A/N: I'm finally updating! Do you still remember about this story? I'm sorry it took so long!
Thank you guys for your support! The word that describes my gratitude doesn't exist! Thank you all! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter! I worked hard on it and I'm really excited to know what you think!
Well begun is half done
Neal buried his head in Peter's chest and mumbled.
'I'm sorry.'
To say that Peter was surprised is to say nothing. He stood, trying to understand what was happening, but before his mind could register what was going on, his hands were hugging Neal back and his voice was saying that everything was ok. How could he say such things?! Everything was NOT OK. Neal ran away, he got El worried and Peter was angry. Well, at least he had been angry a few seconds ago, before Neal made such an appearance. Maybe that teenager was trying to con him... But all of those thoughts vanished, when Neal looked up at Peter.
'Oh, God! Neal, who did this to you?' exclaimed Peter, taking the teenager's chin and softly turning his head to have a better look at the black eye.
'This is so not fair, Peter! I came to you, finally admitting that I was wrong and sorry and you're threatening me with that thing again! This is all Mozzie's fault! He and his stupid speech made me... I don't deserve that!' with tears of resentment, avoiding Peter's direct question and looking at the slipper, the agent was holding in his left hand.
Peter looked confused and was struggling to find the right words to answer.
'I... That wasn't what I was... I came home just a few minutes ago and was about to take off my shoes and to put my slippers on... And don't avoid my question, Neal! What happened?! I want the truth! NOW!'
Mozzie found the right moment to come in.
'Don't rush anything, Suit. When the time is right, it'll happen.' said the short guy, coming into the house.
'If we wait until we're ready, we'll be waiting for the rest of our lives.' replied Peter, much to Mozzie's surprise.
'Lemony Snicket. Nice one, Suit. But...'
'Guys... I'm not feeling so good.' interrupted Neal before Mozzie got carried away.
'I'll take care of this.' said Peter, taking Neal's arm and motioning for Mozzie to sit down. 'Stay put.'
Mozzie murmured something about not remembering being put anywhere in the first place, but Peter didn't hear him as he was leading Neal upstairs.
Some time later Peter was back. He went straight into the kitchen and Mozzie didn't wait for an invitation to follow. They both sat at the table and spent a few awkward minutes in silence.
'Neal will be fine. And for that, I need to thank you.' said Peter.
'No need for that. I did that for my friend. Before I leave, there is something you should know, though.' answered Mozzie and told Peter what he learned from Neal about the events of the previous night, not without leaving some facts out.
'Don't be too hard on him. Neal's been through enough already.' concluded Mozzie, standing up.
'Thank you for your help, Mozzie.' said Peter, stretching his hand for a handshake.
'I won't admit to assisting a Suit. Otherwise, my reputation would never recover.' replied Mozzie, nevertheless shaking Peter's hand.
Neal woke a few hours later. At first he couldn't understand where he was and even assumed that he was still at Sammy's mansion, but soon the events of the last night got in order. Mozzie brought him home and then there was Peter, helping him to get upstairs... And then he must have fallen asleep.
Neal looked around and saw that the curtains were shut, but the dim evening light was streaming through them. The teenager got out from under the blanket, with which someone must have carefully covered him, but remained sitting on the edge of the bed. The door of his bedroom wasn't completely closed and he could hear hushed voices.
Neal tried to stand up and immediately found out that it was the worst idea that occurred his mind. Well, maybe drinking God knows what was the worst idea, but standing up was definitely the second in row.
Thoughts about Kate flooded his mind. He was always right about not trusting anyone and was a fool for making an exception. Neal believed, or maybe just convinced himself, that Kate was different, that she was special. People say that eyes are the mirror of the soul and Kate's eyes were so kind, so innocent... What if she went with Sammy to protect Neal?! What if he was making a huge mistake by thinking that she betrayed him? Eyes never lie, and Kate's eyes were telling Neal that she loved him...
The door slightly opened and Elizabeth looked inside, bringing Neal back to earth.
'Hi, sweetie. May I come in?' asked El, turning the kights on.
'Of course, El.' replied Neal. Hardly finding the voice to speak.
She sat down beside Neal and looked at him.
'Never thought that I would see the guy, whom FBI couldn't catch for three years, with a black eye and such nasty bruises.' said El, using Neal's technique and hiding her worries beneath the smile.
Neal smiled back, but Elizabeth saw that he was broken. Like every good mother, Elizabeth wanted to hug her baby, make a fuss about how badly hurt he was and then to never let him go away from her side. But like a wise woman, El understood that the situation was delicate and that "the baby" was almost an adult. Almost. He needed guidance and advice, not a cocoon from fluffy pillows.
'Men always have scars, but remind me to teach you self-defense.' said El.
'You can fight?!' asked Neal in amazement, looking up at Elizabeth.
'Oh, yeah! She knows some fighting techniques!' said Peter, appearing at the door with hot chocolate and biscuits on the tray. He put the tray on the bedside table and sat down near El.
'On one of our first dates, I took El to the self-defense class. I'm a trained FBI agent and wanted to make a good impression. But El made quite a good impression on me instead.' said Peter, rubbing his back and looking at Elizabeth lovingly.
'First, she was standing beside me, listening to the instructor attentively. The next thing I knew, I was laying on the floor with El's gorgeous eyes looking at me from above. For a split second I thought I died and was in heaven.'
El started laughing and Neal didn't waste a perfect opportunity to tease Peter.
'No wonder you couldn't catch me for so long.' said Neal, laughing as well.
'El's smile is the only thing to blame.' answered Peter. 'She is just too pretty to throw on the ground.'
'You lost. I won. Get over it.' replied Elizabeth, kissing her husband.
They continued chatting for about twenty minutes, but then the knock on the door interrupted their conversation.
'That's Diana and Jones.' said Peter standing up.
Neal stayed with Elizabeth in the bedroom, but soon decided that he needed to greet the agents. El didn't protest and Neal went to the living room. Three agents were sitting at the table, loudly discussing the details of the case.
'Then the stake out wasn't as useless as we first assumed.' Neal heard Peter saying, while the teenager was slowly coming downstairs. 'Keller won't get away this time.
Unfortunately, there weren't any steps left. Neal couldn't listen to the conversation further and went into the room.
'Good evening.' said Neal, making everyone turn around.
'Hey, Neal.' replied Jones, putting some files into his briefcase. 'It's quiet without you in the office.'
'Caffrey must have pissed you off big time, boss.' said Diana, looking at Neal's face.
'Nope. Wasn't me. Neal got into a fight.' answered Peter, before Neal could even open his mouth.
'Teenagers.' laughed Clinton and Diana at the same time.
Peter and Jones went to the door. Clinton was telling that he had lost his wallet and now had to put everything in his pockets. At those words Peter turned and glanced at Neal, who was talking with Diana.
'Do something like what you did last night again, Caffrey, and I will personally advise Peter to put bars on your window.' said Diana. 'Clear?'
'Yes, agent Berrigan.' replied Neal and flashed his smile, like a Cheshire cat.
Diana shook her head, and catching up with Jones left.
In the morning Neal woke up early and got dressed as quickly as he could. Peter said that he could stay at home for a few days, but Neal knew that he would feel so much worse, if he stayed alone with his thoughts. Besides, he needed to return Jones' wallet...
A few hours later Neal wanted to punch himself for convincing Peter to take him to the bureau. Peter went to another stake out to catch Keller, leaving Neal to sort files under supervision of one of the junior agents.
Meanwhile, Peter and his team were storming into the building. The operation went as planned and they got Keller, when he cracked the high-secure safe and stole the painting. The painting itself wasn't a famous masterpiece, and even Peter who wasn't an expert on arts, could tell that it wasn't worth a lot of money. There were only two items drawn on the painting: an old looking wooden table and a fan., which was laying on the table. There wasn't anything particular about that painting, but why it was under such security the agents had no idea.
Peter went into the interrogation room and sat opposite Keller.
'Matthew Keller.' said Peter.
'Agent Burke.' replied Keller, smiling.
There was something about that smile, that annoyed Peter to no end, but he got his emotions under control and proceeded.
'You'd better start talking, Keller. Why do you need that painting?'
'It's a piece of art and I could sell it for a lot of money.' said Keller.
'Cut the crap. We know that it isn't worth more than five thousand dollars.'
'I can find a buyer, who doesn't know it. Have you seen modern art? There isn't much art in it, but it's sold for millions.' remarked Keller, speaking a little above whisper, so Peter had to listen carefully.
'Listen, we've got enough evidence for your arrest and I can assure you that we won't stop the investigation. I'm sure we'll be able to find enough and then you'll be behind bars for twenty years at least.' said Peter quietly, in Keller's manner. He made a pause, letting the information to sink in and giving Keller a chance to say something. When he didn't get any respond, the agent continued.
'I can shorten your sentence, if you tell me the truth about the painting. Let's start with an easy question. What do you know about the painting?' asked Peter.
'How do I know you are not lying?' retorted Matthew.
'I am a man of my word.' stated Peter calmly, getting a fit of laughter in reply.
Peter waited for some time and stood up from the table and made a move a to walk out of the room, but was stopped by Keller's voice.
'Burke!'
Peter turned to face Keller again.
'I don't know anything about the painting. But I know the man, who wants to get it. Vincent Adler.' said Keller.
Peter nodded and once again turned to the door.
'Now it's your turn, Burke.' said Matthew, raising his voice, as Peter was leaving the room.
'Boss, there is a man waiting for you in the conference room. He brought the lab results on the painting.' said Diana, who was waiting outside the interrogation room.
'Lab results? So quickly? I'll be there in a minute. Thank you, Diana.' replied Peter.
On his way to the conference room, Peter went past Neal, who at that time wasn't doing any work the agent left for him, but was sticking his nose into the case files, he wasn't even supposed to see. Peter made a mental note to tell off the agent, who was supposed to look after Neal and to have a conversation with the teenager about his curiosity, but didn't say anything and headed upstairs.
A tall man, about fifty years of age was already waiting at the table. He stood up, when Peter entered.
'Special agent Peter Burke.' said Peter, greeting the man.
'Anthony Parks.' replied the laboratory consultant, adjusting the oversized glasses on his nose. 'The artist of the painting is unknown, but we know that it was painted somewhere in the middle of the 16th century.' he said, not waiting for any questions.
'The original of the painting is worth a few thousand dollars, and only because of its age. It doesn't have any artistic value.' continued Anthony and when Peter opened his mouth to ask something, he didn't give the agent a chance by going on.
'However, for the painting you brought today, I wouldn't give even a few hundred. The analysis confirmed that it was painted at the end of the 19th century, maybe even the beginning of the 20th century. Therefore, it's a …'
'A forgery?' asked Peter, finally getting a chance to say a word. After straining his ears at the interrogation with Keller it was hard to listen to the annoyingly slow speech of the consultant.
'No, no. I wouldn't say that it's a forgery. It's a copy. A good one, but a copy.'
'What about the original?' asked Peter.
'As far as I'm aware, it hasn't appeared in any museums. The rest isn't my job to know.' replied Anthony. 'The details are in the report.'
The rest of the day wasn't as eventful and soon Peter and Neal were on their way home, much to the teenager's delight.
'Don't worry, Peter. You'll get him next time.' said Neal.
'What do you mean?'
'You've got the "why there are so many problems in the world?" face. So, I figured you didn't catch Keller.'
'No... no, we got him. It's not what bothers me.' replied Peter. 'Before I forgot, Neal, have you done anything I've asked you?'
'Um, yeah... I started sorting the files.'
'And let me guess, then you found something more interesting to do?' asked Peter, glancing at Neal.
'How did you know?' asked Neal, blushing.
'It's my job to know. Next time ask before sticking your curious nose into my case files. Curiosity killed the cat.'
'I'm not a cat, Peter.'
'Oh, I know.' answered the agent.
For a few minutes they were driving in silence, until Peter broke it.
'Guess what?'
'I'm not taking any chances. It's still fresh in my memory that curiosity...' started Neal, but Peter didn't let him finish.
'Jones found his wallet. Turns out he forgot it at the café. And I, God forgive me, thought you took it.'
'Peter! I'm shocked! How could you even think such things and still sleep peacefully at night?!' exclaimed Neal, pretending to be offended. He pretended so well, that soon he really felt offended by the fact that Peter didn't trust him.
'If you continue pouting, your face will explode.' commented Peter, shaking his head. Seeing Neal's reaction, Peter was more than sure that it was Neal who took the wallet... Well, he DID return it. So it was a progress... Kind of.
Some time later, Peter stopped the car. Home, sweet home. He was always looking forward to spend some time with his family. Even since El and Peter got married, it had become the best part of the day, and at first Peter was worried that having Neal living with them would change that. But nothing of that sort happened. Neal definitely brought something new to their small family, but he didn't take away anything that Peter and El were building so carefully during all those years. Peter got used to having dinner with his newly extended family in no time and now had no idea how they had managed to do that without Neal. For Peter those dinners were something sacred. Everything that had happened was forgotten and anything that was going to happen didn't bother the agent. After that, all the problems of the world were back, but not until the last piece on the plate was eaten...
By the time Peter and Neal got to the house, the teenager stopped pouting. So both of them went into the house in good spirits. As soon as they entered, they heard laughter coming from the kitchen and a few moments later El appeared.
'Hey, hon.' she said, kissing her husband. 'Hi, sweetie.' hugging Neal.
Peter was about to ask if they had guests, when Mozzie came out of the kitchen with a glass of wine.
'Good evening, Suit. Neal.' he said, taking a sip from his glass and looking as if everything was the way it should be.
Peter felt that dinner wouldn't be as peaceful as he hoped. Why was the world so cruel?! And then Peter saw how happy El was and Neal's smile, and the ice melted. He would be able to put up with Mozzie for one evening.
As expected, dinner went not as usual, but not unpleasantly. Mozzie even made an exception and told Peter about some of his conspiracy theories.
'Well, I'd better get going.' said Mozzie, after the dinner was over. 'Actually, I came to talk with Neal but your pie, Mrs Suit, made me forget myself.'
'I'm glad you liked it, Mozzie.' smiled Elizabeth.
Peter, who was in a good mood after El's cooking, decided to let Neal and Mozzie talk.
'You can stay for a little while, Mozzie. But nothing illegal! And the mountain had better be in his room after you leave, Mahomet.' said Peter.
'I'll personally see to it, Suit.' answered Mozzie, following Neal upstairs.
'Thanks, Peter.' said Neal and went into his room.
Peter sat down on the couch and hugged Elizabeth.
'Now that I don't see them, I don't trust them.' he said, sighing. 'I can't even decide if I'm against their friendship or not, El. Mozzie seems to be a good friend and he supports Neal. But he is also involved in criminal activity... And their age difference... Mozzie is twenty years older than Neal!'
'Don't be silly, Peter. Moz is only twelve years older than our boy.' said El.
'He told you his age?!' asked Peter, totally surprised. At the moments like that, he was admiring El more than ever.
'Stop worrying, hon. If they are up to something, I'm sure you'll be there to stop them. Let's just enjoy our evening.' said El, running her hand through Peter's hair.
At the same time Neal and Mozzie were having their own conversation, not by any means less interesting.
'What's up with the mountain?' asked the teenager, as soon as the door was shut. 'Since when do you and Peter share jokes I'm not aware of?'
'Since I began earning his trust.' answered Mozzie, making himself at home and sitting down at the table.
There was a painting on the table, at which Neal was working in the garden.
Mozzie looked at it thoughtfully for a few minutes.
'I always told you to do your own work, but you never listened... I see that Suit does a better job at encouraging you.'
'Neal shrugged his shoulders in reply and sat down near his friend, waiting for Mozzie to continue, which didn't take long.
'The word on the street is that Keller got into the feds' paws.'
'Yeah... Peter's team got him today.' answered Neal.
'I never liked him.' stated Mozzie.
'You never like anyone.' retorted Neal.
'But I wouldn't be glad to know if someone I knew got caught. Still, I'm delighted to hear about Keller. And it proves once more that the enemies of your enemies are not always your friends, but they can still be useful. FBI made the world a bit cleaner today.' said Mozzie.
'Is that what I think I hear? You approve of FBI's actions. That's something new.' said Neal, laughing.
'Intelligent people are always open to new ideas, mon frère.' said Mozzie, glancing at his watch. 'Now it's time to talk business.'
'Which painting is under the forgery, Moz?' asked Neal, excited.
'I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, that's for sure.' replied Mozzie.
'What do you mean?'
'The painting was done by an unknown artist. My guess is it was painted to capture the single item. You see, there is an old massive wooden table on the painting. At the table there is a scarlet-red fan.'
'Is there anything peculiar about the painting? Unique technique, maybe?' asked Neal.
'Absolutely nothing. When I was taking off the layers, I took some paints for analysis. It was painted in the middle of the 16th century.' continued Mozzie.
'Tell me that's not everything you found out.' said Neal, standing up and starting pacing across the room.
'You insult my abilities, Neal. Of course that's not all. When I was finishing the job, I took a closer look. At the fabric of the fan was an emblem. I noticed it the first time I saw the painting. I did some research and found out that it belonged to King Henry II of France...'
'Who ruled as King of France from 1547 until death in 1559.' finished Neal.
'Exactly. What I haven't noticed until the last time I saw the painting, was another emblem, on the trinket. I got access to the archives that mortal people won't ever see. What I found is really astonishing. The second emblem belonged to Baron Beauchamp. The fan on the painting was the King's present to the wife of the Baron.' said Mozzie. 'This painting, as well as the fan, was always in possession of this family, who, as you can tell, lived in France.'
'Then how did the painting get to America?' asked Neal.
'That is the question I'm trying to find an answer to.' replied Mozzie, standing up.
'Moz, I need to see the painting. Is there any chance?'
'Adler got the Bahnhof's safe.' shortly answered Mozzie.
'I can open it.' said Neal.
'Neal. First of all, this safe is almost impossible to open. And even if you somehow manage to do it, it's too dangerous. Promise me that you won't go there alone. I may get a chance to take a photo of the painting for you later. But we need to wait. Promise me, Neal.'
'Fine. I promise' replied the teenager.
'And I'll pretend that I believed you.' said Mozzie, leaving the room.
A/N: Two paintings! Peter has the copy and Adler has the original... What do you think it's all about? You will find some answers in the next chapter! :D
Thank you for reading.