Choirboy Caffrey

Chapter 8 - Moving Upstairs

New York, FBI White Collar Division. Monday morning, December 15, 2003

At 7:30am, Peter moved into the glassed-in office at the top of the stairs, looking down over the bullpen. He was setting a photo of El on his new desk when Reese Hughes walked in and congratulated him on the promotion.

"Thanks, but after what happened a week ago, I'm surprised you went through with it."

"Caffrey needs to know he can't break the law, Peter. You had the right idea, it was the execution that faltered. When you take extreme measures with your team, you have to be careful. It can indicate you've let things get personal."

"I did. And I can tell I've made Caffrey's job even more difficult as a result. By having my team arrest him, I've solidified the idea in their minds that he's a criminal first, and a consultant second."

"On the other hand, it means they'll be watching him carefully, and can let you know immediately if he's slipping up. By the way, what did you decide to do about Hitchum?"

"He says that injuring Caffrey was an accident, and he wasn't aware he'd done it. There's no evidence to prove otherwise, but my gut tells me Hitchum could be an issue. It also tells me that Jones has a lot of promise."

"That's good. You need to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your team. Keep an eye on Hitchum."

When Peter gathered his team in the conference room for the morning briefing, he made a point of giving Neal his consultant's badge in front of everyone. He also addressed the arrest. "I realize I didn't make it clear to the team that his arrest was intended to provide our consultant with a cover story for dealing with informants who won't cooperate with an FBI employee. It was my decision to surprise Caffrey with the arrest, to make it seem as realistic as possible to the witnesses. In retrospect, that was a poor decision on my part. We do sometimes arrest a team member working undercover to maintain their cover, but we go into undercover work prepared for that scenario. The order I gave last week wasn't respectful of a new team member, and Neal Caffrey is a member of this team. I expect you all to treat him as such."

Peter could tell many members of the team weren't pleased by the direction he was going, but he was determined to continue.

"At the same time, you are aware of his somewhat checkered past. You should all know that I believe no one is above the law. Not our consultants, and not our agents. I want to make it clear that Caffrey's role on this team is not to to keep your hands clean by having him circumvent the law for you. Last week, I mistakenly led Caffrey to believe that I wanted him to accomplish something by any means possible, legal or illegal. That was my mistake, and we all need to learn from it. No one is to order, pressure, or attempt to trick Caffrey into committing a crime. If anyone thinks there needs to be an exception to that, bring it to me and we will look for a legal alternative. Are there any questions?"

Peter was aware that it would take more than words to convince the team to treat Neal like an equal. Working with Neal and getting a few wins with his help would make more difference than any speech.

###

Jones, the most computer-savvy of the team, spent the morning at Neal's desk helping him set up his accounts and walking him through the systems he'd use the most, including a particularly painful time-tracking system. "Joining so late in the year, you won't get any vacation days until 2004, but you'll log Christmas and the day after as holidays. We get a four-day weekend this year."

Neal grinned. "I get holidays? That will be new."

"Yeah, that whole week will be slow. This place will almost be empty. I'm working, because I used up my time off this summer, but Agent Burke will be gone. He's visiting his in-laws. Although I think he'd rather be working."