TRAUMABEANS AU

[conning]

boop

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[conning]

Peter grunts, turning away to send the image and make his call. Ellen moves in to the space Peter vacates, hugging Neal tight. "It'll be okay, honey."

[abrightboy]

"It will," Malcolm agrees. "And when Ellen is free of all this, she can live wherever she wants and you can just go visit her whenever you feel like it. No sneaking around."

[conning]

Neal reaches for Malcolm's hand. "We can go visit her."

Ellen holds out one of her hands, too, for Malcolm's free one. "Damn straight, young man."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm gives her a shy smile and lets her take his hand.

"I'd like that," he tells her.

[conning]

“We got him,” Peter says, eyes alight in a very Malcolm-like way as he rejoins them. The linked hands only give him a moment’s pause before he shows them his phone and the image on it if Malcolm’s pursuer. It’s from one of the cameras, clearly.

Neal resists the urge to point out that Malcolm is the one who got him.

“That’s Dennis Flynn Jr,” Ellen says, surprise in her tone. “Don’t know him, but he’s got the old man’s looks. It has to be his son.”

“Dennis Flynn, as in Irish mobster Dennis Flynn?” Neal raises his eyebrows and looks at Malcolm. “Do you think Gil knows anyone who knows anyone…?”

[abrightboy]

“Gil knows people,” Malcolm assures him. “I can go with him. He didn’t see me. I’m not affiliated with Ellen in any way they’re aware of.”

[conning]

“But—”

Neal can’t think of what to say to get Malcolm to let him come. He flounders a moment, then finishes, “I can help.”

[abrightboy]

"Yeah," Malcolm tells him. "In my ear," he says, gesturing to his ear.

[conning]

“How?” The question comes from Peter, not Neal.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm looks over at him.

"...Does the FBI not have the budget for little ear thingies anymore?"

He looks at Neal. "We had them in my day. But it's okay. The NYPD has them."

[conning]

Peter scowls. "I mean how can Neal help you? He's no more familiar with the Flynns than I am."

The statement rankles. Neal purses his lips, but he can't really contradict Peter there.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm looks at him oddly, because it's so obvious to him. So obvious.

"Neal was a con artist and he's an undercover expert and I'll be lying," he points out like he's explaining to a child of five.

[conning]

This time it’s Neal who says, curiously, “Gil’s not going to go in full-tilt police interrogation? What would you be lying about?”

[abrightboy]

Malcolm laughs. "Please. They all know the head of Major Crimes. But they don't know me. So Gil will be full-tilt cop and I'll be Mysterious Guy In Suit With Head Of Major Crimes and I'll just let them make assumptions and we'll see where that takes us."

[conning]

He brightens with understanding at that. “See if they think someone higher up is keeping an eye on their failures, maybe.”

Ellen chuckles darkly. “I like this one, Neal.”

[abrightboy]

Malcolm grins at her.

"People with decades of guilt on their minds are easy to trigger," he tells her. "Every stranger they see could be the reckoning they've been waiting half their life to show up."

[conning]

Peter grunts. "It's a good idea," he says, clearly grudging.

Malcolm's phone pings--it's Gil, checking in on how he's feeling. Neal smiles. "Speak of the angel?"

[abrightboy]

And Malcolm is good at pushing people's buttons.

He grins at Neal's comment and picks up the phone.

"Hey, Gil," he says, heading to a different corner of the apartment. "I need a favour for a case," he says, explaining the situation.

[conning]

Gil wants to meet Peter. To meet Ellen. To get the details from everyone involved. Because of course he does. There's a part of Neal that's wildly nervous at the idea of Gil and Peter meeting, like their crossing paths might make something self-destruct. He's not sure why.

Regardless, it's less than an hour by the time the detective gets there.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm, for one, is happy to see his stern face, surveying the room as he enters. But Gil’s kid gets himself in enough trouble without all this help and he doesn’t even know he was at the shooting they responded to earlier, mysteriously void of both shooter and victim.

“Do you know about the Irish mafia?” Malcolm asks with no preamble. “The Flynns, specifically?”

It might fall to Neal to remember social niceties. Like introductions. Hard to believe Malcolm was to the manner born sometimes.

[conning]

Malcolm’s single-mindedness makes Neal smile in spite of everything. He puts a hand on Malcolm’s arm, sliding it down his wrist to twine their fingers together before he nods to Gil. “Lieutenant Arroyo. Thanks for coming. Really, thank you.”

He nods to Peter and then to Ellen. “I think you might remember Agent Burke. And this is my Aunt Ellen.”

[abrightboy]

"Agent Burke," Gil nods and he gives Ellen another nod of greeting before looking at Malcolm.

"The Flynns? They used to be big in Hell's Kitchen, but that was years ago. What's this about?"

"Someone is trying to kill Ellen," Malcolm says. "And she's in WitSec for an investigation into the Flynns and some crooked cops in the Eighties."

Yes, he just told this stranger all the secrets.

[conning]

Peter bridles. Ellen looks to Neal for his reaction. Neal smiles at his feet, then looks back at Gil. “I was in WITSEC with her, from the time I was two until I was eighteen. My dad…”

He pauses. “Maybe we should order food and start from the beginning.”

[abrightboy]

There’s no single human being in the world that Malcolm trusts more than Gil Arroyo, so it’s a lucky thing that Neal trusts Malcolm.

Gil’s eyebrow lifts just faintly and he sighs, looking at Neal.

“Yeah, you better do that. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night.”

Malcolm grins at Neal because he knew Gil would help.

Gil will help and it will be fine.

[conning]

Neal orders pizza. Fancy pizza. And a nice, light salad with grilled chicken for Malcolm.

Then he pours them all drinks and starts from the beginning, with Ellen filling in the gaps. Peter stays strangely quiet through it all, a look on his face that Neal can’t read while he nurses his drink on one of the chairs adjacent to the couch. Neal, Malcolm, and Ellen occupy that.