A/N1: I'm so sorry for the long wait! And this chapter isn't that long either but I wanted you to see that I'm still working on this story and that I haven't abandoned it, so I decided to post it as soon as possible. First I was very busy in the weeks before Christmas and then I managed to start the new year with being really sick. All of that left me with zero writing time. But now I'm back in the game. I think, I won't be able to post chapters as long as I used to do before but I will try to update this story on a regular basis again. And I will finish it - I promise! I've never left a story unfinished and this one won't be the first either...
A/N2: I know that this story feels pretty AU now that we've seen how canon Jisbon act. At first it felt a bit strange to write them my way after seeing them in canon, but I've gotten over that and I hope that you'll all still be able to enjoy my version despite it being quite different from season 7. And in some respects I tend to think that I'm not too far off - especially when it comes to Jane and Lisbon dealing with their issues and finally being open and communicate with each other. Anyway, this story has a life of its own and I still enjoy writing Jane and Lisbon my way...
This Is Not A Drill – Twenty-One
The next morning before both Lisbon and Jane left for their day at the university, they had a long talk on the phone with Abbott.
"I've been unable to find out who this Jane Smith woman is working for," Abbott told them. "I have reason to believe that neither Homeland Security, nor the CIA or another agency is behind this. I must say that this worries me greatly. I'm close to calling off the whole operation."
"Don't be too hasty, Dennis. I don't think, we're out of options yet. I suggest, you do your usual cop-thingy first," Jane replied.
"The usual cop-thingy?" both Lisbon and Abbott repeated, confusion in their voices.
Jane nodded which – of course – only Lisbon was able to see. "Yep. The usual cop-thingy. Follow the money trail."
"What money trail, Jane?" was the shared, impatient reaction of the two agents.
Jane sighed theatrically. "Am I the only one using their brains this fine morning?"
Abbott heard a thud through the line and then a distinct "Ouch!" from his consultant. "I hope, that hurt," he told Jane through the phone.
"It did," Jane informed him, but the grin audible in his voice cast serious doubt on the veracity of that statement. "Well, as you two fine agents seem to prefer using your brawn rather than your brains, I'll help you out," Jane announced merrily. "I suggest that someone pay a visit to one Miss Sandra Jennings. She's the person who was supposed to have that spot on the program. I presume that her situation made her the easiest target for whomever wanted to sneak in that hapless cop."
Jane took a deep breath and grew very serious. "There's probably no one on that program who deserves that chance more than her. Sandra is a single mother of three. Her husband died of cancer three years ago and left her with debts – hospital bills and such. She did great in high school but took custody of her older sister's son when she turned 19, which made it impossible for her to get any further education. Her sister was a serious drug addict and died not long after giving birth to the child. The father of the boy is unknown. Furthermore, her oldest boy – the nephew she took in – is a special needs child. Brain damage caused by the birth-mother's drug abuse during pregnancy." Jane sighed before he added, "Sandra almost didn't accept her spot on the program because of all of that. Only the knowledge that she could take as much time as she needs to conclude her studies made her reconsider in the end. Took some serious persuasion. I guess, she was easy prey to anyone offering her money. Can't blame her."
"I see," was Abbott's short reply. He was both irritated with himself for not making the obvious money connection himself and moved by Jane's words. "I'll have Cho pay her a visit."
"But tell him to go easy on her, please."
"Will do, Jane – no worries. She's just a lead, not a suspect after all," Abbott said gently.
"I will talk to the members of the committee who picked out the candidates for the program," Lisbon chimed in. "I doubt, they've been informed of the change considering that Jane – or his alias Jacob Parks on the committee – didn't know. I'll make some discreet inquiries. Maybe one of them knows something. Whoever sneaked in Smith must've known, they wouldn't get away with replacing a candidate who'd been approved by a whole committee just like that." After a moment of pondering, she added, "I am supposed to be the liason between everybody involved in the program and even I haven't been informed of any changes. The lady just meets up instead of the original one and they assume that no one will ask questions? That really shows what a sloppy job this is."
"Well then, you two. You go about your day as planned and I'll call you in case we find out anything. Have a nice one," Abbott concluded the call.
"Bye, boss," Lisbon replied, accompanied by Jane's "Have fun, Dennis."
Lisbon spent her morning in "her" office on campus, splitting her time between offering help to the second chancers and making phone calls. She found out that, indeed, no one had been informed about Jennings having been replaced. Actually, Lisbon had to try and appease quite a few outraged professors and experts who were beyond angry that someone had just overruled their committee's decision. And even if Jennings had willingly given up her spot – there were several people on a waiting list and none of them answered to the name Smith. Lisbon/Tallinn promised them to get to the bottom of things and would inform them of her findings. She asked them all to keep quiet for the time being. The last thing they needed was attention at this point.
By the time her lunch break came around, she released a big sigh of relief at having everything under control, and with a lopsided grin of amusement she thought that working with Jane for more than a decade had truly turned her into an expert when it came to appeasing enraged people in important positions. She should probably add that to her resumé, she decided… And thinking of the devil – a certain Daniel James knocked on her office door just a moment later and invited her to eat lunch with all the second chancers. Furthermore, the sly fox had somehow arranged for all of them to gather outside and was asking coordinator Tallinn to take a group photo. With a satisfied smile and a sudden – albeit not grantable – urge to kiss the hell out of her smart boyfriend, she took several pictures, making sure to zoom in on Jane Smith who oozed discomfort. She sent the shots to Wylie right afterwards. Hopefully this would help them find out more about the 'intruder'.
Lisbon covertly watched Jane all throughout lunch and she could see that he was having a blast. He wasn't even trying to be at the center of attention but he indisputably was and relished it too. The group had implicitly chosen him as their ringleader and he did a great job including everyone in the conversation. She listened to the students sharing their impressions from their first two seminars. It was especially interesting because the group had so very different timetables and had been to quite a variety of courses. She knew from her talks with them that there were a few seminars that several of them were taking together, like An Introduction To Literature Studies, but for the rest they had chosen a lot of different subjects. Also Jane was listening with rapt attention, probably mostly for the information they unknowingly revealed about the different professors. Jane could only be at one place at a time after all, and though he had picked his courses/professors with a list of his prime suspects in mind – he didn't have enough information yet to rule out the others for good.
The late afternoon brought a break in the case. Abbott called Lisbon and asked her to try and find Jane and come to the FBI offices as soon as possible. Both Cho's visit to Sandra Jennings and the photos Lisbon had taken of Jane Smith had paid off
Fortunately, Jane's last seminar of the day was about to end and she waited for him outside the lecture hall. "Mr. James? You got a moment? There's some last formalities to deal with. Somehow, your social security number seems to be missing from the files."
"Oh?" he greeted her with a grin. "Can't have that, can we? Lead the way, Mrs. Tallinn."
Careful so they wouldn't be seen leaving the campus together, they made it to her car. Lisbon informed him of Abbott's call and both were brimming with curiosity by the time they'd arrived at the Austin FBI Field Office.
The supervising agent already awaited them in the bullpen and also the rest of the team was gathered there.
"The picture of 'Jane Smith' has gotten results," Abbott informed them immediately, pointing to the information on the monitors behind him. "Her real name is Lydia Hathaway and she is a low level street cop normally working for Houston PD."
Jane snorted. "Yep, that sounds about right."
Abbott nodded in agreement before he went on, "Incidentally – or not – her uncle is senator Hathaway, a man with important connections but not many friends. Our team crossed paths with him a few months ago – not really in person, but we've obviously ruffled his feathers during our investigation into that murder at a certain Foragers' Club."
"The victim was a gay woman named Madison Pryce, right?" Jane asked though he already knew the answer. A little smile crossed his lips at the memory of a little magic show he'd done at the club with the help of a very lovely assistant. It had been one of the best moments between him and Lisbon during their otherwise horrible phase of estrangement and it had given him a lot of comfort back then.
Again the supervising agent nodded. "Turns out that senator Hathaway was a member of that club, also of the infamous 'Fishing Club' on the grounds. And the attention our investigation brought to the club and certain practices taking place there that belied the 'gentlemen only' policy of it, well – turns out it had a negative impact on his marriage."
The team members exchanged knowing looks before their boss continued. "I have no idea through which channels he's found out about our undercover mission and Jane's involvement, but we do know that he paid Sandra Jennings a visit. In person." He motioned for Cho to take over.
"He bought Jennings's spot on the program and her silence with some much needed money," Cho informed them. "Placed a few threats too for good measure. It wasn't easy to make her talk. She's afraid. Can't say, I blame her. I only got her to talk when I mentioned the name Hathaway. It was a lucky coincidence that Wylie had just texted me the new information we got from those photos. The poor woman was in tears. I promised her, she wasn't in any sort of trouble."
Seeing an outright angry expression on Jane's face was a rare occasion because he was such an expert at masking his true feelings. But this whole matter felt personal to him. He'd created that program. Had invested weeks of work into it. He'd made sure that the places would go to people who really deserved the chance. And now that self-important politician just went ahead and destroyed it all for some petty, personal reasons. And he was also seriously endangering a mission that was of great importance to national security. Jane was seething.
A calming hand on his thigh brought him out of his furious thoughts and Lisbon also cast him an imploring and pointed look. It wouldn't do for Jane to lose his cool again in front of the boss – not after his outburst the day before. So Jane took some deep breaths and gave her a small smile and a reassuring glance. In a cold, but controlled voice he said, "And Hathaway obviously recruited his hapless niece for the job with the promise to help her along with her career in exchange for her services. I bet, the woman has tried to get a promotion that will get her off the streets for years but she just isn't cut out for it, right?"
Abbott confirmed that with yet another nod. "Judging from her service record she will never go far within the force. Would take a miracle."
"Or a well connected uncle," Jane muttered under his breath.
"How do we deal with this, boss?" Lisbon inquired. "I mean, we can't risk the whole operation. And what exactly is Hathaway's agenda anyway? Payback?"
Abbott took over again at that. "I suggest that we don't do anything until I've talked with our contacts in the Departments of Education and Justice tomorrow. I'll be meeting both Secretaries for lunch. We need to find a discreet solution for this and we need to find out, who Hathaway got his information from. That's probably something for their internal affairs divisions. And yes – we need to find out what senator Hathaway's objective is. I expect that the two department heads will be very interested in finding out and I hope, we'll get full political support when we question the senator. I'll deal with all of that. Now, the most important matter is to remove Lydia Hathaway from the program in a way that doesn't endanger our mission."
"Jane had some pretty good ideas how we could turn this to our advantage, actually," Lisbon offered.
"Care to share with the class, Patrick?" Abbott asked his consultant with a wink.
Jane grinned and went ahead, telling them what he'd come up with the previous day. How he thought, they could use this whole mess to alleviate any suspicion their spy may be having about this new study program which offered such easy access to someone on the spy's trail. That removing the obvious undercover cop after making sure that their spy had identified her as such, would make the spy feel safer than ever and clever, maybe even over-confident, for figuring it all out. Thus their spy would lay to rest their initial suspicion about the program which would make it a lot easier for Jane/James and Lisbon/Tallinn to figure out who their culprit was. Now, as Jane explained, all they had to do was making sure that the hapless Miss Smith would be removed in such a way that it would send the right message to their spy.
"Good thinking, Jane," Abbott said when the consultant had finished. "You and Lisbon – try to come up with a way to accomplish that. That's right up your alley, I suppose. Maybe Cho can be of assistance too? Other than that – just go about your days at the university for the time being and let's hope that Miss Hathaway doesn't do anything overly stupid until we're ready to expose her on our own terms. I'll keep you informed about my end of things. Okay, everybody – let's call it a day."
"So, how did you like your first seminars?" Lisbon inquired when they sat together on the couch in their living room a couple of hours later, sharing Chinese take-out for dinner.
"Well, it's mostly been organizational stuff so far, about the curriculum, what the professors expect from us, dates for exams, things like that. Not so much about the subjects yet. But I may be onto something already. It's just a hunch so far but there's something fishy about one of the professors," Jane replied.
Lisbon looked up from her chicken noodles. "Really?" she asked after she'd swallowed. "You have a lead already? Wow!"
"Nah, not a lead as such," he said. "Just a feeling."
"It's a Jane hunch though," she stated. "That's nearly as good as solid proof."
He grinned. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Lisbon. But for all I know, the guy could just be involved in something dirty but entirely mundane. I need to see more of him. Hadn't planned to immerse myself in that particular subject but maybe I should develop a sudden, deep interest in economics."
"This isn't about that creepy guy? The one you suspected of having the hots for me after that faculty meeting we went to?" she inquired warily.
Jane chuckled. "You know, there's more than just one professor in that department, right? And no – it's not about that unremarkable bore whose only saving grace is his excellent taste in women."
"So, the one you suspect now – he didn't stand out to you at that meeting?" Lisbon asked, deciding to ignore his remark.
Jane took a hearty bite from an egg roll and chewed blissfully. Then he explained, "Oh, he stood out in a way. That's why I chose to attend his course in the first place. He kept in the background during the faculty meeting but he did it sort of in a different way than the others who kept a low profile. And my first session with him just intensified that odd vibe. Hard to describe. " With a smirk he added, "Call it a Jane hunch, if you want."
She rolled her eyes. "So what seminars are you most looking forward to?" she inquired, trying to get back to her original question.
"You mean, if we ignore the case for a moment?" he asked to ensure that that's what she wanted to know. Lisbon nodded. "Well, An Introduction To Literature Studies is something I have a great personal interest in. And in addition, I expect to have a lot of fun with the professor. Henderson so doesn't want us second chancers there. Can't wait to mess with him," Jane admitted with a devious grin.
Lisbon groaned. "I'll be prepared to receive a complaint about you from him then."
"You better be. And I should probably warn the dean too." Jane put the rest of the egg roll into his mouth and leaned back on the couch with a self-satisfied expression.
Lisbon shrugged and thought to herself 'What the hell. Might be entertaining. And it's just pretend anyway…' and snuggled into him with a smirk of her own.
His arm came around her shoulders. "That's the spirit, my dear," he whispered into her ear, having read her reaction as precisely as he almost always did. "Let's mess with the guy together. He's such a stuck up prig – he deserves it. And I bet, he sucks at his subject too."
"And speaking of sucking…," he added seductively and started to nibble on her earlobe. She snorted but couldn't stop her body from reacting to his closeness and his low voice in her ear. It gave her goosebumps all over.
"You're a dirty old pig, Jane," she moaned.
"It's entirely your fault, Teresa. Just so you know it: I used to have a rather celibate kind of lifestyle until you came my way," he teased her while his hand was busy getting under the hem of her shirt.
"Oh shut up, Jane," she managed to mutter in-between moans.
"Make me," he challenged her. She got the hint, turned her head in his direction, and pulled his head down for a kiss.
The ended up making out on the couch like a pair of randy teenagers, Jane on his back with Lisbon lying on top of him. When they came up for breath, clothes crumpled but still mostly in place, she looked him deep in the eyes, taking in his happy, smiling face. "This is kind of nice," she announced. "I mean, I like you even better naked and all, but this fooling around thing is nice too."
He caressed her cheek. "Yes, it is," he agreed. "It's exciting to be touched through your clothes sometimes." She squeezed his pant covered erection for emphasis and made him groan. "Yes, that's what I meant," he said.
"There's just one tiny problem," she said in a low, enticing voice.
"Really?" he inquired breathlessly.
"Yes," she replied with a nod. "I want this," she squeezed him again, "to go places. That's hard to accomplish this way. Sorry for the bad pun." She giggled.
He groaned again and then eyed her sternly. "That, my love, is certainly not a TINY problem."
She giggled again and pecked him on the nose. "How would I know? You keep it hidden so well in your pants after all."
"I so love that little giggle of yours," he mumbled lovingly. "Drives me wild too." In one quick move he got up from the couch with her still in his arms and then motioned for her to stand on her own feet. Impatiently he held out his hand for her to take, already on his way towards the stairs. "Come oooooon, Lisbon," he whined. "I want to hide it some place else."
They raced each other to the bedroom, giggling and laughing like children. And they left a trail of clothing items in their wake because at some point along the way stripping had been added to their little competition. Jane was only wearing his boxer shorts and one sock, Lisbon nothing but her bra. Jane was in the lead but with a triumphant "I win!" she outpaced him by mere inches with a resolute jump onto the bed.
"You're a mean little cheat, agent Lisbon," he said with a wide grin. "I love that about you."
"Now what's my prize gonna be?" she asked playfully, beckoning him over to her with her finger.
"What would you want it to be?" he inquired, wriggling his eyebrows. "Maybe I have something you may like?"
"Maybe you should finally stop hiding it and show me?" she suggested with another giggle. Then she shook her head at her own foolishness. "Gawd, why do I feel so giddy and silly right now?"
Jane shed his shorts and sock and crawled over to her. "Just go with it, honey. You're allowed to be silly once in a while," he said with an indulgent smile. "And I love seeing you so carefree. It's adorable, really."
She pouted a bit. "I'm an officer of the law, Jane. I don't do adorable."
"Oh yes, you do," he whispered and covered her with his body, his lips seeking out hers.
Lisbon had no recollection of how and when he'd done it but a few seconds into the kiss she noticed that her bra was gone. The words 'magic hands' flitted across her brain for a moment but were wiped out by exploding stars when first several probing fingers and then a bigger object filled her core. Coherent thought was replaced by pure feeling for the next few minutes.
After their rather long and frisky foreplay, their actual intercourse was hard and fast that night. She loved to be in control when they had sex but she also loved it – maybe even a bit more though she wouldn't admit it – when he called the shots. But this time, they just both surrendered themselves to the moment, to their pleasure, to each other, and let primal instincts lead the way. He came before her which didn't happen often because he was an extremely generous lover. The sight of him in the throes of his release was a massive turn on for her and with a little extra stimulation to her clit by her own hand it made her follow him moments later.
He turned them over so she was on top of him while they tried to regain their breath. He stroked her backside and hugged her close during the whole time. Also this was an occurrence that didn't happen very often. Patrick Jane was a serious cuddler, no doubt. He loved to touch her, to snuggle into her or with her whenever he could get away with it. But directly after the act he usually just held her. She liked this change, enjoyed the way he couldn't seem to get enough of her that night. Making love with that man would never become boring, that she was sure of.
With a deep sigh of utter satisfaction and contentment she just lay on top of him, her ear resting over his still fast beating heart. One of her hands found its way into his hair and started playing with his slightly damp but still silky curls. She loved doing that and he loved it when she did it. Life was good in the Jane-Lisbon household.
TBC
I am still very interested in your thoughts and opinions. I'm not entirely sure, I replied to the last reviews, but that's not due to lack of interest but was caused by other factors. I apologize for my slackness!