Chapter 8

"What the hell?" Peter said, noticing a figure who had not been there a moment before. He checked the video again, and his stomach dropped. "Anybody with a dot on Kennessey, take him! Take him, now!"

White Collar had been joined in their meeting by SWAT. Kennessey, they knew, was an expert marksman, so they decided not to take a chance. Three members of SWAT had sniper rifles trained on Kennessey, just waiting on orders to take him out.

A shot rang out and Kennessey fell into a rather anticlimactic heap on the ground. SWAT and White Collar formed a perimeter, only letting down their guard after death had been confirmed.

The doors of the van burst open and Peter came rushing out, Diana and Jones on his heels. They all stop short. Their eyes had not deceived them. He was there, right there in front of them.

"Damnet Neal!" Peter rushed to hug his friend angry and relieved all at the same time. Peter held on to his friend for an extra second before letting go.

"Alex had nothing to do with this Peter. This was…this wasn't her fight. It wasn't your fight. This started before I met you." Neal replied.

"Where is she, Peter? Is she okay?" Neal asked, looking around.

They were in the warehouse district. The agents and SWAT were taking each building, one by one.

"Our contacts say he never strayed far from this area. We figured Alex had to be close." Peter surmised.

"Agent Burke!" A SWAT member called over the static on the radio.

Peter answered and then listened for a moment. "Alex Hunter is in number 4." Peter announced. "We don't know if Kennessey had any friends! Be careful!" He said, warning of a surprise ambush.

Neal was running after he heard Alex's name. He made his way in amongst the SWAT team and started following the rest of the team and the agents down to where Alex had been found.

Peter yelled for Neal to stop. Peter than ran after Neal. The rest of the agents followed. Peter rushed passed the agents already at the warehouse. They were letting Neal pass, not saying anything. Everybody was still getting over the surprise of seeing Neal, alive and in the flesh.

Neal stopped cold when he stepped into the room. He fell to his knees in front of his friend, tears in his eyes. Alex was still unconscious. Her face was bloody, and he could tell through the rips and tears in her clothes that Kennessey had beaten her.

"I've got her. Go ahead." Neal swallowed, staring at her as he told the SWAT team to cut Alex's ropes. The members of SWAT hesitated. Peter gave the go ahead and the ropes were cut.

Neal took the full weight of Alex's body. He sat with her in his arms on the nasty floor of the old warehouse. He ignored the agents' attempts to get him to let her go. He finally allowed the EMT to look at her. He stood when they took her. He followed the stretcher out of the room.

"Neal?" Peter said, trying to get Neal's attention. He had way too many questions to ask his C.I.

"Neal!" Peter said again. Neal finally turned and looked at him.

"I have to go…." Neal said, indicating the stretcher.

Peter shook his head. "We'll follow, ride with me."

Neal looked at the ambulance and then at Peter, as if trying to make up his mind. Neal finally nodded and followed Peter to his car and got in. Peter didn't say anything for a few moments. He didn't exactly know where to start.

"Where have you been?" Peter asked.

"Mozzie put me in one of his new safe houses." Neal said, almost absentmindedly. He was following the ambulance, with his eyes, through traffic.

"Neal, it's…you've got to start talking." Peter stated.

Neal snapped out of it, turning his attention to Peter, blocking the horrible images of Alex. Neal started at the beginning. He started slowly, telling Peter about the meeting that had been set up at the same time they had had their other met. Neal explained how he had gotten out of the building. In the rush of agents and arrests, he had extracted himself. He had seen something in the corner of a room behind a pillar. Neal recognized the object as explosives. He looked back up, it seemed like seconds later and the room was cleared. Not a soul in sight. He just took off, blindly running. He had no idea where he had exited the building. Then Neal told Peter about coming to the 'fake' meeting that they had set up. Neal told Peter how he and Mozzie made a quick exit as soon as Neal saw Martin Kennessey. He told Peter he had asked Mozzie to talk to the FBI. Neal knew, with Kennessey's military training, he would not be safe until Kennessey was off the streets.

Neal shook his head. "I couldn't let something happen to Alex because of this. Those two didn't even know each other. All Martin knew was that Alex was a friend of mine."

"She'll be okay, Neal." Peter assured him as they sped along behind the ambulance.

Neal just nodded, looking down at his hands.

WC WC WC WC WC

"Sweetie, it is you!" El said, thrilled to see Neal again. She stopped short when she saw the tears in his eyes when he looked up at her.

El approached the bed. Alex was still unconscious, but she was cleaned up and she looked much better. El pulled Neal into a tight hug and held on to him for an extra moment or two. "She's gonna be okay, Neal. You're gonna be okay." El stepped back and looked at him, touching his face. She smiled. "It is so good to see you, Sweetie. I'll never doubt my husband again."

THE END