Title: My Great Escape
Fandom: White Collar
Wordcount: ~400
Rating: PG
Pairing(s): Peter
Summary: Peter using his Neal skills to escape
Undercover operations are just one of the techniques used by law enforcement agencies to gather evidence. An agent or consultants deputed by the agency assume an identity often to infiltrate an organization or individual. Undercover operations are typically to learn, confirm or gain trust to gather information about the individual or organization. They are very effective means to track a case open.
We at the white Collar have had our fair share of undercover operation. Before any one goes in for any undercover job a fair amount of grunt work is needed, to make a cover which can stand some basic scrutiny, gathering as much credible information as possible about the perp (or mark as Neal likes to call them) and his organization is vital for the success of any undercover operation. Undercover work is tricky and stressful. The stress of staying away from family and friends and the need to continuously vigilant in what can be a hostile environment with little or no backup. Wire taps, trackers are just some of the means we stay in touch with the FBI during a undercover operation, they are usually pretty effective in keeping us safe.
Watching Neal going undercover is a bit scary, he transforms himself so effortlessly into any role – the fixer, the architect, the teacher, the sleazy bad assed punk. He is almost like a chameleon. He has consciously and unconsciously improved some of our skills making us all better agents especially when we went undercover. Planting bugs, misdirection, a subtle manipulation to move things along.
It was supposed to be a simple undercover operation Stanley Incorporated was an investment firm we suspected of insider trading and money laundering. The firm like many investment firms was paranoid about their security, so surveillance equipments were out of the questions . I went in as undercover accountant in the firm. The evidence was not difficult to uncover. I am still not sure how my cover was blown I was accosted on my way to "work" at the firm. Waking up with your body bruised all over, a black bag over your head and your arms firmly secured with zip ties is scary. I had to internalize all my Neal skills to escape.
Thanks to Neal I had become adept at unlocking myself from handcuffs and zip ties. We had training session practicing with various implement – bobby pins, safety pins, paper clip. Bobby pin had become my favorite tool to escape. The pin can easily be hidden in the seams of your outfit and can be missed during a rough pat down. Neal was a patient but relentless when it came to teaching us how to get rid of the handcuffs and ties. We went at it for hours, sometime blindfolded in order to get a better "feel" of the cuff and to ward of any distraction. Soon most agents could unlock themselves in less than five minutes.
"There's always another way ". We took to studying building plans meticulously before every undercover operation. We also had an exit strategy planned if our cover was blown.
Getting rid of the zip ties was easy part; I can still hear Neal "Zip ties contain a locking mechanism that fits into the slots on the long plastic strap, making it so that the strap can only go one way. You can circumvent this and keep the strap intact by inserting a tool into the sleeve in between it and the ridged side of the tie. The goal is to push the locking mechanism forward (typically an angled wedge of plastic) in order to get it to disengage from the ridges, allowing you to remove the long ridged portion of the tie".
After removing the bag around my head I discovered I was locked in the break room of the Stanley Incorporated. The ducts of the building led to the roof. Crawling in a confined and dusty place with possible busted ribs is disorientating and hard. I know Neal has used building ducts for many of his alleged heist; damn he made it sound so easy. I was panting the time I got to the roof. The roof had a fire escape and soon I was home free. Neal looked like a proud teacher when he heard of my great escape. Arresting Mr. David Stanley was so satisfying he'll be going away for a very long time.