Hey guys I'm back.
I apologize for the absence, I've just been struggling a lot with my depression lately so it's been hard to find the motivation to write.
That being said I can't say that this is the best I've ever written but I did my best and hopefully you'll like it.

CHAPTER 7

Something was very off, there were too many unanswered questions.
Why were the boys left alone in that apartment, where were their uncle and why did they try to run away?
Maybe the most important question of all was; could two innocent little children somehow be connected to the strings of robberies?
Why had the unknown caller brought up the robberies?
Why didn't the caller just call the NYPD and tell them that there were two kids left by themselves?
Why did the caller want to involve the FBI?
Peters thoughts were interrupted when he felt a light tug on his jacket and when he looked down he saw that the younger of the boys had left the room and was now looking at him with his big, blue eyes.

"Hey, buddy."

He greeted but the boy didn't answer him, instead he just took his drawing and handed it to Peter.
The drawing depicted a brown haired man with a black suit, holding what looked like a FBI badge.

"Is this me?"

He asked and the kid nodded eagerly.

"It's really good."

Peter said and he didn't lie, sure it was far from a masterpiece but for a four-year-old it was incredible.
He had even signed it, his name written in big, sloppy letters and the E was turned the wrong way.
It was simply adorable.
Peter tried to give it back to Neal but the child shook his head and gently pushed his hands back.

"It's for me?"

Neal nodded again and Peter smiled as he thanked him.
Maybe he should bring it home and let it work as a subtle way to make his wife think about children, and perhaps get her to yearn for one again.
The kid looked back at his big brother who was occupied with the phone call before he looked up at Peter again, this time with a pleading look on his face.

"Card."

Neal said and Peter frowned in confusion.

"What?"
"Number card."

They just looked at each other for a couple of seconds before Peter realized what the kid was asking for.
He took his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out a business card.

"You mean this?"

Neal nodded and Peter gave the card to Neal who tucked it away safely in his pocket.
This raised even more questions, why did Neal want a business card?
Did he think that they needed to contact him?
Peter crouched down in front of the boy and looked into his eyes.

"Neal, are you and your brother in danger?"

The four-year-old looked like he wanted to answer him, but instead of doing so he looked back at Mozzie, who had finished the call and was now looking at them through the glass.
Neal dropped his gaze before turning around and walking back into the conference room, leaving Peter with more questions than answers.

As soon as Matthew Keller stepped out of the elevator, Peter knew that something was off with the man.
His gut was telling him, or rather yelling at him, to not trust this man.
Therefore Peter pulled the man aside immediately, asking him all kinds of questions in order to find something to make his bad feeling about the guy justified.
Keller however could answer every single question with ease, either the man was telling the truth or he had been rehearsing his story very well.
Peter didn't mention the phone call that had led them to the location, because he didn't want to spook the man, if he was in any way involved.
Apart from the phone call and Peter's gut feeling nothing were telling them that Keller was unfit as the children's guardian.
He couldn't refuse to give the kids back to their uncle without a single proof that they were being treated badly, so he reluctantly told Keller to stay put while he went up to fetch the boys.
As a last attempt to prove his gut right he looked the boys right in the eyes and asked them if they were really okay.

"Don't worry, suit."

Mozzie said and Peter frowned at the nickname.

"We're fine."

Both of them smiled at him and Peter sighed.

"Okay your uncle is waiting for you."

He said gesturing towards the bullpen and Mozzie walked past him while Neal surprised the agent by throwing his arms around his legs.

"Bye."

Neal said before following his brother down to the bullpen.
The kids ran to their uncle, who enveloped them in a big hug.
The three of them looked like a happy family, and for the first time in a very long time Peter started to doubt his gut.
At least he did until the second before Keller and his nephews walked into the elevator.
Neal turned around and looked right at Peter, and the terror he saw in the boy's blue eyes made him think that he had just committed a huge mistake.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

When Neal returned into the room, Mozzie immediately made sure that his brother hadn't said anything to the agent.
Luckily his brother seemed to realize that they couldn't trust these people, and that being separated would be way worse than Keller.
Their uncle would probably be mad for a while, and then eventually he would get over it and things would go back to normal.
At least that's what he hoped, that's what always happened but then again their uncle had never been this mad before.
Keller walked into the bullpen and Mozzie felt chills run through his body, he could already sense the rage behind the man's fake smile.

"Okay Neal, we have to pretend that we're really happy to see uncle Keller."

The younger seemed to hesitate, not at all a fan of this plan.

"Please Neal, it's for our best. I promise."

Even if he still looked very uncertain he finally nodded, trusting that his big brother knew what he was doing.
Soon the agent returned into the room and established eye contact with them.

"Are you boys sure you're okay?"

Mozzie was surprised by the fact that the suit actually sounded like he cared, and for a second he actually doubted his plan before a voice in his head told him not to trust the man.

"Don't worry suit. We're fine."

He promised before he passed the agent, only to stop when he noticed Neal's absence.
His brother hugged the agent's legs and even said bye to the man.
Neal seemed to have taken a liking to the man, which was very rare especially when it came to adults.
Since their mother passed away, Neal had been shy around other people than his brother and the only time he even spoke to strangers were when they were pulling some stunt to get money or food.
He wasn't sure if he should see the attachment as a good thing or a bad thing.

Their uncle was dead quiet as they left the FBI building, but the anger was radiating off him and he made sure to keep a tight grip on their hands so that they wouldn't run away from him.
He dropped Mozzie's hand for a second as he hailed a cab and he noticed his hand was red from his uncle's iron grip.

"Get in."

Keller ordered with a low voice and the boys immediately jumped into the taxi, not daring to hesitate for even a second.
The driver turned around and looked at the children with a concerned gaze.

"Sir, I don't think it's safe for them to be riding in the taxi without car seats, especially the little one."

Without a word, Keller reached into his pocket and retrieved his wallet and handed some money to the man to shut him up.
The driver looked at the kids with a sympathetic look before he started to drive and Mozzie could only roll his eyes.
Since day one their uncle had been clear with the fact that he didn't care for their safety at all, even since before their mother died.
Keller had absolutely adored his sister and would have done everything for her, but he absolutely despised her cop husband and her sons.

The taxi took them to a new apartment building, since the FBI knew about the old apartment it was officially "burned".
The new apartment was very similar to the previous one, it was small and very bland which made Mozzie believe that this wasn't where Keller used to stay either, how many places did their uncle have?
Mozzie couldn't help but notice that there was a padlock on the bedroom door and it didn't take a genius to realize why it was there.
They walked into the bedroom and he was surprised to see Keller's partner waiting for them, but he was even more surprised that the man wore a sad expression.
Their uncle's partner grabbed the plastic bag, that was placed by his feet, and dumped the content out on the bed and Mozzie was glad to see that it was their clothes that had been left behind in the other apartment.
He was very relieved to see that Neal's teddy was lying in the pile of clothes, he didn't want to spend even a single night without that teddy.
His little brother had an odd relationship with the teddybear, Neal loved that teddy at the same time that he didn't care for it at all.
When it was daytime it was nothing to him, and it had happened way too often that he carelessly misplaced the teddy but then nighttime rolled along and if the teddy wasn't right by his side he would throw an epic tantrum and wouldn't stop crying and screaming until he had the teddy or until he had completely exhausted himself.
Mozzie's thoughts were interrupted when Keller's partner suddenly grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing back with him? You were supposed to be with the feds!"

Keller's partner said in a low voice.
The man's words last night 'tomorrow will be better' repeated in his head and Mozzie made the connection.

"You're the one who contacted the FBI."

Mozzie stated in confusion, not understanding why the man would do such a thing.

"Why?"
"I tried to save you from him."

He was yet again reminded of yesterday when the man had said that what Keller did to Neal was unacceptable, apparently the man had cared so much that he risked freedom or possibly his life if Keller found out what he had done.

"I'm sorry but we can't be in the system, we can't get separated."

The man was about to answer him but quickly close his mouth again as Keller walked into the room and all it took was a look from their uncle to make his partner leave the room.
Their uncle crouched down in front of them and gave them a small, creepy smile.

"You two are going to stay here, and you're going to behave and you're going to be quiet, understand?"

Mozzie recognized Keller's tone all too well, it was that eerily calm that the man had when he was beyond furious and when you heard that voice you should not say anything wrong.

"Understand."

Mozzie answered, not dumb enough to question him and send him over the edge.

"Good and what about you, Neal?"
"U-understand."

Stuttered his brother, which caused Keller to smile wider before standing up and walking out of the room.
He heard Keller lock the door, and then lock the padlock he'd spotted earlier.
Mozzie understood why Keller had locked them in, he didn't want them to end up in the claws of FBI or the police and he no longer trusted them to not rat him out, but despite understanding the reasons he really hoped they would be let out soon.
At least before they had been allowed to come and go as they pleased, but being trapped in this room without anything to do they would sooner or later make them feel like tigers trapped in a way too small cage and they would end up losing their minds.

Mozzie had a hard time falling asleep that night, he kept worrying about the next couple of days.
He knew that next couple of days would be horrible but then Keller would get over it. He hoped.
Their uncle had to get over it, he couldn't stay mad at them forever, right?
He started to ask himself if he had made the right choice or if he had made a horrible mistake, but one look at his brother, who was fast asleep next to him, told him that he had made the right choice.
The alternative was sleeping on the street, freezing, scared and exposed to all the danger the city had to offer, or not having his brother next to him at all.
Just the thought of being taken away from Neal made him terrified and he reached out for him, and enveloped the warm body in a hug.
Mozzie closed his eyes and tried to convince himself that if he just held on to his baby brother tight enough, then he could protect him from all the horrors of the world.