NOTE: I literally worked on this ALL DAY. I started around noon and it just hit midnight. Enjoy...I need to go to bed.

White Collar: The Eye of Sita

Chapter Thirty Seven

Trying to not draw attention to himself Neal mingled through the party in search of Peter. Being an 'unknown' at a Who's Who party wasn't always the best cover. Since Neal was at the event everyone assumed he must be someone important. The fact that he didn't want to stop and talk to people about himself made them assume he was powerful enough to not need to advertise. This combined with a graceful cheek line and a slight limp made Neal an irresistible target for 'small talk'.

"Hello there." A well dress cougar purred as she stepped into Neal's path. "What's your name?"

"Nick Halden." Neal replied. "I'm Lead Auditor with the IRS."

"Oh." The woman eyed him warily.

"Most people find the Tax Code boring, but it has a variety of fascinating aspects."

Visibly turing pale at the prospect of a conversation about Tax Law the predatory female acted as though she just spotted someone across the room that she had to say hello to. As Neal moved on he put his palm against his hip. He discovered that despite the constant ache at least the site of the tracker chip had stopped bleeding. Neal was wondering how accurate the tracker was when he finally caught site of Peter.

Rather than call out to him Neal circled around and intercepted Peter just as he was approaching Ambassador Bhatt. Neal stepped between Peter and the Ambassador and then just kept walking off towards the bar. He was certain that Peter was following him, and he casually ordered a drink from the bartender. Drink in hand he turned around to face Peter. By leading him over to the bar they'd have some heavy glass bottle to work with if Glass' men decided against their reunion.

"Peter..."

"Neal, what is in your pocket?" Peter demanded.

"I don't suppose you'll believe that I'm just happy to see you?" Neal asked with a forced smile.

"No." Peter replied darkly before lowering his voice. "Neal, why do you have a gun?"

"It just has blanks." Neal assured. "How did you know?"

"Academy training, an Agent's life often depends on spotting a weapon before it's drawn."

"Good point. Chairman Mao once said 'the only real defense is an active defense'."

"Don't channel Mozzie to distract from the issue." Peter replied with mild irritation.

"Right...the issue being?"

"I thought you'd been kidnapped, maybe even killed. Instead I find you partying along side the DC elite."

"It was a forced invitation." Neal replied defensively. "I was kidnapped, and someone is planing to kill me."

"Where's Daniel?"

"With Sara, and 'no' he's not the one looking to kill me."

"It's Glass, isn't it?" Peter sighed. "It's always been him, right from the start."

"More than you know."

Peter listened intently as Neal gave him the short version of everything that had happened since he woke up in the Embassy. He glossed over the part where Daniel had actually killed the guards. He didn't directly lie about it, but he left their fate open ended. Peter didn't say anything when Neal told him about how Glass tied into his and Daniel's past, however his expression of repulsed horror at the buying and selling of their lives was evident. Neal also excluded the details about his mother as he brought the story to an end.

"Glass has been watching Daniel this whole time," Peter concluded "just waiting for the Hope to be in New York to give Daniel the best chance of stealing it."

"He's a very patient criminal." Neal agreed.

"So you think Glass invited Sara and I to help tie up loose ends?"

"I don't think so." Neal shook his head. "Glass didn't want killing Daniel and I to be part of the plan, we forced his hand when we broke into his penthouse here. But he knows what Sara looks like and he seems to have done his homework on you."

"So all four of us are targets now."

"Pretty much."

"Great." Peter glanced around the room.

"I'm guessing there is a sniper or two waiting for us when we try to leave. If we are killed on Embassy grounds it will be almost impossible to run a proper investigation."

"I can't call for back up here, Neal. Even if Walters wanted to help us he couldn't. If I can get the Ambassador's permission I can arrest Glass on the kidnaping charges."

"Peter, you and I both know that my accusations against Glass will never hold up in any court."

"No, but arresting him tonight may just save our lives."

"But it won't save Glass' life." Neal said.

"I don't understand."

"Daniel is not going to accept Glass being a free man. Either we get something on Glass tonight and arrest him for serious charges that will stick or Daniel is going to kill him come midnight."

"I could arrest Daniel too." Peter offered. "He broke into the Federal Building and destroyed your paintings."

"Alleged paintings." Neal corrected with a smile. "But arresting Daniel, that's not even an option. He won't allow it."

"Allowing yourself to be arrested isn't a prerequisite for it, you should know that."

"In Daniel's case it is."

"If he wants Glass dead tonight he'll make that happen, won't he?"

"Yes he will."

Neal watched as Peter thought over all the new information he'd been given. He had learned long ago that Peter often needed a minute or two to go over the options in his head. It was a trait that had annoyed Neal when they had first started working together, but over time he was starting to learn the value of thinking before acting.

"Okay." Peter nodded as he finally collected his thoughts. "First things first. We need to talk to the Ambassador and get permission to arrest Glass."

"For what?"

"My first thought would be for identity fraud. He must have changed his name after leaving Texas."

"The way he talked about it I get the feeling that he might have some open warrants under his original name."

"This would be a lot easier if we had his birth name. You're sure you don't remember it?"

"I don't think I ever even knew it."

"Let's worry about that later."

Neal agreed and looked around to see if he could spot Ambassador Bhatt. Spotting his prey Neal pointed him out to Peter. As they walked across the busy room Neal did his best to hide his limp. The longer he spent on his feet the more irritating the chip embedded in the muscle was becoming.

"Neal..." Peter hesitated "are you alright?"

"My hip is just sore from the tracker. I'm sure you love the service, but I really need to get this thing out."

"I actually wasn't taking physically."

"Oh, right. I haven't really had a chance to think about..." Neal stopped as he noticed something wrong with Peter's shirt collar. "Peter are you...are you wearing make-up?"

"It was Sara's idea." Peter explained as he rubbed at his throat revealing some of the deep purple bruising under the foundation. "It's not exactly easy to blend in with a crowd with ligature marks."

"People would probably just think you're into autoerotic asphyxiation." Neal chuckled.

"Auto-what now? Actually, no, don't explain. I don't want to know."

"You really don't." Neal agreed as they reached the Ambassador.

"Ambassador Bhatt," Peter greeted "I'm Special Agent Peter Burke with the FBI, this is..."

"Neal Caffrey." The Ambassador finished before Peter could. "Our paths have crossed in the past."

"They have?" Neal asked in surprise.

"In India. The Blood of Rama Ruby."

"Oh...um..."

"Do not worry about it, Mr. Caffrey, the man you stole it from was a thief himself and if rumors are to believed you gave the ruby back to the Mandir that it originally belonged to."

"I don't like to spread rumors." Neal replied politely.

"A true gentleman." Bhatt praised before turning back to Peter. "How can I help you Agent?"

"I'd like to talk to you about an American at the Embassy."

"Of course, Agent." Bhatt replied with a genuine smile. "Does our conversation require privacy?"

"That would be best."

"Follow me."

As the Ambassador lead them away Peter shot Neal a glare before just shaking his head in disbelief. Neal flashed him an apologetic smile. The Ambassador took them through one of the halls to a private den type room with large leather chairs and books lining the walls. Neal was a little surprised with how willing the Ambassador was to be helpful. He offered the pair a seat but they declined.

"Is this about Harold Glass?" Bhatt asked.

"What do you know about him?" Peter asked rather than answered.

"Claimed self-made man, started with private trips to Africa solo about fifteen years ago, managed to be in the 'right place at the right time', took only two years before he became the world's largest rough diamond dealer. He has been suspected multiple times of trading in African blood diamonds, but no one has ever successfully brought charges against him."

"Sounds like you've done your research." Neal said.

"When the 'White King of Africa' decides to give a gift of several million dollars worth of diamonds to the people of India it raises suspicions." Bhatt explained. "India used to be the center of the diamond world and I fear that Glass wishes to help us reclaim that title by washing African blood diamonds in our rivers."

"Why didn't you go to the US authorities?" Peter asked.

"I did, Agent Burke, in fact I recently called and spoke to an Agent with at FBI."

"Agent Walters?" Neal asked.

"That's correct."

"What did he have to say?"

"He told me that he shared my suspicions, but to date there was no evidence against Glass that he could use. I told him that Glass was going to be looking to have a statue of Sita commissioned for the auction and he thanked me for the information. I assume he talked to you."

"He did." Peter confirmed. "However, we still do not have a solid link between Glass and the African diamonds."

"Perhaps there is no link, perhaps all of Glass' diamonds are clean." Bhatt said doubtfully. "If you did not come here to arrest him for diamond washing then why are you here?"

"I'm here to ask permission to arrest Glass on suspicion of kidnapping, and identity fraud."

"Do you have a warrant?"

"No." Peter admitted.

"Without a warrant I can not give you that permission as much as I'd like to."

"What if we got one?" Neal asked hopefully.

"In that case I would gladly have him dragged off Indian soil, Mr. Caffrey."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Ambassador." Peter said honestly.

"My thanks to the FBI for taking my suspicions seriously. For the sake of the Hunger Project I hope that our fears are unfounded. I do not wish to feed India at the expense of Africa."

"Understood."

The Ambassador took them back out to the main room and said good bye once more. Neal had thought about informing the helpful Ambassador that the Hope Diamond was embedded in the gifted statue. However there would still be no tangible evidence to link Glass and the Hope, particularly when the only set of fingerprints currently on the Hope belong to Neal.

"If Daniel can remember Glass' real name, we'll have our warrant, and what I'm guessing is a very long list of crimes in connection with Robert Caffrey." Neal said.

"Do you think Daniel can remember it?"

"I don't know, he doesn't like to think about his past let alone dig around in it. But it's our best shot at Glass."

Neal headed back to where he'd left Sara and Daniel. When they arrived Sara was looking around, but she was alone. Neal's blood ran cold as hurried the rest of the way to Sara. Peter scanned the area, but Daniel's wasn't in sight.

"Sara, where's Daniel? He was supposed to stay with you."

"I'm sorry, Neal. I don't know where he went, he's left just a few minutes after you did. I swear I just blinked and he was gone."

"Damn it." Neal growled.

"Now you know how I feel." Peter pointed out.

"What?"

"I'm always asking you to stay put and you never do. I turn my back for a second and you're off causing trouble."

"That's not true." Neal protested. "I'm usually off solving whatever case we happen to be working on, just...in my own way."

"The point is that you can't be depended on to do as you're told or even as you're asked. So you can't fault Daniel for having the exact same character flaw. Hell, he probably learned it from you."

"Can we not have this argument right now?" Neal asked seriously. "He's going after Glass, we need to find him now."

Before anyone could make any suggestions there was a flurry of activity from several of Glass' guards. The trio instantly went to follow the guards across the room and down the hall to one of the private back dinning rooms. Daniel had invited himself to the table where Glass had been talking with three of the other Ambassadors. Daniel caught sight of Neal and beckoned him to come over. Glass was calm with Daniel sitting next to him. He still had no fear of Daniel, in fact he waved the guards away.

"Ambassadors, if you would please excuse us for a few minutes." Glass said to his guests.

The Indian delegates didn't waste any time in leaving. The guards had been keeping Peter and the others at a distance, but now that Glass had dismissed them they were able to step up to the table. Glass looked up at them and smiled.

"Agent Burke, Miss Ellis," Glass greeted "I have to say I was not expecting to see you here tonight."

"Glass, it's over." Peter said firmly. "Just come with me peacefully."

"Oh," Glass said in a disappointed tone "I thought you were here to arrest the Caffreys. You know they broke into my house, don't you? I have them on tape doing so. What exactly am I being arrested for?"

Neal tensed when Daniel leaned in closer to Glass. Daniel had his hands clenched into white knuckled fists and the muscles along his jaw were tense with his barely contained rage. Glass didn't seem to notice how close he was to a quick and violent death. Peter could see how tense the situation was and looked to Neal for help. If Daniel decided to lash out at Glass there wasn't going to be anything they could do to stop the blood shed.

"Daniel, please..."

"Peter is trying to do you a favor." Daniel growled at Glass. "You can go with him, or you can come with me."

"And just where are you going?"

"Straight to hell."

For the first time there was a flash of fear in Glass' dark eyes. Daniel stared Glass down with terrifying intensity. Glass stared back for a moment, but eventually he backed down. Regaining his composure Glass looked up at Peter.

"I don't see why I should have to go anywhere with either of you."

"You didn't fool everyone with your generous gift." Daniel informed him. "Ambassador Bhatt has given Peter full permission to haul you out of here. I'm just here to make sure the arrest goes smoothly."

"Really?" Glass asked doubtfully before he turned his attention to Peter. "Agent Burke, do you have a warrant with my name on it?"

"No." Peter admitted.

"Well come back when you have one." Glass shrugged.

"He has one." Daniel said. "Or at least he will in a few minutes."

"For what?" Glass sneered. "Agent Burke has nothing on me."

"He has nothing on 'Glass'." Daniel corrected. "But that's not you."

"Daniel, do you remember his name?" Neal asked hopefully.

"I have a pretty good guess."

"A guess isn't going to get you a warrant." Glass said confidently. "And it certainly isn't going to prove anything."

"You may have been able to erase Neal's past to the point where even he can't find himself, but you would have been in a rush after Caffrey's death and it's not as easy to remove every trace of a fully grown adult."

"None of that matters if you don't have a name."

"I've heard your name so many times, but I was just never really listening."

"If you think my name is 'Caffrey' I have disappointing news for you."

"No, but funny you should mention Caffrey, because he's the one who told me."

"You're bluffing." Glass said confidently. "I don't have to listen to this. I'm going to have to ask you to lea..."

"Agent Burke, do you have access to the Federal Warrant database on your phone?" Daniel asked.

"I do."

"There's an ap for that?" Neal asked in surprise.

"Right here," Peter pulled out his phone and opened the program "all I need is a name."

"Harold Williams."

Daniel's voice had barely been above a whisper, but the effect on Glass as devastating as gun shot wound. The color instantly drained from Glass' face. Peter was busy looking up the name, but Neal knew that Daniel had it right. Once he recovered from the initial shock Glass stared at Daniel in horror.

"How?" Glass whispered.

"You know how." Daniel growled darkly. "Caffrey was a very careful man...but all of us slip up now and again in a moment of passion."

"No..."

"He loved you, or at the very least he fantasied about fuc..."

"Stop." Glass begged. "I'm sorry, Caffrey swore to me you'd have a good home, I thought I was saving you from the foster system. I figured it out years later. I tried to get him help, but he didn't want it. He kept evidence of my involvement and after his dea..."

"I'm not interested in your side of the story." Daniel interrupted coldly. "Just be grateful that Neal talked me into searching my past for you. It is not exactly a memory I cherish. If it had been up to me I would have just killed you."

"Harold Williams," Peter said as he retrieved the cuffs from his back pocket "you are under arrest for kidnapping, endangering a minor, and human trafficking."

The cornered look in Williams' eyes suddenly turned to defeat. He took a breath to say something to Daniel, but he seemed to realize that anything he had to say would fall on deaf ears. Getting to his feet Williams peacefully allowed Peter to take him into custody.

"Agent Burke..." Williams paused for a moment "there's a man on the roof of the Embassy, you may want to have him investigated before allowing your partner to step outside."

"Neal, stay here with Daniel until everything is clear." Peter said. "Sara can you help me by finding Ambassador Bhatt?"

Sara had remained a silent observe during the events. She nodded at Peter's request and left with him. Neal was grateful to them both for giving him some time alone with Daniel. Daniel had pushed himself away from the table and had wandered over to the open window. He stared sightlessly out at the gardens. Neal walked up and stood next to him. The pair stared out at the serene garden in silence for a while.

"I'm proud of you, Daniel."

"I really, really wanted to kill him." Daniel admitted.

"I know."

"Thank you." Daniel said as he turned and drew Neal into a warm embrace.

"For what?"

"Stopping me." Daniel smiled sadly. "Lucky for him that he didn't change his first name."

"Somehow first names can be harder to leave behind."

"I never really questioned the times Caffrey called me 'Williams', I didn't even really remember it until I sat down at that table. I don't know what I would have done if I'd been wrong."

"Let's not worry about that."

"Did you tell Peter where the Hope is?"

"No."

"What? Why not?"

"I didn't want to put him in position where he had to trust you to take it back."

"Me? How are we going to get it without Peter knowing?"

"I have a plan." Neal assured.

"One last heist together?" Daniel asked with a bright smile.

"Just like old times..."