Notes:
My apologies; there were some typos in the earlier chapter; they've now been fixed.
The poem – The Boy Who Never Told a Lie (Isaac Watts) has been taken from The Project Gutenberg eBook of Poems Every Child Should Know.
A character's internal thoughts are mentioned in ( )
For the second poem, I've borrowed some lines from the poem - The Land of Dreams (by William Blake)
Chapter 17: It takes time
Monday Morning
The new day has brought renewed hope about Jane's health. The doctors usually come for their morning round of checkups around 8:30 am, so before that, I call Cho for any updates from his end. Luke is still in the ICU, but he's stable for now, so there's nothing more to be done immediately.
I proceed to the ICU and wait outside Jane's room to speak to Dr. Evans, who is currently inside the room with the other doctors on the team.
(Inside Jane's room)
"Mr. Jane has been showing signs of coming out of the sedation since it was decreased yesterday. His current GCS-P (Glasgow Coma Scale – Pupil) score is 0 which means both the pupils react to light. He is non febrile (does not have any fever) since 5:00 am today. The drainage from the chest tube has reduced by 5 ml since yesterday." The junior resident doctor gives this information to Dr. Evans.
"Alright, keep a watch on the output from the chest tube and notify me if there are any further changes. Reduce his sedation by a further 10 mg/mL; let's observe how he tolerates that." Dr. Evans advises the junior resident doctors on the team.
(Dr. Evans exits the room and spots Lisbon waiting outside the room.)
"Dr. Evans, how is he?"
"Agent Lisbon, he's doing a little better. He's responding well to the change in treatment, and the drainage from the chest tube is also showing signs of reducing, but his body is still taking time to awaken from the sedation. Nothing to worry about; some patients are known to respond slowly to the change in sedation. We will be reducing the sedation a little more today, and we are hopeful that it will help our cause."
Lisbon sighed. Noticing the slight dejection on Lisbon's face, Dr. Evans continued...
"Agent Lisbon, I can understand your frustration. Coming out of sedation is a complex process, and it looks different for each patient. The positive sign is that the reduction in pain medication seems to be working in his favour as he doesn't have a fever anymore. You may visit him every hour for 10 minutes and talk to him. This could help him come out of the sedation a little better."
"Yes, doctor. That sounds reassuring. Thank you." Dr. Evans takes my leave, and once again I find myself donning the scrubs to go and meet Jane.
Monday Noon
"Hey sleepyhead, it's me." I hold his hand and begin the one-way conversation again.
"I'm going to read you a little poem today; let me know if you like it, okay?"
"The Boy Who Never Told a Lie, by Isaac Watts.
Once there was a little boy,
With curly hair and pleasant eye.
A boy who always told the truth,
And never, never told a lie.
And when he trotted off to school,
The children all about would cry,
"There goes the curly-headed boy,
The boy that never tells a lie."
And everybody loved him so,
Because he always told the truth,
That every day, as he grew up,
'Twas said, "There goes the honest youth."
And when the people that stood near
Would turn to ask the reason why,
The answer would be always this:
"Because he never tells a lie."
Lisbon smiled as she finished reading the poem and looked at Jane, who appeared calm and comfortable. She gave him a gentle kiss on his forehead and told him that she'd be back soon. As she walked out of the room, she found herself smiling a little. It was a positive afternoon, she thought to herself.
Monday Evening
My phone rings, it's Cho on the other end. "Hey Cho. Any updates?"
"I'm sorry, it's bad news, boss."
"What's happened Cho?"
"Luke went into cardiac arrest a short time ago, and despite all their efforts, the doctors couldn't save him."
I almost freeze when I hear the news. It almost feels as if Red John caused this, but I know there's no way he could have had access to Luke amidst the heavy security. I try to calm myself down, and I tell Cho what needs to be done.
Monday Night
Rigsby is waiting outside the morgue where the corpses (of Pete and Luke) have been kept. Cho meets him there and informs him of Lisbon's and Hightower's plan to get the bodies of criminals back to Sacramento for an autopsy. Both are dejected at how things have turned out. Only the necessary words are spoken, and the rest of the formalities are carried out in solemn silence and with a prayer for Jane's safety.
Tuesday Morning
Van Pelt reached the office a little later than usual, thanks to the rush hour traffic. Sleep didn't come very easily last night after she had found out about Luke's fate. Wearily she sat down and logged on to the DOJ (Department of Justice) secure network to check if there were any autopsy reports uploaded either for Pete or Luke. While searching, she received an anonymous chat popup in the internal messenger that contained a video link.
(This is weird.)
She scanned the link for malware as it came from an unknown location. Satisfied that the link was clean, she opened it. What she saw stopped her dead in her tracks. It was a video from Red John with a poem and a message for Jane.
"Awake, awake, my little boy!
Why dost thou weep in thy gentle sleep?
O, what land is the Land of Dreams? What are its mountains, and what are its streams?
"Patrick, I've removed the two pawns. Once again, it's just you and me. Wake up, dear boy; we've got places to be. If you don't wake up in 5 days, I'll come there to wake you up." (Red John's maniacal laughter ended the video.)
Tears slipped from her eyes by the time she had finished watching the video. She felt genuine terror in her heart. Quickly copying the video to her flash drive, Van Pelt made her way to Hightower's office without drawing much attention to herself.
(A knock on the door)
"Come in."
"Morning, ma'am."
"Yes, Agent, how can I help you?
"Ma'am, a few minutes ago I received this video. I thought you should take a look at it before anyone else." (Hightower watches the video in complete disbelief.)
"Has Agent Lisbon been made aware of this?"
"No ma'am, not yet."
"Okay, I'll talk to Lisbon; in the meantime, find out about the status of the two autopsy reports and get me the list of the available SWAT agents we have vetted for security."
(Lisbon's phone rings...)
"Lisbon..."
"Lisbon, I want you to listen to me very carefully. You will be returning to the office immediately. 2 members of the SWAT team assigned to you are on their way to escort you. I can't answer any questions over the phone."
"Oh, okay, yes ma'am."
Lisbon wonders what's wrong that Hightower's called her back to the office. Before leaving the hospital, she does a quick mandatory visit to Jane and reassures him that she'll be back soon.
Tuesday Noon
Lisbon reaches the office and heads straight to meet Hightower.
"Agent Lisbon,"
(Hightower's voice and demeanour are solemn.)
"Ma'am?"
"Take a seat, Lisbon. Something has happened. Take a look." Hightower shows her the video and waits for a response.
Lisbon barely manages to hold back her tears while watching the video, but by the end of it she's filled with worry and rage.
"For what it's worth, ma'am, there's no way Red John or his accomplices can gain access to Jane with all the security we have in place. Yes, it's a brazen threat, but I believe it's just a scare tactic being used in this case."
"Red John can't be underestimated, Lisbon; you and I know that. I would have suggested using one of our safe houses to move Jane to, but in this case, I believe he's the safest at the hospital."
"I agree, ma'am. Jane is still in a critical condition, so moving him is not an option at all. He is showing signs of improvement, and his sedation was decreased again yesterday. The doctor said each patient takes their own time to come out of it. I'm hoping he will regain consciousness soon." Lisbon tears up as she says this.
Hightower softens her tone. "We have to consider the possibility that we might need to hasten this process for him. I don't like it, but it looks like the only way. I also want all of you to be safe, so you and your team will be staying at a safe house till it's required."
Lisbon's face falls, but she realises that Hightower has a point. She agrees. Van Pelt is called in to Hightower's office and is briefed about the plan. Cho and Rigsby are asked to report to the office when they arrive back in Sacramento from Nevada. Things feel a little tense now. Lisbon heads back to the hospital with the SWAT personnel assigned to her. On reaching the hospital, she makes a dash for Jane's room.
She holds his hand tightly and kisses it while there are tears brimming in her eyes, and she pleads with him to wake up soon.