A one-shot for the Mentalist, if you don' t watch the show you should, because it's good.

Jane must play a high-stakes poker game with a sycopath to save and find Lisbon.

Jane sat facing the smiling man with a scar. The same man who had managed to kidnap Lisbon from her home and imprison her with apparently little effort. He was short, pale, with black hair that stuck out at odd angles. He had a scar, most likely from an old knife, with ran from the bridge of his nose to the end of his cheek. His pale green eyes glowed in the light of the casino as he stared at his hand. Five card stud, aces wild, and the life of his best friend in the balance.

"Are you ok, Mr. Jane?" The scarred man asked pleasantly.

"I'm just attempting to understand," I replied, taking in every detail of him looking for his tell," Why you went to all this trouble for a card game.

"I think it adds a certain thrill to life," he replied, grinning widely."To gamble with lives on the line and such."

""You were abused as a child, weren't you?"

The man's face twitched slightly," No, I had perfect parents."

"Are you sure? Cause that twitch says your lying."

The dealer looked at the scarred man," Your bet sir."

He seemed to snap out some sort of flashback," Raise, $100."

"Call," Jane replied with a grin.

"Reveal your hands," the dealer said to both players. The crowd gasped as the two revealed their hands."Mr. Jane has the high hand, two pair of eights and fives."

The scarred man stared at his own paltry hand of a pair," Looks like it's going to be a long night for you buddy." Jane said with his trademark grin.

Lisbon's eyes fluttered as she sat up in her concrete cell. She stood slowly, feeling the blood rush painfully to her head. She immediately took survey of her sparse surroundings. It was a basic five-by-five concrete room, much like a basement, save for the huge metal door in the middle of the forward wall.

"Where am I?" She asked the wall as she looked for another way out."All I remember is getting home and blacking out..." She looked at the door closer, and saw a small Post-it attached to it.
She pulled it off and read it carefully.

Dear Agent Lisbon,

I do so apologize for having to hit you on the head so hard. I could think of no other way to incapacitate you for the time I required. I sincerely hope you enjoy your stay here, and will return soon to kill you after I have crushed your precious Jane.

Lisbon read and re-read the note, trying to figure out if she could use it in some way to escape. She looked once more at the immovable door in front of her, and felt a cold shiver of fear for Jane run up her spine.

Jane stared the man down, still struggling to find the man's tell," You seem a little flustered," the man said emotionlessly," Are you feeling well."

"Perfectly, though you seem a little down."

The man narrowed his eyes," I would not push me Mr. Jane. Remember that I hold the life of your little friend in my hands."

"Your bet sir," the dealer interrupted, speaking to Jane, who was currently losing.

"$200," Jane said, tossing in the chips, never taking his eyes off of his opponent.

"Call," was the man's reply.

"Mr. Handson had the high hand, small straight."

The man grinned," You only have $300 left Mr. Jane, will you surrender?"

Jane looked at Handson for a long time before saying," Nope, I think I'll continue."

"As you wish."

Lisbon ran a hand around the doors hinges, searching for some sort of weakness she could exploit. But she found none, and once again sat on the floor, waiting. She waited for either the killer to arrive, in which she would try to overpower him, or for her team to find her.

"Hurry up Jane..."

Jane was down to his lash hundred, staring down Handson," All in."

"Down to your last legs, eh Mr. Jane?"

Jane just grinned," Maybe, maybe not."

Handson stared at Jane for a moment, before moving all of his chips in as well," All in, and that includes the location of Ms. Lisbon."

The dealer tossed the final card to each player, and Handson looked down at his cards, grinning. Three kings, two aces, all spades. A recipe for the perfect end to a wonderful card game.

"Players, reveal your hands."

Handson flipped the cards over one by one, savoring the shocked look on Jane's face," Not a bad hand, eh?"

"Yeah," he replied," I guess I should show mine now..." He began to flip the cards slowly. King of hearts, queen of hearts, jack of hearts, ten of hearts, and finally an ace of hearts."Remind me," Jane asked the stricken," A Royal Flush beats beat's a Full House Flush? Right?"

"How...how...?"

Jane stood, a grin splitting his face ear to ear," Now if you would tell me the location of Agent Lisbon, I'll be on my way."

"She's in a bunker off of I-87. A deal's a deal," Handson said as Rigsby stepped out of the crowd, slapping the cuffs onto the shocked card player.

"Thanks," Jane answered, already headed towards the door.

Lisbon stared at the door, angry," What is taking you guys so long?" She asked the wall.

"I don't know?" A familiar voice answered.

"Jane," Lisbon yelled, running towards the door," Is that you?"

The door swung open, nailing Lisbon," Honey, I'm hoooooome!" Jane yelled as he walked in to see Lisbon lying senseless on the floor. "Oops."

AT THE OFFICE

Lisbon shifted the ice pack on her forehead, sucking in her breath as the pain hit her," You did what?!"

"I saved your life, again," Jane answered, grinning happily.

"You bet on me in a card game? You idiot! Why didn't you just put a tag on me and put me in a zoo?"

"Boss," Rigsby interrupted," We've got a new case."

Jane and Lisbon sighed in unison, readying themselves for a new day.

"And don't think you're out of the woods yet Jane!"