White Shadows

Summary: This was the first time Neal felt like Peter had let him down instead of the other way around. One of the many possibilities of what could happen at the beginning of season 3. Spoilers for the entire first and second seasons. NOT slash.

Disclaimer: If I actually owned White Collar, do you really think I'd be posting this story on this website? No offense.

A/N: I apologize in advance for any spelling errors in this story. English is not my first language and I haven't found a beta yet.

This was the first time Neal felt like Peter had let him down instead of the other way around. As he stood in the storage unit surrounded by the treasures of the u-boat, he thought about everything that had happened today, being kidnapped, almost being killed (twice) and Peter's accusation.

"You won't get away with this" Adler said aiming his gun straight at Neal's chest. Never before had Neal felt such fear of dying. He never did like guns to begin with.

After that everything happened so fast. Peter saved his life, something he was and always would be grateful for. At first his partner hadn't seemed upset at all, but when Neal was about to get in the car with Diana and Jones, Peter stopped him. He had never seen Peter so furious "You did this" the accusation was harsh and sent a shock of pain through Neal's heart.

"Peter must have seen something that made him suspect me" Neal thought as his mind snapped back to the present. He looked around, studying the paintings and other valuables for a bit. A few years ago, before he went to prison, he wouldn't have thought twice about selling the paintings to the highest bidder. A few hours ago he wouldn't have thought twice about telling Peter about the note he'd found in his apartment and the treasure it led to. But now, he couldn't really do either of those things.

There was only one person he could tell about this. He pulled out his phone and dialed Mozzie's number, one of the few friends that stood by him no matter what.

"Mozz, can you come over" Neal asked, an urgent tone creeping into the question.

"Is this about the antenna?" Mozzie had every right to be suspicious. Neal wondered if his friend still had the antenna and what he was planning to do with it now that the boat was destroyed.

" I'm not going for another ride in the suitmobile" Mozzie stated. obviously still shaken by the events of earlier that day.

"Relax Mozz, this is about something else" Neal reassured his friend "Just hurry"

"I walk in a delicate pace" Mozzie reminded him before ending the call. Neal marveled at the paintings once more before locking up the storage unit and heading back up to his apartment.

Peter was angry, no that wasn't the right word, he was furious. How could Neal do something like this? After working together for almost a year, Peter had finally started to trust Neal and now it turned out it was all a con? That Neal was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to cut a nice deal and run?

"What happened boss?" Jones and Diana had asked looking between him and Neal's retreating form.

"Neal conned us, that's what happened" Was Peter's harsh reply. Without saying anything else he got in his black Ford and drove home. He desperately wanted to talk to El. She would know what to do.

After the initial anger wore off, Peter started to realize maybe Neal deserved more than this. He had been quick to accuse the conman without any clear evidence. Still he would look into what happened and if he found anything linking Neal to the explosion, he would haul Neal's ass back to prison himself.

In less than 30 minutes Peter was home. He quickly parked the car in front of the house and hurried inside. "Honey, I'm home" To his surprise there's was no answer. It was eerie quiet and not even Satchmo had come to greet him at the door like the faithful dog usually did.

Peter's cop instinct got the better of him as he unholstered his gun. Slowly making his way towards the kitchen, he felt a cool breeze that wasn't supposed to be there. As he neared the back he finally started to understand why no one had answered him. The Kitchen door was wide open, glass from the window shattered all over the floor. There was something shiny between the shards of glass. As Peter got closer he realized what it was ….El's wedding ring.

TBC

A/N: I know this was a very short chapter but I wanted to see what you guys think first. I promise the next chapter will be longer. Reviews always make me happy, even the ones with constructive criticism!:-)