Once more, thanks to the wonder that is Trapper Creek Kaniac, to you I send cookies, delivered by a certain Mr. Kane. Enjoy!
The group gathered in Eliot's sitting area to discuss their next move, the early afternoon light filtering in through the large windows, gray and dreary and adding a heavy gloom to the proceedings.
"Fine, she stays, but in no way does she have any involvement."
Nate glared at Chrissy, clearly still full of resentment for the girl, and she returned his hostility, the tension in the room palpable.
He stood, she sat, both projecting aggression and antagonism towards the other. It was an uneasy truce with Nate's temper only just under control.
The sitting area resembled a battle zone with the lines visibly drawn. Nate stood alone by the window, whereas Chrissy was perched on the back of the couch, her body facing away from Nate but her eyes glaringly fixed on him. Next to her, Eliot flexed his muscular arms. Discontent rolled off him in waves as he struggled to keep himself in check.
Parker, Hardison and Sophie claimed the middle ground. They sat on the couch, swinging their heads back and forth, watching the tennis match of sniping and wills.
Eliot swallowed down the remark that was trying to work its way out of his mouth. He knew that it was foolish to rile Nate when he was already so worked up, so instead of making a crack about their past jobs working with Sterling and trust issues, he bit his tongue and backed down.
"Fine." He agreed, the anger inside him bubbling just below the surface. He crossed his arms, watching Nate closely and silently warning him that any further attacks on Chrissy would not be tolerated.
He understood the older man's irritation, after all Chrissy had bested him and that was something Nate would take a long time to forgive, but he also appreciated why Chrissy had gone to such extreme lengths. And he wasn't alone, or so it seemed.
Everyone else had appeared indifferent to the events of the previous night, as they had ventured, one by one down to the sitting area. They had all greeted Chrissy as if nothing unusual had happened and the relief had been written all over her worried face.
"Good, well, now that's settled, shall we continue?" Sophie asked, uncrossing her legs and smoothing down her skirt. "Parker? What did you find, last night?"
Parker scowled from her perch on the arm of the couch. "Nothing."
The group sat, waiting expectantly but Parker didn't offer any more information.
"So what was inside the room?" Eliot prompted.
Parker swung her pony-tailed head around and stared wide eyed at him. "I just told you, no-thing" she elongated the word to emphasize her point. "It was empty, just a big old empty room. Nothing." She pouted. "Not a bean."
Nate's brow creased. "Why have an empty room? Parker, were there any markings or signs of anything that might have been in there?"
Parker looked thoughtful for a moment. "Nope."
"Could have just been storage?" Hardison suggested with a defeated shrug.
Nate's face scrunched up. "Doubtful…"
"A meeting room?" Sophie proposed.
"It's possible." Nate's eyes flickered to Chrissy then back to Sophie, he was obviously uncomfortable having this conversation in front of Chrissy but Eliot had made his feelings clear.
If Nate wanted Eliot in on the con then he had to let Chrissy sit in on it, too. The atmosphere in the room was uneasy.
"There's only one entrance to the room, right?" Nate began, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "And it's a hidden room that has nothing inside… Norway."
"Oh." Sophie sat up straight.
"What about Norway?" Hardison asked.
"Ahh, Oslo, 2004, a very private auction of Munch's Madonna took place in a closed room with only four potential buyers. The room, a black basement room without windows, only one door, plus private access to the Metro with a black spot on the underground's camera system. It was the perfect auction."
"But isn't that just a rumor?" Eliot asked.
"Yeah, just a fairytale you tell kids at bedtime." Parker chirped. "What? Archie used to tell me the story of the perfect auction room, one that you had to virtually break in to just to buy or sell." Parker smiled dreamily.
"Well, I never heard of it." Hardison huffed.
"Oh, it exists." Sophie declared. "And it was a very successful auction room until a fire in 2007." She sighed wistfully. "Such a shame."
"Wait, you could be on to something." Chrissy said quietly, focusing on Eliot. "Uh, a few years ago we had structural issues at Core, and I remember over hearing someone talking about the tunnels under the building." She stared in to the middle distance searching her memories. "Parker, have you still got the blue prints?"
Parker glanced nervously at Nate, "Yeah." She replied slowly.
Nate nodded at his thief. "Go get them. " He instructed.
Minutes later they were rolled out on the expensive coffee table.
"There!" Chrissy stabbed the plans with her finger, "Three ventilation shafts that run down, through the basement. It would theoretically be easy to link them into any underground tunnels during the structural investigation."
"She's right y'all." Hardison, who had been quietly tapping away on his laptop, turned it to show them the screen. "There's an old system of rail tunnels that were used during the civil war, runnin' all under Boston. The network isn't particularly big but it's possible to get in and out of the city with them. Back in the sixties, the lines were unearthed by accident but it was deemed too expensive to do anything with them, so they boarded up access."
"Hmm. Yeah. Maybe." Nate turned his back to them and stood looking out of the vast window, he thrust his hands in to his pants pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels.
"The tracks all branched out from South Station, covering most of the city, as it was back at the turn of the century. I guess it's possible that they're using it, as a secure route for people and goods, wouldn't take too much to section off this line here, and power it and it runs directly from Core to South Station. Damn. That's pretty impressive." Hardison leaned back and looked up at Nate.
Nate turned back to them, his face lighting up with the idea formulating in his head.
"Okay, Hardison(,) I want you to find out what they're selling next. Sophie, I want you to use your contact with Rye to get us in. Parker, I want eyes in that room, we see what they see and take Eliot with you. You," He glowered at Chrissy menacingly, "stay here."
And with that he walked away.
"So," Chrissy pushed up and closed the gap between herself and Eliot. "Got any good books?" She said dryly.
"You did this yourself." He retorted curtly.
She watched him in disbelief as he walked away from her, ascending the stairs with purpose. Talk about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, his mood swing left her feeling like the rug had been pulled out from beneath her. She leaned back against the couch for support.
Two minutes ago he'd been snarling at Nate for attacking her and now it appeared he was angry with her. She couldn't figure out why.
Before everyone had joined them they'd had an enjoyable breakfast, the conversation flowing freely without any of the awkward silences she'd expected. He'd been open and frank when she'd questioned him about his role in the group and they'd even managed to share a joke or two. He'd been relaxed, well, as relaxed as Eliot ever got, when the others had wandered down, the chatter continuing right up until Nate had called the group to discuss their next move.
She sighed, resolving to let it go. In a few days they would have done what needed to be done and would be out of her life. For good.
"Got a minute?" Sophie asked, patting the vacant seat next to her.
Chrissy shrugged, "Sure, not like I have anywhere to go."
"I thought we should move on to your next lesson and to be honest, the timing couldn't be better."
Chrissy sat down heavily and tucked her legs underneath her. "Oh, Soph, do we have to do this now?" She complained, laying her head back. "I'm no good at it, the whole disaster with Eliot proved that."
"Yes, but you still managed to persuade him to do it. You used your influence to convince him to do something he didn't want to, and believe me, Eliot's not an easy man to sway." She paused. "Besides, you managed to deceive us all last night, didn't you?"
Chrissy's face burned with shame. "I, uh-"
"Oh, it's fine." Sophie smiled dismissively. "You're more like us than you think, you know."
"I… I don't know, Soph."
"What? Come on, you haven't even heard what your next lesson is."
"How do you do it? You seem so sure of everything. The only thing I can say for certain, is that I have no idea who I am anymore or what the hell I'm doing."
"Oh, sweetie." Sophie's chiming laugh rang out softly. "You can be who ever you want to be. Me? I'm Sophie, or Claire, or Amanda, or Dianne, or whoever I need to be at any given time. I can change my voice, my looks, my name, anything, but I'm still me. They are all just a particular piece of me, individually gift-wrapped but all those different versions are what make me who I am.
I learned, not so long ago, that it doesn't matter how far you travel or how fast you run, you'll never lose the person you are in inside. And so what if you don't know exactly who that is yet? Why not have a little fun finding out?"
"Oh. Oh. Oh!" Chrissy narrowed her eyes at her mentor and smiled. "You really are very good, Sophie."
Sophie beamed back proudly. "Aha! And you're picking it up quickly."
"You!" With her index finger pointed accusingly at the brunette, Chrissy laughed. "You almost had me there. Almost."
"But I didn't though, did I? You saw through my persuasion; though it's all true." She added flippantly.
"Fine, you win. What's next on your lesson list?"
"Next we marry observation with persuasion. It's a very simple technique but you'd be surprised at how effective it is. Mirroring body language. In layman's terms you just copy what the mark does, for example if they cross their legs when they're sitting or if they smile, you do the same, but subtlety is key. Any gesture can be mirrored back and by doing so it creates a trust, making the mark more susceptible to your influence."
Chrissy sat silently thinking through Sophie's words. "Okay, I get it. What do you want me to do with it?"
"I want you to convince Nate that you're sorry and to let you back in on the con."
The words poured from her mouth smoothly, not an ounce of concern in her silky voice as she asked for the impossible.
"What?" Cried Chrissy, her eyes wide and her face pale. "You've got to be kidding me, the man hates me, there's no way he's going to let me back in, especially if I'm conning him into it. Are you out of your mind?"
But Sophie just sat calmly and smiling. "I have every faith in you."
"No. No, I can't." Chrissy stood, throwing her hands up in defeat.
"What have you got to lose?"
"Soph, you saw him this morning. If I try and muscle in on this he'll kick me out of here faster than Parker can pick a lock."
"Please, like Eliot would let him." Sophie replied serenely.
Chrissy froze, every nerve in her body tingling as her muscles tensed. She slowly turned to meet Sophie's steady gaze, clenching her jaw as her mind raced.
"Very sneaky, Miss Devereaux." She said coolly. "You could have just asked about me and Eliot."
Sophie rose and joined her, looking out over the bustling city. "I could, but would you have told me the truth?"
Giving her companion a sidelong glance, Chrissy had to admit that she was in the company of a genius. "God, you are amazing." She said respectfully. "And no, probably not."
"You know he's no Romeo?" Sophie asked anxiously.
Chrissy snorted. "And you know I'm no Juliet. "
"Maybe not, but like it or not, you're growing attached to him."
"In a way, yes, but I'm not planning a future with him, if that's what you're worried about. I'm not dumb, Soph, I can see this for what it is and I'm happy with that. The last man I loved-" Chrissy choked up, the pain cracking her voice as she thought back, "obviously it ended badly and I'm not looking to replace that. Eliot's just, ahh, a very enjoyable distraction."
"As long as you know what you're doing." Sophie shrugged, lightly.
"With Eliot? Yes. With you? Hell no! Seriously, you want me to try and con Nate," she shook her head, "again? Once was hard enough, it's almost like he's omnipotent, but this?"
"You can do it." Sophie urged.
"No, I can't." Chrissy sighed, meeting Sophie's dark gaze. "But for you I'll try, just don't let him kick me out when it all goes wrong, okay?"
Sophie chuckled. "It will be fine, just remember what I've taught you."
Chrissy nodded, deciding that if she was going to attempt this she had better do it soon, before the nerves got the better of her. Even as the apprehension descended over her she could feel the buzz of excitement. Her heart beat furiously, and in her head she heard the shouts of 'dead man walking, but despite it all she was smiling.
"Yes, you'll do fine." Sophie confirmed, observing her latest protégé climb the stairs.