AN: In my mind for about a month now. I can't wait for this show to return. Going through such withdrawal!
"Try to speak like you can see me." - Andrew Belle
Mozzie was deep in thought.
The kind of deep thought that makes you stare into space without blinking for almost fifteen minutes and then you realize you haven't blinked in a while and...damn,Iblinked.He had also ignored the cute barista's smile when she'd walked by him.
He pushed his glasses back a bit on his head and rubbed his face tiredly. What happened to the good old days when he could drop a partner in crime like an old loafer?
Damn Caffrey.
And the Suit.
AndMrs. Suit.
And their dog.
He sighed so gustily that the older woman next to him jumped a bit and edged her chair away ever so slightly.
He should have been out of New York City three hours ago. But, no. Instead he was at Starbucks, wondering what the hell he was stilldoinginNewYork.He opened the book he'd been reading and then closed it with a snap.
He'd drifted off into another procession of thought when his phone on the table started to buzz alarmingly.
So alarmingly that he started jerkily, sending his coffee into the air and splattering to the ground. He gasped and grabbed napkins, looking at his phone to see that Neal Caffrey was calling him.
Had he changed his mind?
He waited for two more vibrations before picking up the phone, surreptitiously bending down to mop up the spilt coffee. The woman who'd been near him had now gotten up and completely relocated to the other side of the cafe, expression one of utter annoyance.
"Yeah?" Was how he answered, attempting to force coldness and yet utter nonchalance into his voice, and instead sounding tight and as if he had a cold.
"...Moz?" The tone of voice Neal was using made him pause and straighten. "You answered." The second statement was breathed in relief and Mozzie's brow furrowed. Was the kid new? He always answered.
"Neal. What's wrong?" He threw the soaked napkins in the garbage and sat back down with his half cup of cold coffee.
There was a pause, a hesitation on the other line and Mozzie felt his heart pick up. "...They took her. Hetook her...Mozzie, El's gone."
He stood straight up this time, brain working into overdrive. So this was going beyond Neal now. Now it was the Suit's family he was after.
Damn Mrs. Suit.
Damn El.
He took in a deep breath of air outside and circled a bit in a pacing sort of way. Neal had stopped talking.
"Where's the...where's Peter?"
A hollow laugh followed the question and it was a fake, sad laugh, devoid of any humor whatsoever. "He's inside," Neal said thickly before laughing lowly again. Sothey'reatPeter'shouse.He hailed a cab. "The way...he looked at me...as if I had just murdered..." His voice constricted and Mozzie frowned, getting in the taxi and rattling off the Burke's address. "...I guess I may as well have."
Why was he heading there again? He should've been gone-four hours ago.
"Moz, why are you even talking to me?" Neal's voice came through weakly, desperate.
"Unimportant," Mozzie answered curtly. "What's important right now is finding Elizabeth."
"Right." There was a long pause and Mozzie closed his eyes. He could see Neal sitting on the porch, unsure of whether to leave or stay. His thin frame was shaking with suppressed sobs as he held his hand over his face. Meanwhile, Peter would be watching from the window, unsure of whether to go outside and talk to him or go outside and ask him to get off of his property.
"Neal?"
A slight, almost inaudible clearing of his throat. "Peter punched me, by the way."
The cab started to slow a bit as Mozzie let out a bark of laughter. "Mr. Suit!"
"I don't want to know what my face looks like."
"Well, I can't wait to see it, that's for sure."
There was another pause, this one of surprise, and then nothing. Neal had hung up and was watching Mozzie get out of the taxi and walk up to the front door. He didn't move to stand, but instead blinked blue tear-filled eyes at him blankly.
"Thank you."
Mozzie sighed as Peter spotted him and made a beeline for them. "Don't mention it." Neal was still looking more than a bit confused, so he elaborated while he still could. "We'll find her."
And that was enough for both of them.
