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Chapter 4: Cause and Effect
Kyle laughed over the phone "Temper…temper babe, you shouldn't go shooting off your mouth when someone else's life is on the line," he said as he moved the phone over and a gurgling could be heard. Neal grabbed the edge of the table and held onto it to keep from falling to his knees. "You got a real cute kid Caffrey…" the voice said and knowing who the voice belonged to made Neal's stomach drop further. Everyone was stock still waiting for Neal to respond to the callers. "I swear to God Keller if you or Kyle hurt Jayden in any way I will rip your fucking spines out of your bodies and stab you to death with them is that understood?" Neal growled in a moment of strength. Keller laughed over the phone "I like the passion Caffrey but in all fairness, you don't know where we are or you can't stop me if I do this," he said as he pinched Jayden hard making him cry.
Neal's anger crumbled like an old building. "Don't hurt him…please… what do you want?" Neal pleaded as he fell back into the seat behind him. "As much fun as I'm having I have to go but we'll talk later Caffrey; one of us will call back in two hours with our demands," Keller said before hanging up. The agents sat in silence for a moment before Diana stood up and silently ushered everyone out to give Neal some privacy. Peter hung back to comfort Neal and keep him calm. Keeping everyone calm in the bullpen Diana waited for orders from Peter on what to do next. Looking up into the conference room through the glass walls she wished she could be a fly on the wall.
Peter walked over to Neal and started to put his arms around him only to have him pull away. "You promised me nothing happen to me or Jayden… and now they have him, so how are you going to protect him now?" Neal accused as he advanced on Peter. Ignoring the hurt and angered look on Neal's face Peter put his arms around him and kept him close as he struggled to get away. "I'm going to find him…and those two are going back to jail for the rest of their lives," Peter promised, knowing if he said he promised it would just start another fight so he kept quiet and took the hits to his shoulder and chest from Neal's fists until he calmed down. When Neal finally gave up and let Peter hold him he buried his face in Peter's shoulder to hide from the world. "We're going to get Jayden back…and when he's back you can bring him to work every day until you feel safe again," Peter offered as he pried Neal from his arms and sat him down in a chair.
"I have to get the teams ready for when they call again; Jones will be in here on the computer trying to locate the origin of the call so you'll have to keep calm and keep them talking," Peter said going into an authoritative tone. Neal gave a small smile as Peter tried to deal with his worries. "You do a better job consoling as a lover because as an FBI agent you're not very good at it," Neal said as he looked up from where he was sitting. Peter ruffled Neal's hair and left him for a moment to get his agents ready. Diana walked up to Peter as he left the conference room. "Jones tried to trace the call… it was a burn phone boss… but he is going to keep trying and he said he'll be ready for the next call, so how is Neal doing?" she asked looking around Peter's shoulder at Neal sitting alone.
Peter glanced back for a moment. "Well he's scared for Jayden and he's mad at me… I promised him nothing would happen to him or Jayden and now that something has happened, I don't know if he trusts me as much as he used to," Peter said as he walked down the stairs to his future brother in law. "Nick I want you and Dante to go to my and Neal's place and look for clues, keep the police out of this and any reporters… you have my permission to do what you have to, just try to stay out of jail," Peter said as he kept his voice down. Nick nodded and left with his cousin both talking quickly in Italian as they left the office. Looking at the clock above the door Peter saw only two minutes had passed and yet it felt like an eternity had passed. Trying to figure out what to do next, he was lost when it was someone else he was helping it was easy but when it hit so close to home he couldn't remember how to do anything.
Walking back into the conference room Peter ignored Jones as he set up the tracer on the phone and made his way over to Neal and sat beside him on the floor where he had taken refuge from everyone's gaze. "I want to go home," Neal said softly as he put his head against Peter's shoulder. Just then the glass door was pushed open and Hughes walked in with the head of the DOJ. "Burke what the hell is going on? Why is everyone is running around pulling files and pushing desks together for?" Hughes asked as he walked closer. Peter got to his feet and closed the gap. "Kyle and Keller broke into our house this morning and kidnapped Jayden… they called not too long ago to gloat about it and they said they would call back in two hours with their demands," Peter said as he filled his boss in on the situation.
Both men looked at Neal for a moment before looking back at Peter. "So do you have any ideas on what they could be after?" Hughes asked looking at his agent. Peter shrugged his shoulders. "I stopped asking that question a long time ago, things aren't as black and white in their world, all I know is that whatever…It… is Neal will give it up in a heartbeat just to have Jayden back," Peter said lowering his voice a bit.
Finally the eternal wait was over as Neal got off the floor and walked over to the table as the phone began to ring. Neal reached forward and hit the speaker phone. "I told you we would be calling back…now before your little FBI friends can try and trace this we'll get to the point…we want the Nazi treasure and we want it in one hour or something bad might happen to your kid," Keller said a smirk evident in his voice. Neal was about to speak when Peter cut him off.
"We don't make deals with kidnappers and you're not getting anything from us no matter what you threaten," he said trying to keep his voice from giving away his fear; he could feel Neal's eyes boring into him with anger. "Agent Burke… you got a lot of balls saying that, I wonder how a child will take a thumb tack jammed into his chubby little leg." Keller mused; a second later everyone's ears were assaulted by an unearthly bawling of a child in pain. Neal covered his ears "Stop! I'll give you the treasure just stop!" Neal yelled as loud as he could. The phone moved away from Jayden "Fine… Caffrey you have one hour to get the treasure ready, I'll be calling your cell with the location of the drop after your hour is over and if we see any FBI agents or even lover boy Burke we get to test the theory on do babies bounce when dropped from the roof of a skyscraper," Keller said before he hung up.
Neal felt his anger explode; grabbing the edge of the table he flipped it over. In the confusion Neal disappeared like smoke in the wind. Peter reached around his neck and found the chain with the warehouse key was missing. "Damn it Neal…" he mumbled feeling a small smile on his lips from the nostalgic feeling of Neal doing something stupid and he would have to play hero. Hughes turned on Peter and stared at him like an old junk yard dog. "Burke… do you realize that treasure cannot be handed over; its millions of dollars worth of history that could disappear in a matter of minutes. I will not be known as the man that let our record be ruined for crazed kidnappers," he said his voice raising an octave.
"I told you sir, Neal would do anything to get Jayden back, in his head nothing else matters… he could look at four more years and jail and it wouldn't scare him away. If you thought his escape from jail was crazy you haven't seen anything yet," Peter said as he left the room and walked over to where Diana and Jones had set up a small station. "Neal's anklet shows him going straight for the warehouse district by June's and he must have paid the cab driver really well he made it up there in only five minutes," Diana said looking at the computer screen.
Peter sighed he wanted to follow Neal and make sure he was safe but he knew Neal would never forgive him if something happened to Jayden. Peter heard his cell phone ring and he knew instinctively that it wasn't Neal calling. "We just finished up at your place, it's pretty much a disaster area, stuff is knocked over and some broken picture frames. Whoever you hired as a baby sitter sure put up a fight, But she's missing and so are some of Jayden's things, some toys, a diaper bag is missing from upstairs and some bottles from the fridge," Nick said taking one more look around the living room. Peter sighed "There's a hidden nanny-cam thing set up on top corner bookcase by the windows the hard drive is hidden on the top shelf behind the books. Bring that in we'll see what happened," Peter said as he ignored his agents looking at him.
Nick looked around and saw the book case and did as he was told. "Alright we'll be back in the office in a few minutes, we'll post an agent at your place to make sure no one tries to steal anything," Nick said before hanging up. Peter looked at the clock and saw only ten minutes had gone by. Pacing the length of the room Peter was feeling uneasy like something wasn't going to go right and there was going to be problems. When Nick and Dante returned they were soaked to the bone. "Hell of a thunderstorm out there," Nick remarked. Peter looked up he was so lost in his own thoughts he didn't even notice the loud rumbles of thunder.
Moving back into the conference room Jones plugged the hard drive in and pulled up the footage from that morning. They watch as Jenna is talking to Jayden and him gurgling in response as she gets his morning bottle from the kitchen. The camera shows the living and dining room in perfect detail and sound. Peter controls himself as he hears the doorbell ring a few times and he gives a small smile when he sees Jenna ignore it like she was told to and goes back to the couch where Jayden was waiting to be fed, just then a shadow seemed to appear at the back door and kicks it in.
Jayden's recorded cries could be heard from the speakers. Jones glanced up and saw Peter was wincing at the sound. Hitting the pause button to stop the tape he looked back at his boss. "Do you need a second?" he asked in a careful tone. "No…just keep going," Peter said as Jones hit play. Nick had been right the first thing Jenna had done was grabbed the fire poker and went into the fight swinging, for a five foot-four twenty-six year old she was a scrappy fighter.
She had caught Keller in the shoulder and head before he overpowered her and knocked her out. Peter watched as Keller wandered around the room tossing things over his shoulder before he got to the couch where Jayden was crying. Making a mocking cry Keller yelled at Jayden making the infant stop crying and look at the invader with his head cocked to the side. It took Peter a second to realize that Kyle had walked in from the left side of the screen and was moving around gathering things and shoving them into the diaper bag before he went into the kitchen most likely to grab the bottles and formula while Keller grabbed Jenna off the floor and Kyle came back and took Jayden from the couch.
Jones stopped the tape when Kyle and Keller left via the front door. Peter walked over to the window and watched the lightning in the sky as he tried to grasp at what to do next. When he felt a hand on his shoulder he almost jumped. "Why don't you make a cup of coffee and sit in your office we'll take care of everything in here," Diana said knowing just how lost Peter was. Nodding his head Peter grabbed the orange rabbit off the end of the table and made his way into his office before he collapsed into his desk chair and hugged the plush rabbit close.
Watching the small clock on his desk tick down the dreaded hour Peter felt his stomach twist in more knots than ever. He wasn't even this nervous asking Neal to marry him. When the small chimes began to go off he felt the bile rise into his throat before settling back in his stomach he began to worry even more as the second hand kept ticking. Neal…where are you… I wonder if you have Jayden back yet... Peter asked himself as he kept his eyes glued to the clock. As he stared at the clock he heard a phone ringing in the distance and Diana's voice answering in his office telling the guard downstairs to send someone up.
Still lost in his own thoughts it took Diana a couple shakes to bring her boss back from his own world. Peter blinked and looked up only to see Diana pointing to the glass doors that led to the elevators just as a security guard from downstairs came out of the elevator with Jenna and Jayden. Peter got up and walked out to meet them. When he reached the middle of the bull pen he smiled when he heard Jayden coo. "I'm sorry Mr. Burke I tried to stop him but he over powered me…" Peter held up his hand as he took Jayden from Jenna and held him close. "It's okay Jenna; we have to ask you some questions about everything that happened, Diana is going to take you into the conference room and talk to you," Peter said as he kept Jayden close. "Someone call Neal and get him out of that warehouse," Peter called as he looked around for someone to make the call for him.
Neal looked at his cell phone and when his phone began to ring with an unlisted number he took in a deep breath to keep from shaking. "Ah Caffrey I trust that you're ready, is everything in your little truck ready to go?" Keller asked. Neal lowered his gaze from the truck. "Yeah it's ready, just give me my son back Keller," Neal said in a defeated tone.
The door leading to the hallway opened "Oh you'll get him back when we feel like it," Keller said as he snapped his phone shut and walked closer to Neal with Kyle at his side. Neal backed away until he backed into the truck's tire. Kyle smirked and quickened his pace and threw his arms out to box his ex in against the truck. "Hey Babe…long time no see… your complaints of abuse put me in jail didn't they?" Kyle asked his ex with a whisper over his lips. Neal turned his head away and closed his eyes as he felt one of Kyle's hands start to roam over his body. Neal began to shake at the roaming hand as it moved down his chest.
Kyle smirked as he watched Neal shake. "Why don't you kneel down," Kyle said with a smirk as he pushed Neal down hard to the ground. Neal felt a shiver run down his spine as he looked up at Kyle, his eyes giving off the deer in the headlights look. "Hey… hey… don't be scared babe; I'm not going to hurt you… I'm just going to teach you a lesson for thinking you can leave me and be happy with someone else…"Kyle said as he put his hands on Neal's face cupped his chin to force him to keep looking at him. "I saw the engagement ring from Burke… too bad he's going to be burying you with it," Kyle remarked as he moved his hands down around Neal's throat and began to squeeze.
Instinctively Neal grabbed Kyle's hands and tried to pull his hands away. "You know Grant I've been thinking about this treasure," Keller said as he walked around in a small circle. "I'm kind of busy here… killing my ex and all…" Kyle remarked as he tightened his grip on Neal's throat as he watched the light in Neal's eyes begin to fade. Keller gave a small laugh. "Yeah well I'm not up for waiting or sharing so I think it's time we part ways… partner…" Keller said as he raised a sawed off shot gun and pulled the trigger.
Neal could faintly hear a gun going off, but with his mind fuzzy from lack of oxygen he was having a hard time catching up, he felt something splatter on his face and the pressure weaken around his neck. Falling to the side Neal felt a warm liquid on his face as he struggled to breathe. The ground began to shake as a loud rumble filled the warehouse. Neal pushed himself up into a seated position and used his arms to support his weight as his eye sight and mind began to sharpen from the lack of oxygen haze. Looking around he saw the pool of blood and the body. Yelling filled the air before the loud rumble of the truck engine stopped.
"He's over here" Jones yelled as Peter walked around the truck and saw Neal on the cold cement of the warehouse floor. Moving quickly Peter moved to Neal side, when he touched his shoulder Neal opened his mouth to scream but nothing came out. Peter helped Neal to his feet and put his arms around his lover. "Neal… its okay… don't yell you're going to hurt your vocal cords," Peter said as he felt Neal calm down. "The paramedics are going to check you out and see if you have to go to the hospital and before you even try to ask Jayden is fine; he and Jenna are at the office right now they're fine," Peter said as he the paramedics came over to check Neal out. When the paramedic was done with his initial exam he reached out to check for any damage to Neal's throat Neal backed away. "Hey it's alright I'm not going to hurt you," he said trying to keep Neal calm but hearing the same words Kyle said to him before he started to choke him Neal turned and buried his face against Peter's shoulder and wrapped his arms tightly around him.
Peter looked at the paramedic and shook his head. "Forget it… he's still in shock, I'll take him home, I know a doctor who will make a house call," Peter said as he kept his arms around Neal. The paramedic huffed and walked off mumbling about a waste of time. Neal kept a tight hold as he watched Kyle's body being moved away by the city coroner that had arrived. "Diana, I'm taking Neal home to get cleaned up, could you tell Nick to bring Jayden home?" Peter asked as he put his coat over Neal's shoulders and maneuvered him out of the warehouse. Diana pulled her phone out and called Neal's brother after telling him what happened she passed along the message of bringing Jayden home.
The car ride home was quiet; Peter got them home in record time. As they pulled up to the house Neal rubbed his neck as he got out of the car. Peter led Neal into the house "Why don't you go take a hot shower and get into bed while I clean up down here," Peter said as he watched Neal go upstairs. Walking into the living room Peter sighed and began to pick up the picture frames making sure the broken glass didn't fall out before he dumped it into the kitchen trash. After he finished cleaning up the glass Peter groaned and dropped onto the couch and looked up when he heard Neal coming down the stairs.
Neal walked over to the couch and sat down, his hair still damp from the shower. "Hey…did that make you feel any better?" Peter asked worried. Neal gave a small nod and rubbed his head to stop the headache he had. "Knock-knock" Nick called as he and Dante used their spare key to walk into the house. "Hey look whose home," Nick said as he walked into the living room with his nephew in his arms and his bag on his shoulder. Neal moved from the couch and took Jayden from his brother and held him close. "Thanks Nick… Dante…" Peter said as Neal walked back to the couch and sat back down.
Rising from the couch Peter walked over to Nick and Dante and pulled them aside. "Do you happen to know the number of some guy named Dr. Stone?" Peter asked. Nick pulled his phone out and scrolled through his contact list and found the number he needed before calling the doctor. "Dr. Stone… its Nick Caffrey, you wouldn't happen to be in New York today would you? Oh you are good I need you to stop over at my brother's place, he needs some care," Nick said before giving Neal's address then hanging up. "He'll be here in a little while, Dante and I need to head back now, oh if you need someone I have a guy who does really good doors," he added.
Peter put his arm around Neal and held him close. "That would be nice thanks Nick…I'll talk to you two later, I'm going to stay here for the rest of the day," Peter said before Nick and Dante left. Neal ignored the others and smiled at his son, any consequences of going back to jail for having the treasure didn't worry him at all. When the doctor arrived Peter let him in and brought him over to Neal. "Mr. Caffrey in more trouble I see, I swear I could retire just from helping your family," Dr. Stone said with a chuckle as he put his bag down on the coffee table. Peter sat behind Neal and took Jayden from him when the doctor began to examine Neal. After a few minutes Dr. Stone felt Neal's neck and gave a small smile when he was done. "Your hyoid bone is intact, which is good since you're going to have a sore throat for a couple days to a week and you should resist talking for a day or two just to heal a bit. Be sure to drink warm liquids and some sleep should help, if you don't get your voice back at all in a week have Peter or Nick call me again," Dr. Stone said.
Neal nodded his head and took Jayden from Peter and supported his small head against his shoulder. "I'll walk you to the door," Peter said as he got up and walked the older man to the door. "How much do we owe you for this visit?" Peter asked. "Don't worry about it, I'm on retainer with the family, you have my number if something comes up," the man said as he walked down the front steps. Peter closed the front door and returned to the couch. "I'm so sorry Neal… you must hate me for Jayden being kidnapped and just everything that's happened today," Peter said as he put his head back until he felt two taps on his shoulder and saw Neal holding up two fingers.
"You have two things to say?" he asked as Neal nodded. Neal pointed at Jayden first. "Jayden being kidnapped…" Peter remarked to another nod. Neal gave Peter's shoulder a hard punch with his free hand. Rubbing his shoulder Peter gave a small chuckle. "I deserved that I made a promise and I didn't keep it; you have every right to be mad at me," Peter remarked as he rubbed the punch away. Neal smiled held Jayden close and snuggled against Peter's bruised shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about Neal… Kyle's dead and Keller is going away for murder he's never going to hurt you or Jayden again," Peter said as he kept a protective arm around the younger man. Tracing his finger on Neal's side Peter put his head back. "I'm sorry that this happened Neal but I'm just glad you're alive," he said let out a sigh as Jayden began to squirm. Neal held up one finger and pointed it to his lips. Understanding right away Peter leaned in and pressed his lips against Neal's and kissed him.
Pulling away from the kiss Peter looked down and saw Jayden was getting fussy again. "His gums must be bugging him, why don't you take him upstairs and just sit with him for a while, I'll finish up cleaning down here then I'll come up," Peter said as he watched Neal get up and cautiously look around as he walked upstairs. Getting up from the couch Peter picked up a few knocked over chairs and set them right side up. I'll have to make Neal feel safe here…this is our home, Peter thought as he looked around and judged if anything else needed to be cleaned up. Looking at the back door he sighed and pushed it closed even though he knew it wouldn't stay closed. Walking away from the door Peter made his way upstairs to the nursery to watch Neal and Jayden.
After weeks of rest and vocal therapy Neal finally gained his voice back. Peter was glad to have the old speaking Neal back; he had enough of trying to figure out Neal's sign language for everyday things. Peter walked out of the kitchen and put the coffee cups on the dining room table along with their breakfast. Neal walked down the stairs carrying his son. "Do we have to go… can we just… not go," Neal said as he put Jayden in his high chair. "It's just a Christmas party Neal, how bad can it be?" Peter asked as he looked at the invitation that was sitting on the table. "Your father hates me… unless you forgot the engagement party last week where he referred to me as the marriage ruining queer whore," Neal said as he grabbed his coffee and began to drink it. Peter sighed and put his head in his hands. "Alright, how about we just have my mom and brothers over for a small party; that way they can see Jayden and shower him with gifts and my father won't make your holidays a living hell," Peter remarked as he looked over at Jayden and saw him smile back.
Neal sighed and put his coffee mug down. "I'm sorry that I snapped at you, it's just I'm still having nightmares about everything," Neal said as he got up and walked into the kitchen and got a jar of baby food. "Alright Jayden, I've got some yummy pureed apples," Neal said as he walked back to the dining room and sat beside Jayden's high chair and began to feed his son. Peter got up and put his arms around Neal. "I'm going to the store do you need anything?" Peter asked with a smile. "Diapers, diapers oh and more diapers and some chicken and lemons I'm going to make lemon chicken for dinner tonight," Neal said as he kissed Peter. "Right I got it, diapers, chicken and lemons, I'll be back in a bit," Peter said as he left.
Getting up from the table Neal made sure the front and back doors were locked securely before he felt safe. As he walked back to the table the doorbell rang. Feeling nervous about opening the door Neal stood there for a moment. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" Hughes said as he stood at the door. Neal shook himself back to normal and invited the older agent into his living room. "Sorry about the mess, I didn't really expect to have company over," he said apologizing as he picked Jayden up and saw him smile again. "If you're looking for Peter he just went to the store for more diapers he should be home in a little while," Neal said as he put Jayden down by his toys and sat on the floor to play with him. "You and Burke have really become a family now, have you thought of where you're going to send him when it comes time for school?" Hughes asked making small talk.
"Ravencroft Academy, Nick and I both went to its Greenwich campus so we're sort of alumni even though we dropped out, but they know our families since my parents donate art and money every year," Neal said as he played with his son. "I've heard good things about that school K-12 and ninety-five percent of their students go on to Ivy League schools and that's pretty amazing," Hughes remarked. Neal smiled "Peter and I are hoping for that," Neal said as he watched Jayden play with one of his toys. When Peter returned home he unpacked the car of diapers and food and juggled them as he went into the house. "Neal… I could use a little help," Peter called into the house. Neal left Jayden playing as he went and helped Peter with the bags and took the diapers and carried them all upstairs. Walking into the living room Peter saw his boss sitting on the couch. "Sir…what are you doing here?" Peter asked as he walked into the living room and picked Jayden up and held him close.
Hughes cleared his throat "I came to see how Neal was doing, and to tell you that a lawyer for Vincent Adler came to the office and claimed Kyle's body and he's being moved from his paupers' grave to a private cemetery. Also he left this letter addressed to Neal I thought maybe you would want it to read it first," Hughes said as handed the sealed envelope over to Peter who put it behind a pillow. "I'll read it later when Neal is giving Jayden a bath I don't need him walking in and seeing me with it," Peter said as he kept Jayden from reaching for the hidden envelope. Peter walked his boss to the door and looked at his son and saw him smiling. "Please be a FBI agent when you grow up," Peter said as he shut the front door. Jayden gurgled and made a grab for Peter's chin. Laughing Peter went back to the couch and laid out on it letting Jayden sit on his stomach using it as a seat.
Neal walked back downstairs and found Jayden and Peter both falling asleep for a nap. He decided that this was the perfect time to go for a run since Peter was home. Going upstairs Neal changed and grabbed his spare key on a bungee band and locked the door behind him before he started his run down the sidewalk. As he ran through the neighborhood Neal thought about what kind of party he wanted to throw for the holidays. As he circled around the park and made his way back to the house Neal was sure he knew just what he wanted for the party and made his way home when he got there he slipped inside and found Jayden and Peter asleep on the couch. Just as he was about to head upstairs Neal noticed the edge of an envelope sticking out from under the pillow. Creeping across the room he grabbed it and left the living room in a hurry and went up the stairs to his room and shut the door behind him. Tearing the envelope open Neal grabbed the letter and began to read it.
"Dear Neal…it has come to my attention that you are going to be getting remarried, congratulations are in order I suppose but also I want to apologize for Kyle's actions in kidnapping your son. If you haven't throw this letter out yet then keeps reading please I would like to work with you again someday if you ever get tired of the domestic life use the number below to call my lawyer he will contact me, hope to see you again soon… Vincent," Neal walked over to the trash can on his side of the bed and looked at the letter once more. Reaching down Neal opened his drawer and folded the letter and put it in the first page of the book and closed the drawer before going to take a long hot shower.
