NOTE: Well it wasn't easy...but I managed to get in a chapter before the holidays descend upon us. Hugs! Merry Christmas!

Chapter Twenty

"Hello, Rat."

Neal looked down at the fearless rat in his path that he had greeted. The rat sniffed at the air in Neal's direction in curiosity with one paw raised.

"You wouldn't happen to know a way out of here would you?"

Almost in answer the rat turned around and scampered off down the dirty hallway before disappearing into a small crack in the wall. Neal sighed at himself for talking to the local wildlife but in all honesty it had been nice to come across another living thing in the lonely maze. The fact that the underground labyrinth wasn't teaming with rats was just another reminder of how desolate and inhospitable it was down here. Neal couldn't blame the majority of the literally millions of rats that called New York home preferring the tunnels closer to the surface where they could get some fresh air when they wanted it.

Having come to another intersection Neal studied it carefully, looking for any traits that made it unique from the others. Traveling slowly through the tunnels in a systematic fashion Neal was working on building a map in his head the same way he used to memories the lay outs of museums and banks. He already knew the path between the room he and Peter shared and the elevator since Jake took them one level up to get to the ring. However he also knew the elevator was a dead end as far as escape was concerned.

Even Jake didn't have control over the elevator, it just arrived for them sent there by whoever was watching the camera footage from the small device stuck to the ceiling above the doorway into the shaft. The inside of the service elevator didn't have any buttons, the panel had been ripped off. Although the lowest level had the external floor doors removed the floors above still had theirs and even if Neal could figure out a way to scale up the dark shaft the external doors took a great deal of force to pry open and it wasn't something someone without climbing gear could accomplish from inside the shaft.

Knowing he'd just end up severely injured or dead mucking about in the dangerous elevator shaft Neal had moved on to hopefully find something more promising. He had gone in the opposite direction that he had Peter had explored the first time for two reasons, the first was to avoid accidentally bumping into Sawyer and the other was to avoid the hallway that had lead to the heap of dead bodies. The thicker dust on the halls in this direction gave Neal the impression that they were less used and so far he hadn't found any signs of life in the vast section of abandoned tunnel ways. Every time he came to a door he quietly tested it to see if it was locked. A majority of the time the doors were locked and Neal made it his on going mission to find something suitable for making a lock pick so he could gain access to the locked rooms. He had put his ear up to the locked doors and held his breath for a moment looking for signs of other prisoners, but so far had only been greeted by silence. The few doors that had been unlocked lead to dead end rooms that held nothing other than dust or mildew.

Walking down the empty deserted tunnel that held only the faint sound of his bare feet against the floor Neal started feeling disoriented. He had long since lost track of time and he knew Peter would be pacing their room with worry by now. Peter had made him promise that he'd take any way out he found but Neal assumed that they had both known he wasn't going to find anything during this first trip and that he'd return. Neal didn't think it was impossible to escape the maze but it certainly wasn't going to be easy. Right now he just wanted to start to get familiar with the area and do something other than just sit around helplessly.

The more Neal wandered around the network the more he started wondering about who built it and why, and if anyone other than York still even knew of its existence. Neal recalled that the Russians had supposedly build a secret city complete with transit system under Moscow back in Joseph Stalin's time. The so called Metro-2 was said to be used by top government officials for moving undetected around the city as well as being a bunker in case of destruction of the above ground city. There was no saying that New York officials hadn't had similar ideas of an underground hide away and built this place only to abandon it, possibly a Cold War relic or even older.

Lost in thought Neal stopped as he came to another dead end. He spent a moment fighting a pang of claustrophobia that was getting increasingly severe each time he came to an impasse in the concrete tomb he and Peter had found themselves sealed in. Stepping up to the wall he pressed his hand against it and found it to be cold. Knocking on the wall it sounded solid. The temperature and sound gave Neal the impression that the tunnel hadn't been walled off after the fact but rather it truly ended here. He had reached the outer limits of the city of the dead. Beyond the plain wall was miles of the solid bedrock that kept Manhattan from sinking into the sea like a modern day Atlantis. With his palm still against the rough wall he could almost sense the immense weight of the stone that surrounded them and it crushed down on his heart.

"We've been buried alive…"

Neal winced at the hopelessness in his voice as it echoed off the uncaring concrete and carried down the hall. The harsh reminder of their situation caused his infected brand to throb painful as though it was casting some sort of spell on him that kept him from being able to find a way out. Reaching up Neal dragged his hands through his hair before shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts as fear and desperation started to tainted his previous confident optimism at finding a weakness in their prison. He was far from ready to give up on the idea of escape but he was surprised by how quickly the isolation of empty tunnels had gotten to him. With his stomach twisting painfully he was suddenly anxious to return to Peter not only for his own peace of mind but also in fear of how being left alone in the locked room was affecting Peter as well. He knew he had only been gone a few hours but it was starting to feel like it had been days since he'd left the safety of his friend's side.

Having had enough exploring for the moment Neal tested his memory as he started heading back. Their best chance at survival down here depended on learning as much as they could about the underground prison in order to discover its weaknesses, but such a complicated task was going to take time and patience. Neal confidently made his way back through the stillness at first but when he came to an intersection that didn't feel familiar he realized he must have taken a wrong turn last time.

Neal's heart started thumping against his chest at the prospect of becoming lost in what was turning out to be a much larger area than he had first guessed. Either the original owners hadn't gotten to the part where they put up the helpful 'you are here' signs or else they had been taken down. Neal knew his best option was to back track until he recognized something, but the faint sounds of life suddenly drifted towards him from up ahead and made him rethink his decision to return to Peter right away. Just as important as learning the maze itself was learning about its inhabitants.

Curiosity won over caution as Neal carefully started making his way towards the source of the noise. It wasn't long before what had just been a muffled hum became the warm sounds of jovial conversation. The Labyrinth may be a nightmarish world for him and Peter, but ever dark place held creatures that felt at home there. With the amount of fighters and even audience members at the ring Neal had doubted from the start that Sawyer and his friends were the only other residents down here. Neal had already learned that not everyone down here was branded and that some were simply paying off debuts to York. Then there were men like Sawyer who appeared to just genuinely enjoy being down here in a world where he could play the part of blood thirsty Gladiator without any real consequence.

The real question on Neal's mind was if Jake was part of the festivities. Jake had a kind of desperate loneliness about him that seemed to at least in part fuel his delight in tormenting his captive branded audience. Jake had some form of power over Sawyer and the other unbranded men who still had a chance to win their freedom, but that wasn't the same as having a social circle. It could be that Jake simply disliked Sawyer, but Neal had a feeling that Jake's relationship with everyone down here was that of a Warden and not a friend. Learning that being the top hound in Hell was an isolating position could be used against Jake and would give Neal's attempts to make 'friends' with him a greater chance of success.

Sticking close to the right hand side of the hall Neal approached the open archway where the noise was coming from as quietly as possible. Although he didn't really need to be all that stealth as the sounds of the men talking loudly and somewhat drunkenly turned to a raucous cheering that closely mimicked the din made by the crowd that watched the fights. Neal's stomach turned as he approached the dangerous den of men. The usual rules of civilized society didn't count down here and anyone who caught him won the right to murder him or worse. Even criminal minded men on the surface world took pause when it came to murder if for no other reason than the fact that it brought greater attention from the law down on them. The only laws down here were the same ones that governed the animal kingdom: survival of the fittest.

Getting to the archway Neal pressed himself against the wall as he prepared to risk a glance inside to see what was going on. The glass cuts in Neal's shoulder protested violently to the pressure and started to bleed through the ruins of his dress shirt. Staying motionless for a few minutes Neal tried to time his peek into the room with a rise in the men's cheering. From the sound alone Neal guessed that there was about a dozen of them. Neal didn't hear anything that sounded like Jake's voice, but he wasn't convinced that he knew it well enough to pick it out of the general commotion.

When the noise level suddenly peaked Neal looked around the edge of the archway exposing as little of himself as possible. The room beyond the open archway was fairly large and set up like a commons room with a variety of tables, chair, and couches. There were playing cards, poker chips, a scratched up pool table, and other various forms of entertainment. Some of the tables held plastic jugs of what Neal assumed was alcohol as well as plastic cups since the rowdy men could easily turn anything glass into a weapon. There were about fifteen men gathered around the large sturdy table in the center where someone had just won an arm wrestling competition and was goading the crowd into offering him a more worthy opponent. Sawyer and his friends were on the scene joking with one another as they encouraged one another to step forward. Eventually one of the men that Neal didn't recognize knocked back what was left of his drink and threw the plastic cup on the ground like a Viking breaking a mug before sitting across the table to start a new round.

Neal had gotten a good enough view of the scene to satisfy his curiosity and to learn that Jake was not among the drunken revelry and he ducked back out of the entrance. What he didn't see was one of Sawyer's friends catching sight of the motion outside the door as he nudged Sawyer to alert him to the intrusion. Neal was about twenty feet down the hall near the first intersection when Sawyer stepped out into the hallway alone.

"Hey, Jail Bait!" Sawyer called out. "Wait, hold up!"

Knowing he was already a safe distance for a head start Neal glanced over his shoulder at Sawyer. Seeing he had Neal's attention Sawyer planted his feet and put his hands up slightly to make it clear he wasn't looking for a fight or a chase. Turning to face Sawyer Neal took a few steps back to keep his distance but waited to see what would happen.

"Don't worry, I know there's no point in chasing you. I've seen how fast you can run and besides I'm somewhat shit-faced right now." Sawyer chuckled as he took a few steps forward. "I just want to talk. I think we might actually have something to offer one another."

"That's close enough." Neal warned.

Sawyer stopped with a little more than ten feet between them. Neal stood his ground having decided that the rewards of learning something from an inebriated Sawyer outweighed the risks of talking to him, however he remained ready to bolt if Sawyer tried to lunge at him. Looking at Sawyer Neal was confident he could still easily out maneuver him, and being in the intersection it would be nearly impossible for Sawyer's friends to flank him even if there was another way out of the commons room.

For his part Sawyer put his hand down slowly and made no further moves to step closer. Sawyer had made it clear that he barely respected Jake and although Neal wasn't one to believe in the adage 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' he did still subscribe to the idea that the enemy of his enemy could be useful if played right. Looking like he was willing to play the same game Sawyer flashed Neal a forced friendly smile.

"I don't think we've been formally introduced." Sawyer said to break the ice. "My name's Tommy."

"Tommy…Sawyer?" Neal questioned automatically. "Your name is Tom Sawyer?"

"My parent's had high hopes of me being more into books." Sawyer rolled his eyes. "And you are…?"

"Caffrey." Neal offered.

"Not 'Agent Caffrey' then?" Sawyer asked knowingly.

"No." Neal replied knowing it was pointless to lie.

"I didn't think so." Sawyer smiled before giving Neal a mocking quizzical look. "So, what's a conman like you doing in a place like this?"

"Conman?" Neal asked innocently.

"You're not an Agent, however you're also not afraid of talking to me, meaning you've dealt with criminals before. At the same time you can't fight for shit so you must use intelligence and charm to deal with danger. So my best guess is you're a con artist. In fact I'm going to go one step further and say you're Burke's pet rat. Enjoying your time off anklet down here?"

"Not particularly." Neal admitted nonchalantly to hide his surprise at Sawyer's keen observation skills.

"I didn't think so. I may not be book smart," Sawyer added playfully "but I've got street smarts coming out my ass."

"And so eloquently spoken as well."

"I don't like you, Caffrey." Sawyer said flatly as his jovial mood suddenly turned a little darker.

"The feeling is entirely mutual."

"That being said I don't hate you either and so I am willing to offer you a deal: help me get to Burke and I'll end this nightmare for both of you in a relatively painlessly manner."

"I'm sure you will." Neal said dryly.

"I'm being entirely serious." Sawyer slurred slightly from the effects of the alcohol.

"Really? And you honestly think that's something I'd be interested in?"

"That brand Jake gave you is a slow and painful death sentence that no one escapes. My alternative of making things quick is more than fair."

"You know for a self-proclamation street smart man that's just bad negotiating." Neal complained. "Even if you think I can be bargained with, you start out with 'promise of a quick death'? That's a terrible opening offer, there is no where to go with that."

"No sense in trying to scam a scam artist." Sawyer shrugged. "I knew you wouldn't believe me if I just said I'd let you go or even if I said I'd let you live."

"Mostly because I know you don't have that kind of power down here."

"Maybe not, but consider this, Caffrey, you're just caught in the cross-fire between Burke and I. I don't really care what happens to you, but I'm not above using you to make Burke suffer."

"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that there's not much that you're above."

"You're not wrong." Sawyer admitted freely. "I might not have the power to let you go, but that doesn't mean I don't have something to offer."

"An 'easy out'."

"Exactly." Sawyer said as though he was being perfectly reasonable. "The brutal truth is that York seems to have special interest ensuring that you two suffer longer than most down here, I think you two are part of some sort of pilot experiment since I doubt you crossed York himself. Someone paid to have you and your Fed friend shipped down here. You're smart, you know your odds down here, I figured you might be interested in avoiding all that unpleasantness."

"I'll keep it in mind."

"Don't take too long." Sawyer warned. "If you make me catch you rather than help me I promise you that your death is going to be extraordinarily messy. I will torture you mercilessly until Burke begs me for the privilege of killing you himself just to put you out of his misery."

"That's a really hackneyed threat." Neal replied unimpressed. "Besides, Jake doesn't seem to like to share his toys or else Peter would already be in the ring with you."

"Power shifts happen all the time in lawless places."

"I'll take my chances."

"Whatever. Like I said I don't care about you, rats aren't worth my time, but know that I am going to get Burke. It's only a matter of time and I'm a patient man."

"Unless someone gets him first." Neal pointed out.

"You think Tanner just let Burke live after that knock out because he's a nice and reasonable guy?" Sawyer chuckled.

Neal had suspected that Peter was some how under a kind of protection by Sawyer, and now he had confirmation that Sawyer was the only one allowed to make a killing blow. It would help Peter survive his fights for the time being, but the information also told him that Sawyer was just as feared and respected as Jake was. Jake coming to him and offering to help him cheat to kill Sawyer was starting to make more sense to Neal now. Jake was the closest thing to authority and order down here, but he wasn't all powerful and he wanted help eliminating his main competition.

"Jake may set the fights, but I can still rig them." Sawyer said proudly confirming Neal's thoughts. "It won't be long before York sees that Jake's losing his hold on his maze."

"And you want to be next in line?"

"Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven." Sawyer winked.

"Paradise Lost?" Neal asked impressed. "And here I thought you weren't into literature, let alone poetry."

"Poetry?" Sawyer repeated in disgust. "I saw it on a bumper sticker."

"That makes more sense."

"Run along back to your handler, Caffrey." Sawyer waved Neal away dismissively. "But, keep my offer in mind."

"Your offer of suicide by psychopath?"

"More of a mercy killing." Sawyer corrected.

"I still think I'll pass."

"Yeah, that's what they all say at first."

"'They'?"

"The branded men that I've euthanized in the past."