Chapter Thirty seven

"So how was your evening?" Neal inquired cheerfully. "No, wait, on second thought I don't want details."

"You'd never get them even if you did." Peter assured dryly.

Neal chuckled as he took a seat across from Peter's desk where Peter was busying himself with paperwork. Neal was exhausted from the previous night but he'd had enough coffee on the way into the office to hide it. Once inside the museum Neal had easily been able to get the last Faberge that he need, at least he hoped it was the last one. Coating the inside with blood while at the museum he was able to use the same set up to get pictures of the lines hidden within. Neal had placed the egg back in the glass case when he was done, no one would ever know it had been disturbed.

Once home he had carefully scanned in copies of all four sets of circles with lines into his laptop computer. The last time he'd looked over the book he'd snapped a pic of the ornate page with his cell phone when Peter has his back turned so he had a copy of that as well. Tracing over the lines with the help of a digital tablet he'd ended up with four line images with blank backgrounds that could be rotated and laid over one another. Neal had spent an hour or so playing with the images to see if they fit together in any kind of discernible pattern. It was four am before he gave in and went to lay down for a few hours before getting up to come into the office.

Neal was a little surprised that Peter hadn't instantly launched into a conversation about Frost or at the very least suspiciously asked him what he had done with his unattended evening. Neal watched as Peter read a standard document on overtime approval that didn't need such carefully scrutiny, all it really needed was a quick glance and his signature. Neal sat quietly and continued to wait for Peter to look up at him, recalling that Peter hadn't so much as glanced up when he'd had first arrived.

Eventually Peter realized that Neal wasn't being his usual chatty self and he looked up briefly before dropping his eyes back to the page that he'd been scrutinizing. The one look told Neal everything he needed to know. Neal looked over his shoulder to make sure he'd closed the glass door behind himself. The door was shut and the rest of the White Collar division was busy with their own work in the bull pen below giving them added privacy.

"Why didn't you arrest me last night?" Neal asked quietly.

Not answering Peter finally signed the document. Closing the file he laid the pen down on top of it before he stared up at Neal. There was a look of conflict in Peter's dark eyes that sharply reminded Neal of the look Peter had given him after everything with Keller and the Nazi treasure had settled down. It had taken Peter time to decide if he even wanted to trust Neal again let alone actually makes moves towards doing so. He had that same look of defeated betrayal now.

"Peter, I'm sorr..."

"No, don't you dare apologize." Peter interrupted sounding frustrated. "I don't want to hear you say you're sorry because I know you don't mean it. One night, Neal, you couldn't behave for *one* night."

"I tried."

"Did you?"

Neal took a breath to answer and realized that there was no sense in lying. He had every intention of continuing to play Frost's game despite Peter, Mozzie, and even Bryant warning him against it. He hadn't even contemplated not going to the museum last night. Not only that but he didn't feel an ounce of guilt for having broken in even though he knew he should.

"...no." Neal admitted with a heartfelt sigh.

Having heard the simple truth Peter's expression softened. In fact his entire body language relaxed significantly. Hopeful that they were at a point where they could have a true conversation and not just an argument Neal continued.

"I can't stop, Peter, it's just part of who I am. And 'yes', I do take pride in my exploits, but please believe me when I say that there is also a side of me that desperately wants to be more than just a criminal."

"I know. I've seen that side many times." Peter acknowledged. "When you're focused in the right direction you really are something special, Neal, and certainly far more than 'just a criminal'. However the exact same thing applies for when you're faced in wrong direction as well."

"I'm good at what I do." Neal managed a slight smile.

"You are." Peter agreed with a sad smile of his own. "I just wish that Jekyll was stronger than Hyde in you."

"The whole point of that story is that good and evil exist in all of us and attempting to separate them, even with the right intentions, ultimately ends in disaster."

"Which is why I didn't arrest you last night."

Neal gave Peter a questioning look.

"What I've been doing with you these past few years clearly isn't working, for either of us really." Peter explained. "You and I have been going back and forth, cat and mouse, doing the same thing over and over again, each of us expecting different results from the other every time."

"The definition of insanity." Neal chuckled.

"Exactly. Time for something new, and as much as I hate to admit it, Frost is something new."

"Wait? You trust Frost now?"

"I don't know what to think of him any more. If he just wanted you in his grip he had the perfect chance to just sit back and let it happen. I was angry last night, there was a very good chance that I would have arrested you. Frost stepped in and made sure I knew the exact consequences of that would be."

"He threatened you?" Neal asked concerned.

"No." Peter shook his head. "He just wanted to be sure that I understood that if you ended up arrested that you would lose your choice on whether or not you wanted to work with him."

"He'd bail me out and be my new handler rather than you."

"More than that. You signed your contract with me with ink, if you ended up back in prison you'd have to sign Frost's in blood."

Neal had no question in his mind that he would have chosen just about anything Frost offered over the prospect of trying to battle for survival in prison for the next three to five years. Thinking over the new information Neal furrowed his brow as he thought over Frost's actions. Waiting to ask Neal to chose him over Peter was a far risker move than just forcing his hand. Although in the end it would lead to a better relationship if Neal chose freely, and clearly Frost had a great deal of confidence that Neal would say yes.

"I didn't want to just throw you to the wolves, even if you did rush out the first chance you got to break into the museum."

"I didn't take anything."

"The fact that you think that makes it okay proves that I have made no impression on you whatsoever after all these years."

"That's not true and you know it. I'm better for having known you, and I'd like to think I've changed you too."

"My blood pressure is higher."

The pair share a quick chuckle. As often as they came to odds with one another it was always a relief when they managed to get back on the same page again. Neal sat back and pulled his hand through his hair. He looked around Peter's office as though it was going to be the last time he got to see it. Peter watch Neal, looking like he expected him to get up and leave, possibly to never return. Neal realized that if he wanted to he could probably do exactly that.

"This isn't good-bye is it?" Neal asked.

"I hope not, but it certainly feels like it."

"I'm not ready for that."

"Neither am I, and I'm certainly not ready to be letting you make your own decisions, but here we are anyway." Peter pointed out. "Just be careful Neal. Frost has demonstrated that he is basically untouchable and even if he is a 'good guy' there will be a high price tag on anything he has to sell."

"He won't be looking to sell me anything if I can't crack this egg puzzle." Neal said ruefully. "This is a tough test."

"Please at least tell me that you have all the pieces now. I don't think I can handle turning a blind eye again while you break into every major art gallery and museum in Manhattan. I've had a hard enough time getting to where where are right now."

"I think I've got what I need, I'm just a little stuck." Neal leaned forward slightly and flashed Peter his sweetest smile.

"No." Peter replied before being asked.

"Come on, you know you want to help me. There is no reason for us to stop working together on this, now that you approve."

"I didn't say I approved." Peter corrected quickly. "I just don't strictly disapprove."

"They're the same thing." Neal teased.

"They really aren't."

"You love puzzles and history, this is both." Neal pressed. "We've always been better at figuring these things out together."

"I already passed my test, or maybe I failed it, it depends on how I look at it. In any case this treasure hunt is your audition, Neal. You're the one Frost wants."

"Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not so sure about that."

"What?"

"None of Frost moves have been about 'divide and conquer'." Neal noted. "He could have easily set us against one another. Instead he has set us up for the exact opposite this whole time."

"We've been set against one another plenty through all of this."

"But what has the end result been?" Neal pressed. "Have we ever been closer or more honest with one another than we are right now?"

"Don't make me answer that."

"You don't have to, we both already know the answer and Frost knows it too."

"Neal..."

"Frost doesn't want me, he wants us."