Caffrey Flashback

Chapter 47: Bonus Content

March, 2004.

Quantico.

Diana Berrigan found an open seat, and once she was settled she looked around at the other people in her class. All of them wanted to become FBI agents.

"Welcome!"

The agent-hopefuls turned their attention to the front of the room, to the woman who had greeted them.

"I'm Agent Mutisi," the woman continued. "For the next twenty weeks, you'll live and study here in our facility in Quantico, Virginia. We look forward to getting to know you during that time. Those of you who successfully complete the training will receive assignments as probationary agents. Those who successfully complete those assignments will be promoted to full-fledged agents."

Manhattan - Federal Building.

"The latest class at Quantico started this week," Hughes told the agents who reported directly to him. "That means they'll be available for interviews in late June for assignments in July. We have budget for two probies. Any takers?"

Peter Burke raised his hand. "White Collar is already busier than I'd expected."

Quantico.

Diana entered the office of Agent Mutisi, her assigned advisor during the program. This was their first session, and she was eager to hear the agent's thoughts. They discussed Diana's aspirations and then she asked, "What advice do you have?"

Mutisi smiled. "You're excited about becoming an agent, and that's good, of course. Just make sure you temper that excitement with realism. You aren't going to be in the field every day. We have Bureau in our name, after all. Bureaucracy is a fact of life, and so is paperwork."

"Yeah, the application and intake forms gave me a taste of that already," Diana said.

"Patience is important, not only with your supervisors and team members, but also with yourself. I find that new agents start to have second thoughts after a few weeks, wondering if joining the FBI was the right decision."

"Buyer's remorse?" Diana asked.

"That's a good analogy. Being an agent is this bright, shiny new thing that people like to brag about. Some of my students build it up in their minds into something so grandiose that they're inevitably disappointed with the reality."

Manhattan - Federal Building.

Peter motioned for Neal Caffrey to take a seat. "Now that you've been with the Bureau for ninety days, it's time to set your goals for the rest of the year. Let's start with the goals I'd set for the team as a whole, and then we'll see which ones make sense for you to contribute toward."

Neal gave him an obviously fake smile. "I'm finally getting the indoctrination Mozzie warned me about. Maybe I should record this for him."

"Smart ass," Peter said. "It isn't that bad."

Manhattan - Sterling-Bosch.

Sara Ellis was wrapping up her first assignment at Sterling-Bosch, and it was... okay. She was still a newbie, of course. She was shadowing a more senior recovery agent, and doing most of the paperwork.

A lot of paperwork.

Well, the allure of this job was mainly the location. She'd wanted to be in New York City, and her skills from Winston-Winslow were a good fit. Soon the bosses here would trust her enough to send her out on her own. Then she'd like this job as much as the one she'd left, right?

And it wasn't like Win-Win had fewer forms. Gathering data for their IT geeks and impressions for their psychology geeks was a major part of the job. Only... Win-Win's forms made more sense, had less duplication.