Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist or any of its related themes or characters.
"Van Pelt, Rigsby, take the Gym, Main Hall and Cafeteria…. Cho, Jane and I'll cover the Lecture Hall, Office and Field… we'll meet up at the lobby before going through each classroom," Lisbon instructed and held up one finger as a silent indicator to pause. "Keep this quiet as possible… we don't want two hundred children running around in a panic".
"Children don't panic… they only mirror whatever signals the main authority… in this case, a teacher, is sending out… they only amplify that reaction by…. An admirable amount," Jane corrected, seemingly pleased with himself.
"Fascinating," Cho quipped, nodding towards the Lecture hall.
They all departed ways and headed to their designated search areas. This could've just been another threat, or it could be the real deal. But, since it was exam time and the senior's Finals… they didn't want to disrupt unless it was necessary.
"Jane, Cho, ten minutes until the seniors file in for their History finals… so we'll have to search through all this and quick…" Lisbon advised and took the first two rows, scanning briefly each bag for any identifying gang markers.
Cho took charge of the third and fourth row; Jane took rows five to six.
It was a relatively peaceful day… but when Jane's eye caught the badge on top of one of the schoolbags… he paused.
The red smiley face stared back at him. A simple, rounded, metal disk. No harmful intentions. No grimace or malice to the features.
He turned to face it.
Smiley face.
The Crying Smiley.
Innocent.
Guilty.
Red badge.
Red John.
He dropped down to his knees in front of the bag, gasping desperately as his lungs heaved with effort to breathe.
His fingers locked around the badge, he pulled until the pin snapped off, sending the needle flying. The cold metal digging its own mark on the Consultant's bare hand.
The noise around him had disappeared. The chatter, the laughter, the footsteps… it all just became dim. The clear notes had become tasteless in his mouth. The world swallowed itself within its own darkness.
…Dear mister Jane,
I do not like to be slandered in the media, especially by a dirty money-grubbing fraud.
His fingertips trembled as he reached for the door to his apartment.
If you were a real psychic,
He wrapped his fingers around the handle and pushed down.
… instead of a dishonest little worm,
He felt the bile rise in his throat as he saw…. The same marker the CBI had shown him.
…you wouldn't need to open the door to see what I've done to your lovely wife and child.
Red John's Crying Smiley was smeared across from where his wife and child had been murdered…
"Hey~ wake up, Jane!"
…Dear mister Jane…
… "Hey…. Hey, Jane," Van Pelt called, waving him with a paper fan.
He sighed and opened his eyes, "What's…." he started, but trailed off when he saw his surroundings. The school's nurse's office. "Never mind".
"Lisbon, Jane's awake… I'll go check on Cho and Rigsby," Van Pelt quickly excused herself, feeling self-conscious as she walked down the hall. She didn't want to intrude on anything private after all.
Lisbon walked into the nurse's office and headed towards Patrick, "You really had everyone worried… are you okay?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Yeah, I didn't eat breakfast... I think it caught up to me," Patrick quickly covered, his voice not wavering for a second.
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