Taskforce: Shadows UnitedEpisode 3: "Mind Games"Guest Team: The Mentalist (Patrick Jane, Teresa Lisbon) 3/4

Taskforce: Shadows United

Episode 3: "Mind Games"

Guest Team: The Mentalist (Patrick Jane, Teresa Lisbon)

TEASER

INT. UPSCALE HOTEL – NEW YORK – NIGHT

A charity gala is in full swing. Waiters glide through the crowd, laughter and music filling the air. Suddenly, a piercing scream cuts through the room. Guests rush to the source—a VIP suite upstairs—where a prominent philanthropist, Evelyn Grant, is found unconscious, a cryptic note pinned to her dress:

"The truth is in the mind's eye."

ACT 1: A CRYPTIC BEGINNING

INT. SVU SQUAD ROOM – MORNING

Olivia Benson stands at a whiteboard, the note projected behind her. Sylvester Dodd sits nearby, analyzing security footage. Penelope Garcia, coffee in hand, is already digging through digital records.

OLIVIA:

"Evelyn Grant is in a coma. No sign of forced entry, no drugs in her system. The only clue is this note."

SYLVESTER:

"I've reviewed the footage. No one suspicious entered her suite, but there's a five-minute gap in the hallway camera feed."

GARCIA:

"Her phone was wiped clean at 10:17 p.m. Whoever did this is a pro."

OLIVIA:

"We need someone who understands psychological games. Someone who can see what we're missing."

INT. TASKFORCE COMMAND CENTER – LATER

Patrick Jane and Teresa Lisbon arrive, greeted by Olivia and the team.

JANE:

"Lovely hotel. Shame about the attempted murder."

LISBON:

"Jane, focus."

OLIVIA:

"We're glad you're here. This case is as much about the mind as the evidence."

ACT 2: THE ART OF OBSERVATION

INT. HOTEL SUITE – DAY

Jane walks through the scene, taking in every detail. He notices a vase of fresh lilies, a book open to a page about memory, and a smudge on the bathroom mirror.

JANE:

"Whoever did this wanted to send a message, not just to Evelyn, but to everyone in this room. The lilies are a symbol of renewal. The book is about forgetting. The mirror… that's for self-reflection."

Lisbon interviews staff, while Olivia and Jane compare notes.

OLIVIA:

"You think the unsub knows Evelyn personally?"

JANE:

"Intimately. This was about control, not violence. The note is a challenge—a game."

INT. TASKFORCE TECH BAY – NIGHT

Sylvester and Garcia analyze the wiped phone. Using a recovery tool, they restore a single, encrypted message:

"You can't hide from yourself."

SYLVESTER:

"There's a pattern here. The unsub is using psychological triggers—memory, guilt, identity."

GARCIA:

"I'll run the phrase through social media, emails, everything."

ACT 3: THE MENTALIST'S PLAYBOOK

INT. TASKFORCE STRATEGY ROOM – DAY

Jane leads a brainstorming session, scribbling on a whiteboard.

JANE:

"Think like the unsub. What's their endgame? They want Evelyn to remember something, but she's in a coma. So who's the real target?"

LISBON:

"Family, maybe? Someone close?"

OLIVIA:

"Her daughter, Mia, has been avoiding us. She was at the gala but left early."

GARCIA:

"I found a string of anonymous messages sent to Mia's private account. All say the same thing: 'The mind's eye never lies.'"

SYLVESTER:

"The unsub is pushing Mia to confess—or remember—something."

INT. SVU INTERVIEW ROOM – DAY

Olivia and Lisbon speak with Mia Grant, who is visibly shaken.

MIA:

"I don't know why this is happening. My mother and I… we've had our issues, but—"

Jane enters, offering Mia a cup of tea.

JANE:

"Sometimes the truth is too painful to face. But it always finds a way out."

Mia breaks down, revealing a secret: years ago, she witnessed her mother covering up a fatal accident involving a family friend. She's been plagued by guilt ever since.

ACT 4: THE UNRAVELING

INT. TASKFORCE OFFICE – NIGHT

Garcia traces the anonymous messages to a disgraced former therapist, Dr. Alan Pierce, who once treated both Evelyn and Mia. He lost his license after unethical practices were exposed.

GARCIA:

"Pierce is obsessed with memory recovery. He's been stalking the Grants for months."

SYLVESTER:

"He's using psychological warfare—forcing Mia and Evelyn to confront their past."

OLIVIA:

"Let's bring him in."

INT. ABANDONED OFFICE – NIGHT

The team tracks Pierce to a rundown office building. Jane and Olivia lead the entry, finding Pierce surrounded by files, photos, and a wall covered in cryptic phrases.

PIERCE:

"You can't save them. The truth destroys."

JANE:

"No, Alan. The truth heals. But only if you let it."

Pierce is arrested, but not before warning that the mind's eye never forgets.

ACT 5: HEALING AND ACCEPTANCE

INT. HOSPITAL – DAY

Evelyn awakens from her coma. Mia is by her side, tears streaming down her face. Olivia and Jane watch from the doorway.

MIA:

"I'm sorry, Mom. I should have told the truth."

EVELYN:

"We'll face it together."

JANE (to Olivia):

"Sometimes the hardest cases are the ones that force us to look inward."

OLIVIA:

"We all have shadows, Jane. The trick is not letting them control us."

ACT 6: REFLECTION AND GROWTH

INT. TASKFORCE COMMAND CENTER – EVENING

The teams debrief. Lisbon thanks Olivia for her leadership; Jane compliments Sylvester's analytical skills and Garcia's intuition.

LISBON:

"You've got a good team here. If you ever need backup, you know where to find us."

SYLVESTER:

"I learned a lot from you both. Especially about trusting my instincts."

GARCIA:

"Another case closed. And another reminder that healing is as important as justice."

EPILOGUE

Olivia, Penelope, and Sylvester share a quiet moment in a rooftop garden, the city lights twinkling below.

OLIVIA:

"Every case, every team, we get a little stronger. We keep each other honest."

PENELOPE:

"And we keep each other safe."

SYLVESTER:

"Family by choice."

They watch the sunrise, ready for the next mind game the shadows might bring.

End of Episode