White Collar - as an unofficial novel - part 7

Neal is arrested

Neal was at home, preparing himself to be the knight in shining armor and save the little family of Ollie and Katherine, when someone knocked. It was not a Mozzie knock. He opened.

"Sara?" That smile she sent him. This was trouble.

"Detective Lewis," a balled man stepped forward.

"This is Neal Caffrey," Sara presented him to the detective.

"This is a search warrant," the detective said with a smile and handed him a paper as he passed him into the apartment.

"We're looking for the stolen FAA package," Sara grinned at him. She walked inside two and Neal saw what seemed like an endless row of police officers. He stopped counting at four.

"Oh. Points for persistence," he smiled back at her.

"I'm a lot harder to beat than a lie detector." She moved as she conquered the place and Neal hated it. But he had spent too much time in prison to let this invasion of privacy be a weapon against him. She walked towards his 'bedroom.' "Nice place, Neal." She glanced behind a painting. Neal did not bother telling her that the search warrant gave the police the right to search his apartment. It did not include her.

"I've seen yours. You've seen mine. We're even."

"If I snuck in here with a gun, then we'd be even," she hissed and stroke a hand along his bed frame. "Mid-19th-century tiger oak?"

"Hand-carved."

"Beautiful."

She aimed for his wardrobe and started to yank the handle.

"If I stole the package, you really think I'd keep it here?"

"Why not?"

"Let me help you out with that," Neal offered and opened the wardrobe door, which had a little lock.

"Thank you. How did you con your way into this place?"

And he had had a faint idea that Sara was different than most people. It hurt to know what her opinion probably was representative for most people. Well, he knew better than spit the truth back in her face.

"You are convinced I don't have an honest bone."

"Give me a good reason to think otherwise."

"There's nothing here," he returned.

"Ms. Ellis?" Detective Lewis held the package in his hand. The police team had been far better than he had expected. Sara stared at the package and then at Neal.

"I can explain that," Neal sighed. He just made a huge fool of himself.

"So you did steal the package?" Sara said, proving her point about honest bones.

"No. I didn't. I swear to you I didn't steal—"

"Yet, here it is." She took the package from the detective. "It is the same package. You even left it intact with the address and all."

Neal brought out his phone and sent a quick text to Peter. 'Help!' would have to do. He sent one to Diana as well. 'Arrested'. Just in case Peter was too busy to check his phone. And he needed help right now. If he was brought into custody Peter would not have a chance to get him out until the next day at the earliest. And he was needed tonight. Within hours.

"Sara, could you please listen to me?" he begged.

"No, I will not listen to you."

"Mr. Caffrey, I'll have to ask you to put your hands behind your back." Detective Lewis had his cuffs in his hand. Neal needed to stall. Every minute was valuable. He raised his hands and addressed the detective.