Unintended Consequences

DISCLAIMER: White Collar belongs to Jeff Eastin and USA Network.

A/N: Yet another chapter complete, and the suspense is building! Please review and release some of that stress.

Chapter 5

Wednesday Afternoon 3:20 p.m.

The door opened and Mozzie saw June standing there with a delighted look in her face.
"So nice to see you again, Mozzie."
"You too June, always a pleasure! Now if I may ask your help, I need to leave a package for Neal."
"Well certainly dear, he's upstairs but he does have company."
"Yes, I'm aware of that. Frank is not a good man and I think Neal has gotten himself in over his head. I need your help."
Mozzie pulled the large package from the knapsack and whispered in June's ear as he handed her the package. June paled at Mozzie's words.
"Oh, dear, that does sound serious. I'll make sure he gets it."
"Thank you. I do need to see him for just a few minutes. Please don't tell Frank our little secret."
"My lips are sealed!"
##

Neal barely had a chance to walk to the door and open it before Mozzie pushed it open and brushed by him totally ignoring Frank. The little guy seemed to be very nervous about something.
"I've been thinking, I know you're still within your two mile radius, so it shouldn't set off any alarms, but could you at least cover up the little green light on your tracking anklet? You're going into a dark building and that green light could give you away."
"Good thinking, Moz. What do you suggest?"
Moz pulled some electrical tape out of his pocket.
"I happen to have just the thing. Use this. Now, you have the location, is there anything else you need me for?"
Neal could sense that Mozzie seemed to be antsy to leave; maybe Frank was really getting to him.
"Thanks for your help Moz. We wouldn't have been able to figure this out without you."
"Is everything ok? Where's the painting?"
"Frank was just trying to give me a heart attack. I woke up and the painting was gone. Frank showed up and he said he had already put it down in his car."
Frank felt it necessary to defend himself and couldn't resist entering the conversation.

"Well, I was getting nervous and I didn't want to wake you. I was thinking it was probably safest to get it out of your apartment as soon as possible in case your FBI friend decided to show up and check on you!"
"I appreciate that Frank, really I do, but you really should have woken me up. I almost had a panic attack when I saw it was missing. I was ready to pull out my hair in frustration because I thought we had lost our one chance to save Grace."
"I'm sorry man, I just wasn't thinking I guess."
Moz couldn't resist chuckling.

"You know, Cicero said, 'It is foolish to tear one's hair in grief, as though sorrow would be made less by baldness'."
"That's not funny, Moz."
"Of course it is, Neal. Why do you suppose I have such a cheerful disposition? I don't have any hair to pull out. That's gotta be the upside to being follicley challenged!"
Neal really did start to laugh at that comment. Mozzie was relieved as it seemed to break the tense atmosphere. They went over the listings of the buildings Neal would be searching. He didn't want to start too early in case someone checked on Grace and discovered her missing, but they didn't want to be too late either. As with any good con, it had to be timed just right. Mozzie finally stood up and stretched.
"Well, I'm sure you have this under control, Neal, you don't need my assistance any longer. I have other pressing engagements I need to attend to. I'll see you later."
Mozzie shot a distrustful glance over at Frank.
"Not a pleasure seeing you again, Frank."
"Likewise."
Mozzie walked past Neal giving him a pat on the shoulder.
"I hope this goes well. Get Grace back safe!"
He leaned closer to Neal's ear.

"You need to talk to June before you leave. It's of vital importance."
Mozzie saw Neal nod slightly. He didn't want to bother Neal with trivial details about overhearing Frank's conversation, but he was seriously concerned for Neal's safety as well as the Suit and Mrs. Suit; something just wasn't right. He wanted Neal to concentrate on finding Grace instead of worrying about how to protect Peter or Elle. It occurred to him that a year ago he would have called himself crazy for even considering helping any suits for any reason; yet here he was not only considering it, but actually doing that very thing. He just wasn't sure if he should thank or criticize Neal for this. Either way it was up to him to find the painting Frank had mentioned before the police did and get Mrs. Suit to safety before Frank could harm her. He knew both Peter and Neal would thank him later; at least he hoped they would be able to.

##

Wednesday afternoon 5 p.m.

Diana looked up to see Hughes knocking on Peter's door.

"Excuse me Agent Barrigan, Agent Jones. Could I have a minute with Agent Burke?"

"Certainly sir."

Both agents echoed in chorus and both gave Peter a worried look as Diana followed Jones and turned to walk past Hughes. There was no way this was good news she thought; as if he doesn't have enough to handle already.

"Peter, you know I respect you greatly as an agent."

"Yes, sir. I know that."

"So please tell me you are not in cahoots with Caffrey."

"Sir, are you feeling ok? You know you signed off on the deal, right?"

"I don't mean Caffrey working for us. I mean you working with Caffrey; doing…whatever he does."

"I'm sorry sir, I'm not following."

"I just got a tip from a friend at the NYPD. They have a search warrant to search the home of one Peter Burke. Would there be any possible reason they might have probable cause to do that?"

"None that I'm aware of, sir."

"He said that the specific item of interest listed on the search warrant was a painting by Vermeer entitled The Concert. You've heard of it?"

"Of course, the FBI has increased their attention and are pushing hard to solve the case."

"Peter, I can't emphasize how bad this will look for the bureau if it turns out you had anything to do with this robbery. They have an affidavit of a CI who has been very useful in the past. This CI swears he saw you at an auction house buying this very painting and arranging to have it delivered via courier. They even produced what looks like to be a valid bill of sale. They also have the signature of your wife signing for the delivery just this afternoon. This is a hot tip, Peter, they are not going to move slowly on this. I need you to be straight with me. Do you and Neal have some kind of lucrative deal going on? Is he betraying you and selling you out now? You know he's the best forger there is. He could have easily created this bill of sale."

Peter was still a little stunned. First, his sister was kidnapped. Now Hughes was insinuating that he was involved in a con with Neal regarding a famous painting stolen almost 10 years ago and that Neal was turning the tables on him. It didn't make any sense. He had plenty of enemies but...

"Sir, I need to see the file on the Gardner museum robbery."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea right now. Any FBI agent reviewing a case file that he might have had something to do with would be highly suspicious. It would raise too many questions."

"Fine, then look at it for me. I need to know if Frank Corleone was ever one of the suspects for that heist."

"Peter, I will look into it for you, but you haven't answered my question yet. Are you and Caffrey pulling a con on the FBI? Is Caffrey involved with this stolen painting? I need the truth, Peter. You know there is nothing I can do to protect you or Neal if they discover either of you are involved with this stolen painting."

"Sir, on my honor, I know nothing about this painting. I don't know if Neal is involved. He called in sick today. I know how that sounds, but I checked his anklet and his is at his apartment. I can assure you I am not working with him behind the bureau's back to pull off any art heists."

"I'll take your word on that Peter. I trust you not to let the bureau down."

"Thank you for your confidence in me, sir."

"Why don't you go home, check on Elle and make sure she's ok, I'm sure this will be upsetting to her. I will see what I can find out on our end. I will call you when I look at the Gardner robbery case files."

##

Wednesday afternoon 5 p.m.

Elle was sitting on the couch working on a seating chart for her next catering event when the doorbell rang. Wondering if it might be another strange delivery, she cautiously looked through the peephole to see Mozzie standing there. She quickly opened the door for him and he entered without any type of greeting. He proceeded to look around the living room.
"Mozzie? Is everything ok? Neal's not here."
"I know that Mrs. Suit. Has anyone been here? Any deliveries? Have you been here all afternoon? I'm looking for a painting. It's got to be here. We have to find it and you'll need to come with me. You're in danger."
"There was a floral delivery earlier. They brought this beautiful bouquet on the dining room table. There's also a present sitting by the mantel, but I was waiting for Peter to get home so we could open it together."
"I need to see it now."
Mozzie walked toward the mantel, and carefully unwrapped the bow before he reached inside the beautiful felt covering and pulled out a painting far enough for him to realize it was Neal's forgery. Well, that explains where the painting went. Mozzie groaned at the realization that it also proved that Frank was up to a bigger con than either of them had suspected. Mozzie knew that the painting needed to disappear before it got the Suits or Neal in trouble. He quickly slid the painting back inside the pouch.
"Grab whatever you need quickly. We have to go. It's not safe here. "
Elle had her shoes on, found her coat and had just grabbed her purse when the sound of approaching sirens filled the air.
"Mrs. Suit…Elle! They're here. We have to go now."
With one hand clutching the precious painting, Mozzie reached with his free hand to open the door and then grabbed Elle's hand and pulled her out the back door.