I am sorry for the delay in the update, things went haywire in my life for a short time. Things are back to normal now, well as normal as it ever is. I do apologize, but if you are still upset about it then please feel free to have Peter come and arrest me. I think I would really enjoy being handcuffed by him
/
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Neal sat in the passenger seat, squirming. He never would have thought that a wooden spoon could leave him sore, but he had a matching sore spot on both butt cheeks. He glanced over at Peter and noticed that the older man was smirking.
"It's not funny, Peter." Neal said, his voice coming out in a whine.
"Want to bet?"
Neal glared at him, then crossed his arms across his chest and slumped back into the seat.
"Are you pouting now?" Peter asked, the smirk still on his face.
/
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The next few days went by uneventful and it was soon Friday, the day before the poker game. Neal was sitting at his desk, filling out paper work from their latest case. He was almost finished, when his cell phone rang. Checking the caller ID, he saw that it was Trent who was calling.
"Hey, Trent." Neal greeted, answering the phone.
"We've got a problem, man." Trent's voice said. "I got a tip that the vice squad was going to crash our game tomorrow."
"That's not good."
"Yeah, tell me about it. Do you know a place we can play?"
"Not right off hand, let me get back to you. I think I may be able to come up with something."
"Alright, thanks man."
"No problem."
Neal hung up, his brain already trying to come up with a place to play poker. He knew Mozzie had several properties, he'd give him a call after work.
/
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Later that afternoon, Neal walked into June's house and saw two suitcases sitting by the door.
"Hey Neal." Samantha said, rushing to him with a smile on her face. "Guess what."
"Your Grandma June finally took my advise and is shipping you off to military school?"
"No silly." The young girl giggled.
"Then I give up."
"Nancy is having her baby." She said excitedly.
"Your cousin, right?" Neal remembered June telling him that Samantha's cousin was expecting her first baby.
"Uh huh, and Grandma June and me are going to Washington to see her."
"That sounds like fun."
"I hope she has him by Monday, I have to come back Monday evening so I only have to miss one day of school."
"Hello Neal." June greeted him, as she walked into the room.
"Hello, June." Neal returned the greeting. "Sammy just told me you're going to Washington."
"Yes, we are leaving for the airport in a few moments. I need to ask you a favor."
"Anything."
"I am hoping to be back by Monday evening, but if Nancy hasn't given birth by then, I was wanting to stay with her. But I don't want Samantha to miss anymore school then she has too. I can arrange for a family member to bring her back to New York, but she will need a babysitter."
"I would be honored to keep an eye on her as long as you need me too." Neal replied. "I'm sure Elizabeth would be all too happy to help out while I'm working."
"Thank you, Neal." June smiled. "I knew I could count on you."
"June." Martha, the maid, said as she entered the room. "The cab is here."
"Thank you Martha."
"I'll get these." Neal said, as he picked up the suitcases. The trio walked outside and to the cab.
"If Samantha has to come back before I do." June said, as they walked. "I expect you to make sure she goes to school on time, they are preparing for their A C T tests."
"Don't worry." Neal assured her. "I will make sure Sammy behaves herself."
"Who's going to make sure you behave yourself?" The young girl asked.
"We can keep each other out of trouble." Neal replied.
They said their goodbyes, then Neal went back into the house. Martha was leaving as he entered.
"You have the weekend off?" Neal asked, as he held the door for her.
"Yes."
"Have a wonderful weekend." Neal smiled.
"You too." She returned the smile.
After Martha left, Neal headed upstairs to his room. He was halfway up the stairs, when he realized that the house would be empty the next evening. He quickly pulled out his cell phone.
"Hello." The voice on the other end said.
"Hey, Trent." Neal said, as he continued up the stairs. "I have a perfect place for the card game."
/
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The next day, Neal was feeling guilty. He knew June wouldn't object to him having friends over for a friendly game of cards, she had often told him that he had free run of the entire house. And that his room was his, that he could do whatever he wanted to.
But he knew she would be upset if she found out he was planning on having an illegal high stakes poker game with several known felons. He was really considering calling Trent to cancel, when he heard the doorbell ring.
"Too late now." He said, as he went to answer the door.
After everyone showed up, Neal led them upstairs and to his room. Soon they were smoking cigars, drinking wine, and playing cards. Neal's guilty feeling lingered with him throughout the night, but he ignored it and found that he was really enjoying the game. Especially when he walked away from the table, seven thousand dollars richer.
"Not bad kid." One of the men said. "How about joining us again next week, at my place."
"Sure." Neal said with a smirk. "If you want to lose more of your money."
"We'll see who loses their money." The man said with a chuckle.
Soon everyone except Neal and Trent had gone.
"You better watch it playing cards at Benton's place." Trent warned Neal. "He has a tendency of cheating when he has the home court advantage, and he has a long and nasty mean streak."
"Don't worry, Trent." Neal flashed a radiant smile. "I know what I'm doing."
"Famous last words, man." Trent chuckled. "See you later."
"Will you be at Benton's?"
"Yeah."
/
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Neal laid in bed that night, his mind whirling with thoughts. He enjoyed the game, but the guilty feeling had gotten worse. He knew that what he did was wrong, that it could land him back in prison. But that wasn't the main source of the guilty feeling. The main source was because he betrayed June's and Peter's trust.
Peter trusted him, somewhat, to stay out of trouble. He had stuck his neck out for Neal more then once in order to keep him out of prison. Peter was trying his hardest to keep the younger man on his team, to keep him as part of his family. Neal had put all of that in jeopardy just so he could play a stupid game of cards.
And June trusted him to take care of her house while she was away. June had taken him in and treated him like a son. Neal hadn't thought about it before, but he thought about it now. If the game had been raided, June could have gotten in trouble.
Neal made a decision, he was not going to the game the following week. It wasn't worth all of the trouble it could cause. With his mind somewhat at ease, Neal drifted off to sleep.
/
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Monday morning, Neal walked into the bureau. He had tried to contact Benton on Sunday to tell him that he would not be at the poker game, but had not been able to catch him. He had also tried calling Trent, but he did not return his calls.
Neal stopped walking and looked around the room, wondering what was going on. Everyone was either on the phone, rushing back and forth, typing feverishly on a computer, or all three.
"Neal." Neal looked up and saw Peter standing on the catwalk. The older man pointed two fingers at him, then waved him over with the same fingers. Dodging hurried agents, Neal made his way up the stairs and into Peter's office.
"What going on?" Neal asked.
"We've got a missing agent and teenage girl." Peter said, worry evident in his voice. "Agent Evan Gilmore was under deep cover, trying to infiltrate a counterfeiting scam. He missed his last two scheduled contacts, then this morning he called for backup. He said that his cover had been blown. That was the last we heard from him. About fifteen minutes after the call, his fourteen-year-old daughter was kidnapped from her home. Three men broke into the house and grabbed her, after locking her Mother in a closet."
"What can I do?"
"What do you know about a man named Joseph Benton? Right now all we know is that he has a set of engraving plates and a press, but not the paper. Evan was undercover as a disgruntle government employee who wanted more money, and who was willing to sell the paper to Benton."
"Joseph Benton?" Neal asked in surprise.
"You know him?"
"We've meet."
"How?"
Neal sighed, he had to tell Peter the whole truth. Two lives depended on it.
"I ran into a former friend at an art opening." Neal said. "He invited me to a high stakes poker game, Benton was one of the players. After the game, Benton invited me to play at his place on Saturday, I accepted. But I tried calling him yesterday to cancel."
"Danmit Neal." Peter growled angrily. "Are you that eager to go back to prison?"
"It was just a card game." Neal defended his actions, even though he knew the defense was weak.
"It was an illegal card game." Peter pointed out, glaring at the younger man.
"I know." Neal sighed, returning the glare. "And that had never bothered me before. But since I met you, El, and June, I've grown a conscious. I've been feeling guilty since before the game."
"Good." Peter said.
Before Neal could respond, his phone rung.
"It's Benton." He said, after checking the caller id.
"Tell him you heard about the counterfeiting scam and that you want in on it." Peter said. "Tell him that you have rag paper."
Neal nodded, then answered the phone.
"This is Neal." He said.
"Hey card shark." Benton's voice said. "I was returning your calls."
"I was hoping we could do a little business together." Neal said.
"What kind of business?"
"Word is that you are in need of high quality, government issued, rag paper."
"Where did you hear that?" Benton's voice sounded suspicious.
"I have sources."
"I have heard great things about you, Caffrey. But I have also heard that you are sleeping with the FBI."
"Only the prettier ones."
"Nice try." Then the phone went dead.
"It didn't work." Neal said, hanging up. "He knows I work with you."
"Peter." Jones said, as he stepped into the office. "Agent Gilmore was found unconscious in an alley and rushed to the hospital. He's in critical condition, someone gave him a pretty bad beating."
"Any news about his daughter?" Peter asked, as him and Neal stood.
"No."
The three men started to leave the office, but Peter grabbed Neal's arm and stopped him.
"The conversation about your boneheaded activities is far from over." Peter said.
"I figured that." Neal sighed.
"But I am proud of you for coming clean right off the bat after hearing about Agent Gilmore and his daughter. Pretty soon that conscious of yours might actually prevent you from pulling stupid stunts instead of just making you feel guilty afterwards." Then he walked off.
Neal watched him go with a smile on his face. He never really cared if anyone was proud of him before, only that they were impressed with his skill. But he knew that pride and admiration were two different things, he thought he liked the pride more.
/
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TBC
I promise the next update will be sooner then the last one.
