I've recently binge-marathoned all five seasons of White Collar (a total of 75 episodes) in only 9 days! I'm head over heels in love with this spectacular show. I don't know why I didn't start White Collar years ago. This truly versatile cast ensemble brings White Collar to life!
Two days ago, I got a brilliant idea for a White Collar fanfic story. The song "A Beautiful Lie" by 30 Seconds to Mars is my inspiration for this fanfiction story. This is one of my shortest stories which is pretty impressive for me. I thoroughly enjoy challenging myself as a writer by tackling different types of story styles and subject matters.
"A Beautiful Lie" by 30 Seconds to Mars Lyrics
Lie awake in bed at night
And think about your life
Do you want to be different?
Try to let go of the truth
The battles of your youth
'Cause this is just a game
It's a beautiful lie
It's a perfect denial
Such a beautiful lie to believe in
So beautiful, beautiful lie makes me
It's time to forget about the past
To wash away what happened last
Hide behind an empty face
Don't ask too much the same
'Cause this is just a game
It's a beautiful lie
It's a perfect denial
Such a beautiful lie to believe in
So beautiful, beautiful lie makes me
Lie, beautiful, oh
Everyone's looking at me
I'm running 'round in circles
Plagued with a quiet desperation's building higher
I've got to remember this is just a game
So beautiful, beautiful
It's a beautiful lie
So beautiful, beautiful
It's a beautiful lie
So beautiful, beautiful
It's a beautiful lie
So beautiful, beautiful
It's a beautiful lie
It's a beautiful lie
It's a perfect denial
Such a beautiful lie to believe in
So beautiful, beautiful lie makes me
I do not own any of the characters from White Collar! WARNING: Mild swearing and MAJOR spoilers from White Collar Season 5!
I'd greatly appreciate your constructive feedback! I believe the best way to improve as a writer is getting feedback. Hope you enjoy my story! R&R!
~Neal's POV~
"You, business, and woman. The unholy trinity." My wise friend said this recently. I assumed Mozzie was making a snarky remark at the time. He was right. The accuracy of his words steadily dawned on me as I downed copious amounts of Jack Daniels whiskey. So much internal confliction battled within me.
It was never a good idea to let personal feelings interfere with my business matters. That's what separates a mediocre con artist from the top-notch con artists. It is a very competitive business where you constantly have to be on your toes. You could never be too comfortable for too long. Your legacy is not pulling off the best con job. I gained my spectacularly infamous reputation by pulling a variety of con jobs usually by myself. But I've worked with some of my friends like Mozzie and Alex on a few jobs over the years. The combination of being book smart and street smart has allowed me to thrive as a notoriously well-respected con artist in the industry.
Mixing pleasure and business hasn't always worked out well for me. I will always love Kate Moreau. She was my first love and I'll never stop loving her. I've found closure for that part of my life since I don't want to keep living in the past. You miss too many wonderful moments by constantly dwelling on the past. Kate was my weakness. Agent Peter Burke realized this and found a creative way to draw me out of hiding. I blindly walked straight into his trap. Next thing I knew Agent Burke arrested me and sent me away to prison for four years. Well technically 3.75 years since I broke out of prison three months before my sentence was over. The reason I escaped prison was to track down Kate after she suddenly stopped visiting me in prison.
History is a vicious cycle. Personal feelings especially romantic attachments cloud my logic making it more difficult to go about my business with a clear head. History has a messed up sense of humor. It has viciously come back to bite me in the ass.
I willingly let myself get conned by another con artist. Rebecca Lowe. Innocent like Kate, witty like Sara, and alluring like Alex. The perfect formula to draw me in according to her in-depth research. I fooled myself into believing I could fall in love with a normal woman. I've dealt with my fair share of shitty circumstances over the past few years. It was refreshing to meet a woman who wasn't a con artist or who held vengeful grudge and wanted to send me to prison. That's obviously a lie. Rebecca should have her own damn category for her uniqueness.
God knows how long she had been casing my con-artist associates, FBI co-workers, friends, and myself. Her files were pretty damn detailed. She knew so many details about my childhood that I hadn't even told my closest friends. Her very detailed-oriented files put hardcore stalkers to shame! That's not even the worse part. Yes, it gets horribly worse.
Rebecca had been working together with Curtis Hagen right from the start. Mozzie talked to some of his contacts to get more information about Rebecca Lowe. She visited Curtis Hagen many times in prison. Hagen was reluctant to team up with a complete stranger until she had found a way to shorten his prison sentence through a retrial. In fact, she proposed they combined their talents and skills to solve Mosconi's treasure hunt. They were missing one vital piece to their plan. Me. I wouldn't have put the pieces together if Peter and I hadn't accidentally stumbled across her Brooklyn apartment while chasing down a promising lead in Agent Siegel's murder. Agent David Siegel was my new handler since Peter was taking on a new role and more responsibilities at White Collar division.
I don't open up easily to just anyone. When you are a con-artists, you don't have this luxury. The more vulnerable you made yourself the more it would backfire on you somehow. It was an occupational hazard to form emotional attachments with too many people. Only two days ago I decided to tell Rebecca about my criminal background. It wasn't an easy a decision but healthy relationships aren't built on lies. She didn't run away. She did the complete opposite by choosing to intimately spend the night at my place. This should have tipped me off something was wrong. Most people wouldn't easily digest what I told Rebecca. Even the most forgiving person.
Curtis Hagen aka "The Dutchman" was a ruthless bastard but at least he never pretended to care about me. He was honest about his ulterior motives. Peter would still be in prison if I hadn't bribed prosecutor Dawson with the Welsh gold coins. Rebecca, on the other hand, blatantly lied to my face since our first meeting at the museum. Hagen blackmailed me to brazenly heist chapter 13 from the Mosconi Codex on display at the Gershon Museum. I have no doubt that she passed along this idea to him. Both played equally important roles in their devious scheme. Curtis Hagen was the villain. Rebecca Lowe was the "saint". Although, she was actually the devil in disguise beneath her cover.
I'm conflicted. A part of me is appalled at how Rebecca deceived me the entire time, but another part of me still cares about her. I've gone too soft these past few years working alongside Peter. I need to sharpen my skills. If you don't use them, you lose your touch. I don't know how many times my heart can be broken before I become as cynical as Mozzie. What the hell did I do deserve so much bad luck? I just can't catch a break no matter how much I try.
It isn't easy trying to build an honest career for myself when my former criminal past continually taunts me. I'm torn between forging a respectable life, but I still crave my former con-artist life. Once you've experienced the adrenaline rush of the con-artist lifestyle, it is an addictive drug that isn't easy to give up. Each day is struggle. Having the right people in my life, I know positive change is possible. I don't know what I'd do without the encouraging support from my friends. Mozzie. June. Agent Diana Berrigan. Agent Clinton Jones. Ellen Parker. Most importantly Agent Peter Burke and his wife, Elizabeth. Family doesn't end in blood.
I appreciate you supporting my story! Stay tuned for the next chapter. It will be the conclusion to A Beautiful Lie!