"Turns out an honor roll student isn't such bad backup after all," Neal smiled at Peter as they walked up the stairs to his apartment. They had met up in the office and exchanged stories about what happened as Peter drove him home.

"No, A-plus for both of you," Peer agreed as they passed the door into Neal's home. "And Jones already pulled several account numbers from the drive that you copied."

"Sounds like another win for us." Neal was happy. This was one of those times where he had done what he was told to do and things had worked well.

"For the Bureau," Peter corrected him. Typically Peter. That far, his sense of teamwork did not stretch.

"Well, of which I am an integral member," he returned.

"Stop digging."

"Digging?"

"You know my statement for the Keller case is coming up." Oh, that. No, he had not been 'didding', but it was no use to argue about that.

"I won't ask you to lie," Neal said. He was serious. If Peter felt he needed to tell the whole truth, then he did not blame him. Peter studied him.

"But I don't have to tell them everything. Is that it?"

"Peter, I've got nothing to hide." There were things he wasn't proud of, but there was nothing worth hiding for Peter, or the world if needed to be.

"You sure about that?"

"Yes."

"You can come out, Mozzie!"

"You have no proof I'm here!" Moz voice was heard from the patio. Neal sighed. He had not noted what Peter obviously had.

"There's a half a bottle of wine on the table and a whiff of camembert in the air," Peter returned towards the open patio door. Neal had not seen it, because he had been too high on the successful case.

"Circumstantial!"

Peter looked at him with an odd smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya." Peter walked past him, and Neal closed the door behind him. When he turned back, Moz walked in. "Little sloppy."

"Until that file is wiped, I'm keeping a safe distance from the Bureau's favorite Brooks brother."

"He hasn't made a decision. There's still a chance this could swing in our favor."

"Well, we have a decision to make," Moz said, and Neal did not get what that could be. "Evan put himself on the map with Chloe tonight," his friend grinned. "He's got momentum." Neal stared for a moment and then realized that Mozzie must have talked to Evan himself.

"Oh, time for the grand romantic gesture…" Neal mused, wondering what would be best.

"I was thinking a classic. Flowers, fine chocolates. Or... this." Mozzie handed him a handwritten paper.

"Evan's homework assignment?" Chloe would be thrilled. Or not.

"A perfect handwriting sample. I can whip up a sonnet, and you could forge it."

Sounded like a plan, but…

"Mozzie, I know why I want to help this kid, but why do you?"

"I want to see the little guy get the girl." Mozzie shrugged. "Plus, I need a distraction."

"You're worried about Peter."

"And you're not?!"

He was. Just because he would not blame Peter if he told the truth did not mean he wanted to go to Prison. Mozzie would most likely disappear when that happened.

"Let's go with the sonnet," he said. Mozzie was enthusiastic.

"I'll get my quill." He hurried out on the patio and returned with a bag. "I picked up some stuff on the way here after talking to Evan. Figured they come in handy."

The next morning, Neal returned to the school as Mr Cooper. Until they had really found some evidence, they could just as much keep it up. He sat in the empty classroom planning the lessons for the day when his phone rang.

"Hey, Peter."

"I'm on my way to meet Slater," Peter said.

"Did you write the check?"

"Technically, the Bureau did."

"Should be a nice tax write-off for Mr. Stone," Neal grinned. Aliases had a habit of getting a life on their own for him. Maybe that's why he was so good at being other characters.

"Yeah, he'll put the savings towards his upcoming alimony payments."

"Good luck in there." It shouldn't be a problem.

Neal hung up and heard Woods's voice outside in the corner.

"And that'll be the last thing you do at this school!"

Neal opened the door and saw Woods walk away and a devastated Evan.

"You okay?" Neal asked. "What'd he say to you?"

"He knew. He said he knew about me getting the documents from the Bursar's office."

"How?"

"He looked into me after the tutoring session. He knew I xeroxed the quarterlies from my copy-machine code. Look, he said he was gonna expel me. I had to say something."

Neal felt his pulse rise in a less pleasant way.

"What'd you tell him?"

"That he couldn't scare me because I had some very powerful friends of my own looking into him."

And Peter was in the building!

"Go to my classroom, okay? Lay low. Go." Evan walked in that way, and Neal hurried the other way. He pulled up his phone and dialed. "Diana, we need backup at the school right now. Peter's cover's blown."

"Mr. Stone, we cannot thank you enough," Slater shook his hand franticly after seeing the sum on the check. The idea was that they would now have a specific check and sum of money to follow and see where it ended up. Not as marked bills, of course, but as close as it could get.

"It's my way of giving back," Peter said, getting his hand back. "Now, unfortunately, I have to get to the airport in an hour."

"You're not going anywhere!" Woods' voice echoed in the stone staircase where they stood.

"Andy, what's going on?" Slater asked as Woods marched up to them with his goon. Peter had a feeling his cover was blown, but the question was how much they knew.

"His timing isn't a coincidence. All the questions about the endowment, the quarterly report coming up, that check. It's a trap."

The bell rang, and pupils started to flood the halls. Woods grabbed his arm.

"Don't do anything stupid," Peter advised him. Not in front of many young students, and preferably not at all.

"Then walk."

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