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aragarna
Title: Hell and High WaterChapter: 2 - The Trap
Author: Aragarna
Genre, rating: hurt/comfort, friendship, gen, all audience.
Characters: Peter, Neal, OMC.
Spoilers: vague mentions of events up to 4x12.
Word counts: about 10500 in total.
Summary: Peter and Neal find a boy trapped in the rainwater sewer. But the rescue doesn't go as expected...
Chapter Two: The Trap
Neal grabbed Tommy’s hand as the kid struggled to find support on the ladder. That’s when he heard the rumble of the water echoing in the tunnel’s wall. Whatever had been blocking the flow had broken and now the waters rushed down the tunnel. The anxiety roiling his stomach rose up. Tommy found a firm grip on the ladder, and Peter pushed him to help him climb the last couple of rungs. At that moment, the wave hit Peter. Neal froze, his hand still holding Tommy, but his eyes watching with horror his friend staggered, lost his grip, fell in the water and disappeared. Everything happened so fast that Neal had a hard time realizing what happened. An instant Peter was there, and the next, he was gone, swallowed by the terrible flow of the furious waters.
“Peter!”
Neal felt panic spike, paralyzing him. He couldn’t move, couldn’t think. Tommy suddenly weighing more on his hold snapped him back to the reality. Neal shook himself, readjusted his grip, held Tommy up, helped him get out to reach the surface, and put feet on the ground of the street, safe.
But all his movements were purely mechanical. Neal’s entire mind was still filled with the image of Peter vanishing in the dark depth of the tunnel.
He had to find Peter. For a moment he considered jumping down in the manhole behind Peter. But the furiousness of the flow made him reconsider that option. This tunnel had to go somewhere. He rose up and studied the configuration of the sewage grid. The tunnel was likely to follow the street. Neal started to run down the street, noting the manholes indicating the direction of the tunnel. It was running beneath the street level in direction of the Hudson. Of course, it was the storm sewer, draining the rainwaters into the river. Fighting the growing panic, Neal quickened his run.
“Peter!” He repeatedly screamed his partner’s name, sounding each time more desperate.
“Peter!”
But the only sound Neal could hear was the sound of the rain still falling. It seemed it would never stop. It was as if there was a leak in the sky and nobody up there would fix it, so it would be raining on Earth until the sky dried up.
“Peter!”
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The wave hit him, and Peter was overwhelmed by fear at the same time as he was swallowed by waters. After a short moment of panic and confusion, Peter managed to pull himself together, and reached the surface. Unfortunately, the flow was really strong, and despite all his efforts, he couldn’t find anything to hold onto. He was carried away by the waters and it seemed impossible he could latch onto anything to stop his progress. Well, he was wrong. His course was violently stopped when he hit an obstacle blocking the way and an excruciating pain radiated from his right leg. Leaning against what had stopped him, he realized it was a grille made of large metallic bars. His leg had been through, but the rest of his body wasn’t able to follow. Trying to pull back his leg, a piercing throb told him that his leg had been hurt.
Peter tried to make out his surroundings but it was completely dark inside the tunnel. The only source of light was coming from the end of the tunnel, about 10 feet away, on the other side of the grille. There were numerous objects surrounding Peter. Some were floating around, others, heavier, sinking below the surface. In the dark, it was hard to identify them. Thinking about it, Peter wasn’t sure he wanted to know what sort of objects could have been washed away by the rain. At the end of the line, all of them, like Peter, had found their way blocked by the grille, and they were accumulating there, partially blocking the flow and making the water level rise. That grille was probably meant to prevent people venturing inside the tunnel from the outside. But from the inside, it had become a cruel obstacle, transforming the tunnel into a dreary prison.
Squirming, Peter reached into his pockets but found them empty. His phone was gone. He couldn’t call for help. The feeling of fear that had kicked in when Peter was hit by the wave had decreased, but was now replaced by a growing frustration. Running out of ideas, Peter started losing patience.
What about the boy? Did he manage to get out of the tunnel? He wasn’t there with Peter; it was a good sign, right? Peter tried to recall the instant before the wave hit him. He was pushing Tommy up. Neal had grabbed him. Peter didn’t remember feeling him fall. The boy had to have been able to get out. He had to.
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Neal finally reached the shore. The tunnel was emerging there, discharging its waters in a small basin below, before it was released in the river. Following the edge of the basin, Neal scanned the area for any signs of Peter.
“Peter!” He called once again. But there was no sign of his friend, neither in the basin, nor in the river.
“Neal!”
Neal stopped all ears. Was he hearing voices?
“Neal, are you there?”
Relief washed over Neal as he turned around to see where the voice was coming from. He discovered the entrance of the tunnel.
Neal made a mental apology to Byron, as he carefully climbed down into the basin. The water flood had rendered its edges dangerously uncertain. In the basin, water reached the level of Neal’s chest. It was so cold that Neal couldn’t suppress a shiver. Luckily, it was still swallow enough that he could touch bottom. Fighting against the flow, Neal reached the entrance of the tunnel, which was only a few inches above the water level. Looking in, he tried to distinguish his friend, but all he could see was darkness.
“Peter?”
“Neal!” Relief was obvious in Peter’s voice too. “Neal, I’m trapped. I might need some help.”
Neal’s heart sank back in his chest. That didn’t sound good, not at all. Neal struggled against the water to climb into the tunnel. Carefully, he stood on his feet, bending his head under the roof of the tunnel. A small sidewalk was running on a side of the tunnel. Neal stepped up on it, where the flow was less important, and went into the darkness.
As his eyes became more accustomed to the lack of light, Neal started to distinguish figures and shadows.
Just a few feet from him was a grille made of a set of strong bars. Behind the grille, Peter was crouched, up to the waist in the water. Neal came up to him and crouched down next to the grille.
“No comment on me being behind bars.” Peter said, in a failed attempt to sound confident.
“Are you okay?” Neal asked, his voice filled with concern.
“No, I am not.” Peter answered dryly. “I’m stuck here. My leg is wrenched between the bars and I can’t seem to pull it back.”
Neal tilted his head, frowning. “If it went in, it must be able to come out.”
“Ya think?”
“I’ll help you.” Neal plunged his hand in the water to try and reach Peter’s leg, assess the situation. “I’ll give you a push. If you take hold –.”
He was cut off by a strong moan from Peter.
“Was that your leg?” Neal asked, alarmed.
“Yes.” Peter hissed between his teeth. “Neal. I think it’s broken.”
Neal felt his fear spike once more, his heart squeezing tighter. He had to get Peter out of here. He gripped the bars with both hands, trying to shake the grille. When it didn’t move, he shook it harder. It had to move, it had to break!
“Neal, hey, Neal!”
Neal blinked, finally releasing the bars.
“Neal, focus,” Peter called. “Do you have your cellphone?”
“No, I left it in the car after the takedown.”
Peter groaned. “I’ve lost mine when I fell. Go get some help. Find a phone. Call 911.”
“I can’t leave you there, Peter!”
“Tommy! Where’s Tommy?” Peter suddenly asked. “Did he make it out safe?”
Neal paused. “I…I don’t know. I took him out but… I don’t know where he is. Up there, outside. In the street. I guess. Peter, you disappeared and I –“
“Neal, go back there, make sure Tommy is safe, find a phone.”
“But Peter –“
“Neal, I’m not going anywhere. Go!”
Reluctantly, Neal left Peter alone in his prison. The relief of finding him alive had been destroyed by the fear for his precarious situation. He was injured, stuck in cold water and trapped by solid metallic bars.
Neal hurried back to the street, looking for Tommy, now worried and also feeling a little guilty that he had forgotten about the boy. But Tommy was simply standing at the end of the road, by the basin, waiting under the rain. He was shivering.
“Did you find the Super Agent?” he asked Neal as soon as he caught sight of him.
Neal couldn’t suppress a slight grin. “It’s not ‘Super’, it’s ‘Special’, but yeah I found him. He needs help.” Neal didn’t want to worry the kid more than necessary and didn’t share the extent of his concern.
Making a willing effort to put his feelings aside, Neal instead focused on his plan of action. Find a phone, keep Tommy safe. Thinking about it, maybe the boy could actually be an asset.
“Tommy, do you live around here?”
Tommy nodded and pointed toward the first buildings. “Over there, on the left, then next right.” Following the direction, Neal became conscious of the remote position of the basin. He had not realized he had run so far, looking for Peter. The Taurus was another couple of blocks beyond Tommy’s.
“Do you think your parents would let me use your phone?”
Tommy shrugged. “I guess.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
Neal patted Tommy’s back and gestured for him to lead the way. They ran down the block, Neal trailing after Tommy. It took them about 15 minutes to reach Tommy’s building. At the door, Tommy pressed a button on the entry phone. He was out of breath, shaking and barely standing on his feet. They waited for what seemed an eternity, both hopping up and down with impatience.
“You sure they’re home?” Neal asked.
Tommy looked up at him, panicked. “Where are they, then?”
Doing his best not to show his own frustration, Neal dialed all the names on the intercom, getting a disapproving look from the boy.
Static, and finally a voice: “Hello?”
“Hi,” Neal answered with his best charming voice, “I’m your neighbor, from across the hall. I’ve forgotten my key.”
The door buzzed open.
“Thanks!” Neal launched as he rushed inside with Tommy. “Where?”
“Third floor.”
Neal ran up the stairs two steps at a time. Catching up behind him, a breathless Tommy gestured toward the entrance door of his apartment.
Neal banged on the door, but nobody answered.
“Do you have the key?” Neal asked, hopeful.
Tommy shook his head.
“That’s okay,” Neal said as his reached for his lock pick set in the inside pocket of his jacket. “I can unlock the door.”
Neal kneeled down in front of the door. He studied the lock for a moment then chose 2 picks from his set and started fidgeting inside the keyhole with his picks.
Tommy came closer and kneeled down next to Neal, studying all his movements.
“FBI agents can open all the doors?” There was a mix of excitement and anxiety in his voice.
Neal gave him a side look.
“I’m not a –“ he started. But thinking twice, he bit his tongue. Tommy had his dose of scare for the day. Telling him there were thieves out there able to unlock any door was probably not the best thing to reassure him. “Yes, we can,” he finally said with a smile, mentally apologizing to Peter for the implied lie that he was an FBI agent.
The lock finally broke free. Neal stood up and slowly pushed the door. The apartment was in darkness. Neal and Tommy went in.
Chapter Three
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Tags:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2013-04-22 11:17 am (UTC)Can't wait....
no subject
Date: 2013-04-22 11:19 am (UTC)Thanks for following the story !! :-)
no subject
Date: 2013-04-22 12:15 pm (UTC)I have so much love for this scene and for the entire chapter ♥
no subject
Date: 2013-04-22 12:39 pm (UTC)I think Neal was a little panicked there...
Thank you, for your always wonderful comments. :-)
no subject
Date: 2013-04-22 02:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-22 02:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-22 03:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-22 05:06 pm (UTC)“Yes, we can.."
Hehhhhhhh. *GRIN*
Exciting! Hurry! Help Peter! I can't seem to stop using exclamation points! (LOL.)
no subject
Date: 2013-04-22 05:11 pm (UTC)It's not completely untrue... From my experience (which is totally based on American TV series), If they don't have the keys, they smash the doors down. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2013-04-22 05:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-22 05:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-22 08:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-22 11:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-23 03:12 am (UTC)(And I didn't remember that ER episode, but I went ahead and rewatched it, and bow I can't wait to see what you'll do next:D)
no subject
Date: 2013-04-23 05:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-23 05:32 am (UTC)I'll try to post next chapter later today.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-23 06:58 pm (UTC)Poor Peter. I can't imagine how hard it is to be trapped like this, therefore I adore his calmness. Despite the fact that he can't do anything else, he's remarkable calm and to be honest, I haven't expected anything else. He's always trying to be the strong one.
Had to laugh about Tommy..."FBI agents can open all the doors?"...and Neal..."Yes, we can," he finally said with a smile, mentally apologizing to Peter for the implied lie that he was an FBI agent.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-23 07:27 pm (UTC)