A/N: A little slower on this one. Reviews and favorites ARE appreciated. Thank you who have so responded.
When You're the Target
Chapter Three
"Would you please stop pacing around, Jane? You are going to wear a hole in my floor." Cho sat his cup of coffee down and glared at Jane.
"It's been a week and a half, now, and still nothing," Jane replied, turning to face Cho. I've been sneaking in and out of CBI through that damn tunnel, and playing cat and mouse to get to and from your place each day. This is getting really old!"
"Well, until something breaks, what choice do you have," Cho asked. "And if you don't stop pacing, I'll poke you in your sore rib. That'll get your attention."
Jane glared at Cho, but sat down and took a sip of his cooling tea. "My rib wouldn't be sore except for you!"
Cho nodded. "And you probably wouldn't be alive."
"There is that," Jane said smiling. "Still, weekends are the hard. I have to sit here, and wonder of wonder, you don't even have a TV. What's with you, Cho? Are you some sort of Luddite?"
"I am not a Luddite. You're sitting next to a quad core lap top, I simply have taste and have no need to rot my mind with that tripe. I pick my technology to serve me, not debase me! You, Sir, need to cultivate some patience."
Jane grimaced. He gingerly opened the lap top and whistled. "OK, you're no Luddite, and I do have patience. I just show it differently."
"I'll agree, you do have a very different way of showing it," Cho said. They glared at each other and both jumped when Jane's cell phone rang. Jane stared at it as if it was going to bite him. "Answer it," Cho said.
Jane stared at the phone like it was a snake about to strike. "Jane speaking," he said into the phone, a sour expression on his face. He listened silently, his expression turning even more sour. "And you really think that will get you what you want? Are you sure you even know what you want. You obviously haven't thought it through very well."
Cho was waving and signaling at the phone. His phone was in his hand and his fingers flying, typing a text message. Jane finally figured out what Cho wanted and switched his phone to speaker phone.
"I've got you hiding like a scared rabbit," a modified voice came over the speaker. "I thought it through well enough to do that. "
Jane smiled. "Let's see, you shoot at me, missing badly, I might add, and when I take steps to insure that doesn't happen again, you feel self satisfied. What's wrong with this picture?" Jane chuckled, making amusement obvious in his tone.
"You bastard," the modified voice hissed. "You dare belittle me? I'll have you..."
Jane interrupted. "If I wanted to belittle you, I'd be mentioning how insecure you are, how unsure of your competence you are, and how you crave attention. Have you heard me say any such thing? You do understand, I can be quite unpleasant when I want to, don't you?"
The sounds emanating from the small phone speaker made both Jane and Cho smile. It appeared that Patrick was ahead on points, so far. "Excuse me," Jane interrupted. "Why don't you and I sit down, over a nice cup of tea, and discuss this like reasonable human beings. So far, no one can prove you've done anything illegal, and I'm sure we could resolve any problems you have with me. How about it? Just you and I."
"The next time I see you will be through my scope and..."
"Hold that thought," Jane interrupted. "My ride's here and I have to go. Please call again soon. I've enjoyed our little chat." He snapped the phone shut, terminating the call.
Cho looked puzzled at the abrupt end to the conversation. Patrick smiled and winked. "He's obsessed with control and I want to make him feel out of control. If I can rattle him enough, he make a mistake and we'll be waiting."
Cho nodded. "I doubt it, but you've been right before. Can't hurt." He dialed his cell phone. "Grace, Cho. Did you get a trace?" He nodded. "I see. OK, I'll tell him." He hung up and put his phone in his pocket. "Grace says the cell phone he used to call you is a disposable, paid for by cash, but she managed to trace the tower to north Sacramento. Not next door, but in the area."
Jane nodded. "Makes sense. I'm sure he went to that location just to make the call, knowing we trace the cell tower. He's being careful. I hope I upset him enough, today, to make him careless. So far, it's all going his way."
"Grace and Rigsby are on there way to the area they identified. Maybe some old fashioned police work will actually give us some leads," Cho said. "That has worked in the past."
Jane walked to a window, carefully pulled the curtain to one side, and gazed out, making sure he was in shadows and not visible. "I certainly wouldn't object," he said. "Living like this has not been a lot of fun."
"More fun that getting shot," Cho commented. Jane grunted in response, staring into the darkness of the window. "Do you have a plan to draw him out?"
"I'm getting an idea," Jane responded, "but it'll depend on our next conversation. He really is quite clever, if slightly addled. I have to irritate him enough to make him reckless while not letting him get close enough to do harm. It's an interesting problem. If he thinks I'm being to clever, he'll back off, and this could go on for months, me never knowing what to expect." Neither man was terribly surprised when Jane's phone rang, again. Jane grinned and winked a Cho. He flipped the phone open and said, "Jane speaking." He grinned at Cho and flashed him a thumbs up.
"Ok," he said, "I'm listening."
oOOOo