Week 12
Jane's feeling nervous as she leans against a patrol car parked out front of Boston PD. Her foot taps out an impatient rhythm as she waits.
Refusing to lie to herself, she knows she misses the place. Misses being a cop. Yeah, she kept crap hours, rarely got to sleep the night through and had endless piles of pain in the ass paperwork… but it had been who she was for so very long.
For the millionth time since James had crashed into her life, Jane wondered just what she was going to do with herself now. Maybe getting a P.I licence wasn't such a terrible idea?
Looking up, all such thoughts were silenced as a group of young Uni's exited the building. Trailing out behind them, Vince Korsak.
She'd lost a lot when she'd quit the force, but one of the things she hadn't really thought about, until recently, were the resources. Now that access was no longer available she had to rely on bridges she herself had burned.
Pushing off from the car, Jane joined Vince on the sidewalk. "Hey, Korsak."
Her old partner looked up startled. "Jane?"
She looked down at herself grinning. "Last time I checked."
"What are you doing here? Are you back? Did you speak to the-"
Jane quickly cut him off. Waving her hands in the air to get him to quiet down and stop talking. The smile on his face unbearable. She hadn't meant to give him the wrong idea.
"Whoa! Whoa! Keep it down. No, I'm not back…" Guilt twisted in her gut as Korsak's face fell. His expression turning stony. "…I'm not coming back Korsak. I can't be where I'm not wanted."
"You're wanted! Me and Frost practically begged you not to leave." Jane just gave a pointed look to her friend. "Oh, you mean not wanted by her."
She wanted out of this conversation. This wasn't why she was there. Time to get things back on track…
"Crown-Merrick Holding. There was trouble there last week. You heard about it?"
Korsak looked angry. "That was you?"
Jane nodded. The ground beneath her feet a little more solid now that Maura was no longer the subject.
"What do you know?"
"It was a conduit for Intergang. They're making a move on Boston." Korsak's eyes grew comically large. Jane would have laughed if the situation weren't so serious. She could hardly blame him. It was some seriously scary shit.
Korsak paused. Eye's blazing. "Do you have any idea what you've done? They're not there anymore. Place was cleaned out. Just like the last place you sent me! They know we're on to them, and we have no clue where they are now or how to stop them!"
Jane shrank back. She hadn't expected that.
"We've lost any element of surprise we might have had." The infuriated man was right in her face now, the anger blazing in his eyes aimed squarely at her. "You gave up your badge, Jane. Nobody took it from you. Remember that next time you decide to play hero."
Jane watched as Korsak stormed away.
As if the weather were responding to her mood, heavy dark clouds formed on the walk home. Halfway there, they broke. Heavy rain falling from the sky. The cold rain seeping into her clothes. Soaking every inch of the thin fabric she wore.
Stepping into her apartment. Face grim. She was ready to bite someone's head off. Today had not gone as planned.
Looking around, she found James exactly where she had left him. Sat in the lotus position in the middle of her living room.
"Hi, honey. I'm home." The greeting was no more than a growl.
There was no answer. He just kept on meditating in the loud silence. He'd suggested she try it. Said it would help her take a good look at herself. Figure out what she was doing with her life.
The last thing Jane wanted right now was to think about how much of a failure she was. How everything she attempts, she screws up. Korsak was right… They'd screwed up. Jumping in without really thinking of the consequences if they failed. They were almost back to square one.
Intergang. Scarlet. Nikolas. The gang name and two of its members. That was all they had now.
Jane pulled a bottle of water from her fridge. As the cool water slid down her throat she started to pace back and forth, doing her best to ignore the uncomfortable rub of her wet jeans. Not caring enough to go change. Her eyes drifted to Maura's letter on the counter. Pausing momentarily as the familiar pain spiked through her. Focus Rizzoli!
Clearing her mind, she decided to think out loud. At the very least, perhaps she could get a rise out of James.
"Intergang… Scarlet… Nikolas… They're moving in weapons and people. We have no way of knowing where. Best way to stop them is cutting them off at the source." Jane paused. "The source…"
James had a lot of notes on Intergang. A lot. She'd spent hours going through them. Reading them over and over. One place had popped up repeatedly. A place that she'd overheard Scarlet mention at Crown-Merrick. Jane's spirits sank lower as she realised just what lay ahead. What they had to do. Following the clues was all they could do now.
She walked over to James. Looking down at him, knowing he knew. "Go ahead and say it, James. I know you've been waiting for me to figure it out."
Eyes still closed, he grinned. "Okay, then. Let's go to the Congo."
