Danger

Undisclosed Location: Jungle Fortress

Infiltrating the fortress, Anderson and Casey marched about as if they belonged. It wasn't hard to enter the fortress, just a little tougher than the rest of them had been since these soldiers were looking for them.

Keeping their focus, they bided their time until they could separate to their agendas. Anderson split off to tackle the technological approach, while Casey went for the brunt force approach to retrieve the hostages.

Walking into the control room, Anderson had waited until it was at its busiest to slip through and do a quick link up with his phone. By having the worm prepared for a quicker upload, he was able to do the job in less time. This time, he had additional work to do which involved taking a seat at the actual console. Performing his role as smoothly as his neighbor, Neal pretended he had been at the work for years so it was difficult to notice the difference between him and the rotating staff already present.

Listening through his ear piece, Anderson heard Casey march down towards the cells and integrate himself with the guards. Taking his place, he held sway over the hostages and pretended to be as cruel as the soldiers around him. He yanked their chains causing them to cry out, kicked at them, and shouted words they didn't understand. Smiling to himself, Anderson was glad to hear Bob and Elizabeth playing along with him. They reacted to Casey as they did to any other guard.

Taking advantage of a slight lull pre change of the guard, Anderson slipped another worm into their system that controlled their explosive weaponry. Then he initiated some commands into it to cause most of their missile silos to self destruct. He was dismayed to learn there were two kept on a separate system, but they were marked as mobile control so he needed to find something smaller in order to take them out. As it was, he was being pushed for the shift change and couldn't work any longer.

Walking down the hall exchanging general conversation with another technician, Anderson was fiddling with his phone in his pocket. Initiating the commands to unleash the worm, he pretended to be surprised by the alarms his damage was causing. Turning to run back with the other man, he detoured down a side hallway to go his own way before reaching the main control room again. His purpose was in another area of the fortress.

Sneaking his way through the hallways, Anderson made his way out of the building and headed towards the nearest armory to begin sabotaging the weaponry. No one was arming yet, but he wasn't taking any chances.

Below, Casey took advantage of the distraction to send the other guards back upstairs to assist with the issue and to defend against invasion. He was to remain watching over the prisoners to ensure no one came to free them.

Once he was alone, he mimicked Anderson's previous rescue to release the hostages and started walking them up towards the exit.

Passing the main floor, Casey continued up into the higher levels of the fortress before pointing out the army prepared for a ground level escape. "We would be dead if we tried that. This lot knows we've been hitting the rest of their fortresses and are a bit more prepared." He commented to the civilians peaking out beside him.

Speaking through the system, Anderson warned them that the place was also rigged to explode. "They seem to have a win or die trying approach. If we don't disarm them, they are going to blow us up with them." He grunted as he worked on another armory and the explosives around it.

"Great. This is just keeps getting better." Casey growled before shooting a soldier that had been sneaking up on Anderson.

"Thanks." Anderson muttered as he finished the location he had been working on. Taking off at a run, he moved to join the rest of the group. Their cover was blown, so it was a matter of getting them out alive and escaping through the jungle while the fortress blew up behind them. There was no other way to accomplish the mission.

New York City: City Park

Amused, Peter was glad Diana would accept Neal, even as an agent. "Neal lying to you isn't a problem?"

"That's why I would kick his butt sparring." Diana grinned evilly.

Leaning back in his seat, Jones easily threw out his reaction. "I wouldn't help him with his paperwork so much anymore. He wouldn't have the excuse of being unfamiliar with government methods, so he could do his own work."

Chuckling, Peter couldn't help it.

Smiling at each other, Jones and Diana were glad to hear him sounding more normal.

"What would you do if he turned out to be an undercover agent?" Jones threw the question at the boss, just to see what his reaction would be.

Calming down to think, Peter was still smiling some at the thoughts of the other's reactions. "I don't know. Right now, I'd want to give him a hug to thank him for brining my wife back safely, and to apologize for what I said." Gazing off into the distance, he seemed to be lost in thought. His agents didn't disturb him, so he had the freedom to organize his thoughts. "If Neal turned out to be an undercover agent, I guess there are a few things I would do."

"And they would be…?" Diana prodded. She wasn't smiling as much anymore, Peter had killed some of the mood by bringing up the situation between him and Neal again, but she wanted to progress the conversation back to its lighter subject.

"Well, to start, I would remove the wasted effort of him being watched by the Marshals, and his agency could pay his bills." Peter listed a few steps that would be necessary.

"I don't hear a removal of the anklet in there. Could you let him remove the anklet?" Jones laughed.

Smirking, Peter caught the humor. "Who knows, maybe we could find a way to salvage something of that… for my sanity at least. I sleep better knowing that little dot indicates where he is."

Continuing to banter, the agents enjoyed the conversation and discussed various things that would change about the office if Neal ever turned out to be an undercover agent.

Undisclosed Location: Jungle Fortress

Leaping onto the roof above the others, Anderson ran down the length of the building occasionally ducking instinctively as soldiers fired at him from below. Reaching the end of the roof, he skidded to the edge allowing himself to fall off with reduced speed before quickly half climbing and half falling a story to the roof below.

Landing down behind a cooling system, he had something of a shelter while he talked to Casey. "Take Bob down to the next level, I'll blow the building behind us while El climbs down, and then follow after." He instructed.

Growling, Casey let him have his way and followed the younger agent's lead. Climbing down the back side, there weren't many soldiers there and Anderson was easily able to keep them occupied until Casey had Bob safely settled below.

Then, before Anderson could send El down or move to set off any of the explosives, someone else had a similar idea from the soldiers below. A few shots rang out, but they ignited the explosives for the building they were on.

Noticing where the bullets were striking, Anderson shouted to get Casey's attention before shoving Elizabeth off the roof to his waiting arms below.

Moving to jump at a different angle, Anderson was hit with the force of the explosion first. Losing his balance, he was pushed outwards and away from the building causing him to fall twice as far. Throwing himself into a rough roll, he reduced the damage as he went acrossed the roof below. Still, there was the abrupt end of his slide when he hit another roof ventilation system that knocked him unconscious.

Screaming as she fell, Elizabeth couldn't help but react to the surprising fall. Then she was abruptly silenced when she landed into Casey falling to the ground with him due to his minimal preparation and her weight.

Feeling herself cast aside quickly, she didn't immediately understand what was going on, but then her mind registered the explosions and shaking of the building.

Bob grabbed her hand and drug her along behind him as they scurried to follow Casey. He was still recovering from his injuries, but the more he had time to recover, and the more things grew dangerous, the more he seemed to cast focus on his injuries aside.

Seeing where they were going, Elizabeth gasped in horror as she saw Anderson sprawled on the roof below them. With tears glistening in her eyes, she struggled to make the climb next to Bob and was grateful when he murmured words of reassurance to help her slow down enough not to fall.

Reaching the same level of as Anderson, she hurried to his side where Casey was checking for a pulse. "Is he alive?"

Growling, Casey pulled Anderson up onto his shoulder and carried him along much like the man had carried Bob. Then raising his weapon, he began to open fire on any explosive in range causing the soldiers below to either seek cover or scatter for their lives.

"Move!" the colonel ordered the two people with him and pointed towards the easiest means to get down to ground level.

Taking the lead, Bob winced from time to time, but was moving as quickly as he could towards the nearest exit. Grabbing a pair of guns, he even fired off some shots igniting key explosives to help provide additional cover for their departure.

Between the noise and chaos, Elizabeth simply focused on Bob and followed him through the smoke and noise until she blinked and realized they were outside in the open country fleeing while explosions roared behind them.

Ducking into the jungle, they didn't slow down, but had to shift positions with Casey taking more of a lead since their escape route had changed.

When the group burst into the clearing, Elizabeth felt weak with relief to see the escape vehicle being cleared by Michael. Hurrying to help, she yanked off various greenery until they had the camouflage removed.

Passing Anderson into the back seat, Casey ignored his groans and barked commands for Elizabeth to take care of him with Michael. Bob was directed to the passenger seat and the two standing agents went to work getting them out of the jungle.

New York City: City

Feeling his stomach growl, Peter didn't need to mention his hunger as the next rumble was audible to the agents sitting next to him.

"How about we go get lunch and then head back to the office?" Jones suggested tossing his cup into the nearby waste basket.

"I would kill for a slice of New York style pizza right now. How about you, boss?" Diana agreed to the proposal.

"Doesn't seem to be any point in arguing, considering that last one was audible." He shrugged. His mood was still fairly high so he wasn't against prolonging the break with a meal.

"That settles it then." Jones smiled before discussing options with Diana. They managed to get Peter's opinion a little bit, but he wasn't as concerned with what he ate as long as he satiated his hunger.

Reaching a local pizzeria, Jones and Diana selected tables near the front with windows and light to keep the mood from digressing back to gloomy topics.

They were carefully picking through daily topics around the office when a familiar figure walked by the window, stopped, and came back to verify their presence.

Waving at Sara Ellis, Diana and Jones welcomed her to come in and join them. Peter was slowly eating a few pieces, so they had enough pizza to spare a slice or two. Nodding and pointing towards the door, Sara indicated her agreement before walking away again.

Within a few moments, she was standing next to their table awkwardly. She obviously had a lot of questions, but wasn't certain what her reception would be. Although Jones and Diana had flagged her welcome, Peter had ducked his head with a red face.

Looking up at her ashamed, Peter gestured toward the seat beside him. "I'm sorry, Sara. You were right, Neal was never guilty of stealing the treasure, and I accused him in error. It was wrong of me to be so angry at him, and to vent my fury at you." Taking a deeper breath, he finished his apology. "I hope you can forgive me for my behavior."

Blinking away a few tears, Sara tried to keep them at bay as she took her seat. "Nothing has happened to Neal and Elizabeth? They're alright, aren't they?" She feared something drastic brining this surprising apology on.

"No, not that I know of anyway. Last I heard, El was fine and Neal was injured, but would be alright. Did you hear something?" Peter straightened his posture and leaned towards her.

Shaking her head, Sara hadn't even known that much. "No, I didn't even know if Neal was alive, or if Elizabeth was okay. Last I saw you, you were so angry…" Her tears were getting the better of her and washing away the makeup hiding the signs of her fatigue. She had been worried, but no one had contacted her.

Realizing she had even less information than he did, Peter immediately rectified that somewhat. "The CIA sent an agent to our office, Chuck, the same guy that entered when you were last there. He is an old friend of Neal's and has told me a few things." Unable to hold back, Peter filled her in a little bit and promised to tell her more if she could accompany them to the office. "They're worried about endangering them, but you should know something of what is going on. You've probably been about as worried as I have." His voice softened as he took in the normally strong woman before him. She was still wiping tears from her face, but she had regained some control.

Boxing up the leftover food, Jones and Diana knew someone would be hungry enough to eat them at the office. Then getting up, the group began the trip to the Bureau.

Grabbing Peter by the sleeve, Sara stopped him after Jones and Diana had stepped away. When he turned to look at her, she tried to get a small smile for the agent. "I forgave you before the day was over, but I'm glad to see you've come to your senses."

"I think we all are." Pulling her into a sideways hug, Peter then walked beside her back to the office.

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