Here's the next chapter! Sorry it took me a few days to update, I was busy working, studying, and doing research on Lisbon, Van Pelt, and Red John on websites to make sure I use as much canon stuff as possible in later chapters.
And I still don't own anything.
Lisbon wondered if she'd heard Van Pelt properly. Just because she couldn't think of any phrase that sounded like "I'm working for Red John" didn't mean that one didn't exist. She looked curiously at her agent and only managed to stammer "I-I'm sorry?"
Van Pelt swallowed, wringing her hands. When she looked back up at Lisbon, her eyes looked damp, like she was trying to hold back tears. When she spoke again, the first syllable caught in her throat. "I'm working for Red John."
Lisbon turned her head slightly to the side. "No, you're not."
Van Pelt looked confused. "Yes. I am."
"No, you're not," Lisbon said. "You're…you're not…working for Red John." She turned her head the other way. "You can't be." She stood up and shoved her hands in her pockets, looking toward her window, glad that she'd shut the blinds earlier. "You can't be. Since when?"
Grace shifted her weight, not seeming surprised at her boss's sudden shift from denial to demanding. "Years. Years. Longer than I've been working for you. I was assigned to you as part of his surveillance of Jane."
"Grace…" Lisbon's mouth was hanging open slightly, staring at the agent that had gained so much of her respect and affection over the years, knowing she should be looking at her totally differently now but somehow unable to allow herself to do so. This was Grace Van Pelt. Young. Somewhat naïve. Such a perfect target for Red John's brainwashing, but at the same time one of the last people Lisbon would have expected to be sitting here and making that confession.
Lisbon sighed. "Grace," she said again, with more strength in her tone. "You'd better not be screwing with me. Because that is a sick, and twisted, and…and I shouldn't have to tell you that it's just not something you can come in here and joke about. If Jane didn't have the connection with Red John that he does, I'd think he'd put you up to…" she trailed off, partly because she knew that this was not a subject Van Pelt would joke about, and partly because of the tears that were welling up in Van Pelt's eyes. She sat back down. "You know I have to arrest you, Grace. I have to arrest you and turn you over to another team for interrogation, and I'll have to testify to what you've told me at your trial." She should have slammed Van Pelt's body against the wall and cuffed her by now, and every second that she didn't she felt like she was betraying Jane, but her affection for the vulnerable looking red head in front of her was keeping her tone gentle. "You're a cop…or whatever. You know that, Grace."
A tear slipped out of Van Pelt's eye. "You can't. He'll kill me."
"Red John won't get to you," Lisbon said. "I'll assure you of that."
"You can't assure me of it," Van Pelt said. "His friends are everywhere, he's gotten to people inside CBI before, I'm not the only one, and no, I can't tell you everyone because I don't know everyone. He never shares all of his friends with the others, just the ones that need to know." She paused for a breath. "I want out. I don't want to be in his sick network anymore. But everyone who falls out of favor dies, and I was too young and vulnerable and naïve when I got involved with him to know what it could turn into. I don't want to be a part of him anymore. But I can't get out by myself." She sniffed. "You always said that this office was a safe room, right?"
"You're an accomplice of a notorious serial killer responsible for dozens of deaths across the state, including that of several CBI agents!" Lisbon said, as loud as she dared. "You're a mole. You're…I have never been this angry, Grace. Never."
"Look, I said I'm done, okay?" Van Pelt said, lifting her head. "I'll tell you everything I know, I just want your protection. I don't want to die for trying to do the right thing."
Lisbon stared at the double agent for another long moment. She always knew, whenever the team was out in the field, that it was dangerous. She knew that when they were working on a plan of Jane's, things were even more dangerous. And time and time again Rigsby, Cho, and Van Pelt had followed her into that danger, risking their lives while she got herself more and more tangled up in Jane's quest for revenge. It was a lot different here, knowing who specifically was in danger, what the danger was, and what the consequences were. Van Pelt had gone along with everything Jane and Lisbon had asked over the years. But at the same time, if Van Pelt had been playing her all along, going into those Red John cases knowing that she'd be okay, then was Lisbon really returning a favor, or was it her giving loyalty credit where credit was not in fact due? It made sense in retrospect to have a Red John Friend be a part of Lisbon's team…they already had had FBI and CBI related moles, so of course it wasn't ridiculous for Red John to have one of his people right there under Jane's nose. But it wasn't an important date today; there were no Red John related cases being worked on, and therefore, to the best of her knowledge, there was no reason for Red John to have an intentional reveal of the team's mole today. Was Van Pelt genuine in her plea for help, or was this all part of Red John's game?
Everything seemed to always work according to Red John's plan. But Lisbon was having difficulty accepting Van Pelt's involvement with the man in the first place. Her years with Jane had made her a better judge of people than she had used to be, and it was that confidence and her weakness in trusting her team that made her believe Van Pelt when she said she wanted help. "Come to my place tonight. Come alone. I'll leave some files on your desk before leaving tonight so you'll have an excuse to drop by. You tell me everything you know and then we'll talk. Okay? And don't come into any unnecessary contact with people until then. Understood?"
Van Pelt nodded, wiping her eyes. "Yes, boss."
"Now you understand that this could get you a lighter sentence, but odds are you're going to go to jail. You know that, right?"
"If he doesn't kill me first," Van Pelt said, nodding.
Lisbon was about to joke or Jane to try and lighten the mood, but she stopped short of that when she realized how true it would be. If…well, when, when Jane found out about this there was no telling what he'd do. He'd been less predictable since the Wainwright incident and Lisbon was only now feeling confidant in her ability to control him again. Van Pelt's place in Red John's circle, no matter how significant it may be, would shatter his trust of almost everyone around him. And Lisbon couldn't handle a truly broken down Jane on top of this bombshell Van Pelt had just dropped on her.
"I know I'm asking a lot."
Lisbon was jolted out of her thoughts to find a slightly more composed Grace Van Pelt looking at her. "Yes," Lisbon said. "You are. I'm going to be risking my career and my life for you."
"Not your life," Van Pelt said. "You're too valuable."
Lisbon looked startled. "What?"
"Look," Van Pelt said, "people will get suspicious. Can we talk about it tonight?" She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. "I know I'm asking you to risk a lot. But I really feel like you're the only one who can help me."
Lisbon nodded. "And I will try to protect you. I will do so to the best of my ability. But you have to tell me everything you know."
"I will." Van Pelt nodded. "Everything, I promise. I just can't do this anymore."
"All right." Lisbon stood up. "You can go." Van Pelt nodded, standing up and wiping her hands on her sides. Lisbon offered up a lighthearted comment in an attempt to break the tension. "I expect a very good story later."
Van Pelt laughed nervously, and then nodded toward Lisbon. "Thank you, boss." She gave a brief smile and exited the room.
Lisbon dropped down into her chair and curled her hands into C shapes, placing them around her eyes and staring so hard at her desk she was surprised her line of site didn't drill a hole right through the wood.
Lisbon's usual patterns for stuff she doesn't expect are denial, anger, and then she's back to acceptance and wanting to help – at least that's how she was with Rigsby and Van Pelt announcing their relationship. That's what I was going off of her for characterization here.
The next chapter will begin the details of Van Pelt's life as a Red John Friend. Hope you all are still enjoying it!