Invaluable Asset
AN: this could be a series, but for now I'm going to write it to be a stand alone. Please let me know if you want to see more! This takes. place in season one, sometime after episode 16. Ressler might be a little OOC.
"You're trying to tell me you don't know a single person good enough to steal these cars?"
Reddington sighed deeply, "Of course I do. But they lack a certain talent for subtlety that's necessary for this task. I'm not some type of magician, I can't just pull criminals out of my hat for you."
Cooper turned sharply. "And how exactly do you expect us to find an actor turned car thief willing to go undercover for us?"
"I can't possibly imagine how that's my problem. Either you figure it out or Amíl will be gone in less than a week. And once he's gone, you'll never so much as hear of him again." He placed his hat back on his head and turned to leave, strolling to the elevator with the same easy confidence he always seemed to have.
"For now, I have other matters to attend to."
The elevator closed just as Red finished speaking.
"Well?" Cooper asked Liz, "How do you suggest we go about this?"
Surprisingly, however, it was Ressler that answered.
"I think I know someone."
~
You were just pulling the muffins out of the oven when the doorbell rang.
"One second!" You called, hoping they could hear you as you pulled out the second tray and placed it onto the waiting trivet. You removed your oven mitts and set them on the counter between the two trays, then made your way to the front door. Your eyes lit up as you spotted Donnie through the tall windows. Taking two long strides to reach the door, you flung it open, a wide grin dancing on your lips.
"Donnie! Hi, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"
It took everything in you not to pull him in for a hug, but you knew he didn't like spontaneous physical contact, so you abstained. Donnie coughed and shifted uncomfortably and you finally registered the two others standing next to him.
The brunette had an apologetic smile on her face, but the older man looked more amused than anything.
You scanned them briefly. Deciding they looked harmless enough, you stepped back to let them in. Besides, you trusted Donnie not to bring anyone dangerous to your door.
"Nice suit. It looks good on you. Come on in, we can talk while I make the drizzle for these muffins. I hope y'all like lemon,"
You turned and led them through the house and into the kitchen, humming at the thanks you received for the compliment. You also fought off a smile when you heard him mutter something about 'good taste' to the woman.
"So," you said, carefully adding powdered sugar to the bit of lemon juice you had left, "I'm assuming this visit is for business rather than pleasure?"
"Unfortunately. I have a favor to ask of you."
"Alright," you replied. Deciding the drizzle was at the consistency you wanted, you began to spoon it over the muffins. "I can tell this is serious, and the kitchen counter is no place to discuss serious business. Donnie, could you grab plates for everyone? We'll talk about this further in the living room. Please try to keep crumbs on your plates, I cleaned the couches yesterday."
~
You stared incredulously at your friend and his two companions, whose names you'd learned were Liz and David, though you suspected the man was lying.
"I'm sorry, let me get this straight. You spent three years trying to get me to stop stealing cars and remove myself from this life of crime, you helped me move to get away from that life and be closer to you, and now you're telling me you want me to go steal cars in your name?"
David smiled and leaned back in his chair, "Yes."
"No." Donnie glared so hard you thought he might punch David in the face before returning his gaze to you. "Of course I don't want you to go back to stealing cars. But we need someone to go undercover for us, and unfortunately I seem to know the only car thief good enough at acting to help."
"Ex car thief, Donnie. I don't do that shit anymore."
You sighed and buried your face in your hands, dragging them down until your eyes were uncovered. "But you're my friend, and I help my friends. What do you need me to do?"
David sat back up and turned to the woman, who hadn't so much as touched her muffin.
"You really ought to try the muffins. They're incredible. As for what you need to do, we'll need you to get the attention of a certain criminal, so you're going to need you to break into his car. Don't take it though, it needs to look like you did it just to prove you could. Once you've done that, you'll have to convince him to let you join his operation instead of murdering you. Can you do that?"
You weighed your options silently. On one hand, what they were asking of you was incredibly dangerous, and even though you knew it was necessary, the idea of purposely being caught set every part of you on edge.
On the other hand though, Donnie would never ask you to do something like this unless he was truly desperate, and you trusted him not to let you get hurt. Still, he couldn't prevent every danger and doing this would be taking a huge risk.
"Which criminal?"
Liz finally added her two cents into the mix.
"I'm terribly sorry, but that's classified. Unless we have positive confirmation you'll be helping us, he'll have to remain unnamed."
A sharp, angry smile made its way onto your face.
"I'm sorry, you're not just asking me to put my life on the line, you're also asking me to risk everything I've worked so hard to build. Even if I do this, and by some miracle this man doesn't murder me, soon everyone will know who I am and what I did, and if my old employers get a hold of that information, I will be hunted, tortured, and killed. So you can either tell me who's car I'll be stealing and take the risk that I might say no, or you can get the hell out of my house right now and know for certain that you squandered your best chance of catching this man. Do I make myself clear?"
Liz opened her mouth to respond, but David cut her off before she could say anything else.
"Vicente Amíl."
"Jesus fucking Christ," you muttered.
"I'll do it. But just so we're clear, you owe me. Big time."
You locked eyes with Donnie, who sagged with visible relief.
"Thank you, (Y/n). You have no idea what this means to me."
You shook your head, standing. "I'm the stupidest person in the entire world. I can't believe I'm doing this for you. Also," you added, turning back to Liz, "It's incredibly rude not to eat food someone serves you in their home. If you didn't like lemons, you should've said so before I served you."
You turned your attention back to the boys. "You, on the other hand, should take a few muffins to go. Thank you for being so polite. You're welcome back anytime. Donnie, always good to see you, even if you are requesting impossible things from me. Please see Liz out."
Donald raised an eyebrow at that. "Just Liz?"
You glanced back at him and smiled. "And yourself, please. Do come back later though, I'm dying to catch up. David and I are going to get him his muffins."
Though polite, your tone left no room for argument and you could faintly hear Donnie and Liz arguing as they walked to the door. Once the door finally closed, you turned your attention back to the man in the center of your house.
"Wonderful. Now that they're gone, may I have your real name please? I do tire of calling you by your alias."
You watched as he chuckled and rose from his chair, strolling towards the hall leading back to the kitchen. "Raymond Reddington, at your service. It's a pleasure to meet someone so very talented."
"Please," you replied smoothly, "The pleasure is all mine. I meant what I said, by the way. Feel free to drop by whenever. I'm usually off Friday through Sunday and there's a good chance I'll be baking something else. Helps relax me, and my coworkers enjoy whatever I make as well."
He smiled as you handed him a Tupperware container with four muffins safely nestled inside. Placing his hat back upon his head, he made his way to the door, and you took notice of the glint in his eye right before he left.
"I'm sure I'll be seeing you quite soon, (Y/n)."
You leaned against the wall and watched him saunter to the car waiting for him. A different car than Donnie and Liz took, by the looks of it. The corners of your lips twitched up as you watched him go.
"Raymond Reddington, huh? What an interesting man."
P.S. The muffins mentioned are real muffins. Feel free to let me know if you want the recipe.
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