Red Bones, Red Bones- Chapter 5
A/N- This is were the rating starts to apply…
"What do you mean, it's not Charlotte?" Rigsby asked, as Jane sat, dumfounded.
It wasn't her.
It wasn't his baby girl.
It wasn't Charlotte.
It was a girl.
It was a girl killed by Red John.
But it wasn't Charlotte.
Could she..
Could she be alive?
No. No, he couldn't think like that. This was Red John. This was Red John playing him, there was no way she was alive. If she had been, why hadn't he said anything? Why had he.. No. She.. She couldn't be alive.
Could she?
Could Red John have been waiting for him to figure it out? Could Red John have been waiting for the time when he had redeemed himself to have his daughter back.
Could this be his sick way of making Jane a better father?
Could this be Red John?
Could she be alive?
No… The things she would have faced.. Such a young child.. The torture.. The starvation…
Death was the better option.
Death protected her.
Death kept her safe from him.
From Red John.
But if it wasn't her…
"Jane? Lisbon asked, sliding into the chair next to him. "Jane, are you.. Are you okay?" She lay a hand on his arm.
"If this isn't her.. If that isn't her.. Wh.. Where is my daughter?!" His jaw was clenched as a single tear run down his face, the entirety of two teams, including three squinterns watching him fall apart.
"We will figure it out, Jane." Angela said softly.
"We will find her," Cam agreed, despite Brennan's silence.
"I.." She took a deep breath. "We will find out what happened to her.." She spoke, quietly as the computer pinged. "What's that, Angela?"
She frowned. "It's an IM from Dr. E John.." Jane shot up.
"That's one of his aliases" He said, reading the message.
So you figured it out, hu? Yes.. The body was not Charlotte's, but can you tell me if this is?
A photo shot up. It was a girl.
A blond girl.
A blonde teenage girl.
Jane's blonde teenage girl.
She was tied to the wall with thick heavy chains. Her malnourished body was halve naked, with only underwear and a large top. Her hair was platinum blonde, and it was brushed to frame her bony face. The curls hung loose around her beautiful face. Her eyes were a deep blue, and huge with the innocence of a child.
She was the image of him.
She was Jane's daughter.
His fists were clenched as noise started coming through the receiver.
"Now now, little Charlotte, you see this man?" He held up a photo of Jane. "Who is this man?"
"Patrick.. Patrick Jane.." She said weakly. Even with such a weak tone, her voice was beautiful, harmonically astounding, like and angel singing. Everything about her was beautiful.
She was beautiful.
She was a Jane.
"What does he this mean to you, little Charlotte?"
"He.. He's my father, and I will love him every day of forever.." She summoned all of her courage to look him in the eye. She was strong.
Stronger than him.
Stronger than her grandfather.
As strong as..
"Ahh little Charlotte, you have your mothers heart, such a strong one. Such a beautiful woman too, I should know.." He smiled, so that the camera could see. He wore a black mask over all of his features except his eyes and his mouth. He was Red John. "I suppose we will have to teach you the hard way, wont we.." He hit her. Again, and again.
And every time, she cried out in agony.
She cried out, for him.
She cried out, pleading for help.
"Who is this man?" He shoved the picture in her face.
"He.. He is Patrick Jane. I am Charlotte Anne Jane. He. Is. My. Father." She mustered all of her strength, once again, looking into his eyes, wich ere now only inches from her own, then she spat. She spat on him.
On Red John.
She just spat on Red John.
And he slapped her.
And he kicked her.
And he damn near stabbed her.
"So we're gunna do this the hard way, hu? Okay, so, Jane, you have 48 hours to find her, or I kill her. Wanna know how I found out that you knew she wasn't on one of your slabs?" He laughed. "Maybe you should ask Ms. Wick?" He laughed again, kicking Charlotte.
And that was it,
The camera turned off.
Gone.
His daughter.
Red John.
And he.. HE could do anything he wanted to her.
Anything.
Anything at all.
His daughter.
She was alive.
She was alive!
"Jane?" Brennan asked.
"We have to find her. I don't give a damn what it costs. Have any of you got kids?" Every single one of the doctors along with Rigsby nodded. "Okay.. Rigsby, get protection on Ben. Uh.."
"Christine is safe. No one is getting past my dad." Brennan said easily.
"Michel is at College."
"Michael.." Angela and Hodgens said.
"Parker.." Booth spoke.
"Parker is in England. I'll call my dad, and he will go over to your apartment? He can watch Christine and Michael Vincent. Rigsby, if you want to bring Ben, is it? If you want to bring him down here, my dad will watch him too." Brennan said, getting her phone out as she walked from the room.
"Are you sure the kids will be safe with Brennan's dad, I mean.. This guy.."
"Brennan's dad killed the FBI director because he was targeting Brennan and her brother. The kids will be fine." Angela said. Lisbon's team's jaws dropped. "Yeah. He.. Uh.. Yeah.." She looked down.
"Um.. I think I'm gunna call Sarah and have her bring Ben down here. We still don't know if there is anyone in the CBI working for Red John.." Rigsby said.
"Dad is happy to have them for as long as we need. That includes Ben." She looked at Rigsby. "What did he mean when he said, ask Ms. Wick.." Brennan said.
"Oh my God." Booth said.
"Daisy was here, behind me. She knows. ""Daisy's working with him." Sweets walked into the room.
"Hi, I'm Sweets, the physiatrist for this team." He smiled at their reactions. "I'm also a Criminal Profiler for the FBI."
"Where is she?" Rigsby asked.
"We'll start looking." A security guard said, Booth and Rigsby following to make sure no rock was left unturned in the search."
"Ange, can you bring up any background noise from the film? That could make the realm of possibility smaller on her location." Brennan spoke.
"Wait- one of your interns was just revealed as working with a serial killer, and you don't even care?" Van Pelt asked.
"Of course I care. But catching an accomplice is hardly going to bring Charlotte back now, is it?" Her eyes were glued to the screen. "Besides, the best intern we ever had turned out to be working with a cannibal called Gourmagon." Van Pelt shuddered.
"It looks like there are seeds of pollen floating around, that suggests a area with a high pollen count?"
"It must be pretty secluded for him to be able to make all that noise and not be noticed.."
"Here, I got the background noise." Angela clicked another button. The sound of a seaside echoed around the room.
"So we're looking for a secluded beach with a high pollen count?" Hodgens said, as Angela pulled up a map, highlighting three cities.
"She's in Miami, Pensacola or Malibu." Angela said.
"Malibu. She will be in Malibu.." Jane said.
His daughter.
She was at home.
At their home.
All that time.
She had been so close.
She had been so far.
His daughter.
His baby girl.
Red John.
Red John.
Red John.
And then it came.
Another message.
Well done! Now, if you come to Malibu, you will have three chances. Three chances to guess who I am. Three chances, and then I kill her. Three chances to save your daughter Jane. Can you do it?
No.
He couldn't.
He couldn't do in forty eight hours what he had failed to do in ten years.
He couldn't save her.
He had come so close, and yet he was so far.
He had come so close to having his life back.
But he couldn't.
He didn't deserve it.
He didn't deserve her.
He didn't deserve them.
And that was why.
That was why it wasn't the child molesting cases.
It wasn't the sadistic serial killers.
It wasn't her undying love for him that tore Patrick Jane apart.
It was him.
It was the blood.
It was the smiley face.
It was the three fingers, clockwise.
It was Red John.
It always would be Red John.
He picked himself up and left the room.
Unresponsive.
Emotionless.
Jane.
Born a Jane, die a Jane.
That was how it worked.
Your born a Jane, you do something stupid, you loose everything you love, you die a Jane. It was the never ending cruel cycle that his great-granddad started.
It was the endless cycle that he was going to stop.
Because he couldn't love anything anymore.
He couldn't love anyone anymore.
Not after her.
Not after Angela.
Not after Charlotte.
He couldn't do that.
He couldn't put her in that line of danger again.
He couldn't hurt Lisbon like that.
He couldn't save her.
He couldn't save any of the women he had loves, whether it be Charlotte, Angela or Lisbon.
But he could do his best.
He could do his best to keep them out of the fire.
He could do his best to keep them away from Red John.
XXX
The cold of late-night DC hit him like a thousand knives crushing their victims. Like a hundred of Red John's knives crushing her.
Angela.
Charlotte.
His wife.
His daughter.
Lisbon.
He may not get his daughter back, ad his wife may be gone, but he as sure as hell wasn't letting Lisbon anywhere near Red John.
Never.
"Jane?" She asked, stepping into the chilly breeze of the night in DC.
"I cant do this, Lisbon. I.. I cant save her. I don't know who he is."
"We'll figure it out Jane.."
"No, we wont. We can't. She is as good as dead." He spat the last words, and saw the pain fly through her eyes.
"We will find her, Jane, and we will figure out who he is. You know we will." She said, more forcefully.
"What if.. What if I cant do this? What if I can't have a constant reminder of my faliure.."
"Getting her back isn't a reminder of your failings, it is a display of how you succeeded. If you get her back, you have defeated Red John. She looks like an amazing woman, Jane, and if youcan get her back, your life.."
"What if I can't do it on my own." He was facing her, his lips only a few centimetres away from hers…
"You're not alone, Jane.." she began, "You have everyone in there, you have the team.." She paused, as her eyes met his.
"You have me.."
That was all it took, once again, to drive him crazy with lust.
His lips mat hers in a delicate yet passionate kiss as if he were afraid to hurt her, afraid to cause her pain. Everything he had thought about keeping her safe flew out of the window. He couldn't do this on his own, but he could if Lisbon was by his side. He could do this with her. He could live again, if he was living with her. His delicate little Lisbon.
His delicate little Lisbon who grabbed onto his collar and pressed her small frame against his.
His delicate little Lisbon who was giving it as good as she got.
His delicate little Lisbon.
His delicate little Lisbon.
When the need for oxygen got too much, she pulled her lips from his and rested her forehead against his own, her body still firmly resting against his. She looked up into his deep blue eyes that were the size of saucers.
He pulled away, holding onto her waist, and flagged down a taxi to take them back to the motel. Back to their temporary home. Back to a night filled with love, lust and passion.
Because he didn't need Red John.
He needed her.
He didn't deserve her.
She wanted him.
He would have is daughter back.
She would bring his daughter back.
But for now, all that mattered was them, together.
The Jeffersonion would do fine without them.
Red John would wait.
Red John.
Red John.
Lisbon.
Lisbon.
Lisbon.
She was what had kept him going.
She was his love.
She was his.
XXX
A/N- So, two chapters in two days! I'm a little upset by the amount of reviews I got yesterda still love them! Remember that rating? Yeah, that's going to apply for the next few chapters (violent scenes, possible character death?) I don't know…
I've already got some idea's for the next chapter, so I'll start writing it soon!