Third Person POV
The team's latest client was a woman named Emily Margold. She told Nate and Sophie her story of two guys in tuxes who broke her father's ribs and nearly ran them over after threatening them. They were sitting at the table in the bar. "Fractured ribs... punctured lung. They could have killed him." Emily explained.
"Well, you called the police?" Sophie questioned.
"We couldn't identify the men. We didn't get a license plate. Not much a small-town sheriff can do." Emily pointed out.
"But someone's been calling you." Nate questioned.
"A big shot from Verd Agra Corporation called us last month. I turned him down." Emily explained.
"They tried to buy the farm?" Sophie questioned.
"No. Something a lot more valuable." Emily said, getting a lunchbox with watermelon on it out of her bag. She opened the lunchbox, revealing a potato.
"A... potato." Nate said, confused.
"Every year, half a million kids go blind because they don't have enough vitamin A. So I developed a potato that has extra nutrients inside. I'm a crop sciences major. It's my thesis project. Super Tuber." Emily explained.
Nate chuckled at how excited Emily was about what she made.
"So, well, you created something extraordinary. Why not sell and take the payoff?" Sophie asked.
"There are families that are living on less than a dollar a day. I can't take their money. I'm giving away the potato for free so that they can grow it themselves." Emily explained.
"Wow. An open-source potato. So, clearly, you're threatening Verd Agra's bottom line." Nate explained.
"I got another call this morning. Same big shot, same offer. He pretended he had no idea what happened to my dad. I told him he couldn't scare me into selling. But, Mr. Ford... I am scared." Emily said.
"Don't be. We're gonna take care of this. We're gonna take care of you." Nate assured Emily, putting the potato in the lunchbox.
"Thank you." Emily said. She packed up the lunchbox. "Thanks, guys." Emily said before leaving.
Nate stood up and watched her leave as Sophie stood up. "What are you doing? Where are you going?" Nate asked Sophie, realizing she was about to leave.
"Oh, I'm starving. All that talk about tubers." Sophie said, putting her purse on her shoulder.
"Let's, uh... let's get dinner." Nate suggested.
"Huh?" Sophie questioned.
"Oh, no, no. I'm not - no. I'm not saying like, dinner like that, no. Just like a bite to eat, kind of-" Nate said.
"As colleagues." Sophie said.
"As friends." Nate said.
"Oh. A civilized working meal." Sophie said.
"Yeah, as friends." Nate insisted.
"Oh. You said that part." Sophie said, flustering Nate.
They left the bar to go eat. Then something happened later that night that neither of them really wanted to talk about again. And the author is pretty sure it involved sex on the living room floor. Because Nate woke up on the floor, and Sophie was walking down the stairs, both half dressed.
First Person POV (Kaira)
Eliot, Hardison, Parker, and I walked into the living room. Nate was on the floor, though he quickly got up, and Sophie was sitting at the briefing table, and looked at us. Hardison had been briefing us about the job, specifically the target. Parker walked to the kitchen, Hardison to the briefing table, and Eliot and I walked to the briefing table, though I swear I saw Nate zipper his pants.
"Her potato is better than a Flintstone vitamin. And it can take anything that nature has to throw down - drought, disease, bugs. Think that happens naturally? No. Emily - she's a hacker. She's a certified, stone-cold plant hacker." Hardison explained as Eliot and I sat down, with Nate giving us a wave. "Computer hacking? Bio-hacking - that's the future." Hardison explained.
"And Verd Agra is going after that poor girl in - in plain sight." Sophie said. I noticed her speech was off for "in plain sight", but I let it go.
"Oh, no." I heard Nate say.
"Oh, yeah. The super tuber's no joke." Hardison explained as Eliot and I looked back at Nate now leaning against the spiral staircase. "Yields, water requirements, viral resistance. That's a normal spud. Super tuber." Hardison pulled up a graph showing the yields as Parker came back over with a bowl of cereal.
"So, it's sort of like the best-ever potato on the market." Nate pointed out.
"U.S potato crop's worth more than 3three and a half billion dollars a year." Eliot explained.
Parker sat in between Eliot and Sophie. "How do you know that?" Parker asked him.
"It's crops. I'm from the heartland." Eliot explained.
"So, this super tuber's worth more than, say, diamonds." Sophie pointed out.
"Oh, come on, guys. A potato?" Parker questioned. Parker then made antennas with her fingers and started tapping her fingers on the table.
"Is that - is that a bug? No, Parker, there's - there's no bugs. No one's listening." Hardison assured Parker.
"Yeah, I-I-I got it. Shh. I get it. They want the "potato"." Parker said, putting air quotes around potato.
"I've heard of Verd Agra. They spend more money on security than most countries." Eliot explained.
I looked back at Nate. "Yeah, they hire people like me and Eliot, because if they lose any of their secrets get out, that's billions in revenue lost." I explained.
"Yeah, so they - they got muscle. Tell me about their suits." Nate said, walking up to the table, causing Eliot and me to look back at the screen.
Hardison pulled up the suits in question. Nate passed Sophie, and I swear I see him pass something to her. He kept walking to the screen.
"Him, right there, that's Colin Saunders, record long tenure as CEO. This man is super power-hungry and super paranoid. He's very good at staying at the top. And acquisitions are his favorite part of the biz." Hardison explained. He pulled up another picture of a woman. "Jana West, his number two. She's chief of operations. Ambitious, cutthroat. See, Saunders calls the shots. He sends Jana to do the dirty work." Hardison explained.
Just then, I heard Nate's cell ringing. Nate realized it wasn't on him, and it was in his jacket, which was on Sophie's chair, which Sophie brushed off.
"Yeah? Okay. I want you to stall them. Do whatever it takes to, uh - to buy us some time until we can get there. Okay?" Nate talked to Emily, obviously, something was not right. "All right, Verd Agra is back." Nate explained, grabbing his jacket.
"And they're bringing more muscle?" Sophie asked.
"Worse. Lawyers." Nate said.
"That is worse." I groaned as we all got up.
We all packed into the van and my car and drove to Emily's farm.
Third Person POV
Unfortunately, when the team arrived, Emily was out back sitting on a picnic table, telling them that Jana and some goons had left, citing some bullshit copyright excuse to get the potato. She even threatened Emily, asking if she had the money to prove the potato was actually hers.
"When did they leave?" Nate asked.
"10 minutes ago." Emily explained.
"If you let that stuff get back to the facility, it's going to be like breaking into Fort Knox. We got to move." Eliot said, already gearing up to leave.
"Sophie, Hardison, take the back roads and cut them off." Nate ordered them.
"How?" Hardison asked.
"Just get creative. We'll come up from behind and bottle them up. Let's go." Nate said, walking ahead with Sophie and Hardison.
Eliot, Parker, and Kaira stayed behind. "Emily, stay inside, lock the door. We'll call you once we're done." Kaira told Emily, putting her hands on her shoulder.
She left with Eliot and Parker and they got in the cars and drove off. Sophie and Hardison pulled up to an intersection.
"Well, he said "get creative"." Sophie reminded Hardison.
Hardison put the van in park. "Hide Lucille." Hardison said, shutting off the van. He got out with Sophie.
He found a rake and started raking the hay on the ground as Sophie hid the van. Harrison saw the van with the Verd Agra goons and Jana approach and started dancing, acting like he was listening to music. He pretended to notice them, taking out his earbuds.
"Hey! Could use a little help, neighbor. Had myself a snafu. Or you could just stand there like bougie city folk - coldhearted, unhelpful." Hardison said.
Jana looked at all the hay, including the bale blocking their path. "Get this." Jana ordered her goons. "You don't look like a farmer." Jana told Hardison.
"Excuse you? Miss City and Sadiddy? Ain't you heard of the urban farming revolution? See, look here. Big business calls food a hormone sandwich with a side of pesticide fries. I'm trying to bring it back. Real chicken. You probably eat just an old butter nugget." Hardison told Jana.
Sophie, meanwhile, was watching the whole thing from a distance in the woods. "Oh, Hardison." Sophie groaned, realizing Hardison was about to blow the con.
Nate was driving the car with Eliot in the passenger seat, and Kaira and Parker in the back. "Remember Laos. You and agriculture do not mix." Nate warned Hardison.
"I keep telling him he can't fake country." Eliot said.
"I think I fake country well." Kaira pointed out.
"Cause you've been around me for seven years, sweetheart." Eliot said.
Kaira just hummed, showing Eliot had a point.
"I think they're buying it." Parker said.
"Parker, it's not working." Sophie whispered on comms.
"Sophie, what are you doing?" Nate asked.
"I'm living in the moment." Sophie said.
She was walking towards the road. She went up behind Hardison and punched him, knocking him out. She shook her hand. "Whew!" Sophie exclaimed, shaking out her hand.
"Sophie? Hardison? What's happening?" Nate asked over comms.
Jana looked at Sophie, confused. "Who are you? Where the hell did you come from?" Jana asked Sophie.
"Miranda Kaley. Security Consultant. I'm here to secure the product. I've been covering you since the farm." Sophie explained, using an American accent.
"Kaley? I wasn't briefed about you." Jane questioned Sophie.
"It's above your pay grade, ma'am. Board of Directors sent me. You weren't supposed to stop. Our position is compromised. My car's a burn. I'll have to ride with you." Sophie told Jana, selling her cover.
"What about him?" Jana asked, looking at Hardison.
"He's just a diversion. But there is an assault team on its way to you now. We can stand here and discuss it and just wait for them, or we can discuss this at Verd Agra when the product is secure." Sophie explained, worrying Jana. Sophie got in the van and left.
Nate, Eliot, Kaira, and Parker arrived as Hardison got up. They all saw Hardison on the ground as they got out.
"I don't know whether to be amused that you got popped by Sophie, or upset it wasn't me that got to pop ya." Kaira teased slightly as they walked up to him.
"She popped you, huh?" Eliot asked Hardison.
"Kaira and I've been teaching her a couple things." Eliot was grinning at Hardison.
"Naw, man, I had to help her out. I had to really sell it. You know-" Hardison brushed it off.
Nate had ignored Hardison and walked ahead a bit. "All right, Sophie, calling audibles? Hope this works out for you." Nate told Sophie on comms. He turned back and walked to the team. "They're headed back to Verd Agra headquarters. Let's go. I hope Sophie tells us what game she's running." Nate said, walking back to the car.
Eliot and Kaira noticed a bit of blood on Hardison's lip. "She got you, man. You got a little blood right there." Eliot said, pointing to his lip.
"Yeah, she's got a right hook like a freight train." Hardison said.
"She put her hips into it like that?" Eliot asked, fake punching to show what he meant.
"I'm pretty sure she did." Hardison said.
"That's my girl, man!" Eliot exclaimed, clapping a couple times, proud of himself.
"Stop. Don't teach people how to do that." Hardison said as he walked away.
"You're just pissed Sophie nailed you." Kaira yelled as she got back to the car.
Hardison got the van and they drove to Verd Agra headquarters.
First Person POV (Kaira)
We met at Verd Agra and Eliot and I got out first, waiting for Sophie to arrive, and the team came behind us.
"Eliot, you said once they get to headquarters, the potato is lost?" Nate said, waiting by the van, looking out. Eliot and I had walked ahead.
"We got a man on the inside. That changes everything." Eliot pointed out.
We watched as Sophie arrived and went into the building.
"Sophie, give us some hints here soon so we know the game." I told Sophie, trying to think of what game she'd play.
I saw Nate and Parker get into the van. I also heard Hardison chuckling on comms.
"That Sophie sure thinks fast. She sent me Jana's cellphone number, so now we control her calls." Hardison informed us.
I smiled a bit, knowing that was a move any one of us would do.
"Isn't anyone mad at Sophie? Hardison, she punched you in the face." Nate questioned all of us.
"Takes a real man to take one for the team." Hardison said, obviously wanting to forget it.
"Hey, whatever you need to keep telling yourself." Eliot told Hardison, and I could see the grin on his face.
"Sophie said she was a security consultant. We need to build her a profile. They're gonna be checking her credentials any second." Nate told Hardison.
"Well, I had the perfect cover story. So, security consultant/spy/corporate espionage. Thing is... it was made for Eliot." Hardison explained.
"It's all hers." Eliot said, giving the go ahead.
"One Eliot/Sophie coming up." Hardison said.
Finally, I heard Sophie on comms. "Miranda Kaley. Valerian Security. K-A-L-E-Y." Sophie said.
I just know Hardison did not like that.
"E-Y? You're killing me here." Hardison complained.
Apparently, Hardison put Eliot and Sophie's faces together because Parker blurted out,
"Ah! Looks great." I figured Hardison used Sophie's face. Which why he didn't just do that first, I do not know.
"I'm not done yet. It's a lot of little details." Hardison explained.
"Did you get it?" I asked, getting nervous waiting.
"Male? Aw, crap." Hardison said, as I assumed he fixed it. Since I didn't hear otherwise from Sophie's comm, I assume she was good.
Just then, I heard Nate's phone ringing in my comm. "She's calling the board." Hardison said.
I assume he routed the number to Nate's phone.
"Yeah? Of course, we can neither confirm nor deny our relationship with Ms. Kaley. That would be a matter for CEO Saunders." Nate said. I breathe in relief that Sophie was in since I didn't hear otherwise. "We can't oversell this. I mean, a real board member would never discuss such a thing with an underling, so now we wait." Nate said.
"I really like Eliot/Sophie. Could you do Nate/me? No! Nate/you! No! Eliot/Kaira!" Parker got excited and I chuckled as Hardison stopped her.
I figured Hardison got camera feeds in the building, because of Parker's next question.
"Wait, where are they taking her?" Parker asked.
"Nowhere good." Hardison said.
The only thing I could do was listen and wait for Sophie to tell us the game she was running. It's a minute, but eventually, I hear something from Sophie's end.
"I have a tough time believing Saunders didn't tell me about you." Jana told Sophie.
"Believe me, he doesn't know. The Board of Directors hired me, told me to apprise CEO Saunders directly. You're tough, don't convince easily. I like that. I'm not blind. You're the leader in the trenches. These men respect you." Sophie said, and I swear I just hear a female version of Eliot's voice, and if I didn't know it was Sophie on the other end, I would've sworn it was Eliot flirting with me.
"Till I make a mistake." Jana said.
"And then they tear you down. It's not easy being a woman with vision." Sophie said.
"What's that voice? Is she doing me?" Eliot asked.
"I think so, babe." I teased Eliot slightly.
"Look... I know you acquired a potato from the Margold family. It'll increase your yield by 42%. It'll reduce your irrigation needs by a third." Sophie told Jana, which I assume she got from reading Hardison's report.
"Who told you that?" Jana asked Sophie.
"The board. They hired me because you have a security breach, and they don't know who to trust, ma'am. You got a mole." Sophie explained, and I immediately knew the con.
"The Romanian Circus. Good one, Soph. Turning the marks suspicions against his own people. Nice." I point out.
"Now... it could be you. It could be him or him. It could be anyone." Sophie said.
She paused. "What is she - wh - what is she pausing -" Eliot questioned as he walked off, and I followed him.
"Give me 12 hours, ma'am. I'll find him." Sophie told Jana.
"What's she's doing here is she's running a variant. It's called the Snipe Hunt. It's the Circus, but it's leaner and faster. Yeah. Yeah. Hmm." Nate explained.
Third Person POV
Sophie was sat with Jana in Saunder's office. Saunders came in and sat down on his desk. "April 6, 1995, I, uh, became CEO. Ever since I reached the top, people have been trying to take things from me. I mean, we barely get our hands on our newest acquisition, and a mole wants to take it away." Saunder explained.
"Regrettable, sir." Sophie said.
"Yes, it is. It's very regrettable. We did that girl a favor. She doesn't have the resources to get her discovery out there. We're... we're on every continent. We reach millions of people's lives. In return, we deserve a healthy cut." Saunders said.
"Sir, is the product secure?" Sophie asked Saunders.
"It's in our burn room. I'm the only one with access." Saunder told Sophie.
Nate and Parker were still in the van. "Burn room?" Nate questioned.
"It's usually a vault within a vault. The walls are lined with thermite. All he has to do is press a button, and flame on - all his dirty secrets burn away." Hardison explained, walking to the entrance of the building, holding a stack of boxes.
"Everything burns? I want one." Parker said.
Nate and Parker left the van. "We need to get that potato out of that burn room." Nate told everyone.
Sophie stood up. "I'll find you your mole, Mr. Saunders. First thing to do - lockdown. No one gets in. No one gets out. We trap him..." Sophie went to shake Saunder's hand. "... And we root him out." Sophie explained.
Nate was back at the van. "Guys, we got a slight hitch with the Snipe Hunt." Nate reported.
"You temm me this now?" Hardison questioned quietly, still walking to the entrance.
"They always involve a lockdown. Now, the con only works if the crew can infiltrate the mark before the lockdown begins. Gives us about five minutes to get everybody in." Nate explained.
Just then, Hardison dropped all the boxes. He just stood there, waiting for someone to help him. "Um..." Hardison said before starting to pack the boxes.
Parker was watching from above, giving Hardison tips for lifting a badge. "Okay, steady, steady." Parker told Hardison.
Some had come over to help Hardison. "Oh, thank you man. That's - man, that's what I'm talking - that's brother love right there." Hardison buttered up the guy.
"Now, move when he moves so he doesn't feel the lift. And... now!" Parker told Hardison.
He went for the badge, but missed it and stood up.
"No! The opposite of that." Parker told Hardison.
Eliot and Kaira were walking in the parking lot, checking the perimeter as well as waiting for instructions. "Hey, we can't all be action heroes." Eliot quipped.
"I'll show you an action hero." Hardison quipped, getting up.
"Hardison, just breathe, keep calm, and keep it smooth." Kaira told Hardison.
When Hardison got up, he ran into another guy.
"Uh, nice and easy..." Parker cued Hardison up.
He grabbed the badge and put it in his pocket. "Thank you, man. That's real nice. Appreciate it." Hardison told the guy. Hardison finished stacking the boxes up. "And what? Say something now." Hardison quipped.
"Yeah. One good lift in three years. Awesome!" Eliot said sarcastically.
Kaira side-eyed Eliot. "Good job, Hardison." Kaira complimented him.
"Hardison's in. Next up?" Nate asked Sophie.
Sophie was still in Saunder's office, with him talking to Jana. "I told them my assistants are on their way. They're expecting accountants with excellent credentials." Sophie told Nate, dropping her accent.
"Okay, good, that takes care of me and Kaira. Who's next?" Nate asked.
"That won't work, Nate. I need Eliot and Kaira. Look, I'm doing my best, but this is a hitter's role. The sooner they get in, the better." Sophie explained.
Nate looked slightly offended.
"Nate? Are you there?" Sophie asked, hearing nothing from Nate.
"Yeah, I'm here. Uh... that makes perfect sense. Sophie, I just thought you'd get me in." Nate said.
"You're a mastermind. Figure it out." Sophie told Nate.
Nate kept pacing. "Okay, Eliot, Kaira, get to the door. Sophie will do the rest. And lovebirds... look the part." Nate told them.
Eliot tacked a guy on the phone and took his clothes and changed. Kaira already had on a button-up, so she removed her jacket, tossed it with Eliot's clothes, and put her hair up. She grabbed a pair of black dress pants from her bag and put her and Eliot's clothes in the bag. They both walked to the door, Eliot putting his hair up. Eliot lifted a jacket and they walked up to the desk. They signed in, with Kaira giving the guy a flirty smile. They got their badges and met up with Sophie.
"There's a lot of ex-military muscle around. ATF, Secret Service. You can tell by their stance." Eliot told Sophie. Eliot put the jacket on as they started walking.
"Nate, you in? We're out of time." Sophie said.
"Oh, we're in. Oh, yeah." Nate said as Parker joined him.
They started walking down to where they saw a small school bus. Nate and Parker walked up to them, acting like they were expecting the kids. "Hello! Hello! Hello! Welcome to Verd Agra. Yes, my name is Mike Biltz. This is Jen Hedborn. We are your educational coordinators here at Verd Agra. Welcome kids. Hi." Nate told them. The kids all said hi. Nate got the I.D and roster from the teacher and sent her away, saying she deserved a break. Nate and Parker led the kids into the building.
They went through security and one of the kids mouthed off, which Nate stopped by saying he was gonna take away the kids field trip privileges. Just as Nate got done talking to the kid, the alarm went off, signaling the lockdown had started. Nate took the kids over to the map of the building, where Trevor's phone went off. Nate said the boy didn't need a cellphone, and he off course snipped that it was for if he was abducted. Nate brushed him off and looked at the map, trying to get a plan together without alerting the kids. He started going on about the security system, and how for the third floor, it was like a target with green, yellow, and red rings, indicating different levels of security. Nate also pointed out to Parker that they only had visitor badges, and would need to get a badge for the red zone. Nate also realized the badges had trackers in them. Once Nate was finished, he brushed off his speech.
First Person POV (Kaira)
Sophie, Eliot, and I were all led to an office. "Sir, Miss Kaley and her accountants for you." The security guy said as they walked us into the room. Saunders stood up and looked at us.
"My Associates Tom Boonen and Christina Perry. They're forensic accountants." Sophie introduced our covers.
Eliot went to shake Saunder's hand. "Number's don't lie-" Eliot said in his normal voice, which I gave him a pinch to warn him to correct it. He pretended to cough and clear his throat, so I spoke up. "Excuse me. Number's don't lie. I won't let 'em." Eliot said, taking the gruffness out of his voice.
"Mnh-mnh. We've trapped the mile, Mr. Saunders. Now we need access to anyone we red-fag as suspicious, like your head of I.T." Sophie explained, still in cover.
"We'll find your mole, Mr. Saunders." I spoke, using a British accent partially to piss Sophie off, partially because I wanted to make make sure I didn't blend in.
Saunders agreed and we all looked at each other, Sophie knowing damn well what I was doing.
Third Person POV
Since Sophie had Saunders call down the head of I.T, it allowed Hardison to make his way in the servers to get access to cameras and what he needed. "Best room in the house." Hardison said, also telling Nate he was in position and sitting down at the computer.
"Okay, great, Sophie, but enough with the audibles." Nate said on comms, having got the kids in a conference room and Parker got on a movie.
"I've done this much tons of times. So, suddenly, you don't like it. I wonder why." Sophie taunted Nate, walking the halls.
"Okay, listen. We got to focus. We got a job to do, okay?" Nate tried to get everyone in line.
"Oh, how convenient." Sophie taunted again, still walking.
Parker joined Nate. "That should keep them busy." Parker said.
Nate looked at the kids. "Okay, kids, good movie, right here." Nate told them as the movie was playing. Trevor told Nate the moving was boring, which Nate told him it got better.
Nate and Parker walked out of the room. "Now, they're keeping the potato inside the burn room. That's their highest security vault - must be inside the red zone." Nate quietly explained to Parker as she grabbed a jacket.
"But the system will tag anyone who runs straight for the bull's-eye." Hardison explained.
"Well, not if we look like more than one person." Nate pointed out.
"Sophie getting me a badge?" Parker asked Nate, putting the jacket on.
"She's getting you three." Nate informed Parker.
"Okay." Parker said, leaving with Nate.
Eliot and Kaira were walking the halls together.
Hardison pulled up the roster for I.D's so that way he could tell the trio who to grab. "All right, Sophie, Eliot, Kaira, call in Amy Danna, Sarah Perez, and Matt McFadden." Hardison said.
Eliot went to get Matt, Kaira went to get Sarah, and Sophie got Amy. Parker walked past Sophie, who had her hands behind her walking with Jana. Parker walked past, grabbing the I.D.
Apparently, Sophie discovered that the three were a botanist, an accountant, and the in-house masseuse. Nate had joined Hardison in the server room. Hardison apologized for not giving Sophie a heads up, but she managed to pull a story out of her ass involving parental issues with the guy fathering children with both women, which of course, ending up with her walking away, quietly whispering, "Damn it, Hardison!"
Kaira groaned, hearing it. "That's Eliot's line!" Kaira muttered under her breath.
"How do you come up with this stuff?" Hardison asked Sophie.
"I played a nurse on the 10th season of "The Vixen and the Knave." Sophie explained as if they knew what that was. She let them go and Parker came by with coffee, lifting their badges.
"Okay, Parker. You're on. Go to the top." Nate ordered Parker.
She made her way to the elevator and used the badge to get in.
"Hey, Parker, y-you remembered the foil, right?" Hardison asked.
Parker did indeed remember the foil, which she got from Nate when she asked about the badges. She also used the foil to wrap it around each badge, making a makeshift Faraday cage (A/N This is a real thing. Thank you MacGyver Survival handbook!) to block the RFID signal coming from the cards. Parker made it to the top floor. "Top Floor, green zone." Parker reported in, taking off the badge.
"Now, make sure after you use the badge, you get rid of it." Nate reminded Parker, and she put the badge and foil in the trash.
She put on the next badge and started walking. "I feel like a new person already." Parker said.
Hardison saw her location pop up on the screen. "Yeah, we see you, Parker. Now make your way to the center of the tootsie pop." Hardison said.
Parker hugged the wall until she reached a door with a keypad. "There's a keypad." Parker reported, slightly freaking out.
"Oh, it's a Glen-Reeder, which means a four-digit pin. 90-most percent of people use the same pin over and over. And... I have Verd Agra security footage, which means we can see him at the cafeteria ATM." Hardison said, watching the footage to get the pin. He zoomed in.
"Okay, here we go. It's 7-3-5-2." Nate said.
Parker punched it in and slid the card and made it through. "I'm in yellow." Parker reported, ditching the yellow badge.
As Hardison and Nate were watching Parker's location, they heard a kid's voice asking what they were doing. They quickly turned around and saw it was Trevor.
"What you doing?" Nate asked the kid.
"You know, I could tranquilize him, just knock him cold out." Hardison whispered to Nate.
"Yeah, why don't you do that?" Nate asked.
"He's a kid. He's a loose cannon." Hardison argued.
"No, we'll just have him get hin the chair or something." Nate whispered, gesturing to a chair that was nearby.
"Um... man, we're - we're playing a game. Come here? You want with it? Come on. Come on in. Park it. Right. And you know what? Boom. Now you're one of us." Hardison said, pulling up a chair and letting him sit right in between him and Nate, then gave him his hat.
"All right. Come on. Trevor? Shh." Nate whispered to Trevor, telling him to be quiet.
"Trevor!" Parker quietly groaned, still walking down the halls.
"Okay, Parker, talk to me." Nate said.
Parker hugged a wall and saw a single guard on his phone, a double deadbolt lock that required keys. "We've got a guard, the kind that doesn't move around, and a dual manual lock." Parker reported in.
"As in actual, physical key?" Nate questioned Parker.
"As in two keys." Parker reported.
"Oh, that's way too old-school. Can't expect me to hack that." Hardison said, not pleased with the development.
"Well, yeah, but on the other hand, you know, sometimes old school really is the best security. I mean, you know, you're -" Nate explained, brushing it off.
"No, it's not." Hardison whispered.
"What?" Nate questioned Hardison.
"Nothing." Hardison said quickly.
"Yeah?" Nate questioned.
"I'm listening." Hardison told Nate. "He's old." Hardison whispered to the kid.
Nate just looked at Hardison, unamused, then went back to the job. "Does-does the guard have an actual key?" Nate asked Parker.
She looked and saw the key. "Yeah." Parker confirmed.
"He uses the key when someone shows up with the right clearance. Now, if we get you another key, you're in." Nate realized.
"Another - another key? Who else is gonna have one?" Hardison asked, looking at the data he had.
Sophie was still working. "Eliot, Kaira, call in the head of security." Sophie asked.
"No, no. Eliot, Kaira, wait. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on, you two." Nate interrupted.
Sophie scoffed.
Eliot and Kaira were getting annoyed, walking the halls, wondering what the Hell was going on.
"Who's calling the play?!" Eliot asked, annoyed.
"Someone decide something, for the love of god!" Kaira exclaimed quietly.
"I am." Parker spoke up.
"Sweet." Eliot muttered as him and Kaira left.
"Scott McCue, head custodian, only guy with universal access. Nicely done, Parker." Nate complimented.
"You - you got to be kidding me, man. He's gonna notice. He's gonna notice." Hardison pointed out.
"Not till after." Parker said, finding Scott. She walked up to him.
"Okay, um, now, Parker, now, here's how you're gonna grift him." Nate was about to explain when Parker walked up to Scott and sneezed next to him, grabbing his key, and walking away. "All right." Nate whispered. Nate saw the mic on the table. "Is this thing hooked up?" Nate asked.
"Just pressed the button." Hardison told him.
"Scott McCue. Scott McCue, please report to security, Scott McCue." Nate said over the P.A.
Parker came out of her hiding place in the closet, then popped her head out to see he was gone. She walked past the cart.
First Person POV (Kaira)
Eliot and I joined Scott as they walked into the room. "Have a seat, sir." Eliot told Scott.
"Okay, Sophie, distract him. Make sure he doesn't know his keys are gone." Nate reminded Sophie.
She walked in front of Scott as he sat down. "Mr. McCue, how long have you worked here?" Sophie asked him.
"Hardison, help her out." Nate told Hardison.
"I don't know man. He-he looks pretty clean. Ridiculously clean." Hardison pointed out.
That gets my brain turning. If there's one thing I learned from Hardison making covers is that no one is perfect, or entirely clean. It's why Hardison makes covers that aren't entirely clean. I could tell Sophie had a similar idea.
"Would you say you're underpaid?" Sophie asked him.
"Um..." Scott was anxious to leave, and if hanging around Eliot for the past seven years taught me anything, it's how to spot a liar, and right now, Scott was ticking the boxes.
"Mr. McCue... why do you have a bank account in the Cayman Islands?" Sophie asked Scott, causing me to quietly gasp at the unexpectedness.
"What the Hell?" I muttered to myself.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Sophie. Easy. Easy on the flights of fancy." Nate warned Sophie.
"Uh, actually..." Hardison said and I hide my surprise.
"I knew you were onto me! When I saw her dead eyes! Her dead eyes!" Scott explained, pointing at Jana.
"Goddamn." I muttered to myself.
"You're the mole?" Jana asked Scott.
I can't get a good read on Sophie to tell if she meant for that to work, or if she pulled it out of her ass, but I mean it worked.
"You betrayed this company." Jana realized.
"It's true!" Scott exclaimed, looking at Jana, allowing me a moment to recenter myself.
I heard Nate chuckling on comms.
"Wait, so we found a real mole?" Hardison questioned Nate.
"She's good at what she does." Nate reminded us.
I smile a bit, knowing Jana was focused on Scott. "Yes, she is." I muttered. I recenter myself again.
"Feels good to say it!" Scott exclaimed.
"I'm impressed." Jana looked at Sophie, who gave a half smile. "I'll let Mr. Saunders know we can lift the lockdown." Jana told us.
Sophie looked at me and Eliot as Jana told her guys to take Scott downstairs and lock him up.
Eliot and I turned around. "Nate..." Eliot warned Nate.
"Yeah, I know, I know. No lockdown means security protocols resume. They'll catch us in minutes. Oh boy." Nate said.
"Hang on, I think I got a few tricks up this sleeve." I said.
Third Person POV
Kaira walked up to Jana just as she dialed Saunders on her phone. Kaira grabbed her hand and gave her a look. "Mr. McCue infiltrated this company for more than 10 years. I may just be an accountant, but working with Ms. Kaley has taught me a few things. In my experience, nobody infiltrates a company for that long without some help." Kaira told Jana, forcing her to look her in the eyes.
"He's not the only mole?" Jana asked me.
"I don't think so. He's protecting someone." Kaira sat Jana down on a chair, once again, forcing Jana to look at her. "Let me ask you about Saunders. When you speak to him, does he listen to you? I mean really listen?" Kaira asked Jana, planting the idea that Saunders was the mole.
"He values my contributions." Jana told her.
"Does he ignore your ideas, even when they seem like the most logical choice? How about when you're in control?" Kaira asked her.
Nate had a proud look on his face as he paced, listening to Kaira's questions. Hardison was confused but still proud. "Yeah, it's..." Nate brushed off Hardison. Eliot just nodded at Kaira, telling her to keep going. Sophie was probably the proudest out of all of them, knowing Kaira did what she was about to do.
"Have you considered that this is all because he doesn't have Verd Agra's best interest in mind?" Kaira asked Jana, finishing planting the idea in her brain.
"This is crazy. You think Saunders is the mole?" Jana questioned me.
"Think about it, Miss West. No one would ever question a CEO of a multimillion-dollar agriculture company like Verd Agra. If I'm right about this, and I usually am, well I'd think taking down that rat of a CEO would earn you a few points, wouldn't it?" Kaira put the nail in the coffin as Jana looks at Eliot, who silently told her to go along with what Kaira was saying. "It's best if you keep the lockdown going. We'll use the time to gather evidence against Saunders." Kaira finished.
Jana stood up and left. Eliot looked at Kaira, glad she pulled that story out of her. Jana told her guard that she needed eyes on Saunders.
Now that the lockdown was extended, Nate and Hardison focused their attention on Parker. "Okay, Hardison." Nate said, cueing Hardison. He faked a phone call to the guard outside the door, with Nate pretending to be the security coordinator, acting angry at the guard for not picking up, threatening to send him back to the lobby.
"See, what we're doing is maxing out his focus. His brain is so overloaded with angry boss, he won't remember our faces." Hardison explained to the kid.
"Hardison, don't teach him that." Nate told Hardison off.
Nate went back to his conversation, where he got Parker in as a VIP. He hung up the phone.
Parker swiped her card and was headed in.
"You need somebody to listen, I'm here. Always here. I'm reaching out." Hardison told Nate.
Parker got let in.
"Keep going, keep going." Hardison told Parker.
"Listen, Parker. The vault has two chambers. Now, the first room is the seed vault. There should be a keypad in the back of the vault, will take you to the Burn Room." Nate told Parker as she ditched her I.D. She opened the vault. "That's where Emily's potato is." Nate said.
"I got the blueprints in front of me right now. I'm gonna talk you through it first." Hardison said.
Parker opened the vault door, revealing an extremely cold, almost frozen room. "I'm already in." Parker reported, starting to shiver.
"What? What? No, no, no, Parker! The seed vault is kept beyond freezing. It's negative 20 degrees celsius in there. You - you - you got about a minute before your core temperature drops, before exposed skin gets permanent frostbite." Hardison tried to stop Parker, but she was already walking through the room.
Kaira tried to keep calm, not able to speak, as she was being escorted to Saunder's office with Eliot and Sophie.
Parker was silent on comms. "Parker! Do you hear me? What are you doing? Parker!" Hardison tried to get Parker to speak.
Parker nearly fell, and her breath was cold, and she was getting there fast. She rubbed her hands together and made her way to the keypad, starting to shiver. "I'm at the k-k-keypad." Parker reported.
"Wh-Parker, what are - listen to me! You could lose your hands." Hardison tried to get Parker to stop.
Parker exhaled on the keypad, revealing some digits. She started typing them all in. "Okay, I can see the last four numbers keyed in. 0-4-6-9." Parker explained, punching in all the combinations.
"Numbers - four digits. That - that - that means 24 possible permutations." Hardison did the math.
"No, a-all she needs in the right order." Nate pointed out.
"I'm trying them all." Parker reported.
"No, Parker, you have 10 seconds! Get out!" Hardison exclaimed.
"Parker, Parker, listen to me. Listen to me. The code you have isn't four digits. It's longer. Some of those numbers must repeat." Nate explained.
"Wait, no. No, wait. What is it, five digits, six digits? What is it? There's too many possibilities." Hardison asked, obviously very anxious about Parker.
"Saunders said only he had access, so it's not random. It's, um - it's month, day, year. Six digits. Um, um... it's a date!" Nate explained. He thought back to Sophie's initial conversation with Saunders, which he revealed the day he became CEO. "Okay, Parker, listen. 0-4-0-6-9-4. April 6th, 1994, is the CEO's start date." Nate explained.
Parker plugged it in and unlocked the door. When the door opened, a laser grid was revealed, as well as the boxes of items, as well as the case the potato was in. Parker was still shivering. "Why aren't lasers warmer?" Parker asked.
First Person POV (Kaira)
Eliot, Sophie, and I got escorted to Saunder's office. I was holding my breath, worried about Parker. I had to stay in cover, so I hid my worry well.
"Who are you working for, the board? They've wanted me out for years." Saunders interrogated us. \
"I can assure you, Mr. Saunders -" Sophie tried to explain.
"I can smell disloyalty." Saunder hissed at us.
I slightly panic about our covers being blown. He sighed and stood up.
"The board hire you to dig dirt up on me? I have enemies. I know I do." Saunders got in Sophie's space, and it takes all my willpower to not attack him. "I bet they have confederates planting evidence. Search for others." Saunders ordered his men.
I know Nate and Hardison burst out of the chairs they were in. "Parker, we're blown." Nate reported.
"Almost there." Parker reported.
I then heard an alarm blaring. Son of a bitch, this was not good. One of Saunder's men walked up to him. "Sir, there's an intruder in the vault. The system says the intruder is you." The man told Saunders.
See, Sophie took Saunder's badge and passed it to Parker, which is why I knew to set Saunders up as the mole. And that final badge that Parker needed, was Saunder's badge, which she probably sat on a crate to set off the alarm.
"I'm being set up. I'll see that evidence burn before it brings me down. Take them." Saunders said.
I panic, not knowing if I should deal with the guy on my left, or stop Saunders from pushing the button. "Oh, please. Really? Your guys are so hopeless, my accountants could take them." Sophie said.
Eliot started taking his jacket off and glasses as Sophie paced towards Saunders.
Time slows down as I realize I need to make a decision. I could take on Saunders, and make sure Parker makes it out okay, or I could take on the guy to my left. If I take on Saunders, what's to say he wouldn't just hit the button out of spite, but it's more likely that Parker gets out safely. If I attack the guy on my left, which is what Eliot was gearing up to do for the guy on his right, then Saunders could press the button, and then take Sophie hostage. But then again, what's to say he wouldn't take Sophie hostage anyway.
I know Eliot could take the three guys out easily. He's the best-damned hitter I know. But I realize, I don't know where Saunders has the button. And I realize there's no way to know where the button is without Saunders getting it first. And I know Parker is the best-damned thief I know and one of the only two friends I have. If anyone would make it out of a burn room, it would be her.
But I'm still left with the question; who do I help? Eliot, my husband and the love of my life, or Parker, one of my only friends? That panic is quickly squelched by the knowledge that Parker is indeed the best-damned thief I know and my girl. Wait? Dammit, no I can't feel like that, I'm married to someone I love. She's Hardison's girl. Stop Kaira! Get your head in the damn game! I make my choice. I realize I need to trust Parker knows what she's doing, so I decide to help Eliot.
I refocus and time moves quicker. I swing my arm, nailing the guy on my left in the neck, then swing my body and punch him in the face, then block a punch, kick his knee, then knocked him out. I see Eliot's guy on the ground.
"Don't let him hit the burn room switch. Parker's still in there." Nate reminds us.
Son of a bitch! I run past Sophie to get to Saunders, who is unlocking his drawer. But because Sophie grabbed me before I could go after Saunders, and he pushes the button. I feel the panic rise more, and I can't hide it.
"Parker, out now!" I yell quietly into the comms.
I can only hear Parker yelling. I panic as Saunders leaves. I don't hear Parker for a bit and my mind races. "Parker?" I whispered, praying she would be okay.
I then hear her on the other end. "I'm okay." Parker finally said.
I let go of the breath I was holding and calm myself down, feeling the relief that Parker was okay. We left to get the Hell out of this building.
Third Person POV
Nate took the kids back through security, where he was interrupted by Saunders. Parker appeared next to Nate as the kids walked through.
See, Parker did make it through the laser grid and got the potato. When Parker heard Kaira yelling to get out, she slid down the floor, escaping the fire.
Saunders told the security to search them. Just then, Jana came over, yelling at Saunders, saying he was fired.
See, Nate had Hardison transfer the janitor's dirty money to Saunder's account. That was also why Kaira chose to paint Saunders as the mole.
Saunders got escorted out by security. Then security went after Jana, as Nate told Hardison to make sure the transfer came from Jana.
Nate and Parker followed the kids out, and Sophie, Eliot, and Kaira was behind them, and Hardison behind them. The kids went with the teacher. Parker exchanged Trevor's phone for a case.
See, when Parker actually got the potato, Nate had Parker cut it, and exchanged the phone with the case.
Trevors' eyes lit up when he saw Hardison, and they did a little handshake, which Kaira thought was adorable. Eliot just shook his head as Trevor got back on the bus. Nate saw that indeed, the slice was in the phone case.
"And the rest of the super tuber?" Nate asked Parker.
"Mm-hmm." Parker hummed.
Earlier, Parker had put it in with the other potatoes in the cafeteria.
Kaira waved to the kids goodbye.
They all went back to the bar, where they met up with Emily to give her the tuber back. Nate and Sophie met with her to give back the tuber, which she put in a bag with water. She thanked them and left. Then Nate and Sophie left to go to dinner, but Nate left his phone on the bar.
First Person POV
I was watching the news with Hardison, trying not to think about my moment at the office, and what we saw was not good. Jana was being appointed the new CEO after being cleared of all charges. I tried calling Nate, but of course, he didn't answer the damn phone.
Hardison called him next. "Nate, I don't know where you are or what you're doing, but we need to talk now." Hardison left the voicemail.
I needed to be alone, so I went up to the roof and sat down on an old lawn chair that I put up there and just looked at the Boston skyline. And being alone led my mind to go wild with questions. What was that moment in the office? What am I supposed to do about it? Why did I think that? How can I still love Eliot, but I feel the same with Parker? I know I love Eliot because there's no one else I'd rather be tied down to. That I know is certain. But somehow Parker wiggled her way in. But the part that still is messing me up is; how can I feel the same way about two different people?
I hear someone come up, and I see it's Eliot. "Hey, Sweetheart." He gives me a soft smile, and I try my best to fake one.
"Hey, babe." I said. He sits down on the chair beside me and grabbed my hand.
"You okay, princess?" Eliot asked me.
"Yeah." I said dismissively. I realize quickly that Eliot wouldn't buy my lie. "Not really." I admitted.
"Is there anything I can do?" Eliot asked me, and I smile a bit.
"No, babe. I just need some time to get my head right." I admit, which isn't exactly a lie.
"Okay. Do you want to head to bed?" Eliot asked.
"In a minute. I'll join you in a sec." I told him.
"All right." He said. Eliot leaned into me and held the back of my neck and pulled me into a kiss, and it feels natural. He let go and went back downstairs.
I looked back out at the skyline once Eliot is out of view. A lot of thoughts cross my mind. How do I even know that what I felt was real, and it wasn't just some crazy adrenaline-fueled overthinking? Because I do care about Parker, she's my friend. She is the best-damned thief I know. And I would trust her to get the job done every time. And I know that. I don't know why I panicked that Parker wouldn't make it. Of course, she would.
It's not like I can talk about this to anyone, because what exactly would I say? "I need help, I think I might be in love with Parker, but still in love with Eliot, but I don't know if it was real or just a moment of panic." I then realize my brain hasn't been the same since we took down Moreau. It's not the fear that Moreau is gonna come after me or the guilt of what I did. Well, it's a little bit. But I never really got a chance to deal with anything. There were only two weeks after we took down Moreau before I was back on the job. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to be working again, but maybe I needed some time.
I didn't want to tell Eliot all of this, because he had just gotten over everything. I can't lay all this on him. I stand up and look back onto the skyline. I go back downstairs to go to bed with Eliot with two thoughts left in my mind that won't go away. What the Hell am I doing? What am I gonna do about this? But that's a question I can answer another day.