A/N: The flashback in this chapter is set during Smallville Season 6. In my world, after Chloe disappeared from the caves at the end of Season 5, Lex recovered the key and kept it.
Chloe took a deep breath and nodded. "Ok then, I need your help."
"Sure, anything," Neal said grabbing her hand.
Chloe offered him a small smile and shook her head, pulling her hand from his, "Don't say that, not yet."
"What's going on?" Peter asked, sliding into his own chair behind his desk.
"Look, your wife was a lovely woman and she made a very convincing argument for why I should trust you-the both of you-and I want to I really do, but this thing-it involves other people, people that I've spent the better part of my life trying to protect."
"Criminals?" Peter asked and Chloe shook her head.
"No, well, not technically," she said biting her lip.
"I love it when people aren't 'technically' criminals," Peter smirked at her.
"Look we all have our little secrets, but their secrets could get them put them put on a list," Chloe said staring straight at Peter and slowly comprehension started to dawn.
"I don't get it, a list?" Neal looked at Chloe confused. "What kind of a list?"
"If you were to find out their identities, you would be required, by law, to report them," Chloe explained.
"To who?" Peter asked, pretty sure of the answer, but dreading it anyway.
"The VRA," Chloe whispered and Peter hung his head.
"Shit," he leaned back in his seat, rubbing his hand over his eyes.
"Yeah. Look before I tell you anymore I need to be sure you won't report them but I also can't ask you to do that, so I'm giving you the option, before we go any further, to simply back out." Chloe offered. She dug in her bag and pulled out a small black business card with simple white writing on it and slid it across the desk to Peter. "If you decide you want to help, meet me here at 7o'clock. If not – we can just pretend like this never happened, go back to our normal lives."
"I'll have to think about it, I'm sure you understand," Peter said picking up the card and nodding at Chloe.
"I don't understand." Neal stood up angrily, "What is there to think about? Who the hell is the VRA? What list?"
"Do you remember hearing about the Vigilante Registration Act? A law that would require all Vigilante's to register themselves with the Government?" Chloe asked.
"Vaguely," Neal nodded. "It got shot down didn't it?"
"The Pro-hero movement kind of took the wind out of their sails, it took public opinion off their side. They knew they'd never get it passed on its own, so they went a different route, adding it as an addendum to the Patriot Act renewal. They tacked it on at the last second and we didn't have time to build up much of a resistance, it passed clean. " Chloe shook her head in annoyance. "It basically states that anyone in the employ of the United States Government who stumbles upon the indentify of any known or unknown vigilante, is required to report them to the VRA."
"So they don't have to register themselves, but if they get caught…" Neal said.
"Then they go on the list." Chloe nodded.
"Is that so bad?" Neal asked confused. "I mean it's just a name on a list."
"Tell that to guys McCarthy blacklisted," Chloe snorted. "Some of them never worked again. Look, their name goes on the list and once you've been registered you're taken to a VRA facility to be processed. The party line is that they simply want to assess and catalogue your powers for the official record but they do so much more than that, they torture you, push your powers to their limits and then they push a little more. You're lucky to come out alive. The ones who have…they're done, finished, put on the hero equivalent of desk duty. The list is public, so suddenly they have no secret identities, their anonymity is gone. They can't do their jobs anymore, not effectively anyway."
"None of that matters to me, I want to help you." Neal told her. "I'm not going to report anyone."
"But you have to," Chloe told him. "You're technically in the employ of a Federal Agency, and therefore the United States Government. If they ever found out you knew the identities of known vigilantes and didn't report them, it would void your deal with the State Department. You'd go back to jail."
"I don't care," Neal told her.
"I do," Chloe snapped at him. "Look, I'm the reason that you're in this mess in the first place. I'm the reason that you went to jail once, I won't be the reason you go back. In the end it's your decision to make, I just want you to take some time and think about it." Chloe stood up and nodded at Peter, smiled softly at Neal and then walked out of the door.
Chloe leaned against the back wall of the elevator as the doors closed, her whole body shaking with relief. She'd gone into the lion's den and walked right back out. She hadn't been met with handcuffs or a firing squad. Peter had listened to her and let her go, maybe she could trust him. Which was good because if she wanted to get Bart back, Peter and Neal might be her only choice.
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"I'm going to help her." Neal said to Peter when she'd left.
"It's not that simple Neal," Peter said flipping the card over in his hands.
"It is that simple," Neal shook his head, pushing himself to his feet.
"These guys, the vigilantes that she's trying to protect, they're dangerous." Peter told him.
"They're heroes," Neal argued.
"You don't know that, you don't know them," Peter said. "They have powers that you can't imagine. Unnatural powers Neal."
Neal closed his eyes because Peter didn't know. He didn't understand, he couldn't, but then it again, Neal didn't always understand.
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"These people are dangerous Chloe," Neal said. "I don't like you working with them."
"You don't know them," Chloe countered. "You don't understand."
"No I don't." Neal shook his head. "I don't understand how you can defend them. They've blown up three of Lex's facilities. They're terrorists."
"They're heroes." Chloe snapped at him. "Do you know what Lex was doing in those facilities?" She pulled down the collar of her shirt and showed Neal a familiar jagged white scar. "He's taking people, people with abilities and he's experimenting on them, he's torturing them."
Neal swallowed his words when he realized the full implications of what she was saying. "Did he experiment on you?" Chloe nodded stiffly. "So then you're like them? You have—"
"I can heal people." Chloe told him. "Well, I can take their injuries into myself."
"You can heal people?" Neal asked in a whisper.
"I was caught in the first meteor shower when I was a kid. Me and mom were driving through town. I've got a large concentration of meteor rock surrounding my heart. I didn't even know about it until a few years ago."
"But you're ok?" Neal asked her. "I mean it's not gonna kill you or anything?"
"No," Chloe said then paused. "Well, we don't think so. Look, not only are these guys heroes, they're my friends and the work that they're doing is so unbelievable important. I want to be a part of that. I'm going to be a part of that." She wasn't asking him, she was telling him. Neal knew Chloe well enough that if he forced the issue, she would choose them over him.
"Ok, then." Neal said and Chloe looked at him in surprise. "I trust you."
"Thanks." Chloe slumped in relief.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"I know her," Neal snapped. "I know Chloe and I know if she's helping them then they can't be all bad. You can do what you want to do Peter, but I'm helping her." He plucked the card from Peter's fingers and walked out the door.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Neal stood outside Chloe's building at 6:55, running his fingers down the tenant list. "She didn't put an apartment number on the card," a voice said from behind him.
Neal turned to see Peter standing over his shoulder looking at the list. He smiled then turned back, pressing the button next to the slot that said E. Perine. "Effie Perine," Neal elaborated.
Peter laughed. "Sam Spade's secretary in the Maltese Falcon. Does that make you Humphrey Bogart?"
Neal just shook his head. "I didn't think you'd come."
"If you trust her then I trust her," Peter shrugged as the door buzzed and opened for them.
"Why?" Neal followed him to the elevator.
"Because I trust you." Peter shrugged, punching the button for the top floor and Neal tried to hide his smile as elevator doors closed.
When they got to her apartment neither of them were really all that surprised when Mozzie opened the door. Mozzie on the other hand seemed very surprised to see Peter there. "You brought the Suit?"
"Moz, don't start," Neal shook his head and moved to walk into the apartment.
"Not so fast," Mozzie held out his hand, stopping Neal in his tracks. "Password?" he asked them.
Peter and Neal looked at each other confused then back at Moz. "We didn't get a password."
"Really?" Mozzie narrowed his eyes.
Peter nudged Neal's shoulder. "You don't have the password?"
"There is no password," Neal said then turned to a bit unsure. "Is there?"
"I don't know, is there?" Mozzie asked haughtily and Neal narrowed his eyes before groaning because with Mozzie you never knew.
"Moz, let them in," Chloe said, the slightest hint of laughter in her voice and the door is pulled from Moz's hand as Chloe opens it wider, allowing them to enter the apartment.
Mozzie kept a careful eye on Peter as he walked past until Chloe nudged his shoulder and rolled her eyes. He smiled at her and walked over to a table in the corner that was covered with some project he was working on. "Hey," Chloe smiled up at Neal and Peter as she closed the door. "Come on in please."
"Wow," Peter said in awe as he walked into the main room and saw all of Chloe's monitors and equipment. "This is a pretty serious set up."
"You think this is impressive you should see my Watchtower in Metropolis," Chloe smiled proudly and Peter knew this is where she's most comfortable.
"Are you ready to tell us what's going on?" Neal asked.
"I think introductions are in order first," Chloe took a deep breath, wondering for the last time if she was doing the right thing. As if sensing her hesitation Oliver laid a hand on her arm.
"Chlo, are you sure we can trust him?" he nodded his head at Neal and Chloe looked over at him, remembering the way he dropped a kiss to the top of her shoulder right before she fell asleep the last time she saw him and wondered why she'd ever stopped trusting him. Right now all the reasons and excuses she'd had before just weren't cutting it, because he was here, now. "With this? Yeah, we can trust him with this," Chloe said and Neal smiled, "With your bank account, not so much."
Neal laughed because it was true. "Touché," he said tipping his hat to her and just like that, the tension seemed to break for the moment.
"Right, so introductions," Chloe turned around. "This is Victor Stone A.K.A. Cyborg," Victor lifted a hand up in a semi-wave from his place in front of the computer. "Arthur Curry A.K.A. Aquaman," AC walked up next to Victor and nodded. "And I believe you've met Oliver Queen."
"Please don't say it, please don't say it," Peter mumbled under his breath and Neal shot him a confused look as Chloe just smirked.
"A.K.A. The Green Arrow."
"And she said it," Peter sighed. "Shit, shit, shit," he stood up and started pacing the room.
"Peter?" Neal frowned at him.
"I mean I knew, you warned me you were working with Vigilantes."
"We don't actually like that word if you don't mind," AC said.
"We prefer Meta's if you absolutely have to use something," Victor added.
"Excuse me, I apologize," Peter said to them sincerely. "I knew coming into this you were working with Meta's, but I had no idea you meant numbers one thru three on the VRA's most wanted list." Peter ran a hand through his hair. "I mean my God, their pictures are hanging in the lobby of FBI headquarters next to Bin Laden."
"Ouch," Victor said.
"Wait, one thru three?" Oliver smirked. "You mean I finally passed Boyscout on the list?"
He looked so excited that he was more of a public enemy than Clark and Chloe shook her head in exasperation.
"Boyscout?" Peter frowned, the name unfamiliar to him.
"You probably know him as The Blur," Chloe offered.
"The Blur," Peter said. "Please tell me he's not here, I don't think I could handle that."
"He's not," Chloe said. "He wanted to be but we couldn't risk him falling into the wrong hands."
"Wait," Peter stopped and sat back down. "Falling into the wrong hands? What do you mean by that?"
"A friend of ours, a very close friend of ours, is missing. Kidnapped," Oliver said.
"I don't have a lot of experience with kidnappings." Peter reminded her.
"Well it's technically not a kidnapping," Chloe elaborated.
"Right. There you go with the 'technically' again," Peter smiled. "If it's technically not a kidnapping then what is it?"
"Human trafficking," Oliver piped up when Chloe couldn't bring herself to answer him.
"Ok, things just got serious," Neal said leaning forward.
"Bart—that's his name—Bart he was, I guess caught is really a better word than taken, a little over two weeks ago," Chloe grabbed a touch pad off the table behind her and tapped it a few times. A large computer screen was lowered into the middle of the room showing a picture of a young guy. He had brown hair, green eyes and a crooked smile. He looked vaguely familiar to Neal.
"He's just a kid," Peter said under his breath and Chloe felt a catch in her throat.
"We tracked him here to a walk up in Alphabet City." Chloe tapped the pad again and the image changed to the outside of a dilapidated building façade. "There are four guys holding him," the picture changed again, this time there were some large thug looking guys on the screen. "They're hired guns and very good at their job." Chloe cut her eyes to Oliver.
"You went in," Neal looked between Chloe and Oliver. "You went in to get him during June's party. That's when you got shot."
Oliver started to protest but Chloe glared at him. "Yes, because that's what happens when you go off script and don't wait for backup. You get shot."
"I get it. I think the .45 that tore through my gut drove that particular message home," Oliver said to Chloe but she didn't seem pacified. "Look, two of the guards left together. We'd been sitting on that building for three weeks and for three weeks, there were never fewer than three guards there at once. It was a chance I had to take."
"Did you even get close to him?" Peter asked.
"Oh I got him," Oliver said. "Had his ass dragged to the door, we were practically out on the street but he wouldn't come."
"He wouldn't…I'm sorry he wouldn't come with you?" Peter asked confused.
"I know. I go through all the trouble of staging a rescue only to get shot down." Oliver shrugged and Chloe smirked.
"But why would he stay?" Neal asked.
"He said he had to," Chloe explained. "Bart's personality can be quite….abrasive for those that don't know him."
"Hell it can be abrasive for those who do," Victor snorted.
"And knowing Bart, being held against his will probably just intensified that." Chloe finished.
"Which means he was probably ten times more annoying than usual," AC said.
Chloe smiled softly. "He said that the guards used to talk about how they only had to put up with him for one more week, just one more week then he would go in the auction just like the others."
"Others?" Peter asked.
"Auction?" Neal frowned.
"That's what he wanted us to find out. He couldn't get any more out of the thugs than that. He wanted us to try and find the others, to figure out what auction they were talking about. In the mean time…"
"It never hurts to have someone on the inside." Peter nodded.
"Exactly, and if we couldn't figure it out in time then at least he'd be there, and him, we can track." Chloe tapped the pad again and the thugs were replaced by a map of the city with one small blinking red dot.
"We did some digging," Oliver stood up. "We managed to link the thugs back to a man named Roman Petrovich." The map of the city was replaced with a picture of a very severe looking Russian man.
"Why is that name familiar?" Neal asked.
"This guy's on every agency watch list there is. FBI, CIA, NSA, Interpol." Peter explained. "He's got his hands in everything, forgery, counterfeiting, smuggling, there's even murmurs about ties to a few drug cartels in South America. But no one's ever been able to get anything concrete on him, he always manages to slip through the cracks. Hell, no one even knows where he is, he's like a ghost." Peter studied the picture. "Is this recent?" Chloe nodded. "You know where he is?" Peter asked her impressed
"Oh, yeah," she waved him off. "He's in the city. He's got a place on the Upper West Side. Finding him was the easy part." Peter scoffed, because he knew quite a few people at the FBI alone who would take affront to that statement.
"You haven't found the others yet?" Neal asked.
"No, but we know where they're going to be." Chloe said and looked over her shoulder at the board covered in pictures of the Metropolitan Museum.
"At the auction," Neal stood up and walked over to inspect the board.
"I'm still a little unclear about this auction." Peter frowned. "What's he selling?"
"Them," Neal turned around. "He's going to sell them, for their powers." Chloe nodded.
"They're meta's. That's why you can't bring in the cops." Peter said finally understanding. "Bart, what power does he have?"
"Super speed," Victor chimed in. "Impulse can run faster than pretty much anyone or anything on the planet."
"Impulse, of course, and there's number four on the most wanted list," Peter said a soft smile on his face.
"Why didn't he just run when they first took him?" Neal asked confused. "I mean if he's as fast as you say he is how did he get caught in the first place? For that matter, they all have powers, I don't understand."
"Not everyone's powers are defensive." Chloe said to Neal and he remembered her particular power and how useless it would be against four armed thugs. "Also, because of these," Chloe nodded to the monitor and Roman's picture was replaced with a grainy shot of Bart. Chloe tapped on the pad and the image zoomed into Bart's wrist, more specifically the two thick metal bands on his wrists.
"What are those?" Peter squinted at the bands.
"By the time I got to Oliver that night, the guards had already returned. Oliver was pinned down and bleeding pretty badly so I didn't get a good look at them," Victor said. "From what I can tell, they emit some sort of a field or a signal that neutralizes the power of the wearer. We've heard rumors that someone was developing something like it but we had no idea they were this far along, hell we weren't even sure it was possible until a few days ago. As long as they have these bracelets on, they are totally defenseless."
"So what's the plan then?" Neal turned around.
"I managed to get into his computer. The auction is Friday at the Met," Chloe said. "To the outside world, it looks like he's auctioning off one of his collections. It's mainly a bunch of Post-Impressionist stuff." Chloe pulled a piece of paper off the wall and passed it to Peter and Neal. "But the paintings don't matter, they're just a cover."
"When you bid on the painting, you're really bidding on a specific power?" Neal asked connecting the dots and Chloe nodded.
"I managed to…procure an invite to the auction," Chloe said and Mozzie coughed loudly from the table in the corner. "Moz managed to procure an invite to the auction that he is in the process of copying. We need to get the original back to its owner before it's missed."
"There's an embedded RFID chip that's proving a bit tricky," Mozzie said.
"Oliver was going to go in with me, but he had to go and get himself shot," Chloe glared at Oliver over her shoulder.
"I'll go in with you." Neal said and Chloe and Peter looked at him. "I'm the obvious choice here. Oliver's out. Victor, from what I know about Cyborg, you'd never make it past the metal detectors and AC, no offense I know we just met each other like ten minutes ago but I already know you probably couldn't grift to save your life."
"No offense taken." AC smiled at him.
"So how are you getting the others out?" Neal stood up and looked at her plans of the museum.
"I'm still working on that," Chloe bit her lip. "I need one of those bracelets to figure out how they work so I can figure out how to get them off. I know Roman didn't make them. He's into a lot of things but something this sophisticated—not his style."
"You think he had them made?" Peter asked.
"No, I think he bought them. I've been hearing rumors for a while that someone had developed something like this but I haven't been able to find out who. I guess Roman did."
"I know a fence," Neal smirked. "If someone's selling them, she'll find them."
"She does still owe me for Copenhagen," Chloe smiled. "Call her."
Neal pulled out his phone and walked down the hall to have a bit of privacy. When he came back he was smiling as he put his phone back in his pocket. "She said to give her five hours."
Chloe raised her eyebrows. "We've been looking for these bracelets for a little over a year now and your friend is going to find them in five hours?" Victor asked.
"Alex is good at what she does," Chloe shrugged.
"Ok, if she manages to find the bracelets and we figure out a way to deactivate them, it'll still probably require a device of some kind that you'll never get past security." Victor said.
Neal and Chloe thought for a second and then turned to each other. "We need a Trojan Horse," they said at the same time and Chloe slid into a chair behind her computer.
"I need to see every exhibit currently on loan to the museum," Neal said looking over her shoulder.
"Already ahead of you," Chloe said pulling up the museum inventory and scrolling through the items. "It can't be too big,"
"But big enough to hide a device inside," Neal nodded.
"Do they do this a lot?" Peter asked Mozzie who looked up long enough to smile at Chloe and Neal and then go back to his work.
"Wait, wait, back up," Neal reached over her shoulder and pointed at the screen. "They have a Cellini," Neal smirked and Chloe tilted her head back to look up at him. Peter squinted at the sculpture on the screen. The Head of Medusa.
"We're gonna need supplies." Chloe and Neal both turned to Mozzie who looked up after a second and sighed.
"I'm a little busy here, creating your invite." He motioned to the paper in front of him.
"Victor can fix the RFID," Chloe said. "I don't know this city and we need to get this stuff on the quiet."
Mozzie sighed. "Cellini's Medusa?" Neal nodded. "You need it good enough to fool the curator, that means you're going to have to actually bronze it. That means quite a bit of expensive equipment." Mozzie looked up at Neal who turned to Peter.
"Hey this is not an official FBI investigation, I can't foot the bill on this one," Peter shook his head.
Neal paused and then he and Peter both turned to Chloe who laughed and shook her head before turning to Oliver. "Right," he dug his wallet out of his back pocket and pulled out a card, passing it over to Mozzie.
Mozzie stared at the black Am-Ex in Oliver's hand and then up at Oliver, "Considering I actually thought these were a myth, it's nice to be proven wrong, but I don't do plastic. That's how they track you, you know. Cash only." Oliver rolled his eyes then put the card back in his wallet and pulled out a handful of hundreds. Before he could count them out, Mozzie grabbed them all and stuffed them in his back pocket. "This is a good start. I'll be back."
"Even hollow, this isn't going to give us a lot of space for the device," Victor said studying the image on the screen.
"You'll just have to make it small enough," Chloe told him.
"Or you could pick another sculpture," Victor offered and Chloe and Neal looked at each other before shaking their heads.
"It's a Cellini." Chloe said as if that should explain everything to him.
"Alright what is the deal with this movie?" Peter asked.
"Movie? What movie?" Victor asked confused.
"How to Steal a Million." Peter said. "It's an old movie with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole. It's like this one big inside joke between the two of them and I don't get it."
"I've seen that movie. Audrey Hepburn gets Peter O'Toole to steal a statue for her right?" Oliver asked and Chloe nodded.
"A Cellini." Neal smiled.
"It has something to do with the night they first met but Neal won't tell me," Peter looked over at him and Neal shrugged. "You've told Elizabeth, many times, and sworn her to secrecy. She won't even tell me. Her own husband."
"I…plead the fifth on the grounds that revealing the details of that evening would cause me to incriminate myself," Neal admitted.
"You won't tell me because you were doing crime, there was crime involved wasn't there?" Peter said and Neal raised his eyebrows. "Ok, you know what?" Peter took off his badge and put it on the table. "I'm already looking the other way on so many things tonight, what's one more. You tell me the story and I swear that anything illegal you admit to, will go in one ear and out the other."
"Really?" Neal looked over at Chloe and then back at Peter. "Alright."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Seven Years Ago
Neal tried to tone down his smile as the valet opened the car door but he couldn't. "Evening Mr. Devore."
"Jake," Neal nodded and tossed the man his keys.
"You're in a good mood tonight." Jake observed sliding into the driver's seat.
"I had a good day at work," Neal winked at him and headed for the hotel's entrance, taking the steps two at a time. He patted his front pocket unconsciously and smiled wider, it had been a great day at work. Neal looked up at the double doors and he had a feeling that the night was only going to get better from here.
A short blonde in a tight black and dress was hurrying through the lobby. Her phone was in one hand, pressed tightly to her ear, in the other a pair of red heals dangled from her fingertips. Neal watched as she stopped in the middle of the lobby just long enough to slip one of the shoes on before resuming her walk to the door. The extra five inches added to one leg slowed her down a bit but she didn't seem to mind.
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"I can't do this Lois," Chloe paced the lobby of the Gotham Arms hotel with her phone firmly pressed to her ear. "I don't know what made me think I could do this, I'm not this girl." Chloe stopped pacing to look down at the tight short black dress that Lois loaned her. After she'd found Chloe in her, in a state of near panic, Chloe had spilled everything and Lois had taken over, picking out the dress and the shoes. She was very insistent on the shoes.
"You can do this and you are that girl," Lois said then paused. "Wait, you're not wearing the shoes are you?" Lois asked and Chloe looked down at her bare feet and wiggled her toes. "Well, that's your problem right there, without the shoes you're just a girl in a slutty dress. Put the shoes on, trust me, you'll feel better."
Chloe's phone beeped and she pulled it away to look at the map on the screen, more specifically the green dot on the map on the screen. "Shit," she turned to the lobby doors and watched as a car pulled up to the valet stand. "He's here." Chloe hissed. "I gotta go."
"No!" Lois practically screamed down the line. "Stay on the phone, it helps sell the bit, makes you look distracted. Besides I want to know what happens."
Chloe watched as a man got out of the car and tossed his keys to the valet. "Lois, I really have to concentrate right now, I can't be distracted by—" Chloe sucked in a breath as the man turned toward the lobby and she saw him for the first time. "Blue eyes," she said dumbly. For a second that's all she could see, the clearest, brightest, bluest eyes Chloe had ever seen in her life.
Chloe had done all her homework. She knew everything about Neal Caffery that she could possibly know. She'd seen his official FBI file, the sketch that Agent Burke had made and a few partial shots of him from various security camera's but nothing could have prepared her for the real thing.
His smile was, well, Chloe had never actually used the word mischievous before but it seemed like the only thing that could possibly do him justice. He looked like he was the only keeper of some devilishly playful secret. She certainly had no trouble understanding how he managed to con so many people. His hair was casually windswept in a way that Chloe knew was anything but actually casual, each hair was likely painstakingly put into place and his very expensive suit fit him like a glove.
"Blue eyes?" Lois said confused. "Oh my God, he's hot isn't he?"
"No," Chloe shook her head, getting her head back in the game.
"You gasped!" Lois practically cackled with laughter. "He literally took your breath away."
"Shut up," Chloe said as she walked to the door. "I need to concentrate."
"Yeah on his hot body," Lois laughed.
Chloe stopped and slipped one of the shoes on, watching out of the corner of her eye as he took the steps two at a time. "I hate you," Chloe sighed as she hurried to the door, reaching for the handle just as Neal did.
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Neal reached forward and grabbed the door handle at the same time she did. She wasn't paying attention to him though, too engrossed in her phone call, so she pushed as he pulled. It threw her off balance, pitching her forward. Neal let go of the door handle and quickly stepped forward, grabbing onto her waist to hold her steady. This finally seemed to catch her attention and she looked up at him, her hands on his chest, her face a mixture of sheepish embarrassment and a little bit of fear.
"I've got to go," the blonde said into the phone, hanging up quickly, her eyes never leaving his.
"Careful there." Neal offered her, flashing a set of dimples and she ducked her head.
"I'm so sorry. I'm late and I wasn't watching where I was going," she said suddenly, pulling herself free from his embrace.
"It would probably help if you had two shoes on as well." Neal pointed on, nodding down to her feet and her cheeks turned even redder.
"Right." She laughed, keeping one hand on Neal's arm to steady herself as she used the other hand to slip her left shoe on. "Thank you." She said standing up straight and walking past him toward the valet stand.
"No problem." Neal called after her, tilting his head as he watched her walk to the valet stand.
"Mr. Wayne sent a car for you ma'am," the valet smiled at her opening the door to the black Rolls Royce.
"Thank you Steven," the blonde smiled sliding into the car. She looked back at him, noticing that he was still standing there staring at her and she winked before Steven closed the door.
Neal wondered if he should try bribing the girl at the front desk for the blonde's room number then remembered what the valet had said, "Mr. Wayne sent a car for you". Even on his best day he couldn't compete with Bruce Wayne.
That didn't mean he couldn't fantasize. So as Neal rode up the elevator and walked down the hall to his room he crafted a thank you letter in his head to the person who invented high heels, thinking about all the wonderful things they did for a woman's back side.
It wasn't until he was safely ensconced in his room did he reach into his breast pocket to pull out the manuscript and study it more closely. Only there was no manuscript in his breast pocket. Neal cursed under his breath and closed his eyes. He thought about the blonde, about her tumble through the door, the way she landed, both hands on his chest and couldn't believe he didn't see what was happening while it was happening. She'd totally played him.
Well two can play at that game, Neal thought as he walked back to the door.
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Chloe swirled the red straw around in her drink as she slid a small black leather bound book across the table. "I promised I'd get it back for you didn't I?"
"Considering it wouldn't have even been stolen if it weren't for you it was the least you could do." Bruce Wayne grabbed the book and stared at it. "Bart owes me so big for this."
"I owe Bart so big for this," Chloe shook her head. She'd already involved Bart more than she wanted to when she called him up, swore him secrecy (which basically meant he couldn't, upon pain of death tell Clark what she was doing), then batted her eyelashes at him and asked him kindly to teach her how to pick a pocket. He worked with her for a month, showing her all the tricks of his trade.
Then one day he went to pay for lunch and his wallet was gone. He turned to Chloe who was standing next to him, holding his wallet between her index and middle finger, waving it in his face. He'd looked at his wallet and then at Chloe and bowed at her announcing that to lift his wallet without him noticing meant the student had become the master.
The problem was, Neal had been unusually careful lately, trying not to draw too much attention to himself so Chloe knew she'd needed something spectacular to tempt him out of hiding. When she told Bart, he let it slip that he knew a guy who had something a guy like Neal would kill for.
Five hours later she found herself in Gotham City getting a tour of the Wayne's Private Art Collection by none other than Bruce Wayne himself. When she saw the black book, she knew that was it. Bart managed to somehow convince Bruce to loan it anonymously to the Gotham Museum. Chloe figured that it wouldn't be long before Neal crawled out of the woodwork. And she was right, the manuscript had been on display for a little under two weeks when he'd taken it.
"That was all a part of the plan," Chloe smiled and Bruce glared at her.
"Yeah well you could have just let me in on the plan from the get go," Bruce said. Chloe winced, she hadn't exactly explained the plan to Bruce until about an hour ago when she'd called him and told him that the manuscript had been stolen, that the one on display at the museum was a fake and if he brought it to her, she would give him the real one back.
"Would you have loaned the manuscript to the exhibit if I had?" Chloe asked and Bruce smirked. "That's what I thought. Do you have the fake?"
Bruce pulled an identical book out of his left coat pocket and tossed it across the table to Chloe then paused. "Wait, how do I know that whole thing wasn't a set up? That I didn't just give you the real one in exchange for the fake?"
"You don't." Chloe smirked as she dropped the book in her bag.
"Bart warned me about you," Bruce shook his head. "Said you were cocky."
"Did he?" Chloe smiled, not sure whether to be flattered or offended.
"Also said you had the skills to back it up," Bruce smiled.
"Are you gonna tell me how you and Bart met, cause he's pretty tight lipped about the whole thing." Chloe raised an eyebrow but Bruce didn't say anything. "Fine, I'll figure it out one day you know."
"From what Bart's told me about you, of that I have no doubt." Bruce laughed.
"Oh and here's my mark," Chloe sat up straighter. "Get lost, you're messing with my game." Bruce laughed and walked away from the table just as Neal walked into the bar.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Neal glanced around at the bar and almost froze when his eyes landed on the table in the back corner at the blonde in the black and dress and red 4 inch heels. He'd had to bribe the valet quite a bit to find out where the blonde was headed but at least he also got a name out of it. Chloe Sullivan. She didn't look flustered or hurried anymore, she looked calm and serious as she absently swirled her straw through the drink in front of her.
When she looked up and caught his eye, any hint of the blush she'd had before was completely gone and she raised her glass to him, nodding her head to call him over. He walked through the bar, his eyes never leaving hers as he slid into the booth across from her.
He didn't say anything, waited for her to make the first move. "Can I get you a drink?" She asked calling the waiter over.
"I'm not really sure if I should." Neal frowned as the waitress placed a martini glass in front of him. He sipped the drink cautiously. It was dry, two olives, just the way he liked it.
"Good?" Chloe asked him with a soft smile.
"You know my drink?" Neal raised his eyebrows at her and she shrugged. "You took my manuscript." He grabbed the toothpick and ate one of the olives before dropping it back in the glass.
"It's not really yours now is it?" Chloe smirked at him and he couldn't help but let out a laugh. She reached into the bag at her side and pulled out a small metal disk, it was octagonal in shape, no bigger than the palm of her hand and Neal could see a hint of some sort of carving on the edges. Chloe tossed it in the air and he reached out and caught it instinctively. "There is a disk, almost exactly like this one in a vault at the Luther Mansion in Smallville."
"What does that have to do with me?" Neal asked, turning the disk over in his hands, running his fingers along the edges of the carvings. They weren't like anything he'd ever seen before which was intriguing enough for him not to get up and walk away.
"Steal it for me." Chloe said leaning forward and grabbing the toothpick from Neal's drink. She slid the last olive off into her mouth and then smiled, chewing slowly.
Neal leaned back in his seat and looked at her amused. "How To Steal A Million," he said quirking a smile at her. He had to chuckle as her eyes went wide. "Great movie. I hate to break it to you though sweetheart, I'm no Peter O'Toole."
"Good, cause I'm no Audrey Hepburn. You're still gonna steal it for me." Chloe said getting her confidence back quickly.
"And why am I doing this exactly?" He asked her.
She reached into the bag again and pulled out the black leather bound book and slid it across the table toward him just as she'd done to Bruce Wayne just minutes before. He reached out to grab it but she pulled it away at the last minute. "Be careful with that." Neal winced as it came precariously close to sliding in a ring of condensation from her glass. "It's very old."
"I know." Chloe said. "And you've been searching for it for a very long time."
"How do you know that?" Neal narrowed his eyes at her.
"The same way I knew your drink. I did my homework." Chloe shrugged. "A lost DaVinci manuscript. It's worth quite a bit to you isn't it?"
"It is." Neal nodded. "But not enough to steal from Lex Luther."
Chloe pursed her lips, almost as if she'd been afraid of this. "What if I offered to sweeten the deal?"
"I'm listening."
"You've got a certain FBI agent who I believe has been a bit of a thorn in your side."
"Peter?" Neal chuckled. "I can handle him."
"I'm sure you can." Chloe said. "But from what I've learned Special Agent Burke's got your scent now and he's not gonna give up."
"So what can you do about it then?" Neal asked.
"I can send him on such a wild goose chase that by the time he realizes what's going on, your trail will have been six months cold." Chloe said.
Neal knew he could handle Peter Burke and actually having to dodge him these past couple of months had been exciting, pushing him to his limits but life would be much easier if he wasn't looking over his shoulder ever five minutes.
"Take your time, think about it." Chloe took one last sip of her drink and dropped a handful of bills on the table before she slid the book back in her bag, stood up and walked away.
Chloe had to force herself to walk away from the table and not look back. Bart had told her the biggest mistake she could make was over selling, give them the facts and let them decide. She'd given him everything she had, the ball was in his court now. Bart had told her to make sure she had the last word, to leave first, and not to look back, he'd said she needed to make Neal come to her, not to seem too eager. She just had to trust that he knew what he was talking about.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Two weeks later, Chloe pushed through the door of the Talon apartment, Bart at her side. She hadn't been to sleep yet but she was still keyed up. Playing Watchtower to Oliver's team was exciting and she was good at it and more importantly she felt for the first time in a long time like she was doing good. Sure she helped Clark out but this was on such a different scale that it felt more important in a way.
Oliver stepped into the Clock Tower and before he'd even pushed the hood off of his head he was offering Chloe a permanent place on his team. Her first instinct was to shout "Yes!" but she swallowed that when Clark walked in behind Oliver. He was still a little weak from the Kryptonite and as much as she wanted to help Oliver, she knew that her work in Metropolis was more important for the moment.
There was still the problem with Lex and it wasn't like this was the first time that Clark had gone in somewhere on his own. If she left, Clark wouldn't have anyone to help him and Oliver had AC, Bart, and Victor so she politely declined. Oliver said he would keep asking and Chloe said one day she might tell him yes, just not today.
"You're really mad about this aren't you?" Bart asked her, closing the door behind him.
"I'm just saying, we were together basically 24/7 last month. In all that time you didn't think to mention you were working for him?" Chloe asked as she set her bag on the table.
"I didn't know you knew about him," Bart said. "I was trying to be discrete. Then there's the whole secret aspect of the work too."
"I know but this is me we're talking about," Chloe spun around and smiled up at him but Bart wasn't smiling back at her, in fact he was frowning at something over her shoulder. "What—"
Bart grabbed her arm and shoved her behind him before she could finish her sentence. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"
Chloe froze when she realized there was someone in her apartment. "I believe Chloe's been expecting me." A familiar voice said and Chloe peered over Bart's shoulder, relaxing when she saw Neal sitting on her couch.
"It's ok," Chloe curled her fingers around Bart's elbow and stepped around him. "I know him."
"You sure?" Bart asked her, looking between her and Neal uneasily.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Chloe nodded. "Look, why don't you go on ahead to Clark's. I'll meet you there."
Bart narrowed his eyes at Neal over Chloe's shoulder. "Wait, is this the guy?"
"Yeah, this is the guy," Chloe nodded. "So let me take care of this and I'll me you at Clark's ok."
"Yeah, ok," Bart nodded. He dropped a kiss on Chloe's cheek and walked to the door, his eyes never once leaving Neal's.
"Nice bodyguard you've got there." Neal stood up and Chloe spun on him, glaring.
"Don't," Chloe snapped at him. "It's been a long day and he's off limits."
"Sorry," Neal held up his hands. "I wasn't… I didn't mean anything by it."
"No, I'm sorry," Chloe rubbed her eyes and walked over to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. "I haven't slept in a few days and I'm…don't worry about it."
"You ok?" Neal frowned and walked over to the counter, leaning against it.
"I'll be fine," Chloe offered him a soft smile. "So you've thought about it then?"
"I have," Neal said. "Keep Peter off my back for a year and we've got a deal."
Chloe waited until there was enough coffee in the carafe before pouring herself a cup and practically gulping it down. She could keep Special Agent Burke off of Neal's back for a year in her sleep but she didn't want him to know it was that easy. "Deal." She said after a few minutes and Neal smiled at her.
"So I was thinking I could take you to out to dinner tonight and we could figure out a plan."
"That sounds great," Chloe grabbed a travel mug and filled it up. "Except for the dinner part, that's not gonna happen. Look I gotta go but I'll be back in about an hour. I'd walk you out but somehow I don't think that would do any good so just make yourself comfortable, help yourself to anything in the fridge or the coffee shop downstairs. Just tell them to put it on my tab."
"You're going to leave me alone in your apartment?"
"The manuscript's not here and I have absolutely nothing else of value so I don't see why not." Chloe smirked and walked out of the room.
Neal sighed just because she said it wasn't there, didn't mean it wasn't there. He'd only had time to search the bookcase for the manuscript before he heard her key in the lock. Neal pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "So looks like I might need your help on this one after all," he sighed.
A minute later Neal opened Chloe's apartment door to see Mozzie standing on the other side. "Let me guess she didn't fall for the charm."
"No, and now I'm thinking I might actually have to steal this thing from Lex Luther." Neal sat down at Chloe's table and sighed. "Have you figured out what it is yet?"
Mozzie pulled the small metal disk out of his bag and sat down across from Neal. "Considering this is a fake I can't be sure about anything. It's made out of steel, it's got eight sides, you know as much as I do." Mozzie spun the disk on the table top.
"What about the carvings, have you figured out what those are yet?" Neal grabbed the disk and looked at it, tracing the strange symbols with his fingers.
"Now those are interesting," Mozzie smiled. "I tried matching it with all known logographic languages and I came up empty until I searched locally."
"Locally?" Neal frowned. "Locally where?"
"Locally here," Mozzie pulled out a stack of papers and passed them to Neal. "There's a set of caves here in Smallville, the Kawatche caves. It's an old Native American site and these symbols are all over those caves."
"So what are Native American symbols doing on steel disk?" Neal frowned.
"Here's the real interesting part," Mozzie smiled excitedly. "The symbols aren't Native American. The Kawatche's had their own language but this isn't it."
"So then, what the hell is it?"
"I have no idea." Mozzie shrugged.
"If we don't know what it is, there's no way to tell why it's so important." Neal sighed.
"Does it matter why she wants it?" Mozzie asked. "You steal the disk for her and she gives you the manuscript back. Look, you shouldn't worry about why she wants it."
"I shouldn't?" Neal asked.
"No," Mozzie rolled his eyes. "What you should be worried about is how the hell you're going to get into Lex Luther's vault."
"I've been thinking about that," Neal said.
"And?" Mozzie asked.
"I'm still thinking." Neal told him defensively.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
When Chloe got back two hours later she didn't seem at all surprised to see someone else in her apartment. "Ah you brought in backup?" Chloe raised her eyebrow at Neal as she dropped the large paper bag on the table between them. "Good thing I got extra."
"Chloe, this is—"
"Moz right?" Chloe asked pulling the Chinese food cartons out of the bag. "I've heard absolutely nothing about you."
Mozzie smiled up at Chloe, "Good, none of its true. Did you happen to get dumplings?" He peered into the bag and Chloe grabbed a carton handing it over.
"There are chopsticks and silverware in the drawer and drinks in the fridge," Chloe sat down next to Neal as Mozzie got up and walked to the kitchen.
"I thought you said we weren't going to have diner," Neal grabbed a carton and opened it, inspecting the food inside before taking the chopsticks that Mozzie was holding out to him.
"No I said you weren't going to take me to diner." Chloe smiled. "There's a difference."
"What exactly." Neal asked her.
"I paid," Chloe smirked and stole a piece of chicken from his carton. "You're thinking about hacking Lex's security system?" She pointed to the papers on the table.
"Yeah, I figured maybe we could sneak in through a back door, but something tells me that Luther's not the type to have many of those." Mozzie frowned and Chloe shook her head.
"You can't hack the system." Chloe told him. "It wouldn't matter anyway. Trust me if it were that easy I wouldn't be talking to you right now and there's no cracking the vault either."
"Then how do I get in?" Neal asked.
"You're going to need to get him to let you in." Chloe said.
"How am I supposed to do that?" Neal raised his eyebrows.
"Do you know what this is?" Chloe pulled a picture out of her bag and handed it to him. Neal looked down at the picture of the gold ring. On the front there was a shield and inside the shield there was a snake curled up in the shape of an S.
"Is this," Neal looked up at Chloe. "This is Alexander the Great's Signet ring."
"Yes it is." Chloe nodded, grabbing a dumpling out of Mozzie's box. "And right now it's sitting in a locked case inside the Luther vault."
"You want me to steal that too?" Neal snorted.
"Not exactly," Chloe smiled.
"You're pulling a Trojan Horse," Mozzie nodded his head at her.
Chloe smiled and set down her carton to grab a different one. "How long would it take for you to make one of those?" she nodded at the picture.
"How good does it need to be?" Neal looked down at the picture.
Chloe swallowed the mouthful of food she'd just taken and explained. "Last year, Lex loaned out the ring, along with Alexander's breastplate and a few other Macedonian artifacts to a roaming exhibit. It went all over the world, Moscow, Prague, Amsterdam, Bejing, a few museums in the states. He just got it back last month. We just need to make him think that at one of those places his was switched for a forgery."
Neal nodded getting the plan. "So we go in with a fake, claiming it's the real one. Lex has to open the vault to get his out for testing and that's when I switch the disks." He looked over at Chloe. "It's a good plan. There's just one thing. Who exactly am I supposed to be that would give Lex a reason to trust that I have the real ring and not a fake?"
"Oh, I think you're going to like this part," Chloe smirked at him.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"This fabric is itchy." Neal said looking down at the cheap suit that hung loosely off his frame.
"It's supposed to be itchy." Chloe straightened the lines of his jacket and ruffled his perfectly fixed hair a bit. "Slouch just a little ok."
Neal rolled his eyes at her and let his shoulders drop slightly. "Are you sure this is going to work?"
"Trust me," Chloe said loosening his tie and pulling it a bit off kilter.
"Yeah, trust's not so big in my line of work," Neal looked down at her.
"It's kind of required in mine," Chloe stepped back and studied him. She nodded, deeming him acceptable and pulled something out of her pocket. "Here, put this in your ear." Neal frowned and put the small earpiece in his ear. "I can hear you and you can hear me."
"Nice," Neal said. "So what exactly is your line of work? I'm just wondering where a reporter for the Daily Planet gets this kind of tech, and why you need me to steal a metal disk from Lex Luther."
"The tech is from a friend," Chloe said vaguely. "And as for the disk, let's just say it's for the good of humanity."
"Wow, the good of humanity," Neal said. "That one's new. Normally it's for the good of someone's bank account."
"Not worth money, not to me anyway." Chloe shrugged. "All I can tell you is that the world will be a much safer place when that disk is nowhere near Lex Luther."
"You guys have a history," Neal said. "You and Lex. And I'm not just talking about how you and he teamed up to put Lionel Luther away for murder. There's something else there."
Chloe stared at Neal for a second. He didn't actually think that she was going to tell him anything so when she grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled it down, showing him a large, angry red and white scar on her collarbone he was shocked. He took a few steps, closing the distance between them and reached out before he could stop himself, tracing a finger down the scar.
She stared up at him but didn't move to stop him or push him away. "He did this to you?"
"No directly," Chloe said letting go of the collar and covering the scar up. "Let's just say that I know what Lex Luther's capable of and I'll do whatever I have to do to protect myself and my family from him."
"I can understand that," Neal nodded.
"You've got the ring?" Chloe asked turning away, changing the subject. Neal patted the briefcase at his side and Chloe took a deep breath. "Ok then let's do this."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Neal sat in the black leather chair in front of the fire place in Lex's office. "You're not slouching, you should be slouching." Chloe said in his ear and the sensation was just a little bit jarring, almost like she was in his head. Neal slouched and heard Chloe chuckle. "Better."
Neal looked around the room confused until he spotted the security cameras. "I thought you said his system couldn't be hacked."
"I said Moz couldn't hack his system." Chloe corrected him. "I've been playing around in here for years though. I still have a few back doors that Lex doesn't know about."
"So you're watching me?" Neal asked. "That's kind of creepy." Chloe just laughed and the doors to the office were flung open and Lex walked into the room.
"Mr. Luther." Neal jumped up from his seat, the briefcase in his lap swinging at his side as he dug in his breast pocket for a wallet. "Special Agent Peter Burke from the FBI." He flipped the wallet open and flashed a badge and ID with Peter's name and his picture on it.
The badge and the ID were good, top quality forgeries. Neal was almost fooled by them but he was pretty sure that Lex wouldn't be.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"If he's as connected as everyone says he is, all he has to do is make a few calls, check Peter out and my cover's blown." Neal pointed out. Chloe just smiled at him, typed something on her keyboard then turned the computer to face him. He laughed.
"I hacked into the FBI's personnel files." Chloe told him as Neal stared at Peter's file with his picture attached. "Anyone checks, they'll find you."
"Can I get a copy of that?" Neal pointed at the file and Chloe turned the screen away from him.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Yes, Special Agent Burke," Lex sat down behind his computer and motioned for Neal to take a seat as well. "When your assistant called to set up the meeting, she mentioned a man named Neal Caffery."
"Yes." Neal nodded.
"I hope you don't mind, I called a few friends, got a copy of his file." Lex pulled a manila folder out of his desk drawer and Neal froze. "I like to be prepared," Lex shrugged.
"Breathe," Chloe said in his ear. "Take the file."
Neal reached across the desk and picked up the file under Lex's unwavering gaze. He opened it up and just managed to keep his poker face intact when he saw a picture of Peter, scowling, attached to his FBI file. "I told you to trust me," Chloe reminded him and he let out a slow breath.
"He doesn't exactly seem like a criminal mastermind." Lex said. "An adequate forger I suppose."
"Adequate?" Neal started.
"Seriously? You want to do that now?" Chloe chuckled.
"Right," Neal coughed and opened his briefcase. "We confiscated this from a fence, who said that he got it from Neal Caffery who claims to have stolen from you." He pulled out the fake ring and set it on the desk between him and Lex.
Lex stared at the ring cautiously for a second before reaching out and picking it up. "I think you're mistaken." Lex inspected the ring carefully. "My ring is locked up safe and sound in the vault," he looked over his shoulder at the wall panels behind him.
"That's a fake," Neal shook his head.
"And this is the real one?" Lex asked.
"We've had it authenticated," Neal told him. "According to the fence, it was switched out in Moscow."
"That's impossible," Lex said standing up and walking over to the vault. Neal started to follow him but paused when he saw the small golden cherub on Lex's desk. He knew that cherub, that was Alex's cherub, a piece of the music box. What he didn't know was why it was sitting on Lex Luther's desk.
"Neal? You want to maybe focus?" Chloe asked a bit nervously in his ear and he jumped up and slid into the vault behind Lex. He looked around and saw the metal disk sitting on the shelf behind him. Lex grabbed a metal case out of a drawer and while he was distracted Neal switched the disks.
"You don't mind if I have this authenticated by my own people do you?" Lex asked Neal and he shook his head.
"Feel free," Neal said as he pulled a business card out of his pocket. "After you do that, give me a call and we can talk about pressing charges."
"You will certainly be hearing from me," Lex took the card. "I appreciate this Agent Burke."
"My pleasure Mr. Luther." Neal shook his hand. "I'll just see myself out."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Neal stepped into Chloe's apartment and smiled when he saw her standing by the coffee maker sipping slowly from her cup. "Nice touch with the business card," Chloe said. "Where'd you get it?"
"Peter gave it to me actually," Neal said shrugging off the suit coat and dropping the briefcase to the table. Chloe laughed and shook her head.
"Classic," Chloe sighed and walked over to him.
"So here it is." Neal pulled the disk out of his pocket and held it out to her. She reached out for it, only to stop and drop her arm back down to her side.
Clark didn't need the key to get the fortress and if she gave it to him he'd probably just stick it the barn somewhere. That was hardly the safest place for it and if Lex ever discovered the switch, the first place he'd probably look.
"It might be better for all parties involved if you held onto that." Chloe said slowly.
Neal raised his eyebrows. "I don't even know it what it is." He pointed out.
"Which is why you're the perfect person to keep track of it." Chloe said. "Stick it in a forgotten corner of one of your many storage units and just forget about it."
"Are you sure?" Neal frowned and looked down at the disk.
"I trust you," Chloe said. People told him that all the time, if he didn't make people trust him, he'd be out of work very quickly but this was the first time he felt like it actually meant something.
"Ok," Neal dropped the disk back into his pocket.
"I guess that's it then, it was nice working with you Simon," Chloe held out her hand and it suddenly hit Neal that this was over. She'd gotten what she wanted and it was time for him to leave.
"Right," Neal grabbed her hand and shook it. "It was nice working with you Nicole." Neal took a deep breath and turned to the door only to stop and turn back around. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Neal asked, a twinkle in his eye. Chloe just stared at him confused. "My manuscript. We had a deal." Neal pointed out.
"I gave it back." Chloe admitted nervously.
"You gave it back?" Neal groaned. "I've been searching for that for years."
"I know but really it was all for the best. It's going to go a long way to getting Peter off your back and you didn't want it anyway." Chloe told him.
"No I did, I did want it, that's why I went through all the trouble of stealing it." Neal smiled.
"Look, the guy who you stole that from, he makes Lex look like a puppy. A cuddly, fluffy little puppy. You do not want to be on his bad side." Chloe said and then tossed him the fake that he'd made, the one he switched for the real one and he caught it. "Look, this is a win/win for you. I'm still gonna keep Peter off your back and I've saved you from making a very scary enemy."
"I suppose I should say thanks then." Neal asked and couldn't help but shake his head.
"You're welcome," Chloe smiled brightly at him and he grabbed the door handle. "Hey, Neal?"
Neal turned around as Chloe tossed something to him. He reached out and grabbed the object out of the air then smiled when he looked down in his hand and saw the golden cherub. "How did you-?"
"I saw you eyeing it in Lex's office," Chloe shrugged. "I had a friend pick it up."
"I just left there," Neal pointed out. "How did he beat me back here?"
"He's quick." Chloe said. "Alex knows more about the music box than she's telling you." Neal frowned at her. "Ask her about her grandfather."
"I'll do that." Neal said, not bothering to ask her at this point how she knew any of that, he just had to come to terms with the fact that Chloe knew everything.
"So are we square now?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah, we're square," Neal dropped the cherub in his pocket next to the disk and walked out the door.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Peter stared at Neal for a second then laughed. "Well that explains the strange call I got from Lex Luther about a ring. That's actually been bugging me for a while now. I can't believe you impersonated me."
"That falls under the 'in one ear and out the other' thing doesn't it?" Neal asked hopefully and Peter just shook his head.
"You know, that story does bring up an interesting point. Who's your inside man here?" Peter asked and Neal and Chloe turned to him. "You're running a Trojan Horse. You need an inside man-someone credible enough to get the bust into the museum. Oliver's too visible, and you're right, there's no way AC can pull of a grift like this."
"Victor?" Neal asked and Chloe shook her head.
"Normally I'd say yes but I might need him somewhere else," Chloe said.
Peter smirked as he stared at the inventory of the museum. "Guess who the Cellini's insured with?" Neal looked down at the screen and then back up at Peter.
"No," Neal shook his head and Peter nodded. "She hates me."
"She's owes you," Peter pointed out.
"She'd kill me if she had the chance and dump my body in a shallow grave." Neal protested.
"I'm calling her," Peter said pulling out his phone.
Chloe looked over at Neal and raised her eyebrows. "Sara Ellis, she's an agent with the company that insures the Cellini, we've had…dealings in the past."
"A woman that Neal Caffery couldn't charm?" Chloe smirked. "I don't believe it."
"There are women in this world who don't fall for my charm." Neal told her.
"Name one," Chloe laughed.
"You." Neal said seriously.
"You sure about that?" Chloe winked and walked away to talk to Peter.