Post "Under The Radar" Ep 2x16 What might Neal be thinking? What about Peter? Their partnership and friendship are at stake!

Hi ! I'm French and I don't speak English very well. Fortunately, the lovely Mam711 translated my story for me. Thank you so much, Mam711 ! You're the best !

Ok, here I go. Here is a little OS based on the series I love second best (after Supernatural) called White Collar! This OS takes up just after the end of the last episode of season 2 (post "Under The Radar"). As it's nearly 6000 words, it's split into two parts. I tried to highlight the points of view of the two main characters. Feel free to tell me what you think! All criticism accepted! ^^

Good reading ! Ja ne ^^

Trust

He stood in the midst of this treasure of inestimable value! He didn't even notice the huge smile that illuminated his face, and yet, it perfectly reflected what he felt in every fiber of his being.

He'd just realized what he was seeing. Everything was there. Nothing had been destroyed as he'd thought a few hours earlier. Besides, he could still feel the frustration that had emerged when he'd thought that all these works were lost forever. But, fortunately, it hadn't happened, and his relief was accompanied by indescribable joy when he found that, in addition, not a thing had been damaged. Everything was intact. It was as if the past, unreachable till then, had been delivered into his hands. Whole pages of art history had materialized like magic. It was a dream comes true. Overwhelmed by the beauty of his surroundings, he reveled in the trance into which he'd been plunged. He seemed to see the faces of all these renowned artists through their works. That all these wonders had been buried for decades in the deep oceans, without anyone to admire them! What a waste! And now here they were, on terra firma, irradiating him with their entire splendor. And what was even more amazing was that they belonged to him! ... Well ... at least in part.

It wasn't until after this long blissful moment that the first questions appeared, multiplied and jostled in his head: Who was behind all this? What expert would be generous enough ... or sufficiently crazy, to want to share this treasure with him? How had this person succeeded in stealing the works from Adler and carrying them here without anyone noticing? How had this individual been able to gather all the evidence that had made this stroke of genius possible, while he himself, who'd been at the heart of the action, had been far from having all the cards?

He fumbled around in his pocket to extract the piece of paper that had accompanied the key. The note had been typed. That was also a clue. The author certainly didn't want anyone to be able identify them and feared that their writing would betray them.

At that moment, the only name that came to mind was Mozzie. Who else could have brought together the skills necessary to achieve such a feat? And most importantly, who would have taken such risks and perils just to ultimately share the invaluable and hard-won booty with him?

On the other hand, something was amiss: if it really was Mozzie, why all this mystery, exactly? Knowing him, he could be pretty sure that he wasn't in a dark corner waiting to come out of nowhere to reveal his identity to his friend. However, in this moment he would have been here, and yet here he was, still alone! Why wouldn't Mozzie be at his side now rejoicing with him, explaining in great detail every step of his reasoning, complaining of the many dangers he'd had to face or of the physical rigors that had exhausted him ...? Maybe it hadn't been him, all things considered. But then, who?

He felt drained. The last few days had been difficult and any kind of logical reasoning right then was doomed to failure. He thought about going home but before he did, he couldn't

stop himself from wandering among the various works that were within his reach, running his fingers over the frames of paintings, now nakedly revealed to his artist's eye, sculptures fashioned at the hands of masters, infusing himself with the beauty of these masterpieces. All his life he had dreamed of having a treasure like this. Indeed wasn't it the ambition of everyone like him? ... But ... now that it was in his possession, what was he going to do? It was like the culmination of his life of crime ... a kind of last major score before retirement... Was he ready for this?

So much had happened to him, especially these last two years. The idyllic future he had so-carefully planned had vanished with the death of Kate. But where before he'd been foundering, new options were now being offered to him. He'd begun to see a different way of visualizing his existence, still himself yet living differently. And more and more often, he allowed himself to hope that, one day, he would himself get everything he envied about Peter's life.

Peter ... How was it possible, after all this time, all the hardships the two of them had gone through, that he still didn't trust him! Even though he had looked right into his eyes to assure him that he was in no way responsible in this case! But the same guy who'd said that he was his friend hadn't believed him! Had he even listened? Had he taken into account everything he'd done so far to live up to his high expectations? A ball of acid formed in his throat, followed closely by a feeling of great emptiness in his abdomen. He tried to control his breathing and closed his eyes for a moment in an effort to calm himself. But soon the image of Peter's cold hard stare came back to him. It wasn't the first time he'd seen him angry, so why did it hurt so much? This was nothing but an injustice! He was innocent and Peter was furious because he'd been persuaded otherwise.

His bitterness was suddenly transformed into apprehension. Even if it hadn't been reciprocated, he had always given all his trust to those who had become his friends. Peter believed in the law, in justice. In addition, he always needed clear evidence, obtained most legally, before accusing someone. So why the turnaround ? What could have made him so sure about him, so suddenly? What could have made him go from suspicion upon hearing Adler's proposal to totally against him, in less than a minute? He must have missed something that the well-trained FBI agent couldn't ignore! Telling him that he had to prove his guilt!

Definitely worried, he left the warehouse, but not without casting a last glance at "his treasure."

xxx

"You're home early this evening," noted Elizabeth with a playful tone, coming out of the kitchen.

She knew that her husband had just arrived. He'd been nearly silent, but she recognized the way he inserted the key into the lock and his way of moving the handle before opening the front door. What she didn't expect, however, was finding herself nose to nose with a pale-faced Peter. He seemed lost, at the same time frustrated and hopeless. She could not bear to see this expression in the eyes of the man she loved. She came close to him, questioning his worried look.

"El, I killed a man," he confessed in a whisper.

She embraced him, gripping as hard as she could. He let his head fall on his wife's shoulder before burying his face in the delicate curve of her neck. They remained entwined a few moments, comforting one another. When he made a small movement, Elizabeth stroked his face and tenderly kissed him, then she applied a soothing hand to his back and drew him to the couch.

"Come sit... Tell me everything."

"It's Adler... I killed Adler. We were searching warehouses on the docks when we heard an explosion. That's when I saw that he was no longer by the van ... I'd told him to stay there ... but he never listens."

"Is Neal okay?" asked Elizabeth, who'd understood what he was talking about despite her husband's confused statements.

"Yes, he's okay but it could have ... you know, when I finally arrived at the scene of the explosion, Adler was pointing his gun at him and threatening to kill him. I had Neal in front of me but he was hidden by Adler whose back was all I could see. That didn't prevent me from understanding the situation. I was sure he was going to pull the trigger. I heard what he said to Neal and the tone he used boded no good. There's no doubt that he would've killed him ... It happened so fast. It was the recoil of my gun that made me realize that I had just fired. And when I saw Adler collapse..." He shook his head as if to remove this image from his mind.

"You did the right thing, hon. You've got nothing to blame yourself for."

"You mean besides killing someone?"

"It was him or Neal. You didn't have a choice."

"I shouldn't have had to make that choice! I should have been better prepared, had more time to predict or at least analyze the situation! I feel like I let the events just happen ... of being a marionette..."

At these words, Elizabeth knit her eyebrows. There was definitely more than the death of that man troubling her husband. Despite this, she let him proceed without interruption.

"... I shot him in the back, without warning. Now ballistics has my weapon. There'll be an investigation. Hughes told me that I shouldn't worry, that it was an urgent situation and that given my service record, nothing would come of it."

"That's rather good news," she interjected while her husband took a breath. "And Neal will be able to testify, saying that without your intervention, Adler would have killed him."

The lack of response told her she'd put her finger on the second point which was bothering Peter.

"What's Neal done now?" she asked, sure of herself.

"He ... from what he says he did nothing, but ... It's just that I don't know what I should believe... Oh, I know exactly what you're going to say..."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know that you appreciate Neal, that you have faith in him but ..."

"Honey," she cut him off, "it's true that I appreciate Neal but that's because I see him through your eyes. Up until two years ago, all I knew about him was thanks to what you could tell me about him. I could perceive, from the way you described him, the respect you had for this man and his talent. Even without saying a word, your eyes reflected the admiration that you had for him. And when I finally met him, it was as if I'd always known him. He was exactly like I'd imagined. And that's only because you understand people's personalities and I want you to know that I've always relied on your judgment and that's not about to change."

He gave her a broad smile, showing her how grateful he was for her support. Then he became serious and shook his head again.

"The problem is that I'm not as sure as you. Perhaps I've been deceived by him from the beginning..." He sighed loudly. "I don't know what to think. Lately, I'd really thought that ... I finally felt I could trust him. I'd relaxed my vigilance and I shouldn't have."

He anticipated Elizabeth's response, waving a hand in front of her to encourage her to listen without interrupting.

"Listen, I also really, really want to believe in him. I'd love to idealize our relationship the way you do sometimes but the problem is that each time I loosen the leash at all, he takes the opportunity to pull some crazy stunt. He constantly reminds me that he's never lied to me. So of course, he is absolutely convinced but we know, you and me, that his conception of lying and of the truth is unique and doesn't agree with the definition people could have. You have to understand. I can't afford to ignore everything he's tried to hide from me, everything he's done behind my back and so I still don't know about today, and it's not the first time he's tried to manipulate me."

"I thought you'd forgiven him."

"Yes, but I haven't forgotten..." Seeing his wife's desolate look, he added, "the same way I haven't forgotten that he's also saved my life or the countless times he's helped me solve a case. What should I listen to? My irrepressible urge to believe in his sincere friendship or my reason ? Should I follow him blindly despite incriminating evidence? After all, this wouldn't be the first time someone tried to frame him when he was innocent. But I'm a lawman and he's a con man. You should have seen the expression on his face when he found himself in the middle of the treasure.

"That's a totally-normal reaction, especially for Neal, but, honey, he didn't hesitate to give up a ring worth two and a half million dollars for you..."

"It's a trifle compared to the billions of dollars that the treasure Adler discovered is worth. What touched me when he gave up the ring is that it's the one he certainly would have used to ask Kate to marry him..."

"Right, you know how much he loved that woman. That gesture meant a lot in my opinion. I know his impulsiveness can be a serious handicap for him as well as for you, but it's often been linked to Kate."

"Exactly! And I'm afraid it's still the case today. By stealing Adler's treasure, he not only puts an end to the long con he was running with his buddy Mozzie, he also gets revenge. He held the man responsible for Kate's death. It's one stone, two birds. You remember how he reacted with Fowler? ... I have a theory about what happened today and there are too many elements that validate it. Not to mention that I know that the investigation will turn up new evidence."

"I understand your frustration and your anger but I'm still sure of my position. I put my trust in you and your judgment. I'm sure you haven't been deceived by him all this time. So maybe you should go tell him your theory. See how he reacts, listen to what he has to say. It'll certainly let you see things more clearly. What've you got to lose?"

'My friend!' he thought. 'I'm afraid to find out that it was all a charade, that all these moments were actually calculated to make me relax my vigilance, that he's been using me all this time just to have access to FBI resources, using our investigations as cover while he acted in his own interests, having foolproof protection when his antics went wrong...'

He shook his head to drive away his dark thoughts and return to a more optimistic frame of mind.

"You're right," he conceded finally with a tender smile. "Thank you, hon."

He kissed his wife before leaving the house with every intention of getting answers to his questions.

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