Reap the wild wind
Chapter 1
He shouldn't have let her come with him. He really shouldn't.
For it was a trap, of course. Red John had finally found a way to raise the stakes in their little game of cat and mouse.
So there he was now, helplessly watching as the serial killer held Lisbon – his Lisbon – at gunpoint. The bastard was truly enjoying himself, he could tell that.
While he was desperately ransacking his mind in order to come up with a plan.
He couldn't afford to lose Lisbon. She was all he had left, the single person who still kept him grounded.
The one and only living person he really cared about.
"Okay, Red John. You fooled me this time, I have to give you this. Now let her go, and then we can talk. It's me that you actually want, isn't it?"
The man offered him a twisted smile. "I kind of want you both, as a matter of fact."
"What if I promised to do whatever you like? You just have to spare her, that's all."
Despite the dire straits they were in, Lisbon couldn't help glaring at him. "Jane!"
"Hush, Teresa."
Red John laughed at this. "You know, all this is very touching. However, I'm afraid I have something else in store for the both of you."
"Wasn't it you the one who offered me your friendship before? I'm perfectly willing to accept it – I'm simply asking you to change the terms slightly, that's all."
"Patrick, there's one thing I've come to realize. I can't trust you. No friendship is really possible between the two of us."
"Try me. Send Lisbon back home, and I'll show you what I'm capable of doing."
"Jane, stop it!", she interjected once again. The game he was playing was too dangerous even for a man like Patrick Jane.
They never heard Red John's next words, for two gunshots echoed in the empty hall.
The man they had been chasing for so long collapsed to the floor – blood staining his immaculate shirt.
"You alright?"
Agent Darcy came forward, still wielding her gun. Neither Jane nor Lisbon had ever been so happy to see her.
Lisbon's voice quivered slightly as she answered with another question. "How did you find us?"
"Followed your car. Looks like my hunch was correct, doesn't it?"
The last thing that Darcy was expecting right now was Jane coming towards her and throwing his arms around her.
"Thank you. I owe you big time."
"You're welcome", the FBI agent replied somewhat awkwardly.
She knew that Jane actually wasn't a touchy-feely person, except when he did it on a specific purpose. Teresa Lisbon had to mean a lot to him – that thing was for sure.