When hunters become the hunted.
The consultant frowned, sighing as his thoughts where interrupted by sudden shrill ringing that cut through the soundless air.
"Lisbon?" The man called across the room, refusing to open his eyes against the orange tinged lights that beamed down at him in harsh artificial rays.
"Rigsby?" Patrick Jane moaned, blindly stretching out a stubborn arm, snatching for the item that continued to wreck the thick tranquil silence the room had faded into.
"Hello?" Jane yawned through the mouth piece, squinting his sky blue eyes in preparation for another over reactive, agitated domestic call.
"Hello? CBI?" The man repeated his default greeting lifting himself heavily into a sitting position on the sofa he had peacefully laid across.
"Twinkle Twinkle little bat. How I wonder where you're at." The receiver crackled filling the mans thoughts with rhythmic tones of the uneven masculine voice. "Up above the world you fly. Like diseased ridden vermin in the sky…"
"Who is this?" Patrick stood from his place fighting against the haunting images that flickered violently in his thoughts, he paced across the wooden floorboards that echoed lightly beneath his steady footsteps.
"You didn't really, think you, caughT me did you?" The consultant pictured the gruesome face that matched the surreal, menacing voice. "Now's not the time for you to go all quiet on me Mr. Jane.."
"Joker." The mans frown deepened, allowing a tense hand to slide stiffly through the blonde hair that framed his bewildered features.
"Good to see I'm still remembered." The eerie reply sounded as the consultant finished his single worded reply. "And there was little old me thinking cops and lawyers forget about all the big bad criminals they send away to rot in six by six cells.""How did you escape?" Patrick scanned the empty room scouring for another form of life in the criminal bureau office, stifling another yawn that fought against his breath.
"Which time?" The criminal teased, Jane could visualize the sickly smile spreading across the mans scarred scarlet lips.
"We had you." The consultant stated slowly walking further through the empty office.
"No…" An uneven chuckle buzzed through the receiver contradicting the mans feeble sentence. "I had me.. You had no one.."
"You had men on our side." Patrick continued the weighted conversation, edgily making his way towards the sectioned off room that watched over the large vacant space.
"Mr Jane, I thought there were no such things as sides?" Patrick heard the mans bland expression change from the place he hid, the consultant sensed the same danger he had previously faced leak into the villains obscured voice. "Being a little over dramatic aren't we?"
"What do you want joker?" Jane's determined hand reached for the lone door handle, feeling the cool metal sting his warm skin.
"I don't want anything." The consultant listened as the man licked the scars that webbed from his red painted lips, a habit he had noted from their first encounter.
"This is about what you want." The serious voice crackled heavily, exaggerating the last letter of his sentence. "You see Patrick. I know you. I know everything about you.. Maybe even more than you know about yourself…"
"I doubt that very much." Patrick retorted cringing from the hazy scenes that played in the depths of his mind. He reflected on the criminals blood red harlequin smile contrasting with the white paint of his false face, deepened by the hollows of his ghostly black rimmed eyes.
"I know about your family…" The consultant hesitated as his wavering arm nudged the thick concealed door open. His distant eyes scanned over the abandoned desk that stood absently at the back of the airy room, he paced across the tiled floor repeating his previous expression, tainting his puckered brows with confusion.
"I know about your beautiful wife Mr Jane.. I know about your precious child, your little girl." The menacing criminal taunted, mimicking his words to the sound of the rhyme he had recited.
Jane leant against the doorframe sighing, his weak hand kept the phone pressed to his ear, he felt a dull pain thud against the back of his head signifying the ghost of his past migraine. "They where killed. He killed you're lovely family… he broke into your house, he painted a smile with their blood…"
The consultant remained silent noiselessly listening to the mans confident speech.
"Do you wonder is they felt it? If they where in pain?" The jokers edged voice sliced through the uneven stillness that flowed over the quiet man.
"Why are you calling me?" Patrick cut of the criminals eerie sentence covering the softness in his voice with his usual misted tones."Isn't it obvious?" The phone taunted, lacking trace of emotion in its shallow depths. "Look around you Mr Jane…" The joker breathed heavily, exaggerating his breath as if explaining his words to a stubborn child. "You're alone. They've all gone."
"Where are they?" Jane refocused his remote attention, gathering his current thoughts to the jagged conversation he held.
"Do you trust me?" The criminal changed the heated subject ignoring the consultants question, silence filled the line before Jane chose his reply.
"You kill innocent people." Patrick stated knowing he hadn't chosen the words the villain was waiting to hear. "You've made civilians suffer for no reason.""Do you trust me?" The distant question was repeated edgily, confirming the incorrect answer."No." Patrick retorted, cutting to the word that struck boldly at his thoughts.
"Good, because I'd really hate to draw your attention back to the last time I was asked that question…. Pop goes the weasel." An ill-humoured laugh barked through the receiver, chilling the consultant as he felt more questions rising to his curious mind. "Is this why you've called me? To let me know you have my team?""Not exactly.." The uneven voice paused lightly as if the man was in thought, considering his answer. "I called you to let you know, you have a chance to save them.""What do I have to do?" Jane frowned encouraging the mans speech with an unseen tense nod."Play my game." The consultant fought back spiteful laughter registering the three syllables that echoed in his mind.
"Your game finished a long time ago." Patrick kept his tone emotionless, addressing the man who radiated bitterness in his response. "Not this one, this one has only just started, you don't have to play but let me just point out." He paused again, the silence filled Jane's ears with the sound of his own heartbeat, he felt the faint amount of confidence that flowed through his veins fade away, falling from his form, dying in the lethal stillness. "You won't be seeing your little friends again.""What's the plan." The consultant expected the answer, obvious to the fact he had no choice but to accept his disturbed thoughts."There isn't one Mr Jane, with me there never is. You should know that by now." Jane shifted his weight nervously, his thoughts mirrored the images that floated through his mind, images from the past crumpled into the present, crashing into each other to create a jumbled collage. A work of art that represented the only thing the man he spoke to stood for, Anarchy.
"Just do as I say but not what I do.." The jokers haunting voice interrupted the consultants trailing notions, pulling them away from the distracting pictures that stalked his darkened thoughts.
"You're leaving the lives of my colleagues down to a game of Simon says?" Patrick questioned the man, finding the limits of the situation he had been trapped in for the second time in his career."No one said anything about Simon." The small object Patrick held to he ear replied maliciously.
"I want proof." Jane stated masking his disoriented feelings with the professional skills he needed, yet struggled to maintain."This is my game Mr Jane, you don't make the rules." The joker hissed making his authority clear to the man that challenged him, testing his competitions flustering confidence."I thought you had no rules.." Jane replied once again falling into the past. The tainted memories of the jester mimicking criminal who stated his beliefs as he sat opposite him in a cool metallic interrogation room. He had no rules, he lived to brake them and crushed the people that dared stand by them. "You can't bargain lives with your methods of trying to poke around in my mind Patrick…" Joker sighed, almost bored of their discussion. "…people could die.""How do I know you have them." Patrick worked his way around the off balance sentence, scouring the holes in the dialogue, searching for clues, determined to find a way to reveal the villains weak vulnerabilities."Either you could believe me or I could send you proof." The joker offered, lightening his speech with false, patronising tones pouring into his words. "A chain perhaps, maybe a security pass.. A finger?""Leave them alone," Patrick hissed feeling anger seething into his pacing pulse, drowning the regret of asking his previous question. "I'll play your game.""There's a good sport." The man cheered underlying his laugh with the persistent threat to his colleagues lives. "I don't really want to hurt the lovely Grace Van pelt... And I know you have a soft spot for the beautiful Teresa Lisbon."
"Leave them out of this." Jane hissed dropping his tranquil cover, he had worked with the CBI for the best part of four years, this was the only person who managed to get through his thickened skin. Jane never considered him a person, maybe when he first saw him but now, he knew the joker was a monster, past any ways of redemption. "That's gonna be pretty hard to do when they're here with me." The criminal mocked, once again forcing his words into a rhythmic pattern.
"How can I trust you?" Jane stated echoing the mans previous question laced with doubt. "You'll just have to try your best." The joker replied, Patrick imagined the deep hazel eyes that penetrated through the small phone, observing the mans weak struggle. "Have some faith…." He paused mimicking the speech of a teacher trying to encourage a child to work, or the voice of a person trying to encourage someone to jump from a plane without wearing a parachute. "But before we go around in that never ending circle of me telling you that you have to follow my rules or one of your colleagues will die, I need to tell you… if I have to tell you again it'll only get me in a bad mood."
"Sure." Patrick bluntly replied, blocking the humour that had edged the darkened mans sentence.
"I want the police involved. You should call Good old Jimmy Gordon." The consultant listened to the instructions that where stated seriously through the phone, the criminals voice had fallen deeply to a sinister tone, one that would stay in his victims memories if they ever survived long enough to hear his serious words. "I know bats still isn't around but this could still work. It might even get him back, him knowing his favourite villain is making a mockery of his beloved little pets."
"You want the police involved?" Jane repeated running a tense hand over the frown that etched over his forehead, squinting his eyes against the sharp pains that stabbed through him announcing the return of his head ache. "Normally people don.."
"Don't interrupt me Mr Jane." The criminal intervened through the consultants speech letting the pause that followed linger in the heavy air, Patrick could feel the tension weigh against him, smothering him with its thick claustrophobic atmosphere. "Don't question me."
"Okay.." Jane shifted his weight again, casting a regretful glance across the empty office floor. "Anything else?""I want papers, publicity, I want everyone to know I'm back." The consultant observed as the mans speech grew deeper. "I want them to know I never left."
"So you do have a plan.." Patrick replied acknowledging the distinct pause that flat lined his sentence.
"What do you mean by that?" Jane listened to the quizzical tones raise lightly.
"You want fear." Patrick stated refusing to change the blunt pitch of his own voice to the accusing question. "You want everyone to run from you, I wonder why that is, perhaps in one point of your life you where the one that ran…" Jane's theory built in the mystified silence, towering with the facts and conclusions, he had found relating to the villain. "Don't forget I know you too Jack."
"I warned you." The jokers hollow response cut off the mans confident sentence. "Do not think you can manipulate me Jane, like I said people will most likely die.." He breathed heavily. "Don't' try that again."
"Sure thing boss." Patrick answered humourlessly. "So who do you want first? The innocent citizens or the hardened hand of the law?""Choice is yours Patrick, feel free with what you want to do." The criminal instructed. "Baring in mind, I want this thing wrapped up nice and neatly by, lets say, midnight.""That only gives me two hours…" Jane frowned, letting his eyes over to the wall opposite him, adjusting to the pale white clock that blandly ticked past the dragging seconds.
"Well if your just gonna stand there your times gonna run out sooner than you think.." Jane turned his head backing away from the wall he stubbornly leant against. "Oh, and just to let you know, if I don't see my name on the bright screen of my TV and hear waves of fear from my radio speakers one of your friends will die."
The man walked hastily through the empty office, his panicked steps echoed angrily from the bare wooden boards beneath him. "And guess what?" The villains voice heightened another pitch, the consultant frowned listening to the small pause that broke through his sentence giving him enough time to guess what the next words would be. "You'll be the one choosing that too."
"Where are you?" Jane turned his head again repeating, the movement as his mind echoed the mans eerie sentence, he knew he was leaning against the wall, he could see him. Patrick scoured the abandoned room noticing his question hadn't gained a reply. "Joker?"
"You better get a move on Jane, times ticking."
"Joker?" Patrick lifted from the phone from his ear as he heard the dead line buzz through the night.
"Next." A young male voice greeted the consultant who paced across the tired floor boards, pounding his impatient feet against the feeble wood.
"Is this next victim?" Patrick questioned the male tones that had addressed him.
"Woah, we've got a confused one here listeners." The host laughed heavily letting his voice bark through the speakers that buzzed lively, sitting on the desk the consultant paced past. "Yes this is next victim with Alex Banter, normally I ask you who you are but this is different…""Do you know who the joker is?" Patrick interrupted the light hearted speech killing the cheerful atmosphere that poured through the office carried by the grave radio waves.
"Of course I do, doesn't every one?" Banter laughed stiffly. "He was taken away by police, luckily he left the city and is locked away, hopefully in some mental asylum that has no windows and serves hospital food.""Well the thing is kid. He's not so caught after all." Jane sighed picturing the persistent demonic grin that would be spreading across the criminals grotesque face, creasing his sinister features as he listened to the hectic response that followed the consultants sentence.
"Not funny dude, seriously not funny." Alex's tense voice crackled over the radio station letting his listeners hear the fear he attempted to unconvincingly cover.
"He's out. He's here. He wants everyone to know." Jane replied. "I'm Patrick Jane, I work for the CBI.""This is a sick joke Patrick." Banters voice carried insecurity as it reached the mans intent ears.
"This is no joke. Spread the news. Do it or people will die." Jane slammed the phone down ending the call as he walked to the next desk picking up the lone identical item that summoned him with familiar silence breaking rings.
"Nicely done Patrick. I think we'll get along pretty well, that is, if we put our differences behind us." The familiar pitched voice taunted the consultant who soundlessly greeted him.
"I think in a past life we where best friends, maybe even brothers." Jane flinched back at the bitter laugh that deafeningly cackled through the faint phone line.
"Nice touch by the way, calling next victim, good to know you haven' lost your sense of humour in this."
"What else do you want?" Patrick sighed breaking his tormentors speech.
"I told you, I want the police, you got the press, get me Gordon. Oh.." The man paused lightly. "Lisbon keeps pain killers in her desk, for your head ache."
The consultants retaliation was silenced with the cold lifeless phone line.
"Hello? I've been on hold for over twenty minutes.." Patrick tensely watched the clock that stood above him, teasing him with the seconds that had grown faster, in his mind he counted with the clock only being able to note half seconds before the next was ticked away. The speeding minute hand pointed to the mans nearing deadline, he only had thirty minutes left.
"Sir this is a busy station, why don't you try your local branch?" The consultant was answered with the same emotionless voice that had put him on hold.
"I was told to call this one." Jane paused trying to think of words that made sense in his frantic mind. "Can I please talk to commissioner Gordon?""May I ask you told you to call us?" The womans stubborn tone refused to back down against the mans hesitant words.
"The joker." Patrick's broken voice wavered, his sky blue eyes hovered over the tormenting minute hand that ticked by another line, symbolizing his dying time. "I need to talk to Jim Gordon.""The joker was taken away." The woman insisted, her solid voice stayed in the same tone although her sentence was uncertain."He escaped and is holding my CBI team hostage." Jane sighed feeling his heart thump solidly in his tightened chest. "If I don't let Gordon know he's back he will kill them."
"Hold on, I'll patch you through." The woman stated ending their conversation with the dialling of another line.
"Commissioner Gordon?" Patrick was addressed with another voice, one he knew.
"Jim, it's Patrick Jane.." The consultant hurried his speech before the other man interrupted his stuttered dialogue.
"Nice to hear from you Patrick, but, why are you calling here?" Commissioner Gordon replied showing his bewildered response. "Heidi tried to tell me something about the Joker?""He's back Gordon." Jane stated confirming the mans sentence.
"The joker?" Patrick nodded his head agitatedly sighing at the dragged out the speed the conversation was moving at. "Yes, that very one, he's got my team Jim, he's going to kill them if he doesn't get what he wants.""What does he want?" The commissioner mirrored the mans answer, twisting his words into a question.
"Right now he wants everyone to know he's back. He said he never left." Jane's frantic eyes scanned over the clock that towered over him. "He also said he wanted you to know. If he doesn't know I've told you he will do something to them." "When's our deadline?" Gordon retorted, the consultant could picture the tired man glancing up to the digital clock that was placed at the edge of his tall, dark oak desk with wavering dark brown eyes.
"Midnight." Jane stated predicting the tension that came from the phone line.
"Do you have any idea where he might be?" The man questioned tightly phrasing his words.
"He's near the office, he can see me, he's probably watching now." Patrick replied sparing another ineffective glance around his abandoned surroundings. "Either that or he's bugged the office."
"I'll be at your office, I can't guarantee a time but I'll be there. Try distract him, I'll take a chopper." Gordon's words symbolised the end of their heated conversation.
"Joker." Jane held the phone tightly to his ear as he answered the call.
"Patrick.." The consultant could hear the gruesome smile that played across the villains twisted features. "How's the head ache?""Fine." Patrick stated cutting to his next response. "I've called Jim.""There you go, wasn't so bad after all was it?" The Joker mocked lightly, danger spiked his humoured voice darkly, oozing into the conversation.
"He'll be at the offices as soon as he can get here." Jane reported feeling tension battling inside his frantic mind.
"Excellent, well now all we could do is wait I suppose.." Patrick listened to the taunting silence that filled their speech before the criminals voice returned solidly. "How about we talk until he turns up?""Sure." Jane stated, "What did you want to talk about?"
"Well.. You know enough about me. How about we talk about the life and times of Mr. Jane." Patrick observed the serious tone that addressed him.
"Let's see, I'll tell you what I know and you can fill in the gaps…" Jane listened to the uneven voice that humourlessly noted his past.
"You grew up with your father, at a circus, how nice… and you think we don't have much in common.." The consultant opened his mouth to retort until the sinister explanation returned. "You left the circus because you where fed up of conning innocent people out of their money and lives. But," The man clicked his tongue theatrically. "What's slipped my mind is what happened to you father? Is he still there?" The man paused rhetorically jumping back into his dialect. "Anyway.. You left and found a television show that preyed on vulnerable minds, ironic, not so far of from your previous choice of career.. You taunted a mass murderer on live television which made him in return kill your family, since then you've admitted your talents are just good observation and plan on helping the Californian, criminal bureau of investigation for the foreseeable future. What a difference…""You know a lot about me." Jane interrupted agreeing with each fact that was listed. "Did you pull up my folder? Do some search engine research?""I have my resources.." The criminal paused. "Really, I was just repaying a favour… After all, you took out so much time researching me and tracking me down. I didn't want you to feel left out.""How about we talk about you?" Patrick replied leaning against the small desk that stood behind him, glaring at the clock that ticked away the passing seconds, it had been twenty minutes since his discussion with the commissioner had ended, which gave him another ten to distract the criminal.
"I don't think that's a good idea.." The joker replied slashing his time saving idea. "You know everything about me, compared to you my life is.. Boring." The man sighed regrettable, tainting his spiteful words with sarcasm. "The only thing is.. You haven't filled out the gaps."
"What gaps?" Jane frowned, thickening the unwanted conversation.
"The gaps in your career you didn't report. The feelings you hide behind, the reasons for you rash decisions…. Looking at your history, you don't seem like a man with a plan either, although, you don't strike me as much of a dog chasing cars." The criminal stated, dulling his voice into a harsh whisper. "Lets talk about the downs..""I don't think that's a good idea.." Jane echoed the mans previous words, tensely rolling the meaningful gold band around his finger.
"It's my rules." The joker repeated in the emotionless silence. "Why did you quit the fairground? You where earning quite a bit of money.."
"It wasn't ethical. Money isn't the only way of life." Patrick replied, refusing to fall under the building pressure that laid against him.
"You continued to fool innocent people in your program, didn't you find that immoral?" The villain continued his interrogation forcing the consultant to reply.
"I was helping them. It was either me, someone who tried to help lonely people grieve in peace or some, a hundred bucks an hour fraud who laughed behind their backs." Jane replied feeling the same unease he had previously felt flood through his veins more than four years ago.
"And red John?" The consultant cringed back at the painful memories that stung his eyes, blurring his distant vision. "You got a little too big for your boots didn't you?""I didn't think he would care.." Jane replied watching the artificial lights bounce off the wedding band that wrapped around his finger.
"But he did.. He really did…" The criminal paused, reflecting sensitively. "Any one would think the way he reacted shows that he has feelings…"
"Anyone would think you've got feelings…" The consultant retorted, expressing disgust in his voice as his remark was registered with a low rumble of broken laughter.
"It looks like I've hit a nerve.." The joker replied lightly exaggerating the words into a drawn out sentence. "Tell me Patrick.. Why do you still wear that ring?.."Jane frowned noticing the paleness of his clenched knuckles contrasting with the angelic glimmer of his golden wedding band.
"I'm married.." Patrick hissed resealing the tension that closed his tightened hand, watching the colour run through his taunt skin. "That's the normal, usual reason people wear wedding rings, funny really."
"To a ghost.." The consultant observed the whispered sentence, he shifted his weight uneasily, glaring at the pale white wall that structured the box like office.
"You should let go of the past Mr. Jane.. It's not healthy…" The villain mused as if intending his speech to only be meant for himself.
"What's not healthy is killing innocent people.." Jane retorted preparing for the speech that would interrupt his words.
"No one is as innocent as you would think." The consultant frowned as he noted the mans softer tones. "Why would you say that?"
"You're the one with all the detective buddies.. This time you need to figure it out by yourself.." The criminal breathed heavily continuing his reply. "Let yourself go a little Patrick, all your life needs is a little bit of Anarchy…" Patrick flinched back from the last word, his thoughts plummeted back through the past until they fabricated back to the cool metallic interrogation room.
"How did you feel?" Jane's bewildered expression deepened as he was addressed with another question. "About what?"
"How did you feel when you found them?" The consultant sighed quietly watching as another second was ticked away followed by another before he answered.
"I felt like every man would have felt.."
"Like?…" The joker pressed his question knowing the other mans weakness.
"Like my world was over.. Like I had to find him.." Jane replied in the eerie silence that intently listened to his words.
"What changed your mind? What made you feel like you had to become the hero?" Patrick studied the inquiry going through each word in his mind. "I'm not a hero..""A lot of people would disagree.." The voice that buzzed through his ear replied.
"I'm not a hero.. I help people grieve. I give them the justice I didn't get.." Jane replied forcing his voice to speak with the weakened answer his mind announced.
"Don't you want to hurt him anymore?" Patrick's glare faded from the lone wall, drifting across the empty office, he blinked forcefully, pulling himself away from the tragic memories that tainted his life.
A young girl had stood in front of him in the garden, his garden. Honey coloured sun rays poured over the bright green grass, contrasting with the scarlet roses that dotted the emerald sea.
A smile played across the girls peaceful features as she showed him the picture she had drawn. Patrick knelt until he levelled his height with the young girls, her sky blue eyes hovered over him gleefully watching as he mused over the messily drawn picture.
A smile creased his cheeks, spreading light hearted dimples to his happy eyes as he read the child's scrawled writing. "Mummy.." The girl paused pointing at the first figure she had drawn, the image mimicked one of a classic child drawing, a stick person with straw like hair that flowed until it reached a triangle shaped skirt. "Daddy.." Her delicate hand drifted over the paper until it reached the last picture in the line, a tall figure stood with a stick thin body topped with locks of thick yellow curls, the man held a object in his hand, Patrick frowned gently asking the young girl what the picture was. "A wand silly!" Her voice rang out like a light chiming bell. "You're a magician!"
The man laughed as he studied the girls expression, he lowered his eyes back to the picture he held, gesturing to the small stick figured child. "Who's this?" His smile grew as he noted the girls shocked expression. "Me!" She giggled as the man raised his eyebrows. "You?"
"Yeah!" The child laughed pointing at the short figure that stood between the drawings labelled after Patrick and his wife, her light hand traced the red line that symbolised the smile on her portraits face.
A bright red line, a picture that haunted him, a memory that followed him.
Jane closed his eyes finding himself in the darkened room of his empty house, he knelt on the ground daring himself to look above him, forcing himself to see the consequences he had earned.
A blood red smile loomed over him, watching him as he studied the saddened face, a crystallised tear ran from his ice cold eyes.
"Well?" Jane's attention snapped back into the present as he blinked away the saddened memories.
"I'll make him suffer in different ways.. I don't have to hurt him physically."
"Do you really think I'm going to buy that?" The joker replied, toying with the mans words. "I bet when you find him, you'll tear him limb from limb and enjoy watching his pain…."
"We're different." Jane stated emotionlessly, his bland gaze traced over his surroundings "I'm not you.."
"No.. you're not." The criminal clicked his tongue. "I know where to stop. I'm in control.." The consultant stood in silence feeling his pulse calm from the memory he had relived. "It looks like we have company.." Jane glanced from the towering window that formed over the offices wall, his sky blue eyes observed the beam of light that flew past the roof of the building.
"What are you waiting for Jane? Go say hi to Jimmy… tell him I send my regards.."
Patrick placed the small phone back onto his desk, lifting his tired weight from the wooden surface.