Free Write #2

01/24/11

Disclaimer: I don't own White Collar and I am not making money off of this fic. I am possibly making a grade in my writing class, but that is my business. So will the lawyers kindly vacate my property.

Peter Burke walked into the conference room that visiting FBI team was using. The team was part of the Major Crimes division. They had come to New York tracking a gang of home invaders. The gang had hit more than 25 homes in three states and rumor had it that New York was to be there fourth.

The head of the team, Nathan White, looked up from where he was examining a file with Burke's ex-con consultant, Neal Caffrey. "Something you need Burke?" White asked. Neal glanced at Peter, before going back to looking at the file. White had requisitioned Neal's help with infiltrating the gang.

"Neal, Cruz needs you to come decipher one of those reports you filled out," Burke said. "She said, and I quote, 'it looks like he was asleep when he filled this out, and I'm not taking the blame,' end quote."

"Are you sure she just doesn't want some of my attention," Neal said getting up from the table. "I mean, I have been neglecting her this week." Walking towards the door, Neal winked at Peter, showing that he was only joking.

"Yeah, that's the reason she threatening to stab your cartoon hat," Peter joked back. Neal paled, hand going to his head, as he realized that he had left his hat on his desk.

"Cruz, please have mercy. That hat's a classic," Neal called as he hurried downstairs to his desk.

White started to speak, but Burke held up his hand as he watched Neal reach his desk. As soon as he was convinced that Cruz had Neal occupied, Burke turned back to White. "Did you tell him," he asked White.

"Tell who what?"

"About Freddy."

White swore, running a hand through his pepper-gray hair. "Listen, I don't know who told you about Freddy, but I swear it was an accident."

Burke looked at the agent as he opened the file he had been carrying in his left hand. Pulling out a photo, he slammed it down on the table. White and the other agents in the room glanced away. "Ten hours of torture, followed by dismemberment by a chainsaw is an accident," he stated, looking White square in the eye. "And this is an accident that you weren't going to mention to my consultant."

"Burke, I'll admit that we have tried before to get someone inside this group," White stated, "but you have to understand that there was no way that we could have known what would happen to our informant. It won't happen this time."

"I requested a copy of your case file, when you first requested Neal's help. I didn't like what I saw. I liked it even less last night at dinner when I saw that the copy you gave him had been altered. You left out a lot of information, such conditions of the bodies, the escalating violence, the last informant's death, and the psych profile on the leader. Nice job, by the way on keeping that out of the media."

"Caffrey didn't need to know that stuff," White explained.

"He didn't need to know that stuff," Burke said slowly, grabbing the photo and holding it for White to see. "He didn't need to know that the leader is a sociopath with paranoid tendencies. A criminal who apparently told 'Freddy' that his victims were food that he greatly enjoyed playing with. Neal didn't need to know that you were dropping him into the sharks' tank after pouring in a bag of blood."

"It's not like that, Burke," White started still trying to avoid looking at the photo. "Freddy's death was an inconvenience," Burke started to interrupt but White held up his hands, asking for a chance to explain. Burke glared but kept silent. "But Freddy like Caffrey, was a convict. And this is their world, so Caffrey will be able to slip in easily. And besides, Caffrey is not an agent; he's FBI property, and expendable. So this conversation is over."

"You're right in saying that he is property, but what you don't understand is that he is my property. For the rest of his sentence, he belongs to me. I decide whether or not he is expendable, and which agents he works with. And you are not one of them."

"You can't do that. Caffrey," White started but he was interrupted as Peter placed the photo back in the file.

"I already did, and the higher-ups agree with me," Burke stated turning towards the door. "Don't come near my consultant again, or the reckless endangerment charges you're facing will be upped to attempted murder."

"Endangerment, murder. What are you talking about?" White shouted.

"You admitted that you held back information about the suspect. You said that you were going to let him walk in there, without telling him about the danger or the death of your last informant," Burke said opening the door, "And I'm telling you that it's not gonna happen, and if you decide to pursue this, I'll arrest you."

Before he walked out, Burke looked back at White, smiled, and said, "Have a nice day,"