elrhiarhodan | White Collar Fic - Privilege

Title: Privilege
Author:

elrhiarhodan
Rating: R (for language and OT3 sex, not graphic but descriptive)
Fandom: White Collar
Spoilers: 101, 113, 114
Summary: Fifteen Seconds Really Shouldn’t Make That Much Difference
Warnings/Triggers: Some legal stuff (and what else is new?)
Word Count: ~8000 (Sum of all parts)
Disclaimer: Nope, own nothing - but if I did, there would be a continuing storyline requiring either Peter or Neal (or both of them) to wear jackboots. The kind that the Queen’s Horse Guard wear.

A/N: I really wanted to find a reason why Peter Burke, so obviously brilliant – would occasionally be such a dork or so unsure of himself, particularly when it comes to interpersonal things. I thought, maybe – something from childhood, but I didn’t want to go down paths already trodden. I wanted to stay with something I know all about – sibling rivalry. I flashed on Allison Janney as Peter’s twin sister. IRL she’s a few years older than Tim DeKay, but the coloring and bone structure sort of match, and the roles she’s played are consistent with the personality of the character I’m trying to create.

This is set in the same universe as Minutes and Hours, Neal Caffrey, (Wage) Slave, and probably How Long Did You Did You Think You Could Keep This Up (Before I Found Out). It's also the second entry on my "Five Things About Peter Burke" post.

The story takes place a year and some months after the Season 1 Finale.

Many, many thanks to the excellent beta work by the incomparable

gyzym. Any mistakes are mine and mine alone.

------------------------------------

In the end, the case was almost ridiculously easy to break. The next morning, when they were leaving to meet up with Elizabeth in Brooklyn, Peter picked up Neal’s discarded Kevlar vest and noticed the tag on the back, “ZeroPoint - an Aero-Dyne company.” Monday morning, Diana found the hook they needed. ZeroPoint, prior to its acquisition by Aero-Dyne, had entered into a consent decree with the U.S. Government following a bid-rigging investigation. The decree stipulated that the company and its successors (which meant Aero-Dyne) would be subject to full government audits without notice, for a minimum of ten years. Peter’s team coordinated with the San Francisco WCCD office, and within six months, uncovered evidence of massive fraud, ranging from price fixing, bid rigging, and intellectual property theft, to numerous financial and securities violations. The entire senior management of the company were indicted and stood trial before the end of the year. The verdicts were guilty, all the way around.

Isabelle Burke, as always, came out on top. While whistle-blowers are often subject to character assassination during the trial in an attempt to discredit their testimony, her reputation was so stellar and her reporting of the initial case so impeccable that any mud the defense threw at her just slid right off. When the trial was over, Isabelle was appointed to U.S. Court of Appeals.

Peter was surprised to learn that the body armor wasn’t a clue. His sister had watched “Michael Clayton” one too many times, and actually believed that her life was in danger. On a personal note, Isabelle ended up selling her lovely Craftsman-style bungalow in Half Moon Bay at a loss, when the property became infested with wild goats.

Neither Peter nor Neal have looked at the contents of the memory card. Yet.

White Collar Fic - Privilege - Epilogue

no subject