Fanfic Short Stories

White Collar & Leverage: The Fix-It Job

Story description: Can the White Collar series finale be fixed? Sure! Just bring in the Leverage Crew, a de-aging plot, and a little time travel! Or, as the Leverage team would say: Let's go steal the past!

Content warnings: references to terminal cancer (but no one dies)

The Fix-It Job

Parker still wasn't used to enjoying herself at things other than heists, much less hanging out with other people, but tonight wasn't bad. It was nice to hear the voices of Nate and Hardison in the background as Hardison tried to convince Nate they needed to acquire yet another piece of tech.

Parker sat on a sofa between Eliot and Sophie, watching Top Chef. Eliot made notes about the recipes, while Sophie listened carefully to the accents of several contestants. "I'm a bit rusty on New Orleans," she said, in what sounded to Parker like a perfect New Orleans accent.

They told Parker that she would like this episode because of the flambe challenge, and they were right. She and Eliot had already decided to make Cherries Jubilee tomorrow.

Sophie's phone buzzed. She glanced at it, raised a brow, and then slipped away to a far corner of the room to answer the call. "June," she said, "so lovely to hear from you."

"Should I pause the show?" Eliot asked, just as Sophie said, "Neal Caffrey?" and Parker hissed, "Yes!"

Parker nearly grabbed the remote herself before Eliot could hit the pause button. It never occurred to her that they shouldn't eavesdrop. Listening in on each other's conversations was second nature due to the way they worked.

"Only by reputation," Sophie continued. She listened to the caller and then said, "He's joining the Pink Panthers?"

"The cartoon?" Eliot muttered at the same time Parker protested, "He wouldn't do that!"

"Enough, Sophie," Nate said. "You have our attention."

As the crew gathered around a table and Sophie put the call on speaker, Parker asked, "You scripted the call for us to overhear?"

"Exactly," said Sophie. "This isn't our usual kind of case, because June isn't our usual kind of client. I needed to introduce her to you the right way."

"Bypassing me and our vetting process," Nate grumbled.

"With good reason," Sophie said lightly. "June is one of us, a grifter."

"Retired," came June's voice from the phone. She explained that she lived in Manhattan, where she rented a loft in her home to Neal Caffrey.

"He's one of us, too," Parker said. "Thief, forger, con artist."

"And an FBI consultant," June added. "Unfortunately that's turned against him. It was supposed to be a few years of working for them while wearing a tracking anklet instead of returning to prison after he escaped. But they keep finding excuses to extend the sentence. Recently he made a desperate bargain: his freedom if he can help them arrest the leaders of the Pink Panthers."

"I knew he wouldn't really join them," Parker interjected.

"Today he..." June paused. "He didn't say he was going to disappear, but it was clearly a goodbye. I pushed for answers, and what I heard has me deeply concerned." She explained what she had learned about his plan.

"We can't let him do that," Sophie insisted, looking up and meeting each person's eyes, one by one. They all nodded — even Nate.

One week later...