Chapter 4

Neal-

Neal Caffrey had taken many beatings ever since he became a FBI Consultant. This one was no worse than the others. Or at least, that's what he told himself when he finally regained consciousness. He let out a groan of pain when he tried to move, finding himself retied to the metal pole, hands behind his back as a dull throb pulsed in his arm. Slowly, he opened his eyes, though he shut them fairly quickly. It took a few tries, but finally, the young man able to open the and keep them open. Trying to move his wrists, to see how tightly he was bound, he felt the dull throb in his arm morph into a fierce flash of pain. His teeth clenched together to keep him from giving a small cry from the pain. He strained to turn his head around so he could see why he hurt so much, and noted his arm at such an awkward angle. Broken. Seeing that, memories started to flood his mind.

Getting shot. Peter being at the hospital with him. Getting kidnapped. Peter being on the phone at the time. Waking up and learning who kidnapped him and why. Angering one of his captors so she and her accomplices beat the heck out of him. Hearing the faint sound of Peter on the phone with the girl, Sasha, before total darkness took him.

Was it worth it? Was defending Peter worth this? Neal asked himself, though he knew the answer. Yes, it was worth it. Peter was his friend, Neal trusted him, and somehow, he had the feeling that he would give his life to save Peter, just as Peter would probably do for him. He blinked several times, noticing a phone laying on the ground next to him. With a small groan, he rolled, crashing to the ground with a yell of pain as the rope tying his hands snapped, and he hit his broken arm, but, his arms were free from there bonds. He grabbed the phone and dialed one number.

"Neal? Hang on, I'm right outsi-" Peter's voice spoke through the phone as Neal heard a loud BOOM and not half a second passed before the building collapsed on top of his, burying him in the rubble. Faintly, he heard Peter yelling. "NEAL! NEAL!"

"Peter..." He managed to whisper, feeling his consciousness slipping, and soon, the world swirled into darkness.

Peter-

(About One Hour Before That...)

Peter was in the office. When Sasha had hung up, he had called Jones straight away and explained the situation as he drove to the office. He didn't sleep, he couldn't sleep, he was afraid for Neal. Over and over, the conversation he had had with Sasha Storm kept replaying in his mind.

I'm afraid I can't do that...

What did you do to him?

Nothing too serious, he's just in shock from the beating we delivered him...

Peter winced slightly. Neal was in hurt and in shock because of him. It was his fault. No matter what Caffrey had said, this was Peter's fault. If he hadn't killed Alex Storm...Neal wouldn't have had to go through this. Peter blinked, remembering the day he had shot Alex.

"FBI! Drop the weapon!" Peter had cried, pointing a gun at the man in front of him, who was cowering behind a young man, probably about 15, if Peter had to guess. It had been the middle of summer, and Peter had just joined the FBI about a year back, and Alex Storm was a notorious drug dealer and mass murderer. He was also a great thief. Either way you looked at it, he was going to go to jail. However, this time, Alex had stolen a million dollars worth of paintings, and he was planning to sell them to become extremely rich. He had been on the run for several days, but Peter had managed to catch up to him, to find that Alex Storm held a young man, with dark, wavy brown hair and piercing blue eyes, hostage. He had a gun held to the young man's temple.

"Not one step closer!" Alex had screamed at him. "I swear I will kill him! Not one step closer!"

"Alex, it doesn't have to end this way! Drop your weapon!" Peter had called to the desperate criminal, though his gaze was fixed on the young man's face. He seemed afraid, you could see it in his eyes, but he kept his face clean of all emotions. Peter shifted forward slightly but froze when a maddened look came into Alex's face. He knew what the criminal would do. "NO!" He had yelled, pulling the trigger to his weapon.

He had watched as Alex's body jerked, and fell to the ground dragging the young man he had been holding, with him. The boy let out a cry of shock as he wriggled free of the now-dead Alex Storm's grasp. Peter rushed forward, supporting the young man as he stood. He saw the kid pick up a hat off the ground and place it on his head, which was covered in a thin sheet of sweat. Peter looked at Alex's body for a moment, wishing that this could have ended differently than it had. His brown eyes flickered back over to the young man in time to see him put that strange hat on.

"What is that?"

"A hat."

"What is it called?" Peter had clarified with a roll of his eyes. The kid was a total smart-aleck!

"A fedora."

Peter blinked. Now that he really though about it, the kid reminded him of Neal! Suddenly, Jones rushed towards Peter.

"We found where he is!" He yelled. Peter bolted to his feet. He had to get to Neal, the 24 hours were almost up.

"Where?" He demanded, and as soon as Jones gave him the directions, he took off. He knew that once Jones found Diana, they would follow, but Peter was leaving to go to Neal at that very instant. He would find Neal.

(Present Time...)

Peter blinked as he stopped his car outside a ruined building. Chunks of it were weathered down and scattered all over the ground. Neal is in there...hang on buddy! He started forward when his phone rang. He glared at the phone for a second before he stared in astonishment. It was Neal!

"Neal? Hang on, I'm right outsi-" Peter broke off as and loud BOOM! sounded, and he was thrown backwards from the force of the explosion, staring in horror as the building crumbled and came crashing down. "NEAL! NEAL!" He screamed.

On the other end, he heard a faint whisper. "Peter..."

"Neal? Neal?" Peter called into the phone, silence answering him. Peter stared in horror at the collapsed building. Neal was alive, but he was buried in there. He blinked as Neal's words came back to him, the first time Peter truly realized that he and Neal had become friends.

You're the only one.

The only one what?

The only person in my life that I trust.

Peter scrambled to his feet. Hang on Neal...I'll get you out of there. He vowed. And then I'll find Sasha Storm and make sure she pays for what she has done.