(Chapter 6)
Mozzie watched Elizabeth Burke as she stared down at her coffee blankly. She only reacted slightly when Satchmo poked his head onto her lap and pushed down on her thigh with his chin, his brown eyes looking up at his owner worriedly. She scratched the dog behind the ears without really looking, her blue eyes dull and lifeless. It had been four days now without any sign of Peter or Neal. Mozz knew who had them but he couldn't tell El anything conclusive so he kept his mouth shut and tried his best people skills to convince her everything would be fine. Neal was a survivor and so was Peter. They'd come out ok and everything would be alright... he hoped.
"Mozz?" El's voice was quiet with very little emotion. She was looking at him if only on a cursory level. He nodded, a nervous smile on his face.
"What's up, El?" Mozzie kept his tone casual, glad to hear her speak after so long a silence. June had asked him to visit with her when El decided to go home again. She had been worried to leave the house too long in case Peter came home. El had been keeping herself busy with housekeeping and her job, although she was keeping her business light as she waited for Peter. Mozz had been stalking her a bit to be sure she was doing well and visiting when he could like today.
"Did you want some more sandwiches? I have more if you're still hungry." She smiled ever so slightly at him which made him feel guilty considering the circumstances. He was still doing his own poking to search for Neal and Peter's location despite the danger of getting on Geraldi's bad side. Jones had been more than happy for the help when he'd been contacted, their own FBI snitches too afraid of the mobster which Mozzie conceded to but went against his better judgment to help out Neal and the Suit. He nodded to El, smiling as brightly as he could.
El stood and walked into the kitchen, Mozz relaxed a moment looking at the huge lab as it stared after her with an obvious hint of concern.
"She'll be ok, Satch." He saw the dog's glance continue to look after El as Mozz felt a buzz from his jacket pocket. He pulled out his cell and saw he had a new text message. He blinked when he saw who it was from.
"Your friends are in danger. Track this if you wish to help them."
Mozz read the text again. It was from Neal's cell but someone else had typed it. He wasn't sure how much he could trust the message but he had to investigate it. El walked out around that time to see him standing and looking like he was about to go.
"Are you going?" Her voice sounded so forlorn but Mozzie nodded with an apologetic sigh.
"I have an errand to run but I should be back later." He watched her smile in relief.
"I'll make some pot roast for you."
()()()
Mozz sat upstairs in Neal's empty apartments at June's. She had been happy to hear he had some possible leads. He nodded asking her not to tell Elizabeth till he was certain it was real. He was going to give the information to Jones for the moment, waiting for the agent to show up at June's for the meeting. They had been talking a while when the doorbell rang. June smiled and went to see who it was. Mozz busied himself pacing the floor a bit and then looking over the chess pieces arranged on the table. He heard footsteps and turned to see Jones peering inside the room.
The junior agent looked a bit surprised but then he wasn't used to being the main contact. Mozz had dealt with him enough he knew that Neal trusted the agent so he decided he would too for his friend's sake.
"I heard you have a lead?" Jones walked over to the little guy and sat down beside him. Mozz nodded and handed him the phone.
"GPS says the call was made from an abandoned cement factory just a few miles North of the place you found that body. I don't know who sent it but what few people I could contact confirmed that Geraldi has an operation out in that area, they just never knew the exact location. The mobster is pretty secretive." Mozz was trying not to shake, his excitement that they may have found Neal and Peter hard to conceal. He saw that Jones looked pretty relieved and happy.
"I'm not going to ask how you did this but I'll put some men on it. Thanks again." He held out his hand, shaking Mozzie's and stood up.
"Don't let Mrs. Burke know anything yet. I don't want her to get hopeful when we aren't sure what this may lead to." Jones sounded honestly concerned for El. Mozzie nodded.
"I haven't told anyone else other than June. She's promised not to tell. Just... find them. Let me know if I can help." Mozz sounded almost reluctant but it wasn't that he didn't want to help but that he was bad at showing his emotions. Jones nodded with a small grin and left.
Mozz sighed, looking at the chess board and moving a piece. He muttered softly to himself.
"I hope your people are as good as you think, Suit."
(Earlier...)
Jacob had managed to stabilize Neal, sedating the young man with something that relaxed his muscles. It hadn't worked completely but the con looked less stiff, his face a bit less tight. There was the very real fear that Neal could choke if his neck and jaw muscles remained tight so Jacob put something in place that kept the young man's mouth open if only a little.
Geraldi had Erik watching the scene, suspicious that Neal was faking but it was more than apparent the young man was sick. The mobster had left for a bit to deal with some details of the heist. Jacob kept an eye on Neal, sitting by the con's bedside making sure Neal stayed alive. He blamed Erik for this, the man capable of nothing but violence though he wasn't a stupid man. He wasn't Cori but he was just as dangerous.
When he was certain Neal was stable, he left Martin in charge with instructions to call him immediately if anything changed. Jacob had to go check on Peter and to let him know what was going on. He didn't want any deaths on his conscience. Jacob sighed, heading back to the clinic. He grabbed up a water bottle and beer he'd stowed in the mini-fridge as well as his first-aid kit. He was going to have to steal some tetanus serum at some point but he couldn't do anything till Geraldi came back. They were in shut down for the moment.
The medic walked down the hallway towards the cell but Cori wasn't outside as usual. Jacob paused, walking slowly towards the cell door and listening. Everything was silent before he quietly pulled the door open and peered inside.
"Geraldi isn't going to wait much longer now that your friend is dying. If he can't help us, you're of no use." Jacob heard the menacing voice, Cori's voice. He gulped quietly, continuing to listen to the conversation unnoticed. He heard Peter give a groan of pain, Cori's hysterical laugh following.
"It still hurts? Jacob must not be much of a medic or I hurt you worse than I thought." Cori's voice sounded happy in a manic sort of way. Jacob frowned, anger filling him but he held back and pulled the door back loud enough to be heard. He saw the goon turn and stare at him, knife bared.
"Ah, speak of the devil! We were just discussing your medical credentials, Jacob." He kept the knife bared as if he was going to use it. Jacob was too angry to be scared, glaring at the man.
"If you're done intimidating my patient, can I please have a moment alone to treat his wounds?" Jacob held his own, the other man walking over and holding the knife up dangerously, eyes glittering with manic glee.
"Sure, doc... not that it matters." Cori left, door slamming shut behind him. Jacob let out a relieved breath, walking over to Peter and gently touching his shoulder. The agent shuddered before he looked to see who was there.
"Jacob... was he telling... the truth?" Peter's voice sounded weaker but concern for his friend was evident.
"Neal's... dying?" Peter's brown eyes burned glassily, his face pale, cheeks flushed. Jacob checked the man's forehead and felt fever. Dammit! He was good with bullet wounds and such but fevers and infections... he missed Morgan at those times. He opened up the kit and pulled out a bottle of aspirin, popping three out and the bottled water.
"Cori's exaggerating. Take this. It will help with your fever." Jacob helped Peter take the pills and drink the water. He skipped the beer today knowing it would only dehydrate the agent. Jacob changed out the bandages, the wound still looking rather weepy as he finished dressing it. He frowned, giving the agent another antibiotic with the last of the water. Against his better judgment he pulled out a small scalpel and cut the agent loose. To Hell with Geraldi! He noticed a pair of handcuffs nearby placed them loosely on the agent's wrists and around a pipe.
"I can't free you completely but this should ease the tension on your shoulder wound." He'd retied the agent's ankles but lay his jacket under the man's head. Peter nodded, looking at the man curiously.
"Why do you work... for him? What does... he have on you?" Peter's eyes seemed honestly interested in him unless it was the fever talking.
"Like I told your friend, I belong here. Who would believe someone who disappeared on parole against their will?" Jacob's voice was flat, his eyes looking anything but happy. He heard the jingling of the cuffs as Peter moved to touch his hand.
"You've more than proven yourself to me. I wouldn't say I'm an expert but I can spot a reformed con or two. You don't belong here Jacob any more than Neal does. Help us..." Peter's voice trailed off, his body relaxing as he closed his eyes and passed out. Jacob checked his pulse and breath, both were stable. He rose to his feet after making sure the agent was comfortable and started out. He had barely touched the door when it slid open revealing Geraldi.
"Hello Jacob. Checking on our guest? I think your medical expertise has been exhausted. Our guests will be leaving very soon unless you have news on Mr. Caffrey." His tone veiled a threat, Jacob shrugging slightly.
"I need to go out and get some tetanus vaccine if you want Caffrey to work with us. Otherwise he's going to die in the next 24 hours or so. I'm not sure how far along he is but he's already showing signs of lock jaw. Morgan knew more..." He didn't finish as Geraldi punched him hard across the chin. Jacob fell back to the floor flat on his butt, looking up with an unsteady gaze.
"I told you not to mention your friend's name anymore! I thought I made that clear. You're mine now! Do what you have to do but I need Caffrey well in the next 24 hours or Cori gets two new playthings." Geraldi sounded a bit stressed, his eyes flashing angrily. Jacob nodded as he pulled himself to his feet and wavered slightly.
"As you wish."
()()()
Jacob went back to his clinic, his jaw still aching from the punch Geraldi gave him. He shook his head to wake up, grabbing an ice pack and gingerly pushing it against his jaw. He cursed silently at the man, his anger growing. He did not belong to Geraldi! Peter's words came back to him:
You don't belong here Jacob any more than Neal does. Help us...
Jacob packed up a small bag of things and hid it away underneath with the first-aid kit. He got what he could to look like he was just going out on a supply run, changing into his old paramedic outfit so he looked legit. Jacob took a side trip out of the clinic to the supply room, opening up a vent where they hid all the possessions of those who were gone now. He found Neal's phone and pushed it into his pocket, leaving with what he needed and headed out down the hallway. He turned a different way past the meeting room and ended up in a huge refinery or factory area. He had never asked what the place had been before, being stuck in the back most of the time per Geraldi. He only went out at night off and on when they had supply runs. It was after noon, sunlight lit up the place revealing more of what was inside. He didn't pay too much attention before exiting to the vacant lot outside. Jacob slid underneath the fence with the huge 'no trespassing' sign and crossed the lot outside into the street.
When he was far enough away and sure nobody was watching he pulled out Neal's phone and smiled when it worked. He looked through the most recent calls seeing one that had been called the most. He figured it was safest to text and sent a quick message hoping it worked out.
"Your friends are in danger. Track this if you wish to help them."
Jacob sent the message off, pushing the phone back into his pocket and took off for the nearest clinic. He had a few friends who helped him with supplies and didn't ask questions despite his official suit.
()()()
Erik followed the medic like he was told, Geraldi suspicious of Jacob. He was seeing something in the man that had been dormant for some time: nerve. The hit man watched as Jacob used a cell and then pushed it back into his pocket and left for his supply run. Geraldi had said Jacob was out looking for tetanus serum for Caffrey to make sure he was going to live and take part in the heist in two days. The mobster wanted an accounting of where the medic went.
The rest of the evening was boring. Jacob getting the supplies he said he needed and some groceries. He watched as the medic pushed the phone into a padded envelope and dumped it into a mailbox before heading back to the hideout. Erik followed Jacob quietly till they were back inside the outer part of the abandoned building where he made himself known by grasping the medic from behind, a gun pushed against his temple. Jacob dropped his supplies, his eyes widening in fear.
"Hey, Jacob. So... who was it you called on that phone you mailed? Geraldi asked me to watch you... and now I want to know why I shouldn't tell him what I saw you do?" Erik smiled as he let the man go and turned him around. They were face to face now, Jacob's expression pale with terror.
"Phone? I don't know what you mean." The medic backed away a step or two but Erik caught him around the neck with one hand and lifted him up a few inches.
"Don't play stupid with me, Jacob! I know you better than you think. Now... who did you contact before I break your neck!" Erik saw Jacob struggling, hands pulling at his, face turning reddish then slightly purple as his eyes bugged.
"No... bo..dy..." Jacob's eyes widened, rolling back to white before he stopped struggling, a slight twitch as he hung loosely in Erik's grip. The hit man dropped him to the ground, kicking him in the side. Jacob coughed and sputtered after a moment, his face regaining its color.
"I guess you'd rather deal with Geraldi directly. I think Cori will have fun with three new toys. He's been waiting to play with you since you were brought in."
()()()
Peter felt the kick in his side, the pain waking him up. He felt cold, the fever Jacob said he had obvious now. His vision was blurring but he recognized Geraldi's form standing over him.
"Ah, Agent Burke. You're awake. I brought your pet convict to keep you company. He's no longer useful to me in his current state." The mobster turned and made a motion, two men dragging something between them and dropping it beside the Fed. Neal lay there, his right arm curled up oddly to his side, his body rather stiff despite being unconscious. Peter blinked, his brow furrowing as he grimaced up at his captor.
"What did you do to him? Neal... Neal, wake up!" Peter tried to reach out and touch the young con but he was stopped by the cuffs Jacob had put on. They rattled loudly in the room, Peter hearing the sound of Geraldi clucking his tongue at him.
"I did nothing to him. I can't help he came down with something when he tried to dig under the fence here and it cut his wrists. At least that's what it will look like when your friends come for you. Bring the other one in!" Peter saw Geraldi turn and heard another person dragged in, looking to see Jacob, arms bound behind him tightly and gagged.
"Looks like the gang's all here. Cori... Erik... Martin... we should get started before the FBI shows. I'll leave these three to you. You can all have a bit of fun and trade when you get bored of one." Geraldi grinned evilly, leaving the room. Peter heard the door slam shut behind him and looked up to see Cori walking over, knife flicking in his hand.
"I want the Fed!" Cori's voice sounded like a petulant child asking for a puppy. Erik nodded, looking down at Jacob and then Neal.
"I'll take Jacob. Then we can trade, Cori." Erik sounded a little too happy, Martin nodding as he walked towards the unconscious Neal and lifted him up by the collar. The young man twitched ever so slightly but didn't wake up. Jacob made a move forward but Erik held him back.
"I'm going to wait a moment so you can see what happens. You never saw what we did to Morgan till it was already finished."
()()()
Jones took the information Mozzie had provided to Hughes and once they had established there had been some activity recorded near the so-called 'abandoned' cement factory, they decided to send some agents in to investigate. They got permission from the owners to search the place and prepared with a set of SWAT just in case of trouble.
It didn't take long to get everyone set up and prepared to swarm the building. Jones was in charge, doing what he thought Peter would do and hoping beyond hope his boss and Neal were still alive. If Geraldi was there, even better but he would settle for rescuing his colleagues at this point.
()()()
Martin held the unconscious Neal in his hands, noticing the con was convulsing slightly, the tetanus affecting his system. His right arm twisted in a stiff manner against his chest and side, his hand stuck in a right fist. His teeth looked clenched despite the device Jacob had added to keep his mouth open and loose so he could breath. Neal drooled ever so slightly because of the device and the minor lock jaw he developed. Peter watched helplessly, rattling the cuffs as he tried to free himself.
"Let him go, dammit!" Peter didn't care he was pulling at his wounded shoulder, his fever making him delirious. He kept trying to help Neal despite everything. Martin looked down at the Fed a moment, cupping Neal's face in one hand as he continued to hold him. He pinched the young man's nostrils shut and waited. Neal started to twitch more, his body shuddering as he tried to breath. He couldn't move his mouth much due to the tetanus, a strangled cry coming from his lips. Peter pulled harder on his bonds, yelling now.
"Let him go! Neal!" He sounded weak but he kept fighting to free himself. Cori stood aside a moment, watching. He seemed content to watch the agent hurting himself as he struggled to free himself. Jacob was held back, Erik smiling the whole time as things progressed.
"Just wait till Cori starts, Jacob. I don't believe you've seen anything so masterful as him with cutlery." The hit man smiled broadly.
Martin held Neal's nose till the strangled cries stopped and Neal slumped a bit more, head falling back stiffly. He dropped the con to the floor by Jacob's feet.
"It's a shame. Such a waste of a good con artist. That leaves two more." Erik walked over and nudged Neal's body which lay still but tense. The young man was pale and unmoving.
"Neal..." Peter was looking up at the hulking figure of Martin walking towards him, Cori following. Martin unhooked the cuffs, lifting Peter and held him tightly.
"A little payback Fed." Cori held the knife up to Peter's throat about to slice it across when there was a gunshot. Those manic eyes just stared at him blankly as Cori slipped down to the floor and collapsed. Peter gazed at the man curiously, suddenly hearing voices he hadn't noticed.
"FBI! THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS!" Jones' voice carried across the room suddenly, the grip on Peter's arms loosening only a little as Martin looked at Erik for guidance. Erik was still Jacob but he shrugged slightly when he saw how many men there were, holding up his hands in defeat. Martin looked unsure but finally let go of Peter, holding up his own arms. The agent collapsed to the floor, crawling over to Neal's stiff looking body. It looked like rigor mortis had set in already but when he placed an ear to the young man's chest he heard a weak heart beat.
"Neal? Neal can you hear me?" Peter slumped over his friend shaking the young man but getting no response. He could feel the tight muscles in Neal's right arm and up around his shoulders and neck. The tetanus had taken root and he wasn't going to last too much longer. Someone finally untied Jacob and he moved over to the two, checking Neal's vitals, shaking his head.
"I need to get that tetanus serum I found." He looked at the agents, Jones standing over Peter and Neal protectively. Peter made a motion to let Jacob go, an agent accompanying the con. Erik and Martin were taken into custody and Cori taken on a stretcher when he was found to be unconscious and not dead. Peter warned them to keep an eye on that one and have him strapped in good.
Jacob showed up a few minutes later with a bottle and syringe. He pushed the needle into the bottle and filled it with the liquid, tapping out the air bubbles before he inserted it into Neal's arm.
"I hope it's not too late."