Patrick Jane walked the entirety of the FBI building, trying to find a place where he wouldn't be noticed when he slipped off by himself. He didn't particularly want to call attention to what Abbott was asking him to do. In the first place, the man himself had asked Jane to keep it quiet, and in the second, he wasn't even sure anything was going on. There was no sense in sending the rumor mill into overdrive before he knew what they were facing. He knew sitting in an empty interrogation room, with the door locked and the walls frosted, would call attention to what he was doing. Just sitting there was likely to call attention to it. He knew, if he did that, it would probably tip off whomever was behind this, if anyone was. If there was anything to be behind.

At the very end of a hallway in the basement, Jane found himself facing a door. This couldn't be an office, could it? Who would be relegated to this place? Knocking lightly on the door and receiving no answer, Jane looked to be sure no one was watching, and then, it was the work of a moment to pick the lock. Jane opened the door and surveyed the room. The walls were lined with storage shelves, containing all manner of long forgotten or rarely used objects. A small wooden table stood against one of the shelves, with a chair turned upside down on top of it.

Turning the chair over, Jane seated himself at the table and opened the laptop that he carried under his arm. He went to pull up the screen that would allow him to play the young woman's on-boarding video and hesitated. Jane wasn't sure it was a good idea to see the video before talking to its live counterpart. He understood the need to see who this woman was last year, when she came to work for the FBI, but at the same time, it wasn't actually necessary. He would be able to determine, just by talking to her, if she was hiding something. Still, he reasoned, it might give him some insight into whatever was going on, and save him having to ask questions that might tip their hand.

He had gotten Abbott's permission to ask whatever questions he needed to ask as a matter of course, but it was prudent to do this another way, at least until he had confirmed that there was a threat, if he could. Making a quick decision, he maximized the screen with the young woman's video on it, and pressed play.

He sat back and watched the young woman on the screen before him, thinking. As he watched her, he understood why Abbott wanted him to watch the video. The admin officer was a very vivacious woman, with a bubbly, outgoing personality. Her eyes sparkled with an inner light and a playful mischief, the combination of which was very compelling. A presence like hers would be even more noticeable in its absence. The fact that Abbott saw a change in that personality and sensed that something was going on made more sense as Jane watched the video.

He had to do this carefully. If she was involved in something, it was likely that others were involved as well, and there was every reason to believe that they were watching to be sure she followed through on whatever they wanted her to do. Jane needed to think some more and to make some arrangements before he went to meet her.

(0o0)

Lunchtime came and went, and Abbott wondered when Jane might do as they had discussed. He knew better than to push the man, though he might get away with saying something about it as a joke, but Jane did things his own way, and in his own time, and he usually knew what he was doing. He was also doing this as a favor, so Abbott would wait.

Abbott settled in to work, trying to get his mind off of the whole situation, and soon, it worked. He was engrossed in spreadsheets, budgets, and various other forms of paperwork. He had almost finished when there was a knock on the door. Without waiting for an answer, Jane ushered Lisbon inside, and closed and locked the door behind him. He flipped a switch and the windows frosted automatically.

Abbott looked around. "Jane, Lisbon what's going on?"

"I wanted to meet that administrative officer who just returned to the team. I thought Lisbon might like to meet her as well."

"Are you saying you want me to bring her in here?"

"Why not? You can introduce us." Jane shot Abbott a meaningful look. There was a purpose for all of this. Jane was playing his cards close to the vest, this time, though. Well, what else was new? Abbott toggled a switch on his desk and when the voice on the other end answered, he said, "Potts, could you step into my office for a moment?"

A moment later, the door opened, and a young woman stood in the doorway.

"Agent Potts, I wanted you to meet our newest additions to the team. They joined while you were on the other assignment. Mildred Potts, this is Agent Teresa Lisbon and Consultant Patrick Jane."

Jane and Lisbon rose and shook hands with the young woman. To her credit, she didn't flinch or squirm under Jane's scrutiny. So far.

"It's nice to meet you," said Millie Potts, not really looking at either of them, but more in their general direction.

"So, Agent Potts, is it?" She nodded. "Only if you have to call me that. I'd much rather go by Millie."

Jane smiled, seeing traces of the woman he met on the video.

"Millie. Patrick. That's Teresa." Teresa raised her hand in a wave and Millie waved back. Jane's eyes never left her, and his voice pulled her back to the man standing in front of her. "Agent Abbott tells me that you were assigned to another team for a while, filling in for someone on maternity leave. Tell me about that." Jane said, still studying her intently.

She studied the wall over his left shoulder. "There's not much to tell, sir. My job is pretty much the same, no matter where I am. I offer administrative support to the team, but especially to the lead agent, in this case, Agent Abbott."

"Do you go out into the field?"

"Sometimes. When I'm needed." She caught herself shifting back and forth, from one foot to the other, in almost a rocking motion, and forced herself to stop.

"Agent Potts has the same classification as Agent Wylie. She can go into the field, but that's not her primary job." Abbott had no illusions that Jane hadn't heard him, but Jane gave no indication whether he had or hadn't. Instead, he was still studying Millie Potts.

"And how do you feel about this work?"

"I like it. It is interesting. Every day is different." The words came out in a breathless tumble, a bit higher pitched than usual.

"Am I making you nervous, Millie?"

She shook her head, but still hadn't made eye contact. Finally, she said, "No, sir. I just have a lot of work to do to catch up. I've been gone for nearly three months, now."

Lisbon chimed in. "It's okay to admit it if Jane makes you nervous. He can be very intense, and if he were looking at me the way he's looking at you right now, I'd be nervous. He has that effect on people."

Millie's eyes slid over to the woman with Jane, who had been silent up to this point. She flashed her a grateful smile. Lisbon smiled back, but it was hard to tell if the smile was directed at Millie or at Jane himself. Jane's eyes took in the non verbal exchange between the two women and then went right back to Millie Potts.

"Look at me, Agent Potts." Jane waited, staring at her until she made and held eye contact with him. He nodded. "You don't need to call me sir. Save that for Agent Abbott. We'll let you get back to work now. Thank you for coming in to meet with us, and for being a good sport and letting me get to know you a little."

The young woman didn't answer. Instead, she inclined her head in Jane's direction, and ran, without actually running, back into her office. All three agents watched her go. When the door closed behind her, Jane turned to Lisbon.

"What was your impression of Agent Potts, Lisbon?," Jane asked.

"She seemed nice enough, but I definitely got the feeling that she didn't want to be here."

He looked at Abbott. "And yours?"

"I agree with Lisbon."

"Hmm." Jane nodded, thinking.

"Jane, what's going on?"

"What makes you think anything is going on?"

"Most people don't lock the door and frost the glass in the walls just to meet a member of the team who has recently returned from another assignment. Now, what's going on?"

Jane looked at Lisbon for a moment, as if considering what he wanted to say. Then, he turned to Abbott when he felt Abbott's eyes on him. Abbott nodded slightly.

"Abbott has felt, since she came back from the other assignment, like she's hiding something. After talking to her today, I agree."

"Come on. The way you were looking at her would have made anybody nervous. Maybe she's just really shy," Lisbon ventured.

Jane shook his head. "Maybe. I don't think so."

"Why did you have Agent Potts come in here?" Abbott asked, curious.

"I wanted to keep it casual and friendly, but also to put the pressure on, just a little bit. And I wanted other opinions on her behavior."

"And your verdict?," Abbott asked.

"She's masking shame and guilt, with a strong side of fear. My guess is that whatever is going on, she's not a willing participant."

"So how do we figure out what she's involved in?" Lisbon asked.

"Why don't we just ask her?" Jane smiled slightly.

"Walk into her office and ask her, just like that?" Abbott asked.

"Well, it's a safe bet that whoever is having her do their bidding has some way of watching her, to be sure it is done. I would recommend taking her somewhere where we aren't likely to be overheard, but as for just asking her, why not?"

"What makes you think she would tell us the truth?"

Jane just stared at him. Of course, Abbott realized, Jane would likely be able to get the truth out of her, and if he couldn't, they had more to worry about than her.

"Okay." Dennis Abbott said, not sure he wanted to know, but asking anyway, "How do you plan to ask?"

"Do you trust me, Dennis?"

The man hesitated for just a moment, and then he nodded.

"I'll need to make some arrangements, then. And I'll need Lisbon's help. I'll keep you posted."