BNP - Bryce is Not Pleased

From cathelin on AO3:

The third bunny wasn't from a particular chapter but was kinda influenced by some of them as well as themes occurring in other Neil/Bryce stories.

I've called it 'Bryce is Not Pleased' - not very original.

- Bryce was relieved when he found out that Neal is a *Consulting* CI for the FBI, as this should keep him from dangerous situations. Then he finds out exactly how many times the White Collar Team have put Neal into dangerous situations – when he hasn't had FBI training like they have and is a civilian. He is Not Pleased. (And neither are the higher ups when Bryce kicks up a fuss?)

It doesn't matter whether or not Neal is actually a civilian or a Fed, the FBI believe he is a civilian so he should have been kept away from danger – unlike what happens in the show. If Neal is a Fed then he isn't a Black Ops field agent like Bryce is.

Hughes had no idea what he had expected when men in suits walked into his bullpen. They were dressed in nice suits; lawyer suits, not the cheap FBI kind. That was worrying. They requested a meeting with him, Peter and Neal Caffrey. Bancroft was also there. That was extremely worrying.

Peter seemed frustrated at the sound of a surprise meeting while Neal looked more amused. At least, until they entered the room and were handed the files. Files on Neal.

Bancroft was not pleased at all. He also wasn't making any comments, letting the lawyer suits run things.

This seemed to be something about the FBI and their agreement with Neal Caffrey.

Neal sunk his head into his hands in embarrassment. He muttered, 'oh great,' along with more choice embarrassed words towards a 'Bryce'. This was not cool.

"What is this?" Peter questioned, more than a little annoyed at how this display seemed to be distressing his CI.

"It's an injunction," Hughes commented. "They don't want us putting Neal Caffrey in the field."

"I'm a conman, I'm used to situations where the stakes are high!" Neal pointed out in frustration. "And, quite frankly, the man who put you up to this has no right to criticise anything I do."

"'The man who put you up to this'?" Peter questioned. It sounded like Neal knew exactly what was going on, right down to the person behind it.

On the other hand, he skimmed the documents again and realised that this person had brought up a valid point. The FBI was putting a civilian in dangerous situations which Neal hadn't been trained for. Neal might have been a criminal but that didn't count as training.

"He does seem to have a point," Peter mused.

Neal glared. He liked going undercover, Peter knew that. It gave him a chance to legally use his conning skills to help.

"No, he doesn't. He just doesn't like the FBI."

"Mr. Larkin is fine with the FBI," Bancroft informed him, "and he has worked with us on a number of occasions."

"What." Neal glared at Bancroft. If he knew that, then he also knew exactly who they were dealing with. "The hypocrite."

"Alright Neal, calm down," Peter said. He turned to Bancroft. "What can we do about this?"

"Not much," Bancroft said, the lawyers nodding in confirmation. Peter knew better than to trust them though. "Mr. Larkin has been… thorough. Our best option is to keep Neal behind a desk, where he's meant to be as a consultant."

"You've got to be kidding me…" Neal sighed.

"As much as I don't condone putting civilians into dangerous situations, you have to admit that Caffrey has skills that not even FBI training can grant. Plus, he's one of the best we have when it comes to being undercover."

"He has aliases we can use," Peter added.

One of the lawyers pulled out a card. "And would you put one Neal Caffrey in the line of fire, without a weapon, just to make use of aliases he shouldn't be using?"

"None of your business," Neal said in a serious tone. He stood up. "Peter, Hughes, you don't have to answer this. Just give me five minutes."

Neal stormed out into Peter's office and picked up the phone. One of the lawyers looked utterly terrified while the other two had dread clear on their faces.

"You okay?" Peter asked.

"We were really hoping this wouldn't happen," the lawyer, who seemed to be the spokesperson for their group, commented.

"We're going to get fired, aren't we?" the other one said, barely holding it together.

"You're worried about getting fired?" Peter wondered. If anyone had to worry about their job, he thought it would be him. After all, he was the one putting Neal 'in the line of fire'. "I'd like to know who this 'Bryce Larkin' is," he commented with a look at Bancroft and Hughes.

"Bryce Larkin?" Hughes questioned in a suspicious tone, checking the documents again. "Wasn't he killed in the line of duty?"

"He survived," the lawyer informed them, the others nodding.

"We were shocked too," another added.

"I can probably call in a favour to get this forgotten about," Hughes mused. He wondered if his old NSA buddies would have a free moment.

"Just see what Neal thinks when he comes back in," Peter said. While he didn't like having 'this forgotten about', Neal knew the risks and Peter didn't doubt that if he didn't want to do something, he would find a way out.

Neal decided he hated speaker-phone.

"Do you even know what consulting is?" Bryce commented angrily. Apparently, he had been relieved to hear that Neal was consulting with the FBI, until he heard that Neal was also going out onto the field.

"Yes, I do. I do it for the General and you," Neal responded snidely. "But, the FBI is different. This is White Collar crime, Bryce."

"White collar criminals include people like Matthew Keller, Neal. Non-violent criminals like you are an exception, not a rule."

Neal didn't want to admit that Bryce was probably right there. Even though many white collar criminals were business people, many were also ruthless. They didn't get where they were by being squeamish.

"So? How many times have you 'died'?" he questioned. "And how many times have I 'died' while working for the FBI? And how many times did I 'die' before I was arrested? Ironic that you find problems with me doing this when I was in more dangerous situations before being arrested."

"At least you didn't have people forcing you into those situations," Bryce responded.

"Not if you ask Peter. He thinks I did it all for Kate."

"Enough," the General ordered in a firm voice. "Both of you. Neal, why did you call?"

"I want to call in that favour you owe me."

She sighed. "That's not an easy task. You need to understand, Neal, that the FBI has been making a mistake in sending you out into the field without training."

"Can't you get me training then?" Neal questioned.

There was silence on the other end.

"Stop mouthing 'no' at me, Agent Larkin," the General stated. "Mr. Caffrey has made a valid point."

Everyone looked up when Neal walked back into the room. He was holding some papers in his hands.

"What's that?" Peter asked. Neal was grinning as he passed the papers into the lawyer's hands. He didn't answer the question.

The lawyer looked over the papers and then excused himself to make a call. When he returned, he and the other lawyers left with Bancroft. They assured Neal that they would work out the details of his proposal.

"What just happened?" Peter asked.

"Normally, I would say to not ask that question, but I admit that I am curious as well," Hughes said to Neal.

Neal was still grinning.

"I may have made 'Agent Larkin' mad."

"How?" Peter sighed. He didn't like the idea that Neal had potentially made an enemy out of a CIA agent. He also wished Hughes hadn't shared that little bit of information.

"I called in a favour and now you guys are going to send me to Quantico for the training I supposedly need."

Neal at Quantico… Hughes felt a shiver down his back. Peter seemed gobsmacked, although it was a smart idea. He liked it, especially if it meant that Neal adjusted to their world a little more instead of the criminal one.

"And, the CIA is offering to monitor me so that I don't use this opportunity to escape."

"Do I want to know the kind of favour you called in to have this much pull with the CIA?" Peter questioned.

Neal just shook his head with a grin and commented how Peter was better off not knowing.

It was only a few days later that the lights flickered as the elevator dinged and a certain CIA agent walked out and into the office.

"He took his time," Neal commented to Peter, reaching out to help Peter balance the coffee he had been about to let slip out of his hands.

"Am I seeing this right?" Jones questioned, rubbing his eyes.

Bryce looked like Neal, right down to the fancy dress. Although, he was in an incomplete tuxedo. Suddenly, everyone knew why someone had called in the lawyers over Neal being out in the field.

Family. Many agents had experienced worried family members of their own but, at least those ones knew they had decided this because they wanted to and not because it had been a deal made to get out of prison.

"Do you need a tie, Bryce?" Neal called across the bullpen in a pleasant tone.

"I do not need a tie, Neal! I need to know why you didn't let my lawyers take care of things!" Bryce commented, throwing his hands into the air. At this point, the lawyers' event, as it was being called, was well-known throughout the office, although no one knew that the CIA had been behind their appearance and disappearance.

They also knew that in a week, Quantico would be graced with Neal Caffrey's presence.

"Because I actually like doing what I do," Neal responded with a shrug. "And the next time you go over my head like that, I'm going to remind your employers that there are things like allocated vacation days and that you haven't been using yours."

"Can you do that?" Jones asked Neal quietly.

"I'm the older brother," Neal whispered back.

Jones understood. He also instantly felt for Bryce; having Neal Caffrey as an older brother couldn't be easy.

"Maybe you should take him for coffee?" Peter suggested. It was a 'two birds, one stone' suggestion. Calm Bryce down and give the brothers a chance to talk as well as moving the drama away from the agents who were watching it like the series finale of their favourite show; he needed them working and not distracted.

Neal had an idea what Peter was after however, he didn't want anyone slipping up about his other consulting work. So he agreed to Peter's suggestion. Besides, he would be seeing a lot of Bryce soon; Bryce had been one of the agents selected to go with him to Quantico.