Just a quick note to say that I hope the rating is acceptable. There will be violence and swearing throughout the story (though not gore or excessive cursing, I would say). That's my warning. Again, many thanks to Kathi-ann!!

Chapter Four: Walls...

Cho clenched his fists as he listened to the exchange between Merkowitz and Willowby. If that bastard laid a hand on Lisbon...

He took a deep breath and scrubbed a hand over his face, thinking. He knew that, if it came down to it, Lisbon would go pretty far to protect those hostages. This guy knew it, too. Knew Lisbon. Sure, it was a pretty good guess that a law enforcement officer would respond that way—call of duty and all—but to be so confident that she would give herself up for twenty-two people, that she would go even further to keep the other ten safe...well, it made Cho wonder. He felt his phone vibrate and answered.

After listening to Jane, he could feel the rage inside grow. No wonder he seemed to be able to predict her actions. He had been stalking her for three weeks. At least.

"Finish checking out the apartment and then get here. I think things are about to get ugly."

He hung up without giving them a chance to question him further. He didn't know what he would say if they did. How did one tell a friend that someone they both cared about was very likely going to be hurt soon?

Usually, Cho could say anything to anyone without getting too worked up. Informing families of deaths, arresting perpetrators, ruthlessly interrogating. Even in relation to the team, he was still pretty in control. It was just that this was Lisbon. The tough, no nonsense boss that led them anywhere. She always had their backs. And it killed him that he couldn't return the favor.

It wasn't often that she needed them. Her personality was such that one forgot that she was only human sometimes, that she too had feelings and insecurities. Not that she ever showed them—not at work. But he had seen the look on her face after certain cases. Cho knew that she wasn't as indomitable as she would have them all believe.

And he wasn't as stoic as others thought. But he'd be damned if he'd let them know that.

Jane and Rigsby arrived just as Willowby tried once more to contact Merkowitz. They were now at the point where they were just trying not to inflame him, trying not to prod him into violence. But they needed to know what was happening inside. The rest of Willowby's unit was busy trying to get eyes and ears in the interior.

Jane froze at the sound of Merkowitz's voice. "Ah, Sergeant, you're just in time for the fun. There's a boy here who thinks—well, that's the problem. He's thinking when he should be listening. Tsk, tsk. What shall we do with him?"

"Jack, you don't want to hurt those people. We can help you, but we need to talk this through." Willowby gripped the walkie talkie in his hand, his knuckles turning white. Jane felt dread well up inside. He was pretty sure that Willowby's use of words may not have been the best.

"You're correct, Sergeant. I don't want to hurt these people. So, Teresa, shall we smack this kid around a bit, teach him not to speak unless spoken to? What do you think?"

Jane knew Lisbon well. Now that the attention was back on her, she would do her darnedest to keep it there, to keep this 'boy' safe. He felt helpless to stop it and a glance to Rigsby and Cho revealed their similar feelings. He heard her voice and tried to imagine where she was, if she was bound, if she was with the group or separate.

"Like you said, Jack. It's between us. Let's leave them out of it."

Jane marveled at her calm. How like her. He smiled wryly. The fury in Merkowitz's voice quickly cleansed his face. "Get up."

"Sergeant? You were wondering about my next demand? Well, I'm not quite sure yet, but I figure that I'll release a hostage for every fifteen minutes that Teresa can hold out. Now doesn't that sound fair?"

"Jack? Jack? Are you there? Don't do anything rash," Willowby's calm diminished a bit. He could tell that he was dealing with someone unpredictable, someone who really may not care about getting out of that bank. When there was no answer, he turned to one of his men. "I need to know what's happening in there and I need to know it yesterday."

"Yes, sir." There was a flurry of action from the members of SRU. Rigsby turned to Cho.

"What the hell? Did he mean what I think he meant?"

"Yes. He meant precisely what you thought he meant. Lisbon is not going to make it out of there unscathed unless some miracle frees them in the next ninety seconds." Jane answered instead of Cho.

In his pockets, Jane's hands were imagining that they were around the neck of the man inside the bank. It was really amazing that people like that—and there were many—could share a planet with one another. So often they were wont to blame others for what happened rather than take responsibility for their own actions and accept the consequences. Instead, rats like Merkowitz decided that everything bad in his life was because of someone else. In this case, because of Lisbon. Ridiculous.

Jane himself had once been a similar man—acting without thought of consequences. But, unlike Merkowitz, Jane knew that it was his own actions that had brought upon the worst day of his life. And it made him very angry to think about what those innocent people were going through, what Lisbon was going through. Life was such a precious thing. And Merkowitz was threatening to play with it, like this was all some big game. Like there weren't people who would miss his victims.

Jane knew that if he got his hands on Merkowitz he would want to do him harm. He wondered if that made him a hypocrite—saying life was precious, but having no qualms about extinguishing that of the scum who hurt the people he cared about. He thought that maybe he was, but he couldn't quite let himself care. He'd have to be careful, though. Lisbon would be pissed if she got out of there only to have Jane incarcerated for assault and battery. Or worse.

It really said something that Jane wanted nothing more than to have Lisbon pissed at him right now if it meant she were here to take out her anger on him. He'd willingly suffer any sort of torture she deemed fit.

If only she were here with him and not separated by bank walls and psychopaths.