Past Haunts: Chapter 18

Early post, YIPEE! Here 'tis, a new chapter for all of ye wonderful folk that have graced me story with your readin' eyes. :) Luv you all! :)

Ok, so what I said in the last chaps A/N still and always stands. Not ok for anyone to go through anything like this...

Enjoy:)

Warnings: -_- really guys? you should know the warnings by now...

Disclaimer: I don't own white collar, just this plot line and OC. *sigh*

New Info, Rage, and a Freak Out for Good Measure

Neal needed space not smothering. Peter knew this, so he tried to find something to do. He decided he should maybe call Jones for an update. Then when he and Neal were done, maybe they could get El and they could finish that talk with Neal. It's a long road ahead, a very large minefield, but as Peter always says, "It's time to cowboy up." So, Peter grabbed his phone to distract himself and give Neal his space. The phone rang a little longer than he thought it would.

"Jones." The junior agent sounded exhausted, and Peter couldn't blame him. He wasn't blind to how much extra work he and Diana were doing all for Neal's sake, and for all of theirs to be honest.

"It's Peter. Has any progress been made on the Crowley case, or our little side search?" He could practically hear Jones shake and hang his head.

"The techs found nothing on Crowley, but have a way for Neal to get in to the auction as a fellow buyer. Beyond that little bundle of joy, nothing. There is nothing on John Caffrey or Frank Smithson, besides what Hughes gave us. It's like after his little slip up, he completely went off the map. He's not even-" Jones just stopped like he was interrupted by someone. There was the vague sounds of excited exclamations and the changing hands of the phone. Suddenly,

"Peter!" Said person, quickly yanked the phone away from his pounding ear drum then gingerly replaced it, bracing himself for another deafening proclamation.

"Diana? If that's you please talk in a softer not as earth shattering volume." There it goes again, hearing his junior agent rolling her eyes impatiently over the phone line. El's right when she says he spends too much time at the office.

"Peter! Listen up; you're gonna wanna hear this." She sounded like she was vibrating, about to burst if she didn't say what she had to right then.

"Well, then tell me before you explode."

"Okay, when we run the name Frank Smithson, nothing but those old files come up, right? So, I decided to try something else. I was running his name through more local level channels, when I got a call from Philadelphia PD wondering why I was running said name." Peter sat up straighter in his chair.

"Philadelphia? You mean where-"

"Exactly! Apparently, a detective from Philly was working on a case against the crime family there a number of years ago. There were many suspicious characters that he was looking at. One of them being a small time con artist and forger, Frank Smithson. He worked for Obadiah Crowley." He was frozen. Frank comes to town, supposedly because he found Neal. Then not long after, the head of the Philadelphia crime family that he used to run for shows up. No such thing as coincidences. A thought hit Peter, and he didn't like it.

"Let me guess, Frank stole something from Crowley and then ran off with it." He rubbed his only slightly roughened hand down his face, keeping a firm grip on his cell with the other.

"That's what the Philly detective thought. And whatever it was, it set off a crime family related massacre, essentially. For a while, it looked like Crowley was looking for who stole from him, then the killings stopped. He must have figured it out, so Detective... Phelps was looking for Frank in hopes of making a deal with him." Peter cut in.

"If Frank gave them what they needed to arrest Crowley, they would protect him. But Frank isn't the type to get involved with the police, so he disappeared to escape arrest and a certain Philadelphia crime family." Peter trailed off, lost in thought. The junior agents on the other end of the line could tell Peter was really close to piecing it all together.

"If he was trying to disappear, why would he come here. For Neal? That doesn't make sense. Unless there was something here, in New York that he needed, and..." Oh, no. "And he needs Neal to get it for him. So that's why he's here and why he's back to tormenting Neal, but..." Ugh! The thought left him holding onto an unfinished stream of consciousness. The answer was right there, he just couldn't see it. "But what the hell would he need so desperately to risk his being found?"

"I don't know, Boss. We'll keep looking." Peter sighed again.

"Alright. Let me know if you find anything more."

"Will do." Peter hung up then hung his head. They were finally getting somewhere, but the map was in Japanese. It was frustrating as hell, and there wasn't anything Peter could do about it. Peter got up and went back down the stairs. That's when he heard Neal stuttering. Frank called him?! Neal didn't see Peter as he approached, almost enraged, but for Neal's sake... he remained almost.

His attempt to not scare Neal didn't work, 'cause as soon as his son met his eyes he shrunk back and started babbling.

"P-Peter! I, my phone rang, and I- he. I didn't mean to... well I just sat there m-mostly. He d-did most of the talking. And there's s-s-something I have to tell you. I forgot. I swear. I was-sn't trying to keep it from you. I just... with everything and I... it slipped my mind. F-Frank wants me to d-do something for him, and I... I don't want to, Peter! I s-swear! He wants me to do-o a job for him and it's in the Bureau. B-but that's all I know; I promise. I w-would tell you more but I don't know anything else. I swear, Peter. I am s-so sorry. I-" Peter finally shook himself out of his shock and placed a calming hand on Neal's shoulder, losing the anger in his eyes completely, and fixing Neal with a kind gaze.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Neal, Buddy, calm down. I'm not mad at you. I was upset, because Frank called you, and made you upset. That's all. Now, you said you had something to tell me and I couldn't quite make out what it was you said. So, just take some deep breaths, and when you're ready, then you can tell me, okay." Neal nodded and did what he was told. Peter stayed with him as he calmed his heart and slowed his breathing. Neal was mentally berating himself at the same time. Stupid. Stupid. Having a freaking panic attack because of a phone call and a look? What are you twelve? Pathetic. He opened his eyes and nodded at Peter.

"Sorry. I-yeah. Peter, Frank came here to have me do a job for him. I don't know much besides the fact that it is at the Bureau. He told me more but it was after...after he hit me in the head pretty good. So, I wasn't really paying close attention. I'm sorry. I know I should have told you this sooner, but I-"

"Neal. It's okay. Thank you for telling me. Now we can work together on this. You're not alone in this anymore, right?" Neal met his eyes and felt warm hope flood through him. He nodded. Peter smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Well, you've got a painting to finish and I've got some stuff to catch up on. Looks like the techs found a way to get you into the auction. You still okay with doing this? 'Cause I can pull you-" Neal shook his head vigorously.

"No, it's okay, Peter. I can do this." More like Neal needed to do this. A con. That's what he needed right now. Something to keep everything else at bay while he tried to muddle through it all. Everything seemed jumbled up right now, but slipping into a role was the only thing that really made sense to him then. Peter looked at him skeptically before nodding slowly.

"Alright. But if at any moment you can't do it-"

"I'll let you know immediately and pull back." Peter nodded again, then walked out to make some more phone calls, leaving Neal to finish the forgery. Maybe Mozzie would know something.

This was a lot, and I warn you that you are reaching the end of my rope here...

Anywho, a nice little Neal freak out there for you, hope you enjoyed it.:)

The plot line is changing on me as I write, which is kinda cool, but wierd at the same time. The characters are taking over the story! So, more action should be coming up soon, hopefully. :) Please let me know what you think! :)