White Collar Fic: Severance
Title: Severance
Author:
sheenianni
Characters/Pairings: Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke, Mozzie; background Neal/Sara
Word Count: ~ 1,400
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Summary: Neal went to prison for Kate. He was not going to do it again for Peter. Canon divergent AU set somewhere around episode 3.7. Not a happy fic.
___________________________________
“You make me sick.”
“Oh yeah?”
“You were just using me the whole time, weren’t you?”
“Is that what you think?”
“No, I stupidly thought that we were friends.”
“You’ve had a funny way of showing it.”
o - o - o
The painting scrap, the plane, the anklet data, every other piece of evidence paint a clear picture. More than that, they know Caffrey’s about to run, and that prompts them to act.
A bit of surveillance until they’re sure they’re both at June’s house. Then, the FBI arrests Neal and Mozzie for the treasure theft.
It’s terribly easy, and it’s easily the most awful moment of Peter’s life - at least up until that point.
o - o - o
“Are you seriously trying to put this on me? You left me no choice-”
“You accused me within seconds of the explosion.”
“Oh no, you don’t-”
o - o - o
Jones spoke against the arrest. He said they needed more evidence; that their case wasn’t strong enough yet. His “defense” of Caffrey will be held against him in a few years when it comes to discussing his promotion.
Peter thinks Neal will fold under his accusations. Diana is following Peter’s lead. Hughes is just furious this happened in his department and wants it to be resolved ASAP.
They hit their first snag when the treasure is not in the warehouse where they expected it to be. Still, there is enough to make their case.
They put Neal in one cell, Mozzie in another, and then they start the interrogation.
o - o - o
“Friends don’t send each other to prison, Peter.”
o - o - o
They offer a plea bargain and expect them to turn on each other. Instead, both Neal and Mozzie stay silent.
o - o - o
“I don’t know who. I don’t know how. But I will prove that you two did this.”
“Yeah? I’d like to see you try.”
“Trust me, I will.”
o - o - o
The prosecutor flat out tells them they have little case against Mozzie; there’s nothing to directly tie him to the alleged theft. It will be hard enough to convict Caffrey, he says, that with the treasure still missing and the evidence being circumstantial.
Hughes argues with him, Peter and Diana state one example after another of Mozzie’s involvement with Neal. In the end, they barely convince the man to continue the prosecution, but then the judge releases Mozzie on bail that’s set at laughable $10,000.
Peter argues until he’s blue in the face that Mozzie’s going to run. He is wrong.
o - o - o
“And now you’re back in jail. Tell me, are you really fine with Mozzie walking away scott-free?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? As far as I can say, Mozzie didn’t do anything wrong.”
“So you’re confessing now it was all your work.”
“What? Peter, I’m innocent, didn’t you hear the verdict?”
“The - just because you two corrupted the system-”
“Besides, Mozzie’s the one friend who stuck with me through all of this. Can’t say that about my other friends.”
“Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare act like you didn’t bring this on yourself-”
o - o - o
Once, Mozzie would have run. The prospect of jail does not sit well with him.
But then the FBI arrest him. They arrest Neal as well, and Neal, just as expected, does not give him up.
Mozzie still feels some lingering guilt about Neal’s first prison sentence. But it’s more than that - he knows Neal has been dragging his feet because of the Suit. He wants to protect Neal; he wants to pay Neal back for their partnership - but a part of him also feels a selfish, vindictive glee at being proven right.
Peter Burke has finally turned on Neal. This is Mozzie’s chance to free Neal from the Suit’s influence once and for all.
The case against them is circumstantial, and Moz has all the money in the world to tip the scales.
o - o - o
“You know, I expected you to testify against me. And it hurt, don’t get me wrong - but Cindy? Sara?”
“Oh no. You involved them. This, all they went through, that’s on you.”
o - o - o
The prosecution pulls every trick in their book and then some.
Cindy is supposed to be the easiest to break. She helped Neal and Moz switch the burnt painting scrap; they argue she is an accessory after the fact to the theft. She could spend years in prison if she doesn’t turn on them.
Involving Cindy is not the prosecution’s first mistake, but it’s a costly one.
Even knowing her granddaughter is too smart to fold, June is leaving nothing to accident; not after Byron. No matter how mad she is at Neal and Mozzie, if they go down, Cindy will always have this on her record. And so June hires the best lawyers and works with Mozzie using official and unofficial channels. Mozzie provides the capital, but June contacts the fixers and nudges their odds just a bit more in their direction.
When they finally clear all of them, June tells Neal and Moz to leave and not come back.
o - o - o
“Sara-”
“It was your attorney who tore her apart at the stand. I didn’t want this.”
“Really, Peter? You used my girlfriend as the main witness against me-”
“The prosecution did. It was not my call-”
“ - after Kate, I don’t know why I’m surprised. At least Sara didn’t get killed.”
“You dragged them into this-”
o - o - o
It shouldn’t hurt this bad, Neal thinks.
He guessed what happened that day in his apartment - guessed that Sara had seen the treasure. Even though she tried to act normal, it was all over her face, her voice, her posture - she saw, and it shook her to the core. It tore at him, but he could not trust her to keep his secret - especially after she broke up with him.
At his prompting, Mozzie moved the treasure after that. The precaution would save them just a week later when the FBI stormed Neal’s apartment and arrested them both.
As the one person who saw the treasure after it supposedly burned, her testimony was crucial. Despite folding when Peter confronted her about the breakup, Sara did not want to testify against them. Neal’s lawyer used her hesitation, used her past with Neal, used their relationship and destroyed every bit of her credibility when she finally took the stand.
Neal will never forgive himself for letting this happen to her.
o - o - o
“I should have left you in prison.”
I never should have proposed the deal, Neal thinks but does not say aloud.
Kate died. Two years on the anklet, and anything he may have built here has turned into smoke; he torched it all. Mozzie’s the only one he has left.
That, and millions of dollars in treasure.
Against all odds, they were found not guilty - whatever happens, they can’t be prosecuted for the theft again.
He’s back in jail, there to serve the rest of his sentence after the FBI terminated his work-release program. In two years, he’ll walk free, and then he’ll join Mozzie on their island, retire into a life of comfort and luxury. Even as a former snitch, the wealth they stole will protect him in prison; Mozzie made sure of that.
His former friends on either side of the law are done with him. Sara won’t talk to him, Elizabeth despises him, June has decided that he was one con man she didn’t want in her home anymore.
And Peter collected evidence against him, testified against him, led the case against him. Betrayal, disappointment, hurt, rage - they’ve done it all, more than once. Peter’s career may never recover.
Today, they’re just pouring salt in the same wounds; possibly for the last time, as Peter came to see him in jail after the trial ended. Neal feels guilt, anger, shame, regret - more than any of that, he feels numb.
“Goodbye, Peter.”
The friendship, their bond, two years on the anklet, all of it gone; the treasure as his severance.
If only he could trade it for the chance to turn back the clock.
THE END
A/N: I recently re-read an old story by treonb: Peter discovers Neal stole the treasure and broke into his house, so he sends him back to jail, leaving both of them heartbroken. The story’s been eating at me, so naturally I decided to inflict more damage on the guys, just in a different way. I blame Eastin for creating the situation.
I've written several S3 stories where Neal goes out of his way to fix his relationship with Peter; risking a long prison sentence in an effort to make things right, putting Mozzie in the crosshairs. Here, he takes a different path for several reasons; mainly because Mozzie is arrested alongside him. This causes a lot of collateral damage to pretty much everybody who’s anywhere near the situation. Peter, June, Sara, Cindy… the list goes on. Neal and Moz (probably the least sympathetic I ever wrote either of them) burn all the bridges and then some; their friendship is the only true relationship they have left, and there are a lot of cracks as well. Obviously, even though it’s been a decade or so, I still have Feelings about Season 3.
Also, Peter and Sara need a hug.
Author:
sheenianni
Characters/Pairings: Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke, Mozzie; background Neal/Sara
Word Count: ~ 1,400
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Summary: Neal went to prison for Kate. He was not going to do it again for Peter. Canon divergent AU set somewhere around episode 3.7. Not a happy fic.
___________________________________
“You make me sick.”
“Oh yeah?”
“You were just using me the whole time, weren’t you?”
“Is that what you think?”
“No, I stupidly thought that we were friends.”
“You’ve had a funny way of showing it.”
o - o - o
The painting scrap, the plane, the anklet data, every other piece of evidence paint a clear picture. More than that, they know Caffrey’s about to run, and that prompts them to act.
A bit of surveillance until they’re sure they’re both at June’s house. Then, the FBI arrests Neal and Mozzie for the treasure theft.
It’s terribly easy, and it’s easily the most awful moment of Peter’s life - at least up until that point.
o - o - o
“Are you seriously trying to put this on me? You left me no choice-”
“You accused me within seconds of the explosion.”
“Oh no, you don’t-”
o - o - o
Jones spoke against the arrest. He said they needed more evidence; that their case wasn’t strong enough yet. His “defense” of Caffrey will be held against him in a few years when it comes to discussing his promotion.
Peter thinks Neal will fold under his accusations. Diana is following Peter’s lead. Hughes is just furious this happened in his department and wants it to be resolved ASAP.
They hit their first snag when the treasure is not in the warehouse where they expected it to be. Still, there is enough to make their case.
They put Neal in one cell, Mozzie in another, and then they start the interrogation.
o - o - o
“Friends don’t send each other to prison, Peter.”
o - o - o
They offer a plea bargain and expect them to turn on each other. Instead, both Neal and Mozzie stay silent.
o - o - o
“I don’t know who. I don’t know how. But I will prove that you two did this.”
“Yeah? I’d like to see you try.”
“Trust me, I will.”
o - o - o
The prosecutor flat out tells them they have little case against Mozzie; there’s nothing to directly tie him to the alleged theft. It will be hard enough to convict Caffrey, he says, that with the treasure still missing and the evidence being circumstantial.
Hughes argues with him, Peter and Diana state one example after another of Mozzie’s involvement with Neal. In the end, they barely convince the man to continue the prosecution, but then the judge releases Mozzie on bail that’s set at laughable $10,000.
Peter argues until he’s blue in the face that Mozzie’s going to run. He is wrong.
o - o - o
“And now you’re back in jail. Tell me, are you really fine with Mozzie walking away scott-free?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? As far as I can say, Mozzie didn’t do anything wrong.”
“So you’re confessing now it was all your work.”
“What? Peter, I’m innocent, didn’t you hear the verdict?”
“The - just because you two corrupted the system-”
“Besides, Mozzie’s the one friend who stuck with me through all of this. Can’t say that about my other friends.”
“Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare act like you didn’t bring this on yourself-”
o - o - o
Once, Mozzie would have run. The prospect of jail does not sit well with him.
But then the FBI arrest him. They arrest Neal as well, and Neal, just as expected, does not give him up.
Mozzie still feels some lingering guilt about Neal’s first prison sentence. But it’s more than that - he knows Neal has been dragging his feet because of the Suit. He wants to protect Neal; he wants to pay Neal back for their partnership - but a part of him also feels a selfish, vindictive glee at being proven right.
Peter Burke has finally turned on Neal. This is Mozzie’s chance to free Neal from the Suit’s influence once and for all.
The case against them is circumstantial, and Moz has all the money in the world to tip the scales.
o - o - o
“You know, I expected you to testify against me. And it hurt, don’t get me wrong - but Cindy? Sara?”
“Oh no. You involved them. This, all they went through, that’s on you.”
o - o - o
The prosecution pulls every trick in their book and then some.
Cindy is supposed to be the easiest to break. She helped Neal and Moz switch the burnt painting scrap; they argue she is an accessory after the fact to the theft. She could spend years in prison if she doesn’t turn on them.
Involving Cindy is not the prosecution’s first mistake, but it’s a costly one.
Even knowing her granddaughter is too smart to fold, June is leaving nothing to accident; not after Byron. No matter how mad she is at Neal and Mozzie, if they go down, Cindy will always have this on her record. And so June hires the best lawyers and works with Mozzie using official and unofficial channels. Mozzie provides the capital, but June contacts the fixers and nudges their odds just a bit more in their direction.
When they finally clear all of them, June tells Neal and Moz to leave and not come back.
o - o - o
“Sara-”
“It was your attorney who tore her apart at the stand. I didn’t want this.”
“Really, Peter? You used my girlfriend as the main witness against me-”
“The prosecution did. It was not my call-”
“ - after Kate, I don’t know why I’m surprised. At least Sara didn’t get killed.”
“You dragged them into this-”
o - o - o
It shouldn’t hurt this bad, Neal thinks.
He guessed what happened that day in his apartment - guessed that Sara had seen the treasure. Even though she tried to act normal, it was all over her face, her voice, her posture - she saw, and it shook her to the core. It tore at him, but he could not trust her to keep his secret - especially after she broke up with him.
At his prompting, Mozzie moved the treasure after that. The precaution would save them just a week later when the FBI stormed Neal’s apartment and arrested them both.
As the one person who saw the treasure after it supposedly burned, her testimony was crucial. Despite folding when Peter confronted her about the breakup, Sara did not want to testify against them. Neal’s lawyer used her hesitation, used her past with Neal, used their relationship and destroyed every bit of her credibility when she finally took the stand.
Neal will never forgive himself for letting this happen to her.
o - o - o
“I should have left you in prison.”
I never should have proposed the deal, Neal thinks but does not say aloud.
Kate died. Two years on the anklet, and anything he may have built here has turned into smoke; he torched it all. Mozzie’s the only one he has left.
That, and millions of dollars in treasure.
Against all odds, they were found not guilty - whatever happens, they can’t be prosecuted for the theft again.
He’s back in jail, there to serve the rest of his sentence after the FBI terminated his work-release program. In two years, he’ll walk free, and then he’ll join Mozzie on their island, retire into a life of comfort and luxury. Even as a former snitch, the wealth they stole will protect him in prison; Mozzie made sure of that.
His former friends on either side of the law are done with him. Sara won’t talk to him, Elizabeth despises him, June has decided that he was one con man she didn’t want in her home anymore.
And Peter collected evidence against him, testified against him, led the case against him. Betrayal, disappointment, hurt, rage - they’ve done it all, more than once. Peter’s career may never recover.
Today, they’re just pouring salt in the same wounds; possibly for the last time, as Peter came to see him in jail after the trial ended. Neal feels guilt, anger, shame, regret - more than any of that, he feels numb.
“Goodbye, Peter.”
The friendship, their bond, two years on the anklet, all of it gone; the treasure as his severance.
If only he could trade it for the chance to turn back the clock.
THE END
A/N: I recently re-read an old story by treonb: Peter discovers Neal stole the treasure and broke into his house, so he sends him back to jail, leaving both of them heartbroken. The story’s been eating at me, so naturally I decided to inflict more damage on the guys, just in a different way. I blame Eastin for creating the situation.
I've written several S3 stories where Neal goes out of his way to fix his relationship with Peter; risking a long prison sentence in an effort to make things right, putting Mozzie in the crosshairs. Here, he takes a different path for several reasons; mainly because Mozzie is arrested alongside him. This causes a lot of collateral damage to pretty much everybody who’s anywhere near the situation. Peter, June, Sara, Cindy… the list goes on. Neal and Moz (probably the least sympathetic I ever wrote either of them) burn all the bridges and then some; their friendship is the only true relationship they have left, and there are a lot of cracks as well. Obviously, even though it’s been a decade or so, I still have Feelings about Season 3.
Also, Peter and Sara need a hug.