Hello again :), I short one, but at least I did it, finally! Thank you so much for your reviews, I'm always SO excited and it's such a great motivation! I suppose this story will be coming to an end soon. But I'm planning to write another one. It's so much fun and I really love the topic. Stay healthy please!


They went side by side through the forest, turning around every few seconds to look if someone was following, but they were all alone now. Neal still felt unable to believe what just happened.

"What next?", he said breathless. His face felt hot and sweaty and he shivered slightly.

"Good question!", Mozzie answered grimly. "Let's just concentrate on getting away first of all."

Neal shook his head in desperation. "He'll find us. He won't ever give up!"

Mozzie felt unable to answer. He knew Neal was right. They went in silence for a minutes, until Mozzie started breathing hard and couldn't keep up with Neal anymore.

"I'm…weak…mon frère. You got to … go without me. I'm just … slowing you down."

Neal turned around to face his friend, his expression full of anger.

"Don't be hilarious, Moz. Come on. This fucking bastard won't get us. He won't. I would NEVER EVER leave you alone.", he grabbed Mozzies arm and tried to support him as best as he could.

"I… won't be able to run … and hide … Neal. I mean … long term. But….what else could we do?".

Neal didn't answer. After a few more minutes, they reached the little village with the bus stop and could finally sit down in a cool bus via Manhattan. They took a seat and the normality of the situation didn't feel right. An old woman next to them stared at him and he noticed how strange they both must appear in this clean bus. They were dirty, full of bruises all over their arms and faces and Mozzie just looked skinny and sick as hell. Neal turned around to face his pale, tired looking friend.

"There is another opportunity, Moz. It's nothing you'll like, but I simply have to do it. We have to get rid of this bastard. There's no other way!"


Peter sat next to Satchmo on the couch and watched a football match, but his thoughts soon wandered away and he couldn't concentrate at all.

Where are you Neal? What the hell happened?

Even though they found a whole lot of suspicious things in the warehouse, including some creepy cells with chains to tie up someone, they weren't able to find a proper proof that Matthew Keller had kept Neal in captivity. Even more important, they weren't able to find Neal himself. So, after a frantic search, he had to give in and returned home.

He needed a break, but now couldn't relax at all. El left hours ago for an art fair and he felt pretty alone right now. When the doorbell rang, he stiffly stood up and gently removed Satchmo's head off his lap. The dog groaned in protest.

"Coming back soon, boy! And tell you what, maybe there'll be a little leftover for you, bud!".

He went to open the door, expecting it to be his takeaway pizza.

"Hey there, I'd really call that a fast delivery…", he began, but then gasped loudly and just couldn't believe his own eyes.

"Hey Peter!", Neal greeted him quietly, insecurity and raw fear in his expression.

His face looked like a white sheet. The clothes, the one his wife chose for him, was filthy and Peter could see bruises all over his face and arms. Neal slowly raised his hands, obviously a gesture of appeasement. He backed away a little, anxiously awaiting Peter's reaction.

The agent stood still for a moment, unable to do anything, but then simply went aside and nodded sideways to guide the boy where he wanted him. In safety. He would never let him go again.

Neal hesitated, but then obeyed, throwing a shy sideways glance in Peter's direction. The agent closed the door and they both stood face to face in the small hallway.

"Did Keller send you? Is this a trick?", Peter said in a firm voice.

Neal looked totally confused. "What…? No! I'd never…", he stammered.

"Turn around, hands on the wall!", the agent commanded, a queasy feeling in his stomach.

Neal's hands began to tremble, but his expression remained serious and pleading.

"Peter, I would never…", he tried again, but then paused, watching the relentless expression of the agent in front of him and lowered his gaze. He slowly turned around and put his hands against the wall, awaiting the inevitable. Peter began searching him cautiously while Neal tried hard not to flinch but couldn't stop himself.

"I'd never ever harm you, Peter, under no circumstances.", the boy said barely hearable. "I just need help."

After he felt sure that Neal had no potential weapon with him, Peter took him by the shoulders and turned him around with too much force, so that Neal ended up pressed against the wall.

Mixed feelings of anger, relief and confusion flooded Peter's chest. He had to fight the urge to hug the boy tight, but he still felt unable to understand what was behind all this.

"Why should I believe anything you say? You betrayed me so badly. How could I ever trust you again?", he said bitterly, grabbing Neal's wrists to cuff them in front of his body.

Neal met his gaze and willingly offered his arms without any resistance and Peter couldn't help but notice the bruises again, scattered all over his forearms.

"I know. I did a lot of stupid things. But please…I just need a few minutes to explain. Please Peter!", he desperately pleaded.

Peter hesitated, still holding the boy's arms tight. He then jolted backwards and guided Neal into the living-room.

"Sit down. And don't you move an inch without my permission, understood?". Neal nodded and sat down on the sofa, whereas Peter took the armchair in front of him.

Satchmo watched them both, then tiredly lay down his head in Neal's lap, who nervously started stroking his fur with his tied-up hands.

"You've got five minutes until I'll take you back to the office!", Peter said undismayed.

Neal nodded again, looking very tired and young now. He took a deep breath, leaned back and lowered his gaze, staring at the floor in front of him.

"I'll tell you the truth now. I never did and I'm really sorry about that, but I thought I couldn't. I need your help, so badly Peter. After that I'll never ask for anything again. Feel free to arrest me, throw me in jail, whatever. I won't run or do something stupid again. Well, at least not something THAT stupid." He raised his eyes and met his gaze, smiling slightly, but soon became serious again. "I know you've got no reason to trust me after all I did to you. I just… I…", his voice cracked and he seemed close to tears.

"Just try to convince me, I'll listen!", Peter's voice softened a little.

Neal took another deep breath and then began explaining. "My life wasn't… quite nice before all this happened. I want to be honest, Peter, but that's another story and my time is running out. So … let me just say I was looking for an opportunity to find a better life. And well… I was stupid and maybe desperate enough to trust Keller. Which wasn't smart, I know.", he rubbed his temples with his cuffed hands, the chains were slightly tinkling.

He went on telling Peter the whole story with every little detail, besides Mozzie's role and the agent just shook his head in disbelief from time to time, his expression full of anger.

"I'm a criminal, Peter, and I know you've got to treat me as one. You can quit contact if you want and I won't ever bother you again. But I don't want to run anymore. I know I won't stay alive for long with you AND Keller right behind me. I'm just tired!".

His expression once more went from desperation to fear and uncertainty in a split second. Peter felt unable to speak for a while and a heavy silence spread in the room.

"He…he did all that to you? He chained you in that bloody cell? He hurt you, left you half starving, threatened to take your life?", he gasped in disbelief. Now Neal looked confuse.

"Doesn't matter. I went through worse things, I'm tough, don't worry."

Peter seemed furious now. "It DOES matter, Neal. You went through hell, several times. And you…. you never thought about coming to me earlier?", he ran a hand through his hair. "Why, kid? Why were you unable to trust me?".

Neal stared at him, motionless. "I suppose I've got an issue with trust in general, Peter.", he answered quietly in a tired voice. Peter stood up and went forward without a former warning. Neal raised his hands in shock to protect his head, awaiting another beating. The agent paused in his movement and slowed down to ease the boy.

"It's all right, kid, I won't touch you. Give me your wrists please." Neal lowered his arms, looking ashamed and then obeyed and willingly offered his wrists.

Peter removed the cuffs and took a closer look at all the bruises Neal had.

"Do you need a doctor?", he said, recognizing how uneasy Neal felt under his gaze.

"No!", the kid hastily responded. "I'm fine, I swear!", he added, after noticing Peter's sceptical expression.

Peter slowly sat down close to Neal, who threw him a shy sideway glance.

"What I don't understand is, why did you go back to him? What for? He treated you like…trash, threatened your life. And you willingly went back in his arms.", Peter asked and watched him intensely.

Neal stared into space. "He had something I badly wanted to protect. Someone.", he finally responded.

Peter shook his head. "No more lies, you promised!".

"It's not a lie. This someone needs my help now. His life is even more in danger than mine and I owe him a lot. But his identity doesn't matter!", he admitted and concentrated on Satchmo.

Peter slowly raised his hand again, waiting for the boy to notice, and then gently touched his shoulder. Neal managed to hold still and relaxed a sat there for a moment, just savouring the closeness to each other and the abating tension

The doorbell rang again and Neal spun around, his eyes wide in terror.

"That's him!", he whispered.

"Relax kid, it's just my pizza!", Peter tried to soothe him.

He hesitated. "You'll stay where you are, won't you?"

Neal's piercing blue eyes looked at him, a tired smile covering his still slightly worried expression.

"Of course I am, I promise!". Peter stood up, hurried to get his pizza, but not without a second glance backwards in the boy's direction.

He paid the deliveryman and came back and found the boy where he left him, leaning back with closed eyes, which teared open as soon as Peter entered the living room.

"Do you want some?", Peter asked, now smiling slightly himself, pointing at the pizza and Neal nodded. They both took a seat and Neal obviously had trouble to eat slowly again. He inhaled the piece of pizza and grateful took four more. Peter watched him and Neal met his gaze a few times, looking ashamed.

"You really went through hell, didn't you, kid?", the agent asked, shaking his head. Neal stopped eating.

"My life wasn't an easy one till now and I've made a lot of stupid decisions myself. But I don't want to be a victim, Peter. What happened can not be changed, but as you and El and … a friend of mine told me: I AM able to change the future. So please… I'll maybe tell you what happened in former times one day. Well, maybe not all of it. But right now I just want to have a future. I'm not able to do that alone!".

Peter watched him intensely and Neal shifted around in his seat uncomfortable.

"And you really know where to find that Item, the one Keller wants so badly?", Peter asked him after a few more seconds.

"Yes! And I'm going back to tell him where to look for it!"