Hello, faithful readers (I know you're out there!), I'm back now! Sorry for the delay in posting. I've been rewriting a lot, and there's the job, classes, final exams (sneaky fellows, they've crept up on me again)... Anyway. I hope you'll enjoy this second Peter part, in the next chapter we see what Neal's been up to. Thanks again, all of you reading this! You inspire me.

A tense silence fell about the room, interrupted only by the occasional ragged breaths coming from the corner where Laura sat. She had looked composed when Peter had come in, but now her eyes were puffy and she could no longer control the shaking of her hands. Mr. Vogt had wanted to stay by her side but Collins had threatened with charges, careless showing off the gun holstered to his hip while babbling about obstruction of justice, harbouring a fugitive, and other crimes that he had no power to accuse him of, because he had no jurisdiction. But Mr. Vogt didn't know that, and though Peter had wanted to tell him the truth, he had allowed him to leave. He also did not want to talk to Laura with her father in the room.

Mozzie still stood by the railing of the veranda, not even his obvious fear of Collins enough to make him leave, and he stared with hateful eyes at Laura. Nico had stayed with Vogt and Hugo, watching curiously from the other side of the glass dividing wall, and Collins strutted in front of it as if they were his audience. He stood very straight, with his chest proudly thrust forwards, and Peter hated him even more. A deep groove formed in his forehead, and he had to take a moment to breathe before he could speak calmly.

"I haven't caught my man," he said. It took all of his self control not to knock the other agent on his back and force him to tell him what he knew – and then do the same with Laura. He was losing precious time standing there, not looking for Neal, but he was afraid that if he let his impatience show then Collins would know. "He's not here."

"Isn't he?" Collins raised the tone of his voice at the end so he sounded mocking. He stood on the tip of his right foot and wheeled around towards Laura. "Because this young lady I met on my way here, she's got a different story. Don't you?"

Laura looked away and clenched and unclenched her fists. Collins grabbed a chair and placed it in front of him, letting it fall to the ground hard enough for it to leave marks on the floorboards.

"Sit," he said, looking up at Laura, and she did so without a word. Peter moved away from Collins and leaned in closer to Mozzie.

"Fill me in," he said. Mozzie adjusted his glasses.

"Fed number two showed up. Found Laura walking on the road, but that's all I know. She hasn't said anything yet. Your turn, Suit."

"We found an outflow to the river, but that's not why I came back. I got a message from Neal."

"What?" Mozzie turned, gaping. Peter stomped over his foot, reminding him Collins was mere feet away from them. Peter was still considering letting the OIA agent know of his findings, after all he could be of help and at this point all he cared about was getting to Neal, but first he wanted to know what Laura had to say. "Where is he? What did he say?"

"Not much. Vague directions. He's trapped in a cave."

"What?"

"Do you have a hearing problem? Stop saying what. Shush, now."

Collins turned to look at them, and then he returned to face Laura with a very deliberate swing, resting his weight in the balls of his feet. It was obvious to Peter that he was enjoying himself.

"When was the last time you saw Neal Caffrey?" he asked. Laura kept fiddling, she crossed and uncrossed her fingers and tried to avoid a direct stare. Her clothes, her skin and her hair were filthy, she was clearly uncomfortable, but yet, when she spoke, her voice was steady.

"Twelve days ago," she answered, without a pause between her words. Collins paced and did a turn again. Peter wanted to stand up and just ask the only relevant question there was to ask — where the hell is Neal now? - but he didn't want to confront Collins just yet. He wanted to hear what Laura had to tell.

"What is your association with him?" Collins went on. His voice grew progressively louder, and Peter shook with impatience.

"He's my neighbour. We play dice."

"But that's not the only relation you have with him, is it?"

"We're friends…"

"Just friends?"

"Yes. Just friends. I was involved with someone else."

"And not anymore?"

"No."

"Collins, this has no relevance —"

"Quiet, Agent Burke. I am the one that's officially in charge of this interrogation. Now, Laura. Who was this man you were involved with, and that as I've ascertained, your family knows nothing about? What was his name? What did he do?"

"He… His name is Rob. I've known him for ten years. He's… He's a gold miner."

"Oh, so you have a thing for felons, then?"

"Collins…" Peter butted in again, but the OIA went on.

"Or is it shiny things that attract you? Tell me, Laura, what you told me in the truck. What did your boyfriend Rob do?"

"He—" Laura stopped, and for a second looked straight at Peter. "He killed a man." Peter's heart skipped a beat. "A prospector. We found him stuck in the sluice gate." Peter felt no shame in his relief that it wasn't Neal.

"So you knew then that he was no saint, right?"

"I had known before. I've known a long time."

"Then why didn't you just leave him?"

"I… I couldn't."

"You couldn't. Now, Laura. How did Rob and Neal Caffrey meet?"

"I introduced them."

"And after that first meeting, what did Rob say to you? When you were alone?"

"He said…" Laura looked at Peter again, with deep shame and sorrow in her eyes. "He said he wouldn't deal with him. That I'd been wrong to bring him there. He told me he was sorry, but he would have to go."

"And what happened then?"

"The cave, like I told you. Below the trunk of the lupuna. It's a deep cave, very deep. We didn't hear him fall."

"Did you know, before Rob pushed him, what he was going to do?"

Laura covered her face with her hands for a second. Then she lowered them again and kept her gaze on Peter. Only then did her voice waver.

"Yes." She gulped. "I knew."

Collins drummed his fingers on the back of Laura's chair, pacing around her, but at last he pulled away and came to lean against the railing next to Peter. He threw his head back, staring at the rainy sky.

"Laura, you are cold. How could you talk to the man, look at him even, knowing what was to become of him?"

Laura bent down her head and covered her face again. She trembled, holding back sobs, and she didn't answer. Collins tapped his foot on the floor boards.

"What did your man Rob do that made you run away from him and hide in the bushes? What was suddenly so terrible that even someone like you couldn't stand it?"

"That has nothing to do—"

"Answer the question! I decide what's important or not." Collins' voice echoed in the walls of the house and those standing on the other side of the glass partition raised their heads. Laura pushed herself back against her seat and broke down into sobs. They were not loud sobs, but still they sounded of guilt and despair, and for a moment Peter found himself pitying her. Then he forced himself to remember what she'd done, and he looked away. Collins, on the other hand, had not a fleeting sense of compassion.

"Ah, come on," he said, with a mocking sing-song voice. "You can drop this little naïve-little-girl act. Don't play stupid. Where is your cold heart now? You looked into Neal Caffrey's eyes knowing he'd soon be buried underground, covered in leeches and bat droppings, knowing he'd probably die in that wretched hole-"

"Collins!" Peter suddenly yelled, and stood between them. All blood had drained from his face and he felt ill. He didn't even dare look at Mozzie. "This is enough."

"Peter," said Collins with a condescending tone. "You of all people should be glad."

"Why would I be glad?" said Peter, gritting his teeth.

"Because, this means you didn't lose. You have to agree, this turn of events benefits us both."

Peter felt himself shaking.

"For both our sakes, stop talking," he warned. Collins laughed, but he didn't' stop.

"A dead fugitive is much easier to catch. It also means we don't have to process him back in New York. You don't have to worry about an investigation."

"Collins…"

"Face reality, Burke. Twelve days, Neal Caffrey's most likely dead now. Who knows what kind of filth you can find in caves around here, blood-sucking vampires, leeches, definitely some nasty bugs… If the fall didn't kill him, then something else must have. Hell, when we get to the cave we'll probably find nothing but bones and—"

Peter thrust his clenched fist forwards and struck Collins square in the face before he could finish his sentence. Collins swayed and went down, eyes closed, and Peter let out his held breath with a huff. He stood very straight as if electricity had run through him, and he rubbed his reddened knuckles with a slight smile growing on his face. Behind the partition, Vogt and Nico had stood and were now headed for the door. Laura stared at him in stunned silence, but Mozzie stepped forwards.

"That was quite the punch, Suit," he said, flipping Collins over. He was out cold.

"I warned him," said Peter. Despite how quick his blow had been, he still sounded a little winded. "He wouldn't shut up…" He turned suddenly. "This was stupid, I shouldn't have… now when he wakes up…"

"We'll deal with him after we find Neal," said Mozzie. He knelt down next to Collins.

"And you think he'll just patiently wait?"

Mozzie shook his head, and pulled off his shoelaces, which he used to tie back the agent's hands. Then he looked back at the partition.

"Mr. Vogt has an underground cellar. Store room for coffee. It can be locked from the outside."

"Mozzie, we can't…"

"Time's clicking away, Suit. Do you have a better alternative? We need to leave now."

Peter looked around, nervous. His eyes met Laura's and she didn't look away, despite the tears streaming down her cheeks. Again he felt the pang of pity at her situation, but he forced all of his anger into his voice when next he spoke.

"Take him away, lock him up good. Come back here and we'll take Agent Collins' monster truck back to the forest."

Mozzie slid open the partition and both Nico and Mr. Vogt helped him drag Collins by his feet, taking little care as his head slipped down the short step between the veranda and the inside of the house. Once they had disappeared from view, Peter turned towards Laura.

"Do you think he's still alive?" he asked. He tried to keep his voice steady but still it shook. Laura wrinkled her forehead in anguish, and kept fidgeting with her fingers.

"I… I don't know," she said.

"But what do you think? You know that cave."

"He's got water. If he didn't get any open wounds in his fall, he might…" She stopped to take a breath, as if talking tired her. Peter gritted his teeth with impatience.

"Neal was your friend, wasn't he?" he asked.

"Yes."

"You feel guilty about what you did, don't you?"

"Yes. "

"Then why," Peter felt his voice rising, becoming hoarser with rage. "Why didn't you try to stop him? Why didn't you warn him? You didn't do anything!"

"You don't understand-"

"You're right. I don't understand. Why did you change your mind later? Why did you decide Rob was a bad person only after he had thrown Neal into that damn cave? For God's sake, was that not enough proof of what kind of person he was?"

"What do you want me to say? I couldn't do it then, I couldn't confront him, I thought I still loved him. Only when he told me…"

"What did he tell you?"

Laura leaned forwards. "He let Neal believe he was like him. A conman. An artist. He is a conman, and he was an artist, but the law wants him for something else." She was whispering now. "He lost it when he realised there might be Lawmen coming here because of Neal. He was afraid, because he's a murderer, and he's been one since the first day I met him, only I never knew."

Peter nodded, and then thought struck him like an arrow.

"His name's Rob. He never told you his last name, did he?"

"No."

"He's got black hair, doesn't he? And only one eye."

Laura looked up.

"How do you know that?"

Peter stood back, just as Mozzie and Nico returned from having locked up Collins. Nico was carrying a thick rope over his shoulders.

"I know that because he's been wanted by the FBI for a long, long time. If you had applied those research skills you used to figure Neal out on him, you would've saved us all the trouble." He turned to Mozzie. "She'll take us to the cave. We'll take Collins' truck."

"Can you drive that thing?" said Mozzie.

"I can try."

"I knew that black truck belonged to a crook. No law-abiding man drives like that," said Nico, and the moment he was done his head banged on the seat in front as Peter braked and took a hard bend. "Except for you, Peter, of course."

"I think under the circumstances my driving is excused," said Peter. He tried to sound light, but still his lips remained tight and he could not keep his grim thoughts from showing in his face. The fact that Laura, beside him, was so quiet didn't help him keep his hopes up. If he reached the cave and Neal was dead… He couldn't bare it. Just remembering Collins' vivid description of what he might find in that dark place made him feel sick. He wanted to call El, but his phone was dead and even if it had been on he suspected he would not have had any signal. He cursed his service provider, and wondered how Neal had managed to send messages from a hole in the ground.

"You have to veer off the road now." Laura pointed to the right side. "There's a fording point in the stream, and then you can drive along side it. You'll destroy the bed, but… The other road will take days."

"I thought this place was close. That you'd walked there in a few hours."

"They were more than a few. And it wasn't raining so much then. This is the fastest way, trust me."

"We have no choice in that, do we?" said Peter.

"Yeah, maybe she'll lead us all into a large pit and leave us to die," Mozzie added, and kept staring out the tiny window. It still surprised Peter how quiet Mozzie was. It didn't bode well.

"How long now?" he asked Laura. He took the turn she pointed him towards, and dipped the front of the Unimog into the stream. Clay-coloured water sprayed around them, but none seemed to mind.

"Thirty minutes, maybe," said Laura. "Watch out for that rock."

"Damn." Peter pulled at the stiff wheel but still hit a river boulder full on. He expected it to get stuck under the chassis and force them to an abrupt stop, and he braced himself for it, but the truck rolled over it with little more than a metallic clang, and they went on, the left side tyres dipping into the water of the stream. "Where on earth did Collins get this thing?"

"Government resources. You should ask for a raise, Suit, seems they're willing to spend."

"Yeah, right. I had to pay for my own ticket here, cost me a fortune. By the way, Mozzie, you owe me. Your message wasn't really specific. I had to hire a plane."

Mozzie nodded.

"Next time, I'll choose our retirement spot," he whispered.

"Next time?"

"You heard me. Next time."

"There won't be a next time, Mozzie."

"Whatever you say, Suit."

"No, no, I'm being serious here."

"So am I."

"Mozzie-"

"Turn right here," Laura butted in.

"Left? There's a solid wall of trees right-"

Laura threw herself almost on Peter's seat, she grabbed hold of the wheel, and swung it to the right. The truck hit the trees and trampled down on them, but then they were out in a clearing, going fast over soft grassland. Ahead, a clear column of dark smoke rose from above the tree-line.

"What's that?" Nico asked from the back.

"Rob's camp," said Laura.

"I better not find him there," said Peter. If he did, he didn't know if he'd be able to control himself.

They kept breaking through the young trees and bushes, through a dense, wet forest that no ordinary truck would've been able to pass through, until they met the course of the winding stream again, and a sheer wall of rock stopped them. Ahead, they saw the top of a wooden house on stilts. Peter shut down the truck, and Nico jumped down carrying the rope. Behind them, Mozzie held on to a duffel bag where he'd previously packed every first aid kit and medicine they had found in both his own house and Mr. Vogt's.

"From here, we walk," said Laura, and she led the way with an uneasy step. Peter followed closed behind, and all the way no one spoke. It started to rain, and at every step they sunk to their knees in the muddy ground, but no one complained, no one said anything. To Peter, that walk felt strangely surreal. He couldn't believe he was there. Five years before, he would've never imagined he would ever be in a situation like the one he was in. He would have never imagined risking everything, as he was doing now, for someone he'd put in jail. But at that moment it felt incredibly right. He gave himself faith and hope and willpower with every step. Neal was smart. He'd probably built himself a shelter down in that cave. He had to be all right. And when he found him, he'd be glad to slap handcuffs on him, if that was what was necessary to bring him home.

Next time. Mozzie's words rang in his ears. What did that mean? Did Mozzie really expect for him to let them both go again? If he hadn't lost his job now, he would definitely be out in the street if he went back to Hughes bug-bitten but empty handed. But he couldn't just throw Neal back to prison. That wasn't fair. Neal had run at his signal. There had to be away to get him his deal back, if only it had not been for the Raphael, for Keller, for Kramer…

"Oh my God," Nico stopped in his tracks, Mozzie bumped behind him, and they all stopped and looked up. Peter felt all his gathered courage plummeting to the ground, and suddenly he was terrified. Shaking, he craned his neck and stared at the largest tree that he'd ever seen in his life.

There will be more soon! Next chapter, FINALLY, both POVs join up. I know you've been waiting for it! Any thoughts, comments, cries of despair, there's a box below. You know, I didn't use to review at all before. I was embarrassed. Then I started posting myself and I finally understood these little A/N at the end of each chapter. When I see an email with (Review) on the subject, I jump up and down with joy.

I hope you're enjoying this, and I look forwards to hearing from you or seeing you again next chapter. There's a lot more to come! Until then!