Nate walked into the bar with his friend from I.Y.S, Lewis. "Cause I just don't see how I.Y.S Insurance could force you out. I mean, nobody closed more investigations than you, except me." Nate said, walking to the bar.
"Gentlemen?" The bartender said.
"Um, Irish Neat, and, uh - what'll you have?" Nate asked Owen.
"Coffee, thanks." Owen told the bartender. "Dereliction of duties. They decided I was obsessed, chasing a ghost. And they were right. Until this week." Owen said, patting his briefcase on the bar.
"You found it?" Nate asked.
Owen opened his briefcase. "A woman in Dusseldorf found these in her attic two weeks ago. They're love letters from a Conrad Becker, a Nazi infantryman, to this woman's mother. In them, he refers to a painting he stashed in his gear. The painting." Owen explained, showing Nate the letters.
"Okay, but we - we have heard these claims before." Nate explained, looking at the letters.
"Yeah, but this time the facts bear him out. Look, he was stationed at the Friedrich-Kaiser Museum on the night of the bombing of Magdeburg. He helped put out the fire. I know this is true. He saved the Lost Van Gogh." Owen explained.
"Where does, uh - where does this trail lead?" Nate asked Owen.
"Oregon." Owen said.
"Why don't we, uh, sit down? Go on." Nate said, going with Owen to a table.
"In 1944, Becker's unit was sent to France, where he was killed by U.S troops. And there, it seems, the painting was taken by this man - Charles Lawson." Owen explained, sitting down across from Nate.
"And what does, uh, Mr. Charles Lawson have to say about this?" Nate asked him.
"Nothing. He refuses to talk to me... or to anyone. He was just checked into a local hospital with chest pains." Owen explained.
"You know, uh, Owen, I'm out of the art-recovery business." Nate pointed out.
"But you are in the... people helping business, right? The word is out on this, Nate. The billionaires' club wants this painting, and they're not gonna ask a lot of questions about how they get it." Owen said.
Nate looked at a photo of Charlie from WW2.
He went back to the briefing room and had Hardison get a briefing ready. Then he sent Hardison and Parker ahead and called in Eliot and Kaira. He was walking from the kitchen to the table with Sophie, each with coffee in hand.
"I thought I found it years ago in a vault in Kyoto, but it was a fake." Sophie said.
"Yeah, no. I-I chased it, too. Buenos Aires, Damascus, Kiev. I mean, it was the white whale of art-theft recovery." Nate said.
Eliot and Kaira walked in, seeing Hardison and Parker weren't there. "Where's Hardison and Parker?" Eliot asked as they walked to the table. Kaira and Eliot stood at the table with Sophie as Nate was in front of the table.
"I sent them on ahead. You'll understand after the briefing. Sophie." Nate said.
Sophie pulled up the image of the painting. "The "Painter on the Road to Tarascon". It's a self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh completed in 1888. It was confiscated by the Nazis as part of Hitler's drive to accumulate all the great European works of art. It was hanging in a museum in Germany when Allied bombings set the place on fire and it was destroyed. There's always been rumors that it survived, but it's never resurfaced." Sophie explained.
"Until now, I'm assuming." Kaira said.
"We think. An old colleague of mine believes it was smuggled back into the U.S by an American G.I after the war." Nate explained.
"What's it worth?" Eliot asked.
"Judging by recent auctions, I'd say... 100 million, give or take." Sophie said.
"Which, uh, bring us to you two's former line of work - retrieval. How much trouble do you think this elderly veteran is in?" Nate asked the couple
"Finder's fee on an item like this is probably 10 percent." Eliot explained. Kaira quickly did the math.
"So, it depends on what you think someone will do for 10 million dollars." Kaira added.
Meanwhile, Hardison was acting as a janitor, and Parker was a nurse. "Nate, we're in. Target is secure." Hardison reported.
Parker was acting like a nurse, standing next to Charlie's bed as he woke up, holding a couple of books.
"Well, if nothing here catches your fancy, I can always come back later." Parker said.
"Uh, I-I'm fine, thank you. I-In fact, I've got to get our of here." Charlie said, trying to get up.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Relax, Mr. Lawson. It's okay. We're here to keep you safe. Okay?" Parker said, calming Charlie down. Hardison stood at the door, nodding to confirm she was telling the truth. "We're not gonna let anything happen to you. I promise. Just relax." Parker said. She helped Charlie lean back. "It's all right." She whispered, calming him down.
Kaira smiled back at home base.
Parker left with the book cart. "Okay, if you need anything else, anything at all, just call me, okay?" Parker told Charlie as she went to join Hardison.
"Okay, did you get what you needed from his wallet?" Parker whispered to Hardison.
"Girl, I had to go down to the hall of records. You know what the dust does to my sinuses. I can't half breathe. I'm about to suffocate." Hardison told Parker.
"I know. It's okay. What did you find?" Parker asked, feeling bad.
"Not much. Birth certificate. Bunch of old addresses. He left the country in 1945 and never came - came - came back." Hardison sneezed. Parker handed him a tissue. "Thank you." He whispered.
"You're welcome." Parker whispered.
They left to report all this to Nate. Hardison found a broom closest to go into ad called the team, who was gathered around the screen.
"Where you at?" Eliot asked Hardison.
"I'm in a damn storage closet! Smells like mothballs and old people." Hardison complained.
"Hardison, what can you tell us about Charlie Lawson?" Nate asked, pacing to the screen.
"Well, he's 88 years young. He lived and worked all over the world - France, Botswana, Australia. His passport shows that he came back to Willamette City for the first time since the war. It's his hometown." Hardison explained.
Eliot touched the screen and started shrinking the video screen.
"The same week, he's identified as a suspect in the disappearance of the painting." Sophie pointed out.
"That can't be a coincidence." Kaira pointed out.
Eliot was now spinning the screen, causing Kaira to smack his hand to stop.
"Oh, I think that painting is hidden somewhere in that town." Nate said.
"We need to find it." Sophie said as Eliot shrunk the video more.
"Yeah, or Charlies gonna have more than a heart attack happen to him." Kaira said, knowing the stakes were bad. Eliot shut off the video. Kaira turned to Eliot. "Not a toy, babe." Kaira scolded him.
"What, sweetheart? He's telling me to learn technical stuff all the time." Eliot said.
"Well, that'll never happen. We got a plane to catch." Nate said.
They left to pack a couple bags and flew to Williamette City in Oregon. They talked with Charlie at the hospital and asked him about the painting.
"I don't have any painting." Charlie told them.
"Mr. Lawson, uh, we are not the police." Nate assured Charlie.
"I don't care if you're Vincent Van Gogh himself. I can't help you." Charlie insisted.
"Mr. Lawson, this painting is a lost masterpiece. It belongs in a museum." Sophie explained.
"The longer you hold onto that painting, the more danger you will be in. Believe me when I say people won't stop until they've got that painting. You'll end up getting hurt. Or worse." Kaira tried to explain.
"I've been on my own a long time. I can take care of myself." Charlie insisted.
"All right, well, if you change your mind, give me a call." Nate said, pulling out a card from his shirt pocket, handing it to Charlie. He sat it on the side of the bed and they walked out.
"Charlie, you aren't alone. We want to help you. Please, consider calling us." Kaira said, leaving with Nate and Sophie.
"What? No, wait. Wait." Parker stopped Hardison, grabbing his wrist. "We can't just leave." Parker said.
"I'll talk to 'll think of something." Hardison assured Parker.
"Okay." Parker said.
Hardison went to leave.
"Wait." Charlie said, causing Hardison to stop. "I'll tell you what you want to know. But I'll only talk with her." Charlie said, pointing to Parker.
Parker and Hardison left the room. Parker was pacing, standing with Nate and Kaira, trying to calm her down.
"This is really a job for Sophie." Parker said.
"He didn't ask for Sophie." Nate said.
"Yeah, but, I mean, what do I do? Play the status game, mimic his emotions, disrupt his timeline to eep him from lying?" Parker ranted.
Nate grabbed her to have her look at both him and Kaira.
"All right, you listen. I have no idea what he's gonna say to you, but right now he's the only lead we have. We'll follow his clues." Nate said.
Kaira grabbed Parker's shoulders to have her look at just her. "Parker, you got this. Okay, we've worked on listening. You can do this." Kaira encouraged Parker. She turned her around and Parker walked back to the room.
Eliot arrived to an address Hardison found, dressed like a gas company man.
"All right, Nate, I'm at Charlie Lawson's house he grew up in. You sure this is worth it?" Eliot said, walking to the house.
"We got to start somewhere." Nate said.
A woman opened the door. "Hi. How you doing, ma'am? I'm with the gas company. We've had a couple of reports of gas leaks in the neighborhood, and so, uh, if you wouldn't mind, just - might have to get up in there." Eliot said, pointing a wand to read for gas.
He told the woman that she did indeed have a glass leak, and had her step out onto the porch so he could search the house. The woman then mentioned a mold inspector out back. Eliot guessed he wasn't really a mold inspector and went to the backyard. He saw the man and threw the clipboard on the table.
"What are you doing here, Frank?" Eliot asked the man.
"Retiring." Frank said before getting out a baton.
Eliot just gave him a "Seriously" look. He met Frank in the middle, then didged a swing, and blocked another. Eliot got elbowed to the ground, and he picked up the pink wiffle bat off the ground as he stood up.
"Barbie leave that in her dream house?" Frank taunted Eliot.
"Frank." Eliot said, walking up to Frank.
He used the bat to block a hit, then pulled him in the knee his stomach, getting him on the ground, then hit his face, knocking him down. Frank got up and was ready when the woman opened the door. She asked if everything was alright, and Frank jumped the fence.
"Yeah, your, uh - your mold inspector just left. He said you're all clear." Eliot said.
"What about the gas leak?" The woman asked.
"I'm still looking for a source, uh, for that. I-I need to know what year the house was built. You don't have any original features that would help me pinpoint the year, do you?" Eliot asked.
"No. But I did find some old art." The woman revealed.
Eliot's eyes went wide. "That might help." Eliot said, smiling.
Meanwhile, Parker was sitting at the side of Charlie's bed.
"It all started at the Roller Palace. When I was a kid, it seems everyone in town was there on a saturday night. That's where I met her. Her name was Dorothy Ross. She was the daughter of Alfred Ross, a lumber baron who owned half the town. She used to have her lessons on the murlitzer at the palace. Soon we became friends." Charlie told Parker.
"What was she like?" Parker asked.
"She was stubborn as a mule."Charlie said, chuckling. "She wouldn't listen to anybody. Her daddy wanted her to be a society girl, but she was gonna be her own person. W-When we first met, I thought Dorothy Ross had - had it all. Big house, fancy clothes. But as I got older, I realized... she was just as trapped as I was." Charlie explained.
He then went on to talk about how Dorothy wanted to go to the empire state building, and how they chatted about the places they wanted to go.
Eliot then came on comms. "Nate, Kaira, this town's crawling with treasure hunters. I'll do a sweep and report back to you. But do not let Charlie leave the hospital." Eliot said over comms.
"Copy that." Kaira said.
The woman came back out.
"I founnd this behind a wall when we first moved in." The woman said.
"Stand by." Eliot whispered.
"Couldn't bare to throw it away." The woman said as she handed Eliot the painting.
Eliot unraveled it, revealing it wasn't the Van Gogh they were after.
"Does this help you?" The woman asked.
"No, but it looks like somebody that lived here really wanted to visit the Eiffel Tower." Eliot said.
"The Eiffel Tower!" Parker said, back at the hospital.
"Yeah." Charlie started chuckling, causing Parker to chuckle as well.
"That's where Dorothy wanted to go, too! Her daddy was thrilled she was finally aspiring to the finer things in life." Charlie chuckled at the memory.
"Oh, so he started giving her French lessons. What he didn't know - that she was turning around and teaching me French, too." Charlie said, chuckling again.
He started talking about one lesson where Dorothy was upset that Charlie understood French better than her. She said that he was ready to go to France right then, and then Charlie said that they could go together.
"I said it as a joke, just so I could take it back, but I meant every word of it. I was in love with Dorothy Ross." Charlie said.
He then went on to say that Dorothy would like that. Then her father came, and she left.
"Now, Williamette City is not Selma, Alabama, but it was 1942. And a black man making overtures to a white woman was literaly a crime. But I had gotten away with it. Or so I thought." Charlie said before grunting.
He described a night at the Palace where he got attacked by some men. Luckily, the Sheriff stoped the fighting and wanted Charlie to be careful.
"At that moment, I realized I had to do something to change Mr. Ross' mind about me. Maybe Dorothy was right - maybe I was ready to go to France." Charlie said.
Not long after that, Charlie signed up for the war.
"Now, there weren't a lot of choices for a black man in the army. I drove a supply truck as part of the Red Ball Express. And I was good at it. And I could use my French to horse-trade for food and wine and whatever. Well, not that I got a chance to enjoy it. It was after D-Day, and we were clearing pockets of Germans in the French countryside. Paris was gonna have to wait." Charlie said.
He went on to talk about a time where they stopped the truck and he got out to get another grenade and ammo for a soldier. A woman came over, very upset and speaking French. Charlie tried to warn the guys to get down, but a sniper shot rang out, hitting a guy in the leg. They got behind the truck for cover as they tried to take the sniper out. Charlie grabbed a gun and killed the sniper and walked up to the body to make sure he was alone.
"Ah, it didn't make sense that he would be alone like this. In the chaos of the invasion, anything was possible." Charlie explained.
He checked the guys bag, which had a journal, which he pocketed as some other soldiers gathered up his things.
Sophie walked up to Nate and Kaira outside of the room.
"Did you hear him mention the letters, huh? Maybe it is true." Sophie said.
Hardison came over and sneezed, causing Kaira to give him a tissue.
"What do you got?" Nate asked Hardison.
"Or, probably just my sensitivity to dust mites. It's what happens when you send me to the hall of records a second -" Hardison complained.
"No, no, no. No. Dorothy Ross. What do you have on Dorothy Ross?" Nate asked.
"D - She died. Dorothy Van Buren, formerly Dorthy Ross - she died three years ago." Hardison said.
"Aw man." Kaira whispered and groaned, feeling bad Charlie lost the woman he loved.
"But it looks like she spent her whole life here in town, playing the Wurlitzer over at the Roller Palace. She, uh - left her house to her daughter." Hardison gave Sophie a piece of paper with an address.
"Oh." Sophie said.
"That's the address right there." Hardison said.
"She had a daughter?" Kaira asked.
"Yeah. Dorothy married some local guy in '57. He died in the 90's." Hardison said.
"Kaira and I'll check it out." Sophie said.
Kaira smiled and walked away with Sophie.
"Like hanging here in a hospital is any better. You know what, man - if I get out of this job without upper-respiratory issues, it will be a miracle." Hardison said.
"Yeah." Nate said, giving Hardison another tissue as he walked by. Hardison complained and let it drop.
Back in the hospital room, Charlie went on to talk about how they were giving another soldier the Bronze star medal.
"McClusky - the man who hid behind my truck." Charlie said.
He said we went into the tent and talked with the Lieutenant. Charlie called him out, but because Charlie was black, he wasn't able to get the medal, saying it was how it was. He then left the tent and remembered the notebook.
"When you speak English and French, German's not that hard. The letter was to his girl back home, a girl he'd never see because of me. I didn't have time to dwell on this unfortunate situation because of what I read next. It was about a painting he had saved from the fire... and how it would provide for them for the rest of their lives. The sniper's gear was in his tent. Lieutenant hadn't looked at it yet. I was the only one who knew about the painting." Charlie said. He described going into the tent and grabbed the painting. "At the moment, I realized that I didn't have to be a hero to get Dorothy. I had the painting. And I had a plan." Charlie said. \Parker knew she was getting close.
Meanwhile, Sophie and Kaira had introduced themselves as lawyers who were trying to help stop the destruction of the Roller Palace. Dorothy's daughter got them tea as they sat on the couch.
"How can they tear down the Roller Palace?" She asked.
"Mm. It's a long story. The developer paid off the planning commission. My law firm are trying to help." Sophie explained as Dorothy's daughter sat down on the couch.
"Well, you came to the right place. My mom played the Wurlitzer at the Roller Palace for 50 years." She explained as they looked through a photo book.
"So we were told." Kaira smiled.
"And anytime someone would try to tear it down, she would fight them tooth and nail. She'd sit right there at her old desk, and she would write a letter to anyone who would listen." She explained, pointing to a desk off to the side.
Kaira and Sophie both took note. "Hmm. This is her." The daughter said, handing the book to Sophie, who grabbed it. And the picture reminded Kaira of Parker a bit.
"She's beautiful." Sophie said.
"She was. She passed away three years ago." The daughter explained.
"I'm so sorry." Kaira said, apologetic.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Sophie said.
"Mm. It's your accent. You remind me of my Aunt Cecilia. She was a war bride, and she taught my mom to play the Wurlitzer organ at the palace." The daughter said to Sophie.
"Wow." Sophie marveled.
"And your accent reminds me of a friend of my moms, Maria. She was always around my mom. She once told me they were like sisters." The daughter looked at Kaira.
Back at the hospital, Charlie was now sitting at the table with Parker.
"The first time I saw Dorothy since I left for the war, it was like she was floating on air." Charlie said.
He then went on to talk about Dorothy being happy to see him, skating towards him. He mentioned that her friend Maria was there.
Sophie and Kaira were still at the daughter's house, sitting on the couch, looking at the photo book.
"I can see the Roller Palace meant the world to your mother." Sophie did.
"It did." The daughter said. Just then, her phone started ringing. "Oh, excuse me." She said, getting up. She answered the phone. "Hello?" She said.
"Hello, Miss Porter? This is Chad Jones calling from Credit Services. There's been some unusual activity on your credit card. Did you, by chance, purchase a jet ski?" Hardison was heard on comms, calling the daughter from a closet, using an Indian accent.
"I'm sorry, a what?" Miss Porter questioned.
"I have some more charges I need you to confirm." Hardison said.
"Okay, this is ridiculous. Let me get my card. Just a minute. I'm sorry, will you excuse me?" Miss Porter looked at Sophie and Kaira.
"It's all good. We'll just keep looking at the book." Kaira smiled.
Miss Porter went into the other room and Sophie sat the book down on the couch.
"We're clear. There's no sign of the painting here, but I've got a lead." Sophie said.
\She got up and looked underneath the desk, and Kaira walked over and did the same. Sophie opened up one of the drawers, realizing the sound was off. She pulled the small drawer out and showed Kaira the key that was taped to the bottom.
"Looks like a safety deposit box key." Kaira smiled at Sophie as she grabbed the key.
"Miss Porter, I'm almost done expunging these false charges from your credit card. It will just me another moment." Hardison said, still in cover.
He put the phone down to his chest. "Guys. Guys, that painting's only 18 inches. That can easily fit inside a safety-deposit box." Hardison said.
"Or she could have sold it and stashed the cash." Sophie said, heading back to the couch to put the key away.
"Sophie, Hardison, uh, open that safe deposit box. Eliot, Kaira, I want you to secure the bank's perimeter. Parker, you're doing a great job. Keep it up." Nate said, walking down the hall.
Charlie explained to Parker that he talked about telling Dorothy his plan to sell the painting, then travel everywhere they wanted to go. To do that, Dorothy was playing the Wurlitzer the next day, so they would sneak in then. Dorothy said that Cecilia and Maria would help her. Charlie had given Dorothy the plan. Charlie left just as the Sheriff showed up.
Hardison, Sophie, Kaira, and Eliot all met at the bank. Hardison hacked a cell panel and tossed the phone to Eliot. Sophie handed Hardison another phone as they walked to the bank. They walked up to the people in charge.
"Excuse me." Sophie got their attention, using an American accent. "Are you the branch manager?" Sophie asked the man.
"Yes, I'll be with you in just one moment." The man said.
Sophie and Hardison flashed FDIC badges. "I'm afraid this can't wait. Can we speak to you in private?" Sophie asked.
"Of course. Please excuse us for a moment." The man told the woman he was speaking to. She left.
Sophie went on to explain about a stress test the bank failed, and horribly. Of course, the branch manager freaked out, wondering why he wasn't told. Sophie told him to call D.C. to confirm it. Hardison gave him the wired phone, telling him to keep his voice down unless he wanted a "run on your broke-ass bank". He called the number.
Eliot and Kaira were hiding behind a van when the phone rang. Eliot answered it. "Yeah, this is... Marcus Dupree. Yes, this is the FDIC Investigation Bureau. What do you need?" Eliot asked. "I can confirm that there is a spot inspection scheduled for today." Eliot said.
Just then, the husband and wife recognized a man walking past them. "That's r- I got to put you on hold." Eliot said. "Randal." Eliot said.
He turned around and sighed. "Singapore, right?" Eliot said.
"Yeah." Randal said.
"Right, it was Paul McCartney's Hofner bass guitar. I believe you owe my husband 27,000 dollars." Kaira taunted as Eliot put the phone away.
"Or we can split this fee and walk away with 3.3 million each. What do you say?" Randal said, really hoping to not get his ass kicked.
"You should have paid us, Randal." Eliot said.
Eliot pulled him behind the van and they kept beating the shit out of him.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Parker was tapping her fingers on the table. She sighed.
"I don't understand. Why couldn't you and Dorothy just run away in the middle of the night?" Parker asked.
Charlie smiled at the innocence of Parker. "In whose car? Her father's? We'd never make it to the county line. We had to slip away when everyone in town was watching something else." Charlie explained.
Charlie was waiting for Dorothy at a bridge, waiting for a train to pass overhead. Dorothy played the Wurlitzer, and Cecilia and Maria brought her things. Cecilia started playing, and Maria helped Dorothy to the basement to sneak out. Charlie ended up running into Alfred Ross and his boys.
"When I saw Dorothy's father, I-I figured... my ticket was punched." Charlie explained.
He went on to say how Alfred asked where Charlie was stationed. He said they owed him a debt, and said Charlie's mom would be proud, but Charlie told him off. Ross then said that basically just because Charlie was black, he couldn't talk to him that way and that Charlie needed a reminder of his place. But Ross said he just had one question, which was what was Charlie's intentions with Dorothy.
Charlie was about to get stabbed but lied saying he was Canada, saying the keys to the car were in the bag. One guy pulled out a grenade, and Charlie pulled the pin, knowing it was a dud. Charlie met Dorothy under the bridge, where they hugged. But then, the boys found him, but the Sherif shot at the boys, buying Charlie and Dorothy time to run.
They made it to the train. Charlie was going to have them both jump the train, and get off, and that Dorothy's dad won't catch them, but Dorothy knew he would. Dorothy couldn't bear the idea of Charlie getting hurt. Charlie said he could take care of himself, but Dorothy said she couldn't. She then said the town was her home. Charlie gave the painting to Dorothy to keep safe. They shared a tearful kiss goodbye. Parker was emotional, hearing the story.
"And... that was the last time I saw Dorothy Ross." Charlie revealed, making his and Dorothy's last encounter that much more bittersweet.
Parker exhaled and sniffled back the tears. "But the painting - you gave it back to her. I mean, you could have been set for life." Parker said.
Charlie chuckled softly. "Yeah, seems like I read that in a letter before. Didn't work too well for him. Maybe the painting's a curse." Charlie said.
"So you didn't come back to town for the painting." Parker realized.
"I got to France on my own. I even walked the same road as Van Gogh did in the painting. I've had a remarkable life. I came back to this town to see her. And I was just a couple of years too late." Charlie said, a bit of sadness in his voice.
"Where do you think the painting is now?" Parker asked. Charlie shrugged his shoulders.
"Does it matter?" Charlie asked.
Meanwhile, back at the bank, Sophie and Hardison made it to the safety deposit boxes and opened the one Dorothy had.
"Well, we count around 70,000 dollars in small bills. I told you. Dorothy did sell that painting." Sophie said.
"This must be all that was left." Hardison said.
Kaira and Eliot were still outside. "No, there's no way she sold it. Not after what she lost to have it." Kaira pointed out, still recovering from the ending of the story.
Nate was at the hospital, leaned against a wall. He got an idea and spun around.
"I know where the painting is. Sophie, Hardison, protect Charlie. Eliot, Kaira, come with me. I'll send you the address." Nate said, walking away.
Nate, Eliot, and Kaira met at the Roller Palace. They were met with an older woman telling them they were closed. "We're here with the historical society. Here to fix the old Wurlitzer." Nate told her.
Nate went up to the Wurlitzer and played scales, and realized one key was off.
"How long that one been out?" Kaira asked the woman, getting the idea.
"Oh, as long as I can remember. The lady who used to play it just figured ways around it." The woman said, chuckling.
Eliot and Kaira went up to the pipes and removed the one that had the trouble. Eliot and Kaira looked in and saw something was inside and passed it down to Nate. Nate pulled out a painting from the pipe. He dropped the pipe and pulled the painting out of another tube. He unraveled it. Just as he looked at the painting, a gun cocked behind him.
"I'll take that now." Owen said, two goons beside him.
"Owen. What are you doing?" Nate asked him, not turning around.
"I've spent the last 20 years of my life chasing a ghost. Lost my family. Lost everything. I'm not leaving here without it." Owen said.
"You know, Charlie Lawson said this painting was cursed. German soldier died for it. Look what it's done to you, Owen." Nate said.
"Nate, I know you think you can talk me out of this. But you can't." Owen said.
"Well you know, I'm not trying to reason with you, Owen." Nate pulled out a lighter and flicked it on. "I just want you to understand why it is I'm doing this." Nate lit the end of the painting on fire and tossed the tube aside, causing Owen to run to it.
Eliot and Kaira dropped down. Eliot knocked his guy out with the pipe, and Kaira clocked her guy, kneed his groin, and ducked so Eliot could hit him in the head with the pipe. Eliot flicked the pipe, causing it to chime, amusing the couple. Nate walked beside Owen as he was freaking out. Nate then pulled out the real painting.
"This painting's about a man going to work. That's why you loved it. Somehow that got lost." Nate told Owen. They left the Roller Palace and went back to the hospital.
Everyone met up in Charlie's room, where they showed him the painting. Charlie wanted to donate it to the Boston Museum of Art.
"I think the Boston Museum of Art is an excellent choice, Charlie." Nate said.
Charlie hummed as he looked at the painting.
"H-How did you figure it out?" Charlie asked Nate.
"You told me. See, once I knew that Dorothy had the painting, the key to finding it was understanding her. Now, she was loyal. Loyal to this town, loyal to you. She made you a promise. She said that she would keep the Van Gogh safe, and that's exactly what she did... watching over it every time she played the organ. She saved her tips all those years, hoping." Nate explained.
"In case I came back." Charlie said.
"Yeah." Nate confirmed.
"You know... when I came back here and found out she was gone, I felt cheated. I-I didn't know how she would have felt about seeing me. Now I-I guess I do." Charlie said.
Charlie and Nate shook hands. Nate and Sophie left first. "You can't possibly know that's the real story." Sophie pointed out.
"No, but it's the best story." Nate said.
Eliot and Hardison did their handshake. Then Hardison sneezed, so Eliot got him the tissue box, shaking his head as he left with Kaira, who was still thinking about Charlie's story. Parker walked up to Charlie.
"Ah. I guess this is it." Charlie smiled at Parker.
"Yeah." Parker said. They both chuckled. "They're gonna be discharging you in an hour, so... take care of yourself, Charlie." Parker said, putting her hand on Charlie's.
"It's the one thing I've always done." Charlie said, causing them both to chuckle.
Parker went to leave, but Charlie grabbed her hand.
"There's one thing I want to tell you. Don't waste time." Charlie looked at Hardison, then Parker. Parker chuckled and Hardison smiled as they walked out hand in hand.