Title: Invisible
Author: tromana
Rating: T
Characters: Jane/Lisbon
Summary: Jane had spent his whole life becoming invisible. Or, an alternative way for him to have become employed by the CBI.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Notes: Written for Divinia Serit in the Paint It Red 2012 Gift Exchange.

Invisible

Part One - The Chase

Teresa Lisbon peered out of her office and into the bullpen. She smiled briefly; everybody was working studiously, in just the way it should have been. Getting to where she was now had been an upward battle. It wasn't that people didn't think that women could be cops, and damn good ones at that, it was more of a case that they simply didn't think they could be as good as the men. Or better, for that matter. All too often, peers didn't take women seriously but Lisbon knew that was down to working in a masculine dominated career. She knew she had gotten lucky; had found a few people willing to take her seriously and that, along with her studious hard work, had gotten her to where she was today.

If it hadn't been for Sam Bosco and Virgil Minelli, then maybe she would have still been stuck in some small, out of town sheriff's job, where the worst she'd have had to deal with was burglaries, public drunkenness and other such petty crimes. However, not she had just had what she perceived to be her lucky break. Or at least, this was the biggest case she had been entrusted with to date.

She clutched the file tightly to her chest as she made her way towards her team. Rigsby and Cho were both the sturdy sort of men and they both trusted her implicitly. It was partially because they understood and knew her abilities, but also because she had saved their lives on a couple of occasions. Lisbon knew she had taken a risk with both of them when she had looked at their backgrounds, but had considered it worth it. They had gelled well together and produced results. For the CBI, that was the main thing.

Van Pelt – the newest member of the team – looked up at her and smiled. Lisbon liked Van Pelt; she had yet to buckle underneath the strain of the job. She still retained that youthful exuberance and naiveté, which protected her from the thinly veined cynicism of the rest of the team. It was probably only temporary; sooner or later, she would see too much death and violence. But she was a diligent hard worker and keen to prove she was capable. That was important if she wanted to go anywhere in this line of work.

Even with the presence of Van Pelt, sometimes Lisbon got the feeling she was working with the people that nobody else dared to take a chance on. A band of misfits and oddities, Minelli had once labeled them, affectionately, of course. Most of the time, Lisbon found, her faith was rewarded with fierce dedication. Along with her supervisor, she had spent a long while honing the team and her efforts had come to fruition.

The way they had developed so swiftly was pleasing. And as a consequence, Minelli was finally entrusting them with the more hard-hitting cases. They had taken down a few prominent murderers lately, proving that the relatively newly formed Serious Crimes Unit was a force to be reckoned with. And with the recent departure of the Major Crimes Unit's senior agent, he had given her something to really sink her teeth into.

"New case," she stated and immediately, all three of them were staring at her. She perched on the edge of Van Pelt's desk tentatively before continuing. "A serial killer…"

"Really?" Van Pelt interrupted, her eyes shining with excitement.

"The press has nicknamed him 'Red John'," Lisbon continued, blithely ignoring Van Pelt's interruption. "But we think we have an ID."

Swiftly, she handed out three sets of papers. Each featured the name, a general description and an old black and white photograph of the individual in question. Her team scoured the pages with interest and Lisbon cracked the slightest of smiles. Cho's brow, meanwhile, knitted as he absorbed the information. Eventually, he was the first to question it.

"Is this all we know about this Patrick Jane?"

"For now," she answered back quickly. "Van Pelt, I want you to follow the paper trails. See what you can dig up about this Patrick Jane. Rigsby, Cho, I need you to dig through the old cold cases, see what you can find out about his Red John persona. See what links him to each of the murders."

"Yes, Boss," Rigsby answered and Cho and Van Pelt nodded their assent.

A slight smile curled on Lisbon's face. This was the kind of feeling she liked to see in her team. A new task to focus on always brought a vibrant energy to the individuals who she led. And of course, they knew that this one would be a big deal. They had a lot to be going on; the team previously in charge of it had made some major inroads into it.

Theoretically, all they had to do was put the pieces together again.

However, Lisbon already knew that when it came to serial killers, it wasn't always quite as easy as that.

xxx

"Do you have anything for me, Cho?"

"Checked out his previous address," he stated quickly. "It's been abandoned."

Lisbon scowled. She wasn't surprised about that; before they had even started, she knew that Patrick Jane was a tricky man. If he was Red John, as they suspected, then he had evaded the authorities for such a long while already. Despite the previous team's progress, they had been brought on to give a fresh perspective on the case. Still, she knew she had to remain professional and carry everything out by the book if she wanted to make any headway into the case. That including putting the hard graft into mundane tasks such as following up on stale leads and the like. If she wanted to get the respect she deserved, then she had no choice.

Sometimes, that wasn't enough. It was a fact of life; men simply thought that women couldn't be as good cops as them. Certain chauvinistic men were always going to think that way; there was little point in her losing sleep over it.

Van Pelt sidled quickly over. For the duration of the case, she had been working closely with Cho. It was a better option than Rigsby; Lisbon knew the man held a candle for the new female agent and inter-team relationships were generally frowned upon. Lisbon knew better than most just how important it was to stay single-minded when on the job. A romance just provided an unnecessary distraction.

"Here's the thing. We canvassed the neighborhood and they were all acting… strange."

"Strange, how?" Lisbon asked, irritated at Van Pelt's lack of clarity.

"I don't have much experience of it, but my cousin, Yolanda, she's a practicing psychic and…"

"Grace thinks they've been hypnotized," Cho interrupted, aware that the younger woman was beginning to test Lisbon's patience.

"You think he hypnotized them into forgetting him?"

"Yes! Nobody could remember who he was, or where he lived, or anything. They didn't even remember his name or general description. Some said that his old house had been left vacant for years…"

"Interesting…"

Lisbon then handed them over a manila file with some scant information in it. Though Rigsby had been working on the paper trails alone, that didn't mean he had been wasting his time. There had been a witness, who had spotted a man fitting his description seen entering a local bar. It wasn't much to go on, but in the past they had gotten lucky going on much less. There was always the chance that this small, slight piece of information could provide them with that lucky break.

Besides, Jane was a dangerous man. If he could hypnotize people as Van Pelt had suspected, then he could cover up his tracks with an expert touch. Though they had some information to wrongdoings linked to him, just how much was he guilty of? Only the man himself probably realized the true extent of his crimes.

However, chasing up the lead wasn't what she had in store for Cho and Van Pelt. Instead, she had just handed them the information on Red John, the serial killer who left a smiley face on the wall. He was growing in notoriety, and it was their job to track him down. Lisbon wasn't entirely convinced by Minelli's conviction that Jane was Red John. It was their job to discover the connection.

And if he was Red John, the she wasn't going to put any of her time directly in the line of fire.

Instead, she was going to chase down this man herself.

xxx

Lisbon drummed her fingers irritably against the steering wheel of her SUV. While the bar owner had passed over the information she required, albeit reluctantly, he had been more than a little bit difficult with her. Occasionally, in the line of duty, she came across men who were still stuck in a different era entirely. It didn't matter that she had a badge and gun; she was only playing at being a cop, never mind being a lead agent for the CBI. They believed she should be at home with the kids, or at least, find a more gender appropriate job.

She knew it was all nonsense, of course, but that never stopped it from annoying her.

This man's attitude had soured the success of gaining a positive development. She had been right; a flimsy lead had quickly solidified. It turned out that Jane had been a regular at the bar. He had even performed there on occasion. A peeling poster on the wall, emblazoned with Jane's name, had been the reason the man had been unable to deny the connection. It had also explained the man's reluctance. He had counted Jane amongst his friends, or at least, allies and hadn't wanted to betray him. If she hadn't noticed the poster, it could all have been so different.

But now, she was on the way to the family home of a woman who was supposedly a regular customer of Jane's. Apparently, she doted upon him and saw him almost every other day. That kind of thing infuriated her; he was using this woman's naiveté to make a quick buck. Eventually, she would be penniless.

Or dead.

It was entirely possible that this was the link between Red John's victims. Gullible women who were looking for company, who believed in the unknown that little too deeply. He gained their trust and then carried out the ultimate betrayal. What could be worse than being killed by somebody you trusted so deeply? Lisbon shook her head. This wasn't the time to think about it. For now, she had to hurry up and reach this woman's home, to ensure that she had a chance to chase up the lead. Preferably, before Patrick Jane realized she was hot on his heels.

When she arrived, a blue Citroen was parked outside of the woman's house. It was a classic car, a model from the seventies. Her aunt had driven something not too dissimilar from it. There weren't many of them left these days. The thing didn't trigger too many alarm bells, however. Rigsby's research had indicated that Jane didn't own a vehicle. Or at least, if he did, it was underneath a different identity.

That was, apart from Red John, though she was fairly certain her team was yet to find any positive links between Jane and that specific pseudonym.

Still, it would have been foolish for a criminal to drive a car quite so distinctive as that one, she told herself firmly.

She paused briefly when she saw a blond man embrace the woman on the doorstep. When she surreptitiously handed over a wad of cash, Lisbon's frown deepened. In one swift motion, she slid out of her car and her hand flew to her holster. The description fit perfectly, like the final piece in a jigsaw puzzle. This wasn't just any old visitor.

This was Patrick Jane himself.

Her theorization seemed to be spot on. He chose the vulnerable, needy and desperate as his next victim. Twisting a story about being a psychic provided him with a mystique that money couldn't buy. Slowly but surely, he gained their trust. When he grew bored of them, he killed them and moved onto the next poor soul. It was as simple as that.

Briefly, she wondered just how long he had been manipulating this woman for.

How many days did she have left before he cut her open and watched her blood spill with glee?

That moment's indecision cost her valuable time. As she had considered her next move, he had spotted her, fled to his Citroen and started the engine. Before she had a chance to stop him, he had already backed out of the drive, almost clipped her arm as he did so and sped away up the street.

She attempted to make chase, but the distinctive car had already disappeared into the throng of traffic and Lisbon cursed herself for missing the opportunity.

It took her weeks to come to terms with the fact that it was probably for the best.

Approaching a man like Patrick Jane alone would have been foolish. She should have had the backup necessary to deal with such a situation.

And they still had a lead, if nothing else.

xxx

Two years slipped by in what felt like the blink of an eye. Other cases felt easy in comparison to Red John. She had lost count of just how many other criminals they had apprehended in the past twenty four months, how many other cases had been successfully closed. However, it was Red John that perpetually bothered Lisbon. Despite the fact they had a suspected I.D., the pseudonym had stuck. That was mostly because Patrick Jane, rather irritatingly, remained at large. Sometimes, it felt like they were closing in on him and once again, he disappeared without a trace, as if by magic.

To call the situation infuriating was something of an understatement.

Minelli remained steadfast in his faith in her, which was more than Lisbon could have said for herself. She believed that she had little excuse; a positive I.D. meant it should have been easier to find the man in question, instead of having these constant setbacks. However, her boss constantly reassured her that she was doing a good job, that they were making steps in the right direction. He was convinced that it was only a matter of time and with each death, they took a step closer to apprehending the man.

That was true, at least. Each murder confirmed the theories that they had. It showed the pattern in which he took with his victims. Though Lisbon had had the opportunity to interview the woman he'd been associated with a while ago, they hadn't got any further than that. Despite their greatest efforts to protect her, she too, had been killed by Red John. It hadn't helped that the poor soul had pushed Lisbon and her team away, but Lisbon still felt like she hadn't done enough. Still, it was in the past now and she had to look to the future. Even so, it still felt impossible to put their theories into practice. They never seemed to get close enough to the man to do so.

And besides, there was such a thing as 'innocent until proven guilty'. Until she had solid proof that Patrick Jane was Red John, then she was willing to hold her breath. After all, he hadn't confessed, they had evidence, but the case wasn't rock solid. Even now, their evidence could have been circumstantial and she knew it. So until she had him in custody, Lisbon knew that nothing was guaranteed.

And even then…

She sighed as she reorganized the personal belongings on her desk for the fifth time. It was one of those days where she seemed capable of only focusing on the negatives instead of the positives.

Only when Cho leaned through the doorframe of her office with a slight frown on his face did she stop her incessant straightening.

"Boss? I've got something."

xxx

Lisbon had a distinctly uncomfortable feeling about this.

In reality, she knew it was a good thing. This was a break they had literally been waiting years for. If they got lucky, then they would finally be able to apprehend Patrick Jane, the serial killer more commonly known as Red John. However, undercover work had never been her forte. She had always preferred to take a behind-the-scenes role in this kind of thing. After all, people regularly commented on just how honest her eyes were, and that always led to fears of her letting her true colors shine through. In this kind of operation, she always felt like it was a matter of time before their target worked out she was a cop. And now, she was more used to being the one pulling the strings, giving out the orders. But this time? The shoe was well and truly on the other foot.

It needed to be done like this, there was no question about it. Out of her team, she was the one best suited to this specific role. Van Pelt had just been too young, according to their resources and besides, she was far too untested to carry out an undercover op. However, that didn't stop Lisbon from wishing she were the one calling the shots.

On top of all that, she could still distinctly remember the one brush she had had with Patrick Jane. And that was the source of many of her doubts and fears. What of he recalled her? What if he ran before she had the chance to make the bust? In fact, the more she thought about it, the more likely it felt that everything was about to go horribly wrong.

"How do I look?" she asked anxiously.

Lisbon smiled weakly as she spoke. At least Van Pelt had blossomed into a fine agent since she had started working for the CBI. That was probably her greatest achievement as lead agent of the Serious Crimes Unit to date. If and when she caught Red John, then maybe…

She shook her head.

If all went to plan, then tonight was going to change that.

But that was the key problem. Lisbon hated putting all her faith in luck. In her experience, that always led to trouble.

xxx

While at the office, preparing for this undercover sting, Lisbon had felt uncomfortable about this situation. Now, she felt even more exposed as well. As she filtered through the smoky haze, past all the men with their eyes wide as orbs and tongues practically hanging out of their mouths, she longed for her comfortable work attire. The dress she had opted to wear barely covered anything. Lisbon's skin crawled, but instead of showing her discomfort, she attempted to mask it with a fixed smile.

Silently, she reminded herself that she had to be grateful for this chance. If Cho hadn't had a confidential informant amongst the 'staff' in this dive, then they wouldn't have had the opportunity to carry out this sting.

Cho was currently on the other end of the line, but he remained stubbornly silent. Lisbon had already lost count of the number of criminal offenses she had already seen but she shelved them for later consideration. As much as she wanted to deal with it here and now, she simply could not risk blowing her cover for relatively minor issues. Instead, she had to carry on playing the part of a pretty new 'waitress'. One who happened to flirt mercilessly with the patrons and offer other 'opportunities' on the side.

After half an hour of smiling sweetly and cringing at lascivious comments, Lisbon was beginning to grow increasingly frustrated. Not for the first time, doubts crept into her mind. What if they had been misinformed or worse, misled? What if she was being led into a trap? The fact that she had backup holed away in a room above this bar offered only a small comfort. She had heard the horror stories of officers reaction too slowly all too often. Lisbon trusted her team, of course she did. However, it took barely a second to shoot somebody down dead. Already, she knew that the vast majority of people in this place were (probably, illegally) armed.

Again, it felt like it was only a matter of time until her cover was blown.

When Cho finally broke the silence, his words felt like heaven to her.

"He's here," he whispered and she nodded ever so slightly. "Your five o'clock."

She turned and smiled when she spotted Patrick Jane in the flesh.

It was time to end this.