Hy guy this is chapter 1 of this story.

I hope you'll enjoy this version of a parallel universe with Neal and Peter.

I want to thank Dr. Obsessive who beta this chapter of the story; the other chapters have been corrected again from my horrible English so if there is something else wrong please tell me I'll correct it.

Bye and enjoy the reading…and review as always! ^_^

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Chapter 1 – The Kid

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Peter

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I was walking slowly towards the young boy, asking myself 'Why I'm doing this?'

My job wasn't to save people but catch criminals…Well I certainly wasn't saving anyone that day.

What was done was done; he was sentenced and everything would change.

It would change for me: now I would have a completely new case after focusing so much of my time on his crimes but I was used to change; the biggest change was for him.

He was sentenced as an adult for his crimes, fourteen years old having to face the realities of being an adult in this world.

Yes, the 'adults' world.

I was still as incredulous as I was the first time our team found out that our enemy wasn't an adult.

I was closer to him now; he was sitting in a chair just outside of the juvenile court.

The two guards there were more incredulous than I was, to have to guard a little boy who was wanted by the FBI.

I put my hands in my pockets and I stopped in front of him.

He sat with his legs stretched in front of him, crossed at the ankle. His head was bent down; resting on his chest and his hair (which was a little too long) fell past his eyes. His hands were behind his back and the marshals probably having used everything they had to chain him.

'As if this will stop him' I thought.

The boy was practically a magician the way he was able to removed his handcuffs without anyone noticing.

I signaled the guards to leave us alone.

"Neal?" When I called him he lifted his head slowly.

The look in baby blue eyes shattered my composure; it was obvious he didn't truly understand what was happening.

Only fourteen years old. I sighed.

He was just barely fourteen years old and yet he had already shelves of files dedicated to him in my office. Only fourteen, yet smart enough to baffle a FBI team for six months!

And now the hunt was over. He would have to leave his family, friends, school, and even the skinny girl with blue eyes who he was so attached to.

"Hi, Peter!" he smiled and all I could do was feel guilty.

'Damn it! What I've done?' The thought exploded in my head.

My job was easy when criminals were big and ugly; it was a whole other story when they looked like Neal.

If you only ever looked at his file, all you would see is a criminal. Looking down at him though, I could only see a boy, yes a criminal, quite possibly one of the smartest criminals at that, but still just a boy.

Neal looked away from me embarrassed and I knew he wasn't enjoying being in such a feeble position.

"Does it hurt?" I said, gesturing towards his cuffed hands.

The expression on his face made me shiver; I had seen that look before… he was planning something. I just knew it!

In a matter of seconds Neal had moved his arms off his lap, the right cuff open in his hand and a playful smile on his face.

I sighed... Neal may look innocent, but he always stayed true to himself.

"You know… if I reported this it could be seen as an attempt to flee?" I said and in response he merely shrugged.

"You could report if you wanted to add some years to my sentence. I'm sure the judge wouldn't mind, he thinks the time will help me think about my actions" he said easily extracting his left hand from the other cuff.

I sat next to him, sighing.

"You can't blame him for your actions Neal!" I stated, frustrated by his lack of understanding but he raised a hand to stop me.

"Come on Peter, I was joking!" He was irritated. Talking with Neal always felt like running through an obstacles course.

"I've got a plan for those 4 years" I said trying to give him a little of hope.

He smiled slightly and then looked away.

I could tell that he didn't believe me.

He knew very well that I considered him guilty and I thought he deserved a punishment for his action.

But he didn't know that I considered sentencing a young boy (like himself) to four years in prison a fate as bad as the death penalty.

Neal whirled the handcuff around his finger and silence fell between us: neither of us was really comfortable in this situation.

I've only ever opened myself to people who I feel close with; surprisingly the boy was of those select few. It was hard for me to believe that he could con people so easily.

As for friends, I don't think he had many other friends outside the short Mozz and the beautiful Kate.

The handcuffs stopped spinning as Neal looked towards the door the guards had used. He stiffened, looking once again at me with fear in his eyes.

"I think it's time for you to go" I said slowly and after a sigh he gave me his wrists so I could cuff his little hands together again.

He smiled and I riffled his hair.

The guards came, one of them taking him by the arm and directing him towards the exit.

"Goodbye, Peter." He said when he was almost out of the tribunal.

I smiled. This wasn't a goodbye "See you soon, Neal..."

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Neal

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Peter wasn't the most optimistic person, but that 'See you soon' made me think that he might actually plan something.

'Maybe he's really trying to get me out of here?' I thought.

I sighed. That was wishful thinking; Peter had way too many rules and his morals certainly wouldn't allow him to help a criminal.

'Peter has done this job for many years; no way would he ever get me out of prison.' I thought to myself.

I looked outside of the little bus that would take me to my new home.

Shifting in my seat my gaze went to the guard sitting next to me. Obviously someone had told him that I could escape anything, he was staring at me like I might turn to smoke if he looked away for only a second.

I smiled… 'Maybe…' An escape plan started to form in my head but it soon died when my eyes fell on the guard's tommy-gun.

'Ok, maybe not this time' I thought. They wouldn't hesitate to hunt me down if I tried anything.

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye so I looked behind me.

'No, please not her' I prayed. But alas it was her.

I stared at the long, thin, beautiful figure of my mother was staring back at me from outside the bus.

My dad's connection probably made this possible that's because my dad is an ex army officer, it was possibly the worst shame of his life to have a son like me.

Surprisingly he didn't disinherit me…yet!

After they caught me, he was the one to bail me out of jail as I waited for the trial. I was amazed when I saw him doing everything he could try and save me.

After that I really couldn't say that he was a bad father.

I knew he had met Peter; in fact they were old army friends. When Peter started my case he was convinced they had the wrong fourteen year old. They both tried really hard to prove it wasn't me, yet at some point there was simply too much evidence against me, and I was arrested.

I looked at my mom, her eyes fixed on me, trying desperately to not cry.

I raised my handcuffed hands and waved to her, she waved back.

At that moment I really hoped that Peter had told me the truth about my pre-release; jail would be nothing compared to the guilt I felt when I saw my mom's teary eyes.

The bus started moving and I saw mom's figure growing smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared...

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To be continued….