Author's Notes: Thank you guys for the lovely reviews!

Peter Burke was terrified. Not for himself, but for a friend. A very special friend. Special in the sense that the friend mentioned was considered to be like a son to him.

Neal had called him almost fifteen minutes ago asking if he had found the girl yet and then fussed worriedly when the answer was a "no". Peter was looking frantically for the missing teen, knowing that the deadline was fast approaching and had ordered Neal to stall for as long as possible.

What he hadn't told the younger man was to be safe. Peter was cursing himself mentally for not adding those words to his last sentence with the younger con artist. If he had only told Neal to look after himself…

The agent wasn't ashamed to admit that he would be willing to save Neal's butt over the girl's but he had held that belief to himself. It wasn't protocol to save a felon and let a man murder and innocent.

For once the agent was thinking screw the protocol and was slightly shocked. But had he known that he could save Neal from this… then he would have gladly done so.

His heart had stopped beating for a brief few seconds when his phone rang again, Neal's name popping up under the caller ID. As soon as he answered it, the older man knew that something was wrong. His consultant was forcing his words out between panted breaths, sounding as if he had been running a marathon. Neal hadn't even bothered to answer his question (concerning the younger man's health) and Peter had taken that as an affirmative to his suspicions. Neal was hurt badly if not….

No, he wouldn't go down that road. Peter wanted to believe that Neal was fine, just over dramatizing an injury or that the younger man had simply been in danger but due to his fast running was now out of danger.

In the background he could hear Diana asking him what was wrong but he simply waved a hand in her direction in an attempt to get her to be quiet. She looked slightly hurt before mouthing "Neal?" and Peter swallowed hard before giving her a nod.

Her dark brown eyes went from determination (for finding the girl) to the look of glassy fear. A dozen different scenarios were flashing through her mind and she didn't like how any of them ended up turning out.

His hopes were dashed when heard Neal's breathy "Yeah" in response to one of his questions and the amount of pain that was laced into that single word. And then the breathing on the other side of the line quieted and a pure blade of raw terror slashed through Peter's heart and he frantically called his partner's name while racing to his car.

He was roaring down the street before five minutes had even the slightest chance of passing. The line continued to remain silent and dread slowly reached out and wrapped its horrid fingers around him in an inescapable grip.

Jones' face paled at the sound of the gunshots and he urged his team on frantically. He had a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and hoped that he was wrong. Clinton knew what to expect, hell he'd been trained for this.

But no amount of training could ever truly prepare you for a situation like this. No amount of training could prepare you with torture of being able to hear what was going on and yet still be unable to take action because you weren't close enough to do anything about it.

And the agent was certain that he hadn't been trained for the sight of Neal Caffrey lying motionless on the ground, fancy clothes bloodstained and ruined. The con man had charmed his way into Jones' life and although he had steeled himself and thrown up barricades meant to resist he had been unable.

Something about Caffrey was infectious. The younger man had a way of pushing all the wrong buttons and yet somehow managed to make you grin while he did it.

"Neal?" Jones shouted his friend's name as he ran over to the inert body. He could tell that the con's leg was broken just by the way the injured limb hung. The older agent didn't have a clue as to how Neal had been able to curl up like that with a broken leg. He leaned over his friend and checked for a pulse and breathing.

He couldn't find either one.

Determination shot through him and Jones gently uncurled the younger man, positioned him on his back, head tilted up and started CPR. Caffrey might not have a pulse but the other man knew that if the oxygen was still able to go through the bloodstream then there was a good chance the paramedics could revive him.

That was when he heard his boss' voice calling Neal's name over the phone, tone frantic and flat out scared. Jones paused for a minute, panting slightly as he motioned for one of his men to answer the phone. Clinton could vaguely hear his man filling Peter in on the details as he resumed his task of breathing for Neal.

Sirens wailed in the distance and Jones could feel a tidal wave of relief crash through him as he realized that the ambulance had finally arrived. The next thing he knew a woman was urging him to step away from Neal and he nodded after a slight hesitation.

Another sound assaulted their eardrums and even the paramedics flinched as the sound of tires squelching to a stop filled the alley. Peter Burke was half way out of the car before the vehicle had come to a full stop. Jones looked over at his boss, not bothering to conceal the worry that glinted in his eyes as the older man jogged up to him.

Peter's face paled dramatically as he got his first good look at his consultant. Fury consumed him as he tried to put up a calm front. This was all because of that stupid, stupid woman. Rice was standing off to the side, her face pale as she watched the paramedics at work. But Peter didn't care what she felt right now. All he knew was that his best friend was dead and it was all her fault.

"What the HELL were you thinking?" Peter demanded, spit flying out of his mouth in the process.

The woman had guts, that much Peter was forced to admit as he watched her reaction carefully. A flash of regret flickered through her eyes as she stiffened slightly. There were tears swimming in the depths of the watery orbs and the agent sniffled. "I'm sorr-"

Peter didn't giver her a chance to finish, fury igniting like a wildfire, "You weren't before!"

"I didn't-"

"Think? Yeah, that's obvious Rice. You think that you're some big hotshot don't you? Well, congrats you used your 'tool' until it was worn out." There was a look of shock on the woman's face as Peter continued, "You better pray that you can even get a job as a garbage collector by the time I'm done with you!"

Rice looked away, shoulders shaking and for once in her life she was actually scared of another agent. Yeah, she had been the top-dog in her department, it was true that she had used Caffrey like a hunter uses his dog to find things and bring them back. But that didn't mean that she was completely heartless.

How was she supposed to know that this whole thing would blow up in her face like this? If she had, then she sure as hell wouldn't have agreed to the meeting between Neal and Wilkes.

Well duh, a voice within her head rebuked impatiently, violent con + Neal Caffrey + meeting for whatever reason=mayhem.

She should have known something would happen. She should have thought of the fact that Wilkes was an accomplished con artist and that he would be very much aware of the operation's blind spots.

Hell, she should have made Caffrey come back to car and then called the whole thing off when the younger man couldn't get into the club by the front gates. But she hadn't and now the kid was dead...

Because of her….

Agent Rice respected the fact that Peter had every right to be furious with her. But that didn't mean the scathing remarks hurt any less. If anything, it made them hurt more. It was because of her that this team… no, scratch that…this family was being torn apart.

Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what she had failed to notice this entire time. The three men and the lady that made up the team didn't just consider each other as co-workers, they considered each other as family.

That's what they were…a close knit family.

And she had torn them all apart mercilessly. She had tricked her way into being able to use Neal as bait and now she was forced to watch the devastation un-fold around her.

So this is what a con artist did. Walk in, flash a grin and then wreak havoc on all the people you had surrounded yourself in.

And then if the con went wrong, watch it blow up in your face.

What a peachy life…

There was a loud "Agent Burke!" from the general direction of the medics and saw the agent whip around sharply, eyes lighting up and his face breaking into a smile as he ran over to the med team.

Cautiously she allowed her eyes to roam over to where the agent was going and inhaled sharply in surprise before sighing with relief.

Neal Caffrey was alive.

Author's Note: Please, take the time to leave a review, I would appreciate it!