They left the city around five after getting off work. Peter had conned Neal into going with him to his mother's in Lansing New York. She was moving to Florida since her house has gotten too big for one person. Elizabeth had an event to plan so she was stuck at work all weekend.

"Why am I helping you with this?" Neal asked.

"You could stay in the city this weekend doing paperwork with Jones and Diana." Peter said as he punched something into the GPS. "Or you could help the man who sprung you from prison, giving you a shot at a better life

"You're going to use that?"

"Yes."

"How do you know I don't have plans with Sara this weekend." Neal said.

"She's in Burbank at a conference and won't be back until Tuesday." Peter said. "Besides I thought you two broke up?"

"We didn't brake up, we're on a break."

"Alex?"

"She came to the apartment one night…"

"I know the story, Neal." Peter said. "You know that's where you two have trouble."

"Thank you."

"Neal, you two could be happy if that one brown-haired optical didn't keep getting in the way."

"Oh you mean you." Neal said chuckling.

"Not funny, Neal."

They drove for almost two hours until they reached a diner tucked into a back road. It was an old nineteen-fifties type place with minimal lighting, and a dirk parking lot. They noticed how empty the place looked as Peter parked the car. Inside it looked dingy and dirty with cracked leather seats and stools.

"Should we get our food to go?" Neal asked in a low voice that only Peter could here.

'We'll be on the road a few more hours. Let's sit and eat, this place isn't so bad."

Peter lead Neal over to the bar and they each sat on a stool, and looked threw the menus. After a while someone came out from the kitchen. Her blond hair was pulled back in a tight pony-tail, and her waitress uniform looked two sizes too big for her.

'Can I get Y'll anything?" She said in a thick Sothern accent.

"I'll have a coffee and a cheeseburger with fries." Peter said.

"Same thing." Neal said putting the menu down.

As they sat waiting for their food Neal heard two men talking at a table behind them. Out of boredom the conman listened to them talk.

"I'm telling ya, Roy. Them hooligans are back at it again."

"Billy, I heard there's about ten of them driving an eight passenger U-con." Roy said. "They drive down dark deserted roads with their headlights off. When a car coming the other way flashes them they follow that car, and kill the occupants of the car."

Neal turned to stare at them and wondered if what they were talking about was true. The men looked like a couple of good ol' boys just in from a day of hunting, whatever it was they were hunting Neal didn't want to know. He listened for a while longer until he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned to see Peter staring at him.

"Hey, are food's here?"

"Thanks." Was all Neal said as he turned back to the counter.

They ate in silence for a while until Peter leaned in and whispered. "I heard what they were saying. That's an old urban lagan I even heard back in high school, it's not true."

"Boy you city folk sure are dumb." They turned to see Roy standing at the bar. "I tell ya that story's as true as light. I knew people who survived an attack from them hooligans, and lived to tell about it."

"Oh now Roy, y'll leave them alone." The waitress said from behind the counter. "They don't need to hear your nonsense."

"Hush Sally, you don't know nothing about nothing." He retorted.

Peter and Neal listened to the three of them go back and forth while they ate. After they were done Peter left money on the counter then they both stood-said goodbye-then left heading right to the car.

"Interesting place." Neal said once they were back on the road.

"yes it was."

They drove down a dark deserted road and were two hours outside of Lansing. For a long while there was no one behind them or in front of them, they were the only car on the road. That was until a car with no headlights came speeding down the road the other way. Peter flashed his lights at them as they passed.

"You don't think that was them?" Neal asked. "Or just a coincidence that someone was driving like that?"

"Whatever it was they're breaking the law by driving like that at night."

Suddenly there were headlights coming up behind them, fast. Peter looked in the rearview merrier before pressing on the gas. If the road had been lit at all he would've stopped his car and flashed his badge. This not being the case he decided to not be an FBI agent for once and just speed to get away from them.

Neal looked over at his partner and saw fear in his deep brown eyes, something he never thought he'd never see in his friend. He knew he was scared too when he heard a gun fired. He looked back and didn't see anything, the bullet must've hit the trunk of the Taurus. The second bullet came threw the back window and went past them threw the windshield. The agent swerved to both sides of the road now not being able to see out the window. With his foot Neal knocked the glass out of the window so they could keep going.

"The first gas station we see that's where we'll stop." Peter said.

Just after that was said one of the men in the car behind them shot off a gun and blew out the two back tires. The Taurus spun out of control as Peter tried turning the steering wheel the opposite direction, but to no avail. The car slid over the guardrail flipping twice, landing back on it's wheels.

"Peter?" Neal called looking toward the driver's side.

His friend stared straight ahead not moving, He had blood dripping down his face from where he hit his head on the roof. He looked down at where the steering wheel console had snapped trapping Peter's lags under it, this scared the ex-con more then anything. He turned in his seat feeling pain searing threw his body, and ignoring the woozy feeling he started to feel. He reached out his hand placing it on the agent's shoulder.

"Neal." He finally said in a low voice. "If we don't make it out of here I just want you to know how much you mean to me. How much I appreciate and care about you, you're like the brother I never had."

"Yea me too." He said agreeing with everything Peter had just said.

There was suddenly a loud pounding on the car, and the doors were ranched opened. Hands grabbed them both out either side of the car, and dragged them to a clearing. Neal couldn't see the faces of his attackers nor could he see Peter, it was dark and cold.

"Neal!" He head his friend scream somewhere in the distance, as fists and feet keep pounding into him.

He heard his name being screamed again as he felt something sharp cut into his lag, right above his tracker. The pain was unbearable and caused the young man to pass out.

After being dragged from the car Peter felt a sharp pain in his lags, from having them ripped out from under the steering wheel. He lay on the ground as his attackers punched and kicked him everywhere, laughing up a storm. He looked up at the sky-black and cloudy-and wished he was home. At some point he hard himself scream Neal's name wanting to know where his partner was, wanting to know if he was still alive. He grunted as he felt his whole body being threshed against the ground repeatedly. He soon realized these men had no regard for life, they didn't care that they were killing two human beings. He looked over and saw a small light in the distance. He saw someone pull out something sharp looking and saw them cut down on something. He heard a scream and realized it was Neal and they were cutting something off of him. Peter felt something hit his arm. Looking down he saw-or rather felt a shoe with a green flashing light.

"Neal!" He shouted in horror as he realized what they did. He felt hands grab him once again and pull him away.

TBC