Author's Note: Thanks so much for your support, my wonderful readers. If you were all local, you would all have a cookie from me by now. But seriously, you guys are awesome. I'm not too sure about this chapter, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless :3 thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: As much as I would like to, I still don't own even part of The Mentalist

Chapter 3

"Stop the tow truck" Jane said, eyes still roaming over the note.

Lisbon remained standing there, looking at him quizzically. "Why?" she knew not to question Jane's hunches, but just this once, he seemed to be overreacting too much.

He waved the note in front of her face, the bloody red face making her flinch ever so slightly, but enough for Jane to notice. "We can't trust anyone Lisbon," he said through clenched teeth, turning his back to the tow truck and its driver.

"What're we going to do then, Jane?" she asked sceptically. "We're in Malibu, for God's sake, we're both tired, and I still need to call the team," her eyes flicked over to the driver, who looked nothing out of the ordinary. Lisbon had to remind herself that appearances weren't always what they seemed. The man was still waiting for them. She looked back at Jane. Her eyes narrowed, and the grimace she received let her know that he knew what she was going to say. "You had a feeling something like this was going to happen, didn't you?" she asked him. "That's one of the reasons we stayed in the SUV," her second sentence wasn't a question, rather a statement that she was sure of.

He nodded subtly. "I didn't want to worry you," the look in his eyes told Lisbon he was being genuine.

She pouted, considering voicing her annoyance, but then remembered that she had just spent the night in his arms, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, had secretly enjoyed it. She was also secretly relieved that the old Patrick Jane, the one she had known before he had left the CBI, left her, to pursue Red John in Las Vegas, seemed to be showing once more. Instead, she settled on folding her arms, confident that he would read her body language. "Why'd you let me call the tow truck then, Jane?" she asked warily.

He shrugged. "Had to prove my theory," he replied.

Lisbon shook her head. "What're we going to do then?" she asked him again.

He leant in close, lips almost brushing her ear. "We tell him that we've changed our minds," he whispered.

She nodded, finally understanding. If this man worked for Red John, she doubted they would be allowed to leave with her vehicle. "Go talk to him,"

Jane looked taken aback. "Me? Why?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Your idea," she told him. "And I have to call the team," she said, head cocking to one side, smiling slightly. He nodded, and turned to walk toward the man. Before he got too far, Lisbon held his forearm lightly. "Be careful,"

He looked down at her, smiling. "Ah, Lisbon. When am I not?" he asked, putting his hand on top of hers, squeezing it lightly before leaving her at the passenger's side of the Citroën.

She leant against the car, scrubbing a hand over her face. These feelings she was experiencing were irrational. As a way to get rid of them, she shook her head, and pulled out her cell phone, deciding on calling Cho. He answered after the phone rung twice.

"This is agent Cho," the stoic man said.

"Cho," she breathed, happy to hear his voice. "Listen, Jane and I might need your help," she begun.

Lisbon heard rustling papers, a sign he was looking for something on his desk. "You're in Malibu, right?" he asked simply.

"Yeah," she answered. "How'd you know?"

"Jane left a note, boss," her second in command replied.

"Ah," she looked over at Jane, confirming he was okay. She lowered her voice. "Well, my cars busted, and Jane doesn't trust the driver. I would be happy to have it towed, but since it's now probably evidence in the Red John investigation, Jane wants to find a different way to go about things,"

Cho was silent for a few moments. "We'll be there in a few hours. An old friend of Rigsby's is an technician. Rigsby says he trusts the man entirely, so we'll bring him along too,"

Lisbon considered protesting. Rigsby's last 'friend' had ended up being a murderer, lying to him and her team. She then remembered that she was in Malibu, and saw no other way out of their situation. "Ok, see you soon,"

The man hung up without another word.

Lisbon replaced her phone back in her pocket, and walked over to Jane. "Everything okay?" she asked with a smile.

The tow trucker smiled at her, and she realised he looked vaguely familiar. Almost from a dream… "Everything's fine, ma'am," the man said. "Your boyfriend was just telling me that you don't need my services anymore," he had a thick accent, though she couldn't place from where.

She stole a sideways glance at Jane, but didn't bother correcting the physically larger trucker. Knowing her consultant, it was probably a cover story in order for him to get something he wanted. Jane noticed her looking, and slung an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close. Yes, she thought. Definitely a cover story. Unless he was drunk again… "I'm so sorry for wasting your time, Jason," the blonde man said to the truck owner. "Teresa here is very stubborn, and she would much rather find a way to fix her car herself," he said affectionately.

Jason was a few inches taller than Rigsby would've been. He had obviously spent a lot of his life in the sun; his skin was olive, leathery. He had close cropped, dark hair, and a persona that told Jane he had probably spent a lot of his time in the army or navy. Somewhere that was heavy on discipline and consequences.

Lisbon still couldn't place why the man looked so familiar, and moved closer to Jane, who tightened his hold on her. The man-Jason, he seemed so ordinary, and she couldn't place why she felt so threatened by his presence.

Jason smiled, showing a full set of perfectly cared for teeth. "I guess I'll be off then," he said, turning to his truck.

"We're so sorry to trouble you like this," Jane said with a sheepish smile.

The man waved off his apology, and set Lisbon's car back on the ground. "I might see you two around," he said with a cheerful smile as he drove off.

To Lisbon it sounded like a threat, not a parting message.

When Jane was sure the man was a safe distance away, he released his hold on Lisbon.

"So, what do you think?" she asked him.

"Tell me what you think first," he said imperatively.

His tone, so unfamiliar to her, made her answer instantly. "I dunno what it was Jane," she muttered. "He just seemed…. familiar. I couldn't put my mind on it though,"

He looked her in the eye, concerned. "Familiar, how?" he pressed.

She shrugged. "I don't know Jane," she told him again. "Just a feeling," she dropped her eyes, focussing on the ground instead.

"I didn't like him," Jane continued.

"You think he works for Red John?" she asked him.

He tilted his head from side to side, undecided on his cold reading of the man. "Not sure. He's definitely a threat though,"

"Why'd he go then?" she said quietly.

He put a firm, reassuring hand on her shoulder again. "Don't worry about it, Lisbon. I doubt it can be anything good, or I'm getting bad at cold readings,"

She looked up at him, smiling slightly. "Too bad this is a CBI issue vehicle. I don't have as many guns in there as I do in my car," she said.

He chuckled. "Meh. We'll sort something out. If Jason was sent by Red John, he probably won't come back straight away," he looked out toward the sea. "We have a few hours to kill."

Lisbon shook her head. "I was kidnapped by Red John last night, and all you can comment on is how many hours we have before they come back? You're unbelievable, Patrick Jane," she said.

He shrugged, grinning. "You are who you are," he said, somewhat poetically. His smile then disappeared, and he touched her wrist tentatively, only to have her pull back. Instead, he grabbed her hand. "Are you okay, Lisbon?" he asked her quietly.

She stared wide eyed into his eyes, before averting her gaze, looking instead at her shoes. "Yeah," she managed. "I'll be fine,"

He didn't seem satisfied. "We'll talk about it later then, okay?"

She nodded. "I called Cho," she said, deliberately changing the subject. "He said you left a note on his desk," she said with a smile. "Thanks, Jane,"

He couldn't help but smile back. "No problem, boss," he said with a grin. "What else did Cho have to say?"

"He says he'll be up here with Van Pelt and Rigsby in a few hours. Rigsby's old friend's coming too, to fix my car," she said.

He nodded. "And Rigsby trusts this man?" he asked

"Entirely."

"Good."

They had opted for spreading the blankets she had slept in on the grass, lying in the sun. What Lisbon didn't expect was to fall asleep, only to be woken by an approaching vehicle. She sat up instantly, nudging Jane, who had been sleeping too. "I think the team's here," she said.

He nodded, rubbing his eyes. "Okay," he mumbled sleepily. It was mid-afternoon, and he had been positively enjoying that nap. His eyes widened when he saw the car, and didn't recognise it. "Lisbon," he said quietly. "I don't think that's their car,"

She turned to look as well. "Shit," she muttered. It seemed Jane had been right about their tow trucking friend. Lisbon slowly stretched to a crouched position, so she was still invisible in front of the cars. She glanced at her car, mentally calculating the distance. If she ran, she had a chance of getting her gun out of the glove box. "Stay here," she whispered to Jane, who finally agreed to listen to one of her orders.

She started slowly, creeping quietly to the front of her car, before dashing around the side and opening the passenger's door. She threw the glove box open, said a quick prayer that her and Jane were going to get out of this alive as her fingers closed around the cold steel of the gun. She exhaled slowly, and climbed carefully out of the SUV, assessing her surroundings as she did so.

The vehicle, a small, red car that was nothing special had parked at the top of the drive, just a few metres away. Lisbon raised an eyebrow. She was completely in view of the man, and yet he did nothing. She heard pounding footsteps behind her, saw Jane running of all things. "Lisbon, get down!" he yelled, tackling her to the ground. It was then she noticed the snipers rifle set on the bed of the trailer, protruding above the roof of the vehicle. The man opened the door slowly, and Lisbon knew that was her only chance to get him.

It was only then she noticed the lightness of the gun she was about to use, and she guessed she had only one bullet left. Well, she thought, rising to a position that she could shoot better from. Here goes nothing…

She pulled the trigger, and the bullet found its target. The man fell, and she rushed over to him.

Unfortunately, the bullet hadn't killed him, and was lodged in his leg. Sure enough, it was Jason. She pressed her foot down on the man's injured leg, causing him to stifle a moan of pain. "Well?" she said. "Who sent you?"

He grinned. "I think you know the answer to that, Teresa. Red John sends his regards. Although he's proud of the work I did on you," he said, pointing to the agent's wrist, "he really wishes he could've done it himself."

A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger. I couldn't resist ;D I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, please tell me what you think! Reviews are appreciated :P Next chapter up soon!