Agony and Vengeance

It was a dark, cold night and Sam really needed to get home. Sam, who was about sixteen, walked to her car and got her keys out, rubbing her eyes. She was so tired and just wanted to be at home in her warm bed. Then, she heard something rustle behind her. Before she could react, a huge strong man in black jumped at her, punching her with all of his might. Sam screamed for help and her red hair flew in front of her face, making it hard to see anything. All she could think of was hitting whoever was hurting her. Adrenaline shot through her veins and she was no longer tired. She tried to find her assailant's face and punched, making contact with his nose. Anger repaid her with a few more blows to her face and ribs and she was out cold. Slumped over in the man's arms, her face was swollen and bruised. This was not the man's intention, but unfortunately the girl fought back. Red John smiled at the unconscious teenager and whispered, "Samantha Van Pelt, your sister will not like this at all." He chuckled darkly and smiled as he threw this girl into the trunk of his car.

***

Agent Lisbon stared absently at the ground as she sat in her desk, thinking about the past few days. Her elbows rested on her knees and she sighed, not knowing what to do now. Those three words echoed in her head. Bosco's last seconds with her and what he had said. She never loved him in the way he loved her. Despair filled the air around her as she felt an empty void in the pit of her stomach from the lost agents. The only thing she could be happy about was that it wasn't her team that was hurt. Just thinking about all of them and seeing their faces in her mind, she couldn't bear to think that something could happen to her team. She nearly had a heart attack when Van Pelt was shot and she couldn't even imagine walking in on any of her agents dead. Lisbon quickly threw that from her mind and took a deep, rattling breath. It was almost 6:00am and she realized that she had been at the office all night. She could almost feel the dark circles under her eyes growing. It would be an hour or two until anyone showed up, so she figured that she needed to change into some other clothes so no one knew that she hadn't gone home.

***

Grace Van Pelt sat at the foot of her bed, her knees pulled to her chest, with red, sleepless eyes. Wayne Rigsby sat next to her, as silent as his blank eyes. They didn't think that this would affect them as much as it had, but all they could think about was that it could have been any of them. If Red John had wanted them dead, it would have happened. Rigsby drew closer to Grace and slipped his hand into hers. She gladly let him hold her hand and sighed, laying her head on his strong shoulder. They both sat there, thanking God that their team remained safe...or as safe as they were at the moment.

***

Patrick Jane sat at his desk and stared at the wall. Anger boiled inside of him and he clenched his teeth. Red John was playing with him and there was nothing he could do about it. He kept seeing the agony in Lisbon's eyes as she realized that Bosco was dead and that Red John had killed him; maybe not personally, but he had been the reason that Bosco was dead. That red smiley face was burned into his mind and every agonizing emotion that came with it every time he saw or thought about it. He could just see his family again, smiling and happy...and then it all came crashing down. Everything had changed and he saw their bloody, mangled bodies. He would never see them again. Anger rose in his chest again and he swore to himself that he would catch Red John, even if it was the last thing he did. He would gladly die if that meant that Red John would never hurt anyone ever again.

***

It was nearing 7:00 and Cho pulled himself from his warm bed to face the day. This wasn't going to be an easy day, he thought. There was something odd inside him; a new determination to catch Red John. He saw the effects of the evil, monstrous acts that Red John had caused and he was so tired of feeling so helpless. He had to make sure that Red John didn't have any other chance to torture anyone.

As 7:30 came, Grace and Rigsby walked into the CBI office, not even caring about arriving together. Jane and Cho soon followed and the whole team sat in silence, making sure that eye contact was avoided at all costs. After about an hour, Lisbon stood up and cleared her throat, attracting every eye in the room. Her voice was slow, rough, and dangerous as she spoke.

"Yesterday was a tragedy." She paused and blinked, making sure there was no emotion seeping into her voice. "I don't quite know how to move past this, but I know that if we stick together and watch out for each other, then we'll find a way. So, I guess the only place we can start is..." She didn't want to continue, but she looked straight into each person's eyes and knew that she had to be the leader. She was the one that had to be strong. "Red John." The name hung forebodingly in the air and Lisbon nodded, blinking away the moisture in her eyes. Jane looked down, thinking. Grace stared, her brows drawing together, at Lisbon with a mix of concern and determination in her eyes. Rigsby closed his eyes and clenched his teeth together, wishing that the time would come faster that they would catch this evil man. Cho kept his face blank with no emotion recognizable to anyone and thought inside how much he really cared for his team.

"Van Pelt and Rigsby, get us a lead. Cho and Jane, I need you to chase down this man." Lisbon handed them a file and turned to leave. "I'm going to meet our new boss." Before she stepped out of the room, she turned around and took a deep breath. "Be careful." There was a meaningful warning and stare for each member of her team and she left, off to meet the new boss for the first time. After Lisbon left, there was a small silence and then Jane and Cho got up and walked out to find whoever was in the file Lisbon had given them. Rigsby glanced at Grace and without even a word, they commenced trying to find a lead, any lead.

***

"Agent Lisbon, It's so nice to finally meet you. My condolences." The new boss, Smith held his hand out for Lisbon to shake. "So, I'm assuming you and your team are hard at work with the Red John case, yes?"

"Yes, Sir. My agents are working on it as we speak." Smith nodded and smiled.

"Good." His drew together as a small ding got his attention on his computer. He motioned for Lisbon to look at whatever he was seeing. They saw a hooded figure and a small girl in a chair. The girl had long, red hair and she was bound and gagged. There was blood on the girl's face and shirt and Lisbon gritted her teeth. Suddenly, there was an impossibly deep voice that broke the silence.

"Hello. I'm assuming, you, being the new Director, know about me: Red John. I have this girl and I am going to hold her hostage unless you do as you're told. You wonder who this girl is to you? I guarantee that you will do everything in your power to get her back." Red John stopped and chuckled. "Why don't you go get Grace Van Pelt and ask her if she wants her baby sister back alive?" He laughed and shut the video off, leaving Lisbon and Smith silent.

Hey! This is my first Mentalist fanfic...so please tell me whether this is good or not! I love reviews!!!! The more....the merrier!!! Please review! --soccergirlmich--