The next morning, Nate is the first to rise. When Jordan and Sarah come knocking on the door, he is the one who answers it. Just as Eliot planned…
"You must be Nate," Jordan says brushing past him. She introduces herself and Sarah on the way to the kitchen. "Eliot wouldn't let us pay him for all his help and our Minnesotan sensibilities just wouldn't stand for it," she explains. Without invitation they start unpacking their grocery bags. "So we brought breakfast." Jordan arranges the assortment of bagels, pastries, and fresh fruit while Sarah starts brewing coffee.
"Thank you," Nate says dumbly. He's still a little asleep, continually trying to get his hair under control. "I'll go get Eliot-"
"No, that's alright. We have to run, lots to do today," Jordan interjects. "We have to be out of our place in a week, so we have to start packing."
"Oh, you're moving?" Nate asks conversationally.
"Being evicted, actually," she says plainly. "Yep, me and Sarah and the eleven other abuse victims staying at my shelter…"
"Twelve, if you count little Kasey," Sarah pipes in for the first time. "She's only seven. Still believes in Santa Claus," she adds.
"Who would shut down a women's shelter at Christmastime?" Nate finally starts to catch on.
"My boyfriend."
"Ex-boyfriend," Jordan corrects her. "Well, it was nice to meet you. Enjoy the breakfast," she says breezily.
"Thank you," he says again as they make their exit.
"You know your getting hustled, right?" Sophie asks, having heard most of the conversation. He nods, still trying to work out their angle. "And, then you thanked them," she says, pouring a cup of coffee and selecting a croissant.
"They're good."
"Uh-huh. They kept it simple, didn't push," she notes. "Made you think it's your idea."
"What's my idea?"
"To help them, of course."
"They just seem so nice," Nate marvels. "How can we not help them?"
"And, they know their way around a croissant," Sophie adds after taking a bite.
"Hey, who got breakfast?" Parker asks, seeming much too bubbly for the early hour.
"Our new client," Sophie supplies.
"Jordan was here?" When she's through pouring a glass of orange juice she notices the look Nate is giving her. "Um, I mean…What new client? I thought we weren't doing any jobs over the holidays." She then shoves a handful of grapes into her mouth before she can say anything else.
Eliot soon walks in, with Hardsion close behind, and pretends not to see Nate's inquisitive stare. When he asks where the breakfast spread came from it's Sophie who answers him.
"Some friends of yours dropped it off," she says coolly. "Jordan and Sarah, I believe."
"Wow, that was really nice of them," Eliot replies.
"Did they by any chance have Kasey with them?" Hardison butts in. "Seven years old, cute as a button." Both Eliot and Nate roll their eyes at the obvious play. "She made fun of Eliot's hair and let me sign her cast," he says aside to Parker.
"I can't believe they did this," Eliot continues without acknowledging his friend's input. "I mean, by all accounts, they'll be homeless in a week, but they still took the time to show their gratitude."
"I'm sure they won't be homeless," Sophie interjects. "Most of those women can just go back to their abusers."
"See? It all works out," Parker quips. "Christmas truly is a time for miracles."
"Well, since I don't have anything better to do, I thought I'd go fishing," Eliot announces.
"How do you fish if the lake is frozen?" Parker wonders.
"It's not frozen solid. You drill a hole in the ice with an auger and drop the line in," he explains.
"That sounds even more boring than regular fishing," Hardison comments. "And, really cold."
"Parker and I were going to watch Miracle on 34th Street," Sophie says to Nate. "You could join us if you don't want to fish."
"They're going to show it in black and white, then in color, then in black and white again, then in color," Parker rambles excitedly. "All day."
"Unless there's something else you'd rather do…" Hardison says giving him a sideways look. Four sets of eyes fall on Nate expectantly. Collectively, they look like a little kid who brought home a puppy and are asking to keep it.
"I've created monsters," Nate mutters.
"What does that mean?" Parker asks.
"It means enough with the charades. Hardison, run it."
"I thought you'd never ask." With a grin, the hacker clicks a small remote, bringing up a picture on Eliot's flat screen. "Meet Evan James."
"Two first names, that's never good," Parker remarks, scrunching her nose at the image of a good-looking man, around twenty-five years old, with blonde hair and a cocky smile.
"What's his story?" Sophie inquires.
"Well, he's been getting into trouble since grade school, a real hot head, and when his parents died he became the world's richest juvenile delinquent," Hardison starts out. "His latest crime is pushing around his girlfriend, Sarah Perkett." He then pulls up a picture of the girl Nate had seen with that morning. Except the face on the screen wasn't smiling, likely due to the split lip and heavy bruising.
"Why isn't he in prison?" Parker winces.
"His best friend is a local cop and his uncle is the D.A.," Eliot says in disgust.
"Plus, his folks were good people, pillars of the community," Hardison adds. "He plays the pity card and his family's lawyer pulls strings and calls in favors so he gets a slap on the wrists."
"He's the mark. Who's the client?" Nate asks.
"The Dublin Street Women's Shelter," Hardison states.
"And, the lovely Jordan," Sophie says with a wink.
"They took Sarah in when she left him," Eliot says, brushing her off.
"It's not actually on Dublin Street," Hardison continues. "It's an affiliate of an organization call Underground Hope. It's a network of shelters across the country; they all go by dummy street names."
"So, how is Evan James going to shut them down?"
"They took out a loan a few years ago for repairs and updates and it's not exactly a profitable enterprise, so…"
"He bought out their mortgage," Nate concludes with inevitability.
"They had an extension, but all the records and copies have been lost, stolen or destroyed," Eliot informs.
"It's all due on the first of the year," Hardison finishes.
"Why don't we just pay it?" Parker suggests. "We have the money. Might as well."
"It's not going to stop him," Eliot argues.
"That and Jordan said she couldn't accept it," Hardison says with a shrug. "In no uncertain terms."
"He thinks he owns this girl and Jordan's shelter took her away," Eliot reasons. "He won't give up that easily."
"So how do we take this creep down," Parker asks, turning to Nate.
"What do we really know about him?"
"He violent," Sophie supplies. "Quite a temper."
"He's rich," Parker acknowledges.
"But, not as rich as he wanted to be," Hardison jumps in. "When his parents died, half the estate went to the formation of a scholarship fund. He was not happy about that."
"And, according to Sarah, he thinks he should be famous," Eliot mentions.
"I almost forgot! Which one do you want to watch first?" Hardison exclaims. "Real world? The Bachelor? American Idol?" When the team looks at him in confusion he clarifies. "Audition tapes. He's tried out for every reality show on the planet."
"Ooh, American Idol," Sophie decides. "I want to hear him sing."
"It's not pretty," Hardison warns. "It's like if Eliot had bronchitis and was singing into a nasty ol' boot."
"Uh, let's save that for later," Nate interrupts. "We've got to get to work." They all look to him in anticipation. "Parker, Hardison, start planting bugs and cameras. We need eyes and ears on Evan James at all times." The two nod and go to gather supplies. "Eliot, I want you stationed at the shelter. We need him to do something stupid, so you have to make sure no one gets hurt." Last he turns to Sophie, "You're going to coach Jordan. She's to tell him that her lawyer has a copy of the extension agreement and she can't be nice about it."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to buy a really ugly suit," he replies with smirk. Apparently, he forgot to pack Jimmy Papadopolis.
sorry this took so long. more to come soon. very soon.