WriterFreak001:
In case you have not caught up with the Masterminds of Deceit series, I highly suggest you read Deception and then Mind Games because guess what, guys!? Yes! That's right, this is the third installment to the series! I finally finished rereading Deception and Mind Games and have a clear path to where I want the series to go. I will have you know that the "villain" of this story will not be as psychotic as Drew or Mark. In fact, he will not be too terribly bad, but his presence will take you on a wild ride. I will be using pieces of the last seven episodes of Scorpion (1x16 – 1x22) as the third installment unfolds but will embed my own twists to them. :)
So sit back, relax and enjoy yourself!
Title | Poaching
Fandom | Scorpion (CBS)
Description | Post-Deception. Post-Mind Games. A month has passed since the ending of Mind Games, and just when the members of Team Scorpion think they're going to be able to relax between they're usual cases, a multi-billionaire – Richard Elia – sees what Scorpion, more importantly, Walter O'Brien, is capable of and wants to recruit the team leader for his Think Tank. When Walter turns him down the first time, Elia becomes more persistent, using Walter's taste for technology to his advantage. And when his briberies do not work, Richard Elia may consider resorting to dirty methods to poach Walter away from Scorpion. With a baby on the way, will Walter be able to thwart Elia's plans, or will he consider working for Elia in order to protect his family and friends from the megalomaniac's ploys? And IF he decides to leave Scorpion and follow Elia, will his decision have a price on his marriage? Find out!
Rating| This fanfiction will be rated T for violence, obscene language, sexual themes as well as brain stuff and fluff.
POV | Limited Third Person
Disclaimer | While CBS owns Scorpion, I am the owner of this masterpiece.
Claimer | I am human; there are bound to be mistakes. If you feel like something should be changed, you have the power to send me a review/private message. I can't guarantee if I'll change it every time, but I do read all of my reviews and all of my private messages!
Poaching
Masterminds of Deceit Vol. 3
Written by WriterFreak001
Prologue
~ SCORPION ~
Walter still had a hard time believing how a guy like him could end up with a beautiful, amazing woman like Paige, but no matter how it had happened, he was glad it did. Paige was now 22 weeks pregnant with their daughter and started taking leave from the field a few weeks ago to prevent placing herself into high-stress situations – especially since she was still dealing with the trauma from everything Mark Collins had done to her a few months ago. Yesterday, she had her second appointment with her gynecologist, and the ultrasound proved their baby girl was in healthy condition. Overall, life was great; the adoption papers finally pulled through, Toby, Happy and Sylvester were no longer living at the garage and Scorpion's reputation was thriving. In fact, Walter was even given the opportunity to provide an interview for LA's local news, and it was to premiere this morning at nine.
Walter looked at the clock. 6:30 AM.
Walter was tempted to dress for the day and get started on a few things before the airing of the interview, but when his eyes returned to his sleeping wife, he decided a few more minutes of morning bliss wouldn't hurt. As he peered over her shoulder and glanced at his protective hand splayed over her swollen stomach, she stirred awake and turned towards him with a lazy smile glossed over her lips.
"Good morning," she muttered and latched her fingers with his.
"Morning," Walter mumbled and lowered his lips to hers for a quick, soft kiss. "Sleep well?"
"As a matter of fact," she pushed herself forward and then arched her back in a catlike manner as she languorously stretched her muscles. She twisted towards him and surprised him with a peck on the lips. "I did." She gently pushed him towards his pillow and greeted him with a hungrier kiss. She pulled away and crawled off of the bed, sending him a satisfying smile. "That was for last night."
"W-Which part of last night?" Walter stammered as she popped the straps of her silky nightgown off of her shoulders and turned towards the bathroom. He scrambled off of the bed and followed her to the shower before removing his own sleepwear. As she reached to turn on the shower, he approached the question differently. "The rubbing your feet part? Or the other part?"
Paige smirked and hooked her arms around Walter's neck before bringing her lips to his for a heated kiss. "You tell me," Paige mumbled against his lips and pulled him into the shower towards the warm drizzling water. He broke from the kiss to say something, but she ordered him not to talk as she grabbed his cheeks and yanked him down to close the distance between them.
…
By eight, both Walter and Paige had already dropped Ralph off at school and were waiting for the rest of the team to arrive for work. As Paige drizzled chocolate syrup over her bacon after squirting ketchup over her eggs, Walter poured himself a cup of coffee and then joined his wife at the small, circular table just beyond the kitchen area in the lower level of the garage.
"You have the strangest food cravings," Walter's face contorted after a split-second glance of her breakfast.
"The baby wants what the baby wants," Paige laughed before plopping a piece of her maple syrupy biscuit into her mouth. "Gotta have my salty-sweets." Walter took a swig of his cinnamon coffee (an acquired taste) and watched Paige pick up a slice of bacon. "Want to try some?"
"Like you said," Walter forced a chuckle, "what the baby wants, the baby wants."
Paige shrugged and bit into the bacon. "Suit yourself. More for me and Léana." After shoveling her eggs into her mouth, she wiped her lips and flashed Walter a smile.
"What?" Walter blinked and then sipped on his coffee.
"I was just thinking about our mini cruise trip we had a few weeks ago," Paige pushed her plate away from her and turned towards Walter. She hooked her arms around his neck and weaved her fingers through his dark curly hair.
"About having a gun to your head?" Walter asked as he flashed back to the case where the man Scorpion was after tried to force Paige off the boat as leverage. Walter volunteered to take her place for the sake of Paige's and Léana's safety, informing Christoph he was a highly-valued government asset. He was prepared to do anything to protect his family; everything worked out in the end, but after that case, Paige decided it might be best to take leave for the remainder of her pregnancy. Walter, wanting nothing more than to keep Paige safe, didn't argue with her decision.
"No," Paige shook her head. "Why would I be smiling if I was thinking about that?"
"Oh. Right." Walter mentally kicked himself. "What were you thinking of, then?"
Paige laughed, "The face of that young, rich man when he caught us making out in that darkened hallway after the whole case was over. It was priceless."
"Yeah," Walter chuckled, not sure where this conversation was stemming from. He decided to go with it anyway. "That was a bit entertaining…."
"It's a good thing we sorted him out, though; the last thing we wanted to have was a non-existent scandal on our hands." Paige pulled Walter closer to her. "Why don't we make use of this empty space and do something naughty before everyone arrives for work?"
Oh, Walter was certainly tempted, but he didn't want to risk Toby catching them (because with Walter's luck, the psychoanalyst would most definitely be the first person to ever walk in on him and his wife partaking in risqué activities in the lower level of the garage). But the way she was tantalizing his scalp overpowered his judgment. He captured her into a searing kiss and scooped his pregnant wife into his arms, carrying her towards the back of the garage near Walter's rocket (a project he started working on after the whole Collins ordeal). He dropped her onto the hood of his condemned Datsun and hovered over her, trapping his wife against the cool metal. She loosened his tie and pulled it over his head as the door to the garage slammed open. Damn. Walter pulled away from Paige and groaned as ran his hand through his hair. "I'm tempted to change Scorpion's opening hours of operation to noon instead of 8:30."
Paige laughed and kissed his cheek. "Tonight," she brought her lips to his ear, "we can have all the wicked fun we want. Ralph is spending the night with Toby; remember?" She nibbled on his earlobe. "Meaning…, we don't have to hold back."
Walter's ears perked. "Any chance we can just call a sick day?"
"I wish," Paige smiled and kissed him. "I've gotta do some stuff in the loft so why don't you go in there," she pointed towards the office space, "and make sure the TV is ready to show them the footage on Scorpion." As Paige started for the stairs, Walter reached for her hand, causing Paige to return her attention towards him. "What is it?"
"Do you think…, you know, the team will be mad at me for not including them in the interview?" Walter swallowed and recalled the conversation he and Paige had had just after the interview was over. She personally thought he should have included everyone in the interview instead of just featuring himself, and after she chastised him for being inconsiderate, Walter tried to schedule another interview, but the news company inconveniently wasn't available for a second interview.
"I don't know," Paige paused as the door opened again. Toby walked in and sauntered to his desk. "But I guess we'll find out, won't we?"
"That's what I was afraid you'd say," Walter sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"Even if they will be mad at you," Paige lightly kissed him, "I'm still your number-one fan." She kissed him once more and then gently smacked his cheek before leaving him for the loft.
As he made his way to his desk, he was beginning to regret keeping the interview a secret from Paige until after it was done – he should have told her about it right off the bat because now he was dreading the reactions of his team members for not being included.
For Walter's sake, he hoped Toby, Happy and Sylvester won't take the interview seriously.
~ SCORPION ~
"Everybody!" Walter exclaimed as he hopped from his desk and headed for the TV screen, "By the monitors!"
"Hey," Sylvester stopped him dead in his tracks as though he had something important to say.
"Yeah, you… you look like you're about to say something…."
Sly shook his head. "Nope."
"No? Okay. Great." Walter said quickly as he raced to the monitors. He repeated himself, ordering everyone to make their way towards him. He turned on the TV, flashed Paige a quick smile as she sat down on top of the table and then folded his arms anxiously as the morning news started its segment on Scorpion.
"I'm Lorraine Arroyo."
"Hey!" Sylvester exclaimed and pointed towards the monitor. "That's the sign!"
"We had a chance to sit down with the leader and founder of this remarkable team, Walter O'Brien."
"That's the garage!" Sylvester exclaimed louder with a smile on his face.
"I don't think it's a coincidence, Sylvester," Toby blinked stoically. Walter gulped. So far, Sly was the only one with a positive reaction. Toby, from what Walter could tell, looked unimpressed, and Happy only kept silent as the interview commenced.
"197 IQ, statistically one of only four people on Earth. Are you just always thinking of amazing things?"
"When did you do a TV interview?" Walter caught Toby glancing at him. He still seemed upset. Maybe Paige was right…, he should have included everyone. Walter forced a smile and pretended everything was fine, not wanting his team members to catch onto his uneasiness.
"Well," Walter, on the TV, started speaking, "I'm involved in many projects simultaneously. But when I use my intelligence for the greater good, that's when I'm most fulfilled."
Walter dared to look at everyone, and now, even Sylvester wasn't smiling. Paige glanced around as well and clamped her mouth shut; he knew she was only keeping quiet because she thought he needed to learn a lesson, and, like always, she was right. He decided to wait for the entire interview to finish and see what happened afterwards.
"This is the dramatic footage…," Lorraine Arroyo continued as the monitor panned to a recording of a case the team had worked well over a year ago over a Christmas holiday. "…of Walter O'Brien saving the life of a young boy who'd been trapped in a sinkhole on Zuma Beach."
Toby frowned at Walter. Walter inhaled a deep breath. "I remember all of us being there."
Walter pretended to ignore him and return his attention towards the TV.
"This is the jack that I used to free the boy's foot," TV Walter said as he demonstrated how to open and close the jack for the interviewer.
"The jack I built," Happy's eyebrows furrowed and directed a heated glare towards Walter. Walter was beginning to think showing the team the interview was a bad idea. A very, very bad idea.
"Is it fair to say that boy was saved by genius?" Lorraine asked. Walter scrolled his eyes upon everyone on the team and inwardly cursed. He was tempted to turn it off effectively and immediately, but as he made a subtle move towards the remote, Paige glared at him and mouthed, "Don't you dare. You need to learn your lesson."
Walter retracted his hand and watched himself answer Lorraine's question. "Absolutely."
"No." Happy snapped at Walter. "He was saved by four geniuses." She glanced at Paige and added, "And Cabe and Paige."
Walter noticed his wife giving Happy a strange look as Toby said, "Is that arm a little sore from patting yourself on the back?"
Walter opened his mouth to say something but decided against it as he noticed all of the sour faces in the room. Hearing Lorraine Arroyo speaking again, he turned towards the monitor to avoid all of the looks he was receiving.
"But as brilliant as he is, O'Brien chooses to surround himself with other highly gifted intellects. Less so than himself, of course." And that was the comment that made Walter inwardly kick himself – Arroyo made him sound so arrogant. While her statement was in fact true about the comparison between his IQ and everybody else's IQs, he could have sworn she twisted his words. "Math whiz Sylvester Dodd…."
"Statistical Theoretician." Sylvester spoke softly, correcting Arroyo.
"Tobias Curtis, psychologist…"
"Psychiatrist. Harvard-trained!" Toby exclaimed at the TV.
"Master fabricator and genius electrical engineer, Paige Dineen;" It was Happy's and Paige's turns to give Walter strange looks. Happy was frowning, and Paige gave him an expression he couldn't interpret, and he was pretty sure he didn't want to know what his wife was thinking at this point (so much for being his number-one fan). Walter couldn't bear the looks everyone was giving him so he shamefully stared at the floor. "…and lastly, what O'Brien termed the team's super nanny, Happy Quinn."
Oh boy. Walter was a dead man. He definitely did not say 'super nanny'; the reporter misconstrued a lot of things, and now he was going to have to deal with the downfall.
"Pardon me while I go bury my head in the dirt," Happy spat as she stormed off to her desk; Walter didn't dare look at her.
Paige was the next to speak. "Is it that bad being mistaken for me?" Walter caught her icy stare (a much different reaction than he was hoping for from his wife). "Although 'super nanny' does sound like I change diapers."
"To be fair," Toby coughed, "that fate soon awaits you."
Paige glowered at the shrink as Walter slowly walked up to her. "We're gonna be flooded with work!" He stopped short of Paige, unsure how she would react if he reached for her hand.
"Given your astronomical IQ, I didn't think it was necessary to discuss the difference between a psychologist and an MD." Toby inhaled a deep breath of air and released it. "Smooth move, O'Brien. I'm not gonna let this go. Not by a long shot."
"I told them you were a psychiatrist and where you… trained," Walter swallowed the lump in his throat, "… it just got lost in translation."
"A few things," Happy deadpanned with a sour voice.
Walter groaned; Paige wasn't showing him any sympathy either. "They're TV reporters!" He turned off the monitor and threw his hands into the air. "You have to expect some mild inaccuracies! Can no one see the greater good in this scenario?!" He glanced at Toby. "It's great for the team."
Toby rose to his feet and pointed at Walter, "It's great for you." Toby spun around and headed for his desk as Walter caught Paige's eyes on him. They weren't happy, but at least she was trying to nonverbally tell him something (he didn't know what, though). "Your qualifications were stated perfectly, and the entire report was a firmly gripped stroke of your narcissistic egomania."
Walter's mouth fell open. With perplexed brows, he shot glances back and forth from Toby to Happy to Toby again. Happy slammed her blowtorch mask over her face, and Toby covered his ears with his headset and began playing loud, obnoxious music. Walter, hoping for something more positive from his wife, returned his focus on her. He slowly walked closer to her but kept a safe distance.
"I told you once before, Walter," Paige sighed and reached for his hand. Touching… touching was good. She kissed his palm and continued, "You didn't tell them. You didn't include them. Wasn't I right when I said they weren't going to be happy about the interview?"
Walter nodded slowly. "Yeah," he spoke quietly. "To be fair," Walter tried from a different approach, "they only asked to talk to me…." His voice rose louder than he wanted it to. "I-I didn't think to ask them."
"Or me." Paige quickly added with a frown.
"O-or you." Walter gulped and ran his hand through his hair. It was going to take all day to make up to everyone – including his wife.
He was about to say something else when Toby jumped from his chair and pointed at him. "Exactly! A fresh shovelful of narcissistic egomania onto the pile!"
Loud noises started coming from Happy's workstation as Walter shouted at Toby. "I did my job. I got media coverage for the team." Walter circled around the table and briskly walked towards Toby with Paige in tow. "This is childish!"
"Walter," Paige squeezed his hand, "perhaps you should let them take a beat. Give them some time, okay?"
Before Walter could say anything more to Toby or to his wife, a loud, familiar voice caught their attention. "HEY!" Walter spun around and found Cabe with – R-Richard Elia? – sauntering into the garage. Happy turned off her power-sander and then Cabe sighed, nonverbally calling everyone dumbasses with his eyes. "We got a case."
Sylvester sidestepped towards Walter. "Th-That's Richard Elia. Billionaire tech mogul."
Walter was frozen in place. "Yeah, I know who he is, and his first impression of is that we're idiots…."
~ SCORPION ~
WriterFreak001:
I know reading some of this may have seemed like déjà vu, but since my version of the Scorpion world hadn't met Richard Elia yet, I figured it was important to jumpstart this installment with the case from "Going South" with my variations. I will be doing this sort of thing for some of the chapters. I won't be copying everything verbatim – like featuring an entire episode because we've all seen them. We don't need that. I'll skirt over things and such so it won't feel like you're reading exactly the same thing as what the show gave us. :)
I hope you enjoyed the Prologue! I had fun writing it! More to come soon! Please tell me if you like the premise of this story! I am a little worried about using Elia as a baddie (well, ish-baddie) because he seems like a decent guy on Scorpion (a little egotistical, but decent-ish). But…. I don't trust him…. I feel like he might have something up his sleeve; he seems desperate.
Sorry if it seemed rushed, by the way.
Until next time!
PS. I am doing a video project for Elyes Gabel's birthday. The deadline for submissions is May 02. If you are interested, go to my Tumblr blog a-beautful-mind-wf001 and view the flier! I will post the link to the flier on my FanFiction profile at the bottom if you're struggling trying to find it on Tumblr. Thanks!