A/N: When you're the target, those you care about can be "collateral" damage! What do you do?

When You're the Target

The sharp staccato bark of the engine, as he gunned it prior to killing the engine, made Jane smile. That car could be the actual love of his life. He stepped out, carefully locked the door and pocketed the keys. A stretch to ease his frame into the reality of having to walk was a ritual he rarely violated. As he stretched in the morning sun, he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise in fear. He froze, knowing he was being watched. He casually finished his stretch and quickly bent over, as if to examine something on the ground. From that more secure position, he looked around scanning the surroundings for anything amiss or out of the ordinary. Nothing.

He straightened and began a casual, but erratic walk to the CBI entrance. His expression grim, as he contemplated the fact that, somehow, he was now a target. He couldn't prove it, but he knew it. Every sense and instinct he possessed screamed danger, danger, danger!

In the office, sipping his morning tea, it seemed unreal, and he was almost inclined to dismiss it. Almost. The last time he'd dismissed such a feeling had not ended happily. He'd vowed to never make such a mistake again.

0000

Rigsby stared at Jane. For the past week, he'd be acting strangely. Now, there was a slight tremor to his hands as he cupped the tea, almost as if he was trying to absorb the warmth from it. His eyes were slightly sunken, as if he'd not been sleeping well, his suit uncharacteristicly rumpled, and he actually needed a shave. Wayne stood and tapped Cho on the shoulder as he headed to the men's room. Cho looked up and Wayne signaled for Cho to follow him.

In the men's room, Wayne turned on a spigot, to allow the sound of the flowing water to mask his low conversation. "Have you noticed anything weird about Jane, lately," he asked Cho.

Cho frowned and nodded. "I have. He's been acting stranger than usual.

Rigsby nodded. "Yes, and that's saying something. He looks almost scared. What do you think is eating him?"

Cho noisily exhaled. "I'm thinking he's in trouble and trying to protect us."

Rigsby nodded "We have..."

"To cover him," Cho finished. They nodded and returned to the office.

Jane stood and walked to the window. He could see his car below. Yesterday, when he unlocked the driver's door, he'd found a rifle bullet balanced on the windshield blade. Carefully removing it, he wrapped it gently in tissue and tucked it into an inside vest pocket. He was planning to give it to forensics, but for some reason he hadn't done that yet.

He grimaced. There were so many vantage points to the CBI entrance. It obviously had not been chosen for security. Who would ever thing that the elite criminal investigation agency would be targeted in such a way? He was unaware of how closely Rigsby and Cho were studying him.

The forensics lab was cool, with an odd smell, not unpleasant, but odd. The varying chemicals and reagents, mixing to create a unique odor that only a forensics lab can have. The equipment looked like something out of the next century. Jane had a good education, but none of his education or experiences prepared him to even recognize the equipment array of the lab. As he stepped into the lab, he had to smile. He felt like a caveman stepping into a space shuttle.

"Hi, Jane," Kip, the lab tech greeted him. "What brings you down here, to the twilight zone?"

"I need a favor, Kip," Jane said, reaching into his pocket, fetching the bullet. "Strictly between you and me, I need know everything you can find out about this. Everything!"

Kip eyed the bullet in his palm. "You got troubles, Jane? You sure this should be kept quiet?"

Jane shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't want to be making some sort of ruckus for nothing. So, for the moment, can you do that for me?" Jane grinned. "I could arrange an introduction to the contortionist twins. You know the ones."

Kip grinned. "Do I ever! You could really do that?"

Jane winked. "I worked carney with them. That was before they got famous. They sort of owe me a favor."

Kip raised his eyes to heaven. "My total silence and devotion are yours Master Jane. I'll call you as soon as I know something. I can get started within the half hour."

An hour later, Jane's phone rang. Kip informed him that he should come down to the lab. Jane hung up. Walked over to the window and looked. Casually turning he ambled, aimlessly, out of the office.

Wayne looked at Kimball. "He's up to something."

"Got that right," Kimball exclaimed, standing and leaving behind Jane. Jane had just gotten into the elevator, and Cho watched as the pointer descended and stopped at basement two. He frowned, then remembered that the forensics lab was the only thing, other than some old files in storage, that was down there.

About a half later, Jane returned, his face impassive as he sat at his desk, sipping tea. He'd not taken a nap all day.

Cho walked into forensics. Kip looked up as his second visitor for the day arrived. As Cho approached him, he got a sinking feeling that all was not well.

The water running into the sink, once again, masked their low conversation. "He wanted Kip to analyze a 7.62mm rifle round. He refused to reveal why, but Kip told me that it was match grade, and whoever had the bullet must know how to use it. That quality of match grade ammunition is not easy to find."

"What are we going to do," Wayne ask Cho.

"We going to do what we do best," Cho replied. "We're going to keep Jane out of trouble."

0000

Jane got out of his car, quickly locked it, and walked, hunched down, it an erratic pattern towards the CBI office. He knew he was being watched with bad intent, and that he couldn't locate it or define it was terrifying him.

As he started to enter, he heard a nasty splat, heard the faint crack of a distant high powered rifle and was hit in the back by a force that threw him forward and knocked the wind from his lungs.

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