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Jason liked the thrill of being undercover, his inner theatre kid thrived when he had to act, and it wasn’t that different from being a vigilante. He got to save people and make them feel safer in the fucked up world they all lived in, he got to do it in both his jobs, and he was grateful for that, he wouldn’t wish pain and suffering on anyone that didn’t deserve it.
The job as Neal had been one he had started years ago while he had been at an all time low, the itch to kill had been overbearing, so instead of spreading terror on the streets of his hometown he made a way out, a backup plan in case he ever needed to escape.
One day the world had been too much, and he used his way out, he broke into prison, abandoning his whole life to start a new one, he had a blank slate, meaning he had the choice to be whoever he wanted to be, he wasn’t ‘Jason Todd the former dead Wayne kid’ or ‘Red Hood’, he was just… Neal.
Neal Caffrey was a simple man, he had one goal in life: To be the greatest version of himself. For Neal being the greatest version of himself included helping people, the crimes he committed weren’t bad, they wouldn’t ruin peoples lives, perhaps it would inconvenience them slightly, but he made sure to never ruin lives, he had done that too much already.
He had spent a few months in prison, the guards didn’t seem to notice that a ghost suddenly appeared, that single thing said so much about America. He had planned to stay until his four years were over and then offer his services to a division in the FBI, but those plans were foiled when a familiar pretty face showed up one day.
Roy had visited him in prison, they had sat across from each other only a glass pane between them, he had spoken random words, not making coherent sentences while using a modified version of morse code to tell him the real stuff.
Jason planned his escape quickly, it wasn’t going to go unnoticed that the social prisoner who chatted up everyone suddenly disappeared, but he dealt with that after he had helped Roy take down a trafficking ring, it was run by an alien organisation who didn’t understand how human life worked. Together they took it down, and Jason found himself having to find a way back into the world of ‘Neal Caffrey’.
His way back was the stubborn FBI agent Peter Burke, he had been searching day and night for Neal ever since he had made his escape from prison. Jason admired his determination, so without thinking any further he dropped off a note at Peter’s house, on it was an address.
It was the first place Jason had stayed when he was doing recon for his new identity, it was also the first place where he ran into Peter. The FBI agent had been walking door to door in the area trying to find witnesses to the latest robbery that Neal had committed, he had willingly been interrogated and he helped Peter as much as he could, and the agent eventually caught on, but by then it was too late.
Jason and Neal were polar opposites in some areas. One of Neal’s most defining qualities was his urge to live a wild life with money, women and the glory of being known, and god damn did Jason know how to get known, you just had to whisper a few words to the right people and suddenly the name ‘Neal Caffrey’ was known worldwide between thieves and conmen like him.
It was the one thing that Jason regretted the most, he disliked being out and partying, but Peter would get suspicious if he didn’t stretch his chain just a little while breaking a few rules. So he had come up with a compromise; he went to bars not to party, but to sit and enjoy a book while people chatted in the background. It also proved to be a great opportunity to scope out the upcoming criminals.
Jason was preparing to go to a bar later this day, he scurried around his flat trying to find where he had put his ‘Little women’ book, but to no avail he couldn’t find it, the only thing he got out of his search was a stubbed toe, he had hit his foot against his dresser when he looked behind it.
He compromised when he couldn’t find the book and dug out his well loved copy of ‘Pride and Prejudice’, Duke had bought that copy for christmas and given it to him, and he didn’t have the heart to tell him he already owned a copy, so he had brought it with him as a small reminder of his life before Neal.
He had walked to the bar, he would have preferred to ride his motorcycle, but Peter would get suspicious if he saw how fast his CI was moving. He had greeted the owner of the bar with a smile and walked further into the bar until he reached his spot, he had from day one claimed the spot as his, and no one seemed to even use it, so he didn’t bother anyone by sitting and reading his book in peace.
***********
Duke was out grocery shopping, he had made a promise to himself that he would keep up his good eating habits he had gotten from living with Alfred, he was standing looking at bell peppers when his phone began ringing, it earned him a few stares, which was reasonable, it was not every day that the intro to ‘Alexander Hamilton’ played. It was Tim who had changed it, and now he couldn’t change it back.
“Jones” Even through the phone it was obvious to hear that Peter was stressed “Are you with Neal?”
“No, do you need rescuing?”
A curse left him “No, Neal is gone, missing, nowhere to be found!”
Gone?
Jason wouldn’t have dipped just like that, or would he? He had done it before so it would fit his previous track record, but he would have left a message for Duke, that was the one thing he had done last time. No one other than him had gotten a message, he had never told any of the others about it, he would never snitch, plus a part of his heart had been warmed when he had seen the note.
Because despite him being the newest member of the family, he had been to one to get a note, not Dick, not Tim, not Bruce, but him! None of the other family members had mentioned anything about notes, but deep down Duke had a suspicion that he had left notes for the majority of the family.
“Neal can’t just be gone”
Jason wouldn’t do that, right?
“Well he is” Peter sounded stressed, the poor man never got a break from hectic situations, just last week he had been kidnapped. “Do you have any ideas where he may be?”
Why would Duke know that? Peter was the person who was supposed to know Jason better than anyone else, perhaps he did, but had checked many of the spots that he would have been at.
“Can’t you just track his anklet?” Was Peter developing dementia already? He had been the one to put the conman in an anklet, and he had insisted that he should be alarmed personally each time something was fishy with where Neal was.
“You know you are the second person to ask me that” A defeated sigh escaped Peter “The anklet is offline, something must have happened with it, I just hope he didn’t ditch it”
“He wouldn’t ditch it?” Duke tried to sound comforting, but in reality he was concerned about Jason, he had a good amount of enemies especially considering his three identities.
Peter choked out a question “Can we meet up at your apartment and make a plan?”
“Yeah, if you arrive before me just use your spare key.”
Duke hoped that Jason had decided to drop by his place unannounced; he really didn’t want to be the one who had to explain what happened to Jason to Bruce, it would be a nightmare, he could already imagine a heartbroken Bruce when he got the news of his lost son.
He left the grocery store in a hurry, he had to pick out some bell peppers another time. Right now he had to go find an escaped conman who previously had been trained by both Batman and the League of assassins, easy? …right?
He had borrowed Jason’s motorcycle since he wasn’t allowed to drive because he was Neal and Jason hadn’t wanted it to just stand around not being used. He practically ran towards it the second he left the store, it earned him even more stares but he dressed up in yellow every day so it didn’t bother him.
On the way to his apartment he might have broken a few traffic laws but who didn’t do that in New York City? Certainly not him. He skipped taking the elevator and raced up the stairs with his grocery bags in his hands, it could count as his daily endurance training.
Duke was the first of them to arrive, Peter had probably followed the traffic laws like the law abiding citizen he was. It gave him time to unpack his groceries, cursing himself for not just picking out some random bell peppers.
He was interrupted by Peter who barged in, red faced and out of breath. The man was clearly distressed by the disappearance of his CI, he looked confused by the sight of Duke casually putting away groceries, did he have something on his face? Subconsciously he wiped a hand over his face in an attempt to rid it of whatever Peter was staring at.
“He isn’t here?” Peter asked, sounding defeated.
Duke looked around and asked sarcastically “Does it look like that?”
Peter cursed and held his head in his hands, looking disheveled “Fuck, where would Neal be?”
“At the library, cafe or just taking a stroll in the neighbourhood”
Duke sincerely hoped that the anklet had just malfunctioned and that Jason hadn’t intentionally escaped or been kidnapped, he really didn’t want to have to rescue yet another kidnapped person within a week, one kidnapping was fine, but two kidnappings? That was stretching it.
“We should split up” Said every person in a horror movie, Duke wanted to whisper that comment to Jason, but he wasn’t there. “I’ll check the cafe and his neighbourhood.”
“Great, and if we don’t find him?” Duke held his breath as he waited for an answer.
“Then” Peter sighed and ran a hand over his face “We start a new case.”
“Let’s hope that won’t be necessary” Duke sent Peter a smile as they walked out his apartment “Stay frosty”
He earned a weird look from Peter “...Stay frosty?”
They separated outside the apartment complex. The second Peter wasn’t visible anymore Duke searched for higher ground, perhaps Jason was out patrolling? Travelling by the roofs in New York was easier and safer than on the streets, and the chances of spotting Red Hood on a roof were high.
He jumped from roof to roof searching for Jason while he got closer to the library, he hoped that his brother had simply lost track of the time sitting in a library reading, maybe he was brushing up on more Jane Austen books, he had mentioned loving the book he had received as a christmas gift.
He dropped down on the ground when he closed in on the library, it would look weird on the surveillance cameras if he dropped down right by the library. He strolled over to the library, hoping that it was still open, if it was closed Jason wouldn’t be inside.
He tried the front entrance to no avail, it was locked.
Duke is going to get killed by Bruce, and then maybe Peter. Jason is gone, his anklet isn't working and he isn't at his own apartment, the library or even at Dukes apartment. Shit, shit, fuck, dammit.
He slumped down on the ground with a wet sigh, he missed Jason, despite only having been away from him for a few hours. Despite most of the time they spent together being filled with insults and arguments it still filled Duke’s heart to have someone he could be close to again, sure he loved the rest of the Wayne family, but Jason was different, in a good way.
Jason hadn’t even tried to build a relationship with him unlike his siblings, he just dropped by the manor a few times a month, and each time they conversed with each other, it was only small talk, but it still made him happy. He would give so much to have small talk with Jason again.
He really hoped Peter had succeeded in finding his brother.
**********
God fucking dammit, it was Peter’s job to watch out for Neal and keep check on him and he had failed, Neal was gone, nowhere to be found and he was standing back with nothing but a guilty conscience, he had ridiculed his CI for not following the rules last time they had spoken and god did he regret it.
He was speeding down the streets of New York, he had checked the cafe Neal frequented and he wasn’t there, the last chance he had was looking around the neighbourhood, but so far he hadn’t even seen the shadow of him.
The worry of Neal being somewhere totally alone without the security of the tracking anklet sat like a pool in his stomach, he should have insisted that the conman had more than one thing tracking him, hell if he found Neal he might microchip him so he would never lose him again.
What would Neal even be doing on a Friday night?
The thought hit him, Neal would be out partying, had someone drugged him? Kidnapped him? When would the ransom note be delivered? Peter would force the bureau to pay for the ransom, Neal was too valuable to lose.
He slowed down when he passed a shady bar, the address had kickstarted his rational thinking. Neal usually spent his Friday nights in this particular bar, likely drinking and partying with women, he might seem like an asshole for flirting with women all the time but deep down he was just a charming man who meant no harm.
He parked his car and entered the bar, the stink of booze hit him, why in the world would Neal spend time there willingly? He let his eyes wander over the bar, Neal didn’t appear to be there, he silently cursed, he walked up to the bartender hoping that he had seen his CI.
“Excuse me” Peter flashed his badge “Have you seen a tall man with black hair, his name is Neal”
The bartender narrowed his eyes at him, assessing him, and then answered “No.”
“Come on, I just wanna check in on him.”
“Haven’t seen or heard of this ‘Neal’” The bartender shrugged, a glint in his eyes told him that Neal had been there, it was easy to see when people were lying.
“Fine, when he shows up can you say to him that Peter is looking for him”
“No need”
Peter jumped, he hadn’t heard someone sneak up on him, he turned around and saw the man he had been looking for, for the past few hours.
“Neal” Peter breathed out “I was worried”
He looked at him weirdly “Why?”
“Your anklet?”
Neal looked down at it “What’s wrong, it’s right there”
“But-”
He took Peter’s arm leading him towards a table all the way in the back and forced him to sit down. “What’s wrong, you looked stressed”
“I thought you ran…” Peter looked at him, biting his lip to keep his expression neutral, Neal was just a con man, nothing more, nothing less. He had had a minor crisis when he had been called Neal’s dad, but he had gotten over it. Neal probably had a great dad, he didn’t need a new father figure, and he definitely didn’t need someone worrying about him all the time.
Neal flashed him a classic ‘Neal’ smile “I would never run without leaving a message for you”
“You better show up at my door and tell me if you run” Peter said, trying to sound angry and hide his smile.
“Whatever pleases you” Neal chuckled, his expression changed quickly over to one that looked worried “Did you recruit Jones to help?”
“I did…” He gasped “I need to tell him you are alright”