A/N: This is definitely not as long as I wanted it to be, but I'm working on the other chapter right now! This is kind of from everyone's point of view, but it's still in the third person. Also close to completing the latest chapter for Chuck Versus the Feud!!
"So you're telling me we just have to sit here until you get some clue as to where he is?!?"
Peter was furious, and not just because he had not slept in over twenty four hours. The supposedly reliable agents were now telling him that it was going to take more time than they expected to find Neal, and on top of that, they said that is was too dangerous for Peter, Jones, and Mozzie to get too involved in the mission. Everything seemed to be spiraling out of control, and the three men had not even been in Burbank a full two days.
"I wish we could do more, but right now, we just don't have anything to go on. I'm sorry Agent Burke."
Agent Walker seemed to genuinely care, but Peter was still too fed up to be grateful. Now that Agent Carmichael and Colonel Casey were gone to work at their cover job, he felt that even less was being done to find Neal, and he was tired of it. Even Agent Walker had to leave to serve the customers in the yogurt shop, which basically left the three men twiddling their thumbs until all of the agents returned.
"Give me something to do then! I'm tired of feeling so helpless! Why did the General even want us down here if we can't do anything to help?"
"You are helping, but there is only so much we can do with the information we have."
Peter had similar conversations with Casey and Carmichael, but only the latter proved to be any help. He looked at Peter in awe all of a sudden, and interrupted him in the middle of a complaint.
"That's it!" He exclaimed, "I think I know what to do. Agent Burke, if you can just hold on a little longer, I know someone who can help us. It might take a while to get ahold of him..."
"I don't care how long it takes, just get it done so we can help Neal!"
The agent scampered off, murmuring "Why didn't we think of this sooner?"
"Have any idea what he's up to?"
Jones appeared at Peter's side, starring after Carmichael trying to make sense of what he might be intending to do.
"I don't know, but if it means bringing us one step closer to finding Neal, I don't care."
"I feel the same way, boss."
"Hey," Peter jerked his head around, "Where's Mozzie?"
*******
Sitting in the darkest corner of the too bright Orange Orange, Mozzie slurped on a fro-yo and eyed the few customers distrustfully over his news paper. The shop did not generate nearly enough business to stay open, so he assumed the government had a hand in keeping the company afloat.
"Typical." He muttered quietly to himself, deciding on the spot that he would never look at a shop the same way again, in fact, he would probably never leave the safety of his storage unit unless it was an absolute emergency. First, though, he would have to get home, which he doubted happening now that he knew the location of a top secret government base.
Truthfully, it was all worth it if he was helping to save Neal. However, right now, he felt like there was nothing being done at all, which frustrated the man to no end. Mozzie figured the agent's never knew what it was like to have a friend, so they most likely did not feel the way he did. So be it. If Mozzie had to find Neal all by himself, he would! Leaving his yogurt on the table, he sauntered casually toward the door, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
"Haversham! Where do you thin you're going?"
Mozzie visibly gulped when Colonel Casey yanked open the door before he could reach it.
*******
What kind of fool did that little moron take him for? Stuttering on about going out to buy a new pair of shoes... Haversham was really starting to get on Casey's nerves, but he played nice for the time being - all but dragging the little man back down to Castle.
It was already feeling crowded down there, and Casey was tired and ready to go home, trim and water his bonsai tree, and go to sleep. Apparently, he would have no such luck.
"Casey, we need your help! Chuck just thought of a way to get Caffrey back, I can't believe we didn't do this sooner!"
Sarah shoved a box of papers into his hands, and he examined them to find surveillance photos, as well as lists of phone numbers, names, and locations.
"Oh, God no! Not him!"
Sarah couldn't help it when a smile crept to her lips.
"We could really use his help. Now, you better start going through those; this might take a while."
Casey only growled, and rolled his eyes. Was there really no other choice? He guessed there wasn't, but that did not keep him from trying to think of a way out of calling Bryce Larkin for help.
******
"Excuse me, I'll just be a moment."
He spoke in French upon feeling the vibrating of his phone in his pocket. The young man had broken off in the middle of a conversation with a table of French diplomats, so the call had better be important. The screen real unknown caller, but he was used to that.
"So sorry, it's my wife, I have to take this." He spoke again in French, and the other men at the table nodded knowingly - they had all had their fair share of nagging wives.
Walking out of the restaurant and into the cool night air, the real Bryce Larkin answered his cell phone as soon as he was far enough away.
"Yes?" He answered in English, "...Chuck? How did you... right, never mind... Wait, are you sure?... Of course I will; any chance to take them down. Okay, no problem, fill me in when I get there."
Bryce pressed a button on the phone and threw it in a near by trashcan, where it began to smoke as it self-destructed. The diplomats would have to wait. Chuck sounded urgent on the phone, and from what he told Bryce, this mission would be a lot more interesting than sucking up to rich Frenchmen.
******
Chuck had his fingers crossed, and finally, after suffering through thousands of dead-end phone calls, a familiar voice answered on the other end.
"Bryce! It's Chuck... we kinda have the perfect setup for finding people... Look, we need your help. I can't go into detail, but the Ring has shown up again, and they kidnapped a man who they think is you... Yeah, you should see his picture... This might be the perfect opportunity to destroy a major part of the Ring, and we'd be saving someone in the process. Can you help?"
Chuck held his breath, let out a long sigh when Bryce agreed to fly to Burbank, and hit the end call button on his phone.
"What did he say?"
Agent Burke was the first to ask, and Chuck replied quickly, seeing that the man was on the verge of shaking the answer out of him.
"Bryce said he's on his way."
Jones clapped the other man on the back.
"See, we're gonna find him, there's nothing to worry about."
*****
Peter felt like he could rest, at last - the agents were fairly confident in the man they had called. Peter furrowed his brow as he remembered something.
"Is this the man the Ring is mistaking Neal for?"
"Yes, Mr. Caffrey and Agent Larkin do share an uncanny resemblance to one another. When you meet him, you'll understand how the Ring could have made a mistake."
Peter nodded absently at Sarah's answer.
"You said he boarded the plane last night? That should mean he'll be here any minute."
She looked at the clock on one of the computers in surprise.
"You're right!I need to find Chuck and Casey so we can brief him on the situation as soon as he gets here. We've wasted enough time already..."
At last, the agent felt the same way he did, but probably for entirely different reasons. Shutting down the Ring would take priority in saving Neal, so it would be up to Peter, Mozzie, and Jones to make sure that job was done.
******
Mozzie sat in his corner again in the Orange Orange, another frozen treat in his hand. He felt like a weight had been taken off his shoulders when the menacing NSA agent left for his cover job, but continued to jump at any little noise he heard. The fact that people like Colonel Casey used everyday places where people shop as a cover frightened him even more, and Mozzie wondered how much more it would cost to do any necessary shopping online. Drat. First he would have to get a computer to do that, and that meant going into an electronic store like the one across the street - most likely swarming with undercover FEDs. So much for that idea. Maybe he should liquidate some assets and disappear for a while... but only if they found Neal. No, he corrected himself, when. When we find him.
Trying to keep his paranoia under control, Mozzie gazed out into the parking lot of the strip-center, watching shoppers come and go - blissfully unaware of anything going on in the world around them, or even beneath their feet. A black convertible pulled up in front of the Orange Orange, and Mozzie was tempted to wonder what one could get for a car like that.
A man with dark hair and sunglasses got out of it and strode in through the door just as Agent Walker appeared behind the counter after stepping out of the storage and freezer area. The man removed his glasses as he stepped inside, and the cup of fro-yo in Mozzie's hand slipped to the floor. Luckily, there were no other customers at the moment, but the two people who were there turned to him, taken by surprise. No one had even noticed him sitting there. Mozzie could only stare at the new customer, and he became aware that his mouth was hanging open.
"...Neal?" He managed to get out in a shocked whisper.
A/N: Hoped you liked the little surprise! Got the idea to introduce Bryce into the story by Apollo199199, who deserves a special thanks! The story is definitely going to take off, so stick around! I'll be posing as many chapters as I can!! The next one will be mostly or completely centered around Neal!