White collar –Prison Break Chapter 6
The rest of the morning is uneventful, at least by Neal's standards. He talks his way into taking over the cleaning shift of the prisoner in charge of washing floors of the corridors where the security camera cables run. It means spending the whole morning washing miles of floors with a mop and bucket but it beats sitting in his cell feeling the walls pressing in and remembering the last time he was in a cell after Kate's death. He needs to keep moving. Therefore, he is happy to see Pietre when he appears and tells him Andre wants to see him. Pietre seems nervous as they walk along the corridor, which puts Neal on edge but there isn't time to wheedle any information out of him as one of Andre's men appears out of nowhere to 'escort' them the rest of the way. Neal makes sure to have the right expression as he enters, confident but cautious, as Andre would take no sign of nerves as a challenge to his ego and too many nerves as a sign of weakness.
Andre is sitting in a chair in his cell. Neal kind of horrified, not only that Andre had been allowed two lethal weapons posing as arts and crafts tools, but also that McNair appeared to be knitting the most hideous sweater Neal had ever seen. He wants to say something about it "Nice Sweater" maybe but there are some lies that are beyond even Neal's ability to sell. Andre finishes the row he is on and puts the knitting to one side.
"I have a gift for you." Andre tells him
"That's really not necessary." Neal assured him wondering where this was going and praying Andre didn't have sweater for him.
"I think it is, a sign of good faith. Proof of our loyalty to one another" Andre says in that same cold dead tone.
Andrei nods at the man who escorted Neal in who leaves and then comes back with another man holding a shiv which looked to be made out of a piece of mirror with a piece of cloth tied around as a handle, and standing between them is Peter. Neal is relieved he doesn't look to be hurt but he does look furious. Andre smiles thinly at Neal.
"I'm going to help you settle your score."
Jones hadn't enjoyed playing prison guard but he was less than thrilled he was being confined to the van again earlier. It was even more frustrating now, being sat out here when Peter and Neal were in danger.
"We have to get in there quick." Diana all but shouted.
"We'll never make it in time and going in will blow their cover." Jones told her, even though he wanted nothing more than to go flying inside himself.
"They might kill Peter!" Diana countered and they both listened for what was happening inside the prison.
"Caffrey will take care of it." Jones tells her, trying to appear calmer than he felt.
"Since when did you become a believer?" Diana asked unbelievingly
"I may not trust Caffrey with my wallet but in manipulating people and looking out for Peter? We can trust him." Jones told her bluntly. Diana didn't reply for a second, which Jones took to be agreement.
"I hope you're right." Diana told him.
"Me too" Jones agreed.
"Like I say, that's really not necessary." Neal told Andre, thinking furiously. Did he know Peter was FBI, had Grant or someone else said something, given them away or was this just some sort of test?
"I don't think beating up a guard is going to help me get time off for good behaviour" Neal said deliberately flippant, testing for Andre's reaction, trying to work out what this was about.
"You don't want revenge on the guy responsible for beating you up?" Andre asked. Neal relaxed a fraction, this was just a test, he and Peter weren't both about to be gutted for being Feds. Of course that wouldn't be much consolation to Peter if he ended bleeding out on the cell floor. He made eye contact with Peter and saw that he understood the situation and was waiting for Neal's lead. It was part of what Neal liked so much about Peter, he was able to keep up with Neal, sometimes he grudgingly admitted to himself, Peter even managed to get a step or two head.
"If wasn't this guy, it was Myers who arranged that." Neal told Andre, looking away from Peter dismissively.
"That's interesting, 'cause that's not what Myers told me. Though that does explain why I was a bit puzzled why you'd be having secret meetings with Mr Powers here after he had been so unkind to you." Andre said in a kindly tone and pulling out one of his knitting needs and walking over to Neal.
Neal thought quickly, there was nothing like the threat of being skewered to get his mind working faster.
"I did meet with him, he's the reason I need so much money up front. Did you really think I was going to get us out of here all on my own?" He told Andre confidently.
"What?" Andre asked as Peter jumped in and turned away from Neal the needle just brushing the front of Neal's top.
"How do you think this guy got out of the Supermax, just walked out the front door?" Peter asked looking dismissively at the guys holding him.
"By the way, my price just doubled" he told Andre sneeringly, playing his part of the corrupt guard perfectly.
"So you want me to believe you are dirty?" Andre asked sceptically.
"I prefer to think of myself as adaptable." Peter told him so honestly that Neal almost applauded.
There was a tense pause while they waited to see if Andre bought it.
"So what's the plan?" Andre asked finally. Neal saw Peter relax a fraction and nod at him very slightly. If Andre had not been watching, if Neal had been able to show how he felt, he would have collapsed in relief, but since that wasn't an option he simply kept his feelings hidden, smiled slightly and replied in a low calm voice.
"We're leaving tomorrow night." Neal told him "but only if you get me the money we agreed on today to get things set up" he made it a question.
Andre nodded for his men to let go of Peter and held out a pad of paper and pencil for one of them to pass to Neal to write down the account details.
"I'll have it sent within the hour" he told Neal.
Peter walks Neal back to his cell.
"That was close." Peter tells him. Peter had
Neal rubs his hand across his face wincing as he accidentally touches the fading bruises on his face.
"We've cut it closer" he gives Peter a tired grin.
"One more day" Peter reassures Neal.
"One more day." Neal confirms.