Chapter five

It was late when Lisbon arrived back at the CBI but there was still a lot of activity around. When she entered the bullpen, she could sense her colleagues waiting anxiously for some explanation.

"Listen up," she said, standing in the middle of a circle of co-workers who approached. "I've spoken to a doctor and they are sending over a team as early as tomorrow morning to draw blood from all of us. We have reason to believe that we might be poisoned somehow."

Murmurs broke the silence as CBI-agents and co-workers stared at each other in shock.

"Hang on," Lisbon said, raising her hands. "I need to know if anyone of you has been feeling sick lately. I'm talking about dizziness, headaches, strange skin rashes, stomach upset, … is there anyone who has experienced this?"

Four hands were raised. Two men and two women stepped forward. Lisbon sighed quietly when she spotted Van Pelt amongst them.

"Okay. The four of you are going to go to hospital right now and be checked out. Anyone else?"

There were head shakes and shrugs.

"No matter how minor it may seem, let us know as soon as you feel sick or off. Alright? If you don't, then you should be fine."

"What's causing this?" someone asked from the back. Lisbon looked at the man with dark hair and Harry Potter-type glasses. He was one of the quiet nerds that she worked with for data retrieval.

"That's what we are hoping to find out in the morning. As long as we don't know what it is, we can't trace back the source."

"So it could be in anything?" someone else asked troubled.

Lisbon cast a glance at Bertram who listened intently to her reaction. "I'm asking for volunteers right now in groups of three to check out the building. I'm talking about air vents, food supplies, drinking water, anything that might seem like it could be a source of contamination."

"So there might not be a suspect then?" another person asked. "It might be something in the building?"

"Right now," Bertram interrupted Lisbon, "we are not accusing anyone. We're looking into all possibilities."

"What about Jane?" another man asked. "Is he going to die?"

"No, he's not going to die," Lisbon said firmly. "He's fine. He was sick for some time and didn't eat properly. He'll be fine and up and about in a few days."

Several men and women stepped forward to volunteer. Rigsby divided them in groups and sent them to several floors of the building. Lisbon sent Van Pelt and her colleagues to the hospital to be checked out, contacting the ER-doctor who was treating Jane. Then she sat down at long last, took deep breaths and tried to make sense out of it all, praying that there would be no traces of poisoning into the blood work.

"Boss. Boss!"

"What? What?!" Lisbon awoke startled from unpleasant dreams, only to find she had fallen asleep with her head on her desk and her saliva on her paperwork.

Rigsby stood before her, watching her concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She rubbed her hair from her face. "What time is it?"

"After midnight. Everyone's gone home. We found nothing, nada, zilch."

"Is that a good or a bad sign?" Lisbon sighed.

"Depends on how you look at it. It means there are no problems with the building itself. Which leaves two options open, I guess."

"I was rather hoping you'd find a malfunction in the air ducts." Lisbon rose. "Go home, Rigsby and get some sleep."

"Nah," he replied. "I'll wait here."

"Any word from Van Pelt?"

"Nothing yet. She sent a text that the doctor was going to examine them soon but that was over two hours ago. She did ask me to let you know that Jane was awake and doing much better."

"That's good," Lisbon sighed in relief. "I think I'll head over there now and relief Cho of duty so he can get some rest."

"Boss, I don't mean to be rude but it looks like you're the one who needs the rest."

"I'll rest when all of this is over." Lisbon shoved her chair backwards. "Why don't you come with me? You'll be closer to Van Pelt then."

Rigsby blushed like he always did with the mention of Grace's name. He hadn't gotten used to the fact the entire CBI knew of their relationship yet. Somehow, every time it came up, he felt embarrassed.

"Okay, boss. I'll drive."

"Fine. And stop calling me boss."

"Okay boss … erm, Lisbon."

Lisbon smiled and grabbed her jacket. As they shut off the lights, Lisbon turned to look at her working area, mixed emotions washing over her face. Could it really be true that someone she worked with would be causing all of this? That someone intentionally poisoned them? Or was it all just a coincidence and were they digging into situations that weren't situations at all? If only she already knew.

As they drove quietly to the hospital, Lisbon couldn't help but recall Jane's words over and over again. If he knew something, or sensed something at all, they needed to find out what it was quickly.

At the hospital, Rigsby and Lisbon split up. While he went in search of Van Pelt and the three other agents who had claimed sickness, Lisbon asked for Jane's room number and headed there. He was in a private room on the third floor.

As she peered in, she spotted Cho wide awake, sitting in a lounge chair, looking outside. He turned when he saw her enter. From the door she could tell that Jane was in a peaceful slumber, undoubtedly drugged to allow his body to rest. It always struck her how vulnerable he looked laying in a bed like that. What a pity it was he had no family to worry over him. They were his family.

"How is he?" she whispered.

"He was very lucid a few hours ago but they gave him a sedative so he could rest up. He insists on leaving tomorrow and the doctor has given his consent under the condition that he takes his medication and rests in the next couple of days. And of course if they don't find anything out of the ordinary in his blood."

"That might not be such a bad idea," Lisbon agreed. "We can keep a close eye on him at the CBI. If he's up for it, why not?"

Cho nodded. "Agreed."

"Did he say anything else?"

"Not while he was awake but he was running a fever before and mumbled a lot about Janet Gray and Kate Lomax. I think he feels guilty somehow."

"Knowing Jane I wouldn't be surprised. Did the doctor come back?"

"No, apart from the nursing staff there hasn't been anyone in."

"That means they haven't got the results yet," Lisbon sighed. "I was hoping they would."

She quickly informed Cho on the events at the CBI and told him to go home, knowing he would probably go to the ER instead and find his colleagues. As she remained alone with Jane, Lisbon walked up closer to the bed and watched her consultant sleep. He was calm and unaware she was there. Then she retreated in her chair and began to stare outside, just like Cho had done.

Less than an hour later, Rigsby and Cho returned to the room to tell her that two of the four CBI-agents were being admitted. They showed signs of stomach upset and irregular heartbeats and had to be monitored. Van Pelt and one other agent were being released in a few moments.

The news kept Lisbon up all night. It was early morning, with clear sunshine entering the room, that Jane woke up and saw her sitting there. As she watched him, she knew he was doing much better and she smiled a relieved smile. At least that was something.