Edit: So I noticed how awkward some of this story was and decided to go through and edit. I am also working on a new chapter so STAY TUNE! As for my other stories, I Got You has a few more chapters I'm going to write. Then I'm going to start my new big ass story. If you were here before I deleted it, it's a new version of "The Faults in Our Lives" If you weren't, it's the last several months before Don't You Think I've Tried. Again, I'm always open for suggestions and requests. Love you!
Leverage Incorporated had grown, their network now having teams all over the world with their own team in Portland having expanded. Even with Nate and Sophie returning after four years of retirement, both claiming to be bored out of their mind, there are five new members.
"DAD! MICHAEL STOLE MY LAPTOP AGAIN!" A young girl yells. Alec Hardison shakes his head as two of the five come into the meeting room. A tall sixteen year old boy jumps into the room with a bright smile. He's already perched on a shelf a good ten feet from the door when his thirteen year old sister barges into the room less than thirty seconds later.
"Michael, I told you to get the others, not irritate your sister," Hardison says to his son blandly.
"Yeah, I know. Added perk," Michael taps his fingers with the same energy that his mother usually had," Anyway, Lucy has no proof that I stole anything."
"YOU LITERALLY TOOK IT IN FRONT OF ME!" Lucy shouts, already climbing up the shelf to strangle Michael. Michael jumps forward, grabbing one of the exposed pipes and swinging across the room like a monkey. Lucy leaps after him, swearing at him and promising death.
"Oh dear, he stole her laptop." A very pretty girl with curly black hair walks in, followed by the original crew and two others, a boy with the same hair and a little girl. Lucy makes a lucky jump and pulls Michael to the ground, she rolls so he hits the table and presses her forearm to his throat.
"Don't you ever touch my laptop again," She growls, her dark eyes flashing with anger and a tiny bit of pride," Understood?"
"Yes. Jesus, Lucy Goosey, you need to chill. It's just a laptop."
"I'll remember that next time you ask me to get your climbing gear." She jumps off him, pushing her dark hair out of her face," And don't call me Lucy Goosey."
"Lucy," Elliott says sternly," If you're going to make a threat and your opponent is down, especially if he's bigger than you, you dig your knee under the ribs."
"Right, forgot that. Sorry, Uncle Elliot." Lucy grabs her tablet from her father's desk, connecting to his desktop. Her eyes flash across the screen, absorbing everything about the case. Michael leaps off the desk. Parker walks up to him, a good four inches shorter than him.
"I am very disappointed in you. If you're going to steal something, you should know better than to get caught." She legitimately seems more upset about that than the fact he was torn from the ceiling by his little sister.
"Dad needed me to get everyone down here, Mom. Figured Lucy yelling would get everyone down here faster than me telling everyone." Michael shrugs. The girl with dark hair reaches up and slaps him across the head.
"You could have simply told us rather that go on the off chance that we would hear you tormenting your sister," Her voice had a slight british accent to it.
"Nicole, You seriously can't tell me that if Uncle Nate had asked you to get everyone, you wouldn't at least think of telling Alex that his acting is awful." Michael asks, already climbing out of reach of her next hit. Nicole exchanges a look with her brother, both rolling their eyes. Even though they were technically fraternal because of their genders, they are pretty much identical, the same black curls and dark eyes that studied everything with deep concentration. With a mastermind for a father and a grifter for a mother, the Ford twins are terrifyingly intelligent. Within sixty seconds of meeting a mark, the two 17 year olds could tell exactly what the mark wanted, how much the mark wanted it, and what they could get out of it. They had a placeless look, so they could pass for Mediterranean, Middle eastern, Hispanic, and with their wide variety of accents their mother taught them, they could be any other nationality. Watching them play chess was interesting. They spent a lot of time trying to throw the other off their game with mind games.
"Daddy," The little girl looks at Eliot," Was Uncle Hardison ever that dumb?"
"Very much so." He says with a slight smile.
"Eliot, man, don't say something like that. Madelyn, your dad is a liar." Madelyn rolls her bright green eyes. She was the only one in the room not biologically related to one of the original crew members. Her parents had been killed by a corporation that the team had taken down several weeks after she showed up. She was about two months old, and left on the steps around Christmas with a letter in her pajamas. Her parents had angered a car company and they were scared for her safety. They asked the team to please keep her safe. Three days later Hardison found their obituary in the paper, saying that they died in a car crash with their daughter in back. Eliot had been keeping an eye on her until that point, and the hardened hitman had to admit that she was special. He talked to Hardison and Parker, listening to them talk about things that had happened in the foster system, and vowed to never let that little girl go through anything like that. He adopted her with the help of Hardison's hacking and the use of Sophie's grifting ability.
Madelyn is very pretty and also very good in hand to hand combat. She loved watching her daddy train and asked him numerous times to teach her. He'd been skeptical at first, but eventually he decided she'd need to be able to protect herself. Plus her older cousins had already shown her a couple of moves. By the time she was five years old, she could kick all of her older cousins' asses, making Eliot very proud. She keeps her light brown hair waist length and pulled into a ponytail. There are stains on her pink shirt that are either jam or blood, no one knows for sure. Madelyn is known at the local park as the bully of the bullies. She protects the kids that others pick on.
"Okay," Nate says," Our new mark. Hardison?"
Hardison pulls up a picture of a middle school on the outskirts of the city," this is St. Luke's School for The Gifted. It's a school for gifted middle schoolers. They're technically private, but they don't charge tuition."
"Ok, Why are we looking at them then?" Sophie asks.
"The client, a guidance counselor who's conscious was getting to her, told us there have been several incidents where top students have been beaten by other students. No charges were filed because there's no evidence." Nate explains.
"That can't be possible, Uncle Nate," Michael says," The victims would have gone to the hospital and the doctors and nurses would have remembered-"
"No." Lucy says, staring at her tablet screen," Almost everything is digital these days. Going through and deleting those records is something any half rate hacker can do, namely Chaos." Everyone grins at this comment," And looking at the dates that the guidance counselor gave us about the attacks are days that hospitals are usually really busy, like Friday nights and weekends. Everything would blur together."
"Police reports?" Alex asks.
"Not likely," Nicole says, looking at some of the pictures popping up on the screens. Happy, racially diverse kids smile as they make art projects and do sports and what not," In this case, most likely the rush at the hospital, mixed with the victim's fear, results in no charges being filed."
"That's the thing. No charges have been filed, but the victims at the school have mentioned to our client that their families were approached from school members. They were told if they pursue a case, they would be thrown out of school." Nate tells them.
"Is it really worth it though?" Madelyn asks, thinking that it's an awful lot to go through for a fancy school.
"It's one of the top schools in the county." Lucy says, looking at a file she's pulled up," a decent education, especially for gifted kids, is worth a lot."
"Which is why we are enrolling a gifted child of our own," Nate says. The kids perk up. Being assigned on a case was always one of the best parts of this job. Lucy is still absorbed in her own world when she realizes that everyone is looking at her.
"Wait, me?" She asks, really confused. Lucy always felt really ungifted around her brother and cousins. The twins could be a million different people, Michael could steal a person blind in under three seconds, and Madelyn could kick the butts of guys three times her size. Lucy was good with a computer and sort of good a gymnastics. Gifted is not a word she usually used to describe herself.
"Sis, you are the only one that can pass as a middle schooler." Michael says.
"That's because she is a middle schooler." Hardison retorts.
"Yeah she's thirteen, born in August, just before Portland's cut off date. You could put her at older levels with the same students." Alex inquires," She's very intelligent and athletic so either would work."
"Lucy, what do you say?" Sophie asks, noticing her niece seems really overwhelmed. Sophie's always noticed that Lucy seems to be like her mother personality wise. She sees the world at face, or price, value and only knows when she's messed up.
"Uh, If I'm the only one that can do it, like as a student, ok." Lucy shrugs. Her fingers tap nervously against the table.
"Ok, Lucy will pose as a student. Sophie, you will be a substitute english teacher. Eliot, you will be a janitor-"
"Uncle Nate?" Lucy asks," Could we possibly swap Aunt Sophie for Mom as a gym teacher?"
Most kids would say this with a twinge of fear in their voice, but Lucy is looking at the blueprints for the school. Their eyes follow hers as she looks at labeled buildings. The gym is several hundred feet from the administrative offices. Lucy looks up and blandly says," Mom would have the same access Aunt Sophie would get, but it's easier to slip a hard drive or anything into a bag in the gym. Plus Mom and I don't look anything alike so no one will suspect that we're related."
That comment makes most of them wince. Lucy and Michael inherited their mother's blunt honesty regardless of other's' feelings. There's some truth to her comment though. Michael and Lucy had the same caramel skin and straight black hair, the total opposite of their mother's fair skin and blonde hair. Anything they inherited from their mother, aside from Michael's blue eyes, was most likely in their personalities. While they weren't as good as the twins, they could fake personas very easily.
"I think that could work." Nate says, trying to push the awkwardness forward," Our main priority is to get evidence that the school is, well, burying evidence."
"Lucy," Parker says," What can you tell me about security?"
"Well, during the day, it looks like there are policemen walking around, like in most other schools. But since they have lots of valuable instruments and gym equipment, there is extra security. Key locks, which should be easy to pick, motion sensors in the classrooms, video in all the halls and stairways, and there seems to be a vault in the principal's office. Not impossible, but not easy." Parker smiles to herself. It made her proud every time her daughter figured something out." I would suggest air vents. You can get in easier and the vents go all over the school."
"Wait," Michael makes a T with his hand," Why can't Mom just break in and steal the evidence?"
"We don't know what we're looking for just yet." Lucy explains.
"So basically, Lucy has to gather any info from students, while Uncle El and Mom need to see what they can pull from other teachers?" Michael asks.
"Pretty much." Eliot says.
"Well, I'll make up the fake documents," Hardison says. He looks at his daughter," Any preference on names?"
"I liked the girl i had to be last time. Holly Wilde?" Lucy tells him.
"Holly Wilde it is."
"Come with me, young lady," Sophie says pulling her niece out of her chair," It is makeover time."
"Wait what?"
/line break/
"Aw, Lucy, don't look like that, baby girl," Hardison says as they drive into the school. Lucy gives him a look of complete distain. The school has a strict uniform policy, and Lucy looks like she's ready to stab someone as she gives her father a dark glare.
"I don't do dresses or skirts, Dad. They get caught on everything and don't get me started on how little they actually cover." Lucy tugs on the edge of her plaid skirt," I feel like a prison inmate."
"Yeah, but they can get out for good behavior," Hardison pulls up to the stone building," You have about three weeks to serve with very little chance of getting out early."
"THREE WEEKS?!" Lucy's eyes widen to the size of dinner plates," NO! Dad, I can't do that."
"You've been shot at, and attending a middle school for three weeks is something that you can't do?" He asks bewildered.
"Getting shot at is 's no talking or interacting outside of 'RUN!' and 'STOP FIRING AT ME, YOU IDIOT!'" Lucy looks at the school. Hardison sees something on his daughter's face that he's seen on Parker's face. Uncertainty in a new situation. He only ever saw this look when they had to interact with people for extended periods of time. Hardison covers her hand with his own.
"Lucy, if you're nervous, you know no one will judge you for it, right?"
"No one in the family you mean. If every movie and tv show I've ever seen is correct, then I'm about to endure some serious hell." Lucy murmurs, biting her lip.
"Lucy. You've broken nearly every single law there is, aside from the really really bad crimes. You have an IQ of 125. You have helped hundreds of people. Whatever they say to you, you already know you're better than them," Hardison sees her lips turn up a tiny bit. He pulls a small chip from his pocket," Here. It's your own ear piece. If you aren't wearing it, we can't hear you and you can't hear us. If you need help, Eliot and your mom are in the building, and we can locate you with the GPS chip in the ear piece."
"Thanks, Dad." She puts it in her ear and smiles," Guess I should get use to the name Holly now?"
"Aw, you'll always be my Lucy Goosey, baby girl," He leans over, kissing the top of her head. As much as she hates her brother calling her Lucy Goosey, when her father does it, she finds it comforting," Let's go get you signed in."
Lucy isn't sure who the students are staring at more, her or her father. She looks at them and sees so many marks. It's easy to tell which kids grew up in a bad neighborhood because they hold their bags a little tighter or have their hands in their pockets. There are a few groups of these people hanging around surrounded by a sea of easy marks. They hold on to their bags with limp hands, caught up in their conversation rather than keeping an eye on their stuff. Lucy feels a firm hand on her shoulder.
"Don't even think about it." Hardison mutters out of the corner of his mouth. Lucy's shoulders slump. It's going to be a very long three weeks.
/Line break/
"I hate middle school," Lucy declares as she walks in later that day. She tosses her bag on the ground and kicks the nearest chair. The other kids are bent over their own studies which are more interesting by far. Their parents use bank heists and forensics and past crimes to teach them. It was a hell of a lot more interesting than that fucking school.
"Oh, dear," Nicole says, looking up to see her cousin covered in patches of dirt," What happened, Lu?"
"Did you know that it's apparently a tradition to fill a new student's locker with dirt at St. Luke's? Because it is." Lucy throws a pillow at the wall," and all the students are so dumb! Gifted my butt, they can't even do physics yet. In science, they went over to the levels of the ocean, and someone asked at what level someone would drown at, they looked at me like I was insane as I explained the math behind it."
"Lucy," Alex sets his pen down," I believe that person was making a joke. Not many other 13 year old girls can explain how deep a person can go before drowning and I assume that you explained a few different variables in this case, such as how far from the shore they were and how long they could hold their breath and water temperature."
"Of course!" Lucy exclaims.
"How else would they know if she was right?" Michael comes to his sister's defense. Nicole and Alex share a look. How could they explain something like this to people who are not good at understanding sarcasm?
"Guys, they were joking. The dude was trying to get the science class to laugh because it was probably boring. They were looking at you like that because they weren't expecting an actual answer," Madelyn slams her book shut, gathering her supplies. She had very little patience when it came to school work. Especially when Lucy wasn't there to help her. Normally, Madelyn's very happy.
Lucy grunts," Well, Stupid questions should get answered too."
"Did you learn anything about our victims?" Nicole tries to gently change the topic. Surprisingly, it works. Lucy's mind easily slips into work mode, forgetting her frustration at how unfair the world is.
"Yeah," She moves over to her normal spot and pulls out her laptop. While they wait for it to load, she asks where everyone is.
"Mum's at her theatre, Dad and Uncle Hardison are out grabbing supper from some new place in town, and Aunt Parker and Uncle Elliot are snooping around the school. It's just us for the next hour or so." Alex tells her, sliding in the chair next to her. Lucy hooks her computer to the tv screens' feed and shows them three pictures, two boys and a girl. All five minds look for physical patterns, finding none. The girl is Hispanic with the straight black hair and nearly black eyes, making her look older than 14. The older looking boy is black, his skin darker than Michael and Lucy's and light brown eyes. The last can't be much older than eleven, hazel eyes squinting through thick glasses, a thick mop of blonde hair.
"Meeah Fuentez, D'Marcus Roberts, and Peter Williamson. Meeah was the top of her Chemistry class last year, estimated to have a scholarship to several colleges for early admission. Like she was smart enough to take college level chemistry, but this year is somewhere in the middle of her class. She dropped severely. D'Marcus was on the track team, leading in the 300 yard dash, and straight A's. He was in pre trials for the Olympics. Due to a sprained ankle and a week spent somewhere not listed in his family's financials, which I only know that because of some people were talking about study hall," Grumbles angrily," Not that any damn studying happened, he's now treading above failing. And Peter was supposedly some math genius, but when I talked to him, he didn't know simple physics."
"I thought the counselor mentioned more victims?" Madelyn asks, standing on her tiptoes to see above the table. Michael reaches down and put her on his shoulders.
"I asked around and most of the other victims dropped out or are in high school." Lucy explains.
"Lucy, were you able to hack into the school's mainframe?" Alex inquires.
Lucy scowls," No, They restrict internet access and the wifi is crap to begin with and with twenty other students trying to use the internet at the same time-"
"Lu, bring up any security footage from the school." Nicole meant for it to be a question, but her mind has slipped into work mode. She needed information and wasn't going to wait for anything. Lucy types a few commands and pulls up all the camera footage. The halls were eerily empty and, except for a few teachers working late in their rooms, the school seemed deserted.
Michael grunts," Ok, I'll shoot, what are we looking for?"
"Someplace where the cameras don't see," Alex mutters, his mind in the same place as his sister's," Somewhere that isn't being watched."
Lucy pulls up the blueprints of the school and they examine everything. For a while, none of them say a word, each wrapped up in their own mind and each skill set examining the scenes. Madelyn notes the guards that sweep the halls every half hour, with standard issue handcuffs and guns, and the way they move about the halls, lazily, as if they've done this long enough to know nothing is ever going to happen. Michael and Lucy work together, both dead silent, examining the footage, how far the camera's view is, how many cameras are in a hall, possible entry/ exit points, and, most importantly, blind spots. Lucy's mind is running with numbers and formulas gauging distance by memory and guess work. Michael looks at it like a security system, looking for the weakest point. Nicole and Alex search for information about the school itself, based on what's hung up in the halls and how teacher's decorate their doors. Half an hour flies by before the silence is broken by a loud buzzing noise. The mini-team, as their parents teasingly called them, rubs their eyes.
"I think that was my phone, sorry," Alex scoops it up off the table. He taps the screen a few times," Nikki? Mum wants us to meet her at the theater."
"Whatever for? And don't call me Nikki," She huffs.
"Didn't say other than it was imperative that we be there in thirty minutes." He's already heading upstairs to grab his jacket," I'll be ready in five."
"While he's getting ready, did you all find anything?" Nicole asks as she searches the pile of shoes by the door for her ballet flats.
"There are three security guards, county issued. Standard equipment and each between thirty five and forty five, two married, and all hating their line of work." Madelyn says, retying her ponytail.
"The school is pretty much covered except for classrooms. There are even some in the janitor's closets. Probably to discourage middle schoolers from having sex." Lucy grumbles, angry not to have found anything useful. She's pretty much constantly pissed off at this point.
"There is a forty five second blind spot when the cameras scan hall seven," Micheal offers half heartedly, knowing that no one would be able to get down that hall that quickly. Too long and doesn't lead anywhere important.
"Well, we'll let Mum know. Make sure to tell your fathers and Dad what we found." Alex slides down the stair banister, with a black jacket over his red t-shirt. He tosses Nicole her sweater.
"Let's go, sis."
/Line break/
Walking into their mother's theater feels so natural, like walking into their house after a long trip. Actors that have been in their mother's troup for nearly twenty years call out fondly to the twins, some teasingly asking what mischief the two are getting into. Nicole is itching to stop by the costume rooms, to see if there's anything new or exciting someone might have donated. She loves clothes, new or old, whole or torn, bright or dark, it doesn't matter. Many boys that had seen her working in Hardison's pub when things got busy would say that she looked amazing no matter what she wore. Even walking down the street with her brother, in a simple blue skirt and white t-shirt, heads turned. The twins find their mother in her normal spot in the audience, watching her actors. They kiss her cheeks," Hello, Mum."
"Hello, Darlings." She smiles at them. To her actors," Alright everyone, take a dinner break."
"Taming of the Shrew?" Alex asks, picking up the script in front of Sophie," Is this why you called us out here?"
"No," Their mother answers, gathering her papers," Come with me to the back room."
They follow her into her office, a medium sized room with a bookshelf of different plays and pictures of the team, her and their father on their wedding day 18 years ago, and a few dozen of the twins. Sophie sits down behind her desk, the twins take their respective spots across from her in stylish antique chairs. Sophie smiles at her children.
"So, did Lucy learn anything about our targets?" She asks.
"A tad, but mostly she learned more about the victims. Lu was-" Alex looks to his sister for help.
"Frustrated. She doesn't understand why her temporary classmates don't work like her. Why they don't automatically come to the same conclusions she does." Nicole twists her hair into a tight bun, a habit she learned from her mother.
"Doesn't surprise me," Sophie sighs," Lucy is so much like her mother."
"And Michael?"
Sophie laughs warily," Michelangelo Hardison is a damn near perfect copy of his mother, personality wise, with his father's , shall we say, suaveness. Lucy has a mixture of her mother and father's personalities. One thing she doesn't have is her father's understanding of other's emotions, but she has his intelligence." Sophie gives her children a small smile," I'm sure you know what being on the receiving end of that feels like."
Nicole and Alex both think back to their tenth birthday. Lucy had been six years old and looked her older cousins dead in the eyes as she informed them that she was happy they defied the statistical probability of one or both of them being mentally damaged due to their mother's age when she had them. Feel the love.
"Understood. So why did Dad say she needs to be the student we enroll in the school? If she can't understand her family, why put her in a situation where she could get-" Then it hits both of them. Alex continues his sentence slowly, hoping that he's wrong," Dad put Lucy in that school because he knew she wouldn't fit in."
"He knew that she would excel academically and in gymnastics." Nicole stutters," Lucy would be top in her class almost immediately. Just like the other students that were attacked. He set her up to be a target."
"Listen to me, both of you." Sophie sits forward. The twins stop breathing. Whether it's the realization their father is using Lucy as bait or their mother's suddenly dead serious tone, the two listen," You two are not to know about that. At all, understood? This gives your father no pleasure and sure as hell, if he could he would choose someone else."
"Why not us?" Alex asks," Or Michael?"
"Michael could fit in, he's tall but has a young face. Or we could have been student teachers or-"
"No," Their mother shakes her head," It had to be Lucy. Michael is smart, but not gifted in the way Lucy is. He blends in with a crowd far too well, he's quite a talented actor, but Lucy doesn't blend in when it comes to social crowds. She refuses to be anything less than herself. She doesn't try to understand why people assume why she's acting like she's better than them, because to her, she doesn't see herself as better. She never has. That's why she'll need you."
"What do you want us to do?" Nicole ask," It's not like we can put more people in that school-"
"No, what Lucy is going to need is someone to talk to, and, as much as I adore her parents and brother, they simply cannot help her. She looks up to you and you speak her language."
"So no pressure," Alex grumbles.
"Mum," Nicole begins," If Lucy is the bait, I can understand why Uncle Elliot is there, to protect Lu if something goes horribly wrong, but why did Dad not keep you on if Aunt Parker doesn't understand Lucy?"
"One thing Parker does very well is providing distractions. Today she sent me this video." Sophie hands the twins her phone. They watch Lucy being shoved to the ground, getting up using a backwards walkover. Parker has each of the kids go up onto a balance beam, Lucy being the third to go. She mounts with impeccable grace, back flipping and cartwheeling with expert technique and a small smile on her face.
"Aunt Parker made sure Lucy had something familiar in her new environment. Even for an hour and a half every other day." Nicole swallows, trying wet a dry spot on the back of her throat.
"I need you two to watch out for Lucy," Their mother stresses," I've seen a job like this destroy people. We are trying our hardest to avoid it here."
/Line Break/
Everyone notices the change in Lucy over the next two weeks. At breakfast, she no longer greets her parents and brother with a smile and cheerful good morning, followed by some statistic she learned the night before. At first,It becomes a small smile, the morning not quite as bright, and the fact not backed up with as many scientific variables. Then just a smile and a good morning, slowly fading into just a smile. At the end of the second week at St. Luke's, Lucy wouldn't make eye contact with any of them, her mouth in a tight line and her eyes focused on her plate. The others on the team notice that during dinner she no longer jumps in on discussions, picking at her food. They don't even see her eat it, just push it around. On the second Friday, Hardison confronts Nate.
"I don't want Lucy doing this anymore, Nate." The hacker fumes. Through Lucy's com earlier he had heard kids teasing her, calling her a freak and harassing her for anything they could think of.
"It's another week, Hardison," Nate tells him, trying to calm his friend.
"I don't care! She's miserable, and I hate the fact that Parker and I agreed to this." Hardison half shouts, not wanting to alert the kids in the other room that they were arguing. Michael has become extremely protective of his little sister, Madelyn right at his side. The twins have tried unsuccessfully to keep Lucy's spirits up anyway they can think of.
"I know, Ok? I hate it too, but we are this close to catching them," Nate says, pushing his own qualms down," One more we-"
The men are interrupted by a panicked Elliot on his comm," Have you all heard from Lucy?"
Hardison's breathing stops," No. She was suppose to check in with you."
"Yeah, and the check in time was ten minutes ago," Elliot snaps into his comm, running through the halls of St. Luke's. Lucy never misses a check in time," Check her GPS Tracker."
Hardison's hands fly across the keyboard, his heart pounding. It feels like he's back in that coffin, but worse. So much worse. He pulls up the map," Ok, Elliot, She's outside. Twenty yards south of the football field."
"There's nothing there," Nate protests. Michael bursts in holding a map.
"We found it," He exclaims," There's a shed at the far end of the football field where they store supplies and equipment for games. No security and people rarely use it according to Mom."
"Elliot, did you get that?" Hardison asks desperately.
Elliot grunts rather than answering, sprinting outside and across the football field. He hears a scream, making him see red. Reaching the shed, he slams his body against the door, the fragile lock breaking the second time he slams against the door. Two boys are climbing out the window, jumping before he reaches them. He looks around and sees a familiar figure on the ground.
"Lucy!" He kneels beside her, turning her over gently. She struggles against him, slamming her hands against his chest, eyes squeezed shut, screaming. He catches her wrists. Lucy's eyes fly open, her breathing heavy.
"Uncle Elliot?" Her large brown eyes look broken.
"I got you, Lu, I got you." He picks her up gently, exactly like when she was a baby," Hardison, I got her."
"I'll be there in ten minutes." Hardison's comm goes staticy. Elliot brings Lucy outside. She winces when he sets her down. Her lip is split and blood is gushing from her nose. She's already bruising, Her caramel skin becoming a patchwork of black and blue. Her breathing is shallow and Elliot wonders if she's broken a rib. Oddly enough, Lucy isn't crying. Elliot wipes some of the blood from her cheeks, he doesn't see a tear or anything.
"Lucy, are you ok?"
"I'm fine, Uncle Elliot," She pulls the ripped halves of her blouse together, staring at the ground.
"Hey," He makes her look at him," Who did this?"
"Two kids. They're someone's lackies."
"Did they touch you? In a way that wasn't a punch or a kick."
"I don't want to talk about it." Lucy looks down, pressing her lips together tightly.
Elliot cleans her up as best he can, Hardison pulling up in his old black van ten minutes later. He barely bothers to throw Lucille into park before he's out of the van, running towards them. He falls to his knees taking his daughter's hands in one of his, his other on her cheek.
"Oh, god, Lucy, baby girl," He turns her head, examining the damage," Where's your mother?"
"She was having coffee with one of the teachers to see if they might come forward." Hardison pulls off his jacket and pulls it onto Lucy's small shoulders. He hugs her tightly. Lucy tenses her body, making it clear she doesn't want any of them touching her. They get into the van, Lucy curling into a ball in back, her arms pulling her legs tightly into her chest. Her gaze fixed tightly at the wall. She refuses to talk the whole way home, squeezing her eyes shut after a few minutes. Most of the ride is filled with a deafening silence. They pull into the garage and she flies out of the van, taking off running.
"LUCY!" Hardison yells. Lucy is sprinting down the sidewalk when she slams into her mother. Parker grabs Lucy's arms. Parker looks at the girl, not saying anything. As Hardison and Eliot run towards them, they hear a stifled sob and Lucy hugging her mother. Parker looks at the bewildered men.
"Let's go inside, Lu," She says soothingly. Lucy follows her mother inside, Elliot and Hardison just behind them. Inside, everyone jumps up when they enter. Michael begins shooting off questions, his voice overlapping with the twins, Nate, Sophie, and Madelyn, but much more panicked. Parker whistles loudly, making everyone wince," Leave her alone. Tonight, no questions."
"But, Mom-"
"Parker, you're being a tad unreasonable-"
"No. Questions," She emphasizes each syllable precisely, in addition to a harsh glare. She ushers Lucy to the stairs, telling her to change clothes and crawl into bed.
A flash of fear passes over Lucy's face," You'll be up soon, right, Mom?"
"Of course, sweetie." Parker smiles warmly, easing her daughter a bit. Lucy floats upstairs, and Parker turns to the rest of the group with fierce determination," 18 hours. That's what she gets tonight. She gets 18 hours before anyone questions her or probes her for information. Anyone who tries will find themselves dangling from the roof."
"Parker-" Nate begins.
"You put her in this position. For two weeks, I've watched my daughter go through hell. The least you can do is give her 18 hours." Parker grabs a bottle of water and a container of blueberries before marching up to Lucy's room. Old computer parts litter the desk and a wall of screens covers the walls. Lucy is already sitting on her full sized bed, in a long t-shirt and a pair of sleep shorts. Parker hands her the water and fruit.
"Crying will make you dehydrated and then you'll get a headache. Berries have been proven to make you feel better, and I know they're your favorite. Plus you didn't eat breakfast, so you must be starving." Parker sits next to Lucy.
"Thanks, Mom." Lucy places the food and drink on her nightstand. She pulls her knees to her chest," They all want to know what happened, don't they?"
"They're worried about you, but they are going to give you your space for a while, ok?" She pushes her daughter's dark hair behind her ear. Lucy winces," Are you going to be ok for the next couple of hours?"
"I don't know. I don't understand what's happening right now in my head."
"I understand that," Parker smiles softly," Your brain is running in circles and you don't get why people are worried when you've been in worse situations."
Lucy leans against her mother's shoulder, something she had seen her parents do a lot when she was little. Parker looks down at her. Lucy's focus is somewhere else as she murmurs," I don't get why they did it and I guess I do too. They were threatened, like an immune system when being invaded by a virus. They sent antibodies, that's what those boys were. They were just a fraction of something bigger."
Parker doesn't know what to say, not for the first time in her life. She takes her daughter's hand, resting her head on Lucy's as she speaks," I still hear them, Mom. I hear them calling me a freak and a mistake. They're telling me that I'm going to stop being so perfect and they are going to make sure I get that into my head. They're still hitting me. I'm fighting back, like Uncle Elliot taught us. I get a few good hits in, then one of them gets a lucky hit. I can't breathe and everything goes dark, but I still feel them. I hear them laughing and asking if I'm like other girls, feel them pulling my shirt open. I feel their hands groping my breasts and pulling my skirt up. I hear screaming and one of them kicks me. Then Uncle Elliot is there. He's so scared."
"They all were and still are."
"Why?"
"Because…" Parker thinks for a moment," Because they love you. Elliot didn't know where you were and when you screamed, he thought the worse."
"I still don't understand."
"Neither did I at first. When we first started working together, I didn't understand why people were suddenly asking me if I was ok if I fell twenty feet or if I got shot at. Hell, one of the first jobs I worked with the team, I kissed your dad to get into a room. He was really really shocked." Parker strokes her daughter's hair," As time went on, I realized that it wasn't annoying me that they were worrying. I wanted them to worry. It felt nice to know someone cares about me, not my abilities."
"Does it ever get easier?" Lucy looks up sadly.
"Yes, but things have to get worse before they get better." Parker kisses Lucy's forehead," Get under the covers."
"But I'm not tired," Lucy protests weakly.
"I know, but for the next 17 hours and 50 minutes you are going to watch tv shows on netflix, listen to podcasts or whatever you want, and sleep."
"But won't Michael try to ask me what happened or something?"
"Unless he wants to be hanging from the roof with no harness, he's going to leave you alone." Parker pulls the covers back for Lucy to crawl under them. Lucy pulls an old stuffed bunny from under her pillow," You kept him!"
"Of course I kept him, Mom. You gave him to me." Parker tries not to cry at that.
"God, I've had that since I was a kid. One of the first things I learned to steal." The toy's faded colors and missing eye make it seem far too old for Parker's liking. So much has changed since then and she's gone through so much. Hell, she wasn't even suppose to get to this point. She was suppose to be in jail or dead or something. She shouldn't be married to the man she is or have the kids she has. But she is. Funny how things work out.
"Mom, Can you stay with me for a little while longer? I don't want to be alone just yet." Lucy scoots over under the covers. Parker slides in next to her. Lucy wraps her arms around her mother, breathing in her peppermint scent. Parker holds her daughter tightly, silently promising that she's going to be okay.
"You haven't told us anything interesting in a few days. I know you have lots of facts that you've learned."
"Did you know that if you try to suppress a sneeze it could rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and you could die," Lucy inquiries," or that the word Jeep comes from the abbreviation used in the army for a 'general purpose' vehicle? The Guinness Book of World Records holds the record for books most commonly stolen from libraries."
Parker lays with Lucy for a few hours, listening to Lucy explain fact after fact. Parker doesn't mean to, but at one point she tunes Lucy out and studies her daughter's face. Lucy's eyes widen as she explains the math behind fracturing a rib via sneezing, her voice rising an octave or two, but she won't smile. Her eyes are still tinted red from crying, but she isn't sad. She seems numb as she tries to analytically figure out what happened.
"Mom?" Lucy shakes her shoulder.
"Hm? Oh, sorry, Lu."
"S'okay. Just...I'm tired." Lucy looks down, a bit disheartened.
"Hey, I bet you a dollar that I can tell you a statistic you don't know that will make you smile," Parker tells her.
"I doubt it, but you can try."
"There is a 100% probability of you being the best big sister in the world."
Lucy's mouth is already moving before the words hit her," Well, there's not really a 100% probability of anything aside from the prospect of us dying one-" Her eyes widened," Wait, what?!"
"We were going to tell you after the job, your dad and I. In about 6 ½ months, you get a baby brother or sister," Parker tells her. Lucy's bruised face lights up, her split lip breaking open and blood dripping down her chin. Parker grabs a tissue from the nightstand, holding it to Lucy's babbling mouth.
"Really?! You and Daddy were going to tell us-that's great! Oh my god, that's fantastic! I can't wait for him to get here, or her! Have you and Daddy thought of names yet? You could do Leonardo for a boy since you already have a Michelangelo, or Donatello or Raphael. Daddy wouldn't argue because they're also names of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I like Lillian for a girl or maybe Marian-"
"Lucy Diane Hardison, hold still." Parker laughs as she wipes Lucy's bloody lip," You will have plenty of time to get names in for the baby ok? I promise. Right now, bed."
"Ok," Lucy snuggles down in the cover," And, Mom? You beat the 87.568% probability of making me feel worse rather than smiling."
"Good," Parker kisses Lucy's cheek," Good night, sweetie."
"Mom?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you." Lucy doesn't say that very often. Everyone knows she does, but it's rare she actually says the words.
"I love you too,"After leaving Lucy's room, Parker is aware of the tense silence from downstairs. She moves gracefully down to the meeting room. Hardison sits in the meeting room, Lucy's comm plugged into his laptop. Parker leans against the door frame, listening to Lucy grunting and her attackers laughing and jeering through the speakers. After a minute listening to the recording, Parker silently crosses the room, hugging him from behind with one arm and shutting the laptop with another. Hardison turns around to look at his wife.
"How is she?" He asks, his face tense as he studies her.
"Lucy is sleeping with a smile on her face." Hardison furrows his eyebrows," I told her the news, Alec."
A small smile leaks onto his lips, one hand trailing down to Parker's midsection," Well, it's not everyday that she becomes a big sister."
"Yeah," They stay like that for a second, both battling joy for their unborn child and also distress for their daughter. They jump apart as Nate, Eliot, and Sophie enter the room.
"Ok, Hardison, what have you gotten off the earpiece?" Nate asks. They all try to slip into their business model, something that has proven difficult the last 18 years," Any names?"
"One of them refers to his partner as Mark. Given the way he yelled, I think Lucy hit him in an unpleasant spot." That gives all of them a small twinge of pride," After Lucy screams, Mark says he's not losing his scholarship to beat up some twig bitch."
"Mark. Scholarship." Parker grabs Hardison's Laptop and pulling up a student file," Mark Del Russo. He's an eighth grade wrestler, being conditioned for a scholarship at the high school that most of the kids go into. He's usually hanging around his friend, James Cameron."
The boys are both average height and weight, but no features really stick out to the team. Eliot imagines the boys kicking Lucy, ripping her shirt open, hurting her. Her fighting back, getting in as many hits as she can, her skinny arms and legs contacting as much skin as she can. Eliot imagines punch the boys himself, making them pay for hurting Lucy. Parker's expression is blank as she looks at them.
"Parker, what do you know about the people Mark and James usually hang out with." Nate asks
"Typically each other, but there's a group of kids that they are occasionally approached by."
"Let me guess, popular kids, upper class, students just above the middle area in raw talent and intelligence, but not willing to put the effort to be top," Parker nods as Sophie continues," So instead they use thugs to beat up the the competition and they skate ahead unopposed."
"So they promise the thugs friendship or money or something and the thugs carry out the orders," Nate continues," What about the school? They have to know what's going on."
"They know, alright, but it's possible that the kids who are setting up these attacks are also the children of the school's benefactors. Since they don't charge tuition, they rely on donations. Hell, a sizable enough donation might just make the school look the other way. They might even go as far as threatening the victims," Sophie says," Or rather they have."
"So people go around dropping big bucks to cover the fact that their kids are mediocre and don't play well with others and aren't willing to do the work to be better. At what point, do you just decide it's not worth it, man?" Elliot grunts angrily.
"In our world, when we get caught. In their world, when they win." Nate murmurs.
/Line Break/
Later that night, Parker and Hardison lay in bed, Parker sleeping fitfully and Hardison not sleeping at all. He stares at the ceiling, trying to think of anything but the past 24 hours. He works through the CIA mainframe in his head, occasionally throwing a new challenge into the mix. This is what he usually does when there's too much going on, but tonight it doesn't work. He keeps seeing Lucy's battered face and Michael's fury when Hardison told him they couldn't just attack anyone. Parker rolls over and he sees her eyes are open.
"Can't sleep either?" He whispers, pulling her closer to him with one arm. Parker places her head on his chest, nodding," We'll get them, Parker. I promise."
"I know, Alec, I'm just waiting for Lucy to wake up screaming." Her words are soft and shaky, worry that she would never let anyone else see leaking out," Do you think that maybe...maybe we made a mistake after the kids were born?"
"What do you mean?" He looks at her funny.
"I mean. We talked about not leaving the company because we wanted to show Michael and Lucy what it meant to do good in the world, but...after today, I think I was wrong." Parker turns her head so she can look at him," I don't know if raising kids in this life is… is what's meant for us."
"Hey, hey, hey. I know you're scared. I know that seeing Lucy today was awful, and if I could go back in time 24 hours ago and tell us what was going to happen, I would. In a heartbeat, no doubt in my mind, no hesitation. But I don't think we could leave this life. Even if we wanted." Parker sits up, pushing her hair out of her face. Hardison sits up with her," Look, I know you're scared. I'm scared too. Terrified."
"It's not just that." She says sadly," The more our family grows, the more I have to lose. When we first started working together, it was just the five of us. I could walk away at any minute and be fine. Then-then I started to care about you all and it made it harder. Then you were buried alive and I was so scared of losing you. I wanted to be with you and we were together. First we were just having sex, then more than that, then we're married, then there was Michael and us and then Lucy and now this baby. I use to be able to walk away from anything in an instant. Now, I can't walk away. It scares me."
Hardison chuckles," Babe, you remember when we helped Sterling get his daughter back and stopped that terrorist organization?" She nods," you remember what I told you?," a silent head shake," You were alone. You had to be able to walk away because you didn't want to get hurt. You had a team and me, now? You have a son that can steal anything and a daughter that can hack into the CIA mainframe in under three minutes, you have two incredibly amazing and talented children, and this next one will be amazing no matter what. You have me, your husband, the man that somehow got the luckiest break in history because I get to wake up every day next to my beautiful wife and mother of my kids. I love you, babe. I always have and I always will."
"I love you too." Parker kisses him softly. A piercing scream fills the apartment and they break apart. Parker gets up," That would be Lucy."
"I got it, babe. You stay here ok?" Hardison is already moving towards the door. In Lucy's room, she thrashes in her sleep. screaming for help. Hardison shakes her awake, calling her name," Lucy? Lucy, baby, It's ok. It's just a nightmare."
Lucy's door opens and Hardison turns around to see Madelyn tiptoeing towards them. She and Elliot are spending the night to keep the Hardison family from going off the deep end.
"Madelyn, what are you doing up?" He asks.
"She screamed." Madelyn points out blandly. The seven year old crawls into bed with her cousin, nestling in her arms. Lucy stops screaming and her breathing begins to even out. Madelyn looks at her uncle," She just needs someone to chase the monsters away. I got her."
If anyone else said that, even Eliot, Hardison would have fought tooth and nail. Madelyn looks so sure of herself though, so confident in her ability to fight even imaginary monsters away, that he can't refuse. As he leaves the room, he hears her murmur to Lucy," You leave those bastards to me. They won't ever hurt you again."
/Line break/
At the end of her 18 hour break, Lucy sits in front of her family, numbly telling them everything that happened in detail. Michael sits perched on a stool, his eyes never leaving his little sister's face. Madelyn sits next to her father, both angry as they hear what the boys planned to do. Lucy finishes her story as the phone rings. No one moves to answer it. The voice mail echos through the silent room.
"This is Principal Andrew Silk. It has come to our attention that Holly has been in a fight. As you know, we have a zero tolerance for violence and this could be grounds for expulsion. However, If Holly were to apologize to the other students we would be willing to consider leniency. Please call back at your earliest convenience." Michael leaps to the old voice mail machine and throws it at the wall, shattering it.
"Michelangelo Jonathan Hardison!" Parker shouts.
"They're blaming Lucy for this shit! Fuck that! Fuck being patient, fuck the plan!" He rages, his neck turning red with anger," These bastards think just because they have money, just because they have power, they can walk over people! Not anymore! Our whole lives you told us that what we do, what the teams all over the world do, is provide leverage, we make the playing field even. This job has been unfair since the start and that stops now!"
"I agree with Michael," Nicole fums, Alex nodding in agreement," We say we help people but one of our own was hurt. Now they are blaming her, when she did nothing wrong. She didn't decide to be on this assignment."
The twins glare daggers at their father, who to his credit looks incredibly guilty. Madelyn speaks up," Bullies like this school know that they can be beaten if someone speaks up so they make it so everyone blames the victim. That's bullcrap and we're stopping it."
The four look at Lucy and for the first time all day, they see life in her. Her eyes are shining and there's a smile on her battered face. Not a happy smile, a I-can't-wait-to cause-trouble smile. They beam at each other and while their parents watch, the kids form a plan. Lucy pulls up schematics, Nicole pulls her hair into a bun as she questions Lucy on the patrol officers and their habits. Michael and Alex run the math on entry points and run through all the security footage from the afternoon before. Madelyn stands on her tiptoes and points out weak points in the guards' walks. The five work together in incredible speed, voices overlapping, increasing, decreasing, becoming happy, angry, excited, discouraged. They hear each other and in an hour and a half they have a plan. They turn and for the first time realize their parents aren't in the room.
"Daddy?" Madelyn calls out, wandering the apartment," Daddy?"
"Perhaps they've left us to get supper." Alex suggests. Michael finds a note in the kitchen that kills that idea almost instantly. In Nate's messy handwriting, the kids find a letter of apology. He apologizes for putting Lucy in danger in the first place and for not making sure the playing field was even. There's messages from each of their parents, all saying the same thing. as of now, they were on this job alone. They could do anything to their hearts desires grifting wise, though there was a word of caution towards Madelyn. They pass the letter around and after explaining it to Madelyn, a strange feeling settles among them. They aren't little kids anymore. They aren't just reading about these crimes and offering advice. They're a team and they have their first job.
"Well, then." Nicole has a devilish gleam in her eyes," Let's go steal us a school."
/Line break/
"According to sources unknown, St. Luke's School of the Gifted has been covering up a hierarchy kept with violence for nearly a decade now. The school, run by Principal Andrew Silk, has admitted to taking large bribes from families to look the other way on crimes committed on their property-" Lucy hits the mute button as a waiter places a large hot fudge sundae in front of her.
"If our parents can end every mission with a drink or something, I am totally ok with our thing being ice cream." She jokes. Her teammates laugh, more with relief as Lucy no longer looks like she's been through hell. Her bruises and cuts have healed nicely, her eyes back to being analytical, but there was so much energy to her now. So much that they all couldn't help but smile at her.
"So have you and your parents discussed any baby names?" Alex asks, tossing a cherry in his mouth.
"I still like Leonardo, but Dad is on the fence. He asked about something simpler, and Mom laughed. She said when you name your first son after an artist and your first daughter after the first known human being, you weren't leaving much room for the second son or daughter." Lucy says, Michael shoveling ice cream and bananas into his mouth.
"I still can't believe they don't want to know if it's a boy or girl." Nicole shakes her head.
"Well, Mom accurately guessed which gender Michael and I were. Though there was a more or less 50-50 chance and given with two kids there are four combinations as opposed to the eight combinations that guessing all three children's genders correctly-" Michael throws a cherry at Lucy," HEY!"
"So, We see your job went well." Their parents all sit next to them at the large table.
"Daddy, look." Madelyn lifts the side of her shirt, showing off a row of stitches on her side," I got a stab wound. It's ok. I punched the guy in the nads."
Elliot laughs, kissing the top of her head," that's my girl."
"You all seem like you're in a good mood." Sophie says with a smile towards her kids. They nod, swallowing their ice cream before answering verbally," Well, I guess baby birds are all grown up, learning to fly, and leaving our nest."
"Mum, we're all still minors. We can't exactly leave." Alex points his spoon at Lucy and teasingly adds," Though little Miss Wikipedia could tell you the exact time that each of us has until we turn 18."
"Four years, five months, seven days, eighteen hours, thirty seven minutes," Lucy announces. The kids crack up as Alex stands from the table throwing his arms towards lucy in a tada fashion.
"I mean, that you all seem old enough to start running grifts on your own." Sophie half scolds her son, though they all see her hiding a smile.
"You're still our kids, but you want to help people," Elliot ruffles Madelyn's hair," Even if some of you are pint sized."
"You want to help people? We won't stop you, though if you're trying to steal for yourself, that's a different story." Hardison eyes his son and daughter. They give him
"You want to make the playing fields even? Want to stop all the bullies from blaming the victims?" Parker grins, one hand on her still flat stomach," Want to make the world a semi better place?"
"You need to provide leverage." Nate says with a smile. The kids groan and throw napkins at their parents for the horrible joke. None of them would admit it, but they were waiting for their parents to let them break free. They're second generation leverage, and as long as they're here, no one will ever feel afraid or alone again.
Author's note: ok, that didn't seem too awful. please review and tell me what you think, loverlies.
Edit: Awwwww! I love all these kids. Can't wait to post the new chapter! Love Y'all! 3