A/N:
Sorry, I didn't really found the reviews last time. Now, that I found them, I'm just really stunned that so many of you revied! I'm really grateful for for your nice comments (: Of course I will keep on writing and updating as soon as I can. again, thank you (:
The house was emptying with time until only Jones, Diana, Neal and Peter were left. Peter assured them that he'll be fine and that they should go home and rest, but they stayed.
Neal went to the bathroom to clean himself up a bit. The gash at his forehead wasn't deep and the bleeding had stopped. Peter could have hit harder, he knew that. On the one hand he had been a little disappointed in Peter at first, but on the other hand, deeply inside he knew, that he'd deserved it. It was him, who lied to Peter.
'Peter is the best thing that happened to you and you're smart enough to know that.' Neal felt a sudden pain, as he remembered Elizabeth's words. She was right. God, he missed her. She always knew what to do or to say to make it right. She was the one who could always mediate between him and Peter. He had to get her back. But how?
The treasure was gone. Mozzie was gone.
Neal left him at least a hundred messages on every number he knew about, but it seemed like Moz really was gone for good.
Gone for good. Damn it. He'd lost Moz. His closest friend, who always stood by his side. He couldn't loose Peter, too. And Elizabeth. He had to find her!
With this thought he stepped out of the bathroom and made his way back down into the living room. Peter was still sitting in the same position than he had been when Neal left a few minutes ago. Jones was still in the kitchen making coffee for all of them. After all it would be a tough night. And Diana was on the phone with the FBI.
Neal took the chair on the opposite of Peter, in order to create at least a little bit of distance between them. Peter wouldn't like what he was about to say.
Neal had never liked the truth, but this time it seemed to be the best way. Honesty. It sounded strange in his ears.
"I stole the Degas." He finally broke the silence.
Peters head jerked up. He looked more confused than angry.
"When?"
"Today." Neal held his breath, trying to brace himself, for what was coming.
He had expected everything, but not that Peter started laughing. Yeah, it wasn't a real laugh. Actually it was more of a dry, artificial laugh which ended in a strong head shake.
"I knew it. I knew it from the first moment after the explosion! You stole the treasure. But how'd you do it?" There it was again. The anger, the disappointment in his voice.
It send shivers down Neal's spine to see Peter look at him with such disgust, such hatred. It remembered him of the guards in prison. Prison. He hadn't thought about that by now. Of course, he had to go back when all this was over. He knew that for sure, but for now, he had to make it right. So he kept talking.
"I didn't do it!" he said with emphasis, holding eye contact with Peter. When the latter opened his mouth to respond in anger, Neal cut him off: "Peter, I'm telling you the truth, now!"
Peter again laughed his dry laugh and looked away.
"Give me one reason to believe you."
"Because we are friends." Neal didn't even thought about it. The sentence just escaped his lips. He wasn't even conscious about it. But it was true.
He watched Peter stare for a moment and used the break to go on.
"You have to admit that there was a time when you trusted me. Before this whole Nazi-treasure-thing went off. There was a time when I trusted you. When I would've died for you and I almost did a few times. Yes, Mozzie stole the treasure and replaced it with a few of my old paintings, in order to make sure the FBI found some remains. Yes, the piece of the painting you found there, was mine, but Peter, I didn't knew about it at first. So I was telling the truth in that moment. Of course, when Mozzie told me that he had the treasure and that he wanted go and start a new life somewhere else, I wanted to go with him. I even had a perfectly faked passport at the time."
Peter looked up, still staring in disbelief.
"Why are you telling me this?" his voice was quiet now. Quiet and calm, barely more than a whisper.
"You wanted the truth Peter. Here it is! Moz said it was supposed to be our final score, but he sold the Degas by accident, because he didn't know that it was on the list…"
"How'd you know about the list?" Peter's mouth dropped open. He always tried to get Neal to telling the truth, but never assumed that he would really be that honest. So many things came crashing down on him, he could barely make out their connections.
"We stole it back today, replacing it by a forgery. The forgery you found. We didn't know what else to do. Moz sold the Degas to get Keller killed, but obviously it didn't work. Nevertheless everything was settled and we were supposed to be gone by now."
"And then why are you still here?"
From all the questions that burned on Peter's tongue, this was the most important. He finally managed to look up, his gaze meeting Neal's eyes. Again, there was nothing but grief and regret shining in them.
"I told Moz, that there were certain things about this life I was not ready to give up."
Neal looked to the ground. He suddenly seemed tired and leached, as if he'd run a marathon.
"Damn it Neal. Why'd you telling this now?" Diana's voice made him jerk his head.
He had almost forgotten about Diana and Jones. Both of them stood behind him, near the kitchen and must have heard the whole conversation, her faces showing disbelief and surprise.
"I'm tired of running away. Really I am. It was the same situation back then, when I was about to take the plane with Kate. It wouldn't have felt like freedom. It was my dream sometime, maybe a year ago, but apparently this dream changed. I can't help it. I just want to make it right this time. I wanna help you find Elizabeth."
He turned by saying the last words and saw Peter flinch slightly by the name of his wife.
"We can't just pretend you said nothing Neal, you know that. You just confessed to at least five crimes in front of three FEDs." Peter said. His voice as calm as usual, but this time Neal couldn't quite interpret the undertone in his voice.
"I know, just… let me help you. It's the least I can do."
Peter nodded, massaging his aching head.
It was just that moment when an unfamiliar ring tone broke the silence.
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The first thing she felt was the throbbing pain in her head. It felt like her brain was about to explode.
In an attempt to rub the aching spot at the back of her head, Elizabeth wanted to lift her hand, only to found her arms bound behind her back. The chains of the handcuffs rattled as she pulled desperately to break free. A groan escaped her mouth as she tried to crack her eyes open a little.
What the hell had happened?
She remembered the call with Peter. Their conversation about Neal (who else?), the pot of spaghetti and… There was something else… The sound she heart after ending the call. The assumption it was Neal, who paid her a visit, like every time Peter and he had their differences. Her own voice. A sharp pain exploding in her head.
She tore open her eyes. It took her a moment to adjust to the light flooded room. She had to blink a few times until she could focus.
The first thing she saw was a man pacing back and fourth in the room. He wore a grey suit and an equally grey hat. She narrowed her eyes again.
"Neal?" her voice wasn't more than a quiet croak.
The addressed man turned. She didn't know him. It wasn't Neal.
"Sorry to disappoint you, darling. And sorry about the head."
"Save it. What do you want from me?" El's voice grew stronger now. It seemed like her fighting spirit had awoken. Adrenaline took over control and she managed to push the pain back somewhere in a far corner in her head.
"Poor little thing. It's not about you. You're just leverage. It's about your lovely husband and his con-friend Caffrey. I assume you know him?"
Elizabeth had only known the man for a few seconds and she already hated him. He came closer, looking down at her which such self-confidence, she simply wanted to slap his face.
She tried to turn away as he knelt beside her. Disgust all over her face.
"A shame though… Having to kill you. You're such a pretty thing."
The man brushed her cheek with his hand, his smile revealing perfectly white teeth.
As an answer she spit him right in his face.
The man's smile vanished. Whipping the spit away with one hand, he stood up.
"You know, I really tried to play nice, but you have a strong resemblance to your husband and I don't like him either."
His punch came unexpected, sending her head crashing against the wall. She felt her lip burst open. With all her strength she hold back the cry of pain, that was about to escape her lips. She didn't want to show weakness.
"I see… A tough one. Let's leave it like that. But spit at me again or go rude, I swear to god… I kill you!"
With a sudden move he pulled a jack-knife out of his suit pocked and pressed it to her throat.
Elizabeth's eyes went wide and she tried to turn, but the pressure didn't go away.
"You understand?"
Elizabeth could feel a light pain at her neck. Little droplets of blood ran down her skin, as the blade cut into it.
"Yes." El tried to control her voice, but couldn't quite banish the shaking out of it.
"Good." The unknown man smiled again his diabolic smile and then, finally, he released his grip.
Elizabeth let out a shaky breath as the man turned again and walked away from her.
Whoever this man was and whatever he was up to, she silently cursed Peter and Neal for getting again in trouble like this. Sure it wasn't as quiet in the White Collar Unit than it was before Neal Caffrey came, but she knew that Neal and Peter were doing well together. They just got in trouble more often and this time, she had to bear the consequences.
Elizabeth didn't really know why she stayed this calm. Maybe she knew, that her husband and Neal would come for her. Maybe panicking was just not her style. Whatever. She tried to do what was best in her situation. And this was obviously to keep a cool head, keep herself calm and wait, until there was a good opportunity to act.
"And now, that we are friends and you are awake, let's call you lovely husband. Figure he will be glad to hear from you."
Elizabeth watched as the man, pulled a phone from his pocket.
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All of them stared in surprise at the phone, which was vibrating on the table.
Peter was the first one to react. He reached for the phone, noticing the same number that called him earlier.
"It's Keller."
Jones immediately went for the laptop, as Peter put the phone on speaker.
Peter drew a deep breath before he spoke.
"Keller."
"Peter! So glad to hear your voice again. How are you?" Keller's voice sounded mocking and amused.
"I want to talk to El." Peters throat went dry. His words shaky.
"Alright. Never been a fan of small talk, huh? Of course, I would love to let you chat with your wife a bit, but it depends on you, having the right answer for me. You got the treasure?"
Peter chewed at his bottom lip nervously. Searching for help, he led his eyes gaze from Diana, to Jones and finally to Neal. The latter nodded urgently, his eyes in serious concern.
"Yes, yes I got the treasure." Peter said a little bit to quickly.
"Ok Peter, I know Caffrey is standing next to you. He will take the treasure and be ready tomorrow at eight o'clock. He'll take the phone and wait for further instructions. And Peter, don't think I'm stupid. You and your FBI friends stay out of this! No bugs! And of course remember to cut Caffrey's anklet. See you tomorrow, Neal."
There was a click and then Keller was gone.
"No, no! El!" Peter shouted desperately in the phone, but Keller had hung up, giving him no chance to talk to his wife. How should he even know she was still alive? Maybe she was dead already… No! He couldn't think like that! He couldn't lose hope now.
Peter bit his lip and noticed the tears in his eyes. He turned away.
"Anything?"
"No, sorry peter. The call was to short to locate his phone." Jones apologetic voice reached his ear.
"Damn it!" Peter threw the phone back on the table. He looked up in three sad and concerned faces.
"So, how we're going to handle this?" Diana broke the silence
"I'll go to the meeting tomorrow and..." Neal answered before Peter could even open his mouth.
"And how do you plan on doing this? If what you said is true, which I still doubt, you don't even have the treasure yourself. He is gonna kill El if he didn't get what he wants."
Peter cut him off.
"Yeah, you're right. He desperately tries to get to the treasure and he needs her as leverage. This is why he won't kill her until he got it. Peter, I know Keller better than anyone else. I'm gonna go to this meeting, let him lead me to Elizabeth and activate the tracker when I'm with her, so you can come get us."
"You really think this is gonna work? You know he's smart. He will assume that you want to do that." Diana's words seemed more thoughtful than rejected.
"I know what I'm doing. And I know what is at stake, believe me! I will figure something out. You guys just have to trust me on this. One last time!"
Peter snorted again in anger, but he didn't really know what to respond anymore. He wouldn't admit it, but he knew that Neal was right. He really knew Keller better than anyone and it was their only chance. They had to take it.
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