Peter's point of view today. Don't worry, the whump is coming soon. I'm just setting things up! Again, thanks to everyone is reading, commenting, and following this story. It means a lot!

Testing Bonds Chapter 7

Peter pushed the "End Call" button on his cellphone after calling Neal for about the tenth time without an answer. He had been trying all evening after discussing the Levington case with Jones. Together, they had decided Peter should talk with Neal about the little he did know about the case he had found and gage Neal's reaction. He had supposed earlier that a game plan—a way to approach this whole situation—would have calmed him, but instead he found himself on edge. He wanted to talk to Neal now, and he hated that the CI was with another department and therefore out of his reach when he wanted him.

"Damn it," he whispered to himself as he stood and headed out of his office. He was tired of waiting! He entered the elevator as soon as he reached it and hit the button for one floor up. This would be the second time he visited Organized Crimes that day, but he didn't care. He couldn't reach Neal and he wanted to know why.

As soon as he exited the elevator and entered their offices, he immediately looked at his partner's desk. No Neal, and his hat and coat were missing also. He then glanced up at Agent Williamson's office and saw the agent sitting behind his desk alone, studying at his computer screen intently.

Peter took a step in that direction but paused when an agent stepped in front of him. If he remembered correctly his name was Bierce.

"Agent Burke, it's a surprise to see you back in the office again so soon."

Peter could tell the man was fishing, wanting some kind of explanation for the day's visits. No doubt Bierce was one of the agents on Williamson's task force. He forced a polite smile on his face and replied, "I need to speak with Agent Williamson." He walked around Bierce before the agent could reply and headed up the stairs. As soon as he reached Williamson's door, he knocked and didn't wait for a reply. Instead, he walked in before Williamson even had the opportunity to ask him to come inside.

"Where's Neal?" Peter asked abruptly.

Williamson had a hand over his phone, and his eyes, which were widened slightly, immediately narrowed in response. He removed his hand from the mouthpiece and mumbled, "I have to call you back." Once the phone was in its cradle, Williamson stood and stated composedly, "Agent Burke, have a seat." He gestured towards one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Peter took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He knew his actions were bordering on rudeness… Who was he kidding? He was acting downright insane! He sat down and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Jerry," he began with a slight chuckle. "Neal drives me a little crazy sometimes. I'm sure you know the feeling by now." He expected Jerry to take it as the apology that it was and for the two of them to get along by comparing notes on the notorious Neal Caffrey, but that didn't happen.

Instead, Williamson sat back down and replied coolly, "Actually, no, I don't. Neal hasn't lived up to his reputation in White Collar, I'm glad to say. He's behaved himself with us."

In response to Jerry's words and tone, Peter immediately straightened in his seat and cleared all emotions from his countenance. "Yes, Neal told me he was trying his best to behave for me while he was here." He raised an eyebrow. "I've been trying to reach him all afternoon without much luck. He's supposed to be accompanying me somewhere after work and I wanted to finalize our plans."

Jerry looked down at the large calendar on his desk and reported nonchalantly, "Neal hasn't mentioned having plans this afternoon. He usually clears any outings with me—I like to know what he's up to while he's my responsibility."

Peter could feel himself grinding his teeth together and forced himself to stop. He ignored the agent's comment and stated calmly, "I need to know where Neal is."

Williamson gave Peter an appraising glance before explaining almost absentmindedly, waving his hand as if it were of little concern, "He's out in the field trying to gather entail on one of our cases. He should be back soon."

Peter glanced behind him to the floor below. He already had a bad feeling all evening and it was getting worse now. "Who went with him?"

Williamson stood and said inquisitively, "Look, Peter, I'm not too sure what's going on here. You've been quiet and out of the picture the entire time Neal has been working with us and all of a sudden today you're showing up like it's nothing out of the ordinary. Why is that?"

Peter glared at Williamson but stopped himself from giving a scathing reply. He knew his actions had to look odd to the casual observer. For months, it probably seemed like he hadn't had a care in the world about Neal. That certainly wasn't true...far from it actually, and he couldn't stand anyone questioning that.

Unable to refrain from putting the agent in his place, Peter stated, "You should know that Neal is about to transfer back to White Collar and I'm reestablishing my role as his handler."

Williamson turned around and walked to the glass window behind him. Folding his arms behind his back and rocking on his heels slightly, he responded, "Neal has been doing excellent work with us, Agent Burke. He's in the middle of a case right now." He turned back around to stare at Peter and continued, "I don't want to give him up right now. I won't. In fact, let's put all of our cards on the table while we're both here and discussing Caffrey: I'm not entirely sure if I don't want him working with our department permanently. He does good work with us and he's been keeping his nose clean. My record with Neal, when looking at his behavior and compliance with his agreement, is a whole lot better than his and yours was in the same time frame."

Peter wrinkled his face in contempt and spat, "This isn't a competition, Williamson. Neal belongs in White Collar. He wants to transfer back to us and that is exactly what is going to happen. I was just giving you a little professional courtesy by letting you know. Now, before we go any further, let's just…"

Peter's words were interrupted by a voice and then a figure practically running into the room.

"Hey, Jerry, I know when…"

Peter turned abruptly and saw Neal freeze a couple of feet inside the room.

"Peter," Neal said worriedly. "Why are you here? What's wrong?"

Before Jerry could answer, Peter glanced at his watch quickly, stepped backward until he reached the ex-conman, and led Neal out of the office. He threw back over his shoulder, "It's past 5:00, so Neal's on my time now."

They dashed down the stairs together, even though Neal could have no possible idea why they were making such a hasty exit. Evidently, he chose simply to go along with it, trusting Peter. These thoughts were confirmed when Neal questioned softly, "So, I'm on your time now?"

Peter sighed and said, "We'll discuss that later; come on."

Within moments, they were in the elevator and Peter leaned against the wall and banged the back of his head against it a couple of times. "That could have gone better," he mumbled.

=)=)=)

I plan on updating this again sometime this weekend!