Chuck/White Collar - 3

[samecgh]

 

Peter started working on a warrant for all of the properties under Hanover's name. The man had lawyered up before he even hit the interview room. His three accomplices also had done the same thing, although one claimed Mossad would claim him before long. He shook his head and returned to his papers while they started patching their case together.

 

Neal was looking at the papers, but just looking, not doing anything else. He was still thinking about what the thing inside his head had done. He didn't want to talk to Moz; his paranoid friend might start enacting escape plans and he doesn't know how well he would be able to escape. “Hey, Neal,” someone called.

 

He looked up to see 'Mike', who looked a little nervous. “Yeah?”

 

“I was wondering if we could go someplace. Burke's taking a while to get the warrant, you're distracted and I have no work at the moment. Maybe we could walk around the city,” he lied.

 

Neal looked at him. It was like he was purposely lying badly to get him to go with him. What is he worried about? He wanted to take his mind off of the thing and his headache could use a rest from the fluorescent lights. “Sure, I could use another coffee anyways,” he commented, “My last one ended up on the ground.”

 

'Mike' seemed to be leading by comment. After Neal got another coffee and 'Mike' opted for a chai tea, he ended up suggesting a few places that he wanted to see and Neal accommodated him. Some of the places were small galleries that featured pop art, including one painting that was supposed to be inspired by Star Trek red shirts. He didn't get it, but 'Mike' did.

 

After a stop at a comic shop, where 'Mike' picked up a Superman comic, he said he wanted to go and work out. Neal recommended a gym that wasn't that far from his apartment, but 'Mike' really wanted to head to a building that wasn't known to many people outside of his team.

 

The entire place was empty minus the team, which was perfect. 'SJ' and 'Benton', Sarah and Casey, were in another section, giving their report to General Beckman, and waiting for Chuck to test Neal on whether he had an Intersect, specifically two point oh or a Ring equivalent.

 

He had plenty of knives on him, courtesy of Sarah who told him they were better for discreet measures. However, he didn't want to kill Neal, so he asked that they have a dull one that wouldn't injure as painfully when he threw it and Neal couldn't catch it. He made sure that he was only a few feet away, about the same distance when his Dad threw one at him.

 

“Neal,” he called and waited until he was facing him before throwing.

 

Whatever was in Neal's head kicked back up again, showing him a complicated moved that simplified into catching the knife in between his hands before it hit him. He was in shock for five seconds before lowering his hands with the knife still in between. “What the hell!” he shouted, “Why did you throw a knife at me?”

 

“I'm sorry; I'm sorry. I... I had to, I need to ask you some questions about what you've been experiencing,” he apologized.

 

“You had to?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Why would you have to?”

 

“Look, we should really talk about this,” he started.

 

“Talk about it?”

 

“We need to figure out what is going on,” he implored. At that point, 'SJ' and 'Benton' walked into the room, back in civilian clothes instead of suits and Neal was now beginning to quietly panic. Moz would be having a field day with this.

 

'Mike' or whoever he was, walked over and calmly started steering him into the hall and down to a conference room with a TV that had the NSA logo on it. He sat Neal down before sitting down across from him. 'SJ' sat beside him and 'Benton' stood beside the door. “All right,” 'Mike' started, “Lets start with Hanover's party. You and 'SJ' were going through things in his office.”

 

“She was at the computer. Peter didn't authorize any copying off the computer,” he continued.

 

“You decided to see what she had been doing.”

 

“I noticed a file didn't copy.”

 

“You opened it.” He nodded. “What did it show you?”

 

“Pictures, they went fast. I didn't get a great look at them.”

 

'Mike' asked, “When you looked at Hanover after the pictures, did anything happen?”

 

Neal didn't quite want to acknowledge that yet, so he inquired, “How do you mean?”

 

“Did your mind kick up pictures that then turned into information, information that you couldn't know from the FBI?”

 

He couldn't deny it. “Yes.”

 

'Mike' explained, “What you have is called an Intersect. It contains information and in your case, physical skills that come up after something stimulates it, code phrases, a person or a situation that you need the physical skills for. Whenever the Intersect kicks up, I call it a flash. Did you have any more flashes between the party and today?”

 

'Mike' has one as well? “Yeah,” he informed, “Saxon and Kruck, and the fight with Hanover.” With nothing else to talk about, he asked, “Is there any way of getting this out? This Intersect. I don't like what's it doing.”

 

'SJ' questioned, “What is it doing?”

 

“I don't like when I can't control my body,” he admitted.

 

“And you have a headache,” 'Mike' mentioned, pulling out something.

 

“How....”

 

“It's common. I used to have headaches,” he testified, “This is called a governor. It helps regulate the Intersect and keeps your brain from overheating.”

 

“Did you also slip in a tracking device? Because I already have one of those,” he lamented, his ankle twitching at the thought.

 

“There's not enough room for one between the governor and the watch,” he cracked. Neal slipped on the watch and latched it. His brain felt better, the headache fading and the weight of something he didn't even realize slowly retracting. “Feels a lot better, doesn't it?”

 

He nodded, “Yeah, it does.”

 

“Now that we have that out of the way,” someone interrupted and his head shot up fast to see a woman in place of the logo on the computer. “Neal George Caffrey, born October eleventh, ninety eighty-one. Parents are George Caffrey and Maria Caffrey, both deceased.”

 

“Yes....” he confirmed, wondering what was going on.

 

“What I'm about to tell you cannot be repeated to anyone that you're working with, including your handler,” she dictated.

 

“This has to do with the Ring that came up with the flashes, doesn't it?” he inquired.

 

“Smart. And yes, it does. The Ring is an international terrorist group that dwarfs Al Quaeda. They have been responsible for several attacks in the United States and abroad. Most have been claimed by other groups, but we've linked them to the Ring.”

 

Neal pieced things together. “You plan on harming them taking out the laundering.”

 

“That's our target. Your investigation has gotten closer to shutting them down than past trials.”

 

“If we were close, why did you send your team?” he questioned.

 

“To ensure it. Your witness is dead and you were almost abducted. They're trying to destroy the case.”

 

Neal agreed with that, but didn't voice it when his phone went off. Checking it quickly, he said, “It's Peter.”

 

“Take it out in the hall,” Beckman ordered. She also motioned 'Benton' to go with him.

 

“Hey, Peter,” he greeted.

 

“We got the warrant. The restaurant and three warehouses.”

 

“Warehouses?”

 

“He said, through his lawyer, that he keeps his food there for most of the east coast. That's the reason he has three. I'm gathering field agents to hit all four places.”

 

“Where are the three warehouses?” Peter rattled off the addresses. It was the second one he flashed on. The Intersect recognized it as a Ring holding facility. For what, he didn't know, but a picture of a medical room showed up before the flash ended.

 

'Mike' and 'SJ' had turned back to Beckman. “Bartowski, your hunch was right,” she confirmed, “Neal Caffrey was adopted. The original birth record shows he was the older of twins.”

 

“The second twin?” Sarah inquired.

 

“Born October twelve, ninety eighty-one, adopted by Kevin and Leah Larkin.”

 

“Bryce has a twin,” he smiled, “Sounds like a Hallmark film.” Sarah stared at him when Neal and 'Benton' walked in “What is it?”

 

Neal motioned to his governor before placing his phone on speaker. “I'm with the counterterrorism team, Peter. Repeat the warehouse addresses for them.”

 

'Mike' flashed on the second address like Neal had. He started looking up energy readings. The electricity usage was actually less than the other two. He showed this to 'SJ' and 'Benton'. “Agent Burke, we'll take the second warehouse,” 'SJ' volunteered, “We think there may be some connections to a collection of groups we've been investigating.”

 

“Fine, Neal, I need you to meet us at the restaurant. My gut says he's the type to keep things close.”

 

“Got it, Peter,” he said, looking toward the other three. Ending the call, he perceived, “I'm not going to Peter, am I?”

 

“No, right now, the safest you'll be is with this team,” Beckman told him, “Head down to the warehouse and see what the Ring is hiding.”

 

{*}{*}{*}{*}{*}

 

The team walked down to another area of the building, Neal following behind. An SUV was ready to be taken out. 'Benton' started checking out several weapons and gathering ammo before setting it in the back. 'SJ' started bringing out knives and her own gun before grabbing an extra clip and sneaking it away. “Neal,” Mike waved. He waited for him to walk over. He was going through bulletproof vests. “Here,” he passed one that was just larger than him, “And if you don't want to ruin your suit, there are some extra clothes in that room over there.” He pointed to a room just off the garage.

 

Neal walked into the room to see it was a closet. Men's suits and casual clothes were on the left, women's dresses of all types and casual were on the right. He quickly stripped down to his wife beater and his boxers before switching to jeans and his shoes for those that he can run a little faster in. He strapped the vest on before selecting a black button up that he can still hide his picks under, between the vest and the shirt.

 

'Mike' stared at him for a couple of seconds before being called over by 'SJ'. Both he and Neal sat in the back while 'Benton' drove to the location.

 

Three minutes later, Peter pulled up. “Neal,” he warned.

 

“Peter, I can...” he observed, “Actually I can't really explain this.”

 

“Agent Burke, later on, we will have to explain what exactly is going to happen surrounding Caffrey,” 'SJ' yelled, readying her gun, “For now, you are welcome to join us.” 'Benton' had two guns strapped to him while holding another. Peter took about a minute but he ripped off his suit jacket and opened his trunk for his vest.

 

'Mike' was checking a gun and motioned for Neal to come over. He tried to hand one to him. “I don't use guns,” he rejected.

 

“It's a tranquilizer gun,” he assured.

 

Peter saw the attempted exchange and argued, “He's not allowed a weapon and he's not going in.”

 

“Agent Burke, as someone that has been in his position before, it's never safe in the car,” 'Mike' countered. He still held the gun to Neal, who reluctantly took it, checking for himself before grabbing a refill clip.

 

'Mike' disabled the electronic lock on the door before 'Benton' and 'SJ' took lead. 'Mike,' Neal and Peter ended up switching between middle and back. Two guards walked by; they backed up and waited for them to pass before 'Benton' knocked them out, patting them down for weapons before tying them up and storing them in a closet.

 

'Mike' ended up looking in a lit room to see crates stacked up on each other. Reading the side, the Intersect kicked up Russian and he roughly translated it. “There are hundreds of guns in there,” he whispered.

 

'Benton' took a look. “Damn,” he muttered.

 

The next room 'SJ' and 'Benton' looked in, but didn't see anything illegal. The third and fourth rooms held various drugs, enough to fund a few wars, Peter quietly commented. The fifth had a printing press that Neal stared at before being dragged off.

 

“Finally,” 'Mike' muttered, disabling the lock to an office. He went to the computer, starting it up. Neal saw cabinets and picked the lock on one before opening the drawers.

 

“Peter,” he mumbled, holding up a file. He pulled out another file after the one in his hand disappeared.

 

“He's kept records going back thirty years,” Peter muttered.

 

'Mike' motioned to his two partners and pointed to a file on the screen. “There's another one here,” 'SJ' whispered.

 

“And it's not locked; Hanover may have been trying to find a host or using himself and raise his standing in the Ring,” he suggested.

 

“He's also helping the people he's cleaning money for?” Peter questioned, grabbing another file and shifting through it.

 

“Hanover's in this more than just money laundering,” 'Benton' partially confirmed, letting them know they were listening.

 

Peter looked over to Neal. “This proves our case.”

 

“You won't be able to take any of the papers, not yet” 'SJ' explained, “Hanover's partners can't see that anything's wrong. They'll pick up fast, find someone else and we won't see them again until they launch another attack.”

 

“You're trying to take down everyone with a clear strike,” he nodded, “But I can't pass this up.”

 

Neal looked around and spotted a scanner. “Hook this up,” he offered, “We scan the most damning papers to use.”

 

“Somehow find a way to lock it so the lawyers can't argue them,” Peter added, “Good idea, Neal.” They scanned about ten pages when a noise distracted them.

 

“Stay here,” 'SJ' ordered. Peter moved to guard the door while they got a couple of more pages in.

 

'Benton' and 'SJ' came back. “Time to pack it up,” 'Benton' warned. Neal put every paper back in the exact same place before closing the cabinet and relocking. 'Mike' cleaned the activity while Peter placed the scanner back where it was stored.

 

“Done,” 'Mike' reported before backing up the group. The others were already well ahead, another set of guards coming up. Neal pulled away after catching sight of something in a room. Using 'Mike's' disabling device, he undid the lock and pulled 'Mike' in with him, closing and locking after.

 

The other three got to an unused and unlocked room and hid quickly to wait for the pair to pass. “Where's 'Mike'?” 'SJ' questioned.

 

Peter realized quickly that his partner wasn't there either. “Damn it, Neal,” he muttered.

 

“Neal, what are you going?” 'Mike' quickly exclaimed.

 

“'Mike,' look around. Doesn't this look familiar?” he presented.

 

After waiting for his eyes to adjust, he agreed, “Yeah. The medical room in the flash.” Both waited for the guards to pass before exploring. Neal found nothing unusual for a private medical room. Instead, he looked toward a bare section of wall and floor. The rest of the room has cupboards and tables, all of which are packed to the brim. Why wouldn't they be making the most out of this space? His first idea was that there was a secret door of some type, and he searched the wall first, looking for cracks and hidden panels.

 

“There's nothing here,” 'Mike' proclaimed.

 

At that moment, Neal pressed on an oddly placed outlet. Expecting the wall to moved, he stepped back when a section of the floor right by his feet lifted up. He lamented, “I wouldn't say that's nothing.”

 

'SJ' and Peter doubled back to find the other two, 'Benton' grumbling behind them. Peter was the one that found the medical room and motioned to them. All three walked in just as Neal pressed the switch that opened the floor. “Oh look, the Batcave,” he jested, grabbing their attention, “Only you, Neal. Why did you run off?”

 

“We recognized it,” 'Mike' answered, motioning to his governor to indicate the Intersect flash both had.

 

Neal made to go down first, but Peter pulled him back and 'SJ' went down first. “Clear,” she reported, hesitance in her voice. 'Mike' was curious at the change of voice and went down. Peter followed Neal down after he had broke out of the hold. 'Benton' only followed after relocking the door and pushing something in front that wouldn't be seen, but would give them some time.

 

“Oh my god,” 'Mike' muttered. The room barely held 'SJ' and 'Mike' side by side, so Neal stood by the stairs and Peter and 'Benton.'

 

“Not again,” 'Benton' grumbled, gaining the stare of the two men who didn't know what was going on.

 

The only thing in the basement-like room was a pod. There was a computer attached by wires to the underside of the pod. A quick look at the monitor showed several different status readouts, including heart rate, temperature and oxygen levels. 'Mike' worked on the computer to look for alarms and information. “Anything?” 'SJ' asked.

 

“Three alarms, and...” he paused, “Disabled. Hopefully no one is watching this remotely, but if they are...”

 

“We need to get this person out,” 'SJ' completed, “'Benton' call in a team, we can't risk waiting. They're going to know soon.” She worked the pod over before finding the latches that have kept it closed. With 'Mike's' help, they lifted the lid.

 

There was a person, a man, lying in the pod, bound to the sides with wide strips of medical restraints. Several wires were around his chest and head while there were tubes going in his arms and a couple of others that traveled up the thin paper pants he was wearing.

 

'Mike' smiled as he saw the person.

 

“Bryce.”

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