Karl squirmed inwardly… keeping his body still as his mind worked quickly. This was a supremely crazy idea, not unheard of but sending a young nonviolent criminal into a hornets nest like this… he hoped it worked. The young man seemed more than willing, declaring firmly that operations like this should not exist… but the kid made faux designer shoes for a living… getting him involved with human trafficking was a gamble, a big gamble.

Mike had been confident he could pull it off which meant… "What exactly?" Karl asked himself for the thousandth time. He barely knew the man, was certain Mike Hamilton was not his real name, and had no idea why he had left his past behind. That he had worked for the FBI was obvious, he knew too much about procedures to doubt that, but for all Karl knew he might have been a dirty agent… the kind that turn states evidence the moment they are cornered. For some reason though Mike didn't strike him as that type. He did have some skill Karl conceded. It only took him a week to find the perfect man for the job and convince him to work with them… for immunity, of course, but his small scale shoe business was hardly a blip on their radar anyway… even if they had been investigating. It was like releasing a minnow to catch a school of sharks.

He found himself wondering what it would have been like to work with Mike when he was actually on the job. If he could set this up on his own… he must have been a force of nature when he had access to bureau resources. After all if today went as it should that would make the man responsible for two major arrests in less than a month… from his living room… in a wheel chair. Karl could only imagine what he was capable of at the top of his game.

Gabe walked into view on the surveillance screen and the agent pulled his attention back to the job at hand. He listened intently as the young man offered payment for ten "employees". He watched closely as the coyote grinned wolfishly.

"I want to see the stock." Gabe's voice trembled just a bit but he didn't waver "to insure you aren't pushing worn out broken down merchandise on me."

"Sure… sure" the other man scowled but he shoved Gabe toward the car. "I'll take you to them. Costs extra to pick your own though…"

"No problem man, no problem, like I said, business is booming." The young man reassured him with a slightly nervous grin. As they drove away continued to monitor the audio and pass directions to the driver… an hour later it was over. The coyote and three associates were in custody Gabe had silently handed back the recorder before being sick in the nearby bushes… after that he walked away quickly.

Karl turned to look into the twelve by twelve windowless storage unit… at the faces that looked up at him peering out into the light nervously, painfully… forty- two pairs of eyes all different ages from squirming innocent toddlers to grey haired wrinkled faces of the aged. He sympathized suddenly with the young criminal who had fled the sight. They watched his movements warily, features glistening and damp in the stifling heat of the metal room. The temperature outside hovered at 117 and the interior of the unit felt considerably higher.

"Get EMTS in here as soon as possible to check these people out, get water in here now… lots of it and forensics to go over this place from top to bottom!" he called out and several agents rushed away to comply.

)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(

After the near miss of Richards the other day Peter was frustrated, beyond frustrated really. They had been so close… five minutes from having the man in custody, from all of this nightmare being a memory. Five minutes away from calling the marshals to bring Neal and Nathen home. Then he slipped through their fingers because someone called him… someone who knew they were coming… someone in this very office. The thought made him sick. That someone on his team was willing to sell out one of their own. He could barely stand to look around the office as his mind ran though the possibilities Diana would never betray his trust… she could be eliminated as a suspect he was almost certain. Jones liked Neal… considered him a friend, he wouldn't hurt him… he was confident of that, mostly. The rest… he sighed. That left two agents he could trust and a room full of suspects and that twisted a nauseating knot in his stomach.

The first call maybe he could understand but now… after they had seen what Richards did to Neal, after he murdered Lenny Thompson… He just couldn't imagine any member of his team being that callous. Maybe one of Richards' accomplices was monitoring their phone lines, he tried to convince himself, but he knew better. Peter walked quietly out of the office, he needed a break… needed to clear his head.

Walking through the park he found his mind drifting… the latest package from Neal had arrived yesterday… an intense abstract swirl of color that made him think of a sunset somehow. It carried a postmark from Mississippi, When Neal came home he would have to ask him, how he send the packages from so many different places… Peter smiled. He was grateful for the gifts even though he knew Neal was taken a certain risk to send them. They were a weekly message in a bottle that said "we are ok… and I don't hate you." The sheer number of them in his home though broke his heart a little… almost three months and Elle was joking about needing to contact a gallery to get Neal an opening… just to clear out some of the pieces. His phones rang jarring him back to the present.

"Burke."

"Peter?" there was a hint of a grin in Jones' voice "you're not going to believe this."

"What happened?"

"Remember the Alicia Clayton case?"

"I do." Of course he did, that case had been a disaster. One police officer and one agent killed, another agent left paralyzed when they cornered her. "What about it?"

"The Phoenix office has her in custody."

"They do? That is good news." Not the news they had been waiting for but it really was great news.

"Legal is working on getting her extradited as we speak."

Peter grinned. The case had nothing to do with their current problem but somehow it felt like a sign of good things to come.

)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(

Neal hated waiting. He despised being so helpless. He felt so sick about talking Gabe into going into such a dangerous situation… under an agent he barely knew. All his research on Karl suggested he was one of the good guys and his instincts about people said that same but… it felt like it had been too long. Time seemed to have stopped. He tried to distract himself by taking Nate to the park but they couldn't stay long… the heat drove them back in, despite the splash zone. Nate had been soaked when they left the park, but the blistering parched dessert wind had him dried off in the three blocks home. Now they were pulling out the paints in their tiny studio and Neal was trying not to seem distracted while the little boy chatted happily. A knock on his door pulled him from his grim thoughts.

"How did it go?" he asked a very serious Karl before he stepped through the door.

"We got them." Karl smiled tightly "your friend did great."

"Is he ok?"

"He's not hurt." Neal's heart uncoiled in relief. "A little sick to his stomach…" Karl shook his head "but I can't say I blame him for that. Forty two people crammed in a windowless metal storage unit in this heat…"

"I'm glad I didn't see it." Neal shuddered "are they ok?"

"Suffering serious heat exhaustion but I think all of them will live… though whether they would have survived another day in there is anybody's guess." Karl smiled brightly at him "your plan saved their lives."

Neal nodded in relief. After a long moment "You need a drink?"

"Couldn't hurt." Karl finally seemed to relax "afraid it will take several to get those faces out of my head… just glad they were all alive. Thank you Mike." He grinned. Neal couldn't resist returning the look

Forty-two lives saved. Maybe … just maybe, this would help to atone for Meagan. He hoped so but his conscience didn't seem inclined to cut him any slack.