Ch. 1
"Hardison, is your facial recognition software up to date?" Eliot called from the front door, not pausing as he continued toward the conference room.
"I'm offended you even had to ask." Hardison rolled his eyes. "Why?"
Eliot smacked a photo down on next to him. "This girl, get me everything there is to get."
Hardison scanned the photo without really looking at it. A blown-up copy appeared on the screen. It was a young girl, a teenager. She peered back at them with honey-colored eyes framed by dark, chocolate brown curls. Hardison's brow furrowed. "This girl? You're sure?"
Parker spoke up between munching on popcorn. "What's so special about her?"
Eliot turned, registering that Parker had, once again, appeared out of nowhere. He shrugged it off and glared at the screen. "Had some suits call me in. They want her; she has some files of theirs, so I need to find her."
Hardison swung around with a cocked eyebrow. Parker pursed her lips. "You don't do that anymore," he posed accusingly.
He sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes. "If I don't find her, they'll send someone else."
"So?" Parker scoffed in between crunching cereal.
"Parker, they didn't just ask me to get the files. They want the girl. I don't think they want to give her a time out. They sent me, and they want her alive. They want to hurt her, and look at her; she's just a little girl." Eliot cracked open a beer from the fridge, impatiently waiting for Hardison's software to quell its searching purr.
"Eliot, did they give you anything other than this girl's picture? No file for other information?"
Eliot chuckled. "That's the fun part. The files she stole? They included hers."
"Included? Interesting. Did you know this photo is a few years old? Okay, more than a few."
"Wait, how many more than a few?"
"Thirteen. There's a date printed on the back."
Eliot reached for the photo. "How did I not see that? Is anything else on there?" He closely examined the back. "Looks like it was scratched out. See, these people bother me. There's a lot they're not telling me."
"Isn't that normal?"
Eliot rubbed his neck in frustration. "Yeah, but this time it bothers me."
"I see that…That's interesting."
"That I'm bothered?"
"No." Hardison pointed to the screen. "That this is the closest match, and it's not her. "
They stared at the screen. "You're right, it's not her. But it looks so much like her, almost like her…"
"Sister." Several other images flashed up on the screen as Hardison fiddled with the control pad. "It's her sister. And there are her sister's, and I assume also her, parents."
Eliot crossed his arms. "Parents? They alive?"
"And well. Sister too. They're all living at this address."
"Good, good. Names?"
"Mom and dad are Sandra and David Pierce. Sister is Sasha."
"Her name?"
"Well a few years before Sasha was born, Sandra gave birth to a Savannah Morgan."
"Okay. What else you got, on her specifically?"
"That's the fun part." Hardison laughed at his own joke. "This girl went off the grid. She disappeared right around the time that picture was taken. She hasn't come up on any cameras in the last thirteen years. Are you sure she's even alive?"
"I don't know. What else?"
"Once she finished Elementary school, she left the public school system."
"Where was she for four years after that?"
"Hang on, these files aren't as public…Charles Academy for the Gifted."
"Okay, give me more on them."
Hardison looked sideways at Eliot with a cocked eyebrow. "You are demanding today."
Eliot rolled his eyes. "Please."
"All I'm getting so far is their website. It's just what it sounds like; supposed to be a school for super smart kids. Here's the Dean, the founders."
"Wait," Eliot put his hand up. "These guys were some of the suits wanting this girl."
Parker crossed her arms and tilted her head in thought. "So this about school files. What would be so special about school files?"
Hardison nodded. "Hinky."
Eliot turned and headed towards the door. "Hardison, text me that address, the parents' house, I'm going to check it out."
"Seems a little obvious, don't you think? I mean, wouldn't they have checked with the family by now?" Parker asked.
Eliot turned back and pointed an irritated finger at her. "Do I tell you how to do your job? Hm? If I can get inside the house, I might be able to figure out some other possibilities." He turned back to the door. Parker rolled her eyes. "I saw that, Parker."
