Brother Love—Part 3

Neal was grateful for his reprieve. He was cold, and it was dark. But at least he was not getting beaten. He really had no idea why he was even still alive. He had declined, repeatedly, to do what he had been asked. Neal could only thing that it had something to do with the anklet. That his captors would know that there would be somebody after them as soon as the anklet was removed. Did they think the FBI was that close.

Neal had no idea what they had actually done with his anklet. He had been shoved into the back of the van with the hood on his head. His hood hadn't gotten removed until he had been placed in his dungeon.

Now the men were back. They were hauling Neal to his feet and placing the hood back over his head. There was not a word spoken, and Neal was practically dragged out of the place. He was much, much too weak to walk very far. The men pushed, pulled dragged him into a van, he guessed. They had thrown him onto the floor, and he had had cried out in unexpected pain as his bruised and broken ribs came into contact with the van floor. He passed out, seconds later, from the pain.

"Yeah, he got him. He's in the back of the van." One of Neal's captors replied, talking to his boss.

"How does he look?" Stevens asked.

"Pretty rough."

"Pretty rough?" Steven asked, irritated. "What does that mean, pretty rough?"

"He don't look good." The thug answered.

Steven nearly exploded over the phone. "Let me explain something to you! I am about to trade Caffrey for a 10 million dollar painting. The job I wanted him to do was only worth 5 million! That means…'you idiot,'" He hissed under his breath. "…that your take will be larger, also. So, it really means I cannot have Caffrey dropping dead in the middle of my deal! I need him alive. 'He don't look good' does not cut it."

Stevens got no response from his hired thugs. He decided, right then, when they turned Caffrey over to him so that he could make the final exchange, he would terminate their employment, permanently. He wasn't really in the mood to share 10 million dollars anyway.

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Stevens has checked out Mozzie. And his street cred was impeccable. The seller was a college professor from D.C. an Anthony DiNardo, no ties, whatsoever, to the FBI, White Collar, anything like that. It made Kevin Stevens very comfortable that he was not being played.

Mozzie had made a very convincing case for the trade. DiNardo had been a good childhood friend of Caffrey's. And DiNardo didn't need the money. He would be knee deep in it when his grandfather died and left him the family business. That and his professor salary, DiNardo was set for life. He just wanted his friend back.

And, of course, the 'stunt' painting was one of the many that are part of the 'Neal Caffrey Excellent Fakes' Collection.

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Stevens stopped immediately and put his hands up. He knew what that click was as soon as he heard it next to his left ear. Gibbs kept his gun trained and ready on the suspect as Tony ran to the Stevens' car, hoping Neal would be inside.

"You're feds." Stevens asked. "Mozzie! That bald little bastard double-crossed me!" He hissed. "I'm gonna kill him."

"What are you going on about? We are not in the habit of losing our C.I.s." Gibbs replied to convince Stevens that Mozzie had nothing to do with his capture.

Stevens sighed. He had been caught by the feds. Stevens figured he was surrounded, so he gave up without a struggle. The feds and set him up, perfectly and he had fell for it. They had found out the price of his current job. The job Stevens had wanted Neal to do, and in effect, had outbid it. They had made Stevens want to trade because of the promise of more money. And pretending to be known players with good reputations had, indeed, sweetened the pot. And now, most likely, he would be spending the rest of his life in prison. He would be charged with a double murder when they found the two dead thugs in the rented panel van parked a few blocks away.

Tony yanked the door open when he saw Neal. He knelt down in front of Neal's unconscious form and took in his injuries. Tony then pulled out his phone and called 9-1-1. He pressed his fingers to Neal's neck, searching for a pulse. He let out a huge sigh when he found one.

Police and EMTs converged on the scene, seemingly at the same time. White Collar was called when Gibbs let police know that Caffrey was a C.I. for the White Collar Division of the FBI.

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"Thanks, Mozzie." Tony replied as they all waited for Neal to be checked over and prepped for surgery.

"Neal's a dear friend." Mozzie replied. "And it was so easy. That Stevens is not the smartest criminal I've ever run across."

Tony looked at him and grinned. "Neal, right…Neal's the smartest?"

"…one of the smartest." Mozzie replied.

"Who…?"

"He had to learn from somebody." Mozzie replied, indicating himself.

Tony shook his head and chuckled.

"I'm taking it White Collar is not too happy you and Boss Suit right now." Mozzie stated, knowing Gibbs was off in search of coffee.

Tony shook his head. "Nope, we didn't get permission before we played in the White Collar sandbox."

"It's just so, juvenile. Neal's back, doesn't that mean anything?" Mozzie asked.

"It does, Mozzie. It really does. But what matters more is that two navy cops and one savvy criminal did what a whole division of the FBI could not."

"Egg on the face?" Mozzie asked, enjoying the situation.

"Quite literally." Tony asked, just as Gibbs returned.

"Well, however it turns out for you guys. And I do hope it comes out well. And I am getting the hives just saying that." Mozzie said. "I enjoyed our collaboration immensely, but if either of you repeat that I will fervently, vehemently deny it."

Tony and Gibbs smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, Mozzie." Gibbs replied.

"You are very welcome, Agent Gibbs." Mozzie replied.

The End ?

END NOTE:Do I need to continue this?Do you what to know what 'punishment' Tony and Gibbs got?What would be an accurate, true to life punishment for those two?There are procedures to these type things.There are probably forms, forms, and more forms to fill out and all that.And we all know how Gibbs just loves, adores all that stuff.Do I need to write more Neal into the chapter, to be quite honest there is a lot less then I had originally planned.What do you guys think?JL