A/N: Thank you everyone for your wonderful response to my very first fanfic. I had every intention of making this a one-shot but enough people asked for more so I felt encouraged to continue. A quick thanks to my friend and copy editor Kathy who can make English grammar make sense.

Caffrey – Part 2

"People can change." Neal to Peter in Countermeasures

The sheer number of law enforcement personnel filling the normally quiet Brooklyn street startles Sara as she walks toward the Burke's house. She realizes that it shouldn't; the wife of a Federal agent has been taken. That's enough to cause even New York's multiple law enforcement agencies to work together. They always pull together for one of their own.

She bullies her way from the corner where the taxi leaves her, telling half truths and outright lies to gain access to the Burke house. The cordon around the actual crime scene seems impenetrable, and she stops, unsure of how to continue. Yellow crime scene tape flutters slowly in the breeze as it blocks access to the front steps. ERT technicians carefully inspect the ground; one dusts the door handle looking for prints. It is all good police work, and frighteningly wrong.

A slender, familiar figure slips from the shadow next to the front doorway.

"Sara!" Her heart tightens uncomfortably as she sees his face, pale and wary, illumined by the street light behind her.

Caffrey.

Neal.

He stops several feet in front of her, looking as if he would like to embrace her, hand briefly extended, but uncertain if his touch is welcome. They face each other on the small patch of lawn. Sara isn't certain if his touch is welcome either. She decides to insulate her fragile feelings behind her business demeanor, holding her bag in front of herself as a physical barrier. His hand drops to his side.

"What's going on Caffrey?" she asks, watching him carefully, no emotion allowed.

"This is because of the treasure." Neal's words spill out rapidly, like pulling the bandage off a deep wound. "Keller saw the video feed. He wants the treasure in exchange for Elizabeth. He took her right from their kitchen." His breath comes quick and slightly labored, like he's just finished a marathon. Maybe he has, Sara ponders, at least in his own mind.

"Do they know if she's still alive?" Sara's voice stays calm and professional, even while she dreads the answer. Her hand betrays her emotions, shaking slightly as she pushes a strand of auburn hair off her face.

"Witnesses saw the van. She was alive then." Neal's face pales a little more, his feet shifting slightly in the damp grass. Sara is surprised the consummate conman isn't in better control of his face and form.

This man is a stranger to Sara. The Caffrey she knows is always in control. She wants to reach out, help him through this, but she can't. Not now, not when Peter and Elizabeth need her to be cool and in control.

"Has anyone contacted Peter with demands?" Her voice quavers just a little as she asks. This is personal for her too. Peter and Elizabeth have become good friends of hers in the past few months. Ever since she and Neal became ... what? No, it is best to leave that question alone and focus only on what needs to be done.

"Keller hasn't made contact yet." Sara looks across Neal's shoulder as Diana answers her question, stepping into the pool of light. Neal is startled by the agent's proximity, she observes. He really is off. She wonders if it is guilt for the tragedy he's caused, or the guilt that comes when you realize you've been caught.

"How's Peter doing?" Sara asks. She already has a pretty good idea of how he's doing, but asks in order to make eye contact with Diana. If looks could kill, Diana would already have killed Neal.

"He's angry, angrier than I've ever seen," is the flat reply. "And he's devastated." Diana continues to pillory Neal with her eyes. Guilt forces his eyes down and away.

"Why are you here, Sara?" Diana continues in the same unemotional voice. She won't take her eyes from Neal. Sara wonders if it's the agent's job to watch him.

"I heard what happened," she stumbles, taken aback by Diana's brusque manner. "I came to help. I'll do whatever I can. Peter and Elizabeth are my friends."

Agents and police continue to flow around the Burke's home, ignoring the speakers, intent on finding any piece of evidence that might lead them to Matthew Keller, and more importantly, Elizabeth Burke. Special Agent Jones, however, heads directly toward them, notebook in hand.

"Sara." Clinton nods abstractedly at her, delivering his message to his partner.

"Diana, you need to come back in for a briefing." He turns back to the house, pointedly refusing to acknowledge Neal Caffrey's existence. Neal stands immobile and mute. Sara finds she is empathetic to Neal's feelings; she wants to help him through this pain. Stop, she tells herself sharply. Caffrey's brought this down on his own head; let him pay the price.

Diana is halfway back to the house when she stops and turns around.

"Neal," she begins coldly, "there is only one thing you can do to make any of this right. You have to turn over the damn treasure!" Her voice is hard and angry.

Neal lifts his head and meets Diana's look straight on. "I can't," he responds softly. He continues before her rage takes voice. "Diana, I don't have it. I don't even know where it is. Not anymore."

Sara hears a sudden rushing in her head. Anger and disbelief vie for position in her beleaguered brain. She knows he has it. He has told her as much. After all that has happened, all the damage that has been done, Caffrey the thief is still unwilling to part with the goods! The shock is so great she fears she is swaying as she stands. Her hands clench tightly into angry fists. How could she have been so wrong about this man?

Her ears seem to clear as Neal continues. "Mozzie has the treasure. I'm sure he's gone by now."

There is dead silence.

"Mozzie?" Diana breaks the stillness with her question.

Neal looks straight back at her. "He gave me an ultimatum. Leave with him and the treasure, or give it up and stay."

Sara finds she has forgotten to breathe as she watches him. Neal locks his eyes on her face. Those sapphire eyes, which were flat and opaque until this moment, flash with a bright, almost defiant spark.

"I chose to stay."