Here is chapter 4 the warnings and disclaimers are the same I would like to thank my fans for reading and Peppe again for betaing and my most loyal fan for reviewing, Once again chapter four everyone please enjoy and pretty... pretty please review I'll give you a cookie if you review.
Chapter 4: Entering the Dragon's Den
Neal looked around the club as he made his way toward the stage where he saw a young man sitting on a stool on the stage talking with a group of men. "Peter…I can't do this..." Neal whispered under his breath. Peter looked at Jones and waved him off for a moment to clear the room. Jones left the room with a small smirk knowing that Peter wanted to talk to Neal alone. "Neal… I'm right here so just sing to me" Peter said softly.
With a small smile Neal walked up to the stage and waited 'till the man looked at him. "I'm Lark…I answered the ad for a male singer; I hope I'm not too late," Neal said keeping himself from shaking with nerves. "No not too late at all, and call me Jordan and since you are the last to join us you can go first," Jordan said as he got up from the stool and motioned for the others to leave the stage.
"I hope this goes well I haven't sung in a while," Neal said as he walked over to the spot marked on the stage. Jordan smiled "Just do your best," he said as he took a seat at the table closest to the stage and set his eyes on Neal as the other men trying out moved behind him. Taking in a few deep breaths Neal closed his eyes and started to sing.
Come near and stand by me, baby.
Close enough to reach out and pull you still closer,
All that is swelling within me,
Must be a language I've never spoken 'till there was you,
I fumbled, try but I stumbled,
Over all my heart wants to say now,
Je n'ai pas de mots,
nothing seems to say the way you move me,
rushing through me,
Je n'ai pas de mots,
But a promise has been made you can believe this,
from the first kiss,
It's good that I don't have to speak to know that it's real,
Je n'ai pas de mots.
Jordan stood up "that was amazing, I'm going to stop you there so we can get through everyone but I want you to stick around for the next round of eliminations," he said as he waved Neal over to sit beside him at the table. He was amazing and three others walked out already, it doesn't matter I want him anyway he's perfect, Jordan thought as he barely listened to the next singer before waving him away. Neal twirled the microphone on his necklace as he tried to sit still.
Peter rolled his eyes "Neal quit it, you're causing interference on the microphone," Peter hissed as he sat back in the chair as he looked at Jones beside him. Neal gave a small smile and released the necklace and tried not to fidget in his seat as he watched the other men try out and be waved away.
He's waved three more off; there are only two more left and they are going to get waved off fast…it looks like I'm the winner, Neal thought as he looked around a bit for where to put the undercover agents.
"Well thank you all, but I think I've found my new songbird for the club. Everyone else can leave now," Jordan said showing the others to the door before walking back to where Neal was sitting. "Now since you're going to be working for me I have a few rules, first all my employees live above the club in the apartments, next I ask that you don't go to the fourth floor unless invited that's my home and I like my privacy. Now I'm going to let you go home and pack I expect you back here tomorrow morning promptly at six," Jordan said as he shook Neal's hand.
Neal smiled "I'll be on time, thank you so much for the job," he said with another smile as he left the club and made his way down the sidewalk. Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket he opened it and held it up to his ear. "Hey… I got the job, no I didn't even need a follow up…I'm going to flag a cab and head home. Maybe we could have an early dinner," Neal said as he walked down the sidewalk.
Peter walked over to the window and looked out at Neal on the sidewalk "You're being tailed by one of the bouncers, just act natural and go to June's. Be sure to take the route we discussed earlier and change cabs if you think you're being followed. You're going to go out of range when you leave this area so call me on your cell," Peter said as he watched Neal hail a cab.
Jones stood up and stretched "I'll keep an eye on the place if you want to go meet up with Neal; then you can talk to him about the case some more and what to do next. Don't worry, I'll call you if anything changes," he said watching Peter as he collected his things. "I want you and Diana to be careful we don't know a lot about this guy; he has bouncers everywhere," Peter warned as he took the freight elevator to the back exit of the building where his car was parked.
Driving through the city Peter stopped at a market and picked up a few things before driving to June's where he grabbed the shopping bags and went inside to find Neal's apartment still empty. "He must have had take a second cab, which means I can start dinner," Peter mumbled as he unpacked the frozen dinner while he started to root around for a pan. Once he found a pan and some olive oil he heated the pan before dumping the food into the pan and covering it.
Peter continued to unpack the shopping bags and put the other items in the fridge before going back to the dinner on the stove. After a couple quick stirs he replaced the cover and waited for Neal. He should be walking through that door any minute unless he hit traffic, Peter thought as he turned the TV on and searched for a game.
Neal got out of the cab in front of June's and paid the driver I lost him at the bookstore and now I have to look forward to Peter's pot-roast, Neal thought as he walked inside and shut the door behind him before heading up the stairs, and with each step he noticed a fragrant smell that wasn't connected to any pot roast he knew of. As he got to his apartment he was greeted with the smell of chicken. "You made chicken? I didn't know you knew how to make chicken," Neal said in awe as he walked over to the stove and uncovered the meal. "Peter I'm amazed that you can make this," Neal remarked as he stirred the food a bit.
With a sarcastic chuckle Peter got up from the couch and took the spoon from Neal and continued to stir. "You know I used to be single and I cooked all my own meals," Peter remarked in a defending tone making Neal smirk. "I never really learned to cook, not when I could get a free meal at some of the best restaurants money could buy," Neal admitted as he walked over to his wine rack and started to look it over.
"So to change the subject from anything illegal I may or may not have done, what did you think about my singing?"Neal asked as he pulled a bottle from the shelf and walked over to the counter to find the cork screw. Peter turned the stove off and moved the pan to a cool burner. "The last time I heard you sing you were under the influence of sedatives so it was quite amazing I must admit," Peter said as he got out two plates and put them on the table and served dinner.
Neal smiled but when he went over to retrieve the wine glasses he noticed something on the counter… a plastic bag. He grabbed it and turned it over "Oh… I think I understand how you survived now…frozen dinners from the store how cute… I like the effort though, it was sweet," Neal remarked as he uncorked the wine and poured two glasses.
Peter served dinner and took a glass from Neal before taking his seat. "I'm supposed to talk to you about the case and what you have to do next. Neal, you have to befriend this Jordan guy and find out why he ships the statues out all over the world," Peter said as he ate a couple bites of dinner. "Now Neal, you're not going to want to hear this but we have to limit seeing each other, if this Jordan guy gets too suspicious it could blow the case and put you in danger…we'll still be in contact through the ear piece when it's needed but we have been ordered to keep radio silence unless there is an absolute emergency. I've also been told that you and I need to come up with an activation phrase for you to use in case you need help right away," Peter said as he ate.
Neal paused for a moment and lowered his wine glass "I…fine…and it should be Kate…it's perfect no one else would suspect it," Neal remarked as he grabbed his fork and began to eat in silence. Right away Peter knew that the silent treatment was impending, "It's not my choice…I will make it up to you," Peter promised as he ate dinner, Neal looked up and smiled a bit at Peter.
"I intend on collecting on that promise… you know I thought you would tell me to cowboy up and do anything to get evidence for you guys," Neal remarked as he finished up his dinner before grabbing his wine glass and swirling the red liquid and watched it. "You asked me earlier in the week why my brother dislocated my shoulder; well my grandfather told him that he could tell me that I could stay a pet con to the FBI as long as I never turned on the family… if I ever did that he made it pretty obvious that the FBI wouldn't be able to protect me, you or Elizabeth… the dislocated shoulder was his way of making sure I would remember that he wasn't joking," Neal said as he downed the rest of his wine.
Peter sat in shock for a moment before he grabbed both plates to the sink and began to do the dishes. When he finished the dishes he found Neal packing a large duffle bag. Peter then grabbed his glass of wine and walked over to the end of Neal's bed and watched the other man pack. "I'm curious to know how you plan on redeeming my promise," Peter asked as he finished his wine. Neal turned around and smirked at his partner; he grabbed his bag and tossed it on the floor before he advanced towards Peter.
"I plan on handcuffing you to the bed and then I'm going on a crime spree," Neal smirked as he produced Peter's handcuffs from his back pocket. "When did you manage to lift these?" Peter asked in pure shock, he never saw Neal get close enough to lift his cuffs. "The quick prep in the apartment, that time when you pinned me against the wall to keep me from panicking," Neal admitted with another smirk. Peter made a grab for the cuffs "If you think that using cuffs during sex is a turn on for me it's not, arresting you is," Pete said grabbing the cuffs from Neal and walking off.
Neal smirked "Did you just reveal something about your private life?" Neal asked as he walked back over to the counter and refilled his glass. "So you would like a reason to cuff me or just to do it for fun," Neal commented as he poured another glass for himself and Peter before going back to his bag to finish packing. "Peter… this guy… there is something about him that just rubs me the wrong way. The way he wants all his employees close means that he's worried about them spilling his secrets," Neal remarked in a worried tone.
The FBI agent walked in a circle for a moment "He's paranoid…and he has power over everyone it can be a very dangerous combination sometimes but as long as you play to his weakness then he'll be like a kitten," Peter remarked as he left his glass on the table before walking over to the fridge.
"I heard for a very reliable source that you have one weakness… other than Kate." Peter remarked as he pulled a medium sized cake out of the fridge and put it on the table. He watched Neal's eyes sparkle at the sight of the cake. "Red Velvet with cream cheese icing…Peter I'm touched, you're not trying to buy me off are you?"Neal asked as he practically licked his lips at the idea of eating the cake. "I thought maybe it could be used as payment to make up for forcing you into working undercover after everything," Peter said as he took off the cover off the cake.
As his alarm rang Neal groaned and sat up in bed "A four a.m. wake up, who gets up this early?" Neal mumbled as he got out of bed noticing that he wasn't wearing any pajama pants. I don't remember much after cake and wine, Neal thought as he grabbed his robe and put it on and made his way over to the table where he saw a note pad and a bottle. "Will be back in an hour to pick you up; drink this for your hangover… if you don't drink it I will force you to drink it, Peter…" Neal read out loud as he looked at the homemade drink he had once before.
Wincing at the thought of drinking the mix he uncapped the bottle and downed it quickly; before gagging a bit Neal put the bottle back down on the table and sat down and put his head in his hands trying to remember the night before. Neal closed his eyes and ended up falling asleep again due to the early wake up.
"Neal… Neal….it's time to wake up sleeping beauty" Dante whispered in his cousin's ear as he tried to wake him, and not wanting to give up Dante pinched Neal's arm making him jump. "Hey there hot stuff…" Dante said with a smirk as he walked around the apartment as Neal rubbed his eyes and stood up. "Dante what are you doing here… wait how did you get in here this early?" Neal asked looking up to see Dante holding up a tool kit. "Of course, hey what time is it I need to be ready soon," Neal said as he made his way to the bathroom to shower.
Dante wandered around the apartment looking for any signs of something to use for future blackmail. As he walked around the dimly lit apartment he used his skills as an Interpol agent to read the room. He read the note left behind and started to look at the kitchen area. Two empty wine bottles, two glasses, two plates which means they had dinner and desert which means a date…I wonder if that means they slept together Dante thought as he walked over to the bed as saw twisted and then untwisted sheets.
Neal finished his shower and walked over to the mirror and wiped the condensation off to reveal his reflection. As he started to dry his hair he noticed small bruises dotting his neck and shoulders. When he touched them he tried to dredge up some memories but all he got was blank spots. Neal stared at his reflection recounting anything he could, he could remember the case and the tryout, and he could remember the cake and finishing the first bottle of wine before opening a second bottle. What happened between the end of that second bottle and when I woke up? Neal thought as he grabbed his robe and put it back on and left the bathroom to find his cousin perusing his wine selection.
"Don't you think it's a little early to hit the bottle?" Neal asked as he walked over to the bedroom area of his apartment. When he looked at the bed he felt sudden feelings that were accompanied by flashes of memory and surges of pleasure up his spine. Dante walked up beside and smacked him on the arm. "You sure are taking a long time to get dressed. Are you maybe remembering something from last night?" Dante asked as he ran his fingers over Neal's neck where his many small hickeys were.
Neal felt a spark of memory as the door to the apartment opened revealing Peter carrying two cups of coffee. "Neal, are you up yet I brought coffee," Peter said as he watched Dante move away from his cousin. "I'll see you later Neal… good luck on your job…" Dante said as he disappeared into the dark hallway. Peter didn't make eye contact with Neal as he walked over and handed him the disposable cup of coffee. "What happened last night? Tell me everything you can remember," Neal said as he nursed the warm cup in his hands. Peter finished his coffee and looked at the younger man. "Hurry up and get dressed we have to get you to the club on time," Peter said stonewalling the younger man's question.
Neal looked at Peter "No…you are going to tell me right now or I walk from this job and you can find someone else to put their life on the line," he said putting his foot down on the subject. Peter walked to the trash and threw his coffee cup away "I'll tell you in the car we have to hurry up or we'll hit traffic and you'll be late," Peter reminded as he walked away to give Neal some privacy. Not willing to let it go Neal quickly gulped down his coffee and gathered up his clothes from his drawers before going to his bathroom to change. Peter looked around the room and as his eyes raked over the bed he began to flashback to earlier that night.
When Neal exited the bathroom he noticed that Peter was ready by the door with both of his bags. "Once I get there I am falling back into bed and sleeping the rest of the day away, I just feel like I didn't get enough sleep," Neal remarked sleepily as he took one bag from Peter and walked down the dark hall, down the stairs and out the front door to where Peter had parked his car. Peter silently opened the doors and put the bags in the back seat before getting behind the wheel and taking off once Neal had closed the door. Neal glanced over at Peter as he drove through the city.
"We're in the car now are you going to tell me what happened last night or not," Neal demanded as he hugged his bag a bit closer. Peter glanced at Neal as he pulled up to a red light the eerie glow bathing the younger man. Just as he was about to speak the light changed saving him from having to speak. "I'll tell you later, I need to concentrate on driving right now" he said knowing it was a bold face lie and know that he was delaying the obvious. "You said you would tell me in the car and we're in the car so spill it Peter what happened last night? I know we drank a lot of wine so that explained the drink you left behind but I'm a little fuzzy on the rest of the night," Neal admitted as he ruffled his hair a bit to flatten the remainder of his bed head that hadn't stayed down from when he brushed his hair earlier.
With a small glance Peter looked at Neal before speaking. "So you want to know what happened, we got drunk and we ended up sleeping together…when I woke up I sat up for a while thinking things over and I remembered the repercussions of what could happen if the bureau found out. So I've decided that we shouldn't see each other anymore, I'm drawing the line right here and now we are no longer an item; you are the CI again and I am the agent and that's it." Peter said as he turned down another street he knew it would be hard for Neal to hear the truth even if it was for his protection.
Neal felt his words die on his tongue as he swallowed the lump growing in his throat. "Stop the car…I'll walk from here," Neal said as he tried to keep his emotions in check and not let Peter see him break apart. Peter hit the lock on his side of the car locking all the car doors. "It's not that far I'll drive you," he said trying to get Neal to think rationally. Neal unlocked his door "I said pull over the damn car Peter!" Neal yelled his voice breaking up slightly; he was unaware that he was back in range of the surveillance team and that they could hear everything from that point on. "No, we're almost there!"Peter yelled back as he punched the gas after the red light and came up to the front of the club before he pulled to the side of the road and put the car in park.
Not waiting for Peter to say anything Neal grabbed his other bag out of the back and got out of the car and slammed the door as hard as he could before going into the club as it closed for the day and getting pointed toward the VIP section.
Jordan hung up his call as he saw Neal coming up the small flight of stairs and hurried to let him into the well decorated VIP section. "Lark… I wasn't expecting for a while… but I'm glad you're early; we can get you set up in a room and you can get used to the place before you go on tonight," Jordan said with a smile.
Neal tried to return the smile and failed "I don't know if I can perform tonight, I… I just don't have it in me; I'm going through a rough patch right now and I was just dumped harshly by someone who shall remain nameless but all I'll say is he was a real bastard," Neal remarked with spite as he dropped his bags on the floor as he sat down in a low chair.
"That guy really does sound like a bastard, well you don't have work tonight… I'll show you to your room to rest and you can use the night any way you wish," Jordan said as he took Neal's bags and brought him to the elevator behind the stage and up to the third floor. "You'll be in the front apartment, don't worry; about unpacking just sleep now," he said as he left Neal alone.
Peter doubled back in silence and parked his car in the hidden parking lot before going up the freight elevator to the apartment the FBI was using for a surveillance post. As he opened the door he motioned for Diana to cut the feed to Neal's ear piece. "So how much of that did you two hear?" Peter asked hoping he could do some quick damage control. Diana looked over at Jones for a moment "Just Neal's outburst…what happened? ever since he got out of the car he's been pretty much bad mouthing you since he started talking to Wilson…I think he was cursing you out in Italian when he was walking into the club," Diana remarked as she saw Peter sigh.
"Do we know what room he's in?"Peter asked as he glanced out the window at the mostly dark club and apartments. "Third floor far left in front, we've got a good view into his room since we're looking down on the apartments from this floor," Jones said as he pointed the camera to Neal's window getting a better view of the ex con on the screen. Peter watched Neal and moved over to the controls and turned up the microphone volume on the necklace to hear him better.
Jones could feel the change in the air "I'm going out for coffee and breakfast I'll get the usual for you guys. I'll be back in a little while," he said as he left the small apartment. Diana turned to her boss and looked at him "I have a feeling you're going to try and talk to him; chances are he won't want to so I'll be in the next room if you need me," she said as she left quickly to give the other agent time to collect himself before trying to talk to Neal.
After a moment of preparation Peter turned the microphone on and cleared his throat as he watched Neal sit up on the monitor. "Before you get all upset and start pitching a fit again, can we just talk?"Peter asked calmly as he zoomed in on Neal to see the other man in better detail.
Neal rubbed his eyes dry to give himself time to clear the lump that had risen in his throat again. "Leave me alone Peter, I don't want to talk to you right now unless you want to crush my heart a little more for your own fun," Neal spat as he got up from his bed and walked around the room and leaned against the window and looked down at the street.
"Can I ask you one thing Peter…why did you say it then?" Neal asked softly forcing Peter to strain to hear Neal's words. "You don't remember do you, but it's funny that all it took for me to remember everything that happened was having the feeling of my heart being ripped out of my chest and crushed. So why don't you think about that while I try to get some sleep," Neal said as he walked away from the window and collapsed face first onto the bed and hugged the pillow tightly as he muffled a new wave of tears and heartache.
Peter sat back in his seat shocked as he watched Neal react to his original words… he hadn't meant to break Neal's heart… he had only wanted to protect him but he had made it worse. How am I going to tell Elizabeth what I did? He asked himself as he heard the door open behind him. "Diana can I ask you something about something pretty important," Peter asked looking over his shoulder at the female agent. "Can I take a guess first; you want to know what to do now that you've done something that is outside your comfort zone, which could possibly threaten your job and your life with Elizabeth…" Diana guessed though she knew she was right on the money.
"Is it that obvious? Well I guess it's not normal for Neal to act like he wants my head on a pike…especially when he would be flirting with me all the time," Peter said as he reached over and turned the microphone to Neal's ear piece off before he continued.
"Last night I had dinner at Neal's and he had quite a bit of wine and it moved pretty fast," Peter said leaving out some details hoping what he said was enough information.
Diana smirked "I think I got it, you slept with Neal and at some point you said you loved him and now you're feeling guilty that you said it and before you dropped him off you broke up with him and that's why he's a total wreck now… well he's fallen asleep now so let him rest for a while before speaking to him again," Diana remarked as she took her spot by the veiled window to watch the so called bouncers in front of the club.
By two in the afternoon the FBI agents had begun to doze off with nothing going on at the club. Peter was startled awake by his phone going off, answering with a yawn as he looked at the monitor and saw Neal puttering around the room unpacking his things. "Peter Anthony Burke how dare you hurt Neal like that… I just got off the phone with him, he told me everything and I am utterly shocked that you would break his heart like that. You are so lucky I am still stuck in the Hamptons; as soon as this wedding is over I will be coming home and you and I are going to have a very…very long talk now I have to go… so fix this or you'll be making friends with the couch for the next two months!" Elizabeth said before hanging up on her husband.
Peter grabbed the microphone for Neal's earpiece before turning to Jones and Diana and pointing at the door; both agents knew right away that some heated words were going to fly, but as soon as they got out of the room they sighed.
"Neal… Neal!…you sicced my own wife on me? That's a low blow," Peter hissed into the microphone as he watched Neal come up to the window wearing nothing but a pair of low jeans and a smirk "All's fair in love and war Peter…now I have to go, you know… do your job for you," Neal said as he walked out of view to get dressed.
As he dug around for a shirt Neal stopped when he heard a knock on his door. I hope Elizabeth really let him have it, Neal thought as he opened the door to find Jordan. "I was hoping you were awake, I have your contract that you need to sign and also we've got a little welcome party set up for you in my apartment so throw a shirt on and lets go," Jordan said as he watched the other man pull a shirt on over his head.
Neal fixed his hair before grabbing the contract out of Jordan's hand and reading it over. "Sounds reasonable enough, I can sign this right now," Neal said as he took the pen and signed with his moniker before handing the pen and contract back to Jordan. "You said something about a party, I can't wait," Neal said with a smile as he tried to win Jordan over to get more information.
Jordan smirked "I'm glad to see that you're doing better, after this party you'll forget all about what's his name in no time," he said as he pressed up button on the elevator. Neal felt his smile falter a bit. "Yeah…it would be nice to forget him for a while…Jordan… do you have any other hobbies other than running a club?" Neal asked trying to make small talk.
"Oh, we have plenty of time to do small talk later but now it's time to party," Jordan said as he led Neal out of the elevator and through a pair of large wooden doors into his vast apartment.