Regret
Something had been off from the beginning, but this wasn't the outcome he had expected. This wasn't the outcome he wanted. This was unacceptable. But there was no way that he could fix this. What was done was done, and it was Neal who had paid the price.
Neal had paid the ultimate price.
Sitting on a bench, Peter looked through his fingers at the tiles below him. He was having a difficult time processing what had happened and he couldn't stand looking at Neal's body as he lay deep down in the pool only feet away.
Had it only been a few days before that they'd been given the case? So much had happened since then that it felt like a blur.
Everything had started with a case transferred to them by the CIA.
Neal had stumbled with that, the knowledge that their case had come from the CIA. Then he'd actually paled when he'd been selected for the lead undercover role.
Now he wished that he'd spoken up; done anything to prevent this outcome!
Going over the case, they'd learned that an unknown suspect was believed to have committed several thefts.
The targets and takes had been all over the place, but they had New York City in common. Cumulatively, it had been decided that the case was better filed in the FBI's jurisdiction.
Their team had been chosen since no one else had succeeded in solving the case and they were deemed as the best suited for it with the Burke and Caffrey duo taking the lead. They had the best closure rate and the best chance.
Starting with the basics, they'd gone over what was known about the case and Neal presented a plan for how to make their approach. As they'd done before, he suggested stealing the next target before their opponent could get to it.
Then they'd catch the man when he came to Neal.
It was true that they'd used that strategy before so they'd analyzed the items stolen, found what would likely be targeted next, and then they'd worked with the owner to set up a sting.
To set his role, Neal had actually stolen the painting and tucked it away in a fake stash house.
Then he'd carefully gone about seeking a buyer.
One night when Neal was out, a man came forward claiming that Neal had stepped into his territory. The painting had been his target, and Neal would regret it if he didn't hand it over and step out of the way.
Holding his ground, Neal had refused to simply hand the painting over, but he'd offered to sell it to the man. "Something for my effort, you understand."
Sitting his drink down, the man said he'd be in touch. Then he'd left and no one was able to tail him since he managed to disappear into a partying crowd.
Reporting in, Neal had spent the rest of his evening at the office as they worked to find who their mystery man was.
Unfortunately, the bad news was that he was an unknown, but his behavior indicated that he wasn't new to the business. That made the man dangerous.
"The best reputation is to have no reputation," Neal had contributed which only added to the concern about dealing with an unknown.
Waiting, it didn't take long before the man turned up again.
This time, Neal was relaxing at a coffee shop so that he could be seen in a public place.
Their suspect had slipped in and joined the ordering line while observing his surroundings, and he continued his observations while waiting for his order to be prepared.
However, they didn't know how the man knew that Neal would be at that place at that time. It either meant that the man was broadly connected, or he was keeping tabs on Neal in a way that none of them were detecting.
That had been yet another clue that things were going to end badly.
Joining Neal at his table with a steaming cup of coffee, the man had given Neal his message with a time and a place. He wasn't the most accommodating, it was only an hour away and in another part of the city.
The exchange would force Neal to race to his stash house and then book it across town to make everything come together.
Fortunately, the FBI was listening in to the conversation so they began preparation in the background even as the details were still being given.
When the man left, Neal had gotten up and headed for his stash house to retrieve the painting.
Then he'd headed for the destination.
Meeting him there, Peter had only had a brief meeting with Neal outside of the building at the utility van.
He'd given his friend a quick update on what they were doing to protect him before sending him.
They were almost blind. Just a few minutes of prep work really.
Listening, Peter had heard when Neal had entered the facility, walked through to the point where the meet was going down, and greet their suspect along with his henchmen.
There was the point where they surveyed the painting to ensure that he wasn't giving them a forgery, someone mentioned something missing, and then the feed went silent.
Giving a second to weigh the pros and cons, Peter quickly ordered all personnel to respond.
Racing in with his team and those that were supporting them for this, Peter ran through the facility and reached the room where Neal had been in record time.
Nothing, there was nothing and no one. The space was as empty as if they'd never been there.
Calling out to his team, Peter had those watching all of the other exits report in on where the men had gone, but no one had seen anything.
Fanning out, they'd covered the place and discovered a secret tunnel from the prohibition era that wasn't on any blueprints or known records for the place.
Following the tunnel in one direction, while Jones led a team in the other, Peter hoped that he would find a clue, something to indicate where they'd taken Neal.
When they'd reached the end and exited, it was at a park that then further opened their range since there were no cameras on the paths or on the grounds to see which direction their suspects had taken.
Frustrated, Peter had called for every camera surrounding the area to be checked until they found something.
What followed was hours of surveying footage watching random people walk their dogs, go for runs, and eat their lunches.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they'd gotten a glimpse of a large group of men wearing masks and walking to a couple of non-descript black sedans. They'd divided between the vehicles before driving off in two different directions.
Slamming his hands on a table, Peter didn't appreciate the mastery that had gone into this.
They had no idea which sedan Neal had been taken in, or even if he was in one of them. There could have been an additional secret passage that went off of the first secret passage, they could have doubled back, and they could've changed vehicles since it was difficult to trace them through heavy traffic with such generic cars.
Putting every agent he could grab on it; Peter had both vehicles followed through the city until they'd found where they'd each stopped. Both of them were emptied by four men still wearing masks who entered into different facilities.
Since both locations were large, he hoped they weren't disappearing on them yet again.
Going with his gut instinct, Peter chose to go with the team to search the closed pool for scuba diving training. He didn't know why the place appealed to him, but he wasn't arguing with his gut.
There wasn't enough time for him to think through his reasoning.
Suiting up and hurrying over, he surveyed the blueprints for the place before making entry and dividing out with his team again.
Working through the facility, it was the pool room that Peter headed for.
Entering the giant space, there wasn't much cover, and the noise carried since there wasn't anything to cushion and absorb it.
That made it easy to hear the men sitting in the bleachers playing cards with each other.
But it also made it easier for those men to hear them.
Drawing their weapons, the men fired a few shots before realizing just how outnumbered and outgunned they were. Then they'd lowered their weapons and raised their hands surrendering.
Carefully approaching the three men, Peter knew that was a confirmation that Neal had been with them; he'd been the fourth man. However, he wasn't anywhere to be seen.
Scanning the room as they moved in further, all he could see were the bleachers that lined the wall in one direction and the giant metal door that covered the pool in the other direction. The door prevented any accidents when no one was about, but it also covered the water so that they couldn't see inside.
Feeling a chill climb up his spine, Peter couldn't shake the feeling that Neal was in that pool, that the door had been opened, he'd been thrown in, and then it had been closed over him.
Reaching their suspects, he was helping to cuff them when he noticed something underneath one of the bleachers nearby.
Moving forward, he used his foot to pull the bundle out from under the bleacher revealing the classic Devore suit.
Rushing back to the nearest man, he took a fistful of his suit and yanked the mask off of his face. "He's in the pool, isn't he? How do you open the door?"
The man had just grinned at him with perverse pleasure. He wasn't saying anything.
"You do know that this means that you will be charged with murder, homicide in the first degree! You're going away for a very long time! Unless you tell me how to get those doors open!" He tried to persuade the man to help them.
"Not like it isn't already too late. He's been in there for hours. The temp of the water alone is enough to give him hypothermia. Not to mention the lack of air…Those doors close directly across the top of the water." The man continued to grin.
Directing for them to be led away, Peter had a call placed to find out how to open the doors.
Then they'd been forced to wait while the person holding the keys had shown up and initiated the process of opening the doors.
It was painful how slowly the doors had slid open. There was a loud rumbling as the engine worked to pull them back and tuck them away in some slot under the floor.
After a few minutes, they had a solid gap and began surveying the visible portion of the pool, but the depths were too murky to see for sure yet. All they could tell was that Neal wasn't swimming there looking at them for help out.
As the doors continued to open, more light in the water made it easier to get a better look over the bottom. The pool was initially layered so that the trainees could progressively get deeper as they learned, but then the lower layer had a narrow ledge before it dropped into the deepest portion down a tube-like structure that disappeared into shadows.
Gasping, Peter saw Neal.
He was lying on a lower level next to where the water dropped off down the tube of the deepest part of the pool. His arm seemed to be draped over the edge of the tube, but he was too deep to see him clearly.
"We're too late, we're too late." Peter had muttered as he stared down wide-eyed with horror.
Neal wasn't moving, there were no visible air bubbles, and he was just lying down there on that ledge.
Turning away after a moment, he'd yelled, "Where are the divers?" Hadn't they called them at the same time they'd called the guy with the keys?
Moving to sit on the bench, he'd fought his emotions, but he couldn't stop the tremor that started through his back and flowed through him out into his hands. However, he was managing to keep any tears at bay. He'd grieve for his friend, but it would have to wait.
Thank you, everyone, for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos :D
Although the general pool that I used to inspire this and for the cover exists in Europe, I did take some liberties by putting it in NYC, putting a ladder down the tube, not referencing the tunnel that goes through it, and, of course, adding the doors over it to ensure that Neal's activities in the pool would be dramatic :D
Kai is progressively recovering from his broken leg, but he's going to have a gimp leg for the rest of his life as a result. At present, he's on his third cast since he chewed off the first and the second had gotten caught a few times so it was slipping down. The vet hopes that it will be sufficiently calcified within another week or two allowing for the cast to be removed. Then there will still be a few weeks of additional recovery before he might be allowed in his ball or wheel again, depending on how gimp the leg ends up being. Right now, he's playing in a metal tub with brown wrapping paper and having a blast ;)