Thanks for the patience! More to come on this and my other one soon!
Kathryn proved to be an incredibly effective substitute for Neal's right arm. She followed her son's orders in the kitchen to the T, all the while stealing glances at Neal's back, hunched over a pot at his stove. Kristen was sitting at the table on the patio, her arms firmly crossed over her chest as she glared out at the incredible view. Mozzie was standing outside with her, but neither had spoken a word since their initial introduction. The man had never been good with kids. Especially teenage girls. He just watched her curiously, trying to imagine his best friend as this stranger's brother.
"She's not doing so well in all of this, is she?" Neal asked his mother, peering up from his cooking out onto the balcony.
"No," Kathryn admitted. "But I'm sure she'll come around." She sounded doubtful.
"Yeah," Neal agreed with a nod. He seemed just as convinced as his mother. He shook off his disappointed expression and grabbed a stack of plates from a cabinet over his head. "Dinner's ready," he announced, flashing a reassuring smile. Kathryn followed him out to the patio, where they set the table and placed the food in front of the other two.
"Thank you," Kristen said quietly. She didn't even raise her eyes to meet her brother's. Neal smiled weakly and sat down beside her.
"So…Mozzie," Kathryn started, realizing that Kristen and Neal weren't going to start any civil conversation. "How did you and Nick…Neal meet?" she asked, correcting herself instantly.
"That's confidential information," Mozzie answered quickly. Neal rolled his eyes.
"Mozz was running a job in the park," he explained, despite his friend's look of betrayal. "Let's just say, I beat him at his own game," he finished with a shrug. Mozzie narrowed his eyes.
"You cheated me out of five hundred dollars is what you did," he countered with playful annoyance.
"And if I hadn't," Neal reminded him. "You'd still be running that same job in that same park."
"Touché," Mozzie admitted defeat. They both smiled. Neal looked to his mother who seemed to be amused as well. Kristen, however, had adopted a look of deep curiosity. Her eyes were narrowed, and it was clear that she wanted to ask him something.
"What's the largest amount of money you've ever stollen from one person?" she asked Neal without hesitation. There was no real interest in her voice, just judgmental disapproval. Neal frowned but obliged nonetheless.
"About ten years ago," he started, looking her directly in the eye, "before Peter was chasing me, I ran a con on a man named Henry Ames that I never got caught for. He owned his own company, and, by the time I left, I had stollen nearly six million dollars from him." Mozzie looked incredibly triumphant, smiling at the memory of their biggest job. Neal didn't look as pleased. Neither did Kristen.
"What happened to him?" she asked cautiously. Neal swallowed. "And don't tell me you don't know."
"The company went under," Neal told her in a quiet voice. Mozzie's attention was suddenly focused on the New York skyline behind them. "He lost everything."
"All so you could get one big score," Kristen stated, shaking her head in amazement.
"I was a kid," Neal argued, as if it were any excuse. "I was new to the city, and I needed money."
"But, if you hadn't gotten caught you'd still be doing it now, right?" Kristen questioned with a raised eyebrow. Neal nodded slowly.
"Yeah. I would," he admitted with a guilty smile. It was amazing. He had never looked back on his past with anything but triumph, but now, with his sister looking at him with that judgmental stare, he actually felt guilty. He wanted to take all of it back. Not so much for Henry Ames, but for Kristen. She hated the fact that her brother had turned into this stranger, and he hated himself for letting that happen. "Kris," he sighed. Her eyes met his. "I'm sorry I'm not Nick Halden anymore." He gave her a weak smile, but the girl's eyes dropped back to her food.
"You do have several passports and driver's licenses that say otherwise," Mozzie pointed out. Neal shot him a look.
"Mozz…" he warned, but Kristen was already peaked with interest.
"What does he mean?" she questioned her brother. Neal glared at Mozzie angrily before turning to her.
"Nick Halden is one of my aliases," he explained calmly. "Was," he corrected quickly. He could see his friend rolling his eyes.
"Oh yeah?" Kristen said, trying not to show her interest. She picked at her food, refusing to raise her eyes. "How much money did he steal?" she questioned bitterly.
"Not a lot, actually," Neal admitted. "He wasn't some of my best work," he continued. Kristen seemed amused. "But, for some reason, he's always been my favorite." Kristen looked up at once. Even Kathryn abandoned her look of indifference and eyed Neal curiously.
"Really?" she asked doubtfully. Neal nodded.
"It's true," Mozzie confirmed with an annoyed sigh. Neal knew how much his friend hated the poor alias. "Unfortunately, he's quite fond of that one."
Everyone fell silent after that. The rest of the meal was finished with only the sound of clinking silverware and traffic from below to entertain them. Once they had finished, Kristen was the first to get up. She got up from her own chair and grabbed the plates surrounding the table.
"I'll…um…" she started. She couldn't stand to look at her brother anymore. This wasn't fair. She wanted so desperately to hate him, but he wasn't making it easy. "I'll go clean up." She hurried into the kitchen. Neal watched her leave and then turned to his mother.
"It doesn't sound like she's coming around," he pointed out with a frown.
"She will," Kathryn insisted before following her daughter into the apartment.
Neal sighed and leaned back in his chair. Mozzie studied him carefully.
"You weren't exactly helpful tonight," Neal told him in annoyance.
Mozzie just shrugged. "I was just being honest."
"Honest?" Neal hissed. "Mozzie, when have you ever been honest?"
Again, the older man only shrugged. "I like them," he added, taking a sip of his wine and stretching out his arms.
"Yeah. So do I," Neal continued hotly. " And I would really prefer to stay on their good side."
"Are you expecting an apology?" his friend questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"No," Neal said, shaking his head. "Forget it."
"Sure," Mozzie agreed happily.
Both their eyes were suddenly drawn to the patio doors where Kathryn was standing with her hands folded in front of her.
"We're going to head out," she stated apologetically. Neal rose at once. He could see Kristen through the window, leaning against the front door. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her arms were wrapped tightly around her body. "I'll call you tomorrow," Kathryn continued. Neal crossed to where she was standing and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Okay," he said reluctantly. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
With that, Kathryn turned to leave. Neal watched as she took her daughter's hand and led the way out of the apartment. He stood for a moment in the doorway to the patio before going to sit down beside Mozzie.
"I can't do this, Mozz," he said shaking his head. "I mean, I'm just getting used to life with this," he motioned to his anklet. "I can't handle them too."
"I don't think you have much of a choice here, Neal," the other man said apologetically.
"I guess not," Neal shrugged.
They fell silent, staring out at the city. Everything seemed so quiet and still from forty feet up. Neal's problems suddenly felt minuscule against the immenseness of Manhattan. He leaned back against his chair and stretched his arms over his head, sighing loudly. Mozzie watched him with curiosity.
And then, without the slightest warning, a high pitched scream shattered the silence of the night. Both men shot to their feet as the continuous screaming was accompanied with the distinct sound of screeching tires. Neal hurled his upper body over the side of the railing, looking directly down at the street below. On the sidewalk, he could make out his mother standing just at the bottom of June's front step. She was screaming, repeating her daughter's name over and over again, after a black van that was quickly driving out of sight. Neal didn't waste a second.
"Mozzie, call 911," he instructed immediately. The other man barely had time to register the words before Neal was through the apartment and halfway down the stairs. He made it to the bottom level and rushed out the door. He took the front steps in a single jump.
"Mom," he called after the woman who had already started down after the street. She turned around and, once the sight of him registered with him, hurried over to him.
"Nick," she breathed. He didn't correct her. "They took her." Her voice was strained, on the verge of tears, but she didn't cry.
"Did you get a good look at any of them?" Neal asked with growing panic.
"No," Kathryn said, shaking her head. "But the van…" she thought back briefly. "Black minivan. New York license plate 977-RAB."
Neal placed a hand on his mother's shoulder. "Mozzie's calling the police. I'm going to call Peter," he insisted. "We're going to find her."
Kathryn nodded slowly, and Neal reached for his phone. It was already ringing, however. Immediately, he answered the call and brought it to his ear.
"Hello," he answered, not hiding the fear that was evident in his voice. There was an amused laugh on the other line.
"Hey there, Caffrey," a familiar voice greeted him. "You lose something?"
"Keller," Neal breathed in recognition. Kathryn's worried eyes flashed over to him. "What do you want?" he questioned immediately. He wasn't going to bargain. Not on this. He would give the man whatever he wanted.
"Come on, Neal," Keller laughed. "Can't we just talk?"
"Where is she?" Neal hissed back. Kathryn's eyes widened.
"Relax," Keller said calmly. "She's fine."
"Where. is. she?" Neal repeated. This wasn't the same as when Keller had taken Peter. Neal had never doubted for a second that, no matter what happened, Peter would be able to take care of himself. He wasn't so sure with Kristen. She was just a kid, and he was well aware of what Keller was capable of.
"You'll get her back," Keller promised, sighing at Neal's forwardness. "As soon as I get what I want."
Neal's chest boiled with anger. He didn't have time to play games. "And what would that be?" he asked through gritted teeth.
Keller only laughed. He ignored Neal's question completely. "I'll be in touch."
The line went dead.
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