Shout-Outs: Tina, Jane Doe51, and Nerwen Aldarion

Rated: T

Author's Note:

You might need tissues for the end of this chapter. I cried a little bit as I was typing the last few words. You have been warned. Oh, and the chapter I kept listening to was "Over the Love" by Florence + the Machine. I thought it fit Kane becoming disillusioned with Red John pretty well. And the quote I chose is from the song "Called Out of the Dark" by Snow Patrol, which has been a theme song for this story since the beginning.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

.

Chapter 12

Kane Reynolds – Las Vegas, Nevada (The Crimson Hat)

"I was called out of the dark, by a choir of beautiful cheats, and as the kids took back the park, you and I were left with the streets." Called Out in The Dark, Snow Patrol_

"I've been expecting you."

"I suppose you have been," Kane answered as he closed the door to his friend's office and made his way to one of the leather chairs.

"I can smell fear all over you Kane. You have nothing to worry about, I'm not going to do anything to you. . . for now. After all, it wasn't your fault that your brother wouldn't succumb to Lorelei's charms. If it was anyone's fault, it was mine. I completely underestimated Patrick. I didn't know his feelings for the lovely Agent Lisbon ran so deep."

Kane was silent. He didn't want to say anything that would cause the serial killer to lash out at him. He wanted to keep him in a false sense of security for as long as possible.

"Or maybe Lorelei just couldn't do a competent job. Maybe something was keeping her doing her job as well as she usually does."

"What do you mean?" Kane asked, feeling slightly anxious.

"I think you know exactly what I mean, Kane."

Kane shook his head and looked the man directly in the eyes. "I never meant for it to go as far as it did. It just happened—"

"Kane, Kane, Kane. . . you know that I don't discourage healthy sexual appetites in the least."

"I know—"

"But you also know that I hate it when another man plays with my things—" he interrupted.

"Lorelei isn't something that belongs to you," Kane interjected. "She's her own person! She came to me because I was the closest thing to you and she was lonely. Not that I owe you an explanation, Lorelei and I are both grown adults, Ray. We don't need your permission to do anything."

"You're fooling yourself. You do need my permission, because I own you. You signed a contract the first time you killed for me."

"I don't remember signing a piece of paper," Kane answered defiantly.

Ray laughed. "That doesn't matter. The point is, you signed it and you signed it in blood. So, if you decide to leave I will find you and I will kill you. And don't think that I'll send one of my followers to do it. Because I won't, I'll do it myself, and it will be a slow, bloody death. It will happen when you least expect it, maybe years after you and Lorelei have made a new, pretty little life for yourselves.

"I'll enjoy watching you and Lorelei suffer. It will be a brilliant message to anybody who even thinks about crossing me or stealing my property. And I'll have the added bonus of watching your brother spiral even more out of control as he blames himself for your deaths and tries even harder to find me."

"He's stronger than you think," Kane tried to reply without a sign of emotion. "And Agent Lisbon will bring him back, she always does."

"Oh, but you haven't heard the rest of my plan yet."

"The rest of your plan?" Kane repeated, ignoring the cold fear that washed over him. "You mean there's more?"

"Of course there's more. Don't you remember? In six years, you and Lorelei will be in the early years of child rearing. And I would hate for him to be cast out into the uncaring world without a soul to take of him."

"I'm sure if anything happens to me and Lorelei, Patrick will be more than willing to take our child in. Unless—"

"Unless I kill him first?" Ray finished for him, laughing slightly. "Why would I kill him when he rightfully belongs to me?"

Kane frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Well, you see if you had never fooled around with Lorelei, then she wouldn't have ever gotten pregnant with your child. In fact, my baby might be growing in her womb right now."

"It won't work," Kane told him. "All those years with me and Lorelei, our child will never believe for a second that you're his father."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that. Will you? You'll be dead and the child won't be any of your business anymore. I can guarantee you that he or she will forget all about you after being separated from you for a few weeks."

Kane shook his head as he stealthily reached for his gun. "You know, I can't figure out for the life of me what I saw in you all these years. You're a wicked, wicked man who has no regard for human life."

Ray's eyes grew steely. "You're hands are just as dirty as mine are, Kane. You've killed just as many people, stolen just as many futures and families. And let's not forget to mention the worst sin of all that you have committed, you hate your brother. I'm pretty sure that it says in a book somewhere that whoever hates his brother is in danger of hell fire."

"I will admit that I've done some horrible, unspeakable things. I'll also admit that up until this week that I didn't care about anything. But then I found out that I was going to be a father and suddenly everything I've ever done or said mattered. I don't want my son and daughter growing up in the shadows of blood and a mad man. I want them to have the freedom to do whatever they want as they get older. I don't want them to have to sign your contracts or leave a bloody smiley face on some unsuspecting person's wall. I don't want them to ever know or feel the kind of hatred that I have known and felt."

"What are you trying to say, Kane?" Ray asked, leaning back in his chair and staring him down.

Kane grasped his gun and pulled it out slowly. "What I'm trying to say is. . . goodbye."

"Walk out that door, and I will make you regret it. You know too much, you've seen too much. I don't trust that you won't go to the police and tell all of our secrets."

"And incriminate myself as well?" Kane answered. "No, that wouldn't work. I want to see my kid grow up, you see. I want to be the father that Patrick and I never had. So, I'll walk out of here and you'll never see or hear from me again."

"Even if you don't run and tell the police on me, I'm still going to kill you and Lorelei one day. I hate betrayal."

"Yeah, I do too," Kane agreed as he cocked his revolver. "And I've been betraying my real family long enough. But those days are behind me now and I'm ready to move on. I'm ready to move on and never look back."

"I know what you're planning on doing right now," Ray said. "And if you do it, you can kiss your temporary new life goodbye. If I die then you go down with me. There will be no second chances or shots at redemption."

Kane chuckled as he finally revealed his weapon. "Nobody will know it was me. You have dozens of disciples, dozens of enemies. . . any one of them could have been the one to kill you. You don't know how many people want you dead. Besides, I've never been caught once for any of the crimes I've committed. I learned from the best."

"You flatter me, but I would still advice you to put your gun away and go live your remaining few years in peace."

"No," Kane answered. "No, I would rather die right here, right now then put my family in anymore danger. I'd rather die than go and live half-a-dozen years checking over my shoulder and ran from shadows."

"Very well then, have it your own way."

Kane acted on reflex, pointing the gun directly at Ray Haffner's heart and pulling the trigger. But as soon as his bullet had hit its target, he felt a searing pain in his chest. He put two fingers to his heart and felt the sticky, warm substance flowing from it.

He looked over at Ray, who was clutching his own chest and trying to stand upright.

"Goodbye Kane," he said before collapsing to the ground.

A few minutes later, Kane followed, he stared at the ceiling as his whole life played out in front of him in blurry shadows. His father, his mother, Angela, Patrick, Lorelei, his unborn child, and even Corrine paraded in front of his eyes, vivid Technicolor among the darkness.

He had wronged each and every one of them epically.

And as he finally gave into the warm waves that threatened to carry him away from the pain, he hoped that they all would forgive him his transgressions one day.

TBC. . .

.

Author's Note II:

Yes. I was planning on taking this route all along. For the months I've been creating this story in my mind between waking and dreaming, I knew that both Kane and Red John were going to shoot each other, and die. Are you surprised? I'd love to hear your thoughts. 3/15 left, hope you'll stay tuned for the aftermath.

Until next time!

Holly, 6/12/13_