Notes: In case you missed it; 'Twins vs the Unexplainable' updated last night with it's first original chapter. The first two lines: 'Peter thought it was the most ridiculous story he had ever heard. The idea that Neal was such a great thief that he stole the form of a cat from a witch was obviously fabricated as a way for Neal to brag about his skills.'

A Short Tale

From Guest:

:) Thanks really enjoy them and look forward to many more. If wanted here are a couple of ideas, what if June knew Bryce before she met Neal? What if one twin goes to help the other, in secret, twin 'a' gets out but initially nobody realises twin 'b' was involved then after lots of reveals and confusion both are reunited.

In New York, there was one place where Bryce could always go and be welcomed.

June Ellington was a hard but kind woman, well versed in the ways of the less-than-legal. She was also his first asset and made him for a spook the moment they met.

He was the first to not get flustered when she saw through his cover; he had just been hired as her butler.

"Spies don't get flustered," he explained.

"Oh dear, they do. Maybe they don't show it as well as other people but they do. A glance at their watch here and a request for some air or for the bathroom there gives away their intentions." She smiled and took a sip of her tea. "A flustered spy contacts home as soon as they get the chance," she explained further, "you, however, continued with your job. Well done."

Bryce couldn't help feeling flattered. He also knew that she was right. The first time his job had been discovered, by his own brother no less, he had looked for an opening to contact his handler to find out what to do.

He wondered what else she was right about.

June was right when she picked up a down-on-his-luck conman from the local thrift store and knew that he would bring interesting times to her door. It helped that she knew his brother led an exciting life and that she was curious to know what he was like.

She never told Neal this, or about her information feeding to the CIA.

Both of them were stubborn fools.

"Neal, this is foolishness," she scolded as the conman she thought of as a son pulled on a pair of running shoes. "Running off in the middle of the night will only make people worry."

"Don't worry about me, June," he said as he planted a light kiss on her cheek. "I'll be okay."

"This man is not one to mess with," she pointed out, "whatever you hope to do will put you in danger."

Neal looked away, his gaze sliding to the ground. She thought she heard him say something about someone who needed his help but she wasn't sure.

"Is it Haversham?" she asked, worried about the kind-hearted criminal mastermind. Haversham was a good man and he helped ease her loneliness after Byron's passing.

Neal shook his head and left quickly after that.

June had feared this. His black hair was damp across his forehead and he was panting with exertion. There was dirt smeared across his body and his blue eyes were blurry and unfocused.

"Oh dear," she said, pulling him inside. She ordered the maid to call for her after-hours doctor. "You were only gone for a few hours," she said, worried about what they did to him in that short amount of time.

"Sorry," he croaked out and his body went slack against hers, almost pulling her to the ground with his weight. June called for help and they took him up to his room. She knew the doctor would want him clean, so he could assess the injuries properly, so she assigned a maid to remove his shirt and wipe him down.

It seemed he had lost his shoes somewhere.

The doctor came. A sprained wrist, some bandages around bleeding injuries and a concussion were the final tally. He said that it looked like he had incurred most of the injuries while escaping and not from torture like June feared.

She was relieved but she still felt something was wrong.

She had been expecting Agent Burke sooner.

"Neal's here?" he questioned in a surprised manner.

"Of course. Although it seems he's lost the tracker. I suppose you'll put it back on?" she questioned.

Peter nodded and she followed his storming movements up to Neal's apartment.

"Neal!" Peter growled as soon as he spotted the man sitting at the inside table. "We're going to pass of last night as a malfunction but if you do anything that foolish again-"

"What do you mean?" he questioned, tilting his head in confusion.

"Cutting your tracker last night! I told you we wouldn't go after him and you went and did it anyway! You're lucky you're not dead!"

"Neal went after him?" the man at the table questioned, going pale. And that's when June realised her error.

"You're Bryce!" she said quietly in shock, her hand going to cover her mouth. "Which means that Neal's-" Still out there and without his tracker or any way for them to find him.

Bryce nodded while Peter glanced between them in confusion.

"I'm Bryce Larkin, Neal's twin," Bryce said, introducing himself, "and I assume that you are Agent Burke. Neal talks about you all the time."

Peter flushed a little at the praise, at least, he hoped it was praise. But, it wasn't enough to convince him and before Bryce could make his argument, his phone rang.

"Hello?" Peter could just hear the voice on the other end, muffled by the device so he couldn't understand. "I'm at June's. Yeah, I realise you didn't know I know June. It doesn't matter how! No, she's not reporting your movements to me. Yes, I know you know when I'm lying! Just, get yourself back here, Neal and then we'll talk."

"You didn't tell him Peter was here," June pointed out. Bryce smirked at her, looking exactly like Neal.

"A little surprise for when he gets here," Bryce responded. He could see that Peter wasn't convinced yet, but that would change.