Title: A Change of Plan

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with The Mentalist. No money is changing hands.

Author's Note: I'm amazed and inspired by all the encouragement. You guys are the best!

Chapter Four: Warning

Lisbon had barely drunk half her cup of coffee the next morning before Darcy entered her office. "I need to interview Lorelei Martins," she said, "but I'm told I need your permission to see her."

"Suspects connected with Red John have a history of dying in custody, so we're taking every precaution," Lisbon said. "I'm happy to take you to see her."

"I need to see her alone. You haven't been excluded from my investigation, Agent Lisbon."

Lisbon folded her arms. "And you haven't been excluded from mine, Agent Darcy. You get me or one of my team as your escort, or you don't see Lorelei. That's the deal."

They stared at each other for a few moments to see who would break first. Then Darcy grimaced. "Very well. I hope now is convenient?"

Lisbon stood and grabbed her jacket. "Yes. I had a visit on my schedule today anyway."

mmm

There wasn't much conversation on the drive to Sacramento County Jail, which came as a relief to Lisbon. Facing Lorelei's smug, oddly serene attitude was best done when not already irritated.

When the three of them were seated in the private interview room, Darcy introduced herself, causing Lorelei to smile. "Agent Darcy. It's good to meet you; I wasn't sure I would. I've heard a lot about you." She cut a look over at Lisbon and added, "Not as much as about Agent Lisbon, of course. But enough to intrigue me."

"Who told you about me?" Darcy asked.

Lorelei's smile grew. "There's only one person whose words I value."

"You mean Red John."

"You call him that, yes. If you're here to learn about him, I'm afraid I have to disappoint you. As Agent Lisbon has learned, my loyalty is unshakeable."

"I'm actually here to ask you how Agent Wainwright came to be in the back seat of the limousine you were in when we arrested you."

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't help you there. He was already in place when the limo picked me up."

"Really." Darcy sounded skeptical. "And what time was that?"

"A quarter to three."

"So he was already dead."

"He wasn't making any noise. That's all I know. I didn't even know who he was at the time." Lorelei's expression changed to sympathy. "Was he a friend of yours?"

"A valued colleague," Darcy replied.

"Then I'm sorry for your loss. Are you a friend of Patrick's?"

Darcy paused, her expression unreadable. "Are you?"

Lorelei chuckled. "Me? I'm more than a friend. Much more."

"So I've heard," Darcy said. "Why do you ask me about Patrick?"

Lorelei nodded in Lisbon's direction. "She won't let him come to see me. I thought you might."

Darcy tilted her head slightly. "I'm sure if Patrick really wanted to see you, he'd find a way to make it happen."

Lisbon was cheered to see a shadow cross Lorelei's face. Darcy pressed on. "Just like I'm sure that if Red John really wanted to save you, he would find a way."

Lorelei regained her smile. "When the time is right, he will."

"But meanwhile, here you are. Was that part of the plan all along, or an accident? Did you know the sacrifice you'd be making?" Darcy asked.

Lorelei's smile took on a tinge of pity. "Love is nothing without sacrifice. If you had ever truly known love, you would know that." Then she looked at Lisbon. "I'm looking forward to finding out what sacrifices you're willing to make, Agent Lisbon."

Lisbon blinked, taken aback and hoping it didn't show. Before she could formulate a response, Lorelei continued, "I would sacrifice everything for my lord and master. But he has assured me I must only wait patiently for the signs he has promised, and then I will be free."

"Such as?" Darcy asked.

"The removal of obstacles from Patrick's path." Lorelei looked at Lisbon again. "Starting with the most significant. How are things, Agent Lisbon? Any troubles, or worries?"

"Nothing important." Lisbon hoped she managed the nonchalance she was aiming for. "Should I be on the lookout for something?"

Lorelei looked amused. "You'll never see it coming. Patrick might. But will he bother to warn you?"

"I'm sure he will," Lisbon replied, on firmer ground now.

"Really? How many times do you think he'll choose you over his quest? But don't worry. When he abandons you, you can find a new home. You'd make a worthy disciple."

Lisbon couldn't help the disgust that twisted her expression, but she seized the opportunity. "Really? To replace you, I guess? I can't help but notice the physical similarities. Are you saying Red John is planning to trade up, from you to me?"

For the first time, a glint of anger pierced Lorelei's calm demeanor. "Never!"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not interested," Lisbon assured her, infusing her voice with sympathy. "You don't need to worry that I'd take him away from you. Like I have Jane."

Lorelei frowned in irritation, but quickly recovered. "That is only temporary, I promise you. Enjoy your moment of triumph, Agent Lisbon. It's all you'll get."

There was a momentary silence, and then Darcy said, "Back to Agent Wainwright. So you're saying you don't know who killed him?"

Lorelei shrugged. "I thought it was one of the people shooting at us."

"The autopsy says otherwise. He was dead probably an hour before that. There was a strong sedative in his system, and he doesn't show any of the cutting patterns associated with Red John. So we naturally thought it must be someone else, someone who doesn't enjoy killing as much."

"It could be. Like I said, he came with the car."

They questioned Lorelei for nearly an hour after that, but she stuck to her story. As she was leaving, she smiled at Lisbon again and said, "Tell Patrick I'm looking forward to seeing him. I'll have something to tell him soon."

When they were alone, Darcy said, "I can see why you haven't gotten anywhere with her."

"Red John wouldn't have let us have her if she was easy to break," Lisbon agreed. "I'm sorry this doesn't shed more light on Wainwright's murder."

"We're working several angles," Darcy said. "I hope you don't have any plans to leave town, Agent Lisbon."

Lisbon scowled at her as they left the room. "No, Agent Darcy. And I hope you'll stay in touch."

"Don't worry. I plan to."

mmm

The rest of the day passed slowly. Lisbon wished she had a way to find out more about Darcy's investigation, but since she and the rest of the unit were, absurdly, suspects, no information was forthcoming. She hoped fervently that enough evidence would turn up to exonerate the others, at least. If this really was a frame aimed at her, she hoped her team would escape becoming collateral damage.

She also spent way too much time pondering Lorelei's oblique hints about sacrifice and abandonment. That seemed to support the frame-up theory, but Lisbon was encouraged by the thought that she was ahead of Lorelei on one count: Jane had warned her right at the start that something like this might happen. And she believed him when he said he'd only pretended to abandon her. She didn't think he'd do it for real, although she wouldn't put it past him to stage something again if he felt it necessary. God help him if he ever did have a real breakdown, she thought; she would never buy that a second time.

Her cell phone caught her attention, and she looked down to find a text from Jane: I have something to show you. Secret meeting, the usual place. Fifteen minutes.

She was irritated at his cavalier disregard for her schedule, but it sounded important. If it wasn't, she thought as she organized herself to leave the office, she would just punch him again.

"Guys," she said, stepping into the bullpen, "I have to run out for a few minutes. I won't be long."

"We'll cover for you, boss," Rigsby said.

They watched as she left, exchanging glances. Rigsby leaned forward and whispered to Cho, "Jane?"

"No comment," Cho replied, not lifting his eyes from his paperwork.

Rigsby looked over at Van Pelt, who lifted a shoulder in a "what can we do?" shrug. He sighed and went back to his computer screen.

mmm

O'Malley's was far enough from the capitol complex that it wasn't frequented by many state workers, and it was noisy enough that a quiet conversation could remain private. Lisbon hadn't been there in more than six months, since no secret meetings had been required during Jane's absence, but she had no trouble navigating her way through the early happy hour crowd to their usual corner. Instead of a table, Jane was sitting in a booth. He grinned when he saw her, gesturing for her to sit beside him. She frowned questioningly at him but slid onto the bench seat.

"What's this about?" she asked.

He scooted a glass of water over to her. "I was going to order you a beer, but I thought you'd probably go back to the office."

"Right." She noticed that he had an empty shot glass in front of him and frowned again. It wasn't like Jane to drink unless it was part of a plan somehow. She'd hoped he had been able to shed any bad habits he'd picked up in Las Vegas, but maybe he hadn't.

"Oh, stop worrying," he said. "I improved my alcohol tolerance considerably while pretending to become an alcoholic."

"Alcoholics always think they can handle it," she shot back.

He looked surprised for a second before realization settled over him. "Sorry. Your expertise in the subject slipped my mind for a moment." He reached for the second glass of water. "No more drinking during secret meetings. Noted."

"Good. Care to enlighten me about the reason for this one?"

He handed her his cell, and she saw it was displaying a text: See how easy it would be? I don't think she'd do well in prison, do you?

"So this is still aimed at you, not me," she mused.

"You have faith in the justice system; he probably knows you'd take your chances in court rather than cut any kind of deal with him," Jane agreed. "So he's trying to throw me off balance by making me think about how easily he could destroy not just your career, but your life."

Lisbon thought for a few moments. "So he doesn't want to kill me, but he doesn't think he can make me walk away, and this is his compromise: forcibly remove me from the CBI."

"Right. No chance of resuming my old life with you in prison. Not to mention the crushing guilt. Because he's right, you know: you wouldn't do well in prison."

Prison meant being trapped in a box with no control over even the smallest details of her life, like what to wear or eat. No, she wouldn't do well, she knew. "Unlike you."

"Oh, I always knew I could get out. One way or the other." He sighed, then murmured, "I'd get you out, Lisbon. You're not going to spend your life in prison. I promise you that."

"I'm not worried," she replied, but she could see from his expression that she hadn't been convincing.

He took a sip of water, then looked straight ahead. "If at any time it gets to be too much, just tell me. We can stop this."

"How? I'm not leaving you out in the cold, Jane."

"I could give up for real."

"He'll never buy it a second time, and you know it."

"If I really vanished, if I—"

"Stop it!" she hissed. "We are not letting him run our lives. Not now, not ever. And this is not your fault, so stop trying to martyr yourself!"

He looked at her again. "How is this not my fault? He's playing games with your life to manipulate me!"

"Jane, I was on the Red John case before I met you. Even if we'd never met, I'd still be on it. He'd be playing games with somebody else, but I'd still be involved. Stop with the guilt. I might be in real trouble here. I need you not to be distracted."

"Oh, believe me, I'm not," he murmured into his glass.

Lisbon thought for a minute, then said, "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"CBI. We're going to try to trace that text message," she said, getting to her feet.

He didn't move. "It's pointless. It'll be from a burn phone, or worse yet, from someone who's meant to distract us."

"We still have to try. Come on." She tugged on his shoulder, and he let out an annoyed huff as he slid out of the booth and tossed some cash on the table.

"Does this mean you're lifting the ban on my entering the building?" he asked hopefully.

"Temporarily," she said over her shoulder on her way to the door. She didn't catch his expression, but she could practically feel the grin from a foot behind her.

mmm

As they walked into the bullpen, Lisbon noticed that her team looked only mildly surprised. Before they could say anything, she handed Jane's cell to Van Pelt. "We need to trace this text."

Van Pelt read it and looked up at Lisbon in concern. "Boss," she said softly.

Jane backed out of the way to avoid being trampled as Rigsby and Cho moved to read over Van Pelt's shoulder. Lisbon said, "Let's all stay calm. Red John is just yanking our chain."

Cho said, "You need protection."

"No, I don't. Red John doesn't want to kill me."

"How do you know?" Rigsby asked.

Lisbon looked over at Jane, who said, "It's too easy. And it gets him no leverage. He wants to dangle a solution in front of us so he can manipulate us."

Cho folded his arms. "We can't know that for sure."

"Look," Lisbon said, "if he wanted to kill me, he'd do it. I don't think we'd get a warning. Jane's right; he's trying to manipulate us."

Cho said, "Red John doesn't care about us. He's trying to manipulate Jane. As usual."

"And while he's doing that," Lisbon said, "he might leave an opening for us to track him. This was all planned in advance; Lorelei told me so today."

"What did she say?" Jane demanded, stepping closer to the group again. "Exact words."

Lisbon grimaced and said, "She's waiting for the signs Red John promised her. The signs will be the removal of obstacles from your path, starting with the biggest one, which she implied was me. She also said she's looking forward to seeing what sacrifices I'm willing to make."

Rigsby muttered sarcastically, "Nothing sinister about that."

"Lisbon," Jane said urgently, "I need to see her."

"No. Darcy and I made some progress today; I don't want to distract her. I'm holding on to you as a bargaining chip. She said she'd have something to tell you soon. I'm going to make her give me something in return for being able to deliver that message."

Jane scowled. "It's probably Red John's list of absurd demands, things he wants me to do to keep you out of prison."

"Maybe," Lisbon said. "But think about it. The frame-up is shaky at best. The timing doesn't work at all, for one thing. And there's no motive that any good defense lawyer couldn't demolish in five minutes. Maybe he's just doing this to make a point, and once that's done, whatever's sent the FBI so far off track will go away."

Jane said, "I hope not." When they all turned to look at him, he continued, "Because that means there's something else coming. Something worse."

Nobody had a response to that. Van Pelt began typing away on her computer, trying to trace the text. Jane shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and wandered toward his couch.

"Jane," Lisbon said sharply. "It's not nap time yet. Cho, any progress on the Graham case?"

"I was heading over to his house to take another look," Cho said.

"What for?" she asked.

"I'll know it when I see it," Cho replied. "Can I take Jane?"

"No. He's not working for us at the moment, officially. There's a mess in Vegas he needs to clean up first. And I'm not sure reinstating him won't look suspicious to the FBI, which is the last thing any of us needs right now. Take Rigsby if you want a second set of eyes."

Van Pelt said, "The account the text was from is closed. Must be a burn phone. I'll try to figure out if I can tie the account to a name or at least a location."

"Pointless. Red John isn't that sloppy," Jane said.

Van Pelt said, "If we assume he never makes mistakes and stop checking, we won't notice when he does make one. And nobody's perfect."

"Exactly," Lisbon agreed. "Keep at it. Jane, my office."

He followed her in silence and went to sit on the couch, apparently deep in thought. Lisbon hesitated for a moment, then went to sit in a nearby chair. "I think it's obvious we're not fooling Red John. How close are you to resolving those charges?"

"Close."

"I can help."

"No. Not while you're under suspicion. Don't worry, I have a plan."

Lisbon gave a little laugh. "Jane, those two things are mutually exclusive. I always worry when you have a plan. Now is not the time for one of your cunning and brilliant ruses that blow up in my face."

He looked at her sharply. "Don't you think I know that?"

Lisbon was taken aback; he rarely snapped at her. She folded her arms and said, "I want to get a couple of things straight. One: you do not make decisions about my life. Two: you do not make deals with Red John without telling me first. Are you clear on that?"

"You've made it clear I don't work for you, so I'm a little vague on what my incentive is to agree to those terms."

"If you ever want to come back to work here, you will," she retorted.

"I can't make blanket promises without knowing what the circumstances will be," he pointed out. "I'd rather not make you any promises I'm likely to have to break."

"Fine, then I'll simplify. We are in this together. You do not go off on your own. If humanly possible, you discuss any deals or decisions with me before you make them."

He sighed. "All right. If humanly possible, I'll clear my moves with you first. And no running off on my own."

"Promise me," she persisted.

He gave another dramatic sigh. "I promise."

"Thank you." Lisbon relaxed a little, then got up and went to her desk. "If you want, you can take a nap while we wait for Van Pelt to find something."

"Thanks." He arranged himself so he could lie on the couch facing her.

After a moment, she glanced up to find his eyes not quite closed. They looked at each other for a while, simply enjoying each other's company. Then Lisbon said softly, "The drinking has to stop, Jane. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, Lisbon," he yawned. "I promise that too." Then he closed his eyes, and a few minutes later she noticed that his breathing had changed. He really had fallen asleep.

She smiled down at her paperwork and shook her head. Normal was nice, even if it was only temporary.