Note: I'm so sorry for the long wait! Damn the real world getting in my way.
White Collar: The Eye of Sita
Chapter Thirty Four
"What's wrong, Robert?"
"My dog won't hunt, Harold." Caffrey sighed.
"I told you that ya can't just take some orphan off the street and turn him into a world class thief."
"Daniel has all the skills, he's just missing the drive."
"Of course he is. Look around you, he has everything he needs, worse yet everything he wants. Why steal when you live in the lap of luxury?"
"I've never wanted for anything in my life, but it never kept me from seeking the thrill of the con. I've failed with Daniel. I need to start again."
"Start again?"
"I need another protege."
"No, absolutely not. As your lawy..."
"Harold, I don't want to hear it."
"Robert, it was dangerous enough the first time to take in Daniel. Finding another one..."
"I've already found him. He's perfect, a graffiti artist that goes by the tag 'Texas Anonymous'. He just entered the foster system, he's too old to find a permeant adoptive family. Once he hits eighteen he'll be alone in this world with nothing and he knows it."
"How old is he now?"
"Twelve."
"Christ, Caffrey, this kid is almost a teenager already? What makes you think he'll be any easier to deal with than Daniel?"
"He has something Daniel's never had: raw talent. Plus...I...I won't make the same mistake with Neal that I made with Daniel."
"What mistake is that?"
"Nothing, don't worry about it. Just do whatever it is you need to do to make this happen. I want him."
"And if this new kid doesn't want to have anything to do with you?"
"He will."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I won't treat this one like a possession or a project. I'll treat this one like a son..."
Neal stared at Glass, unsure of what to think about the story he'd just recounted to them about how Neal came to live with Caffery. Daniel looked liked he was about to pull the trigger of the gun he still had aiming at Glass' head out of sheer rage. If Glass was afraid of Daniel he didn't show it. He kept his eyes on Neal and smiled.
"Of course it wasn't until later that I learned your mother was still alive." Glass continued. "That was the hardest part with you, paying off your mother to push you away. I felt awful about that. Have you ever talked to her again? I doubt it, not after what she said to you the last time. That little bit of acting cost Caffery nearl..."
Neal jolted in surprise as Daniel fired twice in quick succession. The gun had made the characteristic sharp cracking noise, however there was no damage. With practiced ease Daniel released the clip and stared at the blue rounds. Neal suddenly realized what the blue on the rounds was: the guns they stole held nothing more than blanks. Not having even flinched Glass looked over at Daniel.
"You're right, I shouldn't be telling Neal what his life was worth to his mother." Glass nodded.
Dropping the worthless gun Daniel bared his teeth at Glass like a wild animal before he launched himself at him to kill him with his bear hands. However being a genuine Texas man Glass was more than prepared and drew a large revolver from the holster hidden under his well tailored jacket with blinding speed. For a second Neal feared that Daniel wasn't going to stop, and if Glass had continued to aim at him he probably wouldn't have. However when Glass changed his aim to Neal's heart Daniel froze in place and backed down.
"Good boy, Daniel." Glass praised. "I was always fascinated by how quickly you took Neal under your wing. So protective of him. Did you ever try to turn him away from a life of crime? I bet you did, I also bet he didn't listen."
"Glass," Neal interrupted before Daniel could lose his temper again "I'm guessing you switched the ammo in the guards' guns because you didn't want either of us hurt."
"That's right. I never meant for anyone to get hurt."
"What about my son?" Daniel spat venomously.
"If you hadn't killed Garret for breaking Liam's wrist I would have had him killed when this was done. I gave him explicit instructions to be gentle."
"There is no such things as a gentle kidnapping. How cou..."
"Daniel, please." Neal interrupted again. "Glass, you said you wanted us to escape, so just let us go now. We all know that your lawyers would rip apart anything Daniel or I tried to say in court against you. We have nothing on you. We can all just walk away from this."
"Except for the fact that Daniel seems like the type to hold a grudge." Glass pointed out. "And of course you have my diamond in your pocket."
"I set all of the diamonds into the statue." Neal said trying to sound innocent.
"Neal, don't treat me like an idiot. I know you got into the safe. I can see it in your eyes that you were holding the Hope." Glass said casually. "In another life I would ask you both to work for me, but Daniel has a family and even though you're off your anklet I know you're not leaving Burke anytime soon."
"So where do we go from here?" Neal asked seriously.
"I really don't want to kill you two." Glass said seriously. "But I don't want to have to watch my back for the rest of my life either."
"I'm the only one you have to worry about." Daniel said firmly. "Let Neal go. We both know he's not a threat to your life like I am. You don't have to kill us both, just me."
"I don't want your blood on my hands Daniel, no more than it already is." Glass sighed. "Please believe me when I say that I didn't learn until much too late that Caffrey was a pedophile, I am truly sorry about that. If I had known, please forgiv..."
"Fuck you. Don't waste your breath asking for forgiveness. You bought and sold me like a common dog. You destroyed Neal's relationship with his mother when he needed it most. And after all of that you couldn't just leave us alone, you had to fuck up our lives one last time."
"I was only helping you achieve your destiny."
"Destiny?" Daniel huffed.
"Caffrey raised you specifically to steal the Hope Diamond."
"What?" Neal asked in surprise.
"Caffrey knew it was too risky to try and steal the stone himself, but he wanted to see if he could do it through a proxy. If you brought it back, wonderful. If you got caught, it would only take a phone call to erase you're connection to him. The perfect crime. In fact he almost erased you when you got caught in New York. He only brought you back because he knew Neal would miss you."
"I've had enough of this bullshit." Daniel growled. "I would rather be shot than listen to one more word about Caffrey."
"Daniel." Neal said sternly. "You're not helping the situation."
"No, he's right." Glass nodded. "Talking about the past is not going to help. Here is what's going to happen. I'm going to call my trusted men in here to make sure you two are on your best behavior for the rest of the night. Neal, you're going to embed the Hope Diamond into the Sita statue, deep under the clay over her heart..."
"That's how you're going to smuggle the Hope to India, you're giving the statue to someone in the Embassy as a gift."
"That's right." Glass nodded. "While you're doing that I'll have someone bring you two something more appropriate to wear."
"Excuse me?" Neal asked confused.
"I'm throwing a party tonight, black tie."
"And you want us there?" Daniel raised his scared eyebrow in disbelief.
"Of course." Glass smiled genuinely. "What kind of host would I be if I didn't invite the men who made all this possible?"
"And afterward?" Neal asked nervously.
"You're both free to go."
"Just like that?" Daniel asked suspiciously. "You'll just let us walk out."
"What choice do I have?"
"You could have us killed." Daniel offered helpfully.
"No, I couldn't kill you anymore than I could murder my own flesh and blood."
"Why not?"
"I'm a criminal, not a monster. You two should understand that better than most."