The plan was called 'The Polish Bulldozer.' Compared with some of their other scams, it was a cinch. Parker and Hardison had planted bugs, lots of them, everywhere. His house, his car, his phone; even his favorite bar was tapped.
With Sophie's advice, Jordan made the call. She informed Evan of the one surviving copy of the extension on her mortgage, got him good and riled up, and told him to direct all other inquiries to her lawyer. Enter Jimmy Papadopolis.
Then all they had to do was wait. That was the beauty of 'The Polish Bulldozer.' Everything that Evan James says or does that he thinks will solve his problems actually digs his grave. Before the sun went down on December 23rd they had what they needed. Their recordings would be enough to change the public's opinion of him and prove that he was the one who broke in.
They also caught his various plans to shut down the shelter and numerous threats against its occupants. Since Underground Hope is a national organization, the issue falls under the FBI's jurisdiction. Evan's connections and money couldn't get him out of that.
Nate had planned for Parker to contact Agent McSweetin, despite Hardison's grumblings, to get the ball rolling. Simple, the only problem is that he will be out of the office until the 26th.
"Can't we just tip off any old Fed?" Hardison suggests. He looks around the shelter's small office for an ally, but everyone seems to be with the mastermind on this one.
"This case isn't exactly a career-maker," Nate says regretfully. "We need someone to run with it right away and the only way we can be sure is if-"
"We pimp out Parker," Hardison finishes with a scowl.
"We're not pimping out Parker," Eliot interjects. "We're pimping out Agent Hagan."
"She's going to make a phone call and maybe bat her eyelashes a little bit. Nobody is …pimping," Nate says, feeling uncomfortable using the word. "This will still work. No matter what, we have him in two days."
"We just have to keep the girls safe until then," Eliot reminds him.
"Maybe we can get him to bribe you," Sophie nods toward Nate with a glint in her eyes. "We could get a little extra cash for them. I'm sure they could use it."
"We'll see, but I don't want to push it," he replies, holding up a hand to stop her overzealous scheming.
"So, we're done…?" Hardison says tentatively.
"Except for a few phone calls that Parker has to make…" Eliot says smugly. He knows how much Agent McSweetin tends to irk the hacker.
"And, you'll have to hang out with Jordan some more," Hardison retorts, mimicking the tone. Then he continues in a lower voice, "Just remember to take your comm. out next time. We don't need to be hearing all the-"
"Damn it, Hardison!"
"Stop it, boys," Sophie says good naturedly. "But, seriously," she murmurs to Eliot, "Jordan is a classy girl. She deserves her privacy." He starts to growl a response, but Jordan's entrance silences him.
"So, are we out of the woods yet?" she asks hopefully.
"Not quite," Nate informs her. "We can't tip off the Feds until the 26th."
"I'm afraid you'll have to put up with Eliot for a few more days," Sophie says, feigning remorse.
"That's alright. I think Kasey is really warming up to him."
"She kicked me in the shins yesterday!"
"Yeah, that's how she warms up," Jordan shrugs.
"Calm down, man," Hardison chimes in. "I'm sure she'll come around."
"Easy for you to say," Eliot gripes. "You're not the one getting kicked."
"The girl's a good judge of character," he quips back. "Plus, I don't have girl hair."
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Jordan exclaims. "Tomorrow, we're going to make Christmas cookies all day. Then in the evening, we go caroling and take donations in exchange for them."
"That sounds fun," Sophie gushes.
"Yeah, we always have a pretty good time," she agrees. "It's usually an all girl event, but everybody's welcome."
"Parker and I can- wait. Where is Parker?" Sophie asks in surprise.
Everyone scans the small room, shocked not to find her there.
"Was Parker here when you walked in?" Hardison asks Jordan.
"I don't think so," she replies but her tone oozes of uncertainty. He then disappears into the hall to search for his soon-to-be fiancé.
"Anyway, Parker and I-"
"And, Parker's taser," Nate adds.
"-can make cookies and hold down the fort," Sophie continues. "You guys can finally do some fishing."
"I can't wait to tell Hardison," Eliot says with a broad smile.
After a quick search of the main level, Hardison decides to check the backyard. There he finds not only Parker, but also Kasey, tramping around in the snow.
"Alec!" The little blonde girl is the first to spot him. The bell in the puff on her hat jingles as she runs over and grabs his hand. "Come look at our snowman!" she exclaims, tugging him over to it.
"Nice to meet you, Frosty," he says, gently shaking one of the stick hands. "I think he might be the best snowman on this whole street."
"Is it good enough to show your mom yet?" Parker asks Kasey. The girl looks at their creation with serious consideration.
"I think it needs one more thing," Hardison says. He takes the bright blue scarf from around his own neck and arranges it on the snowman. "There, now it's perfect." The girl nods in a approval as a Cheshire grin spreads across her face.
"I'm going to go get my mom!" She high-fives Parker before bounding to the door.
"She's such a good kid," Parker comments, smoothing out few snowy lumps.
"Yeah, she kind of reminds me of somebody."
"Who?" she asks distractedly.
"You," he says as if it should be obvious.
"What? She doesn't look anything like me," Parker blurts out. "Sure, she's blonde, but I'm like two feet taller than her."
Before Hardison can explain his meaning, Kasey returns with her mom in tow.
"Did you thank Parker and Alec for helping you?" she questions after delivering a rave evaluation.
"Alec didn't really help. He just donated a scarf," Kasey points out.
"And, did you thank him for that?"
"Thank you, Alec. Thank you, Parker," she says sweetly.
"You're welcome," they both reply just as Nate and Sophie are walking out to join them.
"Are you going to help us with the cookies tomorrow?"
"Parker and Sophie are," Nate says in the tone he always seems to take on when speaking to children. "We're going fishing with Eliot," he adds, slapping Hardison's shoulder.
"Great…"
The group says their goodbyes and heads for the car. With Eliot staying behind to keep watch, Nate slides into the driver's seat. He and Sophie chat easily the whole way home, mainly about how ridiculously early the sun goes down.
"I know the days are shorter in the winter, but I guess, I don't notice it as much in the city," Sophie muses.
"Can we stay up till midnight?" Parker is whispering in the backseat.
"Uh, sure. What happens at midnight?" Hardison responds in curiosity.
"At midnight, it's officially Christmas Eve, which means I can blast all the Christmas songs I want."
"Whatever you say." When she leans into him, he kisses the top of her head. "Why is your hair all wet?" he wonders almost laughing.
"We made snow angels. If you don't push your head into the snow to make an imprint, they look headless," she explains, laying her head on his shoulder. "That's just creepy."
Despite the wet hair chilling the skin on his neck, Hardison is perfectly content. He takes a deep breath, realizing that the time as come. The job is basically over, so what's stopping him? He's not sure he'll ever be ready, but he is as prepared as he can be. All the dominoes are in place, he just has to knock that first one over. Then there's no turning back…