I know, it's been a while, sorry -_-. I won't make it last three months next time ^^'. And I also have the feeling I have replied twice to some and nothing to others…if it's the case, sorry I'll do better next time ^^"

Thanks to Sweetylove30; Enjoy; s-damon-s; 13 Jo; Viviskilener-jisbonist4ever; Nyah; piratemonkey06; STVVGHPDWMfan for their reviews :D. thanks for the alerts and favorite too ^^

And thanks to NAVAR for betaing this :3

Disclaimer: the usual :P

Guardian Angel

24

John stood in the entrance and glanced at his cell phone. The text he had received a few hours ago had put him in good mood, but the happy feeling was threatening to fade away if he didn't get a confirmation soon. As if answering his thoughts, his phone rang, signaling he had received a text. A quick look at the message, and he groaned in annoyance. The police had caught another of his guys. Damn. His business had been working so well until recently.

A few months before, everything was going fine. His influence was expending, money was floating, his allies in high-school or CBI were acting freely. But then, the falling started. Teresa had her rebellious moment and escaped from his claws with the help of that damn redhead -who had survived the shooting somehow. Then, cops found out who were his partners, arrested them and paralyzed a part of his traffic. He suspected that teacher, Mr Cho, to be an officer undercover, but without any spies left inside to confirm it...Now he was on the run, his face known by most police officers, and his undetected moles were doing the best they could to stay out of trouble. He wouldn't rely on them anyway. To get the favors of their bosses, those sneaky snakes might turn their backs on him. He only had a few reliable people, including the one who sent the news concerning his dear ex, but to regain the reputation he had a few months ago, he would have to work hard.

His phone buzzed again and this time, it was good news. So Teresa and her redhead girlfriend were out with two other guys for a night in town? He smirked. That was not a wise move, coming from a girl who knew the face of many of his associates. Especially if the trial condemning his partners was starting so soon. Many people wanted her skin because they knew how...dangerous she could be to them. But then, maybe she didn't realize how important her testimony could be. Red John was quite sure the cops didn't realize it either since they hadn't put her into some program. His moles would have told him. Right now, he didn't have a damn clue where she could be located. It was not for lack of trying...

Pushing the thoughts aside, the young man put his hood on and walked away from his spot. This neighborhood was quiet and his tenant didn't ask questions. Not that she could see his face anyway; Rosalind Harker was blind after all...and very easy to flirt with. John smirked, thinking he could afford to rest for a while. No-one would find him in here anyway. As for Teresa, he only needed to inform his 'friends' about her plans for the evening. The word would spread like wildfire, and within the hours she set a foot in town, she wouldn't be a problem anymore.

-GA-

Teresa stared in great dilemma at the set of clothes spread over her bed. Grace had told her earlier to wear casual, but she didn't want to show up in a tank top and lousy trousers. It wasn't like she had many good clothes to begin with, but she couldn't make up her mind: would the white shirt go better with the dark pair of jeans, or should she rather wear that black skirt? But then, maybe she should take the green top to go with the skirt, although that one would fit with the jeans too...or should she put on the grey-ish outfit?

A loud knock on the door almost made her jump. Grace entered without given permission and raised a brow immediately when she spotted the mass of clothes.

"Uh...we're not going out on a double date you know, just bowling and grab something to eat."

Teresa frowned:

"I didn't know we were out bowling."

"Mah, that thing in down-town is soon going out of business so they lowered the price. And it was either that or karaoke and I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of Wayne; I can't hold a tune.

The dark-haired chuckled and turned back her attention over the bed. If they were bowling, she'd take the jeans and the green top; they were way more comfortable if she had to move around. Her picking up made the redhead grin.

"So, hoping you'll find a hot guy to flirt with?"

The petite brunette shrugged.

"I don't know. Guess I'll see once I'm there, uh?"

While she had her back turned, Grace's lips formed a thin line. Only two hours had passed since she had that bomb dropped on her. Perhaps it was too soon to drag Teresa outside. She barely had time to digest the news...

"I'll be fine." Teresa said, still turning her back to her. The redhead stared at her friend in mid-surprise. How did she know what was going through her head? "I can feel your worry from here Grace, but seriously." she shot a reassuring smile over her shoulder. "I'm fine."

Her friend nodded reluctantly and decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. While she knew Teresa could not have...recovered so quickly, she couldn't be watching over her all the time. Once the mission was over... Grace bit her lower lip in wonder. She hadn't really given a second thought about it, but she had to keep in mind this situation was temporary. After the trial, when Jane would be released from duty and given his freedom back, they'd basically had to start over from nothing. The blond man wasn't exactly paid for his job, and the little money she had earned would definitively not be enough to assure both a decent living. Especially if she wanted to fix her baby. Or buy another one.

Pushing the thoughts aside, Grace settled to focus on her main priority right now; getting ready for an awesome night and make sure that 'fine' little stubborn friend of hers had the time of her life.

-GA-

From his window bedroom, Jane watched the car starting and driving away from the house. So tonight, Grace and Teresa were partying. He sighed and turned back to his mirror. A few minutes earlier, Hightower had warned him about his protégée's change of status, and worry kept eating him. He hadn't told Grace about it, figuring she deserved some space from him too. Teresa's lifeline was likely to be ended, according to her file, in two days. Any other day, he would have just tailed them all along, making sure they were fine, but he didn't feel like it. It wasn't like she only had just a few hours left and needed permanent surveillance and even if she did, he'd definitively the danger coming. Right now, the man just wanted to rest a few hours.

His talk with the young woman had pretty much drained his energy, and he couldn't get her hurt expression out of his mind. Grace was right to punch him. He had deserved it, and even more.

His cell phone rang, and he reluctantly picked up.

"Jane."

"It's Cho." Of course it was. Who would call him at this time of the evening? "I need to speak to Lisbon."

The blond man glanced outside where the gray Toyota was stationed a few minutes earlier.

"Sorry she's out downtown tonight. Grace and two guys she knows are with her."

Jane heard the Asian man curse.

"They need to come back immediately. I had a tip that Red John had spread the word about her being there. His acolytes will do everything to kill her."

"Why?" the blond man asked, frowning. "It's not like she knows a lot about John's organization."

"She was the man's mistress." Cho replied dryly. "She must have seen a few people who do not want to be recognized. She is a key witness in the Red John case."

Jane blinked. He hadn't thought of that.

"Then why haven't you placed her in a security program or something if she is so important?"

"Because I believe there is a mole in CBI. If it is the case she's in better hands with you. No-one knows where you live, and people won't think of one of her teachers being a con."

Jane was tempted to spill that no-one would find their house because it had angelic protection around it, and that even if Red John or his acolytes stared through the window they wouldn't see her silhouette, but managed to hold back. He didn't need another human busting his cover in one day. Instead, he replied:

"Safer with a conman. That's something new for CBI."

"Whatever works. Call her immediately and don't let her leave the house again. The trial's close, it's getting warm out there."

"Yeah. Is that what you wanted to talk about with Teresa?"

"Her lawyer will drop by tomorrow. Allison Heart. She's been working with me on the case since the beginning."

"Whatever works." Jane muttered, repeating his earlier words. "I'll tell her once I get her. Bye."

The man though, had no intention running after them. He'd stick to his original plan, and make sure the night went without a hitch from afar. He owed the girls that much.

-GA-

The ball rolled, rolled, rolled and...

"Strike!" Grace shouted, jumping enthusiastically at her new score. Teresa gave her a thumbs up and grinned widely. Rigsby and Craig moaned in disappointment. The evening had started by a boys vs girls tournament and so far, the girls' team was leading. The boys had desperately needed two strikes to get back in the game, but with the last perfect score, Rigsby acknowledged defeat with a sighed.

"I hate to admit you two were better than us this time." Craig complained, but the score showed the indisputable winners on the electronic board. The girls called him a sore looser and he ran to the bathroom to hide away.

So far, everything was going fine; but as Grace returned to her seat, she couldn't help but notice Teresa's uneasiness.

"Are you all right?" she asked worryingly. For the past five minutes, the brunette had kept glancing around nervously, as if looking for someone.

"Call me paranoid but I have a bad feeling." Teresa replied quietly. "Like something bad is going to happen."

Grace frowned at her words and glanced around. If she spotted a familiar blond haired man among the crowd, then danger there was. Whenever his charge's life was threatened, Jane would stay nearby and play the watcher. But now, she couldn't even feel his presence. So the GA was out and no danger at the horizon. Really? A little voice whispered. The redhead glanced around in turn. Now that Teresa had mentioned it…

The guy standing at the table in the corner, eyeing the room from time to time and toying with his straw. He hadn't been here a minute ago. And her guts were telling her he was bad news, because he was looking everywhere but at them. The second she thought she'd meet his eyes, he'd turn his head in the opposite direction.

"You wanna go?" she asked.

The petite brunette nodded wordlessly and both stood up, ignoring Rigsby's confused expression.

They had barely moved three steps away that the sound of a shooting gun echoed by the entrance. Screams resonated soon after. Panic gained the remaining people in the room and a hooded guy showed up to order everyone to lie on the ground. Grace and Teresa reluctantly knelt, both wondering what kind of people in their right mind would attack a bowling alley; especially when they were soon closing due to financial difficulties. A second arrived and shot in the ceiling to get complete silence.

"Where is Teresa Lisbon?" he shouted. The two girls winced in unison. "We know she's here! Show up or I'll start shooting people!" the masked man added, firing in the ceiling once again to make his point clear. A few people whimpered in fear. Teresa nudged Grace and spoke slowly:

"That guy, he's one of Red John's close guys. Jarred Malcolm. I recognized his voice."

Strangely, she wasn't as scared as she supposed she should have been. Perhaps it was due to the fact she had witnessed her boyfriend beat people barehanded or with a stick…or Grace's presence. Speaking of the redhead, she looked particularly tensed…

"You know Red John?"

Rigsby was now staring at her in disbelief.

"Unfortunately." She whispered before turning her attention back on the scene. Four guys were standing in the middle of the bowling alley, all holding guns and probably hiding knives somewhere. The young woman knew they weren't joking either. Raids like this often happened when John wanted someone specific and people had been killed. She bit her lower lip. She had to surrender or someone would bear the consequences.

"Teresa Lisbon," the masked man called again. "I'll leave you ten seconds to show up."

The young women drew a sharp breath. That was it. The moment she stood up and he recognized her, he would pull the trigger and she would be history. Not even Grace could save her this time. And Jane wasn't there either. A small pang tightened in her chest at the thought of the man, but she pushed it away. She couldn't allow herself to ponder over things. Mentally apologizing to her friend lying besides her, Teresa started to rise.

Grace's hand pinning her shoulder down stopped her even before she moved. The redhead caught her glance and nodded towards the back door. Then, she mouthed: "get ready" before slowly rising up. Everything worked in slow motion. The young woman stood up, keeping her hands knee-level. The masked men all turned towards her.

"Looking for me screwbag?" she asked loudly.

And before anyone could move, Grace grabbed Rigisby's bag and threw it with a great precision to the closest shooter –also the leader. The surprise created a few seconds distractions.

"Run now!"

More shouts echoed in the room but Teresa couldn't hear them. All she could register was Grace pulling her hand to help her up and dragging her to the exit door. It was locked, but the redhead only needed to push it hard enough to crack the locker. The extra-strength she inherited from her great grand-mother was finally coming handy. The two girls rushed inside and shut the door behind. Grace kept the door close and nodded towards a chair nearby.

"I killed the lock." she explained. "Need to block it for good."

Teresa silently obeyed and tucked the plastic seat beneath the opening. It wouldn't be efficient very long, but long enough to hold them back. Only then, they took off.

"Are you crazy!" Teresa hissed while they were hurrying in the corridors. "You could have been shot!"

"Like that would have killed me." Grace retorted, glancing around. "Plus Patrick told me they wouldn't be shooting at people. They want you alive for the moment."

The petite brunette froze literally.

"Jane told you? How?"

The redhead sighed and grabbed her hand to make her move.

"Inter-Generation Telepathy" she replied dryly. In the background, a faint 'boom' informed them that the door was no more. The redhead stared walking and paused at an intersection. "What the hell is this building? A freaking maze?"

Teresa couldn't help replying:

"I think the guy who built it was instructed to make it look like…"

The redhead raised a hand to silence her, another concentrated look on her face. The petite brunette bit her lower lip to keep herself quiet. If her friend and a certain blond man were…talking…and what did Grace mean by inter-generation? Was there a generation separating her and Jane? Was Jane older than he looked?

"You take the left and keep straight." The redhead ordered a few seconds later, cutting her from her thoughts. "When you hit the wall, run right; they'll be an exit there. I'm going right." Louder footsteps and voices echoed behind them. Grace pushed her shoulder and forced her in the way. "Meet you at the house." she added before turning heels and running towards her destination. Teresa could only stare at her retreating back in amazement and wondered, for a few seconds, when has her life turned so crazy.

"Meet you at the house" she muttered in return, and took off in turn.

Thank you for reading so far ^^ and no worries, I AM intending to finish this one *-*!