New York [Chapter One]
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 03:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sectioneightentertainment[Originally posted in Fanfiction.Net last 11-Jan-2011] The sixth story in "The Hunter Chronicles" series.
Author's Note : Indirectly follows "Strasbourg". My take on the missing scenes from Home Invasion, Front Man, and Out of the Box. If you've seen those episodes, then you pretty much know what happens. Although, I did add some filler scenes for embellishments.
Disclaimer : I don't own any of the original characters. That honor belongs to Jeff Eastin, White Collar writers and USA Network.
Summary : When Alex Hunter came back to New York City to do a simple job, she had no intention whatsoever of seeing Neal Caffrey. That is, until she actually saw him. Now caught in his web of intrigue, she wonders as to what surprises Neal has in store for her this time around. More importantly, the dilemma of whether or not she should she tell him about the secret she had been keeping for a long time. [Indirectly follows "Strasbourg".]
CHAPTER ONE
Alex observed the usual Friday morning hustle and bustle of the busy city around her. The city she grew up in, the city who always had a huge place in her heart. New York City, how I've missed you! Alex thought. Some things may have changed, but everything else was exactly the way she remembered it. The sights, the sounds, the smell, the taste, Alex was delighted to be back, even for only a short while. She, along with Asher, were sent there by Aretha to finish a job they started for an old friend of Asher's.
Saul Gleason, the owner of Gleason Avionics, had been a victim of corporate espionage and theft. One of his rival companies had found out that he had an initial design of the latest model of SPS-65V-5, a device to be used as an electronic support measure and defensive aid being developed for US military air crafts. This rival hired someone to steal the Proof-of-Principle Prototype of the device and it was their job to steal if back. They finally managed to track down the stolen prototype, a breadboard the size of a shoe box, back in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, Japan. Zeke, with his usual flair, was tasked to do the retrieval. Now, it was up to Alex and Asher to give it back to the rightful owner, which was why they were there for the weekend. The exchange wasn't supposed to happen until tomorrow, so she left Asher to rest back at the hotel, while she roamed around The Big Apple.
After she did her little sight-seeing, she decided to stop by to see an old friend. More like family, really. She went to the corner of West 26th and 5th and headed inside the Morgan Boxing Center. It was a boxing gym that Hale had opened so that underprivileged kids would have a place to train and they can stay off the streets. The place was already packed when she went inside, so she went directly to Hale's office upstairs. His office door was partially opened, Alex saw Hale doing some paper works. She knocked softly and Hale couldn't help but laugh out loud with delight when he saw her. They hugged each other tightly, as they said their hellos.
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming to town? I would've picked you up at the airport!" Hale told her.
"Oh, I wouldn't want to be a bother! I know how busy you are with all these, among 'other stuff'!" Alex replied, still with a smile on her face. "So, how's the family?" she asked Hale.
"Oh, they're fine. You can ask them yourself, when you have dinner at the house tonight! Iola would be thrilled to have you over for dinner!" Hale replied.
"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose on you, especially on such short notice, Hale!" she said.
"What do you mean, impose? It would be very disrespectful to your godparents if you deny them of this pleasure!" Hale insisted. "Now, tell me that you brought pictures of young Nicholas with you!" he continued.
Alex took out her Blackberry and showed Hale a slide show of photos she had taken of her son, who had just turned five years old less than a couple of months ago. Hale was amazed at how fast Nicholas had grown, who now looked very much like a younger version of his father. Alex told Hale stories about her son, and Hale was delighted in hearing them, that they didn't notice the time. I was already half past noon. Alex said her goodbyes and promised to come over for dinner at the house later. She left the gym and headed back to the hotel.
Unbeknownst to Alex, she was being watched by someone since she had gotten out of Hale's gym. A man wearing a Devore suit, a fedora hat and dark sunglasses. Neal Caffrey had gone there, hoping to ask for Hale's assistance in finding Alex. By sheer luck as it turned out, he didn't need to ask Hale, since Neal himself found her coming out of the gym. He had no clue that Alex had been out of the country for years and had just come back that day. Neal tried to follow her but to no avail, for the alarm on his anklet started beeping. A signal that he had gone past his two-mile radius. With a resigned sigh, Neal stopped on his tracks. It doesn't matter. He knew all of Alex's favourite New York City haunts.
Soon, Alex! I'll be seeing you again soon enough! Neal thought. Realizing that his lunch hour was almost over, he turned around and headed back to the FBI office building.
Alex bought Chinese take-outs on the way, then returned to their hotel suite. Asher was still sleeping in his room, obviously still tired from the trip, so she didn't bother waking him. She set the food down at the dining area for later, then hurried to her room. It was almost half past 7PM back in Budapest, Nicholas' bedtime was 8PM. She had bought him a netbook for his birthday and she promised him that they would talk to each other through online video chat whenever she has a job away from home. She turned on her netbook and logged in. She was so delighted to see her son even if it were only through video conference. She saw that Nicholas was already dressed in his pajamas. She let her son talk about what his day was like.
After that, she told him about seeing granddad Hale earlier, and mentioned that she was having dinner with the family later. Alex had made sure through the years that Nicholas remained close to Hale and his family, even though they were separated by a great distance. She looked a the clock and saw that it was her son's bedtime.
"Okay, baby, time for bed! Don't give Edina any trouble now." she told Nicholas.
"But Anya, I'd like for us to chat some more! I really do miss you! Can I stay up a little later, please?" Nicholas pleaded with those beautiful blue eyes.
"I miss you too, and I'd love to chat with you a bit longer too, baby, but you know the rules! It's bedtime, no exceptions!" Alex replied.
"But I'm not sleepy yet, Anya!" Nicholas begged some more.
Alex took this as a cue. She sang to him his favourite lullaby, Golden Slumbers.
"Now, will you be able to sleep?" she asked him after she finished her song. Nicholas smiled at her and nodded. "Good night, Moonbeam. Sweet dreams!" she said.
"Good night, Mama! I love you!" Nicholas replied.
"I love you more, baby!" she said. "But I said it first!" Nicholas replied coyly.
Alex laughed. They said their goodbyes and Alex logged off.
Alex came out of her room and found Asher already eating at the dining area.
"Oh, hey! How was your chat with Nicholas?" Asher asked her, after swallowing a bite.
"How did you know I was chatting with him?" Alex asked.
"I could hear you singing from here." he explained.
Alex sat down next to Asher. As she picked on her food, she told him about her chat with Nicholas and how much she missed him. She also filled Asher in on seeing Hale earlier.
"By the way, we're having dinner at their house tonight." Alex told him.
"Uhm, correction, YOU'RE having dinner at their house tonight. Look, I know they're like family to you. I wouldn't want to intrude." Asher declined.
Alex arched her eyebrow. "Meaning, you already have plans for tonight. That can only mean two things. So which is it, gadget or girl?" she teased him.
"Girl. Have a date with Claire tonight!" Asher said with a grin.
"Claire as in Claire Gleason?" she saw Asher nod and smile.
Claire Gleason was their client Saul Gleason's daughter.
"Tell me something, did we take this case because Saul is a good friend of yours or because you're trying to get into his daughter's pants?" she teased Asher some more.
Asher's face turned bright red. "It's not like that! She stimulates me intellectually." he explained.
"Yeah, right! And the fact that she looks like she just stepped out of a cover a fashion magazine had nothing to do with it?" Alex said mischievously. "Oh alright! Have fun on your date tonight!" she finally relented after seeing Asher blush some more.
Alex rested for a few hours, then got ready to go to the Morgan residence. She went to pick up a bottle of wine on the way. She knew better than to bring any food items, since she knew that Iola would be preparing more than enough food to feed a small army. She remembered fond memories of Friday night dinners at the Morgan's house quite well. It was always filled with fun stories and lots of great food. She rang the doorbell and was greeted at the door by a woman her age, smiling from ear to ear.
"Hey everyone! Lexie's here!" she announced as Alex went inside.
The next thing she knew, she was being hugged by Hale's family, the people she considered as her own. As per usual, everyone shared stories as they ate Iola's delicious food. Luther, Hale and Iola's eldest son who was a few years older than Alex, introduced her to his wife, Aisha and their 9 year-old son, Caleb. Alex also found out that Luther was now a pilot for the United States Marine Corps and was due to go back to Afghanistan withing the week. The woman who greeted her at the door earlier was Lenore, Hale and Iola's middle child and only daughter. She is a registered nurse at Bellevue Hospital Center for a couple of years now. Lance, the youngest son was a little older than Asher. He's a student at Columbia University and was due to earn his master's degree in Computer Engineering in a few months.
Alex just sat there eating the delicious food, as she listened to everyone talk. She realized how much she really missed being with them.
"Come on, Lexie! Your turn!" Lenore said.
'Lexie'. It's been a while since someone had called me that! Alex thought. It was the name that Hale's children called Alex since they were teens. It was Luther, Lenore, and Lance's way of letting Alex know that she was like a sister to them.
Alex obliged and told them stories, mostly about her son. She passed along her mobile so that everyone could see her photos of Nicholas. They were having so much fun while having dinner. As the night got late, they decided it was time to go. Luther pulled her into a tight embrace as he said goodbye, before carrying the already sleeping Caleb out to the car. Lance was next to leave since he had an exam the next day. Lenore said good night and asked Alex to keep in touch, to which Alex promised that she would.
Alex wasn't ready to call it a night just yet, so she stayed behind to help Iola and Hale clean up, just like she always did when she was a teenager. Iola talked about her restaurant business and Hale told Alex about his plans on taking Iola on a trip around the world. She always loved her conversations with her godparents. Somehow, the topic had managed to return to Nicholas.
"He's learning how to draw, read and write now. He's taken a liking to comic books. He seems to think that I'm Catwoman." Alex chuckled. Then her facial expresion grew serious. She paused and took a deep breath. "This all seems amusing to him now, but when he gets old enough to realize who I really am and what I really do, I hope he doesn't end up hating me." Alex said emotionally.
Iola hugged her. "Oh, my dear. You are a good mother who is trying to provide for your son. I'm sure he will appreciate that more as he grows up." Iola said to her.
"Look Alex, we all make our choices in life. And the choices that you made may not be the most popular choice for most people, but you did it for the well-being of your son. No one can fault you for that." Hale told her.
"I agree. Did you think that our children were blind as to what kind of jobs Hale did on the side? No, they knew what their father did for a living. They knew that their father was no saint! Do they seem like hated Hale for it? No, they don't. Nicholas will realize one day the amount of love that you have for him and that you did everything in your power to raise him properly and he WILL understand!" Iola explained.
After their conversation, Alex felt a lot better. She went back to the hotel to finally get some sleep. She had an early day tomorrow morning.
~END OF CHAPTER ONE~
Footnotes :
*White Collar writers never quite mentioned what Hale's last name was, so I made up the last name Morgan.
*I don't really know anything about avionic devices. The SPS-65V-5 was just an idea from a friend.
*Anya means mother in Hungarian. Nicholas calls Alex "Anya" as a respectful term, while he uses "Mama" as a term of endearment.
*You might remember that the song "Golden Slumbers" was the lullaby Alex sang to Nicholas as a baby in order to make him sleep.
*I'd like to believe that Alex raised her son with love without exactly spoiling him, hence, the rules.
*I felt that the video chat scene was necessary to fill you in about Nicholas, who's now a young boy. I wanted to show that not even a huge amount of distance could separate Alex from her son. It also showed how much family really meant to Alex.
*This chapter was mostly a prologue to "Home Invasion". It gives you a glimpse of what Alex's life was like back in New York. Also some background info I made up about Hale's family.
***Thank you so much for taking time to read this chapter.***
