White Collar - as an unofficial novel - part 5

Turquoise meeting

Peter sat with Lauren, Jones, and Hughes in the conference room. He had called for Neal twice, and both times he had answered from his desk that he would be with them in just a minute. Jones sent a guy to buy them some decent coffee, and then they got to work.

Hughes got a phone call, the coffee arrived, and then the kid walked in all smiles.

"Ah, you went out for coffee. Nice."

He grabbed for the fourth mug but Lauren pulled it away from him.

"Oh, you took forever," she said with a grin. "So you miss out."

"Whose is that?"

"Hughes," Jones said.

"Well, you'll be glad I took my time," he said, sending Peter a glare, "because I solved our embezzlement scam." He dumped a thick founder on the table. "It's a lapping scheme."

Peter grabbed it. So that was what the kid had been doing by the desk—solving what they were supposed to settle in that very room. Four agents outsmarted by a con-man. Again.

"A lapping scheme?" Lauren asked.

"It's a way to siphon money," he told her.

"I'll show you," Neal said and grabbed the senior agent's mug. "Let's say I want a sip of Hughes' latte. Just a sip."

Peter stared baffled as the kid did just that.

"Mm. Oh, that's delicious," Neal said. "But now I have a problem."

"Hughes is gonna toss your butt back into prison for drinking his coffee," Jones smiled.

"Right," Neal agreed. "So I take a little bit of yours. Pour a little bit into here," the kid said and grabbed Jones' mug and poured a little of it into Hughes' mug, making it almost full again. "But now you're gonna kick my butt," he told Jones, who nodded.

So he grabbed Laureen's mug.

"Hey!"

"It's a lapping scheme." He poured a little into Jones' coffee and Hughes'. "I keep going as long as I can. In the end, I got a full cup. No one is the wiser."

Then Neal went for Peter's mug, but Peter snatched it out of reach.

"Until I catch you." He sipped his untouched coffee with a smile. "That's good work, though. Very good work."

Neal seemed pleased by the praise. Then the kid's phone pinged and he looked at the message.

"June is throwing a champagne brunch," he told Peter. "I totally forgot. Do you mind if I cut out early?"

"What kind of monster would I be to keep Neal Caffrey from a champagne brunch?"

Neal grinned.

"See you, guys."

And he was gone.

The kid did deserve to go early. He had solved a complicated crime. That did not mean the Peter trusted the kid to do honest deeds on his free time. It had been days since he had confronted Neal with his 'theory' that he and Alex was going after the music box. The kid had done his job more than well, just as before. It was hard to tell if the young con-man was up to something or not. It was too much to hope for that Neal had become a law-biding citizen just like that, so Peter kept his eyes open.

He considered calling June and ask, but that would be enough if all he wanted was the formals. June would cover Neal's back. And no matter reason for her doing so, Peter had a gut feeling that the rich lady was good for Neal. He did not want to stir things up, causing more problems than he had to.