A/N: I'm probably going to focus on getting this finished as I really want to reduce the number of ongoing fics I currently have. It's getting a little bit ridiculous now and besides, this only had 2 chapters left. That being said, the next thing I'll write is an update of Better to Have Loved. Hopefully. Provided it will co-operate with me, which it hasn't been of late. Anyway. Enough moaning.
Thank you to: Divinia 'crackle' Serit, mtm, WildDaisies10, yaba, phoenixmagic1, Frogster, Koezh, Sarcasm-The Lowest Form of Wit, boutondor and Famous4it for reviewing part eleven.
Just a warning, fluff!Tracie came out to play for a while. I know, I know. Shocking. I'm putting her back in her box for a while now.
x tromana
Part Twelve - Hiding
I've been hiding from the world and from myself
It didn't take Cho long to find out where Van Pelt had rented out the room. He'd been faintly impressed, she'd covered up the best she could but still, if he could find it so easily, that meant Red John probably could too. Rigsby merely scowled at him occasionally, when he had the energy to lift his head from his hands. The taller agent had positioned himself of Jane's couch, figuring that the consultant wouldn't know or mind that he'd settled on it while Cho went about the computer work. He still couldn't believe that Van Pelt, of all people, had been Red John's mole. She'd never shown a single hint to make it even cross his mind. Hell, Rigsby would have suspected Jane himself before Van Pelt, but that may have been because he had a habit of wearing rose colored glasses when it came to the red head.
Even as they were traveling to the address that Cho had discovered, Rigsby couldn't believe it. He was still trying to work out how she'd managed to keep such a major aspect of her life secret. There were some major missing pieces to the jigsaw puzzle that he needed to get hold of before he could even comprehend such a thing. Though he hadn't clued into the secret life she'd apparently lived, had Jane? And if he had, why hadn't he told anyone? It didn't help that he didn't feel much like discussing his feelings with Cho. The Asian agent wasn't exactly the best person to be bouncing feelings off of. Sure, they could have a laugh at work, tease each other and the like but when it came to actual feelings? He was almost as bad as the boss when it came to talking about how he really felt. Besides, he probably didn't doubt Van Pelt's note purely because it was written in her handwriting, but there was nothing saying she hadn't written it under duress and been whisked away to the motel for… for, well, something. Rigsby didn't really want to think about what that something was until he actually had to. If he had to. She could still be perfectly fine and this called all be some kind of sick, twisted and early April Fool's joke.
Of course, that all changed when he cracked the door open to the dank and dingy motel room and immediately spotted Red John's trademark bloody smile, illuminated by the light coming through the slit of the curtains. Crime scenes rarely had an affect on him, but the sight of Van Pelt's butchered body, her perfect skin marred by massive slashes to her chest and abdomen, was enough to send him immediately running for the bathroom. Even Cho wore an expression slightly different to his normal deadpan look, appearing to feel a little queasy too. Despite what she had done, it was hard to disconnect Van Pelt the mole from Van Pelt the unit member and therefore, he still felt as if he was looking upon the bloodied body of one of their own.
Though he didn't vocalize it, knowing full well that Rigsby had more than enough on his mind and could well have made the same connection anyway, Cho couldn't help but grow more and more fearful for the safety of Lisbon and Jane.
Still, he had a job to do. Regardless of what Van Pelt had done, they still had to try and catch her killer despite the fact that Red John was more elusive than the rarest of the big cats in Africa. Though he knew that Red John was highly unlikely to have left any clues, he scoured the small room, looking for anything that could help them. Frowning, he spotted a small something partially obscured by Van Pelt's left hip. Pulling on some latex gloves, he carefully extracted it to discover it was a passport. Flicking it open, his eyes widened when he spotted who the owner was and he called Rigsby, who was looking paler by the second over.
"I've found something," Cho enunciated, holding the official document open so Rigsby could see the details of the owner.
"No way," Rigsby breathed, looking at the passport with an almost rapturous gaze. "If it hasn't just been planted here, when the A.G. finds out about this, he's gonna go insane."
xxx
Jane watched as Lisbon shifted uncomfortably on the mattress. In the space of two hours, she had slowly moved from her spot underneath the window onto the lumpy thing and was currently fighting against sleep. They hadn't spoken, not since Red John had called out to them and Jane wasn't even sure he wanted to. There was too much… stuff… going on and he was scared that if they started talking, then everything would seem so much more real and he wouldn't be able to keep hold of his emotional control. He was still trying to process the knowledge of who Red John was though and Jane couldn't quite believe that he'd been under his nose, almost literally for all these years. And as he was struggling with that comprehension, he didn't even want to think about what was going through Lisbon's mind. Jane sighed, knowing full well that in doing so it would irritate her, but he didn't care. He had to get out his frustrations somehow and hitting a brick wall again wouldn't help.
"How's your hand?"
Her voice was muffled by the thin down pillow that had been provided. Lisbon had buried her face into it and she hadn't even the energy to turn and face him anyway.
"What did you say?"
"Your hand. How is it?" she repeated, shifting her position slightly, just enough to make her voice more audible.
"That old thing? Fine."
"Liar."
"Hypocrite."
"You're one to talk."
He couldn't resist baiting her. Maybe he should have considering they were trapped in this makeshift prison together and couldn't exactly escape each other like usual, but still. He was getting frustrated and justifiably so. Why the hell did she have to play the tough woman all the while? It was getting ridiculous. He knew Lisbon was a private person, but really, she was allow to show some emotions sometimes rather than keeping it all hidden away. She shivered violently and instinctively pulled her limbs in closer, folding herself into a tight ball, as if that would stop heat from radiating away from her body. She'd kicked off the threadbare sheet and hadn't even noticed the fact. Hardly surprising, considering just how thin it was.
"You're cold."
"I'm fine," she replied, her voice indistinct once again.
"You know, you don't always have to act so brave," Jane stated lightly and she opened her mouth to retort, but he cut over her with ease. "Scoot over."
"What?"
"I want to lay down too."
"Thought you weren't tired?" she quipped, rather sarcastically.
"I am now," he lied.
"I don't believe you."
Despite what she said, Lisbon obliged and he curled up beside her on the mattress clearly designed for one. She didn't flinch as he wrapped an arm tightly around her waist, his bandaged hand resting on her abdomen and was relieved when she her breathing started to slow down again. This was far better than arguing, he quickly decided. Not entirely sure what was coming over him, he nuzzled his head into her neck and gently placed a few feather light kisses on the exposed skin.
"What are you doing?" she mumbled, though she didn't try and pull away.
"Kissing you. I hope you don't mind."
She shook her head gently, her hair tickling Jane's nose. It was strange, she really didn't mind. Lisbon had a feeling that even if she did mind, he wouldn't have stopped anyway. Still, she wasn't quite confident enough to suggest he kissed her somewhere which wasn't the back of her neck though. Maybe later. It felt like they were going to be trapped in the basement for the long haul, after all. And she doubted that they'd make it out of there alive, too. Lisbon took a deep breath and allowed it out again in calm, controlled manner. The prospect of imminent death made you strangely accepting of things that you'd normally shy away from, she decided.
xxx
Rigsby had bailed out on him. Cho could hardly blame him, the other agent was practically catatonic due to the reveal of Van Pelt's dual life and Cho knew that it would take some getting over. Elise, after all, had been somewhat shocked when he had announced out of the blue that he'd been deeply embroiled in gang culture once. Of course, this was slightly different. Cho had been talking about his former life, where the thing with Van Pelt was current and the taller agent was no doubt blaming himself for not picking up on the signs and potentially preventing this sticky situation. And of course, he loved the woman and was having to accept the fact that she had been doing something which they saw as being inherently evil.
So instead, Cho was going it alone. His fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly as he drove to Minelli's house in silence. It was hardly surprising. No Jane or Lisbon to argue voraciously over case points or crazy stunts, no Rigsby lamenting the fact that they'd run out of food. No Van Pelt wondering whether or not she was doing her job well enough. He shivered slightly. One team member had already fallen, though considering what she'd been doing, it was probably inevitable. Cho wondered the rest of them would get through this alive.
He'd decided to go to Minelli's because he really had no idea where else to go. The alleyway was clearly just a meet-point and the ex-director may well have left some hints, whether it be addresses or keys to locations where he could be holding Jane and Lisbon, alive hopefully. As soon as he arrived, he typed a quick message into his cell phone, organizing for it to send to the boss of the CBI provided he didn't cancel it within a day. Then, he slipped out of the black SUV, locked the vehicle and started scouring the grounds. There were no signs of any criminal activity, though the garden looked like a proverbial bombsite due to Minelli's grandson's massive array of toys having been sprawled across the lawn. Cho breathed a sigh of relief when he discovered the front door key, simply left underneath one of the few plant pots that were still in one piece. Closing his eyes, he withdrew his gun from its holster before slipping the key into the lock and entering the property. To hell with search warrants, this was his boss and Jane he was looking for.
The moment he opened the basement door, Jane and Lisbon sprang apart, having previously been milliseconds from sharing a kiss. An actual kiss, on the lips, rather than the pressing of lips to bare skin which Jane had been indulging in earlier, not that Cho knew that. Upon spotting her second in command, Lisbon breathed a sigh of relief and pushed Jane away. She was unbelievably relieved to see Cho and though he'd obviously interrupted a somewhat intimate moment, Cho was pleased that they were both still alive and well.
"Cho…" Lisbon started and somebody cleared a voice from behind him.
Seconds later, he felt the barrel of the gun pressing directly into the small of his back and he glanced over her shoulder to see Virgil Minelli scowling at him.
"Breaking and entering is a felony, Agent Cho," Minelli remarked lightly.
"And kidnapping isn't?"
"Come now, Lisbon and Jane are hardly kids. Give me your weapon and phone."
Cho glanced at Lisbon who nodded slightly and he obliged. A smile which would previously seemed engaging and friendly, but now simply appeared as a scowl erupted across Minelli's face as he took Cho's belongings and promptly deleted the message as he had done with Lisbon's a mere eight hours earlier. After handing Cho a bottle of water he pushed him lightly into the room to join the others.
That was an unexpected twist, Minelli decided as he locked and bolted the door to his basement. But he'd long since learned to expect unexpected when it came to the CBI's Serious Crimes Unit.
TBC…
