A/N: ... If you've read any of my other stories before while I'm writing them, then you know how utterly hopeless I am at sticking to a schedule. I had planned on posting this two weeks ago, but that kind of fell through. RL took control and I lost all writing capabilities I had for a while. I was also going to upload this yesterday, but FF wouldn't let me. So ... here ya go!
Teal'c kept a watchful eye over the slumbering women after Parker and Eliot left a short while after the movie was finished and Gary Cooper rode off into the sunset with Grace Kelly.
He wasn't surprised hen he had opened the door hours before to find Cassie in the company of the known criminal. O'Neill had sent him the complete file on one Eliot Spencer and Teal'c couldn't help but feel some level of respect for the much younger Tau'ri warrior. He had helped many helpless people through the years, despite some of his more distasteful jobs. After reading the file, he had asked Colonel Carter what she knew of Croatia's war for independence and what she knew of the man known as the Croatian Crippler. It wasn't a shock to find that Eliot Spencer had contributed so much toward the freedom of the innocent people who lived there.
O'Neill had been irate at best when he had spoken to Teal'c on Thursday afternoon. "Why the hell do criminals flock toward her? It's not like she has a Bat Beacon inside her or something!" the general had groused.
"Cassandra Fraiser is a very capable young woman, O'Neill," Teal'c had replied in his grave monotone. "I do not believe that any of these people with whom she is now acquainted will harm her."
"Yeah," O'Neill had replied. "I still want you to take Vala up there and check it out first hand."
"Very well, O'Neill."
And now he was sitting in a very comfortable recliner, dozing as he listened to the sounds of the city around them. One of the benefits he found from being Jaffa was that he became an extremely light sleeper after his symbiote had been removed. No one else would be sneaking in the apartment that night.
---
Tesa groaned as someone shook her awake. "Wh's't?" she mumbled sleepily as she tried to shake them off.
"It is now 4:00 in the morning, Tesa Parker," Teal'c's deep monotone seemed to vibrate through her skin. "Cassandra Fraiser says it is time to wake up."
Tesa grumbled under her breath to express her general displeasure with the world as she pushed her eyes open with a scowl.
"This stinks," she groused as she sat up on her makeshift bed on the living room floor.
Cassie let out a laugh from where she was standing by the couch with two cups of steaming hot coffee in her hands. "I guess you don't want this, then, do you?" she said, waving one of the cups of coffee at Tesa's sleepy face. "Shame. I even put cream and one sugar in it, too."
Tesa's eyes widened as she practically leapt toward Cassie and the delicious smelling coffee. "I thought you'd still be asleep," Tesa said after she had a few gulps of coffee in her.
"Nightmare," Cassie explained succinctly without expounding. "I figured I could help with the shop so you don't feel like a fish out of water."
"Good morning, all!" Vala said cheerily as she bounded out of the bathroom with her usual happy-go-lucky attitude. "Sleep well?"
Tesa glared at her as she curled herself up on the sofa with her coffee mug. "Why are you so chipper?" she insulted the intergalactic thief.
Vala grinned at the Tau'ri woman as she said, "I spent the last two weeks in D.C. with Muscles here. Still on Eastern Time."
The redhead raised her head to look at Teal'c with her sleepy gaze, "She's always like this early in the morning?"
Teal'c nodded slightly, "Indeed."
After a few minutes of silence in which Tesa attempted to wake up and drink her coffee, Cassie turned her head to her new roommate and calmly said, "You've got half an hour before we have to be at the shop."
"Shit."
---
Alec Hardison woke up that Friday morning to the ringing of the cell phone he used for some personal friends he had that knew very little (if anything) about his work.
His hand went out to the cell phone, answering the call as he brought it to his ear groggily, "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
The voice on the other end sounded amused, "Obviously just a few hours after you went to sleep, Freeze."
Alec was immediately awake after that statement as he recognized the voice on the other end. "No one's called me that since high school."
"And yet that's what I called you," the woman said flippantly on the other end.
Hardison sighed and rolled his eyes as he sat up in bed, "What'd ya want, Sam? You did not call me up at," he looked at his alarm clock, "Seven o'clock on a Friday morning just to bring up old times."
"You're right, I didn't," she replied, her voice turning serious as Hardison heard the sound of keys clicking on a computer. "What are you doing in Chicago, Alec? Last I heard you were in Boston."
"Last I heard," he countered, "You weren't workin' with hackers anymore. Colonel." He stressed her title, hoping the not-so-subtle hint about information flow would work.
"Ouch. That's harsh, Hardison. You're lucky I can't have you arrested for being mean to me. Oh, wait. I can." Despite her half-serious tone, Hardison knew she'd do what she had to in order to get her job done. "Now, why are you in Chicago?"
He shook his head as he got up and made his way steadily through the small(ish) apartment toward the refrigerator. "What's it to you, Sam? Lookin' up old friends out of the blue?"
"I have ... certain interests in Chicago that alerted me to your presence," she responded vaguely.
Alec raised his eyebrows as he took a small bottle of orange soda out of the fridge and unscrewed it with one hand. "Would these interests happened to be named Cassandra Fraiser and her well being?"
She cleared her throat on the other end, "Possibly."
"I'm here on business, Sam."
"Someone deplete your States' side bank accounts?"
"Someone else's, actually. Con artist." He took a long drink of his soda as he waited for her to respond.
"Aren't you a con artist, Alec?" her tone could have been mistaken for confused, but he was pretty sure Sam Carter knew what she was asking. He just didn't know what she was getting at.
"So? I'm a hacker first, baby."
"I'm not sure my husband would want to hear you call me that, Alec," her response was a little too jovial to be safe for Alec's health, so he wisely didn't comment as he waited for her to continue.
It took some time, but after a pregnant silence, Sam got to the core of the issue, "Someone hacked my system yesterday afternoon."
Alec's face went white at the news, "The system I helped you make un-hackable? That system?"
"One in the same," she replied. "That's not the worst of it."
"Oh, don't tell me! You don't know who it is?" This was just great. What a perfect way to end the week.
"See, now here's the thing. I have a list of who it could be," Sam sounded only half sure about what she was saying, her bravado not fooling her high school friend. "But half of these people are dead and most of the others are off the grid. There's only a handful of people who could pull this off. But I know who's pulling the strings."
"And what am I supposed to do about it?" Alec asked, now very pissed off that someone had broken past all the firewalls and barriers he had spend weeks setting up. Weeks of work that someone else had gone through like a warm knife through butter ... well, hopefully not that easily.
"I can't get to Chicago until Monday. Keep an eye on Cassie for me. Make sure she's safe."
The seriousness in Sam's tone made Alec momentarily forget his anger. "Don't worry, Sam. She's got some smart people around her."
"Yeah, but can they fight?" she worried aloud.
He let out a smirk as he thought about the hitter on the team, "One of 'em helped liberate Croatia."
---
It was noon by the time Parker managed to convince Nate that the team should go together to the bakery for lunch and snacks. She apparently really wanted to see what progress had been made toward her Money Cake, as she had been calling it, and eating at the bakery just seemed to be the next logical step.
"I must admit, Nate, that I'm quite eager to meet this woman," Sophie commented as the team approached the bakery in one of Nate's many cars.
"Why's that, Sophie?" Nate asked as he glanced at the woman in the passenger seat as if wondering what her motives might be.
"Well, think about it," she said, ignoring the three people in the back, "Parker is giddy at the chance to spend more time with her, Hardison is afraid that something might happen to her, and Eliot's practically enamored with the girl! She sounds utterly fascinating."
"Hey! Mind your own business," Eliot groused from the back seat.
"I would, Eliot, but yours is so much more entertaining," Sophie shot back with a wicked looking smile as Nate parked the car in the lot behind the bakery.
"Be nice, children. We don't want a scene, do we?" Nate reminded them as the group got out and walked toward the small bakery that was buzzing with business.
Standing behind the counter in the small bakery was a rather intimidating looking black man that caused Sophie's mouth to water. Mentally, she assessed whether or not Eliot could take him and came to the conclusion that it would be close as she watched the man move with untold grace as he filled the orders and took the cash offered to him. Adding to the appeal of the stranger was the bandana tied around his forehead, giving the hint of something she couldn't quite name.
"Cassandra Fraiser," the big man called loudly into the back room as he finished with the last customer in line before the group of five. He looked over the group of five and the appearance of some sort of inner aggravation came over him as the muffled reply was heard from the back room. "Your assistance is required."
The swinging door to the back of the shop opened and the woman in question came out with a smile on her warm face. "What is it, T?" She glanced at the other side of the counter and saw group causing the aggravation. "Oh," her smile increased as realization dawned in her eyes. "Hello. You must be Sophie Deveroux," she said assuredly to the brunette standing at the forefront of the group. Turning slightly to the older man next to her she added, "And Nate Ford, right?"
Sophie smiled back at the other woman, unsure at what was silently going on, but deciding to go along with it. "Of course, Ms. Fraiser. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said as she held out her hand.
Cassie shook it with a strong grip that was more than a little intimidating to the grifter. "Pleasure's all mine. And please, call me Cassie." She released her hand and asked the group at large, "What can we get for you?"
"Can I have cake?" Parker asked in her usual jumpy manner.
"Real food first, Parker," Eliot said gruffly as the thief tried to push her way to the front of the group but was halted by Eliot's firm grip on her arm.
Parker looked grumpy as she was kept stationary between Eliot and Hardison. "But I can have cake after, right?"
"I don't know how you can eat that stuff all the time, Parker," Hardison said as he eyed his teammate. "Where d'ya put it?"
Parker gave him a sidelong look as she mumbled, "I have a high metabolism, Hardison. That and working out three hours a day tends to keep you fit."
Cassie coughed into her hand in an attempt to hide her humor before she asked, "How about some chicken pot pie? I just made some up using my own special recipe. You're sure to love it, Parker."
Parker looked to Nate for permission and with a sigh the ex-insurance investigator gave in. "Alright," he said, getting out a credit card from his wallet, "Four chicken pot pies and one salad for Sophie --"
"Actually, Nate," Sophie interrupted him with a smile. "I think I want to try this chicken pot pie."
"Alright then," Cassie said with a nod, "There's a table to your left by the wall that should give you a good vantage of the rest of the room -- and all the exits."
"Are there any other items you wish to purchase at this time?" T asked the group from his place by the cash register. Cassie gave him a nod of approval as the group thought about the request.
"I still want a cake," Parker mumbled to Eliot, who rolled his eyes.
"And that red velvet cake in the display, Teal'c," Eliot added with a smirk as Nate gave him a look.
"Very well," Teal'c replied, ringing up the purchased and accepting the card from Nate to pay for it. "Do you require a copy of the receipt of sale, Nathan Ford?"
The other man shook his head, "No, no, I'm good."
Sophie wondered what sort of name Teal'c was as the group accepted coffee and water cups from Cassie, "There's a stand over there by your table with coffee, and I'll bring a pitcher of water over in a minute."
"Thanks, Cassie," Eliot said with a nod as the group made their way over to the indicated table.
"I'll be out with the pie and the water in a minute," she replied with her own smile.
Sophie's knowing eyes watched the interaction carefully as the baker's gaze stayed on the hitter for a moment too long before she looked away and turned back to the kitchen to get their food. Apparently Eliot wasn't the only one with a thing.
---
"Is there something wrong with it?" Parker asked as she looked oddly at the chicken pot pie that sat in front of each of the team members. Sophie, Nate, and Hardison were each looking at the food on their plates as if it was growing mold as Eliot simply started eating in a very regimented fashion.
"No," Eliot said as he scooped up another bite of the pie. "Nothing's wrong with it."
"There's pineapple in here next to peas," Hardison said with a look of disgust. "How's a brotha suppos' ta eat somethin' like that?"
"Same as ya eat anythin' else," Eliot said. "Just try it, Hardison. Might surprise yourself."
"But it smells so strange," Sophie complained as she poked her own meal with her fork.
Nate took a sip of his coffee, surprised at how good it tasted, before he made something of a show of picking up his own fork. "The thing about trying new foods, you two," he said authoritatively as he was wont to do, "Is to just get over whatever's holding you back. And, sort of plunge in."
He scooped up a bite of the pie and raised it hesitantly to his mouth. Eliot stopped eating to watch him along with the rest of the team as he bit into the sweet and savory dish. His palate was alive with the different flavors that assaulted him and blended together to create something that would be too hard to describe.
After swallowing, Nate pointed his fork at Hardison and Sophie on the other side of the table, "You're turn."
Hardison scowled at the food on his plate as if it was mocking him. "It's just food, Hardison," Eliot teased him, taking another bite of the pie as the hacker hesitantly piled some onto his fork.
"Says you," the darker man replied as he brought his fork up to his mouth and sniffed again to make sure it didn't contain something poisonous. "You sure this is safe?"
"Come on, Hardison," Parker said, causing all eyes to turn to her plate which was half gone. "It's good."
His hand shook as it made its way to his slightly open mouth. The sudden change in expression on his face was almost comical. "This shit is good," he said around a second bite of homemade pie. "How'd she do this?"
"Skill, Hardison," Eliot replied as he took a sip of coffee. "It's all skill."
"And one helluva recipe," Parker added, finishing off her pie and cutting off a big slice of the red velvet cake that sat in the center of the table.
A/N: Sorry it's short. I figured you'd appreciate the update more than you would waiting a few more days for a longer chapter.