Chapter Text
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Ressler's confidence in his plan to keep Liz safe started to crumble the moment they got back to the Post Office. First of all, every time he tried to call Reven Wright, no one answered. Then, just as he was leading Liz in (shackled, surrounded by guards), Aram ran over to him. He had trouble not staring at Liz – who was doing her best to keep a poker face – in dismay as he told Ressler that Cooper had managed to call. He, Charlene, Tom, and Karakurt were holed up at a cabin out in the middle of nowhere, and Cooper said they had reason to believe the Cabal would find them soon.
“Did he give you an address for the cabin?” When Aram didn't reply right away, just looking at Liz with something like guilt on his face, Ressler called his name sharply. “Aram! Do you have an address for the place, or not?”
Jumping, Aram turned back to him. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, I've got it at my desk.”
“I'm going to take you to the Box,” Ressler told Liz quietly, while Aram went to retrieve that information. “No one else here knows the new pass code, so you'll be safe no matter what happens, while I go see what your ex-husband and Cooper have been doing since I last saw them.”
A variety of emotions passed over Liz's face. But she didn't say anything, and in fact quickly regained her expressionless mask.
Sighing, Ressler supervised as she was brought into the Box. He entered the code to open its door, trying and failing not to make mental comparisons with previous times this door had been opened. Seeing his partner inside it now was not easy to handle. Still, he stayed where he was until the guards had departed. Then he took out his phone, knowing Liz would be able to see and hear him as he called Samar.
Samar answered after a few rings. “What is it, Ressler?”
“I got her. She's in custody here at the Post Office,” he said. Liz watched his face, still saying nothing.
There was an indrawn breath. “How is she?”
“All right, I guess. Listen, Samar, I don't know what you're doing right now, but I need to go deal with this Karakurt thing. Cooper and his wife and Tom Keen are apparently still at risk from the Cabal, and they need backup.” He ran a hand over his face. “I'd feel better about leaving the Post Office if I knew you were here. I haven't been able to reach Reven Wright, and I want to make sure this place has someone here I trust in case something happens.”
“I'll be back as soon as I can,” she said immediately. “Where are you keeping her in the meantime?”
“The Box.”
Samar sounded approving. “That's the best option, I suppose. Keep the pass code to yourself.”
“Planning on it.” When he hung up, Liz had stepped close to the glass and looked like she wanted to say something. He came closer.
“Samar is coming?” she asked.
Nodding, Ressler said, “I'm not going to leave you here without one of us staying, too. There's too much at stake. I know you think I'm naïve for believing I can get you a fair trial, Liz, but whatever happens, I'm going to keep you safe. I promise.”
She looked down. At first, he thought she wasn't going to reply, but just as he was about to turn away, she raised her eyes and said, “I hope you're right. But no matter what happens, I don't blame you.”
He stared at her. Suddenly it was hard to speak – and a little hard to breathe normally, too. Maybe she didn't hate him now, after all. With a painful breath, he turned to leave her in her cage.
Despite his words to Liz, Ressler didn't feel like it would be wise to wait long for Samar to arrive. The urgency of Cooper's call weighed on him. After three minutes, he went to talk to Aram. “I can't wait around any longer,” he told the other agent. “Who knows what will happen to Cooper if I don't get out there? So let me know if Reven Wright or Laurel Hitchin call. Keen should be all right until I get back – hopefully with more evidence to exonerate her.”
“So you're going to work with Tom for Liz after all?” Aram asked, looking pleased.
“Since he seems to have something actually useful, yes,” Ressler said grudgingly.
“Just you? I mean, don't you think this might need more backup?” He blinked, and added, “Not that I'm trying to cast doubt on your capability at all – it's just, this is so important--”
Acknowledging this with a faint smile, Ressler said, “No, you're right, normally I would bring backup. But I want to keep this as under the radar as possible. We don't know who's listening to our phone calls and intel.”
Aram looked grave and nodded. As Ressler was about to leave, the other agent stopped him by calling his name. “What?”
“Uh, what should I do if – if the Director or some other bad guy shows up before Agent Navabi gets back?”
It was a fair question, and one that Ressler wished they didn't have to consider. “Stall,” he said after a moment. “No one will be able to get to her, at least. And of course call me ASAP.”
Aram wasn't totally reassured by this, but he promised he would do his best.
Ressler did get a call as he was just leaving the parking lot – but it wasn't Aram or Samar. “Donald,” came Red's voice, “please tell me it's you who has Elizabeth, and no one else.”
“Yes, she's secure,” Ressler told Reddington. He wasn't going to offer a lot of details – although it wasn't as if that would slow the man down for too long. “I'm not going to let anything happen to her, while I arrange a fair trial.”
“While I appreciate the sentiment, and I don't doubt your dedication,” Red said, “the Cabal will come for her as soon as they know she's in your custody – which will be soon, I imagine. And the security of the FBI--”
“No one else has the code to get into the Box but me,” Ressler cut in. “And it's not like you were doing such a great job keeping her safe out there. I think I recall you telling me that in so many words.”
Reddington sighed. “Yes, I did tell you that,” he said. “But that's not really what kind of security I was talking about, Donald. I was referring to the extent to which the FBI and the DOJ are compromised by the Cabal.”
Frowning, Ressler did his best to keep his eyes on the road as he asked, “Reddington, do you know something, a name, in particular? Because this is information I could use – that Liz and I could both use.”
“Unfortunately nothing even close to conclusive yet,” Reddington said. “Be assured you'll know as soon as possible, when I know something worth sharing on that front.”
“Fine,” Ressler said. “I'll try to be reachable, but if you can't reach me, contact Aram.”
Ressler was less than a half mile from the location Cooper had given when he pulled over and rolled down his window to get a better look at a road sign that was partially obscured by some bushes. That was when a breeze blew past him, coming from the direction he'd just driven. Ressler inhaled and froze. That scent. He wasn't likely to forget it, ever. Solomon was on the way, along with at least half a dozen other men.
Swearing, Ressler rolled up the window and got back on the road. He wasn't positive how much of a head start he currently had, but any amount of lead was useful.
He drove as fast as he could safely drive on the road that was getting narrower and less well-maintained. It was really too bad, he thought grimly, that he couldn't call ahead and warn them.
Once he finally found Cooper and the others, and told them who was coming, things happened very quickly. Of course there was no back way out of this area, so their best/only option was to try to withstand the coming attack.
“How do you even know this Solomon guy is on his way?” Tom asked him, as they did their best to make the cabin siege-worthy. Charlene was in the innermost room, armed and standing guard over a tied-up, surprisingly meek Karakurt, and Cooper was working on the other side of the house. “You didn't see them, did you?”
Ressler sighed. He hadn't wanted to have this conversation, especially not with Tom. But he supposed it was only fair that the man would wonder. “No, I didn't.”
“Then what?”
He'd better just get it over with. Without looking in his direction, Ressler explained, “I happened to have my window open for a minute while I was on the way here. And I, uh, have a stronger sense of smell than most people.”
Tom didn't reply at first. When Ressler did turn to look in his direction, the operative was staring at him with raised eyebrows. He shook his head. “Wow. Well, I guess that came in handy for all of us.”
“I guess so,” Ressler said. He had a feeling this guy wasn't going to leave it at that, but at least they were too busy trying to stay alive for him to have time to come up with mocking quips at the moment.
As it turned out, however, Ressler didn't have to worry about any mocking from Tom Keen after the confrontation with Solomon and his men. The fighting was fierce and intense, though it didn't last long. The Cabal had the advantage in both numbers and weapons – but this cabin was not too terrible, as far as defensible locations went. That meant their enemies had to get close in order to get to them.
Or at least, that was what they had been hoping. In reality, Solomon must have known at least something about the location in advance, because he had brought a mounted machine gun. This was, obviously, much less easy to take refuge from, no matter where they were in the cabin. Both Cooper and Karakurt suffered grazes (thankfully minor) in the process of trying to dodge the sprays of bullets.
In the end, Tom snuck out of the back door somehow and managed to get close enough to take out the man operating the machine gun. From there, it wasn't too difficult for Ressler and Cooper to neutralize the rest of the threat. Ressler stayed human the whole time – including the immensely satisfying moment when he took down Solomon and cuffed him.
That was when Charlene let out a cry of dismay, from the doorway of the cabin. (Karakurt was still inside.) “Harold! He needs help!” She was pointing toward the now unmanned machine gun – and when Ressler followed her gesture, he saw the fallen form of Tom Keen.
Cooper had also looked where his wife was pointing. He swore and turned to Ressler. “Get the prisoner secured in your vehicle first.”
Ressler nodded and pulled Solomon to his feet. The man himself, meanwhile, chuckled quietly. “Yeah, you'd better let your old boss take care of your main competition, right, Agent Ressler?” he said. “That way, if Tom dies, you don't have to tell Elizabeth that it was on your watch.”
“Shut up,” Ressler said. He dragged Solomon to the SUV and made sure he was secured before hurrying over to where Cooper was crouched down next to Tom.
Tom's eyes were open, but his breaths were coming in rasps. The bullet wound that he had his hands pressed over was alarmingly high up on his left side – not quite at his heart, but very close. He blinked and winced, as Cooper pressed a folded-up cloth to the injury.
“I'll call an ambulance,” Ressler said, reaching for his phone.
Tom made a sound that might have been a laugh. “And how long … do you think … it'll take to get here?” he gasped out, and then shook his head. “It's not … worth the effort.”
“Of course it's worth the effort,” Cooper said sharply.
But Tom didn't seem to be listening. Instead, his gaze found Ressler's. “Make sure … Karakurt doesn't get killed … before he can testify.” Then he swallowed, grimacing, and coughed once. Blood came out of his mouth. “And keep Liz safe,” he added hoarsely.
Ressler nodded again. “I will.” He still had no fondness for the man, but no one could say he wasn't dedicated – and there was no reason not to make this promise, even if it was for Liz and not for Tom.
Smiling faintly, perhaps understanding this, Tom nodded. Then he took in a ragged breath, shut his eyes, and a few seconds later stopped moving.
“Damn it,” said Cooper, sitting back after a futile attempt to find a pulse.
“I'm sure he saved all of our lives,” Ressler said, after a moment. The fact didn't gall him too much to admit – after all, it was pointless to resent a dead man. “We need to get moving, though, in case anyone else comes looking for Karakurt. I'll call this in.”
Cooper acknowledged this, then stood up. “I'll go get Karakurt ready for transport, after I clean up.”
Once the FBI team arrived (composed of men and women that Ressler was as sure as he could be were trustworthy), they started back to the Post Office. Cooper and his wife came in another car, though they were not in charge of Karakurt. Instead, they were coming to be debriefed. As he got into the driver's seat of his vehicle, Ressler checked his phone. He saw he had missed two calls from Aram – which was not good news, most likely. Mindful of Solomon, tied up in the back with two agents guarding him, Ressler called Aram.
“Sorry I missed your calls,” he said as soon as Aram picked up. “What's going on?”
“Thank God you're there!” said Aram in a semi-whisper. “Just when Samar arrived, the Director and a bunch of his people showed up! He is not happy that no one here knows the code for the Box. He says he wants to transfer Liz to a more secure holding facility, in case Mr. Reddington tries to break her out.”
Ressler snorted at that. It wasn't actually an unlikely scenario … but of course the Director's motives were more than suspect. “Any word from Hitchin or Wright?”
“No, nothing from AG Wright,” said Aram, “but Ms. Hitchin is here. She's been in your office with the Director for a while now.”
Wright's absence was becoming conspicuous. Ressler frowned and said, “All right. I'm on my way back, with a couple of prisoners who should have some useful things to say. Don't tell our friend who I have.”
“Of course not,” Aram agreed readily. “And Samar is staying close to the Box – just to watch and make sure the prisoner doesn't try anything.”
“Good.” As he was sure Aram and Samar were well aware, it was much more likely that Liz's enemies would try something with her. “I'll be back in half an hour. Go ahead and tell them I'm on my way if they ask.”
“Will do.”
"I'm curious, Agent Ressler," came Solomon's voice from the back seat. "Will you be leading my interrogation this time, or will it be the lovely Agent Navabi again?"
Ressler resisted the urge to growl. "I guess you'll just have to wait and find out, won't you?"
When their caravan arrived at the Post Office, the first thing Ressler did was to make sure both Karakurt and Solomon were brought in as secretly as possible. There were some holding cells that, he thought, even the Director would not know about. Cooper and his wife were going to be debriefed off-site but nearby. Once all of that was settled, he went inside, to find the place full of frenetic activity. People were rushing around, and although there were no alarms going off, the agents Ressler saw certainly looked alarmed. He saw Aram as the man was running in his direction.
“Aram, what the hell is going on?”
“Liz collapsed!” he said, eyes wide. “It happened just a couple of minutes ago! I was just about to call. Thank God you're here – we need to get her out of the Box.”
“What?!” Ressler outpaced Aram in the dash to the Box. Samar was there, as well as several guards, a Bureau medical team, and both the Director and Hitchin. Liz was lying on her front on the floor of the Box, not moving.
“Agent Ressler,” said Hitchin, with a brief frown, “it's good of you to finally come back, after leaving it so that your prisoner is stuck behind this door that only you can open.”
“Sorry,” Ressler said, not caring if it came across as at all sincere. All of his attention was on Liz. “Is she conscious?”
“She hasn't responded to anyone since she fell,” Samar said. “But she's breathing, as far as we can see.”
“We should transfer her to a more secure--” the Director began, but Ressler cut him off.
“All due respect, sir, but my priority is making sure the prisoner stays alive, first and foremost,” he said. “And even after that's certain, you're not my boss. My boss is Reven Wright, who I haven't been able to contact recently.” He took a breath, looking over at his fallen ex-partner again. “So until or unless I hear otherwise from her, I'm keeping Keen here. Once I open the door, she'll be taken to our infirmary under heavy guard. If she's stable, we can discuss further from there. I'll personally oversee the whole process.”
The other man looked frustrated, but he didn't protest. Hitchin nodded and said, “That sounds reasonable to me, Agent Ressler. Let's not delay any further.”
Ressler, in fact, only waited until Samar and the guards (the same ones who had escorted Liz on her way back in here earlier) were in position, along with the people who had the gurney ready. Then he hurried to the control panel and entered the code: 'Alpha'.
Liz didn't resist or open her eyes as the medical team lifted her onto the stretcher. Ressler watched her, heart in his throat, as she was strapped down securely to the gurney. The medical staff checked her pulse as they rushed her down to the infirmary.
“How is she?” Ressler asked, as he walked alongside the stretcher.
“Pulse is fast but strong, sir,” one of the men reported. “No other obvious signs of distress.”
Then what the hell had happened, he wanted to ask, but kept it to himself. Obviously that was what they would figure out as soon as they had the chance to give her a real examination.
The whole team aside from the doctors and nurses was stopped at the door to the room that served as their infirmary by a man Ressler recognized as the head doctor. “I'm sorry,” Dr. Martin said, holding up his hands. “I have to insist that everyone but the guards and my colleagues wait outside. The space just isn't big enough for this many spectators.”
With reluctance, Ressler stayed back. Once Liz's gurney was inside with the door shut, he took a breath and faced the Director. “Sir, can I ask what you're doing here?” he said bluntly. “I was under the impression our … cooperation was over.”
“It was,” the man said with a faint smile. “But then I heard you had captured Elizabeth Keen – which I congratulate you for, by the way. So I came to offer the Agency's assistance in interrogation, as well as a more secure site as I mentioned to your Agent Mojtabai.”
Ressler clenched his jaw. “Much as I appreciate the offer--” he started eyes narrowed.
“Gentlemen, we can discuss this once we have an update on Keen's condition,” Hitchin interjected. “And by 'discuss', I mean actual talking with each other rather than in this thinly-disguised territorial display.”
Before any of them could reply, all the lights went out. A second later, the emergency lights came on. Ressler barely restrained himself from swearing out loud as he looked around and reached for his weapon. “This can't be a coincidence.”
“No, I don't think so,” agreed the Director. He sounded both tense and smug. “I did offer you a more secure site, Agent Ressler.”
“This is hardly the time, Peter!” Hitchin said sharply. “Agent Ressler, I suggest you call for more backup, both here and at the entrances and exits to this place. I'll go make some calls to my people to see if there's been any chatter about this, and so should you, Peter.”
Ressler was already pulling out his phone to do what Hitchin had suggested. He checked in with both Aram and Samar. Aram promised he would have the power problem solved ASAP. Samar said she would lead one of the teams securing the exits and entrances. Just as Ressler was hanging up with her, he heard the distinctive sound of a gunshot – followed by two more, and then some shouts of dismay. They were nearby. And now there was an alarm going off.
Ressler gripped his own weapon, every sense on alert. There were no sounds of struggle from behind him, inside the room where Liz was, although there were some raised voices. One of these was Liz's. She was awake. But he couldn't afford to pay much attention to that right now – not when there was at least one gunman loose in the building.
Someone was coming closer. “Who's there?” Don called out. It was one person – no, two, based on the footsteps.
“Hello, Donald,” Reddington greeted, from around the corner. “I'm armed, as is Dembe. Your reinforcements are busy with a conflict elsewhere in the facility, which is also occupying Agents Navabi and Mojtabai. I must ask you not to try anything rash.” The din of the alarm stopped suddenly.
Gritting his teeth, Ressler lowered his gun – slightly – as Red and Dembe came into view. He could feel the wolf ready to emerge at a moment's notice. “I'm not just going to stand back and let you take her,” he warned. A tiny part of him wondered how Reddington had gotten Dembe out of his holding cell so quickly.
In the red glow of the emergency lights, Reddington's smile looked eerie. “Of course not,” the man said. “That would hardly look good on your record, and I still need you working on the inside. And believe it or not, Donald, my primary reason for disrupting your workday was not to rescue Elizabeth. I've already accomplished what I came for.”
That didn't sound promising at all. “And what was that?”
“Laurel Hitchin murdered Reven Wright earlier today, when the AG came to her house,” Red said, no trace of a smile on his face now. “I can only assume Wright had uncovered something suspicious about her old friend Laurel, though unfortunately she didn't share her discoveries with anyone else. Regardless, that was enough evidence to prove that Ms. Hitchin is in fact a part of the Cabal. Or more accurately, that she was.”
Ressler had to take a few seconds to absorb this shock. Hitchin had killed Wright? He swallowed, remembering Liz's words about not knowing who they could trust. So she was right. And yet he been planning to allow Hitchin and Wright to vet the judge who would oversee arranging Liz's travel to and from the courthouse for her hearing. A Cabal member. Then he realized what else Reddington had said. “Those shots – that was you killing Hitchin?”
“Yes.” He nodded once. “Just one of them, though. The other shots were my associates taking out the Director's guards so they could remove him from the premises.”
Staring, Ressler opened his mouth to ask what these 'associates' were going to do to the man, but Reddington interrupted. “Much as I understand your need to know more, now is not the time. I need to speak to Elizabeth.”
Don raised his weapon again, just a bit. “Uh huh. Except you're not just going to speak to her.”
Nodding again and looking not at all surprised at his reaction, Reddington glanced at Dembe. “Well, again, Donald, although you may have difficulty believing me, what happens to Lizzie after I speak to her largely depends on her.”
“What?” That was not, in fact, what he had expected to hear.
At that moment, the sound of multiple additional people approaching interrupted their conversation. “Ah,” said Reddington, when he saw Don raise his head. “That will be my backup arriving, I imagine. I'm sorry, Donald. I've instructed them not to harm you unless you give them reason to do so.”
Ressler once again felt the urge to transform, almost stronger than he could resist; he started to bare his teeth before he even realized. But instead he took a shaky breath and kept his gun pointed at Reddington until the five armed members of his crew came around the corner. Then, with a frustrated sigh, he holstered his gun and raised his hands.
“Very wise,” said Reddington. “Dembe and I won't be long, however this conversation goes.” With that, he, his bodyguard, and one other man entered the infirmary room.
As he was surrounded, and as his hands were pulled behind his back, Ressler didn't bother to try to look anywhere but the little window in the door leading to the room where Liz was. He didn't even look at the faces of the men who were holding him. Instead, he strained his ears, needing to know what the hell Reddington meant when he said the result of this visit would be up to her. But all he could hear at first was the sound of fighting – the guards in there being taken down, no doubt. At least there weren't any gunshots. And in fact, a few seconds later, he heard Red say, in a loud and commanding tone, “All right. I think we've made our point. No one here needs to do anything foolish, do they?”
After that, things got much quieter. Even though he was listening as hard as he could, Ressler couldn't distinguish any further individual words. All he could hear was Red's voice as he spoke to Liz, and Liz replying. Now it sounded like they might be arguing, though if so it wasn't very heated. Then, about twenty seconds later, the door opened again and Red, Dembe, and the other guy exited – without Liz.
“What the hell?” Ressler asked, with a cursory attempt to twist out of his guards' grip. “What did she say?”
Red gave him an unreadable look. Then he sighed and said, “I'm going to remind you of the promise you made to me, that you will do everything possible to make certain Elizabeth gets the benefit of every doubt. I've removed several threats, and the Cabal will be weaker without its Director. You have Karakurt in custody. But make no mistake: she is still in grave danger. You must find a way to see that her guards, drivers, and judge are as trustworthy as possible. Of course I'll help if I can in that regard.”
It finally dawned on him, what must have just happened. “You asked her if she wanted to leave, didn't you? And she said no.” The thought filled him with more warmth and something close to happiness than he had felt in a long while. She trusted him – and she didn't want to keep running.
“Don't let her down,” Red said. Then he met Don's gaze directly. “And don't let me down, either.” Don nodded, and the other man gave a very faint smile before glancing at his people who were surrounding the agent. “Time for us to go. Again, Donald, apologies, but it's best if I don't leave you the option of following us – especially knowing how very dogged you tend to be in your pursuit.”
Ressler ignored the little dig, focusing on where he could see this was going. “Oh, come on, Reddington,” he started to protest. Then the butt of a gun came down on the side of his head, and everything went dark.
~