What About Peter 2
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Sorry for the delay. I was out of
town at a book signing for an
author I like. I'm back now!
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Neal drove Elizabeth home. He called June once he reached the Burke home to let her know he was going to stand guard. She understood after hearing the details and said he could call her if they needed anything. He hung up his cell and slumped back on the Burke's sofa. He could hear El in the kitchen busying herself with something, rushing out occasionally to ask if he needed anything. Neal knew she was stressed but allowed her to do things for him like bring fresh towels, sheets for the sofa, coffee. He didn't want coffee but she needed him to let her give him coffee so he sipped at it, his thoughts going to Peter in ICU. Thinking about Peter in the bathtub, bound and looking like death.
Neal shivered, putting the cup down and standing up. He wanted to go out and walk, get some fresh air but he had to protect El in case whomever had attacked Peter decided to return. He saw Satchmo sleeping in the corner. The lab had slept most of the day, recovering from whatever had hit him. Neal opened up the backdoor and sat out on the stoop. The wind was light and cool with just a hint of mown grass. He sighed and stood, walking the small yard restlessly, pacing around the small enclosure and feeling trapped. He thought about his brief stay in the holding cell at the police station and felt a shiver of fear move up and down his spine. Even for the brief few hours he had been there, he felt a tightness in his throat that still followed him about. Being arrested by the police had broken him slightly. He had been arrested before but at least he had deserved it. He had been guilty of the crime but to accuse him of home invasion. How would they have known? It suddenly occurred to him they had called him by name.
Neal looked around the yard and back at the house. He noticed something along the edge of the house just below the grass level. He walked back towards the backdoor and crouched next to the stoop. Windows. The Burke's had a basement. He had never thought to look and see if they had one but he had often thought they might. Neal stood and walked up the few steps and entered the house again to ask El something. He immediately noticed something different: it was quiet. Too quiet. He closed the door and locked it, walking quietly towards the kitchen. He could just make out movement behind the frosted panel on the swinging door. Someone was talking, sniffling. Elizabeth.
"Please, I don't know what you want!" Neal listened from behind the door, trying to figure out how to get in without being heard.
"I just want revenge. Getting rid of your husband was only step one. If I get rid of his beautiful wife..." Neal heard Elizabeth give a muffled scream. He opened up the door and stood there taking in the situation.
A tall swarthy man stood before him, eyes glittering brightly at Neal as he walked into the room. Wilkes.
"Hello, Caffrey. Our silver-tongued hero enters the scene. Will you attempt to use your charms to help free the damsel in distress?" Neal blinked at the man, bristling as Wilkes held Elizabeth at gunpoint.
"Wilkes... you're out." The man nodded, smiling broadly.
"I guess you could say that, Caffrey. So, shall we go down to my temporary offices?" Neal looked at El, giving her a look to be calm and she nodded her head slightly. Wilkes held her tightly, motioning for Neal to go down into the basement. The young man started to but not before Wilkes clucked his tongue at him. He turned and Wilkes had his free hand open.
"Your cell phone, Caffrey. Can't have you making any unauthorized calls." Neal stiffened, pulled out his phone and handed it to Wilkes who promptly dropped it on the ground and smashed it with his foot.
"Good, now, please make your way to the basement." He pushed El to Neal and held the gun on them both as they made their way down. El clung to Neal, hugging his arm for security. She whispered to him, voice shaky with tears.
"Neal... who... is this man? Why..." He hugged her close and whispered back.
"It's ok. He wants me." They were interrupted by the cocking of a pistol and a slight chuckle.
"Such a noble criminal you are, Caffrey. You would sacrifice yourself for the good of a friend. So sweet." He clapped, gun still aimed at them. Neal grimaced, remembering his last encounter with Wilkes. It had been pure dumb luck he'd gotten a message to Peter through Mozzie but now there was no Peter, just him. He shivered slightly.
"Atleast I have morals and limits. You should try it sometime Wilkes." He saw the man frown at him and without warning pull the trigger. Neal barely had time to react, pushing Elizabeth aside to the floor, the bullet hitting him in the shoulder and grazing it. Neal collapsed to the floor and panted, breathing hard. He saw El staring in horror at the scene, reaching to touch him, to see if he was ok, but Wilkes pulled her aside roughly and tied her to a nearby chair. Once she was subdued and gagged, Wilkes approached Neal and looked down at the con and smiled. He kicked him hard in the chest. Neal gave out a strangled cry and lay still, body barely twitching.
"Don't think I've forgiven you for going Fed. You were lucky to find your keeper alive but you... I think they'll find you in little pieces. It will be something for Mrs. Burke to tell your friend should he recover. He was quite talkative before you found him." Neal bristled and tried to rise but it felt like his ribs had been broken. He collapsed again to the floor with a groan of pain. Wilkes held the con down, pulling his arms back behind him, raising him up to his feet and hanging him from the rafters. Neal's feet barely touched the floor, his body aching from the position and his beating. Wilkes smiled.
"Now, you still owe me but since you so eloquently denied me my payback and sent me to jail..." Wilkes turned to smile menacingly at Elizabeth as he turned without warning and punched Neal in the stomach. The con cried out slightly, slumping against his bonds. Wilkes kept buffeting blows against the young man before pulling out a large knife and stabbing it into Neal's shoulder. Neal screamed, his eyes widening to capacity then rolling back into his head as he slumped and didn't move. Wilkes laughed, twisting the knife once again before pulling it out and wiping it against the young man's shirt.
"I think I've made my point, Caffrey. Watch your back, if you make it." Neal didn't respond at first but finally he raised his eyes enough to glare. Wilkes blinked, smiling broadly before he cracked the handle of the gun against the side of Neal's head.
(Jones)
Agent Jones stopped by the Burke residence to see how Elizabeth and Neal were doing. He hadn't been able to sleep thinking about his boss Peter Burke in the hospital. Agents had checked out the house earlier but found no trace of who could have attacked Peter. The person who did this was clever and knew how to hide. He knocked on the door. The lights were on but nobody answered. Could they be asleep, it was fairly late in the evening. Jones tried the door, it was open. Odd.
"Mrs. Burke? Neal?" Jones stepped inside feeling something was out of place. He saw a cup of coffee on the table near the sofa but when he check it, it was icy. He saw a small pile of blankets obviously for Caffrey still sitting on the sofa waiting to be used. He pulled out his gun feeling something was wrong and checked the upstairs. No one.
He checked the backyard but it was empty. He finally checked the kitchen seeing the Burke's dog Satchmo scratching at the basement door with a low growl. Jones pet the dog on the head and opened the door slowly. He made his way down the few steps and heard a muffled sound. When he got to the bottom he saw Elizabeth Burke gagged and bound to a chair. She was crying. El looked up and saw him, her eyes wide at first then calming when she saw it was Jones. She struggled in her chair, her head and eyes moving to point off to the right. Jones turned and gasped.
Neal Caffrey hung from the rafters, body limp and lifeless. His face was pale, dark hair slung damply across his face. The agent put the gun away and started to untie the young man, lowering him to the ground carefully. He felt for a pulse and found a weak beat. Neal was alive but just barely, his shirt soaked with blood from a shoulder wound. Once Jones had made Neal comfortable, he untied Elizabeth who immediately made her way to the con's side and nudged him gently.
"Neal?! Neal?!" Jones tried to comfort her as best he could, pulling out his cell and calling backup and an ambulance.
When the ambulance arrived, El wanted to ride with Neal. Jones let her, following behind after he had agents lock down the Burke residence and forensics search for clues. He saw Hughes there and filled him in on what had happened. Hughes told him to keep an eye on El and put guards on both Burke and Caffrey. They would find Wilkes.
Jones showed up at the hospital not too long after Neal had been admitted to the ER. Elizabeth had gone up to the ICU to visit Peter, her profile obvious through the glass partition as she held her husband's hand and seemed to talk to him. Jones waited outside till he heard the sound of the door open and she noticed him sitting there.
"Jones. How?" He shrugged slightly, face apologetic.
"Just got here a few minutes ago. No info yet. Hughes is sending people to guard your husband and Neal, just in case. How's Peter?" She turned and glanced back at the glass room and shivered slightly.
"He's alive. He hasn't woken up or moved... well no he moved once when Neal came to visit. But he hasn't responded since. I'm so worried about him. I..." She started to cry, collapsing to her knees. Jones walked over and helped her to a chair and she leaned against him a moment then calmed down a little, her eyes still tearing up.
"I'm sorry." He shook his head and glanced over at the glass room.
"I'm sure he'll be ok. We just have to give him time." She sniffled and looked at the glass room, her face pale.
"I couldn't tell him about Neal... I didn't..." She choked up and started to cry again. Jones nodded, standing up once she had calmed down and walked over to the partition. He pushed the door open and walked inside. He had not had time to see his boss other than when Neal had been arrested. Jones felt kind of awkward but he coughed and started talking.
"Peter, it's Jones. I think you'll be proud to know what Neal did for you. He saved your life." Jones kept talking.
"He tried to keep El safe from Wilkes but he's hurt. He's in the ER. She didn't want to tell you." Peter just lay there, machines beeping quietly around him. Jones sighed, grasping his superior's hand briefly and then turning as he heard a tapping on the glass door. It was a nurse. Visiting hours were over. He nodded and started to leave when the machines started to beep loudly. Jones looked back as someone grasped his hand.
"Peter?" He saw the unconscious man holding his hand tightly, eyes closed but moving beneath closed lids. He thought he saw Peter's lips move. He thought he could just hear something.
"What did you say? Peter?" Jones put his ear just above Peter's face, trying to listen as the nurse rushed inside.
"Neal... how..." Peter's voice was weak but just audible. Jones felt his boss' grip loosen and go limp as the machines went back to their normal sounds. The nurse rushed him out before he could see what was going on. More nurses and a doctor rushed in, Elizabeth grasping at his arm.
"Clinton, what just happened?" He was still in shock himself trying to sort it out. He finally turned and looked at her.
"He spoke. I told him about Neal and his protecting you. I mentioned he was in ER. Then he asked how Neal was before he passed out again." El rushed forward but Jones held her back.
"He's ok. The machines beeped a bit when he woke up but he's unconscious again. Atleast we know he's trying to come back." She nodded dumbly at him, face streaked with tears, as they watched the activity inside the glass room. One of the nurses finally came out and told them he had stabilized. They thought he might wake up soon. El looked relieved, thanking the nurse and watching as the additional staff and doctor left after a while.
"Peter must have known about Wilkes. That's why he responded to Neal earlier. Now..." El just stared at the glass room, her face pale and blotchy as she sniffled and wiped at her eyes. Another nurse walked quickly up to the two after a moment. She was followed by someone in an FBI jacket. Jones went to talk to the agent while the nurse came to chat with El.
"Mrs. Burke?" El nodded, sniffling some. The nurse continued with a gentle smile.
"Your friend, Neal Caffrey. He's been stabilized. He's going to be moved to this floor in just a little while. I'll let you know when so you can visit him." El nodded with a sigh of relief.
"Thank you." The nurse nodded and walked away as Jones came over with the agent.
"Mrs. Burke, this is Agent Gerald. He's going to be one of the agents watching Peter and Neal. Another agent should be on their way soon." El shook the agent's hand and smiled slightly, looking at Jones a moment.
"They just told me they're moving Neal up here." Jones gave a nod, his own expression relieved.
"We're going to try to keep them together for safety's sake and I'll take you to a safe house when you're ready." El nodded, wiping at her eyes and walking over to Peter's room again. She opened up the door and walked to his bedside, holding his hand gently.
"Neal's ok, Peter. Hughes sent people to watch over both of you and Jones is taking me somewhere safe. I'll be back tomorrow." She kissed him and hugged him gently, her hand slowly pulling from his. She thought she felt a slight squeeze back before she let go, smiled and walked out of the room. Jones was waiting for her.
"Did you need anything before we go?" El shook her head.
"Ok, Gerald, we'll see you in the morning." Jones escorted El down the hallway as another agent came around the corner. Jones gave the man a quick greeting before leaving with Mrs. Burke.