Lisbon pulled the black SUV up to the house, parking it on the dusty driveway and turning in her seat to face Jane.
'Kinda dilapidated, isn't it?'
Jane shrugged, shooting her a smile, 'It's quaint, I think.'
Lisbon grunted, popping open her door and jumping out. Jane kept his grin in place and watched as she walked up to the residence. They had driven for hours through the desert to reach it and Lisbon was cranky from the long drive. She was going to be even more upset if this suspect turned out to be a bust.
Jane caught up to Lisbon just as the front door was answered and she flashed her badge, "CBI, sir. Are you Mr. Alexander Roy?"
The man squinted at her from under his scruffy brown hair, "Yes. What can I do for you?"
"Can we come in and ask you a few questions, sir?"
"About?"
Jane felt Lisbon's frustration grow and decided to step in, "Mr. Roy, my name is Patrick Jane, and we really only have one question for you, if you don't mind. We can even stay out here on the porch if you'd like."
Lisbon glared daggers at Jane but he ignored her, keeping his gaze instead on the person in front of them. The man nodded slowly after a moment.
"Why don't you two come in instead and I'll make you a tea; I'm sure that you've been travelling for a while to get here."
If possible, Jane's dazzling grin became even wider, 'That would be wonderful."
Lisbon just rolled her eyes as she followed Jane into the house.
--
They sat in the surprisingly bare living room until their suspect returned, a tray with three steaming cups in hand. Jane let him pass out the drinks before he started.
'Thank you, Mr. Roy. Now, did you or did you not kill a Mr. Ronald Ames?'
There was a long moment of silence, the expressions on everyone's faces seemingly frozen in time.
Jane finally broke it, "Well, that's it then Lisbon, we're good to go. He didn't do it; he's harmless."
She whipped her head up towards him, "What? How are you sure?"
"I just am. Now let's get going; we've got a fair drive back."
She sighed, biting back a retort. If she was honest with herself she was sure that he was right and really didn't feel like driving back in the dark. She'd let him win without having to explain himself or find proof for once.
"Fine. Thank you for your time, Mr. Roy."
They had just reached the door when a voice behind them made them pause.
"You're wrong."
Teresa turned back around, "I'm sorry?"
Roy was glaring at them, a scowl on his lips, "I'm not harmless, Mr. Jane. And I'm not letting you leave only to show back up on my step with cuffs."
"What?" Jane questioned, brows furrowing, honestly confused.
'I'm the killer, you idiots! And there's no way you're leaving here feeling that you've tricked me into thinking that I'm safe!' and he lunged forward, grabbing Lisbon in a headlock before she had time to react. Jane called her name as she was spun, her back to the other man's front, his arm tightly around her neck. Jane was just beginning to move forward when Roy pulled out something that made him stop cold.
He had a needle poised over Lisbon's neck.
Jane's attention was drawn by Lisbon suddenly tensing, readying herself to get out of the man's grip.
'Teresa, no!" Jane cried, trying to prevent her from making things worse.
He was too late, however; she twisted in Roy's grip and the man didn't hesitate, locking her tighter against him and plunging the syringe into her neck.
Lisbon let out a cry of surprise and Jane launched himself forward, knocking into both of them. All three tumbled to the ground, Lisbon's gun, which she had drawn at some point during the fall, skittering away across the floor. There was a scramble for the weapon, all of them kicking and wrestling. Lisbon made the connection that Jane was closer to her weapon than she, and after making eye contact with him she spun, her fist meeting Roy's face, making the man shout and recoil in surprise. Jane used the moment to lunge forward and grab Lisbon's gun, spinning back around and hitting the murderer over the head with it as hard as he could.
Roy went limp; the room fell silent, the only sound heavy breathing.
Lisbon crawled over to the unconscious man, reaching to check his pulse and looking to Jane, "You okay?"
"Yeah," he wheezed out, still trying to refill his lungs, "You?"
"I'm okay."
"Bullshit," Jane puffed, "How about your neck?"
She reached up absently, wincing as her fingers found the spot she'd been punctured, "I think that it's still in there."
He shifted to his hands and knees, moving over to her and bringing his hand up to her neck. He easily found the broken piece, pinching it between his fingers and pulling it out. She clamped her teeth down on her bottom lip to hold in a gasp and his thumb pressed down on the spot to stop the bleeding.
"Hurts?"
"Not too bad," she answered through clenched teeth.
He used his other hand to tilt her chin up so he could meet her eyes, "Your lip is bleeding because you just bit it so hard."
She huffed, "Fine, it stung a little. It still bleeding?"
He smiled at her doggedness, "Nah, I think that you'll survive."
"Cool. He's out cold; let's get some help and get out of here," she pulled her phone out of her pocket and frowned at it, "I have no signal. You?"
He dug his cell out of his pocket, "No… land line?"
"He cut it… didn't you notice that when we came in?"
Jane stared at her blankly.
She almost laughed at his face, "Huh. Score one for me."
He smirked, "Too bad I'm already beating you by a million or so."
She playfully scoffed at him and he rose, reaching down a hand to help her up. She stood shakily and held onto his arm once she was up, steadying herself. He watched her, concerned, but she was too busy trying to get over the spinning of the room to notice. He chose not to ask how she was; he knew what her answer would be.
She suddenly stepped away from him, taking the lead as though to reaffirm that she was alright. "Let's go get the car, see if we can't get a signal a little ways down the road."
He followed her out, watching her carefully placed footsteps and ready to catch her should she stumble. They reached the car to find the tires slashed; both phones were still useless.
"Someone else is out there," Lisbon whispered to him, eyes sweeping the trees. Jane nodded, waiting for her to decide their next course of action. She reached a hand down to her hip, making sure that her gun was firmly back in place, "let's walk a ways. See if we can't get anywhere useful."
He placidly followed her, trying to focus on whether or not someone was about to come leaping out at them but finding it hard to concentrate on anything but the woman in front of him. She seemed to be okay at the current moment, albeit a tad shaken, but he knew that whatever she'd been injected with wasn't going to have good results. To make matters worse it looked like Alexander Roy was a murderer with an accomplice and a plan. Jane was most certainly a betting man and he knew one thing for sure; he wouldn't put a dime on their odds had he been an outsider.
As it was he was hoping like hell that the underdogs were going to win.
There! First chapter up (maybe a tad messy but I wanted to post it before heading to bed). I'm really looking forward to trying my hand at a continuous story for this show; hopefully it works out well. Reviews would be great!
Ciao ciao, Moksgmol
PS For anyone wondering, yes the title was inspired by the short story 'The Most Dangerous Game.'
Disclaimer: I do not own the Mentalist or any of the associated characters or ideas. Also, this fanfic or any part of it is not to be used on any other site or linked to without the permission of the author. I'll more than likely say yes; I just want to know where my work is being posted and be sure that I am the one receiving credit for my work. Thank you for your cooperation and consideration