The case

Abduction

Diana was sitting at a street café when she saw Neal walking with the crowd.

Wondering if he would join her for lunch, she hoped that maybe he would be able to tell her a few more things, but doubted it. He usually did his talking in the privacy of her home when he randomly showed up for some friendly company.

While she watched him get closer, he seemed to be on the alert for someone. Was he being followed?

When he noticed her watching him, he signaled her to do nothing and simply let things play out.

Whatever was happening was a part of the job so she nodded that she got the message, but she kept watching anyway.

After a few minutes, he meandered his way to the street café and picked a table on the edge closest to the street. Frowning, Diana watched as he also put his back to the street and promptly picked up a menu. As he perused the choices, he pretended not to notice the big black van that pulledup or the henchmen making their way towards him.

As they got close to him, he pretended to realize too late that something was going on behind him.

Moving quickly, the men grabbed Neal, threw a hood over his head, and drug him back to the van before speeding away into traffic.

Following Neal's instructions, Diana pretended to be a random person observing the abduction so she reacted much like the other people by calling the police.

Things got rather hectic in the time following as the police arrived in full lights and sirens, people panicked, and others tried to make the situation into a circus in an effort to get their two minutes in the spotlight.

Once she had given her statement, Diana escaped back to the office.

Pondering

Peter was given the heads up that the agent undercover had been abducted. Since the abduction was a possible outcome, there were plans in place so the case was to proceed.

While the team continued to do their job, Peter had been watching for the art to start showing up in the city, but nothing had been seen as of yet. So, while the team waited, they worked various small cases in an effort to keep themselves occupied.

One of the days that he was sitting in his office and staring at the picture on his desk, he started thinking. What was Diana talking about when she kept hinting the other day?

She had hinted that someone they knew was more than they appeared. What had she said, that he took being a spook to a whole new level? That could have many applications to it depending on how he looked at it.

Was it something to do with Mozzie secretly being somebody more than he appeared? Perhaps, someone less likely to be suspected? Or… could it be? Maybe something to do with… Neal?

Shaking his head, Peter tried to get the hope that the thought aroused out of his head. Neal was dead. He identified the body… But why did Diana talk the way she did?

She joked about blaming Neal for teaching little Neal things like she had before, but there was something different about it that time. Then there was the part about knowing him, but not really knowing all of who he was. Finally, there was the part about the person wishing to tell him what was going on, but being unable to.

The more his mind wished that was what she was hiding, the more he determined to ignore that thought. If it was something to do with Neal, let it be a pleasant surprise should he ever be able to tell him what was going on, but if it was someone else, then he didn't want to get his hopes up to have them dashed.

In an effort to redirect his errant thoughts, he turned back to the case on his computer with the hope that work would distract his mind.

Concern

Diana didn't like setting back and watching Neal get abducted on purpose. It went against the grain as she was used to preventing people from getting put into that position. What made it worse, was that she wasn't allowed to go looking for him or to try and do anything to help him. Neal was on his own.

That led to her watching for any new information coming in from him with a hungry eagerness that wasn't normal. She did like to get the evidence for a case, but this was the first time that it was proof of the continued life of a friend.

Each time that a picture was received, she requested to be present when it was checked. That way, the sooner she knew that he was still okay, the sooner she could breathe another round… but she never fully felt like she was caching up. It was doubtful that she would be able to fully catch her breath until after Neal was safely freed from his captors.

At least she didn't having to watch Peter worry over him too. If something happened to Neal, she would be the only one grieving for him as he was already dead to everyone else. Still, she had grieved enough so she would rather just have his annoying presence back. It was better to find him randomly reading a book on her couch than to think that he might be discovered at any moment…

Style Speculation

Finally a picture showed up in New York.

Peter and the team were looking it over after it arrived when he noticed that something about it seemed to be familiar. Staring at the details he couldn't place why though.

"Jones, does this seem familiar to you?" Maybe a second perspective might help him figure it out.

"Yeah, ever since it was brought in and that has been bugging me too because I don't know why." Giving the painting a good look over himself, Jones tried to find the answer.

Then one of the younger agents who hadn't been with the team as long gave them the unexpected answer. "If you don't mind my input, it reminds me of Neal Caffrey's style."

Surprised by the answer and it's source, Peter questioned him. "Why do you think it looks like Caffrey's style?"

Feeling like all eyes were on him, the young agent went into report mode to deal with the pressure. "He is one of the most legendary forgers and I work with the people who knew him best. My plan is to study his work and how you caught him so that I can hopefully stand a better chance of catching any forgers that I might encounter in my career."

Impressed, Peter continued to question him. "That's a good idea. Okay, since it is your theory, explain what about this painting reminds you of Neal's style."

Nervously, the young agent stepped forwards and started pointing. "The shade of blue here is too perfect of a match to the original. Most forgers go slightly dark or too light but this is likely to be exact judging by the look of it. Then there is the fact that what I see changes with perspective. If I stand over here, I can almost see Agent Burke's face, but if I move over here, I only see the intended forgery."

He was cut off from continuing his speech as Peter and Jones both moved to see what he had been talking about. Sure enough, from the right angle they could see something that looked like Peter's face smiling back at them from the picture.

"But… how? I mean… isn't he supposed to be dead?" Jones was spluttering. He had watched Peter mourn over Neal, had personally attended the funeral and saw him lowered into the ground, how could Neal still be alive? "This must be copy cat?"

Guarding his words and his emotions as best as he could; Peter didn't seem so sure. "I would have said the same thing except I talked to Diana the other day and she said some things that have been bothering me."

It was Jones' turn to be surprised. "What did she say?

"I won't share the exact details as it didn't make sense. Basically, she said that we all know the agent undercover for this operation, but not as well as we thought. That he is taking being a spook to a whole new level. There was something about him wishing to tell me something, but not being able to. Finally, she teased me about Neal… but not like she usually does. She was hiding something, and it has been driving me nuts ever since!" Seeing that Jones didn't seem to be getting what he was saying at first, he defined it a little better. "Jones, she joked about Neal with the words like he was dead, but a tone like he was alive and she knew it for sure."

Shocked, Jones looked like he didn't know what to say.

In the absence of anyone else knowing what to say, Peter continued. "I'm not going to say anything for sure but, for the first time since I identified his body, she has me seriously thinking that there may be something up about the whole thing." Taking a deep breath, he stated the plan. ""We are going to treat this like a copy cat until further notice, but keep a lookout for anything Neal like too, just in case. After all, Caffrey was always a master at the impossible."

Anger

Diana was waiting for the call. The call where the entire New York team called her and told her off for giving Peter hope that would be shattered.

"How could you Diana? We just watched him grieve over Neal for the last year. He is finally pulling his life back together, he laughs, smiles, and you just had to give him hope that Neal might be alive!" Jones wasn't happy with her at all.

Admittedly, even Jones would have been in big trouble with her if he gave Peter such hope unfounded by sure information.

With a sigh she tried to appease them without giving too much away. It was easier talking to Peter when she knew that Neal was safely playing with her son on the floor. "The conversation was easier to have with Peter due to certain circumstances that aren't currently an option. Basically, I know something that I can't share and although I don't want to give too much hope, I know that there is reason to hope."

As the apparent spokes person, Jones continued. "What do you mean that you know something? Peter said that you were hiding something and that talking to you was like you were saying that Neal is alive. That isn't possible, so why would you be hinting anything like it to Peter?"

Growing frustrated too, Diana wished she knew what to say. Then she remembered something. "He said that he could deal with all of this because he knows. Although I don't know all of it, I know too."

While she tried to think of a way to finish explaining it the others started into a series of questions.

After a few attempts, she managed to gain their attention. "You're right, I probably shouldn't have said half the things that I said to Peter, but it was hard. Do you have any idea how hard it is to know what I know, and wish to say it so bad that it hurts? The problem is that it isn't my information to share, no one even believes the idea, and that I don't know how this case is going to go to know if it is even going to matter in the long run anyway."

Suddenly the team got the same feeling that Peter had. Neal was alive, and Diana knew, but couldn't share. Then they got another understanding, there was the possibility that if Neal was alive, that he would die before this case was done so it wasn't a good idea to get too hopeful either.

Hearing the silence on the other end of the line she continued. "It does give me a whole new appreciation for his strength. He has been going through these pains for a long time and he has done a better job than me." Then she muttered to herself, but the team heard hints of it. "No wonder he wanted to let me find out and then told me once I had seen him."

With a new plan not to encourage or discourage Peter, the team finished their conversation with Diana before they went back to work.

Peter returned from lunch with no idea that he had missed another revealing conversation.

Consultants

Peter and the team had never met their California consultants, but one day as the case was heating up, they walked into the office.

"Hi, my name is Charles Carmichael. This is my wife Sarah, and our friends Morgan and Casey."

They shook hands with Peter before he invited them up to his office.

As they took seats, Chuck happened to see the picture of Neal on Peter's desk. He got a funny expression on his face before he smiled.

Glancing at her husband, Sarah gave him a questioning look.

With a shake of his head, Chuck signaled that he would explain later in private.

Being busy with bringing in more chairs, Peter once again missed an important situation, but that couldn't be helped.

Once they were all settled into the room, he went through some preliminary conversations with them to confirm who they were as well as get a feeling for what they were like in person.

Chuck particularly took interest in Peter and tried to get to know him in return.

Between the two of them, they dominantly carried the conversation until they were ready to arrange for a meeting the next day.

Shaking hands again, the others filed out while Chuck stayed back for a private word with Peter.

"We knew him too you know." He opened the conversation vaguely.

"Who?" Peter questioned.

"Your friend there… in the picture." Chuck directed Peter's attention to his picture of Neal. "I've known him since our school days, but it's been some years since I have seen him."

Sparked with interest, Peter picked up the picture and looked at it fondly. "I arrested him for forgery and when his initial sentence was up we became partners… he was killed in the field last year during a huge bust."

"He played a criminal?" Catching his slip, Chuck tried to rectify his words. "I mean, he was a criminal? After school, our lives went separate directions so I haven't really seen him in years."

Taking note of the slip, Peter continued the conversation to see what else he could get from this friend. "From what I know, he went into crime when he was eighteen. For several years he climbed the ranks until he hit the FBI's radar and his case landed on my desk. Then, for three years I chased him around the globe until he walked into a trap where I arrested him. After a four year sentence, he escaped for his girlfriend, I arrested him again, he presented the offer to be my CI, and I took him up on it. He became my best friend and the best partner that I ever had…" He drifted off as it hurt to remember that with the man gone, or likely gone?

Noticing that he had struck a chord, Chuck was careful in what he said. "He has always had a way of getting through things when you least expect it. I'm sure his death was for a good reason, he wouldn't have gone down any other way."

Feeling like there was a great deal more to be discussed, Peter didn't want to end the conversation but, as Chuck had another appointment to meet, he let the man go.

Explanations

Once the Carmichael team had left the FBI office, they all went after Chuck to explain what had happened.

"He isn't dead again." He beamed.

"Who… Bryce?" Sarah asked.

While the other two looked less interested, but still curious all the same, Chuck explained.

"I saw his picture on Peter's desk. Apparently, he was contracted for some extensive undercover work for the FBI as a 'Neal Caffrey.' They created a criminal character for him and allowed him to choose an agent to work with. Bryce picked Peter and they did the whole global chase, Bryce did the prison sentence when Operation Sandwall came up, and after he was last shot he was placed back to the role. Last year they took down the Panthers."

He was interrupted by whistles as even Casey was impressed with that.

Picking up his story again, Chuck continued. "After they took down the Panthers, Bryce faked his death by one of his character's nemesis. Since the Panthers were known to kill anyone connected to those who crossed them, he didn't want to endanger agent Burke and his family. According to my flash, he has been based out of DC again and running international missions for the past year. Then when this case came up, he was assigned to it and insisted on our groups working it."

Morgan wanted to know why he would pick these particular teams.

"Based on the reports in my flash, he trusts Peter as much as he trusts me." That was a relief to Chuck. He didn't like being Bryce's only friend.

"Why the team in DC though? It's obvious why he would choose us when he could." Sarah didn't need to know about Bryce's trust of their team, it was obvious by how he entrusted them with the Intersect and Chuck's life.

"That was a requirement out of his control. However, he did insist on an agent Barrigan being assigned as she used to work with Peter so she would also be a trusted friend of some kind." She was trusted by Bryce and that was all that mattered to Chuck.

As they arrived at their next meeting, the subject of Bryce dropped to the background until later.

The Letter

That evening, Peter was going through the mail when he stopped short.

Elizabeth noticed him staring at a letter in complete shock. "What's wrong Peter?"

"I haven't gotten a letter from these people… ever, but I haven't heard from them in nearly thirty years either." His hands were shaking and he looked pale.

Even more curious, Elizabeth glanced at the letter to see that it was about, but there wasn't much to go on except some unfamiliar names. "Why don't you open it?"

"Because, I am afraid of what it is going to say." He was lost in his own world so Elizabeth continued to try to reach him.

"Let's move over to the couch first then."

Nodding wordlessly, Peter decided that it was probably a good idea to be sitting down.

Settling in on the couch, Elizabeth asked him what it related to.

"My brother. He was taken when he was a toddler and no one has been able to find anything of him since." Peter was still staring at the envelope.

That was new news for Elizabeth. "You never talked about him before. What is his name? Did he look like you?"

Smiling at the vague memories, Peter felt a different kind of sorrow. "Bryce has been gone without a trace for a long time. No one in the family talks about him much because it hurts not knowing if he is even alive. As for his appearance, he looked like you and Neal with the dark hair and blue eyes."

Even more curios, Elizabeth continued to encourage and support him. "What if it is good news?"

Doubting it, Peter started to slit it open slowly. "After nearly three decades? Still, I'll never know what they have to say if I don't open it."

Waiting with bated breath, Elizabeth watched as Peter opened the letter and read through the contents.

Gasping in surprise, Peter reread the letter.

After a few moments, he passed the letter to Elizabeth for her to read it for herself while he reflected on it.

Like Peter, Elizabeth gasped and had to reread it again.

Regaining her composure, she started the conversation back up again. "They found him… and he is alive! It is good news after all." She couldn't keep her smile to herself so she wondered why Peter still seemed upset.

"He is an undercover agent in the middle of a job. If he survives, they will bring him back to the family once it is safe." He ran his hand through his hair as he thought of that. "It's been nearly thirty years since I have seen him, and since he was just a toddler he won't have any memory of us." As he sighed, he did get the beginnings of a smile. "Still, I'll get the chance to reconnect with my brother for the first time."

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