The bedtime phone calls had gotten to be a bit of a habit.

Jane was still worried about Lisbon, and had started called her every night just when he knew she normally was getting ready for bed. Though she still got exasperated with him at the office if he hovered too close, she seemed to realize he needed some kind of extra reassurance and tolerated the late night phone calls with reasonably good grace. In fact, he was starting to suspect that she enjoyed them, too. She always acted like the long-suffering care-giver indulging a mental patient when she first picked up, but he could hear the smile in her voice when she heard him on the other end of the line.

These conversations were precious to him. Not just because every minute spent talking to Lisbon was one where he could be absolutely sure she was still breathing, but because Lisbon was more relaxed with him over the phone late at night when she wasn't on the clock. The brusqueness of Agent Lisbon fell away and the teasing humor of Teresa came out in full force. God, what he wouldn't give…

He ruthlessly tamped down such thoughts before they had a chance to fully form and told himself to be content with the simple pleasure of having Lisbon's voice be the last thing he heard before he went to sleep.

As a result, despite his continued fear for her safety, he tended to find himself in a rather more sanguine mood than usual when he got to the CBI in the mornings these days.

And when, one of those mornings, he ran into Lisbon in the parking lot of the CBI offices, he couldn't help the smile that broke out over his face when he saw her.

"Good morning," she greeted him, smiling back.

"Good morning," he returned, his own smile widening. She really had a lovely smile. He really ought to make sure she did it more often.

"Sleep well?" she asked.

"Surprisingly, yes," he told her. "Turns out the image of you pretending to be British for a day in front of an office full of people on your first day of work in college sent me quite happily into dreamland."

She punched him in the arm. She was still smiling, though, so he knew she wasn't mad. "I told you, I lost a bet."

"Were you any good?"

"I was terrible," she admitted. "I had the worst British accent ever. Everyone in the office was looking at me like I was crazy the whole day. But I had to stick it out until the end of the day to meet the terms of the bet, so I just kept saying 'Cheerio' like an idiot to anyone who talked to me. It was completely mortifying."

He chuckled. "I'd have paid good money to have seen that."

They rode up the elevator together and exited it still smiling rather foolishly at one another, but when Van Pelt accosted them before they had even entered the bullpen, her face grim and her shoulders tense, their smiles faded.

"What's wrong?" Lisbon asked immediately. Jane's hand was at the small of her back and he felt the muscles of her lower back tighten under his hand as she reacted to Van Pelt's tension.

Van Pelt bit her lip. "It's Karl. From the tactical advance team."

"Karl Maldonado? The one who helped us on the Vandermeyer bust a few months ago?" Jane asked.

"Yes, him," Van Pelt said impatiently.

"What about him?" Lisbon prompted.

"He's in one of the interrogation rooms."

Lisbon clearly didn't see any cause for alarm in this statement. "Okay," she said slowly. "Is he in there with a suspect?"

"No. He's been in there by himself since the custodial staff got here this morning."

"What has you so freaked out by this fact, Grace?" Jane asked, watching her closely.

"His wrists are in handcuffs, and he's just sitting there." Van Pelt took a deep breath. "With a piece of paper with a red smiley face drawn on it on the table in front of him."

Lisbon was marching towards the interrogation room before Jane had finished processing the shock of this revelation. Cho and Rigsby were outside the door, talking to two members of Maldonado's team.

Van Pelt hurried after her. "It's no good, boss," she said, laying a staying hand on Lisbon's wrist just as she laid her hand on the knob. "He refuses to talk to anyone but Jane."

"Well, that's too damn bad," Lisbon huffed.

Jane rushed over to her side. "Lisbon, wait. It could be a trap."

"Yes, I know," she said irritably. "For you."

"I'm not the one Red John threatened," he reminded her.

"We still don't know that for sure," she said stubbornly.

He closed his eyes. "Lisbon, please. I'll go in there and talk to him for a few minutes. Grace will be right outside the door, and you can watch from the interrogation room."

"Like hell I will," she said indignantly. "I am the team leader on this case. You're going in there with me or you aren't going in there at all."

He could tell she wasn't going to budge on this. He calculated his options rapidly and settled on the most reasonable compromise he could think of. "Fine. But if you come in, Van Pelt comes in, too."

"Fine," she said impatiently. "Let's do it."

He met Van Pelt's gaze and she nodded her understanding. She would keep an eye on Lisbon so he could focus his full attention on Karl Maldonado without being distracted by fear for her safety.

Jane entered the room first, making sure Lisbon and Van Pelt were well behind him.

"Good morning, Karl," Jane said. He took a seat at the table across the table from Maldonado. The two women took positions at his flanks, each leaning up against the wall on either side behind him and glowering menacingly at Maldonado.

The other man smiled at him. "Morning, Jane."

Jane gestured to the handcuffs and the smiley face still before him on the table. "So, what's going on here?"

"Nothing much."

Jane raised an elegant brow. "Nothing much? You're a respected agent with the CBI, yet you appeared to have handcuffed yourself with your own handcuffs and presented yourself to us with a piece of paper which implies that you have some connection to Red John."

"True," Maldonado agreed placidly.

Jane looked at him closely. "Have you been coerced into sitting in here in handcuffs?"

"No."

Jane waved a hand in front of his face. "It doesn't appear you've been hypnotized, either, so I must conclude you are here of your own free will."

"That's right."

Jane nodded to the sheet of paper with the smiley face on it. "What about that? Where did that come from?"

Maldonado smiled. "A friend gave it to me."

"Is your friend Red John?" Jane asked.

Maldonado's smile widened. It was like looking at a shark smile. "I've been told you're a smart one. Guess it didn't take much brains to figure that out."

Jane sat back in his chair. "Well, what's the message?"

"The message?" Maldonado said, feigning ignorance.

"Obviously Red John intends you to give me a message, otherwise why would he have sent you here?"

"Can't get a thing past you, can we?" Maldonado observed.

"The message," Jane repeated. "Let's have it."

Maldonado grinned slyly. "The message is: I am a gift."

Jane frowned. "I am a gift? What is that supposed to mean?"

Maldonado shook his head. "Not you. Me." He gestured to himself. "I am a gift. I'm Red John's gift to you."

"Tell him he shouldn't have," Jane said coolly.

"Red John has been generous with his gifts to you. You ought to be more grateful."

Jane shrugged. "I didn't think much of his last gift. I can't say you're much of an improvement."

"Ah, but that's because you don't know how valuable I am."

"The only way you could be valuable to me is if you could lead me to Red John, and since he was the one who sent you here, it seems unlikely that's going to happen."

"That's awfully conventional thinking, for you. Surely a creative genius of your caliber could find some use for me."

"Meh. You don't seem like such a prize to me. You've been in the CBI a long time, but you've never been more than an average agent. Never climbed the ranks. You get called in when the team leaders need a little extra muscle, but they don't rely on you. When other agents get letters of recommendations or promotions, somehow you're always forgotten, aren't you?"

Maldonado's shark smile flashed again. "There are advantages to being overlooked."

"Yes, I suppose there are," Jane agreed. "I never noticed you. I suppose he knows that I'm not drawn to the mundane."

Maldonado looked amused. "Mundane, am I?"

"Yes, mundane. I never suspected you, but then I never really looked at you." Jane studied him. "Now that I am looking at you, I see that you are utterly unoriginal. You have a brutal nature and a need to dominate women sexually—you are nothing more than a common creep of the highest magnitude. Creeps are not interesting or valuable. They're just creeps. Red John has preyed on your twisted sexual proclivities to win your loyalty. Tell me, does he actually provide women for you to play out your sick fantasies, or does he merely reward you with money so you can purchase sexual services on your own?"

Maldonado grinned, unoffended. "Like I said, Red John is generous with his gifts."

"Of which you are one," Jane repeated.

"Indeed. I am a treasure of incalculable worth."

Behind Jane, Van Pelt snorted. "Some treasure."

Maldonado shifted his gaze to her. She met his eyes defiantly and he smiled again. "Ah, pretty Agent Van Pelt. I've got a treasure for you right here, darlin,' if you'll come a little closer."

"Come any closer to me, and you'll lose that treasure, darlin,'" Van Pelt said icily.

Maldonado chuckled at this, unperturbed. "Oh, yes, I'd have fun with you. I do so love when my fillies have spirit. If my business with Jane here weren't so urgent, maybe Red John would have let me take you and your sexy boss here for a ride together."

Jane noticed Maldonado's eyes were dilated as his gaze drifted back and forth between Van Pelt and Lisbon as though he were trying to choose which of them he'd take most pleasure in breaking first. Jane spoke quietly but firmly to bring Maldonado's attention back to him. "What's your business? If it's so urgent, you'd better get on with it."

Maldonado focused on him again. "I'm here at Red John's request."

"To what end?"

Maldonado shrugged. "I'm here to offer you an opportunity."

"What could you possibly offer me?"

"Here is what I offer: You may ask me three questions, and I will answer truthfully. That is what Red John offers to you."

"Any three questions?" Jane asked quickly.

"Oh, there are rules, of course. You may not ask Red John's name, or how to find him. Anything else is fair game."

"What's the catch?" Jane said suspiciously.

"No catch. As I said, I am a gift. A true gift has no strings attached. Red John knows that."

Jane calculated his options rapidly and chose his first question. "Very well. What made you decide to follow Red John?"

"He showed me what my future could be if I followed him. He showed me what truth is. He showed me I could be my own master, and never know fear or longing again, if I remained loyal to him."

"How did he show you that future?"

Maldonado gave him a sly smile. "Is that your second question?"

"Yes."

"He takes us to a special place, the ones who are most loyal to him. He talks to us, and shows us visions of the future. He shows us true visions, ones you can see and touch and feel, so you know the truth of his words. Above all, he shows us how loyalty can yield the greatest, most precious rewards." He smiled again. "You really ought to consider joining him, Jane. It would do wonders for you. You'd live a life free of self-doubt, a life free of guilt."

"I deserve every minute of guilt I've ever experienced and more."

Maldonado shrugged. "Still, you can't deny it's tempting, to be free of it. Think carefully before you reject an offer to join Red John's followers."

"It will be a cold day in hell before I join Red John," Jane stated firmly.

"Very well," Maldonado said, unconcerned. "Have you thought of your final question yet? We're running short on time, I'm afraid."

"Yes. My third question is this: What services have you performed for Red John since you joined him?"

Maldonado looked pleased by this question. "I have performed many services for Red John over the years. Mostly I have provided him with information. Too many times to count, really, so I'll confine myself to the most recent example, for the sake of brevity."

"Not so very long ago, Mr. Jane, it came to my attention that you had devised a certain plan involving a warehouse. A plan which, had it succeeded, might have brought you ever so slightly closer to catching Red John. When I told my master of this plan, he saw it was an opportunity. He removed the evidence you sought from the warehouse, and sent one of my comrades to meet you instead. He knew your team would come with you, you see, and he knew this would be an opportunity to raise the stakes of your little game."

Jane felt, rather than saw, Lisbon tense behind him. "You son of a bitch," she hissed. "You nearly got one of my people killed."

Maldonado smiled at her. "How is Agent Cho doing these days, anyway?"

Lisbon lunged for him, but Van Pelt had her pinned up against the wall before she could get within five feet of him.

"He's not worth it, boss," Van Pelt told her, keeping her firmly pressed against the wall. "Killing him isn't worth your career."

Lisbon was so surprised she didn't even fight back. "I'm not going to kill him," she said furiously. "I'm going to break his goddamned nose."

"It could be a trick," Van Pelt said, not loosening her hold one bit. "I'm not letting him get close to you."

Jane found himself on his feet, unconsciously shifting to place himself more firmly between Maldonado and the two agents behind him.

Maldonado stood, too. He smiled again. "Time's up."

Jane, who had turned his head to look at Lisbon and Van Pelt, didn't see Maldonado produce a long, thin blade from up his sleeve.

"Jane, look out!" shouted Lisbon.

Startled, Jane turned just in time to see Maldonado raise the blade in his cuffed hands and slit his own throat.

Jane stood there, stunned, as the warm spray of blood struck his face.