Ch 3 -

The morning came too fast, as it always did when he'd been up half the night online, but Hardison guzzled a soda and made his way to Nate's all the same for the meeting. He was the last one to arrive, dropping down beside Parker on the couch with a wide yawn. A hot cup of coffee was waved in front of his face and he grabbed it instinctively, looking up to find Eliot smirking as he handed him the cup. Hardison decided to ignore the smirk and instead focus on the wonderful caffeine filled aroma of hazelnut and cream deliciousness that he was about to consume.

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"Do we have a plan yet?" Hardison asked, somewhat less sleepily, after his first sip.

Nate and Sophie shared matching smirks, leading Hardison to wonder two things: first, what crazy scheme were they up to this time, and second; what was with everyone and the smirking lately?

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"Creepy, isn't it?" Parker hissed in his ear, causing Hardison to muffle his laughter into another yawn as Nate began talking.

"The problem with this job," Nate began, "Is that two of our players are already out of the game. Eliot, Parker," he paused to nod at each of them, "You're going to have to be invisible on this one."

"So essentially," Sophie picked up smoothly where Nate left off, "We need to run a three man job, with the bonus of having two out of sight players in the wings."

Nate cut back in, "And somehow manage to infiltrate a school with almost no prep. Again."

"Now maybe it's just me," Hardison cocked his head between Nate and Sophie, "But y'all don't seem all that worried about this."

Sophie gave him a winning grin.

"Aww, I see how it is," Hardison continued, "You two have some crazy ass plan with an equally crazy ass name, that the rest of us have never heard of, don't you?"

"Mommy Dearest," Nate and Sophie said in unison.

Hardison just sighed. He was going to need another coffee.

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"Welcome to..."

"I know where I am," Sophie interrupted Evelyn in a crisp tone. "Is the headmaster in?"

Evelyn visible fidgeted in her seat, "No, ma'am, he's at a conference today. Can I take a message?"

Sophie eyed her coolly, "I think not. We had a meeting scheduled today, but Albert clearly doesn't consider his boss important enough to remember."

"But, but, Mrs. Reynolds is his boss, and I've met Mrs. Reynolds, and you..." she trailed off in a quivering voice as Sophie raised an eyebrow at her silently.

"Mrs. Reynolds," Sophie nearly spat the word, "May be his boss, but I," she paused for effect, "am her boss."

Evelyn just stared with wide eyes at Sophie.

"Do you know who owns your school, Miss," Sophie glanced dismissively at the plaque on the desk, "Sawyer?"

"Of c-c-course," Evelyn stuttered again, "The London Academy of Propriety and Well Behaved Children."

'Seriously?' Hardison's voice cut through the comms, causing the other team members to giggle, all while Sophie kept a smooth poker face.

"Very good," Sophie cooed in a tone that did nothing to soothe Evelyn's nerves. "And who do you suppose is in charge of that academy?"

"You," Evelyn answered promptly, straightening her posture automatically.

"Excellent," Sophie nodded curtly at the girl, "Now, I don't suppose you would mind giving me a tour of the facility, in place of dear Albert, would you?"

Evelyn hopped to her feet, "Of course not! I'll just, umm, let me grab a, never mind, right this way, Ms..."

"Rothshire," Sophie replied, like it was obvious, "Jane Rothshire."

"Right this way, Ms. Rothshire," Evelyn repeated, leading Sophie out the door.

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"All clear," Sophie muttered into her comm as she followed Evelyn into the hallway, silently slipping a business card between the door and the lock hole as she pulled the door shut.

.

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"You all set?" Nate asked Hardison from the drivers seat of the van. Hardison and Parker were in the back while Hardison fiddled on the computers. Eliot sat beside Nate, a little put out that he had nothing to do at the moment.

"In just a sec," Hardison's fingers flew over the keys of his laptop, "Alright, baby, here we go. Firewalls were a breeze, and the main camera wasn't even protected. For shame, Boston Academy of yadda yadda, for shame."

"Are we good or what?" Eliot growled. He was bored, damn it.

"Yes, we're good," Hardison huffed, "Nobody appreciates my hard work. Or the van. But yes, we're good. There are six total camera in the school. One in the main hall, and five others in apparent random classrooms throughout the building. Also, it seems like the only way they monitor the camera is from a screen at the receptionists desk."

"The receptionist that Sophie has conveniently led away." Nate gave a small grin.

"I kinda feel bad for them," Parker mused aloud, "This is too easy."

"Shhh, woman!" Hardison hushed her, "Don't curse it!"

Parker just stuck her tongue out and ignored his outburst.

"OK," Nate interrupted, "Eliot and Parker, you go in and search the Headmaster's office, but stay out of sight. Hardison, you monitor the school, make sure to let them know if anyone comes back to the office. And I'll start walking the school, see if anything seems out of place."

"What's your cover?" Hardison asked.

Nate laughed, "Don't have one."

"But..." Hardison looked confused.

"I don't plan on getting found," Nate laughed again, tapping his temple.

"That...is not a good plan," Hardison looked to Eliot for confirmation, but the hitter just rolled his eyes.

"It's what we've got," Nate replied, opening the driver's side door, "So let's go."

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Nate got out first, followed by Eliot a moment later. Parker hesitated, giving Hardison a look of sympathy.

"He's getting crazier," Parker whispered as she backed out the double doors with a grace only she could manage.

"You got that right, mama," Hardison replied, shaking his head as the doors of the van clicked shut soundly.

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TBC