Mark, Message, Mistake
A/N: Wow, awesome episode. The Mentalist never disappoints me. Here's a few expansions on Black-Winged Redbird for your reading enjoyment. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!
Mark
He knows what the blood on Lisbon's face means. It means many things. It's a warning. It's a taunt. It's a mark. It's a way of Red John reaching across the board and taking one of Jane's pieces. Taking Lisbon as his own, marking her as his. He knows what he has to do the second he sees her in the ambulance. He's going to wipe every trace of that blood from Lisbon's face. Because she is not Red John's. She will never be his, not so long as he draws breath. He will not let him take her from him.
He cleans her features meticulously, but gently. Almost reverently. He brushes her hair out of her closed eyes as he sponges Partridge's blood from her forehead. The smiley face stares at him, almost as if Red John is standing there mocking him as he cleanses his partner's face. It continues to watch him until he wipes the eyes away. Soon, the mark is removed. He feels a surge of defiance as he places his hand on Lisbon's cheek.
"She's not yours for the taking," he whispers, almost inaudible. "Never."
Message
"You're safe."
It's exactly what she needs to hear and exactly who she needs to hear it from. She blinks, the nightmare still fresh in her mind. She tries to calm her breathing, and she feels a warmth on the side of her face where Jane's hand rests. She stares at him, her eyes glued to his, relieved to see him alive and breathing. The image of him lying face down in his own blood, teacup a few inches away haunts her.
She's not surprised when Jane tells her that Red John painted her with Partridge's blood, like some kind of sick art project. He wouldn't knock her out just to leave her there. He wanted to leave a message, a wordless message written in a dead man's blood on her face.
She's not egotistical, but she considers herself brave. She's faced some of the worst the human race has to offer and came out the victor more often than not. She has seen evil, and after you see so much of it, the fear fades. You become numb to it. However, she doesn't believe that she'd seen true evil, pure evil, until Red John. Something so dark and so absolute... she admits to herself that it terrifies her.
He's out to take the people that matter the most to Jane away from him. She doesn't know why Red John spared her, and she doesn't think that mercy will last. If she meets the serial killer a second time, he's going to leave a much more permanent message for Jane. She fears that Red John will use her to tell Jane that no matter what, he will never outrun him, never catch him, and that slowly but surely every person that he's come to care for will be taken from him.
He wants to use her to destroy Jane, and if it's even possible, that makes her hate Red John even more.
Mistake
Sophie always was a perceptive one. She was good at what she did, he didn't have a doubt about that. She could see through the few cracks in Red John's persona, his elegantly crafted facade, and see the darkness underneath. He only wishes that she would've been more thorough on her physical description. As the recording ends, he shakes his head, sighing slightly.
"I hoped for more, but this is better than nothing," he says, and Lisbon nods in agreement.
"Middle-aged," she echoes, brow furrowed in thought. "Vague, but I think we might be able to rule out Stiles. He's well into his sixties."
"Yes," Jane agrees. "Though he was never a prevalent suspect in my mind. I hadn't ruled him out entirely, but Stiles... he has money, power, thousands of followers, a world-wide organization in his hands. Is he a sick man? Absolutely. Is he Red John? No... no, I don't think so. Red John would be more subtle, and Stiles is anything but."
"So," Lisbon murmurs. "Five suspects left."
"We're getting close," he says. "But with each step the stakes are raised." He's half talking to himself. It is the eleventh hour and he knows that soon, the arc of his life that has been made up of hunting the man that killed his wife, daughter, and so many more will end. He doesn't know if it will end in his favor, but he can hope.
Lisbon looks at him, determination flaring in her eyes. "We'll get him, Jane," she promised. "We will. This is proof of it." She picks up the recorder, turning it in her hand. "He made a mistake. He's getting messy. And leaving this behind after he killed Sophie wasn't even his biggest screw-up."
"Hmm?" He's not sure if he understands her meaning. "Then what was?"
Lisbon smirks. "He left me alive," she explains. "And I'm not going to stop until we've caught him. Ever."
It touches something inside of him to see her dedication, to see how utterly devoted she is to catching Red John. Not purely as a law enforcement officer, she isn't just acting on duty or morals. She's fighting because of him, too. For him. It warms him to know he has someone fighting for him.
He can only hope that Lisbon choosing to stand by his side doesn't cost them both more than they can even imagine...