Red's Love

Chapter 3

Raymond Reddington's POV

I walked inside the hospital. "Doctor."

"What are you doing here??"

"The night I-I was poisoned, last night, I can't remember-" Doctor Haverkamp cuts me off

"People will see you. Us. Together. Uh - I was promised discretion." I and the good doctor duck into a patient room. The door closes. The doctor looks at me "My help was to be in the strictest confidence."

"The night I was poisoned, I was with people. I have called. I-I can't reach them - except you." I point my pistol at him

"But I don't know anything."

"You know how I was brought in."

"I got a code text. I was given a location, we gathered, prepped." I step closer to him and tilt my head "How 'bout the - a man who brought me in?"

"Well, I didn't get his name."

"Black. African accent." he sighed "Mr. Reddington, you need to be hospitalized."

"Was it him?" the doctor nods "Yes, I believe it was." I nod, keeping my colt 45 pistol aimed at him "How did we get there?"

"He - he drove you. It was in a green station wagon. I-It was parked outside the triage cube. Please, Mr. Reddington. Don't. Don't kill me." I put my pistol away.

I head toward the triage cube and find the parked station wagon. I walk toward the vehicle.

I break the glass and find an address on the registration. I climb into the driver's side and start the engine

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

Liz and Ressler met with Helen Dale's doctor. Liz sighed "How long has she been like this?"

"She was barely responsive when she was admitted two weeks ago. Comatose within a day."

Ressler nodded "What happened?"

"Well, it presented as an acute allergic reaction. We treated her for anaphylaxis, but her symptoms didn't respond to treatment. In fact, they got worse."

"And...you didn't suspect that she might've been poisoned?"

"Mrs Dale had been treated for a severe tree nut allergy twice in the past. Our diagnosis was in line with her history." Liz nods "What if someone designed a poison to mimic the symptoms of an allergic reaction?"

The doctor looked at Liz "It would mean whoever created the poison knew we would treat the allergy and lose valuable time."

Ressler nodded "So, what are the chances Helen pulls through?"

"I can't answer that. We haven't found antigenic foreign substances, but the full toxin report could take weeks. She's not improving."

Ressler cocked his head "Is that her husband?"

"Yeah. Robert Dale. He and Helen's parents haven't left her side."

Robert sighed "One minute she's headed to a client dinner and everything is just fine, and next thing we know, she's - like this." 

Ressler nodded "This client dinner - who was there?"

"Helen's friend from college. Police have already cleared her."

"What did your wife tell you about the case against Mario Panetti?"

"Nothing. The attorneys instructed her not to. Helen knew how dangerous this was, but she agreed to testify anyways."