Note: I meant to get to the party proper in this chapter...but then I got distracted by giving Daniel and little more background.
White Collar: The Eye of Sita
Chapter Thirty Five
Seventeen years old Daniel was woken by the sound of the door to his room slowly opening. He couldn't even remember a time when he wasn't easily woken by even the slightest sound. Daniel's blood froze as he prayed that for once it was Neal who was invading his space in the middle of the night. It never was, and the way the figure in the doorway stumbled drunkenly Daniel knew it was Caffrey. He had started drinking more and more lately. He always waited until everyone had gone to bed before hitting the scotch, but when he did he hit it hard.
Daniel tried to pretend to still be sleeping when Caffrey sat down on the edge of the bed and ran his hand through Daniel's blonde hair. Irritated by being ignored Caffrey tangled his fingers in Daniel's hair and jerked his head up. Gasping as though just woken Daniel stared up at his tormentor. Dismissing the fear in Daniel's eyes Caffrey leaned in with his breath reeking of top shelf liquor.
Trying to dissuade the inebriated Caffrey from an intimate encounter Daniel put his palm on Caffrey's chest to keep him at a distance. These days he had the physical power to spurn Caffrey's advances and often times if he just struggled long enough Caffrey would fall asleep in his drunken stupor. Tonight instead of treating Daniel's resistance as a playful game Caffrey simply released his hold on Daniel's hair and got off the bed. Daniel sat up and furrowed his brow as Caffrey headed towards the door.
"You're leaving?" Daniel asked confused.
"You don't seem very into this tonight, perhaps you're getting too old. I'm going to go see what Neal is doing."
"No, wait. I'm sorry." Daniel panicked. "Neal's sleeping for the first time in days, he's been obsessed with that water lilly painting ever since we got back from Paris. I just got him to take a break a few hours ago. Stay, please."
Caffrey turned back to look at Daniel with a raised eyebrow.
"Come back, I'll do better." Daniel promised. "Please just leave Neal alone tonight."
"Can you make it worth my while?"
"You know I can..."
Back in the present Daniel growled in frustration as he tried to fix the bow tie that went along with the elegantly cut tuxedo he was being forced to wear. He glanced over at Neal who was putting the finishing touches on his own tux. Neal looked born to wear the fancy attire whereas Daniel felt like he was trying on someone else's skin. Tucking a stray black lock of hair behind his ear Neal looked over at Daniel struggling with the tie and shook his head sadly.
"I can't believe after all these years you still haven't learned how to tie a bow tie properly."
"I didn't even wear a tux to my wedding." Daniel said defensively as he undid the sloppy tie and started to try again.
"Here, I'll do it." Neal offered.
"Why are we even bothering with all of this? You and I both know that Glass isn't just going to let us walk out of here tonight."
"I'm not so sure about that, I think he might. Now hold still."
Daniel sighed in frustration and tilted his head back slightly as Neal reached out and took a hold of the ends of his black tie. With practiced ease Neal tied the short black cloth into a perfectly symmetrical bow tie. After making sure the tie was straight Neal glanced at his own reflection in the near by full length mirror. While Neal had been busy hiding the Hope in the statue, under careful guard, Glass had spared no expense in getting hand tailored suits for them. Staring into the reflection of his own eyes Neal became lost in memory, in his early years he remembered everyone had always told him he had his mother's eyes.
"Neal?" Daniel asked gently. "You okay?"
"Fine." Neal turned away from the mirror.
"Don't you believe Glass for a second that your mother just sold you to Caffrey."
"Dani..."
"We both know that Caffrey was a man who got what he wanted. Glass didn't say this but you know that she had the option of accepting the 'gift' and pushing you away or to wake up one morning to the news that you'd been killed during one of your late night graffiti trips."
"She could have just told me the truth."
"And take the chance with your life that the prison guard listening wasn't in Caffrey's pocket?" Daniel countered. "She did the only thing she could. She loved you, you were her son she had to protect the only way she could, it was all an act."
"Well she played her part perfectly." Neal growled. "I never went back...not even for the funeral."
"You were in prison when she died." Daniel pointed out.
"I could have revealed my birth name, I could have gotten a prison escort to the service."
"No one would have ever believed you. Glass, or whoever he was, destroyed any physical evidence that you two were related."
"Wait...do you remember Glass' real name?" Neal asked suddenly.
"What?"
"Glass wasn't always 'Glass', he had to change his name when he fled Texas to start a new life to keep himself from being connected to Caffrey. He told us himself that he had to leave because of us. If you can remember his name we can have him extradited to Texas."
"Extradited? Neal, you don't just arrest a man like Glass. The rich and powerful don't face legal consequences in this country."
"Of course they do. Peter and I arrest rich and powerful men all of the time."
"How many of them see actual jail time?"
"I..." Neal paused and thought about the question "I guess I don't know."
"Exactly."
"Daniel, you're not planning on killing Glass are you?" Neal asked seriously.
Daniel's only response was silence.
"No." Neal said firmly. "No more blood, Daniel."
"It's the only way."
"You solve your problems the way a child does! Just try to stop and think once before acting."
"Are you saying you have a better solution?" Daniel demanded. "Even if he lets us live through the night, now that we know Glass is the man behind this you will never be safe, my son will never be safe, no one you know will ever be safe. This time when he wanted something it was Liam, what if he goes after Sara next?"
"He won't."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because he'll be behind bars."
"How?"
"I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out."
"Are you going to figure out a way to get the Hope back as well?" Daniel asked in an acidic tone.
"I'm working on that as well. Please, Daniel, I need you to follow my lead tonight. No violence. I know you're angry, but you have to let it go."
"I can't." Daniel admitted. "Glass tore me away from any chance I had at a normal life when he stole me from the foster system and tossed me into the home of a predator. Caffrey offered me everything I could ever want with one hand and was my greatest source of pain and fear with the other."
"Daniel, I'm so sorry, and I can't even imagine..."
"The older I got the more humiliating it became," Daniel continued "but what hurt the most was when I reached an age where Caffrey didn't want me anymore and you didn't need me."
"That's not true." Neal protested. "I was just preocu..."
"I'm not saying it's your fault. You were always more meant for the life Caffrey offered than I was." Daniel forced a sad smile. "But how can you not hate Glass for what he did to you? He took your mother from you."
"I'm angry, Daniel, but not to the point of wanting him dead."
"It's not about want, Neal, it's about need. I will give you until midnight to find another solution."
"Dani..."
"That's my only offer, Neal. I will not live my life in fear of Glass coming for my son again."
Neal wasn't about to just stand by at midnight and let Daniel go on another murderous rampage, but he nodded for now to buy some time. Daniel suddenly enveloped Neal in a powerful bear hug. Neal was just about to protest that he couldn't breath when Daniel released him. Neal reached out and straightened out Daniel's tie once more before doing the same to his own. There was a brief knock on the door before Glass invited himself inside.
"Ah," Glass beamed "you both clean up so well."
"Thanks." Daniel replied drily.
"I know you'll both be forced to go your separate ways after this. So please, take this night to enjoy your time together. And try not to make a scene, I'd hate to have you thrown out."
"Heaven forbid."
"Glass," Neal said "is this India diamond deal really worth all of this?"
"In a lot of ways, yes." Glass shrugged. "But it's not just about the money, Neal, you know that. When Daniel surfaced a few years ago I couldn't resist testing Caffery's experiment. I have to admit Daniel is every bit the master thief he raised him to be."
Neal lashed out just in time to keep Daniel from going for Glass' throat. Daniel stood down, but he clearly wasn't happy about it. Part of Neal wanted to let Daniel go, but he knew he'd regret the decision in the end. Glass was still fearless, trusting Neal to keep his violent counterpart in check.
"I have a lot of guests to attend to tonight." Glass announced. "I'll have you escorted downstairs. My men will make sure you stay out of trouble, and I do ask that you stay till the end so I can have the chance to say good bye."
Neal paid close attention to Glass' facial expression as he made his statement. He didn't like the way the older man had suddenly dropped all eye contact. Glass looked Neal and Daniel over one last time before turning to leave. The sorrow in Glass' dark eyes had been unmistakable.
The bodyguards that had been in the hall stepped inside to bring the pair downstairs. In the elevator Daniel stayed quiet although Neal knew exactly what he was thinking. The private elevator opened up on a spectacular scene as the entire Embassy had been decked out for the night's festivities. Indian women in traditional bright garb mingled with the more reserved dressed women of D.C while the men spotted the room in their stark black and white tuxedos. Neal glanced at all the available exits and found them all heavily guarded.
"Still think Glass is going to let us go?" Daniel asked seriously.
"No."
"I'll be on my best behavior for you tonight, but I'm not going down without a fight, Neal."
"Neither am I, but there is more than one way to win."