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Okidoki, here's the next chapter!
-Shire from CollieandShire
Chapter Two
The Call
"You know Neal, if you'd just paid attention we could have been done earlier." Peter remarked as he and Neal made their way to Peter's office. "You're like the little kid in school who can't sit still."
"Well if I'm the little kid who can't sit still then you're the boring teacher who has absolutely no style or gift in teaching." Neal shot back. Peter glared at his CI and Neal broke into a grin. "What?"
"You're incorrigible." He muttered, sitting down at his desk and grabbing the first stack of papers his eyes caught sight of.
"I'm serious, if you would just tune up your teaching style things would be way more interesting." Neal sat down in the chair across from Peter and folded his hands. Peter looked up from the paper and narrowed his eyes at Neal.
"What are you suggesting? I go to some class that teaches me how to give a briefing better?"
"Or you can try and become a certified preschool teacher, I'm sure that would give you some pointers."
Peter shook his head with a sigh and Neal chuckled. "You know someday I'm really going to let you…" Peter's voice trailed off as he read the paper in his hands. Neal watched as his friend's eyes widened and his mouth open.
"What, what is it?" Neal demanded, his heart beginning to race. I hope that's not a complaint about Mozzie's and my not-so-legal entering of that-
"This is bad. This is really, really bad." Peter croaked. He sat there in silence for a second while Neal gripped the armrests of his chair, the possibilities racing through his head as he tried to think of every possible scenario.
Jumping into action and startling Neal, Peter leapt up and grabbed the phone, punching in a phone number. "I can't believe they didn't tell me this until now!" he snarled, and Neal noted his hands were trembling as he held the phone to his ear.
"Peter, what's-" Neal stammered as he stood up, but Peter put up his hand to silence him.
"No answer. No answer!" Peter slammed the phone down, then with a change of mind picked it up again and redialed. "They're-they're probably out in the yard and couldn't get to the phone in time." He said to himself.
Neal stiffened. They? That could mean only one thing; Peter was trying to reach Elizabeth and Elise, the loves of his life. El was his wife of sixteen years and Elise was his mischievous five-year-old daughter. What's going on that he has to reach them right away? Something was terribly wrong and Peter was worried about his family.
Glancing down at the papers Peter had been reading, Neal picked them up and scanned them over. On Wednesday of this week Matthew Keller escaped from state prison - "And has not been located or caught yet!" Neal exclaimed.
Peter nodded grimly as he drummed his fingers on the desk. "Still no answer from home. I'm going to try El's cell phone."
Suddenly it all made sense. Of course! What had Keller said to Peter when Peter had stepped in and saved Neal after Keller had tried to kill him? I'll get your wife again Burke, I'll get her again and again until I get what I want!
"Peter, you don't think he will-he will go after El, do you?" Neal cleared his throat and glanced at his good friend.
Peter was near a state of panic, he could only manage a nod. He began to pace the office as he listened to the phone continue to ring. "Neal, if he's the same Keller we sent to jail six years ago he's not going to stop until he gets his revenge. I have a daughter now. Can you imagine what he'll do when he realizes I have a daughter?" Peter's voice cracked, and he looked away from Neal. "Why didn't they tell me sooner? I could have sent El and Elise over to El's parents if I'd only known! Why isn't El answering the phone!"
"If it keeps on ringing that means she's on it, Peter."
"I know that." Peter snapped.
"But that means she's okay." Neal pointed out.
Peter visibly relaxed a little and nodded his head slightly. "You're right Neal, I'm getting myself worked up about nothing. It's nothing, it's nothing at all. Nothing's wrong." Peter sighed and hung up the phone, melting into his office chair as he stared at his two coffee mugs. One said World's Greatest FBI Agent and the other said World's Greatest Dad. El had bought him the first one and Elise had picked out the second one for Christmas this past year.
Neal stood there with his hands in his pockets. "I'm sure everything's fine. Keller would be a mad man to come back to New York." Neal consoled.
Peter nodded again and continued to stare at the coffee mugs.
Brrriiinnnggg! Peter's cell phone went off. Half a second hadn't even gone by before he had the phone to his ear and he'd pressed talk.
"Hello? El, is that you?"
"Peter!" Neal could hear El's voice clearly on the other end and she was distressed. Oh no.
"El what's wrong?" Peter demanded, rising from the chair again. "What's going on? Where are you? Are you and Elise okay?"
"Peter! I've been trying to reach you for the last five minutes but your phone was busy!"
So El was trying to call Peter while Peter was trying to call El. Neal figured out.
"Peter, I went to the neighbor's house because she called and when I got there she was tied up and gagged! I called the police and untied Nancy and she told me a short man with a limp had forced her to call me and then tied her up."
Oh no, dear God no! Neal prayed silently. A short man. Keller was short. That doesn't mean it was him! Neal chided himself as he glanced up at Peter's ashen face.
"Where's Elise, El?" Peter croaked.
"That's just it Peter! I left Elise by herself because I thought I'd only be gone for a minute, but when Nancy told me what happened I ran home right away. Peter, Elise is gone!"
~oOo~
Peter sat on the couch with El in his arms as she sobbed into his shirt. Tears rolled down his own face, but he kept pushing them back. He needed to be strong for his wife right now, no use for him to get emotional.
Thoughts raced around his head. Anger at the prison for not letting him know sooner, relief that his wife was alright and terror for his daughter. Gone. She was gone. And to top it off Keller went and poisoned my dog, too! Satchemo was at the vet in bad condition, Keller obviously having fed him something to knock him out. The vets weren't sure if he'd make it or not, but right now that was the least of Peter's worries. Keller had kidnapped his daughter and no doubt had every intent of killing her.
Peter glanced over at the team of specialists scouring the house for evidence and clues, checking everything from the counter to the dog food. Jones and Neal were examining the drawing and the note over again. The picture and the words would forever be etched on Peter's heart as they pounded against his head over and over.
Elise had apparently been working on a picture for him, drawing a funny looking stick figure with a smiley face and a badge tying up what Peter guessed to be a bad guy. The picture was unfinished though, and a rough hand had written in the blank spot next to it:
You've got a budding artist here, Burke. She might amount to something someday if you fork over six million bucks. I figure since I'm going to kill you anyways might as well make some money out of it, too. She's a funny thing, your Elise is. Let me tell you, she's the first person I've kidnapped that isn't even afraid of me! Don't make me do anything to her that will make her afraid. You'll be getting a call from me shortly. Keep your fed friends out of it. Say hi to Neal.
Each sarcastic word made Peter want to shoot Keller in the face a thousand times. But reason told him that if he did so there wouldn't be anything left of the monster to put on trial. Why? Why is he doing this to me? Why must he take what means so much to us! He had to get his daughter back. He didn't know how or what he'd have to do, all he knew was that it was going to be ten times harder than the last time he dealt with Keller. They couldn't save her the same way they saved El. Keller was too smart for that-he was going to make Peter pay. One way or another he was going to do something to get his revenge. All Peter could think about was how to save Elise from being the object of Keller's wrath.
~oOo~
Elise sat in front of a TV as she watched her favorite show Winnie the Pooh. Keller glanced at the kid and shook his head.
"You know, only bad kids watch that." He joked, leaning against the wall as he pulled out a knife and began to sharpen it.
"They do not!" Elise turned her head and glared at him. "Daddy used to watch Winnie the Pooh."
"Winnie the Pooh is evil." Keller countered, grinning at the kid's indignant attitude. "I should know, I used to watch it."
"But Daddy watched it too!" the redhead pointed out. "And he's not evil. I thought you were an agent anyways. Agents aren't bad."
Keller rolled his eyes. "Well obviously your dad was lyin', because only bad kids watch Winnie the Pooh. All the good kids watch Happy Tree Friends. And no, I'm not an agent. That was a lie."
Elise didn't seem to hear that last part, all she could focus on was that Keller had just called her daddy a liar. "My Daddy doesn't lie, and I like Winnie the Pooh, so if you don't like it you don't have to watch it!" she sniffed, sticking her nose in the air.
"Man, you've got attitude." Keller laughed, putting his knife away and pulling out his phone. "Your Daddy spoils you, doesn't he?"
"That's what Mommy said, but I'm trying not to be spoiled. It's not nice to be spoiled." Elise admitted. She turned back to the TV and continued to watch her show.
Keller shook his head and chuckled. This is the weirdest kidnapping I've ever done. He thought. She hadn't even argued when he'd told her she was coming with him-she'd taken his hand and chattered the whole way to the car about how she loved car rides and kept asking where they were going. Keller almost felt humiliated, like he'd been cheated out of a really good authentic kidnapping with the yelling and the tying up and the gagging of the victim. But then he reminded himself this was quite a bit easier than the latter and decided to be happy Elise was so trusting, especially since his left leg had been so bummed up when Neal shot him.
Keller punched in Burke's cell phone number from memory and held the receiver to his ear, glancing once more at the little girl. He noted with a smile she'd changed the channel on account of him telling her Winnie the Pooh was evil. She's a funny kid. He thought. It's a shame I'll have to kill her.
Ack! Keller really DOES intend to kill her, this is not going so well.
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-Shire