Salvation
Author: CK
Rating: P18 / M
Contents: "The day of reckoning is close. Be prepared." That was all the letter from Red John said. But it was all he needed.
Disclaimer: Show doesn't belong to me, but to Bruno Heller, his team and CBS - to be honest, I wouldn't want to own it anyway, because in my opinion, Mr. Heller and his team do a fantastic job and as far as I'm concerned - I wouldn't be able to do it better!
Characters: Lisbon and Jane - and Red John. Barely any mention of Rigsby, Van Pelt and Cho, though nevertheless, it will be EST Van Pelt/Rigsby.
Author's Note: As you will notice, the story is mostly OOC, at least from our nowadays perspective. Originally it was planned to set the story at the end of season one. Since the spoilers said something about Red John in the season finale and that things were going to get revealed it seemed like a good idea. At this time, I also had a slightly different concept. But then I read an interview with Bruno Heller where he said that the storyline wasn't going to be solved before the end of the show. So I changed some things - and this is the result.
As for OCC - I think that it is possible for the characters to act this way - in six (seven... eight... depends on how long the show will go on ;)) years maybe. This is where the story is set now - in the future, as it is my idea of what might happen in the last episode of the show, the final Red John episode (although then it won't have the high rating and some certain scenes).
I have been thinking very long whether to post this story. It might be too early - it might be too "far away". But in the end I decided that I don't want to wait any longer (I guess it wouldn't have helped to edit the story for the umpteenth time...) and now just hope that you will like it.
Unfortunately, I again didn't have a beta reader (but if there are any volunteers, I'd be very happy ;)). So I'm sorry for the mistakes.
I'm also sorry that there's nearly more text in the Author's Note than in the prologue, but I promise that I will post the first chapter tomorrow (at the latest).
And one last thing, a WARNING: This story is not suitable for kids - though the sexual has been removed (please read the note in ch. 3), it will contain violence that might be disturbing for some readers.
Prologue
It hadn't been a good week to start with. The first message on Monday morning had been that Red John had killed again. Three women this time; stunned and then cut open, like the killer always did. They had rushed to the crime scene, Jane as always believing that it was only a copycat killer - until they had stepped into the room. And all color had left Jane's face. Lisbon hadn't needed to ask if this had been done by the real Red John this time.
To make it only worse, they had found a letter, written with blood and addressed to Jane - from Red John.
The day of reckoning is close. Be prepared.
It had said nothing else. Forensics of course hadn't been able to find any traces on the piece of paper, apart from the victims' blood. But no one doubted its genuineness.
It had been the twelfth anniversary of Jane's family's death. It simply had to have a meaning - otherwise it was the worst joke they had ever been confronted with.
When they came back in the evening, their consultant didn't patter and banter, didn't have any comments on his lips; he didn't throw himself onto the sofa to take a nap. No - he instead wordlessly took his stuff and left.
He was as wordless in the next morning. Investigations regarding the murders of the women went successful, as far as this was possible; everything that was to find out they did, just not who or where Red John was. But they hadn't really hoped to find him anyway. And while the investigation went as "usual", Jane's behavior was anything but usual. He was quiet, didn't comment on anything; he hardly said anything at all.
And one afternoon, he just vanished.
---
"Where's Jane?"
Teresa Lisbon looked around, searching for her colleague and team's consultant. She had tried to have an eye on him in these past days, for his behavior was almost alarmingly strange. From the moment Jane had corroborated that the women had been murdered by Red John something had told her that the message on the letter foreboded the one thing she had to admit she truly feared - that the meeting between Jane and the serial killer would actually happen now. So she suspected something really bad when the man who had become a friend to her and her team over the past years wasn't present during their working hours.
"He left about twenty minutes ago. Didn't he-?" Van Pelt informed, but was interrupted by her boss.
"No, of course he didn't tell me. And let me guess - he didn't tell you either where he went, right?"
"He just got a phone call, became very quiet, didn't answer the caller, and then left."
"Idiot," Lisbon muttered to herself and earned some confused looks. Grabbing her coat, she shortly informed, "The caller was Red John!" Then she, too, left.
And she hoped that this very moment wasn't the beginning of the ending.