Finding Neal

Walking down the hall of the warehouse, Peter led a team into a grungy room. It was dimly lit by a few lights hanging from the ceiling to draw attention to a large object. The thing was shaped something like a propane tank but had wires and tubes coming and going indicating it was more sophisticated than a container of gas.

"Get the bomb squad in here just in case!" Peter barked to his subordinates while he walked around the object trying to gauge its purpose. "What is this?" He asked the other agents checking the room.

Shrugs and theories came back at him.

"Maybe it stores stolen art to keep it at stable temperature and humidity?" One theorized.

"I hope it isn't a bomb." Another stared dubiously at it. "I can't run that fast."

"None of us could." Someone else noted the obvious.

"Well, whatever it is, it's better to be safe than sorry," Peter commented to prevent the conversation from spiraling down any further. He didn't need his team missing something because they were worried about possibly being blown up.

While they waited for the bomb squad to arrive and process the mysterious object, the teams throughout the building began to compile what they were discovering.

"Hey boss, we've got a room full of Nazi crates…" Diana radioed from where her team was searching the backside of the building next to the loading docks.

"Maybe the security station we found will have something to explain them. There are piles of tapes and several active cameras showing the entire building." Jones reported from where his team had entered through the side entrance. "By the way Peter, what's that big thing you have there?"

"Your guess is as good as ours. We're waiting for the bomb squad to check it out just in case." Peter responded through the radio while shrugging at the camera.

The teams continued working to search their areas until the bomb squad arrived. Then while they investigated the mysterious item, the rest of the teams paused to monitor the situation. Some were in the area in person, others were fortunate to be near the screens for the cameras, but the rest had to rely on their radios to hear updates.

Eventually, the squad leader declared the object to be harmless. "This isn't a bomb." He paused for the noise of everyone releasing their consecutive breaths. "It's a medical transport of some kind. Whatever, or whoever is in there, is alive."

Blinking, no one had considered that as a possibility.

"Alive?" Peter balked. "Like we could be dealing with human trafficking or illegal animal imports?"

"Whatever it is, it isn't legal, and whatever's in there probably didn't end up by choice. The thing was locked tight to ensure nothing got out." The leader confirmed.

Uncomfortable, Peter moved forward with his team watching his every move. Lifting the lid, he paused to stare at the unexpected form lying within. "Neal…" He couldn't help the word slipping out roughly in his horrified shock.

Blinking, Neal's eyes opened and he slowly turned to look at Peter. "Pe… Peter… back again?" Sighing softly, Neal sounded sad, like he was giving up. "How many times…. do I have to tell you?" He paused to catch his breath. "I didn't steal the treasure, and don't know who did…" Pausing again, even the minimal conversation seemed to be exhausting Neal. "You don't trust me, threw me away… didn't think twice about it…" A tear slipped down to disappear in his hair. "… just get it over with… kill me… now." Then his eyes rolled up into his head and his face lolled to the side until his cheek rested on the box's interior.

With his heart racing fit to beat out of his chest, Peter reached a shaking hand to check Neal's pulse. Finding a weak thumping against his fingers, he hollered for a medical team to be brought in. "Caffrey's in rough shape."

Peter jumped as static burst through his radio before Jones' question came across. "What do you think he meant?"

Unable to answer at first, Peter's eyes were too busy taking in the rest of the box's contents. Neal wasn't dressed to allow for the wires and tubes to run in and out of his body. There was blood, a fluid IV, and all of the usual things you would expect in a hospital setting, but it was made eerie for the coffin-like apparatus containing it. What worried Peter was why there were extra lines taking off colored fluid into Neal. Were they medicine, or something more sinister? Shuddering, he pressed the radio button to answer. "I have no idea, but then I'm thinking something is very wrong with this whole situation right now."

"Is he hurt?" Diana's question came through. "That might explain the medical equipment stacked along one wall in here. It's not a large pile, but maybe Neal has friends who were trying to take care of him?"

"He is unconscious, so either he's hurt, or that stuff going into him is doing something." Peter didn't have a satisfying answer.

Moving aside for the second specialty team of the day, Peter watched as the medics began to unhook wires and tubes from Neal. They started with the questionable ones requesting samples of their contents for testing. Then they replaced the necessary lines with ones of their own before preparing to lift him over to a gurney.

Turning Neal to place a cloth underneath him for easier lifting, Peter saw his back and the light area indicative of a bullet entrance wound, then they turned him to move the cloth under him for access on the other side, and Peter saw the scar of the exit wound on his abdomen. Having seen those, his eyes then started picking up on others. The scars weren't easy to see but told dark stories of pain and past injuries.

"One, two, three" the medics lifted Neal out of the box and over to the gurney for transport. Covering him with another cloth, they strapped him in and then moved him out toward the waiting ambulance.

Standing next to the box, Peter didn't move at first. His mind was flashing through what he had seen during the previous minutes. Flashes as Neal once again denied knowing anything about the treasure, accused him of throwing him away, asked to be killed, and then the sight of his scars. Rubbing his hand down his face, Peter closed his eyes briefly as he tried to organize the stress.

While he was debating on how to proceed, his radio crackled and Jones came through. "Hughes is on his way to process the scene. We can handle this, why don't you go with Caffrey?"

Although a part of him wasn't sure at first, Peter nodded and started towards the ambulance. It had been a long time since he had allowed himself to think about the con. For three months he had stamped any allusions towards the con down. The man had betrayed him, destroyed their friendship, and was somewhere in the world enjoying his ill-gotten gains… Stopping, Peter realized he had probably been wrong. Caffrey… Neal had just denied knowing anything about the treasure, yet again, and this was after enduring what appeared to be torture. If he had known anything about it, wouldn't he have handed it over?

Resuming his pace, Peter caught up to the paramedics just before they were about to close the doors. Flashing his badge, he ordered them to allow him to ride with them. He was in charge of the man in their care, and he knew his medical information. Nodding, the paramedic directed him to take a seat before closing the door behind him.

Riding along as the bus traversed the city traffic with the assistance of its lights and sirens, Peter answered the paramedic's questions and watched as they monitored Neal's condition. The man was alive but wasn't in very good shape. Although the medic didn't theorize anything, everyone knew torture had likely been a part of Neal's captivity.

Reaching out and grabbing Neal's hand, Peter watched as his stats seemed to drop further. Was that because of Neal's time in captivity, or because it was his touch? Peter thought back to what Neal had said to him. What had he meant by 'back again?' Did Neal think he had anything to do with what had been done to him? The thought had Peter turning a little green himself.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that was likely. Neal had spoken like he had seen him previously through his captivity, had mentioned the way he threw the con away, and then asked him to finish the job and kill him.

Looking for somewhere to throw up, Peter was grateful when the paramedic passed him a bag. Once he had finished, he didn't feel any better, but at least there wasn't anything left in his stomach to churn.

Wiping the sweat off of his brow, he realized Neal had either been tricked into believing he had been involved, or the more likely the kid had blurred reality during his torture. It was painful to consider Neal so hurt by his behavior that he could picture him as the tormentor who had locked him up in that box… but maybe he was.

After all, Peter had sent him back to prison, deliberately turned his back on him, and he hadn't seriously looked for him beyond waiting for his crime spree to start up. It was his fault these people had managed to get a hold of him.

He tried to tell himself it wasn't his fault, that Neal had probably brought it on himself by doing something stupid, but his mind always brought up the facts of his abandonment. Neal didn't have anyone else he could trust and had said so himself.

Did the kid try to find who had really taken the treasure, only to get caught up in others who wanted his information to pursue it themselves?

As the ambulance pulled up at the hospital, Peter followed the staff's directions like he was in a fog. Before he caught up to himself, he was sitting in the waiting room while Neal was being checked over in the back.

El joined him, they talked about the situation, and eventually, the doctor came out to call them about Neal.

"To summarize his initial condition, Mr. Caffrey has been shot three times, with one occurring approximately three months ago. The recent injury was a long-range shot that penetrated through his back before exiting through his abdomen. Several organs were nicked, but he was medically treated to survive the injury so it was likely only intended to weaken him. Then his body shows months of harsh treatment through the healing process. It indicates exposure to extreme temperatures, torture drugs to cause pain without leaving physical marks, hallucinogenic drugs, captivity in a confined space we believe to be the capsule he was found in, and based on your report some kind of mental manipulation that is likely causing him to confuse his circumstances with something other than reality. Combined, this has caused him to heal very slowly so we are keeping him for observation." The doctor tried to remain professional as he delivered the news.

"How long do you anticipate him being here?" Elizabeth asked. She hadn't seen the man since before her abduction.

"That depends on how quickly he heals. His system has been through a traumatic event and we can't rush him."

"Can we see him?" Peter knew he had let the kid down. No matter why Neal had ended up in the box, he wouldn't have been in it for so long if he had actually tried to find him.

"We will allow you five minutes to visit him. Then we will see about you sitting in the hallway where you can at least see him. He is easily agitated, so we are going to restrict his interactions until the drugs can work through his system." Indicating a nurse standing beside him, the doctor sent them on their way.

Following the nurse, Peter held Elizabeth's hand until they reached Neal's room. "He… he said some things when we found him, it's probably best if you visit him first." Peter waited in the hallway while his wife visited their friend. The agent was afraid of the reaction he would get, so he wanted to ensure she got the chance before he did.

When it was his turn, Peter stood by the door at first watching Neal as he lay on the bed with wires and tubes attached to his body again. This time he had a hospital gown and blankets to ensure he was covered and was as comfortable as possible.

Walking forwards slowly, Peter didn't say anything until he approached Neal's side. Then he reached out and touched the bed, tracing his fingers lightly over the material to test his reaction. "Neal…"

It was his voice, Peter was sure of it, because Neal didn't even open his eyes or acknowledge his presence, but the monitors went wild! In moments, Neal was groaning and moaning while the medical staff ushered Peter back to the hallway.

Watching through the glass as Elizabeth held his hand, Peter saw the staff injecting things into Neal's IV, holding him down so he didn't hurt himself, reconnecting anything he loosened with his thrashing, and watching the monitors to ensure his stats were stabilizing back out. When the excitement was over, they didn't know for sure what caused it, but Peter did. Neal really did blame him for torturing him!

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