Author's Note: It's going to be a loooong summer. After seeing the response of this community to the season 4 finale I was compelled to write *something*. No idea where this story will go but it definitely has spoilers for 4x24.
I hope I can get a few readers to come onboard for this ride; it's going to be a fly by the seat of your pants sort of escapade. There wouldn't be any other way to deal with what happened :)
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Hellerverse. The rest is the product of an overactive imagination.
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Lisbon stood up from the interrogation table. She felt an uneasy dread. She could not voice her thoughts to Loralei but she felt sorry for the woman. She had just learned to what depths Jane would sink to on his quest against Red John. To give up his very soul for information was the lowest of the low.
She caught the attention of the guard.
"He's not to be left alone with the suspect."
She walked back to the bullpen. She scanned the familiar setting.
Jane was nowhere to be seen; he most likely retreated to the attic to collect his thoughts.
The team was congregated around Cho's desk. They gave their team leader asking glances and stares.
Eyes which cried out
What is going on?
What's going to happen next?
Unfortunately she could not respond to their voiceless inquiries. She walked over to them.
"Thank you. I'm sorry for what you've each been put through the past couple of hours. I know that we've been through this before. I implore you for your patience with Jane as we work this out."
Van Pelt hissed then blushed at her verbal betrayal of her emotions.
"Van Pelt?" Lisbon asked.
Grace looked at the team, and then at Lisbon.
"Boss, how much more are we all going to lose? How much more are we willing to ride on this rollercoaster?"
Lisbon looked at her team and processed the full weight of Van Pelt's words.
"He needs help. We signed up to catch bad people. We all knew we were going to sacrifice some part of ourselves for this cause. That part of us which compels us to stand up to protect the good in the world is what people like him need. When we're helping him and his cause you have to recognize...we're helping to fight the good fight."
She retreated to her office to let the team choose. Van Pelt was right; they had sacrificed as much as could be asked of any sane person.
It was now their choice if they continued on this quest.
As she settled into her chair the team walked into her office.
They looked at her as they looked at her when they implored her to go through the plot Jane had concocted when he got out of jail.
Rigsby spoke, "When I look at my son I feel compelled to do more… be a better cop. I know the ugliness that's out there. The people we save, they aren't faceless people now. They have my son's face."
Van Pelt and Cho gave their silent agreement. They were bound. They were bruised and battered but not broken. They knew what they represented. Good.
Lisbon stood up and they followed her to the attic. It was time to confront Jane.
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As she took the stairs one by one she let her mind wander to the interrogation room. If they had witnessed what she had seen within that room, they would have agreed... Jane was almost off the reservation. He was manic in his quest for information.
Something bothered her though... that look.
When he embraced Loralei's face and kissed her with the tenderness a wolf reserves for a rabbit, he looked at Lisbon as he retreated. Was it a plea to not get in his way? He was mistaken. She would not allow him to turn into the thing he was hunting.
The team flanked her as if they were approaching a hostile situation. In truth, they had no idea what state he would be in.
Lisbon knocked. No answer.
She reached for the handle as if it threatened to burn her. Suddenly the door opened and the object of her musings faced her with a curious stare.
"Can't face me alone? Need to travel in groups now?" Jane mused.
Lisbon's alpha skills took over as she spoke for the group.
"We're not afraid of you, we're afraid for you. We're here to let you know that we're still in this together."
Jane stared at them, calculating his options. How far could he rely on their good intentions? How far could he take this before they would give up on him? He looked down at his hand. His ring finger sporting a red welt, a memory of the recent horror they'd all been through. He looked at them and nodded his head. There were no words. He stood surrounded by the memory of his old family and the presence of his new family.
They were in for the good fight, no matter the consequences.
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The sun had set over the horizon a few hours ago. It was time to head home to regroup. Lisbon felt the beginnings of a headache creep up as she gathered her belongings.
Meditation would be good for her, a moment to think about their future.
The death of her immediate superior and Darcy's probing questions were things that needed to be dealt with.
It almost felt as her car steered itself to the church.
The parking lot was empty as most people had left the evening mass hours ago. She walked the familiar steps and felt herself mentally breathe a sigh of relief.
A safe place.
As she reached the church door she realized that it was too quiet. A nagging feeling crept up her spine. She told herself it was paranoia. She was getting as bad as Jane. Where else could she be safe if not at a place of worship.
She walked down the aisle and made the familiar motions. There was someone else here. A nun was slouched over at the front bench. At first Lisbon felt a smirk form on her lips. Falling asleep on the job, it wouldn't be the first time she's seen it.
The angle was weird; something was off about this, something in her recognized that this was no peaceful slumber. She felt for her weapon and realized she left it in the car... this being a church and all.
Instinct took over and she reached for her cell phone.
"Sister" she whispered.
No response.
Her fingers found her recent contacts list.
"Sister, are you awake?"
She was a few steps away when something in her peripheral vision caught her eye.
It was brown... no, it was red on white. The darkness made it brown.
Trembling hands dialed Cho to ask him for backup.
The realization hit her full force. They weren't hunting Red John anymore. He was hunting them.