FIC: Twenty-five Days (part 3)

[calis_1st]

Back to part 1
Or back to part 2

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Day 14

Neal had spent the last two days finishing the Degas, just as he had done before, right down to ensuring that the aging included immature micro-fractures.  He found it ironic that he was wishing Philip Kramer might get a hold of this one soon.

Comments

[leesa_perrie]

Oh, this was wonderful! Poor Neal! I loved the choice of Mara Summers as the baddie, nicely original! And the last scene... just what I needed! :)

[calis_1st]

Thank you! I thought she had that kind of nastiness in her (in fact, every time I started reading someone else's story about this, I just kept thinking, please don't be Summers, please don't be Summers). ;-)

I'm glad you liked the last scene. I wrote Neal's portion of that day early on, because that's what I really wanted to see.

Thanks again for your lovely comments.

[sapphire2309]

Goddammit, this is beautiful. I'd been feeling it all the way through, but the message written in blood on the wall just completely broke me. And Neal's constant need for air was heartbreaking, and so brilliantly described. And goddamn. I think I cried a bit.

This is amazing. And beautiful. And wow.

[calis_1st]

Aww, thank you very much for your wonderful comments! I was hoping the message on the wall wasn't too over the top, I'm so glad you liked it.

[ladyrose42]

Nice use of characters and villains. Great touch with the passport stamp as a clue.

[calis_1st]

Thank you! We know someone would have to pick up on Cape Verde. Good think Neal's been there to know what the passport stamp looks like.

[reve_silencieux]

That was great! I like the balance of whump without being too violent, and Peter angsting over not being able to find him. I'm glad he believed Mozzie, and they all worked together. Summers was a good choice as the villain and believable, given what she wanted from him and her anger.

I also love seeing Hughes again! They just keep bringing him back, don't they?

[calis_1st]

Thank you! I try to keep any violence in line with what we see in canon. I think Peter will assume Neal ran at first, but will be persuaded pretty easily that that isn't the case, because he wants to believe in Neal. I'm glad you liked Summers as a villain. She is quite a piece of work.

Re: Hughes - I'm not ready to let him go, and will keep him alive as long as the show does.

Thank you again for you kind words, and for taking the time to comment.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

Great use of Mara Summers here. You really ratcheted up the tension as the days went by, too! I'm glad Peter didn't think for long that Neal ran, and that Neal knew Summers was lying.

[calis_1st]

Thank you! I like Mara as a bad guy, I think she can pull it off pretty well. I also hope Peter doesn't think Neal ran for long. I want him to get out there right away and look for Neal as much as I want Neal to do whatever he needs to do to escape.