Jane was pretending to sleep on his couch in the bullpen. Trying to ignore the fact that every other agent on the team was in the conference room with Cho, going over the leads they'd gathered and trying to develop a plan. He was the one who always came up with the plans. He was the wunderkind who always found the perpetrator. He was the one with the perfect clearance rate. He loathed being left out of the process on this one.
Danny had come to him first, though. His brother-in-law had desperately wanted to help. After all, he loved his niece and nephew dearly, and - true to her word - Teresa had become like a sister to him. Still, he wanted to have Jane's blessing before he went to offer his services to Cho that day. As much as it pained Patrick to admit it, having Danny in on the planning was an inspired choice. For all his rough edges, Danny was always true and loyal to family, AND he had a brilliant mind for running cons & strategies. Jane just wished he could clearly see and hear what was going on in there right now.
As it turned out, he was missing quite a lot. Wylie had heard back from the security company. They had neither seen nor heard anything remotely unusual or alarming from the sensors at Jane's house. Wylie had more success, though, with the Mustang's GPS tracker. After following up on a report of its location, he learned that the car had been abandoned in the same Chattanooga parking lot that had reported a missing white work van on the very same day.
"So, Pike switched cars then." Cho stated with his usual lack of inflection, eyes on his page of notes, writing feverishly.
"That is our supposition." Wylie confirmed. "Here's the make, model and license number of the stolen van." He handed the information to Cho.
"So, why Tennessee?" Danny wondered out loud.
"It's halfway to DC from here." Cho answered. "Pike's last FBI assignment was in Washington, and there's some history there with him and Lisbon."
"Oh, wait, that's right… she was going to move there with him?" Danny slowly realized he had heard parts of this story, but when he'd helped the FBI after Jane's shooting, he'd only really paid attention to the parts of the story that pertained to Jane. And Sam and Pete had mentioned it, but it had been many years since. And they hadn't known any of the details even then.
"That's right, but it turned out that Pike was using her at first to get to Jane, on behalf of Erica Flynn. Then he managed to fall in love with Lisbon for real, so was extremely pissed when she changed her mind and married Jane instead. From his recent behavior, we believe that he may be mentally unstable, and that in kidnapping Teresa and the kids, he is hoping in some demented way to be back together with a family whom he believes to be rightfully his."
Danny shuddered. "Man, that is messed up."
"You've no idea." Cho said truthfully.
Just then, Wylie chimed in. "That theory is totally supported by what we got from Brendan Jane's cassette tape. Jane brought it in for me to analyze, and what we heard basically was Pike bursting in, taking the kids and keeping them quiet by telling them they were going to a surprise for Jane."
"Creep!" Danny fumed
"Yes, he is, and also the tape caught Pike talking to Agent Lisbon about how they would be a family after all, and calling out to her 'Time to go, Babe! Kids are all buckled in!'"
Danny felt sick.
Just then, Cho's assistant briskly walked over and sat a paper in front of him.
"This just in!" Cho exclaimed. "We have a tentative location for both of the kids' shoes and GPS trinkets!"
A cheer erupted, just then, that was so boisterous that Jane heard it from his couch. He sat up suddenly, squeezing his eyes to focus as hard as he could, trying to deduce what was transpiring in the conference room. Just after, as if summoned by Jane telepathically, Cho walked over and stood by the couch.
"May I sit?"
"Of course, Cho. What's all the commotion about in there?"
"I have some updates."
Jane leaned forward, elbows leaning on his knees. "Care to share?"
"I would love to, but only if you understand that you cannot under any circumstances attempt one of your typical rogue missions where you disappear and try to solve all the problems by yourself. None of this is your fault, so there's no need to play the Lone Ranger."
"Scouts honor." Jane raised his right hand as he spoke.
"I'm serious, Jane. This has to be by the book - especially with Pike seeming to be mentally… well… seeming to be mental."
Jane's face turned serious and sincere. And for once he really meant it when he said "Of course Cho. I promise to be good, and I won't do anything rash without running it by you first." He emphasized one last sentence. "You have to know I would never put Teresa or the kids at greater risk."
"I do know that. I was waiting to see if you knew it, yourself. So, here's what we've discovered…"
Cho explained where all of the leads had led (emphasizing the importance of Lisbon's pre-planning and little Brendan's tape recording), and shared their working theory about Pike taking the Jane family as his own, and about him being mentally unstable.
"I don't know if I feel better or worse knowing all of that." Jane admitted with an air of defeat.
"I saved the most encouraging news for last." Cho hinted.
Jane perked up at the comment, a hopeful glimmer rekindling in his eyes.
"We just - in the last couple of minutes - received news that the kids' GPS devices were tracked to an address in the DC suburbs."
With that, Jane rubbed his hands together with a clap and leapt to his feet. "She was trying to send me a message about DC at the house earlier! I knew there was something off about the anniversary centerpiece!"
Cho sat quietly, having no idea what in the world his friend was going on about with centerpieces.
"I love that woman!" Jane proclaimed to the air, shaking his head in admiration of her quick thinking. Then, turning to his friend, "I love you too, Cho!"
"Sure you do." Cho stated in his typically deadpan way, then walked back to the conference room with the others.
Teresa awoke to the smell of pancakes, and gagged a little. The aroma brought back unwelcome memories of dating a fraud who had zero creativity in the kitchen. She had tried several times, back when they'd been together, to explain to Marcus that while flapjacks had been agreeable that one time when she'd been starving during a sting, they weren't really her thing. He hadn't listened then, and she wasn't about to agitate him by bringing it up now. Still, she missed eggs - and her favorite chef - terribly, today.
"Mommy?"
Meghan was awake, looking at Lisbon with concern. Teresa hadn't even noticed the silent tears that had by now covered her cheeks in a glossy film. "Mommy is okay, sweet Meghan. I'm just missing Daddy a lot this morning. Can I have a hug?"
Meghan delivered the biggest bear hug she could muster. "It will be okay, Mommy! The surprise for Daddy will happen soon! I heard Mr. Marcus talking about it while you were sleeping!"
Lisbon tried to cover the alarm she felt, and the worries that bolted through her mind. What was this supposed surprise? Would Jane be okay? Was Pike going to shoot him again? Where, exactly, had Meghan been that she could hear Pike talking to whomever in the middle of the night?
"Oh really, love? That is a relief!"
Meghan smiled, but something in her face told Lisbon that she'd not completely bought her mother's happy reaction.
"So, you could hear Mr. Marcus from down here? Was he talking loud?"
Meghan looked side to side just then, showing some anxiety about answering her mommy's question.
"It's okay Meghan, you're not in trouble." Lisbon winked.
"No Mommy. I was thirsty and my water was empty, so I went upstairs to get more from the magic machine."
Lisbon's insides twisted at the danger her little 'Jane' had put herself in by doing such a thing. At their house, the water dispenser on the refrigerator had long been known to Meghan as 'the magic water machine,' and she had missed getting to magically fill her water bottle with it since they'd been taken away. Teresa took a deep breath, and asked another question of her pint-sized Houdini.
"So, you were at the magic water machine, and Mr. Marcus was there too?"
"No, he was in the special room."
Teresa couldn't keep her eyes from popping wide open, in panic. "The… special room?"
"Yes, Mommy! It's full of lots of TVs and video games and stuff!"
Lisbon wondered if Pike was also a pedophile, or if he had a secret command center in his house.
"Did you go into the special room, love?"
"No, Mommy, Mr. Marcus's friend went in there and Mr. Marcus got mad, so I think we're not allowed."
"Did you hear anything else Mr. Marcus said last night, or could you tell who he was talking to?"
"He said they had glockenspiels in the special room - we play those in music class Mommy!"
"Yes, we do!" Lisbon smiled through her anxiety. She was willing to bet that Pike had said 'glock,' and that didn't mean what Meghan thought it did.
"And he kept yelling at his friend - I think his name was Eric? - saying that he needed the passports soon, because he needed to get to Mexico with us right away. Mommy? Is Daddy's surprise at Mexico? Is that a fun place?"
Lisbon was thinking hard, wishing she had asked Meghan how she'd managed to go upstairs at all when the basement door was always deadbolted, but not wanting to cause her girl any more anxiety at the moment. So, she simply said "we'll talk more later Meghan, thank you so much for your report, love! Everything will be fine, dear."
Still visibly unconvinced of her mother's easy-going, happy reactions, Meghan sat down with her toys to practice some magic tricks.
Teresa mentally went over what Meghan had said. I bet Eric is really Erica. And I bet those passports are fakes to get us all over the border. Well, she wasn't going to stand for any of that. It was then that Teresa began a scheme of her own. Somehow, she had to get her hands on one of those glockenspiels…
Back in Austin, the team working on a solution to the Marcus Pike problem had grown by three Lisbons. Jimmy and Tommy were no surprise to anyone, but instead of Stan, stood Annie, with fire in her eyes. She had long idolized her Aunt Teresa, and she wasn't about to miss out on a chance to help. Plus, she argued, she had lots of similar training and experience working with her dad as a bail bonds person.
The conference room was full as ever, with Jane still banished to his couch during all the fun. He was deeply touched to see the Lisbons' involvement, but was intensely curious to see how they and Danny would handle the situation. So, he stood to get a cup of tea - positioning himself to try some lipreading from the hallway as he sipped.
After an uptick in conference-room discussion time commensurate with adding so many Lisbons to the mix, it was decided that the FBI needed to get eyes inside Pike's house.
Cho immediately put in a call to Dennis Abbott, whom he thought might have some ideas, being local to DC these days. He also wanted to send a small team to run the operation from the DC office. "One issue is that Pike would recognize nearly everyone in this room. I'm hoping that Dennis will have some staff available but I'd still love to have at least one of our own team eligible for the undercover op."
Annie volunteered immediately - which garnered a proud smile from Jane as he watched, unnoticed, from the other side of the glass. But, she was shut down by the agents right away, based on her young age and lack of undercover experience. Plus, they worried Pike might recognize her from her aunt's wedding (since he had crashed it, in an unsuccessful attempt to win Teresa back).
Danny wanted to volunteer, himself, but couldn't ensure he hadn't been compromised during his last stint with the FBI. Then he got an idea. "Cho, I may have the perfect solution, but I'll need at least a few hours to put some things in place. Can we meet back here in the morning?"
"Sounds good. Okay, everyone knows their immediate assignments. I'll see you all back here at 7am to fill in the gaps."
Looking in from the hallway, Jane took the final sip of his tea, thoughtfully. "The perfect solution, huh? What could be so perfect, I wonder?" Jane was captivated by Danny's closing words. His mind immediately began thumbing through a mental Rolodex of possibilities, as he laid down on his favorite thinking couch for a long night of mental processing, some backup scheming, and hopefully at least a little sleep.
The next morning, Jane woke from a fitful couch nap to Danny Ruskin's guilty-looking mug.
"What did you do now, Danny?" He sighed with exhaustion, remembering a time when rescuing his brother-in-law had seemed like his part-time job.
"It's not like that, Patrick. I just don't want you to get blindsided this morning."
"What are you talking about?"
"Cho wants you to sit in and consult at this morning's meeting. I have a solution to a problem they need solved. I think it's a good one and maybe the only one. My solution is going to surprise you, I suspect. Please though, Patrick, I am begging you to wait until the whole plan has been presented before getting mad and trying to shut the whole thing down."
Danny's plea only served to make Jane more curious. "I'll do my best." He said quickly, walking hastily to the conference room.
"Welcome back, Jane." Cho said, as the reinstated consultant found a seat.
"Good to be back. Thanks for letting me sit in, today, Cho. I know I can help"
Cho turned to the gathered agents and volunteers. "Ok everyone, I'd like to introduce Danny Ruskin, who has a plan he'd like us to hear, regarding the reconnaissance of Marcus Pike's DC home."
Danny walked to the front of the room, trying to portray confidence, but coming off as nervous. He slowly regained his poise, though, as he started speaking.
"So, the FBI wants to get a look inside the house where Pike is keeping Patrick's family. But Pike knows all the FBI agents here and in DC, and possibly me too from the fake drop I did during the Lebanon sting, a few years back."
So far so good, Jane thought, as he watched Angela's little brother stepping into his glory as a showman extraordinaire. He had to smile. Sadly, that smile was extremely short-lived, as Danny got to his punchline next.
"Please welcome my old friend, a man who has never met Pike - or even most of you. He is experienced in the art of deceit, and is happy to play the role of 'traveling salesman' toting cleaning products - and not taking no for an answer."
Right on cue, in the flesh, Alex Jane entered the room.
Jane's jaw dropped with such force it felt like his heart had stopped for a moment. He had promised Danny not to react until the end of the presentation, but even if he hadn't, he probably wouldn't have been able to form any words, his brain was so fried right now.
"So, my FBI friends, what do you think of this plan?" Then, in an aside to Jane, "And it should be noted, Patrick, that Sam and Pete volunteered too, but then remembered that Pike might have seen them at your wedding, so didn't want to risk it."
After some grumbles about the plan hinging on two civilians with questionable pasts, it was argued that it might actually be more believable coming from Alex than a trained FBI cover. Not only would Alex's age make him seem more harmless, if his son were any indication, it might be best to have a master manipulator be the one to try and pull the wool over Pike-the-Manipulator's eyes? With near unanimous approval, Danny's plan was given the go-ahead.
Despite Jane's numbness at the surprise appearance of his poor-excuse-for-a-father, he couldn't help but smile at Danny. He remembered the first day he'd realized his good-for-nothing self might in fact actually be good for something after all, and he was ecstatic to see his 'little brother' basking in that same realization.
Danny walked up to Jane, all smiles, but with underlying anxiety. "So, Boy Wonder, what do you think?"
Jane couldn't voice his true thoughts about Alex in mixed company, so went with: "I'm extremely proud of you, Danny! You've shown real strategic aptitude here - not to mention creativity!"
Danny beamed at Jane's approval. He had always wanted his acceptance, for as long as they'd known each other. "Thanks Patrick!"
Then Jane raised an eyebrow and added, "With a side of shock value."
Danny flushed immediately, wearing a stilted grin of embarrassment.
"Um… yeah, sorry about the blood pressure spike! But you're okay with the plan?"
"Right as rain." Jane said evenly, as he glanced over at Alex and Cho, who were deep in conversation. "Well, Danny, the truth is I have lots of questions - both for you and for Alex there. Why don't the three of us have a little sit-down together? I'd like to read dear old dad a bit and check his intentions myself. I've also been playing some scenarios in my head, and would like to help you both formulate the finer details of the plan. I do, after all, have intimate knowledge of the situation and know all the parties involved personally."
"We can do that. Let me get some things written down before we meet up?"
"Done!" Jane shook hands with Danny in agreement, then went back to his couch to think.