elrhiarhodan

Title: Neither Geno’s Nor Pat’s
Author: elrhiarhodan
Fandom: White Collar
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Alex Hunter
Spoilers: None
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: None
Word Count: ~400
Summary: Alex makes a special trip, and she regrets it wholeheartedly. Just a bit of fluff. See the notes at the end for an explanation of the title.



A/N: No beta. All mistakes are mine and mine alone.

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Alex hates working jobs in Philadelphia for one reason, and one reason only.

Cheesesteaks.

She is a vegetarian and she really can’t stand the smell of cooked meat anymore. And yet, everywhere she goes in Philadelphia, there are carts and stands and restaurants with opened doors spewing the odor of frying meat, onions and processed cheese through the air. A carnivore's version of the perfume counter at Macy's.

But these days, she can’t afford to be too picky. When a contact refers her to a party that needed to dispose of some jewelry quickly, she makes her way to the City of Brotherly Love, and down to the address provided -the 1200 block of South 9th Street.

When she arrives, Alex thinks about turning around and going back to New York, back to a city that doesn’t pride itself on how high its average cholesterol rate is. Back to a city were you can get a grilled mushroom and pepper sandwich that isn’t accompanied by a half-pound of greasy dead animal flesh.

But her contact is waiting. And eating one of those monstrosities.

"Wanna bite?"

Alex swallows her gorge, smiles and shakes her head. The man drops a folded newspaper on the bench, stained with the ketchup and bits of onion and cheese, pushing it towards her. She wishes she had a pair of latex gloves, because she doesn’t want to touch this. But there is no help for it.

She discreetly flips opened the paper, inside there is a Cartier necklace - a diamond, ruby, emerald and sapphire dog collar, Art Deco, in the famous fruit salad style. Of course, she’ll have to have it checked it out, but if it’s real, this would be a very worthwhile venture.

She makes an offer. "Ten thousand, cash on the spot."

The seller looks at her over the sandwich he was stuffing in his mouth. "Fifteen."

"Twelve, or I go home now."

He nods and she takes out an envelope, adjusting the contents and slipping it into the newspaper. She palmed the necklace in the same smooth move.

"Nice working with you."

"Yeah, sure you don't want a bite to eat? I wouldn't mind another one. We can go to Pat’s if you don’t like Geno’s. My treat."

"No, no. But thank you." Alex hails a cab and grimaces at the bile rising in her throat. No more jobs in Philly, ever.

FIN

*Originally written for Promptfest V – from hoosierbitch’s prompt, Alex – Sandwich. Philadelphians on my flist will understand the little joke in the title. The 1200 block of 9th Street in Philadelphia is famous for two dueling eateries – Geno’s Cheesesteaks and Pat’s “King of Steaks”. Not a place to hang out if you’re a vegetarian.