AN: this is a side chapter in Neal's POV.

I can't remember if it really happened or if it was just a dream. They say in dreams, you can't feel pain but I could tell I was in pain. A lot of it. There was a blow to the side of my face, swift and painful, then the next thing I knew, it was dark again. There was a man's voice, distant but I could still make it out "Look what you made me do, Neal. Now I've got to clean this mess up." I feel like I'm moving some place warm. Maybe this was all part of the dream.

I woke up to the sound of the door cracking open. Instinctively I run my hand through my hair keeping it from my eyes as I tried to see which company had arrived. Matthew Keller with his blue collared shirt and tie, was here again. Quite fitting, I thought. He was surely the kind of criminal who would go as far as kidnapping a CI to the FBI Agent head of the White Collar crime division.

"You hungry?" Keller asks, and to be honest, I'm a bit surprised he was even asking. In truth I was famished even though I had been asleep, or unconscious for the most part he held me captive. With this realization I find myself giving him a slight nod.

Somehow he managed to catch that, or it was probably a given and placed a takeout box on the table. "Here you go Caffrey, eat up. We've got a lot of ground to cover."

It was then I noticed I was no longer chained to the wall, my wrists and ankles had been freed. My next discovery was uncharacteristic of a prisoner, my clothes had been changed, and my injures bandaged. What was Keller getting at? It occurred to me that the whole hostage situation had all been a set-up.

With this opportunity, I could very well plan an escape. Quickly I scan my surroundings, once again trying to formulate an escape route. This new 'prison' couldn't be farther from the meaning of the word. How the hell did he get me here in the first place?

I swing my legs to the side of the bed and made a beeline toward the food I was offered. An empty stomach wouldn't have done me any good on this escape, at least I could very well grab a bite. For one thing, the clue I sent them on my location was now useless. Keller had moved me to this place, but how? More importantly, how was I going to get out of here.

"It's pointless you know. Trying to escape." Keller was watching me eat the takeout French food he had ordered. I glance back at my food, taking as much time as possible. "Believe it or not, I'm giving you a choice here. You can enjoy your new freedom - with your share of the treasure, or you can go back to prison as an accomplice to stealing the u-boat treasure along with Agent Peter Burke."

It took all my self control not to lunge at Keller and beat the bloody hell out of him so I could let him finish with his offer. "What did you have in mind?" I manage to ask sounding approving of his offer and summoning every ounce of the conman in me just to make the words sound believable.

"That's my boy. I knew you'd make the right choice." He gave me a pat on the shoulder. I tried my best not to cringe. We both knew the FBI wouldn't bat an eyelash for the kidnapping of an ex-con, but of course Peter would take the matter into his own hands.

I was right, the whole bloody captive scene was a set-up. Keller roughed me up for appearances sake to spite Peter. There wasn't going to be a trade to begin with as far as I was concerned. A portion of the treasure had already been appropriated to be 'rightfully returned' to the Russians. Effectively putting Keller in the Russian Mob's good graces. This included pieces from the partial u-boat manifest, which I was supposed to provide and a few trinkets that would be difficult to fence.

But of course there was no way of telling how much of the treasure there really was since no one knew the exact pieces found on the u-boat, except for myself, Mozzie, Keller, Peter, who for the sake of his career, among others would never tell.

He lets me finish the meal in silence but my mind continue to race thinking about my escape.

"This feels good don't it? Just like old times, me and you pulling up big heists. Living the good life. We had it great Neal, I don't understand how the hell you thought to help out that fed for this long." I let my gaze follow Keller as he paces the room.

There was something else in his tone as he scoffs "You were unparalleled Neal, probably the best in our profession." Now it was my turn to laugh at he word. "until you got caught because of Kate." Of course, I thought. This had to be about her, this guy had been all about unsettled rivalries, this opportunity to get back at me would've been irresistible for a guy like him.

"Is this the part where you tell me, if it had been you and her then you would've lived happily ever after. Well, guess what, she's gone Keller and theres nothing you and can ever do about it." my voice rising in anger.

I expected Keller to challenge me, to say that in fact, if Kate chose him, then she would probably still be alive right now. but instead I see him soften his gaze. He looks at me with pity in his eyes. "No." came his flat reply "that wasn't what I was going to say. If you hadn't chased after her in the first place, then you wouldn't have been caught by that fed. Wouldn't have spent the good years of your life in prison, and most of all you wouldn't have been that fed's dog! This is me, cutting you from that short leash of yours. I'm giving you a chance at the life that was meant to me yours."

"What if this is not the life I want." I said not bothering to look at him.

"What happened to you Neal?" Could it be, there was hurt in his voice. "Tomorrow Agent Burke is going to find the location of the treasure which will be returned to the Russians. He'll come back a hero and I'll have the mob off my back."

"Then if he tries to find me?" I ask.

"If he's smart he won't try to get you back. Then we could live the way we're supposed to, just you, me, and the treasure."