Disclaimer: White Collar belongs to USA Network and Jeff Eastin.


Chapter 4

While Peter called Mozzie, June went off to get some coffee and snacks for them all. She sensed it was going to be a long night and as it was their nerves were already frayed. She knew Peter was a fan of her Italian roast and would appreciate something to eat. He'd looked worn out when he had arrived an hour ago, but now his face showed just how exhausted he was. It felt as though they had been up in Neal's apartment for days. Her staff was gone for the night, but June quickly put together a sandwich platter and a couple of French pastries that were left over from breakfast. Together with the coffee that should put some energy back in Peter. He was going to need it for sure. She had come to feel a deep respect for Peter over the years of their acquaintance. He had pulled Neal out of more than a few scrapes that by rights should have landed the conman back in jail. At first he had been very black and white in his interpretation of what was okay and what was not, where Neal was concerned. But he had mellowed out considerably over the last couple of years and she knew that if anyone was going to get Neal safely through what lay ahead, it was Peter. With Mozzie's help, that is.

After filling Mozzie in on their bizarre evening, Peter followed the aroma downstairs and joined June in the sitting room to await their friend's arrival. Peter thanked June for the refreshments and sat down to eat. As he silently made his way through the food his frown deepened. June poured the coffee and sat back in a deep easy chair, her legs tucked under her. As she sipped the brew she played out the day in her head.

"Honestly, this seems a bit too dramatic for Neal. He doesn't break down in front of others this easily. It felt like we were dealing with a different person up there, don't you think?"

"Well, it certainly wasn't the Neal I know. I get the whole suave conman facade that he puts up for our benefit, and his I suspect. Seeing this woman has opened up a whole different side to him. I guess it just shows us how much we don't know about Neal Caffrey" Peter replied.

Just then the doorbell rang and June quickly let Mozzie in. He cast a worried look upstairs toward Neal's apartment while following her into the lounge. He sat down and accepted June's coffee graciously. He took a sip and looked up to find June and Peter both sitting on the edge of their chairs, looking at him expectantly. He seemed nervous in response. Mozzie a.k.a. Dante Haversham, was Neal's oldest friend. They had hooked up on the streets of New York years ago and had worked together on countless scams and cons. He had created Neal Caffrey; in as much as he had given him his alias and forged the relevant papers. Mozzie knew more about Neal's past than anyone else, and Peter was relying on him to tell them what was wrong with Neal. Mozzie, however, was less than forthcoming.

"Honestly, Peter, I do not know who she is." He had gone through the whole pile of pictures and drawn a blank. "Neal has never mentioned having a sister or a niece or any female relative come to think of it." Technically, it wasn't all a lie, he did have a very good idea who she was, but Neal had never referred to the girl as a sister.

"But he told me some about his mother and father once." Peter said.

"I wouldn't put much stock in that if I were you. He's told me several versions of the same thing. The story changes depending on his mood." Mozzie retorted, hoping he sounded convincing.

A silence fell over the room for a few minutes. Then Peter remembered Neal's response to the original bank footage. He hadn't told Mozzie about that when they talked on the phone earlier.

"Does girl mean anything to you?" He asked casually.

Mozzie's stomach dropped. He'd hoped this was not 'the girl' but there was really no denying it. He realized he couldn't bluff Peter any longer, if this was truly Neal's girl then his carefully constructed house of cards was about to collapse. He straightened upright in his chair, his face drained of color. This was something that Mozzie had dreaded for years.

"Why on earth didn't you tell me about that earlier, Suit?" He snapped at Peter, using anger to cover his fear. "That changes everything. Oh, my god I can't go through all this again." The last statement was genuine, Neal had put him through the wringer as a youth. Then he'd had experience on his side, and had done a pretty good job keeping Neal sane. Now that Neal was all grown up, he doubted he could keep a handle on him so well.

"What are you talking about?" Peter demanded.

Mozzie went on to tell them a heavily edited version of when he first met Neal. Neal's timeline was always a little vague, depending on how old Neal needed to be at any given time. In truth neither Neal nor Mozzie knew his real age and Mozzie usually claimed that Neal was in his teens, implying late teens, but even early teens was pushing it. As the story became embellished over the years, Neal morphed into his early twenties. He was supposed to be in his early thirties now, but more likely it was his late twenties.

"Anyway, the point is, whatever age he really was, he was young physically, but very young emotionally. He would have dreadful nightmares, thrashing around and screaming. He would yell out girl all the time. He was pretty shell-shocked and clingy when he awoke but if I ever asked him who this girl was he would clam up immediately and find some excuse to leave the apartment. Or divert the conversation, you know how he is. Before we got our act going and could afford a two-bedroom place we would bunk together and more than once I was literally kicked out of bed when he would start up. It got so bad I would move to the couch as soon as he started, if I was fast enough. So my guess, Suit, is that this woman is our mysterious girl all grown up. Or certainly someone very like her. I don't envy you trying to get anything about her out of Neal. It got pretty scary sometimes back then. He didn't stop with the nightmares for several years. When Kate came along he seemed to move on. By then he was so far into his whole con-about-town persona I thought he had forgotten about his girl. Good luck Suit." Mozzie leant back into his seat but he didn't look relaxed and his concerned expression remained.

"Yeah," Peter thought to himself. "I'm going to need boat loads of it."


TBC

I appreciate your feedback; please take the time to review this chapter/story.