A/N: Would you believe I lost my plans for this? xD I had them written down on a piece of paper and now I can't find that paper. So I've been trying to figure out what to do next. My organizational skills aren't usually this bad.
Also, many thanks to Enfleurage for pointing out an embarrassingly bad lapse on my part. It wasn't a huge detail but it did create a rather large plot hole. I went back and added a couple tiny bits to hopefully close it up, although it would've been a lot better if I hadn't missed it in the first place. xD I'm not nearly as smart as the writers on the show, so please forgive my stupidity for showing. ^_^
Review please! Even if you have something negative to say, I really appreciate your comments, and I'll do my best to improve, but I can't improve if I don't know what to improve on.
Chapter 9: Double Trouble
Firefingers, Neal, and Peter sat in Peter's office, both doors closed and nobody speaking. Peter had his face in his hands, and Neal and Firefingers were occasionally exchanging awkward glances. Nikolai was in the conference room, under guard and waiting for Peter to interrogate him.
"This is not good," said Peter at long last. "We totally blew any cover that we had. Nicholas Kerrington is going to be expecting us now."
He looked at Firefingers.
"How long until he realizes that was a forgery?"
"If he does at all, I'll be impressed," Firefingers replied, glaring at Peter. "My work is unparalleled."
"You've got a pretty big ego for someone who was recognized by their voice," Peter snapped.
"And you've got a lot of lip for someone who probably just sent this whole operation to hell."
Neal sighed.
"Is this getting us anywhere?" he asked, fed up. The two older men had been at each other's throats since they had brought Nikolai to the office. Neal was starting to understand how Peter felt – it was like having to be a parent of unruly children.
"Not particularly, but neither is the suit," said Firefingers, not taking his eyes off Peter.
"Look, we have to look at what we have," Neal said, his patience finally running out as he cut off a response from the FBI agent. "Okay, we can't try that again. Nicholas is going to be ready for it. We have to find a new approach. We can start by looking at Nikolai. Obviously they're working together and Salazar was just a distraction. Arresting Salazar was what got them suspicious, which is why they were expecting a trap. Now they know we're actively pursuing them. Fortunately we've crippled Nicholas's allies – Nikolai is in our custody, and whatever they were getting out of Salazar is long gone. Nicholas is likely alone or very close to it, and one is a lot easier to take down than many."
"So you think we should focus on Nikolai?" Peter asked. Neal nodded.
"It won't be easy – they're brothers and there's bound to be a lot of loyalty there. It won't be easy to get Nikolai to flip on Nicholas, and there's no way we can be discreet about this investigation anymore."
Firefingers was still glaring at Peter.
"Oh, maybe you could put that lip of yours to good use," he said sarcastically. Neal shot him a glare of his own.
"Tory, if you don't want to be part of this anymore, there's the door," he said, gesturing. "You can do this on your own if you want."
There was a tense moment of silence. Firefingers stood up, unclipped the visitor badge from his jacket, threw it on Peter's desk, and left without a word.
Neal watched him leave, dumbfounded.
"I... didn't think he'd actually do that," he said.
"Never mind him, Neal," Peter said, secretly relieved to be back to the quota of only one con artist. "If he wants to pursue Nicholas on his own, let him. We need to focus on the task at hand."
Neal stared at the abandoned visitor badge on Peter's desk.
"Now, we need to see if we can find out where Nicholas lives," Peter said. "We have enough probable cause for a search warrant, but Nicholas is probably expecting that tack. We'll have to move fast."
"How are we going to find that information? The files on Nicholas are useless."
"I'll do my thing, you do yours," Peter said with a slight smile.
"You're not that good at being cryptic, you know."
"Shoo."
Neal flashed his smile before standing up to leave the office. Peter opened the door connecting his office to the conference room and stepped inside. He nodded to the guard, who moved to wait outside. Peter sat down, and Nikolai stood up a little straighter, his hand cuffed to the chair. Nikolai was smiling.
"That's a clever little thing you and Nicholas have going on," said Peter. "Two of you makes things a little more difficult on us, but now there's only one."
"Aren't I supposed to have a lawyer with me?" Nikolai said teasingly. Peter ignored him.
"The thing is, Nikolai, that no matter how clever you are, we will eventually catch you. And we did. Now we just need to catch your brother, which will admittedly be a little more complicated."
"Catch him just like you caught Tory Shepherd? Do you know what that man's done in his life?"
"I'm thinking that to matter how faithful you are to Nicholas," Peter said, raising his voice and talking over Nikolai, "you're more faithful to yourself, so I'm willing to offer you a deal. Technically the only charge I have evidence to support is carrying a concealed weapon without a license. I'm willing to drop that charge if you tell us where we can find Nicholas."
Nikolai had stopped smiling.
"Of course, if we find him and we find evidence that incriminates you on other charges, I won't be able to drop those," Peter continued. "But I will remember your help and I will fight to get you a reduced sentence. But that's only if you help me, and only if we find something. So I can understand hesitation, but just know that I'm not out to get you. I'm out to get Nicholas."
Nikolai remained silent. Peter sat back in his chair and watched him carefully.
"I can give you tonight to think it over, but after that, I'm out of time," he said. "Would you rather tell me now or later?"
"Later," Nikolai said instantly. Peter smiled. He had been expecting that response.
"Okay, but if Nicholas gets away because you stalled, the deal's off. Got it?"
Peter gestured at the guard waiting outside.
"We're through here. He's got a little thinking to do. I want him back up here first thing tomorrow morning."
Peter got up and left the room. Waiting was not an idea he was fond of – even one night was risky. He didn't know how fast Nicholas could move.
He sincerely hoped that Neal was having better luck.
xxx
There wasn't much Neal could do other than putter around his suite while waiting for Mozzie to return.
Ignoring the shorter man's protests, Neal had persuaded him to visit Club Firefingers and see if he could get a word in with the owner. It took an almost heroic effort on Neal's part -- Mozzie had long been immune to his charms -- but he managed to do it, and now he was anxiously waiting for word from either Mozzie or Firefingers.
The knock on the door sent a shock through Neal, who had taken to doodling on a piece of paper at the kitchen table. He sprang out of his seat as if it had been electrocuted and hurriedly opened the door.
"Moz, how'd it go?" he said, stepping aside to let Mozzie in.
"I went to the club and looked for the bartender, who said he was given express orders not to take any calling cards tonight," he said. Neal felt and looked like he had just been smacked in the face. "He knew you were coming, amigo. I don't think he wants anything to do with this anymore."
"He definitely isn't giving up that easily," Neal said immediately. "He's more tenacious than I am. Remember that time he drove you crazy about getting that blue diamond bracelet?"
"Which ended up being a huge waste of my time because someone else got to it first?"
"And then he tracked the guy down and stole it from him to teach you a lesson about being on the ball? Moz, that's how he taught us to stay unpredictable. He found the guy because he'd done the same thing before."
"Okay, fine, he's not done with this yet, but he's definitely done with working with the FBI and, by association, you."
Neal looked away and ran a hand through his hair. Mozzie surveyed him.
"He's still a step behind you, man," he said. "He would never let you out of his sight for too long. It's just... you're working for the other side now, and Firefingers doesn't function that way."
There was a brief silence.
"Thanks Moz. For trying."
"It's the least I could do."
"Find anything on Nicholas Kerrington?"
"Not a whole lot, but I do know he definitely lives somewhere in Manhattan. The general word is that he can be in two places at once, which seems to solidify the argument that he and Nikolai would simply go by the same name. Nikolai, after all, is the Russian form of Nicholas."
"Then how did Tory know him as Nikolai?"
Mozzie shrugged. "Maybe Nikolai thought it wouldn't matter with him. Or maybe they switch between the two. I dunno. All I know is that they work together, and Nicholas seems to live somewhere by the Brooklyn Bridge -- I can't get a specific address but he's definitely somewhere within a few miles of the bridge. Your FBI friends can patrol the area, can't they?"
Neal nodded.
"Thanks Moz. I'll talk to Peter and see what he can do."
"It's what I live for, Neal," Moz said, sitting down at the kitchen table. "How about a game of chess?"
xxx
Peter walked in the front door of his house, greeted by his three favorite things -- the smell of food, Satchmo, and the smiling face of his wife. He deeply inhaled the first one, patted the second on the head, and hugged and kissed the third.
"Hey honey, how was your day?" Elizabeth asked.
"One of those ones that I'd rather forget," he replied. "How was yours?"
"Pretty good, although I was yelled at by an angry bride-to-be whose sister apparently is allergic to half the food the caterer that she booked herself uses. That was a definite downside."
"Some people," Peter agreed, throwing his briefcase and coat onto the couch. He took another deep breath. "Smells great in here."
Elizabeth smiled. "Dinner's almost ready, if you'd be so kind as to set the table."
He obediently followed her into the kitchen, getting some plates out of the cabinet and arranging them appropriately on the table. Elizabeth stirred the pan, and Peter was pleased to see seasoned chicken mixed with some vegetables. Another pot with mashed potatoes in it was sitting next to the oven, already cooked.
"How'd everything go today?" Elizabeth asked as Peter collected silverware.
"Mostly wrong but a little bit right," he said, recounting the day's events as he bustled in and out of the kitchen, Elizabeth listening intently as she finished cooking and started distributing food onto each plate.
"Hopefully Neal'll come through for you, huh?" she said.
"He called me just before I left the office to tell me he thinks Nicholas Kerrington lives somewhere near the Brooklyn Bridge. He didn't have specifics, but I did set up a patrol in the area to see if we can find the guy."
The two sat down at the table, Peter pouring drinks for the both of them.
"If we don't catch him tonight, we might as well kiss him goodbye," said Peter. "I'm betting he's loading everything up and making for the border right this minute."
Elizabeth took her husband's hand.
"You'll get him," she said firmly. "I have faith in you."
Peter smiled. Elizabeth was a great supporter, even if it was just a few simple words over dinner.
The rest of the meal passed with idle chit-chat, Peter listening intently as Elizabeth recounted the engagement party gone wrong. He did his best to be supportive of her, too, although both of them knew that his job was infinitely more stressful than hers.
After they had both finished eating, Peter took their plates into the kitchen and started rinsing them off. He heard a knock on the door.
"I got it," Elizabeth called. Peter didn't wonder who it was -- at this time of night, it was probably someone from the FBI, most likely one of the poor agents assigned to patrolling the area Nicholas was suspected of living in.
He heard Elizabeth open the door.
"Can I help you?" she said.
"I'm looking for Peter Burke."
Peter almost dropped the plate he was cleaning. Nikolai was right -- Firefingers's voice was very distinctive.
He shut the water off, dried his hands as fast as he could, and walked into the living room.
"What do you want, Tory?" he asked.
"To talk to you," he said innocently. "I told you I would help, so I'm helping."
"You walked out on us earlier."
"I can only take concentrated eau de cops for so long. May I come in?"
Elizabeth glanced at Peter, confused.
"El, this is Tory Shepherd, the guy I was telling you about who helped us -- somewhat -- with the investigation so far. This is my wife, Elizabeth."
"Delightful to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Burke," Firefingers said, bowing slightly to Elizabeth. He held out a hand and she smiled, shaking it. Peter stared.
Elizabeth stepped aside and Firefingers entered. He turned his attention to Peter.
"Saw your boys buzzing around a certain area earlier on. Did a little poking around of my own and I found something you might be interested in."
He reached into his jacket and took out a piece of folded paper.
"This was something I accidentally was handed by the movers outside of Nicholas's soon-to-be former residence."
"You knew where he lived and didn't tell us?"
"I didn't know, but the movers who are packing his stuff away definitely knew."
Firefingers unfolded the paper and handed it to Peter, who scanned it quickly.
"It's a summary of their instructions. They're moving him to that address, must be done by nine o'clock tomorrow morning."
"How did you get this?"
"Surprisingly, moving guys aren't that smart. I told them I was interested in how far they're willing to move stuff and they were all aflutter about informing me about such things -- this address is in New Jersey. For some reason they equated state lines with distance, even though I could've thrown a rock at Hoboken."
"It was legally obtained, that's all I care about. Nine o'clock tomorrow morning we'll be at this address to take down Nicholas Kerrington."
Peter could barely contain his excitement. Elizabeth smiled and kissed him.
"Great news, honey," she said.
"Thank you, Tory," Peter said. Firefingers smirked.
"Maybe now I can get back more than this," he said, pulling back his sleeve to show off a petite bracelet studded with blue diamonds.
A/N: Gasp! We're getting close to the end of this story! This is exciting. Right?
Reviews please! The more reviews the faster I'll get you to the end! Even if you just have a few words to say, it means a lot! Thanks for reading!
