Noble Rogues


Ch.2: The Warning

What could Neal do? He wanted his own life back, his freedom, but he also knew he could never live with himself if he turned over that young crew. They were teens, but he doubted an organization needing to make an example of someone would care. For all he knew, they'd be tried as adults. And then there was the fact that they had to be brilliant. Everything made more sense, in retrospect. Eddie's attitude and the environment they had created by walking in. He didn't know what to do. He was utterly terrified: it was a group of bright rising stars, or four more years in jail. And then what? Perhaps Peter would...no, he would never believe he had found nothing. But what could he do?

Warn them. He had to warn them. And they had to run like hell, if they had any sense to go with their smarts.

…xxx…


"So he used to be one of the best?" Kat was curious, and she was not alone in that curiosity. Every crew member was attentive, all eyes trained on Eddie. The doors had been secured, the perimeter checked, and their soup finished. Their empty bowls sat on the table before them.

"Yes. He had a wonderful talent, potential. He was a great thief, among other things. But then he got caught. Now he helps the suits take down other cons-white collar deals."

"He heard too much," Gabrielle worried her lip. "He might get an epiphany."

"I think Mozzie already had it for the both of them," Hale replied shrewdly, to which Uncle Eddie nodded.

"Mozzie knows the codes. He may keep the knowledge in confidence."

"But for how long?" Simon wondered aloud.

No one could answer him.

…xxx…


The sounds of the park blared around Neal as he disclosed everything he knew that he actually wanted to share.

"Nothing?" Peter said with a hint of disbelief, "Nothing at all? I find that hard to believe. Surely-"

"We used a few connections, but nothing. No one seems to know anything besides the fact that whoever did this was really good. I'm sorry, Peter," Neal shrugged.

"Neal," Peter began seriously, "You know you have to get this as much as we do."

"Yeah, you seem to keep reminding me." He walked away from Peter, down one of the trails. Despite his watching exactly where he was going, a young woman seemed to come out of nowhere and bump into him.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said, batting her lashes at him. That was when Neal recognized her, and he knew she knew him. She clasped his hand, wrapping her fingers around his and covertly sliding a piece of paper into his palm. "It's just what above ground travel can be like. You know what I mean?"

She looked into his face expectantly. Neal stared, then said, "Yeah, underground's always better."

The woman smiled and sashayed off.

Neal continued onward, stepping into an alcove by an archway. He quickly unfolded the slip. Not much was written on it. It said:

Descent between Chance Harbor and Beagle's Run in 1 hour

Usually streets had numbers, the grid lines easy to follow, but some had names like these. And apparently Neal had to find them. It seemed he and the Crew had made each other. And no one wanted to see his face at the Brownstone, so the next best thing was to meet in one of the blind spots of the law: the underground. There weren't enough people to man the entire system, and the surveillance was patchy at best where it existed, in much need of an upgrade. Neal allowed himself a smile. The kids weren't stupid, they were cautious. And he would actually get to meet them instead of barging in, and get the feel of them.

He found Mozzie, and then they arrived ten minutes early to wait. The shorter man kept fidgeting, glancing around. They were watching from a secluded corner of the station, which happened to have a total of three broken cameras all facing other directions. It was a busy time, with no one paying them any attention.

"You're early."

The two men turned to see the young woman from the park.

"You just keep bumping into me, don't you?" Neal said, though his smile didn't reach his eyes. She tossed her long hair, rolling her eyes.

"Follow." She instructed. She turned and began stalking away.

"Well, come on," Mozzie said, and they followed.

She led them into the dingy bathroom, where the light blinked on and off at intervals. The room was already full with the rest of the crew. The door swung shut behind them.

"I think we have a pretty good idea of each other," the suspicious golden boy from the table said, stepping forward and lifting his chin, eyes hard as he gazed at Neal. Neal met it with his characteristic smile.

"You pulled that last heist," Neal acknowledged. "It took great skill. I admire that."

"Are you going to out us?" Another voice asked bluntly, and a petite blue-eyed young woman stepped forward, dark hair framing her face.

Neal cut in, holding his hand up.

"We can have this conversation later. Or not at all. I came here to warn you. Peter and the FBI want this. They are on this case and they are not backing down. And you need to get away smoothly before they can figure out that I've been covering for you."

Leader girl straightened, her surprise clearly evident, shock rippling trough the others.

"We can trust you just about as much as we can trust that inconvenience from the other night, or some suit." The young man that had challenged Neal upon both of his arrivals interjected harshly, his tone clipped.

"I'm telling you, you need to leave no matter what before this all comes down."

"How do we know you're not setting us up right now?" a boy with glasses blurted. They were sizing him up, and he them. Mozzie, who had merely been watching, came forward.

"I know he doesn't have the best of reputations right now, but he's right. He's not going to double cross you on this. I like the Feds about as much as you do, so about a little less than not at all. You need to leave. He doesn't want to bust you. He's sacrificing his own freedom here."

There came a sudden knock at the door which made them all freeze.

"Neal?"

"Peter," Neal whispered, horrified.

"Your handler?" The boy who had made the meal retort hissed softly, horrified as the rest of his hang. "What's he doing here?"

Neal slowly closed his eyes, jerking up a pant leg. The anklet tracker flashed into view.

"Shite," one of the Scottish brothers swore.

"Bloody hell," the other paled.

"Neal, who are you in there with? I tracked you here and I hear voices."

"Make him go away," Mozzie said desperately.

"We're screwed," the leggy woman remarked.

"Open this door, Neal," Peter called from outside, and the door began moving as he jiggled the handle. Suddenly it stopped, punctuated by an intake of breath, a thump, and then a second thump as something hit the door. There was a dragging, and then momentary silence.

"Mind opening up?" a peculiar sounding voice asked.

"It's that girl," leader teen said, surprised.

"The other thief?" Neal said. He turned and opened the door. There the other petite thief stood, one Peter Burke slumped at her feet, unconscious. "Horse tranquilizer," she shrugged.

"Horse- you could kill him!" Leggy gasped. The loner rolled her eyes. "Please, it was an unconcetrated small dose. He'll have one hell of a headache though," she noted carelessly, shrugging. Mozzie's hands rose to clutch either side of his head. "You just tranquilized a suit. We're all dead now."

"I'm sorry-I didn't know you were such a cry baby, or that I needed your approval. Now come on. You need to get on a plane out of here. Our philosophies on life might differ, but we still have our honor, and Uncle Fergus worked with your father and Uncle once or twice back in the day."

"You're a Henderson!"

"We'll all be convicts in about five minutes if you lot don't move your arses," the Henderson girl snapped, holding the door open.

"What about Caffrey?" Eddie's leader niece asked. The crew froze.

"What about him?" The Henderson's voice twanged with impatience.

"We can't leave him. He came to warn us."

"He's tagged," she retorted.

"Simon can free him," she argued.

"Can we have this argument somewhere else?" Mozzie frantically interrupted. They ran, all of them, leaping over Peter.

"You're so going to prison," Mozzie panted.

"I know," Neal sighed. They took the underground, coming up far away from both the law and the Brownstone.

"Stop!" The leader barked. "Simon, get the tracker off!"

Simon dropped down, and the others sagged to a halt. As Simon fiddled with the anklet skillfully, examining it with an expert eye, Neal said, "You know, now that we're all fugitives, how about I catch your names?"

"You mean now that you are, love," young Henderson countered. "He didn't know that we were there. He can't even take Mozzie. Maybe not you if you can spin a good lie."

"Well, if you're Fergus' niece, then you're Ellie," Mozzie said. Ellie rolled her head to look at him, eyes slitted. "So they tell me."

"What about you?" Neal turned to the leader again.

"Kat," she replied hesitantly. She pointed to Leggy.

"That's Gabrielle. You know Simon-" She pointed to the golden boy with light brown hair-"That's Hale-" The brothers. "Angus and Hamish-" "And that's Nick."

The tracker fell to the ground with a clatter, completely disarmed. Neal knelt down to pick it up as Simon sat back on his hands.

"What do we do now?"

"We keep moving."

Neal stared down at the dismantled tracker in his hands before tossing it away and continuing on with them.

"All of that good wine gone to waste," Mozzie said sadly.

"Well, technically, you don't need to come," Gabrielle said, "Do you? They can't track you can they?"

"Well, no, but I don't have any other...I wouldn't stay on my own with the Feds."

"They'd question him anyway, and they know what he is. I couldn't leave him like that," Neal told them firmly.

"Aw, how touching," Ellie mock-simpered saccharinely. "This isn't time to give a speech on the power of friendship. You have a place here, right?"

The last of what she said she directed at Hale.

"You're not even going to take me to dinner first?" Hale shot back.

"We all know we shouldn't go back to the Brownstone, and Neal can't go home. They're probably watching Mozzie, too, and maybe any of their other friends," Ellie enumerated her logic. "So I'm afraid we'll have to do takeout. You decide if it's my place or yours."

Eventually, they made it safely to Hale's place.

"This is nice," Neal complimented appreciatively. Mozzie agreed, happy when he found a pleasing wine stash.

"I suppose," Hale shrugged. "Personally, I'm more fond of the country estate."

Neal paused in his inspection of a painting hanging on the wall.

"What's a rich boy like you doing in our world? You already have everything you could possibly want."

"Isn't it obvious?" Ellie cut in curtly. "It's fun, boss. I'm sure he gets a thrill just thinking about it."

Hale twitched distastefully. "I can speak for myself, but thank you for the consideration."

That seemed to put Ellie out for a moment.

Hale pulled out a phone, flipped it open, and began dialing.

"You had electronics?" Mozzie sounded exasperated.

"It's untraceable," Hale replied flippantly. "We all have one for communication purposes only. I'm calling Marcus. We need to disappear...or at least hide in plain sight. Which means getting out of the city and to the rural estate."

"Where's the box?" Ellie pipped up.

"With Uncle Eddie, of course, ready to be sent where it needs to be," Kat replied shortly.

"Ooh, miss noble is touchy, isn't she? You think you're better than me because of how or why you steal? You're still a thief and a con; get over it."

Kat stepped forward coolly. "A great thief. You only got in that building riding on our coattails. You couldn't crack it on your own."

"You shouldn't fight," Neal interrupted quietly. Hale had walked down the hallway to get some quiet, and had yet to return. They could hear him as he described the situation rather neutrally to Marcus.

"Yes, Sir, Mr. Snitch, sir," said Ellie nastily.

"Excuse me, but, why are you here?" Gabrielle shot bitingly at her.

"The same reason Hale Dearest steals; I want to be. It's fun, really. Besides, like I said, I pay my debts."

"Well your debt is paid, and you're not invited."

"Gabrielle," Kat said, "we may not like her or trust her, but we couldn't have gotten away cleanly without her. And it's better if we can watch her."

"I don't like it," Nick said, "but I suppose I don't have to. You're the boss, Kat."

"Besides," Ellie added, "the families stick together, like each other or not. We have a common enemy; I don't want any coppers breathing down my neck, neither do you, and you're my ticket out...and all of you aren't a pain." She said the last part as Hale returned.

"Marcus can be here soon. He thinks we should get some rest first though. Who's up for raiding the kitchen?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Angus said brightly.

"I'm starving," Hamish announced.

"I could go for some pizza bagels," Simon contributed.

"There's a deep dish party sized with varied crust and extra cheese," Hale offered.

"I'm in," Nick assented, standing.

"Classy," Neal said sarcastically.

"Food is food, even if it isn't five stars, as long as it isn't terrible, I'll go for it," Mozzie commented.

They all went about doing something, packing or making some call or preparation, until the pizza was done. Hale made a fine oven pizza, and Ellie made a fine kitchen hoverer, staying in and buzzing around him. When it came, no one spoke, eating mechanically and cleaning up mechanically, separating into places to crash until Marcus arrived. Except for Kat and Neal; Neal, who swished wine around in a glass absentmindedly, staring out across the city from the balcony, and Kat, who sat on the other side on a chair, her knees drawn up to her chest.

"How long?" The question hung in the somewhat chilly air a few minutes before Neal answered.

"Long enough."

"I've been at the life since I was a toddler," Kat whispered, not understanding why she was telling him anything. She owed him nothing beyond his freedom for his warning; she did not have to speak to him.

"Really?" He said, genuinely curious.

"I helped case the Louvre when I was three. When I was eight, I went on a trip to Austria to help steal the Crown Jewels."

Neal didn't respond for several long moments. "Do you want to stay in this life?"

"It's a part of me; it's in my blood. I couldn't stop if I tried. So I do better things with what I have."

"A noble thief," Neal shook his head, a sincere smile curving his lips upward. "I usually just took what I wanted. You know, before."

"That's what I used to do. That's still what they do, sometimes. But I don't like taking what isn't mine. So I re-steal things and return them to their rightful owners."

"Robin Hood," Neal whispered. "The choice has its charm, I suppose."

Silence fell for a time. It was peaceful, clear, and crisp.

The wind picked up, and Kat shivered a bit. Neal seemed to notice.

"You should have worn a jacket."

Kat shrugged. The cold kept her mind clear. She hadn't realized she had shared that thought aloud. Neal set his glass down on the small table between the chairs and slipped his jacket off, offering it to her.

"You'd probably actually do better if you weren't shivering from the throes of hypothermia."

The gesture startled Kat. She blinked. "Won't you be cold?"

"Well, it's hardly big enough to share." Kat blushed slightly. Surprised, she stood abruptly. "I should just go inside. You probably want to be alone anyway."

Neal caught her wrist as she was turning. "Stay. Take the jacket. I'll be fine."

Kat found herself not protesting as he guided her back into her chair, settled her in, and tucked her into his jacket. He picked up his glass and paced a bit.

"You know, I didn't graduate highschool," he said suddenly, turning his glass in his hand.

"I've never been to a real school aside from the short time I conned my way into one about a year or two ago," Kat whispered. Neal started.

"You've never been-wow." He took a sip of wine, his voice layered with disbelief. He turned to glance at Kat.

"What about the others?"

She shrugged. "Gabrielle grew up like me for the most part. You'd have to ask the rest of them."

"If they're anything like me, I doubt they'd be so willing to share."

Kat smiled. "You're absolutely right." The smile fell. "I'm not sure what we're doing...or why I trust you."

"It's not a setup...and don't worry, I don't trust you either. But as long as it's past the Statute of Limitations, does it matter?"

"I guess not."

That wordless cloud soundlessly crept over them, and long into the night they stared out over the city, contemplative and on edge, speaking at intervals when they felt the urge. Morning came and Kat awoke to find she had been carried inside some time before sunrise. Neal had left his jacket around her, and he sat back in a recliner across the room, his head propped up precariously by a pillow ready to tumble into the floor.


She sat up slowly. The penthouse was quiet, the others still asleep. It was early yet, the sky a pastel color pallet. She pushed herself up off of the sofa, picking her way between the bodies encased in sleeping bags that hadn't fit into a bedroom or in one of the chairs, and made it over to Neal's side. She didn't want to wake him, but he seemed so uncomfortable. She hoped he wasn't a light sleeper. She gently slid the pillow out and repositioned it with one arm, his head cradled in the other. When he was settled in a more comfortable looking arrangement, she stifled a yawn and began stepping away. Which was exactly when his eyes opened. He stared at her, bewildered for a second until his eyes lit with recognition.

"I thought you might like those accommodations better," he said, as if she had questioned him. His voice was slightly rough from sleep. He sat forward and cradled his head between his hands.

"What have I done?"

"You know, technically, we kidnapped you," Kat said after a moment, and he lifted his head slightly to see her.

"Technically wouldn't cut it in a court of law."

"You'd be surprised what will cut it."

"You're due for an update on the law, then," Neal countered. He stood carefully, attempting to keep himself from crowding Kat, who still hovered very close by. His suit was rumpled, and Kat had the sudden strange mental image of a very bedraggled, ruffled, and misplaced bird that had fallen out of a cage. She felt somewhat responsible for him, since both his flight and freedom were by her actions, "You know, if you want to...change or something, I'm sure we can find something in Hale's father'a closet that'll fit you."

Neal stepped unconsciously closer.

"I don't know that Hale would appreciate that, Kat."

Something twisted inside of her at the sound of him saying her name. It was invigorating

"I'm sure he won't mind."

"You're the boss," Neal smiled, gesturing for her to lead the way. Kat grabbed his hand before she could think about the gesture, pulling him behind her in a path away from the field of sleeping criminals and into Hale's parents' room, the only one that no one had entered to sleep in. Kat pulled away as soon as she reached the door, heading for the huge walk-in closet.

Neal followed her in, inspecting each article until he picked out something he didn't mind wearing...well, truly he wouldn't have minded any of it, since the Hales appeared to only purchase the best. He looked up just in time to see Kat stretching above her head to reach a stylish fedora he had spotted. He watched her struggle a moment, and then he reached over her to get it.

"I have it!" She snapped.

Neal pulled back, forced to watch yet again. After a minute of it, he went up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her up. She snatched the hat quickly, saying nothing when he set her down. If Kat didn't seem like she might not take it so well, he might have cracked some witty remark. Instead, he simply said, "Thank you."

Kat, for her part, tried to hide her embarrassment, happy he had said nothing. I'll leave you to yourself."

When she returned to the main room, the others had stirred, but since as per usual no one went into the wing where Hale's parents stayed when they actually used the penthouse, they were all using Hale's shower or the guest shower. Kat sighed. It was going to take forever to get a turn. Mozzie appeared to have gone and returned mysteriously under cover of dark before dawn, a packed bag by his feet and a new change of clothes on his back.

"Don't worry; I went to one of my safe locations. I wasn't followed."

He turned the television on, and Kat went to find some of her things that she had left around the place, padding back to the master bedroom to ask Neal if she could get in the shower once he finished.

She opened and closed the room door, padding to the bathroom and knocking. The water didn't stop, so she tried again, listening for a response. After a few seconds of further silence, she leaned against the door in defeat. It opened abruptly, making Kat fall forward and come into contact with wet skin.

Strong hands steadied her, and held her out at arm's length. Kat found herself looking at a Neal Caffrey that had stepped out of the shower to answer the door, a towel wrapped about his waist, his hair slick. She gulped and blushed.

"I wanted to ask if I could use this shower when you were finished. I didn't mean to-"

At that moment, the door opened and Hale walked in.

"Kat, I-"

He stopped in his tracks.

His face rippled with numerous emotions. Neal's grip on Kat slackened and he removed his hands from her arms to raise them defensively. "It's not what it looks like-"

"I'm sure it isn't," Hale said coldly. "Mozzie said he'd seen you come this way, Kat, so I came to check on you. I was going to let you go next, but it seems like you have everything straightened out."

He strode rather calmly out of the room, the door closing with a click. Kat and Neal looked away from each other.

"Well that went well," Neal said, running his hand through his hair. His eyes darted to Kat.

"Your boyfriend?"

"Probably not anymore," she said.

"Look, I'm sorry about that," Neal said, "I'll be through in a minute and you can use it."

Kat nodded. Neal retreated and shut the door, and Kat paced the room until he came out again, this time wearing a robe.

"I'll change in the closet. These doors seem to lack locks."

Kat showered hurriedly, shrugging on her clothes. Neal had gone when she stepped out, and she walked quietly down the hall back to where the tv murmured. Ellie seemed to have slipped out and found her own way to bathe and change, a bag by her feet as well. She and Mozzie neither spoke nor looked at each other, merely staring straight ahead. It appeared that Simon and Gabrielle had gone and showered while Kat and Neal where in the other part of the building. The Bagshaws had gone as well. They were all spread out doing various things, and they all glanced up when Kat entered. Their eyes said it all-the confusion, the uncertainty, the distance.

"I think Hale's trying to drown himself in the shower," Gabrielle said coolly. Everyone went back to doing something so they wouldn't have to stare at her. Gabrielle said no more, going back to painting her nails. Kat shakily went into the kitchen to find Neal perusing the wine rack.

"They're all angry," Kat said, opening the fridge and emerging with a small bottled water.

"I caught on to that," Neal replied, selecting a bottle. "It was like watching the audience to my trial."

Noticing his search for the glasses, Kat opened a cabinet door and offered one to him. Neal stared at it, and then he took it, his fingers brushing over hers.

"You should probably go make sure Richie Rich doesn't pull the stereo into the tub."

Kat couldn't help it: she snorted, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sure he's perfectly fine. I'm also sure this is going to be ugly."

"Right...because you obviously did something wrong. Does he always overreact, or am I somehow threatening?"

His tone was light, joking, but Kat answered anyway.

"I don't know, are you?"

The glass had become forgotten in Neal's hand. His other hand came up, brushing loose strands of hair away from Kat's face.

"He should have more faith in you."

Neal's hand turned to cup Kat's face. He leaned in to whisper conspiratorially by her ear.

"Besides, I would never get caught if those were my intentions."

He pulled away smiling, moving to pour some wine into the glass after he rinsed and dried it.

Kat felt woozy. Having him so close, whispering in her ear...she shook her head to clear it, deciding to check on Hale. Not that he would hurt himself, but there was no telling how far his thoughts might reach or how high his anger might build over the incident.

"Hale?" She called into his quarters. She found him staring out over the balcony of his room. He didn't answer at first. When he did, his voice was frighteningly calm and low.

"I'm going to give you a chance to explain this to me."

Kat took a deep breath. "All right, well..."

She told him exactly what the situation had amounted to, with no showers at hand.

"That's all?" The relief was evident.

"That's all."

There was a knock at the door. They glanced at each other before Hale said, "Come in."

Neal opened the door a sliver, paused, and then opened it the rest of the way, stepping into the room and closing the door. Hale stiffened, scowling slightly.

"Yes?" Kat and Neal both could tell he didn't like the other.

"You have a wonderful woman in her. You shouldn't judge her by misconceptions."

Hale bristled, but nodded curtly.

"I assure you, it was an accident," Neal continued. His eyes slid to Kat's, which Hale seemed to notice.

"Of course it was." By his tone, his fists probably wanted to improve Neal's facial features by pounding against them rather forcefully. Neal seemed to sense as much, but he kept his collected bravado.

"And I assume it won't happen again?"

Neal shifted his weight, keeping a straight face as he said, "Not unless the cat wants to climb into the hat."

Kat blushed and Hale started forward angrily. Kat stepped between them. Hale tried moving her, and just then the door opened and simon peeked his head in. He took one look and almost withdrew, but delivered his message anyway. "Marcus is here."

"Well then, we better leave," Neal said. He extended his hand forward, gesturing that Hale proceed first. Probably so he wouldn't get blindsided. Hale seemed about to say something, but then seemed to think better of it, moving out of the room as quickly as possible.

Neal quirked his eyebrows and sent Kat a glance that would have been apologetic if not for the unapologetic mischief gleaming in his eyes. Kat found that infuriating, but refreshing. He was so like Hale...yet so unlike him. He was much more playful, although his witty utterances left her knees wobbling the same way. She scowled. She has a boyfriend. It didn't matter how much more pronounced his torso was, which she had discovered when her hands had flown up to keep her from completely face-planting into his bare wet chest. He was charming. He was like Gabrielle, flirting because it was a part of him, and he used it when he could, just like she did. Kat sighed. The sooner her debt was paid, the better.