White Collar: The Eye of Sita

Chapter Nineteen

"Come on, Sleepy Head, wake up."

Neal moaned pitifully against a pounding headache as Daniel shook his shoulder. Opening his eyes he blinked against an oddly harsh red light. Finding himself on his back on a small bed he slowly sat up and looked around. The source of the red light was a neon sign that was just outside the window of a dingy hotel room. The place had the feel of one that rented rooms by the hour rather than the night.

Daniel was standing next to the bed looking down on him with a sad smile on his face. Neal's eyes flicked over to Peter's weapon that was laying on the small table in the corner of the room. Hoping to take Daniel by surprise Neal jumped to his feet and went straight for the gun. Daniel had been waiting to see if that would be Neal's first move and was already prepared for it.

Neal was easily caught around the waist by Daniel. Throwing his elbow back Neal struck Daniel hard under the jaw. Although he made a noise of surprise when hit Daniel managed to keep a hold of his captive. Neal twisted in Daniel's arms to try and free himself, however to his surprise he suddenly found him lifted completely off the floor.

With frightening strength Daniel flipped Neal over and slammed him down on his back on the bed with enough force to knock him breathless. Before he could reorient himself Daniel was on top of him. Neal lashed out and landed a hard strike against Daniel's right temple. Simply angered further Daniel grabbed Neal's wrists and pinned them above his head as he sat down on his hips to keep him down.

"Let me go!"

"Calm down, Neal." Daniel growled threateningly. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Why should I believe you?" Neal snarled.

"Nea..."

"You said those exact words the night you tried to blind me."

"At least I didn't leave you to die!" Daniel hissed.

"Da..."

"You left me when I needed you most!"

"No, that's not what happened." Neal shook his head. "I didn't leave you die, I thought you were dead!"

"If you thought I was already dead, why bother calling 911 before leaving?" Daniel demanded. "Why risk bringing cops to the scene? Caffrey's house was so isolated, it could have taken weeks for anyone to figure out he was missing. Why didn't you give yourself the head start if you truly believed we were both dead? What sense did that make?"

"I...I didn't want my slaughtered family left on the floor to rot, you both deserved better than that."

Daniel's rage instantly turned to shock at hearing Neal's quiet confession. With his own anger heated blood beginning to cool Neal stopped fighting against Daniel and just stared up at him. Closing his eyes Daniel bowed his head and drew a shuddering breath. Releasing Neal's wrists he rested his forehead on Neal's shoulder as he broke down into quiet tears.

Battling a set of conflicting emotions Neal stayed motionless at first. Feeling the acid sting of tears himself Neal sighed heavily. He reached up and carded his hand into Daniel's blonde hair and just let him cry. The gentle touch helped Daniel calm himself.

"I lost everything that night, Neal." Daniel whispered miserably.

"So did I."

Daniel stayed resting on Neal's shoulder for a few more minutes before finally pulling away and getting off his captive. Still a little wary that Daniel might turn violent again Neal sat up slowly. Daniel could see the fear in Neal's eyes and took a step back with his hands raised in surrender.

"I'm sorry, Neal, there isn't a day that's gone by where I haven't wished that I could change the past." Daniel said with true sincerity. "I've missed you so much."

"Seems like you've been keeping fairly close tabs on me." Neal said with a slight smile.

"I have." Daniel admitted. "Not as closely now that you've got the FBI to make sure you stay out of trouble."

"If you think the FBI is so good for me then why did you attack Peter?"

"He would have come after me, I needed a head start."

"You didn't have to hurt him, Daniel." Neal said icily. "You could have just handcuffed him to the steering wheel, the was no reason to nearly kill him."

"...you're right."

"Then why did you?"

"Jealousy."

"What?"

"You used to trust me like you trust him. You can't say that about anyone else you've been with since me, not even Mozzie and I know that for a fact."

"So your solution was...violence?"

"It wasn't a solution, Neal, it was just a reaction." Daniel said defensively. "I'd never take Peter from you, I swear. I won't go near him again."

"You have serious aggression issues, Daniel, you know that, right?"

"Yeah." Daniel admitted with a sigh. "My therapist says the same thing."

An awkward silence fell between them once more. Neal studied the long marring scar along Daniel's temple. He still had a hard time believing that Daniel was able to survive even though he was standing right in front of him. With a sick feeling in his stomach Neal decided that he had to ask the question that had been haunting him for years.

"Daniel, I have to know the truth, please. Is what you told me about Robert true?"

"Yes."

"Why did you wait so long to tell me?"

"I thought you knew. I thought you were living in the same world that I was. I always just assumed that you were stronger than I was, or that I was wrong for harboring such anger against him. I tried for years to tell myself that he gave us so much that perhaps it was a small price to pay."

"It wasn't. He had no right."

"None of that matter now." Daniel insisted. "All that matters is finding my son."

"So he is real?"

"As real as you and I."

"If you really want to help your son you need to come back with me to Peter and let the FBI help."

"Neal, these people already have everything they want, if I bring in any kind of authorities into this they'll kill him. I took a huge risk going to Peter in the first place, but I'm getting desperate."

"If they already have what they want, how do you know he's still alive?"

"I...I don't know that." Daniel whispered as he began to pant in panic. "I have to just keep believing that he is, I have to do what I can before they find me."

"Find you?"

"I'm being hunted, Neal. I might not have much more time, when they find me they are going to kill me."

"Who? The kidnappers?"

"No...um..." Daniel hesitated. "It's probably best if I don't tell you who."

"I want the whole truth or I'm not doing anything for you."

"I'm on the run from the NSA."

"The National Security Agency, that's the second time they've come up. I still don't understand how they are involved with a diamond heist."

"They don't really care about the diamond, they just want to find me." Daniel explained.

"Why?"

"I work for them."

"You work for the NSA?" Neal asked doubtfully. "Don't they do background checks?"

"My background is what got me into this. And I suppose 'work' is the wrong term for our relationship. I'm kind of like you, Neal, only my handler encourages my bad behavior."

"What do you do for them?"

"They call me 'The Locksmith'."

"Why do I get the feeling that you don't pick average locks." Neal said nervously.

"There is no lock more difficult to pick than the human mind."

"You con secrets out of foreign government agents?"

"I do, or sometimes I'm just sent to physically steal them. These are dangerous times for America, 9/11 proved our soil is not as untouchable as we once thought. It is part of my role to make sure nothing like that ever happens again. I can do whatever I want, I can have whatever I desire as long as I get results and I don't get caught."

"And if you do?"

"There is no actual record that Daniel Caffrey exists. The only two people who would ever miss me would be my wife and son."

"Woah, wait...'Caffrey'?"

"I left 'White' behind when I escaped from prison."

"I always suspected that someone out there was using my name and reputation to their advantage."

"I was using it for both of our advantages." Daniel smiled. "However, now that reputation has caught up with me. I was targeted into being forced to steal the Hope Diamond and because of that the NSA thinks I'm a traitor."

"Can't you just explain to them about your son?"

"It's too late for that. I always walked a fine line with them, now that I've broken my leash and stolen a national treasure, they will never trust me again."

"Leash?"

Daniel reached up and unbuttoned his black shirt. Neal's breath hissed across his teeth as Daniel exposed a large gauze pad taped to his chest that was seeping blood. Without hesitation Daniel tore off the gauze to reveal the deep four inch long gash being held together by a few inexpertly done stitches. The injury looked infected, but still slowly healing.

"It's amazing the similarities in our lives, Neal."

"What is that?"

"You wear your GPS around your ankle, I wore mine over my heart."

"You cut it out?" Neal asked horrified.

"Michelle did it for me so that I could get the diamond to save our son." Daniel explained as he started to pace. "Now that it still hasn't work I can't risk further involving her."

"So she knows who you are?"

"She's my handler, Neal. Shortly after you were arrested I got a little drunk and I broke into somewhere I shouldn't have. I got caught, but not before getting past some very impressive security."

"Where did you break in to?"

"Uh..." Daniel smiled. "Fort Knox."

"You got into Fort Knox...drunk?"

"Yep. They found me sleeping off a hangover in a pile of gold coins. They were pissed, but I caught the attention of some very important people. People willing to work out a deal similar to the one you have, except I have no chance of parole."

Daniel stopped his pacing and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Neal. He wasn't able to remain seated long before his nervous energy got the better of him. Getting back to his feet Daniel dragged his hands through his hair compulsively. Neal could see why Peter believed that this was a man worried sick about his son.

"My life is over, Neal, and I can accept that as long as my son is safe."

"You really think they'll kill you?" Neal asked with new sympathy. "That seems a little too 'spy novel' for the NSA."

"You're lucky Neal, the FBI treats you like a valuable resource, I'm just a dog to NSA and now they think I have rabies." Daniel said seriously. "I'm no longer trustworthy. There is nothing that Michelle is going to be able to do to stop them from sending me back to Texas to carry out the rest of my sentence."

"I guess I'm not surprised that you ended up with life in prison for what happened."

"Life?" Daniel chuckled bitterly. "Neal, it's Texas."

"You mean..."

"I escaped from Death Row."