Chapter 4
Peter spent the night at Chuck's place. He met Sarah, Chuck's wife and co-owner of their business. He didn't ask where Mozzie went and the little guy just disappeared after looking around the two story house with the picket fence.
The doorbell rang at five in the morning. It continuously buzzed until everyone was up. Mozzie pushed his way into the house, declaring that he had a plan.
"Go to DC and talk to your friend," Sarah said. "That's the plan. I don't know why you need us."
"Because we're going up against the FBI. To beat an alphabet agency, you go to an alphabet agency."
Peter swallowed down a flash of panic. Chuck's group were not only spies but government spies; for the sake of plausible deniability, he didn't want to know which government yet. What was Mozzie getting him into? He hoped it would be as simple as going to DC and getting Neal's custody transferred back over to him.
"It shouldn't be that difficult," Sarah explained, brushing a blond lock out of her eyes. "We can just throw some weight around until something happens."
"That's Sarah's job," Chuck explained, half-asleep on the table. "She'll go in and attempt to make the change."
"Time to pack our bags then," Sarah said. "Flight leaves in five hours. No non-stops so be prepared. We're going to be travelling for at least seven hours."
"Should have used some of the money to buy a private jet," Chuck muttered in a low grumble. Peter shared the sentiment. He also wasn't looking forward to spending so much time on a plane and in airports.
The second day went a little smoother than the first. Kramer greeted him and remembered to call him 'Caffrey'. Melissa seemed a little more willing to tell him where things were and Neal managed to finish clearing off the top of the desk they had him working at. He chose to focus on that and not the drawers filled almost to the brim with random items and knickknacks.
The apartment Kramer had Neal in was small and utilitarian. It wasn't as bad as the first place Peter had dropped him off at, however Kramer had forbidden him from moving. Kramer's thinking was that Neal was a spy and so, used to basically living out of a suitcase.
Neal suitcase was still packed, the small wardrobe empty of everything but Neal's dress shirts. He just wore white dress shirts and slacks to work, the kind which could be bought anywhere.
He missed June, his lovely apartment with the wonderful view and Bryon's well-fitting suits.
"I need a distraction," he decided as he looked around. His art supplies were in New York and he hadn't picked any up in DC yet. There was no TV, no bookshelf and not even a window for him to look out of. He grabbed his laptop and put it on the small, square table sitting in the middle of the apartment.
"Agent Larkin? What is it?" Beckman asked the moment the call connected. Had it been anyone else; except a member from Chuck's team, she would have left them waiting.
"Any missions for me?"
"Getting bored of the FBI already?" Beckman commented. It wasn't said in a teasing tone but it was her form of teasing. She typed away, looking for a mission that he could take.
The new anklet felt heavy around his ankle. The urge to run bubbled up in him again.
"Seems there is a mission you can take. In the DC area, there's supposed to be someone named 'Lisa Barrett'. She lives in the area but that's all the information we have about her."
"Why does she have the CIA's attention?" Neal asked.
"We believe she holds a dangerous piece of technology. A weapon which, in the wrong hands, could spell disaster. We need someone to go in and retrieve it."
"It would help to know what it is," Neal probed. Sometimes Beckman could answer the question and sometimes she couldn't.
"I'll send you what I know," Beckman said, signing off. Neal looked at the dark screen for a moment before closing the chat window. The files Beckman sent him detailed a device which looked a little like a thick pen. Except it was designed to plug into power points and computers and overload them to whatever level the user chose through twisting it. It could cause electrical fires, cut alarms and locks, and even cut power to whole buildings.
"That's insane," he muttered, knowing that such a device could be used both to kill and steal. He could have used it while stealing the Intersect. This could have taken out the whole building, burnt the intersect computers to a crisp and provided enough cover for him to get out without being shot.
All in a device the size of a pen. Dangerous. Neal wanted it off the streets. Destroyed if possible.
"Time to find out who you are, Ms Barrett," he mused, starting his search.
"I've extended your radius," Kramer said to him. "Keep that anklet on. We need to be able to track you if something happens."
"Right," Neal said hanging up. Kramer sounded pleased that Neal had found himself a mission to keep busy.
There wasn't much else he could do so he started searching for his target. She frequented a little coffee shop just outside Neal's radius. However, that radius was only for show now. Kramer's word didn't stop Neal from checking the anklet as he moved outside the invisible line. However, the light didn't chance. It seemed the FBI agent had kept his promise to allow Neal freedom for his missions.
"I guess there is one benefit to this new arrangement," he muttered to himself as he continued on to the cafe.
Neal ordered a coffee, pulled out a book and sat at a table. From the one picture the CIA had, Lisa Barrett was a thin and small woman with curly brown hair. She would be difficult to pick out of a crowd because of her height but it was that which made her more recognisable.
He read and kept an eye out as customers came and went. Finally the figure he expected walked through the door. Ms Barrett ordered her afternoon snack and moved to sit down. Neal had already been standing and 'accidentally' bumped into her. Her food fell to the ground, as did Neal's empty coffee cup. The cup shattered and Neal's arms wrapped around Lisa, pulling her slightly away from the shards and helping them keep their balance.
"Sorry!" he said quickly, letting go and stepping back. He eyed the mess on the floor. "I'll pay for that. I can't believe I was so clumsy. And I've already had my coffee for today too."
Lisa sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Whatever. It's fine."
"I insist. Let me replace your meal." Without another word, Neal reordered her meal and then set on clearing up the pieces of his shattered cup safely.
He could see her begin to relax as he moved to give her space and cleaned up the mess instead of flirting with her.
Fifteen minutes later, Neal left with her number and a promise to meet for coffee the next day after work. She would probably look into Benjamin Cooper but she wouldn't find anything that he hadn't already told her. Like how he had worked in politics for a while in New York but had quit and now was in political journalism, uncovering corruption.
