I would like to thank my fans for reading and reviewing and I will not be putting this on hiatus as long as I keep feeling the love hehe, thanks Peppe for betaing and my loyal fans for reading and betaing and I hope you love this chapter
Of course I do not own white collar if I did this who series would have happened or would happen iin season 3
Chapter 7: Mark of the Devil
Nicolai smirked as he slipped down the stairs, keeping out of sight he waited until he heard Neal get back into the water and start to fool around as Peter's newly nicknamed 'FBI boy toy'. Only when he was sure he wouldn't be spotted Nicolai slid into the pool room and grabbed the pile of clothes and left a note behind in the pile's place. As he left the pool room he met up with Dante on the second floor before they slipped out the door and locked it behind them. Then they dumped the clothes on the hallway floor before heading down to the media room.
"Seriously Peter I'm going to get water logged if I don't get out now," Neal said as he turned around to get out. When he saw his clothes were missing, he slipped halfway out of the water and grabbed the note off the floor before sliding back into the water beside Peter. "Dear Neal and Peter, we've decided to team up for this prank war, P.S. we locked the upstairs door so you'll have to walk through the house nude. P.P.S. better hurry before someone comes home and sees you, love Nick and Dante." Neal read as he put his head back on the edge of the pool. Peter looked around and sighed "Once you fix this I am going to burn you bottom red," Peter threatened as he looked at Neal.
Neal smirked "Calm down Peter, they used to do that to me all the time when they were little so I learned how to fix this problem," Neal remarked as he got out of the pool and ran over to a large dresser and opened the bottom drawer where he pulled out two robes. "I put these in here yesterday when I got here, just in case they tried something," he remarked putting on the terrycloth robe before handing one over to Peter as he got out of the water. "If they're teaming up then maybe we should as well, then again I know you don't play well with others from my experience…well except for that Adler guy, he somehow managed to wrangle you in and keep you on a short leash," Peter remarked. Neal froze for a moment at the mention of Adler.
Does he know…How? I haven't said enough or left him alone long enough… could he maybe know something or is he just talking about him in general… Neal worried as he looked at Peter knowing he had to lie fast and make it good to divert Peter's thoughts. "It's not just him, you found a way to keep me compliant," Neal said with a smirk as he put his arms around Peter's neck and gave him a small kiss. Pulling away he wrinkled his nose a bit. "We should shower we stink like chlorine…if you don't want to waste water we could share a shower and have some privacy," Neal suggested with a smirk. Peter ignored the comment as he walked out of the pool room and through the library to the main downstairs hallway.
Letting out a sigh of relief that Peter hadn't pushed his reaction earlier, Neal followed behind him and sighed many times. "Well if you're not going to join me then I'll just go shower alone, but I will see you after that and maybe you're right we should team up," Neal remarked as he walked past Peter and ran up the stairs to the second floor.
Dante looked at his cousin. "What if they make it without anyone seeing them?" he asked as he tore his eyes away from Nicolai smirking and from the movie they were watching. "Don't worry about it I took care of it, but first you should know we might end up being on the end of a lot of revenge in the next couple days," Nicolai said as he turned back to the movie.
Neal walked into his room and walked into his bathroom he walked over to the shower and turned the water on and stripped out of his robe before he got under the water, as he washed he began to sing a few bars of a song. When he opened his eyes he noticed something in the mirror, jumping out of the shower he wiped the condensation off the when he saw his reflection he let out the loudest yell ever. "Nick!" Neal screeched as he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist before he ran down to where he left Peter.
Peter looked over at Neal and covered his mouth to keep from laughing as he looked at the younger man; his skin a deep violet-blue color. "What happened to you?" Peter managed to get out without laughing. Neal was fuming as stood there "I'm purple Peter…I don't know what I'm going to do but when I figure it out it's going to be serious payback," Neal said as he puts his arms around his chest to keep himself warm. Peter walked over and put his arms around Neal "I think you look very cute and I promise we'll get you back to your normal color," Peter said with a small chuckle as he tried to calm his lover down.
"I don't want to be comforted Peter I'm purple…I don't know how long I'm going to be purple," Neal said softly as he pulled away and looked down at his chest. "How am I going get this color off me?" Neal asked with a whimper. "I'm going to my room…and I'm not coming down until I stop looking like a grape," he added as he walked back down the hall, as he entered the front hall the front door opened and his parents and Elizabeth walked in. Everyone looked at Neal, Victor cleared his throat "Neal… is there a reason you look like gay smurf?" Victor asked as he started to laugh at his son.
Natasha elbowed her husband in the ribs "That's not funny Vic; Neal I am putting my foot down on this silly prank war, Thanksgiving is in two days and your father's family is coming tomorrow and I don't want this house destroyed like it was when you were kids… there will be no more pranks is that understood," she said in an authoritative tone. Neal nodded as he ran up the stairs to his room. This means revenge now… I don't care what mom says they will be suffering my revenge. Neal thought as he crawled into bed and tossed his towel out on to the floor.
Walking to the main entrance way Peter waved his hand "Don't even ask… I have a feeling that my shower has been tampered with and your eldest son has something to do with all of this. I'm going to go check on Neal…" Peter said as he slowly walked up the stairs and knocked on Neal's door. When he got permission to enter he walked in and found Neal sitting in the middle of his bed his covers pulled up around him so his even his face was barely visible.
"You look like a jelly doughnut," Peter said with a small chuckle as he slowly uncovered Neal's face. Neal pouted as he looked at Peter "That's not funny…and I don't plan on coming out from this room until I'm normal again no matter what you say or do," he remarked pulling the blankets back around him. Peter grabbed the blankets and pulled them back down so he could see his lover again. Peter sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Neal close to him to comfort him. "Now I know you want to have revenge but I also heard your mother she said no more pranks," Peter said as he let Neal crawl onto his lap.
"At least I have an excuse for being in here for a long time, but what's your excuse?" Neal asked as he looked into Peter's eyes trying to get over the fact he was purple. "My excuse is I'm checking on you to make sure you aren't planning something crazy for revenge, if it means keeping you pinned to this bed until dinner then I will do it," Peter said grabbed Neal by the wrist and held him on his lap. "Peter I have to get them back for what they did, something that will make them realize they can't mess with me," Neal argued as he tried to stand up again and failed as he was pulled back down.
Peter shook his head "You are not going to get into trouble for a stupid prank just to get revenge on them," he said trying to convince the ex con to change his mind. Neal pretended to ponder the offer as he pushed away from Peter his towel hanging dangerously low. "Alright I promise I won't do anything…too serious…" Neal whispered as he walked to the head of the bed and laid out on it his arms spread out over the pillows with a smirk on his lips as he gave Peter the double finger point to come closer. "Earlier I postponed our alone time because I was hungry and now that I've decided to isolate myself from my family until I'm no longer purple we can spend as much time as we want together. Now get over here," Neal ordered taking control.
Raising an eyebrow at Neal's actions Peter shrugged and moved closer as leaned against the same pillows as Neal before pulling him close and pulling him into a kiss. Am I really going to risk losing this to find out a little information on Kate's death…? Yes…yes I am…I'll just have to plan a way to not get caught. Neal thought as he pulled away noticing that the white robe Peter was wearing had purple on it. "It looks like I'm sweating off the color… I guess we found a way to turn me back to normal," Neal said with a smirk as he moved closer and kissed down Peter's jaw.
Peter grabbed Neal by his hair and pulled him into a deep kiss, after a moment Neal pulled away for air, fine trails of purple trailed down his face. "Don't you think I should lock the door to keep from anyone walking in on us?" he asked as he tried to catch his breath. Peter shook his head "leave it unlocked, they will knock," Peter said hoping he was right. Neal smirked as he leaned over to the nightstand by his bed when he heard his phone go off. "Get back here and let it go to voicemail," Peter said not wanting to share Neal with a phone call.
Neal grabbed his phone and sent the call to voicemail. "You're pretty demanding Agent Burke, but I'll let you get away with ordering me around just this once," Neal said with a smirk as he moved back to his position straddling Peter's lap and locked lips with the FBI agent below him, when they broke again Neal huffed. "You have to do better than this to get me to sweat this color off of me so I don't look like a Muppet anymore," Neal said as he tried to get his way again. He knew exactly what to say and what to do to get what he wants from Peter. "I take it you like it when I take control, I should take control more often," Peter said in an all knowing tone.
"I do like it when you take control Peter; you should do it at the office more…and on the stakeouts, only if we're in your car alone… I wouldn't dare do anything in the van unless you like having an audience," Neal said laughing a bit. "You're the one that likes the audience, now shut up Neal before I start spanking you," Peter said as he grabbed Neal by his arm and pulled him closer into another breathtaking lip lock. Neal used his artistic hands to remove the offending purple stained terrycloth robe. When he saw Peter raising a hand to help Neal slapped it hard with a resounds crack "Nu…uh let me do all the work, this is as much your vacation as it is mine," Neal said as he got back to work.
Neal cracked his eyes open when he was sure that Peter was asleep. It took three rounds of sex to knock him out; it would have been easier to slip him some sleeping pills…well at least I'm not purple anymore. Neal thought as he slipped out of bed and went to his bags and found some fresh clothes before going into the bathroom to clean up; then he left the room like a fox leaving the hen house. When he was free in the hall Neal walked to the first floor and found his way to the sitting room where he heard voices coming within. Neal slipped into the room and found Dante and Nicolas talking and laughing.
As walked around the couch he saw them drinking beer and talking about how Nick had turned his baby brother purple. "I see you two are enjoying your victory Nick …do you two care if I join you for a beer?" Neal asked as he sat down in the semi dark room. Nick looked up and smirked "It looks like you managed to get yourself almost back to normal, so yeah you can join us and I wanted to say that if you plan on taking any kind of revenge on us just remember what mom said earlier," Nick said as he put his empty beer bottle down.
"Oh I know I just came down here to say that you are brilliant and I want to have a beer with you guys; in fact I'll go get you guys a fresh beer," Neal said as he got up from his seat and walked into the kitchen and rummaged around the fridge for three beers, and when he had a good grip on them he opened the bottles and put them on the counter. Now I get my revenge…and since I know that Dante is innocent he'll just wake up feeling hung over…Dr. Parker did say these pills would knock me out if I mixed them with alcohol. Neal thought as he pulled his bottle of anxiety pills out of his pocket and dropped a couple pills into two of the beers. When he was sure they had begun to dissolve he walked back into the sitting room. "Sorry had to find the bottle opener," Neal lied as he handed the beers over and put his own down on the table.
Dante looked at his younger cousin cautiously for a moment before taking the beer on the table and chugging it down. Nick waited a moment until he was sure nothing happened before picking up his own beer and downing it. Neal wrapped his lips around the mouth of the bottle before taking a deep chug and then waiting patiently for the drugs to take effect. Neal quirked his eyebrow when he saw the other two men starting to drift off as their empty beer bottles dropped from their hands.
Standing up slowly Neal grabbed the scissors he hid in the potted plant by the hallway door. "What goes around comes around Nick," Neal whispered as he slowly began to slice his brother's hair off until it was only an inch high. He then grabbed the razor he also brought and slowly worked on shaving the hair down until there was nothing left but peach fuzz. When he was done Neal smirked and dumped the tools he used into the potted plant by the door as he snuck out into the hall and made his way to the French doors that led to the patio.
I'm a dead man so I better find a good hiding place, Neal thought as he ran through the maze until he came out on the other side. Looking around he decided to run into the woods. After a ten minute walk he reached the edge of the property. I survived three days on Colin's island I think I can last a few days out here until Nick has cooled down…even though now that I think about it, it could take a couple months to the rest of our lives, Neal thought as he ducked under the low hanging branches of the trees that lined the edge of the property.
Peter woke the next morning in Neal's bed to yelling that seemed to be growing louder; soon the bedroom door was kicked open with a loud bang. Sitting up in bed the agent looked at the figure in the doorway. "Where the fuck is he?" Nick growled as he stomped closer to Neal's bed. "Wait…Neal…" Peter stopped himself when he saw Nick's hair had been shaved down to peach fuzz. "Yeah, he went and got his stupid revenge and when I get a hold of him I'm not going to spank him I'm going to paint him black and blue all over…" Nick yelled as he walked over to the closet and ripped the doors open and looked around. When he couldn't find his brother he grabbed a shirt of Neal's.
"Puka…Dimitri!" Nicolas called as his two dogs ran into the room. "Sniff and hunt," he ordered as his dog came over to get the scent. After a second the two Dobermans were barking as they ran through the house their master close behind them. Peter collected himself as he searched the area around the bed for his discarded robe. Neal what the hell did you do? Now your brother's on the war path, Peter thought as he located his robe and threw it on. Running out of the room he went into his guest room and found a change of clothes, as soon as he was dressed he grabbed his cell phone and followed the rampaging brother across the property.
Nicolas was beyond furious at that moment; in the far corner of his mind he was already creating a false alibi to tell the police after he killed Neal. Even though he knew he could never go through with it he still found it pretty comforting to think of such things as he followed his dogs to the edge of well kept lawn that fell away to the wilds of nature in the woods behind the house.
Making sure to keep Nick in sight Peter pulled out his phone and called Jones "I'm sorry for calling so early, but can you just pull up Neal's tracking information and direct me toward him. I sort of need to find him before his brother does, it's a long story that I'll tell you when I get back to work on Monday so which way do I go now?" Peter asked as he entered the woods. Looking around the vast area Peter began following the directions over the phone. "You should be right on top of him right now…" Jones said looking at the map on his computer screen. Taking a wild guess Peter looked up into the trees as found what he was looking for. "Thanks Jones, have a good Thanksgiving tomorrow I'll see you Monday," Peter said before hanging up as he kept his eyes locked with Neal's.
"You know maybe I should call the fire department since there seems to be a kitten stuck in a tree, and he looks terrified," Peter remarked with a smirk as he reached up and helped Neal down and put his arms around the semi frozen ex con. "Why did you go out here without a coat on, are you trying to make yourself sick?" Peter asked as he removed his coat and put it around the shaking ex con. Neal shoved his arms into the sleeves of the coat and hid in Peter's arms. "You're a real comedian Peter, but you have to help me… Nick is going to go nuclear on me when he finds me you have to hide me and keep me safe," Neal said as he nuzzled against Peter's shoulder to keep from being seen.
Soon the two large Dobermans ran over and began to snarl and approach Neal, and after a moment Nick came from behind a tree and looked at his younger brother who had taken refuge behind Peter when the agent turned to face him. "Now before you beat your brother into a bloody pulp, at least let him apologize first and if you're still raw then you can beat him up because he does deserve it," Peter said as he tried to keep the bloodshed to a minimum. "He cut my hair after he drugged me… there is going to be more than jus than bloody lip this time," Nick said as he moved in closer.
Neal peeked around Peter's shoulder and looked at his brother "I'm sorry for cutting your hair off but you turned me purple, so now we're even…" Neal said trying to sound brave. Nick looked down for a moment and called his dogs off just as they were about to sink their teeth into Neal's legs. "You're not off the hook yet, you just wait until mom finds out what you did to me; you know she said she didn't want any more pranks." Nick said as he ran his hand over his shorter hairdo.
Peter stood between the two brothers as he led them back through the woods and onto the Caffrey property. When they made their way into the house Neal kept hidden behind Peter as they entered the kitchen where the family had gathered for breakfast. Natasha nearly dropped the plate she was carrying to the table. "Nick…what happened to your… hair…Neal Tobias Caffrey did you do this after I told you not to seek out any revenge?" Natasha asked as she saw her youngest son cowering behind the FBI agent he brought with him to the family home. Neal backed away until he hit the wall behind him. "You know the drill for breaking my rules, go get it and bring it here…" she said pointing toward the laundry room.
Hanging his head Neal passed by the kitchen table and walked into the laundry room before coming back with a large strip of plastic that looked like it belonged on a set of blinds. Peter felt bad for his lover, he knew Neal was in trouble but he had broken the rules and he needed to be punished. "Mom… please, I'm sorry I was mad that Nick was going to get away with it again so I thought he should suffer for once; it's not fair that I got spanked by Peter when the two us got arrested," Neal said as he tried to argue his way out of a spanking.
"When did you two get arrested and start from the top and if you lie to me I will make your punishment much worse," Natasha said as she waited for an explanation. Nick looked at his brother "Don't you dare say a word," Nick threatened as he stared at Neal. "We got into an argument about why he ran away from home and he said I was spoiled and that he was basically jealous of me, then he called me a white collar whore for my relationships, we were arrested by accident because June's maid didn't know we were there. Well to make a long story short Peter paid our bail and I got spanked for the fight and Nick didn't…oh, guess what…" Neal was cut off by a glare from his brother.
Once he was sure his family was caught on his every word Neal smirked. "Turns out Nick lied for years about what he does for a living it turns out that he is an FSB agent for the Russian Federal Security Service," Neal said as he kept himself hidden behind Peter. "Nicolas Gabriel Caffrey, is this true?" Natasha asked looking at her older son as he froze in his spot; he nodded his head knowing that if he lied it would have been worse for him. "Well the both of you are going to be punished," Natasha said as she smiled. "Please excuse us we'll be back soon," she added as she pointed toward the laundry room so her sons would follow her.
Neal and Nick looked at each other before following their mother into the laundry room; they assumed their positions bent over the washer and dryer. Natasha moved behind her sons and began to spank them hard and swift to get some sense into their thick heads. The rest of the family plus Elizabeth and Peter ate breakfast in silence, the only sounds were the occasional sound of someone getting spanked and a small cry of pain, when the laundry room door finally opened again everyone looked up at the brothers and looked away as they rubbed their buttocks before they sat down.
Peter chuckled as he saw Neal pouting "You got what you deserved Neal, you knew the rules and now Nick got his comeuppance for the missed spanking from me so now this prank war is officially over, right?" Peter asked as he looked at the younger man. "Yes sir…" Neal mumbled as he grabbed a slice of toast from the plate in the middle of the table.
With their backsides on fire Nick and Neal looked at each other before looking away in anger. Peter smiled when Neal looked at him, he felt bad that Neal had been spanked so badly. Both brothers squirmed at the same moment when their mother sat at the table. Neal shifted in his seat a bit as he sipped his coffee.
As breakfast concluded an hour later Natasha stood up. "Now since tomorrow is Thanksgiving this house is going to be cleaned so I want everyone to get out of the house for the day so the staff can clean and I don't care what you do just as long as you don't get arrested and try and keep the humility to a minimum, that goes double for you four," she said looking and Dante, Nicolas, Neal and Peter. Soon everyone had come up with their plans for the day and had split off to enjoy their free day.
Hanging onto Peter's arm like it was a life raft Neal dragged him up to his room and stayed close. "So how mad are you that I did that to my brother?" Neal asked as he closed his bedroom door. "I thought it was genius the way you did it but if you ever even think of doing it to me I'll throw you back in prison so fast your head will be spinning for a month," Peter remarked as he sat on the end of the bed. Neal nodded "I'll get dressed but then can we go out into the garden and just lay around I'm too sore to do anything else right now, maybe you'll be kind enough to give me a back rub because your favorite kitten is hurt," Neal said with a pout.
"I don't think so; you need to remember what you did has consequences, especially when you were told not to pull anymore pranks and I think getting revenge falls under that category as well. Now about your using sex as a ploy to put me to sleep it was ingenious but next time, tell me your plans so I can talk you out of them. Unless you like getting spanked," Peter commented as he put a put a comforting hand on Neal's head and gave him a small pat. Giving a small huff Neal got up and kneeled on his bed so his buttocks wouldn't touch anything. "Get dressed we'll go find something to do, I'm going to just see how Elizabeth is and what she plans to do for the day," Peter said as he left Neal on his bed.
Waiting until he was sure Peter was gone Neal grabbed his phone off the nightstand and made his way into the bathroom to be alone, and as soon as the door clicked shut he started to scroll through his contacts until he found the phone number Adler had given him. Neal looked at himself in the mirror for a moment before selecting the number and hitting send. While the other line began to ring Neal closed his eyes as he went over what he planned to say. After the third ring the other line picked up.
"Good Morning Neal, I had a feeling you would be calling me so what have you decided?" Adler asked over the phone. Neal bit his lip as he opened his eyes and looked down at the tracking anklet locked tightly on his leg. "I'm going to do it on one condition, you tell me what I'm going after now and what obstacles I might meet or I back out now and tell Peter everything," Neal warned as he leaned against the bathroom door.
Vincent was silent for a moment "Well if that's how it's going to be, I assume you have heard of a necklace called the gem of the galaxy, you will be getting the rest of the information the day after tomorrow at seven-thirty p.m. on the docks where we met last time and remember to blend in again. I'll see you then Neal and remember to leave the FBI at the office where they belong," Vincent said before hanging up on Neal.
Not wasting any time Neal scrolled through his contacts to Mozzie's number when the other line picked up Neal bit his tongue to keep from blurting out his deal "Hey Moz I just wanted to see how you were doing and ask you if you knew anything about a necklace called the gem of the galaxy, really… hey Moz how long would it take a person to make say two forgeries of that necklace?" Neal asked hoping his friend wouldn't catch on too quickly.
"A skilled forger it would probably take two… three days at the most, why? Neal what are you planning on doing?" Mozzie asked in a curious tone. Neal shifted his weight a bit "I'll explain later; but Moz can you get me the materials I'll need to make two of the necklaces and get a little extra incase I make a mistake," Neal joked before he hung up. Neal walked back into his room and quickly got dressed and shoved his phone into his pocket before he ran out of his room and right into Peter.
Peter looked at the ex con with a smile "El and I are going to take a walk around the property and look at the gardens, so you have to fend for yourself for a while; you can keep out of trouble right?" Peter asked with a smirk. Neal smiled "Of course I can stay out of trouble, you don't have to worry about me at all Peter, and you have some fun walking around," Neal said as he ducked back into his room and came back out with a sketch pad and a small box of pens. "I'm going to go hide out in the maze for a while since Nick went to the store with Catherine so I'm pretty safe from his revenge," Neal said before he walked off whistling a bit.
Elizabeth walked out of the guest room and looked at Peter. "Is something wrong hon?" she asked looking at his face trying to figure out what was bothering her husband. "It's Neal… he's been acting odd, the other day with the fake sickness and I don't like to jump to any conclusions about him and I know you'll say that I can't judge him like this but I swear he's up to something, he actually asked me what I would do in a hypothetical situation of stealing something for information. I'm worried he has something planned that's going to land him in hot water," Peter said as he walked down the hall with Elizabeth and down the stairs to the front hall.
"Honey you chased Neal for four years you know everything about him and you need to trust your own instincts if you think Neal is up to something then watch his tracking data until your sure. I'm positive Neal wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his relationship with you; I can see it every time he looks at you. Now let's forget about Neal this is our alone time remember," Elizabeth added as she pulled her husband out of the house and around the well kept lawn.
Peter smiled "Your right, Neal isn't that stupid to do something to get sent back, now I think these gardens are amazing and this reminds me of the place where we got married. It was so perfect that day, you know I'm actually glad that Neal wasn't a problem then because I never would have wanted to miss that day," Peter remarked as they walked hand in hand around the vast yard. "I have to say Peter this has to be the most interesting vacation we have ever taken, this is a great way to relax before the winter holidays when I have so much work to do," Elizabeth said as she looked around at the sprawling gardens all around them.
Nodding in agreement Peter couldn't help but let his thoughts drift back to Neal and what he was doing to stay out of trouble. As they walked through the gardens Elizabeth decided they should walk in the maze and when they got to the center they both smiled at the scene in front of them, Neal was asleep under the small tree in the center of the shrub maze with Satchmo, Dimitri and Puka around him for protection. Elizabeth pulled her camera out and snapped a few pictures before putting the camera away.
"How can someone look so innocent?" Elizabeth asked with a smile. Peter smirked "Neal is never innocent," he replied as he watched Neal roll over and let a sigh escape his lips. Taking her camera back out Elizabeth took another photo of the younger man. Peter sat down by his lover and lay back on the grass and looked at Neal and gave a small blow of air across his face. Neal slowly opened his eyes and looked at Peter and smiled at him. Both men were so lost looking at each other they didn't hear the beep of Elizabeth's camera. "I'll leave you two alone, just remember to come in before you get sunburned," Elizabeth said with a smile. Neal tore his gaze away from Peter, "No you stay, I'll go… I've kept Peter away from you enough over the years, you two should get some alone time," Neal said as he sat up. "Besides I have to make a phone call, I'll see you guys later tonight," Neal said as he walked around the first bend of the maze.
When he was sure he was alone Neal pulled his phone out and called Mozzie again "Moz have you managed to pull the items I need together?" Neal asked keeping his voice down incase Peter had followed him. "I got what you wanted but before I help you anymore Neal you need to tell me what you're getting yourself into so I can tell you how crazy you are," Mozzie said as he looked at the items Neal had requested earlier.
Neal slowly made his way to the end of the maze before speaking again. "Vincent got a hold of me and requested I help steal something. I said no at first but then he told me he could tell me who really killed Kate… I know what you're going to say Moz but I have to know the truth," Neal said more than asked. "Moz please don't say anything to anyone, especially Peter; he'll skin me alive for doing this. He just doesn't understand," he added as he ran his hand over the edge of the shrub maze. As he turned around to walk the same path again Neal jumped when he came face to face with Peter. "I'll call you back later," Neal said as he hung up, his stomach dropped when he wondered how much of the conversation had been overheard.
"You forgot your sketch pad and pens, I thought you might want them back," Peter said holding the items up for Neal to take, and he watched the younger man put his phone in his back pocket before taking his pens and sketchpad. "Thanks, I'm going to head in and hide in the library for a while, I hope Elizabeth enjoys the walk around the garden," Neal said as he started to walk away. Peter walked up behind Neal and grabbed him by the arm and spun him around into his arms. Neal felt his cheeks heat up when he felt Peter's hands roam over his backside. "Peter… you're never this frisky…" Neal said in a surprised tone as he enjoyed the feeling of Peter being more open with his feelings. "Later… when we're alone…"Neal added as he pulled away and began to walk toward the back door that led to the pool room.
Peter looked down at the phone he had pulled from Neal's back pocket. Neal is up to something, Peter thought as he began to scroll through Neal's call log for any numbers he didn't know. Pulling his own phone out of his pocket Peter called Jones "I need you to run a few phone numbers for me," Peter said before reading the numbers off the phone screen. "I'll run these numbers and I'll call you back when I have a name for these," Jones said before hanging up. Peter looked at the phone he had stolen as he pocketed his own phone as he then walked back to his wife. "He's jumpy about something, I walked up to him and he jumped when he saw me. Whoever he was talking to on the phone he commented that I would skin him alive if I found out what he was doing. I don't like this El; if I confront him it could make it worse," Peter said as he sat on the edge of one of the lounge chairs.
"Honey, you love him and you're worried that he's about to do something stupid…but I'm sure you're just taking things the wrong way, Neal has changed. This mysterious call could have been for something totally legal, now you can trust Neal or you can be suspicious and go question him for hours or you can stay here with me for a while," she said sitting beside Peter. "How long do you think it will take before he realizes his phone is missing?" Peter asked as he looked at Neal's phone in his hand.
"Oh if he's doing something like you think he is then he'll come looking for it soon," Elizabeth remarked as she took the phone out of Peter's hand and looked it over. "I just hope you're ready for the backlash it will bring that will happen," she added.
Neal slipped into the library and up to the second floor and as he moved over to the large window he sat in the chair and opened his sketchbook. He then looked at the sketch of the gem of the galaxy, I can make a perfect forgery and once I get the information I'll give the real necklace back hopefully before the case falls on Peter's desk, Neal thought as he shoved his hand behind him and found his phone missing from his back pocket. Dropping his pad on the floor Neal jumped up and ran down the stairs and out the back door.
I can't act too freaked if Peter seems me acting like this he'll get suspicious…then again why would he put his hands all over me before… he stole my phone, Neal thought as he stormed down the lawn and ducked into the maze and made his way to the center of the maze, and as he turned the last corner he saw Elizabeth and Peter with his phone in Elizabeth's hands.
"I had a feeling that Peter stole it, why else would he play grab ass with me?" Neal asked as he stormed over and grabbed his phone back and looked at his lover. "I have a right to privacy you know… Muffin, so quit snooping," Neal hissed. "What right to privacy? You're on a work release program. The FBI still owns you and if I suspect you to be doing something illegal I have every right to snoop as you put it… Kitten," Peter bit back as he made a grab for the phone.
Elizabeth stood up and put her hands on both men's chests and kept them from getting any closer to each other. "Now both of you calm down, Peter… you had no right to take Neal's phone and Neal you know that we both love you and if you don't want to be questioned you shouldn't do anything illegal," Elizabeth said trying to calm them down.
"I didn't ask you to butt in Elizabeth, in fact I didn't ask either of you to, now just drop it," Neal snipped as he pulled away and stormed off like a child. Peter rolled his eyes at the younger man's reaction. "Let him calm down before you go talk to him…then go talk to him but I have a feeling he's going to ignore you for a few hours," Elizabeth said as she sat back down on the lawn chair.
Before Peter could respond his phone rang and he quickly answered it in hopes Jones had some answers for him." Tell me some good news Jones," Peter said as he walked around the small fountain. "Neal made two calls today, one to a Dante Haversham and the other to a blocked number. Hughes ordered me to track every location the blocked number has been to, the blocked number has been at Neal's apartment and later that night a dock not far from Neal's… which brings me to this news… Neal's tracking anklet was at the docks at the same time as the mysterious phone number; before both headed back to June's," Jones said looking at the tracking data on his computer.
"Jones I want to know who owns that phone and I want to know as soon as possible. I also want you to look into anything that looks like something Neal would steal. I know it's a long list, so cut it down by looking into Neal's tastes and call me when you and Diana have a list. We could be racing a clock and we might not have much time left," Peter said before hanging up. Neal, what the hell are you up to? Peter thought to himself.