Hey! This is sadly the last chapter for this story. Thanks for sticking through it with me(:
enjoy!
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Neal really had to commend the FBI's ability to take anything that had an ounce of fun and ruin it. How they managed to take something as exciting as going undercover and turn it into hours of sitting in a stuffy van was beyond him. It was better than prison, but not by much.
Neal's chair might as well have been made from plywood, the way it was making his broken ribs and bruises ache. He didn't even have anyone to annoy, because he was pretty sure Diana would tape his mouth shut if he tried, and Peter was currently working inside the mayor's building as an intern. Listening to the audio of his mundane tasks was mind numbing, and Neal was surprised that Diana could listen to it without slamming her head into the wall just because it was something to do.
Neal tried his best to occupy himself so he wouldn't lose any more brain cells, slipping small pieces of equipment into his pockets when Diana wasn't looking. He managed to grab a pen that doubled as a recording device and a watch that also sent out discreet GPS signals before Diana told him to stop fidgeting. Neal didn't really care for the items, but he planned to give them to Mozzie as a peace offering for bringing a fed to one of his safe houses. He had no idea where the little guy was, but he was sure Moz would love to find out how the FBI gadgets worked and would want to see if he could use it against The Man.
Neal's brain kept bringing up memories of Jax in the van's silence, so he grabbed the building's blueprints to distract himself. He looked at the floor plan, memorizing the vent system and mapping escape routes in his head, more of a habit than anything else.
After what felt like an eternity, Neal's head snapped up from where he was drawing on a napkin. The background noises of an office had stopped coming from their radio, leaving only Peter and another man's voices. Diana was leaned in close, her brow furrowed.
"Get your hands off of me," Peter growled over the transmission.
"I can't do that, Agent Burke." At that point Diana quickly grabbed her own radio, calling in for backup. The sound of a heavy door being swung open filled the van, followed by an angry shout of "Hey!" from Peter, before their communication was cut.
"Shit," Diana cursed under her breath.
"How far out is backup?" Neal asked, fingers drumming against his leg restlessly.
"At least fifteen minutes," Diana hissed. "We didn't anticipate the mayor being tipped off that fast. This was supposed to be a no risk operation today."
Neal could feel the tension rolling off of her in waves, and though the last thing he wanted to do was evoke her rage, he had to state the obvious. "Peter might not have fifteen minutes. The mayor doesn't like loose ends."
Diana clenched her fist. "I know that, Caffrey, but-" She was cut off as Neal sprung up and flung the van doors open, jumping out deftly. "Hey! What the hell-"
Neal didn't hear the rest of what she was saying, slamming the doors back shut before she could finish her sentence. He ran into a nearby alley before slowing his pace, not sure if Diana would follow him or not. He approached the building casually, going over his plan in his head. Or really, lack of a plan. More of a vague outline.
He walked into the office where Peter had been working, getting by the receptionist with a fast pace, dazzling smile, and quick wave; the image of a hurried business man. Once he entered the office, Neal walked through the sea of desks to the back of the room, towards the hallway. He deflected the questioning looks with terse waves and muttered excuses of, "Darn, late to another meeting with Bill."
When he entered the hallway and was away from prying eyes, Neal quickened his pace. He knew that his flimsy alibi wouldn't hold off security for long, and their presence would make his job a lot more annoying.
He scanned the hallway, looking for a likely room Peter would have been thrown into. He quickly came across a large metal door and wasted no time pulling out his lock picks and setting to work. It took only a minute, and he swung open the door to see a very surprised Peter sitting on the floor, hands and feet bound. "Wow, I'm going to be a lot less worried about being caught by the FBI if this is how you investigate."
Peter ignored the remark, instead asking, "Neal, what are you doing here?"
Neal glanced into the hallway, looking left and right before shutting the door once more. "Saving your life for the third time in a row, what does it look like?" Neal bent down and quickly untied Peter, his deft fingers unknotting the ropes quickly, betraying his experience in such situations. As soon as he was done, Neal pulled Peter up. "Give me a boost to the vent up there."
Peter sighed, but laced his hands together as a platform for Neal. "Should I even bother asking why we're using the vents?"
Neal popped the grate open, smirking. "No guards in the vents." He grabbed onto the edge and pulled himself into the small space. He glanced back down, reaching his good arm for Peter. The agent rolled his eyes, but grabbed the offered hand. Neal groaned at the weight, but managed to pull Peter up with him. Just in time, too, for at that moment the room's door flung open. Shots were fired at the ceiling, but thankfully they ricocheted off of the metal vent.
They crawled away quickly, Neal ahead since he knew the way. After a minute or two, Neal glanced through a grate that led to the room he was looking for. It was empty. Neal gave the grate a sharp kick, sending it flying off. He jumped down, landing on the floor below with grace. Peter followed, landing with far less poise and looking irritated at that. Neal walked over to the room's door and shoved at nearby chair under the knob.
"Neal, why are we in this room?"
"We need a distraction. The security is probably sweeping the building right now, which means they'll flush us out eventually." Neal turned to the large computer that was the room's central focus.
"Why don't we just wait in the vents for back up?"
"Back up won't be here for an hour." Neal winced as soon as he the horrible lie left his mouth. To his defense, he was also in the middle of hacking into the computer, so he was a little preoccupied.
"An hour? Really? How stupid do you think I am?"
Neal clenched his jaw, stressed that the computer was harder to crack than anticipated and vaguely regretting untying Peter. "This is our only opportunity to get the mayor. If we lose him now, he'll go underground. We can't just hide out and wait for back up to save us."
Peter sighed as if he was talking to a toddler who wouldn't eat his vegetables. "I want to get him too, but it's not worth getting killed over. He can't hide forever, and when he slips up, we'll get him."
Neal hung his head against his chest, fingers stilling over the keyboard. "Fine. You're right." He dragged a hand through his hair before pointing to another door in the room. "That exit leads outside."
Peter smothered his triumphant smile as he walked over to the door and yanked it open. He frowned. "Neal, this is a closet."
Before he could turn around, he was shoved into the closet, the door slamming behind him. He immediately surged forward and jiggled the handle, only to realize he was locked in. "Caffrey!" he growled, trying to keep his voice low, aware they were still being pursued.
"Sorry Peter," Neal muttered. "We can't let the mayor go." Neal went back to the computer, only taking one more moment to crack it. As he worked, he could hear Peter lecturing him.
"We're not letting him go! But we're also not going on a suicide mission!"
"Have a little faith," Neal muttered. He finally located the system's gas line break alarm, setting it off. Immediately, alarms began blaring. "I'll be back soon," he told Peter.
"Neal, listen to me! Come back here-"
Neal winced as he shut the door. It was really the only way in Neal's mind. Peter was as stubborn as him, and that was saying something.
He quickly made his way to the mayor's office, pushing through the crowds of people going the opposite direction, towards the exit. He reached the large wooden doors and pulled them open with flourish. Sure enough, as he had expected, the mayor was quickly emptying a hidden safe of money and no doubt illegal documents.
As soon as he entered, one of the two guards who had apparently stayed with the mayor tackled him to the floor. Neal looked up at the mayor's wary face. With as much suave ever achieved by someone pinned to the floor, he said, "Hello, Henderson. Have a moment to chat?"
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Peter was officially going to kill that kid. He swore he had twenty new gray hairs from the past two weeks. He had given up trying to get the door open, instead listening closely to what was happening outside. All he could hear was the blaring of some alarm.
Based on the time that had passed, back up should be there at any moment. Peter would never live it down if his team found him locked in a closet by Caffrey, the thought causing his annoyance to double. It was easier to focus on anger than to dwell on the worry that Neal had most certainly just gone to take on the mayor and his men. You would think that the past two months would have taught him that he wasn't invincible, but that was Caffrey for you. Infuriatingly contradictory.
The door suddenly opened. Peter was ready to attack whoever it was, but then he realized it was Neal, and then he was really ready to attack him. "What the hell!" Peter exclaimed angrily. "You could've gotten yourself killed, and I'm not even going to broach the fact that you locked me in a closet."
"Not my best work, I admit. But, here," he said, handing Peter a pen. "Full confession."
Peter narrowed his eyes. "You're kidding."
Neal shook his head. "It's all there."
He wasn't smiling, but his eyes were sparkling mischievously. Peter's face slowly broke into a small grin as he stared at the pen, pushing away his anger at the moment for amazement. "How?"
Neal smirked. "I can't give away all of my secrets, can I?"
At that response, Peter expected his anger to return full force, but instead found himself laughing slightly. Neal looked at him like he was crazy for a second, before laughing too.
The sound of pounding footsteps could be heard over the alarm, and a moment later a group of agents ran in. "Are either of you injured?" one asked.
"No," Peter confirmed. The other agents left the room, and Peter began to walk out of the building, filling in Jones on the situation as he went, Neal following behind.
Peter stepped outside into a flurry of activity. He quickly handed off the pen, ordering an agent to take it to a judge and get a warrant so they could search the place for more evidence. Various police cars lined the street with backseats full of the mayor's arrested men, one containing the mayor himself. Peter smiled, looking forward to the man's trial. He walked down the row of police cars, looking for Neal in one of the car's confines. Finding nothing, he asked Diana which agent's custody Neal was in. She gave in a weird look. "He was in yours, boss."
Peter scanned the scene for the con, eyes hard before he broke into a grin.
"Game on, Caffrey."
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thanks again for reading, love ya :D
