Chapter Text
Raymond Reddington sat on the couch of his apartment with a glass of scotch. He sipped it slowly to unwind from the tension of his daily life. Dembe entered the living room from his bedroom, a small stack of papers in his hand.
"I managed to get some information on the tenant that's about to move into that studio next door," Dembe said, taking a seat beside Raymond.
"Oh?" Raymond asked, looking up at Dembe. "What information have you managed to dig up on this new tenant?" he asked.
Dembe handed the stack of papers to Raymond, who set down his glass and took them. "Her name is Ruelle Parker. She's eighteen and has autism. She's never been in any trouble with the law, and has just aged out of a group home. In short, she poses no threat to us," Dembe said. Raymond flipped through the papers. Dembe was thorough.
Raymond set the papers down on the coffee table and picked his scotch back up. "Well, it seems the likelihood of her being a spy is extremely thin."
Dembe nodded. "I feel bad for her. Eighteen years old and all alone."
"And autistic," Raymond added, sipping his scotch. "Such a broad diagnoses. I wonder what her specific struggles are."
Dembe took the papers from the coffee table and began rifling through them. "She graduated high school with honors and has a driver's license, so her autism likely doesn't hinder her cognitive ability," Dembe said, setting the papers down again. "However, that tells us next to nothing about her social and emotional intelligence."
"Must be stressful, moving into a studio apartment at eighteen, all alone and with no safety net to fall back on," Raymond said. "The least we can do is bring her some dinner and maybe a housewarming gift," Raymond said.
"We both know I'm a better cook than you. I'll make the dinner, and you can focus on the gift," Dembe said.