(A/N: This one is shorter, and Jisbon are still trying to lie to themselves. But the tension is building as the light at the end of the tunnel starts to show itself through the cracks that are threatening - and the plotline begins to move further in AU)
Jane had intentionally angered a Dallas mobster, John Acardo, hoping to put himself on the man's hit list in order to solve a case. Acardo was accused of ordering the murder of a young web designer named Elijah Macy, who'd dared to compete with his illegal sports betting operation. It was believed that the crook then bribed someone on the Grand Jury, to avoid all charges, getting away scot-free.
Jane had unintentionally angered both his longtime partner and his new girlfriend by tricking them into thinking he had been charged with Thomas McAllister's murder, despite his FBI deal - having them both subpoenaed to testify in the case. He had been conflicted from the start about keeping the two women in the dark, despite being ordered to secrecy by Dennis Abbott. Still, he hadn't been prepared for the reaction he'd gotten from Lisbon. Not only was it clear she didn't care about or understand the position he'd been in - having to stay quiet per Abbott's orders - it was also clear she had been deeply hurt, and that she felt used and betrayed. Patrick didn't want to admit how deeply his own heart had been skewered by Teresa's pained and furious words, and by seeing her walk away with Marcus Pike immediately after. It was clear he'd crossed a line somehow, and that he may have finally been successful in pushing her away for good. It was a necessary success, but not one he could stomach celebrating.
Abbott called Fischer and Lisbon to join him and Jane in his office, so that Jane could fill everyone in on what he'd found during his own day of testimony with the suspect Grand Jury, having frustrated the prosecutor by cold reading several members of that jury from the witness stand.
"It's the prosecutor, herself, Lydia Falk. She's the one who took the bribe. To circumvent her position of power, I propose we prove Acardo's guilt ourselves, beyond a shadow of a doubt. To that end, we will need to coerce Acardo into putting out a hit… On me." The grinning consultant ended with his familiar gesture, arms out to the sides, as if taking a bow from a stage.
Kim and Teresa shared a concerned glance, neither convinced that Jane's plan to make himself the target of a hit man was a good idea in the least.
"What evidence do we have that Acardo killed Macy?" Lisbon asked, with interest but also a tinge of leftover skepticism about Jane's plan to target himself.
Abbott read from the case file: "Earlier this year, one of his crew turned state's evidence, and said that his boss ordered the hit on Macy. Multiple witnesses heard threats from Acardo to the programmer, if he didn't shut down his sports betting website."
"But we don't have any physical evidence?" Lisbon pressed.
"Not yet." Dennis admitted.
Reading some of the files, Kim jumped in. "According to the transcript, Acardo claims he was at a place called Il Tavolo Bianco, the night of the murder." Fischer's expression showed that she could make no sense of the next part: "He keeps droning on and on about this place even after it's firmly on the record."
"He keeps talking about the restaurant because he's hiding evidence of his guilt." Lisbon said matter-of-factly.
"You sound like Jane." Kim said, with an eyeroll and a chuckle.
"Well, you spend enough time with someone…" Teresa shrugged, with a grin.
Dennis got a glint in his eye at those last comments. There was something about Lisbon's face just then… the way she had happily owned her connection to Jane…
"We need to get eyes on this place. I have an idea – meet me in the bullpen in an hour."
The next day, Abbott was organizing case paperwork, working some plan in his head regarding Jane's scheduled mob hit. Tonight, the FBI was putting a team in place for another round of surveillance at Il Tavolo Bianco, the Italian restaurant which had a reputation for mob connections, going back to the 1940's.
Nothing had seemed too suspicious when Cho and Lisbon had gone there for happy hour last night, per the idea Dennis had shared with the team in the bullpen when they'd reconvened yesterday. And the elderly Mr. Aurelio was insistent that, although the establishment had enjoyed a storied past with the mob, which he seemed quite proud of, he did not know anything about the 'Mr. Acardo' Cho claimed to have read about in some tourist guidebook.
It was imperative for both Jane's plan and Jane's safety that they find all the players involved and the methods John Acardo was using to communicate and order the hits. Tonight's cover story was a double date. Dennis had set it up that way, seeing the score more clearly than any of his four agents/consultants.
Jane had initially come to him and suggested that he and Kim should do the surveillance as a couple, especially since they had been seen together already when Jane had danced with Acardo's fiancée at his own club, the night before - raising the ire of the mob boss, and initiating the hit.
"Why not take Lisbon? She's your partner?"
"What can I say? Can't keep my hands off of Kim these days." Jane procured his most believable glimmer - hoping it would hide his desperation. He had been successfully keeping Teresa at bay for weeks now, and she was on the verge of happiness with a man who would take great care of her. But Jane had no idea how he would be able to control himself - to completely hide his heart - during a one-on-one, romantic dinner situation with her.
"Well then, we'll make it a double date. You can take Kim to dinner, and Lisbon can bring Pike. Everyone's happy!" Dennis grinned, with his arms out wide.
"Why all four of us? Surely one of the two couples would be enough?" Jane whined with an undercurrent of anxiety and annoyance. He was already worried about controlling himself around Lisbon. Adding Pike to the mix would only make things worse.
"Well, Jane, you've made yourself a target for a mobster, so you need to be there to keep up appearances. But mobsters are not ones to be trifled with, and you specialize in trifling." Dennis wagged his finger, sparkling just a bit at the truth in that mischievously facetious statement. "So, I have to insist on Lisbon and Pike, so you and Fischer will have backup." Abbott's eyebrows suddenly pressed down in concern. "Why? Is that going to be a problem?"
Jane saw something in Abbott's expression just then that threw him a bit. Dennis knew. He could see. Patrick began to panic slightly at the chance that he'd been wearing his heart on his sleeve a bit more than he'd realized. Quickly, his face neutralized to complete nonchalance. "No. No problem. Just curious." Then his Cheshire grin took over and his eyes sparkled as he left the room, with Dennis eying him suspiciously through straightened lips and knitted eyebrows. These conmen, believing their own cons… that's always when they fall, he thought.
When Abbott filled Lisbon in on the assignment, she was surprised, but, as always, compliant with his orders.
Great, she thought, sullenly, as she walked back to her desk. More opportunities to see him pawing at Kim…
Not to mention that she was still more than a little hurt about the jury con; a slight which had only compounded her existing feelings of disappointment and heartache, stemming from her partner's lack of visible reaction, after she'd finally shared the news of Marcus's DC invitation with him, a couple days ago.
Those same emotions had encouraged her to keep him in the dark about her recent decision to accept. She had to tell him sometime, but didn't want him to read it on her face over dinner tonight, before she could get up the courage. At least there would be wine. And she would have Marcus to distract herself with.
Well, Jane made his bed, so now he can lie in it! Teresa thought to herself, trying to stay angry at the man. But recalling that phrase shook loose a memory. She suddenly smiled into the empty hallway before her, as she recollected Jane's warm baritone voice, complaining in a CBI interrogation room:
"I don't know why people say that? If someone makes a bed, why do they have to lie in it? What's to prevent them from lying in some other bed? Or on the floor, for that matter?"
She laughed at the memory until she cried, her heart sinking even further into conflict. The reminiscing had clarified a worry her subconscious had been harboring: In her heart, she doubted that Marcus could successfully distract her, with Patrick in such close proximity. No matter how much she believed her daily mantra that Pike was a 'great guy,' she knew he'd never hold his own in a head-to-head comparison with Jane - no matter how angry she was, at the quirky consultant. She'd have to lean more heavily on the wine. And she said some extra prayers as she got dressed for dinner that night.
(A/N: A double date... what could go wrong? ;) At long last, fluff awaits!)