WCBB - Frozen - Elledeegee - Chapter 6
(Chapter 6)
Elizabeth was worried when Peter didn’t show for Christmas Eve or even Christmas Day without a call. She wondered if he had found Neal and that had kept him away but it didn’t explain why he hadn’t called or answered her messages. Her parents were curious in their own manner as to his absent but she had told them it was work related quoting her husband’s favorite phrase: The FBI never rests. She saw they were trying not to ask too many questions but as midday arrived on the 25th, El knew she had to find out if everything was ok as she dialed the only person that might have that answer.
“The Underground leaves no rock unturned. Leave a message and your rock may be the next.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes slightly at Mozzie’s new cryptic message, listening as she heard a tone and then replied.
“Mozz… Peter said you were helping him find Neal. Call me back.”
She hung up, leaving it basic for now unless Mozzie didn’t call her back. The thought of that occurring made her sigh, pushing the phone back into her cardigan sweater pocket and laying back on the guestroom bed. Her eyes counted the bumps on the popcorn ceiling of her parents’ home to ease her worries until the buzzing of her phone made her pause and sit up.
“Hello?”
There was silence on the line a moment and then a quiet voice.
“How is your holiday with the in-laws going. Ugly sweaters making their rounds yet?”
Mozzie was his usual facetious self, El smiling only slightly in relief he had called her back. Maybe the con could give her something to ease her mind.
“Hey Mozz. Happy Holidays… Uhm… I was curious if Peter had called you about that tip you gave him on Neal.”
She could hear something in the background suddenly, a sound like when you’re in a car driving. Mozzie had a cab once and he did drive, the background sound making her curious where he was if not in one of his hideaways.
“I’m actually up in your neck of the woods as they say. Thought I’d give the Suit a helping hand. He never called me back considering the tip I left him…”
Mozzie sounded slightly miffed but he was always upset about something and usually not even really upset. This was just his manner. She sensed a slight worry in his tone more likely about Neal than towards her husband.
“Peter hasn’t called me back either. Said he was checking out something you had told him about Neal and then disappeared. It’s been almost 20 hours…”
She didn’t want to panic, her parents oblivious to what was going on but she knew they must be thinking something about their marriage as much as she told them it was work. Her father had started to bring up little things about working late at the office that a client of his had noticed about their own husband… She just rolled her eyes and changed topics, her father more the Psychoanalyst than comforting father figure while her mother just plied her with sweets and stories about helping her to sew Peter a new sweater and what colors to make it… Their attempts to calm her were making things worse she was hiding in her room on Christmas afternoon after the initial morning breakfast and some opening of presents. Mozzie was a breath of fresh air in comparison.
“The Sui… your husband hasn’t been in touch. Let me look up the GPS for his car…”
His comment was comforting yet alarming, not so much for her but what Peter would think if he knew that Mozzie was tracking their vehicle.
“Mozz… you have our GPS info on the car? How… wait, don’t tell me. Just tell me where my husband is.”
She would deal with this later, glad for the con’s peculiarities in this case. He had his ways and means to glean info and she was happy for it if it found her husband and Neal safe and sound. She heard a not so comforting cough and then a low “uh oh” from the con as she sat down. She’d been pacing the whole conversation until now.
“I’ll give you the good news: It looks like the airbags deployed as they were programmed to. (short pause) Your husband is probably ok but the front end suspension is going to cost a bit to get reworked. I can stop by the site and see if the Suit is still there. It’s a rural area so he might not have been able to make any calls out. Thankfully I brought a satellite phone for such inconveniences...”
He was trying to be comforting but the airbag comment made her realize Peter hadn’t called because he had been in a car accident. She gave a quiet gasp, standing up again and doing her best to hold back worry and tears. Mozzie was probably right. Peter might not be hurt but he might be stuck in the freezing cold. It had snowed heavily in the last two days since his call and that would account for the lack of contact. She had to know more.
“Tell me what you find Mozz and call me back immediately.”
He gave her a reply indicating he would before hanging up. Now she knew why Peter hadn’t replied back to her. Hopefully he was ok and not hurt. She had been in a car accident before, a hit and run as a teen which left her and a friend stranded beside a country highway. They hadn’t had a cell between them but thankfully her dad and friend’s father had gone looking for them when they hadn’t shown up for over 5 hours. She shivered thinking of Peter stuck out in the cold possibly alone for the past 2 days, a guilty feeling at assuming he had just not answered because of finding Neal. Now all she could do was wait, no idea where this site was that her husband had been heading to and praying for the best.
()()()
Peter didn’t remember much, the airbags hitting him hard in the face, the side of the head and body as he was buffeted around. The impact knocked him out for a while, a dream of being back home in NYC with his wife and Satchmo. There was a knock at the door, El asking him to answer from the kitchen as he got up from the warm comfort of his sofa and peeked out to see the last person he expected but he opened up the door regardless.
“Happy Holidays, Suit… Are you going to invite me in?”
Mozzie was being pushy but in a nice way, dressed in what could only be a very old fashioned suit something like what a vintage Malt Shop worker of slinger of ice cream would have worn. Peter sighed and motioned him in reluctantly. Elizabeth peeked around the corner and smiled, waving at Mozzie and winking at her husband as he closed the door. She had an apron around her waist, wiping her hands on it to give the odd little man a quick hug as she glanced around them curiously.
“Hey Mozz. Neal didn’t come with you today?”
El sounded worried as the little guy shook his head and sighed, eyes looking back at Peter with an expectant glance.
“Your husband hasn’t found him yet so it’s just me…”
The con’s tone was matter of fact as he went from semi-blaming Peter for Neal’s absence to asking about what smelled so good. The scene started to fade away, the agent wondering what his wife was cooking which seemed odd as he felt himself coming too.
Just a slight concussion from the looks of it but I don’t have the tools to be sure it’s not something worse. I think the airbags in that fancy car of his helped to ease the worse effects of the wreck but he really needs a hospital, Jack. Just my humble opinion of course…
The voice was sarcastic enough it reminded him a bit of Mozzie or maybe Hughes. Someone was gently pulling a cover over him, machines beeping nearby like in a hospital and something pinching his arm like a needle. He was still partially unconscious, eyes shut and only sound getting through with the occasional sense of something around him. Another voice coughed replying quietly.
Make sure he’s patched up but not too much. Keep him under if you can for now. Perhaps providence will work out in my favor… I’ll be back.
Peter thought he didn’t trust the last voice, the one before had been disgruntle but not as shady as the one after it. He wanted to open up his eyes and see who was there but the first voice spoke again under their breath in a rhetorical tone.
Guess it’s just you and me. You need your sleep anyway so this will help.
He wasn’t sure what the man meant until he felt a kind of warmth wash over him from the spot where his arm felt pinched. It was a slight feeling at first that grew stronger, his consciousness fading away until he was back in the dream with his wife and Mozzie again. He was still in the den while everyone had moved to the table which was now set and full of food. Elizabeth was looking at him curiously, a smile on her face.
“Hun… Come sit.”
Peter walked over and sat near his wife, their hands touching a moment before he started to put food on his plate and he heard a cough. Mozzie was looking at him with his usual fidgety paranoid glance that made him wonder what the little guy was going to say.
“Neal ran away from us for a reason. You know that don’t you, Suit.”
The last part was overemphasized, Elizabeth seemingly unaffected by the comment as she continued to eat and look at him lovingly. Peter knew he was dreaming but curious as to where this line of subconscious thought was leading to. Obviously Mozzie was the voice of reason or at worse his own unspoken thoughts on the situation. He was feeling a little more himself suddenly as he replied with a nod.
“Hagen… Neal’s admission was what helped us catch him. I’m well aware of that but it’s no reason to disappear without a word. I told him…”
He was interrupted by Elizabeth, her blue eyes flashing.
“He did it for us, hun. For you… He respects you and wanted to help. You know he meant no harm.”
Her tone and words reminded him how angry he had been initially to know what had happened but he’d pushed the anger aside long enough to catch Hagen and his lawyer, both in prison now for terms that meant they’d never see the light of day ever again. He was happy for that but it just reminded him of Neal’s impulsiveness and how…
“What is it hun… you didn’t finish your thought.”
Elizabeth was looking at him as if he’d spoken but he had been thinking those words, forgetting about this being a dream as Mozzie nodded, everyone looking at him with pointed interest.
“There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice. (Charles de Montesquieu).”
Peter blinked, the quote indicating his thoughts perfectly. How did Mozzie know what he…
Suddenly he was awake, eyes staring up at a blurry but grayish ceiling as the agent sucked in a deep breath then let it out. He wasn’t home but he was in a bed covered with a warm blanket and connected to monitors like at a hospital but he was pretty sure this wasn’t one. His vision was blurred, head aching as he glanced around the room in a slow turn of his eyes then moved his head with a slight wince to see more. He started to see more details after a bit and then finally his vision cleared enough his surroundings were easier to see. This wasn’t his in-laws and nobody he knew had a cabin or at least, not one he should be in at the moment. His memory was foggy as he tried to figure out why he was in a strange cabin, the windows covered with heavy drapes and only a single softly glowing bulb filling the room with light. He moved to sit up, the monitor beeping growing in speed for a moment before he lay back again exhausted. The room swam some as his head throbbed, the crinkling of bandages around his head making him feel around to see why.
A tree… He had been driving… there had been snow and then… a tree…
The memory was faint, mental hands trying to grasp at the thought but it vanished like a ghost and suddenly he couldn’t remember what he’d been trying to recall. He just knew he had to call his wife before she worried. Whatever had happened, he was safe for the moment as he again tried to sit up, monitor beeping faster in response as he managed better to get up this time and hung his feet over the side of the bed. His cell wasn’t in his pocket and he could now see his jacket slung over a chair next to the bed as he reached for it. Peter had almost reached it, his feet touching the floor when he felt weakness overcome him, a dizzy spell making his head spin as he collapsed to the floor with a loud thud. He pushed weakly at the wooden floorboards to get up but his body was working against him, a pinch at his arm indicating he’d pulled off the monitor cords and maybe an IV needle. He was bleeding… the flow slow as it dripped down his arm and pooled beside him. His eyes went in and out of focus as he tried to stay conscious.
“Shit… he’s up… someone help me with him!”
A voice spoke nearby but he was too out of it to look up, only a vague hint of facial features coming to him as he shuddered slightly, eyes rolling back into his head as he passed out.
Suit… Suit…
Mozzie was talking to him but it was faint at best, eyes opening to focus on himself sitting back at the table where he had been having dinner in his last dream. The only difference now was that his wife and Mozzie were missing, everything set as it had been, the food smelling delicious but he was alone.
“El?”
When had they left and why had they gone without him? Peter was confused as he stood and searched around the room. Nobody was in the kitchen but a pot continued to bubble quietly on the stove. He turned it off before checking out the back door but the patio was quiet, not even the dog present.
“Satchmo? Here boy…”
There was no responding bark, the agent uncertain why he was alone as he went back inside and checked upstairs. He was alone, no sign of his wife or the con man he’d come to know through his ward and partner Neal Caffrey. Frustrated, Peter came back downstairs and went to the front door. That was the only place left as he tried to open the door and found it locked or jammed. When it wouldn’t open and he couldn’t see out the windows, he checked the large window by the sofa, pulling aside the drapes to find a brick wall blocked his view.
“What the hell?”
He would have said more but suddenly he found himself awake again, the cabin he had woken up to before back again. There was a soft beeping of the monitor beside him and he felt that pinch on his arm again along with some pain as his eyes moved to see what it was, an IV tube snaking up to a bottle of something not completely clear. His eyes focused on the text of the IV bag and saw it was just a plain saline drip, nothing he would blink an eye at in a hospital but this wasn’t a hospital. Peter moved to get up but found he was unable to move, a large strap keeping him firmly in place across his chest and more straps around his wrists and legs, holding him down. He squirmed in an attempt to get free but he was too tired to struggle long, the beeping on the monitor growing as his motions increased them dying back to a slow beep as he gave in to exhaustion and lay back again. Why would he be strapped to the bed even if he had gotten up earlier? Wherever he was he was certain he needed to get out of there and get out of there now.
He’s still sleeping. Why do you think, Jack? Yes… I know… of course. He’s not going anywhere in his current condition. Please… give me some credit. (pause with lots of “uh huhs”) Of course… right… (sound of cell beeping as it hung up and then a low hiss of breath) Moron...
Someone was outside talking on their cell to someone named Jack. The name seemed familiar to him but he wasn’t sure why as he struggled to get comfortable now that he was awake. He feigned sleep as the door opened somewhere out of sight and someone walked across the room to stand beside him.
“Pulse seems a bit high…”
The man spoke, touching his wrist gently but firmly as he seemed to be checking his pulse manually.
“Can’t get a good reading with all these straps…”
Peter waited as the man talked to himself, unhooking several of the soft straps around him and his arms. He would take his chance when he could, wondering why they had him prisoner.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
The man was addressing him now, Peter opening his eyes after a moment to stare up at a semi-blurry figure before him. Finally his vision cleared and he could see a man just a bit older than himself giving him a wry grin. It didn’t seem right but he nodded slightly, head hurting as he did so and winced in response.
“I wouldn’t recommend too much motion at the moment. You had a pretty good knock to the head.”
The man was smiling back at him in a humorless manner but he could tell it was more than just friendly chat as he made a move to sit up slowly, head aching as he did so but the man helped, fluffing the pillows behind him.
“Thanks. Where… am I? I don’t remember much.”
He could play dumb, hoping for some insight but the man’s glance showed he was holding back something as he spoke.
“A cabin in the woods. Your car was wrecked but you’re lucky we found you before the blizzard blew in.”
Now he had some answers. There were more people here if the man used WE but he continued with the headache routine despite some real pain, the man bringing him some pain relievers and doing a quick check of his vitals as he unfastened the rest of the straps.
“Sorry about the straps but you were delirious and I didn’t want you to hurt yourself. Are you hungry?”
The man walked over to a nearby mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of water and what looked to be a yogurt or pudding cup. He handed them to Peter who nodded back with a silent thank you. He was eating the yogurt and quietly taking in what the man was doing and picking up what clues he could as they chit chatted.
“So how long have you been a doctor? Is this some kind of rural clinic or your own personal abode?”
He was being casual, sipping at the water and suddenly realizing how thirsty he had been. He finished the yogurt, placing the now empty cup on the nightstand as he waited for the man to answer.
“Retired… I think you’re going to live. There’s a button you can page me with right beside the bed. I’ll come back and check on your in a few hours if not sooner.”
The man was being distant suddenly, something in his manner too formal despite his bedside manner before. Peter took his chance.
“Thank you…”
He left it open as if to ask the man’s name, the retired physician turning to give him a long thoughtful look before answering.
“Saunders…”
He left it at that as he started to leave and Peter replied in kind figuring they had probably looked at his wallet already.
“Burke.”
()()()
Neal wasn’t sure that he wanted to meet anyone Eckert introduced him to but at this point he didn’t have a choice. The man took him to the back of the cabin, a small study with a large curtained window where there shouldn’t be a window.
“This was going to be your room but when I found out who you were I had you moved downstairs…”
Jack’s voice trailed off as he pulled the curtain aside, pushed a button and the window went from mirrored glass to see through. Neal wasn’t sure what he was looking at in the beginning but then he gawked, his mask of indifference hard to keep up with the sight before him.
“Apparently someone’s been looking for you and had a little accident up the road. He’s very lucky someone was coming back up or he’d have frozen to death.”
Jack sighed, a dramatic sound as they watched two men on the other side of the glass talking. One was laying in bed with bandages around their head and the other was Dr. Saunders. Neal still wasn’t sure how to reply to the situation, words deserting him as he watched Peter eating what appeared to be yogurt and drinking water.
“Your friend is very lucky my men found him. It would be a shame if we hadn’t and he was found frozen to death in his vehicle…”
It was only a slight change of verbiage but it caught Neal’s attention as he turned and stared at his captor, the man smiling grimly back at him. He was being blackmailed not for his past but for his friendship with a man who had done nothing but try and help him. Peter didn’t deserve this nor did Elizabeth but now they were involved and he had promised her long ago not to let her husband be hurt. It was his turn to sigh but it was inward, not anything the industrialist would be aware of as Neal watched his friend through the one way glass and finally nodded.
“If anything happens to him…”
He felt anger rise inside, glaring up at the man as he drew dangerously closer, his hands clenching into fists. Jack looked a bit surprised, coughing as he stepped back slightly. Neal wasn’t faking his anger and Eckert knew it as he coughed uncomfortably.
“As you wish but you’ll be stuck with me as my inside man. Agreed?”
That hadn’t been a stipulation but now that it was out there Neal gave a hard swallow, eyes turning to look at his friend and then steely back at the man who was again putting chains around him.
“Agreed.”
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