(Alright, so I won't be around until after Tuesday because I have a huge math exam I need to ace. Nothing but blind panic from now till after that's over, so I will be back then. Farewell for now, lovelies~)
Peter hung up the phone and sighed, "Dammit, Nell..."
"What?" Elizabeth questioned. "What'd she do this time?"
Peter shook his head. "Nothing yet, but she just pitched me one of her crazy ideas, and I don't like it."
"But..." Elizabeth prompted.
"But," Peter admitted, "It's genius." He threw his hands up. "Of course it is. She always does this. Why couldn't I have gotten a male CI? Men are easier to handle."
"Sweetie, I'm pretty sure Nell would be the same if she were a man. Maybe a little tougher."
Peter hummed, smiling at the amusing thought. "Well, I'd better go make sure her and Mozzie don't get into trouble planning their little con." He gave his wife a quick kiss. "I'll be back in time for dinner, I promise."
"I'll hold you to that!" she called after him.
-)()(-
Nell glanced up when she heard Peter come in and she smiled. "Glad you decided to join us."
"I'll have you know," Peter started.
"Yeah, yeah," Nell said. "Nothing illegal, but you're still not happy about it."
"You do this too often," Peter muttered.
"Well, unless you've got a better way..."
Mozzie had been standing nearby, silently glaring, and when Peter glanced at him, he greeted coldly, "Suit."
"Mozzie."
"Peter," Nell said. "Good. We're all caught up. Now what do you say?" She kept that grin on her face, and Peter sighed for what felt like the tenth time. "Fine."
"Don't worry," Nell teased. "You're still in charge."
"Just tell me what exactly we'll be doing."
Nell gestured to the crinkled paper laid out on the table, covered with lines and symbols. "This."
Peter squinted at it. "That's what we did for the Fisher case. You think that'll work again?"
"With a few minor changes," Mozzie said. "We won't need to take such drastic measures this time."
"And by 'we' he means me," Nell said.
"Of course," Peter said, reluctantly getting on board with the whole idea. "Tell me what I'll be doing."
-)()(-
Peter sat in the lobby, pretending to read a magazine, but he glanced up when he spotted Nell walk in through the front door, hat on head as usual. She spared him a glance as she passed and winked at him, but before Peter could shoot her a glare for it, she had moved her attention to the lady at the front desk.
Peter watched as she turned on the charm, smiling that smile while the two talked. He had to wonder again how different this would be if he'd taken on a male CI instead of Nell. First off, there would be no charming his way through every situation. And he'd probably get into a lot less trouble. Nell was special in that way. She was a magnet for trouble.
As he watched, Peter saw her nod and smile at the secretary, then walk on past. Ever the one with words.
Now it was Peter's turn. He stood and walked up to the desk, flashing his badge. "Special Agent Peter Burke. I need to ask you a few questions."
-)()(-
Nell picked the lock on Baldwin's office easily and slipped inside. It took her but a moment to find the locked drawer in his desk and she knew that must be it. After some more picking, the drawer opened and she leafed through the files inside until she found what she was looking for and took some pictures with her phone.
Now to actually do what she came to do. No need for Peter to know she'd taken a little side trip.
She walked down the hall until she found the right office and knocked on the door, ready to use her silver tongue to get the information they needed.
Ew, no, not in that way. What's wrong with you?
It took significantly longer than she thought it would take, but she got everything she came for. As she strolled back down the hall, she spotted Baldwin returning to his office and quickly walked past, trying not to be noticed.
He was too busy talking angrily on the phone to notice her.
Back down in the lobby, Peter was nowhere to be seen, probably already out in the car waiting.
Nell slipped into the passenger seat with a grin and said, "Mission accomplished. We're looking for an Edward Dunn. Ring any bells?"
"Nope," Peter replied. "But I'm sure he'll pop up once I do a little digging."
-)()(-
Nell stood out on the balcony at June's, gazing out over the night life of the city that never slept. She brought her phone out of her pocket and looked again at the pictures she'd taken of that file, which had been part of a favor for Mozzie. She was always glad to help her friend, even if it meant going behind Peter's back.
This time felt different and she wasn't sure why. She felt like she'd done something wrong, and that had never really happened to her before. Right and wrong were only ideas based on circumstance. This time, it was concrete, a fact. That was Peter's way of thinking.
"Nell Georgina Caffrey," she sighed to herself. "What are you thinking?"
She was thinking no more secrets. She was thinking no more distrust. She was thinking she maybe wanted to prove herself to Peter.
But all that was impossible. Not with the life she led, the life she continued to lead.
For now, she was who she'd always been. Just... a little softer, a little more inclined to follow the rules for the sake of the ones she cared about.
Peter would understand after the fact, she knew.
Peter always understood.
-)()(-
Peter looked down from his office as Nell walked through the door, removing her hat to place on top of that little Socrates bust she kept on her desk for that very purpose, he was sure.
He watched as she greeted the agents around her with that smile of hers.
No, he thought, nothing could come close to replacing her, and he didn't want to think about what would have happened if he'd taken Hughes' advice that day. When an agent took on a CI, it was highly recommended that they work with one of the same gender. For obvious reasons.
But Nell wasn't like that. Their relationship was that of friends and coworkers, nothing else. Even Elizabeth had understood after meeting Nell that the con was certainly smart and genuinely wanted to help. There was no harm in accepting her offer.
Peter never wanted to know what would have happened if he'd refused that offer. Things would have certainly gone differently.
As he observed Nell and her interactions with the other agents, he smiled. No, he thought. He liked the way things were.
