agcntressler:

He couldn’t claim that, and he knew it. Most agents were genuinely good, but Donald wasn’t naive enough to believe the higher ups were entirely clean. He did believe they mostly had good intentions, but it was nearly impossible to exist within the circle of high ranking government officials without getting at least a little dirty. Obviously, he wasn’t about to admit that to Ray though.

Taking a breath, he nodded, quickly made the decision that he would have to trust Ray, hoping to high heavens that he wasn’t making the worst mistake of his life. When the other man pulled him up, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, Donald reciprocated the gesture by wrapping an arm around his waist. A fake but convincing smile spread across his face,  “ Of course not, ”  he almost purred,  “ I just want to get you home. ”  A drunken hookup was a great way to make people not want to pay attention to them while also explaining their sudden disappearance.

Making sure to seem a little drunk himself as they moved towards the exit, swaying a little and slurring his words - not too hard as he was a little tipsy - he tried to keep an eye out for the men that had burst in. Watching them would be too obvious, but thankfully there was a reflective surface opposite them as well as a few curious bar patrons within eyesight. They managed to make it to the back door without drawing too much attention, but he noticed the men making their way towards the back. He wasn’t sure if they were following them or not, and he didn’t want to take too many chances. Once they were out of the door he turned to Ray,  “ You might want to get that gun ready. ”

Ray didn’t need Donald to say it out loud, he saw the frustration on his face–could nearly smell it–and he knew they both knew he was right. He didn’t take as much comfort in it as he thought he would, though, and he was almost glad that someone had come in, changed the subject for him so they could move on.

As they made their way towards the restrooms and their exit, the fact that Donald not only went with his idea, but started hitting on him almost a little too easily made Ray put a pin in that information, something to look at later. “Y-yeah, sure y'do, babe, wanna get me in the sack, dontcha?” He almost giggled, taking the opportunity to use his other hand and brace himself against Don’s trunk, copping a feel on his abs while he was there. After his quick touch, the hand lingered, “Juz be patient, you’ll get yours, big guy~”

The sense of danger didn’t diminish when they made it outside, and he was already reaching for his gun, pulling it out just moments after Donald had mentioned it. “Already on it,” he said, giving him a wink as he aimed over the man’s shoulder. There was a car in the lot, but Ray knew better than to go straight for it, not until he knew if they were being followed. Sure enough, the door they’d just come out of was all but kicked open, and Ray lay down suppressing fire with one hand as he pulled his keys out, “Grey Camry, far side of the lot.” He trusted Donald would catch them as they flew towards him, “I’ll cover you." 

In half a second, he’d dragged them both back behind the dumpster and laid down cover fire, the men found their own cover, and Ray was living on the edge of his senses, reeling from the high that only whizzing bullets could give him.

agcntressler:

He sat there, listening to Reddington ramble about nothing of importance, waiting for him to get to the point. Instead of answering, he merely raised an eyebrow at the question of whether or not Donald had ever bought a bespoke suit, they both knew the answer and Don saw no reason to verbalize it. Then Reddington said something that made his blood boil,  “ Excuse me? ”  he asked, rage clear across his face,  “ I’m not dirty, ”  he practically growled,  “ No matter what you may think of the FBI as a whole, there are plenty of good agents just trying to uphold the law. ”

Having said his piece, he nearly downed the scotch in one go, savoring the burn as it went down. Reddington wasn’t wrong, it was some damn good scotch and normally he would have liked to savor the drink itself but he was definitely far too sober for this conversation. He’d had a long day and this really was not how he’d wanted to end it. His blood boiled again as Red started to mention Audrey, but stopped as he watch the man’s expression change.

Part of him thought about arguing for the sake of it, putting up a fight about leaving on principle. There was no reason though, Reddington had been nothing but honest with him, and looking up at the pictures behind Red, he could see the reflection of the newcomers. So instead of fighting like he wanted to, Donald nodded,  “ We can slip out the back, tell me when they’re not looking our way. ”  He was putting a lot of faith in Reddington, staking his damn life on the other man’s honesty. Here’s hoping it wasn’t a mistake.

Ah, right. That’s a nerve he’s just struck. It’s fine, he can recover quickly enough. “Apologies, I went searching for your… soft underbelly and it seems I found it a bit too quickly.” He pauses, “You yourself may not be, but if the organization you work for is, can you truly claim to be so lily white, Agent? Surely you don’t think things are all black and white, you’ve had to have seen enough of the dark recesses of the world by now to know that’s just not true.”  As intelligent as Ray is, he knows who’s pulling the strings in the FBI, he knows about the Director, and he’s like a dog with a bone, he can’t let go that easily. 

There was a choice the agent had to make, now, and that was going to decide the evening. He could have simply cut the conversation short and ducked out by himself, but those two? If they’d even thought they saw him with someone, that someone wouldn’t have survived the night. Even though they just met, Ray couldn’t do that to him. It could have solved the problem of Donald getting too close to him, too mixed up in everything, but where would the fun be of gallivanting around the world unchallenged? No, that wouldn’t do. 

He can’t deny how fun it is getting him worked up, but he’ll have to stop, as the timbre of the evening has abruptly changed. “You can yell at me about it all you want later. Promise.” Gently straightening his hat, he gives the agent a sly grin. “I will if you promise to go along with me. Just until we get out.” Ray’s keeping an eye on the two men, and thankfully, through whatever stroke of luck has protected him thus far has them checking the other side of the bar first. Standing, he pulls the agent up, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “D'you–d'you know what? I think you’re just trying t'get me home early because you wanna get rid of me. Izzat all I am?” He’s faux-drunkenly stumbling towards the bathroom and back exit, dragging the poor agent with him.

agcntressler:

He rolled his eyes at the response but elected not to say anything this time, wrapping his fingers around the glass as he watched Reddington try to bullshit his way out of explaining why he knew Donald’s shirt size. Some horseshit about old wives’ tales and being able to know a lot about a man by his shirt size. The expression he wore clearly showed his skepticism, raising an eyebrow slightly at the smirk. Being flirted with by a criminal, even if it wasn’t serious, was an unusual experience for him.

It was oddly nice to know he wasn’t high enough on Red’s list to merit a death threat, though his comment about the game being underway was fairly concerning. He would have to ask later as the man was already barreling into his actual answer.  “ So, what? You’re trying to recruit me or something? ”  He asked in bewilderment. Surely if Red knew even a little bit about him he must have known that he would never betray the FBI, let alone join a criminal operation. Don had barely even gotten traffic tickets.

“ How do you know that? ”  Don asked incredulously, that was definitely not something he broadcasted which was actually fairly unusual for an Eagle Scout. It was difficult to attain so most saw it as a point of pride. People tended to call him a boy scout as it was though, so he didn’t feel the need to give them any more ammo. He did, however, raise his glass in something similar to a toast, his hand never leaving his personal bubble as he brought the glass up to his lips to drink. He was too sober for this.

So the young Fed wasn’t impressed by his ability to turn a phrase, make something up. Ray gives him a shrug, “All right, you caught me. I’ve got a good eye. One of my tailors in Italy told me I went into the wrong line of work, even offered to train me! Ah, Gianfranco. He makes the best bespoke suits. Have you ever bought bespoke?” It was obvious, of course, that he hadn’t, but Ray asked anyway. The agent’s playing hard to get, so he’s just got to continue being persistent, and who knows what will come of it? He’s ready to find out, though. 

There was so much he could tell him, so many things he had in the works, and even more things he couldn’t wait to put into motion. Of course there was also the plans that would release all this information if he was killed, but that was an eventuality he hoped would never come. “I’m trying to tell you, Donald, that you’re a dirty cop and you don’t even know it.” The whole sordid past with Donald’s father’s murder was one he knew of, though he didn’t fully understand, as the name Tommy Markin was only lauded as a hero. “Your house is dirtier than mine. Isn’t that ironic? You sign up to protect people, uphold the law, and there are people pulling your strings right into the darkness." 

"I know a lot of things,” is all he says at first, closing the distance between their glasses until they clink, “don’t be rude, engage all the senses, hm?” After a sip and a pleased hiss as the burning liquid settled in his gut, he leaned back, watching the morose Dudley do-right. “I make it a point to know about the people who are interested in me, and you’ve shown more interest than some criminals. Tell me, what happened to Audre–” Just as he was about to wait and see how far underneath his skin he’d gotten, two men came into the bar. Instantly, Ray’s face changed. He picked the gun back up, downed the rest of the whiskey, and stared the agent down. 

“It’s time to go. Two men at your six just walked in, and if they see us? You won’t get to take any of your unused vacation days. I’m sure this is asking a lot for your straight-laced morals, but trust me. If you don’t, you’ll never get to see me face whatever justice it is you think I deserve.”