Okay... reviews have been a little small for the last chapter... sorry if I bored you guys, but some details have to be put into a story, it can't always be action, right? Anyway, I truly hope I did not bore you away. So... here we go with Chapter 4. Now that we all survived the end of the world and it's one day before Christmas...
ENJOY! And please... do review? I really want to know what ya'll think! :)

Chapter 04: Revealing the Truth

Neal stood on his patio, a glass of wine in his hand and looked over the busy nightlife of New York. He enjoyed the view and the time he had for himself. He was actually glad to only hear soft sounds of traffic reaching his ears after his day at the office. It had been exhausting to always be on the phone with someone and only having a few minutes of 'silence' when he would step out onto the balcony with his cup of coffee. The view from the balcony was nice, but Neal was always glad to be home at June's house and enjoy the view he had there. Tonight, he was all by himself. Mozzie seemed to be busy, not that he minded, though. From time to time he liked a bit of quietness around him. He took a small sip of his wine and let his thoughts return to his day at the office. He had a strange feeling about the ending of his day. It seemed strange that they should have a silly ritual like letting their new employees clean the office for them. What sense did that make? Otherwise if someone had seen him snooping around Barry's office and had told him about it and they suspected him to be a spy, that might have been a test of sorts, or maybe their way of saying there was nothing to be found in the office. Neal sighed a little as he thought about that and he began to wonder if Maloney really was as ruthless as they said he was, if he really killed people who crossed him or tried to. The sound of his phone ringing on the dining table inside his apartment pulled him out of his thoughts. He took a deep breath of the cool night air and walked back inside. It was then that he realized just how cold he actually was. He closed the patio doors behind him and picked up the phone. Looking at the ID he frowned a little. The caller was unknown with a suppressed number.

"Hello?" he asked when he answered his phone.

"Nick?" he heard Allan's voice on the other end. "It's Allan."

"Hey. What's up?"

"A little change of plans for you tomorrow. I want you to meet me outside the office at noon. You're off work tomorrow morning."

"Okay... something going on?" Neal asked, frowning a little. He wasn't sure how he should take this change of plan.

"Nothing for you to worry about, Nick. I just want to take you for a little ride and show you something."

That was never a good sign. Neal was on alert as he listened to Allan, unsure how to react. He had a frown tugged to his face, thinking about a smart reply. "Wow. To what do I owe that honor?"

"Well, Nick... you're a respected man in certain circles... it's time I got to know you a little better, don't you think?"

"Depends." Neal replied carefully.

"Depends on what?"

"Depends on your meaning of getting to know me. That phrase has different meanings to me."

"I can assure that you don't need to worry about anything. Just a friendly meeting to chat and see if you're man enough for a more... delicate job." Allan explained, trying to wrap the suspicious man's mind around the idea that everything was okay and this was just a social call. "You won't end up on the bottom of the Hudson, if you were thinking that."

"No..." Neal replied with a small chuckle, acting as innocent as he could. "Of course not. Why would I think that?"

"Who knows. So, tomorrow at noon. Don't be late. I hate it when people are late."

"I won't be."

"Good." Allan said satisfied and hung up.

Neal stared at his phone for several minutes, his mind playing back each second of this conversation. Usually when a criminal took another criminal for a ride to 'show him something' it meant that they were onto you, or had something else in mind for you. It usually wasn't a social call. And it wasn't friendly at all. Neal was suspicious, but in order to keep his cover up he had to go along with it, but he was smart. He had to play it smart in order to get what he needed. The first thing that came to his mind however, was that he had to call Peter. He had to let him know about the change of plans as from what Mozzie told him, he figured it may get dangerous for himself and he didn't want to go inside a situation like this without having a backup plan. Plus Peter didn't like when Neal didn't keep him informed. If it was out of honest concern or simply out of the fact that he was responsible for whatever happened to Neal, he didn't know. Sometimes he figured it was a bit of both. Still thinking about what Little said now and what he said when they first met, Neal dialed Peter's cell phone number. He picked up after the third ring.

"Neal? What's up?" he asked a slight hint of concern in the agent's voice.

"Change of plans. Little just called. I'm not going to the office to work tomorrow morning. I'm meeting him outside at noon instead." Neal said, a serious tone to his usually warm and calm voice.

"You sound worried..."

"I'm not quite sure what to think about this, Peter..." Neal said, remembering the first conversation he had with Little. "He said it was 'time to get to know me' but when we first met he said the less others know about you the better... I think he's up to something."

"It sounds like he may suspect something." Peter agreed to Neal. Then it went silent between them for a few seconds. "Since you're meeting him at noon, we'll meet at the bureau in the morning and set you up properly. We need a plan for this one. I'll pick you up on my way to the bureau."

"I couldn't agree more. I'll see you in the morning then." Neal said. He felt a little better now after sharing his thoughts about this strange idea of Allan's. "Say hi to Elizabeth."

"Okay, I will. Get some sleep, Neal."

"Now you sound worried."

A small chuckle was heard on the other side. Peter had sounded almost fatherly concerned, something that Neal had seen and heard on him before, but only once or twice. And maybe he even liked it, since he had no father around all his life. Maybe that was why Peter was the only one he trusted, truly trusted. "Maybe I am. See you tomorrow, Neal."

"See ya."

Neal smirked a little as he put his phone back onto his dining table and looked at the almost emptied glass of wine. He sighed a bit, before he picked it up and drank the last few sips of it, then put the glass into the sink and went to take a shower. He was going to call it a night. He may need all the rest he could get and the day at the company's office had worn him out. He wasn't used to that kind of work, but he wasn't going to complain either. He was just going to deal with the consequences, which in this case, was going to bed earlier than usual.

xXxXxXxXx

Because Neal had gone to bed earlier than usual and fell asleep almost immediately as his head hit the pillow, he was up early the next morning. He felt well rested, which was a nice feeling. He was already fully dressed, sitting at his dining table, letting the cold morning air into his apartment through the patio doors and sipping his usual morning coffee, while he was reading the newspaper. He set the paper down on his dining table and grabbed his phone, which lay right next to his cup of coffee and took a glance at the clock. 7:44 AM, Peter should be here any minute now to pick him up, like he said last night on the phone. Neal took his mug with his right hand and slowly finished off his coffee, his thoughts drifting off to the phone call from Allan Little aka Barry Maloney last night. He began to wonder once again, what this was all about. He knew for sure that he had to stay alert at all times as soon as he met with him later today. Then again, he always was alert when he met with someone, he needed to be and he had learned to be for a very long time. Being a con-artist and working with other cons made you stay on alert at all times if you didn't want to end up double crossed.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Peter. Who else could it possibly be, right? Neal drank the last sip of his Italian Roast coffee and then stuffed his phone into his pocket. "Comin." he called out as he put his suit jacket on and then took his hat and put it on, too. He took a quick glance at himself in the mirror and smiled slightly before he went to the door and opened it, greeting Agent Peter Burke with his usual cheerful smile. "Morning."

"Well, you look happy." Peter said in reply, but even he had a small smile on his face once he's seen Neal was as cheerful as usual.

"It only seems like it."

"Oh really?" Peter arched his brows in question.

"Yeah, don't you see it?"

"I see a sunny smile."

"Someone's gotta bring the sun into the gray city." Neal countered seriously, but he hid a grin on his face.

Peter rolled his eyes at the young man and then playfully shook his head. Sometimes Neal seemed more like a little boy than an adult, but he couldn't deny that he actually liked that about him. Well, at least sometimes, although he'd never admit that to anyone, especially not to Neal. He'd never stop if he did. "C'mon, let's get going, Mr. Sunny-Smile."

And with that both men left Neal's apartment and June's house to leave for the FBI office, where they would meet with the rest of the team and discuss how they were going to handle the change of plans Neal told Peter about yesterday. Of course both Peter and Neal already knew how it was going to be handled without even talking about it, but they still had to inform the team about it, since they didn't know all about the call, yet, just that they didn't have to be at the stakeout this morning. But they learned about it the moment they walked into the office and Peter called his team to the conference room.

"So... we follow them with the van? In a save distance of course." Jones suggested once they heard what exactly the change of plans was.

"That's the plan." Peter replied with a nod to Jones. "However we need to figure out a codeword."

"How about rainy day?" Neal suggested. "That's easy to get into a sentence if there's a situation I need you guy in."

Peter, Diana and Jones thought about his suggestion and figured that was okay, since none of them had a better idea at that point and rainy day always seemed to work. "Alright, rainy day. But don't push it too far. The first sign of danger for you and you say it."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. Just make sure you hear me this time." Neal countered, remembering the undercover job he had as "Mr. Black" where he was send out to kill Sara Ellis. He didn't need to repeat that experience anytime soon. Neal didn't mean for it to sound like he was still mad about that, but the look Peter gave him, made Neal look up at him, his hands held up in defense, while he pulled his shoulders up a little. "I'm just saying."

"Yeah... So, we'll have to keep our distance with the van. It's easy to spot, we'll probably be a block behind you." Peter went on with the planning, ignoring Neal's comment. "Any idea where you're going?"

"Nope. He said he'd take me for a ride to show me something. That was all. But if he's planning on getting rid of me... he could take me anywhere secluded around the city."

"We'll stick close. You've got nothing to worry about." Peter said, looking into Neal's eyes as the younger man looked up at him. His bright blue eyes looked content, there was no sign of worry in them in that moment, but there was trust in those blue orbs.

"I know." he said confidently as always.

xXxXxXxXx

Ten minutes before noon Neal stood in front of the office building where he was supposed to meet the allegedly Mr. Allan Little for the ride he wanted to take Nick Halden on. Not really knowing what to expect, Neal was a slight bit uncomfortable, but being the con-artist and expert he was, he knew exactly how to hide it: behind his usual sunny façade. He would simply act like he had not the slightest doubt about the friendliness of Mr. Little, act like he didn't know anything might be wrong. Just like someone not knowing who Allan Little really was. He figured that was the best way to deal with it for now, for as long as he didn't know what Little may know about him.
Neal and Peter had checked the watch before Neal had walked up the block to the office building, making sure it worked perfectly fine. He looked down the street and spotted the van parked at the corner at the end of the block. Ten minutes... Neal never realized how long ten minutes could be when you were waiting for something or someone. But the time would pass eventually and until then, he acted as calm as he could be, watching people passing by. Five minutes later, which felt like ten, he saw Allan Little exiting the building and walking up to him, after he saw Neal standing a few feet away from the entrance. The tall older man looked very serious and his green eyes were even more penetrating that he remembered them to be. But that look was all it took for Neal to be even more on alert. It was a look that indicated that wasn't going to be a friendly trip at all, even though Little had made it sound like that the other night.

"Nick." he said sharply, maybe a little too sharp, because the tone of his voice literally gave Neal the creeps.

"Allan." Neal replied, trying to give his voice a slightly cheerful note, just to see how that would work.

"Always gleeful, huh. C'mon, walk with me." Little replied still seriously, the look on his face not changing a bit, but his tone wasn't as chilly and bossy anymore, but still bossy enough.

Neal quickly followed Allan Little around the building to the parking space where Little led him to black Range Rover TDV6, which had toned windows in the back. Little unlocked the car, walking up to the driver's sear. He told Neal to get in before he got into the car himself. Most of the interior was in a beige color, the steering wheel was covered with black leather, whereas the car had beige-colored leather seats and mahogany colored decorations on the dash panel. Neal let out a small whistle as he sat on the leather seat on the passenger's side of the car and closed the door. He had no idea that his soft whistle created something like a smile on Little's face. Neal didn't even know how much Little loved cars, especially big ones. This made his plans for Neal a little harder to pursue.

"It's a beauty, huh?" Little commented in a tone that Neal hadn't heard on him before. It was almost loving.

"Oh yeah. A bit too luxury for my taste, but definitely impressive."

"Well, some only see a car as a way of transportation." Little explained as he maneuvered the car into the traffic. "But for me it has to me more than that. Sometimes I spend many hours driving around from state to state, then this luxury comes in quite handy."

Neal nodded a little in reply. He realized that cars was a topic to get Allan Little talking. It seemed to be some kind of hobby for the man next to him, not that Neal would've ever guessed that, but he tried using it for his advantage, to keep him talking. It would definitely make the ride more comfortable and less awkward. Not that he was an expert on cars though, he was only an expert on art, but he may know his fair share about anything. While pondering his reply, Neal was surprised that the FBI hadn't figured this out already. They had a lot on Maloney, but nothing that indicated a love for cars. But maybe that was the cover for Allan Little and not the real Barry Maloney talking? Neal shrugged a little, in that moment, he didn't really care.

"So you love cars?" he asked, sounding interested.

"You can say that." was the short reply. The tone in the older man's voice had really changed, but yet Neal was aware of the fact that this could change again within a second. "Although I may not call it love. It's more of a... hobby if you will."

"Kinda like the cliché... women have shoes and clothes and men have their cars."

"And sports." Little countered, even letting a small chuckle escape his lips. "What's your hobby Nick?"

"Art." Neal replied without even thinking about it.

"Art? That's interesting." Little replied, glancing at the younger man next to him, his green eyes now once again boring themselves into Neal. He didn't look at Allan, but he could feel it. "There was that... art-thief I've read about a while ago... what was his name? Neal Caffrey?"

Neal swallowed hard when he heard his own name being mentioned. He could feel Allan's eyes on him once again and he had to keep his poker face. Who knew what Little had planned with that anyway. "I've heard of him." Neal replied, trying to sound as casually as possible.

"You look a lot a like him, if I may say that."

"Heard that before... he's an admirable man. Very talented it seems and quite the art-lover himself, from what I've heard and read." Honestly, Neal felt a little strange talking like that about himself. He never really had to do it that way before and he had to admit it felt a little weird.

Little pulled the car into a quiet street and stopped in front of a house that seemed to be abandoned for quite some time. He shut down the engine and mentioned for Neal to get out of the car, before he got out himself. After Neal was out of the car and closed the door, he locked it and walked up to the house. Neal frowned a little, glancing at the old building, wondering what they were doing here. This house looked like it could use a little renovation and lots of restoration, too. He glanced at Little, slightly raising his brows.

"Ever lived in an old house like this?" Little asked him, stopping to look at the old building, while Neal shook his head.

"Nope."

"Could be yours. With the money you brought us yesterday... keep it up for a week and you could buy this."

"That's why we came here?"

"Sure. We'll take a look a inside. After all, I might just buy it for you... as a little welcome gift, if you will." Little said, but his voice now had a cold note to it. "C'mon. Go ahead."

Neal looked at the man before, whose green eyes looked anything but friendly. His blue eyes held uncertainty as to whether or not it was a good idea to actually go into that building and in front of Little. But he knew that Peter, Jones and Diana were nearby and they heard everything that was said. Not that he liked being lured into a trap, obviously, but knowing Peter was there to move in as soon as Neal told him to, made it at least a little easier. He wouldn't have to endure danger for too long. If danger lay ahead. Since Little's green eyes always had that evil glare to them, it was hard to interpret when that glare meant trouble or when it was just his usual look at others. Neal wondered if he looked like that at his wife, too.
Taking a deep breath and shaking those useless thoughts away for now, Neal turned his back on Little, yet his ears listening for any sound that indicated danger from behind, as he walked up to the house, finding the door unlocked. It surprised Neal, made him even more suspicious, but Little had probably been to this house before. When Neal stepped into the old building the smell of dust and moisture hit his nose. Only little light shone through the dirty old windows, but it was enough to see the dust wafting through the air. Looking down onto the wooden floor, he could spot footsteps in the thick layer of dust. Although this house seemed to be abandoned for a long time, someone definitely had been there before and from what the imprints in the dust looked like it wasn't that long ago.
The main door, through which they entered the house, led into a rather expanded entrance hall. To Neal's left was a door that was left ajar. Neal could glance through the slit and noticed that there was a small bathroom behind that door. To his right was another door, that was fully opened and led to the kitchen. Right next to the kitchen door were the stairs that led to the basement and those that let upstairs. Ahead of him was an arch that gave view into the main living area of the old house. Neal glanced up, seeing the beautiful french stucco ceiling. It was indeed a beautiful home, Little got that one right.

"Downstairs." Little's cold and serious voice pulled Neal out of his thoughts, causing a cold shiver to run down the younger man's spine as he took a step towards the stairs. Neal didn't need to turn around and look at Little to know that he had some sort of weapon pointed at him, just in case Neal decided not to comply. The tone in Little's voice was enough to ensure him of that and to give him the final hint he needed to know that this was going to be dangerous. He could have said the word for Peter to move in, but he wanted to see where this was going first. Right now, they basically had nothing on Little. Maybe he could get some information out of him before he'd call in Peter and the team. Little did Neal know then, that his plan was going to go awry pretty fast.
Neal slowly walked down the stairs into the dark space of the basement. Little turned on a flashlight, so they could see where they were going. He told Neal to walk straight ahead to the end of the corridor and into the room that was right in front of them, at the end of the dark basement hallway. Neal felt his heart rate slightly increasing when he reached for the handle to open the door to the last basement room, like he was told to. The old wooden door creaked when Neal pushed the door open. He took a deep breath, not sure what to expect behind the door, but to his surprise the room was empty. He heard Little's footsteps behind him and entered the room, his heart racing slightly.

"You stay right there where you are." Little told him harshly. The older man closed the door behind them, leaving only a small slit open. He walked across the room, standing in front of the two small basement windows, now being only a silhouette to Neal. He could barely see his face, but he did see that Allan Little indeed held a gun pointed at Neal now. Neal looked around the room, spotting a second door right next to Little. It probably led right out of the house and into the city, maybe the backyard and suddenly Neal got a very bad feeling about this. He hated guns being pointed at him. He hated guns in general.

"Why are we down here?" he asked carefully, still acting like the innocent Nick Halden, not having any idea about anything. "And what's with the gun?"

"Quit this crap, already. You know exactly why we're here." Little replied, his voice now angry and colder than Neal had ever heard it before. "You were in my office yesterday when everybody else was out for lunch. What were you doing in there?"

"Damn it..." Neal thought. He was busted, but how? Then he remembered the noise he heard before he left Little's office. "So there really was someone... this is not good... not good at all. Maybe I still can play stupid... see what he knows."

"I was what?" Neal asked, slightly raising his brows in disbelief.

Little cocked the gun, unlocking it with his thumb. Although Neal couldn't see it, he could feel those angry green eyes upon him, staring wholes into his body if they were able to. It felt like daggers being thrown at him and he knew his playing dumb card wasn't going to work.

Outside in the Van Peter sighed heavily, his face was serious, his brown eyes filled with concern for his younger CI. He had known this situation could get dangerous, but he had always hoped it wouldn't come to that. If he had a choice, Neal wouldn't even be in there with Barry Maloney aka Allan Little. He'd be out here in the van and it would be Peter undercover in that basement. The signal wasn't very strong and there was a constant swoosh audible, but they could still hear Neal loud and clear and Little, too. But as Peter listened to the last words being said, his features were filled with worry. He knew Neal's cover was blown. Little was on to him and that was reason enough to worry.

"He's on to him... get ready to move." Peter said as he listened to what the transmitter was recording for them. Jones and Diana got ready to move, as did Peter. They all were waiting for Neal to say the codeword.

"I said cut the crap!" Little's angry voice bellowed. "Abby saw you in my office. She came back to get something and she saw you searching my office! So again, what were you doing there?"

"Nothing, seriously. I was just admiring the view." Neal tried again. Maybe he could buy himself some time.

"Liar! I know you cracked my password and checked my computer. You tried Liz's computer, too. I got you on tape!" Little hissed angrily, his eyes were tiny slits, but Neal couldn't see that.

What?! On tape? He didn't see any cameras! Neal knew he had no way out. He had to say the word and get Peter down here now. Trying to buy himself some time obviously didn't work with Barry Maloney. But how could he say the word without making Maloney even more suspicious?

"You know what I think? You were spying for someone. And you know what I do to spies?" Little asked, but it wasn't a question. "I eliminate them... it's shame, really. You brought me a lot of money on your first and only day... but sadly, today will be the last day on earth for you."

There is was! The perfect moment to alarm Peter, who, unknown to Neal, was already on his way out of the van when he heard his next line. "Too bad it's not rainy day."

"What?" Little asked, now sounding slightly confused, his brows raised, which, again, Neal couldn't see.

"I said, too bad it's not a rainy day."

"I head what you said. Why would you say that to someone who's planning to kill you?"

"Well, because no matter what I say, you're going to pull that trigger." Neal replied, sounding surprisingly calm for someone threatened to be killed. "If it was rainy day then at least something would fit the mood."

Little was about to say something when a faint noise was heard from upstairs. He froze on the spot and listened. Neal had heard it too and knew Peter was there. It was going to be over any minute. But then fate took another turn.
Neal could hear the steps on the old stairs as the FBI team slowly moved down the stairs and he knew it were only a few feet to the room he was in with Little. Looking at the silhouette of the man with the gun, he saw that he had the gun pointed at the wall between Neal and the door. Neal didn't need to think twice to know that as soon as the door would open, he'd pull the trigger and shoot whoever was going to come through. He had to do something, but what? The gun pointed at the door, or at him, left him with no choice but stay put and quiet. Neal stood near the wall close to the door that led into the hallway of the basement. Barry Maloney stood opposite him, facing the door, ready to shoot whoever was going to enter this room, no questions asked. Neal had to do something, he had to protect the life of whoever Peter would let enter this room first. Maybe it was Peter himself. He had to protect him. But how? If he made a sound to warn him, he'd get shot. If he tried attacking the older man with the gun, he'd get shot, too. If he tried leaving the room... same thing. So whatever he did, he'd end up with a bullet somewhere in his body, probably his head. So he stayed quiet, not that he liked it. They have had such a lovely conversation before and he loved a good conversation.
The door slowly opened, but because the room was only lit by a bit of sunlight shining through the small dirty window of the basement room, whoever entered the room, wouldn't be able to see the person pointing a gun at the door. In fact, even he was barely able to make out a silhouette of the gunman. But he could see the door slowly opening and he could almost hear Maloney slowly pulling the trigger. A ray of light from the now lit hallway shone into the room and now he could see it. He was pulling the trigger.
He jumped, from his site of the wall, across the door at the same time the bullet left it's chamber, slamming the door shut and then crashing down onto the cold, hard concrete. Before the door was slammed open again, the gunman disappeared through the second door, leading to the outer stairwell that led him right to freedom. He was gone. For now. A bunch of FBI Agents stormed into the room, quickly scanning it, before pursuing through the now open door that lead outside, only one stayed behind.

"Neal!"

It was a long chapter, I know... anyway, I hope you liked it and thanks so much for reading! Please take a minute or two to leave a review for this chapter and let me know what you think! :)

I'll be back with a new chapter next week, if I manage to finish it until then. For now, I wish all my readers a MERRY CHRISTMAS! :) I hope you'll have a great time with your friends and family :)

blackrose538