Ezra trotted up the steps to the second floor. It was early enough that it was still light outside which meant there were barely any people in the club. He wanted to spend some time talking to Sophie. It was a mixture of needing to know more about her and needing to ascertain her motivation. As he got to the top of the steps, he saw Joplin already sitting at his normal table. Apparently Joplin had a similar idea because Sophie was sitting across from him.

Clinching his jaw, he walked over to the table. Joplin had glanced up at him briefly but had turned his focus immediately back to Sophie. Reaching the table, he grabbed a chair and moved it next to Sophie. Angling away from Joplin, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. The purpose was two fold. He needed to maintain the illusion of their relationship but he also wanted to gauge how she felt about sitting across from Joplin. He met her eyes as they darted up to his. It was the brief flash of fear that had bothered him the most, but the fact that she had replaced it so quickly with a look of confidence was almost equally unsettling. The eyes betrayed way more than people thought. It was what you had the least control over. Lowering himself into the chair, he looked across the table at Joplin. "I'm surprised to see you so early. I was hoping to have a chance to spend some time with Sophie. Our schedules have been somewhat disjointed."

Joplin nodded as he picked up his beer and watched the man across from him. There was no nervousness, maybe a little annoyance that he had cornered Sophie but Erik Simpson was perhaps the collected person he had ever met. He was used to people being afraid of him. He did have a certain reputation, a reputation that was well earned. It was refreshing that Simpson wasn't scared of him. "Sophie was just telling me how you met."

Sophie looked down at an imaginary piece of fuzz on her skirt and brushed it off. "The coffee stain never came out of that shirt." She looked over at the man she was covering for and smiled. "But, it worked out fine at the end."

Ezra returned the smiled. He had no idea what story she had told. "I think I've made up for the ruined shirt and the spilled coffee."

"Four hours in a coffee ship taking…yes, you've probably made up for the spilled coffee." Sophie winked at Ezra. "The shirt, not too sure about, but I was more concerned with the coffee so…". She uncrossed her legs and stood up. "Joplin, if you're done interrogating me, I have some work to do before it gets crowded." Walking around the back of the chairs, she rested her hand on Eric's shoulder. "I'll talk to you later."

Ezra watched her walk towards the office before turning back to Joplin. "She doesn't like you."

Joplin shrugged. "I know, but this club has been an important part of the business enterprise in Albuquerque for a while. It's my job to make sure it keeps functioning right." He picked up his beer again and took a sip. "There's a poker game tonight across town. You should come with us. Should be a good time."

Ezra knew the should was probably more of a 'have to'. "I'm always up for a good game of poker. Who's playing?"

"Myself, you, and a couple of kids that have way too much of their parents money to spend." He looked across the table at Eric. "It's usually a decent game and they're some of our better customers so I've been humoring them." He finished his beer and stood up. "Pick you up downstairs in an hour. I've got an errand to run."

Ezra watched him walk down the stairs. Whatever Sophie said must have satisfied Joplin but he needed to know the details. Standing up, he headed towards her office. When he got there the door was slightly cracked so he pushed it open. "Sorry. I should have anticipated him getting you by yourself to vet who I am." Ezra paused at her office door, making sure she would welcome his intrusion.

Sophie looked up. Shutting the laptop she nodded to the chair next to the desk. "It's fine. I think I did ok."

Ezra lowered himself into the chair and smiled. "You did great." He let the smile fade a little. "It wasn't my intention to put you in that position."

Sophie shrugged. "It's fine, but you do realize you're supposed to be getting him out of this club, right?"

"I have it on good authority that you won't see him at all for the rest of the night." Ezra smiled at the look on her face. "He has invited me to some poker game. We'll be gone all night."

Sophie returned the smile. "Are you any good at poker?"

Ezra's smile widened. "I have been known to play a good hand or two." He let the smile fade away. "Exactly how did you tell him we met?"

"You ran into me, literally, on Michigan Avenue near the park. You spilled my coffee so you bought me a new one and we spent four hours talking in a coffee shop near the park. It's been an on again off again relationship over the last couple years." Sophie shrugged. "He seemed satisfied for now. Just let me know if there are other details I should know."

Ezra nodded. "That's not a bad story. Just enough details that makes it seem real but not too many to keep track of." He met her eyes and smiled again. "Now, give me the two minute version of what I need to know about you."

Sophie laughed. "I'm 33, good with a spreadsheet, made enough at a previous job where I don't have to work."

"So why are you here." Ezra already knew everything she had said, he needed to know the things that JD's research into her background hadn't uncovered.

"This was my brothers' club. He died a couple months ago."

Ezra focused on her face. There was more anger than sadness. "I'm sorry about your brother."

Sophie looked down at her desk. "We didn't have the best relationship. The choices he made got him killed…but he was still my brother." She looked up. Continuing down this line of questioning was dangerous. The man sitting in front of her was in it just as deep as her brother had been. But, there was something about him that made her want to continue playing whatever game he was playing with Joplin. "What else do you want to know?"

"What do you do for fun?" Ezra still couldn't quite figure out her angle with the club but he had also figured out it would take time before she fully trusted him.

Sophie leaned back in her chair. "Not as much as I used to. I don't know how people keep these hours on a normal basis."

"Morning person?" Ezra knew she had worked in the business world and had probably spent years getting up probably between 5am and 6am. Old habits were hard to break so he figured she was probably still getting up fairly early even though she was generally still at the club at 2am most nights. Getting a nod from her, he smiled. "We can use that as the explanation why I'm not staying with you." He looked at her and sat back in his chair. "Last question…why are you helping me?"

Sophie sighed and looked over at him. "I have no idea. I think my desire for Joplin to be out of this club is stronger than the logical side of my brain. The safe thing would be to stay as far away from both of you as possible."

Ezra rolled around what she was saying. "Why do you want Joplin out?"

"I thought you said last question…"

Ezra heard the teasing in the response and shrugged. "It's part of the same question. Why don't you like Joplin."

Sophie frowned. "He's not a good man. The things he's involved in don't need to be happening here."

"And I'm in business with him. So back to the question…why are you helping me?"

Sophie met his eyes. "The unquantifiable gut feeling. You're not like him. You may be in the same business as him, but you're different. And, you are probably my only option to get him out of this club."

He studied her face for a moment before leaning forward. "Ok. I need you to give me some time, but more importantly, stay away from him. Don't confront him, don't push him on anything. Just stay away from him."

Sophie crossed her arms as she studied his face. She wasn't quite sure why she was trusting him even this much. "Fine." She usually took a more proactive approach to situations but she was out of her depth with Joplin. She watched him stand up and walk towards the door. "Eric…be careful."

Ezra had paused and looked back when she used his cover name. He was used to answering to it, but it felt odd coming out of her mouth. He had used people before to get to whomever it was he needed to get to. But, usually those people were just as mixed up in whatever activity he was trying to stop. Sophie was different. He honestly didn't think she was mixed up in any of the dealings going on in the club. She was innocent in this but she was knee deep anyway. Forcing a smile he shrugged. "Always."