A/N: Thank you everyone for your patience! We're back to our usual weekly update!

Novikov was neither tall nor muscular, but despite his almost-small stature, his presence seemed to fill the room. He looked at Shawn and his dark eyes glinted as he said, "There have been people who've reconsidered my offers before… but it's quite rare to see it on the same night as the refusal."

Shawn grinned easily, all traces of his nervous energy carefully hidden away. "What can I say? When we see an expectation, we like to do the absolute opposite."

"I'm starting to see that," Novikov agreed. "John said you came back for protection. Something about an attempted kidnapping?" He gave Shawn an appraising look. "Exactly how common of an occurrence is that?"

Shawn shrugged and his grin grew sharper. "More than you might expect, probably not as often as you think."

Novikov huffed in response. His eyebrows tightened slightly and the room seemed to darken as he said, "I do have to wonder, however, how you managed to find me so quickly. If I were you, I would consider my answer very carefully."

Gus gulped as he felt the threat hanging over them. He made a mental note to tell Shawn -again- just how terrible of an idea this had been.

Shawn didn't seem to notice the danger as he leaned back casually into the wall. "You were smart to use the video call, it's harder to get psychic readings that way. But you forgot about your goons. The spirits had plenty to say about them. After they left, it was just a matter of finding a ride and following the visions to you." Shawn spread his arms and gestured to himself. "I'm pretty good at what I do."

"Indeed," Novikov said as Gus felt the teeth on his tongue sharpen in suspicion, "and what do the spirits have to say now that you're here?"

Shawn raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "What, I'm able to find you and you still want to test my abilities?"

"Let's just say, I like to know a person's skills before I enter an agreement with them," Novikov answered smoothly.

"You seemed fine with what you knew when you offered us the job the first time," Gus pointed out, watching Novikov's thoughts carefully.

"Yes," Novikov agreed, "because I thought you two could be useful and you were an amusing distraction. Now, though, I'm wondering if you may be more."

The vinegar note in the taste of herrings spiked with controlled calculation; the hairs on the back of Gus' neck stood on end at the feeling of being eyed up by a predator who was trying to decide whether or not he was prey.

"I mean, 'amusing distraction' is kind of my thing," Shawn said as his thoughts ponged quickly. Gus knew he was trying to figure out how to convince Novikov to let them go into the main part of the club before the police came in. "I'm also a fan of talking distractions, loud noise distractions, throwing distractions, Labradoodle distractions, food distractions, and distracting people from distractions with other distractions."

Novikov smiled slightly. "Yes, I can see what you mean about subverting expectations. Very well, let me say this straight, so you don't become… distracted." He turned his body and indicated the club with a controlled sweep of his arm. "I am in a public bar, having meetings where anyone could see, and the police still won't find me for three more days." He stared intently at Shawn. "But you found me within a few hours once you put your mind to it. That is valuable. And dangerous."

Gus nervously focused on the feeling of sharp teeth as he wondered what their play was if Novikov decided to get rid of them: Calculation, a chained detective, an opportunity, a potential threat, a potential resource. Faint amusement.

"Hey man, we came to you for a job and we didn't bring the police. That's gotta tell you something," Shawn said as his thoughts built up into a cresting wave.

Novikov hummed in consideration before answering evenly, "It may. But I need to see your work in action first; you have the potential to be more than just a local talent…"

"I've never been a fan of the word 'potential'..." Shawn said distractedly as he lifted his hand to his head. He took a sharp breath in and rolled his eyes back before closing them. He pointed at the silent bodyguard without looking. "John here has a girlfriend, but she doesn't know what he actually does. He's born and raised American, but he followed you to Russia and back. He's been learning guitar to impress the lady."

Novikov's eyebrows raised slightly and he looked back at John. "Guitar? What happened to the piano?"

"Eighty-eight keys or six strings…" John answered, holding his hands out like he was weighing the pros and cons.

Novikov huffed with an amused edge. "Make sure you stick with this one then."

John shrugged with a grin as he said, "That's the plan, Boss."

Gus blinked in surprise as the sharp teeth smoothed out on his tongue. The interaction between Novikov and his mook had been genuine, even if the timing had been calculated.

Novikov turned back to Shawn and gave him a contemplative look. "You could have read that from him in the car."

Shawn's eyes were open again as he watched Novikov with a slight tilt to his head. "I guess I could have. But I didn't just get readings from him."

He pointed through the wall, towards the stage. "One of the dancers has two kids, another one's taking an art class in college -possibly majoring in it." His hand shifted, pointing more towards the people watching the dancers. "You took over the club tonight, it's all your own people here. Nice boss move, letting everyone celebrate the bust, but you only footed the bill for the first round of drinks. Seems a bit cheap." His hand moved one more time, and Gus wasn't sure what he was pointing to this time. "Lastly, the chicken's vibe is off. You should probably look into drugs for congestion and cough instead of just drug drugs."

Novikov smiled dangerously and asked, "Is that all you sensed?"

The mob boss' thoughts were tight and controlled, but Gus could feel the trap behind the careful words. He focused and only saw a small visual of Juliet restrained somewhere in the club. He quickly looked around and his heart sank as he realized Shawn was going to have to figure out the trap himself; there wasn't any way Gus could tell him the answer Novikov was looking for.

"What, like the fact that you have at least one person here who doesn't want to be here?" Shawn asked. Gus quietly let out the breath he'd been holding as the right answer was given. Shawn shrugged and continued, "I told you, we don't want to deal with that kind of stuff."

"And, at the time, that had been acceptable," Novikov said without any inflection to show whether he still agreed with the limit. The trap hidden in the mob boss' thoughts shifted slightly, still ready to spring shut at their first misstep. "Come, I want to show you something."

Novikov turned and John quickly walked over to open the door for him; Shawn and Gus followed him back into the main part of the club. Gus' skin crawled and pressure built in his head as the crowd of sensations pressed in on his shield, but there were less thoughts than last time, and he could see people slowly trickling out of the door. There were still a few dancers in various stages of undress on the stage, and clusters of people were finishing their last drinks and enjoying the view.

Novikov walked steadily through the crowd, never having to slow down or stop as people moved out of his way. The pop rock fizzles on Gus' skin grew stronger as they followed him to a neon-lit partition in the back corner of the club. Gus stepped closer to Shawn and gave him a small nudge of warning; he knew Shawn's ability to mask his emotions didn't work as well when Juliet was involved.

Shawn glanced at him and pinged a question, showing Lassiter; Gus shook his head slightly. Shawn looked to where Novikov was leading them before asking a different question, showing a picture of Juliet. Gus nodded, relieved that Shawn wasn't going to be caught off guard.

Novikov entered the private area and Gus swallowed nervously as John crowded in behind them, making it clear that they didn't have a choice but to follow. He walked around the partition, knowing what he was going to see.

Novikov was already lounging at the small table set against the raised stage, a glass tumbler raised to his lips as he watched their reactions. Juliet was kneeling on the stage, hands restrained behind her back, with a thick chain around her neck keeping her tethered to the dancing pole set in the floor. The white light shining down on her left little to the imagination as the bruises on her arms and the burn marks on her neck stood out in sharp relief.

Juliet looked away from Novikov to glance over before doing a double take as she realized who was with the mob boss. Several bubbles popped in surprise and fear, but her face stayed blank as she returned to glaring at Novikov.

Shawn was less effective at hiding his anger as his shoulders tensed, and he took a half step towards Juliet before stopping himself. Novikov's lips pulled back into a humorless smile, shadows from the purple club lights scarring one side of his face as the other side was washed out in white. His eyes remained untouched, twin pools of darkness that glinted with a predatorial edge.

Gus looked around as his thoughts raced, matching the loud ponging balls next to him. Finding Juliet had been part of the plan; Novikov sitting within grabbing range of her, however, was not. If the police came in now, Gus wasn't sure how they were going to be able to protect her.

"You recognize her, I see," Novikov said, barely having to raise his voice to be heard over the bass music.

"I work for the cops, of course I recognize her," Shawn answered tightly. He tore his gaze from Juliet, his face darkening as he turned to Novikov. "I said we don't want any part of this kind of stuff."

Juliet's eyes flicked over to Shawn and a small bubble appeared, tinged in doubt. The bubble popped quickly with an echo of shame and she looked away, her face still carefully blank. Novikov reached into the inside of his suit jacket as he said evenly, "This pretty little detective thought she could sneak her way into my ranks, and it was only through lucky happenstance that we found her so quickly."

He pulled out a small remote from his inner pocket and set it on the table where everyone could see it; Juliet tensed and watched carefully as Novikov ran his finger over one of the buttons. "I need a more permanent solution to finding rats like her, and I think you have the skills I need. But," he tapped the button and Juliet jerked with a quiet yelp, "I need to know that you won't have any… complaints about how those traitors are taken care of after you identify them."

Shawn's thoughts glowed dark red, but he stayed in character as he answered, "I'll read whoever you want, but you don't need me for this part. Can we go back to the dancers? I kinda want to know what's going on with those tassels."

Novikov took a sip of his alcohol while his other hand continued to rest on the remote. "Maybe I want you for this part too. Pain is good at making people talk; it's much less effective at making people truthful."

Shawn sighed in resignation. "You want a human lie-detector."

"I wouldn't say it in such crude terms, but yes," Novikov agreed as he put his glass down and stood up. Gus felt John move in closer behind them as Novikov picked up the remote and walked around the table. "Consider this your audition; tell me if she lies."

Shawn held out his hands in a placating gesture. "Wait, wait, don't-"

Novikov pressed the button down, and a buzzing sound grew as Juliet's body locked up with her face frozen in a grimace of pain. Gus' stomach clenched at the sight, and he stepped forward before he could stop himself, his mind only focused on helping his friend. Movement at the edge of his vision brought him back to his senses and he reached out, grabbing Shawn's shoulder and keeping him from throwing himself at the bad guy.

Shawn's thoughts flared dark red before suddenly shifting into a new pattern. He dropped to his knees, clutching his head with an exaggerated yelp, and Gus instinctively followed him down, keeping his hand on Shawn's shoulder. Echoes of lightning ran across his skin and Gus forced his thoughts away from Juliet's pain as he tried to understand the plan; Shawn explained with a fast series of images: A bolt of electricity, Gus clutching his head in the police station, an annoyed complaint, "My psychic synapses are blocked."

Gus understood and quickly squeezed Shawn's shoulder as he looked up to tell Novikov frantically, "Stop! You're hurting him too!"

Novikov watched with interest as he lifted his thumb from the button. Juliet collapsed with a cry that was immediately strangled off as the chain around her throat caught her and pulled tight. She struggled for a moment, gasping for breath as her legs twitched, and Gus forced himself to look away, knowing he had to play his part to keep them safe. His mental clock chimed loudly, insisting that the cops should have come in by now. But they were still alone.

As soon as the buzzing had stopped, Shawn had allowed himself to relax, keeping his head buried in his hands and hiding any expression he didn't want Novikov to see. Gus decided if they were going to be switching places for this act, then he was going to do it right. He shifted his hand over and laid it against the back of Shawn's neck as he asked quietly, "You good?"

Shawn sent him a wry ping even as he nodded his head silently. Gus saw Juliet climbing back to her knees in his peripheral vision, her head bowed as she caught her breath. She was visibly shaking, and Gus wished he hadn't had to stop Shawn from punching the smug mob boss.

"What happened?" Novikov asked as he studied them.

Gus easily channeled his anger to snap out, "There's downsides to being a psychic, you know. Sometimes he can feel other people's pain. Why do you think he didn't want to be involved in this stuff?"

A few of Shawn's thoughts jolted slightly as Gus changed the script, but he still sat up and lowered his hands, showing nothing on his face except a slight tightening of his eyebrows, as though he was fighting off a headache. Gus kept his hand in place through the movement, both for the fake show and for the real comfort. Shawn sighed before telling Novikov, "Sorry, man. I tried to warn you, but then you got all button-happy."

"There were other times you could have mentioned it," Novikov pointed out, his voice devoid of sympathy.

Gus answered this time, noting the kernel of truth as he said, "It's not exactly something we like other people knowing. Especially people who happen to run a criminal empire…"

The extra shielding from Shawn pressing into his hand gave Gus enough mental space to reach out further, feeling for anyone moving outside the club. Something throbbed faintly in his chest while hooves clopped in the far distance; Gus ignored his pounding heart as he gently squeezed the back of Shawn's neck and asked, "You good to get up?"

"Yeah," Shawn said as he ducked away from Gus' touch.

Gus stood up quickly and held his hand out, using the movement to quickly check on Juliet; he was relieved to see that she had recovered enough to resume her glaring, even though shakes continued to run up and down her body. Shawn took the offered hand and pulled himself up to standing, stumbling like he was still weak from a psychic overload. He pinged a question again with an image of Lassiter and Gus nodded slightly while reaching out, pretending to steady him.

Novikov looked between Juliet and Shawn, his taste of herrings twinging in disappointment. "What a shame, you could have been something great…" He shrugged and pocketed his remote. "Your talents are still an interest to me, even with this… disability. I believe we are in business."

"Well, great," Shawn said snappily, "now can we please go out there and watch the dancers who actually want to be here?"

"You may go soon, but first," Novikov reached back into his suit and both the pop rock fizzles and the ponging balls tightened in worry; his hand emerged holding a simple cell phone, "we need to make things official." Novikov looked at the phone and the teeth against Gus' tongue suddenly flared red and became needle-sharp. He only saw a small visual of the phone screen showing no service before Novikov spat out, "Blyat!"

The curse sparked a rush of movement; Shawn sprung forward towards Juliet and John reached out, trying to grab him. Gus stepped in the way and allowed himself to be grabbed instead as Novikov pulled out a gun. Shawn scrambled to place himself between the mob boss and Juliet as Novikov aimed the weapon at her.

"You don't want to do that!" Shawn said quickly as he held his hands up and stared down the barrel of the gun.

"I could kill all three of you before the cops even enter the door," Novikov said evenly, his anger carefully contained.

Purple shadows deepened the lines of determination across Shawn's face as he guarded Juliet. "Yeah, but I know you're not going to pull the trigger."

"Then you know something that I don't." Novikov's eyes narrowed as he aimed down the pistol's sights. "Enlighten me."

Gus held his breath as Shawn's lips curled into a humorless smirk. "All of your elaborate kills, those were your calling cards. Now, someone finally caught up to you, someone was able to bring you down… You're not going to settle for just a bullet to the brain. That would ruin your image, just make you a common criminal."

"You're… trying to goad me into not killing you?" Novikov asked with faint amusement.

"Nah," Shawn said, his eyes hard, "I'm goading you into killing me the right way, at the right time. You said I'd regret having you as an enemy… Prove it."

Novikov chuckled darkly as voices yelled from the other end of the club, "SBPD, everyone on the ground!"

"You're a fool, Mr. Spencer, if you truly think I haven't set aside plans for this eventuality," Novikov said before lowering the gun and stepping to the side, setting the weapon on the table. He sat back down and picked up his glass, lifting it in a sarcastic toast. "You get to live this time, but we'll meet again. Our business isn't done." His eyes shifted to look behind Shawn as he added, "You too, detective."

"Bastard," Juliet answered with a rough voice.

The smell of gunpowder grew stronger and Lassiter's voice rang out. "SBPD, hands where I can see them."

Gus was immediately let go and he quickly moved up next to Shawn. Lassiter stepped further into the room, keeping an eye on the bodyguard as he took aim at Novikov and ordered again, "Hands up."

Novikov held up a finger and finished his drink before putting the glass down and lifting his hands. He smirked as he dryly answered, "I surrender."

Lassiter didn't move as he called out, "O'Hara?"

"I'm alright," Juliet said immediately, sounding exhausted, "just… someone get me out of these."

"He's got a remote in his pocket," Shawn told Lassiter as he climbed onto the stage and knelt down next to Juliet. "It controls the shocks. I don't know about keys."

"Keep your hands up and away from your pockets," Lassiter warned Novikov. "Where's the keys?"

Novikov shrugged and grinned. "I don't remember."

Gus focused for a second before looking back at Shawn and catching his eye. Lassiter growled under his breath before calling out, "I've got Novikov in here!"

Shawn nodded his understanding to Gus before turning his attention back to Juliet and quietly asking, "Is it ok if I check out the locks? Maybe we don't need to wait for the keys."

"Yeah, just don't touch the box," Juliet answered. Gus looked along the chain and saw a small black box attached to it right next to the pole. The room grew louder as more people entered and moved around, and Gus tried to ignore all of the new thoughts as he waited for Shawn to call him up, not wanting to crowd Juliet if she wasn't ready.

Juliet stayed completely still as Shawn gently swept her hair to the side and checked the lock holding the chain around her neck. He glanced down at her hands before whispering a quiet question in her ear; Juliet nodded, and Shawn met Gus' eyes. "We might need your magic touch up here, buddy."

Gus looked at Juliet and waited for her to nod again in agreement before he climbed up and knelt by her other side. He tuned out the sound of multiple Miranda's Rights being read as he picked up the padlock holding the chain together and rotated it so he could see the key opening. He whistled softly under his breath and shook his head. "I might be able to get it open with proper picks, but not with a handful of paperclips."

"Great. Criminals know the best locks to buy, who knew…" Shawn said with a sigh. "What about the cuffs?"

"They're not regular cuff locks, but I think I can get them," Gus answered as he dug into his pants pocket and grabbed his makeshift picks. The paperclips were definitely one of Shawn's better ideas, and Gus decided he was going to start keeping a stash in his pockets too after this. Shawn leaned down, as if he was inspecting the cuff locks, and Gus whispered quietly, "Key's in the top left drawer of his desk. The one he used for the video call."

Juliet's thoughts suddenly jolted, and Gus looked over to see Novikov being led out of the room as Lassiter walked towards them with the remote in his hand. He gently placed it on the table and Juliet's thoughts calmed slightly.

"He didn't have any keys on him, so I sent for some bolt cutters. They should be here soon," Lassiter reported as he scanned Juliet carefully. "A bus is already waiting to get you to a hospital once we get you out."

Juliet sighed and said, "I told you, I'm fine. I don't need a hospital."

A shake ran through her body and Lassiter raised an eyebrow. Gus turned his attention back to the cuffs, inserting a paperclip into the keyhole as Shawn held his hand up to his head and announced, "I'm sensing something… Cheese. No, Bees. Knees. Keys! The key's in Gogol's desk, top left-hand drawer."

Lassiter nodded to one of the remaining officers. "Go see if anyone's checked his desk yet."

Gus felt another set of thoughts leave the small room as he smirked in triumph and the cuff fell open. Juliet immediately pulled her arm forward and flexed her fingers as Gus moved on to the next lock.

"Do you need me to rub it and make it feel better? Wait, no, that sounded dirty. I can kiss it better. No, that was worse. Do you need-"

Juliet cut off Shawn's worried babbling. "Who's Gogol? That can't be a real name."

"Head of KGB in a few Bond films," Lassiter answered before Shawn could say anything. "Not actually a bad guy though."

"Yeah, the names have been getting worse," Gus agreed as he freed Juliet's other hand. She sighed in relief and rolled her shoulders as she brought her arm forward and rubbed her wrists. Gus gave her a moment before asking, "Do you want to sit before I work on the ankle cuffs?"

"I… I don't think I want to move before the- the chain's off," Juliet answered as another shake made her voice break mid-sentence.

Shawn's thoughts clicked in concern as he rubbed her shoulders gently. "It won't be long now. And, just an FYI, the choker look is totally out of style."

Gus looked up to glare at him, but Shawn was already shaking his head at himself with an annoyed frown. Juliet replied back with a wry edge, "Last I checked, dirt's never been in style. FYI."

Shawn looked down at his dirty shirt and arms and grinned. "Touche."

One ankle cuff fell open and Gus moved onto the last one as Juliet asked, "What happened to you guys anyways? You look like you were thrown out of a car. And why were you even here? You shouldn't have been involved…"

"Oh, there was some… stuff. And then other stuff. That you don't need to worry about. All that's important is that we're here now, and you're safe, and-"

"They got themselves kidnapped again," Lassiter said, talking over Shawn's non-answer.

"You were what?!" Juliet exclaimed.

Shawn quickly argued, "Hey, you got kidnapped first!"

"I mean, technically we don't know that," Gus pointed out as the last cuff fell to the ground. "There's actually a really good chance that we were grabbed first."

"Not helping!"

"Explain," Juliet ordered in a tone that left no room for personal interpretation.

"Uh…" Shawn stalled, "So, it's actually kind of a funny story…"

He was saved from having to answer as Cassidy entered the room and announced, "We found the keys you needed-" The federal agent stopped and looked at Shawn and Gus in surprise. "What are you guys doing here?"

Shawn grinned and answered easily, "We just show up sometimes. It's part of our charm."

"... Right. I don't want to know," Cassidy said with a small head shake. He handed the keys to Lassiter as he told Juliet, "I'm glad you're alright, and I'm sorry for the danger our op put you in."

Lassiter passed the keys on to Shawn as Juliet answered firmly, "I volunteered and I knew what I was getting into. Do you need to debrief me now?"

The sound of hoofs clopping stuttered in surprise and Cassidy quickly said, "No, I can meet with you after you're checked out at the hospital. I'll coordinate with your chief."

Juliet nodded in agreement and Cassidy left the room. There was a quiet click before Shawn pulled off the open padlock and unwound the chain from Juliet's throat. She sagged in relief as her neck was released and Shawn quickly caught her on one side as Gus reached out to steady her on the other.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Juliet insisted, as though saying it multiple times would make it true.

Shawn nodded in agreement as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Yep, you're fine. You're so fine that you're going to let me and Gus help you stretch out so we can feel better about ourselves. Right, Gus?"

"Yep, it's totally just for our benefit," Gus agreed in a deadpan voice.

Juliet groaned and relented, "Fine…"

Between the two of them, they were able to bring Juliet's legs forward and ease her down into a more comfortable sitting position. Juliet bit back a whimper as her legs straightened and Gus could feel the cramping muscles tighten under his hand.

"Hey, she's in here," Lassiter called out suddenly through the opening in the partition. Juliet flinched at the loud noise and Lassiter winced before speaking quieter. "Sorry. Paramedics are here."

Juliet nodded and Gus patted her shoulder before moving to climb off of the stage. Juliet caught him and said softly, "Thanks."

Gus swallowed against a surprising surge of guilt as he answered her, "Any time."

He hopped down and went to join Lassiter by the wall, keeping himself out of the way of the paramedics as they bustled in and began to ask Juliet questions while setting up a stretcher.

Thousands of scenarios began playing in Gus' head as the adrenaline began to fade. What if Novikov had pulled the trigger, what if Shawn hadn't figured out the right answers, what if Juliet had been hurt worse, what if Lassiter hadn't believed them. What if he hadn't figured out the dream in time.

What if he'd figured out the first dream and had been able to stop all of this from happening in the first place?

"We were damn lucky," Lassiter said quietly as Juliet was wheeled away with Shawn still fretting by her side.

"Yeah, I know," Gus answered, wondering how much of the night could have been avoided if he'd just been better at being a psychic.

Lassiter looked at him and sighed. "It's been a long night; let me get your statement and I'll drive you home. I'm sure Spencer will text you the second he knows anything about O'Hara."

"Sounds good," Gus said before a thought occurred to him. "Actually, take me to Psych. The Blueberry's there."

"Sure, whatever," Lassiter agreed with a shrug. He hesitated before adding on, "This plan was stupid, and reckless, and I never should have agreed to it… But Juliet's safe. And she might not have been otherwise. So, good work."

"Thanks," Gus said, not feeling any less guilt. He thought for a second and asked, "Why don't you ever say nice things like that to Shawn?"

"Because Shawn's an idiot." Lassiter walked out of the room and called over his shoulder, "Are you coming?"

Gus looked at the remote sitting quietly on the table one last time before turning to follow Lassiter out into the main room. They'd won, another bad guy was arrested, another case was closed.

It was time to go home.