Front Man Transcript

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This transcript for White Collar is based on the transcriptions by Afiawri, with assistance from Photoash (hosts episodes and helped with parts of the transcripts), Wednesday_10_00 (helped with the Japanese in Home Invasion), and Tzikeh and Nightcamedown helped with the wine in Bottlenecked. Afiawri has generously granted us permission to share/host these transcripts.

Disclaimer: This transcript is intended for educational and promotional purposes only, and may not be reproduced commercially without permission from the producers. The description contained herein represents viewers' secondhand experience of White Collar.

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Episode 1x13: "Front Man"
Written by: Rashad Raisani
Directed by: Michael Smith
Transcribed by: afiawri

Act 1

[Neal on the balcony, books and maps and articles about the music box spread out in front of him, draws on an already heavily marked map of Europe. He sighs. June enters.]

June: Byron always got like that when he couldn't crack a hustle. Relaxing always helps.

Neal: Sorry, June, I'm not really in the mood to relax.

June: Not even if you have a very lovely visitor. [She turns and Neal sees his visitor.]

Neal: Alex.

Alex: [closes the door behind June.] Got your message. I'm here. What do you want, Neal?

Neal: I want the music box.

Alex: I think you have a memory problem. Because I said that as long as you're a fed, I'm not telling you where it is. You're still with them, right? [Neal shrugs.] Then there's nothing to talk about.

Neal: [Catches her by the waist on her way out the door.] I'll make it worth your while. You need me to get it.

Alex: No, I don't.

Neal: Then why don't you have it already? I'll steal it and give it to you.

Alex: Just like that?

Neal: Just like that.

Alex: I don't believe you. You'll just hand it over?

Neal: Yeah. When I'm done with it.

Alex: Knew there was a catch. What's this really about?

Neal: You get the box in the end. That's my offer.

Alex: Okay. If you figure out how to get the anklet off.

Neal: I'm not wearing this as a fashion accessory.

Alex: Well, when the time comes, I need to know that you can get off your leash. Otherwise, you're a liability. I'll come back tomorrow at six. Lose the blinking jewelry, and you'll get what you need. [She leaves.]

[Cut to: The doors to the White Collar Unit.]

Peter: You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago. Where you been?

Neal: Late start to the morning. Won't happen again. [Peter gets the door for Neal.] Thank you.

[Peter plucks a long, brown hair off of Neal's shoulder and pockets it.]

Neal, of a woman in the conference room: Who's that?

Peter, unhappily: Kimberly Rice. Rising star in the bureau.

Neal: You're not a fan.

Peter: Nope. She works in kidnapping and missing persons.

Neal: What's she doing in white collar?

Peter: She's here to see you.

Neal: Whatever I did, I have proof I didn't do it.

[Hughes points at Neal with two fingers and gestures for him to come.]

Peter: Here we go.

Neal: I just got the finger point.

Peter: The double finger point.

Neal: Must be serious.

Peter: Yeah.

[Peter and Neal enter the conference room.]

Peter: Rice.

Rice: Burke. And you must be thee Neal Caffrey. Agent Kimberly Rice.

Neal, sincere-sounding: I've just heard wonderful things about you.

Hughes: Let's get straight to it. We've got a ransom situation.

Rice: Name's Lindsay Gless, she was grabbed last night in a home invasion. [She slides a photograph of Lindsay and her boyfriend across the table.] She's the daughter of Stuart Gless.

Peter: As in the CEO of Atlantic Partners, [to Neal:] the company whose bonds you were convicted of forging.

Neal: What's this kidnapping got to do with me?

Rice: You have a history with our prime suspect.

Hughes: Ryan Wilkes. You know him? [He hands a file to Peter.]

[Neal hesitates.]

Peter: Neal?

Neal: Yeah, yeah, he runs his own little crime syndicate. They work everything from grand theft auto to extortion.

Rice: And you used to run with him.

Neal: That's a rumor.

Peter, exasperated: Neal.

Neal: We may have tried working together once, but our styles didn't mesh.

Peter: What makes you think Wilkes took the girl?

Rice: Chatter from our CIs puts Wilkes in town. We also found traces of plasticine clay on a lock at the crime scene.

Peter: Somebody made a copy of the key.

Rice: Yeah, it's Wilkes' MO. And that's why we need Neal.

Peter: Neal.

Neal: Stuart Gless likes to eat lunch at Restaurante Lorenzo every Thursday. Least he used to. There's only one valet there. Makes it's easy to get your hands on his keys. If Wilkes wanted to get into his house, he'd probably start there. I'd check the security tapes.

Rice: That's good, that’s good. I'd like to borrow Caffrey for the remainder of my case.

Peter: If Wilkes is behind this, don't you think it's dangerous to put Caffrey on his trail?

Hughes: Caffrey's proven he can take care of himself. [Peter, concerned, looks at Neal.

Neal shakes his shrugs, shakes head.] Neal, starting immediately, you report to Agent Rice.

Rice: Good, now that we're all on the same page, let's start with an easy one. When's the last time that you saw Wilkes?

Neal: Probably when he tried to kill me.

[Intro.]

[Cut to: shots of the city. Cut to: The Gless house.]

Rice: We pulled the security tapes for Restaurante Lorenzo. Got a positive id of Wilkes, good work.

Neal, quietly: Thanks.

Rice: Something eating you?

Neal: No, it's just last time I saw Gless he was on the witness stand at my trial, explaining why I was able to beat his company's unbeatable bond. Sure it didn't do wonders for his reputation.

Rice: The man lost his daughter. Kay? You want his forgiveness, help get her back.

[They walk into a room where an older man is standing at a window.]

Gless: Mr. Caffrey, been a long time.

Neal: Mr. Gless, I want you to know I’m veryGless:

Agent Rice thinks you can find the people who took Lindsay. That's good enough for me.

Rice: Could you please just take us through what happened, one more time?

Gless: I came home from the office. Everything in Lindsay's room was knocked down. She was gone. Then he called. I told him I wanted proof she's okay. That's it.

Neal: Did he give you any way to get in contact with him?

Gless, hesitant: No. He, um-

Neal: He just hung without giving you his demands?

Rice: Would you mind excusing us for a moment? Neal, may I have a word, please? [She walks into the hall. Neal follows.] What was that?

Neal: Sorry-

Rice: Remind me again, how much training do you have interviewing the parents of kidnapping victims?

Neal: You brought me into this.

Rice: To consult, not to take the lead with my witness.

Neal: Your witness? Oh, I'm sorry, I thought we were on the same team.

Rice: Let me get something clear right here, right now. You’re a tool in my belt, understand?

Neal: Tool in your belt, got it.

Rice: You will listen and observe. If I ask you to do anything, you do it. If I have a question, answer it.

Neal: What if I have a question?

Rice: Then you run it by me. But you do not, under any circumstance, address my witness.

Neal: Oh, good, sounds like a really great deal. But I think it'll work better if you treat me more like a partner. See, the way Peter and I do it-

Rice: I don't care how you and Peter do it. I care how you and Agent Rice do it.

Neal: I just want to help find his daughter.

Rice: You want to help? Well, then, keep your mouth shut unless I ask you to open it. Okay?

Neal, raising his hat: Oh?

Rice, shortly: What?

Neal: Permission to speak?

Rice: What?

Neal: You haven't found any of Wilkes prints around the house, have you? See, he likes to use found items from the target location to cover his tracks. Why don't you heck the rubber gloves under the sink?

Rice: You have any more brilliant ideas rumbling around that head of yours?

Neal: [Thinks seriously for a second.] No, I think that's it for now.

Rice: Good. Then go wait in the car.

[Cut to the Burke's house.]

Elizabeth: So, I told him if we had that many people in the gallery, he has to do something about the AC. Of course he didn't, and by ten o'clock it was like a sauna in there. [When she sees Peter isn’t listening:] And so I told him I would spend the night for him for a million dollars, I'd have to run it by my husband first. But, Honey, it's a million dollars, what do you think?

Peter: I... I think that's great. [Off El's look.] I don't think that's great. What did you ask me?

Elizabeth: Okay, admit it you're worried about Neal.

Peter: No, I am not worried about Neal. Let's- let’s just have a nice quiet lunch without talking about him, all right? Mmm, oh, that's a nice deviled ham right there.

Elizabeth: What's the problem?

Peter: Oh, something feels wrong about this case. I don't trust Rice.

Elizabeth: Rice?

Peter: Kimberly Rice. She's some hotshot from another division. She's Neal's handler on this one.

Elizabeth: Well, Honey, if you're worried about it, go down there and check it out.

Peter: Eh, it's bad form to crash another agent's crime scene.

Elizabeth: That's never stopped you before.

Act 2

[Cut to: A street. Neal’s in the passenger seat of a parked car. Peter raps on the window. Neal rolls it down.]

Neal: Peter. Didn't expect to see you here.

Peter: I had a case in the neighborhood, thought I'd drop by.

Neal: Uh-huh. Touched. You can't handle being apart from me.

Peter: No.

Neal: So this has nothing to do with looking over Rice's shoulder?

Peter: No, don't read into it. How's it going with Rice? See she's got you baby-sitting the car.

Neal: She called me a tool in her belt.

Peter: I bet you're really starting to miss working with me now.

Neal: Nope, no. But I could stretch my legs. [Peter opens the car door.] Thank you.

Peter: While we're out here and you're stretching your legs, it wouldn't hurt to look around.

Neal: No.

Peter: You know Wilkes' MO. How would he handle an operation like this?

Neal: What, a home invasion? Theoretically, he'd have a driver, a strong man, and a lookout. Wilkes wouldn't trust anyone else to grab the girl, he'd handle that himself.

Peter: So he's the strong man. Commendable. That leaves the driver right outside there.

[Peter points down the street.] Now where was the look out?

Neal: The sidelines are clean from there [Neal points] there [more pointing].

Peter: You get better cover in the park.

Neal: Yeah, but the alley gives you eyes on both sides of the street and the intersection.

Peter: Let's go there. [They do.]

Neal: Eh, somebody's been here. Looking both directions.

Peter: Making sure the coast is clear.

[They squat down. Peter picks up something with a handkerchief.]

Peter: Coat check stub. No name or address. I'll get it to ERT, see if they can recognize it.

Neal: Don't bother. It's from a club. More like an underground casino. It's one of Wilkes' old hangouts.

Peter: Nice of them to leave this behind for us.

[Rice walks out of the Gless mansion.]

Rice: God, where's Caffrey?

Peter: Oh, look. This oughta be fun.

Neal: Find gloves?

Rice: There's a fresh print inside the index finger. [To an agent with her:] I want this pulled and sent to me ASAP. Well, what do you think you're doing here, Agent Burke?

Peter: Helping you solve your case. Someone spent some time watching from over there and dropped this. Which, according to my source, came from an underground club.

Rice: Then that's our next stop.

Neal: No, no, Wilkes won't be there with the girl. If the FBI shows up, he'll go to ground and cut his loses.

Rice, brightly: So why don't you put on your dancing shoes, Caffrey? You're going clubbing. And Peter? Next time I find you on my scene, I'm filing a report.

Peter, dead pan: You can't tell, but right now, deep down, I'm petrified.

[Rice snags the stub from Peter and walks off. Neal follows, but turns around as he walks.]

Neal, quietly: Nice.

[Cut to: Neal's apartment. PINK bags litter the bed. Neal is putting on new clothes while

Mozzie sips at a mug on the couch.]

Mozzie: You're letting the pants suit use you as bait to catch Wilkes? Doesn't that strike you as... insane?

Neal: I'm going to a club. Feds'll be right outside.

Mozzie: This is the same Wilkes that wants you dismembered, right?

Neal: Dismembered is slightly overstating it. You're being paranoid.

Mozzie: Paranoia is a skill. The secret to longevity. Did you not join Wilkes' crew, gather intel from his targets, and then totally screw him over?

Neal: They were planning to hurt people. With guns. I don't like guns. For all we know, Wilkes is on his way to Tahiti right now.

Mozzie: For all we know, he's sharpening his talons to tear into your spleen.

Neal: Thanks for your concern, Moz, but this little field trip is my best chance to get the anklet removed. Alex won't talk to me about the music box while it's on.

Mozzie: Oooh, you professional thieves, so high maintenance. I'm washing my hands of this.

[Neal's phone beeps.]

Neal: Rice is here. Duty calls. [He leaves.]

Mozzie: I get the apartment.

[Cut to: shots of the city. Cut to: Rice's car, outside the club.]

Rice: You know, you kept me waiting outside that rich lady's house for half an hour.

Neal: Can't rush style, Agent Rice.

Rice: Took me less time to get ready to for my wedding. [At Neal's look:] It didn't take.

Neal: I'm not surprised. [At Rice's look:] Statically speaking.

Rice: Okay, it's time for you to go fishing, Caffrey.

Neal: Now, listen, this is a hush-hush kind of place. There's a good chance they'll be patting me down. It'd be a shame if my tracking anklet blew your case.

Rice: [grabs scissors out of the glove compartment.] Cut it.

Neal: Really?

Rice: I'm not an idiot, I'm not sending you undercover with that. Go on, lose it.

[The tracker makes obnoxious beeping noises, both in the car and...]

[Cut to: White collar unit of the FBI.]

Peter: Jones! Caffrey just removed his anklet.

Jones: Yeah, Rice cleared it.

Peter: Rice? [He walks away.]

[Cut to: Neal leaving Rice's car. A car flashes its headlights at him. The gate's locked, he goes around back.]

[Cut to: Peter pouring Gless and a glass of water.]

Peter: Mr. Gless, right? I'm Agent Peter Burke. How you holding up?

Gless: Oh, had to get out of the house. Agent Rice said I could wait here.

Peter: Of course.

Gless: I didn't expect Caffrey to be so charming. This would be so much easier if he acted more like a criminal.

Peter: Yeah, of course.

Gless: Just hopes this goes right.

Peter: If it helps, I can walk you through it. What are you worried about most?

Gless: The meeting.

Peter, surprised: The meeting? What troubles you about that?

Gless: The kidnapper calls and asks for a meeting with Caffrey in exchange for Lindsay? That seems too easy.

Peter: Yeah. Excuse me.

[Cut to: Neal walking around the back of the building. He answers his ringing phone.]

Neal: Peter, I'm kind of in the middle of something right now, okay?

Peter: You need to get out of there right now.

Neal: What're you talking about?

Peter: Neal, you're the ransom.

[Neal gets tazed.]

Peter: Neal? Neal?

[Rice and another agent enter the white collar unit.]

Agent: We have a silver van leaving the club, no plate. Chase car lost it in traffic. Rice, to the room at large: Okay, listen up people! For the foreseeable future, you belong to me. I need traffic feeds from here to Yankee Stadium-

Peter, charging down the stairs: You sold him out so you could get your picture in the paper! You hung Neal out to dry for a gold star on your resume!

Rice: Better watch it, Burke.

Peter: When we found that coat check stub for the, you already knew what was going on there, didn't you? But you kept your mouth shut, so everything could go according to plan.

Hughes: What's going on, here?

Peter: She made a back room deal with Wilkes. The girl in exchange for Neal.

Hughes: Rice, that true?

Rice: A man we believe to be Wilkes contacted Gless. He said he would give Lindsay back if he could have a face to face with Caffrey.

Peter: A face to face? And you really think Wilkes would make go on that?

Rice: It was our one shot to get a lead on Wilkes and follow him back to the girl. [To Hughes:] I had agents, all over that street.

Peter: And how did that work out for you?

Hughes: Do you get any leads on the girl?

Rice, quietly: Wilkes made the grab in our one operational blind spot.

[Hughes facepalms.]

Hughes: Then you're no longer in charge. Peter, you're officially a part of the show.

[Rice starts to protest.] I don't want to hear it, Rice! You report to Burke until you find Caffrey and that girl. [Hughes walks away.]

[Peter looks at Rice for a long moment and then walks away too.]

[Cut to: A white van, moving. Neal's inside, and blindfolded.]

[Wilkes pulls of the blindfold.]

Wilkes: Top of the morning to you. [Neal raises a hand against the light.] Monster headache, right? It'll pass.

Neal: Wilkes.

Wilkes: Seeing you again, Neal, brings back all these old feelings.

[He punches Neal in the gut. Neal doubles over.]

Neal: You wanted me for lattes, you could've just called.

Wilkes: This way’s better. Pretty good, right? Had the Feds snip your anklet off for me? She handed you over on a platter.

Neal: That's great. You're a lock for kidnapper of the year.

Wilkes: That old Caffrey wit. I love it. We could've been something: thunder and lighting! But then you had to go and rip for what? Five hundred grand?

Neal: I'll write you a check.

Wilkes: Normally I kill people for that sort of thing.

Neal: But?

Wilkes: But, today's your lucky day. You get to make it up to me.

Neal: Look man, what about Lindsay? You got me. Just let her go.

Wilkes: Not yet. [The van stops.] I'm going to open these doors. You run or yell, I shoot you. And then I'll shoot the girl. Let's get started.

[Neal follows Wilkes out of the van.]

Wilkes: Agency [Wilkes points across the crowded street] booked travel for a gentleman by the name of Thomas Loze. He's on his way into the country right now, and I need his itinerary. Flight, car service, hotel. Smile, it's a chance to put that silver tongue of yours to good use.

Neal: All this trouble to have me infiltrate a travel agency. What's your angle? Oh, I'm your front man, right? You don't want to end up on the surveillance cameras.

Wilkes: You always were quick. Oh, and one more thing. Since we have a lot to do today, it's important you know how serious I am from the jump. See her? [He points to the travel agency.] Her name's Kathy. Career receptionist. The kind of lady no one will miss. Except a couple of her kids. [He points to a roof.] On that roof is my friend Jim.

Jim has a sniper rifle aimed at Kathy. I give him the word, bang, lights out. [Into a walkie-talkie:] Wave at Neal, Jim.

[Jim raises a hand. Neal waves back.]

Wilkes: And don't think you can borrow her phone and call for help. Be a sweetheart; help the lady out.

Neal: I'll get your information.

Wilkes: But will I get it in two minutes?

Neal: You're putting me on the clock? Look, I can convince her, I just need some time.

Wilkes: You don't have it. Busy day. One minute, fifty-two seconds and counting.

Neal: All right, I'm going. [He drops his jacket and rolls up his sleeves as he runs across the street. Outside the door, he ruffles his hair and wrinkles his shirt before walking in.] Hey there, how you doing?

Kathy: I'm fine.

Neal: My name is Nick Halden, I'm an assistant with Level One Concierge Services.

Kathy: How can I help you, Nick Holden from Level One Concierge Services?

Neal: Oh, we got a big client coming to town. Thomas Loze. You booked his travel. I need to make a week's worth of five star dinner reservations for him, only I misplaced his itinerary. And I blow another account, I'm toast, so-

Kathy: So it sounds like you need to find a new line of work, Nick.

Neal: Come again?

Kathy: [She removes her headset.] You know, people like you really piss me off. You waltz in her, you flash some sort of grin and you think you can do something that can get me fired? I don't think so. But have a nice day. [She puts the headset back on.]

[A laser sight appears on Kathy's forehead.]

Neal, desperate: Please, please, [he looks down at the desk where there's a key chain with her name on it, a Herky the Hawk plushy from U of I, and a picture of her kid] Kathy, I really need this, okay?

Kathy: I said, have a nice day.

Neal: Okay, okay. And that is exactly what I'm going to tell my son when I explain to him why daddy lost his job. His daddy's a failure. I'm going to level with you, Kathy. I don't enjoy catering to rich guys who spend more on a bottle of Courvoisier than I make in a year, but it's all I got. Who am I to think I can do this job and raise a five-year-old, all by myself? Now I have to tell Joey that we're moving back to Cedar Rapids, it's going to break his heart. But kids back bounce, you know, they're tough.

Kathy: Cedar Rapids?

Neal: Yeah.

Kathy: I'm from Iowa City. U of I, '88.

Neal: No kidding.

Kathy, covering her headset: You said Thomas Loze, right?

Neal: Yeah.

Kathy: Okay.

Neal: Thank you. [He glances back, sees a poster.] Kathy, while you're at it, I think I might know someone who's interested in your rewards program.

Kathy: Okay.

Act 3

[Cut to: June and Mozzie in Neal's apartment, playing Parcheesi.]

June, moving a piece: Mm. Mm-mm.

Mozzie: So now you've captured another one of my pawns.

June: Parcheesi is just not your game.

Mozzie: You mock me, but little do you know you're just about to march into the teeth of my blockade.

June: Ah-ha.

[Mozzie's phone chirps. He answers it.]

Mozzie: Aw.

June: What's the matter?

Mozzie: Apparently, Dante Haversham just received an offer for twenty percent off a trip to Rio.

June: And who is Dante Haversham?

Mozzie: It's me.

June: Ah.

Mozzie: I have to go. Oh, this does not count as a forfeit.

June: I will not take your charity, sir.

[Cut to Neal handing Wilkes a piece of paper on the crowded street.]

Wilkes: That's my boy. Kathy's children thank you. You ready for round two?

Neal: I don't think I'm up for round two.

Wilkes: That'd be an ill-advised life choice.

Neal: Why? Kill me?

Wilkes: Don't test me, Neal.

Neal: Tell your friend Jim to put that red dot on my head and pull the trigger, you don't think I'm serious.

Wilkes: It's like I'm talking to a Mandarin. How about I kick things off by killing my sweet little hostage?

Neal: I'm starting to wonder if you even have Lindsay.

Wilkes: [Moves his hand across his throat as a signal to Jim to pack it in.] How about we take a break to think about this? Last thing I want you to do is drag your heels.

[The van pulls up.]

Wilkes: Please, get in.

[Neal does. Wilkes follows and gives him a shove.]

Neal: Where we going?

Wilkes: You talk too much. [To lackey:] Taze this man again.

Neal: That's real not nec- Ah!

[Neal gets tazed. Again.]

[Cut to: Full FBI conference room, Rice walking in.]

Peter: I've BOLOs out on your van description. NYPD's canvassing the area where Neal was taken.

Rice, holding up a DVD: We just found this in Gless' mail. It was sent before Caffrey was taken.

[Everyone turns to look as Peter pops the DVD in. Lindsay appears, holding a newspaper.]

Lindsay: Hi, Daddy. I'm okay, but you need to do what they ask. Now. Or I won't be okay. I love you.

Peter: Okay, everybody, watch it again. Anything jumps out at you, call it.

Lindsay: Hi, Daddy. I'm okay, but you need to do what they ask. Now.

Jones: Place is falling where it stands.

Lindsay: Or I won't be okay.

Jones: Crack on the wall, funky windows.

Peter: Pre-civil war construction.

Rice: You hear that?

Peter: Fog horn. No, tugboat horn. Let's get it isolated. We know she's by the water.

Rice: There're more than five hundred miles of waterfront in the New York area.

Peter: I want search teams on the ground, now. Everybody sweeping and canvassing any waterfront structure with cracked walls or funky windows.

Lindsay: -as they ask. Now. Or I won't be okay. I love you.

[Cut to: One of Wilkes' lackeys tossing Neal onto the floor next to Lindsay.]

Neal: Uh! Oof! Aah. Ahh.

Lindsay: Hey, you okay?

Neal: Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Didn't even hurt. Aah. Lindsay?

Lindsay: Yeah, who are you?

Neal, whispering: My name's Neal Caffrey. I'm with the FBI. I'm here to help you.

Lindsay: Really? Who's going to help you?

Neal: I'll admit, not the greatest rescue.

Lindsay: But the FBI knows we're here, right?

Neal: No. But the best agent the bureau's got is looking for us.

Lindsay: Really?

Neal: Yeah. Just trust me, if there's anyone in the world who can find me, it's him. [The guard slurps at some noodles.] Nice manners. Yeah, you should chew your food.

Lindsay, amused: It's pretty foul, right?

Neal: Yeah.

Lindsay: He burps when he swallows.

Neal: Nice.

[Scene ends on Neal’s face after looking at a Chinese take out carton and a gun with a silencer.]

[Cut to: Conference room, still full. Peter's phone rings.]

Peter: Hey, Hun.

Elizabeth: Okay, you need to come home. We have a visitor.

Peter: Oh, I'm sorry sweetie, but I'm right in the middle of something now.

Elizabeth: Right, well, I think your something is connected to the someone who showed up at our front door.

Peter: What, who's there?

Elizabeth: Mozzie, and he's pretty worked up.

Peter: That's his normal state.

Elizabeth: I think it's important.

Peter: If it's that important, tell him to come to the office.

Elizabeth: Mozzie, in the FBI headquarters?

Mozzie: HA!

Elizabeth: Yeah, he's not going.

Peter: Honey, I don't have time.

Elizabeth: It's about Neal.

Peter: I'm on my way. [He grabs his coat and leaves.]

[Cut to: Wilkes and two lackeys walking into the room Neal and Lindsay are being held in.]

Wilkes: So, you've met Lindsay. Now you going to join me for round two? Or does it get ugly?

Neal: What's round two?

Wilkes: Why would I want to ruin the surprise? In? Or out?

Neal: [stands up.] Let's get this over with.

[Cut to: The Burke house.]

Elizabeth: You know, Moz, you never told me what you do for a living.

Mozzie: I know that. Neither have you, Mrs. Suit.

Elizabeth: I'm an even planner. I run my own company.

Mozzie: Burke Premiere Events. I thought that company was a front for Peter.

Elizabeth: Okay, not everything has a secret meaning.

Mozzie: Ah, naïveté. So sweet. I bet you believe in the moon landing.

[Sound of a door opening.]

Peter, off screen: Honey?

Elizabeth: In here. You know, Mozzie still won't tell me he does for a living. Do you know?

Peter: I know enough not to ask. Why are you here?

Mozzie: I received this. [He slides his phone across the table.]

Peter, reading: Elite Voyages, come frolic with us.

Mozzie: Look at the e-mail address.

Peter: Dante Haversham.

Mozzie: Remember the alias I gave when Neal introduced us? See, something things do have secret meanings.

Elizabeth: Well, I believe you in this one. Is Neal okay?

Mozzie: I don't know.

[Peter dials his phone.]

Mozzie: That's a distress signal.

[Cut to: Inside the van.]

Wilkes: Spent a great deal of money making sure Mr. Loze's limo gets quietly sidetracked.

Neal: Let me guess, I'm his new driver.

Wilkes: He'll be carrying a titanium brief case. Your job is to take it.

Neal: Any suggestions on how I do that?

[Wilkes pulls out a hand gun.]

Neal: Come on, man, you know I don't like guns.

[Wilkes unloads the clip, dropping bullets to the floor one at a time, and shoves it back in the gun.]

Neal: [Accepts the gun.] I really don't like unloaded guns.

Wilkes: [Hands Neal a slip of paper.] Be at this address at four and our business is complete. I tell you where I'm keeping the girl and we go our separate ways. But be a minute later or call your fed friends, and I make a call. And Lindsay... well, you know what happens to Lindsay.

Neal: Not going to stick around for the show?

Wilkes: On this one, I'll keep my distance. [He gives Neal a hat, part of a uniform.]

[Cut to: Peter striding into the conference room.]

Peter: Any luck on the tip?

Rice: Three hours ago, Caffrey goes into Elite Voyages asking for the itinerary of a Thomas Loze.

Peter: Do we know him?

Rice: I pulled a file from Interpol. Turns out that Thomas Loze happens to be a favorite alias of Edward Riley.

Peter: Edward Riley. The hits keep coming. He's a go-to guy when VIP criminals want something valuable moved. Hand delivers everything himself, which is all the guarantee anyone needs. He's dangerous. My guess? Wilkes is snooping around his itinerary because he's planning a surprise for him.

Rice: Wilkes is planning a rip off.

Peter: Yeah, and he's using Neal as the face of his whole show.

Rice: Riley's on an inbound flight from Sydney, he touches down in an hour.

Peter: We'll be there to meet him.

[Rice and Peter leave.]

[Cut to: Neal entering an airport. Peter, in disguise, approaches him.]

Peter: You happen to know where I can catch a shuttle to the city?

Neal: No need for the cloak and dagger, Peter. Wilkes isn't here.

[Rice meets up with them.]

Rice: We're here to help you get out of this mess, Caffrey.

Neal: That's kind of ironic coming from you, Agent Rice.

Peter: Listen, this Loze guys you're going after? It's Edward Riley.

Neal: Damn. No wonder Wilkes doesn't want to be anywhere near this.

Peter: You go through with this, Riley will hunt you down.

Neal: If I don't get his brief case to Wilkes by four, he'll kill Lindsay.

Peter: You sure about that?

Neal: Her guard wasn't wearing a mask. And he has a silencer.

Peter: So you saw her?

Neal: Yeah.

Rice: Where?

Neal, shortly: I don't know. They tazed me. [To Peter:] Please tell me you're close to finding her.

Peter: We know she's in an old building near the water.

Neal: Her guard was eating mushu pork from a restaurant called Walk of Fire.

Rice: Chinese take out near the water.

Peter: All right, we can work with that, come on.

Neal: Hey, I'm staying here. If you don't get to Lindsay in time...

Peter: Yeah. [He hands Neal something.] It's a two-way transceiver. Jones will keep an eye on you. [Jones is over by the video games, also in disguise.] His team will stay out of sight. Don't do anything stupid.

Neal: Too late.

Rice: Good luck.

[Neal nods at her.]

[A stewardess drops a scarf.]

Neal: [picks it up.] Excuse me!

Stewardess: Oh!

Neal: You dropped this!

Stewardess: Thanks.

Mozzie: I don't care what you're doing here. As a friend, I insist you pull the rip cord.

Neal: You got my message.

Mozzie: What's with the driver's outfit?

Neal: I'm about to rob Edward Riley.

Mozzie: THEE Edward Riley? What's your plan, a gun in the glove compartment?

[Incredulous:] That's your plan, a gun in the glove compartment!?

Neal: It's a long story, but one way or another, I'm taking his brief case.

Mozzie: Well, surely you won't do this, because you're not suicidal!

Neal: Thanks for the pep talk. [He pats Mozzie on the back and goes to leave.]

Mozzie: But what if he gave it to you? And was happy to give to you?

Neal: Zigzag scam?

Mozzie: [He pulls out two ID wallets,] One for me, one for you. Time to get into character. [He swaps out his glasses for a nearly identical pair.]

Neal: You're a chameleon.

Mozzie: Yeah.

[Cut to: Edward Riley. He spots Neal in the uniform holding a sign that says "THOMAS LOZE" and walks up to him.]

Neal: Mr. Loze? Name's Nick. I'll be your driver today.

Riley: Been on a lane for twenty-two hours. I don't give a damn what your name is, kid.

Neal: You got any other bags, here?

Riley: No.

Neal: Let me take your case for you.

Riley: Just take me to the car.

[Mozzie approaches them.]

Mozzie: Thomas Loze? Agent Haversham, immigrations and customs enforcement. Word is you're bringing something into the country we should know about.

Riley: This a joke?

Mozzie: Do I look like I'm joking, Elvis?

Neal: Agent Holden, joint task force. Going to need you to open the case. Doesn't have to be a scene if you don't want it to be.

Riley: Okay, you guys really want to do this? Knock yourselves out. [Offers up the case.]

[Neal takes it.]

Neal: Let's go.

[Cut to: Isolated part of the airport. Riley unlocks the case.]

Mozzie: Palms on the table!

[Neal searches the bag, but he's not finding anything.]

Mozzie, quietly: This looks like an overnight bag.

Riley: When this is through, I want badge numbers. You can't prove probable cause, it'll be both your asses.

Mozzie: Shut your hole and kiss wood, Riley! Yeah, we know who you really are!

[Quietly:] I just said that to guy who enjoys killing people with his bare hands.

Neal: Keep it together, Moz. Hold on a second. [He finds and opens the secret panel, revealing dozens of gold cards.] Wow.

Mozzie: Pure gold. Think they're preloaded?

Neal: I don't know, that would explain Wilkes' interest in them. Load 'em up with a couple hundred thousand each.

Mozzie: And you've got a portable fortune. Perfect for the smuggler on the go.

Riley: I want my lawyer.

Mozzie: Oh, you'll need him, Chachi!

Neal: I'd say you're staring down ten years, easy. [To Mozzie:] Call the cavalry.

Mozzie: Imagine what you could do with just one of these babies.

Neal: Make for a great night out.

[Mozzie hesitates.]

Neal, softly: Call it in, Haversham.

Mozzie, loudly: It's just I promised- Sarah that necklace. With the diamonds.

Neal: So?

Mozzie: So she's gonna leave me, man.

Neal: And you think this is the way to keep her? This isn't the way.

Mozzie: Oh, don't tell me how to keep a woman, blue eyes. Guys like you, with your million dollar smile! And your thick, perfect head of hair! You don't get it.

Neal: Don't do this to yourself, okay?

Riley: Listen, this is my suitcase, right? So maybe I left it on the plane. [They give him blank looks.] What, I got to spell this out for your gentlemen?

Neal: All right, call it in. Tell them Loze was clean, we cut him loose. Come on, call it in.

Riley: You guys are all right. [He grabs a card.] Got to get home somehow, right? [He leaves.]

Mozzie: That's the closest I've come to death this year.

Neal: All right, thanks for your help, Moz.

Mozzie: Could I-?

Neal: No.

[Cut to: Peter, Rice, and other agents outside.]

Rice: This is the closest dock to Walk of Fire.

[The sound of a tugboat horn.]

Peter: That sounds like our tugboat horn. So where's our girl?

Rice: I hope you're feeling lucky. It's almost four, Caffrey's out of time.

Peter, into the transceiver: Neal, you copy? Neal?

Neal, at the meeting point: Tell me you found Lindsay.

Peter: We're going to need more time.

Neal: It's four, Peter. I'm already here.

Peter: Then stall. He gets his hands on the case, the girl's dead.

[A van pulls up to the meeting point. Neal glances at the case next to him.]

[Wilkes gets out of the van. Neal opens the case, revealing all the gold cards. Wilkes honks the van’s horn. Neal signals him to be patient, does something out of view, then gets out.]

Wilkes: Right on time. I love that.

Neal: Where's the girl?

Wilkes: Unfortunately I won't be sharing that information with you.

Neal: We had a deal, Wilkes.

Wilkes: I lied. Give it to me.

[Neal tosses him the case. Wilkes opens an empty case.]

Wilkes: And I thought we had a nice thing going.

Neal: You lied, I lied. It's like a dance.

[Wilkes takes out his gun.]

Neal: You pull that trigger and all those gold cards I stole from Edward Riley are gone forever.

[Cut to: dozens of FBI Agents making their way down the dock.]

Peter: Wait, wait, give me the still from that proof of life tape. [An agent with a folder hands it to him.]

Rice: What do you see?

[Peter holds up the photo in front of the nearby building.]

Peter: Same crack in the wall. That's our place.

Rice: we got him.

[Cut back to Wilkes and Neal.]

Wilkes: If I don't have those cards in my hands in ten seconds, I'm gonna make a call and I'm gonna kill the girl! Then I'm going to take my time with you. Five seconds. Three seconds. Now my guys are going to have to kill that nice man's daughter.

Neal, desperate: Who says they're still your guys?

Wilkes: Is that your play? You turned my crew against me? I expected more from you.

Neal: Who do you think has the gold cards?

Wilkes: You left them with my guys, you're not that dumb.

Neal: You brought me into this because I bring up the average. Unfortunately? That makes you less valuable. Your men agreed. It's time for new management.

Wilkes: You're lying.

Neal: Call them if you think I'm bluffing.

Wilkes: I think you're bluffing. [Dials his phone.]

Guard: Yeah, boss?

Wilkes: Kill her. And leave the phone on speaker.

[Cut to: The guard pulling back the slide on his gun. Lindsay kneels there, frightened. He aims. The door is kicked in.]

FBI Agent: FBI!

Peter: Put it down!

FBI Agent: Get down!

FBI Agent: Drop the gun!

FBI Agent: Show me your hands!

[Cut to: Wilkes, on his phone still.]

Wilkes: Damn it!

Neal: Sounds like they got company.

[Wilkes throws the case at a garage door. It bursts open at the gold cards spill out. Wilkes points his gun at Neal.]

Wilkes: I guess that makes you obsolete.

Neal: I wouldn't do that, if I were you. [He gestures at the red dots on Wilkes'.] See, I got friends with sniper rifles, too.

Jones: FBI! Drop your weapon. Drop your weapon right now!

FBI Agent: Freeze:

Jones: Hands in the air.

FBI Agent: He's clear.

[Wilkes is cuffed and led away.]

Jones, into the transceiver: Agent Burke, we got Wilkes.

Peter: We're secure here. We got the girl. How about Neal?

[Neal waves at Jones.]

Jones: He says hey.

[Cut to: Gless getting out of the car.]

Lindsay: [runs to him] Dad! Oh, dad!

Gless: Lindsay. [They hug.]

[Neal shows up.]

Peter: Where you been? Missed all the action.

Neal: Oh, yeah, got caught up with an old friend.

Peter: How'd that go?

Neal: Think I may have burned a bridge. [He looks at Rice with the Gless family.] Looks like Agent Rice is ready for her close up. Heard the camera crew are already on their way.

Peter: Let her have it.

[Rice points at Peter and Neal.]

Neal: Agh, geez, did she just give us the finger point?

Peter: She did.

[They walk over.]

Gless: Agent Rice says you're the men responsible for bringing my daughter back. [Neal shots Peter a surprised look.]

Peter: We're all a team here.

Neal: Mr. Gless

Gless: I'd say we're more than even now, Caffrey.

Lindsay: Thanks for playing round two.

Neal: Don't mention it.

Rice: Was a hell of a thing you did today.

Neal: I could say the same thing about you.

Rice: No hard feelings?

Neal: Don't stretch it.

[She walks away. Peter follows.]

Peter: So, uh, you gonna stick around for the press? You're the hottest interview in town.

Rice: I probably have a disciplinary hearing to prepare for anyway. About how things went down last night-

Peter: Oh, look, in the end, we got it done.

Rice: Yeah, even so. I hope we work together some time. Even if you're the one calling the shots.

Peter, laughing: One day I'll remind you that you said it.

Jones: I got Caffrey's anklet.

Peter, to Rice: I thought your people already put it on him.

Rice: Not me. He's your consultant, remember?

[Peter glances around. Neal is gone.]

Peter: Anybody seen Caffrey?

FBI Agent: No sir.

Peter: Damn it, you've got to be kidding me. [He holds out his hand for the tracker.]

Jones, let's check the usual suspects.

Conclusion

[Cut to: Neal entering his apartment.]

Alex: You're late.

Neal: Long day.

Alex: What's with the outfit?

Neal: Long story.

[He pulls up his pants leg, revealing his tracker-less ankle.]

Alex: Congratulations. How'd you do it?

Neal: You'd be surprised what I can get done in a day. I kept my promise, it's your turn.

Alex: I give you this and we get the music box together.

Neal: No, I told you. It's yours when I'm through with it.

Alex: See, I don't like the sound of that. We split it, fifty-fifty.

Neal: What're you going to do with half a music box?

Alex: And if you screw me on this, you know I can make your life miserable.

Neal: When did you become so distrusting?

Alex: When what happened with Kate...

Neal: Happened.

Alex: Yeah.

Neal: That's over now. [Alex hands him an origami flower.] Nice flower.

Alex: I learned from the best.

[Neal unfolds the flower and then looks at Alex.]

Neal: You go halfway around the world chasing something and the whole time it's in your own backyard.

Alex: See you soon, Caffrey. [She leaves.]

[Neal goes out on the balcony.]

[Cut to: Peter's office. He holds up the tracker as Neal comes in.]

Peter: Forget something?

Neal: Made it all the way home before I realized it was gone.

Peter: Just slipped your mind.

Neal: I came back.

Peter: What did Alex have to say?

[Neal looks shocked.]

Peter: You had a long brown hair on your jacket. How many other brunettes you meet before work? Don't answer that. All your brunettes seem to be connected to that music box. You and Alex are planning to steal it, aren't you?

Neal: She's just an old friend.

Peter: She's a fence, Neal. She either knows how to find things or sell them. People like that don't trust the FBI. That's why you walked away without your anklet.

Neal: It’s a fascinating theory.

Peter: I'm willing to look past your little trip off the reservation because you did well today.

Neal: Thank you.

Peter: Don't. Just remember how it felt when you saw that girl in her father's arms. Moments like that are rare. But if you try to steal the music box, I will catch you.

Neal: Is that a threat?

Peter: Just the way it is. [He goes to leave, but stops in the doorway.] You know, you can either go back to wearing an orange jump suit and pining for the girl who got away- or you can stay here and do something good with your life. Your choice.

[Neal watches Peter leave, looking distressed.]