Visitors
Hearing footsteps approaching down the hall, Peter knew something was going on because they were coming at an unusual time based on the patterns he'd observed. Was it good news, or bad? Stopping in front of his cell, the hallway went almost quiet before there was a jangle of the guard's gear and a request for his door to be unlocked.
Sitting up, Peter watched the procedure with interest as he wondered what was going on. He was alert for danger but hopeful for good news. Looking the guard over, there wasn't anything encouraging.
"You have a visitor." The guard announced before taking him through the process for transporting him to the public room.
Asking questions, Peter tried to figure out who he could expect. His wife, or someone from the team?
"Says he's your lawyer." Was all the guard would say before he started him on the walk down the corridor through various checkpoints.
Knowing he had a lawyer, Peter wondered what the man was doing visiting him in prison. Had there been a change to his case?
Entering the room, he was stunned to see Mozzie standing in a purple suit with a garish bow tie and holding a briefcase. "…Mr. Haversham?" He decided to use the alias since he didn't expect the man to go by Mozzie in a prison.
Waiting until the guard had left them in relative privacy, Mozzie refrained from showing anything by holding a serious expression to go with his professional posture.
Once they were alone, Peter couldn't hold it back any longer. "How is Neal? Elizabeth, is she alright? Have you heard anything about my case? Why are you here?" The words poured out in a torrent.
Smirking, Mozzie put his briefcase on the table and began to pull papers out. "That answers question number one." And then he proceeded to write on a piece of paper.
"What?" Peter didn't know what to do with that.
"I'm here to check on your condition under the present circumstances." Mozzie confused him even more.
"Why are you here to check on my condition?" Peter couldn't help but wonder if the man was gloating. Wouldn't Mozzie hate him for what he had allegedly done to Neal?
"There are interested parties who would like to ensure you are handling the circumstances well enough to endure a little longer. Although you appear to be enduring in general, I do not recommend you stay in here long term. Already, you are becoming rather worried about what is occurring on the outside. Has no one else been by to visit?" The con man was frank in his answer as if they were discussing lunch… only without the drama of 'the man' conspiracy theories.
"Am I dreaming here, or are you actually saying you represent some unknown group who is checking up on me like this is a voluntary thing where I could just walk out when things become too much?" Peter was incredulous. Was Mozzie serious?
Blinking owlishly, Mozzie jotted an addition to his previous notes. "Maybe you need to get out of here sooner rather than later… questions the validity of my presence, indicating potential symptoms of acute stress disorder."
Slapping his hand down on the papers, Peter made Mozzie look up at him. "I'm stressing because you aren't making any sense. Who are these interested parties you're talking about, and why do they have you playing psychologist?"
"Old friends of Neal's, and that is all I will say about their identities. They are interested in the situation for his sake. Based on the circumstances, Neal wouldn't want you to be in prison, so how you're handling the situation is a concern." Mozzie's answers were as irritating as usual since he seemed to be talking in riddles.
"Alright, so old friends are around, I can deal with that, but why check on my circumstances? I'm here until the evidence is discovered to clear my name." Frowning at Mozzie, Peter started glaring. "Are they withholding something, and waiting to see if I've been punished severely enough? Because I know I messed up with Neal, it didn't take prison to teach me that."
"I'm glad to hear that. You did mess up with Neal, and he didn't need you to treat him the way you did. However, no, they aren't… exactly, withholding evidence. They are looking into the situation and endeavoring to balance your situation with the danger presented to others if this doesn't play out right." Mozzie finally gave him some answers he could work with.
"There are others at risk? Who?" Peter pushed. The more he understood the situation, the easier it would be to handle.
"It's best to keep those details restricted at this time. You need only focus on your part. Others are handling the rest." Mozzie stood before he began to collect his papers and organize them back into the briefcase.
"Please, don't go yet." Peter reached out to lay a hand on his arm. He was feeling lonely and isolated, and if Mozzie was the only person to visit him then he needed to make the most of the opportunity.
Pausing in his motion, Mozzie just stared at him for a moment. Then he settled back into his seat and continued to put his papers away. "Neal is still working the drugs out of his system. It's only been a few days, so although he isn't as delirious, he's still loopy. Your team is working to find the evidence to clear you so your agents haven't had time to visit. Instead, they hope to get you out so they'll see you around the office instead. As for Mrs. Suit… she has tried to visit, but someone doesn't seem to want that, because she runs into excuses every time. Her paperwork is lost, you aren't available for visitors for some reason or another, and so on and so on. No one has threatened her, but keeping her away seems to be another level of the torture intended for you."
Relieved by the news, Peter relaxed a little bit. He had been completely shut out. No one seemed to visit and the utter lack of communication was a concern, particularly where his wife was concerned. "I'm mostly glad to hear it. Neal is improving and the team is working diligently… however, the situation with my wife worries me. What if this doppelganger goes after her next? Please watch out for her, make sure he doesn't use my absence to try something!"
Nodding seriously, Mozzie promised. "Your team has been checking up on her when they can, which is the other reason they haven't had time to visit, and Neal's friends are watching out for her. He won't get the chance to do anything there."
"Do you know who he is?" Peter felt his gut instinct kick intuitively.
Mozzie hedged for a moment before answering. "No, I don't know who he is."
Staring at Mozzie, Peter knew the man wasn't telling him the truth, at least not entirely. "Let me guess, you can't answer that for some reason or another." He growled in frustration. "I'm sure you're aware of what he's done to Neal, I need to know it isn't going to happen again. Neal doesn't deserve to be treated like that, no matter what anyone says."
Softening, Mozzie relaxed in his seat some. "You're right, Neal doesn't deserve the situation he's going through, but then we all endure hardships due to our choices or the actions of others. Just because he's a decent man, doesn't mean evil men won't hurt him given the opportunity."
"Is that why you're here?" Peter asked again.
"I already answered that I'm here because I've been sent to check up on you," Mozzie answered while reaching for his notes again.
"No, I mean is that why you're here, emphases on you. If these people just wanted to check up on me they could have sent a real psychologist. Are you here because you believe I'm here because someone else is using their opportunity to hurt me? I would have thought you'd be the last person to visit, or if you did, that you would be ranting about how this is all my fault and what means you had to protect Neal from my cruelties." Peter interpreted what he was beginning to understand.
"Let's just say… I'm aware of the doppelganger hypothesis. This fellow, he is your evil, nonbiological, twin." Mozzie shrugged. "Unless you have a biological twin you don't know about?"
"If I didn't know about him I couldn't tell you. But no, I do not have a biological twin." Peter couldn't help but relax a little bit. At least his conversation with Mozzie was beginning to take normal turns.
"But if you don't know about him, then you can't be certain you don't have an evil twin." Mozzie lobbed the point back at him.
Rolling his eyes, Peter didn't want to carry the point any further, it had been made. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Mozzie settled into his seat more comfortably and kept the conversation flowing until his visiting time was up.
When he was led back to his cell, Peter felt more relaxed. The team was working to handle the situation, Mozzie was helping them protect his wife, and even these unknown old friends of Neal's were helping. Under normal circumstances, Peter might not like unknowns assisting in his troubles, but considering the extremes he was facing, the more help the better.
Stretching back out on his bed, Peter found himself dozing into a nap for a while as Mozzie had eased his concerns enough for him to get some rest.
Waking up a while later, Peter was surprised to hear voices outside of his cell. Creeping to the door, he crouched down to listen through the slot.
"Why are we protecting him? He's just some FBI agent?" A voice growled.
"And I was just a geek while Sarah was just a skirt, and now we are the best two you've ever worked with… and don't deny it, I've heard it from you directly." The second voice was lighter, friendlier.
Growling, the first voice said some not very nice things about the FBI. "I've met a lot of FBI agents, and none of them is anything special."
"Based on the things reported about this agent, I can see why Neal likes him. I think he might even consider him one of his best friends." The second voice was oddly defending him.
"Yeah, which is why he's in the hospital complaining about how the guy threw him away. That sounds like a great friend." There was a demeaning tone to the first voice in respect to his opinion of Peter.
"Maybe Burke just made the same mistake I did back in the day… act based on what he saw, not what was going on. Neal, he's good at keeping his secrets, and Burke probably jumped to conclusions." The second and friendlier voice stated.
Grunting, the first voice didn't have an argument.
Moving on down the hall, the voices resumed their patrol. Apparently, their passing his door had inspired the brief conversation.
Leaning forward to place his head against the door, Peter knew the second man was right. "I did jump to conclusions, and Neal is very good at keeping secrets."
After a few moments of sitting there listening as the echoes faded down the corridor, he stood up and slowly walked back to his bunk. There wasn't anything to do, and he wasn't especially trained in how to exercise in a cell, so he spent a lot of time stretched out staring at the ceiling.
"What I wouldn't give to have a stress ball right now…" He muttered.
"Sorry, but that's against prison protocol." A male voice answered him. It sounded like the second voice from the hallway, the friendlier one that had defended him.
"Who are you? And why were you defending me in the hallway?" If the man was going to talk to him directly, then he would happily attempt to get information.
"An old friend of Neal's, but then you already knew that, didn't you?" The voice sounded like he was smiling.
"Yes, Mozzie told me you were interested in my situation. Care to expand upon the situation further?" He bantered with the man. It was something to do.
"As Mozz explained, I can't, there is more to this than you know. However, I can answer your other question. I'm defending you because Neal needs you, because you're a good agent, and because… what's happening to you, it isn't right." The man sounded genuine.
Maybe, maybe Peter could like these friends if they weren't too overly criminal. Stretching out to get comfortable again, he kept talking to the voice and enjoyed a conversation.
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