Chapter Text
The blacklister of the week was The Contractor. He was someone people could contact through an unhackable server, who would then hire people to commit the crime for his client. Because The Contractor and his client never met in person, and because the client never knew who was carrying out the crime for them, it made it hard to catch anyone involved.
Reddington informed them that he had heard rumors that The Contractor was in town and was looking for a grifter and some muscle for a job.
After Reddington had left, they came up with a plan to go undercover so they could not only catch The Contractor, but use the would-be victim to find the client.
It was unanimous that she would go undercover as the grifter and Ressler as the muscle, though Park raised an important question.
“How can we guarantee that Ressler and Keen will get hired together rather than one or the other?”
It was a good point and they thought about it, but after a while Aram perked up.
Was it just her, or did he have a mischievous glint in his eye?
“Well, Agents Keen and Ressler could go as a couple. Surely The Contractor wouldn't split them up then, would he?”
Liz looked at Ressler and they shared a look, realizing Aram could be on to something.
Park seemed on board with the idea.
"Yeah… I think that'd work. If you guys show up as a couple he'll most likely just hire you both rather than try and find someone to replace one of you. You guys being married also implies that you'd have worked together many times so you'd have that going for you as well."
Cooper nodded, agreeing with Park's reasoning.
"Well that's sorted. Keen, Ressler, you'll be going undercover as a married couple. Before leaving make sure you both get your story straight."
They nodded and after he assigned Park something to do, the two of them left, leaving her, Ressler and Aram.
Ressler turned to her.
"Do we have to act a certain way so he believes that we're married?"
Liz could swear she heard murmuring which sounded suspiciously like 'you don't have to act any different' and she turned to Aram.
"You said something?"
His head jerked up from his screen, surprised that someone had heard him, and he faltered slightly under both her and Ressler's gaze.
"I… uh… I was just saying maybe you guys should wear rings?"
She turned to Ressler and raised her eyebrows because it was a good point. He nodded.
"Yeah that's probably a good idea."
And so, two hours later, Keen found herself driving with Ressler to the house Reddington had said The Contractor would be at. Before they had left, she had raided the undercover department and back in their office, had unceremoniously taken the larger ring out of the box and handed it to Ressler. He had smirked and said 'I do' and she had just laughed and shaken her head.
Liz had to admit, it felt slightly strange wearing a wedding ring again, even if it wasn't real. The one she was wearing right now was a plain gold band, identical to Ressler's, while her first one had been flashier with diamonds. But, Liz scoffed to herself, that had probably been for show on Tom’s part.
She snuck a glance at Ressler's hand on the steering wheel. Was it weird to think that a wedding ring looked good on him? She wondered what his thoughts were about wearing one considering what had happened to his fiancé all those years ago. He seemed pretty relaxed though and she was sure his mind was on the mission. Deciding she should probably get her mind off her partner and do the same, she looked at the GPS.
“We're a few minutes out.”
He nodded.
“So quick recap. We're Mr and Mrs Charlie and Jessie Jones. You're a professional grifter and I'm an ex navy seal turned muscle for hire.”
“Yup. Married for five years so far.”
He turned to her and grinned.
“And hopefully many more years to come.”
She shook her head and laughed.
“Let's hope we at least get till 10. The traditional gift is a diamond and I've been wanting some new earrings.”
Ressler threw his head back and laughed at her teasing and she couldn't help but join in.
A few moments later, she focused back on the job at hand and said, “If the contractor asks for any previous job specifics I'll just come up with something and you can add and back up any details.”
Ressler nodded, completely fine with that plan.
It wasn't a very thorough one and if she were going undercover with anyone else she would've gone into much more detail, but this was Ressler. They had been partners for over seven years and they knew each other well. He had complete faith in her undercover skills and she knew he'd back up whatever she did.
They pulled up to the nondescript house and after putting the car in park, he turned to her.
“You ready?”
“Yup. You?”
He smirked at her.
“C’mon Mrs Jones, let's get hired by this contractor.”
She grinned back at him and they walked towards the door, knocking as they reached it.
It was opened up and, after all this time, she knew that the blacklisters could be anyone, but she was still slightly surprised by the old, well dressed man in front of her, who only came up to her shoulders.
“May I help you?”
By his British accent and his attire, Liz would describe him as an elegant Englishman.
Ressler was good at undercover but he knew she was great at it, so he stood slightly behind her (playing the role of bodyguard well) and let her take the lead.
“I'm Jessie and this is my husband Charlie,” Ressler nodded in greeting, “and we hear that you're hiring.”
The man's eyes narrowed and after studying her face (she made sure to keep her expression genuine and non-threatening) and taking in Ressler's stance behind her, he gave a single nod.
“Best not have this conversation in the open,” and opening the door wider, he stepped aside.
Ressler waited for her to go in first and she thanked The Contractor as she passed him.
A quick glance around the living room showed absolutely no personal artefacts and no signs of having been lived in. She turned to face the man, who was shutting the door, as Ressler took up the same position of standing slightly behind her.
Not wanting to sound overly enthusiastic, she kept her tone even and polite.
“We've heard about you as the contractor but is there any name you'd like us to use instead?”
He paused for a moment.
“You may call me George.”
She nodded but seeing that she was going to talk again, George held up a hand. Slightly worried as his eyes narrowed at them, she stayed quiet and let him talk.
“A conversation like this must be had in private but do not assume for one moment that, because I have invited you inside, I will be hiring you.”
Liz nodded.
“That's fair. I'm sure you have a vetting process to follow and -”
“That is not it.”
Liz kept her expression neutral but her gut was telling her that something was about to go wrong. The tension she felt from Ressler supported that feeling.
“What is it then?”
Clearly very distrusting of her and Ressler he answered.
“The only person I have told of my whereabouts was my client, which raises the important question, how did you find me?
Shit. Red didn't mention that.
Not showing any of her internal panic, she kept her voice calm.
“This job was recommended to us.”
Clearly not convinced by her vague answer, he continued speaking.
“My theory is that, because my client knows where I am, they hired you both as well, not believing that I can do their job. But that simply will not work. If you have met them, you cannot do the job.”
“I assure you that's not the case. We've never met whoever has hired you.”
Ressler stepped forward, backing her up.
“Working for you was recommended to us, your clients didn't send us.”
George's face was filled with distrust and the belief that they were lying to him was starting to make him angry. That would mean he wouldn't hire them which they simply couldn't have. A shared look with Ressler told her he was thinking the same thing as her so she nodded at him and he turned to George.
“When you hear who told us about this job, I'm sure you'll be okay with it.”
He simply raised an eyebrow in return.
“Somehow I doubt that.”
Smirking, Ressler said, “we've worked jobs for him before. It's Raymond Reddington.”
That seemed to push the anger away and slight confusion came in its place.
“Your source is Reddington?”
Ressler gave a smirk at that and Liz supposed that George thought it was because they knew Reddington, but she knew better. Red was their source in more ways than George could ever know.
Turning to him, Liz simply said, “he is.”
Disbelief was evident on George’s face.
“Reddington has power and influence and works in the shadows with very powerful people under his thumb. I can believe that somehow he would know that I am here but what I cannot understand is why would he care enough about a lowly grifter and some ordinary bodyguard-”
“- ex navy seal thank you very much.”
He waved away Ressler’s correction.
“Whatever. Even if he does know the both of you, why would Reddington tell you about this job if he did not have a stake in it himself?”
This was not going as smoothly as they had hoped. A quick glance at Ressler told her he was thinking the same and she knew there was only one thing to do about it. Ressler gave her a small nod and, glad he was on the same page, she turned back to George, knowing that this was the only thing that would get him to trust them.
“Do you want us to call him for proof?”
He immediately nodded.
“One can never be too careful in this line of business.”
She pulled out her undercover phone (her real one was in the office) and, knowing that Red didn't know they had gone undercover, she hoped he would play along when put on the spot.
Liz had memorised the number and about to dial, she looked up as George added, “and put it on speakerphone.”
She rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance at his demands, but a quick glance at Ressler let her know he was as worried as she was about how this would turn out. His expression changed slightly, reflecting her earlier thoughts of hoping Red would play along and, giving him a small understanding nod, she turned back to the phone.
Dembe answered and, knowing that she’d have to let him know what was going on without alerting George, said,
“Hi Dembe, it’s Jessie here. Can I talk to Reddington?”
There was a pause, Dembe recognising her voice, and through the look Ressler gave her, she knew he was already formulating a plan if things didn’t go their way.
Thankfully they didn’t have to act it out.
“Of course Jessie, just wait a moment.”
She gave George a pointed look, as if saying ‘believe me now?’
He just shrugged, not quite convinced yet.
Relief filled her and Ressler as Red’s jovial tone came over the line.
“Jessie! It’s been a while, how are you?”
“I’m great Reddington, though I’m afraid this isn’t a social call.”
“I thought as much. Please go on.”
She took a breath and shot Ressler a glance. He nodded at her, believing that she’d be able to tell Red the situation without alerting George and she knew he’d have her back.
“There’s a guy here, George, who calls himself The Contractor -”
“Ah! I know George. Short fellow!”
“Yeah well, George doesn’t believe Charlie and I when we say we’re a team who’ve worked for you.”
“Ah of course he doesn’t! George has always been mistrusting by nature.”
And as Red’s laughter came over the line, she and Ressler shared a small look of relief. They should’ve known Red would play along.
“Is old George with you now?”
“Yup, and so is Charlie. You’re on speaker by the way.”
Red laughed good naturedly but before he could say anything George cut in.
“So Jessie and Charlie here are a husband and wife team who have worked for you?”
She had to give Red credit. He didn't even miss a beat at the new piece of information.
“Yes they are! I had met Jessie when she was doing small time jobs to pay her rent but I saw her talent and took her under my wing, and Charlie -” as if it was only just hitting Red that Ressler was listening in, he interrupted himself, “- how are you Charlie?”
Liz smiled as Ressler couldn’t help but grin at Red’s jovial and upbeat tone.
“Yeah I’m good Reddington. How are you?”
“I’m doing great! And while I have you both on the line I must thank you and Jessie for the beautiful gift basket you sent over for christmas. Dembe and I could not stop gushing about the cheese platter!”
Liz and her partner laughed and keeping up with the act Ressler replied, “you really can’t beat a Montreal cheese cart.”
Over the speaker Red gave a belly laugh and as Ressler winked at her she couldn’t help but join in.
George cleared his throat, not seeing the amusement of cheese carts.
“So, evidently Jessie and Charlie here are very close to you.”
“Oh yes very. I knew them both before they knew each other. In fact -” Liz heard a smile appear in Red’s voice, “- I often congratulate myself for their marriage because I sensed they would work marvellously together and so, even though they were distrustful of each other at first, I paired them as a team and the rest is history!”
Liz looked at her partner and they shared an almost indistinguishable glance of confusion. Red’s story (obviously other than the marriage bit) was pretty close to what had actually happened and it made Liz wonder if Red had actually put her and Ressler together because he knew they’d work well.
He continued talking.
"You see George, I see myself as their guardian of sorts. I even attended their wedding."
His voice had taken on the tone of when he began his long winded stories and she was interested to see where this was going. A quick glance at Ressler told her that he was amused yet slightly confused as to what Reddington was going to say next.
"It was a gorgeous affair, Jessie here looked radiant in her gown and Charlie looked simply dashing in his tux! After their first dance, there wasn't a dry eye in the room, and I'm not ashamed to admit that that includes Dembe and I!”
Liz and Ressler looked at each other with amusement and confusion, but Red wasn't done. In fact, it seemed like he was just getting started.
“Charlie and his brother have had their differences in the past but it was great to see that they worked everything out before the wedding, he was even Charlie's best man!”
Well that was oddly specific to their real lives and sharing another discreet glance with her partner, the amusement had gone from his expression, the confusion clear to her. Honestly she felt the same but before she could dwell too much on Red bringing Ressler's real life into this cover story, it turned out she was next.
“Jessie's daughter was the flower girl and she looked beyond adorable and after all this time, it was simply heartwarming to see her finally call Charlie dad because her biological father, God rest his soul, was an okay father but not a great role model. I warned Jessie against him countless times but alas, she paid me no heed, what can I say?”
She met Ressler’s eyes and, though they were both careful not to show any visible reactions, she could see her same thought reflected in her partner's eyes.
What the fuck?
Was this all really just Red spouting stuff on the spot? It had way too much detail and the details he was giving made it sound as if it was hers and Ressler’s wedding, not Jessie's and Charlie's.
She could just imagine Red’s face as he told this story. He was having way too much fun with this.
Apparently Red’s story was more than enough to convince George and, seeming to be slightly annoyed by how off topic they had gone, he gave a polite cough in hopes to bring it to a halt.
Reddington seemed to get the hint.
"But I get away with myself. My point is that I see myself as their guardian angel -" he chuckled, "- though guardian devil probably suits me better, so when I heard you were looking for a grifter and some muscle, I thought Jessie and Charlie here would be perfect for you!"
“Well why didn’t they just lead with that?”
Before she or Ressler could come up with more lies on the spot, Red’s laughter came through the line.
“I referred them, but surely you can understand George, my tendency to stay in the shadows as much as possible?”
At last George’s face fully relaxed and he laughed.
“Of course Reddington. The best place to do business from is from the shadows. That is the premise of mine after all.”
Liz gave Ressler a discreet glance and the relief that their cover was safe was obvious (well, to her anyway) on his face.
After goodbyes, Red hung up and George turned to them, a smile on his face.
“Let's talk business shall we?”