Brian's Description- Race: Irish; Ethnicity: White; Hair color: darker brown, almost black; Height: 5ft 9in; Occupation: jack of trades; Distinguishing marks: A cross tattoo on his arm and a cross necklace he wears.
Kaira and Eliot got called in for another job. This one was a bit interesting. Once they arrived, Hardison and Nate filled them in. A brother and sister are trying to find a painting that belonged to their father before he died during WW2 trying to smuggle it out. They arrived at the marks office as policemen. They walked into the building. "Montgraft and Associates. One moment." The secretary said before looking at the team. "Can I help you?" She asked. They stopped for a moment. "Speak to the boss." Hardison said as the quartet continued walking as Nate and Sophie walked in as the big bosses. "Yeah, uh, Detective, uh, Marlowe. This is Detective Archer." Nate introduced them. The team kept walking to the elevator to get to the office. They rounded the corner as Nate and Sophie distracted the secretary. "I don't like this going through the wrong office. It feels like cheating." Parker commented. "North is one of those guys who has the latest everything, including security. His office is one big mousetrap." Hardison explained. They walked into the room next door. "What, so instead we don't even try? That's weak." Parker complained as Karia and Eliot kicked in the door. They walked in and started getting to work. "This is it. The Klimt is behind the wall right here." Hardison said, banging on the wall where the spot was. They were setting up the thing to break through the wall. "I can't be that hard." Parker said, walking to Hardison at the wall. He took of his glasses and looked at Parker. "Are you crazy? The man has a PDX-500 rotating encryption system. Rotating. Do you even know what that is? Some other crew might be crazy enough to tackle that system head-on, but it's an impossible hack. They would have to tap the network directly from a terminal inside the office. Even if they did get into the system, they would only have three minutes of access time before the encryption program resets itself and locks them out." Hardison explained as they continued getting ready. Parker placed the suction cups on the wall to take off the chunk of the wall to get the painting. "I still think I could get in." Parker said as Eliot went to work cutting the wall. "You're good, but nobody's that good. Even you, Kaira." Hardison said. Kaira sighed. While she hated to admit it, he was right. This security system was intense. "In and out in under three minutes is tricky as it is, but with the pressure-sensitive floor and thermal detectors that are on a totally different system, it's impossible." Kaira explained. "Mm-hmm. I guess cheating has its advantages." Parker said. Eliot handed the saw to Hardison. As Kaira moved in to help pull the wall off. "It's easier to hack a wall than a high-tech security system." Hardison said. Kaira and Eliot grunted as they pulled out the section of wall. "And now the Klimt is ours." Eliot said. Kaira and Eliot sat down the piece of wall and looked at it. Kaira saw Hardison's and Parker's disapproving face. She and Eliot looked at the painting. "Son of a bitch!" Kaira exclaimed, upset. The painting was not a Klimt. It was dogs playing poker. None of them were happy. Kaira and Eliot got to work to replace the wall and walked out. "Nathan, we have problems." Kaira reported in the comm. "At least we got a painting." Parker said as Sophie and Nate walked past them. "Maybe they won't notice the difference." Hardison said. "Dogs playing poker? Seriously?" Sophie said.
They met back up at the office and sat down at a table in the bar to figure out what was happening. "Maybe he saw the magazine photo and spooked." Parker suggested. "Parker, the man bought Holocaust art on the black market and showed it off in his office. I don't think he'd care if someone saw it." Kaira retorted, sipping her beer to calm down. "Guys, just a minute, all right? We got beat. Somebody beat us to the punch." Eliot said. Just then Nate walked in, not happy. "So I just got off the phone with our clients. Told them we couldn't recover their dead father's painting. Anyone want to explain why?" Nate said, sitting down at the table. He noticed the absence of Sophie, who had yet to return after telling the gang she was gonna run an errand before meeting them. "Where's Sophie?" Nate asked. "I'm on it." Eliot said. getting out his phone. "Nazis. Maybe they want the stuff back that they stole. You know? Secret Nazis." Parker suggested. The team dismissed the idea. "It's going to voicemail. I'm gonna try comms." Eliot said. "Someone crazy enough to deal with that security." Karia suggested as Eliot got on comms. "Sophie? So - hey. Nate wants to know why you - I'd say that's a very good reason." Eliot said. Kaira noticed the change in expression and got worried. Kaira got up and ran to the vehicles as everyone else followed. Eliot explained what Sophie told him. Sophie was holding a bomb.
They arrived at her apartment and ran into her living room. "How are you doing?" Nate asked Sophie as Kaira went around front, seeing the bomb inside the vase of white flowers she was holding. "Oh, you know." Sophie said, her voice shaky. The team barely moved just in case. Eliot and Parker also looked at the vase. "Yep, that's a bomb." Eliot said. "I recognize the circuit. It's motioned triggered." Hardison said. "Any sudden movement is gonna cause displacement of the water. That will go off. So none one move and tread very very lightly." Kaira said, trying to stay calm. "Is that C-4?" Parker asked going to touch the vase, causing Nate to grab her hand. "Oh! Parker... please don't poke at the motion-sensitive bomb." Sophie said, worried. Parker said sorry. Kaira was still analyzing the circuit. She thought she recognized the handiwork, but kept silent at the moment. She analyzed and was thinking of a way to defuse the bomb. "So, uh... secret admirer?" Nate asked Sophie. "Well, it's no secret they want me dead." Sophie said. "What do you think, man?" Hardison asked the couple. Eliot and Kaira looked at each other. "If I could reach down into the vase and disarm it, I could. But with it being motion-sensitive, it's too great of a risk." Kaira said. The team looked at her curiously. "I took a course on bomb-defusing in the army." Kaira explained. "It'd go off." Eliot summed up. "Well, let's not do that, then." Hardison said. Kaira realized what she could do to disarm the bomb. "Soph, this is gonna sound strange, but I promise there's a reason behind it. Do you have any instant pudding or jello? Or something that contains sodium polyacrylate? Like gel or soap? Medical bandages?" Kaira asked Sophie. He looked at Kaira like she was crazy. "I believe I have some instant pudding in the cupboard," Sophie said. Kaira grabbed the instant pudding and went back and started pouring it in. "Instant pudding will harden the water, making it so the trigger won't move around as much. Also, sodium polyacrylate is a type of salt that absorbs water, making a gel-like substance. It's in diapers, and an additive in concrete and some soaps and hair gels. And medical bandages." Kaira explained, standing back up. "Sorry. Ranting calms me down." Kaira half-smiled. "This should give you some wiggle room. Very little wiggle room." Kaira explained. "What's the plan, kiddo?" Nate asked Kaira. Kaira looked at Sophie. "How fast can you run?" Kaira asked. Sophie's face showed fear. "All right. Everybody get out of here right now." Sophie ordered quietly. "I'm gonna stay. I'm gonna stay with Sophie, all right?" Nate said. "We're not leaving you, Sophie." Hardison agreed with Nate. "Look, I appreciate what you guys are trying to do, but just - if you don't get out of here now, then - then I'm going to kill you myself when this is over. So just..." Sophie exhaled to calm down. Kaira was nervous. "Just get out!" Sophie yelled. The team nodded. Kaira looked at her. "I'm sorry, Sophie. I wish there was more that I could do." Kaira said, getting emotional. "It's okay, darling." Sophie half-smiled. "You're gonna walk me down the aisle, Soph." Kaira chuckled bittersweetly. Sophie did the same. The team started leaving. "Remember, hold it up, then drop. Do not throw. Drop." Kaira explained, exhaling before leaving with the team, minus Nate. She walked around the corner and waited. Eliot hugging her to protect her and calm her down. Then Nate showed up and was at the door. She saw Sophie running, then the bomb exploded.
The funeral was the next day. Eliot and Kaira were up at the podium, starting their speech, wearing black and Eliot a hat. "She had a way of taking care of people, you know? She was a sister... she was a best friend... all rolled into one. I'm gonna miss you, Soph - so-o-o-o-o much, Katherine." Eliot said, before moving so Kaira could speak. "Katherine was like a mother to me. When we first met, it was Chicago. She took me under her wing and taught me what she knew about acting. I can't thank her enough for what she did for me. You know, I asked her to walk me down the aisle when I got married. Though, I'm sure she will in spirit." Kaira said, tearing up some and yet smiling. "I just can't believe it. We were just talking, then... she's just gone." Kaira finished and joined Eliot with Nate at the back. Eliot put his arm around Kaira and held her. Parker went up. "Katherine and I have known each other forever. Almost two years. Yeah, I know that probably doesn't sound like a lot to you, but it is to me. I never had many friends. Which is why losing her is so hard." Parker said, not really showing emotion, but yet truthful. Parker exhaled. "It's so creepy. I mean, she's really dead. I was just talking to her and now she's just laying there." Parker said. She then went a little weird and Hardison coughed and got her away from the podium and spoke. "I'm - I'm sorry. I'm sorry, y'all. What - what she means is just, um, Katherine was like family. And sometimes friends are all the family that you have." Hardison said as he got Parker away from the podium. "See any suspects?" Eliot asked Nate. "No one jumps out at me." Nate said. "Me neither." Eliot said. "Yeah. You'd think if you go to the lengths to kill a Sophie Devereaux, you'd make sure the job was finished." Kaira whispered. Nate then left and walked to the front, stopping in front of Sophie's casket. He looked at her a bit then closed the lid. and tapped it a few times. Kaira scanned for potential suspects. Nate did his thing and then they started to lay the casket in the ground. She stood by Nate, holding his arm along with Parker and Hardison. They left, and so did Kaira. She went up to Eliot and held his arm. Sophie went up behind Nate, scaring him. Kaira could tell by the body language, he was not happy whatsoever. As Sophie left to hide, a man walked up to Nate. Kaira scanned his and Nate's body language as the Clergyman started his prayer. The man who approached Nate was a bit older than Nate. He had on a light black suit jacket and a blue undershirt and tie. The body language by all three of them suggested to Kaira that he knew who Sophie really was. They left and went back to the apartment.
Kaira changed and grabbed a beer with Eliot. Kaira hated funerals. She opened the refrigerator and Eliot stopped her before she shut it. "Hey, Princess." Eliot smiled at her. "Hey, Cowboy." Kaira smiled at him. "You don't like funerals, do you?" Eliot asked Kaira. "No, I do not. The last funeral I went to was my parent's funeral. The only ones who showed up were me and an uncle. He took me in after. I just remember crying the whole damn time. I mean, I was an orphan basically. I had lost my sister, and then my parents. It sucked, but I managed in the end I think." Kaira explained, drinking the beer to calm her down. Eliot hugged her. "You know Sophie's funeral wasn't real, right?" Eliot asked, sympathetically. "Yes. Still doesn't mean I liked it." Kaira said, leaving as Eliot grabbed a beer. They walked into the living room and saw Hardison at the island looking at his laptop and Sophie at the couch as Nate walked by the screens. "What are you doing?" Eliot asked, walking up to Hardison with Kaira. "Security camera footage from Sophie's apartment. Trying to see who delivered the bomb, but with nothing for reference, facial recognition can't narrow it down." Hardison explained. "No need. I know exactly who's to blame." Sophie said. The team walked over to the couch in front of the screens as Sophie pulled up photos. Kaira recognized the guy as the same one who showed up to the funeral. "Marcus Starke. Brilliant grifter, even better forger." Sophie explained as the team sat down, though Nate was at the screens. Eliot hopped over the back of the couch and sat down, and Kaira went around and sat down next to him, sipping their beers. "Stop it." Sophie scolded Parker, who was staring at her. "It's like you're haunting us." Parker said. "Parker, I'm not really dead." Sophie said as Parker touched Sophie's leg. "I'm not dead!" Sophie said, causing Parker to lean back and look at the screen. "We used to work together. We did the Copenhagen job in '97, the Berlin Polytech job in '98, and, Nate, remember - remember that great run in Moscow?" Sophie said. "That great run? I chased you for three months." Nate said. Kaira had forgotten until now that Nate used to chase all of them. How things have changed since. "Well, uh, technically, you chased us. Sorry." Sophie said. The team looked surprised. "A-are you saying that you saw other teams before us?" Hardison questioned. Kaira smiled a tad in amusement. "Really, just another Nate before Nate." Parker said. "Let me ask you a question - what bugs you more, is it that he was Sophie's first or that he outsmarted you?" Eliot asked, leaning back. Nate looked at Eliot, causing Kaira to try not to laugh.
"Why are you guys making it sound like she cheated on us? It's not that big of a deal. I'm just more upset that we got outsmarted." Kaira said. "Moving on." Nate looked at Sophie, unamused. "Um, Starke doesn't keep a permanent crew. He specializes in whiz mobs. He puts a team together, they slam into town for one high-profile job, and then they scatter. But usually, they do one sm -" Sophie was explaining before having a lightbulb moment. "They do one smaller job first just to work out the kinks in the team." Sophie explained. "Like our client's paining, for example." Nate said. "Wrong place, wrong time. Starke must have seen me, and now that I'm one of the good guys, decided to get rid of me, because... why? Because... because I know his scams. Because I know his favorite scam. The Mona Lisa variant." Sophie explained before Parker got excited, clapping twice. "That was the first one I learned. In 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen. And the con man who did it made six identical copies." Parker said the con. "And then they put them on the black market, and each buyer thought that they had the original." Nate finished explaining. "So dude sold the same painting six times." Hardison said, wrapping his head around the con. "Yep." Nate confirmed. "Hardison, pull up all the auctions in Boston in the next two days. Starke never stays in a city more than two days." Sophie explained, throwing Hardison the remote. "Wait a minute. Not - not museums?" Eliot questioned. "No, no. Starke likes to use auctions to figure out who wants the painting. He picks who he's gonna sell the fakes to." Nate explained as Hardison pulled up the paintings up for auction. "That bit was actually my part of the scam. I made that up. It's good, isn't it?" Sophie said. Nate nodded his head no. "That's still a lot of paintings, Soph." Kaira pointed out. "Yeah, it's high profile. A scam like this requires a lot of publicity, paintings 10 million or more." Nate explained as Hardison eliminated some paintings. "He does all his own forgeries - post-impressionists, late 1800s." Sophie explained as Hardison eliminated the rest of the paintings, leaving just one. "There. That's it. Van Gogh. He has a soft spot for Van Gogh." Sophie explained, giving the target painting. "So we just - we call the cops. We have them show up." Hardison said. "No. Starke goes down for this, there's no guarantee we can get that painting back for the Mercers. He even smells the police, and he's gonna run, and we'll get nowhere near it." Sophie said. "He did try to kill you, Sophie." Nate said. Sophie composed herself. "We risk our lives all the time. I... No. We need to barter. We need something to trade for the Mercers painting." Sophie realized. "Such as?" Hardison asked. "That." Kaira said, implying the painting. "Kaira's right." Sophie stood up. "That's what he's come for. That's what he wants." Sophie said, walking to the screens. "We just got to get there first." Nate said. They made a plan and went to the auction.
Nate was a guest, Parker a waiter, Hardison was in the van with Sophie, Eliot was on patrol, and Kaira was also on patrol, but at the opposite end. "Okay, Parker, talk to me." Nate said on comms. "Present." Parker said. "How we doing? What's going on security wise at this place? Huh?" Nate asked, a little cocky. "Well... the usual countermeasures. Nothing we can't handle." Parker said. Eliot and Kaira drunk the champagne as they walked away to start patrol. "I wish Sophie was here. She's the one who likes to play all this dress-up stuff." Eliot said, walking to Parker with Kaira. "I miss her." Parker said. "I'm not dead. I'm right here, Parker." Sophie said. Kaira chuckled as she went to do her rounds. "So, this is, um... it's what you do, right? You take - take footage of us on cons and you - you - you - download it into that?" Sophie asked Hardison. "Yeah, I analyze it, I monitor comms, I scan for all police frequencies, I - you had no idea I do all this, did you?" Hardison asked Sophie. "Well-" Sophie said, confirming to Hardison what he said. "Does nobody respect the van? The van is important. What - what is that?" Hardison said. "I respect the van." Kaira quipped. "It's lemon-zest tea. I got to tell you, it's - it's a little bit - it's a little bit whiffy in here." Sophie complained. Kaira was kinda amused. "It smells like hard work. That's what it smells like. D- whiffy." Hardison argued. "Okay, guys, I've got the auction-house manager insight. Uh, now if you take his wallet and badge, it should be a cakewalk." Nate said. "Eliot, check out the back corridor. I think I see an access point. Kaira, check the east corridor." Hardison said. "Already on it, Hardison." Kaira said, continuing her walkthrough. "That was some nice things you said at my funeral." Sophie said to Hardison. "We - we trust Nate to make sure the plan works. We trust you to make sure we're all okay." Hardison said before Kaira heard static on the comms. "Got the badge. Just need to get the wallet." Parker said before Kaira heard her huffing. Kaira got nervous. She knew the team was about to be made if they hadn't already. Hardison tried to figure out the source of the static.
"Switching to backup comm frequencies. Eliot, Kaira, they're here. They're here." Hardison reported. Kaira stopped and looked at the reflection in the glass. "Hardison, what do you mean? Who's-" Nate was saying before Starke cut him off. Kaira recognized the reflection of the figure on the glass cage of a statue from long ago. "Hello, Brian." Kaira turned around. Kaira had tuned out the comm commotion between Nate and Starke. "Hey, Kaira." Brian said with a slight Irish accent, cocking his head. Kaira put her hand up to her ear and muted to comm, acting like she was putting a piece of hair back. They walked up to each other. "I thought you were running daddies business." Kaira said. "Not yet. You know how my family is. Why aren't you running your uncle's business?" Brian asked. "I got out of that business a long time ago, Brian." Kaira answered. "So, what do you do now?" Brian asked. "Theft." Kaira answered. "Nice. So you went into crime after all." Brian answered. "Well, I sorta took a detour. Much more fun." Kaira answered, teasing. "Why are you here, Brian? I thought daddy gave you an allowance." Kaira taunted Brian. He smiled slightly. "My father stopped giving me money after you left. Starke asked me for help, so I accepted. What about you?" Brian asked, inching his way towards Kaira. "Helping my boss with a retrieval of sorts." Kaira answered. "Nice. So, you find anyone else?" Brian asked Kaira, almost flirtatiously. "Actually, yes. I'm engaged. And you might want to take a few steps back before I kick your ass." Kaira whispered in his face. Kaira went to walk away. "You know, Kaira, the offer is still on the table." Brian called out. "Sorry. I'll pass. I am not that woman anymore, Brian. I got a new family." Kaira left as she unmuted her comm and met with Eliot and then the team back at the office to make a plan.
She sat by Eliot, then Sophie, then Parker. Nate went into his briefing at the screens. "Okay. Now, we know Starke. This guy goes by the name Apollo. I've chased him a couple of times - infiltration, physical security." Nate said, showing Starkes and Apollo's pictures on the screen and looking at a notepad. "People in that line of high-risk work tend to be very unstable. We could use that. Write that down." Parker said, patting Eliot's leg a couple of times. Eliot sat down his notepad, giving Parker a look. "This person here is ex-Mossad, sealed records. Mikel Dayan used to work both sides as a mercenary." Hardison explained, pulling up her image. "Mikel Dayan. I know that name." Eliot said. "You were scared to fight a girl?" Hardison asked Eliot. "She'd mop the floor with you, Hardison." Eliot said. "I don't care." Hardison said, amused. "Seriously. She actually killed a guy once with a mop. It's a funny story, actually. She broke the mop and took -" Eliot said, miming the story. "Eliot. Eliot." Hardison got Eliot's attention as Kaira was impressed. "Now, there's Colin Mason, otherwise known by his hacker handle as "Chaos". As... whatever." Hardison said, mocking Chaos and pulling up his image. "Hacked the Pentagon, the NSA. The CIA computer guys call him the Kobayashi Maru." Hardison explained. The rest of the team was confused. "What the hell is that?" Eliot asked, shrugging his shoulders. "None of y'all got that? Seriously?" Hardison questioned. "Star Trek." Parker said. "Thank you." Hardison said as he and Parker kinda bumped fists. "And, we also got this guy." Hardison said, pulling up Brian's picture on the screen. Kaira stood straighter. "Kaira, you know him?" Hardison asked Kaira. "Yes. If Apollo is to Parker as Mikel Dayan is to Eliot as Starke is to Nathan, then that guy is to me." Kaira explained. She turned to face the gang. "That is Brian Galileo. Jack of trades, daddy's the Don of the Irish mob in New York and set to become the head of the family, and my ex-boyfriend." Kaira said, causing looks from everyone. "Oh, so you "knew" knew him." Hardison realized. "High school. Yes, I dated a mob guy in high school. Not my proudest moment. I have a thing for bad boys. Still do." Kaira smiled at Eliot. Eliot kind smiled back. "Wait, if he's mob, what's he doing with Starke?" Sophie asked Kaira. "In our brief interaction at the auction, he said his dad stopped giving him money. Now, the way his family works is if you're set to become the Don of the family, you have to be married so your partner can share the assets. Brian's dad was funny like that. So, Brian made me love him in order to get his spot." Kaira explained, getting shameful.
"So why did he pick you?" Eliot asked Kaira. "Because my uncle is the Don of the Italian mob in New York." Kaira revealed, her head down. "Kiddo, it's okay. You don't have to tell us any more." Nate said, trying to stop her shame. "No. It's okay." Kaira said, calming down. "Before I was in the army, my uncle and Brian's dad were in talks of a deal. The deal was that if I would agree to a contract of sorts, that not only would I become the head of our family business, Brian and I would share our resources. I declined the offer. Brian got pissed at me when I told him I didn't want the power. Let's just say it was a very bad fight. That's when I left for the army." Kaira winced at the memory of that night. She felt Eliot's arm around her and he pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. Kaira calmed down and composed herself. "That's... a lot to take in." Hardison said. Kaira sighed. "I know. I just needed to say that. I don't like hiding a lot from you guys." Kaira composed herself and looked at Nate. "How's this gonna play out?" Kaira asked Sophie. Nate looked at Kaira and she nodded at him to continue. "He's been challenged, okay? His - his pride's hurt. His - his ego's at stake. He's - he's gonna - he's gonna come up with a bigger, riskier plan." Sophie said. Nate then shot up and started pacing. "Are you talking about Nate?" Eliot asked. "Nate. Yeah." Sophie said. "There's no way - there's no way this crew is gonna get to that painting before we do - no way." Nate said. "We're not giving up on our only hope of helping the Mercers. They've waited their entire lives for justice. And we're not gonna fail then now." Sophie said. "Yeah, yeah. That. Sure. Yeah. But, I mean, who does this guy this he is?" Nate questioned, pointing at the screen, obviously upset. "Marcus Starke, that's who." Parker said. Nate started pacing, taking this challenge personally. "They fooled us the first time. We didn't even know they were there. This time, we know their names, we know their M.O, we know their strengths, weaknesses." Nate explained, taking this a bit personally. "No, no, no. I have noticed a distinct lack of weaknesses." Hardison said. "I'm Brian's weakness, I know that." Kaira pointed out. "Use it. We know their target, and even better, we know their timeline. That painting's going up for auction tomorrow, and it gets sold, it walks out that door. That means they have to hit it tonight. Now, we've been working on this for a few hours. We've got to go in hot, in and out before they even -" Nate was saying. "Tripled security since today -" Eliot pointed out. "We barely had time to check out the cameras, the motion sensors." Parker pointed out. "Whatever happens, one way or another, we are walking out of that auction house tonight with that painting. No matter what. We are going to get that painting. You got it?" Nate said, getting wound up a bit. The gang said yes. "Now... let's go steal ourselves a masterpiece." Nate said, putting on his jacket and walking away. The team made a plan and left late that night to execute the plan.
Kaira got in position to execute her side of the plan. She was the lookout. She heard the team on comms. "The security cameras are spoofed. They don't see anything unless we want them to." Hardison said. "Motion sensors?" Nate questioned. "I'm still working on those." Hardison said. "Yeah. Well, work faster. Sophie, are you in position?" Nate asked. "I don't think I've driven in front of one of these before." Sophie said, starting to get ready. Nate started yelling to distract the security and Kaira got in position. She went underneath to the boiler room with Eliot and Parker. They ran until they reached their destination. Eliot let Parker into the room to go into the vents. Steam was everywhere as Eliot closed the door. Kaira gave him a peck on the lips and told him good luck as she kept hearing uh-ohs from Parker and Hardison while going to the top of the stairs and going outside. "What's going on?" Kaira asked as she saw Brian. Eliot dealt with Mikel as Kaira approached Brian. "So, what are you then? If you aren't the thief, or the hitter, or the mastermind, then what are you doing here?" Brian asked Kaira. "I'm a bit of everything, Brian. And so are you." Kaira answered. "Impressive." Brian answered, getting close to Kaira. She heard Eliot and Mikel fighting as Parker talked with Apollo about the bird used to trip the alarms and Hardison and Chaos arguing over the control of the electronics and Nate stalling Starke.
Then Hardison freaked out and Kaira heard him tell Parker to freeze. "You see, we knew what your plan was gonna be. Right now your friends are trapped in the auction house." Brian stared threateningly at Kaira. She didn't bat an eye. "Is that suppose to scare me?" Kaira questioned, nonchalantly. "Nate, he locked me out. He has total control of security." Hardison reported. Kaira didn't flinch, worrying Brian. "Parker?" Nate questioned. "Can't move." Parker said, holding her breath. "Eliot?" Kaira just heard grunting. "You all out of tricks, Nate?" Starke asked. Kaira and Brian looked at each other, processing what happened. "Shouldn't you be concerned with getting your friends out? I can make you a deal." Brian offered. "No. Because, unlike you, I trust my friends. With my life." Kaira threatened Brian. "Ouch. You know, I never stopped loving you, even after you left." Brian said, getting closer to Kaira's face, almost breathing on her. "Really? I don't." Kaira answered and punched him, causing Brian to go down. "You bitch!" Brian yelled out. "You see how it feels! That's how I felt when you told me about your little deal with my uncle and your dad. You never loved me! You used me to get power. I was young and the idea was nice, but I didn't truly want it." Then Kaira heard Sophie come on comms. "Oh, I think he had one more." Sophie said on comms. Kaira started laughing. "What's so funny?" Brian asked Kaira. "Oh, your boss knows Sophie Devereaux is alive." Kaira answered. Brian just stood in silence. Kaira motioned for Brian to be quiet and to listen. "Sophie? You're not..." Starke stumbled. "Dead, yes." Sophie said. "You went through all this just to set me up?" Starke questioned. "Mnh-mnh. No. We went through all of this to save you." Sophie revealed. Kaira started laughing again as she heard Parker go through the lasers and Hardison got the power back on in the van. "Sophie's alive? I thought that bomb killed her?" Brian questioned. Kaira smirked and could sense both Nate and Sophie's smirk. "Just wait for it." Kaira teased as she heard Eliot and Mikel end their fight and Parker and Hardison wrapping up the scene and grabbing the painting. "This is saving me how?" Starke asked. Kaira smirked at Brian. "Hardison, can Starke hear me?" Kaira asked into her comm.
"Yes. You're on." Hardison said, typing on his laptop. "Thanks." Kaira thanked Hardison. "I recognized Brian's handiwork with the circuit that was used on the bomb. At first, I didn't think anything of it. I thought you were still in New York, running daddies business. But then I ran into you at the auction house. That's when I knew you had to have made the bomb that was in Sophie's apartment. Also, you just said a bomb killed her. The official story was a gas leak. How would you know about the bomb unless you had some part in it? But it didn't make sense. Why would you want to kill Sophie Devereaux, Brian? With a little help from a thing called a security camera, Hardison was able to match you two in the footage." Kaira explained. "Two?" Starke questioned. "Colin Mason was the other person." Kaira informed Starke. "I knew that she was trouble from the second you said her name!" Colin exclaimed, angry he was caught. "Now, why would you want to kill Sophie?" Starke asked Colin. "Come on, Starke. I had set up the perfect double-cross, and then you want to bring in a new player at the last minute? "Oh, and by the way, guys, that new player is gonna be Sophie Devereaux." There's no way I'm gonna try to outcon Sophie Devereaux! And I hate to break it to you, Starke, but she was the one that everybody was scared of. It was never you." Chaos started ranting, upset his plan was foiled. "And you, Brian. What motive would you have to kill Sophie? Then I remembered you told me that daddy cut off your funds. You needed money. So Chaos said that he'd pay you handsomely if you made the bomb. And Starke wasn't going to pay you. Because you didn't just make one bomb. You made two. And, if my timing is correct, it should be going off... now." Kaira said as she heard the explosion in her comm. Brian went after Kaira, but she dodged his punch and pinned Brian to the ground. "Your crew got caught. You're plan foiled. You're done, Brian." Kaira threatened as she cuffed Brian and kept her foot on him as she changed into a cop's jacket and got him up. "Why you little sons of bitches." Starke said, not happy he was played. Hardison put the comms back to normal." Kaira ordered Hardison as she walked with Brian to the cop cars out front.
"You know, Kaira. I do still love you. If you agree to the contract and we get married, you'd be the most powerful woman in all of New York." Brian about begged. "So was that your deal, Brian? I uncuff you and we drive off into the sunset as I become a mob wife. Hell no. Plus, I already have a husband. He's better than you ever were in everything." Kaira taunted Brain as they kept walking. "Really? What does he give you that I couldn't give you?" Brian asked Kaira, offended. "How about he actually loves me. He treats me well. He's there when I have bad days. Unlike you." Kaira hissed, still not happy. "Are you still pissed about that?" Brian asked, shocked. "Hell yeah I am, you asshole. My sister died and you weren't there. My parents died, and you weren't there. You were off running daddy's business." Kaira said, pissed. Brian then stopped. "I'm sorry, okay. Give me another chance." Brian begged. "Here's the deal. I'll let you go and you run to daddy and tell him that your ex threatened you during a job you took because you were pissed you didn't have any funds and let my uncle and daddy know the contract is done, or I let you meet my husband, who will beat the shit out of you for treating me how you did. Or I could turn you into the cops upfront and you go to jail for theft and a whole lot of Rico charges and murder suspicions. Yeah. That's the thing about being friends with a hacker. He almost immediately found your record. You like making deals, don't you Brian? How does it feel to be on the receiving end of one?" Kaira hissed at Brian as she saw Eliot approach them. "Oh, Make your choice quick. Here he comes." Kaira threatened Brian as Eliot had a threatening look on his face. Brian was scared shitless as he made his choice. "Let me go! I'll talk to my dad and your uncle." Brian answered, still scared. "Good choice." Kaira said, uncuffing him. He looked at Eliot. Eliot clocking him. Brian ran off as Kaira laughed. "You really did a number on him, sweetheart." Eliot complimented, impressed, and slightly turned on. "Well, that's a disappointment I'll be glad to forget." Kaira quipped as the couple went to the squad cars and went back to the office to deliver the painting to the Mercers.
Kaira and Eliot were at a booth, talking with Mikel, and Eliot and Parker, and Apollo competed to see who could pick a lock faster and Hardison was doing something. They all had beers in front of them as they talked about their battle wounds. "I can top that. Frag grenade, Somalia." Mikel said as she moved her shirt to reveal the wound on her shoulder. "Myanmar. Sniper." Eliot said, revealing his bicep wound. "I was a sniper in Myanmar for a while." Mikel revealed, leaving Eliot surprised and Kaira chuckling. "When?" Eliot asked, hoping he was wrong. "2003." Mikel revealed, with Eliot confirming what he thought. "Well, luckily I don't have many wounds. Just this one on my stomach from Chechen goons." Kaira said, standing up to reveal the wound. Mikel was impressed. Eliot looked at Kaira. "And the other one?" Eliot pointed out. Kaira chuckled as Mikel looked interested. "I have another wound. It's on the shoulder. An ex got pissed at me and attacked me." Kaira moved her shirt to reveal the shoulder wound. "Brian did that?" Eliot questioned, ready to kill someone. "Yes." Kaira revealed. "Wait. You mean the Brian on our crew?" Mikel asked. "Yep. Don't worry. I scared him enough that he'll never bother me again." Kaira said, sipping her beer. Mikel then left and it was just Eliot and Kaira. "You know, Cowboy. Mikel gave me these." Kaira pulled out the handcuffs. Eliot got flustered and grabbed her hands to put them down and hide the handcuffs. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no. We can't have that." Eliot said, freaking out. Then Hardison walked by. "Handcuffs. Y'all nasty." Hardison retorted, disgusted as Kaira chuckled. Kaira heard Starke giving the clients the painting. "So, when I heard this painting belonged to somebody else, I was so, uh..." Starker was saying, grabbing the painting. "Dismayed." Nate filled in. "Or, um, shocked, maybe." Sophie said for Starke. "Shocked. Uh, my associates and I just decided we had to return it." Starke said, kinda reluctantly as he handed over the painting. The woman hugged Starke and was so happy. And the brother was happy. Kaira walked up to Nate and Sophie as Starke left. "You gave Starke the fake, right?" Kaira smirked as Nate, already knowing the answer. "Yes, of course." Nate said, causing Kaira to smile. She flashed back to several hours earlier, where Apollo stole Parker's phone, and Hardison used the GPS to find the phone, which lead to the warehouse that had the fakes. The quartet had grabbed all of the paintings. Then Eliot, Hardison, and Parker walked up to them. "Thanks for letting us use the real one." Hardison said as Starke struggled to leave as people were coming in. "Yeah. I hate loose ends." Parker said. Kaira smirked as she remembered the quartet putting the paintings in a wooden crate and Hardison made a label using Chaos's name so it would appear as checked luggage. She finished her beer with Eliot then went upstairs to their apartment.
Kaira changed into her pajamas and sat at the breakfast nook and spun her engagement ring, thinking. Just then she felt a pair of arms around her and smiled as Eliot kissed her cheek. "You only do that when you're thinking about us." Eliot pointed out, sitting next to Kaira as she moved to make space for Eliot to sit. "Dammit. You know me too well." Kaira chuckled. "What's on your mind?" Eliot asked Kaira as she got an ashamed look on her face. "So, I'm about to say something that's hard to explain, so please bear with me while I try to explain." Kaira looked at Eliot, nervous. "Princess, what is it?" Eliot asked again. "So, I've been thinking, with the way our relationships progressed, we've been... cautious." Kaira explained. "Cautious?" Eliot questioned, not sure where this conversation was going. "I mean, we waited four years to get together because we were both were scared to mess up our friendship. And you waited a year to propose because you weren't sure if I would say yes." Kaira explained. Eliot looked perplexed as Kaira exhaled. "Eliot, getting married to you is the easiest decision I've ever made. And seeing Brian again, and Sophie "dying" made me think." Karia explained, using air quotes around dying. Eliot was calm but confused still. "Why don't we have our wedding in two days?" Kaira suggested a nervous smile on her face. Eliot got wide-eyed. "You want to get married in two days?" Eliot questioned. "Yes. I know I should probably wait, but with what happened, I want to do something impulsive." Kaira said, sure of her decision. Eliot thought a moment. "And getting married is your idea of impulsive?" Eliot questioned how serious she was. "I know. Not my best idea." Kaira admitted. Eliot smiled. "Let's do it." Eliot said. "What?" Kaira questioned. "Yeah. We'll tell the team tomorrow, and we can get everything in motion, then we can have our wedding the day after." Eliot said, also sure. Kaira was shocked. "You actually want to go through with this?" Kaira questioned. "Yes. We've been saying for a while now that we can't wait to get married, and you called me your husband when you were scaring Brian, so why not?" Eliot said, smiling. Kaira also smiled. "I guess I did call you my husband earlier." Kaira realized. "I wasn't even thinking, it just sounded right in my head." Kaira said, chuckling at her realization. "It didn't even bother me that you called me your husband. It sounded right to me." Eliot smiled. Kaira and Eliot looked at each other. This was the surest thing they've ever done. Kaira leaned in and kissed Eliot. Eliot cupped Kaira's face and pulled it into his face and kissed her. Kaira smiled. "I love you, Eliot." Kaira smiled at Eliot, placing a hand on his cheek. "And I love you so damn much, Kaira." Eliot said, pulling Kaira into a harder kiss. They soon moved to the bed and enjoyed each other's company.
The next day, they invited to team for breakfast. Kaira got the table ready as Eliot cooked. Just then, the team came in and talked as they ate. Soon, Kaira revealed her and Eliot's plan. "So, me and Eliot were talking last night, and we decided when we're gonna get married." Kaira revealed. They looked at her, excited. "When?" Nate asked, excited for the couple. "Tomorrow." Eliot and Kaira both said, nervous about the team's response. The team was shocked, but were excited, nonetheless. "I got a sound system I can use for music." Hardison said. "And I can call Paul up and see if he can officiate." Nate said. "Ooh, and me and Kaira can go shopping to get decorations and such." Sophie said, way too excited. Kaira chuckled. "I can come with." Parker suggested to Kaira and Sophie. "Girls day out. Ooh, how exciting!" Sophie said, happy with the plan. "And you boys can get tuxes and such ready." Kaira suggested to Eliot. Nate and Hardison agreed and they finished eating. The day was spent as planned. Kaira got her wedding dress, which was a rental as Kaira couldn't see spending the money to buy one. Sophie and Parker got bridesmaid's dresses for the big day. Eliot, Hardison, and Nate got their tuxes and Nate called Father Paul, and he agreed to come down, saying he owned Nate one for saving his church. They met back up for lunch and laughed and ate. Then they all went shopping for decorations as Hardison stayed at the office to test his sound equipment. Kaira was nervous, yet excited at the same time. She was gonna be a married woman in less than 24 hours. Eliot was too. He was about to be locked down to a woman he loved. And everyone decided this was gonna be a party they wouldn't forget.