Thank you for your continued reviews and comments. They are great to read. Another long chapter because so much is happening now!
You Don't Know Me
Chapter 21
Back in Chains
(CBI)
Carlson strolled back into the CBI feeling very pleased with the results of his morning. A man falsely accused was now going to be freed, and the two perps who did it would be found and punished. This was just the way he saw life, the way it should be. He would have to face his boss very soon, and his job might be in jeopardy, but now he could at least feel proud that he had helped to right a wrong that he had contributed to. Hightower was standing in the bullpen and Cho, Van Pelt and Rigsby were at their desks when Carlson arrived. Van Pelt was the first out of her desk, a look of worried expectation on her face.
"Well?" she asked.
Carlson was all smiles. "Ardiles folded! We showed him the film and the other evidence and he couldn't do anything but sign Jane's release papers."
"Excellent!" grinned Rigsby.
"Thanks man" said Cho, shaking Carlson's hand. "Much appreciated."
'Detective Carlson" said Hightower, a serious tone in her voice masking her enthusiasm about this reversal of a bad arrest. "A word please" she indicated, as she walked a short distance away from the other agents.
Carlson followed and met Hightower in the small kitchen. Rounding on the detective, Madeleine crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. This was the first time she had spoken to the man since this whole travesty bagan.
"I'll get right to the point Detective" she said evenly. "While I thank you for your efforts to set this disaster straight, I have to let you know that your reckless need to make an arrest on less than stellar investigative procedures almost got my consultant killed. What assurances can you give me that this won't happen again due to inter-agency pissing contests?" Her unwavering stare was enough to melt ice.
Carlson shifted on his feet, his happiness five minutes ago replaced by embarrassment. Hightower had every right to be furious with him, one professional to another.
"I screwed up. I admit it and no doubt my boss will be reminding me of it every day for the next year Ma'am" he said sincerely. "I didn't ask enough questions or interrogate the girl enough to find out the truth. I will be apologizing to Mr. Jane when I see him. This will be a lesson for everyone in my department back at SAC. I'm sorry" he finished, looking like a seven year old facing the principal. Madeleine had hoped to make him feel small, that was her goal, and she knew Jane could make mincemeat of the man once he came back from the hospital, so she decided to let him off the hook with a warning.
"Just remember this in the future Detective Carlson and we will get along just fine" she lectured him.
Carlson nodded and turned to go, but Hightower touched his arm to stop him. "I'll be asking Captain Burney to put a recommendation in your file for the great work you did to correct this mistake" she said with a small smile. Carlson smiled in return and shook her hand, relieved that his department and the CBI would be able to mend their differences and go forward, stronger than before.
Carlson wandered back into the bullpen and joined the other agents.
"Where's Lisbon?" asked Van Pelt, looking around the office for her boss.
"She's going over to the hospital to give Jane the good news. She couldn't get him on his phone, but he should be here soon" said Carlson, sinking down into a chair with relief.
"This calls for donuts!" said Rigsby, heading to the kitchen to grab the box he had brought in that morning.
All work stopped while the small group had a quiet celebration of their friend and partners' newly regained freedom.
(St. Marks Hospital)
The elevator bell dinged and Lisbon walked out with a new spring in her step. The staff was very busy and took no notice of her as she headed towards Jane's room. The first thing she noticed was that the guard was no longer at Jane's door. He should not leave his post. Lisbon would have to remind him of his duties and responsibilities. She knocked on the door and a woman called out to enter. Lisbon was not sure what to think as she slowly opened the door and saw a middle-aged woman reclining in the bed. Jane was gone. Making her excuses, Lisbon headed for the nurses' station.
"Mr. Jane is no longer in his room. Where did he go?"
A nurse stood up and gave Lisbon the news. "He went to prison Agent Lisbon! The prison transfer team took him out this morning and he's on his way to Harriston. He seemed so nice too" she added with embarrassment.
Lisbon was numb with disbelief. 'No no no no!' echoed through her mind as she started to run down the hallway. Jabbing the button for the elevator she was cursing under her breath. That damned Bertram! This was his doing! She should have known he had planned all along to send for the transfer team the second Jane was discharged from the hospital. She would have a screaming match with him later, but first she needed to stop that van! Once downstairs, Lisbon ignored the stares of staff and visitors as she jogged through the lobby towards the front door. As she ran for her car she placed a call to Cho. He needed to call the Warden and have the vehicle turn around and bring Jane back!
Cho was munching on his favorite donut and smirking at a tall tale Rigsby was telling when his phone rang.
"Hey Boss! How's Jane?" he started, but Lisbon cut him off.
"He's gone. Bertram called the Warden at the state prison and they picked Jane up before I could stop them!"
Cho sat bolt upright, stunned at this news, waiting for his boss to continue. "Call the Warden, explain to him that all charges have been dropped and that Jane needs to be brought back here" she continued.
"Ok, done. Where are you heading?" he asked.
"I'm going to follow the van and see if I can intercept it on the way to the prison."
"Good luck" said Cho and rang off. He stood up and went to his desk and switched on his computer to find the number he needed. Van Pelt and Rigs knew something was up so they stood by his desk to find out the latest. Cho focussed on his task and ignored the stares of his teammates and Carlson. After going through an interminable computer generated greeting, he had to jump through the digital hoops of the prison phone system. A good 5 minutes later he finally was put through to the office of the Warden. The phone rang and Cho was finally speaking to the man himself.
"Warden Kowalski, how can I help you?"
"Warden, this is Agent Kimball Cho with the CBI. A mistake has been made and Patrick Jane has been removed from St. Marks Hospital and taken by your prisoner transfer team. He was found innocent of all charges this morning and should have been set free, not taken by your men. We need you to call the driver of the van and have him turn around and bring our man back."
Kowalski leaned forward on his elbows and laughed into the phone.
"Agent Cho, is it? Now, why would I believe you? I got a call from Director Bertram himself this morning who told me that Patrick Jane was well enough to be brought to my prison, and that is exactly what I am presently doing" said the Warden with satisfaction.
Cho bit back a harsh response, but wouldn't let this travesty go unchallenged.
"Director Bertram acted hastily, before he allowed himself to be fully informed of the latest directive from the prosecutor, Osvaldo Ardiles. Ardiles signed the papers himself to set Mr. Jane free, all charges dropped. Now if you do not release our man, we will be charging you, and your guards, with kidnapping and forcible confinement. He is being held against his will by you Warden Kowalski. Do you really want the legal mess that is about to hit you?" Cho was bluffing about the kidnapping charge, but he hoped it would frighten the Warden into action.
Kowalski couldn't believe the balls on this guy! Threatening him with kidnapping and forcible confinement charges? Who the hell did he think he was?
"Put me through to Bertram, now!" he yelled at Cho.
"I can do that, just hold…" said Cho. He stood up and stalked out of the bullpen, the other agents trailing behind like ducklings.
Cho knocked on Bertram's door and opened it before Bertram had a chance to answer.
"What is it Cho, I'm busy!" said Bertram with annoyance at Cho's rude interruption.
"Take a look at this, then take the call on line 2" said Cho cryptically, placing a paper on the Director's desk.
"What the hell?" said Bertram, angry but curious now. He gazed down at the paper signed by Ardiles that stated that all charges against one Patrick Jane had been dropped. Jane was a free man. Or should have been if he, Bertram, had just listened to Lisbon earlier today. Cho glared at him and waited.
Bertram blushed a self-conscious red and looked at Cho. Not giving the man a chance to spew some crap to explain himself, Cho just pointed at the phone.
"Line 2."
Bertram picked up the phone and ventured a greeting, not liking Cho's insolence one bit.
"Director Bertram"
"Director, what is all this bullshit your Agent just told me about Patrick Jane being exonerated? Is he or is he not under arrest for aggravated kidnapping? Because if you got me pulled into some shit storm of your making Gale, so help me.." he ranted.
"Warden Kowalski, Ben, slow down!" Bertram cooed into the phone, tap dancing around the issue as fast as his black soul would allow him. "There has been a terrible mistake made, my Agent was correct. Now no one is to blame, but these things happen."
"Do you have the court order Gale?"
"Right in my hand Warden. I suggest you radio your van driver and have him pull over. I'll make sure one of my people meets your driver on the highway and then Mr. Jane can be handed over with a minimum of fuss."
"If this goes badly Bertram it's on your head" fumed the Warden, not liking to look like a fool.
"What could go wrong? We'll have Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon come out and meet the van herself, how would that be?" he soothed the angry man.
A moment later Kowalski caved in and agreed to these outrageous circumstances. He agreed to call the van driver and would explain what to expect. Kowalski didn't want the driver to shoot Agent Lisbon under the mistaken belief she was busting a prisoner out of the van illegally.
"Thanks so much Ben, nice talking to you. Say hello to the wife" said Bertram as he hung up. Cho grabbed the paper and started to walk out of Bertram's office.
'Agent Cho!" Bertram called out. Cho turned and stared at him with a venomous expression.
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. This was a terrible and unfortunate incident that I am sure we all are happy has been corrected. Dismissed."
If Cho's look could have caused physical harm, Bertram would have been a smoking pile of ash before the agent slammed the door shut on his way out.
Lisbon was racing just over the speed limit on the highway going out of town when Cho's call came. He quickly explained what had transpired and that she should expect the guards to cooperate with her once she located the prison van. She drove on, sure that she would soon see the distinctive vehicle up ahead.
(Prison Transfer Vehicle)
Jane sat on the hard metal bench seat and swayed with the movement of the van. His guard looked as bored and unhappy to be trapped in this small space as Jane was. A second guard sat up front, next to the driver, a shotgun in his hand. He kept a close eye on his prisoner in a large mirror that showed Jane behind the mesh grill at all times. The van was hot, with no windows to open and admit a breeze. Within ten minutes, Jane was dripping with sweat, his clothes sticking to his body. He had dressed in a 3 piece suit that Lisbon had brought to the hospital, not thinking that he would need the grey prisoner jump suit again, at least not for a while. Patrick gazed down at his hands, held tightly together by the steel cuffs. He shook his head despondently, knowing his treatment upon arriving at the prison would be cold and calculating, his institutionalization beginning within the first minute. He would cease to be a person, and would instead become a numbered commodity. He didn't want to think about the physical examination he would have to undergo, all pride and privacy violated by strangers' eyes. He would be told to strip, shower with horrid soap that would leave him itchy all over, then spread'em, and open his mouth, to show he had no drugs or weapons on or in his person. As if he had hidden something while still a patient! Fingerprinting and photos would be taken, then a number would be assigned, his number until his trial. Having heard nothing from Lisbon that morning about the stakeout the previous night, he had to assume Cho and Rigsby didn't meet Murf, and the evidence they so desperately hoped to find had not been discovered. So, it was prison now. Ardiles had not dropped his charges. The coming weeks and months were going to be hard to endure, but he had to do the best he could. He couldn't let Lisbon see him feeling betrayed, or worse yet, defeated. But here he was again, a prisoner in every sense of the word. He could think of several men he had caught and sent to prison in just the last year alone. Would they be at Harriston State Prison? The chances were good that many of them would be and he would be on their turf now without anyone to protect him. He would have to stay in his cell as much as possible to keep trouble to a minimum. Jane's mind was spinning with the possible scenarios of life in prison even before he was sent to trial. If he was found guilty, well then, he was entering into a whole new world of danger. As he was mulling all of these depressing thoughts over in his mind, a change in the speed of the prison van caught Jane's attention. He craned his neck to see what was going on.
The driver of the van slowed down and took a cell phone call. So much for following the rules of the road Jane smirked. The driver seemed very agitated and stole a glance at Jane while he argued loudly into the phone. Whatever was being discussed, Jane felt it was another bad thing coming his way. The phone call ended and both guards looked at him in the mirror, a hurried discussion going on between them with much hand waving and angry words. 'God, what now' Jane worried. The van seemed to slow down some more, and Jane gradually became afraid of what would happen if the van stopped altogether, miles from the prison. His feeling of vulnerability just went up a notch.
Lisbon drove like she was going to a fire, determined to pass every car in her way. A half hour later she spied the large vehicle pulled up on the side of the road at a comfort station. She felt the perspiration on her palms as she pulled in alongside the large van, the guards sitting like statues inside the vehicle. As she stepped out her SUV, the driver glared at her and held his weapon a bit tighter. This whole event seemed like an attempt to break the prisoner free. He saw stuff like that in the movies all the time.
Jane had felt the transfer van drive off the road and stop. He couldn't see what was going on outside but his guard's rigid body language told him something unplanned was happening. That ramped up the adrenaline in the tight space and Jane just hoped it would not end in him getting shot in all the confusion. A knock came on the back door and his guard visibly tensed up, lifting his gun closer to his chest. Then the door opened. The driver stood at the open door and spoke to the guard standing fearfully in the dark interior. Both men then turned and looked at Jane, shaking their heads in disbelief. Finally his guard approached Jane and bent down to unlock the chain joining his handcuffs to the ring in the floor. He grunted at Jane and indicated he should leave the van. With sweat now pouring off his face and down the hollow of his back, Jane approached the doorway and stared out into the blinding sun, not able to see in the brightness. Was he going to be shot here in some dismal hidden location, his body found weeks from now with a bullet hole through his head? With a final shove from behind, Jane almost fell out of the van and steadied himself upon stepping onto the dusty ground. He looked over his shoulder and saw his guard still holding his weapon. The van driver stepped away and made way for someone else now. Every nerve in his body was tingling as Jane prepared to plead for his life. As the footsteps got closer, Jane thought he was having an hallucination when he saw Lisbon's smiling face beaming at him. No, it must have been the heat, he was really seeing a vision. Raising his cuffed hands to his eyes to wipe the sweat out of them, he saw the Lisbon-vision suddenly frown and bark out an order.
"Take those handcuffs off Mr. Jane immediately! He is free to go and not your prisoner" said a familiar voice. The guard closest to Jane stepped forward and uncuffed him, taking back the steel restraints and pocketing them. What was going on?
"Lisbon? What are you doing here?" Jane asked, too overwhelmed to say anything else.
'I'm taking you to Marie's for tea and blueberry muffins Jane. Unless you prefer to stay here with these gentlemen" she smiled, holding out her hand for him to join her. Shaking his head in confusion, Jane smiled broadly and stepped forward, taking her hand, half expecting to be thrown to the ground at any moment by the nearest guard. No one stopped them as they walked quickly towards the CBI SUV. Jane hopped into the passenger seat and buckled up while Lisbon had a few last words with the men from the prison. A minute later she was behind the wheel and pulling out onto the highway. Jane turned and waved a bright goodbye to the three prison guards as they watched their prisoner disappear down the road in the opposite direction.
Jane sat facing Lisbon as she drove towards the city, a large smile of accomplishment on her face.
"So tell me, what the hell just happened?" said Jane, completely confused but happy to be shackle free.
"Bertram filled out your prison transfer paperwork knowing I wouldn't. Then as soon as your doctor discharged you, Bertram called the Warden and his men came to pick you up."
"But my arrest… " began Jane, still not realizing he was now a free man.
"We found Murf, and he has proof that you were framed. Ardiles agreed to drop all charges against you this morning. I tried to call you but you didn't pick up" explained Lisbon.
"Oh. Yes. The guards wouldn't let me take your call. If I had, they would never have taken me" he said with chagrin. Timing is everything, as they say.
"I tried to tell Bertram all the charges had been dropped but he wouldn't listen. He's the reason you were on your way to the Federal prison Jane" she continued.
"Huh… Bertram. Well I'm sure he will come to regret that decision" said Jane cryptically. Lisbon didn't say anything but was content just this one time to let Jane find some way to torture Bertram due to his betrayal. Just how and when it happened would be a delicious surprise.
"So I'm a free man?" Jane asked again, just to clarify.
"Yup."
"Well that's lucky" he grinned at her.
Jane looked out his window and basked in the sun, the air conditioning cooling him down as each mile passed. Cho and Rigsby had found Murf! That was wonderful news. So much had happened in the last 12 hours. Jane felt out of the loop but he would correct that situation once he got back to the office. But first, a real breakfast at Marie's with Lisbon! A shower would follow in the gym then a fresh set of clothes before he was ready to face the world again. His freedom certainly changed his plans in a big way, but he needed to use his freedom to snare Boyd and Carol. He got busy thinking about how best to lure them out of hiding, exposing themselves to arrest by Lisbon and her team.
Twenty minutes later Lisbon pulled into the parking lot of Jane's favourite shop, the scent of fresh baking lifting their spirits even higher as they strolled towards the quaint little shop. Work and stress took a back seat to sugar and carbs, caffeine and sticky fingers. It was a great day to be free again!