8B: Inspected

Gathering in the office the next morning, the team was waiting for the verdict.

Standing by Neal's desk, Peter was waiting for him to arrive when Elizabeth and Sara got off of the elevator and entered the office.

"You forgot your lunch on the counter, Hon." Elizabeth passed him the brown paper bag with his sandwich in it before kissing him in greeting.

Smiling as he kissed her, Peter knew the bag hadn't been on the counter. Elizabeth was looking for an excuse to provide support to him without being obvious, "Thanks, Hon. Do you have time to wait with us? We expect our evaluators at any time."

Elizabeth easily agreed and took up her position next to him.

"That's why I'm here. These agents have a reputation according to my research. I don't trust them." Sara had joined them and leaned against a desk too.

"We're stuck with their judgment at the moment so why don't you all get back to work?" Hughes joined the conversation and restored order before they could digress too far from their tasks.

"Elizabeth, Sara, are you here to see what the verdict is?" He knew what the attraction was.

Before they could answer, the elevator opened up and the agents along with Neal exited to enter the office.

Taking the lead as a fellow FBI agent, Agent Tangeman stepped forward and handed the verdict to Hughes. Agents Odle and Renigar moved to stand behind him while Neal slipped back to his desk and took his seat outside of the focal point.

"What is the meaning of this?" Hughes raged, "Average? That's the lowest rating possible without going into negative reviews."

There was some discussion, but the agents seemed to have come up with reasons for their evaluations. They wouldn't stick under normal circumstances, but these agents had managed to get away with these games before based on their research.

Clearing his throat, Neal stepped around his desk and held up his hand, "Excuse me." He stepped forward and reached into Peter's pocket.

Accustomed to Neal playing games, Peter just lifted his arm out of the way and looked at him in question.

Plopping a listening device in Agent Tangeman's hand, Neal smiled at him and then turned away. Then he proceeded to start collecting bugs from various places around the office. They had been underneath desks, in books, dropped in pen holders, and eclectic other places that agents usually used.

It was the evaluators' turn to question what the meaning was. Why were there listening devices planted all throughout the office? For that matter, Peter and the team were questioning as well.

When Bancroft and other administration walked in while Neal was retrieving the gear, the room went silent.

Taking the evaluations, Bancroft flipped through the pages and scoffed, "I like the real ones better." Then he turned to Neal, much to the continued surprise of everyone, and asked, "What do you say, Agent Brooks? Where are your brothers?"

Sighing, Neal straightened his posture and there was something official to the way he held himself. "You've read my reports, sir. As for my brothers, we've been switching places through the evaluations so they've been close the whole time."

"Call them in," Bancroft ordered and Neal remained still so he raised an eyebrow.

"Have you ever heard of identical twins having something of a telepathic connection? I'm an identical triplet. My brothers are coming down the back hall now." Neal shrugged and smirked lightly while the entire room gasped around him.

To prove his words true, two more men entered wearing identical suits down to the slight bulge of anklets under their pants. They moved to stand next to Neal while everyone watched.

Peter stood with his eyes open wide trying to take it all in. He was shocked to see three identical versions of Neal, and maybe more so to hear them all referred to as agents. Agent Carson was handling the NSA evaluations of their team and Agent Odle while the CIA was represented by Agent Larkin. Finally, Neal was reintroduced as Agent Danny Brooks of the FBI and he was handling the FBI aspects of the situation.

Slowly, it came out that the evaluators had been trying to get away with their scheme over and over again, but Brooks had caught on to it and made the arrangements to test them. With his theory proven, their past evaluations were getting a second look.

Bancroft passed Hughes a different pile of papers indicating that they were the real verdict.

"We passed with flying colors," Hughes gave them the general details of the results after reading the highlights.

Directing for the agents to follow them, Bancroft and the other bosses escorted the agents Odle, Renigar, and Tangeman away. They were going to face investigations and repercussions for their behavior.

Breathing deeply, Peter was relieved his team had gotten a fair evaluation, after all, considering the results the triplets gave them coincided with their behavior, but he was curious to learn more about them. He wondered which one he'd overheard in the records area amongst other things.

Watching the triplets, he heard them bantering with each other in an effort to alleviate some of the stress and obvious awkwardness in the atmosphere. They insulted each other and insinuated things about their friends. Agent Carson's friend looked out for Brooks while Larkin was assumed to be dead by those he considered friends.

What hurt was when Agent Larkin made a comment insinuating once again that Neal was nothing more than a con to the team. So, it was Larkin who had been performing as Neal yesterday when Peter had overheard them in the records area. That didn't alleviate his worries about Brooks though, for it had to be Brooks who played Neal on a daily basis, and the triplets had a telepathic connection so it was likely his brothers knew his thoughts on the matter.

Stepping forwards, Peter wanted to catch Brooks before they left. Since it had been commented that his character wasn't needed, he'd volunteered to help reevaluate those who had been cheated a fair shot the first time.

Although it would be a good thing for others and Brooks might need time with his brothers, Peter couldn't let him leave without talking to him first.

Clearing his throat, Peter asked for a moment with Agent Brooks, "We need to talk."

Getting the permission was easy enough and the agent followed him down the hall to a back room away from the watchful eyes of the team.

Closing the door behind them and walking in, Peter looked towards the window view. "You should know better, but if you don't it's my fault," Peter muttered aloud as he tried to figure out what to say to the kid. He was still a bit shocked from the reveals back there, but he also knew that Brooks deserved to have him apologize and talk to his face.

"What are you getting at now, Peter?" Brooks seemed to be a little impatient with him as he stood with his arms crossed in front of him defensively.

"Why do you think you're only a con to the team? A tool in the FBI's belt?" Peter figured he might as well get the answer to his questions straight from the source. He turned to watch as Brooks reacted.

"I'm obviously not just a con or a tool, I'm a fellow agent." His voice was almost sarcastic and his eyes slid to the side indicating it wasn't the whole truth.

"You don't believe that, why not?" Peter pushed. He wanted to make the man angry with him, to get him to talk.

Snorting, Brooks seemed to feel uncomfortable. "I know I'm an agent. What is there not to believe about that?"

Putting his hands on his hips, Peter answered, "Here's my theory. You've been undercover most if not all of your career. I've pursued you since you were just old enough to have finished Quantico. Your brothers might have managed the international stuff, but you've been too active to keep up a regular office job like the rest of us are used to. Then, when you're finally working in an office full time, it's undercover as the criminal we've chased and arrested. My theory is that you know you're an agent, not a con or a tool, but that it doesn't keep you from feeling like one." Peter watched the kid's body language and knew he was hitting close to the truth. Brooks both flinched and closed his eyes when he said he felt like a con and a tool. "And for that, I'm sorry. It's my responsibility to keep an eye on you, to make sure you're being treated fairly, and with this reveal, I think I've treated you the worst of all."

Brooks opened his eyes and looked at him in pained surprise. He hadn't expected that.

Reaching out to the kid's shoulder, Peter gave him a friendly squeeze and then dropped his hand back to his side. "I'm the one who started the accusation of you stealing the treasure. Now that I know you're an agent though, it seems like I'm missing some pretty big pieces which means I jumped to conclusions based on my perspective and not your actions. You might be involved in some government-sanctioned something or working officially to handle someone else's actions or it might have nothing to do with you directly because your brothers are doing it, but whatever's going on, you're not a loose cannon out for your own gain."

"Are you sure about that?" Brooks' voice had a bit of an edge to it like he didn't appreciate his words.

Knowing they were shallow after the reveal, Peter said what he'd intended to say the day before. "Even when you were just Neal Caffrey, the most brilliant criminal I've ever chased, you were never just a con or a tool, you may not have been an agent to me yesterday, but you were always something more than the ordinary. Learning that you're actually an agent, and identical triplet, just adds dimension to the friend you already were. It wouldn't have hurt so much to think you'd stolen the treasure if I didn't expect far better from you."

Something of the tension in Brooks' posture seemed to relax. "I suppose this changes everything, huh?" He wasn't quite comfortable, but he wasn't as anxious.

"I hope not," Peter smiled at Brooks' twitch. "We're still friends, unless that was a part of your role?" Brooks looked at him in surprise. "You still have a role to play so the appearance will have to be kept up for whatever reason you play Caffrey, but I'll know who and what you are so I'll have to temperance my reactions accordingly when the act doesn't have to be kept. This will change some things, but I hope it doesn't change everything, at least not completely."

Smiling softly, Brooks confirmed that their friendship wasn't a part of his role, it was genuine.

"Good," Peter stepped forwards and gave the man a hug, something he'd wanted to do since he'd overheard the conversation the day before. "Because the best part of you being undercover is that I got to meet my other best friend."

Hugging him in return, Danny laughed as he pulled back, "Other best friend?"

"The wife always comes first, Danny. Whether it's Sara or someone else for you, that's a lesson you should always remember." Peter smiled to hear his friend's amused understanding of his comment and the total disregard for Sara's reference. There was still hope for their relationship, it could be repaired with time and understanding.

Returning to the office, Peter managed to get Danny to promise to bring his brothers around again another day once they'd completed their other tasks. He wanted to get to know his family. Then he made him promise to keep in touch while he was away.

Stepping back, Peter let the others have their moments. Elizabeth hugged Danny, Sara dropped a business card into his pocket, Jones shook his hand, and Diana punched his shoulder. Everyone had their own way of handling the reveal before the remaining bosses ushered Danny away so that his other duties could be handled.

Left behind for the interim, the team had a new respect for the man they had called Neal Caffrey and a new motive to investigate him. Just who was this Daniel Brooks anyway?

Thank you, everyone, for reading, reviewing, leaving kudos, choosing to favorite, and following :D

Unfortunately, Ranger seems to have lost more fur despite our efforts to avoid the issues that are presumed to be the cause. Fortunately, he has his follow-up appointment with the vet this week so we'll what transpires.