"Matthew Keller?" Diana said disbelievingly as she stared down at a file in her hands. "He's your guy?"
Neal nodded and took the file from her, pointing to the list of arrest charges. "Assault and battery, murder, human trafficking...it makes sense. Small-time slave dealer looking for a few extra bucks - Gerald sends him to kidnap or possibly kill Peter, finds me instead. Since he broke out of prison last year, he'd rather run than add 'murder of a federal agent' to his list of charges."
"We can't have seen the last of him," Diana said disbelievingly.
Neal shook his head in agreement. "Nope. I don't think so, either. To keep the Burkes safe, I reduced their radius to the house today."
"How in hell will that keep them safe?" Diana demanded. "If Keller comes, and they need to run, they'll be trapped."
"But they can't go within ten feet of any doors, and five of any windows. They won't be able to let him in."
"He got in before without having to be invited."
"But I had Mozzie install shockers on all the windows and doors, so if he tries to get in, he'll be caught."
"It sounds too perfect to work," Diana said doubtfully.
"It will work," Neal said confidently. "I'd say we'll have him some time in the next week, and then he can lead us straight to the head of the operation. He won't stay away for long."
He forgot to knock on wood.
It was three days later that Neal's phone and computer began beeping erratically at the same time, and Neal immediately knew that the trackers had set them off. Pulling up the tracking data, he was just in time to see Peter's tracker blink from yellow to red behind the house. Elizabeth's was still green inside.
Oh, no.
Before Elizabeth had been kidnapped and sold with Peter, she had easily been able to get in elevators. She had been able to go scuba diving without panicking, and at her best friend's eighteenth birthday party she remembered getting drunk and becoming a contortionist for the night. She had fit herself into a suitcase and let herself be tossed into the pool so that she could show everyone that she could escape. She'd had no fear or anxiety, confident that she could get out.
But that had been ten years ago. That was before she had been locked alone in a dark closet for hours - even days - on end. That was before she had been tied up and gagged in a way that left her helpless and immobile. That was before she had felt hundreds of different men's bodies on top of her, pressing her down so she couldn't move. That was before she had been pinned down by rough, invasive hands as she was violated and abused. That was before she developed claustrophobia.
Tears squeezed out of her eyes as she willed her mind to believe that she was anywhere but here. She was not being pressed against the ground in the kitchen, she could not feel a man's hot breath on her neck. No one was covering her mouth so she couldn't scream, no one was whispering taunting words in her ear.
"You know, I only came for your husband over there..."
No, no, no! This wasn't happening - she couldn't feel every inch of the man lying on top of her, because there was no one on top of her. She was safe. She was dreaming...or nightmare-ing.
"...but there's no reason I can't have fun with you."
There was not something hardening against her thigh, and that metallic clink was not a belt being unfastened. It was...it was...
Oh, what was the point? El's eyes flew open to stare into the amused, cold eyes of the man who had come into the house the week before. Neal had told them his name - was it Keller? Keller the Killer...that was probably the most accurate nickname he'd ever been given.
El could feel hysteria bubbling up inside of her, and she tried to push it down.
Keep it together, Elizabeth, she told herself. You cannot freak right now!
But it was no use. A moment later she began laughing, but it was hard to laugh with her mouth covered, and she began to have difficulty breathing.
"Something funny, toots?" Keller demanded, though there was cold amusement in his eyes as he stared down at her laughing. He knew exactly what was happening to her.
El shook her head angrily even as she continued to giggle and cry simultaneously. Keller removed his hand from her mouth, but before she could make a sound, chapped lips covered hers, kissing furiously. She struggled again, but he simply pressed against her arms that he had crossed over her chest, and with his other hand he reached down to his waist and did something she couldn't see. She could guess though, and it didn't make her feel any better. She squeezed her eyes shut again and felt his teeth bite against her bottom lip. She tasted something metallic in her throat and realized that it was blood. Bile rose in her throat, but she choked it back down, not wanting to throw up on him and make him angry. He might just go for Peter, who lied helpless and twitching in the backyard as electricity continued to flow through him.
He had been pulled out by Keller a few minutes before, and he had dropped like a stone when he crossed his radius and the tracker shocked him unconscious. Then Keller had noticed El standing in the kitchen, staring at them in shock and horror, but unable to go out for fear of getting shocked herself and harming the baby.
"Please, please..." she pleaded against his lips, tears streaming down her face. "Please don't..."
"Come on, sugar," Keller said as he used one hand to lift her sundress above her waist. "I'm just getting started."
"And your life will be ended if you don't get off of her right now."
Elizabeth felt a rush of relief flow through her when she recognized Neal's voice in the room. She opened her eyes and looked over to see him standing in the doorway, pointing a gun at the man with a steely look in his eyes. He stared coldly at Keller, finger on the trigger and the safety switch off. Anger flowed off of him in waves, but Elizabeth knew that this time it was at Keller rather than herself. This knowledge assured her, made her feel comforted. She wondered briefly how she could feel so safe and secure by the man who had bought her and used her and Peter as servants, including thrashing their palms and leaving them without dinner. But the feeling was there, and she didn't want to get rid of it.
"Get off," Neal ordered when the man didn't comply immediately.
"You wanna fuck her yourself then?" Keller laughed, tightening his grip on her. "You gotta wait your turn then - rules are..."
Bang!
Neal's finger tightened on the trigger and the bullet shot out, flying through the air to hit Keller's arm. With a pained cry, he fell off of Elizabeth and against the hard ground onto his back, grasping desperately at the wound to staunch the flow of blood and consequent pain. Elizabeth immediately scooted away from him in way that resembled a crab walk, eyes wide as she leaned against the island. Not looking at her, Neal stalked over to the man on the ground, kicking him in the side to try and get his attention. He didn't seem to notice, occupied with the bullet wound in his arm.
"Who sent you?" Neal demanded, pointing the gun at Keller's chest. Keller laughed seemingly hysterically and spat in his face. Or, it would've hit his face had he had his strength. Instead it hit the ground at his feet.
"Fuck you, Caffrey!" he told him angrily. Then, faster than seemed possible, he reached into the band of his waist, pulling out a gun that had been previously unnoticed by the two of them. Neal thought he was going to shoot him or Elizabeth and tensed in anticipation, but instead he shoved it into his mouth, pointing the muzzle upward. A moment later, another gunshot rang through the house.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
Elizabeth turned at Peter's words and the hand on her shoulder. She graced him with a smile, saying insistently, "For the last time - yes. I'm more concerned about you - the tracker really did a number on you."
"Nah, I'm fine," Peter tried to say offhandedly.
El smiled softly and clasped both of his hands together in hers, and then pressed her lips to his fingers. "You can't fool me, hon. You're still trembling."
"It's only been an hour," Peter protested, and then went back to the original subject. "What about the baby? Do you feel like it's...okay?"
Elizabeth nodded and glanced over to Neal for a brief instant, who was talking with a couple of police officers. "Ne-Mr. Caffrey called his friend Haversham over and he did a quick check while you were waking up. Everything seems to be going fine, but Haversham will be doing another test tomorrow - just to be sure."
Peter breathed out a sigh of relief and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "If Caffrey hadn't come..."
"Don't even think about it," Elizabeth interrupted, squeezing him tightly. "Keller is dead now - he's killed himself. I'm safe. You're safe."
"But we still don't know why he came after us...or me, I suppose."
"We can figure that out later," El said as Neal approached.
"They want your guys' statement," he said in a quiet voice once he reached them. "Your story: you're married, Elizabeth is my sister. She's not pregnant. You're staying here on a government-release program, which explains the trackers on your ankles. You both went to jail for burglary, and I'm your handler. I work at the FBI, and you help me solve my cases. Everything that happened here with Keller is the same - you can tell them the truth about that. Questions?"
"It's illegal to impersonate a federal agent," Peter reminded him, voice a little sour.
"It's also illegal to buy people and use them as servants," Neal retorted. "Now go. He's going to get suspicious if he thinks that we're talking for too long."
Hm...interesting chapter? I thought so. I know it's a lot shorter than the ones I've written before, but not to worry! I have a shocker coming up that may not shock some of you...but hopefully enough! Also, I really only used Keller (of all people) because he's dead anyway and I didn't want anything revealed about...well...anything, so I'm like - hey! Let's put in someone we all know already! Yes, it's a little OOC that he committed suicide rather than trying to broker a deal, but he was the first one I thought of, and he would make a better small-time crook that Adler would...anyway, please review! I love seeing your guys' thoughts! :)