"Tom, I'm not coming." Liz said quietly into the speaker of her phone as she parked her car. She'd just arrived at what was now her new home, if she could even call it a home. Tom called as soon as he got to Nebraska to find that Liz wasn't there
"What?" Tom asked as if he couldn't hear her.
"Tom I'm not coming to Nebraska." She exhaled strongly. There was a short pause.
"Liz, we've been planning this. You were even getting exctied; you can't just change your mind like this."
"I didn't Tom....I've." She paused to try and find the right words. "This wasn't just an overnight choice."
"So what, you've been planning this?" His voice was getting more and more frustrated by the second.
"Tom, I..."
"Liz, you're coming to Nebraska. We've already sold the house. The new family is moving in on Sunday, you can't just stay there."
"I'm not staying. I'm leaving D.C...." She debated telling him where she was staying but quickly shot the thought away. "I just.... I have to do something."
"You have to do soemthing?" He was really angry now. "What on earth must you do that you can't do here?"
She stopped once more. Maybe, if she explained it the right way, he'd understand. Sure, he'd still be pissed, but at least he would know it's not his fault. Then she remembered what Red had told her. "Be careful of your husband." She trusted Red. She didn't want to, never in her life did she think she'd take a criminal's advice to help her leave her husband. But things were different. She had to find Red.
"Please at least tell me why." he pleaded, his voice gentle once more. "At least tell me where you are."
"I'm sorry Tom, I have to go."
"Liz, let's talk about this, we can get do whatever you have to do together."
"Tom, my mind's made up. I have to do this. Alone." and with that, the line went dead as her shaking hand hit the end button. She relaxed as she realized it was over. Yes, Tom was crushed, and things may never be the same, but it was over. She got out of her car to the sound of honking cars and crisp cool air, and walked to the apparment complex. After talking to the man at the front desk, and paying for the month's rent, she walked out into the cold and started bringing in her boxes.
Why New York? She honestly didn't know. She'd lived here breifly with Tom, though it didn't last because he hated the crowds. But for some reason, the rush, and chaos made her feel somewhat safe. It was also where Ressler now lived. After the insident in DC, he was reassigned here, and had offered to help her get back into the swing of things. She hadn't told him about her plan to find Red, (she figured it'd be best to not tell anyone) but if she needed a file, or something that could help her, he'd be there.
As she started hauling in her boxes, she started to think about what she would do. When she had planned it out, it sounded somewhat simple. Get to New York: with Ressler, and all of the resources in this city, she had everything she needed. She'd taken a leave of absence from work, simply so she could still have her badge. It may not be legit anymore, but she could still use it to her advantage. She had no intention of going back.
As for finding Red, she didn't really know where to start. Calling his old phone, she didn't even have to try to know it wouldn't work. Red was a genius, and even an idiot would get rid of it. She started thinking about all of the aliases he could use. She knew of about 6 of his, and those are just the one's he shared with the FBI. Chances are, he had 20 if not more. To try and figure them all out would be time consuming, and might not even work.
Where would he go? She tried to think back as far as she could to remember if he'd ever mentioned somewhere. Somewhere he grew up, someplace he really loved. Anywhere. He had a family. She remembered that much. Maybe she could trace where they lived back then, and go from there?
Liz exhaled as she realized she'd have to get Ressler in on this. She couldn't do this alone. She just hoped he'd be able to her her without making a mess. As she closed the trunk of her car, pulling out the box, she looked around to see all of the people rushing by. How many of these people had an issue like her's? All of these people here, she couldn't be the only one going through something. Could she reach out to one of them? There were over 1 million people living in Manhattan. Surely one of them could understand her, or tell her that she made the right choice. But that's the thing about big cities, she thought. You can be completely surrounded, but alone.
