They replace trust with fear and the threat of violence.
RRRaymond 'Red' Reddington
The next target on the Blacklist is the physical embodiment of both. He's known as the Courier, and his involvement in a transaction virtually guarantees its success. Once he's hired to make a delivery, he can't be bribed, he can't be stopped. If either party attempts to double cross the other, he kills them both. The perfect middleman for an imperfect world.
No, I mean you don't understand him. Our old man knocked us around when he needed to, which didn't bother Tommy. But dad hated that. Felt like he couldn't control his own son, and he couldn't. So when he was 11, dad started hosting these dogfights. Not with two dogs, but with a dog and Tommy. Well, we had this barn. People would come from miles around. They'd get drunk and make bets. What it did to him over time...Tommy's broken. Somewhere in his head, a switch flipped. I wish I could help you, but you know how it goes. You're here because somebody screwed up. The deal went sideways. And now the buyer and seller have targets on their head, if they're not dead already.
You've obviously heard of corporate espionage - companies trying to beat other companies to be the first hand on the dollar. But what if it were taken... a few steps further? In 1982, seven people in Chicago were killed by an over-the-counter drug laced with potassium cyanide. The company's market share went from 35 to 8. It was never determined how the drug was poisoned, but I will tell you someone was hired to do that. Remember those tire recalls? Chernobyl? Deliberate and malevolent actions taken by corporations to protect their vital interests. Nothing happens by chance.
[to Elizabeth] Are you telling me, like what? You think I murdered a KGB defector. Like I'm Bond. Tom Bond and just between Social Studies and recess I go around assassinating people.
Tell that to the families of the people he murdered.
RRRaymond 'Red' Reddington
Every cause has more than one effect. Say what you will about Frederick but someone who's willing to burn the world down to protect the one person they care about, that's a man I understand.
The concept of a Last Stand sounds so heroically romantic, doesn't it, Donald? But there is a good reason why we didn't see what happened to Butch and Sundance - being riddled by bullets and left to rot under the scorching Bolivian sky does not a sequel make. And if you surmise nothing about me by now, know this: I am going be around for the sequel.
Red, Red, did you really think there was a distance you could cover or a hole deep enough that you could hide in? There is nowhere in this world that I cannot reach you, Red. Fortification be damned. I heard you made yourself some sweet little immunity deal, Red. I heard that you fitted the FBI with strings, and now they hang upon your hip like a hatchet. Not bad. Prudent. But they can't keep you safe from someone like me, Red, someone who sat in blackness for five years. Five years thinking about the pain I was going to inflict on you while slowly breaking your will, your body, and finally your mind. That day is here, my friend. And it will end with your screams, as God is my witness.
