Just A Day

Bryce was staying at a hotel in New York City while on assignment as Neal Caffrey. He'd stayed up late into the night working surveillance on a local museum for a job he was going to pull for the NSA doubling as a Caffrey heist.

The museum had good security, but it wasn't anything that he couldn't pull off with Winters' help.

They were timing the job in order to catch the painting while it was on display for a traveling show. Since it had a second canvas hidden in the back, the plan was to steal both before using them both as bait. The secret canvas was for the NSA and espionage, while the front canvas would be swapped with one of his fakes to bait the criminal world in general.

What would make the job complicated was his faithful hound, Agent Peter Burke of the FBI. He and his team knew Caffrey was in the city so they expected a job and were watching in an effort to intervene.

Sleeping in, it was mid-morning by the time Bryce woke up. Then he was in no rush as he leisurely went through his morning routine.

Dressed for the day, he put his fingers in between the blinds and created a gap to check on the "Definitely Plumbers" truck that was sitting down the block watching the second room where his Caffrey alias was allegedly staying.

Smirking, he had fun toying with Peter, but he doubted the agent would be as amused if he knew that he was wasting his time on an empty room.

Strolling out to a street coffee shop nearby, Bryce was actually able to see the van more closely as he made his order and settled with his breakfast to monitor the surveillance team.

Working on his breakfast, Bryce took a closer look at the side of the van before almost choking on his coffee. During the night, some vandal had spray painted "cracks included" on the side facing him.

Taking a picture of it, he sent it to Winters with the question as to whether or not he was the instigator. Either someone couldn't resist the joke, or he was making it easier to spot the team.

Whoever was responsible, Bryce wouldn't complain. It made the van more distinctive and easier to trace as they attempted to follow him around.

Holding up the paper to read, he watched as one of the agents, he believed she was a probationary named Diana Berigan, got out of the van and walked up to his coffee shop. Fortunately, he'd had the foresight to remain on the far side of the seating area from the van so she didn't need to pass him. Instead, she noted him as a man reading the paper and went in to place the order.

While she was inside, Bryce compared his aliases of Neal Caffrey and Bryce Lakin and found that they were rather similar. In short, both supported law enforcement even if they pretended to undermine it, neither had much room for people to get close to him, but Bryce had a greater tendency to get shot at.

It was times like this that he couldn't help but wonder how his life would be different had he made other choices, but none of them seemed to contain the life he wanted. He had no idea what it was like to work openly in law enforcement, to work with his friends, or at least be able to hang out with them, and he'd certainly not experienced having someone waiting at home for him. His mother had been depressed growing up so she forgot about him, and there wasn't a special someone even if he could let them get close to him.

That was part of why he liked watching Peter trying to watch him.

The agent lived a life he could only dream of. Did he know how lucky he was? Probably, which made his situation all the better.

Having shifted to eating and drinking his food, Neal made himself less suspicious even though he remained behind the paper. It wouldn't do for one of the agents to look for their teammate baring their morning coffee and catch sight of him.

Knowing it was risky and that he should move on before he pressed his luck too far, Bryce was glad to hear the agent pass him again as she headed for the van with her load.

Watching through window reflections, Bryce monitored her progress back to the van before it was safe enough to finish his last bite and sip and leave with the pretense of checking his phone to keep his head down.

The agents would be distracted by distributing the orders and sharing updates so he knew he could get away before the agents began to get suspicious.

Returning to his actual hotel room, he packed his things and cleaned his room to avoid leaving the FBI anything should they figure out where he'd really stayed. This alias wasn't connected to Caffrey, but it had been created with the knowledge that it might end up connected.

Peter was good and combined with the skills of his team, Bryce figured it would be better to be paranoid than endanger Peter and his team should they learn too much.

With the space cleared, he carried his suitcase out just in time for a specific taxi to pull up. Noting the taxi number and disguise Winters was wearing, he played his tourist role and placed his bag in the trunk before sliding into the back seat.

"Where to?" Winters played his role.

Checking his phone, Bryce gave an address from the text and they pulled into traffic.

Although it wasn't a major street, it was still New York City so traffic was heavy enough for them to safely slip past the FBI van.

Glancing at it as they passed, Bryce wondered how long it would take them to figure it out. Maybe he should call once he was safely away?

"There was a murder this morning," Winters started the conversation once they were passed the van and the range of any listening devices they might be using.

Bryce knew he wasn't the only paranoid one on the team and he appreciated Winters's efforts. He liked to toy with the agents, but there were times when play wasn't an option so he needed to focus on work.

Discussing the details, they discerned that the victim was an alleged competitor thief that was probably after their painting or another in the show. Because his death could complicate Bryce's operations in the city, he and Winters were visiting the crime scene while the NSA had control to prevent their covers from being blown.

Getting out when they arrived, Bryce recognized the agent leading the investigation. The man wasn't the brightest, and he'd never gotten along well with Bryce or Winters.

Preparing for a rough encounter, Bryce flashed his badge and walked through the perimeter with Winters close behind him doing the same thing.

"Do you have any suspects?" The agent asked Bryce as he approached the body. "For the murder, I mean." The clarification wasn't helpful.

"He was murdered by death," Bryce couldn't help the snarky response. How was he supposed to know, he'd only just arrived and didn't have any information to work with.

There were some snorts and snickers suppressed by other agents around them who didn't like the speaker either, but most of the agents retained their professional frowns.

Sporting the deepest frown, the agent grumped back, "A real suspect."

"I just got here and no data has been found to point to a suspect before I got here, so no, I don't have any suspects at the moment." Bryce elaborated since he apparently needed to spell it out.

Joining him, Winters helped him check the body and begin searching the scene. Together, they were able to gather enough to prove there could be trouble in their operation, but that made it more imperative for them to act to ensure an enemy didn't get their targets.

Going to one of Winters' safe houses to plan and gear up, Bryce knew the FBI would be aware of the death and the danger if he risked crossing paths with those willing to murder the competition. It made him wonder if Peter was worried about him and hopeful that he'd clear out without pulling another crime or risking his life for the challenge. Maybe Peter would understand that he was deterring more dangerous criminals by beating them to the score.

The day passed quickly for the activities, and yet slowly since Bryce did this work all of the time.

When it was time, they switched vehicles at another location and Winters drove them to the museum.

Donning his cleaning uniform, Winters went through with the cleaning crew and cleaned the place. He also checked the museum over as he went and concluded that their target was in place and no other players were visible.

After the cleaning crew had done their jobs, they dispersed either going to other work or home.

Although Winters seemed to leave with the others, he merely transitioned to performing as a backup for Bryce's turn.

Making his approach across the roof, Bryce had a bulky companion of a carrying case big enough to sufficiently transport both paintings safely. It was awkward as he tried to keep low and move quickly, so he was glad Winters was handling the surveillance system to block him from being seen. The investigators might catch that the system had been tampered with, or they might be confused, but that wasn't going to be his problem.

Using his gear, Bryce made entry through a skylight and lowered himself down into the room. It wasn't difficult to retrieve the paintings, load them into his bag, and move to the back employee section where his exit had been set up by Winters.

Things went well until he reached the back parking lot.

Bryce had just slipped out the rear employee-only entrance when he heard the distinct sound of gunfire and a ricochet nearly missed him.

Diving for cover, he used his speed and dodging maneuvers to avoid getting shot as he hurried from obstacle to obstacle along the side of the building.

Hearing his attackers speaking Russian, he was glad Bryce had enough of a grasp on their language to know what commands were being given and what their ultimate intent was.

Based on the snippets he heard, the picture hidden in the back was being used to smuggle nuclear codes! That would be helpful to the NSA as they used the information to go after both sides of the operation.

Reaching the end of his cover, Bryce had to make a mad dash to the van as Winters swung by to pick him up before disappearing into the night.

Picking himself up off of the floor, Bryce closed the van doors and did a check to make certain he hadn't been hit too badly. Finding a graze, he braced himself against Winters's evasive driving while grabbing the first aid kit. It wasn't the time to fully address the wound, but he needed to at least stem the bleeding.

The Russians tried to pursue, but they were no match for Winters.

Reaching a safe house, Bryce went to work more actively tending his wound while Winters took the paintings to pass them off to the appropriate persons in government.

With the wound bandaged and his mission done, Bryce sent his reports in before getting a lift to the rendezvous point where he was being flown out of the city.

On the drive, he had time for his phone call to Peter, and the agent, fortunately, picked up despite his late-night work processing the theft.

"Hello, Peter." Bryce relaxed as he heard the agent's breathing change to indicate hand signals to his fellow agents. They wouldn't be able to trace his call, and he'd be out of the city shortly so he wasn't worried.

"I can't believe you still pulled off the heist, even with the Russians killing the competition and going for the same painting! That was reckless!" Peter admonished him, he obviously thought it was a stupid move.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm just passing through the city and thought I'd check in." Bryce wasn't admitting to anything and he knew it would frustrate the other agent.

Wincing, Peter seemed to be watching the security footage of the shooting. "It looks like you got hit, are you okay?"

Bryce hadn't shown his face to a camera so Peter was reaching. "I got clipped by a bike messenger, but nothing serious. It sounds like your suspect was caught by surprise. Good luck catching him." He wasn't admitting to the crime, but he was reassuring that he was generally alright.

Peter's sigh of relief was comforting but short-lived. "You've crossed a line this time. Those Russians want their painting."

"No, they want the painting that was hidden in the back. Word on the street is that they're snuggling nuclear codes. Fortunately, the NSA seems to have intercepted them per the word I'm hearing. The criminal underground spreads word quickly. Personally, I'm just glad not to be caught in the middle, the Russians and the NSA can handle themselves." It was dangerously close to hinting at too much, but Bryce tended to take the risk when it came to Peter. He trusted the agent and liked him as a person.

There was some muffled talk as Peter blocked the phone, he was likely getting confirmation that the NSA did indeed have the painting, and then he came back grumbling, "You've been cleared of this one, Caffrey, but I will catch you eventually."

The Russians had forced them to change their plans, but Bryce was glad to have had the opportunity to talk to the agent. "We'll see, have a good night, Peter."

Peter was awkwardly silent for a moment, probably frustrated by their failed attempt to track him. Then he said goodnight in return, his voice was something between the begrudging agent and the friendly man, but Bryce would take it.

Smiling as he hung up, Bryce transitioned to the waiting private plane that would take him back to DC. Then he watched the city lights fade behind him. It had been just a day, but he felt better for having spent it with Winters and for his talk with Peter.

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