Well here I am with a new story. This one has been sitting in the back of my mind, bugging me, whispering at me, asking me to set it free. I have tried to ignore it in favour of something else, but over time, I have decided that the only way I will have some peace is to let this guy out to play. I have very little idea where this story will take me, but I never have a complete plan when I start to write. So let's go on this little adventure together and see where we end up!

The Messenger

Chapter 1

Death and Tacos

"Jane, Lisbon, we're up!" called Abbott, stepping out into the bullpen. Lisbon was nowhere in sight, but Jane was sprawled on his old leather sofa, basking in the late morning sun like a large ginger cat. Wylie scooted around in his chair and noted Jane had not moved an inch considering Abbott needed the whole team. Risking chastisement from his quirky co-worker, Wylie walked over to the body on the sofa and raised a finger to poke Jane awake. As if aware his personal space had been invaded, Jane raised one eyebrow and glared at poor Wylie just as his long finger was about to give the sleeping body a nudge.

"Don't do it Wylie!" Jane muttered. "I am on full alert and require no additional assistance."

Wylie's hand retracted to the safety of a pocket while the hapless young man turned a bright shade of red.

"Sorry Jane! It's just that Abbott…" he began, before Jane cut him off mid-sentence and raised his hand to silence the young techie. Jane deigned to open his eyes and swivel his head around to look for Lisbon. He wanted to call her Teresa forever now that he had declared his love for her, but somehow, within the FBI building, she remained Lisbon. Smirking slyly to himself, he knew he would call her Teresa in their more intimate moments, whispering it like a prayer, as she was his saviour in all ways. Jane sat up and yawned dramatically.

"Thank you for your concern about my attendance at this meeting young Wylie. Much appreciated. But I heard Abbott."

"Okay!" said Wylie, smiling goofily as he turned to stroll back to his desk, his interaction with Jane no surprise. Expect the unexpected and you will get along just fine with Mr. Jane. Patrick sat up and looked around. So, where was the lovely Lisbon? As if summoned by his thoughts, she strode into the bullpen with a fresh cup of coffee and made her way over to her sleepy man and smiled deeply when she caught sight of the grin on his face.

"What? What's so funny?" she asked, not really expecting him to divulge his innermost thoughts in such a public place.

"Just admiring the view my dear" he admitted. Lisbon's smile broadened and she beamed at him as she sat at her desk, about to open a case file.

"Ummm, that tedious work will have to wait. Abbott says we caught a case. Meeting in the bullpen in about 5 minutes" he informed her, happy to have a new adventure to indulge his mind. Sleeping lazily on his beloved couch was all well and good, but after a few days it became boring. He could be at the old house by the lake, fixing it up a bit more. His plan was to renovate it fully and make it their home. Since returning from Florida, he spent many nights at her house during the week, a situation he found delightful. With Pike out of the picture, her home now felt like his second home. But he shouldn't get ahead of himself. He had a big question to ask her first… His stomach lurched in nervous anticipation just thinking about it!

As agents began to gather and fill the chairs set up around the screens at the far end of the room, Jane and Lisbon made their way over to the group and sat next to each other, waiting for Abbott to show them the new case. As if on cue, when everyone was assembled, Abbott strode into the room and took his place at the podium.

"Good morning. We've been contacted by Police Chief Carl Monroe from McCarron County. Seems a federal employee in their jurisdiction has been found dead in the desert and as such, the case becomes an FBI investigation. The Fed, Walter Carruthers, worked for the local taxation office and was found out in the desert by a hiker. He was dressed in a business suit and loafers, no car, no wallet, no I.D. "

Abbott clicked on a file on his laptop and a photo of the deceased man appeared on the large screen behind him.

"As you can see, our victim was dressed for work in an office, not for hiking. Why was he found in the desert? We need to know what he was doing in the days leading up to his demise, who he knew, who his friends are, what his upcoming plans were. There were no marks on the body to indicate cause of death, so we are waiting for the coroner's report. Perhaps we will discover something about his activities based on that report. Cho will divide you up into teams and you will be given your assignments. Let's wrap this one up quickly folks. We have a long weekend coming up and I'm sure some of you would actually like to take some time off to enjoy it."

Mumbled nods of agreement confirmed this, and the agents eagerly took their files from Cho when he finished his speech a few minutes later. Lisbon and Jane were going to interview Carruthers' co-workers to see if there were issues there that could have caused his death. The body was obviously moved. When Jane drove out to the crime scene he hoped to find some indication of why the victim was placed so far away from the nearest town. He needed to see the spot for himself, knowing the techs often missed the most obvious clues.

Within 15 minutes, Lisbon and Jane were driving out of the city into the barren countryside bordering the desert. The afternoon was spent speaking to the employees of the taxation office, a place so beige and boring that Jane imagined that suicide would have been a job hazard. Voicing his opinion of that just earned him a poke in the ribs from Lisbon as she gathered up their paperwork and ushered her wayward, opinionated consultant out of the airless office.

"If I had to work in there for more than 5 minutes, I might go out into the desert and kill myself as well…" mused Jane.

'Well you might, but I doubt Walter Carruthers did. He was murdered. And just because you wouldn't work there doesn't mean it wasn't a good place to work for all those other people Jane!" huffed Lisbon.

"It is awful, bland, bureaucratic and stifling. A fate worse than…"

"Death? No, it's not, but I will agree that it isn't the place I'd want to spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week working in. So, now what?" agreed Lisbon finally, hoping to change the subject.

"A drive out into the desert seems in order" said Jane, happy to stay out of the office for a change.

"I can't. I have that physical arranged with the FBI physician. I've cancelled so many times they are threatening to put me on leave until I get my annual physical out of the way. So if you go, you may have to take someone else with you" she explained, looking disappointed that she would not be able to accompany him out of the office for the rest of the afternoon.

"Meh! Anyone else will just slow me down, asking useless questions and getting in my way. I can go and take a look and be back by 6. Then how about you and I go to that great Taco place on South Congress and sit outside while the sun goes down. Yes?" he asked, beaming just at the thought of it.

Lisbon smiled back and agreed, looking forward to spending the evening in the city of Austin and watching the world go by from the vantage point of a patio and a plateful of great tacos in front of her. And in the company of the irascible man she loved so much.

"Ok, deal. Just don't linger or get lost. I'll eat a light lunch so we can really dig into those tacos tonight" she said, pleased with the way the day was turning out.

"Love you…" whispered Jane, leaning in for a discreet kiss as they approached the FBI SUV.

"Love you too…" grinned Lisbon, glancing around to make sure they weren't being watched.