In LabVIEW the control is NOT the data! The wire is the "owner" or "container" of the data. Controls and indicators are just user interfaces which allow changes to the data or display of the values.
Perhaps you should look into the Producer/Consumer (Events) Design Pattern. In that design the data is obtained from the control in an event structure when the value changes. The new value(s) are passed to the Consumer via queues. No references. No complicated code constructs. No problems keeping track of where the control is read.
Lynn