When the Hat Drops

Dedicated to and Prompted/Inspired by Curiosity Cat: A fiend from Neal's past decides that it's time for a little payback. When he sees a beautiful red head leave Neal's apartment, well... he just can't resist.

"I had a great time last night." Neal smiled into the kiss at Sara's admission. He wrapped his arms around her to prolong it, but it never felt like long enough, before she inevitably pulled away to go to work. Sara exited the New York Mansion, a small smile on her face and sway to her hips. She didn't notice the car behind her, nor the man in the driver's seat with a camera.

Perfect. This was just what he needed. Caffrey's weak spot. She's just his type too. Pretty. The man rolled his eyes remembering the slew of girls that fawned over the two of them whenever they did a job. He only gave them the time of day if they had a nice face and expensive jewelry on. Caffrey though, he would eat it up. Then the rat just disappeared on him, leaving him with a suitcase full of diamonds and the Russian mob right behind them. All because he carried a gun. Well, here was his chance. Neal would pay for all those years he had spent in their hands. And he had just found the perfect way to do it.

Neal walked into the bull pen looking like the cat who got the canary. Peter eyed him and knew something had happened last night. Then again, that was Neal's face ninety percent of the time.

"Have a nice date?" Neal grinned wider and leaned back in his chair.

"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell, Peter." Neal's handler rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yes. How could I forget. Neal Caffrey, always a gentleman, even when conning people out of their own house." Said con man took one of the many loose papers on his desk and started making a paper crane.

"Especially then." Peter huffed and walked off to refill his mug with brown sludge. Jones rolled over next to Neal in his chair and fist bumped him as soon as Peter had his back turned. Needless to say the rest of the day was very trying on Peter.

Neal's night was... uneventful. He mused on this as he exited the elevator the next morning. His relationship with Sarah was getting serious. More serious, and if he was being honest with himself, much more down to earth than his relationship with Kate had been. It was getting close to being dangerous for him. No attachments, right? That's what Moz always said, but... Neal couldn't honestly say he was upset with the idea. He had wanted to settle down with Kate, and everyone else but him saw how bad she was for him. Sarah though, she was... good. That made Neal smile. He needed good.

Jones nodded in greeting as he walked by, and Neal responded with an offer of free FBI-grade 'coffee'. Jones simply held out his empty cup. Peter was up in his office filling out paperwork. Boring. And from the looks of it, that's what Neal would doing all day...again. He gave Jones his refilled mug and settled at his desk. There was already a pile waiting for him. Neal groaned and just held back the impulse to throw his head against the desk top. It was going to be a long day. He had no idea.

It was only ten in the morning, and he already wanted to rip up the paperwork and eat it just to make the day interesting. He was doing everything he could to get away from the monotony, to the point Peter had to force him to sit back down in his chair and 'cowboy up'. Oh, he was really starting to hate that phrase. Neal checked to make sure Peter wasn't looking then sneaked back up to the coffee machine. He took as long as he possibly could. When he was finally headed back to his seat, he could fell Peter glaring at his back, and saw Jones roll his eyes, which he duly ignored.
Once he was seated again, he shrugged at the two agents innocently and sipped the petrol. He didn't bother covering his grimace at the hot liquid that should not be called coffee. When he looked down though, he found a letter sitting on top of his paperwork. Wow. He must have taken longer getting coffee than he thought if the courier went in and out without him noticing. Oh, well. He didn't bother with his letter opener. Really, after all of the time Neal's worked with these people, they still get twitchy if he has something sharp in his hands. 'Watch out He's got scissors ' I mean, come on. Whatever, give a little, get a little.

The envelope was plain. No return address, which immediately got Neal thinking of Alex. But she would never send me a letter at the Bureau... He furrowed his brow and ripped it open. There was a small card with a picture of a pretty creepy clown on the front. When Neal opened the card something fell out; he ignored it for the moment and read the five words written inside.

HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON.

"What?" He muttered. That's when he looked at what fell out of the card. It was a picture and... his stomach dropped. In the picture, Sarah was obviously unconscious and bound to a chair and gagged. The room she was in was undistinguishable and dark. He couldn't see any windows or other furniture. Neal flipped the picture over and saw some writing on the back.

CENTRAL PARK. BENCH # 8. 20 MIN.

Neal bolted.

Peter looked out into the bullpen, just in time to see Neal rush out. Peter was confused, but he knew something was very wrong when he saw Neal's hat fallen carelessly on the floor. He met Jones halfway down the stairs.

"Peter, Neal just ran out of the building." Peter already had one arm in his jacket.

"Dammit, Neal Did you see anything that could have set him off?" Jones didn't even hesitate.

"A courier dropped off a letter on his desk." They got to said desk and found the letter. Peter's brow furrowed and his mind started to crank through a million different possibilities when he read what the card said. Then,

"Peter." The senior agent looked at his subordinate and dropped the card he was holding. In Jones's hand was the picture of Sarah bound and gagged. Peter snatched it, examined the front, then flipped it over to read the back. He locked eyes with Jones, then they both ran out after Neal.

~~~~

Neal made it to the park in fifteen minutes, sprinting the whole way. Years of running from the FBI gave him great cardio. The bench took two minutes to find, and once there he cased the place. There were plenty of people walking around, but...nothing out of the ordinary He couldn't tell who he should be looking for, or even what. There was nothing on the bench and no sign of Sarah or a drop or-

"Hello, Caffrey." Neal froze. He hadn't heard that voice in years. The voice decided to walk around Caffrey to meet his face. Neal almost lost his lunch at the sight of the face before him. Charles Thiamin. That man had been at the center of many of Neal's nightmares. He was vicious, ruthless, cruel, and all under the perfect face of innocence.

"Charles." Neal didn't bother covering the tremor in his voice, knowing Charles could see the . A Cheshire Cat grin spread across the man's face. Then something clicked Neal back together. This man had Sarah. He shooed away the images that one thought brought to his mind. He clenched his fists and glared at the man in front of him with all he had.

"Where is she?" Thiamin kept grinning and stepped closer.

"Oh, your precious little Sarah? Well, that depends on you, Neal. If you get to her in time, then she'll be with you. But if you don't..." Neal's heart dropped. He recognized the icy calm in Charles's eyes. "She won't be somewhere very nice." Neal felt a surge of rage push through his fear, and without conscious thought, he had grabbed Thiamin by the collar.

"Don't you touch her. If I find out you did..." Charles merely laughed and met Neal's glare head on.

"You'll what? I seem to recall a bit of an aversion to violence in the past, or has that changed?" Neal wanted so much to hurt this man, but that would make him no better than him; hurting people to get what you want. That was why Neal escaped the partnership as soon as he could. Charles had no qualms over hurting anyone that stood in his way. He took joy in causing pain.

"Now, Neal. If you want to find that pretty red head of yours, you better pay attention." Charles gripped both of Neal's wrists in his own with crushing force, causing Neal to scowl and wince and release his collar. "There is a nice little marina not too far from here. It would take you fifteen minutes by taxi and thirty if you ran. You know how much I love boats, Neal. They're so much fun to sink." Charles tightened his grip on Neal's wrists even more and put his mouth right by Neal's ear.

"I hope Sarah grows some gills soon." He chuckled and then just let Neal go and walked away whistling. The con was dazed for a moment, his heart crawling its way back behind his rib cage. He unfroze, then as fast as he could, ran for Sarah's life. The blood rushing in his ears was so loud, he didn't hear Peter and Jones calling him.

Charles didn't care if police got involved. There wasn't time for Neal to bring his Fed friends in anyway. Besides, it will be all the more fun to watch as the Feds simply chase after a fleeing con. Charles chuckled darkly. That would be very sweet indeed. Oh, and look His dream would come true this very moment. A pair of Feds ran up calling for Caffrey to stop. His smile broadened. He checked his watch and quickly stood to go to his car. Ms. Sarah didn't have very much time left at all, and he wanted to see Neal's face once the rat realized that for himself. As he walked, Charles whistled. It really was a beautiful day.

Peter and Jones were panting by the time they had reached the park. Peter cursed New York traffic. Catching their breath, then running in, they caught a glimpse of Neal up ahead. From what Peter was able to see through the trees there was a man with him, and Neal looked terrified. Peter tried to get a better view over the crowd, and he caught a flash of the man's hands crushing Neal's wrists. The agent called to Jones, and saw him already trying to make his way through all of the people. By the time they made it through, Neal was already running out of the park. The other guy was gone.

"Damn." Jones was running after Neal, so Peter ran to catch up. All those years of chasing bad guys kept Peter in shape, but Neal was younger and had been running for a lot longer.

"Neal! Neal!" The young man was too far away, and was no doubt too distracted to hear them calling for him. The two agents stopped. They weren't going to get anywhere. Neal was too fast, and they had no idea where he was going. But he was on foot which meant he was going somewhere close by.

"Jones. Call Diana. Tell her to pull Caffrey's anklet, find out where he's headed, and send back up there and someone here to pick us up. We'll wait by the south entrance where Neal went out." Jones got on that immediately. Peter, on the other hand, slumped in the nearby park bench. His head fell into his hands. Neal was going to do something stupid. Neal was going to get hurt. This was going to be another Kate, but in this case, Peter actually approved of the girl.

"Um, s'cuse me, Sir?" A little hand was tugging at his suit cuff. He raised a brow at the child with a tight fist hanging on to a red balloon.

"Yes, son?" The little boy looked terribly shy and couldn't have been more than eight; he made Peter wonder where his parents were.

"I heard that scary man talking to that N-Neal person you were calling for." Peter shot up and had to restrain himself from reaching out to grab the boy's shoulders. First rule: don't scare off the informant.

"You did? What did he say?" The kid was adorable in the way he stuck his finger in his mouth as if not sure if he should be talking to a stranger. In other circumstances Peter would be thinking such things, but he didn't have time. After what felt like a ridiculously long time, the boy started talking.

"He- he said something about a pretty lady going to be in a bad place. A-and boats. He said he liked to sink them." Peter's eyes got huge. Jones was wandering over to him, when he jumped up.

"Jones, find this kid's parents and tell Diana to get the cavalry to Davin's Dock. I know where Neal's headed. And tell her to send an ambulance." Peter was gone before the younger agent got a word out, leaving him with a shy little boy, and distraught parents somewhere in the park. Great.

Neal was out of breath, but he barely noticed. He had finally reached the docks and looked for the one Sarah would be in. So, obviously look for the one sinking. But there were a million boats here. It was a big dock and sinking boats didn't make a lot of sound. Not like an exploding plane. Neal shook that thought out of his head. No not again. He wouldn't lose someone else.

"You're too late." Neal whipped around to see Charles standing three feet from him.

"Where is she?!" Charles shrugged.

"I thought you were smart, Neal. Surely you can figure it out." Neal couldn't get any thoughts past the one in his head. Get Sarah Get Sarah GetSARAHSARAHSARAH!

"Tell me where she is!" Sirens blared to life in the background, but they were still too far away to be able to tell if they were coming to them. Charles sighed, though, seeming to already know their destination.

"Well, looks like we can't prolong this game as much as I would love to." He stepped forward and grabbed Neal's throat in a vice like grip as he did his wrists earlier. "You'll be too late. She'll be dead already, and it'll be all your fault." He dropped his hand, and Neal stepped away gasping for air.

"Left pier, that way. Should be the fifth boat down. I'd hurry-" Neal was gone. Charles reared back as if offended. "Well, that was rude." The sirens finally showed up, sporting five black SUV's and an ambulance. Time for him to get a move on. *Sigh* And I really wanted to see the look in his eyes too. Next time. He slipped away right as Peter jumped out of the car.

Tunnel vision. Nothing but the boat. Which one!? Which one?! He didn't hear anything. Nothing but the blood rushing in his ears and his heart pounding, trying to take flight from the cage of his chest. There! A boat twenty feet in front of him was already mostly underwater. There was plenty of space between boats for Neal to do what he had been planning the whole way there. His suit jacket, tie and shoes were off before he could blink.

The water was cold. Really cold. Neal could only hope that if he was too late- No! He couldn't go there again. He swam to the halfway covered door to the inside of the boat. It was padlocked. He yanked- It wasn't engaged?! Thiamin must have wanted to make sure Neal could find Sarah's body. Neal jumped in, and searched the darkness.

Water had filled most of the cabin. It was up to Neal's neck. He dove under to search. He swam under and brushed against fabric. Breaching for air, he went back under and set to untie knots faster than he ever had before. Sarah came loose, and he dragged her out. She was limp... and Not Breathing! The dock seemed like it was miles away. Neal couldn't feel his hands, and from what he could see, Sarah's lips had started to turn blue.
With one last burst of strength, he heaved Sarah up onto the dock and pulled himself up beside her. He yanked the gag from her mouth, and checked for a pulse. Nothing. He did the only thing he could. His hands went to her chest and pushed.

"One, two, three, four, five," Breath. "One, two, three, four, five," Breath. Neal didn't feel the tears streaming down his face. He didn't hear the FBI agents or the paramedics running up and surrounding them. He only had eyes for Sarah and her lifeless face. He didn't even feel the hand that landed on his shoulder and squeezed.

"Neal..."

"No, she's not gone. She's not. She's not. She can't be. I have to..." A tug this time.

"Neal."

"No!" He pounded on her chest one more time. Put his mouth to hers and gave her all he could. He pulled back and...her body jerked and water spewed from her mouth.

"Sarah!" The poor woman struggled for air and wasn't even able to try to stand before the paramedic were on her. Neal was shoved away and into Peter's arms. The agent held the young man back, keeping a firm hold on his partner's freezing frame.

"Let them do their jobs, Bud. She's gonna be okay. You saved her. She's gonna be fine." Neal was so relieved. So relieved. He felt like he could breathe. Oh, wait... he couldn't.

"Neal? Neal!" He was freezing, had severe emotional and physical stress in a short period of time and just collapsed. At least the darkness felt warm.

48 Hours Later

"I'm so sorry, Sarah. I never wanted you to get hurt. I-"

"Neal, hush. I'm fine now. Peter grabbed the guy, and we're both alive and out of that damned hospital." Neal smiled at Sarah's scowl. Turns out his girlfriend hates hospitals as much as he does. They were currently cuddled up on his couch, taking advantage of their joint forced vacation days. Peter had been there when Neal woke up in the hospital, and had been the one to calm him down when he freaked out, demanding to know where Sarah was. Now, they took every opportunity to reassure themselves that the other was there and okay.

Neal looked down as Sarah nestled into his side, passing out on the spot. She was still tired out from everything. Who wouldn't be? After what she went through? Neal's fingers combed through her cherry hair, and his mind wandered. Is this what Peter and El were like after what happened with Keller? His blue eyes wandered down and settled on her serene face. A smile crept onto his, and then he glanced at her bare ring finger.

Maybe someday. Maybe.

The End

I hope you liked it CuriosityCat! :) Thanks for the great prompt. I know I promised it a while ago, but it's finally here! :) Please let me know what you think. :)