(Chapter 2)

Just over a year ago...

Neal had heard Peter's voice over the wire, confident they would find him in a manner of speaking. He looked up at the gun pointed down at his head when he heard a commotion from the front of the boat. The gun man was distracted a moment, barking orders and giving Neal his chance. He quickly rolled over towards the end of the boat, rising to his feet as best he could when there was a pop and he felt his head whip to one side painfully. His neck twisted some, consciousness starting to leave him as he flipped head first limply over the side of the boat with a loud splash. He thought he heard someone talking to him, the sound of the boat and everything else fading into the background as the water swallowed him. Bubbles tickled the sides of his face and escaped from his nose and mouth as he started to sink further down into the darkness of the river. He felt a strange kind of calm fall over him as he continued to be dragged down into the water depths.

Neal? Neal answer me! Neal!

The voice was garbled, static evident but he could hear it despite the water around him. His eyes moved, looking upwards at the slowly dissipating light above, what little there was. He could hear other sounds, muted by the water around him till something kicked on again and he was suddenly struggling against the pull of the undertow, flailing his arms and legs to get himself back up. It was a fight, his chest burning with lack of air but finally he felt his head break the surface and he was gasping for breath, the air cool on his face. He was several yards away, too far for them to see him as he saw the blurry form of boats and faint lights as he lay back and floated there. He was trying to catch his breath, coughing up water and doing his best to keep his head above the waves. He could hear voices and the sound of boat engines fading away from him but he was tired, too tired to try and reach out as he floated further away on the currents till his eyes shut and he had passed out.

It was some indeterminate time later he woke up shivering on a small shoal. It was really just a collection of silt and rock near the shore but the tide had dropped him there and he curled up on his side, eyes trying to figure out where he was. The stars still twinkled overhead, the sound of water lapping around him and a sound of a boat horn in the distance. The shoreline wasn't far but he was too tired to move as he continued to lay there on the wet sandy outcrop, eyes starting to close again. He was forgetting something but at the moment all he wanted to do was sleep.

"Hey!"

Someone was calling out but his head was too fuzzy to pay attention as his eyes continued to close, water lapping up against his body on the shoal. He continued to hear someone calling out nearby and then a splash as someone waded out to him and touched his shoulder.

"Hey buddy... you ok? He's bleeding! Bring him in!"

He heard another voice answer but his mind couldn't wrap around the words or sounds as he passed out to the sound of lapping water.

()()()

It was sometime later he woke up warm and dry. He still shivered a bit underneath something heavy that lay over his body as he slowly yet painfully opened his eyes. It was dimly lit, barely enough light to see by but having had his eyes closed he was able to see in the darkness if only a little bit. He seemed to be in a small hold of some kind, the kind in boats he thought as his mind tried to wrap around things. He was covered with a cloth tarp, a soft sack of some kind under his head and a sleeping bag underneath him. He shifted slightly and gave a groan of discomfort, body aching as he came more and more to wakefulness. There was a distinct feeling of movement around him as if the whole place was undulating softly back and forth, rocking a bit as if on water or some uneven surface. The structure creaked ever so much giving him more indications that he was at sea or water of some sort.

Footsteps hurried nearby, their sound echoing softly till he sensed light behind him and turned his head to see a hatch open and someone come down with a small fluorescent lantern. He could just make out the figure of a man, husky and large with a raincoat on in bright yellow with a matching hat and boots. He turned to look at him as the figure moved closer and stopped.

"You're awake."

The man looked surprised, removing his coat and hat but leaving the boots on as he crouched beside him and felt his forehead with cool hand.

"You're not feverish anymore. We weren't sure what to do when we found you. It's not safe to go to land right now so we had to bring you aboard."

The man had a bit of an accent that he couldn't quite place as he listened to the stranger move around him in the dim darkness, the lantern just bright enough to see by. He heard him move away then back and help him sit up.

"Drink this. I'm sure you're thirsty and you've been too out of it the past week to give many fluids to. Not safe to give them when you're unconscious."

He nodded weakly to the man sipping slowly at the water he was given. It was cool and fresh, that taste of plastic evident which indicated it was bottled and not city water. He finished off the bottle and the man helped him lay down again, making him comfortable as he moved away yet again in the dimly lit room.

"Are you hungry? We have some stew."

He wasn't sure he was ready for food but his stomach gurgled in response drawing a laugh from the man.

"Sounds like your body responds for you. I'll bring some down in a little bit. The crew is still sorting out things upstairs. We've had to pull out to sea to avoid detection."

He didn't understand what the man meant but he nodded sleepily, wanting to answer but feeling too tired to say anything. His stomach had said it all.

"My name is Lynkos. When the time is right you can tell me your name and we take you back to land."

He nodded his head again, trying to think of a name in the blank that was his mind. There were bits and pieces of things flashing by but he was still too tired to think straight as his eyes closed and the light faded away. He heard the hatch closed and footsteps moving overhead before he passed out again. The darkness was comforting but also a thief, hiding that which he needed to know like his name or how he had come to be on this boat. His mind kept playing for him a scene out of a nightmare, his memories of water and nearly drowning but nothing else. He thought he heard a voice in the background calling to him but it was indistinct he couldn't understand what it said or who spoke as the nightmare faded to dreamless thoughts and he slept.

()()()

He continued in that way, sleeping and waking off and on as Lynkos fed and gave him water to drink. He wasn't sure how much time had passed since he'd originally waken up but it felt like several weeks and although other people were on board the boat, he only ever saw Lynkos. He was too tired to complain about that noting the room seemed fairly empty but for him and a few supplies. Mostly he just slept, waking up when Lynkos came to feed him.

"You'll feel better soon, then we drop you on land. I apologize for the delay but weather and safety are issue. You understand?"

He nodded but was still too tired to do much more than lay there as the man patted him gently on the shoulder and left him again. His body felt tired as he closed his eyes and slept as he had been, the rocking of the boat on the water lulling him into a sense of security. His dreams were becoming more and more vivid as time passed although details remained scarce. He could hear the voice in his dream more clearly but still had no idea what they said or who it was talking to him. There was worry and concern from the speaker and then silence as water swallowed him again and he fought the water that had tried to take him.

He woke up with start, sitting up weakly despite having moved little. His stomach hurt as he crawled towards a bucket in the corner and threw up in it. When he was finished he pushed it away, crawling back towards the makeshift bed he'd been sleeping in, wiping at his mouth. He was thirsty noting the box that Lynkos always took the water from, making his way towards it. He pulled a bottle out and after some effort opened it up and sipped. It tasted different than normal but he figured it had to do with the fact he still tasted bile as he leaned on the heavy wooden box and continued to sip at the water. He found a granola bar inside the box too and started to chew on that, his stomach feeling better by the time he finished.

His eyes were watching the hatch that he had yet to exit. Nobody else had come down but Lynkos to visit with him which he found strangely odd. He started to feel a kind of curiosity about the outside of the ship and he missed the sight of sun and sky. With a groan he made his way to the small stairs leading up and out of the cabin and fumbled with the hatch. It was locked. He turned looking for something to use when he saw the screwdriver in the corner, a thick one that would work just perfect. He stumbled back and after a few minutes he had loosened the hinge pins on the hatch and it opened up to a gray overcast sky. A flash of memory hit him hard as he leaned on the outside railing, his head hurting him a moment before he continued his exploration.

He was alone on the deck, not a soul around as he saw they were anchored near a weather buoy. Land was several miles in the distance and just within sight. The boat creaked in the water as he made his way around and found he was truly alone on the boat. There was nobody there as he thought about Lynkos and the sounds of people moving around he'd been only just aware of as he lay in the hull. It made no sense that the boat was empty as he found another small cabin overhead and ducked inside. It was just big enough for maybe six people with a tiny galley, two bunks and some cabinets for supplies. He found more food, real food beyond the water and granola bars he'd been eating and cracked open a can of pork and beans, eating it straight. It wasn't fancy but it was filling as he slurped the contents from the can and looked around the small space. He hobbled around looking at everything but seeing nothing of any interest. He was about to leave when he saw it. He limped over to the small cabinet and noticed the lock. Everything else was open but this so it had to be important. He found a metal clip stuck to a book and twisted it around till he could push it into the lock and opened it up. He removed the lock opening up the cabinet and finding a logbook.

He sat at the table there, opening up the book and reading it as best he could. The English was bad, some of it in what appeared to be Cyrillic writing. Lynkos seemed to be the writer as he read about the weather reports and avoiding detection by the authorities. He started to wonder what it was Lynkos was doing out here when he flipped through a few pages and his eyes widened.

"One crew found a man on a small shoal. He was half dead and I say we throw him back. It had been agreed to leave him till I found who he was."

He started to read further, eyes growing even larger as he closed the book and sat there staring around the space shaking. A voice echoed in his head, the voice that had been in his dreams.

Neal? Neal answer me! Neal!

Neal... his name was Neal Caffrey or so the book said as his memory started to come to him if only a little. It explained his name but little else as he tried to figure out why the man would keep him to sell. Was he really so valuable to the authorities that Lynkos would keep him like some prized pet? He had to get off this boat, his mind going back to what else he had read. Neal had been there on the boat a month, Lynkos playing the sympathetic rescuer while actually keeping him drugged and out of it so he would stay put. He was a prisoner.

Neal had to go, rising quickly to his feet as he made his way outside of the cabin after he replaced the log in the cabinet and locked it again. He hid the can he had eaten from and made his way out on to the deck. There was nothing for miles but the hint of land in the distance and he needed a way off of this boat before they returned. He started back to the hull hoping to find something when he heard a bumping sound on the side of the boat. Neal turned and peered over the railing to find a rope heavily dragging along side. He limped over and started to pull on the rope with all his strength to find a man attached, dead and bloated. He dropped the rope in terror, the body sinking back below the surface. Lynkos had obviously keel hauled the man for some discretion and if he had left him like that as an example, Neal did not want to be here when he got back.

It took a bit of searching but Neal finally found what he needed. There was an inflatable life raft hidden in a trunk below where he had been sleeping. He pulled it out along with some supplies he put in a small canvas sack he found. He stuffed water and other food he could find into the bag as well as some flares, a knife and fishing line. He went back up and saw he was still alone, the light growing dimmer which meant it was probably late afternoon or early evening despite the fog. He could just see the land to the port side of the vessel and with the oars he might be able to make it somewhere safe and avoid Lynkos. He could only hope as he pulled the inflation string and dropped the boat into the water. He tossed down his supplies and jumped over as he untied the raft and pushed off. His head was pulsing from being up and about when he'd been sleeping for so long but he had to move or he was a dead man.

He watched the boat disappear into the fog before he finally started to row in earnest. He had very little strength so he only rowed for a few minutes at a time before laying back to rest. After what seemed to be an hour, Neal quit. He was too exhausted as he lay back in the raft and closed his eyes. Neal remembered that someone had called to him when he fell in the water. Lynkos may have found him and took him prisoner but he knew someone else was looking for him. His head slumped to one side and finally Neal just let his body relax as he passed out, the movement of the waves rocking him to sleep.

()()()

Neal felt something cold and wet sprinkling on his face and then the sound of a gun cocking. He opened his eyes and looked up to see Lynkos staring down at him.

"My friend... you leave us without saying thank you? Not very nice."

The man smiled down at him like a hungry tiger, two men grabbing him roughly, flipping him over and quickly binding his wrists behind him with zip-ties. Someone stuffed a rag in his mouth as he was pulled back up onto the main boat with the life raft in tow. Neal sat there as they dumped him on the deck and Lynkos crouched next to him.

"You seem like a smart man which is why I'm going to give you a second chance. Seems you are too hot to be sold at the moment so you must learn our rules to live."

Lynkos stood making a sign as the two men that had carried him up grabbed him again, pulling him back towards the front of the boat, a rope bound around his wrists.

"Order on a ship is essential for safety and to keep power. You will learn your place if you live."

He smiled darkly at Neal who suddenly felt a pull as the rope yanked him forward towards the railing. He tried to dig his heels in on the smooth wooden planks, the crewmen moving aside as he was suddenly yanked over the front railing of the boat. Neal fought but was flung out into the air and underwater before he could do anything. He struggled as he felt the pull of the boat yanking him underneath the hull, something hard hitting his shoulder as he tried to stay conscious and hold what breath he had been able to grab. Neal struggled as the rope pulled him under and towards the back of the boat, his head and chest burning as his air started to run out. He could hear that voice again... the one he remembered from his memories.

Neal? Neal answer me! Neal!

He knew the speaker but the name... His eyes rolled back in his head as he felt water fill his lungs and he started to drown. His body went slack bobbing up behind the boat, dragging limply as he passed out.