Consciousness came back quickly to Jane although he was groggy and disoriented. He forced himself to try and sit up, even though weak and in pain. He couldn't figure out what had happened, or why he hurt, but he knew it must be something bad.
It was dark although a shaft of light came into – wherever he was. He felt something in his hand and looked down, to see a small shape, which he eventually recognized that it was a doll. He stared at it and slowly things started to come back to him. A sudden sound – and the realization that there was someone else with him – brought him back to the present.
He knew he was still in danger. If Zack woke up there was no doubt in his mind that he would be no match for the other man. There was something wrong with him and he knew he wouldn't win any kind of fight, even though he didn't know how badly the other man was hurt.
Not wanting to do it, Jane knew he had no choice so he reached around with his hand until he found his trusty rock. Pushing himself to his knees, he leaned over and, this time, using both hands, brought the rock down hard on Zack's head. The resulting sound sickened him, but he knew this was a matter of life and death – his life and death. The faint movements and sounds Zack had been making ceased and he was totally still.
He had to get out of the cave. He could pass out at any moment and either Zack would wake up and kill him, or if he'd already killed Zack, the two of them would perish here together. It was possible no one would come to the cave for months – or even years. The fact that Charlotte's doll was still here showed how long it had been since someone had ventured inside.
It took longer than he would have liked, and by the end of it he was nauseous and ready to collapse, but he managed to get to his feet and stumble to the entrance. Swallowing he bile that had risen in his throat, he held on tightly to the wall and pushed his way outside into the night air.
At which point he immediately fell to his knees, although this time the sand cushioned the fall. Even with the softer landing his head felt as if it was about to explode and his arm and side throbbed. He was finding it hard to catch his breath and knew he was in deep trouble.
He needed to find Lisbon. Lisbon would help him. Lisbon would save him. She always did and he could trust her. All he had to do was get to the street and she'd find him, he was sure of it.
He again forced himself to his feet and stumbled forward, lurching and weaving his way down the beach. He fell a number of times, but always managed to get back up, the knowledge that Lisbon would be there at the end keeping him going.
"Ouch!" Rigsby stumbled down the hill, falling and scraping his hand. "Damn this is steep."
"It's not that bad," Cho said calmly. "Just watch where you're stepping."
"It's dark and I'm not wearing the right shoes for hiking!"
"Quit complaining," his fellow agent and friend said. "We'll be down soon."
"I know – it's just – what do you think has happened to Jane?"
"I don't know. It doesn't look good."
"You think?" Rigsby looked at him worriedly. "You think they've – uh – you think maybe he's dead?"
"Maybe," Cho shrugged. "I don't know. I hope not."
"Jane seems to get himself into a lot of trouble."
"Yeah," Cho agreed. He was silent for a moment. "Some of it's deserved, but most of it -" he shrugged, although there was a measure of sympathy in his eyes.
"Yeah, I know," Rigsby said. "Damn, I hope he's okay."
"He won't be if we don't hurry up. Come on – I see the beach. We're almost there."
"Who are you?" the man asked, looking Lisbon up and down suspiciously.
"Hi," she grinned. "My name's Teresa. I'm here to see Patrick – I'm his girlfriend." She looked over the guy's shoulder. "Patrick" she called. "Where is he? I told my friend Grace I'd come and get him and we'd go dancing. He's a great dancer. Patrick," she called again. She looked back at the man in the door. "Hey, who're you? A friend from Patrick's work?"
"I'm Ed," the guy said shortly, still looking at her suspiciously. "He invited me over to watch the game with a couple of other guys. Uh, I don't think he expected to see his girlfriend tonight. In fact, he didn't mention he had a girlfriend."
Teresa rolled her eyes. "He's such a bad boy! We've been dating for weeks. Hey – where is he?"
"He's sleeping," the man said. "He had too much to drink and passed out and we put him to bed. I'll tell him you stopped by and he'll give you a call." He went to shut the door but Teresa put her foot out.
"Poor baby. He needs me to look after him." She stood there looking at "Ed" but he didn't budge. Her eyebrows went up. "Are you gonna let me in?"
"Patrick didn't say anything about a girlfriend. When he's awake I'll ask him, but until then, no, you can't come in. I suggest you and your friend," he nodded towards the car, "go dancing on your own."
"Fine!" Teresa rolled her eyes. "But I'm gonna tell him about you and he's not going to be happy."
Ed shrugged and shut the door – not abruptly enough to have slammed it in her face, but deliberately enough to let her know she wasn't wanted.
Teresa stood there for a moment and then slowly headed back to the car. She tried to keep her eye on the house and could definitely see someone watching her through the window.
"What're we gonna do?" hissed Charlie. Ed was peering out of the window, watching Jane's girlfriend head to the car. "She's gonna be back to check up on Jane. We can't stay here."
"I know," Ed replied sharply. "Where the fuck is Zack? He left almost an hour ago. We need to find him and get rid of Jane and get out of here."
"Why did you even bring him in on this? He's been nothing but trouble. Because of him we're wanted for murder!"
"Shuck the fuck up! It was my decision and we're not gonna talk about it now. We need to find him and get out of here."
"I say we leave him," Charlie said, more calmly. "Let Zack deal with Jane and you and I can get out of here. He'll go down for two murders, the guy at the bank and Jane, and you and I can get away."
Ed was clearly trying to figure out what to do. Although he'd never admit it, things had definitely started to go wrong the moment he'd brought Zack into the picture. He didn't know why he'd done it – except maybe for the fact that the kid reminded him a bit of his own younger brother – the brother who had been killed in a gang fight when he was 17.
Ed put his hand through his hair and turned to Charlie. "If the cops get Zack you know he's gonna spill everything. He'll make a plea deal in a second to get off from the murder charges. We can't leave him here."
"So what?"
"So, we find him and kill him along with Jane and then we get outta here."
Charlie felt sick. He hadn't wanted any of this. All he'd wanted was some cash so he could go away by himself somewhere – a small cabin out in the woods where he could fish and be away from people. Now he was wanted for murder – and he was about to commit two more.
"Where could they be?"
"I don't know, but we've gotta find out. Come on – let's go." Ed walked to the front door and went to open it – but first he looked out of the side window. "What the -"
"What is it?" Charlie hurried over until Ed put his hand up to stop him. "What's wrong?"
"I thought I saw something through the trees. I think there's someone out there."
"Maybe Jane's girlfriend is still there."
"Yeah," Ed pondered for a moment. "If she was his girlfriend." At that moment he made up his mind. "We gotta get outta here. I don't like this. Come on – we'll go through the back door."
"But there's nothin' out there. I mean – there's a cliff and then the ocean."
"There might be a way down. These rich folks would've wanted a way to get to the beach."
"Maybe that's where Zach has gone. He could have gotten away already."
"Yeah, that would be like him. Grab your stuff and let's go."
"Boss, I just got a radio message from the Malibu police," Grace told Teresa as they drove back down the driveway and to the street. "There was a bank robbery today in Calabasas. A security guard was shot and killed but the three robbers got away. The last they were seen they were headed towards the coast. Do you think these could be the guys?"
"Oh God! Probably. Was there a description of any of them?"
"Not really – average height, average build. They wore masks. One of the guys did have a tattoo of an eagle on his hand, but that's all they know."
"Crap!" Teresa said, rubbing her eyes. "The guy that answered the door had a tattoo on his hand and all over his arms and neck. I think the one on his hand was an eagle. It must be them.
"Did you see any evidence of Jane?" Grace asked in concern.
"No, nothing. I thought I saw one other person in the house, but the third guy could have been in another room. Grace, you go tell the cops to keep watching and make sure no one gets away."
"What are you going to do?" Grace looked worriedly at Teresa. "You can't go in there alone."
"I'm just going to make my way around back and see if I can see anything. I'll let you know what I find. I don't think we have very much time. I have a feeling that Ed was suspicious and they may try and make a break for it. Now go and talk to the cops and tell them to watch for anyone trying to escape. I'll be in touch." With that Teresa stepped out of the car and carefully made her way back and then into the trees that surrounded Jane's house.
She quickly made her way around to the back, until she came upon the guesthouse. She'd known it was there, but had never seen inside it. For a second she wondered if someone – Jane maybe – could be there, so she made her way to the side of the building and looked inside.
It was dark and everything was shrouded in dust covers. She shivered – it had an eerie, almost haunted look to it. She wondered briefly what it had been used for when Jane and his family lived here.
Certain that no one was inside the guesthouse, she made her way to the back of the main house and peeked inside. She could see shadows and then, suddenly, a man appeared. He wasn't the same one who had answered the door but was younger. He was speaking to someone and looked agitated. A moment later Ed appeared and the two men looked as if they were arguing.
Their conversation didn't last long and then both of them moved away and she could see them gathering their things. It looked as if they were planning on leaving. Checking her surroundings, she melted back into the trees, her eyes on the back door.
"Grace," she whispered into her radio. "I saw two men – Ed and one other. It looks as if they're planning on leaving. Tell the cops to watch out. I'm hidden in the trees in the back and will keep an eye on them in case they come this way."
"Be careful boss," Grace told her. "Did you see the third guy? Do you need back-up?"
"No, I just saw two of them. And I'm fine for now, but stay in contact." She turned off the radio just as the back door opened and the two men she had seen quickly exited. Teresa stood frozen, hoping that neither of them would look her way as they began moving in the direction of the water.
"They're heading towards the ocean. They might know about the trail down to the beach. Still no sign of the third guy or of Jane. I'm going to follow so can you and the Malibu police check out the house. Jane could still be in there. And let Cho and Rigsby know that two of the suspects may be headed their way."
Teresa waited a couple of seconds more and then began to follow in the direction the two men had gone. She had no idea where the path to the beach started and hoped she didn't come on the men in the dark. Her gun was drawn, just in case.
Her thoughts went back to the house and she prayed that Grace or the others wouldn't find Jane's body there. It could be that he'd already been killed, although why they would have done that, she had no idea. She briefly wondered how they had come across Jane in the first place. She couldn't imagine them just showing up at his house, unless they had known that it was vacant. It could have just been Jane's bad luck to come back to his house tonight.
She heard a branch snap and stopped, holding her breath and waiting for another sound or movement. Someone swore softly – and she was sure it was one of the robbers. She waited a few more seconds until she heard another noise and the sound of the two men walking through the trees.
"Here it is," one of the men whispered. "Come on – we can get down to the beach and head up the coast."
"To where?" the other voice hissed. "We don't have a car and we don't have a clue where we are."
"We know where we are and we can grab a car. We have time. Jane's girlfriend won't do anything until she checks up on him again in the morning and by then we'll be long gone."
"How do you know she'll wait," the other voice asked angrily. "She could be calling the cops even now."
"Shut up Charlie! Just get your ass down the path to the beach. If she has called the cops then we don't have a lot of time. Now move!"
The sound had travelled clearly to Teresa, so she waited a few minutes before moving – worried that the two men would hear her. Once their steps faded she clicked her radio.
"Any word Grace?" she asked softly.
"There's no one here, boss," Grace answered, equally as softly. "But someone was hurt – there's blood here, and some stained cloths. It also looks like someone vomited."
"But no sign of Jane?" she asked carefully.
"No, nothing. What do you want me to do? Where are you?"
"I'm about to head after the two men. They've headed down the trail to the beach. Let Cho and Rigsby know they're coming down. I'm gonna follow them. Send a couple of officers after me, but tell them to be quiet. I don't wanna spook these guys."
"Will do boss." Grace signed off and Teresa began to walk. It didn't take her long to find the trail – the moon had come out from behind the clouds and the entire side of the cliff was illuminated. She looked up, the sight of the full moon shining on the ocean was beautiful. She just wished that she was here simply enjoying the evening, rather than trying to find her friend, and worrying that he was hurt or dead.
She walked carefully, not wanting to make any noise as she walked. Every once in a while she heard a sound from up ahead. The men were still there, although they had stopped talking. She hoped that Rigsby and Cho were going to get here soon. She really didn't want to take the two men on by herself.
Ed and Charlie finally reached the bottom of the cliff. Like Zack before them, they looked both left and right and soon discovered that there really was only one way to go. The two men turned right and started walking down the beach.
Jane stumbled and fell once again. Each time he fell, it was harder and harder to get to his feet. He was weak and dizzy and everything hurt. He was also losing the ability to see clearly. He didn't know if it was just really dark, or if his eyes were starting to go.
He no longer could remember why he had to move, or where he was going, all he knew was he had to find Teresa. His hand continued to clutch Charlotte's doll, and he also knew he couldn't let it go. For some reason he understood it was important, even though he was aware enough to know that Charlotte herself was gone.
He tried to push himself up, but collapsed back down. "No," he murmured. "Teresa, help me." He tried once more and this time got to his knees, his body swaying in the chilly, damp sea air.
He couldn't go any farther. He didn't have the strength to get to his feet. He finally admitted to himself that he was done, finished. Teresa wasn't coming and he was so tired.
He left out a slow and shaky breath and allowed himself to collapse back onto the sand, the doll clasped to his chest. His eyes slowly began to close.
"What's that," Charlie pointed at a dark mound on the beach ahead.
"I don't know – a rock or something," Ed snapped. He was cold and scared and wishing he'd never met up with Charlie or Zack. He needed to get out of here and find somewhere safe to hole up.
"I don't think it's a rock," Charlie said, stopping and looking carefully. "I think it's an animal or something."
"An animal? On the beach?"
"Well, maybe it's a seal or shark or something."
"Who cares what it is. We need to -" Ed stopped suddenly. "Wait – that's no seal," he said softly. "I think that's a body."
"Really? You think it could be Zack – or maybe Jane?"
"It might be. Come on, let's check it out." Ed pulled his gun and started walking quickly forward. Charlie followed, his weapon drawn as well.
"There's something up there," Rigsby pointed. "It's darker than the surrounding cliff."
"Could be another cave," Cho suggested. He was tired and his shoes were full of sand. He hoped that found Jane soon, because he'd had enough of beachcombing.
"Yeah, I think it might be. Maybe this time we'll have some luck and find something."
"Like what? Buried treasure?"
"I was hoping we'd find Jane," Rigsby answered seriously.
Cho stopped and sighed. "Yeah – sorry. I want to find him as well. I'm just worried it's too late."
"Don' t say that. Jane is tough – and tricky. He knows how to get out of tough situations."
"I hope so," Cho muttered.
The two men arrived at the cave and drew their guns. Standing carefully on each side of the entrance they spoke to each other through hand signals. Finally Rigsby moved into the cave, followed almost immediately by Cho.
"There's someone here," Wayne said after a moment. He shone the flashlight down on the body of a man lying in the middle of the cave. "It's not Jane," he said in relief.
"Is he dead?" Cho asked, carefully checking out the rest of the cave.
Wayne squatted down and felt for the man's pulse. He was silent for a few seconds and then, "he's alive but his pulse is thready. We'd better call for help."
"Look at his hand," Cho nodded towards the man's hand, which was clenched around a knife. He shone the light on it and it glistened red.
"Blood," Wayne said soberly. "But there's no one else here."
Cho walked over to the door, his flashlight shining on the floor of the cave. "There's more blood," he said. "Someone was injured but they got away. Call for back-up and for the paramedics. I'll go see if I can find who belongs to this blood."
"You think it was Jane?"
"Maybe." With that Cho left he cave and began to follow the drops of blood.
"It's Jane," Charlie said as they drew near the body. "Is he dead?"
"No, he's still breathing but he doesn't look like he'll last much longer. Looks like he's been stabbed."
"Must have been Zack," Charlie answered. "He always preferred a knife to a gun."
"Yeah, but where is he?" Ed stood up and stared down at the injured man.
"I don't know," Charlie answered. "Hey, what's he holding? It almost looks – God, it's a kid!"
Ed squatted down once more and gently pulled the object from Jane's arms. "No, it's a doll."
"A doll? What the hell is he doing with a doll? Come on man – let's get out of here. I don't like this. Something weird is going on."
Ed stood slowly, the doll still in his hands. He regarded the fallen man for a moment and then threw the doll down beside him.
He pointed his pistol at the unconscious man in front of him, but just stood there staring.
"Come on – why don't you do it?" Charlie asked, sounding freaked out. "Let's get out of here!"
Ed's arm relaxed and it dropped to his side.
"What's wrong? I thought you were going to kill him?" Charlie hissed, clearly terrified by all that was going on.
"Too noisy," Ed answered calmly. "I think Zack had the right idea. Do you have a knife?"
"A knife? What – oh God, you're gonna slit his throat!"
Ed shrugged. "Just as quick as a bullet and a lot quieter. Now do you have one or not?"
"I – God, I don't want -"
"Unless you want to die here too I suggest you shut up. Now do you have a knife?"
"Yes," Charlie finally answered. He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a lethal looking switchblade.
"Why, aren't you a man of hidden talents," Ed said. "Now give it to me." He reached out his hand and took the knife. With a flick of the switch it opened, to show a long and treacherous looking blade. "I'm sorry Mr. Jane," he said softly. "But you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Ed slowly sunk to his knees on the beach, and grabbed Jane's hair and pulled his head back. Charlie turned his head away, unable to watch.
Jane felt awareness beginning to return, and groaned. He tried to move his head, but couldn't, so forced his eyes open, only to look into the face of Ed, the king of the kidnappers.
Ed blinked, looking surprised. But then he slowly smiled and held up his hand with the razor sharp blade. "Sorry you had to wake up Mr. Jane."
Jane looked in horror as the blade glistened in the moonlight, it's evil face made almost alive by the cool, platinum light. His hand reached out aimlessly, until it came in contact with Charlotte's doll. He grabbed it and pulled it to him, almost as if it would protect him from what was to come. He closed his eyes, his last thought that he was about to die the same way as his wife and daughter.
