Chapter twenty-two
"Peter?"
With a ever deepening pit in his stomach Neal knocked on the door again with the cadence that they'd agreed on as a code for 'all clear' with no results. After talking with Sawyer Neal had spent about an hour back tracking until he'd found a tunnel he recognized in order to get back home. Neal had cringed internally when he'd caught himself calling the prison he and Peter shared 'home', but right now the room was the safest place he knew and having lived most his life on the run any safe haven in the past had earned the title of home.
With his skin chilled with anxiety Neal looked up and down the empty stretch of corridor half expecting some grotesque monster from a horror film to suddenly appear to chase him. Shaking his head to try to bring himself back to reality Neal knocked on the door again a little louder. At first he had thought that perhaps Peter was just in the bathroom, but after nearly ten minutes out in the hallway Neal was starting to fear that Peter had lapsed back into unresponsiveness.
"I shouldn't have left him alone." Neal chastised himself.
Feeling vulnerable out in the hall Neal wasn't sure what to do. Standing here too long was an open invitation for either Jake or Sawyer to find him, but he didn't really have anywhere safe to go and he wanted to be here when Peter woke up. Thinking about Jake Neal realized that he would have the key and that finding him might be faster than just waiting. Before he went in search of the psychotic maze lord Neal tried the door handle on a whim, he highly doubted that it would be unlocked seeing no reason for that to be the case but felt it didn't hurt to at least test it.
When the door opened freely Neal rolled his eyes at his own stupidity for standing out in the hall for long, but the embarrassment was quickly replaced by an icy dread. The only reason for the door to be unlocked would be if Peter had left. Even Jake locked the door behind himself when he came to torment them. Opening the door carefully Neal stepped into the front room, horrified to find it empty. His hope perked up for a moment when he heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom, but that wouldn't explain the unlocked door. Walking over to the closed bathroom door Neal knocked loudly on it.
"Peter?"
When he didn't get a response Neal opened the door. Furrowing his brow he tried to figure out why the sink would be turned on and then abandoned as he turned it off. Remembering how confused and disoriented Peter had been the first time he'd woken up Neal feared that he had fallen asleep and it had started all over again when he'd woken alone. Peter didn't have any memory of the fight and there was no telling if when he'd woken again if he'd had any memory of their conversation. He may have panicked having no memory that they had both survived the fight and had assumed the worst had happened.
"Please tell me you didn't go to hunt Jake down." Neal lamented.
Pacing back and forth a few steps anxiously Neal tried to determine how best to go about finding Peter in the literal maze of tunnels while hoping that he wasn't too late already. If Peter thought he'd been killed in the ring Neal knew he'd charge at Jake like an enraged bear. Although Peter could certainly be a force to be reckoned with Jake still wasn't a fight he could win even at his angriest. Jake was armed, younger, stronger and from what Neal had seen he had years of dealing with men like Sawyer under his belt. If Jake had to defend himself from Peter he could and may end up doing so with lethal force if pressed hard enough.
Praying that Peter was still prowling the tunnels Neal headed out of the bathroom into the short hall that connected to the front room. Neal was confident that if he could find Jake first that he could talk him into helping him find Peter and get him back to the room safely. Neal didn't even entertain the idea that Peter may have stumbled into Sawyer since if he had there was simply no hope of finding him alive. At least Jake had a twisted invested in keeping them around, even if it was just to provide entertainment.
Neal only got halfway across the front room when he froze as he heard footsteps out in the quiet corridors. It didn't take more than a second to identify that there was only one person drawing near. With his heart suddenly in his throat Neal waited passively to see who the footsteps belonged to assuming it was bad news either way. He hadn't locked the door and if it was Sawyer coming to gloat over slaughtering Peter he'd be trapped in the dead end room to be next. Jake had promised to leave them alone so if he was headed for the door alone it was likely because he was covered in Peter's blood after a misunderstanding turned deadly.
He knew he should try to lock the door or position himself to attack in ambush, but the constant stress of their captivity and the exhaustion of his hours spent exploring had left Neal in a state were he couldn't bring himself to act one way over a possible confrontation. If death was stalking down hallways he wasn't going to hide but he wasn't going to greet it at the door either, it would have to come to him. It took an eternity for the footsteps to reach the door and for the intruder to test the door. Fighting a sudden overwhelming urge to run Neal stared down the door as he waited for his next, and probably last, rival to reveal themselves.
Neal had been so convinced that an enemy was going to step through the door that he didn't even recognize Peter at first. Having known the door had been left unlocked Peter had been taking a chance of an ambush waiting for him as well. Having expected the worst himself Peter looked genuinely surprised to find Neal safe and relatively sound. Smiling at one another Neal and Peter both suddenly chuckled in rueful relief as the tension of the situation vanished upon reuniting with one another.
As Peter stepped up to him Neal was expecting a warm greeting however it still caught him off guard when Peter wordlessly pulled him into a powerful hug as though they'd been separated for years rather than hours. Neal wasn't exactly sure how to take the unexpected affection, but he accepted it without question, enjoying the brief moment of peace even if it brought with it new concerns. Neal didn't know what had happened to Peter out in the tunnels but he knew it must have shaken him to the core to prompt the intimate display. Peter eventually released Neal and took a step back so that he could lock the door. Turning back to Neal he looked at him with a hopeless horror that made the room suddenly feel twenty degrees colder.
"I don't like that look, Peter, that's the 'we're going to die down here' look."
"I was wrong about Jake, Neal." Peter said in a almost apologetic tone. "Stay away from him as much as you can, there is no making friends with him, there'd be no sense in it even if you did."
"Peter, what happened?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it." Peter said wearily. "Just…try to stay on his good side, but do not antagonize him by patronizing him."
"Peter, seriously, what happened out there?"
"Did you find a way out?" Peter asked to avoid answering Neal.
"No."
"I might have a place you can try, it's going to take some time though it's behind a locked door."
"I never really expected to find an exit without a lock, we need to work on a lock pick."
"Right." Peter nodded vacantly looking ready to pass out. "A lock pick, that's…that's going to take some time."
"Peter?" Neal asked concerned. "Are you feeling okay? Maybe you should lay down."
"No. We need to get you ready for your fight, winning will buy us some time."
"You don't look in any shape to be teaching me."
"I know, I'm fine." Peter contradicted himself. "Besides Jake's rigged the fight in your favor."
"He told you that?"
Peter nodded looking disconnected from the conversation, lost in his own dark thoughts. Neal doubted that it was just the concussion still at work. He was getting the distinct feeling that Peter had figured something out that he didn't want to share but also felt he didn't have the right to keep to himself. Neal put his hand on Peter's shoulder to get his attention and gave Peter an expectant look.
"Peter, it's my life down here too, we can't be keeping secrets." Neal said gently. "What happened with you and Jake?"
"He beat someone to death bare handed." Peter admitted quietly.
"In front of you?" Neal asked horrified.
"No." Peter shook his head. "He just…showed me the body."
"Someone with a brand?"
"A healed one." Peter confirmed.
"How long do you think it takes a mark like this to heal?" Neal asked dreading the answer.
"A month at least, more likely two in conditions like this."
"At least that means we might have some time." Neal pointed out. "Jake…"
"Neal, he's a murderer." Peter said flatly as if Neal hadn't already understood that fact.
"That surprises you?"
"What surprises me is how deeply he regrets it, which makes him more dangerous."
"It does?"
"It means he didn't mean to take things that far, a slip of his temper, he wasn't in his right mind when he did it."
"Peter, Jake's never in his right mind."
"I know, but…" Peter hesitated. "I…"
Stopping himself from continuing Peter closed his eyes and shook his head slightly as if trying to convince himself that he was wrong about something. Neal gave Peter a moment to come to grips with whatever new aspect of their dire reality he had discovered knowing that it had to be more than the murder that was affecting him. Opening his eyes Peter just stared at Neal as if hoping that Neal would just guess the bad news so that he wouldn't have to say it out loud. Neal was usually good at picking up on Peter's non-verbal cues but all he could see in his dark tired eyes was the mounting stress of what he had to say.
"Peter, we've known for the start how violent Jake is. What is this really about?"
"I…think I know why Jake's so unstable, why he craves social interaction but the same time just uses it to torture us, why he keeps trying to keep us alive but not to the point of helping us escape, why he needs me to kill Sawyer, why he locks doors behind himself, why he's letting you explore the tunnels, why he doesn't have any more Quick Lime…"
"Quick Lime? Peter, slow down." Neal interrupted Peter's near ranting. "What are you talking about?"
"I think Jake has moments of empathy for us because he is one of us."
"You think Jake's a prisoner?"
"A branded one."
"Peter..."
"Jake isn't refusing to help us escape, Neal, he *can't* help us."
