Ignite (1/5)
Title: Ignite
Author: tromana
Rating: T
Characters: Jane/Lisbon, Rigsby/Van Pelt
Summary: They can't all escape this one.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Mentalist; this was written purely for the joy of writing.
Notes: Written for miss_peg
Ignite
Part One - Wayne Rigsby
In just thirty minutes, a whole building could be destroyed by fire. This was a fact that Wayne Rigsby knew intimately and that was all he could think of as he watched the flames flickering from the roof of the CBI headquarters. He hated the fact that such a building was being destroyed and there was very little he could do about it. Then, there were all their resources, the case files, the data, expensive machinery. So much work had gone into making the CBI what it was and it was being lost before their very eyes. He didn’t even want to imagine the cost that would be incurred by the time that this was over. It could potentially not only destroy the building, but the California Bureau of Investigation itself. He shuddered; Rigsby loved the job and he loved his co-workers. He hated to think that everyone would lose everything because of this.
Thankfully, everyone had gotten out unscathed. The quick head count had indicated there would be no loss of life and that was something that Rigsby was infinitely grateful for. As heartbreaking as it was to see the institution he loved being destroyed before his eyes, it would have been so much worse if somebody had died as well. If anything, he would have gone as far as blaming himself for it. After all, he was the arson expert. He was the one who should have known that something like this could have happened eventually. A shrink would have explained it away as being survivor’s guilt, or the like, but Rigsby would have felt differently, all because fire was his specialty. But, that was irrelevant. Everyone was fine. The only loss was going to be of the building itself. Therefore, it was entirely possible that the CBI could be rebuilt - as an institution of people and the building itself - at a later date.
"Jane's not here," Lisbon said and then she repeated it, louder. "The idiot, he's gone back inside."
Rigsby’s blood ran cold. Just as he was consoling his fact that nobody’s life was at risk, the boss had just informed him otherwise. He turned to face her and could see the sheer panic written across her features. It was understandable; she was the one who was closest to Jane. If he died, everyone in the team would react badly, but she would be utterly destroyed. They all knew Jane was her personal project, that she needed him almost as much as he needed her. If one lost the other, well, the very thought was almost inconceivable.
In the blink of an eye, everything had changed. Instead of looking on lamely as they waited for the firefighters to finally arrive to dowse the flames, a tragic incident had turned into an emergency.
It didn’t take much for Rigsby to realize why Jane had gone back in. The Red John case files may have been imprinted in Jane’s brain (or, so it appeared at the very least), but it didn’t stop him from needing the physical object. Red John was still at large and Rigsby knew that Jane wouldn’t be content until the man was dead. In Jane’s mind, the case files were worth risking his life over. After all, they provided tantalizing clues that could get him closer to his vengeance. However much they had tried to prove to Jane that he had a life beyond Red John, it was still obvious that he was more than willing to sacrifice his life to the cause.
Lisbon took a couple of steps closer to the building and Rigsby knew what she was doing. Instinctively, he caught her by the wrist to stop and she turned around to give him a filthy glare. She wasn’t happy and had immediately reverted to ‘reckless hero’ mode. There was a reason she was the boss, but that didn’t mean she always had to risk her life to save other people. They all knew just how important she was.
“Let go, Rigsby,” she snarled, but he didn’t jump. He was used to her fierce reputation by now. “I have to save him.”
“And risk your own life in the process? I’m not so sure, boss.”
She shook her head and pulled her hand free. He knew he had no chance of persuading her otherwise; once she had resolved to do something that was it. Briefly, Rigsby spared a glance at Van Pelt and then Cho. The redhead was horrified; her hand had flown to her mouth in shock. The ambulance had been a lot quicker to the scene and Cho was already receiving treatment for some minor burns which he’d picked up upon discovery of the blaze. Despite that, he still managed to lock gazes with his closest friend for a brief moment. It was clear that he, meanwhile, disapproved of the situation but wasn’t going to make judgment any other way. Rigsby then knew what he had to do; as far as he was concerned, he literally had no other option.
“I’m coming with you,” he answered firmly.
“Wayne, no, I can’t ask you to do that. I can’t risk losing both of you to this fire.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“I’m your boss-“
“And I’m disobeying orders. I’ve had training in these situations; you haven’t. Let me use my expertise to save you both. Please?”
Her shoulders sagged in defeat and Van Pelt rushed to his side. Without thinking, Rigsby turned to face her. He took her face gently in his hands, cupping each of her cheeks. Already, he could see the teardrops glistening in her eyelashes. She was scared; she didn’t think any of them were going to come out of this alive. They had been separated for years now, but he still loved her intensely. In reality, he’d never even stopped loving her. Almost as though he wasn’t under control, he leaned forwards, brushed his lips against hers and then deepened the kiss. Van Pelt moaned slightly and he held her tightly. Abruptly, he let go. Time was of the essence and Jane’s life was at stake. He could deal with the aftermath of kissing Van Pelt later; this wasn’t a farewell, it was a ‘see you later’. He, Jane and Lisbon would be fine. They had to be.
“You two have to stay here,” Rigsby instructed and Cho nodded slightly. “This is dangerous.”
“Be careful, Wayne,” Van Pelt murmured. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
He hurried to catch up with Lisbon, who had already made her way to the left side of the building. The fire hadn’t spread there yet and thankfully, that meant that Jane should have been comparatively safe in his attic - or at least, in theory. Even so, it was still reckless and foolish of them to attempt this rescue mission. They didn’t have the right equipment and besides, Lisbon hadn’t had anything more than rudimentary fire safety training. But, she wasn’t willing to wait for the professionals, not when Jane’s life was at stake and he wasn’t willing to let her risk her life alone. Even so, every pore of Rigsby’s body was screaming out at him to stop. It had been drilled into him that he should never re-enter a burning building, but he ignored the screams stubbornly.
With a deep breath, he re-entered the building. Every second that he spent with Lisbon, he told her everything he knew about getting in and out of fires comparatively unscathed. He hadn’t informed her yet, but he was going to leave her, go fight the fire head-on and give her and Jane more of a chance to escape. Rigsby knew that she wouldn’t approve in the slightest, and that was why he hadn’t told her. After some careful navigation, they made it to the flight of stairs that led to Jane’s attic. The smoke was getting quite thick here, even if the actual fire hadn’t spread to this point yet. Crouching down low and covering his mouth, he turned to face Lisbon. He now had to drop the bombshell he’d been dreading onto her.
“You go up and find him. I’m gonna go tackle the blaze.”
“Rigsby-“
“Don’t argue with me, boss, we’re just wasting time that we could use to get out. Call me when you’ve got him, and just leave. Don’t take the elevator.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine,” Lisbon answered, relenting. “Good luck, Wayne and be careful.”
He nodded. “You too.”
Rigsby watched briefly as Lisbon carefully navigated her way up the staircase. He could only hope that they would get out safely now. All he could do now was keep trying to give them every chance to do so. He could already imagine the firefighters berating them for carrying out this rescue mission. But, they had been delayed - chronically understaffed and under resourced, it was entirely understandable, if infuriating - and every second counted if Jane was going to survive.
Armed with just a fire extinguisher, Rigsby briefly noted that the sprinklers had failed. That had only served to make his job all the more difficult. However, it didn’t take him long to discover the fire itself and he started spraying the white foam relentlessly. He was quietly proud of what he was achieving; he was definitely holding the fire back and preventing it from spreading. However, as much as he tried to focus, his vision was blurring as he inhaled the noxious gases. The foam was only serving to make the problem worse. Rigsby stumbled forwards; he had a task in mind and he refused to fail. He got further and further away from the elevator and the staircase and glancing behind, it had already disappeared from his vision. The smoke was thick.
Eventually, he had to admit defeat; he was never going to have been able to put out the fire on his own. The intention had always been to delay the spread of it, anyway. Dropping down to his hands and knees, he started to crawl back in the direction of the escape. He was grateful that he knew the CBI headquarters like the back of his hand and that would make leaving easier. But, his muscles ached, his head was pounding and his eyes were stinging. His hair felt like it had been slicked back as sweat poured from every orifice; the scorching heat was becoming all the more apparent. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath; the oxygen supply was being quickly eaten up by the flames. Rigsby paused; his chest felt tight and it was getting harder and harder to move. Already, he had lost all sense of time and distance. He hoped he had given them enough time to get out; Jane and Lisbon had to survive. The fire itself wasn’t going to claim his life first and neither was the heat. The smoke was the obvious killer. But, he wasn’t trying to give up; he wanted to get out alive. He wanted to reunite with Van Pelt and he didn’t want to leave his precious son fatherless. The very thought was almost inconceivable.
Then, the muscles in his arms gave way and he collapsed to the floor. Everything hurt now, but he couldn’t regret the decision he had been made. Heatstroke, shock, loss of blood, and thermal decomposition of vital organs were all causes of death in a fire. The most common in a blaze this size, however, was carbon monoxide poisoning. Rigsby had known all this and still he had made the decision to re-enter, in order to save his friends. Even so, his last conscious thought was of his only child, Benjamin Rigsby, as he succumbed to the lure of death.
To Part Two
Author: tromana
Rating: T
Characters: Jane/Lisbon, Rigsby/Van Pelt
Summary: They can't all escape this one.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Mentalist; this was written purely for the joy of writing.
Notes: Written for miss_peg
Ignite
Part One - Wayne Rigsby
In just thirty minutes, a whole building could be destroyed by fire. This was a fact that Wayne Rigsby knew intimately and that was all he could think of as he watched the flames flickering from the roof of the CBI headquarters. He hated the fact that such a building was being destroyed and there was very little he could do about it. Then, there were all their resources, the case files, the data, expensive machinery. So much work had gone into making the CBI what it was and it was being lost before their very eyes. He didn’t even want to imagine the cost that would be incurred by the time that this was over. It could potentially not only destroy the building, but the California Bureau of Investigation itself. He shuddered; Rigsby loved the job and he loved his co-workers. He hated to think that everyone would lose everything because of this.
Thankfully, everyone had gotten out unscathed. The quick head count had indicated there would be no loss of life and that was something that Rigsby was infinitely grateful for. As heartbreaking as it was to see the institution he loved being destroyed before his eyes, it would have been so much worse if somebody had died as well. If anything, he would have gone as far as blaming himself for it. After all, he was the arson expert. He was the one who should have known that something like this could have happened eventually. A shrink would have explained it away as being survivor’s guilt, or the like, but Rigsby would have felt differently, all because fire was his specialty. But, that was irrelevant. Everyone was fine. The only loss was going to be of the building itself. Therefore, it was entirely possible that the CBI could be rebuilt - as an institution of people and the building itself - at a later date.
"Jane's not here," Lisbon said and then she repeated it, louder. "The idiot, he's gone back inside."
Rigsby’s blood ran cold. Just as he was consoling his fact that nobody’s life was at risk, the boss had just informed him otherwise. He turned to face her and could see the sheer panic written across her features. It was understandable; she was the one who was closest to Jane. If he died, everyone in the team would react badly, but she would be utterly destroyed. They all knew Jane was her personal project, that she needed him almost as much as he needed her. If one lost the other, well, the very thought was almost inconceivable.
In the blink of an eye, everything had changed. Instead of looking on lamely as they waited for the firefighters to finally arrive to dowse the flames, a tragic incident had turned into an emergency.
It didn’t take much for Rigsby to realize why Jane had gone back in. The Red John case files may have been imprinted in Jane’s brain (or, so it appeared at the very least), but it didn’t stop him from needing the physical object. Red John was still at large and Rigsby knew that Jane wouldn’t be content until the man was dead. In Jane’s mind, the case files were worth risking his life over. After all, they provided tantalizing clues that could get him closer to his vengeance. However much they had tried to prove to Jane that he had a life beyond Red John, it was still obvious that he was more than willing to sacrifice his life to the cause.
Lisbon took a couple of steps closer to the building and Rigsby knew what she was doing. Instinctively, he caught her by the wrist to stop and she turned around to give him a filthy glare. She wasn’t happy and had immediately reverted to ‘reckless hero’ mode. There was a reason she was the boss, but that didn’t mean she always had to risk her life to save other people. They all knew just how important she was.
“Let go, Rigsby,” she snarled, but he didn’t jump. He was used to her fierce reputation by now. “I have to save him.”
“And risk your own life in the process? I’m not so sure, boss.”
She shook her head and pulled her hand free. He knew he had no chance of persuading her otherwise; once she had resolved to do something that was it. Briefly, Rigsby spared a glance at Van Pelt and then Cho. The redhead was horrified; her hand had flown to her mouth in shock. The ambulance had been a lot quicker to the scene and Cho was already receiving treatment for some minor burns which he’d picked up upon discovery of the blaze. Despite that, he still managed to lock gazes with his closest friend for a brief moment. It was clear that he, meanwhile, disapproved of the situation but wasn’t going to make judgment any other way. Rigsby then knew what he had to do; as far as he was concerned, he literally had no other option.
“I’m coming with you,” he answered firmly.
“Wayne, no, I can’t ask you to do that. I can’t risk losing both of you to this fire.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“I’m your boss-“
“And I’m disobeying orders. I’ve had training in these situations; you haven’t. Let me use my expertise to save you both. Please?”
Her shoulders sagged in defeat and Van Pelt rushed to his side. Without thinking, Rigsby turned to face her. He took her face gently in his hands, cupping each of her cheeks. Already, he could see the teardrops glistening in her eyelashes. She was scared; she didn’t think any of them were going to come out of this alive. They had been separated for years now, but he still loved her intensely. In reality, he’d never even stopped loving her. Almost as though he wasn’t under control, he leaned forwards, brushed his lips against hers and then deepened the kiss. Van Pelt moaned slightly and he held her tightly. Abruptly, he let go. Time was of the essence and Jane’s life was at stake. He could deal with the aftermath of kissing Van Pelt later; this wasn’t a farewell, it was a ‘see you later’. He, Jane and Lisbon would be fine. They had to be.
“You two have to stay here,” Rigsby instructed and Cho nodded slightly. “This is dangerous.”
“Be careful, Wayne,” Van Pelt murmured. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
He hurried to catch up with Lisbon, who had already made her way to the left side of the building. The fire hadn’t spread there yet and thankfully, that meant that Jane should have been comparatively safe in his attic - or at least, in theory. Even so, it was still reckless and foolish of them to attempt this rescue mission. They didn’t have the right equipment and besides, Lisbon hadn’t had anything more than rudimentary fire safety training. But, she wasn’t willing to wait for the professionals, not when Jane’s life was at stake and he wasn’t willing to let her risk her life alone. Even so, every pore of Rigsby’s body was screaming out at him to stop. It had been drilled into him that he should never re-enter a burning building, but he ignored the screams stubbornly.
With a deep breath, he re-entered the building. Every second that he spent with Lisbon, he told her everything he knew about getting in and out of fires comparatively unscathed. He hadn’t informed her yet, but he was going to leave her, go fight the fire head-on and give her and Jane more of a chance to escape. Rigsby knew that she wouldn’t approve in the slightest, and that was why he hadn’t told her. After some careful navigation, they made it to the flight of stairs that led to Jane’s attic. The smoke was getting quite thick here, even if the actual fire hadn’t spread to this point yet. Crouching down low and covering his mouth, he turned to face Lisbon. He now had to drop the bombshell he’d been dreading onto her.
“You go up and find him. I’m gonna go tackle the blaze.”
“Rigsby-“
“Don’t argue with me, boss, we’re just wasting time that we could use to get out. Call me when you’ve got him, and just leave. Don’t take the elevator.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine,” Lisbon answered, relenting. “Good luck, Wayne and be careful.”
He nodded. “You too.”
Rigsby watched briefly as Lisbon carefully navigated her way up the staircase. He could only hope that they would get out safely now. All he could do now was keep trying to give them every chance to do so. He could already imagine the firefighters berating them for carrying out this rescue mission. But, they had been delayed - chronically understaffed and under resourced, it was entirely understandable, if infuriating - and every second counted if Jane was going to survive.
Armed with just a fire extinguisher, Rigsby briefly noted that the sprinklers had failed. That had only served to make his job all the more difficult. However, it didn’t take him long to discover the fire itself and he started spraying the white foam relentlessly. He was quietly proud of what he was achieving; he was definitely holding the fire back and preventing it from spreading. However, as much as he tried to focus, his vision was blurring as he inhaled the noxious gases. The foam was only serving to make the problem worse. Rigsby stumbled forwards; he had a task in mind and he refused to fail. He got further and further away from the elevator and the staircase and glancing behind, it had already disappeared from his vision. The smoke was thick.
Eventually, he had to admit defeat; he was never going to have been able to put out the fire on his own. The intention had always been to delay the spread of it, anyway. Dropping down to his hands and knees, he started to crawl back in the direction of the escape. He was grateful that he knew the CBI headquarters like the back of his hand and that would make leaving easier. But, his muscles ached, his head was pounding and his eyes were stinging. His hair felt like it had been slicked back as sweat poured from every orifice; the scorching heat was becoming all the more apparent. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath; the oxygen supply was being quickly eaten up by the flames. Rigsby paused; his chest felt tight and it was getting harder and harder to move. Already, he had lost all sense of time and distance. He hoped he had given them enough time to get out; Jane and Lisbon had to survive. The fire itself wasn’t going to claim his life first and neither was the heat. The smoke was the obvious killer. But, he wasn’t trying to give up; he wanted to get out alive. He wanted to reunite with Van Pelt and he didn’t want to leave his precious son fatherless. The very thought was almost inconceivable.
Then, the muscles in his arms gave way and he collapsed to the floor. Everything hurt now, but he couldn’t regret the decision he had been made. Heatstroke, shock, loss of blood, and thermal decomposition of vital organs were all causes of death in a fire. The most common in a blaze this size, however, was carbon monoxide poisoning. Rigsby had known all this and still he had made the decision to re-enter, in order to save his friends. Even so, his last conscious thought was of his only child, Benjamin Rigsby, as he succumbed to the lure of death.
To Part Two