The next day had them on a plane towards America. Reuel had been correct. Nate's card was unlimited and managed to get them two first class seats at the last minute. Eliot still didn't trust him but the unlimited funds did give him credibility. His I.D.'s still worked but a quick internet search into the Boston birth records confirmed the story. He wasn't born and had never been.
Sam had also never existed and it was oddly less joyous information than Nate expected. Sure his son never experienced the pain of cancer. But the boy also never got to experience his first word or his first Red Sox game. And Maggie had never gotten to see how much the boy had her smile. Of course, a quick search confirmed that his ex-wife was still in L.A.
"How did you know Moreau was in Los Angeles?" Eliot whispered towards the mastermind. He was still uncomfortable with their agreement but he was slowly warming up to the idea. At least he wasn't threatening to kill him anymore. That was a plus.
"I didn't," Nate admitted figuring the truth would only benefit the trust factor, "There's an old friend I want to check up on. Moreau being there is just happy circumstance."
"Why do I get the feeling that that happens a lot where you're involved?" The hitter demanded with a smirk.
Nate shrugged.
"Because it does," he grinned.
They landed without a hitch. The hitter grabbed his luggage and looked around for the bag the mastermind had brought. Nate shook his head and picked up the only luggage that looked brand new. He had made quite a show at the nearest mall when he bought himself a new luggage set and suits. People stared but it only worked to help the hitter believe his story more. Plus the look on his face at the quick shopping trip made it worth the trouble it caused.
"Just as bad as a woman," Eliot grumbled.
For some reason he insisted on taking the suitcase away from Nate and packing it into their cab. His bag was packed for two days specifically while the mastermind had packed for a week. Of course, the hitter's eyes did rise at the automatic purchase of two pairs of high heeled, designer shoes during their layover in Paris.
"I still don't get why you bought two pairs of shoes and a dress," he continued to complain during their long drive from the airport. "There isn't any woman on this trip. Are you planning on picking up some hooker or something, because I am not down with that. I want to go in, get this job done and go. Understood, Ford?"
Ford, Nate thought mockingly. It was never Nate, only Ford. It was worse than when they had first met. At least when they were opposites sides they were civil to each other but five extra years without each other added to the eight years before seemed to be it. They were now nothing more than business colleagues who couldn't stand each other. Yay!
"Who are they for anyway?" Eliot asked.
"My-" Nate struggled to find the right word to describe the grifter, "My friend."
That word seemed to satisfy the hitter briefly. The mastermind felt it wasn't right. Sophie was his grifter, his confidante, his lover and a whole long list of complicated things that didn't seem to be covered by one definition at all. Well, there was a word for it. He would just have to find it while he tries to pull his team back together.
"Why would you go to Paris to buy a friend clothes?" Eliot muttered to himself.
Nate smiled at that. Of course the hitter wasn't satisfied with the friend answer. He was looking for any possible weakness Moreau could find. Which meant Eliot was considering making this job permanent. His heart was as hardened as he wanted to pretend. He still wanted to protect the world and gain some retribution for his sins. Taking down Damien Moreau would free him of the burden of his past. The mastermind was more than willing to help him with that.
"It's habit," Nate explained softly, "You won't have to worry about it. She's gone."
"Then why did you pick up an outfit," Eliot asked back in a low growl. He couldn't hide the slight sadness in his voice though.
"For our grifter," the mastermind replied. He couldn't help the slight tilt to his lips at the hitter's reaction. Clearly he wasn't thrilled about the presumption that they were taking Moreau down. But he wasn't arguing either and that was good.
The cab stopped by the cemetery that had once held Sam within its fenced walls. The mastermind and hitter both stumbled out as quietly as possible. Eliot's head was bowed down in respect but his eyes were boring into the mastermind's skull. Nate ignored him as usual. They walked past veterans and those who probably died of old age. Small tombstones sparkled in the son, their names and dates most obvious compared to the rest. Still Nate ignored them as well. He was only interested in one spot, the family plot. Then he found it.
"James Ford," the hitter read off.
Nate stared at the simple letters. He hadn't expected to find his father dead in this world too. He hadn't even expected him to be L.A. The family plot should have been in Boston but instead it wasn't. Something happened to force Jimmy to change where he wanted to buried. It was a very out of character sort of thing.
"Is this why we're going after Moreau?" Eliot rasped. His voice held fury and betrayal and they had only known each other for a matter of minutes, for him. "So you can extract your revenge on him for your old man."
"He wasn't my old man," Nate replied heatedly, at least not this time around.
"Why are we here?" Eliot demanded angrily. His fists were clenched and his face was turning purple. This Eliot had a short fuse. "You said we were going to take down Damien Moreau."
"You said you were only going to help me with one day of recon," Nate shrugged, "This is just a detour. The real reason I came here was to check on an old friend. During my research for that old friend he popped up in a cemetery. I figured I would come to pay my respects."
"I thought he wasn't your old man," Eliot smirked knowingly. Sarcasm dominated everything about him and he seemed far more stressed than he was before.
"Let's go check on Maggie," Nate declared.
He grinned at the hitter's stunned look. But the younger man followed him into the cab and to the address appointed by the mastermind. He was in it for the long haul no matter how hard he tried not to be.
They had to wait two hours before Maggie Collins made her appearance. The young blonde drove into her driveway while the mastermind and hitter sipped at their coffee cups. She unpacked some groceries and walked indoors. A school bus stopped by at three and two children got off. She was standing in the door way to greet them with hugs and kisses. The oldest was a girl about fourteen or fifteen and the youngest was a boy of eight or nine years. Both had brown hair and looked happy to see their mother. Then the girl turned towards them to look at something nearby.
Nate gasped and fought himself before he could blow his cover. The hitter tensed at the action and waited to see what would happen next. He had no idea that Olivia Sterling was the young woman politely waving to them before she entered her home.
"Sterling," Nate said biting his lip as he spoke, "She married James Sterling."
"The Insurance Investigator?" Eliot asked, "Really? That's his wife? She's hot. Totally out of his league."
"Good for her," Nate grinned. She had finally found somebody she deserved. Plus Sterling would do everything to make her happy. That was comforting.
"Now it's time to go check up on Damien Moreau," he declared softly.
Eliot sputtered at the way he was acting but nodded. He was going to wait for answers to reveal themselves when they were ready. Then he would add voice to the questions in his mind. That was good. The hitter was sold and they just needed more information before they went after the rest of their team. Things were looking up.
"Are you sure this is the right address?" Nate asked when they made it to their final destination.
The hitter merely inclined his head slightly. The mastermind paid off their driver and instructed him to get lost. Then they both found a nice restaurant and immediately set to work at ordering their food. The area they were in had a large skyscraper before them. Moreau's address matched that of the penthouse suite. It was just his style.
"My contacts are the best in the business," Eliot replied, "Moreau is going to arrive at a half hour past five. He won't be alone and we may even find a weakness."
Just like magic the limousine arrived. The big black bulk stopped in front of the massive building. Moreau's bodyguard, Chapman, hopped right on out. He carefully scanned both ends of the street and the surrounding crowd before nodding his head. He held the door as a tall, sleek man with dark brown hair and power rolling off of him stepped on out. Damien Moreau smiled as he removed his sunglasses from his face. He looked at the building. He took a great big breath and smiled wider. Then he turned back towards the car and reached in a delicate hand. A brunette with a killer figure came out attached to that hand.
"Great," Eliot scowled, "He's once again attached to a great pair of legs."
The mastermind said nothing at the hitter's grumbling rant. He recognized the brunette's figure. He even recognized that sultry walk and the power swirling around her. His heart hammered and he was forced to stand at his full height just to make sure. Then the beautiful brunette twirled around for a fleeting moment and the world stopped. He would recognize those beautiful brown eyes anywhere.
"And that is the reason nobody will ever be able to stop him," Eliot finished with a vicious growl.
"Damien Moreau?" He gasped staring at the sight with horror and nausea beating against his chest. "Sophie works for Damien Moreau?"
"Who's Sophie?" Eliot demanded. His eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. He looked like he did any time the hacker tried to explain something technical to him. "That's Charlotte Prentice. As in Charlotte Prentice-Moreau!"
Nate's stomach dropped at that announcement. Suddenly his head began to swim and his breath was coming in short sharp gasps. He struggled to undo his tie as black spots started to appear across his vision.
Eliot gave him a worried look. He shot out a hand and fought to steady him. "Whoa there," he said, "Are you okay?"
Nate shook his head and tried to breathe. He felt the hitter guiding him somewhere but all he could see were black dots and blurry lines. He felt the back of his knees slam into something. Then he was staring at the ground with his head between his knees and his butt on a park bench.
"Better?" the hitter asked. Worry was actually in his voice again. That was a good thing, right?
The mastermind took a deep breath and slowly rose to a proper sitting position. He raised a hand to his head and stared. His hands were shaking. He looked back across the street and noticed that Sophie was now in Moreau's arms. The couple shared a passionate kiss by the limousine. Nate cringed at the image before him.
"Disgusting, isn't it?" Eliot said voicing the mastermind's opinion to a T, "To think that couple is the world's most notorious and evil group of crooks and thieves in the business. Heartless to the core the both of them. They would sooner burn down every town with women and children than give each other up. I bet they would even sell their spouse for a price."
Nate listened to the hitter's words without really hearing them. He had tunnel vision and Sophie was on the other end of it. The grifter and their enemy had finally stopped swapping spit long enough for him to get a good look at her. She looked younger but her eyes were older. Her beautiful brown orbs were black with coldness and corruption. Her form was in top physique but it was edged with a fighter's muscles. Her clothes were more based on price than glamour. Even the way she walked was different. There was an edge to it, like she was ready for anything and more than adapted to turn it into an advantage. Every move she made was more than calculating. It was dangerous.
Moreau had changed too, Nate was sad to note. His enemy was leaner now. His physique matched that of the grifter's in that it was more than ready for a one on one battle. His black eyes were colder, crueler than they had been before. His clothes also showed his status but he wasn't constantly surrounded by girls. He was less carefree with his every motion. His gait was regal and consumed with power. He was on a higher pedestal than he had been in the other time. It was almost godlike the way he acted.
"They're so high in power that nobody wants to touch them," Eliot finished. "Future generations of every mob on the planet are currently competing to see who will take over when they're dead and gone."
"Don't worry, Eliot," Nate said. He watched as Moreau held the door for his Sophie to enter before disappearing into the brick building. Then he took a deep breath, filled with determination to make everything right this time. "We're going to knock them down and we're going to knock them down hard."
"And how are you planning on doing that?" The hitter demanded incredulity in his every breath.
"We're going to steal her!" Nate said. Then he rose to his full height and left the hitter staring after him as always.