1C: Confrontations


Standing in the middle of the office, Neal held his phone gingerly in his hand as he stared at it. He had just finished a phone call with someone official and there hadn't been much said on his part.

Attempting some reconnaissance, Diana decided to be abrupt with the con man. "So, who was that? It sounded important."

"Trigger is dead." Neal didn't explain, simply stated the core fact behind his conversation.

"Who is Trigger? Sounds like a dog?" Jones tried to make him laugh.

Turning to walk away, Neal gave them a little more information. "He's the cop that shot me when I was a kid." Heading for Peter's office, he didn't make it two steps before Jones and Diana were in his way again.

"Hey, you can't drop something like that and then walk away." Jones stopped him.

"Yeah, why did a cop shoot you?" Diana was concerned.

"Because I was a witness who could prove he was corrupt and he didn't want to risk it. The guy went to prison for attempted murder, child abuse, and his other crimes on top of it all." Shaking Jones' grip off, he paused just past them. "Don't research into what I just told you. He wasn't the only corrupt cop who was out to kill me growing up, and I don't want a billboard pointing to where I am."

This time no one tried to stop him, but the two agents were left silently staring after him from the middle of the floor.

Knocking on Peter's door, Neal let himself in. "Trigger's dead."

Dropping his pen, Peter wondered what the cause was.

"Remember, he was a cop. When the case about his crimes went public, his cases were transferred to other officers, and every action he had ever done was investigated. It caused a stir and got attention from the criminal element, so when one of the people he had arrested was inadvertently transferred to the same prison, the man exposed him for his crimes in revenge. The former officer didn't last long after that." Neal slumped down in the seat. Being reminded of what the man had done to him wasn't as bad after a weekend spent with Peter, but it still wasn't pleasant to think about.

"So…" Peter stopped like he didn't want to say what had crossed his mind.

"Spit it out, Peter. You were wondering if my brothers did something now that they know. The answer is no, they didn't have to do anything." Seeing something flash across Peter's eyes, Neal rolled his. "And no one else did anything on purpose either. It's been decades and there was a simple mistake in transferring his information years ago. Nothing you, my brothers, myself, or anyone I know did."

"Okay." Peter tried to calm the irritation he could see in Neal's eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes… No… I don't know. What is there to talk about anyway? It's not like you don't know the basics of what he did, and it all happened a long time ago." Neal shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The memories were still painful, but the cause was no longer an issue.

"That is why you still shift every time it's mentioned, your eyes flinch away from the pain, and there is a distance to your expression like you're trying to avoid dealing with what happened. It still hurts you, so there are still things you need to work through. If you need…" Peter analyzed his friend as he sat across from him.

"Don't mention shrink, therapist, or anything relating to such a profession. I was forced to talk to them as a kid, to work through what was done to me time and time again. It never helped, and one of them used it against me." Neal admitted to more trouble from his childhood.

With his eyes growing wide, Peter was concerned.

Before he could ask, Neal answered. "He… he tried to scare me into being a compliant little patient. Threatened to tell people if I didn't at least pretend to be improving through his work. His job was on the line, so he was desperate to retain his profitable position."

"Neal…" Peter hated these conversations. Ever since Neal had shown his trust in him, he had learned of more horrors in the man's past than he had ever imagined. It wasn't the bonding or even the pain Neal shared that bothered him, it was the fact that it existed in the first place. These things shouldn't happen to anyone, let alone his caring best friend who took it all to protect his brothers.

Breathing to try and regain his composure, Neal didn't like discussing these topics. The more he shared with Peter, the more his brothers learned of the secrets he had been hiding from them. It also didn't help to see Peter's pained expression as he learned of another terror Neal had faced almost if not completely alone as a child.

Distracted, he caught the essence of what his brothers were up to and suddenly realized they were not only on their way back home to the states but were about to land in a helicopter at the edge of the city. "We need to go."

"What? Why?" Peter was caught off guard by his abrupt change of demeanor. One moment he was trying to shake the painful memories of his childhood, and the next he was tense announcing their need to leave.

"My brothers… they just landed at the edge of the city, so unless you want them putting on a show over everything in the office, it's best we meet them elsewhere," Neal explained with a distant look to his expression as he tried to find a good place to direct everyone. "They're hungry, so maybe a coffee shop?"

"There is one close to my house. Then if the situation escalates, we have a more private location to move to." Peter agreed. "Take care of your stuff, I'm going to update Hughes." He instructed as he ducked to the office next door.

Neal took a moment to collect his expression into his normally cheerful demeanor before descending to the office below. Jones and Diana were particularly watching him, but several other teammates recognized that something was up and were also observing him.

Approaching their friend, the agents asked if he was alright.

"As much as I can be, all things considered," Neal muttered distractedly.

"Then what's the rush?" Diana wondered.

"My brothers are in town and coming to 'talk' about everything they just learned about. We are trying to prevent a massive scene from going down here in the office and meeting them elsewhere." Neal gave a few more details.

"Brothers?" Diana exclaimed in question. "I didn't know you had any siblings."

"They're black ops agents and we try not to associate with each other when it comes to our work. My brothers have always seen me as the weakest of us and endeavor to protect me from their enemies."

"Weaker? I thought you were the one getting shot by a dirty cop as a kid? What is weak about that?" Jones couldn't believe it.

"I kept all of it secret from them. My brothers just knew that I seemed to get hurt a lot, and showed what they perceived as cowardice when it came to adult men. Now they know it was from extensive abuse and violence from our mother's boyfriends. Needless to say, they aren't happy with me for not telling them." Neal powered down his computer having saved and closed all of his active work. It was likely to be a long afternoon.

"Why didn't you tell your brothers?" Jones wondered. He had a brother, and they shared a lot with each other. Granted, not everything, but a lot.

"Because then they would have had to fear the penalties of whatever misbehavior we were perceived to have done. My younger brother… he was always an easygoing gamer, and my older brother already had a lot to deal with in his efforts to try and make sure we had what we needed. I did what I could to fill the gap in the middle." With a shrug, he finished piling the physical papers to the side of his desk.

"Does Peter know?" Diana asked softly. It was assumed he did, based on Neal's retreat to his office and the comments he made when Neal was deaged at his place, but they didn't know how much he knew.

"Most of the basics… which is enough nightmare material. I don't want him to have the thoughts running through his head that I do." Neal looked up to the half floor above where Peter was moving from Hughes's office back to his own. Pausing briefly, Peter stopped and caught Neal's glance.

Recognizing the protective look, Peter knew Neal was trying to keep the worst of what had happened from him. He had already known it, but that expression was confirmation. Sending back a look of his own, he wanted to convey strength and capability. Neal needed to know he could rely on him to have his back, to help him deal with the demons from his past. As hard as it was, he needed his best friend to feel free to talk to him when he needed to without reservations caused by the urge to protect him. Seeing Neal nod back, the message was received. Whether or not it was accepted was yet to be determined. Returning to his office, he had his own work to put away for the afternoon.

Below, Neal was still trying to redirect Jones and Diana who were continuing to curiously pry into the situation. In an effort to reach more cheerful topics, they asked him about his brothers and teased him about middle child syndrome.

Making his escape when Peter came down the stairs, Neal successfully evaded the questions into his brothers and retreated from the comments on his position with his siblings.

Missing the glances exchanged behind them, Peter and Neal were more focused on meeting with Neal's brothers. The other triplets were bound to be overbearing and anxiously concerned.

Driving through the city, Peter kept silent and allowed Neal to work through the situation in silence. He had his own thoughts to consider. After all, it had been a while since he had faced all three brothers at the same time, and then the others' scorn had been directed at him. This would be the first time their anger would be directed at someone else where he would be considered an ally instead of a foe.

Pondering, he wondered if he would like the other brothers, or if they would simply be tolerated as Neal's brothers. It was an interesting point. They were agents, but very different from the nonviolent con he considered his closest friend. Perhaps he would get along with the younger as an accountant, or the older as an athlete? There were points of commonality that they could get along though, but whether that would stand against their differences was yet to be determined.

Pulling into a parking space, Peter turned to Neal. "Ready?"

"Not even close. Let's go." Neal seemed to be building up his courage for the encounter they were heading to. It wasn't some criminal meeting he could con his way through. It was his brothers, a meeting where he was exposed for himself, and unable to draw up enough masks to hide behind.

"That's the spirit." Peter praised while doing his own version of the same thing.

Climbing out, they again missed the car pulling into a parking spot five places down. Jones and Diana knew their teammates would recognize them and their car, so they had kept their distance relying on Neal's tracking data instead.

Following the others toward the coffee shop, they walked past with others in between them to avoid being noticed. Crossing the street, they found a table at the neighboring café and ordered light food and drink. It wouldn't take long to prepare, and they could nurse their drinks for some time while discussing what they were observing in the shop across the street.

Choking on their drinks, they were both surprised to see three Caffreys meeting at a table. Likely more startled than they were by the sudden presence of Peter helping them breathe.

"I choked on popcorn the first time I saw them together." He smirked to see them jump at his presence. "Care to explain why you're spying?"

Looking abashed, Diana decided it wasn't a good idea to be caught spying on the boss. Still, she didn't look too repentant. "Neal told us he had brothers. We wanted to see them."

Agreeing with her, Jones defended them. "He wasn't going to bring them into the office, so we decided to follow you two."

"Neal's tracking anklet." Peter suspected.

Nodding, they confirmed his deduction.

"Go back to the office. We'll talk about this later." Peter was sending them away from the fallout.

"Why not let them join the fun?"

All three were startled by the three Caffrey voices sounding in sync behind them.

"That is creepy," Jones noted as he turned around to see three identical men looking alike, but dressed very differently. One was in army attire, a second was wearing a more casual black like he was ready for theft, and the third wore a familiar rat pack.

"No, I'm saving them from your interrogation and bickering," Peter stated. "Something I wish I could do for myself." was muttered as an aside.

"You mentioned having an older and a younger brother, but I never thought that was because you were triplets, let alone identical!" Diana stated.

Shrugging, Neal was used to their reactions. He had heard them his entire childhood. "You wouldn't have believed me if I told you."

Extending their hands, the other brothers introduced themselves.

"James Jr. Carson."

"Bryce Larkin."

"Why different names?" Diana pried. She was the least reserved about interrogating the brothers.

"Because we prefer to use our real first name with last names of our choosing. Danny here probably picked a different name to hide his crimes." James teased momentarily forgetting not to use his brother's Wit-sec name.

Glaring at his brother, Neal didn't appreciate that name being revealed. It didn't include the last name, but the first was the beginning of the archeologist finding his secret. Based on Peter's inquisitive look, he had caught it. "Neal is my real name, and Caffrey is a family name. It's as close as I dare go to my full real name."

Seeing Neal's distress, Peter chose to keep his interrogation for another time. He had a name to look for, so it was only a matter of time before he discovered the secret that Neal was still hiding, even from his brothers by the look of it.

Letting the conversation digress into basic topics, Peter understood that the brothers didn't want to get personal with an audience. Sending Jones and Diana back to the office, they had met the brothers, so it was time to return to work.

"How about my place, we are in the neighborhood, and El had a meeting to attend," Peter suggested.

Taking the offer, the brothers divided between vehicles with Neal relieved to be alone with Peter again for a few minutes of respite.

"Are they giving you a hard time?" He asked his consultant. Whether he was referring to their teammates or his brothers was left unsaid.

"No. Jones and Diana are just overly curious, but I can assume they will be asking about my brothers or teasing me in the future. That doesn't bother me, as long as they don't advertise the secret." Neal stared out the window for a moment. "My brothers… they haven't gotten started yet. We were in public before."

Then he turned to Peter. "Are you sure you want to do this? They are probably going to be loud when they let loose. Your neighbors might be calling in about the disruption of the peace."

Going stern, Peter threw a glance at his CI while navigating traffic. "They had better not take it that far. As for an argument in general, I'd rather be there to help you deal with it if I can. Your brothers may have viewed you as weak for all of these years, but I don't want them going too far in the opposite direction. Somewhere in the middle would be good."

"So, you don't think I'm overly strong to handle my brothers' wrath?" Neal felt insulted.

"I think you can handle it just fine, but that doesn't mean you should. You're the strongest person I know, Neal. Don't sell yourself short." Peter encouraged Neal. He knew the kid had been degraded a lot over the years, so he wanted to help build him better perceptions of himself.

Feeling better for the compliment, Neal was grateful for his friend's presence.

Pulling up to his home, Peter wasn't surprised to see the other car already parked a few spots down. The other triplets already knew where he lived.

Unlocking the door to lead the boys in, Peter was surprised to find Elizabeth working at the dining room table. "Hon?"

"Oh, Hon?" She looked up in surprise. "My meeting was canceled. What are you up to?"

Following Peter in, Neal looked sulky.

"What did Neal do now?" Elizabeth suspected he had something to do with the off-hours meeting at their home.

"His brothers are in town, and they want to talk to him, but we're trying to avoid causing a scene in the office," Peter explained. "Neal didn't do anything… recently."

Raising his shoulders at Neal's glare, he silently said he did keep the secret in the first place. Cocking his head, Neal accepted the truth of the matter.

Observing the silent conversation, Elizabeth understood that there was something being kept from her. "Are your brothers coming?"

"They're waiting outside. Meeting Jones and Diana are apparently enough to meet and greet for one day." Neal shrugged.

Kissing his wife in a belated greeting, Peter explained. "Neal mentioned his brothers in the office, so Jones and Diana traced his anklet to spy on us. They were curious to see them, ended up meeting them, and have made their retreat back to the office."

"Retreat, huh? I supposed I could find something to do upstairs while the boys have their conversation down here. Are you going to join me?"

"Perhaps… unless I'm needed as a mediator down here." Peter wasn't sure.

Neal was staring off into the distance, likely having a conversation with his brothers through their connection.

Determined to at least listen to the conversation in part, Elizabeth figured she could get something of their voices. Kissing her husband again, she retreated upstairs and settled on their bed with her laptop. It wasn't the most conventional workspace, but at least it had the comfort of home and her things spread across the covers.

Listening, she heard two more voices join the conversation downstairs. They were rather quiet, so she didn't get the words, but she caught hints of the tones. It sounded like stressed Neal conversing with a serious Neal and angry Neal. Perhaps their voices were so similar because they were brothers?

After a while, it was quiet so she considered sneaking downstairs for a peak. Reaching the landing above the stairs, she found Peter looking up at her from the bottom. "You can come down… the other two left."

Walking down the stairs, she noticed how Peter kept running his hands over his face. He was obviously stressed by whatever had gone on. "How did it go?"

Trying to breathe deeply, Peter was glad to receive comfort by leaning into his wife as she sat on the stair above him. "Neal… he had been keeping the full details about what he went through as a child secret. He didn't want to cause nightmares or undue worry… his brothers didn't share that opinion and aired more details than he was willing to share." The agent buried his face into his wife's sweater.

Holding his head in her lap, El tried to offer what comfort she could as she felt him tremble with tears dampening her clothing. Whatever Neal had been keeping a secret, it was far worse than Peter had imagined it. Curling down to rest over the back of Peter's head, she sheltered him with her body while crooning to him softly.

After a few minutes, Peter started to pull himself together. He needed the release, but he also wanted to be composed when Neal returned to avoid setting him off. The kid was already upset enough to be pacing around the backyard.

"It was that bad…" Elizabeth knew she would be comforting her husband from nightmares in the future.

"Probably worse for them, but yeah, it was that bad." Peter shuddered again.

"Worse for them?"

"Did I not tell you? The triplets have a twin connection, something like telepathy. They can see, hear, and feel what each other is experiencing. When Neal was suddenly deaged, the walls he had built to protect his brothers from this weren't able to hold it all in, and they got the full effect of his memories. It was like seeing, hearing, and feeling it for the first time… with all of the terror and perspective of a child's view. Neal had to relive it all again too, while he was small again so as to feel helpless to defend himself." Peter still had visions of what he had witnessed of Neal's terror mixed with his imagined views of what had happened dancing through his mind in a horrifying parade.

Stroking her husband's head, Elizabeth ran her fingers through his hair to try and comfort him. "But he had you this time, so it wasn't as bad for him, was it?"

"No. Peter was a lot of help going through that." Neal answered.

Startled, Elizabeth hadn't heard him approach.

Peter took a moment to even notice, and when he did, he saw the pained expression cross Neal's face in response to his own misery. "Don't. I'm glad I know so that I can help you, but it is a lot to take in."

Searching for a way to distract Peter, Neal decided to reveal his last secret. "Perhaps you should research Brooks when we get back to the office. Danny Brooks."

"Why?" Peter's curiosity was rising, but he wasn't past the initial shock of the earlier reveal yet.

"Because it was the name I grew up under… and it still carries a few secrets with it yet today." Neal teased. He knew his brothers would also be researching it, but it was worth it to give them all a happier distraction, to reveal the man it had caused him to be.


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