Chapter 04
Bella loved the French Quarter. There were no real street poles beaming a lot of light down on you, but every building had these tiny lights that illuminated just enough. And, during the day, you could see all the different colors of the houses. She didn’t know exactly where to go to visit the Michaels, but they had a home on Bourbon Street, and it was painted in rich jewel tones, as well as on the inside as outside, from what she had been told. And on the walls on the outside were stone Ms.
Her family had visited the Michaels. Not her, and to be honest, she was really nervous about it. She had heard that the family was ruthless. Then again, the Cullens thought of themselves as good and righteous and now that she had a different view of things, that thought wasn’t all that correct.
Not that everything had been bad. There were good times, such as playing baseball while younger and visiting family in Alaska. It had been terribly cold, but it had been a lot of fun because after every match there would be hot cocoa waiting with her name on it.
Even learning how to pickpocket on the Strip in Las Vegas were fun day trips. The fun changed, however, when something went wrong during a mission and they had to leave Grant behind. The family then went to dark for a few months and during that time, nothing was the same anymore and Bella was to move in the shadows at all times.
She was so good at it, that even she forgot she existed at some point. Uncle Garrett changed all that.
If only he had prepared her for dealing with yet another crime family.
She would have loved to have learned some diplomatic skills. Then again, being a diplomat and political sucked anyway.
But it was still the best decision she’d made to buy her home in the French Quarter. “Oh, this is it,” she said as she pointed to the building. It was not heavily painted in jewel tones, it was more earthy on the outside, big windows and big doors. It was a Creole Mansion like her home, but then twice as big, if not more.
Bella liked to see the balconies filled with flowers and that was something she’d like to do as well in a later stage. Maybe instead of flowers grow herbs and strawberries and other types of food. But that meant that she’d have to stay in New Orleans for a longer period of time and she wasn’t sure if that was going to happen right now.
“I’ll follow your lead,” Neal smiled at her before laughing upon seeing the look on her face. “What? Your family has history with them, not me!”
She rolled her eyes at him as she walked towards the open gate and peered into the courtyard. It was freakishly empty, devoid of people but with furniture out. To her right, there was a huge bell so she decided to ring it to see what would happen.
It took a few minutes before the younger brother appeared in the little passageway. “Wow, who died?” He was slightly taller than Neal and likely closer to Bella’s age, but she couldn’t be sure. He looked at them with an inquisitive look on his face before realizing he’d seen Bella before. “You.”
“Hi,” Bella smiled at him. “I’m Izzy Sheppard, this is Neal Carter, can we come in? Talk?”
“You’re a Cullen, and you lot cost us a lot of money.”
Bella nodded, understanding what he was saying. “I was, and I’m here to make amends, can we please come in and talk to you and your family?”
He sighed and nodded. “I’m Cole, come on in,” he said as he stepped aside to allow Bella and Neal to enter the courtyard. “Whatd’ya mean, you was?”
“I’ll explain,” she smiled at him. “Can you call your brother?”
Cole nodded. “Nick! Myriam! We have visitors!” He called out as he looked up to the balconies over the courtyard. Like Bella had expected, the home was bigger than it looked from the outside. The inside was painted in rich jewel tones, emerald green, topaz yellow, ruby red, from what she could identify of the colors. Like her home, the balconies were made out of wrought iron railings, looking absolutely beautiful and in every corner there were candelabras. It was almost as if they had stepped in time. It looked antique, but it was beautiful.
Nick and Myriam soon emerged from one of the rooms upstairs and made their way down the stairs towards the courtyard, and Nick immediately recognized Bella. “You have a lot of nerve coming back,” he said as he straightened himself up, a menacing look on his face, causing Neal to take a step in front of Bella. “You and your family cost me a lot of money!”
“I know,” Bella said calmly. “I’m here to rectify that, make amends. I was only doing what I was instructed to do, even though it was a shitty move. But things have changed and I wish to talk to you about that.”
“Have a seat,” Myriam smiled kindly as she took Bella’s hand to pull her away from Neal and towards the comfortable looking couches. “I’m Myriam Michaels, I’m Nick’s wife.” Myriam had neatly cut brown hair, dark brown eyes and she looked simply stunning in that white dress she was wearing, complimenting her olive skin.
“Izzy Sheppard,” Bella replied as she sat down next to Myriam. “That’s Neal Carter, he’s with me.”
“Oh, but we all know Neal Caffrey,” Nick said as he eyed him. “Looking good for a dead guy.”
“Thanks,” Neal smiled brightly as he made his way over to one of the chairs next to Bella, to make sure she was safe.
After Nick and Cole sat down too, Bella told her story. Everything. The Cullens. How she left. Why she left. The Volturi. “When we were in New Orleans and you got the short end of the stick, I fell in love with the city and I bought a house here.”
“Oh! That house on Dumaine? Practically next to the Voodoo Museum? I always wondered what was going on in there!” Cole said brightly. “That was your doing?”
Bella nodded, a smile on her face. “It’s a beautiful place, I couldn’t help myself.”
“I bet!”
“Anyway, I hope that it’s alright with you if Neal and I live there. We won’t get into any trouble or find marks here in the Quarter,” she said as she looked at Myriam, then at Nick and then realized Nick was looking at his wife. So Bella had been right, Myriam was pulling the strings in this family. “And to make up for what I did to help my family, I’ll happily pay you the money owed and offer my services.”
Both brothers looked at Myriam with an ‘I don’t care’ kind of look on their faces before Nick spoke. “I believe she’s telling the truth. Matches up with a lot of recent activity we’ve discovered and what Cole found with his friends on the internet.”
Myriam nodded as she smiled at Bella. “Fuck that. We have enough money, your family has no honor and that’s the most frustrating event from that job we allowed them to do here. And they want you dead? For leaving them? What kind of a shitty family is that?” She exclaimed, shaking her head. “No, you don’t have to pay us back. Instead, I want to offer you our resources and ourselves to go after your family. Set them up real good and put them away for years and years to come. How does that sound?”
Bella was surprised to hear that. “Huh?” That didn’t quite sound intelligent but she really didn’t know what to say about this.
“We took a chance with the Cullens all those years ago. Everyone’s heard of them, what they do, what they’re capable of, and we were merely curious if all those rumors were true,” Nick said as he leaned back in his chair, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. “We’ve been planning on going after them for years but never found a reason good enough other than ‘because we can’.”
“Because we can,” Cole nodded. “We already have a plan and people on retainer.”
“I can’t believe it’s that easy,” Neal said as he scratched his head. “If something is too good to be true, it’s usually fake.”
Myriam let out a breath. “We pride ourselves in honor and kindness. We do things for the rush, and we are very good at taking revenge,” she motioned around them. “Look at this place. We don’t have to pull off jobs, we’re set for life. But we want to. And the Cullens are on our bucket list.”
“But I am a Cullen,” Bella piped up.
“Honey, you introduced yourself as Izzy Sheppard. You may have grown up with the Cullens, but you’re no Cullen. You know what they did and still had the balls to come here, ask for forgiveness and if it was going to be a problem if you lived in the Quarter,” Myriam put an arm around her and smiled widely. “And if Neal fucking Caffrey chooses to hang out with you, you’re alright in my book.”
“Besides, it’s always fascinating when a family wants a relative dead,” Nick quipped, earning him a stern look from Myriam. “What? It’s true!”
“But first things first. You’re a hacker. Otherwise you couldn’t have had them escape New Orleans like that. What’s your handle?” Cole asked, curiosity on his face. “I’ve been dying to know.”
Bella scowled. “I’m going to retire the name, I’ve used it for a long time now and I’m starting to get noticed.”
“Come on, what is it?”
“It’s not important.”
“Bel— Izzy, you said you’d share everything,” Neal coaxed her. “I’m pretty sure your secret is safe with these people too.”
“But I’m retiring shitface, I only need to——”
“Shit!” Cole cried out. “You’re 5h1tF4c3? I always thought it was a dude! I always imagined having a drink with Shitface, play some pool and shit like that but you’re really him?”
Neal had this big goofy grin on his face, beaming with pride. “That never gets old.’
“I never purposely revealed my gender. But if I want to fully be free from the Cullens, it’s a name I have to retire,” Bella replied. “Please tell me you’re Mingus.”
“No,” Cole shook his head. “I’m Tr0uble.”
“Yes, yes you are,” Nick nodded.
“I’ve heard of you, seen your work,” Bella smiled. “I like your stuff!”
“Really?”
Bella nodded. “The schematics and code you posted for bricking a physical pc in a few seconds was amazing, got a real kick out of that, and I included some of your other code on my tablet for when I hack things on site like security alarms and whatnot because I couldn’t figure something out.”
“Oh, don’t flatter him,” Nick rolled his eyes at her. “His ego is big enough already.”
“But it’s true! His code helped me, a lot,” Bella replied with a nod, seeing Cole’s smile growing bigger and bigger. “I’m more of a code girl instead of a gadget girl so yeah. With you sharing your inventions so openly, I took advantage of that, sorry.”
“Oh no, that’s why it’s out there, I have more ideas in my workshop, all fully functional but didn’t want to share that. Wanna see?”
“Uh, no, sorry, I’m still a little shocked how you want to help a complete stranger,” Bella said as she ran her hand through her hair. “And I’m not sure if I should accept the help.”
“I get that,” Myriam nodded knowingly. “You don’t know if you can trust us, and that’s a good thing. You don’t believe we’re not doing this out of the goodness of our own hearts—”
“Which we aren’t, we simply enjoy taking down assholes,” Cole added.
“Nobody sends hitmen after their own flesh and blood and gets away with it. You need a crew, Izzy, and we can help you out with that. Again, we already have a plan, and we already have a crew, and feel free to make any changes,” Myriam continued, shooting an annoyed look towards Cole, who shrugged in return.
Neal wasn’t sure what to think. He had thought going to the Michaels had been a bad idea after what Bella had told him about them, but here they were, being the complete opposite. They were… normal. To be honest, he’d never met other conmen and women who were this upfront in the first meeting, which made him believe that the Michaels were truthful.
Then again, it could be a ruse, too.
“Tell you what,” Myriam said as she looked at Bella. “We’ll write down the plan that we have, give you the names of our crew, and if you like what you see, you can hire us to help you. I mean, I think your next move was to find a crew anyway, wasn’t it? This way, if we betray you in anyway, you can withhold payment.”
“Okay, that sounds good,” Bella said after thinking it over. “I’m sorry, it’s just—”
“I understand, cherie, don’t you worry,” the other woman smiled kindly. “I’ve been where you are, right in that exact same spot, many many years ago. There’s no honor amongst thieves, that’s true, but that’s not how we work, and after what you’ve told us, that’s not how you work. Not sure about your man, though.”
“I’ll be good,” Neal replied, slightly offended. “Do you honestly think she’d allow me to stick around if I weren’t?”
“Well, yes,” Myriam replied as a matter of factly. “You’re eye candy. I’d do you in a heartbeat.”
Neal’s face broke out in the stupidest grin.
“Down boy,” Bella told him playfully. “I can assure you that Neal’s on his way to become an honest conman.”
“Good to hear,” Nick replied. “So do we have a deal then? We offer you our services, work with you with the plan, and if it fails, you won’t have to pay us.”
“Sure,” Bella shrugged. “What do I have to lose?”
“Great!” Nick was ecstatic. A wide grin on his face. “To protect our potential employer from those who will eventually come to New Orleans to kill her, I’d like you to have one of my trusted men to keep you safe.”
“But I am safe,” Bella replied sheepishly. “My house is protected, we both know how to shoot a gun when needed.”
“Ah, but when you go out, you’re going to need a shadow. Don’t worry, he works discretely. You won’t even see him.”
“Anyone I know?” Neal asked curiously.
“Doubt it,” Nick replied. “Which is why working with us will benefit you taking your revenge, Izzy, it’s likely your family hasn’t heard of the players either. Your family won’t know what hit them. However, what we need from you is a list of who’s who, and what they can do so we can anticipate and see where we can put our assets in play.”
“Uh, yeah, sure, I can do that.”
“Cole will pick it up tomorrow.”
~o.O.o~
Bella wasn’t quite sure what had happened as she and Neal walked home. For some reason she had a very bad feeling about the Michaels and maybe, just maybe, she had made things worse. “Do you think your friend Mozzie knows about these people?”
“He might, why?”
“Well, you trust him, so…” Bella shrugged. “I don’t know, I feel weird about this. It’s too easy. I can’t believe it’s this easy. So I’d be really happy to get a second opinion from someone you know and trust, and, for a third opinion I might ask Mingus.”
“You trust him?”
“Not completely, but he seems to be knowledgeable and he knows a lot of hackers, seeing as Cole is one and I know his handle… Yeah, Mingus might know about them.”
“We’ve got a plan then,” Neal replied as he pointed at a pastry place. “Binge on pastries?”
“Ohh, pastries,” Bella cooed agreeably. “Let’s get a bunch of them, and maybe a good bottle of wine from that liquor store next to it.”
Once they got back home, they settled on the couch in the reception area, turned on the TV on low and Bella pulled her laptop in to her lap as she bit down on a pastry. “Mozzie first?”
“Sure.”
Bella nodded as she booted up her phone software and finished chewing her first bite. “If he does know the Michaels and know that they’re in New Orleans, do you think Mozzie can keep it to himself?”
“Don’t worry, he won’t tell Peter,” Neal laughed as he poured them a glass of wine. “And if he wants to come over, I can ask him to stay in New York to keep an eye on Peter, to make sure that Peter’s not looking into you.”
“What makes you say he won’t look into you?”
“Mozzie will likely tell him I’m still in France,” Neal shrugged. “And even though I’m now a new man, on paper, doesn’t mean that Peter won’t move heaven and earth to prove that I’m Neal Caffrey again. Or arrest me for those crimes again or whatever. Not that I think he will. He just wants to see me, I suppose. Maybe a day trip to the Big Apple?”
“If you want,” Bella replied as she dialed Mozzie’s number. “Just know that I won’t come with you,” she stuck out her tongue to him.
“I’m feeling popular, this is the most amount of times you’ve called me in a short amount of time, Neal.”
“Sorry, Moz,” Neal apologized. “I’m looking for some intel.”
“I could just come to you, it’ll be like old times.”
“Maybe once this is all over, I really would like you to meet Shitface.”
“Still not saying her name, are we?”
“Just respecting her rules,” Neal smiled at her and Bella let out a sigh of relief and continued to eat her pastry. “Anyway, have you ever heard of the Michaels family?”
“Of course,” Mozzie replied. “They’ve been around quite some time and in our world, too. It started off with their great-great grandfather or something. I hear that there are pockets of them all over America.”
“What’s your take on them?” Neal reached for a beignet and
“The only family that I’ve ever encountered was when I was in Michigan. Michael Michaels was one of the bigger players, sort to speak. Hard ass. Didn’t appreciate his children very well, and last time I heard of him was after he got killed under suspicious circumstances. They never found out who did it. Oh, and there’s a family down in New Orleans. They’re alright. Bit whimpy if I must admit.”
Neal let out a snort. “And why’s that?”
“Because they work in the grey area! You and I it’s black and white. We steal pretty things for it being pretty and if we get bored of it or don’t use it as a secret stash, we sell it off through a fence. These guys steal for fun, making our lives a lot harder by exposing security flaws in museums and whatnot. They might be out of the game. I’m not sure. I’m not sure if that counts for all of them though. Where are you?”
“Washington.”
“DC?”
“No.”
“Okay, well, if there’s a Michaels family there, you need to be careful with them. They don’t hesitate to stab you in the back. If you’re in New Orleans, you’re in luck because they’ve gone soft. They’d rather help the helpless, be like Robin Hood or something.”
“Much like Shitface.”
“Ha, she’s just rebelling. Her true colors will show in time.”
“I don’t think so, Moz.”
“We’ll see, my friend, we’ll see. Don’t allow her to make you go soft if she’s not rebelling. You can’t lose your edge.”
“Moz.”
“I know, I know, you went to France after you died because you needed a fresh start.”
“Right.”
“Don’t change who you are, that’s all I’m saying.”
“Thanks, Moz, you were very helpful.”
“Yeah, please stop treating him like a small child, thanks,” Bella said annoyed before she disconnected the call and looked at Neal. “What? You’re okay with this? With him questioning what you’re doing?”
“He’s just concerned.”
“He’s trying to control you now that you’re not dead,” Bella countered kindly. “He’s acting like you’re a child, but you’re a grown man. He forgets you’re in your early thirties.”
Neal barked out a laugh. “Great to know I pass for early thirties still.”
Bella then realized she didn’t know how old Neal was. Carlo had put 30 on his passport. Neal didn’t know how old she was, either. “Just how old are you?”
“Wow, you make me sound really old now,” Neal ran a hand through his hair, also realizing that he knew that she was mid twenties, but, she too, could look younger. Why did this make him nervous? Getting old sucked, and if she was much younger than he was… she could choose to stop whatever they were just beginning with. “Age is just a number.”
“Yeah, I know,” she smiled at him. “And don’t worry, I don’t care how old you are, but it’d be nice to know how many candles I need to put on your birthday cake when it’s your birthday.”
“I’m 37.”
“Now was that so hard?”
“You know, admitting that you’re getting old is hard.”
“It’s not old, Neal. And besides, you’re as old as you feel. Like you said, age is just a number,” she retorted as she shifted a little to look at him, her laptop still in her lap. “So yeah, Mozzie should stop worrying about you, you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself.”
“I know that, but it’s nice to entertain him.”
“Is it?”
Neal nodded. “Don’t worry,” he said as he took her laptop and set it on the table before pulling her into his lap. “I find it extremely hilarious that he fears hacker you,” he softly brushed her lips with his. “But he doesn’t know you and that scares him a little. Mozzie doesn’t do well with change.” Neal tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as he looked at her with those beautiful blue eyes of his. “He’ll stop in a month or so.”
“Okay,” she replied and smiled at him. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m very sure,” Neal kissed her lips briefly. “Now, I told you mine…”
“Like you said, age is just a number,” she replied teasingly. While she didn’t care about the age gap, he might, and she didn’t want to lose him. Neal made her feel safe and seen, and it was intoxicating.
“I don’t care how old you are, but it’d be nice to know how many candles I need to put on your birthday cake when it’s your birthday,” Neal replied, using her own words against her as he kept his eyes on her.
“25.”
“Just as I thought,” he slightly nodded. “You’re far too mature for me, but that’s okay, I’ll get you to play.”
Bella laughed. “Really now?”
“Yeah,” Neal said huskily, remembering their conversation from a couple of hours ago before they set off to meet with the Michaels. “We’ll start off with having some fun,” he kissed her then, his hands making his way underneath her shirt. Oh, he felt her stiffen a little under his touch before she relaxed.
Bella answered his kiss as she shifted a little in his lap to get closer to him and dug her hands into his hair. It had been too long since she was touched like this, at least this caring and warm. Neal’s hands were soft, delicate as they moved over her skin. She gently tugged on his hair before one of her hands moved to the nape of his neck, causing Neal to giggle.
Breaking off the kiss for air, she looked at him with an amused smile on her face. “Ticklish?”
“Not at all,” he laughed. “But seems like you’ve found a spot anyway!” She grinned as she moved her hand back to the spot he had such a reaction to, looking at him with fascination as he burst out laughing, his shoulders going up in the air towards his ears, trying to make himself smaller, squirming as he did so. “You’re mean!”
“Am I?”
“Yes!” Neal laughed as he pulled his legs up, making them fall sideways onto the couch but he was fast enough to roll her on top of him before she’d fall off. “Are you ticklish?”
“No,” Bella said as she let go of him and immediately crossed her arms over her chest, protecting her sides, and then realized what she’d done. “Ah, crap,” she responded as she looked at Neal, who had a devious look on his face. She scrambled to get off of him and the couch and ran away. “Nope!”
He caught her with ease and scooped her up in his arms, laughing. “Oh yes, I need to get my revenge,” Neal said as he walked towards her bedroom. “And I’m going to take time with getting it, too.”
She giggled as she put her arms around his neck and batted his lashes at him. “Is that a threat or a promise?”
“Both.”
~o.O.o~
She lost count of the times she’d seen stars as she laid curled up against Neal’s naked body, still feeling his hands and fingers everywhere on her body. Bella felt satiated as she almost nodded off, feeling the rise and fall of Neal’s body, hearing his breathing, his heartbeat and feeling his fingers drawing circles on her back. So good.
And now she knew what he looked like underneath his clothes. Perfect. While she didn’t care about age and what bodies looked like, but everything about Neal Caffrey was fucking perfect. The way he dressed, the way he took care of himself, his grooming routine… his skin was soft. He was blessed with a sixpack and some muscle tone, even his arms were yummy.
And not to mention the rest of him. It was almost as if he was made to fit just inside of her. Slightly bigger than normal, but fuck, she’d seen stars that afternoon.
And compared to Neal, she was a slob, in every way, except when she was doing a job. But he took pride in taking care of himself, and making sure he looked good.
“Hungry?” he eventually asked as he kept drawing circles on her back.
“I can’t feel my legs,” Bella murmured against his skin, causing Neal to laugh. “What?”
“That just means that I’ve done a job well done.”
Bella hummed and nodded for an answer.
“Seeing as I’m still able to walk, how about you stay in bed and I’ll make us some food and get you something to drink.”
“But that means you’ll have to leave the bed,” she tried crawling into him.
“Hmm… I love you being clingy. Next time we have to bring water into your bedroom.”
“Yes.”
“Until then, one of us has to leave the bed.”
Bella sighed and nodded as she managed to let go of him. “Come back soon.”
~o.O.o~
5h1tF4c3: I know it’s like the middle of the night.
Mingus: Yep.
5h1tF4c3: Didn’t think you’d still be awake.
Mingus: I am 🙂 How are you doing?
5h1tF4c3: Great, actually!
Mingus: Good to hear that, what’s up?
5h1tF4c3: Well, one, I’m going to retire this handle.
Mingus: Okay.
5h1tF4c3: Secondly… have you ever heard of Tr0uble?
Mingus: Of course, he’s trouble. He has brilliant ideas, the codes he posts are mental, but he doesn’t seem committed, you know. Might be the people he’s hanging with.
5h1tF4c3: I thought some of his work was useful.
Mingus: LOL. Okay. What about him?
5h1tF4c3: I dunno, is he trustworthy? Like… does he have honor and won’t actually fuck me over?
Mingus: Yeah, he’s decent and about as elegant as an elephant in a porcelain cabinet, are you sure you want to work with him? You’re more than capable of doing the hacking yourself.
5h1tF4c3: It’s more his associates I’m curious about. I figure that if he hangs out with the right people…
Mingus: Well there are rumors he’s running with a crew, based in New Orleans I believe. Not sure. Met him once at ComTech. Very charming, smart. Unfocused.
5h1tF4c3: But if he’s running with a crew…
Mingus: Well yeah, it’d save you the trouble of recruiting them yourself, would it? Just be expected to pay dearly. Have you come to the States yet?
5h1tF4c3: Yes.
Mingus: Cool 🙂 Did your friend make it too?
5h1tF4c3: Yep. Also erased his previous life completely from law enforcement servers. Was piss easy to do.
Mingus: But what if they have old backups?
5h1tF4c3: Should be good for now. If not, he’ll just has to get plastic surgery hahahaha
Mingus: Okay. So what’s the plan now? Get Tr0uble’s crew to help you get even?
5h1tF4c3: Yeah, maybe. Likely. Will be fun. It’s just that I’ve always been alone and now there are people.
Mingus: You’ll be fine. Didn’t you grow up in a big family?
5h1tF4c3: I never told you that.
It took far too long for Mingus to respond after their quick messages back and forth before she told him off. Something wasn’t right.
Mingus: No, but the last name you had did.
5h1tF4c3: Right. Are you working for them now, is that it?
Mingus: WTF, where does that come from?
5h1tF4c3: If so, you can tell them to go fuck themselves and that I’m coming after them. Good night, Mingus.
Bella angrily disconnected the call and started the process of deleting every mention of 5h1tF4c3 off the web, which was easier to do than deleting Neal from government servers. She still had her other handle to work with, 5w4n, that she used for more low key hacks or information. Bella liked that handle, she could act like a complete noob with it.
Mingus’ response to her still didn’t sit well with her, even thinking back to the conversation she had about Neal back in France. No one needs an ID like the one you and I created for you. Trust me on this. She had brushed it off as Mingus refusing to do it again as they had ran into some trouble to begin with, but he was the go-to guy. She’d been referred to him by someone in the community, that he was a solid guy. I am interested in helping you set up whoever wants you dead.
And she had just told him.
Fuck.
Surely it was just her paranoia talking shit about Mingus.
“Hmm, I don’t like that look on your face,” Neal said as he set down a glass of water next to her on her desk and pulled up a chair. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” Bella sighed, shaking her head. “Probably nothing.”
“Did you talk to Mingus?”
“I did,” she nodded as she ran a hand through her hair. “And it’s not adding up and I fear that I’ve been set up. He might be working for my family.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, or something else is at play here,” she said as she started looking for her former hacker friend who brought her into touch with Mingus. Just as she suspected, that handle hadn’t logged in in a very long time, but was still around. Digging some deeper, she found a list of suspected law enforcement hackers. And her hacker friend and Mingus were on there. She wasn’t sure if she could trust the list, seeing as 5h1tF4c3 was on there too and some other people who definitely weren’t law enforcement.
“I’m going to do something incredibly stupid,” she said as she made sure they were extra secure and opened a software for extra brute force. “It’s going to take some time but someone of Mingus’ caliber should totally be on the FBI watch list, yes?”
“Aren’t you?”
“Maybe, but I’m great at covering my tracks,” she smiled at Neal. “If Mingus isn’t on there, I could do a search in the personnel files,” she added before looking at him again. “Or am I taking this too far?”
Neal shrugged. “You know what they say, don’t trust anyone on the internet.”
“I don’t, but something just feels off about Mingus, you know.”
“I’m sure he’s one of you guys, he’s helped you with your ID, didn’t he?”
She should have thought of saving every conversation she’d ever had with anyone on the dark web, really. “Yeah but it’s just the way he said certain things, and in the beginning, he knew things that I never told anyone but I brushed it off as him being a great hacker even though I covered my tracks so clearly,” when Neal remained quiet Bella sighed. “What would you do if believed you didn’t know someone as well as you should have? If your sense of danger kicked in?”
“Ask Mozzie,” Neal shrugged.
“Pass. I remember telling him to stop being a helicopter parent.”
“You’re making things far too difficult.”
“And I want to know who I’m dealing with.”
“Who do you usually turn to for advice?”
“Hacking advice? Mingus. I’m all alone. I was the hacker of the family. I didn’t have that many friends off the internet and certainly none online. Everyone’s either afraid of 5h1tF4c3 or there’s some mad, twisted respect. I don’t have anyone but you at this point, Garrett and Liam don’t know stuff either. I’m alone. Hacking is a solitary job, especially when you don’t want to get noticed.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Neal smiled at her and gently rubbed her back. “Why not reach out to Cole? You know his handle, you’ve met him.”
“But we’re still not sure if we can trust them.”
Neal let out a breath and nodded. “But it doesn’t hurt sometimes to take a leap of faith. You’re not alone, Bella, I’m here. You can be a bit more trusting.”
Just as she wanted to give in to Neal and take that leap, someone was at the door. Pulling up the video footage she was a but surprised to see Cole standing there. “Well, speak of the devil.”
“Oh, you were supposed to make that list.”
“Right,” she then giggled as she looked at Neal. “But I was otherwise engaged last night.”
Neal smirked and kissed the top of her head. “Want me to invite him in?”
“Yeah, take him to the courtyard, I’ll be down in a second. I need to dress my lazy ass.”
“But I love that ass.”
“Sure you do,” she shook her head laughing and watched him go downstairs before going to the bedroom and getting dressed. Bella really needed to start caring of herself, because she wouldn’t remain looking like the way she did now when she was older, and even now, she felt she could lose a little. Bella hated her thoughts right now and wasn’t sure where they were coming from.
She got dressed in a cute flowery dress and put her hair in a braid before joining Neal and Cole in the courtyard with her tablet in her hands. “Hi! Sorry, completely forgot about that list.”
“That’s okay,” Cole smiled widely. “I can wait. I love what you’ve done to the place.”
“Thanks,” Bella smiled as she started to compile the list. “I think we’re both really enjoying the fruits of that investment.”
“Totally,” Neal nodded. “So, how do you and you family work, though? You’re doing things for fun now, but how did you get where you are now?”
“Oh, old money mostly,” Cole replied with a shrug. “Good investments. A job here and there, but our mother was one of those hippies, she wanted us to share our wealth with those who were less fortunate with every job that we did. We currently are patrons of various charities here in New Orleans, even fund a local Krewe around Mardi Gras. We enjoy what we’re doing and the rush that comes with it.”
“Am I really the only one who likes to steal stuff and keep it for himself? You’re making me sound like an egotistical asshole,” Neal laughed, shaking his head.
“No, I lived like that,” Bella said, not looking up from her tablet. “Uncle Garrett taught me a different way, especially because I felt miserable between my siblings and cared enough about the aftermath that I sometimes donated to the victims. They didn’t even go after the rich, but after the ordinary person sometimes, especially when they were bankrolled by rich people. It was just…”
“Sounds awful,” Cole replied. “Especially with them wanting you dead, what did you do to piss them off?”
“Nothing,” Bella replied with a sigh. “I suppose leaving, choosing for myself. Maybe they’re afraid I report them to the authorities or something, which I won’t ever do.”
“Well, loyalty is a good thing, shame that your own family doesn’t trust you enough.”
“Isn’t a nice feeling, I can tell you,” she said as she kept typing on her tablet. “Which is why I want to go after them myself, to show them that I can do what they can do. Just no deaths. Just arrests.”
“Got that,” Cole nodded. “We don’t like using guns anyway. Ronon and Henry might, but they’re our hitters.”
“Ronon?”
“Well,” Cole laughed. “Fun story, his name is Jason May, right? But he’s this huge guy, tiny heart, doesn’t speak much and honestly, he looks like someone from a show I used to watch.”
“Stargate Atlantis?”
“Yes! Which is why I nicknamed him Ronon, and he doesn’t care. If he does, he’s not saying anything.”
Bella let out a snort as she shook her head. “It’s the show that keeps on giving, gone too soon.”
“Right?”
“Neal’s last name was picked from that, and so was mine.”
“You two are such nerds,” Neal laughed, shaking his head. “I”m going to leave you alone for a moment and get us something to drink.”
“So you work on your tablet?”
Bella looked up and shook her head. “I have a laptop and a pc. I only use this one when I’m on the go, but I figured it would take notes as well,” she smiled at Cole. “Great source of distraction, kinda makes it hard to forget I actually have to interact with real people sometimes.”
“That’s alright, I’m merely wondering what you are,” Cole leaned on the tiny table and smiled up at her. “Because you see, I’ve spent some time last night doing some research in to you and your family, get an idea of how they work, my brother was reading along and profiling them from the snippets we could find. Most cases they didn’t need a hacker to clean up their shit, but instead it was either a cop involved or foreigners or in some cases the area would be closed up and cleaned up. You can’t tell me that was all you.”
“Okay,” Bella nodded. “I won’t.”
“What?”
“I won’t tell you that was all me, or at least people that I had to find and then pay well,” Bella replied as she kept typing. “I know a little about a lot, I’m not the best at grifting or cold reading people, but I can get by. Hell, I even fooled Neal Caffrey, and that’s saying something. Hacking is what I love doing and unlike everything else that I know, I taught this myself.”
“Taught?”
Bella nodded. “I was the youngest, but we were all trained by people in the field. Reading letters from Matthew Keller, books on Charles Ponzi, Gaston Means, Daniel Levey… Frank Abagnale Jr… Natwarlal, of course, with the added bonus of books on psychopaths and killers, having unsavoury people teaching us…”
“But you were taught?”
“Yeah? You weren’t?”
“No,” Cole laughed. “Well, not like you. It was just passed on to us, and I didn’t want it. So I left and faked being a hacker for a while before I realized I was one after a couple of months. I have this… gift to learn new things fairly quickly.”
“Cool,” Bella smiled and looked at Neal who was returning with a soda bottle and three glasses.
“We’re out of wine,” he sulked as he sat down. “We need a wine cellar.”
“Okay,” Bella laughed. “Sounds great.”
“Really? But you don’t drink that much.”
She shrugged for an answer then before sending the file over to Cole. “If you have any questions about my family, let me know, I could clarify stuff.”
Cole looked it over and nodded. “I see no mention of your twin brother?”
“You have a brother?” Neal said surprised as he poured himself a glass of the soda that Bella liked so much. Maybe, it wouldn’t be vile.
“Had,” Bella replied, slightly angry that Cole had found out about him. “Had a brother and I’ve been trying to forget him ever since he… died.”
“What happened?”
Bella remained quiet as she poured herself a drink and finished her glass with a sigh. “We were nine or ten and we were used as a tool in a con that they were running,” she eventually said. “I fucked up and my brother came back for me, took my place, made sure I escaped okay while he got taken by the cops. I was told that he died in foster care because the police kept asking him about his family, but we’d never tell. And he was the strongest of us. So yeah, I needed to be better, and keep my mouth shut. Make sure everyone would get out, stay away from the authorities, and remain safe.”
“You were just kids,” Neal gently rubbed Bella’s back. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“Yeah, it was. I fucked up. If I hadn’t fucked up, Grant would still be with me. We’d be doing this together.”
“Or not,” Neal pointed out. “You never know.” He now understood where her obsession came from when it came to staying away from law enforcement, why she didn’t like it that one of his friends was an FBI agent. It all made sense now. She’d lost her twin brother and felt guilty about it. He could only imagine what it’d feel like to carry that guilt with him for 15 years.
“No, best is to look to the future and live my life as best and safe that I can,” she then looked at Cole. “And just how did you know about my twin brother?”
“News articles.”
It was a good enough reason for her. “So yeah, the notes I sent you are on every member of the family. Emmett, the twins Alice and Jasper, Rosalie and Edward. You could also try to include Carlisle and Esme in the plan, but they’re squeaky clean on paper.”
“Brilliant, thanks. I’m sure we can work with that. If not, I’ll shoot you a message.”
“There are also other players involved, the Blacks. Jacob used to be one of the approved friends I could play with as he was closer my age than anyone else around us,” Bella replied. “So I included them as well.”
“The Blacks are pure filth,” Cole sighed before breaking out in the biggest, goofiest smile ever. “This is going to be so much fun!”
After Cole had left, Bella took a phone out of her pocket and started to scroll through it with a satisfied smile on her face. “That was fun.”
“Was it?”
She nodded, still that smile on her face. “See, I don’t keep anything on my phone. I jailbroke my phone, and there’s an app on there that resets my phone to factory settings after every time I make a phone call. I take pictures of marks on another phone with no card in it or other information.”
“Yep, you’re paranoid.”
She glanced over to Neal then. “I have good reasons to be, and I’m not going to explain myself again,” Bella replied before pointing at the phone she was holding. “Cole isn’t that careful and I cloned his phone, so I can see all the images, all his contacts… He likely cloned mine too, but he’ll have nothing.”
“Oh, yeah, I did that a few times,” Neal replied as he took a sip of his drink. “Did you get anything?”
“Yeah,” she grinned as she grabbed a special cord to hook the phone up to the tablet and loaded it up so Neal could see as well. There were some pictures on there of the whole Michaels family and the texts between him and the rest of his family were quite eye opening to read; they were absolutely normal.
“They’re really really normal,” Neal was surprised to see that. “Groceries and stuff like that.”
Bella nodded and blinked when a message came in.
Well played, Izzy Sheppard, well played. Now, add our numbers to your own phone and message me back so I have yours. – Cole ps: get a life, your phone is suspiciously empty!
She pouted as she looked at Neal. “But I like my phone suspiciously empty.”
“Buy a phone just for them?”
“Oh, I like that idea,” Bella laughed. “But you know, not even you have my phone number, so maybe I should start using it properly. Phones are useless when I use my software anyway.”
“Then don’t,” Neal shrugged. “Send him a message back on his phone.”
What a shame that I hate phones – Bella
WTF. How do you make your phone calls? – Cole
Wouldn’t you like to know? – Bella
Bella disconnected the phone from her tablet, turned off the phone and moved so that she was sitting in Neal’s lap. “What’s your take on them?”
“I think that behind all the normalcy hide very smart minds, and they sort of remind me of you,” Neal replied as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and looked at her with a smile on his face. “I’d never do business with people like them, or used to not do business with people like them because they are far different from what I know. I’m used to the backstabbers, it comes with the territory.”
“But you know I don’t work that way.”
“And neither do they. At least not from what I can tell,” Neal shrugged. “Who knows? They could become friends or at least very good allies to have.”
Bella sighed and nodded. Neal was right. Maybe she was too closed off for normal contact with others in her personal life and maybe she should take more of her grifting courage to connect with people and make that her own. “Do you think that maybe I’m a little… I dunno… anti-social?”
“Yes,” Neal said wholeheartedly. “But, that’s alright, you’re really cautious, and it takes you a while to fully trust people. I don’t trust the Michaels either, but I do believe they’re good people and like I said, they could become friends or very good allies.”
Bella softly kissed him. “You’re right, it takes me too long to trust people and I might push them away in the process. I need to show you something,” she got off his lap and kissed him again as she ruffled his hair. “Stay there, I’ll be back.”
Bella went inside and retrieved her most priced possession that she always had on her in her bag before returning to Neal and sat back down in her lap with the item in her hands. “Not a lot of people have seen this, and this is the only thing I have left of him,” Bella continued as she held the photo to her chest. “This was taken a week before I fucked up, causing him to be taken by the cops and then die in foster care.”
She turned the picture around so Neal could see. The photo was worn, the image had somewhat faded and he could tell that it had had a life, just like her. Bella looked unhappy in the picture but her brother had a million-watt smile on his face. “Lock picking competition while balancing on a giant circus ball, he won.”
“Circus ball?”
“Yeah, like the size of those balls elephants play with. It was all about balance. I don’t do balance very well. I always failed those kinds of tests, I could pick locks and lift things out of pockets just fine with both my feet on the ground. I’m not a gymnast,” Bella deadpanned, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
Neal let out a snort. “That does sound a bit too…”
“Over the top?”
“Yeah,” he laughed. “This is a great photo, why not buy a frame for it and put it down somewhere in the house?”
“Because, if for some reason or another, we have to evacuate, I won’t be able to have it with me. It’s the only thing of him that I have left,” Bella replied and sighed. “And it sucks.”
“I don’t have anything to remember lost loved ones by. Either I never had anything or left it all behind. Or used it,” he shrugged. “And you know what? That’s okay. I’ve had my answers, didn’t like them, and it would be stupid to get stuck in the past.”
“I’m not stuck. Losing Grant was one hell of a lesson for me.”
“You said it yourself, you were nine or ten.”
“So?”
“You should have been a normal kid.”
“Ah, but what is normal?” Bella said as she pushed the photo in her back pocket. “Are we normal? I think we define our normal ourselves. It gets boring to see everyone else’s normal and try to fit the mould, doesn’t it? Best to be just ourselves.”
“Sounds great,” he brushed her lips with his. “What are we going to do with the rest of our day?”
A corny smile appeared on her face. “Paint me like one of your French girls?”
Neal barked out a laugh. “Fine, but then you’re going to paint me like one of them too.”
Wait, no, that’d be disastrous. She’d have to be naked. “Or I could just paint you, literally on you,” she said thoughtfully. “But we’d need to get edible paint.”
“Bella,” Neal playfully warned her.
“Definitely going to have to pick that up next time we’re out in town,” she mused as she looked at Neal, who had a strained look on his face. “Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes,” he nodded as he got to his feet with her in his arms. “But first, I’m going to paint you like you ask. I’m going to take my time undressing you and…” Neal paused as he felt her stiffen in his arms. “What’s wrong?”
“I might not have the best body to be put onto canvas.”
“Oh fuck that, Bella,” Neal said as he continued to walk inside. “You’re absolutely beautiful.”
“I feel fine the way that I am but… you take such good care of your body and I’m just…”
“You,” he kissed the top of her head and smiled at her as he continued to walk towards the art room. “And I don’t take that much care of my body, not anymore. It just never bounced back.”
“You and your body are perfect.”
“And so are you.”
“I was thinking to acquire some gym things, maybe we could work out a little together.”
“If you want to, but don’t think that your body isn’t perfect as it is. It is, deal?”
She nodded. “Sorry.”
“I’m still going to take my time undressing you,” he said as he gently put her down on the couch. “And maybe we’ll have a little fun on this couch… followed by me painting you while you’re so gorgeously blissed out… best idea ever.”
~o.O.o~
The next day was spent inside as well, with Bella painting Neal and then them both admiring each other’s work. Hilariously, they both decided to paint each other while heavily influenced by impressionism. They were going to discuss where to hang the partings later.
The following day, Neal took her out on a riverboat cruise with some good music and food, followed by a visit to the Burlesque theater before they realized they were being followed. Laughing, they tried getting rid of their follower and after an hour or two managed just that. Whoever had followed them was good. However, Bella and Neal were better. Especially seeing as Bella knew that there were old tunnels underneath New Orleans and one of them lead to her home. She had made sure that the entrance was well protected, with a keypad, normal keys, CCTV and an extra security door before opening it and coming into the courtyard.
As the adrenaline was pumping, they didn’t think too hard about it and had fun for the rest of the night.
On the third day, she had messages from Tr0uble in her inbox. She had given him her new handle in case he needed to get a hold of her on the list she’d given him earlier that week.
Tr0uble: You pissed off our giant. Did you forget that we wanted someone to shadow you at all times to protect you seeing as you’re our boss for this job?
5w4n: Would have been nice if he’d said hi.
Bella and Neal had completely forgotten about that, but that’s what made last night so incredibly funny.
Tr0uble: Ah.
5w4n: Hope his feelings aren’t too hurt.
Tr0uble: Oh, no, he’s impressed. Anyway, word is that there’s two Suits in town looking for a dark haired, blue eyed, 5’11-ish guy. Not sure if they’re looking for your friend, but it’s a bit suspicious. They’re staying at a hotel in the Warehouse District. The Marriott on St. Joseph.
5w4n: Thanks, we’ll handle it.
Bella pushed purge on the chat and headed to her computer to check CCTV. One Suit would have been fine, it would likely have been Peter, but two? Maybe they weren’t looking for Neal. The Marriott security was easy enough and she had found Peter easily. But who was the other agent with him? “Neal!”
“Yeah?”
“Could you come here for a second?”
“Several seconds, I just loaded up the washing machine.” Neal laughed as he walked into the room. “What’s wrong?”
“Yeah I’m going to clean the kitchen in a bit but I received a message from Cole that two Suits were in town looking for a man with your description,” Bella replied and pointed at the screen. “I recognize Peter from the photos I found online, but who’s that other one? Is that Mozzie?”
“No, that’s not Mozzie,” Neal replied thoughtfully as he ran his hand through his hair, not knowing whether he should be excited or disappointed that Peter had come to New Orleans, but he was curious who the other guy was. “Forget cleaning the kitchen,” he eventually said as he’d come up with something. “Time to stretch your game muscles. You’re going to find out for yourself.”
“What?”
“Well, Peter knows my face, but if you’re right, nobody knows who you are. You’re the perfect person for this,” he kissed the side of her head. “All we need is to get our hands on an NCIS badge…”
“NCIS? Navy Cops?”
“Yeah. Their New Orleans office is close by, and you’re going to get us a badge to use.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re rusty and I’m not,” Neal stuck out his tongue to her. “Don’t worry, I’ll be close by. For backup and just to see you work.”
Bella sighed and nodded. “You know, it’s entirely different to do things with preparation.”
“Yes, but this is fun,” Neal grinned as he followed her out. “It’s harmless fun. You get the badge, we’ll put your picture on it and then you’ll go and find Peter and his friend and find out what they’re doing here. NCIS doesn’t like the FBI pissing in their jurisdiction.”
“Okay, now I’m liking it. I can play bad cop.”
They didn’t have to look long for an NCIS agent to go out for lunch, and Bella stepped out with a map after taking a few sips of alcohol. Bella had always liked lifting things from people, it was the one time where her clumsiness was an asset and not a risk. Giggling, she stumbled into the NCIS agent and dropped her map. “Oh, sorry!” she apologized with another giggle. “Ik kan mijn hotel niet vinden!”
“English,” the agent replied as he grabbed the map from the ground and handed it back to Bella, but by that time she’d already located and lifted his badge.
“English is very hard,” Bella slurred her words as she pointed at the map, making sure she had the Dutch accent down. “I might have had a little too much fun and my friends left without me.”
“That’s all right ma’am, what’s the name of the hotel?”
“Royaal.”
“Royal?”
Bella nodded and bit her lip as she looked up at the agent with an innocent look on her face.
“Yeah, c’mon, I’ll take ya, it’s not far,” he replied as he looped her arm through hers. “My name is Chris.”
“I’m Joke,” she replied as she stumbled back into him. “Oh, you have muscles. Are you a model? Someone famous?”
Chris barked out a laugh. “No ma’am, I’m just your regular kinda guy.”
“You look famous.”
Chris just laughed. “Are you enjoying yourself in New Orleans, ma’am?”
Bella nodded. “It’s my uhm… party, I’m getting wed next week.”
“Oh, congrats!” Chris exclaimed as he turned a corner with her, taking her straight to the hotel. “Who’s the lucky guy?”
“Siebren. He’s the son of a very wealthy farmer. He’s perfect, everything you want in a guy.”
“What? Money?”
“Nooooo,” she shook her head. “Siebren’s kind, warm, cute, smart and attentive. Butttt… I may have been lead astray last night…”
“Dontcha worry, ma’am, whatever happens in New Orleans, stays in New Orleans,” he winked at her as he pointed at the hotel. “We’re nearly there.”
“Thank you soooo much, I could do with a good sleep.”
“Yes you could.”
“Want to join me?”
“Nah, I have to get some lunch before going back to work.”
“You can eat me?”
“Good night, Miss,” Chris laughed as they arrived at the hotel.
“Good night, hottie,” Bella giggled and watched the NCIS agent leave and smiled widely when Neal came up to her with two coffees in his hand. “That was fun.”
Neal handed her the coffee as they started to walk back to the apartment. “I bet! You were enjoying yourself, weren’t you?”
“Maybe just a little,” Bella admitted as she took a sip of the coffee. “For an NCIS agent in a town like New Orleans he’s really not paying much attention, is he?”
Neal shrugged. “So what language was that?”
“Hmm?”
“That you spoke to him? I mean, your accent sounded German but you didn’t say that in German.”
“It’s Dutch.”
“Why on Earth would you learn how to speak Dutch?” Neal laughed. “Out of all the languages, you learn a pretty useless one!”
She looked at him for a moment and shrugged. “It’s not useless when you can just walk into the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, convince the curator that you work for the Queen herself and that you want a tour of the paintings and behind the scenes area where you can then plant bugs, skimmers, use an USB drive to gain access to their systems and come out of the experience with a small portrait.”
“Really?”
Bella nodded. “Of course, I didn’t keep it, I didn’t really know a good fence.”
“What did you do?”
“Found a sleazebag, discovered he was a salesman on the Waterlooplein Market and put the painting in the middle of his stuff. Then made an anonymous tip to the police,” she said innocently. “And do I need to remind you that some of the best painters come from The Netherlands?”
“No.”
“And I love history. The Dutch history, aside from all the art, is quite interesting. Like, The Netherlands is a monarchy and basically all the royals are related, even to the Queen of England,” she replied excitedly as she opened the door to her home. “You never know when you may have to use a language only maybe 30 million people in the world speak.”
“One of the languages I speak is Swahili, so… you don’t hear me knock it.”
“Swahili?”
“Yeah, I got bored,” Neal shrugged.
