Files
Called into a meeting, the New York City FBI White Collar team was surprised to see Agent Bancroft.
He was their boss's boss, so whatever was happening, it was going to be big.
Taking their seats, the agents gathered around and noticed that Neal wasn't present. He'd been in the office earlier in the day, but his disappearance hadn't been noticed until he was absent from the meeting.
Bancroft called the agents to order and told them to ignore Neal's absence, "He already knows what this is about."
That had everyone's interest since even Hughes and Burke looked surprised by the statement.
Getting started, Bancroft stood before the group. "We are officially dissolving Operation Caffrey. The purpose behind having Agent Brooks play an alternate version of himself has been completed so the charade is no longer necessary. Because of this, your team will be pulling all files where Caffrey is even suspected, and he will be disclosing what actually happened so that we can close as many as possible. Any that remain will be revisited to ensure nothing was missed."
Stunned, the team was silent as they took that in. Neal, was an agent?
"What about Neal's, agent Brook's future? Will he remain with our team?" Peter voiced his question.
Everyone knew he'd gotten close to the con so no one was surprised he'd wonder if they could continue working together as agents.
"That is undecided as of yet," Bancroft brushed the inquiry aside without really answering it.
The meeting soon broke up and the team went to retrieve the necessary cases. Due to the numbers, the cases were piled up on the conference room table.
Surveying the sheer number, Peter ordered his agents to begin sorting them by evidence and type.
What kind of crime were they, and how much reason did they have to suspect Neal of it?
While that was being organized, he went back to his office to wait for Neal, Brooks, to return.
Everyone was slipping up and it was only to be expected considering the extent and duration of the agent's operation.
Turning around from closing his office door behind him, Peter was startled to find the agent of honor sitting in the opposing chair with his feet up on the desk. He had apparently slipped by while they were in the meeting and enclosed himself in Peter's office.
Having no idea what to say, Peter stood staring at his friend. A man he knew so much, and yet so little about. "Brooks," he finally acknowledged the man.
"Neal, it's my birth name, so it's valid, but Daniel Brooks, or Danny, if you want to use my legal name." Neal was just as formal with him.
They seemed to have regressed to find a new approach to their friendship.
"Danny," Peter tried the name as he took his seat.
"My family has been in danger since before I can remember. After I was recruited, I was assigned to play an alternate version of myself to bait those responsible out. They tried to bite recently, and the agencies involved took advantage of the opportunity to get inside the organization at multiple points.
When that proved successful, the rest didn't take long. It's still best for my family to remain safely hidden as a precaution, but I can finally be myself." Neal explained from where he still sat leaning back with his feet up. It seemed to worry him a little that Peter hadn't knocked his feet off.
Nodding, Peter continued to stare at his desktop while he tried to absorb that. "Do you know what you'll be doing after we close our cases?" Peter tried again.
"Bancroft probably told you it hasn't been decided, and really, it hasn't. The bosses are waiting to see what happens through the wrap-up to make a decision." Neal shrugged, it wasn't just up to him and he didn't know yet if Brooks would be welcome.
Sighing, Peter didn't like the response, but he could understand the desire to take careful consideration while being open to the prospect of changes while the wrap-up might reveal work that still needed to be done.
"What would you want, if you could throw a vote into the mix?" Neal tested the waters.
"I think you know," Peter looked up to meet his eyes, "I hope you'd consider staying if you have a choice in the matter."
Smiling, Neal took his own feet down and was rewarded by Peter's frown as he realized what he'd been doing. "It has crossed my mind, I do like it here."
Relaxing, Peter seemed to like the results of their first conversation. "How about we go check on those cases? They're piled on the conference room table." Peter got up and waited for Neal to join him.
When he did, he clapped him on the shoulder proudly before opening the door to the conference room to get started.
Settling into the conference room with Neal, Peter began with a pile of forgeries.
Going through the Atlantic Inc bonds, money, IDs, and a venerable pile of other cases of a similar sort, it took them hours to go through the first portion of the stacks.
By the time Neal had finished recounting what had actually happened and the paperwork that went with closing them, it was the end of the day.
Surveying the stacks that remained, both men realized that it was going to be quite the undertaking to close this operation.
"I didn't do this much, some things… a lot of things, have been incorrectly attributed to me," Neal sighed.
"And we get to figure out which ones before revisiting them individually," Peter couldn't help but match his sigh knowing it was going to be a large undertaking.
"It will be here tomorrow, let's go get something to eat."
Accepting the offer, Neal accompanied Peter on the familiar trip home for dinner.
When they arrived, Elizabeth accepted Neal's presence as a familiar occurrence before adding him to the table as they sat down to eat.
"Neal has some news for you," Peter kissed his wife before taking his seat.
"Oh, what is it?" Elizabeth's curiosity was piqued as she began dishing up the meal.
Helping get the food served, Neal advised her not to eat yet, he didn't want her to choke. "Peter got the surprise in the meeting this afternoon from Bancroft. The FBI and other agencies involved are officially closing Operation Caffrey. I will no longer be performing as a con alternative version of myself, and I will technically return to my legal name of Daniel Brooks. Neal George is my birth name, Caffrey is a family name from another generation, but you can call me Neal or Danny."
Shocked, Elizabeth hadn't seen that coming, "You're an agent?"
"FBI, Washington," Neal confirmed. He was watching her reaction while keeping his peripherals on Peter.
"So, Peter spent years chasing a fellow agent, because…?" Elizabeth seemed to be a bit upset by the reveal, which was understandable considering the seemingly wasted time her husband had spent away from her.
"To protect my family and catch those officers who had risen in the ranks that were connected to the corruption of my father's precinct. My life was in danger from all angles so it was decided to choose an agent that could be trusted, and Peter had the best reputation. My operation and other cases were closed while he has been well-reviewed for his performance. Washington has been watching the whole time," Neal explained before he began eating.
"What does that mean for Peter?" Elizabeth asked, but Peter also perked up with interest.
"He has good opportunities whenever a position opens to move him up the ladder to Washington. Several departments want him, so he'd have his pick if he wants them when the time comes." Neal looked to Peter while letting him know about the previously unknown perk. Everyone knew Peter aspired to Washington, but it hadn't been public knowledge how he was perceived by Washington, at least not entirely, this took his reputation for catching Neal to new depths.
Peter's acceptance of the praise was enough to ease Elizabeth's concerns. Like the others, she hit the wall in regard to Neal's future before transitioning to what the reveal meant now.
"We're closing his old cases and revisiting anything he's been suspected of," Peter talked of the work they had before them while Neal hinted at intriguing stories.
Passing the time companionably, they enjoyed the evening and strengthened their friendships.
Continuing the efforts in the office, Peter went through Neal's aliases and their activities. For instance, Nick Halden had been in money laundering.
As the days passed, they tackled thefts like Scream and mysteries like the manuscript until they'd taken a large dent out of the piles.
With so many folders yet to go, they began the grueling task of revisiting the many cases still stacked around them.
"This one has a picture of you, are you sure you didn't have more operations that you forgot?"
Peter passed a file with a surveillance video showing Neal as guilty, "The only reason you weren't apprehended for this is that I was tracking you on the other side of the world, and you couldn't be in two places at once."
"I'm sure," Neal took the folder and went through the contents. "Hmm," he then pulled out his phone and dialed someone.
Listening with interest, Peter heard Neal implicate this other person in the crime he was holding. When he was silent, Peter could hear a voice on the other side that sounded like Neal as well.
When the call ended, Peter questioned Neal with his theory. "Do you have a brother that did that?" It felt like a stretch, but he didn't know the extent of Brook's family.
"Yes, my younger brother is CIA and he's taking credit. We need to open this up for the other operations to close their cases too." Neal confirmed before getting up to step into Peter's office for his calls.
Fingering the picture, Peter realized he was looking at Neal's brother. The only family of his friend's he'd ever seen. Analyzing it, Peter realized that the boys were very similar.
Digging, he found a picture of Neal from his investigation that had been taken at a similar time.
Putting them beside each other, Peter realized that he was likely dealing with identical twins. Had he chased multiple agents without realizing it?
When Neal got back, he confirmed that they would have some help the next day in taking care of the case his brother had been responsible for.
"Did I chase both of you?" Peter couldn't help but ask, he wanted a better idea of what they were dealing with.
"No, not intentionally anyway, we're identical, so some wires might have crossed causing you to pick up the wrong trail. I consulted internationally, but I wasn't active. Interpol set me up with appearances when needed." Neal shrugged, but he had explained some of what had happened.
Snorting, Peter started a new pile. "Now we have to start collecting whatever your brother might have done."
"We're good agents," was all Neal said while grabbing another file to begin reviewing.
Continuing through the piles, they shifted them into new collections based on which brother might have done them.
However, they were no longer assigning those Neal hadn't done to the team. Instead, they recalled the ones they had passed on for another run through them when Neal's brother arrived.
At the end of the day, Neal apologized to Peter. "We didn't realize you were so good and picked up on my brothers' activities."
He looked like he had more he wanted to say, but he also seemed hesitant. "My brother, he's bringing another surprise," he chose to at least hint at why.
"Any hints as to what?" Peter was intrigued and tried to get an idea of what to expect.
"Who," Neal corrected. "I'm not the oldest; we think you might have gotten the three of us mixed up."
They were heading home for the evening so Neal didn't mind talking more after they'd left the office and were driving to June's. "We're triplets, I'm the middle son."
Asking some basic questions about James and Bryce, Peter was interested to learn about these brothers of Neal's, but Neal wasn't the most open.
When Peter dropped him off, Neal told him not to worry, "We're careful due to our enemies, I don't need Black Ops problems, and my brothers have enough of their own enemies, so they don't need mine. I just thought you should know, so we're not a complete shock. It's also best that we brown bag and get to the office early to reduce reactions," Neal instructed.
Accepting the terms, Peter left his friend to his preparations while heading home himself.
As expected, Peter found himself shocked to find three identical triplets waiting for him when he arrived in the office. They were dressed alike as they sat around the conference room table. Each had a cup of coffee in front of them and food to the side to get them through the day.
Sitting his own food and coffee down, Peter put his jacket on the back of his seat as the triplets had.
Then taking his seat, Peter couldn't help staring, "You're all identical?"
"Yeah, hence why we like to reduce the danger and avoid the show. The doors to the room are locked and the blinds are drawn as you can see. If we need anything, my brothers and I will leave individually." Neal answered while he passed his brothers a folder each.
Joining them in the work, Peter worked on his coffee, breakfast, and files almost as easily as the triplets did.
They were whipping through files finding who was responsible for each one and then piling them before the agent in question. If none of them were responsible, then those cases were piled to the side for Peter to review.
What puzzled Peter, was how the triplets didn't need to talk. They were able to silently read the preliminary details before passing the file to the appropriate pile. They didn't even need to look at each other?
The day passed slowly in a blur of black and white that was only broken up by bathroom breaks or coffee refills.
Periodically, Peter would take a pile of cases he'd reviewed down and assign them to someone for the team to finish. This helped prevent him from being buried while also presenting an opportunity to stretch.
During one of the trips, Peter was asked by Jones why Neal needed so much to drink.
"There are other agents with us, he's refilling for them too," Peter vaguely explained that other agencies had sent representatives as well, but they had covers to keep.
After Peter had returned to the conference room, the team discussed the new information and continued to observe through the afternoon.
Keeping tally, Diana watched whenever Neal came out to retrieve something from the break room and what, Jones noted restroom trips, while the team, in general, looked at the suspects and information in the cases that had been rejected as not Neal.
Whenever someone passed Neal or interacted with him, the team noted how he reacted.
At the end of the day, they put their information together. The consensus was that Neal might be able to get drinks and food for the other agents, but he couldn't go to the restroom for them. They also noted that he seemed to be consuming the beverages himself based on the frequency of his trips to the restrooms. Then to add to the mystery, they compared the hesitancies they'd noticed; as if Neal was unfamiliar with them and the office.
If they didn't know better, they agreed that there must be multiple Neals. Confused, they parted to research overnight and regroup in the morning.
Jones and Diana were the first of the main team to arrive the next morning, but despite their efforts, the conference room was already inhabited and closed. So much for seeing the agents when they arrived to confirm their theory!
Instead, they consoled themselves with an exchange of notes.
Hiding from potential scrutiny in the back hallways, Jones went through his notes and shared his discovery of agent James Carson of the NSA, a man who looked exactly like Neal.
Then Diana showed her discovery of agent Bryce Larkin of the CIA, another man who looked exactly like Neal.
With the confirmation from Bancroft that Neal was agent Daniel Brooks, this presented an interesting picture. There were identical triplet agents holed up with Peter in the conference room!
Although they were surprised and struggled to believe it, the agents knew it fit the puzzle. There was no other valid explanation for what they had witnessed in the office the previous day.
With the information sinking in, they moved on to pondering why all of the secrecy.
"Larkin is Black Ops, he's been involved in some nasty business to the point he's rumored to have been killed multiple times." Diana recognized the desire to keep danger like that away from their family.
"Carson has been involved in a lot of military-related operations, but he also gets into some Black Ops situations too." Jones wondered if that was due to his similar appearance to his brother.
Coming to the conclusion together, they decided to keep the discovery to themselves, unless the brothers chose to share the reveal themselves. However, that didn't mean they couldn't try to trip the triplets given the opportunity! Exchanging conspiratorial grins, the two agents went back to the office and settled into work.
Talking with other team members as they arrived, Jones and Diana learned that their sources were the only ones with enough reach to learn about the triplets. The rest of the team remained puzzled by the mystery.
Even Hughes didn't show an awareness if he knew anything, but he would have come to the same conclusion about safety and could easily be feigning a lack of knowledge.
Resuming the same patterns they had carried the day before, the team went to work. The only difference was Jones and Diana endeavoring to discern which triplet they were seeing each time one left the conference room.
As the day drew to a close, the team slowly gave up and headed home for the evening until Jones and Diana were the only two left besides those in the conference room.
Continuing to work on their cases, both agents were legitimately on their suspects' trails which provided adequate excuses to wait their teammates out.
Successful, there eventually came a point where Peter and Neal exited the conference room on their way home for the evening.
"Are the cases coming together?" Peter initiated the conversation to test their motives for remaining so late.
Closing his folder, Jones was able to happily announce that he was nearly done; he only had some work remaining that had to be completed the next day, "I'll have it closed in the morning."
Diana was getting close, but she had a little more research to complete before she'd be ready to close up for the night. "James and Bryce don't need to hide up there though, we know about them, Jones has military contacts and I have government connections," she smirked up at her boss and Brooks, "You should know how skilled we are. But, we won't tell anyone unless you do first."
Peter just shook his head and smirked lightly back, he wasn't surprised.
Brooks looked back and forth between them, "Hughes did too, but he hasn't confronted us about it. We just know through mutual contacts. By the way, Neal is my birth name but I also go by Danny. I know we haven't talked since Bancroft announced my cover," he was a bit hesitant by the end.
"Don't worry, Danny. I think we understand the reason behind your actions. Family comes first, and we can all appreciate that." Jones reassured as he finished locking his station.
"You're right, you do have a good team here," Neal's voice came from the landing as his brothers gave up the charade and joined the conversation.
"A good team made better for having him here," Peter clapped Neal on the shoulder as he stated another reason or him to remain with the team.
"He certainly challenges us," Diana commented before drifting off as her results came up for her research.
After reading it through for what she needed and noting it, Diana locked her computer and station, "Who else could or would try to pull identical triplets passed us? Who else would or could pull such a long-term undercover operation off right under our noses, in our office even? You failed on the triplets, but we didn't see Operation Caffrey coming!"
Ducking his head, Neal appreciated the compliment. "You didn't make it easy, that's for sure!"
The group had a good laugh and enjoyed the comradery.
Not wanting to let go of the chance to build new bridges with his friends, Neal suggested Elizabeth join them for dinner.
Agreeing, they dispersed with plans on where to meet up.
Eventually, the casework was completed, Danny's situation had been evaluated, and the final decision was made.
"I'm transferring up here!" Danny announced at the end of an otherwise uneventful team meeting.
Cheering, the team enthusiastically welcomed him to officially join them as the agent he actually was!
When prompted, he began telling them that little would change, "I still get my desk, paperwork, and field operation, June has graciously allowed me to remain in the loft, and minus the penchant for committing crimes, I'm still Neal. It's my birth name with the Caffrey character."
There were some changes in his general work since being an agent had different responsibilities than being a criminal consultant, but they would become normal soon enough.
Breaking up, the team went back to work while Danny handled the last of the paperwork for officially being settled as agent Daniel Brooks. The files for Operation Caffrey were completely closed!
Thank you, everyone, for reading, leaving kudos, and reviewing/commenting :D