Protection
Peter had been talking to her on the phone as he closed up his office and headed out for the evening. He disconnected the call with a promise to see her shortly.
Getting dinner ready and waiting for his arrival, Elizabeth passed the time until she noticed that he was running late.
Calling Peter got his voicemail and her text wasn't responded to even after allowing time for him to reach a safe stop to reassure her.
Getting worried, she dialed Jones. The agent answered quickly and listened to her concern. "It's been a busy day, his phone might have died. I'll look into it and let you know when I learn more."
That was last night. Peter never came home.
It was a few hours later, early the next morning as she sat on the couch with Satchmo, that Elizabeth got the official call.
Hughes let her know that they had received a ransom and Peter was being held against the FBI in exchange for something called an Intersect. He didn't know what it was, but he assured her that everything possible was being done to get her husband back safely and as soon as possible. Then he updated her to expect her own protection shortly as they didn't want anyone to target her as well. It was just a precaution, but they weren't taking chances.
Disconnecting the call and curling up into Satchmo, she hugged the dog as she cried.
After a while, she pulled herself together and dialed Neal to see if he had any ideas on how to assist with the situation through his means.
Picking up, Neal answered in a more serious tone than she'd ever heard from him before. After listening to her, he reassured her that he was already working on his own means of assisting with Peter's safe return. "I know some people and they're already on their way. Peter's going to be alright Elizabeth. We're going to take care of this." He didn't go into detail before being called away.
Hearing a knock at the door, she got up, straightened her hair, tried to clean up a little as she walked to the entry, and then let the agents in. While they set up below, she retreated upstairs for a shower to try and wake up for the day.
When she came down, she was surprised to find Neal puttering around with the agents as they waited for something to happen.
Waving him over, she questioned Neal in the kitchen while she started up the coffee. "I thought you were helping with the situation? Why aren't you in the office or making contact with someone?" She was a little angry with him and didn't refrain from showing it.
Raising his hands slightly, Neal tried to get her to calm down. "They're in the office working their magic. The best people I know are on this. However, I quickly got tired of the funny looks and there isn't much I can do there, so I'm here to keep you company and as additional backup in case something happens here. I know what they want and I can help if a call is received here while the guardians are doing the official work in the office and field." Then he got a distant look before frowning. "They say I owe them big time for this, but as their field is messing with my life, I say they owe me."
"You say they're the best?" Elizabeth wasn't sure she trusted these strangers.
Putting a hand on each of her shoulders, Neal looked her in the eyes. "I trust them more than I do Peter. These guys, I've known them all my life and they will do their best to bring him home. This is their job, they protect the Intersect and handle any situations where it's involved."
Feeling like Neal might be helping, after all, Elizabeth asked him more about these strangers. "Are they usually successful?"
Shifting to help her prepare breakfast, Neal kept talking. "Yes, they have some of the best success rates in the business. Bryce has gotten himself clinically killed in the process a few times, but Junior always manages to get the job done relatively unscathed. I think it's because Bryce has always loved comic heroes so he gets more reckless while Junior always looks at the bigger picture to approach with greater caution."
Listening as they worked, Elizabeth began to breathe a little easier and eventually started to ask more personal questions. "How do you know these agents?"
Smiling, Neal sent her a sideways glance like she was missing something. "You'll know when you meet them, but in general, we grew up together."
It wasn't easy to get information out of him, so Elizabeth used the conversation to help her pass the time. "What are their names?"
Pausing in his work, Neal seemed to think about what names to give. "Their legal names are James 'Junior' Carson and Bryce Larkin. The last names aren't their original ones, but they're as close as you get."
Plating the food, Elizabeth wondered out loud, "How did you meet them?"
Shrugging as he helped, Neal answered "I've always known them. There isn't a story about when or how we met."
Curious, Elizabeth knew Peter would want to know more about these agents who connected so strongly to Neal's past.
Carrying the plates to the agents, Elizabeth paused their conversation until she and Neal were seated on the couch while the agents were sitting around the dining room table. "Why did you become a con while they're agents?"
Looking into the middle distance as he thought, Neal absently ate for a few minutes. "Junior is a little older and he's always taken a protective stance. You could call him my older brother, but we only use age as a technicality because we're within minutes of each other. Anyway, he was recruited to the military in college and that career transitioned into government work. Bryce, as I said earlier, he likes comic heroes. He inadvertently went to a recruitment college and ended up in government work his junior year. Me... although we all come from a law enforcement background through our family, we all ended up in different places. My story is more complicated and involved though so I prefer not to rehash it if I don't have to."
Reaching out, Elizabeth touched his arm. "Please, at least a little? This is helping me not to pace as I know Peter," she closed her eyes as she saw his focused expression in her mind at the idea of learning Neal's history, "would love to know."
Sighing, Neal seemed to give in. "Only if you keep eating though, if you stop I'll stop."
Taking a bite, Elizabeth wondered if she could draw her eating out long enough to get the full story from Neal. She didn't feel like eating, but if she focused and drew him out she might manage the pile he'd put on her plate.
After watching her start, Neal huffed as if he'd caught onto her plan. Settling in any way, he started talking. "When we were kids, I was the one who hero-worshipped my heroic cop father and wanted to grow up to be just like him. His former partner taught me evasion techniques and I practiced them in games like hide and seek. Then as I grew, she told me stories and taught me things like how to spot a tail, evade cameras, and other basic skills. When she felt I was old enough, she agreed to teach me how to shoot and moved into more combative self-defense. Bryce and James sometimes tagged along and learned too, but I was the steady pupil. Then our birthday was coming up and she felt it was time I learned the truth instead of making a fool of myself." Neal paused in his story as he seemed to be remembering something painful. "My dad wasn't a good cop, he was arrested for murder and I'd been lied to all my life. I no longer wanted to be a cop and my life changed after that."
Musing on his story, Elizabeth realized that she'd nearly eaten all of her food so she continued to eat while she thought. "Were their dad's arrested?"
"I can safely answer yes to that one. We were in the same boat as far as having a criminal father went, but because I'd built my perception of my life and my future around his image it struck me harder. Neither Junior nor Bryce had wound themselves into their father's image, they're their own men and proud of it." Neal watched as she finished her final bites before making more progress on his own meal.
"Are you your own man now?" Elizabeth wondered.
"Yes, I guess I am. I mean, I no longer aspire to be a cop like my father, and I don't let others push me into being someone I don't want to be. However, I do leave a lot to people's perceptions. No one in my life gets the whole picture so their judgments might be a bit skewed sometimes." Neal finished eating his meal while she thought about his words.
"You let Peter and I think you're more criminal than you are, don't you?" At his questioning look, she started ticking her reasons off on her fingers. "You said you trained to be a cop until you turned eighteen, you're still close to these other agents, you work with the FBI quite smoothly for a con arrested by them, and not even Peter can prove you guilty of more than the bonds for certain. Is it possible there's something more to the bonds too?"
Ducking his head, Neal seemed part frustrated and part impressed. "You're supposed to be more distracted and not catch onto these details, certainly not connect so many of them!"
Frowning, Elizabeth took that as confirmation. "Then remind me why you aren't in the office again? Shouldn't as many people as possible be working to get Peter back?"
Sighing, Neal seemed to regret having talked so much. "As I said, they're the agents who specialize in this so there isn't much for me to do in the office. I'm here as backup and support for you. So far, we've gotten breakfast fixed and you actually ate so that's a good start."
Upset again, Elizabeth knew it wasn't Neal's fault, but he was there so he bore the brunt of her frustrations. "I don't need a babysitter. The agents are here to protect me and I can both cook and eat on my own, so there is no need for you here!"
Neal didn't respond and was focused away from her.
In a way, she felt irritated that he seemed to be ignoring her, but she also felt guilty for her behavior. "Neal..."
He put his hand up forestalling any further conversation. "You say they're on their way here?"
Looking around, Elizabeth wondered who Neal was talking to as the agents hadn't reacted and Neal didn't have an earpiece in the ear nearest to her.
"We're about to have company. Elizabeth," he directed on where to hide in a hall closet so that she was safely out of the way while he led Satchmo into the basement. Then from her position, she couldn't see what transpire but listened as best as she could.
"Bryce says they're coming in a van, four of them, and they're heavily armed. They're probably going to come in shooting so if you're hit go down and stay down. I have a plan to see if we can get anything from them." Neal spoke in a commanding tone and the agents seemed to agree to his plan without too much complaint, something Elizabeth thought off. Peter listened, Jones and Diana listened, but she didn't think the team at large was typically willing to follow Neal's lead.
Trying not to make any noise, Elizabeth had to fight her instincts when the noise erupted like her doors were being kicked in followed by the sound of gunfire. She heard the agents try to fight back but thuds quickly followed and she feared they had been shot. Hoping their vests had taken the impact, she then focused on the intruders as they mention led looking for an E. Burke.
She heard her furniture moving and another struggle before Neal's voice answered that he was Eli Burke. "What do you want with my brother and me?"
"We're going to use you as leverage against the government in exchange for the Intersect. They aren't playing for one agent, so you're the next easiest target to take. Maybe now we'll get some action from these agencies. If we don't, then we'll have to remove you both to prove we aren't messing around." A voice explained.
"Where are you taking me?" Neal sounded scared as he continued to push for answers.
"Don't worry, we won't be going far. No one expects Burke to be held in the city." Someone sneered.
"I'm allergic to dirty warehouses. Can I at least grab my inhaler?" Neal whined.
"We aren't going to let you take anything. Besides, we're going to a nice clean boat. If that bothers your allergies we can easily deposit you in the water." Another sneer echoed before someone hit them for saying too much.
"There might be something around recording us, you idiot. Now we'll need to call in and have them both moved to a safe house." A cold voice answered from what must have been the leader.
"No need, my team already has the answer with all eyes on the water. Your assistance has been most helpful." Neal commented easily before sounds of more combat were issued from the living room.
Listening to know who won, Elizabeth pushed herself further back into the hall closet as she heard someone approaching her hiding place.
A knock on the door made her jump, "It's safe Elizabeth," Neal gave the all-clear signal.
Climbing out from her hiding spot, she opened the door expecting to see Neal with a mark or two from the struggle, but his face was devoid of red so he hadn't taken a visible hit. Glancing at his hand as he helped her disentangle her foot showed some red from the impact of hitting the intruders.
"You can fight, they don't seem to have gotten a hit in while your hands show that you did." She notes as she tried to calm herself down.
"As I said, I was a steady pupil," Neal commented before leaving her in the hallway while he checked in with the agents.
Although he was probably shielding her from the sight, Elizabeth was curious about the condition her home was in so she followed. There wasn't much damage, certainly not as much as she expected. The furniture was askew from Neal hiding behind it and then being drug out. She only briefly glanced at the unconscious men strewn about on the floor in cuffs. Studying the agents sent to protect her showed that their vest had taken the bullets so they were sore but uninjured. At initial glance, she didn't see any holes in the walls or damaged items, but that depended on an unknown trajectory so the FBI would have to retrieve the bullets and point out any damages later.
Before she could wander in any further, Neal was back escorting her into the hall for her jacket and things to leave. He reassured her that the agents would take care of the men and Satchmo, but that it was best to move her to a more secure location, "We're going to the office."
With her things in hand, she was escorted close to Neal as he led her out into a black SUV that looked like it was government issued.
"This is Bryce's, it's bulletproof and completely trigged so we can take care of ourselves if anyone is dumb enough to attack us on our way to the office." Neal started the vehicle and began the drive as if he was accustomed to such government vehicles.
"Do you know how to use the... trigged accessories?" Elizabeth was uncertain how to ask her question.
"Yes, I know how to use the built-in weapons systems. I've worked with Bryce before and he made sure I could run them before I could drive this." Neal answered as he monitored traffic.
Curious, Elizabeth tried to distract herself by imagining what kinds of weapons the vehicle might contain. She looked for clues but everything seemed rather normal.
Smirking slightly, Neal had observed some of her searching but he didn't say anything until they pulled up at the FBI. Then he instructed her to wait until he came around. When he opened her door, Neal opened the glove box and showed her three buttons. "These are just a few of the things you're looking for. The government doesn't make them obvious so it takes some digging sometimes. Have you seen James Bond?"
Knowing what he meant, Elizabeth teased. "He's standing right in front of me so, yes, I have seen James Bonds."
Snorting, another man came up behind Neal worrying Elizabeth. "That's more Bryce's territory. He's CIA and has a reputation."
"What reputation?" Elizabeth noticed how Neal smirked again while remaining relaxed so she decided this was another person Neal knew. "Are you Bryce?"
Laughing, the man thought it was a funny question. "No, my name is Charles Carmichael, but you can call me Chuck. Bryce and I were college roommates and are now counterparts at the CIA. Since this is on American soil we're helping in the office while Junior and Agent Winters take point in the field."
"He's to Bryce what Peter is to me," Neal further defined why the man was present.
"What Neal isn't saying is that Agent Burke is his best friend," Chuck added helpfully before taking his position beside her to escort her into the building.
"I thought Mozzie was?" Elizabeth looked at Neal in confusion.
Clearing his throat, Neal looked a little uncomfortable before glaring at Chuck. "Actually, Mozzie is closer to Junior, but Junior has him keep an eye on me."
Speaking without really thinking about it, Elizabeth said, "So, Mozzie is Junior's best friend, Peter is yours, and Chuck is Bryce's?" Then she realized how true that was without their confirmation. Peter was Neal's best friend. He would be glad to know that when he got back.
Putting his arm around her in a sideways hug, Neal provided some comfort. "Junior is by the water looking for Peter while Bryce is organizing eyes in the sky to narrow that search down. They'll find him soon."
Entering the building and going through security, Elizabeth was glad to be in a more comfortable environment as she knew it was safe and she could hear updates more quickly to know as soon as her husband was rescued.
Making their way up to White Collar, she ignored the looks their group garnered by cuddling closer into Neal's side. Without Peter there, she didn't want to see any pitying expressions they might show. It wasn't as easy to ignore the whispers, but at least most of them kept their volume low enough that she couldn't discern the commentary so she could imagine it to be general conversations while remaining blissfully oblivious to the actual content.
Reaching White Collar, she heard the buzz of noise before the elevator car even opened all the way. Approaching the doors confirmed how busy it was inside as she saw agents bustling about everywhere carrying papers or answering phones.
Neal gently guided her in and was going to escort her past his desk when the man on his phone looked up.
"Neal, Junior has it narrowed down so we're mobilizing the teams. Hughes said Elizabeth could wait in Peter's office until we bring him in."
Gasping, Elizabeth realized that he looked exactly like Neal. Turning to confirm, she suddenly wondered if she had indeed been talking to Neal. Looking between them, she noted their similar dress as each was wearing one of Byron's suits, but the man behind the desk had his hair parted to the side while the one beside her has his hair combed back. "You're identical!"
The one behind the desk nodded and introduced himself as Bryce before pulling Chuck away to help with the rescue.
"He's my younger brother," Neal commented as he once again got her moving through the organized chaos toward Peter's office.
"And Junior is your older brother. If he's named for your father, why do you all have different last names?" Elizabeth asked as he ushered her into Peter's office holding back to shut the door for a noise reduction.
Smiling as he took his usual seat while encouraging her to sit in Peter's chair, Neal answered, "Yes, Junior is my brother and older than me by a few minutes. As for our use of different names, we've been in danger most of our lives so we try not to connect ourselves too closely. I use a family name from another generation while my brothers made theirs up. They legally changed their names after turning eighteen so they're official."
"What about your first names, are they real or did you make them up too?" Elizabeth tried to breathe in her husband's scent and hoped it would help her wait for his return.
"They're not the names we grew up under, but they're our birth names." Neal didn't go into detail there, but it was more of an answer than she expected.
Trying not to watch the clock, Elizabeth used her conversation with Neal to keep herself distracted. She talked about anything she could learn about his childhood growing up as a triplet, his connection to government through his brothers, and the trigged government vehicle to pass the time.
At one point, she had noticed Neal trying to hide his stress and she wondered if he was wearing an earpiece.
"No, I'm not wearing any gear to keep in touch with the teams. However, have you heard of twins being connected? So, when one twin is in one place and the other in a different place, they can be connected to what is happening in both places by almost telepathically speaking to each other?" Neal looked at her as he tried to make her comprehend his words. "I'm a triplet and I'm fully connected to my brothers at all times if we want to be. This way I can see if they're on missions or training and they can see my cases." Then he shrugged sheepishly, "It isn't always my information that I'm relating, sometimes they tell me about the criminal or ways to catch them."
Blinking, Elizabeth had a lot of questions for him after that reveal. "How do you turn in on or off? Can you open the link to your brother if they close it off? Do you see and hear too or can you just talk?"
Putting his hands up, Neal slowed her down so that he could take them on one at a time. "It's kind of like thinking, you can choose to think of something or it can cross your mind unbidden. With practice, we've gained better control, but sometimes it just opens or closes or even becomes background noise as we're focused on something. That depends. I know Bryce closed us out when he was dying, but neither Junior nor I would let him so he said he could hear us but we couldn't hear him. Yes, we can hear and see each other's environments, and even feel some things. Our connection comes in handy for helping each other, but if one gets hurt or is in trouble it can cause issues for all three of us."
Continuing to discuss the details of his connection, Elizabeth was engrossed until Neal smiled at her.
"What? Is Peter alright?" Elizabeth moved to the edge of her seat.
Getting up, Neal stood with his hand on the door before opening it, "Why don't you ask him yourself?"
Peter strode through the door with two men wearing hats and sunglasses coming in behind him. Paying little mind to the men, Elizabeth was up out of the chair and into Peter's arms in a moment. He kissed, hugged, and called her Hon while she returned the greetings.
After a few moments of reassuring themselves, she pulled back so that she could see his face. He was a little worse for wear since he'd probably fought. There was a little bruising on his cheek and he seemed tired, but otherwise, he reassured her that he was uninjured.
"Neal's brothers helped find you. Did you meet Junior and Bryce?" She asked and based on his widening eyes he hadn't known. Smiling, she knew he'd want to meet the triplets if he could so she figured they might as well get introductions over with before going home and having some time alone.
Looking behind him, Peter turned with her but the brothers had left them to their privacy for the initial meeting. Taking his hand, she didn't want to be distant from Peter, but she wanted him to meet the rest of the brothers. She also had to admit that she was curious about Junior. Did he look like Neal and Bryce, or was he different?
Opening the door and seeing three men working on reports around Neal's desk, they all had similar body shapes from what she could see and two were still wearing their hats and field gear to differentiate them from the rest of the agents who had returned.
Pulling Peter along, Elizabeth stopped and cuddled into his side as they reached Neal's desk down on the floor. "We owe the three of you for your help."
"And you're too curious about me to wait for long." The man nearest her turned removing his hat and glasses to reveal another Neal while Bryce did the same.
Beside her, Peter stopped breathing for a second as he realized that there were three Neals seated around the desk. Then he muttered something when he started breathing again but she didn't catch exactly what.
"Yes, I'd met Bryce when we came in so I wondered if you were similar or different. I'm glad you're identical though, it makes the stories Neal's been telling me all the more interesting." She imagined how much trouble they could have gotten into over the years and didn't envy any enemy stupid enough to cross all three of them.
Peter was still standing next to her as he tried to catch up to the situation. His mind seemed to be stuck on three Neal Caffreys and multiplying how much trouble the trio could cause for him.
Reaching up to kiss him on the cheek, Elizabeth got Peter's attention. "Two are agents for sure so they're not directly your problem, and Neal has a lot of secrets he's been keeping. By the way, you'll never prove that Neal did all of the crimes he's suspected of. Caffrey is an official alias, all three agents have used him in sanctioned operations."
Neal's splutter confirmed her assumption so she continued, "You are an agent of some kind too, aren't you?" Elizabeth turned to question Neal as he stared in wonder while Peter looked back and forth between them.
Then Peter's eyes opened wider before he closed them. "Identical triplets with agents in the CIA, NSA, and the FBI. Neal, your legal name is Danny, isn't it?"
Making a face, Neal seemed slightly regretful that his cover was blown. "Neal is my birth name if that counts for anything, and Caffrey is a family name from another generation. However, yes, my legal name is still Danny Brooks."
Sighing, Peter seemed to be reworking everything he knew about his friend as he slowly opened his eyes and look to Neal, "Was any of it real?"
Although she could answer for him, Elizabeth let the conversation play out. Peter needed to hear it from Neal.
"Mozzie," Junior called out as his best friend before returning to his work, "Chuck," Bryce saluted before focusing on his report, and "Peter, is my best friend," Neal concluded the answer to the question. "Am I really a criminal, some could debate that as I technically did what I did even though it was government sanctioned. But is the human interaction real, are my friends really my friends, definitely."
Relaxing some, Elizabeth could feel when Peter accepted the reveal. He hadn't learned about Neal's abilities, but that could wait... until later anyway.
Alrighty, I've figured out why I didn't receive any reviews for this chapter... I posted on AO3, but missed posting it here :P I'm blaming that on how crazy that weekend was, it was after my management all put in their two week's notice before one quit two days later and all of the drama that caused (fortunately, my manager decided to stay so we only lost our supervisor while another called in with a back injury). That's had a department of three people covering three shifts a day which has had us all on full to overtime lately while any days off end up being two people failing spectacularly. Then I've also learned that the new heightened standards are apparently the ones that they've had all along, but as they never staff appropriately, no one ever achieves them. So, I don't know why people are having a problem with it all of a sudden unless it's just a thing corporate is cracking down on. Anyway, work life has been stressful and Ranger is still having balding issues so he's been back to the vet and we're trying a slightly different treatment this time. Life is keeping me on my toes, much as it usually does, but I like sharing an update with you all so that you know a bit of what's up. Obviously, that's been stressful, but it looks like my hours will drop again for at least a break next week so I hope to play catch up.