A/N: With thanks to Lalalupin, Guest and Jazz248 for reviewing part eight.

x tromana

Part Nine

She stared defiantly at Jane, in spite of his pleading. Somehow, Lisbon felt like she still couldn't back down. Years of being wholly loyal to the law, years of believing in it, still coursed through her veins. As far as she was concerned, she could trust the law to uncover the truth eventually. However, for Jane, that wasn't good enough. He didn't want her to go through that ordeal at all, it seemed. And he didn't seem to care that she was prepared to do just that. However, she knew there had to be more to the issue in hand. There just had to be. If it was anyone else, she wouldn't have been so sure, but this was Patrick Jane.

But even if she was wrong on this occasion, maybe he did have a point. The law wasn't always right. There were a staggering number of innocent people trapped behind bars, while the real criminals continued to roam the streets and wreak havoc wherever they went. Red John himself was a perfect example of that. Who was to say that she would be able to prove her innocence in a court of law? Her integrity had already been cast under shadows of doubt. And unlike Jane, she wasn't equipped with powerful wordplay. Of course, she could be convincing when she needed to be, she could interrogate or question people with ease. But it was different, being on the other side of the desk, having your every move scrutinized under lamplight.

"But surely I'd be under even more risk, out on the run?" she eventually countered after some serious consideration. "Red John could hunt me down and then…"

Instead of finishing her sentence with the words neither of them wanted to hear, she shook her head violently. The thought of her own demise was a step too far for the both of them, even in this serious situation. But in reality, that was the honest truth of it all. Every minute, every hour that passed, her circumstances grew all the more grave. Red John had a proverbial noose around her neck and as time marched ever onwards, he tightened it that little further. Lisbon swallowed. This wasn't something she should fear; she was a homicide investigator, the gritty facts of death shouldn't scare her. But it did; she was only human, after all. Fear of her own mortality was only natural, especially when there was a distinct possibility of her life being brutally cut short.

"He's fascinated by you, Teresa," Jane added, and she could almost hear the underlying meaning of 'because I'm fascinated by you too.' "He wouldn't kill you that quickly."

"And you know this how?"

"It's a hunch," he admitted quietly.

"But your hunches aren't always foolproof," she retorted, frustrated.

"I don't tell you every single hunch. Only the ones I have confidence in," he assured her.

"So you have confidence in this one?"

"Not as much as I usually do, but yes."

Her eyes narrowed at him. She may have been a cop – but, as she reminded herself, she had already been unceremoniously stripped of her title and badge – but he was asking her to walk into an incredibly dangerous position with her head held high. Lisbon knew that she could be classified as being 'brave'; it was something she could admit to without ego, more as a statement of the truth. However, bravery didn't mean you had to go looking for trouble. It meant stepping up to the plate when the timing was necessary.

Was the timing necessary now or would it just be foolhardy to even consider it? That was the question she was being forced to face at this moment in time.

And in reality, she knew she was being trapped between a rock and a hard place. One side, the wolves of the law were circling for her blood. They believed she had evidence that could lead them to Red John, despite years of loyal service, and never having shown signs that she just might be a mole for the serial killer in the past. On the other side of the equation, there was Red John, a serial killer who delighted in hurting Patrick Jane. He was a man who knew how close they were, and as a consequence, was more than willing to exploit their relationship. And she didn't doubt that if she ended up in his clutches, she would inevitably die a bloody death, regardless of his supposed 'fascination' with her.

And Jane's hunches weren't always one hundred percent foolproof. What if, this time, he was wrong? What if he killed her the moment he set eyes on her? What if she couldn't even find Red John, never mind find conclusive evidence to get him arrested and clear her name at the same time? And what if the law caught up with her anyway, and she was just thrown in jail for absconding? Then, she would be back at square one and have legitimate cause for a criminal record.

"Jane, I don't know if I can do this," she whispered.

Usually, she refused to show any signs of weakness in front of Jane. She had always classified herself as the 'strong one' out of the two of them. He was so broken and scarred that he needed somebody he could rely on, no matter what. But the more they spoke, the more deathly afraid she grew. That was mostly because his suggested situation grew increasingly more likely.

"I believe in you," he said simply.

"And that's what I'm afraid of."

"Teresa, I've tried everything I can to clear your name, without you having to do this. But if you don't leave now, they will come and arrest you tonight. They are finalizing details for your arrest as we speak and getting a judge to sign off on the warrant to search this place, too. If you do leave, you could get conclusive evidence which would lead to Red John's arrest. And isn't that what you've always wanted?"

For a second, she was startled by what he was saying. Every single time they had talked about Red John in the past, it had always been 'when I kill Red John'. He had never, not for a second, suggested giving up on his quest for revenge. Jane had always appeared, at least to her, as determined as ever to have Red John's blood on his hands to honor the memory of his deceased wife and daughter. For the first time ever, he had suggested that he trusted the law – trusted her – enough to be able to arrest Red John and seek justice the legal way. Of course, she was more than aware that he could easily have been lying through his teeth, just to convince her to go along with his plans. But regardless of how she looked at it, regardless of what he said, she still felt like he was trying to convince her to let him send her away, like a lamb to the slaughter.

"Jane…"

"I mean it," he said firmly, before she had a chance to speak.

"You'll let me have Red John?" she asked tentatively.

"You're the one who'll be doing the hard work. You're the one who'll be risking life and limb," he stated. "And besides, after all these years of dealing with me, I think you deserve it."

A smile briefly flashed across her features, but it was only a wan one. She genuinely did appreciate what Jane was offering to her, but she was also aware that there were strings attached. Her life, for one and then there was the simple fact of assuming that this gesture would be enough to convince the CBI of her innocence. Even if she did manage to bust into Red John's inner circle, get him arrested and get out again unscathed, there was still the chance that they wouldn't discover who the real mole was either. And then, despite handing Red John over, there was the chance that the CBI would simply assume she had defaulted on him and handed her 'lord and master' over to the authorities. She would still end up with a jail sentences, albeit a reduced one.

She glared at the bead resting innocuously on her desk. It felt like that little object had been the beginning of all of her problems. In reality, she knew that this issue had been festering for a long while.

In the end, she didn't answer his unasked request; she didn't need to. The sag of her shoulders and the sigh told him that she was defeated, that she would agree to do it. It didn't matter that technically, at this moment in time, she was no longer a cop. Instead, she was going to be behaving as a vigilante, in the vain hope of being able to save everything that she had ever cared about. But it was the right thing to do; if she brought Red John to justice, if she could find out the people responsible for framing her, then she wouldn't end up going back to square one. Instead, they would be in an even better position than before, because one less scumbag (and a particularly notorious one, at that) would be off of the streets for good.

All she could do was hope that it wouldn't come at too high a cost.

"Thank you," Jane said and then he headed back over to the bag he'd brought in with him.

Lisbon watched him cautiously as he pulled a few items out of the bag. The first was a cellphone and she immediately knew that it would be a secure line. A minute later, Jane confirmed it, stating that he'd only installed two numbers in it – his own and Cho's. Hearing Cho's name made her feel slightly uneasy for a second, but he assured her that Cho was one hundred percent on her side. He felt guilty for having to force her through questioning and the poly, but his hands were tied. They wouldn't have been able to sweep the badge incident under the carpet without it coming back to haunt them. He wanted to make amends and, along with Jane and Van Pelt, he was fighting to clear her name. Lisbon pretended not to notice the absence of a certain Agent Douglas' name from the list, but she couldn't help but feel a slight sting. The phone was quickly followed by a gun, an ammo can and a holster.

Specifically, it was her gun. The one she had surrendered back at the CBI headquarters.

"Jane…"

"I did the old switcheroo."

"You really shouldn't have done this," she chastised.

He shrugged his shoulders. "You're not my boss, Ms. Lisbon," he said with a grin. "And besides, I'm not going to take it back."

"I hate you," she grumbled.

"No you don't."

"I do," she asserted, but she couldn't help but smile again. "Thank you."

She placed the holster back on her belt and put the gun in place. The phone she pocketed. Meanwhile, she figured that if Jane was really serious about this she would need a decent bag to store any other 'essentials' in. Her overnight bag would probably suffice; she had kept it packed out despite being under suspension. After all, Lisbon had assumed she would have been back by now. However, it would now have to serve her for an entirely different purpose.

Jane went onto explain that Danny Ruskin, his dead wife's brother, was back in town, but leaving soon. Apparently, he owed him a favor and as a consequence, was more than happy to 'take care' of her. Lisbon was tentative about this arrangement, but what else could she do? She doubted she would be able to leave the state, not without being smuggled out somehow. Heading to her brother's in Chicago was out of the question, and besides, she absolutely refused to put the lives of any of her family in danger. There was nothing else she could organize really, not at such short notice.

Eventually, it became clear that they really had to get moving. Jane gave her ten minutes to gather together everything she needed. While he waited patiently by the door, she rushed to and fro, trying to figure out anything she would need in addition to what she had in her overnight bag. Eventually, she was ready, but Jane was wearing a look of consternation on his face. Immediately, she hurried and they climbed into his car.

They drove away in silence. Tension had immediately enveloped them as she realized the magnitude of what they – she – was about to undertake. Nervously, she drummed her fingers against her and stared pointedly out of the front. Under any normal circumstances, she usually seriously disliked taking Jane's vehicle anywhere. Especially so, considering he often had a tendency to speed. This time, she offered no complaints whatsoever. All she could do was hope that they wouldn't draw the attention of any traffic cops; that could easily lead to trouble.

She glanced in the windscreen mirror and saw a pair of flashing lights approaching. Jane began to slow down accordingly, but Lisbon could feel her heart rate escalate at the same time. They couldn't be stopped, they had to get away, this was her only chance. Jane had made the decision for her, essentially, and now, she had to follow through with it. They simply couldn't fall at the first hurdle, could they?

"Get down!" he hissed suddenly, breaking the silence and she was only more than happy to oblige.