Jordan was walking down the Magnificent Mile with Martha with the girls in front of them headed. They were loaded with bags and talking. "So, how is Rick fitting in at work?" Martha asked.
"Better then any Jr. Agent I've ever scene. Besides the corner store robbery he solved a jewelry store robbery and helped set up a dirty adoption lawyer on his first day and then yesterday evening I get a call from my counterpart in Tactical saying Rick coached the Pool agents in the shooting range and bought them all new guns. Then he had the nerve to come up to my office and say he was board." Jordan said laughing.
"That's my boy. If he's not doing something then he might die. At lest that's how he acts. He's been like that since a little boy. It's why he learned all those things when he was a writer. Sure he told everyone it was for the books but the truth is he couldn't sit still long enough to write more then one book. He needed to do something. He ended up taking her along for most of it." Martha said pointing to Alexis.
"Is that so?" Jordan asked thinking. It made sense really. He was hyper. "Does that mean he's always going to be a pain in the ass?" She asked.
"I'm afraid so dear. If you're thinking about sticking around for the long haul you might want to think about that. He can get insufferable at times. Of course you would be the first smart and normal girl he's ever dated so it might make things easier on you two." Martha said looping her arm with Jordan's.
"Oh I wouldn't go throwing that word normal around just yet. I can be plenty abnormal when the mood strikes me." Jordan said smiling.
"Good. Every relationship need a little abnormal in it, but too much can be a bad thing. You need a little order and chaos. A little funny and sad. A little good and bad. Life works in balance without one you can't have the other. But never forget it when things are bad. When you have an important case and you two have been at it for three days and your tiered don't fight over something small. Take that energy and go have a quickie. Frustration sex is the best dear." Martha said with a mischievous grin on her face.
"I'll remember that." Jordan said blushing.
"Oh come on dear, we're two grown women. Some of us more grown then others, and we're just talking. I will never take sides in a fight unless one of you is being crazy. Now when you move into the apartment do you want me to move out? I know some people would feel weird living with the in-law so I can be out if you want me to." Martha asked.
"What!? No. If anything I like the fact that you live in the house too. Things are slow right now but when they do pick up we might get called away very suddenly. I like the fact that you're home to look after the girls. My mother lived with use when I was married to my ex. She raised Kelly. I was always in and out of the city. Always on the move. I'm a big supporter of multi-generational households." Jordan said holding Martha closer to illustrate her point.
"Good. I love Alexis more then my own son. It would kill me to leave her." Martha said smiling.
"So if I said I was not cool with you living with us what would you have said?" Jordan asked.
"Nothing dear. When we got home I would have made sure the relationship failed. Now that I know we're on the same side I can make sure things go smoothly." Martha said patting her hand.
Jordan laughed and hugged her. "Good to know I have a partner in this. What can you do to help things along?" Jordan asked.
"I already started. The girls will be out of your hair for two weeks. When I get back I'll talk to him and tell you what he said. We'll work him from two sides until we get you two on a good footing." She said as they walked into a store.
Jordan's phone rang. "Hey Rick, we were just talking about you." She said smiling at Martha.
"Good things I hope?" Rick asked.
"Oh no. bad things. I'm getting dirt on you from your mother." Jordan said.
"Everything that evil woman says is a lie." Rick said laughing.
"I'll bet most of it is true. So how was your day?" She asked.
"I spent most of the day cooped up in your office reading case files. I also ran a class on solving cases. For the Jr. agents and the Pool agents." He said.
"Really? You taught a class?" Jordan asked.
"I mean if you want to get technical I taught the pool agent how the shoot yesterday so I taught two classes. I don't see what you Special agent are always complaining about. Teachings is not that bad." He said smirking.
"I'm going to make you eat those words Castle. Your going to teach my class when I get back." She said.
"You're on." He said.
"So did you find a killer or what?" She asked.
"Maybe, but I'm going to have the group run down all the things I did to see if they end up with the same seven cases before I even bring it to you. I don't want to waste your time on something that might turn out to be nothing. I also want to run it buy Ken and see what he has to say. I figured I could do it Sunday at dinner. I'm still on for dinner right? Did you call Betty and tell her your not going to make it?" Rick asked.
"Yeah, I called her a few hours ago. She says she's still excited to meet you. So are Sam and Jenny. I sent you directions to the house in an email." She said.
"Good to know. Are you guys having fun?" Rick asked.
"We're with Martha, how can we not be having fun?" Jordan said.
"True I guess." He said laughing.
"What about you? You're going to be home alone." She said feeling bad.
"I'm having dinner with the Burke's. Elle's making pot roast." Rick said.
"Good, I was worried about you being home alone." She said smirking.
"Nice to know you care. Have fun in Chicago, with the girls and the Nice hotel room and the good food and all the fun." Rick said in a winy tone. "I'll just be stuck at home eating a nice home cooked meal with friends and playing poker tomorrow."
"Well have fun with that. I love you, and I'll call you tomorrow." She said smiling.
"I love you too." Rick said hanging up.
"I love you." Kelly mocked with a smirk.
"No I love you." Alexis mocked for the other side of her.
"No I love you a thousand times over." Kelly said making kissy faces.
"No I love you a million times over." Alexis said.
"Knock it off you two." Martha said swatting at the two girls. "Leave Jordan alone. She young and in love. When you two find love you'll act a lot worse." She said hugging the two girls.
"Yeah, and it's all your fault that I'm acting like this. You're the ones that set us up." Jordan said smiling.
"And we couldn't be happier with the outcome." Alexis said.
"Yeah. I think Rick a great, and I love Alexis." Kelly said holding Alexis' arm.
"Good to know." Jordan said slinging an arm around the two girls. "Now lets keep this train moving. I want to relax on this trip and not fight my way through crowed stores all day."
"Well it won't be all day, we have dress fittings in two hours and we have dinner reservations at the Ritz. After that we have tickets to MacBeth tonight at the Goodman Theater." Martha said walking with them.
"Dress fittings?" Jordan asked.
"Yes dear. We are going to see three shows this weekend and all three of you need dresses. You can't go to the Theater dressed in rags dear." Martha said.
"Oh great." Jordan said rolling her eye.
Peter answered the door for Rick who was carrying a bottle of red wine in one hand and a pastry box in the other. "Come in, dinner is almost ready."
"Great, I'm hungry and tiered." Rick said walking over to Elle who was standing by the kitchen. "Hey Elle, sorry to spring this on you at the last minute. I brought a good wine and chocolate éclairs." Rick said setting the items on the counter and hugging her.
"Let's see what you brought this time." She said shaking her head. "A 2003 Pine Ridge Cabernet." She said smirking.
"My wine dealer said it was the best." Rick said taking off his jacket. "I bought a case."
"This is a $90 bottle of wine. To go with my pot roast. The food is going to taste like dirt." She said laughing.
"Like I said, I have a case of it in my trunk if you want the rest. The éclairs were more expensive, but they are the best in the city." Rick said shrugging.
"Your going to go broke if you keep living large Rick. I can tell you now the take home for a full time agent is not good." Peter said.
"I invested in Google, Microsoft, and Apple. The smart phone wars have netted me so much money I think I'm making like a few hundred dollars an hour clear. I think I'll make it on an agents pay." Rick said.
"Wow. I wish I would have done something like that." Peter said.
"The key is to know the company heads. They let you buy enough stock to become a share holder. Once your in that bracket the pay out is ridicules. It's why I can let Neal keep the winnings. It's why I can front you any amount of cash you need for a bust. It's why I know there's a place in New York that makes a $40 éclair that tastes like it was made by the gods." Rick said smirking.
"Hey Elle, can Rick invest our money for us?" Peter asked from the table.
"No honey. We don't have any extra money to play the stock market." Elle said smiling.
"I could always split the winnings with you from game Neal is playing tomorrow. The take away is $900,000." Rick said.
"I wouldn't know what to do with that kind of money." Peter said laughing.
"You would be surprised at how fast your brain comes up with things as soon at the cash is in hand. The first advance for Storm Rising was $50,000. That money went so fast I didn't even see it. The advance for the last Niki Heat book was 15 million. It went right into Alexis trust fund." Rick said.
"Most people don't talk about money. I would have never know you could get so much for writing a book." Peter said.
"Oh that's just the advance. The back end is going to be three times that. It's the last book I'm writing." Rick said.
"I don't know how you can give up that to sit in an office with us." Peter said.
"Easy, I like doing the work. I like solving murders and putting killers away. I like it more then any other job I've even had. I like it so much I'd pay the FBI to let me work cases." Rick said shrugging.
"I guess I can see that but, still." Peter said.
"Are you guys ready to eat?" Elle asked setting a plate in front of them loaded with meat and vegetables.
"Man this looks good." Rick said looking at his plate.
"I tastes better. Elle's pot roast is the best." Peter said as Elle came to the table with her plate.
"Thank you Honey." She said kissing him.
"You two are the best. I hope Jordan and I can be like you two." Rick said smiling.
"I hope so too. You guys are really good for each other. Are they having fun in Chicago?" Elle asked.
"They sounded like it. Plus there with my mother. Martha Rodgers doesn't know how to not have fun." Rick said shaking his head.
"Well good. Jordan works just as hard as Peter. They both need a vacation. Maybe now he'll take time off." Elle said.
"I can't just take time off. I the head investigator in white collar. What if something really important comes up while I'm gone?" Peter said.
"Let your team handle it. I'm sure Rick would pitch in and help. You said he was smart enough to solve your last case. I'm sure he can handle anything else that comes along." Elle said smiling.
"I would be happy to help around the office Peter, it might be hard next week, but any other time I'm sure I'll be able to do it." Rick said.
"What's going on next week?" Peter asked.
"I'm looking into a possible serial killer. I don't know if it's something or nothing yet but I'll know more on Monday when I get a chance to look over the evidence. I know it's going to take a fresh crime scene to get any good clues. This guy is good, if he's even real." Rick said shaking his head.
"You don't know? How can you not know? don't they follow a pattern?" Peter asked.
"Peter I don't think this is polite dinner conversation. Murder investigation can get a bit gross." Rick said looking apologetic to Elle.
"I don't mind, is a real murder investigation like the ones on TV?" Elle asked looking interested.
"Elle loves CSI." Peter said rolling his eyes.
"I can say it's almost nothing like that. Your almost never going to find a small spec of blood that will lead you to a killer. Finding good physical evidence at the crime scene is hard. A body could be sitting for days. Skin cells die and turn to dust, hair blows away in the smallest of breezes. Rain washes away blood and finger prints. Through and through gun shot wounds leave holes but no slugs. Shiny bass shell casings attract animals that like to pick things up and run away with them. Then after you have a suspect you need evidence to get them to talk, or you really need to know how to play a guilty person. And you only get to talk to then until their lawyer shows up. Then they clam up and then you have to make the evidence stick." Rick said thinking about all the cases he worked in the last three years.
"Wow. I would have never thought about any of that stuff. Peter usually deals with a lot of evidence, and things like that." Elle said.
"Well white collar crime is a lot different then murder. The mind of a person that robs a jewelry store and the mind of a killer are two very different things. Sometimes you get desperate people that steal for a reason like the woman we found two days ago. And then you have thieves. They get off on the feeling they get when they take something. For them it's not about the object or the money. It's about the thrill. Neal is like that. He likes the rush. It's why he likes working cases, the rush you get when you fined a bad guy is close to the rush you get from committing the crime. It's why I gave him the money he won yesterday. He played a con, and used his skills to make money off of those guy at that game. If I would have taken the money back it would have reminded him he's not a con any more. That he belongs to the department. But, by letting him keep his winnings he was able to get the rush and feel the pride in socking the cash away. With time and the right encouragement he'll be able to work a case, get the rush of the win and not feel like a con. He'll start to feel like an agent. When his time is served up he'll be begging you to stay on and work cases." Rick said.
"Do you really think so?" Elle asked looking hopeful, while Peter looked skeptical.
"I know it. I know because I was the same way. I started working with the cops as a way to get close to a female detective. I goofed off and made her life hell and was a total ass hat for a few weeks and then we caught a case of a prep school kid shot in the park. He was 15 years old. A two years older then my own kid. He went to one of the best schools in the city. He got good grades. He had two parents that loved him. He even had friends. We chased leads that went nowhere for days without getting anywhere until we came back to the group of friends. Then a video was shown to us of one of the kids shooting his friend. A day later we found the kid that pulled the trigger dead. The thing is he was loaded beyond being able to even move and his finger was bruised. Someone helped him end it all. The evidence pointed to the leader of the group. This smart ass like kid that saw way too many cop shows. He thought he was safe until we brought him into the interrogation room. Beckett. The cop I was messing with wasn't getting any where and I was getting pissed off. I was so angry that this punk kid killed two of his friends and he was going to get away with it. I started talking. I didn't even know were I was going with it until I started laying out the story like one of my plots and I could see I was getting to him. When I explained how he planed it all he smirked and I wanted to grab him by his shirt and slam him through a wall. But instead I kept talking. Telling him he was so smart, saying he did it. And he said exactly. One word that sealed his fate. One simple word that showed he was the mastermind behind the whole thing. From that day on I was hooked. I still acted like a jerk, it was the way I acted back then. Spoiled writer jerk. But as the cases kept coming I began to change. I stopped goofing off as much. I started acting like a cop. I stayed late and study the white board more. In time I stopped caring about Beckett and started caring about the cases more. The wins kept feeling better and better. The next solved case felt better then the last until I needed it. Catching killers is a heady feeling. Once you've hunted a the world most apex predators the rush can never be felt by doing anything else. It's been three weeks since I've chased a real killer and I'm board out of my mind. No offence Peter but white collar is just too slow for me. You guys work long cases. I'm used to finding a body on a Tuesday and finding the suspect by Friday." He said between bites.
"You really know how to tell a story Rick." Elle said shaking her head.
"It's what I was paid to do for a long time." Rick said smiling.
"Yes well, I hope you're right about Neal. It would be great to get him to stop doing things behind my back." Peter said.
"You'll know if he comes to you in the next few days with the flight recording." Rick said.
"Lets hope so." Peter said.
"Trust me Peter, I just outsmarted all of my fellow Jr. agents and five Pool agents today. I think I can keep track of one con man. Neal wants to fit in, he wants a family. He needs a father figure. He needs friends that don't have to be guarded about what they say to who. Give him a place to fit in and he'll keep coming back. That's why I want to encourage his relation ship with Sara. She plays a con for the good guys just like him. Insurance investigators track thieves and trick them out of the things they took. It will give him someone to model his new life after and it opens another avenue of possibilities for when his sentence is up. The two of them working together could be very good." Rick said handing Elle his plate as she stood to clear the table. As she poured the coffee the bell rang. "Speak of the devil and he shale appear." Rick said as Peter got up.
Peter opened the door and saw Neal and Sara standing on the front step. "Hey Neal, Sara come in." He said letting them pass. "Rick's here, we just had dinner." Peter said.
"Good, Rick you've got to here this." Neal said "Elizabeth, do you have a laptop we can borrow?" He asked looking nervous.
"Sure Neal." She said grabbing her Macbook from her bag.
"What are we listening to?" Rick asked.
"The flight recorder from the plane." Neal said.
They listened a few times and Rick shook his head. "It's good that we have it but it needs to be scrubbed for better sound. I know a guy that can do it. He's former CIA so we can trust him. He has no involvement in anything." Rick said pulling the CD out of the computer. "He's not cheap so you know he's good. I'll call him and see if he's available." Rick said standing up and putting on his jacket.
"Where are you going?" Neal asked.
"Relax Neal." Rick said holding his shoulder. "This guy is old school spook. I need to call him from a pay phone. There's one about ten blocks from here. I'll be back in ten minutes with a time frame and pick up date and time. Why don't you and Sara sit down and have some coffee, or a glass of wine. I've got another one in my trunk. In fact why don't you come out and get it Neal." Rick said pulling him out the door. When they were outside Rick patted him on the back. "I'm sorry you had to hear that so many times. I know it was hard. But look, you came here first and things are getting done fast. I'll probably do a drop off tomorrow and he'll have something for us by Monday, Tuesday at the latest. Aside from that how are you doing?" Rick asked pulling a box of wine out of his back seat.
"Good I think. Shocked." Neal said looking a little dazed.
"But you were thinking clearly enough to come here tonight. That's a good sign Neal. You keep making good decisions like this and you'll be off that tracking anklet in no time." Rick said handing him the box.
"I still want to bring Mozzie in on this. He's a little strange but he's smarter then he looks." Neal said.
"I agree, but if he's in he's in on a legal investigation. We are not criminals. We bend the law, we don't break it. When we do that things get bad and people die. Those people in there love you. Let them take care of you. As for Sara, man that chick is hot. You should really think about going for that." Rick said.
"I, yeah I guess." Neal said looking confused.
"Just get in the house and relax. You have friends with friends in high places now." Rick said getting in his car.
Neal came in carrying the box of wine. Peter was talking to Sara and Elle was in the kitchen. "Rick said he'll be back in a bit." Neal said still confused. He knew Rick was in his head playing him. He knew he was talking him in circles. The thing he had to think about was if he should just let him keep doing it.
"Good, sit down and eat. I made pot roast." She said putting a plate in front of Sara and one next to her.
Neal knew Rick was playing him but looking around the room at Peter and Elizabeth, and Sara. He knew he was going to let him keep doing it. If this is what it was like on this side of the law maybe it wasn't so bad. The food was better then prison. That was for sure. "He gave me a whole case. Where should I put it?" He asked.
"Just set it on the counter, and sit down." Elle said guiding him to the counter to set the box down before turning him around to sit in the chair.
"This is very good." Sara said looking up from her plate.
"It's called home cooking. Something you two need to look into. Here," Elle said handing her a glass of wine and setting one next to Neal. "It's a 2003 Pine Ridge Cabernet." Elle said drinking her third glass.
"That's a $90 bottle of wine." Sara said. "Let me guess, Castle?" She asked.
"You know it, do you want a bottle to take home with you? We apparently have a case full of it." Elle said smiling.
"I don't mind if I do." Sara said taking a drink and nodding.
"That's Rick for you." Neal said shaking his head.
They heard Rick's car pull up outside. Peter got up to answer the door but Rick burst in carrying his black metal briefcase, out of breath. "He can make the pick up tonight." Rick said out of breath.
"Do you want us to go with you?" Peter asked.
"No, it will spook him. I'm meeting him in fifteen minutes in the park. Elle do you have a shopping bag?" Rick asked setting the case on the counter and opening it.
"I do, does it matter where it's from?" She asked pulling a shopping bag full of folded up shopping bags out of a cabinet.
"Black I guess would work best." Rick said pulling five stacks out of the case and setting them on the counter.
"It's going to cost fifty thousand to hire this guy?" Neal asked looking shocked.
"No It's going to cost three times that much, but he's worth it. He'll have the number she dialed, the person that owns that number where they are now and a cleaned up copy of the recording. He will also be on retainer for the rest of the year." Rick said putting the money in the bag along with the CD. "I'll be back in a half hour to tell you what happened." Rick said taking the bag and walking back out.
"Did he just say he was paying $150,000?" Sara asked looking confused.
"He did." Peter said.
"And he left the case on the counter." She said.
"He did." Neal said looking at the case left open with $250,000 in hundreds just sitting there.
"He's not worried about it?" She asked.
"Why would he be worried? Were Federal agents. The only one here not a fed or married to one is you. Are you going to steal it?" Peter asked.
Neal looked up at that and smiled. "I asked you to come here Sara, you're not going to steal are you? It would look bad on me too you know?" He said taking a drink.
"If anyone is going to do anything it's going to be you Neal." She said rolling her eyes.
"Not me, I'm done being a bad guy. I'm a good guy for a day and I'm up $150,000, and Rick is going to get information that I would have never found. I'm walking around the best city in the world, in a hand made suit, and the food is really good." Neal said nodding to Elle. "Prison has none of this and that's were I'll end up if I keep being a bad guy."
"So, Mr. good guy, if I was to ask you about a panting stolen five years ago, a Raphael, would you know where it is?" She asked smiling.
"Look, all joking aside, if I could find this painting, and I'm not saying I took it! If I could find this painting, what would I get in return?" He asked.
"Well I get five percent of the painting's value. The painting is worth twenty million dollars. That's a million dollars. I could split the fee with you." She said honestly.
"And what if I want a date?" He asked smirking.
"A date? You were just making a big deal out of $150,000, I'm offering you half a million and your asking for a date?" She asked looking at him like he was crazy.
"Some things are worth more then money." He said without looking up.
"What was that?" Sara asked looking shocked.
Neal looked up at her. As he opened his mouth to speak they heard Rick pull up out front. Peter got up and so did Elle. As they walked to the door Neal smiled. "No games," He said shrugging. "I like they way we banter, I like the way you don't fall for my charms, and I, I like you." He said looking down again.
"I like chasing you Neal. It's been fun. I chase criminals. I can't be with one. If you're serious about this new life change then I'll agree to one date. But if I find out your running a game on me I'll make sure you see the inside of a cell." She said looking at him. She didn't look away until he looked her in the eye.
"I'm not running a game. Like I said, I like being a good guy." Neal said.
Outside Peter and Elizabeth greeted Rick out the front porch. "We're just giving those two some space." Elle said smiling.
"Really? Well things are going better then expected. Did the case come up?" Rick asked.
"You left it there on purpose?" Peter asked.
"Sure I did, I'm rich, not crazy. I don't leave money just out in the open like that." Rick said.
"Neal is trying to go straight." Elle said smiling.
"He offered Sara the painting he took five years ago." Peter said.
"Is that when things got so awkward that you left your own house?" Rick asked.
"She said she would split the finders fee, and he asked for a date." Elle said excitedly.
"Cute. I told him to do that." Rick said.
"The painting?" Peter asked.
"No, the date. I told him it's what normal people did." Rick said.
"We should go back in." Peter said.
"Let me go in first, and then you two come in a minute behind me." Elle said.
"Okay." Peter said.
When Elle walked in Rick turned to Peter "How can I take Neal anywhere in the city with out setting off alarms?" He asked.
"What are you planning on doing now?" Peter asked looking at him suspiciously.
"Neal has this painting, it's stashed somewhere in the city. If we get it and put it inside her house it will keep the game going without really breaking any laws and it kills a few birds with one stone." Rick said.
"Good point, I'll call it in when you go." Peter said before opening the door.
"So how did it go?" Neal asked.
"My friend has the disc and will have everything by Monday morning. Hopefully we'll have your killer by Monday night, if not we will be hot on his tail." Rick said.
"Wow. That happened fast." Neal said looking shocked.
"What did you expect? I only deal with the best. Why do you think I came to work for white collar?" Rick asked sitting at the table.
"I think we're all ready for some dessert." Elle said setting a plate with six éclairs on the table. "Does any one want coffee?" She asked setting out cups.
"I know I do. I've been up since six and I only got five hours of sleep, on a chair. Thank good I didn't leave the office today. I don't think I can shoot straight. It must be really late." Rick said yawning.
"It's only nine o'clock old timer." Neal said.
"Oh these are good. Where are they from?" Sara asked.
"I own a small stake in a great restaurant on the upper west side. It's a small café called Carrie's Bakery. They make some of the most expensive food in New York but its worth ever cent. These came form there. I called and ordered them so they're fresh. The desserts are good but there breakfast items earned them a four star rating." Rick said.
"I'd love to try the food sometime" Sara said.
"I can call in a reservation for brunch tomorrow if you all want to go?" Rick asked.
"Trying not to eat alone Rick?" Peter asked.
"Totally. I hate it. That reminds me you, Neal, Jones, and Diana are invited to play poker in my Law Enforcement game every Saturday night. I know you two are busy tomorrow night but next week you guys should all drop by. We play cards, and talk cases. Sara and Elle, your invited too, if you guys want to come over. I have good booze, and good food." Rick said smiling.
"I'll come next week and take your money." Neal said smiling.
"Speaking of which, I wanted to stop by Donovan's house tomorrow and rattle him until his give me his tell. I know you don't need it but we don't want to chance it." Rick said.
"Good Idea." Neal said nodding.
"So what do you guys say, brunch on me tomorrow at ten?" Rick asked.
"We can make it." Elle said nodding at her husband.
"I'd like to go too." Neal said looking at Sara.
"Sure why not. Where is this place so I can take a cab." Sara asked.
"You take cabs?" Rick asked.
"Sure I do, doesn't everyone in this city?" Sara asked looking confused.
"Yeah Rick, what's wrong with cabs?" Elle asked.
"You too Elle?" Rick asked. "Cabs are terrible. Half of them smell weird and the other half are driven by crazy people. Both of you take one of these." Rick said pulling out a black business card holder and shifting through the stack of cards he pulled out to black cards that said Black Car. "I partially own a car service. It's the only one I let friends and family use. They have twenty cars driving around all day and night. You call the number and a car will pick you up in lass then fifteen minutes. They drop you off and they charge your account. You can settle up the bill at any time and because your family and friends you get half price rides. You save money and don't have to worry about sitting in some drunks guy's puke." Rick said.
"I don't know this is kind of inconvenient. I can walk out to the street and hail a cab at any time in this city." Sara said looking at the card with a raised eyebrow.
"Why don't you try it for a few weeks on me and tell me if you want to go back to cabs. Give it two weeks and I bet brunch anywhere in the city on me that you'll never go back to cabs again." Rick said.
"I'm in, this will look more professional showing up to meets." Elle said putting the phone number into her phone.
"Okay, I guess." Sara said putting the card in her bag.
"So we're all in for tomorrow at ten?" Rick asked pulling out his phone When he got nods from everyone he called Carrie's. "Hey Parker it's me Rick, the éclairs where perfect as always. I wanted to make a reservation for five for brunch tomorrow… ten… I think a tasting cart will be a good place to start so set that aside, and we'll order anything else. Thank you Parker." He said hanging up. "We're all set. Now I'm headed home. Can I drop you guys off?" Rick asked. Giving Neal a look that said say yes.
"I'd love a lift if it's not too much trouble." Neal said smiling.
"I guess I'll take you up on the offer too. I'm beat." Sara said standing up.
"Peter, it was nice of you to invite me to dinner." Rick said patting him on the back before pulling Elle into a hug. "Thanks for dinner Elle, it was great." He said.
"Thanks for the wine. You guys should take some with you." She said handing Neal and Sara a bottle.
"Alright you two let's get this show on the road." Rick said leading them out to his car with his black case. "Were do you live Sara?" He asked getting in.
"76 Perry St. in the west village." She said as she slipped into the back seat.
"Right. We'll drop you off first. I'm upper west side like Neal." Rick said.
"Thank you for doing this." She said smiling when Neal got in next to her.
"Not a problem. Besides I can speed whenever I want, I'm a fed now." Rick said punching it up to sixty. "I love this car." He said turning off the side street and onto Broadway.
"Having fun Rick?" Neal asked.
"You have no idea. So what's it like being an insurance investigator?" Rick asked.
"Fun, I track criminals and steal back stolen property, for five percent of the value." She said smiling at Neal.
"That sounds really cool." Rick said.
"Sara is the best investigator in the world. She ran down eight of the ten most expensive paintings ever stolen." Neal said.
"It would have been nine but I could never find this stolen Raphael." She said shaking her head.
"I'm sure it will turn up at some point." Neal said as they pulled up to her house. Neal got out and walked her to the door. "Thank you for bringing the recording to me. I swear I didn't steal it, but a can tell you I helped put it back." Neal said looking unsure.
"I know. The break in was too clumsy for you. But I knew you would know where it was. I had a good time tonight. Running around with you feds was fun. I'll see you tomorrow for brunch." She said not knowing what to do next. She wanted to kiss him. He wanted to kiss her. Both of them were uncomfortable . They ended up standing there for a minute not knowing what to do.
"Kiss her Fool!" Rick yelled out from his car.
An old lady stuck her head out of a window. "Hey pipe down! Some of us are trying to sleep!" The old lady yelled.
"Back inside lady, this is official FBI agent business!" Rick called back holding up his badge.
The old lady wave him off and shut her window.
Sara laughed and pulled Neal in to a kiss. "Now get out of here before Mrs. Katz calls the real cops." She said pushing him away.
"See you tomorrow." He said walking away with a smile on his face. He got in the passenger seat and turned to Rick. "I can get used to this good guy thing." Neal said.
"Well Mr. good guy we need to clear out some of your old bag guy stuff before we go any further. Where's the painting?" Rick asked diving away.
"It's in the trunk of a 1973 Datsun 240Z." Neal said.
"Where is the car?" Rick asked pulling over.
"In a storage locker in Long Island." Neal said.
"Is there anything else in the locker beside the car and the painting because if the Marshals ever track your GPS from tonight they will find the locker." Rick said.
"There is a lot of stuff in that car, but there are a lot of cars in the three storage units in have." Neal said feeling uncomfortable.
"Are they all hot cars?" Rick asked.
"Not really?" Neal said shrugging.
"What's that mean?" Rick asked.
"Well the cars are not stolen, they are all titled under my other alias. And all bought with counterfeit cash. I'm pretty sure the auction house never figured that out but I was never quit sure. Peter caught me right after that." Neal said looking a little red.
"Okay, so what are we talking about? Three, four cars?" Rick asked.
"Five rare classics and the Datsun." Neal said.
"Right. I can fix this. It's just not going to be legal or cheap, but it can be fixed. But if I do this you have to swear to me you are out." Rick said looking at him.
"Rick, I've never felt so clean in my life. I can't promise I won't slip up and get into something but a can swear to you I will never going looking for trouble." Neal said holding out his hand.
"Good enough for me." Rick said pulling out his phone. "Miguel. I'm coming to the shop keep your trusted crew on hand. I have a job of you." He said.
"I got you dog. Head on over." Miguel said.
"I've got a guy that used to specialize in boosting and stripping cars. He's mostly legit now, but he's still willing to do odd jobs for the right price." Rick said driving to the garage.
Ten minutes later when he drove into the warehouse turned chop shop turned custom shop. There were eight guys standing with Miguel. Rick got out and shook his hand. "Miguel, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine, Neal. Neal this is Miguel. Can we talk in your office?" Rick asked.
"Sure dog, follow me." Miguel said leading them to an office in the corner. "So what you want me to do?" He asked.
"My friend Neal used to be a thief, he was caught and put in jail. He's out now and he needs to get his savings out of storage. Neal tell him what we're dealing with."
"In a car storage place on Long island I have five rare classics and an old Datsun. All of the cars are titled in a fake name. we need to get something out of the Datsun but as soon as I go in there my tracking anklet will show me going there. Coming here can be explained. Going there can also be explained. But if they go there after me and track my location to a storage locker with a hot car then I'm in deep trouble and I'm trying very hard not to do that anymore." Neal said.
"Okay. I see what you're talking about but what are the cars we're dealing with?" Miguel asked.
"A 1937 Mercedes 540 roadster, a 1966 Austin Healey 3000 MkIII, a 1955 BMW 507 Roadster, a 1956 Porsche 356 Speedster wide body that used to belong to Steve McQueen and the green 1967 Mustang fastback used in the stunt chase in the move Bullitt." Neal said.
"Holy Shit." Miguel said looking excited and sick.
"You have the car from Bullitt?" Rick asked in a voice somewhere stuck between a choked whisper and a scream.
"Yes, I bought it at the Steve McQueen auction." Neal said smiling.
"I don't care what the price is I want that car." Rick said dead serious.
"Aint no body getting nothing for a while dude. Those are some super rear cars bro. We need to Barn find then." Miguel said.
"What?" Rick asked still stuck on the car.
"Barn find them or crazy dictator buy them. What we do is take the cars and load them onto a train. We move them to Mexico where my cousin has a huge shop. We store them and one at a time we "Find them" for the Mercedes and the Austin Healey we ship them to another country, put them in a barn, cover them up in dirt, hey, and shit. We take lots of pictures and we write up a bill of sale to you Rick for the car. Then we ship them here to the shop and take pictures of the shit covered car and a floor full of rusty parts. We write up a fake work order for the car, and in a year you can take delivery of the car. Then when you sell it you have pictures and papers for the whole process. As for the Mustang, the Porchse, and the BMW we ship them to a country in south America and sell the cars to a fake Drug king pin. Then the Federalys bust the fake dictator and sell the cars at auction to my cousin in Mexico. He then puts it on a train and ships it back here with the fake bill of sale and the newspaper clippings of the car being impounded by cops. Now the car has a story as to where it's been for the last six years. It wont be easy and it won't be fast but it will be totally clean. You can turn around and sell the cars at Beret Jackson if you want. They wont be able to clime they are hot because they're as clean as can be." Miguel said.
"What about the Datsun?" Neal asked.
"That one is real easy. we strip it down to parts and make out fake Junk yard receipts for all the parts. We re-build it, make it custom to the point you can't even tell it was the same car and title it as a rebuilt title. It's what we do in this shop. A week ago Rick's BMW was a wreck we pulled out of a scrap yard. Five days later he was driving that sick bitch. One week and you'll have your car back, and it will be better then it ever was. We like tuners here. Look at this sick 240Z we did last summer." Miguel said pulling a book of the shelf and flipping to the middle. There was a flat dark gray 240Z with black wide body wheel arches and a carbon fiber hood. The bumpers were removed, the car was sitting on massive wheels and tires and super low to the ground.
"I like it all except the paint and hood. I'll pay for this car out of my pocket." Neal said.
"How much is the rest of it going to cost?" Rick asked.
"For the transportation, storage and shipping it's going to run you $25,000 a car. For the rest it's going to depend on the car. Figure a tenth of the price of the cars to file the paperwork and fake the drug bust and auction. All told you're looking at about three million easy. But the three cars can be put up for auction the second they come back form the fake drug bust, and the turn around on that is going to be quick. Figure six months tops." Miguel said.
"When do you need the money by?" Rick asked.
"Soon. The men I'm working with don't deal in credit. It's cash in hand or your shit out of luck bro." Miguel said.
"I have a hundred thousand on me in cash and I can get you the rest tomorrow. But I want the mustang back by December. I'm giving it to Jordan as a Christmas present." Rick said holding out his hand.
"I'm sure we can pull it off. It might end up costing you a little bit more." Miguel said.
"I don't care I want that car by December 25th." Rick said.
"Okay. You want to drive it back to the shop?" Miguel asked.
"Drive it? Why?" Rick asked.
"We have six cars to bring back and we have four flat bed car carriers. Two cars have to be driven back form long Island. The Datsun is headed for junk restoration and you're buying the mustang for yourself so drive it back. If you put miles on the other cars it's going to drop the value." Miguel said. "Unless you don't want the bittersweet feeling of driving a sweet ride like that and having to hand over the keys when you get it here?" Miguel asked.
"I, I'm tempted but, no, your right, I can't hand the keys over if I sit in it." Rick said shaking his head.
"Then I'll have Johnny drive it back he was a professional wheel man once." Miguel said. Going over to talk to his guys.
"Rick, not to sound ungrateful for the help but, um how can I say this?" Neal said looking red.
"You want to know how you get paid?" Rick asked standing by his car.
"Yes. I set up this stuff as a retirement stash." Neal said.
"Well, we can do this one of two ways. I can buy the cars from you at a little bit under market value minus the three million for the cleaning. Or we both wait until the cars come back clean. I auction them off like they're mine, and give you what I get for them minus the fee without telling anyone. What do you want to do Neal? Take a sure thing and sit on the cash now or bet for the big bucks and wait?" Rick asked.
"I think I'll wait, it's not like I need the money anyways. What am I going to do with it? I'm working here for the next four years and if things get really serious with Sara then I could end up a kept husband." Neal said smiling.
"So you plan on staying?" Rick asked.
"Sure I do. Why wouldn't I? I'm really starting to see the benefits of being on the good guy team. It's all the stolen loot in the Datsun that has me freaked out." Neal said.
"What do you have stashed in the car besides the painting?" Rick asked.
"lets see, I have the Raphael, I have a Monet, I think I also have a Jackson Polack. I know I have about six million dollars in stolen Faberge eggs in a case in the back seat. I have some stolen jewelry in a bag in the glove box and a lock box with a coin collection worth millions. I also have suitcase full of fake hundred dollar bills. I might have some forged bonds too, I'm not even sure what I stashed in the car and what Peter found me with." Neal said shaking his head. "Fruits of a misspent youth."
"Well burn the fake cash and bonds, you don't want to be caught with those. In fact let me burn them, we don't want any evidence at all found in your house. As for the rest, give it to Sara. It must be insured by someone. She can turn it in and get the reward money for it. Then not only are you cleaning house but you're showing her you really mean it when you say you're going legit." Rick said.
"Damn, your right. I do something good and I get extra credit points for it." Rick said looking shocked.
"And you're going to break into her house tonight to leave it for her in a big pile for her to find it to show her you're still you. You just want to be good. You can be a little bad and still be good. Plus the fact that you broke in will piss her off just enough to make her want you more. Girls love a bad boy with a good heart. Look at me, wild rich author, and mild mannered single dad, do you have any idea how much ass I could have gotten if I was in to sleeping around?" Rick said
"Really?" Neal asked smirking.
"Loads." Rick said.
Miguel walked over, "We are ready to go, we will follow you there and back." He said getting into the back seat.
"Lets get this over with, I'm tired." Rick said yawning.
"It's only half past ten. Live a little Rick." Neal said.