RED

Chapter 9

“Are you sure you want this, sweetheart?” Red asked, aware every tiny reaction of her body language.

“This is the only way I can save you.” she smiled at him and touched his cheek.

“I don’t want you to do this because I might…” he protested but she cut him with a simple, lingering kiss on his lips.

“Red, I don’t believe in…this anymore maybe I never did. But I know one thing; I love you and I don’t want to lose you.”

“People will judge”

“I know”

“You career could be destroyed by this.”

“I know”

“If we do this, there will be no turning back.” he warned her again.

“Red…”

“We shouldn’t do this…I put you in grave danger.” he murmured.

“I’m already in grave danger.” she chuckled.

“I don’t deserve you.” he said with a sad smile but happy eyes.

“Oh, no you don’t.” she laughed and took a deep breath. “Shall we get started?”

Red kissed her forehead and with clenched fingers they stepped in…

…Three days earlier…

Hard hit on the head. Scream. Unconsciousness.

Our head was warm,

My skin was soaked.

I called your name 'til the fever broke.

When I awoke

The moon still hung.

The night so black that the darkness hummed

It was dark and his head pounded like hell. The night slowly entered to the valley; the contour of the woods, which usually gave him some kind of peace and blissful calm, now frightened him even through the windows. He had just realized that he was lying on the floor, in the middle of the bedroom.

However his body refused every movements and his brain cried out in pain he helped himself up and leaned against the wall. Red felt as a wet thing made small torrent down on his temper. He was bleeding. He felt dizzy and light-headed, very close to throw up. He took deep breaths until the dizziness faded a bit and tried to concentrate on what had happened.

I raised myself.

My legs were weak.

I prayed my mind be good to me.

Some memory came up with confused pictures about a silent noise as the front door had opened…as a hard object had hit his skull while he had been kissing his woman. He still remembered the soft lips on his. Her lips.

Lizzie.

His heartbeat quickened and desperately looked around; no one was there with him.

“Eliza!” his voice was small but raw. He staggered toward the door and went out. The chilly winter air enveloped his body and shivered immediately because he only wore his three piece suit without the jacket but he didn’t really care until he would find Lizzie.

“Eliza!” he yelled as much as his lungs and throbbing head allowed but she didn’t appear. After a minute or two he heard a quiet whimpering from the car. Red didn’t even remember when Dembe had returned. He went to the car where he saw Dembe lying silently as his blood colored the fresh white snow around him. He had been hit with a sharp thing at his lower belly, on the left side.

“Dembe, what happened?” he asked silently as he crouched next to his friend.

“Lottie.” he whispered. He was so tired and the only thing he wanted was sleeping.

“Where is Lizzie?” the knot in his throat tightened as he saw that Dembe was shuddering; his vital and strong body started giving up the fight as less and less blood remained in him.

“Took her… Can’t help… sorry.” Dembe whispered and licked his lips.

“No, no, it’s not your fault.” Red hushed him and reached out the phone from Dembe’s pocket then he dialed Cooper. “Harold I need you to listen to me. Lottie found us. Tell Aram to locate this phone and send the local ambulance as soon as possible. Dembe lost a lot of blood and Lizzie is kidnapped.”

An awful noise

Filled the air.

I heard a scream in the woods somewhere.

At that moment the silent night filled with a painful ‘NO!’.

“Lizzie…” Red murmured as he looked toward the source of the scream. He turned back to Dembe and hesitated for a moment; he couldn’t leave him there alone but it took minutes while the paramedics would arrive and maybe during the time that psychopath would kill Lizzie.

“Go. She needs you.” Dembe whispered.

Red lifted the phone to his ear again and thankfully Cooper was still there.

“Harold, please, hurry.”

“Will do” One thing among others which Red liked in Cooper was that he never argued when it was emergency. Red dropped the phone next to Dembe and he stood up.

A woman's voice!

I quickly ran

Into the trees with empty hands.

His dear Lizzie yelled again; Red could tell that she was angry and she was in pain. Now his physical system didn’t care about his wound because it got the necessary adrenaline rush and Red ran into the woods. It was full moon and the snow did its wonderful job; show the trails and with the reflection, created a small light so Red could see the features of everything. The first parts of the trails were messy because the bastard must have dragged Liz on the ground.

Fresh adrenalin rush because of the anger.

Red always knew that a psychopath was in him, too and he knew one day it would burst out; this night he would let the animal drive him. He had been running for minutes when he stopped and listened carefully; small voices and colorful words. They could have been in front of him, maybe hundred meters away. He hunched and carefully approached them. They were at a small glade and Lizzie was tied up against a tree. Lottie kneeled in front of her while she desperately tried to kick him. She only wore an opened blouse with jeans and boots; Red could see her white bra and something dark which crossed her torso.

“Scream again, darling. I want our dear friend to hear your screams.” Lottie laughed and knotted the rope at her ankles.

“Let me go you son of a b***h or…” she shouted but Lottie slapped her. It looked like Lottie hadn’t hurt her yet.

“Or what? Do you kill me?” he laughed again and turned around to put down something on a log. Red had to be careful because one wrong move and Lottie would notice his presence in the bushes. Lottie opened the item and the steels of knives shined in the moonlight. Red had to think and create a plan as fast as he could.

“You know, I never liked the guns; it’s such a boring thing. Bam and you die. Simple and fast. But the knives…it’s another story. Torturing a human being with a knife is a complete art.” Lottie picked up a knife and let the moonlight caress it for a moment then he turned around and approached Lizzie again. “You shouldn’t have destroyed my life. You and those Musketeers at the FBI...and Redmill. It’ll be pleasure to kill him after I drag him here and show him your little tatters. Or maybe I let you live a little until he shows up and then I’ll kill you. What do you think, darling?” his voice was calm and he was collected. The only evidence of his sociopath self was how he spoke about torture and murder.

“Go to hell” she hissed.

“I’m going to. I think I have an already reserved suit there.” he laughed again. “But only after you, my darling.” and raised his hand to attack her with the knife when Lottie heard as a bough silently crackled under someone’s weight behind him. He turned around and attacked Red but he wasn’t lucky because Red was faster and slipped out from the way of the knife and hit Lottie’s nose with his fist.

Lottie fell down and kicked Red’s ankles so he fell down as well. Red hit his already wounded head and Lottie took advantage of the situation; swiftly he straddled Red’s waist and smashed his knife down. Luckily it landed next to Red’s head and at the second hit Red stopped Lottie’s hand with his. The edge of the knife was close to Red’s chest.

Red twisted the knife from his palm and a second later Lottie was under him. Red reached for the knife. Lottie protested but he was weaker and the knife slowly ended his life. Red collapsed next to Lottie and slipped into the dark again.

###

Two hours later Lizzie was in the house again, with blanket around her shoulder and a mug of hot tea in her hands. Everybody was running back and forth outside; the FBI, the local policemen, paramedics and coroners.

The shock was slowly faded but she still couldn’t stop the shivers. She felt the same when the Stewmaker had tortured her. It had been Red who had saved her like he did it again and he almost paid with his life. He was lying in the bed, still unconscious. Luckily the wound on his head wasn’t that bad but he needed an X-ray so now they had been waiting for the ambulance which had taken Dembe to the nearest hospital to return and took them as well.

She just sat next to the bed and watched him. Her heart almost fell apart when she realized that tonight she almost lost him again. She wanted to touch him, to lie down close to him but she couldn’t because a gentle caress would have told the others about their relationship. So she just continued watching him.

A gentle squeeze on her shoulder interrupted her confused thoughts.

“Agent Kol, are you all right?” Cooper asked and sat next to her.

Stupid question, both of them knew.

“I’ll be as soon as I get home and took a bath.” she tried smiling at him but it was more a grimace.

“What did they say about Redmill?”

“The doctor said that he would be all right. He needs some rest.” she tried to hide her emotions.

“Agent Ressler had caught Lottie’s associates but he escaped somehow. We tried to call you and Red but it was late. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s over now.”

“Unfortunately, no.” Cooper whispered and Liz furrowed her brows.

“What?”

“Looks like Walter Martin caught Red. He committed a crime.”

“It was self-defense!” she hissed. She knew it wasn’t because Lottie had been unarmed so it wasn’t necessary to kill him but hell; she would have killed him, too!

“Would you turn this evidence against the coroner’s report?”

“I’ll refuse the testimony.”

“You can’t do that.” he said with matter-of-fact.

“I don’t care! He saved my life and if he hadn’t showed up I would have been in that black bag in pieces instead of Lottie!” she tried to hold her voice low – Cooper was her boss after all.

“You’re right. Walter would do anything to become senator and it would be a grand help if he could catch a most wanted criminal like Redmill. I called my wife after I figured this out. As you know she’s a lawyer and I asked for an advice. Redmill is not a good person but after what he did to us, to the FBI he doesn’t deserve the jail either. There’s a way we could save him. Before the police arrived you had freed yourself, am I right?”

“Yes.”

“So you’ll be a suspect, too.”

“A suspect?!”

“It’s a good news, believe me.”

And he spoke as quiet as he could. He told his plan and Liz was flabbergasted.

“I know it’s a big request, even from Red but if you want to save him, It’s the only way. And regarding your, let’s say special relationship with him…”

“What do you mean under…”

“Agent Kol, please. I’m not stupid and I have eyes.” he smiled but it didn’t help to ease her nerves.

“Since when?” she asked quietly.

“Three months ago. I left something in my office and when I came back at the evening I saw you kissing him on the lips in the elevator. From there I started watching your cases, every business on the computers, even the reports you made. But I found nothing; you continued your job like before and so did Red. Somehow it was a predictable movement. It meant no harm and your personal life is not my business.”

She really didn’t know what to say but a great relief ran through her because she had been afraid that she would lose her job if they were find out her relationship with Red.

“As I said the choice is yours. But you have to make it fast.” Cooper said.

“I talk with Red and if he agrees we’ll do this. Thank you, sir.” a happy teardrop left her eye while all she wanted to do was hug her boss but she refused the urge.

Cooper nodded and stood up. He was at the door when he spoke again.

“This conversation never happened.” he said and Liz turned around.

“What conversation?” she smiled.

###

The following day Red slowly opened his eyes; he wasn’t in the woods anymore and wasn’t lying on the cold blanket of snow either. Soon he realized that he was in a hospital room and something was in his hand. He slowly turned his still throbbing head toward his palm and sighed in relief; he found her hand.

“Hey.” she smiled at him and kissed his temple.

“Hey.” he whispered and coughed a bit. Liz gave him some water and helped him lie back.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I was hit by a bus. Three times.” he murmured. “Dembe?”

“He is alive. He had a terrible night but he’ll get well.”

“What about you?”

“I’m fine. Tired, but fine.” she kissed him again while she tried not to cry.

He lazily looked around and his eyes caught the two agents at his door.

“Am I under arrest?”

“Both of us. We’re suspects of murdering Lottie. The evidences are against us.”

“We have to leave as soon as possible.” he tried to sit but she held back gently.

“We don’t have to. There is a grey area at the law which can help us but there’s something we have to do.”

“I’m listening.”

###

Three days later they could slip out from the hospital and went to one of Red’s ‘friend’ who would help them.

“I don’t deserve you.” he said with a sad smile but happy eyes.

“Oh, no you don’t.” she laughed and took a deep breath. “Shall we get started?”

Red kissed her forehead and with clenched fingers they stepped in…

###

They stood next to each other when the judge came in to the court room but their lawyer hadn’t arrived yet. Thankfully the media wasn’t there; they would get to know the case after the trial.

“Good morning everyone.” the judge was a woman in her late forties. She started to read the documents when somebody entered the courtroom with big bravado.

“Sorry, I’m late you Honor. If I had known that you’ll be the judge I would have hurried.” the man took a predatory gaze on the judge then turned to Red and Lizzie.

Liz nearly dropped her jaw when she saw their lawyer.

“You must be Eliza.” he used his charm at her, too and Liz couldn’t help but slightly blushed as he kissed her knuckles. “I heard about you but the reality is much more….” he took a deep breath and let his eyes wandering on her for a moment. “Better.” he smiled at her then he turned to Red. “Looks like you’re in trouble again.” when Red wanted to answer the judge interrupted them.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Alan Shore.”

While Alan spoke to the judge Liz leaned to Red.

“Is he…”

“Yes.” he interrupted. “He’s my brother.” They had had a long night at the hospital when Red had asked her to call Alan and after that Red had told everything; Alan had changed his name after Red had become a wanted criminal. Their relationship had never been the best but when one of them had been in trouble, they helped each other.

“You Honor, before we start this beautiful morning with a difficult case I give you my client’s request.”

“What is it say?”

“They keep each other from testifying against them.”

“In what legal basis?”

“Spousal testimonial privilege.” Alan said and the other lawyer jumped from his seat.

“Objection!”

“Here is their document about the registration of marriage which happened two days earlier than the crime.”

Red’s ‘friend’ was a priest and they had got married; it hadn’t been a big ceremony but both Red and Liz had felt it had been one of the best days of their life. Their rings had been the same which they had used at the undercover; Red had kept them in the hope that someday he would give her again and she would want to keep it forever. That day had come but unfortunately they had had to cancel their honeymoon.

The judge took a look on it and turned to the other lawyer.

“Objection denied. We’ll continue this tomorrow afternoon.” she stood up and left.

Tomorrow would bring the trial of the century…