A/N: Hi everyone - instead of making you wait for a whole chapter, I thought you might appreciate it if I posted the scenes as they were done. This means that the 'chapters' will not be as long as a typical chapter.


Chapter 18

Lisbon's POV

She grabbed her purse from her desk drawer and swung it on her shoulder; her keys in hand and her sunglasses on her head. It wasn't quitting time yet, but Abbott had ordered everyone home early in preparation for tomorrow's sting. Only two members of Singh's team would be on surveillance tonight at Kim's house.

She glanced at Jane's empty couch as she made her way to the elevator. Kim was packing her laptop in preparation to leave, and Cho was waiting by the elevator for them to join him.

"Where's Jane?" Cho asked curiously, punching the call button for the lift. "Haven't seen him in a while."

"Not sure. Said he was working on something."

"That makes me nervous," he said, as he held the door for them to enter.

She felt the same way. When she left the therapist's office earlier, all she could think about was seeing him. She was so confused, and she wanted to see his smiling face in the hopes that it would reassure her that her conclusions were false. She'd texted him upon her arrival at the office, but he'd called her and promised to see her later at her house. She felt like a wreck inside, so she decided that she could wait to see him later.

The elevator stopped on the second floor to gather more passengers. The doors opened, but nobody was there, giving her a clear view of the conference room ahead. She spotted him, his hip leaning against the conference room table, arms crossed, his gaze focused on something to the left that she couldn't see. Instinctively, she got off the elevator, saying her goodbyes to Cho and Fischer. They weren't surprised that she'd exited when they saw Jane in the distance.

She approached the conference room carefully, not wanting to alert Jane or Singh's team of her presence until she saw what they were working on. The conference room was surrounded by windows just like the one in their bullpen, but not as big. She took in the scene but there was nothing to see. Jane appeared to be amicably chatting with two members of Singh's team while they filled out paperwork and worked on their plans. Everyone seemed at ease; Jane didn't appear to be an unwelcome presence like he'd been the last couple of days.

She knocked softly on the conference room window to get his attention. He smiled and raised his eyebrows in acknowledgment; she asked to speak to him for a moment and he indicated he would come out to meet her. He said something to one of Singh's agents as he left the room... it was friendly and casual, and she knew... something was up.

"Everything okay?" he asked with a tiny smile.

She was confident that their conversation couldn't be heard by the other agents in the bullpen, but they could be observed.

"Yeah, everything's fine," she answered, as she peered at him for a sign of what he was up to.

"I'll see you tonight?"

"Jane... what are you up to?" she whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"C'mon Jane. Don't do this. Just tell me. I know you're up to something."

He smiled crookedly confirming her suspicions. She knew he was up to something. Her thoughts about what happened at the therapist's office evaporated as she zoned in on what felt like an immediate urgent situation; Jane was about to cause trouble.

His eyes softened as he tried to put her at ease.

"Teresa... nothing's up. I'm just keeping an eye on things."

"Why? You said you were on board with the sting."

"I am."

"So why are you here?"

"I want to be sure."

"About what?"

He let out a breath and smiled at her again.

"Nothing's going on. I promise."

She let out a disbelieving sound at his promise and shook her head. She looked around the bullpen and in the conference room. They weren't being observed by anyone. She took a small step towards him and held eye contact.

"Patrick Jane... I know you. Just tell me what you're up to."

"Okay... you're right. I haven't given up on my theory. I still think there's more going on with this case than meets the eye. But... I have no 'evidence' as you police folk like to point out. So... I'm just hanging around, making friends with the popo to see what comes up."

He squeezed her arm briefly to reassure her.

"Promise me you'll keep me in the loop if anything comes up."

"I promise," he assured, placing his hand on his heart. "If I learn anything, you'll be the first to know."

She knew she was eyeing him suspiciously, searching his face for any sign of deception, but she couldn't see any. She released a breath and gave him a warning look, in case he wasn't being truthful.

He smiled at her with his eyes and winked, teasing a smile from her lips. He stared lovingly into her eyes and she did the same. She quietly said she'd see him later. He nodded in his usual way and headed back into the conference room. As she made her way back to the elevator, she heard his laughter permeate from the windowed room and she braced herself, her smile turning sour; Jane was about to cause big trouble. She needed to be on high alert.


Later that evening, Wednesday, 11:30 pm

Cho's POV

"You didn't tell her?" he asked incredulously.

This was Jane, he should've known better. He knew something was up when he asked him to meet him here. He looked at Lisbon's house from the passenger side of the sedan Jane had invited him into.

"Whose car is this by the way?"

"The neighbor's... and before you get all high and mighty... he's away on vacation and will never know we were here."

"How do you know this?"

"His mailbox is overflowing."

He took a deep breath and decided to focus on what Jane had been explaining to him as his reason for lurking outside Lisbon's house.

"Okay... let me get this straight... you think there's a mole on Singh's team and for that reason, you're sure Vincent will not be hitting Fischer's place tomorrow."

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No. How would Vincent even know that he was being investigated?"

"He didn't. I think the mole was in a desperate situation and tried to blackmail Vincent. I think it backfired and now this person is working for Vincent."

"And I'm here because you think Vincent wants Lisbon."

"Yes. Forget the mole for a minute. He only joined the team after the second sting. I went back and looked at the first two stings Singh ran. They were solid and Singh is right about Vincent's M.O... it's very predictable. So why didn't the stings work?"

He shrugged at Jane's question waiting for him to continue. He honestly didn't have a clue why the stings didn't work in the first two instances.

"Singh missed something very important... Vincent is a sadist. He loves to watch his prey squirm and suffer... he needs a build-up," he announced as though that explained everything.

Jane's eyes were tracking him, waiting for him to catch up to his train of thought, but he was still at a loss about the significance of what he was saying.

Jane expelled a breath and continued.

"I spoke with Wiley; software or hardware is needed to listen in on a phone conversation... it requires lots of effort and it can be retraced to the source... but text messages are saved on servers and easily accessible for a guy like Vincent."

"I know that. Where are you going with this? Just spit it out."

"What do women do when they're going on a date? They text their friends about it. Before they leave, what they are wearing, where they are going... Singh forgot that... the decoys didn't text anyone about the date. Vincent didn't bite because he didn't get the lead-up. He probably thought he got stood up. That's why it didn't work. Vincent is not anywhere close to the women's houses or the meeting location for the date. He's at his hotel, waiting for those texts to come in. Once he's satisfied with the lead-up, he heads over to their houses."

"Did you have Wiley check this?"

"Yes. The texting was the one differentiator."

"So the sting with Fischer is a bust. We'll regroup, isolate the mole, and spring another trap."

"I have a better idea... we catch both tonight."

"Jane, there's no need for that. We'll keep him under surveillance and regroup."

"Just hear me out. He's not going for Fischer because he knows she's being watched. But he's still in town... why? I'll tell you why... he wants Lisbon. He's waiting for her."

"Jane-"

"No, no. Let me finish. He knows we're watching Fischer, but not Lisbon; she pulled her security, remember? Nobody's looking at her but him, and no one from Singh's team knows we are here laying a trap. He's itching to have her and if we give him the opportunity, I know he will bite. Think about it. The FBI's watching him... why is he still here?"

"Why does he want Lisbon?" he shot back. "That's not his M.O. It doesn't make sense."

"It does when you consider that I was there on the date. I changed the dynamic. He wasn't looking at Lisbon until I got there. I think my sustained attention on Lisbon that night is what made him want her."

"So, you were cock-blocking Lisbon on her date?"

"It sounds better the way I said it... but yeah."

He took a moment to absorb what Jane was saying. He'd rarely been wrong about this kind of thing. The issue with Jane wasn't his thought process but the method he chose to get the results.

"You could catch this guy red-handed tonight and it would all be over. And... I would deliver the mole as well," he continued.

Jane was usually excited about his plans, but tonight, his usual demeanor was absent. He supposed it was because it was Lisbon he was trying to protect; she was a very important person in his life. He wondered how he would react when Lisbon went to D.C. next week. He knew of her impending departure because Abbott had requested his help in screening new candidates for her position but he wasn't sure if Jane knew.

He considered his options, but he knew that look Jane was wearing. He was going to go through with his plan whether he agreed to it or not. It was best to stay with him than to leave him alone to execute. This way, he had a small chance of recovering this situation into a positive.

"Okay... tell me your plan."

Jane's POV

He took Cho through his plan, giving him just enough so he would comply.

"This better work. It's my ass on the line," Cho said quietly beside him as they watched Lisbon's house.

"It will," he responded with more confidence than he felt.

To be truthful, he wasn't sure it would work, but he had to try. He figured his plan had a 35% chance of succeeding but he couldn't tell Cho that or he would leave. He already had to play the guilt card to get him to break protocol. Cho appeared to be a stickler for rules, but given the proper motivation, he easily broke them.

They sat in silence for a while because Cho wasn't a big talker. He was watching the house as Lisbon turned off her lights one by one, probably on her way to bed, when his voice broke through the silence.

"You should've told her."

He turned his attention towards his long-time colleague but Cho kept his eyes averted, still observing the house.

"Lisbon always cooperates better when she's in the dark about her involvement."

Cho let out a long breath and sank lower in the passenger seat.

"Lisbon will never talk to you again," he chided.

"She'll get over it."

"I doubt that."

Cho was wrong. Lisbon would be mad for a while, but she'd come around as she always did, and more importantly, she'd be safe.

His partner in deception turned to him and stared. After a few moments, he spoke up and indicated his readiness to participate in his plan.

He nodded and took out his phone to text Lisbon. It took a minute for her to respond. He'd called her earlier and told her that he'd stay at the office tonight to help out Singh's team and to not wait up for him.

Hey

What's up

We have a situation

I screwed up

Vincent will hit Fischer's place tonight

What? How?

No time to explain

Just get over there and talk to Singh

I found something

Why don't you call him?

He won't listen to me

You need to go

I'll call him

I tried

He's not answering his phone

Can't reach anyone on the team

...

He watched the three dots as he waited for Lisbon to respond. He knew she was trying to call the team. He asked Wiley to block Lisbon's phone from contacting Singh's team. It was the only way to make this work. Cho's phone started ringing; it was Lisbon. He stared down at his friend to remind him to let it go to voicemail.

You're right

I can't reach anyone on the team

That's so strange

I have to go

I'll give you an update when I get there

A few minutes later, Lisbon was in her car heading towards Fischer's house to alert the surveillance team. Cho gave him a pitying look that he didn't appreciate.

"It's not too late to call her and tell her what's going on."

He served his staunch partner a withering look to show him that the subject was closed. The atmosphere returned to silence as they both stared at Lisbon's house waiting for Vincent to make his move.

"It's been twenty minutes."

"He's coming. I know he read the texts."

A few seconds passed and as though he had conjured him, a figure dressed in black ducked behind Lisbon's house.

"That's him," he pointed out, his stomach churning.

"Yup. Let's give him a few minutes to set up."

He'd been right about Vincent and that was the worse feeling because that meant he could've lost her.


A/N: The next scene is coming up soon. Drop me a line and let me know what you think. :-)