Well, it took me a lot of time to write the second chapter, but finally, here it is! Thank you for the reviews, alerts and everything. Hope you'll enjoy the next part :)
Oh, just for the record - I know nothing about Miss USA contest and I have nothing against the contestants. Everything I wrote about them is just my crazy imagination, I hope no one would get offended :)
"I'm glad you agreed to participate in that... project." Madeleine Hightower smiled at Lisbon and Rigsby. "Please sit down."
"Like we had choice..." murmured Rigsby so that only Lisbon could hear him.
"Here's everything that Harrison's team found out about Falton and his work." Their boss opened a manila folder. "Technically he's clean, no records at all. But some of his clients admitted he uses illegal methods to win his cases. Like blackmail, spying, corrupting witnesses and so on. However, no one has ever proved that, we have only assumptions and suspicions. Be careful with him. If you even mention his dishonest actions, he may feel insecure. Trapped."
"Maybe if we scare him, he'll finally make a mistake," suggested Lisbon, scanning Falton's file. "He blackmailed senator Thompson and was never charged for that?" she asked, surprised.
"Well, senator didn't press any charges. He didn't want the... subject of the blackmail to become public."
"Oh, I see." Lisbon smirked. "Looks like that Falton is really smart."
"That's why I want you to be careful. You'll be dealing with a potential killer. He's smart, and smart people become dangerous when they're scared."
It was very funny to watch Lisbon and Rigsby get embarrassed by their newly assigned task, but, on the other hand, Hightower was worried. Worried as hell.
"Everything will go smoothly. We're always very careful."
"Just don't do anything stupid, will you?"
"Sure thing, boss." Lisbon grinned, and Hightower suddenly regretted that she'd been spending so much time with Jane. Who knew what crazy idea she would come up with?
"Okay, now on to the job... Here are your IDs." She pushed two ID cards towards the agents. "You're Teresa West, married to a businessman John West, no children. Your husband wants a divorce. And you..." She turned to Rigsby. "Wayne Warner , her lover. Single, no family. The rest is up to you. Just don't get carried away, okay?"
"Of course." Lisbon took her ID and looked at the photo, lost in thoughts.
Her last undercover mission had been an epic fail. She'd met her high school friend - her first boyfriend actually - who'd been very excited about that.
"Teresa! I can't believe! What are you doing here?"
"Um, sorry, pal, but you've mistaken me for somebody else. My name is not Teresa, it's Rose."
"Don't be silly, Tess! I haven't seen you in ages, but you don't change. Now, how are you doing? I've heard that you are a cop now. Is that true?"
Her suspect - a young drug dealer - looked nervous.
"Geez, man. I told you, I'm not your goddamn Tess! Just keep walking, okay?"
The bloody idiot only laughed. "Hard as nails. Just like years ago. No, really, Teresa, what's up with you? And who's your charming friend?"
Lisbon's 'charming friend' stirred at his seat. "Erm, I think I'll be going..." He stood up.
"No, please. Don't leave me with that lunatic," Lisbon pleaded, trying to grab the suspect's hand. But it was too late, he was already running away.
When Lisbon thought about it now, she felt like laughing, but back then she'd been just furious. Thankfully Cho had managed to catch the guy a few blocks away, but that bloody idiot could have ruined everything, months of their hard work. She'd yelled at him so loud that she hadn't been able to speak for the entire next week.
Oh yes, now it was just an anecdote, but Lisbon didn't want to relive it, so she was glad that Hightower let them use their own first names.
"What about the money?" she asked, going back to reality.
"The money?"
"I'm supposed to go to the most snobbish casino in Sacramento. If I have to invest my own money, well, it will be the shortest mission in the history of the CBI." From the corner of her eye she noticed Rigsby's hopeful look.
"Yes, right... I talked to director Bertram." Hightower opened one of the drawers in her desk, took out the check and handed it to Lisbon. "Here you are."
"Excuse me?" Lisbon's eyes widened in disbelief as she glanced at it. "Please tell me it's a joke. I can buy cotton pads for that, at the very best."
"You use very expensive cotton pads, then."
"No, seriously. This," she pointed at the check, "will cover only the tips. And these will be really poor ones."
Hightower sighed. "I can see that you're very well informed in those matters."
"Long story." Lisbon shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe I will tell you one day."
Her boss hesitated for a moment, then took the check back. "Fine." She sighed heavily, but Lisbon could see a sparkle in her eye as she wrote one more zero at the end of the sum. "Bertram will kill me, and this will be your fault."
"Take is as an investment. I'm pretty good at poker." Lisbon flashed her most innocent smile. "Thank you, boss."
Hightower waved her hand. "Just don't let me down, or you'll soon have a new boss."
"I can assure you, this will never happen."
"I hope so. That's all, you can go and prepare."
The two agents stood up and left. When the door closed behind them, Rigsby glanced at Lisbon and the check in her hand. "Cotton pads, huh?"
She only smiled and shoved the check into her pocket.
"How do I look?" Lisbon nervously straightened her dress and turned to the team.
Jane grinned. "Like a million dollars. I would fall for you in ten seconds," he said and watched her cheeks turn bright red. He loved making her embarrassed. And she indeed looked fantastic.
"Let's hope Falton will." She looked in the mirror and checked her hair. "What's the time?"
"Eight fifty. Falton usually turns up around ten. We've got plenty of time," Grace reassured her.
"I want to be there earlier, check the place and everything." She corrected her make-up for the thousandth time. "Something is wrong with that dress..." She touched the strap, but Van Pelt stopped her.
"It's just perfect, don't do anything."
For a few minutes the team just stood in the bullpen, watching Lisbon with astonishment. She looked gorgeous in the floor-length red dress with a deep neckline. Black stilettos and gold necklace added a subtle touch to her outfit.
"I think that Falton will be a finished idiot if he don't notice you, boss." Rigsby was the first to break the silence.
"Thank you. But please, don't call me boss, just Teresa, okay?" If he called her 'boss' in front of Falton, that would be a disaster.
"Okay, boss."
"Wayne, please..." Lisbon rolled her eyes.
"Oh, right. Sorry, boss."
"Rigsby!"
"Don't call me Rigsby. It's Wayne, remember?" He grinned. "Relax, I'm just kidding."
The team laughed, but Lisbon was too nervous to find it funny. "Let's go, it's late," she commanded, took her purse and left without turning back.
"Falton hasn't come yet," reported Cho, who had been observing the casino for the past few hours.
The team sat in the black van parked opposite the casino, checking all the details.
Cho turned to Lisbon. "Nice dress," he commented. His face, as always, didn't show any emotions, but his eyes gave him away.
"Thank you." Lisbon almost burst out laughing. Geez, it was just a dress. Not that she didn't like their comments...
"Check the microphone." Cho put the headphones on.
They hid the tiny microphone in Lisbon's necklace, so that the team could know what was going on in the casino. She didn't have the earpiece, though - she was afraid Falton would notice it.
"One, two, three... Do you hear me?"
"Yeah, it's fine."
"Okay, so I think I should go, check the place and everything. Call me when Falton comes."
It's not that bad, thought Lisbon after thirty minutes of wandering around the casino, sipping drinks (non-alcoholic, of course) and exchanging smiles with strangers. Let's just pretend it's an ordinary night out.
She sat at the bar and watched people playing roulette. An elderly woman had already won fifty thousand dollars and was still winning. Lisbon thought about Jane. Would he use his extraordinary abilities to win? She suddenly regretted that he wasn't with her.
Her mobile phone rang. Lisbon glanced at the caller's ID and smiled. "Hello, darling," she said and couldn't suppress a smile when she heard Rigsby's confused voice.
"Um, hey, boss... I mean... Teresa. I just... Well, Falton has just come. He's entering the casino at the moment."
"Oh, thank you, honey. You can tell the rest to go home now. I'm sure you'll do great on your own, you're a grown up boy." She heard Cho chuckle and Jane laugh out loud.
"O-okay," Rigsby stuttered. "I'll call you if anything happens."
"Fine." She smiled. "Wish me luck," she said, strolling towards the poker table, and hung up.
Two seats at the table were still free, the game hadn't started yet. Lisbon sat at the chair next to a tanned blonde woman, with her back to the door.
The croupier immediately rushed towards her. "I'm sorry, madam, but this seat is..."
"Oh no, it's fine," she heard a man's voice behind her and turned with a smile. Bingo, she thought. Brian Falton was standing right behind her. He sat on the free chair next to Lisbon.
"Did I take your seat?" she asked, trying to look more innocent than she actually was.
Falton waved his hand. "Oh, that's all right. It doesn't have my name on it, does it?"
Lisbon laughed. "Well, I don't know your name, so I can't tell for sure. I'm Teresa, Teresa West."
"Brian Falton." He sent her one of his most charming smiles and studied her face carefully. "I haven't seen you here before," he said eventually.
Before Lisbon could answer, the game started. "It's a long story." She smiled, taking her cards. "I live in San Francisco, came here only for a couple of days, just to have some fun."
Falton looked surprised. "Sacramento isn't a popular place to visit for fun. Why here, and not, for example, Malibu?"
"I told you it's a long story. More complicated than you think."
Falton sighed. "Every time I meet a beautiful woman she happens to have a long, complicated life history," he said half-jokingly.
Lisbon laughed. "You know what people say – lucky in cards, unlucky in love. One can't have everything."
Falton looked down at his cards and grinned. "It seems that your theory is right."
Two hours later, though, he had little money left. Lisbon, on the other hand, had already doubled the sum Hightower had given her and after two more rounds was announced the winner.
"Every body loves the winner..." she hummed, collecting her tokens.
"Congratulations." Falton smiled to her.
Lisbon smiled back. "Thank you."
"What was that?" asked Falton, leading her towards the bar. "I mean, the song?"
"It's 'Maybe This Time' from Cabaret. But it's a bunch of crap, no one loves the winner. Everybody envies the winner. Apart from my husband, who hates me no matter if I win or lose."
"Well, I don't. May I buy you a drink?" he asked with a charming smile. He didn't seem to be surprised by her mentioning her husband.
"Oh, I don't know... Haven't you just lost all your money?" Lisbon teased.
"Don't worry about that, I'm prepared for such situations. I always have some money left to offer a drink to a stranger."
"I'm not a stranger, I'm Teresa, remember?" she joked. "That mysterious woman who appeared out of nowhere and stole your lucky seat, which led you to losing all your money."
"Oh, I don't know..." Falton pretended to be unconvinced. "Maybe if you tell me something about yourself... Like, I don't know, what do you do?"
Lisbon sipped her martini. She had the answer ready, but needed a few seconds to compose herself. "I'm a journalist." On with the show, she thought.
"Oh, really? I wonder if I've ever read any of your articles. Which magazine do you work for?"
"Well, I'm a freelancer. And I highly doubt if you've read my articles, unless you read magazines like Your Style or Catwalk. I'm a fashion journalist," she explained.
Falton grinned. "Well, I don't, to be honest. But maybe I should start... What was your latest article about?"
"The latest one? It hasn't been published yet, but it's about the Miss United States contestants, their style, favourite clothes, shops and so on. But the journal that ordered it rejected it now."
"Really? Why?"
"The editor in chief said it's uninteresting and unoriginal."
"How dared she." Falton smiled.
"Actually. I understand her. I wouldn't publish it if I were her. These girls are so boring."
Falton sent her a surprised look. "Why? I'd never thought that."
"You haven't met them."
"Then maybe you can introduce me?" he asked with a sparkle in his eye.
"You would be disappointed, really." Lisbon laughed. She started to enjoy herself. "I've visited all of them, from Alaska to Hawaii and I can honestly tell you, there are only two groups of them."
"I see you can now write a dissertation about them. The psychological profile of an average Miss United States," he joked.
They burst out laughing. "It would be a short one. No, really." Lisbon wiped her eyes. "Half of them told me that they wear only European designer clothes, Chanel, Prada, Dolce and Gabbana, because they thought it would sound cool and stylish. The rest, on the other hand, claimed they shop in second-hands or, even better, make their clothes on their own, because they thought it was nature-friendly."
"You were right, I don't want to meet them." Falton shook his head. "I can't believe they're all so boring."
Lisbon took another sip of her drink, scanning the man's face. He looked genuinely surprised and entertained by her stories. Either she was really convincing, or he was a good actor. For her own sake, Lisbon preferred the first option.
"No, actually, one of them was quite normal," she said, putting her glass down. She had just come up with another part of the story and really hoped Rigsby was recording her every word, because she was pretty sure she wouldn't remember any details the next morning.
"Only one? Which one?"
"Miss Illinois. She's a really nice girl. I stayed with her for the entire week, did shopping with her, went to night clubs and everything. She taught me how to walk in high heels." Lisbon laughed and looked at her stilettos. "You should see my first try, it was so hopeless."
"I admire women who can wear high heels and don't fall down every other step. That's unbelievable." Falton shook his head.
"It's not that hard, really. Practice makes perfect." She grinned. "You should try one day."
"Of course. But maybe not tonight. One more drink?" he offered.
Lisbon shook her head. "No, thank you. Maybe one more game, what do you say?"
"In case you haven't noticed, my dear mysterious woman, I've recently lost some money. I can afford a couple of drinks, but another game of poker? No way."
"Oh yes, I remember. You mean that money?" She playfully tossed a few tokens in her hands.
Falton returned her smile. "Exactly."
She sighed with a mocked disappointment. "Well then, I guess I'd settle for another martini."
Okay, so what do you think? Chapter three should be up in, let's say, two or three weeks. I'm taking a few exams in the next two weeks, so please be patient. And pretty please, hit that little "Review" button!
