Embers

Chapter 12

A Revelation

Jane stared into Virgil's fevered eyes and knew this was the breaking point. If he answered the lunatic's question incorrectly, he'd be dead before he ever knew what the right answer should have been.

"Well, are you?"

"Have you been waiting for me?" Jane answered carefully. Virgil seemed to soften at his reply.

"I was hoping She'd send someone to me, someone who understood the Universal Mind, someone who knew what to do to please Her" Virgil said sadly. "I can't do it all by myself anymore, there's just too much corruption."

Jane relaxed fractionally. This just might go his way, if he kept saying the right things to his captor.

"I understand how you feel, because I'm outraged too. The Universal Mind speaks to so few people, I just never thought I'd meet someone else who knew Her. Let me help you. I think She meant for us to meet" Jane finished, hoping he'd done enough to ensnare Virgil.

"How could you possibly help me stop the crimes the Mayor is committing?" Virgil asked, taking the bait.

Lisbon was listening to every word. God, Jane was going to offer himself up as a sacrifice to get Virgil out of the apartment! But then how would they stop him?

"The Mayor and his staff know me, I've been there before and I promised to return his file folder to him with the evidence he doesn't want anyone to see. When the time is right, I can take you there and he won't be able to ignore us anymore" Jane suggested, hoping to gain some time.

"He doesn't know me, he'll never let me in" Virgil said with suspicion.

"The Mayor wouldn't refuse a visit from a member of our armed services. That uniform will open any door for you Billy. I guarantee it."

Virgil nodded his head as the wisdom of Jane's words sank in. The uniform was his talisman, he'd seen how people responded to Billy when he wore it out in public. Now it would get him inside the private chambers of the Mayor of Sacramento, where he'd detonate a bomb and bring Mayor Torrelli's whole shameful term in office to a halt.

"Sit down, relax, eat something Billy. You aren't alone anymore. We can make a plan and meet the Mayor tomorrow" Jane said, hoping to delay the inevitable. Tomorrow he'd be stronger.

"No! I can't let it go on any longer, not with all that filth and immorality displayed as art all over the city! Even more is going to be going up everywhere next week. It has to stop today!" Virgil barked back, angry all over again. "You'll take me over there, get me in to meet Mayor Torrelli, and I'll show him where he's going wrong, talk some sense into him" he shouted. "If not, he'll meet one of my friends here" he said, pulling a bomb out of a satchel on his belt.

The hairs stood up on Jane's arms as he gazed at the compact death device. If it dropped, rolled out of Virgil's hand, got set off accidentally...deafness would no longer matter.

Virgil turned and stared at Lisbon. A damned cop. She was a loose end he should take care of. He began to walk towards the small kitchen, his gun loose in his hand. Jane suddenly realized what the man was about to do and struggled to his feet. When Virgil got to the kitchen doorway, he raised his gun to put a bullet into Lisbon and eliminate the chance she would come after him. Jane was screaming the whole time.

"No no no! Don't do it Billy!" Jane shouted, standing up and lunging awkwardly to put himself in front of the gun to block the shot, terrified Teresa would die in front of him. He crashed into the door frame and shielded Teresa's slumped body.

"Billy, no!"

"Has to be done. She's a cop. Can't take the chance she'll come after us" Virgil said as if his will had been taken over by another.

"No she won't Billy! Look at her. You must have drugged her too much, she's so small and weak. She didn't hear anything, so why kill her? By the time she wakes up and eventually gets free, you'll be long gone. Does the Universe demand the death of this woman?" Jane shouted in a panic. If need be he'd fight Virgil for control of the gun, but he knew Virgil would win and probably shoot both of them. Words would have to replace bullets.

Virgil hesitated, looking at Jane and then Lisbon. She was tiny, out cold, no threat to his current plan. Would the Universal Mother be angered if he pulled the trigger without good cause? Then he remembered poor Mrs. Altamonte. She had only been kind to him and now she was dead, because of him. Surely the Universal Mother would be angered by another woman's death.

"She's asleep, and time's ticking by Billy" Jane said in a rush, swaying on his feet. He had to change tactics on the fly. "We can go now, like you said. If we don't, Mayor Torrelli will be gone for the day and you'll miss your chance to carry out your plan" Jane continued, desperate to save Lisbon.

Virgil had lost track of time. It was getting late in the afternoon. Perhaps this guy was right after all and killing this agent wasn't worth the trouble. But the consultant, he was useful, he would soon enough show his worth. Even if all he did was allow Billy to get inside the office of the Mayor, if he proved to be a liar, he'd die in the blast in City Hall along with Torrelli. Mind made up, Virgil pointed his gun at Jane and indicated he should start moving towards the door.

"Ok, we're going to pay Mayor Torrelli a visit. Where's the file?" Virgil asked.

A wave of relief rolled over Jane. Lisbon would live. He hadn't considered that Virgil would demand to see the file that had been taken from Torrelli's office. Now what?

"It's under lock and key and I can't get to it, but the Mayor doesn't know that" Jane said, thinking quickly. He pointed to a large white photo album of Lisbon's sitting on the coffee table.

"That will be a good substitute. He'll never know the difference and by then we'll be in his office. Sound good Billy?" Jane said, as he made his way back towards the living room and carefully reached for the album. In the kitchen, Lisbon had heard everything Virgil and Jane discussed and she wanted to scream. Her consultant was walking into a death trap to save her and she couldn't do a damned thing about it. She knew that once Jane left with Virgil, she'd be stuck here unable to help. By the time someone found her, Jane and the Mayor would be dead.

Virgil waved his gun at Jane, indicating he should head for the front door. Nodding, Jane was grateful Virgil's attention had strayed from Lisbon and back onto himself instead. He walked carefully across the small living room while Virgil stayed close behind him, then the two of them left the apartment. Lisbon immediately started to rock back and forth in her chair hoping to either loosen her bonds or to knock the chair over so that she could get to something sharp to cut through the tape on her wrists. Virgil kept his gun buried deep in Jane's back as he walked with his other hand on Jane's shoulder, pushing him towards his green van. To anyone looking out of a window, it looked like two buddies walking casually to their vehicle.

Lisbon heard the van start up and frantically rocked her chair, then stopped and looked around. There on the counter she spied the knife she had used to make Jane's sandwich earlier. She slowly hopped the chair over to the counter, taking far too long, and tried to reach the knife somehow, but it was out of reach. She couldn't stand up, couldn't pull the knife over with her chin. It was right there, inches away and she couldn't get to it. All that time had been wasted on a futile effort. Huffing with frustration she had to figure out what to do. Then her cell phone rang.

And rang.

And rang until it went to voicemail. It was Cho.

"Hey Boss, just wondering how Jane is and if you're coming in again before we quit for the day. The cleanup crew is coming in tomorrow morning so we will get all of our files relocated before they begin. Can you give me a call as soon as you can? Need to discuss a few things. Say 'hi' to Jane from all of us."

Then he was gone. Moaning with exasperation, Lisbon once again thumped and hopped across her kitchen to the far kitchen wall and began banging her chair against the wall as hard as she could. If someone next door was home, maybe they'd come over to complain about the noise. She was grasping at straws.

Jane sat in the passenger seat in the old green van as Virgil kept his gun on his prisoner. The drive over to City Hall was quiet. Virgil was deep in thought and Jane was busy trying to figure out how he and Virgil could get out of this alive, not to mention the staff at City Hall. At least Lisbon was safe. He prayed for a traffic jam.

Lisbon banged her chair against the wall and chewed at the cloth in her mouth, making it wet and slippery. Virgil had tied it very tightly and firmly in place. It seemed to take forever, but when it finally got soggy enough, she tried to pull the cloth out of her mouth by dragging it against her shoulder. It was slow and annoying but gradually she could feel it begin to slip down out of her mouth and over her chin. As soon as she could finally spit it of her mouth she began to scream at the top of her lungs. She screamed "fire" she screamed "help" she screamed "call the police" non-stop until she heard a voice at her front door many minutes later.

"Ma'am? Are you OK?" a tremulous voice called.

"I'm in the kitchen!" Lisbon shouted, hoarse from yelling.

Her stunned neighbour ran through the living room and stopped in shock upon seeing her, then sprang into action, taking the knife at Lisbon's direction and cutting through the layers of tape on her wrists.

"Give me my cell phone!" Lisbon shouted when her hands were free. As the man cut through the bindings on her ankles, Lisbon called Cho and told him what was going on. Then she thanked her amazed neighbour and ran out of the house and disappeared in her CBI SUV. The neighbour just walked to Lisbon's front door and watched Lisbon drive off, then returned to his apartment in disbelief. What the hell just happened?

Cho hung up and shouted to anyone who could hear him. Rigsby, Van Pelt, and several other agents helping to move confidential files to a new location stopped what they were doing and paid attention to Cho.

"We have a hostage situation people! That was Agent Lisbon. She and Patrick Jane were taken at gunpoint by Virgil Murdock. Jane managed to talk Murdock out of the apartment leaving Agent Lisbon tied to a chair. She was able to free herself and called to say Virgil is armed, has a bomb on his belt and is wearing an Army Captain's uniform. He believes he is now his brother, Billy Murdock. Agent Lisbon believes Murdock is going to attack the Mayor at City Hall. We have to assume that Murdock has more bombs at his disposal. Team up and let's get going. Van Pelt, call the SWAT team in and alert SAC PD. Let's go!" he commanded.

"On it Cho!" Van Pelt yelled as everyone sprang into action. Assault rifles and bullet proof vests were distributed and soon a convoy of vehicles was traversing the busy streets of Sacramento to thwart a lunatic on a mission. As they drove, Cho was on the phone calling the Mayor's office to warn them to get out, get out now! Then he methodically began to peel the gauze off his hands, not caring if it would be painful. He needed to be able to handle a gun again.

(City Hall)

The Mayor stretched and looked at the clock. There was just enough time to sign some paperwork and finish his coffee, then he could head home for the night. His wife had convinced him to attend a charity fundraiser on behalf of stray and abandoned animals after supper that night. He really didn't care about the animals, scruffy and flea infested as they were, but it would certainly look good for the cameras if he showed up and made a hefty donation. Everything was politics as far as he was concerned.

His receptionist Miss Hardy was finishing up for the day and was in a hurry to leave. This wasn't the most exciting job she'd ever had but it paid well and she hoped to snag a rich husband by rubbing shoulders with the city's elite bachelors who came by on a regular basis. She had just walked away from her desk when the phone rang. She stopped and balled her hands up into fists. Dammit! She just wanted to get the hell outta there! Hesitating for a moment, she listened to the phone ringing and made a decision.

Screw it!

She ignored the call and walked over to the elevator, pushed the 'down' button and stepped inside. Whoever was calling could just try again tomorrow. The Mayor wouldn't talk to anyone this time of day anyway.

Cho ended the call, frustrated that no one picked up. He ordered an agent to find another number he could call to alert someone in security that a situation was building and they had to get the Mayor out if he was still at work. All of this took precious time, time that was all in Virgil's favour.

(City Hall)

Virgil parked his old green van at the front of the building and got out. Jogging around the vehicle before his hostage decided to make a run for it, he yanked open the passenger side door and pulled Jane out. Slamming him up against the side of the van, he leaned in and spoke slowly and directly to the shaking man.

"Do everything that I say. Get us past security in there. Do whatever it takes or I will kill you, then I'll go back and kill that lovely Agent in her kitchen. Understand me?"

"Yes...yes I understand perfectly."

"Good. Now walk!"

Virgil walked very close to Jane, his gun jammed in his tender ribs, until they reached the Lobby of the stately old building. There was no one left in the building except an older security guard who looked bored to death. Once staff left the building, his nights were long and tedious. When Jane approached, the guard held up his hand to stop the men from proceeding to the elevators.

"City Hall is closed for the day. Sorry gentlemen. You'll have to come back tomorrow."

The gun poked deeper into Jane's side.

"Mayor Torrelli is expecting us. This is his special guest" Jane said, turning to point to Virgil, his military uniform and erect posture exuding strength and honour.

"And you are?" the guard said, eyeing the battered consultant.

Jane pulled his CBI badge out of his pocket. "Patrick Jane, Consultant with the CBI. I arranged this meeting between the Mayor and the Captain. He's waiting for us upstairs" Jane lied, praying the Mayor had left for the day.

The old guard studied the badge and Patrick's bruised and bandaged face, but let it go. These CBI officers got themselves into some scrapes apparently.

"Ok then. Enjoy your visit Captain!" the guard said to Virgil, who smiled and saluted the old guy.

Virgil once again walked closely behind Jane until they were both in the elevator.

"It's showtime!" Virgil grinned, leaning back against the wall but keeping his gun on Jane. An uneasy silence descended, with Jane feverishly thinking, trying to come up with some way to save Torrelli and himself. Time ticked by.

"What exactly do you hope to accomplish when we get up there?" Jane asked, but the lift slowed to a stop and dinged, ending their short ride upwards.

"Wait and see" Virgil said darkly, before nudging Jane forward with the end of his gun.

The elevator doors slid open and the two men emerged. No one stopped them when they entered the long, ornate Mayor's Lobby outside Torrelli's private chambers. The snippy Miss Hardy was gone, and if there was any support staff, they were somewhere else. Virgil glanced around then spotted the ornate oak doors. Pointing with his gun, he indicated that Jane should keep walking. Jane proceeded until he reached the doors, then Virgil turned his prisoner around to speak to him.

"Is this it?"

Jane nodded. There was no way out now. No one would come rushing in to save the Mayor...or Jane. Virgil knocked on the door and waited for a reply. A voice called from the other side of the door.

"Miss Hardy, if you want to go home, that's fine with me. I'll be on my way soon." The Mayor assumed his receptionist was indicating she was leaving. Virgil smiled and knocked again. Then he forced Jane to open the door and enter, whether the Mayor wanted visitors or not.

"Ahhh, excuse me Mr. Mayor...can we speak with you?" Jane said, pushing the door open and stepping in with Virgil close behind.

The Mayor craned his neck to see why his receptionist had let two people into his office unannounced.

"Where's Miss Hardy?" Torrelli asked, standing up to see who was barging in.

"She's gone for the day. Remember me? Patrick Jane, CBI. I'm returning your complaint file." He held up the white album to convince Torrelli.

The Mayor wasn't happy about being delayed, as he'd get an earful from his angry wife when he showed up late, but visitors were also voters, so he had to agree to see the Consultant again. Plus he was delighted to get his file folder back with all of its incriminating information. Since his visitors were already within the inner sanctum, the Mayor stuck out his hand in greeting.

"Ahh Mr. Jane, so nice to see you again. And who is this fine young man?" he said, grasping Virgil's hand in a meaty handshake. He was the consummate politician.

Jane turned to introduce Virgil, but realized he didn't know which name to use. Was he Virgil now, or still Billy? He took the easy way out.

"Mayor Torrelli, this is Captain Murdock. He has some concerns he wants to address with you."

The Mayor's smile slid off his face. He didn't have time for such nonsense this time of the day! They should have made an appointment like everybody else.

"I would like nothing more than to hear your opinions young man, but I'm late to a charity function my wife arranged. So sorry, but if you could just come back another day, I'm sure we can discuss whatever's on your mind Captain."

Virgil pulled his arm out from behind Jane's back and pointed the loaded gun at the Mayor's ample belly.

"Sit down Torrelli. You aren't going anywhere."

The Mayor almost fell over his own feet trying to get to his large chair as quickly as possible, while Jane stood with one hand holding the photo album and the other one up in the air, not sure how to play this out.

Across town, Lisbon was racing to the city centre with the flashing light on her SUV spinning, clearing a path through the heavy suppertime traffic. Her phone crackled to life.

"Lisbon, where are you?" Cho barked.

"On my way to City Hall. They got a good head start and I'm sure they're already there. Did you manage to alert security? Is the Mayor safe?"

"Can't raise anybody. No one knows the Mayor is in danger. We're on our own Boss."

"Cho I hope you have a plan to get Jane and the Mayor out of there alive!"

"Working on it. SWAT is on its way, same with SAC PD. I'll meet you over there."

"See you soon" she sighed and leaned into the steering wheel, willing the traffic to part to let her get there even faster.

(Mayor's Office)

Mayor Torrelli squinted accusingly at Jane, wondering why he had helped this lunatic gain entry to the his office.

"You'd better have a good explanation for this Mr. Jane. Aiding and abetting a criminal will get you a prison term when this is over, I'll make sure of it!" he huffed with indignation. Jane didn't hear a word he said, as his attention was on Virgil and his gun.

"Are you listening to me Agent?" the Mayor shouted at Jane.

Virgil just laughed and sat down in one of the visitor's chairs across from the Mayor.

"He can't hear you Torrelli. Seems the bomb I set off at the CBI building destroyed his hearing. Don't waste your breath on him."

Jane read Virgil's lips and turned to face the Mayor. "It's true - deaf as a post" he said, pointing to his ears. The thick bandage on his left ear made sense now, if it was true. The Mayor was thoroughly confused. Could the man hear or not?

"Lip reading - parlour trick but useful" Jane said simply and loudly.

Outside City Hall the SWAT team had arrived and were parked behind the stately old building, out of sight in case Virgil looked out of the window in the Mayor's office. Cho and the rest of the CBI agents drove up silently, no sirens or lights flashing to warn of their approach. Once Lisbon was half a block from her destination she killed her flashing light too. They needed the element of surprise. Soon a large group of agents, police and SWAT officers were gathered in a parking lot to plan their attack and hopefully a rescue of Jane and Mayor Torrelli.

Upstairs in City Hall, Jane was beginning to feel exhausted. In less than 24 hours, he'd been blown up, deafened, held hostage, punched in the gut, prevented Lisbon's death, and dragged across the city to get blown up again. It wasn't his best day. Virgil was busy ranting his theories about the sinfulness of the city, and how the Mayor was largely to blame for that situation. Torrelli was angry but scared and barely issued a single excuse for the liberalness of Sacramento. Then Virgil began to slip deeper into his psychosis, regaling the Mayor with stories about the Universal Mind and how She guided him, spoke to him and ultimately, demanded he correct all of the wrongs She whispered in his ear.

Torrelli knew bullshit when he heard it, being an expert bullshitter himself, and this was just too much to take seriously.

"Really? That's why you're here? Because some fantasy being up in the sky wants you to shut down art galleries and spend money on playgrounds?" Torrelli sputtered, his fear dissipating into condescension.

"Here we go…" Jane thought, reading the reckless man's lips, knowing the Mayor's outburst just might get them all killed.

Virgil shot out of his chair and rounded on the Mayor, brandishing his weapon, but much to Torrelli's surprise, he pointed it at Jane's head instead of the Mayor's. Jane froze.