Chapter Text
The man in the heavy down zippered jacket, thick gloves and knit cap to keep out the cold winter wind, watched as the young, dark haired rookie FBI agent rushed from the taxi and made her way toward the airport terminal. He knew from sources that her seminar in Denver had gone way over schedule, aware that she’d already missed her flight back to Washington D.C.
Dragging a single piece of wheeled luggage behind her, he noted that she rushed to the terminal, unaware that it had already been cancelled. It being New Year’s Eve, traffic and the light insistent snow fall created a chaotic, messy winter wonderland everywhere you looked. Looking up at the board of arrivals and departures, he suppressed an inward smile, satisfied with the fact that he had the ways and means of getting her home.
From a distance in the large area, he focused intently on only her, making sure he’d be close by and ready to approach her when she was notified her flight had been cancelled.
###
Breathless and anxious, Elizabeth Scott finally approached the deserted gate; no one had to tell her she’d been too late.
“I’m sorry, Miss Scott, but that was the last flight out today.” The amiable uniformed attendant told her. “I can put you on a ‘will-call’ for early tomorrow morning.”
“That’s too late.” Liz rolled her eyes. “I’m getting married tomorrow. It’s New Year’s Day. How about a flight to New York, then I can rent a car and drive to D.C. from there?”
“Sorry.” The flight attendant apologized. “You should have arrived earlier. The last flights to JFK and Newark have just departed. All additional flights from here on in are grounded, unfortunately.”
“Shit.” She frowned and thanked the attendant, then grabbed her luggage and rolled it to a nearby chair, slumped into one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs, and gave out a frustrated sigh as she pulled off her gloves and struggled to collect her thoughts.
Pulling out her cell, she called Tom, delivered the bad news, and promised to be home as soon as she was able. Disappointment clearly dotted his voice, and she sniffed back tears, sadness engulfing her. After all, she’d felt so lucky to have found the love of her life. She simply couldn’t imagine finding a more perfect man to spend the rest of her life with.
###
As Raymond Reddington settled his gaze upon her, his heart skipped, rejoicing in the fact that after all these years, he'd found himself this close to her. She was tall and lean, lovely mink-colored hair falling over her shoulders; he didn’t have to be told that those eyes of hers mirrored deep sapphires. What he couldn’t abide by, however, was the sadness that seemed to permeate her entire being, and the fact that she was under the impression that she’d be stuck in an airport terminal until tomorrow. He needed to aid her, to be present for her, as he’d been since her childhood. It mattered not that she didn’t know him, that he’d been there since the night of the fire; he’d sworn to Sam he’d look after her, especially after what she’d done that fateful night, over twenty-five years before. He wasn’t going to back off now.
Tugging off his heavy insulated gloves, he slipped on his black-rimmed eyeglasses, cleared his throat and straightened. Nature had taken care of her cancelled flight, and maybe fate had smiled on him, allowing him to do something for her.
There was no way that she could know him, although a tiny spark in his mind kept nagging at him that she was now FBI. He’d kept track of her education and proud of the fact that she’d been in the top five percent of her class all through college. Now, a recent graduate of the Academy, he would assist her, be with her, even for a scant few hours. She planned to marry Tom Keen tomorrow, and that, in and of itself, presented a problem for him.
He knew who and what Tom Keen was, or better yet, what he wasn’t; he also knew that she was in love with the grammar schoolteacher. He couldn’t stop the wedding; he knew that now, and if marrying him made her happy, then so be it. He’d be protecting her from the shadows, always there if she needed assistance. In the meantime, he could spend a bit precious time with her, talk with her, get to know her. It was a small thing, but it would have to be enough. If he had the power within himself to keep her from marrying Keen, it wouldn’t take a moment’s time to eliminate him. A blink of an eye, and Tom Keen would be no more.
But Raymond Reddington, number four on the FBI’s most wanted list, would do nothing to bring sadness or grief into Elizabeth’s life. He didn’t have the right to hurt her. All he could do was protect her from afar, and he’d continue doing so as long as there was breath in his body.
For now, he was just a stranger with the best of intentions: getting her back to Washington, and making sure that she was home, safe and sound. Hell, he’d hired the man to be Elizabeth’s friend, not to fall in love with her. Red’s blood boiled when he entertained the thought that Tom had gone against all of Red’s demands, and it had taken all his strength of will not to eliminate him.
Dismissing his negative thoughts, he gazed at her as she made her way to an empty chair in the crowded terminal. Many would be sleeping on the floor or in an available chair, uncomfortable and frustrated at being trapped in this place until tomorrow.
Many, maybe, but not Elizabeth.
###
“Excuse me? Miss.”
Liz looked up at the sound of a deep, male timbered voice. She spied the bespeckled, handsome older man standing before her, legs slightly apart, dressed for winter, complete with hiking boots, hooded zippered jacket, holding heavy wool gloves in one hand.
“Yes?”
Tiny smile lines fanned out from his intense green eyes. “I couldn’t help overhear that you’ve missed your flight to Dulles.”
A frown marred her lovely features as she squinted. He looked very familiar. Where had she seen him before? Within seconds, she knew exactly who he was. The nerve of this man, this fugitive from justice, approaching her. No wonder he was called the ‘concierge of crime’.
Her first instinct was to excuse herself gracefully, and call the FBI, have him detained and arrested.
Yet….yet….something kept her from doing so. She had no idea what that reason could be. So she played along – for the moment. “Are you in the habit of listening to people’s conversations, Mr….?
He ignored her request for a name and continued. “Not at all.” He chuckled lightly. “I’d just concluded a meeting with a business acquaintance here in Denver and couldn’t help but notice all flights out have been cancelled until tomorrow.”
Her body language changed ever so subtly, and her slightly imperceptible nod drove him to continue. “I know we are strangers and if I were you, I’d be very wary of an outsider approaching you in this fashion, but I can assure you that I’m a perfectly harmless businessman who just happens to own a private plane, and I’m heading back to Washington D.C.” Not waiting for her answer, he added, “I’d be happy to have you join me.”
“What about the weather? If many of these flights have been cancelled, how do you expect to fly out here?”
“You can trust me.”
“Is that so?”
His eyes widened in a bemused fashion as she looked into those stormy green orbs and silently profiled him: A loner, wealthy beyond means, and highly intelligent. She sensed a degree of danger, combined with inane sense of right and wrong. Instinct, strong and deep, told her that he meant her no harm.
He nodded. “It’s not so much the weather, but the holiday air traffic that has fouled up the flying schedule, not to mention the snow, yet I assure you that I am a man of my word. No harm will come to you if you fly back to Washington with me. I’ll have a car waiting to take you to your home, this way you can prepare for your – wed-wedding.” He seemed to stumble over the word.
Should she take a chance with this man? Get on a plane and fly for over five hours in order to get home? To get back to Tom? Back in time for her wedding?
The answer was simple: “Yes.”
###
As he continued to watch her body language, the way she looked at him, he knew she was profiling him. Good. He wanted her to be a little leery of a stranger.
He also needed her to trust him to get her home safe and sound, even if it was to marry Keen. Somehow, he’d deal with that situation when they arrived in Washington.
Watching her as she rose from the chair, hope rose in his heart.
“Just so you know, I am an FBI agent, and have in my possession a licensed firearm. I’m also trained in extensive martial arts. Are we clear?”
He held back an amused chuckle and nodded somberly. “Duly noted and understood.”
As he grabbed her luggage with his left hand, he presented his right one to her. “A pleasure to meet you. My name is Kenneth Rathers.”
So that was how it was going to be? Elizabeth pursed her lips, clearly ambivalent. So, his little ploy of deception was rather unusual, but not criminal. She took a beat, and after an infinitesimal moment, her decision made, she reached for his hand.
“A pleasure, Mr. um, Rathers.” She felt her fingers engulfed within his large warm grip.
Two could play this game.
“My name is… Josephine…Josephine Sullivan.”
#####