Abduction
New York City: Burke Townhouse
Agent Peter Burke stood behind his house with his CI Neal Caffrey. In a moment of lost control, he grabbed the man by his collar and slammed him up against the siding of his home. "He took my wife."
Then with shaking hands and hatred emanating from his eyes, he growled what he couldn't even think any other day. "A part of me could kill you right now." It was Neal's fault. The man had stolen the treasure, and his wife was paying the price. The anger and fear he felt was unleashing something he had never experienced before.
With wide eyes, his consultant didn't tremble under his fingers. He was surprised, but unafraid. "A part of me would let you, but we both know it wouldn't make you feel any better." There was resignation to his voice. Neal knew he had just lost another friend.
"We're done!" Peter hissed so forcefully it caused some spittle to accompany his hot breathe onto Neal's face.
Then to prevent himself from going through with anything, Peter drug Neal back into his home before shoving the consultant towards Jones and Diana. "Put him under house arrest. I don't even want to see him around right now."
New York City: Ellington Mansion
Pacing the apartment, Neal anxiously awaited the verdict from Washington. What was happening, how would he be allowed to participate?
When his TV turned on, he knew a decision had been made.
Moving to stand at attention before it, he had his legs spread for a base, his shoulders squared, and his hands held behind his back while his focus was entirely on the image of the general.
"You are the ransom, but we don't trust their intentions…" She began to fill him in on the role he was going to play for his new mission. The FBI wasn't going to hand him over, but the CIA was. Once she was finished, he wasn't surprised to hear the knock at his door indicating the arrival of the transport team who would be helping him.
Turning to meet them, he was slightly surprised to see Casey enter alone. "So, you're officially my protection this time."
"Not so much protection, as transport and backup." The colonel corrected. He didn't seem surprised to see him alive again, but enjoyed cuffing him for the show they were putting on for June and the household.
Walking down the stairs as a prisoner, Neal wasn't fazed by the agent's cold demeanor. Instead he told June not to worry, and passed over his Fedora asking her to keep it for him.
Leaving the house for the darkness of the street, he allowed Bryce Larkin a crack glimpse of the world again. He would be free soon, but he couldn't be released just yet. Sliding into the black SUV, he mentally began preparing for what was coming.
New York City: FBI Headquarters
Sitting at his desk, Peter couldn't get any work done, but he couldn't be at home either. At work he had to stare at his former best friend's desk, to face the seat of the betrayer, but at home he felt the loss of his wife and was faced with the mess caused during her abduction. There was no winning in this for him.
Instead, he alternated between staring out at the city through the large window behind him, trying to work to pass the time, or glaring down at Neal's desk.
Based on his current emotions, it was going to be former consultant. As soon as his wife was home safe, he was ending the agreement and placing Neal back in prison. The man could rot there for all he cared.
Distracted by a commotion in the office below, he was up and out of his chair hurrying for the door before he even realized it. Something was going on.
Finding Hughes, Jones, and Diana in conference, he demanded to know what was happening.
Sharing glances, the three agents weren't thrilled to share the news.
As the boss, Hughes focused on his lead agent. "Peter."
Feeling his heart beat faster than he could bear, Peter both wished and dreaded to hear what was coming.
"We have reports of a plane having left a private strip half an hour ago. It was lost without a trace over the Atlantic." Then he delivered the bad news. "Elizabeth was seen being loaded onto the plane before takeoff."
Supporting Peter as he lost his strength, Jones and Diana guided him into his office.
Regaining a spark of hope, Peter demanded Neal to be brought in, insisted that he could figure something out since he knew Keller.
Exchanging glances again, the agents had more bad news to deliver.
Holding the speaker position, Hughes tried to come up with a way to explain what their sources were saying. "The ransom for her safe return is Neal, handed over to a foreign representative."
"But the FBI doesn't do ransoms?" Peter could sense something was wrong.
"We didn't… the CIA took him and is handing him over. The decision comes from Washington, we are being shut out." Hughes was honest, since he knew Peter wouldn't accept anything less.
Going into shock, Peter didn't react to anything else they said, their words were like babbling water washing over him.
Undisclosed location: Plane over the Atlantic
Neal sat sipping his water and eating his meal. He was only an hour behind Elizabeth's departure, so he would be able to meet the representative in a timely fashion with a few moments to spare for preparation when he reached the rendezvous point.
"Focus, you are as bad as Chuck when it comes to worrying about your friends." Casey grumbled. He was working strategy with the younger agent as they tried to figure out how to approach the exchange.
"I am focused. I was timing out the exchange in my head." Neal may have been stretching the truth a little, but he had been working through how it would happen.
"Uh-huh." The colonel didn't sound convinced, but he redirected his attention back to their work.
The colonel had a different means of approaching the exchange, but his military strategy meant he was more than capable of making sure the operation went smoothly. His coverage meant Neal didn't need to contribute to the planning much, but mostly needed to be aware of what was going to happen and what would be expected of him.
That freedom to think left plenty of room for his mind to wander through what the situation entailed. Sure, he was being freed to return to the field for the agent he truly was, but it was being kept secret to retain his cover should he be able to return to playing Neal Caffrey. However, whether or not his place would be waiting for him was murky at best, and nonexistent at worst. Peter had made it clear he was finished with their friendship, partnership, and working agreement. Prison was probably all that would await Neal as far as the White Collar Division was concerned. There was a chance, slim, but still a chance Washington would force someone in the FBI to take him in order to complete the purpose behind him playing the role, but would there be any takers who wouldn't do more damage to his cover or the operation?
Unknown Location: Desert
The plane landed and Elizabeth wasn't sure which part she found more jarring. Was it the plane's rough collision with the runway, or the feeling of terror that came with realizing she wasn't in the United States anymore?
As she tried to swallow her fear and look for a means of escape, she wondered what she would do if she managed to get away from her captors. She had no idea where she was or how to reach out to the FBI even if she managed to get somewhere safe.
Interrupting her thoughts, the man guarding her roughly pinned her down while another man came to help cover her head with a dark sack. Then they bound her hands behind her back and tied them to a rope around her waist before putting another bind around her feet to prevent her from running.
If this was anything like what Neal felt in prison, she would never be able to look at him the same. It was too horrifying for her.
Dragging her along with them by a rope, the men made sure she knew how low they perceived her. She wasn't the wife of an FBI agent here, there was no respect of persons, or even treatment like she was a human. They made her feel more like a wild animal on a leash, an animal possession treated for their financial value, but not as one of great importance.
Shuffling along as best she could, she remembered Peter's training and tried to take note of as much of her surroundings as possible. Although there wasn't much to be gathered through the hood, she noticed that it was day around her based on the light through the material and coming up from below, but either early or late since it wasn't too bright. The heat on the air and dry feeling around her made her think of desert, which matched the sand she trudged through behind her captors. Various languages rumbled around her, but she couldn't understand any of them.
Then her environment changed as she was shoved into the back of a vehicle. It was darker and warmer for the enclosed space, but the smell of sweat, dirt, and other stenches she didn't want to identify were stifling. There was the roar of the engine coming to life followed by its steady noise as it started moving.
Bouncing and shifting about in the open cargo space, she was jostled until she had several bruises and was tiring from the physical effort to either hold herself in place, or trying to protect herself from unseen objects that were moving about as well.
By the time she reached her destination, she was weary with exhaustion and aching from the harsh treatment.
Repeating her trip through the sands, she felt a greater heat and the light had grown brighter, which meant it had been early when she arrived. There was also the noise of orders being shouted, clatter of machinery, and the sounds of animals being kept for various purposes.
Entering another structure, it felt cool like air conditioning and she heard the solid steps of soldiers in boots stomping about the premises. Being guided through the place, she was turned about so many times she lost track of where she was, but based on how much colder it got and the dank musty smell, she assumed they were going down towards a lower level.
Reaching their destination, a door was opened and she was drug through into a room that made her feel like it was close quarters, the light was dim, she shivered from the cold, and the air smelled musty of moist dirt.
She felt the ropes strategically loosened as she was instead being placed in chains with a connection to the wall before the men left clanging a solid door shut and clinking a lock into place. There was no way she could escape by herself!
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