Chapter 2

Unwanted Encounter

Lisbon

After sitting in uncomfortable silence, Lisbon looked to her left to see Walter Mashburn, Tracker extraordinaire sitting beside her, sculling some alcoholic beverage in a shot glass. When he replaced the drink on the table, he gave her a school boy grin that made her stomach turn sour.

"Sources tell me that you're looking for a tracker," he said.

"You should tell your sources to mind their own business," Lisbon replied back harshly.

"Touchy today are we? Should I leave you?" Mashburn said almost mockingly.

"Since you're here and it's probably going to take me a couple of years to get rid of you if I leave, yes, I do need your help but you and you alone. I can't have this going out," Lisbon said almost silently.

"Shall we got to my private suite then?"

"You still have a private suite here, why am I not surprised," Lisbon said to herself.

The private suite was anything but private. Minus the high security door that needed a blood coded key, the room was packed with people Lisbon had never seen before in her life. For good reason as well as it was pretty much a rave party and she could see white substance floating around in the air and she felt the impulse to hold her breath until Mashburn took her to his office. She got wide grins, from males and females alike and suddenly felt overdressed in comparison to the other occupants of the room. She felt a hand on the small of her back the edged her towards a door on the other side of the room. She made her way through the crowd and when she arrived at the mahogany door, gently turned the handle to reveal an empty office room.

"Whatever you say in this room is between you and I. No jokes, no tricks, the door has been soundproofed and not just with that black stuff. Now what is it that you would like me to track? A stray demon, a missing spouse perhaps?" Mashburn said as he took a seat on a wheelie chair on one side of the desk.

"An Animus," Lisbon said blankly. Mashburn's grin disappeared completely off his face and he looked up at her, trying to see any hint of amusement. He found nothing.

"You serious?"

"No Mashburn, I'm just playing with you," she replied stiffly.

"Now why on Earth would a demon-lover want to go after an Animus?"

"Personal matters," Lisbon said.

"Really, has this got anything to do with the mind boggled man they found outside the bar?"

"I'm just asking if you could find the Animus and apparently you don't seem up for the job," Lisbon said, turning on her heel and making her way to the door.

"Hey, I'm just curious. Of course I could find an Animus. Just get me to the crime scene and we're good to go," Mashburn said quickly.

"Good, we're leaving in ten minutes," Lisbon said although there was sincerity in her voice.

"Excellent," Mashburn replied.

R.W

The Tunero left quicker than it arrived as Mashburn called ahead to tell Giovanni to open them before hand. The drive to the crime scene was made in silence although Mashburn stared at her, expecting an explanation but it seemed the woman was focused on driving without breaking any laws. The crime scene was no longer advertised as a crime scene as the road blocks had disappeared and people were walking up and down the street like nothing had ever happened.

"This is it?"

"Sorry, were you expecting blood and gore?"

"You said Animus, I was expecting a little more zing."

"Zing…"

"Okay, let's forget I ever said that. I thought the Animus are scary and would eat your heart for dinner," Mashburn said, shuddering at the thought.

"I've never met one, so I can say anything," Lisbon said. They walked towards the wall where the man had been discovered and Lisbon nodded once before turning on the spot to look in the opposite direction of the wall. She relaxed and let her shoulders slag and let magical energy run through her body. She saw a young child look directly at her and realized she had to push even harder. The child's head looked at her confused before allowing his eyes to look away in disinterest. Mashburn was squatting and had a palm on the pavement. A brilliant orange glow could be seen seeping around his fingers and Mashburn had his eyes shut in concentration.

"Got him," Mashburn said. He stood and saw the world around him completely ignore his presence. He had always knew Lisbon was a lot stronger than she looked, both physically and mentally but looking at her, barely breaking a sweat while making them semi-invisible was enough for Mashburn to believe that the woman standing in front of him, protecting him while he worked could potentially be the most dangerous thing on Earth. He had lived for over eight centuries and Lisbon has been the only Sorceress he had ever met. Either they were secretive little things or there weren't many of them.

"Thanks," she mumbled as she slowly lowered the shields that were protecting them from prying eyes.

"What did you just do?"

"Perception filter, they know we're here but they pay no attention to what we're doing," she replied simply.

"What if I went off and started dancing?"

"Yeah, they'd notice you and the filter would break," Lisbon said although there was a hint of amusement as her imagination ran wild with the idea of Mashburn dancing in a room full of armed terrorists.

"So a no to the dancing." Lisbon just glared at him and he put his hands up in defense. "I know, I'm serious, no dancing."

"Good, so what did you find?"

"You we're absolutely right about him being an Animus, some MA 15+ went down here last night. I couldn't get the exact details but I got a face," he said, his tone suddenly back in business mode.

"Where is he now?"

"From what I was able to gather, he's heading towards Santa Maria, I barely got a hold of him before the images went too blurry," Mashburn said almost apologetically.

"Good, are you coming?"

"As much as I would love to Teresa dear, facing off with an Animus is not the way I was planning to go," Mashburn said, trying to sound as subtle as possible.

"Well, you got me a description?"

"In a matter of fact, I do," he said. He moved towards her and at the same time, she took a step back.

"Can't you just tell me?"

"Now Teresa, I thought you we were doing business and this is part of the package," Mashburn said smirking. "I thought you were going for the highest standard and I'm pretty sure you don't want to go to Santa Maria only to walk around blindly with next to know information of your targets appearance." Lisbon groaned. Damn, he was right. She looked around once and then met the Tracker half way. He dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers. She remained still as images flashed through her mind.

She was no longer in her body, no longer trying to resist Mashburn's advances. She was in a car, a small car to be precise and driving past a "Welcome to Santa Maria" sign. She knew she was looking through the eyes of the target and she wondered if he knew he was being invaded. She stared straight ahead at the road and waited until the man looked up in the rearview mirror. He was handsome, Lisbon would admit and had blonde waves that framed a tired face. He had brilliant blue eyes but they looked sad and aged.

"And that's all I could get," Mashburn said as he pulled away.

"Yeah, thanks for everything Mashburn," Lisbon said, rolling her shoulders after the tense moment.

"It's Walter to you," Mashburn winked and then after giving her a gracious nod, walked off in the opposite direction. Lisbon knew she should had offered him a ride back but he was gone by the time her conscience won the internal battle over politeness and personal preference. She walked back to her car and got in. She rested her head on the steering wheel before shaking her head a little to try and shake the nervous feeling away. She crammed the keys into the ignition and slammed on the acceleration pedal, powering towards Santa Maria.

Van Pelt, Cho, Rigsby

The beach house was nothing extravagant. Rigsby and Van Pelt shared a look; a look of confusion.

"Animus did Hightower say?" Rigsby said.

"I know, I was thinking Vegas meets Japan but it looks like any other estate here," Van Pelt agreed.

"I would think that Jegas or Vapan would alert all members of the public that some rich person lives here. I'm assuming that it's for integration purposes," Cho said.

"Integration?"

"I did a bit of background research on this guy during the ride here," Cho said.

"You got internet?" Rigsby said surprised.

"Roaming, 3G…anyway, Samuel Bosco used to work as a private investigator for the Deputy Director, before he began the SBI. He resigned after a case, it involved another Animus and Bosco had a traumatic experience. He lost three of his men and after realizing that his second-in-command, Rebecca was in league with the Animus he had a bit of a break down. He's been living as a human ever since. He's had to move around because people would have started to notice his non-aging appearance. This was his latest recorded residence," Cho said.

"People keep track of him?"

"It's under laws of the high council but their sources aren't as reliable as those who do it for a hobby," Cho said as they looked up and down the house.

"People stalk deserters as a hobby?" Rigsby said.

"Do you want to know how much I had to pay to get this location?" Cho said blankly and moved towards the house. The younger Agents watched their companion with suspicious glares but shrugged it off, Cho did get them here after all. After a sharp set of knocks to the frosted glass door, they heard a disorientated shuffle as someone attempted to answer. The door swung open and before them stood a slightly overweight man who was balding and looked exhausted.

"Are you Samuel Bosco?"

"SBI Agents, what can I do you for?" He said. Rigsby was about to voice how he knew they were SBI agents but Bosco merely tapped his temple.

"Just because I choose to live like I do doesn't mean I can shun who I truly am. Hightower sent you my way I presume?" He received a pair of baffled expressions. "Hey! Just because I can read minds doesn't mean I have too. I like guessing, it keeps me sane," Bosco said.

"Yeah, Hightower is requesting your assistance, well more, insight on your kind," Cho said.

"Ah yes, she sees me as the master of Animus culture. I find that quite ironic as I barely practice my traditional ways any more but yet, here you all are. Now come inside, I believe my nosy neighbours already have binoculars strapped to their faces and listening devices activated. Don't worry, I had a technopath take care of that." He rambled as he allowed the agents in. Despite its normal exterior appearance, the internals of the beach house was anything but standard. Tribal paintings from South America hung on the corridor leading into the house, a didgeridoo collection sat in a corner next to an umbrella stand, bottles of sand labeled Gobi, Sahara and Arabian were placed on a mantle above a fireplace, a red paper lantern luminated the room with scented candles producing an aroma of vanilla and caramel.

"Quite a place you've got here," Rigsby said.

"I believe I do agent. I get a souvenir from every place I've lived. I've yet to obtain a memory piece from my home here but I've still got another three years here and I think by then I would have found something to put…I think here," he said, pointing at a small space between a shark's tooth and a stone dragon. "Please be seated, I shall not be keeping you waiting any longer." The three of them sat on one side of a wooden coffee table on a couch that looked like it came all the way from India. Bosco sat in a chair that could rival the Pope's on the opposite side. That sat in awkward silence and even Cho wasn't brave enough to speak up. "So younglings, what exactly do you want to know?"

"Everything that could help us find an Animus," Van Pelt said.

"This Animus got a name?"

"Not at the moment. His previous MO was to go around and force himself into other people's minds so he could extract information. The victims appeared unharmed with a slightly case of memory loss. However the latest victim got his mind practically ripped to shreds," Van Pelt continued.

"You see, when we come across someone who is well trained in the art of psychological protection, an Animus who has the desire to extract information must break down all defenses, those defenses being will power. When someone loses their will, they may as well be dead. I assume that the latest victim is nothing more than a human vegetable?"

"You assume correctly, going back to what you said about being trained in the art of psychological protection, where exactly do you get said training?" Cho asked.

"You can have an Animus teach you but I don't know many who are willing to tell humans their trade secrets, hell, none of us are supposed to be talking to humans at all. Training yourself can take centuries. That's why only ancient Wizards have the ability to completely reject an Animus's advances into their minds. Thirdly and I believe this is your most likely option, a mind binder."

"A what?" Van Pelt asked.

"Someone, more powerful than any Animus bound the humans mind. However, I believe the binder didn't anticipate such a strong Animus to perform the extraction, that's why your human has fried brains," Bosco said.

"Alright, mind binder plus human mind protections minus strong Animus equals fried brains. Yep, I think I've got it," Rigsby said as he dotted his sentences. He looked up from his notepad with bemused faces and Cho just shook his head.

"Last question, how do we find him? I mean, don't you Animus's have a secret underground network. Do you know any Animus's who could perform an extraction? We need to find him/her pronto before he messes with another human and reveal our world," Van Pelt said.

"Animus's, despite their powerful abilities, are one of the smaller minorities as they almost defenseless against physical attack. In such a case, if all attackers were mind bound, the Animus's would not be able to read mines, therefore, being as useless as a human child. The small majority of my people are older than a thousand. I may not be able to give you an specific name but I believe I do have two candidates of your target. One be *female character insert here* but she's too busy going off and conning people, I wouldn't think she would be going after people as you are mentally projecting to me. The second, a man, Jane I believe. I haven't physically met him before but I've heard his thoughts, or other people's thoughts concerning him. Lost his family, went into severe depression but now I wouldn't know what has become of him. No guarantee's but I believe he is your best bet," Bosco said.

"Can you find him?"

"I can try agent Cho, if he is as strong as stories go, he might block me when he feels my mind trying to enter his," Bosco said. He rested his forehead in his hands and closed his eyes in deep concentration.

Brother Jane

Samuel Bosco, those SBI Agents after me?

Indeed

No need to keep me talking, I have no fear of agents of the Bureau. You know my location, tell them, they will not be able to stop me

Brother Jane!

Bosco shook his head and came back into the real world. The agents were looking at him eagerly. He gave them a small smile before telling them.

"Santa Maria, he's at a motel, Fire and Ice if I'm correct. You better shake a tail, Santa Maria is quite a drive," Bosco said cheerfully.

"Thank you! Thank you for everything Mr. Bosco," Van Pelt beamed.

"Glad I could be of assistance. One last thing, be careful," Bosco said as Rigsby and Cho were half way out the door.

"Yeah, we'll be careful, mind fryer and all," Rigsby said.

"No, while I was inside Jane's mind, I sensed something else," Bosco said.

"What was it?"

"Someone else, someone is also going after him, someone who figured out it was him before you," Bosco said. The three of them stopped and exchanged a look.

"Should we get back to Hightower?" Rigsby said.

"I think a phone call will suffice," Van Pelt said and pulled out her phone.

Jane

He groaned as he sipped his third cup of tea. He was exhausted but fought against the desire to collapse on the rock hard motel bed behind him. He had been mind probed twice, once by a tracker and then by a fellow Animus. He didn't care for those who wanted him, he had one goal and that was revenge. To him, the tracker's hirer and the agents are merely a bump on the road. He stirred the lukewarm tea and looked at the notes on the desk. His reflection in the mirror in front of him looked like road kill and tried to concentrate on the penned words in front of him.

Jane stood in front of Santa Maria General Hospital that same evening. He watched the doctors and patients enter and leave the main doors. He closed his eyes and opened his mind to allow others thoughts become his.

God, still got three hours 'till the end of my shift. I think I'm going to murder the Chief of Medicine

I hope Mrs. Robinson gets her antibiotics in time, that bite didn't look too good.

He was so young! How could of this happened. Why did no one tell me that he was playing by the road. I want my baby boy back.

I need to tell Lucy that I cannot come in tomorrow. I'll have Dr. Mandel cover me, he owes me one anyway.

Jane looked up and saw a middle aged doctor walk out of the hospital doors. He looked professional and despite looking tired after a 48 hour shift, he still looked presentable and almost cheerful. Jane watched him walk towards his vehicle but made no move to approach him. Jane was no fool, he would not attack in plain sight, no, he was far clever than that. He was back in his own car in a matter of minutes to follow the doctor out of the hospital parking lot and onto the busy eight o'clock road. He wondered if Dr. Lucan had any idea what his actions had caused. He looked at the car that was two vehicles away and sent a telepath Dr. Lucan's way.

Good Evening Dr. Lucan, driving anywhere specific this lovely night?

Who the hell are you and what do you want?

I always find it amusing how you always ask who I am but never how I am speaking to you despite no one else being inside your car. That is, if you were an ignorant human that believed in science

I know what you are, they warned me about the rest of you. I did nothing wrong, I just wanted what I wanted and I got what I got. No harm done, even if I had to go to this creeper to get it.

You have no idea how wrong you are. Harm was done, harm well beyond repair. You will tell me who helped you and you will be able to go home to your pet budgerigar

Do you know how old I am?

Over three hundred years is my estimation. Your mind is quite complex.

So you do exist. He warned us that people like you might be able to see through my youthful exterior.

I don't care for you, just the man behind this.

Now you see, if I was to turn him in, I would no longer have my supply of…product

Keep it up and you'll have no use for your 'product' once I'm through with you

Malicious aren't you?

Just unforgiving.

You need a hobby

Isn't this one?

Jane let a couple of other cars pull in front of him but he would have no trouble losing his potential informant. Lucan's mind was so full of fear that Jane could hardly stand being inside his brain. It was almost suffocating with raw emotion. Lucan's house was two stories high and looked like a resident that could house a small African tribe. It held Lucan, his bird and his occasional lady friend. Jane parked his car two streets down and made the rest of his journey by foot. He heard the happy chirps of the bird and the satisfied chuckles of a full grown man. He knocked on the front door and waited patiently for Lucan's appearance. He felt the adrenalin starting to pump through his system and acted almost nervously as he heard footsteps come in contact with what sounded like wooden floors. The door swung open and Jane watched as the pleased grin disappeared off Lucan's face.

"I knew you would come for me. I couldn't ignore the fact that others like me were getting killed. I know what you want and I know that despite what I'm going to tell you, I'm never walking out this house alive," Lucan said.

"Your fate depends on what you tell me," Jane said with a small smile. He practically forced himself into the house and eventually arrived in the lounge room where the Budgie was chirping.

"I'm not sure what others have told you but I can tell you this. Our creator is not like you and I. You may be immortal and I, a mere shadow of your existence but what he is might be far worse that you anticipated. I warn you, your journey of revenge is going to end in suffering," Lucan said.

"Yes, well I can't help my desire to destroy him now can I?"

"Apparently not. I have never seen him face to face but if you can capture one of his followers, you might find out his exact location. He has a habit of moving around every few months. A follower of his is located in San Francisco, his name is Gnash, a phaser from my memory."

"I see, well you have been the first of many that have cracked. I might just spare you tonight. You have been helpful."

"Might?"

"I would have, had you not alerted your fellow life stealers of my presence," Jane said.

"Life Stealer? If I have lived this long, surely I am an immortal?" Lucan said, completely unaware of Jane's bitter expression.

"Immortals live forever, neither you or I are immortal if we can still die. I just go by the title: Animus, the thief of minds," Jane said as he gripped Lucan's head.

"Make it quick," Lucan said almost conversationally. Jane was just about to respect his wishes when he felt his body impacting ceiling and found himself looking down on the stunned Lucan.

"Oh crap," Lucan said and ran out of the room. Jane tried to see who was standing in the doorway.

"Who's there?" He called out. He first saw a pair of black booths, then a trench coat and finally a woman with raven black hair and emerald green eyes looking at him. She gave the room a quick glance before resuming her staring at the confused Animus. He looked at her and she seemed different from other 'immortals' that he has met. For one, she had the guts to go after him, an Animus on the warpath. He closed his eyes, ready to enter her mind.

Your mind tricks won't work on me

You sound so sure, you're the one that hired the tracker I presume

I don't understand, if you knew I was coming, why be so…reckless about it?

I have more important things to worry about than a silly girl trying to be a superhero.

"Okay, enough with the telepathy. I just want to talk to you," Lisbon said.

"Yeah, well hanging upside down is going to make it quite a challenge," Jane said, feeling the blood rush to his brain.

"It's just a precaution, for my safety, not yours. I'm from the Underworld and I need you to tell me who this Angel of Death person is," Lisbon said, cutting straight to the chase.

"Underworld? I wouldn't exactly pin you for a demon, what demon would come after the Angel of Death, very least, an Animus like me?"

"I'm not a demon. The Angel of Death was on this Earth a couple of years ago. I need to know why and what for," Lisbon said.

"I see, hold on, you don't know what happened here several years ago?"

"No, I was…downstairs," Lisbon said.

"Interesting. Well how about putting me down and I can go get some biscuits, maybe some cheese crackers," Jane said.

"Like that's going to happen," Lisbon said. Jane sighed and then closed his eyes. He never really liked doing what he was about to do on others. Stealing information was one thing, getting into someone else's mind was another. Lisbon felt like her head was splitting in two and fell to the ground in pain.

"I'm sorry," Jane said as he fell from the ceiling and landed gracefully on two feet.

"I don't think so," Lisbon said as she through her hand out and mentally grabbed the sofa. Jane, who was facing the other way, was struck by several kilos of fabric that knocked him off his feet. She light-headedly stood and tried to throw something else at the man who was currently under a broken couch. A lamp landed next to his head and he gingerly tried to get off the ground.

"Big mistake," he said and pushed off the ground, the sofa falling backwards. Lisbon took a step backwards and expected the Animus to turn and fight her. She was confused when she watched him push past her. "I have bigger things to deal with," he said. She shook her head and turned around to follow him.

"You don't understand, my friends are scared of this Angel of Death. A source has told me that he's killed people. What is he that makes everyone so afraid?" Lisbon said.

"Shouldn't everyone be afraid of death?"

"Then why are you going after him?"

"What makes you think I'm going after him?"

"How about all the people you've gone after, they can't just be random targets unless you're trying to follow a trail. A trail that leads them to your Angel," Lisbon said.

"Trails, Angels, this means nothing. You don't know anything, whatever you are," Jane said.

"I'm a sorceress, I was raised by demons, they sent me out to find you and find out what the hell you were doing because humans are getting suspicious. If you blow our cover, everything will be destroyed," Lisbon said.

"So this is because you want to keep humans and our world separate. I understand that so why are you still talking to me?" Jane said, trying to increase walking speed towards his car.

"You're the one that's screwing it up. I can't let you do that," Lisbon said.

"Okay Demonic Sorceress, what I'm doing is none of your concern but if it's to get you off my tail, I will try to be more careful with human contacts," Jane said.

"Why are you going after them anyway?"

"I thought you said I was going after a trail."

"You're infuriating, you know that?"

"Yes, yes I do." He heard her footsteps halt and knew that she wasn't going to follow him any further.

"I have to stop you. Know that I will find you again and maybe I won't let you get away," Lisbon said. Jane smirked slightly and turned around to face her. In the streetlights, she was quite beautiful and he could see why so many people would call her demon. She looked like she belonged in the darkness. Her hair, her eyes, the way she stood in the almost pitch black without a slightest care for the night time dangers. He let his gaze wonder over her body and opened his mind slightly. Before he reached hers, he shut it.

"Run," he said sharply.

"What?"

"For god's sake," he ran up to her and grabbed her wrist and dragged her down the street. He passed his car and kept running.

"What's going on? One minute you're trying to implode my skull and now we're running away like we're convicts," Lisbon said.

"SBI, there was three agents, they've been trying to get to me as well. Samuel Bosco, another Animus contacted me and found out where I was. Must've been following me like you had," Jane said.

"If you tell me what you're doing, I'll get you out of here," Lisbon said.

"I don't need your help-" he yelped as a bullet brushed his ear and dared a quick glance behind him. He saw three people chasing after them. All armed with guns.

"Why on earth do they have guns? Aren't they like us?"

"Explaining later, I'll take you up on that Escape Package of yours," Jane said.

"Hold on tight." She said and grabbed his other arm. She mumbled something under her breath and Jane felt like his body was getting ripped apart.

Van Pelt, Cho, Rigsby

The Animus was with another woman. They wondered if she was in on it as well but after they heard crashing from inside the house, they decided that she was more foe than friend. They watched them leave the house together and slowly followed them. It was when Van Pelt stood in the spotlight of the streetlight did they realize their cover was blown. The Animus was looking directly at her and then the pair started to run. Cho had cocked his gun and aimed. He missed the Animus and merely grazed his ear. He watched the woman grab him and then disappear in a cloud of green fire.

"What the hell was that?" Van Pelt said.

"Cho's bad aiming?" Rigsby replied stunned.

"Sorceress," Cho answered.

If you are planning on hunting me down because it took me a while to update, feel free. I feel so bad right now. Blame slow Australian Internet! That and I was lazy. I will try to get the next chapter up quicker. I've got another week until I get back to HK and then I'm going to the Anicon (Anime/Games Convention).

Thanks to Super Zanny who was brilliant enough to tell me that she was back and then got back to me in record time. By the time it was back on my side beta'd I was almost annoyed with it because it was so long.

I realize I never do disclaimers...I assume you are all intelligent enough to know that I don't own the Mentalist. I do own characters that aren't originally from the series though. Hope it's easy enough to follow, AU's have proven not to be for the fainthearted.

THKer