Lucky Spenser had the subtly of a flying brick.

Fuming behind the bar at Luke's, Elizabeth watched the steaming hot water fill the steel sink. Waiting until it was half full, she turned the knobs off harshly and pushed the sleeves of her shirt past her elbows. Dropping a handful of glasses into the suds, she mentally bashed her scheming, jerk of a friend.

He conned her. Her of all people. At the moment she didn't know if she should be more upset with him, or with herself for falling for it. Apparently being one of his best friends didn't keep her exempt from his Tom Sawyer ways.

Shoving her hands into the scalding hot water, Elizabeth barely grimaced at the heat as she washed the filthy glasses. As a bar owner Luke was the best for the job. With his charisma and total disregard to the rules. He was fun, and always knew how to pump up the crowd. It was his housekeeping abilities that left much to be desired.

She should've seen the scam coming the second Lucky turned his puppy dog eyes on her. He'd been too nice, too appreciative, to convincing. How many times had she seen him turn his charm on in the past to get what he wanted? Now she was stuck helping out for the night at Luke's bar, while he had to jump on the ELQ jet for some last minute meeting. He'd promised her she'd have someone else here to help out.

Silly her, she'd assumed the someone was a person who'd know how the hell to run a bar. Someone who might actually know how to mix drinks. More importantly, someone who had the ability to run the temperamental cash register that took up occupancy at the end of the bar. The last person she expected to see walking through the door was his uptight, and beautiful girlfriend.

It went with out saying that Emily Quartermaine had been thrown when she'd first seen her. What with her dark scowl and dark muttering was any kind of indicator.. So it also seemed that girlfriends weren't exempt from a good con either. There was one bright side. Lucky was going to be in so much trouble when he got home. If only she could be a fly on the wall for that conversation.

So after eying one another for a good five minutes, they'd tried making small talk that rambled in and out of what was really on their minds. As for small talk, it was a few notches below lame, and after awhile they'd both given up and went in opposite directions.

Instead of clearing the air like Lucky probably intended, they'd grabbed bar towels and started cleaning before the bar opened.

Looking up to where Emily wiped furiously at one of the tables, Elizabeth snorted. The stuck up princess probably wanted to see her reflection. Before the thought was over, she instantly felt bad for such rude thoughts. Clearing herself of all guilt, she went back to scrubbing the glasses until they were transparent again.

What had Lucky been thinking? No scratch that. She knew he'd been trying to force them into a situation together so they'd talk. He knew it was weighing heavy on him that two of the most important women in his life treated one another like the plague.

But to put them in charge of Luke's for the night? It was going a little too far. And, well, stupid.

"Have you ever helped out here?" Letting out a screech, Elizabeth jumped and almost dropped the glass she'd been washing back into the water. Looking up, she was startled to see that Emily had abandoned her task and now was sitting on one of the bar stools.

"No." Sucking in a deep breath, Elizabeth looked up through her lashes. "How about you?"

"No." Sighing in defeat, Emily tapped her perfectly manicured nails on the bar. "He conned me didn't he."

"Oh yeah."

Tapping her fingernails some more, Emily looked thoughtful. "I don't think I like it very much."

"Well, I can't say I blame you much." Elizabeth answered.

"Is he like this often?" Almost ready to reply instantly, Elizabeth snapped her mouth shut. A heavy feeling settled over her as she contemplated this. She was an expert on Lucky up until a few years ago. But now? So many things had happened between then and now. She experienced that first hand hadn't she? Not liking how Emily's question hit a little to close to a tender spot, Elizabeth didn't raise her eyes when she answered.

"Well when we were back in Colorado he always could make people do what they wanted." Stacking the last glass, she pulled the plug and watched the water swirl down the drain. "I always part of the planing. I can't say he's ever pulled one on me before tonight."

"Hmm." Narrowing her eyes, Emily's mouth pinched. "So how do we get back at him?"

Not expecting this, Elizabeth choked on a laugh. But laughing meant there would be some kind of bond formed. That Lucky's immature plan had worked. The Tink in her was holding out.

Eyeing the woman sitting across from her, Elizabeth tried to figure out why she was fighting this so badly. It wasn't like Emily was rude or anything. In fact, she always seemed to try hard to make a good impression. Maybe it was her, not Emily who was putting up walls.

Was she just being possessive of the only friend she'd ever had? Oh God, she was acting like a five year old, pouting because her friend had other playmates. It was a blow to the ego, but she was a big girl and knew when to admit she was wrong.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Hey, Jase." Looking up from the ledgers, Jason watched Johnny stride into his office, frustration written on his face.

"What did you find?" Dropping the pen down, and sitting back, Jason waited.

Johnny's brow knitted, as he tossed the file on the desk. "Nothing. Nada. Nil."

Bending forward and snatching the item, he flipped through it. "What channels did you go through?"

"I used our normal contacts, and a few not so normal ones. I now owe a few favors." Running a hand through his hair, Johnny looked unsettled. "Jason, it's like her life up to when she moved in with her Grandmother was swallowed by the black hole."

Picking up a fax of a newspaper article, Jason stared down at caption. "Two Shot Dead at Health Clinic." Reading the vague paragraph, Jason noted that it could've been written about anyone. There were no names, no real details other than a blotched burglary.

"Is there anything else?"

"Not really. Her parents were upstanding citizens." Shrugging his shoulder's, the Irishman leaned back against the doorjamb. "They met in Kenya on a missionary stint. Had a thing for the underprivileged. They opened up a Clinic in the bad side of town in Los Angeles. Which explains the article. That is if it's about them."

"If it's about them?"

"No names." Nodding his head at the article that was still clutched in Jason's hand, Johnny looked like a kicked puppy. "I'm sorry man. I tried. Really. But from the time Elizabeth was born to the point she went to live with her Grandmother is a complete blank."

Rubbing his temples, Jason shook his head. "What about the Grandmother?"

"Another upstanding citizen." Sighing, Johnny watched Jason try to piece the information together. "I'm telling you, don't waste your time. It's like her past was swallowed."

"Huh?" Looking up, Jason's face cleared. "Luke Spencer."

"What about him?"

"Smug bastard." Huffing, Jason crumpled the paper in his hand into a tight ball, he chucked it across the room. "He's behind this. He was too freaking happy that Benny couldn't find anything on her."

"Jason do you have any idea how many man hours it would take to get rid of years like that? Let alone money."

"We're talking about Luke." Jason muttered. "Anything is possible."

The sound of heavy footsteps in the outer office ceased their conversation. Francis soon appeared, out of breath.

"Why the hell haven't you been answering your cell phone?" Leaning over and placing his hands on his knees, he took a few deep breaths.

Torn between watching Francis and checking his phone, Jason couldn't stop the grin growing on his face. "Getting soft?"

"Yuck is up." Wheezing, Francis finally stood. "Cause in a few seconds your gonna have one helluva mess to clean up at Luke's."