Chapter 2
AN: Thanks guys, thanks for the reviews and alerts.
Neal slipped the amulet over his head the moment the boys had left. He wore it under his suits. He rarely took it off, except to shower. He had not heard from Sam and Dean in a few days. And he hoped they had found another way to get the artifact, another way that didn't involve him. There came a knock on Neal's door. He sighed, already knowing who it was. He opened the door.
"We have pictures." Dean said, as a hello. "We almost got caught, but we got pictures."
Sam handed over an envelope. "These are the only records that exist of any illegal activity."
Neal nodded as he took the envelope. He would burn the pictures after he was done.
Neal opened the envelope and took out the pictures. He had quickly gotten over his initial repulsion. He was beginning to look at this as a challenge. He had gotten an anatomy book and had been studying the structure of the human hand. And now, seeing the pictures, he knew exactly how he would do it.
"When do you need it?" Neal said, still looking at the photographs.
"The exhibit will end in three days. We'd like to switch it out when things are being packed up. It would be easier then." Dean replied.
Neal nodded. The fake would not be found until they got to the next town. They may not find it for the next couple exhibit tours. Which would even been better, that would put more of a cushion between all of them and the switch.
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Neal worked diligently on his new project. He didn't even tell Mozzie what he was up to. Mozzie lived in a very different world from Sam and Dean, and while Neal didn't mind visiting Mozzie's world, at times. Sam and Dean's world scared the hell out of him.
The mere thought of Lucifer, himself, being attached to an item terrified Neal. He shuddered involuntarily. Neal had begun his work on the sculpture almost as soon as Sam and Dean had left. He had never done such intricate work before. It was hard to replicate a human hand, in detail, when it was in normal condition. The process of adding age, weathering, and taking into account the preservation techniques used. It all brought a much, much greater level of difficulty to the project.
Neal began to have problems almost immediately. He kept the hand sculpture covered in the china cabinet when he was a work. It was never in the sun for long periods of time. But every time he took it out from the cabinet, it felt warm. It was sometimes hot, even. Neal thought it was just his imagination and blew it off. He was really letting his nerves get to him on this one. He had just finished his sculpting one night, and was ready to paint when he thought he felt it move. He jumped up from his dining room table, dropping his paint brush. Neal stared, wide eyed, at the hand again, his fear evident on his face. He backed away from the hand, never taking his eyes off it. That was when he saw the finger move. He knew it had moved because it had creased part of the semi-hardened clay. Neal then looked at the wine glass on his table. The bottle was empty. So was his glass. Had he drank an entire bottle of wine? He could not remember if he had opened this bottle or if he just picked up a bottle and started drinking out of it. Neal was not at all sure, but for his sanity he was going to say he had opened the bottle and had drank the entire thing. He got a kitchen towel out of his drawer. He tossed it from where he was standing. It landed on the hand just enough to cover the majority of it up. He kept his distance from his kitchen table as he tossed the wine bottle and rinsed out his wine glass. He then went to bed.
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Peter notices a change in Neal. He had never known the man to wear jewelry of any kind. But he thought he saw, one day, the chain of a necklace under one of his buttoned-down shirts. Just a quick glimpse of metal on one of the rare days Neal elected not to wear a suit and tie, and opted for more casual apparel. Peter really couldn't see the connection. But he wondered if the addition of the necklace had anything to do with Neal's change in mood.
"...then we got him." Peter finished.
Neal nodded, absently, staring out the window on his side of the car.
Peter noticed Neal's hand had been at his chest. Neal had pulled out what looked like a medal from under his shirt and was rubbing it between his fingers.
"Something bothering you?" Peter asked.
Neal continued to rub the metal and stare out the window.
"Is something bothering you?" Peter asked a little more forcefully.
Again, nothing.
"Neal!"
Neal jerked his head around. He had had no idea Peter was talking to him. "No movement…yet."
"What's with the medal of protection?" Peter asked, getting right to the point.
Neal just looked at him.
"…lapsed Catholic." Peter explained. "What's with the medal?"
Neal looked down, just realizing what he was doing. He put the necklace back under his shirt.
Neal looked at him. "I'm not a particularly religious man. But, sometimes…things change…things happen and you…."
Peter just looked at Neal, encouraging him to talk.
Neal shook his head. "I can't explain it. And you wouldn't believe me if I could."
Peter looked at Neal, unsure what to think. He had never really seen Neal rattled. When he was following Neal, before he caught him the first time, Neal had been unflappable. Now, this was not something he liked seeing in his friend and his partner.
Neal sighed, and turned again to the window. The hand had not been on the table when he had got up this morning. And he was dreading going home. He had not used the holy water. But he would do an Internet search at work. He would know what he had to do to keep himself and June safe. He just needed to find the hand first.
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"What is it?" Peter asked when she entered his office.
Diana handed him a file folder. "He did an Internet search on holy water. I printed off the site he visited. He made a call at 9:43 a.m. to a Dean Winchester. Winchester is on the FBI Most Wanted, 4 known murders to date. He travels with his brother Sam, also a wanted man. What info I have on them is in there, too." Diana paused. "Boss, if…does Neal know what he is getting into with these two?"
Peter shook his head. "He was…rattled his morning. But it…it didn't seem to…it has some religious connection. Nothing like what would be involved with these guys, nothing violent."
"But he did call Dean Winchester." Diana pointed out.
"Yes, and I will be talking with him about that." Peter assured her.
TBC
