a/n: The following chapter might seem a little bit implausible, but nothing's impossible, right? And I guess I liked the idea too much to let it go...
"Now look at you, running around with a gun… Is it possible that Neal Caffrey actually learned a few things from me?"
The construction site on Water Street had been abandoned shortly after Neal had met Keller there and Neal couldn't shake the feeling that he was trapped in Groundhog Day. The other thief stood almost exactly where he had done during the case with the Benjamin Franklin Bottle.
Neal gulped down his anger and smiled. Convincing Keller was the most important part of his plan. It seemed as if he was about to find out how much of a con artist he really was.
"Just an insurance, Keller. This deal is way too important to seal it without any backup plan. Especially now that I'm on my own."
He moved forward and showed Keller his bare ankle when he stepped outside the two miles radius. Keller showed exactly the reaction Neal had prayed for to get. Surprise.
"I have to admit that I'm curious. What's behind all this, Caffrey? You wanna split? Because then I'd have to disappoint you. I want the whole treasure, or sweet Mrs. Burke isn't going to get home."
Neal nodded and hesitated for only a moment. An all-in had never been that hard before.
"Remember my friend Mozzie?"
"The bald dwarf?"
"Don't underestimate him. He was the one who had your treasure the whole time. And now he fooled both of us. Took off, everything's gone."
Neal's heart was speeding up when he saw Keller losing his temper.
"Are you fucking kidding me? You came here to tell me this? You want me to kill off that bitch?"
"Hey, you can do whatever you want. I really don't care. The reason I came was something else, though. I could offer you a promotion."
This was it. If Keller took the bait now Elizabeth would be as good as free. What would happen afterwards didn't really matter to Neal.
"What… You wanna make me believe that it's a pity that you lost the biggest treasure of our century but I shouldn't care about that, because… oh yeah, right, you have something better? And what would that be? How stupid do you think I am?"
Breathe in. Breathe out. This battle wasn't lost yet.
"I can make a queen out of your pawn. I can give you… something more valuable… than all the paintings of the U-boat together." Neal lowered his voice to a whisper. "I can give you our Holy Grail."
Keller looked at him closely and Neal knew that he got him. Keller was as much hooked on excitement as he was. He wouldn't be able to stay away from this.
"La Gioconda?"
Matchpoint.
"Exactly."
"Are you telling me that you are going to steal from the Louvre? Are you listening to yourself?"
Neal smiled again.
"I'm not talking about the forgery in Paris. I'm talking about the actual painting, Da Vinci's masterpiece. Been having the old lady for a few years now. Europe had more for me in store than just Backgammon, you know…"
Keller started to pace around, his eyes unfocused. Neal could understand that. Life didn't offer many opportunities like that. The memory of holding the small painting in his own hands still made Neal speechless. Keller wouldn't be able to resist the idea of him being the guy who sold the most valuable painting in the world on the black market. Neal's opponent suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"I don't believe it. That's just a legend. They investigated the cracks in the 50's. And Peruggia was an amateur."
"Maybe he was, but Eduardo de Valfierno wasn't and neither was Yves Chaudron. You know what Chaudron was capable of, Keller. Of course they looked at the cracks after the painting had returned to Paris and of course it seemed authentic, but there are three small lines in the upper left corner which hadn't been there before the heist, Y and C. Yves Chaudron. Believe me, the painting they show thousands of visitors every day is not La Gioconda."
"Come on, Caffrey, do you believe in fairytales now? That heist is a legend art thief's tell their children. So there were a few cracks more, the painting was probably damaged when Peruggia took it. Nobody could make a forgery look that good."
"Chaudron could. And he did. Keller, I saw her, I saw pictures of her taken before the heist and I saw her in Paris and the real Mona Lisa is in my possession."
Neal felt the sweat on his back. Keller had to believe him, there was no other option. Mozzie had probably left the state by now and Peter would catch up quickly. If the FBI showed up, Keller would have to take Elizabeth as leverage to get away. After that she would be useless weight and Keller had shown in Monaco that he had no problems with dropping dead bodies. Neal's time was running out and he had only one ace up his sleeve. The size of Keller's ego.
"Look, I don't like sharing with you and I certainly wouldn't under other circumstances. I have to get away, now, and for that I need money. Mozzie is gone with the treasure and Peter is on both our tracks. You have nothing to lose here, Keller. Come with me, look at the painting and assure yourself. If it's real, we'll be able to get out of here. If not, you'll still have me as a hostage. Come on, we've been playing for years now, you know how much we can achieve together."
Keller nodded and relief made Neal's skin tingle.
"Alright, Caffrey, but I'm telling you. If this is a con, I'm going to put a bullet in your head, right between that pretty blue eyes of yours. Did I make myself clear?"
Neal smiled and assured Keller, that he understood perfectly fine. Always forth and never back. He slowly realized what he had gotten himself into and he was surprised that it didn't matter what was happening to him, as long as Peter and El were safe. Maybe he had changed after all. It hurt him that Peter wouldn't be able to see it this way. In a few days the Mona Lisa would show up on the black market out of the blue and Peter would know who to blame. It would be the biggest art scandal of their time. Peter would hunt him down with no time to breath, while he'd be probably dead, because Keller was surely not willing to let him stay alive. Something inside of Neal died when he thought about how his friendship to Peter was about to come to an end. For him, there was only one thing left to do, a last chance to make up for the he had caused.
"You know you have to let Burke's wife go, right? He won't stop hunting us as long as we have her."
Keller laughed. That was not good.
"Maybe later, Caffrey. When I've seen your little lady friend and can be sure, that her smile is real. Come on, now."
Neal followed Keller. After less than five minutes they reached a black van. A guy Neal didn't know opened the door for Keller and him to get into the car. Neal cursed under his breath when he got sight of Elizabeth. The woman looked up to him with red eyes. The gag in her mouth left red welts and bruises on her cheeks. There was nothing Neal wanted more than getting her out of this car and take her some place safe, but he needed Keller to trust him. Killing a fraud was one thing, killing a partner in front of hired men was something completely different. It would destroy the little reputation Keller had left. There wasn't much of a chance to get out of this alive anyway, but Neal wasn't ready to give it away completely. So he sealed away the feelings he had toward El and her husband and chuckled while Keller watched him carefully.
"I guess, Peter and you shouldn't have trusted me, El… Once a con, always a con."
Keller laughed and grabbed Elizabeth's chin, forcing her to look at him.
"You have to see the bright side here, sweetie, you are going to see the Mona Lisa today!"
Tears filled Elizabeth's eyes and Neal hoped that she would understand some day. But even if she didn't, she was worth it. That's why he hadn't run. That's why he didn't risk her life and kill Keller right now. That's why he smiled on. Because she and Peter, both of them, were worth it. Always forth and never back. Everything would be fine.
a/n: The criminals mentioned in this chapter are the men who actually stole La Gioconda. If you're interested in the story, the internet is full of it. Pretty fascinating...