It wasn't uncommon for Nate to call meetings shortly after a job. He didn't like the down time—it gave him too much time to think. The fact that the team hadn't been cleared to leave Nate's apartment upon their closing of their last job, however, was a little alarming.
Although their last job had been an easy heist, the team did want time off. Parker was looking forward to a day of roof hopping, Hardison wanted a day playing his video games, Sophie needed a shopping fix, and Eliot had been looking forward to a leisurely run in the park…without being chased by men with guns. Nate, however, had other plans.
"Nate, seriously man, I had plans," Hardison sighed, rolling his eyes as he sat down in his usual arm chair.
"Your little trolls don't count as plans," Eliot growled, sinking into the end cushion on the couch.
"They aren't trolls," Hardison pouted.
"Enough," Nate snapped. He seemed on edge, which was strange considering the job they just pulled was the easiest they had performed in a while. "I have been meeting with a perspective client for the past few weeks."
The team all looked around the room, checking to see if the other members had known about the meetings. The three younger members finally landed their eyes on Sophie, who had a knowing smile on her face accompanied by a small question in her brown eyes.
"The Mosetti twins came to me a few weeks ago, begging me to look into their case. I thought it was weak and wouldn't turn into anything. Every week they kept coming in, telling me that I had to listen to them and that the problem was growing. I told them to go to the police. We had a full case load and we didn't have time for another one. The Mosettis, however, did have a huge job. One that I shouldn't have ignored. As soon as I saw what they were working with, I started hatching a plan. The people the Mosettis want to take down are the type of people who mean business, and will crush anyone who tries to get in their way. All of our recent cases have been cut and dry—this won't be so easy. I wasn't planning on even looking at this case until next week, but..."
"Nathan, dear, get on with it," Sophie urged, her British accent strangely calming and soft. Nate looked at her, realizing that he had been rambling.
"Cecillio, the brother, came to me this morning. His sister, Alessandra, was taken from their home this morning. He went out for a run and when he got back the house had been trashed, and there was blood in the kitchen where his sister had been making breakfast. Our job is to find her, and to also take down the company that Ale and Lio first approached me about."
"Which would be," Hardison prompted, watching as Nate pulled up photos of a large building on the TV screen. Hardison's usual job as presentation leader was clearly taken for the day, and he was curious to see how Nate did.
"Buchamp Pharmaceuticals. They specialize in heart and pain medications. The pills have been altered to have an addictive aspect, resulting in more sales revenue. The only problem with this is the medication is having adverse effects on the patients. People are becoming addicted to the pills, not only losing money but their health as well. Their blood is thinning, their organs are shutting down, and people are dying. Ale and Lio's father took heart medication provided by Buchamp, and he died of liver failure. He never drank a day in his life. Ale, who was interning at the hospital where her father was cared for once he began his liver failure, knew that something wasn't right. She started sifting around in her patient's files, finding a correlation between Buchamp's drugs and the influx of patients. After finding that most of Buchamp's consumers were falling ill or running into debt, she got a job at Buchamp as a secretary, working to gain information on how their drugs were made. Buchamp took notice of her and bumped her up to his personal secretary, something Lio is sure to tell me was because he is eager to cheat on his wife. As Ale continued to gain information, some of Buchamp's men began watching her. Once she found the defects in the drugs, she was immediately let go, scared into silence with threats on her life. She was told that if she went to the police they would have her killed. Until then, they left her alone. That's where I come in. Once Ale told Lio about the threats on her life, he made her go to the police. He wanted her protected. Ale found me, instead, and I pushed them right into the arms of Boston PD. Ale had men following her constantly, and once she finally went to the police Buchamp put in the order for her kidnapping.
"I am ninety percent sure they will keep Ale alive until they know how much information she has and how much information told the police. According to Lio, they never asked her when they dismissed her from her position at the office, as they were sure she wouldn't go to the police. Now, however, they have to know what is at stake. If we are going to find Ale, we need to get into Buchamp's head. Make him think that there are people, important people, catching on to his crimes. We need to infiltrate every part of his life. His love life, his work life, and the life he thinks is secret from everyone around him. We have to get Ale back, and we have to take down Buchamp. I owe it to both of the Mosettis, and they owe it to their father. He was all they had left…their mother died two years ago of breast cancer. We can't let Lio lose all three of his family members at once. It's not fair," Nate finished, seeming both determined and discouraged. Sophie could tell that he was disappointed in himself, feeling responsible for Alesandra's kidnapping. He was the one who hadn't listened, and he was the one who encouraged her to go to the police.
Nate quickly pulled up pictures of Buchamp and all of his closest cohorts. He ran down a list of his mannerisms, his likes, his dislikes, and his credit card history. Nate ensured that the team knew exactly who they were dealing with. Parker seemed intrigued with the blueprints on the large table, Hardison listened closely as Nate spoke, and Sophie kept her attention on the main screen as Nate ran through the con and life of Ret Buchamp. Eliot, however, couldn't take his eyes off of the picture filling one of the side monitors. In it, the Mosetti twins were laughing as Cecillio pressed Alessandra over his head.
Well, Eliot couldn't take his eyes off of one part of the picture—the part that held Alessandra's piercing green eyes, wide smile, and crinkled nose. Something about the energy of Alessandra pulled him in and lit a fire within him, making him want to find the girl immediately and make the men who took her from her brother and her father from both of them feel the worst kind of pain in the world.