Warnings: Whumpage, Spoilers for Out of the Box, and violence. This has not had any beta so all my mistakes are mine. This is going to be split into three parts.
Peter
It started with field.
Peter Burke stood with the FBI in a field. It was really a gorgeous place if you wanted to just relax or even take nature photography, but this wasn't really why he was here. He was anything but relaxed. And the only photography they would be taken was for evidence.
Neal Caffrey had disappeared twenty four hours ago. The last place that his GPS tracking anklet information had recorded was he was standing in the very spot that Peter Burke was standing in.
The FBI had been looking for him for two hours in this field. Peter prayed and hoped that they would not uncover a body somewhere in this large field.
Rumors about where the con had gone were echoed around the field. "I think he ran. I mean, why would he stay? After Kate died and everything that's happened? Maybe he is trying to find the man who killed her and get revenge on them."
Peter felt anger well up inside of him. Neal was his friend. He knew that Neal was sick of running and he would never do that. But if Peter told them that, they would think he was simply mad. The only people that believed him were Diana, June, Elizabeth, and Jones. Hughes was starting to believe in it as well, but not fully yet.
He sighed and pulled his phone out and called Elizabeth, telling her that he would not be home tonight. He was going to do anything he could to bring Neal back home safely. Peter dialed the number and put the phone up to his ears. She picked up on the first ring.
"Anything?" She asked anxiously. Elizabeth was close to Neal. She had accepted him almost as part of the family. She let him stay for dinner often and they would watch movies a lot with Peter.
Peter sighed and answered his wife, "Nothing yet, I'm going to have to stay all night though if I want to find him soon though. I'll keep you updated." He said.
"Thanks Peter, I love you." She said and Peter smiled.
"I love you too." He said and hung up. He hated having to call his wife, saying he would not be home to lie in bed with her or have supper with her. It hurt him, but this was for Neal, and he had to do anything he could do to help him. He could be in danger for all he knows.
Peter looked around and saw Jones and Diana working together on something. Peter continued his search for clues onto where Neal had gone.
Later that night..
The FBI had been looking for evidence for hours and then there was a call. "Over here!" Diana yelled and everyone immediately crossed across the field to see what she had discovered.
Peter looked down and sighed, he grabbed a pen and picked up the item with it so he wouldn't get any fingerprints on it.
"Neal, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" He whispered to himself and looked at the bloody fedora hat that was being held up.
Diana and Jones looked at Peter. "This doesn't mean anything, Neal could be anywhere still." Diana said and smiled slightly. Jones nodded.
Peter nodded, "Yeah, so we can't give up now." He took the hat and put it in an evidence bag and then walked away, looking for whatever he could find to bring Neal home, safely, and hopefully, alive.
Neal…
He was tied up against a chair. He struggled to get loose of the ropes that tied him against it. He squirmed and wanted to yell so desperately if someone was there to help him but the cloth over his mouth kept him from doing so. He slouched back, painfully.
Neal remembered going to the field, remembering a memory from Kate and his past, and he was just going to visit, picture it all over again when he was grabbed. The grab made his hat fall off and he was hit in the head. Then he remembered something on his head felt moist and he got scared…it was definitely blood, his blood.
Neal struggled again, to get free of the ropes that were cutting against his wrists as he struggled to get free and then there was a deep voice. It made Neal jump and it scared him, definitely, but he calmed himself down before he saw a mask.
"Neal Caffrey, how wonderful to see you! How is that girlfriend of yours, Kate?" The man started.
Neal's heart thumped, Kate was dead. And it made Neal emotional just to think about it, "Kate is fine, thank you." He lied, still nervous and scared for his life. Neal hated being scared, but his hands were shaking. What if Peter never found him? He wondered to himself.
The sadistic man chuckled, "That is certainly funny, Mr. Caffrey. Considering I killed her a while back. Hudson Hanger, wasn't it? I remember how my world fell apart, how I knew Caffrey wasn't on the place. His foolish friend, Peter Burke, had stopped Neal to have a chat. The bomb went off early; you were supposed to be in there. The place was supposed to explode in mid-air, but it did not. Neal Caffrey, you are going to die tonight though." He explained and underneath the mask, he smiled and chuckled evilly.
Neal's heart stopped when the man talked, "You! You killed her!" He yelled and struggled even more to get loose of the ropes, but it didn't work. "Who are you?" asked Neal, looking closer at the man's feature, but it was too dark to see.
"You don't remember? We were old friends a long while ago." He explained and frowned, "I was hoping you'd remember. This mask was getting a little itchy and I was hoping I could take it off." He frowned underneath the mask and then took out a knife and held it to Neal's throat. "Would you rather this be painful and slow or even more painful, but fast?" He asked and grinned darkly.
Neal swallowed and spat in the man's face, "I'm not afraid of you." He said, confident. In Neal's heart, he wasn't confident at all though.
"Tsk, tsk. Let's have this be painful and slow then. Now you can suffer even more." He held the knife and then put it on Neal's leg and deepened it and added pressure quickly. Blood oozed out of Neal's leg fast.
Neal clenched his fist and slammed his other foot on the ground, in pain. "Stop, please!" He yelled and closed his eyes tightly. He breathed heavily.
"Would you rather I do it to your friend instead of me? I will let you go, but she will have to pay. I found her wandering the streets of Venice, Italy a while ago. I know a few guys. They spotted her and stopped her; they brought her back to me once they recognized her. Poor Alex Hunter." He frowned.
Another large man entered the large metal door, holding a girl by her hair. She was thrown on the ground quickly and she quickly scrambled up off the floor. The man left the room before smiling darkly at his boss.
Alex's eyes were widened with fear, tears streamed her face and she looked like she hadn't showered in days. She wasn't her usual stylish, spunky self, she was messy and her eyes had round bags under them. "Neal?" She asked and whimpered.
"Don't hurt her, she didn't do anything. Let her go and kill me rather than her. Please, just don't hurt her." Neal begged and looked at Alex. She looked at him with sympathy but she had a grateful look to her eyes and she shook her head.
"Take us both down." She said and looked at Neal, frowning slightly.
Neal frowned deeply at Alex, "I don't care what she says, get her out of here. Just take me." He begged and started tapping his fingers.
She caught on and noticed the Morse code as FBI. She swallowed loudly and got up off her knees. "Neal, thank you." She whispered.
The captor spoke up, "One of you dies and one of you leaves. Great. Ms. Hunter, would you like to say goodbye?" He asked her and smiled yet again.
Alex nodded and kneeled by Neal, "Thank you. I'll get Peter." She whispered and kissed Neal's cheek and smiled slightly at him before she was dragged out of the room and was thrown outside.
Alex
Alex fell on her knees. She brushed herself off and looked at the place. She didn't have her cell phone, so she had no call for help. She sighed, realizing this would take longer than she thought it would. She looked over across the road and saw nothing. She would walk near and far, but she had to get Neal some help and quick before he was killed.
She didn't know who the man was that held her captive, she needed to know. It was the man who killed Kate. She knew how much that meant to Neal. He needed to find out who killed her, even though Alex loved him deeply, she had to see Neal happy again.
Neal
The thoughts rambled around in his head. For one thing, Neal knew he was going to die here unless Alex got help quickly. He knew a few things about the man who had supposedly, as he said, killed Kate. His teeth were a yucky crimson yellow and his breathe didn't smell good. His hair was black and had brown tips towards the end. He was tan and was wearing a regular suit. His voice was a creepy low and it made Neal have chills run down his spine at times.
Neal thought of who it could possibly be. It could be Fowler but he had blonde hair unless he dyed it. Could it be someone related or close to Fowler though? Neal thought that was definitely a possibility. It couldn't be Fowler though…the voice was too deep and Fowler didn't sound like that.
He let out a gigantic sigh and racked his brains to who it could be. His arms were getting stiff from sitting in the same position for a long time, attached to the burgundy chair and tied by his arms and wrists. There was no possible way of getting himself out of this. One, he didn't have a pick. Two, he was tied up. Even though he was tied up, he probably could have gotten the ropes off somehow.
The con thought his only hope was Alex. But then he remembered the other person he could rely on. He was the best person in the whole federal bureau and could find him through anything. He caught him twice, and Neal believed he could catch him another time.
Neal smiled thoughtfully at Peter. He knew Peter was working on the case of his disappearance right now.
Another thought crossed Neal's mind though. What if Peter thought that he had ran away from them? Neal winced. He hated to think that thought and he didn't want to. He trusted Peter and hoped that he didn't believe that he had run away. I'm sick of running away…Neal sighed and thought to himself again.
He didn't notice when the mystery man walked into the room. He also didn't notice when he was being directly talked to. His thoughts were ended by a sharp pain on the right cheek and mouth. The chair almost tipped over but his weight kept it from falling.
"What was that for?" He asked and frowned at the man.
The man sneered at Neal and said, "I was talking to you directly and you just ignored me. I'm sure you don't want to die quicker." The man had a grim smile that spread across his face and his toothy grin made Neal want to gag.
Neal smiled back and said, "If you aren't going to brush your teeth, then go right ahead and kill me. It is disgusting me thoroughly." He stated and leaned back in the chair to try and stretch his back out, but it didn't work. Neal let out a loud, obnoxious sigh. "Is it possible to get out of this chair?" He frowned sadly.
"No. It isn't." He said and kneeled down next to Neal. "I hope you understand, this is going to be the last moment of your life." The man pulled a gun out of his pocket and pointed it to Neal's forehead and tightened his grip on the trigger.
Peter
There was no lead on to where Neal had gone. It had been more than a day now and he was getting tired and he wanted to see his wife. Neal was his friend and he wasn't going to doubt him like that. He wanted Neal back safely. He read through Neal's history and sighed; he founds old enemies and then looked to the side.
He grabbed the file lying face up and it said 'Kate Moreau.' Peter frowned and wanted to toss it up and hit it with a bat. Kate had ruined a man's life, and although he disliked her, he didn't want to see Kate die. Peter disliked a lot of people, but a wish for someone to be killed was just horrible in his book.
Diana knocked on the door and smiled, "We have a lead and a witness." She stated and moved aside. A lady was standing there.
Her face had a patch of purple bruise on the cheek bone and she had long brown curls which were unusually flat. "I know where Neal is." She announced and sat down in the place Neal used to sit.
Diana closed the door and let them talk.
Peter sat up straight and grabbed a notepad, "Where?" He asked quickly and wrote down information.
Alex told him the location and said, "Neal was taken by the man who killed Kate. He's going to kill Neal if you don't hurry, if not already. Peter, I know you can get Neal back alive, but now it may be too late. Just, bring him home please. That's all I want right now. He risked his life for me and he made them let me go, he's my friend and your friend." She said and got up and left, turning back to smile slightly and she mouthed 'Good luck.'
Peter sighed and read the location and got up immediately and started talking to other agents about back-up.
"We are gonna bring Neal home safe and sound now." Peter smiled and they headed out to find there consultant, and mostly, his friend.
Tell me what you think of part one of three. Thank you for reading chapter one. –Kenzie.