A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! I am on twitter if you are interested - nitro9_ Have a great weekend!
Lisbon's burner phone vibrated in the middle of a budget meeting, jolting her awake from a light doze. She blindly groped for it, sending the call to voice mail without pulling it out.
"We keeping you from something, Agent?" Bertram's voice cut through the fog.
She straightened. "No, sir. I'm fully committed to the numbers."
"Glad to hear it," he said doubtfully, but let it drop as he droned on about some new gadget he wanted the team leaders to work into their bottom lines.
Lisbon dutifully made some notes on her copy of the budget, willing the clock to move faster. It took a large piece of her willpower to take the time to make small talk with the other leaders after the meeting.
As soon as she could manage it, she slipped away to her car and pulled out the phone. She had a voice mail. She entered her pass code with trembling fingers and did a quick look around the parking lot before putting it up to her ear. She sighed in relief as she heard Jane's voice.
"Touché, Lisbon, not waiting by the phone for my call? Listen. I, uh, I bought us some time, but things aren't looking good here. He.. He wants me to prove my loyalty, and you are the price. He wants you dead. He wants me to do it. Teresa, you have until after the baby comes before he forces it, but you need to be careful. There's no doubt that he will kill you himself if he finds any cause. I'm going out with his girl this weekend, try to find her weaknesses so I can turn her. Her name is Lorelei Martins. Don't let the team look into her, Lisbon, but find someone you can trust to help. I think something happened to a sibling when she was young, something that made her vulnerable to Red John. I'm not sure where I'll be, but I'll try to keep you updated. Be safe."
Lisbon listened to the message three times before she deleted it. She made sure the phone was on vibrate and set it aside, considering his words. She focused on the risks he was taking first. Going out with Red John's girl. What did that even mean? How far would he take it? She swallowed hard. Her baby kicked her and she smiled down at her bump, rubbing the spot lightly. Then Jane's warning trickled through her like ice. "You are the price." She needed to talk to her team. She checked the time and called Cho on her regular phone.
He picked up right away. "Cho. Is everyone at the office? Great. I'm in the mood for a burger, let's meet at O'Malley's. I'm heading there now."
She hung up and was about to put her phone aside when she heard something vibrate. She looked at the phone in her hand, puzzled. The vibrating came again and she soon realized it was her other phone. Dang this was getting complicated.
"Hello?"
"Teresa." Just one word, said with such longing. She melted a little.
"Jane? I just got your message, what's -"
"I don't have much time," he got to the point. "I'm about to leave to pick up Lorelei and I realized - I'm about to go out with another woman for the weekend. Nothing is going to happen, Lisbon. I told her I'm impotent."
Lisbon snorted in shock. "She believed that?"
"I passed the test." He sounded uncomfortable.
"So now Red John thinks… Jane that's horrible."
"Meh. It gives him a false sense of power. But more importantly, it got me out of a sticky situation, and it placed doubt that I had anything to do with fathering your child."
She made a strangled noise.
"Lisbon, are you okay?"
She took a moment to breathe. "I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry."
"I've never wanted to cause you distress, my dear."
"Why is she going with you, if there isn't a romantic angle?"
"For my charming company of course." He paused. "She was meant to be a gift for me. I suspect she still feels some obligation."
"Oh, Jane." Tears pricked at her eyes.
"Enough of that, Lisbon. I'm not worth crying over."
She dashed at her eyes. "Damn hormones," she muttered.
Jane laughed and she immediately brightened. "I wish we could talk longer, but I have to go. I'm ditching this phone on the way. I'm glad I caught you."
"Yeah, me too. Jane, be careful."
"Don't worry about me. Take care of yourself and that little one." His voice went hoarse by the end, and her tears sprang back.
"I will," she whispered. They listened to each other's ragged breathing for a few moments, then he ended the call.
xxxxxxxxxx
The lunch crowd was just picking up at O'Malley's, but the team was able to secure a corner booth without much wait.
Lisbon already knew what she wanted, but she gratefully hid behind the oversized menu, getting lost in her thoughts. She trusted the team, and she was certain that Jane did too. Still, this was quite the bombshell she was about to drop on them. Nearly as big as her pregnancy had been. But they'd weathered that okay, hadn't they? One hand absently dropped to her belly.
"Hey, boss?" Rigsby asked casually, still eyeing the menu. "Are we celebrating or plotting?"
She peeked out from behind her menu. "Um. Not celebrating."
He continued to peruse the limited offerings, but his forehead wrinkled. "Bad news?"
"I guess. We'll talk about it after we order."
He sighed. "Sure, but the news might affect my appetite. If I order the wrong thing, then -" he puffed his lips in a sign of irritation.
Cho closed his menu and set it aside. He crossed his arms and stared at Rigsby. "If you lose your appetite, I'll eat my shoe."
"I didn't say 'lose'. I said 'affect'." He moved the menu aside to look at Cho. "If it's bad news, I want comfort food."
Van Pelt rolled her eyes. The waitress was coming over.
"Get the comfort food," Lisbon said. Cho grimaced. "And a salad," she added.
"You guys ready to order?" the waitress asked politely.
Everyone nodded and Rigsby held out a finger, still looking at the menu. "I'll go last," he stated.
The others put their orders in, Lisbon debating about which toppings to go on her cheeseburger until she gave in and got them all. She gave her menu to the waitress and they all looked at Rigsby expectantly. After he ordered about half of the menu, the waitress blinked. "I'll put this order in and get your drinks." She walked towards the kitchen.
Lisbon's eyes were wide. "Wow, Rigsby. I'm eating for two, what's your excuse?"
He shrugged, a little flustered. "I'm hungry."
Van Pelt laughed.
Lisbon smiled. "I guess it's been awhile since I've had lunch with you guys."
They made small talk until their drinks arrived. Then Lisbon withdrew again, making patterns in the condensation of her glass with her fingertip.
"What's going on, Lisbon?" Van Pelt asked softly.
She sighed, then glanced around to make sure they had enough privacy. She leaned forward, and everyone mirrored her actions. "Jane's been faking an emotional breakdown. To get to Red John."
Cho, of course, remained impassive at this news. Van Pelt and Rigsby shared a glance.
"How does that get to Red John?" asked Van Pelt.
"That's a stupid plan," added Rigsby.
"I know. But it worked. He's with one of Red John's followers now."
Cho sat a little straighter. Rigsby looked confused. "That doesn't sound like bad news."
Lisbon grimaced.
"Red John wants something," suggested Van Pelt.
Lisbon glanced at each of them before looking back to her glass. "He wants proof that Jane's actions are genuine." She cleared her throat. "He wants him to kill me."
Van Pelt looked generally alarmed. Rigsby stood up abruptly in righteous anger, but Cho swiftly pulled him back down.
"How can you be sitting there so calm?" Rigsby whisper shouted, leaning towards her.
She sighed. "We have some time."
"Jane won't kill a baby. Red John's not stupid," Cho said evenly.
Lisbon nodded and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"You don't think he knows about… who the father is?" asked Van Pelt.
"No, I don't think so. If you look at who Jane has been close to in the last decade, I'm the obvious choice."
"So why now?"
Lisbon shrugged. She drank from her glass. "We have three months to figure out who Red John is. But we can't be obvious about our new lead or he'll know that Jane's communicating with us."
"No pressure," muttered Van Pelt.
Their food arrived and they sat quietly for a few minutes, picking at their plates..
Lisbon was about halfway through her burger before she spoke again. "I've been thinking, we might have to trust someone outside the team for this one."
The others looked a little shocked. Rigsby pointed to Van Pelt. "Grace can search discretely, boss."
"Oh, I know. I know Grace can cover her tracks online. But Red John has infiltrated the CBI system before. And at some point we might have to do a physical interview. We need someone who can get around our limitations."
"Who you thinking, boss?" asked Cho.
She paused, then addressed Van Pelt. "Did you ever look into Bob Kirkland?"
"The Homeland Security Agent? A little. Why, you think he's trustworthy?"
Lisbon shook her head slightly. "I'm not sure. He said he's been getting reports about Jane's progress with Red John."
"What does Red John have to do with Homeland Security?" asked Cho.
"Exactly. I think maybe he has a personal reason. If I can figure out his real involvement, then maybe."
"What if he is Red John?"
She shook her head again, playing with her straw. "I can't discredit that, but it doesn't quite seem to fit. We have to move fast. Do you have any other suggestions?"
"What about Ray Haffner, he just went private sector?" suggested Rigsby.
Lisbon grimaced. "I heard his biggest client is Visualize. He's a member."
"Okay," acknowledged Cho."
"Didn't see that coming," added Van Pelt. "What about Agent Darcy?"
Lisbon scowled. "She thought Jane was working for Red John, I'm don't think she would help. And we've encountered moles from the FBI before."
Van Pelt's eyes skittered away and Lisbon tried not to feel guilty for bringing it up.
Lisbon's phone rang and she snatched it up, answering quickly out of habit. "Lisbon." Her eyes grew wide. "Hi, Bob. I was just thinking about calling you. Yes. Okay. I can meet you in two hours. There's this little park not far from CBI. Lots of benches. That's it. Great, thanks." She ended the call and looked around at the team. "Well, that's settled." She took another bite of her burger.
The team looked at each other warily. "That was him? Bob Kirkland?" asked Rigsby.
"Yeah."
"And you're gonna meet him."
"Yeah. We talked about meeting for coffee sometime. I named the place and he's bringing the coffee."
"Just like that."
Lisbon rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to drop all my deepest darkest secrets. We wanted to know more about him, this is our chance. If things pan out, then I'll consider asking for his help."
"You're not going alone," said Cho.
She rolled her eyes again. "Wouldn't dream of it." Her face screwed up in pain and she placed her hand on her chest.
"You okay, boss?" Van Pelt asked with concern.
"Yeah," she answered breathily. "Heart burn." She put her cheeseburger back down. "Guess I'm done." She looked sideways at Rigsby. "Yeah, Rigsby, you can have the rest."
Rigsby smiled and snatched it up. Lisbon drank a sip of water and sat back in her chair. She pulled out some cash and put it on the table. "Lunch is on me. I'm heading back to the office. If you dig anything up on Kirkland in the next hour and a half, let me know."
She walked out of the restaurant without looking back. The team followed her movements in silence.
"Is it just me, or is she starting to act like Jane?" asked Van Pelt.
"You mean the crazy plans, walking into a situation she's not ready for?" said Rigsby.
"Yeah," agreed Cho. "But Jane always knew we had his back. And Lisbon does too."
"Damn straight," stated Rigsby while Van Pelt nodded. He wiped his mouth and motioned to their waitress. "Check, please."
xxxxxxxxxx
It was a beautiful day, Lisbon thought absently. She breathed deeply and relaxed as much as she could on the hard park bench. There was a nice breeze. When was the last time she had enjoyed an afternoon doing nothing at the park? She watched a butterfly flutter among the nearby flowers.
Next to her, Cho stiffened ever so slightly. "He's here."
They stood together, Cho matching her slower pace.
Bob Kirkland approached them, bringing a carrier with two coffees in it. He shook Lisbon's hand, "Teresa, nice to see you again."
"Bob," she acknowledged. "This is Agent Cho."
They shook hands also. "Sorry, I would have brought more coffee if I had known you would have company."
Cho raised his hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about it. I'll just be over there." He buttoned his suit jacket and stood out of earshot by a nearby tree, crossing his arms impassively like a secret service agent.
Lisbon sat and Kirkland followed suit. He held out the coffee. "I got one with milk and sugar and one black. I'll drink whichever one you don't want."
She eyed the containers. "You got any decaf?"
He hesitated, his eyes dropping briefly to her baby bump. "Sorry, I didn't consider that."
"That's alright. I'll take the sugar option."
He took one of the cups out of the carrier and gave it to her, then set the container on the bench before retrieving the second cup. He blew across the top and took a sip.
"I've done some research on you," he said without preamble.
"Oh?" Lisbon sipped her coffee.
"You're a good agent."
"I try. What's this about?"
"I have some business to discuss with you. Delicate business."
"Alright."
He leaned toward her slightly. "Tiger tiger."
Lisbon stiffened and went pale "Excuse me?" But before Kirkland could repeat himself, she held up a staying hand. "Cho," she called, her eyes not leaving Kirkland's face. "Come over here!"
"This is not a matter for your subordinate," Kirkland insisted.
"I disagree," Lisbon stated calmly. "And I have never considered him my subordinate. I trust Cho with my life."
Cho stood beside them. "What is it, boss?"
She still kept her eyes trained on Kirkland. "Bob just told me something interesting. Would you say it again, Bob?"
Her tone left no room for disobedience. Kirkland looked back at her coolly. "Tiger tiger," he said.
Cho blinked and drew his gun, training it on Kirkland discretely. Lisbon smoothly moved to stand behind Cho, distancing herself from the action.
Kirkland's eyebrows raised along with his hands. "Okay. You've clearly heard that before. But this is unnecessary. I'm not with them."
"Them?" queried Lisbon.
Kirkland's eyebrows raised further. "What context do you know the phrase?"
Lisbon crossed her arms. "You first. If you don't give us a satisfactory answer, we'll take you in."
"Okay, just relax." He exhaled loudly. "While investigating Red John, Homeland Security's begun to suspect the existence of a powerful secret organization within California law enforcement. Police, FBI, D.O.J. CBI," he stressed pointedly. "Strictly high-level we think. They protect each other with major cover-ups, get away with murder. We think they use the phrase 'tiger tiger' as a password."
Lisbon considered this, staring past him. "Red John is a member," she stated quietly, but firmly.
"We don't know, it's too soon to tell."
Lisbon focused on him again. "Our experience with the phrase is directly correlated with Red John. Right out of his mouth."
Kirkland's face clouded. "I don't recall anything about that in the files."
She huffed and crossed her arms. "No. Jane kept that information to himself - for a year," she said, irritated. "It's from the poem, 'The Tyger' by William Blake."
Kirkland lowered his hands, keeping them visible on his lap. "Ah. I should have made that connection."
"Have you talked about this with anyone else?"
He waved his hand. "It's very delicate business. I called the main office in DC. They are looking into it."
"Damn bureaucracy could take months," muttered Cho.
"And I have trusted one person at the FBI. Agent Reede Smith. He's a lower level guy. Like I said, we mostly suspect high level agents. Keep your head down, report suspicious activity to me."
"I know him." She paused, then pointed out, "I'm a high level agent."
"I know you well enough. You don't have a dishonest bone in your body."
She ducked her head to hide a slight blush as she recalled Jane's similar viewpoint, then changed the subject. "How long have you been getting reports on Jane?"
"Since he started working with you."
"Why?"
Kirkland looked at Cho, then at his gun. "Look, is this really necessary? I'm on your side."
Cho stood firm. "Are you?"
"Yes!" he insisted.
"What's your angle, Bob?" asked Lisbon. "Why are you investigating Red John?" She tilted her head. "It's personal, isn't it?"
He looked at the gun again. "Please, put that away. I'll tell you my story, but I don't want to attract attention."
"Should we take this conversation to the CBI?"
"No. Listen. Take my gun if it makes you feel better. I just want to talk." He raised his hands, exposing his holster. He trained his gaze on Lisbon.
She hesitated, then reached in to take his gun. She turned it on him and asked Cho to frisk him. Satisfied, they put the guns away and they all sat on the bench together, Cho in the middle.
Kirkland started talking. "I, um. I had a twin brother, Michael. We were very close growing up. And our father was a sadistic drunk. He beat the crap out of us and our mother. Eventually our mother took the easy way out. After she killed herself, well… it was just me and Michael. I was all he had."
"You were the strong one," affirmed Lisbon.
"Yeah. Anyway, I grew up, I got away. But Michael couldn't do it. I watched him turn into a drunk like our father. And I tried to help him, but nothing worked. Then he met someone, a man who could help him. More than a man - a savior."
"Red John."
Kirkland nodded. "Michael drifted further and further away until one day he was gone. I never saw him again."
"You think Red John killed your brother," stated Cho.
"Yes. I never found him, but in my heart, I know."
They sat quietly for a few moments, contemplating.
"So. You are hunting Red John, like Jane," stated Lisbon.
"Yes. But only one of us can get there first." Kirkland's eyes flashed with something oddly familiar.
Lisbon shivered. She made eye contact with Cho, silently communicating with him. He nodded almost imperceptibly. Lisbon looked back to Kirkland. "We could use your help with something. We've learned that Jane is with a known accomplice of Red John's, but we can't research her without tipping off Red John that we know about her."
Kirkland leaned forward eagerly. "What's her name?"
