Crimson Contention
A/N: Thank you for your positive reviews on my last chapter. This next chapter will be the last one for this story. Enjoy…
Chapter four
Jane lay awake on his bed. It was the day after he had found his cell phone, and he was waiting for the perfect opportunity to call for help. It was now just after midnight, and he had made up his mind. He stood up and pulled out his cell phone. He glanced around once before pressing speed dial one.
XxxxxxxxxxxX
Lisbon sat on the edge of her bed. She hadn't slept very well since Jane's disappearance, and the exhaustion was taking its toll. So, when her phone rang, Lisbon nearly jumped out of her skin. "Lisbon," she answered automatically.
"Lisbon," an excited whisper could be heard on the other end of the line.
"Oh my word," yelled Lisbon, standing up. "Jane!"
Jane smiled to himself. "I'm alright, Lisbon, just getting bored."
Lisbon got down to business immediately. "Are you sure you're alright?"
Jane chuckled. "Yes, but you need to come and get me."
Lisbon frowned. "Where are you?"
Jane paused for a second. "Sophia and Maria," he whispered quickly.
Lisbon's pulse quickened. "I knew there was something wrong with them…" her voice trailed off when a woman's voice could be heard in the background. Lisbon strained to listen, but could only just make out a few of the words.
An ear-splitting bang came through the speaker, and then the line went dead. Lisbon's blood ran cold. She dialled Cho's number. "Get Rigsby," she ordered. "Meet me at Maria and Sophia Evans' house. Jane's in trouble."
XxxxxxxxxxxX
Jane knelt on the floor, clutching his face. Sophia was clearly a light sleeper; she had heard him talking and had come down to investigate the voice. When she had seen him on the phone, she had freaked out completely. Sophia had snatched the phone from him and thrown it against the wall as hard as she could, before turning and slapping Jane across the face. Jane had dropped to the floor in agony, seeing stars. "Who did you call?" yelled Sophia, standing menacingly over him.
Jane said nothing, still too dazed to speak. Maria appeared at the door. "What's going on?" she asked, before seeing Jane on his knees. She rushed to his side, before glaring angrily up at her sister. "What did you do?"
Sophia dragged Maria to her feet by the back of her shirt. "He was phoning for help," said Sophia, looking down at him in fury. Her voice was bitter.
Maria pulled herself out of Sophia's grasp. "Well, Sophia," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Do you blame him? After all, we did kidnap him."
Sophia saw red, and launched herself at her sister. Jane stumbled to his feet and – uncharacteristically, seeing his aversion to violence – jumped into the middle of the brawl. He attempted to pull Sophia away from Maria, but the tiny redhead was just too strong. She had Maria by the throat, and Maria was clawing desperately at her sister's hands. Jane had his arms around Sophia from behind, but couldn't control the tiny woman. Maria then changed tactic, and gripped a fistful of her sister's hair. She yanked hard, and Sophia squealed.
XxxxxxxxxxxX
Lisbon, Rigsby and Cho met at the front door of the house. They were just about to enter when a loud shriek erupted from inside. Lisbon turned to her two agents and nodded once. Cho kicked the front door in and the three agents entered. They followed the sounds of a mad struggle, and entered a back bedroom just in time to watch Jane get floored by an elbow to the gut. Rigsby and Cho quickly descended onto the two women and wrenched them apart. Lisbon rushed to Jane's side. "What happened?" she asked, helping him sit up.
Jane glanced at her. "Sophia attacked Maria."
Lisbon frowned. "Why?"
Jane ignored her and stared at Sophia. She was struggling against Cho's iron grasp on her upper arms, still trying to get to her sister. Maria stood placidly several feet away, not even bothering to struggle against Rigsby's hands. Jane stood up, giving Sophia a wide berth, and walked over to Rigsby. "She's innocent," he said, indicating that Rigsby release Maria.
Rigsby obediently dropped his arms and stepped back. Jane pulled the stunned Maria off to the side. "We'll get her the best professional help," he said, inclining his head towards Sophia. "She won't hurt you again." His eyes dropped to her neck, which was bright red. A long, thin scratch across her cheekbone was oozing blood down her cheek. Other than that, she was relatively unharmed. Jane noted that her hands trembled slightly. "You're innocent in this."
Maria nodded mutely, and Jane gave her a hug. "Thank you," she whispered, turning away from him.
Lisbon observed, curious. She walked over to Jane, and Maria backed away slowly. "Don't worry, Maria," said Lisbon. "I'm not going to touch you."
Maria nodded, and a small smile touched her lips.
XxxxxxxxxxxX
Jane and Lisbon sat in her office. It was early morning, and they had both decided to go back to the office. Maria had been taken to hospital to make sure her neck wasn't damaged internally. Sophia had been arrested and carted away, still screaming uncontrollably. Jane was sipping a cup of tea, Lisbon drank strong coffee. "Jane," said Lisbon. "Why did you request that the charges against Maria be dropped? She was just as much involved as Sophia."
Jane sat back in his chair. "Call it crazy, or Stockholm Syndrome, or intuition, but I knew that Maria was being forced into it by Sophia. Maria has a very gentle nature, and Sophia's control was too overpowering. I might have been kidnapped by both of them, but I don't want Maria to go to prison for something she didn't want to do. It wouldn't be fair considering how kind she was to me, under the circumstances."
Lisbon placed her cup onto the table. "Sophia had been checked into the nearest psychiatric ward for mental evaluation. Apparently, your betrayal of trust, and undermining of her control, has driven her to madness." She laughed dryly. "Nothing much has changed, then."
"she was incredibly unstable to start with. It was just a matter of time before she went mad." Jane paused and frowned. "I have never betrayed your trust."
Lisbon rolled her eyes. "I was referring to your constant need to ignore rules."
Jane smiled. "it's good to be back home."
Lisbon laughed and tossed her empty coffee cup at him. he ducked and laughed with her. Yes, it was definitely good to be back where he belonged.
Einde
A/N2: This is the end of another story. I hope you've enjoyed it. For those who don't know, Stockholm Syndrome is when one begins to relate to a captor in a hostage situation, usually over a long period of time, and they become friends. Anyway, please review. Until next time,
S.