Reviews:Thank you for taking the time to input your opinions.
This content is rated T for blood, violence, and injuries. Please acknowledge this before reading.
I do not own TNT, Leverage, or any of the original characters.
Without any further yada yada yada...
Chapter 4- Day Jobs PART I.
The crew had done their small jobs, and Nate is talking with a client. He indicated that this was going to be a big job, so Eliot invited JJ to help. The crew likes her help, and they consider her a part of the team. Quinn came along with Aria, just because he likes to know what his sister's getting into. They walk through the new brew pub[Hardison bought it, and renovated it to be about the same, but not really], where Nate is talking with the client. Jordan sees who the client is, and nobody but Quinn notices when she ducks behind him to avoid being seen by the client. They move into the briefing room, and Nate joins them slightly afterwards.
"Ok," Hardison says, standing up. "Nate already briefed me, now I'm gonna brief you."
"Get to the point, Hardison, or I'll get it for you," Eliot growls.
"This is the job of the year. We're gonna establish deep cover. It's gonna take a long time, so, you know, Leverage Inc. is shutting down while we do this. It's Air Force. A base in Montana is being corrupted by none other than…" Hardison puts some very popular thug's faces on the screen. "These 2. Working together. I don't know what you all think, but this is a very, very, very bad thing."
"Can I steal a jet?" Parker asks as she raises her hand.
"No," Eliot says.
"If it's Air Force, why isn't the government taking care of it?" Quinn points out.
"Because it's government, the thugs bought out the real Generals with money. Then, with Air Force pass, they can smuggle weapons around the world, without anyone checking twice," Nate explains.
"So we need to establish deep cover? Who are we going to send in?" Sophie asks.
"I was thinking something along the lines of Parker, Eliot, and Jordan," Nate says. Eliot and Quinn look to Jordan.
"Actually," Eliot starts.
"No. Nopity nope." Jordan replies firmly. Quinn holds his hand out for the keyboard, and Hardison slides it to him. Quinn types some information and inputs it onto the screen. They see file photos, ranks, and accomplishments for Commander Jordan Jordan of the USAF, homebase, Montana.
Jordan hides her face in her hands. When they finish reading about it, Sophie starts talking.
"You know, it's nothing to be ashamed of, Jordan," She soothes.
"I'm not ashamed of it, but I'm not going to use my job to conn my country!" Jordan shouts, only to be shushed by Quinn. "What?!" She asks. He points to sleeping Aria. Jordan rubs a hand down her face.
"Jordan, you either, conn your job, or you job becomes corrupt, and innocent people die. The client that came in-" Nate is cut off.
"Captain Reid. He's in my crew. Worried about the stuff that keeps blowing up when the thug's munitions blow up." She receives glances. "It's where I work. I know what's happening at my job."
"Ok," Nate says. "This changes plans. Jordan, you'll go in-" Jordan cuts Nate off again.
"If you want me to do this, I'm going to do it my way. You guys can do what you do, I'll be the inside man." She points out.
"We're going to need more than one inside man," Hardison states. Jordan slides the keyboard over from Quinn and types on it. The screen becomes filled with pictures of pilots, one of them Captain Reid.
"This is my crew. They're not corrupted." Jordan looks up.
"What do you need?" Nate asks.
"4 comms, and an arm."
Jordan gathers her crew outside the brew pub. Before the crew goes out to brief JJ's friends, Eliot and Quinn are watching them.
"I told you jobs aren't her element. Eliot, this is her element. I want you to watch out for her in there. If Nate asks her to do anything extremely wrong in there, Eliot, I want you to back her up," Quinn says solemnly.
"Hey, you know I was government too, right?" Eliot jokes, letting Quinn know he will back JJ up.
When the crew comes out, all of them stand at attention.
"Guys, these are my friends. You don't need to, salute," JJ points out.
"So, this is your job?" Parker asks.
"Captain Jacob Reid, Holly Kerr, Joseph Finch, and Miles Greene." JJ says.
"I'm Sophie,"
"Hardison."
"My name's Parker." Eliot and Quinn are about to introduce themselves.
"Yo, it's Spencer and Quinn," Greene says with awe.
"Uh, yeah," Quinn says.
"So," Finch says. "What's the plan?"
Captain Jacob Reid never dreamed of joining the Air Force. He was always the grade A+ student, but he wasn't nerdy about it. He made good friends with Holly Kerr in highschool, and he couldn't just let her join the USAF by herself. He followed her down, and now they are each other's co-pilots. They're good friends, and they work well together. Jacob met Jordan when he and Holly joined up. She had already made it through the first hard years, and she was only a Captain back then. She woke them up the first day by banging a pan against the wall and yelling, "You snooze you loose, sweethearts!" They aren't friends, but they know the meaning of respect, and trust. Jordan trusted Reid to take care of the crew when she left.
Holly Kerr always dreamed of joining the Air Force. She met Reid in highschool, and they are best friends since. She and Jordan get each other, but everyone on the team likes the distance Jordan put herself at. It's very nice to distinguish between Commander, and friend. You can tell she cares, but she shows it in a professional way, reminding them they're supposed to be at attention when the General walks by. Kerr knows she's a good Commander, and Jordan knows Kerr is a good pilot.
Joseph Finch is a steady pilot. Had a steady life. Had a steady crew. Was completely unprepared for the Commander to leave. Jordan had just been promoted, and so had the team. Finch was excited. For once in his steady life, something unexpected had happened. He got promoted. His parents were proud of him, for once. He did something, and it wasn't something his older brothers had already done. He and the team were sharing an unlimited amount of high-fives, bro-hugs, and fist bumps while the newly ranked Commander watched from a distance. She smiled when her eye caught his, but Finch knew something wasn't right with that smile. It was a sad smile. Then next day, nobody knew where she was. Rumors spread, said she left at break of dawn, hopped the barbed wire with her pack. Later, the upset crew consulted the General, and he set rumors straight. She had permission to leave, and to come back any time. Her family business was in uproar, and she had to leave. Weeks later, she sent them a postcard from Ireland. That was years before they heard from her again. That was years before now.
Miles Greene is the rookie. He was the last of them to join. Always has, and always will be the rookie. He and the Commander? Well, Greene's usually the one stepping out of line, and Commander's usually the one pushing him back in. Long backstory? Nope. She told him to work on his salute the 1st day he was in, and she told him to work on it the day before she left.
Jordan walks out into the brew pub, where the Leverage crew is waiting for her. She has on her new artificial arm, and her USAF uniform.
"It's like we're 16 again," Quinn says.
"What? Me running away to the Air Force, you running away to a certain gang?" Jordan smirks.
"Well, not the gang part," Quinn admits.
"But listen, I don't want any crashes this time, ok? I don't care if they're classified as minor crashes, I don't want any plane crashing!" Quinn shouts. Jordan raises her eyebrows.
"Isn't this the part where I remind you I'm the older sibling?" She questions. Quinn sighs.
"Ok," Hardison says, handing her a small box. "These are the comms. They're equipped with high-powered trackers, so we'll know exactly where you are. You know, in case of emergency." Hardison shrugs. Jordan nods.
"Can you steal me a jet?" Parker asks.
"No." Jordan says firmly. Parker puts on a sad face. She brightens up when Jordan raises her eyebrows.
"Oh yeah, sorry I forgot about the deal," Parker says.
"What deal?" Sophie asks.
"Nothing!" Parker says too quickly. Jordan shrugs.
"Ok, you'll mostly be making the plan, I have the basics, but we'll pipe the rest in through the comms." Nate hands JJ a piece of paper, which she tucks in her pocket.
"Hey, we appreciate you doing this for us, you're going to do something for your country," Sophie stops when she sees JJ's reaction. Her face hardens the slightest bit, but Sophie, Eliot, and Quinn are the only ones who notice.
"Ok, guys, I think I got it," Jordan says, recovering fast. She counts on her fingers. "Don't die, take down Generals, fly jets," Jordan is cut off as Quinn suddenly pulls her into a hug. She pats his back, but he doesn't let go. "Quinn, you're choking me," She says, breathless. Quinn lets her go, and she fist-bumps Eliot before leaving. The crew leaves, minus Eliot and Quinn.
"Man, she'll be fine," Eliot says, leaving Quinn to watch the departing bus.
The 1st year drags by. Jordan is really able to get anywhere, when she's a returning Commander, she doesn't have the trust of the corrupted Generals yet. She can't visit the guys either because she actually has to fly the jets and do her job. However, Hardison was able to get her on video chat for Aria's 1st birthday.
So, it's really a surprise when JJ bursts through the door of the brew pub, very angry and on crutches. Quinn is at the brew pub, lately, he's been spending his time there, plus Aria is walking and talking. The crew loves her, and they aren't risking running a small job, so, Leverage Inc. is a babysitters business, for now.
"What happened?" Quinn growls. JJ mutters something incomprehensible under her breath. "I thought we agreed no crashes?" Quinn growls. Nate and Sophie remove Parker, Aria, and Hardison from the room.
"It wasn't a crash," Jordan growls back.
"Then what was it?" Eliot growls. It has become a sort of growling contest now.
"It was me being stupid!" She yells. "I forgot to check the weather, because, these people are corrupt, they're not doing it for me! But, General sent us out, bad weather, my jet's landing gear wasn't properly aligned, not a crash, just a, shaky landing," JJ proves her point.
"Well I meant don't get hurt," Quinn points out.
"That's impossible," Jordan says, also cooling down a little.
"You're ok, though?" Eliot asks. She nods, and everybody else comes back in the room.
"How much of a break do you have?" Parker asks.
"A week," Jordan mutters.
"What kind of people give a week for a break when you have a broken leg!" Eliot shouts.
"Corrupt people, Eliot. My guys are still working on the conn though," She points out.
Jordan has to leave again.
"Stop pouting," She tells Quinn. "At the briefing, Hardison said this was going to take awhile," Quinn sighs as Jordan points this out. "It's just, if the Generals catch you-" Quinn doesn't finish the sentence.
JJ eyes him, before saying, "I know,"
"Dada," the 2 year pouts.
"I'm sorry, sweetie, your dad isn't here," Sophie coos to Aria.
"But he said-" Aria is cut off by Hardison.
"Hey, you can whine, or you can come hang out with us," Hardison gestures to a spot on the couch next to him. Aria's face brightens up and she pulls out of Sophie's grasp to sit next to Alec.
"That's better, isn't it?" Hardison says, handing her a Wii remote. Sophie watches as Hardison, Parker, and Aria play some game that nobody else quite understands. Something to do with bunnies, quests, and magical dragons that breathe fire. Sophie sits down in the back to wait for Eliot, Quinn, and Nate to return.
"Hey, Rookie, wait up!" Jordan shouts as she hustles through the crowded aircraft hangar. Greene looks back to see her.
"What's up, Commander?" He asks while saluting. She salutes him back, and he stands at attention.
"Uh, Greene? I need to take this jet." She says.
"Uh, I was assigned to this one by General. It's got a shipment for a Florida base, already checked and loaded." Greene informs her.
"And you're the only one heading to Florida?" She asks.
"No, Kerr and Finch are accompanying me," Greene says.
"Ok, I want you to co-pilot for Finch instead, ok?" She asks him.
"Ok, Commander, whatever you say," She looks at him before whispering, "Activate your comm. Tell the others to do the same."
"Is Reid coming too?" Greene asks. Jordan nods.
The crew can hear the various conversations as the comms are activated. They can hear Jordan directing the take-off, and they can hear the air traffic control giving them permission to take off. They hear the chatter. It goes on for most of the flight. There's some turbulence, and the Leverage team can hear Finch yelling at Rookie to get back in formation.
"Yeah, whatever, Greene, just stay in line," They can hear Finch saying.
"Commander, can I request somebody else co-pilots with Greene on the way back?" Finch jokes. There is no reply.
"Commander," Greene says.
"What? Sorry, there was something wrong with the cargo," Jordan says.
"Ok, but-" Reid is cut off as Jordan's jet explodes.
"Woah, woah, everybody form up, try to guide it down!" Reid shouts.
"What's happening?" Sophie asks through the comms.
"Hey, one of you is the techie geek, right?" Kerr asks.
"There are private camera channels on each aircraft, hack one," Finch says. Hardison starts hacking, and the crew can see several different views of the problem. Quinn, who has not been in the room the whole time, walks in at this moment. He sees the burning plane and walks Aria back out. Sophie goes to sit with her, and Quinn comes back in.
"Please tell me that's not Jordan's jet." He says. Parker nods gravely. Quinn sighs. Nate stands up.
"We need to move. That jet's gonna crash, we can go and help," Nate says. Hardison watches the feed. Jordan's plane goes down, and the other jets try to follow, but an after-blast blows them back up into the sky.
"Circle back around," Greene suggests. They all look out to see the burning jet.
"She's dead. We can send a recovery team, but, face it, guys, she's gone." Reid says.
Jordan can smell the smoke when she wakes up. She looks around from her seat, and she can see the blocked exits. She army-crawls through the jet, and she makes it out a back exit. She flops back on her back, and she looks at the jet. Nothing's salvageable in there. She watches for a minute, and it blows up in her face. She's tossed about a hundred feet, and then everything goes black.
Dark. So dark Jordan can't feel the tough, rough arms pull her away.
The funeral was very nice. 3 years have passed since. Leverage Inc. has shut down. The crew finally realized the risks of the things they did. 4 year-old Aria doesn't remember much of her Auntie Jordie. The crew just knows her as a thing of the past. Eliot can barely remember her smirk. Quinn. Quinn is the only one who remembers her. The crew all left after the funeral, parting ways for awhile. Then they pulled themselves back together. Hardison bought a new fine dining and cuisine outlet. Eliot is the chef. Parker is the strange figure you might see jumping off the roof. Quinn's apartment is on the 4th floor. Sophie and Nate watch over them all. They run jobs that don't hold any risk. Eliot's only punched a punching bag for the past 3 years. Parker only jumps off the roof when Nate and Sophie aren't looking. Hardison couldn't care, his job is the same as it was. Nate and Sophie can tell that the crew is growing restless, but they can't risk anyone getting hurt.
Jordan's crew visits sometimes. Rookie was the first to come.
"She told me not to take that jet. She put me out of the line of fire."
Finch recalled his story of the night Jordan left to the crew.
"She was the best." He said sadly before departing.
Reid and Kerr visited together.
"We all knew piloting wasn't her first job." Kerr had mentioned.
"Yeah. She was always tense. You could sense the retrieval instincts kicking in when she made the plans." Reid confirmed one time.
Quinn stopped. He woke up everyday. He took care of Aria. He stopped fighting. In fact, he probably couldn't take out an attacker in this state. Eliot drags him to the gym once a week, but Quinn just stopped. He takes up grifting, with Sophie giving him tips and tricks.
He wakes up this morning to Aria jumping on him.
"What, Ari?" He asks.
"Come down, Dad, there's somebody in the restaurant!" She bounces up and down with fright. Quinn sits up. He and Aria quickly hustle down the stairs to Eliot's apartment.
"What are you doing?" Eliot growls as he opens the door.
"Aria says somebody's down in the kitchen," Quinn says. Eliot goes down the rest of the stairs with them. They peer around the corner, and Eliot walks out first, ready to take the threat. Aria watches him.
"Eliot!" She whispers. "She's over there," She says, pointing her finger into the briefing room. The 3 enter the room silently. Quinn and Eliot immediately stop when they see the one-armed, sleeping person, who is wearing a burnt USAF uniform.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Suggestions? Questions? Comments? Like it? Don't like it? Leave a review.
;)