A/N: I wanna write this fic more often, but right now I know how Nate feels when he's trying to run a con! lol Its not easy keeping the job going and developing the E/P at the same time, but hey, I'll try, and I hope all you lovely readers and reviewers will stick with me!
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 6
"Please tell me we have some kind of plan to get this done and get out of here" said Eliot as he burst into the room he and Parker were sharing, practically yelling through his earbud.
"Take it easy, Eliot" replied Nate, as Parker came wandering in behind her 'husband' and closed the door behind them both, "We're still collating data, coming up with a plan"
"Well, you better make it fast" said the blonde thief as she dropped down onto the end of the bed, "We have lunch in ten minutes and I'm hungry" she declared, her arm going across her stomach and a pout settling on her lips.
Eliot turned to glare at her for going off topic, before realising she did at least have a point. If they didn't go to lunch when they were supposed to somebody was going to notice. They'd already drawn attention to themselves twice, the first time in the induction meeting and now today with their over-achieving in dance class.
"I'm not surprised, girl" said Hardison, with a grin the fake couple could just imagine, "You two must've burned a whole bunch of calories bustin' your moves"
"You don't shut up, I'm gonna bust your ass when I get outta here" Eliot told him with that menacing tone he liked to use so much.
"Okay, boys, that's enough" Sophie cut in, in her best stern and motherly voice, "Although I have to say, I was very impressed with the dancing guys. I had no idea you two could move like that"
"Neither did I" said Parker with a giddy kind of a giggle as she looked Eliot's way.
He didn't want to smile right now, but somehow he couldn't help himself. It had been pretty cool to show off some skills he hadn't used in a good long while, and he'd managed to impress not just the teacher and other couples in the class, but Parker as well. She'd done well to keep up with him, and dancing with her hadn't been half so bad as he expected. She could move, he ought to have known she would be able to, and being close to a woman with a body like hers was hardly a chore, though he had made it seem that way. It wouldn't do to let her get comfortable being so close to him, at arms length was better for everybody, or so Eliot always thought.
"Okay, here's what we have so far" said Nate suddenly, "Bethan and Roger Matthews used to be Lorraine and Thomas Stobart when they were at the retreat with our client and her husband. The question then becomes, why?"
"Now I can spend hours trying to hack into their staff database" said Hardison, "Try and figure out if these two are working from the inside for some reason, but it'd be easier if you guys could help a brother out"
"If they keep changing names how will you find them?" asked Parker curiously, looking at Eliot since he was the only person there but more so talking to the hacker in her ear.
"These folks got created identities both times they went into the retreat" he explained, "Different names, but same dates of birth, date of marriage, all that good stuff" he went on, "Staff records would hold some of this info so I can check for a match and get real names for these folks, maybe do some more digging on them"
"What do you need us to do?" asked Eliot curiously.
"You remember the bag of tricks I gave you when you went in there, man?" asked Hardison, and the hitter went straight to the locker by the bed, pulling said bag out and tipping the contents out onto the bed between himself and Parker.
All kinds of electrical gadgets scattered across the blankets and the little thief was immediately pawing through them, trying to figure out what each one did. Eliot asked Hardison again what it was they needed.
"There should be a little blue flashdrive" he said, as the hitter started looking through cables, battery packs, and unidentifiable electrical items, getting more and more frustrated that he couldn't find what he was looking for.
It didn't come as a huge surprise when he glanced up and realised what he was searching for was already in Parker's hand. It only served to make him more angry, as such things usually did.
"You want me to break into an office or something?" she asked, all innocence as if she hadn't even noticed she made her fake husband mad - maybe she really hadn't.
"From what I can tell, the main staff office with the computers is just around the corner from the dining hall" said Sophie thoughtfully.
"Parker" Nate took over then, "You think you can slip away from the lunch table, break into the office, and get the flashdrive plugged into one of the computers?" he asked her, "That should allow Hardison to get the connection he needs to download all the information we want"
"Sure, that's easy" Parker shrugged, slipping the flashdrive into her pocket, whilst Eliot tidied away the mess of other gadgets and stuffed the bag back into the bedside locker.
"Okay, you two go be Paul and Alice" Nate instructed them, as he watched the vid screen , waiting for his team-mates to appear in the hallway outside of their room, "We'll be right here if you need us"
It seemed that whoever this Bethan and Roger were, they were taking quite an interest in Paul and Alice. Just as soon as Eliot and Parker cleared the line with their trays of food, they were being waved over to sit with their new 'friends'. Though neither were impressed, they smiled graciously and headed on over, sitting down opposite the other couple.
Parker tried to smile through her annoyance at being landed with the vegetarian option for lunch again. Unfortunately, thanks to her aliases preferences, her meals were specially prepared each day, giving her no chance to 'be bad' and eat meat. Eliot was more than happy with his steak and vegetables, paying no mind to the pouting of his 'wife'.
"Honey, are you okay?" asked Bethan, reaching a hand across the table to 'Alice' who immediately retracted her hand before contact could be made.
"No" she said sharply, looking at 'Paul' who looked a little spooked, presumably worried she was going to blow their cover with some dumb outburst, "I... I don't feel so good" she lied, "I think it's probably the smell of the meat" she added, thinking fast and dry retching some by now, "Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick" she declared then, jumping up from her seat and bolting for the door.
"Maybe you should go with her, Beth" Roger suggested, but this time it was Eliot's turn to over-react and risk the con.
"No" he said too suddenly as he practically leapt up from his seat, "I mean, no, Alice would be embarrassed if you saw her like that" he covered fast, even as Nate started rambling in his ear about keeping calm and just getting out, "I'll go" he said forcing a smile, not at all amused that Parker hadn't even let him eat half his meal before she ran out.
"There's something wrong with her" he muttered to himself as he hurried out the door.
"Eliot, mind your temper" Sophie warned him, "Parker's just doing what needs to be done for the con"
"You know where you're headed?" checked Hardison, watching as Eliot looked left then right before picking his direction.
"I got it" the hitter confirmed as he checked no-one was looking and headed through the unlocked door up ahead that only staff ought to pass through. He found Parker on the other side, picking the lock to the office Hardison had pointed out to them before. She was in before he ever had a chance to ask how long it would take.
A wordless exchange of a simple look confirmed that Eliot was going to play look out while the thief did her thing inside the office. In their ears, both of the pair heard Nate tell Parker she should also take a look around if she had the chance, see if she could find any paperwork regarding Laurie Redfern's divorce lawyer husband, Jeremy Kendall, or similar.
Unfortunately, she became so engrossed in her task in the office, Parker didn't respond very fast or even at all when Eliot first called for her. She just thought he was being impatient as ever and trying to hurry her along for the sake of it. The truth was, there were staff headed this way!
"Parker!" he snapped as he stuck his head around the door and found her still rummaging through files, "Will you get out of there, people are coming!" he told her angrily as he walked in and pushed the door half closed behind him.
"Why didn't you say so?" she checked, hearing the same voices he did in the corridor beyond.
Two pairs of wide eyes met as Eliot and Parker both realised that out the door was no longer an option and in such a small office there really was nowhere to hide.
A moment later, as Laurie Redfern and psychologist, Dr Laura Matthius, walked into the strangely unlocked staff only office, they found Alice White on top of her husband, Paul MacDonald, all across one of the desks, making out like it was going out of style.
"Well, goodness me!" Laurie declared, a hand to her chest, as the couple parted, both looking flustered.
"Oh, we're sorry" said Parker with a grin, as she fanned herself with one hand, "Sometimes I just can't help myself" she said, slapping Eliot on the backside just as soon as he was upright - he wasn't impressed, but had to hide it in order to keep their cover.
"Sorry, ladies" he apologised to the owner and the psychologist, "We were just... caught up in the moment, I guess" he faked a laugh, "Must've stumbled through the wrong door and... well, we'll get out of your hair now" he said quickly, bundling Parker out of the door, his arm around her shoulders still, "What the hell was that?" he asked her in an angry whisper, just as soon as he closed the office door behind them.
"I covered for us" she shrugged, seemingly unmoved, though the fact of the matter was she had been kind of surprised by how good it had felt to kiss Eliot that way.
"You did well, Parker" said Nate in their ears, "Although if I were the staff I might be wondering why you were at a couples retreat if you, er... get along so well" he said, with a smirk you could just hear.
"It was very convincing" smiled Sophie, unable to keep straight-face after what she'd just seen.
"It was unnecessary" Hardison complained, at which Parker sighed.
"I don't know what your problem is" she told him, "the thing got stuck in where it needed to go" she shrugged, as at least two gasps of shock came through the earbuds.
"She means the flash drive, Hardison!" snapped Eliot, giving Parker a glare that she couldn't figure out - what had she done wrong now?
Of course most of Eliot's problem as they walked back to the dining room was not what she'd said so much as what Parker had done. Jumping on him in that office, it was pretty much the last thing he had expected her to do. Worse than that, when she kissed him and he started kissing back, he almost lost himself in the moment. It felt good, much better than it should've when he reminded himself this was Parker he'd been making out with. Oh, he really, really had to talk to her about wearing clothes in bed tonight or things were only going to get worse... and more painful from where he was at!
Meanwhile, at the Leverage offices, Hardison was doing what he did best and soon had the contents of The Twin Souls Retreat server showing on his own laptop screen. Sophie and Nate peered over either one of the hacker's shoulders, as names and faces flashed up before their eyes. Some kind of search began running, and Hardison explained it should find Bethan and Roger's real names and details within a matter of minutes. Truth be told, the undercover couple were not really listening.
"Next time we need a diversion, I'm in charge of it" Eliot was saying, as Nate glanced up at the vid screen and tracked them walking from one corridor into the next and back through the dining room doors.
"Hey, maybe you both should just..." began Hardison, only to have Sophie poke him in the shoulder.
"It's stopped" she gestured at the computer screen, getting him to pay attention to the fact his search had been competed.
"Oh, here we go" he smiled, getting Nate's attention too by now, "We got Elizabeth Bunch and... Brewster Jones" he read aloud, making a face, "Seriously? Brewster? Seriously?" he checked, craning his neck to look up at the mastermind by his shoulder.
"Not really what we need to be focusing on now, Hardison" he pointed out, tapping a finger on the screen, "Nevermind the names, let's find out who these people really are" he encouraged, whilst Sophie kept an eye on Eliot and Parker as they returned to their table.
She listened to 'Alice' make excuses and say she was feeling much better now, as Bethan (aka Elizabeth) fussed over her. 'Paul' immediately tried to change the subject as the two couples made random conversation, whilst all the time Parker and Eliot continued to listen to the conversation going on back at the office.
"Okay" said Nate as he read over Hardison's shoulder still, "So it would seem these two are actors"
"Not good ones" the hacker scoffed, "They've been in less decent shows than..." he stopped short of actually saying Sophie's name as he glanced her way and saw the look on her face, "Yeah" he cleared his throat, letting it go before he got into some serious trouble.
"They're getting paid to make the retreat look good" said the grifter with some understanding, but a frown soon settled on her features, "but why would they be trying to help and encourage the couples to stay together, if they want the marriages to fail. It doesn't make any sense" she shook her head.
"Unless our happy couple turn sour in a couple of days and start pouring poison in some ears" considered Nate causing Parker to frown at the very literal imagery that ran through her head.
"Are you sure you're feeling okay now, Alice?" asked Roger (or Thomas, or Brewster!) from across the table, though not thinking about her alias right now meant the blonde didn't answer.
"Hey, Alice" her 'husband' prompted, poking her in the side from under the table, "You feelin' alright, honey?" he overdid the niceties through gritted teeth, and even Parker couldn't fail to notice it.
"Sure, yeah, I'm fine... baby" she threw on the term of endearment at the last moment, which only made it sound even more odd, as she forced a grin and picked at the vegetarian meal on her plate.
"Well, at least this afternoons class should be easier on you" said Bethan kindly, "I'm sure all that spinning around in dance class didn't help if you're feeling queasy"
"Oh yeah" Parker nodded her agreement, though she didn't mean it at all, "Psycho-analysis torture - yay!" she joked, at least the other couple assumed she was joking, and laughed appropriately.
Eliot wasn't exactly paying enough attention to care as he made a move to accidentally-on-purpose knock his knife onto the floor. Branding himself a butterfingers, he slid down off his chair and stayed crouched under the edge of the table a moment as he spoke through his earbud in a hushed voice.
"What about the flashdrive, Hardison?" he checked.
"It's cool, man" the hacker assured him, "If and when they find it, it'll be blank as if it was brand new. They won't ever know what hit 'em" he promised, as Eliot got back into his seat.
"As for Bethan and Roger, as they're calling themselves" said Nate thoughtfully, "I think you guys better keep an eye on them for now, until we know more"
Just when Eliot and Parker thought things couldn't get any worse, now they had to spend time not just with each other in this dumb place, but also with the most over-the-top annoyingly-cheerful couple in the retreat.
Yeah, this job was going great so far.
To Be Continued...