The Blacklist Episode 1.09 Anslo Garrick

Reddington's business meeting is interrupted when Ressler deceptively lures him back to the post office, telling him Liz has been detained. Back in D.C., Ressler takes Red into custody "for his own good"; the FBI has heard chatter about assassination plans. Furious, Red quickly deduces that a former business partner, criminal Anslo Garrick, has lured him back to the post office with plans to hit him there. When the lights flicker out, it's clear that Anslo is in the building.

Anslo's team, known as The Wild Bunch, scrambles the phone and Internet lines, making outside contact impossible. Ressler tries to evacuate Reddington, but he and his team are ambushed in a hallway, where Ressler takes a shotgun shell to his leg. The wound is massive. Reddington manages to uncuff himself and drive the attackers away momentarily, but his window of opportunity is dwindling. Without any options, Red gathers as many weapons as he can carry and drags Ressler into the box. As Anslo's men close in, Red kills a few more before the bulletproof glass doors slide shut, locking him and Ressler inside.

Arriving late to work, Liz gets in the elevator just as the electricity goes out. When no one responds to her emergency calls, Liz punches through the roof and makes a daring escape. Meanwhile, Cooper and his team find themselves trapped in the armory. He orders Aram to sneak into the main generator room in hopes of hacking the system and restoring connectivity at the very least. Moments after Aram leaves, The Wild Bunch storms the armory, capturing Cooper and Meera.

Anslo and his men surround Red in the box, taunting him through the glass windows. If Red wants to play a waiting game, Anslo doesn't mind; he'll eventually kill the man he came to kill. Inside, Red tends to Ressler, who's bleeding out. Red creates a makeshift tourniquet and temporarily stops the bleeding, but Ressler's health is steadily declining. Anslo tries to turn Red against Ressler by recalling a story about the agent hunting Reddington down, but Raymond is a pro; mind games don't work on him. Besides, allegiances tend to flip-flop in his chosen industry.

Liz stealthily moves around the facility. She manages to sneak up on one of Anslo's men, and when he doesn't cooperate, she's forced to kill him. She bumps into Aram in the generator room, and together, they manage to restore some systems, including surveillance cameras. They see Anslo surrounding Red and Ressler, and Cooper and his team being led down a hall by gunpoint. This situation has gone from bad to worse. When he learns he doesn't have enough plastique to blow the box open, Anslo orders his men to raid the armory. Liz knows this is her chance to ambush.

As Ressler's situation becomes dire, Reddington does an on-the-fly blood transfusion and the two men finally find something they have in common - blood type. Ressler asks Red why he's helping him, to which Red says he's just doing what anyone would do when faced with a dying man. When Red asks Ressler about his ex-fiancee, the agent explains that his obsession with catching Red ultimately ruined the only good thing in his life. Red promises Ressler they'll both get out alive. After all, Red still has cigars to smoke, sunsets to enjoy and fine Parisian dinners waiting for him somewhere on the other side.

Liz and Aram locate some of Anslo's phone and Internet scramblers, which improves their signal slightly, but there are too many scramblers for them to fully restore power and call for help. Meanwhile, both Red and Anslo urge Ressler to give up the code to open the door to the box, but he refuses. Impatient, Anslo begins pulling hostages out and threatening to execute them. Reddington tries to talk Anslo down, but it's no use. He watches helplessly as Anslo executes Luli right in front of his eyes.

Liz and Aram split up in hopes of finding the other scramblers, but one of Anslo's men sneaks up on Liz and knocks her out. Back in the box, Ressler's life is hanging by a thread. Red makes a drastic move by pouring alcohol and flash powder on Ressler's leg and lighting it, setting off a small explosion that quickly cauterizes the wound and stops the bleeding. Ressler passes out from the pain without revealing the code to the door. Infuriated, Anslo pushes Dembe against the glass and begins to count, deaf to Red's pleas to spare his life. Dembe calmly tells Red that their friendship traverses lifetimes. Reddington watches in horror as Anslo counts down to 3... then 2... then 1...