Chapter Thirty-one

"Get away from him!"

The rat that Peter had just snarled at lifted its gory muzzle up from its macabre meal. Unafraid of the human it lifted up one paw and sniffed the air in Peter's direction in curiosity. Feeling like he deserved more respect from something that weighed less than a pound Peter made an aggressive move toward the rodent. Taking the hint the rat jumped down off the heap of corpses, splashing down in the sickly puddle that surrounded them. The large rodent scurried over to the door that Peter had come to try and open. The rat didn't need a key, he had his own way through as he simply forced his way under the door.

With his eyes watering from the horrific stench coming from Miller and the others Peter knew he shouldn't be wasting time chasing off rats but he couldn't just stand by and let Miller's body be more desecrated than it already was. The cool temperatures in the subterranean room had staved off the decomposition process somewhat but the reek was still like a physical force in the room. Swallowing hard to keep from gagging Peter focused on the door knowing that if he started retching now he might not be able to stop.

With Jake's key ring in hand Peter stepped up to the sturdy metal door being careful not to step in the gruesome slime that had leached across the floor. Going through the keys one at a time Peter was torn on whether or not he wanted one of them to work or not. Jake was too cowardly about being in this room alone for this to be a door he used often so if the door opened it most likely lead to nowhere. If it couldn't be opened by Jake's keys and Peter was right about him being a prisoner then the door had more chance of being a point of escape, but at the same time they'd still be no closer to opening it.

Getting to the last key Peter failed to get the lock to give. As much as he knew that could mean good news he desperately wanted to get through the door if for no other reason than to feel like he was making progress to freedom even if it inevitably failed. Narrowing his eyes in a mixture of frustration and contemplation Peter studied the door. It was hinged to swing away from him which was favorable for two reasons. The first good sign about the hinging was that the door was designed to be more difficult to break down from the other side, again hinting towards it being an exit since a secure underground location like this was probably designed to keep people out not lock them in. The other positive was that in the direction it swung it was technically possible to break it by force from this side.

"Of course anyone worth half their salt would have put a proper dead bolt and a metal strike plate in." Peter muttered to himself.

Knowing there was only one way to test the sturdiness of the door Peter took a step away from it. In the movies everyone seemed to run at doors shoulder first but the Academy had assured him that the only thing that move would accomplish was dislocating your shoulder. When opening a door by force the only real option was a well placed kick. Wishing he had his shoes Peter lashed out and kicked the door near the lock with as much force as he dared used. Peter cursed as the stubborn door lanced pain up his leg.

"Peter?" Neal asked in concern.

"I'm fine," Peter assured "don't come in here."

"Peter, don't try to kick that door in, you're just going to hurt yourself."

"Too late." Peter sighed.

Walking with a slight limp Peter stepped away from the locked door and back over to the one that Neal was waiting behind. Peter deeply appreciated Neal actually listening to him for once and staying put when asked instead of just pretending to agree and then doing whatever he wanted. At the same time when the situation was serious enough to keep Neal in line it meant the situation was grimly serious. Trying to keep a positive mind set about the failed attempt at the door Peter joined Neal out in the hall. Neal jerked back at the increased intensity of the rotting smell from Peter opening the door as he turned a few shades paler.

"Peter, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. The keys didn't work."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Yes." Peter said with as much conviction as he could muster.

"I should try the keys."

"Neal, none of them fit."

"But did any of them *almost* fit?" Neal asked. "You'd be surprised how similar most keys are to one another, particularly if one company did all the locks down here."

"How does a key almost fitting help?"

"I might be able to shave it down so that it actually fits. It will take time and a lot of trial and error, but it might be our best shot since I don't know what the odds of me finding something I can make a lock pick out of down here are."

"Jake will notice a missing key, he won't let you keep it."

"He might, if he wants out of here too. He may have even let me take the keys hoping I'd do this. Plus nearly every door key on there has at least one duplicate, he might not even notice."

"If this is a collection then Jake knows every key by heart."

"Peter, I know you don't want me to see what's in that room…"

Neal trailed off as Peter reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose in defeat. Neal didn't press the issue knowing that Peter just needed a moment to come to terms with what needed to be done. Staring sorrowfully at Neal Peter raised up his hand that held the key ring and offered it to Neal. Taking the keys Neal took a deep breath and instantly regretted it as the odor drove deeper into his senses. Trying to shake it off Neal went to step around Peter but he put his arm out to stop him. Neal flashed him a confused look until Peter reached into his pock and pulled out one of the ties they used to block out the light when they slept.

"Peter, no, I need to see what I'm doing."

"I'll stand between you and Miller once we're in there and then we can take it off."

"You honestly don't think I can handle seeing him?"

"It's more about me not being able to handle you having to see him." Peter admitted.

"I'm not sure the logic of that tracks, but if this is what you need from me right now then okay."

"Thank you."

Rather than taking the tie himself Neal just tilted his head back slightly to let Peter know he could blind him. Peter hesitated for a moment but with a resigned sigh he reached up and placed the filthy silk tie over Neal's eyes and tied it behind his head. Neal had thought about pointing out that he could just close his eyes but not only did Peter seemed more comfortable with doing things this way but Neal was worried that morbid curiosity might get the better of him.

"You know under different circumstance this could be the start of some kinky fun." Neal teased.

"Not even in the strangest of parallel dimensions." Peter said firmly.

"I'm just kidding, helps me with my nerves."

"I know." Peter smiled. "Ready?"

"Not really, but let's go."

Neal couldn't see but he could certainly smell when Peter opened the door. It was amazing how used to the stench he'd become in the hallway, but the smell closer to the source was on a whole new level that he knew he'd never become desensitized to. For the first time Neal realized just how ridiculous all of the movies where people got surprised by dead bodies were. It didn't take visual confirmation to know what you were dealing with in real life as Neal fought to keep his empty stomach from rebelling on him.

Peter took Neal's elbow to help guide him through the small room. Neal hadn't thought that it was possible for the air to get any thicker but he was quickly proven wrong. By the time they reached the locked door Neal had his jaw clenched tightly as he choked for breath past the sticky odor of rot and decay. Peter positioned himself to block Neal's view and pulled the blindfold off. Before he could even think to stop himself Neal turned to look in Miller's direction, even though he couldn't see anything he flashed Peter a guilty look.

"Sorry."

"It's instinct, it's why I didn't just ask you to close your eyes."

"Thank you."

Peter just nodded in the direction of the lock to redirect Neal's focus. Turning to the door Neal started to go through the keys in search of one that could be modified. Coming to the third key Neal's heart leapt hopefully as he could feel several of the teeth brush against the pins in the lock even though the key couldn't turn all the way. Kneeling down in front of the lock Neal pull the key out and looked it over to memorize the shape before inserting it back into the lock. Despite his earlier protests of needing to see what he was doing Neal closed his eyes as he worked the key in the lock as he tried to visualize which of the teeth were working and which ones were grinding against the cylinder. He could only subtract from the key so if a tooth was too short that meant grinding the whole structure down to compensate, but he was confident that he could make this one work.

Excited by their first real break since they'd woken up in the bizarre underground prison went to look up at Peter to tell him the good news only to discover the hard way that tilting his head back when his stomach was on the verge of mutiny was not the right move. Bile jumped to the back of Neal's throat causing him to pitch forward in a violent fit of dry heaving. Keeping the key firmly in his grasp Neal battled to stop gagging but with each gasping breath he just brought the choking scent of death deeper into his lungs. Peter reached down and tried to haul Neal up to his feet to get him out of the room, but when that failed he simply wrapped one arm around his midsection and lifted him up.

Yelping between stomach convulsions Neal scrambled to get his feet underneath himself as Peter dragged him out of the room. Peter helped Neal half way down the hall away from the noxious fumes before putting him down. Sitting on the concrete floor Neal felt the edges of his consciousness starting to fade but he refused to pass out now. Managing a few deep breaths of the relatively clean air Neal looked up at Peter who was knelt down in front of him with his hand on Neal's shoulder and a concerned look painted across his bruised face.

"Are you okay?"

"Better than okay." Neal beamed as he held up the key. "This is it, Peter, this is key that's going to get us out of here."

"No, Neal, *you're* going to get us out of here." Peter smiled. "The key is just how you're going to do it."

"Only if you keep me alive long enough to get it done."

"What was that Latin phase you used before?"

"Si vales, valeo."

"I'm feeling strong right now."

"So am I."