After the Storm

Sitting there on the hard bench, Peter wasn't thinking through his life flashing before his eyes. Instead, it was Neal's he finally understood. He didn't have all of the details, but he could finally grasp the basics of what had been going on all along.

Ignoring the gun pointed at his head and the sounds of more footsteps approaching, Peter flinched when he heard another crack of gunfire and felt the warmth of blood.

The assailant dropped to the ground at Peter's feet with a thud. Obviously, someone was around to protect him, but his focus remained on Bryce.

Watching the kid, his eyes were open wide and he seemed to be staring blankly at Peter. He didn't blink, and there was no sign of conscious thought in his facial expression. His body seemed to be struggling though. Since he was still showing signs of life, the kid had to be wearing something protective, but it also seemed to be making it hard for him to breathe.

Moving to get up, Peter wanted to check on Bryce. He needed to help him.

Swinging their guns up at him, the rest of the second kill squad rounded the corner and made sure Peter remained in his seat. He was the only person not sprawled on the floor, so they didn't see him as a threat, but rather as the witness sitting there unarmed.

Continuing to focus on Bryce, despite the danger, Peter was horrified to watch as his body reacted more. He seemed to be fighting for breath and his face was getting paler. Then he seemed to relax as his body stopped trying, he wasn't breathing at all.

Although Peter wasn't watching them, he couldn't help but listen to the next group of attackers. "At least Agent Smith saved us one person. Pratt wanted us to make sure we finished them all off this time." The remaining leader seemed disappointed he didn't have more targets to shoot at.

"No, no, no. You have the map upside down. We are supposed to be going the other way to exit. Then we need to go left to head for our hotel." A female voice broke the atmosphere. She seemed too cheerful for the surroundings and was strangely oblivious to the danger.

"I know how to hold a map, Sarah. We are heading in the right direction." A familiar voice said. What was Chuck doing? He was bringing his wife and coming right into the fight zone!

Nearby, the guards provided another distraction as they started to groan a little bit. It seemed they had been wearing protective gear, so they had only been knocked unconscious.

Sarah took the focus again by gently showing disbelief in his navigational abilities. "If you say so, but you might notice the compass in comparison to the direction of the sun shadows puts us going in the wrong direction," she teased.

Pausing practically in the middle of the attackers, Chuck frowned and tried to flip the map around to see if it would match what Sarah was telling him.

Confused and amused, the attackers wondered how dense these people were. Who would walk with their face in a map instead of looking around once in a while to compare it to their surroundings? Also, who would walk into the middle of an armed group of killers without flinching?

"No, see," Chuck pointed to a random spot on the map, "We are exactly where we want to be."

"Right," Sarah said as she turned and punched out the nearest opponent. Then she moved to engage the rest of the attackers as quickly as she could move through them.

Dropping his map, Chuck let loose and engaged the nearest two with his own combative skills. Moving to stand between Peter and the danger, he tried to keep the other agent as safe as he could.

At one point during the fighting, Agent Smith was foolish enough to try and rise from the ground. His efforts to get back up alerted Sarah and Chuck to his conscious status. Simultaneously, they each threw a punch landing him back into a state of unconsciousness.

Unable to continue sitting still, Peter moved and at least got a good punch or two in before Chuck and Sarah had defeated the entire group. He realized he was way out of his element in combat here, but he couldn't keep observing without assisting. Bryce was turning gray and their chances to help him were running out.

When all of the opponents had been defeated, the three of them rushed to Bryce's side. He wasn't breathing and he had no pulse.

"He is dead again," Jonathon confirmed from behind them.

Startled, the group reacted slightly to ensure there wasn't going to be another threat.

"How do you know that?" Sarah questioned. She was pulling knives out for Peter and Chuck to cut off his protective gear. Then she focused on breathing for Bryce.

"I'm his lawyer and run his civilian life. Years ago he set up an alert system to use my phone for a notice when he dies or is brought back to life. This is the third time it has gone off." He stood behind hoping the system would stop alerting him of his friend's demise. There wasn't room for him to assist beyond a reading of Bryce's vitals through the technical system.

Working together, Peter and Chuck got the jacket and shirt cut away before they went to work on the body armor. It was a new design being field-tested and it was lightweight to a point of being nearly unnoticeable, but it was also flexible for the movement in the fighting. However, it had a flaw to be fixed, because it was too constricting once his body began to react to the repeated close-range impacts from the bullets.

Once Bryce was no longer restricted by the armor, Peter began to do the chest compressions in a hope of getting his heart to beat again.

In a team effort, Sarah breathed, Peter did chest compressions, Chuck rattled stuff off that no one understood, and Jonathon kept an eye on Bryce's vitals. Each one was doing what they could to help bring their friend back to life.

After several moments of fighting, they were getting more desperate for any sign Bryce was going to live. Then he breathed on his own. It wasn't a lungful of air, but the little bit was enough to make them feel better.

Settling back, Sarah and Peter relaxed in their efforts as Bryce was going on his own, but they kept their focus on him as he had given them quite a scare.

It didn't take long for paramedics and other personnel to respond to the attack. Soon the group was forced to step back while the medical professionals took over.

Finding his way back to his previous seat, Peter needed a moment to try and pull himself together. A lot had occurred in only fifteen minutes.

"We're going to make sure Bryce reaches the hospital safely. Are you up to bringing the rest of the group and meeting us there?" Chuck was talking to Jonathon. The lawyer seemed to be holding it together better. Once he agreed, Chuck reached out to squeeze Peter's shoulder. He tried to provide some comfort to the stunned agent before he left with Sarah.

Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, Peter managed to dispel some of the shock from his system. He was still spinning mentally and emotionally, but he could function some again. Peter gave himself a quick check over and decided he was probably going to lose his jacket. It had the blood from one of the assailants all over it. Since it wasn't going to be spared anyway, Peter used the jacket to wipe himself off until he had removed the worst of the mess. Although he wasn't exactly presentable, it would have to do.

"We need to tell the others what is going on. I assume the shots could be heard from the hallway?" He asked Jonathon.

"Yes, we could hear the shots and the others are rather worried," Jonathon confirmed. Then he stopped Peter by placing a hand on each of his shoulders. "Are you alright? You were right there through it all and had to watch Bryce die."

Shuddering, Peter could do without the reminder. "I'm physically alright. Everyone felt the need to protect me, so I'm not hurt. As for the rest… I don't know yet. My head is still spinning and I haven't gotten the chance to deal with everything he revealed back there."

"Take a moment and catch your breath. You seem to be a little out of it. Although you are an agent, and extremely good according to Bryce, that wasn't something you routinely deal with in White Collar," Jonathon supported him.

Peter learned more about what Bryce appreciated in the man. Not only was he smart and capable of keeping secrets, big ones, but he was also caring enough to help his friend's friend despite his own emotions.

Breathing as directed, Peter checked on Jonathon. The man was a lawyer and not accustomed to death or serious combat situations at all, "How about you? Are you alright?"

Smiling slightly, Jonathon knew he and Peter were building a foundation towards a friendship of their own. They would never be as close as Peter was with Bryce, but it would be enough to enjoy each other's company when Bryce brought them together. "I'm generally fine too. This isn't my first experience with Bryce getting killed in action, but it is my first time seeing him dead for myself. There will probably be nightmares and some serious conversations with him once he is better, but I'll be alright."

Having calmed down some from talking about it, Peter looked better, so Jonathon let him start walking again.

Reaching the hallway with the main group, they were met with gasps of horror and worried expressions.

Elizabeth was up and in Peter's arms as quickly as she could close the distance. She had been so worried about her husband, so to see him again was a great relief.

The others weren't so fortunate. They were relieved to see Peter safe, but Neal wasn't there to relieve their fears for him.

"Where is Neal?" was Sara's question. Peter had blood on him, so she wondered who it belonged to.

Taking another deep breath and holding Elizabeth closer to his side, Peter tried to find the strength to share what had happened. Since he had more of a connection and position of authority, it was his job to update the others. "Neal is agent Bryce Larkin undercover. He was impersonating the con in an effort to get the murderers of the entire Caffrey family so he could bring them to justice. Two kill squads worth of them attacked, and although they have all been subdued, they did manage to technically kill Bryce as well. We got him back after a fight, and his counterparts are accompanying him to the hospital. Now we are supposed to meet them there while the task force takes care of the scene here," Peter kept it short.

"Is he going to be okay?" June asked.

None of them liked the image of their young friend lying dead on the floor.

"I don't know. Apparently, he has been briefly killed in action before, so we'll have to wait and see what the doctor says," Peter shuddered again. He had more than enough ammunition to fuel many nightmares, and he didn't want to add to it by knowing how else the young man had been killed in the past.

Sara had tears running down her face as she began to cry softly, so June took her into a hug and they cried on each other's shoulders. Elizabeth was leaning into Peter for support while he held her close for his own need for comfort. Jonathon had moved to stand close to Peter's other shoulder to support the older man, but also because he knew they were both worried about their friend's continued health.

On the other side of the area, the Larkin family had different reactions. They were surprised to hear Bryce was an agent but unimpressed to learn he taken a case that sounded so demeaning. Why was a Larkin playing a common criminal to catch some murderers? Sure, murder was an awful thing to do, but wasn't there someone else to chase after them?

Mrs. Wymond and Clara were sad to hear of Bryce's situation and concerned they had accused him of impersonating himself. They hadn't treated him like family when they had last seen him, but then they hadn't known either.

Felix was proud to have been able to see through his brother's charades, he had been right in assuming he was Bryce playing a joke. Didn't that make him so observant, and wasn't he so intelligent to have figured it out? He was back to using Bryce as a means of gaining attention for himself.

Richard and Wyatt were more concerned with paying the required hospital visit and wondering how much of an inconvenience Bryce's hospital stay would be for their social calendar. There were parties to attend, the business to oversee, and other more important things to do than sit on a bedside vigilance.

Working together, Peter and Jonathon got the group to assemble and began the process of moving them to the hospital waiting room.

Thank you, everyone, for reading, leaving kudos, reviewing/commenting, choosing to favorite, and following my stories and me :D

For those of you who may have checked out the Pinterest board for this, it now has the pin with the secret of Neal's fate put back and it's been organized into sections for easier viewing.