Sleep Talking
Looking up from his work at the sound of a knock, Peter was surprised to see Sara Ellis entering his office with a hesitant expression. "Have a minute?"
Curious about what she had to share, and worried that it likely concerned Neal, Peter waved her in.
As she entered, closed the blinds, and took a seat, he shifted his files to the side so that he could focus on whatever had brought her in to see him.
When he was ready, he put his attention on her, "What brings you by?"
This wasn't the confident woman that she typically was. Something was seriously bothering her! Rather than get to the point, she fidgeted while looking down and away.
"Is this professional or personal?" He queried to get the conversation going.
Taking a deep breath and plunging in, Sara shifted to pull a file out of her bag. "Both, but first, the professional reason," then she handed it to him.
Picking it up and flipping through the pages, he didn't think it was worth all of the distress Sara was showing; which meant that the personal reason was what had her so upset.
That also meant that Neal was likely to be involved.
Moving at her pace, he slowed down and looked at the file more closely. "Okay, so we've got a theft case here. Are you looking to work it together?"
"Yes, the thief has taken several valuable pieces from a number of our clients so we're looking for assistance in pursuing them and hopefully tracking the items down. Your team is the best." Her heart wasn't in the praise, she was clearly still distracted.
Giving up on the case talk, they clearly weren't going to make any serious headway until the other topic was addressed, so Peter pushed her to share. "But, it's clearly the personal reason that's got you so upset. What did Neal do this time?"
Smirking and giving a small laugh, Sara looked up at him and he saw that this was genuine. "You know me too well... or, rather, maybe it's Neal that you know so well."
Relaxing, it clearly wasn't too serious if Sara could laugh, but that didn't mean that it couldn't become serious. "Granted, I know Neal better for having chased him and working with him daily, but I have worked with you enough to get a read on you as well. What I'm picking up is that there is something about Neal. It has you distracted and nervous, but yet you aren't sure that it's serious so you're hesitant. The best way to address it is to know what it is."
Fidgeting with a piece of her purse, Sara got her thoughts in order. "It's nothing really, it's just... well, you know that Neal and I've been on a few dates and that some of them have extended into the night?"
He did, it wasn't like he was going to forget the morning when he went to pick Neal up and found the signs of their romantic evening along with the breakfast for two laid neatly out on the table. It was an amusing memory of how embarrassed both had been when he'd found the cuffs.
Smiling slightly, he saw a similar blush cross Sara's face so she was likely remembering that morning as well. Not teasing her though he simply acknowledged that he did. "Yes, I know."
"Well, there wasn't any issue at first. Other than his anklet... but that's another matter." She put the piece of her purse down to focus on what she was saying. "Neal talks in his sleep sometimes, especially if he seems to be having nightmares."
That wasn't what he'd expected! Leaning closer, Peter was even more curious. "Really? What does he talk about?"
Leaning forward as well, she started talking worriedly. "I can't always pick up on exactly what he's saying, it's like it's garbled by his sleep, but when I can... it doesn't make sense. He talks about someone named Chuck, something called an Intersect, and I thought he was talking about me at first as he mentioned Sara, but then the context of what he'd say around the name doesn't fit me. It's like, listening to someone recount a James Bond movie with high-octane action scenes, end-of-the-world scenarios, and very romantic scenes. However, I've researched, and there is no such movie plot that covers anything like this Intersect, so I don't know what he's talking about. I want to ask him about it, but I'm afraid of what he might say."
Although he'd never heard much about it, there were rumors, things that got around in the government community. There was an Intersect. But what it really was, he didn't know. All he'd ever heard were the speculation and rumors, rumors that indicated a giant supercomputer containing all of the government's information. Talk that it had been stolen by a great thief, speculation as to who could actually manage to pull something like that off. Sure, Neal's name had come up through the White Collar team if the topic had ever come up, but it hadn't been serious. Neal wasn't one for violence, and a robbery like that would require a lot of violence!
"You know something don't you?" Sara's voice rose as high as her eyebrows did leaving her wide-eyed in surprise.
"Not exactly," he hedged.
"I mean, there are rumors, that there is something by that name in government and it was stolen by a thief several years ago, but no one that I know knows anything of it for sure. It's mostly just rumors and speculation. Kind of like a modern-day myth and legend. Whatever it is though, it would be huge considering how secretive it is and all the things that get around about it. Why would Neal get mixed up in something like that though?" He didn't want to mention what it was to her. It could be dangerous to get remotely involved with something like that.
What had him the most worried was that Neal appeared to already have some involvement of some kind.
"Do you think... could it be possible, that Neal is the thief who stole it? The way he talks in his sleep, it sounds like he knows a lot more about it than you do. And it would take something drastic like those action scenes to pull off a big theft like that." Sara was beginning to sound scared.
Feeling the same way, Peter worried about what this could entail. If Neal was that thief, then he wasn't non-violent, he might even be a murderer.
The room fell silent and a sense of fear seemed to permeate the atmosphere.
Then Hughes knocked on the door and came in. Seeing their faces as they both looked at him, his expression fell as well. "What's going on in here?"
Sara looked to him so Peter handled filling his boss in. "You might want to take a seat, Hughes."
Another look between them and Hughes's frown got even deeper as he took the other seat next to Sara. "What has Neal done now?"
"Well, it's not a recent thing that's the issue... just that something revealed what might be in the greater picture. The short of it is that Neal's been talking in his sleep about the Intersect. In a way that implies that he knows more about it than anyone I know and that he might have been involved with the theft of stealing it." Peter laid it all out there. This was too big and serious for beating around the bush. There was no way to put this in a good light.
"Have you considered that he's heard the stories and is just overlaying things in dreams? I seriously doubt that Neal had anything to do with the real thing. Don't you?" To say Hughes was skeptical was an understatement.
Sighing, Peter wasn't so sure. "Well, he doesn't tend to show violence, but we do know that he's brilliant, and from what Sara is saying, it really does sound like he knows more than he should."
"How about this, we start by asking Neal and seeing how he reacts?" Hughes got up. "It's not like anyone connected to the intelligence or criminal communities hasn't heard of it."
It wasn't characteristic of Hughes to react so easily to something so serious, which was only part of why Peter was sure this wasn't a good idea. However, before he could state anything, Hughes was outside of the door and giving Neal a double finger point directing him to join them.
A few moments later, Neal followed Hughes into the room with a curious expression and a relaxed smile on his face. "Got a new case for us Sara?"
"Yes, she does, but that's not why we've called you up here." Hughes handled the conversation since it was his idea. "I understand that you've been talking your sleep about something called the Intersect. We're wondering what that is?"
Neal's whole demeanor changed which was a solid indicator that he did indeed know what it was and had been involved in something. He'd become serious and cold like he'd deflated everything about the man that they knew to some core that they'd never imagined. "What about it? It sounds like I've had some interesting dreams?" His performance fell drastically short of his usual level, another indicator of how off guard he'd been caught.
Reading the same signals, Hughes was no longer certain he'd only heard rumors. "So, you were involved in the theft of it?"
Sighing and rolling his eyes as he raised his head towards the ceiling, Neal's demeanor changed again.
"She's so gonna be mad at me for this!"
Then he dropped back down to look at them with a bemused expression. "Exposed by my own dreams, that's a new one." He was still muttering to himself as he processed his thoughts.
"Caffrey, this is serious, you would be thrown into prison for life if you had anything to do with that." Hughes growled trying to get some sense out of Neal.
Snorting, "You should call Beckman. She's in charge of everything related to that situation." Neal turned to leave, but Hughes caught his arm.
"You're going to take a seat right here and we'll make that call right now." Complying, Neal settled into a seat and Peter could see that he had a thoughtful expression as he looked more at the desk than at anyone in particular.
Hughes pulled out his cell phone and dialed. He was between Neal and the door which he seemed to prefer as he waited for it to be answered. When someone picked up, he made his request to speak with General Beckman concerning a matter of National Security.
There were more waits and a few more transfers until Hughes reached his goal. "General, I have a concern about a situation regarding our consultant. He seems to have a greater familiarity with government secrets than we do, particularly in rumors about the Intersect."
His head shot up to look at Neal in response to whatever Beckman said, "Yes, this is in regards to Caffrey. According to Ms. Sara Ellis, he's been talking about it in his sleep." There was a bit more talk before Hughes passed his phone to Neal with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Diane?" Neal accepted the phone and questioned before leaning his head back to rest casually against the backrest as he settled deeper down into the seat. Listening, he didn't seem to be surprised about what was being said. "No, I wasn't aware that I talked in my sleep. It's not been mentioned before."
There was some more silence, "No, they aren't security risks. I know that you like to have confidentiality forms as a legal means of ensuring that people don't talk, but isn't that a bigger risk than just letting the situation drop? If there are no records that the three of them have ever heard of me concerning the Intersect, then there is no risk of someone finding those records and coming after them. I will vouch for them, they can be trusted, and you know how little I trust someone, especially after dealing with the Ring so much."
The general seemed to be giving his suggestion consideration or discussing alternative approaches.
"Agreed, I'll pass you back to Hughes for confirmation. It's not like I'm trusted here." Neal then passed the phone to Hughes by stretching his arm out towards the man, but he remained slouched down with his focus on the ceiling.
Taking his phone back, Hughes acknowledged that he had the phone back before listening.
When the call had ended, Hughes silently put his phone back into his pocket with a stern expression.
After a moment, he turned to the rest of them. "General Beckman confirms that Neal has had official involvement with Project Intersect but that we will not be informed as to any details. We are not to speak of this and are to pretend that this never happened. She agrees with him that it would be more dangerous for us if we were to sign confidentiality forms, but warns that if there is ever anything traced back to indicate that we talked, then severe repercussions will be faced."
Moving forward, Hughes had one more point, "To confirm, this hasn't been discussed with anyone other than us, here and now?"
Peter looked to Sara since she was the one who'd brought it up in the first place.
"No, I figured Peter would be the best person to talk to. I haven't brought it up with anyone else." Sara confirmed in a soft voice as she looked at Neal with an expression of wonder.
"Alright, what is this case that we'll now be working on? We'll need to pretend this conversation has been about that." Hughes stood with his arms crossed over his chest.
Doing a quick run-through, Peter and Sara summarized the case for Hughes and Neal so that they'd have an idea of what they'd be working on.
When they'd finished, Hughes directed them to the conference room. "Call the team up in a few minutes so that we can begin working on this." Then he went back to his office.
"Neal?" Peter tried to get his friend to react. He'd been unusually quiet since he'd passed the phone back to Hughes.
"What?" Neal tilted his head to where he was looking at him, but he still wasn't saying much.
"That's my question. You've hardly spoken to us. What's going on in that head of yours?" He was concerned about his friend.
"I could say the same for you. That wasn't much of a reveal, but it's still a drastic change in your perspective of me." His eyes were shaded as he held himself back.
He was worried about their opinion of him?
Softening his expression, Peter was still worried about what had been revealed. His friend had deeper connections to the government than he'd ever imagined. It was an indication that he wasn't as criminal as he appeared to be, but that also had a potentially dangerous backlash, especially considering that he had official involvement with the Intersect. "I'm worried about what that official involvement entailed for you. Sara said it sounded like some crazy James Bond movie from what you were saying in your sleep. It's a different perception from the nonviolent con that I've known, and that adds to the depth of the mystery surrounding you."
Sara was just staring at him; she was trying to understand the man she'd been becoming romantically involved with.
"I have the capacity for things that you wouldn't like, but I was the one who chose what kind of criminal to perform as. It was my choice to be the nonviolent confidence man who kept to white collar and generally harmless crimes... no one has gotten hurt in my work here." Neal's voice was also soft as he admitted to being capable of violence.
The man had probably had to commit acts of violence, and he'd possibly been involved if not directly responsible for things that got people hurt and killed. "That doesn't help; it also means that you've probably been hurt."
There was no way that a violent situation could play out without everyone involved being affected.
Gasping slightly, Sara reacted to the shudder that ran through Neal's body. "You were hurt?"
Snorting again, Neal indicated that he'd been more than hurt. "Many times," but he didn't specify how many times or how badly things had gone. "It's safer for you if you don't know about my agency history. I've dealt with a lot of public corruption and you never know when or where an enemy will turn up. The less you know, the less likely anyone will ever go after you."
Getting up, Neal walked around the desk and headed for the conference room.
Moving faster than him, Peter got up and moved to stand in front of him where he could catch his friend. "Neal, we're concerned about you."
Softening his expression as well, Neal appreciated that. "Thanks, but I'm fine, really. I've dealt with the fallout of public corruption for as long as I can remember. This is all I've ever known."
Pulling him into a hug, Peter wished Neal had had a better experience in his past, but unfortunately, not everyone was that fortunate. Some were made aware of the greater evils in the world at an earlier age than others. It usually forced them to grow up faster than their peers.
By the time he'd released Neal; Sara had gotten up and moved across the room as well. She put her hand softly on his arm and gently turned him toward her. "Neal," then she leaned into him giving him a hug of her own.
Grabbing the file, Peter went ahead into the other room giving them a few moments of privacy. It also allowed him a little quiet privacy to process what he'd just learned.
Clearly, Neal wasn't just a criminal. By the sounds of it, he was an agent undercover. He was also someone special since he'd had official involvement with the Intersect. Still, the details wouldn't be revealed unless absolutely necessary, if ever, so there was no point in wasting time speculating about something that could never be confirmed.
This changed everything, and yet nothing at all.
Work and life would proceed as if nothing had happened, as if Neal was still just the confidence man and criminal that he performed as, but Peter knew that he'd never forget this day.
Just as surely as he knew that Hughes and Sara wouldn't either.
Neal was forever changed in their eyes. They'd never know the full details, but they knew the gist of the truth, and that would make the difference.
It wasn't long before Neal and Sara joined him followed by Hughes. Working together, they quickly had things ready and called the team to assemble.
As Jones, Diana, and the rest came in and took their seats, the performance of normalcy began. The case took precedence and it was easy to fall into the typical bantering and teasing, but Peter knew that he had more confidence than usual, he trusted Neal to a greater degree to get the job done.
The man was some kind of agent after all, and he was capable of far more than they imagined.
Thank you, everyone, for reading, reviewing, leaving kudos, and following :D