A/N : Ouh-ouh : an update! Oh my god, thank you so much guys for your kind and awesome reviews, they warm my heart :) You guys are seriously the best, I never expected that kind of response when I posted the first chapter *** emotional moment *** I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF 4.130 OF YOU! I'm feeling much better now (because of my awesome friends and readers) and my best friend started reeducation last week so YAY! for that :D And guys, Ireland IS GORGEOUS. Seriously. I want to live there. Or in England. or in Scotland. Or New York. Haven't made my mind yet. Anyway, Ireland was awesome, I met some awesome guys, kinda sad to be back in old and boring Paris. Long story short : BEST TWO WEEKS EVER.
LOOKING FOR A BETA, IF INTERESTED, LEAVE A REVIEW OR SEND ME A PM.
Thanks to IHeartNealLarkin, Pheobe Arocis, WolfLinkEpona, asdfmik, Only If, menelli,AlexisFlare,senselesswords,KeJae, Lilywonders, Amitris, 21JumpStreetMcQuaids, adookable, Tempe4Booth and Guest for following/favouriting/reviewing last chapter. I LOVE YOU :)
GUEST: Bryce is the only person (of the White Collar division) who know about the Intersecret. Thks for the review and enjoy your reading :P
AlexisFlare: Things are much better, now. Thks for the concern :) Thks for the review and here's your update !
IHeartNealLarkin : And you're awesome ;) Thks for the review, enjoy your reading!
Only If : Bryce never met Roark but he heard of him. And he knew that Roark was looking for him so we can't say he knows-knows him but he knows who he is. I hope I replied to your question. Anyway, thks so much for ur review and here's a new chapter :)
KeJae: Thks and I'm better ! As I said before, Ireland was awesome and my best friends are the bests. Thank you for ur lovely review.
Linoria: Thank you!
Amitris: Right **wink, wink** Thanks for the review and enjoy your reading :D
adookable : here's more :) Btw, love your penname.
DISCLAIMER : I OWN NOTHING.
FBI HEADQUARTERS, WHITE COLLAR DIVISION, NEW YORK.
6:40 PM
Bryce was sitting at his desk, talking on the phone with Mozzie, when both of the teams entered the federal building. Playing with a pen in one hand, Bryce raised his head and his blue eyes met Chuck's brown ones.
Chuck shot him a interrogatory look as Bryce raised two fingers telling him to wait. The nerd gave him a short nod before turning back toward his teammates. Neal put his cellphone between his ear and his shoulder,gathered all the papers he printed into a file and said:
"Uh-uh... Ok, thanks, Moz'!"
He hid the file under some books and newspapers, raised from his chair and started walking toward his teammates, his hands stuffed in his pocket, asking:
"So, find anything?"
"The usual" Diana replied "How's your shoulder?
"Much better, thanks." he replied, his 'Caffrey' grin.
Diana smiled back at him. Bryce turned toward Chuck, who was looking at him, and gave him a short nod. As Diana, Jones and Peter resumed to their previous conversation and Sarah and Casey to, whatever they were doing before, Bryce walked toward his desk, discreetly followed by Chuck. The blue eyed man sat at his desk, took the hidden file and handed it to the CIA agent, saying:
"This is all I could find about Ellington and Duris, I didn't find anything that related them to Roark but..."
" 'but?' " Chuck asked , taking the file and cocking an eyebrow.
"They've been in the same highschool and they had friends in common" he finished before crossing his arms "That's all I got."
Chuck scanned quickly the file, took the stolen picture out of his pocket and put it between two pages. The young man raised his head, stuck the file under his armpit and said, grinning to the ex-conman:
"This is more than what I'd expected. Plus, I've something you don't."
"What?" Bryce asked, frowning his eyebrows.
Chuck tapped two fingers to his head, making Bryce mutter:
"Oooh, right."
The CIA agent smiled as he watched his ex-best friend putting his legs on his desk. Suddenly he heard the doors of the elevator open and saw a delivery guy step out of the elevator. The young man seemed nervous to be in a room filled with federal and governemental agents. He cleared his throat and asked, stuttering:
"D-delivery f-for Mr Neal C-Caffrey."
Chuck frowned as his eyebrows and turned back to Bryce as the young brunette jump from his chair and almost ran toward the delivery guy, saying:*
"That would be me. Thanks" he said, grinning at the young man as he took the box "Where should I sign?"
The delivery guy handed him a board and a pen. Bryce signed and gave him the board back, keeping his 'Caffrey' smile on his face. As the young man started walking back toward the elevator, Bryce stopped him:
"Eh!"
The delivery guy turned around and waited as Bryce took a twenty dollar bill out of his pocket and handed it to him. The young man smiled as he took the generous tip and said:
"Thank you, sir."
" 'Welcome."
As he watched the young man leave, Bryce could feel all of the eyes on him. He turned toward his teammates, cocked an eyebrow and asked:
"What?"
"Generous much, Caffrey?" Diana said, crossing her arms..
Bryce rolled his eyes and as he opened his mouth to retort something, he was interrupted by Sarah yelling at her phone:
"What?!"
Everybody turned toward the blonde spy as she ran her fingers through her hair, frustated. Sarah sighed, put a hand on her hip and said to her interlocator:
"I never ordered two dozains of lillies nor did I ordered vanilla wine : I didn't even know that a hundred bottles of vanilla wine has a thing and I'm freaking allergic to lillies and- hello..? HELLO?! Urg, jerk!"
Sarah hang up and threw her cellphone on the nearest table. Chuck put his hand on the back of his fiancée's neck, massaging with his thumb and asked, worried:
"What's going on?"
"What's going on is that our wedding planner is a complete moron, that we're getting married in a few weeks and that we've got a billion things to do in a short delay and-"
Bryce kept listening to the young woman, both of his eyebrows raised. He'd seen her mad and that wasn't something pretty. But he didn't think that he'd ever seen Sarah so furious about something. Ever. And Bruce never thought that the cause of her fury would be weddings details. Her wedding.
As the blonde spy continued her rambling, Bryce sat back in his chair, put the box on his desk and started tapping a pen on his table. Suddenly, an idea popped in the young criminal's mind. He stopped playing with his pen, put it on his ear and asked, turning his chair in Peter's direction:
"Has El been working on something lately?"
"Nothing big" Peter answered, frowning his eyebrows "Why?"
Bryce ignored the older man's question and turned toward Sarah, who had stopped her rambling:
"Elizabeth Burke, Peter's wife, is one of New York's best event planners, if not THE best" he explained." Maybe she could help you with the wedding organization."
" She would?" Sarah asked, her eyes sparkling with hope.
"Thanks but Ellie, my sister, is already on it." Chuck retorted.
"She wouldn't mind some help" Sarah protested, turning to Chuck, cocking an eyebrow.
The nerd sighed and ran a hand over his short hair. At the same time, he felt his cellphone buzz in his pocket. He took it out and groaned as he read the text received. Sarah asked, worried:
"What, now?"
"I just got a text from Ellie" he explained as he put his cellphone back in his pocket "We don't have any traiteur anymore."
As he watched Sarah's face became paler and paler, Bryce turned back to Peter and said:
"Without them, we wouldn't know anything about Duris or Parker. We kinda owe them, don't we?"
Peter thought about his CI proposition during a few minutes and although he didn't understand Bryce's attitude, Sarah looked like she was about to cry. And god, would that be awkward. Like, really awkward.
As Bryce kept staring at his boss/partner/best friend, Peter sighed and said:
" I guess I could ask her."
"Really?" The blonde asked,grinning like the Cheshire cat.
Peter gave her a small smile, slightly amused by the woman's sudden excitement, and nodded. Sarah started jumping up and down, squealing and repeting:
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Bryce bent his head to hide his grin and pursed his lips to contain his laughter. He couldn't believe that he had heard the Sarah Walker squeal like a little girl. Bryce raised his head and saw that Chuck and Casey could barely contain their amusement caused by the blonde's unexpected behaviour.
Sarah stopped jumping up and down, cleared her throat and pushed some curls behind her ear, still grinning like a crazy woman.
As the blonde woman and the federal agent started a conversation and the others started busying themselves, Bryce returned his attention to the box he has received earlier. He took a pair of scissors out of one of the desk's drawers and opened the box. The first thing that caught his attention was a purple paper foiled in the shape of a flower. He took the origami out of the package and made it turn between his fingers, looking for something unusual. He squinted his eyes and noticed small letters on the petals of the flower. Frowning his eyebrows, Bryce carefully unfoiled the paper and started reading the small message:
'Hey B.,
Find this in your place this morning. Care to explain how you screwed up? You, the weasel and I need to talk. Without feds. Your place. 8 PM. Don't be late.
Btw, missed u,
A, xx.'
Bryce couldn't help but smile as he finished reading the letter.
"Thieves do care" he muttered under his breath.
He foiled the paper and put it in his back pocket before taking a small note and a brown envelope out of the box. His eyes widened as he read the small note :
'Don't you know how to stay dead? Well, you should for your girlfriend's sake. Drop the case.'
Bryce's heart skipped a beat as he put the note back in the package, opened the envelope and took a photography out of it. The sight of the picture made the ex-conman swallow : it was a photography of Sara's house and you could distinctly see the young woman taking her clothes off by one of the window. Which meant that whoever took the picture, he/she must've been really close. And that wasn't the only disturbing thing; around his girlfriend's head had been drawn a red target and you could see a red light traveling her almost naked body
The young man put the photo back in the envelope, feeling suddenly sick. A few seconds later, his sickness was replaced by rage. His eyes focused on the package, Bryce didn't notice the worried look Peter shot him and confused glances Sarah and Chuck exchange. Peter walked toward his CI, who was closing the small box with trembling hands, and cleared his throat. Bryce's head turned to Peter's direction and the young mave gave him a small smile. The federal agent frowned his eyebrows and asked:
"You okay, Neal?"
"Yeah, I'm pitchy. I just got a small headache" Bryce lied, smiling.
"Really?" Peter said, cocking an eyebrow "So your change of attitude doesn't have anything to do with the content of this box?"
Bryce snorted before putting the package under his feet and raising both of his hands:
"You got me."he said "What I found is a little... disturbing"
"What do you mean?"
"Whatever is in this box isn' t for me" Bryce sighed, lowering his hands "I'm kinda embarassed, actually."
"Why?" Diana asked, amused when she saw Bryce slightly blush.
"There are pictures of a girl I don't even know and let's just say that... she's barely wearing clothes on them."
Diana and Jones bursted out laughing at their collegue's obvious discomfort as Peter said:
"Oh... OH!"
"Yeah, you shouldn't see that." Bryce winced, nodding and rubbing the back of his neck "There also was a small note saying 'Hope you enjoy - Lexi' . I don't know anyone named Lexi so... must be a mistake."
"Yeah, it must be." Peter retorted.
Bryce nodded again and after a few seconds of awkward silence, he jumped out of his chair, took the package and said, sighing:
"I better go to the post office and see if they can send it to the right person."
"Sure. Oh, Neal!" Peter shouted as the ex-conman was about to leave.
"Yep?" he said, turning around.
"Elizabeth invited you over for dinner, tonight. You're in?
"What time?"
"8'o clock."
"Um... I think I'll be a little late. I wanted to drop by June's place to wish an happy birthday, but I guess I could come." Bryce replied, nodding.
"Great." Peter said "Keep me posted."
"Will do!" Bryce shouted as he walked toward the elevators.
***FLASHBACK***
NEW YORK, 2009.
Bryce and Mozzie were walking toward a abandoned warehouse, where they were supposed to met Bryce's second 'instructor'. As they stopped in front of a locked door, Bryce stuffed his hands in his pockets and asked, leaning against the wall as Mozzie tried to pick the lock:
"So, what is she like?"
The bald man snorted and replied:
"She's annoying, whiny, cocky and really bitchy sometimes : a real charmer. But" he smiled as he opened the locker. Mozzie turned to Bryce as he raised back up "she's good at what she does and Neal and her were pretty close. So we need her."
Mozzie grunted as he pushed the large and heavy door open. He turned to Bryce, wiped the sweat off his forehead and designed the opened warehouse with a hand, saying:
"After you."
Bryce hesitated then slowly entered the dark warehouse. In the middle of the room, he could see a small table, enlightened by a desk lamp, and a woman, sitting on the desk, who was foilding a piece of paper. When the paper took the shape of a small flower, she grinned, proud of herself. Without taking her eyes off of the origami, the young woman suddenly said:
"I don't bite, you know."
"I don't doubt that" Bryce said, smiling at her.
"I do." Mozzie muttered.
The young woman glared at him before jumping off of the table and walking toward the duo, the flower between her fingers, As she came closer, the sound of her heels echoing in the warehouse, Bryce became to see her better. The young woman had dark brown shoulder length hair with highlights, big brown eyes and was wearing a yellow sundress with a leather jacket and black boots. She looked kinda pretty. She eyed Bryce up and down and asked, cocking an eyebrow at Mozzie:
" 'this' is supposed to be the con of the century?"
The conman just shrugged as the brunette began to cercle the young blue eyed man as if it was a pray. She put the flower behind her ear and said, facing Bryce:
"He does look like Neal."
"Understatement of the year." Mozzie scoffed.
"Same height, almost same weight" she continued her examination, ignoring the older man. "Same messy brown hair, same baby face, same innocent yet hard blue eyes.."
The young brunette bit her bottom lip and cupped Bryce's face in her hands, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. Mozzie rolled his eyes as Bryce kissed her back, a little surprised. The young woman pulled away, pursed her lips and said:
"And that's how the charm is broken."
She walked back toward the table and took a small notebook. As she walked back toward them, Mozzie crossed his arms and said:
"Bryce, meet Alexandra Hunter, professional thief, origami freak and one of Neal Caffrey's many conquetes."
" People usually just call me 'Alex'" the young woman rectified with a smirk "Original, right? Here" she added, giving the small origami "A welcome gift."
Bryce took the small lys, a smile on his face. Alex handed him her notebook, saying:
"Oh! This is all you need to know about Neal Caffrey. So you can throw whatever file your boss gave you 'cause they're wrong.. I mean, they're right, but wrong. You know what I mean?
"I... think so" Bryce said "So all I've got to do is learn everything in this?"
"Wouldn't that be nice?" Alex said sarcastically "But no."
"We have to help you become Neal Caffrey, the greatest conman of his generation." Mozzie said.
"And for that, the first person to convince that you're Neal Caffrey, is you. And us, eventually" Alex added.
"Ok. How do I do that?" Bryce asked.
"You've got to start talking like him, walking like him, smiling like him. Long story short: you've got to be him." Alex explained, leaning against her desk.
"Oh, you also have to become the best conman of your generation" Mozzie added "No pressure."
"Yeah, no pressure." Bryce muttered in a sarcastic tone "And how many days do I have to become Neal Caffrey?"
"Two weeks." Alex and Mozzie replied at the same time.
"Well" he sighed, clapping in his hands "Better get to work, then."
***BACK TO THE PRESENT DAY***
RIVERSIDE DRIVE, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK.
7:13 PM
Bryce entered the apartement, pushing the door with his foot, his package in his hands and his keys in his mouth. As he entered the place, the heads of Mozzie and a brunette turned toward him. Bryce threw the box and keys on the closest table, took off his fedora hat and asked, frowning his eyebrows:
"How did you two get in? I don't remember giving the double of the keys to Mozzie."
The older man simply pointed to the young woman, who smiled innocently at Bryce. The ex-CIA snorted and said, shaking his head:
"Why am I even asking? Hey, Alex" he added, wrapping an arm around the brunette's waist and kissing her on the cheek "Long time no seen"
Alex smiled at him as he sat in front of his two 'instructors'. Bryce crossed his arms and said:
"By the way, sending this to the white collar division wasn't your brightest idea."
"Yeah, didn't really think this through" she admitted, wincing"but, hey! You're here so it worked."
"Uh-uh. So, what were you doing before I came in?"
"Talking. Trying to found out who wrote this first note" Mozzie said, pointing to the photos and papers scattered on the table.
Bryce took the note and photos he received earlier out of the package and put them on the table. The ex-CIA agent tilted his head to the side, observing both notes. Without taking his eyes off of it, he asked:
"What did you find out?"
"Judging by the stains on the paper, whoever wrote the first note is lefthanded and this hand writing obviously belong to a woman. Last time I checked, Adler was righthanded and a man" Alex replied.
"Roark is lefthanded" Bryce retorted "He could've wrote it."
"I doubt Roark has the hand writing of a thirteen year old teenage girl." Mozzie countered.
Bryce sighed and ran his fingers through his short hair, saying:
"Judging by the writing, the second package was sent by a completely different person. Righthanded and male."
"Could be Adler" Alex suggested.
"Could be one of Roark's minions" Bryce retorted. "Ok, see the photographies?"
"What about them?"
"The first ones I received were cleary taken by an amateur: they're blurry, the photographer was shaking and those are probably from his/her cellphone. However, the ones I received today were perfect. Seriously."
"So, we know that the package you received today was probably from Adler or one of Roark's acolytes."
"Yep" Bryce nodded.
"But who sent the first one?" Alex asked, frowning her eyebrows.
Bryce shrugged and answered, still examinating the first note:
"No idea."
Alex let her head fall back and groaned, running her fingers through her hair. She straightened in her chair and said, pouting:
"I need wine."
"For that, I can help" Mozzie said, raising from his chair. "After you, milady."
Alex smirked, stood up and followed her fellow conman, leaving their apprentice alone.
Frowning his eyebrows in concentration, Bryce sighed and threw the note on the table, making his shoulder throb at the quick gesture. He winced at the pain as he massaged his arm. Bryce took out the meds and prescription Ellie gave him earlier and quickly read it as he put two pills in his mouth and swallowed them dry.
Suddenly, something on the prescription caught his attention. Tilting his head to the side, Bryce took the note he received a week ago and put it beside his prescription. His eyes widened when he realized that the hand writing was exactly the same. Thinking fast, Bryce abruptly raised from his chair and took his cellphone out of his pocket, quickly dialing a number. At the third ring, he started muttering:
"Come on, come on, come on."
At the fifth ring, someone finally picked up:
"New York hotels hotline, how could I be of any assitance?"
Bryce cleared his throat and answered:
"Hi, I'm Sam Carlin and I wanted some informations about-"
Bryce knew that if he introduced himself as Neal Caffrey, he wouldn't get anything out of anyone.
"Good evening, sir. How can I help you?"
"I found a wallet in the street this morning near the Olive Garden and it doesn't belong to a New Yorker, so I was wondering if its owner was staying at one of your hotels"
"All right. Do you know the owner's name?"
"Yes. Eleanor Bartowski. Or Woodcomb. Better check both."
After a few seconds of silence, Bryce's interlocutor said:
"We do have someone registred under the name of Eleanor Woodcomb at the Manhattan at Times Square Hotel. I hope I was helpful."
"Oh, very. Thank you, have a good night."
" You too, sir"
Bryce hung up, put on his jacket, stuffing the note in his pockets, and yelled before leaving the apartement:
"I'm going out for a walk."
Bryce had the time to hear them shout back 'see ya' before closing the door behind him.
MANHATTAN AT TIMES SQUARE HOTEL, NEW YORK.
7:30 PM.
Bryce entered the lobby, trying to make his way through the crowd. He finally succeeded to reach the receptionist. He smiled at the young woman sitting behind the desk and asked:
"Good evening, I'm looking for my cousin Eleanor Woodcomb. Could I have her room number?"
The receptionist smiled back and, after typing quickly on her computer, replied:
"Mrs Woodcomb is staying in the room 213. First floor."
"Thank you very much." Bryce said, grinning at the young woman.
The ex-conman turned around and started walking toward the elevators, which one happened to open itself when he arrived in front of them. He quickly climbed in and pressed a button. The ride wasn't that long. Bryce got out of the elevators as the doors opened themselves again and started searching the room of the young woman. When the brunette arrived in front of the room 213, he let out a long breath and knocked softly on the door. He heard Ellie yell:
"What is it?"
Bryce cleared his throat and answered in a high-pitched voice:
"Hi, it's Mr Jenkin, from room 215. I was wondering if you got any flour."
The young man waited a few seconds before hearing Ellie shouting back:
"Give me a sec'!"
Bryce heard Ellie rushing to the door, opening all the locks and finally, she opened the door. Tje woman's smiled faded and she frowned her eyebrows when she saw Bryce standing in front of her, hands stuffed in his pockets and his blue eyes cold as ice. Ellie opened and closed her mouth, like a poisson out of the water. Not letting her the chance to speak, Bryce said:
"Hey, Ellie. We need to talk, mind if I come in?"
"Uh-"
"I didn't think so." Bryce interrupted her, letting himself in.
Ellie shut her mouth, shook her head and closed her door. The young woman turned toward the ex-CIA agent, crossed her arms and asked, not meeting his eyes:
"So, what are you doing here? And what's up with the fake name?"
"I have another question for you" He said, getting a foiled paper out of his pocket. He handed it to her and asked "Care to explain what the hell is that?"
Still frowning her eyebrows, the brunette took the piece of paper and en-foiled it. As she read the small note, Ellie's skin became paler and paler. Watching the woman's reaction, Bryce smirked and said, sitting on a couch:
"So, do tell Ellie : when and how did you become a master of blackmailing and threatning?"
"Bryce, I-I can explain-" she began.
"I sure hope so" Bryce interrupted her again "Because if you can't, this" he added, pointing to the note "is ending on my superior's boss tomorrow. Threatening a federal agent?" He winced, shaking his head "Bad move, El."
"Do that and you'll blow your cover. We wouldn't want that, would we now?" Ellie said in a cold and harsh tone, which surprised Bryce. The young man glared at her "Now, shut up and let me explain myself." she finished, sitting next to him, the note crumpled between her hands.
Bryce's glare softened as he watched Ellie sigh and say:
"Two days after we arrived in New York, after your and Chuck's arrest, I got a call." She took a deep breath finally looked up at the young man, her brown eyes meeting Bryce's blue ones.
"From who?" Bryce asked, frowning his eyebrows."Roark?"
The brunette shook her head and answered:
"It was a woman. She's the one who told me - more, like, ordered me- to take the pictures and write this note. She wanted me to convince you and Chuck to drop the case and that if I didn't, she would reveal your true identity and bad things would happen. I'm sorry, Bryce, but I couldn't let one of you get hurt"
Seeing tears forming in the brunette's eyes as she finished telling her short story, Bryce took one of her hands in his and gave it a warm squeeze. She looked up to the ex-conman and shot him a sad smile. Bryce smiled back and said, joking:
"So you do care."
Ellie snorted, punched him playfully in the arm and sniffed, wiping some fallen tears on her cheeks with her free hand. Bryce chuckled, letting go of her hand. Ellie tilted her head to the side and asked, looking confused:
"How did you know it was me?"
Bryce cocked an eyebrow that clearly said 'bitch-please' and answered:
"I worked for CIA for years and I'm supposed to be the great conman of my generation: it wouldve been sad if I hadn't discovered it was you."
Ellie rolled her eyes but couldn't restrain a smile. Bryce grinned before frowning his eyebrows, thoughtful. Noticing his sudden change of attitude, Ellie asked:
"What is it?"
"Are you sure it was a woman?"
"Bryce, I'm not deaf : I know how to make the difference between a female voice and a male voice."
"Yeah, I know. It's just..."
"What?"
Bryce sighed, running his fingers through his messy brown hair:
"The more we progress in the case, the more we encounter new people working with Roark or Adler. People we know nothing about, people that can to us without being noticed. People who know me. " He turned to Ellie and continued, looking straight into her eyes "And frankly, it scares me."
A/N 2: LOOKING FOR A BETA, IF INTERESTED, LEAVE A REVIEW OR SEND ME A PM.
End of chapter 6. Yay? Nay? Tell me what you thought about it by leaving a review, folks.
Ok, since the beginning of this story, I've replied to your reviews in my author notes. From now , I'll reply to them by PM's..
So instead of long reviews replies, I'll answer personnal questions (favourite color, food, whatever you'd like to know) or randoms questions that you can ask in a review. I saw that in a fanfiction and I liked the concept, so.. I decided to do it too !
That's it for today, nerds!
Until next time, REVIEW !
KadiCriss.