Nate called the team in after meeting the client. He explained that the client was Paul Mantlo, a teacher who was accused of stealing his truck after crossing state lines with a fishy VIN number, not thinking it could be stolen. Nate explained how it happened. "It's called car cloning. Thieves steal a vehicle, then go to another state, where they find a car of the same make and model and use its VIN number. Then, using those numbers, they register the stolen vehicle in the first state." Nate explained.
The team was all sitting at the table in front of the screen. "And since each state runs its own VIN database, the hot car comes up clean." Hardison continued explaining.
"Now. Paul Mantlo - he had the bad luck of wandering from Massachusetts into New Hampshire, where the VIN was copied." Nate explained, pacing to the other side of the screen.
"And of buying a stolen car." Sophie mentioned.
"Where'd he get the car?" Eliot asked.
"Duke Penzer - he's a former racecar driver. He parlayed some minor success on the lower circuits to start his own used-car dealership out in Payden, Massachusetts." Hardison said. He pulled up a commercial for the dealership, complete with stereotypical country music and racing references, and cheesy taglines that were in every commercial. "He still runs laps on the weekends. He tries to keep up his image. I checked out some of his prices, and they're sick. I mean, 20, 25 percent below blue book." Hardison explained, pulling up the prices.
"Yeah, well you can afford to do that when your cars are stolen." Kaira said, not liking Penzers set up.
"How's he getting the cars? He's not nicking them himself." Sophie mentioned, bringing up a good point.
"That's a good question. I haven't found-" Hardison said when Parker interrupted.
"Well, he's the distributor. The suppliers are probably a car theft ring. That way, cops trace a hot car to him, he can say he got it from someone who's long gone. Besides, the scam falls between state jurisdictions, so..." Parker started explaining as the team looked at her, wondering how she knew that. "I was a car thief. That's how I know." Parker revealed.
It was silent for a moment when Nate spoke up. "All right. So, Penzer is a big fish in a small pond. We need to muddy up the waters. Hardison, you get us a base?" Nate said, readying a plan.
"Yeah. Art's Auto Sales. It's a little mom and pop shop down the road from Penzers. It's run by Art and Joy Bauer. They've been in the community for decades, but Penzer's running them out of business. They're on the verge of bankruptcy." Hardison explained.
Nate got an idea. "It gets awfully wet this time of year in Payden, doesn't it?" Nate turned to Sophie.
Sophie shivered. "And chilly." Sophie said, getting the idea.
"Yeah, don't you think the Bauers need a little sun and fun?" Nate asked, looking at Sophie.
"Little R&R?" Sophie asked. Nate and Sophie liked the idea.
So, the team got ready to clear out the Bauers to take over the shop for the length of the con. Sophie introduced herself as someone from the American Auto Dealers Association and gave them a lifetime achievement award, and gave them a trip to Hawaii for ten days, giving the team time to not only do the con, but for things to cool down after. Hardison got the reservation ready, and Nate signaled the start of the job.
The next day, they were down at the racetrack in Payden, where Hardison had discovered Penzer liked to race. Hardison faked Nate's time, making it seem he was faster as he raced around the corner in Eliot's orange Camaro.
He got out of the vehicle, excited needless to say. "Hey, there, Junior. Ahh! What's with the jammies?" Nate said, cocky as he took off his helmet.
"What do you got in that thing - a supercharger?" Penzer asked Nate, impressed, walking towards him.
"Oh, hell, I don't know. My guys just picked this up somewhere. I just figured I'd kick the tires." Nate said before noticing Penzers car, Veronica, and Sophie walking up to it, wearing black leather. "What's that - a matchbox car? What do you think, Darlin?" Nate said.
Sophie leaned against Penzers car. "I think I want to go now." Sophie said, kinda whiney.
"Go? W-We just got here. I'm asking you if you think I should buy these wheels." Nate said, walking to the other side of the car Sophie was on, Penzer behind.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Veronica's not for sale." Penzer said.
"Veronica? So Betty was the fast one, who knew?" Nate said, coming to the other side by Sophie.
"Look, Mister, uh..." Penzer said, not knowing Nate's name.
"Lucas. A.J Lucas." Nate said.
"Well, I don't know who you think you are -" Penzer said, about to threaten Nate.
"Well, I'll tell you what - I think I'm the guy that broke your track record if I'm not mistaken." Nate said, cocky.
"One good time trial don't make you a racer." Penzer said, not liking Nate's attitude.
"Let's do it, kid. Let's - let's mix it up. Let's go - you and me, right now. But I'll tell you what. We're gonna do it old school, all right? I win, I get your car. You win, you get my car. Plus, um..." Nate clicked his tongue, looking at Sophie. "Other considerations." Nate said as Sophie had her hands on her hips. "I doubt you could handle either." Nate said.
"Green flag - 15." Penzer said. He one-handed pushed Nate out of the way and left.
Nate took the car back to the pits, having the gang look the car over again, making sure it was fast enough to beat Penzer. Parker had the hood up, and Eliot was underneath, changing something. (My brothers the car person, not me).
They finished up. "All right, I changed the compression on the pistons and opened up the valves." Parker said, wiping her hands and putting the hood down. "Should get about another 7.5 H.P." Parker said.
Nate leaned up against the car. "I think the left bank is running a little lean." Nate said.
Eliot sat up, finished his thing at the back of the car. "I tweaked that. Head looks good on the flux." Eliot said as Kaira helped him up, liking the grease monkey version of Eliot. "You'll get a better burn on your fuel." Eliot said, cleaning up.
"How's, uh, the rest of your research coming?" Nate whispered to Parker, though everyone could hear him on comms.
"Good. I found out a bunch of the local thieves work for a guy named Lefty." Parker said, Nate getting his gloves off.
"You know how to find him?" Nate asked.
"Got some ideas." Parker said.
"Okay, well, when we're done here, that'll be your priority - infiltrate their gang." Nate said, getting Parkers job squared away. "Hardison?" Nate turned to Hardison, who was on the other side of the car and came beside Eliot and Kaira.
"All right. Now, look, man, I just installed this. You punch it to release an oxidized chemical into the engine. It's my own little mix. It's kind of like nitrous but three times the kick." Hardison said.
"Yeah. It's gonna turn your manifold into pudding, so don't use it too soon." Eliot warned.
Nate acknowledged what Eliot said, not saying anything.
"Hey, man, I'm serious. Don't mess my car up." Eliot warned again.
"Yeah, I really don't want to have to deal with his ass if you ruin his car, Nathan. Plus I will kick your ass because I like this car. Many memories and late-night picnics on the hood of that car, plus other things." Kaira said, warning Nate. Kaira smiled at Eliot, the couple knowing what the other was thinking about.
Nate missed the subtext. Hardison and Parker just ignored the couple, as this was a usual thing that happened.
"You know, we still got to find a way to slow down Penzer." Nate said.
Hardison pulled out his EMP cannon. "I got you covered - EMP cannon. It emits a focused electromagnetic pulse that'll knock out all the electronics in his car for 30 minutes." Hardison said.
Eliot was fiddling with the RC remote as Kaira cleaned up the tools. Eliot drove the RC car out and Hardison zapped it, stopping the RC.
"This chick is toast. Uh, I installed one next to your rear exhaust. It's the only place I could put it where it wouldn't affect your car as well." Hardison said.
Nate held his hand out. "All right, you show me how to trigger it." Nate said, thinking he had to trigger the cannon.
"You don't. I do. I'll hit him from right here. All I need you to do is get in front of Penzer, line up so I can get a clear shot. He'll just think he stalled. 30 minutes, his car is good as new." Hardison explained.
"All right. Let's do this." Nate said, excited as he went to get in the car.
The team went under the canopy they pitched and Nate got in the car.
"You didn't get that, man? This chick is toast?" Hardison asked Eliot.
"It's - It's Ghostbusters." Hardison said, surprised Eliot didn't know.
"Man, I don't listen to you." Eliot said, getting ready to push the car.
"Come on, man. Don't - Don't cross the streams? It's classic." Hardison said.
"Push the car, man." Eliot said as the group pushed the car with Nate putting it in neutral.
Nate got the car lined up at the starting line and got the green flag, and Nate and Penzer were off. They were tied for a while, with some trash talking from Nate. Penzer went ahead, and Nate was trying to get ahead.
Hardison was watching. "Nate, you got to get in front of him, man." Hardison said, looking at his laptop.
"I know that, Hardison! I'm trying!" Nate yelled.
Just then, Nate activated the mix and sped ahead, laughing.
Hardison triggered the EMP cannon and Nate drove ahead.
Nate and Penzer met and trashed talked Penzer as he drove away. "All right. The mark is primed. Hardison, Parker, go find this Lefty. Everyone else, let's go steal us some cars." Nate said.
After getting the shop ready, Nate, Sophie, Eliot, and Kaira went into position, with Nate taunting Penzer by raffling off his prized car. The place was packed and Eliot and Kaira were in the office as Sophie used her grifter tricks to sell cars as Nate caught both Penzer and his assistant pointing at Sophie, not liking that Nate was taking his customers.
Nate peeked out the office door, spying the duo. "All right, Sophie. You're up." Nate said to Sophie, before walking up to a guy looking at the really nice car.
Sophie walked up to him.
"Before you say anything, I don't need any help. I'm just looking." Mr. Carey said to Sophie, dismissing her.
"Of course. I'm not gonna bother you. I just - I just have one little question, huh? Atkins or South beach?" Sophie asked.
"What?" Mr. Carey asked.
"What diet are you on? Cause I can see your, uh - your belt is cinched too tight and your shirt is a size too big. You've lost what, five, six pounds recently?" Sophie pointed out.
"Seven, actually." Mr. Carey revealed, not sure what was happening.
Sophie gasped in excitement. "Seven! Wow! Congratulations. That is quite an achievement." Sophie said, still keeping the energy up.
"Thank you." Mr. Carey said, liking the nice words.
Then Sophie sat on the hood of the car. "That requires so much discipline, you know? Ooh. Denying yourself all that sweet food, all those tasty treats-" Sophie flirted, stroking the car.
Nate, Eliot, and Kaira were in the office, watching this whole thing on the surveillance cameras. "Now, you see her touch the car when she says sweet and tasty? She's making him link those values to the car." Nate explained.
"Neurolinguistic programming." Eliot realized.
"Your favorite, hun." Kaira smirked at Eliot, knowing he didn't really like that comment.
Sophie was still on the hood of the car. "Mnh-mnh. No. I couldn't do it. I couldn't deny myself such pleasure." Sophie said, flirting, causing poor Mr. Carey to gulp, which Kaira kinds found amusing. Sophie walked to the back of the car. "You know, for me, life is about seizing opportunities, you know? Live life to the fullest." Sophie said, sitting back on the hood of the car. "Drink too much wine. Skinny-dip in the ocean. Make love in a hammock." Sophie said, definitely flirting, causing Mr. Carey to sweat and wipe his forehead, exhaling. "Do you know why -Just as an example - why driving this car is like making love to a beautiful woman?" Sophie asked.
Kaira's eyes went wide from the unexpectedness of what Sophie said, yet Kaira wasn't really surprised. At least in her experience, driving a nice car was indeed like making love. Especially when someone like Eliot was behind the wheel.
Eliot seemed to notice the smirk on Kaira's face, thinking something along the same lines.
Mr. Carey seemed to be uncomfortable slightly, yet intrigued. "Because I've never done either before in my life?" Mr. Carey questioned.
"What? A cute guy like you? Well, now is your chance. Just - just take a look. Who knows where it might lead?" Sophie said, teasing as she walked away.
"I tell you, if Sophie did this full time, the auto industry's troubles would disappear." Nate said.
Eliot put on his tie as Kaira got ready to play her role.
Sophie went back over to Mr. Carey and had him sign a contract for the car.
Eliot and Kaira were outside, getting ready to enter as Nate walked up to Penzer. "Hey! There - there's the stall-out king himself. How you doing?" Nate said to Penzer.
"Whatever. I came back here to buy Veronica." Penzer said, not wasting any time.
"Oh." Nate chuckled. "I'm sorry. I'm not gonna get rid of my trophy." Nate said.
"I'll give you 150,000 for her." Penzer negotiated.
"Please. How about 300?" Nate asked.
"300,000! That's ridiculous! Be reasonable." Penzer argued as Kaira and Eliot were walking up to him, talking in Spanish.
"Bueno. Claro que si. (Okay. Of course.)" Eliot said.
Kaira grabbed the phone. "Si. El esta aqui mismo. Un momento! (Yes. He is right here. One moment!)" Kaira said, getting snippy towards the end of the conversation, acting like she was annoyed with the "caller".
"What is it, skeeters?" Nate asked the couple.
"Mr. Lucas, I think you should take this call." Eliot said.
"It's our... foreign friends." Kaira said, acting like only the trio knew who they were talking about.
Nate motioned to give the phone to him and Kaira tossed it and Nate caught it. He answered it.
Eliot and Kaira left to get ready for the next part as Sophie walked up to Nate. "A.J. I need you to sign off on this paperwork." Sophie said.
"Not now, hon. I'm busy." Nate said, brushing Sophie off.
"No, no, no. The customer's ready to write the check." Sophie said, getting annoyed with Nate.
"Now, did I hire you to look pretty or ask stupid questions?" Nate asked, slapping Sophie's ass and she showed she didn't like that as Nate was still on the phone as Sophie left.
Penzer left soon after.
Nate put the phone away and Sophie walked back over. "I could've done without the ass slap." Sophie said, not happy.
"Yeah, just trying to sell the bit. Sorry." Nate said as Sophie walked away. "Hardison, Parker, ball's in your court." Nate said, signaling for Parker and Hardison to start their part of the con.
Parker and Hardison drove to a local chop shop in the car the Parker stole. "So, you stole this car?" Hardison asked.
"Yep." Parker revealed.
Hardison chuckled. "Exactly how is this gonna get us Lefty's attention?" Hardison asked.
"Well, car thieves are territorial, all right? You bring a car like this to a local chop shop, every boost in town knows there's a new player. Also... this is Lefty's car." Parker said, stopping the car and getting out.
Hardison got out after her. The duo noticed a guy working on a car engine, listening to music. "Yo, my man." Hardison said.
The guy ignored him.
"Hey!" Parker yelled, getting his attention. "Heard you're the man to see about chopping a car." Parker said.
"Maybe." The guy said. He noticed the car that was behind Parker and Hardison. "You jacked this car? This car?" The guy questioned, worried.
"Yeah. How much?" Parker questioned.
"Give me a minute." The guy said before leaving, anxious about something.
"Hello, Lefty. Okay. Shouldn't be long now." Parker said, moving to the car. She motioned for Hardison to hand her tools.
"So... car thief - how'd that happen?" Hardison asked Parker as she was messing with the tools.
"Started when I was about 12. Met this kid - Kelly - in the foster system. He was about four or five years older. Taught me how to make a slim jim, how to use a jiggler key, you know." Parker said.
"What happened to Kelly?" Hardison asked.
Parkers expression turned to one of sadness, remembering the bad memory. "We boosted a bait car. He saw the cops coming and ran. I never saw it coming." Parker revealed sadness in her voice.
"He left you behind?" Hardison questioned, feeling bad for the poor girl.
"Never looked back. Spent six months in juvie and never saw Kelly again." Parker said. She noticed Lefty coming out of the shop. "All right. Here we go." Parker said, composing herself.
"So, how is this going down?" Hardison asked.
"Okay, they're gonna want us off their turf. We're gonna have to convince them they need us. It's not gonna be easy, and they might shoot you a little." Parker said. She left to approach Lefty as Hardison prepared himself, hiding his fear as he followed behind.
Back at the dealership, Sophie walked outside and was greeted by Penzer, leaning against a car, taking off his sunglasses.
"You are spectacular." Penzer complimented Sophie.
"I beg your pardon." Sophie said in her American accent.
"As a salesman. 20 years in this business, I've never seen a better closer, Miss..." Penzer complimented again.
"Bacich. Katie Bacich. Thank you, Mr. Penzer." Sophie said, taking the compliment.
"Please, call me Duke. Yes. Spectacular." Penzer said, looking Sophie up and down, taking in her figure.
Sophie scoffed as she walked towards him. "Why don't you let me buy you a drink? I know the best spot in town." Penzer said, putting on the charm.
"Mr. Penzer-" Sophie said, ready to turn him down.
"Duke." Penzer corrected Sophie.
"Duke, do me a favor, huh? Don't sell a salesman. I know when I'm being set up for a pitch." Sophie said, turning him down.
"Maybe so. But don't you want to know what I'm selling?" Penzer asked.
Sophie took him up on the offer.
Meanwhile, Parker and Hardison walked up to Lefty, meeting up with him and his guys in the middle.
"You picked the wrong car to boost." Lefty said, getting ready to threaten Parker.
"No, we didn't... Lefty." Parker said.
"Who are you?" Lefty asked.
"I'm Danielle. This is Major." Parker introduced her and Hardison.
"Sup." Hardison said.
"We want to join your crew." Parker said.
"We're full up." Lefty said.
Parker walked up to Lefty, unintimidated by the man. "You need us." Parker said.
"We stole your car, didn't we?" Hardison brought up the point.
"That? Anybody can steal that. But nobody's dumb enough to do it." Lefty said, not impressed.
"Oh. Well, can anyone steal a car that uses a laser-cut rolling-code transponder key?" Parker asked, piquing Lefty's interest.
"Impossible. Those systems are unboostable." Lefty said, not believing Parker.
"We can do it - in under two minutes." Parker said, setting the hook to get her and Hardison on the crew.
"All right. Show me you can steal an unstealable car. Two minutes, or else." Lefty gave in.
Parker left and the group drove to a lot to steal the car. Parker picked the lock on the gate and took off the chain.
"Two minutes. Don't break the window or crack the steering column." Lefty said.
Parker opened the gate and went in, Hardison behind her and they walked up to the car in question. The duo ducked down, making sure to not be spotted.
"All right. Do your thing." Hardison said, thinking it was easy.
"Oh, I have no idea how to break into this car." Parker revealed.
"W-what?" Hardison questioned, wondering how they were gonna do this.
"It's new tech. Screwdriver and a coat hanger ain't gonna cut it. I mean, once we get in, I could probably start it, but we got to get in." Parker said.
"And what, we get - h-how are we gonna get in, Parker? Mnh-mnh. No. Mnh-mnh. Me? Mnh-mnh, no."Hardison objected, not liking the situation.
"You can hack anything with a battery, right? You now have one minute and 30 seconds." Parker said.
Hardison started to panic, looking at his phone.
"Look, you can do this." Parker said. They ducked back down again.
Hardison started breathing heavily, thinking. "Okay. What's the hardware behind this door?" Hardison asked.
"The latch mechanism is connected to an actuator. Send an electrical signal to the actuator, door unlocks." Parker said.
"So the chip controls the electrical signal." Hardison realized.
"Yeah. That's what we need the remote code for." Parker said.
"Okay. I can send an RF signal but you said rolling code, so that means billions of combinations." Hardison said. He looked back at the group of people behind them at the gate, nervous that he couldn't do the job.
Parker brought him into focus again. "Hardison, just ignore the distractions. Work the problem. It's the first rule of the boost." Parker said, giving Hardison the confidence needed to do the job.
Hardison got out his phone and started hacking into the car. "All right, look, I can't crack the code, but I may be able to confuse the receiver." Hardison said, doing his thing.
Soon, there was beeping, which was not the doors. "I got it!" Hardison said, accidentally opening the trunk. With some encouragement from Parker, Hardison got the doors unlocked and he got in the passenger side as Parker got in the driver's seat. "All right. 15 seconds." Hardison said, telling Parker to hurry up.
"Okay, transponder equipped cars have backdoor start-up sequences - an override." Parker explained, trying to remember the sequence.
"So it's like a cheat code for a video game, so it should work." Hardison said.
"Assuming they haven't changed the sequence since I last did this." Parker said, doing the sequence.
The car started, and Parker and Hardison smiled in relief.
"I forgot how much fun this is." Parker said, glad they got the job done.
Lefty and his crew walked up to the duo, impressed. "Not bad. All right. Bring this to my shop, and we'll talk. Shorty! Keep an eye on them." Lefty ordered.
A short young Asian woman in a white t-shirt walked over and got in the back of the car.
Hardison and Parker looked at each other, knowing they had to wait now to tell Nate they got in the crew.
Meanwhile, back at Penzer's dealership, Sophie and Penzer were in his office, getting drinks. "So this is the best spot in town, huh?" Sophie questioned, amused a bit.
"Absolutely." Penzer said. He handed Sophie a glass of alcohol and sat down.
"This is the winner's circle. Which is why I want you to come to work for me." Penzer said.
"I've already got a job." Sophie turned him down.
"I'll double your salary." Penzer offered.
Sophie took a sip of her drink. "That's very generous, but I'm not looking-" Sophie said before Penzer interrupted her.
"You know you're a tool to him. Me? I'm looking to build something. And for that, I need a partner." Penzer started explaining.
"Oh." Sophie muttered, impressed slightly.
"Once he's gone, I'll let you run that shop. But you got to do something for me. Tell me about his set up. How can he offer those deals?" Penzer offered the deal.
Sophie acted like she was thinking about it.
Nate was at HQ, listening in to the conversation. "Okay, now, don't get too specific. Let him fill in the blanks." Nate ordered.
Sophie got the idea and got to work. "He works with... alternative suppliers." Sophie explained, being vague.
"What do you mean? Fleet sales?" Penzer questioned.
"No. Suppliers with... minimal costs." Sophie continued explaining, still being vague.
Penzer scoffed and chuckled once he figured out what Sophie meant. "He's selling hot cars." Penzer realized.
"All right. Good. He's figured out the first part of the equation. Eliot, Kaira, give him the rest." Nate ordered.
Kaira and Eliot were out of their nice clothes and dressed more casual. "Yeah, making the call now." Eliot said.
Kaira sat in the passenger seat of the vehicle as Eliot dialed the non-emergency police line. "Hello, officer? Yes ma'am. I'd like to support some unsavory characters wandering around downtown. Yeah, I - They - They had tattoos, and I think they were wearing gang colors, and, uh - and I'm pretty sure they were speaking Spanish. Yeah, I-I saw them walking around by Penzer's Auto. Yes, ma'am. O-okay." Eliot said. He hung up the phone as the couple got on gloves and grabbed the baseball bats and exited the vehicle.
Kaira smiled at Eliot. "Let's wreck this assholes evening." Kaira said, smiling, probably way too excited as they started hitting some of the cars, causing the alarms to go off.
Meanwhile, the duo of Parker and Hardison arrived back at the chop shop, with Shorty out of the vehicle already and inside.
"All right, chop shops are a quick and dirty setup. There's probably gonna be one, maybe two guys in here cutting up their latest catch." Parker explained as they pulled in.
Once the garage doors shut, the duo realized there was a whole operation happening as they got out of the car. Hardison and Parker looked at each other. "We're gonna need a bigger boat." Hardison said, signaling they needed a different plan.
Nate got worried, sensing the anxiety in Hardison's voice. "Parker, Hardison, what's going on?" Nate asked.
"Trying to find out. Stand by." Hardison said.
The duo saw Shorty scanning the car. "Got to scan for alarm tracking systems. Don't want the cops zeroing in on a radio signal we miss." Shorty said.
Lefty walked over.
"It's clean." Shorty informed Lefty.
He looked at the reader, seeing she was right. Lefty looked at Parker and Hardison. "Follow me." Lefty said.
Hardison and Parker followed him.
Meanwhile, the couple of Eliot and Kaira smashed up a couple of cars, setting off the alarms. Penzer and Sophie heard the alarms, and Penzer was not happy. They went outside, seeing the one windshield of a car was broken.
"What the..." Penzer said.
"Well, this is terrible. Let me get my phone. I'll call the police." Sophie said, turning back before Penzer stopped her.
"No! Don't call the police. I don't need a bunch of deputy dawgs snooping around here." Penzer said.
Sophie acted like she realized why. "What?" Sophie gasped. "You're working the same scam as A.J. You're just like him." Sophie realized.
Penzer pointed a finger at Sophie. "No. I am nothing like him." Penzer said, going back inside.
Sophie followed, realizing it worked. Penzer got on the phone and asked for Lefty.
Back at the chop shop, Lefty was still giving Parker and Hardison the tour, with Shorty following. Some guy called out to Lefty for the phone and Shorty continued the tour.
Shorty looked over to the guys taking apart a car. "Over here is your traditional chop shop. We can strip a car and get its parts to anywhere in the country in 24 hours." Shorty explained. She turned to another section. "They do VINcloning over here. Clean a hot car and get it a full set of papers in an hour." Shorty explained.
"What's that over there?" Hardison asked, looking at a bunch of guys on computers.
"You know how everyone keeps their registration and insurance in the glove box? Well, we take those and use them for identity theft." Shorty explained. She looked at Parker, impressed and amazed at the same time. "Girls don't boost cars. At least that's what these guys keep telling me. But you - you kicked ass." Shorty complimented Parker, who didn't really know how to react. Shorty turned to Hardison. "That thing you did with your phone? Can you teach me that?" Shorty asked.
"Yeah. Y-yeah. Uh, let's just go by the computers." Hardison said. He walked Shorty over to the computers and started his thing, giving Parker time to report to Nate.
"Nate, did you get all that?" Parker asked.
Nate was still in HQ. "Yes, I did." Nate said, not worried.
"It's a mall of crime." Parker pointed out.
"Yes, I know. But the plan does not change." Nate said, letting Parker know the plan was final.
"Look, why don't we just call the cops, huh? We've got more than enough to bust these guys." Parker said, not liking the scale.
Nate stood up and paced to the screen. "No, no. These guys are too careful. They'd scatter before the cops got there. Besides, closing down the shop won't nail Penzer. No, we stick to our plan. No, we catch them red-handed planning something big. Sophie, did Penzer put two and two together?" Nate said.
Sophie turned away as Penzer was on the phone with Lefty. "Doing the math now." Sophie said.
Penzer found out about the Spanish gang members, realizing the Salvadorans were backing "A.J" and Penzer realizing he could trick the Salvadorians into thinking "A.J" lost one of their shipments. Penzer hung up the phone and turned to Sophie, who looked away, acting like she didn't like the plan. "Your boss did this." Penzer said.
Sophie tried to object, saying A.J was a jerk, but didn't deserve what was about to happen, but Penzer stopped her.
"And the question is, do you want to work for someone who does this... or do you want to work for someone who's bringing modern business principles to the game?" Penzer asked Sophie.
"What are you talking about?" Sophie asked.
"Diversified products, marketing metrics, online opportunities - that is what I am bringing to the table. I'm not talking about stick up men and strung out joyriders. I'm taking this business to the next level." Penzer revealed.
Sophie thought a moment. "I want to see your operation." Sophie said.
Penzer seemed cool with the idea. "All right. First thing tomorrow. And all you gotta do is tell me when Lucas' next shipment comes in." Penzer said.
Sophie paced back, acting like she was thinking, then came back and faced Penzer. "Tomorrow morning at the docks - Nine cars, top end, and very hot." Sophie revealed.
"Now..." Penzer grabbed Sophie's hand and held it up and kissed the top if her hand. "Let's go finish that drink." Penzer said, escorting Sophie back to the office so they could finish the drink.
Parker was looking at the engine of the car Shorty tried to lock pick and Hardison was at the computers. Some of the guys behind her made fun of her. Shorty was stabbing the pick in, struggling and getting frustrated.
Parker noticed this. "Hey, slide. Don't stab." Parker said. She walked over and went behind Shorty. "Feel it catch on the lock rod." Parker told Shorty.
Shorty tried, but was distracted by the guys laughing at her.
"Forget them. Just tune out the distractions. Work the problem." Parker said. She put her hands on Shorty's ears to block the noise, allowing for Shorty to concentrate and pick the lock. She exhaled as Parker removed her hands.
Parker looked back at the car. "This model has a weakness." Parker said, going to the front of the car. "Here. Short out the posts on the solenoid." Parker said, handing Shorty a screwdriver, doing what Parker said. The car started up and Shorty was amazed.
"Wow. Thanks." Shorty said.
Parker looked at the guys behind them. "Ignore those idiots, okay? They've been sucking exhaust fumes for far too long." Parker said, trying to cheer Shorty up.
"They're not so bad. They just don't want me screwing up on a real boost." Shorty said.
"Uh-huh." Parker said, putting her things away, not buying it.
"Yeah, I don't know where I'd go if they didn't let me hang out with them." Shorty said.
Parker saw herself in the young girl. Wanting someone to be with and wanting to be better.
"Hey, uh... Josie. Josie Marvin." Josie, also known as Shorty, introduced herself.
Parker gave a hint of a smile.
Just then, Lefty came out and told everyone to listen. He told everyone about the nine-car order down at the docks that Sophie leaked to Penzer, who told Lefty.
"Nate, the hook is set." Hardison informed Nate, who was still at HQ.
"All right. Go and get me some bait." Nate ordered.
Parker and Hardison stole nine nice cars at a golf course and brought them to the truck that Eliot and Kaira brought over and loaded them up. Once they got all nine cars as ordered, Eliot got in the driver's seats and Kaira got in the passenger side as he drove to the hiding spot.
Parker wanted Josie out of the way when it all went down, so she went back to the chop shop and warned Josie to not go on the boost tomorrow. Of course, Josie asked Parker if she was a cop, which Parker said she wasn't. Josie was confused and torn, as this was most likely the first time she was allowed on a boost. She also left Josie with another piece of advice. "These guys don't care about you. They're not your family." Parker said, knowing she hurt Josie by saying that. Parker left the chop shop.
The next morning, they met up at HQ to get a plan ready. Eliot and Kaira had gotten ready to get the cars ready.
Nate had everyone else gathered at the table. "All right, Lefty should be hitting the shipment in about an hour -" Nate said when Parker interrupted.
"Hour and a half. He called to push back our time." Parker revealed.
"Hmm. All right. Well, that'll give Eliot and Kaira more time to offload the cars. It'll also give you more time to bring Penzer down to Lefty's." Nate said, looking at Sophie.
"And once he's there, we call the cops." Sophie said, making sure the plan was sound.
"And we catch Penzer, Lefty, and the crew with the stolen cars, all in the same place." Hardison said.
"By which point, we'll have already done the blow-off. Let's go." Nate said.
The group left.
Eliot and Kaira drove the cars over to the docks, where they were just gonna leave the cars and go, but when they pulled into the warehouse, something was off. Eliot turned off the truck and saw six guys came out and guns drawn.
"Get out of the truck." Lefty ordered.
Eliot got out and Kaira did too, her hands up as she came around, getting pushed to where Eliot was.
"Back away from the cars. Don't want to damage the merchandise." Lefty ordered as Eliot shut the door to the truck. Lefty extended his hand. "Toss us the keys." Lefty ordered.
Eliot scoffed and grabbed them from his back pocket. He showed them to the guys. Kaira discretely nodded, telling Eliot she knew what he was doing.
"You want 'em?" Eliot questioned.
He tossed the keys up in the air and punched the guys beside him and got him down and ran like hell with Kaira in tow and got behind the cars as guns were fired. Once they heard the gunshots stop, Eliot and Kaira ran back and saw the guys chasing them and they ran out from behind the cars and onto the front. Eliot pulled Kaira behind a orange storage container and the couple thought of their next move. More gunshots rang out, signaling the guys were coming closer as sparks flew from where the bullets struck the metal, creating a loud ting. Eliot signaled Kaira to run and the couple ran behind the crates, making sure to not get shot when Eliot ran out and got hit with a car, tumbling over the hood of the car, sending him into the water below. Kaira dove in after him, and held her breath as she hit the water. She grabbed Eliot and they held their breath and swam to find a ladder or something to get back up.
Meanwhile Sophie watched as Penzer was on the phone, talking about the shipment.
He hung up the phone and looked at Sophie. "So, I'm anxious to see this operation of yours." Sophie said, getting on track.
"Oh, of course." Penzer said.
Meanwhile, Parker and Hardison arrived at the dock, noticing immediately it was empty, sending up a red flag.
Hardison came around and told Parker to wait. "Where is everybody?" Hardison asked.
"Cars aren't even here." Parker pointed out as they walked to the warehouse.
"Eliot? Kaira? Where are you? You better not be making out or something." Hardison said, getting worried with the silence on comms.
They took a couple more steps and stopped. "Something's not right." Parker observed, not being able to shake the feeling she had.
Soon the guys from the shop revealed themselves. "Go!" Parker yelled, running behind the car with Hardison in tow.
"Nate, we're blown!" Hardison yelled, getting into cover beside Parker behind logs.
"What?" Nate asked, perking up from the desk in his office. "All right, Parker, Hardison, hold tight. Eliot? Kaira?" Nate said, hearing static from their comms. "All right, Sophie, you got to get out of there." Nate ordered, Sophie hiding her anxiousness.
"Um, excuse me. I just have to use the ladies room." Sophie said, standing up. She stumbled some when Penzer pulled out a gun.
"Sit down." Penzer ordered.
Sophie sat down.
"Sophie, I'm on my way. Parker, Hardison, I need your help." Nate said, getting up to get Sophie.
"We need some help, they're shooting, dammit!" Hardison said, not happy with the scenario.
Hardison timed it and he and Parker moved.
Penzer got another phone call and had to leave. He told Sophie to stay.
Hardison and Parker went behind the car they drove in as the bullets still fired. The guys came around and pointed the guns at Parker and Hardison, causing the duo to stand up and put their hands up and move.
Sophie got up from her seat and went to the door. Nate opened it and Sophie said Nate's name, not knowing Penzer was behind him, until he revealed himself.
"Nate, is it? Let's go." Penzer said, cocking the gun and pushing it up against Nate's back as Nate exhaled, knowing he failed. "Now, I don't know who you people are, and I don't care. I've spent my whole life beatin piss ants like you. Sit down." Penzer ordered, going behind his desk.
Nate and Sophie sat down.
"Now we're all just gonna sit here and wait for my associate. Cause he's - he's much better at the, uh, mechanical stuff." Penzer said, waving the gun.
"Great rescue." Sophie whispered.
Parker and Hardison were moved to in front of the guns, who had their back against the warehouse. Hardison and Parker started smiling, spotting two of their favorite faces.
Eliot and Kaira appeared behind the goons, soaking wet.
"What's so funny?" One of the trio holding the gun asked.
On cue, Eliot tapped the center goon on the shoulder, and Kaira got the goon on the right. They both clocked their goons, and Hardison went after the goon on his left. Kaira and Eliot easily disarmed and knocked out the goons, using their elbows to hit them in the face, and kicking them. Kaira blocked a knife swing and disarmed it as Parker got in on the action, knocking all the goons down.
Eliot and Kaira went up beside Parker.
"Nate and Sophie." Parker realized, knowing they had to get back.
"There's gotta be a car around here somewhere." Eliot said, huffing.
Just then another car rolled up, and it was Josie. Josie got out of the car. "Get in!" She ordered. Hardison called shotgun as Parker got in the driver's seat and Josie, Eliot, and Kaira got in the back. Kaira was in the middle, with Eliot on her right and Josie on her left.
"Nate, we're on our way. Be there in 10." Hardison said as Parker raced off.
Meanwhile, at Penzer's dealership, Penzer was pacing, waiting for Lefty to show.
He did. "Cars are here. Shop's closed up. Kip and the boys are mopping up the dock." Lefty reported.
"Great. Take these two with you, quietly. Don't want a lot of attention with all the hot cars on the lot." Penzer said as Lefty pulled out his gun.
"Don't worry, we scanned 'em, there's no coming out of them." Lefty informed Penzer.
He told Nate and Sophie to get up, so they did.
They went outside.
Parker was driving fast to get to Nate and Sophie. "You know, I was trying to help you. You weren't supposed to tell them." Parker said, upset.
"I didn't know that. And I didn't think they'd try to kill you." Josie said.
"What did you think would happen?" Kaira asked, kinda amused and upset at the innocence of this girl.
"Wait, hold up, you told her!?" Hardison questioned, upset.
"I should've known. You're a menace, Parker." Eliot said, not happy.
"What, she deserves a chance!" Parker said, defending her actions. And frankly, Kaira didn't blame her.
"Ooh, Nate's gonna kill you." Hardison said, knowing shit was gonna hit the fan if it hadn't already.
"I'm gonna kill you!" Eliot exclaimed, not happy Parker blew their cover.
"Oh, stop whining!" Parker yelled, taking a sharp turn, pushing everyone in the back against each other.
"I got hit by a car!" Eliot yelled.
"I did too!" Kaira yelled, groaning.
"I got hit by a car! Get over it!" Parker yelled, mocking Eliot.
"I'm gonna kill her, man. I'm gonna kill her." Eliot threatened.
Hardison put his hands up. "Hey, hey, hey. Nobody's gonna kill anybody. Seriously, though, Nate's gonna kill you." Hardison said.
"Wait, wait, wait! Who are you people?" Josie asked.
"One - we're thieves, but good ones. Parker, only I get away with telling Eliot to stop whining. Two - Eliot, knock it off, Parker just wanted to help her. Three - Parker, it isn't your fault or hers. You both didn't know. Now, all of you shut up so we can get Nate and Sophie." Kaira said, annoyed at all the bitching that was happening as Parker took another sharp turn.
Nate and Sophie walked outside the dealership. "Stall." Nate whispered, knowing the rest of the team was close.
Sophie looked at Nate, wondering if Nate was serious.
"Stall!" Nate repeated.
Sophie immediately kneed Nate's family jewels, causing him to groan in pain. "You are such an idiot! I can't believe I ever listened to you!" Sophie exclaimed as Nate was bent over in pain.
Nate got the idea and they started arguing, buying time.
Meanwhile, Parker took another turn hard, sending Eliot into the door. "Parker, where did you learn to drive?" Eliot asked, annoyed.
"Before I stole cars, I was a getaway driver." Parker revealed.
"Before? You started stealing cars when you were twelve." Hardison pointed out, wondering how the hell the math worked.
Parker wailed on the horn. "Get out of the way ya old bat!" Parker yelled, getting frustrated.
Hardison was scared of Parker's driving.
Nate and Sophie still argued, buying time until the car alarms went off and Penzer told Lefty to take them to the office. Sirens were heard as Nate and Sophie were escorted to the office.
See, before Eliot and Kaira drove the cars into the warehouse before everything went to hell, Eliot blasted the cars with Hardison's EMP cannon, shutting the alarms off for the half-hour needed to get them to the shop, sending the cops right to the shop.
The group arrived, and Eliot burst out, telling everyone to slide over as Kaira joined him to get Nate and Sophie out, hearing they were back in the office. Eliot took Lefty out and Kaira got Nate and Sophie out and piled into the car, Kaira on Eliot's lap to squeeze everyone in as they went back to Art's and Kaira helped clean Eliot up from his cuts.
Josie asked Parker about the fast response time of the cops.
See, the cars Parker and Hardison stole were from a golf tournament for cops.
Eliot walked over to Hardison, Kaira hanging on Eliot.
"Hey, why didn't you both comm us when those wannabe thugs attacked?" Hardison asked.
"Cause your little zapper thing fried our earbuds." Eliot revealed.
"Told you to take them out before you used it." Hardison said.
"We were also both underwater." Kaira pointed out.
"Yeah, I should work on that." Hardison said, realizing he never waterproofed the comms.
"Yeah." Eliot said, putting the towel up to his lip, as he busted his lip open.
They finished cleaning up and went back to the bar.
Nate informed Paul that night that he got Penzers car, and offered Josie to help with his landscaping business.
They all sat down around the table, eating the food at the table.
"Hey, you saw me take down that guy." Hardison said to Parker, wanting backup.
"The little guy?" Parker questioned.
"He wasn't little. He's... pretty sure he had big shoulders." Hardison tried to argue.
"Hey, I wanna say thank you. Thank you, by the way." Nate said to Eliot as Parker made a comment.
"What?" Eliot asked, not sure what Nate meant.
"For the car." Nate said. "Oh, man, anytime you want to borrow it, it's yours, man. It's fast." Eliot said, not thinking it was a big deal as Kaira smiled.
"No, no, no. No, anytime you want to borrow it." Nate said, pointed out.
"No, no." Eliot said, getting defensive as Kaira chuckled.
"Hardison changed the pink slip." Nate revealed.
"I don't care if Hardison changed anything." Eliot said.
Then Eliot and Nate proceed to argue about the ownership of the car.
"No, Nathan, Eliot let you borrow the car to race Penzer." Kaira argued.
"Oh, you're taking his side?" Nate asked, sarcastically.
"Hell yeah. Plus, it's also technically my car, as Eliot's my husband." Kaira pointed out.
"But the slip." Nate tried to argue as the rest of the team tried not to laugh at father and daughter arguing.
"I don't give a damn, Eliot bought it. Therefore it is his, and by extension mine" Kaira argued, shutting Nate up.
Kaira mocked Nate by putting her hand to her ear, acting like she heard something. "Oh, is Nate Ford finally at a loss for words?" Kaira chuckled, joking around.
"Shush." Nate said, knowing he wasn't winning.
"Wait, Kaira, have you driven the car?" Sophie asked Kaira.
Kaira took a sip of her beer. "Yeah. I drove it before on a date." Kaira said, smiling. Hardison and Nate both got shit-eating grins after seeing Eliot's smile.
"Oh, you didn't." Hardison said, realizing the subtext.
Nate dropped the grin as Kaira and Eliot chuckled at their discomfort as Parker didn't get the memo.
"Best make out car ever." Kaira said, smirking and taking a sip of her beer.
The team just talked and drank the rest of the evening until they were full.
Eliot and Kaira went back to their apartment. Kaira sat on the bed in her PJs, waiting for Eliot to come to bed.
All of a sudden, Eliot came into the bedroom and grabbed Kaira. "I got a surprise for you. Come on!" Eliot said, excited.
Kaira giggled as she grabbed one of Eliot's hoodies on the coat rack and got into the orange car.
Eliot drove to the same spot he always drove when they went on a car date. Eliot pulled up on a hill and parked the car and turned down the radio. Kaira smiled as she knew what it was Eliot was doing.
"This is a date." Kaira realized, smiling.
"Yep. Only the best for my girl." Eliot smiled as he got out of the car.
He pulled a picnic basket and a blanket out of the back and opened the door for Kaira. She smiled as they sat on the hood of the car.
Eliot pulled out sandwiches from the basket and handed one to Kaira. They smiled as they ate, only listening to the rumble of the idling car and the crickets singing their night song.
After they finished, Eliot handed Kaira a water bottle and she took a sip. Kaira shivered from the Massachusetts cold night. Eliot caught her and took off his jacket and handed it to Kaira.
She smiled as she put it on. "Always the gentleman." Kaira quipped, smiling at her husband.
Eliot smiled back. "Well, I am a southern gentleman." Eliot quipped back. He planted a kiss on Kaira's lips as he left and put the basket back in the car. He sat back down and Kaira cuddled up to him, using their body heat to warm each other up and listening to their thumping hearts. Eliot kissed Kaira's forehead and she smiled, content with the moment.
The couple sat like that for a long time. Eventually, they both got cold and went back in the car to get warm, chuckling at each other as Eliot turned on the heat. He put on a cd and held Kaira's hand. The cd was one of Kaira's favorite. Fast Car by Tracy Chapman played, and Kaira chuckled.
/aAKvatGliJc
Kaira chuckled at the irony of the song.
Eliot grabbed Kaira's hand and kissed it, warming it up. Eliot was singing along, causing Kaira to smile.
Kaira sang along a bit.
The couple stayed like that, inching closer and closer to each other throughout the song and swayed to the music.
During the last chorus, the couple couldn't ignore the tension that was between them.
Eliot moved his seat back and Kaira climbed on top and locked lips, both their hands through each other's hair.
Once the song was over, the silence was comforting.
Kaira held Eliot's head and Eliot's hands were on Kaira's waist.
Eliot just looked at Kaira, admiring her beauty.
Kaira became a bit shy, as all she was in were plaid pants and a hoodie and Eliot's jacket on.
Eliot placed his hand softly on Kaira's cheek. "You are the most beautiful girl in the world, Kaira Spencer." Eliot said softly, entranced almost.
Kaira smiled. "I feel like the only girl in the world when I'm with you." Kaira whispered softly.
They locked lips again, this time softer and gentler. They stayed like that until the sun barely came over the horizon.
Eliot and Kaira looked out. "That is the most beautiful thing in the world. Damn." Eliot said, looking at both the sunrise and Kaira, causing Kaira to chuckle again.
"Yes it is." Kaira said, looking at the sunrise and Eliot.
Eliot chuckled. "Let's go home, Princess." Eliot said, starting the car up again and reversed and drove back to the bar.
Kaira and Eliot snuck in, hoping to not catch anyone awake, and went into their apartment. They laid down in bed and looked at each other, thinking about the night activities.
"That was nice, Eliot. Thank you." Kaira whispered to Eliot, playing with his hair.
Eliot smiled. "It was my pleasure, sweetheart." Eliot smiled back.
Kaira chuckled, looking lovingly at Eliot. Kaira got a smirk on her face and Eliot liked it.
"Wanna go for another ride?" Eliot asked, knowing what Kaira was thinking.
"Hell yes." Kaira said.
Kaira got on top of Eliot and kissed his lips. Kaira let go and smiled at Eliot. They kissed one last time and went to bed.
A/N I'm so sorry this chapter is out so late! I had a bit of a rough time over Christmas, and I decided to take Christmas break to recover. But I am back! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for the next one!