Max stood outside the barn, leaning against a tree, and puked. She had never seen someone get killed before, she had never even seen a dead body before in real life.
"You okay?" Her Uncle's voice was soft and held concern, but it made her jump and spin around anyway.
She glared at him, "You just killed someone!" She shouted. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Watch your tone young lady." Garret said, his voice stern. "I will not tolerate disrespectfulness."
"You killed a man and you are lecturing me on being respectful?" Max asked.
"I told you this was a bad idea." A man said, walking over to them. Max had seen him several times before, her uncle had introduced him as Evan Parks.
"Stay out of this." Max snapped. Then she faced her Uncle. "Is that the real reason Burke and his team have you under surveillance? Because you're a cold blooded killer."
Garret reached out and grabbed her upper arm, then he gently but firmly turned her around and landed five hard swats to her jean clad butt. The swats made her yelp and had her eyes slightly watering. The short spanking did the trick, Max stood still and started to calm down some.
"I'm sorry Uncle Garret." She said, softly. "I had no right yelling at you, or insulting you."
"It's okay, Maxi." Garret's voice was soft once again. "I know this is a lot to take it. But time is short, we need to act fast or we stand a chance of losing a lot of money.
"Will anyone get hurt in the con?" She wanted to know.
"We need to take Burke and Caffrey out of the equation." Garret said.
"No." She said, shaking her head. "You can't kill them."
"We need them out of the picture."
"I'll get them out." She said, forming a plan in her head. "Let me handle them, please. Let me do this my way. I promise that they will not bother you or your deal."
"I don't know, Max." Garret said. "This is an important deal, Parks here has possession of counterfeit plates and rag paper. We can make a lot of money here."
"I know what I'm doing." Max assured him. "I will run them ragged, they won't know which way is up. They will not bother you."
"Okay." Garret smiled. "You take care of Burke and Caffrey, and I will take care of the money. But if you fail, then I will step in and handle them my way."
"Understood." The young girl said, relief evident in her voice. She did not want anyone else killed.
"Go and explore the barn." Garret said. "The body's been moved."
"Okay."
She walked back into the barn and started going through the crates of artifacts. But her mind was not on the vases and statues; it was on what she had seen. She could not believe that her uncle was a cold blooded killer, that he could just kill someone without blinking an eye.
She knew she had to stay on her toes dealing with Burke and Caffrey, she couldn't fail. She couldn't let her Uncle kill them.
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"I don't like this, Harris." Parks said, after Max had walked off. "I have too much riding on this deal to let it be ruined by a kid."
"Don't worry about Max, she'll be okay. She inherited my passion and my temper, she will kill when the time comes. Besides, she can handle Burke and Caffrey without violence. Kid's damn smart."
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When Peter and Neal made it back to FBI headquarters, Hughes summoned them into the conference room. Jones and Cruz were already there.
"What's up?" Peter asked.
"A thousand pounds of US certified rag paper was stolen." Hughes said.
"How about plates?' Neal wanted to know.
"No, but those are easier to come by then the paper. My guess is that someone already has them."
"Any idea who?" Peter asked.
"Top of the suspect list is Evan Parks, a known associate of Garret Harris. We need Maxine, get her to turn on her……."
"No." Neal said, cutting the older man off.
"Stay out of this Caffrey."
"No, you can not try to force Maxine to turn on her Uncle."
"It's the only option." Hughes said through gritted teeth.
"It's not right!" Neal shouted angrily.
"You have no say in this matter!" Hughes shouted.
"I won't let you do that to her." Neal said his voice low.
"Look Caffrey….." Hughes started, but Neal cut him off.
"You look." Neal said, his voice almost a growl. "To Maxine, her Uncle is a hero. She was a throw away kid, someone no one wanted. But now she has family, she has someone who wants her. You don't know what it feels like to walk through the world feeling all alone. Starting a new school and having the other kids whisper and point. Some of the kids won't play with you because they know you don't have parents, and to them that is just plain weird. Then the other kids won't be your friends because they don't want people calling them weird, or because their parents won't let them."
Neal's voice had turned softer as he spoke. "You don't know what it feels like to sat on the school steps and watch all of the other kids playing and having fun, and knowing that you can't join them. Knowing that you're not welcomed. Or what it feels like to watch parents drop their kids off and give them a hug and tell them to have a good day, and knowing that no one cares if you have a good day or not."
Neal stopped talking for a moment, he could feel hot tears building up behind his eyes and tried to blink them away. His voice was thick with emotion. "I know that Harris is a psychopath that has to be stopped. But Maxine is just a little kid. She knows that without Harris, she'll be thrown back into the same system that let her get almost raped. You can not make her choose, there is no right chose for her. Either chose will destroy her.
If she chooses her Uncle, then more people die, she will blame herself. She will carry that burden with her for the rest of her life, knowing that someone is dead because of her. If she chooses to turn him over, then she'll have to live with the fact that she is responsible for her Uncle being thrown in jail.
I know one day she will have to choose, one day she will have to decide weather or not she wants to follow in his footsteps. But that day is not today. The scars are still too fresh, the wounds too deep. Give her time to get her bearings, time to truly understand that there are options out there."
Everyone in the room was staring at Neal in surprise.
"Alright." Hughes said, "We still need to find Maxine though. Even if Harris isn't a threat to her, Parks is. We need to get her to safety, but we won't question her about her Uncle."
Neal nodded, then left the room in a hurry. He could feel the tears start to roll down his cheeks and did not want anyone to see him cry. Peter was right behind him.
"Hey Neal." Peter called out. "Wait up."
Neal stopped, but did not turn around.
"I need a minute, Peter." Neal said.
"Okay." Peter said. "But remember that I'm here if you need me."
"Thanks."
Peter watched him walk away, then he went back into the conference room. He was really worried about the younger man.
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Neal went to the men's room and splashed cool water on his face, and gained control of his emotions. He looked into the mirror at his reflection.
"Get a grip Neal." He told his reflection. "This is just a case, nothing more. No need to dredge up old memories. The past is the past, this is the present."
Neal grabbed a paper towel and dried his face, then he plastered a smile on his face and walked out of the bathroom.
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The next morning, Peter was walking down the stairs when he heard a knock on the front door. He hurried the rest of the way down and opened the door, there were two police officers standing on the steps.
"Can I help you?" Peter asked.
"We are looking for Peter Burke." One of them said.
"I'm Peter Burke."
"Sir, please turn around and interlock your hands behind your head." The officer said, resting his hand on his gun butt.
"Why?" Peter asked in confusion.
"You are under arrest, now do what I said." The officer took out his cuffs.
"Under what charges?" Peter asked.
"Impersonating a federal agent, grand theft auto, and attempted kidnapping." The officer said. "Now do as I said." His voice turned hard.
"I am a Federal Agent." Peter said, annoyed. "What is the meaning of this?"
The officer pulled his gun and aimed it at Peter. "I will not ask you again."
Peter didn't know if the man had an itchy trigger finger, so he turned around and laced his hands behind his head.
The officer quickly cuffed him, while reading him his rights.
"This is a mistake." Peter said, really mad. "I am an FBI Agent, my id is inside."
"We've heard about that id." The officer said. "Now let's go."
"Peter." Elizabeth said, coming to the door and looking shocked. "What's going on?"
"These idiots are arresting me." Peter said. "Call Hughes, he'll straighten it out."
Elizabeth nodded as she watched her husband being lead away in cuffs.
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Peter was sitting on a cot in a small jail cell, and he was furious. He had been sitting there for over an hour.
"Well well well." A familiar voice said. Peter looked up and saw a smirking Neal and a serious Hughes.
"It's strange seeing you on that side of the bars, Peter." Neal said, enjoying the sight before him. "And all this time I thought you were a law abiding citizen, not a bad boy."
"Did you have to bring him, Sir?" Peter asked Hughes.
An officer came in and opened the cell. "You're free to go Agent Burke, we apologize for the inconvenience."
"Inconvenience?' Peter asked, through gritted teeth. "I…."
"They were doing their job, Peter." Hughes said. "Come on, I'll explain what happened
As the three men walked out of the station, Hughes started talking. "Someone hacked into their computer system and issued a warrant for your arrest. Said that you showed a fake badge to a little girl, then tried to pull her into a van. Some neighbors heard the commotion and started chasing you, your path to the van was blocked. So you stole a car and made your getaway."
"Harris must've put Maxine up to doing it." Peter said, still very mad.
"Doesn't really sound like Harris." Neal said. "He would have just had you killed."
"Caffrey's right." Hughes said. "Something's not right."
They made it to the parking lot and to Hughes car, there was a note under the windshield wiper. Peter's name was wrote on it. He took it and then read it out loud.
"Today was a warning. You were only arrested, but tomorrow I may type in a shoot to kill order. Hugs and kisses Max."
"I am really starting to like this kid." Neal said, laughing.
"It's not funny, Neal." Peter growled.
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TBC I want to thank everyone for the reviews and for the author and story alerts. I promise to have more soon. Please let me know what you think. I love feedback.