Chapter 4

Peter knew he should have gone home. El would have dinner waiting for him. But he couldn't. He had gotten the construction blueprints and he had gone over what June Ellington had planned.

Peter had no idea what it meant. He needed to go and see for himself. Maybe he could talk to some of the construction workers. Maybe they could shed light on a few things.

"Well, you couldn't be on a stakeout. The FBI utility van is nowhere in sight." Neal said, stepping up to Peter's side of the car.

Peter had been…focused on the building he had forgotten his surroundings.

"Neal, I…."

"Why are you here?"

"I just…I wanted to make sure you're okay." Peter said, and he had to admit, even to himself, that it sounded weak.

Neal scoffed. "Yeah, you were so concerned about me that you sent me to prison. You sent me to a place where snitches are known to get killed. And I was a pretty well-known snitch, Agent Burke. I…people threatened my life on a daily basis." He reported. "So, good job with that!"

"I didn't…."

"You said once a criminal, always a criminal. And you set out to prove your point. Besides, Agent Burke, who would even believe I could do anything except be a criminal, just like you said." Neal fumed. "What I did was wrong, and deserved jail time for breaking the law. I don't dispute that. But I didn't deserve to be thrown under the bus for your selfish reasons."

Peter opened his mouth to speak.

"You knew if I got charged for all the 'other' charges, the one you didn't want to be questioned would be added to the list. And the kicker is, Agent Burke, double jeopardy would have probably applied and you couldn't be charged with the senator's murder again. But, of course, even on the lesser charge, of withholding evidence, your career would have been ruined. You would have been disgraced and you would have left the FBI." Neal paused. "I was going back to jail, so Hagen lost his leverage. But, besides all that, I did what I did to help out my friends. People who I, at the time, believed were my friends, my family." Neal looked at Peter. "Because I was stupid enough to believe that you thought of me the same way! I was stupid enough to believe you cared!" Neal turned to walk away.

"I do…."

Neal turned back and nodded. "Yeah, you care about your nice job, your comfortable house, and your nice new car! You've still got all of that! This is my life! I'm a free man, Agent Burke. You have your pound of flesh. Leave me alone!"

Peter hadn't even had the chance to get out of his car, and now he knew that there was no use. Fortunately they were far enough away from the worksite that the workers didn't hear what was being said. But Mozzie and June had moved and in were close by, just in case Neal needed them. Peter did the only thing that he could he ducked his head, started the engine and drove away.

WC WC WC WC WC

Peter dropped into his chair at the dinner table. But he had no appetite. He started to get up and leave his plate when El spoke to him. She brought him a beer and sat it down beside a nice frosty glass. Peter took the glass and poured the beer into it.

"So?" El asked as she sat. She knew things had gone badly. She just wanted to know how bad.

"Neal said the only reason I did what I did was to save myself. He said he considered us his family, and that he did what he did to help out his family. Then he told me to leave him alone."

"Peter!"

"He said I threw him under the bus." Peter shook his head. He was in misery. His beer didn't even taste good. "I just wanted…I needed to know that he's going to be okay. I wanted to see that…that he was doing well."

"Give him time." El offered.

Peter shook his head. "Neal's not going to forgive us, El. We crossed the line. We both knew how Neal felt. We both knew he considered us his family, how close he felt to us. You used it when…." Peter didn't finish is sentence. He didn't have to; El knew exactly what he meant.

El nodded. She had taken advantage of the relationship. She knew Neal would help her, do whatever she had asked. She had used Neal's guilt over his bringing his dad into their lives. She bowed her head, tears in her eyes.

TBC