By the time they gathered in the conference room a little over an hour later, several things had happened.
Peter gave Hughes a brief recap of what Neal had told him. The senior agent agreed to make a few of the necessary inter-agency calls, and said he'd be there for the debriefing. There would, however, be no official notification to the NYPD at this time.
Since the FBI involvement had begun as a search for a presumed escaped consultant, Hughes had no choice but to notify OPR of the developments. The internal investigations branch was sending someone over to take part in the meeting. The legal department also wanted someone there.
Missing Persons was notified that there was no longer anyone missing, so they could redirect their efforts to other cases.
Peter made an unofficial report to Captain Shattuck, who showed up shortly thereafter with two of the detectives under his command. Shattuck had finally managed to find a source for the names of the men who had signed out the SUV and the van identified as being involved in the kidnapping.
Two deputies from the US Marshals service had arrived, with a directive from their superiors to determine why their agency had been drawn into a manhunt for a fugitive, only to have said fugitive yanked from their custody after he was apprehended. Hughes pointed out that arresting a beaten and exhausted man who had just gotten off a Coast guard helicopter after surviving two days afloat in a small emergency raft was not exactly the same as a capture after a cinema-worthy pursuit with car chases and explosions. Then he wearily invited them to stay for the debriefing.
Jones had called his prosecutor friend, Carolyn Hanish, and she arrived with two people from her staff. They still hadn't gotten permission to release the grand jury testimony transcript, but they were hoping for additional ammunition to use in the case against Donnelly.
Neal completed three sketches while they waited. After getting copies made for use in the meeting, Peter sent Blake and Westley down to personally shepherd the process of running the drawings through the facial recognition program. They'd pay particular attention to the NYPD database of current and former members.
When they finally gathered, the conference room was full. Marshals Tim Kolb and Kevin Tebore sat together near one end of the table. Next to them were the prosecutors – Carolyn Hanish, Walt Sherman, and Nikki Haller. Across the table, Dave Shattuck was flanked by his detectives, Linda Peralski and Clive Jordan. Norman Boone, the OPR representative, was next to them. Jeff Novacek, from the Bureau's legal department, set up equipment in the front of the room to record the proceedings. The FBI's contingent was rounded out by Hughes, Peter, Jones, and Diana.
And Neal.
If Neal was shaken by being the focus of such a large group, he didn't show it – much. Peter figured only those who knew the younger man the best would have even noticed the briefest hesitation in his step when he came through the door, or the tapping of his fingers against his leg.
They started with introductions, followed by arguments. The marshals only wanted to know why their time had been wasted chasing a fugitive if the FBI was now saying the fugitive… wasn't a fugitive. OPR wanted the entire room cleared of all non-senior FBI personnel. The police wanted everyone to stop lumping the entire department into the group that was being blamed for everything. The legal department wanted everyone to speak clearly into a microphone – and one at a time, please. The prosecution team wanted to move the entire statement-taking process to the courthouse where they had colleagues trying to reconvene the standing grand jury.
And to Peter it didn't take much reading between the lines to know that Hanish and her team wanted Neal's sworn testimony on record… before something else could happen to him.
Hughes finally slammed a hardback copy of the warrant law manual down on the table to get everyone's attention. And then he laid out the guidelines – everyone sit down, shut up, and don't speak out of turn, or else be asked (politely, of course) to leave the room.
Peter started by giving an overview of the last few days. It had started simply enough, with a search for a missing consultant.
And, well, he may have glossed over that his own initial assumption was that Neal had somehow cut and run…
Jones presented an overview of the documents found on the micro-SD card recovered from Neal's phone. It had been their first real clue as to what might actually have been behind the disappearance of two people. Agents had poured through all of the pages, compiling a list of names and deeds alleged by Koontz.
They had managed to track some of the financial transactions from Koontz's files, and Diana presented that. She also had a list of the bank warrants that they were waiting on approval for.
Then it was Neal's turn.
Since they were also using this as an opportunity to get his official statement, Hughes took the lead, walking Neal through various questions. They covered everything, from the first time Neal had seen the files, to his and Sara's attempt to evade their pursuers, to the interrogation on the yacht, and finally their escape, survival at sea, and eventual rescue.
"So, at any point, were you trying to escape your custody arrangement with the FBI?" Hughes asked as they were nearing the end.
Neal shook his head. "No, sir. When I left the office, I planned to go to lunch, and be back here for a briefing on a case at one o'clock. Once Sara showed me those files, the plan changed to both of us coming here. But men with Tasers, drugs, guns, and a boat kind of changed that."
"And your testimony is that these men met up with someone named Ryan who had a key to your tracking anklet?"
"Yes, sir."
Hughes turned to the marshals. "Well, I think we've taken care of the reasons why the fugitive warrant was rescinded. And may I suggest, gentlemen, that you do a little digging in your own ranks and find this Ryan fellow."
It was quite clear that the marshals were being dismissed. Exchanging a glance with each other, Kolb and Tebore stood up. "Next time, make sure before you open a warrant," Kolb said.
Tebore opened his briefcase and pulled out a new tracking anklet, setting it on the table along with two keys. "Someone needs to sign for this."
Peter got up and reached for the form the marshal held out, scribbled his signature, and handed it back.
Tebore took the form, and then pointed at the anklet. "Do you want us to…"
"No, we'll take it from here," Peter said.
The two marshals left, and while the door was open anyway, Blake took the opportunity to slip in and hand a file to Hughes.
The senior agent took a moment to look at the contents, and then he removed the thumb drive clipped on top and handed it to Jones. "Put this on screen."
Jones went right to work, and a few seconds later he had three photos displayed on the video screen. Everyone in the room had leaned forward to look – and now they looked from the screen to the whiteboard where Neal's sketches had been posted.
It didn't take an expert opinion to recognize that the photos and the sketches were of the same men.
Neal was the only one not switching his attention back and forth between the screen and the drawings. "Definitely," he said nodding. "The one on the right is the guy who said his name was Gavin."
"Gavin Harper," Hughes said, reading from the file. "Current assignment, One Police Plaza."
Shattuck shook his head slowly. "And the other two?"
"Also police. One active, one retired." Hughes nodded to Jones, and the agent brought up the next file on the screen.
The group read silently – except for a couple of muted curses from the police representatives, who were looking at damning evidence against some of their own.
Carolyn Hanish conferred quickly with her team and then stood up. "We need to get a photo lineup to Sara Ellis," she said. "No offense, Mr. Caffrey, but…"
"I know. As a witness, I'd be easy to attack." He gave a small shrug. "There's a reason I don't testify in the cases I work on."
"Your testimony will still be helpful," Hanish replied. "But it will definitely be stronger with backup."
"I can put together a photo spread, take it out there," Jones offered.
"I'd like one of my people to be there," Carolyn said. "And I'd like a copy of today's recording."
"Done." Hughes turned to Novacek. "I think we're done. Certify the recording, make a copy, and get it back to me."
Peter was studying the sketches. "Neal, how many more can you identify?"
"One more from the boat," Neal replied. "And I got a pretty good look at a couple of the others who grabbed us."
"All right, figure a couple of hours to get the sketches, and run facial recognition," Peter started.
"Why not just have Neal go through the department photos?" the female detective, Peralski, suggested.
"The documents suggest that Donnelly's got people from outside the NYPD too," Diana pointed out.
"And Neal's sketches can be run against multiple databases at the same time," Peter added.
"All right, Neal sketches, and we'll run them for matches," Hughes said. "Then we'll put together an array for Jones to take to Ms. Ellis."
"I'll give you a call when I have everything," Jones told Carolyn. "You can send someone."
Hanish nodded. "That'll be fine." She snapped her briefcase closed and started for the door. "I just want something that these guys can't slip out of."
Novacek followed the prosecution team out, leaving the FBI and police contingents in the room.
Hughes eyed the OPR agent, who was still sitting at the table. "Anything else that OPR needs?"
Boone shrugged. "We'd like a chance to interview Caffrey ourselves."
Peter shook his head right away. "No. That's not going to happen."
"Caffrey's given his statement," Hughes said. "And he has work to do here."
Boone's smile was anything but friendly as he finally stood up. "Well, if we don't get to talk to him before, we'll just have to add our questions to the hearing on Tuesday."
"I'm sure it'll be loads of fun," Neal muttered.
Boone's smile was gone as he leaned over the table next to Neal. "No, it won't. Bring a good lawyer."
It looked like the OPR agent was going to say something else – until Peter grabbed his arm, propelling him toward the door. "I'm sure you were just on your way out."
"We can investigate you too, Burke," Boone called out as he left.
"Bring it on," Peter threw back as he slammed the door.
"Bet that felt good," Diana said.
"You have no idea," Peter admitted.
Neal just shook his head. "Not a good move."
That got a raised eyebrow and a small smile from Peter. "Oh, now you're going to lecture me on acting without thinking things through?"
"They're coming after me, Peter. There's no sense making yourself a target too." Neal sighed, staring down at his hands on the table. "Look, do you need anything else from me, or should I go and start sketching?"
Peter pulled out a chair and sat down again. "Before, you said you had an idea on how to take down Donnelly. What was it?"
"It's no good. This isn't even an FBI case. Just let the DA's office handle it," Neal replied.
Shattuck pulled his chair a little closer. "Whoever does it, we need to stop Donnelly. If you've got an idea, I'd like to hear it."
Neal finally nodded. "All right. They got my ID, so they know who I am and where I live. It makes sense they'll come looking for me. I'd say take the offensive, go to them first."
"Set up a meeting with Donnelly," Peter said.
"Exactly," Neal replied. "I go to him, tell him I don't know anything about the original documents he's looking for. But I do have skills that he might find interesting, and useful."
"If they got your FBI credentials, they'll probably figure it's a trap," Diana pointed out.
"They did get the FBI ID," Neal confirmed. "But if they check me out, they'll find out about next Tuesday's hearing. With the specter of prison hanging over my head, I'm looking for a way to disappear off the FBI's radar. Donnelly obviously has someone who can get the anklet off. So, he can help me, and I can help them. And if I can get him agreeing on tape…"
"We can take the shadow force down," Jones finished.
Hughes was nodding slowly. "That actually might work."
"Assuming Donnelly's men don't just shoot you first before giving you a chance to talk," Peter added.
"That's always a chance," Neal admitted. "But what else do you have? From what you've said, even if the grand jury indicts, it won't mean much on the current evidence with Koontz dead, right?"
Jones sighed and nodded. "That's pretty much what Carolyn said."
"But apparently Donnelly isn't sure if Koontz had handed over all of the documents," Neal continued. "That's what they were after with Sara and me. We can use that."
"By making yourself a target." Shattuck looked at the records still displayed. "These guys have already proven they don't fool around."
Neal's reply was quiet but firm. "And I'm a target either way. There just might be a way to use that. This isn't an FBI case though. It would have to be through the local DA's office."
The two detectives had been conferring quietly, and now Peralski spoke up. "You really have a new prison sentence in the balance?"
Neal shrugged. "There's definitely a hearing on Tuesday. And going back to prison has always been held over my head since I started doing this. It's certainly a possibility."
Jordan followed up. "So how do we know…"
"That I won't try to make the deal for real?" Neal finished. "First, these guys have already tried to kill me. That doesn't put them high on my trustworthy scale. And second, I'm here. When we were rescued, I did all of the communication with the one crewman who spoke French – not a language Sara understands outside of a few tourist phrases. And I was the only one who went into the radio room to contact the Coast Guard. I could have given them any names, made up some other story. It wouldn't have been hard."
"Well, if we do this, I can supply some back-up," Shattuck offered. "People I know can be trusted."
Hughes sighed and stood up. "We'll keep that in mind. I think we have a lot to consider before trying to set up an operation like this. Neal, you get those sketches done so we can try and match a few more names and faces. Work with Jones to get them run through the system. Berrigan, talk to the tech folks. See what kind of secure communications we can set up so we can talk to Ms. Ellis. And Peter? My office. We've got a lot to discuss."