Russian Roulette (15/16)
Previous Parts: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen
Part Fifteen - Escape
The case was long and drawn out. Lisbon expected that; the conviction of Red John was never going to be a short and easy one. Even though he had freely admitted to being the serial killer, and working mostly alone, it didn’t help matters. He needed to be cross examined, re-examined and then cross examined again. They needed to conclusively prove that he was responsible for each and every murder that Red John was on record as having carried out.
Then, there was her role in matters. Many thought she had to be partially responsible, or at least in cahoots with Jackson Roberts. How else would she have willingly married a serial killer? People seemed constantly eager to smear her name, had suggested that she should have been thrown out of the CBI and into jail herself, or worse, just because of her naiveté. At least Minelli and her team, Jane included, had remained steadfast by her side. And now, she had finally managed to clear her name in the courts. The only problem was, that wouldn’t stop the rumor mill from whirring on.
She didn’t help matters for herself either. For a start, she hadn’t filed for divorce the moment that she had discovered Jackson’s alter ego. In fact, Lisbon still hadn’t done so, now that he had finally been convicted and sent to death row. Sometimes, she told herself that she had been too busy. She had been trying to save her career, watching the trial and sorting out the emotional wreck that was in her head. Now, she wasn’t even sure what her excuse was. Lisbon had actively avoided seeing him in jail; she didn’t know if she could take that. Maybe the marriage was just her legacy to bear, to remind her of just how stupid and trusting she had been? Really, she was just tired of all the major decisions she had to make in life at the moment.
One of the first things Lisbon had done after Jackson’s arrest was to promptly move out and into a modest townhouse near work. It wasn’t anywhere near as lavish as his property, but it provided her with everything she required to live comfortably. And it was hers and hers alone. She’d never felt truly welcome in his place; she’d never been able to put her stamp on it, nor had she even felt comfortable accessing certain rooms. She still had nightmares about the moment he had entered the basement and carefully drawn out the knife that had killed so many people.
She worried about Jane, too. Though the man who had killed his wife and daughter was behind bars, he had never gotten what he truly wanted. Lisbon worried that this was like him losing them all over again and that he was going to fall into pieces. Instinctively, she stuck close by him, with the hope that her presence would stop him from doing anything too stupid. In the end, it felt like they were giving each other that mutual support necessary to get them both through this difficult period in their lives. Both of them had lost something intangible and both, somehow, needed to either get closure or learn how to move on. It wasn’t an easy process, but Lisbon had never expected it to be as such.
Work had also become inordinately more difficult and it was that that Lisbon was using to occupy her time with, as well as provide a distraction. Divorce papers did clutter up her desk, somewhere, but she had more important things to worry about. There had been some sporadic, random deaths going on, ones that couldn’t be linked to anyone but Red John. However, he was behind bars, so that was impossible. It was becoming increasingly clear that she needed to work on taking down Red John’s network before this would be truly over. She had started by tackling the difficult task of working out the identities of the moles within the CBI first. It had taken her a long while to even begin to trust her team again; at one point she had feared that the unit would have been destroyed by this mistrust alone. In the end, the newest member of the team, Grace Van Pelt, had been the one to identify that one of Jackson’s old colleagues within the PSU was a mole. Shortly after, they had also arrested two of the cleaners, thanks to investigations by Rigsby and Cho.
Still, the murders continued to happen, but they were coming through more infrequently. It felt like they were finally beginning to get somewhere. Jane especially seemed to relish in the task of bringing down Red John’s team, almost more so than hunting down the man himself. All Lisbon could do was hope that he found something new to drive for after that job was finally put behind her.
And she hoped she would find something to focus on herself too. She hated the idea that the loss was almost beginning to define her. Lisbon was working ten times harder than she had done so in the past, almost to make up for her errors of judgment. Rarely did she treat herself outside of work. So long as she was healthy enough to do the job, she didn’t care. Occasionally, Jane stepped in and made sure she was eating and drinking properly. His behavior almost baffled her. She was surprised he didn’t hold it against her that she was married to Red John and that as a consequence, she had destroyed his chances of seeking revenge.
In the end, it was that which made her pick up the ballpoint pen and the divorce papers. She had punished herself for long enough. As the months had slipped by, she had fallen out of love with Jackson Roberts as she became increasingly aware of what it was he’d done. There was absolutely no way she was willing to reconcile with the man currently sitting on death row.
Lisbon needed to reclaim her life as her own.
xxx
Red John rested on the cot in his cell and smiled contentedly to himself.
Considering he was on death row, and his execution could have theoretically come up at any time, he was completely relaxed. He heard the security guards, the prison wardens and the like all complaining that he seemed too relaxed for a man in his current predicament. They repeatedly said that they suspected he was up to something and they were entirely correct. He was up to something and he did have something planned. There was absolutely no way that Red John was going to die behind bars. When he knew the game was up with Lisbon, he had already set other plans into motion. Getting caught, sacrificing himself to her and her team had all been part of the plan. It wasn’t going to be long now until he escaped jail.
During his time behind bars, several of his allies had also been sent to jail too. Red John was grateful for the sacrifice they had made to his cause and wished them no harm for the future. They knew there was nothing more he could do for them; that they were on their own now. Whether they lived or died had no effect on him. It wasn’t as if they knew any dangerous material that they could sell to the cops. The CBI already knew his identity all too well and they were hurting.
He had made a mockery of the institution. People didn’t want to entrust them with the ‘big’ cases any longer. Why would politicians and movie stars and other powerful people want to deal with them when one of the state’s worst criminals in recent history had once been in their employ? And worse, he had been married to one of their leading agents. As far as he knew, Teresa Lisbon still, miraculously, held her position within the CBI. So, Virgil Minelli hadn’t cast her to the sharks then. But then again, Minelli had also hired a man who was incredibly open about his desire for revenge, so it wasn’t entirely surprising that he’d kept Lisbon on either. Regardless, it seemed like foolish business sense and the CBI had a lot of rebuilding to do with its public image. Watching them slowly but surely bring down his network probably marginally helped. Red John was actually surprised at just how quickly it was disintegrating, if he was entirely honest with himself.
That was probably entirely down to his wife and her tireless efforts. He could practically imagine just how bruised and battered she felt by all of these revelations. She knew him like no other; she also had resources at her fingertips, thanks to the access she had to his house. This was probably all invaluable to her. Most likely, it was what was eating up all of her precious time.
So much so, that she hadn’t even bothered to take the time to come and visit him in jail. Lisbon hadn’t even sent him some mail, not even the divorce papers citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ as a reason to end the marriage. Red John knew that she had diligently attended his trial and sentencing, however. Every day, he had searched out for her in the audience and felt reassured by her presence. His attachment to her hadn’t dimmed. It was partially due to the fact that she was currently the victim that wasn’t, but also because of his genuine fondness. Despite her mistrustful nature, she was still loyal to a fault. Attending the trial was probably her way of honoring the marriage they had shared.
Red John still hadn’t given up the hopes of dragging her down to Hell with him. There was still time. He’d been counting down the hours, days, weeks for months on end. He knew what the date was and had done all the groundwork ready for this moment. Tonight, things were going to change once more. The ball was going to be well and truly back in his court. All he had to do was wait for the signal, the key moment, and then he would have to react accordingly. It was all too simple.
Years ago, he had planted a mole within this very jail. Red John had always known that if - or when - he was caught, then he would be sent to Pelican Bay. Naturally, he had dealt with that issue straightway. The situation had become even more paramount when he had chosen to lure Lisbon in. And once he started stalling when it came to killing her, he knew that sooner or later fate would come around and bite him on the ass. Her intrigue would kick in, her desire to know why he was so secretive and what he had been trying desperately to hide from her would become too much. When it came down to simply who could react faster, he was hardly surprised. On paper, it could have gone either way. The first time, when he’d been arrested, the odds had been in Lisbon’s favor.
Next time, she wasn’t going to be quite so lucky.
Two guards walked past his cell. Red John cracked an eye open; the voice of one sounded startlingly familiar. It was his mole, his ally, his friend. He craned to hear, waiting, waiting, for the key phrase.
“I hear the weather’s nice in Sacramento,” his friend remarked and the other man nodded accordingly.
Now was the time for Red John’s great escape from jail.
He smeared some jelly onto his tongue. This chemical concoction had been smuggled into his cell month ago, ready for this very day. Within seconds, as soon as the chemicals had been absorbed into his blood supply, his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Almost immediately after, he started frothing at the mouth and his body went into spasm; a full tonic-clonic seizure.
At that moment in time, Red John didn’t think a thing. If he could, he would have felt no fear. After a week’s hiding, he would be fully recovered.
And then, the hunt for Teresa Lisbon would be well and truly on.
To Part Sixteen
Part Fifteen - Escape
The case was long and drawn out. Lisbon expected that; the conviction of Red John was never going to be a short and easy one. Even though he had freely admitted to being the serial killer, and working mostly alone, it didn’t help matters. He needed to be cross examined, re-examined and then cross examined again. They needed to conclusively prove that he was responsible for each and every murder that Red John was on record as having carried out.
Then, there was her role in matters. Many thought she had to be partially responsible, or at least in cahoots with Jackson Roberts. How else would she have willingly married a serial killer? People seemed constantly eager to smear her name, had suggested that she should have been thrown out of the CBI and into jail herself, or worse, just because of her naiveté. At least Minelli and her team, Jane included, had remained steadfast by her side. And now, she had finally managed to clear her name in the courts. The only problem was, that wouldn’t stop the rumor mill from whirring on.
She didn’t help matters for herself either. For a start, she hadn’t filed for divorce the moment that she had discovered Jackson’s alter ego. In fact, Lisbon still hadn’t done so, now that he had finally been convicted and sent to death row. Sometimes, she told herself that she had been too busy. She had been trying to save her career, watching the trial and sorting out the emotional wreck that was in her head. Now, she wasn’t even sure what her excuse was. Lisbon had actively avoided seeing him in jail; she didn’t know if she could take that. Maybe the marriage was just her legacy to bear, to remind her of just how stupid and trusting she had been? Really, she was just tired of all the major decisions she had to make in life at the moment.
One of the first things Lisbon had done after Jackson’s arrest was to promptly move out and into a modest townhouse near work. It wasn’t anywhere near as lavish as his property, but it provided her with everything she required to live comfortably. And it was hers and hers alone. She’d never felt truly welcome in his place; she’d never been able to put her stamp on it, nor had she even felt comfortable accessing certain rooms. She still had nightmares about the moment he had entered the basement and carefully drawn out the knife that had killed so many people.
She worried about Jane, too. Though the man who had killed his wife and daughter was behind bars, he had never gotten what he truly wanted. Lisbon worried that this was like him losing them all over again and that he was going to fall into pieces. Instinctively, she stuck close by him, with the hope that her presence would stop him from doing anything too stupid. In the end, it felt like they were giving each other that mutual support necessary to get them both through this difficult period in their lives. Both of them had lost something intangible and both, somehow, needed to either get closure or learn how to move on. It wasn’t an easy process, but Lisbon had never expected it to be as such.
Work had also become inordinately more difficult and it was that that Lisbon was using to occupy her time with, as well as provide a distraction. Divorce papers did clutter up her desk, somewhere, but she had more important things to worry about. There had been some sporadic, random deaths going on, ones that couldn’t be linked to anyone but Red John. However, he was behind bars, so that was impossible. It was becoming increasingly clear that she needed to work on taking down Red John’s network before this would be truly over. She had started by tackling the difficult task of working out the identities of the moles within the CBI first. It had taken her a long while to even begin to trust her team again; at one point she had feared that the unit would have been destroyed by this mistrust alone. In the end, the newest member of the team, Grace Van Pelt, had been the one to identify that one of Jackson’s old colleagues within the PSU was a mole. Shortly after, they had also arrested two of the cleaners, thanks to investigations by Rigsby and Cho.
Still, the murders continued to happen, but they were coming through more infrequently. It felt like they were finally beginning to get somewhere. Jane especially seemed to relish in the task of bringing down Red John’s team, almost more so than hunting down the man himself. All Lisbon could do was hope that he found something new to drive for after that job was finally put behind her.
And she hoped she would find something to focus on herself too. She hated the idea that the loss was almost beginning to define her. Lisbon was working ten times harder than she had done so in the past, almost to make up for her errors of judgment. Rarely did she treat herself outside of work. So long as she was healthy enough to do the job, she didn’t care. Occasionally, Jane stepped in and made sure she was eating and drinking properly. His behavior almost baffled her. She was surprised he didn’t hold it against her that she was married to Red John and that as a consequence, she had destroyed his chances of seeking revenge.
In the end, it was that which made her pick up the ballpoint pen and the divorce papers. She had punished herself for long enough. As the months had slipped by, she had fallen out of love with Jackson Roberts as she became increasingly aware of what it was he’d done. There was absolutely no way she was willing to reconcile with the man currently sitting on death row.
Lisbon needed to reclaim her life as her own.
xxx
Red John rested on the cot in his cell and smiled contentedly to himself.
Considering he was on death row, and his execution could have theoretically come up at any time, he was completely relaxed. He heard the security guards, the prison wardens and the like all complaining that he seemed too relaxed for a man in his current predicament. They repeatedly said that they suspected he was up to something and they were entirely correct. He was up to something and he did have something planned. There was absolutely no way that Red John was going to die behind bars. When he knew the game was up with Lisbon, he had already set other plans into motion. Getting caught, sacrificing himself to her and her team had all been part of the plan. It wasn’t going to be long now until he escaped jail.
During his time behind bars, several of his allies had also been sent to jail too. Red John was grateful for the sacrifice they had made to his cause and wished them no harm for the future. They knew there was nothing more he could do for them; that they were on their own now. Whether they lived or died had no effect on him. It wasn’t as if they knew any dangerous material that they could sell to the cops. The CBI already knew his identity all too well and they were hurting.
He had made a mockery of the institution. People didn’t want to entrust them with the ‘big’ cases any longer. Why would politicians and movie stars and other powerful people want to deal with them when one of the state’s worst criminals in recent history had once been in their employ? And worse, he had been married to one of their leading agents. As far as he knew, Teresa Lisbon still, miraculously, held her position within the CBI. So, Virgil Minelli hadn’t cast her to the sharks then. But then again, Minelli had also hired a man who was incredibly open about his desire for revenge, so it wasn’t entirely surprising that he’d kept Lisbon on either. Regardless, it seemed like foolish business sense and the CBI had a lot of rebuilding to do with its public image. Watching them slowly but surely bring down his network probably marginally helped. Red John was actually surprised at just how quickly it was disintegrating, if he was entirely honest with himself.
That was probably entirely down to his wife and her tireless efforts. He could practically imagine just how bruised and battered she felt by all of these revelations. She knew him like no other; she also had resources at her fingertips, thanks to the access she had to his house. This was probably all invaluable to her. Most likely, it was what was eating up all of her precious time.
So much so, that she hadn’t even bothered to take the time to come and visit him in jail. Lisbon hadn’t even sent him some mail, not even the divorce papers citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ as a reason to end the marriage. Red John knew that she had diligently attended his trial and sentencing, however. Every day, he had searched out for her in the audience and felt reassured by her presence. His attachment to her hadn’t dimmed. It was partially due to the fact that she was currently the victim that wasn’t, but also because of his genuine fondness. Despite her mistrustful nature, she was still loyal to a fault. Attending the trial was probably her way of honoring the marriage they had shared.
Red John still hadn’t given up the hopes of dragging her down to Hell with him. There was still time. He’d been counting down the hours, days, weeks for months on end. He knew what the date was and had done all the groundwork ready for this moment. Tonight, things were going to change once more. The ball was going to be well and truly back in his court. All he had to do was wait for the signal, the key moment, and then he would have to react accordingly. It was all too simple.
Years ago, he had planted a mole within this very jail. Red John had always known that if - or when - he was caught, then he would be sent to Pelican Bay. Naturally, he had dealt with that issue straightway. The situation had become even more paramount when he had chosen to lure Lisbon in. And once he started stalling when it came to killing her, he knew that sooner or later fate would come around and bite him on the ass. Her intrigue would kick in, her desire to know why he was so secretive and what he had been trying desperately to hide from her would become too much. When it came down to simply who could react faster, he was hardly surprised. On paper, it could have gone either way. The first time, when he’d been arrested, the odds had been in Lisbon’s favor.
Next time, she wasn’t going to be quite so lucky.
Two guards walked past his cell. Red John cracked an eye open; the voice of one sounded startlingly familiar. It was his mole, his ally, his friend. He craned to hear, waiting, waiting, for the key phrase.
“I hear the weather’s nice in Sacramento,” his friend remarked and the other man nodded accordingly.
Now was the time for Red John’s great escape from jail.
He smeared some jelly onto his tongue. This chemical concoction had been smuggled into his cell month ago, ready for this very day. Within seconds, as soon as the chemicals had been absorbed into his blood supply, his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Almost immediately after, he started frothing at the mouth and his body went into spasm; a full tonic-clonic seizure.
At that moment in time, Red John didn’t think a thing. If he could, he would have felt no fear. After a week’s hiding, he would be fully recovered.
And then, the hunt for Teresa Lisbon would be well and truly on.
To Part Sixteen