THE COP AND THE CON SERIES –installment #10

Blood Is NOT Thicker Than Water

AN: This story in the series I am bringing up to date with the end of White Collar's Season 4. I thought it would be great for Tony and Neal to talk about 'dads.' I thought it would be an interesting conversation. This story turned out to be more involved with the Season 4 finale than I originally planned. I hope you like what I come up with.

And, as always, a special Thank You to ccluvshorses 101, my beta. And thanks to all of you, my readers, for your reviews and alerts.

"I found him a few weeks ago." Neal confessed.

"And you couldn't call and tell me." Tony replied, a little put off.

"Things just started happening so fast. We had to hide him out and then we had to go find this locket Ellen left me. It's been…pretty crazy here." Neal admitted.

"So, did you find it? Did you…?"

"I'll tell you that part later." Neal paused. "It was…I don't even have words to describe what it was like…to have him here…to have someone to call Dad. I…."

Tony nodded, even though Neal couldn't see him. Dads were dads no matter who they turned out to be or what they did.

"There's more to this, Neal. I could tell you were upset when you first answered the phone. What's…what's going on? What's happening?" Tony asked, anxiously.

Neal sighed. "He's just. It's a mess, Tony. Peter is facing a murder charge. I may be…well, will probably go back to prison, and all because James won't testify."

Tony was speechless for a moment. He had no idea what Neal was talking about.

"I think you need to fill in some blanks here, Neal." Tony replied.

"James is guilty, Tony." Neal sighed. "He's a guilty man and he conned me. He probably had Ellen killed, if he didn't pull the trigger himself."

Tony was still confused. "So this…this Sam person…that was him? That was James?"

Neal nodded. "He was. The real Sam died years ago. Peter checked out the name and told me.

"So, how long was it before 'Sam' told you he was really James?" Tony asked.

"He didn't. James had a run in with an old enemy. I rescued him. He got beat up. I helped clean him up. I gave Peter some of his blood on a tissue to run DNA." Neal paused. "When I got the results back, I confronted him."

"He admitted it?"

"Finally…." Neal replied.

"What was his reasoning?" Tony inquired. "Was he ever going to tell you?"

"He said he just wanted to see me. He just wanted to see his son after all these years."

"But…." Tony pressed, feeling that there was more to the story.

"He just wanted Ellen's key. He knew she would leave it for me and he knew once I found it I would go looking for answers." Neal stated. "I played right into his hands."

"You had no way of knowing, Neal."

"I'm a con, Tony. I do that it for a living." Neal said. "Why couldn't I see it?"

"You…you wanted your father, you dad back." Tony replied. "That 3-year-old boy needed his dad. And you are no longer a con, officially."

Neal couldn't help but smile. Tony knew him too well.

"Yes…officially." Neal agreed.

"And what is this about Peter and a murder charge." Tony asked.

"James lied. He murdered his supervisor. Ellen had the proof of his lie. And so did a congressman. Well, now he is…was a congressman. Anyway, he had proof on James. He…James wanted the man dead. He shot the man. Then Peter shows up. James takes a shot at Peter. James then leaves the scene and Peter is there alone with a dead body. When his boss walks in, it looks like…."

"Hughes would never believe Peter would…." Tony started. "James…he won't…."

"Hughes is not here anymore. He was given a choice. He could take early retirement and keep his pension. Or he could be fired and loose it all. He took the retirement." Neal sighed. "James is perfectly willing to let Peter take the fall for his crime. He told me so before he walked out my door the last time I saw him.

"So the new person has an agenda?" Tony asked.

"It appears so." Neal replied.

"What can I do, Neal?" Tony asked.

Neal shook his head. "…nothing. I'm just glad you called."

Tony summarized. "So you found what Ellen had hidden, these papers…a police report. And they said that James was guilty."

"Tony, there's nothing."

"Where was it hidden?"

"The Empire State Building…look…I…." Neal said.

"The Empire State Building?" Tony repeated, genuinely shocked. "How did you manage that?"

"I 'borrowed' a new FBI toy, unbeknownst to them. I located the box. I read the contents before James go to it. If I hadn't, I probably would have never found out the truth." Neal admitted.

"So James, what…just left town? He's gonna let Peter hang for what he did?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, he…."

"What, what is it?" Tony asked.

"I…I reached out my hand…to stop him from leaving. He said 'Don't make me do something I'll regret.' I don't know what he meant by that."

"It doesn't sound good." Tony admitted.

"No, it doesn't."

"Neal, there has got to be something we can do." Tony paused. "What do you need to help Agent Burke out? Anything, Neal, you know that."

"Tony, I can't…."

"How far, south of legal, are we talking about here?" Tony asked, knowing his friend much, much too well.

"Your involvement in the illegality would be minimal." Neal stated as his mind raced with possibilities.

"I can start with a BOLO on James." Tony said, thinking out loud. "Then I'll ask Gibbs…."

"No, Tony, I don't like you being involved. Gibbs…it's, no."

"If I'm involved, Gibbs is involved. I don't lie to him, and I don't do anything behind his back, especially not something this big." Tony stated.

Neal understood. He was reminded of his and Peter's arrangement.

"Okay, but…."

"You think he would come this way." Tony asked, wanting to know if James would head towards D.C.

"I have no idea. I don't know where he was before he came out of hiding. I…." Neal told Tony. "'Sam' may have told Ellen where he had been. But I'm sure that that was a lie."

"We can go nationwide on the BOLO if you want. Get the FBI involved." Tony said.

"Do that."

"Neal, are you sure?" Tony paused. "In spite of…in spite of everything, he is still your father."

"Yes, he is my biological father. But the man I knew, my dad…he died when I was three."

"Okay, Neal." Tony said. "Just so you know…this could…there's just no way to know how this thing is going to turn out.

"I understand, Tony. Do what you have to do? I just want him alive so that he can confess."

"Understood." Tony replied. "Oh, and Neal, you are not going back to jail. And Peter is going to be okay."

"You don't know that." Neal said.

"I know you. I know what you're capable of. I know you won't let down a friend, not if you can help it."

Neal couldn't help but smile. "That goes both ways, Tony. And thank you."

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"There are no hits on the BOLO, Tony." Tim replied, irritated. "Not since you asked 5 minutes ago."

Tony just nodded as he paced the bullpen.

"DiNozzo! Elevator!" Gibbs said, as he started out of the bullpen. Tony was soon on his heels.

Gibbs waited until they both were in and the doors were closed before he spoke.

"Tony, I'm not sure what we can do from here."

"I know, Gibbs. We don't know which direction James is going in. Neal doesn't seem to think he'll go overseas. He never has before."

Gibbs nodded. "If that's the case, we'll find him. The BOLO just went nationwide. We're working with all the other federal agencies to bring him back alive."

"I know, but it…it's…. Neal doesn't deserve to go back to jail. He's done so well since he's been out. He and Peter make a good team. It's just…."

"You don't have to convince me, Tony. I agree."

Tony had told Gibbs the whole story about Neal finding his father up until the current situation where Peter was facing murder charges. Gibbs wanted to help. But, in all honesty, he was not sure what they could do besides keep an eye out for James Bennett.

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"Tony," McGee said as Tony and Gibbs came back into the bullpen. "James Bennett is being held in Norfolk. He was trying to board a ship to Australia. He tried to pass himself off as a sailor."

Tony grinned as he and Gibbs left the office. They made it, in no time, to the port in Norfolk. The military, hearing the more severe civilian charges, decided to turn James over to NCIS who would, in turn, turn him over to the White Collar Division. By rights, he should have gone to Philly to face charges for the murder of his supervisor while he was on the force, but they were afraid Peter's case would get lost in the shuffle between states and precincts.

Neal's father was not at all what Tony had expected. He developed an instant dislike for the man. There was something about James that reminded Tony of his own father.

"James Bennett," Tony replied. "…I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. This is Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. We're here to escort you, personally, to New York."

James looked at him, confused. "Why are Navy cops escorting me to New York? And how do you know my name?"

"The Navy is willing to drop their charges for the more serious ones you face." Gibbs replied.

"I didn't do anything in New York."

"Correction, you haven't been accused of doing anything in New York…yet." Tony replied. "And to answer your other question, you would probably be very surprised what I know about you."

"I'm not going…." James started to protest.

"You would be very, very stupid to try to resist two armed federal agents." Gibbs replied, moving his jacket back so that James could see his gun.

"We've been told to take you back alive. And there are plenty of places I could shoot you to incapacitate you, and you still live." Tony replied. "But I guess you know that, being a former cop."

James just looked at Tony, amazed. How did they know all this? "You can't threaten…."

Tony moved closer to the man, using his height as an intimidation. "It's a promise."

James didn't know what to say to that. He fell silent.

Tony, Gibbs and James loaded into their car to take the long ride to New York City. On the way to the city Tony made a special phone call to Neal to give him the news. He, Jones, and Diana were waiting for him when he arrived.

Meanwhile, on the way to NYC:

"How do you know so much about me? How do you know my name?" James asked as he shifted to get comfortable. Tony had handcuffed his wrists and ankles. He was not sure if James could escape handcuffs with the ease Neal possessed, so he wasn't taking any chances.

"Neal and I grew up together. We both had rotten fathers, as it turned out." Tony replied.

"Hey, you don't know me. I haven't seen Neal for 30 years. I was better for him that way." James replied.

"Better to grow up without a father? Better to always wonder what it would have been like to…?" Tony replied.

"Sounds like you speak from experience." James replied.

"Being a physical presence in your child's life doesn't make you a good father." Tony replied. "Peter Burke is Neal's family. You can't let Peter go down for something you did."

James slipped the mask back one. "There is no evidence I was ever there. You have the word of a known felon…" James replied, speaking of Neal. "…who is going to believe him?" And who is going to believe Burke, his credibility is questionable, at best.

Tony glared at James, his anger rising.

"Nobody can prove anything, Agent DiNozzo." James Bennett said smugly. And he was right, no one could prove a thing. James would have to confess.

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Neal just watched as his father got out of the NCIS car. He was overjoyed that James had been caught.

"You're wasting your time, Kid." James said to Neal. "There's no evidence against me. Peter shot the man. It was his gun."

"You stole Peter's gun and used it. You need to…." Neal replied.

"Nobody has anything on me. Your friend, here, threatened me with bodily harm. There are no charges against me in New York. If I wanted to I could have these two up on kidnapping, and maybe a few other charges." James replied, eyeing Tony and Gibbs.

"You're a guilty man, and you know it. Confess." Neal said.

James laughed. "Did you confess? Did you turn yourself in? No, you were caught. You were chased. And now…you're asking me to do something you weren't willing to do?"

"I never murdered anyone." Neal replied.

"Neither did I."

"I read the report." Neal stated.

"Ellen had it all wrong." James replied. "Besides, it's your word against mine. Her report has…disappeared."

"Are you calling her a liar?" Neal said, challenging his father. Neal had made copies of the report. But he didn't want to let James know that just yet.

"I'm saying she didn't have her facts straight." James explained.

"Then, please, explain it to me." Neal requested. "Why would she hold onto an official document if it was not proof of what happened?"

"She made it up." James said, quickly.

"So…you are calling her a liar." Neal's anger boiled over. Ellen was like a second mother to him.

"Our supervisor ended up dead. I don't…." James started. The next thing he knew he was holding his face and staring at his son in shock.

"You all saw that!" James stated. "You saw him strike me!"

"I didn't see anything." Tony replied.

"Neither did I." Gibbs replied.

"Oh, I see." James stated. "And you two…I guess you didn't see anything either." He said, referring to Jones and Diana.

Diana and Jones both shook their heads.

James took menacing step towards his son. Neal stood firm. He was not going to be intimidating by someone he no longer respected.

"I'm not going to let Peter go to prison for something you did!" Neal challenged James again. "Do the right thing, James."

"You have no proof I murdered the congressman. Peter was alone in that room. He did it." James said. He had no problem with Peter Burke spending the rest of his life in jail. And to be quite honest, he really didn't feel bad about Neal going back to jail. Just as long as he got off.

"Do the right thing!" Neal repeated. He could not understand James' attitude. Neal couldn't let this happen to Peter. "Do the right thing…for once in your life…you coward!"

James glared at Neal. "Watch it, Boy! I'm still your father."

Tony stepped in at this point. He didn't want Neal to get in trouble this time. Plus he had a sudden flashback to his own childhood. "First of all…the boy has a name. It's Neal. Secondly, you put a hand on him, and I will personally make sure you regret it." Tony hissed.

"Are threats and intimidation how you do your job, Agent DiNozzo?" James asked.

Tony opened his mouth to speak, but this time Gibbs stepped in.

"Actually, Mr. Bennett, I can understand Agent DiNozzo's anger. I can say I personally have never met a bigger jackass than you." Gibbs replied. "You used your own son to get information, and you are willing to let him go back to jail. Obviously 'Father' is just an honorary title." It angered Gibbs for Neal to be treated like that. He was very fond of Neal, and he could feel the anger radiating from Tony.

James glared at Gibbs this time.

"Trust me. I'll make what DiNozzo does to you seem like a picnic in the park." Gibbs warned.

Tony smiled. "He's a bad-ass Marine, a former sniper." He shook his head. "I wouldn't mess with him."

"I'm being threatened here and no one is willing to do anything about it." James replied. "Do you really think I would tell you anything after that, if there was anything to tell?"

"We can take you back to D.C. and try you for stowing away on that ship. But I believe that a piece of evidence against you has surfaced, James Bennett." Tony replied. "I received a document that was overnighted to me. You destroyed a copy of the original. Oh, and by the way. I faxed a copy to a friend in Philly. I used to work for the Philly PD." Tony admitted. "It was a few years after you did, of course. Once they received my fax, I got a call. They are very interested in pursuing the case."

James knew he had been caught. He hung his head.

"You confess to the congressman's death and maybe you won't get the death penalty, or three consecutive life terms, with no possibility of parole." Neal explained. "Your former boss is only part of it. I think you killed Ellen too." He was not positive, but he had a strong feeling.

"Admit your part, get Peter out of jail and have the charges against him dropped, and maybe, just maybe, they will go easy on you." Tony advised.

THE END