The Blacklist

Chapter 23 Rescuing the Kidnapped Seth
It took Carrey only twenty minutes to finish the interrogation. In Elizabeth's eyes, her partner just grabbed the "messenger"'s wrist and asked a few questions, but the other party never answered any questions seriously. How could it be over?

Carrie took Elizabeth to find Alam and asked him to search for old appliance and furniture disposal sites (not garbage dumps) within 15 kilometers of the "messenger"'s residence. Under normal circumstances, the official handling of these large items is charged, so there are official disposal sites; and many residents will privately choose a secluded place to directly throw away unwanted things, and over time unofficial disposal sites are formed.

When others came forward to ask about the results of the interrogation, Elizabeth had no idea what to say and could only shake her head.

A few minutes later, Alam confirmed that there was no official dumping site near Tommy's residence, but saw a post on the community forum at his address saying that there was an unofficial dumping site spontaneously formed by residents in a clearing in the forest 12 kilometers northeast of the community.

"That's it." Carrie said, "Cooper, send a search team over there! Seth is very likely hiding there."

Although Cooper didn't know why he was so sure, he could only believe him at this time. He immediately called for help, while Carrie and others set out immediately and rushed over first.
-
An hour later, everyone found Seth, who had fallen into a coma, in an old refrigerator that was basically buried in the ground. His oxygen had been used up a few minutes ago. After emergency rescue, he was brought back from the brink of death.

At this time, Reddington and Dembe arrived here and saw the ambulance taking Seth away. Accompanying them for protection were NSA special agents who arrived in an emergency. From now on, they will protect Seth's safety throughout the whole process.

Seeing this scene, Reddington sighed, knowing that he was late.

Kerry, who had retired from the party, came over and said, "Hey, Lao Lei, I heard you always carry a good cigar with you. Have one!"

Reddington looked at him speechlessly, took out two cigars from his pocket, handed him one, then felt around but couldn't find a lighter. He had to wait for Carrie to light the cigar before he reached out to ask for the lighter.

Carrey handed his 2002 World Cup commemorative edition Zip to Reddington, took a puff of the cigar, and said, "Hmm, it tastes good. Do you always know how to enjoy yourself like this?"

"Yeah!" Reddington said, "So I like to collect all the good things, like your Zip, which is pretty good, so I accepted it with reluctance!" After that, he put the lighter in his hand into his pocket.

"Hey, robbing an IRS and FBI agent is a felony!" Carrie said unhappily.

"Then just catch me!" Reddington said cheatingly.

The bickering between the two made everyone around them laugh, and then they left to do their own things. Even Dumby took a few steps away to check the surrounding environment. Only then did the two of them start to talk about business.

Reddington asked, "Richard, how did you find this place?"

"What luck!" Carrie said, "When Elizabeth and I were interrogating the 'Messenger', we accidentally guessed that this was a possibility, so we came here to try our luck. I didn't expect that the person was really hiding here!"

"Really? You're so lucky!" Reddington didn't believe it at all. "I'm far worse than you. I asked a lot of people and found out that this is the most likely place, but I'm still a step too late."

"I guess you want to find Seth first and ask him to agree to something out of gratitude?" Carrie said, "If you can tell me what it is, I don't mind passing it on to you." Reddington looked at him and shook his head, saying, "Although I really want this favor, I really can't tell you the truth. What a pity."

"Well, let's change the conditions." Kerry had expected this. "Go convince that Di Shambaugh to be my informant and give me criminal information every month. If you do that, I'll do you the same favor."

Reddington's eyes lit up, "Really?"

"Really." Carrie said.

"Then I'll go find her." said Reddington.

"The post office's action team just closed down Deshampoo's nightclub and took her back." Carrie said, "I'll tell Cooper, you can go to the post office to talk to her, or arrange for someone to bail her out, the rest is up to you."

"No problem." Reddington nodded. He knew that this woman just wanted to make money and live a good life. For her own safety, she would definitely agree to this condition in the end. However, he still asked, "What if she wants to be exempted from the agreement?"

"Is that so?" Carrie thought for a moment. "If she is just my personal informant, I will agree to it and will naturally find a way to protect her in the future. But if she wants an exemption agreement, she will need to contact the DOJ... Well, if she is willing to pay taxes on time every month, I will convince Deputy Director Most of the IRS to handle it."

"Hmph! You are the cruel official who collects taxes!" Reddington was so angry that he laughed, and the next few words were about collecting taxes.

"Haha! Thanks for the compliment." Carrie said with a smile, "By the way, it's almost the middle of the month, it's time to pay your taxes!"

Reddington was immediately furious, turned around and left, leaving behind a sentence: "I remember, you don't need to remind me!"
-
It was a little after two in the morning when the SER team returned to the post office. Although they were a little tired physically and mentally, they were all very happy because the mission was accomplished.

After arranging the remaining staff on duty, Cooper asked everyone to go back and rest and start work two hours later tomorrow.

After returning home, Carrie took stock of today's actions. Although he did not get any crime-killing points, he got a favor from Seth, the best analyst of the NSA, because he found him first. If Reddington could ask Shampoo to be his informant, he would be able to obtain more useful intelligence in the future. It could be said that he made the best use of this favor and gained a new source of tax revenue.

As for what Reddington gets in exchange for this favor from Seth, he doesn't care at all. It's nothing more than some sensitive information, which has nothing to do with him. Anyway, Reddington and he are on the same side now.

Based on the plot he saw in his previous life, he knew that Reddington's credibility was really good, better than 99% of people, so there was a certain degree of security in cooperating with him.

In comparison, senior American officials are a different story, especially those in secret societies, who do things without any bottom line. In order not to be persecuted, they have to hone their skills in killing the enemy, lest they become incompetent and be harmed by others!
Well, we also have to find a way to protect SER. These colleagues have good personal skills, but they are too naive when facing the struggles at the top. It’s really worrying!

(End of this chapter)