Hey there everyone. Sorry for such a long delay. I had been busy with a hectic finals week and as soon as I got out I have been busy with finding a job for the summer. I'm not on the computer as much due to being home. Hope you like this one despite it being short and as always read and respond. Disclaimer: I do not own White Collar and all that jazz. I just do this stuff for fun.
Calculating- (adj) shrewd; cautious
Calculating:
Reese Hughes, leader of the White Collar Division in New York, was a well-respected man, but was never held in too many people's favorite person lists. Like a stone in many ways, he was unchanging on his views and was the mortar that kept his teams together. Firm in his beliefs, it was hard for anyone to change the man's mind unless he was given sufficient reasoning and that whatever it was would accomplish what was needed to be done. His iron will didn't mean he didn't care about his agents or that he wasn't open to new ideas or changes. Hughes had seen much over his long career and nothing really surprised him anymore, because frankly when you been around as long as he had you grew accustomed. Only one subject gave him pause over his many years of experience and that came in the form of a certain person called Neal Caffrey.
When Peter had come to him about taking the young con as his Confidential Informant, or CI, he was adamant to Agent Burke that this was a bad idea. To him criminals didn't last long on the other side, the right side of the law in order to help others. They tended to fall back on old habits, habits that had gotten them in trouble in the first place. It didn't mean that he thought all criminals were bad people, he just had to take a more cautious and calculating approach to the idea. He had a duty to protect his people and to make sure that people got the job done, so at the end of the day everyone could go home safe and bad situations were stopped so others could carry on with their lives. The good winning over what or whom was deemed wrong and evil. It took a few days, but when he gave Peter the green light he knew that he was taking a risk giving the good word and that Peter had an even riskier stake in this than him. In the end though, he hoped that Peter would be able to turn this risk factor into more of a positive than negative. If anyone could handle the enigma of Caffrey, who better than the man who had spent so much time to bring him to justice than Burke? So he watched with eyes like a hawk on not only his team, but Caffrey as well when the man joined.
As the first few months went by, he was still at odds over the CI. Reese knew that Caffrey was smart and had skills that were useful to Burkes' team, but the man was still rough and prone do what he wanted whether it was for the right reasons or not. Hughes knew more about the people he watched over than he let on and Caffrey was certainly up there. He may not know his past or all of his crimes, but he paid attention to the young man as he worked within the White Collar. He noticed how the young man respected Peter, but was slow to completely trust him. To be completely frank he doubted the two of them ever would completely trust each other. He also wasn't blind to how the young man at first was only there to find Kate, but eventually was starting to invest himself a little bit more after each case. It would take a lot more for him to break away from the temptations of her and what she represented to the conman. His stress levels were certainly higher with Caffrey around. Not every case that Peter got ever went smoothly and to say he was slightly worried barely described how he felt. At the end of each day he would be happy that they had done the job, but the conman was still a risk. He was a threat to them even if he was chained down to a two mile radius and Peter was always vigilant with him. What Hughes did know was that at the end of the day that when all was said and done, that as long as Caffrey helped the group and did a good job, than that was fine to him. Hughes didn't know if he would ever be able to trust the man with his life, but it wasn't his job to. It was his job to be there for his people and protect them as best as he could while he was in charge. Reese had to stay aloof and calculate all the angles and possibilities of any situation, it was the reason why he had been where he was for so long. To this iron man Caffrey was a criminal. The world was painted white and black. As long as Caffrey did his job then Hughes planned to be as civil as he could and of course make a few exceptions and turn a blind eye every now and then. After all, he wasn't cold and unfeeling, just calculating and strong.
A/N: I hope you liked it and once again sorry for the wait. Please feel free to read and respond. I am always glad to hear what others have to say, regardless if it is good and bad. As many of you on here know, responses give us sustenance.
PS. Feel free to pester me into writing sooner. I will be more likely to not forget and get more motivated. Now press that buttom.
