Title: Sharks
Fandom: White Collar
Rating: Gen
Length: 283
Content notes: Pre-series, aliases
Summary: Neal wants to swim with the sharks.


"How's this look?" Neal waved the ticket in Mozzie's direction.

Mozzie started to look the ticket over but then froze. "A shark viewing cruise?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Neal smiled widely. "Steve wanted to be a marine biologist as a child."

Mozzie snorted. "Yeah, and Maurry wanted to be a hockey player. Most aliases don't get what they want."

"We could go ice skating if you want. There's a nearby mall-"

"No!" Mozzie cut him off. He couldn't tell if Neal was teasing or being sincere, but either way he was not going anywhere near that frozen deathtrap.

"Anyway, how does this ticket look?" Neal waved it in his face again.

Mozzie brushed it aside after a cursory glance. "It looks fine. But I still don't understand why you want to go on this cruise!"

Neal's eyes darted to the side in his usual 'I don't want to talk about it' way, but finally he sighed and answered. "SDPD got lucky."

"They're on to Steve?!" Mozzie burst out. Neal was an expert at outwitting the Feds; how could local cops figure out one of his aliases?

Neal grimaced. "Not yet, but they will be in a few days."

"See, you can't trust people who wear sandals! I told you this!" Mozzie glanced down, as though Neal might have suddenly began sporting the strappy abominations that everyone in San Diego seemed to wear.

"Yes, you did." Neal conceded.

"We are never taking a job in California again!"

"Noted."

Mozzie watched Neal putting away his pens for a moment, mulling over the implications of this, when suddenly something occurred to him. "So, wait, why the shark cruise?"

Neal's megawatt grin returned. "Moz, have you ever seen Jaws?"