The red door to the Brooklyn brownstone swung open before Natalie even touched the doorknob.
"Hey! You're here early," Siena smiled at the sight of Natalie and Mac on the doorstep, "Here give me that," she took the duffle bag from Natalie and held the door open for them to step in from the cold.
"Mac picked me up on his way back from Peru so I could catch an earlier flight," Natalie kissed Siena's cheeks. "Is everyone here?"
"Dmitri's on the couch and you just missed James. He's making a run to the store. The Bagshaws got here yesterday. I think most people are in the kitchen at the moment. I was just going to head out for a run, but I can wait a few minutes if you want to come."
"No, you go ahead," Natalie took the bag back from her, "I've got to review the blueprints before anything else."
"Alright, see you later," Siena nodded towards Mac, putting in her headphones as she passed him by, clearly not inviting a conversation.
The red haired boy watched her jog down the street in silence.
"You could go with her," Natalie suggested.
Waking from his trance, he shook his head, "No, I wouldn't be able to keep up with her."
"You could try."
"I wouldn't want to slow her down."
Natalie rolled her eyes, "You two are ridiculous you know that?"
Mac blinked at her, forming his stone features into a false expression of confusion.
"Don't pull that face with me, Bagshaw. I see right through that crap. Sooner or later one of you has to say something, do something. Anything! Preferably before the tension suffocates me."
Mac hid something that might have been a smirk and pushed past her into the house.
As her eyes adjusted to the dark house, Natalie breathed in the familiar scent of stew on the stove. Dmitri was sprawled across the couch, fiddling with something that looked suspiciously like C4.
"Hey." Natalie called.
"Miss me?" Dmitri sent one of his signature smirks her way. One part charming, two parts dangerous, and three parts thief, Dmitri's smile was impossible to imitate.
"Not even slightly." Mac tossed his duffle bag on top of Dmitri.
Dmitri caught the bag at the last moment and threw it back. "I wasn't asking you, Bagshaw."
While the boys began whipping pillows at one another, Natalie made her way to the kitchen but was ambushed. All she saw was a flash of red hair darting down the stair towards her before it knocked her side ways with a hug.
"It is you! Jay said you would be hours yet but then I heard the door open and I knew it was you!" Rose Bagshaw chattered excitedly at Natalie as she hung from her shoulders. Looking down at Ro's speckled nose and wide smile it was easy for Natalie to see her as a healthy, vibrant little girl. But as she detached herself from Nat and pulled her toward the kitchen the distinctive limp in her stride was impossible to ignore.
Ro's knee would never heal, and it would forever be a reminder to the crew of what, and who, they risked each time they took on a new heist. Natalie was constantly reassuring James of what everyone else could see so clearly every time Ro smiled, there was nothing broken about this little girl.
Despite her physical disadvantage, Ro was strong. She pulled Natalie towards the kitchen and out of range of the pillow war being waged in the living room. "Come on. Mom, Dad, and Aunt Kat are in the kitchen."
Catherine Bagshaw balanced her son Charlie on her hip as she stood talking to the small woman in front of the stove. At five foot two Katarina Bishop was still one of the most intimidating people Natalie had ever met. Even as she turned to smile at the girls when they entered and instructed them to sit down so she could serve the soup, Kat couldn't be mistaken for a simple housewife. Housewives didn't have that fierce look in their eyes.
A pillow hit the china cabinet beside the fireplace and Kat's voice echoed through the house, "Boys, if you break those, you will be stealing an entirely new set. And the King of Spain didn't take kindly to losing the first set," she warned.
"Sorry, Aunt Kat!" Dmitri called back.
The clack of her heels down the hall was audible before Aunt Gabrielle entered the kitchen. "Never mind them, Kat. We could use new chinaware anyways. Well, if it isn't the heiress herself." Gabrielle the new comer two exaggerated kisses on the cheek.
"Tell us, Natalie. Have the boys been behaving themselves?" Catherine ladled baby food into her son's mouth. She didn't seem to notice that Charlie just spit it on the floor when his mother's attention was elsewhere.
"Siena, says she's just as reckless as they are." Kat raised a brow and Natalie felt like sinking in her chair.
"How is it that my daughter talks more to you then she does to me?" Gabrielle asked, exasperated.
"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that just yesterday you suggested she sign up for online dating," Hamish replied.
"It's was only a suggestion!" Gabs protested, "And you know how hard it is for girls like Siena to find decent men when the only ones they come into contact with are thieves. Excuse me for worrying about my daughter's future happiness."
"She's eighteen," Catherine countered, "Siena has plenty of time to worry about that sort of thing later. Besides, I don't think anyone but a thief could handle dating Siena."
"What about Dmitri?" Kat inquired. "I didn't hear you talk to him about dating."
Gabriella brushed her off, "He's still young. Dmitri has time."
"They're twins, Gabs. They're the same age," Angus tried to reason with Gabrielle when he walked through the door. Clearly this was a conversation the adults had had before.
"I'm just worried about her. Siena doesn't meet many people. And there comes a time when a thief grows old and the heists slow down. I'd hate to see her end up alone."
"Oh, I don't think there's any worry of that," Natalie laughed.
"What was that, Natalie?" But Kat's smirk said she already had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
"Natalie was just asking if I wanted to join their next heist," Ro, who had been patiently listening to the conversation, swooped in to help Nat and simultaneously advance her own agenda.
"No she didn't, but nice try," Kat kissed Ro on the head as she leaned over to place the bowls in front of the two girls.
"How is the heist going, Natalie?" Hamish asked.
It was always nerve racking to talk about the crew's heists in front of the head of the family. Only Kat's smile could put someone at ease while also terrifying them.
"Not sure exactly. Dmitri wouldn't let me help out with the ID badges so I have no idea how far we have left to go."
"What have I done now?" Dmitri strode into the room and took his place at the table.
"Natalie says you've cut her out of the heist," Gabrielle frowned.
"Oh I see how it is, West. I tell you to live your life and you ruin mine by getting my mother involved." Dmitri picked a stray feather from his hair, evidence of the battle in the living room, and flicked it at Natalie.
"The idiot's got a point, Nat," Mac said from his position in the doorway, "You shouldn't give up everything for the crew."
"Listen to the wise old ginger, Natalie. He knows best." Dmitri mocked, before ducking Mac's next pillow strike.
"No, pillows in the kitchen!" Catherine shrilled.
"Yeah, honestly, Mac!" Dmitri whipped the pillow back at him and a trail of feathers.
Mac ducked and James caught the pillow-missile before it could hit the china cabinet.
"Nice catch," Natalie said.
"I've had seventeen years of practice," James shrugged, "When did you arrive?" His cheeks were flushed from the cold.
"Just now. Mac picked me up on his way back," Natalie answered.
"Alright, boys sit down before the soup goes cold," Kat commanded "Siena's gone out for a run, Jay."
He nodded, "I passed her on my way here. What about Dad?"
"Here," Nick strode into the room and clapped his son on the back. "Nice work in Peru. Dmitri's been telling me all about it."
James winced at the compliment, not sure whether it was sarcastic or not, "Did he tell you the part where he nearly had his leg chewed off?"
"Funny, he didn't," Nick raised a brow. Natalie took note, so that was where James got his signature brow raise from.
Simon trailed in behind Nick and made his way through the already crowded kitchen to his seat which had been reserved for him by the piles of electronic equipment no one but Simon dare touch.
"How is your leg healing, Dmitri?" Natalie asked.
"Great! Aunt Cath gave me a cream that will help the torn bits heal and she says I can get the stitches out in a few days. The puss is gone too. Want to see?" Dmitri offered, propping his leg but on the table.
"No feet on the table," Gabrielle snapped. "And don't play with those bandages. Your Aunt just fixed them for you."
"Its no problem, Gabs." Catherine said, "And he is healing surprisingly fast."
"Must be my superhuman healing abilities," Dmitri wiggled his brows at Nat. "That's not the only thing about me that's super human."
"Super might be a stretch, but you're certainly not normal," James jest as he slid a wandering bolt back to Simon.
"Honestly, these children are going to be the death of me! One of them comes back casually bleeding to death and the other refuses to even consider dating. I'll lose my nerves, I swear I will," Gabrielle turned to Kat in exasperation.
"I wasn't bleeding to death, Mom, and practically everyone here has been bitten on the job-" Dmitri was cut off by his mother. She had started off on the subject of Siena's love life and was not about to let it go.
"I really don't understand why she gets so offended when I ask her about it. Everyone does online dating these days. That's how I get in contact with half of my targets."
"Ah, the benefits of the technological age for a con artist," Nick joked. "It almost makes up for all that facial recognition software the government has now."
Nick's attempt to change the topic of conversation failed.
"If she's so resistant to the idea why don't you get Simon to set up an account for her, that way she doesn't have to do any of the work herself and she can see how easy it will be for her to meet people," Catherine suggested.
"No way!" Simon protested. "I won't have any part in this. It would go against my role as the cool uncle."
"Cool Uncle? Simon, mate, I think we all know who the 'cool uncle' is here." Hamish motioned to himself.
"Yeah, its Uncle Hale," Mac rarely
"Did you hear that, Kat? This ones got no respect for his old man." Hamish said as he reached over poke Mac in the ribs.
Kat rolled her eyes, "Gabs, why don't you just let Siena meet someone the traditional way?"
"Kitty Kat, you're idea of 'traditional' is playing a game of cat and mouse with the enemy, then corrupting, getting arrested by and marrying said enemy."
"Yes, but I was worth it." Nick leaned down to kiss his wife's cheek.
"You have your moments," Kat admitted.
Gabrielle turned her focus on the younger crew. "You all spend more time with her then I do, does she really show no interest in anyone?"
James and Dmitri both agreed they had never noticed Siena bat her lashes at anyone when it wasn't necessary for the success of the heist.
Natalie glanced at Mac for a moment and she thought he looked nervous. Nat bit back a smile and said, "No not at all."
"I just don't want her to end up alone," Gabs sighed.
"You mean like you did?" Simon asked.
Gabrielle swatted the back of his head, "And whose fault was that?"
"Hold on, you're blaming me because you never settled down? How is that my fault?"
"Maybe if you had gotten a clue twenty years ago things would be different," Gabrielle huffed before stalking from the room. No one said anything as they listened to Gabs' heels echo down the hall.
Simon's cheeks flushed but he refused to look at anyone. He become intent on his task of screwing electrical components together with more force then was strictly necessary. "Not a single word," he warned the others.
The awkward silence continued. Charlie gurgled happily.
It was finally broken when the front door flung open and Siena called out as she jogged up the stairs, "I'm back, just let me get changed and we can get planning."
"Saved by the bell," Dmitri muttered.
"Okay, you kids get the kitchen, grown-ups to the living room. We've all got work to do, " Kat announced.
"So I stay in the kitchen?" Ro asked hopefully.
"Even better, you get to plan with the adults." Catherine brushed the girl's messy hair with her fingers.
"When do I get to go on my own heists with James' crew?" Rose grumbled.
"How about when James thinks you're ready?" Kat offered.
Aunt Catherine seemed hesitant but agreed with Kat's suggestion. Rose turned towards James and stood perfectly straight, waiting for orders.
He sighed, "Not this time, Ro. Sorry."
The young girl's eyes watered and she limped out of the room, followed by her Aunts and Uncles.
"How long do you think it will take her to forgive me?" James asked.
"About as long as it takes for you to forgive yourself and let her join," Natalie answered. Several years earlier, James and the crew had taken Rose on one of their heists as a distraction. The result was a broken kneecap and Ro's permanent limp.
Dmitri cut the tension by laying the blue prints out in front of them. They were soon joined by Siena, whose hair was still dripping from her shower.
Natalie place her phone on speaker and punched in the number, "You ready, Cake?"
"I'm always ready for you, my darlings." Cake was still serving her house arrest sentence in Germany after puncturing some massive holes in the German government's cyber defense systems. Cake claimed she had simply been trying to help by demonstrating the system's flaws, however the Germans were not impressed. Hence, Cake was unable to physically join the crew in Brooklyn, but that in no way impeded her ability to hack traffic cameras.
It took the crew two hours and several cups of coffee to review the details of their next job. The only thing left to do now was to wait for next Friday before heading to Madrid.
"Well now that that's all finished, Natalie, what was it you and Eric Peterson were talking about outside Abercorn?" Cake chimed mischievously.
"Who's Eric Peterson?" Dmitri raised a suggestive brow.
"Cake!" Natalie protested, "Have you been spying on me?"
"Can you blame me, Nat? I mean honestly, the traffic cameras in London are so easy to hack its practically irresistible. Unfortunately they don't have sound. So, spill. What did he say?"
"Was that the guy you were talking to when I pulled up?" Mac asked.
"That's none of your business," Nat shot back.
"And yet. Was it?" Dmitri had taken the bait and would not let it go.
Siena broke into the conversation, "Boys, leave her alone. Nat can talk privately to anyone she wants."
"Thanks, S."
"But just so you know you're debriefing me on this tonight," Siena whispered to Natalie.
"Mac do you still have those mics set up around the house?" Dmitri asked.
"Mics? Mac!" Siena frowned at him.
Mac shrugged apologetically and shot a look of annoyance at Dmitri who snickered.
"Ugh!" Natalie curled up in her seat, shielding her embarrassed face with her hands, "You people are exhausting!"
She peaked out between her fingers to see James raise an eyebrow. "Eric?"
Natalie was suddenly defensive, "I'm allowed to have friends."
"If he's just a friend then why are you blushing?" Dmitri's signature grin was especially playful.
"Why do you care?" Natalie was looking pointedly at James.
"Is he going to get in the way of the heist?" James asked.
"No."
"Then I don't care. Date whichever lacrosse playing rich boy you want, Miss West. Its not my concern."
"Fine, then. I will."