'Till Death Do Us Part A/N: Yay, not a long wait. Lol. The next one should be up some time next week. :)
Chapter 11: The Great Descent of Mac Brownfield
"There you go." Don quickly did the last strap on Megan's vest. "Ready?"
Megan nodded, a serious look in her eyes. "We've gotta get this guy, Don."
Don let out a frustrated sigh. "I know. So profile him for me."
Megan took a deep breath. "He knows we're looking for him," she said. "He'll want to go somewhere that he feels safe, somewhere he thinks we won't find him."
Don nodded. "Okay. So when we find him, how dangerous is he gonna be?"
Megan let out a long breath. "He's gonna be desperate. He'll do anything to protect himself, and Lisbon."
Don frowned. "What do you mean?"
"He's convinced himself that he loves her," Megan explained. "And vice-versa. If he thinks we're going to be a potential danger to her, he may shoot back."
"Great," Don muttered. "Exactly what we need."
Megan shot him a look. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Don said. He ran a hand over his face. "Just wishing this case was over."
"Me too," Megan agreed.
"Hey Eppes!" Don turned. That CBI agent, Rigsby, was coming back over, eyes bright.
"We've got a location!" he exclaimed when he reached them.
"Where?" Don demanded.
"Some art studio," Rigsby said, glancing down at a piece of paper in his hand. "It's called, uh..."
"Mac's Art," Don finished.
"Uh, yeah." Rigsby looked up, blinking in surprise. "How'd you –"
"Get your guys," Don ordered him. "We know the way, you guys just follow us."
"Well, uh.." Rigsby shifted uncomfortably.
"What?" Don demanded.
"We can't find Jane," Rigsby said. "He's, uh, he's gone."
Damnit That idiot Don had told him not to run off. What had he been thinking?
Don growled to himself. "We don't have time to be looking for him right now," he said. "I have a feeling I know where we'll find him, anyway."
"You do?" Again, Rigsby looked surprised. "How?"
"We don't have time for 20 Questions!" Megan broke in. Turning to Rigsby, she said, "I don't think we need to remind you that your boss's life is on the line here."
Rigsby stiffened and sobered immediately. "I'll go get Cho. It's probably best if Jane isn't there anyway, right?"
"Yeah," Don muttered. "Now go!"
"Right, sorry!" Rigsby scampered off in the direction he had come as Don turned away and headed for the car with Megan on his heels. Once they were both in their seats, Don glanced over at Megan.
"What do you think are the chances of getting them both out alive?" Don asked as he started up the car and buckled his seatbelt.
"I'd tell you to call Charlie," Megan said solemnly. "He'd be able to tell you. But I don't think either of us really wants to know."
Damn. "That bad?"
Megan's eyes were dark. "I think you should get moving."
Don nodded and through the SUV into reverse, then sped out of the parking lot with the lights flashing and siren blaring loudly, tearing down the road so explosively that he was surprised the tires didn't set on fire.
Neither of them noticed the old fashioned car that pulled out behind the SUV, following them down the road easily.
"Come on, Teresa," Mac said gently.
"What is this place?" Lisbon asked cautiously.
"My studio," Mac said with a note of pride in his voice. "I make a better living here than I do surfing anywhere else in the world. They'll never find us here." He shot her a apologetic look and then said, "I need your handcuffs, Teresa."
Lisbon stiffened. "Why?"
"If they do find us," Mac whispered, taking her hands in his, "and your hands aren't bound in some way, then you'll get in trouble. I don't want that to happen to you."
Lisbon briefly considered kicking him where it would really hurt and running for her life, but something stopped her. Maybe it was the way Mac's eyes stared at her so pleadingly. For a moment, she could almost picture what he would be like if he wasn't a crazed stalker.
She took a deep breath, and then, before she even realized it, she was gently freeing one of her hands to pull out her cuffs and handing them to Mac.
"Thank you, Teresa," he whispered, gently closing them around her wrists. He brushed his fingers on the side of her face, and it took all of Lisbon's strength not to flinch away. Then he took her hand again.
He led her toward the door. It was dark inside, but Mac made no move to turn on the lights. Instead, he led her past the front desk and toward a door at the back of the studio. There was a sign on the door, but it was too dark in the room for Lisbon to read it. Mac pushed the door open, revealing walls covered in white sheets of paper. Some were in color, others shaded with painstaking detail.
"Look." Mac pulled down one of the papers from the wall across from the door and held it out for Lisbon to see. She swallowed hard. It was the same picture she had found in Mac's car, only drawn and shaded in black and white.
The same picture of her.
"You found the other one, didn't you?" Mac said quietly. "It should have been on the wall, but it wasn't. I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find it, so I looked in the car but it wasn't there either. You found it, didn't you?"
Lisbon swallowed. "Yeah. I did."
"What did you think?" he asked gently. His eyes were wide with anticipation.
That you're insane! Lisbon thought.
"It was nice, Mac," she said.
Mac smiled. "I knew that's what you'd say."
He started to lean forward...
"Federal agents! Freeze!"
Mac froze, and Lisbon saw him swallow hard before turning around.
He turned, one hand feeling for the knife.
"Hands up, step away from Agent Lisbon," said the agent in the, a man of average build with short black hair. There were three of them behind him, two men and one woman.
"You shouldn't be here." Mac finally felt the cold metal. Not the knife, but it would suit his purposes.
"Mac, don't," Teresa said urgently from behind him. He ignored her, wrapping his hand around the weapon.
"He's got a gun!" He saw Teresa struggle to stand up out of the corner of his eye.
"I know, Teresa," Mac snapped. "Sit down."
"Mac, don't do it!"
He ignored her again, whipping out the gun to point it directly at the agent in front. The guy didn't even flinch.
"You won't shoot me." The agent lowered his gun, sliding it into its hoster.
The female agent shot him a wide-eyed look. "Don?"
The agent ignored her, staring Mac in the eyes. "Put the guy on the ground. You don't want her to see this." He motioned towards Teresa with one hand. "Let her go."
"If I do that," Mac said, "I'll never get her back again."
Suddenly, something him in the back, hard. He stumbled and fell.
And then the world seemed to change. The air seemed heavy and thick. He couldn hear.
Mac slowly raised one hand. It was coated in red. Blood. His blood.
No.
He curled his hand tighter around the gun and forced himself to his feet. With one arm wrapped around his middle, he squeezed the trigger four times. One for each agent.
Then the world started to fade. His vision blurred at the edges, and he fell again.
He watched with satisfaction as one of the bullets hit its mark.
And so, in summary, one shot was fired from one gun, four from another, and four more by the agents. Two bodies fell, instead of the intended one, and Patrick Jane rose from behind Mac Brownfield's lifeless body. Off to take over the world, Crazy Girl
A/N: Mac voo-doo dolls for anyone who can guess who got shot. ;D