11A: Mistaken Identities
Peter wasn't fond of the CIA. Any agent worth their salt knew rumors and conspiracies involving their sister agency.
In his opinion, they were wild and pushed their activities too far under guises such as 'national security,' but they went beyond their legal reach in the process.
Based on this, Peter was especially displeased to find that he was working on a case with a consultant from the CIA. He was pretty sure the consultant was actually an agent, but he wouldn't be able to verify that. All he got was the last name, first initial, and a digital contact platform. This meant a lot of typing and no face-to-face interaction.
Had he mentioned how much he didn't like the CIA?
At the end of his first day working with B. Larkin, Peter had a niggling feeling that something was familiar about the man, but he couldn't fathom what.
Meeting Neal down on the main floor for the trip home, Peter vented a little bit about how annoying it was to work with a consultant in such a fashion.
"I guess that negates me asking to type in when it's slow," Neal teased before turning serious at Peter's glare. Then he came up with logical reasoning for each detail that Peter was able to share.
Calming down, Peter was grateful to his friend and went home in a better mood for his wife. He forgot that niggling feeling.
Continuing his work for several weeks, Peter remembered his feeling of familiarity and even began to narrow down the cause. It was Larkin's words, he'd say speech but he'd never heard him, so it seemed to narrow down to his word choice and something of their flow.
The next challenge was trying to figure out why they seemed familiar.
Growing curious, Peter decided to use what he had to research this 'consultant.' He had access to general government employee databases so he might find something.
When he got a positive result, Peter about hit the ceiling!
Larkin was his own consultant, Neal was Larkin!
He couldn't believe that Neal would set up an alias and work with the CIA. If nothing else, why couldn't he just walk up and work with him face-to-face? 'That negates him asking to type in,' ha! Neal was already typing in his work as Larkin!
Digging deeper, he found that Larkin was indeed an agent, a Black Ops agent to be more precise! That was even worse than Neal creating an alias to consult; it meant that Neal was an agent who had created a criminal alias before infiltrating his office!
Why, why would the CIA allow that? What reason could they have possibly concocted?
Stewing, Peter continued to line up information and what he planned to say in response to his findings.
Neal was going to be in for it when the rest of the team went home!
Biding his time, Peter threw the occasional glare at Neal while he waited for the day to end and for the team to clear out.
When it was finally time; Peter closed up his office and collared Neal for the walk to one of the interrogation rooms. With the camera disconnected, they had privacy where no one could hear them.
Turning on a confused Neal, Peter began venting his pent-up fury. "How could you deceive all of us like this? Why play these games when you can just be open with us?" The floodgates were open and the torrent of words rushed out so quickly that Peter lost track of them. When the frustrated fatigue hit, he kept a hand on his hip and ran the other palm down his face. "I don't even know what to do with this!"
Neal hadn't said anything through the whole tirade, but when he quietly spoke up, he said, "Meet me at June's in the morning. I'll have an explanation for you then."
Waving him off, Peter didn't even bother looking at him, "Just go," he indicated the door.
A few moments later the soft click of the door closing confirmed Neal's departure.
"Maybe I should call him Larkin instead," Peter grumbled to himself. It took him a few more minutes to calm down enough to reconnect the surveillance equipment and go home. Whatever explanation Larkin had, it would wait until morning.
Parking at June's, Peter was still upset by the situation, but at least his vent the previous evening had taken the edge off.
He had the long walk up three flights of stairs for his curiosity to kick in. Just what was the explanation going to be?
When he finally reached the loft, he could hear Neal talking about breakfast and something like a sizzle to indicate that he was cooking. Letting himself in, Peter froze in the doorway at the sight that greeted him, two Neals.
Turning from where he was cooking, Neal indicated the man sitting at his table with a spatula, "Meet my younger brother, Bryce Larkin of the CIA. Bryce, my handler, Peter Burke," then he went back to juggling the food to avoid anything burning.
Larkin's eyes were hard as he looked back at Peter, "I understand there has been some confusion between my brother and me. He didn't know I was working with you; I don't keep him up to date on my work unless there is a chance he could be at risk due to our similar appearances. The FBI didn't even inform me who I was working with for me to know this might be an issue." His fingers played with a butter knife that lay on the table in front of him. It seemed harmless, but in the hand of a trained agent, even something so mundane could be deadly.
Catching the anger, Peter realized that Neal's brother was aware of a little of what had happened the night before, but perhaps not all. At least, he hadn't thrown the knife or even picked it up.
"You write like your brother, I noticed it the first day but couldn't peg it exactly until we'd worked for a few weeks. I had a B. Larkin of the CIA so I was able to look you up and found a picture." He explained the basics while he moved into the room. His anger at Neal had generally dissipated, but he still wished he'd been warned.
Neal obviously knew he had a CIA brother.
Having finished cooking, Neal served breakfast to his brother and asked if Peter wanted any.
Turning him down, Peter accepted some coffee, but he'd already eaten.
It was an awkward meal that passed in relative silence.
When Bryce had finished eating, he asked, "Are we good here?" to Neal giving him the chance to say if he wanted him to remain or not.
Looking at Peter, Neal silently gauged his reaction before nodding for his brother to leave.
With a last glare at Peter, Bryce picked up a small bag and left.
Alone with Neal, the atmosphere was awkward, so Peter remained silent until they were leaving. "I wish you'd warned me about your brother," his tone was more cutting than he intended due to some remaining frustration, but it wasn't like Neal couldn't have told him.
"He's an agent who can't even contact his best friend, I'm not even supposed to know he's alive," Neal didn't elaborate much as he closed the door behind them. "Black Ops is a different world with tighter rules in some respects."
That surprised Peter, Neal wasn't even supposed to know his brother was alive? Stupid CIA, families should know their loved ones are alive!
Turning his frustration back at the CIA at large, Peter was okay with the quiet ride to work.
Neal gave him space as the case progressed until its eventual conclusion. As the distance between them continued, Peter found himself missing their comradery. He'd been talking to Neal's brother regularly, but it wasn't the same.
Slowly, things picked up their old normal and Peter was glad to put the CIA fiasco behind them.
Ah, the weekend!
Peter wasn't a fan of being out and about running errands, but at least he was with his lovely wife. They were getting everything they needed done as quickly as possible to have time to go home and prepare for their reservations. Then their date night kicked in!
Deciding to grab a quick lunch, Elizabeth suggested a hot dog stand and pointed to one conveniently located in the business district they were traversing.
Agreeing to the stop, Peter was hungry and easily convinced. He placed his order and stood by while Elizabeth also ordered and instigated conversation.
Peter was absently listening to the mundane conversation as the young man talked about working the stand to save towards college and how his boss, Theo, had started the business to put his kids through school. "You'd be surprised how valuable such a stand can be." This caught Peter's attention before the guy digressed into the value as if it would benefit them. His attention to detail would be good in business school but Peter felt most customers wouldn't care as long as their order was filled quickly and accurately.
Paying more attention, Peter noticed that the guy had a familiar build. Then once he was listening, he recognized the voice, Neal!
What was he doing moonlighting as a hot dog vendor? Or, was it his brother again, Bryce?
With their hot dogs in hand, Peter was glad his wife was so friendly as she asked the man his name.
Taking note of it, Peter planned to research the man when he got to work on Monday
In the meanwhile, he still had his wife and their date night. Researching potential CIA operations in his city could wait, no matter how frustrated they made him.
Arriving at his office on Monday, Peter had gone in early to do his research while the office was empty.
Getting started, Peter ran the name Elizabeth had been given and traced it to a picture, a picture that matched Neal and his brother. Having confirmed that it was one of them, he ran the name in the government database to see if it was one of Bryce's aliases. When the results pulled up an NSA file belonging to one James Carson, Peter got angry again. Neal had lied to him!
He should have known Neal wouldn't tell him if he was an agent from another agency, he certainly hadn't told about his brother and the potential risk he entailed! Feeling betrayed again, Peter threw another glare down at his friend, a man he couldn't trust!
Collecting what information he could, Peter lined up his results and waited until he could confront Neal.
It was a difficult day of management meetings and paperwork, but he eventually got through it.
When the office cleared and it was down to him and Neal again, or rather, James, Peter repeated his angry performance of hauling Neal back to an interrogation room.
Once the door was closed and the system off, Peter landed into his consultant for his latest lies.
"I thought you would have told me after last time, but no, I had to find that you're moonlighting as a hot dog vendor and trace you back to the NSA on my own!" He wasn't as upset about the NSA as the CIA, he had a better view of them through Hughes, but he didn't appreciate being lied to by anyone!
Most of his rant revolved around Neal knowing he didn't appreciate being treated this way, but he had persisted in lying to him anyway. Running through his fuel, Peter finished with a snap, "And don't try to hang this on Bryce, I know enough of the CIA and NSA to know they don't work like that."
This time Neal seemed angry when Peter looked at his reflection, did he not appreciate being found out?
"You know the drill; I'll see you in the morning!" Neal left with a slam of the door and Peter could imagine him storming home to call Bryce, his bosses, or whomever he felt necessary.
Alone again, Peter took some time to calm down before going home to his wife. Whatever cover story the NSA planned to use, he'd hear it in the morning.
It was a familiar walk up to the loft the next morning, so Peter paid extra attention to the details to distract himself. He'd spent his night imagining all kinds of scenarios and he was battling not to let his anger get the best of him.
Reaching the top of the third flight, Peter crossed the landing to Neal's door. He could hear voices talking so it sounded like Bryce was back. Opening the door, he was stunned! This time, three Neals were standing around!
Looking up and recognizing him, Bryce drank the rest of his coffee in a gulp, "That's my cue to leave; he can't call you a liar now." Bryce put his cup in the sink and passed Peter with a pointed glare on his way out.
Neal was seated at his table lingering over coffee with his other brother. Gesturing to his guests, he initiated introductions. "Peter, meet my older brother, agent James Carson of the NSA. James, my handler agent Burke," his tone was sedate like he was tired.
"Why would a nice lady like his wife marry him?" James muttered to Neal which confirmed for Peter which brother he had met over the weekend.
What bothered Peter was Neal's soft response, "Some days, I'd say that you have to ask her."
It wasn't meant for him, but Peter heard it anyway.
Getting up, James flashed his badge to Peter followed by a warning, "My brother doesn't know about my work and I try to avoid my enemies finding out about him. You'd better not give him a hard time about Bryce and me, or you'll have me to deal with." He also glared before letting himself out.
Still standing by the door, Peter was trying to get past his shock and confusion. He was shocked to learn he was dealing with identical triplets, and confused by their behavior towards him.
Looking at Neal for an explanation, Peter noticed that his consultant and friend wouldn't even look at him. Instead, he seemed to prefer tracing the grains in the wood of the table with his eyes while his hands continued to hold his coffee. "Neal?" Peter wasn't sure how his voice sounded, but whether it was his tone or the sudden noise, Neal flinched.
"Don't, just, don't, Peter." Neal slowly spoke without looking at him, he sounded weary. "We both know I'm nothing but a con artist to you, and I'm done. I'm tired of being accused of everything and anything regardless of potential guilt or reason. So, don't expect to cross paths with my brothers if they can help it, and don't worry about your personal time, I won't be interrupting it anymore. I'll make my own way to the office."
Taking a step back, Peter wasn't sure what to think. Shouldn't he be glad his personal life wasn't going to be complicated by his consultant? It was good news that his brothers would avoid him, wasn't it? Then why did he feel like he'd just been slapped?
Since Neal went into the bathroom and appeared to be doing something towards getting ready, Peter was left without much choice. Either he could wait and force Neal and risk further damage to the situation, or he could go to work alone and give them both some space to regroup. Deciding on the latter, Peter turned and slowly descended the three flights of stairs as he thought.
Later, when Neal caught up to him at the office, Peter realized that it wouldn't be easy to work this situation out.
Neal continued to avoid him as much as possible all day.
Unfortunately, that set a pattern that stretched into weeks of avoidance.
Thank you, everyone, for reading, leaving kudos, and reviewing/commenting :D