Series: Thick As Thieves - Chapter 1
Title: Thick As Thieves
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: Peter/Neal
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
A/N: This plot bunny attacked me when I was watching the season premiere of White Collar last night. Highlight for spoiler. (Peter and Neal are entering the bank and Neal says they would make a great bank robbing team.) This is what I came up with. It started out as a one shot but ended up being the beginning of a chapter fic. Hopefully you enjoy it. :)
Chapter 1
It was a normal Monday at First National Municipal Bank. The bank was closed for lunch and the only tellers left in the building were a young brunette woman with a nervous laugh and an older gentleman who had been with the bank for over thirty years.
It had been a fairly slow day. Came with the territory of being such a high end bank. Their clientele consisted of wealthy business men, trust fund babies, rich and lonely widows or housewives and powerful men of questionable employment. Not many of those types of people visited the bank on a regular basis so it was normal for the bank to be empty.
The bank was quiet except for the shuffling of papers as the man made copies of bank statements. The young woman was just processing a request for a five hundred thousand dollar wire transfer when it happened.
There was a light tap on the door and two men stood outside. The taller one smiled brightly and waved at the woman, bright white teeth flashing. The shorter yet slightly older man looked bored and sighed with one hand shoved in his pocket and the other holding a briefcase. He rolled his eyes as the taller man said something before turning back to the door and motioning for the woman inside to come and let them in.
The woman blushed and made her way quickly to the door. She fumbled with her keys and unlocked the door and opened it with a nervous laugh and smile. The taller man stepped in, his own briefcase first, followed by the other man. He grinned down at the woman as she closed the door behind them and whistled as he surveyed the lobby.
“Good afternoon, sir. Heh, um, not to be rude, or anything, heh, but we’re closed for lunch.If you’d like you can come back in an hour.” The woman mumbled fidgeting and ringing her hands together. The younger of the two smiled reassuringly and placed a hand on her shoulder. The woman sputtered and blushed furiously causing the older man to huff and roll his eyes.
“Sorry about that, we had no idea. Don’t worry...” he looked at her name tag, “Rachel, that’s a pretty name. Don’t worry Rachel we’ll be out of your hair in a bit, we just need you to keep quiet, cooperate and take us to your vault now.” The younger man smiled maliciously and the woman gasped.
“The vault? Why...” The older man rolled his eyes again and glared at her in annoyance.
“We are going to rob you, duh. It’s kind of obvious. Now lead us to the vault and don’t even try to panic or get away or talk to the police. I have a gun.”
“We don’t plan on using it but we if we have any trouble we will be forced to. Now please if you will, the vault.” The young man glared at his partner and then turned to the woman who had gone white with fear. She nodded slowly and led the two men through the lobby to a door, smiling reassuringly at the questioning look the older teller gave her as they passed him.
The door led to stairs which led down to a door with a security code. She punched in a few numbers and the three of them entered a large room with safe deposit boxes lining the walls and a large vault at the end. The shorter man whistled. The tall man smiled widely and spread his arms out.
“Now that is a beauty. Rachel, be a dear and open it for us, would you?” he said. The woman glanced between the two and opened her mouth as if to speak twice before squeaking, letting out another nervous giggle and walking quickly to the vault.
She punched in another code on the key pad and then pressed her thumb into the print scanner. A loud ping was heard and then the tumblers clanged and the vault door opened with soft “pffuh” sound.
The two men followed her into the vault and placed their brief cases on the table inside. The shorter man opened both cases and then stepped back to the door of the vault as if keeping watch. The other man pointed to the woman and smiled.
“Thank you so much, Rachel. You’ve been a great help, so cooperative. I have one last task to give you and then we’ll be out of your hair. I promise.” His smile widened and she cringed slightly. That seemed to amuse the other man at the door and he chuckled lightly. His partner glared at him and he winked back. Rachel glanced at the both of them and paled even more. The man turned to her again.
“Rachel, I’m going to need you to fill these to briefcases full of money, thank you very much. No dye packs please, I’d prefer to leave here without being marked. If I find a dye pack, my friend over there will get grumpy and I can’t really control him when he’s grumpy. Now hop to it.”
Rachel squeaked and began grabbing the stacks of money. Every few stacks she would discard one because of a dye pack glancing worriedly at both men. Within a few minutes both cases were full, closed and back in the hands of their owners. The men stood smiling wickedly as Rachel closed the vault and followed her lead back into the lobby.
Once they were in front of the front doors they turned back to Rachel. The older man smirked and pointed up at a camera.
“Thank you so much for help Rachel. We wouldn’t have been able to do this without you. Now you’re probably thinking of calling the police once we leave, right? Well don’t, it wouldn’t be good for you. We never pulled a gun or raised our voices or manhandled you in anyway and the cameras will prove it. In fact if you do call the police and they review the security footage it will look like you let two old friends in during a time when no other workers were in and led them right into the vault. Now I’m not well versed in bank protocol but I can guess that you would be out of a job if not jailed. So be smart about it and thanks for the help.” He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. His partner smirked and pulled Rachel into a hug before kissing her on the cheek.
With that they left a sputtering Rachel shaking and very near tears standing in the front of the lobby.
- - -
“What’ve we got, Jones?” Special Agent Elizabeth Burke asked Special Agent Clinton Jones as she stepped into First National Municipal Bank. He smiled, handed her a cup of coffee and a file and then schooled his features to straight business.
“A little over $1.5 million dollars is missing from the bank vault. Nothing else was touched and no alarms were tripped. NYPD thought it had been an inside job by a teller, name Rachel Blaine.” Jones ran through the case as they made their way through the crowded lobby of the bank and to the vault. Burke frowned and skimmed through the file.
“If NYPD thinks it was an inside job why am I here?”she asked. Jones stopped just as they entered the room with the vault and handed her an evidence bag with a small business card.
“They found this inside the vault.”
Burke took the bag and fingered the plastic around the card.
It was a normal enough card. Plain white card stock, black ink. What made it special was what was written in that black ink.
In the middle of the card were the letters ‘B & C’ in loopy calligraphy.
Burke growled and clutched the plastic in her fist, careful not to crumple the card.
“Dammit. They’re back in New York.”
“It seems that way.” Jones nodded and looked around at the chaotic crowd of FBI agents in the safe. All milling about with devices and censors, and gloves and evidence bags. Elizabeth wanted to pat them on the back and tell them all to go home. They were wasting their time.
Neal Caffrey and Peter Burke never left any evidence.
Fandom: White Collar
Pairing: Peter/Neal
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
A/N: This plot bunny attacked me when I was watching the season premiere of White Collar last night. Highlight for spoiler. (Peter and Neal are entering the bank and Neal says they would make a great bank robbing team.) This is what I came up with. It started out as a one shot but ended up being the beginning of a chapter fic. Hopefully you enjoy it. :)
Chapter 1
It was a normal Monday at First National Municipal Bank. The bank was closed for lunch and the only tellers left in the building were a young brunette woman with a nervous laugh and an older gentleman who had been with the bank for over thirty years.
It had been a fairly slow day. Came with the territory of being such a high end bank. Their clientele consisted of wealthy business men, trust fund babies, rich and lonely widows or housewives and powerful men of questionable employment. Not many of those types of people visited the bank on a regular basis so it was normal for the bank to be empty.
The bank was quiet except for the shuffling of papers as the man made copies of bank statements. The young woman was just processing a request for a five hundred thousand dollar wire transfer when it happened.
There was a light tap on the door and two men stood outside. The taller one smiled brightly and waved at the woman, bright white teeth flashing. The shorter yet slightly older man looked bored and sighed with one hand shoved in his pocket and the other holding a briefcase. He rolled his eyes as the taller man said something before turning back to the door and motioning for the woman inside to come and let them in.
The woman blushed and made her way quickly to the door. She fumbled with her keys and unlocked the door and opened it with a nervous laugh and smile. The taller man stepped in, his own briefcase first, followed by the other man. He grinned down at the woman as she closed the door behind them and whistled as he surveyed the lobby.
“Good afternoon, sir. Heh, um, not to be rude, or anything, heh, but we’re closed for lunch.If you’d like you can come back in an hour.” The woman mumbled fidgeting and ringing her hands together. The younger of the two smiled reassuringly and placed a hand on her shoulder. The woman sputtered and blushed furiously causing the older man to huff and roll his eyes.
“Sorry about that, we had no idea. Don’t worry...” he looked at her name tag, “Rachel, that’s a pretty name. Don’t worry Rachel we’ll be out of your hair in a bit, we just need you to keep quiet, cooperate and take us to your vault now.” The younger man smiled maliciously and the woman gasped.
“The vault? Why...” The older man rolled his eyes again and glared at her in annoyance.
“We are going to rob you, duh. It’s kind of obvious. Now lead us to the vault and don’t even try to panic or get away or talk to the police. I have a gun.”
“We don’t plan on using it but we if we have any trouble we will be forced to. Now please if you will, the vault.” The young man glared at his partner and then turned to the woman who had gone white with fear. She nodded slowly and led the two men through the lobby to a door, smiling reassuringly at the questioning look the older teller gave her as they passed him.
The door led to stairs which led down to a door with a security code. She punched in a few numbers and the three of them entered a large room with safe deposit boxes lining the walls and a large vault at the end. The shorter man whistled. The tall man smiled widely and spread his arms out.
“Now that is a beauty. Rachel, be a dear and open it for us, would you?” he said. The woman glanced between the two and opened her mouth as if to speak twice before squeaking, letting out another nervous giggle and walking quickly to the vault.
She punched in another code on the key pad and then pressed her thumb into the print scanner. A loud ping was heard and then the tumblers clanged and the vault door opened with soft “pffuh” sound.
The two men followed her into the vault and placed their brief cases on the table inside. The shorter man opened both cases and then stepped back to the door of the vault as if keeping watch. The other man pointed to the woman and smiled.
“Thank you so much, Rachel. You’ve been a great help, so cooperative. I have one last task to give you and then we’ll be out of your hair. I promise.” His smile widened and she cringed slightly. That seemed to amuse the other man at the door and he chuckled lightly. His partner glared at him and he winked back. Rachel glanced at the both of them and paled even more. The man turned to her again.
“Rachel, I’m going to need you to fill these to briefcases full of money, thank you very much. No dye packs please, I’d prefer to leave here without being marked. If I find a dye pack, my friend over there will get grumpy and I can’t really control him when he’s grumpy. Now hop to it.”
Rachel squeaked and began grabbing the stacks of money. Every few stacks she would discard one because of a dye pack glancing worriedly at both men. Within a few minutes both cases were full, closed and back in the hands of their owners. The men stood smiling wickedly as Rachel closed the vault and followed her lead back into the lobby.
Once they were in front of the front doors they turned back to Rachel. The older man smirked and pointed up at a camera.
“Thank you so much for help Rachel. We wouldn’t have been able to do this without you. Now you’re probably thinking of calling the police once we leave, right? Well don’t, it wouldn’t be good for you. We never pulled a gun or raised our voices or manhandled you in anyway and the cameras will prove it. In fact if you do call the police and they review the security footage it will look like you let two old friends in during a time when no other workers were in and led them right into the vault. Now I’m not well versed in bank protocol but I can guess that you would be out of a job if not jailed. So be smart about it and thanks for the help.” He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. His partner smirked and pulled Rachel into a hug before kissing her on the cheek.
With that they left a sputtering Rachel shaking and very near tears standing in the front of the lobby.
- - -
“What’ve we got, Jones?” Special Agent Elizabeth Burke asked Special Agent Clinton Jones as she stepped into First National Municipal Bank. He smiled, handed her a cup of coffee and a file and then schooled his features to straight business.
“A little over $1.5 million dollars is missing from the bank vault. Nothing else was touched and no alarms were tripped. NYPD thought it had been an inside job by a teller, name Rachel Blaine.” Jones ran through the case as they made their way through the crowded lobby of the bank and to the vault. Burke frowned and skimmed through the file.
“If NYPD thinks it was an inside job why am I here?”she asked. Jones stopped just as they entered the room with the vault and handed her an evidence bag with a small business card.
“They found this inside the vault.”
Burke took the bag and fingered the plastic around the card.
It was a normal enough card. Plain white card stock, black ink. What made it special was what was written in that black ink.
In the middle of the card were the letters ‘B & C’ in loopy calligraphy.
Burke growled and clutched the plastic in her fist, careful not to crumple the card.
“Dammit. They’re back in New York.”
“It seems that way.” Jones nodded and looked around at the chaotic crowd of FBI agents in the safe. All milling about with devices and censors, and gloves and evidence bags. Elizabeth wanted to pat them on the back and tell them all to go home. They were wasting their time.
Neal Caffrey and Peter Burke never left any evidence.