CHAPTER ELEVEN

It had been raining for almost the entire week. Not the perfect beach weather, so people mostly spent their times indoors. Most popular places on the island were either the cabanas or the pubs. Neal was in an artistic mood, so he chose to stay indoors, inside his art studio back at the villa. Alex, on the other hand, was busy helping out in the tiki bar. Lolana's was crowded, with both tourists and locals alike.

At a time when business is as packed as it was right then and there, one can hardly notice every single patron, much less, tell them apart. Locals looked like every other local, and all the tourists pretty much looked the same. All except for one...the man who just walked in.

The man came in out of the rain, took his hood off, and brushed the droplets of water off his clothes, his fingers ran through his dark-brown hair. He caught Alex's attention as soon as he walked in. He was tall, about 6 ft. 2, in his mid to late thirties. He was built like an athlete, upright posture, hard bodied although not overly muscular...something Alex noticed when he unzipped his rain jacket. He has a clean-shaven, handsome face...not the Neal Caffrey degree of good looks, but handsome nonetheless. Yes, this man certainly stood out in a crowd.

The man surveyed the area, as if he was looking for something...or someone. His hazel eyes, very expressive, locked into Alex's, and he headed closer towards the bar. He flashed her a very enigmatic smile, warm but full of mystery.

Alex never forgot a face...she would certainly not forget someone like this guy...but something about him seemed very familiar. She may not recognize his face, but she felt as if she had known this man from somewhere. And his presence set off warning bells inside her head. It warned her that this guy spells TROUBLE.

Great! Just great! Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, he walks into mine. Alex thought.

The man reached the bar, focusing his attention on Alex. His smile grew wider, naughty...almost devilish. "Seems like my luck's improving. First time in seven years, I finally get a vacation...I get here in paradise, and it rains up a storm that has no end. Things appear to be looking up now that I found you." he told her.

"Nice..." Alex replied flatly. "Chat up lines like that must get you laid all the time." she said sarcastically.

"Just being friendly, ma'am." he said, tipping his imaginary hat. "Tell me something...what's a dime-piece like you doing in a dive like this?" he asked Alex.

"Dime piece?" Alex repeated. "Wow...you're bringing back the classics! Been a while since I've been called that! What can I get for you, Buster?" she asked him.

"Whatever you have on tap is fine. Name's Nico, by the way." he answered.

"Well, NICO...we have Budweiser, Dos Equis, Fosters, Hoegaarden, Guinness, Blue Moon, Newcastle, Stella Artois, and the Back Hand of God. But I don't have you pegged for a beer drinker, so how about one of the 'Three Wise Men' instead?" she told him.

"Three Wise Men?" he asked.

"You know...Jack Daniels, Jim Beam and Jose Cuervo. The Three Wise Men." she answered.

Nico chuckled. "I'll have a Jack Daniels, then. Black Label." he answered. "Actually, make it a double. It's been that kind of a day." he said.

"Gotta admire a guy who takes his liquor seriously." she observed.

"Is that the key to your heart? A man who likes his liquor?" he inquired.

"Key? What makes you think my heart is locked?" she asked him.

"You have that certain 'air' about you..." he let his voice trail off.

"Really? Why? Is it because I'm just not that into you?" she asked rhetorically. "If you MUST know, I already have a boyfriend. And even if I didn't... I am still NOT that into you." she told him, putting emphasis on every word.

"Why do girls like you always have a boyfriend?" Nico asked, shaking his head.

"Girls like me? Well, probably because I have acute nymphomania and an unlimited supply of booze." she answered.

Nico smiled. "I like your sass." he told her.

"You got a very nice 'sass' yourself, Buster." Alex replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other customers to serve." she turned around and walked away, leaving him to his drink.

Alex walked towards the end of the bar, where Charlie was seated. She noticed the worried look that the older man had on his face. He was staring at Nico, seemingly very interested.

"Where's Blue Eyes?" Charlie asked her, never taking his eyes off the stranger at the bar.

"He's back at the villa, working on a painting. Can't do anything else in this weather. Although I did promise to take him to Luweng Jaran to go spelunking once the sky clears up." Alex told him.

"Good place for him. The little guy with him?" Charlie asked again.

"Yes." Alex replied. "Why do you ask?" she was getting worried.

"See that fella over there? The one who was flirting with you earlier?" he asked. Alex nodded. "Well...Tango told me that the guy's been going around island to island, asking for information regarding someone named 'Victor Moreau'." Charlie informed her.

Alex's expression turned grim. She knew the guy was trouble. "Anybody talked?" she asked Charlie.

"Nope. The beauty of this island is that the people know how to keep a secret." Charlie replied.

"Good. Make sure it stays that way." Alex told him. She leaned closer to the older man. "Any idea on who this guy is and what part of the 'federal alphabet soup' food chain he's from? He said his name is 'Nico'...I highly doubt that that is his real name." she said.

"Only one way to find out." Charlie replied. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Care to pull the old 'Splash and Bump' on the guy?" he asked her.

Alex nodded, her smile matching his. She saw that 'Nico' paid for his drink and was getting ready to leave. She got a pitcher of ice cold beer and hurriedly walked towards him.

"Oh my God! I am so sorry!" Alex told Nico after 'accidentally' splashing the contents of the pitcher all over him. While Alex distracted him, Charlie 'bumped' Nico from behind. Unnoticed due to all the commotion, he expertly lifted the guy's wallet from his back pocket.

"It's okay." Nico told her. "Anywhere I can clean up around here?" he asked Alex.

Alex directed him towards the men's room. While he was gone, Alex looked at Charlie, who signaled to follow him in the back room.

"What have you got?" Alex asked him once they were alone.

"You're not gonna like this, Firecracker." he replied. He opened up Nico's wallet, revealing his ID...along with his badge. "He's with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service. Special Agent Domenic Peluso." he told her, letting out a low whistle.

"Damn it!" Alex cursed under her breath.

"He's packing heat too." Charlie added. "That felt like a Walther PPK-L, .32 ACP, hidden down the small of his back." he informed her.

"You can tell what kind of gun the guy's armed with just by bumping into him?" she asked curiously.

"Hey...I had a life before I became a thief." Charlie answered mysteriously. "What are we gonna do?" he asked her.

"First, we give THAT back to him." Alex said, pointing to Nico's wallet. "Then, I'll go tell Neal and Mozzie...we'll figure out a plan from there." she said.

When they returned to the bar, they found no sign of Nico.

"The guy here earlier, where is he?" Alex asked Tango.

"He just left a few seconds ago." Tango replied.

Alex handed the wallet over to the young man. "Go after him and give him this. Tell him he dropped it by the bar." she told him.

Tango nodded, took the wallet and quickly left. Outside, the young man caught up with Nico, while Charlie and Alex watched for the window, away from sight.

"Mister! Hey, mister. You dropped your wallet back there." Tango said convincingly, quite a good little con man himself.

"Thanks, kid." Nico told him.

As Tango nodded and left, Nico checked his wallet. Satisfied that all the contents were still there, he put it back in his pocket. He looked around, as if aware that he was being watched. Slowly, he walked away.

Charlie turned to face Alex. "You gotta go warn Blue Eyes. I have a feeling this guy means business." he told her. Alex nodded and left.

Alex ran as fast as she could back to Neal's place. She hurriedly went inside, in his art studio, where she found him with Mozzie. Neal saw the worried look on her face and became concerned.

"Something wrong, Alex?" Neal asked, walking towards her.

"We need to talk." she told him.

"That is never a good conversation starter." Mozzie chimed in. He saw the serious look on Alex's face. "And that's my cue to leave." he added, as he put down his wine glass and stood up from his chair.

"Actually, you need to stay. This involves you too." she told Mozzie.

Mozzie furrowed his eyebrow. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Some guy walked into the bar earlier. Charlie said that he's been asking questions about 'Victor Moreau'." she informed them. "The locals won't talk...but if this guy is here, chances are he isn't alone. Only a matter of time before he finds out where you are." she pointed out.

Neal remained silent. He started to pace slowly, his jaw set. "What's the guy's name?" he asked.

"Domenic Peluso. Special Agent Domenic Peluso. I saw his badge...he's from DSS." she answered.

"DSS? Wow, the G-Men are going all out to find you." Mozzie said. "What's the plan?" he asked Neal.

"Plan? You need to get the hell out of the island!" Alex interjected. "There is no conning this guy into letting you go. He knows your identities...both the real ones and the fake. Your aliases are burned." she reminded them.

"He only knows Neal's...not mine. He knows nothing about Mozzie or Bob." Mozzie corrected her. "He only has knowledge of Neal Caffrey and his previous aliases, mostly because of his involvement with the Suit." he continued.

"Yes, I realized that. But how how does he know about 'Victor Moreau'?" she asked. "The only people who knew, other than the three of us, are Lima and Charlie...and I know for a fact that they wouldn't talk." she added.

Mozzie paused and looked at Neal. "The five of us may not be the one people who knows..." he let his voice trail off, followed by an awkward cough, while Neal continued to remain silent.

Alex stared at him. "Neal?" she said, as Neal turned to face her. "Please tell me you didn't say anything to Agent Burke." she implored him.

Neal shook his head. "I didn't." he answered. "It wasn't Peter." he said.

"Then who?" Alex pressed.

Neal looked at Mozzie, who gave him an encouraging nod. He turned back to Alex and sighed. "It was Sara. She found the fake paperworks inside the safe back at my apartment in New York." he confessed.

"Sara? Sara Ellis? Your girlfriend?" she asked. "The insurance investigator? The same woman who chased you all over Europe just to find that Raphael and nail your ass to the wall? That 'Sara'?" she continued.

"We were under the impression that she wouldn't say anything to the Feds." Mozzie replied, earning a glare from Alex.

"Oh...you believed that, didn't you?" Alex shook his head. "Are you guys rookies? 'Cause that sure sounds like a rookie mistake to me. So much for not trusting anybody." she spat out, her voice filled with anger more than jealousy.

"The FBI have found ways to find me in the past. We don't know for sure that it was Sara who told them about my new alias." Neal defended her ex.

"Of course not! For all we know, it could have been June!" Alex said sarcastically, throwing her hands in the air in frustration.

"Look, Alex...I can't talk to you when you're like this. I need you to simmer down, please." Neal told her calmly.

Alex lowered her head, her anger still evident. She took a deep breath before she spoke again. "You're right. I'm no good to anyone like this." she turned around and walked away.

"I didn't ask you to leave, Alex!" Neal called after her.

Alex paused, but didn't look back. "I need to clear my head. I'll be less 'hysterical', and hopefully, more helpful, when I get back." she assured him. She left the room, and then the villa.

There was a long, silent pause after that. From the window, Neal watched as Alex disappeared. Mozzie merely stared at his friend.

"Alex was right, though." Mozzie said, breaking into Neal's thoughts. Neal looked at him. "There's no conning our way into freedom...not this time...not with this guy. The Suit, maybe...but not this guy." Mozzie continued. "Hate to say this, mon frรจre...but we need to get the hell out of Dodge." he pointed out. "Of course, this is all up to you. You run, I run, remember?" he reminded Neal.

Neal gave his friend a quick hug. "Thanks, Moz." he said.

"Not a problem." he replied. "I'll go check...see what I can find out about a certain 'Special Agent Domenic Peluso'." Mozzie put on his hat. He looked at Neal. "You go and find your girl...get her back. See if you can tame her down a notch." With that, he turned around and left, leaving Neal all alone in his studio to ponder on what happens next.

~END OF CHAPTER ELEVEN~

FOOTNOTES :

*Special Agent Domenic Peluso is a mix of Michael Weatherly and John Wayne. Why? I don't know. I don't argue with inspiration.

*DSS = Diplomatic Security Service. They are the federal law enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of State. One of their tasks is to track and capture fugitives who have fled U.S. jurisdiction in order to avoid prosecution.

*I'd like to think that there's more to Charlie than just being a common criminal. He has other skills.

*I appreciate all the continued support. Many thanks for all your patience. Hope you like reading this chapter. Please feel free to leave comments and kudos.