First Person POV
The end was something I had thought about a lot. Though it never used to bother me before. I figured I was just gonna go out with a bullet to the chest. But now, the end scared me. Not because I was scared of it happening, but because now I had too much to lose. My twins not yet here, Eliot, Parker, and Hardison, my literal partners in crime, my surrogate parents. They're why I fight.
When I agreed to Victor Dubenich's job in that bar in Chicago, I had a one way ticket straight to Hell I didn't care when I cashed it in. And I still have that ticket today, but I was not as eager to cash it in.
The end is funny to think about. Sometimes you have a vision of what the ending of your story will be. I thought my ending was me dying guns blazing on a job. Now, my ending was different. My ending would be dying old, my twins and my partners in crime by my side, taking as many sons of bitches down with me. There's something else about endings. Sometimes, you don't know when something ends. And you never know how it'll end.
Third Person POV
Nate and Kaira came to in a silver, small room. They were sitting at a desk, handcuffed to the arm of the metal chairs they were sitting on. The cold metal of the chair chilling them to the bone. Nate was hunched over on the desk, a small cut on his forehead. Kaira had a cut on her cheek, her head in her hands, piecing together her memory.
"What was your mistake?" A middle-aged, dark blonde dressed in a suit asked them.
"How'd it start?" She asked again.
Nate and Kaira raked through their minds, trying to remember. Nate had a crooked finger up, shaking as Kaira's hands were shaking.
Version #1: Nate and Kaira (One month earlier)
The job had started out, like always, with a client meeting. One month ago, a woman named Dr. Sarah Giallo, met with Nate, giving him a report from PallaGen about a new drug named Trimethia, and kids with Stanhope's Sarcoma, the same illness Sam Ford died from, went into full remission. But PallaGen wasn't gonna release the drug since the disease was rare, and there was no market for it.
Nate insisted that enough children died, and they were gonna get the drug released. Dr. Giallo then told Nate about her patient, Danny Sulivan, who was running out of time. Nate assured Dr. Gaiallo that Danny Sullivan was gonna get the drug. Dr. Gaillo said she didn't want to give his parents false hope. Nate told Dr. Gaillo that the thing about false hope was that the sting of it fades away. Unanswered prayers eventually went away too. But the idea that his parents could have done something to save their kid's life but didn't was worse. Nate told Dr. Gaillo before she left to not let them carry that burden, and he'd take care of it, giving her a long hug.
Hardison, Kaira, and Sophie were watching the meeting. Hardison asked when Nate started hugging the clients. Sophie explained that Nate hadn't seen her for seven years, not since Sam's funeral, and revealed Dr. Gaillo was Sam's pediatrician.
Nate and Hardison met with Sophie at the briefing table, explaining that PallaGen held samples of their orphan drugs in a lab on the 10th floor, and they'd done it a hundred times before. Hardison explained that the lab door had a keypad, and they could crack it in five minutes flat, and it wasn't the lab. Nate asked what it was then.
Sophie explained it was the building and that none of the security measures were there, and the public plans were redacted. Hardison was at the screen, explaining that Highpoint Tower wasn't just home to PallaGen, but the 20th floor was an internet hub server for the Federal Law Enforcement, and how all the internet files that were supposed to be in the cloud weren't, as the cloud doesn't exist, but danced and shuffled on these servers all over the world for five minutes here, three hours there and at any given point there were data back ups for the FBI, DEA, and Interpol passing through the Highpoint Tower server.
Nate reiterated that the building's security is classified, and asked if they had eyes on it. Sophie said they did, cause she thought Nate would want that.
Eliot, Kaira, and Parker were doing recon on the building. Sophie got their attention. The trio walked in, with Eliot reported that they were on their way in. As soon as they got into the building, the comms went to static.
Eliot and Kaira both tried to get Nate's attention, but back at home base, there was nothing but static, and Eliot barely coming through.
Nate asked Hardison what was going on with the comms. Hardison said he was on in and got on his laptop.
At the tower, Eliot said the comms were fuzzing in and out. Parker made the observation that no one in the building was on their phone or checking e-mails. Kaira realized it was cellphone blockers and the building was in full wireless lockdown.
Eliot pointed out the only time he's seen that was CIA. Kaira and Eliot saw the security cameras, and the trio realized they had seen this before. Kaira cursed and told Eliot and Parker to keep their heads down and they had to go.
When they got out of the building, Parker reported in.
"We have a problem." Parker reported.
"The reason all the plans are redacted is because the security system's a Steranko." Kaira reported.
Back at HQ, Hardison lowered his body, knowing this wasn't good.
"Oh, sweet lord." Hardison muttered.
"No, no. Come on. We've beat a Steranko before." Sophie pointed out.
"No, we escaped a Steranko - barely. They've been improving the system for the last two years based, by the way, on our break-in. Look, the only communication in or out is through hard lines. Good news is I can hack the exchange under the street." Hardison said.
"Yeah, so you can control all the calls coming in and out of the building." Nate pointed out. "Yeah, but that's it. Check and mate." Hardison explained.
"Okay, so how much time do we have, you know, just to get in and-and bluff for a few minutes, huh?" Nate asked Hardison.
He reminded Hardison of the stakes by saying the Danny Sulivan had two months at the most to live. Hardison said he could do it in one. Nate pointed out that the Steranko was bottom-heavy, so the toughest security was on the lower floors, and they'd go in from the top. Nate asked the trio at the tower to show him the surrounding office towers.
Eliot got the button cam on Parker's badge and looked around. Sophie found a theater, which she loved. Hardison pulled up information about the theater, called Dolan Theater, was built over 100 years ago above the Shanghai tunnels and was a landmark, which was why the other office tower was built on top of it. Hardison then realized security at the theater was a joke. Nate cued Sophie, and she had just the thing.
That thing was Sophie putting on the Shakespeare classic Macbeth, opening the day the heist was planned. Once Sophie got the ball rolling on the play, recon started for the plan.
Parker and Kaira were on the roof of the building, looking through binoculars. Nate walked up to them.
"Highpoint tower is 55 yards away." Parker reported.
"Now we just need to get you from here to there on a zipline without breaking both of your legs." Nate started writing a math equation on a piece of cardboard.
Parker and Kaira looked at Nate.
"This one means a lot to you." Parker realized.
Kaira just nodded in understanding.
"V equals G times T times A. Velocity equals gravity. 32 feet per second squared multiplied by time in seconds, multiplied by the cosine angle of the zipline." Nate started writing out the equation as Parker and Kaira walked behind him, standing back some.
"Minus friction." Both girls added.
"Minus friction." Nate added.
Parker nodded at Kaira.
"Nathan, you usually do the mastermind stuff by yourself." Kaira pointed out.
"Well, you and your bottle. But lately, you've been involving me and Kaira in the planning." Parker pointed out.
"Not just the heist, Nathan, but the cons too." Kaira added.
Nate looked at the girls.
"Parker, you know, you don't let feelings get in the way. You-you and Kaira rotate problems - security, people, timelines. You and Kaira spin them in the three-dimensional space, like puzzle pieces, until they click. It's not the way I think, but… I trust your judgment." Nate got closer to the girls.
"I really do." Nate said before walking away.
Parker and Kaira looked at each other, wondering what Nate meant.
"18 miles an hour." Parker told Nate.
"That what you got?" Kaira asked Nate, exchanging soft smiles.
Back at the theater, Sophie was instructing her students at a rehearsal for Macbeth. Nate was impressed and enjoyed watching Sophie directing. Nate sat a row behind her in the house. Nate asked if Sophie missed acting. Sophie said she didn't, saying her acting talents were best served relieving people of their wallets, and she really loved directing. She said for the first time in her life, she was exactly where she belonged. They shared a sweet kiss.
Third Person POV (Present Day)
Back at the interrogation room, the same question was asked again.
"What was your mistake?" The woman asked again.
Nate lowered his hand off his face. Kaira was blank-faced, still trying to piece together everything.
"When you were pulled from the river, you were semiconscious. You said that you had made a mistake." She said.
Kaira looked confused and dazed.
"Mr. Ford, Mrs. Spencer. How did your friends die?" She asked.
Kaira then had a memory, her face dropping as she started tearing up.
"Oh, god." Was all she could say as she was overcome with what happened.
After processing what had happened, Nate shook his handcuffs, realizing he was handcuffed to the chair. Kaira had the same realization.
"Where are we?" She asked, her voice hoarse.
"You're in the criminal holding room of Trinity State Hospital. You both have suffered a head trauma, so your short-term memory's a bit fuzzy. I'm Ellen Casey. I'm here to evaluate you two and-and your state of minds, try to get some context of what happened today. We have reports of an attempted break-in at the Highpoint Tower. There were shots fired, and there was a car crash at the river." Casey explained.
As Kaira heard shots fired, she started whimpering, upset at the memory.
"No. No! They can't-!" Kaira screamed, the memories seemingly coming to her like a tsunami.
Nate still struggled.
"I don't-I-I don't - I'm not…" Nate muttered as he tried to comfort Kaira, using his free hand to grab her arm.
"Mr. Ford, Mrs. Spencer, I'm here to help you, okay? I just - I'm just trying to get to the truth, okay? Please. Just focus." Casey told them.
Version #1: Nate and Kaira (Earlier that day)
It was earlier that morning, and the con was underway. Nate got a projector screen set up in the backstage hallway of the theater. Sophie came running up to Nate, telling him the show was a disaster as her Lady Macbeth hadn't shown up yet and she'd have to go on. Nate assured her she'd be great. Sophie told Nate he lied to her better before, but the one time she neded him to, he failed.
Nate told Sophie that the matinee audience was the getaway cover, and it was part of the con, and she always did great on the cons. They shared a quick peck before Sophie went to get changed, telling each other to break a leg. Nate cued up Parker and counted down from three.
Parker called showtime, and fired the grappling hook with the crossbow. She started going down the zipline, yelling in delight. Hardison, Eliot, and Kaira were at the van, dressed as alarm company workers, watching Parker ziplining across.
"20 pounds of crazy." Hardison looked in love.
"Five-pound bag." Eliot said.
"Exactly." Kaira gave a smile to her boys as they got in the van.
Parker made it across, tripping the roof alarm. She got out a remote and disconnected the cable, hiding the evidence.
Backstage where base was, Nate got on a headset, warning Parker two guards were stationed full time on the 20th floor, and they were coming to check the roof alarms, counting her down from four as Parker climbed in the top of an elevator shaft. Nate tried asking if Parker was clear, but Hardison came over comms, saying he boosted the comms as high as he could without frying their skulls, reminding Nate that once they were in the building, they were shut out.
Eliot asked how Sophie was doing. Nate reported that Sophie was good, even though she wasn't. Hardison wasn't impressed.
Parker made it to the Steranko control server and got into the computer, triggering the alarms on the lower part of the building so the trio outside could get in. Nate played an operator from Steranko Systems, telling the guards that they had alarms.
The guard reported that they were false alarms, asking if they could turn the alarm off. Nate asked for the building security password. The guard gave it up. Nate told them there were technicians finishing up another job in the area and they'd be there shortly. The guard hung up.
Nate then answered a call from Steranko Systems as someone from Highpoint tower, saying there were blown transformers down the street and they were getting power surges, brownouts, everything and that alarms were going crazy up and down the block, asking to turn off the alarm. Hardison, Eliot, and Kaira entered the building.
Eliot chatted up the guards as Kaira and Hardison accessed the alarm panel. Nate got the password to Hardison, turning off the alarm. Hardison told the guards that they had a recurring fault on the 10th floor that kept resetting the alarm. Kaira explained they had to fix it or the alarm was gonna sound all day. The guards were very eager to let them go fix it.
They went in an elevator, where Parker dropped down. She turned around to take her top off to change, causing the others to turn around. They found the door to the research laboratory and Parker picked the lock. Hardison said they had two minutes and were good. Nate then heard a cop arrive, warning the group in the building. Nate realized the cop's radio still worked.
As Parker was picking the lock, Eliot and Kaira saw the cop and two guards coming there way, so Eliot and Kaira told them to go. The cop told the guards to follow them as the cop went to cut them off. Eliot took care of one guard, and Kaira took on the other. Hardison and Parker made it to the elevator.
The elevator was locked down, so Hardison and Parker pulled open the elevator doors. Hardison didn't like the idea of them going down the elevator shaft, and was less happy with Parker pulling out the pulley she used for the zipline, telling Hardison she got him. Just as the cop came in the room, Hardison and Parker had started repelling down.
The guard cocked his gun. Parker and Hardison stopped cause Hardison needed to adjust his grip. The guard fired into the shaft, hitting Hardison in the shoulder, causing them both to scream as Hardison dropped a bit, but Parker grabbed him. Hardison was hanging on, both hands grabbing Parker's.
"I got you." Parker reminded Hardison.
Hardison looked up at Parker, scared.
"Don't let me go, babe." Hardison told Parker, his voice shaky.
"I won't." Parker assured Hardison.
The guard fired more shots, hitting Parker in the shoulder, causing her to drop Hardison. Hardison screamed as he fell, and Parker yelled his name.
Back at the theater backstage, Sophie and Nate heard the commotion, getting feedback on the comms.
"What? Parker, what?" Nate tried to get through on comms.
Parker was at the bottom of the shaft, blood slowly oozing from the hole in her shoulder, having taken the rig off of him. Hardison was laying on her lap, alive, but broken. Parker groaned as she tried holding Hardison's head.
"Nate, I'm hit. Hardison fell. He broke his leg. And he's all smashed up inside." Parker was close to tears as she tried to not freak out.
She made a plan.
"Okay. Get to the alley. I can - here. Put your - I can - I can get him out through the loading dock. Just please, get to the ally." Parker told the team.
Nate and Sophie ran out. Parker was trying to move Hardison, holding him close to her chest, Hardison was groaning, whimpering in pain.
"Okay. You're okay. I got you. I got you. I got you." Parker assured Hardison, putting her cheek next to his.
Eliot and Kaira had mostly heard everything. They jumped and ran down the steps.
"Hey! Hey! Damn it, Hardison." Eliot exclaimed, nervous about his partners.
"Someone say something!" Kaira exclaimed as she ran.
No response.
"Dammit!" Kaira yelled, trying not to cry.
Nate pulled the van to the loading dock. Sophie was in the back and opened the doors. Parker walked her and Hardison to the van, laying him down on the van floor. The cop came out from the door, cocking his gun, aiming it at the van, ordering them to freeze. Eliot shoulder checked the cop as Kaira ran ahead.
She got to the van as Eliot dealt with the cop, getting him on the ground. He disarmed the gun, tossing it over the stair's railing, and ran towards them.
"Come on!" Kaira and Parker yelled.
As Eliot ran toward them, the cop pulled out a small pistol from his ankle holster and fired, hitting Eliot in the chest, letting a groan out.
"No!" Kaira yelled as she pulled Eliot in.
Parker got the van door shut as they sped off, the bullets hitting the door. Kaira had Eliot's head in her lap as Parker leaned against the corner. Hardison was laying the opposite way of Eliot, his dark lips tainted red with blood, unable to move barely. They were all groaning.
"No. No, no, no. Don't you dare die on me, or I will kick both your asses." Kaira gave a half-heart threat as the tears flowed.
Blood started coming out of Eliot's mouth and he choked on his breath. Kaira held his head, praying.
"Come on, babe, don't do this to me! Think of our twins! They need their father." Kaira told Eliot, hoping that gave him the strength.
"Did Eliot and Kaira make it?" Hardison asked, his voice getting weak as his hand trembled.
"Here I am." Eliot was getting weak as Kaira helped Eliot grab Hardison's hands, crying.
"I'm here. We're okay. We're okay." Kaira tried her best to smile, but could hardly.
She gripped Parker's hand, her other hand on Eliot's cheek, her lap cradling his head.
"Age of the geek, brother." Eliot told Hardison.
Kaira saw Hardison chuckle, and she tried to chuckle, but couldn't. Parker watched on in horror, using her other hand to grip Eliot's. Kaira was sobbing. Kaira heard the sirens. Sophie saw the police cruiser behind them.
"Nate." Sophie looked at Nate.
"The bridge. If we can just get to the other side…" Nate made a plan, trying to keep calm as he drove as fast as he could.
By the time they got to the bridge, it was coming up, so Nate stopped the van. Police cruisers blocked the bridge. Guns were pointed at the van, cops ordered Nate to stop the van.
Kaira let out the most inhuman scream they had ever heard. Nate and Sophie looked back. Hardison was the first to die, succumbing to his internal injuries. Eliot went next, having succumbed to blood loss, the idea of his twins without their father, while strong, wasn't strong enough. Parker was the last to go, hanging on to the end, her heart broken at the fact of not being with her partners.
Kaira was alone, her dead husband in her lap, holding the hands of their partners. Her partners in crime. Kaira was sobbing, her head resting on Eliot's shoulder. She lifted her head back up, seeing Eliot's piercing blue eyes devoid life. Kaira looked back at Nate and Sophie, saying only two words.
"They're gone." Kaira whispered through her tears.
Nate and Sophie looked back at each other, knowing the only way forward. Nate nodded at Sophie, silently asking if she was ready. Sophie nodded her head, silently okaying the plan. Nate and Sophie held each other's hands. Nate punched the gas, crashing through the barriers, and driving up the bridge, not making it.
Third Person POV
Nate started pounding the table, emotional and nearly crying. Kaira was full-on sobbing, covering her mouth.
"Goddammit!" Kaira yelled, kicking the table and grabbing her stomach.
Kaira leaned into Nate's shoulder, crying as Nate put his hand on her back, whispering, "I'm sorry."
They let go, and Kaira wiped her tears as Nate sharply inhaled, trying to calm themselves. Casey pulled out a file.
"The police sent this over. They pulled the van from the river." Casey explained.
She flipped a photo over, which showed the police carrying body bags. Kaira let out a quiet sob, knowing who was in the body bags.
"The identity of your friends have been confirmed." Casey revealed.
Kaira gave Casey an angry look.
"Listen here, bitch. Eliot Spencer was my husband. Parker and Alec Hardison were my partners in crime. Sophie Devereaux was my mother. Get it right!" Kaira exclaimed at Casey.
Casey left. Kaira and Nate tried calming down, clocking a security camera.
Casey walked to an armed guard, ordering him to hold Nate and Kaira, no visitors or calls. As it turns out, Nate and Kaira were in an interrogation room at the Portland Bureau Interpol offices. Casey walked out of the building and walked to the theater.
She came back, getting a report from another agent that the Portland Police Bureau confirmed the shots fired report, adding they sent two detectives over to do a follow-up with the lobby guards. Casey asked if they actually sent two detectives. The agent reported the lobby guards confirmed two detectives came by and took their statements.
Casey walked to the security footage, which was on a 15-second loop. The camera footage was of Eliot getting shot. Casey ordered the agent to get the Portland Police back on the phone, asking for the bodies.
Casey went up to the roof of Highpoint Tower, where she found a broken red water balloon on the roof. Casey picked up the pieces, asking another agent if he said the patrolman came into the lobby before they went upstairs with the guards. The agent confirmed he ran through again, calling for backup.
Casey told the agent to tell them she was heading to the theater. Casey talked to a manager. The manager, whispering, told Casey to not disturb the play, as they had a bad matinee. Casey asked what happened. The manager revealed their afternoon Macbeth wasn't good, saying she was a stand in, but the lead was amazing. Casey listened in, then asked to look around.
Casey went back to the interrogation room, where Nate and Kaira sat straighter.
"Mr. Ford, Mrs. Spencer, the police are satisfied." Casey told them.
Nate was a blank face while Kaira was numb.
"And when do they take us into custody?" Nate asked.
"As soon as the doctors sign off." Casey said. Kaira nodded her head.
"Okay." Kaira said quietly.
"I see." Nate said.
"You loved them very much, didn't you?" Casey asked them.
Kaira gave a very slight smile.
"Yeah." Kaira whispered.
Casey then leaned on the table, looking Nate and Kaira in the eyes.
"Do you mind if I ask you both one more question?" Casey asked.
Nate and Kaira didn't react.
"Why are you lying to me?" Casey asked.
Kaira looked at Casey, stone-faced.
"My husband, the love of my life, the father of my unborn twins, is dead, a gunshot to the back of his chest. My partners in crime are dead, one from falling down an elevator shaft, the other from a broken heart. My mother is dead, a car accident. I'm a widow and alone. So don't you dare call me a liar!" Kaira was oddly calm until the last sentence, where she yelled.
Kaira calmed down. Nate looked at Casey, stone-faced as well.
"I am not." Nate told her.
"See, the three weeks you took over the theater basement just doesn't make any sense. There are a dozen ways to get on that roof, until you consider the Shanghai tunnels." Casey explained.
Remember at the briefing, Hardison mentioned how the Dolan Theater was built on top of the Shanghai tunnels?
"See, three weeks just doesn't make any sense if you want to get on the roof, but you know what makes sense? Breaking down the old foundation to get into the old Shanghai tunnels. Do you wanna know what I found at the end of the tunnels, huh?" Casey explained.
Earlier, when she went to the theater, she followed the tunnels to the elevator shaft.
"The roof's not the only way in. The elevator shaft's the way in, isn't it? This is how I think it went down." Casey said.
Version #2: Casey
Everything started out similar. Hardison fired a red water balloon onto the Highpoint Tower roof, setting off the roof alarms. Parker climbed up the elevator shaft. Hardison, Eliot, and Kaira still talked to the lobby guards about the alarm getting fixed. The guards told them to go. Cop comes, gets two security guards, Eliot, Hardison, and Kaira run away, cop still goes to cut them off. Hardison heads to the elevator shaft, opened the doors, Hardison and Eliot still end up dead, though now Parker is alive, still in the building.
Third Person POV (Present Day)
Nate shot out of his chair.
"Why would I lie?! Why?! I screwed up! I got them killed! I lost everything, the only thing I ever had! I screwed up my daughter's life! Why, why, why would I lie?!" Nate yelled, getting angry.
Kaira tried to not cry at Nate's outburst. Casey remained calm.
"Well, if I would venture to guess, I would guess that you both probably have realized that you're not in the hospital. How'd you figure it out?" Casey asked them.
Nate calmed down and sat down.
"Well… hospitals - take it from me. I've been in quite a few. They're loud places. Since we've been here, I haven't heard any announcements, no alarms, no ding." Nate explained.
"The files you read from were not Portland Police, but they had Interpol coding." Kaira explained, oddly calm.
"When you stand, you adjust your little jacket. You give it a little tug to hide the gun that ordinarily would be in your holster." Nate explained.
"And you're not Portland or State police, or we would be in a police station. You're not FBI, cause they like to flash their badges, believe me, I've played enough of them. And we've been in the Portland FBI offices before." Kaira added.
"Like most Americans, you reach for your cell phone, on average, every 94 seconds. But you-you stop yourself. Your head - you give a little tell, a little shake. You know, it's to remind yourself that your cellphone doesn't work here. And that leaves only one law-enforcement agency in an understaffed, barely used office in a building where cellphones don't work. So we are in the Provisional Interpol Offices in the Highpoint Tower, Agent Casey." Nate finished.
Casey was impressed.
"That was good. But, uh, the roof alarm - I mean, that was just to get the guards off the 20th floor - right? - So that Parker could get in unobserved?" Casey questioned.
Nate and Kaira remained stone-faced.
"That floor has a server room that holds the databases for FBI, DEA, and Interpol. But all those files are dead. There are no active cases on the hard drives in that room." Casey explained.
"No active cases." Nate said.
Nate and Kaira looked at the security camera again. The door opened, and a familiar man walked in, wearing a suit, a glass, scotch, and a bottle of water in his hands. He slid the glass to Nate, and Nate caught it. He sat the water bottle in front of Kaira and filled Nate's glass. It was the British Bastard himself, Jim Sterling. Nate and Kaira went to take a sip of their beverages.
"No active cases." Sterling repeated.
Kaira and Nate took a sip of their drinks, the three of them all knowing what the real target was.
"You bastard. You would get them killed for that. You'd risk everything for that." Sterling was bitter.
He looked at Kaira.
"And you'd let him get away with killing your husband." Sterling got a glare from Kaira.
"Agent Casey, your boss has a story to tell you." Nate told Casey, still drinking.
"Mr. Ford and his protege Mrs. Spencer was after the most secret file at Interpol. The Black Book." Sterling revealed to Casey.
Sterling tossed the handcuff key on the table. Nate grabbed it and undid his cuff, then Kaira's. Kaira rubbed her wrist.
"Still a bastard, you know that?" Kaira looked at Sterling.
"What is the Black Book?" Casey asked.
"Five years ago, when the financial system crashed, the FBI, SEC, IRS, Interpol - they all did their jobs. They investigated, and they found massive fraud - market manipulation, secret deals, pension funds loaded with worthless paper, people's life savings burnt. And because they knew they'd broken the system, the rich and powerful - well, they got all their money out. Now you think we're thieves, Agent Casey? One-third of the entire world's wealth disappeared then. Biggest heist in history. And we know who did it." Nate gave a look at Sterling.
Casey was shocked.
"Don't worry, Agent Casey, you aren't the only one who was left in the dark. I only found out about it before the job. But that pompous ass knows about it." Kaira glared at Sterling.
"We decided not to prosecute. Order had to be restored." Sterling told them.
"That's why you joined Interpol? Screw justice? You're the order guy?" Nate questioned Sterling.
"It's not a choice." Sterling argued.
"It is. Justice or order - one day you are going to have to make that choice." Nate warned Sterling.
"The world's economy would never stabilize, with the endless parades of bankers being led around in chains. The system has to work. The guys that used to run it have to keep running it." Sterling argued.
Nate waved his hand before Kaira could continue the argument, continuing the story.
"Government agencies - they closed all the cases. They took all the files of all the cases they could have prosecuted, all the savings accounts of all the stolen money, and they filed it away. That file is the Black Book." Nate explained.
"The Holy Grail of the ones who got away with it." Sterling explained.
"This Black Book is here?" Casey asked.
"No. Mm…" Sterling thought a moment.
It was the "cloud", which Hardison had earlier explained was a rotating server transfer.
Nate looked at Kaira.
"Once every month for a couple of hours, the Black Book comes here to a Blackwater Server in an Auxiliary Interpol Office during routine maintenance." Kaira explained.
"That's why you moved to Portland. Could have picked anywhere else in the world, and you chose here." Sterling realized.
"It grows on you." Nate pointed out.
"It's not that bad." Kaira added.
"You didn't find the Black Book, and your friends are dead. So why are they still lying to us?" Casey asked Sterling.
Casey then answered the phone, telling them the coroner's van just arrived. Sterling told Casey to say to pull it straight into the garage. Casey gave the order, then Sterling stopped her, asking how many bodies there were. Casey said there were three.
"Three?" Sterling questioned Nate and Kaira.
"We're going to the 20th floor. Bring them. BRing every guard we got. Bring everybody. We go now!" Sterling ordered as Casey repeated the order to the person on the other side of the line.
Sterling escorted Nate and Kaira along with Casey to the 20th floor to the server room. They exited the elevator, escorted by two guards. Nate and Kaira were handcuffed.
"Check the file manifest right now. File Black 001." Sterling ordered Casey.
Casey got on her tablet and reported that the file wasn't there. Not a second later, it appeared. Sterling was at the keypad to get in, Nate and Kaira behind him. Casey reported the backup started.
"Parker never got the file. Parker's still in the server room." Sterling realized.
"That's why you lied. You had one person left. You were giving her time to escape." Casey realized, looking at Nate and Kaira.
Kaira just swallowed hard, staying silent.
"Open the door." Sterling ordered.
"It's biometric. I'm not cleared." Casey told Sterling.
He walked up to the pad and started unlocking the door. Nate and Kaira were at his right, standing beside the pad. Nate and Kaira just stood there as the door opened.
"Parker even know you got Hardison killed?" Sterling asked Nate and Kaira.
Nate shoulder checked Sterling as he walked towards him, turning him around as Kaira slammed on his foot.
"You son of a bitch!" Kaira exclaimed as guards entered the room.
The agents confirmed it was clear. Sterling ordered to close the door, and Casey ordered everyone out.
They then went out to the garage, where the bodies were. Sterling held up his hand at the bottom of the steps, stopping everyone. Then they walked to the body bags on the gurneys. Nate and Kaira couldn't look at the bags. Sterling opened the bag that had Hardison's body in it. Nate and Kaira then looked, upset.
"Was it worth it, Ford, Spencer? Really?" Casey questioned them.
Sterling then ordered everyone to stand back and fired at the body, upsetting the other agents.
"The face is very lifelike." Sterling said as he stuck his hand in the chest cavity.
He lifted a chunk of blue gel.
"But he's ballistics gel." Sterling revealed, looking at Nate and Kaira.
Kaira cocked her head as Sterling tossed the chunk to the side.
"Wait. It's a fake body?" Casey questioned.
"I have two questions for you - only two. Did you talk to the Portland Police?" Sterling asked Casey.
"Of course I did. The guards did, too. We talked to the coroner's office." Casey answered.
"On the phone? In this building?" Sterling questioned.
"Second question - no. Nate, why don't you tell her what my second question is?" Sterling turned to Nate.
"Uh, the second question is - where are the coroner-van drivers?" Nate asked.
"We were told to bring them in." The agent revealed to Casey.
"Without checking the security I.D?" Casey questioned.
"You authorized their entry." The agent said.
Sterling walked beside Nate and Kaira. He uncuffed Nate.
"Thank you." Nate said.
Sterling then did Kaira's.
"You're still a bastard, but thanks." Kaira taunted.
"For my own personal edification, who played the, uh, patrolman?" Sterling asked.
Nate cocked his head.
Version #3: The Truth? (Kaira's POV)
Here's how we pulled off the biggest con of our lives. A month ago, that briefing went a bit different. We were all at the briefing table, Nate at the screen. He had revealed the target, the Black Book, and Hardison was involved in the planning.
I'm not gonna lie, the fact that Nate lied about what we were doing in Portland kinda pissed me off. This is the kinda shit that burned us before.
"The Black Book - that's what you dragged us out here for?" Eliot questioned.
"That's why we're in Portland?" Sophie questioned.
"You lied to us, Nathan." I pointed out.
Parker turned to Hardison.
"You lied to me?" Parker questioned Hardison.
I could see Hardison felt bad.
"I'm sorry." He meant it.
"Don't-Don't put this on him. He kept my secret. We keep each other's secrets sometimes." Nate had told us.
He walked up to the table.
"Now, this is the big score. That Black Book - It's gonna be in that building once a month for three hours. And we take as much time as we need to crack it." Nate told us.
"Now, I've got most of the security beat, but there's one thing we do not have time to deal with once we're inside." Hardison explained.
He pulled up the biometric security and how many times he's tried to crack it, filling the screen.
"It's the biometric lock on the server room. It's got a rolling 10-digit encryption. I cannot get us past that lock. And it's not like they're just gonna let us in." Hardison explained.
I could tell Nate had the same idea I did. And that plan was to use Sterling as a Trojan horse in a way.
Everything was kind of similar to the story we told. Sophie convinced another Macbeth to go on in place of her, feeling bad about it. Nate and Sophie both had headsets, and Sophie played the operator while Nate kept an eye on Macbeth.
When the time came, Nate played the patrolman. After Hardison got in the van, he faked the shooting, reporting in the shots fired. Sophie played the Portland Police Bureau woman, and she was the one who told the agent they'd send a couple of detectives over.
Parker played the first detective who talked with the lobby guards, playing a bit of the sexism card to distract the lobby guards. And Sophie also played the supervisor.
First Person POV (Kaira, Present)
Sterling escorted me, Nate, and Casey back to the server room. It's kinda funny to see him pissed. Casey was too.
"I talked - we all talked to a dozen people today." Casey argued.
We made it to the door.
"I've seen Sophie Devereaux play a dozen people… drunk." Sterling said.
I kinda chuckled. I got a bit cocky. Hey, I had to pretend everyone I cared about was dead, I'm allowed to get cocky.
"I was at the theater." Casey argued.
See, the great performance she heard was Sophie, and the earlier matinee was her replacement.
Sterling unlocked the door and walked in. What a surprise it was when he found the Black Book drive taken.
See, the coroner-van drivers, they were Eliot, Parker, and Hardison. And when we went to the server the first time when everyone got in, Nate and I turned Sterling around so he wouldn't see them coming in. When everyone left, my partners stayed behind and got the drive.
Sterling knew the plan.
"Trojan horse." Sterling realized.
"The coroner's van is a Trojan horse." Casey realized.
"No. I'm the Trojan horse." Sterling said.
We left the server room.
"There's no way out. The building's in lockdown." Casey told Sterling.
We stopped just before the door.
"Of course there's a way out. You found it. You just thought it was the way in." Sterling told Casey.
She left, no doubt to get agents to find them.
"Did you really think she was gonna find it?" Sterling asked us.
"Well, you know, 50/50." Nate said as we left.
"Didn't really matter either way." I added.
We left as Casey ordered men to the theater.
See, the plan wasn't to mix in with the audience, as Casey thought. The plan was for Parker, Hardison, and Eliot to hide amongst the extras in the cast.
Soon, however, we were back downstairs, and the cuffs were back on. Sterling escorted us back down to the garage. Agents were running around.
"I don't suppose you're done." Sterling asked Nate.
"Well, what do you think?" Nate questioned, clearing his throat.
"For a little while." I chuckled slightly, taking a glimpse at my stomach.
Once everyone cleared out, we had a little chat.
"What you were doing back in the room - when did you two learn to act like that?" Sterling asked us.
"Oh, Sophie, she really helped me. Uh, she's directing now. She-she found her calling." Nate said.
"And when your teacher is the likes of Sophie Devereaux, you get good fast." I looked at Sterling.
A black SUV came in.
"Well, your ride to a life sentence in a secret prison has arrived." Sterling walked us to the SUV.
He turned to face us, joined by Casey.
"Any last requests?" Sterling asked.
"Yes. The other reason I needed it to be you was so that I could ask you this. Don't tell them I got the Black Book." Nate told Sterling.
"Transfer papers." Casey told Sterling, confused, handing Sterling the papers.
"Send me to jail forever. You know, just don't tell them I got their names. You know, send me to jail for the break-in. Say that the file wasn't on the hard drive." Nate told Sterling.
"It's a list of all the sins and secret bank accounts of the most powerful men in the world." Sterling said.
"It is." I added.
"It'll be open season for every grifter and thief out there. If I don't tell them, they'd be defenseless." Sterling argued.
"Yeah. That's right. That's exactly right. Yeah. See you don't tell them, they won't see it coming. They broke the world, James." Nate said.
"The system's broken, Sterling. You can't tell me you can sleep at night knowing these corporations and the rich and powerful can get away with murder and covering up the harm they do. The choice you're both gonna have to make is simple. Order or Justice? Choose order, the rich and powerful stay in power, getting away with crimes cause no one will have the balls to go against them cause they're too powerful. How's that fair to their victims? You choose justice, and you can change the system. Yeah, chaos would ensue cause no one wants to admit the system's broken, but it'll settle down eventually once everything is fair and just. All those people who got away with it will be brought to justice, and the system can change, So, your choice. Order or justice?" I told Casey.
"Do you want to know what I think?" Casey asked us.
She thought a second.
"I don't know." Casey said.
"Yeah, They have that effect on people." Sterling said.
I got in first, then Nate.
"Nathan…" Sterling stopped Nate.
"... You and I are not the same. We don't believe in the same things." Sterling told Nate.
Nate sat down next to me. Sterling tossed the papers in and shut the door. Nate and I read them. Sterling had left a note, saying "Now we're even. Tell Sophie to drive carefully". I chuckled.
"Asshole." I can't help but mutter.
And indeed, Sophie was the one driving.
We met everyone back at the bar. I felt relieved. Everyone who went in came out, and we got the Black Book. I knew this was my last job for a while, cause, well, I was three months pregnant, but that didn't mean I wasn't gonna do the job. I was just gonna be behind the scenes.
I couldn't help but feel this sense that everything was about to change. I mean, think about it. Not only with me and Eliot about to be parents, but Nate was the one who had us to this job, and had it planned since we set foot in Portland. We had the ultimate list of the ones who got away with it. We were set for life. I ignore the feeling for now.
We were at the briefing table. Hardison, Parker, me, then Eliot, all in a row, seated, the Black Book file in front of us on the table. Nate and Sophie were behind us, standing.
"There it is, man - the Holy Grail." Hardison said.
"A thousand bad guys." Parker said.
"A lot of revenge in there." Eliot added.
"All of it just waiting for a righteous man to take them on." I added.
We looked back at Nate.
"Yeah. That man's not gonna be me." Nate added.
We looked back again, confused.
"We're out. Done." Nate glanced at Sophie.
"We?" Sophie questioned, just as confused as we were.
Something was up Nate's sleeve.
"Well, that depends on-on what you say next, of course." Nate told Sophie.
We turned around. Eliot's arm was wrapped around my waist, his hand on my stomach as my arm was wrapped around his chest. Nate pulled out a remote and clicked the lights down as Sophie was still confused.
Nate then pulled out a ring box and opened it and got down on one knee, and I start tearing up, surprised.
"For five years, I've been-I've been-" Nate tried talking.
"Drunk." Hardison pointed out.
"Lying." Parker added.
"You've been an ornery bastard." Eliot teased.
"A self-righteous ass that nearly got us killed half the time." I can't help but tease as we all looked on.
"Yeah, yeah. All that, all that. But you-you have always had my back. Now… be on my side." Nate told Sophie, holding up the ring.
Sophie was shocked but happy. She held the ring in her hands, admiring it. I could see it had a huge stone, and silver, diamond band. It fit Sophie.
"Did you steal it?" Sophie asked Nate.
I can't help but snicker a tad. Also very Sophie.
"No." Nate revealed.
"Oh, cause that-that would have been more romantic, right, Parker?" Sophie looked at Parker, still processing everything, given a slight chuckle.
Parker smiled.
"I'll, uh-I'll steal the, um, first-anniversary ring." Nate told Sophie.
Very Nate of him. Sophie let out a small laugh.
"Now can I get up?" Nate asked.
"No. You've got to say it." Parker told him.
Nate looked at us.
"What?" Nate asked us.
"Say the thing, Nathan." I gave a slight chuckle.
"What thing?" Nate asked.
"You know the thing, don't be a smartass." I joked around.
"Oh, the thing. Oh, uh, yeah." Nate cleared his throat and grabbed the ring back.
"Will you… marry me, Laura?" Nate asked Sophie as he slid the ring on her finger.
I'm a smiling mess and tears are in my eyes. Sophie reached her hand out and held Nate's face.
"Yes." Sophie answered shakily.
"Yeah?" Nate questioned as he got up to hold Sophie.
"Yes." Sophie repeated, smiling as her and Nate kissed.
We all started clapping.
"Ow!" Hardison yelled, celebrating.
"There you go." Parker said as we were smiling.
They let go and looked at us. I heard Nate quietly ask Sophie if she liked the ring. He then looked at us.
"So… the hard drive. Everything you need is right there." Nate told us.
While I was still happy for Nate and Sophie, I couldn't help but feel the bittersweetness of it all.
"You know what? I'm gonna dump this on the darknet." Hardison announced.
"Every crew from around the world's gonna want in with us." Parker said.
"I mean, just t-think about it - Leverage International." Hardison pitched the idea.
I see the look on Eliot's face, and he seems at peace. Which makes me at peace. His hand was back on my stomach, and I realized I had everything I needed. While I was gonna miss Nate and Sophie, they deserved happiness.
"That sounds pretty good." Nate complimented Hardison. (A/N Play this link and read the rest for maximum emotionalness. watch?v=qKvj12YTtI4&ab_channel=Neoni )
Eliot got off the barstool and walked us both towards Nate.
"You know, this was your crusade." Eliot said.
We stopped and I put my hand on Eliot's.
"Now, it's our war." I said.
Sophie grabbed Eliot's arm.
"Promise me… you'll keep them safe." Sophie told us, trying not to cry, looking at Parker and Hardison.
Eliot and I smile slightly, knowing we would.
"Till my dying day." Eliot promised, giving a wink to Sophie.
I looked back.
"Till my dying day." I made the same promise, both of us quoting those vows we made three years ago.
Nate looked at Eliot.
"You know, Eliot, I'd say call if you need anything, but you never… never need anything." Nate told Eliot.
"Yeah, I did." Eliot rubbed my slightly swollen stomach and then looked at Parker and Hardison, then back at Nate.
"And thanks to you… I don't have to search anymore." Eliot told Nate.
Nate shook his head.
"Yeah." Nat said quietly.
I started tearing up again.
"I don't know anything about being a parent, Nathan." I told Nate.
He looked at me.
"That's okay. Cause I know you and Eliot will be the best parents to those twins." Nate assured me.
Hardison and Parker walked over. I let out a slight chuckle as I wrap my loose arm around Parker's shoulders. Nate turned to Hardison.
"You're the smartest man I know. Don't get cocky." Nate told Hardison.
Parker and I chuckled.
"It's a little late for that." Hardison joked.
"So you're really going." Parker said, her voice breaking, let out a slight chuckle.
"How's that make you feel?" Sophie asked Parker.
"I think I'm okay with it. Yeah. I'm okay with it." Parker said.
"What about you, Kiddo?" Nate asked me.
I thought a moment.
"I think it'll take time, but I'll be okay. Every part of me wants you to stay, but you deserve peace. So go rest. I'm gonna miss the Hell outta you." I let go of Eliot and Parker and hug Nate hard, starting to cry.
"I will too, kiddo." Nate told me.
He started rubbing my back to calm me down.
"I love you, kiddo. You take care of those twins, okay?" Nate whispered.
"I love you too, dad. And I promise I will take care of your grandkids." I told Nate, giving a smile.
We let go, and I go back to the circle we had formed.
"That's why we can go." Nate told us.
Nate then grabbed Sophie's hand. They left.
Third Person POV
Nate and Sophie walked through the restaurant. Sophie questioned Nate if he knew her real name wasn't Laura. Nate said he did. Before looking out the door, Sophie and Nate looked back at the brewpub. Sophie thought it was a shame cause she was enjoying Portland. Sophie left. Nate shut off the lights and left, off to rest.
First Person POV (Kaira)
And just like that, it was over. But it wasn't the end. It was up to us now to carry on the crusade Nate started. Cause he was right. This was our war now. And I wasn't gonna stop anytime soon. Yeah, I was gonna miss the Hell outta Nate and Sophie. But, it was time for them to rest. And I had everything I needed, both inside me with the twins, and beside me, with my partners in crime.
In a way, we were just getting started. Parker and I shared mastermind duties, since I couldn't exactly be in the field at the moment. But we did get our first job.
A husband and his wife who's son died and the company covered it up. They were sitting on the couch, the wife comforting her huband. Parker on the sofa, Me beside her in another chair, five months pregnant, my dress kind of covering my stomach, Eliot and Hardison behind us.
"How can they do this? They just… pay a fine? They just buy my son's life?" The husband questioned, still upset.
"It's okay. Take your time." I comforted them.
"We can't pay you." The woman revealed.
I can't help but smirk a bit.
"We work on an, alterative revenue stream." I explained.
I nodded to Parker.
"People like that - corporations like that - they have all the money, they have all the power, and they use it to make people like you go away. Right now, you're suffering under an enormous weight. We provide… leverage."