Chapter 4: Maneater


Disclaimer: I don't own Leverage. Dean Devlin does. So don't sue.


Song Suggestions:

Part One: Maneater – Nelly Furtado

Part Two: Ladykillers – Lush

Part Three: Monster – Lady Gaga

Part Four: Panic Switch – Silversun Pickups


PART ONE: MANEATER

Parker followed the swish of Sophie's gown as she navigated the ballroom like a pro. She batted her lashes at some, sneered at others, but never stopped holding her head high. As flattering as it was to be seen with the queen herself, it was still degrading that they were both nothing more than a piece of meat for all the men to gawk at.

It was bad enough she was practically naked. The dress she wore was low cut, see-through, and held together by a few dozen sequins. Though the designer's name evaded her, it fit her body in all the right ways. Of course, it was hard to give credit to someone for actually making the damn thing, seeing as how there was practically no dress to speak of.

Thank God her face was hidden, at the very least. Per her request, Parker wore an elaborate feathered mask that hid all her features. She'd even gone so far as to dye her hair, before letting Sophie twist it up into an elaborate design that took her breath away, it was so tight.

Trying to remember what Sophie had taught her, she attempted to make eye contact with as many men as possible. But only one in particular interested the thief.

As soon as Eliot sensed her gaze upon him, he threw a quick wink and tapped his earbud twice. It was his way of telling her not to worry, and to proceed with the con the way they'd practiced.

Although the hitter tried to remain focused, Parker couldn't help but be focused on all of the women who were starting to swarm around him like horny fire ants. Granted these things tended to happen– especially when you looked as good as Eliot did in a suit. But it still made the thief cringe knowing the best she could hope for were his quick reflexes and watchful eyes despite the three or four distractions he was currently entertaining.

Men… she huffed to herself, trying to redouble her efforts to catch the attention of the mark. It wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. Caden had been staring at "Amber" all night long, but "she" was only just now supposed to notice. Making extended eye contact with him finally meant that not only was her price now on the line, but that she was the only one left competing.

Spotting Caden's interest, Sophie pushed the terrified thief forward to where the man stood, chatting with his buddies. A mantra of: don't stab, don't stab, don't stab, darted in and out of her racing thoughts. Still, she found it impossible to pander to the very man who had completely destroyed her self-confidence only a few nights ago.

As Caden locked eyes with her, she found herself replaying the scene at the bar all over again. Only this time instead of tearing up, she found herself growing angry. So angry in fact, that she found herself vowing to bring the bastard down even if it killed her.

And it very well might…

Like a cat toying with its mostly dead victim, she pressed out her chest, held out her hands, and let him pull her in so close she could smell his yucky aftershave.

"I'm sorry miss. I didn't catch your name." He crooned, slobbering against her ear.

"That's because I haven't given it yet." Parker murmured back, ignoring her gag reflex.

As soon as Sophie nodded, the thief pulled back to introduce herself.

"Hi!" She chirped, as high and empty headed as her voice would go. "I'm Amber."

Ever the tease, "Amber" started playing with her hair, before sidling up against the mark as close as she could get. The man practically blushed.

"Amber, you say? What fine specimen you are. Truly, a gem." He thrummed, laughing at his own joke. His buddies followed suit, but there seemed to be a hidden rule that she was there for Caden, and Caden alone.

"Are you here with anyone?" He asked pointedly, thinking that would entice her.

"I'm not taken, if that's what you're asking." Parker smiled, doing everything humanly possible to hide her disgust. "Yet…" She added when Sophie tutted in her ear.

"That's not what I meant." He frowned, clearly annoyed. "I meant who do I have to pay to sleep with you?"


PART TWO: LADYKILLER

Eliot's eyes narrowed dangerously as Parker did her damndest not to blow her cover. No one had expected the mark to be so direct. Particularly the hitter, who now wanted to do his job so badly he couldn't see straight.

For Parker's sake, they couldn't let this con go any further than it had to – or they were all in serious trouble. Because if anyone – anyone - got hurt by this guy, Eliot sure as hell wouldn't be held responsible for his actions.

Nate seemed to sense this, and at his count, sent Sophie to intervene.

"I trust you like what you see?" The Londoner stated firmly, commanding the attention of everyone there.

"And you are?" The mark questioned haughtily.

"Alexa. Alexa White." Sophie lied, pressing her hand firmly into his.

"Proprietor of White Diamond Escorts. I'm the one that you pay." She deadpanned.

"Well, Ms. White, your whore is very hard to ignore. Tell me, do you have any more like her?"

"Are you always so indiscreet with potential employees?" "Alexa" chided, playing on the mark's hidden insecurities. She wasn't about to let him get away with talking to Parker like that – even if it was part of the con.

"You have nothing to worry about." Smith maintained. "My company has nothing to hide, and I certainly represent it to the best of my ability. We are at this location because it's a safe place to weed out the new recruits. So if your lovely "escort" meets our rigorous expectations, it could lead to some actual business for your little hole in the wall agency."

Sophie wanted to slap the smirk right off his face. "Yes, of course, Mr.-…"

"Smith. Caden Smith."

"Well, Mr. Smith, it's always been my motto to save the very best girls for last. So just think of Amber here as a bit of a preview for what my company can do – both for you and your employer. I believe, as the old saying goes, the best is yet to cum?

Caden was past the point of drooling.

"Name your price." He demanded, pulling "Amber" in close to keep her from getting away.

"Oh no, no, no. Not here." "Alexa warned. "Too many prying eyes, you understand. No, I always do business by the book. In fact, I carry mine right here." The Brit solicited, pulling a tiny black book out from between her breasts.

Caden lit up like a match-head dipped in lighter fluid. He was so turned on, that Parker could feel his manbits swelling against her leg. It was all she could do not to puke.

Caden, however, remained perfectly oblivious. "It seems, then, we have some business to attend to." He stated, excusing himself from his "gentlemen" friends.

"This way, ladies…" He invited, stressing the last word facetiously.

With quick steps, he led them upstairs to a small, private office - one untypical of its kind. From the outside it looked completely normal, but on the inside hung all types of floggers, whips, chains, and handcuffs - most of which were kept under lock and key. In the very back of the room was a solitary door, painted red. There was no other way out except through that door, or back the way they had come. Of course, once that office door clicked shut, there was no turning back for either of them.

The thief shivered as she contemplated the fate of all the other girls who had been led to this room before her. Had they come willingly? Had they put up a fight? Just thinking about it made her stomach drop to her feet. As the office door swung closed, Parker couldn't help but worry that her fate was being sealed up right along with it.


PART THREE: MONSTER

If only Parker could have known what Eliot was thinking, she wouldn't have been so worried about his commitment to the con (or to her). Although, it would be a lie to say he wasn't enjoying all the attention, there was something about underage girls using him for his money that put him right off his game.

He would much rather be on the front lines, breaking the necks of anyone who came within striking distance of his team. At least Sophie and Parker would have the decency to provide him with the same type of protection. Because, some of these women were downright scary…

As the hitter listened to Sophie talk shop over the earbuds, he slowly began to realize that these were the types of women the mark enjoyed. Just from listening to the creep negotiate, Eliot surmised that Caden was the type to not only bang, but bang, beat, and humiliate.

The conversation over the earbuds was bad enough considering the awful images running through Eliot's mind. Already his fists were clenched in with a barely controlled rage as he forced himself to listen to what was going down.

"Tell her to take off the mask." Smith demanded, his voice echoing off the hitter's eardrum.

"Ah ah ah, business before pleasure." "Alexa" rebuked softly. "The mask doesn't come off until I get the money."

"That hardly seems fair. I'd like to see everything that I'm paying for up front. And I do mean everything." Smith leered.

"Mr. Smith, you wouldn't examine a horse's teeth before buying it, would you? That's just bad manners." ***

"What do I care about manners? I want to know I'm getting everything that I pay for."

"I'm afraid if you want my business, you'll have to play by my rules." "Alexa" warned, knowing just how to pique the mark's interest. "You should know that I value performance and pleasure over mere appearance, and I charge accordingly. Believe me, there are many men who want this girl, but few who can actually afford her. So trust me when I tell you, you won't be disappointed. Besides, it's not like you'll be looking at her face much anyhow. Not the way you operate."

"Is she as good as you claim?" Caden inquired reluctantly.

"Even better." "Alexa" smirked.

"Very well." The mark replied, brusquely. "If performance is truly what your whore has to offer, I'll overlook the examination. You can practically tell what she looks like anyway. Name your terms."

Eliot's blood chilled as Sophie bit out her next words:

"She doesn't go for less than a thousand. One hour. No hard limits. You can do whatever you want, just so long as she comes back in one piece. That means no noticeable marks that I might have to explain away. Nothing that would lower her value, you understand."

"Shall we bank on it?" Caden lewdly suggested.

"Induitably." "Alexa" agreed.

Eliot held back a whistle. Sophie may have been born a woman, but she was gifted with balls of steel.

After a quick minute, there was a rustling over the receiver as both business persons took out their little black books. As the two exchanged information, including the numbers to their respective offshore accounts, Parker tried to make herself scarce. Eliot knew she was waiting on something - a distraction of some kind – anything really, just so she could make the switch.

Still, it was only when "Alexa" leaned her face towards the client that Parker received the distraction she needed. Placing her little black book down on the desk, "Alexa" took Caden's hands and placed them directly on top of her breasts. "Mr. Smith, would it be too much to ask for two women to pleasure you tonight?"

The mark was so close to Sophie, Eliot could hear the guy panting.

Freeing his hands to cop a feel, Caden followed suit and put his book on the desk as well. "Does it cost extra?" The mark pried as he pulled her to him.

"I'm sure we can work something out." The grifter promised, going in for a kiss.

Eliot straight up gagged, all the while struggling to keep his reaction to himself.

Finally, there was a bit more shuffling, and a nearly imperceptible click on the line. Parker's penchant for making noises with her tongue told him the switch had been made. Now they just needed an out.


PART FOUR: PANIC SWITCH

As Sophie pulled away, Caden took both her arms and roughly shoved her against the wall, changing his tune. "Sorry baby." He grunted. "But I've got what I came for."

The hitter's heart skipped a beat as the unmistakable rush of security guards filled his ears. At first he couldn't tell what was going on, or why they were there. Then it hit him…Parker. If she got demasked, their cover was blown. And that was assuming she hadn't been identified already.

Thankfully, Sophie provided just enough of a distraction to keep the focus on her. Eliot assumed that Parker must have slipped her the book during that disgusting kiss, because "Alexa" wasn't putting up much of a fight. Since it was up to "Alexa" to get the switched book out safely, she couldn't allow herself to be caught. The best she could hope for was to get forcibly removed from the office by security.

That meant Parker was on her own.

Eliot could almost sense the thief's panic as he took the stairs two at a time. Why the hell had he insisted Parker go in unarmed? Hopefully there were enough sharp objects laying around where she could get her hands on one. Though if Caden were careful enough, and Eliot knew that he would be, there'd be nothing for a girl to grab onto to defend herself.

Hardison was the only sound in his ear as the hacker gave point by point directions. As the scuffle between the security guards and "Alexa" ensued, Eliot heard the slam of a door. He was just in time to see Sophie being shoved ungraciously out into the hallway.

The hitter wasted no time. He was already on the second goon by the time he heard the office lock click. To be fair, it was a very distinctive click – double locked, deadbolt, only accessible with a key. Good thing the door was thin and there was a fire extinguisher down the hall.

In thirty seconds flat, he had disarmed all four guards, leaving Sophie to make her way to meet Nate at the rendezvous point, while Eliot continued on to Parker.

In all the hubbub, Sophie had managed to flash the book at him signaling that his hunch had been right all along. Parker had sacrificed herself so that Sophie could get out with the evidence they needed to bring down Caden Smith.

Eliot once again felt the rage begin to beat throughout his body. In order to calm himself, he focused on the sound of Parker's fists. She was doing a stand up job of defending herself, but there were just too many assailants for her to take on by herself. He could tell from the sound of the scuffle that the small thief was quickly becoming overwhelmed.

Unsure of how to help without being right there next to her, Eliot just started talking, hoping against hope that she was still conscious enough to hear him.

"Parker? PARKER! Look, I know you can hear me." He stated tensely. "So just listen to me, okay. LISTEN TO ME DAMMIT! I'm coming for you. DO YOU HEAR ME PARKER? I'M COMING FOR YOU! And I SWEAR I'm NOT gonna stop until I find you. I just need you to do one thing for me, okay? ONE. THING. I need you to stay awake for me, okay? I MEAN IT PARKER? DON'T LET THOSE BASTARDS KNOCK YOU OUT! I'm on my way. So just wait for me. Okay? OKAY?!"

"Okay." A shaky voice replied before the feed went dead.

That was all the incentive Eliot needed. Refusing to panic, his mind started to race along with his muscles as they worked in tandem to smash the door open with the fire extinguisher.

The only thing the hitter wanted know before he pounded the mark was if Parker had been an experiment in picking up girls for Floyd, or if she was a premeditated target. Either way, that piece of shit was going to pay.


CHAPTER NOTES:

***Examining a horse's teeth when it is being sold, presented, or given to you is considered a rude gesture. (Or at least it was before the turn of the century.) Hence the term: don't look a gift horse in the mouth. It's actually an insult to the person selling/giving away the horse and implies that they have been deemed untrustworthy.