Do Not Pass Go
Title: Do Not Pass Go (1/1)
Author: tromana
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Jane/Lisbon friendship
Summary: [AU] Jane, giving into the regime. Lisbon, trying to look for the positives.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Spoilers: None
Notes: Written for 15genres1prompt. Genre: dystopia. Also for mentalistprompt:013: distractions. Title as in monopoly, yeah, I know...
Do Not Pass Go
“We can do something.”
Jane laughed. It was a bitter, hollow laugh, one of a man that had all but given up. Lisbon stood and paced around the room, little more than a bunk hole; it irritated her, in a way. How could he feel like that? How could he just stop fighting, bury his head in the sand and pretend that it would all blow over sooner or later. His apathy was exactly what they wanted. It was exactly how society dictated they should be.
And she had had enough.
“It’s easy for you to say that,” he stated lightly.
“Really? How so?”
“You haven’t lost anyone to Red John.”
Her eyes darkened as she rounded to face him. How dare he? How dare he? Patrick Jane may have been blessed with cognitive abilities that were far beyond her own, but that didn’t mean he had the first clue of just how much she had lost to Red John. And how much more she could stand to lose if they just gave up and let them walk of over them.
Only three days ago, she’d watched her niece be torn away from her father, kicking and screaming. Who knew what was to become of her? If she was lucky, if it could even be phrased as luck at all, then poor Annabeth would be subjected to torture and death. If not, well, she was doomed to join the cult of Red John. Become an acolyte for his lord and master. Become a thoughtless killer, trained to torture and destroy lives without even giving a second thought to it.
Just thinking about Annabeth’s potential fates made Lisbon want to punch something. However, she restrained herself. There was no point in lashing out, risking damage to herself and others. If she did, then she wouldn’t be able to physically cope with the situation. If she did, everything could get all the more dire. But she’d promised Tommy that she’d look after him and her niece; they were all they had left. Their other brothers had disappeared and they were unable to contact them. It was safer that way. Or at least, that was what she told herself. That no news was good news. But still, she’d failed Tommy and his family dismally and Lisbon wasn’t used to that.
The difference was obvious, however. Jane’s losses to Red John were amongst the first to occur; when Red John had simply appeared to be a serial killer, who liked to play mind games with people. If only they had known just how dangerous those mind games were, back then, then maybe they would have taken his threats even more seriously than they had originally done so. If they’d known that he was slowly brainwashing the masses until he eventually had the power to take over the whole state and then, the United States, then maybe they would have done everything in their resources to stop him.
But now, it was too late. They were fighting a losing battle. Each day, Lisbon prayed for news that Red John’s power was weakening, that he was beginning to be undermined somehow. Or that the other superpowers of the world were going to manage to overthrow him, instead of live in fear of the psychotic man and the cult he’d set up to protect himself. It was never good news, though and that alone was enough to drain her spirit and optimism. However, it wasn’t enough to stop her from fighting against the regime. Nothing would be enough to stop her from doing that. Lisbon swore she would have to stop breathing before she admitted defeat to Red John. He was, after all, just a man. A man who happened to exert a lot of power over people, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have his flaws and weaknesses just like any other man did.
Much to her surprise, it seemed like Jane had hit the wall a few too many times. That was something Lisbon never thought she’d see. In the beginning, Jane swore blind that he would exact his revenge upon Red John and obviously, he hadn’t succeeded in doing so, yet. Once upon a time, she had promised him that if he tried, then she’d have arrested him. Now, she was more than happy to help him along or preferably, stick the knife in herself a couple of times. It was the least his supposed almighty deserved for the pain and misery he was causing the masses.
She eventually stopped pacing and sat down beside him. Gently, Lisbon covered his hand with her own and smiled weakly. It was just a phase, she told herself. Their living conditions were getting to him, the losses they’d endured and seen other people suffer were dragging him down. Cho and Rigsby hadn’t gotten hold of any food for three days and their rations were beginning to grow scarily thin. Van Pelt had received the devastating news that her father had gone down fighting the regime; an honorable death, but a heartbreaking loss nevertheless. They had so little to celebrate and all the more problems to dwell over.
But they had each other. They were still alive. And they weren’t going to give up, however fierce the enemy appeared. Despite being the obvious underdogs, they were tenacious.
And there was still hope. So long as they had that, then there was no saying what they could do.
“We can do this,” she asserted once more.
Sometimes, there were days when she wished she could do more, that she could act on the feelings she was desperately repressing. But it wasn’t appropriate, it wasn’t right. It didn’t stop her from wishing though. Maybe in another life, if things were simpler, then maybe they’d have had half a chance. Or maybe, if things did eventually change for the better, then they could move on together. There were times when he did show the slightest indication that her feelings were reciprocated, but like her, he seemed to repress them. Neither of them could deal with the distraction of a romance, anyway.
“Lisbon, I appreciate your optimism, really I do, but-“
There was a knocking at the door. Lisbon glanced at Jane and he stared intently back. Cho and Rigsby weren’t due back until nightfall. Tommy hadn’t emerged from his sleeping quarters; Lisbon knew he was grieving for his daughter, despite the fact they had no knowledge of her fate. As for Van Pelt, she had decided to take the risky move of getting back to her mother, of trying to support and protect her. To maybe encourage her to return to the safety of their fold, where their relatively large number of six could protect her. None of them had particularly liked the idea, but they had supported her nevertheless. Despite the current climate, each one had a deep understanding of the importance of family, both blood and the less literal sense. They needed people they could trust. And the more the resistance grew, the more chance they had of overthrowing it.
Jane nodded at Lisbon as she rose to her feet once more. Slightly unsteadily, and with her hand resting on her gun in its holster, she made her way to the metal door. With a shaking hand, she slowly twisted open the door knob…
Author: tromana
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Jane/Lisbon friendship
Summary: [AU] Jane, giving into the regime. Lisbon, trying to look for the positives.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Spoilers: None
Notes: Written for 15genres1prompt. Genre: dystopia. Also for mentalistprompt:013: distractions. Title as in monopoly, yeah, I know...
Do Not Pass Go
“We can do something.”
Jane laughed. It was a bitter, hollow laugh, one of a man that had all but given up. Lisbon stood and paced around the room, little more than a bunk hole; it irritated her, in a way. How could he feel like that? How could he just stop fighting, bury his head in the sand and pretend that it would all blow over sooner or later. His apathy was exactly what they wanted. It was exactly how society dictated they should be.
And she had had enough.
“It’s easy for you to say that,” he stated lightly.
“Really? How so?”
“You haven’t lost anyone to Red John.”
Her eyes darkened as she rounded to face him. How dare he? How dare he? Patrick Jane may have been blessed with cognitive abilities that were far beyond her own, but that didn’t mean he had the first clue of just how much she had lost to Red John. And how much more she could stand to lose if they just gave up and let them walk of over them.
Only three days ago, she’d watched her niece be torn away from her father, kicking and screaming. Who knew what was to become of her? If she was lucky, if it could even be phrased as luck at all, then poor Annabeth would be subjected to torture and death. If not, well, she was doomed to join the cult of Red John. Become an acolyte for his lord and master. Become a thoughtless killer, trained to torture and destroy lives without even giving a second thought to it.
Just thinking about Annabeth’s potential fates made Lisbon want to punch something. However, she restrained herself. There was no point in lashing out, risking damage to herself and others. If she did, then she wouldn’t be able to physically cope with the situation. If she did, everything could get all the more dire. But she’d promised Tommy that she’d look after him and her niece; they were all they had left. Their other brothers had disappeared and they were unable to contact them. It was safer that way. Or at least, that was what she told herself. That no news was good news. But still, she’d failed Tommy and his family dismally and Lisbon wasn’t used to that.
The difference was obvious, however. Jane’s losses to Red John were amongst the first to occur; when Red John had simply appeared to be a serial killer, who liked to play mind games with people. If only they had known just how dangerous those mind games were, back then, then maybe they would have taken his threats even more seriously than they had originally done so. If they’d known that he was slowly brainwashing the masses until he eventually had the power to take over the whole state and then, the United States, then maybe they would have done everything in their resources to stop him.
But now, it was too late. They were fighting a losing battle. Each day, Lisbon prayed for news that Red John’s power was weakening, that he was beginning to be undermined somehow. Or that the other superpowers of the world were going to manage to overthrow him, instead of live in fear of the psychotic man and the cult he’d set up to protect himself. It was never good news, though and that alone was enough to drain her spirit and optimism. However, it wasn’t enough to stop her from fighting against the regime. Nothing would be enough to stop her from doing that. Lisbon swore she would have to stop breathing before she admitted defeat to Red John. He was, after all, just a man. A man who happened to exert a lot of power over people, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have his flaws and weaknesses just like any other man did.
Much to her surprise, it seemed like Jane had hit the wall a few too many times. That was something Lisbon never thought she’d see. In the beginning, Jane swore blind that he would exact his revenge upon Red John and obviously, he hadn’t succeeded in doing so, yet. Once upon a time, she had promised him that if he tried, then she’d have arrested him. Now, she was more than happy to help him along or preferably, stick the knife in herself a couple of times. It was the least his supposed almighty deserved for the pain and misery he was causing the masses.
She eventually stopped pacing and sat down beside him. Gently, Lisbon covered his hand with her own and smiled weakly. It was just a phase, she told herself. Their living conditions were getting to him, the losses they’d endured and seen other people suffer were dragging him down. Cho and Rigsby hadn’t gotten hold of any food for three days and their rations were beginning to grow scarily thin. Van Pelt had received the devastating news that her father had gone down fighting the regime; an honorable death, but a heartbreaking loss nevertheless. They had so little to celebrate and all the more problems to dwell over.
But they had each other. They were still alive. And they weren’t going to give up, however fierce the enemy appeared. Despite being the obvious underdogs, they were tenacious.
And there was still hope. So long as they had that, then there was no saying what they could do.
“We can do this,” she asserted once more.
Sometimes, there were days when she wished she could do more, that she could act on the feelings she was desperately repressing. But it wasn’t appropriate, it wasn’t right. It didn’t stop her from wishing though. Maybe in another life, if things were simpler, then maybe they’d have had half a chance. Or maybe, if things did eventually change for the better, then they could move on together. There were times when he did show the slightest indication that her feelings were reciprocated, but like her, he seemed to repress them. Neither of them could deal with the distraction of a romance, anyway.
“Lisbon, I appreciate your optimism, really I do, but-“
There was a knocking at the door. Lisbon glanced at Jane and he stared intently back. Cho and Rigsby weren’t due back until nightfall. Tommy hadn’t emerged from his sleeping quarters; Lisbon knew he was grieving for his daughter, despite the fact they had no knowledge of her fate. As for Van Pelt, she had decided to take the risky move of getting back to her mother, of trying to support and protect her. To maybe encourage her to return to the safety of their fold, where their relatively large number of six could protect her. None of them had particularly liked the idea, but they had supported her nevertheless. Despite the current climate, each one had a deep understanding of the importance of family, both blood and the less literal sense. They needed people they could trust. And the more the resistance grew, the more chance they had of overthrowing it.
Jane nodded at Lisbon as she rose to her feet once more. Slightly unsteadily, and with her hand resting on her gun in its holster, she made her way to the metal door. With a shaking hand, she slowly twisted open the door knob…