Chapter 27 "Friends and Foes"
Then the Lord said, "You are concerned over the gourd plant which cost you no effort and which you did not grow; it came up in one night and in one night it perished.
And should I not be concerned over the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot know their right hand from their left, not to mention all the animals?"
Jonah 4:10-11 (NABRE)
Neal's attention is still focused on Captain Henry and his fellow privateer, when suddenly the girl sits back down on the floor. She does not smile anymore. Neal watches her take out her phone.
"You know what… I don't feel like leaving again. But here's an idea. Maybe I'll call my friend and ask if she can get us that map."
He does not even manage to get the protest out before Cindy presses the phone to her ear. "She's really nice. She won't mind."
Perhaps, but he just might! Things have been going well till now. Why has she stopped
"Olivia, hi!" Too late. "Listen, are you still at the hospital? Great! Could you do me a favour? I need to buy a map, but I can't leave the room. There's this game we want to play- really?! Thank you so much! It's 309. Oh- and remember to call me when you get close. There are guards outside so- oh, you know? Yeah. Okay! Bye!" Cindy beams at him as she pockets the phone. "See? Like I've told you – no problem at all."
It is beyond Neal's ability to keep his smile.
/\_/\
='x'=
As soon as Peter closed the door, Elle heard him sigh deeply. Still, his features remained stoic as he took her hand and guided her down the stairs, outside of the Found Pearl. Neither of them said a word till they got outside. Only then did Peter break the silence with a slightly forced smile on his face.
"So, thirty minutes, huh?" he said lightly. "How about a coffee?"
"And a meal," she agreed, even though her stomach was tight. But knowing her husband, she could not be sure whether his last real meal had not been their breakfast five days before. He was probably going to eat some meat sandwich, but if she ordered a salad and ate only half, she could count on him to finish the rest of the veggies.
Putting a reassuring arm around her, Peter nodded in agreement. "There's a café near the place I parked my car. Let's go."
/\_/\
='x'=
With a self-satisfied grunt Andrew left the chair he was standing on. "Alright, I'm done."
He looked around the kitchen. He could not see Jones anywhere.
Feeling lost in an unfamiliar kitchen, Andrew parked on the chair he had been standing on previously. He had been invited exactly once to Burke's house to a Christmas party last year and had already forgotten the excuse he had made for skipping that terrible event. Had he been ill, perhaps? Yeah. That was probably it. Drumming his fingers against the counter, he sighed.
He wished he had known more about Agent Burke. The man seemed decent enough, but on the other hand, this situation right here… Having made up his mind, he stood up to look for his colleague.
/\_/\
='x'=
"…Okay, so perhaps you might have annoyed her with that interrogation at the beginning, but otherwise-" Elle paused, frowning hard at him. The salad on her plate was barely touched. "You said it was a crime to endanger Neal's life like that. You said you would never do such a thing again."
"And did Patricia believe me?" Peter asked as he took another bite of his delicious sandwich.
"Well, of course-" Elle's immediate reply died on her lips. She crossed her arms. "Her questions were very direct, that's true."
Taking another bite, Peter shook his head. Meat. How much he liked meat. "She was far more than direct, hon. She kept assuming a lot. For example, haven't you noticed how instead of asking me what I did after I had arrested Neal, she simply wanted to know how he behaved during the questionings?"
Elle's expression darkened. "She seemed very surprised you hadn't tried to interrogate him, but had just told him to lawyer up," she mused aloud.
Considering ordering the third sandwich, Peter nodded. "Almost disbelieving, I would say. I don't think she trusts my motivations. I think she's afraid I want to adopt Neal under certain conditions."
Elle stared at him in silence.
"That A, he would talk, and B, would not relapse," he explained further, taking a sip of his coffee.
"No," Elle replied firmly. "There's no way she thinks you're cold-hearted like that."
Peter shrugged his shoulders. "It wouldn't necessarily have to come from a cold heart, hon. Just old, plain lack of integrity would work... After all, as we speak, there are agents at the Bureau who treat Neal as a source," he said, thinking of Garret Fowler. "And it's not hard for me to imagine a situation where a person like me might think he was adopting Neal out of love, when in fact, subconsciously, he was doing it for another, much more self-centred reason."
Elle said nothing.
"And in this sense, I doubt that such a situation is very rare. Given her age, Patricia must have handled hundreds of cases before we came along. Do you really think that none of those seemingly ready to unconditionally love parents have ever rejected the child she entrusted to them?" he cocked an eyebrow. "Statistically speaking, hon, Neal's past exposes him not only to further thefts but also to engaging in even more harmful anti-social behaviour. Assuming, of course, that stealing is all he's been doing till now." He shook his head. "If Patricia really wants to help Neal, she can't just settle for the first pair of people that come along. She needs to make sure that responsibility will not overwhelm them." Forgetting to eat for a moment, Peter reached for Elle's hand. He squeezed it gently. "That's why I wouldn't worry we weren't given an answer right away. If Patricia needs time to think, it means she cares about Neal. And if so… Well, then. It makes us part of the same team, doesn't it?"
The words did not seem to comfort Elle. Anxiously biting her lip, she gazed at him unhappily. He decided to try a different approach. "You want to know the real reason why the more questions she asked, the more relaxed I became?"
She blinked at him, surprised. "Haven't you given it to me yet?"
Grinning from ear to ear, Peter shook his head. He lowered his voice and leaned forward conspiratorially. "The immediate thought the second you called a few hours ago and told me about Patricia was: Oh, no! Not an adoption scheme! I don't have time to deal with this rot right now..!"
His wife's expression remained blank for a moment. Then she straightened up. "You thought this was a scheme?!" she demanded astonished.
He nodded. "Was 90% convinced of it," he told her honestly. "Throughout the meeting, I kept expecting Patricia to suggest that if we contributed here and here, then maybe, just maybe… Something could be done about Neal."
Elle stared at him for a moment longer, then suddenly her lovely lips curled into a smile. She chuckled slightly at first and then a bit louder, the anxiety probably contributing a great deal to the sound. Even so, feeling rewarded with the response, Peter kept his smile full. "And now?" his wife finally managed to ask.
Peter gave a loud, humorous sigh of exasperation, "Well… There's still home study ahead of us, isn't there…!"
Elle laughed again, then surprised him by leaning forward and kissing his cheek. "What would I do without you!"
"For starters, you wouldn't expect me to finish up your meals," Peter suggested, grinning once again from ear to ear. "Makes me feel like a garbage bin."
Elle laughed, then kissed him again. "You caught me red-handed."
"That's my job," Peter chuckled. "And that's why I ordered you this croissant in revenge. If you don't feel like eating it right now, how about taking it on-the-go."
"No, that's alright. You calmed the butterflies in my stomach," she said, taking the croissant. "And better yet, let's order one for Neal too."
/\_/\
='x'=
Henry startled as the door to room 309 suddenly opened. Cindy Ellington, a young woman called in the agent Burke's wife absence to babysit the boy, looked as scared as ever when her eyes rested on him and Tom. She was pressing the phone to her ear, and when she waved her hand it was not in their direction.
Surprised, Henry followed her gaze and saw another woman, similar age as Cindy Ellington, approaching cautiously.
"She's my friend," Ms. Ellington explained, shifting her attention once again to them. "I asked her to buy us a map. There's this game we want to play – Cars and Cards. I don't know the rules, but Neal says it's great."
This was not the protocol. Concerned, Henry glanced sideways at Tom and saw his eyes narrow.
Ms. Ellington's friend stopped uncertainly a couple of paces away from the room, a map in her hand, and Ms. Ellington walked over to her.
"Thank you so much!" she said, taking the map.
"Wait," Tom said, frowning as he approached the two women. "Can I see some ID, please?"
There was a swift move next to Henry and he turned just in time because Neal had already been completely out of the room and his shoes were pointing in the opposite direction to them-
Henry reached out to grab the child's arm. "Stop!"
The boy escaped his grasp and then, to Henry's astonishment, made a turn-around and started running towards Tom and the two women.
"Oh, you've got the map!" he exclaimed happily, another joyful jump pulling him away from Henry's outstretched fingers.
The next moment the map was in Neal's hands. "It's such a great game! Perhaps we could all play, what do you think?!" not waiting for an answer, the boy spread out the map in the air.
People either stopped or tried to squeeze through from both sides. A dog barked. Someone cursed. "Look, Agent Henry. I'll TAKE-"
Henry's hand closed on Neal's right shoulder the same moment Tom's closed on his left.
The boy flinched in surprise. Tom snatched the map from his hands.
"To the room," he ordered, and luckily the kid did not protest, but let them guide him. The alarm in his eyes turned to excitement again.
"It'll be much more interesting if all four of us play!" he said busily. "What do you say? You could be-"
Tom grimly passed the map to Henry, then forced the boy to face the wall, put his two hands on the wall above his head. "Keep them this way," he ordered. "And don't move. Understand?"
"-Um, yeah, sir," Neal said, confusion clearly audible in his voice as Tom began his search.
"Wait-" Ms. Ellington began to protest.
"It's alright," Henry cut her off, blocking her from interfering and closing the door shut before agent Burke's agitated dog ran out of it again.
"He's just a kid-"
"It's alright. Just the procedure," he repeated, looking at her uncertainly. They had searched her the first time she had come here. And that time she came back with coffee. Would his colleague insist on doing it now too?
"I'm sorry, sir," Neal mumbled dubiously just as the candies spilled out of his overturned pockets.
Turning the boy to face him, Tom did not answer. Henry had to block Ms. Ellington once again. She stared at him, the barely suppressed anger appearing in her frightened eyes.
"He's just a kid," she repeated under her breath. "He got stressed out, that's all."
Finally Tom seemed to come to the same conclusion. Releasing Neal, he opened the door for the kid and directed him inside. He wanted to give him back the sweets, but the boy shook his head.
"Oh, no. That's for you," he said, a smile back on his face. "You sure you don't want to play?"
"Quiet, Neal. Thank you, sir," Holding her left hand upright to take the candies from Tom, Ms. Ellington stepped in front of Neal and pushed the boy further into the room.
She wanted to close the door but Tom stopped her. "A moment, Ms. Ellington. You need to be searched too."
The look the woman gave his colleague was detached. She nodded silently, stepping forward and quickly closing the door before the boy could follow her.
/\_/\
='x'=
"…Home phone line and emergency plan and phone numbers posted by the home phone?" Andrew's face was focused as he went through the list Elle had sent Jones for the second time. Apparently, making sure they got everything right was a priority for his colleague. Jones was more than happy to comply.
"Check," he said, once again trying to decide whether they should take the painting off the wall, which now, due to their makeover, was half-hidden behind the new safe.
"Smoke detectors? Check. Carbon monoxide detectors – check," his friend had the initiative to begin crossing the items from the check-list himself. "Chemicals, cleaning supplies, medication in a locked cupboard?"
Jones took off the painting and then put it on top of the wardrobe.
"Jones?"
He looked back at Andrew. "Yeah, I'm listening. Check."
Andrew glanced at the painting. He frowned. "Personally, I would leave it on the wall. This nail looks annoying."
Jones chuckled. He knew why he was tired, but Andrew... The man really needed a life outside of work. "Come on, let's finish up."
Andrew glanced back at the phone. "Gun locked in one safe, ammo in another –check," he said, then handed the phone back to Jones. "That's it."
"Great," he said, selecting Peter's number from the list. After sending a short message, he glanced up at Andrew and found that his colleague was still looking at him expectantly. "Come on." He clapped the man's shoulder. "Time for us to clear out."
/\_/\
='x'=
As Cindy sank back onto the mat, she suddenly realized she was holding back tears. Ignoring the kid for a while, she let herself focus only on the happily whining Lab. Satch's fur was warm and soft and petting him was a little comforting. She shuddered, letting out a breath she did not know she was holding.
Never again, she promised herself. Never again. No matter how miserable Neal looked, she was not going to leave this room ever again. They had something to drink, they had something to eat, and truly, a card deck and two board-games were nothing to sniff at.
She felt herself calming down. She was not going to budge, even if he cried.
"Cindy?" the uncertain words came with a light touch on her shoulder and she opened her eyes. Neal's head was cocked to the side, a kind of concern on his face. "You ok?"
Cindy forced a smile. "Not really, Neal," she conceded.
The boy looked clueless, and Cindy felt something cold clench inside her stomach as she remembered how roughly the two men had treated him. He was used to it, she realized suddenly. He was so used to being treated like shit that it made no impression on him. She shook her head slightly. "Why did you do that?"
Neal blinked. "Do what?"
"Why did you follow me outside?"
"Oh," Neal wrinkled his nose, then shrugged. "Dunno." He hugged his legs and rested his chin on his knees. "I guess… I just didn't think," he mumbled, then glanced up at her. "I'm sorry I caused you trouble."
Ignoring the sudden urge to hug him, Cindy shook her head. "No, it's okay." She breathed deeply. "It's okay." She tried to smile. "You know, you're the one you should really be apologizing to."
"Oh?"
"For making yourself go through all that," she explained, gesturing slightly with her chin at the door behind which the agents were still guarding them.
/\_/\
='x'=
Wonderingly, Neal stares at his teammate. What could she mean? Is it something obvious? In case it is, he decides to keep playing. "Alright, done." Then he raises his eyebrows as if in shock. "But he won't accept my apology. What am I to do now?"
To his relief, Cindy smiles. She shakes her head at him, then nods at the precious map in his hands. "Alright. Why don't you explain to me that game of yours? Can't say I'm not curious about what those Cars and Cards are all about."
"Sure!" Neal agrees with delight. Even though he's got a rough idea of the rules, he suddenly wishes he had more time to think it over. After this win, Cindy deserves a great game, just like Satch deserves a treat. He can almost imagine them pulling off more schemes, one great success after another. But since figuring Mister Keller's meeting place is a priority, it will have to do for now, Neal guesses.
"Alright, so you shuffle the cards," he tells Cindy, tearing two pages from a pad lying nearby. "We'll also need something to write with. This game's all about numbers and finding out where they have lead you. The more places you can find on the map and the quicker you are, the better. Oh, and if you let the other player figure out where you're heading, it's game over for you."
The numbers he will have to begin with are 251521 2021181454 914615181311420 8218 15145 113 19811816 751518795 2018211920 22120 225189625, which is what You turned informant, huh? 1AM sharp, Georgie. Trust, but verify translates to in phase one per Mister Keller's codebook.
/\_/\
='x'=
"Need a lift?"
Startled from his thoughts, Andrew looked back at his colleague. "Sure. Thanks."
Jones nodded and turned away. Following him, Andrew could not help but look back at Agent Burke's house. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how much he did not like it. People who took the last minute to prepare their house for a home study and did not even bother to do it themselves were simply not mature enough to adopt a child.
He got into the car and sighed heavily.
"You okay?"
Andrew glanced back at Jones. "Yeah," he said. It was just that he expected more from Agent Burke. And he was worried about the kid the agent decided to adopt. He clenched his fists. The last thing he was going to do was to talk to one of his subordinates behind the man's back. No. If he really wanted to take a stand for this young fellow soldier, he would have to find a good opportunity to talk to Agent Burke in person. And he was going to do it, he decided determinedly. No matter how much it would cost him. "I'm just tired."
Jones nodded. "Where to?"
Andrew snorted. "Work."
His colleague frowned. "Seriously? It's 8PM."
"Yeah," Andrew sighed. "I still have to finish a couple of things. And anyway, bureau at night is much more peaceful than during the day. I like that."
Pulling out onto the street, Jones chuckled. "Fewer people bothering you, huh?"
Looking out the window Andrew smiled reflexively. This reputation of being a loner had embarrassed him ever since he could remember, all the way back to his primary school years. He still had to figure it out.
"Knowing everyone from White Collar is still working graveyard, I might reconsider," he now joked.
Jones snorted. "Credits rolling before the new case rescues us. Love them."
Andrew chuckled. "Hey. It's not that bad. From what I've heard you scored us a big win."
Jones grimaced as his fingers tapped the steering wheel. "Yeah. At what cost I wonder," he muttered and his grim tone came as a surprise to Andrew.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"What?" his colleague glanced back at him.
"You just said 'at what cost'?"
"Oh?" Jones shook his head. "No. It's nothing."
Right. Another response Andrew was very used to. People rarely ever told him important things. Especially here, in the FBI, where everything is marked with varying degrees of classified… He had to look for another topic.
"Anyway," he said. "I also heard you got us a new CI. Will he stay with us or go with the OPR?"
"What?" Jones stopped the car at the red light, then turned to look at Andrew blankly. "What CI?"
Andrew frowned. "From Neumann's case, of course."
"From Neumann's case? Who?" Jones asked, still with that weird expression on his face.
Andrew stared back at his colleague for a moment, then "…George Devore," he said wonderingly. What is going on? This is Jones's case. "…You know, that guy who disabled the security system in Neumann's mansion and then broke into the safe? I was just finishing writing my part of the CHS assessment on him when you called."
His colleague's eyes went round. "You must be kidding! CHS assessment!" he exclaimed. "Who told you to write that!?"
The illustration you can find either on my DoodleAddicts account (…/vincentthecat) or on the story Rooftops of New York that I post on Archive Of Our Own (VincentTheCat).
❤ Replies to guest reviews from the previous chapter ❤
Thanks, Macy! ❤ I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! Hahah, yeah, without going into much detail you're right on every point. :D The storm is coming and everyone who will not be wearing a raincoat, better beware! That said, it is my opinion that whenever a dear son forgets a raincoat, a loving dad should give him his. As always I hope you're well and I wish you all the best! :) ❤
Next(30.10 27.11 11.12): Au Revoir
Update(31.10): I'm sorry for being late. Unfortunately chapter 28 is still a work in progress. Lots of things happening. I'm giving myself another month to finish it. Hopefully see you in November (27.11)! ❤
P.S. Perhaps it will come as some comfort to you: the chapter will be 3 times as long as the last one. And don't worry about the title. We're not even near the end and the most heart-warming part is yet to begin. ;)
Update(26.11): Unfortunately chapter 28 is not ready yet. I'm very sorry. :( I'll try to post it in the next two weeks (11.12).
