CHAPTER THREE
After they left the Museum of Modern Art, Neal and Sara went to the New York Noodle Town for lunch. She had the roast pork and wonton noodle soup with stir-fried scallop and squid, while Neal had the roast duck lo mein and salt-baked soft-shelled crab. They enjoyed each others company as they shared stories over lunch. Once they were done eating, there was one thing left that they needed to do.
"Time for the most important part of the meal!" Neal said. "The ceremonial cracking of the fortune cookie!" he chuckled. "Ladies first." he insisted.
Sara broke the cookie in half to read her fortune. "What you believe you have does not belong to you." she read. "Hmmm...how very vague!" she said. "What does your say?" she asked Neal.
Neal cracked open his cookie and pulled out the paper. "Be mindful of what you throw away, for you might lose another treasure." he read. "Very cryptic." he commented. "Anyway, we should go. My lunch hour's almost over!" he stated.
"Yeah, I need to go back to the office too. I have tons of paperwork to do!" she told him.
They left the restaurant and went outside. They realized that they needed to take different taxis, since they were headed on opposite directions. Neal hailed a cab for Sara.
"Here, you take this one. I'll take the next one." he offered.
Sara thanked him and got in the cab. Neal was about to get inside the next taxi, when someone familiar caught his eye from across the street. She had just stepped out of the Hawk and Dove Bistro a few moments ago. Neal waved to try and catch her attention, but she was otherwise preoccupied. He observed her from a distance, surprised at the simplicity of how she looked.
Alexandra Hunter. Right there, across the street, just a few yards away from him. She stood there outside the restaurant, reading the piece of paper in her hand. She was dressed in a casual short-sleeved tunic dress, denim jeans and flat shoes, which was a far cry from her usual outfits. Her hair was tied into a simple ponytail, her face had hardly any makeup on. Neal liked her like that. To him, that was the real Alex Hunter, a raw and genuine beauty.
After watching her for a few more minutes and failing to capture her attention, Neal decided to walk towards her. She was slowly starting to walk away when he caught her, grabbing her arm. She jumped, as he caught her by surprise.
"Hey, there! Leaving so soon?" Neal asked her, giving her his most charming smile.
Alex tried to hide the shocked look on her face when she saw Neal. "Caffrey! What are you doing in this part of town?" she asked him.
"Just finished having lunch." he answered, leaving out the part that he was with Sara earlier. "I was about to head back to the office when I saw you." he explained.
"Well, don't let me keep you!" she told him, trying to end their conversation.
"It's okay...I have time." Neal stated. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"I'm running errands for Iola." she answered. "This is her restaurant." she informed him, referring to the Hawk and Dove Bistro.
"How is she holding up?" Neal asked in a more somber tone.
"Well...considering the fact that she just lost a son, she is being incredibly strong!" she replied. "Look, Neal, I really have to go!" she said abruptly.
"Hey, hold on! Alex!" he tried to stop her by grabbing her arm. He noticed that she winced a little. He then saw the bandage on her left arm. "Looks like you've been out looking for trouble again." he said, with deep concern in his voice.
"I don't need to go out looking for trouble, Caffrey. Trouble pretty much knows where I live." she told him, in attempt to make light of the situation.
"Are you alright?" he asked again.
"Don't worry...that which does not kill me only makes me stronger." she replied cryptically. She tried to leave again, when she saw Zeke approaching them.
"What seems to be the problem here?" Zeke asked in a low, husky voice, being protective of Alex.
Neal saw the tall, well-built African gentleman and viewed him as a threat. He immediately stepped in the middle, shielding Alex from the man. Alex grabbed Neal's arm and turned him to face her.
"It's alright, Neal! He's a friend of mine!" she told him. She then turned to face Zeke. "There's no problem here, okay? We were just talking." she assured Zeke. Zeke reluctantly started to leave.
"I didn't catch your name." Neal said to him before he left.
"You may call me Mr. Armstrong." Zeke said in an intimidating tone. He turned to Alex. "I'll be in the car." he informed her, before walking away.
"Friend of yours, huh?" Neal asked Alex once the man was gone. "What's going on, Alex? Are you in trouble?" he asked worriedly.
"Nothing's wrong, Neal! Everything's fine!" she replied.
Neal didn't believe her. "Alex, if you're in danger, tell me now! I can help you! I swear, I won't let anything happen to you!" he tried to assure her.
"That's mighty chivalrous of you, Caffrey, but I'm no damsel in distress." she said. "I have to go." she told him,
Alex then turned and walked away from Neal. She got inside the car with Zeke, leaving Caffrey standing by himself on the sidewalk. Once inside the car, she just sat quietly. Zeke's voice broke the silence.
"So...that's Nicholas' father, huh?" he said, knowing well what the answer would be.
"Yeah...that's Neal Caffrey." she replied in a whisper. They continued the rest of the trip in silence.
Later that night, Neal went back to his apartment at June's mansion. The rest of the day had been long and tiring and he wanted nothing more than to just get some rest. But his encounter with Alex earlier left an uneasy feeling in his gut and he can't shake it off. Still worried, he dialed a number he knew by heart.
"Hello." the voice answered.
"Hey, Moz...I need you! How soon can you come over?" Neal asked.
"I'll be there as soon as I can." Mozzie answered and hung up.
Less than a few seconds later, the was a knock on his door. Neal opened it and sure enough, it was Mozzie.
"You were here the whole time?" Neal asked him
"Yeah, June hosted this week's book club meeting." Mozzie answered, entering Neal's apartment. "So, what is it that you need?" he asked Neal as he sat himself on the sofa.
"It's about Alex..." Neal started. "I think she may be in trouble." he said.
"Did she tell you this?" Mozzie asked.
"No...but she was injured! And there was this guy..." Neal stammered incoherently.
"Hold on...start from the beginning! And, this time, in complete sentences, please!" Mozzie urged him. He listened as Neal recounted what happened earlier that afternoon.
"Tell me something, Neal...are you really that bored with the insurance lady already?" Mozzie asked after hearing Neal's story.
"Wait...what?" Neal asked, quite confused.
"You're shifting your attention to Alex, which leaves me to wonder if you're bored with Sara already." Mozzie pressed. "Honestly, you're like a child who can't decide which toy he likes the most!" he told Neal.
"I really don't follow, Moz!" Neal said.
Mozzie sighed and shook his head."If Alex were in trouble, she would've told us. She didn't call ME for help. She already told YOU multiple times that she's fine. Ergo, she must be okay!" he explained to Neal.
"But you didn't see the guy she was with..." Neal said before Mozzie cut him off.
"You, my friend, are making mountains out of molehills. You're jumping to conclusions!" Moz told him. "You worry about Alex for no reason! Why don't you focus your attention on the insurance lady instead?" Mozzie asked.
"Because SARA is not in danger!" Neal said frustratedly.
"And neither is ALEX!" Mozzie snapped back. Mozzie looked at Neal in the eye. "You do this! You always do THIS! You make a half-assed, life-changing decision and then you regret it! You won't admit it, but you regret it!" Mozzie said.
"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about, Moz!" Neal denied.
"You said you loved Kate. You chose HER! But that didn't stop you from sleeping with Alex from time to time!" Mozzie pointed out. "Now, you're with Sara, and you can't take your mind off of Alex!" Mozzie continued. "Just for once, Neal, make up your mind and stick with it. Maybe then, we can all move on with our lives!" Mozzie yelled at him.
Mozzie looked at Neal, who standing there, stunned silent. He laughed softly and shook his head. He found it funny that he had to raise his voice in order to get Neal to listen to him.
Finally, Mozzie spoke again. "Don't you think it's weird that you worry about Alex this much? Admit it, Neal...wherever you are, no matter who you chose to be with, some unknown force always seems to pull you back to Alex." Mozzie pointed out.
Mozzie stood up from the sofa and faced Neal. "Don't you ever wonder, what if you're heart already knows that you love Alex...and that your brain is just struggling to catch up?" he asked him. With that, he turned around and headed for the door.
Mozzie opened the door, but before he left he turned to Neal. "Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll talk to Alex at the funeral. I'll ask her if she's in any danger and offer her help if she'll take it. I'll do it for you since, you're tracking anklet prevents you from going!" he offered. "Oh, and Neal...I know that look! Don't even think of getting the SUIT to come with you to the funeral! It'll be disrespectful to Hale and his family!" he warned him, then stepped out and closed the door behind him leaving Neal to think about all that he just said.
~END OF CHAPTER THREE~
Footnotes :
*Yes, Neal and Sara are together...the writers pretty much told us that.
*That will not deter me from rooting for Neal and Alex though.
*I just had to write the fortune cookie part, inspired by the rooftop scene from "Unfinished Business"...only with a twist.
*I'd like to believe that there is some part of Neal that will always care for Alex.
*I've used the phrase "That which does not kill me only makes me stronger." before...do you remember from which fic and which character said it?
*Just to recap, Zeke is African...he's from Sierra Leone, West Africa. [Thieves]
*I think "Mr. Armstrong" is the perfect codename for Zeke.
*I love that Mozzie gets to be the voice of reason again.
*Neal will soon find out the truth about Nicholas. SOON, I say!
*Thank you for taking time to read this chapter. If you like it, please feel free to leave a comment.
