When You're Gone [Chapter 1]
Monday, October 31st, 2011 09:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sectioneightentertainmentFANDOM : White Collar; NeAlex
CHARACTERS : Neal, Alex, Peter, El, Moz, June, (almost all WC characters make an appearance)
RATING : PG-13 (due to mild violence and language)
SPOILERS : Some. (Under the Radar and Countdown)
SUMMARY : Neal gets knocked unconscious by an old nemesis during a foiled rescue operation, and wakes up with an unusual ability of seeing someone unseen by others. Will he take advantage of this new found gift to rescue someone he cares about? Mostly Neal/Alex/Peter/Elizabeth/Moz, but almost all characters were briefly mentioned. [Very AU/OOC, with a hint of supernatural]
Author's Notes : This is NOT, I repeat, NOT a part of "The Hunter Chronicles". Just thought I'd switch it up a bit. This is my first attempt in writing a supernatural-ish type of fiction, so please bear with me. (Blame the higher powers, a.k.a. PLOT BUNNIES! Arrgh!) It's not a horror fic, I promise. Good news is that this is a stand-alone story, so if you don't like it, then you don't have to worry about a sequel. But I really do hope that you enjoy reading it.
Disclaimer : I don't own any of the recognizable characters. They belong to Jeff Eastin, White Collar writers and USA Network.
Warning : As per usual, I must warn you that this story contains some amount of Alex Hunter. If you're allergic, then please look away. Also, there's a bit of hurt/whompage on this one. And, some SPOILERS from 2.16 (Under The Radar) and 3.10 (Countdown).
"And in the night, I could be helpless
I could be lonely, sleeping without you.
And in the day, everything's complex
There's nothing simple, when I'm not around you."
-The Cranberries, "When You're Gone"
CHAPTER ONE
Neal Caffrey ran as fast as his feet could carry him in pursuit of an elusive outlaw. A fugitive who had left a trail of hurt and suffering to the people close to Neal. He knew he needed to do this. He needed to catch him and make him pay for all the crimes he had committed...for all the pain that he had caused, especially to the people who Neal cared about the most.
Time to prove to your friends that you're worth a damn, Caffrey! Neal thought to himself.
He opened the exit door of the condemned building, the meeting place that was agreed upon, to follow the man who went down the same route. All of a sudden, he felt his jaw connect to what seemed to be a big block of wood. As he fell to the ground, sparkly white flecks of light danced across his line of vision for a brief moment, before Neal closed his eyes and everything else faded to black.
Moments later, Neal staggered in between states of unconsciousness and awareness. He smelled something, a familiar scent of white gardenias. A fragrance that an old friend wore from time to time. She was there nearby, Neal could feel it. Then, she heard her familiar voice.
"I told you to duck! Come on, Caffrey, wake up!" Neal heard her yell. Yes, it was definitely her, he was sure of it.
"Alex?" Neal replied as he struggled to wake up.
"No, it's me. It's Diana." Agent Barrigan answered, as she helped Neal sit up. "Keller got away!" she informed her.
Neal shook his head in attempt to clear the cobwebs. He didn't understand. He was so sure that it was Alex. His eyes wandered around in search for her, but his vision was blocked by other agents that were starting to arrive on the scene. One agent in particular was headed straight for him, with a mixture of anger and defeat in his eyes.
"Damn it, Neal! That was our only shot! That was our only chance to get El back and we blew it!" Peter Burke shouted.
Neal regarded him with confusion, still dazed from the blow he received from earlier. Still looking for that old friend responsible for him regaining his consciousness. He rubbed his eyes as he tried to recall what had happened.
What went wrong? Neal asked himself.
He was supposed to give Keller the key to the storage facility, a place near the docks that Keller had chosen himself, which held the u-boat treasure inside. In exchange, Keller would tell them where to find Elizabeth Burke, Peter's beloved wife. That was their deal. But something went very wrong. Keller double-crossed them...as he'd been known to do...something they should have expected. In their desperation, they made a mistake of taking the criminal's word that he'd give Elizabeth back to them, unharmed. Keller took the key from Neal and then bolted.
"Elizabeth will be joining Kate soon, Caffrey! Let that be in your conscience!" he remembered Keller yell to him as he ran away.
Neal shook his head. He couldn't believe that this was happening. He had a lot to answer for...to Mozzie, who came back and willingly surrendered his 'big score' in order to save Elizabeth; to Peter, who trusted Elizabeth's life into his hands; and most of all, to Elizabeth, who was still missing and more than likely still in danger. Neal would like to believe that she was still alive, contrary to what Keller alluded to earlier.
"Careful, Boss!" Agent Jones' voice broke Neal out of his thoughtful trance. "He got hit in the head pretty badly." Jones continued.
"And where the hell were you?" Peter asked the male agent. "You were supposed to be watching them! You were supposed to make sure that Keller didn't get away!" he said, his voiced raised.
"It wasn't his fault, Boss. Keller pulled a fast one...on ALL of us." Diana tried to reason with him.
She was right, of course. It was nobody's fault. Keller called at the last minute and changed the plan. They met at the second floor, instead of the rooftop, which was the plan they agreed upon in the earlier conversation. And Keller warned them, no agents, or police, or any other authorities in the vicinity. Keller also warned them that it would be unwise to follow him, or to have officers guarding the warehouse, otherwise he would make sure that Elizabeth died a painful death. It was Keller's game, he held all the cards. They had no choice but to comply.
"I'm sorry." Peter apologized in a slightly calmer tone. "I shouldn't be putting this on you." he said. He turned his gaze to still silent Neal. "Any of you." he added. "None of this is helping El." he told them.
Not too long after that, paramedics arrived to help Neal. They tried to check him up and asked him questions in order to figure out the extent of his injuries, but Neal found it very hard to focus. He saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head towards it, and that's when he saw her again.
"Oh, thank God!" Alex said. "You're gonna be alright, Caffrey!" she assured him.
"There you are!" Neal replied. "I thought I lost you." he told her. "What are you doing here anyway?" he asked.
Peter gave him a puzzled look and followed his gaze. "Neal, there's no one there." he told him, getting worried. Neal just looked at him with confusion.
"Alright, we better take him to the hospital, just to be on the safe side." one of the paramedics said to them. They proceeded to help him to the ambulance.
"Diana, go with him, please. I can't leave here just yet." Peter ordered the female agent.
Neal looked at Alex as he was being helped inside the ambulance. She stared back at him in shock. "Caffrey...you can see me? Can you hear me?" he heard her ask. Before Neal could answer, the paramedics close the ambulance door and drove away.
At the hospital, Neal sat up on his bed, as he strained to see the doctor who was speaking with Diana. The doctor told him earlier that he suffered from a mild concussion, which would probably explain why he was so confused earlier. He wondered what was taking so long. He wanted to get the hell out of there. Peter needs him. Elizabeth needs them. They can't afford to waste any more time.
Then she appeared again. There she was, clear as day, standing by his bedside. She was dressed in a pair of black leggings and a charcoal cotton tunic underneath her feather grey, hooded asymmetrical cardigan sweater. She wore her favourite thigh-high boots and the multi-layered silver necklace from the Almiranta treasure that she saved as a keepsake. She stood there silently and watched him, with a beautiful smile on her face.
"Hello, stranger." she greeted Neal.
"A-are you for real?" Neal asked her with hesitation.
Alex's smile grew wider, but was quickly replaced by a frown. "I don't know." she replied. "Am I?" she asked him.
"I don't understand, Alex. You just disappeared after we were rescued from Adler. You've been gone for quite a while...now you're back. I don't get it. Where were you?" he asked her. "What are you doing here? Are you here to help? Is that why you're back?" Neal continued with his rapid fire questions.
"Ssshhh!" she silenced him. "I don't know the answers to that." she replied. "Neal...you're the only one who can see me. Don't tell anyone that...the psych ward is only a few floors up, if you catch my drift." she warned him.
Neal's head began to pound again. "Are you kidding me? Alex, I don't-" he tried to say before Alex interrupted him.
"Neal, I can't tell you what happened to me because I don't know...I don't remember. Last thing I can recall was when I was back at the FBI building. We were talking outside Agent Burke's office. Then, I kissed you goodbye. I draw a blank to anything that happened after that." she explained to him, her face filled with worry.
"You can't remember where you were?" Neal asked.
"No, I can't. There are gaps in my memory." she replied. She tried to speak again, but then hesitated.
"What? There's more. What is it, Alex?" Neal pressed.
"Neal...I think-" she tried to respond. She paused for a while before speaking again. "Neal, I think I died." she finally admitted to him.
"That's not funny, Alex!" Neal said.
"Who's laughing?" she asked him.
Before Neal could reply, Diana came back with some information. "Good news...you're free to go." she told him. "I've convinced the doctor that it would be safer for the nurses if you went home tonight. But I had to promise her that I'll bring you back here if you experience any pain or nausea." she added.
"Thanks, Diana." Neal said. He looked to where Alex was earlier and saw that she had disappeared again. He rubbed both of his eyes and sighed.
"You okay?" Diana asked him.
Neal looked at her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing to worry about." he answered. I must be losing my mind! he thought to himself. "I just need to get out of here." he said out loud.
The nurse came by his room moments later to have him sign the release form, and he was out of the hospital soon after.
Diana wanted to take him back to his apartment at June's mansion, but Neal insisted that she drop him off at the office. Peter needed him. Neal found his partner in his office, sorting out paper work. Peter looked up and was surprised to see him.
"What are you doing here?" Peter asked him.
"The doctor said that I was free to go." Neal answered. "You know me, I have a pretty hard head." he added. He saw that Peter wasn't exactly in the mood to exchange pleasantries at the moment, given the circumstances. "What's the latest?" Neal asked his friend.
Peter took his hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We had all of our available agents scour every inch of that warehouse. No sign of Keller, the treasure, or Elizabeth, for that matter." he replied. He looked at Neal straight in the eye. "Neal, he's gone. He's the only one who can lead us to El, and he's gone. Just vanished. How the hell did he do that?" he asked his younger friend, the tone of desperation clearly audible in his voice.
"We'll figure it out, I promise. We WILL find Elizabeth! Don't lose hope just yet." Neal assured him.
He observed at his friend. Peter looked tired and defeated. Neal doubted that he had gotten any sleep at all within the past 48 hours. 48 hours! he thought. It had been 48 hours since Elizabeth was abducted. They say that those were the most crucial hours during a kidnapping. The first 48 hours could make a huge difference. That amount of time that passed could determine if the victim was still alive. Neal shuddered to think what would happen to Peter if they didn't rescue Elizabeth in time.
"It's past 1AM. You should go home, Peter. Get some rest. You're no good to anyone like this." Neal told him.
"Now I know..." Peter whispered.
"Know what, Peter?" Neal asked.
"Now I know, what it must have been like for you when Kate disappeared." Peter replied.
"Peter-" Neal began to say.
"I heard him...through the comms. He said that El will be joining Kate soon. Neal, do you think-" Peter couldn't finish the question.
"Keller's just messing with our heads, Peter. Elizabeth is still alive. We WILL find her. You have my word." Neal reassured him. "Now, go home." he told him.
"I can't." Peter answered. "I have no home." he said. He looked Neal again. "It's just a house now. Elizabeth...she's my home. She's my heart." he told him, his eyes welling up with tears. "I only told El this...I start missing her the moment she's out of the room. It may sound mushy to others, but I adore my wife. I want her face to be the last thing I see at night before I sleep, and the first thing I see in the morning when I wake up. I don't know what I'd do if I lose her." he told him, as he wiped the tears in his eyes. "So tell me, Neal...how am I supposed to go home knowing that Elizabeth is not there?" he asked. "No. I'm not setting my foot back to that house, not until I have Elizabeth with me." he said firmly. "You go home. It's been a long night. I'll need you tomorrow." he ordered his friend.
"Call me if you need anything." Neal told him, before leaving him alone in his office.
Neal went back to his apartment, with hopes that he could get at least a few hours of rest. He was tired and the pain in his head was starting to come back. He didn't even bother to change his clothes, he just got in bed with his work clothes on. Hard as he tried, as tired as he was, he couldn't sleep. Not with everything that was nagging on his brain. Then he remembered, back at the hospital.
"Alex?" he whispered. "Where are you now?" Neal sighed when got no answer. He felt as if he was losing his mind for even considering it. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath to clear his head. Then, he smelled it again, right there in bed, lying next to him. That familiar scent of white gardenias. He smiled, for he knew who it was.
He turned to his side and opened his eyes. There he saw her, staring back at him. "I'm right here with you, Caffrey." Alex replied, with that beautiful smile on her face. "I've been with you for a while now. Only tonight was the first time anyone saw me." she informed him.
Neal just observed her quietly. The smile never left his lips, but it didn't reach his beautiful blue eyes either. He didn't know what to think, or how to feel about this. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he believed what he was seeing at the moment. All the feelings of frustration, guilt, and helplessness are bundled up inside of him, and he didn't know how to deal with that.
"Sweet shit in a bucket, Caffrey! Say something." Alex told him, interrupting his thoughts. "You're boring me to death, and I'm already dead!" she joked. "You look like crap!" she said as she stared at him.
"I feel like crap." Neal replied.
"Talk to me." Alex said. "Why so sad?" she asked him.
"Where do I start? Let's see...Elizabeth is in danger, Peter is in his own personal hell, Mozzie is still on the warpath, and you're in the afterlife! Those enough reasons for you?" Neal replied.
There was a brief pause before Alex spoke. "Mozzie is Mozzie. You've never had a more loyal friend than him. He could never stay angry with you for too long, you know that" she assured him. "As for me, I don't recall you ever walking on water, or turning it into wine for that matter. So I highly doubt that you can raise people back from the dead. Don't worry about me, Neal. I'm good for now." she told him.
"Okay...but what about-" Neal started to ask.
"Peter and Elizabeth?" she finished for him. "Well, I suppose you could help Peter find his wife." she answered.
"That's what I've been doing!" Neal told her. "I'm doing my best to help him, but this whole thing is just one big dead end after another." he said, quite frustrated.
"Why are you really angry, Neal?" Alex asked.
"Because, this...all of it...it's my fault!" Neal answered. "I'm the one who has a history with Keller, and now, innocent people like Peter and Elizabeth are caught in the middle." he added.
"We all have our own past sins to deal with, Neal. I'm the one who told you about the music box and the key to the treasure. Mozzie's the one who stole the treasure from the warehouse. So you see, you don't have the monopoly with guilt, Caffrey. We all had a hand in this." she explained. "The Burkes, they knew that you were flawed when they chose to be your friend." she continued.
"They didn't deserve to be punished for being my friends! It's not fair!" Neal snapped.
"Since when did the world start being fair, Neal? If the world was fair, you'd be married to Kate by now. If the world was fair, Mozzie would have never grown up in foster care. If the world was fair, I'd still be alive right now. Nobody deserves their lot in life. Life isn't fair, Caffrey. We love the ones who hurt us...we hurt the ones who love us. But you lamenting over all of this isn't helping Peter or his wife." Alex replied.
"What am I suppose to do then?" Neal asked her.
"You're going to help save Elizabeth Burke." Alex simply answered.
"You make it sound so easy!" Neal scoffed. "What's next after that?" he asked.
"You're going to apologize to them." she replied.
"Apologize?" he asked.
"Yes...it means telling them that you're sorry. I know that it's a foreign concept to someone like the great Neal Caffrey, but give it a shot anyway. You might like the feeling afterwards." she mocked him.
"What good would that do when the damage is already done?" he asked again.
"Well, it could help repair your friendship with them." she answered. "You see, Caffrey, saying you're sorry isn't a sign of weakness. Sometimes, apologizing to people, even when you think it's too late, even when you believe that it's pointless...you still do it because it needs to be done. You apologize because you hurt them. It's not an empty gesture. It means that you felt bad for causing them pain...because they are THAT important to you." she tried to make him understand. "And...if the Burkes are really as great as you make them seem to be, then they will forgive you." she added
Neal just let it all sink in, everything that she said. "I don't think that I've ever apologized to anyone before and really meant it." he confessed.
"I know." she told him. "First time for everything, right?" she asked.
Neal looked at her. "When did you become so smart?" he teased her.
"Wisdom of the dead." she replied with a weak smile.
Neal mustered up the courage to ask. "Alex, if you don't mind me asking...how did you die?" he inquired.
"I told you, I don't remember." she answered. "All I remember after our last meeting was that I was in a great deal of pain...and then it stopped. When I opened my eyes, I was here. I've been staying here most of the time." Alex revealed to him.
It suddenly hit him. She had been there a while, possibly for months since she disappeared. "Alex...were you here when Sara and I...?" he let his voice trail off.
"No!" she shouted. "Ewwww! God, no! Why would you even think that I'd wanna see that?" she replied. "No. Every time Sara shows up, I take it as my cue to leave. That's when I usually go out and mingle with the other ghosts of New York City." she told him.
"You see other ghosts?" Neal asked.
"Restless city like this, you think I'm the only one haunting the streets?" she asked rhetorically. "I try to stay away from Lower Manhattan as much as I can. Too sad because of the 9/11 victims. But yeah...there are lots of interesting spirits out there." she said.
"Oh yeah? Like who?" Neal asked, quite amused.
"Okay, for starters...Edgar Allan Poe at Morningside Heights in the Upper West Side, reciting 'The Raven', word for word." she told him. She saw that he was impressed. "Well, at least, he claimed that he was Poe. This is New York, after all. He could have just been the ghost of some out of work actor." she chuckled.
"Anyone else?" Neal asked.
"Oh! You remember that urban myth about the 'Ghost in the F-Train' back in the East Village subway? He's real. I've met him." she said.
"You're shitting me!" Neal exclaimed.
"I shit you not! His name is Vincent, and he died when he got stoned and then played chicken with the train afterwards. Did you know...if you died while you're stoned, you're pretty much stoned for all eternity? 'Cause that's how Vincent is now...not a coherent conversationalist, that one!" she added.
"Please, tell me more." Neal urged her. It was funny...but hearing Alex speak, it relaxed him.
"Okay...there's this ghost. His name is Timothy. Every night, at 6pm on the dot, right there in Strawberry Fields Park in the middle of the 'IMAGINE' mosaic...he takes out his violin and plays the most beautiful version of Bach's 'Chaconne' for Solo Violin from Partita in D Minor. That man's got some serious talent!" she told him.
"Hmmm." he said, while waiting for her to continue.
"You can ask, you know. It's okay." she said after a brief pause.
"Do you see her? Is Kate still here?" Neal asked.
Alex smiled. "She's lying right there next to you." she replied. "She said that if you close your eyes and wish really, really, really hard, then maybe we could have that threesome you've always fantasized about." she chuckled.
Neal turned to his other side to look, then turned back again to face Alex and shook his head. He couldn't believe that he let Alex con him like that. "That wasn't very nice." he told her.
"I'm not nice." Alex replied. "Look at your beady little eyes!" she said.
"I can't see my beady little eyes." he answered.
There was another brief pause, and then Alex spoke. "No, Neal, I haven't seen Kate. I think it's safe to assume that she's moved on. And I think she wants you to do the same." she told him.
"Is that what you would want me to do, Alex? Move on?" he pressed.
"Oh, hell no!" she replied. "I'd want you to stay miserable for the rest of your life. Maybe turn into a grouchy old bastard as you spend the remainder of your days, WITH Mozzie." she giggled. "Just kidding...of course, I'd want you to be happy. Even if it's not with me." she confessed.
Neal smiled. "Thank you." he said. He realized that Alex had gone silent. "What is it?" he asked.
"I saw Hale...before he moved on, I saw him. He was angry at first, but then he had this huge smile on his face once he saw me. I tried to go with him, but I couldn't. Something's preventing me from moving on...it's like I'm attached here. I don't understand." she said.
"We'll figure it out." he assured her.
"I see Byron, all the time." she revealed.
"Byron? June's Byron?" Neal asked.
"No, Lord Byron!" she scoffed. "Yes, June's Byron!" she answered. "He's with her, every minute...every second of the day. Never leaves her side. I asked him once, why he had so much devotion. He said that because love doesn't have to end in 'Till death do us part'." she told him, as she looked him in the eye. "He talks to her, even though he knew she couldn't hear him. He stays with her, even though she doesn't know he's there." Alex told him.
"How do you know that she can't hear him? Maybe she knows that he's there. I can hear you. I can see you." Neal pointed out.
"Yeah, but you're special, Caffrey." she answered.
"Yeah, right. I feel really special, alright. Gifted, even." Neal replied sarcastically.
Alex looked at him, visibly hurt. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come here. Didn't mean to be so chatty. It's just that it's been a while since I've had a conversation with a living human being. I didn't realize that I was disturbing you. I should go." she said.
"No, Alex, wait! I didn't mean-" Neal tried to stop her, but she already disappeared, leaving him all alone in his bed, in his apartment.
Neal tossed and turned for the remainder of the night. He waited for Alex to come back, but she never did. Finally, when daybreak came, he gave up on sleep, and proceeded to get ready for work. He was getting dressed when he heard a knock on the door. He opened it to find Mozzie on the other side.
"No Keller, no treasure, and more importantly, no Mrs. Suit! I hope you have a plan, because I'm all out of ideas." Mozzie told him, as he came in without an invitation.
"Good morning to you too, Moz." Neal greeted him. "We are doing the best we can to find Elizabeth, that I can assure you." he said.
"What are you doing here then? Shouldn't you be with the Suit right now...strategizing?" Mozzie asked sarcastically. "I can't believe this! We don't have time to waste! Who knows what Keller is doing to Mrs. Suit right now!" he added.
Neal was about to answer but was interrupted by a female voice. "Oh, he gets ever so cranky this early in the morning! I think he needs more roughage in his diet." Alex said, appearing out of nowhere yet again. She walked towards Mozzie.
"Alex!" Neal said, glad to see her return.
"Alex? Have you heard from Alex? Mozzie asked.
"I have..." Neal hesitated. "She's here. Moz. She's...standing right next to you." he said to Mozzie, who looked puzzled. He paused for a while. "She's a ghost, Moz!" he finally said.
"Riiight! Don't you usually have to be very dead to be a ghost, Neal?" he said, then saw the reaction on Neal's face. "That's not funny!" Mozzie told him.
"Who's laughing?" Neal asked.
"Hey! Stop stealing my lines!" Alex scolded Neal. She leaned closer to Mozzie and blew air on his ear.
"She's blowing on your ear right now." Neal told him.
Mozzie felt it. It was like going out in the middle of a snowstorm without his ear muffs on. Still, he didn't seem convinced. "Neal...if you really can see ghosts, don't you think that you would've seen Kate by now? I mean, if there was anyone you're dying to see again, it would be Kate, not Alex!" Mozzie pointed out.
"Ouch! Hurtful!" Alex exclaimed. "If only I could, I would kick you where the sun don't shine right about now!" she said.
Neal ignored her. "Look, Moz, I can't see ghosts...I see a ghost. I can only see Alex." he told his friend.
"Prove it!" Mozzie challenged him.
"Oh, I like this part!" Alex said. She turned to Neal. "Tell him I said 'Tootles'!" she told him.
"What the hell does that mean?" Neal asked her.
"Just tell him I said 'Tootles'!" she urged Neal.
"She said to tell you' Tootles'!" Neal said to Mozzie. He turned to Alex. "There, you happy now?" he asked her.
Seconds later, Mozzie's face turned white. "Heilige scheiße!" he exclaimed. "Alex?" he looked around for her.
"Wait, what does 'Tootles' mean?" Neal asked them.
"He can't tell you." Alex answered.
"I can't tell you." Mozzie answered, almost at the same time.
"Why not?" Neal asked again.
"Because it's code...and it's about you." Alex replied with a mischievous smile.
"What do you mean that it's about me?" Neal pressed.
"Okay, Alex...you can shut up now!" Mozzie said.
"Oh, so now he believes that I'm here!" Alex scoffed. She looked at Neal. "Relax! What's a little secret between friends, right?" she said. "I mean, I've spent my entire adult life searching for that u-boat treasure, and you two kept it as a secret from me." she pointed out. "Am I bothered?" she asked.
"She's still pretty pissed that you stole the treasure she worked hard to try finding." Neal told Mozzie.
"I'm a thief...I steal pretty things!" Mozzie replied. "Besides, I gave it back! That treasure is a curse disguised as a gift! I don't want it...I just want Mrs. Suit back!" he added.
"Oooh! About that...I've got something!" Alex reported.
"Please tell me you know where Elizabeth is!" Neal pleaded.
"No, I'm sorry...but I know where Keller is! Or at least, where he's headed." Alex told him.
"What is she saying, Neal?" Mozzie asked.
"Shhh! Hold on, Moz..." Neal answered. "Please, continue." Neal urged Alex.
"Well, he was at that heliport on West 30th St. earlier...they left at about 4:30 in the morning. He boarded a private chopper, a Bell 206B3 Jetranger rotorcraft, license HLP-1522. He's supposed to catch a connecting flight en route to Monte Carlo." she stated, while Neal wrote all the information down.
"No, no, no! He has friends in Monte Carlo that can help him disappear! We'll never find him! Anything else?" Neal asked.
"Before he boarded, he was talking on his cellphone with some guy named Anton...that's it. That's all I've got." Alex said.
"Anton? No last name? Great! Another dead end. We're not any closer to finding Elizabeth...we need to know where Keller is keeping her!" Neal yelled, frustratedly.
"You think I don't know that? I'm trying to help, Neal...for once, you can say something nice." Alex whispered, before disappearing into thin air.
"Alex, wait!" Neal tried to call her back, but she didn't reappear.
"She gone?" Mozzie asked. He saw Neal nodded. "Did she tell you how she died?" Mozzie asked again.
"No. She said that she doesn't remember." Neal answered.
"Understandable. When I woke up from my coma, after I got shot, I couldn't remember anything either. It's like, I blocked it out of my head, it was too painful. Anyway, it must be the same for her. How she died...it must have been too traumatic for her to remember." Mozzie told him.
Neal lowered his head in shame. He may be the one who could see and hear Alex, but it was Mozzie who understood her and related to her more. Finally, he spoke. "I gotta go, Moz." he said. "I have to tell Peter about this information." he added, heading for the door.
"Alright. Keep me posted. And tell the Suit...tell Peter to call me if he needs my help." Mozzie told him, before Neal left the apartment.
~END OF CHAPTER ONE~
FOOTNOTES:
*Like I said, I thought it'd be a good change to switch it up a bit.
*Been wondering where Alex has been all this time. It's like she just vanished from the story after the the S2 finale. It seemed unlikely since she spent her life looking for that treasure, so I wrote my take on what happened afterwards.
*I tried as much as possible to make this an ensemble piece, so I included almost everyone. If the characters seems too OOC, I apologize.
*Ghost references are fictional. However, that ghost in the F-train was inspired by that poltergeist from the film, "Ghost".
*Thank you for taking time to read this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it and it enticed you to read the next one.
