There are a lot of exclamation points in this post! You have been warned.
Suddenly I have a day of many things to do! I find this very bizarre, as I have not had anything to do since Vividcon and have gotten used to gazing out the window in stultifying blahhhh. But anyway, here is the first of the things I should probably do!
( For thelovemafia: the top 5 people I find devastatingly attractive (sometimes this is because of their hair, sometimes it is not necessarily) )
( For thelovemafia: the top 5 people I find devastatingly attractive (sometimes this is because of their hair, sometimes it is not necessarily) )
"Hey now, let's all just calm down, all right?" Peter said, holding up his hands and stepping between Neal and Casey. "Mr. Caffrey is under federal protection. Any grievances about anything he may have done before he accepted this position have to go through me." He shot a questioning glare back at Neal--what did you do?--and got only an alarmed shrug in response.
It was the civilian who spoke first. "You're dead," he said weakly. "You're supposed to be--you're dead."
"I can fix that," Casey said.
"Stop it," Walker said, her voice sharp. "I'm sure Agent Burke has a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why a dead CIA agent would be working in the Bureau, doesn't he?"
"Did you ever pretend to be a CIA agent?" Peter asked, keeping his eyes on Casey. "Now is not the time to be coy, Neal."
"No," Neal said, staring blankly at the scene before him. "Does Fish & Wildlife count?"
"Bryce Larkin," Walker said. She swallowed. "If you were just going into hiding--you could have told--"
"I've never gone by that name, either," Neal said. "And I don't respond well to guns so could you put yours down, please? I'm pretty sure shooting an unarmed civilian in an FBI office is looked down on."
"Civilian, my ass," Casey muttered, but he lowered the gun anyway. Neal exhaled.
"I can see we're going to have a very interesting conversation," Peter said. "So why don't we have it sitting down, gun-free, and as mature adults who don't go flying off the handle? I think that would be a good idea."
The conversation was long, awkward, and revelatory, although Neal got the impression they were still leaving a lot out. And the way the civilian was staring at him was a little unnerving. In the end, they still went through with the job, but Walker played the investor instead of the civilian and Neal felt almost off his game the whole way through. The idea that there was--had been--someone else out there with his face wasn't something he liked to think about. Had Larkin ever run into any of Neal's previous victims? Had he ever run into any of Larkin's?
The whole experience did nothing to improve Peter's opinion on the CIA ("They can't even keep their agents straight, can they?"), and it only made Neal even leerier of government agencies. But at the same time, he felt--sad, almost. The way Walker and the civilian had looked at him had been almost...hopeful. And watching them realize the truth had hurt, just a little.
The next time Peter grumbled about the CIA not caring, Neal stayed silent.
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"You're supposed to be--you're dead."
"I can fix that," Casey said.
I ADORE CASEY. And I now feel like rewatching Chuck.
"No," Neal said, staring blankly at the scene before him. "Does Fish & Wildlife count?"
*LAUGHS* Now I wonder what Neal was doing impersonating a Fish & Wildlife officer. And this makes me think of the Expendables.
The idea that there was--had been--someone else out there with his face wasn't something he liked to think about. Had Larkin ever run into any of Neal's previous victims? Had he ever run into any of Larkin's?
Fascinating thought.
Poor Neal. Poor Sarah and poor Chuck. *pats them all*
Thank you for this! It was lovely! ♥ *goes put this in my memories!* ♥ You did the crossover eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, and it had absolutely everything I wanted! \O/
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And the Fish & Game...that wouldn't happen to be an Invisible Man reference, would it?
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