White Collar - as an unofficial novel - part 6

Negotiable

Peter met Diana in the FBI lobby at Washington D.C.

"Well?" she asked.

He showed her his badge.

"I'm off suspension but hanging by a thread," he told her. "What have you got?"

"Fowler was handed over to OPR two days ago, then not a trace."

"They're hiding him somewhere," Peter sighed. They had found him only to see him disappear again. "Did you get anything off his hard drive?"

"Good news and bad news," Diana began. "I hacked it, but the data self-corrupted."

"Ah, a self-eating virus. What's the good news?"

"Well, I was able to recover one entry. A date, a time, and a place."

"So you think Fowler set up a meeting?"

"He's expecting something to happen at 12th and watershed two months from now."

"Two months. I should be there."

"I'll put it on your calendar," Diana grinned.

"Glad to have you back," Peter smiled in return.

He walked towards the exit.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"To see an old friend."

He drove to Sing-sing prison and could now show his badge and be let inside the restricted visitor's room. It felt good. But what good news could he bring the kid? Nothing.

He watched the view through the bars and turned when he heard voices. Neal stepped inside, the guard performed a pat-down on him and then left them alone. Neal sent him a grin as he sat down. That was progress. Or false hopes of release.

"How you holding up?" Peter asked.

"They don't let me wear ties."

Peter relaxed. The Neal he knew was coming back.

"Overrated."

"Food's as bad as I remember," Neal said with a sigh.

"Coffee?" Peter asked.

"Instant."

"Cruel and unusual," Peter agreed to Neal's face of disgust.

There was a pause but he had no time to find the words to tell Neal the bad news.

"New suit?" the kid asked. Peter smiled at the fact that Neal kept track of his clothing.

"Yeah."

"They give you your badge back?" his pet convict asked while he sat down opposite.

"Yeah. Justice finished its inquiry."

"Then why am I still here?" Neal asked. That was the bad news. Peter glanced at the kid. Did he not get why? "They think I blew up the plane?"

"They don't know what to think." There were no proofs of anything but that Neal had been there without an anklet.

"What do they suspect?"

"You were trying to escape," Peter said and Neal replied with an ironic laugh.

"Escape?"

"Fowler disappeared. OPR is denying Mentor existed."

"I got paperwork that proves it did," Neal said. Of course, the kid had kept all the documents. He had told them that. That he had seen it himself.