A/N: Okay folks, buckle up...grisly start ahead.

Chapter 9 - Choices

'Oh my god' gasped Van Pelt as she watched the monitor in front of her. 'She just sliced the boss. We should get in there.'

'No' Cho commanded. 'Lisbon knows what she's doing. Nothing until she gives us the go ahead. It's only a flesh wound. No arteries hit.'

Van Pelt looked at Rigsby for support but he shrugged. 'Cho's right. Boss made us promise.' He added softly, 'She'll be okay, Grace. She's been through worse.'

Lorelei passed the knife over to Jane as she continued to hold the gun on him. He frowned, looking at it. 'What am I supposed to do with this?'

'Cut her. Left arm. Same length of incision as mine.'

He almost laughed hysterically. 'You're crazy. I never agreed to hurt her.'

He made sure not to look at Lisbon, knew if he did he'd lose it but could hear the panting in her voice, the pain she was trying to keep under control. 'I'm not doing it.'

'So you do still care for her?' Lorelei asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

He swallowed quickly. 'That has nothing to do with it. I'm not in the habit of cutting people open.'

'Did you really think it'd be that easy, Patrick? That you would only have to be a spectator? How is Red John going to be able to trust you if you can't do as he asks.'

'He's not asking me. You are.'

'I speak for him in this matter.'

'I only have your word for that.'

She sighed and shrugged. 'I understand. You're not there yet. Not yet at least. He'll be...disappointed. He was so looking forward to meeting you.' As she took her phone out to presumably call off Red John from coming he glanced at Lisbon finally, focusing on her face and not on her arm, his eyes asking her the next move, not willing to make the call alone.

She panted, 'Just do it you son of a bitch. We both know he's going to come and finish the job anyway. Be a man for once in your life and take some responsibility for what's about to happen to me. You're bringing him to my door.' She paused as she took a breath and stared at him with a steely gaze. 'Follow through.'

Lorelei had paused, phone in hand, looking at Jane for his reaction. 'She makes a valid point, Patrick.'

He nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on Lisbon's as he heard the message she was implying. 'Okay' he said quietly. 'Okay I'll do it.'

'Jesus' Rigsby whispered, wide eyed. 'He's...he's actually going to cut her.'

'Looks that way' Cho frowned. Normally inscrutable he shifted nervously in his chair. 'She told him to do it. Knows it's the only way to get Red John here for certain.'

'I don't think I can watch this' Van Pelt added as Jane felt the tip of the blade in his hand.

He stared at the tip and then at Lisbon as he moved to the other side of the bed, her left arm tied to the post there. He ran his fingers over the pale flesh on the underside of her arm for a second. He paused and shook his head, swallowing bile as he moved the blade closer to her arm. He knew a quick flourish would hurt less than a slow draw across her skin and took a deep breath. Swiftly he made the cut, ensuring it wasn't deep, closing his eyes as he did so. Lisbon bit her lip to stop her scream and shook her head as pain ripped through her again, trying not to react, knowing how much doing this to her was taking out of Jane.

Immediately he dropped the knife onto the nightstand and breathed heavily, his eyes dark and menacing as he stared at Lorelei. 'No more games. Get him in here so we get this over with.'

'Of course' she smiled, immediately making a call on her phone. 'We're ready for you now. Yes, he did it.'

As she was on the call he glanced at Lisbon, self hatred filling him making him unable to look her straight in the eye. As Lorelei's head was dipped as she was on the phone she nodded to him quickly, her tear ridden eyes telling him she was fine. She was most likely probably doing better than he was. He looked grey and had aged ten years in the past minute, the hand the knife had been held in still shaking.

'I think I might throw up' Rigsby said after Jane had finished.

'You've had too much cake' Cho said, sitting back in his chair.

'Yeah' Rigsby replied rolling his eyes. 'That's what it is.'

'Okay' Cho said, turning to him and Van Pelt who had chosen to watch the camera trained outside of Lisbon's condo instead of the one in the bedroom. 'He'll be here soon. Get ready.'

Ten minutes later a black SUV drove slowly up the street and stopped at Lisbon's door. Hairs prickled on Van Pelt's arms as she saw the approach. 'Car's stopping.'

The three agents turned their attention to the monitor as a man of medium build and height got out of the driver's side, glancing up and down the street. 'I know him' Rigsby frowned. 'He's a cop. Can't remember his name but I'm sure he's a cop.'

Van Pelt started, 'You think that-'

She stopped talking as a hooded figure quickly exited the car and walked up to Lisbon's door.

'Red John, must be' she continued.

'Or a decoy' Cho added. 'We don't go in until we know for sure.'

At his first glimpse of Red John in the bedroom Jane scrutinised his appearance. He was wearing the same dark clothes and mask he'd seen him in before, a gloved hand carrying a knife. This was the image his wife and child had had to endure years before and, even though he expected this entrance, it shocked him into silence to have it play out so vividly in front of him.

'Patrick. How good to see you again' he said pleasantly before he turned his attention to Lorelei. 'Good work, Lorelei.'

'Thank you. She's ready for you.' She placed her gun at the back waistband of her trousers again.

He moved closer to Lisbon who didn't have to feign her terror. It was a truly horrifying sight. He bent his face towards hers, almost touching her nose with his mask and she could have sworn she heard him sniff her. 'You smell of cinnamon' he said, confirming her suspicion. 'And freshly showered. Good. I prefer my victims clean.'

He turned to Jane, laughed. 'Don't I Patrick? Why is that, do you know?'

Jane nodded, still tied to the spot as he stood beside Lorelei on the other side of the bed. 'Because it makes the smell of the blood more...present. You actually prefer no scent at all on the women you kill, less...interference if you like with the scent.'

Red John nodded slowly. 'Very good. You really have studied my work. You have a good understanding of my mind. It bodes well for our future together.'

He turned back to Lisbon, the tip of the blade pressed to her abdomen where her tank top ended. He peered at the cut on her left arm. 'This was yours, Patrick?'

'Yeah' Jane breathed, his eye on the blade and not on her arm.

'Nice work. Slight hesitation at the start but not bad for your first time.'

Jane was relieved he hadn't eaten all day as the food would have made a reappearance by now for sure. 'How do I know you are who you say you are?' he finally managed to say, desperately trying to get back on script. He had to make certain this was him; he wasn't willing to make the same mistake he had with Timothy Carter.

Red John straightened up again and faced him. 'What would you like as confirmation?'

'Charlotte' he croaked. 'The day before you...' He took a breath. 'She fell off her bike, had a cut. Where was it on her body?'

He was a silent for a moment as he pondered. Finally he replied, 'Excellent question. My...marks left it disfigured no doubt. Her elbow, the right one. Just a graze.'

Jane nodded slowly. 'That's correct' he stated clearly, the words meant for the camera that was recording and the first sign for Cho and the team to move in quietly. His eyes darkened and he suddenly found his focus again.

Red John turned to Lisbon and his eyes lingered over her body. He touched her toes with a gloved hand. 'You know, Patrick, I think I'll paint dear Teresa's toes too. She's special enough to warrant it, don't you think?'

As he had moved his blade a few inches away to study her foot Lisbon suddenly kicked him hard in the mask with it, the surprise of the attack toppling him towards the wall beside her. 'I wouldn't bet on it!' she panted followed by shouting, 'Move in!'

Lorelei immediately went for her gun to see Jane have it pointed at her. 'You really should be more careful where you put these things. Don't do anything stupid or I'll put a bullet in you.'

They could hear gunfire and tumbling of furniture downstairs but her team hadn't yet arrived in the bedroom. Red John raised himself up and picked up his knife again, pointing it towards Lisbon.

Jane had cable tied her hands properly in case they were checked but on her feet he had placed the plastic ties in such a way that they came apart when pulled instead of tightening further. As it was his suggestion to do this he assumed correctly that Lorelei would take little notice. When he'd tapped Lisbon's left foot and told her not to struggle she had luckily picked up the hint and hadn't pulled at her feet until this instant.

'Put the knife down' Jane shouted, turning the gun on Red John. Lorelei made a rush for it and he threw her against the dresser with a strength he didn't realise he had, dazing her, making her fall to the ground. By the time he'd focused on Red John again he had the knife to Lisbon's throat, her feet flailing wildly to off balance him.

'Put it down' he panted again. 'It's over.'

Red John slowly removed the blade from Lisbon's throat and placed it on the bed. Jane blinked rapidly, surprised by the sudden acquiesence. He held his hands up. 'I'm unarmed. Now what are you going to do, Patrick? Shoot me in cold blood? You're not that man.'

Jane swallowed and cocked the gun, pressed his finger gently but firmly on the trigger but not releasing it. He stared at his nemesis, acknowledging this moment he'd waited for close to a decade. He could barely hear the sirens outside or Lisbon's words to him, just knew that they were insistent, pleading.

Instead he thought of Angela.

Of Charlotte.

Of the life he had with them left in ruins because of the man in front of him. The world around him slowly came to a standstill until all he felt was the cold steel of the gun in his hand, its smooth trigger begging to be pressed further.

He was caught off guard by Lorelei scrambling back to her feet as she clambered at his legs. It was only a second's distraction but enough time for Red John to pull the gun from his belt and aim it at him. Jane kicked Lorelei in the face, silencing her again.

'Good' Jane smiled. 'Now you're not unarmed.' He fired the trigger immediately, the shots echoing loudly in the bedroom. Red John fell backwards onto the wall behind him once more as Jane released another shot.

And another.

And another.

Each hit bounced Red John off the wall until he slowly slid down it, a trail of red in his wake. He lay slumped there as Cho and Rigsby burst into the room, guns raised, followed closely by Van Pelt.

Lisbon, who had seemed to have forgotten how to breathe in the last moments took a deep breath as she addressed her team. 'Everybody okay?'

'Yeah' Cho said, 'Two hostiles dead downstairs. You?'

She rolled her eyes. 'Never better. Now get these damn ties off me!'

Van Pelt was at her side immediately, barely glancing at the man dead close to her feet. While she cut them Cho got on the phone with Wainwright, calling it in along with an ambulance for Lisbon. Rigsby was cuffing Lorelei who was screaming at the top of her voice upon noticing her master dead, wrestling to break free as he escorted her out of the room. Lisbon watched Jane, gun still in hand as he stared at the man he'd just killed, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around him. He blinked finally and cast his gaze towards her. Immediately he dropped the weapon and rushed to her, rubbing her wrists to get the circulation back in them as soon as Van Pelt released her hands.

'You okay?' he then whispered, cupping her face to look in her eyes.

'Yeah' she said although the tears she was shedding told them both otherwise. He glanced at Van Pelt for a second, his tone attempting to be conversational. 'Hey, Grace. Good to see you again. Ambulance on the way?'

'Yeah' she replied. 'Welcome back, Jane.' Feeling like a gooseberry as his focus was back on Lisbon again she added, 'I'll go check how long it'll be' before she shuffled into the hallway.

He began to check the cuts on Lisbon's arms, breathing heavily as he saw the damage he'd inflicted, shaking his head. 'I'm so sorry' he said, his voice breaking.

'I'm fine, Jane.' She gestured to Red John. 'Let's get a look at the bastard.'

Jane moved around the bed and removed his mask. When he recognised him he frowned.

Lisbon, who had got up from the bed and who was peering over mirrored his expression. 'Is that...Sheriff McAllister? From Napa?'

'Yeah' Jane said, shaking his head. 'Wouldn't have guessed him in a million years.'

'Me neither' Lisbon agreed. 'It seems such an...I don't know...an anticlimax or something that it was him all along.'

Jane nodded. 'I have to admit I'm a little disappointed myself.'

Ten minutes later Lisbon's street was deluged in flashing lights as CBI, police and EMTs flooded it. Lisbon was taken to have her wounds seen to, agreeing to have them bandaged up but waving off any attempt to go to hospital. Jane had been taken into custody until the circumstances surrounding McAllister's death were investigated. When they all got back to CBI they were separated immediately to give their statements. One by one they arrived back at the conference table in the bullpen, Lisbon the last to finish besides Jane who was still being interviewed.

'How are your arms?' Cho asked.

'Sore but they'll be fine. Might have a scar on the right one' she shrugged.

She fidgeted nervously. While she had told FBI Agent Darcy (who had taken over the case in light of the team's off the book mission to catch Red John on their own) Jane had acted in self defence as Red John had a gun trained on him she was worried nonetheless of the outcome. Jane hadn't just fired once. He'd emptied a clip into him. She was hoping his inexperience with firearms and the trauma he'd been through before that proved a reasonable enough explanation for his overkill.

They talked around the table, about McAllister, about what had happened, about what may happen to them all still, no one in the mood to celebrate closing their biggest case until they discovered Jane's fate. Wainwright was tight lipped at being kept out of the loop and, despite having caught a serial killer, they had acted without orders and could still be fired. Bertram and Brenda Shettrick were handling the press who were already on top of the story, clamouring for a CBI statement. They knew that deciding on the press angle over this could have a huge impact on what happened with Jane.

After an hour the table lapsed into silence and Lisbon got up, 'I'm going to get some coffee, anybody want some?'

All eyes were suddenly behind her as Jane, Wainwright and Osvaldo Ardiles came into view, the three of them talking quietly. Finally Ardiles nodded to Jane and shook his hand, nodding to the rest of the team as he made his exit. Lisbon's heart raced as Wainwright and Jane appeared beside her, a smile already coming to her lips.

'Self defence' Jane stated, shrugging.

Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief. He grinned, Lisbon immediately noticing the mask back in place. 'What? You guys ever have any doubt?'

Van Pelt rushed to hug him and he received a pat on the back from Rigsby. Cho remained seated but twitched his lips into a small smile. He smiled effortlessly at them but his eyes told Lisbon another story. He was mentally exhausted, only just able to keep up the act of appearing in control.

Before he had a chance to speak to Lisbon Wainwright did. 'Lisbon, a word.'

'Sure' she replied, following him into her office, touching Jane's arm gently as she passed.

'That doesn't look good' Rigsby remarked. Cho said what they all already suspected. 'She's the boss. She's taking a hit for this.'

Jane nodded ruefully. 'The price of power I suppose.'

Van Pelt added, 'We can't let them do this. Not again. Not after we got him.'

Jane stared into her office as she spoke to her boss. 'She'll be okay. Suspension at most, most likely. At least I hope so. She needs the break and she'd never take it willingly. They're not going to can the agent who helped take down Red John.'

'How can you be so sure?' Rigsby asked.

'Because Bertram will know I'll make a shitstorm out of it with the press if they even try.'

Five minutes later Lisbon and Wainwright reappeared. He turned to Jane. 'You'll think about my offer?'

Jane nodded, reading Lisbon before he answered. 'I will, thanks Luther.'

After he left Jane stated, 'Two weeks' suspension?'

She shrugged. 'Yeah. Could be a lot worse I guess.'

He nodded, thinking about how close she came to dying tonight, 'Yeah, could have been a hell of a lot worse' he replied seriously, staring at her.

'Wainwright offer you your job back?' she asked.

'Yeah, he was able to work out a deal to get the charges dropped in Vegas. Think they're going to spin it into an undercover mission or something along those lines.'

'So he gets some of the credit for Red John' Rigsby added.

Jane shrugged. 'Think it's more Bertram than Wainwright, press hogger that he is but, yeah, that's about it.'

'What did you say?' Lisbon asked. 'You going to come back to work here?'

'Not sure' he replied honestly, silence filling the air afterwards.

'Pizza?' Cho asked suddenly.

He was met with consternation from all quarters. 'We closed a case. Tradition.'

Lisbon smiled, 'I think we need a little something stronger than pizza for this case. I'll get the tequila from my office.'

'I'll give you a hand' Jane said immediately.

Once inside he closed the blinds and took her in his arms, kissing her soundly. 'You know closing the blinds like that might give people ideas' she said, circling her arms around his waist.

'You mean the right idea? So what? I was just protecting your modesty in case you decided to have me across your desk.'

She laughed but then tears fell in the midst of them. Jane embraced her again, neither of them speaking for a few seconds. 'Rough night?' he asked.

She laughed again and sniffed, drawing back to look at him. 'You could say that. How are you doing?'

He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, shaking his head. 'I have no idea' he said after a couple of seconds. 'I don't feel like celebrating. I don't...I don't know what I feel.' He tightened his hold on her. 'Only thing I do know is that this feels very nice.'

They held each other for a few more seconds before she withdrew her arms. 'Well we owe the team a drink' she stated. 'Actually we owe them a hell of a lot more than that. But after that we can do that all night if you want.'

'That sounds like a plan' he nodded, his smile widening. 'You go on out, I'll book us somewhere nice. No more cheap motel rooms. Most expensive one I can find. Egyptian cotton sheets, room service and the works.'

She frowned for a second and then it dawned on her. Her condo was a crime scene and all of Jane's belongings were in Vegas. After taking out the bottle of tequila she kissed him quickly. 'Make sure they have mints on the pillows too.'

'Yes dear' he smiled, scrolling down his phone at possible options.

Before she exited she turned around again.

'Jane, what would you have done if he hadn't pulled his gun on you?'

His eyes remaining on the phone he replied quietly, 'I don't think you really want to know the answer to that question, Teresa.'

She nodded after a beat. 'You're right. I don't suppose I do.'

A/N: Everybody still there and breathing?! Okay...epilogue is up next.