White Collar Fanfiction

Chapter One

~Natalie~

Waiting is about the hardest thing to do in moments like this.

I see the cop that caught Neal, Peter Burke, talking to the man they've caught in custody.

It's a shame that if they want to find the real culprits behind the counterfeit books they can't count on this guy. He is just the carrier.

But, I guess, they don't know that yet.

Neal is leaning against the doorframe across the room, looking rather bored and yet interested at the same time. Just looking at him makes me smile. After looking up to the guy almost my whole life, having to just sit here when he's right there is like being a hungry fish with bait hanging in front of you.

Personally, I'm upside down inside the air vent. Long brown hair is tied to the back of my shirt with ponytails and safety pins, then, of course, I have rubber lined gloves and boots on to keep me from crashing down into the room below.

Despite what my brother thinks, I'm not a complete and total idiot.

Long sleeved black shirt and pants lower the chance of me being seen here, a matching bandana is tied around my neck and raised to cover the lower half of my face. The boots go only to my ankle, doing nothing to muffle the noise of a colorful anklet with little bells on it. The only accessory that I'm allowed to wear out in the field.

Which is probably why it became known as my mark.

I mentally growl before there is a light creaking sound, the door to the room is swinging open.

In walks yet another man, only this one resembles a lawyer. I'm too far up to hear their conversation, but Peter throws his hands up in his frustration as he and Neal leave.

Almost as soon as the door shuts, the lawyer-man locks it. Even though the AC has now turned on, I can hear the chair that the carrier is sitting in scrape across the floor as he hastily gets to his feet.

          "I- I didn't tell them anything!" He stammers. "I swear I d- didn't!" The man shakes his head as he puts his briefcase on the table, clicking it open. He removes a vial full of some sort of blurry liquid in it before turning - not only to grin at the guy, but also towards me. A bad choice on his part as now I can see his face.

It takes me a moment to process what I'm looking at, but luckily his image clicks.

It's the guy I'm here for.

Tucking my limbs in, I allow myself to fall forwards a bit, making sure I stop right before I hit the vent cover. I had the foresight to make sure the nails were loose before I climbed up here, so there's satisfying pop that echoes up the vent as I push it out. In a move as fast as I can make it, I toss the cover at the painfully fake lawyer.

He lets out a grunt as he's caught off guard and easily knocked to the floor. Time seems to slow as I watch the vial begin to fall. Thinking fast, I manage a quick bounce to break my fall and reach for it. My fingertips knock it the rest of the way into my hand as I take a second to catch my breath.

The door slamming open does put an end to my little break, though. Ignoring the shouts to 'freeze', I jump swiftly back into the vent and climb out of sight.