Notes: I know this is late. I have the best (although saddest) excuse. Unfortunately, my grandma recently passed. Although she lives in the same country, she also lives very far away and I was not able to go and see her during her last days. Nor, due to increasing restrictions, was I able to go to the funeral today. It's made it difficult to get a chapter done in the time I usually do it.

I also have a new idea in the works and now that isolation is being enforced, I'll have time to type it up as work doesn't need me anymore.


Arrest

Sarah grinned as she walked into the Buy More. "We have a mission," she said as she pulled out a file. Chuck looked at it while bracing himself for a flash. When none came, he huffed.

"Okay, what's it about?" he asked. Sarah pulled him down into Castle, where Casey was already waiting.

"Fixing an FBI mess."

"A what?" Maybe that's why Chuck hadn't been able to flash. He didn't have information from the FBI computers. It was something he could fix though, if he actually took the time to program some FBI information into his Intersect.

"The FBI made a mistake and arrested one of our agents."

"Who was it?" Chuck asked. A certain person floated through his mind as an option but Neal Caffrey was in New York.

"Frost."

Chuck really hoped his expression didn't show his frustration at that. How did his mother manage to get arrested?

"Frost shouldn't have any missions right now."

"That doesn't change the fact that she's our agent and she was arrested by the FBI, suspected of something or other. Idiots."

Chuck wondered what they were charging her with but figured he would find out soon enough. They were going to have to rescue her.


Deal

Everyone's eyes jumped to Neal as they always did whenever his phone rang. With a sigh, Neal picked it up.

"Bryce, I need your help!" Chuck said. Chuck calling him 'Bryce' meant that this was CIA related.

"I'm out of the business," he said, conscious of all the burning stares. "You know that."

"My mother has been arrested by the FBI-"

"Rosa?" What would Rosa have done to get arrested? She was a foster mother.

"No. Although I see why you would jump to that conclusion. I meant Frost."

Ah, so this was entirely connected to Chuck and had nothing to do with Billy.

"You remember our deal right?" It was still going and this was an interesting issue to deal with during this week of the deal.

"I do. Come on, Bryce. Surely you can work some magic on those FBI servers and find out where she is. Maybe I'll break her out before Sarah and Casey can get in trouble."

"Taking our deal seriously then?"

"A deal is a deal."

Neal smirked. He had a feeling that Chuck's work was cut out for him. Especially if Frost had been arrested here. While not something that seemed dangerous as it sounded like a simple extraction mission, that it was Frost suggested something bigger. Something with someone powerful pulling the strings.

Neal just hoped it wasn't Bancroft. He liked that guy.

"What was that about?" Peter asked, having come out of his office as the phone call proved to be longer than a few seconds.

"A friend of mine from years ago who recently got back in touch." He saw the eyebrow quirk from Peter. The one he gave when he thought Neal was getting in contact with 'the criminal element' as the documents called it. "Relax Peter, this guy didn't know me as Neal Caffrey. He thought I was an accountant."

"An accountant." Did Peter sound impressed? Maybe it was because he was a maths major at College during his baseball years.

"Yep. He wanted help with his taxes. I told him I quit ages ago, he should have remembered that."

"Who's Rosa?"

"His foster mother. Lovely lady."

"And your deal?"

"That's personal."

"Neal."

"It really is. It has to do with his girlfriend." Neal rolled his eyes. "Those two are hopeless and should just talk already."

"Sounds like a normal friend," Diana mused with her arms crossed. However, she sounded like she believed him.

"He's a good friend," Neal responded. It was something closer to the truth as there was nothing normal about Chuck or himself.

Jones was a little more disbelieving about it but he didn't voice his concerns. They left him to his work after that.


Neal logged into the computers and looked around for a recent arrest of someone matching Frost's description. It didn't take long. Frost had put up a fight which disappointed Neal. Chuck would have known better.

She was currently being held in the FBI holding cells. The arresting agent: Special Agent Ruiz. This just got tricky. Neal and Ruiz had a mutual dislike of each other. If Neal could get Frost out, then it would be a slap in the face to Ruiz, one that Neal felt the other agent had coming.

But it could also get him into a lot of trouble and, by extension, Peter.

"Chuck, you don't make things easy, do you?" He could at least scope things out and try and liberate Frost if need be.

"Where are you off to?" Jones asked the moment Neal stood up. Neal hated how his desk was in the line of sight of almost every agent in this office.

"Organised crime."

He got a laugh in response.

"I'm serious. There's something I need to ask Ruiz or one of his agents." In fact, he had gone to a lot of trouble to find a case that might have connections to one of theirs in order to give some kind of pretence to go down. It meant he would have to play the oblivious CI who didn't know how things worked but it made a good enough excuse.

Ruiz looked down on him enough to believe that he wouldn't know how to approach interdepartmental issues properly. But he would also be looking for any sign of fowl play.

Neal slipped down to his offices and pretended to look around for him. Walking through the floor, he spotted Frost in one of the interrogation rooms.

And there was Ruiz, growling in her face about whatever.

He figured there was little chance of him leaving her alone but he still would have preferred it. Should he just leave this to Chuck? He had at least confirmed that Frost was here.


Hero Time

Chuck stood on the balcony, in his superhero form.

"What's so scary about Agent Ruiz?" he questioned.

"Nothing. The man is a typical FBI agent." What Mozzie considered to be a 'typical FBI agent' was more of a 'corrupted FBI agent'. "Except he has a sense for when things are off."

"He probably realised there's more to Frost than there appears but doesn't realise exactly what."

Chuck sighed. "How are we meant to get her out then?"

"I don't want to be directly involved. It could put me as Neal in trouble." He really didn't want to deal with that mess. "I can monitor the situation from here." He tapped his belt and pulled out a set of earpieces. "Here."

Chuck put in one of the earpieces and tested it. "Fine. I guess I'll have to do it myself."

"Or tell Sarah and Casey."

"I'd rather not get shot tonight."

"You're looking for free a wanted woman from the FBI. You're probably going to get shot at," Damian pointed out.

Chuck sighed. "Whatever. I'm bulletproof."

"I want to see this," Mozzie mused. He glanced at Neal.

"I guess it can be arranged."

"You've got to be joking."

"He's a Bat. They're not very good at joking," Chuck pointed out.

Damian huffed. "I'd like to think I've gotten much better at it over the years."

"If it's for a con," Mozzie pointed out. "Don't think I've noticed that Neal is a con as a well."

Damian assured him that he wasn't a complete con as Neal. While he was playing a role with his personality, he enjoyed it and most of the things he told Mozzie about were truth. The same way he didn't lie to Peter.

"A lie of omission is still lying," Chuck pointed out with Mozzie's support.

"Nevermind. I work with neither of you now. You can free Frost together." He regretted it the moment he said it and their faces lit up. "Oh no."

"Am I allowed to come?" Mozzie asked Chuck. Chuck nodded, although he couldn't hide Mozzie's identity from the FBI.

Damian internally cursed. Now he would have to help, even if it was coordinating the rescue from a distant.