White Collar Fic - The Interview
May. 29th, 2013 08:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elrhiarhodanTitle: The Interview
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
elrhiarhodan
Fandom: White Collar
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Neal Caffrey, AD Bancroft
Spoilers: Mentions of various canon events, no specific late S4 spoilers
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: None
Word Count: ~900
Summary: Neal’s given a chance. He’s just not sure he wants to take it.
A/N: Written for my delightful friend,sinfulslasher for the Prompt Me Meme I recently ran on my journal. Her prompt is at the end of the story.
__________________
His palms were unaccountably sweaty and he resisted the urge to give his underarms a sniff. Neal could feel the perspiration pooling at the base of his spine. Once upon a time, he was the epitome of grace under pressure, easily charming princesses out of their pearls, duchesses out of their diamonds. Hell, a little more than four years ago, he’d even charmed Peter into getting him out of prison (well, not so much charmed as persuaded, and even then, it took the man three months to make up his mind).
But today, he was as nervous as he had been back in second grade, when he asked Brittany Nicole to be his valentine. Hopefully, AD Bancroft wouldn’t give him a noogie in the chest and tell him to go away. At least he didn’t have a gap in his front teeth anymore.
Neal wiped his hands on his suit pants and knocked on Bancroft’s door.
“Come in.” The AD’s deep voice rumbled through the wood.
“Sir.” He held out his hopefully dry hand and Bancroft took it.
“It’s been a while, Caffrey.”
“Three years, give or take.”
“You’ve been a busy man since then.” Bancroft pushed a file in front of him – it was his. “Recovering Nazi plunder, authenticating the very Raphael you allegedly stole, helping capture one of the FBI’s most wanted, and exposing systemic corruption in the DC Police Force are just a few of your many impressive achievements.”
“Thank you.” Neal didn’t know what else to say.
“Pity we both know that’s all bullshit. You helped hide the U-boat treasure for months, until Agent Burke’s wife was kidnapped. You were only returning the Raphael because Philip Kramer figured out where you had hidden it. You stumbled upon Robert MacLeish in Cape Verde after illegally cutting your tracking anklet and fleeing the country. And the only reason why you were involved in the corruption scandal was because your father convinced you to try and clear his name, but he was one of the dirtiest of them all.” Bancroft recited this litany of truths without any particular heat – as if he were reading names from the telephone book.
Neal just nodded, but he didn’t avert his eyes. He wasn’t ashamed of his past.
“So – on paper – you’d make an excellent candidate for the FBI. You’re a little older, but not too old. You’ve got more experience with the workings of the Bureau than most experienced agents. And your well-stated aversion to firearms doesn’t hold up when you’ve proven that you’re a crack shot. There’s no official reason why I shouldn’t sign off on your application to the Academy.”
“But unofficially?”
“Unofficially, you have a habit of using shortcuts to achieve results. You have never met a rule that you couldn't find a loophole for, you have the impulse control of a three year old. But, you’re one of the most intelligent men I’ve ever met and despite your felonious tendencies you somehow embody the spirit of everything the FBI stands for – Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity. Personally, I think you’d make a splendid agent, Neal Caffrey.”
“Except that I’m a convicted felon whose involvement with the FBI has resulted in the suspension of his handler four times.” There was no avoiding the truth.
Bancroft shrugged. “These things do happen. But Agent Burke’s reputation aside, I have to ask you this, do you really want to be an FBI agent?”
Neal felt that flop sweat return. This was the question he’d been dreading. It was a huge step – an honor that Neal wasn’t sure he deserved. Too many people had gone to bat for him – Peter, of course. Hughes, too. Stuart Gless, the man whose company he’d robbed and whose daughter he’d rescued. And a dozen other prominent citizens whose lives Neal had touched and improved. All these people said that yes, Neal Caffrey should be given the ultimate chance for redemption. His criminal conviction shouldn’t bar him from admittance to the FBI Academy.
The truth was, Neal didn’t know if that was really what he wanted. The felonious urges were a matter of habit now. He’d hit rock bottom when Keller had kidnapped Elizabeth and he spent the next two years doing his best to make amends to those he hurt. Except that he continued to hurt them even worse than before. Becoming an agent might be his best chance to fully mitigate the damage he caused to the people he loved.
Or he might screw things up royally and end up causing only more pain and disappointment.
Peter kept telling him to leave the past in the past; he had a future in front of him that only he could make.
And one of those futures was in front of him. One side of the folder had his official dossier, the other contained his application to Quantico.
“Neal?” Bancroft said his name with infinite patience, as if he knew how torn Neal was.
He took a deep breath and stepped into the future. “I’d be honored if you would sign off on my application, sir.”
Bancroft smiled, a twist of his lips as he heard everything that Neal didn’t say. He pulled a letter off of the printer, picked up a pen and signed it with a flourish. “Welcome to the FBI, Mr. Caffrey. We’re never going to be the same.”
FIN
sinfulslasher’s prompt was Neal Caffrey - job interview.
Author:
elrhiarhodanFandom: White Collar
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Neal Caffrey, AD Bancroft
Spoilers: Mentions of various canon events, no specific late S4 spoilers
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: None
Word Count: ~900
Summary: Neal’s given a chance. He’s just not sure he wants to take it.
A/N: Written for my delightful friend,
sinfulslasher for the Prompt Me Meme I recently ran on my journal. Her prompt is at the end of the story. His palms were unaccountably sweaty and he resisted the urge to give his underarms a sniff. Neal could feel the perspiration pooling at the base of his spine. Once upon a time, he was the epitome of grace under pressure, easily charming princesses out of their pearls, duchesses out of their diamonds. Hell, a little more than four years ago, he’d even charmed Peter into getting him out of prison (well, not so much charmed as persuaded, and even then, it took the man three months to make up his mind).
But today, he was as nervous as he had been back in second grade, when he asked Brittany Nicole to be his valentine. Hopefully, AD Bancroft wouldn’t give him a noogie in the chest and tell him to go away. At least he didn’t have a gap in his front teeth anymore.
Neal wiped his hands on his suit pants and knocked on Bancroft’s door.
“Come in.” The AD’s deep voice rumbled through the wood.
“Sir.” He held out his hopefully dry hand and Bancroft took it.
“It’s been a while, Caffrey.”
“Three years, give or take.”
“You’ve been a busy man since then.” Bancroft pushed a file in front of him – it was his. “Recovering Nazi plunder, authenticating the very Raphael you allegedly stole, helping capture one of the FBI’s most wanted, and exposing systemic corruption in the DC Police Force are just a few of your many impressive achievements.”
“Thank you.” Neal didn’t know what else to say.
“Pity we both know that’s all bullshit. You helped hide the U-boat treasure for months, until Agent Burke’s wife was kidnapped. You were only returning the Raphael because Philip Kramer figured out where you had hidden it. You stumbled upon Robert MacLeish in Cape Verde after illegally cutting your tracking anklet and fleeing the country. And the only reason why you were involved in the corruption scandal was because your father convinced you to try and clear his name, but he was one of the dirtiest of them all.” Bancroft recited this litany of truths without any particular heat – as if he were reading names from the telephone book.
Neal just nodded, but he didn’t avert his eyes. He wasn’t ashamed of his past.
“So – on paper – you’d make an excellent candidate for the FBI. You’re a little older, but not too old. You’ve got more experience with the workings of the Bureau than most experienced agents. And your well-stated aversion to firearms doesn’t hold up when you’ve proven that you’re a crack shot. There’s no official reason why I shouldn’t sign off on your application to the Academy.”
“But unofficially?”
“Unofficially, you have a habit of using shortcuts to achieve results. You have never met a rule that you couldn't find a loophole for, you have the impulse control of a three year old. But, you’re one of the most intelligent men I’ve ever met and despite your felonious tendencies you somehow embody the spirit of everything the FBI stands for – Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity. Personally, I think you’d make a splendid agent, Neal Caffrey.”
“Except that I’m a convicted felon whose involvement with the FBI has resulted in the suspension of his handler four times.” There was no avoiding the truth.
Bancroft shrugged. “These things do happen. But Agent Burke’s reputation aside, I have to ask you this, do you really want to be an FBI agent?”
Neal felt that flop sweat return. This was the question he’d been dreading. It was a huge step – an honor that Neal wasn’t sure he deserved. Too many people had gone to bat for him – Peter, of course. Hughes, too. Stuart Gless, the man whose company he’d robbed and whose daughter he’d rescued. And a dozen other prominent citizens whose lives Neal had touched and improved. All these people said that yes, Neal Caffrey should be given the ultimate chance for redemption. His criminal conviction shouldn’t bar him from admittance to the FBI Academy.
The truth was, Neal didn’t know if that was really what he wanted. The felonious urges were a matter of habit now. He’d hit rock bottom when Keller had kidnapped Elizabeth and he spent the next two years doing his best to make amends to those he hurt. Except that he continued to hurt them even worse than before. Becoming an agent might be his best chance to fully mitigate the damage he caused to the people he loved.
Or he might screw things up royally and end up causing only more pain and disappointment.
Peter kept telling him to leave the past in the past; he had a future in front of him that only he could make.
And one of those futures was in front of him. One side of the folder had his official dossier, the other contained his application to Quantico.
“Neal?” Bancroft said his name with infinite patience, as if he knew how torn Neal was.
He took a deep breath and stepped into the future. “I’d be honored if you would sign off on my application, sir.”
Bancroft smiled, a twist of his lips as he heard everything that Neal didn’t say. He pulled a letter off of the printer, picked up a pen and signed it with a flourish. “Welcome to the FBI, Mr. Caffrey. We’re never going to be the same.”
sinfulslasher’s prompt was Neal Caffrey - job interview. 
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2013-05-29 12:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-29 12:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:10 pm (UTC)Yes, I do agree that Neal does have the spirit, if not the letter of what it means to be an FBI agent.
no subject
Date: 2013-05-29 01:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-29 01:52 pm (UTC)I also liked how you drew a clear line but did not have Neal self-aware enough to realize the difference between charming people into giving him what he wanted and making this application. In the first cases, he had no emotional stake in it. If he won, great, if he lost he'd go on to the next mark. But in this it is his important to him and that very difference, that he was nervous, that it did mean so much showed how much Neal has changed.
Also love Bancroft.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-29 03:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-29 04:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-29 08:20 pm (UTC)Thank you again for writing this for me!
(Incidentally, I start my new job, the one whose interview was the inspiration for this prompt, next Monday! *g*)
no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-29 11:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-30 12:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-30 03:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-31 04:11 pm (UTC)my goodness how our boy has grown. (not too much though, please. i like that lack of impulse control.)
no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:42 pm (UTC)I think Neal might say he now has the impulse control of a 7 year old (as opposed to a three year old), but I definitely see how much he's grown - how he's become the man, not the con.
no subject
Date: 2013-05-31 04:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-31 04:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-01 08:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:46 pm (UTC)Thank you, sweetness.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-02 01:09 am (UTC)Meanwhile, Bancroft's assessment of Neal--the bad and the good--seems spot on, as does Neal's answer to his question. Wonderful job!
no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 06:47 pm (UTC)And yes, Bancroft sees Neal very clearly. I think we just might find that he's been Neal's guardian angel throughout.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-14 02:40 am (UTC)<3