Those Haunts That Linger: Chapter 25
I really hard to search to find this chapter, I've been writing so far ahead! Tell me what you think!
Enjoy :)
WARNINGS: Please see chapters one and two for the warnings.
PS! I don't own anything other than the plot! This is meant for reading not suing!
Change of Plans
Maps were spread everywhere. Every surface was covered in files and notes and pictures. Coffee stains dotted almost every shirt and paper. About an hour after Director Hughes had finished all of his phone calls, the Burke home was filled to the brim with agents. It was getting a bit crowded, and Neal was feeling a bit uncomfortable. He pushed his nerves aside, however, when he felt four pairs of eyes on him (at least).
They finally had every file on Frank Smithson that there ever was, including the ones that involved Neal when he was Matthew. Reese Hughes stood with Peter and Neal towards the 'head' of the area and called for everyone's attention. El and Sally watched on from the back of the living room.
"Alright. We have an armed and dangerous fugitive out and after two of our own." Neal barely managed to contain his surprise that Director Hughes considered him part of the FBI. Mozzie would have had a heart attack. "His name, Frank Smithson. He has been convicted of forgery, fraud, assault, attempted murder, endangerment of a child…if you can name it, he's done it. We need to find him as fast as we can. Unfortunately, he's been given a two day head start by an incompetent member of the justice system." The Director held up his hand to stave off the grumblings starting to grow in the room. "This man is smart, but not smart enough to break out of prison by himself. Let's start there. If we can find his accomplices, we can go from there." Hughes looked to Neal and Peter to see if they had anything to input, before he let the agents scatter. Neal stepped forward.
"Frank will have seen whoever helped him as dead weight. He wouldn't feel like paying them, so he would just get rid of them. That means these guys are probably already dead." Peter took over.
"Look for any recent murders. Most likely males with long rap sheets of assaults and violence and maybe even military backgrounds. They've most likely been in the same prison as Frank. These men are experienced enough to get an inmate out of a maximum security prison, only injuring two guards and not creating enough of a ruckus to alert other inmates into a riot. Let's find them people." The agents in the room scattered. Some had brought work laptops with access to the FBI database and were on those. Others were on the phone calling local police departments. Reese walked off to call a certain supervisor and hopefully get the warden of Frank's prison fired. Jones and Diana came up to Peter and Neal.
"You wanted to talk to us, Boss?" Peter nodded, and motioned them over.
"I was going to talk to Neal and hopefully find out everything we can on Frank that might not be in the files. We both trust you two and don't necessarily want to have this conversation in front of everyone. Dr. Jenkins will join us, and that's it. Understand?" The two agents nodded and Peter motioned for all of them to retreat to a room upstairs. After giving El a reassuring smile, both women followed them upstairs. The men (and Diana) entered Neal's room and were surprised when Elizabeth followed right behind Dr. Jenkins.
"Um..El, I don't think-" El crossed her arms over her chest.
"Sally thinks it might be good if I'm here. I'll only leave if Neal wants me to." That brought all eyes on Neal again. He was really starting to get annoyed by that.
"It's fine. You can stay. I'm not sure I'll be able to give too much information." The agents insisted that Neal sit on the bed with El and Sally on either side of him. Diana leaned back against a wall, Jones standing next to her, and Peter made himself comfortable on the one chair that Neal had snuck up to his room at some point.
"Okay, Neal. Tell me about Frank. I want to know how he thinks. What you think he might do, now that he's out. Old accomplices he might turn to. Any old hideouts or tricks he liked to use. Anything you can think of will help." Neal nodded and tried to organize his thoughts.
"Frank..he didn't really have…friends. He screwed over a lot of people and only those who knew they could 'take care of him' if they had to bothered with him. Usually crime families. If he needed a partner for a job, they usually ended up dead or sold out to the cops. He's one sick monster who always liked to remind me that I belonged to him. Like I was some sort of pet he used for whatever he wanted. That's why I got into forgery and conning. He said I had to pay the bills somehow, and he didn't care how. So, I found another way to do that without…working the corner." Neal got quiet, his confidence slipping a bit as he glanced towards Jones and Diana. The two junior agents met his gaze with no trace of disgust or pity. This gave Neal strength to continue.
"He's a sadist. He'll probably come after you and El, because he knows that will hurt me the most. Knowing him, he's already found out where you live and is just biding his time. Frank..Frank will kill you without a second thought. He's pissed off and had plenty of time to think this all out. If what he was like before he was thrown in jail is anything to go by, he still thinks that I'll do anything he says. He thinks I'm still scared of him." There was silence.
"And are you? Scared of him?" Neal locked eyes with Jones.
"I'm scared of what he will do to people I care about, but no. He can't scare me anymore. I want to end this." The agent nodded his understanding. Neal turned his attention back to Peter.
"He may know where you live, but he doesn't know that this place is full of federal agents. That's bound to piss him off even more. He won't give up, but he might become more violent to get what he wants." This did not come as much of a surprise to the occupants of the room. Frank was definitely unstable, and at this point, probably desperate. Diana stepped closer to Peter.
"Boss, looking for, and even finding his accomplices, won't give us much. Frank doesn't seem like the kind of guy that tells other people his plans."
"You're right." Neal sat and thought for a second. Frank might have plans to kill Peter and El, but Neal also knew how Frank's anger made him more sadistic. He would change his plans, and Neal knew exactly what those changes would be.
"Peter, I have an idea. And you're probably not going to like it."
Frank was spending the day time driving to New York City. It would take him about five hours, and he was growing restless. On edge, constantly on guard in case of cops patrolling around, and desperate to see his boy again. To make him his Matty again. Frank adjusted his grip on the steering wheel and gritted his teeth. He had to stay calm. People got stupid when they were angry. If he kept his head, everything would go according to plan. However, as the time passed, his original plan didn't play as well in his head.
Sure it would be great to see Neal's face when he saw the dead bodies of his beloved FBI agent and the man's wife, but it could be even better…if Frank forced Neal to do it. Force the kid to make a choice. He looked at the car's clock for the hundredth time. He still had a few more hours left to go, but when he got there….oh, when he got there….
"Absolutely not!" Neal groaned in frustration. He had known that Peter wouldn't like the plan, figured that El would put in her two cents as well, but he hadn't thought that the entire room would protest.
"I can do this! It may be the only way to catch him!" Peter was shaking his head vehemently and pacing, trying to come up with a better plan of action. It was true. The plan Neal explained was probably their best chance at catching him, but…but Peter would not put his son in danger like that!
"No, Neal. There are plenty of other ways to go about this." El had a death grip on Neal's arm, Diana and Jones were giving him similar looks of reproach for even suggesting such a thing, and Sally just sat back and watched all of it unfold in front of her. Neal stood then, forcing Peter to look at him.
"There aren't, and you know it. We need to end this. It may not happen tonight; Frank may wait another day or so, but we can still be ready for him. Agents could surround the area completely, and I'd wear a wire-"
"Neal, you being this involved already is pushing the envelope, but we can't allow you to put yourself in that situation. You could be killed." A fire burned in Neal's blue orbs.
"And if I don't, then how many other people will Frank kill? He wants me, so I say lets give him what he wants." Peter just kept shaking his head. They were at an impasse, that is, until Director Hughes opened the door.
"I can hear you all downstairs. I take it Neal came up with a plan?" The look on Peter's face said enough. Reese knew that Peter would do everything he could to put Frank back in prison, but he also knew that his agent was very emotionally involved. Hughes turned his attention to Neal.
"Care to share." Neal brightened at the lack of immediate dismissal in the Director's voice, and shared his plan. Reese was quiet for a few minutes following. He pursed his lips, and took a good look at Neal. The room was tense in anticipation. Finally, the Director nodded.
"It's a solid plan, and a good way to catch Frank." Peter's heart stopped.
"But, Sir!" Hughes turned his eyes to his senior agent.
"Burke, it's a good plan, and you know it. Neal knows Smithson better than anyone. We'll have him wired, and the moment he walks in the door, we'll have thirty agents flooding the place. You're biased in this. If this were any other case, wouldn't Caffrey be the first person you'd think to send in?" Peter shook his head in denial.
"No. I would have a trained agent in there. I wouldn't send in an unarmed CI to be bait for an extremely dangerous fugitive."
"Peter, if he doesn't see that it's me in the house, and that I'm alone, he'll hide away in some little hole until I am alone and vulnerable. I have to do this. Let me do this." El was holding back tears, and Sally had her arm around her shoulders. Peter took one look at Neal and left the room. Neal flinched as Peter slammed the door behind him. Diana and Jones left to hopefully calm Peter down, before he scared some poor newbie downstairs. The con man made to follow them, but Reese put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"Give him a little time, Neal. He really cares about you, and hates the thought of you near that man. We all do, but he just can't see that this is necessary, no matter how much I wish it wasn't." Neal nodded and looked at El. Her eyes were fighting the tears desperately, and as soon as she locked eyes with Neal, she stood.
The young man almost (almost) expected a slap, but instead found himself wrapped in her arms. She had one securely behind his back, bringing them close together, and the other with her hand tangled in his curls.
"We love you so much, Neal. I don't want to see you hurt. That man already caused you so much pain." Her breath hitched, and Neal held her tighter. He spoke into her hair.
"I love you both, too. But I need to do this. I'll be okay. It'll be okay." After all of the comfort the Burkes gave him throughout the past two weeks, and months to be honest, he felt like he could finally give something back. If that meant comforting the very woman who soothed him after every emotional outburst and stayed with him despite his pushing, then that is what he would do.
Neal knew how much his plan would upset them, and he regretted that it hurt them. But as he had said multiple times, it was something he had to do. He could say how he wasn't afraid of Frank that he had moved on from his past only so much. If he couldn't stand up to his nightmares now, he never would get passed them. Neal would rid himself of his demons, once and for all.
So, the searching for the dead bodies thing was just to keep the underlings busy while our favorite characters had an emotional fight upstairs and came up with the real plans and ideas. It's getting towards the climax/fun actiony angsty part! Squeee!
Just because I have ideas, doesn't mean I don't take prompts! Throw me something and I'll give it a go! :)
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