Disclaimer: I own nothing as you all know

I would like to dedicate this story to Peppe 1951, Kenzicaffrey who helped with my writers block and my friend jewelz for loving White Collar

Chapter 1: Model Debonair

Peter looked out the glass wall of his office at his partner who had opted to fall asleep at his desk though the seasoned agent knew that his ex con partner had been pushing himself to take on a heavier workload. Even though Peter had a light workload Neal seemed to be doing twice as much work.

He's still trying to find out who tried to kill him and Kate, it hasn't helped that Alex is dead and Mozzie has become too paranoid to be around him. Neal's become his own little island in his world. He thought as he got up from his desk and made his way over to where Neal was sound asleep.

"Neal…we let you sleep for three hours you have to get up now" Peter said giving the younger man a heavy shove. The ex con groaned and sat up his hair a mess and out of place once again.

After running his fingers though his hair to fix the brown locks, when the hair wouldn't stay in place Neal gave up and slowly got to his feet. He looked at the agent in front of him. "You didn't have to be so rough last night… I think you get some sick pleasure from seeing me in pain" Neal said as he followed behind Peter as he headed for the elevator.

With a chuckle Peter hit the down button and waited for the elevator to rise to the twenty-first floor. "If you didn't get in so much trouble I wouldn't have to bend you over a table every night." Peter said as the elevator doors opened to reveal Jones and Diana coming back from an early lunch. Both excused themselves with a smile as they walked into the office.

Neal flushed red as stepped into the elevator "Now the whole division is going to be talking, they're going to take that the wrong way I just know it" Neal hissed from his spot under the camera so he could spare himself some dignity from the security guards in lobby.

Peter rolled his eyes "cowboy up and take it like a man" he mumbled as the elevator bell chimed at the lobby. Neal flushed a deeper red as he left the elevator. He followed behind Peter as they walked to their favorite Chinese place. They took their seats and waited for their waitress to take their orders.

"After lunch there is someone coming in, it turns out that money is going into this agency but it's not reaching the ledgers apparently, we think that there is more than meets the eye."Peter said as the waitress walked over with her pad. "It's nice to see you two in here again, would you like your usual today or something different?" she asked with a smile.

Peter and Neal looked at each other "The same as usual" They both said with a smile. The young woman wrote down the orders before walking off with the menus. Neal looked at his partner with a false smile; a job meant taking time away from looking for the man who killed Kate. "A new job sounds great… so what's my role in this?" Neal asked as he grabbed the glass of water in front of him.

Taking in a deep gulp of his own water Peter looked at his partner "You're going undercover as a model that is being transferred from another company." Peter said not making eye contact for a moment.

Silence fell over the table like a heavy fog; Neal chewed on his lip as he thought "Fine I'll do it but any photographs taken of me you have to swear will be confiscated and destroyed." Neal said in a serious tone.

With a small chuckle Peter nodded "I promise, every copy with be destroyed and the negatives and any other format it's saved on." He said trying to comfort his friend. "You're worried that someone from your old line of work will see it?" Peter asked sipping some water.

"No…I'm more worried about the FBI using the pictures as blackmail after my four years are up." Neal said as the waitress came back with their orders. Grabbing a pair of chopsticks he twirled them around with ease before grabbing a small piece of chicken from his plate.

Peter sat there for a moment "I just realized you don't have an alias for this kind of job. It looks like we're going to have to make one up for you." Peter said grabbing his fork, in all the years he had been eating Chinese food he never learned how to use chopsticks ever.

Neal smirked as he slurped up a Lo-mein noodle. "I've got one… Zack Richards, I'm a twenty-eight year old model who has been working overseas for the last six years and I'm trying to get a break out job in America." Neal said as he reached for his wallet and pulled out a business card. "If you don't believe me then you can call this man" Neal added as he practiced his speech on Peter.

Looking at the business card Peter chuckled as he recognized the number as his cell phone number "cute…I guess there are some aliases that you never were caught on… so what kind of thefts did you pull with this one?" Peter asked probing for information.

"Tsk tsk Peter, you know I can't say anything that might incriminate me in anything" Neal said in a very rich tone that would be mistaken for seduction as he waved his chopsticks back and forth. "Besides the limitations haven't run out yet so ask me again in a few more years and maybe I'll tell you." He added quickly stealing a piece of gingered pork off Peter's plate.

"Now there is a crime you can arrest me for" Neal said with a chuckle and he went back to eating his lunch.

After lunch Neal was sitting in the conference room across from a young woman who was filling him in about the money. Neal took a few notes as he listened "Don't worry we'll figure this out." Neal said as the woman was escorted from the room.

Neal looked at the information on the table. "I don't get what we're doing here unless you think the money is being paid for something illegal?" Neal asked as Peter handed him a picture.

"Her name is Rebecca Porter, she's the one who runs the place and handles all the money, and she does quite a lot of bidding at auction houses, more money than she should have." Peter said taking a seat next to Neal.

Looking at the picture Neal smirked "This job won't be too bad, she's very good looking." Neal commented as he let his eyes roam over the photo a bit.

Peter cleared his throat "hold on Casanova, she's had boyfriends, husbands and lovers all drop dead. All natural causes or pre-existing conditions, the youngest to go was thirty-five. All men had three things in common, they worked as models, they were extremely good looking and they had money and lots of it." Peter said in a very warning tone.

Neal dropped the picture and put his hands up a bit "I get it I'll watch my back around her, now what about a portfolio of head shots don't I need one?" Neal asked as he stretched his arms over his head.

"We took care of that, Diana sent it over this morning when you were asleep at your desk she checked the place out and it looks legit on the surface, they take the pictures and publish a small magazine that is sent to fashion magazines so they can choose models for photo shoots. You have to get from the ground level to the top quickly." Peter said as he grabbed a small packet of photos and handed them over.

"Diana insisted that I show you the photos we sent in so she made copies." Peter said looking away.

The photos ranged from full body to head shots both in color and black and white. Neal looked at each one carefully. "Wait some of these are surveillance photos from when you were chasing me. But I don't recognize the other ones." Neal said laying a few photos out on the table.

Peter glanced at them "I took those three days before I arrested you the first time; I know I'm pretty bad at taking pictures but Diana insisted that we put them in the portfolio." Peter said as he scratched his head a bit.

"These are really good Peter…they could be called amazing even, you managed to capture some really good shots that look like a photo shoot." Neal complimented as he put the pictures back into the large envelope.

It was at that moment he remembered his tracking anklet was still on "This needs to come off before I can leave and I'm guessing you have something to replace it with." Neal said turning in the desk chair so he was facing Peter his leg held up so the tracking anklet was in view.

Peter pulled a necklace out of his pocket "If you even think of taking this off for any reason I'll send you back to prison."Peter warned as he grabbed Neal by the calf and held his leg as he cut the anklet off. "Put that on now I want to make sure that it's on before you leave." He said dropping Neal's leg.

When the necklace was on Peter nodded his head "All right they're waiting for you to show up soon so you shouldn't be late. Jones is waiting downstairs for you he's going to drive you there and that necklace also is a one way microphone so we're going to be recording everything for later. "He said getting up from his chair.

Neal smiled "So I guess I shouldn't say anything too incriminating about myself or you'll have evidence against me" the ex con said with a smirk as he got up from his chair and left the office. He got to the waiting town car and climbed in.

"Hey Neal, good luck Peter is going to call you in two hours to get an update just make sure your alone." Jones said as he drove away from the FBI building.

With butterflies in his stomach Neal tried not to tap his foot, he knew Peter was counting on him to not screw up royally. He looked out the rear passenger window at the city as it moved around him. When the car came to a dead stop Neal took in a deep breath before exiting the car. "See you later Jones" Neal said as he closed the car door.

Upon entering the lobby of the building Neal was approached by Rebecca Porter "Zack Richards right; we just got your personal records faxed over from your last job and the head shots were just amazing, I love the suit by the way." Rebecca said as she led Neal to the elevator when they reached the second floor she pulled him down a hall.

" I need hair and makeup right away, Lisa I want him half naked and covered in oil in twenty minutes I want to get this test shoot done right away." She yelled as another woman ran up and grabbed Neal by the arm and dragged him down the hallway to an empty changing room.

She smiled as she tossed him a pair of tight jeans "You can fold your suit up and leave it in there and bring the hat but leave the shoes and shirt off." Lisa said as she slammed the door leaving Neal to change.

Neal felt his head spin a bit as he removed his clothes and put the jeans on, with his hat perched on his head he looked at himself in the mirror. "Peter is going to kill me for taking this off but it will be in my pocket" Neal mumbled to himself as he removed the necklace and put into his pants pocket.

As soon as he left the changing room he was dragged to hair and makeup. Neal kept his smile plastered on despite the fact he was nervous. "Rebecca is a great person to work for; every model she photographs gets a job at some big magazine in the city or gets to work overseas, but since you came from overseas I'm sure Rebecca can get you into any magazine you want." Lisa said as she started to run her fingers through Neal's hair.

When she was done with his hair she looked at Neal's reflection in the mirror "mmm I love it very early grunge with a touch of Sinatra." Lisa remarked as she pulled Neal from the chair and brought him to the studio.

"Wonderful now let's get this photo shoot started. Now Zack I want to get some movement shots so walk around do something interesting" Rebecca said from her chair.

With a smirk Neal waited for his signal and walked across the floor halfway through he flipped his hat onto his head in perfect step before freezing on his mark and looking right at the camera with his best seductive look.

Rebecca clapped her hands together "That was perfect now bring the couch and model in, Zack don't worry the first set of shots were perfect and per you manager's request the copies are being emailed to him right now while we set up for the next round of shots.

Neal gave a weak smile "That's wonderful…which email address is it, I just want to make sure that it's the most current one." Neal said as he fiddled with his hat a bit.

"Oh, PB7234 at hotmail dot com that is the correct one I hope?" she asked. Neal nodded his head. That's Peter's email for jobs… now everyone is going to see these; I'm never going to live these down. Neal thought as he silently prayed Peter's email server would crash.

"Hey Peter the first email is coming through "Diana said as Peter entered the conference room with Jones and the rest of the team.

Everyone stood in awe at the pictures of Neal, a few agents commented that Neal could have been a model if he didn't have a life in crime. Peter was impressed that his partner did very good work undercover.

"Okay everyone Neal wanted no one to see these so no one can comment on these to him when he gets back to work" Peter said as he scrolled through the photos once more as the other agents went back to work digging though the agency's records.

I think I'm going to save these Peter thought as he went into his office and grabbed an empty thumb drive and went back to the laptop and uploaded the photos onto the drive for later use. With a smirk Peter close the email and began do some paperwork.

Neal felt his legs shake a bit as he was posed with the model; he had to admit she was very good looking. Rebecca walked around giving directions "Okay now we need some emotional shots, don't be afraid to let out the passion Zack she said returning to her chair.

As the house lights were turned down Neal took a deep breath to calm his nerves as the model crawled over him and looked down at Neal "you don't have to do anything except look hot, oh and sorry for the hickey" she whispered with a smirk.

"What hick…" Neal was cut off by sharp bite on his neck. The pain was dulled by pleasure in a matter of seconds, as soon as he closed his eyes Neal could hear the camera shutter clicking. Even though he knew Peter would see the pictures he didn't care at the moment.

If he shows those to everyone I'll never live this down… Neal thought as he raised his arm to push his hair out of his eyes.

"Hold that pose" Rebecca yelled as the photographer moved in and took the shot from multiple angles. "And we're done for now" Rebecca said from her chair as the photographer moved away and began to upload the pictures to the email address.

When Neal was free he sat up and let out a sigh as he hung his head. I'm going to be the laughing stock of the FBI soon. He thought as Lisa returned and led him back to the changing room.