Hear that? That's the clock ticking down to a terrible situation.

Embers

Chapter 10

Peace and Quiet?

(Lisbon's Apartment)

Jane paced back and forth, occasionally glancing out the living room window, then resumed his pacing. He already felt the walls closing in on him. It wasn't that he didn't like being here at Teresa's place, on the contrary, he was delighted. Being alone in his dismal motel room would have been antithetical to the healing process, but not being able to hear, to respond spontaneously to what was going on all around him, it was exhausting. He felt worse than he let on, assuming he was actually fooling anyone. Under Lisbon's watchful eye, there would be no fooling her. Strangely, he was OK with that. If anyone was going to see him at his most vulnerable, he would always choose Lisbon.

Teresa stepped off the last step on the staircase and walked across the room, placing her hand gently on Jane's arm. He stopped his pacing and smiled at her.

"If you keep that up for the next two weeks you'll owe me a new carpet Jane!" she teased.

"I'm leaving a path so you can always find me my dear" he deflected, following her to the sofa.

"This place isn't big enough to get lost in, but nice try" Lisbon countered, reaching for the remote.

"Movie time" she ordered, then flicked on her favourite movie channel. Jane needed to be distracted from his thoughts, so maybe this would work.

"Come on, kill some time watching a film with subtitles. In an hour I'll make us some lunch" she smiled, hoping to help her frustrated consultant pass his first full day of hearing loss. "I'll let you pick the film, how's that?"

"Oh goodie, more lip reading" he groaned, but agreed with her suggestion and flicked on the screen, perusing new movies. "How about a foreign film? There's a great Swedish film I've been wanting to see" Jane said, trying to find it.

"Swedish? But then I'll have to read subtitles!" Lisbon complained, until she saw the irony of her complaint and felt foolish.

"Well if I have to, so do you" Jane smirked, before sinking down into the cushions to focus on the movie. Lisbon flopped back and resigned herself to watching something totally incomprehensible, but was soon lured in by the plot and fresh take on movie making. Maybe she should watch more foreign films she decided.

After 45 minutes, he paused the movie and turned to Lisbon to raise an issue that had been on his mind all morning.

"I want to help find Virgil. Don't cut me out of the investigation just because of my lack of hearing" he shouted a bit too loudly.

Lisbon sat beside him, face to face. She'd been expecting this.

"I won't cut you out, we still need your input. But right now, we have nothing to go on. Virgil has disappeared. Until we know what his next move is, or someone spots him somewhere, we have nothing to work with."

"Interview the delivery kid from the bakery" Jane suggested. "Maybe he saw Virgil's car."

"On it. Don't worry about that Jane. When we get anything new to pursue, I'll let you know. Now, watch your movie. I'll make some fresh tea" she said with finality.

Jane sighed with annoyance at being so useless, but did as he was told and restarted the movie. He allowed himself to relax and direct his attention to something other than finding Virgil. A hot cup of tea helped as well, followed by a thick sandwich piled high with a variety of cold meats and condiments. Lisbon might not be the best cook, but she could make a sandwich like a pro. He decided he could finish the movie later.

By 1:30, Jane was yawning and looking weary. His poor night in the hospital was finally catching up with him and it didn't take too much coaxing to convince him to lie down and try to sleep. Lisbon walked with him to the staircase and helped him up to the small guest bedroom on the second floor. The fact that he didn't object suggested he was too tired to argue. Jane had never seen the guest room before, and was surprised at how tastefully decorated it was. A small bathroom next door would be close enough for him to walk to on his own. Lisbon had thoughtfully stocked it with his toothbrush, toiletries and thick white towels. The closet in his bedroom held a variety of his clothes, mostly suits and shirts, but also his one and only pair of blue jeans. That had been a significant surprise when Lisbon went to his dreary motel room to retrieve some of his things. Who would have expected Jane to actually wear blue jeans? There was still so much to discover about her enigmatic consultant.

"OK, time to have a sleep. I have to go out for an hour or two, so you might as well get some rest while you're alone."

"Yes Mom."

"Will you be OK on your own Jane?"

"Can I invite a girl over to help me with my homework?" he smirked, feeling like an awkward teenager again.

"Hush up you. Get into bed, and I'll be back before you know it" Lisbon chided him, but with a wide grin.

"So bossy...care to join me at least?" Jane razzed her.

"JANE!"

He slipped off his bathrobe and threw it over a chair, then slid between the crisp sheets and immediately felt happy to be lying down. This being blown up was a tiresome proposition. Once he was settled Lisbon busied herself downstairs, then checked on her patient to find him asleep and snoring lightly. It was a good time to slip out and meet up with her team. She'd be back before Jane even missed her.

(Sacramento City Limits)

Virgil drove around warily, afraid of every car that passed in case the other drivers realized who he was. The sooner he got off the road and inside somewhere the better. A half hour later he found a small dingy diner on a back highway and slid into a booth near the side door. Soon he was filling up on a burger and a soft drink, keeping his head down to avoid being recognized by his fellow diners. No one even bothered to look at him. Eventually the waitress turned on a TV over the lunch counter and Virgil watched the news for any information about the bombing of the CBI the previous day. A reporter stood outside the stately old building, commenting on the cleanup efforts and the lack of information about possible fatalities. While the reporter was speaking live on-camera, Virgil noticed a black SUV pull up and park outside the main entrance of the building. The same dark haired woman that Virgil had seen at the bombed out art gallery walked inside. Who was she? She seemed to be in charge somehow, based on how the other agents spoke to her and seemed to take orders from her. As he watched the TV, a new idea began to brew in Virgil's mind. Quickly wrapping up his burger and grabbing his drink, he paid cash for his food then ran outside and drove away in his van. With luck, he'd get over to the damaged CBI building before that agent drove away again.

Mid-afternoon traffic was light and Virgil was across the city in good time. Pulling up across the street from the CBI, he spied the SUV still parked where Lisbon had left it. The news crew had left and the street was quiet. With little else to do, Virgil finished his burger and watched to see who would emerge from the old building. Thirty minutes later, the attractive dark haired woman walked back outside and drove away. Virgil popped his van into drive and followed her, waiting outside when Lisbon stopped at a grocery store to pick up extra supplies now that she had a house guest. She came out with several large brown paper bags and drove onward towards her apartment. Virgil hung back so that he would not be noticed, but he managed to keep Lisbon's SUV in sight until she turned into her apartment complex and parked outside her front door.

Virgil pulled into the parking lot and stopped several cars away, watching Lisbon carry bags into her unit. When she came out one last time and bent over to lift one last bag out of the back of the vehicle, an arm wrapped around her throat while a white cloth soaked in chloroform was clamped over her nose and mouth. Struggling against her assailant, Lisbon tried her best to break free, but she had no defence against the drug, and soon lost consciousness. As she slumped into his arms, Virgil lifted Lisbon up and carried her the few steps to her front door. He let himself in and stopped to listen. It appeared the apartment was empty. He walked into her kitchen and dumped her light body onto a kitchen chair. Heart racing, he rummaged around in her kitchen drawers until he found some packing tape and a dishcloth, which he tore into thick strips. One he used as a gag, then he wound tape around and around her wrists and ankles, tying her to the chair. Once she was secured, he stopped to settle down and look around the small main floor. Eyeing the refrigerator, he opened the door and looked inside for the one thing that would make him very happy right now. Yup, there it was. He reached in and pulled out an ice cold beer with satisfaction. Cops and their beer…