Thank you guys for helping me with this story - your feedback is appreciated. :-)

Two people wanted to see Neal giving his statement, so it's not my fault that this story is being drug on. ;-) I've never done something like this so it might not be great.

Some others mentioned seeing Keller again and that's coming too. And Peter might just get his punch in. Or should Neal hit him? Or both? Lol.

"State your name for the record," agent Halstead said.

Neal didn't know the agent before today, but he seemed like a pretty decent guy. Judging by the ring on his left hand, he was married, and he had callouses on his hands as well. That showed Neal he was a hard worker - Peter had callouses on his hands too. - Neal would say he was about forty to forty-five, so Neal thought he probably had kids as he looked like the type. Neal bet he was a good husband and father, but he probably worked long hours and didn't see his family as much as he would like. But he probably made up for it on the weekends.

Neal knew he was just trying to distract himself from the situation, but he just couldn't help it. Peter was probably right - he wasn't ready to talk about it.

"Neal," Peter said, snapping Neal back to the present again. He'd been doing a lot of spacing out during the last couple of days.

Peter had insisted on sitting in with Neal during the interview, but he was only allowed to do so as long as he didn't try to change any facts or a bunch of other boring rules Neal wasn't really paying attention to when said. Neal appreciated the support - He felt safer and more comfortable with Peter in there. He'd seen most of what happened anyway, and that made it easier to talk about in front of him somehow.

They were in one of the glass-walled interrogation rooms. And there was a video camera pointed at him, it's red light on. But he tried to ignore that and the memories it produced as best as he could.

"Yep?" Neal said.

"Agent Halstead asked you a question," Peter said, not unkindly.

"Right," Neal said, then turned to Halstead. "What was it again?"

"Can you state your name for the record?" Halstead repeated. That was the first question. How long was this going to take?

"Neal George Caffrey," Neal said.

"Good. Can you please tell me how this all started?"

Neal told the agent about his alleged run-ins with Keller in the past and how they had a falling-out. He explained that Keller and him had a bit of a rivalry to be the better alleged conman.

"And why did Keller kidnap you?" Halstead asked.

Before the interview Peter pulled Neal aside and simply said, "the treasure was destroyed in the explosion. Keller's information about it being in your possession was false." It was a statement, not a question, or a test. It was Peter telling him in his own way what to say and what his own statement would collaborate with.

Neal was definitely surprised by that, but he just nodded, silently thanking Peter and agreeing at the same time.

Apparently after all that happened, having the truth about the treasure come out and Neal going to jail was less important. Neal didn't know what to think about the sudden charity, but he supposed Peter didn't have any real proof anyway.

"He believed I had stolen nazi plunder that was recovered a few months back, and he wanted me to give it to him." You couldn't make this stuff up.

"Did you have it?"

"No. It was destroyed in a explosion soon after its discovery." Neal made sure not to look at Peter while he said that.

"Why did he think you had it then?"

Neal shrugged. "Bad intel," he offered. This was the easy part - the hard part will be talking about the hours upon hours of torture. Maybe he'll get to skim over some of that.

"Now that we have some of the baseline, what happened during the undercover assignment you were working on when you were kidnapped?"

With the whole kidnapped and tortured mess, Neal had actually forgotten about Raquel and the amulet.

"Keller came in with a gun and scared off Raquel, then he made me come with him. There was a secret way out - that's why no one saw us leave. A van pulled up and Keller made me get in, then he tasered me and I passed out."

Neal could feel his hands starting to shake, and he was happy that there was a table in front of him to hide them under.

"Why did he kidnap you during an operation, and not when you were alone?"

"I think one would go mad if they tried to figure out the inner workings of that mans brain," Neal said, but it looked like the agent wanted more of an answer. "He might have wanted to taunt the FBI by proving that he could get passed them," he suggested.

Halstead seemed content with that answer. "What happened after he tasered you?"

Neal's mouth suddenly felt dry and he took a drink of the conveniently placed glass of water from the table. He tried to ignore the way the water rippled while he held it. He could do this. It was just talking about what happened, not reliving it.

"I woke up tied to a chair, and Keller walked in soon after that. He taunted me then called two men into the room who set up a video camera that Keller said was hooked up to the FBI somehow. He told the camera that if they didn't find and give him the treasure in two hours I would 'pay the price'." Echoing the words sent a chill down Neal's spine.

"Then what happened?" Halstead prompted. Neal must have been quiet too long.

"He came back in two hours later and told me that the FBI didn't give him the treasure."

Neal had to stop to focus on blocking out the look of glee in Keller's eyes when he threw the first punch.

"I guess I payed the price then." He really hoped the agent wouldn't make him go into detail on that.

"Can you elaborate on that?" So much for that.

Even though the walls were made of glass, Neal still felt a little trapped. "He beat me up." He really didn't know how to explain farther.

"Then what happened?"

"He came back two hours later and 'didn't hold back'," Neal said as emotionlessly as he could. "The process was repeated more times than I could keep count."

"What do you mean by him not holding back?"

"Do you really need me to tell you everything? You have it all on tape - just watch that." Neal knew that they needed his testimony to make sure Keller went down for what he did, but it was just so hard to relive it all.

"Neal," Peter said softly, calmly.

Neal nodded and tugged uselessly at the turtleneck he purposely wore today. It was way too hot in there, and he also felt like he wasn't getting enough air. He figured it was just the AC not working right.

"He, uh, he came back in with a knife and c-cut me." He paused to take a breath that didn't really help the suffocating feeling. "After that he left again and I was left alone for two more hours." The waiting wasn't nearly as bad as the torture, but it gave him plenty of time to think about what Keller would do to him next.

"What happened when he came back?" Neal doesn't know if he likes agent Halstead anymore. But Neal supposed that wasn't fair as he was just doing his job.

"He came back with a-" Neal closed his eyes and wiped a hand down his face. Until then he didn't realize he was sweating. The image of Keller holding the cattle prod was still so vivid in his mind.

Peter put a hand on Neal's shoulder probably to comfort him, but he was too deep in his memories that he didn't realize who it was, and he flinched away and nearly fell out of his chair.

"Neal, it's ok. It's just me," Peter said, but it sounded like he was underwater. The walls seemed like they were closing in and the air felt like it was becoming too thin to breathe. It felt like Snakes hands were around his throat again and that was terrifying.

He had to get out of the room before he suffocated. He tried to stand but staggered and would have fallen if strong arms weren't there to catch him - again.

"Neal. Neal, what's wrong?" Peter asked, his voice still strangely muffled.

"Out. Out, I need out," Neal gasped out. He could barely see Peter nod around the black spots that filled his vision. He was then gently pulled out of the small interrogation room and into the much bigger hallway.

Peter helped him to the floor and he leaned against the wall while he tried to get his breath back. It seemed like an impossible task until Peter sat down next to him and put a hesitant arm around his shoulders. Neal leaned into the touch and grabbed a fistful of Peter's shirt. The black spots that were invading his vision slowly disappeared and air seemed to finally get to his lungs.

When he could hear again, Neal was surprised to hear Peter repeating words over and over. "Just breathe, Neal. Just breathe. You're ok, you're safe." They were soft and comforting in a way only Peter can be, and Neal wondered how long he was saying that.

Neal really didn't want to, but he let go of Peter's shirt and pushed away to lean against the wall again.

"You alright now?" Peter asked.

Neal nodded even though he wasn't sure. He could breathe and see again, but he still could feel the unadulterated terror that had been in the back of his mind since the whole ordeal.

Neal finally gave into the childlike urge to touch Peter in some way again - to know he was there - and put a hopefully discreet hand on Peter's leg. If Peter noticed he didn't say. But of course he did - it was his leg after all.

"We'll go at your pace. Just tell me when you're ready and we'll get up then," Peter said quietly.

Neal and Peter sat there for some undetermined time until Neal finally decided that he was as ready as he was going to be.

"Ok, I'm ready," Neal said and both men stood up and went back into the less small looking interrogation room. Agent Halstead was still in there.

"Are you ready to continue?" The agent asked.

"As I'll ever be," Neal said as he sat down in the chair he previously vacated. Peter sat down beside him. "So, where were we?"

"Is there a way we can just skim over some of this?" Peter asked before Halstead could say anything.

"It's ok, Peter," Neal said.

"No, it's not," Peter said. He sounded upset. "There really isn't a point to go into detail. Neal's right - it's all on tape."

"It's not in my power to decide this," Halstead said. He looked like he wanted to help, but didn't want to get in trouble.

"Then I'll go talk to Hughes," Peter said and got up. Neal didn't move until Peter grabbed him under his arm and gently pulled him to his feet.

Neal waited until they were out of earshot to speak up. "Peter, I don't think Hughes is going to agree to this," he said.

Peter stopped outside of Hughes' office and put a hand on Neal's shoulder. "I'll take care of that, Neal. Don't worry," he said.

"What do I do?" Neal asked.

"Play with your rubber-band ball or something," he suggested, a smile playing on his lips.

Neal smiled back, then went to Peter's office, knowing Peter had everything under control. He picked up his rubber-band ball, sat down in Peter's chair and started tossing it in the air.

I will be camping with my family from the twenty-sixth of April to the third of May so I will not be posting anything for those days as there is no Wi-Fi at the campground. But do not fret, I will be writing during some of that week so I should have something by the time I get back.

Reviews make me smile!