A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews and constructive comments. They make my day, and help me think through certain parts of the story. Here's the fourth chapter. I don't own The Mentalist, or any of the characters found in it. I write for fun and not for profit. I like to talk about the shows I write for, so if you care to drop in and leave a review, start a discussion, or just say Hi, please don't hesitate to reach out. Enjoy.

Chapter 4

The elevator finally stopped and when the doors opened, they were greeted by armed FBI agents, who led them down the hall to a suite at the very end of the corridor. The closest guard knocked twice and a second later, the door swung open to admit them. As the guards ushered them inside and secured the doors behind them, both women were surprised to see Dennis Abbott in the living area of the suite, talking to Cho. Both of the men were looking at a piece of paper Cho held and having a whispered discussion.

Wylie had his FBI issue secure laptop set up at the small dining table. The only person Lisbon hadn't seen was Agent Fischer. That question was resolved a few seconds later, when Fischer came out of what was presumably one of the bedrooms and moved over and sat down next to Wylie. Lisbon looked at Jane. She wanted some answers and she wanted them now.

"Jane, what's going on?"

He shook his head and put a finger to his lips. "We'll talk about it later," he said, quietly.

"Not good enough. You show up at dinner and drag us away from a nice evening, and now you won't even explain what's going on."

"Patience, Lisbon. The explanation will come. There's something we have to do first." He led both women slightly away from the others, and said, "I'll answer all of your questions, but not yet." He turned his back to them, slightly, and said, "Cho, are you ready?"

"Yes. Everyone else is finished. It's just the three of you left."

"All right. Thank you." With that, he opened the door and held it for the ladies. He and Cho walked in behind them. Cho stood by the door, his hand on his weapon, while Jane moved over and sat down on the bed. It was then that Lisbon noticed the woman seated on the other side of the bed. She said something quietly, and Jane stretched out until he was lying flat. The woman made several passes over Jane from head to foot with a handheld scanner.

After a few moments, she looked at the scanner, wrote something down on a notepad she held in her lap, and said, "You're clear."

"Excellent." Jane rose.

"Lisbon, you're next."

She stared at him, slightly horrified. He spoke up. "It's just a scan, Teresa. Completely painless. Once you are cleared, I'll tell you what you want to know."

"Fine." She moved over to the bed and stretched out on it, and the lady that had done Jane's scan started hers. Her scan probably didn't take any longer than Jane's, but to her, it felt like an eternity. Finally, the lady lowered the scanner and said, "You're clear."

"Thank you," she said, nearly jumping to her feet.

"Potts, you're up," Cho said.

Lisbon moved back over next to Jane and said, "Who is she?"

"She's a friend of Cho's. A military doctor, apparently. We needed the equipment, so Abbott requested it, and she came with it."

"I see. You said you'd tell me what was going on once I was cleared, so spill."

Jane studied her for a moment and then said, "I misspoke. I'll tell you both after she is cleared."

Jane was saved from hearing her reply when the doctor said, very quietly, "Can you come here, please? I think I have something."

Jane and Cho crossed the room at the same time and moved up next to the doctor, looking at her handheld scanner. After a moment, Jane sat down beside the bed Millie was on, opposite the doctor, and started speaking quietly to the woman on the bed. Cho moved to the side of the room he had been standing in before, opened his bag, and took out a small, but very sturdy looking box. He took the top off of it, and brought it back over to the bed.

Lisbon walked up just in time to hear what Jane was saying to Millie Potts.

"Agent Potts, I'm going to have to ask you to trust me. No one's going to harm you, but what the doctor has to do next may sting a little, and I'm sure this is scary for you. It is imperative that you stay there and don't move. I can help you with that."

"No. Leave me alone."

Jane held his hands up, palms out, in a gesture of surrender. "Okay. Fair enough. I'm going to step out and talk to Lisbon. You can join us when you are done." Jane stood up and moved back over next to Lisbon. As he passed Cho, he said, "Sit with her. She needs someone to keep her calm, but she doesn't trust me yet."

Cho moved over next to the bed, speaking quietly to Millie Potts, while Jane led Lisbon out of the one bedroom, through the shared bathroom, and into the other bedroom. This bedroom had a small seating area. Jane led Lisbon to the small table and got her settled, and then he stretched out on the sofa next to her. He didn't seem to be in any hurry to tell her what was happening. As she looked more closely, she saw the tension in the set of his shoulders, the exhaustion written on his features. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then without a word, Lisbon rose. When she started to move away, his hand shot out and closed around her wrist. Lisbon said, "I'll be right back."

She left the room and came back a moment later, carrying a tray that had a teapot and a coffee carafe, three cups, sugar cubes and a small jar of milk, and the box of canoli. She set it down on the table next to where he was lying with his eyes closed.

"Jane."

He looked up at her in surprise.

"How are you holding up?" She asked.

"I'm fine. Thank you for this," he said, sitting up and indicating the tray.

"What's going on, Jane." He didn't answer. "Last we spoke, you planned to talk to Agent Potts tomorrow. Did you set all of this up, just to talk to her tonight?" Jane shook his head.

"No. I'm sure she's involved in this somehow, but that's not what this is about. Something else happened shortly after you left. Cho and I both received text messages. You probably got one, too."

"My phone didn't beep."

"Nor did ours. Apparently, whoever sent them has software that allows them to send a silent text—one that just pops up on your phone without making it beep."

As soon as she heard those words, Lisbon started scrolling through her phone. A moment later, she found it. Her eyes grew wide as she read it, and she tried to squash the feeling of sheer panic that welled up inside of her. Jane put a hand on her knee , lending what support he could, and used his other hand to take her phone and read the message. Her grip tightened on his shoulder, and she said one phrase, "Rigsby and VanPelt."

"Yes, we had a similar thought. Cho's on it. Stay here. Drink your coffee. Take a few minutes to process this. I'll be right back." With that, he took her phone out to where the rest of them were, and without a word, handed it to Wylie and disappeared back into the room with Lisbon.

He had just seated himself at the small table again when a strangled cry sounded through the hotel room, and then, ten seconds later, a loud , muffled, bang shook the room.

"What on earth was that?"

"A listening device with an explosive charge. The reason we needed the military doctor." He could see that she was still confused, but there wasn't time to fill in the blanks right now. Jane rose, "I need to talk to Agent Potts. I need to know what she remembers about all of this."

"i'll come with you."

He hesitated for a moment, then he nodded.

Before they could move, there was a knock on the door. Lisbon answered it, to find Millie Potts standing there next to Cho. Cho said, "When you all are ready to come out, Abbott wants to put all of the information we have together and see if we can't make a plan."

Lisbon nodded. She looked at Millie Potts and then at Cho. "Abbott wants her to talk to Jane."

"Okay." She looked at Millie. "Come on."

Millie followed Lisbon back over to the seating area and sat down on the sofa next to her. Jane turned to her and said, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay."

Jane shook his head. "There's no need to lie to me."

"I'm not lying."

"You're shaking. Your normally bubbly, vivacious personality is subdued, and you're worried that something bad is going to happen—something a stretch beyond bad, even. What is it?"

She shook her head and remained silent.

"All of that is understandable, considering you just watched as a military doctor removed a listening device in a room full of FBI agents, and you heard the explosion afterwards. Whatever it is you are mixed up in is endangering people I care deeply about. That's not a place you—"

"And removing that listening device may have just killed the people I care about," she interrupted, cutting off his words. Whatever it was Jane had expected her to say, it certainly wasn't that.

With those words, she turned away and covered her face with her hands. Jane and Lisbon exchanged glances, and volumes of information passed between them without a word spoken. Jane paced to the other side of the small seating area. Turning back around, he studied her silently for a moment.

Lisbon spoke up. "I'm sorry." She leaned in toward Millie and whispered, "Remember what I told you at the restaurant." Lisbon stood. "I'm going to talk to Abbott" she said, catching Jane's eye. He nodded. She slipped out, closing the door softly behind her.

Millie sat there silently, pondering everything Lisbon had told her. Jane moved back over and seated himself on the sofa next to Millie.

Quietly, he said, "There's a chance we can get them and ourselves out of this, but I need to know everything you know. Quickly now."

She hesitated a moment longer, but she knew there wasn't really a choice. She needed someone's help.