Past Haunts: Chapter 20

Soooo, yeah. This is on its downward slope (heading to the end). The action will hopefully peak soon, before such an end, but it doth approach. Thanks for all who have favorited and liked and all the jazz. :)

Enjoy:)

Warnings: -_- really guys? you should know the warnings by now...

Disclaimer: I don't own white collar, just this plot line and OC. *sigh*

Police Scanners, Evidence, and Plot Reveal

Mozzie was sitting at his kitchen table, an almost empty bottle of wine in his hand, despite the early morning hour. One of his most trusted informants had gotten back to him not long after Peter's call and filled him in on more than he ever wanted to know, not only about Frank, but Neal, or Matthew in this case. He had his suspicions that Neal had lied to him, so he couldn't really say he was surprised. But he also understood why Neal had lied to him. Neal had given him a much nicer version of his past, considering what Mozz had just recently learned.
That didn't matter now though, Mozzie thought as he clutched the wine bottle tighter. He knew what Frank was after, and he had to stop him before-the static of his police radio went off.
"10-23 there has been a break in at the Evidence Depository of the Federal Bureau. No suspect in custody, items taken, unknown. Send a bus, we have officers down. We need units available to search-" Mozzie dropped the bottle with a echo of finality on the concrete floor. He was too late. He called the suit.

Peter was roused, not by his alarm clock, but by his phone, not an unusual occurrence but annoying all the same. He sighs but gingerly moves to grab it before the sound wakes El up. Getting a hand on it, he flips it open.
"Burke."
"Suit. Frank got what he came here for. I didn't think he would go for it this soon but," A beeping sound overshadowed Mozzie's next words.
"Sorry, Mozz. Another call. Just a moment." He wanted to get rid of whoever was calling him, so he could here what Mozzie had to say. Whatever it was, he knew it was important.
"Burke."
"Peter Someone broke into the Evidence Depository. Knocked out the night guard. No one knew anything had happened until this morning. So far, we don't know if anything has been taken, but the boss for down here just showed up. We should find out soon." Peter was fully awake. His mind pieced together bits of his conversations with Neal and Mozzie to fill in the blanks. Frank had taken something from the Evidence Depository. But what?
"Hold on, Diana. I have to put you on hold."
"But, Peter-" All she got was a beep.
"Haversham, what did Frank take?" Mozzie heard the distressed tone in the suit's voice and figured he was just informed of the break in.
"My informants told me he was looking for a box, confiscated by the Feds in a raid a while ago. Supposedly, it held the access codes to the Philadelphia crime family's secret accounts. The Feds couldn't get it open. They didn't have a key and trying to force their way in would undoubtedly destroy the contents. With no way to take the family down, the Feds left the box to gather dust on the shelves of their treasure room. Frank apparently came into possession of it right before he ran, but when the local police came down the first time on the family, he left it there for them to take." Everything made sense in Peter's mind then.
Frank couldn't get the box open, and when the police force in Philly raided on of their 'legitimate businesses', he turned tail and ran. The police took the box as evidence, and when the case turned federal, it changed hands and ended up in their depository. Frank was on the run, because as far as Crowley knows, Frank was the last one to have the box. But Frank didn't have it so he had to get it back to get the family off of his back. He was going to double cross them though and give them an empty box, but he needed someone to open it for him. When he shows up in New York, who does he find but Neal. Someone with enough skill, no doubt, to get it open, and someone he could easily manipulate.
"I swear I am switching to round edge-ed containers after this," Peter muttered.
"You and me both. I've had enough boxes ruin my life." Mozzie sounded on the verge on maybe drunk and brilliantly covered hammered. At the moment, though that didn't matter to Peter.
"I'll inform my agents, then have a unit posted at my house in case Frank decides to drop by. Wait, how do you know he got it?"
"Because the guards would be dead if he didn't. Frank has a really bad temper when he doesn't get what he wants." That made Peter's stomach churn, as it invoked imagined images of Neal's past that he never wanted to see.
"Alright. Thanks for calling me and not doing anything stupid." He didn't even wait for a reply as he hung up on Mozzie and switched back over to the impatient Diana.
"Diana, I have just been informed that a box containing codes to the Philadelphia crime family's secret accounts was taken. Frank needs Neal to open it. Get a unit posted outside my house. I'll be there in.." Peter glanced at the clock on his night stand. "Thirty minutes." Then Peter felt El stir beside him, and he knew he would have a lot of explaining to do. He sighed into the phone. "Make that an hour. And I'm leaving Neal with El. I don't want him near any crime scenes right now. The last thing he needs is to be interrogated by any beat cops or bureaucratic jerks looking for someone to pin this on." He knew without seeing that Diana had nodded, so he hung up.
"El?" His wife was up immediately, recognizing the hidden worry in her husband's voice.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Peter placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her forehead as he sat up on the edge of the bed.
"Frank broke into the Evidence Depository at the Bureau. I need to go, but I'm having Neal stay with you and Diana post a unit outside of the house." El was seething on the inside, he knew, but she took the information in stride and kept a straight, strong face.
"Alright. You go. I'll talk to Neal later." Peter nodded and as he got dressed, El got up too, unable to go back to sleep. Peter heard El in the kitchen making coffee and went down to kiss her goodbye before leaving. On his way down the stairs though, he heard something. A noise from Neal's room.
He quietly turned around, and when he got to the guest room door, he pushed it open a crack. Peter was in the room in a heartbeat.

Okay, short, but not so fluffy this time. Tell me what you think! Free hugs if you can guess what's gonna happen;)