Kate´s dilemma - For Sheenianni
Author: NYWCgirl
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: Neal/Kate
Characters: Kate, Neal, Peter, Mozzie
Warning: none
Spoilers: none
Rating: Gen
Genre: love, episode related, emotional hurt
Author's Notes: this ficlet is written for Sheenianni, who asked for Kate´s POV. It is written for Fall fest 2016.
Word Count: ~ 1400
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine…
Summary: We only hear in S2E11 about what happens once Neal leaves for Europe, but how did this make Kate feel?
Fic can also be found on AO3.
She is furious. What the hell is Outils thinking? Just because she is a free agent, doesn´t mean she is suddenly stupid. She will need to find another fence, one that doesn´t know Neal or Mozzie for that matter. How dared he offer her that price for the necklace, it is at least worth double.
While she walks back to her studio, she realizes she isn´t furious at Outils, no, she is furious at Neal.
How could he have chosen for Alex? What does that skinny girl have that she doesn´t? What the hell was Neal thinking?
She should have known that a guy like Neal wouldn´t commit to her. But he had sounded so heartbroken when she told him she was leaving with her boyfriend. And after she broke up with the guy, he turned out to be an asshole and she chose Neal, he was eager like a puppy.
Mozzie on the other hand had never liked her, but for the sakes of the cons, they formed a truce.
If she is honest with herself, she liked the way Neal worshiped the ground she walked on. He promised her a future, not a rich unloving future like Adler had promised her, but a loving future living like Gods in France, as a family. She had liked the idea. And Neal was so convincing.
But he had pulled the floor from under her when he had left for Copenhagen to go after the music box with Alex. He had asked her to join them, it was a three men job, but she had felt the need to put her foot down and to make Neal choose.
He chose alright, but not the option she had preferred. The last thing she had heard was that the Copenhagen job had gone south and that Alex had been injured while Neal had run and left her in some French hospital. She doesn´t know where Neal is, but she doesn´t want him to find her. So she keeps moving from one place to another. That is something Mozzie taught her well. Neal hasn´t been able to find her and word on the street is that he is looking for her.
Last week she learned that he stole a Raphael, their Rafael. It is clearly Neal wanting to impress her, but she is too hurt to admit she wants him back. Maybe she should give him a sign as well?
What if she forged the Raphael. She could put a message in it so it would be clear to Neal that he should stop looking for her.
* * *
She is painting in her storage locker, it is not ideal since the lighting is only halfway decent, but it will have to do, she is not taking any chances by painting in a place that is more public.
She hears someone approaching. The footsteps stop behind her.
“Forging Raphael. You've gotten good.” She can hear how proud Neal is of her. He taught her after all how to forge. She doesn´t turn around, she is not sure what she will do if she does.
“I heard the real painting was stolen.” She still hasn´t turn towards him.
“I hoped it would get your attention.”
“It did.”
“I missed you. I lied to you about a lot of things, Kate, but I never lied about loving you.” Neal sounds so sincere, she really wants to believe him.
“I believe you. I love you too.” She turns into his arms and Neal envelops her in his arms. She closes her eyes and takes in his scent. But something keeps nagging her mind.
“How did you find me?”
“Mozz heard you were fencing Mauritian penny stamps.”
“I quit dealing in stamps.” She says confused. This can´t be right, someone set them up.
But Neal is already with the program, Mozzie had warned him. He knew this was a trap and he still walked into it, just to see her. He lets go of her and tries to reassure her.
“It's okay.”
The door is kicked in and she startles.
“FBI! Hands on your head!” a SWAT member calls out. The man who walks in is all too familiar.
“Agent Burke.” Neal says with some awe in his voice.
“Neal Caffrey. You're under arrest.”
“I know. Thank you.” When Peter looks a bit taken aback, Neal explains. “I never would've found her without you.”
There is a moment Kate holds her breathe when Neal suddenly takes his hands from behind his head to shake hands with the agent. Guns are cocked but they are professional enough not to pull the trigger without a real threat.
“It's my pleasure.”
“So you guys were all in that municipal van out front. It's gotta be uncomfortable.” Neal quips while he is handcuffed by one of the agents.
“It doesn't smell too good either.” He answers.
Neal is led away and she stays with her back pressed against the wall. What just happened? Neal is arrested. She needs to find Mozzie and tell him. Neal will need a lawyer. He turns one last time before he is let outside.
Peter Burke doesn´t look at her, he just takes out a green sucker, unwraps it and pops it into his mouth.
“You were planning on signing that painting with your own name, weren´t you?” He says before he walks out of the storage unit.
She waits a couple of minutes, slams down the roll gate to the storage unit and takes out a burner. She has never used the number and she hopes it still works.
“What happened? Are you alright?”
“Mozzie, Neal got arrested.”
“No names, you know that. Meet me at December.”
The phone is disconnected.
She takes a deep breathe. OK, December, she knows better than to take a cab to one of Mozzie´s hideouts, so she feels for her metro card.
When she is standing in front of December, she knocks using the Roman alphabet tap code. The door opens and Mozzie gestures her to come in.
“Neal needs your help.”
“I told him he was walking in a trap. The information came from Jimmy the snitch, and we all know how he obtains his information.” Mozzie rolls his eyes.
“What are we going to do?”
“You, nothing. You go back to whatever you were doing and I will take care of everything.”
“I can´t just do anything.”
“Kate, you realize Neal is in this situation because of you, don´t you? You wanted to play hide and seek. The suits just used you to trap Neal.”
“I… I am sorry.”
“Visit Neal, Kate, I hate to admit it, but he needs you.”
* * *
“What is your verdict?” the judge asks the jury.
“Guilty on the charge of bond forging.”
Neal´s face falls. Until now he has been cocky but this is the first time Kate can see the uncertainty in his face.
“On the charge of five accounts of art theft?”
“Not guilty.”
“On the charge of racketeering?”
“Not guilty.”
“The court thanks the jury. Date for sentencing will be one week from today. However due to the flight risk Mister Caffrey presents, he will be placed until that time in a maximum security prison. Court adjourned.”
Officers of the justice department walk up to Neal. Neal smiles and shakes hands with his lawyer, before he is cuffed and lead away. He looks into the room until he finds her. She gives him a sad smile, but before he can respond, he is pulled out of the room.
Kate looks at the agent that arrested Neal. She expected him to look smug, but he isn´t. He looks more sad than anything. He picks up his coat and leaves the courtroom, he hasn´t seen her.
She still feels conflicted, she is now free of Neal, but at the same time she misses him. They still don´t know how long he will have to spend in prison, but Mozzie said it could be up to ten years. Ten years… she hadn´t expected that long. Neal kept saying everything would be OK and that the feds couldn´t prove anything. But the jury announced him guilty. Maybe the bond forgery will not be as bad as the art theft. She needs to tell Mozzie. And then find out where they are sending Neal, so she can visit him.
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: Neal/Kate
Characters: Kate, Neal, Peter, Mozzie
Warning: none
Spoilers: none
Rating: Gen
Genre: love, episode related, emotional hurt
Author's Notes: this ficlet is written for Sheenianni, who asked for Kate´s POV. It is written for Fall fest 2016.
Word Count: ~ 1400
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine…
Summary: We only hear in S2E11 about what happens once Neal leaves for Europe, but how did this make Kate feel?
Fic can also be found on AO3.
She is furious. What the hell is Outils thinking? Just because she is a free agent, doesn´t mean she is suddenly stupid. She will need to find another fence, one that doesn´t know Neal or Mozzie for that matter. How dared he offer her that price for the necklace, it is at least worth double.
While she walks back to her studio, she realizes she isn´t furious at Outils, no, she is furious at Neal.
How could he have chosen for Alex? What does that skinny girl have that she doesn´t? What the hell was Neal thinking?
She should have known that a guy like Neal wouldn´t commit to her. But he had sounded so heartbroken when she told him she was leaving with her boyfriend. And after she broke up with the guy, he turned out to be an asshole and she chose Neal, he was eager like a puppy.
Mozzie on the other hand had never liked her, but for the sakes of the cons, they formed a truce.
If she is honest with herself, she liked the way Neal worshiped the ground she walked on. He promised her a future, not a rich unloving future like Adler had promised her, but a loving future living like Gods in France, as a family. She had liked the idea. And Neal was so convincing.
But he had pulled the floor from under her when he had left for Copenhagen to go after the music box with Alex. He had asked her to join them, it was a three men job, but she had felt the need to put her foot down and to make Neal choose.
He chose alright, but not the option she had preferred. The last thing she had heard was that the Copenhagen job had gone south and that Alex had been injured while Neal had run and left her in some French hospital. She doesn´t know where Neal is, but she doesn´t want him to find her. So she keeps moving from one place to another. That is something Mozzie taught her well. Neal hasn´t been able to find her and word on the street is that he is looking for her.
Last week she learned that he stole a Raphael, their Rafael. It is clearly Neal wanting to impress her, but she is too hurt to admit she wants him back. Maybe she should give him a sign as well?
What if she forged the Raphael. She could put a message in it so it would be clear to Neal that he should stop looking for her.
* * *
She is painting in her storage locker, it is not ideal since the lighting is only halfway decent, but it will have to do, she is not taking any chances by painting in a place that is more public.
She hears someone approaching. The footsteps stop behind her.
“Forging Raphael. You've gotten good.” She can hear how proud Neal is of her. He taught her after all how to forge. She doesn´t turn around, she is not sure what she will do if she does.
“I heard the real painting was stolen.” She still hasn´t turn towards him.
“I hoped it would get your attention.”
“It did.”
“I missed you. I lied to you about a lot of things, Kate, but I never lied about loving you.” Neal sounds so sincere, she really wants to believe him.
“I believe you. I love you too.” She turns into his arms and Neal envelops her in his arms. She closes her eyes and takes in his scent. But something keeps nagging her mind.
“How did you find me?”
“Mozz heard you were fencing Mauritian penny stamps.”
“I quit dealing in stamps.” She says confused. This can´t be right, someone set them up.
But Neal is already with the program, Mozzie had warned him. He knew this was a trap and he still walked into it, just to see her. He lets go of her and tries to reassure her.
“It's okay.”
The door is kicked in and she startles.
“FBI! Hands on your head!” a SWAT member calls out. The man who walks in is all too familiar.
“Agent Burke.” Neal says with some awe in his voice.
“Neal Caffrey. You're under arrest.”
“I know. Thank you.” When Peter looks a bit taken aback, Neal explains. “I never would've found her without you.”
There is a moment Kate holds her breathe when Neal suddenly takes his hands from behind his head to shake hands with the agent. Guns are cocked but they are professional enough not to pull the trigger without a real threat.
“It's my pleasure.”
“So you guys were all in that municipal van out front. It's gotta be uncomfortable.” Neal quips while he is handcuffed by one of the agents.
“It doesn't smell too good either.” He answers.
Neal is led away and she stays with her back pressed against the wall. What just happened? Neal is arrested. She needs to find Mozzie and tell him. Neal will need a lawyer. He turns one last time before he is let outside.
Peter Burke doesn´t look at her, he just takes out a green sucker, unwraps it and pops it into his mouth.
“You were planning on signing that painting with your own name, weren´t you?” He says before he walks out of the storage unit.
She waits a couple of minutes, slams down the roll gate to the storage unit and takes out a burner. She has never used the number and she hopes it still works.
“What happened? Are you alright?”
“Mozzie, Neal got arrested.”
“No names, you know that. Meet me at December.”
The phone is disconnected.
She takes a deep breathe. OK, December, she knows better than to take a cab to one of Mozzie´s hideouts, so she feels for her metro card.
When she is standing in front of December, she knocks using the Roman alphabet tap code. The door opens and Mozzie gestures her to come in.
“Neal needs your help.”
“I told him he was walking in a trap. The information came from Jimmy the snitch, and we all know how he obtains his information.” Mozzie rolls his eyes.
“What are we going to do?”
“You, nothing. You go back to whatever you were doing and I will take care of everything.”
“I can´t just do anything.”
“Kate, you realize Neal is in this situation because of you, don´t you? You wanted to play hide and seek. The suits just used you to trap Neal.”
“I… I am sorry.”
“Visit Neal, Kate, I hate to admit it, but he needs you.”
* * *
“What is your verdict?” the judge asks the jury.
“Guilty on the charge of bond forging.”
Neal´s face falls. Until now he has been cocky but this is the first time Kate can see the uncertainty in his face.
“On the charge of five accounts of art theft?”
“Not guilty.”
“On the charge of racketeering?”
“Not guilty.”
“The court thanks the jury. Date for sentencing will be one week from today. However due to the flight risk Mister Caffrey presents, he will be placed until that time in a maximum security prison. Court adjourned.”
Officers of the justice department walk up to Neal. Neal smiles and shakes hands with his lawyer, before he is cuffed and lead away. He looks into the room until he finds her. She gives him a sad smile, but before he can respond, he is pulled out of the room.
Kate looks at the agent that arrested Neal. She expected him to look smug, but he isn´t. He looks more sad than anything. He picks up his coat and leaves the courtroom, he hasn´t seen her.
She still feels conflicted, she is now free of Neal, but at the same time she misses him. They still don´t know how long he will have to spend in prison, but Mozzie said it could be up to ten years. Ten years… she hadn´t expected that long. Neal kept saying everything would be OK and that the feds couldn´t prove anything. But the jury announced him guilty. Maybe the bond forgery will not be as bad as the art theft. She needs to tell Mozzie. And then find out where they are sending Neal, so she can visit him.