Thank you all for the kind reviews! However, there are a few things you need to know. First, this story is set sometime before the San Lorenzo job, and secondly, a woman will be mentioned in this chapter by the name of Karen: she is the victim who first brought the case to the Leverage team (mentioned in Chap 1). I think that about covers it! Have fun reading!
"What do you want O'Deal." Nate practically growled.
Nate felt the team tense around him.
"Oh, defensive are we. Listen, I'm not asking for much…just what you tried to take away from me. If you ever want to see... Sophie was it?... yes, if you ever want to see Sophie again you will use whatever means you used to gain access to my network system in the first place to undo the virus that you have planted there. You will then bring back the files you have stolen as well as the woman who started all of this, Karen. Yes... I think I will have to have a little... chat with her. Bring her and whatever cohorts you have used for this particular scandal, and I may even be decent enough to let Sophie live..." O'Deal said, lingering for a moment for the full effect.
Elliot was at Nate's side with his hands balled into fists while Hardison was trying to direct Nate's attention to his computer screen. Anger rising inside of him at the thought of Sophie's situation, Nate quickly glanced at the screen and saw that Hardison had managed to locate the address of O'Deal's whereabouts through the traffic cameras. Through what looked to be the last shot taken by a security feed off of the actual O'Deal residence, Nate saw a blurry image of O'Deal forcing Sophie out of the car with a gun to her back. Just the image made Nate shiver.
"…though, I can't promise she'll be in mint condition." O'Deal finished smugly.
"Listen O'Deal, if you lay a hand on her I can promise that you won't see a dime of your money and that you will be charged with embezzlement, fraud, harassment, terrorism, and whatever other charges I can have you pinned for." Nate asserted boldly.
"Yes, there is that little hitch or else I wouldn't have to be talking to you right now and could be enjoying Sophie's company all to myself. Here… I will send you the address, you have two hours."
"I don't need the address. I know where you are. I want proof that Sophie is still alive." Nate said cutting him off.
"Ah, how clever of you. Fine…"
They could hear O'Deal shuffling around in the back ground and mumbling something that sounded like, 'They want proof.' After a few moments of silence, they could hear shallow breathing.
"Soph?" Nate asked quietly as he tried to contain the overwhelming concern that was sure to be leaking through.
"Nate…Paris. Eleven. The paint cans. Double cross…" Sophie was immediately cut off by a thud as she let out a pain filled gasp. They heard O'Deal's muffled voice as he muttered, 'Can't follow simple directions can we?'
Nate found himself gripping the counter until his knuckles were white while Elliot swore in the background. Hardison was typing furiously trying to find helpful information while Parker began throwing all of her tools into a black duffle bag with a scowl on her face.
O'Deal's voice came back over the phone.
"Two hours. Be here." The phone line went dead.
Nate cursed and slammed the phone onto the counter. Holding his head to massage his temples he began to pace again.
"What did she mean? Was she using a code?" Parker asked; her gaze boring into Nate.
"Let's just show up and take them down. As long as we get Sophie out we don't have to meet any of his demands…" Elliot said narrowing his eyes in a dangerous way.
"Maybe we could cause a power surge…take the lights out. They wouldn't know what hit them…of course, not until Elliot did…" Hardison suggested.
Elliot looked over at him and smirked while giving the hacker a high five,
"I like his idea."
"Look. There are guards. Eleven of them, each outfitted with semi automatics and uzeys. You guys are forgetting that the man operates a weapons trade. He has access to some of the deadliest weapons on the black market." Nate interrupted.
"What did she mean by Paris….and paint cans?" Elliot asked.
"That's what I'm trying to…wait, I've got it." Nate said looking up expectantly. "When Sophie and I were in Paris, there was an art deal that went bad…long story short, they tried to kill us with paint cans that were filled with explosives."
"So O'Deal's going to try to kill us with paint?" Parker asked skeptically.
Nate sighed,
"No, she's trying to tell us that O'Deal has good protection and that he was never intending to meet us at his house in the first place. He's pulling a double cross and moving Sophie to a different location. Instead, there's going to be an explosive waiting for us…"
The room was silent as the team let the information sink in.
"Hold up, I should be able to figure out where he's moving her to through following the camera footage." Hardison said pulling up several different streams of footage on his laptop.
"Look…" Hardison said, projecting the image from his laptop up to the huge plasma screens for the team to see.
The Leverage team watched as they saw the front of O'Deal's million dollar estate appear. The same limo they saw before was parked in the driveway. As they watched, they saw a group of people exit the mansion and head toward the car. Nate walked toward the screen to get a better look and frowned. He could just make out the dark figures. There were eleven suits surrounding O'Deal and Sophie, each carrying a weapon of some kind. The grifter's hands were tied and her mouth was taped shut. As they reached the limo, Sophie was shoved forward into the car and O'Deal entered after her. Each of the suits crowded in as well. It wasn't long until the car pulled out.
Nate tore his eyes from the screen and refocused on Hardison.
"Alright. It's time to make us disappear. Pull the feeds from yesterday, make things happen. Make sure you keep an eye on that limo's progress and tell me when you get an address."
He then turned to Parker.
"Do you still have those files you took from his safe?"
Parker grinned mischievously and pointed to Hardison.
"Right. That's what I thought. Give me the real documents and keep the copies." Nate said grabbing the folder from the hacker.
"Hardison, stay here and do what you do best." Turning to Elliot and Parker, Nate grinned, "I think it's time we stole Karen."
As he took off toward the door, Elliot stopped him by grabbing his arm.
"Nate…you're not actually going to bring Karen into this are you?"
Shifting his eyes to the left as if to think, Nate shrugged his shoulders and replied,
"Yea, I think we will."
Nate then turned and swept from the room. Parker shrugged her shoulders, grabbed her bag and followed him. Still standing where Nate left him, Elliot looked back at Hardison with a confused look. The hacker just shrugged and grabbed his orange soda. Sighing, Elliot took off after them knowing they were going to need his help.
As always, your thoughts and comments are appreciated! Thanks for reading!