Chapter 2

Peter looked up at the knock on his door. Diana stood there with a blond woman in a suit next to her.

"Your appointment is here, sir," Diana announced drily. The office had been a cold place lately. Peter wondered if his team had realised he had let Neal run or whether it was just Neal's absence was weighing on all of them.

"Sarah Carmichael, was it?" Peter said, standing up to shake the other agent's hand. She had left her name when booking the appointment. "I apologise for my team, we're going through a tough time."

"I heard about that," Agent Carmichael responded. "Your CI returned to his criminal roots and cut his leash. I guess that would cause a loss of faith from your team."

Peter's chest hurt. Not only was she insulting him but she spoke like she knew Neal. "My CI was a good man. If he ran, then that means we, the FBI, failed to make him feel safe."

"Bold claims," Agent Carmichael commented as she invited herself in. "But I'm not here for that. I'm here about Agent Kramer."

"What? Why?"

"I wish to know more about him and his role in all this," Sarah announced. "After all, it's strange that an out of town agent would involve himself in another agent's affairs. Or the affairs of another agent's CI."

Peter wondered how much he could tell her. She hadn't identified where she was from, aside from 'a government agency'. Hughes had okayed his meeting with her so she couldn't be lying about her affiliation. Hughes would have warned him if that was the case.

"Kramer... was my mentor. That's probably why he saw fit to include himself in decisions regarding Neal."

Sarah was not impressed. Her expression remained flat as she looked up at Peter.

"I suppose you won't be surprised if I say that Kramer believes you know more about Neal than you're sharing."

"I already shared everything I know with the FBI," Peter countered. Neither of them were smiling now. "I thought this was about Phillip."

"It is." Sarah gave him a pleasant smile, as if she knew he was cornered. "Phillip Kramer seems quite interested in you and Caffrey. To the point where he was in New York for some time."

"Not anymore." Kramer had flown out shortly after Neal ran.

"Don't think it's over," Sarah informed him. "Keep your head down and solve cases. Forget about Caffrey." Whether it was a warning or threat, Peter couldn't tell. But he didn't appreciate it. It was the same advice Hughes had been giving him. If he wasn't listening to Hughes, he certainly wasn't going to listen to some unknown agent.

Casey was pleased with Sarah's performance. Chuck was not.

"Did you really have to be so vague?" he questioned. "It's not going to cause Agent Burke to stop."

"I don't think anything will," Sarah said. "It's obvious that he's still searching for Neal." She eyed Chuck. "Or am I wrong?"

Chuck sighed, cornered. He had looked over the information Peter had submitted about Neal. Even he thought Peter was holding back, despite knowing that Peter had no idea where Neal was. Casey had kept watch on the agent's house and even gotten in disguised as a telecommunications officer. It had been easy enough to locate the map Peter was using to find Neal. Casey was a little impressed when he saw it. Chuck was very impressed.

"So what do you think? Are we staying in New York or moving over to DC?" Sarah asked Chuck.

"I think we should stay in New York a little longer," Chuck commented. He was flipping through the FBI servers, looking for anything which mentioned 'Neal Caffrey' or anything submitted by the agents they were concerned with. "It seems Kramer's not done yet."

The dark haired man waltzed through the streets of Cape Verde. He paid Hector, the kid selling papayas on the street, some coin for his produce and walked into a local cafe. The girl behind the counter huffed when she saw him.

"Well, at least it's not a three man band," she commented, referencing an incident a few days after they landed on this island. In an effort to impress her, 'James Maine' had hired a three man band to play all her favourite songs. It had been slightly embarrassing when all she wanted was a meal with him. Not a meal with him and three strangers.

"It's a papaya," the man formerly known as Neal Caffrey commented with a smile as he tossed it to her. Mar'i quickly placed the glass she was cleaning on the bench and caught it.

"I can see that," she responded.

"You know, Hector makes a killing off that fruit stand," a bespectacled and balding man in a tropical t-shirt said from a nearby table.

"I'm aware," Neal responded at the same time as Mar'i said, "we know, Barry."

'Barry' ignored them and went back to his paper.

"You know he's trying to unionise the other workers here," Mar'i whispered to Neal. "My boss isn't happy."

Maya was sceptical of all their presences in her shop. However, she liked them despite it and even hired Mar'i when she mentioned wanting to work. Maya was attractive and Neal wondered if he might have tried to sweeten her up in another life. However, in this life, he was focused on Mar'i.

"Barry? He's harmless," Neal said with a glance in the man's direction.

"Viva healthcare!" Mozzie called out.

Neal winced as Mar'i's expression remained flat and her eyes glowed lightly.

"Mostly harmless," Neal corrected. He smiled at Mar'i. "So, are we on for tonight?"

"Let me check my calendar. I might be working," Mar'i teased.

"It's dinner on the beach,"

Mar'i sighed but there was a smile on her face. "Sure. Are you going to sit with Barry today?"

"Someone's got to keep the old man company." Neal made his way over to Mozzie. "So, Barry Soetoro, carefree treasure hunter. How's that gold doing?"

When Adler went after Kate and Neal, he had been after the directions to a sunken u-boat. A u-boat he found with Neal's help. Held at almost literal gunpoint, Neal had no choice but to help. While the stolen art and treasure were supposed to go to the CIA, the warehouse storing them was blown up. It turned out Mozzie had been behind it.

Even when Neal convinced him to give the treasure up, Mozzie had kept some of the smaller pieces to help fund their goals. That treasure had payed for their comfort and safety on this island.

"That's for me to know."

"And?"

"Just for me to know. You don't have the heart for business, James Maine."

Neal frowned. He knew Mozzie was probably keeping it a secret because they were in public. He had no trouble telling them in private how they were doing.

"You still miss New York."

There was no hiding things from Mozzie.

However, "what's regret gonna get me? Nothing. I'm not Neal Caffrey anymore. Neal Caffrey is a wanted fugitive. James is a rich, carefree island resident with a wonderful girlfriend-"

"I won't be your girlfriend for much longer if you don't find a way off this island," Mar'i commented. "While it's beautiful here, I'm not a fan of the carefree island life. I crave adventure."

Mozzie shook his head. Such sentiments were how Neal got arrested in the first place.

"Too reckless," Neal commented. "Especially since Peter hasn't given up."

"Really?" Mar'i questioned, having never really met Peter for more than a moment. He had managed to track Kate down, something Neal hadn't managed but, he had seemed grumpy. Reminded her a little of her dad to be honest. Although, that would explain why Neal liked him so much. "I guess he's a work-a-holic."

"Whatever your thoughts, we all agree that he hasn't stopped looking yet, despite the danger. Chuck reported that Kramer has sent another agent. This one is nasty."

"I still can't believe you hired our own private army."

"Chuck's not an army."

"That's what you think," Mozzie said before starting on his theories of CIA created super-warriors. Some of them sounded vaguely close to the truth.