Chapter Ninety-two
"Hello, Neal."
With his heart firmly in his throat Neal's mind raced to find an explanation for what was happening that didn't include Jake actually being real. For the past few weeks he hadn't been able to trust his ears or even his eyes when it came to Jake so he was desperately hoping that he was just mistaken once again. However the solid pressure under his palm was something that was hard to deny. It became even harder to refute the evidence his senses were relaying to him when Jake drew his breath to talk. Feeling the rise of Jake's chest snapped Neal out of the momentary trance he'd fallen into as he was forced to confront the truth.
"Neal, I…"
Neal had no interest in anything Jake had to say as his initial shock degraded into an animalistic panic. No matter how casual Jake's initial greeting may have been it never took more than a second for Jake to switch to violence. Trapped in the small room with a bath tub behind him Neal's mind instantly went to the idea that Jake had returned to finish what he'd started. He'd been haunted by so many nightmares of this exact scenario that part of him expected to wake at Peter's in a cold sweat. Not willing to wait to wake he launched himself at Jake aggressively taking the offensive. Not expecting an attack Jake yelped in surprise as Neal suddenly bull rushed him.
Successfully driving Jake back Neal slammed his left fist against Jake's ribs before using his right palm that was already against his chest to shove him away. Knocked breathless and thrown off balance Jake staggered back into the large walk in closet. Knowing he had been lucky to land a strike on Jake Neal didn't dare engage him in a full on fight. His only plan was to use the element of surprise to clear a chance for him to run. With Jake quickly recovering Neal bolted for the main living area of the apartment.
The small door to the speak easy room behind the mirror was open telling Neal exactly how Jake had avoided detection when the Agent had made a sweep of his place. Unfortunately the door was also in his way and had to be closed before he could escape the closet area. Slamming the door shut to get around it Neal only made it a step into the living room before Jake was on him again. Grabbing the back of Neal's shirt Jake yanked him back into the archway. Crying out in horror Neal gripped edges of the archway hard enough to dig his fingernails into the plaster. Using the doorway for purchase Neal tried to pull himself free.
"Neal, stop it!" Jake snarled. "I'm not…"
Straining to free himself Neal kicked back blindly with one foot. Momentarily losing his his grip on Neal's shirt Jake quickly lashed out and took a fist full of Neal's hair instead. Neal's field of vision was violently shifted upwards as Jake jerked his head back. Having lost his leverage Neal gave up his hold on the door way. Reaching over his shoulder Neal clamped his hand down on Jake's wrist to keep him from tearing a sizable piece out of his scalp. Keeping his hold on Jake's wrist Neal twisted around to face him before once again driving him back. With his head against Jake's chest Neal was able to force him back and plowed them both into the solid teak closet doors.
Jake roared in pain and slackened his hold on Neal's hair just enough for Neal to pry himself free. Neal tried to land another strike on Jake's ribs, but Jake was wise to that move now and shifted to the side causing Neal to hit the strong wood instead. Ignoring the pain in his hand Neal threw his shoulder into Jake's chest knowing his brand was heavily infected from the scent of rot on him. Jake howled again and this time he pushed Neal away. Knowing his only real hope against Jake was to still to run Neal used the backward momentum to help him turn around to make another break for the front door.
Nauseous from fear and fatigue Neal was halfway across the apartment when he was doubled over by an uncontrollable dry heaving. Terrified of wasting precious seconds Neal forced himself forward but it was too late. Catching up with him Jake tackled Neal from behind and crashed him to the floor like a lion dragging down a gazelle. Striking his temple on the floor Neal's already stressed senses reeled sickeningly. Driving his knee into Neal's lower back Jake clamped his hand down on the back of Neal's neck and leaned his weight into him to keep him still. With Jake pinning him down Neal filled his lungs and screamed senselessly in a desperate hope that someone would hear him.
"Neal! Enough!" Jake demanded angrily. "Calm down! I'm not going to hurt you!"
Jake's attempt to put Neal at ease failed miserably. His words were so far removed from his aggressive tone that he might as well have told Neal he was here to kill him. It didn't help that he punctuated his promise not to hurt him by pressing more weight painfully against the back of Neal's neck. Neal wailed again as he felt the edges of his sanity slipping away. Growling in frustration Jake released Neal's neck and forced him to roll over. Sitting down heavily on Neal's stomach Jake captured his wrists so he could pin them over Neal's head. Thrashing under Jake's suffocating weight Neal kicked uselessly at the slippery hardwood floor. Starting to hyperventilate Neal got another spike of adrenaline as he realized he was in real danger of passing out as his stress and fatigue mounted.
"Easy, just breathe." Jake suggested.
Jake's sudden shift into a soft voice grated against Neal's ears. Neal tried to snarl an insult at him but he couldn't catch his breath enough to find his voice. Seeing Neal struggle Jake adjusted his hold once more to take both of Neal's wrists in his one hand so he could brush Neal's cheek with the other. Enraged by Jake's gentle touch Neal didn't think twice about sinking his teeth into Jake's hand. Jerking his hand away with a exclamation of pain Jake snarled at Neal before striking him across his already throbbing temple with a powerful back hand. Literally knocked senseless Neal's eyes rolled back to white as he fought to recover.
"I'm sorry, that was too hard. I just want you to listen to me. Are…are you okay?" Jake fretted. "Neal? I'm so sorry. Neal? Talk to me. Please."
Not really hearing Jake's heartfelt plea Neal used the last shred of consciousness to swallow the bile that had risen to the back of his throat to keep himself from choking on and possibly drowning in it. Although as he blacked out Neal wasn't sure he even wanted to wake again if it just meant continuing his nightmare with Jake.
Resurfacing into an eerie calm after the storm Neal didn't even get a moment to pretend that the violence that had knocked him out in the first place had been imaginary. Biting down on the tight cloth gag that was cutting into the corners of his mouth Neal did his best to not just start screaming again. Breathing deeply through his nose a few times Neal was able to calm himself enough to start to take stock in his new situation. Looking up at the familiar ceiling told him that he was at least still in his apartment.
Laying on his back on a soft surface Neal lifted his head up just enough to confirm that the weight he felt on his chest was Jake. Having curled up on is side next to Neal on the bed Jake had nestled himself under Neal's arm to rest his head against his chest. With his wrists bound with one of his ties Neal was forced to hold Jake in a loose embrace. Experimenting Neal found his ankles tethered together as well. Quelling a flash of claustrophobic panic Neal turned his head to see what else was around or at the very least get a sense of how much time had passed.
The long shadows cast in the silver light of the moon gave Neal the impression that at least a few hours had gone by. His best guess was that it was somewhere in the wee hours of the morning, the night was still in full force and didn't seem to be giving way to day any time soon. One strategy was to stay as still as possible and hope that Jake slept through till at least until dawn. Neal knew that Peter wouldn't let him be very late for breakfast before he investigated. Stalling Jake could be his best chance at survival.
Preparing for a long night Neal tried to keep his heart from racing but after a few minutes of laying helpless with Jake he started to shiver. Subconsciously noticing Neal's distress Jake started to stir. Desperate to keep Jake sleeping Neal tightened his embrace on him the same way he used to do for Peter when he started twitching from nightmares. Jake settled down for a moment only to begin to surface once more as he nudged at Neal's ribs. It took Neal a second to realize that he had been holding his breath and the loss of the gentle rise and fall was likely triggering Jake's response. Closing his eyes Neal focused on taking deep slow metered breaths and once again Jake drifted back into a deeper sleep.
With Jake resting once more Neal tried and failed to do the same. Swallowing hard against the cloth between his teeth Neal tried not to think about how he had woken in the Labyrinth similarly tied down before York had seared the brand into his chest. With his stomach twisting painfully Neal tugged at his bonds slightly even though he knew he had no hope of freeing himself. Falling deeper into dark memories and present fears tears traced down from the corners of his eyes. As Neal's nervous energy rose Jake started breathing faster as well as he threatened to wake. Fearing he wouldn't make it to dawn like this Neal looked around again in an attempt to distract himself.
Neal's hopes suddenly soared when he caught sight of his phone sitting on the bed side table. Staring at the phone he started to plot how he was going to get a hold of it without waking Jake. He wouldn't even have to call Peter if he could just send a text, even one that didn't make sense, it would be enough to get his attention. Before making any attempt at the phone Neal held Jake a little closer and willed him to relax. In the Labyrinth he had become skilled at keeping Peter peaceful when he slept, it wasn't as easy to translate that same calm to Jake but eventually he started twitching in REM.
With Jake as locked in sleep as he was ever going to be Neal slowly lifted his arms up off of him. Making sure to keep his breathing slow and steady Neal moved painstakingly slow as he reached his bound hands towards the phone. It was a difficult angle to maneuver since he didn't want to twist his body too much in fear of waking Jake. Straining his shoulders Neal was forced to roll slightly in order to get his prize. Once he had the phone Neal rested his arms back around Jake again.
Neal was certain his pounding heart was going to rose Jake but luck remained on his side. Activating the phone Neal had to lift it up to see the screen. He had kept his old phone with the physical keyboard on it for a long time because in cases like this it could be used without really looking at it. However this new phone had a glass screen that wasn't as easy to guess what you were doing on it. Opening the app Neal was frustrated to find that he had never texted Peter on this phone and he had to start a new thread. He didn't dare just hit dial in fear of the noise it would make.
Worrying about the noise Neal realized that if he didn't do something about the settings that the text itself and Peter's possible response was going to make a racket as well. Searching the unfamiliar phone setting for the mute felt like an impossible task at first, but he managed to ensure that the phone wasn't going to betray him. Neal was just about to open the text application when Jake rolled over before he lazily reached up and took the phone away from him.
"Bad idea." Jake muttered sleepily as he tossed the phone across the room. "Trust me, you don't want to drag Peter into this."
Jake nestled against Neal's chest as if he was just going to go back to sleep. Growling an unintelligible insult at Jake Neal pushed him off. Getting the hint Jake sat up with a heavy sigh. Neal tried to sit up as well but Jake put his hand on his chest and firmly suggested that he stay down. Neal's previous fear was quickly turning to frustration but he knew that a clumsy attempt at an attack now wouldn't get him anywhere. Jake had won, the only thing to do now was to wait and see what his plan for him was. Jake looked down at Neal with true concern mixed with sorrow glittering in his dark eyes.
"Feeling better?"
Refusing to engage with his captor Neal made a point of looking away.
"I know you're mad, I would be too." Jake said as he risked running his hand through Neal's hair. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to hurt you."
Finding himself suddenly numb to Jake Neal zoned out as he started to shut down mentally.
"Neal?" Jake asked concerned. "Stay with me for just a few more minutes, after that if you want me to leave I will. I promise."
Neal still didn't acknowledge Jake but he did take a moment to refocus himself. He doubted that Jake was just going to give up so easily and leave if asked, but he didn't have much choice about hearing him out.
"We need to put an end to York. We both know the FBI is never going to make any charges stick. Men like him don't face consequences from the law, they are far too above it."
Neal couldn't help the slight sigh that escaped his chest knowing that Jake was right.
"Remember when I told you it takes two things to murder? You have to be willing and able. Neal, I am more than willing to kill York..."
Neal finally gave Jake his attention as he realized why he was here. Jake stared at Neal pleadingly, pale and sick from infection he looked as though his thirst for revenge was all that was keeping him from death. York had done everything in his power to beat his dog into submission but all he'd done was turn him feral.
"Neal, please, I need your help to make me able..."
