1D: Returning to the Office
Returning to the office, Peter was double-finger flagged up to Hughes' office to meet with the Police Chief.
Stopping at his desk below, Neal was relieved to have a distraction to look forward to. As much as he wanted to cheer Peter up, he wasn't looking forward to another interview or confrontation for the day. He was about to ignore the shadow waiting in Hughes' office, but curiosity and self-preservation wouldn't allow it. Staring for a few moments, he recognized an old ally, a police officer he had commonly worked with growing up. The same man who had arrested many of his abusers.
Curious, he continued to pay attention to what transpired upstairs while still making slow progress on his work. Considering the day he was having, no one would blame him for not being overly focused.
Eventually, he got the double finger point from Peter to join the meeting.
Climbing the stairs, Neal was more intrigued than nervous, but his nerves were making it a close competition. Why was the chief there, and what did it have to do with him?
"Hello, Chief Davidson." He greeted first.
Startled, the man hadn't expected Neal to be an old friend. "You're Neal Caffrey?"
"Yes, have been off and on for a while now." He wasn't mentioning the reason for the change.
"I heard you had run away, but thought you chose another direction." The man had introduced Neal to his future but hadn't known where that action had led.
"Life leads in interesting directions, doesn't it? You believe you're taking one path, and the next thing you know you're on another. I took the suggestion you gave me, but it's a long story about how I got here." Neal hinted.
Nodding, the man understood there was more to the situation than appeared, but he didn't question it in front of their present company. "I see. You'll have to tell me something about it someday."
While Neal and the man shared a silent conversation, Peter began to formulate suspicions and possible theories, so Hughes was left to redirect the conversation back to their present topic.
"Is there going to be a problem here? We have a case to work." The agent sat seriously watching the group in front of him. It was odd that the NYCPD Chief would have something of a common history with their world-renowned consulting criminal.
"No, no problem at all. In fact, this just confirms the belief that he is our man for the job." The chief was delighted.
Smiling, Neal was looking forward to what the case entailed. "What are we talking about? Stolen paintings, an elusive con man, or perhaps something more intriguing?" He smirked at the reaction his comments got from Peter and Hughes.
"Nothing as exciting as all of that" Davidson smiled. "We are simply trying to catch an elusive burglar who continues to evade all of our efforts at capture. Since we don't appear to have the resources necessary, we thought perhaps our Federal counterparts might."
"Sounds like fun. What is the average take of the thefts?" Neal began pushing for details.
"Between several thousand and a million. The criminal has managed to pull off their crimes six times in the last six months. We are becoming the laughing stock of the local underground, so we need to catch whoever is responsible before they become even more brazen." Davidson explained.
"Hmm… it sounds like they're toying with you. Something bigger is coming, or else they would have simply made a much larger profit before leaving town." Neal started to pace while he thought of the situation. "What has been targeted at each heist?"
"Valuable paintings. Each one is then replaced with a fake." Davidson shot the answer back.
"Where do the fakes go once they have been discovered?" Neal continued to prod.
"The evidence warehouse," Davidson explained.
"Not the same one you put your regular evidence at?" Neal paused in his pacing.
"No, these are considered more valuable due to what they have copied after. We put them in the other warehouse, where we keep our more valuable evidence."
"That's it! There is something in that warehouse the thief is after. Have the paintings been checked over for tracking devices or radioactive paint? My brothers know of several ways to trace an item without their markers being identified." Warming up to his theory, Neal was certain he had caught the gist of the scheme. "It is probably a hired job, but not by just anybody. We're talking about some high-class skills but from a different field. Those forms of tracking are more espionage-style than White Collar… The contractor probably hired them to steal the paintings, replace them with traceable fakes to find the likely location of their target, and then the final heist will be to steal from the evidence warehouse. Your original paintings could be sold on the black market for side profit, or kept as payment for the job."
"It sounds like you have a running theory already?" Hughes rejoined the conversation.
"Yes, and I think I know just who can help us solve this."
Peter sighed knowing he was about to be facing all three Caffrey brothers again, but this time officially in the office. "Your brothers."
"They're in town, specialize in espionage, and are willing to help so we can work through this quickly," Neal explained.
"I haven't seen your brothers since after you left. They weren't happy, but they seemed to have found their directions. It sounds like they ended up in government work too." Davidson commented.
Taking note of the 'government work too' part, Peter added to his research.
"Do they know?" Davidson hinted at his childhood secrets.
"Recent circumstances brought it out… in fact, they confronted me on it earlier today. We just got back from that discussion." Neal answered.
"We?" Davidson questioned.
"He was at my house when the past… came up again. I know what happened, and that Trigger died today too." Peter answered for himself, although paling at the recollection.
Sighing, Davidson wasn't sure how to feel. "He was a good officer… or so it seemed until the truth of his actions was aired. That was a difficult day in the precinct."
"You are from the same precinct?" Peter was beginning to realize where Neal knew him from.
"Yes. I was the one who reported him. Since I arrested most of her boyfriends at some point in time or another, I learned to keep an eye on whoever she was involved with. She had poor tastes in men, yet for some reason, managed to produce three of the best boys I've ever known." The Chief glanced proudly over at Neal. "This kid has helped me solve cases since he was in school. Closed ten by the time he was ready to graduate high school."
Hughes and Peter were both surprised by that.
"He was helping you in the field, as a minor?" Hughes wasn't pleased at all.
"No… more like, he was a valuable witness who had a tendency to draw bad crowds. His mothers' boyfriends taught him a distaste for certain behaviors, so he tended to point out when he saw other things going on around him. He had the sharpest eyes in his school." Davidson explained.
Elaborating a little, Neal shared some of the case descriptions. "The drug dealer on campus, illegal forger who was helping other kids… get into life-threatening trouble, a gang that was trying to move into the school territory, and so on. Basic things I observed on the grounds and on my walk home."
"Didn't you have friends walking with you, or your brothers?" Peter wondered. Why didn't anyone else help with these cases?
"Not usually. I was rather skittish as a result of the abuse, so I didn't have many friends. My brothers usually had several and were often off hanging out with them." Neal shrugged.
"Anyway, he would see suspicious activity, observe long enough to understand something of what was going on, and then he would report it to me carefully to avoid being caught. We didn't want him to be perceived as a snitch to his peers, or a noted witness to the more dangerous suspects. Still, his observation and bravery helped us protect the other kids and closed some good cases."
With his new perspective of Neal, Hughes gave his permission for them to work together before sending Peter and Neal out with Chief Davidson.
Leaving the office, Davidson directed them to the evidence warehouse in question and gave them entrance when they arrived.
Walking through, Neal seemed to be focused on the evidence with the assistance of his brothers through their connection. After a while, he stopped at one and examined it more thoroughly. "This is it. See the frame here; that is a microchip. It's being used to transport data of some sort, and the people it was taken from want it recovered."
With a little help from his brothers, a replacement chip was sent over to bait the trap while the police made the necessary arrangement to catch the thief.
Having completed their initial portion of the work, Neal and Peter returned to the office while the other agencies sent representatives to help with the final takedown when the time came.
Hearing of the commotion before it even reached their floor, Peter wasn't surprised to see that the chosen representatives were none other than the Caffrey triplets. Jones and Diana had been the only ones privy to their existence, so the rest of the office was shocked.
Entering the White Collar division, the two brothers stopped at Neal's desk giving the entire office an eyeful of three identical persons. While some snapped pictures or gossiped, they endeavored to ignore the attention while focusing on strategizing for the case.
"Alright, already," Neal called to them. "Stand together you two, we might as well let everybody who wants one take a picture with us posed."
Posing for a few moments, the brothers allowed the team to take pictures for their amusement.
"That's enough, back to work everybody." Peter barked as he entered the conversation. He knew the team needed to get it out of their system, but that didn't mean taking all afternoon.
Rejoining the group, Chief Davidson greeted the triplets. "Hello boys, it's been a long time."
"Chief Davidson." Junior greeted happily. Having learned what the officer had done for their family, he was thrilled to see him again. "I didn't know what you did before, but thank you for protecting us and looking out for this trouble magnet." He ruffled Neal's hair.
"Hey, watch the hair. I have an image to upkeep." Neal complained as he repaired the damage.
"Boo hoo. Everyone is laughing so I don't think anyone cares besides you." Junior had no sympathy.
"I want to thank you too. We didn't know what Neal was taking for us…" Bryce also shook Davidson's hand.
Understanding that it was an emotional topic, Davidson didn't dwell on it. "You boys were like my nephews. It was a pleasure to help where I could."
Directing the conversation up to the conference room, Peter introduced the case, Davidson shared the steps that had been taken, and the triplets added their ideas as to how the case should be finished. When they were done, the group returned to the field and made sure everything was in place.
Then it was time to wait.
Returning to the office, Peter retreated up to his own space to research the name Neal had given him while the triplets enjoyed reminiscing in the conference room with Davidson. They had the work done and were waiting for something to happen in the field. Since the pattern indicated they wouldn't have to wait long, they hung around the Bureau.
Knocking on the door to join the conversation, Peter had a copy of the records he had discovered. "Do you want to share with everybody?" He asked Neal.
"Why not? Davidson helped me on this path, and my brothers have been pestering me with questions." Neal grinned at Peter. "So, what did you find under Danny Brooks?"
"Don't you mean Agent Danny Brooks, legendary agent of the FBI White Collar based out of DC and on a need-to-know assignment in New York? You've been an agent all along and are only playing a criminal." He was surprised, mostly happy, and a little upset. "Why did I waste company resources and years researching to catch you?"
"Undercover work, Peter. It had to look real and the bosses figured it was better to have an agent we could trust at my back chasing than someone who would put a bullet in it if they figured out the truth. Since you have one of the most solid reputations for honesty in the FBI, you were one of my top choices. The rest of who you are put it over the top and you were chosen."
"Has there ever been any intention to bring me in, or am I to be the puppet in all this?" He was still frustrated with the news.
"If necessary, and definitely should I be allowed to eventually transfer here to work with you as a fellow agent. For now, though, the bosses have felt it was still on a need-to-know basis and advised against telling you."
"Advised against, didn't forbid. Why haven't you told me before?" Peter continued to push.
"There wasn't a reason, it gave more realism if you didn't know, and it never felt right. I told you now because you were so upset about my past that I figured it wouldn't hurt you to know I'm more capable of defending myself than an untrained consultant is. Besides, it also provides a distraction because you now have a whole new collection of questions and things to deal with than my messed up childhood."
Nodding, Peter had to consent to his reasoning. There really hadn't been a good time to reveal his secret, and waiting until now meant he had something to distract him from the horrifying reveal they had earlier. "I'm still not thrilled, but I am glad to know you're actually an agent." It would take some time before he completely adjusted to his new perspective of the kid. He had learned a lot in a single day.
Taking a seat, Peter was done working. He had completed as many official tasks as possible, there had been multiple reveals, and they still anticipated the possibility of their case progressing with another theft attempt before dawn.
Davison reacted next since he had already known the idea of it. "So, my recommendation did get you into the Bureau."
"Yeah, I went to Columbia and got several degrees in art, did my stint at Quantico, and was placed undercover at twenty-four. The whole criminal history for Neal is a back story or sham. Sure, some of them were real crimes my name was thrown into under suspicion, but I didn't do the majority of things my character is accredited for. I got some cooperation with Interpol for some of my cases, helping me create an element of an international criminal, but those were official or vacation to put me on the map." He grinned and shrugged over at Peter, who frowned in return.
"Did you ever get the blame for our activity?" Junior wondered.
"Some, but most of your work is rather subtle, or didn't hit the same radars to be associated with my character. You and Bryce both work more military, espionage, and black ops style operations than my White Collar and Art Crimes work."
"Ohh… so that's why the Marconi brothers tracked me across Italy once… you stole one of their stolen paintings, didn't you?" Bryce suddenly realized he had been blamed for one of Neal's cases.
Laughing, Neal was amused. "Yeah, that was a recovery job from the States with Interpol and the local Italian government's assistance. It was fun pulling a legal theft."
"How did they know it was you?" Junior was curious.
"Caffrey has a reputation, and they have pull with the underground who reported my presence, and from there they drew the obvious conclusion. Interpol arrested them for the original crime as soon they could catch them." Neal was enjoying being open on this one. With Peter and his brothers knowing the truth, the people closest to him could stop treating him like the criminal he wasn't.
Having been sitting to the side listening, Davidson decided to rejoin the conversation. "How about we go grab some dinner? The MO means we probably have until midnight, so we might as well get some food and be ready for a stakeout."
Agreeing to his suggestion, the group chose a nearby diner to grab an easy meal before retiring to their stations for the night.
Sitting in the car with Peter, Neal kept quiet and used his connection to talk to his brothers. The day had opened a whole new series of topics for them to discuss. Peter was reflecting on what he had learned and coming to terms with the reveals.
Somewhere in the middle of the night, the trap was sprung and the arrest was made. The agents involved headed into the office for the interrogation and were ready to head home with the sunrise.
Catching the triplets and Davidson, Peter invited everyone to a quick breakfast at his place before they all headed home to their beds.
Taking him up on his offer, everyone piled into their cars and made the drive out to Brooklyn.
Picking up some food on the way, Peter and Neal were the last to arrive, but Elizabeth had let the others in after receiving Peter's call.
Settling in around the dining room table, Peter greeted his wife while Neal set the food out.
"So, this is what you meant by them looking alike. I thought you meant like brothers, not identical triplets." She teased Peter. He hadn't talked about the brothers much, and this was her first time meeting them.
"You probably wouldn't have believed me. I know I would have questioned if you told me you had met identical triplets." Peter was too tired to really joke.
Not giving him a hard time, Elizabeth joined the group for breakfast and enjoyed a shorter version of their previous conversations.
Being the first to take his leave, Davidson headed home after he ate. "I'll leave you all to get caught up or acquainted. And boys, don't forget to look me up once in a while when you're passing through." With a smile and a wave, he headed home to get some sleep for the day.
Left alone, the group felt both more relaxed and awkward.
"Why don't you boys take the guest bedroom upstairs and Neal can have the couch? You all look like you're about to fall asleep in your food." Elizabeth noted how tired everyone looked, especially Junior and Bryce. They had been on some kind of international operation before spending their day in reveals and getting another case that took all night.
Giving in due to their fatigue, the boys took her up on the offer and were soon crashed in the guest room. Neal was a little more awake, so he helped clean up the meal.
"Thanks for welcoming my brothers. They don't trust people much and aren't able to be too open with the people they do." He explained why they still kept their distance.
Patting his shoulder as she moved passed him, Elizabeth reassured her tired friend. "I have learned that agents don't open up much about their work, and the more dangerous the work the more closed off they seem to be. Although Peter is in White Collar now, he used to work in Violent Crimes."
"Black ops is even worse." Neal yawned.
"Go to sleep you two. You've helped me get the worst of the mess and I can finish." She shooed them off to sleep.
Peter kissed her good day/night and made sure Neal had what he needed for sleeping on the couch. Neal hugged her and thanked her again for welcoming his brothers in like family and accepting him for his own reveal before making the couch up. Both were asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows.
Left alone to think in the kitchen, Elizabeth continued to methodically wash the dishes. It was an easy task and allowed her time to think about what she had learned over breakfast.
First discovering that the brothers were identical had caught her breath. It wasn't every day you saw two people who look alike, so it was more surprising to see three. She tried to find differences, but with their fatigue, the best she could do was go by clothes.
Then learning something of the horrors they had endured growing up wasn't a pleasant topic. She used the back of her wrist to wipe away a few tears for the abuse Neal had taken, the efforts Junior had put in to look out for his brothers, and the support Bryce had tried to provide for his older brothers. With Neal's secrets in the open, they seemed to be rekindling a close bond that had grown distant over the years.
Finally, it was interesting to learn that Neal was actually an agent. Like Peter, she wasn't thrilled about the time wasted in search of an undercover agent, but she did like the perspective of knowing. With Peter aware of the situation he could better handle things with Neal and spend less time worrying about him getting into trouble.
Overall, it had been a good meal with new friends and a stronger relationship with an old one.
With the clutter put away and the food eaten; Elizabeth quietly gave Satchmo a pet before letting herself out the door. The men might be sleeping for the day, but she had work to get to.
Thank you, everyone, for reading, reviewing, following my stories and me, choosing to favorite, and leaving kudos :D
