Notes: A 'ute' is a 'pickup truck' (according to Wikipedia).

Part 4

Neal changed his stance so he looked like one of them as he moved up to the blockade. He raised his hands in a 'no weapons' position and prayed that it was enough and that they wouldn't shoot him before he had a chance to talk.

"Halt!" It only took that one order for most of the guns in the area to be pointed at them. Neal heard Peter swear from behind him. Neal just rolled his eyes.

"Think you can tell me what you're doing here?" Neal demanded to know. Peter thought this was a silly move, almost like taunting the men with guns.

"Why do you want to know?" the one closest to them asked, lowing his gun a little bit to look at them.

"We were looking to cross the state border," Neal said, "just wondering if it's still possible."

"It's not," the man said bluntly, "it's far too dangerous for people to be travelling right now."

"Why?" Neal questioned, tilting his head a little and putting a hint of naiveté into his voice.

The man gave an annoyed grunt.

"We're trying to get communications and power reconnected," he explained, "and if you're done asking questions, please leave." Neal caught a few whispers from the men around them and decided to cut their loses. They could find another way past.

"Thank you, we'll do that," Neal said, turning around and placing a hand on Peter's back to quickly walk him back to the cars.

"Neal?" Peter questioned, although Neal didn't hear it. What he did hear was a whisper that sounded like, 'Larkin', although he couldn't be sure.

"Run," he said, moving from powerwalk into a sprint with Peter just in front of him. Shots sounded behind them and Neal cursed, ducking to avoid being hit. "Drive!" he called back to the cars. If any of these men caught them, his friends would be subjected to torture.

Thankfully, Mozzie was good. He kicked the ute into gear and was off down the road.

"Damn it, El," Peter groaned when Elizabeth just opened the doors to the car for them. Neal shoved Peter towards the back and jumped into the driver's seat, starting the car and getting it moving before the doors were even shut.

Neal drove quickly and overtook Mozzie so he could guide him towards a hiding place he spotted on the way here. They turned down onto a hidden track and didn't pull over for a good few miles.

"Neal!" Mozzie cried once they pulled over to reconvene and plan. "What did you say to them?" He was tired and frazzled, having gone around and counted the number of bullet holes in the ute. They were lucky and none of them had hit the fuel tank or the tires.

"Sorry," Neal said, his heart still racing.

"Maybe they thought you were a felon," Peter snarked. Mozzie glared at him.

"Then why shoot at us?" Diana questioned. Jones nodded in agreement.

"Something about that didn't seem right," he said, "why did they say they were there?"

"They said they were trying to get communications and power fixed," Neal said, with a frown. "But that's not true."

"What makes you say that?" Sara questioned, a hint of challenge in her tone.

"Well, they did shoot at us when we appeared to be following their orders," Neal pointed out, "but they also don't have any of the proper equipment to do so."

"And you happen to know what the proper equipment looks like?" Diana questioned.

"I know how to make it look like you have the proper equipment," Neal pointed out, "and they weren't even making the effort to look right."

"So, what now?" El questioned in a worried tone, the only one really voicing her worry and fear.

"We keep going," Neal said.

"Hold on," Peter countered, "why do we have to do that? We know nothing about what's going on besides what you tell us! Neal, you're a felon and you've used this as an opportunity to escape and you really just expect us to follow you?"

Neal didn't look surprised as he calmly turned to stare at Peter. There was no conman smile on his face and he certainly didn't look impressed.

Peter figured that was appropriate; this was serious business and he wasn't looking to impress Neal Caffrey even if it slightly disturbed him to see the expression on Neal's face.

"What are you saying?" he asked, his voice dull.

"I'm saying that this is crazy. You heard them, they're fixing it! If we go back now, maybe no one will realise that we spent two days driving around the country!"

"They are lying, Peter!" Neal responded in a strong manner, "and they shot at us! Are you really thinking of going back to them?"

"I'm think of going back to New York!" Peter responded, "there's no reason to travel to wherever just because the power went out!"

"Just the power?" Neal questioned in a shocked tone, "Peter, everything's out!"

"And they're fixing it!"

"No, they are not!" Neal stepped right up into Peter's space. "If the OMEN virus could be fixed, then this wouldn't have happened. Face it, Peter, this is it. The world as we knew it is gone."

"Neal, you are a liar and a con and what you're saying can't be true. I'm taking my wife and going back to New York! And when I get there, I'm putting declaring you an escaped felon."

"Good luck with that!" Neal responded turning away from Peter and stalking away.

The rest of the group shared glances and then split. The only person who walked towards Neal was Mozzie.

Diana glanced back at Neal's and Mozzie's retreating backs.

"I think he's leaving us the ute," she pointed out, noticing how they climbed into El's car. It didn't move though and she wondered if he was hoping they would change their minds.

"You sure you don't want any of us to go with them?" Jones asked, "it might be good to have someone with him so we know where he is."

"No," Peter responded in a spiteful tone. He was still riding the rage from the fight. "If he wants to run, let him run, we'll catch him eventually."

"I feel a little sorry for him," El commented to Peter, "I mean, he did his best to protect us."

"Or to protect himself," Peter responded. El glanced at Sara, who shrugged. Sara understood Peter's line of thinking more than Neal's and was just as frustrated.

Sara, Diana and Jones all sat in the back seats of the ute while Peter and El took the front seats. Peter was driving. He didn't drive for long, only a few hours, before they stopped in the first town which appeared to have life.

Most of the towns they past seemed almost like ghost towns where no one was going outside. This town had children running in the streets and was the first they encountered which had an open motel. The motel had a sign out the front, stating they were open and that visitors were to pay in fuel. It had been scrawled onto a large piece of cardboard and hung with string around a tree so that it was visible from the road.

"Perfect," Peter commented as he pulled in.

"Good thing Neal left those cans of fuel in the back," Jones commented.

"Why pay with fuel?" Sara questioned the man inside.

"Cash isn't going to do me any good," he explained in a pretentious way. He tugged at the register. "Stupid thing doesn't work properly without power and, if you hadn't noticed, money isn't going to do me any good. What I need right now is fuel. My cousin's hooking up his old generator here tomorrow and fuel is what I need to power it."

Sara didn't ask any more questions and Peter negotiated a deal with the man for three rooms.