THE OG AU

[conning]

[summary tk]

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[abrightboy]

“They don’t know you’re meeting him. I’ll go to a coffee shop you usually frequent. It won’t look weird for you to be there,” Malcolm points out. “The FBI doesn’t consult Canadians on where their assets are,” he says as though it’s obvious.

[conning]

“You’re right, you are. I’m just being paranoid.” He shakes his head and lets Malcolm deal with the anklet, pausing before he heads toward the door. He brushes his fingertips across Malcolm’s temples. “I love you.”

It’s soft, and he says it with a just-in-case tone that makes his own chest flutter with anxiety.

[abrightboy]

“Be safe,” Malcolm tells him. “And invisible,” he adds. “I love you too.”

Once Neal is well away, Malcolm calls Murdoch back and arranges to meet him at Neal’s favourite coffee shop. He gets there first and orders a mocha, taking a seat against the wall. He assumes the well-studied detective will know what he looks like.

[conning]

Murdoch does.

He’s tall, in a carefully pressed suit that isn’t nearly in the quality range of Malcolm’s own. But it fits him well. He makes sure his suits do. Somehow, though, even in a well-tailored suit in New York City, he manages to be a sore thumb.

He navigates his way through the other people like a cat trying to avoid touching damp walls, pausing at the chair opposite Malcolm with a polite nod. “Mr Bright. May I?”

[abrightboy]

“Please do,” Malcolm tells him with a gesture towards the empty chair. He tilts his head towards the counter. “Can I get you anything?” he asks.

[conning]

He makes a small, dismissive gesture. “No, thank you. I find most places like this in the states don’t have any tea worth the cost of admission.”

There’s no caveat or apology for the statement. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve followed your work for a long time.”

[abrightboy]

Malcolm blinks surprise at him.

"You have?"

People have heard of him. Only a certain kind have followed his work.

"Just out of basic police interest?"

[conning]

Murdoch shifts in his seat, leaning forward a fraction with a spark of fascination in his eyes. “Your cases tended to be among the more psychologically interesting. When I saw your name arise continuously in conjunction with the criminals whose behaviors were on the extreme end of the bell curve, I took an interest in you as well.”

[abrightboy]

Malcolm huffs a laugh, tilting his head.

"Well, everyone has a specialty." He scans Murdoch's face. "What did you learn about me?"

[conning]

“I’m not concerned about your heritage,” he says bluntly. “If that is the question you’re skirting around.”

[abrightboy]

"You've seen the FBI's files," Malcolm notes. "Or was it something else?"

He's always interested in how much it's Out There, though he's less careful than he used to be.

[conning]

“An associate who owed me a favor had access,” Murdoch confirms. He pauses. “I requested them legally.”

[abrightboy]

Malcolm shrugs.

“I’ve been outed for worse reasons than professional curiosity.”

Like professional jealousy.

“What do you want to know?”

[conning]

That professional curiosity lights Murdoch’s face again. “Do you have any familiarity with the name Rachel Turner?”

[abrightboy]

“Does she have something to do with the Hagen guy?” Malcolm asks. “I guess he’d been seen threatening Neal’s landlady, before he saw him in the park, headed over and saw the guy get shot right in front of him.”

[conning]

Murdoch pauses. Something about the unsolicited information strikes him as... he's not sure.

"Vice-versa," Murdoch says, and dips into the tidy leather shoulder bag he set down when he sat. Out comes a tidy file, this one personally assembled. He offers it to Malcolm. "I'm pursuing Hagen's activities with the hope of it leading to her."

Page one of the file is just a full-color, somewhat fuzzy picture of Rebecca. No glasses, shorter hair, her eyes frost cold and dispassionate as she examples a burned corpse on the ground.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm glances through the file.

“What kind of relationship do you think she had with Hagen?” he asks. “Was she his girlfriend?”

[conning]

"I very much doubt that. Rachel Turner isn't the type to form that kind of attachment to anyone."

He pulls out another file, this one on Hagen, and offers it to Malcolm. It's equally sparse, clearly just material he's comfortable sharing with a stranger. The basics about Hagen's crimes, his career as the Dutchman, Neal and Peter catching him. His release. "But I have some reason to believe she's been in contact with him. Perhaps working with him on a project that she decided he no longer needed to be a part of."

[abrightboy]

“There was nothing interesting about his murder,” Malcolm tells him. “It was perfunctory. That fits with your theory. What sort of ‘project’ does she specialize in?”

[conning]

“Anything that brings in money or earns her favors,” he says bluntly, with slight distaste. “She enjoys violence, deception, manipulation, and circumstances in which she can use all three to her financial advantage. I’m not sure why she contacted Hagen specifically. Not yet. But I believe she’s targeting a significant artistic and historical payday.”

[abrightboy]

“Is that why you want to talk to Neal? Because he specializes in artistic and historical?” Malcolm asks too innocently.

[conning]

Murdoch pauses, clearly weighing his words for a moment. “That was a consideration, yes.”

[abrightboy]

Malcolm studies him.

"A consideration," he echoes, leaving it there as a prompt.

[conning]

“Indeed.”

There’s a long pause as he scrutinizes Malcolm. “Is there anything you wish to tell me before we continue, Mr Bright?”

[abrightboy]

Malcolm shrugs.

“I’m just curious as to what the other considerations might be,” he says evenly.