Disclaimer: I do not own Leverage or anything associated with it. I am making no profit from this and it is purely for entertainment purposes. The original characters and the plot is mine.
Authoress' Notes: This is my first Leverage story. I am rather in love with the show. I also enjoy complex characters and stories and this show has both. This story is mostly focused on Eliot, but everyone's involved. I'd love your feedback on it.
The Eyes Job: Part One
It was her eyes that called to him so much; her sky blue eyes, so vulnerable and innocent. She looked up at him and placed her trembling palms on his bare chest. He ran his fingers through her short blonde hair and leaned down a breath away from kissing her. This was a bad idea, doing this broke every rule he had, plus Nate would kill him. He was about to pull away from her, when she whispered.
"Please." Her voice was so nervous, yet so sure.
He surrendered and kissed her. There was something about a woman that needed him that drove him crazy. She moaned into his mouth as he deepened their kiss. He was going to take his time with her, make sure she enjoyed every minute of this. He pulled her tighter to him and lifted her off the ground. He was going to show her how a man loved a woman.
Eliot's eyes flew open, but he didn't move. He was lying in his own bed in his own apartment, but even there in his own space it was rare for him to dream. He closed his eyes slowly and listened to the sounds around him. Something had jarred him awake. He re-opened his eyes just enough to see and scanned the studio apartment. His eyes stopped on the bay windows, or rather what was behind them.
There ten stories up, perched on the outside edge, sliding open the window was Parker. She stepped inside slowly, staring at him the entire time. After a moment of just standing there watching him, she started walking around the apartment.
Eliot was annoyed. He had picked this apartment because it would be unchallenging for Parker to break into. Hardison had picked a high-rise apartment with high security and Parker had broken into his apartment three times, before he noticed, and six times after he found out. Parker had laughed and told him that it was fun breaking in, because it was a challenge.
When Eliot picked his place out he had wanted a ground level, for just that reason, but this tenth floor studio offered an entire rooftop as a perk. The convenience of being able to work out, grow his garden and relax in a somewhat natural environment had been enough to convince him.
He watched Parker move through his space. She didn't take anything; didn't even touch anything. She wandered up to the living room wall and stood up on tip-toe and examined a picture.
Normally he would have growled for her to get out, and probably would have scared the hell out of her too, but he just lay there.
Parker explored for a few more minutes then rushed back to the window. She re-hooked her rigging, stepped outside on the ledge, closed the window and disappeared.
Eliot rolled out of bed and paced to his bathroom. He stared at his own reflection and scowled. He looked old, too old for only two weeks to have gone by. This last job had been too much. Any job where abuse was involved was hard on him, but this one… By fucking god things would never be the same. He could still feel the brush of her lips and smell her hair. He would never be the same.
Two Weeks Prior:
Eliot was sitting at the bar, when she walked in and looked around nervously. Short blonde hair, blue eyes, 5'7", maybe 120 pounds max, pretty face, young, and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt that were both too big for her. There were dark-circles under her puffy eyes; she was clutching a manila envelope like it was her life-line.
He stood to his feet and walked over to her. "Can I help you, miss?" She nearly jumped out of her skin when he spoke, so he offered one of his 'southern-charm' smiles. "Sorry didn't mean to startle you. You just look a little lost."
She squeezed the envelope to her chest with one hand and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear with the other. "It's ok. I am a little turned around. I'm supposed to be meeting someone and I'm just trying to calm down."
Eliot's eyebrow arched. She fit the typical profile of the teams' clients: desperate for a miracle. "You lookin' for Nathan Ford by chance?"
Her eyes lit up, "Yes. Are you him?"
"No." Eliot shook his head, and saw his boss appear from the side door of the pub. "That's Nathan Ford. I work with him." He waved the older man over. "Nate, this young lady's looking for you."
"Are you, Hannah?" Nate asked.
She nodded.
"Excellent, have a seat." Nate motioned for her take a seat at the table and sat down himself. "I'm Nathan Ford and I see you've met my associate Eliot Spencer."
"Yes." Hannah sat down and laid her hands on top of the envelope. "Can you really help me?" Her eyes filled with fresh tears.
"We can certainly try that's what we do. Why don't you tell me a little about your situation." Nate motioned for the waitress to bring him a drink.
Hannah pulled a few pictures out of the envelope and handed them to Nate. Nate held them so Eliot could see them as well. The first picture was an infant dressed in pink, and the next was of a little girl maybe five sitting in what looked like a courtroom. "That's my Mikayla and I need to get her back. Get her back from that man," she motioned to the picture Nate now had in hand. "That's Steven Cerspa, he took Mikayla from me the day she was born. The older picture I have of her was from the last official custody hearing we had. It's the last time I saw her person. I've exhausted every appeal in the court system, and I'm out of money. I have to get her back. He's going to leave the country with her and I'll never see her again. She's getting older and…" She rambled, her voice cracking with emotion.
Nate covered Hannah's hand with his own, "Miss Sonida. It's going to be alright. Now how old is Mikayla now?"
"She's almost ten."
Eliot's eyes narrowed, this woman didn't seem old enough to have a ten year old and Steven Cerspa was easily in his fifties.
"And Mr. Cerspa's claim to Mikayla would be?" Nate questioned.
"He's her father." Hannah fidgeted in the chair, anticipating the next question, which Nate asked.
"How old were you when Mikayla was born?"
Hannah dropped her head, "I was fourteen, almost fifteen when she was born."
Eliot's fists were clenching and unclenching under the table as he tried to control his temper. She was a child, when…
"I wanted her, I did." Hannah wiped the tears away from her face. "He tricked me into signing papers that nullified my custody of her. I've tried everything to get her back. He's threatened me, he had all my accounts emptied and even had me attacked. I just want my daughter. I need to get her out before…" Hannah drew a deep breath and stared straight at Nate. "I was eleven the first time Steven touched me. Promise me you will get her back before he hurts her, please. I'll give you anything. I don't have a lot, but I can…"
"Don't worry about that. We'll get Mikayla back for you." Nate assured her. "It's what we do. We'll be in touch." He took the envelope from Hannah, and finished his drink, before heading back upstairs to plan.
Hannah stood up on shaky legs, with Eliot close behind her.
He handed her a card with his number. "You call me if you see anything suspicious, anything."
She nodded, eyes glued to the floor.
"Hey." Eliot tipped her chin up so he could look her in the eye. "We will get her back. I promise you that and I don't break my promises."
He watched the young woman walk out the door and slipped his com into his ear. "Nate, just promise me five minutes alone with this ass hole."
Hardison pulled up pictures and documents up on the plasma screen. "This is Steven Cerspa he's fifty-six a self made millionaire in the photography industry. Mostly, and this is extremely ick considering the circumstances, he's famous for his work in the children's fashion portraits, including youth pageant glamour shots. Which is just…"
"Hardison." Nate interrupted Hardison, before he could get off track on a rant.
"Yeah, I know, focus. So, Cerspa makes his money by hiring unknown models and photographers, who for shot at fame give him for almost half of whatever they make in the first five years they are contracted through his company. They also have to sign an agreement not to do anything without his ok. If they do strike it out on their own or freelance; he bankrupts them. And I mean cleans them out, he sues for breach of contract, takes them for a ride like a divorce without a pre-nup."
"Interesting way of putting that." Sophie sipped her tea. "What's our goal?"
Hardison pushed the button for the next slide and a picture of ten-year-old blond girl flashed on the screen. "This is our client's daughter, Mikayla. Now Steven Cerspa has her legal name listed as Heather Ann Cerspa. She just turned ten and Cerspa's had custody of Heath…"
"Mikayla." Eliot corrected.
Hardison nodded and continued, "Right. As I was saying, Cerspa's had custody of Mikayla, since she was born. Hannah has…"
"So why does she want her daughter back now?" Parker slurped a bite of cereal.
"She's always wanted her. Just hasn't been able to make it happen." Eliot defended.
"I'da just stole her back." Parker countered.
"We all ain't grade 'a' thieves, Parker." Eliot growled.
"You think I'm a grade 'a?' Thanks." She smiled triumphantly.
"What is wrong with you?"
"Eliot, just let it alone." Sophie interjected.
"People!" Hardison threw his hands up in frustration. "I am trying…"
"Hardison, just continue please." Nate tried to calm the excitable hacker.
Hardison cleared his throat. "Mikayla was born two weeks before Hannah's fifteenth birthday. Now somehow he got her to sign her rights away the day Mikayla was born. It's nothing Hannah remembers signing so I'm thinking she was tricked into it. Two years later, Hannah tried kidnapping Mikayla and failed. Cerspa didn't press formal charges, but Hannah was put in a mental intuition for almost a year."
"Only a year for trying to kidnap someone?" Sophie questioned.
"She was still a minor." Nate explained. "They would have had to release her at eighteen unless they could prove she was an immediate threat to herself or others."
"Since she got out Hannah has spent the last six years working two sometimes three jobs trying to afford a lawyer, who might take her case. She had a decent lawyer about four years ago, and they almost got somewhere, until…"
"Until?" Eliot folded his arms over his chest.
"Until they got carjacked on their way to the courthouse, her lawyer wound up dead and she barely survived." Hardison clicked the pictures up of a badly beaten Hannah in the hospital.
"So we know this guy isn't afraid to use violence." Nate nodded. "Now while Hannah was struggling, how was Mr. Cerspa living?"
"Living the good life. The pageant scene for kids has boomed in the last ten years. He's been seen all over, he likes rich parties, the finer things in life, and" Hardison sighed and clicked again bringing up at least twenty pictures of Cerspa with different girls all young and blonde dressed in gymnastic uniforms. "He sponsors young girl's gymnastics and dance groups. He even lets some stay at his home so they can be closer to the trainers."
Parker pushed her cereal bowl away and looked at Sophie. "He's hurt all of them hasn't he?"
Sophie nodded.
"I think we should just cut off his head."
"Agreed." Eliot sipped his coffee.
"Much as I agree with that sentiment. I want him to suffer and be exposed for what he is. Because what pedophiles hate more than anything is too be exposed." Nate motioned towards the screen, after the image of an event center came into focus on the screen. "This is the annual Charitable Society Dinner to support youth arts. Mr. Cerspa goes every year. Hardison."
The hacker pulled up the pictures from past years. In every shot Steven Cerspa was donating a large sum of money with a petite, but of appropriate age, blonde at his side.
"He's got a different girl every time." Sophie noted.
"Oh it's more than that." Nate pointed to a specific picture at the upper right of the screen.
"She looks familiar." Hardison scratched the top of his head.
Parker raised her hand excitedly and blurted out, "I know her! That's the naked lady from the major's office thing when he stepped down for questionable practices." She lowered her voice to impersonate the TV anchorman.
"Escorts?" Sophie questioned.
"Yes." Nate looked at Eliot, "Do you still know that madam, that you ran security for a few years ago?"
Eliot nodded and rubbed his glasses on his shirt.
"You got connection to a madam and you didn't tell a brother? What's wrong with you?" Hardison huffed.
"They ain't your type of girl." Eliot growled.
"How do you know?"
"You wanna spend $15,000 a night?"
"Whoa! Seriously?"
"What does she do for $15,000 in one night?" Parker questioned.
"Guys." Nate demanded the attention of his crew. "Eliot, can you get a hold of your old client?"
"Yeah, it'll just take a phone call."
"Good. So let go steal a charity dinner." Nate stood up and had almost made it out of the room, when Eliot asked.
"What exactly am I asking Charlotte for?"
"Oh we're gonna turn Parker into a hooker."
Please Read and Review. Thanks. *Smiles* -T.A.