Party Crasher
The event was proceeding wonderfully. Peter was looking around at the beautiful location his wife had chosen for some important government big wig. Considering how many agents were moving around the perimeter, Peter had refused to leave his wife alone, so he had accompanied her despite his general boredom.
Elizabeth was buzzing about with a smile gracing her features. Although she was stressed to get everything just right, she was more focused on ensuring everyone had a good time and that she didn't look as flustered as she felt.
Slowly in a dull motion, the party was progressing from Peter's perspective. The guests were meandering about eating delicacies while admiring the various art pieces about the rooms. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, but it wasn't his kind of a party.
Hearing a commotion, Peter turned hoping it wasn't something about to go wrong. To his dismay, he saw Neal gracefully walk in. Observing the man, Peter noted many things that seemed off.
Holding a half empty bottle of wine, Neal seemed to be more than buzzed, and if his slurred words were any indication, Peter assumed he was drunk. Then throw in his ridiculous costume, and Peter had no idea what to think. After all, it wasn't normal for Neal to wear some kind of slacks, Chucks, a nerdy t-shirt, holsters with backup ammunition clips, toy guns that looked like they should hold water, some kind of techy computer thing on his arm, and his Fedora.
As soon as Neal spotted him, Peter knew he wouldn't have to give chase.
"Heeeyy… Peterrr." Neal waved smoothly. His body seemed to still have an element of control, but his silver tongue certainly didn't.
Meeting him halfway, Peter confronted the man. "What are you doing?"
"I was at a costume party nearby, so I thought I'd stop by to see how the event was going." Neal said slowly. His words were clearer, but he seemed to be thinking them through more.
Sighing, Peter was part angry, and part worried. It wasn't like Neal to get drunk and cause trouble. "Did someone spike your drink and dare you to wear some ridiculous mixture of other people's costumes?"
Looking affronted, Neal took a wobbly step back from Peter. "No, this is my costume. I'm a geeky Sheriff. See.." he held up his badge "the one I took from your cereal box."
Running a hand over his face, Peter still hadn't gotten him to explain why he was showing up drunk. "That doesn't answer why you're soused."
"Oh, that." Neal took another swig of the bottle's contents. "I don't know. The party was swinging and I was sipping a glass of wine, but then the glass needed refilling too often, so I started drinking from the bottle instead."
Growing more certain that it was spiked, Peter tried to persuade him to hand him the bottle, but he wasn't able to get a hold of it before Neal wondered off and disappeared.
Frustrated by the man's skill at evasive maneuvering, Peter shifted into FBI mode and went looking for his CI and friend.
Elizabeth caught him not too long later. "Peter, did you know that Neal is here, and drunk?"
"Yes, I saw him come in. Apparently, he was at a costume party, which is why the ridiculous get up, and I think someone spiked the drink, which is causing him to behave unusually." Peter sighed. "He gave me the slip when I tried to make him give me the bottle. Which way did you last see him go?"
"Just follow the complaining guest and agents with stickers on the back of their shoulders." Elizabeth complained a little while pointing in the general direction.
"I'm sorry, hon. I'll try to catch him and send him home." Peter promised with a quick kiss to his wife before returning to his man hunt.
The next person to corner him was Sara. "Neal seems to be flirting with every woman in here, and I think I even caught him trying to pick a woman's purse." She complained.
Frustrated, Peter didn't know what would cause Neal to regress to his old habits. "That makes me wonder more what is in his drink. It seems to be affecting him more than I feared."
"Well, someone needs to catch him. I tried to send him home, but he dodged off in the middle of my sentence like he wasn't even listening. As a result, I have been trying to warn some of the guest to be careful, but I also don't want to hurt him. It's going to be bad enough when he gets sober again." She was between angry and upset.
"He is causing a lot of trouble for all of us. This is one of those times I just don't know what to do with him." Peter admitted. Neal could ruin the event for Elizabeth, and even if it wasn't entirely his fault, the government guy funding it wasn't going to see it that way.
"Does that mean you don't want to keep my contract?" Neal popped up out of nowhere seemingly hurt by the allusion that Peter didn't want to work with him anymore.
"No, Neal. That isn't what I meant." Peter tried to explain, but it was too late as Neal's face fell before he disappeared again.
"Great, now I've got to straighten that out with him to." Peter didn't know how much worse the night could get.
"Good luck, he thought I saw him as criminal and nothing else when he caught me warning people." Sara sighed.
Elizabeth caught up with them and asked if they had seen Neal. "He heard me trying to calm the host of the party, and seemed to get the impression I was embarrassed by him, and regretted being friends." She was upset. "I am embarrassed by him right now, but not in general, and I certainly don't regret having him in our lives."
"There he is!" Sara exclaimed pointing to Neal as he slipped away from a place where he could have been eavesdropping on them.
"Neal!" Peter said a little louder, the need to avoid causing a scene had long past, Neal was causing enough of one on his own.
Growling slightly, Peter was moving to angry at Neal for the games he kept playing. Returning to his search, he discovered that Neal was only continuing to play his shenanigans, as noted from the number of agents with stickers on their backs to the number of women guarding their purses and other possessions.
Then it was like Neal suddenly gave up. Without his disruptions, the atmosphere quieted down allowing the party to return to its enjoyable pace and everyone to let a semblance of their guards down.
Walking through a few laps, Peter didn't see any new stickers on anyone's backs, the woman were relaxing their stances in holding their purses, and there weren't any glimpses of Neal dodging through crowds.
Relieved that he might have gone home to sleep it off, he also worried that Neal might be elsewhere getting into trouble.
Calling Neal, he let it go to voicemail a few times before he called Jones.
After answering the call, Jones went straight to the point. "What did Neal do now?"
Not amused by how quickly Jones could guess the reason for his call, Peter chose to avoid comment. "Neal crashed the event dressed in a ridiculous costume with a bottle of wine that he keeps drinking out of. I think it was spiked, because he is unusually drunk and acting rather strange. Now he has disappeared, so I don't know if he passed out, went home to sleep it off, or meandered away to cause trouble elsewhere." He vented.
Getting the gist, Jones began problem solving. "Diana and I will start looking for him while checking out what might be the cause of his behavior." The agent promised.
"Thanks, Jones. That is exactly what I was hoping for." Peter breathed in relief. His two best agents would get to the bottom of the matter.
"No problem, I'll call Diana and we'll keep you updated." Jones ended the call.
Returning to his wife, Peter told her what his agents were doing. Although he was sharing the burden of his worry, he still made the occasional lap around the event himself, just in case Neal came back, or some other trouble disrupted the party. After all, there was still the reason for all of the security to be concerned about.
Despite keeping in touch with his team, Peter wasn't able to relax and his gut told him something far more worrisome was brewing.
Encountering Sara again, he asked her if she could feel it.
"There is something to the air isn't there? Almost like the stirring of a storm before chaos hits?" She tried to pinpoint the reason for the instinct.
"Exactly, I don't think Neal's behavior is the last of the trouble that we are going to see. Something else is coming…" He couldn't help his eyes wondering around the party before he directed Sara to follow him. It was impossible to protect everyone, but he was going to try to protect as many as possible, starting with those closest to him, meaning his wife and their friend.
Finding Elizabeth, she was talking to the host of the party. They also seemed to sense the impending danger.
Coming up behind his wife, Peter felt her relax some knowing he was there and had her back.
"Peter, Sara, meet Mr. Aldwin. Mr. Aldwin, you've met my husband Peter, and this our friend Sara Elis form Sterling and Bosch Insurance." She made the introductions.
Shaking hands with Peter, the man seemed nervous. "I remember, Agent Burke. It's a good thing to have even one more agent present." He seemed almost cryptic. Then turning to Sara, he also shook her hand, but didn't seem as interested as he might be under better circumstances. "Ms. Elis. Pardon my distraction, but there seems to be something in the air this evening."
"May I ask why there is so much security? I know you said it wasn't in my clearance or need to know before, but I get the feeling that something is going to happen, and I would like to be prepared." Peter made another attempt to get information.
Looking to ensure that no other agent was close, Mr. Aldwin answered something of the question. "I work for the government, as a designer, involved with some very advanced technology. Years ago a faction came up that was a mix of civilians and traitorous agents, and they have been the bane of my existence ever since. The group is highly interested in the tech I helped to create, and that makes me a target. However, you didn't hear that from me." He warned. "If they are going to attack, it isn't likely anyone will survive, so I doubt that vague essence will do any harm."
Shocked, Peter worried about why he was so certain no one would survive.
"It's rare anyone does, and those are usually under the protection of the guardians… the best agents in the field. Unfortunately, my request for even one of them was denied, possibly due to the interference of the enemy." The man shrugged in a morbid sense of understanding. He knew he was ultimately going to die, and likely as a result of his work, so it was inevitability he faced every day.
Not willing to take it so easy, Peter tried to wrack his brain for a way to protect everyone, but he didn't know how to go against so much unknown. What Mr. Aldwin had described was beyond White Collar, or typical FBI training for that matter.
Turning around to scan the party again, he was the first to notice the agents, who were supposed to be running security by walking through the building, beginning to gather at the other side of the room. "It appears to be starting. They're supposed to be doing rounds, not gossiping." He noted to warn the others.
Continuing to look around, his action drew the attention of a keen eyed agent, so the man whipped out a knife and flung it acrossed the expanse of the room towards Peter. Unable to move without exposing Elizabeth, Peter held his ground while another blade spun in from the side to knock the threat off course.
Turning to see where the second blade had come from, he was surprised.
Striding down the stairs acrossed from where Peter stood, Neal walked straight into the chaos. He seemed oblivious to the panicking crowd around him as they became aware of danger and started to flee. Watching him, Peter noticed that Neal wasn't acting quite so drunk anymore, and he had lost his bottle.
While the civilians retreated to back areas away from the attackers, they weren't able to leave the building due to the blocked doors, but at least it kept them from witnessing what was happening in the main room.
"Now, that isn't nice. Trying to kill an agent simply for worrying about those people you are supposed to be protecting." Neal slurred slowly while carefully drawing his squirt guns.
Recognizing that they weren't real weapons, the agents weren't intimidated. "What are you going to do Caffrey? You're a drunk geeky Sheriff, remember? We've all heard your ramblings and witnessed your games as you've dodged about putting stickers on our backs." One of the rogue agents responded.
"Yeah? Well, two things you should get right." Neal tossed a squirt gun aside with each reason. "One, I'm a nerd, not a geek, and second, I'm an agent, not a Sheriff." He said as he jumped forward into a sand display set in the floor. As his feet plunged down, two real guns shot up into his waiting hands like a spy move.
Standing armed, without a trace of being drunk or his skills inhibited, he wielded the two tranquilizing pistols lightly and with practiced ease. "As a guardian of the Intersect, you have to get through me, to reach them."
"Alright, we can do that. We have you considerably outnumbered, and you can't protect everyone." The agent who appeared to be the leader sneered.
"Really, and here I thought you wouldn't be much of a problem." Neal said as one hand wondered over the computer like thing on his arm. Pressing a button with his trigger finger, several soft 'poofftt' sounds erupted around the room before most of the agents fell into heaps on the floor.
Those who remained standing began to rush acrossed the floor in the hopes of taking Neal on in physical combat.
Using the guns to shoot darts at some of the outliers, Neal prevented them from circling to go after the civilians in the outer hallways, or getting behind him. Then holstering the guns, he met them in combat.
Fighting furiously, Neal managed to hold them off between his combat skills and a few careful shots from the tranquilizer pistols when needed. With a final spin kick, he knocked the last person unconscious and then landed on his feet.
Trying to pick his jaw up off of the floor, Peter hadn't seen that coming.
Before anyone could figure out what to do next, the restricted doors at the far side opened, and another group walk in.
While some held the doors, the smart clip of the boss's footsteps could be heard not too far behind. "Now that we have control of the building, we can begin my plan." The leader continued to spout how powerful he was as his voice grew louder in approach. Then walking into the room, he found his men lying unconscious on the floor. "Well, this is awkward."
Nearly snorting, Peter barely contained his reaction.
Turning his attention to the new threat, Neal shifted in preparation for their onslaught.
Sending half his men in first, the man stood back and watched as they fought one opponent. Dismayed to see them loosing, he had some of his other men wheel in a rather large bomb.
"You may be able to fight your way through, but I don't think you can prevent this from finishing the job for us." He smirked. In his opinion, a bomb wasn't so easy to handle as man to man combat.
Twisting off a piece of his watch, Neal chucked it at the bomb to buy time. "My mentor designed that… it will prevent the bomb from going off while I take care of you."
Meeting the next onslaught of opponents, Neal used his mixed martial arts and gymnastics to dance his way through until the leader was the only one left. Then without any drama, Neal simply shot him with a tranquilizer.
"Time's ticking." He grinned at Peter with a cheesy expression. "Lame, I know."
Walking over to the bomb, he pulled out some tools he had hidden in his back pocket and began whistling while he opened up the casing.
Peter found himself walking over, not knowing what to expect. "Neal…?" He questioned.
Pausing in his whistling, Neal smiled. "Sometimes we are more than we seem." He winked at Peter. Then opening the case, he put his hand in the slot and spoke into a microphone. "Assistant Director, Special Agent Bryce Larkin." Using a few code words in addition to the verification of his identity, he turned the system off.
With the bomb diffused and the attackers unconscious, Neal pulled out his phone and called someone. "Situation clear, send the team in."
Catching Neal by his arm, Peter questioned what was going on. "Neal?"
Stopping, Neal faced him. "Peter, Neal may be my real name, but Bryce is my legal name. Diffusing bombs and taking down armies of bad guys is part of the job. Playing a con, and pretending to be things like drunk from a party, are just roles that go along with that."
"So…" Peter was suddenly wondering what was real and what was fake with the man, because the non-violent and inability to fight were obviously lies.
"Larkin!" Came a sharp bark from a short red head. "I thought you were ordered to stand down and stay out of this!"
Rolling his eyes, Neal got sarcastic with the woman. "Yeah, and you know that I tend to stand down and leave my friends in danger."
"Don't you be smart with me, Bryce. We both know better than that." she snarked right back at him.
"Then don't question what I will, or won't, do when my friends and the Intersect are on the line." Neal held his ground.
Her glance was to study his reaction, and the woman seemed to accept his stance, despite not liking it. "Don't you have reports to submit pertaining to your actions here tonight?"
"Yes, ma'am. I will have them to you by morning." Neal turned to walk away with a jaunty salute.
Watching him walk towards the women, Peter remained frozen where he stood.
Moving beside him, the short red head started talking.
"He trusts you, and considers you a friend. Don't ruin it because he kept the truth secret, he has been betrayed too many times." She warned.
"I have no intention of it. Neal is the best friend I've ever had, besides my wife of course. It's just…" Peter was at a loss for words to describe what he had just witnessed.
"Larkin is one of the best agents in his field and an honor to command. However, despite how long he has been task forced with my agency, he is still full of surprises." She confessed.
Nodding, Peter could only agree.
Leaving to attend to her duties, the woman barked at her team with a voice rather different from what she had been using in their side conversation. Peter didn't know if she was being kind to him, or simply quieter because it was more of a private talk, but he was grateful for her perspective and a few moments to regain his composure.
Realizing that Jones and Diana were still looking for a drunken Neal who might be getting into trouble, he pulled out his phone and dialed.
"No news here boss, it's like he's gone completely quiet. Has Neal shown up there again?" Jones asked.
"Yes, he did. He wasn't drunk at all, rather preparing a plan to handle the… trouble here." He tried to dance around the truth.
"Need any help?" Peter could hear Diana say in the background. Apparently, Jones had put him on speaker.
Wincing at a particularly loud order from the lead agent, Peter waved them off. "No, I think we've got enough government presence here. Other agencies were already aware of potential trouble, but it's out of our clearance and need to know, so they're handling it."
"And yet Neal knew and was working to do something about it?" Jones questioned.
Smart man, Peter knew he liked his team for a reason. "I'm not going into it, but there seems to be some kind of history between him and the leader… not that kind, more like a working relationship of some sort. What kind exactly doesn't matter, as none of them are sharing details, but it's nice to know that he also has friends in high places." They needed a warning, just in case that history ever popped up again.
Laughing, Jones was surprised, but not entirely. "Of course Neal would have a secret history with the government. That explains why he melded into our team so well… there was always something about him that seemed to go beyond just being a charming con artist."
Growling playfully, Diana muttered something to herself about breaking his arms. "I guess I can't complain too much, but if he tries to play dumb the next time we have forms to fill out, I won't go so easy on him." She easily accepted the fact and had moved on to the ramifications.
Winding up the conversation, Peter was glad they accepted the news and were pleased before he went to join Neal over with the others. He had already missed much of what they were discussing.
Asking his wife how she was, it was a relief for Peter to wrap her in his arms for a reassuring hug.
"Shocked, but alright." Elizabeth kissed him in return.
"Where did that come from?" Sara questioned Neal. She had her own stunned expression, and hoped their united presence would make Neal more inclined to answer.
"Don't ask me… I know that you have a lot you would like to know, but I can't talk about it. My work is dangerous, so the less you know the better. All I can tell you is that I'm a task force agent, my activity is authorized by those in charge of my work, and even my civilian life, right down to my childhood, is tinged with corrupt law enforcement making secrecy a part of my very survival." Neal tried to make them understand.
Understanding, Peter stopped the other two from questioning him further. "This may be shocking, coming from me the archaeologist, but I understand. Something about your past put you, and anyone who gets too close to you, in danger. We are your friends, so you are glad to let us in this far, but afraid to endanger us by allowing us too close. Just, don't forget that we value you as a friend too, and that we are here to help where we can." He reached out to pat Neal on the shoulder.
Seeing that Neal was about to leave, Elizabeth made him give her a hug good night. It allowed her the comforting reassurance that he was okay, and also let her remind him that she cared. While she had him close, she whispered, "Thank you, Neal. I don't regret our friendship, even when you play a con artist."
Saying goodnight, she walked off to handle the party details as the event was over. The situation had turned into a bust, and her role was down to the finishing touches bringing an end to the evening.
Signaling that he would follow shortly to help her, Peter hadn't said everything he wanted to Neal yet. Shaking his friend's hand, he made sure they were eye to eye so that his words would sink in. "Working with you has always been interesting, but you just reached a new height of achieving the impossible." His eyes held the emotional intent of the words as he shifted to giving the man a hug. Lightening the mood, he joked. "I'll see you on Monday, and you had better not be lazing in bed when I come to pick you up." It was a pleasure for him to work with his best friend, and the reveal of his government status only made it better.
Finally patting him on the shoulder again as he walked away, Peter went to assist Elizabeth. This was a different level of government than he was used to working with, but he was game to face them to help his wife finish the event details.
Left alone for a moment, Sara glanced around the room and then settled on Neal. Moving forwards, she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked him in the eyes. "Just so you know, I never said that you were nothing more than a criminal. You always were a lot more, and that was even before I knew about this whole mysterious agent thing that you have going… which is more appealing than the mysterious con man by the way." Leaning in, she kissed his cheek and wished him good night before stepping back with a smile.
Knowing that she was teasing him, Neal smiled back with a sparkle to his expression. "Be careful, I'm not some tame White Collar con after all."
"Based on your interaction with the Director of the NSA over there, you're something more dangerous, like Black Ops." She flirted back before walking away.
Whistling, a passing agent was impressed. "Now that is one firecracker you have there!" He exclaimed.
"Mind your own business." Neal said as he walked off too.
Despite having been eaves dropping, Peter managed to dodge around the corner quickly enough that he thought he had gotten away with it.
"That goes for you too, Agent Burke. You might be my friend, but if you want to play spy games, I'll win." Neal taunted Peter as he walked past his corner.
"You probably would, but I'd at least make you work for it." Peter promised. He knew that Neal had skills and resources beyond him based on how he had handled the evening, but as an FBI agent, he did have training and resources of his own that would be useful in such a game.
"Goodnight, Peter." Neal repeated as he walked out the doors with a smile.
From each of their positions, Peter, Elizabeth, and Sara stared after him with new respects, deeper admirations, and stronger bonds with the mysterious man they considered a friend.
Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing, leaving kudos, following, and choosing to favorite my stories and I :D
Next weekend is Quinis' birthday, so I will be posting her present story (the Quinis Special) from Thursday through Sunday. It is four chapters long and the details will be revealed when posted to keep the surprise ;)