightened doctor caused Dembe to pause; when the man beside him appeared to relax Dembe turned his attention away to stare down the hallway opposite of Liz's room before he spoke. Watching the doctor out of the corner of his eye he spoke softly, "But I would have."

Mike couldn't help but stare at Dembe with wide eyes before slowly backing away. After a few steps, he was tripped by a chair poised outside another room in the hallway causing him to stumble. Righting himself quickly, still attempting to keep Dembe in his line of sight- Mike retreated down the hallway at just short of a jog. After turning the corner he finally lost sight of the other man. It was only then that Mike stopped and leaned against the corridor wall; bending over and resting his hands on his knees attempting to calm his frazzled nerves. In that moment he decided it was time for a vacation, he intended to use up a large majority of his personal time off in the upcoming weeks until Elizabeth Smith was released from the hospital.

Dembe couldn't help the small smile at the hasty retreat by the doctor. When the doctor was finally out of sight, he pulled out the burner from his pocket dialing Carales. On the second ring he answered and Dembe gave him his directives, "She's in her own room, pull our team inside. I want guards round the clock. No one visits besides hospital personnel and Mr. Reddington." Ending the call he pocketed the phone once again and settled himself against the wall.

Red sat stock still at Liz's bedside watching the rhythmic movement of her chest as it lifted slowly with each breath she took. The tightness in his chest hadn't dissipated like he had expected it to once he'd laid eyes on her. She wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for him but he was in too deep to retreat from her now. Reaching out slowly with his free hand Red gently caressed her cheek, relishing in the warmth the touch offered.

Soft. Warm. Alive.

He didn't understand why he'd been offered this: a second chance in the form of the beautiful woman lying before him but he had no intention of looking a gift horse in the mouth and wasting another opportunity. Working his mouth slowly, attempting to find the right word,s Red leaned forward, "Lizzie." His voice was heavy and thick with emotions, he paused only shortly to regain his composure before he continued. "I am here. I know you can hear me and I want you to know you are not alone anymore. You are safe. I'm never going to leave your side again."

Lifting his head he glanced at the monitors for any sign that she could hear him or any reaction to his voice. When the monitors continued on at their steady regular pace he returned his attention to her resting features, "Come back to me Lizzie. I will tell you everything you want to know. No games or half truths. I will give you the answers you are searching for and we will make those responsible pay for their crimes against you. Together- You and I."

Red adjusted the angle of his chair beside her bed. Liz would offer no response now: tonight she would rest peacefully. Safe from nightmares and fear of the unknown assailants conspiring against them. He was a patient man. He would stay by her side until she was strong enough to be moved to a private secure location. A place where he could ensure not only the best medical treatment the world had to offer but also immense security measures to protect against whomever hired Lucian to smoke him out. He would allow his team to do what they did best and find the people responsible for this entire debacle. Every painstaking detail would be combed through until all parties involved were identified: then Red would strike back.

Until that time came, he would be here: beside her. Leaning forward once again, Red brushed the few stray strands of hair away from her forehead before placing a gentle kiss there. "I love you Elizabeth."

_**A/N: Since my opening was so dreary I leave you with my normal opening. I've replied to everyone's reviews if I could (I appreciate you taking the time to leave me a comment) and anyone I could not reply to Thank you as well! You are just as important! I am so pleasantly surprised at the amount of interest this story has continued to draw and I only hope to keep entertaining you, and hopefully update a bit quicker if life slows down a minute.**_

_**As always, leave love or hate just let me know what you think.**_

_**Always,**_

_**Lady **_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Please see first chapter for disclaimer regarding Blacklist. (Of course I don't own it! I'm just borrowing for entertainment purposes. ) I've attempted to reply to everyone's reviews if I could (I appreciate you taking the time to leave me a comment) and anyone I could not reply to Thank you as well! This story has hit the 200 reviews mark and I am extremely grateful and very humbled by your response to this story and can only hope to keep you entertained. Speaking of my 200th review this chapter is dedicated to Prayforthelight as their review was #200. Thank you all!**_

_**Along with that same note this chapter is also dedicated to Sarah Jones for - well just about everything. This chapter would have never been finished without you. Thank you Sarah! **_

_**On to our story:**_

Mr. Kaplan moved purposefully down the hallway to room 15 using her key card to enter. Taking her evidence bag directly to Seymour, she laid it on the table before him. "We need a full work up."

"Is this everything?" Seymour inquired pulling out the busted camera and a number of cell phones followed lastly by Lucian's smartphone.

Mr. Kaplan nodded pushing Lucian's phone forward, "Start with this. I want to know everything it has ever done and where it's from down to the microprocessor."

"How soon are you going to need this?" Pulling a USB cable from his briefcase he plugged both ends in, one to his laptop and one to the phone itself. Finally powering the unit up, he glanced at the woman before him awaiting his answer.

Checking her wristwatch she mentally completed some calculations in her head, "I want nothing missed and a thorough retrace of all activity, take the night- I will check back in the morning unless I hear from you before."

"Has there been any updates on Agent Keen?" The question hung heavy in the air between the two for a long moment.

Finally seeming to find her voice Mr. Kaplan nodded, "She's alive but not out of the woods. Mr. Reddington is not to be contacted for any reason, I will keep him updated on any pertinent information."

With that she turned on her heel and retreated to the back room that Red had previously occupied, removing her cell phone as she went. Scrolling through her contacts she selected 'Jax' from her long list of associates and hit send.

Jaclyn 'Jax' Ware was sprawled out across a hospital bed in an empty room at St. Joe's hospital. She was halfway through her last 24 hour shift for the month and was trying to catch a small cat nap while they were slow. She knew as a trauma doctor a call from dispatch regarding an inbound patient could occur at any moment but she was bound and determined to get some shut eye before that happened. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy these shifts, she preferred the 8- 24 hour shifts she scheduled herself for the month over being on call 24/7, but she wasn't as young as she once was. Staying up for hours or days had been standard during her field medic time in combat all over the globe. When she finally retired from the Marines she completed her residency, she traded her guns and fatigues for a scalpel and stethoscope to become Doctor Jaclyn Ware.

That was 7 years ago. Looking back now: it felt like a whole lifetime ago. She had spent the better part of the first 2 years as an on-call surgeon: realizing very quickly that was not the avenue for her. The past 5 years she had been a shift trauma doctor for St. Joe's; twice a week she worked 24 hour shifts allowing her peace and quiet for the remaining 5 days in the week. The pay couldn't compare to being on call but she wouldn't trade her job or her free time for the world.

The problem she faced was she could never just fall asleep, her brain wouldn't shut up long enough to enjoy REM sleep before her phone would ring. Today was no different- she finally felt the draw of peaceful slumber when her cell phone began shrieking at her. The loud obnoxious sound of a smoke alarm repeatedly echoing off the walls of the room earned a groan from her. Refusing to sit up, she hit accept a before placing the phone against her ear, "Doctor Ware."

"Jax- it's Mr. Kaplan."

The familiar voice on her phone cause Jax to bolt upright in bed falling back into her old habits, "Yes Sir."

"We have a delicate situation that requires your expertise," taking a seat in the high back chair at the small table in the room, Mr. Kaplan gathered the stationary to her before continuing. "We need your assistance regarding a patient at Mercy for the foreseeable future?"

"Surgically or as personal physician?" Depending on her answer Jax would plan her exit strategy accordingly: if surgery were required she would need to contact her on-call backup to arrange for early dismissal. If the patient were in no immediate danger she would finish her shift before clocking out and driving to the nearby facility.

"Physician." Mr. Kaplan was making notations regarding future plans as she answered, "She is currently in stable condition- although in a medically induced coma for the time being. The problem is she is exposed- we have men there now but no way to vet every member on staff in such short notice."

Jax checked her watch, "I've 12 hours left on shift, if she's knocked out they will be monitoring her closely with regular check-ins of the same personnel until shift change. I can be there in... 6 hours to take over."

"Thank You Jax- We will double your standard compensation for this particular case. I will send the patients name and room number to your phone shortly. " With those last words Mr. Kaplan ended the call. Checking off physician from her list she moved to the next task at hand: preparation for medical transport to a safe house for Agent Keen.

Hanging up the phone; Jax sat stock still on the hospital bed taking the entire conversation in all at once. Mr. Reddington had always been overly gracious when it came to compensating her for her expertise but if he doubled what he normally paid her: that was more than she made in a year. Shaking her head to get her mind right, she pocketed her phone and jumped up, fully intent on getting her back-up on the phone to get the ball rolling on covering the rest of her shift. She had no intention of keeping Mr. Reddington waiting any longer than absolutely necessary.

XxXxXxX

After finishing her conversation with Dembe: Meera was absolutely infuriated. It had taken her longer than normal to reign in her aggression at the whole discussion and she still couldn't pinpoint what was more frustrating: Dembe questioning the validity of her information or Mr. Reddington not taking her call personally regarding such a sensitive subject. During her entire tenure working with Mr. Reddington her intel had always been accurate. Concrete evidence had always been a formality in his eyes: she didn't do educated guesses! She did deductive reasoning based on observed anomalies coinciding with factual information.

"Fine! If it's proof he wants, I'll give them proof." She grumbled loudly into the empty car as she tailed Agent Ressler away from the warehouse scene. After Cooper's initial conversation with Ressler, Harold had requested Meera's assistance at the site along with the rest of the task force. He had cried 'all hands on deck' to locating Agent Keen and the entire division jumped.

On her way to the warehouse she had stopped to collect some of her personal supplies: tracking and monitoring devices, bugs and anything else she thought may come in handy while tracking Ressler. It had been a bit more difficult to plant her receiver on Donald Ressler but this wasn't Meera's first rodeo.

Once she had arrived at the warehouse she scouted the area before getting out of her car. The flurry of activity from local PD and their FBI task force would offer Meera just enough cover to not draw attention to her activities. Before leaving her SUV she traded her flats for some heeled shoes and jumped directly into the fray to offer her professional opinion and search for clues to Agent Keen's whereabouts.

Meera was careful to bide her time and watch for an opening to plant her bug on Ressler. Moving carefully around the warehouse she made sure to alway keep him in her peripheral vision.

Purely by accident she found herself in a perfect situation for the plant and decided to act quickly: between heeled shoes and loose board on the steps- Meera found herself pitching forward and played the damsel in distress perfectly. As expected- ever the gentleman- Agent Donald Ressler reacted to his co-workers plight and caught her before she could fall. A mere slip of the hand and Meera had her bug securely attached to Ressler just below his collar completely out of sight before he had a chance to right her firmly on the ground.

Her device would relay GPS signal and audio as long as she was within 5 miles of the device itself. Hence the reason she found herself tailing him at a more than adequate distance heading away from the warehouse district towards central D.C.. On her MacBook she watched the small blip navigate the busy streets as she followed the same path just minutes later intent on tracking him all day if needed. The more information she could bring back to Reddington to prove her declaration correct, the better.

They had been driving around for the better part of half an hour without any audio transmission, Meera was beginning to worry that something had malfunctioned with the bug when Ressler's voice finally sounded through the audio.

"_Ressler. No, we were unable to find any pertinent information in regard to Keen's current location. There is no evidence that it was Reddington but who else could have mobilized that much firepower to take out Lucian and his entire group. I'm on my way right now- I can be there in five minutes."_

"Bingo." Meera smiled and continued to follow Ressler's car as he maneuvered his vehicle towards a familiar cluster of buildings. "Well well, I believe things are starting to get interesting."

XxXxXxXx

Red sat quietly beside Liz's bedside holding her slight hand in his much larger one, marveling at the size and temperature difference between them at that time. He had not left her side but to stretch his weary bones and use the facilities when necessary. He had no intention of her waking alone in an unfamiliar place after everything she had gone through.

He knew she was medically sedated but it didn't stop him from talking to her; describing the scenery outside, how it was approaching lunch and he knew a quaint little hole in the wall that served the best Moo Goo Gai Pan she would ever taste outside its original country of origin. He described how beautiful she looked in the natural sunlight and how the rose from the warmth of the room accented her cheek and jaw bones with an ease make-up artists would kill for. Last he told her over and over again how sorry he was for leaving like he did; there had been extenuating circumstances that kept him from her for so long and while he'd kept tabs on her; his absence was the sole cause of this.

It was a few hours later when the door to her room opened and Dembe walked in, "How is she?" He inquired coming to stand opposite his friend beside Liz's bed.

Rubbing the back of her Liz's hand lightly Red sat back to stretch, "They stopped sedating her, the doctor said she could wake up in a few minutes or a few hours."

Dembe watched the woman lying in the bed for a few moments before turning back to his friend once more, "How long ago was that?"

"A few hours ago." Red replied flatly, his voice devoid of all emotions.

The dead pan expression Red displayed now was a familiar tell to Dembe. Raymond Reddington was a master at disguising his true thoughts and feelings when needed but in this small room now: he was an open book. Dembe recognized the strained expression and weary look of a man who was not only physically but mentally exhausted and quite possibly close to a breaking point. "When is the last time you got some rest?"

Red fixed Dembe with a clear look of irritation at his ridiculous question, "Summer 1989." Both men glared at each other for a moment before Red yawned, breaking their silent staring contest. "Have you heard from Mr. Kaplan?"

Reaching behind him to pull the small wooden hospital chair up towards the bed Dembe nodded as he took a seat. "Doctor Ware will be joining us as soon as she can be relieved from her shift at St. Joe's. She has been briefed on Agent Keen's current situation medically but we thought it best she be on a need to know basis until we are able to move her." Sitting forward he rested his hand on Liz's other hand offering her a reassuring squeeze to provide what comfort he could to the woman. Agent Keen was important to Raymond which made her part of their little family, and being part of their family meant he would protect her -like Red- with his life.

"Mr. Kaplan has also procured a secure safe house to move her to once Doctor Ware is able to arrange her release." Continuing to maintain contact with Liz's hand Dembe leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs and forearms against the bed.

Red should have known his people would be able to handle all of the details regarding Lizzie's care on their own without direction. Turning to mirror his friends current pose both men sat in the same position opposite of each other, holding tight to both of Liz's hands. After what seemed like an eternity Red spoke, "Thank you."

Red didn't have to say anymore, to Dembe those two short words spoke volumes. "You should try to get some sleep: if for no other reason than to keep your wits about you. We are still exposed."

He knew his friend was right though he was loathe to admit it. While he didn't sleep much he still needed at least an hour or so to give his body a chance to refresh. Glancing around the small room he realized it offered little in the ways of functional resting areas. Bringing his gaze back to the small hand he was holding tightly to; he admitted to himself he had no intention of leaving her side again; even to rest.

At Red's delay Dembe pushed on, "Rest Raymond- no harm will come to either of you while I am here."

Red lowered his head to the bed beside Lizzie's hand, he just needed to close his eyes for a few minutes. He trusted Dembe with more than his life: he trusted him with Liz and that spoke volumes about their relationship with each other.

It felt like only moments since he'd closed his eyes before a loud beeping and the sound of commotion rousted him from sleep. Lifting his head from the bed he saw a number of nurses rushing in the room. "What's going on?" He demanded, trying to shake the fog still lingering from his short nap.

Dembe was already beside him, lifting him from the chair to move him from the side of the bed, "Her vital signs are crashing-."

Struggling to maintain physical contact with Liz's hand, Red fought against his friend, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S CRASHING!" Red cried out as Dembe physically lifted Red and moved him away from the bed to make room for the nurses.

The commotion in the room escalated as a crash cart was wheeled in by two more nurses and the attending doctor who had just hours before ceased her sedation. "She's unresponsive-" The doctor said urgently checking her pupils for dilation and her carotid artery in her neck for a pulse.

_"Red."_

He could hear a voice trying to get his attention but he had tunnel vision on the flurry of activity around the bed. The pit in his stomach grew as words such as 'no vitals...blood clot..non-responsive' were mumbled between the medical team around the bed.

_"Red..."_

Red stopped struggling as the doctor turned to him with a somber expression on his face and shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry Mr. Reddington." The air felt like it had been sucked out of the room at the doctor's words and he could feel his heart beat pulsing in his throat as he collapsed onto one knee.

The doctor moved forward and grasped his shoulder trying to shake him to get his attention while another hand- whom he assumed to be Dembe-was squeezing his hand and calling his name.

"Raymond!"

Red's head bolted up from the bed in confusion and panic; sweat beading on his forehead and heart pounding in his chest. Realizing he had slipped forward off the chair and had fallen to one knee at some point; he turned his head immediately towards the hand on his shoulder surprised to see Dembe standing beside him grasping his shoulder. "You're all right. You were having a nightmare."

Red looked at his friend like he had grown another head before he spoke,"It didn't feel like a dream-" he replied quietly. In his panic he didn't register the gentle pressure on his left hand that still rested on Lizzie's bed.

His eyes went immediately from his hand to Liz's face and was shocked to see her awake and offering him a small smile. "Hi."

_**A/N:I hope this has been worth the wait. I really liked how this chapter finished up and it segways into the next chapter nicely. I know we only have 2 episodes left of this season and a long summer hiatus to deal with but I promise this story will not be over any time soon. Hopefully it will ease some of the pain from the hiatus along with the other great fics in progress and that are sure to come during the break from all of our wonderful Lizzington Writers. **_

_**As always, leave love or hate just please let me know what you think. Comments and reviews feed my muse and make her eager to write faster. **_

_**Always,**_

_**Lady**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Please see first chapter for disclaimer regarding Blacklist. (Of course I don't own it! I'm just borrowing for entertainment purposes.) I've attempted to reply to everyone's reviews if I could (I appreciate you taking the time to leave me a comment) and anyone I could not reply to Thank you as well! **_

_**2 months to the day of my last update, I'm starting to feel like Steven Moffat with these long delays in updates. *wink* I can only say I hope it doesn't disappoint.**_

_**On to our story:**_

"Hello Sweetheart." Red replied smiling at the beautiful woman before him. Grasping tightly to the small hand in his much larger one he gently lifted it to his lips, placing a soft kiss beside the IV imbedded in the back of her hand. "How long was I asleep?" He asked taking his seat at Liz's bedside once again, refusing to lose contact with her.

"Just barely an hour," Dembe answered from beside him, taking the opportunity to check his phone as he moved to the end of Liz's bed.

Red nodded as he turned back to Liz, "And how long have you been awake? Has the doctor been in?"

Slipping her hand out of his she lifted her hand up- touching his cheek lightly to stop his barrage of questions, "Long enough to know that you snore…" This earned her a raised eyebrow followed by a small grin at her observation causing her to smile softly back at him. "And no doctor yet. I asked Dembe to wait because I felt ok and so you could get some rest." Liz offered before grimacing slightly at a particularly fierce pain that shot through her chest.

Expecting his old friend to know better than to leave him so exposed and vulnerable on top of the delay for medical attention Red threw an upset look at Dembe before returning his attention to the pained expression on Liz's face, "What's wrong?" The panic in Red's voice was clearly evident as he checked her over for any obvious trauma.

"My chest is starting to throb a bit," Liz mumbled as she tried to remain calm and composed in his presence. "Whatever they were giving me for pain appears to be wearing off rather quickly, I must have been in pretty bad shape when you brought me here."

Before Red could reply Dembe interrupted, "Dr. Ware just arrived, I will go retrieve her." he exclaimed, closing his phone and retreating quickly for the door.

While Dembe was never one for idle chit chat in the entire time she had known him, Liz could feel the man's pain at what had transpired. She knew from experience that he would protect Red with his life and by extension those he cared about; clearly he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders due to this catastrophe that landed her in this bed. It was clearly written all over his face every time he looked at her and while she didn't remember much of him after she was shot she could only imagine how he felt. "Dembe-" Liz called out softly stopping the bodyguard in his tracks causing him to turn slowly to the injured woman lying in the bed. Liz smiled at him through her another jolt of pain, "Thank you- for everything."

Dembe offered her a small nod before taking his leave to track down the good doctor leaving Liz and Red alone in the same room for the first time in the better part of a year.

Red was so overcome with emotions at the sight of Liz awake and smiling at him that he didn't consider his actions much before acting on impulse. What he did was against his better judgment and had blown propriety all to hell, but all of that was negated the moment his lips touched hers.

In one slow movement he had leaned forward, gently caressing her cheek a mere seconds before his lips met hers. He was pleasantly surprised when she responded immediately to his kiss was short but full of raw emotion from both parties; so much that when he pulled away they needed to catch their breath. Resting his forehead on hers, he took a few deep breaths to get himself under control.

Liz was beyond shocked but not in any way upset at Red's actions. Keeping her eyes closed she just relished in his contact and enjoyed the feeling of familiarity and comfort he seemed to bring to her whenever they were together. After a few long moments she opened her eyes, looking up at him, "What was that?"

Red kept his eyes closed even though he could feel her gaze burning into him, "Something I should have done a long time ago." At that he moved back slightly to check her over and had to chuckle when her blue eyes glared up at him. "Please- I've had some terribly wretched days recently and it was just something I needed."

"Ever the... consummate criminal aren't you Red." Liz coughed a few times before she caught her breath. "Want-Take-Have."

"Well us criminal types aren't known for respecting boundaries or lines in the sand." He retorted, adjusting the chair beside her bed so he could maintain close contact with her without jostling her injuries.

When Liz raised a questioning eyebrow at his 'line in the sand' reference it made Red chuckle. Turning her head to rest more comfortably against her pillow she asked softly, "Where did you go?" all the while keeping her eyes solely focused on Red.

"Never far from you." He answered, taking up her hand again as he watched her.

Sighing she shifted against the uncomfortable bed, "Why didn't you reach out to me? Let me know you were ok? You're last call was so cryptic, I didn't know what to think."

Rubbing the pad of his thumb across the back of her hand was soothing to both of them, they needed this physical connection after what they had suffered. "You were close once or twice- I had half a mind to wait for you at one of my safe houses that you visited, if for no other reason than to see your face when you saw me- to see how you'd respond."

"Why didn't you?"

"I feared the outcome-" he admitted to both of them. "Our last call was-awkward to say the least. You had doubts about the validity of my claim to your paternity question."

The color of her cheeks darkened at the memory of the question and how her feelings afterwards had grown in extremely non-paternal ways, "I don't know why I even asked to be honest."

"Yes you do." Red shot back, " It was a logical assumption based on the information you had gathered. I've said before that you've been so trained to think only in black and white: logical processing of obvious information. To do that you needed to hear the truth straight from the horses mouth so to speak."

"I didn't know what to think after everything," she admitted.

"Do you doubt me?" he inquired, maintaining eye contact so she couldn't shy away from the answer or him. "After everything do you doubt my answer now?"

"No." She admitted then using his own classic deflection tactic against him, Liz changed the subject. "When things started to get bad I just kept thinking-" here a far away look began clouding her blue eyes as she recalled the trauma she had suffered. Squeezing her eyes shut grimaced, "I kept thinking that Red-You- would save me. That nothing bad would happen so long as you were coming for me."

Red's chest contracted at the intensity of her statement, she had clung to one thought during her entire ordeal and it had been him. Part of him found this endearing that she trusted him so absolutely that it never crossed her mind that he wouldn't save her. Tthe other nagging part of his mind tried to block out what was really bothering him: she would always be his weakness and one day he would fail her just like he had his family.

Thankfully her soft voice drew him out of his reverie, " Was there really a live feed?" Liz asked, gently reaching up to lightly touch his stubbled jaw.

"Yes." Red's answer came out sounding more like a strained whisper.

"You heard what he said?"

"Yes."

Swallowing hard Liz continued, "Saw what he did to me to get to you?"

At this Red didn't say anything, the memory of her suffering at Lucian's hands would join the countless number of others that kept him up at night when he lie alone in bed pretending to sleep.

"You stopped him right before he-" here she choked up, swallowing the bile that rose from the mere thought of Lucian's intentions.

Red squeezed her hand but shook his head, "My finger was hovering above the send button but someone else beat me to it." At her confused look Red continued, "This is a conversation for another time, we will talk later once you get some more pain medication and we get you to a safe house." he said softly reaching for her hand. "Please rest now, I'm not going to leave your side."

Pain had a way of bringing out the stubbornness in Liz as she moved her hand away from his, she wasn't ready to end this conversation. Squeezing her eyes shut through a particularly intense painful throb across her chest and abdomen Liz glared at him. "I remember what you said. I might not remember everything that happened but I could hear you and feel that you were here and you made promises to me. About answers..."

"You heard me?" Surprise was quickly replaced with relief as Red searched for words that would help to assuage her. "Seeing you like that was the second worst event I've ever experienced," he said softly, his voice was rough with emotion. "I almost lost you-"

Liz watched him for a moment before replying, "But you didn't, I'm right here."

Swallowing back his emotions he replied. "I made a lot of promises to you and any divine presence that would listen and I will make good on those promises as soon as we can get you out of this hospital and into a safe house where I know I can protect you."

Liz was too tired and in too much pain to argue with him any more today. "Ok."

Leaning forward Red brushed his lips against her forehead, "Try to get some rest, Dr. Ware should be in shortly." Closing her eyes when she felt his lips against her forehead Liz tried to get comfortable as they both waited for the doctor to arrive.

_**XxXxXxXxXx**_

Dr. Ware strode purposefully through the hospital towards the ER recovery rooms where her patient was being housed for the time being. She had worked per diem here on occasion when they had been short staffed and knew the layout and locations she needed by heart. It didn't take her long to find the head nurse and be directed to Doctor Roberts who was now covering the shift on the floor. "Doctor Roberts." Jax said softly as she approached a heavy set gentleman leaning against the nurse's station making some notations on a number of charts stacked beside him.

Doctor Roberts looked up from the chart he was working on, "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Doctor Jaclyn Ware," Jax extended her hand and shook the large man's mammoth hand as he looked at her quizzically, "I believe a patient of mine was brought in here quite recently: Elizabeth Smith?"

Raising a skeptical eyebrow to her he scanned down a list of his current patients coming to stop at Liz's name, "Ah yes. Gunshot victim; sketchy situation. She's your patient you said?" Shuffling through other charts he was able to pull Liz's and scanned her paperwork. "She doesn't have you listed?"

Jax rolled her eyes, "Really? You're checking her charts to see if in the confusion and panic of her almost dying- her family was able to properly document her medical physician." Reaching out and snatching the chart from the other man she shook her head at him.

"Hey! Those are confidential records," Doctor Roberts grumbled reaching for the chart once again. "I need to verify your credentials before HIPPA is all over my ass."

Before his large hand could connect with the chart- another hand shot out blocking his reach and just as quickly- pressed his hand to the counter.

Both Jax and Doctor Roberts turned to follow the arm attached to the hand and only Doctor Roberts was surprised to see the large body guard at the other end. Jax smiled at Dembe before she turned back to the other doctor, "There you go. He is my verification of credentials. Now I need release forms for my patient – we would like to move her to a private facility to continue her recovery as soon as possible."

At this Doctor Roberts started to laugh, "You're joking right? She isn't going anywhere any time soon, for no other reason than the suspicious circumstances that she was brought in for." Doctor Roberts gestured to the ever stoic Dembe, "Not to mention-"

"I'm going to go ahead and stop you right there." Jax snapped, cutting him off. She took offense to the man's atrocious behavior. "Let's check some facts real quick about these suspicious circumstances: A- Bodyguard." She replied, tapping Dembe on the forearm that still held the good doctor in check. "B- Armed guards stationed at all three stairwells and the elevator and last but not least Mr. and Mrs. Smith –"

Watching the other man slowly start to put things into perspective almost made her laugh but keeping up with appearances she continued on, "Why exactly do you think that no one has contacted the police? Hmm?" Flipping the chart open she slammed it down onto the counter before him, "She is an undercover asset for the FBI who was wounded in the middle of an operation. Now you are going to sign your little scribble right here releasing her into my care and go make your rounds to the rest of your patients while I take her off your hands."

"You're going to move her? Now?" The shock clearly evident on his chubby features.

"Yes."

"You can't."

"Why?"

"Her heart stopped!"

"But it's beating again so I fail to see the issue here?"

"She was clinically dead! Moving her now could cause extensive damage to her compromised system."

"The key word doctor in that whole sentence is 'was' I'm well aware how to handle my patient and she will be more than adequately cared for."

"This move is expressly against my professional opinion and I will note as such on every chart that carries her name." Doctor Roberts stopped and looked from Jax to Dembe and back to Jax again before just scribbling his signature across the bottom of the medical transfer document. "If she dies in transit – it is on your head not mine. My conscience is clear."

"Not a problem Doctor. She is in good hands now." With that Jax snatched up the chart and winked at Dembe. "Lead the way sir."

**_XxXxXxXxXx_**

Ressler moved quickly through the underground passage into the lower command center of the Strategic Information and Operations Center or SIOC at FBI headquarters. By the time he had arrived at the conference room all major parties were already accounted for, leaving Ressler the last to arrive. Taking his seat at the table he nodded to AD Cooper and Director Fowler as well as SECDEF Fitch.

"Now that we are all here: What is the status on Reddington?" Director Fowler inquired.

Ressler shook his head, "We have not been able to make contact nor actually confirm it was Reddington who attacked Lucian and took Agent Keen."

"We've been monitoring all local hospitals for anyone matching Reddington or Keen's description, but we have no way of knowing what condition either would be in to narrow down our search results." Harold Cooper explained turning to both Fitch and Fowler.

"Talk to me about damage control with Lucian?" Fitch pressed, sitting forward and glancing between Ressler and Cooper.

Ressler just shook his head once more, "His entire crew is dead. If this was Reddington, he left no loose ends."

Fowler couldn't help the little grin on her face, "So there is nothing to tie Lucian back to us then?"

Both Ressler and Cooper shook their heads-No.

"Now we are back to square one though- We still can't find Reddington." Fitch pointed out slapping his hand on the table in frustration. "This entire situation was an exercise in futility."

"The plan was flawed in the first place- Lucian was too volatile to control." Cooper shot back attempting to defend their actions.

Standing from her chair Diane pointed at Cooper, "No! You're the one who broke and compromised this operation by calling Lucian."

Cooper glared at Diane, "We gave him strict instructions and he-"

Diane interrupted him, "He was escalating his actions in order to draw Reddington out. Lucian wasn't stupid; he was well aware that torture wasn't going to draw him out if he had lasted that long. Reddington knew very well Lucian wouldn't kill Keen if she was bait…"

"ENOUGH!" Fitch cried out silencing the whole room. Slowly Diane took her seat and glared at Cooper over the table as the whole group sat quietly glaring at one another. "The fact of the matter is we have lost the element of surprise in retrieving the information Reddington has and we cannot hope to utilize Keen again."

"This information Reddington stole - it's over 20 years old. Why not just kill him and let the chips fall where they will?" Ressler arrogantly stated trying to pigeonhole a simple resolution to this frustrating problem. "20 years is a long time to be blackmailed where the information is still pertinent."

Fitch leaned forward slowly glaring at the younger man, "You know Agent Ressler. It's comments like that, that make me wish Ray had let you die in the box."

Ressler paused for a moment and before he could respond Cooper spoke up, "We will work our side of the situation, reaching out to contacts but we need assistance with facial recognition or anything that might narrow down our search area."

"I'll see what I can do-" Fitch replied turning to Diane. " I will send information as it becomes available. Don't contact me again unless you have Reddington."

With those last words Fitch stood up and took his leave, followed closely by Diane leaving the two FBI agents sitting quietly at the table.

Harold shook his head and ran his hands over his tired and stressed face, "Why do I feel like we've just signed our own death warrants?"

"Probably because once Reddington realizes who was responsible for Lucian's attack on Keen, there won't be a safe place anywhere in this world that he won't be able to find us." Ressler responded sitting back and resting his head against the back of the chair pinching the bridge of his nose to relieve the tension headache that was quickly building.

The room was silent for a few moments before Cooper responded, "God Help Us."

**A/N: I apologize for the extremely long delay in posting. Not only did I have writers block (which is a demon in itself) but RL has been beyond hectic. I've taken a new job at work which is tons more stress as well as now that it's summer my boys bedtimes are later and less time in the house. It's not an excuse for leaving my faithful readers waiting for so long but it really is the truth. **

**Please don't hate me, I will continue updating this until it is complete I will not leave it unfinished. As always please leave love or hate, I just like to know someone is still reading this and being entertained. BTW I am also looking for a Beta at this time: I have 2 one shots that need a second pair of eyes and I'd like to clean up this story from the beginning. If you are interested please message me either here or on Twitter.**

**Always,**

**Lady**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Please see first chapter for disclaimer regarding Blacklist. (Of course I don't own it! I'm just borrowing for entertainment purposes.) I've attempted to reply to everyone's reviews if I could (I appreciate you taking the time to leave me a comment) and anyone I could not reply to Thank you as well! **_

_**This is for Sarah to help her get better!**_

_**Also a big thank you to Sarah, Simone and everyone who has been pushing me to update this story. I hope I continue to keep you entertained.**_

_**Here we go:**_

Aram paced aimlessly around his apartment, nursing a glass of wine as he concentrated on his current dilemma. Someone in the post office, a person he worked with every day, had betrayed them. The old adage _'fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me'_ kept pounding in his head. He felt like he was missing something obvious, like there was a red flag waving over his head that he just couldn't grasp.

He had gone over everything! He'd checked and rechecked every single piece of evidence he could, but he still felt that he was missing something obvious. The uplink was a dead end. That left him with only two other viable options: the money trail and the phone call. Both of which could be traced back to a single phone, a phone which was missing according to Agent Ressler. Suddenly it felt like a light bulb turned on: the phone had all the answers. Setting his glass down, he moved quickly into his office. Rounding the corner of his desk, he opened the safe in the back of his desk drawer and removed his MacBook.

In his younger years, Aram had been a well-known and respected hacker. He had always used his talents for revenge against those in his old neighborhood who had wronged his friends or family. Eventually, the work he did had found its way on the radar of a fellow hacker Aram only knew as Nemesis; who eventually introduced Aram to the Hacker Republic.

Nemesis spent days raving about Aram's talents and achievements to anyone in their community who would listen, eventually they had accepted him into their fold and named him Fury. Nemesis had worked with Aram, broadening his horizons and targets, and soon he was helping take down large corrupt corporations by leaking inside data and trade secrets through hacking firewalls and encrypted data.

During Aram's time at MIT he kept up his hacking but began searching for more challenging activities, which lead the two of them to the NSA program: Χίμαιρα.

Χίμαιρα was a program used to spy on foreign threats to the US government, utilizing their electronic devices as personal hand held spy equipment. Cameras and microphones were turned into recording devices, all data and communications were tracked then recorded and monitored for any 'flagged words'. Aram had been outraged.

It took many discussions with Nemesis to convince Aram not to blow the whistle on the government. Aram knew the power this program was wielding could be turned from foreign to domestic soil with the flip of a switch, and privacy would become a thing of myths and legends: George Orwell would be laughing in his grave.

Nemesis had been quick to point out that they could use the program for good someday, to help someone who was in need or in danger. They could also monitor the program and make sure that the worst never happened; and if it did they could destroy the program together. Aram had agreed but made sure he would be the one to monitor the program by generating a virus. The virus would provide a back door directly into the program that only he could access. Something he intended to use now.

It didn't take him long to get his system up and running, quickly maneuvering around his multiple security measures and disabling the firewall. Aram began navigating through his coding, working through the many layers of his own virus for the back door to Χίμαιρα. It would take him at least an hour, but with any luck, he would finally be able to get some answers.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Meera sat staring at her dashboard. She knew each voice on that recording. This entire situation had just gone from bad to nuclear. They had been betrayed by their own people; not just betrayed, but attacked. There was no worse crime in her eyes than against your country or against your brothers and sisters in arms.

There was no penalty great enough that the US Justice System could provide that would correct this act of treason. Not to mention the worst part about the entire situation; fruit of the poisoned tree. Between the high ranking officials, illegal recording devices, and other legal mumbo jumbo, none of them would see jail time; but her career would be shot.

Months ago that thought would have worried her. Now she had an alternative: Raymond Reddington.

Picking up her phone she tried Dembe. After two rings it went to voicemail; a common sign of the call being ignored. Before her anger got the best of her, she dialed Mr. Kaplan, unsurprised the woman picked up on the first ring. "Agent Malik?"

"Mr. Kaplan, is Mr. Reddington with you?"

"No, he isn't. He is unavailable at this time and will be for the foreseeable future. Do you need something?"

"Yes. I have something very important for him. Are you in the same location?"

"Yes."

"I'll be there in an hour." Hanging up the phone, she put her car into drive, heading in the direction of the hotel room. The small part of her that was celebrating about being correct was quickly and overwhelmingly becoming overshadowed by anger.

It was true that as a CIA agent she was used to the more questionable methods in regards to collecting information from suspects, but a line had been crossed. A Federal Agent's life had been put in danger; not because she had willingly offered to help, but because she was a weakness to exploit. Her life was of no consequence to them.

There was a special hell for those type of people, and Meera made a promise to herself: she would see them all burn.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Dembe led Jax down the hallway to Liz's room. Pausing at the door, he knocked lightly before opening it. Poking his head inside, he saw that Liz appeared fast asleep with Red beside her, wide awake and watching him intently. Red nodded to Dembe, giving him the ok. Opening the door wider, Dembe gestured for the good doctor to head in first, whispering as she passed, "Her pain medication was beginning to wear off."

Jax nodded to Dembe as she passed him and moved directly to Red. "Hello Mr. Reddington. I came as soon as I could."

"Thank you." Red stood and hugged the younger woman. "Have the arrangements been handled?" He inquired, returning to Liz's side and gently picking up her hand once more.

"Mr. Kaplan has given me strict orders that we are to move her immediately. I have a mobile unit ready for all of us. We don't even have to move her from the bed," she replied, opening Liz's chart. "But Dembe said her pain medication was wearing off and I'd like to check her vitals before we try to move her."

Red nodded and stepped away to stand by Dembe as Jax took Liz's wrist and began checking her heart rate.

Hearing the shuffling and muffled voices around her, Liz opened her eyes, slowly taking in the woman holding her wrist. "You must be ... Dr. Ware," she was able to mumble through the fog of sleep and increasing discomfort from the pain in her chest.

"In the flesh," Jax replied, finishing taking her heart rate then winking at Liz. "You look like hell honey."

"Thanks," Liz said softly, closing her eyes once again. She was too tired to react to the women's comment, and after what she had gone through, she was probably right.

"I hear they haven't been in to give you more pain medication?" Making some notations inside her chart, Jax flipped it shut before glancing up at her.

Liz didn't bother to open her eyes, but nodded her agreement.

Jax gently squeezed her hand. "Don't worry, you're in my care now and I'm going to have you up on your feet in no time." Turning around to both men she nodded. "I need someone to stay with her and someone to gather all of her stuff while I go grab some pain medication and a heavy sedative. We'll take the ER elevator down to the mobile unit I have waiting for us."

"Who is a part of the transport team?" Red inquired, moving back to Liz's side. Brushing a stray hair out of her face, he leaned down to kiss her forehead once again; to let her know he was with her.

"Linkin and Careles," Jax answered.

Red nodded. "Where will we be traveling to?"

"There is a country estate Mr. Kaplan has procured; it has wheelchair access and is fifteen miles from the nearest civilian resident. She has already set up a perimeter with your team, and they are expecting us within the hour, Sir." Jax had fallen back into old habits, addressing Reddington as Sir and standing at ease before him.

"Thank you Jax, I will stay with Lizzie while Dembe collects our things."

Jax nodded, taking her leave to collect what they would need for Liz's safe transport.

As soon as the door closed, Red nodded to Dembe, who began moving around the room to collect their bags and supplies.

XxXxXxXxXxXx

Meera arrived within the hour to room fifteen, knocking loudly three times before the door was wrenched open. Mr. Kaplan appeared briefly before nodding back towards the living area, leaving Meera to grab the door and follow quickly.

Inside the living area now stood a large white board with what appeared to be a timeline; beginning from the minute Agent Keen left the PO, until the current time. Small post-it's littered the board with different scribbles, most she wasn't able to clearly make out from this distance.

"What do you have?" Mr. Kaplan inquired, moving back to the board to continue adding information to her timeline.

"Information," Meera remarked, moving closer to the board to get a better look at a few specific notes.

Mr. Kaplan turned slowly away from the board to glare at Agent Malik, irritation clearly evident at the agent's sarcastic remark. "If you aren't going to be helpful then get the hell out." The two women stared at one another, before she continued, "I have no time for games."

Meera was momentarily stunned by the sharpness of the older woman's retort, but recovered quickly, "I apologize. May I?" Picking up a dry erase marker she moved to specific post-it's, making notations beside each one as she moved across the timelines.

Watching the Agent write furiously on note after note, Mr. Kaplan saw the picture begin to form more clearly before her eyes.

_Jammer Signal inside Post Office began prior to call ended just after; signal traced to hallway below AD Cooper's Office_

_Mini Jammer located in AD Cooper's desk_

"Mr. Kaplan!" A male voice cried from the hallway, the sound of footsteps moving quickly echoed in the empty apartment as Meera continued writing.

_Agent Ressler, AD Cooper, Director Diane Fowler, SECDEF Fitch meet and discuss attack on Agent Keen and containment_

After finishing her last notation, Meera capped the marker, turning to hand the other woman a small jump drive. "That is the entire conversation."

Seymour rushed towards both women, holding out a smartphone with a frightened expression on his face, "It turned on by itself!"

"What?" Meera asked, looking at the device in his hand.

"You must have hit a button by accident, calm down, we have more pressing matters at hand," Mr. Kaplan remarked sharply, returning her attention to Meera and her notations.

"I did not hit a button. I was running a diagnostic test on the processor and was across the room when it chimed at me," Seymour replied defensively.

Before anyone could respond, the phone started to ring loudly in Seymour's hand. Glancing down at the device, Meera's brow shot up in confusion, "I know that number," she commented as she hit the answer button.

XxXxXxXxXx

Aram had worked tirelessly for an unknown amount of time attempting to crack his virus so he could back door into the Χίμαιρα program. It had been such a long time since he had checked the program, he was rusty in coding around his own virus. A bottle of wine and almost an hour later found Aram finally through his own firewall and in the heart of the program.

Aram sat back staring at his computer screen. The Χίμαιρα program lay open before him. It offered God-like abilities over every individual within feet of any type of electronic device. With this type of information at his fingertips, he was the most dangerous and powerful individual in the world at that moment. It was a very heady observation.

It was also the entire reason he had wanted to destroy the program, but now he was thankful that he had allowed Nemesis to talk him out of it. This was the big event that Nemesis had discussed, a time when the information this program provided could be used to help people or to save lives; tonight he could do both. He needed to contact Nemesis and thank them once this was all said and done.

The problem that presented itself now was deciding the best way to narrow down the device he was trying to locate. Steepling his fingers before him as he rested his elbows on his desk, Aram closed his eyes and concentrated. He couldn't search by the person's name, because 'Lucian' had been an alias. He couldn't search using the phone number, because he didn't know it. The only concrete information he had was the location of the warehouse where Agent Keen had been held.

"That's it!" Aram shouted, clapping his hands together before returning them to the keyboard. _The phone call. The signal jammer. The Post Office!_ The probability of anyone in the general area of the warehouse making a phone call at that exact moment to any area around the PO was minimal, and it would probably be his best lead. Quickly typing in the beginning and end location, he added the specific time and date to help narrow down his search further and was not disappointed. There before him sat one name blinking brightly at him: Adelbert Richards aka 'Lucian'.

"Adelbert?" Aram couldn't help the bark of laughter at the man's name. "No wonder you went by Lucian. I'd have changed my name too..." He remarked as he clicked on the name link.

Immediately, Lucian's entire life showed up on the screen. ISP addresses, email accounts, bank accounts - you name it - and there was a history on it. The only information he was interested in currently was the cell phone, which appeared to be a Blackberry Torch, and was currently off.

With the device off, he wasn't able to pull a GPS signal to locate it, he was only able to see recent activity. There was so much data tied to the phone that he would need to know exactly what he was looking for to sort through all the information. The time for that would come, right now he needed to locate the device and get a good look at whomever had the phone and their location.

Using the override switch, he opted to turn the device on and sat back watching the program work its magic. Almost immediately, a GPS coordinate appeared right beside a link that informed him that data was processing.

Sitting back in his chair, Aram did a celebratory fist pump into the air as the uplink went live. "I'm in the wrong line of work," he commented, before clicking on the uplink and watching as his screen was split into two separate feeds; representing the back and front cameras. The back screen was completely black, while the front screen appeared an off-white color.

_"What the hell?"_

A male voice sounded through his speakers as a face appeared over the camera. An immediate look of panic flashed across his face as he lifted the device while crying out, "_Mr. Kaplan!"_

Aram watched as both screens shook while the man appeared to be moving quickly down a hallway of sorts towards other voices. The back camera was offering a shot of some very worn running shoes while the front camera gave him the view of a stubbled chin.

_"It turned on by itself!"_

_"What?"_

"Meera?" Aram cried out, leaning closer to the screen to make sure he wasn't going crazy or seeing things. Standing beside Agent Malik was an older woman with a very stern expression on her face. "What the hell is going on?" Aram mumbled to himself as he watched the three standing together.

_"You must have hit a button by accident, calm down, __we have__ more pressing matters at hand."_

_"I did not hit a button. I was running a diagnostic test on the processor and was across the room when it chimed at me."_

It didn't take long for Aram to make his next move. He reached for his own cell phone beside his MacBook and dialed the number to the phone they were holding.

Watching them react to the ringing phone was priceless, but he wasn't surprised when Meera commented, _"I know that number," __w_hile hitting the answer button and lifting the phone to her ear, "Aram?"

"Agent Malik, you are the only person I know that still memorizes phone numbers," he jested, reclining back into his chair while watching the screen.

"How did you get this number?" Meera had no witty response, choosing instead to get straight to the point. The agent in her began attempting to rationalize how Aram would have had the number to this phone, and didn't like the outcome she was coming up with.

"Really!" Aram's glared at the screen, "I believe the better question would be why you have a vital piece of missing evidence that may have information tying back to a kidnapped and missing FBI agent?" He cried out, pointing at the other screen with his free hand. "And who is Mrs. Doubtfire beside you?"

Watching the screens shift again, he saw Meera twist the phone to look at both the front and back camera before looking up in the direction of the older woman.

Meera was confused momentarily, looking at Mr. Kaplan for a moment before the woman nodded to her. Clicking the speaker button on the phone, Meera said, "Aram, how quickly can you get to 198 Main, Room fifteen? We need to talk."

**AN: My apologies on the length of delay's between chapters. It has been a long busy hiatus and a number of one shots have snuck their way into my writing time (My latest is Truth or Shorts, if anyone is looking for another Lizzington Story to read.). I hope you are still enjoying this story. As I mentioned in my previous chapter, I did search out a Beta and was lucky enough to get a great one at that! Thank you Ashton! You're my Hero!**

**As always, leave love or hate- I just like to know someone is still reading this. Oh and evidently reviews feed my Muse's creativity and make her write faster...just saying! *wink* **

**Always,**

**Lady**


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