So sorry for the delay guys! I think my muze went somewhere far, far, far away on vacation and she's only halfway back.

I'm going to try to update as many of my stories today or tomorrow (no guarantees though!).

Thank you for the reviews!

"I must admit, I didn't think you had the guts to show up."

The voice came from behind him and was accompanied by footsteps that he could only describe as confident and stubborn. Though he was startled by his sudden presence, Neal was determined not to show any of it. Without removing his hands from his pockets, Neal slowly lifted his bowed head and turned around on his heels to take in the figure that went along with the voice.

"It doesn't take guts to face someone you're not afraid of.'

An amused smile crept over James' face as he scanned Neal's demeanor up and down, somehow finding his composed and confident posture admirable.

"Your girlfriend seems to disagree with you, I strongly advice you to join her side. Speaking of which, where is our little Sara?"

Adrenaline made his heart beat faster and his fingers itch; right now, he would love nothing more than to wipe the smugness off his face.

But he couldn't and he couldn't let him know what was going on inside his mind. He clenched his hands in fists in his pockets and narrowed his eyes.

"You asked for me, I'm here. Sara has nothing to do with this."

"On the contrary, my friend, Sara is very integral. And I asked for both of you."

"Well, I'm all you get." His tone left no room discussion.

At this, James could do nothing but chuckle as he nodded his head, understanding the final tone of his sentence.

"We'll get right to business then."

"Please."

"I need you to do a job."

"I got that. What's the job?"

"You ever heard of the Palace Museum in Zanzibar?"

"Of course."

"You know it's story?"

"Built for the Sultan and his family, was used as government offices after the revolution, but is now the People's Palace and a museum."

"Very good, Caffrey," he emphasized his impression, making it sound mocking and insincere, "then you must also know the story of Princess Salme?"

"Daughter of Sultan Said, eloped to Hamburg with a German merchant," Neal started to get annoyed with James' stalling and made no effort to hide it in his tone, "can we get to the point now?" It wasn't that much a request.

"Watch it, Caffrey," James warned, making a point of not wanting to be told how to do his job, "don't forget who's in charge."

"I only agreed to a meet, I never agreed to the job." Neal reminded him.

"Really? Huh… Then you might find it interesting to know that the flight to Cairo was delayed," James let his sentence linger in the air and waited for Neal brain to make the connection. It didn't take long and he noticed how Neal's eyes popped just before they narrowed and how his jaw was suddenly clenched tight. "yeah, engine troubles or something, I don't know." He shrugged casually as he feigned annoyance towards the airline.

"What did you do?" His words were mere hisses escaping through his clenched jaw. This guy was really testing his patience and Neal didn't know how much longer he could still his itching fingers.

"Me? Nothing! Like I said, engine trouble. Now, do we have a deal?"

"I'm not making any deals with you until I know she's safe."

"Oh fret not, she's safe. For now. But I wouldn't test my patience any more than you already have. You know, just to be sure."

"Show me." Neal ordered, letting James' menacing playfulness glide right off his back.

James smiled again as he pulled out his phone from the inside pocket of his jacket. Without leaving Neal's watchful gaze, he pressed a few buttons and placed the phone over his ear.

"You have eyes on her? … Good, show me." He removed the phone from his ear and took a quick look at the screen before holding it out for Neal to watch.

On the screen, Neal recognized an annoyed Sara sitting in the airplane, flipping through the magazine without reading a single letter. Finally she let out a huff as she closed the magazine shut and reverted her eyes to the small window beside her. Her annoyance was without a doubt caused by the so called delay.

"There," James concluded as he put the phone back in his pocket, "you've seen she's safe. Can we continue our business now?"

"What do you need me to do?"

"Like you said, Princess Salme eloped to Germany, choosing love over wealth and power. She only took what she could see herself get away with in front of the guards, without raising suspicion. However, there was a set of jewelry she had inherited from her deceased mother that she could not imagine leaving without. It was her mother's dowry and it was made on special orders of the Sultan. He insisted there'd only be used Saudi gold and decorated with only emeralds to accentuate her eyes. The princess never returned back to the Palace and in Germany she lived happily with her husband. Until, she heard of her father's passing. She returned home, disguised as a maiden and buried the jewelry with her father, believing that he could give her mother the set in their after lives."

"You want me to rob a grave?"

"Mr. Caffrey, I thought at least you would appreciate the romance of it all."

"How do you about the jewelry?"

"Family stories."

"You're sending me to politically unstable Zanzibar, to steal from one of their most valued monuments, based on a bedtime story your grandmother used to tell you?"

"You have a sense of humor, Caffrey, I like that," James chuckled, "but no, the princess and the merchant, they're my great-great-grandparents."

"They must be so proud."

"They should be. So you see, the jewelry belongs to me."

"So go and get it."

"I am. I'm just using you for it."

"What makes you think I won't call the feds?"

"A little thing called 'The FBI's most wanted list'. I recall seeing a not so flattering version of your face on a poster. And I have Sara."

Neal's blood was boiling, though he didn't know what triggered it; was it the smug confidence, the amount of knowledge he had on him, that Sara was not safe, or the fact that he's right?

"Face it Neal, I win." He concluded bitterly, "So do your job, and do it right, and we part as unlikely friends. I might even let you have Sara."

He knew the last sentence was merely to taunt and test his patience, but Neal could feel himself slipping off the edge of control.

"You son of a-"

"Ah-ah-ah!" James stopped him with his index finger pointed warningly at him, reminding him of the leverage he had over Neal.

"Meet me tonight at the docks, I'll have a boat and tools ready for you. Goodbye for now, Mr. Caffrey."

Neal followed James' exit with a scrutinizing gaze and eventually saw him step into a black Mercedes with tinted windows.

"You can come out now."

Surely, only seconds later, Mozzie appeared from a near by café with a laptop in his hands and his headphones resting on his neck.

"You got it?"

"Everything. How does he make even the word 'princess' sound like it should be censored for children?"

"Thank you, Moz."

Mozzie gave a quick nod in appreciation, indication for Neal not to mention it, and he pointed towards Neal's hat: "Remember what you said when I got you that?"

"Did you get this at Toys"R"Us?" Neal remembered.

"And?"

"When would I ever need a recording hat?" He continued quoting himself.

"And?" Mozzie insisted and raised his eyeborws expectantly, indicating to be expecting a different reply.

"And: Thank you for the hat." Neal gave in.

Mozzie smiled complacent, "You're welcome."

"Let's go, we need to get to work."

The part about the jewelry and it being the princess' mother's dowry and being buried with her father is completely made up. The rest (about the princess eloping to Germany with the merchant) it true.

Thank you for reading and please leave your thoughts!

Soph