Chapter 3
"Peter!" El said as she shook her husband. "Wake up!"
"W-What?" replied a groggy Peter. He had only gotten to sleep an hour ago. He had been searching for Neal since his anklet had been recovered earlier that afternoon. It had only been when Hughes had ordered him home around two o'clock in the morning that Peter had arrived home and had slipped into bed waking El in the process.
"I heard Satch barking downstairs…check it out…please?" requested his wife anxiously.
Peter sighed as he struggled out of bed snagging his robe as he went. "Satch…quiet boy," he said in a low voice when he heard what his dog had. Someone was knocking at the door.
Peter cautiously peered through the side window to discover Neal leaning against the door and opened the door quickly catching Neal as he fell forward.
"EL!" Peter shouted up the stairs. "It's Neal and he's hurt…come quickly!"
Peter closed and locked the door before returning his attention to his kid bother, friend and partner.
El was there minutes after hearing that Neal was hurt and when she appeared Peter blurted out, "El, he is burning up! Help me get him to the couch."
"I think he would be better if we get him to his room," advised Elizabeth as she helped Peter pull Neal to his feet but Neal was exhausted from traveling so far on foot and having to deal with a fever as well made him unable to give them his extra help but eventually El and Peter were able to maneuver Neal up the stairs and onto his bed where they learned by mistake where he was hurting.
As soon as his backside hit the bed Neal yelled out in pain and frantically tried to roll away…."YEEEOOOOWWWWWW," he had screamed as he struggled to get out of Peter's grasp.
"Roll him over on his side or stomach, Peter," cried El who understood quicker than her husband who only held him with shock at his screaming but when he complied he saw as his wife did that someone must have beaten his friend viciously to cause that kind of reaction.
"I'll go and get some cool cloths; you check him for injuries," directed Elizabeth pointedly as she left to give them some privacy.
Peter nodded and quickly unbuttoned Neal's pants noting for the first time that the belt was missing. It was after he gently pulled the pants down to discover the missing underwear that his concern and apprehension
grew; but it was when he couldn't see any visible signs of injuries that full
understanding flooded his being and he leaned down to ask, "Neal was use a rubber hose on you?" He knew that that particular instrument, which had been outlawed since the installation of the Miranda Rights, could cause this type of reaction Neal was exhibiting without leaving any visible signs of abuse.
Neal nodded; "Y-yes, and it was u-used repeatedly from my s-shoulders down," he sobbed with exhaustion and pain.
Before Peter could do anything more El was back and with her she brought cooling cloths and the first aid kit. "Where is he hurt?" she asked as she noticed that Peter hadn't progressed very far in his assessment of their friend's injuries.
"El, a rubber hose was used on him; there won't be any visible signs of abuse. A rubber hose was used repeatedly in the old days to force a confession from suspects; it was outlawed with the installation of the Miranda Rights in the late sixties; obviously someone has reinstated it on Neal. and has used it so much that it has caused him to have this fever," Peter explained quietly as Neal slept fitfully.
El looked with horror at Neal as understanding of what he went through that afternoon. "Come on lets get him into bed while he's unable to be embarrassed further."
Peter nodded and between the two of them they stripped him of his remaining clothing and slid him between the cool sheets being sure to place him on his stomach. It was when El began to pick up his clothing that she asked, "Peter, where are Neal's boxers?"
"He wasn't wearing any; my guess is that they were removed so that the rubber hose could be applied directly on his skin…to cause Neal more pain," Peter explained as he faced his wife.
"I'll be back with a glass of water and some painkillers; maybe they will allow him some relief while he sleeps," El said before leaving with the soiled clothing.
Peter nodded and pulled up a comfortable chair to sit by his "kid brother" while he slept. He didn't know who did this to Neal but he knew that Neal came to him and El for protection and he wasn't about to leave him now.
Neal woke up just as El was entering the room; he had been in the throes of a nightmare when with a shout he woke. "Neal, it was only a dream," comforted Peter as he embraced the younger man. "Here is El with a painkiller…take it and get some relief," he added as Elizabeth held out the drug and a glass of water.
"Neal you've had these before; in fact they are your prescription from the last time you were injured," explained El as he shyly took the proffered capsules. Neal quickly placed them in his mouth to swallow with several sips of water.
"Thanks, El…Peter for being here for me; there is no other place that I knew I would be safe except here with you," he said as the powerful narcotic took over and he closed his eyes.
Elizabeth and Peter watched him as he drifted off to a drug induced sleep before leaving him momentarily to carry on their conversation out in the hall. "Did he say who did this to him?" El asked angrily.
"No…all he told me was that he had been stuck repeatedly with a rubber hose and all over his back area…from shoulders down. He's in a world of hurt, El; rubber hoses hurt but the reason they were in great demand was that they could be used as harshly as it took to get a suspect to confess without leaving a visible sign as obviously they have been used on Neal," explained Peter in any angered whisper.
"What are you going to do?" El asked worriedly.
"Well, until we find out what happened and more importantly who is responsible he will be staying here with us. He feels safe here with us and he's going to stay here for as long as it takes. I'll drop off tomorrow and pick up some of his clothing…you can babysit until I get back. Then when he is able I'm going to take him to be checked out. While a beating with a rubber hose doesn't leave any visible abuse it can cause damage to the body nonetheless and by having a doctor check him over and take x-rays that damage can be documented for when we do apprehend the ones responsible. I will, of course, apprise Hughes of the developments and get his status as fugitive updated. He will have to have another anklet be replaced but for now I'm going back to sit with him and you need to get some sleep as well…we both will have a full day ahead of us," concluded Peter.
When Neal opened his eyes the next morning he was a bit confused to his location or the fact that he was sleeping on his stomach but when he rolled over the reason was made known and he groaned.
"Neal? Are you okay?" asked El who had been sitting with him while Peter was away.
"No…I hurt," replied Neal as he tried to keep his tears at bay due to El's presence but soon found that an impossibility as El drew closer.
"Don't hold them for me, honey. Peter explained what was done to you and I understand," she comforted as she ran her fingers through his hair as she tried to calm him.
After a few minutes Neal asked, "W-where is P-Peter?"
"At the office talking with Hughes about getting your status as a fugitive removed and to get a replacement anklet. He's already been to June's to get you somemore clothing…he took yours with him so that they could be checked over for clues to where they were holding you," she replied gently not wanting to alarm him further.
"I know where I was held; I recognized the surroundings when I escaped," volunteered Neal as he brought his tears to an end, "and it was Detective Macy and two of his officers who kidnapped me; although they weren't the ones who used the rubber hose on me."
"Let me call Peter and you can tell him all you know; that is if you are able," added El before calling.
"I can talk; I want to help any way I can to put Macy away for his treatment
of me," replied Neal a bit stronger.
"I'll get you my cellphone; we didn't find yours?" offered El as she left to retrieve hers.
6
