roadrunnermuses | open } { mistletoe meme

["Some of the old gods are vengeful ones. Never hurts to be careful."

Neal nods in agreement.]

Especially when you're paying tribute to Demeter. She can be vengeful, that's for sure.

You both know your mythology. Is that part of dealin' in antiquities and art? [ Color her curious, absolutely no ulterior motive to it. Nope, not like she's trying to feel out if Mr. Havisham is Mozzie or anything... ]

When dealing with fine art, it's important to have a healthy classics education.

[It makes you sound like a professional.

"Also it makes you sound worldly, which is good for a mark who thinks he's smarter than he is." Mozzie is aware that she's aware that there are thieves around, but to cover his bases. "If you're in to that sort of thing that is."]

That makes sense.

[ That comment from 'Mr. Havisham' piques Anna's interest and she arches a slender brow as she tilts her head and looks over at him. She's definitely studying him. ] Are you into that sort of thing, Mr. Havisham?

["Isn't everyone here? Law enforcement is it's own kind of con, in a way." Mozzie's willing to play the game, and manages to keep a fairly neutral face at the question.]

A trial is definitely a con. At least in my experience.

[ Anna chuckles at that, shrugging a little. She can't argue with that.

She offers her empty glass to Neal for a refill - maybe she'll indulge a little. It's Christmas after all. ]

Neither of you are wrong. I suppose reading people and being quick on my feet makes me good at my job, as it would a con artist.

[Neal will give her that refill - she's an adult, and he's not one to refuse anyone wine.]

That it would. Predicting your marks moods helps sell the con. And you need to pivot, if a variable comes in you aren't prepared for.

[ She nods gratefully at the refill and takes a sip before shifting her weight and looking curiously at Neal. ]

How often do those unexpected surprises come into play for you? Because you're definitely an unexpected variable, Caffrey.

More often than you think. It's not much of a challenge if all your marks are idiots.

[And the caliber of your skill is tied to the caliber of the people you con.]

And there are some variables you just can't recover from.

[Adler being one of them.]

Yeah, I can see how it would get boring after a while if they're all idiots. If every homicide was the same I'd be bored. [ Is this the time to be joking about work? Probably not. Since when does she act like a normal person, anyway? Well, Angell used to keep her in line... but she's gone and if Anna thinks about it too much she might crawl back into the bottle. Adam had a hard enough go of it pulling her out the first time.

Her brows knit in a mixture of curiosity and concern at the last sentence, head tilting slightly as she studies him. It's the same tilt she does when she studies a crime scene; a weird little quirk.]

Was it a woman? The variable.

Yes and no. Adler being a crook in his own right changed the trajectory of the kinds of jobs I would take. But Kate was the reason I got caught.

[It never gets easier to talk about her as though she's no longer there. But she is gone, to a place where he can't get her back, and as complicated as loving her was, he still misses her.]

[ Anna knows a little about Neal's past from his arrest record and bits of information she's gotten from Peter, but she's never brought it up before.

It's a difficult topic - Kate and Adler - and she feels a little bad for bringing the conversation that way. So she does what she does best - she deflects and redirects the conversation. ] I don't see Agent Burke. Is he stuck working?

No, El had another event across town so they're coming late. They should be here soon.

[Granted, Peter could have shown up without his wife, but Neal thinks he's doing him the courtesy of not putting the most obvious cop in the room with all his criminal friends.]

Holiday season is a busy one for event planners.

Oh, good. I've been dyin' to meet the infamous Mrs. Suit.

[ She sips at her wine, shrugging a little. ] Tends to be just as busy for us as well. I get it.

El is a delight. I think you'll really enjoy her.

[She is Mozzie's BFF for a reason.]

Though if anyone ever told me they didn't enjoy Elizabeth Burke, I would assume that there was something wrong with them.

I keep hearing great things, I'm sure I'll love her. I also keep hearing that I need to make more friends, so... two birds, one stone.

I could probably introduce you to a few people around here - if you're feeling less discriminating about your choice of company.

[Because this is mostly the crime side of the party. Alex, June, a few other thief friends - all good people but all definitely criminals.]

[ She's not that discriminating about her choice of company! Anna absolutely adores June, finds "Mr. Havisham" rather entertaining, and Alex? Well, okay, she's not super fond. Something about the way Alex looks at Neal just bristles Anna's nerves, but she's not going to bother figuring out why. ]

You make me sound like an antisocial Grinch. [ Okay, he wouldn't be entirely wrong... ]

Not at all.

[He smirks a bit.]

I just think aside from me and the people you're arresting, you don't exactly socialize much with the criminal element.

I mean, I try not to make a habit of it. 'You are who you spend time with' and all that. We don't exactly have a lot in common, either.

[ Does that make Neal an exception to the rule? Absolutely. But like hell is she admitting that. ]

I wouldn't say that.

[They do have the law in common, after all. It's just that his friends tend to like breaking it rather than upholding it.]

And I hope the first part isn't true.

[He does not want to become a cop anytime soon.]

I'm pretty sure you're safe there, Caffrey. I don't think the "law enforcement bug" is gonna bite you anytime soon.

[ Shaking her head a little in amusement, she leans back against the bar and scans the room. Her free hand lifts to idly tuck a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. ]

Oh, that's already been and gone.

[It's hard to forget that once upon a time he was so close to being on Anna's side of the table. He's so grateful that he was diverted because despite the ups and downs he's happier where he is now, but he doesn't forget.]

I was one tough conversation away from joining the academy when I was eighteen.

[ Well, that certainly captured her attention. She actually looks surprised for once. ]

Wait... You?

[ Narrowing her eyes, she tilts her glass at him suspiciously. ]

Now you're just tryin' to pull one over on me.

Nope. My dad was a cop. When I was a kid, I wanted to follow in his footsteps.

[Emphasis being on when he was a child.

As much as looking back on his childhood, he knows that the other side of the law was always where he was going to land, part of him still wanted to do good, do right, help people.

And then Ellen shattered all of his illusions about Sam, and fate righted it's course again.]

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