"The Virtuoso"

A sudden change

The very next Saturday, Mona sat at Raymond's table. She tried her best to remain calm, she knew that she was being watched. She had a mission to complete, after all. Every time the door opened she would look up, anxiously awaiting his arrival. As if right on cue, Raymond and Dembe walked through the doors. She was wearing a vibrant long red dress, plain and not showing much skin. Her gaze met Raymonds and her otherwise serious face lit up into a bright smile. She raised her hand to greet him and they approached the table. Raymond sat down next to her, Dembe seated on his right side. She took off her coat and said " It's good to see you again" "I feel the same" he said. " Will you be gracing us with another tune?" "Perhaps" she said " I was hoping you could pick the song." " Oh that is a loaded question!" Raymond said, laughing heartily. "My music taste changes with the seasons" A text made her phone buzz. "Excellent my Mona. Now we wait." She knew that in the dark corner of the club, the right hand man on the other end of the phone was observing her, making sure she didn't fail. After a brief moment of silence Raymond cleared his throat and said "Dembe this is Mona! The wonderful pianist I met last week" Dembe shook her hand. "Raymond has not stopped talking about you" Raymond laughed and said " Oh please Dembe you make me seem obsessed. It's not every night I meet someone as talented as this young lady." He gestured toward Mona in a way that made her cast her eyes down to hide her blushing cheeks. "And I see you ordered my new favorite wine! Thank you!" He raised his glass in a toast but before he could say anything Mona reached across the table and threw the glass to the ground. In an instant, the sound of gunfire erupted throughout the club. The henchman that lay in wait was firing his gun in the air to get everyone to leave. He had one target: Raymond. Raymond ducked out of sight, gun drawn from his jacket. Dembe had his gun drawn as well. "Raymond Reddington!" the man screamed. As he fired his gun, glasses shattered, bullet holes blasted through the walls. Raymond and Dembe were calculated in the way they fought back. Raymond noticed that Mona was laying on the ground among the debris, motionless. His eyes widened and he shot the henchman directly in the head, showing no mercy. Both of them out of breath, Dembe gathered Mona in his arms and said, "Raymond, she's been shot. We need to get her to a safe house." They both exited the club swiftly and once they got to the car, Dembe laid her down gently in the back seat. She was shot in the shoulder and she lost a lot of blood. Raymond immediately grabbed some tourniquet material and wrapped her wound tightly. "I don't know what happened back there, but clearly she was the catalyst of some kind of assassination attempt on my life. I can't let her die. I need an answer as to why." Raymond immediately called Mr. Kaplan, telling her what had happened. "Raymond, I know you're not going to want to hear this, but the owner must have sold you out." Mr. Kaplan said, her voice steady and firm. "Dembe and I will take care of the girl. You need to get answers. Somebody wants you dead. Whether or not this girl is a part of it is irrelevant. You need answers." As she hung up Raymond was silent. "Raymond we're here." Dembe said, breaking the silence. The doors burst open and the medical staff began shouting orders at each other, taking Mona away. Raymond and Dembe walked in together. "Raymond what the hell just happened back there?" "Dembe, I have no idea, but we need to find out. The last thing I need is another bounty on my head." He walked over to the surgical room. Against the sterile white backdrop of the room, her red dress and her aura was striking against it. The doctor approached Raymond and said " She's going to be alright. You did a good thing by wrapping her wound tight. We put her away in the recovery room if you want to see her." Raymond thanked him and headed to the recovery room. She was changed into warmer clothes, laying down against the white sheets, monitors beeping quietly in the background. He walked over to her and sat in the chair next to the bed, gripping her hand. Dembe knocked softly at the open door . "I'm going to stay here until she wakes up. I don't want her to feel alone ever again. She's been through a lot. She's caught up in all this madness and I want to give her the answers she needs. I need answers as well." Raymond said, not taking his eyes off of Mona while he held her hand. Dembe's face was solemn as he said, " Raymond, we need to proceed with caution. This clearly was a threat to your life. Yes, this woman didn't follow through, which means someone put her up to it, but what if her intentions with you are anything but safe." Raymond took a deep breath in and out then said, "Well let's just hope she comes in peace when she recovers. I'll decide what to do with her then." "Alright" Dembe replied, shutting the door behind him. Raymond looked out the window. "It's almost sunrise," he said out loud. "The promise and hope of a new day."

As the sunlight streamed through the blinds of the room, Mona stirred and moved her head slightly. Raymond was falling asleep in the recliner across the room, but immediately woke up and was at her side. She opened her eyes and tried to get up, but winced at the pain in her shoulder. " Just relax," Raymond said softly. "You're safe. You're at my safe house. You were shot, but you'll be alright. I've brought you here because I need some information from you. Now I don't plan on harming you, you have obviously been set up to try to kill me. This hasn't been the first attempt on my life and it certainly won't be the last." Suddenly Mona burst into tears. She was trying to speak, but because she was in hysterics, Raymond couldn't make out the words. "Please stop." she sobbed, covering her eyes with her hands. "This is all my fault. I was ordered to kill you and I don't even know who you are. I poisoned your wine with cyanide. I couldn't do it. I just wanted this to all go away." Raymond tried his best to remain calm. She didn't go through with the attempt but nevertheless, she was a part of it. There must be someone behind it. "Mona, who ordered you to kill me? I need a name." Raymond said, trying his best to keep his voice calm. "I can't tell you. I can't." "Mona please, I just need a name." his voice raised slightly. Suddenly the monitors started beeping rapidly. Mona's eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her whole body started to shake. The medical staff ran in immediately. "She's extremely weak and under great distress. We have to sedate her." One of the nurses injected fluid into her arm and her body relaxed. Dembe came into the room, looking very concerned. Raymond took in a sharp breath to gather himself then asked, "Any word from the team?" "Nothing yet," Dembe replied. "There is a lot of damage from the fight. The bar owner is refusing to cooperate at the risk of giving up his clients identities. He is more worried about the damages to his place and who is going to pay for the repairs." "That sounds about right."Raymond said, rolling his eyes. "Is she alright?" Dembe asked, gesturing towards Mona. "I'm afraid not. And I'm even more afraid to report that she was not just some random encounter. She was sent to kill me. Events have been set in motion, and there is no way of stopping them."

Mr. Kaplan came into the room where Mona lay recovering. Raymond was standing in front of the fireplace, watching the flames dance against the logs. "Raymond, how is she?" she asked quietly. "I tried my best to get an answer out of her. I'm afraid I went too far and she had a seizure of some sort. She's heavily sedated and she's being administered medication through her I.V. to try and stabilize her. I feel terrible, Kate." He shook his head and looked at Mona. "I'm sure she will be alright." Mr. Kaplan replied "I really think you need to consider the gravity of this situation. I have a sick feeling that the owner of that jazz club betrayed you. That girl is not a criminal. She was simply a distraction, she was sent there to do you harm." As Mr. Kaplan spoke, Raymond listened intently, nodding slowly. " I have to pay him a visit. We need to have a civilized discussion." Mr. Kaplan was serious, but a small smile crept at the corners of her mouth. " I know what the words civilized discussion means, and it's definitely not in your vocabulary." Raymond started to walk out of the room. As he walked past her, he put his hand on her shoulder. " I will do what is necessary. In the meantime, I don't want the FBI sticking their nose where it doesn't belong. This needs to be handled quickly."