Story description: What if the Leverage team arrived in New York during the White Collar Dentist of Detroit episode? Suppose both groups were trying to bring down the same mobster. It would help if con artists Neal and Sophie knew each other, and could coordinate their efforts.

A/N: AO3 Chocolate Box exchange gift, inspired by a prompt for a White Collar and Leverage crossover featuring Neal and Sophie. I loved the part in the prompt about all of the cons Sophie and Neal know, and I enjoyed making up names for a few of those cons.

** a little hand waving over the timeline **

FYI, because the names Neal and Nate look so similar, I chose to use Nathan throughout this story to reduce confusion.

The Dentist of Detroit Job

Sophie Devereaux loved New York. The fashion, the jewels, the theater – she'd been thrilled when she heard it was the destination for their next job.

They'd arrived yesterday, and a minor flaw in their original plan pushed back their timetable. While Nathan and Eliot invented a Plan B, Hardison announced he'd heard about an amazing sale and insisted he and Parker needed to check it out first thing in the morning. Feeling at loose ends, Sophie decided to accompany them.

At first she'd been disappointed. The items being sold by a quirky little man named Mozzie were odd at best. Hardison seemed impressed by the electronics, and Parker listened intently to his descriptions of what the devices could do. Sophie amused herself by watching the customers.

One woman looked particularly out of place. She was more than a decade older than most of the people in the room, and infinitely more elegant, yet she appeared entirely at home among the rabble. Sophie walked toward the exit to get a better view of the woman as she left with her purchase. "Excuse me," Sophie said. "Are you June Ellington?"

The woman nodded. "That's right. Do I know you?"

June and her husband had been legends. They'd hit the jackpot, with a score so big and so untraceable that they'd purchased a mansion in Manhattan and retired. Sophie shook her head. "We haven't met, but I've aspired to be like you." She introduced herself and they chatted until a man's voice interrupted them.

"Sophie?"

She turned around. "Neal!"

Neal Caffrey. He'd made a splash in Europe as a grifter and thief several years ago, and they'd crossed paths a few times. He wore a stylish and expensive suit. It would seem he'd done well for himself, but appearances could be deceiving. He took her hand and said, "Good to see you again."

"I heard you were..." She glanced at June, not wanting to embarrass Neal in front of a legend.

"Incarcerated?" He smiled. "It's okay. June's my landlady. She knows all about my misadventures. Will you be in New York long? I need to get going now, but I'd love to catch up this evening if you're free."

Sophie had recently decided Nathan was taking her for granted, and wanted to remind him she was a woman of mystery. Disappearing for dinner this evening with a suave, handsome man would serve her goals nicely. She agreed to meet Neal at his loft at 7:00.

#

Neal barely made it back home before Sophie arrived. It had been a packed day. He might have cancelled, but he'd heard Sophie had joined a crew. She'd always been a loner, so that seemed strange, but was it any stranger than his own arrangement with the FBI? Sophie and her contacts could be useful, both now and in the future. The wiser course of action was to meet her as promised and to learn all he could about what she was doing these days.

So he bought fresh seafood on his way home and prepared a paella while Sophie described her crew's mission to help innocent victims by conning the rich and powerful. Neal liked the sound of it, and wondered if he might do something similar one day.

He poured them each a glass of wine. "To old friends." They raised their glasses in a toast. After they drank he set down his glass and asked, "What brought you to New York?"

"Have you heard of Patrick O'Leary?"

"Seriously? I spent most of today learning about a feud between him and a mob boss from Detroit. With luck they're both going down tomorrow."

"Relying on luck?" Sophie raised a brow.

"There's always an element of luck involved, but this time it's too close for comfort," Neal admitted. He'd tried to persuade Peter to let Mozzie assist in setting up the wire con, but Peter had refused to let Mozz out of protective custody until O'Leary and De Luca were arrested. Peter insisted the FBI techs were capable of handling everything, but Neal wasn't convinced. He wanted a tech who was actually versed in breaking the law. That's where Sophie's crew came in. As he cooked the paella, Neal caught her up on his release from prison and deal with the FBI. Then he asked, "What's your interest in O'Leary?"

"He took a family heirloom from our client. It's locked in a safe in his office, and our initial plan was to run a Cat's Eye to get it back."

Neal tasted the paella and turned down the heat so it would simmer. It didn't need his attention for a few minutes, so he sat at the kitchen table beside his guest. For this part of the conversation he wanted to watch Sophie's reactions. "Initial plan. Something changed your mind."

Sophie winced. "Someone. O'Leary's girlfriend recognized me when I approached them. She's an aspiring actress."

"Like you." Neal remembered that between cons, Sophie constantly auditioned for roles. She had such a gift for pretending to be other people, he'd never understood why directors rarely cast her.

"We once competed for the role of Ophelia. It was a low point for me and I... Well, I spread a rumor about her that guaranteed she wouldn't get the part. It seems she discovered I was behind it. When she recognized me yesterday, she started screaming accusations. Suffice it to say, O'Leary and his goons now all know who I am, and I won't be getting close to him."

"But the FBI will." Neal considered what Sophie had told him. "A Cat's Eye would have kept O'Leary and his goons distracted long enough for your team to break into his office and retrieve the heirloom."

"That was the plan."

"Since the Cat's Eye is off the table, how would you feel about trying a Prime Time instead?"

She met his eyes. "Would the FBI know?"

"Of course not. In a classic Prime Time, we use a law enforcement agency without them ever knowing they're aiding in a crime."

"It sounds exactly like the kind of scheme Nathan would dream up. Tell me what you have in mind, and I'll run it by the team."

Neal took a gamble. "Why not invite them to join us, and let them hear it first hand? I made plenty of paella."

"I noticed." She wouldn't have let something like that escape her attention. "Using me for my contacts?"

He looked deep into her eyes, picking up her hand and kissing it. "I may need their help, but I only have eyes for you."

"Oh, you're good." She pulled her hand away. "Don't try to con my friends. You'll only annoy them."

"I'll be on my best behavior, I promise."

"You might be a little bit bad," she requested. "Nathan needs to be shaken up. I'd like you to flirt just enough to make him..." She tapped a finger against her lips as she considered exactly what she wanted.

"Jealous?" Neal suggested.

"Confused. Let's strive for confusion about what our past relationship was and what it is now."

#

Despite stoking a little jealousy – or confusion – in Nathan, Neal won over Sophie's crew and they agreed on a plan. The next day the con went like clockwork. They insinuated Hardison into the FBI team who arrived to set up the betting lounge. He provided additional technical expertise in the setup, and communicated the timing and progress of the con to the rest of Sophie's crew. When Patrick O'Leary was arrested, an FBI team arrived at O'Leary's building with search warrants. While O'Leary's goons tried to stall, neither they nor the FBI agents noticed Parker scaling the fire escape. She slipped out of O'Leary's office seconds before the agents walked in.

#

The next morning, Sophie knocked on the door of the mansion and a maid let her inside.

Neal was walking down the stairs and increased his pace when he saw her. "Sorry I had to run after we got O'Leary. I was pulling a Dizzy Kangaroo on De Luca, and my partner on that one decided to go with a Turnabout instead at the last minute. How did things go on your end?"

"We found the heirloom and we'll return it to the owner today. Thanks to you we can also assure O'Leary's victims that he's going to prison."

"Weird, isn't it? All the time we spent evading the law, and now we're helping them catch criminals."

"In my case, the law doesn't usually know about my involvement. I wouldn't care for an arrangement like yours." She nodded toward his anklet.

They stood near the door, and through the windows they could see a black car parking. "That's my ride," Neal said. "My FBI handler's picking me up."

"He was a surprisingly good grifter himself, faking that fight with you yesterday. I'm glad I could be there to watch. Not to mention how much I love seeing handsome men wearing tuxedos." Sophie placed a hand on Neal's arm. "We were all impressed with your work, Neal. Hardison says he's certain he could hack the anklet if you want to get away."

"Join your crew?"

"I'm looking for a replacement. It's time for me to take a break."

"Tempting," said Neal, "but I've got a lot going on right now. I don't think your crew would want to be dragged into it."

Sophie kissed Neal's cheek, timing it so the FBI agent would see when he opened the door. "You're a treasure, Neal."

The FBI agent's eyes widened. Maybe those rumors Hardison heard about a treasure trove being discovered were true, after all. Chasing those rumors might be just the thing to keep her busy if she took a break. Neal's hints of having something big going on were too tantalizing to be ignored. Perhaps he needed her help.

Sophie nodded at the agent and walked out. She imagined it as her final scene in a play, and the audience gave her a standing ovation.

A/N: I love imagining how the Treasure arc on White Collar might have gone differently if Sophie decided to get involved. I may need to write a sequel to this story.

There was a Sophie in White Collar canon for whom Neal made paella in the episode Parting Shots. I couldn't resist making that the same meal Neal serves to Sophie Devereaux.

Thanks to Silbrith for working her beta reader magic!