Author's Note: I do not own any of the characters. This story is purely for entertainment uses, I am not making any money off of this. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

Her body seems to fall in slow motion. He watches her fall, his mouth open in a silent scream of agony. All he can do is watch her fall, watch her lifeless body hit the ground. Finally he manages to say something, letting out a desperate scream, "Lizzy!"

Raymond Reddington awakens to hear the echo of his scream rebound through the empty house. He is covered in sweat and silent tears are streaming down his face. His racing heart rate starts to slow, but he can't shake the fear inside of him. In fact, it only seems to grow, until the man is quivering in fear. He grabs the burner cell off the bedside table and hits speed dial number one.

Liz knows she should be asleep. It is 3 o'clock in the morning and she is certain that Red will have a new name on the blacklist for her by tomorrow, but she is too afraid to sleep. Too afraid to succumb to the nightmares that visit her every time she closes her eyes. Everything that had happened in the last year is finally catching up to her.

Keeping Tom prisoner had been her last desperate attempt to regain control in her life, her last attempt to make sense of the situation she had been thrown into. But now Tom is gone, escaped to God knows where and Elizabeth Keen is left to face the mess all by herself. Never before had she felt more alone, and never before had she felt more unsure about her life.

Elizabeth Keen was always someone who had a plan, who knew where she was going next. But recently everything had hit her so fast, leaving her no time to adjust. She had felt crushed by her emotions, so naturally she had tried to isolate herself from them. And she had succeeded, but only succeeded at pushing them deep within herself. Now they are coming back out and are demanding to be felt. Liz had never been good with grief. Especially now that she has no one. Well not exactly no one, Liz thinks to herself.

Speak of the devil she thinks with a small smile on her face when her cellphone lights up for Nick's Pizza. It doesn't matter that it is 3 o'clock in the morning, it doesn't matter that whatever Red has to say will most likely be bad news, the only thing that matters is hearing his voice.

She is taken back momentarily to the scene on the ship as she picks up the phone, remembering the two of them fitting together perfectly as he rocked her back and forth slightly and she cried into his shoulder. "Hello Red," she says, trying to sound disinterested and as if he had just woke her up. She fails miserably.

"Lizzy," came Red's voice, low and filled with relief. Liz hears him let out a gentle sigh.

Alarmed she asks, "Is everything alright Red?" She hears a pause on the other side of the line.

"Yes, I'm fine," came Red's short reply. He suddenly sounds exhausted. Liz isn't sure how to respond so she sits there listening to his steady breathing on the other end.

"Red?" she finally questions.

"I have to go Lizzy; I will call you in the morning," Red says before he abruptly hangs up, cutting of Liz's response. Liz growls in frustration, glaring at her phone for a while before getting restless and deciding to try to get some sleep.

Red sits staring at his phone as well, lost in thought. He is angry at himself for losing control like that. He has always prided himself on being able to hide his emotions, but ever since Lizzy had entered his life- or rather he had entered hers- he's had a hard time controlling his feelings. It was frustrating to say the least.

He lays back down in bed, wondering when it would be an appropriate time to call her back. Then he asks himself why she had sounded so awake at 3'o clock in the morning. Curiosity gets the better of him and before he can really think it through he calls her back. It takes a few rings for her to pick up. He doesn't let her say hello, cutting her off with, "Why are you up, Lizzy?"

"What the heck, Red?" she answers, sounding more than a little annoyed and definitely tired.

"What are you doing up? It's 3'o clock in the morning," he repeats.

"I couldn't sleep," she answers immediately, regretting her answer almost as soon as it comes out of her mouth.

"I'm coming over," announces Red and then he hangs up to cut off her protests. Liz stares at her phone for the second time that morning, wondering if he is actually coming over. Regardless of whether he shows up or not, Liz knows there is no chance of her going to sleep now, so she decides to go make herself semi-presentable.

There is a knock on the door 15 minutes later. Liz opens the apartment door to see Red, missing his usual jacket and tie but still looking way better than anyone should be able to at what is now 4'o clock in the morning.

He strides into her crummy apartment with a wine bottle in hand. He goes straight into the kitchen, with Liz trailing behind looking a little lost. He places the wine bottle on the table and goes to rummage through the cabinets, finding them mostly empty. "Where do you keep your wine glasses, Lizzy?"

"Ummm I haven't really had time to unpack yet…" Liz states awkwardly. Red doesn't comment to Liz's relief and instead grabs two plastic cups and gestures to the table. Raymond Reddington inviting her to sit in her own house. How predictable, Liz thinks, but she gives him a resigned and tired smile and sits down.

Red pours a generous amount of liquid into each cup, then hands one to Liz. He takes a sip and studies the defined lines under Liz's eyes.

He knows that these past few weeks, past few months really, have been hard on her and he has done nothing to help her through it.

He lets out a heavy sigh, feeling Liz's eyes on him. They sit there drinking in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, and each enjoying each other's company.

Red breaks the silence first, speaking in a low and soft tone, "He was a good man, Fitch was. He made a few mistakes on his way to the top, but he was no monster. He felt every death he caused. He could still feel remorse, still feel regret. He just got in too deep."

Liz expects him to go on, but it seems that is all he is willing to say on the matter. "So what happens now?"

He fixes his penetrating gaze on her, "Now?"

"Now that Berlin is gone."

"Oh Lizzy, if there is one thing that is clear to me, it is that Berlin was just the tip of an iceberg. A very nasty, very large iceberg. Recent events have stirred things up. I can feel it."

"We are starting to worry some powerful people, Lizzy. And while that is a good thing- it means that we are succeeding, it also means that we are no longer safe. The people we are angering are very dangerous people, who have even farther reaching resources than myself. We are playing with fire here."

Red has a deep frown on his face, looking deeply concerned. Liz has no idea how to comfort him so she just says, "We have the resources of the entire FBI on our backs; at least that's something."

"That certainly is something," he responds with a small smile.

"So, where do we start?" Liz asks, eager to throw herself back into to work to avoid her life for a little while longer.

"Eager, are we?" Red says with a little smirk, "I must admit, I was thinking you might want a little time to yourself, but I do have the first name if you're so inclined to get back to work immediately."

Liz nods.

"I'll get you the information in the morning," Red promises. Liz glances at the clock. It is 5 am.

Red smiles, following her gaze. "Fine just one more glass and then I'll go get it." He refills both their plastic cups with more wine then is acceptable to drink at this hour, and Liz drains her cup rather quickly.

Liz is at the black site by 7'o clock, armed with a folder full of information on their newest blacklister: James Tuckett. He is number 179, rather low on the backlist, but Red insists that he needs to be taken out first. He is a fairly popular American diplomat. According to Red, he uses his power to smuggle all types of cargo in and out of the country. He will smuggle anything for a price- including people. James Tuckett himself isn't too dangerous, but he has friends in high places and has managed to escape many lower charges placed against him.

James is going to be in town for a party for all the higher-ups in the embassy. And guess who else has a spot on the list- Liz, who will be posing as the daughter of a wealthy government official who couldn't make it. Liz's job is to get Tuckett drunk and then seduce the information out of him.

Cooper had organized the plan with the promise of Ressler and Samar posted outside for backup. Red had been mysteriously missing during the planning, having stepped out almost an hour ago to "make a phone call."

Just as they're finalizing the plan, Red steps back into the war room, "What's the plan?" he asks with a cocky grin on his face. Ressler clenches his jaw; Red never seems to fail to get on his nerves.

Cooper explains and Liz watches the cocky grin start to fade off Red's face when Cooper tells him Liz's job is to seduce the target.

He cuts in, "James is not someone you can mess with, I would not advise sending in someone to seduce him. He can get rather… pushy when drunk."

"That's why we will have Agent Ressler and Agent Navabi stationed outside," states Cooper, staying calm under Reddington's murderous glare.

Red turns to Liz, "Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asks her quietly. His gaze sends chills down her spine as she makes eye contact.

"I'm fine Red, I know how to seduce someone," Liz says dismissively. Cooper glances between the two of them, his gaze suspicious.

"I guess it's settled then. Agent Keen, be here and ready by 6o' clock. A limo will take you from here to the hotel where the party is being held."

"I want to be in the van," Red states more as a command than a request. Cooper just sighs resignedly and nods.

"Be here at 6."