It had been a bit since the last job. Kaira was still over the moon about her surprise engagement to Eliot. It had begun to sink in, but not all the way yet. It still shocked her that she had Eliot. They woke up and just cuddled. Kaira looked at her ring. She smiled at it.
"God, I still can't believe it." Kaira said.
"What? That you're engaged?" Eliot questioned.
"Yeah. I guess I never thought I was the type to get married until you came around." Kaira smiled at Eliot.
"I know the feeling. I still can't believe someone as amazing as you agreed to marry someone like me." Eliot smiled.
Kaira went on top of Eliot and kissed him.
"It didn't take much." Kaira grinned.
Eliot kissed Kaira, placing his hands on her waist. Just then the phone rang. Kaira chuckled as she laid back next to Eliot.
"Yeah. Alright. See you there." Eliot said, hanging up the phone.
"You gonna keep me waiting, Cowboy?" Kaira smiled.
"We got another job. Nate wants us to meet at the apartment." Eliot said.
Kaira gave Eliot a quick peck before getting up. She walked over to the closet. She grabbed clothes and caught Eliot looking at her.
"Cowboy, you got something on your lip." Kaira teased.
"What?" Eliot questioned.
"Drool." Kaira grinned.
Eliot got flustered and got up.
"Hey, cowboy calm down. I don't mind you looking." Kaira said, stopping Eliot.
"Good. Cause I ain't planning on stopping." Eliot smirked.
Kaira hit his shoulder and giggled as she finished changing.
Eliot changed too and they arrived at the apartment. Kaira was surprised that none of the team had seen the engagement ring she was wearing. She wasn't hiding it, but she wasn't exactly showing it off either. Hardison filled them in. Their target, Eddie Maranjian - an Armenian con man masquerading as a hedge fund manager. He stole money from his clients and had a court date later that day. They decided to go to the court hearing to meet with one of the clients.
They left and arrived at the court hearing. The people in the court were not happy with the decision that Eddie got less time than deserved because he was a snitch. Nate went in with Kaira and stopped a man from pulling a gun out. Nate had his hand on the gun and he turned.
"Easy." Nate said, grabbing the gun.
"Come with us." Kaira said.
The client, Ronald, went up to Eddie, who was being handcuffed, and clocked him. Kaira and Nate met up with him after in the hallways.
"You're lucky they just gave you a warning, Ronald." Nate said, walking with both Kaira and Hardison.
"How do you know my name?" Ronald asked, with an Armenian accent.
"Oh, that. Yes, well, I think this belongs to you." Nate said, handing Ronald his wallet back that Parker lifted.
"You guys cops?" Ronald questioned.
"No, no. Our group provides... restitution to those who need it." Kaira explained.
Ronald looked confused.
"We're trying to help Eddie's clients." Nate continued explaining.
"A little late for that now." Ronald said.
"No, no, no, no. The judge says the money Eddie Maranjian stole is gone. We don't believe that. Eddie liquidated 400,000 dollars right before his trial. And it looks like it's still in this town. And we came here to find it for you and the other victims." Hardison explained.
They stopped. "Nobody wants to see this guy just get a slap on the wrist for being a snitch, Ronald, but killing him?" Kaira said.
"He's a thief, not a murder." Nate said.
"My sister Natalie, she wasn't a big shot, you know? She was a widow. Her husband worked his whole life, left her enough to live on. Then she met Eddie. He was smart, responsible, and Armenian, like us." Ronald explained.
"Yeah, well, they call these affinity crimes, people who pray on fellow members of ethnic groups." Nate explained.
"Eddie took my sister's money. Then she got sick. Only she didn't see a doctor or tell anybody because she didn't want to be a burden. My sister died in a hospital bed, and it didn't have to happen. But Eddie, oh, he's just a thief, right?" Ronald said.
"I'm sorry about your sister. I lost my sister when I was 17 because the guy we turned to in order to pay for the treatment wouldn't pay it." Kaira said, sympathetically.
Ronald nodded in understanding.
They left and met with Sophie, Parker, and Eliot in the courtroom. Eliot was there when they walked in, sitting on the jury seats. Kaira joined in next to Hardison who looked up some information. Nate paced, thinking. Sophie and Parker came in and sat down on the seats as well.
"Eddie's new address in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, is the original "Club Fed"." Hardison explained.
"He's got his own nine-hole golf course. Vegan menu." Eliot said.
"That's his punishment?" Kaira questioned, surprised.
"This dude can play frisbee with the guys from Enron in the Quadrangle." Hardison continued explaining.
"I hate those guys. 18 months in a country club, this guy." Eliot said, not happy.
"Yeah, and then when he gets done, he gets to come home and collect his hidden cash." Parker said.
"Then probably go off the grid with a whole new identity and do this again." Kaira pointed out.
"All right, so if this guy is not afraid of prison, then what incentive does he have to tell us where the cash is?" Sophie questioned.
Nate went silent. The team looked at him.
"I'm thinking." Nate said.
"Nate, I hate to rush you, but Eddie goes to the prison in an hour, so..." Parker pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." Nate said.
He walked away and saw the hand sanitizer on the table. He picked it up, thinking more.
"What are you more afraid of than - than prison?" Nate asked the crew.
"Death?" Sophie questioned.
"And what are you more afraid of than death?" Nate asked.
He tossed the hand sanitizer to Eliot.
"Sickness." Kaira realized.
Parker climbed into the vents and waited for Eddie to get his bottled water opened and Parker tapped on the vents, making it sound like rats were up there. Kaira watched as Eddie panicked. The Marshals told Eddie about the rats in Florida prisons. Parker put a drop of something to knock Eddie out in his drink using a string. Eddie took a sip. Parker got out of the vents and Kaira left. Nate examined Eddie after he passed out. The Marshal told Nate thanks for examining him.
"You got me out of Jury Duty. I should be thanking you. Pupils are dilated. Mr. Maranjian. Mr. Maranjian, what state are we in?" Nate asked.
"Massachusetts." Eddie answered, groaning.
"What's your birthday?" Nate asked.
"June... June 8th." Eddie answered.
He tried to get up, but Nate stopped him.
"No, no, no. Take it easy. Take it easy. That's it. Did he suffer any head trauma?" Nate said.
"Yeah, he got punched out in court earlier." Charlie answered. He was the Marshal.
"Oh, well... I'd say he has a concussion. Of course, I'll have to do an MRI to be sure." Nate said.
"Yeah, well, he can get one at the prison infirmary. Our flight leaves in about an hour." Robert, the only other Marshal transporting him.
"I don't think you understand. No, no. He's not going anywhere. This is very serious. This man could have a subdural hemorrhage. He is not fully cleared to fly until I fully check him out. I'm gonna make arrangements for a transfer." Nate said.
He did just that. Then they met back up and walked out of the courtroom.
"Okay. So, what do we do now?" Parker questioned.
"Well, I just sent Eddie to the hospital, so let's go steal us a hospital." Nate said.
They arrived at the hospital. Nate walked in with Parker and Kaira as Hardison and Eliot stalled the Marshals.
"So, let me get this straight. You're a doctor." Parker questioned Nate.
"Yeah." Nate said.
"What if someone asks you to deliver a baby?" Parker questioned.
"I'd say I'm not an obstetrician." Nate answered.
"What? A what?" Parker asked.
"A baby doctor." Kaira answered.
"Oh, well, what if there's a train accident and there's stretchers everywhere, and someone points to you and says, "Hey, you, help me with this sucking chest wound."?" Parker questioned.
"I would stick my hand in the chest and hope for the best." Nate said.
"You could say your not a trauma surgeon." Kaira answered.
"Oh, you both are so not operating on me." Parker retorted.
"Okay, do you have - do you have the list?" Nate asked.
"Yeah." Kaira answered.
"Yeah? All right, go shopping." Nate ordered, pushing Parker to the hallway next to them.
Kaira followed. They got the things and got a room ready. The team went to the meeting room and saw Hardison and Nate at the computer, setting up the audio files.
"Are you sure there's no patients on this floor?" Parker asked.
"No. They use this place for storage. We own it." Hardison said.
"All right, well, here's the stuff from the van plus almost everything on the list." Parker said, opening her bag.
"And nurses haven't worn skirts with white stockings since the '70s, Nathan." Kaira quipped.
"Guys, listen up. Eddie is here for an MRI. That gives us two hours. I don't need to tell you that's not a lot of time. You might be playing multiple parts in this one. Parker, Kaira, and I are the medical team. Sophie, you're next door as a patient." Nate was explaining when Eliot and Hardison started arguing.
"What are you doing?" Hardison asked Eliot.
"Eliot and Hardison-" Nate tried to get their attention.
"This is my shirt." Eliot said.
"No, give me the shirt." Hardison argued.
"Give me the shirt." Eliot argued.
"Guys." Nate got their attention.
"No, wait. I-I can't wear a size 16 neck. Okay, I got to breathe." Hardison argued.
"I got to wear my scrubs underneath the uniform. I need a bigger neck." Eliot argued.
"Just keep your eye on the Marshals, all right? We got two hours starting... now. Go." Nate ordered.
Kaira put on her stethoscope.
"If you don't give me that shirt-" Hardison argued.
"Listen to me, son, you need those fingers to type on your little keyboard, don't you?" Eliot threatened, gripping the shirt.
"So you know, a bully is just a cowboy with low self-esteem." Hardison said as Eliot ripped the shirt.
He turned back around as Kaia tried to not laugh.
"What was that, now?" Eliot asked Hardison.
"I said what?" Hardison asked Eliot.
"My insecure ass is gonna be wearing this shirt." Eliot said, leaving.
Hardison acted like he was gonna punch Eliot.
Kaira laughed.
"What? Kaira, what's so funny about your boyfriend taking my shirt?" Hardison looked at Kaira.
"Just you two fight like brothers. And Eliot's not my boyfriend, he's my fiance." Kaira smiled at the team.
The team perked up, shocked as Eliot came back in the room.
"Princess, I thought we were gonna tell them together." Eliot said.
"Yeah. You're right." Kaira said.
Kaira and Eliot side hugged as Kaira held up her left hand, showing the ring off.
"We're engaged!" Kaira exclaimed as Eliot grinned.
The team smiled at the couple.
"You're engaged? Since when?" Hardison questioned.
"Since our one-year anniversary." Kaira said.
Nate walked up to Kaira and hugged her.
"Congratulations, kiddo." Nate said, slightly emotional.
"Thanks, Nathan." Kaira said, softly.
Sophie hugged Kaira next.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you!" Sophie exclaimed.
"Thanks Sophie." Kaira said.
Parker and Hardison hugged them both.
"Congrats, little sister." Hardison said.
"Thanks." Kaira whispered.
"Thanks." Eliot whispered.
They let go and Kaira and Eliot composed themselves.
"Thank you guys. Now let's go get this son of a bitch." Kaira said.
The team got ready. Parker and Kaira went to get Eddie. Parker sprayed an irritant on a wheelchair and rolled it over to the waiting room.
"Mr. Maranjian?" Parker called out.
They arrived at the waiting room.
"It's time for your MRI." Kaira said.
"Could you remove his restraints, please?" Parker asked.
"What?" Marshal Robert questioned.
"There's no metal allowed in the MRI chamber. Safety hazard." Kaira explained.
"I'll cut him loose when we get to the door." Marshal Robert said.
Eddie moved into the wheelchair.
"Relax Bob. You're only taking off my chains so they can stuff me in a tin can." Eddie said.
Parker went to wheel him. "You're not claustrophobic, are you, Mr. Maranjian?" Parker said.
"Because you have nothing to be afraid of." Kaira whispered.
Eddie looked nervous as they wheeled him over to the MRI machine.
"Let's go over the code." Hardison told Eliot, who had just walked in.
"What code? We're a couple of cops." Eliot retorted.
"Unarmed cops who may need to communicate in code. So, I'll look, I'll casually mention Star Trek." Hardison explained.
"Great. Cause that comes up a lot." Eliot quipped.
"It does. Look, I-if I mention Star Trek one, three, or five - Then everything's okay because the odd ones suck. But if I mention two, four, or six, then we're in trouble. So, say I mention "The Search for Spock", what do you do?" Hardison asked.
Eliot went silent for a moment.
"I don't have a tv." Eliot said. "Everybody has TVs. Dead people have TVs. Don't have a TV." Hardison was surprised.
Kaira and Parker arrived at the MRI room. Nate came from behind the class.
"Mr. Maranjian, let's see if we can't get you out of here in a jiff." Nate said, putting on his stethoscope.
"Take your time. I'm in no hurry." Eddie said.
"Roll up your sleeve, please." Nate said.
Eddie did, revealing the rash.
"Woah." Kaira said.
"Oh, that must be very itchy. When did you get that rash?" Nate asked.
"I never noticed that before." Eddie said.
"Oh. Really? Huh - Nurses, we're gonna have to do some tests before the MRI. If you could bring Mr. Maranjian to the eighth floor, please." Nate said.
Kaira and Parker acted nervous.
"Eight?" Parker questioned.
"You sure, Doctor?" Kaira asked.
"Did I not make myself clear?" Nate said, cocking his head.
"Uh, is something wrong?" Eddie asked, a bit nervous.
"No, no, no. Not at all. It's just - it's routine. We'll have you back down here in a jiff. Nurse, if you could take him out the side door, that would be great." Nate said.
Parker did. Once she got Eddie out of the room, Kaira and Nate placed the replacement for Eddie in the MRI tube and went back upstairs.
"All we got to do is keep these Marshal's out of the MRI room." Hardison pointed out.
"I don't know why you had to bring stupid ass doughnuts, man. You're not even ready." Eliot said.
"I am ready. I am 97.10 percent ready." Hardison said, unamused with being insulted.
"Hey, there. Ted Crichton." Eliot said.
"Bob Corville." Robert introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you." Eliot said, chuckling.
"And, uh, Charlie Merrill. Charlie!" Robert said.
"Well, I-I'm Greg Michaels. It's just a little welcome from the Belbridge P.D." Hardison said.
"Hey, appreciate it. Hopefully, we'll be out of your hair pretty soon here." Robert said.
"Oh, don't worry about it, man. They get better medical than we do, huh?" The Marshals and Eliot and Hardison chuckled at that.
"Whatever happened to just busting rocks, huh?" Eliot said, causing some laughter.
Parker and Kaira finished getting Eddie set up in his room. Parker clicked his handcuffs on the bed.
"Oh. Buy me dinner first." Eddie joked.
"Marshals' orders." Parker said.
"Sorry, hotshot, but I'm spoken for." Kaira said, flashing her engagement ring.
Eddie chuckled. "What a shame." Eddie said.
Kaira left behind Parker. That cued up Sophie.
"Hi. I'm Bridget." Sophie introduced herself in a New York accent.
"Eddie. I'd shake your hand but..." Eddie said.
"Wow! You a hardcase or something?" Sophie asked.
"I am going to prison." Eddie said, proud.
"Really? Ooh. Can you pass along a little message to my ex? Actually, it's some photos of me." Sophie chuckled.
"Ah, this day just keeps getting better." Eddie said, leaning back on the bed.
Sophie laughed and snorted.
"How is this supposed to work? I barely dosed him with Rohypnol. It must have worn off my now. Especially with the rash." Parker questioned.
"Yeah, look at him. He's-he's totally fine. This thing - I need you to read on the..." Nate spun his finger in the air.
"P.A?" Kaira questioned.
"P.A thing, yeah." Nate confirmed.
"You want me to make announcements?" Parker questioned.
"Yeah, could you, uh..." Nate said.
"You're really selling the whole hospital experience." Kaira said.
"Mm, no. But that's not what I'm selling." Nate said.
Kaira watched as Sophie told a story to Eddie as Parker left.
"I get up to use the jukebox, and this little skank goes and parks herself on my bar stool. And I'm like, "No, no, no, no. I got dibs on that." And you know what she does? Nothin'. Like I'm not even there." Sophie told the story, sitting on Eddie's bed.
"Dr. Burns, please report to the cardiac ward. Dr. Burns to the cardiac ward. Infectious disease unit, please pick up line 23. Infectious disease, pick up 23." Parker announced over the P.A system.
She walked back in.
"See, y-you tell someone they have a bunch of symptoms, and the information gets processed in the executive center of the brain, right? Its job is to question assumptions, start an argument. But if you suggest symptoms, you can bypass all that." Nate explained.
"Like subliminal advertising?" Parker questioned.
"It's actually neurolinguistic programming, you know the gateway to the amygdala, which is the fear center of the brain. You asked what we're selling. That's-that's what we're selling." Nate explained.
"So we're selling..." Parker questioned.
"Fear." Nate answered.
"Oh. Fear." Parker realized.
"Yeah." Nate said.
"That's actually cool and scary at the same time." Kaira said to Nate.
They watched as Sophie told a story again.
"So, I eyeball the bartender, Casey, and I'm like, "Hey, back me up here." You know what he does? Looks away. Yeah. And we used to go out. You know, not out, but like, you know, hook up. So I figure, I got to take care of myself." Sophie was telling the story when Eddie pulled up the news channel, which had a special report but was shut off.
"Eddie? Eddie, hey, I'm talking here." Sophie said.
"Did you - did you see that?" Eddie said, a little anxious.
"What?" Sophie questioned.
"It said 'Special Report'. It was there for a second, and then it was gone." Eddie said.
Sophie acted confused. "Huh. 'Special Report', huh? Hey, maybe someone took a pop at the Pope." Sophie brushed it off.
"It could happen." Sophie said, scratching her wrist.
Kaira closed the door as Nate played a recording with Eliot and Hardison, suggesting that the military was involved in an outbreak and Order 23. Eddie was nervous and scratching his neck.
Kaira tuned in to the story Hardison was telling.
"So, I go to the bar, right? And this blonde who looks like my partner in a tube top has a handful of this brunette's hair, right? So, the brunette's screaming, "Give me back my weave!" W-what is the blonde supposed to do, sew it back in?" Hardison said to the Marshals.
They laughed. "I can't believe what you guys have to do, man. You guys are nuts." Robert was saying before they panicked.
A nurse informed them that she had to use the MRI because there was a three-vehicle accident on the freeway. A moment later, the Marshals spoke.
"We've got a runaway." Robert said. Kaira got nervous.
"Boys, you can't let them report that in, or they blow the con." Kaira said.
"I know, sweetheart." Eliot said.
Just then Eliot got the Marshal's attention just as he got on the radio.
"Hey, Bob. Bob, Bob, Bob. Is that the best play this? I mean... come with me. You were supposed to be watching that guy. I mean we were supposed to be watching this guy. This is a career ender, for all of us." Eliot said, quietly.
"What are you suggesting?" Robert questioned.
"All right, there's cameras all over this hospital. Okay, I say we check the footage. We go room by room until we find him." Eliot said.
"This never happened." Hardison said.
Charlie sighed. "My wife just had a baby." Charlie said.
"His wife just had a baby." Hardison said.
"And I just got engaged, man. She actually works at this hospital, so she can help us look." Eliot said.
Kaira chuckled. Nate looked at her and smiled.
"Coming your way, babe. Text me before I show up." Kaira said, leaving.
"Okay. But when I say we're done, I'm calling it in. You got that?" Robert said.
"Okay." Eliot said.
"Let's go. Oh, and congratulations Ted." Robert said.
"So much for having two hours." Parker said.
"We're gonna stick with the original plan. We're just gonna move things up. Eliot, lose the uniform. Sophie... it's time." Nate ordered.
Kaira went back up to the room and waited.
"Hardison, if the Marshals ask where we are, say that Ted went to go find me." Kaira said.
"I step away for, like, two minutes, and you know what she does?" Sophie said.
"She takes your barstool. You told me already." Eddie said, annoyed.
"Is it getting... hot in here?" Sophie said.
Then Nate put on some more sound effects to make it sound like someone was bleeding bad.
"I can't..." Sophie said, trying to get air.
She then started screaming. Then the gang acting as hospital staff came in. Kaira shut the curtain. They used the shadows to act out the scene. Nate was the doctor, trying to comfort "Bridget", then Eliot and Kaira pretended to be the nurses getting the IV ready. Then "Bridgit" was coughing and then Kaira got the intubator (I think that's what it's called) ready. Then they had "Bridgit" flatline and Parker "shocked Bridgit", but it failed. The whole time, Eddie was freaking out. Then Eliot pronounced her dead, then they left with Sophie in tow, not comforting a scared Eddie.
Hardison had the Marshals looking at footage. The Marshals and Hardison decided to search the whole building for Charlie. Eliot and Charlie were gonna be searching the north wing, Hardison and Robert were gonna check the south wing, and Kaira was gonna check the east and west wing. They were gonna meet downstairs.
"North wing with Charlie. I got it." Eliot said.
Kaira was still in the meeting room, waiting for orders.
"Tell me why I just pulled two sets of car keys off these guys. Why would they be riding desperately? I'll go check it out." Hardison said.
Eliot remained silent. "Eliot. Eliot. Eliot." Hardison said.
"Yeah, well, we can't keep disappearing on these guys. Bob's barely hooked as it is." Eliot said.
"I can stall them until you get back." Kaira offered.
"Sounds good, sweetheart." Eliot said.
Kaira watched the feed as Eddie was freaking out because alarms were blaring.
"What do we do now?" Parker asked.
"Now? Now we wait. This is the stall. It's no different than any other con." Nate explained.
Kaira and Parker both noticed that Eddie's nose was bleeding and that Sophie came in.
"Oh my god! His nose." Kaira pointed out, surprised.
"Is that real blood?" Parker asked.
"Yes. Yes it is." Nate said.
"Did you just give a guy a nosebleed with the power of your mind?" Parker questioned. "Amygdala mania. Hmm. Almond tonsils. Hmm." Nate said, pleased with himself.
"Is it just me, or has Nate gotten a little sadistic since he quite drinking?" Parker questioned quietly.
"Is it just me, or does that make him even more attractive?" Sophie questioned.
"No, it's just you." Kaira said, unamused.
It was a moment before Hardison came on comms.
"Eliot, Kaira, can you talk? What's Charlie doing?" Hardison questioned.
"I haven't gotten there yet." Eliot said.
"Yeah, I can talk. What's going on?" Kaira said.
"No wonder I couldn't hear you on my comms. Eliot, stop checking out the nurses and get your ass down to Charlie! You have a fiancé. How I don't know, but you do." Hardison said.
"I'm on my way, now shut up." Eliot said.
"Great. You just pissed him off." Kaira said.
"He'll get over it." Hardison said.
Kaira was suspicious of how quiet Eliot was. A moment later, she was looking at the feeds with Nate, Sophie, and Parker when someone came in.
"Who the hell is that?" Parker asked.
"That is hospital security. We didn't have a chance to break down there schedule. Okay, looks like someone's crashing our party. Sophie, you're up." Nate said.
Sophie went to get up. "You know, I once had to play six parts in "Nicholas Nickleby", and Mrs. Squeers and Phib had a bloody song together." Sophie complained.
Kaira got up. "Sophie, I can handle it. I am a grifter, remember." Kaira smirked as she left.
She went up to the security guard in a hazmat suit.
"Excuse me, hi." Kaira said.
"What are you doing here? Who are you?" He asked, pointing his taser.
"Hey, calm down. I'm a nurse here. My fiancé is a cop and he's downstairs. I am keeping an eye on a prisoner for him. He may have been exposed to something from the arrest, which is why he's here. You may want to wash up. Water neutralizes it. If you want to return to work, you have to wash your body and your clothes." Kaira explained.
Just then, Sophie came in wearing a bright yellow hazmat suit. She pointed to the showers.
"You have been exposed to an antigen that is repelled by water. Do not move until further instructions. Do you understand?" Sophie said in a deep voice.
"Yes." The guard said, scrubbing his body.
Kaira walked with Sophie back to the room.
"Sophie, I had it handled. He was scared." Kaira said.
"I know. I just wanted to sell the whole bit." Sophie said, chuckling.
Kaira went back into the room with Sophie.
"Why is this a rental?" Hardison asked.
Kaira walked to the door frame.
"Hardison, what is it?" Kaira asked.
"I just checked Charlie's car. He has rental papers." Hardison said.
"Did Robert?" Kaira asked.
"No. His was a Marshaled issued car." Hardison explained.
Kaira had a feeling. "Hardison, pop the trunk." Kaira said.
Hardison did. "Eliot, Kaira. You remember when Eddie got a slap on the wrist because the judge said he provided substantial assistance to the government? Yeah, well, it looks like Eddie ratted out the Armenian mob. And Marshal Charlie - he ain't a fed. He's a hitman sent to kill Eddie unless duct tape and lye are standard issue for a deputy U.S Marshal." Hardison said.
"Shit. Eliot, do you copy?" Kaira said.
"Eliot, are you there? Can you read me?" Hardison questioned.
Kaira started running.
"I'm gonna send Eliot a text." Kaira quickly texted Eliot. No response.
"I'll call him." Kaira said. She quickly dialed Eliot. Still didn't pick up.
"Dammit! He's not picking up." Kaira said.
"Kaira. Kaira, tell the person at the P.A system to have Dr. Ralph O. Kahn report to surgery." Hardison said.
Kaira ran to the nurse's station.
"Can I help you?" The nurse asked.
"Yes. I need to announce something on the P.A. My fiancé's a cop and he needs a message sent to him." Kaira explained.
The nurse let her.
"Would Dr. Ralph O. Kahn please report to surgery? Dr. Ralph O. Khan, report to surgery." Kaira said, praying it worked.
Kaira ran all over to try and find Eliot. Soon Hardison just started ranting. Nate and Parker set up Eddie's escape. There was static.
"You think you can just ignore me like I don't have any feeling, like I never sat there, never listened to you talk all night." Hardison started ranting.
"Hardison, have you been talking the whole time?" Eliot asked.
"I wouldn't have had to if you didn't turn off your daggum comm! Oh, and your fiancé's pissed." Hardison said.
"She is?" Eliot questioned nervously.
"Eliot Spencer! When I call you, or text you, I kinda expect you to pick up the phone. Especially when we're in the middle of a job! How was I supposed to know you made it out alive unless you answer the damn phone! Or have your damn earbud in!" Kaira yelled.
"I'm sorry. I was dealing with something." Eliot said.
"Eliot, you could've put the damn comm back in when you were done." Kaira argued.
"I'm sorry. I took care of the fake Marshal. Where's the real one?" Eliot said.
"Oh, we are nowhere near finished with this conversation, Eliot." Kaira said.
"Eliot, it, uh, looks like he's in the stairwell on his way to... oh, no. That ain't good, man." Hardison said.
"He's on his way to the eighth floor." Kaira finished.
That gave Nate and Parker the cue to have Parker fake an escape to get Eddie out. Eliot, Kaira, and Hardison met on the main floor of the hospital.
"Ralph O. Khan?" Eliot questioned.
"Man, you see what ideas you come up with when you got no blood flow to the brain." Hardison said.
"You're still bitching about the shirt?" Kaira quipped.
Kaira noticed a familiar kid, as well as the cop cars, rolled up.
"Oh, man. Come on." Hardison said, going to leave.
Eliot stopped and went to the kid, telling Kaira to go with Hardison, hiding from the real cops.
"Hey. How's the arm, my man?" Eliot asked the kid.
"It's okay." The boy said, softly.
"Yeah? My name's Eliot. What's your name?" Eliot asked the kid, gently.
"Randy." The boy answered.
"Randy. Oh, I like that name. I got an Uncle named Randy. There sure are a lot of cops around here, huh? You know, if you wanted, you could go up to one and tell them what happened to your arm. Hey, Randy. You don't have to be afraid anymore." Eliot said, comforting the kid.
Kaira smiled. Eliot was always good with kids.
"Dad knows these cops, you know? They come to my house. They'll drink beer. I mean... I can't." Randy said, nervous.
Hardison grabbed Eliot and told him to leave. The trio walked away.
"Parker, we're blown. Cops are everywhere." Nate said.
Parker was silent.
"They've got the hospital on lockdown. We're gonna have to hug the wall and wait for the camera to pass, okay? The exit's right over there." Parker explained.
Just then groaning could be heard.
"Parker?" Kaira said.
They left to collect the money and meet with Eddie. They found him pulling a duffel bag out of the janitor's closet. Parker punched him as the rest came behind. Parker grabbed the bag and handed it to Nate.
"A deal's a deal." Parker said as Eliot and Hardison got Eddie up.
"So, what happened Eddie, huh? You got a little bored during your trial, you started looking around, and you thought, "What's the last place someone would look for stolen money in this town?"." Nate said.
Just then Eddie started laughing.
"What's so funny, jackass?" Kaira asked him, staring him down.
"I'm just thinking about all the crimes you committed today. Burglary, assault, kidnapping. I'm going to prison for 18 months. But you - every one of you is looking at 25 to life!" Eddie started walking backward and breathing heavily.
"I know your faces. I know all your faces. I am really good with faces." Eddie said.
"Is that why you ratted out the Armenian mob?" Kaira questioned.
Eddie was confused.
"Yeah. An Armenian hitman was sent to kill you, Eddie. Charlie the Marshal? Yeah, my fiancé here took care of him. You should be thanking us for not just letting you die." Kaira said, threateningly.
"You're gonna pay for what you did to me. Right now!" Eddie exclaimed, running away.
"What an idiot." Kaira chuckled.
Eliot nodded in Eddie's direction, but Nate and Kaira nodded no. They arrived at the door just as Eddie was being put in the back of the cop car. Nate opened the door as the cop cars sped off.
"So, here's everything you need to know about criminal law. Every crime has two elements - actus reus, the act itself - and mens rea - literally the guilty mind." Nate explained as they were coming down the stairs.
"Wait. Now you're a doctor and a lawyer?" Hardison said.
"Yes. Now, for the escape, the prisoner had to both break out of custody and show the intent to escape." Nate explained.
"Wait, so if, let's say, a prisoner was taken hostage during a jailbreak, then he wouldn't be guilty of escape." Sophie said.
"Yeah. He didn't have the intent to escape." Kaira realized.
"That's a perfect example." Nate said, looking at Sophie.
"Kiss ass." Hardison commented, getting a look from Sophie.
"Which brings us back to our friend Eddie and how the brain reacts to fear. In the heat of the moment, Eddie didn't ask himself a simple question-" Nate said.
"Who would doubt his guilty mind? Because you bypassed the logic part of the brain to the amygdala, Eddie was just so scared, that he literally didn't think." Kaira realized.
"Yep." Nate said, looking at her.
"So, are we gonna talk about how Eliot and Kaira got engaged and didn't tell us?" Hardison questioned.
"Yeah. Sorry about that. That's on me. I told Eliot I wanted to just let everything that just happened soak in before we told you." Kaira explained.
Nate had a look on his face. Kaira gasped.
"You son of a bitch. You knew?" Kaira questioned.
"Alright, yeah. I did. Eliot had come to me before and asked me for your hand, Kaira." Nate admitted.
"What? Eliot." Kaira looked at Eliot.
"What? The guy is supposed to ask her father for the daughter's hand and the mother's for permission." Eliot said.
Sophie had the same look as Nate.
"Soph. Seriously! Wow." Kaira said, amazed.
They all hugged.
"We mean it. Congrats you two. You deserve each other." Sophie said, choking up a bit.
They let go and went to finish the job. Eliot and Hardison went back to the hospital and talked the Robert. Eliot gave him a glowing report and Robert thanked him. Eliot suggested something for the Marshal to do for him. Eliot and Kaira then got back in the car and drove to the house of the kid.
They watched as the Marshal took the kid in his car and drove off.
"Eliot, how did you know the kid was being abused?" Kaira asked.
"I saw the bruise on his cheek and the bruise on his neck." Eliot answered.
"Really? How did you know to look for that?" Kaira asked.
Eliot went silent, signaling he didn't want to talk to her.
"I understand." Kaira said, sympathetically.
Eliot looked at her.
"Thank you." Eliot said.
"For what, Cowboy?" Kaira asked.
"For not pushing to get an answer out of me." Eliot said.
"Of course. Look, I don't expect you to tell me everything about your past, even when we decide to get married." Kaira said.
Eliot nodded in agreement.
"I'm sorry I took my comm out during the mission and ignored my phone. I just wasn't in a good headspace at that moment." Eliot said, apologetically.
"It's fine, Cowboy. I just need to have more faith that you'll be okay." Kaira said.
Eliot and Kaira kissed. Kaira smiled as she let go.
"So, you asked Nate for my hand." Kaira mentioned.
"Well, you two are like father and daughter, so it was only right." Eliot said.
Kaira smiled. "I love you, Eliot Spencer. You drive me crazy, but I love you." Kaira said.
"I love you, the future Kaira Spencer." Eliot said.
They kissed again, Eliot's hand gripping Kaira's hair and Kaira's gripping his shirt.