White Collar: The Eye of Sita
Chapter Twenty-three
"Too low, too low, too low..."
"Neal, what are you muttering about?" Peter asked.
"Sara's hesitating to answer Glass about the fee. I told her what to do if the price was too high or low...but I forgot to tell her what a good price should be."
"Damn it." Peter growled.
"I told you this was a bad idea." Walters added. "We should just move to extract her now."
"Give her a chance." Neal insisted.
"You're kidding right?" Sara voice came over the radio.
"Not enough?" Glass asked.
"Good girl." Neal smiled. "I told you she could do this."
"She's not out of there yet." Walters pointed out.
Walters' point was driven home as Glass informed Sara that he expected the work to be done in his own studio. Everyone in the van held their breath in hopes that Sara would be able to talk her way out of Glass's home. Neal's heart sank when he heard the distinctive click of a heavy lock.
"Uh...Guys," Sara's voice held an edge of anxiety "I think I'm in a bit of trouble here."
"Damn it, Burke." Walters snarled. "I told you this would happen. Glass is going to find a way to sue us over this one and the Hope Diamond is as good as gone. Looks like neither one of us are going to have your job."
"I can fix this." Neal said confidently. "I'll just slip in, do the sculpture, and slip out. I'll be done by morning if I work all night."
"No way." Walters replied.
"Glass will never know I was there." Neal assured. "Like you said if we tip our hand now the Hope Diamond is going to be lost forever. He'll chop it up and sell the smaller stones. Peter, back me up, you know I can do this."
"Neal, if you get caught..." Peter started.
"If I get caught Glass will call the cops on me, he won't kill me. Walters?"
"Caffrey's right," Walters said with some pain in his voice "Glass isn't a thug, he wouldn't risk having someone murdered in his house."
"So can I go?"
"Neal?" Sara's voice echoed in the van. "Are you going to break in here and sculpt this for me or not? I'm on the third floor, facing North, the patio door is locked but there is some red paint in here. I'm going to streak the glass with it so you can see which room I'm in."
"This is our one chance." Neal pressed as he got to his feet.
"He's your responsibility, Burke." Walters said with a heavy sigh of defeat. "It's up to you if you want to let him do this."
"Peter?"
"Go."
"Thank you." Neal replied as he moved towards the van door.
"Neal, wait."
"Peter, we don't have time to talk about this further."
"I want to take your anklet off, just in case you do get caught."
"What would it matter?" Walters asked. "He's better off wearing it so he can't bolt with the Hope."
"I'm not going to run with an unfenceable rock." Neal said defensively as he put his foot up on the chair next to where Peter was sitting.
"Glass will never believe he's just a common home invader with a tracking anklet." Peter explained as he unlocked the black tracking device. "Don't worry Walters, Neal isn't going to leave Sara behind."
Neal suddenly understood why Peter had always tended towards encouraging his relationship with Sara. He had been worried at first that Peter would be against it and had been a little surprised to find him supportive. It made perfect sense now, a serious relationship would help him put down roots in New York and she wasn't one to tolerate criminal activity.
"Here, take an ear piece." Peter offered Neal the small device.
"You damn well better swallow that thing if you get caught." Walters pointed out. "If you want to keep your 'common criminal' cover that is."
"I will keep that in mind."
"Hey," Sara's voice joined them again "I'm going to start getting nervous if you guys don't make a move soon. The paint is on the window."
"Go, Neal." Peter ordered.
Free from the tracker Neal left the van. He looked around the empty rich suburban street and headed towards the wooded area that lay North of Glass's house. There was no wall or fence on this side of the mansion, but there was about an acre of open well groomed grass to be crossed between the tree line and the shrubs that decorated the lawn near the house. Still in the cover of the trees Neal searched for the red paint.
"Neal?" Peter's voice buzzed in Neal's ear. "Can you hear me?"
"I hear you."
"How's it look?"
"If I can get across the lawn without being seen the hard part will be over."
"Do you see where Sara is?"
"I do. I'm going to have to break into the ground floor though. There is no safe way to climb up."
"Be careful."
"Always." Neal said seriously. "There is nothing for it, I'm just going to walk up to the house."
"Walk?"
"The human eye is set up to notice motion, a slower moving object draws less attention than a fast one."
"Good luck."
"Be prepared to post bail for me if this doesn't work."
"I'll consider it."
Neal took a one last look around before stepping out of the trees. He forced himself to walk at a calm normal pace towards the house. If someone was looking out the window they would see him instantly, but if they were doing anything else there was a good chance that the casual motion wouldn't catch their eye.
"Sara sees you," Peter informed Neal "she says you're crazy."
"She might just be right."
Neal made it to the side of the house and pressed his back against the red brick between two of the large floor level windows. He waited a minute to see if anyone was coming out to see what he was doing. It would be easier to avoid arrest if he wasn't caught actively breaking in. After a few minutes Neal decided it was safe.
"I made it." Neal announced. "Stay quiet unless you have to tell me something, I'll need all my concentration once inside."
"Understood."
Taking a deep breath to put himself in the proper mind set Neal peeked in the nearest window. He knew he couldn't open the window, but he was able to see that no one was in the room. Moving past the window he repeated the process until he was at the back door. Acting as a service entrance the door had a heavy duty lock. Taking his lock pick set out Neal spent a few minutes coaxing the lock open. The lock was complicated, but no match for Neal's skill.
"I'm in." Neal whispered.
Neal entered the house and into the back of an industrial looking kitchen. Glass probably held a lot of large parties and it made more sense to have his own restaurant grade kitchen than have everything catered. It was early afternoon and the kitchen was empty. There were several doors, but one of them had wood finish signifying that it would lead into the main house.
The house was like a maze of hallways and open living spaces. Neal took a moment to orient himself. He wasn't looking to go directly to Sara's room, knowing that there would be a guard outside. He needed to get to her room without being in the same hall as the guard.
Walking down one of the decorated hallways Neal heard voices approaching. Looking for a place to hide Neal was forced to slip into the nearest room. Quickly checking to see if anyone was inside he found it empty. It was a large study with floor to ceiling book shelves and a couch that face away from the door and towards a large bay window. Neal silently closed the door and kept his hand on the handle to make the door appear locked. Holding his breath he waited while the men in the hall walked past.
"Hello. Who are you?"
Neal jolted in surprise at the unexpected voice. He turned around and didn't see anyone. It took him a second to look down. There was a young girl, six or seven years old, looking up at him. She had thick golden hair that fell in large locks past her shoulders. She was dressed as though she had just come home from private school. Neal glanced at the bay window and noticed that the small statues he thought he'd seen were actually highly realistic toy horses. Completely unafraid the little girl waited for an answer.
"My name is Nick." Neal smiled warmly. "What's your name, Sweetheart?"
"I'm Alice."
"It's nice to meet you Alice."
"Are you one of Granddad's friends?" Alice asked with a hint of suspicion in her voice.
"That's right."
"I don't think I believe you." Alice narrowed her eyes.
Neal was impressed by how mature Alice was. She had probably been in the highest priced schools and day cares since birth. Hoping to make friends Neal reached into his pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill. Alice looked at him unimpressed.
"Hang on, don't look at me like that just yet." Neal said as he sat down on the floor. "Here, let me show you something."
Taking the bill Neal used the floor to help him fold it into an intricate design. Alice sat down as well and watched with fascination. When he was done Neal had a small origami frog with the five from the bill centered on his back.
"Cute!" Alice smiled.
"There's more." Neal pressed down on the back of the paper frog. "Hold out your hands."
Alice's face lit up and she cupped her hands. Neal let go of the frog and it jumped into the air a few inches and landed in Alice's hands. She squealing in delight before placing the frog on the floor and trying it herself. The way the paper was folded helped it act like a spring.
"Can I keep this?" Alice asked shyly.
"Of course." Neal nodded. "Alice, are there any other children here with your Granddad?"
"My brother is here, I think he's upstairs playing video games."
"Anyone else?"
"No. My cousins are still at school, and my friend Jenna is at horseback riding lessons. I go tomorrow. My horse is named Gold Dust, he's a palomino."
Once again Neal was impressed by how well spoken the young girl was. It had been a long shot that Alice would know anything about Daniel's son, but it was worth asking. Alice made the frog jump a few more times before she placed it carefully in her pocket and turned her attention back to Neal.
"Would you like to play 'hide and seek'?" Alice asked hopefully.
"I love 'hide and seek', although I'm much better at hiding than seeking."
"Okay, you can hide." Alice agreed and put her hands over her eyes. "I'll count to one hundred."
"No peeking." Neal warned in a gentle tone.
"No peeking." Alice repeated.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Okay. Start counting."
"One...two...three...four...five..."
Getting to his feet Neal felt a little guilty about stepping out into the hallway and leaving the game. He hoped that she didn't search for him for too long. Focusing once again on getting to Sara he found the stairs and made his way past the third floor and up to the fourth, which was the top level. The expansive mansion was mostly empty and he easily got to a bedroom that was directly above where Sara was.
Neal opened the window and looked down to the patio below. It was too far to just jump. Looking over at the bed Neal pulled off the white silk sheets. He twisted the sheets before he tied the fitted sheet to the top sheet. Rather than tying the sheet to the heavy carved wood bed frame he simply looped one end around the thick post. By holding both ends in his hand he would be able to use the sheet to get down and then he could pull it down afterwards so no one would notice the sheet hanging out the window.
Sara was waiting for Neal on the far side of the lock patio door. He pulled the sheet down and stuffed it in the corner of the patio to hide it. Neal looked through the glass and waved at Sara, she smiled and waved back. Using his lock pick again Neal quickly gained entrance to the art studio. Sara threw her arms around his neck and hugged him gratefully.
"Neal!"
"Miss me?" Neal chuckled.
"I was starting to think you got caught, what took you so long?"
"I did get caught."
"What? How did you get away?"
"Technically I didn't, I'm officially in the middle of a very intense game of 'hide and seek'."
"They are going to come right here."
"I don't think so. My pursuer is only six."
Sara gave Neal a doubtful look. Neal smiled and gave her a quick kiss before looking around the well supplied art studio. The drawings of the statue were pinned to an easel set up next to a staging platform. The metal frame work had already been completed and had bits of clay still stuck to it.
"Glass must be a perfectionist." Neal said. "Some other artist tried this already and its been torn down."
"I'm sure you can do better."
"Thank you for the vote of confidence. You can help me."
"I don't know anything about art."
"I'll teach you."
"Let's get started, I want to get out of here."
Neal went over to the red velvet couch that was set up near the patio door. Taking off his jacket he placed it carefully on the back of the couch. He loosened his tie and pulled it off, putting it with the jacket. Neal slipped out of his shoes as he unbuttoned his shirt and took it off as well. Sara came over with a puzzled look as Neal stripped.
"Neal...um...why are you taking your clothes off?" Sara asked.
"Clay work is very messy and my wardrobe boarders on irreplaceable." Neal explained as he undid his pants. "I've already ruined one outfit on this case fighting with Daniel in an alley, I'd rather not lose another one."
"You're going to keep the boxers on, right?"
"If you insist." Neal shrugged.
"In this particular case I think that I do." Sara replied.
"That makes two of us, Neal." Peter growled in the ear piece.
"Peter, I'd forgotten you were there."
"Clearly...keep the boxers on."
"You're not even here to see anything." Neal pointed out.
"Just knowing is bad enough."
"How did I end up partnered with such a prude?"
"A lifetime of bad decision making on your part...and one major slip in judgment on mine."