Chapter 7 All for One and One for All
At the bistro Neal sprang for wine to go with the meal and everyone was merry with Neal's joy at getting rid of the hated tracker.
Peter finally asked who was the informant that blew Neal's cover on the Costa case. Neal gave him the name and said he was sure it was not done with any ill will.
Peter said. "Never the less, it could have been deadly if Lao had heard."
" Neal, I have been thinking about what you said yesterday at lunch, how your operations go smoothly and the issues we have had with ours." Peter pursed his mouth in distaste.
"Peter, I appreciate that. I think some of the problems is your surveillance teams have a habit of looking at the target and that gets noticed. Especially the street workers."
"When I watch the teams I can spot every one and if I can spot them that means others spot them. Your guys get the dress correctly but they hang around when that is unusual. The earpieces stand out. The disguises with ipods are good and the ear buds." Neal explained with a twinkle.
"Little things like that are what stands out. Lauren is pretty good and she does well at blending and going undercover. She sometimes gets anxious and tries to rush the deal. Sorry Lauren." Lauren looked annoyed and frowned. "But Lauren is the fastest draw I ever saw from a briefcase." Lauren looked fractionally more pleased.
" You are talking about the Aimes' case? Right?" Lauren asked in an aggressive manner. "
" Yeah, when Teagan got nervous and blew it and Aimes spooked, you tried to rush it by displaying the money. We had not discussed price and that was a tip off." Neal explained while trying to be sympathetic. He was not trying to rile Lauren's ego.
" Though, I am terrible with guns. I had picked pocketed the magazine from Maria Fiametti in the pat down and I totally was unaware of the possibility of a round in the chamber to my dismay." Neal said in a rueful manner.
"I was so happy when you showed up, Peter and Lauren." Grinned Neal in an understated manner.
Lauren asked, "Neal you have been getting handouts with your clothes, though they are classy. You generally get Peter to pay for your lunch. And you don't get much from the FBI stipend. How could you afford to pay for the bakery?"
Neal eyes just twinkled merrily with dancing lights in his blue eyes. "Well since the FBI provided immunity to Nick Haldane I had access to the funds I had under that name."
"And that was enough?" Lauren persisted. Neal said modestly, " Well… Nick was/is a millionaire"
Everyone eye's just looked astounded at the implication that Neal was quite wealthy.
Peter just gave a quick rueful laugh and said, "Let me see your credit cards, Neal."
Neal pulled out his American Express with a sorrowful glance that said you don't trust me. The name on the American Express was Nick Haldane.
Jones just laughed and said, "Neal, from now on you pay for lunch."
Neal looked at Peter speculatively and "Speaking of teamwork. Peter, do you want to talk about the other item?"
Peter gave Neal a repressive look and said " No, that could endanger their careers. A good leader doesn't do that."
" I don't know, Peter, they may like the choice." Neal remonstrated gently with a small smile.
Jones said, " Agent Burke, I already ran interference with Fowler so I am involved. Plus Neal was framed and that was an inside job."
Lauren declared, "I want to be in on it. If someone is dirty and they are targeting our unit then I am in also."
Peter just looked around his unit proudly and reflected that his unit was a true team with loyalty to the group. They had been under attack and want the chance to fight back. And it was all due to Neal's magnetic charm. Neal was willing to allow them into the magic circle and they willfully rushed into it despite the danger to themselves.
Peter said, " Ok if you all want in. We will discuss the issue"
Neal interrupted, "Before we discuss this shall we all get out our cell phones and check them for hidden surprises."
Neal looked at the faces of the team and laughed gently at the shocked faces. They were so naïve and he was about to introduce them to the dark work world of betrayal and paranoia that every criminal knew intimately.
All the cell phones were clean; the junior agents were not targeted yet. " I will get you all an encryption chip so you can have encrypted communications." Neal promised happy that he had locked down the FBI side of his life.
Peter proceeds to tell them that Fowler had bugged his home phone prior to the jewelry heist.
Neal then went on to explain that OPR is running an unauthorized operation named Mentor that was totally black.
"How do you know it is black op and unauthorized? " Neal simply stated, " I checked. " Neal went on to say that he believed that Peter is a target based on the fact his cell phone was bugged.
" Neal, why don't you tell them about how you busted into their operation." Peter said.
Neal smoothly replied, "I would be glad to Peter. Why don't you explain why you were in the apartment of Lenore Lowell, 425 B?"
Peter was flabbergasted. His mouth dropped open in momentary shock and Lauren and Jones looked around warily. " How did you know?" he asked Neal.
Neal said, "The OPR team in room 525 had a laser directional mike pointed at that apartment and I acquired the recording."
"So Fowler knows?" Asked Peter to Neal, quietly seeing his career going down the tubes.
" Yeah he knows, but his evidence should be gone by now." Peter was abruptly reminded that Neal used extra legal means of acquiring information.
Lauren glanced at Jones but Jones face was stoic. Neal knew that Jones was solid.
" Lauren are you sure you still want in?" Neal gently asked.
"Yeah. But it is scarier than I thought."
Neal gently said, "Welcome to the world of counter intelligence. That is exactly what this operation is."
Peter ruefully thought that control had just shifted over to Neal. He was running this op. That his skills and knowledge were needed. Smooth, Neal, Smooth.
"I expect that the tenant of Apartment 425 B will move shortly and now I just have to track her. I don't think I want OPR to know so they will have to be misdirected." Neal explained to the team.
" How do you plan to do that?" Jones asked
" I am not sure." Neal said softly, "I will have to think about that."
Peter thought that Neal had brought them all into a real con with all the mystery and thrills that implied. It was seductive to see how he organized and planned. They were all mesmerized into Neal's spell. Peter also realized with a sense of shock that Neal knew he had talked to Kate and not ripped up at him. He had thought if Neal knew that, the partnership was over. Instead Neal had protected him, Peter, rather than Peter protecting Neal.
It seemed Neal had already made the decision to trust Peter long before Peter had decided to trust Neal with the tracker removal.
Peter felt a strange sensation at that unalloyed trust of Neal's. It really did inspire loyalty. He now knew why Mozzie was so loyal to Neal. But was Neal still loyal to Kate? Neal had heard the conversation and Kate had not looked good but evidently Neal had not made up his mind about Kate He was still determined to catch her and find out the person behind this. Peter no longer believed that Fowler was behind it. He figured Neal did not either.