There seems to have been a problem in posting this the first time. I'm reposting in hopes that the glitch will be gone. Thanks for your patience!
A/N: Waterbaby134 and I continue to be so amazed at the response to this fic. You guys have been so kind! In this chapter, you will find some more romance, fluffiness, action, and a Jane plan. Proceed at your own risk :).
Chapter 8
Her last words hung in the car like so much desert dust, until finally he reached his hand across the center console to take hers.
"I will fight for you, Teresa Lisbon, with everything that I am."
"Us, Jane. I said us," she said emphatically, holding tightly to him so he wouldn't wiggle out of this, either emotionally or physically.
He sighed, running his other hand through his hair and briefly closing his eyes. Then he smiled a little and looked back at her in mild exasperation.
"You're like a dog with a bone, aren't you?"
"It takes one to know one, eh, Fido," she said, her smile grim. He looked down where their fingers were joined and he gave hers a little squeeze.
"I'm afraid, Teresa," he said, suddenly serious again. It took a lot for him to admit this. "It would be just like him to try to repeat history."
"The difference is that you aren't living your life with blinders on anymore. You know what he's capable of, and you—we—won't let down our guards, not for a minute, right?"
"No," he whispered, his mouth barely forming the word.
"Jane-?"
"No," he said more strongly, and he brought her hand to his lips. She nodded in satisfaction, feeling as if she had won, at least for the moment. But then he dropped the subject abruptly, and she wondered if she could actually get whiplash from a conversation with him.
"Now, for crying out loud, woman, can you please turn on the car again, I feel like I'm slowly roasting in an oversized oven." He wiped at his brow dramatically.
She rolled her eyes and let go of his hand to turn on the vehicle, shooting him a sideways glance before signalling and returning to the freeway. He was looking out the window, his expression solemn once more.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Much later, Jane made a dinner run to the only fast-food joint in the oasis, and they ate cheeseburgers in his bed.
"All we seem to do lately is eat and have sex," Lisbon said, the sheet covering her naked body, the same position where he'd left her.
"And you're complaining about this?" he asked dryly, setting down the paper sack containing their junkfood.
"Well, if we keep this up, there's going to be a lot more of me to love."
Jane stripped to his boxers again to crawl between the sheets beside her. She handed him his burger once he'd gotten comfortable.
"Gladly. You could use some meat on your bones," he offered. "You skip way too many meals." He grinned as he turned and held out a French fry to her lips. She ate from his hand and felt a little thrill as his eyes darkened just watching her chew.
"Are you saying you don't find me attractive?" She shook her head in mock sadness. "Together only two days and already with the complaints."
"Just like a woman to fish for compliments."
"Just like a man to withhold them."
They grinned around the straws in their milkshakes and then spent a few more minutes feeding each other fries and lightly kissing in thanks after each small gift. It was totally silly and romantic and Lisbon never realized how much she longed to have this with a man. The fact that the man was Jane made these moments a bit surreal, but she supposed she shouldn't be surprised that loving this man might actually be...fun.
When she finished the last of her burger, she crumpled the paper wrapper, tossing it into the small wastebasket across the room.
"Two points!" she exclaimed.
"What am I, in bed with Rigsby?" Jane asked in amusement at her childish antics.
But then he followed suit with his own wrapper, grinning triumphantly when he not only made that shot, but followed it up with their napkins and the French fry box. He made fake audience applause noises before kissing her cheek and pulling her close to his side. She laughed in sheer bliss, feeling decidedly young and deeply in love.
It was amazing to her that they could revert back to their old comfort level, but with an added intimacy that made both of them happier than either had been in years. She never dreamed it could be like this with him, that sex had only added a new dimension to their friendship. And here she'd been afraid to ruin it.
"We need to talk about the plan tomorrow," Jane said reluctantly, breaking the light-hearted spell.
She sighed, taking their empty cups and setting them on the bedside table. Well, so much for bliss...
"Seriously? We've gone over it ten times already."
"Well, the whole thing hinges on how realistic it seems. Lorelei mustn't suspect anything or we'll never be able to secure her trust. While I was out, I got what I needed from the convenience store. All that's left is the little beauty from the prison infirmary and we're set. You have your Taser, right?"
It was against regulations for even police officers to carry a gun in the prison.
"Yes, Jane," she said indulgently. He'd already asked her that twice. She shook her head at the role reversal; usually it was she who was nervous about one of his plans.
"Nothing can go wrong," he muttered, kissing her temple. "It has to be the best con job I've ever done."
"Even better than your last?" she queried dryly, one hand stroking his stomach beneath the covers. She smiled when he trembled, then he reached down to still her wandering hand with his.
"Yes, my saucy temptress," he said, "Can we please focus on the subject at...Oh, God...Lisbon..."
Lisbon's other hand had dipped even lower, tracing him through his underwear. Except for his sudden increase in breathing, he became completely silent, his eyes closing, letting her work him to a frenzy with just her fingers. It was truly a joy for her to be able to distract him for a change, to ruin his normally dogged determination with only a touch. She never imagined she could wield so much power over the unflappable Patrick Jane. How might things have been different if they'd begun this affair years ago? She might have kept him from doing all kinds of stupid things...
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The next day they arrived at the prison, each of them a bundle of nerves despite having gone over the plan ad nauseum the night before. That morning he'd awakened her with a spate of softly urgent kisses down her spine. She'd shivered and allowed him to lift her hips, entering her slowly from behind, his bare chest pleasantly heavy against her back. He'd brought them both to ecstasy that way, his warm breath in her ear whispering his love for her over and over.
Still, despite the languid beginning to their day, they were both tense once again as they entered the starkly imposing building. Darcy looked like she was having second thoughts as she ushered them into the observation room for a few final words before the attack.
"This may be the stupidest thing I've ever been a party to," she told them.
"Just wait," muttered Lisbon, and Jane frowned at her disloyalty. She shrugged, not sorry in the least. He had a way of making people do things they wouldn't ordinarily do, mainly because he usually got positive results, but also because he was too damn charming for his own good. If Darcy were allowing herself to be caught up in his schemes already, it wouldn't take long til she began drinking just as heavily of the Patrick Jane Kool-Aid as Lisbon herself did. It was inevitable.
"Did you get what I need from the infirmary?" Jane asked, his voice clipped and businesslike. She reached into her desk drawer and handed the small item to him, which he pocketed gently in his suit coat. "Thanks. Your men up to speed now?"
"Yes; they know what to do." She looked wryly over at Lisbon. "Is he always like this?"
Lisbon's lips quirked. "We had a conversation just yesterday about dogs with bones..."
"I'm more concerned about women with Tasers," Jane shot back.
"Don't worry about me," said Darcy. "Worry about keeping out of my way."
"That's precisely what I'm talking about."
"Can we please just get on with this?" said Lisbon, her nerves by no means soothed by the tension-laden banter. "It happens when she's being taken to the interrogation room, right?"
"Yes," replied Darcy. "Right before we get to the door, so Jane can be conveniently nearby."
"Good," said Jane.
Just then, a tall, Native American man with intent gray eyes entered the office.
"This is Special Agent Brian Anoatubby," Darcy said by way of introduction. "He'll be our assassin," she explained.
They shook hands all around but Jane held the man's large paw in his, checking his pulse with his thumb and looking deeply into the man's serious eyes. He must have been satisfied with what he saw, for he eventually nodded and released his grip. Anaotubby raised an amused eyebrow at Darcy, who shrugged as if silently saying, I warned you.
Jane handed the small paper sack from the convenience store to Anoatubby. "This is for you. Make it look good."
They went over the plan yet again with the agent, and Darcy had to admit she'd notified the warden of what they were up to.
"How'd that go over?" asked Lisbon.
"Not well. But we're the FBI; we're supposed to know what we're doing."
"He didn't mind his guards being a part of it?"asked Anaotubby.
"He minded, all right," said Darcy, "but I left him little choice."
"See, Lisbon, I told you she was cool."
Lisbon felt her face flush at his implication she'd ever said otherwise. She turned to the federal agent. "Thanks, Susan, for all your help."
"I blame Miss Martins for Luther's death as much as I do Red John. While this is certainly unorthodox, not to mention unethical, ends do sometimes justify the means, don't they Patrick?"
"Indeed," he replied.
Darcy picked up her Walkie Talkie. "Guards, bring the prisoner to the interrogation room. It's time."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Try to relax," said Jane softly as they sat in their chairs awaiting Lorelei's arrival.
He saw her close her eyes and bow her head briefly, knowing she was saying a prayer to herself. Well, whatever worked; he was almost tempted to do the same himself.
The sound of chains jingling from her leg shackles announced the prisoner's approach down the hall, and Jane and Lisbon tensed. The moment she was in view, Anaotubby would make his move. So it would seem more realistic, the guards weren't informed of the exact time the attack would occur. Even though Jane and Lisbon were expecting it, when the commotion came, Lisbon nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Hey!" yelled a guard.
"Stop him!" yelled the other escort, at the same time struggling to calm Lorelei, who was looking down at her arm in shock.
Lisbon ran to the doorway, in time to see the FBI agent running down the hall. She caught sight of Lorelei, a smear of green slime on her forearm, before she chased after the assassin. "Stop!" she yelled for effect. She pulled out her Taser and pressed the trigger, sending out two stun probes that caught him in the legs. Down went Anaotubby, and immediately Lisbon cut the power, pulling out her handcuffs while hoping she'd put on a believable show for the prisoner.
Jane and the other guards lowered Lorelei to the floor. Darcy emerged from the observation room, Taser drawn, a look of concern on her face.
"What the hell happened?" she asked.
"Don't touch her arm," Jane told them. "She's been poisoned. I've seen this before." The guards backed away quite convincingly.
"Patrick," Lorelei said, brown eyes wide and watering with fear. "Oh my God, don't let me die!"
"I won't." From his pocket he pulled out the syringe Darcy had procured for him, and, removing the protective cap, he pulled up Lorelei's sleeve and plunged the needle into her upper arm.
"I was afraid this would happen," he told her, trying to make his voice sound shaken—not as difficult as he might have thought. "I came prepared. I didn't want to lose you like we lost Rebecca." He watched as her eyes became glassy from the effects of the shot.
"Stay with me, sweetheart," he told her, tapping her face gently. "Stay with me."
"Patrick," she said in a frightened whisper, before she passed out completely.
"Lorelei?" he said, lightly slapping her cheeks again. He lifted her eyelids to see that her pupils were completely dilated. He stood up.
"She's out," he said.
Lisbon opened Anaotubby's cuffs, and helped the man up, still slightly stunned from the brief contact with the Taser.
"Jesus," he was saying. "I forgot how much that hurts."
"Sorry," said Lisbon. "Thanks for volunteering."
"You'd better get out of here, just in case she comes to unexpectedly," Jane cautioned.
He nodded. "Hope you get something out of her from this."
"Me too," said Jane. He shook the man's hand and watched in sympathy as he limped back down the hallway. Darcy waved in grateful farewell.
"Sweetheart?" Lisbon asked, rounding on Jane, having heard and disliked immensely the endearment he'd bestowed upon the "dying" woman.
Jane shrugged. "I was in character—had to make her think I really cared what was happening to her." She gave him a look that spoke volumes as to how he was going to pay for that later.
"Let's get her to the infirmary," said Darcy, and the two guards picked up Lorelei's limp body and carried her toward the small clinic, all ready and waiting for the upcoming new occupants of the prison.
They laid Lorelei on a hospital bed, re-clamping her cuffs to the rails.
Jane grabbed a paper towel from a nearby sink and wiped off the green aloe vera gel from Lorelei's skin. It seemed to have worked as a suitable representation of the actual poison that had killed Sam Bosco's demented secretary, Rebecca. If Lorelei had been with Red John as long as he suspected, she likely would have known about the stuff. The shot he gave her, the so-called antidote, was merely a harmless sedative.
"When she wakes up, and realizes she's alive, she'll think she passed out as a result of the poison," said Jane.
"You'll be her hero," Lisbon said. "Your forethought saved her life. I wonder what she'll think of Red John now."
"I've got to say, Jane, if this works, I'll never doubt you again," said Darcy.
"Well, that would be a mistake," teased Lisbon, but she found she was as proud of Jane's idea as if it were her own. Jane, inordinately pleased himself at how well things had gone thus far, acknowledged Lisbon's jab with a grin.
"Things don't always go as planned," Jane replied sheepishly to Darcy. "The real test will be her state of mind when she wakes up."
"Here's a picture of Anaotubby," Darcy said, handing Jane a four-by-five-inch color photo of the FBI agent. She smiled. "May he rest in peace."
"Thanks. And you all were great actors," Jane said, spreading his arms out to include the guards as well as the two female agents. "Had me convinced."
"Yes, thanks, guys," said Darcy to the guards. They nodded and took their places at the infirmary door. "Well, I'll leave you to her. Let me know when she wakes up."
When Darcy left the clinic, Jane and Lisbon took a seat on a nearby bed to await sleeping beauty's awakening. Careless of possible witnesses, he held her hand, then kissed her gently on the mouth.
"If this doesn't work—" Lisbon began.
"It will," interrupted Jane, having regained his confidence. "I could see it in her eyes—she was terrified, not happy to die like some of Red John's other minions. It reinforces for me just how different she is. She hasn't been killed, or brainwashed, and she was given permission to hurt me. She's somehow important to him. She definitely seemed shocked that he'd sent someone to kill her."
"Makes you think she has some bigger purpose, doesn't it?" she asked.
"Yes. Shh...she's coming around," he said, having kept his eyes trained on the prisoner. He hopped down from the bed and went over to stand beside Lorelei, watching her eyes flutter behind their lids. She gave a little moan, then slowly opened her eyes.
"Lorelei?" Jane said. "We were afraid you weren't going to wake up. You've been out for hours." Lisbon was always amazed at the ease with which he lied.
"Huh?" Lorelei said groggily, then he watched as everything came back in a rush, and she tried desperately to sit up, brushing at her arm in terror. "No! Please! Get it off me! Get it—"
"Hush, now," said Jane, restraining her, and pushing her head gently back on the pillow. "You've had a horrible scare. The doctor's been here and gone. He said it was lucky I had that antidote with me or you'd have been a goner."
Her eyes widened. "You-?"
"Yes. You're going to be all right now. Lisbon caught the man who did this to you, but he managed to poison himself before we could get more of the antidote to him."
Lisbon stepped forward with the picture of Anaotubby. "You recognize this man? Seen him hanging around Red John?"
She squinted at the photo, then shook her head. "No." She closed her eyes again, still a little disoriented. "I don't understand," she whispered to herself. "He said he would protect me. He said he'd break me out when the time was right."
"I told you, you couldn't trust him," Jane said. "He's a murderer, a master manipulator. Lisbon, could you please bring Lorelei some water. You'd like some water, wouldn't you?"
Lorelei nodded, and Lisbon took a paper cup from a dispenser and filled it at the sink. She gritted her teeth at the prospect of helping the bitch, but her small act of kindness might garner her a few needed points in the trust department. She held the cup to her lips and the woman drank it gratefully.
"Thank you. I just feel so groggy now..."
"It's the effects of the poison along with the strength of the antidote," said Jane reassuringly. He had a wonderfully soothing bedside manner, Lisbon thought idly. He might have made a good doctor.
"Well, you get some rest now. We'll talk more when you feel up to it."
"Thank you. And Patrick...thanks for saving my life. I—I didn't want to die."
Jane nodded, then tenderly brushed the dark hair from her eyes. "I know. I'm glad I was there." Lisbon averted her eyes, though of course, she reassured herself, he was just using their previous connection to manipulate her.
They left Lorelei soon after, and one of the guards stepped inside the infirmary to watch her more closely. In the relative privacy of the observation room, Jane pulled Lisbon into his arms and kissed her with the passion of residual adrenaline mixed with triumph. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back wholeheartedly until they heard Darcy clearing her throat in the doorway. They broke apart and Lisbon blushed furiously.
"Is Lorelei awake?" Darcy asked dryly.
"Yes," replied Jane with an unapologetic grin. "She said Red John had told her he would try to break her out. I don't know what he's waiting for, but I think we might have scared her sufficiently to get something more out of her when it sinks in what almost happened to her."
"Good. I'll let her recover a bit more and get her back to her cell. Good work, you two. And seriously...get a room."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
That evening, (after continuation of their private celebration back at the motel) Jane and Lisbon returned to the prison. Lorelei was brought to the interrogation room, and she seemed much more subdued than usual. Much of her confidence seemed to have vanished, and she even seemed smaller to Lisbon in her oversized prison uniform.
"Feeling better?" asked Jane from his seat across from her.
"Yes. A bit of a headache still."
"That's understandable."
Lisbon slid the picture of Anaotubby across the table to her. It was Lisbon's turn to lie. "Now that you're more...alert...do you recognize him? His name is Parker Stewart. He's been posing as an FBI agent, that's how he got in here."
"No. I told you. I don't get this at all. Not that you two would understand. This has to have been a mistake. Maybe someone else—"
"Who?" asked Lisbon. "Who else would want you dead, if not that bastard Red John? Come on, Lorelei. Think."
"I—I don't know."
Lisbon felt Jane's hand grip her leg beneath the table. He raised an eyebrow at her. A little too persistent? She frowned, then closed her mouth in a resigned line.
"Agent Lisbon, could you leave us alone for a little while, please? Why don't you go to the break room and make me a sandwich?"
"What?" She said, her eyes narrowing dangerously. She felt the squeeze again on her thigh and looked down at his hand angrily. "Fine," she said, and rose from the table.
"Thank you, Teresa. And you may as well make one for yourself while you're at it."
"Go to hell," she muttered on her way out.
When she left the room behind, Lisbon smiled. Good cop, bad cop. Worked every time.
"Now then," said Jane. "You must be pretty angry at Red John. Probably scared too."
"I still think this was a mistake. It doesn't make any sense."
Jane reached across the table to touch her hand. "He's failed you, just like he's failed every one of his disciples whose ever been caught. But I can help you, Lorelei. You realize that when he finds out this first attempt failed, he'll try again. There won't be a prison or a safe house in the world that will be out of his reach. You know this, maybe even better than I."
She nodded, and he was secretly pleased at the renewed fear in her eyes.
"Give me a name, Lorelei. Just a name."
"I can't. He'd kill me for sure."
"He's going to kill you regardless."
"No," she said, but she was more hesitant now.
"I don't want anything to happen to you," he said, looking soulfully into her eyes. "What happened between us; you know now I was undercover, but you were right. You were my first since my wife—it wasn't just sex, Lorelei. Not for me."
I hope you can forgive me for that one, Teresa.
She looked sceptical. "But you're with Teresa now. I'm no fool, Patrick. I see how you look at her, how you kiss her. You're trying to manipulate me now just like Red John is."
Success, he thought. She admits that Red John doesn't have her best interests at heart.
"I wouldn't think of it," he told her. "You're too smart for that. But if you tell me where Red John is, we can protect you. Come on, what do you have to lose now? A name, Lorelei. Just a name," he repeated like a mantra.
She looked down at her hands, firmly cuffed to the table, then her eyes came up to his again, some of the old confidence glinting there.
"I want a deal as well as protection."
"What kind of deal?" he asked, and his heart was pounding now. She was about to cave, he knew it.
"Complete immunity. Witness protection."
"Done and done."
"Do you have the authority to make this deal?"
"Of course," he lied. "They told me to do whatever it takes to get information about Red John. I think this falls under that umbrella."
Jane could imagine Lisbon and Darcy on the other side of the glass, probably holding each other back from stopping the interrogation due to all the laws he just broke by telling her this.
She hesitated again, fear and denial warring within her. She'd trusted Red John, loved him even. He'd been her whole world for so long she didn't quite know how to live without him. This would be the ultimate betrayal, and she may well pay the ultimate price for it.
"He's betrayed you, Lorelei," said Jane, as if reading her mind. "You owe him nothing now."
She turned her head to her shoulder and wiped the sudden tears from her cheeks. Perhaps there was a name she could give him, one that might get her a deal yet still be vague enough that should Red John come through for her, she could honestly say that she told them nothing Jane didn't already know in his gut.
"Visualize," she said softly. "Now give me my goddamn witness protection."
A/N: Waterbaby tells me she would have been much tougher in the resolution of her cliffhanger, so I hope I didn't disappoint. If you decide to review, please make doubly sure you're logged in before posting it. If you don't hear back from us for the last chapter, there were many more "guests" than usual, so I think people didn't realize they weren't logged in. Thanks to those guests for their reviews!