As Darkness Falls

Chapter Fourteen

Within twenty minutes, both Diana and Jones arrived at Peter's after the lead agent called them, asking them to come without notifying anyone else. It wasn't until they walked inside that they discovered at least part of the reason why they were there in the middle of the night was because Neal had somehow managed to sneak out of the hospital and was now lying unconscious on Peter's couch, being tended to by Elizabeth.

"What's Neal doing here?" Diana asked in surprise as Peter moved her and Jones back further into the room in order to speak with them more in private so that they wouldn't upset Neal should he reawake while they talked. "How did he even get here in his condition?"

"I'm not really sure about how he got here right now, but that isn't why I asked you to come over," Peter replied. "Neal escaped because he remembered who shot him. He said the memories were hazy, but I know him well enough to know that if he had any doubt in his mind about this, he wouldn't have struggled so hard against the pain to make it here."

Jones, "Okay, so who was it?"

Peter looked over at Neal and his wife, then turned back to his friends, and answered, "It was Kate."

"Kate?" Diana asked in confusion. "You mean, Kate Moreau, the love of Neal's life, Kate Moreau? But how is that possible? She was killed when her plane blew up. If you recall, Neal would have been killed then too if you hadn't have distracted him long enough to keep him from getting on."

"I know how ridiculous this sounds, but I believe Neal," Peter responded confidently. "Kate is somehow our mystery woman."

Jones shrugged and then replied, "I can't believe it. You saw her on board that jet just before it blew."

Diana agreed, but then stated, "I suppose it's possible that Kate was working with Adler after all, or maybe he planned to kill both her and Neal, but she figured it out and when she realized that Neal wasn't going to join her, she managed to sneak off the plane herself before the bomb blew, without either of you seeing her do so, probably through an escape hatch underneath the floor. She wanted you both to believe she was dead. What I want to know is, if she really loved Neal, then why would she try to kill him?"

"I don't think she intended to kill him," Peter answered. "If she did want him dead, why not shoot him in the center of his forehead or again in the chest? I think she shot him in the side of his head because she didn't want him to remember seeing her there. Wounds like that can easily cause memory loss, but doesn't usually kill unless left untreated."

"Walk us through the footage from the office building," Jones spoke again.

Peter thought for a moment and then responded, "Neal comes around the corner and sees Kate struggling against Hagen and when she sees him, she cries out for Neal to help her. Neal runs in and pulls Hagen off of her, they struggle, and Hagen takes the first shot, then runs away. Neal then struggles to sit up as he looks up at Kate in surprise, but not with fear, believing that she'll reach out to help him, but instead she pulls up her own weapon and fires. She must have heard me call out Neal's name after the first shot was fired, or she figured that I would be right there to help him, so she ran."

Diana replied. "That all makes sense. What a cold-hearted bitch."

"I couldn't agree more," Peter stated with a chuckle and then walked over to stand over Neal and his wife. "How's he doing, Hon?"

"He's not well, but I think he's going to be all right," Elizabeth answered as Peter then knelt down beside her and felt Neal's skin for himself. "Boy, he's really hot. I should call for an ambulance and have the paramedics come to take him back to…"

Elizabeth interrupted, "You're probably right about that, but Peter, I think he'd be better off staying right here. I can take care of him myself. If he wakes up and finds himself back in the hospital, he'll most likely pull this same stunt again, just so that he can remain close to the case. You know how bullheaded he can be, especially now that Kate's involved. But next time, he'll probably reopen the wound in his chest and start to bleed out trying to get here. He's lucky that didn't happen this time."

Peter looked over at her as he asked softly, "Are you sure you're up to this? It won't be easy."

"Neal has risked his life to save mine and yours, twice now," she responded firmly. "It's my turn to do this for him. I want to do this for him, Peter. If he gets worse and needs to get the proper treatment, then I will call, but for now, we'll be all right, I promise."

"I really do love you," Peter replied and then leaned over and kissed his wife on her forehead, then again on the lips.

She smiled as she said, "I know and I love you too. Now, get out of here and find Kate and Hagen, whatever it takes."

Peter stood back up and then headed toward the door, followed by his teammates, as he called back to her, "Call me if anything changes."

"I will," she answered as they walked out the door and then finally looked back down at the unconscious form of her dear friend. "Please, stay with us, Neal. You heard me promise my husband that I'd take care of you, now keep up you're end of the bargain and hold on. You're going to be all right."

A little while later, back at the FBI's headquarters, Peter, Diana, and Jones all sat around the table inside the conference room as they wearily went over every detail they knew about this case, hoping that the recalling might spark something that would help them to find out where both Kate and Hagen were hiding, despite the earliness of the hour.

"The woman always did know how to stay hidden," Diana said. "Neal certainly taught her well back when they were both trying to get out from under Adler."

Jones responded, "Obviously a little too well."

Peter shook his head as he replied, "No, despite all of Neal's effort, I still managed to catch him, twice. I can catch her and Hagen too. We just have to think."

"Neal let you catch him the second time," Diana retorted as she stood up to go and get herself another cup of coffee. "Can I get you guys anymore?"

"No thanks, I think I've had…" Peter began to answer until his phone suddenly rang, the words, unknown caller appearing on the screen.

He looked at Diana and Jones oddly as they quickly began to set up a trace on the call, then Peter finally answered, "Agent Burke. Who is this?"

To Peter's surprise, Kate's voice came through as she spoke up saying, "I apologize about the lateness of the hour, Peter, but I figured you be awake trying to find me as soon as possible."

"I have to admit, I'm stunned to hear from you, especially when you're trying to play dead," Peter responded. "Are you still here in the city, or are you having a problem in dealing with Curtis Hagen? How could you shoot him, after all he's done for you? Wait, forget I said that. Listen to me, Kate. I know that you didn't shoot to kill him. You were only trying to protect yourself and keep him and us from finding out that you're alive, but we know now and we can help you with Hagen if you just help us catch him."

"I should have known that Neal would remember," Kate replied. "I thought he might and I needed to know if he did, so I planted a bug on him back when he was in the hospital thanks to a little help from an associate of mine. I don't care what any of you think of me. You're all probably right. I am cold-hearted for nearly killing a man I once loved."

Peter quickly asked, "So you don't love him anymore?"

Kate answered sadly, "He wasn't going to come with me after all. That day at the hangar, Neal betrayed me. He betrayed me for you; for a life where he wouldn't have to keep running, but it was a life without me; because I was never going to stop. I didn't want what he has. I am angry with him, but you know I didn't shoot him out of anger."

"Yes, I do, so please, turn yourself in," Peter responded.

"A part of me will always love Neal, but there's a reason why I'm calling you right now," Kate replied. "I want to help you find Curtis Hagen. He double crossed me more than once now, as I expected he would. I have given him plenty of chances to deliver to me the real Rembrandt, but he has failed to do so, so now I must do whatever I have to do to get it. It's the only way I'll be able to continue to remain free, which I will do whatever I have to do to remain so. I can tell you where Hagen is, but you must have Mozzie deliver to me the Rembrandt that you confiscate after you arrest Hagen, alone."

Peter shook his head and then asked, "What makes you think I will go along with this? You know I can't just let you go free after everything. Neal almost died; could still die because you helped a murderer escape from prison, just so that you can get your hands on a priceless painting."

Kate answered coldly, "I know that Neal's currently at your home, being taken care of by your beautiful wife. An associate of mine is watching them right now. He really hates Neal because he helped lead you to him and his brother as they were in the middle of some kind of forgery scam, which led to his brother's death. Do as I ask, or I won't be able to stop my friend from taking his revenge out on Neal and then kidnap your wife."

"What's happened to you, Kate?" Peter asked as Diana quickly began to try to get a hold of Elizabeth to warn her of the danger.

"The years haven't been very kind to me," she responded. "What is your answer, Peter?"

Peter looked to Diana and Jones for confirmation that they had gotten through, but when he saw them shake their heads and begin to get ready to leave, he angrily replied, "All right, I'll do it. Where's Hagen hiding out?"

Kate finally replied, "He's staying at the apartment where you caught Neal for the second time. I would hurry up and get there though, before Hagen finds his own way out of the city or country."

"I couldn't reach Elizabeth," Diana stated quickly as the three agents rushed out of the office and headed back toward Peter's home as quickly as they could, hoping that she and Neal were still safe, but fearing that they were going to be too late. "The associate must have cut the phone line and she isn't picking up her cell."

"I called back up to get over there as quickly as possible, but I think we'll end up beating them there," Jones added.

Peter quickly ordered, "Have the agents go and pick up Hagen and any of his associates instead, right away. We can't risk losing him this time."

Jones answered, "You've got it."

Meanwhile…

Elizabeth continued helping Neal by wiping down, not only his face and neck, but also his chest and arms as well and though it didn't seem to be much, it appeared to be helping him a little as the fever was slowly beginning to work its way down. After awhile, the water finally became too cold and so she got up and headed into the kitchen as her phone rang, but couldn't hear it due to their dog, Satchimo, who was barking at the back door.

As she slowly approached the door to find out what had the dog on edge, it was suddenly kicked in and the man now standing in front of her with a gun quickly barged in and fired a shot toward the animal, but missed as he ran off at the sound the gun. Elizabeth screamed as the intruder refocused on her as he ordered her to back up and then headed into the living room where Neal was still lying on the couch. Elizabeth didn't try to put up a fight, knowing that it was a bad idea, at least for now, but when she saw the man take aim at Neal, ready to kill him, she quickly called out her dog's name, who suddenly charged the man again, causing him to drop the weapon as he began to struggle with the beast.

Elizabeth searched for the gun, which seemed to have disappeared, but before she could find it, the man knocked Satch off of him and unconscious by breaking a lamp over him and then began to make a move again toward her until all of a sudden a shot was fired from behind the attacker, a shot which hit him square in the back, causing him to collapse to the floor. Peter and his teammates arrived just then as the agent swiftly kicked in the front door of his home and they rushed in with their own weapons out, ready to fire at whoever was trying to harm his wife, but as they did so, they found the man already dead on the ground, as Neal was barely sitting up, leaning as far off the couch as he could, the smoking gun shaking within his right hand as he struggled to keep it raised.

"El, are you all right?" Peter quickly called out to her as he rushed over to help Neal as he finally lost grip of the gun and began to fall off of the couch.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she responded shakily as Diana came up to her and helped her to sit down in one of the chairs behind her. "Oh my God, how's Neal?"

Neal softly thanked Peter for his help as he weakly laid his head back against the pillows, then looked over toward Elizabeth, and replied, "I'll be all right too."

Peter looked down at the hole now in the intruder's back, then back over at Neal as he smiled softly, and he asked, "How on earth do you make those shots, especially in your condition?

"Just because I don't li… like guns, doesn't mean I'm not good… with them," he answered.

"Thank you, for saving my wife's life, again," Peter responded as he covered him back up with the blanket that had fallen off and then stood back up again in order to walk over to his wife and pull her into a hug. "I'm glad you're okay. I don't know what I would have done… if anything happened to you."

Peter held Elizabeth in his arms until she suddenly remembered that the attacker had wounded their dog and she pulled away as she called out to Jones, who was currently leaning over Satchimo, "Is he okay?"

The animal slowly raised his head to look over at her as Jones laughed and replied, "Yeah, he's got a small wound here, but he looks like he'll be okay too. You all are pretty damn lucky."

"You're telling me," Peter said.

"How did you know we were in trouble?" Elizabeth asked as she moved to look up at her husband while he continued to hold her. "I thought you were at work trying to get a lead on…"

Neal struggled as he spoke up softly saying, "It was Kate… wasn't it? She's desperate to get her hands… on the Rembrandt… that Hagen still has and that you're about to. She's trying to escape?"

Peter released hold of his wife, walked over to the couch once again, then took a seat on its edge as he placed a gentle on his friend's shoulder, and answered somberly, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you've already figured out what took us a couple of hours to."

"While I've been conscious…, I've been… working through as much… as I can," Neal responded sadly. "Kate has been in hiding… all this time… and though I taught her… as much as I could…, I couldn't teach her how hard… being on the run… truly was. It changes you… and some not always for the better. If I had gone on the run with her…"

"Then you would have been just as lost and not the man that I have come to respect and care for as a friend, a very good friend," Peter finished for him. "Her actions are not your fault, Neal. I promise you, we will do everything we can to find her and bring her in safely. It may take time and we may never catch up to her again, but we won't ever quit looking."

Neal finally looked over at him as he smiled and then asked, "And Hagen?"

Peter looked over and saw Jones on his cell phone and as the younger agent put his thumb up giving the okay, Peter looked back down, then replied, "It looks like we've got him in custody, just as expected. Kate told us where to find him, hoping that we would have Mozzie deliver the Rembrandt over to her. I'll bet he wasn't too pleased to see the FBI surrounding him?"

"No, I don't suppose he would be," Neal answered with a chuckle. "I can't wait to see his face."

"And you'll get your chance," Peter responded. "Now get some rest and don't try to do anything more stupid like what you just did tonight or I'll be forced to put you back into the hospital and have you restrained."

Neal smiled as he asked, "What makes you think… I won't just escape again? I've never been met with a lock… I couldn't pick."

Peter said, "Who said anything about restraining you with something lockable?"

The End