A/N: As always, many thanks to my amazing beta wimmer511 :)

And also, thank you to the new Follows/Fave's, and the ones who take the time to reply.

Disclaimer: No, still don't own The Mentalist or any of it's characters.

*Chapter 6*: ...And Then There Was One

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"Sometimes, making the wrong choice is better than making no choice. A person who stands at the fork, unable to pick, will never get anywhere." ― Terry Goodkind

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Jane was so absorbed in cracking the list, he hadn't realized an hour had past by without Lisbon returning to the bullpen. To remain steadfast in his resolution to give her space―before going all in―he was already getting hard to come by. Especially after her second emotional speech, in as many days―he felt slightly pistol-whipped. He truly had never been at such a loss of what to do. Never in his entire life. First she had ripped him a new one and then went all emotional, thanking him. He'd even heard her choking, holding back tears as she did.

A bothersome thought suddenly crossed his mind. Headaches, fatigue, mood swings... Jane gulped, lifting his eyes from the list. She couldn't be pregnant, could she? Well of course she could. He was sure she was absolutely healthy enough to conceive... however, the thought of her and Marcus, or George, holding a little wailing baby in their arms made him sick though. It shouldn't, a mini Lisbon would be adorable and beautiful... but, but it was more the father part that had his stomach churning.

He let his eyes scan the room; everyone was deeply engrossed in their allotted work, but Lisbon was nowhere around. And neither was Pike, who had been designated to sort through surveillance footage. Maybe she was hunching over a toilet seat right now with Pike busy holding her hair back... Scrunching his nose, Jane dropped his eyes back on the codes. A while ago he'd thought he'd cracked it but had been quickly disabused and was now in the very unpleasant situation to have to start all over again.

Three hours later Fischer and Co. were startled by a loud, high-pitched voice coming from the general direction of Jane's brown leather couch. Every agent present stopped at whatever he or she was doing and looked up at the golden-haired man in his blue-cotton suit who was waving the paper in his hands enthusiastically, blinding anyone with the accompanying thousand watt smile. Abbott who'd just entered the bullpen looked at him sharply and Jane's smile widened tenfold as he said, "I cracked the code."

Pleased with himself Jane wandered over to Fischer, Cox and Rosenberg who had been working at the conference table. They soon were joined by the rest of the team. Expectantly, Cox held out his hand. Jane couldn't help but notice the agents puffed up chest, the one that always came when Abbott entered the bullpen. It was like watching two silver backs battling out who was in charge. And though Cox was the one with all the information, and head of the Brady case, Abbott made it clear, with his body language, that this was his territory, and he decided how much space Cox was allowed.

"Bravo, Mr. Jane. It is true what they say about you. You are an asset to law enforcement in spite of your somewhat "dodgy" past," Cox told him, grinning down at the names. Jane decided he liked the man. "Agent Wiley could you get these names on this screen behind me, asap, please?"

Wiley nodded, excited he was able to help. "No problem, sir." Taking hold of the list he went back to his desk and started typing furiously.

Jane who'd followed Wiley with his eyes, frowned. "Where's Lisbon?" he asked purposefully cheerful; he had after all just cracked the list and still gloated, no need to sound like a puppy who'd lost track of his owner.

Fischer, who was bracing herself up on the table, lifted her head and mimicked Jane's action by surveying the room as a whole. "Don't know...but now that you mention it, haven't seen her for quite some time."

Spinning his head around, Jane looked at the rest of his colleagues quizzically who were all looking around in search of the missing brunette. But to Jane's disappointment no one lifted their hand to point at her, instead they all seemed confused.

"Wiley?" Jane yelled to diminish the mingling voices. "Do you know where Lisbon is? Did she say anything to you?"

But Wiley only looked back over his shoulder, shrugging helplessly. "No. Sorry." Jane's scowl deepened.

"Maybe she went to the rest room," Cho suggested.

"Four hours ago?" Jane scoffed, reflecting on the time. "Has anyone seen her in these last four hours... What was she supposed to do anyway?"

Abbott paused in concentration, obviously trying to remember what he'd designated Lisbon to do. "She was supposed to examine the old files from the ITF Agent Cox brought along; together with Franco and Humphries." Abbott swiftly turned to one of the mentioned agents who conveniently passed the entry right in this moment. "Hey, Franco. Have you seen Lisbon?"

But Franco too shook his head. "No―actually, come to think of it, we haven't seen her at all today."

"But she was assigned to your team," Abbott pressed.

"Um, yeah, but she hasn't shown up. Humphries and I were so busy we didn't notice her absence."

Abbott sighed, brows drawn together. "Okay... thanks." Franco gave him a nod and maneuvered himself through the mass of people crowding the room, passing Pike who re-entered the bullpen from the other side with a fresh cup of coffee in hand. He joined the rest of the team, addled by the strained looks on his colleagues faces.

"Hey, anyone seen Lisbon? I brought her a coffee," Marcus explained and held up the mug for everyone to see. Open-mouthed, he watched the people around the table staring blandly back at him. "Um, did I say something wrong? Or do I have something in my face?"

Jane rolled his eyes, but was also a bit relieved. If Marcus was bringing her coffee she couldn't be pregnant...unless of course he didn't know yet. Damn. "No," Jane told him curtly. "We're wondering the same thing, we can't find her."

Marcus immediately did the same as everyone else, he looked around the bullpen, frowning when he came up empty and turned his head back, placing the mug down on the table. "Weird."

Now everyone was looking as if they were trying to solve the hardest riddle known to mankind. Jane racked his brain for any hint that might be lurking in the back of his mind, although he hadn't looked up that much during the past hours, one's subconscious took in more than one believed. Maybe he had seen her after her hasty retreat.

The uneasy feeling in his gut suddenly seemed to increase, when he replayed what she'd said to him before she'd left. If he dissected it, he'd have to admit it had sounded a lot like a... Goodbye. With wide eyes staring at an empty spot, Jane replayed a scene in his mind's eye that he'd often dreamed about in the two years on the Island; a scene he wished could have ended differently. It occurred to him that Lisbon's speech sounded just like the one he had told her when they stood in front of the sunset, right before he'd... ditched her.

His unwelcome musings were interrupted by Fischer. "All I can say is that Lisbon isn't one to just abandon her duties. Without a word to anyone at that," she said and drew in a sharp breath. "Maybe something happened to her on the...uh...I better go check the rest room." Before anyone could stop her Fischer was gone.

Meanwhile Wiley had finished his task. "I-I'm ready with the list," he said cautiously, sensing his colleagues preoccupation.

Cox cleared his throat like a teacher demanding the attention of his class back and said, "Yes, we should get back to work. I'm sure Agent Lisbon will return soon."

While the others acknowledged Cox with a short nod, Jane shot him a disgruntled look. Sure, he thought, finding Brady was important, but finding Lisbon and making sure she was all right was more important―to him anyway. Jane decided he didn't like Cox after all.

Glancing at Pike though, he saw he wasn't the only one worried, and not pleased about Cox order. He should feel miffed, but he couldn't, Pike truly cared about Lisbon, and he couldn't dislike someone whose only fault was to fall in love with the most precious woman on earth. Well, maybe he could, a tiny bit.

Wiley made a few clicks with his mouse, and the list was displayed on the screen behind Rosenberg. Promptly everyone around the table skimmed the names, and Cho asked: "How'd you do it?" Actual curiosity shining through in his voice.

Jane wetted his lips, thoughts still on Lisbon. "Uh, well, it was tricky... but in the end quite simple," Jane answered in a far away tone.

Cho had the feeling Jane wasn't really listening, half his brain being occupied with Lisbon. But since Jane was Jane, half a brain was enough to still be more aware of his surroundings than anyone else was. He'd always envied this skill of their Mentalist―not that he would ever tell him so, the man's ego was big enough as it was.

"The way the code is done leads you to think far more complicated than you need to. They used something to confuse the person who's trying to crack it. You see," Jane started, now pointing at the list on the screen; gaining everyone's attention. "Important to crack the code is to consider only the words with the capital letters. The uncapitalized word is irrelevant for the name itself, you could say it fulfills the function of a blank character to section last and first name. The words in front yield to the first name; last ones reveal the surname. The words themselves are simple anagrams," Jane finished. The usual smug smile he wore when proving that he once again really was the smartest guy in the room was absent, Cho noticed.

Just in this moment Fischer returned, and the harried look on her face told Jane all he needed to know: Lisbon was gone. "Sorry to interrupt," she said, her eyes automatically flying to the screen. "Lisbon seems to have v-vanished, she..." Fischer trailed off.

"She?" Jane and Pike prompted simultaneously.

Still gaping at the screen, she turned her eyes on Jane, but something on the monitor made her eyes switch back and forth. "Uh, she is not in the building, I happened to come across Nicole and..."

"Who?" Abbott interrupted.

Jane rolled his eyes, starting to become frustrated. "Who cares?" he snapped, ignoring Abbott's slightly affronted look and rounded back on Fischer. "And?"

"Um, Nicole said that she saw Lisbon leaving the building at around twelve-thirty," Fischer related to the men who were staring at her intently.

"Twelve-thirty, that was about four hours ago," Cho monotono

usly supplied, taking a look at his watch. "That's when you saw her last, right Jane?"

"Yes," he answered flatly, his eyes had never left Fischer. "What is it?"

"Excuse me?" she queried, lines forming between her brows.

Jane took a calming breath. "When you came back to tell us about Lisbon, you read the list and something on there made you pause. What was it?"

Fischer's eyes widened in understanding, her mouth forming into an 'O'. "Oh, that. Well I just thought it an odd coincidence."

"There are no coincidences," Jane told her tightly. "What is it?"

"Um, I'm not sure if I should say this, Lisbon asked me not to tell anyone," Fischer started, but when her gaze crossed Jane's angry one, and Pike looked at her hauntingly, she changed her mind. "It's just, the third name on it," she pointed at it, and all eyes sought out said name on the screen.

Claim He is One Guy - Michael Younge

China Tree is Creak - Catherine Acker

I Born in Conman Cell - Robin McConnell

Cigar is Art Said Me - Craig Armistead

Can't Irish in Harp Shed - Christian Shephard

An Ass Be It the King's Not - Sebastian Kingston

Warden i Never Got - Andrew Trengove

Big Earl likes Raw Moth - Gabriel Wortham

"Yesterday, I stumbled upon her in the rest room, and she was talking to herself, saying: 'Robin is dead', repeatedly. When I asked who Robin was, she said he had been a friend who died years ago, and that his anniversary had been a few days ago," she informed them slowly, eyes shifting back and forth between her colleagues. "You think there's a connection?"

For a while no one said anything, some staring at the name 'Robin McConnell' as if willing it to speak.

"How did she sound ?" Jane asked, without looking at Fischer. "What was the first thought that crossed your mind when you heard her speaking?" Fischer frowned, trying to remember. "No. Don't think, just say what crossed your mind," Jane instructed her, now observing the leggy agent.

"Ugh, I just thought it sounded... weird. As if she was reminding herself, not remembering. Does that make sense?" she asked uncertainly, but Jane ignored her.

Eyes glued on the screen, Jane suddenly felt as if Lisbon herself had punched him in the stomach. "How fast can you get these files Cox?"

Hearing the urgency in Jane's voice, Cox replied, "We should have them in a few minutes, now that we've got the alias'. I'll go and make the call."

"Jane?" Abbott asked. "You think Lisbon knew this 'Robin'?"

Jane shook his head. "I'm not sure yet, but if my hunch is right then... then Lisbon is in mortal danger," he said with a grave voice. He was a master at deception and lies, but right now, all he wanted to do was scream. How had he not seen this, not made the connections? Of course it was entirely possible he was wrong... yeah right, and the Easter Bunny actually existed.

Cho's eyes widened in astonishment when he caught up with Jane's train of thought. "You think she's on the list! You think Lisbon is one of the people Brady is after?"

The others had befuddlement written all over their faces.

"But...," Fischer began, but the words were stuck in her throat when the implication of what this would mean hit her fullforce. Pike had given up on trying to follow what all this meant and decided to wait for explanations.

While everyone was trying to process what Jane's hunch could mean, and that his were usually correct, Cox came rushing back. "Good news. My agents told me they finally found some surveillance footage from the day Brady was arrested, at his home in Salt Lake City. They're sending them over now. That should give us a look at some of the people on the list. And the personal files should be arriving soon as well."

Three minutes later, in which Jane had been unusually quiet, the team was going through different images. Wiley had enlarged them in case it was necessary. There were several with black sedan's and SUV's parked in the wide open driveway. Many men, dressed in windbreakers and sunglasses, were spread all over the estate. Some other men, wearing jeans or black pants, were being lead to the waiting cars in handcuffs. Others lay unmoving on the ground―shot.

Then there were several of Brady himself. He stood on a balcony, reminding Jane of a king watching his people, staring lukewarm at the scene below him. Jane's eyes fixed on one image in particular. On this one, Brady, with hands in his pockets, seemed to be transfixed on something on the driveway. "Wiley, enlarge the one at the top left," Jane said.

Having done that, Wiley waited for further instructions, but Jane was busy reading Brady's bodylanguage. His stare was almost... tender, if Jane had to describe it. He wondered what it was Brady was looking at. "Is there one taken at the same time, but focusing on the driveway instead?"

With another click Wiley enlarged another one, in which Brady was still visible but tiny in the background. The figure in the center though was what made everyone in front of the screens gasp out loud at once.

Jane on his part, understood now what―or rather who―was capable of making a man like Brady look at anything with such fond eyes. He himself did it all the time. Every time he looked at no other than Teresa Lisbon.

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When the plane touched down Lisbon jolted awake. Head spinning around, she took in her surroundings, memories of the last days coming back, making her grumble at the realization that it hadn't just been a bad dream.

By the time she had arrived at the Austin airport, she must have broken several traffic laws in her haste to catch the flight to Chicago. She had looked up the flight once Brady had left the night before. Jane would've been proud―if he could get past the fact that she'd managed to sneak away and to actually pull one over him, Lisbon thought ruefully. Glancing at her watch, she wondered if the team had already noticed she was gone. It had been several hours now after all.

A good forty minutes later she stepped out of 'O'Hare International Airport', lifting her gaze to the overcast sky. It was getting dark, as usual in late November in Chicago. And judging by the drizzle coming down it would start raining soon, if not even snowing a little.

Hailing a cab, she stepped in, placing the packed sports bag on her lab. "Where to Miss?" asked the driver, looking at her through the reviewmirror.

Lisbon gazed into space through the window, and instructed without hesitation: "West Cortez Street, 2250. Please."

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Approximately half an hour later the cab stopped in front of the Orthodox Cathedral with its old red masonry, three steps leading up to three heavy doors. After paying the driver, Lisbon got out and waited until the cab had vanished around the next corner. Then she walked to the backdoor of , pausing in front of the back door with her fist held up and knocked.

Lisbon waited a good two minutes, wrapping herself tightly in her thin leather jacket. Once again, she absently thought, she should have grabbed her coat. Watching her breath forming little figures in the cold, the wooden door finally opened and an older man with a bushy white beard appeared in the passage.

Without saying a word the man looked at her intensely and Lisbon clutched the straps of her bag tighter, her chin pulled inside the turned up collar to protect her mouth from the cold. When the man still said nothing, she choose to take the lead. "I-I'm looking for Katya. Does she still...work here?" Lisbon asked hoarsely.

The man sized her up for what felt like ages, then stepped back and signaled her to come inside. Still silent, he signed for her to sit down on one of the old creaking chairs in the corner of the small room that contained a desk, a few time-worn paintings of Saints and the Church itself, and a couch, which had Lisbon's thoughts drift back to Jane. Once Jane had cracked the code they would have the names, and everything would eventually fall into place. This was why she had to act fast. Now she was sitting here, hoping Katya still lived here―or was alive at all for that matter.

Glancing at the clock on the wall she found it was just before six pm. It had been fifteen years that the two of them had last seen each other, and she was curious about what life had cast upon the blonde girl, daughter to Ukrainian immigrants and former NSA agent. They had been the only women back in the ITF that worked the Brady case and therefore they'd forged a bond. Katya had written her christmas cards, sporadically, in the years afterwards, but they never mentioned anything personal, only greetings; so Lisbon had no idea what had changed in the other woman's life.

Still caught up in her thoughts she noticed the figure coming out of the shadows too late. Squeaking, Lisbon jumped up from the chair and went a few steps back until she felt the edge of the wooden desk poking into her back. A soft chuckle vibrated through the air. "Reese, you have no idea how good it is to see you," said the mild voice that belonged to the pretty girl Lisbon had met so many years ago.

"Katie, you've spooked me," Lisbon breathed and smiled at Katya, to whom time had been generous. The once shoulder-length blonde hair, was now cut in a short bob, but she had almost no wrinkles, except for a few laugh-lines around her eyes and mouth. "But yeah, likewise. I didn't know if you were still here and if..." She left the words unspoken, but the shadow passing Katya's face and the fading smile spoke volumes.

Katya heaved a sigh and wrapped her arms around herself as far as she could. "Yes, Sinclair came here, about a week ago and told me. He said he was on his way to Texas, but didn't say why. It's the last I heard of him."

"I live in Texas," Lisbon said in way of explanation, casting a cursory glance out of the window to her left. "Sinclair's dead." If she waited for a reaction, she was disappointed, and when the slightly taller woman remained silent, Lisbon continued. "I need a gun, or better yet: guns. I had to fly here so I couldn't take any of my weapons. Do you still...?" Again Lisbon didn't say the words, but Katya's self-deprecating smile and the curt shrug was answer enough.

"Sure, if you'd have had my job, you too would always keep a little arsenal nearby," she answered in a modulated tone. "So, why did you come here? To Chicago I mean. You wouldn't need me to get your hands on amunition."

Lisbon shook her head. "I'm here because I want to end it. He threatened people that mean a lot to me...and I know he's coming after me anyway." She swallowed and lifted her head back up, sticking her chin out in defiance. "I want this to happen on my terms; not his. I'm not gonna give him the control."

Katya nodded, biting the inside of her lip. "He's a dangerous man, no one knows that better than you do, and you wanna go after him alone in spite of that fact?" she asked doubtfully. "And what makes you think you'll find him here?"

"He paid me a visit and when he left he said I should remember: 'Home, sweet home'. He always used to say that Chicago was his american home. He's here, trust me. Besides, I don't have another choice. Either he finds me or I find him. I chose the second option. I'm not gonna play sitting duck," Lisbon said matter-of-factly. "What about you? Has he been here?"

"No, not yet," Katya stated, but there was something in her voice, Lisbon couldn't pinpoint that made her tilt her head at the brown-eyed woman who tucked her hands in the beige cardigan she wore. "Um, do you have somewhere to stay the night?" Katya changed the subject and cast Lisbon a shallow smile.

"I-I was kinda hoping I could bunk at your place," Lisbon said sheepishly. "But it's probably not a good idea. I don't wanna put your kids in danger," she replied, pointing at a photo of Katya and two small children that rested on the desk.

"No, no," Katya interrupted her quickly. "It's okay. They're not home tonight, they're with their... grandpa. And I would love to help."

Lisbon smiled crookedly at the blonde. "Thank you. I know you're just as much in danger as I am, and me being here doesn't help."

Again the smile Katya sent her was curt and held something Lisbon couldn't identify. "Not your fault. We all were aware of what we were getting ourselves into. And don't thank me, Teresa. Not yet anyway."

Stretching her right arm in direction of the exit, to indicate to Lisbon they'd be leaving, Katya followed her and grabbed a key hanging by the door.

Outside it had started snowing lightly, just as Lisbon had predicted. For a moment she stood still and closed her eyes, letting the snow fall softly on her face. Then she walked up to Katya who was waiting for her at the end of the driveway.

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Jane and the team were staring at the files, containing information about "Operation Arbiter", including the ones of the agents recruited for this mission. The first one, naturally, was the file about Agent Robin McConnell. And it didn't surprise anyone anymore when it was a picture of a young Detective Lisbon attached to the made-up biography, as well as the real bio about Lisbon.

To Jane's surprise the made-up bio coincided with Lisbon's real life on the major points, in fact, the only thing different was her name, job description, and the schools she'd attended. Even her family history wasn't altered, except for the names. For the first time in a while Jane had to chuckle. Her bosses had apparently realized she wasn't much of a liar and provided her with as little to lie about as possible. Still, he couldn't ignore the hand that seemed to grip his stomach to tighten it when being confronted with Lisbon's "secret" life. Brushing the feeling off, Jane's focus was diverted when he felt the slight brush of Abbott's arm as his boss came to stand next to him. "Do we have the birth names now?"

Wiley nodded and hit a few keys. "Yes, sir. Just a second and here...we... go."

On the screen, next to the one with Lisbon's file, appeared the list of names again, now with the true identities appended. Franco and a few other agents were delegated to find these people and warn them, if they were still alive. No one dared to voice that it was more likely that they were dead.

It was the last name, however, that had Jane and Cho spoke in sync, flabbergasted: "Bosco?"

Michael Younge - James Talbot

Catherine Acker - Katya Sorokin

Robin McConnell - Teresa Lisbon

Craig Armistead - Gregory Furnell

Christian Shephard - Alexander O'Brian

Sebastian Kingston - Dan Foster

Andrew Trengove - Bruce Pellham

Gabriel Wortham - Samuel Bosco

"You know this Samuel Bosco?" Fischer asked, brows shooting up.

"You can say that," Cho nodded, while Jane was still trying to wrap his head around what they'd just discovered. Lisbon and Bosco were part of the unit that was responsible for bringing William Brady down. And now said man was on a revenge path murdering the people that had destroyed his life.

Suddenly the anger, already simmering inside of him, focused on the name of Lisbon's former mentor that had lost his life to Thomas McAllister and his minions. For Jane, the reason Lisbon was now on the run from a killer, that was just as vicious as McAllister, was obvious now: Samuel Bosco must have led a young and gullible Lisbon into this mess. When Bosco had lost his life Jane had gotten past his irritation with the older man, but now realizing that he'd played an apparently big role in Lisbon's designation, it turned all good thoughts Jane had about him back around.

Cho seemingly finding his equilibrium again, saw the need to explain the whole story further to Fischer and Co. who were expectantly watching the two of them. "Bosco was Lisbon's boss when she worked for the San Francisco PD, a few years after Lisbon had joined the CBI Bosco acceded too; and for a short while his team was in charge of the 'Red John' case," he cast a pensive glance at Jane who had bowed his head, hands in pockets, clenching his jaw. "But McAllister didn't like this turn of events and had Bosco and his team killed. We got the case back."

"Wow," Fischer said quietly. "So this Bosco guy and Lisbon knew each other pretty well."

Rosenberg who had been clicking through stuff on his laptop during Cho's tale, spoke up. "According to Agent Lisbon's file Samuel Bosco was the one who proposed her for the job to Sinclair, but it was only when they worked the Brady case that Sinclair gave it serious consideration. After they'd probed into her past and current life, she was solicited by both men and agreed to join the ITF a few days after the proposal. At the time she was an Officer at the SFPD, just like Agent Cho said. They made her undergo some basic training and then...she was wrangled in. "

That was when Franco came rushing back, obviously bearing bad news. "Boss," he said, addressing Abbott. "We tried to reach the possible targets to no avail. All past away by "natural" causes according to the local PD's. The other two, well, they and their families are dead, in both cases suicide preceded by homicide."

Abbott smiled grimly. "Of course. His usual approach. What about the woman... uh, Katya?"

"Katya Sorokin, was married eight years ago, now Katya Peters. We couldn't get a hold of her either," Franco related.

"What about her family?" Abbott queried.

Franco shook his head. "Her husband isn't answering his phone either, and her parents passed away four years ago."

Abbott curtly cussed under his breath, then turend to Franco again. "Call the local police and make sure they send someone by her house. We have to assume that Brady has gotten to her already.

"I don't know sir, there are no police reports so far. We might be lucky."

"Let's hope so, Franco" Abbott said, ending on a tired sigh. Then he took his cellphone and pressed a button.

"Who are you calling?" Fischer asked, arms crossed.

"Lisbon." Jane looked vigilantly at the phone pressed to Abbott's ear, scolding himself for not thinking about this first.

A few seconds later they heard a sound coming from inside Lisbon's desk. The teams eyes wandered to the place in front of Jane's couch. Before Jane could react, Abbott was already in front of it and opened one of the drawers. He looked inside and sighed. "Her phone, gun and badge are in here. Guess she won't answer my call then," he said sarcastically.

Agent Cox, who had been in a silent conversation with Perez, got up from the chair he'd been sitting in and addressed the team. "Looks like she ran. Not too surprising given her involvement. But Agent Lisbon can't possibly think she could hide from a man like Brady?" he asked incredulously.

"She isn't running," Cho shot back with dangerous edge to his voice, and Jane couldn't repress a smirk. Cho wouldn't let anyone insinuate anything ill about Lisbon, even if she wasn't his boss anymore. That made Jane pause, he should be the one doing this. "Lisbon has never been one to run from anything. She is a fighter. If she ran and left the things behind that make her her, then she had a reason."

"Like?" Cox prompted, but Cho just interlocked his arms and stared Cox's probing gaze down.

Cho relentlessly stared Cox down. "You told us Brady's usual M.O. is to go after the family. The only family Lisbon has are her brothers with whom she has almost no contact. She isn't married, nor has kids. For Lisbon her team was and is her family."

Jane's eyes widened. "You're a genius, Cho," Jane said, patting the Korean agent on the shoulder. "Brady must have threatened us, it explains her weird behavior during the last few days. She was tense, nervous, had been sleeping poorly... reminding herself of Robin. But she was afraid of what would happen if she talked to us. Still, she must have confided in someone..." Jane drifted off, then his eyes became huge as saucers. "The text!"

"What text?" Pike asked, feeling as if he was stuck in some foreign language movie that wasn't delivered with accompanying subtitles.

"I...uh, found a text message on her phone that said 'Tonight, six-thirty p.m., Usual place. George, S.'. First I thought she'd had a date..."

"What?" Pike asked flustered.

Jane ignored him. "But she met with Sinclair, 'S' as in Sinclair."

"And who is George?" Pike wanted to know, his brows scrunched.

Abbott who was still standing at Lisbon's desk had an idea. "If it was Sinclair they probably had some distinctive venue to meet at from their time back then. Could 'George' be a hint at what Town or City to meet? They wouldn't risk meeting here in Austin."

"George... um, there's Georgetown up north, it's just about thirty minutes from here," Pike submitted.

Abbott nodded. "That would make sense, she left the office shortly before six. But still, we need to be sure it was Sinclair."

"Wait, the message must still be on her phone," Jane said and went over to Lisbon's desk, practically ripping the phone from Abbott's hands. He looked through the messages and frowned. "Huh, it's not on here. Either she deleted it or...," Jane studied the phone in his hands and grunted. "It's not the same phone." He wanted to smack himself. How had he not seen the phone was brand new. What the hell was wrong with him? Everytime people he loved needed him the most, his brain seemed to take a vacation. What good was his sharp mind if it let him down at the most important of times? "Lisbon and Sinclair must have met yesterday, Brady was following both or one of them, that's why Sinclair was killed. And Lisbon knew DHS would be here. The noose was getting tighter. She knew every moment we would find the images and get access to the files and find out. So she chose to run... to protect us."

"But why would she believe he won't come after her team anyway?" asked Perez.

"Mmh, good question, one I'm not sure I have the answer to yet," Jane explained, his eyes drifting shortly to the surveillance footage in which Brady was looking at Lisbon who was being lead into one of the cars, handcuffed.

Then Abbott clapped his hands. "That's enough. One of my agents is being hunted by this man. We need to find her before he does. Cho, Pike and Jane, I want you to drive to Lisbon's house, maybe you'll find something useful that will tell us where she went, or could be heading. Agent Fischer and I will try and contact Grace Van Pelt and Wayne Rigsby, they were part of Lisbon's team, they need to be made aware of a possible threat against them. And we need to contact her brothers. Let's go."

Abbott released everyone back to their work and without wasting another second Jane, Cho, and to Jane's disapproval, Pike,left the office, on their way to Lisbon's home.

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A three minute walk led Lisbon and Katya to a small, cosy house. It was hard to tell which color the veneer was with the front being almost entirely covered by ivy tendrils. Katya walked up to the door and inserted the key. Lisbon had hoped their reunion would be more pleasant. Katya hadn't spoken one more word all the way to her home, and Lisbon remembered her being more effusive; sometimes even forgetting to breathe once she started talking. Now Katya walked next to her, glancing absently on the pavement. So unlike the blonde bubbly girl from fifteen years ago.

Inside the house, the first thing Lisbon did was to shake the snow flakes, that had partly melted into water, off her jacket. Then she opened the zipper, but didn't take it off. Something felt wrong, she didn't know why, but she was contemplating leaving, despite the darkness, and find a room somewhere else. Guns first though.

When Katya opened the door to her dining room, Lisbon made up her mind. "Uh, you know, I don't want to impose on you, but would you mind getting me the guns first? I'd feel safer with it."

Katya looked unsure for a moment, but nodded. "All right, but we need to drive there, I keep them at an old storage com..." Lisbon's sharp laughter made Katya pause, looking perplexed before she knelt down on her dining room floor.

"Um, sorry, the word storage...just...forget it." Lisbon waved Katya's knitted eyebrows off. Then she watched her former colleague removing a plank and reaching inside the now open floor. Leaning over her shoulder she saw Katya releasing a gun from a duct tape which was pasted to the underside of another plank.

"Here, I too feel better if you have one." The brown-eyed woman held the gun out to her and grinned. "A Beretta ninety-two FS, caliber nine millimeter, short recoil, delayed blowback system, exceptional accuracy. I know you favor Glocks, but this will have to do."

Lisbon grinned back, checking the gun to get comfortable with it before tucking the small arm in the waistband of her jeans. "Thanks. Already feeling better."

"Good, I-I just have to check up on the kids. Then we can go," Katya said and went upstairs, with her cellphone in hand, dialing a number.

Subsequently, Katya returned and they left in her Lexus. They missed the police car coming to a stop in front of Katya's house a few minutes later.

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When Katya stopped the car, they had arrived at an old storage compartment near Monroe harbor. Stepping out into the cool night air, the uneasy feeling Lisbon felt creeping up her bones since meeting with Katya increased ten-fold.

Maybe I'm getting paranoid, Lisbon thought. All the way there, the skinny woman next to her had held the wheel in a death grip; knuckles turning white. Lisbon hadn't asked the questions that were on the tip of her tongue though, she needed Katya's arsenal. Once she had a few back-up guns, she'd excuse herself.

Lisbon trotted behind her ex-colleague until they came to a stop. Looking around Lisbon noticed the street was now out of sight―and so were they. Surrounded by piles of containers. Instead of getting her keys Katya looked unsure at a container in front of her. "This is it," Katya said in a detached tone, still not making a move.

"Well, then why don't you open it?" Lisbon forced a smile into her voice, watching her former friend closely. Unseen, Lisbon slowly moved her right hand to her back, lifting her jacket in the process and rested it over the butt of the Beretta.

Keys dangling between her fingers Katya turned to Lisbon, mouth open as if about to say something. But before she was able to, Lisbon froze, with her eyes wide open, when suddenly,without warning,blood started to drip out of a small hole between Katya's eyes that made her knees give in and left the woman to slump dead on the ground.

Still trying to register what was happening, Lisbon pulled the Beretta out by default, turning around in the direction in which the shot must have come from. However, in the exact same moment she felt an enormous pain coursing through her whole body, unable to move a muscle, she broke down and fell backwards, her head hitting the pavement.

One of the last things she heard were pairs of footsteps coming closer, but she was on her way to passing out and was having trouble keeping her eyes open. A second later she felt a figure looming over her, right before she felt the gentle touch of fingers at her chin, turning her tilted head back up again. And with the last of her strength, she looked into the face of the grinning man kneeling next to her, his face only a breath away from hers.

"Welcome home, my love."

And then... everything went black.

xxxxx

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." ― Oscar Wilde

xxxxx

A/N: Whoops, that didn't go exactly as Lisbon had planned, but where would be the fun it that ;)

Let me know wha you think, I love reviews :)