"HK MP5 in a briefcase," Neal heard Richmond say over his headphones. "Classic."
"Trigger's in the handle," Peter said. "It'll fire through the briefcase shell while you're walking."
It was not without that Neal was happy that it was Diana who presented it. That kind of hidden weapon made him shudder.
"Very nice. How many have you got?"
"Two gross, but this will cost you. It's a rare item."
"Oh, I understand that. What I don't understand is what she's doing here."
"She assists me," Peter explained.
"Can't the lady speak for herself?"
"The lady is also his muscle," Diana said with a sharp voice Neal was familiar with. Richmond laughed, and Neal figured he must lack eyes or brain or both.
"You're funny."
"Let's talk," Peter said.
"Agent Berrigan seems impressive," Kramer said beside him.
"Almost as impressive as Peter," Neal smiled back proudly.
"If there's one sure thing about Peter, he accomplishes what he puts his mind to," Kramer said, what seemed to be out of the blue. "If he's got a target, he'll keep pursuing till he hits it dead-center."
There was no hint of a proud smile on Kramer's face. Neither was it a warning. It was more of a foreboding, like an indisputable fact. Well, he knew that about Peter already.
"I'll tell you what," Richmond said. "You bring me a gross, and you've got yourself a deal."
"Done. But I don't do cash or check."
"Neither do I. I have got a recently acquired and very valuable item that is worthy of these guns. Financially speaking, of course."
"What kind of item?" Diana asked.
Then the sound was gone.
"What happened?" Neal tried the volume.
"Maybe Peter doesn't consider you as much of a partner as you think," Kramer said. Neal sent him a glare. That was mean, and in no way, teamplay to say that. And he hated to think that Kramer was right. And if he was right, then Kramer was to blame for that.
"Tomorrow. One o'clock sharp," Richmond returned to his headphones. "You bring the gun. I'll bring the item."
"Until tomorrow."
Peter and Diana did not return, and finally, Kramer got the van moving back to the FBI garage, where they met up with the other two.
Then Kramer and Peter were stuck together, talking about the meeting. Diana got to say a word or two on the way up, but Neal felt outside. To his surprise, he felt jealous, betrayed almost, but most of all, heartbroken. Not in any way but platonic, of course, but Peter was more than a friend. He was the stable point in his life, the only thing he had had that he was sure of.
As Peter and Kramer disappeared into Peter's room, Neal went to get some coffee and have an excuse to watch the two on the other side of a glass wall, talking.
Melissa turned up by his side.
"Must be hard to do your job when you're kept out of the loop."
Kramer exited and gestured for her to join him in the room next door.
"You seem to know something about that, huh?" he mumbled to her. She nodded.
Neal saw his handler sit down by his desk. He was not officially shunned so…
"HK MP5 in a briefcase," Richmond said as he stared down at the briefcase Diana had just opened on his marble table. "Classic."
"Trigger's in the handle," Peter said. "It'll fire through the briefcase shell while you're walking."
"Very nice. How many have you got?"
"Two gross, but this will cost you. It's a rare item."
"Oh, I understand that. What I don't understand is what she's doing here."
"She assists me."
"Can't the lady speak for herself?"
"The lady is also his muscle," Diana snapped back.
Richmond laughed.
"You're funny."
Peter chuckled politely and wondered if Diana would leave their target with his manhood intact.
"Let's talk."
Peter and Kramer had agreed that Peter, if possible, should turn off the microphone in his watch, so that the kid did not hear what kind of item they would get in exchange for the guns. If his pet convict had stolen the artwork and knew… well, Kramer had figured it would make Neal more nervous if he were guilty.
"Tomorrow. One o'clock sharp," Richmond said. "You bring the gun. I'll bring the item."
"Until tomorrow."
And now the kid knocked on this door frame.
"Hey."
"Hey," Peter said in return, glad to see him.
"What happened today?" the kid asked. Peter looked at him. "Your watch cut out."
"Oh. Equipment malfunctions. It happens. You know that better than anyone."
Peter also knew that he was a bad liar, and Neal did not buy a word of what he had said.
"So you're not gonna tell me everything, huh?"
"I'm following my leads. If you don't like where they go, too bad."
"That's Kramer talking. He's the devil on your shoulder."
Agent Philip Kramer was not a devil! Peter felt his anger rise. Kramer was respected and with many years of experience. Just because he did not cut this young felon a slack did not make him the devil.
"No." Peter glared at Neal. "He's reminding me why I'm here."
"I'm helping this investigation," Neal insisted.
"Do you remember what you said to me the day I first accused you of stealing the art?" Peter asked upfront. Neal's eyes avoided his. "What was it, Neal?"
"'Prove it.'"
"Be careful what you wish for."
Neal's eyes flickered. Then he looked back and saw him straight in the eye.
"Then good luck."
The kid turned and left and Peter stared at his back. He did not expect that. Was he so sure that Peter would never find his treasure? Or did he not have it?
If Neal was innocent, then… then what he had done to their friendship by not trusting the kid was probably irreparable. Peter sighed. He was only doing his job.
"Hey," Neal said, entering Peter's room.
"Hey."
He stopped inside the door when there was no invitation for him to sit down.
"What happened today?" Neal asked, and Peter gave in a look as if he did not know what he was talking about. "Your watch cut out."
"Oh. Equipment malfunctions. It happens," Peter lied. "You know that better than anyone." Not that he would claim that Peter was lying, because it would lead nowhere. The more important thing was the lack of team play.
"So you're not gonna tell me everything, huh?"
Peter rose to put a file away in a pile by the window.
"I'm following my leads," he said. "If you don't like where they go, too bad."
So Peter not only thought that he had stolen the treasure from the sub, which was no news. He had also decided to keep him out of the loop. Opposed to before when Peter always let him know where they were. If the leads ended up with him being arrested, they both knew that was the rules of the game. Like when he was accused of stealing that necklace and someone tampered with his tracking data.
"That's Kramer talking," Neal said. "He's the devil on your shoulder."
"No. He's reminding me why I'm here." Peter was angry.
"I'm helping this investigation," Neal pointed out. He always had.
Peter watched him.
"Do you remember what you said to me the day I first accused you of stealing the art?" he asked. It was still a memory that hurt. "What was it, Neal?"
"'Prove it'" Neal repeated.
"Be careful what you wish for."
Cutting in their friendship and chasing the art from the sub were two different things, but he saw no way to explain this to Peter without either incriminating himself or being foolish enough to hope that he could be a friend with a federal agent.
He saw Melissa leaving the other room carrying a file.
So, he would have to steal Richmond's painting under Peter's nose. If Peter wanted to follow Kramer's lead, that was the way it had to be. He stared back at Peter.
"Then good luck."
He left, following Melissa.
Alone in a corridor, he sneaked up behind her and pulled one of the papers from the file without her noticing he was even there. The paper was sticking out so it was no problem.
It was a search warrant for Richmond's penthouse tomorrow at 1:00 PM.
He put in on the floor and took a few steps away.
"Melissa," he called and pointed when she turned "You dropped something." He moved to take it up, but she hurried back.
"I'll get it."
She took it.
"Guess Kramer brought you in the loop after all, huh?" He continued down the corridor.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." He turned the corner and returned to his desk. Sitting there making a delicate phone call was far less suspicious than hiding in the restroom or asking for an early leave.
"We got a problem," he mumbled when Mozzie picked up.
"We should maybe copyright that phrase."
"Peter put in an op order to search Richmond's home tomorrow at one o'clock. We need to get there before the feds. Meet at my place tonight." He hung up.
"You'd think that thing had sports scores on it," El said, glancing over his shoulder on the screen of his laptop.
"I'm looking at Neal's tracking data." No real need to explain. She must know what it looked like to have a red dot blinking on the place where Neal left by now.
She sat down beside him.
"Is that what you've been doing for the last hour?"
"I need to know where he is."
"Honey," she said, checking her watch. "It's almost ten o'clock on a Monday. I don't think he's going anywhere."
"Yeah, I can't be too sure... Not now. All goes well, we'll recover the painting tomorrow." And then he wanted to be certain that the kid had not been near Richmond's place. If there was no painting or it was a fake, he did not want any possibility that Neal had any doing in it.
"Then what?" El asked.
"Then I'll know the truth."
His wife watched him carefully.
"Neal really did it, didn't he?" she asked.
"What got you suddenly so convinced?"
"You. The last time you obsessed this much, you caught him."
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"I brought in Kramer to get an outside perspective."
"But?"
"I don't know. Maybe I should just have left it alone. If he has the treasure, he still comes to the office every day. He has not taken off."
"Mmm, not to diminish any hopes, honey, but wouldn't it be smarter to wait until he's done his time? He knows you'll catch him."
What did he hope for? Part of him wanted away from the stress and the problems that followed with Neal's presence. Another part of him admired the smart young man who added so much to the team. He liked smart. And he liked the kid. Maybe Kramer was right that those kinds of friendships could never last. Maybe it was just about as good to put an end to the agony.