Peter had known he was just a kid when he started hunting him down. And he'd told himself, this does not affect my decisions in anyway. It had become his mantra, sixteen was old enough to make decisions, sixteen was the age of becoming a man. There were no excuses for the crimes he was committing.
At least that's what he thought before he caught him. The stunning blue eyes of the boy, 'No,' Peter corrected himself, 'This is a man.' But there was no denying that the young eyes and narrow shoulders were that of a boy and not a man.
"Hey," either he had no idea who Peter was or he was playing at something. The voice was young too, in the awkward stage, his entire appearance echoed youth and Peter told himself again, 'Sixteen was old enough to make decisions.'
"Neal Caffrey?" Peter asked, just to justify. This couldn't be the man who had expertly drafted over seven paintings, forgeries that sold for millions of dollars. This was the age of girlfriends and underage drinking, not White Collar crimes.
"Yes?" the conversation continued and Neal was getting nervous. He had not thought he'd be approached coming up the stairs to his own home. He knew who the man across from him was. And he knew that the person upstairs knew what to do if anything happened to him.
"I'm Agent Peter Burke, FBI. Would you mind coming downtown and answering a few questions?" Peter sighed heavily as the boy nodded, 'Wait, man.'
"Can I check on my sister really fast? She's been by herself since she got home from school," Peter cringed at the words. No one had mentioned anything about a sister, but they had mentioned that Neal was parentless. Peter assumed the girl was parentless as well and he bit the inside of his lip to keep from cursing and letting out his frustration in front of the kid. He did not like to not know everything that was happening in his case, and a sister was something BIG.
"Mind if I follow you up?" Peter asked casually and Neal shook his head.
"No, Amelia likes visitors. I work a lot of late nights but she has to go to school, so we don't get to hang out much," Neal babbled all the way up the stairs. Peter noticed that the words he was using to describe Neal were getting more juvenile. A boy, old enough to make decisions, but not old enough to be a man.
The girl was sitting at the table, a pencil in hand, rapidly writing something. Her eyes didn't leave the paper and her black hair was pulled up into a bun that sat on top of her head. Finally setting her pencil down she looked up, "Oh sorry. Who's your friend?"
She was no more than fourteen. Too old to slide into the system, not that anyone just 'slid' into the system. No one adopted older kids, what would happen to her? What would happen to those bright blue eyes and that innocent look and voice?
"I'm Peter Burke, from the FBI," he came to shake her hand and she stood her face suddenly going whiter than Peter thought possible. She recovered quickly and half smiled. 'On a way to becoming a con herself,' Peter quickly regretted the bitter thought. Sympathizing with her he thought of what it would be like to not have any parents, to have to take care of his younger brother.
"Milly? Have you eaten?" Neal had wandered to the kitchen missing the conversation.
"No, I wanted cereal but we didn't have any milk," she sat down again and Peter glanced at her paper. The math that covered it was far beyond any of the skills Peter had ever gone through and he looked perplexed at the paper when he heard Neal laugh.
"She's applying to private school next semester, but I won't be able to afford it. So, she's been working really hard to get in on full scholarship. That means a hundred percent on her criterion referenced tests," she raised a finger for an objection and he laughed again, "Sorry Mills, a hundred and one percent."
Peter smirked at that and made a split second decision. One that he'd probably have to pay for with his wife later.
"Come sit down Neal," he moved chairs out from around the table and Neal listened. There wasn't a violent bone in the kids body and Peter huffed a breath, "You know why I'm here."
He didn't expect an answer. That was admitting to the crime and he was smarter than that, "I'm here to take you in on account of seven forgeries that were all thought to have done by you. And listen, you're a minor, sixteen with a good reputation at your studio job and a good one at your old school. No one would have ever thought that you'd be the one to do it, yet here we are."
Neal didn't break eye contact with him and his eyebrows crinkled together in guilt, 'Reading it wrong Peter, that's sadness,' Peter told himself and looked at Neal who bit the inside of his lip and finally broke contact.
"I'm willing to offer you a deal. Obviously, I have to run it through a chain of command but I think they'll go for it," he could feel Milly drinking in his words and see Neal's chin start to raise. He knew he didn't have the upper hand but Peter would be damned if he went to prison for a bunch of paintings that meant nothing in comparison to these kids lives.
"Come live with me and my wife. You can go back to high school. We can help pay for her private school. We'll take you in as an exchange for the two years of prison that they want to put you in. Just until you graduate, then you can leave and never come back," Neal's eyes had widened slightly with surprise.
"Prison Neal?" Amelia's voice was soft and she rounded the table and sat herself on Neal's lap. He held her close. She knew the consequences but they had seemed far when that first paycheck came in. The first time they put down anything on the little apartment they lived in now. The payment had to be larger than normal, two minors living there, it had almost taken the whole thing. But they had not cared at all.
"Let's just hear what Agent Burke has to say," Neal looked up at Burke who appeared to be wiping away a few tears from his eyes.
"There are a lot of kinks, but my wife is a good woman. And she can take good care of you and she's a hell of a cook. So, I don't know what you want to do, but let me take you in tonight and we'll get settled in the morning. If you refuse to come in with me, I'm obligated to keep chasing you. Is that clear?" Peter normally knew whether he had won or loss yet at the moment he was unsure as Neal mulled over the options and looked from his sister to Peter before reaching a hand across the girl.
"Agent Burke," his handshake was firm, "I hope to be welcomed into your family."