The Game
Standing on the field, Neal found himself stationed at the corner of a warehouse, in the middle of a bunch more warehouses.
Sighing, he didn't like this, but at least it wasn't a real field operation. He wouldn't be dying before this was over…. or, at least, he hoped he wouldn't be. His experience with government operations wasn't as cut and dry as the rest of the team's experiences had been for the most part.
Checking his gear over again while he waited for the signal to initiate the game, Neal noted that his gel packs weren't a standard color. They seemed to be working with a special set that made it easier to track who had shot who when the game was over. This would aid in their reports and assessing the success of the game.
With his preparation work done, Neal stood calmly assessing his terrain next. He figured he would have at least a few minutes before the signal would go off as the final people from his SUV were deposited at their appointed locations.
The warehouses provided a mixture of terrain so he could get high ground, or he could move into the warehouses where he'd have plenty of cover to move around unobserved.
Hearing the signal, an alarm was run through a sound system wired into the warehouses, and it blared through the area indicating the start of the game.
Going for a walk, Neal tried not to show too many of his skills, but he also didn't want to get shot if he could help it.
Ducking around the warehouses for a while, Neal kept an eye on who was going where, but he mostly saw members of the team as they returned to the base shot. They were all hit with the same color, red.
So, the enemy shot red gel packs. That gave him something to work with. His packs were blue, which matched the little blue band around his arm. This meant that anyone he saw with a red band around their arm would be someone to avoid.
There was one other point of commonality between those who had been shot. They all seemed to be muttering to themselves as they tried to work through how they'd been gotten. Had their opponent been given files on them, or did they know the team to know how they acted and reacted?
Holding his ground, Neal held his gun and tried not to reveal too many of his skills. No one on the team knew he was actually Bryce Larkin, an agent of the CIA on a loan assignment.
Counting the number of agents that he had seen retreating after being shot, Neal knew the numbers were dwindling since he'd only seen a percentage of those who were playing, but the number of them shot didn't bode well for them winning this challenge.
In an effort to hold out, Neal tried to seek higher ground. He knew it was a smart move for getting a better lay of the land and possibly spotting the red-banded shooter, but it could also give too much away. He needed to balance what 'he'd learned from the team' and basic con artistry skills to hid his actual training. This meant he couldn't be too stupid, but he also couldn't be too smart about his decisions either. To mix it up, he was mostly careful and intelligent, but he threw in a few rookie mistakes to hide his experience and real skills.
Gaining a vantage point on top of a warehouse, he saw that most of the team was 'dead' and waiting around in boredom so it was nearly down to him and the unknown enemy. Then he turned his attention to the playing field. It was a bunch of warehouses, so there was no telling where his opponent was. Choosing where to go next, he selected a warehouse he hadn't visited yet. Perhaps he'd find something there?
Returning to the ground, he tried to hold his gun at the ready, but in a more relaxed stance than was wise. He had a quick reaction time and could easily outshoot most opponents even from this position, but he wasn't going to advertise that.
Walking slowly, he was careful not to advertise his location, especially since it was so quiet, even the slightest noise could give his position away.
When he reached his warehouse of choice, he had to carefully pull out his lock pick set and put it to use to open the door. Unfortunately, the hinges squeaked as the door opened, but he couldn't help it once the noise had been made.
Entering the warehouse, he saw a large open place divided off by large units of shelving for merchandise.
Sneaking through the warehouse, he crept shelving unit by shelving unit. He was quite a way through when Neal was surprised to find himself accosted from behind as a gel pack exploded against his back.
Turning around in curiosity, he noticed a man dressed exactly like everyone else, but wearing a red band on his arm as he waved in acknowledgment, the enemy they were sent to capture. He was laying up on one of the shelving units so that he was out of sight when Neal had crept by, and he'd probably held his breath or kept it quiet enough that he couldn't hear him from the ground.
With nothing else to do, Neal nodded to the man and turned to join the rest of the 'dead' back at the meeting point in front of the cars at an edge parking lot.
Making the solitary walk, Neal wondered who the 'enemy' was. The only person who hadn't been present was Peter… could it have been Peter who had just shot him in the back?
Shuddering, he didn't like that possibility at all!
He'd been shot in the back due to being betrayed by fellow agents before, and it wasn't pleasant. This might be a training game, but it brought up old memories, old concerns, and old doubts. And having a friend possibly be the one to shoot him, made it all worse.
Did he really know Peter? He thought he did, but if he was the man who had just shot him, who had been willing to shoot him in the back, he might not know him so well after all; an unsettling thought!
Reaching the 'dead' zone, he was greeted with cheering and applause, he'd been the last person killed so he'd held out longer than the rest of them had.
Bowing and accepting the praise, Neal played the fortunate winner with no grace; he was the consummate actor bowing at the end of his performance.
Such a performance was normal and expected of Neal, he was the showy con artist after all, and his love of attention meant that the team was used to this behavior. Therefore, no one showed any annoyance and they all accepted his behavior before turning their focus to the approach of the enemy that had so successfully defeated them all.
It was the same man that Neal had seen in the warehouse, and his delayed arrival was likely caused by his climb down from the top of the shelving unit he'd been sniping from.
Studying him, Neal noted that he had the right height and build to be Peter, but he still hoped the man wasn't his friend.
With everyone present, the bosses added to their earlier explanation.
The man who had been chosen to perform as the enemy had chosen to do so alone, instead of selecting a team, which had been an option. He was to model a traitor in the team and what it was like when the team was in the field and uncertain who they could trust.
Everyone was then ordered to jot down some quick notes of their experience in the challenge so that they could do their official reports later with more accurate details. It prevented vital details from being changed, such as strategic decisions and emotions, and then the cameras caught video and audio records to cover the rest of the details.
While they wrote their reports, some of them talked discussing how they'd been shot in the side, front, or back by their opponent. Considering the red splatters that supported these statements, no one questioned that one man had done it all, they just questioned how.
With everything done, the team took off their gear and turned it over.
That was when the man with the red band on his arm pulled off his gear and revealed his face, he was agent Peter Burke.
Disappointed, Neal didn't show his feelings; instead, he put on a mask and smiled as amusedly as the others. He didn't want to show how much Peter's actions had distressed him. His friend had shot him in the back!
Since the training game was technically done, the team began to disperse.
The reports and paperwork would need to be finished on Monday, and then the bosses were going to review and analyze the results. They were interested to find out how one agent had taken out his whole team, especially if this was a risk if someone pulled such a stunt in the real world! This would lead to reviews and discussions on how to combat such a betrayal in the field.
Walking away with Diana, Neal wasn't surprised when Peter moved to catch up to them and offered to give him a lift home.
Glancing at Peter, Neal could see that he was upset, but he couldn't face his friend right now, he was too confused himself. Glad he had plans with Diana, Neal had an excuse to avoid being confined with Peter. "We've got our consolation prize to look forward to," he shrugged without meeting Peter's eyes.
"I've got to buy him lunch since we lost," Diana added onto to his excuse as she sent Neal on a few steps ahead. She was shielding him from Peter, taking up her role as an older sister, and although she said it low, Neal still heard her tell Peter, "Something about this has unsettled him, give him some time and talk to him later."
Settling into the car, Diana was quiet for the drive and didn't bring up what had happened until they were partway through their meal, "So, how did Peter get you?"
"He shot me in the back," Neal was blunt and didn't go into details, but something in his tone probably gave him away anyway.
"Have you been shot in the back before, or is it just because it was Peter that's getting to you?" Diana was intuitive and insightful as usual.
"Both, but I don't want to talk about what happened last time," Neal answered honestly while deflecting to avoid talking too much.
Diana didn't smile; she only nodded as she continued to eat her meal. "He got me after a door squeaked to reveal my position. Fortunately, I saw him coming, and when he stepped out to shoot me, he was at eye level and I was ready to shoot since I expected an attack. But, he had some crates mostly covering him so my shot missed." She shrugged, she had been shot more competitively and wasn't as bothered by what had happened. That wasn't to say she was thrilled, but she wasn't as bothered.
Having gathered her information, Diana knew the basics of what was bothering him and she'd probably text it to Peter once she'd dropped him off so that their friend could come up with a plan on how he'd handle the situation. Since it wasn't necessary to gather any more information, she changed the subject to their general workload.
It wasn't long before Diana dropped Neal off at the loft and went about her day to prepare for her stakeout.
Alone in the loft, Neal immediately called Mozzie up. "I want you to pull up those files on Peter and go through them again." If they'd missed something, he didn't want it to matter in the field, he wanted to have that comfortable feeling of certainty in his friend again, but he was unsure if that was possible.
Questioning what had brought this on; Mozzie listened to his description of the training game and what Peter had done. "You want me to do the whole run through again to make sure that Peter Burke isn't Kieran Ryker in hiding, that he won't put a bullet or a knife in your back? I don't think we missed anything before, but they look alike and Ryker is supposed to be dead, so I'll do the run through again."
Shivering, Neal's mind hadn't gone that far, he'd been fighting it, but once it was introduced, it took solid root and he couldn't dislodge it. What if Kieran was an alter ego of Peter, or if Peter was Kieran's alter ego, one that even Elizabeth had been fooled by?
Giving the go-ahead for Mozzie to put Peter through the works of an investigation, he wanted to be as certain as possible that his friend could be trusted! Or, if he couldn't be trusted, he'd be asking for a transfer of operations while Caffrey would either run or be placed in prison again. He couldn't work with Peter if he had to fear him putting a bullet into his back!
"Don't worry about it Neal, I'll have this resolved by the end of the weekend. Just relax, stay low, and don't talk to Peter in the meanwhile." Mozzie apparently had a game plan in mind, so he kept the rest of the call short and took off.
Settling down with the assurance that Mozzie would find the truth of the matter using the weekend and report to him as soon as he had the information necessary to be certain one way or the other, Neal was finally able to take a shower, clean up, and tend to the bruising caused by Peter's shot.
Then he settled in to paint to keep himself occupied. He would avoid Peter until Mozzie had his confirmation. It wouldn't be easy, but he'd manage. He was determined.
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