It was the next day when the manure hit the fan.
Nate had just delivered the Moreau files to an old friend. Pat Bonano was probably sitting at his desk right now completely unaware of the delivery on its way. He was about to get the career bust of a lifetime.
The mastermind smiled at the way things were coming together. He nodded to the hitter preparing food and took note of the thief's shaking head. Lately she had taken it upon herself to sit on the beam directly across from the grifter's door. She seemed completely enthralled by the woman's interaction during her capture. She was even thoroughly impressed. Apparently some things would never change.
The hacker was clicking through the channels. He had been nervous around the others since he revealed his secret. He was expecting somebody to use that weakness against him. But nobody seemed interested and he was starting to relax. Well, he at least knew the mastermind wasn't going to use the information against him.
That was when everything went into action. A mysterious headline through the flickering channels caught the mastermind's attention.
"Stop," he ordered.
The hacker immediately turned to the indicated channel. Then he increased the volume.
"A mysterious house fire in downtown L.A. has police baffled," the reported explained, "The wife of Insurance Investigator James Sterling has been confirmed as being dead while the children are still missing. We've got more information for you after these messages."
All eyes were on the mastermind with different layers of confusion. Nate ignored them all and focused on the name, James Sterling's wife. Maggie was dead and the fire was mysterious. It was a message, a very painful message.
Nate ripped through the grifter's bedroom with anger crowding his emotions. He glared daggers at the woman sitting innocent on the bed. She was blinking her eyes as if she had just wakened. Except; she wasn't fooling him.
"How did you know?" He demanded harshly. He couldn't keep the betrayal out of his voice but every other emotion was perfectly gone.
"Know what?" She asked. The hum of victory was in her cold, harsh voice. She even sounded amused by his reaction.
"How did you figure out who my ex-wife was?" He growled towards her.
"You've got an ex-wife?" Eliot questioned in shock. Apparently he had followed him in. That was good. He would prevent anything too violent from happening.
Charlotte delicately pulled out a wallet and grinned.
"I found her picture," she explained, "and the one of your little boy. The rest was easy."
"I didn't have her name on the picture," Nate told her. His voice was slowing dropping octaves. He was starting to sound dangerous because the anger was consuming him. Eliot obviously didn't realize it either because he was still watching the grifter. He didn't know who the real danger was.
"I have my ways."
Nate fought against his instinct to wipe the smile off her face. He recognized that move but never had it been so evil. She was smiling at him like she had won, like she smiled at her marks. And then it hit him.
"You took a picture of it and sent it to your husband," he realized, "You've got a phone. That's how you did it."
"How?" Eliot asked, "We kept all eyes on her."
"Hardison's phone has facial recognition installed in it," Charlotte replied, "All I had to do was fill in the blanks."
Nate stared at the woman with pure hatred in his veins. He didn't see Sophie Devereaux in her anymore. All he saw was an enemy who enjoyed killing. Then she blew his last fuse.
"Was it a mysterious fire like usual?" She asked, "Or did he actually make it interesting?"
"You bitch," he howled in disgust, "You're going to pay!"
Then the mastermind did the unthinkable. He grabbed her by the neck and threw her into the bed. He slammed his body on top of hers, effectively pinning her legs. Then he used his right hand to hold her arms above her head. His left hand began to roam all over her body.
"Nate, stop!" The hitter called.
But the mastermind refused to stop. Fury and betrayal had filled his senses. He was going on nothing but blind rage. So he kissed her while his hand explored. She was shaking under his fingertips and a smile appeared on his features.
"I win," he growled.
He was sitting above her now with a smuggled cellphone in his hands. His smile was cold and evil, he knew. It was her eyes that told him so. Her big, brown frightened eyes were filled with fear. The slight smirk on her lips though, showed just how impressed at his skill she was. But anger was driving the mastermind.
He grabbed her hair and slammed her into the bed. Then he placed his lips directly beside her ear.
"You should stop making me angry," he whispered.
Then he moved so he could see the fear in her eyes. Defiance was staring him back but the fear was still there. That was all that mattered.
"Or I will go after your son next," he finished.
The grifter struggled against him as hard as she could. She kicked up her knees and screamed at the top of her lungs. Tears sprang from her eyes as she struggled for her child's protection. It was such a Sophie Devereaux move that the mastermind was instantly snapped out of his funk. Guilt consumed his soul as he jumped off of the grifter. He took the cellphone and raced out of the room. He found the balcony and immediately went to it. He needed air.
He wasn't aware of the hitter until the younger man was right beside him. Eliot's eyes were boring into him while his attention was on the phone. He took deep, calming breaths and tried to contain the fury. He needed a clear head in order to keep going.
"They're probably tracing the phone," the hitter pointed out.
Nate dropped the phone in reply. He watched it twirl, somersault and flip towards the ground. Then it smacked the sidewalk, scattering into tiny bits and pieces.
"Not anymore," the mastermind replied.
A silence enveloped between them. It was hot and heavy with tension. He could feel the hitter's many questions floating around in his head. Nate just focused on his breathing and thinking about calming things. Misery seemed to be his only companion though as all of his thoughts landed on his time with his grifter, his Sophie Devereaux.
"You want to tell me why you freaked out back there?" The hitter asked.
Nate sighed.
"I tried not to," he admitted softly.
The hitter's eyebrows rising into his hair showed how surprised he was by the answer. He hadn't been expecting one. He asked to measure the problem. Instead he was getting honesty and he looked thoroughly impressed.
"I was just so angry and the grief," Nate struggled for the perfect word to describe it, "took over."
"I'm sorry for your loss," the hitter replied.
"I'm sorry I lost control like that," the mastermind said, "I shouldn't make your job as difficult as I do. I'm going to change that. I promise."
"Why are you doing this?" Eliot asked, "You know about my past with Moreau. Hardison's got his Nana to worry about. Hell, Parker's just doing this out of boredom, I guess. But what about you?"
Nate stayed silent at the hitter's question. He wasn't trying to avoid the answer. He was only trying to decide how much to tell him. He didn't even know how much to tell him. It was very difficult to explain. How do he tell his best friend that he was from a world where they were a family and their captive was his girlfriend?
The hitter thought the silence meant there was no answer. He sighed deeply and started to pull away from the railing. He made it to the French doors when the mastermind was ready to answer.
"Sophie Devereaux," he said.
He felt Eliot turn around at the name. The curiosity was starting to bounce off of him.
"What?"
"Sophie Devereaux," Nate explained, "That's why."
"What happened?"
"Moreau took her away from me," the mastermind sighed, "and changed her."
"Changed her how?"
Nate closed his eyes and begged the world to change around him. He breathed through the memories of Sam's death and grimaced at Maggie's smiling face. Then the laughter of his team, his real team, filled his ears and he was done. His hands rolled into fists as the grifter reappeared. Her fabulous smile and the way she would stop a room ruled his mind. He was a goner.
"She's now a lethal weapon in his arsenal that can be used whenever he wants," he replied.
"Not Charlotte-?" Eliot gasped.
"No," Nate lied, "Not Charlotte."
"Then what are we going to do?"
