A/N: My muse has made a liar out of me. Kate will not be or even mentioned in this story. Nope. Doesn't even come in. At all.
I also apologize for the lateness, it was literally fighting me tooth and nail. meh.
For those who found the small connections to the episodes - Crystalzap and vlwillis-, here you go! (tosses cookies!) There were three itty bitty connections. The last one was so obscure I don't think anyone would have got it. It was the location of the meet, the corner of Kenmare and Lafayette. It's the parking garage that Neal met with Fowler in Out Of The Box.
Chapter eleven: He runs a hand over his face and sighs. He tries to calm himself down, tries to reassure himself that no, Neal will be fine. Neal will be found, and everything will be okay.
Or at least he hopes it will.
By the time Jones calls back, Peter has started driving again.
"Where is he?" Peter asks. He's on his way back to the safe house because he knows that there will be some message, some evidence as to where Neal went.
"He's at the corner of Kenmare and Lafayette. I don't know why though. There's only a parking garage there." Jones supplies. He's puzzled by the information, wondering just what Neal has gotten himself into.
"He must be meeting with someone then. What else would he run for?" Peter says, making a mental list of all the people that Neal might want to meet with. There was Alex, but Peter had no idea who she was. She could be Neal's girlfriend for all he knew. Peter bit back a sigh and drove onward.
"Do you want me to send back up?" Jones asks.
"If we box him in he's going to run." Peter says, and tries to block out the images of Neal running shamelessly into the street, totally unaware of the car that is speeding past.
Peter shakes his head violently and says, "I'll get him Jones."
"Got it." Jones says, and Peter hears him hang up. He knows he's risking a lot coming here alone, but he will be risking a lot more if he scares Neal away. And if Neal wants to disappear, he does, like a puff of smoke. Peter doesn't want to admit it, but it's a talent the kid's perfected. It sure was aggravating, but it also brought a sense of pride knowing that he could take care of himself like that.
He has no idea why Neal ran. He can only assume that it has something to do with his friends. Even though Peter hasn't known Neal for very long, he can tell that the kid's loyal to a fault. The way he worried about his friend…
Peter's eyes widened as it all clicked together. Neal was going to see his friend. A friend that if Peter remembered correctly, had recently dropped off the map. Peter knew that if someone was worried about something, like extremely worried, they would believe anything if it meant that something was okay. Even Neal, an impulsive yet brilliant person, would fall for it.
Peter pulled into the parking garage, careful to not spook the inhabitants. He spots Neal instantly; the dark blue hoodie is stark against his pale white skin. He has the hood pulled up; as if he knows that the F.B.I is after him.
Peter smirks, but he holds his tongue. He parks his car and reaches for the binoculars he always keeps in his car.
He focuses in on Neal's face and is surprised to see him worrying his lower lip, as if he was debating with himself about something important.
Peter frowns and leans forward in his seat. He knows it won't help his vision; it's more of an instinct now that he's been surveying for a while. From what Peter saw, Neal was always sure of himself, his decisions… hell pretty much anything he set his mind to. He held certainty in every decision he made, no matter how big or small it was.
Which was why Peter found it so odd that Neal would be worried about all of this. The Neal he knew would have stridden in there; confidence practically oozing out of his pores. He wouldn't be hiding in the shadows worrying like he was.
It didn't occur to Peter that maybe this was the real Neal, the one underneath all of the facades. It never occurred to him that while Neal may act like an adult most of the time, -when he wasn't bored to death by Peter's paperwork- he really wasn't one. It was another one of his acts, one of his many personas that even fooled federal agents.
Neal's personas were just that; personas. No matter how much Neal wished, or practiced, they were just acts put on in order to remain safe. To remain safe from those willing to do anything to hurt him. These thoughts never even crossed Peter's mind, both his energy and thoughts were directly on the case at hand, not even thinking of the inner workings of Neal's mind. It was something that Peter would come to regret later on.
Peter refocused the binoculars, making sure to keep it trained on Neal's lips. If he got any closer to him, he'd spook the living daylights out of both him and his friend. He would have to deal with getting the information the old fashioned way: through lip reading.
While it wasn't a necessary skill for agents to have, it sure did help on stake outs.
The doubt Neal was feeling back at the safe house only increased on his way to the meet. It was the one thing that was holding him back; the one thing keeping him hidden in the shadows. He bit his lip, chastising himself because this was Mozzie he was talking about. Mozzie, who was an extreme paranoid, but other than that he was completely harmless.
This gives him little comfort, but it is enough for him to walk into the corridor.
"Where have you been Mozzie? I've been looking for—"Neal stops short, realizing that he's not talking with Mozzie, but with Wilkes.
"Expecting someone else?" Wilkes asks, a coy smile on his face.
"Where is he?" Neal asks, the atmosphere instantly turning tense between them.
"He's been a little busy these past few days. Can't say I blame him though, being held hostage tends to soak up your free time." Wilkes says, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. The gleam makes Neal worry, but he doesn't dare show it.
"You what?" Neal asks, shock evident. He knew something was off, knew that there was a reason why Mozzie wasn't responding. Why didn't he see this sooner?
A bitter voice whispers in his head, telling him things that Neal doesn't like. The voice tells him in hushed tones, that the reason why his brain is so muddled, why he wasn't focusing on the problem of finding his friend, is Peter. It tells him that Peter is to blame, that Peter is the one who distracted him from finding Mozzie. Neal closes his eyes for a fraction of a second, trying to put the bitter thoughts to rest. He needs to be on his game.
"You heard me Caffrey. I have the little guy locked up tight." Wilkes says, grinning smugly.
"Why?"
Wilkes tilts his head back and barks a laugh. Its humorlessness makes Neal shudder involuntarily. He says, "Why the hell not? I gave you the job of a lifetime. I gave you something good here, and you blew it all to hell. You betrayed me Caffrey, and made me look like a fool."
"I've killed people for less, so you should be thankful." Wilkes says, as he places his hands into his jacket pocket. Neal glances around for a moment, only finally realizing what the weather is like. The sun had just set, and the coldness of the night was just setting in. Neal drew up the sides of his hoodie, as the wind blew into the open garage.
"Thankful? You want me to be thankful, when you've got my best friend hostage?" Neal asks, his temper flaring.
"Damn straight I do. I'm teaching you a lesson Caffrey. One that you should never forget." Wilkes says, his eyes dark with retribution.
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Neal quips angrily.
"You never mess with me. Not unless you know what's coming next." Wilkes says with a menacing tone.
Neal presses his lips together, trying to reign in his already flaring temper. Now is not the time to be angry, even though it is for a just reason. Not when Mozzie's life is on the line.
"What do you want from me Wilkes?" Neal asks, jamming his already clenched fists into his pockets. He can barely hold onto this calm façade, but he has to. Otherwise Mozzie will suffer for it.
"Oh that's simple."Wilkes says, smiling. "You give me the jewelry, and you get your little friend back."
Neal opens his mouth, but closes it when no words come out. He can't tell Wilkes the truth about how he has no idea where the jewelry is. Wilkes would probably kill him if he knew.
Neal says nothing, concentrating on holding back the dam of emotions that is threatening to burst free. He doesn't even flinch when Wilkes moves forward, one hand coming out of his pocket.
He pats him on the shoulder and squeezes. He says, "I'll be in touch."
Wilkes turns and walks away, vanishing into the dark corners of the garage.
Peter leans back in his chair, and lowers his binoculars. He cannot speak; his lips sealed with the shock of what he just witnessed.
He was expecting something different. Hell, he was expecting someone different. He wasn't expecting this… He was not expecting Ryan Wilkes to show.
Ryan Wilkes ran his own crime ring, doing anything from stealing cars to dealing with weapons. Peter knew of him only by his infamous reputation. And his reputation said nothing of wanting stolen jewelry or working with a teenage thief.
Peter rubbed a hand over his face as he tried to process the information he had just learned. He couldn't believe that Neal had worked with Wilkes. Whether or not Neal found him, or Wilkes found Neal, they still worked together, and that fact shocked Peter. It shocked him because he knew Neal didn't like violence, the kid didn't even like guns.
Wilkes was practically known for his more than violent crimes. Crimes that have put him on the F.B.I's watch list for a long time. Peter hasn't worked on any of the cases himself, but that was only because Wilkes never strayed into White Collar crimes before. Not like he's doing now. With Neal at his side.
Peter doesn't know what to do with the new information. If he goes to Hughes, he'll be risking a lot. Neal will be brought in for questioning again for the heist, and there won't be an expensive lawyer this time to save him.
He huffs a sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose, knowing a headache will be coming soon. Headaches have become somewhat constant since Neal became a part of his life. Peter doesn't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but there isn't really anything he could do to stop it from happening. To be honest, he kind of likes it.