Stepping though the door plunged Neal into almost total darkness…he threw the door as wide as possible to let in the light as his eyes fell on a small huddled form sobbing in the corner. The child was pale and dirty… a few water bottles littered the floor, but no sign of food. Nathen shivered convulsively, his legs pulled as tight into his chest as possible, his arms thrown protectively over his head. Neal rushed forward in relief.
"Nate!" The little boy scrambled away from him in terror, trembling violently. Neal froze…taking in the pale face, the bruise on the little cheek, and the expression of absolute horror on the child's face. His vision turned blood red even as his heart shattered… they hurt his son!
"Shhh… I'm not going to hurt you"
"Don't believe you" the child spat
"I promise I'm not here to hurt you…" he held his hands out soothingly "I'm… I'm…" he stopped unsure how to identify himself to the boy… "I'm with the FBI… I'm here to get you out of here." Nate looked up at him then, huge blue eyes blinking against the blinding light from the door
"Really?" it was a tiny broken thing, but the hope in that boy's voice was the most beautiful sound he ever heard.
"Really." he smiled gently "Are you hurt? Can you stand up?" Nathen nodded and scrambled up, keeping his back pressed to the wall and his arms wrapped defensively around his waist. "Good… I'm going to check the hallway… if it's clear we are going to leave, ok?"
"Ok" the little guy whispered.
"Don't be afraid Nate… is it ok if I call you Nate?" another small nod
"Mama calls me that"
"Alright stay right here … don't move and I'll signal if it's clear"
Neal moved away from him and peeked out the door. Seeing no one, he motioned Nate to join him… he took the little boy's hand and stepped out into the hallway. Stealthy movements brought them to the security room… the first sign they were in trouble … the room was empty. Neal gulped, but continued to lead Nate toward the stairs…
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Neal risked a glance over his shoulder at the voice, pushing the small boy in front of him… the door of the stair well only ten feet ahead… running now, Neal heard the shots… the whistle of more than one near miss… something burned along his arm as he kept his larger form between Nate and the guns…there was no time for relief when the stair well door crashed shut behind them. Up… he steered the child up the steps, then as the door below slammed open, he scooped his son up and took the two and three at a time, scrambling upward! More shots echoed endlessly in the stairwell, ricocheting off the concrete walls…he stumbled on to the landing, careening into the door at full speed... nearly falling through when it opened.
The hallway stretched before him straight and endless…like a nightmare…he could never reach the next turn before the gunmen took him down. The third door on the right was unlocked… he slammed it behind them and, setting Nathen on his feet, Neal shoved a broken filing cabinet against it, then an ancient desk. That should keep them out for a minute… "breathe" he reminded himself before he took stock rapidly… he needed a plan… no exits… no way out… his eyes traveled anxiously over Nathen… panic hit his gut when he saw blood on the child's side… "They shot him!NO!" the thought rattled through his mind like a runaway freight train. Choking on his fear he rushed to the little boy, sliding across the worn carpet on his knees, turning him desperately … searching for a hole in the dirty t-shirt, pushing the shirt up to look for a wound…
"You're bleeding…" the little guy pointed to Neal's arm… the sigh that shuddered through the man's frame was absolute relief. Nate wasn't injured… he glanced at the tear in his own sleeve… the gash underneath had bled on the boy. Assured neither of them was seriously hurt Neal looked around the room. There wasn't much in the dilapidated office…nothing to provide a sufficient hiding place. He looked at the windows… set high in the wall, they were too small for man to squeeze through, but… Nathen just might fit… The door rattled as the men outside slammed into it
"Nate…" he swallowed, hating what he was about to ask the child to do "Nate, buddy I need you to be really brave for me. Do you think you can do that?"
"Can I go home to mama after?"
"Nate, I promise if this works you will see your mama very soon." the door rattled again… cracking open an inch or two.
"Ok…" the little voice cracked with fear, but the bright blue eyes were determined.
"Ok" Neal took a breath "I'm going to boost you up through that window…when you get outside I want you to run…as fast as you can."
"Are you coming with me?"
"I can't" he glanced at the door… shuddering on its hinges. "I won't fit."
"But-"
"I'll be ok… just take this" he pressed his consultants ID in to the boy's hand "Two blocks over that way" he pointed to his right " is bigger street, go there and catch a cab… tell them you want to go to the FBI office.. When you get there find Agent Peter Burke… he'll take care of you…Ok" another anxious glance at the door… "It'll be ok…you can do this" he took the ID from Nathen's hand and slipped it, along with twenty dollars into the boy's pocket "let's go"
It only took a few seconds to boost the child to the window and Neal sighed with relief as Nathen disappeared…
"I'm ok…" the little voice drifted back to him
"Good, now run!" he whispered urgently.
Squaring his shoulders Neal turned back to face the door… waiting. It was just a matter of time…
Nathen waved wildly to flag the cab… shivering so hard his teeth hurt from chattering…his t-shirt and jeans were not nearly enough protection from the cold air. He wondered what the mean men did with his coat… and his back pack. He grinned brightly when the cab slowed to a stop and scrambled in with relief.
"Hey little guy. You all alone?" The cabbie eyed him curiously "where's your mom… your dad?" Nathen thought of the nice man who pushed him out the window and wished he was here…
"Can you take me to the FBI building?"
"I can…" Nathen relaxed a little as the taxi pulled away from the curb, those bad men couldn't hurt him now. "What's a little man like you need with the FBI?" the boy slid his hand in his pocket, feeling the leather wallet in there…
"I have to find Agent Peter…" he curled up into the warm seat then… half dozing the rest of the trip…
"Here we are, Kiddo" the cabbie still looked curious
"Thanks" Nathen climbed out quickly, pushing the money from his pocket at the man and stared at the building. How was he ever going to find one agent in this huge place? Inside the door he stopped the first man he saw.
"I need to find agent Peter… do you know him?" the man shook his head and hurried on his way. Nathen grabbed another man and another and another. Desperately he pleaded "Do you know Agent Peter? He's with the FBI"
"Sorry son… I don't"
"Do you know who might know him?"
"I'm not sure… I think there are probably several agent Peters…"
"I need to find him… it's really important!" he thought of his friend still trapped with the bad men, counting on him to send help… "Please! They'll hurt him!"
Peter clenched his fists and released them… clench and release… clench and release… waiting for his team to gear up had never felt so long. Not only did they have a missing child, now Neal's tracker was offline too. That meant only one thing…
"D*** it Neal… I should have known you were going to do something stupid." He sighed "you always do when your heart gets ahead of your head…"
"Boss" Diana poked her head in "We're all set."
He nodded with relief and hurried to the elevator. He was almost through the lobby when he heard a child's frantic voice cut through the room.
"I HAVE TO FIND AGENT PETER! PLEASE!" Peter froze. He had to find Neal and Nathen but…
"My name is Peter" he told the small boy. The kid spun to face him, blue eyes and tear streaked cheeks filled with desperate hope.
"Agent Peter? From the FBI?"
"Yes" he managed awkwardly… he really was bad with little kids, but it was a relief to see this little boy "and you're Nathen right?"
"Uh-huh…" the child nodded and quickly pressed the wallet he clutched into the man's hand. Peter looked at it. It was like being punched in the gut… Neal's ID…
"Where did you get this?"
"The nice man gave it to me and told me to find Agent Peter. He let me out of the dark" the words were tumbling out of his mouth now like water from a broken dam. "and we ran and they had guns… he blocked the door with a cabinet and then he was bleeding and he made me go out the window and you have to hurry cause they will HURT HIM!" his voice rose in terror, tears falling from bright blue eyes that were all too familiar in the pale little face.