TITLE : Shut Up and Let Me Go.
AUTHOR'S NOTES : This is NOT a part of "The Hunter Chronicles". This is a Diana and Alex one-shot fic (non-femslash), as requested by a friend. (Story could be just one big run-on sentence...you decide.)
DISCLAIMER : I don't own any of the recognizable characters. They belong to Jeff Eastin, White Collar writers and USA Network.
SUMMARY : A chance encounter, a case of mistaken identity and a very bitter ex leads Alex and Diana to form an unlikely alliance. (Mostly Diana/Alex, but has a brief mention of Christie plus a bit of Neal, Peter and Jones in the end.) [AU/OOC]
WARNING : Usual warning apply. Contains an abundant amount of Alex Hunter. If you're allergic to her, you might want to stop reading now. This is a Diana/Alex fic (non-pairing, friendship, womance) Contains some sexual situations, suggestive language and a bit of mild violence and adult content (nothing graphic).
CHAPTER ONE
Agent Diana Barrigan sat by the bar of Alloro restaurant, her favourite Upper East Side Italian hot spot. She took out her mobile phone to check her messages. She and Christie had made dinner reservations that night, and Diana had been waiting for her fiancée for over half an hour now.
"Di, it's me. I'm so sorry I have to cancel on you tonight! I was on my way to meet you, when the hospital called me. I had to turn back. One of my patient's coded and I have to perform an emergency surgery. I hope you understand. I'll see you at home, okay? I love you, Di." Christie said, as Diana listened to her message.
"Of course, I understand." Diana muttered under her breath, as she hung up the phone."I understand that this is the first time in weeks that we get to spend some quality time together, and you chose to blow me off for surgery!" she continued, as she took a big sip of her red wine.
Diana sighed and shook her head. She knew that she shouldn't be complaining. She herself had been busy with work lately. The Harvard crew had recently solved a major transnational money laundering case which involved an international advertising group from Eastern Europe and an online auction company based in Manhattan.
Tonight was supposed to be a celebration. It was supposed to be a romantic night between her and Christie. Instead, she sat there alone at the bar, with an empty wine glass in her hand. She was about to order another drink when she heard a familiar voice coming from a woman who sat a few bar stools away from her.
"Hey, it's Lexi. Where are you?" The woman asked, speaking to her phone.
Diana turned to her left and recognized an 'associate' of Neal Caffrey's. Alexandra Hunter, his fence. Or used to be his fence, Diana wasn't exactly sure. Lexi? Diana thought, raising an eyebrow.
"No, I understand...really, I do!" Alex spoke on her phone again after a brief pause. "It's alright. I'm headed back to the hotel. I'll see you tomorrow." she concluded the conversation and hung up her cellphone.
Alex looked up and was surprised when her eyes met Agent Barrigan's. "Diana? Fancy seeing you here!" Alex said to the FBI agent.
"It's AGENT Barrigan. Just because your Neal's friend, doesn't mean we're on a first name basis." Diana corrected her. "And I'm really not in the mood to exchange pleasantries with you at the moment."she roughly told Alex, taking another sip of her wine.
"Excuse me all to hell." Alex replied, rolling her eyes. "I was only trying to be friendly. I'll go back to minding my own business now." she added, before turning away.
Diana realized how impolite she had been and felt ashamed of her actions. "Alex...wait!" she called her, approaching the other woman. "Look, I'm sorry. That was rude." she apologized, as she sat down next to Alex. "Believe it or not, I was in a really good mood until about ten minutes ago. Then, my mood kinda went to the shitter. But I had no right to take it out on you." Diana told her.
"That must have been SOME phone call, to ruin your mood like that." Alex assumed. She saw Diana raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, force of habit." she said.
Diana shook her head. "I was supposed to meet my fiancée here tonight. She got stuck at the hospital at the last minute." she told Alex.
"Fiancée? Congratulations!" Alex greeted her. "You said hospital...I hope everything's alright." she added.
"No worries. She's a doctor over at Bellevue. They needed her for an emergency." Diana clarified. "Enough about me...tell me about your night, LEXI." she said to Alex.
"You were listening to my phone conversation." Alex accused her.
"Force of habit." Diana replied, with a smile.
Alex smiled. "Well, if you MUST know...I was supposed to meet a friend here for drinks. That was her on the phone, telling me she can't make it." she explained to Diana.
"Wow! You have friends?" Diana chuckled, feigning shock.
"Yes, try not to faint." Alex joked. "Anyway...small world, because she's an ER nurse over at Bellevue. She couldn't leave because of an emergency...a four-car pile up on 42nd Street." she told Diana. "So, don't count on your fiancée making it home on time tonight, Pant Suit." she continued.
"Bad enough I got stood up on date night...I have to sleep alone too." Diana grumbled. She turned to Alex. "Well, it's a shame to let the reservation go to waste. Care to join me for dinner?"she invited her.
"Are you sure? I mean, what if somebody sees us? An FBI agent sharing a meal with a black market fence...people might talk." Alex quipped.
"We'll just tell them you're my 'consultant'. Hey, it worked for Peter and Neal." Diana replied, smiling.
Alex grinned widely. "Alright. I must warn you, though...I had a late lunch with Mozzie this afternoon, so I'm still a bit tipsy at the moment. If I skip over the 'witty banter' part of our dinner conversation and go right straight to hitting on you, don't let it go to you head. You're hot...you're NOT that hot."she added, with a laugh.
Diana laughed along, as she and Alex both walk away from the wine bar and towards the restaurant, where they were ushered in by the maître d'to their reserved table.
As they were seated, Diana noticed a familiar face from across the room. A face from her past she would rather forget. She slightly lowered her head to avoid being recognized, an act that didn't escape Alex.
"Not even five minutes in, and you're already ashamed to be seen with me?" Alex jested. "What going on?" she asked.
"About five tables from us, to the left...I kinda have a history with that guy." Diana told Alex, as she ducked behind the menu.
Alex discreetly looked over the direction Diana pointed at, and saw a well-dressed, handsome, African-American gentleman. "Javon Walker?" Alex recognized the man.
"You know him?" Diana asked.
"We haven't met, but I know of him. I make it a point to know who's who in town. Call it a hobby." Alex replied. "If I'm not mistaken, he's Judge Justus Walker's son...he's being groomed to follow in his father's footsteps." Alex said.
"Yes, all that, plus an ego as big as the Hudson River." Diana added.
"Not a big fan of the guy, I take it." Alex observed. "What's the story?" she asked.
Diana paused for a while before she answered. "He and I dated...back in college, before I came out of the closet."she said. "Although he kinda took it as if I meant that he 'turned' me into a lesbian." she explained.
"You mean it wasn't an amicable parting of the ways." Alex clarified. "Do you think he's still holding a grudge?" she asked Diana.
"I don't know. It's been years. Why do you ask?" Diana inquired.
"Because he's headed over this way." Alex warned her.
Diana straightened from her seat and looked up. Sure enough, Javon was approaching their table. "Oh, no!"she muttered under her breath.
"Relax." Alex told her. "How bad can he be?" she asked.
"Good evening, ladies." Javon greeted them once he reached their table. He looked at Diana. "It's been a while, D." he told her.
"Not long enough." Diana replied.
Javon turned towards Alex. "And this must be the girlfriend."he assumed.
"Fiancée, actually." Alex played along. "I proposed, and by some miracle, she said yes. Can you believe it?" she lied, earning a glare from Diana.
"Is that right?" Javon asked, with a fake smile. He sat down next to the 'couple', and just insinuated himself into the table. "We haven't been properly introduced. My name's Javon." he said. "Diana and I used to go out...she might have mentioned me." he added.
"No, she hasn't. As a matter of fact, this is the first time I've heard of you." Alex taunted him.
"Really? 'Cause we were pretty serious. Which is why it came as a shock to me when she ended our relationship and told me she liked girls." Javon leaned closer, so close that Alex could smell the alcohol in his breath. "So...how did YOU find out that you were a lesbian? Or have you always known?" he asked inappropriately.
"You don't have to answer that." Diana told Alex. "Javon, we were having a private moment. Please go back to your own table, before you make an even bigger fool of yourself." Diana said to him.
"It's alright, Crumpet. We're all friends here." Alex told Diana, quite enjoying the show.
"Yeah, Crumpet...relax." Javon echoed.
Diana glared at Javon, then turned to Alex. "If you're sure, Muffin." Diana replied, somewhat playing along and wondering what Alex's game was.
Alex turned to Javon. "To answer your question...it was in the spring of 1999. I was watching 'Friends'. In walks Rachel Green, her tits poking through her cashmere sweater. That's all it took. Broke up with my boyfriend the next day and never looked back. Hey...you come YOUR way, I'll come MINE." she answered devilishly.
Diana and Alex watched as Javon's face changed shades and contorted with anger. Finally, he excused himself, stood up and walked away from the table.
Diana chuckled. "Are you sure you're NOT a lesbian?" she asked Alex after Javon had left.
"Played in the minors back in college...never went pro." Alex replied. "But I do like films with lesbians in them. It's a nice thought that there ARE other attractive women out there who can't find a boyfriend." She saw the look that Diana gave her. "I'm kidding." she added.
"Right. Let's order, shall we?" Diana said, as she saw the waiter approaching.
The dinner went off without any more unwelcomed surprises. Both had the creamy Parmesan risotto with Lambrusco wine caramel; Diana had the sliced rib-eye over corn puree, while Alex had the fillet of sole in pumpkin-Amaretto crust. They had wine while having casual conversation, like normal people. By the time they reached dessert, Alex had Diana laughing at her jokes.
Much to Diana's surprise, she had fun talking to Alex. She could understand why Neal liked her. Yes, Alex had a lot of common sense, and she understands a lot and has strong opinions with what's going on in the world. Still, she remained cautious of the female fence. She knows that it was part Alex's nature as a con artist to know what every type of person to deal with on a daily basis, and to understand people and how to act or what to say around them.
No, Diana didn't trust Alex, but that didn't stop her from enjoying her company. She was vibrant and full of life. And she was intelligent...not just street smart, which Diana initially thought. She missed having these kind of conversations with people. Friendly, civil and humorous. Her work usually involved intense interrogations, and by the time she gets home as of late, she and Christie rarely have time to talk, as they were busy with theirs respective careers. Tonight was a welcome breath of fresh air.
"Well, look at the time." Alex noticed her watch. "Dinner was fantastic. But I have to go. Early flight tomorrow." she told Diana.
"Really? Where are you going" Diana inquired.
"Canada." Alex replied.
"What's in Canada?" Diana asked curiously.
"Canadians." Another one word answer from Alex.
Diana nodded her her lightly. "Ah...you got pretty tight-lipped all of a sudden. Must be a 'business' trip." she assumed.
"Just doing a favor for a friend." Alex explained.
Alex offered to pay for the dinner, but Diana wouldn't have it. Together, they walked out of the restaurant. They were about to go their separate ways when Diana stopped Alex.
"Hey, Alex...where are you staying?" she asked.
"I'm at the Sofitel. Why?" Alex replied.
"You wanna share a cab? I'm headed that way." Diana offered.
"Actually, I have a car waiting. I can give you a lift, since you were kind enough to pay for dinner." Alex counter offered.
Diana smiled. "Lead the way." she told Alex.
They didn't have to walk far. The car was parked outside the restaurant.
"Nice car." Diana whistled.
"A friend of mine loaned it to me for the night. I can give you his name if you want to double check my story." Alex scoffed.
"A 'friend' loaned you a Bentley Mulsanne? Must be a really nice friend." Diana remarked, raising an eyebrow.
"He also doesn't trust me to drive it...which is why he loaned me his driver as well." Alex told her.
"Even better." Diana said.
"Where do you live?" Alex asked, opening the car door and ushering Diana in.
"Same place you broke into when you stole the music box." Diana replied flatly.
"ALLEGEDLY...that was never proven." Alex denied.
Once they were both inside the backseat of the car, Alex nodded to the driver.
"Good evening, Miss Hunter." the driver greeted her.
"Good evening, Ray." Alex answered. " I hope you don't mind making another stop. We'll be dropping off a friend of mine back to her apartment. 55 Thompson Street, please." she told Ray.
"Not a problem, Miss Hunter." Ray replied, before starting the engine.
There was silence inside the car for a while. Finally, Diana spoke. "This friend you're doing a favor for...he wouldn't happen to be Neal, would it?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"You gotta let that go, Pant Suit." Alex answered.
There was another awkward pause. This time, it was Alex who broke the silence. "So...why did you go out with this Javon douche bag?" she asked.
Diana laughed softly. "He looked cool in his Porsche Boxster." she replied.
"Oh...you're a car girl!" Alex said.
"I like nice cars." Diana confirmed.
"You should ask Mozzie to take you out for a spin in his Citroën 2CV." Alex told her.
"We'd kill each other." Diana scoffed.
"It'll be an easy case to solve." Alex quipped.
The car finally came to a stop. "This is me." Diana announced. "Thanks for the lift." she told Alex.
"Thanks for dinner." Alex replied. "Goodnight, Crumpet." she smiled.
Diana smiled in return. "Goodnight, Muffin." she answered, before stepping out of the car and headed towards her apartment building.
Diana turned on the lights once she was inside. She took off her shoes and tossed her keys on the coffee table. She was about to head to the bedroom, when she heard a noise in the kitchen.
"Christie? Is that you?" she called, walking silently towards the room.
Before she knew it, she was hit by a hard, blunt object at the back of head. Lights danced in her vision, and slowly, she crumpled to the floor. A dark figure stepped out from behind her, his face wore an evil grin.
"I'll make you feel what you've been missing all these years, baby." Javon Walker said menacingly, before carrying Diana's unconscious body to the bedroom.
~END OF CHAPTER ONE~
