Psychic in the City (2nd Prologue/2+7)
Title: Psychic in the City
Fandom: Psych, White Collar
Characters: Shawn, Gus, Peter, Neal, El, Mozzie, Diana, Jones with cameos from Henry, Juliet & Lassiter
Word Count: 1625
Rating: PG-13
Overall Summary: Shawn tags along when Gus goes to New York City for a convention. He takes the time to look up old friends.
Chapter Summary Shawn is witnessed calling in a tip and gets hired by the FBI to help track down one Neal Caffrey
Notes: I honestly don't know the inspiration for this but I wanted to have the two meet as teens after leaving home. There are many conflicting dates regarding when Neal was born, but one of them only makes him a month younger than Shawn so I used it. I'd also like to thank my three betas snowflakie06, slytheringurrl and the_moogie
First Prologue
FBI White Collar Division, New York 2005
Shawn sat across from the desk from Agent Peter Burke and watched nervously as the man read through a file on the desk. He’d done a lot of “unique” jobs over the years but working for the FBI would top the list. Burke looked up and Shawn had seen that gaze coming from his dad when he was about to start a lecture.
“Mr. Spencer-”
“Shawn.”
“Right. Mr. Spencer is your father.” Burke quirked his lips in a smile. “We checked with NYPD after my wife saw you call in a tip at lunch and then heard of the arrests at dinner. You’ve solved 14 cases in four months.”
“Wow, the FBI really does their homework. Anything else?”
“You got a perfect score on the California Detective Exam when you were 15.”
“Yeah. Dad trained me to follow in his footsteps. It didn’t take.”
Agent Burke leaned back in his chair. “Most of the agents out there have either years of experience in the field or degrees from top-notch universities. They won’t like the fact that you have no official training.”
“Then we don’t tell them.”
When Shawn stepped through the door from Agent Burke’s office into the conference room, all heads turned to face him. It was like a Benetton ad - if Benetton sold dark, boring suits. He was glad that his casual attire of an Oxford shirt and khakis had been deemed acceptable.
“This is Shawn Spencer,” Burke said by way of introduction. “He’s here to help us with the Bonds case. Hughes thought his special talents might be useful.”
“What? The proper use of hair product?” murmured a black female agent under her breath.
“Thanks for noticing.”
“This is not just some fluke or wild last-ditch effort. Shawn has been trained as a policeman since he was a child and has an eidetic memory.” He looked at Shawn for confirmation.
“Right, so what am I here to look at?” Shawn rubbed his hands together.
The female agent who commented on his hair slid a file across the table to Agent Burke. “This guy started out a couple years ago forging bonds for Atlantic Partners, Ltd.. Since then he’s moved on to bigger and better things. He’s suspected of stealing the Faulkner Manuscript, the Antioch Manuscripts and Raphael’s Saint George and the Dragon earlier this year.”
“All have to do with art or rare documents.” Shawn flipped through the files quickly. Each theft or con he ‘allegedly’ pulled was challenging, something above and beyond. “They weren’t done for the money,” he stated. “It was for the challenge.”
“That’s what we were thinking, too. We need something different, Shawn. Something new.”
“Do you have any enlargements of the forgeries?”
“Jones.”
The young black agent handed Shawn another file containing the enlargements of the bonds as well as other suspected forgeries. He sat down and scanned the photos looking for some clue to the forger’s identity. That’s when he saw something he wished he hadn’t. Two familiar initials were etched in the border, bringing to mind a smiling face from 10 years ago. Crap! Do I tell them I met their guy when I was 18?
“Shawn, do you see anything?” asked Burke.
“For a second, I thought I did. Sorry.
“I guess it was wrong to expect an immediate result.” Burke checked his watch. “OK, I’ve got to meet El for lunch. Continue following your leads.” Burke headed for the door as the other agents stood and gathered their items. “You coming, Shawn?”
Elizabeth Burke was not at all what Shawn expected. Burke - or Peter, as he insisted Shawn call him - was so different around her. They also both got his sense of humor which was always a good thing. They were, well, sweet was the only word he could think of.
After lunch, they went back to the office where the conference room became Shawn’s office. He spent the rest of the day spreading a world map on the wall and the files out on the table. He was going to find the correlation between the crimes and point the FBI in the right way - but without naming Neal outright.
The days fell into a pattern and agents would bring Shawn new information to add to his timeline. He would break and go to lunch with Peter before returning and immersing himself in Neal’s life.
It was on the fourth day that the reality he was trying to deny stared him quite literally in the face. He was taking a break, eating a pineapple Danish when Peter came in with a new piece of information. He didn’t close the file quickly enough to keep Shawn from seeing the photo inside. He nearly choked on a piece of pineapple.
“Shawn, are you okay? What…what is it?”
“That picture? Is that him?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I met him ten years ago.”
“What? Are you sure?”
“His first name is Neal and his last name begins with a ‘C’, doesn’t it?”
“Caffrey,” Peter stated.
Shawn stood. “I can’t do this knowing he was a good friend. You can use all this,” he motioned to his work, “but I can’t be here when it happens.” He gave a humorless chuckle. “Maybe it’s time to go home. Dad’s in Miami so I don’t have that excuse anymore.”
Peter held out his hand. “Good luck, Shawn. And don’t be a stranger.”
Shawn shook the proffered hand. “I know where you live.” With a grin he walked out of the conference room and across the main floor. He stopped at the doors, turned and saluted before walking out.
Fandom: Psych, White Collar
Characters: Shawn, Gus, Peter, Neal, El, Mozzie, Diana, Jones with cameos from Henry, Juliet & Lassiter
Word Count: 1625
Rating: PG-13
Overall Summary: Shawn tags along when Gus goes to New York City for a convention. He takes the time to look up old friends.
Chapter Summary Shawn is witnessed calling in a tip and gets hired by the FBI to help track down one Neal Caffrey
Notes: I honestly don't know the inspiration for this but I wanted to have the two meet as teens after leaving home. There are many conflicting dates regarding when Neal was born, but one of them only makes him a month younger than Shawn so I used it. I'd also like to thank my three betas snowflakie06, slytheringurrl and the_moogie
First Prologue
FBI White Collar Division, New York 2005
Shawn sat across from the desk from Agent Peter Burke and watched nervously as the man read through a file on the desk. He’d done a lot of “unique” jobs over the years but working for the FBI would top the list. Burke looked up and Shawn had seen that gaze coming from his dad when he was about to start a lecture.
“Mr. Spencer-”
“Shawn.”
“Right. Mr. Spencer is your father.” Burke quirked his lips in a smile. “We checked with NYPD after my wife saw you call in a tip at lunch and then heard of the arrests at dinner. You’ve solved 14 cases in four months.”
“Wow, the FBI really does their homework. Anything else?”
“You got a perfect score on the California Detective Exam when you were 15.”
“Yeah. Dad trained me to follow in his footsteps. It didn’t take.”
Agent Burke leaned back in his chair. “Most of the agents out there have either years of experience in the field or degrees from top-notch universities. They won’t like the fact that you have no official training.”
“Then we don’t tell them.”
When Shawn stepped through the door from Agent Burke’s office into the conference room, all heads turned to face him. It was like a Benetton ad - if Benetton sold dark, boring suits. He was glad that his casual attire of an Oxford shirt and khakis had been deemed acceptable.
“This is Shawn Spencer,” Burke said by way of introduction. “He’s here to help us with the Bonds case. Hughes thought his special talents might be useful.”
“What? The proper use of hair product?” murmured a black female agent under her breath.
“Thanks for noticing.”
“This is not just some fluke or wild last-ditch effort. Shawn has been trained as a policeman since he was a child and has an eidetic memory.” He looked at Shawn for confirmation.
“Right, so what am I here to look at?” Shawn rubbed his hands together.
The female agent who commented on his hair slid a file across the table to Agent Burke. “This guy started out a couple years ago forging bonds for Atlantic Partners, Ltd.. Since then he’s moved on to bigger and better things. He’s suspected of stealing the Faulkner Manuscript, the Antioch Manuscripts and Raphael’s Saint George and the Dragon earlier this year.”
“All have to do with art or rare documents.” Shawn flipped through the files quickly. Each theft or con he ‘allegedly’ pulled was challenging, something above and beyond. “They weren’t done for the money,” he stated. “It was for the challenge.”
“That’s what we were thinking, too. We need something different, Shawn. Something new.”
“Do you have any enlargements of the forgeries?”
“Jones.”
The young black agent handed Shawn another file containing the enlargements of the bonds as well as other suspected forgeries. He sat down and scanned the photos looking for some clue to the forger’s identity. That’s when he saw something he wished he hadn’t. Two familiar initials were etched in the border, bringing to mind a smiling face from 10 years ago. Crap! Do I tell them I met their guy when I was 18?
“Shawn, do you see anything?” asked Burke.
“For a second, I thought I did. Sorry.
“I guess it was wrong to expect an immediate result.” Burke checked his watch. “OK, I’ve got to meet El for lunch. Continue following your leads.” Burke headed for the door as the other agents stood and gathered their items. “You coming, Shawn?”
Elizabeth Burke was not at all what Shawn expected. Burke - or Peter, as he insisted Shawn call him - was so different around her. They also both got his sense of humor which was always a good thing. They were, well, sweet was the only word he could think of.
After lunch, they went back to the office where the conference room became Shawn’s office. He spent the rest of the day spreading a world map on the wall and the files out on the table. He was going to find the correlation between the crimes and point the FBI in the right way - but without naming Neal outright.
The days fell into a pattern and agents would bring Shawn new information to add to his timeline. He would break and go to lunch with Peter before returning and immersing himself in Neal’s life.
It was on the fourth day that the reality he was trying to deny stared him quite literally in the face. He was taking a break, eating a pineapple Danish when Peter came in with a new piece of information. He didn’t close the file quickly enough to keep Shawn from seeing the photo inside. He nearly choked on a piece of pineapple.
“Shawn, are you okay? What…what is it?”
“That picture? Is that him?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I met him ten years ago.”
“What? Are you sure?”
“His first name is Neal and his last name begins with a ‘C’, doesn’t it?”
“Caffrey,” Peter stated.
Shawn stood. “I can’t do this knowing he was a good friend. You can use all this,” he motioned to his work, “but I can’t be here when it happens.” He gave a humorless chuckle. “Maybe it’s time to go home. Dad’s in Miami so I don’t have that excuse anymore.”
Peter held out his hand. “Good luck, Shawn. And don’t be a stranger.”
Shawn shook the proffered hand. “I know where you live.” With a grin he walked out of the conference room and across the main floor. He stopped at the doors, turned and saluted before walking out.