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Vandyke arrives and wants to wake up Neville, but the doctor handling Townsend’s medication advises against it. Vandyke says he needs to tell Neville that Keen is in FBI custody and that sabotaging a convoy is public and messy. The two exchange some words.
Cooper and Aram arrive back at the Post Office. Aram tells Cooper that Liz and Ressler stayed behind and left a few minutes ago, but a decoy convoy is passing the 7th ward. Liz and Ressler should be arriving at the Post Office soon.
Liz and Ressler are in the back seat of the SUV, and she asks why he’s doing this. He tells her that he knows Townsend won’t stop, and he refuses to bury her. Even if he’s right about her being safer, she’s still going to prison. Ressler says she may be able to get some freedom’s like Reddington has, but she says the rules are different.
Red arrives at the Post Office and meets with Cooper in his office. Cooper says he’s bringing Liz into custody, and he’s not releasing her to Reddington. Red says that he’s had to keep secrets, but now that Neville knows some of those secrets, Neville’s focus has shifted to Elizabeth. Neville wants Reddington to feel and understand how he felt when his family was murdered.
Back with Liz’s convoy, Ressler apologizes for letting his feelings for Liz cloud his judgement. She says that she knew what she was doing, and that Reddington can keep his secrets, but the secrets that involve her and her daughter’s life, those are the ones she deserves to know. She continues on that she’s tired of the double standard the Task Force takes with Reddington. Their driver tells them that backup has arrived, so Ressler calls Aram, but Aram says they’re not the backup that he called. Two cop cars pull to the sides of the SUV’s and a shootout begins. Liz and Ressler’s driver is killed, and several vehicles crash, including Liz and Ressler’s. Ressler wakes up and falls out of the car to the ground. One of the fake cops approaches him to ask where Keen is, but Ressler doesn’t respond. He pulls a gun on Ressler, but Keen comes up from behind him and shoots. She goes to Ressler’s aid and sees he’s been shot; she tells him that they need to run. Vandyke and more of Neville’s men arrive to see the carnage. Vandyke calls Neville to say that the convoy is down, but Keen is gone and she’s on foot. Neville instructs him to find her and bring her to him, or kill her and anyone else in their way.
Back at the Post Office, Aram hears on the police scanner about the convoy. He runs to Cooper’s office and tells Cooper and Reddington about the incident. Red asks about Elizabeth and Aram says that her and Ressler are unaccounted for, but witnesses saw them fleeing the scene. Reddington leaves to help find them, and Cooper warns him about the heavy police presence. Red says that they’re running out of time, and he says he’ll find her his way and Cooper can find them his way.
Liz and a wounded Ressler are on the run. Liz finds an abandoned restaurant and they hide in the kitchen. Liz starts tending to Ressler’s gunshot wound. Simultaneously, Vandyke and more of Neville’s men spread out to find Liz and Ressler. They find blood on the doorknob on the backdoor of the restaurant where Liz and Ressler are seeking refuge. Liz is taking care of Ressler’s wound when she hears glass breaking. She goes to investigate, but someone comes behind her and she shoots them; they struggle, and there’s one final gunshot. Ressler calls out to Keen, and she appears to say they need to keep moving.
Red and Dembe are in the car, and Red says that he wants to find Balthazar “Bino” Baker; Bino has eyes all over the 7th ward, and if Keen and Ressler are alive, he can find them. Red says that Bino also owns an underground chess club called The Castle.
Red arrives to The Castle to find Bino and ask for his help. Red hopes that Liz and Ressler are still in the 7th ward, but Bino isn’t sure he wants to risk his people. Liz and Ressler find another location, and Liz tells Ressler that he needs to call Aram for help. Ressler makes a call and details the situation, but then hands the phone to Liz. She gets on the phone thinking it’s Aram, but in actuality it’s Reddington and Bino. While on the phone with Liz, Red asks for Bino’s help. He tells Red if they can get to a bar called The Outpost, he’ll help. Liz asks why Ressler called Reddington, but Ressler says he’s their best chance of survival.
Aram and Park arrive at the scene of the convoy crash. Meanwhile, Vandyke sees Liz and Ressler fleeing their previous location to head to The Outpost. He calls his men to cut them off, but Liz and Ressler arrive at the bar. Vandyke and his men start shooting through the window, and Liz shoots back, when suddenly a woman appears from behind a trophy case and tells them to follow her. Vandyke and his armed men come inside the bar, but Liz and Ressler are gone.
A woman named Delores escorts them underground. Back at the crash scene, Aram and Park are told by a local cop about a report of shots fired at a place called The Outpost, so they head there. At The Outpost, one of Vandyke’s men tells him they need to leave because someone must’ve reported the gunfire. Vandyke agrees and calls Neville to say he doesn’t have Keen, but he can still find her.
Delores leads Ressler and Liz out from underground to hand them off to a new “runner.” Bino’s system is called the pipeline, and it works by transporting a package with a series of runners. Liz tells the new runner (who is driving a hearse) that Ressler needs a hospital, but he says that if they want a hospital, they’re better off waiting for the police or an ambulance. Ressler says they can’t wait, so they both get inside the hearse.
Aram and Park call Cooper once they arrive at The Outpost. They assume that Liz and Ressler have been taken, but Cooper gets a call from Reddington, and he assures Cooper that Liz and Ressler are in safe hands.
In the back of the hearse, Ressler starts to prepare Liz if he doesn’t make it, but Liz tells him that almost everyone she loves is gone, and she can’t lose him too. He laughs that she decided to tell him that she loves him in the back of a hearse, but she suggests he keep his strength and not talk.
Two young boys see Neville in an SUV handing out money to a line full of people. The boys approach Neville, and he tells them says that he’s looking for two people. He hands the two boys the money and says that if they find them, call the number on the back of the card.
One of the boys, Anton, brings the card to Bino, and he sees that the number is for Neville Townsend. Bino angrily calls Red and says he never would’ve gotten helped if he knew Neville was involved. Bino says he’s more scared of Neville than he is of Reddington, and that he’s out.
The male runner, Walter, arrives at the hand-off location. He goes to get Liz and Ressler out from the back of the hearse, but Ressler’s unconscious. She demands he give her his keys, but he says she can’t go to the hospital because Ressler won’t make it. He knows someone who can help, and he takes them to a doctor who’s employed by Bino. They arrive at the Chinese restaurant and get Ressler inside so the surgeon can get started. Liz goes to call for help, but her phone is taken because the location needs to stay secure.
Cooper and Reddington are on the phone and Red says there’s been a change of plans. He tells Cooper that the arrangement is not in effect because Bino found out that Liz is being hunted by Neville Townsend. Red asks Cooper if The Outpost is still an active crime scene, but Cooper says it’s been cleared out. Red has a plan, and if it works, the Task Force will need to move quickly.
Red and Dembe arrive at The Outpost and talk with a man named Arthur. Red holds him at gunpoint and says that Bino told two of his friends to come here, and he’d move them through the pipeline, but Arthur says he doesn’t know anything. Red says that Arthur either doesn’t know, or is playing games; Red says he’s playing a game of dominos, and he needs the first domino, in this case Arthur, to fall to get to the end. Suddenly, Delores comes from behind the trophy case to say she’s the one who helped.
At the Chinese restaurant, the surgeon finishes Ressler’s surgery and tells Liz that he’s stable, but his lung is badly damaged. Liz goes to see him while he’s unconscious and pours her heart out to him; she says that he’s always shown her the real him, and she loves him for that. She promises to get them both out of there, but Bino shows up behind her and says she won’t be able to keep that promise.
Delores tells Red and Dembe how the pipeline system works and that Bino is smart with how he runs the system. His runners only know the next step, not the whole plan of transport. Red asks for the next step.
Red and Dembe find Walter, but he maintains he doesn’t know anything. Red and Dembe lose their patience, and Red pulls out his gun. Finally, Walter answers Red’s questions, saying he did transport them, but didn’t hand them off to the next runner. Red calls Cooper to inform him that Liz and Ressler were taken to the Shanghai Palace restaurant. He tells Aram and Park to head there, and he’s also on his way.
Back at the Chinese restaurant, Liz says she understands how Bino feels about Reddington lying and keeping things from him. She tells him the only reason Townsend is coming after her is because of Reddington’s secrets. Bino has one of his men take Liz, and he orders the surgeon to kill Ressler and dispose of him. Liz is taken away just as Park and Aram arrive at the restaurant; they bust into the kitchen and stop the surgeon from killing Ressler. Luckily, EMTs arrive as Aram gets a call from Reddington. Aram tells him that Keen isn’t there, but Ressler mumbled something about a castle. Red says he’ll look into it and hangs up; Red tells Dembe that Bino is taking Liz to The Castle.
Bino calls Townsend while Liz sits next to him in the back seat. He apologizes to Neville and says he would’ve never gotten involved if Reddington had told him the truth. Neville says he’ll handle it personally; Bino says he’ll send an address, and he’ll have Liz waiting for him. Park and Aram call Cooper as Ressler is put into the ambulance. Cooper says they need to find Liz and where Bino took her.
At The Castle, Liz tells Bino that Neville’s going to kill her because of Reddington. He doesn’t seem phased and says he’s taking a calculated risk. There’s a knock at the door, and Liz warns him, but Bino orders his men to open the door. Suddenly, Dembe and Red come through the door, shooting all the men and leaving Bino for last. Red tells Bino, “Checkmate,” and shoots him. Liz pulls a gun on Reddington and is angry at him for everything he’s put her through. He understands her anger, but he warned her this would happen. He tried to protect her from people like Neville, who would stop at nothing until she’s dead if those secrets got out. Dembe tells her to put her gun down and as she does, Dembe goes to look out the window to see Neville and his men have arrived. The trio prepare for a shootout.
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The Blacklist airs Fridays at 8 P.M. EST on NBC.