AN: Here's the next chapter. Just a little team meeting set after The Hot Potato Job. It's not as proof-read as I would like but it'll have to do. For the next couple of chapters I hope to be able to post more than once a week, but it mostly depends on my beta at this point. I'll do what I can though.

PS: Thanks a lot for the feedback for the last chapter. You're all amazing!

.oOo.

Nate calls them together the next morning, early enough that Hardison feels like he's sleepwalking. For regular office workers it's lunchtime, but for extraordinary hackers (who's been up all night cleaning up after the last job, but since when does anyone appreciate that?) it's way too early for meetings. At least Sophie has beat him to HQ and started up coffee. (Later, when he's more awake, Hardison will wonder about that.)

"I guess you've seen the news?" Nate says when they're all present, nursing cups of coffee around the dinner table. He's freshly showered and not nearly as hung over as Hardison would expect the morning after the night before.

"Looks like we got played." Eliot says, and Hardison notes he is the only one who seems fully awake.

"Was there a diamond in the potato?" Parker asks, perking up at the thought.

"No, Parker, no diamond." Sophie manages to nip that discussion in the bud. "But it's obvious someone used us to get rid of Saunders and get West into his spot."

"Hardison?" Nate asks, looking at him over his coffee.

"Look…" Hardison can hear he sounds as tired as he is. "I checked, and double checked, and checked again yesterday when the news got out. This place is clean."

"Yeah?" Eliot challenges him. "You sure about that? Because, to me, it looks like…"

"Enough." Nate hardly raises his voice, but it cuts through anyway. Hardison is grateful, he's questioning himself enough as it is. "No," Nate continues, "they didn't listen in. They didn't need to, did they? It was easy to guess what would happen once we took the job; we'd push the CEO out. We never even realized we were being played."

Silence falls for a short moment, but with them all present it doesn't last longer than that. "Emily seemed genuine though…" Sophie says, and it's not quite a question. Hardison thinks about all the research he's done and wonders if he missed something.

"She probably was." Nate agrees. "But if they knew our MO they might have put pressure on her deliberately, even tipped her off about us."

It's a fair point, if slightly disturbing. Combined with the bugs in the office Hardison thinks it might even be scary. Someone's been listening to them, manipulating them. God knows what it could all lead to in the end.

Parker has a pensive look on her face. "Can't we just take her out again?" She says. "Make sure it sticks this time? Isn't there a lot of letters left?" She's looking to Nate with her last question, and Hardison realizes how fluent in Parker they all must have become to even understand it.

"No letters left Parker." Nate answers reluctantly. "We've shown all our faces, there's nothing to start over with." Parker hums but doesn't look convinced.

"It's just the way it is now." Sophie leans her head on her hand as she speaks. "But we'll have to be more careful from here on."

They all agree to that, verbally or by nodding. "On the upside," Hardison tells them, smiling at this new realization, "it could mean we're getting a reputation."

"Really Hardison?" Eliot counters, faster than a ping-pong player. "How is that a good thing?"

A sly smile is finding its way onto Parker's face. "Come on Sparky." She jabs at Eliot with a finger, but he deflects it easily. "Off course it's a good thing. It means they're beginning to understand they should be scared."

This latest job has definitely been a total bust, Hardison thinks as they're breaking up the meeting and moving out. But they will learn from it. Also, if they've been scaring big corporate giants who's thought for too long they're untouchable? There's a certain thrill in that.