The Blacklist Episode 2.18 Vanessa Cruz

In a luxury hotel suite, Declan Salinger reclines in the tub, attended by Vanessa Cruz, a pink-haired Goth in latex underwear who has distinctive wing tattoos on her shoulder blades. After injecting Salinger with "something to help you relax," Vanessa uses his laptop to transfer funds, then returns to the tub to plant a kiss on his forehead - which is enough to sink him. Vanessa returns to her loft to remove her disguise and shower off her tattoo. Then it's off to the apartment she shares with girlfriend Abby Issa. Vanessa seems disappointed to learn Abby's still having issues with her creepy, leering boss, whom she has yet to report to HR.

Tom begs Liz for the passports he once hid under the floorboards of their apartment, now in the FBI's evidence locker - thus they should still be clean. With the Germans and The Major on his tail, Tom really needs the passports. If Liz wants him gone, she should steal them and she'll never see him again. Kicking Tom out, Liz yanks open the door to reveal Red and Dembe, guns drawn, which is enough to make Tom hit the road. After reminding Liz why Tom doesn't belong in her life, Red introduces the next case. The next morning, Liz presents a list of alleged financial fraudsters including Declan Salinger, who, according to Reddington, are innocent but were framed after years of planning by a woman with a deep hatred for the 1 percent. Salinger was found dead last night of an apparent overdose, and his seized laptop indicates corporate withdrawals in excess of $27 million. Cooper orders Liz and Ressler to interview another victim, Lester Conway, who claims he was framed by an ex-lover named Claudia Sanchez, an undocumented seasonal worker at his ranch, who created the Ponzi scheme that put him in jail. One day she disappeared, and three days later he was arrested. After gaining access to his computer, Claudia created the Ponzi scheme using shell companies so skillfully that the most expensive lawyer money could buy advised Conway to plead guilty. Meanwhile, Vanessa disguises herself again, posing as her girlfriend Abby to buy a semi-automatic Beretta.

At a meeting in a parking garage, Hobbs tells Red that The Director has called for a vote tomorrow. It seems a man named Jasper will cast the deciding vote. When Red comments that Jasper will have to be persuaded, Hobbs agrees to set a meeting, then advises Red to prove he has The Fulcrum, now. His life depends on it.

Back at the Post Office, Aram and Samar have combed through research provided by Mrs. Salinger, who had her husband's lover tailed for two months with no substantial result. Luckily, Aram is able to stitch together a composite photo from several partials to yield a whole image and a full fingerprint to identify Vanessa Cruz, whose last-known address is her mother's in Edison, New Jersey. In the meantime, Vanessa/Abby sexts with Carlton, then orders him to check his desk drawer where she's left a hotel key, a full-face latex mask and a note: "Drake Motel ASAP." There, Vanessa covers his face with the mask, orders him to strip and handcuffs him to the bed so she's free to turn foreplay into the collection of all manner of DNA samples. Then she's out the door, leaving Carlton to be discovered by a bellhop.

Meanwhile, Liz and Ressler visit Vanessa's mother, Aida, who believes her daughter is dead. She reminisces: Aida's husband was a creep, as was Vanessa's, who was caught for insider trading and jumped off the George Washington Bridge. Vanessa always insisted he was innocent, until the day she disappeared, leaving her clothes folded on Rockaway Beach. Sickly and wearing a nasal cannula, Aida is convinced her daughter must be dead - otherwise she would be there now, taking care of her mother. Even in death, Vanessa provided for her with an insurance policy from Minnetonka Bankers Health and Life - which Samar quickly identifies as a shelf corporation. Aram has discovered that all of Vanessa's other victims were accused of funneling funds through shelf corporations they said they didn't know existed. So who could have set up these shelf corporations for Vanessa? Liz immediately calls Red, hoping for her help... which he'll gladly give, but only in exchange for The Fulcrum. It's an immediate matter of life or death. But as a federal agent, Liz can't just hand over a blackmail file that will give Red leverage over the people who run America... could all this be about Tom? Red denies it, telling Liz to think over his proposition, quick. Her next move? Calling Tom to ask for help.

When Liz asks Tom for his shelf corporation source, he points her back to Red, but Liz sweetens the deal, promising the passports in exchange for a name. It turns out all Vanessa's shelf corps are named after Minnesota lakes. Ironically, Tom stashed the money Berlin paid him in a shelf corporation named after a Minnesota lake, so... it's time for a road trip to Baltimore, where stunning, wheelchair-bound Rasta Ziggy mans a row house filled with rotary phones and mailboxes. She's thrilled to see "Billy," and within moments, Liz calls Ressler with the address to Vanessa's loft. Inside, Ressler's amazed to discover a meticulously organized treasure trove of blood, saliva, trace evidence and surveillance on Vanessa's current and future victims. When he recognizes the name Drew Roberts, a victim who worked at Oakside Investments alongside Vanessa's dead husband, Ressler's wheels are set in motion.

Driving home from Baltimore, Tom warns Liz that Red is playing her. Liz agrees, but insists Red has a moral code, which doesn't include lying to her. That's when Tom surprises Liz with his plans for a new life: he's buying a diving boat, which he's going to take to Chuck Lagoon in Micronesia - a scuba diver's paradise - to start a diving business. When Liz points out that he doesn't know how to swim, Tom counters, "But I can learn." Back in D.C., Liz hands the passports to Tom and exits the car without a word. He runs after her with a question: does she think it possible for someone like him to start over? By way of answer, Liz asks whether he can be honest... then muses there must have been some honesty within the context of their marriage. So while Tom is Liz's worst failure as a profiler, she is his greatest success. For a moment, she made him feel like he had a life and someone who cared - this is Tom's truth. But when she asks if he can be honest about the passports, Tom says, "Berlin had a guy." Tom can't pick and choose the truth, not if he wants to learn how to swim. Liz grabs Tom for a deep kiss, explaining, "That was goodbye," and leaves him tingling on the street.

Hobbs meets with Kenneth Jasper to talk about the vote, scheduled for tomorrow, but pretty much known. Since Jasper has the swing vote, Hobbs wants him to know that if Red does possess The Fulcrum, his death will trigger a protocol for the release of its contents, exposing them all. Jasper typically votes with The Director, who believes Red doesn't have The Fulcrum - why should he change his vote now? That's when Red steps out of the shadows to state his case: The Director is only interested in consolidating his power at the expense of everyone else, and it's time for him to go - tomorrow, after Jasper wins the vote. When Jasper hotly declares, "You're talking about assassination!" Red concurs, offering to make him the next director of the cabal. The two gentlemen shake hands, sealing multiple fates.

After work, Abby meets Vanessa at a coffee shop with news: she's going to file a sexual harassment claim against her boss Carlton with HR. They're gonna celebrate! What's more, she's in love with Vanessa, who almost unravels when she realizes she loves Abby back. Meanwhile, in an empty restaurant kitchen, Hobbs and The Director meet with Jasper, who has surprising news. The vote already happened, and Hobbs is the loser. The Director lays into Hobbs for siding with Red, the ultimate betrayal of the cabal that made him the man he is today... or was. There's a car waiting outside: Hobbs is leaving the country tonight, and he's never coming back.

Having figured Vanessa's motive is revenge, Ressler assembles the team for a debrief. Vanessa has been framing the people who framed her husband and cost him his life. When Cooper asks which of the framers are still alive, Liz and Ressler revisit Conway to ask about Vanessa's husband Hernando - did he really jump off a bridge? Stunned to discover Hernando's wife ruined his life, Conway asks for a lawyer, then confesses the whole story. Conway and his cronies thought they had every angle of their fraudulent master plan covered in 2007, but they didn't count on idealistic Hernando Cruz, who ratted them out to his boss. Of course, his boss - Mason Carlton - was in on their dirty deal! While Aram scrambles to track him down, Carlton makes a dinner date with Vanessa. Unable to reach Carlton by phone, Aram does manage to locate all of Carlton's illicit texts with Abby/Vanessa, prompting Liz to conclude that he's being catfished. Moments later, Aram tracks him to a room at the Wolverton Hotel, where Carlton is surprised to finally behold Vanessa dressed as Abby - but clearly herself. It's not long before Carlton is drugged and dying. Vanessa takes her time, setting the stage for his frame-up. It will look like he was having an affair with Abby, who was going to blackmail him for embezzling while filing a sexual-harassment lawsuit - so Carlton shot her with a gun he bought for protection before turning it on himself. Clearly, Vanessa feels bad about killing Abby, but she claims it's the only way, just as Abby walks into the room to find Carlton passed out. Tearing up, Vanessa apologizes and runs out, leaving Abby and Carlton to be discovered by Liz and Ressler, who immediately charge after Vanessa. On the street, they split up, but when Liz finds Vanessa's Abby wig in the garbage, they know she's in the wind.

That night, Cooper informs Liz that Mason Carlton will be charged for the murder of Hernando Cruz, and he's confident they'll find Vanessa someday. But he's left wondering what Red's angle in the case could possibly be... Vanessa sits alone at an airline restaurant when she's approached by Mr. Kaplan, who proffers a deal. Since Vanessa's gambit has run its course, Mr. Kaplan's employer is willing to offer his help...

Tom calls Liz for a meeting in person, which starts with the tip of his truth iceberg: the passports in the box came from Reddington, who is at present fielding a call. Jasper says, "The vote went your way," but Red already knows Jasper's lying. Hobbs was supposed to call the moment the vote was cast, and he didn't, which means he's dead - which means Jasper betrayed them both. Jasper better run like the prairie wind, because when Red finds him, he's going to cut out his forked tongue and deliver it to The Director. Red hangs up, telling Dembe, "It's time to go away," but Liz has called, asking to meet about The Fulcrum. Her lips tight with fury, Liz tells Red that she's just spent the last 42 hours dealing with the unrepentant, pathological liar who is her ex-husband, and there's something she needs to confirm. And she's going to need a yes or a no answer. Presupposing the question, Red says, "Yes. I'm the one that hired Tom Keen to enter your life." Furious, Liz as much as throws The Fulcrum - all Red ever wanted from her - in his direction and stalks to her SUV. It all stops here and now. At that moment a shot rings out. When Red goes down, both Liz and Dembe rush to his side and start returning fire at an enemy they cannot see.