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Language:
English
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Published:
2022-09-19
Completed:
2022-12-10
Words:
34,560
Chapters:
13/13
Comments:
126
Kudos:
175
Bookmarks:
18
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3,491

US

Summary:

In an alternate world, Red and Liz find themselves banded together to defeat a common enemy; within the intense fear each of them harbors for the safety of the other, they find themselves at odds with their choices. They are two sides of differing coins: one a self-admitted criminal, the other a law-abiding government agent. Will their different views ultimately destroy them? Or bring them closer together?

Notes:

Well, here I am, after taking a year off from everything Lizzington; to be honest, I never thought I'd be writing about these two again, but, the heart wants what the heart wants.....if youre out there, and still reading, bless your heart. I love you all; I guess its Red and Liz forever!

Chapter Text

“I’m a violent man, Tom.” The man sat in the uncomfortable chair aiming his weapon at Tom Keen’s heart. Raymond Reddington’s quiet rage was so palpable, you could feel it; like an aura surrounding him. The knowledge that his former employee had not followed specific directions to the letter when it came to his wife, Elizabeth, garnered no forgiveness from the man in the hat.

Madly in love with the FBI agent for years, Reddington had impatiently waited for Keen to make a mistake; he anticipated the right moment – and now that moment had come. Red needed justification in carrying out the execution of the man who’d betrayed him by marrying Elizabeth, a reprehensible offense. “You were supposed to watch over her. I paid you to keep her safe, protect her. You neglected to follow my direct orders…unforgivable, Tom.”

Reddington’s eyes, cold, flat and his deep voice, eerily calm, belied the fury that was a living thing in his heart. He noticed that the bound and gagged Keen was so terrified, the man peed his pants, leaving an unsightly mess on Elizabeth’s bedroom carpet.

Watching from her bed sat Elizabeth Keen, body trembling, but not in fear. Dressed only in panties and a tank top, her eyes glared at the man dressed in black. The criminal profiler in her began to study him, read his body language, which was stoic and self-contained. She’d known the man who’d surrendered himself to the FBI nearly three years before, day in, day out, assisting him in chasing, apprehending the perpetrators on Red’s list of miscreants. However, settling her gaze on him, she saw him for what he was: a master criminal, answering to no one, so powerful and lethal, one could feel it in the ether that surrounded him. She wasn’t naïve enough to imagine that Red would brook even a thread of forgiveness when it came to Tom.

A quick glance to her left, to the nightstand where her loaded weapon sat. Yet, intuition instructed her that if she chose to stop Red from killing her husband, she was no match for Reddington. Then it dawned on her: she had no desire to hurt Red, as he had never abused her the way Tom had. It had taken several months of convincing her, but Red had finally gotten through: Tom, unbeknownst to her, had been her enemy since day one. Red had provided all the evidence she’d needed to come to the fact that her husband, who’d she loved and had never lied or deceived, had, indeed, placed her on his own killing list, thanks to his alliance with Mathias Solomon.

Deep down, in her heart of hearts, Liz knew that Tom would die tonight at the hands of the infamous Raymond Reddington, the man who’d done nothing but protect her, respect her, and yes, love her.

And in her own strange, twisted way, she adored the man. Red would destroy Tom, and she was not to interfere. Tom had proved not worthy of her love, as Red had so decisively pointed out more than once. Her husband had been hired by Red to be her friend, to watch over her until Red could step in. However, Tom Keen, fourth grade schoolteacher who’d worn horn-rimmed glasses and pasted on a shy smile, had systemically turned on his wife, deceiving, lying, cheating, and yes, forcing her to have sex with him after she’d discovered his betrayal. His actions were unforgivable in her eyes, in Reddington’s as well. There would be no redemption for him, no mercy at the hands of Raymond Reddington.

It was Red’s mission in life to encounter his enemies head on, face to face, never leaving his mission to another: it was his calling card. She continued to absorb his masculine, stoic profile as if breathing in air. From his black-ribboned fedora to his Zegna tie and custom-made black suit, in addition to the sturdily hand-crafted brown shoes, the man was non-plussed as he pointed his gun at Tom, eyes devoid of all emotion or mercy. Reddington never failed to surprise and amaze her: She’d woken up in the middle of the night to find the concierge of crime pulling Tom from sleep and dragging him by the neck to a far corner of her bedroom and there, shoved into a chair. Reddington then slid another chair over to face his nemesis, gun pointed dead straight at his heart. The man was on a mission, and she dare not interfere.

Her gaze froze, then settled onto Reddington’s. Seeing him hold Tom prisoner shook something deep within her. As an agent of the government, she should have divorced him by now, had him arrested for abusing and nearly killing her; but Red had always been five steps ahead of every situation. Tom Keen, schoolteacher turned traitor and offender, had been thrust into Red’s sights, and there would be no stopping him. Tom’s fate was as certain as if carved in stone.

“Not only did you marry her.” Reddington’s voice broke the silence of the dark night with only moonlight to illuminate the room. His tone lowered to a frightening timbre, one brow raised for emphasis. “You involved yourself in dangerous business, and doing so, you’ve made Elizabeth a target for Solomon and his cohorts. Do you know by now that they have knowledge that she is your wife? An agent of the FBI? Do you know what they will do if they find her? Do you, Tom?!” He bellowed. “Do you ever think about anything but yourself?!”

Tom’s terror was so palpable, you could touch it. It was, indeed, a rarity when Reddington raised his voice; he had no need, except in this case, when Lizzie’s life was seemingly forfeit.

Again, Reddington’s gaze slid to Elizabeth. “Nothing to say, Agent Keen?”

She rested her palms on the bed, heart thudding so hard she could feel the throbbing in her breasts. Swallowing hard, she pulled up her legs, then pushed errant waves over her shoulders. Finding her voice, she fought through her anger and fear, lifting her chin to confront those stormy grey/green eyes that held danger and death, and dared to confront him. Shaking her head, she spared a look at the man she married, her eyes holding a blank stare, then returned her gaze to Red. “It’s just business.” She declared as a hint of evil satisfaction brightened Red’s eyes. “Isn’t it Tom? Remember what you told me after you beat the crap out of me?”

Red’s smile disappeared when hearing this declaration from Elizabeth. Liz had never told him that Tom had, indeed abused her on one occasion after she’d found out he wasn’t who he said he was: a traitor to their love, to their marriage, to everything she stood for. Now it was her turn. “Let me illuminate you. Remember when you found that I had drawn a heart in the dust on your shoes, and what did you say to me?” She watched Tom swallow, his face turn beet red, silently pleading with his wife to save him.

“Let me refresh your memory.” She spat. “You told me, ‘that’s when I knew I had you’.”

Red cocked the hammer on his Glock, and Liz saw him tense in the face of this revelation.

She was done talking, only lifted her eyes to Reddington and told him what he wanted to hear. “Value loyalty above all else.”

Reddington’s eyes centered on Elizabeth’s mouth, proud and strong, stirring arousal within him. Reluctantly he turned back to his prey. “Do you think I’d spare you because of her? Do you have any idea what you’ve done, Tom?”

Without waiting for an answer, Reddington meted out justice as he fired three shots into Keen’s heart, breaking the silence of the night, killing him instantly. A tiny coil of smoke from his gun snaked through the air, then dissipated into nothingness.

Reddington rose and never spared Tom a glance, then directed his words toward Elizabeth. “I granted him a degree of mercy that he did not deserve. Don’t look at me like that. Because of his stupidity, there’s nowhere you can hide.”

Silence ensued for a split second before he proclaimed. “Fortunately, I have the means in order to rectify that situation. It’s time to go, and you’re coming with me, Elizabeth….now.”

Elizabeth directed her gaze at her now dead husband, slumped over the chair, three bullets plummeted directly in his heart, as if a target had been drawn on his chest. Yet surprisingly, she felt nothing, and simply stared at the scene before her. Her hands shook, waiting for Reddington to approach her, not knowing what his plans for her now that Tom was gone. But she had a pretty good idea.

“Elizabeth. Look at me.”

And then, on a dime, his tone lowered, calm and almost endearing. Gun lowered at his side, he slowly and deliberately made his way toward the bed. Her hair was a silk mass of errant waves that cascaded back over her shoulder, making him itch to touch and sink his fingers through the strands, while his body stirred with awareness at her nearly naked image. He stopped just at the foot of the bed, and through the shades of moonlight, he tilted his head and spoke rhetorically.

“What do you want, Agent Keen? Tell me what you really want."

TBC