Title: Red Window
Author: Shannon – shannyfish
Disclaimer: I do not own "The Mentalist" or its characters, Warner Brothers and Bruno Heller do. This is merely for entertainment purposes only.
Rating: R (to be safe)
Summary: Sequel to "Suffering is the Best Punishment". With Lisbon gone, Jane leaves CBI to set out to find her and to kill Red John. He won't let Red John kill his family again.
Warning: adult themes
Chapter 11 – "Running Interference"
Author's Note: Okay, just an FYI to anyone who actually reads my notes. The next several chapters are going to be a lot slower. There were a lot of "a week has passed" in previous chapters, but the next chapters are going to probably be painfully slow as far as action goes, but that doesn't mean that they'll be boring ;) Just the best way to do them I think!
Suffering is the Best Punsihment Trailer - http: / www. mega video. com/ ?v = Q581AW2H
(take out the spaces for )
...
"If it takes my whole life, I won't break, I won't bend.
It will all be worth it, worth it in the end.
Because I can only tell you what I know, that I need you in my life.
When the stars have all gone out you'll still be burning so bright."
– "Answer" by Sarah McLachlan
CBI Headquarters
Time was slow and cruel. Not only had he had to suffer through coming to CBI everyday, but he had to live with the disappointment the day would bring. He was back to going out into the field, but nothing was getting solved. He knew Hightower was not happy about it, but he couldn't do anything about it. His unique skills were not going to function, not until he got Lisbon back. Sure, that probably seemed childish to Hightower, but it was his prerogative.
"Have we heard anything from the FBI or the Ketchum Police?" Rigsby asked.
Jane shook his head from where he lay on his couch. He'd seriously thought about sneaking into Lisbon's office, it was still her office even if they'd stripped it of all her things, and lay on her couch. Most people wouldn't look for him in there and on top of it, he couldn't be seen. On his couch, he was in the middle of everything. And he had to hear all the disappointing news whether he was ready to hear it or not.
"They're supposed to be going and investigating today," Van Pelt spoke up from her desk. "They called this morning and said that they'd let us know when they had anything."
"Waiting sucks," Rigsby grumbled as he made his way to his desk with a cup of coffee in hand.
Jane had yet to hear Cho say anything. He knew that he was sitting at his desk doing paperwork. He'd been doing so well running interference for him with Hightower. He was learning. It was good for him, even if Lisbon would be back soon enough to do it.
This was going to be how the day was going to be. It wasn't even quite lunch yet, but this was how the whole day would end up being. He wasn't the only one who was going to be unproductive. The whole team was going to be the same way, even Cho. He'd most likely not get everything he wanted done at the very least. Jane was sure that he really didn't care though, just like the rest of them.
"Who's doing the lunch order?" Jane asked.
He figured that changing the subject would be good for all of them. A distraction was a good thing sometimes. Sure, they'd still be thinking about it, but there was something comforting about good food especially when California was going through its own special version of winter. Today it was in the forties, but there would be no surprise if it was a hundred on Christmas day. California and its seasons was just special like that. Unpredictable.
"What?" Rigsby asked in confusion.
Jane noticed when he sat up that he'd caught Rigsby off guard with that question; there was now a coffee stain on his crisp white shirt. He just smiled. "Well we have to have lunch and are we really going to all leave the office when the FBI or Ketchum Police could be calling at any moment?"
He watched as they all thought about it. He knew that it would get them all in agreement. They'd eat together, which was always a good thing. He thought it helped further morale. Plus, he really didn't want to go outside at the moment to go somewhere to get food and he especially didn't feel like sitting outside in the cold. No, this way was much more beneficial for the team as a whole, even if some of his idea was out of selfishness.
"I'll go," Van Pelt volunteered.
"Food is good for the soul and all that," Jane told Rigsby who still looked confused. "Rigsby should go with you. Help carry things up."
Rigsby stared at Jane for a moment and then nodded. "I can go too."
"What are we having?" Cho asked.
Jane was surprised that Cho was finally talking, though this was good. Everyone was now participating in his plan. "Something good, but maybe not something so healthy for us," Jane suggested.
"You just described half the fast food within a hundred miles of headquarters," Cho pointed out.
Jane shrugged. "It's an idea."
"Something hot," Van Pelt said.
"How about fried chicken?" Jane suggested. "Biscuits, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, macaroni and cheese."
"I could go for that," Van Pelt said and looked to the others.
"Just make sure we get enough of everything," Cho said.
"Do we need drinks?" Rigsby asked as he got up.
"I think we should be good with what we have on hand," Jane said with a smile. "But good making sure that we'll be set."
Jane watched as Van Pelt and Rigsby left together. At least someone should be happy. Those two needed each other, even if they worried about the rules. Rules were just guidelines, weren't they?
"You enjoyed that," Cho spoke up.
"I did!" Jane said brightly as he got up and crossed the room until he came to Cho's work area. Jane pulled up a chair, so that he was close enough that no one else would overhear their conversation. "You know that if this is Red John and one of his minions that he will make sure that Lisbon and Kaydance Millary aren't in sight when that team searches, don't you?"
"I had thought about that," Cho said. "I looked up the property using Google map's satellite on that place. It's huge and there's a building a bit farther back on the property. I tried to get through to the agents in charge, but no one's returning calls. From Hightower, I'm not even sure if they're doing a search of the house itself. They may just be looking in windows and searching the property for all we know."
"Well, we know that they're going to try to identify this Simon character, right?" Jane asked.
"Right."
"That's a start, isn't it?"
"I suppose," Cho said. "But we don't have any evidence of Lisbon and the girl with Simon Callahan. All of the photos don't have him looking up. He looks down the whole time."
"Have I mentioned yet how much I hate protocol?" Jane asked in complaint as he leaned back in the chair.
Cho glanced at the clock and then back at Jane. "Not in the last hour."
"Well, now I have."
"Logged."
…
"We have good news and bad news," Hightower said.
"Of course, we do," Jane said in disgust.
Hightower glared at him for a moment before continuing. "They went to the house. Simon Callahan does live there."
"That sounds like good news," Van Pelt spoke up.
"They didn't find Lisbon or Kaydance Millary," Hightower continued.
Jane sighed. "He works with Red John. He's smart. He has hiding places."
"When they searched the house they found three bedrooms that were obviously lived in. One was obviously his, one room belonged to a woman, and another to a little girl." Hightower went on. "They managed to be able to acquire samples from both the woman's and the girl's rooms. Now, it won't be something we can use in court, but it'll give us peace of mind. They've put the DNA on rush, but it's still going to take time."
"Did they search the building that I contacted them about?" Cho asked.
Hightower frowned. "No. They apparently weren't aware at how far the property extended and didn't get their messages until they'd already left. They said that Mr. Callahan was helpful and that he didn't seem nervous."
"That doesn't mean anything," Jane dismissed it.
"I'm afraid that unless the DNA comes back matching Lisbon and Millary that we're going to have to give up on this lead unless the police spot him with either of them," Hightower said.
It was quiet. Jane watched them all. Hightower seemed calm and unchanged. But the team, there was tension and upset in the air. They'd all been at their table together even after lunch just talking, which had been relaxing and comforting and it had kept their mind off of Lisbon and the case. And now…there was worry and confusion and upset and so many other emotions on their faces.
"Thank you for passing on that information," Cho said finally.
Jane turned to him and could see determination in Cho's face. He was going to go through with their plan. Jane knew it. Though Cho mostly kept on his poker face, Jane had learned how to read the slightest change in his features. This gave him some hope, some strength.
"Where are Lisbon's boxes?" Jane asked.
"In storage," Cho responded quickly.
"How many are there?"
"Two or three."
"I'm going to need a couple of helpers," Jane said looking around the table.
"You want to take Lisbon's stuff out of storage?" Van Pelt asked.
Jane gestured towards Lisbon's empty office. "How do you think she'll feel when we bring her back and her office is empty?" He turned his attention to Cho. "You're not moving in there, right? Hightower's already offered it to you."
"She's practically thrown me in there," Cho said with his arms crossed. "It's Lisbon's office. This is my desk," he said.
"Good. Now that that's settled, who's helping?"
"I'll help," Rigsby said after a moment of hesitation.
"I'll help too," Van Pelt said.
"I'll help you get the boxes out of storage without alerting Hightower," Cho said.
This is why they were a team. They needed each other. They worked well together. They were a family. They may well be dysfunctional, but they were still a family. He grinned brightly at them all and then clapped his hands when he got up. "Okay, let's go! Field trip!"
"You know that Hightower will notice," Cho said.
"Just tell her that it's your stuff," Jane said. "But that you're easing your way into working in there."
"I'm so glad that you always have a story for everything," Cho said, his voice still even.
Jane just smirked and led the way. This was an excellent plan. This would just have to do until the DNA results came in from the FBI. He'd make sure that he harassed Van Pelt and Rigsby into calling and harassing the FBI lab techs on his behalf. They needed to know right away. If all else failed, there was always Thursday, which was quickly approaching.
…
Her office was put back together almost as if it hadn't been touched. Almost. Paperwork had been removed. But other than that, it was Lisbon's office. He'd gone through photos that they had of them all. Most of them were from the office and someone had snapped a picture and he'd found a good one of them all together. He'd gone out with Van Pelt and gone shopping.
The result of this shopping trip was a picture of the team in a new frame that he'd put on her desk. He knew that she had family, she had three brothers, but sometimes he wondered if they were the closest she really had to a family. And when he started to think about it, it seemed true for them all. Of course, Van Pelt had gone into the seasonal section of the store and had brought Christmas into Lisbon's office.
He watched in glee as Rigsby and Cho worked on putting up lights and garland around Lisbon's office windows. Van Pelt worked on putting up a small tree complete with lights and decorations. There was no way that Hightower would miss that they'd gone into Lisbon's office, but at least things were falling back into place.
Everything would be set when they brought Lisbon back. He hated to think of what she'd think if she came back to an empty office. The feeling that they'd given up. Jane didn't want her to be upset after they were rescuing her from a traumatic experience. He wanted it to be comfortable and comforting. And of course, the festiveness of it all was just an added bonus.
"It looks perfect," Jane said as he sipped his tea. He was currently supervising from the couch in Lisbon's office.
They'd look for her even if the CBI gave up.
Jane wasn't giving up.
He'd find Lisbon even if it took his whole life.
He'd find her.
…
TBC…