Footsteps drew closer… closer… Bryan was nearly hyperventilating… panic in every line of his face… Peter drew himself tightly under the register… muscles coiled ready to spring… to fight… to protect the young man… even unarmed he might have a chance if he caught Walker off guard…
"Do you carry any oil…" he nearly collapsed at the female voice, "my car is running a bit low"
"It's on aisle 3" the kid squeaked… a glance down at the man underneath him… "About half way down…" another nervous look "do you need any help finding it?"
"No I've got it… thanks" The agent tried to reassure the boy with a grin as the woman walked away.
"You're doing fine." he whispered "thank you Bryan."
"Sure." he swallowed nervously… Dark eyes the size of saucers… he flashed a bright little grin… Peter fell silent as the boy turned to ring up the lady and her oil…
"Never…" his voice wavered "Never had an FBI agent hiding under my register." Deflecting his fear… trying to lighten the mood, Bryan grinned.
"Never hidden under a cash register before…" Peter grinned back… "Not something we're trained for"
"I imagine not…"
"Some things Quantico just can't predict" that got a snort of laughter… they were quiet a moment
"Someone's after you?"
"Yeah." He didn't want to tell the boy to much… get him to involved
"Dangerous guy?"
"You could say that."
"Explains the hiding." Peter chuckled
"It does, yeah… look my back up should be here soon… maybe you want to clear out… just to be safe"
"And leave you here alone? What if this guy shows up… you'd be…" he looked torn… frightened but determined.
"I'll be ok."
"Besides" Bryan shook his head "I'd lose my job… Nope, not going anywhere" he had to respect the young man's courage but staying was … something Neal would do. His breath caught… the worry he tried to suppress bubbling to the surface.
"I don't want you caught in the middle if this goes south." The kid hesitated. Then his jaw set obstinately.
"You're bleeding" was all he finally said
"What?"
"Your head… and your leg…" he passed Peter a towel… one used to wipe down the counters… then settled on the stool nearby… clearly not leaving. The youthful face was entirely different… but the intelligence in his eyes and his stubborn recklessness…were far too familiar. Peter sighed… "That's exactly what I need now… another one" he thought but a small smile twitched at his lips.
"Thanks" he wiped at the cut above his ear distractedly and inspected the gash on his knee, visible through the tear in his pants… The jagged laceration, seeping blood slowly but steadily, was surrounded by horrifically colored bruising already. The whole side of his knee was swollen…overall he didn't think anything in the joint was broken but an X-ray was probably a good idea just in case.
"Can I help you with that… there's a first aid kit in the break room..." Peter tentatively probed at his knee… wincing…
"First aid kit might be a good idea." Peter agreed. Bryan disappeared to find it in a heartbeat...
"Yeah… I thought so" he said as he came back around the counter "there's gauze and tape and stuff in here…" he set the open kit on the floor beside Peter.
"Thank you…" he quickly covered the gash… taping the gauze in place… watching the kid settle on his stool… and pick up a book
"You like to read?"
"Yeah…" the boy laughed "but this is homework so it doesn't count" Peter chuckled
"Got to keep those grades up…"
"Yeah a scholarship would be nice…" he didn't sound particularly hopeful of that…"But if not…I always have this place"
"You are too smart to spend your life here"
"Thanks…" the boy smiled "not really what I meant…I mean … if I earn enough…maybe I can… community college is cheaper"
"Oh…" he shrugged a little, embarrassed by his outburst "sorry… I have a friend…" he smiled at the boys raised eyebrows "Kid's a genius… but he dropped out of high school…" he shook his head…I hope I still have a friend…he pushed the thought away…he should have asked about him…but the fact was, he wasn't sure he wanted to know right now…could handle knowing until this was over…
Bryan's eyes came up… body tensing
"Another car just pulled in" he whispered urgently.
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Palpable relief flooded the office when Diana hung up the phone… Peter was ok… and for the moment out of Walker's control. Jones hovered over the kid running the trace… grinning slightly as the address came up… a truck stop …10 miles outside St Louis… Walker definitely headed west.
There was a scramble of activity as the local PD was contacted as well as the FBI field office in St Louis, informing them that there was an agent in distress in their jurisdiction… then the room grew quiet as they waited for news.
Diana paced… glancing at her phone repeatedly. Jones sat at his borrowed desk tapping his pencil against his knee. Reynolds slumped wearily on a small couch… rocking Emily in his lap…while she slept peacefully… They waited for the call that said he was back in safe hands… anxious glances floated between them… the room remarkably quiet.
"He'll be fine." Jones said. "It's not the first time… he'll be fine."
"It's not the first time he's been kidnapped…?"
"It's not." Diana said "Last time Neal stole a moon rock to…" her voice trailed off thinking of the young man
"A moon rock?"
"Before that it was a 300 year old ring." Jones added
"He already had the ring" Diana smiled…
"oh yeah" Jones grinned ruefully.
"He already had a 300 year old ring… to use for a ransom?"
"It was complicated."
"Seems like it always is… between them." The other two agents laughed stiffly at that
"Oh you have no idea." Diana grinned "it's always a fine line… but…they would do about anything to take care of each other."
A knock interrupted their conversation.
"I thought you might want to know… Boston PD just picked up the man using Walker's alias…"
"Clearly not Clarence Walker." Reynolds stated
"No… one of his former subordinates"
"He talked one of his operatives into helping him?"
"The young man appears to be very loyal"
"Young? They said he matched Walker's description…"
"Yeah… hair dyed grey… colored contacts …the whole works. He's not talking but he had the credit card and ID."
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She stroked his hand gently. The cool fingers remained motionless…unresponsive to her touch…even when she squeezed the hand tightly… he kept his impassive face turned away. Refusing to look at her… at anything really… staring at the wall, the absolute despair etched in those blue eyes the only sign of life that remained in the young man
"Neal, sweetie… look at me… Please." She pleaded for the thousandth time. "Please don't do this." His breath came and went in rhythm of the machine beside the bed… never varying… never faster… Elizabeth suspected if not for the mask that covered his nose his breathing would have ceased some time ago.
"They'll find him…" her voice caught. Fighting tears… the FBI would find her husband and bring him back safely… they had to. She was trying to trust them, but she couldn't help thinking that the last two times he was taken, it was the man in this bed who brought him home… this man whose heart beat slower and slower… this man who was slipping away as she watched helplessly because he couldn't save his friend this time. The magnitude of that loyalty tore a ragged hole of guilt in her heart. There was absolutely nothing for Neal to gain in what he was doing to himself … No angle he could be playing… the nan was dying… dying. All the times she had considered he might be using their friendship… all the times she thought he was playing them… came rushing back to her mind. "Oh Neal..." she whispered "I'm sorry…please forgive me." Still no response. "I don't blame you for any of this I want you to know that... Please Neal. Please"
The doctor told her if she could get him talking it might help but… Neal had completely drawn into his own head… and no amount of coaxing seemed able to draw him out. He lay still… so still he might have been unconscious… lifeless even… except for the occasional slow blink of those blue eyes that filled his face making his thin cheeks appear absolutely devoid of color… eyes always open… ragged with grief. He stared relentlessly at the corner of the room as if he couldn't allow himself the escape… the peace that might come with sleep… though how he kept it up she had no idea…he was so weak… so fragile…his translucent skin looked as brittle as fine crystal…
Desperate to get a response Elizabeth considered shaking him…. screaming at him to snap out of it… but she was terrified the pain of that would break the delicate thread of life still holding him here… instead she gently lay her hand on his jaw and forced him to look at her… he didn't resist… neck turning loosely but he dropped his eyes… didn't meet her gaze…
"Jones and Diana will bring him home…they will, Neal. What am I supposed to say to him when they do, if you do this…What am I supposed to say if I sit here and let you kill yourself!" that seemed to startle him. He focused on her for the first time since just after she arrived 10 hours ago.
"I would never…" his voice whispered…
"But you are… that's exactly what you are doing!" Her voice trembled with agony… He swallowed roughly looking away again… "Ok Neal… you don't have to talk to me… but please… please let yourself rest…" a hint of a shrug … Seconds passed…
"It wouldn't be much of a loss if I did…would it?" almost inaudible… one last whispered thought before, unable to resist any longer he drifted off to sleep.
"It would be a huge loss for us" Elizabeth murmured, stroking his head softly. She hoped he heard her.
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Walker's voice drifted over the counter…
"I'm looking for my nephew… about 45…50… brown hair, brown eyes." Peter held his breath
"Haven't seen anyone, other than the ladies that just left… in hours" Bryan's voice was smooth, confident. He was putting on a good act now.
"It is important I find him…" He leaned in close… the next part was spoken quietly… his tone conspiratorial, "the poor young man is delusional… he thinks he's an FBI agent. We are all so worried about him."
"Like I said I've only had a couple of customers all night." His tone wavered just a bit. Peter drew farther under the counter and held his breath… as long as Walker didn't suspect his presence the young man was safe… He desperately wished Bryan had left when he suggested it… he wished he had waited outside for back up… he wished that d*** back up would show up already.
"This is the only place he could have come…"Walker was starting to get agitated… Peter was pretty sure the older man wasn't firing on all cylinders…or he was panicking… either way they were in trouble "He jumped out of my car… he's probably hurt." The kid backed away… his eyes told Peter how scared he really was, but Bryan still insisted that he was alone in the store…
"I know he's here!" Walker yelled "NOW WHERE IS HE!" the boy gulped his dark eyes wide.
"There's no need for a gun… you want the money… just take it." he squeaked obviously beyond terrified but still he didn't mention the man under his register. Peter swore viscerally in his mind. He couldn't just sit here and let this happen…especially when the old operative called out
"I KNOW YOU'RE HERE! SHOW YOURSELF OR SHOULD I SHOOT THIS LITTLE PUNK?!"
"No… no Walker I'm right here." He forced his voice to stay low… soothing while he uncoiled himself painfully, his knee screaming at him… every inch of his body protesting. "Leave the kid alone. Let him go." Peter limped gingerly around the counter.
"I can't do that…"
"He's an innocent… he's not involved in this." His breath caught in his throat "one of the people you spent all those years protecting… you've got me, let him go." To his tremendous relief the old man finally gave a curt nod… Peter waved Bryan toward the door. He moved away reluctantly…his eyes still on Peter… filled with concern… he was half way there when the voice cut through the night
"FBI! NO BODY MOVE!" for one instant they all froze…
Then Walker's gun came up…aimed at Peter's face, an ugly sneer on the old man's face…He was abruptly propelled forward… Peter was knocked from his feet. They collapsed in jumble of limbs as the sound of gunfire exploded…