Everything to Apologize For (#11 in Finale)

Chapter 1: His Lizzie

Red looked at Assistant Director Harold Cooper. "Very clever, you had Agent Ressler pose as the Serbian and arrested Ross. Let Ross go. He has something I want. Something very personal. But I see you're on Elizabeth's side with this. I keep telling you people to leave it alone, it's a matter of my privacy, but you won't. You're violating my privacy. So I see no reason why I have to keep our agreement." Cooper tilts his head "What agreement?"

"My agreement with the task force. Give me Ross, or the Blacklist ends."

...............................

From the viewing room, Donald Ressler saw Ross flip the table and go after Liz. He heard her from inside "Ressler! Ressler!"  Ross broke the doorknob with a fire extinguisher, then sprayed the contents of the can on the glass so Ressler couldn't see them. 

Ressler came in Cooper's office "Ross has taken Keen hostage." Red turned to Cooper "You need to get inside that room. Blow the door off if you have to, I don't care. But you need to breach that room."

They breach the interrogation room, only to find one of the agents dead, and his access card stolen. "His access card is gone!" Aram tracked the card "Okay.....the card was last swiped to open the door to section B." Red watched as the task force tries to find Ross and Liz, worried for his daughter's life. The camera was back on. Cooper spoke to Sutton Ross in the microphone "You need an access code to open that door."

"Then give me one! Or I will shoot her!" Liz shakes her head "Don't listen to him, he's bluffing!" Red watches the two "You can't do that. She's right, he's bluffing." Cooper shakes his head "Maybe, but we can't risk it." The criminal turned to him "You give him that code, most likely you'll never see Agent Keen again."

"One....Two!" Aram gave the code. By the time Ressler and the others got to the door, the code panel was destroyed. 

...........................................

Aram sighed as he looked at the camera photo of Sutton Ross leading Liz out of the building. "I'm sorry, Mr. Reddington. He was going to shoot her." Cooper stops Aram and looks directly at Red "Agent Mojtabai isn't the reason she's in danger, you are! If you really care for Elizabeth Keen's safety like you say you do, then stay out of her life. That's the best thing you can do for her." 

Dembe looks at his phone "Agent Keen." Cooper nods "On speaker." Red stepped closer to the phone "Elizabeth!" She screams "RED!!"

"Lizzie!"

 Ross pulls the phone away from her "Your life for hers." The Concierge of Crime, Raymond Reddington, nodded and replied "Done." 

"Meet me in an hour for further instruction. Come alone."

"I want to talk to her." Ross hung up on Red. Cooper shakes his head "You're not going alone."

"That's exactly what I'm going to do, Harold."

...............................

Red pulls out a ringing disposable phone from a trash can and answers it "Yeah."

"Red, is that a tail I see?" Red looks and sees Ressler watching him. He begins walking away "You knew I couldn't come here without the feds on my tail. They're rather protective of Agent Keen. But if you're half as smart as I think you are, I'm sure you have a plan for us to lose them."

Ross escapes with Red in a grey liquor van. He sends three other white vans to elude Aram, Dembe, and Ressler. Ressler unmasks the three men and discover none of them are Red.

Ross unmasks Red and the criminal sees Liz sitting in front of him, her hands tied, her lips bleeding and she has a black eye. 

...............................

Liz sighs "This is my fault." Red looked at her "No." Liz continues "I should've left it alone." Red looks around "Doesn't matter." 

"Mr. Kaplan, Tom, we all should've just left it alone." Liz's eyes grow watery and her voice breaks "Whatever this is, it's yours. I should've respected that." Red stares at her, he hates seeing Elizabeth, his daughter, like this. Hurt, wounded, in pain.

 "The only reason we're here is because I didn't. And I'm so sorry!" She hangs her head and cries. Red shakes his head and calls her by that special nickname, the nickname he gave her, hoping to calm her down. "You have nothing to apologize for, Lizzie. Not to me, ever." 

Liz slowly shakes her head and counters. "I...I have everything to apologize to you for, Red! I betrayed you by faking my death, then betrayed you again, almost worse than Mr. Kaplan!"

Red sighs "I know why you faked your death. You did it to protect your daughter from my world. I understand that. Lizzie, I..."

"I'm so sorry!" she sobs "You only want to protect me, and I've gotten to be so ungrateful for that." Red sighs "Lizzie, look at me."

"Don't. Don't call me that, please. I don't deserve your protection. I don't deserve you even calling me Lizzie!" Liz cries, tears streaming down her face.

Red looks at her, his eyes getting watery "Lizzie. Sweetheart, look at me. Please." he begs her. Liz slowly looks up at him "Red...."

 Ross comes in the room, Red looks up at him "My life for hers. Let her go." Ross looks at his men "Take her in the back." Liz widens her eyes "No, no. No. Please. No!" Red looks at her, afraid for her. He then looks back at Ross "You don't have to hurt her anymore." Liz screams in agony. 

........................................

"The truth, is that those bones belong to-" An explosion interrupts him. Dembe races to him "Raymond! Are you alright?" He nods "Yeah. There are more in the back. They have Elizabeth." 

Liz lies on the floor, nearly unconscious. Red rushes to her side "Elizabeth." He gently holds her in his arms "It's over. You're going to be okay." She slowly opens her eyes. 

"Red....I'm so sorry. For everything." 

Red holds her closer to him, one hand gingerly caresses her hair "Shh. It's okay, Lizzie." he takes out his handkerchief and gingerly wipes the blood from her lips, then gently kisses her cheek. 

"I forgive you, Lizzie. It's okay, Sweetheart." He holds her hand and tenderly kisses the corner of her mouth. 

"Raymond...." Red tilts his head. She wraps her arms around him and hugs him tightly. 

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, for everything I've done to you. I do love you."