Sophie returned late the next evening, finding the apartment empty as she entered. She turned a small lamp on in the living room and then headed to the kitchen, throwing her keys and purse on the table before opening the cabinet and pouring herself a glass of wine.

Scott was released earlier that afternoon, and the family had invited the team to dinner to say thank you for clearing his good name. Sophie and Eliot both had to decline due to prior engagements, and Parker couldn't make it because she'd rather be jumping off of a building somewhere (they left that part out, as the Leitingers would likely take it the wrong way). Hardison had insisted that at least one other member of the team should take them up on the invite out of courtesy, so Nate got roped into it despite the mastermind's protests. Scott was Hardison's friend after all, and the older man wasn't looking forward to being a third wheel.

Sophie took another sip of her drink, looking out the window as she thought about everything that had transpired in the last few days. None of them had expected to be hunted by Sterling only to end up having to work with him later, and Chaos...well, everyone wanted to put those memories behind them.

She meandered back into the living room, deciding to conduct her train of thought in a more positive direction. Despite all the problems they had, there were some good moments sprinkled here and there. Her favorite one came to mind, and she smiled to herself as she thought about the look on Eliot's face when Parker had suggested that he take out Drake's tire with a bow and arrow.

.

.

.

Sophie finished her wine and pulled out her phone, deciding to give Nate a call to see how dinner was going. She hadn't expected to be back before he was, and she'd been hoping the two of them could have a quiet evening together since he'd given the rest of the team the day off. She pressed one on the speed dial and put the phone to her ear, listening to the quiet rings as she waited.

It didn't take long for the mastermind to pick up. "Hey, Sophie."

"Hey yourself," she replied playfully. "Just thought I'd check in. You boys having fun?"

"Oh yeah, Hardison's having a great time," he said, the sound of laughter filtering in from the background. The grifter smiled at his choice of words. Hardison's having a great time.

"Well, that's good," she said. "It really is nice they get to catch up."

Nate stepped away from the group to make it easier to hear her. "So, how'd the audition go?"

"Uh..." The grifter rolled her eyes and sighed, sinking down into the empty sofa. "You know how it is. There's always someone younger and chestier that manages to get the part."

"Just another agent that doesn't know real talent when they see it," he said.

"You always were my only fan." Silence reigned between them as each thought back to that play in Chicago a few years back where she'd first told him that.

"Hey, how about a movie to cheer you up?" The mastermind suggested. "Lady's choice."

Sophie smiled. "Doesn't that sound nice. When will you be back?"

"Well," Nate started, covering his other ear to block out some the cheerful but loud banter coming from the living room. "Scott's wife insisted we stay for dessert, so if you would've asked me that about an hour ago I would've said we'd be back by now." He glanced at his watch before turning around to check on the hacker, who was still glued to the sofa discussing the latest graphic card breakthroughs with Scott. "Hardison seems pretty much oblivious to the passing of time, but if he's not ready to go by ten I'm leaving without him."

"I told you carpooling was a bad idea," Sophie chastised. She could tell by the glint in the hacker's eyes when they left that he was ecstatic to see his old friend, and once he started talking tech there was usually no stopping him.

The mastermind smiled. "Yeah, I really should listen to you more."

"Now there's something a woman likes to hear. That's not the alcohol talking, is it?"

"Unfortunately not," he sighed. "But it will be if I have to hear the word 'overclocking' one more time." Nate had assumed that if he drove, then he wouldn't be at Hardison's mercy and end up stranded. And yet there he was, stranded. He should've known better than to assume.

"So tell me," Sophie started, deciding to change the subject to take Nate's mind off of his current predicament. "How'd you get Eliot to go along with the plan? I mean I know we needed Sterling to make it work in the end, but I honestly thought that bugging his truck would be crossing some unforgivable line."

"I, uh...didn't exactly tell him," Nate answered, a hint of hesitation in his voice. "I just said that Sterling could use the arrests to pad his already-inflated ego. Which is true, by the way."

Keeping the plan vague, sending Eliot away before the police arrived...now it all made sense. Sophie laughed. "You know, he's seriously going to kill him if he ever finds out."

"You know who Eliot's gonna kill first?" the hitter himself growled as he sauntered out of the shadows. "The guy that conveniently forgot to mention Sterling bugged his truck."

The grifter jumped slightly at the unexpected sound of the Eliot's voice, quickly trying to regain her composure as she addressed him. "I, uh….thought you went home for the night?"

"Forgot these," Eliot said, holding up his license plates for her to see. His tone was uncharacteristically calm and collected, something that any one of his teammates immediately recognized as a warning sign that he was royally pissed.

On the other end of the line Nate closed his eyes and took a deep breath, seriously hoping she wasn't talking to who he thought she was talking to. "Please tell me Eliot didn't just walk in on this conversation."

Sophie opened her mouth, but couldn't find the appropriate words to answer him. Eliot narrowed his eyes at her before storming out, slamming the door behind himself. The grifter watched him go before turning back to her phone to answer Nate. "Umm...yeah, he just walked out. I hope you didn't tell him where the dinner party was going to be..."

"Do you have a com on you, Soph?" Nate asked as he put his own in. "I need to make a call."

She rifled through her pockets for a second before pulling out the small device. "Switching to it now."

"Great, keep me updated." With that the mastermind ended the call before quickly dialing a new number. He listened to the ringtone, hoping dearly that he would get an answer.

At the last possible ring a male voice came over the line. "Hello?"

"Sterling," Nate said, with more than a hint of urgency in his voice. "Are you home?"

"What kind of a question is that? Of course I'm home," he answered. "I worked overtime the entire weekend, had to cover for the intern that didn't show up today, and on top of that I didn't get to take the vacation days I requested last week –"

Time was of the essence and Nate could tell Sterling's rant wasn't going to end anytime soon, so he decided to cut in. "Sterling, listen. You might want to catch a ride out of town. Now."

The Interpol agent leaned forward in his armchair, wondering what kind of imminent danger he could possibly be in with both Drake and Caldwell arrested. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

Before Nate could answer Sophie gave him another quick update on Eliot through the com, her hands on the glass as she watched the hitter through the window. "He just peeled out of the parking lot. I mean he's really pissed..."

The mastermind used the new tidbit of info to revise his advice, turning his attention back to the phone. "Actually, make that a flight out of the country. I'll join you."

Sterling hesitated for a moment, taking the gravity of that in. "If we're in that much trouble, don't you think you should be giving Eliot a call?"

Nate grimaced, hoping he wasn't about to find out what the hitter did to people that crossed him. "No, I'm pretty sure that's not going to help..."

A/N: That's the end! There's a lot I really need to improve as far as writing goes, but I hope you enjoyed the story. Thank you everyone for the reviews! And because I always like it when other authors offer alternative/extended/deleted scenes, if you have an idea for one you'd really like to read let me know. No promises, but I'll see what I can do :)