Under His Protection
Part 23
The 'UNDER' Series
Special Agent Peter Burke was not acting normally. Hughes had noticed the change on Thursday. He and Neal Caffrey had been whispering in the office, sneaking around, looking around to see if anyone was watching them. He didn't' like to be left out of the loop. And he most definitely felt out of the loop on this one.
Here it was Friday afternoon. He knew something was up with Burke and Caffrey. They were meeting someone somewhere. He may not have been on the streets in a while, but those senses had not dulled. However, when he had tried to sneak around the office he soon discovered that too many years sitting behind a desk, shuffling papers had dulled his stealth skills. Plus, he was not exactly a little guy. And, he had learned long ago, especially since becoming THE boss, the agents under his leadership had a second sense. They just knew when he was around.
Hughes had been watching Burke and Caffrey. He had learned to read lips long ago. He had lost his hearing, for a time, during his military service. He had been much too close to an exploding bomb. The result was deep shrapnel wounds and ear loss. So he had developed the skill and learned a bit of Vietnamese, in the process, to figure out what his nurses and doctors were saying to and about him.
The director was able to see and read lips from a surprising distance. A skill had had practiced and perfecting during his weeks in that foreign land. He used it now and he tried to, as casually watch Peter and Neal sitting and talking in the agent's office. Neal was sitting with his back to Hughes, but he could see the side of Neal's mouth when he turned his head to the right. The head turned to one side or other, as opposed to seeing the person's face, made it a bit more difficult. But, not impossible. Peter's lips were much easier to read as Hughes could see the agent's full face.
Still the conversation was difficult to read, coming from Peter. He was very emphatic about something. When people were emotional, in any way, there speech pattern changed. The words became very drawn out, very short, or rather choppy.
Hughes shook his head in frustration. He was getting words he didn't like. Neal was meeting Sam and Dean Winchester. He had no idea where. The information he was getting was coming, mostly, from Peter's side of the conversation.
Hughes shut down his computer. He was going to follow these two, where ever they went after they left this afternoon. He had his reasons, and the mere presence of Sam and Dean in the city had him very concerned.
#######
"What do they want, Neal? Why are they here?" Peter asked. He had been firing questions at Neal ever since he had found out that the brothers had shown up on Neal's doorstep just the night before.
Neal shook his head. He had not even heard the whole story. The Winchester had had to come in in the dead of night, just in case Jones and his fellow agents were keeping watch on their favorite convict from across the street. The house was awoken at 2 a.m. when the two sleep-deprived, road-worn felons showed up at June Ellington's back door.
A couple of hours later the house was quiet again as Sam and Dean settled into two of the quest rooms, located on the second floor.
"They're still here?!" Peter said. He glanced towards Hughes' office. He was not sure, but he thought that Hughes had been watching him and Neal, especially close, since the previous day. He didn't need that type of scrutinizing from his boss. Especially not at this particular moment.
Neal shook his head again. His night, and his sleep had been disturbed and neither he nor the Winchesters had been in any mood for in-depth conversation.
Peter dared glance in Hughes direction, again. "I have a feeling Reese is watching me…watching us. He's been doing it all day."
Peter stood and began to pace. "If he thinks something is up…." He shook his head. "You think I'm like a dog on a bone…." His pace only quickened.
Neal felt himself involuntarily shiver. He could clearly see many, many, many years of prison in his immediate future.
"Can I leave early?" Neal asked. "If Sam and Dean are still at the manse I can…?"
Peter nodded. "That's good. That will definitely throw Hughes off. If I send you home…."
Neal nodded, stood and grabbed his coat. "I'll call you if…."
Peter nodded. Neal didn't have to finish his sentence. He knew that Neal would call him to let him know what the Winchesters needed and if, of course, Peter would have to get involved to get the Winchesters out of town quicker.
Hughes looked up from his desk. He saw movement from the corner of his eye from Burke's office. Neal was leaving. But, Peter had made no move to get up.
Did it mean anything? Reese wasn't sure. He had always held the belief that criminals networked. Sometimes a white-collar criminal needed muscle and sometimes maybe a violent criminal needed someone like Neal. It was an exchange of sorts, one set of skills for another.
And as bad as he wanted to, he couldn't just show up at June's door. True, he had met the lady once. But, a headload of suspicion was not evidence. And he had no real reason to go to the Ellington residence, beyond that. At least not yet.
Reese continued to pretend to work as he watched Peter and Neal. The conman finally left. As soon as Neal left the office, Peter picked up his phone. Hughes assumed that he was talking to El. But, he was not sure, the receiver was blocking his mouth so that lead agent could not read his lips.
Neal entered the manse to find Sam and Dean talking with June, and drinking wine, in the living room.
"Wine? Really, you guys?" Neal asked, seeing the stemmed glasses the brothers were holding in their hands.
"When in Rome, Caffrey…." Sam said, tipping his glass and taking sip.
"…never knew that you were so cultured." Neal responded, smiling.
They all chatting with June for a few more minutes. But, the brothers could tell that Neal had something on his mind. So, they all excused themselves a few minutes later and headed upstairs.
"What is it?" Dean asked as soon as Neal ushered them in and closed the door.
"Peter's boss is…suspicious." Neal stated.
"Of what?" Dean asked. They had just gotten into town. They had said nothing to nobody and had been very careful when they had come to the mansion.
Neal shook his head. "I don't know. But, Peter seems to think that Hughes knows something." He began to pace. "And as tenacious as Peter is, Hughes makes Burke look like a puppy at play."
Sam and Dean glanced at one another. They knew a Hughes. Was it possible this was the same one?
"What?" Neal looked from one brother to the other. "What, guys? Don't…don't do this! Don't hold back on me!"
"Nothing." Dean said, a little too quickly for Neal's liking. But, Neal didn't press the issue.
"You wouldn't believe it." Sam added.
Neal nodded. But, the conman had come to accept a lot of weird, bizarre, and completely unbelievable things, since he had met and befriended the Winchesters.
Reese was still determined to find out what was going on. After Peter had talked to who Reese though had been El, Peter got another call. He could not read Peter's lips this time, there was a great deal of emotion or agitation. But, he was sure he had read Neal and Winchester on Peter's lips a couple of times each. Reese prepared to leave the office and follow his agent.
Hughes knew that there were probably agency issues with what he was doing. He was sure that he was violating agency rules, in some form or another. But, as director of White Collar, it was also his job to get out in front of issues if there was a way to do so. And, in this case, he had particular and personal reasons to make sure that that happened.
Peter rushed out the doors and down the stairs. He was so preoccupied and so agitated that Hughes could have driven right behind him the whole way to Neal's apartment and the agent would not have known the difference.
Things were adding up. Hughes was absolutely positive, going on feelings alone, that Sam and Dean Winchester were in June Ellington's mansion. He hesitated only a few moments after parking his car across the street before hurrying across the street and heading to the front door.
June had not been happy to see him. He could tell that despite the look of surprise on her face. She had recognized him immediately. That ability to remember faces and names had come from her time dealing with Byron's less-than-reputable friends, back in the day. She had had to protect herself and her children, at times, during her early married
years. And remembering who Byron had said about the various characters he dealt with had saved her life, more than a couple of times.
June had known that there was no way she could prevent Hughes from going up to Neal's apartment. But, she had to call and warn the conman.
Neal answered the phone just seconds before he heard a knock on the door.
"Hughes is headed your way, Neal!" June started before Neal could even say hello.
"What…?!" Neal managed to get out, his mouth opening and closing, silently, as June continued. "Get Sam and Dean out of there. Send them down the back stairs!" She whispered as loud as she dared, praying Hughes wouldn't hear her.
"What?" Peter asked, seeing the frantic expression on the conman's face.
"Hughes!" Neal mouthed as he continued to listen to June.
Sam and Dean were stunned and confused for just a second. They then realized what was going on and they headed to the back staircase.
Neal took a deep breath and opened the door just as Sam and Dean disappeared down Neal's hall, shutting the door behind them.
Hughes didn't say anything as he entered the room. He just took a quick visible survey. The brothers were nowhere in sight.
Thoughts of prison cells and years of jailtime went through both Peter's and Neal's minds as they watched Hughes survey the room. Then Hughes and the Winchester truly shocked them both.
"Dean!" Hughes called out and then stood waiting, as if he actually expected the felon to answer.
Both Sam and Dean stopped. They knew the voice. Reese Hughes had a very distinctive voice. The brother's looked at one another for a moment. Then they turned around and headed back to Neal's main living area.
Reese stared for just a second as he watched Sam and Dean reappear. "Dean Winchester."
Dean grinned. "How ya doing, Reese?"
Neal and Peter could only stare.
"Very well." Reese responded. He turned to the other brother. "How are ya, Sam?"
Sam nodded. "Good, Reese. Good to see you again."
There was a slight pause.
"I know about John." Hughes stated. "I'm sorry, Boys."
The Winchesters both nodded.
Peter had no idea who John was. Neal did. But, the brothers had not yet shared the information that he had passed.
"I'm sorry, Sam, Dean." Neal replied.
They both nodded.
Peter just looked at everyone, in turn. He was still not fully processing what he was seeing.
"What can we do for you to get you on your way?" Reese asked. He and John Winchester had met during their military service and after service was over they had kept in touch…letters and meeting in the random bar whenever John found himself in New York.
"You know about John's journal?" Dean asked.
Reese nodded. He didn't know a great deal about it. Or what it contained. But, he had talked about his search for his wife's killer. Reese listed to what he had thought was grief ramblings, accentuated by excessive alcohol intoxication. But, at any rate he knew about the journal.
"Dad…we found a storage locker. Lots of interesting things in there. His journal said there was a logbook. The logbook said that things were missing. Some of those things were linked to you. Relics from Vietnam…Cambodia. Things that…he said needed to be separated."
Reese nodded. He remembered those objects well, unfortunately. He had been warned by his fellow soldiers, and even his superiors about taking objects. Any objects out of foreign countries. The temptation was great…to take a cool-hlooking souvenir. Plus, people in the U.S. often clambered for unique objects from far-away lands. He too, had fallen under the spell, only to regret their actions. He had John had pilfered things, during their tours of duty. Well…pilfered is not the right word. They had taken things that had been discarded. Most of the time…that was.
"I couldn't argue with him. Those things that we…acquired are locked in a storage unit in New Jersey." Hughes shook his head. "…haven't touched them…in years." He looked at the brothers and shook his head. "This…whatever you are going to do, is not a good idea."
"There is a…situation in downtown Manhattan. We need to destroy these things." Sam started. "There are people, vets maybe, we aren't sure. Selling these artifacts for their powers."
"How could you have found out about this stuff?" Hughes asked.
"The back page of the newspaper and the dark web." Sam answered.
"How does one sell the supernatural?" Peter asked, finally finding his voice.
Dean looked at Neal's handler. "It's like putting together a jig saw puzzle. The individual pieces are relatively useless. But…when they come together."
"If they are puzzle pieces, why not leave them together in the first place." Neal asked. "Why not take them all?"
"The analogy was puzzle pieces. But, they don't look like puzzle pieces. They are object, regular objects, that are tied together by magic, ceremony and tradition." Dean stated. "It takes a 'follower' an elder or an ancestor to know how these things are connected and which pieces go together."
"The pieces are interchangeable." Reese said as the realization dawned on him. "I had heard that. But, it…it sounded just, so fantastical. I thought it was make believe. Something natives told soldiers, so that we wouldn't…." He shook his head.
Dean couldn't hide his worry. "Destroying the pieces is the only way to go."
"But…?" Hughes asked, positive he didn't want the answer.
"The pieces are protected." Sam explained.
Hughes sighed. This was truly the one time in his life he had wished he had minded his own business. "So, opening the door and tossing in a match won't…?" He said, only half joking. But, the storage unit's walls were metal and insulated. The fire would be contained.
The brothers shook their heads.
Reese sighed. "I knew something was off about that stuff. Something just…but we were in a foreign country. A strange land, strange customs. I saw things that…." He shook his head at the memory. "It never felt right. But, we were young and stupid and no one was stopping us."
No one said anything for a moment.
"You can't just drive into Jersey and get that stuff. There are cameras in those places. There is a gate, and you need a password to open the gate." Reese stated. He then realized what they were going to ask.
Dean didn't miss the flash of fear on the senior agent's face. He could not help but grin. "Come on, Reese. You're a federal agent with a gun and everything."
"You have a SICK sense of humor, Dean Winchester." Reese said as he started to pace. "You have a rosary, holy water…anything?"
"We happen to have both." Sam said producing a vial of holy water and a rosary from the inside pockets of his jacket.
Reese took the items. "You got a rabbit's foot."
Dean grinned, again. "Sorry, we're fresh out of those."
"They are not as effective as you might think." Sam said, recalling his past calamities.
Reese knew what he had to do. "Where do I meet you with this stuff?"
Sam replied. "Not here. We don't want anything to attach itself to the house or to June."
Reese's eyes got wide. "Attach?!"
Dean shrugged. "You own them. And, you've owned them for a long time. They needs hosts, basically. A source of power. Keeping them far away from you was actually a good thing."
Agent Hughes' mind was spinning. This was just getting better and better.
The lead agent of the White Collar division of the FBI in New York City had a clandestine meeting with 2 characters from the FBI's Most Wanted. Hughes visited a long-forgotten locker in an old brick former-factory building. He knew where the items were located in the sea of junk, despite not having entered the location in many years. He was in and out in minutes. He stowed his army duffle bag, which contained the items, in the trunk of his car. As far away from him as humanly possible. He felt like a criminal making a drop as he drove the items to one of the many abandoned warehouses that dotted the city's wharf. He dropped the bag in its designated spot and quickly drove away. Grateful that one, he had used a spare army bag that his name was not on. Two, those things were out of his life, forever. And, three, he could honor his friend and protect his kids.
Agent Reese Hughes did not understand what Sam and Dean Winchester did. He was not sure he wanted to. But, he had made a promise to John to look after his boys whenever he could. And, after having gotten to know Sam and Dean, he was more than happy and willing to keep his promise.
THE END
END NOTES: This premise just kind of popped into my head one day. And I loved it. I just needed to build a story around it. I hope you enjoyed my little tale. More to come. Thank you for your continued readership and support. JL