Sorry in advanced for a bit of language in this chapter!
Those bastards! Those cold, heartless bastards! Neal ground his teeth together, both from the pain in his leg and in frustrated anger at the new Ring agents. They had refused to even clean or put a bandage on Kate's head, and Neal had no other choice than to stare at her blood-matted hair in anguish. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her and make sure she was okay, but both of them had been cuffed securely by their hands and ankles with mechanisms that Neal wasn't sure he could pick even if he had all of his tools.
The new, windowless automobile shook as it traveled down what must have been a bumpy road, and any hopes of opening the back door and rolling out to freedom were dashed by the speed of the van, as well as the agents keeping guard over their two captives. Six of the agents sat in the back of the van, all of them stoney-faced and emotionless, while two others sat up front, the driver being the agent who led the team. Neal had seen the rest of the team drive away in separate vans, and he assumed that was to throw anyone off of their trail, but he doubted they had to worry about that.
Trying to flex his hands to keep them from falling asleep in the tight handcuffs, but they were already feeling numb. How long had they even been driving? It felt like an eternity, but depending on what was waiting for them, Neal wasn't sure he wanted the ride to end.
He was taken by surprise when the van went over one last, huge bump before gliding onto a smother surface. Without having his hands in front of him to steady himself, Neal was unable to prevent himself from being tossed around the van like a rag doll, and groaned when he felt his head make contact with the hard metal floor.
The van pulled to a stop as he tried to push himself up, wanting to make sure Kate had not been injured further, but her back was to him. All Neal could gather was that she was still unconscious, as she had been since they were caught. She needed medical attention - it was never good to be unconscious with a head injury for that long, or at least that was what he had heard. The door in the back of the van opened, and Neal was yanked to his feet and pulled out, but Kate was left in the van for the time being.
He soon found himself facing the agent who had apparently met Bryce Larkin before.
With any luck at all, the man would see that they had the wrong man, but either way, Neal felt it was safe to assume he was a dead man. They would kill him on the spot when they learned the truth, and they would most definitely torture him to get information that he did not have. More importantly, however, was Kate. He couldn't let anything happen to her, so Neal did the only thing he thought could save her.
As he concentrated on putting on a face which showed no fear, he heard another agent speak to the man.
"Agent Kane, there's something you might want to see."
"Not right now Gordon."
The other man scampered off, and Neal addressed the agent before he could start speaking.
"It's certainly nice to see you again, Agent Kane."
"So you do remember. I hope this means you remember other things too... such as the information we need."
Neal made an effort not to gulp before he answered.
"I might, but everything's been a bit blurry lately. Let the girl go safely, and my memory just might come back to me."
Agent Kane studied Neal for a moment, as if contemplating what to do.
"We can't do that, at least not just yet. Not until you give us something useful to go by."
"You drive a hard bargain."
He didn't know what else to say, for he had no idea what sort of information the agent expected to get. If only he could make sure Kate was safe before they figured out he was bluffing- as if it wasn't obvious enough already. It was getting harder to keep up the look of being calm and collected when two men had a very strong grip on his upper arms, his handcuffs were chafing, and his look and general attire were a mess.
"That is one of many things I pride myself in."
"Here's my proposition for you then: contact Agent Moreau. He's going to want to know where his daughter is."
"Is that all?"
"Yes. I know I won't leave this place alive, so there's no sense in asking for something I can't have. Just contact Agent Robert Moreau, I won't talk until you do."
How he managed to keep his voice from shaking was beyond him, but Neal considered it a miracle. Did he really thing Agent Kane would comply?
"What's stopping me from killing the girl, and torturing the information out of you? We're quite skilled at that here."
"So I've heard. But I can promise you this: if she comes to any harm, I tell you nothing - that's something you can count on. Another thing you might want to keep in mind is that Agent Moreau loves his daughter very much, and when he finds out you were responsible for anything that's happened to her, my best advise to you is hide."
Did he really just say all of that? The likeliness of things turning out the way he wanted was slim to none, but if Neal could convince Agent Kane to contact Robert, it might just turn out well. At least for one person. Neal didn't think it likely for Kate's father to sit back while she was in danger. The relationship might have been a cover, but whenever Kate spoke of him, she made it clear he was incredibly protective.
"Agent Bryant, get me in contact with Agent Moreau," Neal let out a breath when Kane said this, "That wasn't so hard, perhaps I should start negotiating with all of subjects before resorting to the less than desirable methods. Now, if you don't mind, this is going to sting, a lot."
Neal only had time to glance at the syringe before one of the agents used his hair to yank his head back while the other plunged the needle into his neck. Shapes and colors swirled together in his vision, turning white and then black as the sedative coursed through his veins, and Neal fell into a void of emptiness.
*******
Never again would he get his daughter involved with a mission, however simple it appeared! At first he was furious, realizing immediately that Kate was the only one who could have helped Larkin escape. One of the guards had come running in, notifying him that the chair and warehouse were empty. Agent Moreau had been about ready to send out a team to search for the agent when he got a call that Kane's team had arrived and captured Larkin. He was relieved until he thought that Kate could very well had been with him. Then, he was worried, which was a foolish thing for an agent of the Ring to do. His daughter hadn't returned or called him, and when Robert ordered surveillance footage to be pulled, his worst fears had been confirmed.
From a camera positioned on a warehouse directly across from them, he watched his daughter and Larkin stop in between the buildings. He clenched his hands into fists when he say how close they were to each other, but would have suffered through watching something like that any day compared to what he witnessed next.
Kate went limp, and nearly hit the ground, when Larkin caught her and dove behind some pallets and scrap metal. He could see the sparks of bullets hitting the buildings before they stopped suddenly. It looked like the young man had been hit too, but Robert payed little attention to Larkin, more worried about the woman that the agent held in his arms. He was perplexed for a moment at how he moved her as if she were made of delicate glass, and the way the agent looked down at her as if he were truly concerned. For a minute, Robert wondered if it was possible the man was simply Neal Caffrey, not a cover, but an actual man. But he shook that though away immediately and concentrated on what was happening on the screen.
Agent Moreau was set to kill Agent Kane when he watched him stride up to where his team had surrounded the two. He could not tell if his daughter was alive or not, but from the way Larkin reacted, it looked as if she was. Robert replayed the video from the time the two little figures appeared on the screen to the time they were dragged off, looking for any clue that could help him figure out where his daughter was taken.
It was just as his hope was beginning to fade when Agent Moreau got the call.
"Moreau." He spoke into the cell phone, voice dead.
"Hello Robert, it's Ernie."
"Kane, you son of a bitch! Where's my daughter?"
"She's fine, and that's why I'm calling. Our mutual friend Agent Larkin suggested I get in contact with you."
Robert slammed his hand down on top of his desk.
"Dammit, I don't care what he suggested! Just tell me where she is! I saw the surveillance video, I know she's hurt -"
"There's nothing for you to worry about, like I said, that's why I'm calling. She's being taken care of until we make sure Larkin gives us what we want."
"I swear, I you so much as-"
"Robert! You and I both know I would never intentionally hurt Kate, but Larkin doesn't. If he believes she's in danger unless he cooperates, it will make things that much easier on us."
"Fine. Let me know when I can take my daughter home."
For the first time in a long time, Robert Moreau felt like he was about to be sick. He had not believed a word Ernie Kane had said. If Larkin wouldn't talk, he would use any means necessary to make him, even if that meant bringing in the daughter of a fellow agent. Agent Moreau did not get where he was today for nothing, and all of his training experiences had kicked in while he was on the phone with Agent Kane. He thought he had a good idea where they had taken Kate just by listening to the background noises, and even thought they were kept to a minimum, he was positive he heard the sound of rumbling in the background.
That noise could only mean one thing: the base was the one underneath the rock processing plant the Ring used as a cover. Robert left without telling anyone, just in case they were connected to Kane and could inform him of where Robert was going. He was getting his daughter back one was or another, even if it meant betraying the Ring.
A/N: Whew! Got this one up as fast as I could without butchering it completely! Hope you like the little twist of events with Robert! Next chapter will be up soon! I'll be adding more action and whumpage too, just need a little time to perfect everything!