Agent Rice stood hidden behind an empty warehouse overlooking the docks. She had men stationed from every angle, with eyes on the streets, the water, and the roof. And with her man in place-six foot tall, roughly the right build, and in a slick suit and Caffrey's signature fedora- she was positive the dirt-bag wouldn't realize he'd walked into a trap until it was too late.

She checked her watch: 1:58. "All units check in," she called into her comm. "Any sign of our target?"

"Blue Team; negative on the visual."

"Red Team; no sign of the target."

"Black Team; we've got nothing."

Rice sighed in frustration, then straightened her shoulders and looked back toward the meet. "What about you, Lansing?" she asked her man out in the open. "Anything?"

The Caffrey look-alike brought his hand to his face to wipe a pretend bead of sweat from his forehead. "I don't—wait," he said, stopping suddenly and looking up. "I got movement on a warehouse in the Southwest corner."

Neal walked briskly along the city streets, Sara close beside him. He didn't like bringing her into this, not just because Keller had wanted him alone; but because it once again put her in Keller's path, and Neal really hated it when Keller saw anything that Neal had (even if he didn't really have it).

However, Sara had insisted, as she always did, that her equipment went where she went, and the con needed her equipment for this escapade, and so here they were, walking toward an empty lot together.

"So what's the deal with this place?" Sara asked. "Did you two pull a big score here or something?"

Neal didn't like talking about his history with Keller—it always became so personal. Keller always had a way of making it personal. "I pulled a job out here once," he said simply. "Keller happened to be around, and helped out a little."

"And that's it?" Sara looked at him suspiciously. Neal sighed.

"It was awhile ago; I was allegedly stealing a Jim Hodges piece at the New Museum of Contemporary Art. As part of the plan, Kate took the piece and made for our rendezvous point, but she got cut off by some cops that showed up." Neal looked at the empty lot they arrived at. "I made a distraction, and she slipped into here. Keller happened to be around, and offered his assistance. We'd just met him a week before in Monaco, so she agreed." He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "By the time I found her, he'd already arranged a fence to get the piece out of her hands. We worked together a little after that."

"So he got to play the hero and get in good with Kate," Sara deduced by his look, making an expression that clearly showed her equal distaste for the connection. "Did they—?"

Brown curls flew as he shook his head. "No," he said adamantly. Then, less certainly, "I don't think so." He looked at her. "He found ways to be around a lot, in the beginning, ways to split us up for jobs. But she always came home." He didn't voice that the time between Copenhagen and his conditional release from prison had been a long time though, as Keller loved to remind him…

The insurance investigator thought a moment. "So he sees this as a victory for him?"

"His first between us," Neal agreed. Coming out ahead of the bastard in Monaco had been so satisfying, he wished he could experience the feeling every day of the week.

"And that's why he's choosing this as where it all started and therefore a good meeting point?," she guessed.

Neal shrugged, and they entered the lot. "Maybe he just thinks Monaco's a bit far for such short notice."

"Red Team, I need eyes on that building now," Rice called urgently. "Lansing, approach with extreme caution. Can anybody confirm that it's Keller?"

"We've just got word that there's an empty cargo ship docked about a half-mile downriver," a voice from the municipal van reported.

"I got an open door to the south-facing entrance," the exposed agent's voice murmured. "No sign of Keller…"

Suddenly the world flew into chaos as the building exploded. Rice stood momentarily dazed as the warehouse was engulfed in flames, debris flying like so many cards in the wind, before she flew from behind her spot toward her agent who'd been thrown backwards onto the ground from the shock wave.

"Man down!" she screamed into her communicator as she felt for a pulse. "Lansing!" She sighed in relief as she felt the thrum of a heartbeat and watched her agent's chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm. "Call a bus: Lansing's out cold," she ordered, waiting momentarily for confirmation, then continued, "All teams check in!"

Rice turned her head this way and that as her group reported their status, looking for any sign of what had gone wrong. "What the hell happened?"

Neal watched as Keller stepped out from the shadows of the lot. He stepped forward to face the bastard full on, taking a protective step in front of Sara as he subtly gestured for her to stay behind him.

"Caffrey," the con greeted his rival. He glanced at Sara with a deviant smile. "Ms. Ellis, you are looking particularly beautiful today."

"And you're looking quite psychotic," Sara replied, clenching her hand in what Neal could only guess was desire to be holding her gun.

Keller pulled out his own and gestured between the two of them. "I could have sworn my instructions were for you to come alone, not bring along a date."

"You gave me an hour to lose the FBI and my tracking anklet," Neal replied. "I couldn't get the key, so I adapted. " He looked back to Sara as she held up a GPS-jamming device. "Scrambles the signal for a two-mile radius."

Keller laughed. "Well done, Caffrey."

Neal didn't smile back. "Where's Elizabeth?"

Keller shrugged. "I told you: I give her to you after I get the treasure."

"You skipped out on our last deal, so you'll forgive me if I don't believe you."

"You're willing to risk her life bargaining?"

"You're willing to walk away from the score of the century?"

"How do I even know you've got the score of the century?" Keller countered. "There's a rumor swirling that puts you and Moz on the outs, which would put the treasure out of your reach."

Neither said anything, locked in a standoff. Neal held his position, keeping his expression blank despite his fury at his problematic position. Stuck, he looked back at Sara, who pulled a cylinder container off of her shoulder and brought it forward. Neal tossed it to Keller.

The criminal pulled out the contents, investigating the canvas. "This wouldn't happen to be the same Degas forgery that the Feds confiscated just yesterday, would it?" he asked.

"The FBI has the forgery," Neal told him. "You have the real thing."

Keller examined the painting again. "Brilliant, Caffrey- You know, I had a hard time believing someone pulled a fast one on Rusty. I'm guessing you switched them out?" He shook his head in admiration, then returned it to its container. "I've got a truck coming in one hour to move the loot," he told the consultant. "You get it and meet me there, I tell you where you partner's wife is." He handed Neal a piece of paper. "One hour- no anklet, no feds."

Keller began walking out the opposite gate, then turned around. "And Caffrey," he called out. "I've got my guys on speed dial. They expect my call every half hour. I don't call, say from being arrested or shot again, they have instructions to terminate the beautiful Mrs. Burke."

Neal watched him go, then led Sara away.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked.

"I have no idea," he told her.

A/N: Argh! That was not a good Caffrey-Keller standoff, I concede. I didn't want Keller to give him a phone call, but that was the only thing that made sense, so instead I just decided to pretend Neal gave in for now. Luckily there's a whole plan involved that doesn't use Neal's (or my) ability to negotiate :)