Chapter 9: The Studio JOB, Part 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Leverage...my plans are coming together... :D
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE IN AUTHOR'S NOTE. PLEASE READ SO YOU DON'T GET CONFUSED!
AN: Oh my gosh, guys! The feedback I got back was incredible! And in only one day! I have 44 reviews for this story now! Keep 'em coming! Thanks to all my amazing reviewers! JulesLillianTellar, you know you will always be my favorite reviewer! I got so excited reading all the reviews, I just had to start writing immediately, even if I'm sick. Someone said I was their all-time favorite author! I almost cried lol. I love you guys so much! I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I love writing it! I might be confusing you guys on this chapter, but let's just say I meant 10:00 that morning. To tell you the truth, I'm pretty sure I don't remember what I meant when I said 10:00. I'm a scatterbrain. Anywho...ONWARDS!
EPOV
"Eliot...I've seen...I've seen things most people can't even imagine. Things that are much worse than what you do for a living. There aren't words to describe what I've seen and experienced. You help people. You...you are so much better than anyone I've ever met. Because even though you do bad things, you actually give a damn. Most people could care less how what they do affects other people, because it benefits them. You help people. And I know for a fact, that you're a good person. All of you are."
I just stared at her. How...?
I grabbed her by the back of her neck and kissed her. It wasn't like the majority of our kisses - rough and passionate. It was slow and gentle. It was a thank you. She was the most amazing person in the world, and I was incredibly lucky to have even met her, much less have her love me as much as I love her.
I broke away from her and looked at the clock. 9:13. Dammit.
I looked back at Bella. "Do you want to come to the meeting? You can...see what we do."
She gave me a quick kiss. "I would love to." She looked at the clock and got up.
"Where are you going?" I asked, confused.
She looked back at me. "Shower. Wanna join me?" She asked, a small smirk on her face.
I didn't even answer her. I got up, grabbed her, and walked to the bathroom, her laughing the whole way.
When we finally got out of the shower it was 9:40. We rushed and got dressed with minimal touching and were able to get downstairs before the client met us.
We saw Nate sitting at a table in the middle of the bar. We walked over and sat down beside him. When he saw Bella, he looked shocked. Then he turned and glared at me.
"I know everything, Nate. I heard your voicemail and Eliot told me about what you guys do." She said, trying to avoid an argument.
He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it quickly as a woman approached our table. We all stood up to greet her.
BPOV
I was still trying to digest the information Eliot dumped on me. Have they been doing jobs while I was staying here? How did I not notice? As I started thinking about, I realized...things did get weird around here sometimes.
I would sometimes hear them talking to themselves around the house when the others were gone...was it something else? Were they somehow talking to each other?
Parker didn't really surprise me, she's really fucking sneaky. And I hung out with vampires all the time!
One time I saw something on Hardison's computer that had some kind of government symbol at the top with CLASSIFIED written on it, but I just passed it off as one of his games. Now that I know what they do, I'm pretty sure it was real.
There were, now that I'm thinking about it, some occasions when Eliot and I were making out where I would touch a certain spot and he would flinch. I would ask him what was wrong, but he just blew it off and went back to kissing me. So, those were the days he was working...
I was pulled from my thoughts as Nate and Eliot stood up. I did too and looked up to see a woman standing at our table.
She reached out and shook Nate's hand. "Mr. Ford. It's good to see you again."
He nodded. "Um, guys this is Kaylin. Kaylin, this is Eliot and Bella."
She shook both our hands and gave us a small smile. "It's nice to meet you. I only wish it were under better circumstances."
We all sat back down, Kaylin taking the seat next to me. She told us her story. Her and her brother had been writing songs for this guy, Kirkwood, to give to his artists. One day, he accused them of talking to lawyers, trying to get out of the shit deal he gave them. He barged into their house and broke her brother's hands.
She went to put cream in her coffee, but some missed and got on the table. She sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm still a bit shook up." She apologized, shaking her head.
"No, it's fine." I assured her as both Nate and Eliot shook their heads. I reached over and grabbed a napkin before cleaning up the mess.
"Thanks." She whispered.
I just shook my head and gave her a small smile.
Nate started talking again. "So, your brother, will he be able to play again?" he asked, referring to the guitar.
She shook her head, her curly, dirty blonde hair shaking with her. "The doctors say he'll be lucky to move his fingers again." she said furiously. "Music was his life! What Kirkwood did was more than wrong it was..."
"It was cruel." Eliot said, speaking for the first time since the introductions.
Kaylin looked at him and nodded.
"So, this guy, Kirkwood, you said he had a reputation for doing these kinds of things. Why would you work for him?" Nate questioned.
Kaylin shook her head. "He owns a record label, Mr. Ford." she said, trying to make him understand.
Nate shrugged. "So?"
She laughed bitterly. "Well, put it like this. The day I was born, my momma said I looked at her, smiled, and asked 'Which way to Music City?'"
"It was your shot at stardom." I said.
She nodded. "Right. He hired us to write songs for his other artists. His more established artists." she shook her head, "It was good money. Plus royalties. We thought we'd hit the jackpot. But, when it came time to pay-"
"He showed you the fine print." Nate interrupted.
"Exactly. He charged us rent to park in his lot, he charged us for the pens we used. He owns our publishing!"
"So the only difference between Kirkwood and the majors, is that the majors use lawyers to do their dirty work." Nate said, sounding almost like a question.
"And our songs were good. They did well. Before you knew it, he owed us hundreds of thousands in royalties."
"You ever confront him?"
"Instead of payin' us, he offered to record our own album in a studio. No charge. And he said he was gonna get us a spot in 'Saddles and Spurs'."
Nate shook his head. "'Saddles and Spurs'? What's that?"
"It's a big music festival in Memphis." She explained.
"Alright, so what happened?" Eliot questioned.
"When he heard that album, he decided it was too good to waste on a couple of unknowns." She shook her head, disgusted. "So, he stole it! The devil may have gone down to Georgia, Mr. Ford, but he lives in Memphis."
I couldn't help but agree. What kind of person would do this? There were some real assholes in the world.
While I was lost in thought, Eliot and Uncle Nate were finishing up talking to her about a few things. I was pulled out of my thoughts, again, by everyone standing up. Deja vu.
We all shook her hand, again, and watched as she walked out of the bar.
Eliot and Nate walked in front of me on our way back to our apartment and talked in very quiet voices so I couldn't hear what they were saying.
When we got there, everyone was waiting. They all looked at me, wondering what I was doing here, probably.
Nate cleared his throat. "Well, Bella knows now and she's gonna hang out for this one." he explained, keeping it short and sweet.
Parker clapped, excited. "Yay! Now that you know I can stop acting all normal."
I raised my eyebrow. She was acting normal? Good Lord. What the hell is she like not acting normal?
Eliot just shook his head.
Nate cleared his throat. "Run it, Hardison."
Eliot led me over to a table in the living room and sat me on his lap, Sophie and Parker on either side of us. Parker turned towards me and smiled. I laughed a little and smiled back. I turned back around when Hardison started talking.
"Mitchell Kirkwood, record producer and CEO of Kirkwood Records." As he started talking, the screen behind him showed a picture of a man looking, maybe, in his early 40's. "Here's a fun fact; He started his career as an artist. Anyone remember this?" he asked and pushed a button on a remote he was holding. A music video clip came up on the screen with the same man, Kirkwood, lip synching horribly to song country song with a lot of bad CGI background stuff.
Hardison stopped the video after about 10 seconds, thankfully.
"I say we take him down for that alone." Sophie said, laughing a little at how terrible it was.
"Critics agreed. That's probably why he never released another single. He took all the money he made and funneled it into his record company. And due to the number of lawsuits filed and dropped within days," Hardison pushed another button and some files came up on the screen. "It's not his first time forcing someone to settle out of court."
"Does he have a criminal record?" Eliot asked from behind me.
"None." Hardison said, shaking his head. "He carved out a nice little kingdom in the country music world."
"Yeah, well, he stole Kaylin's music, he stole her money, he took over their publishing..."
"Yeah, well, we're gonna get it back." Nate assured.
Was it just me, or was Eliot really protective over this girl? Whatever it was, I damn sure didn't like it.
"I understand how to steal money," Sophie said. "but, how do you steal music?" she asked, confused.
That's a good question.
"It's called a Digital Master. It's high quality, multi-channel, studio recorded, mixed, and engineered. Price to produce: hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions." He clicked a button on his magic remote and what looked like blueprints for a building came up on the screen. "Now this right here is Kirkwood Records, Memphis, Tennessee. Now, inside this building, is a hidden safe that contains these Digital Masters. One of which, has Kaylin's music on it."
"So, it's a smash and grab?" Parker asked, turning to look at Hardison.
"Well, no, not exactly, cause we have to make sure she gets back the money." Nate clarified.
"And a little extra for hospital bills." Sophie added.
"Making sure he can't come after them, well that wouldn't hurt."
It was quiet for a moment as Sophie and Nate thought about it. "The Fiddle Game." they both said at the same time. Weird.
Parker raised her hand, in the process smacking Hardison in the face. I laughed quietly.
"Parker." Nate said, asking her what she wanted.
"I don't know how to play the fiddle."
I saw Eliot look over at her and shake his head and I laughed again.
"Uh, well, we're not gonna play a fiddle. We're gonna sell one." He clarified. "For a hell of a lot more than it's worth."
After getting on a plane and traveling to Memphis, we all got ready in our rooms.
Now dressed up in jeans, cowgirl boots, and a blue, plaid, button-down shirt with a white tank top underneath, I met everyone downstairs so we could all leave.
We pulled up at a place called Saddlebag Saloon. We all went inside and got in position, mine being at a random table because I wasn't allowed to do anything.
Basically, Eliot was gonna get up on stage and play one of Kaylin's songs. Sophie was posing as a record producer giving Eliot a deal that was a lot less than it should be. Kirkwood would realize that it was Kaylin's song and try to get Eliot to record for him. When Eliot went to record at Kirkwood Records, Parker was gonna find the safe and get Kaylin's tape. There was a lot of other stuff to, but my brain just couldn't hold it all quite yet.
I was pulled from my thoughts as Eliot came on stage with his guitar. He looked at me and moved his hair, subtly tapping his ear, telling me to put my ear bud in, just in case something goes wrong and Nate needed to tell me what to do to get outta here.
I pulled the ear bud from my pocket and put it in my ear. Putting it in, I still thought it was cool that Hardison made these so we can all communicate, no matter where we are. He told me about a certain length where we would be out of range, but I wasn't really listening. I don't speak geek.
"Hi, I'm Kenneth Crane. And, uh, I'm gonna sing a song I wrote about...the road not traveled." Eliot said, getting ready to play.
Aw, he was nervous. How cute! He really is adorable.
He started playing and I sat back and listened to his amazing voice.
Well I know they say all good things
must come to some kind of ending
"Nate, something's wrong with the system." Hardison chimed in quickly.
We were so damn good I guess we never stood a chance
"What's wrong?" Nate asked, concerned.
"It's not working. Nate, it's not correcting his voice."
Go on and find what you been missing
and when the highway's tired of listening
You'll see I'm not that easy to forget
I continued listening to Eliot and smiled. "That's because it doesn't need correcting." I said.
And when a new moon shines through your window
Or you hear a sad song on the radio
And you don't know why but you just start to cry
Or you're driving round on a sunny day
and out of nowhere comes the pouring rain
Then a memory hits you right out of the blue
That's just me, thinking of you
I'm not goin' to try to stop you
Doesn't mean that I don't want to
If I know you you've already made up your mind
So go on and go if you're really leaving
Put a million miles between us
But you'll still feel me like I'm right there at your side
And when a new moon shines through your window
Or you hear a sad song on the radio
And you don't know why but you just start to cry
Or you're driving round on a sunny day
And out of nowhere comes the pouring rain
Then a memory hits you right out of the blue
That's just me, thinking of you
And I'm thinkin' about the roads you're on
I'm thinkin' about you comin' home
I'm a wonderin' if you've got your radio on
And when you find your way to another town
And someone tries to lay you down
And a feeling hits you right out of the blue
Well it's me, thinking of you
It's just me, thinking of you
The place erupted with applause. I stood up and started clapping too. Eliot saw me from the stage and smiled at me. I returned it and mouthed 'I love you'. He returned it before walking off the stage.
We all met with Kaylin at our hotel the next day.
Nate dropped the wad of cash Kirkwood gave him on the table in his hotel living room. "And that is how you run the 'Fiddle Game'."
Kaylin smiled and shook her head. "I don't even know how to begin to thank you."
"And that's just 10% of it. Tomorrow he's taking Eliot into the studio and we'll get you the other 90."
"And while Eliot's in the studio, Parker will get into the safe and grab the master." Sophie added.
I heard a lot of noise coming from another room, and then Parker's voice. "Oh! Eliot's the fiddle!"
Eliot shook his head and I laughed quietly.
"What's she doin' back there?" Hardison asked.
Sophie smiled. "She's trying on her costume."
Parker's voice was clear again. "You sold Eliot to Kirkwood. I totally get this!"
I stayed at the hotel while everyone else did their jobs. It was really boring without anyone to talk to. Which was bad, because my mind began to wander off.
Eliot was being really protective over Kaylin. I get that he's helping her, but this goes beyond that. Did...did he like her? It sure as hell looked that way. I had never had a reason to feel jealous, but now was the perfect time.
After just sitting there thinking for a while, the guys came in.
I wasn't really listening to their conversation because I was still lost in my thoughts. I was shaken out of my thoughts when I saw Eliot run out of the door after Kaylin.
AN: Wow. That was a lot. I hope you guys like it! Please review! Can we get to 50 or more? Pleeeeease! Lots-o-love to all my readers! See you soon!
