The warehouse was filled with boxes and worn down couches. There were a few boys milling about, most of them looking like they were into some bad things.

Not that Ale was surprised.

"This is the fun stuff, Gracie," Alex slurred.

"Absolutely," Ale nodded, slipping her arm in Alex's.

"Hey, Bo, I finally brought my girl," Alex said, a big guy standing from one of the couches.

"I told you not to bring her here," the man said, Alex looking a bit dumbfounded.

"Um, no. You said you wanted to meet her," Alex said, looking between the man and Ale.

Ale could easily see that this was a drug house, and this man, Bo, was in charge of something that Alex was into. She took a wild guess, assuming that Alex was the one who was providing the drugs to the people in the church.

"I insisted he bring me," Ale said, Bo looking at her for the first time.

"Why's that?" Bo asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Because. I want to sell, too. Alex is losing his reach. His buyers are leery. They think that the suits are watching him now that his dad got caught. I'm the new figurehead at the church and I am who they are going to come to next," Ale said, Alex looking at her with a dropped jaw.

"I never told you I did this stuff," Alex slurred, Bo looking between Ale and Alex with both anger and amusement.

"You didn't have to. I have already gotten to know half of your contacts and asked around. Why do you think I was so eager to go out with you?" Ale said coldly, dropping her arm from Alex's.

She knew that Alex had screwed up with Bo. That he had been sloppy and that Bo was going to get angry. If her suspicions were right and Alex was who was selling the drugs to the kids, he was definitely getting them from Bo and his friends. If Bo thought that Alex was letting out to much information, he would be done. So Ale was improvising, instead.

"I think we could figure something out," Bo nodded, Ale breathing a sigh of relief.

It was that moment that Alex decided to puke on the floor.

LEVERAGE

"She is good, Nate," Sophie smiled, looking at the older man as he took out his com. Sophie did the same, assured that Eliot had the situation under control.

"I know. Why do you think I let her basically pave the way for this one?"

"I was wondering that, actually," Sophie laughed.

"I just wanted to see what the girl could do. Plus, having her around has taught me that sometimes you just have to roll with the punches. If Alex hadn't had come along I would have thought of another plan. With him in the picture, though, it was as though the plan was already mapped out."

"She really is doing a remarkable job. We are lucky she is here," Sophie sighed, hearing the front door open and close.

"Back so soon?" Nate said, Ale and Eliot poking their heads into the living room.

"Alex threw up on me so I told Bo I would come find him when I was ready to strike a deal," Ale shrugged, both Sophie and Nate nodding. "I figured you would decide if you wanted to pull a sting or tip off the police or just put the recording into evidence, so I got the hell out of there so that I could shower."

"You figured correctly," Nate nodded. "Make sure you have some dinner."

"I ate," Ale answered, trudging up the stairs.

Sophie and Nate looked at each other, knowing that Ale was lying. She had been a bit reserved the past week, and the two older members were trying to ignore it for her sake. She was still dealing with a lot and one bad week didn't constitute for an intervention.

Eliot remained in the doorway of the living room, Sophie and Nate looking at him expectantly.

"Did you need something, Eliot?" Sophie asked, seeing a question behind his eyes.

"It was her birthday last week," Eliot said quietly, gesturing up the stairs. "She didn't tell us on purpose, and we shouldn't have a celebration. I just thought you should know."

"Thanks, Eliot," Sophie whispered, Ale's behavior making sense.

"That's not all. I was asked to stand up in a wedding this weekend for one of my buddies back home. My entire work team was invited. They think we work together to rebuild houses. The guy wouldn't take no for an answer, and neither would my family once they caught wind of it. And I know we all usually get breaks after a job but"

"But we will all be there, with your family and friends covering your butt for the wedding," Nate said, laughing a bit at Eliot's surprised face.

Eliot nodded a silent thank you, going up the stairs after stopping in the kitchen first.

"He would have never asked us to help him before Ale came along," Sophie smiled, Nate nodding in agreement.

"She's been good for us. For all of us."