The next morning they arrived at the Reliant Building, and Hardison parked Lucille in one of the areas that the cameras didn't cover. It was early and while there were already several cars there, the parking lot was relatively quiet.
Hardison started handing out coms, making sure to give the mastermind a friendly reminder about earbud care after the incident yesterday. "Please don't leave yours of the floor again, Nate," he said. "I'm running out of spares."
Nate shot a look to Parker as he put the device in his ear. "It wasn't on the floor, but I'll keep that in mind."
Hardison continued, addressing all of them this time. "And remember guys, the coms won't work well in the elevators, the parking garage, or any of those tiny little storage rooms stuffed with folding chairs. Plan accordingly."
"Good," the hitter said as he threw on a delivery uniform. "If I get sick of your babbling, I'll know right where to go." He finished buttoning it up and grabbed a cardboard box out of the back, his duffel bag for the job concealed inside.
Hardison handed Parker her bag before turning back to Eliot. "Why you always gotta be so grumpy, man?"
"Save it for when we get back," Nate said to all of them as slung his bag over his shoulder. "Let's just get this done."
Sophie's role didn't start until the after the others were in position, so she stayed behind with Hardison and waved them off. "Yes, let's. Have fun, everyone."
Hardison nodded and slid Lucille's door shut while the other three walked briskly towards the building. As they approached Parker branched off from the group, ducking between a pair of sculpted bushes to find an entrance into the ventilation system. Nate changed course next, staying out of sight of the cameras as he headed to the back of the building.
Eliot approached the main door and walked in, going straight for the security desk that was right up front. Two guards were seated there, with several security monitors behind them showing various angles of the building. "Morning guys," he said as he plopped the large box in front of them.
One of the men at the desk checked the schedule, flipping through a few pages. "I thought the first deliveries weren't supposed to arrive until ten?"
"Yeah, try tellin' my boss that. Could you do me a favor and tell me where the items for..." Eliot grabbed a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and checked the name on it. "...uh, 'Pupcakes Dog Bakery', are supposed to go?"
He struggled to maintain his composure as he heard Parker start barking through the com. Sophie and Hardison's giggling wasn't helping things, but at least Nate swiftly dealt with the situation. "Radio silence, now."
The guard was of course oblivious the entire fiasco on the airwaves, and pointed the hitter in the right direction. "Everything goes to the back staging area. Second door on the left just down that hallway."
Eliot grabbed the box and headed that way. "Thanks, man."
.
.
.
In the empty caterer's staging area, Eliot went over the plan mentally one more time. Get in, stay low, wait for Parker and Hardison to take care of the cameras. He'd let Nate in through a back door, and the mastermind had went upstairs to find an unoccupied office for later use. Parker should be approaching her destination soon, so now it was the waiting game. There was still that one part, though – the same part in almost all of their 'party' cons – that kept irking him. He'd bring it up later. He started double-checking his bag to make sure everything was there, not that he hadn't already done that before they left.
Just as he expected, everything was in order and ready to go for Plan A and Nate's ungodly number of contingencies. He repacked everything and zipped it back up.
Five minutes went past. He went over the building's security protocols again.
Then he checked his phone. Another two whole minutes down.
Screw it, he thought to himself. I got nothing better to do. "So, just to clarify," he said into his earbud, "Why I am always the damn waiter?"
Before anyone else had a chance to answer, Hardison quickly gave his two cents from the parking lot. "Oh, would you rather hang out in the van all day? We've barely been here twenty minutes and it's already 80 degrees in here, bro. By the time lunch rolls around even the Pringles are gonna be melting!" He rattled the can for dramatic effect. "You get to be inside, in air-conditioned comfort, grazing on high-end food while I'm in here doing the real work..."
Nate cut off Hardison and addressed the hitter through the com. "Eliot, I need you to get Caldwell's swipe card to Parker after Sophie makes a pass at him. If you guys want to trade roles on that one be my guest. As long as you get the job done, I don't care how you do it."
Parker was still worming her way through the building's maze of ventilation shafts. "Oooh yeah, trading roles would be so much fun! Sophie should definitely be the waiter."
The grifter had changed into an alluring dress, and was just about to walk into the lobby. "You mean waitress?"
"Nah, you rocked that play as a guy, remember? The Death of a Salesman thing?" Parker said. "You could totally pull off waiter, too."
Sophie wasn't quite sure if she should be flattered or offended, with Parker it was a bit hard to tell at times. "Uh, thanks?" She stopped a the building directory and pretended to check it for a few moments before heading towards the front desk.
The thief called back, her cheerful voice echoing slightly. "You're welcome!"
Eliot cringed, still thinking about what was unquestionably the worst day of his life. Time for a quick subject change. "Next time, I am wearing the suit."
"You got it," Nate replied. "In the meantime, I need you to start doing the prep work upstairs. Sophie's got the guards distracted so you're covered."
Eliot slung his bag over his shoulder and exited the back area. "Got it, heading for the elevators now. I may be off the coms for a few minutes, so try not to let things go south in the meantime."
Nate smiled for a second, and here Sophie thought he was the one that worried too much. "Don't worry Eliot, we can hold it together for five minutes."