Chapter 6 – Silent Night
Christmas Eve. It was supposed to be the night Jane gave Lisbon the second part of her present but the first one was still sitting on her desk. She had officially been missing eleven days. That left one day if Red John's note was accurate. Jane was convinced it was.
During the last few days, the team had learned next to nothing that would bring them any closer to Lisbon's whereabouts. It had been confirmed that the package containing the letter had entered the building via an orderly working on the first floor who said he was approached by a 'Santa' in full garb who handed him a hundred dollars to deliver the package. It had been scanned upon entering the building but there was nothing in the box that would trigger any kind of alarm. They had found Lisbon's phone outside of her place, near the street. Other than that, there had been no leads.
The week was clearly taking its toll on the team, especially Jane who obviously hadn't been taking care of himself. The consultant had a decent pile of stubble growing on his face, his hair as sticking up at every angle, and his clothes were a mess. His face showed obvious signs of stress combined with little, if any sleep. Dark circles were now a permanent feature under the man's eyes. The team had tried to keep him functioning, knowing that if they had any hope in finding Lisbon, they would need his help. They attempted to at least make Jane eat but he refused more often than not and the team was too tired themselves to make a real effort.
Jane was presently sitting on the couch, staring at his journal and letter as if the answers would eventually come flying off the pages if he stared at them long enough. He knew his mind was of little use at this point since it was a struggle just keeping his eyes open but sleep wasn't an option. Sleeping only brought nightmares of the past, present, and future horrors of what Jane would find if they didn't locate Lisbon in time. Besides, this was Christmas eve, day eleven, only hours until their deadline, until Jane's world completely ceased to rotate. Jane was sure that this time, there would be no salvation. Lisbon was his salvation, the air in his lungs, keeping him breathing. Without her, life ceased to exhist.
Sadie wasn't far away from the consultant, sitting in front of her food dish, pawing at it gently but the consultant failed to take notice. Rigsby entering the bullpen, sandwich in hand however, did notice, taking pity on the canine. Reluctantly, the agent broke his sandwich in half and placed the half in Sadie's dish. Her tail wagged in thanks as Rigsby gently stroked the dog's brown fur as she consumed the sandwich.
A gasp from Van Pelt's direction broke the somberness of the room. "Guys, you need to come see this."
Jane got up from his couch as the team gathered around Van Pelt's computer. On the screen was a video and even though it was dark, Lisbon's small form was visible in the corner of the room.
"Oh my God!" Van Pelt exclaimed.
"She's alive." Rigsby announced, relieved.
Jane hadn't uttered a word. His eyes were glued to the screen as he pondered what this new development meant. The conclusion was rather obvious to the consultant.
"It's for me."
Rigsby and Cho looked at Jane "What?"
"The video feed. Red John said I had until the 12th day of Christmas to find her. That's tomorrow. Whatever he plans to do with her will happen within the next forty-eight hours and this is so I can watch every gruesome detail."
Jane's fists tightened in anger as his whole body shook. He continued to stare at the screen. There were no obvious clues in the video as to where Lisbon was being held captive. As far as Jane could tell, there was nothing in the small room other than a small chair. Lisbon was sitting opposite of the chair, huddled in the corner with her knees tucked under her chin. She was staring blankly towards the camera, her breathing being the only visible movement. Jane reached out a tentative hand towards the screen, pausing a fraction of an inch away before dropping the hand completely.
The consultant moved away from the screen both out of respect for Lisbon and out of spite for Red John who clearly wanted Jane's audience. He sat back on the leather sofa, which was out of his direct line of vision but still within reach if need be. Placing his head in his hands, Jane sighed, defeated.
He wished the roles were reversed. Why couldn't Red John just take him and lock him in a cage for however long the psycho pleased? Because this was worse, so much worse and Red John knew that. Even without looking at the computer screen, the video feed had done what the murderer had wanted it to do as images of Lisbon sitting there all alone flooded Jane's mind.
Jane remembered when he was taken hostage by that nutcase woman, left alone in the cold basement for hours, days on end. The quiet gets to you after a while, almost to the point where you look forward to your captor's return even knowing the pain it will bring. He wished he would talk to Lisbon but the thought was irrational, so Jane quickly dismissed it from his mind. He needed to focus on finding her before their time ran out.
"Guys, Lisbon has something in her hands." Rigsby said. "I can't make out what it is."
Jane reluctantly got off the couch and again sat in front of the screen. "It's a glass Rigsby."
"A glass?"
"Why would she have one of those?" Van Pelt asked.
Jane watched as Lisbon stared at the glass intently when it hit him. "He's starving her. Looks like there's a little bit of water left in that thing and she's pondering whether or not to finish it off." Jane said in disgust. He smashed his hands down on Van Pelt's keyboard in frustration. "That monster hasn't even bothered to try and keep Lisbon alive. It's been what, over a week? It's amazing she's still conscious."
They watched as Lisbon stared at the glass for a final moment before downing the precious liquid. She then braced herself against the wall and slowly made it to her feet. She used the wall for balance as she slowly made her way closer.
"What is she doing?" Van Pelt wondered out loud.
"Trying to protect me…again." Jane said quietly as a lone tear fell from his eyes. The rest of the team looked at him confused.
"Just watch."
They did.
What does Jane see that the rest of the team can't?...hmm. What do you all think? You'll find out tonight ;o) Evil, I know.
