Unknown warehouse – (Tuesday Morning)

Lisbon had been right. They weren't happy with her. She pushed back unwanted memories as she attempted to clear her head. She was pretty sure she had passed out, as the warehouse floor was cool and uncomfortable beneath her face. Her arms ached like nothing she had ever known – the cuffs were chaffing badly and the bolt was still connected far above her head so that her arms hung above her when she sat and tore upwards now that she was lying on her side

Yet she didn't want to move. She wasn't sure if she could. Or should. The logical side of her was saying that the punishment hadn't been that bad. She was still alive and nothing was broken yet - as far as she could tell anyway. She would have some pretty startling bruises, but once again the logical side piped in and noted that she'd probably had worse from her father. She tried to ignore those memories. The overall upside was that these people still needed her. Obviously.

She braced her self and decided to move. Crap. Bad idea. Crap, crap, crap. There might be a break. A rib? 'No, I think it's just a fracture', the logical side began. 'To hell with the logic' the rest of her screamed in pain, and she curled up again. No. To hell with the pain. She dragged herself into sitting; there was something she'd noticed. Something that could maybe help her if only she could remember what. She leaned heavily back against the pylon to which she was chained. Wait, that was it!

She scoured the ground. She remembered boots coming towards her, fists, and something metallic bouncing to the floor - she had thought it was a nail. There! Not a nail, just some spare splinter of metal, but it would do.

Not for the first time she mentally thanked Jane for showing her how to get out of handcuffs. She hadn't tried it before, wasn't sure she really knew how to do it, but as long as she could remember the basics she just might have a chance.

:~~~~~:

CBI Bullpen - (Tuesday Morning)

The bullpen was quiet. Only a few people wandered in an out, and only every half hour or so to bring in some paperwork or an update for the main crime boards. There was more noise than usual for 4am on a Tuesday morning, it was true, but it was still quiet. At the end of the room, unmoved for hours, Grace sat at a table strewn with files, typing steadily away at her computer.

"Anything?"

"Nothing."

Cadie pulled over a chair and sat across from Grace, who was still typing semi-furiously on her laptop. "Nothing on my end either." He sighed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table. "Where are the others?"

"Rigby needed to move, so he went to check out the safe house with forensics. Cho is still trying to track down possible locations. I think he has it down to about 15."

Cadie dragged his hands over his face. "This is all my fault. I should have had better surveillance. I should've had a better profile on Monary."

Grace paused to look over to him. "This isn't your fault. Don't let what Jane said get to you.

"But he was right. And now all this is on my head."

"You didn't know," Grace said gently "You're not Jane, you couldn't have known how far Monary would go. You didn't know that there was any flaw in the plan. And don't give up just yet. There's still hope. We're not going to give up."

"No we're not." Jane's voice carried through the Bullpen as he appeared in the doorframe. "But we are running out of time."

"Jane!" Grace stood up suddenly, wincing at the pain of moving after so long in the same position. "Seriously, about time. Rigsby is going to throttle you. Please tell me you have something."

"Well that depends. Has the tracker come online yet?"

"How did you… Never mind, of course you worked it out. And it hasn't."

"Where are Cho and Rigby?"

"Out searching."

"Call them back. I have a plan."

"Are you going to tell us what it is this time?" Cadie asked.

Jane began to walk back out of the bullpen, not the slightest hint of the usual spring in his step. "Let me know when they're here. And tell me when the tracker comes online."

"Jane? Are you okay Jane?"

But he had already vanished.

:~~~~~:

Jane slunk away up the stairs towards his attic hideaway; pausing at the door. He slid it open and closed it just as slowly, as if everything used up just that much extra energy. He drifted towards his desk at first, where he dumped his jacket, but then moved instead to his makeshift bed. Sitting down slowly, he seemed to stop; just staring at the wall ahead of him for a while before pulling his legs up and lying down. Now he stared at the ceiling with the same expression as before. If Lisbon was there she would understand it. Though of course if Lisbon was there then the look wouldn't be.

It was a few specific emotions combined and then and locked away under a pretense of emotional distance. It was fear, and guilt, and angst, and intense fury. It was piercing determination and calculated consideration.

It was terrifying.

:~~~~~:

"Where the hell have you been?" Rigsby greeted Jane as he walked in.

"Come on, back off Rigby. You were defending him earlier."

Rigsby backed off, though less because of Grace's words and more because of Jane's expression.

"Thanks for the text Grace. What happened?"

"You were right. The tracker is back. Whatever was blocking it is gone."

"Good. That means two things. One it means I definitely convinced Monary that she's not a cop and two, it might be where Lisbon is."

"You met with Monary?! That's where you were."

"Good Cho. Yes. I met with him under the pretense of being the ex-boyfriend he'd met the night before, but then he decided I was Cole"

"How did you know about Cole? Cadie only told us of this bit after you disappeared."

"I was there remember? I heard the deal go though. And anyway, it was Monary who accused me of being him. Back to it… he must have had a block set up on the off chance she was a cop, but since I convinced him otherwise…

"No need for one."

"Exactly. I'm sure he has places it be of better use than hanging around a civilian."

"Great. Well can we go any get Lisbon out of their goddamn grip now?" Rigsby asked. "We don't have time to waste!"

"We have until 6pm. That's when Monary is expecting me, and when he'll hand over Lisbon."

"At which point he will probably kill you both," Cho added.

"Yes. Which is one of the many reasons why that is not the entire plan. Now I'm meeting him to exchange Lisbon for the Vertigo Recipe…"

"Recipe?'

"…My bargaining chip. Which I obviously don't actually have, so we need to work fast before he realises. But first the building; just because the tracker is there doesn't mean Lisbon is. We need to know for certain. Monary will text me an address later, so if it matches that'll be one good sign, and then my plan will ensure we get it right. If we burst into the wrong place then Lisbon will be outed as connected to the cops… which is something we very much do not want."

"So instead?"

"We follow my plan. Grace, Cho, you got what I asked for?"

"The drugs and bugs and trackers? Yes."

"Well then, lets get this show on the road."

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To be continued…
Next: Into The Ring
Authors Note: Go team! Go get Lisbon! What could possibly go wrong? :O
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