Author's notes: This is a long one, twice the length of my usual chapters.
Part 4 – Homeward Bound
Peter realised that Neal was right, tracking anklets chaffed. He absent-mindedly used one foot to rub against the other and winced as he knocked the anklet against his skin. El had screeched with delight and hugged him tight when he turned up on the doorstep flanked by marshals. He had only been home a few hours during which she cooked him lunch and they indulged in each other. It would be perfect, if not for the stupid anklet and the looming threat of his indictment hearing.
There was a knock at the door and El moved to answer it, letting one Clinton Jones in.
"Hey, Peter," Jones said, standing tall and ready for orders. Peter gave him a quick hug, having missed contact with people, and greeted him.
"Hey, Jones, what have you got for me?"
"Not much I'm afraid," Jones responded, deflating slightly. Peter frowned. Something was wrong. Something other than him being framed and James Bennett disappearing into the wind.
El had been off all day, like there was something she was hiding from him. He had ignored it, because he had missed her but, he couldn't ignore a similar feeling from one of his agents.
"Where's Neal?" Peter asked, because this reaction from the people in his life usually had to do with something Neal did.
"James Bennett is still missing," Jones reported instead, "and Ellen's evidence has vanished as well."
"What? But Neal-" Peter stopped. Neal had the evidence. Peter connected the pieces into some very bad pictures. "Where's Neal?" he asked again, praying that the young conman wasn't dead. James wouldn't kill his son over the evidence, would he?
"Official story is that he ran," Jones announced, "but, the same day you were arrested and James vanished, Neal disappeared. Diana's looking into the possibility that Bennett might have done something to him but she's not having any luck and the marshals refuse to listen to us when we mention the possibility."
"He's been missing a week?" Peter questioned in horror. He glanced back at El and she nodded with a frown on her face. "Has anyone contacted Mozzie?"
"Oh, he knows," Jones said, "he's started referring to us as 'Feds' instead of 'Suits' and berating us for not putting everything into finding Neal."
"So, Mozzie believes Neal didn't run?" Peter checked.
"He's been trying to track Neal down himself, but he's not sharing what he finds."
El sighed.
"He hasn't found anything," she said, "he's certain that James is behind this but has no idea how he did it or where he took Neal." She paused before adding, in a soft voice, "he doesn't even know if Neal's alive."
Peter's mouth dropped open. If Mozzie couldn't find anything, then what chance did they have?
"He looks like he hasn't slept in days either," El continued, "he's been trying to visit every day, to keep me company, as well as trying to find Neal."
"I don't like this," Peter said. Something about it felt wrong. Like his release.
In fact, his release hadn't been a choice. Contracts were thrown in his face for him to sign and he was sent on his way.
James shot him. Neal felt the ground, blacking out as the tranq worked its way through his system. He had come to, tied to a chair and in an unknown warehouse. James stood by as someone else, a man in a suit, questioned him about the evidence. What was so important about it to warrant torture?
There had been a pattern, hanging on the wall, a symbol. It sent a shot of pain through Neal's head. It felt like his brain was reaching for something that it wasn't able to access. The Intersect that made him believe he was Neal Caffrey also included a block to keep him from flashing on anything in the Intersect 2.0. Neal would sometimes have 'flashes' of insight but they weren't the same as the flashes Chuck had. And the man who was questioning him, he knew he was dangerous. Neal knew his name and who he worked for, which Bryce couldn't recall.
"I think he has an Intersect," the man realised as Neal tried to shake off whatever had happened. "In that case, this just got easier."
Then, in glimpses of images, pain, shooting pain as the Intersect that housed Neal Caffrey was dismantled, bit by bit.
Bryce shot awake as the plane landed in New York.
The taxi pulled up in front of Neal's listed residence and Chuck, Sarah and Bryce got out.
"I lived here?" Bryce questioned, looking up at the large, multi-story house. He supposed it felt familiar but, he was over-thinking things.
"Nice digs," Chuck praised.
"The owner's name is June Ellington," Sarah informed them, "she might know something about what happened to you."
Bryce was nervous about this but kept his face impassive. He needed to put his personal feelings about this aside and focus on helping Peter. And part of that was finding out what had happened to him that had ended with him outside the Burbank Buy More.
Bryce took off the cap and sunglasses that were hiding his face. The General had pulled some strings to get him past airport security and call off the watch on June's residence.
"So, how are we going to do this?" Chuck asked, "introduce ourselves as CIA or what?"
"We'll follow your lead," Sarah said to Bryce. In any other mission, Bryce would have been okay with that. But, here, he had no idea what he was going to do or how he was going to react. He was winging it.
"Mr. Neal!" the maid gasped when she opened the door. "You shouldn't be here, what if they caught you?" Bryce smiled at her worry for him. Now that the door was open, a real sense of home was hitting him.
"Maids, this place has real maids!" Chuck whispered in an excited voice.
"Is June in?" Bryce asked.
"Yes! Come in, I'll get her for you." The inside was even more amazing than the outside. The furnishings were expensive but not cluttering. The place had a real sense of style.
"I can't believe you lived here!" Chuck said in his high-pitched, excited voice.
"I don't understand it either," Sarah commented, "the FBI only has seven hundred dollars to house Neal with and the CIA had no knowledge of you being here. There's no way you could have afforded this place."
"I would have taken less," June announced, walking down the stairs. "Neal became like a son to me."
"June," Bryce deduced. The woman gave off a warm atmosphere and was moved like she owned the place.
"It's good to see you," she said, smiling at him. "Although, I'm curious as to how you managed to sneak past the watch outside."
"Ms. Ellington, do you mind if we talk?" Sarah asked, sensing the way Bryce seemed to hesitate.
"Of course, dear," June responded, "come, take a seat. Would you like some tea?"
"No, thank you," Sarah responded with Chuck and Bryce saying something to the same effect.
Bryce decided to treat this like business and not a chance for him to recall things.
"June, this is Sarah and Chuck Carmichael. They're here to help me clear Peter's name. In order to do that, we need to know what happened before I vanished."
"Neal doesn't recall the events leading up to his disappearance," Sarah explained, "and we won't explain the state we found him in, just that it wasn't good."
June glanced at Bryce and frowned slightly.
"I see." Her tea arrived that moment and she distracted herself with it for a moment. As she stirred, she looked over the three people sitting across from her. "Neal has immunity for any criminal acts he may have done?"
"That is correct," Sarah responded.
June glanced at Bryce again before speaking.
"As far as I know, there was an evidence box hidden in the Empire State Building. A woman close to Neal collected it. It contained evidence about a dirty cop division."
Ellen. Bryce realised. She must have been looking into his father. He had contacted her as Neal a few times, since she had been the one to tell him about his past and he couldn't tell her about being CIA. He had known about being in Witsec for years, since the marshals had changed his and his mother's names when he was a teenager; which was when he became 'Bryce Larkin', but he hadn't know about his father's corrupt past until Ellen had told him when he turned eighteen. And, in return, Bryce's mother had told her that he had run away, instead of telling her the truth about him being at Stanford.
He hadn't realised that the Intersect would use pieces of his past to create Neal's history.
"A dirty cop division?" Chuck questioned, interested.
June smiled at him.
"That's correct," she said, "Neal and Peter amassed quite the little crew in order to retrieve it."
"What happened?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah. Did they find it?"
"Yes and no," June responded, "they found it and Neal had it but..."
"But?" Chuck prodded when she trailed off.
"But, one of the crew came by," June said, "he and Neal exchanged words and he left. Neal followed after him and then, he was gone."
"Who was it?" Sarah said. When June hesitated, she added, "please, it could be important."
"Real names aren't often exchanged before a heist, Mrs. Carmichael."
"Was it James?" Bryce asked, breaking his silence since the start of June's story.
"Yes," June responded, "James Bennett. Neal, just how much-"
Bryce didn't stay to listen to the rest of it. He was up and moving, needing to get away, get some air.
Sarah and Chuck shared looks. Something about this had shaken Bryce up and they didn't have any idea what it was. Neal was just a cover the CIA created and Bryce didn't even remember his last four or so years as Neal so, why was he disturbed by the name of someone in Neal's life?
"How much does he remember?" June asked.
"We're not at liberty to discuss that," Sarah responded.
"Then, I'm afraid I have to end this discussion," June responded, standing up.
"Um, before that, could you tell us who James Bennett is?" Chuck asked as he mirrored her movement.
"If Neal wants you to know, he will tell you," June responded.
"Well, thank you, Ms Ellington," Sarah started. She didn't finish because Chuck she lost her trail of thought when Chuck moved out of the room and after Bryce.
Bryce's feet carried him up the stairs, marking out a path that he had traversed a number of times even if he didn't remember it. He didn't pause in Neal's apartment, just went straight for the terrace.
James Bennett, his birth father. The man he had no intention of ever meeting. He hadn't needed his father since he had his mother and Ellen. There had been Chuck and Sarah. Even Peter the FBI agent counted.
Bryce just couldn't understand why James was in Neal's life.
"Bryce?" Chuck's voice sounded through the apartment and out to him. It was hesitant but strong.
"Sorry, Chuck," Bryce said, turning away from the amazing voice of New York to face his friend. "I just needed to get out there."
Chuck hesitated for a moment. Then asked, "what does the name 'James Bennett' mean to you?"
"Chuck, you know what I know. The man's a Ring 'fixer', that's all."
"Really? 'Cause I don't believe that." Silence.
"Sorry, he 'was' a Ring fixer," Bryce said after a moment. He had read the files detailing how Team Bartowski brought down the Ring. Even so, they had missed a few members in their clean up.
Why did James Bennett have to be one of the people they missed?
"He contacted my mother once," Bryce said to Chuck, taking a seat at the table inside the apartment. He smiled at the curious look on Chuck's face and the questions forming on his friend's open expressions. "I didn't know it was him at the time. I didn't find out until Stanford. James Bennett turned up on our doorstep, she slammed the door in his face and made me drive her to the police station. Next thing I know, we have five minutes to pack, an armed escort and new identities in Connecticut."
"New, new identities?" Chuck stammered.
"My birth name was Neal Bennett," Bryce said, waiting for Chuck to connect the dots. He could see the instant his friend made the connection; his mouth opened in a surprised little 'o' and his head moved up slightly.
"Um... do you, do you prefer-"
"I prefer Bryce. Intersect aside," because it seems the Intersect made him forget how content he was with his identity. "I've always preferred my second Witsec name. I had it the longest and it's the name I used at Stanford and the name I joined the CIA with."
Chuck took a moment to process this and then nodded.
"Yeah, I get it," he said. It was sort of like how Sarah was okay with 'Sarah' rather than her birth name.
"If I hadn't needed to vanish," Bryce sighed. "I wouldn't have even used Neal Caffrey. But, Neal was possibly the only identity the Ring didn't know about and the only identity which was watched by an agent." Bryce saw the question on Chuck's face and answered it before he could ask it. "Most of my missions using Neal Caffrey's identity were overseen by a senior agent. This senior agent was unofficially assigned to watch over me the past four, almost five, years as Neal in case the Ring caught on. That way, Neal wasn't defenceless."
"And making a deal with the FBI didn't hurt," Chuck said. Bryce's forehead creased as he recalled reading about that in the files.
"That wasn't part of the plan," Bryce said, "the plan was for Neal to leave prison and vanish, not to get mixed up in the FBI. Kate's disappearance must have complicated things." Neal's hunt for Kate has also been recorded in Peter's reports, along with her death almost a year in. Bryce couldn't understand it. Sure, he had romanced Kate but, she had been an asset. The weekly visits Peter commented on were mostly Agent Winters forging her signature and leaving a trail to keep the Neal alias active.
The Intersect must have taken those pieces from Bryce's memories and used them to create a romantic past for Neal with Kate. And that fictional past was strong enough for Neal to escape when Kate, finally, came to break up with him.
That was Bryce's theory, at least.
"You boys done?" Sarah asked, poking her head in the door. "'Cause we need to stake out the Burkes'."
"Already?" Chuck questioned, sounding disappointed. Bryce felt the same.
"Peter was released on parole today," she reminded them, "if Bennett really is a 'fixer' then he'll need to tie up loose ends."
Chuck sighed.
Bryce bit his lip. He hated this plan as it put Peter and Elizabeth in danger.
Elizabeth? When had he started thinking of Peter's wife by her first name?
