Chapter 4
"What the hell is going on here?" Cabe spat angrily. "Stop what you're doing put your hands up now!"
The culprit removed his hands from the painting, which thankfully still seemed to be in good condition. He raised both hands gradually and turned around with a slick grin on his face. "Well I guess I should have expected this from a group of geniuses" he said apathetically.
"Step away from the painting Carter. Get on your knees." Cabe walked over a cuffed him. He escorted him out the door, while reading him his Miranda rights, to be humiliated by everyone he saw. The group of geniuses shook their heads at the poorly executed plan.
"Wow, we could've stolen a painting better than that, and Sylvester has asthma" Happy rolled her eyes and walked out with Toby and Syl. Walter was just about to follow but Paige grabbed his arm gently to pull him back. He inhaled deeply at her touch.
"So wait I'm still so confused, why on earth would such a successful man like that go through all of that trouble just to come up short and get caught?" Walter tried to explain to her as he flipped off the light, grabbed the painting, and they walked together back up the hallway. "It was a poorly thought out plan to get more money. He probably wasn't as successful as you think. This particular museum must have been extreme competition, and what better way to eliminate that than framing the owner for stealing such an expensive piece? It would've been brilliant if only he had taken in consideration that the group that he had solving the fake crime were geniuses."
Walter could see Paige's disappointment; and even though he didn't believe in the significance of art, he wholeheartedly believed in the importance of Paige. "Um, how about we, um, go see one of your favorite artists sometime, uh I mean if you would like to-" Walter couldn't even finish his thought before his was taken aback by a warm embrace from Paige. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear, "I would love that." Walter couldn't comprehend what was going on, and so he was thankful when her phone rang. "Oh, I'm sorry it's Ralph, I'll meet you outside with the others?" Walter only nodded as Paige walked off.
When Walter found the others outside Carter had already been handed off to the police. Rory was going to be taken down to the station as well for questioning. It still didn't make sense to Walter, how calm he was when he was caught red handed. His thought was interrupted by Cabe who motioned toward the painting, "I'll take that off of your hands son." Walter handed it over without question. He was fixated on Paige who had just left the building and caught his eye. She smiled at him, but then turned her attention toward Toby. "So wait, one more question: James looked so suspicious but it turns out he was just being framed?" Walter agreed with Paige's inquiry and was just as curious. "Well he may not have been guilty of theft, but he certainly wasn't innocent. His excessive sweating might be explained by the fact that there were smuggled drugs in the storage room; aka the only reason this guy was making money." Happy rolled her eyes, "The art industry these days. Let's get back to the garage I'm starving."
Toby, Sylvester, and Happy all fought to get into the van first, but Walter waited and let Paige enter first. It was something he saw in a movie once.
Paige went to pick up Ralph while the rest of the team ate lunch. She was excited to tell Ralph about the case; it was one of the only things they connected over. She arrived five minutes early as usual and parked in the second spot. He was always out by 3:35, no later, so she grew very concerned when it was 3:37 and there was no sign of Ralph. She watched kid by kid as they all entered the bus. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Ralph approaching, but with another kid. Paige rolled down her window to greet her son, "Hey Ralph, who is this?" Ralph had never brought another kid over. "This is Henry, he's in my class and I sit next to him, can we drive him home?" Paige's heart melted. Ever since Scorpion Ralph was improving with his interaction with others. This was another break through. She didn't hesitate, "Of course! Henry it is nice to meet you. Now where am I going exactly?" The boys didn't speak in the car, but Paige felt content and hummed to fill the silence.
"We're back," Paige opened the garage door for Ralph and followed. Ralph ran to the geniuses and immediately awaited the next riddle or math problem that was to come. It grew dark eventually, and he was still enraptured in equations. Paige felt torn; she didn't want to move him, but she was exhausted and desperately needed sleep. Walter cut in, "You know if you need to go Ralph is welcomed to stay here. He can sleep in my bed and the fridge is full so you don't need to worry yourself about breakfast." Walter wanted to do this for Paige. He figured he could make a better connection with her if he showed that he cared. Paige hesitated for a second, since she's never left Ralph alone over night, but then realized how much she trusts Walter, more than anyone. "Ok," she agreed, "but I'm going to be back by 7:30."
"There is no rush." Paige smiled, thanked him one last time, and kissed him on the cheek. It sent chills down both of their spines. Her gesture shocked them both. She turned and left and Walter watched until the door closed. He clapped his hands together, "Alright Ralph how would you like to learn about robotics?" The night was filled with experiments, joy, and a tuckered out group of geniuses. Ralph fell asleep on the couch and so Walter scooped him up and gently laid him on his bed. He pushed the boy's hair out of his face and smiled as he turned out the light. Paige however, was still wide awake.