A/N: For this chapter, remember that in 2004 there weren't tablets or smartphones as we know them. Also no Facebook and no Twitter yet.

Federal Building, Manhattan. Wednesday morning. July 21, 2004.

When Neal led his cousins into the bullpen and showed them his desk, Angela looked at his laptop with longing. "Need to catch up on email?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm feeling out of touch."

Peter walked over to greet them. "Ready for the morning briefing?"

"Is it okay if Angela uses my computer later?"

"Anything you do on a Bureau computer is monitored," Peter warned. "But it should be fine, as long as you don't try to access any Bureau systems. Neal, I assume you don't keep any restricted documents on the hard drive?"

"No, it's clean," Neal said. He grabbed a sticky note and wrote down his password, handing to it Angela. "This'll get you in."

Much of the morning briefing was spent on the Masterson case, including thanking agents for participating in the online campaign to hype Urban Legend and covering the protocols for Peter's absence that afternoon when he went undercover as the group's agent to meet with a Masterson rep. Then Angela was excused, and she made a hasty exit to get time on Neal's computer. Henry stuck around for the end of the meeting, when the team discussed the previous day's Tuesday Tails exercise. He contributed to the conversation about how the cousins had confused the two agents tailing them.

"Were you calling each other to coordinate?" Jones asked.

"No," Henry said. "We planned out in advance what we wanted to achieve and how. Phone calls would have been distracting."

"It would have slowed us down," Neal agreed. "We outlined a plan that still allowed us to improvise as needed. We have a lot of practice working together to lose a tail, and that was our advantage yesterday. We trust each other and know what to expect."

"Teamwork, people," Peter added. "It can be our strength. It's also important to remember that the suspects we're going after for our cases may have partners or entire crews. If you focus on one person, you could lose sight of the big picture. Think about who might be helping your suspect, and how." With that he dismissed everyone but Neal, Henry, Tricia and Travis. "Neal, would you get Angela? I'd like to hear context and recommendations from all three of you before I meet with Masterson as your business manager."

Henry stood up. "I'll get her. No, it's okay," he said as Neal started to rise. "I wanted to get some coffee, anyway." He popped out and Neal shrugged.

With Henry out of earshot, Neal asked Tricia, "Any luck on flipping Jason Ford?"

"More or less. He still maintains Robert Winslow isn't evil. Jason leans toward the theory that Robert is delusional and truly believes he's the good guy in all of this. But at least Jason isn't buying into the delusion anymore. He agrees Robert has to be stopped. In addition to details about the kidnapping, so far he's shared some of Robert's hiding spots and tricks for staying out of sight, but I feel like we've only seen the tip of the iceberg. Right now he's in the marshals' hands. They wanted to question Jason about impersonating an Air Marshal and the threats Robert made against protected witnesses, in addition to how Robert was using James Bennett's ID. I'll get another shot at him next week." Tricia dropped the topic as Henry and Angela walked up the stairs to the conference room.

Neal noticed Henry wasn't carrying a cup of coffee, but assumed it meant his cousin had gotten a whiff of Bureau brew and wisely decided to avoid it.

###

At the end of the meeting, Neal offered to escort Angela out and hail a cab to take her to the interview she'd scheduled over the lunch hour. Tricia and Travis returned to their desks and Henry said he'd wait at Neal's desk, but Peter asked him to stay in the conference room.

Before Peter could ask the questions on his mind, Henry kicked things off with, "FBI brass expecting you to keep an eye on Win-Win?"

"Not officially, but you could say they are very pleased at the collaboration recently. For years – decades even – the Bureau and Win-Win have been at odds. Getting access to the company's resources is a win for us, but there are concerns you'll cross some lines that we can't condone. They'll expect a detailed report of how things worked after we apprehend Robert."

"Me personally, or is the worry that Win-Win will cross those lines?"

"Based on Graham's aspirations for you... There will be a lot of attention on you, and speculation about where you'll take the company, unless you tell me you have no interest in the CEO role."

"The company's in my DNA. Now that I've been working there a while, it's hard to imagine not being part of their future. If I stay long term, I'd naturally move up into upper management and people would expect me to consider the CEO role." He stood up, pacing the room as he continued. "But I'm not ready to take charge now. I don't want to give up being an investigator right away. I spent a lot of years as a nomad, on the road with Neal, and these last few months have reminded me how much I liked traveling. A CEO's supposed to be available for constant leadership meetings. I have to figure out how to get the right balance. Or even if a balance is possible."

Last night after the cousins left his townhouse, Peter had called his brother Joe again. First he'd described the conversation with Angela about her desire to select a vocation. She'd felt pressure to decide on her direction because it seemed both of her cousins had their paths figured out. But Peter suspected Henry was at a crossroads, too. Joe's advice had been to hear them out, and let them talk themselves through it, realizing that it could take many conversations before they figured out what they wanted. In the spirit of that advice Peter asked, "Have they given you a deadline for committing to the CEO role?"

Henry's pacing slowed. "No, no one's set a date."

"Has anyone other than Robert pressured you to take a specific role or to make a long-term commitment to the company?"

"Umm. No." Henry came to a stop. "You think the only person putting pressure on me is me?"

"I do think you put a lot of pressure on yourself, and I'm sure Graham isn't subtle about what he wants. But maybe you need to take some time to experience Win-Win without Robert. Take stock of the situation and your options. Decide what you want and present your own recommendation to the board. I have a feeling they're motivated to listen to you and to keep you happy."

Henry pondered that a moment and grinned. "Peter, you're sounding almost fatherly."

"You can thank Joe for that. His girls aren't that much younger than you. They're in college now, and pondering what they'll do when they graduate."

Henry sat down and leaned forward. "Angela said your brother helped out when we were kidnapped and she wanted to get that S.O.S. to you. Give him my thanks."

"Will do. Last night you quoted Casablanca, mentioning the troubles of three people compared to what's going on in the world. Maybe we should talk about your troubles."

"That's what we've been doing." Henry leaned back and looked out of the conference room, making a show of searching for something. "What's taking Neal so long?"

"Probably wanted to get an overpriced coffee rather than drink the government blend. But don't change the subject. Your career's important and I'm glad we could talk about that, but I know there's more going on with you. You made it plenty clear at the concert that you're struggling, and I want to know how I can help."

Henry rolled his eyes in a look of impatience so reminiscent of Neal, Peter had to hide a grin. "That was Shawn talking at the concert. I was in another role. You gotta ignore what I said in the moment as Shawn."

"Ah, yes. The role of the bright, talented nomad determined to bring the bad guys to justice. About the only difference I can see between Shawn and your usual persona is that you're more intense as Shawn. Although I'm starting to wonder if being relaxed as your usual self isn't the real pretense."

"Is your brother as nosy as you? I may need to rethink my stance on his relationship with my mom." He stood up again. "There's Neal." He zipped out of the room to claim one of the cups of coffee his cousin had bought.

Peter shook his head. If Henry wouldn't talk to him, maybe he should try a different approach. He would let Neal know what Henry had said at the concert, and see if Henry would open up to his cousin, instead.

###

Peter had shuffled his schedule to accommodate the meeting with a Masterson rep in the afternoon. That meant he had a noon meeting with Hughes and couldn't join the cousins for lunch. They had only a few minutes free between lunch and the training session they were scheduled to give, and they seemed determined to cram even more music industry knowledge and terminology into Peter's head to prepare him for his undercover role. Finally he told them he knew what he was doing, although he could tell from the looks they gave each other that they wanted to find an excuse to go along with him.

"This is a business meeting," Peter said. "Your business manager doesn't have to be a musician."

"You should be familiar with the industry," Henry insisted.

"Not necessarily. If Masterson thinks I'm new to the industry, they're more likely to think they can trick me – and you – into signing a contract that takes advantage of you. That makes it easier to catch them in illegal practices. My cover includes only minimal experience in the industry specifically for that reason."

"It's not that we don't trust you," said Neal, "but you have to understand –"

"This has been our case for years," Henry interrupted. "It's one thing to add to our crew, but –"

"It's hard to hand over control to someone else," Neal said.

"I get it," Peter promised, "but I'm the one with the business degree, and I do have extensive experience going undercover as a businessperson. This is my area. It's time to let me do my piece, and you need to focus on the training session."

He led them into the conference room, where most of the team was gathering. After a few minutes of chatting with the team he announced it was time to get started. "Some of you already know that Neal ran away from home in his teens. Now he does volunteer work at a local runaway shelter, and recently talked to some of the kids there about how to interact in a positive manner with law enforcement officials. I asked him to talk to our team on the same topic. We don't have a great track record when it comes to eliciting information from street kids who are potential witnesses to a crime. I thought having an understanding of their perspective would help us do better at gaining the trust of these kids so they'll stick around and actually answer our questions. Neal, the floor is yours."

Peter had thirty minutes before he needed to leave for his meeting, and he watched the first part of the training session from the back of the room. Neal talked about the reasons kids run away and what their experiences are like. He threw in a few personal references to his own efforts looking for a safe place to sleep and stash his stuff in Chicago.

That led to questions from the team about why Neal ran away. Needing to avoid references to being in WITSEC, he kept things vague. "My mother was an alcoholic who had been in and out of rehab. Her choice in boyfriends was... unfortunate."

"Why Chicago?" asked an agent.

According to the background the marshals had made up for him, Neal had spent much of his youth attending schools in Paris. Peter was curious how Neal would explain his transition back to the States. "I was in my last year of what passed for high school in Europe, and was visiting U.S. colleges during a spring break. DePaul was the last one we visited, and when I was there I realized I couldn't face going back home. I liked that it was a big city, easier to disappear in than some other college towns. Or so I thought. Henry found me quickly enough."

"Our mothers kept in touch even though Neal's mom is estranged from the rest of the family. Mom told me that he'd disappeared in Chicago, and I'd pulled a disappearing act of my own so I knew the mindset and options available to him." Henry held up his hand in a stop motion when someone started to ask a question. "If you want to know why I ran away, it's in the Robert Winslow case file. Not everything in it is public record yet."

"Did you send Neal back home?" an agent asked.

"No. He was sick when I found him. In the grip of a fever, he said things about the abuse he'd endured. He wouldn't talk about all of it, but I heard enough to know that going home wasn't an option. So instead I decided to adopt him as my brother and keep watch over him myself."

In the back of the room, Peter nodded. This was what he'd hoped would happen. Neal was downplaying his experiences, but it was clear to a group of curious FBI agents that he'd had a rough time as a kid. He was winning the sympathy of several agents who'd previously been jealous of him. Neal's life didn't seem so easy or privileged once you saw the details.

The roleplaying of scenarios interacting with runaway teens looked like fun, but Peter had to leave. He'd ask Jones for a recap later.

###

Henry had to admit Peter knew what he was doing by scheduling this training session. You could almost see some of the agents' sympathies turn toward Neal as they realized what he'd been through. The fact that he tried to sugarcoat his own experiences was typical Neal, and it made his peers even more sympathetic than if he'd been obviously trying to tug at their heartstrings.

Of course, this raised the concern that several of his peers had needed this session in order to be won over. The FBI was a very different place from Win-Win, where half the employees were Winstons or Winslows and had grown up together, racing down the corridors of the office when their parents brought them to work, and hanging out at company events. He supposed some of them might be jealous of the fact that Graham wanted to see Henry as the next CEO, but if so they wouldn't be shy about saying it to his face.

FBI office politics were another beast, and not something Neal had grown up around. This bore watching, to make sure he was treated fairly. One more item for Henry's to-do list.

When he'd fetched Angela from Neal's desk, Henry picked up the slip of paper that held Neal's password. He balled it up and tossed it in the trash while she watched, but not before memorizing the contents. After the training session, he claimed he also needed to catch up on email, and Neal logged him in. Henry made a show of not watching as Neal entered the password.

Now Neal was chatting with Agent Tricia Wiese about something, and Henry was exploring. As he'd expected, the password to logon to the laptop was the same one used by several of the systems Neal had access to. Someday he'd have to talk to Neal about having a different password for his screen saver. Wanting to determine if Neal was being treated fairly, Henry browsed through his cousin's Bureau email account and the case files where Neal documented what he'd done. One particular email caught his eye, and he followed a link to an HR system. If the password was the same...

Oh, yeah. Perfect. Henry glanced at Neal. Keep talking. This is gonna take a while.

Henry knew that he'd been more annoyed than gracious about Neal coming to the rescue after the kidnapping. The annoyance that he couldn't rescue himself wouldn't fade anytime soon, but he could express his gratitude now. And best of all, this was something Neal needed and would never ask for. In fact, he'd probably be annoyed once he figured out what Henry had done.

He grinned. They were a lot alike, and that made it child's play to get inside each other's heads.

###

Henry still looked busy. Hadn't he already caught up on his personal email now that he wasn't playing cat-and-mouse with Robert? Maybe he was catching up on Win-Win email. If they were anything like the FBI, he must have accumulated hundreds – no, make that thousands – of messages in the last couple of months. Neal shrugged and continued his conversation with Tricia, and then talked to Jones. Next Travis stopped by, followed by Jorge. It seemed everyone had a few more questions to ask about dealing with street kids, or about Neal's own experiences as a runaway, or about the shelter where he volunteered. The topic had struck a chord in the team.

Finally he turned around to see Henry leaning lazily against Neal's desk. "They liked your talk," Henry said.

"Yeah."

"Naturally my contributions in the roleplaying made it significantly more compelling."

Neal chuckled. "Yeah, you make a very convincing rebellious teenager. Your willingness to trade information for a cheeseburger shows you haven't changed much."

Henry crossed his arms. "Are you saying I need to grow up?"

"Do you think you need to grow up?"

Henry stood up straight. "And this is what comes of letting you attend some of my psychology classes at DePaul." He checked his watch.

"Time for your flight?"

"I need to leave soon. Angela and I are scheduled to open for a group in Austin tonight, then we're on to Houston on Thursday. Back here Friday to practice with Local Devastation. At this rate it'll be a couple of weeks before I see my apartment." He looked at his watch again. "It's good that Peter's still gone, right? It means Masterson is interested in us."

"I'd say so, yeah. I'll let you know what he says when he gets back. Voicemail, email, text message – I have ample options for getting word to you. You know, now that you're staying in touch."

"Sarcasm noted," Henry said. "Yes, I'm staying in touch now, but I'm not apologizing for going off the radar for a while. I did what I had to do."

###

Peter met with the Masterson rep at the bar next to Randy Weston's music shop. The rep plied him with martinis and praise for Urban Legend, especially Peter's wisdom in getting the group to hire him. Peter freely admitted that they were providing his entrée into the music industry, while he provided the common sense business management that they'd been lacking.

"Everything went as I expected," Peter told Neal back at the office late that afternoon. "They want to sign you before some other label snatches you up. He outlined a generous offer but was careful not to put anything in writing. With your cousins out of town for performances the next couple of days, he knows he has to be patient, but he's pushing to get all three of you at Masterson's New York office to sign on Friday."

"All three of us?" Neal repeated.

"Don't you want to be part of it?"

"Yeah, but I thought Henry might have to insist we're a trio in order to get my foot in."

Peter shook his head. This kid projected an aura of confidence befitting a con man, but he had a bundle of insecurities too. "Maybe you should watch that recording of your performance at the Beacon. It's no surprise that they want you as part of the package." He paused. "Is Mozzie going to be an issue? They'll expect to see your agent when you sign."

"He's looking forward to it. The Federal Building is a lion's den he'd prefer to avoid, but he doesn't have the same fear of Masterson. He'll be in his element infiltrating the offices of the evil corporate giant."

"Glad to hear it. You'll let him and your cousins know about the meeting?"

"Sure." Neal was sitting in Peter's office and had been tapping his foot impatiently.

It was clear Neal had something on his mind, but Peter was determined to bring up his concerns about Henry. Neal needed to know that...

"I'm worried about Henry," Neal said. "He's hiding it, but he's still kind of shaken by the kidnapping."

"I agree," Peter said. So much for telling Neal that Henry was having issues. "I've tried to let him know I'm here for him, but I don't know what he needs."

"He probably doesn't know, himself. He's not used to needing help."

"Keep an eye on him," Peter requested. "You and Angela, too. If it looks like Henry's getting out of control, let me know and I'll help you intervene."

"Thanks," said Neal, and he looked relieved as he stood up and took his leave.

Peter was glad Neal had faith in him, but had to admit he had doubts about how much they could do for Henry. Their best bet was prevention – trying to keep Henry from landing in hot water. That wouldn't be easy.

He powered up his laptop and checked his email, responding to the messages that had piled up while he had been undercover as Peter Blaine. He was about half an hour into that exercise when he came across the automatic notification from HR. He opened the notice and was surprised that it had been triggered by Neal. The fact was, Neal had a nearly infinite capacity for procrastination when it came to tasks he viewed as boring, and Peter had expected that this was something Neal would avoid till the very last minute. The fact that Neal was among the first to complete it was encouraging.

He was about to follow the link to read what Neal had turned in, but Tricia knocked on his door. "Peter, I got a call a few minutes ago. Agent Yoshida has requested that we send Jason Ford to Seattle for questioning. They're interested in his role in helping Robert escape after they'd cornered him in the Seattle Underground last month."

Peter reluctantly closed the email from HR. Prisoner transfers meant involving the marshals, and the resulting paperwork would take hours to complete. Even worse, his gut was telling him this was a bad idea, but he had no evidence to convince his superiors that Ford should stay in New York.