US Television, White Collar, Episode 3.1 "On Guard"

White Collar
Season Three, Episode One, On Guard
Original Air Date:  June 15, 2011

Peter is convinced Neal had something to do with the explosion at the warehouse and the theft of the art even though Neal maintains his innocence.  Mozzie admits to Neal how he managed to take the art and he and Neal plan their getaway.  Meanwhile, Peter and Neal work on a new case where a man believed to have stolen $60 million from the Federal Reserve wants one of Neal's old aliases to help him smuggle the money out of the country.

Neal, Mozzie and David Lawrence (Neil Jackson) are boarding a small plane as the FBI closes in on them.  Mozzie starts the plane and begins to take off and warns they won't make it but Neal tells him they must.

Four days earlier, Jones gives Neal a polygraph test as Peter wants to know the truth about whether Neal stole Adler's Nazi treasure from the warehouse.  Neal passes the questions but Peter intends to keep him there until he's satisfied.  Neal later goes to see Sara and tells her Peter might ask her some questions about the art.  She asks if he took the art and he tells her he didn't.  As he's leaving, she asks if the art is out there if he knows who has it and he doesn't answer.

Neal arrives home to find Mozzie sitting on his balcony.  He takes the card from his pocket and asks Mozzie about it.  Mozzie admits how he managed to get the art and blow up the warehouse.  They got their white whale and the two toast to their best, and final, score.

Peter still doesn't trust Neal.  At the office, Peter asks Neal about Gary Rydell, one of Neal's old aliases.  Peter tells Neal of David Lawrence who was suspected of stealing $60 million from the Federal Reserve and they think he left the money behind when he fled the country before they could arrest him.  A couple of days ago, they traced an email sent by Lawrence wanting Rydell to help him smuggle the money out of the country.

Neal tells Mozzie Peter knows something but Mozzie maintains Peter is just messing with Neal's head as that's what "suits do".  Neal asks Mozzie if there's anything from the heist that can be tied back to him and Mozzie tells him he used the art from the studio where Neal kept his paintings.  Neal isn't pleased about what he's being told but Mozzie insists nothing could have, or should have, survived the fire.

At home, Peter looks at the piece of burned painting found at the warehouse.  Elle says there are a lot of paintings of the Chrysler Building and it could have been on the sub.  Peter insists if Neal didn't steal the art himself it was Mozzie or Alex.  She suggests to have the piece tested and if it isn't from the 1930's he'll know.  He can't involve the Bureau yet without jeopardizing both Neal and himself and she offers to call in a favor with an old friend at the museum where she worked.

Neal's anklet is removed so he can meet Lawrence at a fencing club.  The two men fence and Lawrence severs Neal's tie.  As they fence, they talk about what Lawrence wants.  He wants Neal to get the money out of the country for him as Peter said.  At the office, Neal says he will take the money out by boat.  Peter takes Neal's severed tie from the trash wanting to keep it as a souvenir.

Neal and Mozzie continue to make their plans at Neal's apartment.  Mozzie has gotten their getaway plane.  Neal is worried about Peter thinking he's got a card he hasn't played yet and Mozzie asks what the best way to find out what Peter knows is.  Neal goes to see Elizabeth and the two have a talk over coffee.  She closes the book of art she and Peter were looking at with the Art Deco Chrysler Building painting in it earlier and covers it.  When she goes to get some milk for Neal's coffee he takes a photo of the book cover from the underside of the glass table it is on.  At his apartment, Neal sees the picture of the Chrysler Building and remembers the painting he was working on and asks Mozzie if he put it on the sub, which he did.  They work out that Peter doesn't want the FBI involved in testing the painting and that Elizabeth could possibly be involved in having it tested.

Neal and Lawrence meet and Neal lays out the plan he has prepared to get Lawrence and his money out of the country safely.  Peter goes over the plans with Neal at the office and mentions he heard he talked to Elle.  Neal tells him whatever he thinks he's done, they are on the same team.  Mozzie calls Neal to tell him Elizabeth is talking to her old boss at the gallery.  He sees that a scrap of Neal's painting didn't burn and she gave it to her boss for testing.  Neal wants them to run the tests and they will swap it out.  The two make plans to create an authentic painting.

Later, Mozzie arrives at Neal's apartment to find him painting another picture of the Chrysler Building in case Peter comes around looking.  Mozzie gives Neal the details of when the burned painting sample will be tested.  They decide to use June's granddaughter to help them get in to make the switch.  Once Neal gets past security and inside, June's granddaughter and Mozzie leave and Neal gets to work creating the replacement for the burned painting piece.  Peter calls and talks to Neal while he's working on the painting to tell him Jones will be at his place in 20 minutes.

Mozzie arrives to Neal's to talk to him and Neal assures him he can slip Jones again once they are finished with Lawrence.  Neal wants to say something to June but Mozzie reminds him of their rule:  no goodbyes.  He will miss June as well, he'll miss all of it just as Neal will.  Mozzie leaves and Neal takes one last look around his apartment and throws his FBI ID onto the table and leaves.

Neal leaves for the meeting with Lawrence with Jones following and Peter on his way to the harbor.  Lawrence takes Neal to where the money is.  It is secreted in the air ducts at the fencing club.  He reverses the ducts and the money blows into the room where they are standing.  Lawrence's men collect the money and get it packaged for transport.  One of them spots Jones and he is brought into the club.  Lawrence holds a gun on him and Neal questions Jones.  Lawrence hits Jones and tells Neal the plan is blown.  He orders one of his men to kill Jones.  Neal tells Lawrence Jones is leverage alive and he has a backup plan:  a plane.  Neal calls Mozzie who isn't happy the plans have been changed.  Mozzie calls a nervous Peter to pass on the message from Neal about the change in plans.

Neal, Mozzie, Lawrence and Jones board the plane as Peter and the team close in.  Jones gets free and overtakes Lawrence and Mozzie stops the plane.  Lawrence is arrested and the authorities start taking possession of the boxes of money.  Peter congratulates Neal on a job well done and gives him back his anklet.

At home, Elizabeth gives Peter the results of the painting authentication showing it was from the 1930's.  Peter goes to see Neal and looks through some paintings and finds the new Chrysler Building Neal had painted.  Neal gives the painting to Peter who calls a truce as he might have rushed to judgment.  Peter's phone rings and he tells Neal he has to go.  As he's leaving, Neal tells him the door's open anytime.  At the office, Diane tells Peter they found a part of the original German U-boat manifest and they can make out 22 of the paintings on board.  Only two people on the evidence recovery team, she and Jones know about the list, something Peter wants kept that way.  At Neal's Mozzie says they must sell something to fund their second escape.  Peter knows with the list, if a single painting on it shows up, they have whoever stole the art.  Mozzie asks Neal what they should sell first.

White Collar airs Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m. (US Eastern time) on the USA Network.
For More Information:
White Collar Official Site:  http://www.usanetwork.com/series/whitecollar/
The Internet Movie Database:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1358522/
TV Rage:  http://www.tvrage.com/White_Collar