Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Leverage characters, I just love taking them out for a spin occasionally. I'm not a car thief, so the details are likely wrong, but I did my best to make it somewhat believable.
Mack walked into the parking garage and glanced at the numbers on the wall, gauging how long it would take her to reach the car. She made sure to keep her body language casual as she strolled down the aisle, looking around for the right number. She found space 431 after a couple minutes and felt her heart sink as she saw the type of car. "Uh, guys, we've got a problem." Mack whispered, hoping that the ear bud worked as well as Hardison had claimed.
"What is it?" Nate asked from his position at the bar. He glanced over at Sophie who was flirting with their mark and she caught his eye, letting him know that she'd heard the car thief as well.
"I can't steal this car." Mack whispered, continuing to walk as though still looking for her vehicle.
"Why not?" Hardison asked from where he was sitting at Nate's apartment.
"Because it's a Volkswagen, I can't do it." Mack insisted and Nate remained quiet for a minute while he worked out a new plan.
"Mack, Sophie and I are coming down to meet you. Eliot, Parker, get out of there as fast as you can." Nate got up and walked out of the bar, heading to the elevator and waiting as Sophie disengaged herself from the mark and met him at the elevator. When they found the car thief in the garage she looked positively angry. She was pacing back and forth, clearly upset. She turned when she heard them approach and waited for them to reach her. "Why can't you steal it?" Nate asked quietly.
"The ignition has a very specific ignition setup, security on these things is amazing. I can't hotwire it, it's the Kobayashi Maru of the car world. As good as I am, even I can't do this." Mack said, her failure clearly bothering her.
"Alright, everyone meet back at headquarters, we'll figure this out." Nate turned and almost ran into a tall, thin man dressed in a cheap dark suit who was looking at Mack in a way that made Nate's skin crawl.
"Well if it isn't my darling step-daughter." He said, his voice sickeningly sweet and Mack spun, a look of horror on her face. "You know, your mother has been worried sick." Sophie noticed how Mack immediately entered a defensive position and how her eyes went cold. He casually lit a cigarette and Mack paled, swallowing hard, eyes not leaving the small cylinder in his hand.
"Like you ever gave a damn about her. What do you want Ed?" Mack asked through gritted teeth.
"I was just wondering how much your pimp here charged for an hour with you. Does he know that you're defective? Or do you just attract a special clientele?" He asked and Mack felt bile rise in the back of her throat.
"I'm not a whore Ed, and he's not my pimp." Mack's voice was hard, and she'd beat Nate's angry retort.
"I'd suggest you move along." Nate said, anger clear in his voice.
"If you're not her pimp you don't really have any say over what she does." Ed said simply, looking over at Sophie. "You're sure you're not a pimp because I'd like to spend some quality time with this pretty lady here." He said with a grin. Sophie hauled back and slapped him, slightly surprised when he just laughed.
The trio walked past him, anger clear in their body language as they walked away. Nate and Sophie were both furious, and Mack was fighting back tears. "You know, your mom is back on the crack, you should come see her sometime, she might even know you." Ed called after them and Mack turned, drawing a knife from her bag. Nate grabbed her arm and shook his head, tugging at her to come with him, he wasn't sure what this new development meant, but he sure intended to find out.
Mack was unusually quiet on the way back to the apartment and when Sophie looked in the mirror under the guise of checking her makeup she saw that the young woman was crying silently as she stared out the window. She remained silent as they headed up to the apartment and didn't speak as Nate talked to Parker and Eliot about how it went at the mark's office. Sophie sat down on the couch next to Mack but said nothing, trying not to let her curiosity get the best of her. "I'm fine." Mack said quietly, almost too quietly to be heard.
"What happened in there?" Nate asked gently. "Who was that guy?"
"My step-father. He won't be a problem, I promise." Mack said, her voice devoid of emotion.
"Alright, how are we going to get his car?" Nate asked, willing to let the subject go. Though he knew she was hurting, he wasn't exactly in a position to be demanding answers. He'd let her deal with it on her own until he thought she couldn't and then he'd step in.
"I noticed a valet parking stand, isn't that how Hardison knew the space number?" Mack asked and Hardison nodded. "Okay, so I pose as a valet, steal the key and take the car. Easy peasy, now, can we go?" Mack asked, tired of the team staring at her. She knew they were trying not to, and she didn't even blame them, but their looks still unnerved her.
"We'll take it in the morning. Sophie told him that she was staying in the hotel, so it wouldn't be out of the question to see him two days in a row. Now that we have surveillance in his office we should be good to go." Nate said and Mack smiled and nodded, though the smile never reached her eyes. She stood and grabbed her bag, heading for the door.
"Where are you going?" Nate asked, following her to the door.
"I'm going home. I'll be here bright and early, don't you worry." Mack said, her voice devoid of emotion and it didn't take someone as skilled at reading people as Nate was to see that she was hurting. Nate watched her go, concerned about the newest, albeit temporary, member of the team.
When Mack returned to Nate's apartment the next morning there were dark circles under her eyes and everyone could tell she hadn't slept much. She was somehow wearing a tee with the hotel's logo and Valet printed on the back. The dark green contrasted with her red wig and her jewelry was missing, her makeup concealing where they had been. The briefing was pretty quick and soon Mack found herself back in the parking garage only this time standing behind the Valet podium. She responded to customers with enthusiasm that would be typical of a valet, she rolled her eyes as keys were handed to her and ran until she was just out of eyeshot before slowing to a shuffle. She continued all day until she was given the Volkswagen's key, she did the same thing, rolled her eyes, snapped her gum and half heartedly walked off to get the car. She'd already noticed a back way out of the garage and drove out the back, taking turns slowly and making sure she attracted no undue attention. "I'm out guys." Mack murmured into the com.
"Meet us at the parking lot." Nate's voice sounded in her ear and Mack drove to the lot, parking and getting out, leaning against the car with crossed arms and waited for the rest of the group to arrive. They arrived together in Nate's car and all piled out. Mack tossed the keys to Nate, smiling slightly.
"Where's my cut?" Mack asked. She had plans for this afternoon, and wanted to get on the road.
"Here you go." Nate tossed her a backpack and Mack could tell from the weight that the money was there.
"Thanks a ton. Remember, avoid those roads." Mack said, walking over to her motorcycle and pulling her helmet on before pulling on her leather jacket and putting the backpack on. She roared off, leaving the five members of the Leverage team standing there.
"Think she'll be alright?" Hardison asked, concerned. He'd seen how shaken she looked yesterday, and she was so very young, at least compared with the rest of the group.
"After this job we'll check in on her, but for right now I want to get this job finished up." Nate said and they all piled back into the car and headed back to the hotel.